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xp_logsTuesday night Morgan proposes Adrienne view Manuel from afar to bring down the fear quotient.
"Oi! Woman! Elbows up!" She nudged Adrienne's arms up. She was attempting to get the former model at least barely capable on the speed bag in the school's gym but Adrienne kept dropping her elbows down and it upset her entire rhythm. She circled her friend like a vulture and nudged here and there to correct her form and posture where she let her laziness sneak in.
"Maybe I just enjoy having all that man between my legs," she joked, going back to their conversation about why it wasn't weird that Morgan wandered around in the bodies of men, such as Manuel and "Daniel." She couldn't seem to find a way of explaining the non-weird in a way that made sense to Adrienne and they kept going in circles with the conversation.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Adrienne mumbled, trying to maintain her stance and listen to Morgan with half an ear; "if Stavros and Munroe weren't just as bitchy as you I'd walk away, you know. I don't have to take this." She contemplated the blue woman's latest reasoning on why she had been switching bodies so much lately, but it still made no sense. Not that the current explanation was really supposed to. "That's not an excuse," she pointed out. "You could just sleep with men if you wanted one between your legs." But as far as she knew, Morgan wasn't sleeping with anyone. "I'm worried you're having self-esteem issues about your skin colour. Maybe a gender crisis." She said it jokingly, but in truth it was what she'd been thinking since they'd been to Boston. She was worried about the annoying flirt she'd become friends with against all her better judgment.
"Moan, moan, moan," Morgan echoed. She took a few steps back, watching Adrienne from the other woman's left with her head tilted to the side. Adrienne was improving, against her will it almost seemed. Eventually Morgan would have her able to knock a guy out with one well-placed left hook. At least that was her goal. The joke, however, caught her attention and Morgan's head straightened as a quizzical look came onto her face. The words much truth is said in jest ran through her head. "I haven't any issues about my skin color. Do women who dye their hair before they're grey have issues about their hair color? Do you have issues with laundry? It's just like an outfit. Really. Only it's a person. I've not walked around in my own body so much since I was a kid. Then I came here and that's all I wore, me. Nothing against me but the same outfit gets bloody boring and I like change. I get bored, I try on a new body. I like finding the person's voice, crafting their mannerisms and their cadence, deciding if they've an accent. It's fun. Like playing dress up. No issues needed for that, is there?"
"I hate laundry, that's why I never wear the same thing twice," Adrienne answered, but she paused in her attack on the speed bag to fully contemplate what Morgan was saying. "They're like... outfits?" She toyed with her water bottle as she thought about this, about how the same outfit did get bloody boring, and if you had the ability to change your skin like normal people changed outfits, then why would you stay in the same body? "I... I suppose it really isn't different at all from being an actress, is it?" she had to admit, almost reluctantly. "So they're... costumes? You play a part, but you're still you on the inside...?"
Morgan nodded, the relief that she'd finally found a way for Adrienne to understand it all quite visible on her face. "Exactly. Sometimes they aren't that far off from me. Daniel, for example, is me. Only male. And with a Peruvian accent. Because the accent's hot and it suits him." She grinned widely. "You know how a certain outfit can make you feel a certain way? Slinky dresses make some women feel sexy but for other women combat boots and fishnets do, right? It's like that. The body can influence my mood and bring certain personality traits to the surface more than others, but unless I'm intentionally playing a part it's all still me. Daniel's me. Aiofe is still largely me, just bits of me that don't surface much. If I've got to be a specific person for a specific purpose then it's a total actress thing, otherwise it's sort of dressing for my mood." Grinning again, "If you can convince Jean-Paul to share him Daniel can take you on a 'date' and show you what a gentleman he is." Morgan actually giggled at the very idea of that.
Grinning amiably, Adrienne returned to the speed bag. It actually made a lot of sense now, being put in that light. She giggled at the mention of a date. "I think that would be lovely. I'll be sure to ask Beaubier at my earliest convenience." She wasn't even entirely sure she was joking. It had been a long time since she'd been out one-on-one with a man who wasn't a business associate or client. It would probably be good for her publicity if she went. And now that she was clear on the fact that the shapeshifter was still Morgan, there was nothing to worry about. She always enjoyed herself with Morgan. It would be fun. But she didn't want Morgan to feel like she was being used. Adrienne had come to respect the woman too much to use her for something like that. "I don't know how I'd feel about sharing a man with another man, though," she added, so Morgan could take the out if she had been joking. "Unless there was sex involved with both of them, but I'm assuming there's not. You didn't mention how dressing up like Manuel fits your mood," she pointed out as an afterthought.
"There's no sex involved with Jean-Paul. Only many, many public displays of affection. Of the kissing variety." She probably didn't need to qualify that bit but somehow Morgan felt like she should make sure Adrienne's mind didn't wander as to what that could involve. Some straight women had that man-on-man fantasy and while she doubted Adrienne was among them Morgan was covering her bases to keep the woman on task now that she was resuming her attempt at taming the speed bag. "Manuel's not a mood. Manuel's a project. Part of that project is his to disclose, not mine. My part is simple: I want to gain some understanding of how to control and utilize empathy. I also want to work against him and his crusade to allow people to think he's a heartless bastard because he's not. I think it's easier for him if he lets people keep thinking that and you know how fond I am of taking the easier path without good reason."
"That's why I said I assumed there's no sex involved," the psychometrist assured Morgan as she checked her posture and resumed her attack on the bag. "It's always easier to let people think you're a heartless bastard," she agreed, huffing with effort. "Or a bitch. But yeah, I know how you feel about that. That's why I only do it when you're not... oh wait. I'm a bitch all the time. Never mind," she grinned. "I'm a little surprised at the fact I have something in common with de la Rocha, though."
"He's really not that bad when he's not surrounded by the Anti-Manuel brigade," Morgan insisted. "You know, I've got him swimming with me at ridiculous o'clock in the morning some days now to try to help him build his strength since he is physically weak still from that two years in a bed unconscious thing. Why don't you 'happen,'" she made air quotes with her fingers which she assumed Adrienne could pick up from her peripheral vision, "to be swimming at that hour next time? You don't even have to interact, just observe. From a distance if you want. 'Cause, really, cupcake, he's pretty decent when he's around just me."
