Material Desires

[Roxana Strix]

It had taken some level of work for Roxana to actually get permission for Demi to go off campus and down into town. Demi was not exactly subtle with her power and every time Roxana had seen the girl, she practically used her power at least once. Still, she had been able to work it out as it being important for Demi getting practice of not using her power all the time, especially when not around actual mutants. Roxana had no plans of keeping Demi out too long, but she did at least want to take the girl down into town and go to the mall.

A mall was a great place to be around a lot of people and practice well begin around a lot of people. That and well Roxana wanted to get buy Demi something for the younger girls hard work during the fire. She didn't really think Demi was the kind of girl who wanted material things, but it didn't hurt to try. There had to be at least one thing in the mall that would catch Demi's attention that she would want to own. Everyone had the desire in them to want something that was just purely material, it was in the human nature. The biggest problem of this whole plan was actually convincing Demi to get cleaned up, dressed, and for her to agree to going down to the mall.

So Roxana went to the younger girl’s room, knowing on the door, and waiting. She knew Demi was here, she knew the younger girls habits for the most part and well she had also checked in not that long ago to make sure Demi was in fact here. "Demi, may I come in for a little. I have something I would like your help with." Roxana said, using words that would hopefully grab Demi's attention. The younger girl had said she wanted to help and go off and do something with Rox before, and here was something she could do with her. It was easy enough to come up with something that they could do together that actually was important and have it tag along with Rox's true plan.

((Tag:Demi Smith))

[Demi Smith]

Demi did like taking afternoon naps, when things were hot and only idiots went roaming around outside. She still did that even now, even when a lot of her restrictions had been lifted and she was allowed to do pretty well anything she wanted short of actually beating people up (and she could do that too so long as she did it in the arena or while doing her security squad duties. Amazing how often that latter came into play). Plus, she was still figuring out this whole hard rock thing, which unfortunately required figuring out a computer. Though thankfully Andrew did help her figure out some of the basics, and she could at least know enough to start and stop her music.

She stopped it now as she heard a knock. "What do you want?" she said, sticking her head over. She was already waiting for Rox to come in, and already her suspicions were raised. The older girl did have a tendency to lecture Demi and stuff. "I totally didn't tell on you when you left me with that dead guy," she nearly chuckled at the last. Dead Guy. Fun pun.

[Roxana Strix]

"I wanted to know if you were free for possibly a few hours to go into town to help me with a few things." Roxana said as she entered the room. She could see that Demi seemed more or less relaxed. Roxana's eyes were already looking around the room, seeing how Demi had things set up and if she kept this as covered in dirt as she did herself. She had actually not been in Demi's room yet out of all her observations of the girl. Normally that was the first thing to do on her list but she had just not gotten around to it with Demi.

So now she was taking the opportunity to move around the room a little and making several mental notes. Rox blinked a few times in a small moment of confusion when Demi brought up how she didn't tell on Rox for leaving her with a dad guy. Had she thought Rox would have been worried that she would have? Even if she had, Roxana honestly would not have cared. She had already done what was asked of her when she had other commitments that were supposed to be ranked higher on her list of priorities. "Thank you for handling that matter." Roxana said simply, half distracted with Demi's room for a moment before she recalled why she was here.

"If you are to help me with these few...things that I have to take care of, you need to clean yourself up. Can't come with me having layers of dirt on you and you most certainly can't use your power. Do you think you could handle such a challenge?" Roxana asked as she looked to the younger girl. Demi had a lot of control over her power but the question was could she stop using it and keep it hidden from the public?

[Demi Smith]

Demi raised her brows as Roxana asked if she were free for a few hours to get things. "I'm not really a shopping person," she pointed out, tempted to add that shopping was just stupid. Demi figured that was more or less implied. Her quarter didn't look like the sort of quarters that were used by someone who enjoyed shopping after all. Dirt and dust filled much of the room, save for a few areas that were almost too clean. The desk practically sparkled: most students would wish for a desk that clean and neatly organized. Notes and books, also mostly clean, were stacked up along it. Another book lay on the bed near Demi, and it looked to have had some dirt dumped onto it. There was the school provided laptop too, also dust free for the most part, and not far from where Demi sat.

The girl snorted as Roxana offered her thanks, taking note. "The room's not trapped or anything. They told me I couldn't," not shouldn't, because Demi had worked around that in the first week and really loaded the place for bear. Now it was relatively trap free, unless someone went for the few things Demi actually owned from her old life: a battered book of Inherited fables and her old home-spun clothes, all tucked away in a box under the bed.

"Yeah, so not interested," Demi said, getting up and moving to the bed. "I'd rather stay here and do studying then clean up and head with you. Plus, town's filled with stupid humans: I've been there already." Demi shrugged, flopping back down onto the bed and suddenly intently looking at what appeared to be a novel assigned for English class. Not that Demi was actually doing more than using it to get Roxana to leave, of course.

