Aberrant: Mutant High - Comfort

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri ran. It wasnt all that different than her first emotional breakdown during the early weeks of her time at Hunt. But instead of running into the woods looking for solace from people, she was seeking certain people.

Students gave her a wide berth for their safety as she streaked across campus. Though panicked, she was aware of what she was doing. Her nose was testing the air constantly, seeking one of a handful of familiar scents. When she found it, Morri skidded to a stop, her feet sliding in the soft spring mud. Jumping back and crouching, she confirmed it: Son-ja had been here recently.

Sniffing, Morri followed the trail, as clear and bright as her friends hair. The path lead to the library, so inside the feral went, surprising the librarian. The man knew who she was, but had never seen the infamous mutant in his building. He rose from his chair, but she ducked past him without a word and dashed deeper into the shelving.

Sonja was sitting on the floor. None of the furniture here was comfortable or at the right height for her legs anymore. Even if there had been a barstool to perch on, the seats were no longer wide enough to be comfortable for her hips. Not that she was fat! She was just big-boned.

The kneeling cushion shed found at a new age store was perfect for softening the floor, and big enough that she could sit on it and cross her legs. It was still annoying that she couldnt sit on a chair; she was considering the possibility of using the tables as chairs. They were tall enough and probably sturdy enough

Despite the fact that she held a book on the union efforts of early industrial U.S. in her hands, Sonja wasnt really reading it. She was too annoyed with her seating arrangements to concentrate, and though she was reading and pages were being turned in the book, she has no retention of the material. She was thinking about how she had to sit on the floor.

Then Morri walked up, stepped between the book and Sonjas body, sat down in her lap and huddled against her. Sonja blinked as she found her arms and lap full of a shaking Morri. Even as she thought once again that someone needed to bell the red-eyed mutant, she set aside her book and hugged Morri. What is it? Whats wrong, Morri?

The feral sat up and twisted to face Sonja. Mar-ko hurt head. Hurt here. Morri put a hand to her chest, her eyes wide as she looked to her friend for comfort.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Feeling a bit guilty, Sonja was rather glad for the excuse of a distressed Morri to distract her from school work. Doing research in the Library was rapidly losing its appeal with the undersized furniture - she'd have to focus on using her laptop and checking out books and taking them to her room, though she'd miss sneaking through the stacks with Alex. I'll have to invest in some sort of extra large collapsible chair or something to carry around....

,,

But Sonja's concern for her predicament was swallowed by a greater concern for her friend, trembling in her lap. Though sometimes it was trying finding alone time with Alex, Sonja was nothing but glad by the way Morri was more open to showing affection recently, and her emotions in general, instead of hiding them.

,,

Sonja brushed the wild, black hair from Morri's face with long, gentle fingers, then consolingly rubbed her upper arms, trying to ease her shivering. Though her indigo eyes were concerned and sympathetic, her lips were pressed in a firm line. As dangerous as Morri could be at times, there was a vulnerable innocence to her too and Sonja found herself quite protective of the wiry, feral, red-eyed girl.

,,

"It's okay, sweetie, it's okay," Sonja reassured her. "Marko? Marko isn't here and he isn't hurting you know, right?" Fair brows crinkled quizzically. "Who is this Marko?"

,,

"Mar-ko stran-ger," Morri murmured against Sonja's voluminous chest.

,,

"Stranger," Sonja repeated absently, showing Morri that it was one word. "A new boy at school?"

,,

"New. Boy. Yes." Sonja felt Morri nod. "Make hurt. Make Morri see... feel..."

,,

Sonja felt a spike of anger rising, accompanied by that new something inside her flexing and growing warm, making her swell in size, thankfully only by several inches, a foot a most. The giant teen quickly started a breathing exercise to calm her herself - her emotions could sometimes activate her new... ability. But like many physically adept mutants, Sonja found herself very wary around those with mental or psychic powers, something her strength or toughness couldn't fight.

