Participants:
| Scene Title | Expanding Your Horizons |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Melissa encourages Ling to try new things, while telling her the latest Messiah recruitment news. |
| Date | September 12, 2010 |
It's been a busy few days for Melissa, and it hasn't offered much time for her to visit with Ling. Tonight though, she's made certain that she could do just that. She picked up food, Mexican tonight, after getting groceries for the barbeque the following day, and after putting the groceries away she calls up the stairs. "Ling? You home? If so, can you c'mon down here?"
She waits for just a moment before moving back into the kitchen, getting plates and silverware, along with a couple of Coronas. You can't have Mexican without beer of some sort!
The silence that follows Melissa's call would at first seem to indicate that there is no Ling present at the moment, but after a minute or two the customary groan that indicates I was in the middle of something is audible, with deliberate footsteps sounding from the stairwell moments later. When Ling appears, she looks just slightly disgruntled, and oddly dressed in a black button up shirt and skirt that looks even more casual than normal for her.
A wary eye is cast as the Mexican comes into view, followed by a bit of a look at Melissa. The beer receives a similar look, but as Melissa has learned in their time together, sometimes Ling can be talked into compromising her normal cocktails and wine for something as simple as "terrible North American beer". "Yes?" she asks simply, arms crossed as she stands at the entrance of the kitchen.
Glancing over Melissa grins. "I brought dinner. And we haven't really…you know…talked much since…Since Kendall died. And I felt kinda bad about that. Figured we could hang out tonight since tomorrow night the house'll be full of people and all that." She pulls out a chair and sits, then offers a reassuring smile. "I promise, the food is good. And the beer is good with it. Just try it. You might even like it."
That wary eye lands on the food again - the truth is she hadn't really had Mexican very often, at least not until she had moved in with Melissa. "I'll have to take your word on this," she states as she reaches over and pulls over one of the beers, eyeing it with a grimace. She just sort of stares at it for a moment before placing it back down and looking at Melissa. "We haven't spoke much, you are correct. Have you been… well, all things considered?" She asks both out of matters of a grudgingly accepted sense of friendship, and because, well, if the landlady/teammate isn't happy…
It's a minute before Melissa answers. "Yes and no. I miss him. I wish he hadn't done what he did, but it's getting a little better. Had a crying jag one night, a friend watched movies with me until I passed out…they helped," she admits. "Still hurts to think about him, and I keep having nightmares about the night he was shot, but I can focus on other things now."
Some of the food is transferred to a plate, and she starts to eat between words. "Even able to think about Messiah stuff without wanting to cry. Which is why we now have an occupant in the attic," she says, motioning upward with her fork.
"Perhaps it is best not to think about Messiah matters, until it's needed." Could it be that Ling is offering genuine advice? "It is easier, then, to only focus on what matters when the time comes, and perform as you are needed to." Maybe not entirely. "Still, an improvement is an improvement. I'm glad to see that you are feeling better."
Her beer is opened with a bit of a strain, a fajita carried over to her plate as she prepares herself for the unusual meal she is about to eat. It takes until about now for her to register the rest of Melissa's news. "Another new boarder?" she asks, her face and voice mixing suspicion and annoyance, "Another member of Messiah, or otherwise? As the latter could be… dangerous."
"Messiah. It was actually kind of funny," Melissa says with a faint smile. "I put an ad in the paper for performers for this ball we're gonna do at Tartarus next month, and this guy shows up. At first he gives me this fake name, but then we realize that we were both in Moab and he sorta opened up. I even invited him to the barbeque. Then the next day, or maybe it was the day after, I don't remember, Peter sent out that message about Edgar Smythe. Sure you saw it. Well, the name of the guy who answered the ad? Edgar Smythe."
Another bite is chewed as Mel shakes her head, looking mildly amused. "So I call him up, ask him to come over. He brought me flowers. Kind of wilted flowers, but hey. We talked, I worked it around to Messiah, and he's in. He needed a place, and since he's joining up, I gave him the attic."
