| Meeting Warpath |
| Summary: | Amanda goes to Xavier's to see Kurt but ends up talking to Warpath instead when Kurt isn't there. |
| Date: | 2016-08-16 |
| Related: | None |
| NPCs: | None |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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Feeling lazy about her desire to go see Kurt, Amanda does not bother scrying for him. Instead she simply teleports out to the school from her apartment. As usual with Amanda, the signature of her teleport gives a warning that she's about to arrive. The courtyard at the Mansion fills with the sound of 1000 harps playing the same note for a moment before Amanda appears in a flash of pink and gold. Little bubbles of the same light float away from her and green streamers like smoke trail around her feet for a moment as she arrives.
Kurt could be any number of places, he could be on a mission, he could be teaching class, he could be sleeping, or having a session in the Danger Room, it's hard to say precisely where Kurt is without checking before hand. In any case, he's not the person who is nearest to the courtyard today. That happens to be James Proudstar, Warpath, who has just finished teaching a class on handling and caring for equestrians. So when the harps sound, and the system at the school alerts the teachers and staff, it's Warpath who gets the call to greet the new arrival and make sure everything is copacetic.
Dressed casually since he was handling horses and not going on a mission, James arrives brushing his immense shoulders off and running fingers through his hair to make sure there is no errant hay or the like making him less than presentable… other than faintly smelling of horse and stables that is. It doesn't take very long for the big Apache to make his way into the Courtyard and towards Amanda whom he studies with cautious curiosity. He's read reports of course on allies of the team but…
"Welcome to Westchester, I'm James Proudstar." James rumbles in a friendly polite tone as he introduces himself. "What can we do for you today Miss Sefton? Looking for someone in particular or is there an emergency?"
Amanda Sefton has long been know as a friend of Nightcrawler. It's a wonder anyone even bothers with alerts in her case. "If there was an emergency I would pinpoint my teleports tot he necessary person more specifically. I just felt like visiting. Do you happen to know where Kurt is at the moment?"
Warpath raises an eyebrow at the response. "No." He answers honestly, "Perhaps you should have called ahead before teleporting." He says with a rumble of a chuckle following. "The Mansion might know where he is, please come in." With that he turns and heads towards the door leading into the Mansion proper and opens it up for her, holding it open politely until he follows her in. "Is that normal… the harps." He clarifies, "I've grown used to bamfs and sulfur, but that one is new to me."
Amanda Sefton smiles at the question, "Well what would be the fun in calling ahead. Then I wouldn't catch anyone by surprise. My teleporting isn't like Kurt's so no sulfur. I do magic and light and harps. It makes it pretty obvious who's arriving."
"Magic." James says, repeating the word with a bit of perhaps distrust in his tone. "As long as you're head isn't on fire then I guess I can let that slide." He wrinkles his nose at some memory or another. "That's not in your file though. The light and the harps. They should put that in so it doesn't catch us by surprise." He walks over towards one of the computer panels nearest the door, "Tell Mr. Wagner that he has a visitor, one Amanda Sefton and to meet us in the sitting room off the foyer." Then makes sure the computer signals that it has sent the message. "Kurt will be joining us when he can. If you'll come this way it's a lot more comfortable place to wait. I don't know when he will be able to join us." He pauses as if he wants to say something more but doesn't instead walking over towards the door and opening it for her once again. "If you'd like anything to eat or drink while we wait I'll have it brought up."
Amanda Sefton follows him toward the sitting room. "That's not already in there? Oh. Right. I suppose it wouldn't be. I didn't do a lot of teleporting back in the day really. I let Kurt handle that part. You really don't have to be so formal unless you just like it." She tilts her head to consider him, "You have something against magic?"
James lifts his shoulders in a shrug, "It's nothing personal Miss Sefton. I've just found that every time magic gets involved, demons always follow. It's only a matter of time, like they can smell magic and hunt down it's users and everyone around them. Demons means massive collateral damage, and innocent lives lost." He considers, "I don't like magic because I don't understand it, and the last time I dealt with it… a lot of innocent souls were almost lost."
