Emma Frost is tired of trying to be good (ice_queen) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-10-01 12:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, anya corazon (spider-girl), emma frost (white queen) |
Who: Cora Mallory and Emma Summers
Where: Chez Dresden, the mall
What: telepathy lessons and espionage
When: right after the Kryptonite plot
Warnings/Rating: pg
Status complete
Cora was happy. Nervous, excited, riding a mental and emotional rollercoaster, but always coming back to happy. School was okay, she was making friends--not exactly fitting in, but not exactly minding, because she had realized that she wasn’t the only one with a secret. And the secret was, everybody got scared sometimes. Everybody felt awkward and uncertain every now and then. Everybody was different, and nobody really ‘fit in’ everywhere, all the time.
And that was okay.
But she still had a lot of work cut out for her, mastering her new powers; and that was where Emma came in. To make sure she didn’t spend all of her time mooning around in Nate’s daydreams. Or her own.
Emma chuckled as she walked up to the Dresdens’ house, knocking politely. You’re in a good mood, aren’t you? Her mental voice was warm and understanding. She was glad Cora was having an easier time with her new powers than most of the mutants she’d met in the dreams.
Cora giggled as she went to the door, all but skipping down the hall. Why shouldn’t I be? Sure, being telepathic was a bit of a headache, sometimes, but she still tended to see the world through the rosy lenses of an eight year old girl who’d just discovered that Lions could talk, doors could open into other worlds, and magic was very, very real.
On the one hand, those doors into other worlds had also given her glimpses of things that she had no doubt were truly evil--but on the other, she still believed that good would always win. After all, Emma was alive, uncle Thomas wasn’t burnt to a crisp, and her dad wasn’t turning into the abominable snowmonster yet. So there was still hope, and good in the world. How are you?
I’m well. She felt enormous, but kept that out of the conversation. I’ll be much happier in a few months, but I have no complaints right now. I’m happy to see you’re doing well as well.
Cora smiled, and stepped back from the doorway, inviting Emma in. Is this going to be like one of those language immersion classes, where there’s no ‘English’ allowed? She didn’t mind, she was just curious.
“No, but there was a door in the way.” Emma stepped inside, smiling softly. “Beside, clearly you’re perfectly adequate at telepathic communication. I’m just here to check up on you, and make sure you have all the training you need to get by on a day to day basis.”
“Nate talks to me pretty often,” Cora said, “I’m kind of used to hearing voices in my head, and talking back. But I’m not used to being able to hear everybody.” She shivered, remembering some of the images she’d picked up from Samandriel, of torture at the hands of his evil twin. “Last week was really bad for some people.”
“Yes, I heard.” Emma noted with a sigh. “I hope that nobody was permanently injured.” She looked at the available chair options and decided to stand a little longer. If she sat down she might not be able to get back up. “I’m thinking a field trip is appropriate, so I can help you manage your thoughts and build shields.”
“All right,” Cora said, trying not to laugh. She couldn’t help but remember the last time someone besides her mother or father had taken her shopping--and she didn’t really want to have to explain all that to Emma if she was seized by some kind of giggle fit. “I’ll get my purse. Do you want some water, or anything, before we go?”
“I have a bottle in the van.” Emma said with a smile. “And be careful, if you project too much even non-telepaths can hear.”
“You mean like how moms always know when you’re up to something?” Cora asked, grabbing her purse from the table. Emma was a mom, Cora had no doubt she had all the inherent mom-powers. The teenage part of her felt like blushing and squirming under that knowledge, but the nine-year-old didn’t mind so much. That was just how moms were. “Does my mom know you’re going to help me practice my poker face?”
“I didn’t tell her, no.” Dammit. She was going to blame the baby for the oversight. “I should let her know what we’re up to, so she doesn’t worry. And what I meant was that if you think very hard about something it increases. . . let’s say the volume of that thought. So something about which you have strong emotions is much easier for another telepath to pick up on accident or on purpose. Proper telepathic shield keeps thoughts in as well as out.”
