Amanda, Charles - Saturday afternoon
Oct. 9th, 2004 02:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAfter contacting Amanda and asking to speak with her about the incident with Remy, Charles meets her in the rose garden - nice, safe neutral ground. He's less scary than she was expecting. With permission, he steps into her mind and meets a ghost of the past.
It was quiet, out here in the rose garden. A little cloudy and cool, but Amanda didn't mind that - it fitted with her mood. She felt... raw, as if her mind had been scraped bloody by the memories, the nightmares... She shuddered and tried to focus on the here and now, using the meditation techniques Romany and Strange had taught her. Here, sitting on a bench with her legs tucked up underneath her, huddled in layers of clothing, her faithful leather jacket over all like armour. Armour was good, it protected you, held everything in. She grasped at that. Wouldn't do for the X geezer to find her freaking out again. And she didn't want to incur Cain's wrath if she inadvertently destroyed the rose garden.
The chair heralded his arrival long before he came into sight, something anyone familiar with the man would have know wasn't exactly normal. Still, he soon rolled into sight, apparently keeping a wary eye on the path. "Ah, hello Amanda," he greeted her, looking at her for a moment only before looking back down again. "I don't suppose you'd know if Cain's kitten is hereabouts?" He stopped the chair once it was near, keeping a stern eye on the undergrowth.
"Um, no, hadn't seen it... It get loose?" She was a little taken aback by the whole normal conversation thing, although she appreciated it more than... actually, he would know exactly how much she appreciated it. Strange how telepathy and the like made a mess of metaphors and speech patterns.
"Mr. Marko enjoys seeing the creature stalk me," Charles informed her with perfect solemnity. "It means going outside in an Endeavour fraught with many perils for me." He kept a complete deadpan expression as he peered at the rose bushes nearby, just in case his feline opponent might stalk out at any time.
Amanda chuckled a little at the image of the diminutive cat pouncing on Charles, relaxing somewhat. "I'd offer t' defend yer honour an' all, but I sort of overdid the shieldin' spell last night. I can keep an eye out, tho' if you like..."
"Oh, I fear I am doomed." This time a small smile cracked his composure, reflected by a gleam of amusement in his eyes. "I am allergic to cats. And everyone knows what that means. Unless you are allergic as well, as which point we may both have time to flee while Mao tries to decide who to pounce upon first."
"I ain't allergic, but I'll distract him for you while you make yer escape," Amanda offered, grinning a little more naturally. "Cats tend t' like me any way. Part of the witch thing, y'know," she said solemnly, although there was a hint of teasing in her smile, and leaking from the edges of her fairly tightly-shielded mind. Her training made for good denial skills, if anything.
"And here I was going to offer to do just the same for you, in the advent the pesky feline would be as unaccommodating to you as he likes to be with me." He clasped his hands in his lap, smiling gently although a hint of regret entered his gaze. "I wish to apologize to you, if you'll allow it."
"Apologize?" Amanda look startled. "What the fu... um, what for? You didn't do nothin'."
"Exactly. I did nothing," he said, a touch of apology coloring his voice. "I was working with Cerebro last night, at the time of your unpleasant night time encounter." He did not say the name, nor would he unless she said it first. Nathan's explanation as to her condition required that, at the very minimum. "I was searching for a very unusual young man, although I'm afraid that his being a teenager makes the task somewhat arduous. Teenage boys being what they are."
"Walkin' hormones on legs?" Amanda suggested. She dated Manuel, after all - she was _well_ acquainted with the mind of the teenage boy. "It weren't yer fault. I was stupid, goin' an' talkin' t' Re... t' him like that. After the last time, I should've known better." She looked down at her hands. "It weren't his fault either. He just reminded me. Of... before."
"It is a rare thing, that which you grant us all," he murmured. This was why he ran this school, and hoped. "Forgiveness with a few simple words." He rested his hand on the arm of the chair, touching the control pad to nudge it closer to the bench, without infringing upon Amanda's personal space. "But selling yourself short in the bargain isn't fair, however. I dare say you had good intentions, when you went to speak with him."
"I dunno what I was thinkin'. We used t' be mates, an' then when I was havin' problems with the magic, he... turned on me. Couldn't handle me bein' with Manny, 'specially after what happened t' Lorna. Sometimes I don't wonder if he wasn't right, that I'm just as bad, that I use people..." Tears prickled her eyes, and she closed them for a moment, fighting for control. "You lot keep tellin' me I'm more 'n that, but 's hard t' see sometimes." Eyes still closed, she whispered. "I could've killed him. Nearly did. Just 'cause I was scared."
