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With everything suitably arranged, Miss Lorna Dane is now officially enrolled as a student at Frost Institute. Which means she now has her own dorm room, meal plan, and access to the school's entire facilities. Isn't life grand? And in preparing herself for courses to begin next semester, Lorna has been spending time in the Science building, reading up on papers, syllabi and materials from the courses going on this semester to get herself up to speed, that eager young mind soaking up all that earthy science like a secretly green-haired sponge.
Yay.
And as Lorna pores over the latest materials, concentrating so hard on SCIENCE!, the door to the small study room she has taken over opens, its sounds muted but not silenced. And there is the change in air pressure. And a scent. Subtle, ice cold, more an echo of a scent than the whole thing. And the tingle of a presence standing at the doorway. Watching.
There, behind Lorna, stands the resplendently white-clad platinum blonde Lorna found so intimidating during her interview. Miss Emma Grace Frost, here in person. Alone. No bodyguards. No assistants. No other functionaries. Just the woman herself.
"Good afternoon, Miss Dane. Please, pardon me for interrupting."
*
Lorna had taken great care in hiding from her roommate the fact that her green hair constantly washed out to green. Bottles of dye hidden away in the trash can and promptly taken out. As the news continued to broadcast anti-mutant sentiment, continued the barrage of hatred, fear and other stories, Lorna tucked that possibility of her own possible mutation further and further into her mind.
So it was easy to lose herself in science. In the laws of the earth that were known, accepted and established. No tough questions that made people stop and think. Just memorization, research, experiments and theories to lose herself gleefully in. It was easy to lose herself in such school work, between that and her continued presence at her part time job, she kept herself as close to blissful ignorance as much as possible.
Even if every time she jumped or was frightened she found paper clips sticking to her skin. Or found that watches just didn't keep time so well around her..
The greeting from the door caught her unawares, and she jumped in her seat—and if the metal of her pen jumped slightly toward her, it was only a trick of the light. Lorna turned around in her seat, eyes widening as she spotted Emma standing there in the doorway. With a hasty scramble she rose, and smiled shyly, tucking hair back behind an ear.
"Err.. Hello, Mrs.. ah, uhm Miss? Frost?" She flushed faintly, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "Can I help you?"
*
"My hope, Miss Dane, is that I can help you. And, perhaps, you may be able to help me as well, at some point." Emma offers with a rather cool but gentle tone. Easy. Calm. Almost reassuring. But ever cold, without the warmth that so many would expect of a woman's touch and personality.
"If you have the time, perhaps we could discuss that, Miss Dane?" Emma inquires. She doesn't step further into the room, or close the door, until Lorna affirms that is what she wants. She at least is respecting the younger woman's boundaries and choices. Perhaps like some never respected her own?
*
A flutter of eyelashes followed as Lorna blinked repeatedly upat Emma. Her brows furrowed briefly in confusion as she stared for what felt like a long time, but was merely moments at the white clad woman. Then she was awkwardly nodding, a bob of her head as she whipped around and stacked and closed her various books, notes and shoved them off to the side.
"Of course! Uhm, what eerr.. I have the time. Did you want to speak here or..?" She paused, turning back around and biting her lower lip as she considered Emma once more in that nervous, shy, and hesitant manner. Her green eyes scanning the woman's features for some measure of assurances that she wasn't making herself a complete fool.
"Uhm… I can get another chair from the table over there if you wanted to speak here. I.. uhm.. well, if you wanted to talk here. I can just uhm.." She turned around again and shoved her books into the bag.
*
"Miss Dane, please. Calm yourself. There is no need to be all afluster." Emma offers, stepping inside and closing the door behind her, assuring at the least that no one else needs witness all of this distress or poor Lorna making a fool of herself. She only needs make a fool of herself in front of Emma.
Surely that helps. Right?
The platinum blonde - hard to imagine she is so close to Lorna in age as she is, given the sheer presence and composure she projects - nods and gestures to Lorna's chair, indicating the other woman should sit. Then she walks around the table and stands to her right; anyone peeking from the hallway would be unable to see Emma's lips well enough to read them, and could not see Lorna's face at all, this way.
"You have been understandably curious, Miss Dane, as to what brought you to my attention as a potential candidate for the school, or why I would expend such efforts as I have to recruit you." All true. Lorna said as much, asked as much, during their interview. Emma continues. "All that I have told you is true. But I will confess, there is another reason. I propose to tell you that reason now, in confidence. Assuming you feel you can remain calm in this setting. I am not telling you this to upset you."
And then Emma waits.
