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It is a bit less than twenty-four hours after Lorna's safe return to the Institute's grounds. It's time for Lorna's regularly scheduled training period with the tutor Emma has hired for the task. But when Lorna arrives at the training room - large as it is - she will find none of the usual metal bits around the room. Instead, she finds two wooden chairs with soft upholstery and one wooden table. Not even any nails or staples. And one platinum blonde in white, sitting patiently, waiting. "Good evening, Miss Dane."
*
Security had found Lorna on the green the night previously, bleeding from her neck and completely hysterical. With her powers she had set off everything with an alarm within the block. She had been swiftly and professionally checked over by doctors, and kept over night for observations. She had filed the necessary charges for an assault and battery, before being released.
She had not mentioned vampires to the officials, but had sent word ahead to Emma.
So the brunette was surprised, slightly, by the change of order for her training. A hand raised to press against the bandaid that rested against her neck thoughtfully as she hurried over to Emma and sits down.
"I'm sorry Miss Frost for yesterday…" She started off, and then the words died on her lips.
*
With the slightest gesture, a little wave of her hand, Emma dismisses that line of inquiry. "What is done is done, Miss Dane. What is important now is that you learn to trust me, in the future, and restrain your impulses sufficiently to allow me to do my job: to help you stay safe, and prepare you for what lies ahead." Emma's words are a tad cold, slightly distant in tone, but very precise, and not scathing at all. She's merely laying it out there for the young woman to digest. There will be no further recriminations; they would be pointless.
"I am given to understand that you have been hurt." Emma appends. "Given that I am responsible for your safety, and given the subsequent events to the attack, I need to know everything you know about what transpired." Emma explains, waiting patiently. Well, OK. Not so patiently, but at least not yelling.
*
Lorna nodded, a sigh pulling from her lips as she hangs her head slightly. A hand pressed against her neck. "Well, after last night, when I was going back to my dorm.." She chewed her lower lip.
"I might have tried to take my frustrations out on some quarters. But well, then this guy showed up! Like instantly! And he was snapping photos! And then like I blinked and he was offering coffee and had a chair! I have no idea where he got either of those things. But like he was super fast! So I thought he must've been a student /here/." She trailed off, glancing at Emma, her brows pinched as she remembered the events.
"And he said he had gone here, and so I was talking to him, even though he was constantly moving. I was pretty sure he had to be a mutant.." She then winced, "But I guess he wasn't. Miss Frost, please believe me when I say this but he was a Vampire! He bit me in my neck and and it /hurt/ and I lost control of my powers, and I'm /really/ glad I did 'cause I hit him so hard and sent him flying into the bushes and he left me alone."
*
Emma listens, without interrupting. She gives just enough of a hint, a slight shake of her head, to acknowledge to Lorna that she heard her, and that she had no idea who this was, but they weren't one of her mutants. Not a part of her program.
"I am glad that you were able to free yourself from his attack and drive him off." Emma offers, and she's not lying in the slightest. "I do want to make sure that you are examined most carefully, and kept under observation, however. Given what has transpired in and around Central Park of late, I cannot discount the possibility that he truly was a vampire. And the bite of a vampire could have repercussions." Mind control, anyone? But Emma is picking up no signs of that in the girl's thoughts right now.
"We will work together, to assemble a sketch of this young man, and then we will distribute it to campus security and the police." Emma offers. "He may be a mutant, or not. But he is clearly a threat."
*
Lorna fidgets in her seat, and rubs at the bandages at her neck and nods, chewing her lower lip. "Yeah, I get that.." She mumbled, looking down at her lap as she sighed and her shoulders slumped. Relief that Emma believed her sang in every inch of her body, if not her mind.
"Wait, there's been stuff going on in Central Park?" Her brows furrowed as she leaned forward. And then was blinking a few times, her lips falling into a faint frown.
"A-and you do think that.. that something will happen to me.. if it.. if it /was/ a Vampire?"
*
"Yes. There have been problems going on in Central Park." Emma offers. "Apparently, there has been a 'portal' of some kind open there for some time, from which very dangerous, nefarious things have been pouring forth into Manhattan." Emma doesn't sound like she fully believes it, but she reports it as fact nonetheless. She doesn't sound amazed that Lorna is unaware, but she doesn't chastise her for missing it either, despite that it has in fact been reported in the newspapers.
"I do not know what might happen to you if it truly was a vampire." Emma explains. "I am by no means an expert on vampires. But some of the lore I have read and reviewed implies that those who are bitten, if they do not die, find themselves very susceptible to the will of the vampire in the future." Hence her concern.
*
A shudder ran up Lorna's spine as she wrapped her arms around her middle at the news. She hadn't in fact considered that myth, nor had read the news about what was going in Central Park.
"O-oh.." She blinked up at Emma and chewed her lower lip. "Yeah.. that.. I-I.. I hope not." She offered lamely, unable to offer up more in terms of conversation for a long moment.
"Miss Frost.. what.. what should I do?"
*
Emma is really not good at the warm and fuzzy kinds of reassurance that would work best in this situation; there will be no hugs, no allowing the girl to cry on her shoulder. But Emma will provide structure and support to her as best she can. "First, as I said, you will work with me, and we will put together a detailed description and sketch of this man, which will be distributed to security. And then you will resume your studies and your practice. After all, what better than to prepare you so that next time you can be completely in control while defending yourself and others?"
*
Lorna nodded, a shallow bob of her head as she listened to Emma's words. "Right.. well.. He gave me his first name? It was Pietro.. and he well, he had a funny accent." She mumbled, reaching up and rubbing her neck and wincing at the tug on the bandage.
"Are we.. are we going to still do the blood test now? Or.. does that mean we'll have to wait longer, Miss Frost?" Her eyebrows furrowed as she spoke and she chewed her lower lip.
*
Emma sighs. "We may have to delay our visit to the Xavier Institute, for their safety." Emma admits. "As much as I do not wish to delay matters, I cannot in good conscience risk their safety and that of their students by negligence. They have trusted us, and we must trust them." Which means being responsible to one another. "We will inform them of the situation. If they decide to shoulder the potential risk, we will continue as planned."
Emma then spends half an hour or so helping Lorna to assemble a very clear mental picture of this 'Pietro', which Emma can then communicate to a sketch artist, so that they will have something to distribute to security, as agreed.