ArchivedLogs:Cold Shoulder

Cold Shoulder
Dramatis Personae Aloke, Mallory, Hank	2014-02-11 Aloke and Mallory take strides in making travel plans.
Location <XS> Danger Room
The room is large and circular, a geodesic hemisphere of hexagonal ceramic panels. It is the Danger Room, and is thus often full of danger, but is presently not in use and is thus remarkably danger-free. Safest room in the school, probably. Aloke has been equal parts nervous and excited to set up the next phase of his and Mallory's self-experimentation. With the progress both of them have been making working individually with Dr. McCoy, and the motivation to be able to travel together, the three have arrived at a very specific experiment derived with the express purpose of training the two to be able to travel together without either of them bursting into flames. Phase one begins today. They've arranged with Hank, who is in the control room as the situation is markedly less dangerous given how much both mutants have been practicing individually. Hank has prepped the room with plenty of open space, and an above-ground pool in the middle. It's only holographic of course, but the nature of the holographic water was enough to impede Aloke's movement in light form before, and is anticipated to behave enough like water that it would also quench Mallory's potential flare up. Aloke is here, glowing bright, in swim trunks which lose most of their color and detail in the yellow-white glow of Aloke's mostly exposed body. Unlike with his eyes, the glow of his skin doesn't seem to have much correlation with his mood or emotions, and today seems to be an exceptionally bright day. Near at hand is a table with sports drinks and high calorie snacks from which Aloke has commandeered a short round package of oreos, which he is eating in conjunction with his mug of tea. Mallory has not been looking forward to this next step in the process, mostly due to the looming threat of being dunked in a pool of illusory water, though she has kept this anxiety largely to herself. Among the things that her work with Hank has turned up is that her transformation can be influenced by strong emotions - anxiety and fear top among the list of triggers, unfortunately. As such, the librarian has dragged her relatively new pale pink yoga mat as far away from the pool as she can manage, her back turned to it as she sits in a somewhat kneeling position, hands resting on her knees. Breathing deep and keeping her eyes lightly closed, Mallory is working her way through another meditation exercise in an attempt to calm her nerves; it’s working, for the most part, though her long tail lashes slowly behind her like that of an irritated cat. Mallory is dressed in her now standard disposable outfit, an inexpensive black sports-bra and a pair of cotton workout shorts in a dark gray, hastily modified to grant room for her tail. Her long hair is pulled back into a severe ponytail, still damp from a recent frigid shower. No makeup, no jewelry, she wears nothing of value to be lost in case of a mishap. She keeps up her intent meditation until they are ready to start, meditating like her life depends upon it - her skin is approaching an almost human temperature; the occasional shiver suggests that she can feel the chill of the room, too. Aloke approaches Mallory's mat, bare feet padding quietly on the metal floor, and squats down in front of her. "Hey," he says so quietly it's almost a whisper. He reaches out to gently tuck a bit of stray hair behind Mallory's horn, and then shifts to kneel forward, placing his knees on the lip of her mat. Aloke takes her hand into both of his then and says, "We don't have to do this if you're not ready. I don't wanna push you if it's not the right time." Mallory opens her eyes slowly when Aloke brushes the hair away from her face, blinking a few times as though trying to focus on his face. She leans her head forward slowly to rest against his; all of her motions seem deliberate, measured, as she maintains the slow, even breathing. “We do,” is the answer exhaled quietly, so as to not interrupt the pattern of her breaths, gently squeezing his hands, her fingertips actually almost cold, “I am as ready as I ever will be. I am nervous, but that is okay.” Another few breaths, slow and steady, before affirming, “I need to do this. We need to know that we can do this, safely.” Her eyes drift closed again as she takes a moment before carefully rising from her kneeling position, stubbornly holding on to Aloke’s hand as she stands. Rising with her, Aloke stands and glances at the control booth. Normally during exercises the booth is obscured through illusion, but with no need in this context, Hank is clearly visible at the controls. He gives the pair a furry thumbs-up which Aloke returns with a nod. "Ok Mallo, take a deep breath and let it out slow over the course of my three count. I'll count three-two-one-go, ok?" Aloke holds Mallory's eye contact for a heartbeat until he's sure she's ready, and then starts the count as she begins to exhale. "Three," he whispers. "Two." "One." "Go." As the word trails off, he steps closer to Mallory, wrapping his arms around her as they both begin to dissolve into a cascading shower of light motes. In a fraction of a second which seems to last for ages, the two have been completely converted to a beam of light. Equally, they travel in one long swoop around the room which takes a span of time hardly measurable by the best instruments, though the two have what seems like a breathless eternity to take in every detail; the sheen of the metal panels in the wall, the curve of the above-ground pool, even Hank's whiskers as they move past the control booth frozen in time. After the one swoop Aloke directs them back to the pool and converts both of them back from the pure