strangetrip | Check-In: Not-Mother Hen

Kitty sat at the bar with a cup of coffee and her notebook, watching the 'welcoming committee' make themselves busy. Liz was here, as she'd promised Kitty she would be and Kitty gave her a quick smile of encouragement.

One of the worst things about Check-In Days was that you never knew whether it'd be a whole long day of no one arriving, one spectacular fall from the ceiling and dropping dead after another, or anything in between. It made it hard to know what to do with yourself. After awhile, you got used to it and just kept on with whatever you'd do otherwise, and know that if you didn't step up for a new arrival, someone else would. But for someone not used to treating it like a responsibility to be here, especially someone with Liz's anxious need to be perfect at it, Check-In Day could be emotionally exhausting.

So Kitty made sure to have milk warmed for hot cocoa and her plans for the obstacle course handy in case Liz needed something to do with herself. Otherwise, she was working on a modification of Cerebro to see if she could start detecting new arrivals.

[ooc: Regular check-in day gathering post. If you want Kitty, ping me.]

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He took a half-step back from instinct, but tried not to look as apprehensive as Bradley felt. He peered at the knife briefly, then back to Sunny.

"Uh, yeah, sure." He replied. I wonder what the first thing she learned was.

She couldn't blame him for reacting badly to a knife. It was why she'd given any forewarning at all. Still, Sunny only continued like it was something that happened every day, because for her, it was.

She slashed at the air and said simply, "Bring music of Brad's heart."

This was not exactly the first magic she'd ever cast, but it was the first spell she'd cast with this knife. The results were not exactly predictable--sometimes it summoned a person's favorite song, or something they just really liked, or a work from a band they followed, or something that matched their mood. When she'd first cast it, she'd been giddy with finally having a juju knife of her own and it had summoned a bit of fast, high-pitched highlife music by Nyanga Tolotolo. She could never predict what would play for someone else.

Suddenly the music of Mikky Ekko started to play and Brad looked shocked. The magic first and then the song itself. His eyes were wide and his lips formed a tightly line before dipping into a subtly frown.

I woke up, I was stuck in a dream You were there, you were tearing up everything And we all know how to fake it baby And we all know what we've done We must be killers Children of the wild ones Killers Where we got left to run?

Sunny wasn't familiar with this song, and in the way of all first listens didn't grasp everything but the words she did pick out were... interesting.

"Never heard that one," she said neutrally, not wanting to lean one way or another as far as interpreting why that piece of music.

"It's, uh," Bradley started, looking uncomfortable. "on the radio sometimes."

He shifted his weight to his other foot and rubbed the back of his neck.

But it had hit a nerve. And so Sunny didn't ask. In fact she very deliberately went in another direction entirely.

"That was the first spell I ever learned to cast with my knife," she said. "My friend Chichi did it for me the very first time I saw it done. Classical. It was to help me cross the bridge into Leopard Knocks without the... thing living in the river from dragging me down. It almost did anyway. It's older than time, it can do what it likes."

"There's a.. 'thing' that lives in the river?" Brad asked with wide eyes. "Like... a magical thing? A troll or... something?"

Sunny smiled, a touch mischievous, but she wasn't lying. "It's not something that someone without magic would likely encounter, and it would make short work of a troll. But, yes. And that was probably one of the gentler parts of my early days practicing magic."

"Wow... that sounds... really intense." He said. "And dangerous... did you choose to do all that stuff?"

That was a good question and Sunny didn't answer it right away. She twirled the umbrella resting on her shoulder, lips pressing together in contemplation. "At the time," she said, "Chichi and Orlu were my only friends. And it was also a part of myself I hadn't known was missing. I could have chosen otherwise, but... I don't think I could have done it."

Somehow Bradley understood the concept that there might be more than one choice, but only one that you should or needed to take to stay yourself.

"That sounds... really brave." He said finally. "But nice. That you found that missing part of yourself."

Sunny felt herself starting to blush, absurd though it was. She briefly lowered her eyes. "Thank you."

She raised them again. "I was just going in for dinner. Were you heading anywhere in particular?"

"I was just, trying to get my bearings." He answered. "I thought if I could know where things were and be familiar, I'd feel less weird about being here."

"It'll come," Sunny assured him. Maybe not being okay with it, but familiarity certainly. She smiled teasingly. "And you'll find more shades of pink than you ever knew existed."

He laughed a quiet, but genuine laugh.

"I'd say I'd look forward to that, but I don't want to lie." Brad said lightly. "... I should, keep looking around. Thanks, for making this place feel a little less... whatever it feels."

Sunny grinned. "I try. And I'm sure I'm not the only person who'll offer, but I'm in room 193 if you need anything."

He nodded. He made a mental note of her room.

"I will." He said, but hoped he wouldn't need much.

Bradley raised his hand and gestured 'farewell' to Sunny, then turned and continued on his way.

Check-In: Not-Mother Hen

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