After a nice time at Rei's, the inevitbility of Ami's duties and worries come to light. Catching a magical ride from Rei, she arrives at Mugen soon enough. With much on her mind, Ami heads to the underground passages...
Perhaps fortune is with her, since her path quickly crosses with Professor Tomoe in those winding halls. "Ami," he says in half surprise, nodding. "How did the Fire Reading go? Was Rei any help?"
Ami smiles at the Professor, nodding in greeting. "Un...Rei-chan was able to clarify a few things. She can see Celcia fighting the Talisman's energy...for the moment, it seems a stalemate, but she couldn't estimate at how long it will stay that way."
Nodding to that, "We'll discuss it upstairs," he offers, "No need to stand down here."
Beginning to walk, "Miss Nakahime is still asleep, though I'm expecting her to wake up any time."
Ami moves with him, following close on his heels as she absently undoes her coat, smiling. "That's good news." She agreed. "There's been no chang in her condition?"
"Nothing beyond a slow return to what should be conciousness," is the reply. "She's looking to wake soon. Beyond that, nothing. The changes look to be sticking as is."
Ami nodded. "Rei-chan suggested we offer her a chance for Usagi to use the 'Moon Healing Escalation' on her." Ami muses. "Which is probably a good idea, whether the changes prove harmful or not."
"It's something to consider," he nods, as you reach the elevators and rise on up.
"As for it, I'd rather wait for her to regain awareness before attempting any sort of healing or reverse engineering."
Ami nods. "I have my doubts whether she'll even want it, if the changes don't prove harmful." she admits. "It would be hard to convince me to give up my affinity for water and ice...but then I speak from a different perspective than most." she sighs, unhappy with that thought for reasons she can't quite name.
"It would be a difficult choice..." Professor Tomoe murmurs, thinking on that. A short silence settles, the headmaster of Mugen quiet.
"I can understand that. It's easy now to use a bit of magic to mend a shirt or hide your face from the sun if it's hot out...." he says thoughtfully. "I curse Germatou, but I don't mind some of the gifts he left behind..."
Almost coldly, Professor Tomoe chuckles.
Ami nods, raising an eyebrow at the curious tone to the professor's voice. "It's true...magic is a useful tool, though not much more." she replies cautiously. "But it's also empowering...once your eyes are opened, it's hard to be satisfied with...'normality' again. Even if you sometimes crave it." she said, a carefully inscrutable expression on her face.
"Yes, but I'd give it all up if there wasn't an accident so many years ago," Professor Tomoe says, a bit wistful. "Magic isn't everything, either."
Ami smiles suddenly, looking up at him and nodding, her expression brightening. "That's true." she agrees. "It is hard to remember that...it seems like it's taken over all our lives, sometimes."
Lightening and really smiling, "It's almost as if it's possessed our lives sometimes," he comments, before shaking his head. "Bad joke, Ami. I'm sorry."'
The apology is said with a light tone, though.
Ami smiles back, shaking her head. "It's not necessary." she replied, amused. You've earned the right to deal in any way you see fit. She added mentally
"Yes," he admits, "But that really was in poor taste." That said, he smiles to you. "I should know better to make jokes like that, especially at my age."
Ami smiles "I wouldn't say that." she offers warmly, but shrugs, letting the matter drop.
Switching tacks, she gently nibbles on her lip thoughtfully. "Professor? My mother...she didn't give you a difficult time yesterday, did she?"
To this, his smile stays in place. "Nothing too ferocious," Professor Tomoe says. "She was worried about you quite a lot, and it showed. Simply, I'm glad she had some time to cool off before we talked, though.
She could be quite aggresive if she hadn't had some time to compose herself." That gets another chuckle. "She's lucky...I remember what Germatou did to one parent who made a scene like that."
"She...can, at that." Ami agrees, sighing slightly, but wearing a relieved smile. "I was...started by her reactions yesterday...I'm afraid I've become slightly jaded to what our activities must seem like." she admitted, frowning slightly at the professor's mention of Germatou, but deciding not to comment. "If my mother knew everything that had gone on in the past year of so, judging from yesterday, I might never be allowed to leave the apartment again."
"If not ground you to your room," he agrees. "It's the first parental instinct, one that she has in spades."
STepping out of the elevator now, "I think she'll be more understanding as long as you keep in touch with her."
Ami steps of the elevator behind him and follows, nodding. "True...though looking for ways to explain such things while not upsetting her in the tricky part." she agrees.
"If it would help, I can offer to aid you in that," Professor Tomoe offers, as you reach his office.
