2014-12-26 - Thoughts and Prayers

Boxing day, 2014. Outside the St. Andrews Church, the bells ring and the doors open, letting the morning Mass end. People come sedately out of the doors, the first heading to their vehicles while others pause in the doorway to chat with the Priest. Nothing of consequence is spoken; small compliments to the priest for his service. It was nothing special.

Still inside the churce, a girl dressed in black of about teenage years pauses by the candles. Kneeling, she takes the taper and lights one of the few unlit prayer candles and then puts the taper down. Folding her hands in front of her, Nico closes her eyes and looks within.

Dear Lord Tell me if I'm doing right? Please. I could use a message today. I'm tired.

Amen

After a few minutes listening, Nico opens her eyes. The light of the candles blinds her for a second, but it was expected and her eyes adjust. She rises and turns, following the few remaining churchgoers out the doors. Passing the priest, he barely glances at her as she leaves.

Nico looks around to see if anyone is outside that she knows. She was expecting someone to have followed her. After all, they all said they wouldn't. So of course...

Christmas vacation at school means lots of free time for Chenda. Which means spending as much as she can with her favorite people. Right now, that means keeping an eye on Molly. Most of the time that's easy: Follow the noise. But this time, they had the same idea: Keep Nico company. That meant seeing where she went.

The gypsy girl pauses outside St. Andrews Church, just to let the crowds thin out enough that she won't have to push rudely through them. Gypsy, street performer, petty thief? Yeah. But she's not /inconsiderate/. And in her familiar flared jeans, faux-fur lined purple parka, hi-tops, mittens, and earmuffs, she might pass for any pedestrian on this busy street. "Wow, what a crowd... see anyone in black, Molls?" she asks her companion.

Molly Hayes nods, looking up at Richenda. "Yeah... like almost all of them. Oh wait I think I see her... um.. lets just make sure. I don't want to go grabbing and surprising another person like I did with the woman from the funeral. Thanks for helping me look for Nico by the way!" She sneaks up on Nico (she hopes) and jumps on her back, coverig her eyes. "Guess who!"

Nico Minoru stops cold, the weight on her back making her stumble a bit. She grunts, then hooks her hands under Molly's hips to hold her up more steadily on her back and says, "I dunno, but whoever it is has put on a few pounds!" She grins a little, her mood lightening already. Molly has the unique ability to drag Nico out of those morbid moods.

"Oh... right. I left the rather important word 'lace' out," Chenda realizes, blushing a little. "I see the right hair, I think..." Her musings are interrupted by Molly's idea of a greeting. "I /hope/ it's the right hair!" she says, moving to make sure. And extricate Molly if it isn't! Fortunately, it is, and Chenda laughs, seeing Nico beginning to smile. "Feel like we need to go shopping again soon? Those jeans /do/ look a little snug now," she says, just to tease Molly, and moves to kiss Nico on the cheek. "Hey, Witchy-poo."

Molly Hayes lets go and drops to her feet. She loosk at herself. "I'm not getting fat right? Mom used to say if I ate too many cookies I'd get a buddha belly and I've had a lot of cookies today. Also don't know what a buddha belly is." She reaches in her pocket. "Anyway, I didnt see you when I got up this morning and Chase said you went to church but didnt say which one, and I forgot to give you your christmas present so you only got the ones from Santa but not the one I got for you." She rummages in her pocket some more, then pulls out a little box. "Found it! Sorry I didnt put it under the tree but we didn't have a tree and the guy at the store said it would cost less the day after Christmas and I didnt have enough until it was on sale." She holds out the little box again.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/43/c9/e0/43c9e0652ed8a1f97c5424d26d023aa4.jpg

Nico Minoru kisses Richenda back on the cheek as soon as she's free of Molly's not exactly heavy weight. She says, "Gypsy girl," fondly, leaning against Richenda a little as Molly speaks up. And speaks, and speaks. She's good at the run-on sentences.

Nico starts to smile, then stops smiling as Molly talks about not being able to afford it til after, then she takes the little box almost reverently, her eyes starting to bead up a little with tears. Then she opens it, and reveals the little skull and crossbone DIAMOND hair clips, and Nico suddenly hugs Molly as tightly as she can, trying not to cry into the younger girl's hair.

Molly Hayes is all anxious for Nico to open her present, since she didnt play video games for 3 weeks while saving up money for it. "It's skull hairpins! Cause I know how much you like skull stuff, and it's made of diamondique, so I guess they're really unique diamonds and I couldnt believe I was able to get them for only twenty -" Then... mgffles! as she gets hugged by Nico after the box is opened.

