Amanda, Manuel - Friday evening.
Oct. 8th, 2004 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsWhile Nate and Madelyn are dealing with Remy after this scene, Manuel tracks down one very freaked-out witch. Things get ugly. Props to Manuel for being Caring Boyfriend Guy.
She was terrified. Utterly and completely, worse even than Columbia. It was more... personal somehow. And it was difficult to push it aside long enough to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, especially when she seemed on the move... Finally Manuel used his brain as much as his powers and remembered there was one place Amanda usually went to when she needed to feel safe, and he wasn't there. So he returned to his suite, to find the door to his room open (when he knew he'd closed it) but the lights still off.
Manuel stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, plunging his bedroom into darkness. "Amanda?" he asked, closing his now-mostly-useless eyes and concentrated on _feeling_ the room.
There was a muffled whimper, and the darkened room suddenly flared with blueish light - Amanda's shielding spell. She was curled in a ball in the corner, knees pulled up and head buried in her arms, trying to make herself as small as possible, shaking violently all the while.
"Amanda?" he said, kneeling down in front of her shielding-spell. "Talk to me, love. You're blocking me out. What's got you so spooked?" he asked her in an a nonthreatening manner as he possibly could.
"Don't touch me!" she cried out, and the spell flared brighter, walling off her corner. "I can't... don't... not any more, please Rack, don't hurt me any more..."
Manuel blinked. "I am not Rack." he said, offended. "I do not like that comparison." Clearly, Amanda was fairly well gone and only drastic measures would bring her back. "Look at me, love. Look into my eyes." he said as his eyes began to glow red, and he slowly, carefully insinuated his way past the block she had put onto their bond.
She felt his power, and tried to fight it, but she'd already done enough magic - there was a stabbing pain in her forehead, and the shield wobbled and dimmed. Blood was running from her nose as she looked up, blinking past the tears and seeming to realise he was there. "Manny?" she whispered faintly, the spell dropping away.
"I'm here." he said, moving up close to her to wrap her in his arms. "I'm right here." he repeated, just concentrating on being supportive for her. She would tell him what was bothering her in her own time. He didn't care about the blood from her nose dripping onto his silk shirt. He didn't care that she was rank with sweat and fear.
She flinched slightly at the touch, then collapsed into him, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching at him like she was afraid he'd disappear. And not just physically - in her terror she latched onto the link, projecting a jumble of emotions and images, half memories, half nightmarish imaginings. Remy's face overlaid with Rack's as he slammed her against the wall, visions of fire and blood and death...
Manuel nearly recoiled at the intensity of the emotions he was being fed. He didn't take anything away from Amanda, but instead projected as much comfort and calm as he could find within him into her. "Shhhh." he said as he rocked very slightly back and forth with his hug.
Gradually, under both his physical and emotional touch, Amanda's hysteria calmed to the point she could choke out words, hampered by hiccoughing sobs and the almost-violent shaking. "I hurt him..." she managed. "He... scared me... tried t' hurt me... and I... I'm so sorry, I didn't want... t' hurt anyone else... I didn't..."
"He hurt you?" Manuel asked with deadly calm. "Or, at the least, he tried to? We need to tell someone, Amanda. We need to tell someone _right now_. I do not want to confront him, not until I am absolutely sure you are safe."
The suggestion panicked the already-hysterical witch, and she tightened her hold on him, nails digging into his arms. "We can't tell! I hurt him, I used the magic t' hurt him, an' he'll be angry, Rack'll be so angry, he'll take me away," she babbled, not really grounded in any kind of reality now. "Don't leave me, please Manny, I dunno what I'll do, I can't stop, I keep hurtin' people..." The sobbing redoubled, and Amanda let go of Manuel, huddling into herself again, as if that was the only way she could stop herself physically falling apart.
Manuel clung to Amanda and projected more reassurance at her. "Shhhh. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. Just calm down, that's it," he said, using his power for the first time more like a soothing wave than an angry fist. "Just slow down, breathe, that's it..." he droned at her, to soothe her jangled nerves.
The more subtle use of his power took time, but it was far more effective than forcing a change would have been - gradually the sheer panic receded, although the shaking remained, echoing the emotional turmoil coming down the link. Eventually Manuel was able to get her off the floor and onto the bed - a difficult process, as she flinched at any sudden move, and then refused to let go of him - but she still wasn't making a lot of sense, babbling about how she had hurt someone and how she couldn't tell anyone or Rack would take her away. Then she seemed to register the blood on his shirt for the first time, and a look of horror crossed her face.
"Oh fuck, I didn't hurt you, did I? I didn't mean to, I wouldn't, not you, not ever..." She seemed completely oblivious to the fact the blood was hers, clinging desperately to Manuel as if she feared he'd leave her then and there.
