xp_logs | LOG: Amanda and Manuel - Not Tonight, Dear, I've Got An Evil Entity In My Head

Manuel goes to track down Amanda to talk about the way things are between them. Not much gets resolved, and Manuel is typically oblivious.

There was one way, practically guaranteed to get you privacy. Look like you were meditating. With all the emotionally-entangled mutant powers in the mansion, it was considered rude to disturb someone else's meditation time. Not to mention Nathan's Askani patterns were popular. 'Meditation, all the cool kids are doing it,' Amanda thought cynically as she sat on the shore of the lake, legs crossed underneath her and hands in her lap. Her attention wasn't focussed inward, however, it was focussed on the water in front of her, and the small fountain she'd created with a spell. The first spell she'd done since... since the green smoke, actually. Water wasn't her favourite element, but she needed to practice, needed to work on her control. Get used to the limits on the new charm, which were so much more restrictive than the previous one.

But there were ways around everything.

Manuel had no interest in meditating. He did it, but he kept it to himself, as any decent person should. Instead, he was on the hunt for one British wytchbrat. He had searched through the entire Mansion, looking in all her usual hidey-holes, before heading outside to check the lake. Seeing her there, he grinned and plopped himself down gracelessly next to her. "Hola." he said with a grin.

Amanda started, and there was a flare of energy around her before she cut the fountain off with a word. "Hey," she said with a faint smile, still working on bringing her concentration back to the here and now. "You're in a good mood."

"It happens from time to time." he said, laying flat with his head towards the water. "Am I interrupting? Because I can go bugger off if I am." he said considerately.

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he was interrupting, but he was looking up at her so earnestly and obviously wanting to spend time with her that she relented. Practice could wait a little. "You startled me, is all," she said, the smile growing stronger as she uncrossed her legs and stretched out, leaning back on her elbows. "Thought I'd test out the new jewellery, see what it lets me do. Get out of medlab for a while." Although she had her phone with her, for when Clarice needed a break from Tommy-watching, given Rahne had been drafted into Rachel-sitting.

Manuel frowned a little bit at the by-play of emotions across Amanda's being, but for once he held his tongue. "Glorious day out, isn't it? Makes up for that awful show I saw on the telly the other day. HBO thinks they're showing Rome the way it was. And not a single de la Rocha in sight. Plebeans." he said with a laugh. "You feel a lot better these days. Sleeping better, are you?"

She nodded. "A bit, yeah. Eatin's still a bit on an' off, but with everyone makin' sure the docs don't overdo it, there's always someone shovin' food in me face." The lost weight was slowly coming back on, her face losing that hollow look gradually. She tilted her head at him, taking in the easy smile and the good mood. "Were you lookin' for me, or just decided on a walk?"

"Rats. My clever plan exposed!" he said with another laugh. "I was looking for you, actually. I wanted to see you, to be with you. I haven't done that since you fell ill." he said delicately. "I've missed it. I've seen more of my - your - lizard than I have of you. Now that's just not right." he grinned.

"Y'know, I should just give you Frank an' make it formal," Amanda replied, tilting her face up to the sun and wishing she'd worn a short-sleeve shirt. She was getting too hot, and right now she didn't care who saw the healing scratches on her arms. "'Specially since it's startin' t' look like disaster season again - three medical dramas in the last few weeks, doesn't look good. Might not be seein' a lot of me room for a while." Or classes, but she and the other helpers had gotten permission to miss those. Looking back over at him, eyes half-closed against the brightness of the sun, she raised her eyebrow at him. "Well, here we are now, an' I'm not on duty for a couple of hours. Had anythin' in mind?"

"Nah." he said. "I spend a lot of time with the Frankster, but he's yours. A gift, I believe? I couldn't accept him." He then picked up his head to grin at Amanda. "A whole couple of hours all to yourself? If you're not up for powers-practice - which is what it looks like I interrupted - then how about we go reintroduce ourselves more properly? I've _missed_ you." he said, voice thickening a little in lust.

Oh, so that was it, then. She should have known. It was what it always came down to, with them, and the lust in his voice only made her feel tired. Tired and disconnected. "I was hopin' maybe t' go for a swim while it's still warm," she replied, looking away at the water again. "Clear me head a bit."

Manuel caught the resignation in his voice and in her mind, and unwisely decided to push. He had missed her terribly, and now she was acting so oddly. Not like her at all. "Or, we could go swimming. Or you could go swimming. Whatever you'd like." he said with a sigh. "I just haven't seen you in a while, and I miss you. But hey, I can always come back when you're feeling more hospitable." What was _with_ her lately, anyway? This was not like her, not at all.

"What do you miss, Manuel? Me or the sex?" Her tone was distant, almost disinterested, as if she was paying attention to something else. "'Cause if it's the second, well, you'll just have t' wait. I don't feel like it right now. 'M a recoverin' addict, if you hadn't noticed." Not that it had stopped her before, but she was tired of being used when it was deemed handy by others. A power source, a piece of medical equipment, Manuel's sex toy. "But if you missed me, then you're welcome t' join me for a swim." She dragged her eyes back from her contemplation of the lake to his. "Company'd be good."

"Nothing wrong with missing the sex too." he grumbled. "But yeah, a swim'd be nice. You sportin' your suit under that rag you've got on, or do you need to head back up to change?" he asked her. This was really not like her - didn't feel like her at _all_. When did she get so edgy, so distant? Manuel didn't like it One Bit, but he'd play along. For now.

His response surprised her faintly. Who would have thought he could be reasonable? Well, as reasonable as Manuel got. Maybe there was hope for him yet. But there was the faintest undercurrent of caution, of something warning her not to let her guard down just yet. To not give him another chance to hurt her. "Got it on underneath," she replied. "How 'bout you? You need t' get changed?"

Manuel nodded. "Unfortunately. The staff takes a dim look on swimming naturally in broad daylight." he said, actually sounding somewhat disappointed by this. Her constant wariness was really starting to get on his nerves, and he kept seeing _something_ out of the corner of his empathic eye. Something dark, something hidden. "If you're willing to wait, I'll run up and go put my suit on, then meet you back here?" he said, trying to keep his tone light.

"Yeah, that's fine. Bring back some soda with you too? 'S hot out here." As if to punctuate this last, she sat up and pulled off her shirt, revealing the basic one-piece suit she'd bought with Alison, back when she had first decided to stop hiding the scars. "I'll wait for you in the water," she told him with something far closer to her usual grin, peeling her jeans off and standing. Where she had been sitting the grass was dry and dead, nothing like the lush green everywhere else, but Amanda didn't notice.

Manuel completely missed the significance of the dead grass as he stood up himself. Looking at Amanda, he leered at her before heading back into the Mansion to get changed. Maybe after her swim she'd be in a more accomodating mood.

Amanda rolled her eyes at his retreating back, not having missed the leer - she'd have had to have blind to have done that. Once he was out of sight, she turned to head down to the water, and felt dray grass stems stabbing into her bare feet. "Shite," she muttered, stepping off the dead patch and kneeling next to it. She must have slipped when Manuel startled her. Still, easy fixed - passing her hand over the patch, she murmured an illusion spell, mimicking the surrounding green. The patch vanished, and she nodded in satisfaction. It'd hold long enough to avoid suspiscion. And Manuel was a oblivious to the world as always.

There was always a way around things. Amanda smiled, and headed down to the water for her swim.