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Perhaps surprisingly, Lorna wasn't at the Institute. Rather, she was at Mutant Town, walking out of the community center. Her hair was back to being dyed. This time a black. Yet even then, hints of green peaked out at the edges. She wore a simple purple tank-top and pair of jeans. The young woman was busy helping to unload crates, picking them up from the back of a truck and then carrying them to the door.
The sun was dipping downwards toward the horizon, making it for a rather balmy late summer afternoon. She paused after setting down her most recent box, moving to grab her coke bottle and take a sip. She was breathing heavily, clearly having worked up a sweat from just the simple unloading.
*
Erik approaches on foot, perhaps unusually for him. He simply follows the familiar field of Lorna, the opposit polarity that calls to him when he lets his mind explore he city withotu any bounds. He is walking up in his civilian clothing a well. Gray turtleneck, dark slacks, a thoughtful, almost brooding expression.
Briefly the man looks up toward the horizon but then he approaches lorna where she is working with the crets. "Corra," the man calls very quietly. "What may I ask do we have here?" Those blue eyes study Lorna thoughtfully from head to toe. "I see you are working hard…"
*
Lorna paused in making her way back to the truck as she picked up on her father's presence. She relaxed, exhaling a breath as she set the coke aside and stepped away from the community center's walls to give Erik a hug.
"I volunteer here. They always need help here." She shrugged as she pulled back. "I thought my time would be useful here. And it kinda always is." She flashed her father a smile and looked him over.
"Where have you been?"
*
Erik returns the hug firmly and holds it for a few long seconds. He breathes a soft sigh as he releases Lorna form his grasp then turns to survey the community center. "I was out searching," Erik replies very quielty, tilting his head slightly as he does. "Kidnappers and the like. It's no matter now. I've no intention of leaving again soon unless something happens.
Erik frowns faintly, straightening to his full height as his gaze comes to rest on the truck once more. He is, at least, in good health and apparently uninjured. "I'm glad to see you're volunteering. Making good use of your time is important and if you find it fulfilling…" Erik pauses there for perhaps a second. "Is Kaleb well?"
*
Lorna shrugged, no judgement on her features when her father talks about what he'd been up to. It was what she expected. Why her father was gone. She tucked her hair back behind an ear. "I thought as much. I still missed you." She murmured, tilting her head to the side as she considered her father. "I'm basically done here, did you want to get dinner or something? I haven't eaten since lunch." She grinned, a little forced perhaps.
She started forward, scouping up her backpack as she called to the other that she was heading out. A wave and a nod followed as she waited for her father to follow. "I like to help out mutants that are less fortunate than me. I feel like I can make a difference here." She paused, considering her father and bit her lower lip.
"I .. uhm.. was thinking about taking a year off school to take an apartment down here so I can help out more.." She didn't mention Kaleb, carefully avoiding the subject.
*
"A year off of school? If you think it's best and you havea clear plan. You should still study somewhat, but perhaps on your own time would be good for yo," Erik replies thoughtfully. He tilts his head slightly then and takes a deep breath, stepping intoo place following after Lorna.
"Dinner sounds excellent, thank you. In any case. If you've things you need to accomplish then school might not be the right place for you to stay." Erik is frowning faintly at thisbut then he takes a deep breath. "Making a difference is- what this is all about. So if you are sure you wish to help people- very well. Just continue to learn.""
*
Lorna shrugged, dragging her hand through her hair as she exhaled a breath. "I don't feel like I can stand to be around people for a while, tata. Not people that .." She exhaled a breath and shook her head slowly.
"I don't know what I want, but I want to be able to help people more. I feel like sitting up there studying, and running out on an odd mission or two isn't enough. Not for me. There's too much out there going on in the world and staying at school most of the time is.. it's just too separating." She bit her lower lip as she walked, leading down the street toward a greasy spoon diner that she'd gone to before. They had good pies.
"I mean, yeah I don't mind studying. I can still work on my language lessons with you and stuff. I mean," She exhaled, scratching the back of her head. "I don't have a job.. or a place to stay.. and uhm.. I was hoping you'd like.. let me stay at your house?"
*
"As long as you continue to study and work hard I dont' see why it would be a problem. I didn't go to school, Corcezka. It's good for you, but…" Erik takes a deep breath. "After everything that's happened I'll not stand in your way."
The man walks purposefully, with long strides that eat the distance between him and his destination. He glances over at Lorna briefly and then tilts his head slightly for a second. "Of course you may stay with me. As long as you keep up on your studies and the work you're doing that won't be a problem, corra. There's plenty of room… And perhaps it's time we spent more time together anyway."
*
Lorna flashed her father a smile, darting in as they came to the diner's entrance and stealing a one armed hug from her father. "Thanks tata, I would like that." She stepped back and toward the entry way and up the steps to the diner then. "I promise I'll work extra hard. I know this doesn't mean that I get off of training, or anything." She grinned at Erik as she held the door open for him.
As they stepped inside a hostess directed them to a boothm setting down menus and pouring water before promising to check back in with them in a few.
*
"Especially not living with me. If you were trying to avoid training I trusty ou would have ran in the opposite direction," Erik replies in his usual forthright tone with just a hint of dryness along the edge. He takes a deep breath and then holds it for a second. The man smiles briefly at the wiatrrss before they are shown to the booth and sits down across from Lorna.
