Pressure Points (closed)

(OOC: Since I run both characters, I decided to rp this all out in the same post, instead of switching back and forth. Color-coded for characters. Sorry for the length.

Iris stared through the gates of the Mansion, lost in a pool of deja vu. Nearly a year earlier she had stood in this exact spot, watching the residents of the estate go about their daily business just like today. It had been snowing then, bathing the area in a beautiful white blanket, and lending to the air of peaceful security. Just in that first day, she’d made at least three new friends out of the blue, who didn’t care who she was or where she’d come from. At the time, at least to Iris, that building and its residents had symbolized so much, not the least of which included hope that maybe, just maybe, she would no longer have to hide what she was. Her first week had been the first time in years that she’d actually relaxed, and felt safe.

So much had changed since then.

Her friends were still here, and still her friends. The residents still went about their lives, happily if their expressions were anything to judge. After weathering numerous onslaughts and attacks on its walls, a bit of the Mansion’s original beauty still shone through. It’s body and grounds had been restored, and once more the estate seemed ready and willing to greet and accept those rejected by everyday society.

But as she stood at gates watching this time, she felt.... hollow. Well.... maybe not hollow. More like.... numb. Happiness, confusion, guilt, fear, unease, longing.... So many feelings swirling around and mixed together inside, it was impossible to pick one to describe her emotions at that moment. If she hadn’t know any better, she would have sworn her mutation had activated on its own. But no, her palm was gem-free, her hair was naturally blonde, and her eyes were grey and not silver. She was all Rayne Iris Belamount, not a hint of the mutant within showing.

She wanted to go in, wanted to find her friends. Perhaps have another slumber party with Layla, or go on an ice cream run with Nika, or maybe see if Raina could teach her how to sing. She owed Chip and his friends a few practical jokes, and Ruby a thank you for the snowglobe, and she wanted to see if Mett had decided to get a puppy after all. She’d never had a chance to go out on the lake, or explore the gardens, or spend the day at the pool. She was still listed in their records as a resident; she knew that thanks to some discreet hacking on Crystal’s part. So there was nothing stopping her from going back.

Nothing but herself. And she was doing a pretty convincing imitation of a cement roadblock, too.

Her stomach growled audibly. It was nearing dinner time, and her furred friends would be needing some out time. Iris sighed, and turned away, back toward her truck.

”You’re headed in the wrong direction, ya know. Kitchen’s back that way.”

Iris nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked around, wide-eyed, but saw no one else around.

”Unless, of course, you’re a were-somethin’-or-another, or a hunter-shifter. If that’s the case, there’s a little thicket behind the backside of estate, about a mile north. There’s not much in the way of big prey, but a lot of foxes, rabbits, sparrow, etcetera.”

Iris looked up; the body-less, and distinctly feminine voice seemed to be coming from somewhere above.

”I-I don’t hunt,” she replied tentatively.

”Shame. I haven’t had a good rabbit stew in years.” A disappointed sigh came from the direction of a large tree hanging over the privacy wall. Iris squinted; she could just barely make out a dark figure partially hidden in the branches.

”I’m.... sorry.” She really had no idea how to reply. The figure tilted her head.

”Sorry? Why sorry?”

”I-I.... don’t know?” she stammered.

A soft chuckle reached her ears. ”Well then, sounds like there’s no need to apologize.”

Iris blinked. ”I.... I guess....”

“Well, if you don’t hunt, we may as well go inside and forage in the fridge instead.”[/b]

[/color]The figure shifted positions, then leaned back and fell out of the tree. She landed gracefully on her feet, and Iris realized that it hadn’t been the tree shadows making her look dark. The woman’s skin was a deep shade of brown, like dark chocolate, and her hair appeared pure black. She was a bit shorter, hippier and possibly older than Iris, and she could see laugh lines around her eyes. Or she would have, if the woman’s eye color hadn’t contrasted so starkly with her skin and drawn Iris’s attention. At first she though the woman may have been blind, her eyes were so white.

She pulled out a keychain, pressed a button, then stood back as the gates swung quietly open.

”Better bring your truck in. People drive crazy in this state, ya know? Even on the back roads.” She smiled at Iris, and before the blonde could protest, climbed up onto the ski rack. She sat there grinning, waiting patiently for Iris to drive onto the property. Surprised, and more than a little confused, Iris felt compelled to comply.

”Oops! Forgot my manners again. Name’s Neena. And you are?”

“Uh.... I-Iris....”[/b] she stammered as she climbed into the driver’s seat.

[/color]”Oooh! Like the rainbow? Pretty name. Nice to meetcha, Iris! You can pull right up to the front door. No one’ll bother it for a while.”