Amanda Sefton smiles wryly, "I suppose I cannot entirely refute that statement. I have dealt with my fair share of demons over the years, but in general, I put the demons back where they belong." She glances at him again, "I am a bit surprised by the attitude though. I thought Native Americans had a magical tradition almost as strong as gypsies."
"Stronger in many respects, until we started getting killed off and forced onto Reservations." James says but there's no heat in his tone. "Whole tribes lost, and much of our traditions with them. I know the gypsies were and are persecuted too but it was a whole different thing here as I'm sure you know." He folds his arms across his massive chest and leans against the door frame to the sitting room. "I was never meant to be a Shaman but I'm the last of my tribe now. A demon bear tried to take all their souls and I had to deal with it." He grunts once at that memory, "I don't like magic because it's worse than even other super powers. People can die, but it takes magic to torment their souls in the afterlife, or consume them utterly and take even that from them."
Amanda Sefton :moves to lean against the wall rather than sitting down, "I suppose that's true, but it can also do beautiful things when properly handled and controlled. Have you never experienced that beauty?"
"I've never seen magic do anything beautiful. Just horrible things to good people." James admits, "Or prey on even the fallen. I've seen souls consumed by darkness… but nothing beautiful. Even when I rescued my people's souls from the demon bear, it wasn't beautiful. They were still dead. Still gone."
"I suppose that would tend to taint your opinion." Amanda shrugs, "I used to resent my studies when I was younger. I just wanted to focus on my acrobatics with Kurt. I had no desire to learn what my mother wanted to teach me."
"So why did you?" James asks, "Why not just live the life you wanted to live? I would give anything to be able to do that again."
Amanda Sefton laughs softly, "You've never met my mother. Trying to tell her no over an extended period of time is difficult on a good day." She smile fade a bit, "And I had a mystic destiny. I was supposed to stand up to and defeat a particularly nasty demon later."
James grunts softly, "I never really had that problem. I can out stubborn the best of them. Should see it when Logan and I disagree on how to do something." That actually makes him grin a bit wryly at the thought. "Couldn't let the hairy little monster get away with everything." He chuckles and then frowns, "More seriously though… once you've /seen/… how do you make it stop. Ever since the Spirit of Vengeance and the Demon Bear I've been seeing… stuff I can only assume to be magic. It wasn't there before."
Amanda Sefton pushes away from the wall and stands up straight, "You see things? Do you see anything around me?" Amanda's own mystic aura is pretty obvious to those who can detect magic due to the fact that she does not use all the energies that tend to coalesce around her. It draws very weird things to her on occasion.
"Yeah. You actually glow… but it casts no shadows so I know it's not real light. It kind of swirls around you almost like a luminescent mist but it never obscurs your eyes." James answers, gesturing with one large hand as if to trace out the shapes almost. "And it looks like if I wanted to stop you from doing anything… I'd need to gag you, blindfold you, and restrain your hands completely. There's this kind of reddish almost like a warning that there would be what I wanted to attack, if I wanted to."
Amanda Sefton arches a brow slightly, "A warning of where to attack me? Really? How interesting. That's one I have never heard before. Out of curiosity, how is it telling you to attack me?" She knows she hasn't answered his question yet but knowledge is a good thing.
"It's not." James says with a shrug, "It's just like… weak points. I don't really understand it. I can see the… aura's I guess and that's what it makes me feel or think." He smiles, "I have no desire nor inclination to attack you though Amanda. Don't be alarmed."
Amanda Sefton smiles warmly, "Oh I'm not. I'm fascinated. I never realized anyone could see my weak points just by looking at me. That could be very dangerous if you were hostile." She gestures, "So you see that sort of thing all the time without any control?"
