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Tommy and Shen - Backdated to last week
Shen nearly injures Tommy as she messes up a landing, and her remorse leads to unexpected results.
Some days the growing number of people and rising activity inside the school was a rush; some days it became a distraction, a buzz in Tommy’s ears and brain that he couldn’t seem to shake. One of his explorations had turned up an open flat piece of the roof. Maybe it was supposed to be an observation area or just a way to connect two of the pointy roof parts, but it made for a good place to sit and watch the horizon.
Tommy dangled his legs over the side, perched on the small stone wall that ran along the roof edge. That horizon taunted him, and he could feel the itch start up in his legs again. He could just go – leave all this stillness and same place-ness behind.
He could probably even run down the wall – he looked over, hands firmly planted beside his hips. Could he outrun terminal velocity? That was a Kitty sort of question. She knew things about physics. And it was probably something he shouldn’t actually try without Kurt or Illyana on hand to stop him from becoming pizza.
Shen had been flying higher and higher, growing more confident in her abilities the past few days. She'd been pushing her speed, too, although she knew she was nowhere near as fast as she'd get, thanks to Tessa. There was something liberating about being high in the air, and going as fast as she could.
But for all the time she'd been spending in the air, there was one thing she still had trouble mastering: her landings were still iffy.
When she spotted the flat piece of roof, it felt like a nice little challenge. Landing in a limited area, instead of the open grounds around the mansion. She started her descent and misjudged her speed. A loud "Fuck fuck fuck!" could be heard, right before the sudden spread of her wide wings sent a strong gust of wind backwards, and fortunately managed to slow her descent. A little too well, actually, and she lost her balance and ended up falling on the roof, making an annoyed sound of pain as she jarred her elbow on the ground.
"Ugh," she let out, feeling stupid and still believing herself to be alone. She hadn't exactly been paying attention to anything but that terrible piece of landing. "Needs work."
Incoming! He’d been distracted, barely had time to react before a gust of strong wind whammed into him, knocking him backwards off the wall. The wind was followed by Shen eating dirt, her wings a whole lot bigger than they’d been at pizza night.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Tommy snapped, his immediate reaction to the surprise of being dive-bombed practically into oblivion. “I give it a three out of ten, solely for the point-and-laugh factor.” He picked himself up and dusted himself off. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
"Are you sure?" Shen asked when she stopped gaping at him and pushed up to her feet, ignoring the smarting pain in her elbow... and opposite knee, she distantly realized. "I didn't see you there, I wouldn't've..."
Was he? Tommy ran quickly through his mental inventory. His back was sore from impact; might bruise, might not. He hadn't cracked his head against anything, so that was a definite win. "You're lucky I'm resilient."
The shock of actually being surprised was wearing off, though, and her stunned look was just crying out for some revenge needling. "What if I'd been a new kid with a brittle bone mutation or something?" he asked with a cheerful grin. "First accidental kill on campus goes to the vegan. There's irony."
Shen's expression began to shift from worried to a tighter frown. "Well, one more reason to be glad it was you."
...not a very Buddhist thing to say, but she'd never been really good at the whole zen thing.
Tommy pressed his hands to his heart and feigned a wounded look. "I'm the victim here, and yet I get all the abuse." That being said... He frowned. "You wiped out pretty hard."
"I misjudged," Shen replied with a shrug that had her wings shift behind her back. Except they felt... off. She frowned and looked over her shoulder as she said, "I'll be more careful to check if anyone's around. I'm sorry." She meant it, but she was distracted.
And then, before she knew what was happening, her wings dropped off her back and splattered to the ground in something she could only describe, as it splashed on her bare legs, as goo. She squealed and stepped forward in a hurry, turning around when she reached Tommy's side so she could watch what remained of her wings. She stared at the goo for a moment, then let out, very eloquently, "Shit."
He’d registered movement, Shen reacting as though there’d been some kind of threat. Moving faster than he was thinking, Tommy turned as she got to him, got a step ahead so that his body was between her and whatever had just happened—
Only to realize, hands halfway up and curling into fists, that there was nothing at all to fight. He dropped his hands and relaxed, the pulse of adrenaline fading away. Maybe she’d just think he was being weird.
