I would not dare to say that there is a direct relation between mathematics and madness, Tamara, my dear friend, but there is also no doubt that great mathematicians suffer from maniacal characteristics, delirium and symptoms of schizophrenia. - Dr. John Forbes Nash, II, Professor of Theoretical Mathematics at the Xavier School
True, sir, but it doesn't explain the constant hearing of every thought, every voice and every emotion that passes us, enters our minds and remains inside us...perhaps that is why mathematics is a perfect discipline for us scanners...and why we mathematicians can also be some of the coldest people on this earth. - Dr. Tamara Anne Lyell, Asst. Professor of Theoretical Mathematics at the Xavier School
Walking through the marble halls of the Xavier School, Tamara's mind was - like most days for a Scanner - full of the collective thoughts and emotions of everyone around her as they walked by, as they talked amongst themselves and what not. Sometimes she could turn those thoughts back onto whoever originated them - such as the time she convinced a visiting mathematician from CalTech to apologize for some unkind remarks she'd made concerning mutants by not only apologizing but acknowledging her own status as a Scanner herself - and sometimes she simply let them fill her mind, neither ignoring them nor giving them free reign inside her mind...which is what she was doing as she walked towards the large mathematics hall which, to her eternal delight, still possessed the same green chalkboards she'd seen those long years ago when she had first arrived as a shy, quiet and extremely introverted 15yo girl.
To look at Tamara Lyell was to see a study in contrasts: outwardly, she was a short, petite woman in her early 30's, whose pixie-like dark brown hair framed an equally impish-looking face implied an unserious woman - especially when one also considered her typical weekday teaching wardrobe: a short/long-sleeved long shirt with the emblem of the Calgary Stampeders' CFL club front and center covered up by a light-black blazer or sweatshirt, black jeans and black Sketchers. Inwardly, though, she was nothing like the outside: if the average person were to write out a long paragraph describing their typical day, Tamara would cut it down to a handful of words and go with the handful of words. This wasn't out of cold arrogance, but as a way to control the incessant, constant scanning of everyone's minds, a mutant power she couldn't yet control....
...which was were mathematics - specifically, theoretical mathematics - came in; like a duck to water, she had taken to the cold, hard numbers and theorems of the mathematical world, quickly going through high-school and then collegiate-level math courses, enough to where she was awarded, via' NYU, not only a B.Sc. in Mathematics but a Doctorate in Mathematics with a specialty in theoretics. There was something strangely soothing to her to begin work on a theoretical, unsolved math problem and use it to engage the handful of college-level students she taught math to, all of whom were also mutants in their own right. "We're all made in the image of God, Tamara, but its' how you use your talents that determine your life's path," Dr. Xavier has told her those first days at the School and it was a thought she kept close to her heart. If but for this place, I'd probably be in prison somewhere, she thought, remembering the circumstances that had led her here, to upstate New York.
Walking inside the mathematics hall, Tamara quickly scanned the minds of the half-dozen students inside, not because she wanted to spy on them - after all, they had lives to lead themselves and she wasn't about to intrude on them - but because she couldn't keep her mind from doing so. "Alright, class," she said as she got up to where they were sitting at and walked past, a large piece of chalk flying up from her table in the hall and into her outstretched hand, "what have I written onto these chalkboards behind me?" pausing to remove her blazer and set it across a chair. Behind her on the chalkboards were, to the average person, simply mathematical gibberish - equations and formulaic items spread across the boards....to a theoretician, though, it was an unsolved mathematics problem that she'd started weeks before, in-between classes, but had kept under wraps until the present.
"No one knows?" she asked deadpan; after a moment, she added, "That behind me, ladies and gentlemen, is Hilbert's Twelfth Problem and Professor Nash has given this class the task of solving it; as you can see above, I've already started us a little ways down the road but..." Before she could finish, her eyes locked shut and she grew quiet, as if someone were trying to access her mind without her consent....after a few moments, she opened her eyes, shook her head and faintly smiled. "Don't worry, class, just some random thought from someone whose mind I must've scanned inadvertently," she quipped; after a few chuckles, she said, "Now, as I was saying, I've always started us down the road but let's begin by braking down how this problem came to be..." and without any further voice, her and the class began hashing out the problem splayed out on the board, but all the while Tamara kept wondering who had just tired to scan her mind as if it were a simple computer being hacked, thoughts she kept at a distance as she listened to the class bouncing ideas and thoughts around.....but thoughts she'd eventually have to deal with sooner or later.