"In an ycase… Hm. They serve corned beef and ptoato salad…." Eirk is now in food mode and that means casual conversation. Insofar as the man ever makes smalltalk, of course.
*
A smile crossed the usually green haired mutant's lips at her father's dry wit. "Or flown, really." She shot back.
Lorna leaned forward, glancing over the menu, but she'd already well decided what she was going to order. After all, she'd been here before. She glanced over as her father mentioned corned beef and she tilted her head to the side. "Is that your favorite?" A pause, "What's your favorite food, tata?" She colored, realizing she didn't know what foods her father liked best.
*
"Or flown," Erik agrees mildly. "And, mmm. One of. I have several favorite foods, I suppsoe." Erik arches a brow then and promptly cants his head as he considers what he might have to say on the matter. "Israeli salad, corned beef, kuegel…" He shrugs slowly. "To be honest, corcezka, I suppose it depends on my mood. And your favourite food is…" He'll allow Lorna to finish the sentence.
*
Lorna bit her lower lip, trying to cement his words to memory. A look of focus crossing her features as she repeated it back mentally and then blinked as her father asked after her own favorite foods. "Anything sweet is basically my weakness. Chocolate." She tapped her chin in consideration. "I like hamburgers and shakes. Also whatever you cook has been really tasty."
She shrugged and looked down at the menu. "My adoptive mother used to bake me a chocolate cake for my birthday.. er.. well, the day that we celebrated as my birthday." She still had no idea when she was born. Green eyes lifted to consider her father.
"When's your birthday, tata?"
*
"The 17th of April, 1927," Erik replies quietly, nodding in repsonse to Lorna's words. He draws a slow breath and holds it for a moment, considering the conversation for a moment. "I could bake you a cake this year if you'd like," Erik offers then, squinting slightly while he does. "I don't often use chocolate but I am sure that I can manage. Hmm."
*
Lorna propped her chin up with her hand, and smiled at the offer of a cake. "Sure!" She grinned, "We could have a celebration for when we.. well, when I guess we found out you were my dad." She glanced up as the waitress approached and ordered herself a cheeseburger with fries, and a chocolate milkshake. A glance was spared toward her father as he ordered and the waitress left with their order.
"Do you not like chocolate, tata?"
*
Erik frowns at the cheeseburger but he doesn't speak up immediately. Instead he has his vaguely disappointed look and keeps it to himself. The man waits patiently for his sandwich and potato salad, shrugging lightly when Lorna speaks to him. "I like chocolate but not as much has you do," he replies honestly. "I normally don't think much of it. It's no matter. I'll still back you a cake."
*
Lorna caught the look of vague disappoinment and her brows furrowed as she considered her father. She shifted, recrossing her legs and propping her chin up with both hands. "Where did you learn how to cook so well? I can only bake things. I'm terrible at everything else. I either burn it, or it gets too oily, or something like that." She reached for her glass of water, sipping at it as she fell silent, waiting to see what she could learn about her father.
It was a rare moment when the two could just ask about the other. There was so much they didn't know about the other. Too many years lost.
*
Erik says, "I learned to cook on my own. No one cooked for me when I was young. My parents were gone and I had no famil. So… I made do." Erik shrugs her shoulders lsowly and shifts his weight back as he orients on Lorna properly. "There was a young woman who taught me to cook when I was younger. I saw her for a time. That's when I really started. Now I simply find it… Relaxing." Erik settles easily into this question and answer routine. He might nto ask many of his own but he is learning as well. Even if the cheeseburger disappoints him terribly for whatever reason."
*
Lorna listened with care, with a rapt expression on her face. She sipped at her water, and nodded slowly, waiting a moment in thought. "Did you ever have any pets growing up? Like a cat?" She waited a moment, "Do you like cats, or dogs? Or anything actually? I mean.. I never had a pet growing up. Not really. My adoptive mom was allergic." She murmured.
"I did try to hide a salamander in a shoe box for like a week though under my bed. It got out…"
*
"No. No pets, corra. There wasn't really anywhere to put them." Erik forwns for a second, canting his head while he considers his words once agian. "There was a raccoon who would come under the fence sometime. I couldn't feed it really but we would visit sometimes." Erik looks up then, flashing the waitress another smile as the food is being laid out.He takes his plate from her as she reaches over and then looks down at his corned beef on rye, nodding thoughtfully. "A salamander? Really? Hmm. What do they eat?"
*
Lorna blinked, tilting her head to the side for a moment, as she considered his words. A raccoon? She glanced up as the waitress set out the burger and fries before her and she happily picked up one of the fries and popped it into ketchup and nibbled away on it. At the question on what salamanders eat she shrugged, "To be honest I have no idea. I thought as a kid maybe they ate leaves or bugs or something. I tried it all. I never figured it out. THough this boy next door to me kept like dozens of them in a fish tank." She paused.
"I really should've just asked him." She scratched the bridge of her nose and colored faintly at the memory.
She nibbled at her food, thinking over other questions she had for her father that were safe, or relatively safe to chat about. "What was your favorite place to visit in all the places you've been to? Like you said you've been all over Europe and stuff. Besides going out with Billy, I haven't left the states."
….. fade