James shakes his head, "Not all the time, like when I look at Sam there." He points towards a student with four arms heading down the hall towards a classroom, "I don't see anything at all. I saw the fires around Ghost Rider but in him, it was a soft glow over his heart, but it wasn't his heart it was deeper than that like, his spirit… if I could get him to doubt himself or lose himself somehow he'd be weaker. With the Demon Bear I saw where it was hurt, and where it needed to be struck to force it to release my People. If I saw it all the time I'd probably be going mad."
Amanda Sefton nods, "I can defend myself against attacks, but I've never been able to see where someone else is weak without trying very hard to do it. Do you want to stop seeing it?"
"To be honest I hadn't seen anything in a long while, until you." James says after some thought, "I don't like it because I don't want it to be a doorway, where I end up in all these magical events just because I can now see things I couldn't see before. Things I can't unsee." He frowns deeply, resting his chin on his chest, "The warrior in me says to keep it, it's a strength that can be used in battle but everytime I see something… I remember all the People I've lost. It is painful." Looking up (only a fraction really, due to their height difference) he says, "I am torn. I just don't know enough to make an educated decision."
Amanda Sefton nods, "I wouldn't like to simply see things without trying." She pauses then amends, "Well I do sense things sometimes, particularly if there is dimensional magic going on which there always seems to be thee days since what happened. Have you tried a meditation to gain control of it and only see it when you want to?"
James chuckles, "Even if I had, I wouldn't be able to tell if it worked. Most of the time it's not there unless we were to spend some quality time together I'd have no real way of knowing if I was making any progress."
Amanda Sefton winks just a little flirtatiously, "Are you asking to spend time with me, James? I suspect you could always see them around me. I'm a magic magnet."
The sudden if slightly less than subtle flirtation comes as a bit of a surprise considering it's a bit of a skew from what they were talking about but it only causes a bit of hesitation on James part before he responds with a chuckle, "I can't think of any red blooded man that wouldn't say yes to that Amanda." He compliments, "But," Always a but, "I imagine that not wanting to see it would be hard to do if you're drawing even more magical oddness to the party no?" He considers, "Do you think it's something that can be controlled? The stories said the Shaman could always sense when magic was at work… maybe it's something that can't be stopped… and it's not always bad, it's quite enchanting where you're concerned. Not that you need the help…"
Amanda Sefton chuckles for a moment, "I can usually block out what I sense if I want to. I do not know so much about how your magical bloodline works things, but if you want to spend some time together so you can try to control what you are seeing, I am open to helping you. When I'm not on a plane that is."
"I wouldn't want to bore you like that Amanda." James says seriously, only a little smile following. "I'm sure you are used to being stared at as beautiful as you are but that could get uncomfortable after a while, and who knows where the mind would wander."
Amanda Sefton smile warmly once more, "I'm a flight attendant, James. Being stared at is not a thing I find tedious. It's the offers to join the mile high club from people who think they are god's gift to women that become tedious. And I don't mind half so much when the offer comes from someone I would actually consider."
A smoother man than James might have a good comment to come back from that on the quick, but James is not one of those guys for better or worse. He is instead one of those guys who finds himself on the spot and having to try and think up something to say and in true Apache fashion just ends up falling into stoic silence for a few so as to not make a fool of himself by saying something silly. That's the plan anyways, it doesn't always work out that way… Instead James straightens up and says the silliest thing he can think of, "I thought you and Kurt were a thing?" Pause. "Otherwise… I have some time I could devote…" Yeah, not smooth there big guy.
Amanda Sefton's smile fades a little at that. She hesitates then murmurs, "Kurt and I haven't been an item recently. It's a complicated situation. We will always be close but I think he considers me his ex at the moment. I am willing to help you if you want. Perhaps I can show you something beautiful that magic can do instead of something awful."