She stared at the goo, he stared at the goo, then at her shoulders, then back at the goo. “Wow,” he added helpfully. “That’s incredibly gross.”
Shen made a face. "Did you seriously try to put yourself between me and my gooey wings?" She slapped his shoulder, not as gently as she might have, having no patience for men thinking women needed protection, then stepped forward to have a closer look at, well, the goo. "But, yeah. Incredibly gross sounds right." She tried to look back over her own shoulder. "Is there any on my back? Ew."
“Don’t get full of yourself,” Tommy muttered under his breath. Whatever. It had been instinct, that was all; just a reaction. He was getting jumpy as well as restless, and the puddle of ex-wing on the roof wasn’t helping.
He took a step back and looked her over. “Yeah? Some. And on your legs, too. What the hell is that stuff?”
"My wings, decomposing," Shen replied, sounding a lot less grossed out than she looked. She schooled her features over, and focused on her new balance, now that the wings were gone. She'd only had them for a matter of weeks, and yet she felt off now that they were gone.
And, along with her desire to have them grow again, she felt that same pressure in her back she had when they had first come, only stronger and sharper. Her features contorted in a grimace of pain, and bones started to protrude out of her shoulder blades, piercing the skin in a matter of seconds. "Ow."
Now that was cool. Looked painful, mind you, but hella cool. Tommy zipped around her to get a look from different angles as the wings regrew themselves. “Can you stop it part way? Why is it coming out as a skeleton? Did you know that would happen?” He considered offering to run her down to the infirmary, but ‘powers being weird’ plus ‘lab coats,’ in his experience, was a very bad combination.
"I knew it could," Shen answered, still sounding pained. The bones would slowly grow, along with muscles, skin and feathers; last time they had taken a couple of weeks, but this time should be shorter, if what Tessa had 'told' her was true. Shen's fists were clenched at her sides, and she did not look happy.
“Damn. That’s almost hardcore,” Tommy replied, reasonably impressed. Hallowe’en was going to be one hell of a trip around this place.
"Try bleeding out once a month," Shen muttered. She forced herself to try and focus on something other than the pain, and wrinkled her nose at the goo on her legs. "I need a shower."
Once a ... oh. Tommy had enough sense of self-preservation (barely) to avoid making any of the half-dozen comments that sprang to mind. He should get a medal for that, honest to God. “That’s going to be one hell of an inconvenience if it happens randomly,” he said instead. “You’re going to need wing-diapers for class.”
Shen shook her head, and peered down at the bruise forming on her knee. Amazing. She prodded gently at her opposite elbow, wincing slightly. "I don't think it'll happen randomly."
Ok, her stilted answers were starting to bug. “You sure know a hell of a lot for someone who wasn’t even sure her wings would be flight-worthy last week.” He folded his arms and watched her poke at her injuries (whatever; they didn’t look that bad. He’d had a lot worse). “When did you figure all that out?”
"In between then and now," Shen replied pointedly, then looked around to spot the door. It wasn't like she could go away the same way she'd come in. She needed a shower, and to find something to clean up this goo. "I'm sorry I didn't see you," she added, more genuine. "I'll pay more attention."
“It’s no big deal.” He’d practically forgotten the slam-bang beginning of the conversation, except for the faint hum of not-quite-pain across his shoulders. The wings had been a lot more interesting. Still – she got annoyed really easily, and that was more fun than he’d had all day. “Next time you want to get me on my back,” he grinned wide and waggled one eyebrow, “just ask first.”
Shen rolled her eyes. "You're not my type," she told him, turning towards the door. He was cute enough she'd have made out with him in a heartbeat, but the asshole personality? Total turn-off.
“Just goes to show that you’ve got terrible taste.” Not that he was actually interested – he had a lot better things going on than spending time with miss holier-than-thou – but a guy had his pride. Tommy headed back toward his wall, circling around the pile of crud left on the floor.
