Topaz and the Sefton Siblings || Ambush and Phone Call

[x-topaz.livejournal.com]

Amanda tracks down her wayward student and amazingly doesn't drag her home by the ear. (Local Time in India: 8:30 a.m., Friday July 10



Fifteen hours on a plane wasn't the most ideal way to spend time.

But on the side of being positive, Topaz was now as far away from the mansion as she could possibly get. She hitched her bag tighter over her shoulder as she pushed her way through the bustling airport. She found a small coffee cart and stopped to get some tea, finding a place to sit so she could turn on her phone. She wondered if anyone had noticed yet that she was gone.

Murphy is a bastard, especially to magic users, because as soon as Topaz had that thought, over in the shadow cast by a pillar the floor rippled slightly before a blonde woman emerged from it. She stretched her neck from side to side as if to release a cramp, and then cast her glance over the bustling crowds passing by. Her expression, when she caught sight of Topaz, was one of grim satisfaction.

She made her way to the coffee cart, getting a tea of her own before approaching Topaz's table.

"Mind if I join you?"

Topaz's lack of care to her surroundings, coupled with the fact that Amanda had always been an emotional void thanks to her careful practice with shielding, meant she had no warning to the blonde's approach. She was just taking a sip of her tea...

And she choked when Amanda spoke. For a moment she just coughed, managing to sputter out "Christ" as she tried to catch her breath.

She'd just been expecting a phone call for god's sake.

Amanda hadn't timed things that way, oh no. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," she replied with a slight smirk, before taking a seat. She sipped at her own tea, waiting for the coughing to subside, before speaking again. "Good flight, was it?"

Topaz gave Amanda a Look - not annoyance or displeasure, more like she was put out. "It was alright," she said finally, taking another, more graceful sip of tea. Clearly the flight had been for nothing. Honestly couldn't Amanda have just ambushed her in New York? Saved her the time?

"Word of advice, kiddo. When you're running away, remember that your teacher is a teleporter. Who works with a bunch of spies - as soon as you cleared customs, we knew exactly where you were." Amanda's voice wasn't angry so much as it was carefully neutral. She pulled out the note Topaz had left her and lay it on the table, crumpled from being in her jacket pocket. "You were a bit vague with this, so I decided to come get the more detailed explanation."

Rather than meeting Amanda's gaze, Topaz dropped her eyes to the note. She'd known just leaving notes was a bad move, but she had done it exactly for this reason - because she didn't want to explain. "It's exactly what it sounds like," she murmured finally, tracing around the cover on her tea. "I needed to get out of there."

"And this is how you do it - leaving a note like a ten year old running away from home, with no thought of safety, yours or anyone else's." Amanda's tone sharpened slightly, before she caught herself and reined her temper in. Topaz had scared her badly, and her anger was as much with herself as her student. "I understand, kiddo. I really do. But why didn't you come to me? I would have helped you work something out, something safe."

To be fair, Topaz hardly ever thought about her own safety. "Because I wanted to leave." In contrast to Amanda's sharper tone, Topaz's voice was flat. " And where else could I go, exactly?" She didn't have a home. Didn't have anywhere to go. For the longest time all she'd had was the mansion.

"Anyways I can't lean on you forever." She'd spent far too long hiding behind Amanda. She had to grow up eventually.

Amanda opened her mouth to argue, to point out that she had any number of resources available to her, that she would have been able to help, that she'd always be there to help... and then she stopped. She picked up her tea and blew on the hot surface of the liquid before sipping at it again, using the gesture to give herself time to think.

"You're right," she said at last. "I can't protect you forever, and you're not a kid any more." She looked down at her hands, clasping to tea cup, and sighed. Scott was going to kill her. "You do what you need to do. Whatever it is you planned, go ahead and do it."

Topaz's eyes dodged away from Amanda, focusing on the floor while the blonde gathered her thoughts. She was a little surprised when Amanda gave in, she wouldn't lie. "I'll be okay," she said after a moment. "Like to think I've learned how to stay out of trouble." Okay that was a lie. But she'd rather Amanda didn't worry about her.

"One condition." Amanda looked Topaz in the face, her expression and voice uncompromising. "You call in, once a week, to let me know you're okay. You miss a check in, I'll be rounding up the Trenchcoats. Got it?"

That caught Topaz by surprise. She wasn't going to argue though. "Once a week," she agreed with a nod. "I won't miss one." The last thing she wanted was an entire team invading India because she'd forgotten to make a phone call.

"Then it's a deal." Amanda's voice trembled slightly. "Just... whatever you do, be careful, yeah? Look after yourself." She was mother-henning, she knew, but this was Topaz. Her last student from that lost world. In some ways, still that frightened kid they'd rescued from a magical feud. She took a sharp breath through her nose to banish the prickly feeling. "Bring me back a souvenir, yeah?"

