Saturday March17th - Cold Encounters
"Frost.. I know you don't like me one bit, but you're in trouble out here. I'm going to get you to the med ward... Don't ice me." The words came from the distance, half blurred yet still understood, that didn’t stop her from flinching as arms scooped her up, how dare her touch her! No one was allowed to touch her, what right did he think he had? Anna would have scolded him but for once the commonly felt burn of warm flesh didn’t occur, maybe he was wearing gloves or something… still that didn’t mean he could touch her! The unfamiliarity of it caused tension in Frostbite’s weakened form, her insecurity setting off her own form of self defence and protective barriers. Perfect skin began to glisten slightly more, the smear of mud over her pale skin and white clothing striking though even more as moisture, regardless of how little there was, began to freeze from the drop in her body temperature. There wasn’t enough of a drop to have her start to shift form, this wasn’t an intentional drop, much like all the times before Frost’s body reacts to her insecurities and with that harms those close to her, much like it had harmed her human grandfather who accidentally suffered the constant abuse of frostbite due to his underdeveloped and scared granddaughter’s newly risen powers.
Being raised by parents who hated mutants and had already disowned Bobby Drake, her uncle and her father’s brother, it only hurt more when Anna’s powers formed, discrimination was painful enough, but from one’s own family it was ruthlessly unspeakable. At least Frost had been a late bloomer, only reaching her powers at 16, in which meant she had a relatively normal childhood till then, though Anna had always suffered from poor circulation, at least that was the excuse as to why she was often rather cool to the touch. When Anna was kicked out of home in disgust it had been her grandfather who took her in, and because of his love for her he ended up continuously getting hurt from her, which was just as painful as the scorn of her family. At least at the school the since dubbed Frost had more strongly developed her powers, only three years and she was queen of her domain and not afraid to show it if pushed. But that didn’t mean people weren’t still getting hurt and then they’d get angry at her since due to her personality some thought it was done intentionally.
People didn’t come close to her, and they didn’t need to be told to back off, so having someone actually pick her up was just as unusual as the fact that Aiden wasn’t as hot as most people, which reduced the discomfort to a point that by the time they reached the halls towards the medical facility she had relaxed enough to seemingly be semi-passed out, her meek struggles ceasing and her breathing calming.
Inside the medical bay Talia was giving a rather large yawn as she placed down her bag, ready to start her shift soon after she finished eating her morning breakfast which consisted of a salad roll and apple juice. The arrow headed tail flicked about behind her as she sat, the German telepath chewing another mouthful as she thought of the happenings recently effecting her life. Connor was missing again… Riley collapsed the previous week and now Catherine was in Hank’s care, the whole Morlocks incident, so many things that just seemed to keep happening, at least the last half of DareDevil’s story was more pleasant then the first half where he laid dying on DrMcCoy’s operating table.
All her trail of thoughts however were emptied from her mind as swiftly as they seemed to come, the medical bay door opened and while that in itself was common and hardly special, the two who walked in were definitely enough to stir a commotion. Aiden was unfamiliar to Talia and an almost instinctive reaction to the strange face was the blue furred daughter of Nightcrawler suddenly shifting, fur pulled itself back into her now lightly tanned skin, yellow eyes shifted to a soft chocolate on white, the tip of the tail vanished beneath the long crinkled skirt Talia wore. Fingres split from three to five, thinning out and adjusting to become more ‘normal’ in appearance and bare feet gained five delicate toes instead of the two which poked out beneath her skirt as she walked from behind the desk. A soft light coffee cream top went perfectly with the earthy dress, and now even matched the skin tone chosen, golden brown locks replaced the indigo and curved ears now round as she approached the two, one thing however that did not change was the form in which Talia spoke so commonly.
"What has happened?" The German accent still rang true in her words, even if they were spoken into the minds of what appeared to be her new patients, perhaps it was good she arrived early! Had Talia not decided to come a good half hour before her shift started, the hand on call here would have called Hank and yet again dragged him from the bed he so desperately needed to remain in.
About halfway there, when Frost had stopped struggling and become more relaxed, Aiden knew that he was going to be in trouble as well. The tingling had become an intense burn that had seeped straight through the protective arm warmers he wore. Her side was also against his chest, only protected by a thin tank top, the burning running all across the well-kept muscles. By the time they were to the Medical Bay, Constantine was having a bit of a hard time walking. All he could think about was getting there...and keeping the aura contained. It seethed within him, the pain making it churn and want to flow out, but he held it with a firm control that almost made him unaware of his surroundings. Though no one saw the two of them on the trip there that Aiden could tell, all who looked upon him saw his eyes beginning to glow crimson...
