9697/Of Band-Aids and Healing Wounds

Of Band-Aids and Healing Wounds
Date of Scene:	21 October 2019
Location:	Shannon's Room (East Halls), Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Kitty and Shannon clear the air, and work on the beginnings of a plan for furthering her training as safely as possible.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Shadowcat

---

Nightingale has posed:
     It was just before supper and just after a rather interesting fitness challenge in the danger room. A little steam is creeping out from under the bathroom door, more billowing out as it opens. No water is splashing, but what steam was there needed to find an outlet, adding a touch of humidity and the scent of sandalwood in the air. Shannon's changing into her favorite PJ's--the baggy gray tank top, the red tartan sweat pants, and those goofy sheepdog slippers of hers. It hadn't been a bad day, overall.

     But one matter remained, and she wasn't quite sure where to begin. Reaching over to her bedside table, she picks up her phone and scrolls through her contacts. She'd felt like crap since the blow-up in the dining hall, and even worse after venting by the lake, but it was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do to try and send a message to Kitty.

     <<Can we talk?>>

     One tap, and the message is sent. This was not something she was looking forward to, but it needed doing. Healing was definitely not always pleasant.

Shadowcat has posed:
The text message comes back shortly. <<Sure, will come by your room in, oh, 20min or so.>>

And that's about how long it takes before there's a knock at the door. Kitty Pryde is on the other side, carrying two mugs of hot chocolate. She's wearing a sweater and jeans, and her cheeks are a bit rosy as if she's been out in the cool New York October weather.

When the door opens, Kitty gives Shannon a nod and a smile. "Up for some hot chocolate?" she asks. "I always use extra marshmallows. Because, um... really, does that need an explanation?" she says with a faint grin, offering one cup over.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon offers a sheepish grin, and scoots over on the end of her bed. She curls her hands around the mug, accepting it gratefully. "Marshmallows don't need a reason. They just /are/. Ever try cinnamon on your cocoa?" Her hair is damp and tousled, but she really doesn't care at the moment. There were other things on her mind--the first of which was the cocoa. She takes a sip, sighing with the relief of tension such a simple thing brings, closing her eyes to savor it for a moment.

"I'm not going to dance around it. You deserve better than I gave you the other day. I'm sorry."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty nods at the mention of cinnamon. "Sometimes. The secret to this one though is I made it with condensed milk. Which, well, fattening. But one cup, the workouts we get? I figure we can handle it," the 21-year-old says with a soft grin as she moves further into the room, sliding the door shut behind her. Kitty glances around the room and finds a seat on the bench next to the keyboard. The instrument gets an interested glance, but Kitty's attention is soon focused more fully on Shannon again.

"You definitely seemed very upset," Kitty says. "It took me by surprise. I was going to go talk to you but Chris said he wanted to first," Kitty replies, her head tilting a little bit as she looks over at Shannon.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Upset... frustrated... where to even begin?" Opening her eyes, Shannon smiles a little bit, nodding towards the keyboard. "That was my mom's. She passed it down to me a few years ago when I started learning to play. Go ahead, if you wanted to try it." She takes another slow sip of the cocoa, and tries to compose her thoughts. An array of emotions leave their mark upon her features, in furrowed brows, and slightly pursed lips. For a moment, too, it looks as if her wings might wrap themselves around her.

     "He did. A lot more came out than I thought it would. You're not the only one who was surprised." She pokes at one of the marshmallows, swirling around in the cup. Why? Marshmallows need no reason.

     "I had a few days to think things through. Part of me's still really frustrated, but part of me is seeing where you're coming from, too. It's not a very pleasant mix."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde sets down her cup and turns on the instrument. She familiarizes herself with the controls for a few seconds, making an adjustment or two to make it sound more like a regular piano, and then plays out the start of a song, which turns out to be Beth by Kiss. She only gets a little bit into it though before pausing. "Ah, been too long. Muscle memory is gone. I'll have to pull out the sheet music again," she says, shaking her head and turning it back off again.