[Roxana Strix]

Demi pointed out that she was not really a shopping person, that was to be expected. It still would have been a good experience and test for Demi that would have to be done at some point. SIGUARD could not use someone who could not at least try and blend in with the people around them. Mutants were still not widely known by the masses and SIGUARD was all for keeping it that way for a little while longer. Roxana had no doubt that at some point SIGUARD would do something to make mutants known, but when they did it every aspect of it would have been influenced by them on some level. "Think of it outside of just shopping." Roxana pointed out, still looking around the room.

Certain aspects of it surprised her, with her orderly and clean certain parts where while others were a mess. Well, not a mess but just covered in dust as Roxana had expected of everything in Demi's room. She was learning so much more about the girl now and was disappointing in herself for not taking a look around Demi's room sooner. It also just practically made it set in stone that Roxana really had to get Demi to become a member of SIGUARD at some point, it was just getting Demi to pass the test first before she could start slipping in trigger words on the matter. "Noted." Roxana said simply to Demi's words about her room not being full of traps.

Roxana had figured as much, she had read the reports on the things that were found in Demi's room when she first started to attend the school. She might not have been around Demi a lot or in her room, but she was still keeping track of what the girl was up to and what was being said about the younger mutant with so much potential it almost made Roxana feel ill that this girl had not been born into a family that was already a part of SIGUARD. She worked the whole layout of everything in the room, noting she would be back here after she made sure to obtain the right tools to ensure that when she would leave the room it would be just like it was when she went in there. Not something easily done because of the dust.

"Not interested in helping me do some of the things I went off to do when I left you back during the fire?" Roxana asked. She didn't buy the whole studying thing, but it could have been possible with how Rox had been surprised by the condition of Demi's room to begin with. "If you don't want to challenge yourself that is fine. It's not easy for younger mutants to know how to blend in with humans. I suppose we can wait until you are older." Roxana said, trying it from a different angle. Honestly she did want to reward Demi but she was not about putting into much effort to convince the girl to come with her when she could go do something else.

[Demi Smith]

Demi snorted, not seeing how she could really see a shopping trip outside of the whole shopping thing. She was very much the type of person who just bought things when she absolutely had to, and even then there was a pretty good chance she'd just opt to take whatever or learn how to make it herself. You shouldn't need anything you couldn't make or barter something you could make for anyway.

Was Demi interested in what Roxana did during the fire? Maybe a little, but not enough to get up and start exploring or anything like that. It was sort of interesting to hear that someone actually wanted to take Demi out of the school; she'd been under the impression that such a thing wasn't even to be suggested around her, let alone followed through with. Though Roxana made it sound like it was supposed to be some kind of test.

"Uh, I don't need to know how to blend in with humans," she pointed out, lowering the book, "because we're gonna Inherit the world and take our rightful place as rulers. Just because the rest of you idiots don't believe that doesn't mean it's not gonna happen," Demi snorted and looked back at the book. "Go find some other idiot to go play with the humans. You could try my roommate: he really likes them."

[Roxana Strix]

Demi pointed out that she didn't need to know how to blend in with the humans. Roxana didn't say anything and just rubbed at her temples. She didn't feel like playing games and beating around the bush as much anymore. It was why she had stopped acting differently when she was around new people; she just acted like herself now. She lost interest in playing the game, and even now she had lost interest in trying different tactics with Demi to try and grab the girl’s attention. She still had to hide what she actually did for a living, but as for everything else she didn't care anymore.

Roxana didn't say anything about Demi's words on what she had been taught as a little girl. There was possibly some truth to that. Not completely since mutants were in the minority compared to the cast amount of people that were not mutants. Sure mutants were stronger than their counterparts but if there was anything to be learned from the history books or even those fictional films, humans were tenacious. They would fight to persevere the way of life that they wanted and those that were different ended up suffering at one point or another.

"I don't want your roommate. I want you. I want to see how you handle being around so many humans. If you can actually move among them without using your powers." Roxana admitted as she ran a hand through her hair for a moment before playing with it. "I desired to buy you something, to find out a material item that you would like so I could give it to you are a...reward." Roxana said. The word gift had come to mind but that didn't really feel like it fit.

[Demi Smith]

Demi again rolled her eyes as Roxana insisted that she didn't want her roommate. There was more about being around humans, which just made Demi want to reiterate that she was supposed to be ruling them and that maybe they should just go hang out with monkeys or something. OR even get a pet, though Demi definitely didn't like the idea of taking care of an animal. That sounded like a lot of work for very little reward, in her opinion.

But before Demi could really say or do any of that, Roxana got to the bit about buying something for Demi.

