Privacy Is A Luxury

Participants:

lucille_icon.gif megan_icon.gif

Scene Title Privacy is a Luxury
Synopsis Don't expect to find it on the rooftops around here right now. Too many people in too enclosed a space… Megan and Lucille chat over a smoke.
Date December 16, 2011

Pollepel Island


Killers on the loose, telepaths scanning people, injured coming out her ears, plus the flu…. Well, thank goodness for small favors, the flu seems to have been contained to the 30 or so people who were smart enough to get their butts into sickbay AS SOON AS they felt ill. And all are now on the weary path to recovery.

Megan finally feels like she might have adequately surfed the wave, though she's tired. She makes her way to the roof of the castle, seeking the chill of the outdoors and some space away. She passes a number of the Brians on patrol, nodding to them as she stops at a spot out of the wind to search out and light one of the few remaining cigarettes she's been holding for the most stressful moments.

Taking in a long drag, she shoves the lighter back in her BDU pants pocket, removes the burning cylinder from her lips, and lets the nicotine hit her bloodstream and give that lightheaded moment to her brain. Leaning her head back against the stone wall with her blue eyes closed, she breathes out a very slow trickle of smoke and tries to let stress float away on the breeze with it.

When not helping out with her ability at the clinic Lucille can often be found here. Her now meditation practices now have become a daily ritual and the roof provided a serenity that Lu could often not find while inside the castle. The meditation has become a rather effective way to curb the rage that somehow still burned deep within her. The control it also allows her to have over her ability had made this the single most important thing for the eldest Ryans girl to do at least twice in her day.

So here she sits cross legged one heel lying on the adjacent thigh her black socks peek out, boots placed neatly to the side. Her auburn colored hair swings free and is in need of a trim, her eyes closed she sits back straight arms laid out on her knees. Her manner of dress has shifted as of late favoring loose clothing to allow for easier movement usually in black or gray or muted colors. Today's color is black and the top button of her shirt remains undone revealing her silver locket at the nape of her neck.

As her breathing deepens she allows that lotus flower she uses to refer to her ability to unfurl around her, her eyelids shift as underneath her eyes twitch a few times. She notes the pulses of the Brians there with her and she tilts her head. They all feel the same. Brian still mystifies the woman. As Megan nears the roof Lucille's broadcasted field picks up the older woman. She waits until the woman has lit her cigarette before she slowly opens her eyes revealing the amber gold that her eyes burn when her ability is in use. Turning her head slowly she lets out a cool breath as she regard the badass nurse with an amber pupil.

"Heya Meg. Mind if I bum one? I've been giving out favors in return for cigarettes." a light smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

There's a slight leap in the redhead's pulse at the sound of the voice. Megan didn't look hard enough to see if she was alone (kind of assuming she was when there weren't Brians up here!), and she mentally curses about being so foolish. KILLER ON THE LOOSE, GODDAMN IT.

Opening her eyes, she finishes exhaling and then leans the slight distance it requires to look around the outcrop and spot Lucille in her corner out of the wind. "Sure, Lu," she replies easily enough, fishing in her pocket for the half-full pack and her lighter. She walks over and holds them out to Lucille to help herself.

Moving to the outer wall where she can put her back to the island and let the breeze carry the smoke away from them, Meg leans back and studies Lucille. "Did you get some sleep?"

"Thanks." A full warm smile now as she takes the lighter and a cigarette and lights it as Megan moves to stand back to the outer wall Lu exhales a rush of smoke closing her eyes briefly and nodding her head before looking at Megan. "A little. I'm more worried about how much rest you're getting." A pointed look is given from the younger woman to the nurse as she leans forward to hand the lighter back to Megan. "It's been just.. Insane here."

Flicking her gaze up to the sky to spot a lone bird flying around she sighs. "You know I had half a mind to stay off the island before all this shit happened." Shaking her head she grits her teeth. Lucille's mind when not sedated by her meditation has been consumed with thoughts of her family off the island. She has to reunite them. "Don't tell my dad about these, he'll try to wring my neck." Though with Lucille now being firmly planted in the middle of this fight she guesses her father is worried about worse things happening to her than cancer.

