9987/Sploosh

Sploosh
Date of Scene:	10 November 2019
Location:	Campsites - Breakstone Lake
Synopsis:	Triage pulls Vi out of the lake after a flying mishap. Lots of conversation takes place drying out by a fire.
Cast of Characters:	Triage, Vi

---

Triage has posed:
The local media and social networks were abuzz with chatter about a big storm heading for the area. 'Record-breaking cold!' everyone said. With such threats looming, Chris packed some gear in the morning and headed across the lake in a rowboat. He took his phone in case they needed him to return for an emergency, but he hoped to spend a peaceful day away from the school, possibly his last before winter would seize the area in its icy grip. Once he landed and secured the boat, he tramped through the woods, collecting wood - everything from leaves to a few large logs over several trips. After digging a pit and filling a bucket to dowse the fire if necessary, he arranged the wood and soon had a warm, crackling fire with a pot of coffee brewing in the red-hot coals on its edge.

Vi has posed:
Vi can hopefully be forgiven for not having caught the weather report. Mainly because she doesn't even know weather reports exist yet. She just assumed it will be kind of cold out when she left, though not prepared for the storm that is over the horizon but heading their way.

The brunette nineteen year old is wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, with a sweatshirt overtop and then a light jacket. A headband that someone gave her helps both with keeping her ears warm and keeping her hair out of her eyes as she's flying.

Because Vi is flying. Or her rendition of it, throwing herself upwards continually.

Vi is still working out how to use her power. She dropped a washer and then pushed against it with several hundred pounds of force. Since the ground kept the washer from moving, Vi's body was instead thrown into the air away from the washer. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. While Magneto or Jean may seem immune to Newton's laws, Vi is not.

She drops another washer, pushing it down until it hits the ground, then pushing hard against it to further propel herself forward. Now for the tough part. She pulls on the first washer, bringing it back to her hand, then shooting it down ahead of her so it will be ready to push herself back up higher about the time she's losing altitude.

Soon Vi adds a third washer, and gets into a rhythm, sailing in ballistic arcs as if she keeps getting launched upwards again and again. She moves off from the school through the forest, wanting to practice in an area there are obstacles to deal with. She loses two washers as they get caught on trees, but replaces them with more from her pouch.

Too late, Vi sees the lake ahead of her. She tries to stop herself but has too much momentum. She gives a hard push and arcs up high into the air out over the lake. She realizes she's never going to clear it and for the first time on this trip, panics. She cries out loudly as she falls towards the water. Metal washers are shot down into the water, but even when they hit the bottom, her pushes just bury them in the muck. Before she has a chance to bury them to a depth they will be supported, the girl hits the water with a loud splash.

Triage has posed:
Chris is crouching by the fire, checking on the pot when the piercing cry echoes over the lake. He springs to his feet and squints upward to see a speck flailing, apparently out of control, and plummeting toward the water. Without hesitation, he kicks off his tennis shoes, sheds his hoodie, and launches himself into the frigid water. He has no supernatural talent for it, but swimming became a favorite sport while he was in school, and a continuing source of exercise. With powerful strokes and kicks, he plows toward where Vi is likely to hit. He saw no wings, which allows him to narrow a mental list of students now in trouble, and to consider how many of those swim, and how well.

Vi has posed:
This time of year the lake is cold enough that more than about fifteen minutes in the water could lead to dangerously low body temperature. Though Vi isn't thinking about that at all. The girl who can't swim has a more immediately concern, flailing and splashing as she doesn't know how to tread water, plus having her clothing pulling her down.

She senses metal objects at the edge of her awareness. She knows they are too light to bring her body towards them unless they were braced by something else. The panick-stricken girl tries anyway, but so far away she can barely pull on them hard enough to stir them, let alone to propel herself in the water like she did after her dunk in the ship channel upon arriving in America.

Vi's eyes are wide with fright as she splashes, managing to get her head back above water each time it goes under, but floundering, taking longer to get back above the surface each time.