,,

"I think I need to have a talk with this Mark-" Sonja growled, just starting to get up, but relenting immediately when Morri stiffened, her arms tightening around her. "Maybe later." Sonja patted Morri on the back, then gently and carefully tilted her head up to meet her gaze directly - Morri looked very small and delicate at the moment. Sonja hoped she didn't swell any further, otherwise she'd start having trouble fitting in the hallways, let alone through the doors. Waking up fourteen feet tall one morning had been terrifying and embarrassing, since while unconscious, she didn't have to focus to make her clothing grow with her.

,,

"Tell me... Tell me what he did, what you saw, Morri," Sonja said, licking her lips. The way Morri was quivering in her arms, Sonja just knew it was going to be bad, or Morri wouldn't have the words for it, or both. At least very few used the Library anymore and there wasn't anyone around at the moment. "Take all the time you need, honey. There's no rush. I'm here for you as long as you need me, Morri."

[z-The Morrigan]

“Mar-ko… take in head, go in Morri’s head.” Morri shuddered. “Mar-ko sad. Scared. Mar-ko saw Morri… saw Af-ri-ca. Saw Ford, Vyse. Saw cage.”

,,

“What cage? Where’s Ford Vyse?” Son-ja was frowning with concern.

,,

Morri shook her head, clearly frustrated. Sonja was pleased to note that her frustration wasn’t verbalized with a growl. “Ford… dok-tor. Ford…” What had been the word Mar-ko had thought? “Drug. Ford drug-ed Morri. Drug made Morri mad. Morri… hurt. Oth-ers. Hurt pea-pels. Hurt… spears.”

,,

Again, Morri was showing progress; before, she wouldn’t even have been able to enunciate this much. “Mar-ko hurt too. Mar-ko guard fath-er from dog-mhu-tant.” Morri glared into the distance, as if seeing something far away. “Fath-er an-gree Mar-ko love Pee-tor.

,,

“Ah-dults hurt.” The sudden statement was soft and filled with venom. “Ah-dults hurt mhu-tants.” The quiet anger in Morri was more troubling than one of her temper tantrums. Those had seemed so random and impulsive: full of terrible rage and then gone like a summer storm. This anger was deeper and more permanent.

,,

“Not all of them.” Sonja rubbed Morri’s back comfortingly. “Some, like Director Drumm and Ms. Gomez are here to help us.”

,,

Morri stared at a shelf of books; if looks could kill, the books would have burst into flaming confetti. “Skool here be-cause ah-dults hurt.” Morri grimaced angrily. “Vyse hurt Morri. You-ess gov… gov-ren-mant hurt mhu-tants. Hurt Morri. Hurt Son-ja. Hurt Mar-ko.” Her small fists were clenched tightly with the force of her rage. “Morri hurt them first.”

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Morri. No."

,,

Sonja engulfed Morri's small hands with her own considerably larger pair. Hands that grew even larger before their very eyes as worry, anxiety, and anger coursed anew through Sonja. It seemed every mutant came to the point where they had to consider if they were an Xavier or a Magneto. Sonja was worried about the path 'Neca was heading down and suddenly, it seemed Morri was looking in the same direction.

,,

Instinctive leaned back a bit so she could still see Morri and didn't end up smothering her, Sonja bit her lip, eying the doors as she felt the warm, muscular flexing throb and ebb. She figured she was half again as tall as her normally was. If she had too, she'd still be able to crawl through the double-doors of the library and crouch her way through the hallways, but soon, she might miss next period waiting in the library for her inadvertent growth to subside.

,,

It was another frustration that could lead into a vicious cycle of growth. The worst was, she understood it partly based on rampant emotion, but it was inconsistent. It didn't always happen when she got unduly emotional. And sometimes the growth was far more... drastic. Her cheeks reddened one or two incidents with Alex.

,,

"Morri, it's okay - even good - to defend yourself and those you care about and love, and you should," Sonja explained, her tone intent, passionate, and earnest. "But you can't just go around hurting people because you're afraid they might hurt you. And even when they do, sometimes, it's only because they are afraid."

,,

The truly gigantic young woman sighed, sounding almost like a bellows, and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get her breathing and emotions back under control. "Morri, do you remember when we first met and you freaked out when... when someone mentioned Vyse?" Sonja was a bit concerned mentioning the name, but Morri had once already, and she was showing remarkable progress today, even if it was leading to other issues. "You ran away and I followed you, and you stabbed me. Not because you wanted to hurt me, but because you were scared."