Chenda, not entirely used to Molly's way of speaking, blinks and looks on, her dark eyes growing wider and wider as she's awesomed by the sheer /output/ the younger girl's capable of. "Nico, are you gettin' this? I think I'm missing some..." And then there are skull & bones hair clips in diamondique, and major huggage by Nico, and she giggles, smiling warmly at the two near-sisters. "Now /that/ I'm not missing. That's so thoughtful, Molls! I might have to hug you too, once Nico's done."

Molly Hayes responds to Richenda with a little wave-ish motion of her hand, followed with 'mgfflefflfbl.'

Nico Minoru squeezes Molly once more, then lets go and puts her hands on the girl's shoulders, looking into Molly's eyes. "I love them," she says with real feeling making her choke a bit. After that, she pulls her hair back and puts them into place, holding it back off of her face and showing off the little skulls. In front of a church. Well, if God doesn't like it he can tell me.

"And you don't have a buddha belly. But we are getting you new pants," she adds, glancing at the hems above Molly's sneakers. "I'm ..." Nico pauses, then glances at Richenda. Then she impulsively reaches into her little pack and pulls out a single pack of twinkies, pushes them into Molly's hands, and blurts out "I'm sorry it's not more it's all I could get for you!" and then wrings her hands a little, feeling downright emotional this morning.

Chenda moves to help Nico with her hair, since it'd be tricky to put both clips into place at once without someone to keep her hair from falling into her face. True, this is in front of a church, but the gypsy girl hasn't felt herself burst into flames in front of one yet, so maybe they're only holy on the /inside/.

Her eyes widen in surprise as Nico hands over Twinkies, and she has to smile, moving to hug Nico since Molly's hands are full of creamy-filled goodness in plastic wrap. "Better save those for a rainy day, Molls. Don't want a britches-bursting Buddha belly," she teases warmly, winking at Princess Powerful over Nico's shoulder.

Molly Hayes smiles. "I saved up for weeks." she says proudly. People were right. Diamonds ARE expensive. She could have played hundreds of video games for the $20 those cost. She oooohs at the Twinkies. "Sugar rush!" she says, getting them and is about to open them when Richenda says what she said. She looks at her pants. "Do I really need new pants though?" She looks over at Nico then points over to Richenda. "I found Richenda while I was looking for you by the way, and she helped me find you because apparently on Christmas EVERYONE wears black at the church, like it's halloween."

Nico Minoru, says, "Well, I suppose I could lower the hems again but the fabric is getting a little thin in the knees, hon," as she holds still for Richenda's help. Giving the gypsy a hug, with both arms, Nico pauses in her rampant bewildering emotional storm and tries to relax a little. She tries also not to be jealous of the fact that little Molly is developing a better butt than she has. "I like church. Nobody ever attacked us in church. Except Wolverine. And...Captain America. That once."

Molly Hayes fidgets. The future amazon powerhouse is, for the time being, still a pint-sized... well... powerhouse. Who has impeccable fashion in hats. Such as the one she's currently wearing, which is a penguin motif. http://www.nzocks.co.nz/images/animal-hat-penguin.jpg "Yeah. I punched Wolverine like... four whole blocks. Oh and Iron Man was there too, but Cloak teleported me and him away." She pauses. "Hey... I almost forgot to tell you by the way, Victor told me about the story of Christmas. For a robot he really knows more than he lets on. Wanna hear it?"

"It almost is. Some of those folks can be scary," Chenda adds playfully, shivering and hugging Nico a little tighter. "Protect me, sorcerous one! You'll be rewarded in candy canes... just share 'em with Molls once in a while."

She slips free of the hug and kneels in front of Molly, looking closely at those jeans. "You kinda do... otherwise you face a decision," she replies mock-seriously. "There's not enough to cover all of your lowerness." She playfully takes hold of the legs of Molly's jeans and tugs them down about three inches, enough to cover the girl's ankles. "So what shows? Ankles or undies?"

Nico Minoru tilts her head, watching Richenda do fashion work on Molly, and says, "I would LOVE to hear the Christmas story, Mol. You have my barely divided attention." Putting her hand on Richenda's shoulder, she does a quick mental calculation for how long it'll take to save up for new jeans for a growing preteen. With a very fashionable hat and slightly showing undies.