She snorts softly. "He's an amusing roommate, if nothing else. He came downstairs yesterday with a tampon up his nose. Said he thought it would be good for broken noses. Had no idea what they were really for."
There's a bit of a glower on Ling's face as she lets out an exasperated sigh, fingers resting on her temples and forehead. "That explains why thigs were out of place in the bathroom the other day," she says with a shake of her head. "That seems almost too coincidental to true. Are you sure it's not?" Ling's gaze is questioning, staring at Melissa for a solid minute before she turns back to her food. "Still, it will be quite handy to have a him around, if Peter's message about his ability was accurate. Both for Messiah, and for the house."
"Yeah, pretty sure. I recognized him from Moab. We both have the injection scars," Melissa says, leaning her head back and tapping said scar. "And there's no way Edgar could know that Peter was gonna send out a message for people to recruit him either. So I trust the guy as much as I trust the rest of Messiah," she says, shrugging. "Besides, you know me, I gotta try and help all the bad boys," she adds in a dry voice. "As far as his ability goes, the message was accurate. He's fast. I just wonder if him and Daphne will end up having a race around the world or something."
"Hmm." Ling eyes Melissa for a moment, before nodding and finally beginning to eat her fajita. "I suppose in that case, there is little to worry about for the moment. It sounds as if many of our ranks come from Moab. I am fortunate I never had to deal with such a thing." Or at least that she never got into the whole killing for money and revolution gig until after it ceased to be. "You've seen him at it, then? I suppose Peter will be impressed that you found him so far."
Melissa shrugs. "I doubt Peter will be impressed. That would involve him admitting to having a positive emotion towards me. But it doesn't matter. Edgar has a family of sorts now, a place to stay, and Messiah has a speedster. That's what's important." Another bite, another drink. "And I think I've found someone else for our ranks too. A hydrokinetic who works at my club. She's very anti-government and pro-evolved. And that could be a very powerful ability too. I'm hoping Peter shows up tomorrow so I can point her out to him as a possible recruit."
The first part gets a bit of a bemused chuckle and a shake of Ling's head, continuing to eat as Melissa talks. The idea of Messiah as a family and not an organisation, loosely fitting of that term as it may be, seems rather odd to Ling, misplaced almost. The mention of a hydrokinetic catches her attention more readily, diverting her gaze from her food and untouched beer back to Melissa. "A water manipulator? Interesting. I was aware you knowingly worked with other Evolved." A bite of her food, and she grimaces. "I would caution against surrounding yourself directly with too many members of Messiah. Should one of them be found out, the potential is too great for it to be traced to you, and then back to the rest of us."
"Eh, Edgar's only doing a job for the club's ball, and Nadira's been there for a while. There are a few other evolved in the club of course, because I don't discriminate, just as it should be." Melissa falls silent though, thinking and chewing. "You're right though, on the other. I think I'm going to have to gently nudge Tony elsewhere. He's Ferry, so he won't lack for a place to stay. And this is turning into a Messiah safehouse of sorts. Though I guess it's more of a frat house than a safehouse."
"How very progressive of you," Ling remarks with a bit of her own. It's not said mockingly, but there is a sense of scepticism to the words - Ling being someone who's used to hiding her ability of of fear of loss of reputation and attacks from folks like Humanis First, it seems strange to be so open about hiring Evolved. "I think you might misunderstand, Melissa. Keeping someone not of Messiah helps. It keeps this place from looking exactly like a safehouse for Messiah should one or two of us ever get apprehended."
"Huh. Okay, point. And Tony's not around enough to really get in the way of anything," Melissa murmurs thoughtfully. "I should also start thinking of ways to make this place even more secure for us." She gives a soft, short laugh. "Been considering adding another room or two somewhere. Or maybe splitting the attic into two rooms. We're full up." Well, Kendall's room isn't occupied anymore, but she hasn't so much as opened the door since his death.