,,

"It's the same with the humans. Yes, there are many that want to hurt us because they hate us or want to control us, but most are simply just afraid of. We can do things they can't do, and some of those things can be very dangerous." Sonja frowned in remembrance, thinking about the boy she had hurt in junior high, when her mutant nature first became obvious, then considering the damage she could do to a city at full size and at full speed. "Governments are many people, Morri, and many are just doing what their leaders tell them to do, leaders they believe know what they are doing. And still, there are those who do still care about us and want to help us, like Eileen, and Mr. Drumm, and my parents."

,,

Sonja hoped Morri was following this - it was a difficult subject, one even she wasn't sure on. And who knows how she'd feel after suffering what Morri had. "We can attack them and hurt them before they do things to us Morri, but then they will just hate us and fear us more. Or we can try to find a way to show the humans that despite the fantastic things we can do, mutants are really just people like them. We can help them, for both our benefits." Sonja smirked wryly, sadly shaking her head. "I'll admit, I'm not really sure how, yet, and it'll be hard - very hard - but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try."

,,

The teen titaness smoothed back Morri's wild, black hair with a hand the size of a shovel, but still with a delicate touch. Sonja wanted tell Morri what to do, figuring she knew best considering Morri's... ignorance. But she was learning quickly, and Sonja had learned early enough telling 'Neca what to do was a sure way to make her do the opposite.

,,

"Please, Morri, think on this hard before you decide, 'kay?" Sonja's indigo eyes were pleading can caring, but after a moment, a furrow bloomed between her fair brows as she finally considered what else Morri had said. Sonja leaned back on her hands, looking down at Morri with a quizzical frown. "Just who the hell is this Marko guy and what has he been filling your head with?"

[z-The Morrigan]

“Mar-ko filled head with Mar-ko.” It was the only way to answer Sonja’s question, because there was no other way to describe what had happened. Even if Morri’s vocabulary had been larger, she still wouldn’t have had the words to communicate what that shared experience had been like. She’d walked in the skin of a white, gay, Spanish boy, and he had walked in hers. Nothing in her life had prepared her for that experience.

“Morri… was Marco.” Glowing red eyes looked up to meet Sonja’s blue ones. “Morri in Marco’s house-in-head. Marco no mean do it. Marco scared. Morri scared Marco. Marco power work when scared. Marco no bad.”

“Even if he didn’t mean it, I’m not sure he’s not bad. He put this idea in your head!” Sonja still looked angry. “Does he think that you should strike first?”

“Morri think!” Agitated, the mutant started to rise, only to have Sonja gently pull her back into her lap. “Morri think! Ah-dults attack Marco! Ah-dults hurt Morri! Ah-dults bad! Morri guard Sonja, Morri guard Alex! Morri guard skool! Morri want stop ah-dult before hurt!”

“Morri, you should calm down.” Eileen had approached under the cover of Morri’s rant; as she approached, Morri could feel the lassitude that she sometimes felt around Eileen. The older mutant’s presence was a balm to her sometimes, and sure enough, Morri felt calm and peace sweep through her. “Now, let’s just come out of Sonja’s lap and talk.”

Sonja could feel the tension flow away from Morri just before the mutant rose and went to take Eileen’s hand. In contrast to her edgy mood from before, the young dark-skinned woman was almost sedate and content. “Good,” Eileen said softly, smoothing Morri’s hair back from her face. “Now, what happened in the cafeteria?”

In her broken, halting words, Morri told the story again, telling her mentor the same thing she’d told Sonja. When she finished, she said, “Ah-dults hurt Marco. Ah-dults hurt Morri. Morri want hurt them first.”

“Oh, sweetie, no.” Eileen drew her into a hug. “Yes, there are people that want to hurt mutants just because they’re mutants, but the moment you attack them first, you convince them that they need to attack first. Then everyone’s fighting and killing. You have the same kind of situation as you did in Africa, only here at the school.”

“Morri stronger!” There was some vehemence in the words, but Morri still seemed oddly calm. “Morri stop Africa!”