The girl stared at Roxana, her brow furrowed, her expression so very clearly "you're kidding me" that words were pretty well not necessary. Demi actually didn't say anything: she just kept staring, not quite believing that Roxana would either suggest buying something for her, or that she would do so as some kind of reward. The very idea just...

"That is really dumb."

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana could tell that her words were not really having any sway over the younger girl; they often did have a hard time reaching her ears. It was always hard to try and fill a cup that was already full, things just spilled out over the sides and made a mess. There were others in SIGUARD that would be better at this then Roxana; she was not really trained for changing someone’s mindset. She was good at infiltrating, eliminations, distractions and a little bit of information collection. Odd that they had put her on a job that mostly involved information collection but Roxana assumed it was just to make her better in that area. Perhaps.

Rox looked back at Demi as the girl stared at her. Was it that odd to receive a gift? Even Roxana understood the concepts of gifts and how the different kinds were great for positive reinforcement. Everyone wanted something; it could have been an object, a person, a feeling, or whatever. The fact still remained that there was something to be desired and Rox figured she could obtain an object or give something that Demi wanted. Perhaps she should have asked her superiors how the Inherited did their rewards and punishment. "Why do you say that? Do you not receive some kind of reward for when you have done something well?" Roxana asked.

She looked at Demi for a moment before going back to looking around Demi's room, this time touching a few thing, but not moving them from where they were. The touching was mainly to see how Demi reacted to her things being touched; more information collecting. "Were you never given a cookie, a pat on the head, a stuff animal, words of praise, or anything when say you did something that made someone pleased with you?" Roxana asked, providing examples to see if that would help Demi understand what she was getting at.

[Demi Smith]

Demi rolled her eyes as Roxana acted like she didn't get how rewards worked. She wasn't stupid: she'd been rewarded for stuff before. Though it wasn't like "I'm gonna buy you a toy because you were a good girl" that was just stupid... food though, Demi definitely wouldn't mind some hot food. Since she so often just sneaked into the cafeteria...

Wait, Roxana was touching stuff. That got Demi to sit up, even stand for a moment, her eyes locked on the older girl, her body tensed to attack. The questions just made her let out a harsh laugh. "I'm not a baby," she said, looking up at Roxana. "I don't need a pat on the head because I did a good job. I already know I'm better. And you're not supposed to need anything that you can't make for yourself or trade for something you can do." she walked forward, nodding toward her stuff. "I made most of what's in here. I can make a lot of stuff. Like that."

She pointed at a little ceramic pot that sat on a shelf. "I made that in this dumb ceramics class." Demi shrugged. "So why do I need you to buy me dumb stuff when I can make my own. If you really wanna get me something, get me some food. I'm almost out."

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana made a few mental notes at seeing Demi stand up once she started to touching things. Roxana still didn't move anything; she just merely let the tips of her fingers slide against things. She could feel the various textures and figure out what she was touching without really looking at it. It was also providing an interesting reaction from Demi but the younger girl didn't say or do anything about it. Her focused seemed to be mainly on what Roxana was talking about in terms of rewards and speaking of how she was not a baby.

Why did Demi assume Roxana was treating her like a child or baby by offering to get her something? It didn't matter your age; people liked to things but there were those who didn't like to get things from other people for whatever reason. There was an ideology then that Demi was bringing up, one that she clearly had gotten from her life as a cult member. It was interesting to see how Demi had not let go of such thoughts and ideals even after being at the school for a few months now. "Do you like making this sort of thing?" Roxana asked as she looked at the little pot.

Her hands were already reaching out to try and pick up the piece to better get a look at it. See how the fingers traveled across the clay; see how much pressure was put to get the piece to take its shape. She was careful however, just in case Demi didn't want her to touch it but she was going to try and get a closer look. "Are you confident you could make everything you would want in life?" Roxana asked as she mainly focused on the little pot while she spoke.

She was pleased that Demi did bring up something that Demi did want and noted that next time she was just going to ask instead of wasting her time and trying to not be so direct. "Alright then, get cleaned up and changed and I'll take you with me so we can get you food. We will go to the mall or the market in town." Roxana informed Demi, now giving her attention back to the girl. They were going to be around normal people. That was the main goal of all of this.

[Demi Smith]

Demi kept her eyes on Roxana, wondering what was going on with the other girl. She kept bugging Demi, which was enough to raise Demi's suspicions by itself, let alone with all the touching of her stuff and all. But Demi knew that what she made could handle being messed with: that's what she did, after all. All that Demi made was like her: rough and slightly misshapen, but it did what it needed to do, and it certainly would last up under some scrutiny and touching.

"Kinda," Demi admitted, her eyes flicking to the pot. "It's another training thing. Plus, I can trade that stuff for stuff that I can't make," Demi pointed out. Which sort of went along with what Roxana was mentioning there when she asked. Demi did have to hesitate for a moment, looking toward where they'd given her the computer. She still wasn't a huge fan of it, but she did like that it could play music. Some of it was noise, but some of that noise...

