fair paris is burning after all

[wayaheadofyou]

So in the Agora, wandering around as people often do, is a young woman in a hat. (It's not a Raspberry Beret, though it may as well be.) She's all bundled up for winter, and apparently it was damp where she was, because she's using her mittens to brush drops off the wool at her shoulders, trying to keep it from soaking in

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[knightsdaughter]

"You haven't had a winter 'til you've had one with lake effect," Molly points out. She's tall, her blond hair is currently tipped with pink and blue, and today she's just wearing studs in her nose and her tongue and three earrings (at least, that's all that's visible).

"What kind of hidden talents are you looking for?"

[wayaheadofyou]

Jena gives Molly a once-over, visually. Then she smiles.

"I moved to Great Britain from Texas, anything under 70 is still freezing to me. It's been a few years, though." Jena neglects to mention where, on the entire island, she's living, but it's probably not necessary anyway. "I'm looking for the kind of thing people wouldn't think you were capable of, just by looking at you. Or just the kind of thing you wouldn't tell your parents about over Thanksgiving dinner."

[knightsdaughter]

"What my parents think I'm capable of and what strangers think I'm capable of are probably pretty different things. I mean, in the former case it's that I've gotten into clubs for free by knowing which bouncer to distract, and in the later it's that I read Latin, you know?" Molly grins. "What moved you from Texas across the pond?"

[wayaheadofyou]

"Opportunity." Artfully fielded, there, by the bundled-up woman with questions and, apparently, no real answers. "The Latin thing. Was that something you learned in school, or did you teach yourself for fun?"

Or for a reason. Jena has not discounted this possibility. She's just keeping quiet about it.

[knightsdaughter]

"School," she said, after a quarter-heartbeat of not quite hesitation. "Sort of. I finished high school independent study, more or less." Two could play at the not-quite-answering game, evidently, though Molly's manner remained friendly.

[wayaheadofyou]

"But it's something you're proud of knowing," Jena volunteers, "so do you do anything with it? Tutoring or anything? You could make some cash."

This is her way of trying to be helpful and well-meaning. Please don't get too offended by her psych-101 assessment of Molly's character-- she really doesn't mean anything bad by it.

[knightsdaughter]

"Not a bad idea," Molly acknowledged, "but I keep myself busy. A bunch of younger siblings, for one, and getting my mentor out of trouble a lot." She didn't want to lie to Jena, not directly, but she's also not sure how people will take to magic, right away.

[wayaheadofyou]

Jena's not exactly the most Fox Mulder about things like magic, as she herself is a big fan of logic and scientific advancement... but again, she is an artist. So all bets are off, really.

"You're the oldest! Must be nice, havin' a bunch of kids looking up to you."

...Jena is an only child. Obviously.

[knightsdaughter]

She laughs. "If you enjoy being a permanent unpaid babysitter, yeah, I guess." Her words aside, it's clear she loves them very much. "I got six, so my hands stay full."

[wayaheadofyou]

"Six younger siblings." Jena whistles. "I believe it. Hope you get some time to yourself, every now and again! It never does anybody any good if all the music they listen to is Disney Channel."

[knightsdaughter]

"No, it surely doesn't. But I broke it up by spending about five years in a constant fight with my mother, so that was fun." Ah, the joys of a huge Catholic family. "But they're mostly good kids."