Manuel shucked the shirt. "That old thing? That was your blood, not mine. You didn't hurt me. You could never hurt me. You know that I feel that it's true," Manuel reassured, sliding into bed next to the traumatized wytch. "Just relax. Concentrate on your breathing. I know Strange has taught you how to calm your mind. Just breathe, love. Breathe. In and out, nice and slow..." he said, letting his voice drone on like a hypnotist's.
"Mine?" Amanda touched shaking fingers to her nose, and shuddered as they came away bloody. More images leaked down the link, a blond little girl sitting on the edge of a bathtub in an anonymously plain bathroom, trying to stem a nosebleed with a wad of toilet paper, the blood trickling down between her fingers to splash on the floor, violently red on the white tile, pain burning like fire along nerves never meant to channel so much power so soon... She gulped, tasting blood in the back of her throat, on her tongue, and managed to lean over the edge of the bed before the retching started, throwing up helplessly onto Manuel's floor - it was a small mercy that she hadn't eaten since lunch yet and there wasn't much there to come up.
Manuel flinched at the torrent of images, but he concentrated on projecting acceptance and love through their link. He could always make her clean his floor later. Right now he had more important things to worry about. "Just calm down, Amanda. Breathe - in through the nose, out through the mouth." Silently, he blessed his memory of Marie for showing him the bare basics of meditation.
The link was a lifeline and she clung to it with everything she had, even as her body rebelled. Slowly his words registered, and she clawed her way back into some semblance of control, focussing on her breathing as he was telling her to, as Strange and Rom had taught her. The retching eased, although the shaking didn't, and she rolled away from the edge of the bed and curled into him, practically burrowing into him. "Don't leave me," she managed to whisper, her voice cracked and raw from sobbing. "Don't let him have me, he's there, in my head, an' 'm scared, scared I'll do what he wants." It wasn't difficult not to know who 'he' was - the memories she was leaking down the link at him were all Rack now.
Manuel cursed, once again, that he was no telepath. But he did the best that he could - summoning forth the feelings of SAFE and CALM and LOVED that worked so well at getting her through her addictions. "I'm not going anywhere." he said calmly. "Do you want something to drink, wash that nasty out of your mouth?" he asked her as he patted her hand.
Amanda's grip tightened on his hand at the thought of him moving even as far as the bathroom, the panic surging again briefly despite the warm blanket of emotions he was projecting at her. "No. Keep me safe," she murmured tiredly, eyes heavy with crying and exhaustion, body finally relaxing from the defensive huddle. "Stay with me, don't let... anythin' happen..." She was trembling still from the combination of stress and fear and shock.
"I would never let anything happen to you." he said, stroking her hair and projecting his happythoughts until she finally passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion. He himself stayed awake for a good long while, thinking things through.
She was terrified. Utterly and completely, worse even than Columbia. It was more... personal somehow. And it was difficult to push it aside long enough to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from, especially when she seemed on the move... Finally Manuel used his brain as much as his powers and remembered there was one place Amanda usually went to when she needed to feel safe, and he wasn't there. So he returned to his suite, to find the door to his room open (when he knew he'd closed it) but the lights still off.
Manuel stepped into his room and closed the door behind him, plunging his bedroom into darkness. "Amanda?" he asked, closing his now-mostly-useless eyes and concentrated on _feeling_ the room.
There was a muffled whimper, and the darkened room suddenly flared with blueish light - Amanda's shielding spell. She was curled in a ball in the corner, knees pulled up and head buried in her arms, trying to make herself as small as possible, shaking violently all the while.
"Amanda?" he said, kneeling down in front of her shielding-spell. "Talk to me, love. You're blocking me out. What's got you so spooked?" he asked her in an a nonthreatening manner as he possibly could.
"Don't touch me!" she cried out, and the spell flared brighter, walling off her corner. "I can't... don't... not any more, please Rack, don't hurt me any more..."
Manuel blinked. "I am not Rack." he said, offended. "I do not like that comparison." Clearly, Amanda was fairly well gone and only drastic measures would bring her back. "Look at me, love. Look into my eyes." he said as his eyes began to glow red, and he slowly, carefully insinuated his way past the block she had put onto their bond.
She felt his power, and tried to fight it, but she'd already done enough magic - there was a stabbing pain in her forehead, and the shield wobbled and dimmed. Blood was running from her nose as she looked up, blinking past the tears and seeming to realise he was there. "Manny?" she whispered faintly, the spell dropping away.
"I'm here." he said, moving up close to her to wrap her in his arms. "I'm right here." he repeated, just concentrating on being supportive for her. She would tell him what was bothering her in her own time. He didn't care about the blood from her nose dripping onto his silk shirt. He didn't care that she was rank with sweat and fear.
She flinched slightly at the touch, then collapsed into him, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching at him like she was afraid he'd disappear. And not just physically - in her terror she latched onto the link, projecting a jumble of emotions and images, half memories, half nightmarish imaginings. Remy's face overlaid with Rack's as he slammed her against the wall, visions of fire and blood and death...