Retrieving the lighter and shoving it back in her pocket, Megan smiles faintly. "I'm used to doing without sleep," she comments. With her booted feet crossed and one arm settled around her waist supporting the other elbow, she raises the cigarette to her lips again. Thoughtfully pulling in another drag, she observes mildly, "You should have." Stayed off the island, she means.

At the last part, Megan raises a brow. "Last I checked, you're of legal age to do whatever the hell you like, Lucille. From a health perspective, I don't recommend smoking " she gestures with the hand that holds her own cigarette, " but I'm hardly in a position to cast stones, am I?" Flicking a bit of ash over the parapet, she asks mildly, "Wanna tell me why you felt the need to ask me not to tattle on you?"

A light chuckle escapes the younger woman as she puffs on her tobacco. Lucille tries to blow a O but fails and grins at Megan. "Well he's finally consented or come around to the idea of me rushing headfirst to danger behind him and Aunt Huruma." A slight shrug as she exhales a bunch of smoke. "I guess I don't want to worry him more." Her look sheepish but otherworldly as her eyes remain that amber gold still allowing her ability to stretch and flex around her. She has been practicing at fanning out and holding her ability for long stretches of time. Holding it until she almost gets nose bleeds at time. Her determination has seen a spike since returning from Alaska.

A quirk of an eyebrow, "I heard you guys blew up a building a month back?" A rogue grin crosses the woman's lips. Her father is so dangerous she can't help but think that's another trait all of the Ryans clan has inherited.

The amber eyes are an interesting phenomenon that Megan has observed and continues to observe merely as an academic point of interest. She knows what they signify. Bringing the cigarette in her fingers up again, she simply looks amused at the not wanting to worry him more.

As she exhales slowly, there's a faint shrug. "Yeah… I think he thought he was Luke fucking Skywalker on Hoth," Megan retorts on a laugh that she can't quite restrain. "Asshole." She shakes her head, still amazed at that manuever.

A cough as Lucille chokes out laughter. Her eyes flicker at the temporary loss of concentration and gray irises peer at the woman before the gold surges forward again and Luce places a hand on her knee. Her father was.. Also a hot topic on the island. Something that amused Lucille to no end. Her silent father the talk of the town. "Yea I think after he got de-aged he's been forced to relive the glory days. Shit before then if I'm being honest." she takes another drag of the cigarette.

Blowing out a tight line of smoke that unfurls at the end wafting out towards the island, "I heard some chicks whispering about how he was.. sexy." The memory makes her wrinkle her nose and she smirks at the memory of what she did to one of the young women. A little puking can be good for the body when one looks as bloated as the woman did. It's not that Lucille thinks her father would accept the invitation.. Well.. actually.

"He's.. made quite the impression on the people here."

Lucille's laughter just fuels Megan's chuckles until the redhead leans her hands back onto the wall of the parapet behind her and tips her face to the sky. Glory days. After taking another drag of her cigarette, the redhead blows smoke upward and shakes her head, the laughter softening her features and easing the lines of stress that have bracketed her face for so long. "I couldn't fucking believe what he pulled. God." Amazement, amusement, and even admiration are all present. But the blue eyes flickering toward Lucille hold a hint of challenge.

"I think you can't possibly be so blind as to not think you're father's an attractive human being, Lucille," she observes in a candid tone. "The rumor mill around here is pretty incredible, as you know, and with nothing better to do… of course they're looking at his ass. It's quite a nice one."

Another choke and Lucille has both hands on her knees choking with her eyes bulged. She coughs for a few more seconds and then a bark of laughter escapes the woman as she stares up with now blue eyes. "Fuck!" She rubs her knee before clearing her throat and leaning straight up again. She takes a casual drag of the cigarette and gives Megan a look of anguish. "Okay yea, the genes run real good in our family apparently."

"I'm happy he's dealing with being down a hand well. I thought— I'm not sure.." she gives a faint smile. "Nothing really seems to break him." Except for when one her siblings are hurt.. Or Nicole.. Or Auntie Huruma.. Okay.

