Alison and Terry, Music Lessons

[x-siryn.livejournal.com]

School's out but lessons go on. Alison gives Terry a voice lesson with a higher purpose and tells Terry she needs to be doing more powers training. Terry manages to completely avoid having to ask the most logical person to do that training.



This was without a doubt the most boring lesson Terry had been through in over a year. No, most boring ever because at least those early lessons were occasionally livened up by her shaky grasp on her power and the fear that this time she was going to shatter her dear teacher's eardrums. This lesson, with it's seemingly endless scales and calls for a particular pitch perfect note, was driving her crazy. Terry wondered if she'd done something wrong and was being punished but couldn't think of anything that would merit being made to hold a high C for...oh Mother of God, two minutes!

When the note finally faded into silence, Alison remained still, eyeing Terry with a particularly pensive look. "Okay. Good." A slow nod followed this statement, along with her head slowly tilting to the side. Still observing Terry, she seemed to be going over the last note, the echoes of it still bouncing in her bones. Or so it felt like. "You're ready." Reaching over to flip the cover of the exercises book shut, she nodded decisively. "It's time, then."

Terry blinked dumbly at her. Ready? Time? Ready for what? Did she forget something? Her heart was pounding from the lesson but her breathing remained perfectly controlled. Finally she shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You're ready. You have enough voice control to start pushing your powers control beyond what it's been held at for the last year now." Smiling, eyes tearing up a bit of all things, Alison shook her head. "You're got enough control of your voice so that, as long as you keep a handle on your temper… you're set to start specifically doing voice related powers training."

Shock hit her like a physical blow. Terry gaped at Alison like she'd grown another head. "You're done with me?" Alison was her voice teacher. Powers meant… Terry shook her head, "But why?"

"Done with…" Oh no. Now that needed to be cleared up right away. "Are you on crack? You keep me out of the rest and I"ll be lasering the walls down asking for an explanation, missy! I didn't spend over a year working you up to this to step aside now!" With a proprietary note to her voice, she grinned at Terry. "My student. That never changes. Not even when I'm old and grey haired. Well, silver really. I don't do grey hair," she added, as an afterthought. "No, I meant add people to things."

"Oh." That was okay. So long as Alison wasn't leaving her, she didn't mind new people. Except that powers probably meant Sean. Okay, maybe she minded new people. "Who are you adding? Does it take the place of voice lessons or are we just adding to them." Terry had a practical bent that went to work immediately in matters of scheduling.

"Voice stays to keep you in practice." There was a hint of ruthlessness to Alison's voice, on that particular topic. "However - I want you to sit down and work out who you think might be able to assist you best." She's managed to insert information for Terry during the last year, in their lessons, which meant the girl would be able to figure out what she needed. And Terry being Terry, Alison felt the achievements that followed would only be the more important to her if Terry herself had a hand in the selection.

Terry did sit, tucking herself onto the stool next to her harp and propping her hand on her chin. "You've had me doing scales all day," she mused aloud, mostly to herself, "So you were testing my control. And the notes were accuracy." She caught a lock of hair and nibbled on it distractedly. "What can you not read?" A half-remembered wistful remark about the impressive breadth of Terry's range made her sit up straight, "Range! You can't hear it all!"

"I can hear a lot, but I'm not a dolphin, no." Alison grinned at the eureka expression on Terry's face, and tugged a chair close, straddling it as she sat down. "Your range isn't the norm, obviously. Your power lets you go into sub-sonics and ultra-sonics, which most people can't do." She winkled her nose at Terry. "Means it's not performance applicable - but that's not the point where your power is concerned. And if you can show control in the ranges I can hear and help you with - stands to reason now you ought to have control in the rest of your range too."

Most people. Which meant that Alison was thinking of someone who could. Terry made a face. No way. There had to be another solution. She chewed on her lower lip, trying to work it out. "We need to test it. Which means diagnostics." Hmm, better not mention the lower labs work but…oh, the sound proofed room had all those sensors. "Dr. Hank could do it. And I bet Forge would help too."

"That sounds like a good start." And she'd be right there watching too, from the gleam in her eyes. "We haven't pushed you in those ranges. It'd be interesting to see how that processes…" she trailed off, eyes going distant a bit as she thought over the mechanics of it all. Suddenly, she smiled at Terry, focus entirely back on the red head. "And what will you be asking of them exactly?"

"Range, obviously," replied Terry promptly. "Probably harmonics too. And if the equipment can measure I should test focus and force." There she stopped, somewhat stumped by what else she could test. The scientist types would know though. "I guess I'd ask them what else they can do. See how flexible my voice is really."

