2013.05.13 - Transformative Lessons

It's late afternoon and Alice sits at a table with a pudding cup slowly eating it. She staring at a book she seems transfixed on the words on the page only looking away to turn the page or get some pudding

Amanda Sefton, recently returned to the Institute over the last couple of months and newly minted as an official instructor, enters the cafeteria with a small satchel over her shoulder. She stops by the food counter to procure a cup of coffee and a bowl of fruit before making her way back among the tables. Upon spotting young Alice, her head cants. Not a student she knows well.

Thus, she approaches the young woman with a light smile on her face. "Hi," she greets her. She glances down at the book the teen studies, reading a couple of paragraphs upside down. "Interesting subject," she smiles.

Alice is reading the 10th book in a series of books called the wheel of time. She blinks at you speak to her and looks up using her finger as a bookmark, "Hello. Yeah it's a great book series. She smiles, "really in-depth story line." She then tilts her head, "Um I'm sorry do I know you?" Alice is new to the school only been here a week or so.

Amanda gives the girl an easy smile. "My name is Amanda Sefton," she tells the girl. "I'm one of the instructors, here." Wheel of Time. Interesting subject, yes. Crap novel series, as far as the sorceress is concerned. The whole culture of magic RJ presented in that world just never sat well with the mutant witch. Likely because of her heritage and talent. But, never mind. "I don't think I've seen you around very much. Are you new here?"

Alice nods and grins some, "yes I am. I am Alice Tevy but on the street I was called Creature." She finally gets the book mark and replace her finger with it in the book. She then close the book fully, "So your one of the teachers here?"

Amanda nods lightly to the girl. "I am," she smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Alice." She chooses not to call the girl Creature. It seems a poor sobriquet. Though, to be fair, she hasn't seen the girl's alternate appearance. "What did you do to earn that nickname, if I may ask?"

Alice smiles, "nice to meet your too." she thinks for a moment and then stands up taken off her clothing showing she wearing a unstable molecules suit which she was given when she got here. She then close her eyes and her breath starts to come quick and shorts. There is a popping sound and she winces and then she clenches her stomach and falls to her knees. The popping continues as her joints and bones reshape them selves. The blue of her eyes spreads to cover the growing eye fully. She skin turns gray and grows thicker. In time there stand a creature on all four growling softy at you.

Amanda straightens as the girl strips down to her uniform. When she transforms, the witch takes a single step back, more to give room than because of any objection to it. The creature is... well named. But, Amanda has seen comparable or worse. "Ah," she says softly. "I see... That's quite a thing to carry."

Creature snarls at you and starts to circle you slowly. The blue eyes are lock on you. Seems the girl is not in control of her other form. The creature is sizing you up as pray.

Amanda's eyes narrow as the creature responds in a predatory fashion. She raises her hand, back straight and body language telegraphing both confidence and authority. "I don't think so," she says sternly. "I am not lunch, Alice."

She speaks a clear spell, only a word or two, surrounding the creature in a bubble of violet energy -- a shield that should pen her in quite nicely.

Creature leaps as to attack but hits the violet and bounces off it. The creature try a few more strikes and then starts to walk in circles following the walls of the spell.

Beyond magic, Amanda has another trick up her sleeve -- a genuine mutant ability. She can hypnotize a subject by meeting their gaze and exerting her will over them. It's not a guaranteed win, however -- particularly not with a non-human intelligence. Still, as the creature circles, the woman watches it, meeting its gaze whenever it dares to look up at her directly, seeking not so much to control or subsume it, but rather to calm it and recall the girl inside.

In time it works and soon the creature is whimpering as it's bones and joints pop and change and soon Alice is laying there panting looking up at the purple bubble, "Did I lose control again?" She looks over at you a frown on her face, "Did...Did I hurt you?"

As the girl returns to normal, Amanda nears the shield bubble and crouches down beside her. Once it's evident the child has entirely returned to normal, she lets the shield evaporate into the aether. "No," she assures the girl, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You didn't hurt anyone. I'm fine." She smiles. "I grew up with demons," she says with a kindly smile. "There's nothing about you that frightens me."

Alice sits up and looks at you, "is that what I am? A demon?" She been called many things since she started to change." She stands and starts to redress.

Amanda shakes her head, giving the girl's shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze, before stepping back to let her dress. "No," she says firmly, still kindly. "You're not. You're a mutant. If you were a demon, I would sense it. Trust me." The woman is matter-of-fact, but not dismissive. She doesn't, in fact, want to make the girl any more uncomfortable than she already may be. "I only mean to say I grew up dealing with things bigger, nastier, and scarier than you. So, you don't have to worry that you might hurt me. You're okay."

Alice is comforted by your words and gives you a smile, "thanks. I just wish I could control it better. It mind so powerful I change and next thing I know I hunting and stalking. It like to hunt and stalk weaker prey." She she finish training, "the worst though is when I change without trying when I scared or have a bad dream."

Amanda nods slowly to that, pulling out a chair to sit down. "Well, that's something we can work on," she says. It's possible the witch herself might have enough hypnotic power to keep the girl from transforming against her conscious will, but Jean Grey or Charles Xavier are better choices for that sort of mental tinkering. It's more likely Amanda could come up with some sort of mystic amulet or garment that simply prevents the transformation outright while worn. (Rather like Ruby/Red Riding Hood and her cape on Once Upon A Time, really.) But, she doesn't offer that up immediately, either. Better, instead, to talk it over with some of the other instructors and staff, first. Suppressing mutant ability isn't what the Institute is about. "Do you lose control often? Have bad dreams often?"