Adrienne made a face. "Why would I want to get up at ridiculous o'clock to watch some man be decent around just you?" She hit the bag a few more times and sighed. This whole 'change peoples' opinions about Manuel' thing was obviously important to Morgan, and for some reason she couldn't articulate, Adrienne felt obliged to give it a try. "Alright, fine. I haven't really swum much since coming here- just haven't had the time for it what with needing to learn how to punch people instead. Maybe I should make early morning swimming a part of my daily routine anyway, as part of my New Years Resolution. Along with quitting smoking and learning how to scuba dive." Early morning swimming would actually compliment both of those rather well. Damnit.
Morgan grinned and leaned against the wall casually. "Well, the real perk is that he's terribly European and those people have a fondness for incredibly small articles of clothing when they swim. And he looks pretty damn good in that tiny little thing. This coming from a woman who knows what he looks like naked." Her grin only widened. "See, if all else fails you can stay underwater most of the time and just enjoy the eye candy. Obviously we've established recently that you're in need of more eye candy so you don't end up with pent up drool."
Grinning back, Adrienne took a sip of her water bottle. "Well, now that I've gotten over my uneasiness about your 'costumes', I know where to go to keep myself well-stocked with eye candy."
Morgan waggled her eyebrows and scratched her throat in a very guido-trying-to-be-a-mafioso sort of way. "Baby, I got whatcha need. I promise, good price." She even had the New York Italian accent to go with the gesture. It was capped with a very sleazy wink.
Early Wednesday morning Adrienne and Manuel gang up on Morgan until Manuel doesn't take kindly to being "objectified."
Manuel brought his body up higher on the side and crossed his arms so he could rest his chin against them for a long break. He was winded, tired and insufferably hot because someone had thought to turn the temperature up in the pool. "Do you think there may be something wrong, aside from the obvious lack of control? Situations are escalating - all of them my fault - and I cannot keep apologizing." He hesitated in his confession, winded by his own mild workout. "They do not want words. People want apologies to be maintained in my actions. I feel I am on repeat and I cannot get off of it. Such as with Callie and Jean-Paul. With Forge, I heightened it and it fell back on me. I am beginning to think that I will be unable to leave my room if I do not correct this problem."
"You could always only come out at night when everyone's asleep," she added unhelpfully. Morgan knew it was unhelpful but he didn't listen to all the helpful things she said, like how he was working too hard and his stroke was off. She may as well stop being helpful now. Morgan sighed and propped her elbows up on the pool's edge behind her. "I don't know if something's wrong but you have a fuck ton of anger and get more pissed off at being happy than any person ever would be. Which, for the record, is completely fucking daft. I do hope you realize that."
"Forcing someone into an emotion, pushing too hard can result in very negative effects. Possibly a psychotic episode? I have only heard about the things I have done. I have never cared for the results afterwards, aside from a slap on the wrist when I was younger. And what of you? You have said nothing of your current position, mind frame, emotional standpoint." Was he concerned? Yes. He was. It was not an easy power to control and correcting problems was a difficult task for her, trialing on her and he wondered if he was wearing her out.
"You weren't throwing a tantrum because of an impending psychotic episode or concern over one," she pointed out quite seriously. Morgan disappeared beneath the water's surface for a moment to cool from the room's temperature. When she popped up she mirrored Manuel with her arms crossed on the pool's edge, only she laid her head atop them to face him. "My current position is in a pool but not swimming. It strikes me as counterproductive but I don't have an emotional standpoint one it." Yes, she knew he was referring to something else but it was early and her snark was censored less the earlier in the day it was. And sometimes the later in the day it was as well. The middle truly was the safest time for people to encounter the blue woman.
"Yes we are stopping because I am tired. I do not have your physique, as you can see. I have not done cardio in a long time. Not well anyways. It is not something I can simply do very fast and you are ruthless in your training. Has anyone told you that yet, because I feel it is needed to be said. You are ruthless." Unfolding his arms, the flat of his hands pressed down into the edge of the pool and Manuel lifted himself up, turning and sitting down on the side. He needed to sit and rolled his head, cracking something inside of his neck. "MMmm, that did not crack the way I thought it would."
Morgan actually snorted and then laughed. "You and the cupcake could compare notes, if you'd like. You wouldn't be so tired if your form wasn't so fucked, you know. It's a lot less tiring when you're using proper technique. And once I hammer it into your head your stamina will increase quite a bit." She thought of the tone of voice he used when he called her ruthless and the tone Adrienne used when she inferred Morgan was unnecessarily nitpicky. They weren't that far off, actually. "You realize cracking your neck improperly is fairly bad for it, right?"
The interloper at the other end of the pool was listening to the pair slyly, under the pretense of adjusting her swim goggles. She'd done a few laps, her technique a little awkward since she hadn't swum much since arriving at the school, but when Manuel had stopped so had Adrienne, so she could eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Yes, now I realize that. It is sore." He rubbed the spot and rounded to his collarbone, just to the side of it. Rotating his shoulder, it felt as though it needed to be popped as well. He rolled his head again, ignoring her, searching for that much needed pop. It was felt, just on the brink of being put back into place but he gave up, assuming one pop was enough. "And who have you dubbed Cupcake?"
Morgan nodded to the other end of the pool. She noticed Adrienne looking in their direction and blew her a kiss. "That's my cupcake," she told him with overdone affection in her voice. "Adrienne. She had issues with me calling her 'love' so I went through a slew of really offensive and inappropriate nicknames, like sugarclit, before she allowed 'cupcake.' It's grown on her, I can tell. In my mind, she's always covered with frosting." Morgan grinned at him and laughed.
Adrienne ducked under the water when Morgan blew her a kiss, somewhat embarrassed at being caught out, but then surfaced as she couldn't let Morgan's remarks go unanswered. "Sugarclit was never one of my options, if I recall correctly," she yelled across the pool, then continued to tug at the band on her goggles under the pretense of adjusting them, making no move to join the pair.