"You're sure you want to do this Archer?" Donny asked. Samantha nodded with a light smile. He shook his head and she allowed her smile to waiver a bit. She could feel his emotions radiating off of him. There were strong sexual emotions that she didn't reciprocate. "I'm quite sure." She affirmed. Samantha handed over her EMT jacket and her hat and gave them to Donny. She enjoyed helping people, but emotions were just tearing her to pieces. She couldn't keep working in a job with people in so much pain. Every part of her rang out with sympathetic pains.
Samantha quickly escorted herself out. She felt her cheeks already beginning to flush from the desire of this fat sweaty man. She felt a slight tingle of desire that she did not want in her heart and she knew that being away from him was just another relief. She had to get her powers under control. With a quiet sigh she blew the bangs out of her face and stepped out into the warm day. The wind blew her hair around her face as she stepped out into the world of New York. So many people passed her on the street that she felt herself being pushed and pulled in every direction. New York was not the place for this southern girl. There was just so many people, but she could get help here.
She had heard of a school that helped young mutants get control of their powers. The Xavier school. Samantha hailed a cab and was happy to get into the small confinements of the cab. The Indian man in the driver's seat nodded to her as she entered and kept stealing little glances of her in the rear view mirror. She felt deep feelings of mistrust. She said nothing. She kept to herself and distracted herself with what was out the window. It wasn't long before she was at her destination. Closing the door behind her she felt hope as the cab drove away.
She stood at the gate for several moments before she found the courage to push her way into the grounds. She was startled as a few kids ran past her laughing. Samantha uttered a little gasp as she nearly fell. Standing there she watched in amazement at how happy they were. She was filled with warmth and she began to smile and actually laugh. Maybe this would be okay. It was hard for her to tell what she was actually feeling herself and what belonged to others. She didn't know herself very well as a person, as a mutant. She had trouble with her own ambitions and dreams. So much of what she felt was others desires.
Letting herself into the front door she was surprised at the lack of security. No one stopped her. No one questioned her reasons for being here. Everyone just went about their business as if she wasn't even there. Samantha moved through the halls in quiet fascination as she wandered about exploring. She felt a little self conscious. Samantha rubbed her arm nervously as she moved through the hallways and past a classroom. She stopped suddenly when she was filled with a sense of doubt, insecurity and anxious energy. This was defiantly not her own feelings. She was nervous, but not this nervous. At least she didn't think so. Samantha looked around for the possible source when she happened to peek in the window of Tamera Lyell's class.
For most of the ninety minutes her theoretical mathematics class took up, Tamara was her usual cold, clinical self as her and her students walked through the first parts of Hilbert's 12th Problem - basically, a getting-up-to-speed process of conversing back and forth about the mathematician David Hilbert, his 24 mathematical problems and how & why he came up with them, a brief go-over on the 12th problem, the one assigned to them by Professor Nash - everything that would help them being to figure out (and possibly solve) the problem. Its' a good thing we're all Scanners, Tamara thought as the class wound to a close for the day, or we'd never gotten as far as we had just today, marveling at the progress - small progress, but progress nonetheless - and thinking another couple of months and we'll be--
Suddenly, she sopped dead in her tracks, her eyes shut as if thinking of something that had just popped into her mind, but it wasn't her doing the thinking, it was someone else popping into her mind, the same thing that'd happened at the beginning of the class. This time, though, it was closer, more focused, more empathetic, as if someone were trying to reach her instead of her trying to reach them; for a few moments, it frightened her, for she hadn't had these kind of emotions enter her mind in years and it took all of her own powers to keep her composure and focus. "is everything all right, Professor?" one of her students asked, a look of momentary concern on his face.
Then, just as suddenly, Tamara opened her eyes and shook her head, as if clearing her mind of whatever had tried to invade it just now; looking over at her student, she smiled, a wan, faint smile. "Its' nothing; my mind must be working overtime today," pausing as she looked at a nearby wall clock and continued. "Well," she said, walking over to her desk and catching her blazer as it floated off the chair and onto her outstretched hand, "I see our ninety minutes are about up; let's stop for the day and we'll hit it bright and early next class, okay?"
As the half-dozen students began to file out of the class, Tamara turned around and looked up the chalkboards, trying to figure out just who had tried a second time to enter her mind; standing there, arms crossed over her chest, she stood in silent contemplative thought when, out of her mind's eye, she turned and caught sight of someone standing in the hallway, peeking - or trying to, by the looks of it - into the classroom. Hmm, wonder who that is? she thought as she strode confidently over to the door; opening it, she looked down the hallway and didn't see anyone. Turning, she looked and....
