Jeanne-Marie and Shen - Backdated
Aug. 29th, 2018 09:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ax_mainShen and the new Jeanne-Marie's meet. Unsurprisingly, clothes are a sticking point.
When she was allowed to go back to her room, Jeanne-Marie wasn't precisely glad. It was something she'd been told to do, and so she'd do it, and if it made her unhappy she'd simply remind herself it was not for her to question. Xavier and Dr. McCoy weren't God, obviously, but they were authority figures, and she should be obedient so long as they asked nothing God wouldn't.
She knocked--the door was unfamiliar, or something she'd seen in a dream and wasn't sure had been real--though she knew she'd lived here for over a year now. She knew who her roommate was, but had no feeling one way or the other for her. She was a girl called Shen who had wings. That seemed angelic, and Jeanne-Marie took it as a good omen.
They had warned Shen, of course, and the Professor had done his best to prepare her for meeting her roommate's... alter. She'd had to read up on this a lot, because so far, most of her knowledge came from that movie Split. It was a lot of new concepts, and she was as nervous as she could be, as she sat at her desk, browsing social media on her computer to pass the time and try to ignore the growing spikes of anxiety in her lungs. She glanced up at her Eight-fold path poster, and tried to channel her zen the way her uncle seemed to manage so easily.
Yeah, right. Not happening.
She started a little when the knock came, and she pushed the stool back from her desk, hurrying over to open the door, huge brown wings obvious behind her. "It's you! I mean, hi. You don't... have to knock. Come in."
Jeanne-Marie entered, dressed in a simple, calf-length skirt in gray and a long-sleeved but thin black sweater over a white button down. She might as well have been a novitiate at a local convent. She nodded to Shen. "Hello." Even her English sounded a little different, more halting. "I know you're Shen, but--I'm sorry. I don't have any emotional connection Aurora might've formed. I hope it won't be too strange for you. I will be a good roommate, though."
"That's fine," Shen hurried to confirm, feathers ruffling slightly behind her. "We can - build that up, when you're, uh, around?" Here JM was, and all of the vocabulary and facts Shen had looked up were rushing out of her mind, leaving her floundering for words. But it was just so weird, seeing Jeanne-Marie being so unlike herself. Even the way she talked, the way she moved were different.
Jeanne-Marie nodded demurely as she walked by, then turned her attention to the room. She frowned at what was obviously her own side. The desk was a mess, covered in magazines, make-up here and there, pictures of her and the boy she was dating, the blue one, and her and her brother. She moved immediately to begin tidying it, starting with throwing the awful make-up into a drawer. "That's kind of you. I know it'll be strange for people to meet someone new in a familiar face, but I'll try my best to be helpful and understanding. It's new for me too."
"Of course," Shen blurted out. Come on, girl, find your zen. "I mean, you're still my friend, even if I'm... not." She shouldn't have thought of it that way. It made her chest hurt in a way she really didn't like.
"You're very kind." Jeanne-Marie glanced around Shen's side of the room. The poster with all the words, phrases all beginning with "right" was interesting. She frowned at it thoughtfully, then returned to putting away all the trappings of frivolity Aurora kept. "Is there some kind of chapel on the grounds? I want to pray."
"There's a church in town?" Shen offered. "Nothing here. Not that I know of."
Jeanne-Marie made a pinched face of disapproval, but nodded silently and went back to the task of clearing her desk. "Do you know Kurt and Pike?"
"Yeah," Shen nodded. "I mean, it's a small school. I know Kurt a lot more than Pike."
"Do you think they'll still go to church with me? Like they do with her?"
Shen thought it over, then said, "I think so, yeah. I don't think it'll be easy for Kurt, especially. But I think he'll do it." Kurt was way too good a person. Shen couldn't imagine him pulling away from Jeanne-Marie.
She nodded. That was a good sign. Perhaps Kurt wasn't the sort... to take liberties. Though it was hard to imagine Aurora would like any boy as good as that. "I'll remain hopeful, then." A slight pause as she worked. "You don't come," she seemed to be remembering.
"I'm Buddhist," Shen replied.
"Oh." Jeanne-Marie nodded, processing. "I'm sorry. I'm sure she knew that."
"It's cool," Shen told her, wings settling a little behind her. "Any questions you have. I'll answer them, if I can."
Is your god a demon? seemed inappropriate, so Jeanne-Marie only said, "That's very kind." She put away the last of the worldly trinkets and moved to the closet. Its contents were so... wild. "I'll need some new clothes."
Please don't slut-shame yourself, Shen thought, fervently, and was very glad that her friend wasn't a telepath. "I'd offer you free reign in my closet, but I doubt it'd be any more your style."