“Sweetheart, you can’t stop them all. You need to trust me when I say that Director Drumm’s methods are the best way. He’s going to protect you all and help you grow up strong, and we’re going to show the world that there’s nothing to fear. We’ll find a way to live together, you and me and all the students here.” Eileen looked at the blonde giantess. “Right, Sonja?”

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja slowly climbed to her feet once Ms. Gomez pulled Morri out of her lap, being careful not to knock over any shelves and glad the Library had soaring ceilings. But it was a non-issue as the serenity Ms. Gomez was directing at Morri lapped at her too. Hardly a minute later, Sonja was barely half again as tall as the other women.

,,

"Of course, Ms. Gomez!" Sonja boomed cheerfully, her voice still a bit deeper and more resonant than normal. She smiled down at Morri, clapping her on the shoulder. "I know you're strong, Morri. We're both strong. And we'll stop anything like Africa from happening here, I swear."

,,

Ms. Gomez eyed to the two students, one dusky-skinned and raven-haired, the other fair-skinned and silver-haired, a near two-foot height difference between them, but both had the same determination in their eyes. She permitted herself a small smiled and nodded.

,,

"I know you will, Morri and Sonja," Ms. Gomez said, giving Morri's hand a squeeze and reaching up to pat Sonja on a solid, shapely shoulder. "And soon you may have that chance."

,,

"What do you mean?" Sonja queried, straightening up from rolling up her kneeling cushion and picking up her book. Screw the Library, at least she had some furniture sized to her stature in her room.

,,

"Let's just say that if I were you, I'd keep my ear open for an announcement from Mr. Drumm."

,,

"Oookaaaay..." Sonja shrugged, her brow still quirked with curiosity.

[z-The Morrigan]

Not stop Africa? Eileen said that so calmly, but she didn’t understand what that meant. Fear shivered through Morri, but as quickly as it rose it subsided. The young feral felt calm and at peace, despite the subject matter. Sonja’s words helped more: Morri could believe that strong Sonja would stop Africa from coming to their home. She wouldn’t be doing it alone - Morri would be there. Vyse was not going to put Sonja in a cage, or drug Alex, or make Kia cry. He wouldn’t be allowed to beat Curtis or give Eileen to his men. Morri would stop him.

For all her rage, Morri felt calm, almost detached. She smiled at Sonja and Eileen, feeling better now that her friends were supporting her. They would all be fine, together. “No Africa here,” Morri said firmly, agreeing with them.

“No, not here.” Eileen beamed at her and pulled her close for a hug. “And someday, not anywhere.” Stepping back a little, she tipped Morri’s chin up and asked, “Do we need to speak to Marco?”

“I’d like to have a few words with him myself,” Sonja said, her face darkening with anger.

“Marco not bad.” Morri stated the words with deliberate firmness. She knew that he hadn’t meant to be in her head or to go to the bad place.

“How about we talk to him later, after everyone’s had a chance to calm down?” Eileen smiled at the two young women. “Not that you aren’t calm, but he might be upset, if this... telepathic connection was so rough. I need to get back to my office, but do you want to continue to stay with Sonja, Morri? If that’s okay with Sonja?”

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Of course it's okay with Sonja," the blond giantess affirmed, stretching with her hands reaching for the ceiling as she felt herself settle back down to her natural size. She smiled down at Morri, wrapping an arm companionably across her shoulders. She was willing to forgo confronting Marco... for now. "I picked up a couple of movies you might like, Morri. They're pretty much all about dancing."

,,

Sonja felt Morri perk up under her arm, as she was pretty sure she would - she'd gotten the movies with Morri in mind. Dancing was one of Morri's big interests and if hip-hop wasn't exactly Sonja's favourite music, it wasn't the worse either, and was well worth to see the joy in Morri's red eyes. Sonja was also convinced there was something in dancing that might be a clue to who Morri was before Africa. She'd had lessons, she was sure of it.

,,

"I go with Sonja," Morri said, giving her friend a hug.

,,

Sonja hugged back, giving Ms. Gomez a small wave before slinging her bag and kneeling cushion over a broad shoulder. "We'll be in my room then, most likely, if you need her, Ms. Gomez. Later."