Some days the growing number of people and rising activity inside the school was a rush; some days it became a distraction, a buzz in Tommy’s ears and brain that he couldn’t seem to shake. One of his explorations had turned up an open flat piece of the roof. Maybe it was supposed to be an observation area or just a way to connect two of the pointy roof parts, but it made for a good place to sit and watch the horizon.
Tommy dangled his legs over the side, perched on the small stone wall that ran along the roof edge. That horizon taunted him, and he could feel the itch start up in his legs again. He could just go – leave all this stillness and same place-ness behind.
He could probably even run down the wall – he looked over, hands firmly planted beside his hips. Could he outrun terminal velocity? That was a Kitty sort of question. She knew things about physics. And it was probably something he shouldn’t actually try without Kurt or Illyana on hand to stop him from becoming pizza.
Shen had been flying higher and higher, growing more confident in her abilities the past few days. She'd been pushing her speed, too, although she knew she was nowhere near as fast as she'd get, thanks to Tessa. There was something liberating about being high in the air, and going as fast as she could.
But for all the time she'd been spending in the air, there was one thing she still had trouble mastering: her landings were still iffy.
When she spotted the flat piece of roof, it felt like a nice little challenge. Landing in a limited area, instead of the open grounds around the mansion. She started her descent and misjudged her speed. A loud "Fuck fuck fuck!" could be heard, right before the sudden spread of her wide wings sent a strong gust of wind backwards, and fortunately managed to slow her descent. A little too well, actually, and she lost her balance and ended up falling on the roof, making an annoyed sound of pain as she jarred her elbow on the ground.
"Ugh," she let out, feeling stupid and still believing herself to be alone. She hadn't exactly been paying attention to anything but that terrible piece of landing. "Needs work."
Incoming! He’d been distracted, barely had time to react before a gust of strong wind whammed into him, knocking him backwards off the wall. The wind was followed by Shen eating dirt, her wings a whole lot bigger than they’d been at pizza night.
“No shit, Sherlock,” Tommy snapped, his immediate reaction to the surprise of being dive-bombed practically into oblivion. “I give it a three out of ten, solely for the point-and-laugh factor.” He picked himself up and dusted himself off. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
"Are you sure?" Shen asked when she stopped gaping at him and pushed up to her feet, ignoring the smarting pain in her elbow... and opposite knee, she distantly realized. "I didn't see you there, I wouldn't've..."
Was he? Tommy ran quickly through his mental inventory. His back was sore from impact; might bruise, might not. He hadn't cracked his head against anything, so that was a definite win. "You're lucky I'm resilient."
The shock of actually being surprised was wearing off, though, and her stunned look was just crying out for some revenge needling. "What if I'd been a new kid with a brittle bone mutation or something?" he asked with a cheerful grin. "First accidental kill on campus goes to the vegan. There's irony."
Shen's expression began to shift from worried to a tighter frown. "Well, one more reason to be glad it was you."
...not a very Buddhist thing to say, but she'd never been really good at the whole zen thing.
Tommy pressed his hands to his heart and feigned a wounded look. "I'm the victim here, and yet I get all the abuse." That being said... He frowned. "You wiped out pretty hard."
"I misjudged," Shen replied with a shrug that had her wings shift behind her back. Except they felt... off. She frowned and looked over her shoulder as she said, "I'll be more careful to check if anyone's around. I'm sorry." She meant it, but she was distracted.
And then, before she knew what was happening, her wings dropped off her back and splattered to the ground in something she could only describe, as it splashed on her bare legs, as goo. She squealed and stepped forward in a hurry, turning around when she reached Tommy's side so she could watch what remained of her wings. She stared at the goo for a moment, then let out, very eloquently, "Shit."
He’d registered movement, Shen reacting as though there’d been some kind of threat. Moving faster than he was thinking, Tommy turned as she got to him, got a step ahead so that his body was between her and whatever had just happened—
Only to realize, hands halfway up and curling into fists, that there was nothing at all to fight. He dropped his hands and relaxed, the pulse of adrenaline fading away. Maybe she’d just think he was being weird.
