ArchivedLogs:Full Circle

Full Circle
Dramatis Personae Aloke, Mallory	2014-03-09 Travel is exhausting.
Location <XS> Roof; then Paris, France; then somewhere near Bangalore, India.
The view from up here is phenomenal, a panorama of the expansive Xavier's grounds, forest and lake and rocky cliffs alike. Even without the view outwards, the rooftop itself holds its own delights, in the form of the tiny jewel of a flower garden tucked away up here, tended by one of the school's teachers. From the edge of the roof, with a very careful jump, it looks like it just might be possible to reach the treehouse in the old oak tree. Aloke had set their bags in a nook on the roof of Xavier's before they went into the city. Then he made the trip to Tamarind on his own to pick up the food, and came back for Mallory to minimize the number of jumps she made, and her stress. Now the two find themselves back on the school's roof with time to catch their breath and prepare for the next leg of their journey. When they materialize Aloke's skin is once again quite dim, the faint glow only visible because the sun isn't out. He takes a deep breath, obviously fatigued, but not overly so. He checks to make sure Mallory is ok, and when all seems well, he walks in a wide arc, stretching muscles and joints. The numerous jumps they have been making today are taking their toll on Mallory as well, and once they have materialized on the rooftop, she sinks to a crouching position, visibly shaking in the cool night air. Several gasping, pained breaths later, Mallory’s eyes are closed and she is focusing on getting her breathing and heart rate back under her control. It seems to take a few minutes longer than it had earlier in the day, but once she is breathing normally, she opens her eyes - smoldering orange glow clearly visible in the darkness - and watches Aloke pacing. Remaining seated on the rooftop, Mallory doesn’t seem quite willing to get up yet, instead running a hand along a horn and nodding, “Okay. I… I think I should be ready to go again in a few minutes.” As she speaks, a pained wince contracts her features, the sharp intake of breath interrupting her mid sentence. She claws at her chest, her eyes closing once again, and she whispers hoarsely, “Or… not. Might be a few minutes more, apparently.” She fishes around in one of her bags for a bright red nalgene bottle, flipping it open and gulping the water hungrily - steam curls out of her nostrils as she drinks. Aloke waits with her until Mallory is ok to drink some water, and then he starts making his circuit of the roof. "I can't imagine how hard these jumps must be on you, stifling the energy exchange like that." Hank had joked that it would be like stifling a sneeze if one's sneeze were a grenade. It wasn't a very good joke but the imagery has haunted Aloke ever since. "You know," he says softly, angling back across the roof to come and kneel down beside her. "You /can/ cut loose around me, ok? I mean, I know you don't want to, and your clothes and everything, but I kind of like your post-burn uniform anyway so..." He trails off, probably not sure how appropriate his inappropriate quip is at the moment. "I just want you to know I can handle it. I don't envy how it must feel, but the transformation is beautiful to watch. And when it's just us, it's really /just us/." He leans over and kisses her very warm cheek. Mallory pants softly, slipping the now empty nalgene back away in her bag, each breath bringing with it a small puff of steam that vanishes into the night air. She slumps forward, resting her head in her hand and brushing her fingers against the base of a horn, telegraphing her exhaustion for the first time in the evening. “It is not exactly pleasant, no,” she admits quietly, her voice still a little rough, “But it’s okay. Getting to travel freely with you is worth it.” When Aloke kneels beside her, she slumps over against him, eyes closing briefly as she focuses on getting her breathing into a steady rhythm. “Thank you,” she sighs quietly, head resting against his shoulder, a blush warming her cheeks further, “Never… really heard it called beautiful. What I can do. The transformation itself is agony, but the end result? It is just so freeing." Mallory's voice is sheepish, tracing along the curl of her horn with her fingertips, "I admit, I have not been able to bring myself to watch the footage from the Danger Room session.” Her breathing falls into the practiced, comfortable rhythm, though she still leans against him, chuckling softly at his quip. “Uh huh. While I’m glad you enjoy the view, I doubt the rooftop of the school is a good place for that. For a whole host of reasons,” she chides, smiling warmly and opening her eyes to wink at him. “That said, I think I’ve got it this