2011-12-04: Birthday Vacation Pt 1

Players:

Hosea_icon.jpg SophieD_icon.jpg

Summary: Hosea's surprise birthday present to Sophie turns out to be a surprise to both of them.

Date: Sunday, December 4, 2011. 4:03pm

Log Title: Birthday Vacation: Part 1

Rating: G


Xavier Mansion - Attic

Every wall is made of glass up to the domed ceiling. Storm has really done her work up here over time and turned it into quite the indoor garden. The room is separated into different parts for the different plants that are in there. There are flowers, vegetable plants, herbs, shrubs, small trees and much more. There are plants that shouldn't even be able to be found in this northern climate but they thrive up here. Anyone wanting to come up here for fresh herbs, fruit or vegetables are welcome to steal from the indoor garden. Depending on the time of year, various different species of flowers and different fruits and vegetables grow. In one area there are a few small fountains and a bench with some fresh dirt on the the ground with trees and plants all around. It seems like a good spot for meditation.


Hosea's birthday and Sophie's just happen to be a day apart from one another, and they are now. Sunday night, and Hosea is excited far more about Sophie's birthday coming up than his own. "We are almost to da top of da stairs," he tells her as they reach the top of the attic steps, entering the room filled with vegetative smells. "I am so happy dat it is almost your birthday, are you excited?" he asks. "I have tried hard to choose a gift for you dat you would enjoy."

"Of course!" is Sophie's cheerful reply, while she walks with a constant probing of the stairs in front of her with her cane. "Though I am trying not to wish away my youth — I would rather savor it, si?" She sweeps the cane in a circle around herself once the top of the stairs are achieved. "And yours is coming just a day later, too. Are you excited, also? …I have a gift for you, too. I did have help, though." The blind girl pauses, clinging tightly to Hosea's arm as she allows him to lead her into the attic. "But, truely… the greatest gift would be your company."

"Ah," Hosea says, "Yes, my birthday is tomorrow," he admits. "But today is your birthday, yes? I thought, "What do I get da most beautiful girl in da school for her birthday, and I think, "Hah, I know, I can take her to any place in da world dat she wants to go. And so I worked vedy hard, I try to work in my teleporting, so I can manage to take you wherever you like to be in da world!" The Nigerian places an arm around Sophie's shoulder. "And we can spend da time togetha dere for da day."

Sophie is, in a word, flabbergasted; she has absolutely nothing to say for a good thirty seconds, while her jaw hangs slack. "I… Hosea, that's incredible," she spits out at last, tilting her head up to gaze in Hosea's general direction. "I mean, really, that's amazing. Anywhere at all?" She breaks into a proud grin, and bobs her head. "Si, thank you, very much! You must have been practicing very, very much, si?"

"Yes!" Hosea reinforces. "I borrowed a Global positioning satellite device. It is vedy good at telling us where we are." He pulls the device from his pocket. "We can take it, and it will tell us where we are exactly, and if I know what da coordinates are, I can teleport until we get to dere. I think dat we could get to anywhere in da world with just a couple of hours at da most! I think to myself. "I can get to da New York City in just a few seconds, why not keep going and get anywhere in da world, yes? I only need to know exactly which way to go until I find it. Anywhere at all, yes!"

"How about a beach?" Sophie stands a little straighter, after the cheerfully impulsive suggestion. "I mean… a beach somewhere where it's hot this time of year, si? And the sky is clear… do you know of any good islands? So long as that is not too difficult. I do not know if you can cross the water, yet?" She blushes softly, "Of course, I will need to see if I have a good bathing suit, first, if this is within your power. It has been a very long time since I have been swimming."

Hosea grins, "Yes, I can go across da water," he tells Sophie. "But you will have to hold on tight, yes? It takes me many jumps to get across da ocean. When you go to da south part of da world, da seasons are opposite, yes? And dere are all da islands on da ocean dat are still warm. We can go get your swimsuit, and I will get one too, and we can go!" The African takes Sophie by the hand. "Whenever you are ready."

Sophie collapses her can into itself and lets it dangle from the loop around her wrist, before stepping around in front of hosea and clasping her hands around his shoulders. "Si," she replies, as she burries herself against his chest. "I shall hold on very tight; but I know that you will not drop me anyway, even if I lost my grip." She bobs her head, once. "I am ready," she murmurs.