Iris did as she was told, but didn’t cut the ignition when she reached the door. She also didn’t get out of the car. ”I really can’t stay,” she explained as Neena jumped down from the top of the truck. ”I-I need to g-get home and feed my cat and chinch.”

“No worries. They won’t be too mad if ya take a doggiebag home for ‘em. Or a kittiebag, I guess would be better. Or a chinchbag?”[/b] Neena wrinkled her nose, then shook her head and smiled. ”Meh, tell ‘em it’s a doggiebag. If nothing else, the cat will think its getting revenge on the last dog that barked at it. C’mon, m’friend.”

Neena popped open the vehicle door, then headed for the Mansion’s front door. [/color]Iris hesitated, but it appeared the older woman fully expected her to follow. And she didn’t want to be rude. Maybe a quick bite wouldn’t hurt.

Neena paused to wait for the young girl, who seemed unusually nervous. She could understand why; if this was the same Iris she had heard and read about in the school files. Not only had she destroyed half of the school when her mutation had gone wacko, but the day after that she’d disappeared without a trace, only leaving a rather cryptic ‘goodbye’ letter behind. A call to her guardians had only turned up that she was safe, but no details. Suspicious to say the least in the teacher’s mind.

But she made no mention of the incident, nor asked any details of the skittish blond. As they led the way to the kitchen, all she asked was, ”So what’re ya in the mood for, kiddo?”

Iris followed behind Neena, glancing around nervously. For some reason, the thought of seeing any of her friends at that moment didn’t seem as appealing as it had earlier. She noticeably started a bit at the woman’s question.

”Um.... any-anything’s fine. I guess.”

“You sure about that?”[/b] Neena opened the fridge and leaned in, so she didn’t see Iris’s nod. ”Well, since we’re sending leftovers home to the kids, how but a chicken caesar salad? That oughta satisfy both of ‘em.”

[/color]“All right. I guess.”

“Not too sure of yourself, are ya, kiddo?”[/b]

[/color]Iris flushed, and looked down at the table. It was rather obvious, but she hadn’t expected Neena to be so blunt about it.

Neena’s teasing expression softened a bit. Apparently she’d hit a tender spot with this girl. To try and ease the youth’s tension, she handed her a cheese grater and a hunk of white cheese. ”Here, kiddo. Why don’t you shred that for me?”

Iris accepted the task, grateful for something else to focus on.

Neena, meanwhile pulled out a cutting board and began chopping lettuce, her movements quick and graceful. Soon she moved onto the chicken, and after a moment she began to whistle ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, off-key but still recognizable. Assuming it had to do with her name, Iris blushed even redder. She finished her task, then waited while Neena assembled the meals.

When she reached over to hand Iris her plate, the blonde noticed a thin, white ring around the lady’s wrist. She realized it was a scar, and similar to other she’d seen.

”You were in the Camps?”

“Hm?”[/b] Neena blinked, and looked down. ”Oh! Yeah, yeah I was. Lovely place that. Kinda makes you hate jewelry, actually....” She examined the marred flesh, as if it was the first time she’d noticed it. Iris looked down at her plate again.

[/color]”I’m sorry.”

“Oh? Is there a reason this time?”

“I.... wasn’t there....”[/b]

[/color] Neena let out a hearty laugh, surprising Iris into looking up. ”Well that’s nothing apologize for, kiddo. Be glad ya weren’t there.”

“I should have been.”[/b]

[/color] Neena frowned slightly in confusion. ”I highly doubt that, kiddo. The only ones that should have been there were the sadists and masochists. They’d have been perfectly content with each other, I’m sure.”

Iris didn’t reply, simply stared at her food. Neena tilted her head. ”M’friend, that face is begging to be asked what’s wrong. Is my cooking that bad?”

She received the barest of head shakes in reply.

”Well, something’s making ya wilt like a willow. Boyfriend, girlfriend or ‘Significant Other’ trouble maybe?”

Iris gulped, then flushed a bit more as an image of Virote popped into her mind. She shook her head to clear it away. ”Too much baggage for all of that.”

“Oh, but kiddo, that’s what Significant Others are for! If it weren’t for them and our friends, all that baggage would crush us like ants.”[/b] After another pause, Neena continued prodding her voice even gentler. ”Maybe that’s the problem. All of that baggage is starting to get heavy, isn’t it? Need another set shoulders to dump onto?”

[/color]Iris snorted ruefully, and turned her gaze to the wall. ”No ones shoulders are that big.”

“Big has nothing to do with it. It’s all about strength, m’friend.”