Molly Hayes pulls her pants back up, apparently preferring ANKLES. "Stopthat!" Then takes a moment to get into her storytelling stance. Because you need one for telling stories. "Ahem. the story of christmas, by Molly Hayes. As told by Victor Mancha. One day, Jesus and his best friend Santa were walking around on Jesus's birthday, and came upon a family of elves who had no toys or bread. Jesus created bread with magic, and Santa built toys. And the elves were so happy that they both decided to celebrate every year of Jesus's birthday by giving toys to one family, but then they decided to give to every family since otherwise it wouldnt be fair. So Jesus used his magic to make flying reindeer for Santa, and also gave him a jetpack, and Santa hired the elves to help build all the toys. And they all lived happily ever after. The end." Molly then bows a bit. Then looks at them. "It's even better with puppets."

"Good choice," Chenda replies to Molly, chuckling. "So, what's the story of Christmas, as Victor tells it?" She straightens and edges a little closer to Nico, slipping an arm around the slender witch. To share body warmth on this cold day, surely.

Well, it's /different/... and she's heard stranger. Like the kindergarten class on a Central Park field trip that claimed 'Mayonnaise' was their favorite hymn. It sounded a lot like 'Amazing Grace' when they sang it for her. "I like that story. Where did Victor hear it?"

Nico Minoru nods. Got it. Jesus and Santa. Family of elves. Who need bread. Gives toys to all families because. With a jetpack. Wait, what? At this point, Nico has a smile pasted on her face to keep herself from reacting. "We should so do that with the puppets later. I'll get Vic to put on a show." Glad she hadn't actually heard Richenda's thought about mayo, she being a former choir girl, she starts to hum Amazing Grace randomly. "Bah, I want a hummus bagel..."

Molly Hayes shrugs a little. "He didn't say. Probably like... future school or Ultron or something. I mean Victor might be weird, but he's pretty smart too. Even if I don't always understand what he's talking about and sometimes talks in Mexican with a lot of 1's and 0's. And yeah, Victor actually did the story with sock puppets for me. It's a whole lot better with puppets."

She looks around. "So what were you doin anyway Nico?"

"Could I get in on this? I play a mean elf, if I do say so myself," Chenda asks, interested. "Maybe we could write this up as a play or something, and we each get a part..." Her mind is awhirl with possibilities. She kneels to give Molly a hug. "Thanks for telling it, Molls."

Nico Minoru hrm. Possibilities. Making elf costumes...no, there isn't enough time. And the season is basically over. Maybe, for next year. "We could elf it up next year if we're all together, put on a show and make some folks happy. It's a good story." Mind, off track. Wait, ADHD. Gah. "Sorry. Uh, I was praying. That's what you do in church." She looks back at the chapel, eyes kind of losing focus a little.

"Praying for what, Nico?" Chenda asks, relaxing her arms around Molly so she can look back up at her favorite witch. "And how'd you get time, in a crowd that /big/? It looked like that reverend packed 'em to the rafters!"

Nico Minoru shakes her head. "I'm used to concentrating under fire. Focusing in a crowd of people who are feeling guilty for wasting their rent money on spoiling their kids? Not an issue." She turns away from the church, giving Richenda the smile she saves for people she likes. "I was praying for ...well, for hope, I guess. There's little enough to go around some times. I needed a hit."

Raising her left hand to touch some little pins in her hair, her eyes sparkle a little. "Sometimes it comes from unexpected places, y'know?"

Molly Hayes gets all hugged again. Then when Nico and Richenda start talking again, she says, "Honestly we have it pretty sweet. Living in a robot frog ship, pet dinosaur, superheroes. If SOME of us would get into having costumes and codenames again it would be totally perfect." She smiles. "Hey... can we all do something for New Years Eve?"

Chenda, hearing Molly's take on things, grins and playfully tugs Molly's hat down over her eyes. "From the mouths of young'uns. But she has a point, Nico. Still one holiday left on the calendar before next year. Think there's hope for that?"

Nico Minoru watches the hug. She wonders for a moment about the whole thing, shaking her head just a touch. "I'm sure we can do...something. I'll even wear a mask. Just this once." The smile on her face is almost elemental, as she accepts her message and the lesson that comes with it. "Yeah. I think there's hope. After all, that's what I asked for for Christmas."

And as she gathers her team, she whispers a silent 'thank you' to whomever might be listening. Cuz it's not so bad after all, ne?