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xp_logs2004-10-18 06:18 pm
x-bamf.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2004-10-18 06:18 pm
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Kurt and Amanda, Monday after classes
Kurt happens across Amanda renewing the protection spell on the house, and they talk about wards, Illyana, and their respective scars.
"This doorstep with its welcome ways, be guarded by a shield of rays
To guard this home by day and night, protect it with a door of white
Let nothing enter that is not good, and those within do as they would
The aura left by herb and spell will safely seal this entrance well."
Amanda let the handful of crushed herbs drift onto the doorstep, concentrating on the spell. She was renewing the protection spell on the mansion - over time, spells not bound in some kind of physical object tended to degrade, and this wasn't one she was going to let fall by the wayside. A band of tightness across her forehead told her she was pushing it just a little too hard, with the wards on her room needing daily recharging, and Strange's homework, she had used a bit too much magic for one day. Still, she was nearly done. Rubbing at her head a little, she picked up the earthernware bowl she used for this sort of thing, and headed for the next door, one of the French doors opening out onto the pool deck.
She was in the process of renewing the spell on that door when Kurt happened to pass by, heading in the general direction of the woods, but not in any particular hurry to get there.
Seeing what she was doing, he slowed down still further, interested by the mechanics of it - he knew what was going on, of course, all the staff did, but he wanted to see how she went about it.
One more and she could go nap for an hour or two before attempting the rest of her homework... Amanda squared her shoulders and moved to the other door. As the last of the herbs hit the sill, a white light sprang up, expanding to envelope the whole house before fading from sight. With a grateful sigh, Amanda sank down on one of the poolside chairs. Just a minute to recharge enough to go back in, and she'd be fine. The amulet around her neck was doing its usual glowy thing, and she shoved it underneath her shirt, irritated. Then she sat more upright, peering around her. Someone was watching her, she could feel it, but she couldn't see who...
Not wanting to alarm her, Kurt moved forward to make his presence known before she decided there must be an intruder. "Amanda. I did not wish to disturb you in your work. I am sorry if I frightened you."
"You an' the rest of the place," she admitted. "'M still a bit jumpy." Realising who she was talking to, she visibly straightened, pulling on the tough girl persona she used for people who weren't 'hers'. "Just renewin' the protection spell. After Illyana's little friends came t' call, figured it needed doin'."
He nodded quietly, not fazed by the tough girl persona. "There can be no such thing as too much security. The staff are all glad of what you can contribute to it."
"Someone has to." Amanda's tone was a little bitter. "After all, I've been warnin' people 'bout Illyana for weeks, but hey, 's just me bein' paranoid."
"Longer than that, as I remember it", Kurt answered pensively. "I have been reading the journals, even if I have not always contributed to the discussions. I will agree that there is more to Illyana than meets the eye, and questions that must be asked and will be, when she recovers, but remember that we do not know the full truth, yet."
"I get it, wait until she's better. But things have a habit of bein' swept under the carpet in this place. Had you noticed that too, in yer readin' the journals?" Amanda retorted a little defensively. She didn't need reminding that she'd effectively bullied a critically-injured girl. "We get told it's taken care of, but stuff keeps happenin'."
"It is very hard to predict all the possibilities", Kurt replied. "We take care of the risks we are aware of - and can you honestly tell me that whatever your suspicions about Illyana, you would have expected a full-scale demon attack?"
"Depends what the truth is. If she _is_ the Queen of Limbo now, then yeah, I would've expected somethin' from there. I've learned enough history t' know a ruler who tries t' rule from elsewhere stands t' face the odd rebellion. An' magic's funny that way - it tends t' need the spillin' of blood t' make things bind." At the word 'bind', she grimaced a little. "Know that one first hand. Besides, power's power. She has it, it comes from there, 's only fittin' the place would want it back in one way or another. I did the best I could, with the protection spell, but I ain't got the oomph t' cast it further than the house. I _tried_, all right?" The last came out a lot less angry and a lot more hurt than she'd meant - thinking of what could have happened to Illyana in that place only reminded her again that she'd failed to save the child when she had the chance. And now it was probably too late.
