xp_logs | Sooraya and Haller

David Haller trains Sooraya in the use of her powers. It started out well, then things go wrong and he learns a little more of what happened in Attilan...

Sooraya was on full alert, ready to go into action at any moment, while she waited for her opponent to touch her. Her sand form just quivered a little while she 'laid' on the mat. Her clothes were in a puddle nearby and the rest of the gym was luckily abandoned.

Jim approached with caution. The first steel-toed shoe hit the mat tentatively, then the other. Nothing happened. The counselor's pace gradually increased with his confidence -- until the trap was sprung.

When she felt the shoe touch her she waited for a few moments, just enough time to make sure she could feel both shoes securely on her form. When he reached that point, she jumped into action. Making sure she moved quick enough, she pulled her sand form from underneath the shoes, severely disturbing the balance of her opponent.

Jim, in the process of raising a foot for another step, suddenly found himself experiencing the carpetless equivalent having the rug pulled out from under him. And, in the end, even the indignity of pinwheeling his arms for balance couldn't save him.

The telepath was tall. Consequently, his back had a long way to travel before it finally introduced itself to the floor.

Once he'd gotten his breath back Jim opened his eyes and said, "Nice work, Sooraya.”

Sooraya had almost immediately reformed when Haller hit the mat and was now trying to hide smile behind her hand. That couldn’t stop the giggles though. “I am sorry, Mr. Haller. I don’t mean to…” She burst out into giggles again as she regarded the undignified sprawl her teacher was lying in. Shaking her head she offered him her hand, though she wasn’t sure how much good it was going to do.

Jim smiled and accepted her hand. "Don't worry," he said as he got to his feet, "I've done much worse to myself with my own powers. It's a hazard of using a pyrokinesis without being fireproof." He flexed his shoulders back to make sure his vertebrae were still properly aligned, then turned back to the girl. "Anyway, I'd say that's a successful tactic if you have a little time to plan, but sometimes that's not possible. Do you think you can do the same with someone coming at you?"

“Hmm…” Sooraya scratched the scarf she was wearing as she tried to imagine how she would do that. “I never tried that one before…. We can give it a try. How do you want to do this?”

"Hmm . . ." Jim thought for a moment. "Try to get under the soles of my shoes to upset my balance -- without me walking over you, I mean. I'll stand still while you come at me to begin with, and if that works we'll start practicing more active scenarios. Does that make sense?"

“It does. Should I just start when I have shifted?” At his confirmation she shifted and once more her clothes puddled on the ground. She hovered in front of him for a moment, then ‘dove’ forward, trying to force herself under his shoes. That part was actually fairly easy and she finished off the move the same way she did earlier: pulling out under his shoes and sending him sprawling once more.

"Good," Jim said, still on his back. It was beginning to occur to him he might have benefited from some personal padding, but it was nothing worse than some of the bruises he'd incurred in the Danger Room. He picked himself up again and faced Sooraya. "All right, that seems to be effective. Let's try it again. This time don't shift yet -- wait until I start moving towards you. If you need to use this, it's better it becomes as close to reflex as possible."

Sooraya saw him wince while he was getting up. “I did put some arnica in my bag after I realized what we would be doing. You can use it afterwards if you want.” She offered while standing in front of the mat. “I am ready…”

The moment he started to move she shifted, most of the sand pouring out around her scarf so she could use the downwards momentum to build speed. For a moment everything went as she had hoped…

Then Haller moved a little different then she had expected and his arm was caught in the downward cloud of sand… The cloud full of sharp grains, moving at a speed enough to cut and scour pretty badly… The sand tore through the clothing and almost immediately bit into the flesh beneath it… Blood welled up a micro second later…

The sand cloud froze as Sooraya registered the blood. Flashes ran through her mind… the blue light of Mahad’s teleportation and the shock of seeing the men in her room… shifting to sand as they reached for her… Mahad’s arm caught in the sand cloud… the grains cutting and scouring… the sight and smell of blood… a flash white bone just visible in the low light… still more blood…

Sooraya barely had the presence of mind to pull away and to reform inside her clothes before she huddled up, shaking slightly.

It took a moment for Jim to register the pain; it had come so quickly the first thing he felt was the sensation of cold as air hit the exposed flesh. The moment he noticed it the feeling quickly swelled to a dull throb. It hurt, but no more than a badly scraped knee.

"Sorry, I guess we went a little too fast," Jim said, examining his scoured forearm. The sleeve was torn and what was left was beginning to collect blood, but it was no great loss. He looked up to give her an apologetic smile, then stopped.