Charles started to speak - and paused, only for a moment, but long enough to file away that Manuel had clearly done something, that it concerned Lorna, and had been enough for one Remy Lebeau to have a serious fit over it. But this was neither here nor now, and even though he fully intended to pursue this, Amanda was his priority at the moment. "It is always hard to see the best within ourselves, when the worse is so much easier to define." The words were somberly spoken. "Perhaps... perhaps a demonstration would be for the best. Would you allow me to show you how I see you, Amanda?"
"Well, when the worst keeps poppin' up an' blowin' people up, yeah, it is hard t' see..." Amanda tried to joke it off in the old self-deprecating way, but it fell flat. Huddling a little deeper into the oversized jacket, she bit her lip, nodded. "I... trust you. You think it'll help, go ahead."
He smiled at her and finally edged the chair close enough to nearly touch the bench. "Thank you," he said. "It seems I am to be gifted twice by you, today." He held out his hand to her - not that it was necessary in the least, of course, but it was always nice to have a hand to hold, when you felt lost.
His hand was warm to her chilled fingers as she tentatively reached for it. Warm and steady - the man was like a rock, stable and calm when all around him was chaos. She wished she could be more like that.
Holding her hand comfortingly, Charles closed his eyes and smiled serenely as he extended his mind towards hers, brushing against the patterns within lightly - asking for permission before going any further.
Trying hard not to flinch at the mental contact - her mind was still a mess, under the layers of magically-induced calm, and she wasn't sure she wanted anyone else exposed to it - Amanda dropped her shields marginally, enough for him to enter the surface awareness, but not much else. #Go ahead,# she sent to him, her mental 'voice' much more confident than most headblind people - the link with Manuel had increased her learning curve exponentially.
There was a faint sound curling in the back of her mind, the tinkling of glass wind chimes, light and delicate. And then sensations and feelings flickered across her mental landscape, the reflection of herself as seen through another's mind. Autumn leaves rustling merrily in the sun, bright and cheerful, a starling diving in and out of the wind overhead. Unshakeable loyalty and a fierce need to defend, the glittering image of a knight of old atop riding a steed into battle to protect his loved ones. The warmth of a fireplace late in a chilly night, soothing and calm and speaking of home, and then the roaring of a forest fire, challenging the world to face it.
Amanda sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by what Charles had shown her, and the physical action was reflected in a flicker of her mindscape, her shields dropping further and the surface thoughts giving way to the beach that was her essential self. The sea was choppy, unsettled, the water a flat grey-green that reflected the lowering storm clouds overhead. Everything was dark, chaotic, save for the lighthouse at the far end of the beach, the link with Manuel, but even that was muted, as if she was blocking it.
Then there was a shifting in the air, something solidifying out of nothing, and a young blonde girl stood in front of the chair. Her hair, the blue of her eyes, the white cotton shift she wore, the bloodstains on the front of it... all were startlingly vivid in the darkness of Amanda's mind. "Hello," she said.
For a moment, Charles presence wavered - a shifting of shields which only lasted a few seconds, before firmly being taken in hand once more. "Hello," he replied, the image of the girl disturbingly similar to the one Jason had used to break into his mind a little over a year ago. He waited patiently for what she might have to say next, setting aside his momentary uneasiness with the ease of years of practice.
"She can't talk right now. She's feeling too much. She always feels too much." The girl looked up at him, face pale and solemn. "She forgot what happens when she lets herself feel. Daddy doesn't like it." Another flicker in the air behind the girl, a momentary glimpse of an unremarkable face, sandy hair, cold ice-blue eyes, looming over the girl. "She wants to thank you, tho'."
"I see," Charles murmured softly, nodding in understanding. The figure behind the girl was ignored, not even acknowledged by Charles in the least - giving it no importance at all. "Thank you for passing along her words to me, young lady."
While they spoke, a small kitten curled its way around the chair and peeked up at the girl curiously, while keeping out of sight in a way only cats can.
The girl frowned, unsure of both Charles' reaction, and the kitten that had suddenly appeared. This wasn't how things went. Curiosity won out, though - she crouched down on her haunches, peering back at the kitten. "Why do you all care so much about her?" she asked, tone more puzzled than accusatory. "She messes up, wrecks things. Daddy wouldn't be pleased At All."
"I am not Daddy," was the simple, unadorned reply. "And there is far more to Amanda than what you've just told me. In my very humble opinion, of course." He smiled calmly at the girl, even as the kitten perked up at the attention, trotting closer to her before stopping suddenly a few feet away. It sat down and licked its shoulder, before staring up at her, head tilting to the side.
