psl: for Ashwin @strangelondon

[x_coriare]

She'd come to London--been sent, more specifically--because of everything that had happened with the Purifiers, both under Stryker and his replacement Risman, and Predator X more recently. Sooraya had even moderately enjoyed the transatlantic flight to get there, though seventeen hours without the ability to really move was a bit telling. It had meant she'd enjoyed the seven blocks she walked to get to the London Sanctum. Sure, there were easier (sort of) ways to get there, and Scott had definitely lobbied for trying to use the portaling system that existed between the Santcum locations.

But she arrived without much fanfare, which was what Sooraya wanted, and waited with her backpack and a suitcase, wondering what had changed someone's mind about sheltering her here when at first the idea had been turned down; she'd only vaguely picked up most of that argument, but something about her friendship with Loa had come up and been discussed rather excitedly. Sooraya wasn't precisely sure what Alani had to do with London, but hadn't argued about it.

So she rang the bell and waited.

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[strangelondon]

It probably had more to do with the fact there wasn't much mutant presence in London. Well, none as organized as the X-Men. Eventually Ashwin had agreed to house the visitor simply because it would be the easiest and safest. He trusted even a mutant aware of magical energies wouldn't disrupt the Sanctum's energy too much.

And unlike Strange, Ashwin had no assistant.

He hoped the door with a pleasant smile in a neat suit. "Welcome to the London Sanctum."

It looked like a plain London home but once she stepped inside she would see it was so much more and very green. Ashwin had made sure there was a lot of life in this place.

[x_coriare]

"Hi," Sooraya greeted, veil pinned securely in place over her smile. "Thanks for having me here. I've...never been to the UK before." She'd gotten a little turned around from where the cab had dropped her off to here.

She stepped inside lightly, rolling her suitcase to rest by her heels. "I'm Sooraya, you must be...Ashwin? I'm sorry, I'm not entirely sure what to expect in a place like this, I've never been in one."

[strangelondon]

"I think you'll find London a lot like New York just... cleaner." Ashwin smiled as he closed the door behind her. "And the people somewhat nicer."

He nodded. "Yes, Ashwin Standford, Guardian of the London Sanctum. Which is all just a fancy title other magicians like. Please, call me Ashwin. I've had a room made up for you."

Literally. He created a pocket dimension for a new room that wouldn't be seen from the outside of the building. A neat trick to always have enough storage for magical items and guests.

"It's this way." He gestured for her to follow. "As to what expect of this place, it's mostly just a normal building. Unless you can work magic. Then you can change it and sense it change you in a way. I would recommend talking to it when you get lost. Often it will help you magical or not."

[x_coriare]

"I think I can do Ashwin," she chuckled. "I liked the city better than Salem, honestly. It was louder, but there were more people who looked like me. Westchester county is very...white," Sooraya decided eventually. She didn't hate anything about it other than the looks she got if she was in town for something, because there was no other Pashtun community there. By far, Salem Center had been meaner about her hijab than New York had been.

"Unfortunately, I think I'm as magically inclined as a sidewalk brick. I'm not precisely sure why they sent me here, except that it was out of the way." For being in a major metropolitan city, anyway. It was somewhere the Purifiers were not, which was enough. "I seem to be a convenient target for some people back home, who don't like us very much."

She's also a master of casual understatement.

[strangelondon]

"Don't let London fool you, it's still very white. But there are good communities here. More so than Westchester, I imagine." Ashwin had only been to New York City to meet with the Guardian there. Dr. Strange was... an interesting man and very powerful in magic. "Would you like to explore London on your own? Or I could come with you on my weekend."

He wasn't going to leave a guest on their own unless they wanted to be on their own. Of course, he still had his day job. Unlike Dr. Strange who just seemed to be a Guardian.

"They'll have a very hard time finding you here. The Sanctum is protected from magical scrying. I can't stop them from using modern technology outside this place but you're safe here." He led her up a staircase and down a side hallway.

"There's a bathroom attached to your room. And you're free to use the kitchen if you want to cook. All I ask, if you cook meat please clean everything. I'm a vegetarian." He smiled, expecting she might understand more than his white friends.

[x_coriare]

"I think I'd like it if you came with me," she replied with a little smile; she liked having company and certainly would feel safer and more comfortable with someone who knew the city. The note about him being a vegetarian got a tiny laugh as she nodded, too, and Sooraya was comfortable with different dietary requirements.

"I don't mind cleaning at all, and I'd be happy to make vegetarian food if you'd like, I enjoy cooking for people so long as you don't mind if it's halal. I stayed in Madripoor for a few months before I came to the US, so I know a few recipes from there."