Kurt nodded calmly. "Of course. No one can or should ask more of you than your best, Amanda... even yourself."
"Even when it ain't enough?" It slipped out before she could stop it, and she continued on, trying to cover it over. "Still don't change anythin' any way. I can't shield against what's been let into the house. So I s'pose when Illyana turns out t' be part demon or somethin', the Prof will just sit her down an' have a nice chat about how we don't sacrifice our classmates here."
"Illyana", Kurt reminded her, "has been here for many months since her abduction, and I have seen no sign that she wishes to sacrifice her classmates. If she intended to, I would have thought she would do so before the truth began to be revealed, rather than after."
"That's true enough, I s'pose," Amanda admitted grudgingly. It was the flaw in her theory, she had to admit; Illyana had done nothing but do her best to ingratiate herself with the school, act the part of somewhat screwed-up but trying Xavier's student. "Maybe she's waitin' for the right time. Conjunction of planets or somethin'. Right combination an' boom, she's choppin' out Kitty's heart an' feedin' it t' some demon of the netherworld." Okay, possibly a bit over-dramatic, but she was trying to make a point here. The girl was demon-tainted. Demons weren't to be fooled with. "Besides, who's t' say that she won't slip an' let her demon hordes loose on us by accident? We only managed that last lot 'cause there weren't that many."
Kurt smiled wryly. "Unless Illyana has access to power dampeners, I think she would find it hard to chop out Kitty's heart. But I know, that was simply an example. These things, I admit, are possible, as most things are. I do not believe she is likely to sacrifice anyone from this school - the second possibility is somewhat more likely, but as it has happened before, we are now forewarned. And again, we do not know all the circumstances - it is possible it requires more power than Illyana or her demons have to come through in any numbers. After all, if a large number of them could come through, I would have expected them to send more last time, to achieve their aim."
"Stop bein' so bloody reasonable at me," Amanda grumbled. "Yer ruinin' a perfectly good paranoia."
Kurt chuckled, not unkindly. "I apologise. But I would hate to see you worrying yourself unnecessarily - it is true that "innocent" is probably the wrong word for whatever explanation Illyana may provide, but whatever the truth, she is not in a position to do very many of the things you are afraid of, at present."
"Yeah, well, I ain't exactly reasonable when it comes t' demons. Too many reasons of me own that're nothin' t' do with Illyana or whatever the hell happened to her in that place." Amanda rubbed her head fretfully again, the headache making itself felt, fuelled by the tension in her shoulders. "I was doin' all right there for a while, too. Then October happened."
Kurt nodded. "This month - and several before it - would have been enough to send anybody reeling. And I understand the last two weeks or so have been particularly hard on you, your trip to Istanbul notwithstanding."
"It's been a bloody picnic all right," Amanda said with one of those shrugs. The ones that meant she was trying to, well, shrug off something. "But don't worry, I ain't about t' do a Lee an' go four days without sleep. 'M havin' nightmares, sure enough, but I have me potions, an' if those don't work, I do talk t' Moira an' all."
Kurt noticed her trying to make light of it, but he didn't exactly know her well enough to press the point, so he just filed that away for reference.
"I am glad - one student driving herself into sleep-deprivation psychosis is quite enough for one week. Do you also see Dr. Samson?"
She nodded. "Have to - we're still workin' on me addictive personality disorder an' the whole self-esteem issue. 'Course, I keep tellin' him I'd have much better self esteem if I didn't have t' cover up whenever I go out in public, but hey, he's the shrink, not me."
Kurt nodded, aware of what she meant - the scars had been mentioned on the journals, after all. "Is there nothing that can be done to help with that particular problem?"
"No," she said shortly. She shot him a look. "Unlike some people, I didn't get the choice, an' since they're mystical scars, they can't be removed. Besides, I ain't got enough unmarked skin t' go the skingraftin' route." She looked away again. "Yer God should've told you that part before you went about carvin' yerself up in His name."
Kurt just looked at her calmly, tail flicking slightly around his legs. "As you say, it was my choice to bear my scars. In my own case, I would not remove them, even if it were possible."
"Well, bully for you, then." Amanda got up - she was still tired, but sitting here arguing at a damnably calm Kurt Wagner wasn't helping at all. "I've still got some homework t' do. I'll see you later." Much later.