Cora nodded. “I suppose I’ll have to work on that, since teenagers and kids have strong emotions about...everything.” She made an expansive gesture. “Mom’s downstairs in her office, but I don’t think she’s in a session right now, if you want to talk to her.”
“I’ll go check in.” Emma said with a chuckle. Stairs were not her friend anymore, but she could manage if she went slow. “Think of something that you’d like to pick up while we’re out.”
“Okay.” Cora wondered if she was supposed to keep the thing she wanted secret, or what. Everything seemed to be a lesson, when there were moms involved.
Emma poked her head in on Elaine, smiling softly. “Are you busy? I wanted to check in and make sure it’s okay to take Cora shopping.”
Elaine glanced up from her work, and gave Emma a smile. “I’m just balancing the books,” she said, “It takes longer now that I’ve gone back to doing everything on paper, in case our magic shorts out the computer, but better that than losing all my records.” She nodded. “It’s fine with me if you want to take Cora out. Just let me know when to expect her back, so I can plan for dinner.”
“Of course. We’ll probably be back around five.” She smiled at Elaine. “Do let me know if you need any help, I’m dying for things to do while I’m on maternity leave.”
“Well, I’m still trying to keep my website as up-to-date as possible, for as long as possible,” Elaine said, “So if you’d like to help me with that, at all, I’ve got my holiday specials coming up. And I can always use a hand stuffing mailers, and things like that.” She grinned. “You and Cora have a good time, though, in the meantime. Don’t let her wear you out!”
“It won’t take much.” Emma said with a laugh. “I’ll make sure she has a good time.” She ducked out and made the trek back up the stairs. The baby was very much in the way, but it wasn’t as nerve wracking as going down. She smiled at Cora when she found the young lady. “All set?”
Cora was waiting by the door with her purse and a light jacket slung over one arm. It was still pretty warm, but you never seemed to know, in Orange County, whether the weather would match the forecast, or if it might start literally raining cats and dogs--of maybe even frogs--at any moment. “I’m ready.”
“Perfect.” Emma said with a smile as she started off for the van. “We’ll need to go somewhere with a lot of people. Is the mall okay with you?”
Cora nodded as she followed Emma to the car. “If I can handle school, I can handle the mall. I hope.” She shrugged. “I try to go someplace quiet after school, to...decompress. I think it helps.”
“That’s a good strategy, but mental shields are very important in emergency situations. If you’re stuck in a hospital you’ll be very grateful for mental shielding.” She knew that from experience. Being too sick to block out the ambient noise was the worst part of her first day in the hospital.
She got into the van and started off, smiling softly. “What has Nate taught you already? I don’t want to go back over things you’re already doing well.”
“He taught me…” Cora wrinkled her forehead as she tried to come up with the verbiage to describe what Nate had taught her. He hadn’t really coached her with words, and he’d started coaching her on how to interact with telepaths even before she became one. “Maybe it’s easier if I show you?”
“Almost certainly.” Emma said with a nod. “I’ll be fine, I have sufficient concentration to do that and drive.” She cleared her mind, keeping her eyes glued to the road. She’d have to concentrate all her senses on driving while she linked with Cora.
Cora opened her mouth, and shut it again when Emma answered the very question that she would have asked next. She supposed one didn’t really have to be telepathic to know that would be the next question, though, just experienced. “Okay,” she said. She absolutely trusted Emma to know what she was doing, and simply let herself relax as she recalled the memory of what Nate had show her to do--how to raise some basic shields, and how to call him when she needed him. Nate’s powers had been fluctuating, so they’d had to do the best they could in a pinch, but Elaine had also been teaching Cora how to meditate, so that had probably helped to bolster the girl’s efforts. Cora just hoped she wasn’t practicing it incorrectly.
Emma nodded as she examined the bits and pieces Cora already had. “A good start. We’ll work on permanent shielding today.” She sped toward the mall, keeping her real purpose for this location locked deep inside her own mind.