"I appreciate you saying something," Kitty says of the apology which she had intentionally left lingering, that not-quite-complete feeling often encouraging more discussion. But not leaving it too long lest it feel like it wasn't accepted.

"I'm actually not sure what you're frustrated about," Kitty says. "I would have thought you would be happy to have Chris here. Being able to work on your ability more safely with someone 'spotting' for you, to draw a term from some other areas."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly. "It's a relief to finally be able to tell people to go away, leave me alone for a change, and know they'll be okay if I do. I mean, -really- know it." She sighs heavily, and swirls the marshmallows around in the cup again, watching them slowly melt and add their sweetness to the mix in the cup.

"On one hand, I've managed to survive what should've taken down a god. I've more thoughts on that, by the way, but those can hold a little while." She smiles a little bit as she hears Kitty playing, letting the simple, sweet tune calm her. "I know you and everyone else here is trying to protect me. Trust me, I don't /like/ the fact that my gift comes with such a cost, but it's the hand I've been dealt. When Josh left, and before Triage came back to stay, I did what I had to do. Heck... I might've gotten bamboozled by Loki into taking on a lot, but when it comes to the real serious stuff, yeah, I do know when to call someone else in. You weren't awake for that part, though. I made darn sure I didn't try to help you alone. You're worth it. But... there are times it seems like people forget that, like they forget that hey, okay, maybe she's still got a brain in her head, maybe sometimes she /does/ know when to call for help. When there -is- help, that is. So... yeah, fun times."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's head tilts to the side at some of what she hears. She takes up her hot chocolate again and takes a sip, before resting the mug on her thigh down near her knee. The mug bears the uplifting lyric: Everything little thing gonna be alright.

Kitty pauses a moment as if gathering her words before she says, "Some students start out training with Nate Grey. And he damps their powers down to where they are barely a trickle so they can work with them, without having to deal with the effects. Others might do their exercises in the Danger Room. The safeties in there are extraordinary," Kitty says. She doesn't bring up the times they have failed. Those were generally the result of outside forces. "Many of us can train our powers safely. Some, like Negasonic, never get to fully test themselves because just plain don't know what the result will be. Could she blow up the entire world? Maybe. No one knows, including her," Kitty says.

She leans forward a little. "Shannon, you don't have much safety net. No Nate Grey. No Danger Room. The same safety that we can make sure others get, we can't do with you. The best we can do is have someone like Triage on hand. And if you take on an injury that didn't seem bad because the person's durability is superhuman, and it kills you before Chris can do something? Well, you're dead. Realize, these are the worries that the school has to consider. If we didn't, then we would have no business teaching anyone about their powers."

Kitty takes another sip of her hot chocolate. "Just because we express caution and a slow, careful pace, is not a reflection on you as a person or your abilities. But the truth is, you don't know, and we don't know, what you're capable of or what might kill you. So we absolutely do need to preach caution. I believe you're smart enough to know you need to show caution, but you're also smart enough to picture what you would be doing with a 14 year old who walked in with a similar power to you, but with you having no more idea what her limits are, than we do with you."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head and smiles a little. "14, 16, what does it matter? The same idea's there." She holds her mug in one hand, and pinches the bridge of her nose with the other. "Yeah, that is a huge part of the frustration. The only way I have to learn about my gifts is by doing. Yeah, that kind of reeks. There was no safety net for a while, but the need for the gift was still there. You're just one example. Cripes, do you have any idea how many times I wished that safety was there?"

She wrinkles her nose a little bit, and drinks a little bit more of the cocoa. "Trust me, though, I sure was glad it was there a couple days ago. On one hand, found out that yes, I can at least absorb something simple like the flu. But... I also found out what happens if the healing is forcibly stopped. It's not good. It's one of those things that can hurt me." She rolls her eyes a little and laughs. "Can't believe I'm actually saying this, but in that sense, Loki actually saved my life that day, when he held on to me during the healing. If that had been stopped, it would have turned out much worse."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty sits up straighter again on the bench after having leaned forward, elbows on her thighs. "14 would matter in that you would want to look out for her. Because you'd know that you have perspective that she lacks, but will gain with time," Kitty says quietly.

