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xp_logsFollowing this offer and no reply to this email, Shinobi plays detective and tracks down Amanda's hiding place.
The mansion was very large, and very old, and the school occupied but a small part of it. A whole wing stood vacant, populated only by dust bunnies, mice, and the occasional student who needed sanctuary. So it wasn't really much of a surprise that Amanda's feet took her from Pete's office, not to her room, but to a disused parlour in the old wing. She'd locked the door, put a ward on it to keep people out, and had retreated into the windowseat to brood.
She was, to put it frankly, scared of the reception awaiting her - Pete's warning about Logan had brought the full impact of the mess home to her.
The door may have been warded, but the walls were not. After his e-mail received no response, Shinobi had decided a search party was in order - and since everyone seemed more inclined to help Douglas, for some reason, he knew he'd best find her himself. So, he'd been scouring the grounds for the better part of the afternoon before venturing into the disused portion of the school, and finally, his head pokes through the wall to take a quick look around. "Amanda?" he hazards quietly, blinking twice when he spots her near the window. "Can I come in?"
The voice, after so many hours of hearing only her own breathing and the creaking of the old walls and floor, startles her. For a second she looks ready to bolt, and then realises it's Shinobi. "Fuck," she says, voice croaky after not using it for a while. "Forgot you could do that. Just as well it wasn't Pryde, come t' tear me guts out or somethin'..."
"No, no tearing out of guts from me," Shinobi grins, considering for a moment before one of his hands comes through the wall next to his head, waggling two cartons of cigarettes. "Wanted to see if you were alright, an' make sure you got these before somebody stole them."
A smile flits across her face before she can stop it. "Yer a marvel," she says. Then she frowns. "But why would you bother? Entire place has got t' be baying for me blood by now."
Shaking his head - which looks rather comical when it's all one can see of him - Shinobi finally steps in through the wall, for a change clad in simple jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, a Union Jack-patterned scarf draped around his neck. He'd looked outside, too. "Not the entire place. Sarah and I have been trying to hold the mob at bay, at least, and I think most people are just worrying about who took the potion out to use it, and fixing what's been done."
"The potion's not a threat, not any more. The reversal spell killed the lot. T' tell the truth, I think I cast it as far as Salem Centre, I was that scared." Amanda keeps her position on the window seat, in the now-familiar huddle with her knees drawn up to her chest. "Can you let them know? Should... help." She shakes her head at the last word. "Yeah, right. Like they're gunna believe anythin' I say again."
"They don't listen to me either, but I can try," he offers, tearing open one of the cartons while crossing his way towards the windowseat she's occupying. One pack's pried out, and then a pair of fingers are retrieving his lighter from his pocket, both of which he offers down to her once he's close enough. "Just give it time, luv. If they can forgive Pete for nearly getting all of us killed, Piotr and Shiro for bloody *mob* ties, and Braddock for maiming one of her students, yer gonna be alright. It'll just take time."
"I ain't got time, that's the thing." Her fingers tremble as she opens the pack of cigarettes and shakes one out.
"Don't go talkin' like that, of course you have time," Shinobi chides gently, dropping down to crouch comfortably in front of her, setting the cartons down on the floor next to his sneakers. "I know Pete's havin' you go back to London for a little bit, but I *know* you'll kick arse, take names, an' come right back to us. You aren't a quitter, Amanda."
"You don't knowthat. You don't know anythin' about me before I came here, 'cept what I've told you, an' that's not much. You don't know..." She looked away, out the window at the dreary February landscape. "You don't know what I'm capable of."
"You don't know what I'm capable of, either," he observes, peering up at her matter-of-factly before his expression softens again, lifting one hand to tentatively offer one of her knees a light pat. "It's never stopped you from being my friend, and it's not going to stop me from being yours."
"I made that potion. I gave it t' Ramsey. An' I didn't care what happened t' it. Doesn't that matter t' you? What if Sarah'd been hit with it?" Her glance back at him is challenging. "Bet you wouldn't be sittin' here offerin' me fags an' sympathy then."