Letting herself into the front door she was surprised at the lack of security. No one stopped her. No one questioned her reasons for being here. Everyone just went about their business as if she wasn't even there. Samantha moved through the halls in quiet fascination as she wandered about exploring. She felt a little self conscious. Samantha rubbed her arm nervously as she moved through the hallways and past a classroom. She stopped suddenly when she was filled with a sense of doubt, insecurity and anxious energy. This was defiantly not her own feelings. She was nervous, but not this nervous. At least she didn't think so. Samantha looked around for the possible source when she happened to peek in the window of Tamera Lyell's class.
....saw a rather stunning, if very insecure by her appearance and scattershot, fidgety movements, young woman standing at the class window. Coughing a few times quietly to get her attention, Tamara smiled - this time a broad confident and (for Tamara) warm friendly smile and said quietly, "Is there anything I can help you with, Miss..." her voice trailing off since she didn't know the woman's name...but also wanting to know more about her at the same time.
--Where do we go nobody knows? Don't ever say you're on your way down when God gave you style and gave you grace And put a smile upon your face.... - God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Coldplay
Last Edit: Apr 22, 2018 0:08:44 GMT by Tamara Lyell
Standing there unsure of what to do Samantha was in a bit of a daze. Some much of her was sheltered and closed off out of reflex and self defense. It was taxing to have all these emotions running through her at all times. So much of her personality was dependent on the others around her. Sometimes it was to much. Sometimes she wished she could close herself off to the world and live as a hermit somewhere. Some place out in the woods where she could only digest her own thoughts and feelings. She was so suggestible. A hint of flirtations from a random stranger and she was swept away in feelings that were artificial. Now she was standing here with this woman staring at her.
Samantha felt a deep blush pushing through her cheeks. That was the first genuine emotion she had remembered feeling today. "I.... I..." She opened her mouth to explain and quickly closed it. She didn't know what she was doing here. She felt foolish even standing here in the presence of this woman. Her commanding stature almost seemed to tower of her. Samantha bit her lip a moment. As they stood there she felt a soft warmth staring at her center and moving through her. She couldn't really identify what she was feeling off this woman. "I needed help with my...." She hesitated. After a long pause she finally spit it out. "I'ma mutant." She admitted. As if that was some shameful thing in this place of refuge.
It all was so overwhelming, but she found herself relaxing just the tiniest bit. She had came here with only the clothes on her back. She didn't have any of her things that were back in her apartment that cost way to much. In a city that was way to loud. With people who were way to passionate for her, or their own good. "I heard this place takes in my kind." She stammered. Samantha shifted her weight to her other foot. It was true. This was a safe haven for mutants. Weather Tamera Lyell was the person she needed to speak with or not she did not know. She was however the first person who had even noticed her since she arrived.
Samantha continued to chew on her lower lip. Her eyes flicked over to lock with those alluring eyes of this stranger. She found herself fidgety even more so than usual. She couldn't trust herself around people. Even that slimeball Donny back at dispatch was beginning to seem attractive to her. A fat hairy little man with balding hair on top. He was becoming attractive to her because his feelings for her were so strong and it bled into her own psyche.
Anyone here at the Xavier school would give her a room in the dorms and give her guidance. She was too old to enroll as a student here, but there was an outreach program to help adult mutants master and control their powers. Samantha would just settle for an off switch. It had become so much a part of who she was that she wouldn't know how to act if she suddenly lost her powers. She felt like she could connect with people on a deeper level. She just didn't want their emotions to dominate hers in such a way that she lost all sense of herself.
For months now since she arrived in New York she had been working as an EMT. She treated victims of assault. Accidents. She felt the pain of loss, when someone survived an accident and their partner did not. She felt the hurt of betrayal when a drunken father beat his children to the point she was called in for medical treatment. She felt the deepest darkest hearts of humanity. The job was making her sick. She felt deep emotional pain as well as the aches and pains and agonizing torment of their horrific wounds. She had to leave. She was a good person but she couldn't take much more of that. Samantha rubbed her arm nervously and stared at Tamera for as long as she dared. That gaze was just so powerful she had to look away. Samantha stole a small glance and saw the unchanging cold emotionless face, but beyond it was feelings of warmth somewhere deep in there.