Morgan smirked in the direction of her friend. Look at her spying like that and trying to pretend she wasn't. "There was something with sugar. And I think something with a clit. It was months ago, you expect me to remember exactly?"
"Sugartits, I think," Adrienne yelled back, trying to mask her discomfort with a grin. She'd remembered because it had been something Steven had called her, so she had quashed Morgan's enthusiasm for it quickly.
"With your attention to detail, you should," Manuel commented, shaking his head out. Now that they were being watched, he slipped off the edge of the pool, back into the water and pushed off the wall, heading at a lazy pace towards Adrienne.
Morgan shook her head. "I can't remember everything." Morgan made a face but didn't move. She wasn't really sure what to do. Adrienne was at the other end of the pool and wasn't on a fuzzy feeling basis with Manuel, who didn't know that exactly but had likely picked it up with his empathy. If she swam after him would it look too much like rescuing Adrienne from being alone with him? For now she just sat and watched to see what would happen.
The psychometrist gave a start when Manuel set off towards her, but rational thinking kicked in and she relaxed as she assured herself that there was nothing to be nervous about. She'd spent the bulk of an evening with Manuel at the Hellfire Club, after all, and hadn't found the experience too trying. And Morgan was nearby. Adrienne wasn't in the business of trusting most people, especially when it came to her safety, but she had come to trust Morgan. "Your form's shit, you know," she pointed out with a playful grin as Manuel approached, hopping up onto the side of the pool so that if he decided to strike her she would have an advantage of being able to kick him.
"Thank you for that obvious observation," he replied, oozing with sarcasm at the fact that she simply had to point out his faults. He had felt her distrust immediately before she had ever decided to come into the pool and tried to ignore it instead of focusing on it. For him, bad emotional greetings set the tone of the conversation, even when the conversation had not started. He did not meet her smile. "Perhaps you should focus on yourself instead of what I am doing." His turn to point out the obvious.
"You spent an evening with me," Adrienne reminded him, smile still in place, "you should know by now that I'm always focused on myself." She slipped her goggles around her neck and slid back into the pool. "I did manage to notice, however, despite how focused on myself I am, that you've strained your shoulder." Always conscious of the way people moved (from a modeling perspective, of course) Adrienne had noticed him trying to roll his shoulder back into place earlier. "I may be able to fix that, if you like." Hopefully Morgan would recognize the monumental effort she was making for the blue woman's sake and not accuse Adrienne later of not trying to be friendly.
Morgan nearly snorted at the way Adrienne commented on Manuel's form. What she noticed that Manuel may have not was the way her friend was mimicking her own tone. She wasn't entirely sure Adrienne had even done it intentionally. "Now, children, be nice or mum's going to have to go get a switch and remind you why you ought to behave." Teasing aside, she did notice Adrienne's efforts. Morgan was sure she might have a mild heart attack over them, even.''
He glanced back in the direction of where Morgan stood and took a few steps back as Adrienne advanced. "No thank you," he said politely. He didn't want anyone touching him in a helpful way aside from what he had to endure with Morgan. "Your words have done enough." His tone was less than inviting and he hesitated, knowing his tone was conforming to the first emotions he got from her when she walked in. "As I recall, you enjoyed that night." He did not enjoy it so much and had not talked to Emma since. It seemed odd that he would be talking to the sister.
Morgan's eyes narrowed at Manuel and she slipped back into the water, disappearing beneath its surface. She pushed off from the side and swam across the pool as quickly as she could before Adrienne possibly smacked him. Not that Morgan wouldn't claim he didn't have it coming in the first place. In the end Adrienne was her friend, Manuel was her project and he'd be fucking sweet as sin to her friends if he didn't want her to be the one smacking him upside the head.
Adrienne took a step back in reaction to Manuel's retreat, putting up her hands to show him that she wasn't going to come any further. She'd never really met anyone who was as uncomfortable when it came to being touched as she was, but that meant she could respect his need for distance. "Okay, then," she said with a small smile in response to his statement about not wanting her help. She glanced in Morgan's direction and smirked, unsure whether her friend was coming over merely to join in the conversation or to save one of her companions from the other one, though she wasn't sure if that was the case of whose rescue Morgan would be coming to. "I did enjoy that night. So much so that I've asked Emma how I can become involved in the process of becoming a member. We may be seeing much more of each other in the future." And if Morgan continued to make the empath her project, Adrienne had a feeling that they would be indeed seeing more of each other even if Adrienne wasn't accepted into the Hellfire Club.
He felt the shift, knowing his reaction was not one that was expected. Because of that, it reset him in a wary tone and he was hard pressed to ignore that. Especially something similiar to annoyance radiating from Morgan as she approached, though he couldn't be sure if she was annoyed at him or Adrienne. He tried to steel himself against it and it only seemed to cool his demeanor when he did so. "I see." He could see she was trying, for lack of a better word and though her effort was there, his did not want to be because of the sheer sense of falsehood he got. But wasn't that what the HFC was all about; constant false pleasantries and cunning attention to detail. "I'm sure you will find a place and fit right in." He'd meant to compliment her, just as Emma was but it came out hard and unforgiving. He tried again. "Emma could use a little competition in both her stature and beauty."
Warming up to the compliment, Adrienne felt herself beginning to relax. "Why, thank you, Mr. De la Rocha," she said with an honest smile.
Morgan popped out of the water right behind Manuel. Her chin went to rest on his shoulder while an arm wrapped across the front of his chest and the other arm wrapped around his waist. The small spike in her emotions which was attributed to the wariness of an impending boom between him and Adrienne had calmed and Manuel would have gotten nothing but her usual calm from her. "Aw, look, the kids can play nice. I'm so proud!" She blew Adrienne a kiss from Manuel's shoulder.
Manuel flinched at the touch, but he was locked in a hug and couldn't move. It distracted from Adrienne, though he suddenly felt warmth that relaxed him, an acceptance that caused him to settle. "You're very welcome. I should be a lucky man inbetween two beautiful ladies, wet and in very little as possible." His comment didn't extend into any interest and even as he said it, it lacked the luster that any other man flirting would have had. Lowering down into the water, he attempted to turn and free himself from Morgan's grasp, nicely, but more to the point, to respect his space when they weren't toying with his powers.
