Manuel and Xi'an Coy Manh - Flirting In The Library

[x-empath.livejournal.com]

Who: Manuel de la Rocha, Xi'an Coy Manh
Where: The Library
When: Thursday evening
What Happens: He introduces himself, they make small-talk, he's a slick little snake.




The kids were off doing something hopefully not involving property damage, the boxes were stacked neatly in her suite to be unpacked at her leisure, she was pretty sure she didn't have anywhere else to be -- finally, she had a chance to settle down from the chaos and seek out the library. She'd only got lost once, and that had led her straight to the kitchen -- a success, all things considered.

She rounded a corner and was pleased to find herself facing the library; as she'd expected, for a school this size, it was huge. "Hello, precious," she murmured, entering slowly to get the lay of the land. "Bet you need some TLC, huh?" It wasn't as if anyone was arouond to hear her talking to the library, right?

From behind a set of shelves came a liquid chuckle made up of pure 100% bottled male sex appeal. "Given how much goes on in here, a little TLC might be just what it needs." said a male voice with a strong Spanish accent. "Lots of comings and goings, desperate students trying to finish assignments, random encounters, that sort of thing."

Shan started, glancing up at the place the voice was coming from. "Oh?" she said dryly, moving forward to see if she couldn't put a face to the voice -- and a name to the face, come that. "Well, I can tell you know what you're talking about," she said, coming into view. Oh. Oh my, she thought appreciatively -- one could appreciate the aesthetics of men, especially like this one, if nothing else. Young, but cute, she decided. "I'll do my best to organise the chaos, if nothing else."

Manuel gave Shan one of his better megawatt grins. "Good luck with it." he said, casually leaning against one of the bookshelves. "I don't think that I have felt you before - you are new here, I take it?" he asked, extending his hand to her. "I am Manuel de la Rocha." he said with a little in-place bow.

She took his hand, amused by the charm and grace; not many men like these here in America, she reflected. "You're right. I'm the new librarian. Please, call me Shan," she added. "Nice to meet you, Manuel. Are you a student here, or a teacher?"

"A student, for the moment." he said, bringing her hand to his lips to brush a kiss across it before letting it go. "Shan - that's a very pretty name. You look - Burmese, perhaps? Southeast Asia, I'm sure of it."

Oh, very smooth. She grinned. "Thank you. I'm Vietnamese, actually; born in Hanoi. Came to the States when I was twelve, though, so as much American as anything. And you? From your name, I'm guessing Spanish."

"Correct." he said with a glint in his eye. "Vietnam. I've never been there. I'll try not to hold being an American against you. What brings you to Xavier's?"

"Force of will, mostly," she said cheerfully. "I finally got to apply here this summer, and Professor Xavier accepted my application, much to my relief. I've been aiming for this since I graduated, really. What about you?"

"It beat the alternative." he said. "Family trouble back home, plus a disagreement with the healthcare providers assigned to insure that I never, ever walk around as a free man again." he said casually. "So here I am. I thought I felt some other new presences around the Mansion - did you arrive with anyone?"

She nodded understandingly. "Sounds tough," she commented; she'd seen a lot of mutant kids end up in bad situations in her time. It wasn't uncommon. "But yeah, you might have heard the twins -- my little brother and sister, Leong and Nga. They've been running around getting aquainted with the place all night."

"Heard, no. I have been here for several hours. I did feel them - they're very excited." he said somewhat cryptically. "I have been trying to catch up on some of my psychology research. As I am what I am, I find that there is a great deal of misinformation and outright lies being published. I tend to file them under humor, which irritates Lorna to no end." he said with a smirk.

She smiled. "Are you a telepath, then? I know there are several here, but I'm not sure who's who or who's what yet."

"Not precisely. I'm an empath." he said, waiting to see what her reaction would be. "I deal in feelings, not thoughts."

Now that was interesting. She loved this place already. "Really? I've never met a true empath before -- that's fascinating," she said, voice warm.

"Would you like a small demonstration?" he asked with a rogueish grin. "I promise that it won't be too intense or damaging in any way."

She looked at him with interest. "So long as there's no lasting effect, certainly," she said with a grin. "I'm usually up for new experiences."

"Good to know." he said with a smile. "Let's see here, how about we try ... yes, that will do nicely." Manuel's eyes glowed red as he stretched out with his power. He took Shan's happiness to be at Xavier's and cranked it northward a few notches - keeping a careful eye out to be sure she didn't have an adverse reaction to too much pleasure. A lesson hard-learned, that.

Shan couldn't help but giggle, carried on the surge of good emotion -- what a very interesting application of a very interesting power. "Enough, enough," she laughed. "I think I get the point. Are you that good at everything to do with your power? It's pretty damn amazing."

"You haven't seen the tenth of what I can do." he said, wiping away the happiness and returning her to her natural emotional state. "Happy, sad, fear, lust - they're all mine to play with. If I may be so bold, might I assume that you too have a gift?"

"Very impressive, Manuel -- and yes, I do," Shan said, feeling slightly let down as the emotion waned. Her mood was good enough that in a moment she was fine again, and she continued obligingly. "I possess people -- technically, a telepathic surge that allows me to take over minds. Nothing too special, I'm afraid."

Manuel _blinked_. "That's very interesting." he said, trying to cover his own reaction as best he could. "I ... during a recent episode a short while ago, I found myself overriding an unconscious girl's motor nerves." he said. "Perhaps you could shed some insight into how your power works?"

"I can try, but I'm not sure myself, beyond the basics," she said apologetically. "It's a specialized kind of telepathy. I'd be happy to help you as much as I can, though, if you want me to."

"I think it could be informative. Do you only dominate thoughts, or can you guide the emotional responses of your target directly?" he asked curiously.

She had to think about that. "Just thoughts, I think -- I can hear those while I'm in, but I'm pretty sure I can't touch emotion."

"That's a shame. I can't touch thought, save for changing the underlying emotions that guide them. When I ... did what I did, the target was unconscious. I reached out, and the next thing I knew, I was looking through her eyes, moving her body. It was uncomfortable - we echoed each other's injuries for a few days afterwords. I am also very rough on the female voicebox - for some reason, I spoke with my voice through her body." Manuel mused. "We can explore it more fully later, I think. I wouldn't dream of trying to overwhelm you with it now."

Shan frowned. "That's not been my experience," she said, "but certainly something I'd be happy to help you with. Sounds like it must have been pretty rough on both of you."

"It was extremely unpleasant." he said, in the Understatement Of A Lifetime. "Is there anything I can help you with now that you are here? I am good with children - being able to sense their emotional states, or calm them psionically, usually goes fairly far."

"If you like them, they'll like you," Shan said with a grin. "They're pretty good kids, all things considered. I think I'm all set, though, thanks anyway -- I was just checking the library out to make sure it hadn't suffered meteor damage or anything before starting in tomorrow."

Manuel made a very great show out of looking around. "No, no meteors that I can see, unless Sam has been practicing his landings again." he chuckled. "I should go myself - I've been holed up in here too long. Are you hungry? I could stand to get some food, and I'd enjoy the company..." he said with a gentle smile.

She smiled at him, considering. "I could use some food, too -- it's been a long day," she admitted. "Point the way?"

"Certainly. If you will follow me?" he said, then swayed past Shan to lead her to the Kitchen.