Samantha felt a deep blush pushing through her cheeks. That was the first genuine emotion she had remembered feeling today. "I.... I..." She opened her mouth to explain and quickly closed it. She didn't know what she was doing here. She felt foolish even standing here in the presence of this woman. Her commanding stature almost seemed to tower of her. Samantha bit her lip a moment. As they stood there she felt a soft warmth staring at her center and moving through her. She couldn't really identify what she was feeling off this woman. "I needed help with my...." She hesitated. After a long pause she finally spit it out. "I'ma mutant." She admitted. As if that was some shameful thing in this place of refuge.
For a moment Tamara started to scan the young woman's mind, then, without thinking, she reached over and put a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder, as if trying in her own way to alleviate all the fears she had inside her. "Its' alright," she said softly in a voice that would've shocked her most days, but under these circumstances, was perfectly appropriate. "I mean that, its' alright...you're safe, you're amongst your own and you've got nothing to be ashamed of," Tamara said, remembering her own first days here at the Xavier School and seeing herself in the blonde...
It all was so overwhelming, but she found herself relaxing just the tiniest bit. She had came here with only the clothes on her back. She didn't have any of her things that were back in her apartment that cost way to much. In a city that was way to loud. With people who were way to passionate for her, or their own good. "I heard this place takes in my kind." She stammered. Samantha shifted her weight to her other foot. It was true. This was a safe haven for mutants. Weather Tamera Lyell was the person she needed to speak with or not she did not know. She was however the first person who had even noticed her since she arrived.
If her actions up to now were strange for Tamara, she pulled the young woman to her and hugged her - a comforting, friendly hug, nothing more, nothing less - letting her know things were alright, that she was safe, that she had found a place of solace and comfort in an unkind world. "That's right...welcome to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters; I'm Tamara Lyell...and years ago, I was in the same position you're in," stepping back a little so that she could close the door to the mathematics hall behind her. "I was in the same position you find yourself in now and this place saved my life...c'mon," she quietly said, nodding towards the hall, "let's get you a tour of the place and....and....," pausing as she humorously said, "now I'm the one stammering...."
Samantha nodded. A tour sounded good. She wouldn't mind getting familiar with the place. Everything was so new and unexpected. She just wanted to get her bearings. For once she didn't feel like she was peddling from her back foot. Something about Tamera was easing her troubled mind. A kindness that flowed from her like a gentle giving river. Samantha stood there and took the hug as it was given to her but she didn't hug back. She wore gloves on her hands. Though it didn't happen when people touched her, she could not touch anyone without having cryptic flashes of their memories storm through her mind like a blitzkrieg.
"A tour sounds nice." Samantha admitted. She could get something to eat perhaps and maybe find a place to bed for the night. She had a long emotionally draining day already. She was officially unemployed. What else did she have to do today? Nothing. Not a thing. Samantha would come to find this place as her new home in time. For now she was just scared and decidedly timid about the whole thing. She never thought a place could exist where she could be herself and find others that understood, but here it was. It was before her and she wanted to make the best of it.
Samantha looked at the large painted portraits of faces she didn't know. They hung in the great hall like important relics from a history she didn't know. She assumed they were famous mutants. She was a little ashamed she didn't know who they were, but that quickly passed. She moved through the halls through a sea of teachers and students. Everyone seemed to be going about their day business as usual. "So what is your power?" She asked tentatively. "I feel thangs. Emotions mostly. They tend'ta dominate my own. Sometimes I don't know if what I'm feeling is my own original feeling or someone eles....I" She stopped when she realized she was rambling. They moved through the main hall and ended up by the dorms as the tour continued.
"A tour sounds nice." Samantha admitted. She could get something to eat perhaps and maybe find a place to bed for the night. She had a long emotionally draining day already. She was officially unemployed. What else did she have to do today? Nothing. Not a thing. Samantha would come to find this place as her new home in time. For now she was just scared and decidedly timid about the whole thing. She never thought a place could exist where she could be herself and find others that understood, but here it was. It was before her and she wanted to make the best of it.
"Sounds good," Tamara said, smiling once more as they began walking around the Xavier School, Tamara pointing out things as they went along; every so often, Tamara would get these strange - well, to Tamara, anyway - strange feelings from Samantha, as if Samantha were trying to pierce the hard intellectual shell that Tamara had built around herself over the years. Over the years, a few women had tried to pierce that scanners' shell of hers', but for some reason that Tamara couldn't make out, it wasn't working this time around...it was enough to momentarily distract her, make her forget where they were for the time being.... "So what is your power?" She asked tentatively. "I feel thangs. Emotions mostly. They tend'ta dominate my own. Sometimes I don't know if what I'm feeling is my own original feeling or someone eles....I" She stopped when she realized she was rambling. They moved through the main hall and ended up by the dorms as the tour continued.