*
Lorna sits, promptly, and lowers her gaze as she settles into her seat and folds her hands on top of the table. White teeth chew at her lower lip as she peers at Emma from behind a fringe of brunette bangs. Green eyes following the woman as she shut the door and walked around the table to stand before her. A slight frown following the frosty blonde's tone and word choice, particularly at rephrasing what Lorna already knew.
The frown deepens slightly as Emma continues and notes /another/ reason. Lorna shifted uncomfortably in her chair, the wood creaking beneath her weight with the motion in the otherwise silent room, save the ticking of the clock on the wall.
"Uhm.. another reason, Miss Frost? I'm.. I'm afraid I don't follow.."
*
Emma's lips twist into a wry half-smile for a moment. "I realize you do not follow. But I am getting to my point. I have reason to believe that you are very special. Born special, in fact." Emma offers, softly spoken, and waits for the girl's reaction, sure she will demure or deny, but Emma has to start somewhere.
*
Lorna's fidgeting in the seat stops at Emma's words. Her whole body stilling briefly as she tumbled the terms over in her mind. She was a bright girl, she knew the connotations of the terms. She'd heard it, in the news interviews from those within Mutant town. To seeing the protestors in the streets. And she very carefully, very promptly, pushed it aside, tramped it down and tucked it into the mental box where she ignored that possibility.
Movement returned with that and she tilted her head to the side, her brows furrowing again. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Miss Frost.." She reached up to scratch at the base of her neck. "I'm honored that you think that I'm worthy of the scholarships and everything else.."
*
And Emma holds out a paper clip, as the tension in the room ratchets every higher, letting it sail towards its magnetic home, and land sideways on Lorna. The blonde's pale eyebrow arches slightly, then resumes its disinterested facade. "I do believe you are worthy of those scholarships, and everything else. And I believe there is more to you than even all of that. And if you will allow me, I would like to help you realize that potential, just as I have helped give you the opportunities to realize the rest of your potential."
*
Lorna's eyes round as Emma holds out the paper clip and it zings over to her like a magnet. A hand reaches upwards to cover the tiny metal object, pulling it off and closing her hand around it, as if by doing so would allow her to hide what had just happened. Her skin paled considerably and she swallowed a hard lump that formed in her throat as she shifted backwards in her seat, the backing of the wood digging into her middle back almost to a painful point.
A forced smile followed and Lorna blinked repeatedly as she looked away, "I-I'm—" She coughed, clearing her throat, her gaze held low to the table between them. "I'm sorry, I'm.. I'm not anything like that." Her voice rasped, barely more than a whisper.
"I'm not /that/.."
*
Emma reaches out, slowly and gently, as if to a skittish animal, and hooks a fingertip beneath Lorna's chin, drawing her gaze up until green eyes can meet pale ice blue. "There is nothing. Nothing. Not a thing wrong with being that, Miss Dane." Emma offers, hoping that her tone is convincing to the scared young woman.
"I understand why you would choose to hide, and deny the truth even to yourself. I would say 'believe me', but that wouldn't really give you anything to hold onto, to trust, would it?" Emma offers, watching the young woman carefully.
« But perhaps this will? » Emma offers, her voice sounding in the other woman's mind, while her lips are quite visibly still and unmoving.
*
Lorna's figure froze as Emma reached over and tilted her chin up, her brows climbing higher and higher as the woman spoke. Her lips parting to protest when suddenly she /hears/, no hears was the wrong word for what exactly happened. It takes Lorna a long moment of stunned silence to comprehend exactly what had happened. Emma Frost's lips hadn't moved. The woman had spoken inside her /head/. Directly!
Once that particular thought crosses Lorna's mind she's scrambling up and out of her seat, and whatever tiny metal objects in the room there were shiver with her movement. The clock on the wall creaked, a squeak against the painted wall as it lurched toward the clearly shocked and distraught young woman.
"No.. no… noo. No. No. No." Her voice a low whisper, almost a whimper. Lorna stared, aghast at Emma as she stood there shaking her head.
"I'm just.. I fell asleep.. I was studying too hard. Too long.. this is just a dream.."
*
"A reasonable point, I suppose. Perhaps I should have made this visitation in your mind, rather than in person." Emma offers, as she holds out a hand towards the young woman, her slim and feminine watch vibrating on her wrist. "Breathe, Lorna. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Slow your heart rate. Calm yourself. You are in no danger here. None. And now you need to convince yourself of that. Your gifts respond to intense emotions, without the control that you will learn one day. But I promise you, you can control them. And I am offering you the opportunity to learn how."
