10363/A Little Perspective

A Little Perspective
Date of Scene:	08 December 2019
Location:	Roof Tower - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Sometimes, the perspective of someone far wiser and more experienced, can be the beginnings of a healthier outlook on the world.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Martian Manhunter

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Nightingale has posed:
     It was no secret that the mansion's resident winged healer had been having some pretty nasty nightmares, with some of the things she'd done since arriving at the school late that summer. It was also whispered that she, like others who had been in her position, had finally broken down and ask for some extra help in dealing with those, among other issues. Those who knew her best, though, knew that despite the air of confidence she projected when in a crisis, that's just about where it began and ended. So it was that the morning found Shannon curled up in a comfy chair here on the roof tower, enjoying the view on a sunny day, looking out over the snow. Some protective paneling had been put up to enclose the area some weeks before, allowing students and staff alike to come up and enjoy the view despite inclement weather. She had a book with blank pages open on her lap, and she's nibbling on the end of a pen, as if in contemplation.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
During the last weeks, if not months, J'onn started to consider Shannon not only as a student, but as a friend, in a way. And among other things, that means that his mind is perhaps particularly receptive to emotional changes in her, giving him a good reason to see about talking with her. Finding the time to do so though has been quite hard, and only now the martian had managed to free his schedule to meet with the winged healer. A mental sweep of the school's grounds later, and J'onn locates the girl on top of the tower. From his office, J'onn turns at first intangible to phase through objects, then invisible, and finally flies upwards to move through walls and floors, floating finally upwards to rematerialize on the tower, not too far from Shannon. The visible effect, perhaps, is that of a human shape appearing, featureless at first, and then assuming the shape of John Green, the science teacher, complete with the impeccable business suit and the usual kind smile on his lips. "shannon, good day"

Nightingale has posed:
     She should be used to Mr. Green appearing in odd places at odd times by now. Still, it's always a little bit of a surprise to Shannon when she winds up with unexpected company. Smiling a little bit, she closes the journal on her lap, tucking the pen away neatly behind her right ear. As she turns her head about, a little ice-blue braid with three silver beads on the left side of her face might be seen. "Mr. Green, hi! Haven't seen you outside of class for a while... how are you?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn aims a smile at Shannon, walking closer to her as, from somewhere, a chair slides on the floor to stop behind his knees allowing him to sit in front of the girl "I've been fine thanks, just a little busy. What about you?" he asks, still keeping the smile on his lips, his serene eyes examining the girl's expression.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods a little bit, her smile a bit faint, and her wings furling about her sides. "Just trying to get my thoughts in order for my therapist's appointment tomorrow. He suggested keeping a journal. That kind of thing always seemed a little silly and childish to me, but I guess it's worth a try." Glancing down briefly at her right arm, she sighs softly. "Finding so many things I can't do, it's really hard to remember what I still /can/ do, and not compare myself to everyone else. How is anyone going to really be able to count on me when they need it the most?"

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn offers a slow nod "well, keeping a journal can be very helpful for some. In some cases, writing something, gives your mind the time to contemplate it and gain more insight, in a way allowing you to get new ideas and ways to look at something that you, maybe, didn't even consider as important. Plus, some of the things children do are actually quite useful!" he comments, smiling again and then turning slightly more serious "the list of things we can't do will never be shorter than the list of things that we can do. If you think about it, we can do just a few things, but the list of things we can't is potentially infinite... The average human ccan't fly without an airplane, superman can but he can't read minds, I can read minds but I can't heal with a touch, you can heal with a touch but you can't throw fireballs, doctor strange can throw fireballs but he can't survive in space without a spell... So, all in all, thinking about what you can do is much much easier than considering the infinite amount of stuff you can't, don't you think?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Doctor Strange may be highly skilled with magic, but he needs some serious work on his bedside manner." Those words are spoken with a bit of a clipped tone, and Shannon looks as if she's eaten a whole lemon. "Still, better to have him at your back than not." She tilts her head and looks over at Mr. Green, and shakes her head. "Like you said, the list of things we can't do is a lot longer than the one of things we can do. It's a lot easier to see the former than the latter." She grimaces slightly, looking down at her hands. "I guess I can hope for my abilities to improve, maybe even shift a little over time. Maybe."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn chuckles amusedly "you're not the first to say so, surely not the last! But after all he's not a bad man, just, well, not exactly the most sociable of people." he comments, trying to stop chuckling, and finally succeeding! "Anyways, on that I personally would disagree... Think about this, if you know the list of things you can't do is potentially infinite, but the things you can do are a finite number... Is it more likely for you to count from one to infinite, or from one to a tousand?" he asks, leaning backwards on the chair and looking at the sky "whilst a larger thing is easier to spot, a smaller thing could be easier to control... I mean, Shannon, you can't do lots of things, and I can't do lots of things as well... But you still can do an amazing amount of things, and that's something to consider! You ccan heal, you save lives Shannon, you save people that would suffer without you and that is something noble, something wonderful... Then, you fly, which is something many would like to do, but most of all, you feel, you have emotions, you know how to read them and use them. It's not a matter of what one can do, at the end, but how one chooses to use what he or she has!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon ducks her head to hide the mist forming in her eyes, and nods a little bit. "But I couldn't help someone very special to my adopted big brother as much as I'd have liked, and she deserved. All I do is act like a sponge. I soak up injuries. But as it turns out, I can't heal on others what I don't have myself. That's fewer times I'll be able to save someone a lot of suffering. Fewer times I'll be of use to anyone. That stings."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn remains still for a couple of seconds, his eyes still on Shannon "you can still do a lot, Shannon. You did a lot, you will do a lot. We can't help everyone, no matter how hard we try, no matter how much we can do..." he glances briefly around, even extends his senses to the maximum span they can reach to make sure noone is listening to the conversation, then sighs "I, can do a lot more than many people think, yet, for all my power, I wasn't able to save my people, I wasn't able to stop the obliteration of an entire population... I've been lost in sorrow for years, for decades, yet at the end I realized that there's no meaning in focusing on what I couldn't do, that'll just sap away my strength, my will to do things... If I instead focus on what I can do, on what I will do, that gives me the strength to go on, to make so that something like this will never happen again..." he glances at the winged woman, even extends his hand to try gently placing it on her left shoulder "don't be sad because you can't help everyone, be strong so that you can help as many as you can. Don't be tempted to let it go because you couldn't do all you wanted to, draw from it the determination to do better next time. And when you'll next fail, because you will, it will generate more determination, so that the third time, you will be stronger."