He nodded a farewell. "Until then."
"This doorstep with its welcome ways, be guarded by a shield of rays
To guard this home by day and night, protect it with a door of white
Let nothing enter that is not good, and those within do as they would
The aura left by herb and spell will safely seal this entrance well."
Amanda let the handful of crushed herbs drift onto the doorstep, concentrating on the spell. She was renewing the protection spell on the mansion - over time, spells not bound in some kind of physical object tended to degrade, and this wasn't one she was going to let fall by the wayside. A band of tightness across her forehead told her she was pushing it just a little too hard, with the wards on her room needing daily recharging, and Strange's homework, she had used a bit too much magic for one day. Still, she was nearly done. Rubbing at her head a little, she picked up the earthernware bowl she used for this sort of thing, and headed for the next door, one of the French doors opening out onto the pool deck.
She was in the process of renewing the spell on that door when Kurt happened to pass by, heading in the general direction of the woods, but not in any particular hurry to get there.
Seeing what she was doing, he slowed down still further, interested by the mechanics of it - he knew what was going on, of course, all the staff did, but he wanted to see how she went about it.
One more and she could go nap for an hour or two before attempting the rest of her homework... Amanda squared her shoulders and moved to the other door. As the last of the herbs hit the sill, a white light sprang up, expanding to envelope the whole house before fading from sight. With a grateful sigh, Amanda sank down on one of the poolside chairs. Just a minute to recharge enough to go back in, and she'd be fine. The amulet around her neck was doing its usual glowy thing, and she shoved it underneath her shirt, irritated. Then she sat more upright, peering around her. Someone was watching her, she could feel it, but she couldn't see who...
Not wanting to alarm her, Kurt moved forward to make his presence known before she decided there must be an intruder. "Amanda. I did not wish to disturb you in your work. I am sorry if I frightened you."
"You an' the rest of the place," she admitted. "'M still a bit jumpy." Realising who she was talking to, she visibly straightened, pulling on the tough girl persona she used for people who weren't 'hers'. "Just renewin' the protection spell. After Illyana's little friends came t' call, figured it needed doin'."
He nodded quietly, not fazed by the tough girl persona. "There can be no such thing as too much security. The staff are all glad of what you can contribute to it."
"Someone has to." Amanda's tone was a little bitter. "After all, I've been warnin' people 'bout Illyana for weeks, but hey, 's just me bein' paranoid."
"Longer than that, as I remember it", Kurt answered pensively. "I have been reading the journals, even if I have not always contributed to the discussions. I will agree that there is more to Illyana than meets the eye, and questions that must be asked and will be, when she recovers, but remember that we do not know the full truth, yet."
"I get it, wait until she's better. But things have a habit of bein' swept under the carpet in this place. Had you noticed that too, in yer readin' the journals?" Amanda retorted a little defensively. She didn't need reminding that she'd effectively bullied a critically-injured girl. "We get told it's taken care of, but stuff keeps happenin'."
"It is very hard to predict all the possibilities", Kurt replied. "We take care of the risks we are aware of - and can you honestly tell me that whatever your suspicions about Illyana, you would have expected a full-scale demon attack?"
"Depends what the truth is. If she _is_ the Queen of Limbo now, then yeah, I would've expected somethin' from there. I've learned enough history t' know a ruler who tries t' rule from elsewhere stands t' face the odd rebellion. An' magic's funny that way - it tends t' need the spillin' of blood t' make things bind." At the word 'bind', she grimaced a little. "Know that one first hand. Besides, power's power. She has it, it comes from there, 's only fittin' the place would want it back in one way or another. I did the best I could, with the protection spell, but I ain't got the oomph t' cast it further than the house. I _tried_, all right?" The last came out a lot less angry and a lot more hurt than she'd meant - thinking of what could have happened to Illyana in that place only reminded her again that she'd failed to save the child when she had the chance. And now it was probably too late.
Kurt nodded calmly. "Of course. No one can or should ask more of you than your best, Amanda... even yourself."