Ling smiles a bit at that, taking an enchilada to have alongside what remains of her fajita - and finally taking a long sip of her beer too. There's a grimace on her face, but she chokes it down without complaint regardless. "More security would be wise. Particularly with the missions that Rupert is handing out lately, I believe it wise to take some proactive measures. Of what sort, I am not yet sure." And then, a bit of an odd little grin crosses her face, something looking a little unusual on her. "I'll do what I can to help with such things. Though I suppose I should be asking how I can help prepare for this… party of yours."
Melissa laughs. "Prepare? Ling, honey, it's just a barbeque. Casual, relaxed. We'll have drinks. Someone will get conned into doing burgers and hot dogs on the grill. There'll be chips and cole slaw and potato salad. We'll hang out and talk about unimportant things and just have a good time. That's all. It's nothing to prepare for. Honest." Amusingly, though her southern usually only 'worsens' when she's drunk, it certainly did just that now. It seems that potato salad brings it out too!
Ling looks startled and confused, turning rather slowly to look back at Melissa. She looks just absolutely flabbergasted that one would throw a party and not prepare in some fashion, and it reads all over her face. "I… alright." She blinks once more, before returning to her food. "Regardless, if you think of anything, let me know. There has to be something more to do than wait and hope it goes well."
Melissa grins and shakes her head. "No, that's really all there is. Grocery shopping, inviting people, sticking someone on the grill. Just dress in something comfortable and prepare to have a good time. Nothing more. I promise."
Ling sighs, shaking her head. "If you say so, Melissa. This idea of something so… off the cuff is not something I'm used to. Large parties with wine and months of planning, business parties…" Ling gives a slight, uncharacteristic shrug as she returns to eating her dinner. "It will be an interesting experience, I am sure."
The grin fades into something more understanding, more gentle, and Melissa nods. "Yeah, I can get that. I've done those too, and they're find for what they are. But different doesn't mean that a barbeque is better or worse, just different. But you'll see for yourself." And then grin reappears, impish this time. "I mean, not all the movies I've subjected you to are bad, now are they?"
That elicits another sigh from Ling, the Chinese woman shaking her head in response. "I suppose not," she replies with a begrudging tone. "That one you were watching when Lynette came by the other day wasn't terrible." Her fajita is finished, Ling turning to the enchilada, not without another sip of her beer. "There have been more than a few new things I have experienced here that aren't entirely terrible."
It takes a moment for Melissa to place the movie, and when she does, she has to fight not to bust out laughing. "Hot Fuzz? You liked Hot Fuzz? Awww…you're expanding your horizons! I'm so proud! Next I'll have you quoting Spaceballs or Princess Bride!" she says, beaming at Ling.
"It was an… interesting movie. Silly as it was, it was an interesting blend of many thing that you don't normally find all together in one good movie." Ling scowls a bit at Melissa, before turning her gaze back to her future. "I would not get your hopes up on such things, Melissa. You're lucky I am arguing less with your selection of movies." That bit is said with a bit of an amused grin.
Melissa laughs and rises to her feet, moving to deal with her dishes. "Ahh, but a few months ago, you wouldn't have even sat through Hot Fuzz, much less liked it," she says, the last in a bit of a sing-song voice. "So I'll hold out hope that you can be brought over to the side of light. We have buttery popcorn and candy!" She glances over to Ling and grins. "And now I am gonna head to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day! Got a bit of work before the barbeque, and hopefully that will exhaust me plenty!"
Melissa's right, that much Ling can't deny. She's never really thought about it much, and she's not sure how she feels about the fact, given her feelings on friendship and the like. But, those are something she keeps to herself for a moment, not quite done with her food and beer. "The offer for help stands," Ling remarks between bites, a glance up to Melissa afterwards. "Do not tire yourself up too much. I have no idea how to run such an event should you pass out sleeping."
Melissa snickers. "I won't pass out. And I wouldn't abandon you like that anyway. Besides, that's what the early-ish bedtime is for!" She starts for the stairs, calling over her shoulder, "Enjoy the food! And see ya tomorrow. Sleep well." Then it's up she goes, to sleep and no doubt have nightmares. Whee!