There is a quick trip back to the dorm to get swimsuits on, and beyond that a trip to the school library to look up the coordinates to a good island. Papa New Guinea seemed like a good place, near the equator makes it certain to be warm. "Okay, here we go." He holds Sophie tightly, checks the direction to begin the teleporting frenzy, takes a deep breath, and launches into the air. Off they go!

By now, Sophie is quite used to Hosea's teleportation; to the sudden rush of being displaced from one place in reality to another. The blind girl hangs on tight, of course, but where she used to be hanging on in terror, now she simply holds on and enjoys the ride. She still holds her breath, and for the duration of the journey, she keeps her thoughts to herself and remains silent, lest she distract Hosea and cause him to make a mistake that may throw them wildly off course (and send them to Antarctica or something).


Wharton Forest - New Jersey

// The tall evergreens reach into the sky from the lush forest ground, swallowing all that is blue above with a thick green life. Fallen leaves from a variety of other trees litter the ground, along with brush and logs. The sound of wildlife can be heard everywhere, from ground squirrels to birds, filling the undeveloped area with a refreshing sense of life.//


The air whips bitterly in the chilly december midday, with the antipode of warm sun felt on the cheeks. The Nigerian holds the GPS in one hand, and his other arm wrapped tightly about Sophie to keep her with him as each invisible door is passed through a little bit further south. The GPS beeps as it relocates them every few jumps, the falling sensation increasing at those times as Hosea pauses his jump long enough for the GPS to catch up to their new location. It's several minuts that pass, a variety of temperatures, some colder, some warmer, pass across the pair as they skip along the sky toward the exciting prospect of reaching a warm beach.

Then, something changes. Hosea's sure placement starts to waver, and they teleport upside down, and are suddenly falling head first. There is another teleport in attempt to correct the problem, and a certain weightlessness can be found. A third in the series arrives into an area quite unlike the open sky, the ambient sounds indicate that they are much closer to the gr —
— Impact. Just before the sudden jarring feeling that can only be interpreted as collision with a tree branch, Hosea's hands and legs alike wrap about Sophie's head, body and legs in a panicked move of protection. There is a deafening crack as Hosea's back strikes the branch. It is followed by smaller twigs and branches scraping along the both of them as they fall. It seems that they are falling through a large tree.

Sophie's calm wavers at the moment when they seem to be upside down; but she doesn't tense up, not much, as her trust on Hosea never falters. Of course, the task of keeping calm becomes less and less doable as the situation deteriorates; soon they aren't just upside down, but they seem to be falling through a tree. Sophie's arms grab tightly to Hosea's shoulders, and she shrieks wordlessly as the tree branches whip past them, and impact with Hosea — though for the moment his protective bulk is enough to save her from similar treatment. She instinctively tucks her legs up close and presses hersef tightly against the Nigerian. "Hosea!" she screams, a sudden, desperate pani as things seem to be going wrong; but ultimately, she can do little but wait the plummet to the ground to be over.

The final landing is at an angle. Hosea's shoulder slams into the ground, which in this case seems to be a rotting log. Soft splinters of richly smelling decaying wood spray up as he lands without any grace to the final resting place. The smells and sounds of a forest, not a beach, seem to surround the two. A brisk winter day greets them instead of a sunny shore. The foilage is wet from a recent rainfall. Hosea says nothing, does nothing. He is still breathing, but whatever went wrong seems to have thrown him off enough that the impact with the ground has knocked him unconscious.

"Hosea!" Sophie shouts the name before moving. She shakes her head, and slowly, gingerly draws herself up. She rests a hand on the Nigerian's chest, verifying for herself that he is indeed still breathing; but of course, she gets no response. "Hosea! Hosea, are you alright? Hosea, please, say something, si?" The Spanish girl brushes her fingertips through her hair, while a trickle of moisture appears beneath her blindfold from one eye. Slowly, she probes the ground beside Hosea, and after making sure it is safe she crawls off to kneel at the man's side.

Sophie sucks in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. She wipes her hands on her skirt, and swallows noisily before feeling across Hosea once more. She rests one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest. Her brow furrows, and whispers a prayer in her native Spanish. As she murmurs, her hands take on a brilliant white glow, as she radiates the healing energies she generates into the fallen man's body.

