Amanda & Stephen | The Promised Butty
Jan. 5th, 2024 05:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsStephen brings Amanda the butty he promised her and they catch up. (Backdated.)
Stephen was glad the wards around the mansion a) still knew him and b) hadn't freaked out when he used his sling-ring to portal himself onto the smoker's porch off the main kitchen. Of course, actually seeing the damage Miss Hope Summers had managed to do was an experience he wouldn't soon forget, so he wound up walking to one of the other side entrances and then up to the suite Amanda shared with Marie-Ange.
He was happy for his teacher. And her assassin-y girlfriend. Not that he'd had any doubts either of them would fall into a relationship with one another and then stay in it... it was more that the will they/won't they had been going on for so long that when they'd finally gotten together... well. It'd been so sweet Stephen knew his teeth were in danger of getting cavities just by proximity. That led Stephen to wondering if Marie-Ange could really even be considered an assassin-y type person anymore, since Clea had told him she did a whole lot of running X-Force generally instead of running murders specifically.
Shaking his head to himself, Stephen raised his hand and knocked on the door, since the aforementioned suite was still home to two people and just barging in on someone not-Amanda would be awkward. Especially when the not-Amanda was now considered Shrodinger's Assassin in his head.
"Coming, coming," came Amanda's voice from inside as the distinctive shuffle of her ugg boots approached the door. "Stephen!" she exclaimed as she opened it. "How'd you get here? No, wait, I remember, Sling Ring. I s'pose you didn't wind up in a mountain after all?" She flung the door open to allow him to enter. "Come in, come in! Did you bring me a butty?"
"Yup," Stephen said, grinning as he handed that over immediately. "It's even still hot and fresh. I love being able to portal to the chippie. And apparently portaling to the mansion's no problem, either. But wow, Hope Summers did a number on the mansion, didn't she? And with everything I caught up on over the journals, I'd say a butty's the least you deserve. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He leaned in to give Amanda a half-hug, not squishing the bag the butty was in or his own, which was full of proper fish and chips. "Oh, and I brought the malt vinegar, too. And lots of, if you want any. I'm about to douse my chips."
"Gimme," she replied, making grabby hands at the greasy paper bag, but it was mostly for effect - she returned the half-hug with a squeeze and half-pulled him into the suite. "Grab a seat, I'll go get the paper towels so we won't get greasy fingerprints all over the place; Angie puts up with a lot, but that's pushing it. I've also got beer, if you want one? I usually keep a stock of Garrison's Moose beer handy; I got a taste for it when he was crashing here, even if it is a fizzy lager."
"Well, he's a very impressive man," Stephen allowed, heading toward the couch. "He has to have some imperfections to give everyone else a chance," he continued, half-laughing. "And I'd enjoy one, thanks. How's Miss Colbert doing, anyway? Clea keeps telling me I should just call her Marie-Ange, but I think I'll stick to Miss Colbert until she tells me otherwise."
Amanda returned from the kitchenette with a roll of paper towels and two bottles of beer, once of which she set in front of Stephen on the coffee table. "'Miss Colbert' is doing very well. Busy, but that's usual. We're trying to pin down this Horseman business at the moment - we know Clan Akkaba's involved, but it's a matter of working out where they'll strike next so we can get ahead of them." She pulled a face and reached for her butty. "Sorry, I'll stop talking shop. How's life with the Pompous One?"
"Oh, it's fine," Stephen said, half-laughing. "Same Ancient One, same Wong, access to better books, more practical stuff than theoretical, now. There's apparently been some kind of mystical power flux or something, but it's so small only the Ancient One's noticed. You know, grumble grumble, go practise your somatics, Stephen. They still have no idea why Clea and I can't just portal ourselves all over, but they're leaning toward our mutations having something to do with it." He shrugged as he unwrapped his half order of delicious, fried cod and proper chips. "They get that frowny look and then wave us away so they can go do important things."
"So, not so different from here then?" Amanda asked with her mouth full. She chewed and swallowed, a blissful expression on her face, before continuing. "Wong I have time for. He's been brilliant about giving me access to the library there. As well as doing his own research into chaos auras."
Opening the malt vinegar and pouring it directly onto his chips, Stephen sat it on the coffee table within Amanada's reach even as he nodded. "Yeah, he's gotten Clea and me to fetch him books from the 'regular' section of the library that're referenced in the 'not-regular' section so he can cross-check things. Any progress on the chaos aura situation? I mean, if you can tell me. I don't wanna invade anyone's privacy or anything."
