Video; un: ilikehorses

[shoplifter]

[Laura's been trying to adjust. Part of her wonders if coming here wasn't a grave mistake — she'd come thinking there are more like her, people who would accept her more willingly, and in a way, that's true. However... There are a few... annoyances. Grievances. Her rather overworked case worker Linda has been making sure she goes to school. Today isn't the best day for school, though. She's quiet and 'weird' and the other children usually aren't fond of her and her quiet but present danger.

And for Laura, well. She doesn't do well with anyone 'teaching' her. She's had too much of 'teaching' the last eleven years of her... eleven years.

She may or may not have punched another kid in the eye.

She may or may not have ditched school.

And now she sits on the top of a rather tall and dangerous brick-ish wall in the city, her feet hanging precariously off the edge. Close by, the shadow of a tram wooshes by, and somewhere out there, Linda the Case Worker is having a heart attack. Laura, however, seems more puzzled and annoyed than anything. She sits with a potentially stolen bag of mini-donuts, her favorite glasses pressed up on her forehead and her lovely albeit mildly damaged unicorn shirt clear and vibrant.]


Why do children have to go to classes? 

I can learn outside of school.


[There are mean children that exist. She's never ran into children who are so exclusionary; after all, mutants had to stick together.

And teachers aren't bad, but something about the set-up bothers her, in ways she's not sure how to explain.

Maybe it's harder to blend in than you'd think. Not that she had gone into this with any high hopes.] 

Comments

video

[shoplifter]

[She's not sure what religion is, really. She doesn't get sick, so that's out. And parents... well. She immediately pushes away the image of Logan — of dad. She can't afford to think about what happened at home, because then... It's just easier to focus on this instead. She looks down at her shirt, as if that might've been where he got his intel, and then back at the screen.]

¿En serio?

Do we visit horses? In school.

permavideo

[fingergunning]

Si.

You might, if you go to the right kind of school. Or you could take day trips to zoos. Depends. I don't know if they have horses here, but you can always see. Maybe the school can set you up with riding lessons.

[Jake Jensen; helper of horse-loving girls everywhere.]

video

[shoplifter]

[Good boy, a+ response.

She gives a short nod, considering her options.]

I can go to school when they have horse day.

[............... you tried, you're getting there.]

[fingergunning]

Well, see, that's the thing. If you're not enrolled as a student, they might not let you. Catch 22, senorita. They dangle all the fun stuff in front of you to get you to do the boring crap.

[shoplifter]

[Ugh. Her nose wrinkles.

She hasn't got a clue what a Catch 22 is, but she gets the idea anyway.]

I don't like orders.

[fingergunning]

I'm starting to get that feeling...

[Didn't like school. Check. Didn't want to follow the rules. Check. Yep. She was headed for a path of destruction. Clearly she needed a strong parental figure.

He wasn't it.]

[shoplifter]

[She cocks her head, slightly.]

Did you like it?

[School. Did you have something nice to say about it in testimonials, sir??]

[fingergunning]

No one likes all of it. I liked parts. I was kind of a geek. It's something to get through until you graduate and find something that suits you. You got anything you want to do when you get older?

[shoplifter]

[She stares at him for a long moment.

That's. What does that mean? She's perplexed.]

Anything to do?

I don't want to starve. I'd like to be taller.

[fingergunning]

[...Ow. That just... ow, Laura. That hurts his heart. He tries not to let it show, giving her a quick smile instead.]

Those are good, for starters. But I mean as an occupation. Doctor? Lawyer? Maybe a vet, if you like horses?

[shoplifter]

[A doctor? Maybe. Some doctors are kind. The nurses told her that.

Like the man who helped her father.

Lawyer? She has no clue what that is.

A vet...?

Give her a moment, she's trying to digest these potential 'occupations'.]

I don't know.

Do vets take care of horses?

[fingergunning]

Some vets do. You could be one that does, if that was something you wanted. But you have to go to school for that. Graduate. Go to vet school. Learn how to do all that medical stuff vets need to know. You could take care of more than just horses. If you wanted...

[shoplifter]

I like animals.

I haven't met very many, though.

[She's not sure if that's a requirement, before she gets into this whole 'vet' thing.]

[fingergunning]

No? They have a zoo here, I think. You should look at visiting it. Maybe they have a petting zoo. You could make a day of it.

[Why was he already starting to look up zoos on his phone? And planning to be part of that day?]

[shoplifter]

[She blinks, interested - and soon her mind is swirling with questions.]

What kinds of animals do they keep?

[fingergunning]

Honestly? I couldn't tell you, kid. This isn't exactly like back home. There's some weird sh-- ah, weird stuff here that I'm not used to. Could be goats. Could be dragons. Could be some weird tentacle monster. You'd have to check it out to be sure.

[shoplifter]

[It's just an example of how detached she is for the real world; dragons and goats are equal playing field, as far as she's concerned.]

You've visited a zoo before, though?

[fingergunning]

Me? Well, yeah. I went to a few growing up. Took my niece to some, too. Even visited a few over the world.

[Amanda, his niece, had loved getting pictures of some of the places he'd been, though he'd always been sure to keep them PG.]

[shoplifter]

Niece?

What is that, a niece?

[fingergunning]

... Jesus, kid. Where have you been? Niece. A, ah... daughter of a sibling. In this case, my sister's kid.

[Stop breaking his heart, Laura.]

[shoplifter]

[She glances away.

... It's hard to even imagine a family so large. She barely knew what to do when faced with a father.]

Daughter of a sibling... Are they a lot of names like this? In families?

[fingergunning]

Uh, yeah?

[Oh my god. Let him come cuddle you, you precious little flower. Or take you to the zoo. He'll even get you cotton candy.]

Brothers, sisters. Aunts, uncles. Nieces, nephews. Cousins. Grandparents. You've seriously never heard of them?

[shoplifter]

Grandparents and parents. I know them. And sisters... and brothers.

....

There are a lot, though. How big are families supposed to be?

[fingergunning]

Ah, well, that's not really a question anyone can answer. There's no 'should be' with families. They just are what they are. Sometimes you get huge ones, sometimes you get little ones. Or no families.

[Which he was starting to think she fell into.]

[shoplifter]

[... That's sad. But also her reality.]

Is yours big?