Participants:
| Scene Title | Of Incidents |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Huruma is Claire's new bunkmate, having returned to finish what she helped to start; Magnes finds this and more out quite by accident. |
| Date | January 5, 2010 |
It's getting a bit later into the evening, and Magnes has a tray of two apple pies and two mini-cartons of chocolate milk; he's been drinking the hell out of the Navy's chocolate milk. Heading in the direction of Claire's room, with the white double-strapped medical eye patch over his left eye, a white NAVY shirt, blue jeans, and white sneakers, he seems to be in a fairly alright mood. Sure, Claire has amnesia, but at least she's not dead.
Not yet. The door to her room opens, and for a split second Magnes is probably hopeful! His hopes are then probably shattered- and possibly he'll be totally surprised- when Huruma slinks out of Claire's room, shutting the door behind her very quietly. She is dressed in olive drab pants, boots, and a black shirt that hugs tight against her torso- the little UA logo betrays the shadows on her making it look like nothing at all. The white matches her eyes, which have since settled quite dramatically onto Magnes in the hallway.
She seems the same physically, apart from the fading marks of stitches along her upper arm. Her demeanor, as Magnes has always known it, is just different enough that he will be able to notice; her usually tightly strung look has gotten less so, and generally more …warm. It's new, but not entirely foreign. Just uncommon.
"Huruma?" Magnes asks in utter confusion, not being too different in demeanor, except he carries himself with a bit more confidence and a lot less clumsiness. Though it's been such a long time since they've seen eachother, he's clearly grown a bit in the muscle tone department, that much can be seen from the visible portions of his arms… though he's still a long way from Teo. "What are you doing here, and why with Claire?"
Huruma hasn't moved away from the door yet, still taking a set of mental notes on Magnes- his physical changes, his emotional storm- and her gaze finally settles down on his face. "What is it with you people and eyes." Air passes out through her nose, voice sombering. Her way of saying 'you're missing something'. "I am needed f'th'rest of this trip, that is why I am here. They've bunked me wit'Claire. …Did you'ave fun in Argentina?" Huruma's voice jumps tone, purring out the name of the country with a spare beat.
Magnes' emotions are definitely somewhat of a storm, though most of that confusion is pushed aside for surprise and curiosity at the moment. He sits the tray aside, in the air, so it's just floating there while he looks her over, still in a bit of disbelief that she's even here. "I wouldn't call it fun. We were stalked by robot animals, I got my eye taken by a raptor while we were trying to get out of there before the airstrike and the base's self-destruction, we ate God-knows-what for a month, but, well, at least I got to pilot a giant robot out of there?" He shrugs, only a tad bitter about the trip, but it wasn't all bad. "Oh, and Kazimir taught me to use my ability better."
Though she is not about to go into a total pissing match about which trip was worse, a measure of disbelief is written in her eyes. Huruma is skeptical of him, but possibly because it is Magnes. Her eyes do narrow at the mention of that name so tossed around, lips thinning together. "Mmm. We got a monstrous dictator, his little Mengele, malaria, an'zombies." Did she seriously just say that? Yep. Giant robots and zombies. "And so much else that frankly- I am no'surprised Claire forgot so much, shotgun o'not."
"Some good in th'end- Madagascar is back in th'hands o'her people."
"I was worried about Madagascar before this overseas stuff even started, so I'm glad things turned out alright for the country. But, um, zombies? I mean, I know there's some weird stuff, and a robot even took my eye, but, zombies… I think I'm grateful for the robots now." Magnes almost shivers as a chill goes down his spine, rubbing his arms for a moment. Though mentioning Claire… that certainly gets him thinking. "I… don't wanna ask her, I don't wanna make her re-live it. Can you tell me what she went through? I'm her boyfriend, I should know, even if it is painful."
"Weeks of travel through th'jungle, gunfights with militiamen, Danko showing up, getting taken by Rasoul's men- Lang, the Butcher. I heard th'Mengele had her afte'that. I was not there. I was for th'incident wit'Gabriel-" Incident? "But she turned out t'be much more resilient than I had first thought her t'be." Coming from Huruma, that is a very valuable compliment. "When th'best part of th'trip was likely meeting th'MLF- I suspect she'ad quite an experience, f'better or f'worse."
