The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Welldrinker Cult
A shadowy group is gaining power, drawing in people who are curious, vulnerable, or malicious, and turning them into Mystics. They are recruiting people into their ranks to spread the influence of magic in the world, but for what end goal?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Posted by Luke Jacobs on Jan 27, 2009 6:31:25 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
1,041
0
Sept 8, 2010 9:05:47 GMT -6
(OOC: lol. Raina, you've got GMod permission for Luke anytime you need it. I trust you to not let him get killed. )
IC: Mentally Luke was trying to figure out how exactly he could dry off Raina without getting her all sandy. He didn't want to carry her over to the bathrooms until she changed back, but he didn't want her to feel terrible because she was encrusted with sand either.
"We're mutants Raina... even when we're living our normal lives they're not really normal." Luke replied gently as he set down her bag of clothes. "Now just try to relax while I get you taken care of."
Shifting his grip slightly so that he could keep her cradled against his chest with one arm, Luke slipped his jacket off of one side and then performed the same feet so that he could get the jacket the rest of the way off. While it wasn't exactly the most graceful movement, Luke was able to pull it off without dropping Raina to the sand. After dropping the jacket on the ground and spreading it out as best he could, Luke lowered Raina down onto it.
"You know, this might have actually been a good thing." Luke observed conversationally as slowly pulled Raina's dress up and over her head. As soon as the dress was off Luke wrapped her body in the towel, rubbing it gently to try and dry her while ignoring that fact that she was almost nude in front of him. "Victoria has had her power activate in public several times and because of that she might relate to someone else that can't hide their abilities all the time."
Even though he couldn't see with his eyes, he knew that there were certain things that would make people more comfortable. Keeping his head down so that his eyes were staring at the ground instead of Raina's body was just one of the ways he could try and keep her a little more at ease.
"But we just have to get you dried off first. Looks like I might need to buy you some sandals or something over at the gift shop though. I think you forgot an extra pair of shoes."
(OOC: Raina, feel free to GMOD Luke as necessary to get us back up to the sidewalk where Victoria can see us.)
Posted by rainewater on Jan 27, 2009 6:59:12 GMT -6
Guest
Raina listened to him as he worked prying her arms away from him. She wrapped them around her wet dress. "I'm pretty wet. " she said as he got her legs dry and they started to shift. She winced. "I'm gonna be stuck in limbo if I don't get this dress off." she admitted. She looked around trying to figure out how she would do this... "Luke... " she started "I think I'm going to have to get sandy whether I want to or not." she rolled herself off his jacket. "I appreciate the effort... but if I dont get this dress off I'll never get dry." she handed him the jacket and pulled his arms up. "Just hold this right there. No peeking." she laughed. Even though they were under the dock Raina didnt need a passerby to charge her with indecent exposure. That would be even more mortifying. "So, you bump into naked chicks often?" she teased as she pulled the cold dripping dress over her head. Once it was off she went to work with the towel as quickly as she could getting her hair dry enough that it wouldn't drip and working her way from her shoulders all the way down to her legs.
Finally she shifted from the in-between to the full on human legs and pulled the top and pants on from her bag. "All finished." she announced pulling his arms back down and leaning forward to give him a peck on the nose. "my hero." she grinned. Putting her hand inside the bag and turning it inside out she used it to pick up the wet clothing. "I think you're right about the shoes... too bad. I loved that jacket as well." she furrowed her brows taking stock of everything. "I can handle without shoes for a bit..." she wiggled her toes. "Just might seem weird to everyone else." she suddenly thought of Victoria. "Oh! Luke we better check for Victoria!"
He had been right that it might help Victoria to know someone else was so inconvieniently bothered by their mutation but right now Raina was just so relieved that she hadn't seen her whole embaressing exchange. She gripped his hand moving quickly to get out of the dock. It took her a moment to realize Victoria had actually been standing right above them. "Hey!" she called out still gripping Luke's hand not really thinking giving everything that had just happened. 'Victoria are you alright? Sorry for the scare!"
