xp_logs | Amanda, Nathan - Monday afternoon

Amanda arrives at Muir. It makes for a very cute scene with Nathan.

Nathan had always loved the castle library. Not just because it had a truly impressive number of books in it - the shelves went all the way up the walls, and the little wheeled ladders one used to get to the upper shelves were as much fun as the day years ago that he and Moira had attempted to race with them - but because of the atmosphere. Right now, he was comfortably ensconced in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, with a cup of coffee and a leather-bound book of Celtic mythology. This is the life... He turned the page and then paused, looking up with a slow smile as he sensed a very distinctive presence coming down the hall outside the library's big double doors.

"Yer'd better be leadin' me the right way this time, you little bugger," Amanda muttered under her breath to the bright green firefly-light that was her location spell. Too impatient to wait for Moira or Rory to give her directions, she'd pretty much dumped her bags in the hall and gone in search of Nathan, still enveloped in the various layers she'd needed on the ferry from the mainland. Sleet was still dripping off her, and she'd pulled the red and blue-trimmed knit cap more firmly down over her ears since she couldn't feel them at all. The little light bounced a little, as if offended, and paused outside a set of heavy wooden doors - if a spell could poke out its tongue triumphantly, this one would be.

'Hearing' Amanda lecturing her were-light, Nathan chuckled and closed the book, setting it aside carefully. One of the doors opened, and he grinned as she poked her head in inquisitively. "That," he said, very firmly, "is a monumentally stupid-looking hat, mi'caehla."

"Clarice made it for Christmas - I wore it just for you," she said with a huge smile. Because Nathan had to be a good fifteen feet away, and he'd seen the hat, which meant that his vision was back in some form, at least, just like she'd known it would. Well, felt it would - it was still good to be proven right, when so often she wasn't. Pausing only to dump the wet coat, she crossed the room and pounced on him before he could get up, hugging him tightly. "Long time, no see," she joked.

Nathan hugged her back firmly. "You're wet," he said, letting her go with a helpless smile and watching as she perched on the arm of the chair, beaming at him. He glanced over at the tall, narrow windows, making a thoughtful noise as he saw the sleet still falling. "I really hope the weather gets better. It's been just miserable the last couple of days." He looked back at her and laughed. "Not that Moira and I have minded all that much. Gave us the excuse to stay put and not do much."

"Or a hell of a lot, just nothin' you can talk about, eh?" Amanda teased, carefully removing the cap and scarf - she was reducing the number of piercings, but the last thing she wanted to do was speed up the process with an ill-advised yank. "'S bloody freezin' out there - typical Scotland. Good thing Manuel stopped in London, we'd still be thawin' him out."

Nathan tilted his head a little as she moved. "Try and stay more or less in front of me," he said lightly. "My peripheral vision's still not quite what it should be. But I'm glad both you and Manuel survived the Wisdom family Christmas. Was it suitably educational?"

She nodded, switching from the arm of the chair to dragging over a footstool and perching on that instead. Besides, she was wet - she'd have to go change soon so she didn't catch a chill, although that was unlikely after a couple of Homily's potions. Her immune system was probably super-charged at the moment. "It was... interestin'. I think Manuel thinks we're all mad, but it was still a bit of a laugh. Pete an' Rom's dad is absolutely barkin', but I think he actually liked havin' people around. In that whole not admittin' it at all way Pete has." She frowned a little. "Somethin's up with Manuel - Rom took him 'round t' Homily's a day or two before Christmas, an' he's been there since. Somethin' t' do with what happened at the Hellfire Club."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, trying to think through the implications of that. "This is probably a good thing," he offered finally. "If Romany and Homily are doing something to help him, I mean. All of the focus has been on Manuel's physical and psychic condition, since what happened... maybe he needs a little magical attention as well."

She nodded, her _expression still faintly worried. She trusted Romany with her life - literally, really - but it was hard to sit back and accept a 'we'll take care of it' without much more than that. "Feels like I should have picked it up," she admitted. "Only, there's somethin' gettin' in the way. Like somethin' doesn't want me t' know what's wrong." She shrugged off the nagging feeling - it couldn't be that important. "But if there is somethin', they'll get it - Homily an' her daughter Aspen are both Healers, an' Rom's makin' up the third."

"Did Romany give you a once-over, too?" Nathan asked very seriously. It wasn't that he didn't trust Strange, but a second opinion was always a good thing.

She grinned and rolled her eyes a little. "Yeah, she did. Homily got her chance too - dosed me up with a couple of her potions and gave me the lecture on overdoin' the magic - somethin' 'bout my energies bein' all out of whack." Enough about her - she grinned up at Nathan. "So, how long has the sight been back? An' how's the mum t' be doin'? I've got some stuff from Rom an' the coven for her."