"Is it me or does Morgan have very little respect into personal boundaries?" he teased.
"Sometimes you need to be put on a leash," Morgan stated very casually without letting go of him. Manuel was pretty well trapped in her arms even if he was trying to escape. The attempt wasn't lost on the red-eyed woman. "You would never pay as much attention if I used rope." She smiled sweetly and hooked a let up around his hip. "But I find popping your personal bubble to be very effective."
"I need no such thing," he rolled his neck away from her and reached up, taking her wrists in his hands to remove her. "Besides, rope rubs the skin raw and attaching yourself to me is not the way to change personal boundaries. Why not do it to Adrienne? She seems very lonely there, lacking the affection you are giving." He wasn't sure if she did this to other people but it seemed to be in the norm when she reacted to him. "Adrienne, would you like to free me of my burden? My leg is starting to hurt with the additional weight." Of course he was waiting to be smacked.
"Who said it was your boundaries I'm trying to change?" The look on Morgan's face was all challenge and her leg tightened around him. "Do you really want to play who's stronger with me, my little chupacabra? You know you can't win this way. Also," she thwapped him upside the head for the dig about the extra weight since she knew damn well her weight wasn't adding any extra stress to his limpy leg in the water.
"No respect whatsoever," Adrienne agreed with Manuel, smirking. "Which is why I'm more than happy to keep on lacking that affection she's giving you. But... since you're such a charmer I think I'll help you out." Understanding that Manuel shared her dislike of being touched, the psychometrist felt obliged to come to his aid, and circled behind Morgan so she could slip one hand under the straps of the other woman's swimsuit while grabbing her around the waist with the other and tug her backwards, attempting to dislodge her from Manuel's back.
He frowned at the nickname. "That is not a compliment, you realize?" he asked Morgan and turned her around so that Adrienne could step in. "I do believe strength and advantage is on my side as you're about to be disengaged from me." He reached down and tried to grasp a part of her leg. "This looks very bad if someone was to walk in with you sandwiched between myself and Adrienne."
"Affection doesn't have to be complimentary." Morgan turned and snapped playfully at Adrienne, threatening to bite her as she tried to help the enemy. "Traitor. Bet if anyone saw this it would turn into how the math teacher and the defense teacher were getting it on with the grumpy guy no one likes in the pool." Morgan stopped to consider that and all the perks she could reap from everyone else in the mansion avoiding the pool so they didn't walk in on any further menage trois. Her distraction with the thought caused her grip on Manuel to slacken enough for Adrienne to pull her off of him. The side effect was that both women tipped over together and were plunged under the water.
Sputtering and coughing, Adrienne surfaced and a proud grin bloomed on her face. "If it makes you feel any better," she told Manuel, "I haven't the slightest idea what a chupacabra is, so it doesn't seem uncomplimentary at all. Besides, anything's got to be better than 'sugarclit.'"
"It is a mythical creature that sucks blood of livestock and is grotesque in appearance. Like the way of the sasquatch, no one has ever seen it." He reached out, taking her by the elbow and helping her resurface before he stepped back a pace. He let Morgan get herself up because she got herself in that situation in the first place. "Perhaps it is Morgan who needs a nickname?"
Morgan resurfaced on her own with a gasp for air. "Morgan's got enough names." She narrowed her eyes at Adrienne as if warning her off going back down the Carlysle route. "Besides," she drew in a deep breath to get more air in her lungs, "chupacabra is entirely fitting. Small, mythical, causes trouble and torment and no one believes it's anything but evil. See? Fitting."
"He's not small," Adrienne mentioned teasingly as she gave Manuel a very pointed once-over, pleased at herself for not flinching when Manuel had taken her elbow. "If he sucked blood I think we would have heard about it on the damn journals before now; he's not grotesque, and I don't know if he'd classify as mythical, either." She left the trouble, torment, and peoples' beliefs regarding evil alone. He had caused trouble and torment- still did, even if he wasn't doing it intentionally. And she wasn't sure if she believed he wasn't evil. He was acting pleasant enough towards her, but Adrienne had been fooled by charm in the past and the memories of the pain that had followed were still, even after seven years, too fresh to be discounted. She wouldn't say she believed Manuel wasn't evil, not yet. But she wasn't thinking up ways to avoid him in the future, and that was something. "I don't think chupa-whatever is fitting at all, Morgan. But I have no doubt you've already got another half dozen nicknames lined up for him. Should we ambush her and dunk her again, Mr. de la Rocha?" she suggested with a wicked grin.
Manuel's gaze leveled with Adrienne's and he flattered in the water. "If you would be so kind as to _not_ give me a look like that again." He was not leering at her, nor Morgan and expected the same courtesy given to him. He found the nickname somewhat offensive but said nothing of it. Instead, he backed off and swam away from them. "I believe she's had enough for now and I believe I am no match for her strength, so I will have to decline. I will leave you both to your frolicking."
Morgan shook her head and made a tsking sound. "Obviously our dear Señor de la Rocha does not appreciate being objectified. Pity that." She shook her head again and gave a disapproving look to his retreating figure. "I really need to train that one to play better with others." Morgan hopped up on the pool's edge, leaving her feet to dangle into the water. "Hey, cupcake, what say you about ditching the gloom cloud and getting breakfast? I'll cook."
"I wasn't looking 'like that'," Adrienne protested to Morgan with a roll of her eyes, "and yes, you do need to teach him how to play better with others." She jumped up onto the side, crossing left leg over right quickly so Morgan wouldn't see the cigarette burn scar on the inside of her thigh. "I think you owe me breakfast after that, yeah. So long as you don't poison my food. I played nice."
"You did," Morgan agreed with a nod. "I'm quite proud of you, actually." She gave her friend a wide grin and then leaned over to plant a playful kiss on Adrienne's cheek. After a brief pause, which included a glance in Manuel's direction, she shrugged and stood up. "French toast, pancakes, waffles, omlette or some other sort of egg," she asked as she held her hand down to help Adrienne up.