"I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to bring up." James says looking apologetic, "I just didn't want to cause problems if there… it doesn't matter." He frowns and then rakes both his hands through his hair and pushes off the wall. "Please forgive me. I'm a fool and you caught me off guard." Walking over towards her he holds out one large hand to her, palm up as if in offer. "If you think you can help me, I will try… and maybe it would be nice to see something beautiful for a change, magical or not. I've seen an awful lot of blood, pain, and death recently so it would be a very nice change of pace. If you're willing."
Amanda Sefton places one hand against his without actually holding it. "Do you mind if I see if I can tap into the ability? It is a little similar to when I sense magic so I should be able to." She looks into his eyes as she asks, her hand warm against his.
Massive shoulders lift in a shrug, "I do not mind." James gives his permission without any hesitation, "I don't know if it is something that can be shared, or experienced, or whatever. I know nothing about it other than crude guesswork and myths and stories. If I knew a Shaman… I would go find out more." Maybe, his tone on that last bit is uncertain and he asks, "What do you need me to do?"
Amanda Sefton smiles, "Just be willing to share your gift and hold my hands." She reaches for his other hand and twines her fingers through his before winding her magic through and around him and seeking out the ability she wants. The magic feels a little warm as it spreads through him. She closes her eyes for a moment then opens them again.
James laces his fingers with hers but she can tell he's treating the touch like he was holding something incredibly fragile but then even if he wasn't a mutant with tremendous strength he'd be incredibly strong just by muscle mass and size so that might come as no surprise. When her magic starts to try and meld with his she can see his eyes glow red, and it's not just via the magic, but an actual luminescence in his eyes as if they were reacting to the close proximity of the magic itself. At first there's nothing beyond what her magic can tell her about the Apache but as it starts to meld together she can see that there is a tight red energy encompassing all of James Proudstar, lining his features and frame like a wire outline tracing his whole form and then there is more… the sense that the red is due to a deep pain of loss and underneath that is a truly noble spirit trying to struggle free from all the darkness of his past. There is an additional glow around his eyes, filling them now to her sight showing that he has to physically be able to see something in order to use his natural magic to sense other magic. Her own would become visible as a coherent light, the color glowing silvery gold as it melds with the red and there would be recoils away from metal buttons on his clothing to indicate the weakness to cold iron as a means to attack the magic directly. It's like the magic is a living thing to him, and like any expert hunter he can see it's strengths and weaknesses including the slight glamour that is the ever present link to the Ways.
Warpath asks, "Can you see this?" His tone hushed.
Amanda Sefton's eyes slowly widen as she taps into his magical sight through her own magic. "Oh how fascinating. You just see this without trying?" She looks down at her own aura through his sight and smiles, "I knew the aura was noticeable to everyone but I had no idea. And you can see the cold iron weakness I see. Wrap me about in steel wire and I might just be useless as you can see."
"I didn't see that before, maybe because you weren't actively doing anything… magical?" James asks since he doesn't really know how it works. "So that's the weakness of your magic, not you… which is why I could only see the other parts before." He frowns, "Your magic scares you. You're afraid of it deep down, of what it means. I can see this deep purple, like… veins in tiny little lines from your spell to your heart… We don't have to do this." He is suddenly concerned and protective of all things. "But yeah… when I see magic it's like this without even trying… it's just there."
Amanda Sefton lets the magic fade then releases his hands before looking away, "It's not that. What I can do with my magic scares me sometimes. I cannot do death spells because my mother did not teach me any but there have been times I would have used them if I knew them. I do not like to think about that."
James reaches up one large hand to gently try and cup Amanda's cheek with the palm of it if she doesn't pull away and he tries to meet her gaze, "There are times when I have had to kill. Take another life in order to save another, or many others. Within each of us there is darkness, and light. Sometimes one will try to overpower the other but we always have a choice. It is a hard thing to do, and to live with, but sometimes it must be done. The other options are even worse… like a Momma Bear protecting her cubs sort of… and when it gets really hard… sometimes I have to remind myself that we're all just animals in the end. Animals kill each other all the time and at least I am doing so for the right reasons." He doesn't smile, "It is good to be afraid of the darkness at least a little. If you weren't then you'd just be a psychopath, a monster, that would need to be put down."