"You're like the other one. He was here before, when Daddy... when Daddy went..." She faltered. "Daddy went away, but he's still here. It's very odd." Her eyes were still on the kitten, fascinated, her head tilt mimicking the animal's. "I like your kitty," she said at last.
"Do you now?" Charles looked pensively at her and the kitten's whiskers arched forward delicately towards the girl, and even though it was clearly wanting to go closer, it didn't quite dare yet. "Would you like to give him a name?" He paused, lips quirking. "The naming of cats is a serious thing."
"Names are important," the girl agreed. Which was precisely why she hadn't given hers yet. The other man knew, but that had been special circumstances, when everything had been turning upside down. She considered the kitten further, brow furrowed. "Machka," she said at last.
As soon as she spoke, the kitten shivered for a moment, and then hopped forward once, then another time. Carefully it rose on its hind legs, one paw resting atop her knee for balance, to touch its nose against her own in greeting.
"Well, he seems to approve." The fact that she had named the kitten 'cat', while it was patterned after another kitten named cat in Vietnamese, was somehow eerie and yet utterly appropriate.
"Machka," the girl said again, wrinkling her nose at the contact, but a smile breaking through on that thin, serious face. "Hello." Carefully she stroked its head, and was rewarded with a purr.
"Shall I leave you two to get better acquainted?" Charles asked softly. It was a good thing allergies did not translate into the mental plane unless one wiled them there, he thought. The kitten rubbed its cheek against the girl's chin, in the way all cats and kittens do.
"But I thought he was yours," the girl said, scooping the kitten up in her arms and straightening. The bloodstains on her shift disappeared, as if she didn't want the kitten's fur getting dirty.
"A cat belongs with whom it chooses," Charles replied gravely. "I believe Machka has elected to remain with you." The kitten curled up in her arms, purring loudly, occasionally reaching up to pat her cheek lightly.
"He chose me?" The girl's eyes were huge in that thin face, brightening with sudden... hope? Amanda wasn't the only one who felt, who responded to love of a kind, it seemed. The kitten patted her mouth, and she giggled. "He chose me." And with that, she vanished from the scene, leaving Charles alone on the beach.
OOC: Much kudos to Willow for the Charles sockage and for the gorgeous new icon. There are others, just need to get extra space to put them up. ;)
It was quiet, out here in the rose garden. A little cloudy and cool, but Amanda didn't mind that - it fitted with her mood. She felt... raw, as if her mind had been scraped bloody by the memories, the nightmares... She shuddered and tried to focus on the here and now, using the meditation techniques Romany and Strange had taught her. Here, sitting on a bench with her legs tucked up underneath her, huddled in layers of clothing, her faithful leather jacket over all like armour. Armour was good, it protected you, held everything in. She grasped at that. Wouldn't do for the X geezer to find her freaking out again. And she didn't want to incur Cain's wrath if she inadvertently destroyed the rose garden.
The chair heralded his arrival long before he came into sight, something anyone familiar with the man would have know wasn't exactly normal. Still, he soon rolled into sight, apparently keeping a wary eye on the path. "Ah, hello Amanda," he greeted her, looking at her for a moment only before looking back down again. "I don't suppose you'd know if Cain's kitten is hereabouts?" He stopped the chair once it was near, keeping a stern eye on the undergrowth.
"Um, no, hadn't seen it... It get loose?" She was a little taken aback by the whole normal conversation thing, although she appreciated it more than... actually, he would know exactly how much she appreciated it. Strange how telepathy and the like made a mess of metaphors and speech patterns.
"Mr. Marko enjoys seeing the creature stalk me," Charles informed her with perfect solemnity. "It means going outside in an Endeavour fraught with many perils for me." He kept a complete deadpan expression as he peered at the rose bushes nearby, just in case his feline opponent might stalk out at any time.
Amanda chuckled a little at the image of the diminutive cat pouncing on Charles, relaxing somewhat. "I'd offer t' defend yer honour an' all, but I sort of overdid the shieldin' spell last night. I can keep an eye out, tho' if you like..."
"Oh, I fear I am doomed." This time a small smile cracked his composure, reflected by a gleam of amusement in his eyes. "I am allergic to cats. And everyone knows what that means. Unless you are allergic as well, as which point we may both have time to flee while Mao tries to decide who to pounce upon first."