Manuel nearly recoiled at the intensity of the emotions he was being fed. He didn't take anything away from Amanda, but instead projected as much comfort and calm as he could find within him into her. "Shhhh." he said as he rocked very slightly back and forth with his hug.
Gradually, under both his physical and emotional touch, Amanda's hysteria calmed to the point she could choke out words, hampered by hiccoughing sobs and the almost-violent shaking. "I hurt him..." she managed. "He... scared me... tried t' hurt me... and I... I'm so sorry, I didn't want... t' hurt anyone else... I didn't..."
"He hurt you?" Manuel asked with deadly calm. "Or, at the least, he tried to? We need to tell someone, Amanda. We need to tell someone _right now_. I do not want to confront him, not until I am absolutely sure you are safe."
The suggestion panicked the already-hysterical witch, and she tightened her hold on him, nails digging into his arms. "We can't tell! I hurt him, I used the magic t' hurt him, an' he'll be angry, Rack'll be so angry, he'll take me away," she babbled, not really grounded in any kind of reality now. "Don't leave me, please Manny, I dunno what I'll do, I can't stop, I keep hurtin' people..." The sobbing redoubled, and Amanda let go of Manuel, huddling into herself again, as if that was the only way she could stop herself physically falling apart.
Manuel clung to Amanda and projected more reassurance at her. "Shhhh. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. Just calm down, that's it," he said, using his power for the first time more like a soothing wave than an angry fist. "Just slow down, breathe, that's it..." he droned at her, to soothe her jangled nerves.
The more subtle use of his power took time, but it was far more effective than forcing a change would have been - gradually the sheer panic receded, although the shaking remained, echoing the emotional turmoil coming down the link. Eventually Manuel was able to get her off the floor and onto the bed - a difficult process, as she flinched at any sudden move, and then refused to let go of him - but she still wasn't making a lot of sense, babbling about how she had hurt someone and how she couldn't tell anyone or Rack would take her away. Then she seemed to register the blood on his shirt for the first time, and a look of horror crossed her face.
"Oh fuck, I didn't hurt you, did I? I didn't mean to, I wouldn't, not you, not ever..." She seemed completely oblivious to the fact the blood was hers, clinging desperately to Manuel as if she feared he'd leave her then and there.
Manuel shucked the shirt. "That old thing? That was your blood, not mine. You didn't hurt me. You could never hurt me. You know that I feel that it's true," Manuel reassured, sliding into bed next to the traumatized wytch. "Just relax. Concentrate on your breathing. I know Strange has taught you how to calm your mind. Just breathe, love. Breathe. In and out, nice and slow..." he said, letting his voice drone on like a hypnotist's.
"Mine?" Amanda touched shaking fingers to her nose, and shuddered as they came away bloody. More images leaked down the link, a blond little girl sitting on the edge of a bathtub in an anonymously plain bathroom, trying to stem a nosebleed with a wad of toilet paper, the blood trickling down between her fingers to splash on the floor, violently red on the white tile, pain burning like fire along nerves never meant to channel so much power so soon... She gulped, tasting blood in the back of her throat, on her tongue, and managed to lean over the edge of the bed before the retching started, throwing up helplessly onto Manuel's floor - it was a small mercy that she hadn't eaten since lunch yet and there wasn't much there to come up.
Manuel flinched at the torrent of images, but he concentrated on projecting acceptance and love through their link. He could always make her clean his floor later. Right now he had more important things to worry about. "Just calm down, Amanda. Breathe - in through the nose, out through the mouth." Silently, he blessed his memory of Marie for showing him the bare basics of meditation.
The link was a lifeline and she clung to it with everything she had, even as her body rebelled. Slowly his words registered, and she clawed her way back into some semblance of control, focussing on her breathing as he was telling her to, as Strange and Rom had taught her. The retching eased, although the shaking didn't, and she rolled away from the edge of the bed and curled into him, practically burrowing into him. "Don't leave me," she managed to whisper, her voice cracked and raw from sobbing. "Don't let him have me, he's there, in my head, an' 'm scared, scared I'll do what he wants." It wasn't difficult not to know who 'he' was - the memories she was leaking down the link at him were all Rack now.
Manuel cursed, once again, that he was no telepath. But he did the best that he could - summoning forth the feelings of SAFE and CALM and LOVED that worked so well at getting her through her addictions. "I'm not going anywhere." he said calmly. "Do you want something to drink, wash that nasty out of your mouth?" he asked her as he patted her hand.
Amanda's grip tightened on his hand at the thought of him moving even as far as the bathroom, the panic surging again briefly despite the warm blanket of emotions he was projecting at her. "No. Keep me safe," she murmured tiredly, eyes heavy with crying and exhaustion, body finally relaxing from the defensive huddle. "Stay with me, don't let... anythin' happen..." She was trembling still from the combination of stress and fear and shock.
"I would never let anything happen to you." he said, stroking her hair and projecting his happythoughts until she finally passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion. He himself stayed awake for a good long while, thinking things through.