Amanda Sefton allows him to draw her gaze back to him, "I am more than a little afraid of what I have inside me, not because I worry I am going to lose myself in it, but because I worry about it being unleashed again. I know too much magic to have that happen again."
"We all have our demons inside us Amanda." James says softly, well as soft has his baritone can get, it's a truly deep voice. "The fact that you fight against what could be, to do what you feel is right is what makes you a hero.
James slowly lowers his hand, letting his fingertips trail across Amanda's cheek before he gives a soft smile down towards her, "So do you still think I should try to learn to turn it off?" He pauses a moment and then asks, "Or do you want to spend some quality time with me staring at you until we've shared something magically beautiful?" Is he trying to flirt now? Way past the moment for that James. Worst. Timing. Ever.
There is a somewhat awkward hesitation because it really isn't the best timing but finally Amanda smiles at that then teases, "And here I thought you were already looking at something magical and beautiful." She glances toward the door since she knows they are expecting Kurt to walk in at any point now potentially. "You may be right about me calling first. I used to visit Kurt whenever I was in town because being a flight attendant can take me away for long periods of time, but he must be too busy to get free."
"He might not even be here. I didn't think to have the computer check to see if he was at the Mansion." James admits, "Maybe I didn't want you to have an excuse to go. If you'd rather go somewhere else…" He offers, "I'm available… pretty much anytime but I don't live here all the time so calling first is definitely the way to go." He chuckles softly and then takes a deep breath, "If I didn't know better I'd think you were enchanting me even now with the desires to see even more of the magical beauty you can offer, but maybe… maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part but I'm still hopeful." He takes a step back so as to not be looming in her personal space, a way out perhaps leaving the ball as it were, in her court.
Amanda Sefton actually blanches a little pale at what he probably thought of as an innocent flirtation when he makes the comment about her enchanting him. She closes her eyes then takes a step back before finally saying, "You wouldn't want that. And I could." She turns to face the door so her back is to him now, "If you want me to hang around so you can practice focusing your mystic sight, I can do that."
James frowns at her reaction, "Honestly… you could try, but I'd see it coming and stab it with an iron knife." He shrugs a bit. "I want you to stay, but not just to hang around so I can try practicing to meditate or whatever. I want you to stay because you want to stay. It's ok if you don't. I get that I'm not really good at this and I'm sorry to have dampened your day Amanda." He rumbles softly, "If you really want to find Kurt… find a Bamf, they always seem to know where he is."
Amanda Sefton nods, "You might see it coming, but whether or not you could simply banish it with an iron knife is debatable. I don't mind staying. It's not important enough to find one of the bamfs. I don't need him that way right now."
James asks, "Do you want to stay, or do you not mind staying. There's a difference." A pretty big one all things considered.
That prompts a slow breath before she admits, "A little of each I'd say."
James nods slowly, "Alright. Better question. Would you rather go somewhere else, with or without me, or do you want to head over to the room I'm using because as much as I like staring at you, I'd probably enjoy it a lot more without the chance of some teenager goggling us while I stare. It might be a bit awkward all told." He can't help but smile at that. "Otherwise… we could try a good old fashioned date sometime when it might be… better, for you."
Amanda Sefton turns to face him again and places her right palm gently on his cheek, "I don't think I'm ready to see your bedroom yet, James. We haven't known each other that long yet. If you want to ask me on a date, I think I would consider answering in the affirmative. Would depend on what kind of date you asked me on." Her thumb brushes his jaw once then her hand lowers. "I can completely understand not wanting a teenager to watch you staring at a girl though. Might be embarrassing."