All of a sudden, it seemed that they were here. Doors slid open and Aiden stumbled in, carrying an incapacitated girl that was half-sheathed in ice, his eyes still blazing red.
He realized that it must have looked very odd.
"What has happened?" A German accented voice asked, obviously worried. Aiden knew that she was walking towards him, but held his hand up beneath his charge's knee to indicate her not to step too close. The world was spinning, but Constantine noted enough that she was a pretty girl, and by her professional attire, more than likely ran the Med Bay.
"She was attacked.. drugged somehow. Two girls.. thought I saw a squirt gun on the ground.." Aiden's voice sounded labored, the burning on his arms and chest now reaching a pinnacle, "And it's -really- hurting me to keep holding her... I suppose you know who this is. Is there any place we can put her?"
Almost as an after thought he added, "And.. don't touch me unless I know you're doing it..." Thantos stumbled a bit, using all that he had to keep his aura inside him and not consuming the girl he was trying desperately to save.
Re: Saturday March17th - Cold Encounters
Working in the medical bay you become cautious of people who seem hesitant on you approaching them, mutants especially as there was no telling what a harmless looking individual could really be capable of and at times they had little control over their abilities. There had oalready been a few occasions where Talia was forced to either bac away or be overly careful around her patiences in just the last two weeks and right now Talia had felt confident in her awareness of Frostbites abilities. This male companion however seemed adament for Talia to stay back even though the nurse could so easily see the freeze burns inflicted upon him.
"She was attacked.. drugged somehow. Two girls.. thought I saw a squirt gun on the ground.." Squirt gun? The german born nurse stared for a moment and wondered almost angrily what could have been done, sure frost had a habit to get on people's nerves but Xavier prides himself on teaching mutants how to control their powers and not abuse them and this was a definite show of abuse and it was most upsetting. Though the strength of will he showed whilst trying to help the often wild student was admirable, and even amongst all her worries Talia still found a moment in which to praise him with a respect he'd most definitely earned as far as she cared.
"And it's -really- hurting me to keep holding her... I suppose you know who this is. Is there any place we can put her?" The now tanned skin girl, who's mutancy was hidden by her own powers, stepped back and motioned him towards one of their beds in order for him to place Ms Drake down. "And.. don't touch me unless I know you're doing it..." There was a small nod, brown highlighted lockes swooshing gently about Talia's shoulders, her telepathy was far too weak to carry the other girl and for the first time in quite a while Talia found herself wishing she had put more training into her abilities.
"Please, place her down zre, ud you too lay on ze other bed here." The telepathic speech once again invaded Aiden's mind, her smooth and gentle words assuring as she took charge of the situation. "We vill get you both back on your feet in no time." While her lips weren't moving her eyes and slight smile showed the kindness that her telepathic words also attempt to express. "I vill apply some cream to help ease ze pain, und zen all you need to do iz rest for some time. Same goes for Ms Drake." Talia explained as she moved off to gather the things she needed to see to her new patients.
Re: Saturday March17th - Cold Encounters
The male managed a small nod. Even he realized that he was only half aware of what was happening around him, all his concentration on controlling the Death swelling inside him and the burns on his arms and chest. They were blazing now, though the source seemed to be cut off a bit. Frost was more relaxed now, less nervous, and it seemed that the painful chill had been stemmed, but that did not make the burns go away.
Aiden half nodded. He didn't even realize that the Talia's mouth was not moving. His eyes blazed red as he stumbled over to the first bed and brought himself to a crouch. Using all the care he could muster, he let Frost down gently onto the bed. Constantine nearly fell on her, his balance shifting incorrectly as he tried to stand, but he managed to lay a hand on the end of the bed to steady himself. Pulling himself completely to his feet, the red eyes looked down on Anna's face, the female seemingly unconscious. Now that they were away from the attackers, Aiden doubted that she would be in harm's way. It was unlikely that a student would launch a fatal attack in the manner that was done. This was most likely a prank, a dangerous one if he had not interfered, but the Drake girl would live. The other girls would likely be in deep trouble once she recovered as well... If the administrative staff didn't get to the culprits before Frostbite did.