Cora nodded, quietly thinking of things to look for at the mall while she awaited further instructions. Her parents' wedding was just a few months away, so she could look for a present for them. Or at least look for ideas. "I'm glad I'm not making people's psychic powers go crazy anymore."
“I appreciate that as well.” Emma said with a small laugh. “You really did have an exciting week.” She pulled into the mall parking lot and began looking for a close spot. In her current condition she was in no mood to hike all the way in from the boonies.
“Exciting is a word for it,” Cora said, scanning the rows for open spaces. She actually had enjoyed it, for the most part. She’d explored Graymalkin, and gone swimming with Nate; had long talks with Mouse and Mister; helped her dad make pizza on the grill when she’d unplugged all the appliances to keep her mother’s errant ferromancy from shorting them out. She smiled. “I guess parts of it were pretty fun.”
Emma smiled. “I’m glad you found things to enjoy.” She finally found a spot and dove for it, altering the perception of a couple people who were also angling for the same spot. None of them were enormously pregnant or disabled, so they could walk a little.
“Me too,” said Cora. She noticed how the other vehicles which seemed to be headed their direction both seemed to change their minds. It was very ‘not the droids you’re looking for.’ And, yes, Cora was a very geeky little girl. “What are we shopping for first?”
“An example, actually. It’s an errand as well. I want to buy a baby ring for Faith, so our first stop will be the jewelry store.” Any ulterior motive was tightly locked down. This was just a fun illustration of a concept.
“Oh--you picked out a name!” Cora bounced excitedly. She was so looking forward to being a big sister, and her mom wasn’t even expecting yet, so that meant all the more squee-ing over her future cousin, and Nate’s baby sister in the meantime. “Faith will be easy for her to learn to learn, when she’s old enough to write. Not that you’re in a hurry for that!”
“We didn’t even consider that.” Emma admitted. “And yes, I think it will be easy to write, though possibly difficult for her to say at first.” She waddled over to the door and held it for Cora. “Faith Elizabeth is her full name, which gives her some options if she decides she doesn’t like her first name down the line.”
Cora nodded as she stepped inside, grabbing the next set of doors for Emma. “Sometimes I try putting all my names together. The one from the dreams, and my real name. It gets way too long, though. Anya Corazon Summer Mallory Dresden.”
Of course, the thought of trying out names made her think of the time when Nate had suggested that she’d have too many ‘Summers’ in her name if they got married--and she tried to lock that thought down tight. Not that she was ashamed of it. It wasn’t like she went around writing Cora Mallory Summers in her notebooks, or anything. She and Nate had been eight and ten at the time. It was just weird to be thinking about that now, in front of Nate’s mom.
Emma’s head tilted at the inclusion of Summer, until she realized it must be original middle name. “You’re adding your father’s last name instead of replacing Mallory?” She asked, while guiding Cora into the jewelry store. Now the secret to really good mental shields is really good visualization. She led Cora to the counters. “Pick out one you like. It can act as a sort of reminder of your training.” She kept a very close eye on what Cora preferred. This was important information.
“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s always been Mallory, like my mom, even when she was married to my step dad.” That had always confused her when she was little.
She glanced from Emma, to the jewelry counters, and back; her eyes sparkling as she looked over the all the different styles. “Anything?” She figured they were just window-shopping, picking out an example for an object lesson. But were they looking for something specific?
“Yes,” Emma said with a chuckle. “Whatever you’d like. It’s important that you like what you get.” She kept monitoring Cora’s reactions, to make sure she knew exactly what Cora was interested in, and which styles she liked.
Cora tended to favor colored gemstones--amethysts and sapphires especially--over diamonds. Most of the ones she lingered over had simple, clean lines, and subtle embellishment. Nothing overly gaudy. One exception to the simple circles and round-cut solitaires was a diamond and amethyst affair, with butterflies on either side of the center stone. Her inner princess showing through, perhaps.
“You know, there are way too many options,” she said, “I can’t decide which I like best.”