Amanda's face clouded. "Sod all," she replied shortly. "And he's getting worse." Another bite of her sandwich effectively ended that particular train of conversation and when she'd washed it down with a mouthful of beer, she went on another tack. "Where are you at with the medical school studies?"
Suppressing a wince at the knowledge that so little progress had been made, Stephen swallowed he bite of cod he’d just taken, licked his fingers free of vinegar and salt, and said, “Mostly on track. Year one’s done and I took some courses last summer before going to Kamar-Taj for the autumn and winter. I’m supposed to be back for Spring term, but the program director gave me some wiggle room on a specific date. I’ve finished all the theoretical work — exams and tests and things — so it’s just the practicals I need to attend to next. And as long as I’ve got all that sorted and the proper feedback before the end of summer, I’ll be set for my third year.”
"You ever think about just focussing on that and leaving the magic altogether?" Amanda asked, tilting her head. "Medicine... it's a vocation, really. Something that really helps people."
Stephen waggled his hand back and forth. "You're not wrong. And I do really enjoy it. The learning's more interesting, since I can really focus in on it instead of having to do reports about books I hated reading. But you know, I enjoy magic, too. And I like expanding my knowledge and abilities there. Maybe someday I'll be able to make something really cool magically and save lives with medicine, too. I like what we've covered regarding the whole nervous system. It's really cool, how the body works and everything's connected."
"Any thoughts on a specialty? Or are you looking at something more general?" Amanda bit into her butty again.
"Well, the nervous system's what ties everything together and that's all rooted in the brain. So neurology might be it. But you know my dad's a VCT surgeon, so he'd be a great reference and easy to shadow... but then, he's my dad, so. Also, he's still practising in England. Might make the normal logistics of shadowing difficult," Stephen muttered, shoving another piece of fried fish into his mouth. He chewed almost contemplatively, then shrugged. "It's still second year, so I've got some time. It's not till after I get into my actual unit rotations as a resident that I have to choose. That's still a couple years off."
"True, true." Amanda smiled to herself. "And a lot can happen in that time."
Stephen was glad the wards around the mansion a) still knew him and b) hadn't freaked out when he used his sling-ring to portal himself onto the smoker's porch off the main kitchen. Of course, actually seeing the damage Miss Hope Summers had managed to do was an experience he wouldn't soon forget, so he wound up walking to one of the other side entrances and then up to the suite Amanda shared with Marie-Ange.
He was happy for his teacher. And her assassin-y girlfriend. Not that he'd had any doubts either of them would fall into a relationship with one another and then stay in it... it was more that the will they/won't they had been going on for so long that when they'd finally gotten together... well. It'd been so sweet Stephen knew his teeth were in danger of getting cavities just by proximity. That led Stephen to wondering if Marie-Ange could really even be considered an assassin-y type person anymore, since Clea had told him she did a whole lot of running X-Force generally instead of running murders specifically.
Shaking his head to himself, Stephen raised his hand and knocked on the door, since the aforementioned suite was still home to two people and just barging in on someone not-Amanda would be awkward. Especially when the not-Amanda was now considered Shrodinger's Assassin in his head.
"Coming, coming," came Amanda's voice from inside as the distinctive shuffle of her ugg boots approached the door. "Stephen!" she exclaimed as she opened it. "How'd you get here? No, wait, I remember, Sling Ring. I s'pose you didn't wind up in a mountain after all?" She flung the door open to allow him to enter. "Come in, come in! Did you bring me a butty?"
"Yup," Stephen said, grinning as he handed that over immediately. "It's even still hot and fresh. I love being able to portal to the chippie. And apparently portaling to the mansion's no problem, either. But wow, Hope Summers did a number on the mansion, didn't she? And with everything I caught up on over the journals, I'd say a butty's the least you deserve. Sorry I couldn't get here sooner." He leaned in to give Amanda a half-hug, not squishing the bag the butty was in or his own, which was full of proper fish and chips. "Oh, and I brought the malt vinegar, too. And lots of, if you want any. I'm about to douse my chips."
