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Lorna came inside from yet another bout of training. This time, it had little to do with an obstacle course and more to do with training her powers. She smelled heavily of rust and iron, and was busily pulling out the fine red dust from her green hair. The tiny particles lifting up into the air to dance around her before settling into a pile in the trash.
Her clothes similarly got the same treatment, unstaining the sweats and tank with a wave of her hand. It was much easier to work with iron scraps and steel piles than trying to get mud out of her clothes.
A glance around the room found it otherwise unoccupied, everyone else out and about doing classes, running to and fro outside or in their rooms.
*
Were Illyana present to watch this entry, she'd likely comment that it would seem to require far more fine control to comb rust particles from one's hair than to lift and direct large metal objects around. But she's not here yet, and so such observations are lost to the multiverse. She's upstairs, but she's on her way down the hall, arriving at the top of the stairs shortly after Lorna finishes her magnetic cleansing. She slides down the bannister and lands lightly on her feet. "Hey, Lorna," she says mildly — not quite in the vibrant mood she was the other night, but certainly not in a bad one. "How's the day?" she continues, wandering in the direction of the kitchen.
*
A glance was spared as Illyana makes an entrance in the room, a smile pulling at Lorna's expression as she sagged heavily into a nearby chair. Then with a pause and a glance around to make sure none of the younger students were about the green haired mutant shrugged. "Been training, as always. My father won't let me slack off and Scott is just as bad. The Professor promised he'd talk to them about lightening the workload this summer, but I doubt it'll happen. They're both two sticks in the mud." She wrinkled her nose.
"I wanted to actually talk to you 'Yana about that protest. Any luck finding more out?"
*
Illyana pauses a moment, thinking back. Right. The protest. "I don't have a lotta details," she says apologetically. "Honestly, the demons have been riled up and I caught this guy teleporting through Limbo… Sorry, Lorna. I kinda dropped the ball." Her brow furrows. "Is that a thing yet?" she wonders aloud before shaking it off. "Anyway, yeah, totally forgot. I'm sorry."
*
A grimace and a shrug followed as Lorna dragged her fingers through her hair. "It's okay. My father and the Professor are likely to come ask you anyways. I thought maybe, I could do something worthwhile. I spend so much time training and learning pointless stuff from books. I finished my Freshman year of college, and now I'm doing even more work than before!" She huffed.
"And now since I'm out here I feel like I'm doing nothing at all. At least when I was going to the Frost Institute in the city I got into scrapes, sure, but I did things to help out too. Like in Mutant Town and elsewhere.." She sighed and looked down with a shrug.
"Not your fault."
*
"Y'know, you don't have to just stay here," Illyana points out. "I can take you into the city any time you want. I certainly take myself often enough." She reverses direction, turning away from the kitchen and moving to settle herself beside Lorna. "If your dad or the Prof wanna talk to me, I'm around. I'll happily work with them. But you." She gently pokes Lorna in the side. "You just need to get off campus."
*
A arch of her brow followed the poke and Lorna fought the urge to grin. "And do what? I have no idea what to do these days besides training and reading and learning. Gosh. I sound so lame like that." She huffed a breath, pushing her hair back from her face.
"Plus there's totally so much mutant hate right now.. I dunno if I can keep quiet and not cause trouble. 'Cause I swear if I see anyone trying to, ugh. It's no good. I don't get to do anything fun anymore, Yana. I think it's all just getting to me too much."
*
"Well, first off, you -can- go protect mutants in Mutant Town," Illyana observes. "Just 'cause you live out here doesn't mean you aren't still a champion for our people. But you're also a cute girl who can wander around and hit a night spot or two. Hit on boys. Do things that will make your father shake his head in dismay." She winks. "Sometimes we need to let loose."
*
A giggle follows and Lorna rolled her eyes, "I just started going steady with Julian," A pause and her brow furrowed, her smile dropping. "But he hasn't called me in weeks." She exhaled a breath, sitting up.
"You know what? We should go out and do something. I have never gone out and just had fun without caring about what my father or someone would think. I never drink 'cause Wanda told me not to. I never go out dancing, or to concerts or anything. I'm really, really, turning into a square." She crossed her arms and glanced at the blonde who had been her former roommate. Lorna had always played it safe when it came to social situations.
"Yeah, okay. So we go out.. and.." She faltered, and blushed. "I don't know where to go for any of that.."
*
Illyana tilts her head slightly. Hesitates — which is not usually in her repertoire. But since Lorna decides that yes, they should go out and do something, she decides that she won't point out, for the moment, that when a boy doesn't call you in weeks he is probably not your boyfriend. Or, at least, not worth your time. "You're far from a square," she says, rising from the couch. "Anyway, there are plenty of places to go in the city. Go put on something hot and we'll sneak into the Copacabana or something." She pauses. "Or go in the front door. They're not gonna keep a couple of cuties like us out."
Thursday isn't typically the busiest day at the mall and that's why it's the ideal time for aliens to come on fact finding missions. Not just any fact finding though. This is undercover fact finding of the highest calibre.
*
To be continued