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Simon and Noriko - At JP's party
A little time before the end of the party, Noriko's taken by surprise by the sudden need for a pill. Simon follows her outside to make sure she's okay.
Noriko had been feeling that familiar sensation grow, skin feeling too tight and starting to buzz in a distracting way, but she knew she could still put it off for a while. She was in the middle of a conversation, after all, even if her leg was bouncing under the table, a telltale sign of craving, for her. Before she knew it, though, trains of thoughts became more difficult to hold on to and follow through. Definitely time, before anything worse happened - she really didn't want to showcase her power to the waiting staff.
She apologized for ending the conversation short, although she didn't seem all there as she did so, and headed out for a breath of fresh air and, oh yes, a pill.
She found the most shadowy corner of the patio, where the light from inside didn't spill out as much, and took her bottle of pills out with hands that, she now noticed, were beginning to tremble. She was long since used to swallowing pills without water to help them down, and she did just that, crouched against the wall and hoping that it would kick in quickly. That kind of moment, when the need for a pill crept up on her with such sudden force, was when she had to resist the urge to take two at a time, which was why she was looking down at the bottle in her hands, clearly trying to come to a decision.
Simon hadn't meant to be spying on the young woman when he saw her edge out the door onto the patio. It had been a random glance at the motion out of the corner of his eye. Except, once he'd seen it, he couldn't un-see it, and Dr. MacTaggart had made him aware of Ms. Ashida's medical condition, in the event that she wasn't around if something went wrong. He couldn't help but note that this was probably the first time Noriko had been off-campus for an extended period.
It was enough of an anomaly to prompt him to slip out the door a few minutes after she'd disappeared, but he realized he wasn't far off the mark when he found her huddled in a dark corner of the patio. Careful to keep his distance, since he did have an idea that getting close to her when her powers were spiking wasn't the best idea, Simon shut the door behind him and quietly announced himself. "Noriko? I'm Simon Tam. I help out in the medical lab."
Noriko looked up sharply when she heard her name, cursing herself for not having paid attention to the door opening to let someone else out. Freaking awesome. She pushed up to her feet, shoving the bottle of pills back in her pocket and keeping her hand there, as if it might help keep the sparks in until the drug took effect.
Jean-Paul's roommate, she knew, who she so often saw working down in the infirmary. Yeah. "Hey," she simply said, frowning over at him and wondering what he wanted. To check up on her? Did he know about the drugs? That would explain why he had introduced himself that way. "I'm fine," she told him, staying by the wall, tense and breathing quietly through it. Just hold out a little longer, it'd be fine.
"If you don't mind my saying...you don't look fine," Simon pointed out. He moved closer, but didn't crowd her, his gaze moving over her features and body signals. The pill bottle at least told him that he hadn't been wrong to check up on her. "Did you cut it close?"
And if she minded? Noriko clenched her jaw, head dropping so some of her hair would fall forward and hide her features somewhat. "It sneaked up on me. But I'm fine." Give her just a minute and she would be. She could feel the premise of it, quieter buzz blooming inside her brain.
"I'll keep an eye on the door, then, while it kicks in," Simon murmured. "Do you need anything else? Water?"
"I'm fine," Noriko echoed once again, but she was already starting to feel better, to relax. It was a slow process, but a visible and audible one, from the way she held herself, and spoke.
Simon nodded gently. "I'm sorry. It has to be difficult to have such a maladaption in your mutation. It's possible that you just need the right control element to keep you stable. I know that I've been working on my own."
"What is it?" Noriko asked, her frown slowly easing.
"Uh, my power, or...?"
"Your control element," Noriko answered, then pursed her lips. "But yeah, your power too, I guess." While she was at it, if he was willing to answer her questions.
"Ah, well. My control element." Simon blinked at the answer that popped into his head. Jean-Paul. He cleared his throat. "Touching, I guess. Practice. My power...I scan people. Their uh, biology, medical condition, genetics. When I touch them, I just get this flood of information, and the minute I let go...well, my head used to do a great impression of an orchestra of steel drums inside a very small space. It's getting better, the more I touch people and work on using my ability."
That didn't sound like much of a control element to Noriko, more like practice-makes-better, and in her case, that wouldn't help. Practice would do nothing about her getting overcharged. "You can turn it off, right?" she checked, because imagining having to know this much about anyone he ever touched, whenever he touched them... it still had nothing on Kevin's power in terms of shittiness, but it would be up there all the same.
"Ah..." Simon shook his head a little. "No, I can't."
"Wow, that sucks." Never rely on Noriko to sugarcoat things.
"I. Well. You know. I mean, I can wear gloves," Simon pointed out awkwardly. It did suck, but not as much as some peoples' powers, and it was also amazing sometimes, so...he didn't think he had a right to complain.
"Yeah, and I can take drugs." It didn't mean that an aspect of their powers didn't suck. Still, you wouldn't catch Noriko complaining, so she liked that he wasn't, either, even if it didn't really show, when you didn't know her, even now that the drugs were unfurling through her brain, unknotting it as they went. Now that it was unknotting, she could actually see his coming out to check up on her for what it was: a smart move, even if it rankled slightly. Still a smart move. "Thanks for checking up on me. I'm alright." Which was clearly different from her earlier 'I'm fine'.
Simon hesitated, then nodded, realizing just by her body language that this time, it wasn't bravado. "Good to know. And you're welcome. If you ever need anything, I'm in room 101 West, okay?"
"Sure," Noriko agreed, but that was more so he wouldn't insist than because she had any intention of going to him for help with anything.
"I'll let you have some air," Simon finally offered, stepping back to the door with a small smile.