"Gimme," she replied, making grabby hands at the greasy paper bag, but it was mostly for effect - she returned the half-hug with a squeeze and half-pulled him into the suite. "Grab a seat, I'll go get the paper towels so we won't get greasy fingerprints all over the place; Angie puts up with a lot, but that's pushing it. I've also got beer, if you want one? I usually keep a stock of Garrison's Moose beer handy; I got a taste for it when he was crashing here, even if it is a fizzy lager."
"Well, he's a very impressive man," Stephen allowed, heading toward the couch. "He has to have some imperfections to give everyone else a chance," he continued, half-laughing. "And I'd enjoy one, thanks. How's Miss Colbert doing, anyway? Clea keeps telling me I should just call her Marie-Ange, but I think I'll stick to Miss Colbert until she tells me otherwise."
Amanda returned from the kitchenette with a roll of paper towels and two bottles of beer, once of which she set in front of Stephen on the coffee table. "'Miss Colbert' is doing very well. Busy, but that's usual. We're trying to pin down this Horseman business at the moment - we know Clan Akkaba's involved, but it's a matter of working out where they'll strike next so we can get ahead of them." She pulled a face and reached for her butty. "Sorry, I'll stop talking shop. How's life with the Pompous One?"
"Oh, it's fine," Stephen said, half-laughing. "Same Ancient One, same Wong, access to better books, more practical stuff than theoretical, now. There's apparently been some kind of mystical power flux or something, but it's so small only the Ancient One's noticed. You know, grumble grumble, go practise your somatics, Stephen. They still have no idea why Clea and I can't just portal ourselves all over, but they're leaning toward our mutations having something to do with it." He shrugged as he unwrapped his half order of delicious, fried cod and proper chips. "They get that frowny look and then wave us away so they can go do important things."
"So, not so different from here then?" Amanda asked with her mouth full. She chewed and swallowed, a blissful expression on her face, before continuing. "Wong I have time for. He's been brilliant about giving me access to the library there. As well as doing his own research into chaos auras."
Opening the malt vinegar and pouring it directly onto his chips, Stephen sat it on the coffee table within Amanada's reach even as he nodded. "Yeah, he's gotten Clea and me to fetch him books from the 'regular' section of the library that're referenced in the 'not-regular' section so he can cross-check things. Any progress on the chaos aura situation? I mean, if you can tell me. I don't wanna invade anyone's privacy or anything."
Amanda's face clouded. "Sod all," she replied shortly. "And he's getting worse." Another bite of her sandwich effectively ended that particular train of conversation and when she'd washed it down with a mouthful of beer, she went on another tack. "Where are you at with the medical school studies?"
Suppressing a wince at the knowledge that so little progress had been made, Stephen swallowed he bite of cod he’d just taken, licked his fingers free of vinegar and salt, and said, “Mostly on track. Year one’s done and I took some courses last summer before going to Kamar-Taj for the autumn and winter. I’m supposed to be back for Spring term, but the program director gave me some wiggle room on a specific date. I’ve finished all the theoretical work — exams and tests and things — so it’s just the practicals I need to attend to next. And as long as I’ve got all that sorted and the proper feedback before the end of summer, I’ll be set for my third year.”
"You ever think about just focussing on that and leaving the magic altogether?" Amanda asked, tilting her head. "Medicine... it's a vocation, really. Something that really helps people."
Stephen waggled his hand back and forth. "You're not wrong. And I do really enjoy it. The learning's more interesting, since I can really focus in on it instead of having to do reports about books I hated reading. But you know, I enjoy magic, too. And I like expanding my knowledge and abilities there. Maybe someday I'll be able to make something really cool magically and save lives with medicine, too. I like what we've covered regarding the whole nervous system. It's really cool, how the body works and everything's connected."
"Any thoughts on a specialty? Or are you looking at something more general?" Amanda bit into her butty again.
"Well, the nervous system's what ties everything together and that's all rooted in the brain. So neurology might be it. But you know my dad's a VCT surgeon, so he'd be a great reference and easy to shadow... but then, he's my dad, so. Also, he's still practising in England. Might make the normal logistics of shadowing difficult," Stephen muttered, shoving another piece of fried fish into his mouth. He chewed almost contemplatively, then shrugged. "It's still second year, so I've got some time. It's not till after I get into my actual unit rotations as a resident that I have to choose. That's still a couple years off."
"True, true." Amanda smiled to herself. "And a lot can happen in that time."