Victoria was so relieved to see Raina and Luke emerge from under the dock and on to the sidewalk that she didn't really notice Raina clutching Luke's hand. Pleased to see them, Victoria ran toward the pair.
She never saw it coming.
The young boy, fooling around with his brothers and a soccer ball hadn't intended to cause any trouble but he was a boy and with boys trouble comes naturally. He kicked the ball really quite hard and his brother, younger and not as strong made a snap decision not to intercept it; or perhaps it was just because he was not fast enough. Either way, it flew in a graceful arc that belied its power, straight at Victoria and passed right through where her head had been which, in common with the rest of her body was now an expanding cloud of particles. If it had hit someone else it probably would have caused considerable damage to the person's ear or at least caused it to bleed profusely. In Victoria's case it had triggered her mutation.
For a moment her clothes remained where they had been when encasing her petite frame and then unsupported, they crumpled to the deck of the dock along with her handbag, which today just held her purse, cell phone and keys and a few other essential items; nothing that would be adversely affected by the fall.
As luck would have it, there was a light breeze blowing and it took Victoria off the dock and over the water. A little upward eddy took Victoria up until she was about fifty feet off the surface. For a moment there was a cloud, perhaps twenty feet across and nothing seemed to be happening, then the particles started to come together, slowly at first and then at an ever increasing rate.
Suddenly there was a naked young woman in the air.
Too dense to stay there, with a startled yelp Victoria fell hitting the surface of the water and abruptly disassociated again. At fifty feet the surface of the water was almost has hard as solid ground and her mutation took over, protecting her from damage as it had done with the soccer ball. For the second time in 30 seconds all that could be seen was a cloud of particles.
It took a little longer for Victoria to come back together but fortunately she had not drifted further away or back up into the air. This time, when she coalesced she was only a few inches above the surface and this time she got wet.
Very, very wet.
The shock of the cold water woke her instantly from the stupor that usually followed such an incident, allowing her to get away with only breathing in a tiny amount of water though she swallowed a somewhat greater quantity. Gasping and coughing she trod water, tears mingling with the river water and wondered what she had done to deserve such unkind treatment from the Universe. After a few seconds and clearly not in any real trouble she swam slowly toward the dock, collecting the soccer ball and swam under the dock, hoping that she wouldn't have to remain in the water too long before Luke and Raina turned up with her clothes.
Posted by Luke Jacobs on Jan 28, 2009 6:15:52 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
1,041
0
Sept 8, 2010 9:05:47 GMT -6
"Damn! The blind man swore softly as he watched Victoria, quite literally fall apart.
Luke wasn't a cursing man... he really wasn't, but over the past several weeks it seemed that he kept running into situations that brought out the worst in him. The adventure in the house with Sara and CS had been one of the most stressful nights of his life and his language had shown it. Maybe he was slowly becoming a cursing man after all.
"Raina... wait here for Victoria to come back together." Luke said quietly as he released his girlfriend's hand and headed for the railing that separated the beach from the walkway, "I'll grab her clothes and bag. And uh... she might need to borrow your towel."
Breaking into a jog Luke grabbed the top of the railing and vaulted over it before heading toward where Victoria's clothes and bag now lay all alone. The kid that had kicked the soccer ball was just staring in amazement in the direction of where both his ball and the woman had disappeared. His mouth was hanging open but no sounds were coming out as the kid tried to decide whether to shout in annoyance and anger or scream in fear.
"This day is turning out great... just wonderful." Luke ranted softly to himself as he gathered up the young woman's clothes, shoes, and bag, "This is the second time in one day I get to bump into a woman that loses her clothes rather suddenly. That's what every guy dreams of in high school."
Luke was doing his best not to think about or actually touch the undergarments that were concealed within Victoria's clothes. She was like a sister... nobody in their right mind checks out what kind of bra or panties their sister wears... do they? Shaking his head quickly to try and clear it of all the typical guy thoughts that were pushing to the forefront, Luke turned back toward the railing where he could once again gain beach access.