Shinobi can't argue with that. At least, not in its entirety. With a slight bow of his head to concede the point, he's still quick to respond. "No.. I'd be with her. And I'd forgive you, because I'm the last person who should be judging anyone for their mistakes." He shrugs, folding his arms across his knees. "I know you brewed it. I know you gave it to him. I know you didn't care what happened to it. What matters to me is that you had good intentions."
She snorts. "'Good intentions'? Right. You want t' know why I gave Ramsey that potion? 'Cause I was sick of him bein' all moral an' noble with his shite about it bein' more than about sex, about how it wasn't real if there weren't feeling's involved." She grimaces. "Thought I'd test that moral high ground of his, show him he ain't no better than m... the rest of us."
"Hush, I'm trying to spin-doctor for you," he chuckles, cracking a grin and slowly shaking his head. "I'm good at bullshitting people, remember? So, you had the best of intentions, and anyone who says differently is going to meet my fist with their face. Possibly also Sarah's." He nods once, mostly to himself.
The look of surprise on her face is almost comical. "What... you'd lie t' them? For me?"
"Sure. Why not?" Shinobi blinks owlishly, cocking his head to the side. "Besides, it's true, from a certain point of view. You wanted to get him to quit moping about never getting laid, and tried to help. You just.. say.. didn't quite think out the consequences to their probable conclusion. Pitfalls of youth, luv."
"An' here you are bein' a teacher..." A rueful smile crosses her face, and this time, it stays. "This place is fucked up."
"Yup. But it's what we've got." He cracks a smile of his own, tilting his head to the other side as he shrugs a shoulder. "My friends mean more to me than this school does. I trust my friends. The Powers That Be? Eh, not so much."
At the word 'trust', he smile fades. "Yeah, well, I'm not too sure about whether that's a good idea. Marie trusted me as a friend, an' look what happened."
"I'm not Marie." He says it simply, because as far as he's concerned, it really is just that simple.
"Yer unbelievable," she says in a tone of bemused wonderment. "Doesn't matter what I say, what I've done...you just don't give up, do you?"
"Nope. 'm very stubborn." Shinobi cracks a grin, wiggling his eyebrows. "You're my friend, and nothin' you can say or do is going to change that or make me trust you any less, savvy?"
Amanda laughs at the faces he's pulling. "Fine, bet that way. I'm too bloody tired t' argue any way." She scrubs her hands over her face, and the gesture reminds her she has an unlit cigarette in one. "What a fucking mess," she sighs. "An' I don't have the first clue how t' fix it." She lights up, using Shinobi's lighter rather than her usual spell.
"I'm not entirely sure how either," he admits, straightening back up just long enough to relocate himself to sit down next to her, drawing one knee up to his chest so he has something to rest his chin on. "Apologies to those affected an' their near-and-dears, I think.. maybe a bit of grovelling, whether it's all sincere or not.. an' then jus' time. Even Logan can't be a complete asshole forever."
She shudders slightly at the mention of Logan. "Pete was bad enough," she admits, passing back the lighter and taking a deep drag on her fag. "Logan scares the living shite out of me."
He takes the lighter back with a sympathetic smile, retrieving a cigarette of his own so that he can light up as well before tucking the lighter away. "He scares the living shite out of most of us, I think, deep down."
"I'll sort that one out when I get t' it," she decides, preferring not to think about what Logan will do to her if he catches up with her. "What's the reaction over there? I've been here pretty much since this mornin'." Outside the sky is darkening toward evening.
"Lots of people overreacting," Shinobi replies after due thought, taking a drag before leaning his head back against the window. "Madrox, in particular, is being a right prick, but Sarah and I aren't the only ones sticking up for you. He's just desperate for someone to foist blame on, and refuses to wait until we've got the entire story to work with before he decides who to foist it onto."
"What about Ramsey? He show his face yet?"
"Angie - Marie-Ange - found him earlier, after his day learning about how the school's plumbing works. Don't think he's in very good shape." He makes a bit of a face. "S' an instance where being a gentleman's going to be a right bitch fer him, I'm sure."
"'Gentleman'?" Amanda spits the word out as if it was rotten. "After he went an' used that fuckin' potion on all of us? You've got a funny idea of bein' a gentleman, mate."
