2451/Keeping it Cool

Keeping it Cool
Date of Scene:	14 July 2020
Location:	Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis:	Nessa and Johnny chat in the ice palace.
Cast of Characters:	Nessa Donovan, Johnny Storm

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Nessa Donovan has posed:
The ice palace is pretty easy to see from air or ground--it's large, cathedral-like, and has taken over the entirety of an abandoned warehouse. It's not just as if someone had made blocks of ice into a castle. Intricately carved architecture, almost as if it were some fairy tale made real. Usually there's a few people buzzing around and taking photos for social media, but there was buzz online that some kind of giant ice creature was scaring them off... albeit gently.

If there was a monster of some sort, it has abandoned its post leaving the sole occupant as Nessa, seated on the pillowy snow cushion on an ice bench as she seems to be focusing on something, ungloved hands out while a bunny made of snow and ice sniffs around and hops about near her feet, nosing about curiously.

Johnny Storm has posed:
Well, then Johnny Storm arrives, he's not on fire or anything, maybe good for the ice palace, maybe not if it holds up well under Nessa's icy magic, but not really worth taking that risk. He finds Nessa on her pillowy cushion, playing iwth her snow bunny and he offers a curious look followed by a little nod and a smile, "That's a curious little thing you've got there. Did you make this place?" he asks, glancing at the icy architecture he finds himself inside.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I wish I could take claim on this. I've been tempted to tell people I did, but... not me. My new teacher. He made it as a way to get my attention. So I like to think of this as my one-day-you-can-do-this example." Nessa scoots sideways on the cushion to make room if he wants to sit, scooping the bunny up to her lap. "Didn't make this little guy either, but I'm practicing it. Constructs of ice that are life-like? Makes me sound like I know what I'm doing."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Huh." Johnny says as he makes his way over, taking a spot on the cushion beside Nessa, settling in a little as he leans forward to look at the rabbit a little before glancing up towards Nessa again, "So, your mentor seems like he knows what he's doing then." He says with a nod of his head, "Controling the element is probably the most important thing to learn, I suspect you'll naturally control the problem you have with your touch as you learn these finer controls."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I imagine I will, eventually," Nessa says, glancing down at her hands. "He said he's the second best ice mage on earth, but he told me I'd have to do homework to figure out the first." She laughs. "It's... a lot, though. I never expected to be figuring all this out. The control... I don't know. I wasn't really focusing on that. I was focusing on learning more."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"I can't say I'd know who the premiere ice mages on earth are either, but I've little doubt I could look into it and come up with some possible names, given a little time. "I was the same way when I was your age though." He says with a little grin, "I've just got a lot of time doing it under my belt. You'll get there." He says reaching out to pat at one of her shoulders in a reassuring little gesture. "So, the million dollar question. What do you want to do with your icey powers? Become the city's best icecream vendor?" he says with a hint of a tease to the voice there.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Oh please, you make it sound like you're ancient," Nessa points out, giving him a little nudge with her elbow. "I could use some practice and some experience, yeah, but it's not as if I'm some freshly-emerged mage who is just learning the ropes. I've been doing this since I was a kid. The frozen skin thing? Lived with it just as long. So you can imagine how this is something a bit exciting."

She does smirk at him, however, at the mention of ice cream. "I could probably make some amazing ice cream, but that's not my intent." She pauses. "Or it could be. I don't know. I haven't figured that part out yet. I never set out to be anything but myself and trying to make sure that I was safe to be around other people. Never figured out what /I/ wanted."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm flashes a grin at her, "Well, we had to hit the ground running prettymuch once we came down from space, Doctor Doom and all that." He says with a grin towards her as he's nudged, "Well, you've got time to figure that out I suppose, focus on the little things first." He says with a chuckle, "So, did your teacher help you figure out how to use your fingers at all, or is that still a mystery waiting to be conquered?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa turns her hands over, then just starts to pet the bunny again. For something made of snow and ice, it does look fairly realistic, its nose sniffing about as it sits there. She strokes its ears. "Not really a subject we've touched a lot on. He mostly seems to like to show me what I /could/ do, but not what I /can/ do. There was a bit of that, though. I got to see what my own magic could be the seed for."

She shrugs. "I'll have to ask him about it in particular. I get distracted, though, when there is an ice mice that turns into a dragon. I've never been to space but I can tell you that seeing a dragon made of something /you/ put into it? That's pretty damn cool."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, I suppose seeing where you could be is a way to get there. If it helps you learn?" Johnny shrugs his shoulders a little bit, "Especially if you don't really know what you want to focus on first or where you want to end up with your skills." He says as he sits there watching her and the snow-bunny.

"I don't think I've seen an ice mouse turn into a dragon yet, but, there are things out there that would blow your mind." He says with a laugh, "In space and beyond even. Maybe some day you'll end up on an intergalactic, or interdimensional adventure to save the multiverse??"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
There's a small chuckle from Nessa, and she lifts the snow bunny up to allow him to pet it if he'd like. Should he do so, he'd find that the 'fur' is soft, pillowy snow, like fresh powder somehow held together with magic. "I'm a sucker for the underdog. I do like to help people out, if I see something wrong. I can't help it. But multiverse saving?" She raises an eyebrow.

