Issue 1 Downtime

With classes finished for the semester, Miranda had been spending more time around Sam and Nailah's apartment and trying to get Kay to spend time with her there when she could. Currently, Miranda was sitting on the floor with her back against the couch, sketching in her non-vision sketchbook. Sam might detect three distinct presences in that one place and even Nailah might see hints of the three parts of Miranda around her. Every once in a while, she would move as if trying to stretch her shoulders, almost as if she was uncomfortable.

((semi-open))

"...you seem a bit beside yourself," Samantha observes, coming into the room.

"Hmm?" She said, looking up. All three of the presences looked up in unison as well.

"You'll pardon me, it's not often that gets to be said about anyone other than me."

"Not many people with multiple parts of their mind?"

"Not that manifest like that, no."

"They're manifesting right now? I knew my drawing was going exceptionally well."

"Aye. You seemed a bit restless too. I thought I might check and make sure everything was alright."

"Shoulder blades are a little sore," she said, shifting position again. "Otherwise things are good."

"Did you overexert yourself?" She asks with some concern.

"I don't see how I could have. All I've been doing is sitting around, drawing, and hanging out with Kay."

"I'd just wondered. I know quite a few overdo things in the gym."

"Haven't touched the place," she said. "Not sure why I would right now."

"Certainly no need for you to. If it gets worse, promise me you'll tell the doctors. One of us can be there if you're uncomfortable with that."

"I will," she said, shifting positions again. Sam could catch a brief glimpse at her drawing. It was mostly a rough sketch at the moment, but it showed the claymore-like sword with a winged figure behind it.

"Then again, perhaps it's the power of suggestion. Working some issues out?"

"Just following some inspiration. I managed to get a good look at some different types of blades in the Danger Room and found one that fit the one I'd seen in my vision."

"Were the wings part of that?"

"No," she said, regarding the image again before reaching and picking up her vision notebook, flipping it open to the picture of the woman with the glowing eyes and the bloody sword. She held it up to Sam.

She nods. "Coincidence, then. Suppose there's always temptation to try to find connections."

"What sort of connection were you trying to draw?"

"Your avatar can often be a sort of phantom limb, or at least mine often is. If you were thinking of wings, it might explain your shoulders hurting."

"I had considered adding wings to my avatar at some point," she said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps that's all it is then, aye?"

"Probably," she acknowledged. "I'm not doing anything important at the moment if you have time to practice some telepathy stuff."

"If you'd like to. Nothing says it has to be during office hours, aye?"

"Yeah," she said, putting her drawing materials away.

"You wanted to work on avoiding broadcasting, aye?"

"That's probably the best place to start," she said with a nod.

"When you end up broadcasting, are you usually excited about something?"

"Usually, but sometimes I'm just wondering about something or someone. I did it to Mom when I was curious about why she had so much... shininess around her when I first met her."

"So, whether consciously or not, you're reaching out. It can be beautiful to be that unashamed, but it can also be like someone who doesn't know to touch things."

"What I also suspect was that the way you were... eroded has weakened your boundaries. When they had the collar on you it was an asset, but now that you don't it goes both ways."

"So the trick is to reestablish the boundaries?"

"Aye, and the first step towards that is by firming up your sense of who you are."

"I've an exercise for you. I want you to describe yourself, but I want you to do it without using any physical terms."

She nodded and thought about it for a moment. She proceeded to open her mouth several times as if to say something before shutting it thoughtfully again. "Oof, this is hard," she said, "I'm stubborn, content but unsettled..."

"It's supposed to be hard. Go on."

She nodded, giving another moment's thought, "Curious, possibly more than is good for me. Some part of me is angry. Patient and impatient at the same time. Contemplative. Becoming somewhat religious..."

"Anything in that you particularly want to nurture?"

"How do you mean? It all seems to have its place."

"But I doubt you want to stay in place, aye? How do you want people to see you?"