[strangelondon]

"I'll show you around on the weekend then." Ashwin nodded. There were plenty of interesting places to see. And Ashwin was curious what sort of threat might appear if they did wander one of the most surveilled cities in the world.

He nodded. "That's very generous but you don't have to cook for me. I sometimes keep odd hours. Not just because of work but for what I do for the Sanctum. But perhaps we'll find time to cook together."

He wouldn't be a stranger but dealing with the Sanctum and his work at the museum kept him busy. Ashwin wasn't used to guests either. He would be the best host he knew how to be. "This is your room."

He opened the door for her and gestured her to go inside. "There's an obsidian mirror on one wall. At prayer times it will show Mecca for you. It's also oriented correctly."

[x_coriare]

"I'm attending classes virtually while I'm here, but New York is five hours behind London. I imagine I'll keep some strange hours too," Sooraya chuckles gently. "What do you do for the museum? And which one?" There were many, that she knew, though she hadn't been able to do more than walk past them.

The mirror got a substantial reaction from her, expression slackening as a soft oh breathed out. It was a huge gesture and very touching, very much appreciated. She hadn't ever had that kind of a welcome, not even at the school in New York. "Is this the kind of magic you do?" she asked, touching her fingertips to the obsidian surface gently. "This is...amazing. And very special."

hey, DW, send me my notifs, please and thank you

[strangelondon]

"I'm a curator at the Natural History museum. I make sure old things don't crumble to dust." And occasionally replaces the old magical things in the museum's collection with fakes so the originals can go to the right place, where they belong.

He put his hands in his pockets while she made herself at home. "It's one type of magic I can do. Scrying through the astral plane enchanted onto an object. The correct time of day simply activates the magic but otherwise it's dormant and a nice conversation piece."

If she brought anyone here or showed pictures, that was. "It's the right use for magic, if you ask me. Not a grand act of world changing power but little things to make it better."

/pokes it with a stick

[x_coriare]

She smiles; she likes museums well enough and hasn't been to nearly enough of them yet. "I like old things," Sooraya chuckles. "I grew up in Afghanistan, so most of the American 'old' isn't...always terribly impressive. Maybe I could to the museum sometime?"

Not that she was asking permission as much as advice--because she hadn't ever been here before, and Nigel lives here. "It's beautifully done, your mirror. My faith is something important to me and I'm very touched that it's something important enough for you to acknowlege. No one at the school quite understood it."

can you be RPing on DW if it does send you notifs?

[strangelondon]

"Most of America isn't impressive," he teased good naturedly. The country was lacking in a lot of things for Ashwin. Somehow, it had the most respected Sanctum but that probably had more to do with Dr. Strange than anything else. "Of course, I'll show you around and let you peek a little behind the scenes. It's where the most interesting things are."

He smiled, his hands in his pockets. "You're welcome. I wanted to make sure your stay was comfortable. Professor Xavier mentioned your faith to me and it was simple enough to respect it."

Just like she seemed willing to respect his vegetarianism which was part of his faith.

studies show: no

[x_coriare]

She chuckled at that, shaking her head gently. "Some of it is, but...not the things people have made. The mountains and lakes, the coastline is nice. I never made it very far west or south, but I've herd lovely things of the rest of the country." Jay had told her about where he'd grown up and lived with his whole family, and it had been a nice thought, going to see it.

And then everything else had happened, and he'd died, and she got sent here.

"I honestly wasn't sure the Professor was aware of much of the intricacies of my faith. We don't have the closest of relationships." Not after he'd trapped her in a jar on his desk.

Re: studies show: no

[strangelondon]

"We can never improve on nature," he agreed with a little nod. He had tried to bring some nature into the London Sanctum with various plants and flowers he tended. They brought a balance to the heavy city energy of London.

"I asked him about you and he let me know. I don't think he knows the details but it doesn't take much to Google an answer for what to do for a visiting Muslim." Ashwin practiced old, deep traditions but he didn't mind modern technology for many things.

"If there's anything else you'd like, just tell me and I'll see what I can do." It was easy to change around a liminal space like this.

Re: studies show: no

[x_coriare]

"Thank you," she said lightly, but she meant it, smiling as she nodded.

"I may go looking later for some flowers, if I can find them here. We used to grow poppies when I was a child and I miss them."

[strangelondon]

"I don't have poppies in the Sanctum but feel free to bring them home." There were mostly plants native to India around including a few trees. He liked the energy they brought and saw no reason poppies wouldn't also fit in.

"And especially your room here. Decorate it how you like." He doubted she would ruin the place or be messy like some sort of teenager. She was clearly a grown woman and capable. "I, uh, would like to know if you go exploring on your own in London. Just because of the danger you're in. I could be ready to respond if necessary."