It took Tamara a moment to catch what Samantha was saying, but as they stood there inside one of the dorms, she leaned up against a door frame and ran a hand through her pixie-like hair. "I'm a telepathic scanner," Tamara said. "I can read and sense a person's thoughts, scan their minds to see what information, thoughts and emotions are inside.. I can also use those powers to transmit thoughts and information from my mind to another person's and can, depending on the circumstance, mentally hack into computer systems and another person's physical and mental functions as well, though whenever I do that, it does cause me to suffer some physical weakness." Blowing out a long breath, she added, "It took me a long time to learn how to harness all that and there are times where I still...," pausing as she shook her head, an impishly friendly smile about her lips, "...don't know everything there is to know about it, but I like said earlier, I was in the same position you're in currently," reaching over to give Samantha a friendly squeeze of her shoulder, "and I just know someday, Samantha, you'll be standing here, helping another mutant in the same position you're in and that I once was," speaking in a voice that was a lot more friendlier than even Tamara would've thought was possible for her....
The tour was fine. Samantha listened quietly as Tamera spoke and tried to ignore all the radiating feelings that shed off her like a second skin. Feeling people's emotions were fine, but often times it just felt wrong. It was like she was diving into their inner most private thoughts and invading their privacy. There was nothing that came off of Tamera that she hadn't openly and freely suggested herself. Samantha was welcome here. She was welcome to stay and learn more about herself and her powers and that was a relief to there.
Suddenly her stomach growled. Her hand reached instinctively to her stomach. She supposed in all the excitement of today she hadn't really had a moment to stop for lunch. Somewhere down the hall was the mansions kitchen. It was about lunch time. She could smell some rather wonderful curious smells drifting to her from... Somewhere. "Mmm." She said absentmindedly. She couldn't think about anything else now other than the smell of that wonderful aroma. "Is it lunchtime?" She asked hoping it would flow the conversation in that direction.
She bit at her lower lip a little as some children passed her in the hall. One of them stopped right in front of her. He was smiling and looking right at Samantha. He had three extra eyes scattered about his forehead to compliment the two that were where they should be. Samantha looked at him a moment and blinked a few times. He was smiling at her with a big confident smile. "Hi!" He said still smiling at Samantha. "Hi yourself." She said back. With that he ran off to the mess hall. It was indeed chow time. Samantha turned and followed the smells of the food knowing full well where she wanted the next stop on the tour to take them.
Standing in the hallway talking to Samantha, it was all Tamara could do to not grab her by the lapel, pull her right up next to her and kiss her in front of God and country and everyone walking by, but she also couldn't deny that there something between them that she couldn't put her fingers on...though I'd love to get her to know her better...wait, what did I just say? she thought as Samantha asked if it was lunchtime yet. "Yeah, I think so; that sounds like a great idea," Tamara said, pushing herself off the doorfrane and watching the students at the School passing by them.
Before they could go anywhere, Tamara watched as one of the students stopped in front of them... One of them stopped right in front of her. He was smiling and looking right at Samantha. He had three extra eyes scattered about his forehead to compliment the two that were where they should be. Samantha looked at him a moment and blinked a few times. He was smiling at her with a big confident smile. "Hi!" He said still smiling at Samantha. "Hi yourself." She said back. With that he ran off to the mess hall. It was indeed chow time. Samantha turned and followed the smells of the food knowing full well where she wanted the next stop on the tour to take them.
Waving as she watched the brief conversation, Tamara smiled as another young student waved at them, giving her a high-five as he said with an excited voice, "Hey, Professor Tam!" Tamara waving back as the student - a high-school kid if her memory served her correctly - rushed to join his friends up ahead of them. As they walked along, Tamara said, "There's students here from early grades all the way up through high school," pausing as they reached one of the stairwells inside the dormitory, "and even a few dozen college-level students, a couple of whom I actually teach here; I think you saw them earlier." After a few moments, she asked, "So, Samantha, where are you from originally? If...if I may ask?" knowing that she could've just scanned Samantha's mind for the answers but she wanted to know more about the beautiful blonde standing next to her and that meant - among other things - listening to her as she spoke....