,,

Back in her and Aradia's dorm, Sonja cleared the loose clothes and pushed back the chairs from the space between the beds. Both her and Aradia were active women and liked having room to stretch and exercise and Sonja guessed watching dancing would encourage Morri to dance too. It used to be a fair amount of floor-space, but Sonja's massive bed ate into it, and Sonja herself shrunk it further, but it would be okay as long as they stayed friendly.

,,

"Here you go, Morri, pick a movie," Sonja said, handing Morri a stack of dance movies DVDs and Blue-rays from the last two or three years, then turning around to turn on the high-end LED HDTV hanging on the wall and the stereo and surround-sound system. They were dance movies, so might as well get the best sound out of them. Opening the disc-tray on the blue-ray player, Sonja flashed Morri a smile as she leafed through Step Up 3, Step Up 4, Battlefield America, Stomp The Yard, Chicago (okay, that wasn't really a dance movie, but Sonja liked it), and others. "Find one you like the look of, Morri?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri gazed at the movies before choosing one at random. She handed the case to Sonja; by the time the tall blonde had inserted the disk into the machine, Morri was ensconced in one of the chairs, her arms drawn around her knees in a fit of anticipatory ecstasy. It was a little worrisome watching her wind herself up; Morri tended to get into movies. She knew that the movies weren’t really happening, but she viewed them more like a newscast than fiction.

,,

“These are just stories, Morri, okay?” Sonja clarified as she took her seat and hit the start button.

,,

“Okay!” Morri straightened eagerly as the title credits started.

,,

As Sonja had anticipated, Morri hopped up periodically to join the dancing. It was a joy to watch her enjoy the movie, casting aside her worries and anger from before to just enjoy moving. Sometimes, she was learning the moves from the movie; other times, she was just dancing. Sonja rather enjoyed watching her figure out the robot dance in the final scene.

,,

But the most interesting part came at the end, when Morri drew herself up en pointe. For a moment the mutant posed there, her weight on her toes and her arms circling over her head; then she dropped onto her heels and sprawled into the chair, twisting so that her head and feet hung off the arms. “Son-ja?”

,,

“Yes, Morri?”

,,

Red eyes gazed at her intently. “Boy, girl in moo-vey.”

,,

“Yes?”

,,

“They in love?” Morri stared at Sonja.

,,

Sonja had seen that look before. Morri was processing something. After today, Sonja wasn’t sure what it could be. “Yes, that was the romantic plot of the movie, Morri. They are in love.”

,,

“Morri get in love?”

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja sat up in her bed - it and the chair Morri was sitting in being the only pieces of furniture sized for her - regarding her feral friend anew, warily worrying her lower lip. Considering what talking about hugging had devolved to, Sonja was understandably cautious what this line of thought could lead to.

,,

Still, Morri was her friend and whatever else came of... whatever Marco had done to her, it did seem to be helping with her progress and Sonja wanted to encourage it. She just hoped it didn't explode in her face. Again. Sonja picked up the remote and turned off the scrolling credits, and gave Morri a reassuring smile.

,,

"I'm sure, someday, you'll fall in love, Morri."

,,

"Morri no fall - "

,,

"Find someone to love. I'm sorry, Morri. It's just what people say. I guess because it can be sudden and surprising, like a fall"

,,

Morri lowered her dark brows, nose scrunching up and lips pursed cutely, considering this. "When Morri find love?"

,,

"Oh, sweetie!" Sonja chuckled, swinging her legs around so she was sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on her knees and chin resting on her laced fingers. "No one can answer that. It's different for everyone. Some find it early, some find it... later." Sonja smirked wryly. "Some find it often, and only learn later that it isn't love, just feels like it at first." That might be a confusing line of thought that Sonja didn't feel adequate to explaining at the moment. "I haven't found the right boy to fall in love with, myself, but I will. You will too."

,,

There was an eerily canny light in Morri's glowing red eyes as she stared at her big, blonde friend. "Or girl."

,,

Sonja blinked. "Girl?"

,,

Morri nodded firmly. "Can be girl too."

