Alison, Amanda - Friday morning.
Jul. 2nd, 2004 11:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsFinally given the all-clear by Doc Strange to do healing spells again, Amanda approaches Alison. The answer she gets is not the one she was expecting.
So, Strange had finally given her the okay to do healing spells again, only she was having trouble finding willing and able patients. Sarah's healing factor made the attempt too risky in Hank's view - there was no telling how the two would interact - and there was only so much she could do for Pete, considering they were gunshot wounds and all. So, that left Ali. Cautiously tapping on the door to the suite the teacher shared with Lorna - she was still nervous about running into Lorna, especially since the link with Manuel had been re-established - Amanda made a face at the irony of it all.
"Come on in," a voice echoed nearly immediately, a far more normal tone to it than had been present the previous week, although it still seemed remarkably sombre as compared to the singer's usually chipper greetings. "Door's open and I'm owning the couch," she continued, a bit wryly at that because if she was owning the couch it certainly wasn't by choice. The enforced inactivity was finally getting to her, although she still had thinking to do, and lots of it at that.
"Heya," Amanda said, opening the door and poking her head around it. "I thought I'd drop in, see how you were doin'. Give you some distraction - I've been stuck in me bed often enough t' know how borin' it gets." She paused, then added. "An' maybe I can help with that."
"Help with the boring?" Alison tilted her head to the side, considering. She couldn't play the guitar yet, the stitches still too fragile and Hank having threatened to confiscate anything remotely looking like a guitar from her if she didn't behave. "Not boring is good. Do tell!" She pointed at the end of the couch sternly, right beyond her foot as her injured leg was still pretty much with the required propingness.
"Sort of." Taking a seat where Alison pointed, Amanda gave a slightly diffident shrug. "Strange has given me the okay t' do me healin' thing again, an' if you wanted me to, I could shorten how much time you get t' spend bein' bored."
Alison blinked once, not even having considered that. "I hadn't thought of that," she said, honestly, giving Amanda a considering look. The thinking had been in several different directions and oddly enough, she found her answer to be an easy one. Smiling, she shook her head. "No, thank you. But I do appreciate the offer." And waited to see how Amanda would react.
"Oh." Amanda's tone was tinged with disappointment, and she struggled to keep it from showing on her face. Then she added, attempting to make light of it. "Guess I need t' find meself another way of bein' useful 'round this place."
Bingo. Alison leaned back, giving Amanda a calm look. "You know, Amanda..." She considered, then just went for plain and blunt. That'd work with Amanda, she figured. "You're here because you want to be here. And we want you here, otherwise, you just wouldn't be. You don't need to do things to be here, to have a value other than just being you."
Amanda blinked, and then mentally cursed as she remembered this was the Devil Woman she was talking to. Entirely too perceptive for her own good. "Yeah, well, maybe I figure yer gettin' a bum deal with the whole value of me thing an' want t' even the scales. 'M a lot of trouble, I know that."
"Well, at least you know it," Alison answered with a wink, laughing quietly. "Hey. We all have trouble attached to us, one way or another. Comes with the territory," she waved her hand a bit, not at all implying she was any less human for her abilities. "And you want. You try. That's worth... a lot. It truly is."
"It ain't worth much if I can't do it," Amanda grumbled. "After the whole potion thing... There's a lot t' make up for, is all, an' I dunno how t' make things right any other way. People keep sayin' it don't matter, but Illyana was right, I do have a pretty shitty track record with the magic - I need t' prove I can be trusted again, I s'pose, an' this is how."
"The idea is, you make it up here," she tapped her temple lightly, giving Amanda a significant look. "And you're the only one who can do that. Wanting it is the whole basis to it too." She smiled a bit, reassuringly she hoped. "It won't happen overnight or all at once. Or by making yourself keel over from power overuse. You just take baby steps and sort it out best as you can. People're there to listen, if you want them to."
"I ain't ever been that good with words," the girl said with a shrug and a half-grin. "'S why I tend t' go for doin' somethin', 's easier t' get yer point across that way. An' you sound like Rom - she said pretty much the same thing when I went home last. Gave me a right serve, she did."