Last Edit: Apr 25, 2018 20:23:52 GMT by Tamara Lyell
Samantha smiled as she heard the question. She had heard that question a thousand times. It was the accent. Everyone was always curious about the accent. She was just thankful for the brief moment of normal. "Georgia. The Peach State." She said simply. There was a smile living on her lips and her eyes were blue and clear and full of honest hope. Samantha looked at Tamera with a sort of understanding. She was different too. She knows what you're going through. Samantha thought. She knew this place would be good for her. She could feel it in her heart already.
Sitting down with a lunch tray she began to eat quietly. She didn't have much to offer in the way of conversation, she was still slightly overwhelmed. Samantha looked around the great mess hall and just admired the architecture. She admired the whole place. The whole place just seemed to leave her with that feeling of awe. "You're very sweet to take' such'a interest in me. I'm not that interesting, but still it's very sweet." Samantha said as she spooned around her mashed potatoes. Samantha couldn't remember the last time someone had taken an general interest in her.
Once you saw the strands of blond and the alluring blue eyes it was usually men thinking with their lower appendages. Real emotion surprisingly rarely came into the equation. It was lonely. To already know what people's motives were before they even started talking to you. It was something that she simply could not turn off. It made it hard to trust people. For the first time in a long time she felt herself swelling with trust. She reached across the table and grabbed Tamera's hand and gave it a light squeeze. She looked her right in the eye.
"Seriously. Thank you." She said with all the usual hints of her southern accent. Samantha let go of Tamera's hand and went back to eating. She allowed her drifty mind to just wander a bit as she looked down at her plate to bashful to make eye contact until the moment was over. She thought about where she might sleep tonight and if she would get a room of her own or if she would have a room mate. She hoped she would get her own room. It was all a little to much having to constantly have your roomates inner most emotions broadcast to you. She was hoping she could just find so peace and solitude while she quietly adjusted to this, her new life.
Everyone was always curious about the accent. She was just thankful for the brief moment of normal. "Georgia. The Peach State." She said simply. There was a smile living on her lips and her eyes were blue and clear and full of honest hope. Samantha looked at Tamera with a sort of understanding. She was different too. She knows what you're going through. Samantha thought. She knew this place would be good for her. She could feel it in her heart already.
"Well, its' a lovely accent, Samantha," Tamara replied, thinking to herself as they entered the dining hall, a lovely accent framing the lovely face of a very beautiful woman, adding, wait, did I just think that? Joining her at one of the tables, lunch tray in hand, they began eating when Julie said to her, "You're very sweet to take' such'a interest in me. I'm not that interesting, but still it's very sweet."
It stunned Tamara for a moment, but without missing a beat - and having scanned her mind once earlier, knowing there was possibly something connecting them together, she said, "Its' no problem, Samantha...and never say you're not an interesting person; everyone's interesting...everyone's got a story and everyone's important in this world," pausing when, without any warning, Samantha reached over and gripped Tamara's hand as they sat at the table across from one another. Tamara's heart swelled with happiness; it'd been ages since she'd had any feelings for anyone and it made her feel good to know someone cared... "Seriously. Thank you," Samantha said, continuing to hold Tamara's hand in hers a while before letting go and returning to her own lunch tray; instead of returning to hers, Tamara simply stared at the beautiful blonde, not scanning her mind for whatever thoughts were there but simply looking at her, the person..the person sitting across from her. She didn't care if anyone around noticed it but she thought to herself, Is this what love feels like? Or is it something else, something different? Whatever it is, she thought as she kept her gaze upon her, I don't want to stop feeling it....not now, not tomorrow, not ever.
Samantha was starting to enjoy her lunch very much so when she started to get a weird feeling. She was swept up with romantic notions out of nowhere. Feelings she knew were not her own. She had just met this woman and sure she was certainly attractive, but Samantha didn't know enough about her to make any kind of rational choices like that.
No what she felt beating against her heart and blushing in her cheeks were pure ravenous lust. It was strong. Surprisingly strong. Samantha gasped at the overwelming feeling dominating her mind and let out a little started cry. She tried to stand up suddenly and spilled apple juice all over the table. It went everywhere. "Hey lady!" Someone cried. "I'm so sorry!" Samantha cried. She looked back to Tamera but felt a wave of embarrasement crashing over her. Samantha got up and ran out of the cafeteria. Her ears and her body pulsing and pounding with unchecked desires. She couldn't trust herself.