"I'm grateful for what you did with my injuries, Shannon," Kitty tells the winged girl. "And maybe in emergencies there will be needs to rush ahead. My own life, that happened at times. But the more I was able to avoid that and build up my ability and experience gradually, the better off I was. That's want I hope for, for you as well."

Kitty eyes Shannon for a few seconds. "So do you think you can handle that we're going to keep expressing concern for you, and try to make sure you take the time that your learning curve is as safe of one as possible? We've only got one Shannon, and I'm kind of fond of her," Kitty says with a smile.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods. "Yes, thoguh I may get frustrated sometimes. But I promise I'll keep lots of cocoa and marshmallows on hand for that. It's better shared, anyways." She rolls her eyes and laughs a little bit, for a moment sounding a bit older than her years. "God, I hope when it's my turn to be a teacher, whatever student I wind up helping, isn't near as bad as I am." Wait, what? A new little surprise from the winged girl?

"Yeah, got to admit I'm kind of fond of you too. Just sorry we don't run into each other much. Hey, I get it... you're sort of, well... going through some things." There's an impish little giggle.

"What do we do for training, though? Where's that middle ground to ease the learning curve? I have to learn by doing, it's the nature of my gift. But how do we lessen the dangers? Someday, there'll come a time when Triage leaves, just like Josh did. Then what?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty gives a soft chuckle. "It seems like teaching has a way of creeping into people's DNA here. Though I imagine, most of us found an environment and family here that in some way was lacking for many of us. I mean even those with family, didn't have family who could relate in the same fashion. And we want to pass it on. I feel that way too. I mean, I feel it enough to be here despite having a full-time job. Which thankfully my boss knows I'm an X-man so is at least a little lenient with my odd schedules. Most don't have that benefit," she says.

Kitty sips from her mug. "What do we do? You heal people. But we should be taking some pretty strong precautions in screening who you heal. What if someone you heal has contracted something that hasn't shown yet? What if they have a congenital condition? Will you pick that up unintentionally? Could something like that be worse for you than the person it came from?" Kitty says, just brainstorming for the moment.

"A good scientist starts small and builds up their knowledge. Take the congenital example. We find someone who has something like that which Hank thinks would be safe even if you picked it up and couldn't heal it. Maybe something with easy treatment. And then we test it with that person. Can you spot it? Can you stop yourself from absorbing it? Will you even absorb it if you try? And if you do, can you heal it? And then we repeat the test with a few others. As much as I love you for getting me back on my feet, healing a punctured lung and my broken ribs, not to mention the risk of the coma, should be something that's built up to. I realize, you're already beyond some simple stuff. But that doesn't mean it won't be good for you to put the time in and learn the details of your power. Not only for your safety, but for your own effectiveness."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly. "The one thing that Josh was able to help me learn was to not absorb an injury inadvertantly, to begin using my gift as a diagnostic tool prior to the healing itself. He left not long after. But once a healing has started, I don't know how to stop it in the middle of my own will, or even if it's possible. And, as I found out a couple days ago, having it stopped forcibly is very detrimental."

She chuckles a little bit and shakes her head. "There was no danger of me taking on your coma. Chris got to that first, -then- I stepped in. There was no way either of us wanted to see me go down for a nice, long nap. If I had been alone, I would not have attempted even healing the minor injuries, precisely because of that risk."

"But yeah. Say as a theoretical scenario that I was alone, you were there, and there was no choice but to try. How do I stop what's already started of my own free will? Who do we even talk to on that? I mean... at one point, miss Frost offered to try and help me learn a few things, but... Jean impressed on me the dangers of letting a telepath inside your head, and I don't know miss Frost well enough to trust her that far. Plus... well... I don't know, is she someone -you- would trust? I'd be tempted to talk to Jean, but she's got her hands full running the school. So who do we ask next?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde lips press together a little firmly at one point. "Jean is pretty wise about such things," Kitty says. "I would trust Jean and the Professor but then I've known them for... ah, actually I should say, I know them far better than I know Emma." Kitty met all three on the same day, when Emma kidnapped and tortured the X-men who came to recruit Kitty to Xavier's School.