If he could blush, he would be blushing, "That's not what I meant… it's just the only place that is really private here." James explains a bit flustered, at both the comments and the touch to his strong jaw. "We could talk more openly without fear of intrusion not… like… instantly in the sheets." He over-explains. Still flustered. "As for the date I'm a pretty simple man, I don't know that I could offer you something really intriguing and enjoyable unless you liked dancing, hiking, or other physical activities. I'm not exactly up on what plays are good or stuff like that…" He admits.
The awkward reaction draws out Amanda's inner tease. She winks, "Oh I love physical activities." The comment is allowed to hang in the air like a crackling little open electric line for a second before she continues, "Seriously though, I actually do enjoy physical things. I used to do an aerial act with Kurt in a circus. I am an accomplished acrobat and a very good dancer."
And there's Kurt again putting the damper on what was otherwise a good tease that brought images to mind. James nods afterwards, "Well then… we can go dancing. I know all the good clubs in the City, or if you prefer we could go hiking and possibly camping. I can take the Blackbird and have it drop us off somewhere nice and wild… or you could teleport us I guess." He chuckles, "I usually just head out on foot, but I imagine it'd be a pretty windswept ride if I had to carry you a couple hundred miles into the wilderness."
Amanda Sefton smiles, "Dancing and dinner sounds nice. I think camping should wait until we decide if we want something… else." She reaches into her pocket but he can probably see the tiny bit of magic that happens as she conjures a paper from her pocket and draws it out to hand it to him. Oh look. It's the lady's digits.
James takes the paper and fishes out one of those huge smartphones that is practically a tablet from a pocket, but it's still tiny in his hand as he smiles, "Well, I did say hiking also.. but… you're probably right. I can say, speaking for myself, that I can only hope it goes that well." He keys in her phone number but also keeps the conjured paper with the numbers on them as well. "This is the second good thing that came out of this new ability… I can only hope for more in the future." He then heads into the sitting room to grab a notepaper and a pen to scrawl his number onto it and returns shortly after to offer the paper to her since she doesn't have her phone out. "Call me anytime, if you need anything. Ok?"
Amanda Sefton takes the paper as she favors him with another warm smile, but before she can respond her phone actually rings in her pocket. She glances down at said pocket then fishes it out. She glances at the number before putting it to her ear. "Sefton speaking." She begins to nod as if the person on the other end could see it then answers. "No problem. Shouldn't take me more than forty minutes to get there. I'll see you shortly." The phone is tucked away as she explains, "That was the airline. One of the flight attendants on the Atlanta flight this morning came down sick. They need me to fill in."
"Of course." James rumbles with a wry smile, "Saved by the bell." And just then there is a bell as classroom doors start flooding open and students start pouring out into the hall. End of classes for the day. Mutant teenagers going everywhere and the volume suddenly goes way way up with all the chatter and youthful hijinx. "I'd say I'm sorry your meeting fell through, but that would be a lie." He says as he steps closer to the woman. "Let's step outside before you leave. We try to restrict the use of powers in the halls and we wouldn't want to give them any ideas." He says as he offers to escort her out so she can take her leave. "It was… very nice meeting you for the first time Amanda. Call me and let me know when you have free time and we can see about that meeting we discussed. My calender is pretty open except for this Friday I have a previous engagement."
Amanda Sefton nods and walks with him outside. "As you can see, I can suddenly become unavailable unexpectedly. I'm a senior flight attendant so they try to keep my days off free, but if they need me, I'm always on call. It was very nice to meet you, James."
"I guess I'll just have to hope you don't answer the phone when we're out and about. Priorities and such." James says with a smile, "Keep in touch."
Amanda Sefton smiles warmly, "I try not to have to leave suddenly in the middle of a date." Then she ruins it by adding, "If you see Kurt, tell him I stopped in but had to go." That said she makes an showy gesture and is swallowed in pink and gold light. When the light fades the gypsy sorceress is no longer there.