Players:
Summary: Sophie and Nicholas have a chat by the lake.
Date: July 8, 2012
Log Title: What Troubles You?
Rating: PG-13
Xavier Mansion - Spuyten Duyvil Cove
This little cove leads off to Breakstone Lake. Students can go fishing, boating, and swimming in the fresh water. There is a small beach off to the side of the dock where students can also go sunbathing.
With the light breeze that comes off of the lake, it's become one of the prime spots for Nicholas to relax at in the heat of the summer. Also with there not being much in the way of lakes back home, it's a nice change for him. He lies on a towel in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, with his sandals in the sand next to him, as he looks up at the sky. One hand moves to pick up a rock with telekinesis and then moves his hand so the rock is hurled across the water ending in a splash, as process he seems to be repeating.
Nick's solitude might soon be broken, as Sophie guides herself up the path with her cane. The first real announcement of her presence, though, comes when she nearly trips over something that her cane missed, and she gasps out loud. She stumbles for a moment, and drops her book, though she does at least manage to avoid falling flat on her face. "…So very graceful," she mumbles, as she kneels to pat about for her dropped volume. Then, more loudly; "I hear splashes. Who is there?"
Hearing the voice, Nicholas looks up and upon spotting Sophie gets up. "Need help getting down here?" He asks since she dropped her book. "It's, me, Nick, just hurling rocks into the water with my brain." He reaches down and picks up the book to hand it to her, making sure it put it right in her hand. "So how are you tonight?"
"Oh! Thank you." Sophies clutches the book against herself as she stands up, and dusts off her skirt before flicking her cane around herself, bumping the end of it over Nick's feet in the process. "…Sorry if that was you," she murmurs. "But si, help would be great. Aside from probably bending the pages of this library book, I am quite well, though. And you? You are well also, I hope?"
Nicholas offers Sophie his arm as he leads her to the sand below. "Here should be good, we're a few feet from the water so don't worry about getting wet unless you want to wander about ten feet in front of you. I'm gonna sit back down now, unless you wanna share the blanket." He says moving it so that it's more parallel to the water than vertical, and sits on half of it. "Eh, I'm okay. Which is better than most days."
Sophie clings to Nicholas' arm as he leads her down the beach, forgoing the use of her cane to trust his eyes instead. "Actually, a blanket is a really good idea," she replies, and carefully arranges herself on the other half of it. "Thank you, Nicholas, it is good when people are understanding and helpful, si?" She smiles lightly, though it fades just as quickly. "But… if I may ask, what is it that troubles you?"
It's quite some time before Nicholas speaks, to the point where one might begin to think he's not going to say anything. "That's a rather loaded question." He says with a hint of irritation. "I pretty much lost everything except my horse, so….life troubles me."
Sophie pauses in thought after this, and perks an eyebrow upwards in thought. She purses her lips, and taps the cover of her book with her fingertips. "Well," she murmurs. "I am sorry if it was a touchy question to ask, Nicholas… I do not mean to pry. But, I am glad you still have your horse, si?" She bobs her head once. "But I am sure, if you think about it, there are other things you have, that you maybe haven't realized?"
Nicholas takes a deep breath. "Okay, I lost my parents, I lost my house and home, I lost Bodie, the stable, my girlfriend, my best friend, my truck, my friends, everyone I knew. Every possession I ever owned, I had to run because /everything/ was taken from me and the -only- reason I have Orion is because I ran away on horseback. I'm also apparently wanted for the murder of my parents and I can't even contact my Grandparents in fear of putting their lives in danger as well. So what's there to think about? I have things now yes, but tell me, besides Orion, what haven't I lost?" He sounds quite touchy in regards to the topic. "Maybe the reason I come out here is to try to relax and -not- focus on the stuff that makes me want to hide from everyone."
Sophie sighs softly, and bows her head forwards. "Forgive me," she murmurs. "I did not mean to interupt your serenity, Nicholas; I only sought to help. If you do not wish to speak on the subject, then I shall not push, si?" She folds her cane into itself and flips her book open to a marked page; her fingers move across the page in neat rows, and her lips occasionally move as she reads, though if any whisper is discernable, it would become clear that what she's reading isn't in English. "Nicholas," she murmurs, after a time, "I've been meaning to thank you, for trying to save me from the men who kidnapped me. It was brave of you to fight against all that."
"Honestly, I really don't wish to talk about it, I tend to get too angry and depressed and unpleasant to be around if it's too much on my mind." Nicholas says honestly as he pulls his knees up to his chest to hug them, resting his chin on his knees. "I'm just glad you came out of it all right. I can't just sit there and let someone get hurt, especially if I know them. Just wish I could have done more."