Nightingale has posed:
     So Shannon had been right. Mr. Green had lost an entire world. That was one thing she had not wanted to be right about. Setting her journal aside, she gets up without a further thought, only to hug Mr. Green, with wings as well as the rest, her voice barely above a whisper. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to make you think of something so sad." A light sigh escapes her, and she tries to think. How could she possibly offer comfort to a friend in the face of such tremendous loss, that would affect them for a long, long time to come? "For what it's worth, you're here now, and you're not alone. Even if we're not the people you were born to, we can be your people now."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn stands up as well, to return the hug, and a smile returns to his lips as his arms wrap around the girl "you don't need to be sorry. There isn't a day in which I don't think of this, though, I don't allow this to stop or slow me. That'd be much worse, that'd be an entire planet dying. Right now it didn't die completely, right now there's me at least." he claims, and even tries ruffling Shannon's hair with his right hand "and, there isn't a way in which you can comfort someone from something like this" he speaks, perhaps picking up her superficial thoughts "but the thing is, you're not required to. You're here, the words you just said, they are all you could do and, they were effective, Shannon. I do thank you for them. You don't need to carry the other people's burdens on yourself, you don't need to get them from their shoulders to throw them on yours. Sometimes, just sharing the burden is helpful, some other times, even just letting someone know what they carry and how they do so is appreciated will give that someone the strength it needs to keep going... You don't need to give food to the hungry, you need to teach them how to get it themselves to be truly effective"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, and smiles a little bit, the ruffling of her hair making her go comically cross-eyed--especially as that little blue braid and its three silver beads goes dancing about from the friendly gesture. "I love being able to help others like that, though. Make their burden a little less, maybe make it so they don't have to carry it at all, even if it's for a little while. You know maybe better than some of us that there's a lot of hatred and suffering out there. So much of it just on this little blue marble in space alone. If I could carry even just a little of that so others wouldn't have to, then I would."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn nods in understanding "and that's very noble of you, but again, everyone has their burdens. If you relieve them all, to get them on yourself, then you'll be overloaded and, at the end, unable to maybe help those who really need it... Say, what if everyone of us has to carry a ton of burdens. You relieve 10, and you get 10 tons of stuff on yourself, which is your limit... Then someone else arrives, dying, carrying its nine tons, you can't take them because you're full already... What if, instead of relieving people from their burdens, you help them carry them better?"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon purses her lips, considering this for a moment. "Okay, so how do I do that, then? Right now, it feels like I'm being sidelined, when all I want to do is help others. I know. Folks are trying to keep me safe. There's still a lot I have to learn. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to help /now/."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn hmms, considering the matter for some seconds "then let them sideline you. ANd from the side lines, help as much as you can, and slowly work your way to the center. In doing so, you'll prove yourself, and along the way, you'll acquire the experience that you'll need once you're in the center. I don't say to not fight against situations, just, fight smartly, and make the most of it..."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly, and flops back down in the chair. "Sometimes that's easier said than done, but I'll try. Just... so much suffering out there. And the more I try to help, the less it seems can be done. Maybe that's what I should work on in my journal. List what I can still do, and try to keep adding to that list..."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn smiles brightly and lets shannon flop back on her chair, moving telekinetically his own to place it back where it was "well, that's a good idea indeed. Work on that list, don't necessarily strain to make it longer, but make it so that you understand every single point on the list... A single thing of those you can do can be used in many ways, work on understanding all of them" he smiles, then bows his head "that said, I'm afraid I will have to leave now, I have to go back to the tower... Well" he glances around with a chuckle "the other tower at least!" he claims. "I'll see you soon, shannon, and remember you can always contact me if you need it. I will come as soon as I can, and gladly so don't be afraid to do that, even if you just need to talk." that said, he waits for an eventual answer, then his feet leave the ground as he gently takes to the skies, to fly towards the watchtower.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon chuckles softly, and shrugs. "It's been tempting sometimes. But I know you have a lot to do at that other tower, so I'm just as reluctant to abuse that privelege as I would calling on another friend. However, if you want, I'll try to call a bit more." The last is spoken with a bit of warmth, and a genuine smile. She waves as she sees Mr. Green begin his ascent, calling out, "Please send regards and holiday wishes to the other tower?"