Alice sits down her self, "Well I change when ever I et mad or scared so on the street that happen offend not so much since I came to the school. Bad dreams on the other hand Yeah I guess I do. I dream of being the the creature and harming things. sometimes it animals I never seen before they look like nothing I seen in the zoos other times I dream about hunting humans and animals I know. Both scare me and I normally waking up not in my bed and finding me bed trashed and my door or window as well. A few times I woke up with dead animals or blood on me."

Amanda considers that, her lips pursing faintly in thought. She inhales a slow, thoughtful breath. "That must be unsettling." Not demonic, perhaps, but it does have an interdimensional feel to it. Having said that, there are any number of cryptids about, in addition to any magical beasts that may turn up. It's hard to say what the girl might be dream-chasing. "If you don't mind, there are a couple of people I can speak to about that. We can look into ways to curtail some of that until you've gained better control over your beast."

Alice nods slowly, "okay." She picks up her pudding cup forgotten until now and scoops some of it up and into her mouth, "I hate the creature if you can control it then do it."

Amanda makes a mental note to speak with Logan and Kurt, in addition to Jean and the Professor. Of course, she'll mention it to Scott, too. But the others are better suited to deal with it than just about anyone else, aside, perhaps, from herself. She smiles to the girl. "We'll figure something out," she tells her. "But, it make take a little time. So, you'll need to be patient."

She considers something for a moment, and then opens her satchel, digging through one of the pockets. Pulling out a small box, she opens it and reveals small amounts of herbs. Finding an empty leather pouch smaller than the palm of her hand, she tosses a few of the herbs in together, along with a small stone, and ties the little pouch shut. A whispered spell breathes over it. She ties it onto a leather thong and hands it to the girl. "This is a magic talisman, a speciality of mine. It won't prevent your transformations. But it will alert me when one happens, so that we can make sure there's someone around to keep you from hurting anyone -- including yourself."

Alice is not sure she believes in magic she seen no proof of it taken your bubble as an mutant power. She wrinkles her nose at the smell, "it smells funny." She takes the pouch and looks at it, "Is this thing really magic?" She pokes the bag, "I known some people who con people with rocks and weeds on the street."

Amanda's encountered more than one sceptic in her day. It's easier to say what she does is mutant ability. "Consider it my mutant ability," she says, in response. "Objects I've concentrated on in that fashion retain a trace of my power to manipulate reality." Isn't that what magic really is? The ability to manipulate reality? Daytripper's no Scarlet Witch (thank God!), but the essential effects are similar. "My power is linked to the talisman, keyed to alert me if you transform. It won't track you -- though if it goes off, I will know where you are. But only if it goes off. Otherwise? Nothing. So, it won't protect you from anything. It'll simply help me home in on the creature, if necessary. Make sense?"

Alice thinks about this for a while and then nods, "yeah I guess it does." She pockets the charm you made for he, "so like what do you teach here?" She finish her pudding cup off and looks disappointed when she realize it, "I mean are you only here to help people with there powers or do you like teach math or something?"

Amanda chuckles lightly, now. "Math? No. Languages. European history. And certain defensive arts." Magic 101 is one of her more well-attended classes, but she doesn't tell the kid that just yet. It may not be a total surprise that she lists both languages and Europe as her areas of expertise, given her accent is a mid-European sound with a hint of British -- that generically European accent that makes it impossible to truly pinpoint a specific country of origin.

Alice looks board with the first two but when you defensive arts she peeks up, "I like to take that class." She grins some and seems she likes the idea of fighting or at lease know how to.

Yeah. Everyone likes defensive arts.

Amanda's not the most skilled combatant, by a long shot. A lot of what she teaches is boring strategy and the basics of using an opponent's abilities against themselves. But, it's useful. Thus, the witch chuckles softly. "I've no doubt you'll get the chance. But, you should start with Mr. Wagner's gymnastics and physical training classes. He teaches you basics that are absolutely necessary for everything else we train you in here."

Alice nods and gets up and gets her self a soda and sits back down popping, "so there different classes for that sort of thing?" She sips her soda, "I have no formal training or anything but I can kick butt."

Amanda smiles again. She hears that a lot. And she doesn't doubt it. But, she also knows that huge raw talent rarely wins out over well-trained skill. "There are different classes," she concedes. "Just like with any school. No matter how much street experience you've had, you start, here, with the basics. And you move through at a pace appropriate to your own skills and abilities." Within reason, of course. "I expect Mr. Wagner will be a very helpful teacher for you, to start."

Alice nods and and frowns at that, "ah man you mean I can't take a test and get into higher classes?" She then sips her soda some more, "like what languages do you teach?"

Amanda shakes her head. "Everyone takes the basis. After that, you can take an assessment test to be placed higher. Consider the basics a refresher. And important. Even the best of us reviews them regularly."

As for the languages, she says, "I'm fluent in several languages, both ancient and modern. The most useful, and the ones I most often teach, are French, German, and Russian."

Alice thinks this over, "what is the point of knowing a dead language? It's dead it no longer in use it like teaching someone to make a house with wooden nails." She a typical teen never seen more then the surface and thinking she knows everything.

Amanda smiles at that. "You'd be surprised," she says easily. "Dead languages have gotten me out of more than one jam, in my life." But, to be fair, that has a lot to do with the fact the ancient languages she knows were often use to compose complex spells and rituals she's needed to perform. Since the girl's not really ready to believe in magic, however, the witch doesn't both adding that. "But, as I said, it's the modern ones I teach her more often than not."

FADE TO BLACK (Sleepy crash)