"You did what you could, and that's all anyone could ask or expect." Sophie shrugs her shoulders lightly, before flipping her book to the next page. "It was a reasonably comfortable kidnapping, as kidnappings go… I… think? I've only been kidnapped the once, and I am not eager to try it again," she admits. "But a cage of gold is still a cage… and I am still very glad to be back home, here." She pauses, and tilts her head to one side. "And… si, I really do consider this to be home now, and not Spain."
"This is still too much of a school to feel like home, and too many people. Not that I don't like it here, I've been adjusting okay and I like the friends I've made here, just, it's not North Dakota." Nicholas really misses the small down middle of nowhere home of his. "I've never been kidnapped so I couldn't say, but glad you weren't too hurt or anything. Still wish I could do more to help Jill."
The blind girl hmmms softly. "Perhaps for me, it is different," she murmurs. "I was raised in an orphanage run by a convent; school has been a part of home for me ever since I was old enough to know what home was. The other girls and I slept directly above the classroom." She pauses, and reaches up to scratch the back of her head. "Well, at least until after the fire. It was rebuilt differently… but I never saw it after that, and I could never quite get it in my head what was above what, with those spiral staircases." She sighs softly, and shakes herh ead. "I know not what to do for Jill but pray," she adds. "And I do that every day."
At the mention of fire, almost every muscle in Nick's body tenses. "That explains why you always dress as an old woman." He mutters to try to break the tension he's feeling on his end. "Sorry hear about the fire though, so you weren't always blind? And as for praying, I don't do it as much as I used to, I just don't think about it as much."
Sophie sputters loudly, and her face takes on a deep, red complexion. "Old… what?! Mi Dios, what is wrong with how I dress?" She brushes her fingers through her hair, taming a few locks that have gotten out of control. "But no, I was not.. always blind. During the fire, the nuns works to get us all out, but I fell through the floor. I was hurt… I took infection, and I lost my sight. It… has been a hard thing to get used to. But I am used to it."
Nicholas chuckles at her reaction. "When's the last time you wore a pair of jeans, or a t-shirt that didn't have buttons and/or a collar?" He's not making fun of her as much as trying to focus on anything but what's really on his mind. "Sorry to hear that. I…fire doesn't seem to hurt me. I don't know why, something with my powers. It's the only reason I didn't die."
"Then it sounds as though your powers are a blessing," she murmurs. "Or perhaps that is merely the automatic response that I have built into my mind? You might not think so, so much… but that is for you to decide, and not my place to judge, I think." She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "I got a lot of scraped knees and elbows for a while, afterwards. Walking with a cane is a skill, let me tell you. But… Jeans? I… well, never. But I like skirts." She sets her book aside, and smooths out the example of the afore-mentioned garment that she happens to be wearing. "There's nothing wrong with skirts, is there? …I suppose next you will tell me that I should let the girls take me shopping." She smirks at the thought, and shakes her head. "Just as long as they don't trick me into buying things that don't match."
"I really don't care what you wear, it's on you. It just explains why you dress so conservative and not like most teens is all. If you wanna go shopping with them, that's up to you. I really don't care." Nicholas says, he's a guy he's not really interested in girl shopping sprees or even suggesting them. "Yeah, a blessing. A selfish blessing where I can save myself but noone else I care about. I guess it's a blessing to have something hurt someone you care about but not you."
Sophie shakes her head slowly, and sighs, as she falls silent. "I am sorry," she murmurs. "I…" The blind girl pauses once more, and bows her head forwards. "I do not wish to make you uncomfortable, by pressing the point," she says at last. "But if ever you do wish to talk, then I will listen, si?" She picks up her book once more, and returns to the place she was at before. "But, I will say… that you are a blessing. I know I thought so, when you stood up for me."
"Thanks." Nicholas mutters with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm gonna head inside, should be trying to get some sleep. Do you want me to help you back to the school or do you want to hang out here for a bit?" He's just feeling a bit depressed now and wants to be alone, Nick's hoping that getting a few hours of sleep will help with that.
The blind girl bobs her head. "Si, I will come back with you," she murmurs. "It is getting cold, so I know the night is falling. I oughtn't be out here alone." She stands up, and snaps her cane out to full length. "If there is ever anything I can do… you need only say so, si?"
Offering an arm, Nick leads her back to the dorms, saying very little most of the walk. "Thanks, but I just need some alone time right now. Have a good night Sophie and I'm glad you're back safe and sound. I was worried." He admits before heading off to the boys floor of the dorms.