Triage has posed:
Like any frequent swimmer, and fueled by adrenaline in this case, Chris finds his rhythm in the first seconds after hitting the water. His legs kick powerfully. His arms arc above the surface only to plunge again into the water. Ignoring common practice for exercise or racing, he keeps his head above water as much as possible, scanning the surface for the occasional bobs. Adrenaline kickstarts one of his mutant powers, his ability to sense life-signs, almsot like infrared images, at distance. Although the lake is full of living creatures, most are not big enough to catch his attention. The large glowing, still flailing mass ahead, however ...

He pulls air into his lungs, kicks harder, and angles toward the mass, unaware that his efforts will have an ally, the now waterlogged and probably useless smart watch on his wrist.

Vi has posed:
As Triage pulls himself forward with fast strokes through the water, the life force ahead of him is noticeable. At first it's only as strong as some of the more fit students or staff. Though after a brief time in the water it flares brighter, like a beacon not so much guiding him, as calling out to him in need.

His steady swimming stroke may be interrupted as there is a sudden pull on his wrist. If his watch isn't pulled off completely, he may find himself pulled forward through the water nearly as fast as he was swimming.

Whatever the source of the propulsion, before long he is nearing the flailing figure. Dark hair can be glimpsed as the person's head clears the water again, coughing up water and then blurbling as they go under again, arms splashing all around haphazardly in the way drowning people are prone to do.

Triage has posed:
Again, circumstance has proved helpful. Water in the lake can be murky at this time of year, but the glow of solid, radiant life is clear to Chris. He flinches at the first tug on the watch, but because this is a rescue, and he is near, propelling with his arms might cause problems rather than help. Instead, he grasps for a limb, certain now that his target is a person in trouble. Once he catches the arm, he will pull the person toward him. Above the surface he shouts, "Put your arms around my chest, lock your hands together, and hold on! I've got you!"

Vi has posed:
Vi struggles and flails as she goes under water again. The winter sky is grey above, and even a little beneath the waves it feels dark and oppressive as the chill water wants to sap the heat from her body.

Suddenly a hand grasps her and pulls her back up. About then the pull on Triage's watch stops. The girl's head clears the water, and it is indeed a girl. A petite one with dark hair that is plastered to her head as Triage pulls her back above the surface.

She chokes a bit and then manages to draw in a breath of the sweet, cold air. She feels herself pulled towards her rescuer, and thankfully she doesn't try to climb on him as drowning people are prone to do. Triage's instructions are listened to as she clings to him, finding he's able to keep her above water. He can likely feel her trembling, whether from the panic of the experience or the cold. She holds to him, one hand brushing the wet hair from her eyes as she looks over to him, then wraps her arms about him again, holding tight.

Triage has posed:
Chris might recognize her immediately, but that's immaterial. She is clearly afraid and cold, nearing hypothermia unless they can reach shore. He nods when she responds to his instructions. "Good!" he confirms. "You'll be okay," he assures. "You're safe now.Try to slow your breathing." Beneath the water, he circles his left arm, with the watch, around her, pressing her against his chest. Then he looks along the shore to target his efforts. With strong kicks in the water and pulling her along with him, he aims for his camp-site on the far shore.

Vi has posed:
As Triage loops his arm about her and begins working them back towards shore, Vi remains mostly calm. She's still breathing hard and her eyes are still a bit wide and wild. But the instructions help, the girl beginning to make herself breathe slower.

The shore is coming nearer, though more slowly than Chris made the swim out with having to carry Vi and her water-logged clothing. "T-t-thank you," she manages to tell him.

Eventually they are reaching the shallower water where he can touch bottom again. With the girl folded in his arm, giving him that physical contact, his Life Sense will notice a brightness and warmth that Chris has likely only sensed from mutants with enhanced physiologies. Though there's something more to it, though distracted as he is with getting them to shore, it might require more examination.