It is several seconds after the healing begins that Hosea starts to come back around. He blinks a few times, and looks up at the canopy above. "Are you all right, Sophie?" He asks immediately, trying to pick himself up. With a wince, he realizes this is a failing effort. His collarbone and shoulder are broken from the fall, though he makes no grunt to indicate the pain, it effectively keeps him from mobilizing himself. "I am sorry, I do not know what happened to me."

"Oh!" Sophie's prayer ceases, though her healing does not. "I do not know either," she confesses. "Everything seemed fine, and then we were falling through a tree," she observes, as she moves her hand on Hosea's chest a little lower. "I am alright. You protected me very well, si? I have some cuts from the tree I think, if that is what it was, but nothing serious. Are you in pain? It is hard for me to tell; is anything broken?" She shifts her hand to rest on Hosea's temple, instead of his forehead. "I am doing my best," she murmurs. "It is helping, si?"

Hosea curls his lip at his injury. "Yes, It is," Hosea says. "Hah, I have never been healed before by a powah, God has gifted you greatly, yes?" He forces a smile, though he is still in pain. "I believe dat I have broken my shouldah, I do not know how I will take us out of heah. Maybe I have ova-estimated my ability to teleport long distances. I suddenly became vedy disoriented, and could not focus on what direction we would face, and den I could not control which direction we would go. I did not expect dis. Now I have trapped us in a place dat is not vedy warm. It is not a good birthday present I fear."

"Shhh," Sophie murmurs, sparing a moment to brush her fingertips over Hosea's forehead and smooth back his hair. "It is alright. Time to spend with you is a gift, always, si? Wether we are on a beach and swimming, or in a cold orest having an adventure." She adopts a calm, soothing smile, as she shifts her other hand upwards, her palm soon coming to rest just below Hosea's throat. The ratiation continues to emenate from her hands, inducing Hosea's body to repair itself at an impressive speed. "The pain will stop soon," she murmurs. "I have gotten much better at the healing, si? And then we can think about where we are."

"Yes, you are vedy good at it," Hosea admits. "We made it past New York City," the Nigerian states. "But it is hard to know which state is which when you look at it from da sky." He glances at the overcast sky above, now that they are below the clouds it is harder to tell which way is north. "We need to learn which way it is dat we are facing, den we can work on going forward." Or back, which might be the better idea.
Sophie nods her head quickly. "Si," she replies. "Though, I fear I will be of little help in that. I could not tell you even if it is daytime," she admits. "Only, tell me when the pain has stopped, and your shoulder is well? I have not healed many broken bones… but normally, not more than fifteen or twenty minutes seems to be enough." She pauses, and bites her bottom lip, whle she continues to work in silence for several minutes. "I am so relieved that you are alright, Hosea. I thought you might have been hurt much worse, and I was terrified. But it seems that not tree is a match for you."

"Hah! You can tell dat to my shouldah. It hurts quite a bit to hit such a large tree, and I think dat da tree does not feel da pain like I do, yes?" Hosea laughs it off, but tries to remain still. He looks around, "I am not sure where da GPS fell. We shall need it to know what direction is north heah. It shall need to be soon, I would not want us to catch cold out heah in da forest. I would feel ratha terrible if you were to become ill."

"I can start a fire," Sophie murmurs. "A neutron blast ought to do it, I've started fires before. Just… I would need you to collect the wood, si?" She bobs her head slowly, and her golden hair falls unkept about her face as she works; she lets it be, concentrating fully on her efforts. "Did you break anything else? Or just the shoulder? Truely, I am amazed you are not hurt far more seriously. A guardian angel must have been on your side, si? Looking after you and softening the fall."

"Ahh," Hosea says, nodding from his immobilized position. "Dat would be a good thing. Soon I should be able to get da wood." Of course, a few minutes later, he indeed is able to do just that, and he gets himself to his feet. "It is not quite what I had in mind for your birthday, maybe next time I will get you flowers and be simple, yes?" He chuckles.

Sophie giggles softly, and her hands go back to normal as she stands up along with Hosea. "Perhaps," she replies, in a mysterious tone of voice. "But truely, Hosea, it is still a wonderful present." She snaps her white cane out to full length, and sweeps it in a circle around her; that done, she holds out her left hand towards Hosea. "If we become seperated, I will fire off a blast so you may find me again, si?"

"Dere is plenty of wood nearby, but it is all wet. Can you set it on fire while it is damp?" Hosea asks, starting to gather some of it up. "We should not separate, I do not know what animals might be heah. I woul dnot want you to get into trouble. It will be bettah if we stay together."