"...You're safe now."
Speaking those quiet words, Aiden felt a bit of burden lift from his shoulders. He had done all that he could, and could be content to rest. Moving away from her resting place, he half wondered if she would appreciate it, or be more furious or irritated with him than she already was. As he moved to sit on the bed next to her's, he realized it didn't matter. So few people thought anything positive about him anymore, and he had done what was needed to be done. The Right Thing. Wether she was happy about it or not, Aiden could live through.
Shaky fingers peeled his arm warmers from his limbs. Beneath them, on his forearms lay exposed deep red patches, nearing purple in the middle. It had been a long walk here, after all. Letting the pieces of fabric fall to the floor, Constantine let himself lay back, his legs still hanging off the side of the bed, laying sideways on the piece of furniture. Eyes that had blazed red earlier were slowly calming back to the usual soft copper, lids slipping shut atop them. His breathing slowed, and he finally allowed his body to relax, his aura seeping comfortably back to the full extent of his body. It did not pass through the flesh, but the area around Aiden cooled, and anyone that touched him now would know it. He had to let go of it...he was so tired. He had to give it some breathing room... he could not hold it in forever.
"...You never will." David's voice.
Lovely. Was the spirit that harassed him earlier still present? What else could be happening? Could it be a hallucination? His head playing tricks with him? The sound wasn't sound...it was thought. Ideas and words that sprung into his head completely apart from his own.
"Why did you bother with the girl?"
Why? Why not? The Right Thing. That emotional law that held the few that kept compassion alive.
"Or were you making up for mistakes?"
Mistakes?
"Vivian. You couldn't save her. Trying to make up for that?"
Viv...No.. I'll find her..
"She's probably dead."
You don't know that.
"You suspect it too. You think this ice queen's life is equal to her's? So you can forgive yourself for letting her go?"
I'll never let her go... I'll get her back.
***************
All the while, Aiden's body rested, having fallen into a heavy slumber, his body finally having given out.
Re: Saturday March17th - Cold Encounters
"...You're safe now." Aiden assured Frostbite with a tenderness that Talia knew few showed the girl, although Talia was far from happy, right now it was Aiden’s turn to also be tended to and he wasn’t giving into his own needs till the last moment, first making sure Anna Drake was safe and sound before he even gave himself a thought. A noble feat for sure, but one that often lead to self harm if not handled carefully, and Talia was not going to let him push himself beyond the need for it! It seemed Talia didn’t have to wait long, in fact Aiden was already helping expose his arms to allow the nurse to see what the extent of the damage was. And it was anything but light.
All Talia could do in the end was apply a few special ointments to help sooth the pain and allow the advanced medical beds to do the rest, a blood test of the young miss Drake assured Talia that, while drugged, it would fade from her system after a good long rest. Whoever had done this drugging though would have to be dealt with, and Talia spent the next hour after seeing to her patients writing out the details she witnessed or found concerning this matter so Hank had a report when he got back.
While other patients came and left, Talia knew these two would be lost in their slumbers for a good few hours, so she didn’t try waking them till the final school bell went at about four thirty. The nurse brought in some warm chicken and veggie soup for Aiden and a chilled pumpkin soup for Anna, a small container of sour cream sat on each tray in case either wanted to add it to their soups and a bottle of water was offered for their drink. The spoons were wrapped in a serviette beside the bowls and Talia carefully placed each tray down beside either patient. If neither liked what they were given Talia wouldn’t push for them to eat, not everyone liked eating in sickbay but some required food because they’d been recovering for so long their bodies were getting famished. Some people asked for different kinds of food and if the two had been awake Talia would have asked before deciding on ordering their soups, but all she could do was take into account that Frost doesn’t eat hot foods and Aiden might want something warm considering the chill he had suffered earlier.
"If either of you are hungry, zere’s food here for ze both of you." The telepath addressed both youths with her mind, entering their thoughts to place her own words within them before once again leaving them to their own minds. The now tanned nurse brushed aside her still brown hair, opting to stay in her other more human like shift simply because… she didn’t want to deal with people waking up with a startled expression towards her. Frost wouldn’t really… she was used to Talia, but the nurse hadn’t met Aiden before, so anything was possible, and she didn’t want to upset him, and more importantly, she didn’t want his reaction to upset herself.
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