time, and we can go when you’re ready,” she breathes, reaching up to stroke his cheek with a rather warm hand. Aloke holds Mallory close when she slumps against him, wrapping his arms tight around her. “No, I know. nothing’s ever simple, right? And besides, I kind of get to see that ‘outfit’ pretty often anyway.” Aloke grins and shrugs in their hug. “But if you ever need to cut loose, you need a safe /place/ to cut loose, just say so. I’ll get you there. It’s kinda my thing.” Aloke stands, carefully extricating himself from the hug, and then he leans to help Mallory to a standing position. He pulls their bags close too, making sure both of them are holding on to one. In a now familiar sensation, their bodies and possessions dissolve into light and they’re traveling before their minds can register it. In a flash of time which is simultaneously instant and infinite, They flash over the frozen ocean, even banking slightly to take a closer look at a cruise ship captured in time. Before long, and after an eternity, the European coast comes into view. It would seem Aloke is not /perfect/ at circumnavigating the Earth. The pair swoop up into the sky, getting a bird’s eye view of the land, and then surprisingly they bank more /northward/. Suddenly, they’re flashing over the painfully familiar French countryside. And then Paris. And the Eiffel Tower is looming before them in the middle of the night, local time. It must be just after 1 in the morning. They circle the highest observation deck which turns out to be deserted - no night guard or anything. It’s certainly too late for normal tourists. And suddenly they’re standing on the deck, whole and solid again, bags in hand, standing in the freezing Paris air. Aloke drops to a knee next to Mallory, grasping for her hand, and gasping deeply. “Needed…” Gasp. “A quick break…” He grins up at her weakly. He’s not unwell, but he does look tired. In the instant before they begin their trip, Mallory braces for the sensation, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to let it out slowly. When they appear again, in an admittedly unexpected location, Mallory continues letting out the breath, her face displaying her confusion, tinged with a pained grimace as she fights her own mutation. The bag in her hand is dropped to the metal flooring in an instant, the soft ‘thud’ resonating in the cool air. The confusion melts to concern when Aloke drops to one knee, and she quickly takes his hand in her own exceedingly warm hand, while the other reaches out to brush against his cheek. She looks into his eyes as she does, still gasping for breath herself as she tries to get herself under control. “Oh god, are you alright?” Mallory asks between breaths, features contorted briefly in pain, “We can rest as long as you need to…” A slightly less pained breath, and she continues her fretting, “Do you need to eat something?” She’s still holding on to his hand, though thankfully hers is merely remaining exceedingly warm, instead of gaining heat, “Oh. Oh dear, oh bother, we forgot to eat before we left. We can stay here as long as we need to, until you’re rested, alright? I… I think I packed some snack bars or something...” Mallory’s voice is full of worry, trailing off into a soft gasp as she glances out at the sleeping cityscape below, realization dawning on her features. “Paris. We’re… you… you brought me to Paris?” she asks quietly, looking between their surroundings and him, the fiery light of her eyes glinting off the dampness that threatens to become tears. “Aloke, I…” Mallory smiles in confusion, tilting her head, whatever she was going to say lost for the moment. “No, I’m ok,” Aloke says between breaths, still taking a moment on his knee. “And yeah, I’ll probably eat something before we go, but we can’t actually wait here /long/. I read up on this place over the last couple weeks. The guards don’t come out here much, because they mainly guard the stairs. But… more people… don’t need the stairs these days.” He grins up at Mallory and then clears his throat while shifting from one knee to the other, still holding her hand while she stands next to him. “I just wanted you to see this. And I’m not sure when else we’d get to. And also, I was uh… hoping to trick you into taking this…” Aloke reaches into his jacket pocket and produces the iconic-looking ring box. Black velvet, with a clamshell case, the box is practically invisible with only the safety lights, and his skin dimmed post-travel. All the same, he pulls it open and presents the ring inside, a small diamond, affordable on a teacher’s budget, flanked by two small, but iridescent fire opals. “I know it’s fast. And crazy. But when you know, you know. Mallo, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Will you be my wife?” Mallory