*
Lorna shivered, staring wide eyed at Emma as wrapped her arms around her middle and pressed her back against the wall. She gulped down air as stared at the watch that trembled and shook on the icy blonde's wrist. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale Exhale. That became her mental mantra as Emma said to breath, hold, breath. Her mind locked onto that, and the shaking slowed and many various items ceased their frantic shaking.
Lorna sank back against the wall, sliding down to the floor. Her features pale and drawn. "I don't want this. I don't want them at all.." She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut. "I don't want to go to mutant town o-or have anyone hate me.."
*
A tiny frown crosses Emma's lips and then disappears, as Lorna gives into self-pity and fear. Emma just isn't the warm, loving and supportive guide some folks need. But she can whip almost anyone into obedience given an opening.
It's a matter of style.
The platinum blonde gathers up Lorna's abandoned chair and slides it around, taking a seat in the chair and crossing her ankles as she bends down only slightly, regarding the girl on the floor. "I cannot undo what fate and genetics have wrought, Lorna." If Emma were being honest, she would also admit she wouldn't if she could. But that's not important just now.
"Nevertheless, I can help you, if you will allow me. And if you allow me, you will never have to go to mutant town. And those that hate you will never know that you are one of those they hate, until or unless you chose to tell them." Emma finishes. And waits.
*
A sniff follows as Lorna looks up at Emma with wide, watery, eyes. She bites her lower lip, uncurling her figure slightly as she stared up at the chill blonde before her that remained unruffled despite all the decidedly /crazy/ movements of the metal elements in the room. Lorna shifted, and leaned back against the wall, a hand rubbing at her nose and eyes separately.
"R-really? You can .. you can help me with that?" Her voice was small, barely a whisper.
*
The platinum blonde nods, once and quite firmly. "I can. If you allow me. And if you will commit yourself to working at it with the same dedication and focus that you have shown in preparing for your academic rigors." Emma offers. If the girl is impressed with Emma's unruffled state, so be it. Emma is almost always unruffled. She almost never doesn't know what she's facing, what's coming, and she is almost always well prepared in advance to deal with it. Even this.
"The choice is yours."
*
A shaky nod follows and Lorna, looks down at her hands. "Yes.. I-I can try. I.." She swallowed a hard lump in her throat, closing her eyes briefly. Then she shifted, pulling herself up to stand awkwardly as she leaned against the wall.
"I'm scared of what it is. I don't.. it all started just a few months ago. I mean, my hair has always been green.. but I-I didn't.. well I've dyed it since I was old enough to. But it's gotten worse recently, coming out in the shower all the time." Her voice climbed an octave.
"I.. I just don't want anyone to know.." She hung her head, looking down at the floor. "I just wanted to graduate.."
*
The platinum blonde nods. "Well, we'll look for a better solution for your hair. It may take us some trial and error, but we'll start looking into it immediately." Emma offers, reassuringly. She's not going to advocate shaven head and brunette wig right away. There should be better formulations possible that will hold into that green hair more resiliently. Emma will help find it.
"As for the rest, what is most needed is training. Once you have conscious, capable control over your powers, they will almost never act without your specific will and intent." Emma explains. "I had similar control challenges when I was younger. As I understand it, many if not most have similar issues early on. But with practice and training, you will gain control." And control will mean safety.
"In the meantime, some arrangements have already been made. Your roommate was assigned to you because she is also gifted. She will understand and respect your challenges, and your desire for secrecy." Emma explains. "That will make your dormitory room a place of safety, rather than fear and uncertainty. And there will be other facilities as well, where it will be safe to show yourself, and work on your gifts, unobserved by anyone who would not understand."
*
The more Emma spoke, the clearer it became that the young woman was calming down. Well and truly. The tense posture in her shoulders eased, and the metallic tension in the room lifted completely. A look of instant relief crossed her features as Emma spoke of her roommate and not needing to fear discovery there in her place of rest.
Another nod followed Emma's words about practice and she visibly brightened. "I promise, I'll try my best. Thank you, Miss Frost."
*
The blonde offers a nod to acknowledge the girl's promise. "You are welcome, Miss Dane. Now, if you will excuse me, I should get to a meeting. I wanted to take care of this myself. You will receive a packet in the mail in the next day or so explaining the rest of these matters. You can feel free to discuss this with your roommate as you see fit. Obviously, I would suggest not discussing it with anyone else on campus until you become aware of who else is in this special program as well." That said, Emma uncrosses her ankles and stands, offering her hands to help the girl back to her feet.
"I have also arranged for a wooden clock for your room." Emma explains, as she prepares to leave. "I believe that will help make sure at least one clock in the room keeps the proper time." Such a simple thing, and Emma thought to take care of it, all on her own.