Alison nodded at that. Terry's approach was that of a vocalist, but this was fine - it was what Alison had taught her, and it was still, in her opinion, important that Terry took that approach. The rest would come with time and powers practicing, and differing viewpoints being offered to Terry as her training progressed. "And what the effect is, when you go ranges beyond what the normal voice." The last was added gently, the memory of one particular blast of sonics surfacing for a moment.

"Like making animals cringe?" Terry suggested impishly.

Laughter greeted that, Alison reaching out to tap Terry's nose lightly. "And breaking the vases and windows, mmm?" She would be able to show the same versatility her father possessed, one day. And knowing Terry, she'd probably do her best to come up with more than a few tricks of her own, too.

"I've already done that a few times." Terry grinned, unaware of the comparison going on in her teacher's head. "Mr. Marko gets awfully mad."

"Well, see... when you start shattering stuff to practice, that he actually needs to see reduced to bits, he might not be so cranky about it, mmm?" And it wasn't as though any of the sonics bothered Alison. If anything, it would be a far more interesting way to go throug her weekly sound therapy sessions than just being stuckin a room and bombarded at high volumes.

Terry tilted her head at Alison, "Does he often need windows and vases shattered?"

"What makes you think you'll be the scourge and terror of only vases and windows, later on?" It was fun to ask the question, Alison grinning in amusement as she waited for comprehension to sink in.

It didn't so much sink in as it dawned, widening Terry's blue eyes. "That's not really the type of thing you do as a civilian. Breaking things with power, I mean."

"No, it isn't." Looking at her own hands for a moment, Alison let light dance at her fingertips, the afterglow lingering in the air behind each motion she made. "But what if not knowing the entire scope of your power means you might slip up, somehow, later on?" Sadness flickering in her eyes, for a moment. "I never wanted to know exactly everything I could do. The lasers - scared me. They still do," she added, a bit wanly. "But now knowing meant I nearly hurt someone, back when I first got here. And knowing... it doesn't keep you from living whatever life you choose. But whatever choices are there for you - it does mean accidents won't be as likely to happen. Just for not knowing."

Terry shook her head, "That's not what I meant. I mean, yeah, it's scary." So much less so for an 16 year old who didn't know what she could really do yet. Youth was so forgiving. "But I just thought it wasn't really necessary to train us all the way. You know, before we join the team."

"I... would be endlessly happy if none of you did. If we had no trainees, if you all went on to live normal lives, without anything even remotely connected to the X-Men to color your lives." She'd wanted to make Miles promise so many times not to do what she did - and couldn't do so. It would be unfair, to say the least. And there was still time, to somehow try and make sure it would be a moot point, when he was old enough. "But I learned the hard way that just going by on the basics and ignoring the in depth aspects of my power was a Bad Thing."

After a moment of silence, she smiled a bit wistfully. "Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you'll never need to know the full extent of what you can do." This was said regardless of what Terry's current career preference was, Alison not applying that to the fact that simply learning one's power was a good thing to do, as a basic fact. "But I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"I don't mind learning. I was just surprised." Terry shrugged it off. "Dr. MacTaggart does powers training. Should I contact her as well? She's going to be busy with the baby soon enough." Terry grinned, she imagined that it wouldn't slow down the doctor all that much.

"She can still probably offer a few good suggestions." This was turning around the issue, though at this stage, Terry could still afford to do it. Leaning her arms on the back of the chair she was still straddling, Alison chuckled. "The next few months should be very interesting."

Terry nodded then when Alison simply continued to look at her placidly, sighed. Stubbornly she set her jaw and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't want to ask him." Then her eyes softened into worry, "What if he says no?"

A calm look greeted Terry's question. "He won't say no." The corners of her eyes crickling slightly as she smiled, Alison went on. "But if he does I'll beat him up for you until he says yes," she offered, a teasing tone to her voice.

Terry's expression didn't change. "I don't want him to do it if he says no. I can learn without him. He didn't have anyone to teach him after all." And anything Sean Cassidy could do, Terry would learn to do better.

"Well then." A simple nod. "Either way, you can still ask, if you choose to." And since the best way to train was to want it, Alison wasn't about to tell Terry that she had to train with Sean. Not until she saw how events unfolded, anyway. "It's your decision to make."

Terry didn't want to. It was hard enough trying to talk to Sean, asking for help after all the horrible things that had passed between them was unfathomable. "I'll just talk to Dr. Hank first." Hopefully that would be good enough for Alison.

"Okay." Alison just smiled and agreed pleasantly at that. Starting at a nice safe place was certainly something she didn't mind, really. The rest would come later, as it was meant to be.