Participants:
| Scene Title | Welcomed, Wanted |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | The Varlane girls welcome Huruma home. |
| Date | March 1, 2018 |
Bay Ridge: Nicole's Home
Settling into the Safe Zone hasn't been too much of a hassle; between Lynette's graciousness and Huruma's own tendency to figure things out, she's already made a comfortable spot for herself here by the time she has a date to visit Nicole and Phillipa. It's after Nicole has finished at work, the weather is more cold than wet again. When Huruma arrives at the front of a row of Bay Ridge homes, she is bundled against it. From the faint crust of snow on her boots, she has walked. Her fist against the door is a little more abrupt thanks to the chill on her nose, but Nicole knows she is coming to visit. Huruma eases up on the knocking after the first thump, a sheepish lip given at the closed door.
There's a muted "Coming!" from inside the home. Footsteps can be heard over hardwood floors, growing closer, followed by the sound of the deadbolt being thrown. The door opens to reveal a beaming Nicole. Her hair is longer than it was the last time Huruma saw her, but other than that, she's barely changed a bit. "It's so good to see you!" She steps aside and ushers her into the entryway. "Come in, come in! Let me take your coat. Do you want some cocoa? Or coffee? I could put a pot on."
When Nicole gets the door, Huruma has been listening to the patter of feet and the bubble of her aura; the other woman gets an immediate smile when she opens the house, and it doesn't take much convincing to get Huruma inside so she can close the door against the late winter air.
"Cocoa sounds lovely, really…" Huruma shrugs her way out of the long coat with a puff of relief through her teeth, the cold dissipating. She wears a long, softly knit green sweater underneath, draped over hip and the stretch of pants. Nicole can attest to the softness of the former because Huruma doesn't give her much time between her coat getting hung before she wraps Nicole's shoulders up in a hug against her side. There. That's better. "You look lovely too."
Once the coat is hung up in the closet, Nicole is turning to hug Huruma with a broad smile. "Thank you! So do you!" Still dressed for work in a cream colored blouse that ties at the neck and drapes to her waist over a black pencil skirt, all that's been removed so far is her blazer. She's still wearing her low pumps even.
"Pippa!" Nicole calls into the house for her daughter. "Company's here!" Then in a softer voice, back to Huruma, she says, "I'll go get that cocoa started. Come in and make yourself at home."
Exiting the entryway on the right is the living room, with a large window that looks out onto the street outside. There's a couch backed up to it and a coffee table in front. A rocking chair is set off to one side of the room by a wood burning fireplace. The living room carpet gives way to linoleum tile of the kitchen on one end and a hallway on the far side of the room from the entry. It's from that hallway that little footsteps come sounding.
Little Pippa Varlane bursts from the hallway, all blonde curls, black leggings and a tee shirt with looping gold cursive lettering that states: Curly Hair Don't Care. She stops in the center of the living room and stares at their guest with wide eyes. "Hooma?" she gasps, delighted.
There's a discernible cheer that comes from Huruma that has nothing to do with her ability, and most to do with her visible mood. Her smile errs more subtle, but doesn't fade. Make yourself at home, she says. So she will. Huruma takes a quick look around the living room as she enters, sure to take off her snow-crusted boots first. Her head seems to track the patter of feet through the walls before Pippa bursts in.
Huruma's laugh can be heard from rooms away, of course, a melodic sort of sound, low and delighted right in turn. She swoops in on Pippa's tiny frame, hooking her arms under the young girl and bringing her up into a loving embrace.
"Pipi, my little love~, how are you?" Huruma's voice coos, affectionate and warm. "Have you been a good girl?"
The little girl squeals with delight when she's scooped up, and she wraps her arms tightly around Huruma's shoulders. "Uh huh!" Pippa plants a kiss on Huruma's cheek. "I missed you! Where did you go?" She's no stranger to the adults in her life coming and going, understanding their travels and that they'll come back eventually. She awaits the stories they bring back eagerly.
Nicole watches from the kitchen entry while milk heats on the stove for that cocoa she promised. She smiles with pride at her daughter and at the touching moment with her friend.
"I missed you too." The peck on her cheek is answered with one in kind to the mop of curls, Huruma's mood ebbing a little into the room around her. Her eyes are bright as she moves to the couch, one arm still looped around Pippa when she falls in against the cushions, fully intending on some schmoozing time with her littlest biggest fan. "I went to visit my other family! My son, my daughter, and my grandson. they live far away across the sea. Do you know where Madagascar is?"
Pippa's blonde head gives a shake, rapt with attention. But then her face lights up and she says, "That's the mitten!"
Nicole laughs into her hand, eyes sparkling with mirth. "That's Michigan, sweetheart."
"Oh." Pippa frowns as she tries to think, but then she shakes her head again. "Where's Mad'scar?"
Mitten? Oh. Huruma laughs, glancing after Nicole before turning Pippa around on her lap so she can pull out her phone from a pocket. Both arms are hooped around the girl on her lap while she pulls up a visual of the continents. There are GPS blips here and there, mostly clustered in the state. "It is on the other side of the world. Here we are—" East of the mitten, where the blips are.