Triage has posed:
Chris continues to swim, his own breathing under good control, toward the shore. The rowboat, with its metal eyelets for the oars, bolted seats, and anchor, seems to beckon to them. He steers, however, to pass it until his feet find bottom. After a few steps, he stops. Knowing that the girl must be exhausted, he gathers her in his arms and carries her ashore. He carries her near the fire and then lowers so that she can stand unless her legs collapse under her. "You're safe," he murmurs to her. "Did you breath any water?" He keeps his arm around her waist and waits to see if she's steady. Now that they are ashore, his adrenaline, heartbeat, and respiration are slowing. He looks at her again, finally able to study her face and recognize her from that evening that seems long ago after so much has happened at the school. "Vi?" he wonders.

Vi has posed:
The desire to pull on the rowboat's metal would be strong if she sensed it. But Vi has let her metal-influencing powers fade, losing the ability to sense metal around her as she does.

So it is that Chris carries the girl ashore. He can feel how cold she is after the dunk in the water, though she clings to him with a still-tight grip until he has her beside the fire and sets her down.

She does stand, and Chris has a chance to get a better look at her. It is indeed Vi. Wearing different clothing than he saw her in before, and her expression still showing the after-effects of the experience. But Vi.

"Only a little," she replies quietly, after coughing a few times and clearing her throat. "I'm... I'm ok. Thank you. Thank you so much!" she says, and if Chris lets her she hugs him tight, body trembling as she castes a baleful eye out towards the grey water of the lake.

Triage has posed:
Chris nods when Vi answers. When she hugs him, his arms slip around her and he holds her tightly, even though both of them are soaked. while the trembling of fear subsides. "I should check your lungs," he offers. "I don't want you to catch pneumonia." He closes his eyes briefly. His hand presses gently against her back. Mutant senses detect the faintest hints of harmful bacteria growing within her, and healing energy, warm and comforting, flows to counter it. After the moment, his eyes open. "Stay here. You'll be warm soon. The coffee should be ready, and I have a blanket in the boat. I'll be back."

Vi has posed:
As Chris's senses encompass Vi, he can indeed note the effects the submergence in the cold water has had on her. Though he'll sense something else. A glow that seems to come from her stomach and digestive tract. An energy that he'll sense as a warmth, somewhat akin to his own healing power. Though far more muted, and only affecting Vi's own body, not projected outside of herself. Chris can assure she will avoid pneumonia, but it is a good bet that it would have had little chance taking hold with that self-healing energy within the young woman.

Vi releases Chris, moving over a little closer tot he fire. She finally takes a moment to look around her and see where they are. "I didn't think I was so close to the lake," she says timidly. The girl shakes her head as if disappointed at herself. "You're Chris, aren't you?" she asks softly, eyes following Triage as he heads towards the boat.

Triage has posed:
"That's right," Chris confirms. "I'm sorry that we didn't have a better chance to talk when we met but ... it was a tense situation. I'm glad to see that you're better." He steadies the boat with one hand and rummages inside it with the other. He tosses aside a life-vest and lifts a large red blanket of light fleece-like material out of the boat. "It's good that you were far out," he notes. on his way from the boat to the fire, he unfolds the blanket. He drapes the blanket over Vi's shoulders once he is near her. "If you'd been more toward the middle, you I might not have been able to reach you in time," he adds, gesturing toward the center of the lake. He squats by the fire and rummages in his backpack. He broought only one cup, but after tapping the pot and finding that its contents should be quite warm, he pours coffee into the cu and settles the pot among the coals. He takes the cup to Vi. "I'm sorry that I don't have cream or sugar," he says. "I did bring some food if your hungry - hot dogs. We'll need to roast them over the fire."

Vi has posed:
Vi crouches near to the fire, getting her body down close to its heat. Her clothing is dripping on the ground around her. "I was too late to stop, thought maybe I could make it over it," she says, frowning a little. "I... I probably could have done other things, but I panicked and didn't have time to think," she says, again disappointed with herself.

Vi looks over to Chris as he is returning with the blanket. "You were there when Sam... when he thought I'd come after him," she says softly. "You moved to protect me." The girl's brown eyes look up at Chris as he drapes the blanket over her shoulders. "I don't know that I ever thanked you for it. I probably didn't. I should have," she says, eyes dropping from his.