"Moira's good. Really happy to be here, I think... she's really been relaxing." For the first time in months, he didn't say. "And we had a really nice, quiet Christmas." He smiled. "As for the sight, started coming back on the weekend. Moira thinks it's got something to do with swelling in my brain going down. I guess that horse-like constitution is finally kicking in."

"About bloody time," Amanda said, meaning both Moira's relaxing and Nathan's constitution. Resting her chin on the arm of his chair, she considered him, her grin turning to a fond smile. "You look better," she said at last. "This place does you good." Better than the school, came the next, unbidden thought, and she pushed it away. Happy thoughts - she had no idea if his telepathy was back, but he didn't need her moping at him. "Did the rest of the Pack stop by? GW said they would."

"For a couple of days. Actually, you didn't miss them by much - I'm sure you'd be upset about that if you weren't planning to descend upon them after New Year's," Nathan said teasingly. "I've heard there are many evil plans in the works. The boys were downright excited."

"Yeah, I figured I probably would, but I couldn't get an earlier train - bloody holiday timetable, everythin' was booked out." She giggled at the thought of the boys. "I dunno if Manuel's comin' or not, yet - depends on what happens at Homily's, I s'pose. But I'm all for evil plans of that sort - haven't been out since... fuck, since Halloween. That sucks."

Nathan chuckled softly. "GW and Lien are downright... gooey. It's nauseating, yet cute. And I have a very strong suspicion that Mina is planning to take a year off to have a baby. She got this alarmingly speculative look in her eyes every time she asked Moira a question about how she was feeling."

"Like you an' Moira aren't as bad," she teased. "We talked when he was here, GW an' me. He's got the same goofy-lookin' smile you get. An' what's with all the babies? Bad enough there's that new girl an' Moira, without the Pack startin' in."

"Planning, I said," Nathan replied with a grin. "I doubt she'd actually go through with it just yet. She and David are sort of at the pinnacle of their careers. Taking a year off just now would be putting a major crimp in that, and Mina's only thirty. She's got time yet." He tilted his head at Amanda. "It's done you good," he said. "The time away, so far..."

"Always does," she admitted. "Sad, innit? Still, 's not all the school's fault - Manuel an' me are..." Amazingly, she blushed. "Things're better. Tryin' t' remember the past was just givin' him headaches, so we're concentratin' on new memories instead." The blush intensified, and she made sure her shields were good and thick, given some of the thoughts she was having just then. Talk about making up for lost time. "It's different, t' before. He's not so much of an arsehole, for one."

"I'm glad the two of you are happier," Nathan said quietly, smiling. "I'm sorry he couldn't come, actually; he liked the island the last time the two of you were here." The island, if not Rory. "I'm sure there'll be other opportunities for the two of you to get back here, though. Maybe even when we have actual welcoming weather."

"Scotland has that?" she asked, grinning. "But yeah, I think he'd like that. Maybe in spring when you two finally get hitched... That's still happenin' then, right? Or are you gunna speed things up so Moira don't look like the Great White Whale in her weddin' dress?" She was only teasing, however - she was sure Moira would look beautiful no matter what, and that thought she let slip through.

Nathan chuckled softly. "We've been talking about timing. Early spring, most likely - she wants to fit into her mother's wedding dress. Apparently she didn't gain much weight for the first few months with Kevin... the dress is, thankfully, not all that fitted." He smiled. "And I suspect Ororo will make sure we have perfect weather for the wedding, whenever we decide to hold it."

"'S handy, knowin' a weather goddess," Amanda pointed out with a chuckle that turned into a shiver. "Brr, I'd better go get changed before I catch me death - providin' I can find me room, that is. Place is bloody huge."

Nathan concentrated, projecting an image of her room and the route to it to her. "You need anything, just 'holler'," he said with a warm smile. "My telepathy is... well, actually even better than it used to be."

She gave him an odd look, obviously wanting to ask more, but the shivering was setting in. "It was worth it, then?" was all she asked as she got up, collecting her scarf and rather soggy hat.

"Worth it in every way," he said very firmly. "Now go get changed before you catch a chill." He got up, taking his coffee cup with him. "I'm going to go find the kitchen and make you something to eat. Take your time getting settled in - I'll bring it up." Nathan grinned. "Call it room service."

"'M gunna have t' stay in this hotel more often," she told him cheekily. "The staff're very friendly." Her coat she collected with a wave of her hand. "Magic's back, good as it ever was, too."

"Excellent," Nathan said, then leaned forward and hugged her briefly again, damp clothes or not. "Now, shoo. I'll bring up tea, too."

"I'm shooin', I'm shooin'." Stretching up on the very tips of her toes to press a kiss to his cheek, she smiled. "'S good t' see you, Nate," she said, before letting him go and heading for her room, leaving little damp footprints behind her.