is admittedly only half paying attention to the warning about the guards, her gaze sweeping over the empty streets of Paris below, a shocked smile on her face. “I never thought I’d get to see Paris, not in person. Even so briefly,” she whispers half to herself, her hand squeezes briefly tighter around Aloke’s, a soft, contented sigh escaping her lips. “Thank you --” she starts, turning back to face Aloke just as he produces the small box from his jacket, the rest of the sentence vanishing from her mind. At the reveal of the ring and the question, Mallory gasps softly, her hand flying up to cover her open mouth. Eyes wide, she looks at the ring and then up at Aloke’s eyes, a radiant smile brightening her features as the question sinks in at last. Slowly, she falls to a kneeling position in front of Aloke, putting her at eye level with him and allowing her to pull him into a fiercely tight hug, her cheeks glistening with happy tears. “Yes. Of course,” comes her hushed response at last, before she moves in to press her lips to his in a gentle, warm kiss, a hand moving to cup the back of his head and bring him closer as the kiss deepens. When they part, she looks him in the eyes, grinning giddily and adding, “There is nothing that would make me happier.” As cinematically unlikely as it is, Aloke's skin begins it's recharge, resuming the bright glow, just as Mallory embraces him. He lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding in a long sigh, and pulls her close. "Well that's a relief," he says, smiling before she kisses him. And then he's lost in the kiss for a long moment. Before long though, a slow creak of metal draws his attention. This turned out to just be the shifting temperatures of the metal tower, but it brings to mind guards coming out to the observation deck at some point. He stands carefully, reluctant to break the embrace. Standing, he waits for Mallory to take the ring from the box and then helps her to stand as well. He takes a small, bright orange wrapper from his pocket which contains the kind of power gel marathoners often use mid-race. He pops it into his mouth and swallows it down before saying, "I know the ring is kind of cliche and all. Fire opals and whatnot. But it made me think of you. And we can shop for something else, if you want! They said they can do exchanges, and…" Aloke trails off, suddenly aware of his awkward babbling. "{Sorry,}" he says in his poor French. "I happen to be deliriously happy right now." He grins, glowing even brighter as the seconds pass. The Eiffel Tower will be a lighthouse soon if they wait much longer. Mallory is equally hesitant to break the embrace, nestling her face against his shoulder, the view of Paris forgotten in favor of closeness to Aloke. She does eventually let go of him enough to get the ring slid onto her finger. Smiling brightly and accepting the help back to standing, Mallory seems content to just bask in the moment. Taking a moment to admire the glittering gems in the convenient light from Aloke, she bounces gleefully, before tossing her arms around him again. Time may be short, but she just can’t keep herself from hugging him. The explanation and apology gets a raised eyebrow and Mallory kisses him soundly in an attempt to stay his stream of anxious babbling. “Hush you. It’s perfect,” she assures him with a giddy smile, arms still draped around his shoulders; perhaps not entirely unrelated to the fact that this lets her continue to watch the sparkling of the ring as the gems refracts the ambient light from Aloke. Giggling lightheartedly, she kisses him again - travel plans be damned, she’s just ridiculously happy, and intends to show it. “Love you, Aloke. This whole evening… is just perfect,” she says with yet another quick kiss. After another moment, Mallory does relax her hold on him, leaning in to kiss his cheek again, still smiling broadly, before glancing out into the Paris night once again, sighing softly. It takes her a few minutes to actually get her breathing under control and into the relaxed rhythm needed for her to safely travel. The breathing is interrupted a few times by giggling, but eventually, she seems ready to go, picking the suitcase back up from where she had unceremoniously dropped it upon arrival. Despite getting her giggling under control, she can’t keep from grinning like a fool each time she looks at Aloke or the ring. "I love you too. And good," Aloke says with a sigh, holding Mallory close enough to be cheek-to-cheek. "I don't think I've ever done anything as stressful as ring shopping." He chuckles, still not willing to loosen their hug. "Although, that's why you couldn't find that ring last week. I borrowed it to get it sized. Sorry about that." He grins and then twitches slightly when he hears clanking