Oh the Humanity!: Friendship is International Adventure, Thursday, period 1

[vdistinctive]

"So was it fun being a wolverine?" Pinkie asked, poking Eliot in the hip with her hoof.

"I don't know how many different ways I can say 'I don't wanna talk about it'."

"Fifteen so far. Did you like having fur? I don't know why humans don't have better coats. Or scales! I bet wolverines have great teeth, too."

Eliot sighed. "Hi," he said to the students, who had hopefully begun gathering by now. "Welcome back. I hope you all enjoyed your break." The portal opened up behind him, and Pinkie led the way through, Eliot bringing up the rear as usual. The portal opened up into a street in a low-lying, closely packed city full of old buildings and clear Islamic influences. "Today we're spending some time in --"

"ZANZIBAR!" Pinkie crowed, drawing stares from a few locals.

"Stone Town," Eliot said, not so much a correction as further specification. "The major city of the archipelago of Zanzibar, Tanzania. That's in Africa, for those who aren't as up on Earth geography."

"This entire place is a UNESCO heritage site," Pinkie said. "Which means it's super old and super important! Just chock full of interesting places to see!"

"Lots of history around here," Eliot agreed. "It was one of the most important ports in the Indian Ocean through the 19th century. Unfortunately, it also housed the largest legally operated slave market in the world. If you're up for it, the old Anglican Church houses a museum about the slave trade. Not a lot of fun, but worth taking a look at and learning about anyway."

"If you don't want to get depressed," Pinkie said, "There's some pretty fantastic beaches and gardens here, too! I think I wanna go snorkeling."

Eliot tried to picture Pinkie snorkeling. The fact that he could kind of worried him. "Me, I'm gonna head for the Tea House. Best food and views in town."

In case anyone else was interested in a food tour of the world. Maybe Eliot would do that for a workshop this summer. . . .

Comments

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Ain't likely," Eliot said. "You gonna spill, or you gonna try to change the subject again?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"You're really good at that," Kathy complained, before giving him the whole story, from the murderous skeletons all the way to sucking down a strength potion to put her back on her feet and then single-handedly beating the remains of the robot into a dented tin can while Dante stood watch over Anders and occasionally sucked up another bolt.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Got more'n twice as much experience as you," Eliot noted. "Gettin' old has some perks."

His 40th birthday was a little more than a month away. It was messing with him just a little.

"Sounds like you guys did a decent job on that thing. You get checked out after, make sure it didn't do any permanent damage?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"Dante heals like it's his job," which was good, considering the things he normally got hit with. Electrified robots barely even rated, for him. "And Anders is a healing mage, so he waggled his fingers at me to make sure I felt better later on, once we were rested up."

That last was said directly to her teacup, in an effort not to blush again. A mostly failed effort, but it was there.

"Then I got home and got immediately called to LA," she continued, unable to hide the way she drooped a little at that. "Got my periodic reminder that most of us aren't immortal--no matter how close we are to someone that is."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

Eliot was definitely going to ask about why being magically healed up required talking to her tea -- but that second bit was more important. "Aw hell, kid. I'm sorry. Who'd you lose?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

DEFLECT! DEFLECT!

"The thing is?" Kathy said, shoving her hair out of her eyes in a frustrated gesture, "I feel like I shouldn't even be that bummed out over it." Sighing, she explained. "Not a hero. Technically, I didn't lose anybody. But Regenerator lost his wife. Not to the Seventeens or anything like that. To a stupid accident and a major medical fuckup."

Seriously, the wrong blood? The wrong tainted blood? That hospital had so much to answer for.

"But--he's Regenerator. Genny can heal anything. So for him to lose his wife--" She shook her head. "I guess it kind of made it all the more real, in a weird way. It probably doesn't even make sense."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Your community lost someone," Eliot said. "It doesn't not suck just because you weren't personally close to her."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"Never knew her, never met her, never would have even known she existed if it hadn't been for some stupid mistake," Kathy said. "Does that really count as being part of the community?"

It wasn't that she doubted Eliot, it was more that she wanted to be absolutely sure her sadness was warranted before she allowed herself to indulge in it.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Yes."

He didn't feel any need to elaborate there. It was just true.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy just nodded and absorbed that, allowing her shoulders to droop a bit more and the faint smile she'd tried holding onto to fade. It was all right. Eliot had said so.

"It's just such a damn shame," she said. "And every hero's biggest fear. Genny was out patrolling when Meredith hurt herself. If he'd been there, he could have healed her in seconds flat. It was just an ugly break that bled a lot. He can grow back limbs. If he'd just been there--and I don't think he'll ever forgive himself that he wasn't."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

Eliot sighed. "He won't. If he's lucky, he'll learn to live with it. Find a way to let his guilt drive him to do better for everyone else. That'd be true even if he didn't have magic super powers, you know. He could be a regular doctor, or hell, a bus driver, and he'd still blame himself for not bein' there when it happened."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"True," Kathy said, sighing. "He seemed so lost at the funeral, like he was only half there. Like he kept...I don't know, listening for something no one else could hear. I've never lost anyone before. Is that normal? I mean, inasmuch as any kind of grief is normal?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Completely normal," Eliot assured her. "Especially this soon after it happened. It'll probably be awhile before he starts seemin' like himself again."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"There was nothing any of us could do for him. I hate being helpless. That's why I do this. So I don't have to feel this way." She looked down into her tea. "And I bet he feels that a million times more."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"Yeah," Eliot agreed. "Unfortunately, that's just what happens sometimes. Doesn't matter what you do, you're never gonna be able to help everyone."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"And now I'm back and nothing's changed, but I still feel--different. Weird. Unsettled maybe?" Hard to put into words. "Almost like I have a ton of adrenaline and nothing to fight or run from."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"I'd say do a couple laps around the island, but that probably wouldn't take ya very long."

Yeah, Eliot wasn't really the best person to talk to for advice on how to handle messy emotions.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

She'd probably be better off talking to Mr. Hardison, but, for some reason, they just never seemed have a chance to talk.

Weird.

"What did you do, after you got a reminder you were mortal?" Kathy asked. "Run? Spar? Err...other options?"

She didn't need details on the other options!

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"When I was your age? Get into bar fights." Eliot smiled faintly. "You don't really seem like the 'broken beer bottle versus pool cue' sort, though."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"Not really, no," Kathy admitted reluctantly. "Jeez, Eliot, why do you only take us to nice places?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"'Cause I'm a responsible adult and you all are a buncha troublemakers," Eliot said cheerfully.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"That hurts," Kathy pouted. "I'm a superhero. Isn't that the polar opposite of being a troublemaker?"

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"That's just a nice way of dressin' up 'vigilante'. So, uh. No."

Re: Talk to the teachers

[spin_kick_snap]

"But a vigilante of justice," Kathy tried, like Eliot was going to buy that.

Re: Talk to the teachers

[vdistinctive]

"You know that's redundant, right?"