"Is everyone decent?" He called out as cheerfully as possible while keeping his sonar tightly controlled so that he wouldn't see Victoria in her state of undress. If Raina hadn't been there the temptation might have been to strong but, the combo of having his girlfriend there and knowing that she could sense his sonar at least a little bit helped him to keep everything under control.
Posted by rainewater on Jan 28, 2009 12:44:16 GMT -6
Guest
Raina's mouth hung open as she watched Victoria go to pieces. It was like an ellaborate fireworks show and aside from being shocked she marvelled at how beautiful everything seemed. She shook her head startled when she saw Victoria above the water and as soon as Raina had gotten herself to the dock she started running hell bent on leaping in after the woman. Unless Victoria was an olympic swimmer she wasn't getting back from that distance after that high a fall but before Raina could leap into the water Victoria materialized again just below Raina. Raina looked down with the puzzled look on her face.
'Geesh you weren't kidding." Luke had gone off to find Victoria's clothes and Raina still in her bare feet looked for the towel. "You're not like me. you're going to get cold fast and we can't risk you getting hypothermia." she reached for the towel thankful that it wasn't damp from drying herself off and dangled it down to Victoria who was still in the water. "I can lift you up. But I can't if your hands are wet or I'll end up back in there with you. So grab the towel. I'm going to try and haul you up. Luke's got your clothes we'll wrap you up the second you're out of the water."
She looked around over her shoulders to see if anyone was watching. Well, there was a very shocked boy standing a ways off but there's no way he'd be able to see everything. "The coast looks clear. We're gonna have to do this in one big pull." Raina braced herself. She could be really strong especially after just getting an andrenaline rush from her own mutation and a secondary one from someone elses. "Hang on tight." she looked down to see if Victoria was ready. "Ready... 1... 2... 3!" with that Raina used all her strength to grip the towel hoping Victoria was holding on with dear life. "Not every day New York gets two naked women running around." she grunted as she did her absolute best to pull. Her muscles were aching. Hopefully Luke would get back in time to help her. They'd need to be fast.
It was a relief to see Raina standing on the dock above her. She though she might just be able to reach her hand and for a moment she couldn't understand why Rania didn't grab her hand directly and then it clicked. If Raina got wet she would change again.
The attempt was, of course, doomed to failure. Victoria managed to grasp the towel but her arms were tired and her cold fingers lacked the strength to support her weight, such as it was. She had her torso almost completely out of the water when her fingers released their grip suddenly. With a startled squawk Victoria fell back into the water, though fortunately without creating too much of a splash. With a bit of luck the water would not have reached Raina.
She surfaced, coughing up more water, her tears flowing more strongly and her body starting to shiver with the cold. It was fortunate that there was little in the way of current or she would have been powerless to resist it.
Victoria looked up at Raina, or at least she assumed what she could see was Raina; the tears in her eyes made focusing difficult and the biting cold was making thinking difficult.
"I..I..I'llll sw..i..i..m a..a..sh..sh..ore." Her teeth were chattering and it was difficult to get the words out.
Hoping Raina had heard her, Victoria swam toward the beach under the dock, still bunting the soccer ball ahead of her though not sure why or what significance the ball had. It just somehow seemed important that she retrieve it.
The last stretch seemed interminable and she was very cold and near exhaustion by the time she was able to crawl out of the water. Victoria couldn't stand, she didn't have the strength. Another twenty yards and she might not have made it. Victoria collapsed on the sand, her lower legs still in the water. She was still shivering but they were weakening as her body reduced the circulation to her limbs in an attempt to keep her core warm. It was not a good sign.
Posted by Luke Jacobs on Jan 29, 2009 6:52:38 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
1,041
0
Sept 8, 2010 9:05:47 GMT -6
It kept getting better...