Samantha found a nice quiet stairwell to set under and she quietly collected herself. She was breathing heavy and she was so red. She had never been that embarassed before. Well, she was kind of clumsy. She hadn't been that embarrased recently. She just wished she could crawl under a rock. She almost thought about leaving the school entirely, but something held her back. Something made her stay though she couldn't figure out what that something was. All she knew was that she had to watch herself around others because theyr feelings, their thoughts and their emotions bled into her own.
As she continued looking over at Samantha, Tamara couldn't hide the feelings she was starting to have for her; even behind the mask, the shield she kept up as a scanner the woman in her kept knocking it down....it seemed like forever, but suddenly a huge rush of thoughts and emotions flooded her mind; this wasn't surprising but to Tamara, the surprise wasn't from her scanning Samantha's mind as they sat there, it was coming from Samantha.... No what she felt beating against her heart and blushing in her cheeks were pure ravenous lust. It was strong. Surprisingly strong. Samantha gasped at the overwelming feeling dominating her mind and let out a little started cry. She tried to stand up suddenly and spilled apple juice all over the table. It went everywhere. "Hey lady!" Someone cried. "I'm so sorry!" Samantha cried. She looked back to Tamera but felt a wave of embarrasement crashing over her. Samantha got up and ran out of the cafeteria. Her ears and her body pulsing and pounding with unchecked desires. She couldn't trust herself.
Watching as Samantha suddenly got up, Tamara was shocked but more so when she watched her bolt for the door like a scared cat; with a scanners' glare towards whoever had spoken to Samantha harshly earlier, she got up and rushed out of the dining hall, hoping to find where Samantha had gone. Where did she go? Tamara thought, closing her eyes momentarily and scanning the area around for any sign of Samantha...after a few moments, she thought she had an idea of where Samantha was at and headed towards one of the main building's stairwells, a quiet area Tamara knew all too well herself as she'd gone there her first months at the Xavier School when her telepathic scanning powers threatened to overwhelm her... Samantha found a nice quiet stairwell to set under and she quietly collected herself. She was breathing heavy and she was so red. She had never been that embarassed before. Well, she was kind of clumsy. She hadn't been that embarrased recently. She just wished she could crawl under a rock. She almost thought about leaving the school entirely, but something held her back. Something made her stay though she couldn't figure out what that something was. All she knew was that she had to watch herself around others because theyr feelings, their thoughts and their emotions bled into her own.
Turning a corner, Tamara found Samantha, her face a bright red shade of embarrassment and looking as though she wanted to bolt if discovered....gathering her thoughts, she walked over, hoping everything was okay and that she hadn't done anything. "Hey," Tamara said quietly, joining her at the stairwell. "Its' alright; everything going to be alright, Samantha," not really knowing what to do now. We're two mutants in a school and campus full of them and I can't think of anything to say but if Samantha's listening, Tamara thought, hoping to project her thoughts into Samantha's mind, there's nothing to be ashamed of; we all have our problems and our foibles but their what make what who we are...and I know this: I want to get to know you, Samantha! The person...the person inside; please let me in....please.
It had been a few days since Samantha arrived. She was starting to settle into the place a little bit more. When she first arrived she was like a nervous little bird. Everything here was so new and exciting, scary and wonderful. She had a chance to breathe. She had a chance to explore the place and find that it offered a lot of warmth and a lot of love. Genuine love. Not like outside. Outside these walls people were fake. It became so ingrained in her that it actually surprised her when she found people that didn't do one thing and feel another. Samantha had found her home here. She was happy. She mostly kept to herself and said very little to anyone. She was just taking it all at her own pace.
She had a rather intense encounter with a teach of mathmatics here. Tamera Lyell. Samantha had seen her once or twice in the few days since she had been here, but she didn't have the courage to actually go up to her and speak with her. It was emotion overload in their last conversation. Samantha kept picking up strong romantic attraction. It radiated off Tamera like a hot wave of emotion and lust. Samantha was flattered, she really was, but her problem was she never knew what that meant.
She never knew what to make of it because of her ability it made it so much more confusing. She could feel what others felt. Her power of empathy was often a curse because what others felt often overpowered her own feelings. She was often unsure if she was having an original thought or just lusting after the cheeseburger that joe what's his name was quietly craving right next to her. So when people came to her with sexual feelings..... Well, she got worked up rather easily and if she had those feelings she wanted to make sure they were her own feelings and not just someone's dominating impressions left on her empathetic heart.