Huruma's fingers find the edges of her back pockets, and the tall woman meanders closer to Magnes, inspecting him somewhat critically.
Magnes' fists clinch, a mixture of anger and pain rising in the pit of his stomach as he listens. He tries to take a deep breath, attempting to keep a calm demeanor. "I'm not sure if I want to know what all they did to her, I don't wanna see her any differently. But, what about Gabriel? I mean, he promised me he wouldn't do anything. What happened?"
It takes some power for Huruma not to scoff and laugh. She manages not to, but instead Magnes is given a look that already tells him the answer. "Wha'd'you think he did? He tried t'break her head open." Perhaps out of necessity to say something else, or perhaps to distract him from what she said, Huruma goes on with an assuring voice, now hovering rather close, with her head tilted toward the young man. "I stopped him."
"Thank you." is said quite genuinely, though the underlaying rage in his tone doesn't take an ability to detect. Magnes looks behind him, then back to her, that tray still floating fairly close to them. "Do you know where he is now? I need to speak with him." Speak is a relative term when one is told that someone tried to pop their girlfriend's skull open.
"No." Huruma gazes back at Magnes for a few long, somewhat awkward seconds. "You cannot go after him. He was unwell- there was a prophet, an'he was spooked." This is the first time that perhaps anyone from Madagascar has directly mentioned Usutu- at least to Magnes. Etana has been mentioned in passing, most likely- but nothing about a prophet.
"I know what's wrong with Gabriel." Magnes says in a manner that suggests he does-not-care. He holds a hand out for the tray, which carefully moves into his hands again, then he looks to Claire's room. "I'm gonna go look at Claire's face, talk to her for a bit. I'll see if I feel like forgiving someone for trying to hurt her even more after I'm done." He does not seem very concerned about a prophet.
Maybe he'll remember that whispery allusion when it fits into the puzzle- of all people, Magnes knows the power of a man that can paint the future. One day it will click, and Huruma expects it even if it does not come now. "Something I learned on th'island, Magnes… Forgiveness is th'attribute of the strong, an'one o'th'highest forms of human love." This does …not really sound like the Huruma he first met. Something is different. "But, t'quote Wilde- 'always forgive your enemies, as nothing annoys them more'. I'd adopt th'philosophy of forgiveness m'self, but it is not m'expertise." And she is not as mighty as she would have thought, weeks ago. "You seem like you can'andle it, though."
"You're a nicer person than I thought." Magnes didn't know her too well, but he certainly knew she was big and scary! He walks to lean his back against the wall, next to Claire's door. "I don't know, I can try, but, I think you're overestimating me. I've gotten revenge, I've hurt people who hurt me or people I liked, and it felt good, I don't feel bad for it, at all, they deserved it. An eye for an eye is more the philosophy I live by. I love Claire, and anyone who tries to hurt her… I'm going to hurt them."
"But in th'end, nothing happened to her." Huruma narrows her eyes slightly. "In truth, I am the same as you. But you may thank m'son for his kindness. Else I may'ave let you at Gabriel jus't'see how fast he can smash a man." Make no mistake- Huruma's not really a nice person- her family is nice, and that immediacy has rubbed off a bit. Not to mention that she's always been truly kind only to those she loves. Ouch.
"I'd like to see him try. No one can escape gravity, it's everywhere, it's inside you, and I can take and give it freely. We'll see what Gabriel has to say, I'll give him a chance." Magnes looks to the door, biting his bottom lip slightly. "She can't remember me, she can't remember one shred of our relationship."
Huruma looks past him, then to the door, then to the other side of the hall before moving to go. "Caring for an immortal is not for th'inexperienced- but if you are going t'love her, love her now."
"One day I'll be immortal too, and I'll always love her." Magnes doesn't much elaborate on that, simply slipping into the room and leaving Huruma with that.