Luke had been moving in the direction to help Raina lift Victoria out of the water when he heard the splash that meant Victoria was once again, back in the water.
"I..I..I'llll sw..i..i..m a..a..sh..sh..ore." Luke could just make out Victoria's voice chattering from below.
"Back down to the beach then..." The blind man murmured to himself as he changed direction and head back toward the railing that he could vault in order to get back down to the beach, "I wonder if we'll ever get to enjoy the statue."
Luke was doing his best not to pay much attention to the nude female form that was now stretched out on the beach with the water lapping at her legs, but he really didn't have much choice. It would be dangerous for Raina to go that close to the water so it looked like he was going to have to get the young woman.
Slipping off his jacket again Luke dropped it on the ground and then set Victoria's clothing on top so that they wouldn't get all sandy. Turning to Raina he held out a hand. "If you give me the towel, I'll grab her an carry her over here then you can focus on getting her warm, dry, and dressed again. Sound good?"
Posted by rainewater on Jan 29, 2009 11:31:35 GMT -6
Guest
Raina nodded giving Luke the towel- and his jacket that he'd given her earlier. "She's not like me Luke." said Raina calmly though her mind was racing. "She's going to die from this cold. " she hesitated "We should take her to your place." at this point her concern for Victoria was bubbling over that she was almost crying herself. "She needs to be warm and in a place without prying eyes to calm down and de-brief." it would be hard an uncomfortablev but Raina was determines to use this as a teachable moment in regards to Victoria's powers. "I don't think there's time to waste the wind is cold and she's soaked. She's not going to last. Any longer and we'll have to take her to the hospital."
She watched Luke scoop Victoria up. She was no longer feeling jealous, any animocity she felt toward the girl had vanished when she saw her crying form- reminding herself of what she'd just been through. "I'm going to wave down a cab. We need to be fast. Hold he rreally tight to you the warmth from your body will help." she looked at Victoria seriously. "Victoria I want you to keep your hands between your legs. I know it sounds embaressing but we've got the towel on you and it's one of the best ways to keep your heat centered and fight off the hypothermia without any frost bite to your hands." she turned and ran up the sandy bank back onto the street in her bare feet not even noticing.
She'd totally forgot about her own experience moments ago- Raina was in pure strategic x-men mode. She saw a Cab ready to leave but she wasnt going to let it. She stormed up to it with her arms oustretched and signalled him to wait. She slammed the door open. "I have some passengers for you but one is... injured. I need you to wait here." she reached into the pocket of her jeans and was so relieved to find a ten. She stuffed it into his hand
She spun back around marching right back to the chattering Victoria trying her best to ignore the situation she'd put her and Luke in. THis was about saving Victoria's life... she could be jealous later. "I got a cab. bring her up here and we'll go to your place." that was an order... not a request.
Victoria wasn't thinking in terms of embarrassment in relation to her hands between her legs. Her face would have coloured if her body hadn't been fighting to retain its temperature but it was embarrassment of the trouble she was putting Luke and Raina to. She did as she had been advised.
The feel of Luke's hands on her bare skin as he picked her up was something she would remember for a while, even though the sensation was diminished by her condition. She felt a surge of jealousy toward Raina that his tender touch would be reserved for her and not Victoria but it was a weak and feeble thing, no match for the cold the pervaded her body.
Victoria was vaguely aware of Raina talking about taxis and realised that it meant an end to their attempt to climb the Statue of Liberty. It was her fault and over that she did feel embarrassed and certain that they wouldn't invite her out again for fear she would spoil that too. She wanted to say that she was alright, that getting dressed and a hot drink was all she needed but that was too much effort.
"I..I..I' .m..m..m s..s..sorry." Victoria stuttered.
((OOC - Victoria will be very biddable, doing whatever Luke and Raina ask her to do so feel free to move her around as necessary)).