behind the tower access door: heavy footsteps on the metal stairs, the steps of someone who isn't in any hurry. "Ah," he whispers in her ear. "Sounds like that's our cue." He turns slightly, still keeping one arm around Mallory while he puts a hand on his own bag and makes sure Mallory is holding onto hers. "We'll come back for a longer visit one day, I promise." Aloke nods as keys can be heard rattling against the door and counts down from three, just loud enough for Mallory to hear. In an eternal instant, the land flashes below them and drops away and Aloke arcs the two of them up and away from the surface of the earth. Presumably he just needs a better view to find his way. He spies the broad swatch of light in India he's looking for and the continent-sized nation zooms up to greet them. Once closer, there is some swooping about to find what he's looking for, but before long he's found the way. They circle above the property once, taking in the few acres of tea plants, and finally landing in the broad expanse of green lawn, right next to the long, rectangular pool behind the square, single-level house. The house looks big enough to have half a dozen comfortable rooms, and features a square courtyard in the middle, open to the sky, with a fountain of some kind. The sky is already brightening when they materialize by the pool. The sun will be up within an hour, certainly. Aloke stumbles, gasping and grinning. "Holy shit, that feels good," he says, breathless. "It's been so /long/." He turns and laughs, giddy for so many reasons, and turns back to Mallory. "How are /you/ doing? Are you ok?" Once again, Aloke is dimmed almost entirely, hardly glowing at all in the early morning light. Snorting quietly in amusement, she shakes her head and kisses his temple, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of her lips, “Ah, that does explain that. Glad to know I wasn’t going out of my mind when it wasn’t where I’d knew I’d left it.” The sound of approaching footsteps doesn’t phase Mallory, concentrated on her breathing as she is. Her smile radiates her giddy happiness, despite the danger of being caught trespassing. She just holds tight to Aloke, pleased smile on her lips, at the offer of a return trip, “I would like that, very much. Some day. But for now, we should likely be on our way.” With one last glance out towards the city, she lets out a slow breath when he begins to count down from three. The longest leg of their journey may include some spectacular views, but the landing is decidedly rough on Mallory. As they arrive, she is actually quite hot to the touch, and almost uncomfortable in the balmy pre-dawn air; realizing this, Mallory stumbles back from Aloke, dropping the bag she was holding to the side. There’s a look of panic in her eyes as she unsuccessfully attempts to draw breath, each gulp for air instead becoming a pained wheeze. Still stumbling, her tail gets caught up with her hooves, and in a decidedly ungraceful manner, Mallory falls backwards with a strangled yelp, followed by by a ‘SPLASH!’ of her impacting the water at the shallow end of the pool. The shock is enough to startle her into gulping down a deep breath of air as she flails about trying to gain footing in the relatively shallow water. The flustered coughing and sputtering continues as she stands, interspersed as she struggles to normalize her breathing, taking a moment to get back to a pattern. Standing up in the pool, now shivering as steam begins to curl off her skin and water around her, Mallory regards Aloke with a tired but amused smile at his questions. Her breathing is under control, albeit a bit faster than normal, with only the occasional pained wince as her body tries to normalize. “Smokin’ hot and wet,” she responds in a voice just loud enough for Aloke to hear, with a wry smirk, a curling plume of smoke escaping her lips as she speaks, “But otherwise… ridiculously happy.” A touch unsteady in the water, she slowly approaches the edge of the pool nearest Aloke, ultimately leaning tiredly against the wall for support. Mallory reaches a trembling hand out towards him, not looking for help out of the pool yet, just wanting the contact - she is still a bit unpleasantly warm to the touch, however. "Oh shit," Aloke exclaims. As soon as Mallory topples, Aloke jumps in, clothes and all. He reaches out to take her hand and help steady her. When it looks like she's stabilized, he steps up close to hold her tight, trying to suppress a chuckle while they stand in the waist deep water. "{I'm sorry,} I know its not funny. This day has been so hard on you. We'll do a nonstop on the way home I promise." Aloke turns his head and notes some of the lights turning on in the house. "So how about we go inside and get you some dry clothes?"