"Not sure if I'm the type. Maybe if I'm strong enough to be on par with Sorcerer Vega I'd be off on some adventure. It's hard to picture /me/ on something like that. I cook bacon. Damn good bacon, but bacon. That's my adventure, typically."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm will reach out to touch the ice bunny lightly, "Wow, that doesn't feel really how you'd expect it to.." He says, "But at the same time almost exactly like you'd think. It's strange." He says. "Is this Sorcerer Vega your mentor?" he asks curiously, head tilting a little as he looks over to her, "And have you had any luck forming up your own ice and snow constructs?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Sorcerer Jianyu Vega. He just sort of showed up and started teaching. Said he kept an eye out for talent or something, so he just made this place," Nessa settles the rabbit on her lap again. "So I suppose that makes him my mentor. Funny how these things just end up happening."

She runs a hand absently over the bunny's fur. "I couldn't do it, the first time. He had to, well, get in my head I guess to show me what I was doing wrong, to guide things. So it was me doing it but at the same time it was him making it." She chuckles. "Turns out... I'm a little too heavy-handed. Comes from my stubborn streak. I've got to learn finesse, at least in this particular case. Made the mouse, though, that he turned into a dragon. That was kind of worth it."

Johnny Storm has posed:
To Johnny Storm this all sounds a bit weird, and maybe one of those too good to be true sort of scenarios, then again, he doesn't know much of anything about Magic, or learning how to use it, so he just nods his head towards her. "Those fine little controls are the important ones." He agrees with her assessment, "You can have all the brute force in the world, but if you can't land that power where you want it to go, well.. it doesn't do you a whole lot of good, and you'll probably get people hurt!" He says with a nod at her, grinning a bit as she blames her stubborn streak. "You'll get there though."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Of course I will," Nessa says, sounding confident. "Stubborn streak, remember? Even if I can't brute force my way into it, I'm too stubborn to give up on something worth doing. I don't know when to quit." She grins. "So I'll keep going until I get it. I know how to sort it out at least, now. It's just a matter of keeping the focus and not putting all my eggs in one basket all at once."

She glances to him. "Honestly, if there's anything I can say it's that I don't hurt people, I don't let people get hurt. I wear the gloves, I don't put people in danger..." She shrugs. "If anyone's going to get hurt from my magic, I'd rather it be me than to live with that kind of guilt."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm nods his head towards her, "Exactly." He says, "I have to keep myself from releasing too much energy, I could probably vaporize Manhattan, maybe even a small moon if I were to unleash everything in a nova. You might be able to do something similar, Freeze an entire city block solid or something." He says with a little gesture around, "So, I really do understand not wanting to hurt anyone, I feel the same way about it as you do." Johnny says as he glances back over towards her.

"I'm kind of curious, is it just things you touch with your hands, or does this happen with any tough of the skin? I don't remember if we covered that at all last time we chatted." He says, "If it's just your hands that could be an important clue."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't vaporize Manhattan, though. I'd like to get an apartment there someday," Nessa sounds amused, her eyes sliding over to him for a moment. "But I can imagine it gets harder the more potential you have. Maybe it's kind of like a lock, helping to keep everything internalized instead of just expressing itself." She does offer him a small smile. "I guess the feeling's not so unique... but it's nice to know someone else gets it."

Her eyes move back down to her hands, looking at them slowly. "Hands are usually the things in the way the most. You gesture with them, pick things up. They're the skin people come in contact with the most, so it makes a lot of sense. As far as I know it's just skin, but I can't say for sure, I haven't tested it much. Not like a lot of people go around touching the back of my neck." She grins.

Johnny Storm has posed:
"I'll do my best not to." Johnny says with a bit of a grin at her, "And the back of the neck huh, interesting that that's the first place you go to." he muses, "We could experiment some if you'd like, like last time, maybe test out some things as well. If you want to anyway."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Sometimes drunk guys at bars don't know how to keep themselves in check. I only really know it effects places other than my hands because he though it was a great idea to try and brush his hand there," Nessa's grinning in reply. "I'm simply drawing on past experience before you read too much into that."

She moves, gently lifting the bunny to set gently on the floor. It hops a few feet away, then just sort of sniffs at something, seeming distracted. Nessa's attention moves back over to him. "I'm willing to try. You're more likely to hurt me than I am to you, so I figure I don't have much to lose trying things out."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, like I said maybe it's some sort of defensive response you just haven't fully grasped. So, maybe be stubborn and want to be touched, try to keep that in your mind and push away all the times you've nearly frozen people who've touched you, or who you've touched." He says, "If I feel you starting to cool down I'll pull away, since we already know how that works, and I'm not all that interested in making you uncomfortable. So, where do you want to try first?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa nods after a moment. "Defense mechanism theory seems to be plausible, so it's as good a place to start as any. If I'm willing and comfortable, maybe it'll help." She seems thoughtful for a moment as she contemplates just what patch of skin would be a good starting point. "Alright," she moves to roll up one of her sleeves. "We can start simple. My arm. Not my hand, but somewhere that shouldn't be uncomfortable to be touched."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Alright, lock that thought in your mind, you want to be touched." Johnny says, "Keep that thought just stuck there, you know you won't hurt me, and you know I won't hurt you because I'll only be touching for a few seconds, so you've got nothing to worry about." He says with a smile flashed at her.