"Hey. Working on stuff? That's doing. And just leaning on people without talking happens. You just wander over and lean." Alison nodded wisely, having done her fair share of that lately, she realized. And was thankful she knew how, so much. "Seems like Rom and I agree on this one." She grinned a bit, not pressing the point further mind. It had gotten through, no need to push.
"You agree on a lot of stuff, which scares the shite out of me," Amanda said, relaxing a little. "D'you mind me askin' why you don't want me t' heal you? All that stuff 'bout me aside, that is."
Alison hesitated for a moment, before looking down at her leg. "It's not just the leg that needs time to heal, I think. I need the time too. To sort things out to... know. What I need to do. And how. Completely this time, not just letting events dictate what I should be doing. I'm getting there," she smiled crookedly, remembering her talk with Lorna. "I'm getting there."
Amanda frowned, not understanding fully, but remembering what Romany had taught her - just because she could do something didn't mean she should, that sometimes it was best to let things run their own course. It hadn't made full sense to her at the time, except being another rule to remember, but she was starting to realise what the older witch had meant. "'S good, that yer gettin' there," she said, knowing how lame she sounded but unsure what else to say.
"I'm trying," Alison replied, then tilted her head, smiling a bit. "Thank you, Amanda. For listening," she clarified, letting Amanda ask or not if she wanted to know more, leaving it up to her.
A brief smile flashed across Amanda's face at the thanks. "'M learnin'," she said with another small shrug. "Did... do you want t' talk 'bout it?"
"I think I would, some. May not make much sense though..." she warned, shifting a bit on the couch, pulling back to make more room for Amanda to curl up on the other end if she wanted. "And it probably means I'll be sending you out to fetch stuff for me every now and then!"
Amanda took the offer implicit in Alison's shifting, careful not to bump the injured leg. "Doesn't have t' make sense," she said. "An' since you don't want me healin' you, I don't mind bein' yer extra set of legs. Keeps me out of trouble."
Alison gave her an amused look. "Is that possible?"
So, Strange had finally given her the okay to do healing spells again, only she was having trouble finding willing and able patients. Sarah's healing factor made the attempt too risky in Hank's view - there was no telling how the two would interact - and there was only so much she could do for Pete, considering they were gunshot wounds and all. So, that left Ali. Cautiously tapping on the door to the suite the teacher shared with Lorna - she was still nervous about running into Lorna, especially since the link with Manuel had been re-established - Amanda made a face at the irony of it all.
"Come on in," a voice echoed nearly immediately, a far more normal tone to it than had been present the previous week, although it still seemed remarkably sombre as compared to the singer's usually chipper greetings. "Door's open and I'm owning the couch," she continued, a bit wryly at that because if she was owning the couch it certainly wasn't by choice. The enforced inactivity was finally getting to her, although she still had thinking to do, and lots of it at that.
"Heya," Amanda said, opening the door and poking her head around it. "I thought I'd drop in, see how you were doin'. Give you some distraction - I've been stuck in me bed often enough t' know how borin' it gets." She paused, then added. "An' maybe I can help with that."
"Help with the boring?" Alison tilted her head to the side, considering. She couldn't play the guitar yet, the stitches still too fragile and Hank having threatened to confiscate anything remotely looking like a guitar from her if she didn't behave. "Not boring is good. Do tell!" She pointed at the end of the couch sternly, right beyond her foot as her injured leg was still pretty much with the required propingness.
"Sort of." Taking a seat where Alison pointed, Amanda gave a slightly diffident shrug. "Strange has given me the okay t' do me healin' thing again, an' if you wanted me to, I could shorten how much time you get t' spend bein' bored."
Alison blinked once, not even having considered that. "I hadn't thought of that," she said, honestly, giving Amanda a considering look. The thinking had been in several different directions and oddly enough, she found her answer to be an easy one. Smiling, she shook her head. "No, thank you. But I do appreciate the offer." And waited to see how Amanda would react.