"See you inside," Noriko confirmed, almost warmly - for her.
Noriko had been feeling that familiar sensation grow, skin feeling too tight and starting to buzz in a distracting way, but she knew she could still put it off for a while. She was in the middle of a conversation, after all, even if her leg was bouncing under the table, a telltale sign of craving, for her. Before she knew it, though, trains of thoughts became more difficult to hold on to and follow through. Definitely time, before anything worse happened - she really didn't want to showcase her power to the waiting staff.
She apologized for ending the conversation short, although she didn't seem all there as she did so, and headed out for a breath of fresh air and, oh yes, a pill.
She found the most shadowy corner of the patio, where the light from inside didn't spill out as much, and took her bottle of pills out with hands that, she now noticed, were beginning to tremble. She was long since used to swallowing pills without water to help them down, and she did just that, crouched against the wall and hoping that it would kick in quickly. That kind of moment, when the need for a pill crept up on her with such sudden force, was when she had to resist the urge to take two at a time, which was why she was looking down at the bottle in her hands, clearly trying to come to a decision.
Simon hadn't meant to be spying on the young woman when he saw her edge out the door onto the patio. It had been a random glance at the motion out of the corner of his eye. Except, once he'd seen it, he couldn't un-see it, and Dr. MacTaggart had made him aware of Ms. Ashida's medical condition, in the event that she wasn't around if something went wrong. He couldn't help but note that this was probably the first time Noriko had been off-campus for an extended period.
It was enough of an anomaly to prompt him to slip out the door a few minutes after she'd disappeared, but he realized he wasn't far off the mark when he found her huddled in a dark corner of the patio. Careful to keep his distance, since he did have an idea that getting close to her when her powers were spiking wasn't the best idea, Simon shut the door behind him and quietly announced himself. "Noriko? I'm Simon Tam. I help out in the medical lab."
Noriko looked up sharply when she heard her name, cursing herself for not having paid attention to the door opening to let someone else out. Freaking awesome. She pushed up to her feet, shoving the bottle of pills back in her pocket and keeping her hand there, as if it might help keep the sparks in until the drug took effect.
Jean-Paul's roommate, she knew, who she so often saw working down in the infirmary. Yeah. "Hey," she simply said, frowning over at him and wondering what he wanted. To check up on her? Did he know about the drugs? That would explain why he had introduced himself that way. "I'm fine," she told him, staying by the wall, tense and breathing quietly through it. Just hold out a little longer, it'd be fine.
"If you don't mind my saying...you don't look fine," Simon pointed out. He moved closer, but didn't crowd her, his gaze moving over her features and body signals. The pill bottle at least told him that he hadn't been wrong to check up on her. "Did you cut it close?"
And if she minded? Noriko clenched her jaw, head dropping so some of her hair would fall forward and hide her features somewhat. "It sneaked up on me. But I'm fine." Give her just a minute and she would be. She could feel the premise of it, quieter buzz blooming inside her brain.
"I'll keep an eye on the door, then, while it kicks in," Simon murmured. "Do you need anything else? Water?"
"I'm fine," Noriko echoed once again, but she was already starting to feel better, to relax. It was a slow process, but a visible and audible one, from the way she held herself, and spoke.
Simon nodded gently. "I'm sorry. It has to be difficult to have such a maladaption in your mutation. It's possible that you just need the right control element to keep you stable. I know that I've been working on my own."
"What is it?" Noriko asked, her frown slowly easing.
"Uh, my power, or...?"
"Your control element," Noriko answered, then pursed her lips. "But yeah, your power too, I guess." While she was at it, if he was willing to answer her questions.
"Ah, well. My control element." Simon blinked at the answer that popped into his head. Jean-Paul. He cleared his throat. "Touching, I guess. Practice. My power...I scan people. Their uh, biology, medical condition, genetics. When I touch them, I just get this flood of information, and the minute I let go...well, my head used to do a great impression of an orchestra of steel drums inside a very small space. It's getting better, the more I touch people and work on using my ability."
That didn't sound like much of a control element to Noriko, more like practice-makes-better, and in her case, that wouldn't help. Practice would do nothing about her getting overcharged. "You can turn it off, right?" she checked, because imagining having to know this much about anyone he ever touched, whenever he touched them... it still had nothing on Kevin's power in terms of shittiness, but it would be up there all the same.
"Ah..." Simon shook his head a little. "No, I can't."
"Wow, that sucks." Never rely on Noriko to sugarcoat things.
"I. Well. You know. I mean, I can wear gloves," Simon pointed out awkwardly. It did suck, but not as much as some peoples' powers, and it was also amazing sometimes, so...he didn't think he had a right to complain.
"Yeah, and I can take drugs." It didn't mean that an aspect of their powers didn't suck. Still, you wouldn't catch Noriko complaining, so she liked that he wasn't, either, even if it didn't really show, when you didn't know her, even now that the drugs were unfurling through her brain, unknotting it as they went. Now that it was unknotting, she could actually see his coming out to check up on her for what it was: a smart move, even if it rankled slightly. Still a smart move. "Thanks for checking up on me. I'm alright." Which was clearly different from her earlier 'I'm fine'.
Simon hesitated, then nodded, realizing just by her body language that this time, it wasn't bravado. "Good to know. And you're welcome. If you ever need anything, I'm in room 101 West, okay?"
"Sure," Noriko agreed, but that was more so he wouldn't insist than because she had any intention of going to him for help with anything.
"I'll let you have some air," Simon finally offered, stepping back to the door with a small smile.
"See you inside," Noriko confirmed, almost warmly - for her.