Simon and Illyana

[ax_magik]

Illyana's been told to apologize. It could have gone worse.



Normally, it would be too hot for Simon out on the track in the afternoon, but some summer showers had just passed through, and the air temperature had dropped several degrees. And, since he was done meeting online with Dr. MacTaggart for the rest of the day, he'd taken the opportunity to get a run in. It was a good chance to clear his head and release some of the stress toxins that had built up in his system.

She still couldn't believe the Professor was making her do this.

Illyana sighed as she appeared off to the side of the track, where a quick scry in Limbo suggested she'd find Simon. Why, exactly, she was having to apologize for him being an idiot she still wasn't clear on, but if the alternative was to be kicked out of the school (and no, the Professor hadn't said that, but she was pretty sure it'd been implied), she might as well make the best of it. At least, she consoled herself, she'd made enough of an impression that he'd been having nightmares about Limbo. It was better than she'd expected.

She wasn't altogether sure how she was supposed to have found him without going to Limbo (and the Professor had definitely made it clear that he didn't want her spending any time there until he'd read her report, at least), but whatever. It wasn't as if she'd stayed long.

"Hey. I'm supposed to talk to you," she called out as he drew close enough to hear her. There, that wasn't threatening, was it?

Simon slowed to a walk, then finally stopped a few feet away. Of course, he'd had his own talk with Xavier, so he'd been expecting some sort of gesture from her direction. "Of course. I accept your apology."

"Which is pretty impressive, seeing as I haven't offered you one yet." Illyana pushed her hand through her hair, brushing it back from her face, and glared at him. She should have just let it go, probably, but seeing as how she hadn't... "I think you owe me one, though." Granted, the Professor hadn't seemed to think so, but still. If she was going to apologize, he was, too.

"And I was prepared to offer one," Simon answered slowly, his ire growing. "But since you're treating kidnapping me to another dimension and endangering my life as though an apology is beneath you, I'm starting to rethink the decision."

"How, exactly, was your life endangered?" Illyana stared at him incredulously. "I was right there the whole time, and we were in the throne room. It's not like any demons were going to jump out and grab you." Well, okay, S'ym might've, if he'd been around, but she would have gotten out of there immediately if he'd shown up.

"Regardless, that doesn't make it right!" Simon argued, his breath coming a little too fast for a moment. He took a step back from her and tried to compose himself. "It. It doesn't make it right."

Ha! He was still scared. Illyana fought an urge to grin, and forced herself to sigh and look defeated instead. Might as well get it overwith, right? "Fine, it doesn't make it right, and I'm sorry I kidnapped you. But you pissed me off, with your 'I obviously know everything about the universe' spiel."

"I obviously do not know everything about the universe," Simon admitted. "And I am sorry that I upset you. I had to remind myself that one of my favorite quotes is 'the universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.' I dismissed your idea of magic out of hand, when it's truly science I just have no frame of reference for yet."

Illyana frowned. "It's not, though. It's magic. I spent years learning it, I should know."

"And I'm sure you do," Simon agreed. "Today, I can only call what you do magic. But someday we could discover that you and others like you have learned how to manipulate something, dark matter, for instance, that allows you to access other properties of this universe."

That earned Simon a roll of her eyes. "Or maybe you'll just discover that the universe has room for things other than science."

"'Science' is just the process of trying to organize and understand processes of the universe. I'm sure that you have processes to what you do as well. I'm certain you had to learn to hone your skills. There is no difference but a name," Simon argued.

"Except science can't explain everything. Some things don't fall into neat little categories," Illyana disputed.

He shook his head. "Science is exactly that. It's an attempt to explain the unexplainable. And maybe everything doesn't fall into a category, or abide by certain laws, but that's why we ask the questions. Do you think anyone thought that the X-gene was possible before now? That's why I'm studying it. It's new and unexplained, and rewrites everything we ever knew, every day."

"And when you finish studying that, you'll move on to magic? Or someone else will?" Illyana shook her head. "It's not going to work. I mean, maybe you'll figure out why Limbo is how it is, or how the stepping disks work. But Magic isn't about laws. It's about intent. It's about power. It's about imposing your will on the universe, and making it how you want it to be instead of how it is."

"And that's fascinating," Simon agreed. "Maybe no one will be able to explain what you do. But that doesn't mean we can't ask the questions."

Illyana shrugged. Obviously, she was getting nowhere. "Ask away. Though..." she paused, then took a deep breath and met his eyes. "If you can not mention it to anyone, I'd..." Damn, this was awkward. But the alternative would be even more so. "I'd appreciate that. I'm not in a huge hurry for more people to be calling me a superstitious idiot."

"Promise that you'll never take me anywhere without my consent," Simon told her quietly, but intently.

"I'm not allowed to take anyone anywhere," Illyana grumbled. "Not until the Professor reads my essay, and probably not after that, either. But fine, I won't kidnap you to Limbo without your consent."

"Then I promise to keep what happened to myself. I...I didn't actually tell the Professor in the first place. He, he sensed disturbances in my sleep cycle and confronted me about the cause. In any case, your secret is safe," Simon agreed. "And I'll never criticize you or anyone else due to a lack of understanding on my part."

"It's probably just as well you did." Illyana shrugged again and made a face. "At least I definitely know what'll happen if I tell anyone, now." Not that she'd really expected otherwise, except...well, she had to admit she'd kind of hoped.

Simon frowned. "No, what you gave me was an example that didn't even relate to your own situation. If you had told me that you could do magic, I would have investigated further. Give me at least a little credit."

"Fine, you get credit. You really don't want to investigate me, though," she advised. "The less you know, the safer you are. Stick to Inu-Yasha. Though I don't think he's actually a demon," she mused aloud, mostly to change the subject. "He's just a mutant with a bad temper."

"I will take your word for it. And no, I won't investigate you. I'm more interested in genetics and medicine, which have nothing to do with your magic, beyond the fact that you can heal yourself. I have my hands full with the X-gene and college classes approaching," he assured her.

"Have fun with that. Though I don't get why you're so interested when you're not even a mutant." Illyana shrugged. "Anyway, I should get back to my essay."

"Have fun with that," Simon echoed sarcastically.

"Trust me, I won't." But she wasn't going to get it done standing here talking to the reason she had to write it, either. "Have fun with your run." And with that, Illyana called up another stepping disk and disappeared. At least she'd gotten the apology part done. Now she just had to explain Limbo without, hopefully, giving too much away.