Jeanne-Marie didn't even have to glance at her to know, "Probably not, no." She pulled out a low cut, red blouse. "Heaven preserve us..."
Shen's lips pressed tight, and her wings bristled.
"None of this will do," Jeanne-Marie said to herself, dropping the offending garment on the ground as if it were dirty. She started pulling out other party-type clothing, entirely inappropriate, and doing the same with it.
"Hey!" Shen protested, picking up the red blouse, and then the next clothes that followed. "Stop that! You can't just - you can't do that!"
Jeanne-Marie looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Why not? These clothes are not appropriate, and I don't mean to let her drag me to hell."
"Do you seriously believe -" Shen cut herself off. This wasn't the time to start arguing about beliefs. "No. It doesn't matter. She's going to wear whatever she wants, and you can't throw her clothes away. Don't wear them, get your own, but you're not throwing them away."
"Fine," Jeanne-Marie snapped. She took back the clothes, shoved them inside, and shut the door. "I'll get my own... wardrobe to keep them in and just stay away from hers. She doesn't have to do the same, but I'm sure she will."
Shen took a couple of steps back, honestly not sure how to deal with any of this. Was this really all a part of Jeanne-Marie? The one she'd always known, rather than this one? Had a part of her friend always judged herself so harshly for the clothes she wore and the life she led? All she could think to do was to tidy up the inside of her closet, but she would do that once Jeanne-Marie was out of the room.
But for now, she had to say something. She forced her wings to relax, and offered, "You can just share the closet? Leave her a note to make some space for you, next time she's around?"
Jeanne-Marie opened it again slowly... and made a face, wondering if she even wanted her clothes touching those ones. "I'll write in the journal about it," she said crisply. She selected a long-sleeved blouse that looked acceptable. Then crushed Aurora's clothes to one side and hung the blouse on the clear one.
Shen took a few more steps back and sat on her stool, wings draping behind her. She didn't know what to do, or say, so she just watched Jeanne-Marie in silence, trying to acclimate to this new person in her friend's body. She knew she shouldn't think of it that way, but it was difficult to think of it any other way, just then.
Oblivious, Jeanne-Marie muttered the Ave Maria in Latin under her breath as she searched for a skirt or even trousers she could wear to class until she found something more appropriate. If Shen was done interfering, that was quite enough for her today, thank you.
When she was allowed to go back to her room, Jeanne-Marie wasn't precisely glad. It was something she'd been told to do, and so she'd do it, and if it made her unhappy she'd simply remind herself it was not for her to question. Xavier and Dr. McCoy weren't God, obviously, but they were authority figures, and she should be obedient so long as they asked nothing God wouldn't.
She knocked--the door was unfamiliar, or something she'd seen in a dream and wasn't sure had been real--though she knew she'd lived here for over a year now. She knew who her roommate was, but had no feeling one way or the other for her. She was a girl called Shen who had wings. That seemed angelic, and Jeanne-Marie took it as a good omen.
They had warned Shen, of course, and the Professor had done his best to prepare her for meeting her roommate's... alter. She'd had to read up on this a lot, because so far, most of her knowledge came from that movie Split. It was a lot of new concepts, and she was as nervous as she could be, as she sat at her desk, browsing social media on her computer to pass the time and try to ignore the growing spikes of anxiety in her lungs. She glanced up at her Eight-fold path poster, and tried to channel her zen the way her uncle seemed to manage so easily.
Yeah, right. Not happening.
She started a little when the knock came, and she pushed the stool back from her desk, hurrying over to open the door, huge brown wings obvious behind her. "It's you! I mean, hi. You don't... have to knock. Come in."
Jeanne-Marie entered, dressed in a simple, calf-length skirt in gray and a long-sleeved but thin black sweater over a white button down. She might as well have been a novitiate at a local convent. She nodded to Shen. "Hello." Even her English sounded a little different, more halting. "I know you're Shen, but--I'm sorry. I don't have any emotional connection Aurora might've formed. I hope it won't be too strange for you. I will be a good roommate, though."
"That's fine," Shen hurried to confirm, feathers ruffling slightly behind her. "We can - build that up, when you're, uh, around?" Here JM was, and all of the vocabulary and facts Shen had looked up were rushing out of her mind, leaving her floundering for words. But it was just so weird, seeing Jeanne-Marie being so unlike herself. Even the way she talked, the way she moved were different.