Needless to say she got out of there in a hurry. Not to say that she hadn't thought about it. These last few days Samantha had isolated herself. She needed a chance to decompress. To self study. She locked herself in her room so she wasn't open to suggestability. She sat quietly, reading mostly and observing her feelings. It was so theroputic to her to just be alone sometimes that she would disappear for days on end just to reboot essentially. Tamara probably hated her for the awkward way she ran away and then ran away again when she found her sitting under the stairs. Samantha felt awful about that, but honestly.... She had come to the conclusion that she wouldn't mind getting to know her either, in a controlled setting.
Samantha realized that when you first meet someone excitement levels are off the charts. That's when emotions are at their strongest. First impressions are everything and there is a reason for it. People form an emotional repsonse the first time they meet another individual. Samantha found that if she didn't like you in the first few moments of meeting you she would strongly dislike you forever. It was a one and done thing with her.
She couldn't have negitive emotions in her life, it just made things too complicated. But over the course of the last few days Samantha had thought about Tamera. She honestly found her intersting and her power was sort of like hers in a way. She felt a closeness to her, like she could understand what she was going through on a daily basis. They were compatabile in that way. Samantha didn't like making all of her life choices in such a cold and concocked way but what choice did she have?
Samantha sat outside on the school grounds with her camera. It was a Nycon 700 the newest available. With a high grade lens. She snapped a few photos of something beautiful. The wind pushing through the trees. The pink petals of cherry blossums raining on the sun kissed grass. She found it peaceful. It was a way for her to just shut off her over analytical brain and just not have to think or feel anything. One of the reasons she loved photography so much was seeing her pictures developed later.
Seeing those moments of beauty captured on film brought up such overwelming feelings for her that she knew they were her own original thoughts and feelings. They just overwelmed her. Samantha sat on a hard stone bench snapping a few more pictures. She turned the camera and saw Tamera standing outside. She didn't think she had noticed her yet. Samantha slowly lowered the camera, took a deep breath and smiled when she looked her way.
A few days later..... Waking up to flashes of light entering her bedroom, Tamara slowly woke up, shaking her head to try and get the cobwebs out....to be fair, though, the cobwebs were her own doing; all she could do the past few days was think about Samantha, but every time she tried to break through whatever shell the other woman had built up the past few days, it was like trying to breach Fort Knox with a plastic spoon. What do I do? Tamara thought as she climbed out of bed, naked as the day was long, and walked to the bathroom, figuring a quick shower would clear her mind and get her ready for the day.
All throughout her shower - and for some time after, as she dressed for the day - Tamara couldn't help but think about Samantha....everything about her pursed through her mind as if those were her only thoughts; ever since she'd found her underneath the staircase and tried to reach out to her, Tamara couldn't help but wonder how Samantha was doing. Her thoughts got to the point where, for a few nights over the course of the week, Tamara was forced to get up, get dressed and go to the mathematics hall and work on Hilbert's 12th Problem in a half-sleepy fugue just so she wouldn't drive herself mad with thoughts of Samantha. What do I do? What do I say to her, what do I tell her? she kept thinking, over and over as she dressed for the day - her usual mostly-black outfit of clothes - and headed out.
Walking from Professors Road - where most of the Xavier School's teachers and professors lived - Tamara kept a brave face but inwardly she was kinda' dreading running into Samantha when... Samantha sat outside on the school grounds with her camera. It was a Nycon 700 the newest available. With a high grade lens. She snapped a few photos of something beautiful. The wind pushing through the trees. The pink petals of cherry blossums raining on the sun kissed grass. She found it peaceful. It was a way for her to just shut off her over analytical brain and just not have to think or feel anything. One of the reasons she loved photography so much was seeing her pictures developed later.
Seeing those moments of beauty captured on film brought up such overwelming feelings for her that she knew they were her own original thoughts and feelings. They just overwelmed her. Samantha sat on a hard stone bench snapping a few more pictures. She turned the camera and saw Tamera standing outside. She didn't think she had noticed her yet. Samantha slowly lowered the camera, took a deep breath and smiled when she looked her way.
....all of a sudden, she felt someone's presences, like someone was trying to pierce her mind and scan it rather than the other way around; looking around, Tamara tried to figure out where the unknown person was when, as she looked around once more, she caught sight of Samantha sitting on a stone bench, camera in hand, smiling at her. Waving at her and smiling, a broad honest, friendly and forthright smile, Tamara said to her telepathically as a scanner would do, I still want to get to know you, Samantha, her smile now broader and friendlier....please, let me in; let me get the person you are, Samantha...please.
Last Edit: May 10, 2018 4:19:19 GMT by Tamara Lyell