Oh this was why Topaz had just left notes. She didn't do goodbyes well. "I strive to stay out of trouble and live a quiet life," she said dryly, a small smirk gracing her lips. In some ways she was still the frightened, stubborn kid they'd dragged to the mansion. But everyone needed to grow up eventually. "Souvenir. I can do that."

"Ta." There was a lot more Amanda wanted to say, but none of it was helpful. "Guess I'll be off, then," she said instead, standing and pushing her chair back, the half-finished cup of tea still on the table. "Mondays all right for the call in?"

Topaz nodded, standing up as well. "Yeah. Mondays are fine. I'll try to remember the time difference so I don't accidentally call you at three in the morning."

"Even if you did, I'd probably be awake. You know me, work, work, work." Amanda managed a grin. "See you, Topaz."

A small smile pulled at Topaz's lips. "Yeah. See you." She hooked her bag on her shoulder, making sure it was secure before turning to walk away. She stopped after a few steps, though, turning back to Amanda, rocking uncertainly on her heels. "Thanks." She wasn't quite sure what she was thanking Amanda for. There was a lot, after all.

Amanda managed a smile this time. "Any time, kiddo," she said. She glanced quickly around to make sure no-one was watching and then, faster than a blink, disappeared abruptly into the floor.

Topaz watched her go, staring at the floor for a long moment before finally turning away. She dragged a hand across her eyes quickly before disappearing into the crowd.

Sadly, Kurt can't teleport India. But a phone call gets his point across to Topaz just fine.



Topaz was exhausted as she let herself into the hostel room - empty at the moment. It was morning, after all, people were up and about, taking showers, eating breakfast.

Jet lag was awful.

She was just about to collapse into the empty bed in the corner when her phone rang. She tried not to groan, very seriously considering ignoring it, but in the end she fished it out of her pocket, focusing blearily on the caller ID. Ah. "Hello?" She answered in a mutter.

"I want you to know", Kurt said calmly, "that a very nice meal is getting cold. Where are you?"

Oh boy. "India," Topaz replied quietly, sitting down on the bed and curling her legs under herself. "Sorry, didn't mean to keep you from a meal."

"...Topaz", he said, stymied, "why have you gone all the way to India?"

"...Homesick?" Yeah that didn't sound too ridiculous. "Been ten years, figured now was as good a time as any to come back."

"But..." Mentioning that she'd never really had a home there in the first place seemed unkind, so he didn't. "Well, I suppose."

It wasn't as if he couldn't understand why she'd wanted to get away.

She was aware of that. It was just an excuse. A weak excuse to avoid dealing with the real reason she had taken off. "Sorry I'm not close enough for you to come yell at me in person." The words were surprisingly sincere. "If it helps Amanda already took care of that."

"I would not yell." His voice was quiet and sincere in turn. "You at least did not leave without a word, and I thank you for that."

"Yeah, I'm gettin' better at this runnin' away thing." There was a weak bit of humor in her voice.

"If you need anything, you will call? And I will be in touch once a week." There was no room for argument.

"Yeah, of course." She had learned her lesson. Ask for help when you need it. Lesson one. "Just don't call on Monday. That's Amanda's day."

Kurt chuckled quietly. "Heaven forbid I should steal my sister's day to speak to you. Not on a Monday, then."

"I'm more worried you'll call when I'm on the phone with her and next thing I know I have the mutant SWAT team banging down my door because I didn't answer," Topaz replied dryly.

"Would I do that to you?" There was a pause, then a cheerful, "I would just call back the next hour. And the next, and the next... the SWAT team would come out for more reason than that."

Topaz laughed at that. She had to. "Of course, I should give you more credit. You would just overload my mobile with calls."

"Consider it an incentive to answer the first time, though of course allowances will be given for being asleep, or in the shower or some such thing."

"I'll do my best not to miss calls," she promised. And no that wasn't just because he would call every hour. She was doing her best to make this as easy as possible for everyone involved. If that meant answering Kurt on the first ring so he wouldn't worry, then so be it. "And if I do I'll call back as soon as I see it."

"Thank you." That was sincere. "Do try to stay out of trouble, please."

"That is definitely the plan." There was a bit of fierceness behind the words. "I've had enough trouble to last a while."

"Yes." There was no fierceness in his voice, just tired sadness. "So have we all."

There was a moment of silence. "I should go," Topaz said finally, quietly. "Get some sleep. Let you enjoy your meal."

"You must be worn out after all that travel", Kurt agreed. "I will speak to you again in a week, then."

"Yeah. Too much time on a plane." Topaz sighed. "Talk to you next week, Kurt."