"It's not much, but hearing about it from a third party may help in certain cases. Help her view it more objectively."
"Mm." Ami nods slowly. "Perhaps..." she ponders for a moment, then looks up at the Professor, smiling embarrassedly. "I...might take you up on that...at least, on occaision. I should at least try, though I find the prospect of facing my mother's concern far more intimidating that anyone I've faced before..."
"I can understand that," Professor Tomoe says agreeabl, has he heads over to his desk. After fiddling in the desk drawers for a moment and putting something in his pocket, he turns to you. "Now, Ami. As you were saying about Rei's fire readings?"
Ami nods and settles down in the chair, folding her hands in her lap and crossing her ankles, pausing a little to gather her thoughts.
"Well, there were a few things." Ami replies slowly. "Celcia's...capture, the power scattered about from the event...Rei-chan says it was absorbed by the spirits of cold, ice and winter in the area, bolstering them...I've inadvertently assured us a particularly bitter winter." she sighed and nodded to herself.
"On the subject of the Talisman itself, Rei-chan couldn't come to any concrete conclusions, but she doesn't feel it's safe to leave things as they are indefinitely. The talisman's power and Celcia's are competing, and for the foreseeable future, they're in a stalemate...but that doesn't account for me using the talisman's power, or anything that might tip the scales...We're thinking of controlled experiments with it on the moon, to get a deeper idea of what's happened while she prepares a new way to seal Celcia for good."
Professor Tomoe listens intently, taking all of that in. "If the Talisman and Celcia are in some sort of battle...it does indeed need to be ascertained if one is a threat to overtake the other.
A few experiments on the Moon may not be a bad idea at all, Ami."
Ami nods in response, smiling a bit more. "Mm. Ideally, Rei-chan would supervise, or....perhaps Eudial." She ponders. "Though, insulating her weapon and preparing backups might be wise. But the others wouls be a big help as well." She murmurs thoughtfully.
He nods, rising once he has what he came for. "We can work that out in due time...right now, however, I would like to return to our guest. She should wake any time now, so..."
Ami nods, rising as well. "May I come along?" she asked softly, a sudden anxious curiousity sparking to life.
"Of course...you didn't have to ask, Ami," he replies, falling in step with you. "Did you think otherwise?" His tone is friendly enough as you head out, leading slowly back downstairs...
Ami blushes a little and nods. "Thank you." she replies warmly. "This is something of an unusual case, so I wanted to be sure."
She follows his lead calmly, folding her hands behind her back, glancing thoughtfully at the professor before falling quiet.
The Professor walks along cheerfully enough, hands in his jacket pockets and pace peaceful. He looks to be in a fine enough mood even with this going on. "Ami," he asks halfway, as you get out of the elevator to below, "Are you all right with all of this?"
Ami's first instinct for reponse was affirmation, quick and sure, but...she couldn't help remembering that that wasn't exactly the case...
"I...I'm not sure, professor." Ami admits. "What do you mean, exactly?"
He stops outright, turning to you.
It's easy to forget that he's on the tall side naturally, so that he has to peer down when he does something like this. "With everything that's happened in the last few days. The way you're acting...." Taking a pause, he goes on after a momentary dramatic stop. "It's just that you feel so....pressed."
Ami stops short, and looks up to the professor, reddening a little. "Well...there is some truth to that." she replies reluctantly.
"With everything that went on, and what happened to everyone...Natsume-san and Artemis put their lives at risk to help us...Cypriene and Ptilol, they...they came to our aid, and we badly needed them...even though it took it's toll. Haruka almost drained herself dry to keep me alive, not to mention the emotional toll on Viluy-san..." Ami hangs he head a little.
"I feel responsible to make sure that it was worth it..." Ami blushes and shakes her head. "Does that make any sense?"
A single, understanding nod is given when you finish, Professor Tomoe smiling softly. "It makes a lot of sense, but you shouldn't tear yourself apart over it, either."
Reaching out, he takes you by the shoulders. "You can't let things like that shred you to bits on the inside. Be responsible for it, but don't let it kill you. I nearly learned that the hard way." Smiling again, "Do you understand, Ami?"
Ami nods slowly, relaxing marginally. "I think so..." she replies, smiling back timidly. "But, it's easy to say...and somewhat more complicated to do."
She nods and smiles a little more seriously. "But...I'll take your advice as best I can." she adds.
"Good," he smiles, letting you go. "I don't want to see you falling apart, Ami." With that, he leads you on...
OOC - And into 'ruka's thread. A post in there shortly.