Having 'The Talk'

Posted on Tue Feb 28th, 2023 @ 11:40 by Rebecca McMillen & Claire Cavendish

Chapter: Prologue: Dawn of Avalon
Location: Rebecca's Guest Quarters
Timeline: The morning after "Critters in the Cellar"
1609 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Rebecca woke with a start, as though from some form of terrible dream. Curled up, blanket coiled about her, pillows piled up... she had made an impressive little nest for herself in the middle of the night. It's just how she slept. She checked the clock to see how late she had made it, and no. Still only slept to about seven. Could never really sleep in. Never could.

She got up, stretching with a yawn as she took her first steps in a brand new world, padding around on her unusual feet, looking for where she put the slippers from the day previous. What she needed was breakfast. What she needed NOW, though, was a shower. She didn't know when Claire was going to come through for their chat, but she figured a quick scrub wouldn't be seen as a delaying tactic. She packed up a change of clothes and some towels and made her way in to the attached washroom for a wash.

She wasn't in there long, mostly because she wanted to make sure she was presentable for Claire when she came through. Their first meeting had left a funny impression. Hi, I'm the girl that broke into your basement because some friendly rats led the way. It sounded so fantastical when she said it to herself. Brushing her damp hair to make sure it didn't tangle, and changing into a fresh set of loaner clothes, Rebecca was as ready as she'd ever be to face the world, to face her possible benefactor. To face Claire.

The first order of business for Claire that morning was to have a check in with their new guest. She had gathered some clothes from their collection bin. They usually had that for the children from poor families or runaways, but some of it would definitely fit Rebecca. With her arms full of clothes she leaned towards the door and gently rapped against the wood, waiting for the call from the inside that would invite her in.

Rebecca looked herself over. This was about the extent of 'presentable' that she could muster. Time to--

*knock knock*

That's her. Deep breath as she made her way over to the door and opened it up for her 'guest', "Good mo-- what's all this?" she interrupted herself. Overwhelmed with the notion that this was for her, not quite used to true generosity at this point, she backed up and allowed Claire full entry, "Come in, please. Oh golly, is that for me?" she had to ask, to clarify.

"Take what you need. We have a bunch of this stuff for those without too much of their own." Claire put the pile of clothes and two pairs of shoes on the bed. She didn't know the intentions of the woman that had granted herself access into the institute, but she was clearly hurt from whatever past she had and at Avalon they never turned away the weak and weary. Claire wanted to avoid jumping straight into business, and instead sought out the chair in the room to sit herself down. "Take your time. This is also just to hold you over, there's more available if need be." She crossed her legs and folded her hands on top of her knee. "How did you sleep?"

Rebecca went through the collection, looking for things that fit rather than things that looked good. Her mission was to find at least three outfits. Tops, pants, the essentials. She could mix and match later. She took off her slippers, taking a moment to flex those oddly formed feet. Paws, really from the looks of it... to try on each of the pairs of shoes. One, from the look on her features, didn't work at all. Too tight, or maybe just not comfortable with someone with non-standard feet. The second pair seemed to work much better to her, as she even gave a nod to it.

"Shoes are important. I can't exactly do anything open toe." she said, half in explanation, and half in something of humor. Once the clothing issue was sorted, she sat on the bed. "I had a little trouble at first. I kept thinking I'd wake up in a doll house, and this would all be a dream. Or one of those dreams you see in the movies where it's a sign. Like... Becca, go, run." she offered. "Third time was the charm, and I slept pretty well. Sorry about the, umm, nest. I only really do it when I'm nervous. I'll tidy up." she clarified, with a soft smile. "I haven't forgotten my promise. I'll have the rats leave the cellar."

Claire shrugged at the suggestion that she couldn't wear an open toed shoe. It wasn't like she herself could hide the mutation of her skin and hair. She tried. Lord knows she tried. There simply wasn't enough foundation in this world. "Thank you for helping us out with that." She then waved dismissively at the bed, "if you have your own bed you can do with it whatever you want." She tentatively offered, still didn't know what had made her come to Avalon or if she planned to stay. "Our faculty all have their own rooms, three healthy meals a day, the chance to teach our students something about life." It was a bit of an awkward way to make the offer, but she wasn't sure exactly what Rebecca would be able to do within the institute, or if she even wanted to stay.

Rebecca hadn't really realized it until it was too late. "Oh geez, listen to me, complaining about shoes. I'M usually the elephant in the room, so used to that. Sorry." she defaulted to an apology. "There's a few IF's there." the mousey woman drew a breath, "And I want to clear things up. I came here because of what you said. What you meant. These walls are safe." a pause, to let that settle.

"I'm used to just sucking it up. I'm used to hiding, working round, maybe even running... but you know and I know that THAT isn't an option for a lot of people. Sometimes, they'll have a gift, and it'll help them hide, help them run, help them survive. Sometimes, though, they might not... If there's a way for me to help round... Cause if I can help one person, I owe it to myself to try. I know damn well if I had someplace safe when I was younger, then no one would have put me in a cage on the bookshelf." she wiped away some dust from her eyes. Awfully dusty in here.

Rebecca was silent for a moment, hands on her knees sitting on the edge of the bed. "I can't go back." she said, with certainty before she glanced back up at Claire. "I don't know how good of a teacher I'd be, but I'd like the chance to try to help. I know how the in's and out's of major cities work, reading maps and such. I have a degree in art, pff, figured that might have been useful if I ever got away from my folks."

"No, there is no secret mouse kung fu." she broke the tension with a smile. "No, I didn't meet four tortoises or whatever." now she was just being silly. She took a moment to let the next silly thing she was going to say just evaporate, before she turned serious again, "I'd like to stay. I'd like to help around. Help someone like me who's got no one on their side. If not that, then I'd like to help YOU help them. And if that means waking up every morning with a pound of cheddah going to the front lawn asking all the mice in Scotland for the front page news, then I'm gonna need a pound of cheddah."

Claire smiled at that, it was good to see someone that was immediately willing to put in the work. "I'm sure Valjean would have something to say about that use of the cheddar." She could already see the man frustrated and frothing at the mouth. "Though I'm sure he'd appreciate you keeping rodents away from his pantry." She decided to focus on another part of her introduction though, something that was more in line with what they needed in the institute. "Did this art degree come with a teaching certification?" She knew that there were a lot of art courses that offered it as an optional addition to improve chances of employment after finishing the degree. "Our humanities department could use a bit fresh artistic perspective."

"It did. Figured it would help me out once I graduated." Rebecca responded, then put two and two together, "And if you're asking me to teach here, then my answer is yes."

"And as an added thank you, I'll also keep the mice out." she giggled, her spirits lifted.

Claire nodded, "That's what I was asking. There's a bit more administration to be done than just me asking and you saying yes though. Need to clear everything with the Department of Education. We're already a bit of a special case and I'm sure the situation of the past few days didn't help matters." She put out a hand to solidify the offer and the acceptance of such.

"Oh I know, paperwork paperwork paperwork." Rebecca rolled her eyes a bit. Bureaucracy at its finest." Through out all, she had a smile as she took Claire's offered hand. She took the offered hand, the offered position, and so that came with it.

"Just show me where to sign."