Posted by Luke Jacobs on Jan 30, 2009 6:45:10 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
1,041
0
Sept 8, 2010 9:05:47 GMT -6
Allowing Raina to take charge seemed like the completely sensible thing so while she ran to get a taxi hailed down, Luke lifted the nude young woman into his arms and then carefully wrapped her in both he towel and jacket that were available. He did his best to ignore Victoria's smooth skin... she was like al ittle sister... an attractive little sister for sure, but still she was like a little sister.
"I got a cab. bring her up here and we'll go to your place." Raina ordered as she ran back over to where Luke was carrying the now well covered Victoria away from the water. If Luke's hands hadn't been occupied he would have saluted the red haired woman, but for now he settled for a simple, "Yes ma'am."
Suddenly another thought popped into Luke's mind. "Raina... grab Victoria's clothes. I set them down right over there." Now it was his turn to be giving the orders, although he did give them politely.
""I..I..I' .m..m..m s..s..sorry." Victoria stuttered out through still chattering teeth.
"It's fine Victoria... don't worry about it. Raina and I have been through these kinds of situations before." Luke reassured the young woman as he walked over to the cab that Raina had hailed. Moments later Luke was sitting inside with Victoria cradled in his arms and Raina sitting right next to him. After quickly giving the driver his address Luke sat back against the cushions of the seat as he just focused on trying to keep Victoria warm.
"Should we just put her under covers when we get back or would a warm water bath be better?" Luke asked quietly as he turned his attention over to Raina. Having grown up in the cold she had to be the more experienced in these kinds of situations so he was going to just let her take the lead on this one.
(OOC: Raian, feel free to have us jump ahead to the apartment. You've got GMod permission from both me and Victoria. )
Posted by rainewater on Jan 30, 2009 10:59:24 GMT -6
Guest
Raina turned as Luke mentioned the clothes. "Oh right!" she hussled over to get them and headed back to the cab. She got in the front seat next to the driver and he cocked an eyebrow at her. "Just drive. ' she rolled her eyes giving him the address. It seemed to take forever to get there through the traffic and every few minutes Raina would look back and say something encouraging to Victoria. "it;s not your fault" she exclaimed. "the trip was doomed the moment I jumped over board." she joked even though it was true.
Finally they arrived at Luke's apartment and Raina led the way literly fishing the keys out of Luke's pocket ordering him to hang on to Victoria tight. As they got in the elevator she added "I think both. A bath to start but Victoria you'll have to let me set the temperature." she advised. "You're so cold right now you might actually burn yourself because You aren't feelings things as they really are." she reflected a moment. "after that I think wrapping up in some blankets would be good too. I'm gonna poke you with a thermometer at some point too." she teased. "Make sure your body temp is normal."
She stood a moment in the elevator. It was shiny and she remembered her first trip up it. A pit formed in her stomach when she saw Luke and Victoria back in the reflection but she swallowed the feeling and lead the way as the doors opened.
She got to the apartment door and opened it herself- she forgot their may be evidence of her visiting here like the dress hanging in the guest bedroom. She wondered if Victoria had been here before or what she'd think of the place if she hadn't. Luke had money, and it showed in the niceness of his home. He wasn't extravagent but it was a totally huge step up from what she was used to.
She quickly made her way to the guest bathroom and arriving first she took everything that belonged to her that she'd left previously into a droor with one swift movement. She looked around casually and it seemed like a guest bathroom again. She bent under the sink and grabbed the rubber gloves that were next to the bottles and bottles of rubbing alcohol. She grinned pulling them on. She'd still be able to tell the warmth of the water with these and not get wet.
She pulled on the tap and adjusted things then waited for the water to fill half way and stopped it. She stepped out of the bathroom. "Ok. Things are ready in here!" she called. She was mentally hoping that Victoria was able to walk at this point. She wasn't keen on the idea of Luke putting her in the tub but she'd swallow her pride for the woman's safety. She could be mad about all of this later.