Vi takes the cup that is offered to him. "This is the coffee that everyone drinks," she says after getting a whiff of it. She sniffs it, but the warmth of it is an overpowering draw. She takes small sip, coughing a bit as if it is her first time drinking the bitter liquid that is a bit of an acquired taste. "Thank you," she says, obviously craving the warmth that comes with it.

Vi passes the cup back. "You're wet too," she says, motioning for him to have some of the warm liquid.

Triage has posed:
Chris smiles and sits by the fire, within reach but not close enough to invade space. "You didn't thank me with words," he answers. "But your eyes thanked me. That was enough. I'm sorry that I couldn't do more but with Shannon and me between the two of you, Bean had time to become calm." He reaches for the cup when Vi offers it. "Are you new to flying?" he wonders. "You shouldn't do that alone, especially over the lake. Also, you'll need to be careful. Winter is coming. Winters here tend to be quite cold. The lake freezes over." He takes a sip of the coffee and then offers the cup to Vi again. "Also, if you don't mind my mentioning it, I noticed that your body is different from normal." He waves a hand. "Not because you're a young woman. That's obvious. It's a different ... heat." He points to his eyes, and then to the fire. "I can sense living things. You have more ... life in you than most."

Vi has posed:
The diminutive young woman holds out her hands to the fire as she lifts her eyes back to Chris again. "Pretty new to it, yes. I've been trying to figure out how to use my power. I was never allowed to use it before, except for tests," she says quietly.

Vi looks a little surprised as he mentions what he senses from her. "I don't think anyone has ever noticed something like that before," she says softly. Vi looks at Chris for a moment and then she nods and says, "The Pewter. You're sending the Pewter," she says.

Vi reaches down and pats her stomach. "My power comes from burning metals in my stomach. Only certain metals. Pewter, I can strengthen my body. Like if I mess up while flying, I can make my body stronger so I can just land despite the big fall. And if I get hurt or sick, I can keep it burning really low and it'll help me recover faster," she tells him.

Vi looks at the lake briefly. "I am burning Pewter so I don't feel the cold as much. I'm not really sure what the limit is with cold though. They never tested that, and I didn't know about Pewter until after I was captured."

Vi's head tilts as she regards Chris. "What else can you sense about me?" she asks in an interested tone. "Is that... um... how does your power work?"

Triage has posed:
"Pewter?" Chris echoes, looking to Vi. "Do you produce it, or can you eat it, like food?" He looks to the lake for a moment and frowns. "If by tests you mean experiments, like tests on lab animals, or ... torture ..." He shakes his head vigorously. "We don't do that here." His eyes return to look at Vi. "We help students to learn about their gifts and how to use them. That's why I came here, to learn to use my abilities, such as they are." He shrugs. "My sense and healing work through energy. Even I'm not sure precisely how it happens, if I touch someone and concentrate, I can heal injuries and diseases. I think that I speed their own healing temporarily. It's not limitless but it's useful. It does come with a cost."

Vi has posed:
Vi gives a little shake of her head at the question if she can produce it, then a nod as he mentions eating it. She reaches into a pocket of her soggy clothing and extracts a little vial with a stopper in it. It's filled with a clear liquid and there are little flakes or even tiny pebbles of material in it.

"I have to swallow my metals. Except, I guess there's iron in the water. After a few days there'd be enough I could do something small and short. That's how they found me," Vi says quietly.

"They were researchers from Hydra. They run the work camp I grew up in. A guard saw me pulling something into my hand that I was going to sell for food, and caught me. They were the ones who found the other metals I can use," Vi says. She lowers her eyes. "It... it wasn't good," she says of what their experiments were like.

"I'm running low. I took these with me when I escaped the lab. But, I've been practicing with them, and I'm going to run out if I keep using them," she says of the vial.

Vi's head tilts to the side again as she listens to Chris. "That sounds really nice. I'd like to be able to heal others. That's a very beautiful power you have," she says, shining a warm smile to him. "I can move metal. Push it or pull it. And, I can make my senses very sharp. That's Tin, the last one. Iron and Steel for moving the metal," she says.