"I don't think he did. Boy's a pussy. Doesn't have it in him, desperate for a shag or no." Shinobi rattles it off matter-of-factly, shrugging and taking another long drag off of his cigarette.
Another retort rises to Amanda's lips, but she swallows it. Every mess she's been in so far has been because she didn't think before speaking or acting, and it's getting tiresome, dealing with the fallout. "He said..." She furrows her brow, trying to remember the previous afternoon, beyond the feeling that Doug was her One True Love. "He said somethin' about it bein' gone, that he wasn't goin' t' use it an' it was gone."
"He'd hidden it 'til he could figure out how to dispose of it safely, from what I hear. Didn't want to risk just dumping it down the drain, 'less it got into the water or something. So, we're basically trying to figure out who'd have known where he hid it or how someone else found out, so they can be properly crucified or whatever it is people do here when someone does something like that." He shrugs helplessly, and eyes her thoughtfully, reaching over to give her shoulder a light pat. "Right now, though.. think you could probably use some food, an' some rest, at a guess. I'll be a human shield for you, if you feel like braving the halls to get food, or even just back to your room."
She shakes her head. "'M not hungry. An' McTaggart gave me somethin' yesterday t' make me sleep. After..." She grimaces, not wanting to remember the state she'd been in. "Think I'll stay put for a bit longer. Don't feel up to runnin' the gauntlet just yet."
Nodding once, he seems to accept the answer, leaning his head forward again to pillow his cheek against his knee. "Fair enough. If you need me to smuggle anythin' else down for you, just let me know. Lets me feel useful an' helpful an' so on, 'ay?"
"Anythin' t' give yer a purpose in life," she says with a smile. She reaches over and pats his shoulder, just once, before wrapping her arms around her knees again. "I appreciate it. Sarah better appreciate what she has."
"She doesn't put on near-formal wear for just anyone, so I'm pretty sure she does," Shinobi smiles, relaxing visibly at the pat. Funny, he didn't realize he'd been tense. "Gonna be alright?"
"T' tell the truth, I have no fuckin' idea. But I'll try. 'S the least I can do. Even if it means talkin' t' the shrink. Pete insisted," she adds. "I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone where I am - I need some headspace, an' I'm not goin' to get it over there. If anyone asks, just tell 'em I'm okay."
"The staff'll insist, if I say I found you," Shinobi observes thoughtfully, scratching his chin with a pair of fingertips. "Just so they know where you are. I can just e-mail the professor, if you'd be okay with that - I think he'd be willing to give you your space for a day or so, but you will need to come out and at least talk to him sometime."
"Well, he could find me if he wanted t' any way, so there's no problem with that, I suppose." She rest her chin on her knees and thinks. "Pete should know. Last thing I want is for him t' have an excuse t' pack me off right now."
"I'll mail both of them, then, once I go back up." He makes a mental note, idly studying his scarf before looking over with a curious tilt of his head. "Think they'd let me get away with visitin' you in London, if I asked real nice? Not like I can't foot me own plane ticket."
"If they didn't, you could just sneak away. Not like I'd grass you up," she replies, with a touch of her old spirit. "Depends on what Rom turns up for me - once she gets wind of this mess, she'll be lookin' at mystical convents for sure."
"Like I couldn't just walk in through th' convent's walls," Shinobi snorts, flashing a mischievous grin towards Amanda with a shrug of his shoulders. "Wherever you wind up, I'll come visit. Miss me own stomping grounds anyway."
"You can bust me out, take me clubbin'," she suggests with her own grin. "Sarah'll have yer well an' truly turned t' the Dark Side by then. We could go down t' Brighton an' get you a belly piercin' to go with the eyebrow."
"That's the spirit," Shinobi laughs, his grin widening. "I'll have to see what she'd think of it.. she doesn't like planes much at all, but she might be willing to brave one for you if I took the window seat and let her try to break my hand the entire flight over."
"That bad, is it?" Amanda relaxes as the conversation turns away from things Serious. That and the nicotine.
"Sarah grew up underground.. she has trouble with the stairs, once in a while." He shrugs, smiling a bit. "'s why I usually go down to the basement to see her, instead of making her come up to see me."
"That an' the basement's away from the madhouse upstairs..."