"I ain't allergic, but I'll distract him for you while you make yer escape," Amanda offered, grinning a little more naturally. "Cats tend t' like me any way. Part of the witch thing, y'know," she said solemnly, although there was a hint of teasing in her smile, and leaking from the edges of her fairly tightly-shielded mind. Her training made for good denial skills, if anything.
"And here I was going to offer to do just the same for you, in the advent the pesky feline would be as unaccommodating to you as he likes to be with me." He clasped his hands in his lap, smiling gently although a hint of regret entered his gaze. "I wish to apologize to you, if you'll allow it."
"Apologize?" Amanda look startled. "What the fu... um, what for? You didn't do nothin'."
"Exactly. I did nothing," he said, a touch of apology coloring his voice. "I was working with Cerebro last night, at the time of your unpleasant night time encounter." He did not say the name, nor would he unless she said it first. Nathan's explanation as to her condition required that, at the very minimum. "I was searching for a very unusual young man, although I'm afraid that his being a teenager makes the task somewhat arduous. Teenage boys being what they are."
"Walkin' hormones on legs?" Amanda suggested. She dated Manuel, after all - she was _well_ acquainted with the mind of the teenage boy. "It weren't yer fault. I was stupid, goin' an' talkin' t' Re... t' him like that. After the last time, I should've known better." She looked down at her hands. "It weren't his fault either. He just reminded me. Of... before."
"It is a rare thing, that which you grant us all," he murmured. This was why he ran this school, and hoped. "Forgiveness with a few simple words." He rested his hand on the arm of the chair, touching the control pad to nudge it closer to the bench, without infringing upon Amanda's personal space. "But selling yourself short in the bargain isn't fair, however. I dare say you had good intentions, when you went to speak with him."
"I dunno what I was thinkin'. We used t' be mates, an' then when I was havin' problems with the magic, he... turned on me. Couldn't handle me bein' with Manny, 'specially after what happened t' Lorna. Sometimes I don't wonder if he wasn't right, that I'm just as bad, that I use people..." Tears prickled her eyes, and she closed them for a moment, fighting for control. "You lot keep tellin' me I'm more 'n that, but 's hard t' see sometimes." Eyes still closed, she whispered. "I could've killed him. Nearly did. Just 'cause I was scared."
Charles started to speak - and paused, only for a moment, but long enough to file away that Manuel had clearly done something, that it concerned Lorna, and had been enough for one Remy Lebeau to have a serious fit over it. But this was neither here nor now, and even though he fully intended to pursue this, Amanda was his priority at the moment. "It is always hard to see the best within ourselves, when the worse is so much easier to define." The words were somberly spoken. "Perhaps... perhaps a demonstration would be for the best. Would you allow me to show you how I see you, Amanda?"
"Well, when the worst keeps poppin' up an' blowin' people up, yeah, it is hard t' see..." Amanda tried to joke it off in the old self-deprecating way, but it fell flat. Huddling a little deeper into the oversized jacket, she bit her lip, nodded. "I... trust you. You think it'll help, go ahead."
He smiled at her and finally edged the chair close enough to nearly touch the bench. "Thank you," he said. "It seems I am to be gifted twice by you, today." He held out his hand to her - not that it was necessary in the least, of course, but it was always nice to have a hand to hold, when you felt lost.
His hand was warm to her chilled fingers as she tentatively reached for it. Warm and steady - the man was like a rock, stable and calm when all around him was chaos. She wished she could be more like that.
Holding her hand comfortingly, Charles closed his eyes and smiled serenely as he extended his mind towards hers, brushing against the patterns within lightly - asking for permission before going any further.
Trying hard not to flinch at the mental contact - her mind was still a mess, under the layers of magically-induced calm, and she wasn't sure she wanted anyone else exposed to it - Amanda dropped her shields marginally, enough for him to enter the surface awareness, but not much else. #Go ahead,# she sent to him, her mental 'voice' much more confident than most headblind people - the link with Manuel had increased her learning curve exponentially.
There was a faint sound curling in the back of her mind, the tinkling of glass wind chimes, light and delicate. And then sensations and feelings flickered across her mental landscape, the reflection of herself as seen through another's mind. Autumn leaves rustling merrily in the sun, bright and cheerful, a starling diving in and out of the wind overhead. Unshakeable loyalty and a fierce need to defend, the glittering image of a knight of old atop riding a steed into battle to protect his loved ones. The warmth of a fireplace late in a chilly night, soothing and calm and speaking of home, and then the roaring of a forest fire, challenging the world to face it.