Emma chuckled. “Well, let’s simplify. For our example a plainer ring works better.” She sent Nate the information she’d gathered. “Do you prefer a yellow or white colored metal? I think white gold would look lovely on you.” She moved down the case to indicate the plainer rings. For this exercise you’ll want to envision a whole, unbroken ring around your mind, like these. I want you to study the ring and feel its weight and solidity when the lady behind the counter lets you try it on. Take in all its aspects.
“I like the white gold,” Cora agreed, looking over the round solitaires. So she liked circles--but she figured that was probably a good thing for this exercise. Did you know sapphire is said to promote mental clarity, and amethyst enhances psychic awareness?
That seems like a very good choice, then. Perhaps just a sapphire for now, with your coloring it would look lovely Of course, blue was Emma’s favorite color, so that didn’t help. Emma peered at their selection and saw that they didn’t even have what she wanted. She sighed. “There’s a lovely sapphire in this one. Why don’t you try it on?” She pointed to one of the rings in the case.
The mention of coloring brought an image of Cora’s exoskeleton to her mind--but fortunately, she had learned to work with that so it didn’t manifest in the middle of the store just because she thought about it. And even if it had, at least the blue complemented her eyes.
She nodded, and indicated to the sales associate that she wanted to try on the ring. Of course, the display one was just a bit too big for her ring finger, but Emma was right; the white gold did look nice against her skin. She switched it too the index finger of her other hand, her mind on the task of visualization, while the saleswoman retrieved the sizing rings to measure for the correct size. Cora didn’t actually know what her ring size was.
Emma did now, and that was all that mattered. She tucked that information away as well. “Don’t worry, it won’t take long for them to size it. Did you get a good look at it?” And can you picture it in your head?
Cora nodded as she handed the ring back, conjuring a picture in her mind. The white gold band, with its gemstone slightly raised to catch the light, creating a focal point for the simple piece. I think so.
Emma nodded and handed over her credit card. Imagine that ring around your thoughts. The focal point is the source, but it is unbroken, with no holes. It goes around eternally, and it is strong. You want to corral your thoughts in and block other thoughts out. Only those you chose to allow through can permeated it.
Cora tried to picture it, and wound up with the image of a jeweled circlet around her head. Standing inside a protective circle was all well and good, but she needed one that she could carry with her--and somehow the headband image stuck. She imagined other people’s stray thoughts bouncing off of her, like prisms, and smiled at the thought of scattering metaphorical rainbows wherever she went. Then she shrugged. Maybe that wasn’t quite the right idea, but it was a start.
Emma smiled. That’s very good. I forgot about your family’s penchant for magical circles. That’s a very excellent mental image. Nice and clear and strong.
Cora smiled back, feeling pleased, and confident at Emma’s praise. She didn’t try to shut the woman out yet, though, just to tune out the ambient buzz of the shopping mall--and to keep her own thoughts from spilling out like superballs. “What about baby things? Should we keep looking?”
Emma chuckled. “The specific thing I want is likely at a baby themed store, which this mall does have. Are you sure you wouldn’t be too bored?”
Cora nodded. “I’m sure,” she said, “I like looking at baby things.” She hoped to be a big sister soon, and she didn’t care if she was broadcasting that particular thought. She was nowhere near ready to be a mom, but she could deal with being a big sister.
Emma laughed. “I’m afraid we’ve forgotten something vital in our preparations. It would be nice to have a fresh set of eyes.” She tucked her credit card away and handed Cora the receipt for her ring. “They’ll have it ready in a week.”
Cora thanked her, and put the receipt in her purse for safekeeping. “What do you want me to look for?”
“Oh, just things you think are important. If you point out something I don’t have and I agree that we need it that will be one less thing to worry about.” Emma led Cora out into the mall itself.
“Okay,” Cora said happily. She’d never helped anyone shop for a baby before, but for better or worse, she could still sort of remember being a toddler. Hopefully she wouldn’t point out anything that was too off the wall!