Shinobi chuckled in agreement, and talk turned to other, lighter matters…
The mansion was very large, and very old, and the school occupied but a small part of it. A whole wing stood vacant, populated only by dust bunnies, mice, and the occasional student who needed sanctuary. So it wasn't really much of a surprise that Amanda's feet took her from Pete's office, not to her room, but to a disused parlour in the old wing. She'd locked the door, put a ward on it to keep people out, and had retreated into the windowseat to brood.
She was, to put it frankly, scared of the reception awaiting her - Pete's warning about Logan had brought the full impact of the mess home to her.
The door may have been warded, but the walls were not. After his e-mail received no response, Shinobi had decided a search party was in order - and since everyone seemed more inclined to help Douglas, for some reason, he knew he'd best find her himself. So, he'd been scouring the grounds for the better part of the afternoon before venturing into the disused portion of the school, and finally, his head pokes through the wall to take a quick look around. "Amanda?" he hazards quietly, blinking twice when he spots her near the window. "Can I come in?"
The voice, after so many hours of hearing only her own breathing and the creaking of the old walls and floor, startles her. For a second she looks ready to bolt, and then realises it's Shinobi. "Fuck," she says, voice croaky after not using it for a while. "Forgot you could do that. Just as well it wasn't Pryde, come t' tear me guts out or somethin'..."
"No, no tearing out of guts from me," Shinobi grins, considering for a moment before one of his hands comes through the wall next to his head, waggling two cartons of cigarettes. "Wanted to see if you were alright, an' make sure you got these before somebody stole them."
A smile flits across her face before she can stop it. "Yer a marvel," she says. Then she frowns. "But why would you bother? Entire place has got t' be baying for me blood by now."
Shaking his head - which looks rather comical when it's all one can see of him - Shinobi finally steps in through the wall, for a change clad in simple jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, a Union Jack-patterned scarf draped around his neck. He'd looked outside, too. "Not the entire place. Sarah and I have been trying to hold the mob at bay, at least, and I think most people are just worrying about who took the potion out to use it, and fixing what's been done."
"The potion's not a threat, not any more. The reversal spell killed the lot. T' tell the truth, I think I cast it as far as Salem Centre, I was that scared." Amanda keeps her position on the window seat, in the now-familiar huddle with her knees drawn up to her chest. "Can you let them know? Should... help." She shakes her head at the last word. "Yeah, right. Like they're gunna believe anythin' I say again."
"They don't listen to me either, but I can try," he offers, tearing open one of the cartons while crossing his way towards the windowseat she's occupying. One pack's pried out, and then a pair of fingers are retrieving his lighter from his pocket, both of which he offers down to her once he's close enough. "Just give it time, luv. If they can forgive Pete for nearly getting all of us killed, Piotr and Shiro for bloody *mob* ties, and Braddock for maiming one of her students, yer gonna be alright. It'll just take time."
"I ain't got time, that's the thing." Her fingers tremble as she opens the pack of cigarettes and shakes one out.
"Don't go talkin' like that, of course you have time," Shinobi chides gently, dropping down to crouch comfortably in front of her, setting the cartons down on the floor next to his sneakers. "I know Pete's havin' you go back to London for a little bit, but I *know* you'll kick arse, take names, an' come right back to us. You aren't a quitter, Amanda."
"You don't knowthat. You don't know anythin' about me before I came here, 'cept what I've told you, an' that's not much. You don't know..." She looked away, out the window at the dreary February landscape. "You don't know what I'm capable of."
"You don't know what I'm capable of, either," he observes, peering up at her matter-of-factly before his expression softens again, lifting one hand to tentatively offer one of her knees a light pat. "It's never stopped you from being my friend, and it's not going to stop me from being yours."
"I made that potion. I gave it t' Ramsey. An' I didn't care what happened t' it. Doesn't that matter t' you? What if Sarah'd been hit with it?" Her glance back at him is challenging. "Bet you wouldn't be sittin' here offerin' me fags an' sympathy then."
Shinobi can't argue with that. At least, not in its entirety. With a slight bow of his head to concede the point, he's still quick to respond. "No.. I'd be with her. And I'd forgive you, because I'm the last person who should be judging anyone for their mistakes." He shrugs, folding his arms across his knees. "I know you brewed it. I know you gave it to him. I know you didn't care what happened to it. What matters to me is that you had good intentions."