"Of course," Sophie replies, dropping her arm for the moment since they seem not to be going anywhere. "Damp… I… I don't know. It may take me more than one try; I should not try more than twice I think, I have only so much energy." She pauses, and manages to giggle softly. "I sound like a robot from one of the space movies that the boys like to watch, si?" She shakes her head slowly. "Well… I shall try," she murmurs, her tone growing more serious once more. "Light would be good, si? At least for you."

"Hah, you are a vedy pretty robot, den," Hosea answers. He starts to clear a space on the ground, pulling together some damp wood. "I will be dirty I think," he warns, "dere is much mud." After he has cleared the space, he reaches out to take Sophie's hand so that he can point her finger where the prepared pile of wood lies. "Okay, well, now here goes nothing, yes?" He stands back a little, not wanting to be caught on fire himself, and not being certain of what will happen if he is too close.

Sophie takes note of the direction her finger is being pointed, and bobs her head once. "Si," she replies. "Alright… we shall try." She extends her palm, and sucks in a deep breath; she holds it, letting hte moment linger as she gathers her concentration. The palm of her hand takes on a roiling, angry glow, before a harsh sound like metal claws on a chalkboard splits the air, sending a few birds to flight from the underbrush with panicked cries. A searing lance of energy blasts into the wood, and Sophie keeps up the beam for a couple of seconds before letting off. "…Hosea?" she murmurs. "Did it work?"

Hosea watches as the water sizzles off and the wood smokes. "It did some," the African says, "But not yet enough to make a fire. He starts to gather some tinder to place underneath the drying wood, and finds the GPS laying in the brush. The screen is cracked. He doesn't say anything though, he just slips it into his pocket. "Why do you not try once more, I think it will burn da way dat we want it to den."

Sophie nods her head quickly. "Very well," she murmurs. She holds her palm out once more, having taken note of the intended fire's previous position. "You are out of the way, si? I heard your footsteps beside me." She bobs her head, giving Hosea ample time to protest just in case, before firing another blast into the fire. As she does, the glow coming from her chest becomes noticeably less bright; but at least the fire is lit, with flames crackling away nicely. "I think that has done it," she murmurs, entirely unsuspecting about the GPS, naturally.

"Yes!" Hosea agrees, "It is vedy good. I think dat I will need to rest before we attempt to return. "Did you eat before we left?" he asks. "I did not think dat we would have this stop. We must be careful to conserve our strenght, I maybe will be able to try to teleport us again in a while. I am feeling vedy tired, though, I do not want to have the same trouble repeat itself, yes?" The African moves back to Sophie's side, and puts an arm around her waist.

Sophie leans up against Hosea, and puts her arm around his middle in kind. "I had a light snack," she admits, "Though I wasn't feeling very hungry at the time. …And even blind girls need to watch their weight," she adds, letting her lips quirk upwards briefly. "If you are tired, then you should rest. You were badly hurt after we fell. If I hear anything frightening I can wake you if you fall asleep." She holds her free hand out towards the fire, to feel the warmth of the flames. "The fire is good. I am glad I wore my bathing suit under my clothes, or it would be much colder."

Hosea nods. "Perhaps, but you should stay close, We do not want to have any unwelcome visitors, yes?" Hosea takes the towel he had brought along and lets it unfold. "I am a vedy light sleepah, so I shall be ready to wake up if you need me, does it sound good to you?" he asks. His foot sweeps away some of the twigs from the ground, and then he lays the towel on the cleared space before sitting down on it.

"Si." Sophie nods once. "I shall do my best to stay awake while you rest, also, and shall be listening very carefully to what goes on around us. …if I cannot stay awake any longer, I shall wake you then, yes?" She smiles softly, and clasps her hands around her cane while Hosea cleans up the ground a bit. "I do not feel overly tired just now, so I think I shall be fine for a while."

"It is dark," Hosea says. "Da woods will make many noises. Do not be worried, we will be able to leave when I have rested." He reaches behind where Sophie stands, while remaining on the towel. He tugs on a piece of log, bringing it behind Sophie, and it settles behind her. "Der, you can now sit down, it is much bettah," he says. "I will see you soon, yes?" The Nigerian places his head down on the ground, and closes his eyes to rest.

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