Jeanne-Marie nodded demurely as she walked by, then turned her attention to the room. She frowned at what was obviously her own side. The desk was a mess, covered in magazines, make-up here and there, pictures of her and the boy she was dating, the blue one, and her and her brother. She moved immediately to begin tidying it, starting with throwing the awful make-up into a drawer. "That's kind of you. I know it'll be strange for people to meet someone new in a familiar face, but I'll try my best to be helpful and understanding. It's new for me too."
"Of course," Shen blurted out. Come on, girl, find your zen. "I mean, you're still my friend, even if I'm... not." She shouldn't have thought of it that way. It made her chest hurt in a way she really didn't like.
"You're very kind." Jeanne-Marie glanced around Shen's side of the room. The poster with all the words, phrases all beginning with "right" was interesting. She frowned at it thoughtfully, then returned to putting away all the trappings of frivolity Aurora kept. "Is there some kind of chapel on the grounds? I want to pray."
"There's a church in town?" Shen offered. "Nothing here. Not that I know of."
Jeanne-Marie made a pinched face of disapproval, but nodded silently and went back to the task of clearing her desk. "Do you know Kurt and Pike?"
"Yeah," Shen nodded. "I mean, it's a small school. I know Kurt a lot more than Pike."
"Do you think they'll still go to church with me? Like they do with her?"
Shen thought it over, then said, "I think so, yeah. I don't think it'll be easy for Kurt, especially. But I think he'll do it." Kurt was way too good a person. Shen couldn't imagine him pulling away from Jeanne-Marie.
She nodded. That was a good sign. Perhaps Kurt wasn't the sort... to take liberties. Though it was hard to imagine Aurora would like any boy as good as that. "I'll remain hopeful, then." A slight pause as she worked. "You don't come," she seemed to be remembering.
"I'm Buddhist," Shen replied.
"Oh." Jeanne-Marie nodded, processing. "I'm sorry. I'm sure she knew that."
"It's cool," Shen told her, wings settling a little behind her. "Any questions you have. I'll answer them, if I can."
Is your god a demon? seemed inappropriate, so Jeanne-Marie only said, "That's very kind." She put away the last of the worldly trinkets and moved to the closet. Its contents were so... wild. "I'll need some new clothes."
Please don't slut-shame yourself, Shen thought, fervently, and was very glad that her friend wasn't a telepath. "I'd offer you free reign in my closet, but I doubt it'd be any more your style."
Jeanne-Marie didn't even have to glance at her to know, "Probably not, no." She pulled out a low cut, red blouse. "Heaven preserve us..."
Shen's lips pressed tight, and her wings bristled.
"None of this will do," Jeanne-Marie said to herself, dropping the offending garment on the ground as if it were dirty. She started pulling out other party-type clothing, entirely inappropriate, and doing the same with it.
"Hey!" Shen protested, picking up the red blouse, and then the next clothes that followed. "Stop that! You can't just - you can't do that!"
Jeanne-Marie looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Why not? These clothes are not appropriate, and I don't mean to let her drag me to hell."
"Do you seriously believe -" Shen cut herself off. This wasn't the time to start arguing about beliefs. "No. It doesn't matter. She's going to wear whatever she wants, and you can't throw her clothes away. Don't wear them, get your own, but you're not throwing them away."
"Fine," Jeanne-Marie snapped. She took back the clothes, shoved them inside, and shut the door. "I'll get my own... wardrobe to keep them in and just stay away from hers. She doesn't have to do the same, but I'm sure she will."
Shen took a couple of steps back, honestly not sure how to deal with any of this. Was this really all a part of Jeanne-Marie? The one she'd always known, rather than this one? Had a part of her friend always judged herself so harshly for the clothes she wore and the life she led? All she could think to do was to tidy up the inside of her closet, but she would do that once Jeanne-Marie was out of the room.
But for now, she had to say something. She forced her wings to relax, and offered, "You can just share the closet? Leave her a note to make some space for you, next time she's around?"
Jeanne-Marie opened it again slowly... and made a face, wondering if she even wanted her clothes touching those ones. "I'll write in the journal about it," she said crisply. She selected a long-sleeved blouse that looked acceptable. Then crushed Aurora's clothes to one side and hung the blouse on the clear one.
Shen took a few more steps back and sat on her stool, wings draping behind her. She didn't know what to do, or say, so she just watched Jeanne-Marie in silence, trying to acclimate to this new person in her friend's body. She knew she shouldn't think of it that way, but it was difficult to think of it any other way, just then.
Oblivious, Jeanne-Marie muttered the Ave Maria in Latin under her breath as she searched for a skirt or even trousers she could wear to class until she found something more appropriate. If Shen was done interfering, that was quite enough for her today, thank you.