energy of his travel form to the physicality they're used to. They materialize inches above the surface of the water with no discernible velocity until gravity exerts itself. Aloke collects himself as best he can in the short fall and then the splash, staying close to steady his love instead of swim away like he was supposed to. "It's ok," he calls out, trying to sound reassuring while spluttering and gasping in the four feet of freezing cold water himself. "It's ok, just keep your head up…" Mallory nods silently in acknowledgement of Aloke’s instructions, maintaining eye contact as she takes one deep breath and lets it out slowly through her nose. Her mouth is drawn into a tight line in concentration as she fights against the needling anxiety in her gut as she braces herself for the change. When Aloke steps forward, it takes an effort of will not to wrap her arms around him, not wanting to potentially come out of this on fire and that close to him. Once they are reduced to a beam of light, Mallory is actually able to look around during the travel, observing everything in necessarily silent amazement. This time there isn’t flavored with the uncertain terror that she had felt at their first somewhat awkward meeting and resultant jump. When they come out of it, in the instant before they fall to the water, Mallory’s skin is warming up, approaching her normal heat levels. She gasps in pain, dark eyes flying open as she attempts to turn the gasp into a controlled intake of breath, to moderate success. The impact of the freezing cold water comes as another jolt, and her bare legs decide they would really rather not hold her weight; her legs and tail begin to pull instinctively upwards her abdomen as she falls through the relatively shallow water. Flailing her arms briefly, Mallory whimpers, closing her eyes and letting out a slow breath as her head vanishes beneath the water. Desperately, she forces herself to stand up - her legs scrambling sluggishly in the frigid water, but ultimately bringing her torso back above the surface after just a brief moment. Exposed to the cold air, Mallory is shivering violently, even as steam rises off her skin in curling wisps. A shaking hand presses against her chest, just over her heart, for a long moment as she forces herself to regain the steady breathing pattern, a bit unsteady at first. When she opens them, her dark eyes narrow grumpily, first at Aloke, being the closest, then her displeased gaze tracks to Hank: safe, dry, and pleasantly warm in the control booth; she may not be on fire, but her glare could just about ignite green wood at the moment. Aloke splutters and splashes over to Mallory, getting his arms under Mallory's shoulders to help her stand again and hold her up in an embrace. Once he has her in a good grip he waves to Hank over his shoulder and says, "Ok Hank, shift it…" In the control booth Hank adjusts a few of the settings and the pool becomes purely illusory, and even their clothes are dry as they find themselves standing on the dry metal floor in the midst of a translucent image of the pool. Aloke takes a moment, holding Mallory close until she gets her balance. "{I'm sorry}, are you ok?" Even after the hologram and the water fades, Mallory is still shaking, her body temperature at near-human levels now. The embrace and support get a quiet groan, and she pulls Aloke tight to her, resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed tightly against the brightness of his skin. She remains there, quiet for a few moments, her breath regular and measured, though her pulse is decidedly erratic. “S… s’ok,” she stutters, her voice shivering as she does, “S’just… cold.” Mallory sounds genuinely confused by this as she clings to Aloke, still doing what she can to keep in the relaxed mindset she had been. “Also don’t like cold water. S’kinda overkill. Don’ need it… t...that cold,” she shivers, tightening her grip on him. "Oh damn ok," Aloke says, taking her hand. It looks like he's a little disoriented at being dry all of a sudden. "Yeah, we'll have Hank turn up the temperature a little. That was my bad, I figured colder was better." Aloke pulls up the corner of his mouth in an apologetic, embarrassed smirk. He leads them over to the table with snacks, drinks and such, and pours two big mugs of tea before getting himself another package of oreos. Mallory grumbles something unintelligible at Aloke’s admission of responsibility for the ice bath, but allows herself to be lead over to the table of snacks. “Thanks,” she says flatly, eyeing the pickings on the table, before selecting a sleeve of chocolate-marshmallow cookies to nibble on, “Cold works alone. Water can stop it, as long as it isn’t super hot. Both together actually kinda throw me off. I’m not used to… being cold.” She nibbles idly on the cookie, accepting the cup of tea gladly. “But, um, was a good first try, I think. Might be able to do this without the water, soon, possibly,” she admits, sipping the tea and reveling in the warmth. Aloke nods, listening intently and obviously making mental notes. He glances up at the control room but Hank seems to be busy making notes on a tablet device. "Yeah ok, that makes sense. So would it be better if we just beam into cold locations for now? We could try a simulation in that mountain top I liked so much. And… are you saying you want to try again today?" Nibbling on another cookie, Mallory nods, “It sounds like an option. Cold isn’t as much of a trump as water is to the transformation. But it might be a better test than going into water.” The visible shiver might indicate she is just not fond of the idea of open water, but she shuffles closer to Aloke, for once intending to poach off of his warmth. “We… could. That is, I should probably meditate a bit, and get my heart rate back under control,” she