She stared at the goo, he stared at the goo, then at her shoulders, then back at the goo. “Wow,” he added helpfully. “That’s incredibly gross.”
Shen made a face. "Did you seriously try to put yourself between me and my gooey wings?" She slapped his shoulder, not as gently as she might have, having no patience for men thinking women needed protection, then stepped forward to have a closer look at, well, the goo. "But, yeah. Incredibly gross sounds right." She tried to look back over her own shoulder. "Is there any on my back? Ew."
“Don’t get full of yourself,” Tommy muttered under his breath. Whatever. It had been instinct, that was all; just a reaction. He was getting jumpy as well as restless, and the puddle of ex-wing on the roof wasn’t helping.
He took a step back and looked her over. “Yeah? Some. And on your legs, too. What the hell is that stuff?”
"My wings, decomposing," Shen replied, sounding a lot less grossed out than she looked. She schooled her features over, and focused on her new balance, now that the wings were gone. She'd only had them for a matter of weeks, and yet she felt off now that they were gone.
And, along with her desire to have them grow again, she felt that same pressure in her back she had when they had first come, only stronger and sharper. Her features contorted in a grimace of pain, and bones started to protrude out of her shoulder blades, piercing the skin in a matter of seconds. "Ow."
Now that was cool. Looked painful, mind you, but hella cool. Tommy zipped around her to get a look from different angles as the wings regrew themselves. “Can you stop it part way? Why is it coming out as a skeleton? Did you know that would happen?” He considered offering to run her down to the infirmary, but ‘powers being weird’ plus ‘lab coats,’ in his experience, was a very bad combination.
"I knew it could," Shen answered, still sounding pained. The bones would slowly grow, along with muscles, skin and feathers; last time they had taken a couple of weeks, but this time should be shorter, if what Tessa had 'told' her was true. Shen's fists were clenched at her sides, and she did not look happy.
“Damn. That’s almost hardcore,” Tommy replied, reasonably impressed. Hallowe’en was going to be one hell of a trip around this place.
"Try bleeding out once a month," Shen muttered. She forced herself to try and focus on something other than the pain, and wrinkled her nose at the goo on her legs. "I need a shower."
Once a ... oh. Tommy had enough sense of self-preservation (barely) to avoid making any of the half-dozen comments that sprang to mind. He should get a medal for that, honest to God. “That’s going to be one hell of an inconvenience if it happens randomly,” he said instead. “You’re going to need wing-diapers for class.”
Shen shook her head, and peered down at the bruise forming on her knee. Amazing. She prodded gently at her opposite elbow, wincing slightly. "I don't think it'll happen randomly."
Ok, her stilted answers were starting to bug. “You sure know a hell of a lot for someone who wasn’t even sure her wings would be flight-worthy last week.” He folded his arms and watched her poke at her injuries (whatever; they didn’t look that bad. He’d had a lot worse). “When did you figure all that out?”
"In between then and now," Shen replied pointedly, then looked around to spot the door. It wasn't like she could go away the same way she'd come in. She needed a shower, and to find something to clean up this goo. "I'm sorry I didn't see you," she added, more genuine. "I'll pay more attention."
“It’s no big deal.” He’d practically forgotten the slam-bang beginning of the conversation, except for the faint hum of not-quite-pain across his shoulders. The wings had been a lot more interesting. Still – she got annoyed really easily, and that was more fun than he’d had all day. “Next time you want to get me on my back,” he grinned wide and waggled one eyebrow, “just ask first.”
Shen rolled her eyes. "You're not my type," she told him, turning towards the door. He was cute enough she'd have made out with him in a heartbeat, but the asshole personality? Total turn-off.
“Just goes to show that you’ve got terrible taste.” Not that he was actually interested – he had a lot better things going on than spending time with miss holier-than-thou – but a guy had his pride. Tommy headed back toward his wall, circling around the pile of crud left on the floor.