Triage has posed:
Chris smiles when Vi praises his gift. "It is wonderful to help people. But, as I said, it comes with a cost. If I need to heal something big, like broken bones or burns, or someone with a deadly disease, you'll find me in the kitchen making a big meal. IF it's big enough, I need to sleep for a bit - from hours to days, depending." He warms his hands over the fire, closer than some people might, but not dangerously so, and without flinching. "When I looked, I saw your stomach - very bright, probably from the pewter. Your powers are wonderful, too," Chris smiles and nods to Vi. He looks from her face to the vial and back to her face again. "Do you need it to live?" he worries, frowning. "If so, I'm sure that we can find more for you, depending on what you need." Then he adds, "No one here will experiment on you unless you want them to help you with your powers. We're not Hydra. You're safe here."

Vi has posed:
Vi smiles as she listens to Chris describe more of how his power works. "I kind of wish it just took food for me. The metal has to be... the men in the lab said it had to be just right or it wouldn't work very well for me," she tells Chris.

The brunette gives him a small shake of her head. "I only need it for my powers. I can't swallow too much of it either or it'll make me sick to my stomach," she tells him. "Do you think you could help me get more though? I don't know how hard it would be to find more of these, here," she tells him.

Vi moves her hands back near the fire, and pulls the blanket about her a little more closely against the cold. The sun is on its way down and the sky is darkening even more than the time of day would account for. Storm clouds slowly rolling forward, a line of grey beneath them where it is snowing.

"Miss Grey took me to her home, let me meet her family. So I'd get to see what like is like for people here. I mean, life outside of the school," Vi says quietly. "Are you from somewhere like her? Do you have a family somewhere?" she asks.

Triage has posed:
"I'm not sure what we can get, but if you can tell me what metals you need, and how much, I'll see what we can do, especially if it's necessary for your powers," Chris answers. "I have parents, but ..." He looks into the fire and then back to Vi. "My mother accepted my gift, my power. My father had friends who don't care for our kind. He left my mother to help his friends. She hides from them now, afraid that they might hurt her or use her to find me." He swallows a lump in his throat. "She writes but we need to be careful. This school is a good place for us. Some people aren't friendly. Stil, we have friends out there." He waves to suggest the world beyond the school." When he notices Vi scooting closer to the fire, he frowns. "Are you too cold? Do you want to go back to the mansion? We can take the boat back if you need to save your strength."

Vi has posed:
Vi says, "I'm not sure how to tell the right... pureness? Not without swallowing. But, I use Pewter, Tin, Iron and Steel. I have more vials with them, but I don't know how to tell if something else is the same as in the vials, without trying it," she says.

The labs at the school would be able to tell exactly what it is in her vial.

Vi listens closely then as Chris describes his family life. "I... I don't understand. He's your father, how could he... I mean, he's your family," she says softly. Moments after she's said it, Vi's expression suggests she regrets saying it.

"I'm sorry. It probably isn't easy... I didn't mean to make you think about it and... and I'm sorry," she says softly, looking down. "The fire is ok. As long as I keep burning Pewter, I can handle the cold," she tells him. "What about you? You were in the lake too?"

Triage has posed:
Chris frowns "As one of the teachers told me, some people don't want to see you as family after a change like this." He shrugs. "My father must be one of them." He looks down at himself, slightly startled into awareness. "To be honest, the chill didn't seem important. We haven't had a chance to talk, so this distracted me from worrying about it." He looks past the fire to his shoes and hoodie, then down at his watch. "I'll be back," he says and stands, circles the fire, and fetches the dry clothes. "What about your family? I remember that you spoke another language when you arrived. Kurt Wagner knew it. I suppose that it was German or very much like German."

Vi has posed:
Vi nods to the African-American young man, motioning him towards the change of dry clothes, not wanting him to be cold. She's still dripping, and though it's chilling, she does seem to be bearing it, though still seeks out the warmth of the fire.

"I'm sorry for that. No one deserves to be treated like that for... just for being who you are," she says quietly, looking down and shaking her head. "I had a brother. He disappeared when I was much younger," she says quietly. "When someone disappears, it means the guards took them," she explains in the same quiet voice. "I don't know how to speak any languages but this. It's what most everyone spoke in Echo," She says. Vi does have a noticeable accent. It's not difficult to understand her, but no one would think she was from America. Eastern European sounding.