looks sheepish, running her hand along a horn, “And should probably stop eating. It makes me warm back up, and that’s also not helpful.” Dark eyes glance down forlornly at the still mostly full sleeve of marshmallow cookies. “But… I actually think we can get this to work,” she says quietly in disbelief. "I have to admit," Aloke says, venturing a small smile. "I'm encouraged too. And take as long as you need." Aloke mixes some milk into his tea but no sugar. Maybe the oreos are enough. Then he blinks and does a double take at the package Mallory is eating from. "Wait a minute," he says, barely able to contain the shining smile forming on his face. "Are those /mallomars/? /Mallory/ is eating /mallomars/?" His eyes shine brighter with eager amusement and he grins like an idiot. This is apparently the most amusing thing he's come across in ages. Despite the fact that she just said she should stop eating the cookies, Mallory has another mallomar in her mouth, just starting to crunch through the outer chocolate shell with her pointed teeth. She pauses and just looks at Aloke, blinking repeatedly at him, finally snorting quietly and shaking her head. The cookie is finished in two bites, and she washes it down with a swig of tea. Leaning forward, Mallory gently kisses Aloke’s forehead, laughing softly, “I love you.” There is an easy smile on her lips as she speaks, “You are apparently as amused with word-play as I am. Yes, the biscuits are called ‘mallomars’ - I can’t have them often, they get a touch melty in my hands.” She wiggles her fingers, still cool enough to not destroy the chocolate shell, smiling at Aloke’s amusement. “They’re tasty. A bit like s’mores, without the molten sugar-goo, I suppose,” because obviously she needs to justify the snacking. Mallory bonks her head against Aloke’s, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, “I think I’d be up for one more test, but don’t know how many more we want to try.” Her breathing is starting to fall back into the practiced, measured meditative pattern as she keeps her head leaned against Aloke’s, resting her hands on his hips. “Suppressing it does hurt, but it is manageable. And worth it, if it means we can travel together,” she admits in a hushed breath, eyes closing. An odd, quiet noise can be heard as the two are chatting, which turns out to be the soft throat-clearing noise of one Dr. McCoy. Who apparently doesn't realize his mic is still on. He fidgets with his tablet, a little uncomfortable, and sighs a "Oh, thank god," when Aloke and Mallory decide to try another run. His mouth quirks when he reaches for the Mic-On button though, and he clears his throat again. "Right! Well, shall we set up again? I think you wanted the mountain top retreat rather than the pool this time, right?" Aloke chuckles softly as Mallory explains what a mallomar is. "Oh, I know what they are," he says, still grinning like a schoolboy. "I just think it's funny that they're your favorite." His expression drops considerably though when Mallory mentions how much the suppression hurts her. He sighs and nods. "I can only imagine, but I don't want to push too hard, too fast. Aloke waves and gives Hank a thumbs up when he asks about the mountaintop and watches as the setting unfolds around them. The two find themselves standing in Himalayan temple perched on the side of a great peak. It doesn't exist anywhere in real life, but is rather a caricature of what someplace like this might look like, straight out of a movie. Also, it's cold. The temperature drops quickly as the illusion surrounds their snacks table, making it look incongruous with the rest of the atmosphere, even as steam billows from their tea. Aloke sets down his mug and takes a deep breath, shivering briefly as his body adjusts to the temperature. He doesn't run much warmer than normal, like Mallory or Thomas, but it does seem more difficult to dial down his normal temperature. Whatever it is that maintains this energy is hard to put down. He extends a hand to Mallory and glances out the nearest balcony exit. "How about a lap around the mountain? I hear the view is…" He just shrugs, not able to put it into words. “I hadn’t had this kind before I started here,” Mallory admits sheepishly, scuffing a hoof against the metal floor, setting the remaining sweets down on the table, along with her tea. She starts to elaborate, but the sound from the control box draws her attention. Mallory’s cheeks take on a decidedly deeper red color at the sound from the control booth, and she stands upright suddenly, apparently having forgotten that Hank was still there. She clears her throat and does her best to regain some semblance of propriety, though the hearty blush to her cheeks remains. Dark eyes narrow at Hank, secure in his little control room, snorting, an Mallory snorts, “God yes, not the pool again, please.” As the illusion rises around them, blocking off the view of the furry doctor in the control booth, Mallory inhales deeply, looking at the scene. “Oh my, I had forgotten how stunning this setting is,” she breathes slowly, fighting the shiver that threatens to interrupt her steady breathing. Without her standard above normal body heat, the sudden chill brings with it a discomfort she isn’t quite used to experiencing. “S… sure,” Mallory says through mildly chattering teeth, offering a nervous smile, “Just give me a moment to get set and breathing properly.” It takes a few minutes of just standing there in the cold, eyes closed, deep, steady breaths drawn and released slowly, but Mallory stops shivering, despite her body being chilled to the touch. She opens her eyes slowly, accepting Aloke’s hand and nodding, “Alright. Ready for another go at it?” Her hand squeezes Aloke’s anxiously as she meets his gaze, nodding and bracing herself for the change.