Amanda sucked in a breath, overwhelmed by what Charles had shown her, and the physical action was reflected in a flicker of her mindscape, her shields dropping further and the surface thoughts giving way to the beach that was her essential self. The sea was choppy, unsettled, the water a flat grey-green that reflected the lowering storm clouds overhead. Everything was dark, chaotic, save for the lighthouse at the far end of the beach, the link with Manuel, but even that was muted, as if she was blocking it.
Then there was a shifting in the air, something solidifying out of nothing, and a young blonde girl stood in front of the chair. Her hair, the blue of her eyes, the white cotton shift she wore, the bloodstains on the front of it... all were startlingly vivid in the darkness of Amanda's mind. "Hello," she said.
For a moment, Charles presence wavered - a shifting of shields which only lasted a few seconds, before firmly being taken in hand once more. "Hello," he replied, the image of the girl disturbingly similar to the one Jason had used to break into his mind a little over a year ago. He waited patiently for what she might have to say next, setting aside his momentary uneasiness with the ease of years of practice.
"She can't talk right now. She's feeling too much. She always feels too much." The girl looked up at him, face pale and solemn. "She forgot what happens when she lets herself feel. Daddy doesn't like it." Another flicker in the air behind the girl, a momentary glimpse of an unremarkable face, sandy hair, cold ice-blue eyes, looming over the girl. "She wants to thank you, tho'."
"I see," Charles murmured softly, nodding in understanding. The figure behind the girl was ignored, not even acknowledged by Charles in the least - giving it no importance at all. "Thank you for passing along her words to me, young lady."
While they spoke, a small kitten curled its way around the chair and peeked up at the girl curiously, while keeping out of sight in a way only cats can.
The girl frowned, unsure of both Charles' reaction, and the kitten that had suddenly appeared. This wasn't how things went. Curiosity won out, though - she crouched down on her haunches, peering back at the kitten. "Why do you all care so much about her?" she asked, tone more puzzled than accusatory. "She messes up, wrecks things. Daddy wouldn't be pleased At All."
"I am not Daddy," was the simple, unadorned reply. "And there is far more to Amanda than what you've just told me. In my very humble opinion, of course." He smiled calmly at the girl, even as the kitten perked up at the attention, trotting closer to her before stopping suddenly a few feet away. It sat down and licked its shoulder, before staring up at her, head tilting to the side.
"You're like the other one. He was here before, when Daddy... when Daddy went..." She faltered. "Daddy went away, but he's still here. It's very odd." Her eyes were still on the kitten, fascinated, her head tilt mimicking the animal's. "I like your kitty," she said at last.
"Do you now?" Charles looked pensively at her and the kitten's whiskers arched forward delicately towards the girl, and even though it was clearly wanting to go closer, it didn't quite dare yet. "Would you like to give him a name?" He paused, lips quirking. "The naming of cats is a serious thing."
"Names are important," the girl agreed. Which was precisely why she hadn't given hers yet. The other man knew, but that had been special circumstances, when everything had been turning upside down. She considered the kitten further, brow furrowed. "Machka," she said at last.
As soon as she spoke, the kitten shivered for a moment, and then hopped forward once, then another time. Carefully it rose on its hind legs, one paw resting atop her knee for balance, to touch its nose against her own in greeting.
"Well, he seems to approve." The fact that she had named the kitten 'cat', while it was patterned after another kitten named cat in Vietnamese, was somehow eerie and yet utterly appropriate.
"Machka," the girl said again, wrinkling her nose at the contact, but a smile breaking through on that thin, serious face. "Hello." Carefully she stroked its head, and was rewarded with a purr.
"Shall I leave you two to get better acquainted?" Charles asked softly. It was a good thing allergies did not translate into the mental plane unless one wiled them there, he thought. The kitten rubbed its cheek against the girl's chin, in the way all cats and kittens do.
"But I thought he was yours," the girl said, scooping the kitten up in her arms and straightening. The bloodstains on her shift disappeared, as if she didn't want the kitten's fur getting dirty.
"A cat belongs with whom it chooses," Charles replied gravely. "I believe Machka has elected to remain with you." The kitten curled up in her arms, purring loudly, occasionally reaching up to pat her cheek lightly.
"He chose me?" The girl's eyes were huge in that thin face, brightening with sudden... hope? Amanda wasn't the only one who felt, who responded to love of a kind, it seemed. The kitten patted her mouth, and she giggled. "He chose me." And with that, she vanished from the scene, leaving Charles alone on the beach.
OOC: Much kudos to Willow for the Charles sockage and for the gorgeous new icon. There are others, just need to get extra space to put them up. ;)