Lucille's reaction just makes Megan realize how very young the other woman really is… she knows Lu's age. But … yeah. Just shaking her head on a smile, Megan smokes quietly as she watches the younger woman cope with the face that yes, her father is a hottie. And women do notice these things… and for all that she's a no-nonsense type, Megan is still a woman, and a relatively young one at that at not-yet 50.

The later comment brings a more serious expression to Megan's face, however, and she looks out over the parapet, her cigarette dangling between her fingers as she flicks it over the edge.

"Break?" she replies quietly. "No…. few things will break him, Lucille. Losing the people he considers his is probably the one thing that will do it. But… don't mistake fortitude and an ability to compartmentalize with 'dealing with it.' He just has far too many other things facing him at the moment, and they're less personal… it makes those much easier to deal with than his own loss right now." There's a grim sort of certainty to the tone, though she tries to ease her voice.

Taking another long pull off the cigarette, she drops it to crush it under her combat boot without really looking at Lu. She's …. worried. For Lucille's father. But there's little she can do for him.

"My whole life I've wanted to be as strong as him." she savors the last of the tobacco and she closes her eyes tilting her head back as she releases the smoke before grounding the bud on stone. Lucille's hand goes to rub her arm as she studies Megan. Her father is cared for here, it's touching to witness everyday. Besides all the messy affairs (messy in her eyes at least) her father is goddamn hero. A man people respect and look too he has proven himself time and time again. "He sets a high standard by default. I'm trying to be there for him more. I think Auntie Huruma is doing a better job." she snorts and shakes her head.

The peace she knows with her father now she is very grateful for.

When she turns back around, Megan smiles at Lucille. "He does set a high bar," she agrees easily. "And he leads from the front — he doesn't ask from other what he's not willing to give himself. It's what makes the best leaders. It's why people will follow him." Pulling a slow breath, the redhead lets it out in a soft sigh with a smile. "I'm glad he has someone to talk to. Lord knows he's offered me an ear often enough… but like most of the best leaders I know, he rarely takes anyone else up on the reciprocity. So it's good that Huruma can help him." The dark-skinned woman helped Megan in ways she can't possibly thank her for.

"This is going to get uglier… very soon, Lu. Do the best you can and when the time comes, do not argue with a retreat order, okay?" Megan's blue eyes are serious on the younger woman. "When the call comes, follow the order. Because if you don't…. he will move heaven and earth to get to you." She doesn't want Lucille to live with those possibilities on her conscience. "He can't do his job unless he's assured that you're doing yours. It why the military works the way it does."

"I told her that if the two of them can come from where they did to where they are now.. There is hope for all of us." A light grin as she agrees with the nurse. Huruma is a godsend that is for sure. Megan's words give Lucille pause as she ponders what the woman says to her. She is not one usually to follow orders or be lumped in with groups, it makes her skin feel hot and clammy just thinking about it, not being free. But this recent excursion into following orders and doing the things that she is set to do and not only what she wants to do. Has come with rich rewards, seeing her father at his best being one of them.

After a pause Lucille nods at the woman. "My head is as hard as my father's but I know.. I can't jeopardize the mission. The mission being survive the fucking end of the world." Again. The Ryans girl stretches her arms out as she looks behind her at the island surrounding them. "There's a certain lust for that thrill, it sits here," she rubs her stomach, "Along with someone else. The meditation helps me keep myself in check." She never thought of herself as a military girl but maybe with much pruning the possibilities are endless.

A faint smile quirks Megan's lips and there's a glint in the blue eyes. "Your father does have one of the hardest heads I've ever run across… but there are reasons." She shrugs. "And if we don't all pull together in one direction, we will most assuredly pull apart at the seams."

She straightens, coming off the wall with a graceful movement. "I better get back. People are feeling better, but they're not out of the woods quite yet." Tilting her head, Megan studies Lucille. "Meditation is a good tool. Keep it up." And then she pivots on a heel and heads back for the lower levels.


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