"Alright." He says, "Here goes nothing." He says, reaching out as she presents her arm over towards him and lays his fingers lightly upon her arm, letting them remain in contact for as long as he can, though if he starts to feel the cold, he'll pull them away rather than try the warming technique of their last attempt.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Either by her force of will against it or just pure luck, Nessa's skin isn't cold. It's a comfortable temperature, enough that it feels /normal/. Her eyes fix on his hand, as if unsure if it's happening before she slowly looks back over at him. "I... know this is going to sound /really/ dumb, all things considered and in multiple ways, but... your hand is warm. Not in a bad way, not like I'm going to pass out, it's just... warm."

She clears her throat a bit. "Sorry, like I said, this isn't exactly something I'm used to. It's something you take for granted until it's gone."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Look at that." Johnny says as he lets hsi hand linger there against her arm, grinning up towards her, "If you can get enough control to let people touch you, you'll probably be able to do anything you want to do. Can't underestimate confidence."

He lets out a soft laugh at her admission, "Well, welcome to being human again. Do you want to keep going? Try something or somewhere else and see if we can try and repeat our results we got here with your arm?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I've got to say, I've seen the confidence thing work really well. Even for those who don't have the skills to back it up." Nessa's gaze keeps moving between Johnny and her arm, still seeming to be a little disbelieving. "Being human is weird," she points out. "But maybe you're right. That was an easy target. Something riskier. Like... the back of the neck."

She grins, though she seems serious. "We already know that's somewhere I at least get defensive if I'm not expecting it, but what if I /am/ expecting it and it's from someone not intending to hurt me? I think it's as good a test as any."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"I mean, let's be fair, if some creep grabs the back of your neck when you don't want it, I think freezing his fingers is probably pretty justified." Johnny says with a little laugh at the woman, his other hand coming up in towards the skin at the back of her neck, "Remember, focus, you want to be touched, and know you're not going to hurt anyone when you are touched." He says, his fingers then lightly touching at the back of her neck, staying there until he feels the first sign of the chill.

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Yeah, I don't feel guilty about freezing that guy at all. Kind of nice to have a self-defense mechanism, but it does get annoying when they cause a scene by screaming about you being a freak and then fleeing out the door for medical attention," Nessa grins, seemingly unbothered by recounting the story. Instead, she focuses on the task at hand.

She draws on the idea of keeping it under control, drawing back the energy the way she had practiced when she was trying to shape the living ice constructs. When his fingers make contact with her neck, she stiffens, only because it's an unusual feeling even if she was expecting it. Her skin isnt icy, though it's colder than her arm. Nothing abnormal, but more along the lines of an average person with chills. It's perhaps an indicator that it's not all entirely controlled, but it's still possible for the touch to remain.

"I've got to say... way less creepy than last time this happened."

Johnny Storm has posed:
Johnny Storm's hand settles in on the back of her neck, not pulling back yet, though still a light touch, as she's stiffened in response to it, "Well, I probably would have done something similar if I were in your shoes, so."

"You know, I think that's a good thing that you don't find it as creepy as that, at least for my ego anyway." He says with a little grin, "So, better or worse than your arm?"

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"Oh, I'm pretty sure your ego can take it regardless of what I think," Nessa replies with her own grin in his direction. "It's... I mean, it's more challenging than the arm. The arm was more comfortable, I just had to relax. The neck's a little more difficult because it's not a place that's usually even accidently touched. There's usually intent there, so that takes a little more focus. It's good, though, it's a good challenge. I've always liked a challenge."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"Well, I mean you just have to relax for this as well." Johnny counters with a little laugh at her, letting his fingers massage lightly now, "Well, now you can't freeze my fingers, since it's a good challenge right? But, you know, we've learned if you put your mind to it you can do it though."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
Nessa lets her eyes shut for a moment, doing her best to simply relax. "It's like you have two homework assignments, one requires you to actually read the book for it, and the other you just have to get done." She settles her hands in her lap, holding them still. Likely a habit she's used to thanks to not wanting to accidently touch anyone.

She slowly opens her eyes to look at him. "It's true, if I focus on it then it's possible but... it's still not easy. Being able to touch if I need to, though... that's incredibly valuable. Hopefully I can keep this up."

Johnny Storm has posed:
"The more you get used to doing it, the easier it will become, just like anything else right?" Johnny says as she sits there under his touch, "Just do your best to relax without letting go of whatever it is you're doing. It's no good to you if you have to think of it as work to have someone touch you."

Nessa Donovan has posed:
"I suppose that's true, it's just not exactly something I can go around doing with just anyone," Nessa chuckles. "It's still just weird for me to even relax even though I'm fairly certain I'm not going to accidently freeze you. It's kind of hard not to just jump back. I'm doing an /excellent/ job of making this look easy, I assure you."