"So are you a teacher then? Which subject do you teach?" Vi inquires.

Triage has posed:
After pulling on his hoodie, Chris brings his backpack and shoes to the fire. He sits on the ground again, closer to Vi but still a respectable distance. He chuckles. "I don't teach, although that might be good at some point. I tend the wellness office." He pauses to slip his tennis shoes on his finally dry feet. "If you don't mind talking about it, did your brother know about your gift? Is that why he ... disappeared? I'm sorry for you, too, but I'm glad that you learned English well enough."

Vi has posed:
Vi doesn't seem to mind Chris sitting near by. "The Wellness Office. That's where people go when they are sick, right?" she asks after dredging up the name from one of the tours of the school she was given. She hasn't really done more than get a glimpse of the room so far.

Vi gives a tiny shake of her head. "My Luck... that's what I called it, back then, it didn't start happening until I was a little older," Vi says. She glances at Chris and says, "I... I don't know what you know about me, yet. I was born in a... work camp, people here called it. Slave labor camp? There were a few thousand people. Working the mines and foundry. It had barbed wire fences around it, and guards with guns so we couldn't leave. Hydra runs it."

Vi stares at the fire. "My brother and I... orphans struggle to survive. THere isn't enough food or water. No one will waste any on someone who isn't their own child. So we had to steal to get by, or else work on the work crews. But, kids don't last very long on those. They can't stand up to the work, and they get put on dangerous jobs, crawling into areas others can't reach. So we hid with other orphans. Thieves basically. NO work, no ration cards, no food. So we had to steal to avoid starving. If a guard realizes we aren't part of the work crew?" Vi gives a little shake of her head, indicating Hydra would employ a rather final solution to the problem.

Triage has posed:
"That's the place," Chris confirms with an amused smile. "I'm not sure why they call it the Wellness Office unless they want students to have good feelings about it. Some kids worry about doctors. I try to ease those fears." He frowns when Vi turns to her past. "I haven't heard what happened to you. Soon after you arrived, the teachers told us that you were here and that you were learning the basics, but not much else. I probably could have asked to see your file once Kitty agreed that I should help, but ..." He shrugs. "I prefer for people to tell their own stories, as long as they're honest about it." He looks at Vi and adds, "You did what was necessary to survive. In an odd way, admitting that you were a thief seems quite honest to me. I'm glad that you did survive."

Vi has posed:
Vi pulls her hands back from the fire, moving them into her lap. "Thank you. I get the feeling that people here can't even really imagine what it was like. Everything was about surviving when there isn't enough for everyone. I walk in the kitchen now and... there's enough food to feed the entire town for a few days. There's more food thrown away in one meal than I've had over months."

Vi clears her throat. "My first day I was taking the food out of the trash can. Waited until everyone was gone. I figured it took a ration card to get food, and no one had given me one here. Nightcrawler saw me. And Samuel. That's when he saw the case I had, the one with the Hydra logo I took when I escape. That's why he came after me that day in the backyard. He thought I was with Hydra, had come after him."

Triage has posed:
Chris watches while Vi lowers her hands into her lap, and smiles. "Are you warmer now?" he asks. "I understand why you reacted as you did, waiting to take food after others. Perhaps they should have had an older student to help you with adjusting. You could ask her questions and learn." When she explains about the case, Chris nods. "Now I understand," he says. "I see why he might worry, but on the other side. If you were with Hydra, why would you show it so openly? Beside that, Kurt brought you here. He mentioned that you visited with others who could have looked into any ties between you and Hydra." He shakes his head. "Carrying a knife doesn't make you a butcher."

Vi has posed:
Vi gives Chris a little nod as he asks if she's feeling warmer. The fire's warmth is finally getting into her soaked clothes, warming them and beginning the process of drying them out. "He has been through a lot too. He was taught to do things. Horrible things. And..."