The counselor frowned. "Sooraya, are you all right?" he asked, closing the distance so he could kneel beside her. She was trembling. His frown deepened. "Sooraya?"

She vaguely heard the voice speaking next to her and she had to consciously focus to raise her head and look at Haller, waiting just a few moments in an attempt to find some composure. “I am sorry. I didn’t hurt you too bad, didn’t I?” Her voice was rushed, but it wasn’t too bad. Her eyes wanted to seek out his arm, but she kept her gaze on his face.

"I'm fine. It's my fault -- I should have let you practice more." Jim looked at her with concern. "Are you all right?" he repeated, knowing full well she wasn't. This reaction was . . . extreme. Perhaps not in the obvious ways -- she wasn't crying or trying to run -- but not everyone was overt about their distress.

Slowly, so as to give her the option of flinching away or otherwise indicating she was uncomfortable with the gesture, Jim put a hand on Sooraya's shoulder. "It's okay," he said. "It was just an accident."

She did flinch a little when his hand touched her shoulder, but it did give her the courage to let eyes settle on his other arm, the arm she had wounded, for just a second. But as soon as she saw the blood she shuddered once more and tore her eyes away. “I am really sorry,” she repeated once more, the tremor in her voice now far more clear. “I shouldn’t have been practicing this… Not with…” Her voice trailed off and she stared at her feet. Somewhere deep inside her she felt a little ashamed of the drama she was making…

"Not with what?" Jim persisted. "You never learn what works if you don't try." His tone was gentle, questioning without accusing. He knew she had asked Scott specifically for instruction with an emphasis on self-defense and disabling strategies, which had raised some suspicions in itself. With her reaction to the damage to his arm, these suspicions were beginning to grow.

Taking a deep breath, she managed to force out the words. “... not practicing things where I am not sure I have enough… control not to hurt…” A tear sneaked its way down her cheek and she hastily wiped it away, turning her face away so the counselor wouldn’t see it.

"But that's how we learn what we can do. And how to get better." He didn't see the actual tear, but her eyes were unusually bright, and that was proof enough. Jim gave her a moment to compose herself, then decided to press a little further.

"I can understand why you're worried," he said, "but -- you seem very upset, for something that wasn't your fault. When you were away . . . did something happen?"

“I’d rather not talk about it, Mr. Haller.” She asked, having to stifle a sniffle at the end of her sentence. Images of what happened flashed through her mind again and she shuddered again.

The contact of his hand on Sooraya's shoulder brought the memory to Jim, and for an instant he, too, felt the nauseating sensation of peeling flesh from bone. He froze, caught off guard, but stopped himself from jerking away. Instead he simply let the memory pass before he tried to speak.

"One of the men who tried to take you," he said softly. "You were scared, and he got hurt when you tried to get away."

Sooraya’s head jerked up and looked at him, her eyes wide. “How…?” Then her sluggish brain caught up her and put the puzzle pieces together. “I didn’t mean for you to see… that… I am sorry…” She apologized.

“I almost tore the flesh of Mahad’s arm. I think his arm might never be the same again…” Her voice was muffled from where she had buried her head in her arm, hiding the tears that were coming now in a steady stream. Her shoulders shook as she finally admitted what happened.

He felt guilty for acknowledging the invasion of Sooraya's privacy, even unintentionally, and worse that she was apologizing for it like it had been her fault. His only consolation was that it had only confirmed a growing suspicion -- and that it was clearly something that she'd been holding to herself.

Awkwardly, Jim extended his arm around her shoulders. Jemail had had Muslim friends, and he was instinctively uncomfortable about touching Sooraya. It seemed . . . disrespectful. But he knew no other way to comfort, and he couldn't just sit next to her and watch her cry.

"Listen to me, okay?" He scooted a little closer to Sooraya, though he made sure to leave several inches between their bodies. "You haven't done anything wrong. It was an accident -- and you were being attacked. You didn't mean to hurt him, but since you did you've decided to do everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen again. You made that decision. The decision is what matters."

Her body stiffened almost immediately after he touched her. A voice in the far corner of her mind was screaming at her that this was inappropriate, that this was indecent and that she was damaging her honor. In any other circumstance she would have shrugged the arm away and politely, yet firmly explained about proper and improper touch. With maybe a threat or so…

But now… now she was only grateful for the offered comfort. She relaxed a little and let the things she had been holding inside since the events Attilan go. Yes, she had enjoyed being back at the mansion and seeing everyone again, but now what she held back, finally flowed free.