ArchivedLogs:Gabriel and Ororo

Gabriel and Ororo
Dramatis Personae Ororo, Gabriel	2013-08-15 Gabriel and Ororo meet once again, inside a grocery store.
Location <WES> Shop Rite - Salem Center
Small but serviceable, this grocery store has catered to Salem Center's populace since the days when it was simply called the General Store. It has come a long way since then, for better or worse, shelves liberally stocked with foodstuffs both fresh and processed. Leaning heavily towards the latter, admittedly, save for on Fridays, when a local Farmer's Market sets up shop in the back lot, bringing a wealth of local produce to the community. Ororo hasn't been in town at all in over three months, and was more often than not on assignment since December; therefore her familiar face is being seen for the first time in quite a while by a lot of Salem residents. She offers serene smiles and soft greetings all around, as she pushes an increasingly overfull shopping cart along the aisle. One of its wheels, loose, rattles relentlessly, but her well-heeled steps are silent. The contents of her cart include a wide variety of dry goods, most fairly light, and relatively sturdy fruits and vegetables such as apples, oranges, celery, and bell peppers. There is a notably high concentration of marshmallows. Leaning over, she sweeps the loose, billowing sleeves of her flowing white blouse out of the way and grabs a watermelon, then begins very delicately trying to get it into the cart without crushing anything. Shop-Rite has always been known for a good source of produce, and much cheaper than that in the city, which is why Gabriel is here today, with a large cart in front of him, and a basket over his right arm. The young man is dressed in his usual gray denim jacket, a black under-shirt, blue jeans, and boots. Smiling as he walks along, his cart is filled with several bags of various junk food items, slabs of meat, beverages, and various fattening dishes, enough to feed many people. Pushing the cart along gently, he ponders to himself. "Hmm..I may need another cart.". He passes into the fruit aisle, looking through coupons, when he spots a familiar face. "Ms. Munroe? Pleasant to see you!". Ororo is famed, in certain rather specific circles, for commanding the elements, but the strength and radiance of her smile, when she's truly joyful, is in itself a force of nature. "Gabriel!" she exclaims, her vivid blue eyes widening, white brows sweeping upwards in dramatic contrast to the dark palette of her complexion. "What a lovely surprise." She finishes settling the watermelon in place, then walks over, offering a well-callused hand for a shake. Not a hug; he can initiate it if she wants, but she's happy to recognize his adulthood and independence with such simple gestures as these -- actions, after all, speak louder than words. "How have you been?" Other than being 'gone', perhaps the only hint of where she has been comes from the very, very faint smell of smoke in her hair. It is fairly well-masked by a lot of shampoo, but has yet to be eradicated completely. This isn't a cozy smell, nor a friendly summer grilling aroma -- it is sharp as a razor and rather more dangerous. Slowly, Gabriel reaches out, shaking her hand, keeping it professional. He smiles, as he responds to her questions. "I'm good! Got an apartment up in the East Village, maturing, I guess.". If Ororo was to look down at his hands, they show signs of recent bruising that is slowly healing, as do his arms, which however are blocked by the jacket. "Got some coupons, thought I'd stock up for the next few days.". He smiles, as he goes back through his coupons. "I believe XS students are slowly tracking me down, however. They're on every corner. Haven't met a bad one yet.". He smiles, grabbing a bag of apples. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away.". Ororo's handshake is friendly but totally unchallenging; former student or not, she was never the type to try to turn such a thing into a test of strength. If she notices his bruises, she makes nothing of it, other than to subtly avoid putting pressure on them. "So you are out on your own -- congratulations! That is a big step." She chuckles at his platitude, and gestures with spread fingers at the apples in her own cart. "So we hope. With all these marshmallows, we may well be courting a windfall for the Salem dentists, but I imagine there would be an uproar if we went camping without them." As usual, she uses few contractions, her faint Kenyan accent low but precise. Gabriel begins weighing the apples, as he responds, smiling. "I guess that makes sense. Do you still work at the Institute? My sister may be enrolling there this fall, Lucia?". He smiles as he says her name, and then the mood gets a little somber. "Things haven't been going well with..her..thing.". He looks around as he says this, to make sure no one really heard him. "Took a bit to get my parents to agree, but she was all for it. Who knows, maybe she'll get one of your classes.". He's slowly moving down the aisle as he speaks, grabbing various other fruits, weighing them, and placing them in the basket. "She's 17 now, though. All grown up.". Ororo nods lightly at the question, her mane of shimmering white hair spilling down her back at the gesture, but her expression becomes more grave with every passing word. She leans in, subtly blocking passerby from being able to read their lips. "I remember you talking about her a lot. You always struck me as a very dutiful brother -- we would be delighted to have her at our school. Would you like me to arrange for someone to come out for a visit? I could make the trip, perhaps with the Professor." It's a typical ritual; there was probably a home visit by the staff for Gabe himself, though that's also something that makes this at least moderately unnecessary. On the other hand, if his parents 'took a bit' to agree, perhaps seeing some older, professional faces would be reassuring to them. What Ororo says makes Gabriel freeze for a second, remembering his own visit. He looks up, his eyes slightly sparking, a sign that he is using one of his more minor abilities. He speaks slowly. "Yeah that'd..be great, should I schedule an appointment of some sorts? I do think though, my parents would be slightly frightened if someone with physical mutations came, not that there's anything wrong with it, just..they're a bit cautious about other mutants? So, you and the professor could come out unless it's too much trouble, or maybe someone else. I don't know, I'm rambling.". Gabriel looks down, somberly. His eyes spark again, but he doesn't do anything after this. "I'd just like it to be easier for her, I guess.". "Do not fear," Ororo says reassuringly, in that slow, honeyed way of hers. "We will be discreet. If my phone number for your parents is still up-to-date," she pulls out a cell phone, presses a few buttons, and displays the number in question, "I can call later today, or whenever you think would be best, and find out when they would like us to visit." She nods firmly. "I, too, would like to make things as easy as possible for Lucia. Together we can make that a reality. I promise." Gabriel begins to smile. "Yeah, the number's correct, never changed in all these years, I guess.". He looks into his basket, and then at his watch. "I think as soon as possible would be best. It was very nice seeing you, Ms. Monroe, but I guess I stayed out in Salem too long. I'll probably be getting the paperwork in the next few days. Have a nice night.". He then heads off to the checkout, smiling, though still a bit glum.