"Emma, seems to be trying very hard. She had done things in her past. But then, so have others," Kitty says. Her hand is a little tighter on her mug than it was before, and she's going to spend tonight staring up at the ceiling again, wondering why she's willing to give Erik a second chance after his transgressions including nearly electrocuting her to death, but yet she can't seem to do the same for Emma. She may need to talk to Peter again, he helped shed so much light on for Kitty.

"Anyway, I would trust Jean's judgment on the matter, whichever it was," Kitty confirms.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon she shakes her head. "No, Jean hadn't actually advised me on miss Frost. Her advice about working with telepaths came when I went to talk to her and Scott about the pendant pieces. Which I finally got permission to talk to Illyana about this morning, by the way, but that's for another time. Anyways, I didn't meet miss Frost till the last time I was stuck in the medbay, well after the fact. But it was enough to make me a little... wary."

She purses her lips, and then just laughs a little bit. "You know, the few months I've been here, and I've never once actually met the Professor? Kind of a shame, I've heard he's really nice. Wouldn't mind saying hi sometime."

The young woman is silent for a moment, extending her wings as if just stretching out a bit. "I'm tempted to ask Jean who she thinks I should talk to, but she's really got her hands full running things. I'd feel bad dumping one more thing on her, too."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty says, "The Professor can definitely be kind of busy. He gets called on for lectures and government panels and things like that. Also... ah, there's a sort of off-planet girlfriend sort of sort of not thing." Kitty gives a bit of a grinning chuckle.

"Actually I'm not sure if they are even together at all. But anyway," Kitty says. "Well, there's plenty of people you can work with on training your power. Doing little things can be as important as doing the big ones. Something like diagnosis and not accidentally absorbing what you don't want, for example," she says. "And you can do a lot of good helping with even smaller ailments while you build your ability. And when those emergencies, like the too-slow girl gets hit by a Sentinel and her brain whacked up a bit? Well, you'll be there and ready," Kitty says warmly.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon rolls her eyes. "Hey now, come on, you were in the crosshairs of not one but -two- Sentinels with those weird beam thingys of theirs. Doesn't matter how good you are, sooner or later most everyone's going to get nailed out there. The lucky ones get to come back. Besides... I'd already gotten Lorna back on her feet in the field." She shrugs a little and smiles some. "One, you were out of reach. Two, with her gift, she stood one of the best chances of dealing with the Sentinels."

Oh yes. Girl talk and gossip. Shannon's eyes twinkle, and she giggles in a conspiratorial sort of way. "Oooooo... that sly devil! Go, Professor, go!"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty gives a warm laugh. "Yes, he's had a romance or two in the time I've known him," she says. Kitty pulls out her phone and glances at it. "Speaking of romances, I should probably get back to mine. Said I'd pick up pasta. There was... ah, long story. Anyway, we're over due for pasta," Kitty says, rising to her feet.

She moves over and if Shannon allows, Kitty will offer a gentle hug. "I appreciate you, Shannon, and a lot of people here do. Just don't get too upset if we're cautious of seeing you hurt too much, ok?" she says warmly before letting Shannon go.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon just chuckles softly, very calm about the whole romance thing, for once. "Hey, if you two want some lasagna sometime, let me know, I'd be happy to make some. Call it a thanks for sticking by me. Besides," She laughs and shakes her head. "...I could make a double batch, send you one pan, and step waaaaay away from the other. Because that stuff -always- brings a feeding frenzy."

The hug is accepted and returned in full measure, the younger woman just smiling. Actually well and truly smiling. "I get it, just remember that unfortunately it's the nature of the gift, and... I have a hard time asking for help. We may butt heads, though I'll try not to... but I still love you guys. It's why I want to help so much... because I care."