“No one’s that strong, either....”[/b]

Another hearty laugh startled the depression off of Iris’s face. She turned in surprise.

[/color]”All the more reason to share the weight, kiddo, ‘cause you’re not that strong either.”

Iris blinked, unable to think of a reply. Her mental freeze allowed the older woman to continue briefly, uninterrupted.

”Seriously though, m’friend, eventually you’re gonna have to talk to someone about that river raging about in your head. If you don’t, all of that pressure is just gonna keep on building and pushing at ya. Eventually, that mental dam is going to break and really hurt someone, besides you.”

“Right. And what happens if that’s why you were created in the first place?”[/b] Iris winced, hearing her own bitterness come through. Neena shrugged and leaned back in her chair.

[/color]”So what? Ice can kill, or it can save. Same with fire, water, air, pretty much any element in nature you can think of. It all depends on how they’re used. I’m not the best judge of character, but I’m guessing you’re more intelligent than any of those. Surely you can choose your own path to follow.”

“No. I can’t.[/b] Iris snapped, then grimaced again. ”I-I’m sorry.”

[/color]“There ya go with that apologizing again. Really, Iris, you need to work on your confidence level.”

“How can I? How can I work on my confidence level, when the only thing I am confident of is that I hurt anyone I get close to?!”[/b] This time Iris was angry, and at Neena. ”If someone so much as jumps out of the shadows and says ‘Boo’, I’m might lose control and level a city block! It took half of this school to keep me under control when I went berzerk. Even the Stalker robots couldn’t handle me!” That was a bit overdramatic, but she was upset now, and had begun ranting. Tears threatened to spill over. ”I’m like a walking time bomb! A mine just waiting for the pressure to set me off, and there’s nothing I can do about it!!”

To her amazement, and bafflement, Neena simply laughed again. The woman held out her hands.

[/color]”Hello? Key word there? ‘Pressure’! That’s what I’m talking about. You’ve got to relieve that pressure, before explode. No pressure, no explosion, no problem. Happy days are here again.”

Iris slumped in her chair, still seething. ”Easy for you to say. You don’t have to deal with it every day....”

Neena snorted, and raised her hands to indicate the building around her. ”School for Mutants? Full of kids with no control? At least half the residents here have mutations that could spell some serious problems for the world in general. You want to know the difference between them and you?”

“Please, enlighten me,”[/b] Iris snipped. Neena gave her a one-sided grin.

[/color]”Not a thing.”

Having expected the woman to spout off some annoying witty, falsely profound, self-righteous and utterly unhelpful remark, the simple statement totally caught Iris off-guard, and knocked the angry wind right out of her sails. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, trying to come up with some smart comeback. Neena chuckled at the unsuccessful attempt. She stuffed a mouthful of salad into her mouth, and munched for a few moments. Then she tilted her head again.

”I saw you hugging Nika our first day back, didn’t I? Ya oughta try talking things out with her. She’s been through a lot, both growing up and in the Camps, so I’m sure she can relate. Or there’s a newer resident here, named Garrett. His mutation causes pain to others, yet he seems to be dealing rather well. Of course, they both have found people to talk to, which appears to be keeping them sane and happy, at least most of the time. I’m tellin’ ya, ya oughta try it. Simply talking to someone you trust does wonders.”

Iris returned to sullen silence, and became very interested in her food. She bit into a small piece of chicken.

”There was another kid asking about you recently, I overheard. Goes by the name of Redemption these days, I believe.”

Iris coughed, nearly choking on the meat. Neena reached over to pat her on the back.

”Ya’okay?” The blonde nodded, so Neena continued on. She passed the blush on the girl’s face off as embarrassment. ”Anyway, from what I understand, the skeletons in his closet literally came out to haunt him. I’d be willing to be that, whatever it is you’re dealing with, he’d understand.”

Iris mumbled something inaudible. Neena shook her head and sighed. She stood up and began pulling containers from the cupboards. ”Point is, Iris, you can’t handle the pressure by yourself. You gotta find someone to help you deal, and you’ve got to learn to trust. Otherwise.....” She shrugged and set two containers of food at Iris’s elbow. She smiled at the discontent blonde.

”I gotta run, m’friend. Got a night class to prep for in an hour. Hopefully, I’ll see ya’round.” She started to walk away, paused then backstepped. Iris heard a small clink, and looked up to see a key being placed on the table. ”Last I checked, your room’s still open, Rayne Belamount.”

Iris’s head snapped up, her eyes wide. Neena winked, then wandered out, whistling off-key again, leaving behind a very confused young mutant.