"Oi! Woman! Elbows up!" She nudged Adrienne's arms up. She was attempting to get the former model at least barely capable on the speed bag in the school's gym but Adrienne kept dropping her elbows down and it upset her entire rhythm. She circled her friend like a vulture and nudged here and there to correct her form and posture where she let her laziness sneak in.
"Maybe I just enjoy having all that man between my legs," she joked, going back to their conversation about why it wasn't weird that Morgan wandered around in the bodies of men, such as Manuel and "Daniel." She couldn't seem to find a way of explaining the non-weird in a way that made sense to Adrienne and they kept going in circles with the conversation.
"Bitch, bitch, bitch," Adrienne mumbled, trying to maintain her stance and listen to Morgan with half an ear; "if Stavros and Munroe weren't just as bitchy as you I'd walk away, you know. I don't have to take this." She contemplated the blue woman's latest reasoning on why she had been switching bodies so much lately, but it still made no sense. Not that the current explanation was really supposed to. "That's not an excuse," she pointed out. "You could just sleep with men if you wanted one between your legs." But as far as she knew, Morgan wasn't sleeping with anyone. "I'm worried you're having self-esteem issues about your skin colour. Maybe a gender crisis." She said it jokingly, but in truth it was what she'd been thinking since they'd been to Boston. She was worried about the annoying flirt she'd become friends with against all her better judgment.
"Moan, moan, moan," Morgan echoed. She took a few steps back, watching Adrienne from the other woman's left with her head tilted to the side. Adrienne was improving, against her will it almost seemed. Eventually Morgan would have her able to knock a guy out with one well-placed left hook. At least that was her goal. The joke, however, caught her attention and Morgan's head straightened as a quizzical look came onto her face. The words much truth is said in jest ran through her head. "I haven't any issues about my skin color. Do women who dye their hair before they're grey have issues about their hair color? Do you have issues with laundry? It's just like an outfit. Really. Only it's a person. I've not walked around in my own body so much since I was a kid. Then I came here and that's all I wore, me. Nothing against me but the same outfit gets bloody boring and I like change. I get bored, I try on a new body. I like finding the person's voice, crafting their mannerisms and their cadence, deciding if they've an accent. It's fun. Like playing dress up. No issues needed for that, is there?"
"I hate laundry, that's why I never wear the same thing twice," Adrienne answered, but she paused in her attack on the speed bag to fully contemplate what Morgan was saying. "They're like... outfits?" She toyed with her water bottle as she thought about this, about how the same outfit did get bloody boring, and if you had the ability to change your skin like normal people changed outfits, then why would you stay in the same body? "I... I suppose it really isn't different at all from being an actress, is it?" she had to admit, almost reluctantly. "So they're... costumes? You play a part, but you're still you on the inside...?"
Morgan nodded, the relief that she'd finally found a way for Adrienne to understand it all quite visible on her face. "Exactly. Sometimes they aren't that far off from me. Daniel, for example, is me. Only male. And with a Peruvian accent. Because the accent's hot and it suits him." She grinned widely. "You know how a certain outfit can make you feel a certain way? Slinky dresses make some women feel sexy but for other women combat boots and fishnets do, right? It's like that. The body can influence my mood and bring certain personality traits to the surface more than others, but unless I'm intentionally playing a part it's all still me. Daniel's me. Aiofe is still largely me, just bits of me that don't surface much. If I've got to be a specific person for a specific purpose then it's a total actress thing, otherwise it's sort of dressing for my mood." Grinning again, "If you can convince Jean-Paul to share him Daniel can take you on a 'date' and show you what a gentleman he is." Morgan actually giggled at the very idea of that.
Grinning amiably, Adrienne returned to the speed bag. It actually made a lot of sense now, being put in that light. She giggled at the mention of a date. "I think that would be lovely. I'll be sure to ask Beaubier at my earliest convenience." She wasn't even entirely sure she was joking. It had been a long time since she'd been out one-on-one with a man who wasn't a business associate or client. It would probably be good for her publicity if she went. And now that she was clear on the fact that the shapeshifter was still Morgan, there was nothing to worry about. She always enjoyed herself with Morgan. It would be fun. But she didn't want Morgan to feel like she was being used. Adrienne had come to respect the woman too much to use her for something like that. "I don't know how I'd feel about sharing a man with another man, though," she added, so Morgan could take the out if she had been joking. "Unless there was sex involved with both of them, but I'm assuming there's not. You didn't mention how dressing up like Manuel fits your mood," she pointed out as an afterthought.
"There's no sex involved with Jean-Paul. Only many, many public displays of affection. Of the kissing variety." She probably didn't need to qualify that bit but somehow Morgan felt like she should make sure Adrienne's mind didn't wander as to what that could involve. Some straight women had that man-on-man fantasy and while she doubted Adrienne was among them Morgan was covering her bases to keep the woman on task now that she was resuming her attempt at taming the speed bag. "Manuel's not a mood. Manuel's a project. Part of that project is his to disclose, not mine. My part is simple: I want to gain some understanding of how to control and utilize empathy. I also want to work against him and his crusade to allow people to think he's a heartless bastard because he's not. I think it's easier for him if he lets people keep thinking that and you know how fond I am of taking the easier path without good reason."
"That's why I said I assumed there's no sex involved," the psychometrist assured Morgan as she checked her posture and resumed her attack on the bag. "It's always easier to let people think you're a heartless bastard," she agreed, huffing with effort. "Or a bitch. But yeah, I know how you feel about that. That's why I only do it when you're not... oh wait. I'm a bitch all the time. Never mind," she grinned. "I'm a little surprised at the fact I have something in common with de la Rocha, though."
"He's really not that bad when he's not surrounded by the Anti-Manuel brigade," Morgan insisted. "You know, I've got him swimming with me at ridiculous o'clock in the morning some days now to try to help him build his strength since he is physically weak still from that two years in a bed unconscious thing. Why don't you 'happen,'" she made air quotes with her fingers which she assumed Adrienne could pick up from her peripheral vision, "to be swimming at that hour next time? You don't even have to interact, just observe. From a distance if you want. 'Cause, really, cupcake, he's pretty decent when he's around just me."