"Even when it ain't enough?" It slipped out before she could stop it, and she continued on, trying to cover it over. "Still don't change anythin' any way. I can't shield against what's been let into the house. So I s'pose when Illyana turns out t' be part demon or somethin', the Prof will just sit her down an' have a nice chat about how we don't sacrifice our classmates here."
"Illyana", Kurt reminded her, "has been here for many months since her abduction, and I have seen no sign that she wishes to sacrifice her classmates. If she intended to, I would have thought she would do so before the truth began to be revealed, rather than after."
"That's true enough, I s'pose," Amanda admitted grudgingly. It was the flaw in her theory, she had to admit; Illyana had done nothing but do her best to ingratiate herself with the school, act the part of somewhat screwed-up but trying Xavier's student. "Maybe she's waitin' for the right time. Conjunction of planets or somethin'. Right combination an' boom, she's choppin' out Kitty's heart an' feedin' it t' some demon of the netherworld." Okay, possibly a bit over-dramatic, but she was trying to make a point here. The girl was demon-tainted. Demons weren't to be fooled with. "Besides, who's t' say that she won't slip an' let her demon hordes loose on us by accident? We only managed that last lot 'cause there weren't that many."
Kurt smiled wryly. "Unless Illyana has access to power dampeners, I think she would find it hard to chop out Kitty's heart. But I know, that was simply an example. These things, I admit, are possible, as most things are. I do not believe she is likely to sacrifice anyone from this school - the second possibility is somewhat more likely, but as it has happened before, we are now forewarned. And again, we do not know all the circumstances - it is possible it requires more power than Illyana or her demons have to come through in any numbers. After all, if a large number of them could come through, I would have expected them to send more last time, to achieve their aim."
"Stop bein' so bloody reasonable at me," Amanda grumbled. "Yer ruinin' a perfectly good paranoia."
Kurt chuckled, not unkindly. "I apologise. But I would hate to see you worrying yourself unnecessarily - it is true that "innocent" is probably the wrong word for whatever explanation Illyana may provide, but whatever the truth, she is not in a position to do very many of the things you are afraid of, at present."
"Yeah, well, I ain't exactly reasonable when it comes t' demons. Too many reasons of me own that're nothin' t' do with Illyana or whatever the hell happened to her in that place." Amanda rubbed her head fretfully again, the headache making itself felt, fuelled by the tension in her shoulders. "I was doin' all right there for a while, too. Then October happened."
Kurt nodded. "This month - and several before it - would have been enough to send anybody reeling. And I understand the last two weeks or so have been particularly hard on you, your trip to Istanbul notwithstanding."
"It's been a bloody picnic all right," Amanda said with one of those shrugs. The ones that meant she was trying to, well, shrug off something. "But don't worry, I ain't about t' do a Lee an' go four days without sleep. 'M havin' nightmares, sure enough, but I have me potions, an' if those don't work, I do talk t' Moira an' all."
Kurt noticed her trying to make light of it, but he didn't exactly know her well enough to press the point, so he just filed that away for reference.
"I am glad - one student driving herself into sleep-deprivation psychosis is quite enough for one week. Do you also see Dr. Samson?"
She nodded. "Have to - we're still workin' on me addictive personality disorder an' the whole self-esteem issue. 'Course, I keep tellin' him I'd have much better self esteem if I didn't have t' cover up whenever I go out in public, but hey, he's the shrink, not me."
Kurt nodded, aware of what she meant - the scars had been mentioned on the journals, after all. "Is there nothing that can be done to help with that particular problem?"
"No," she said shortly. She shot him a look. "Unlike some people, I didn't get the choice, an' since they're mystical scars, they can't be removed. Besides, I ain't got enough unmarked skin t' go the skingraftin' route." She looked away again. "Yer God should've told you that part before you went about carvin' yerself up in His name."
Kurt just looked at her calmly, tail flicking slightly around his legs. "As you say, it was my choice to bear my scars. In my own case, I would not remove them, even if it were possible."
"Well, bully for you, then." Amanda got up - she was still tired, but sitting here arguing at a damnably calm Kurt Wagner wasn't helping at all. "I've still got some homework t' do. I'll see you later." Much later.
He nodded a farewell. "Until then."