She snorts. "'Good intentions'? Right. You want t' know why I gave Ramsey that potion? 'Cause I was sick of him bein' all moral an' noble with his shite about it bein' more than about sex, about how it wasn't real if there weren't feeling's involved." She grimaces. "Thought I'd test that moral high ground of his, show him he ain't no better than m... the rest of us."
"Hush, I'm trying to spin-doctor for you," he chuckles, cracking a grin and slowly shaking his head. "I'm good at bullshitting people, remember? So, you had the best of intentions, and anyone who says differently is going to meet my fist with their face. Possibly also Sarah's." He nods once, mostly to himself.
The look of surprise on her face is almost comical. "What... you'd lie t' them? For me?"
"Sure. Why not?" Shinobi blinks owlishly, cocking his head to the side. "Besides, it's true, from a certain point of view. You wanted to get him to quit moping about never getting laid, and tried to help. You just.. say.. didn't quite think out the consequences to their probable conclusion. Pitfalls of youth, luv."
"An' here you are bein' a teacher..." A rueful smile crosses her face, and this time, it stays. "This place is fucked up."
"Yup. But it's what we've got." He cracks a smile of his own, tilting his head to the other side as he shrugs a shoulder. "My friends mean more to me than this school does. I trust my friends. The Powers That Be? Eh, not so much."
At the word 'trust', he smile fades. "Yeah, well, I'm not too sure about whether that's a good idea. Marie trusted me as a friend, an' look what happened."
"I'm not Marie." He says it simply, because as far as he's concerned, it really is just that simple.
"Yer unbelievable," she says in a tone of bemused wonderment. "Doesn't matter what I say, what I've done...you just don't give up, do you?"
"Nope. 'm very stubborn." Shinobi cracks a grin, wiggling his eyebrows. "You're my friend, and nothin' you can say or do is going to change that or make me trust you any less, savvy?"
Amanda laughs at the faces he's pulling. "Fine, bet that way. I'm too bloody tired t' argue any way." She scrubs her hands over her face, and the gesture reminds her she has an unlit cigarette in one. "What a fucking mess," she sighs. "An' I don't have the first clue how t' fix it." She lights up, using Shinobi's lighter rather than her usual spell.
"I'm not entirely sure how either," he admits, straightening back up just long enough to relocate himself to sit down next to her, drawing one knee up to his chest so he has something to rest his chin on. "Apologies to those affected an' their near-and-dears, I think.. maybe a bit of grovelling, whether it's all sincere or not.. an' then jus' time. Even Logan can't be a complete asshole forever."
She shudders slightly at the mention of Logan. "Pete was bad enough," she admits, passing back the lighter and taking a deep drag on her fag. "Logan scares the living shite out of me."
He takes the lighter back with a sympathetic smile, retrieving a cigarette of his own so that he can light up as well before tucking the lighter away. "He scares the living shite out of most of us, I think, deep down."
"I'll sort that one out when I get t' it," she decides, preferring not to think about what Logan will do to her if he catches up with her. "What's the reaction over there? I've been here pretty much since this mornin'." Outside the sky is darkening toward evening.
"Lots of people overreacting," Shinobi replies after due thought, taking a drag before leaning his head back against the window. "Madrox, in particular, is being a right prick, but Sarah and I aren't the only ones sticking up for you. He's just desperate for someone to foist blame on, and refuses to wait until we've got the entire story to work with before he decides who to foist it onto."
"What about Ramsey? He show his face yet?"
"Angie - Marie-Ange - found him earlier, after his day learning about how the school's plumbing works. Don't think he's in very good shape." He makes a bit of a face. "S' an instance where being a gentleman's going to be a right bitch fer him, I'm sure."
"'Gentleman'?" Amanda spits the word out as if it was rotten. "After he went an' used that fuckin' potion on all of us? You've got a funny idea of bein' a gentleman, mate."
"I don't think he did. Boy's a pussy. Doesn't have it in him, desperate for a shag or no." Shinobi rattles it off matter-of-factly, shrugging and taking another long drag off of his cigarette.