,,

Completely dumbfounded, mouth dropping open in surprise, Sonja's elbows slipped, nearly smashing her face into her knees. Sonja slowly straightened up, taking a deep breath that taxed the limits of her blouse and buying herself time by fixing her hair into a pony-tail.

,,

"Um... er, yes, that can be true for some people, but I'm not that way," Sonja explained uncomfortably, before rushing to add. "Not that there's anything wrong that! With girls liking girls! And boys liking boys! It's just not me."

,,

"Why?"

,,

"Why?!"

,,

"Why?"

,,

"Just... just because, that's why." That sounded feeble even to Sonja. "There's been all sort of claims of... of why people find certain types of other people to fall in love with, but there's no real answer. The heart wants what the heart wants, I guess." Sonja frowned at the trite response, wanting to give Morri a better answer and not having it, then nodding as she added firmly. "And I like boys. I just haven't found the right one to love yet."

,,

Sonja leaned back on her hands, arching her fair brows, full lips curved with faint amusement as she shook her head. "You should be talking to Ms. Gomez, but what made you ask about this? It wasn't just the movie was it? You've seen others where the plot was more central and more important to the movie. Like the Notebook."

[Cirque]

Before the two girls had a chance to delve further into the romance conversation, they were interrupted by a swift intake of air, a slight popping noise, and then Aradia appeared, dropping into a seated position with a quiet *whumph* onto her bed. Everyone who hung out in Sonja's room - and Sonja best of all - knew that Ari's bed was off-limits.. not because the athletic young woman was bitchy about her stuff, but more because they knew that was her dedicated "point of entry" when teleporting into the room. Even if you didn't know the rule, the "Stay Clear - Landing Zone!" sign posted over her bed was a pretty decent indication.

,,

She glanced around, a bit surprised at seeing Sonja and Morri chilling out in the dorm room. Usually they hung out in the downstairs common areas with Alex. It was actually the first time in a little while that Sonja had seen Ari, other than passing her in the halls. The lithe young teleporter had been scarce lately - and on the unusually quiet side - ever since her near-abduction at the hands of the mutant terrorist, Primal.

,,

"Hey, Barbs. Hey, Morri."

,,

It was odd, Aradia had a moniker for almost everyone. But she'd never developed one for Morri. Sonja had asked her why, once, and her response had been a simple shrug, and a rare serious statement:

,,

'That girl's got enough to keep straight in her head, she doesn't need one of my stupid nicknames on top of it.'

,,

"So, what are you two doing here, holed up by yourselves? Should Firefly be jealous? One rarely sees less than all three musketeers together these days, after all."

,,

Sonja detected a trace of sarcasm in Ari's voice, which was unusual for the athletic gymnast. Ari loved to tease, but this time it had a slightly bitter undercurrent that reminded her more of her angsty sister than her normally cheerful roommate.

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Sorry? Why would Alex be jealous?" Sonja demanded a bit sharply, feeling slightly defensive from Aradia's comment due to where the conversation with Morri had led. Shaking her head, believing she was overreacting to an idle comment, Sonja smiled wryly. "Nah, we're just hanging out, watching some movies - furniture fits better here than in the common room."

,,

The big blonde wondered if Aradia was feeling a little jealous or left out. True, she and Alex had been spending more time together, both determined to help Morri with her issues - she still wasn't sure if her encounter with this Marco boy was going to help or hinder. Conversely, though Ari was her roommate, they weren't hanging out as much as they used to, partly because since her last growth spurt, the gymnastic equipment was an even poorer fit for her.

,,

Breaking the uneven bars had been the end of it for Sonja, though she had laughed with everyone else at Ari joke at her expense. But thinking about Ari's sense of humour, maybe there was a new boy at Hunt who could be welcomed with one of her trademarked pranks...

,,

"I thought a girls only night would do Morri some good. She met the new kid Marco today and he pulled some mind-melding mumbo-jumbo on her and she needed someone to talk with, so she tracked me down." Sonja's grin grew a bit tight. "Movies led to some terribly awkward questions about love and boyfriends. I'm relieved you missed it."

,,

Sonja sat up on her bed, giving Aradia an inquiring look - she'd caught a hint of Aradia's tone, though was too polite to directly call her out on it. "What's up with you?" What has you in a snit? "Wouldn't be considering making this Marco's acquaintance and welcoming to Lawrence Hunt, Ari style, hmm?"