Vi sighs, looking down. "He told me some of what he did. In Echo. And I... wanted to see him hurt." There might have been rumors, of Vi putting a whole in a wall. Shattering one of the joints in the wall somehow. "I... I didn't. But, it isn't easy. For either of us. We went through very different things. But at the hands of Hydra so... I can understand how he probably had no choice. Didn't know better."

Vi lets out a sigh. "I am so happy I found this life. Chris, is this real? Please? Please tell me this isn't... just some trick, that there's... something that is going to happen still, when I let down my guard? PLease?" she asks him.

Triage has posed:
Chris smiles. He reaches to touch Vi's arm gently. "Shh," he soothes, sensing that she might be close to something like PTSD. "You're safe. You won't wake up and find that it was an unreal dream. You're safe and this is very real. No one in the school will hurt you. I'm sure that even Sam knows better. Some people out there might want to hurt you, but not here at the school. You'll learn to trust people who have shown that they deserve that trust, and that will help, too."

Vi has posed:
Hearing it seems to help, though the notion of people helping others out of altruism is still so hard for Vi to accept. She's seen the abundance of food and water - everyone showers here, not just guards! - and without that scarcity, she can understand how it makes sense life here could be so different.

But it's tough to undo 19 years of expecting betrayal at any moment. Of knowing it will happen, whenever the situation matters enough. And knowing she probably won't even blame them, because she'd have done the same in their situation.

None of that is said, though her expression is that of someone with thoughts inside at war with each other. "It's just so different. Too good to be true. But I want it to be. Want it to be true." Vi tells Chris softly. She looks over as he touches her arm, expression grateful for the caring gesture. "Thank you. You're really nice, you know that? I mean, apart from the whole, saving me from drowning, thing. I've never seen water like this before I left Echo. Does everyone know how to swim in it as well as you?"

Triage has posed:
Chris smiles and bows his head for a moment. "I'm not sure that everyone would say that." He adds quickly, "Some people are like my father. For them, the only good mutant is a dead mutant." He meets her distant, pensive gaze. "They would say the same about you, but I meant what I said. I'm glad that you came to us. I hope that you'll learn how to use your gifts to help people. I believe that you can - not in the way that I do, by healing, but perhaps in other ways that are as important. Perhaps you might even find ways to help the others, the people who are still slaves."

Vi has posed:
"I'd like to learn," Vi agrees softly. "I was telling SHIELD about Echo. The camp, that's what it's called. They had all sorts of questions about it. Said they would try to free the people there."

Vi bites her lower lip and says, "I told them I might like to do what they do. Miss Grey's father, he's a teacher like she is, and he asked me if I wanted to be one too. And... I'd never even thought about it. People don't get to choose something to do with their life. They just survive. So... after he asked me that I was thinking... I'd like to help people. Like SHIELD says they do," Vi tells Chris.

She looks over at the African-American young man, looking thoughtful. "I was wondering, would you let me feel what your healing power is like again? Or... you said it takes something out of you. Did you need to eat?"

Triage has posed:
"None of us has infinite choices but you have many," Chris answers. "There are many organizations that help people, even some that are close to the school. If you want to use your gifts to help people, that's one of the things that people here can train you to do. If you want to be a teacher, that would be a very good thing, too. The world needs good teachers." When Vi asks about healing, he smiles. "When I look into a person to see what might need healing, that feels similar to the healing itself, at least to me. I didn't need to heal you much. You must have taken very little water into your lungs. So you didn't feel much. Healing takes energy, but looking takes less. It won't hurt. If you feel what I feel, you will feel a warm, comforting feeling, like being held by someone who cares about you."

Vi has posed:
Vi listens close to Chris, and she gives him a soft smile as he describes it. "I don't know that I'll be able to sense anything. But, I'm going to flare my Tin strong, and see if I can sense anything from it," she tells him.

Vi looks over and says, "Do you need to touch me to do it?" If he indicates he does, she reaches out with both of her hands to him. There's no visible sign of her doing anything. Though his life sense will still be able to tell her body is enhanced compared to normal people a slight amount as she still is burning her pewter.