"Oh." Amanda's tone was tinged with disappointment, and she struggled to keep it from showing on her face. Then she added, attempting to make light of it. "Guess I need t' find meself another way of bein' useful 'round this place."
Bingo. Alison leaned back, giving Amanda a calm look. "You know, Amanda..." She considered, then just went for plain and blunt. That'd work with Amanda, she figured. "You're here because you want to be here. And we want you here, otherwise, you just wouldn't be. You don't need to do things to be here, to have a value other than just being you."
Amanda blinked, and then mentally cursed as she remembered this was the Devil Woman she was talking to. Entirely too perceptive for her own good. "Yeah, well, maybe I figure yer gettin' a bum deal with the whole value of me thing an' want t' even the scales. 'M a lot of trouble, I know that."
"Well, at least you know it," Alison answered with a wink, laughing quietly. "Hey. We all have trouble attached to us, one way or another. Comes with the territory," she waved her hand a bit, not at all implying she was any less human for her abilities. "And you want. You try. That's worth... a lot. It truly is."
"It ain't worth much if I can't do it," Amanda grumbled. "After the whole potion thing... There's a lot t' make up for, is all, an' I dunno how t' make things right any other way. People keep sayin' it don't matter, but Illyana was right, I do have a pretty shitty track record with the magic - I need t' prove I can be trusted again, I s'pose, an' this is how."
"The idea is, you make it up here," she tapped her temple lightly, giving Amanda a significant look. "And you're the only one who can do that. Wanting it is the whole basis to it too." She smiled a bit, reassuringly she hoped. "It won't happen overnight or all at once. Or by making yourself keel over from power overuse. You just take baby steps and sort it out best as you can. People're there to listen, if you want them to."
"I ain't ever been that good with words," the girl said with a shrug and a half-grin. "'S why I tend t' go for doin' somethin', 's easier t' get yer point across that way. An' you sound like Rom - she said pretty much the same thing when I went home last. Gave me a right serve, she did."
"Hey. Working on stuff? That's doing. And just leaning on people without talking happens. You just wander over and lean." Alison nodded wisely, having done her fair share of that lately, she realized. And was thankful she knew how, so much. "Seems like Rom and I agree on this one." She grinned a bit, not pressing the point further mind. It had gotten through, no need to push.
"You agree on a lot of stuff, which scares the shite out of me," Amanda said, relaxing a little. "D'you mind me askin' why you don't want me t' heal you? All that stuff 'bout me aside, that is."
Alison hesitated for a moment, before looking down at her leg. "It's not just the leg that needs time to heal, I think. I need the time too. To sort things out to... know. What I need to do. And how. Completely this time, not just letting events dictate what I should be doing. I'm getting there," she smiled crookedly, remembering her talk with Lorna. "I'm getting there."
Amanda frowned, not understanding fully, but remembering what Romany had taught her - just because she could do something didn't mean she should, that sometimes it was best to let things run their own course. It hadn't made full sense to her at the time, except being another rule to remember, but she was starting to realise what the older witch had meant. "'S good, that yer gettin' there," she said, knowing how lame she sounded but unsure what else to say.
"I'm trying," Alison replied, then tilted her head, smiling a bit. "Thank you, Amanda. For listening," she clarified, letting Amanda ask or not if she wanted to know more, leaving it up to her.
A brief smile flashed across Amanda's face at the thanks. "'M learnin'," she said with another small shrug. "Did... do you want t' talk 'bout it?"
"I think I would, some. May not make much sense though..." she warned, shifting a bit on the couch, pulling back to make more room for Amanda to curl up on the other end if she wanted. "And it probably means I'll be sending you out to fetch stuff for me every now and then!"
Amanda took the offer implicit in Alison's shifting, careful not to bump the injured leg. "Doesn't have t' make sense," she said. "An' since you don't want me healin' you, I don't mind bein' yer extra set of legs. Keeps me out of trouble."
Alison gave her an amused look. "Is that possible?"