[x_coriare]

"I used to live around several very large poppy fields," she explained. "I'll have to see if anyone even has them around here, they're usually quite strictly controlled." Opium poppies could be quite...interesting plants to have around. Especially if one was versed in exactly how to get the opium from them.

She hadn't been idle all those years at the slave camp, after all.

"For today you certainly won't have to worry about it. The flight was quite long, and it's left me a little tired, but if I decide to go out I will tell you beforehand. I just don't want to interrupt your work here. I wasn't told very much about the Sanctum, or much of what happens here."

[strangelondon]

There was that whole business of poppies making opium.

"Then I will let you get some rest." He made his way back to the door. "As I said, if you get lost ask the house for help. I don't have much sanctum business to see to today so I'll be around if you get bored."

There were all sorts of things to explore in the sanctum. None of which he thought she could make any use of besides the library if she liked old magical texts and philosophical writings. The relic room was secure from anyone who would steal something so it should let her through the door.

No one would stumble on something the Sanctum didn't want them to find. It was the way of liminal spaces.

[x_coriare]

There was that. And Sooraya knew very well how that process worked, after all.

"Thank you," she said with a soft smile. She would explore a bit later, once she'd unpacked her clothes and things; she detested the idea of living out of a suitcase when she didn't have to. And maybe she'd call back home and see what had gone on since she'd left for the airport.

It meant that a few hours later she was wandering about the Sanctum with her hair covered, but the face veil off; the air on the plane had been dry and she didn't want her veil to stick to her lip balm. It would be easy to pin it back in place should Ashwin surprise her, but she doubted he would. She'd asked the house for directions as he'd mentioned, though she suspected it was having a bit of fun at her expense, since she'd only asked now where do I go from here? having gotten turned around coming back down an unfamiliar hallway. The Relic Room (not that she knows that's what room she's in) is interesting!

She's still trying to figure out how, and why, this short-sword is entirely black.

[strangelondon]

The house let him know she was in the Relic room which was not exactly forbidden. If the house trusted her to see the room then he wouldn't worry. Not exactly worry. But she might be curious. He finished his business with the other sanctums and a few important magic users in the city before he made his way there.

Ashwin knocked on the door to let her know he was coming in. "Sooraya. Did you find something interesting?" he asked, "Or was this a happy accident?"

Because he had an inkling of doubt that she had meant to end up here. Instinct and perhaps a little extra senses told him that this wasn't where she intended to be. He was happy to show her around now that he had wrapped most of his business for the day.

[x_coriare]

"Well, yes and no," she chuckled, pinning her veil back into place and turning around. "I asked where I should go, and I ended up here entirely unintentionally. I think your house might be playing jokes on me," Sooraya replied. "The things in here are interesting, yes, but I have no idea what most of them are. But I've long since learned that things I don't understand I should also not touch, generally speaking."


She tucked her hands in her pockets gently, not wanting to touch anything if it would concern him. "I'd only meant to go back down the hallway I started from, but that didn't seem to happen."

[strangelondon]

"Liminal spaces are tricky to give a personality to because they're by nature ever shifting between realms of reality," he explained, averting his eyes as she fixed her veil. "Generally the Sanctum is somewhat testing. It likes to put you somewhere and see what you'll do. Perhaps it wanted to make sure you wouldn't be tempted."

Ashwin shrugged a single shoulder. He had lived in the Sanctum for a few years now but still didn't fully understand all the energies at play inside it. It was quite the character.

"Would you like help being led back or do you want to look around? As long as you're respectful in here, nothing bad will happen."

[x_coriare]

"I wonder what it thinks of me now," she replies with a little smile. She hadn't been tempted to take anything, merely to look and to understand, even though she already knew she wouldn't be able to grasp most of what was in the room, physically or otherwise. "I think I'd like to look around a little longer, but I'd be happy if you'd stay. Maybe show me around what you find interesting here."

[strangelondon]

"Maybe it'll tell you one day."

He imagined the house would show its approval eventually. The only person it had ever thrown out had been a politician. It was fairly accepting of most people.

"Well, most of the artifacts in this room were looted by the British empire as they colonized as much of the world as they could," he said with a little smirk. "I stole them back."

[x_coriare]

She smiled at that; Sooraya had no trouble believing the house would find some way to tell her what it thought or felt. Most communication wasn't in words, anyway, she knew enough about that to not have it confuse her.

"Oh, the Arab world has had more than our fair share of that," Sooraya murmured. "Less than India, but...enough." And even if they hadn't been directly affected by it themselves at the worst of it, it had become enough of a cultural influence that Ashwin and Sooraya could both point to English colonization as part of who they'd become. "How did you come by them to steal them back?"