Vi looks at Chris and her senses expand to superhuman levels. She can hear the students in the school though it is miles distant. She can hear the deer that is running through the woods a few hundred yards away. She can hear Chris's heart beating, smell the detergent used on his clothes. And her sense of touch would let her feel the thickness of print on a page. She devotes these senses to trying to feel what Chris is doing with his power.

Triage has posed:
Once Vi explains, as well as she can, how she will attune herself, Chris nods. He shifts slightly, takes her hands in his, and closes his eyes. His breathing deepens with concentration. The energy begins to pass into her body, gently and gradually, warming her while he checks each area of her body - vital organs, the neural system, the cardiopulmonary system, and beyond, flowing into bones, muscles, and finally, with a gentle tingle, reaching the surface of her skin. Then, as gradually as it came, the warmth retreats, fading like the sun's light in evening. He sighs a final breath and his eyes open to look at her. "You seem well," he concludes.

Vi has posed:
Vi can hear changes in Chris's breathing, and his heartbeat, but mostly she feels. The sensation of warmth is like being in sunlight, and Vi can feel it moving through her body. While other people might just sense that warmth spreading, she can feel how it spreads into each new part of her body, one bit at a time.

She is a girl of nineteen, in good health now she's had time eating sufficient amounts of food, and has begun getting exercise. Not particularly strong, but nimble. There are some old injuries, a broken bone in her arm that is long since healed. But overall she is in good condition. Plus that extra sense of life he can sense from her pewter.

Vi sighs contentedly at the feeling. As it feels like Triage has about finished, she tells him, "I'm only burning my pewter slowly. I'm going to flare it now."

A moment later, that extra sense of life grows like the sun coming over the horizon to banish the night. Vi's entire body grows stronger, and more durable. She likely could lift a tremendous weight, and most anything would be hard pressed to damage her. Her bones become incredibly strong, even her skin is resilient.

That bright flare lasts only for a half minute and then it vanishes suddenly as the last of her pewter is burned away. Chris gets a sense of Vi without any pewter at all. The cold immediately begins to make itself felt, and he can feel her tremble from it, even just through his touch to her hands.

Triage has posed:
The flare that results when Vi allows herself to burn the pewter within her stomach is short but intense. Chris's hands close around her hands. Other than that small movement, he remains utterly still, as if suspended in time, until the flare fades like a supernova. He takes another breath and murmurs, "Incredible." His eyes open and focus on her. He frowns for an anxious moment. "You said that were near the end of your supply. Did you ... burn that for me?" He sighs. "Why? You should have saved it in case you need it."

Vi has posed:
Vi sits there for a moment after Chris asks her the question. The fire crackles, shedding warmth and light on the pair as Vi considers the answer to what he asked. "I just... um..." Vi says softly, her gaze dropping a bit, but her hands still resting in Chris's grip.

"I guess... I wanted you to understand me?" she manages finally, peeking back up and over to the him. "I'm still figuring it out myself, and I haven't had many talk to me about this part of me. And, I'm realizing, it's important to me. So... you're probably right. I probably shouldn't have used so much up. But... I wanted you to be able to feel it," she tells him, blushing a bit.

Triage has posed:
Chris squeezes Vi's hands. "Whatever it is, don't be afraid. If you want to understand something about yourself, hiding from it won't help. If you want me to understand it, you should understand it first, or at least try. Do you have an idea what this ... part of you is?"

Vi has posed:
Vi considers the question. "I didn't have any idea before. The Hydra men, they talked of mutations and genes, but I didn't know what those were at the time. I've had people explain it to me, though some of it is a little hard to believe," she says of her crash course in biology.

"I... don't know why I can do it. Maybe my mother was like this too? I don't know anything about her," Vi says with a rueful shake of her head. "But, I feel like... it's important. It's an important part of who I am."

Vi bites her look and then looks at Chris. "How do you feel, about your powers?"

Triage has posed:
Chris looks at Vi and nods. "Now? I'm glad for it. I've saved many people, some of them here at this school." He shakes his head. "But your power is different from mine. You might not feel good about it. I don't know much about your power. Until I do, I don't want to judge it or how you should feel about it."