[z-The Morrigan]

“Marco no like girl.” Somehow, Morri had followed the conversation. “Marco like cock in ass.”

,,

“Morri!” Sonja said, her blue eyes widening with shock. Where was she learning these words?! “You shouldn't call a boy gay.”

,,

“Unless he is,” Aradia pointed out casually. “Besides, rumor is that he thinks we all need ‘curing’, the asshole. So I’ll pass on being set up.”

,,

“You didn’t say that, Morri.” Sonja looked at her with worry. “Did he tell you that?”

,,

Morri hesitated before answering, unsure what Sonja was wanting. “Marco show Morri… he fear muh-tant.” She struggled to explain what she’d felt. “No mean bad. Just wrong.”

,,

“Maybe Morri should date him.” Aradia smirked. “Sounds like she’s got a crush.”

,,

Predictably, the feral looked alarmed until Sonja assured her, “A crush is the first step to love. You like them before you love them.”

,,

“Morri want know when find love,” the feral interjected, relentlessly bringing the conversation back to her primary concern. “How know love?” Sonja had said that love could trick you! What was up with this love thing, that it was so desired and yet so mean? “How crush work?

[Cirque]

Aradia rolled her eyes, imagining all the sappy crap Sonja was about to start spewing about love and romance. She tried to swallow the feeling of nausea she was experiencing at the idea of listening to her giant roommate wax poetic about Alex. "This sounds like a conversation I do not want to be part of. See ya'."

,,

She sat up on the edge of her bed, preparing to 'port away, but Sonja sat up quickly with a protest. "C'mon, Ari - don't go! Stay and hang with us, it'll be fun."

,,

She hesitated, but remained on the side of the bed. "Educating Morri about the differences between crushes and love and lust and all that shit doesn't sound like a damn bit of fun to me, Sonja. No offense, Morri - nothing personal. It's just, everybody's ridin' on the fuckin' makeout train these days, and it's annoying. Even Morri here's lookin' for some action, it's like everyone went and ditched their brains for an extra dose of hormones."

,,

Including you, dumbass. You just don't wanna have this conversation because you don't want to think about how stupid you are to have a crush on your best friend's glowstick. Not like you ever had the cup size to get his attention, anyway.

,,

She hadn't left yet, but her very un-Aradia-like scowl of irritation was still firmly in place.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja's fair brows lowered over her dark blue eyes, stung by Aradia's comment about hormones. It was a touchy subject for her, considering her overactive, mutant hormones largely contributed her to over-sized, Barbie Doll build. Aradia liked to tease and prank, but lately, something was making her bitter and waspish.

,,

"The world sucks for mutants like us, Ari," Sonja said, leaning forward. "But we're in high-school now - this is exactly the time to make mistakes and let our... hormones run wild and making get us into a bit of trouble." Her full lips turned down in wry frown, thinking about her sister. "Because when we're out there in the world, we'll need all our brains, where one little mistake can land us a lot of trouble."

,,

The big blonde flopped back down on her bed with a sigh, smiling softly. "I know I've been spending most of my time with Alex and Morri lately, but you're still my roomie and one of my best friends Ari. I'm here now, and so are you. So, relax and stick around, 'kay? We can watch movies and talk about... whatever. And I'll try to cool it on the relationship advice, I swear."

,,

Sonja stretched out and nudged Morri playfully with her foot, giving her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Morri, but I can't really tell you how crushes work, I don't know, they just... do. First, you see a boy - or... or a girl, if you're... like Marco - well, not like Marco, but you know what I mean." Sonja swore she didn't have a problem with gay people, really, just talking about them made her uncomfortable. "Maybe talk to him a bit, then you end up liking him, then like-liking him, and then things grow from there."

,,

Sonja chewed on her lower lip, recalling the disastrous sex talk from a while ago. "Maybe you should talk to Ms. Gomez, sweetie, then I'll add what I can, okay? Not worry, I'm sure it'll happen to you too, Morri, one day. Now, let's leave the boy-talk for another time and pop in another movie, hmm?"