log: amara and manuel

[x-volcanic.livejournal.com]

What was going to be a perfectly pleasant morning is shattered when Amara runs into Manuel on her way outside. For the first time in a very long time, Amara rather thoroughly loses her temper.

Admittedly, Amara knew she shouldn't be playing around with her new powers. She wasn't used to them yet, and she still hadn't spoken to Nathan about them. But that certainly wasn't stopping her from using them - enjoying having powers that weren't going to cause a disaster at the drop of the hat, she'd taken to floating things around with her so she had her hands free.

Like right now. The book she planned to read and the plate of food she'd just made were floating around head height, her morning cup of coffee safely in her hand as she made her way outside.

"The model of laziness - how the children must look up to you," Manuel said in a dry tone to the left, on the porch, as she emerged from the door. He lingered against the railing, one hip propped up against it, supporting his weight while his fingers toyed with the option of lighting the cigar in his hand.

Amara stopped in her tracks, the plate and book taking a few extra seconds to stop with her. She just narrowed her eyes at him, before reaching up to take the book and the plate out of the air. "I don't see how doing something simple with powers I'm unfamiliar with can be considered laziness."

"Telekinesis yes?" he turned to her, quirking a curious brow. "I hope this is not contagious."

"Obviously." It wasn't that hard to guess, was it? "As far as I know, it isn't. Lil hasn't caught it, nor has anyone else at the school."

"Shame. I would have liked to possess some other powers," though it would be just like the mansion to say he was up to something if he had a power that put on a little more stealth.

"Really?" Amara sounded rather surprised at that. She was utterly relieved not to have her powers, and a lot more relaxed because of it, but she knew a lot of people didn't feel the same.

He lifted his cigar and struck a match, pausing to light it before he regarded her. "Yes. Imagine. I could make all the blonds in the mansion believe they were smart. It would be an epidemic."

Amara wrinkled her nose at the cigar before straightening up, giving Manuel her best haughty look. Just for a second there, she'd almost thought they'd actually be able to have a pleasant conversation. "There's nothing wrong with the intelligence level of any of the blondes at the mansion," she snapped.

Puffing on the cigar, he drew it away, inspecting it and squeezing the sides, feeling that it had dried out some and therefore tasted stale. "Mmmhmm," he replied dismissively.

Oh that was it. Amara hadn't lost her temper in the longest time - at any other time, Amara would have just walked away from the argument, not let herself get upset and lash out. But she didn't have any reason not to right not to right now, she wasn't going to set anything on fire or cause the mansion to be swallowed up by the earth. So why not lose it?

"Oh yes, because you are clearly the resident expert on every single blonde in this place? Even if you do know the rest of them that well, you know nothing about me, senhor de la Rocha! You're far too busy changing your behavior every time I speak to you!" She glared at him, breathing heavily and her cheeks flushing for once not out of embarrassment, just the sheer pleasure of the emotional release.

Losing her temper felt far too good.

Pleasure emanated from her and he quirked an eyebrow, haling the cigar one last time before he decided that a stale cigar was not particularly worth it. "I know your emotions well enough," he replied and put out the cigar on the railing. "Sadistic."

"I'm not!" She snapped back, the plate and book she was holding in one hand clattering to the ground. "Just because you can sense what I'm feeling, doesn't mean you can understand it at all."

Glancing down at the mess on the floor, Manuel's gaze returned to her and he picked up his cane, pressing it into the floorboard of the porch. "All blondes are sadistic." He fueled the fire, if only because this was the first reaction he'd ever felt from her and it was a rampaging fury he was very interested in exploring. "What would you have me believe?"

"There you go again, making ridiculous generalizations as if you've got some sort of right to make comments like that!" This was not one loss of temper she was about to quash in a hurry. "I've spent almost three years keeping a lid on everything, do you have any idea how much of a relief it is to not have to? Of course not, heaven forbid you do anything out of concern for anyone else!"

"As I recall, I am standing in a free country yes?" he inquired. "Am I required to be concerned about you?"

"That doesn't give you the right to make judgments about me when you don't know me at all. And most human beings do care about others, it's called simple empathy and compassion! For some who can sense emotions, you are clearly lacking in that department!"

"Simple empathy," he echoed. "Is that not such an easy way to put it. If emotions were so easy, we would all get along. How boring. However you are right. I lack, therefore, I do not care. I fail to see how this is a concern to you."

"Emotions aren't that easy! I never said they were. But it's not that hard to care about others, especially when you know exactly what they're going through! And you can't figure out why I might care, you are even worse than your reputation claims! Just because you don't care about anyone, doesn't mean no one else does!"

"No," he corrected. "I do not care why you would care." He rolled his eyes. At this point, he thought Cammie was more preferable than this. "If you want a boyfriend, seek out Julian. Slightly young for you however, you cannot afford to be picky."

"Boyfriend?" Amara shrieked at that, her temper well and truly lost at this point, her pride stung as her fury only got worse. "Do not mistake my compassion for anything more than that, senhor. You are a resident of the place and a fellow human being, beyond that I have no attachment to you whatsoever. The fact that you immediately jump to that conclusion just goes to show how little you understand anything, especially me!"

"The fact that you choose to stand here and argue with me says enough, Senorita." Manuel walked past her and opened the door, clearly finished with this conversation.

"Argh!" Amara hurled her mug of coffee after him, it smashing against the wall before she stormed off herself, finally finishing her journey to the grounds, not caring where she was going just as long as it was away from him.

Manuel watched her from the window, distant in his gaze but very much emotionally there and following her. Nearly there, he mused and turned away from watching the blond continue in storming off. She needed a release, a focus and he was going to be the one to give it to her.