"And aaallll the way over here is Madagascar…" A finger traces a line all the way across the ocean. She says the name more slowly this time so that Phillipa can follow the sounds. "I was very far away, see?"
Pippa draws in a slow breath, audible with her astonishment. "That's so far! Did you fly?" she asks with a big smile, leaning a little closer to the phone's screen, but she doesn't reach out to touch. Her mother taught her well. "Do you have pictures??" Her attention turns back to Huruma's face, eyes big as saucers, excited.
"Yes, I flew. My arms are very tired." Huruma answers, letting Pippa figure out the joke or not on her own. It could go either way. She flicks her way to a photo gallery, starting a slideshow of it for Pippa. "I do."
Lots of photos of the jungle, at first, then come more of the towns. Then the city, and ones of Huruma's family across the pond. There is a subtle shift in tech from town to city, and the country seems to have adopted its futurism and conservation. One photo is even of a building covered in jungle foliage. "These are ''my'' children. That is my grandson." The photo of the three of them is taken as a candid, from a little offsides while the twins weren't looking. Badrani seems to have caught her, his eyes on the camera with a smirk.
It takes a moment, because Pippa's been told that some people can fly, but they don't need to flap their arms. Once the realization comes to her, she giggles. Then she's watching the screen again and smiling wide. "Wow!" The jungle fascinates her. "So green!" But when she sees Huruma's family, she's extra delighted. "Can I meet them someday? Can I go with next time?"
That's Nicole's cue to go back into the kitchen and check on that milk before she can be begged. She trusts her friend to deflect that for her.
Huruma's smile touches her eyes at the giggling, one arm giving Pippa another squeeze. "I think maybe when you are older." Her cheek bumps against hair. "But I hope you can meet them someday." One is definitely easier than the other, all things considered.
"I have something for you— since I just missed your birthday." Huruma sets the phone down to fish back into her pocket, producing a small paper package for Pippa to take. "I hope you like it."
Inside is a re-sizable bracelet, wood and resin, the latter embedded with tiny green leaves and a single vanilla bloom.
The girl heaves a great sigh. "I can't grow up fast enough," she laments. From the kitchen, there's a tremor that Huruma can feel in the air. Her mother clearly dreads her daughter growing up too quickly. But there's talk of gifts now, and that chases away all the gloom of not being old enough to travel to the jungle to make best friends with Huruma's children. "You got me a present?!" Pippa asks excitedly.
She takes the little pacakge and tears into it oh-so-carefully and smiles brightly at the contents. The bracelet is quickly slid onto her wrist, which she then proudly holds up to show off. "I love it, Hooma! It's so pretty!" She snuggles up close. "Thank you!"
Nicole returns with two mugs of cocoa. One clearly Huruma sized and a tiny one for Pippa. They're set on coasters on the coffee table. She smiles as the arm with the bracelet is held out toward her now to admire. "It's very pretty, Pip. That was very nice of Huruma." She smiles gratefully. "Thank you for remembering."
"Do not grow up too fast, little cub. Stay small so I can carry you around." Huruma kisses the top of Pippa's head again, grinning down at her when she snuggles up. Her fingers comb idly over some of the blonde curls as Nicole ventures back with the cocoa. "I have a little something for your mother too. I hope she likes it as much as you did yours." Huruma stage-whispers at Pippa, brows lifting and lips in a curve, eyes flicking up to Nicole again.
"I did not have a birthday to make up, per se, but I thought of you…" Huruma produces a small velvet box to offer to Nicole, eyes settling on her with a more serious smile. "Because I am a firm believer that sometimes people simply deserve nice things."
The necklace is simple and the pendant has a slight geometric look; rose gold with a blue topaz that matches the blaze of Nicole's eyes when she uses her ability, bold and electric.
"Huruma…" Nicole takes the box, her smile tinged with a little more emotion, her eyes slightly glassy. "You didn't have to do that." Which is why it means so much that she has. "Thank you." She opens the box and gasps quietly.
"I think she likes it," Pippa whispers loudly back to Huruma.
"Yes. I like it very much." Nicole gently lifts the necklace out of the box, setting it aside so she can put it on. "What do you think, Pipsqueak?"
"Oooooh! You're so pretty, Mommy."
"Thank you, sweetheart. And thank you, Huruma." Nicole bends down, resting a hand on Huruma's shoulder as she leans in to give her a peck on the cheek. "I'm so glad we have you back home."
Pippa's whisper and Nicole's smile tell Huruma one thing, and that's that she definitely did have to do it— at least in her own mind, it was an excellent investment in expressing herself. Huruma whispers a 'yeah'? to Pippa, pale eyes moving back to Nicole as she puts the necklace on.
She lets Phillipa speak the next for her— it looks as nice as Huruma had hoped. Her expression when Nicole plants an affectionate peck to her cheek is cozy, a quiet contentedness that seems to drape across the rest of her like the tickle of feathers.
"I am glad to be home." Huruma's eyes are half-lidded when she looks to Nicole, smile subduing to a crescent of her full lips. "And welcomed." A flicker of teeth show through at Nicole before Huruma's hand tickles a bit at Pippa's side. Welcomed, wanted.