Another retort rises to Amanda's lips, but she swallows it. Every mess she's been in so far has been because she didn't think before speaking or acting, and it's getting tiresome, dealing with the fallout. "He said..." She furrows her brow, trying to remember the previous afternoon, beyond the feeling that Doug was her One True Love. "He said somethin' about it bein' gone, that he wasn't goin' t' use it an' it was gone."
"He'd hidden it 'til he could figure out how to dispose of it safely, from what I hear. Didn't want to risk just dumping it down the drain, 'less it got into the water or something. So, we're basically trying to figure out who'd have known where he hid it or how someone else found out, so they can be properly crucified or whatever it is people do here when someone does something like that." He shrugs helplessly, and eyes her thoughtfully, reaching over to give her shoulder a light pat. "Right now, though.. think you could probably use some food, an' some rest, at a guess. I'll be a human shield for you, if you feel like braving the halls to get food, or even just back to your room."
She shakes her head. "'M not hungry. An' McTaggart gave me somethin' yesterday t' make me sleep. After..." She grimaces, not wanting to remember the state she'd been in. "Think I'll stay put for a bit longer. Don't feel up to runnin' the gauntlet just yet."
Nodding once, he seems to accept the answer, leaning his head forward again to pillow his cheek against his knee. "Fair enough. If you need me to smuggle anythin' else down for you, just let me know. Lets me feel useful an' helpful an' so on, 'ay?"
"Anythin' t' give yer a purpose in life," she says with a smile. She reaches over and pats his shoulder, just once, before wrapping her arms around her knees again. "I appreciate it. Sarah better appreciate what she has."
"She doesn't put on near-formal wear for just anyone, so I'm pretty sure she does," Shinobi smiles, relaxing visibly at the pat. Funny, he didn't realize he'd been tense. "Gonna be alright?"
"T' tell the truth, I have no fuckin' idea. But I'll try. 'S the least I can do. Even if it means talkin' t' the shrink. Pete insisted," she adds. "I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone where I am - I need some headspace, an' I'm not goin' to get it over there. If anyone asks, just tell 'em I'm okay."
"The staff'll insist, if I say I found you," Shinobi observes thoughtfully, scratching his chin with a pair of fingertips. "Just so they know where you are. I can just e-mail the professor, if you'd be okay with that - I think he'd be willing to give you your space for a day or so, but you will need to come out and at least talk to him sometime."
"Well, he could find me if he wanted t' any way, so there's no problem with that, I suppose." She rest her chin on her knees and thinks. "Pete should know. Last thing I want is for him t' have an excuse t' pack me off right now."
"I'll mail both of them, then, once I go back up." He makes a mental note, idly studying his scarf before looking over with a curious tilt of his head. "Think they'd let me get away with visitin' you in London, if I asked real nice? Not like I can't foot me own plane ticket."
"If they didn't, you could just sneak away. Not like I'd grass you up," she replies, with a touch of her old spirit. "Depends on what Rom turns up for me - once she gets wind of this mess, she'll be lookin' at mystical convents for sure."
"Like I couldn't just walk in through th' convent's walls," Shinobi snorts, flashing a mischievous grin towards Amanda with a shrug of his shoulders. "Wherever you wind up, I'll come visit. Miss me own stomping grounds anyway."
"You can bust me out, take me clubbin'," she suggests with her own grin. "Sarah'll have yer well an' truly turned t' the Dark Side by then. We could go down t' Brighton an' get you a belly piercin' to go with the eyebrow."
"That's the spirit," Shinobi laughs, his grin widening. "I'll have to see what she'd think of it.. she doesn't like planes much at all, but she might be willing to brave one for you if I took the window seat and let her try to break my hand the entire flight over."
"That bad, is it?" Amanda relaxes as the conversation turns away from things Serious. That and the nicotine.
"Sarah grew up underground.. she has trouble with the stairs, once in a while." He shrugs, smiling a bit. "'s why I usually go down to the basement to see her, instead of making her come up to see me."
"That an' the basement's away from the madhouse upstairs..."
Shinobi chuckled in agreement, and talk turned to other, lighter matters…