Adrienne made a face. "Why would I want to get up at ridiculous o'clock to watch some man be decent around just you?" She hit the bag a few more times and sighed. This whole 'change peoples' opinions about Manuel' thing was obviously important to Morgan, and for some reason she couldn't articulate, Adrienne felt obliged to give it a try. "Alright, fine. I haven't really swum much since coming here- just haven't had the time for it what with needing to learn how to punch people instead. Maybe I should make early morning swimming a part of my daily routine anyway, as part of my New Years Resolution. Along with quitting smoking and learning how to scuba dive." Early morning swimming would actually compliment both of those rather well. Damnit.
Morgan grinned and leaned against the wall casually. "Well, the real perk is that he's terribly European and those people have a fondness for incredibly small articles of clothing when they swim. And he looks pretty damn good in that tiny little thing. This coming from a woman who knows what he looks like naked." Her grin only widened. "See, if all else fails you can stay underwater most of the time and just enjoy the eye candy. Obviously we've established recently that you're in need of more eye candy so you don't end up with pent up drool."
Grinning back, Adrienne took a sip of her water bottle. "Well, now that I've gotten over my uneasiness about your 'costumes', I know where to go to keep myself well-stocked with eye candy."
Morgan waggled her eyebrows and scratched her throat in a very guido-trying-to-be-a-mafioso sort of way. "Baby, I got whatcha need. I promise, good price." She even had the New York Italian accent to go with the gesture. It was capped with a very sleazy wink.
Early Wednesday morning Adrienne and Manuel gang up on Morgan until Manuel doesn't take kindly to being "objectified."
Manuel brought his body up higher on the side and crossed his arms so he could rest his chin against them for a long break. He was winded, tired and insufferably hot because someone had thought to turn the temperature up in the pool. "Do you think there may be something wrong, aside from the obvious lack of control? Situations are escalating - all of them my fault - and I cannot keep apologizing." He hesitated in his confession, winded by his own mild workout. "They do not want words. People want apologies to be maintained in my actions. I feel I am on repeat and I cannot get off of it. Such as with Callie and Jean-Paul. With Forge, I heightened it and it fell back on me. I am beginning to think that I will be unable to leave my room if I do not correct this problem."
"You could always only come out at night when everyone's asleep," she added unhelpfully. Morgan knew it was unhelpful but he didn't listen to all the helpful things she said, like how he was working too hard and his stroke was off. She may as well stop being helpful now. Morgan sighed and propped her elbows up on the pool's edge behind her. "I don't know if something's wrong but you have a fuck ton of anger and get more pissed off at being happy than any person ever would be. Which, for the record, is completely fucking daft. I do hope you realize that."
"Forcing someone into an emotion, pushing too hard can result in very negative effects. Possibly a psychotic episode? I have only heard about the things I have done. I have never cared for the results afterwards, aside from a slap on the wrist when I was younger. And what of you? You have said nothing of your current position, mind frame, emotional standpoint." Was he concerned? Yes. He was. It was not an easy power to control and correcting problems was a difficult task for her, trialing on her and he wondered if he was wearing her out.
"You weren't throwing a tantrum because of an impending psychotic episode or concern over one," she pointed out quite seriously. Morgan disappeared beneath the water's surface for a moment to cool from the room's temperature. When she popped up she mirrored Manuel with her arms crossed on the pool's edge, only she laid her head atop them to face him. "My current position is in a pool but not swimming. It strikes me as counterproductive but I don't have an emotional standpoint one it." Yes, she knew he was referring to something else but it was early and her snark was censored less the earlier in the day it was. And sometimes the later in the day it was as well. The middle truly was the safest time for people to encounter the blue woman.
"Yes we are stopping because I am tired. I do not have your physique, as you can see. I have not done cardio in a long time. Not well anyways. It is not something I can simply do very fast and you are ruthless in your training. Has anyone told you that yet, because I feel it is needed to be said. You are ruthless." Unfolding his arms, the flat of his hands pressed down into the edge of the pool and Manuel lifted himself up, turning and sitting down on the side. He needed to sit and rolled his head, cracking something inside of his neck. "MMmm, that did not crack the way I thought it would."
Morgan actually snorted and then laughed. "You and the cupcake could compare notes, if you'd like. You wouldn't be so tired if your form wasn't so fucked, you know. It's a lot less tiring when you're using proper technique. And once I hammer it into your head your stamina will increase quite a bit." She thought of the tone of voice he used when he called her ruthless and the tone Adrienne used when she inferred Morgan was unnecessarily nitpicky. They weren't that far off, actually. "You realize cracking your neck improperly is fairly bad for it, right?"
The interloper at the other end of the pool was listening to the pair slyly, under the pretense of adjusting her swim goggles. She'd done a few laps, her technique a little awkward since she hadn't swum much since arriving at the school, but when Manuel had stopped so had Adrienne, so she could eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Yes, now I realize that. It is sore." He rubbed the spot and rounded to his collarbone, just to the side of it. Rotating his shoulder, it felt as though it needed to be popped as well. He rolled his head again, ignoring her, searching for that much needed pop. It was felt, just on the brink of being put back into place but he gave up, assuming one pop was enough. "And who have you dubbed Cupcake?"
Morgan nodded to the other end of the pool. She noticed Adrienne looking in their direction and blew her a kiss. "That's my cupcake," she told him with overdone affection in her voice. "Adrienne. She had issues with me calling her 'love' so I went through a slew of really offensive and inappropriate nicknames, like sugarclit, before she allowed 'cupcake.' It's grown on her, I can tell. In my mind, she's always covered with frosting." Morgan grinned at him and laughed.
Adrienne ducked under the water when Morgan blew her a kiss, somewhat embarrassed at being caught out, but then surfaced as she couldn't let Morgan's remarks go unanswered. "Sugarclit was never one of my options, if I recall correctly," she yelled across the pool, then continued to tug at the band on her goggles under the pretense of adjusting them, making no move to join the pair.