Victoria didn't want to have to walk, it meant she would have to leave Luke's arms and she never wanted to do that. It was all a silly romantic girl could wish for, cradled in the arms of a strong man and in the taxi she had subconsciously snuggled into Luke, seeking warmth, which she desperately needed and comfort which she wanted. Curled in his arms it was easy to believe that it was her that he loved.
They were surface thoughts, light fantasies, not serious thoughts that impinged on anything deeper, being all she was capable of. They spun a cocoon of romantic warmth around her. It would have been fun if only she wasn't so diabolically cold!
The spell was broken as Victoria heard Raina call to say she was ready. Her eyes had been closed and it had been easy to pretend it was her and Luke alone. With her romantic cocoon swept away by a reality she couldn't deny the cold that pervaded her slender body bit deep again and she shivered involuntarily.
Posted by Luke Jacobs on Jan 31, 2009 20:50:36 GMT -6
Omega Mutant
1,041
0
Sept 8, 2010 9:05:47 GMT -6
Luke could tell that Victoria was in no position to walk into the bathroom by herself so, moving carefully he walked in with the young woman still cradled in his arms.
"She's cold Raina... really cold." Luke said quietly as he felt another shiver moved through the young woman's body, "Did we get her out of the water in time?"
Working on auto pilot Luke cut off his sonar completely as he moved to lower Victoria into the bath tub. He didn't really think about the fact that Raina would be able to tell his sonar was off and he didn't think about the fact that his jacket would more than likely be getting wet in the new few moment. All that he thought about was getting Victoria someplace where she could begin to warm up while he tried to come up with some other way to help.
"Uh... I'll go put the kettle on for hot tea. That should help all of us warm up." Luke said as soon as the young woman was out of his arms, "I... uh... I'll be in the kitchen. Raina, if you need anything I'll bring it to you."
With a quick smile at the beautiful mermaid Luke slipped out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen. He couldn't help in the bathroom but he could help in some small way by getting the warm drinks ready.
Posted by rainewater on Feb 1, 2009 17:03:18 GMT -6
Guest
Raina felt as if a fog lifted from her brain and it took her a moment to realize that was Luke turning off his sonar and going on his memory pattern of the rooms. She silently thanked him feeling less akward about him being with a naked Victoria and mentally she felt a littl relieved. She was getting so used to be around Luke that she didn't always know the sonar bothered her until he turned it off or she was away from him.
She nodded when Luke said it may not be soon enough. "She seems a little delerious. I'm going to check her temperature. Once her colour returns to normal we'll get her in bed. Do you have a housecoat? A lot of clothes are going to hurt her skin so it's better to wrap her losely then put her under the covers." she knocked on the bathroom door even though it was open. "Victoria, I need to check some things. I want you to forget about the fact you're naked and just focus on answering my questions ok?" she went in closing the door behind her. When she walked in she could see the coat was still wrapped around Vicoria but she pulled the shower curtain mostly closed anyway to give her some privacy. She was still wearing the gloves.
"I'm not a doctor but I know an awful lot about hypothermia and related conditions having grown up in the North. Even before I became a mutant I had a few bad spills under the ice. Almost died once if it hadn't been for my brother's best friend." she wanted to keep the woman awake and alert... even though the insecurities she was feeling were chipping away at her strongly now.
She reached under the sink for a small first aid bag and brought out the thermometer. She slid over and sat on the floor next to Victoria in the tub and plunked the thermometer in her mouth." Hold still." she grinned. "Im gonna poke you a bit. if it hurts just make a noise but try and keep that in you rmouth." she instructed. First she brought her hands just below Victoria's ears and pushed lightly on the base of her neck. She was checking her glands and they thankfuly felt fine. Next she asked Victoria to let her see her fingers. She took them - they still looked cold but she pressed on the finger nails and watched to see how quickly the colour returned. "this must all be pretty high up on your list of traumatizing moments." she said brushing Victoria's hair from her eyes to get a better look at them.