Roxana promised food and Demi could nearly fill her stomach grumbling. She sighed, getting to her feet and standing straight. She took a deep breath, drawing her hands together as she did. Deep inhale. Then take a step while exhaling. And just like that, Demi loosed her entire shell of dirt and dust, leaving it to fall to a pile on the floor. It turned out that this was nearly everything, leaving Demi in her uniform.

Which she pulled at as Roxana talked about changing. "This is all I got," she said. "They threw away my old clothes," because they were falling apart. "I've got, like, a night shirt I put together..." which probably wasn't fit for wearing while going out. Demi gave Roxana a look, trying to figure if this was a deal breaker or not.

[Roxana Strix]

The piece was not smooth, not something Roxana would have enjoyed rubbing against her face but it was practical. It at least looked like it could withstand begin used and an abused a little, but it was not something that could be sold for millions of dollars. Still, it was a great piece that communicated perfectly with who had made it. Demi admitted that she liked making that kind of thing; Rox was now already imaging 'dragging' Demi along with her to her next art class. There was sculpting done from time to time in that class and if Demi enjoyed it then it would be the perfect way to 'bond' with the girl.

Demi spoke up about what she could do with the things that she made and could get what she wanted. Certainly a lot like the Amish. Roxana thought, figuring that really was the best comparison to Demi's people and a real life group. Not to say that Demi's group was not real, because they certainly were it was just a way to relate it to something that Roxana understood a little bit better. Roxana followed Demi's gaze towards the computer. Making a mental note there but she did not say anything more on the subject. There was no point in arguing that Demi could not get everything she desired the way she had been taught to. That could be a lesson for later.

Roxana watched in silence as Demi stood up and then in one fluid motion had all of the dirt that she kept layered on herself, on the ground. Roxana held back a slight grimace at the now gathering of dust and what not on the floor around Demi. Roxana still would have preferred if Demi took a shower but she supposed she did have to meet the girl half way. When Demi spoke up of not having anything, Rox was half tempted to offer her some of her own clothing but the height difference would make the clothing a bit big on the smaller girl. "Then you will go out in that, but will return in something different. After food we are stopping by a clothing store and picking you up things to wear for the off hours of school." Roxana said as she already started to move towards the exit.

She would of course stop and wait for Demi, to make sure the other girl was following her, and she would bribe Demi with whatever she had to in order to get the girl to come with her to get clothing. Rox would even let Demi pick what she wanted to wear, along as it was not anything skimpy.

[Demi Smith]

Demi rolled her eyes as Roxana spoke again. She just really did not get it: "Uh, no I won't," she said, lowering the eyes to the blonde. "I'm not letting anything tainted by stupid normals touch me, thank you, especially not my important parts," Demi shivered at the thought, shaking herself. The dirt and debris she'd sloughed off danced about on the floor for a moment, as if it wanted to shiver as well, but didn't really move.

Demi started for the door anyway. She did like the food, and it would be better than attempting to deal with the cafeteria or sneaking out to get her own. Though Demi did have some more leeway lately, she still didn't like most of the people. Roxana was just a little more tolerable than the rest.

"We going? Or you going to ask me if I want another little toy?" Demi made it sound as derogatory as it felt. Food was one thing, but this whole thing definitely felt patronizing, especially the talk about getting her clothes and stuff. It made Demi want to beat Roxana again, make her realize that Demi wasn't some stupid little kid, even if she was tiny.

[Roxana Strix]

Roxana let out a sigh as she ran a hand through her own hair; yes this girl was indeed stubborn. If her organization didn't put weight into figuring this girl out and keeping an eye on her, then Rox felt she would have given up by now. She was interested in Demi, figuring the girl out, and in general wanting Demi to come to understand that her cult was wrong and there was a better group out there who ideals to live and serve by. Yet, Demi was really, really stubborn for her age and Roxana only had the capacity to put up with it for so long.

She had her orders, but she had broken them plenty of times before in favor of another option. "You are being childish now, but I won't force it." Roxana said. If Demi was fine wearing the school uniform and her tattered clothing, then that was her choice. Perhaps she would wait until Demi was much older and started to care about her appearance or something like that. She didn't know who knew how long she would be monitoring Demi anyways. She didn't understand this whole 'important parts' thing, but she was already moving ahead.

"We are going. Can you handle riding in a car with me, or do you not want to ride in such a thing?" Roxana asked as she headed out of Demi's room. She made sure the girl was following her as she headed to leave the building and head for the parking lot. There was a place she had to stop to get some keys first so she could take out a care, but that would not take long at all. "Have you ever considered some clothing and other things have been possibly made by mutants?" Roxana asked as they walked. She was just pointing it out because it was completely possible and there would it then be okay for Demi to wear different clothing or indulge in different things?