Morgan smirked in the direction of her friend. Look at her spying like that and trying to pretend she wasn't. "There was something with sugar. And I think something with a clit. It was months ago, you expect me to remember exactly?"
"Sugartits, I think," Adrienne yelled back, trying to mask her discomfort with a grin. She'd remembered because it had been something Steven had called her, so she had quashed Morgan's enthusiasm for it quickly.
"With your attention to detail, you should," Manuel commented, shaking his head out. Now that they were being watched, he slipped off the edge of the pool, back into the water and pushed off the wall, heading at a lazy pace towards Adrienne.
Morgan shook her head. "I can't remember everything." Morgan made a face but didn't move. She wasn't really sure what to do. Adrienne was at the other end of the pool and wasn't on a fuzzy feeling basis with Manuel, who didn't know that exactly but had likely picked it up with his empathy. If she swam after him would it look too much like rescuing Adrienne from being alone with him? For now she just sat and watched to see what would happen.
The psychometrist gave a start when Manuel set off towards her, but rational thinking kicked in and she relaxed as she assured herself that there was nothing to be nervous about. She'd spent the bulk of an evening with Manuel at the Hellfire Club, after all, and hadn't found the experience too trying. And Morgan was nearby. Adrienne wasn't in the business of trusting most people, especially when it came to her safety, but she had come to trust Morgan. "Your form's shit, you know," she pointed out with a playful grin as Manuel approached, hopping up onto the side of the pool so that if he decided to strike her she would have an advantage of being able to kick him.
"Thank you for that obvious observation," he replied, oozing with sarcasm at the fact that she simply had to point out his faults. He had felt her distrust immediately before she had ever decided to come into the pool and tried to ignore it instead of focusing on it. For him, bad emotional greetings set the tone of the conversation, even when the conversation had not started. He did not meet her smile. "Perhaps you should focus on yourself instead of what I am doing." His turn to point out the obvious.
"You spent an evening with me," Adrienne reminded him, smile still in place, "you should know by now that I'm always focused on myself." She slipped her goggles around her neck and slid back into the pool. "I did manage to notice, however, despite how focused on myself I am, that you've strained your shoulder." Always conscious of the way people moved (from a modeling perspective, of course) Adrienne had noticed him trying to roll his shoulder back into place earlier. "I may be able to fix that, if you like." Hopefully Morgan would recognize the monumental effort she was making for the blue woman's sake and not accuse Adrienne later of not trying to be friendly.
Morgan nearly snorted at the way Adrienne commented on Manuel's form. What she noticed that Manuel may have not was the way her friend was mimicking her own tone. She wasn't entirely sure Adrienne had even done it intentionally. "Now, children, be nice or mum's going to have to go get a switch and remind you why you ought to behave." Teasing aside, she did notice Adrienne's efforts. Morgan was sure she might have a mild heart attack over them, even.''
He glanced back in the direction of where Morgan stood and took a few steps back as Adrienne advanced. "No thank you," he said politely. He didn't want anyone touching him in a helpful way aside from what he had to endure with Morgan. "Your words have done enough." His tone was less than inviting and he hesitated, knowing his tone was conforming to the first emotions he got from her when she walked in. "As I recall, you enjoyed that night." He did not enjoy it so much and had not talked to Emma since. It seemed odd that he would be talking to the sister.
Morgan's eyes narrowed at Manuel and she slipped back into the water, disappearing beneath its surface. She pushed off from the side and swam across the pool as quickly as she could before Adrienne possibly smacked him. Not that Morgan wouldn't claim he didn't have it coming in the first place. In the end Adrienne was her friend, Manuel was her project and he'd be fucking sweet as sin to her friends if he didn't want her to be the one smacking him upside the head.
Adrienne took a step back in reaction to Manuel's retreat, putting up her hands to show him that she wasn't going to come any further. She'd never really met anyone who was as uncomfortable when it came to being touched as she was, but that meant she could respect his need for distance. "Okay, then," she said with a small smile in response to his statement about not wanting her help. She glanced in Morgan's direction and smirked, unsure whether her friend was coming over merely to join in the conversation or to save one of her companions from the other one, though she wasn't sure if that was the case of whose rescue Morgan would be coming to. "I did enjoy that night. So much so that I've asked Emma how I can become involved in the process of becoming a member. We may be seeing much more of each other in the future." And if Morgan continued to make the empath her project, Adrienne had a feeling that they would be indeed seeing more of each other even if Adrienne wasn't accepted into the Hellfire Club.
He felt the shift, knowing his reaction was not one that was expected. Because of that, it reset him in a wary tone and he was hard pressed to ignore that. Especially something similiar to annoyance radiating from Morgan as she approached, though he couldn't be sure if she was annoyed at him or Adrienne. He tried to steel himself against it and it only seemed to cool his demeanor when he did so. "I see." He could see she was trying, for lack of a better word and though her effort was there, his did not want to be because of the sheer sense of falsehood he got. But wasn't that what the HFC was all about; constant false pleasantries and cunning attention to detail. "I'm sure you will find a place and fit right in." He'd meant to compliment her, just as Emma was but it came out hard and unforgiving. He tried again. "Emma could use a little competition in both her stature and beauty."
Warming up to the compliment, Adrienne felt herself beginning to relax. "Why, thank you, Mr. De la Rocha," she said with an honest smile.
Morgan popped out of the water right behind Manuel. Her chin went to rest on his shoulder while an arm wrapped across the front of his chest and the other arm wrapped around his waist. The small spike in her emotions which was attributed to the wariness of an impending boom between him and Adrienne had calmed and Manuel would have gotten nothing but her usual calm from her. "Aw, look, the kids can play nice. I'm so proud!" She blew Adrienne a kiss from Manuel's shoulder.
Manuel flinched at the touch, but he was locked in a hug and couldn't move. It distracted from Adrienne, though he suddenly felt warmth that relaxed him, an acceptance that caused him to settle. "You're very welcome. I should be a lucky man inbetween two beautiful ladies, wet and in very little as possible." His comment didn't extend into any interest and even as he said it, it lacked the luster that any other man flirting would have had. Lowering down into the water, he attempted to turn and free himself from Morgan's grasp, nicely, but more to the point, to respect his space when they weren't toying with his powers.