Raina could seem so young at times but it was easy to see why she fitted in with the mansion staff as a teacher. Raina was a natural born helper- and there was a lot of that in Luke as well. She pulled the thermometer from Victoria's lips and gave it a look. "Oh, practically normal that's great. No fevers, no infection. You're gonna ache for a bit..." she admitted. "How do your fingers and toes feel? your lips and skin are still a bit blue but I don't think there's any frost bite. I think with some warm tea, a few more minutes til the colour comes back in the water, and getting wrapped up in the blankets is going to ward of the hypothermia. You'll hurt from all the shivering and clenched muscles though. I'd recomend taking the next few days off work." she stood up and closed the curtain "I'll see about your tea." she pulled off the gloves and laid them on the sink.
She stiffly walked out of the room closing the door behind her and met Luke in the kitchen. She was so thankful he stopped using his sonar but her head was still a bit swimming and she was starting to feel overwhelmed. "hey." she said weakly. "I think Victoria better stay here tonight. Someone needs to keep an eye on her... and I'm afraid the shock is going to last a while." she admitted. "I... have to get back to the mansion. I'm greeting some new students, I can't really pass it on." she leaned against the kitchen counter. "I'll stay til we get her set up." she looked down at her bare feet.
Victoria didn't know Luke had turned off his sonar, not being sensitive to it. She was vaguely aware that Luke's sonar could tell him whether she was clothed or not but she didn't know how closely it resembled sight with respect to the details he could pick up. She wasn't thinking about that; the cold in her body was too intense making coherent thought difficult.
She wouldn't have really thought about being naked it if Raina hadn't brought her attention to it. It was only then that she started to feel uncomfortable. It was the normal discomfort of a young woman not used to being naked in front of anyone except her parents. Even then she had not been naked in front of them since she was about twelve except when she had had an 'episode'. There had been the three incidents on the day she had met Luke and although she had been exposed the first time, darkness, a table and quick thinking on Luke's part had managed to prevent exposure. There was a vague thought niggling at the back of her mind that perhaps she should try to fell less vulnerable and uncomfortable. It seemed that ending up without clothes was going to be something that happened fairly often.
Then she suddenly realised that she wasn't actually naked; the jacket was still around her. Victoria didn't relax completely but her discomfort level dropped significantly.
"Hold still." she grinned. "Im gonna poke you a bit. if it hurts just make a noise but try and keep that in you rmouth."
Victoria had always hated thermometers, perhaps because they were associated with being sick and she hated being sick. An only child, precious because her mother could not have another, not spoiled but never having to compete for attention, Victoria hadn't had to resort to pretending to be sick so when the thermometer came out it meant she really was ill. Despite all that and although she was feeling fragile, emotionally, she was also trying her best to be an adult and so she dutifully opened her mouth to allow Raina to insert the thermometer. The pressure on her glands as Raina checked them was tolerable but the pressure on her fingernails was quite painful and she let out a little whine while still managing to retain the thermometer. There were tears in Victoria's eyes when Raina looked though they were not spilling over.
"This must all be pretty high up on your list of traumatizing moments."
All Victoria could do was nod dumbly and not just because she had a thermometer in her mouth. It wasn't the most traumatic by a significant margin, that being reserved for the moment she had had to accept that her parents really were dead. However it was the second most traumatic experience in her short life.
The discomfort of returning circulation distracted her from other thoughts. If it had stayed at discomfort it would have been alright but of course it didn't and despite her best resolve she couldn't prevent the escape of a low whimper every now and then. It didn't seem fair that the indicators of circulation returning to normal should be so painful. Surely something good should be pleasant, not so darned uncomfortable.
"I'll see about your tea."
"Thank you." Victoria whispered.
Alone in the bathroom she relaxed a little more and also allowed herself to whimper a little more as the circulation returned. Finally the pain diminished again to something bearable and while she still felt cold it was not quite the deep-seated aching cold. Victoria wondered if she should perhaps get out of the bath but she felt weak and the water was still warm enough.
"Another couple of minutes." She thought to herself and let herself just drift.