"Is it me or does Morgan have very little respect into personal boundaries?" he teased.
"Sometimes you need to be put on a leash," Morgan stated very casually without letting go of him. Manuel was pretty well trapped in her arms even if he was trying to escape. The attempt wasn't lost on the red-eyed woman. "You would never pay as much attention if I used rope." She smiled sweetly and hooked a let up around his hip. "But I find popping your personal bubble to be very effective."
"I need no such thing," he rolled his neck away from her and reached up, taking her wrists in his hands to remove her. "Besides, rope rubs the skin raw and attaching yourself to me is not the way to change personal boundaries. Why not do it to Adrienne? She seems very lonely there, lacking the affection you are giving." He wasn't sure if she did this to other people but it seemed to be in the norm when she reacted to him. "Adrienne, would you like to free me of my burden? My leg is starting to hurt with the additional weight." Of course he was waiting to be smacked.
"Who said it was your boundaries I'm trying to change?" The look on Morgan's face was all challenge and her leg tightened around him. "Do you really want to play who's stronger with me, my little chupacabra? You know you can't win this way. Also," she thwapped him upside the head for the dig about the extra weight since she knew damn well her weight wasn't adding any extra stress to his limpy leg in the water.
"No respect whatsoever," Adrienne agreed with Manuel, smirking. "Which is why I'm more than happy to keep on lacking that affection she's giving you. But... since you're such a charmer I think I'll help you out." Understanding that Manuel shared her dislike of being touched, the psychometrist felt obliged to come to his aid, and circled behind Morgan so she could slip one hand under the straps of the other woman's swimsuit while grabbing her around the waist with the other and tug her backwards, attempting to dislodge her from Manuel's back.
He frowned at the nickname. "That is not a compliment, you realize?" he asked Morgan and turned her around so that Adrienne could step in. "I do believe strength and advantage is on my side as you're about to be disengaged from me." He reached down and tried to grasp a part of her leg. "This looks very bad if someone was to walk in with you sandwiched between myself and Adrienne."
"Affection doesn't have to be complimentary." Morgan turned and snapped playfully at Adrienne, threatening to bite her as she tried to help the enemy. "Traitor. Bet if anyone saw this it would turn into how the math teacher and the defense teacher were getting it on with the grumpy guy no one likes in the pool." Morgan stopped to consider that and all the perks she could reap from everyone else in the mansion avoiding the pool so they didn't walk in on any further menage trois. Her distraction with the thought caused her grip on Manuel to slacken enough for Adrienne to pull her off of him. The side effect was that both women tipped over together and were plunged under the water.
Sputtering and coughing, Adrienne surfaced and a proud grin bloomed on her face. "If it makes you feel any better," she told Manuel, "I haven't the slightest idea what a chupacabra is, so it doesn't seem uncomplimentary at all. Besides, anything's got to be better than 'sugarclit.'"
"It is a mythical creature that sucks blood of livestock and is grotesque in appearance. Like the way of the sasquatch, no one has ever seen it." He reached out, taking her by the elbow and helping her resurface before he stepped back a pace. He let Morgan get herself up because she got herself in that situation in the first place. "Perhaps it is Morgan who needs a nickname?"
Morgan resurfaced on her own with a gasp for air. "Morgan's got enough names." She narrowed her eyes at Adrienne as if warning her off going back down the Carlysle route. "Besides," she drew in a deep breath to get more air in her lungs, "chupacabra is entirely fitting. Small, mythical, causes trouble and torment and no one believes it's anything but evil. See? Fitting."
"He's not small," Adrienne mentioned teasingly as she gave Manuel a very pointed once-over, pleased at herself for not flinching when Manuel had taken her elbow. "If he sucked blood I think we would have heard about it on the damn journals before now; he's not grotesque, and I don't know if he'd classify as mythical, either." She left the trouble, torment, and peoples' beliefs regarding evil alone. He had caused trouble and torment- still did, even if he wasn't doing it intentionally. And she wasn't sure if she believed he wasn't evil. He was acting pleasant enough towards her, but Adrienne had been fooled by charm in the past and the memories of the pain that had followed were still, even after seven years, too fresh to be discounted. She wouldn't say she believed Manuel wasn't evil, not yet. But she wasn't thinking up ways to avoid him in the future, and that was something. "I don't think chupa-whatever is fitting at all, Morgan. But I have no doubt you've already got another half dozen nicknames lined up for him. Should we ambush her and dunk her again, Mr. de la Rocha?" she suggested with a wicked grin.
Manuel's gaze leveled with Adrienne's and he flattered in the water. "If you would be so kind as to _not_ give me a look like that again." He was not leering at her, nor Morgan and expected the same courtesy given to him. He found the nickname somewhat offensive but said nothing of it. Instead, he backed off and swam away from them. "I believe she's had enough for now and I believe I am no match for her strength, so I will have to decline. I will leave you both to your frolicking."
Morgan shook her head and made a tsking sound. "Obviously our dear Señor de la Rocha does not appreciate being objectified. Pity that." She shook her head again and gave a disapproving look to his retreating figure. "I really need to train that one to play better with others." Morgan hopped up on the pool's edge, leaving her feet to dangle into the water. "Hey, cupcake, what say you about ditching the gloom cloud and getting breakfast? I'll cook."
"I wasn't looking 'like that'," Adrienne protested to Morgan with a roll of her eyes, "and yes, you do need to teach him how to play better with others." She jumped up onto the side, crossing left leg over right quickly so Morgan wouldn't see the cigarette burn scar on the inside of her thigh. "I think you owe me breakfast after that, yeah. So long as you don't poison my food. I played nice."
"You did," Morgan agreed with a nod. "I'm quite proud of you, actually." She gave her friend a wide grin and then leaned over to plant a playful kiss on Adrienne's cheek. After a brief pause, which included a glance in Manuel's direction, she shrugged and stood up. "French toast, pancakes, waffles, omlette or some other sort of egg," she asked as she held her hand down to help Adrienne up.
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