03/02 Instance: Prize Cookie.

[littlebamf]

[Meggan] Meggan lef ther room and closed the door behind her. Good. No cameramen. That would complicate things too much. She was concentrating. Hoping she'd arrive in the same shape.

[Meggan] She stopped at the door and checkd herself over. Still female... that was a good sign. Her hair was still black too, also good. She knocked lightly, still concentrating.

[Elizabeth] Looking up at the knock, Lizzie narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, 'seeing' who it was. Meggan. That was good. "Come in!" she called, looking to see that the fresh tea she had made (okay, Warren had) and the biscuits hadn't been ratnapped.

[Meggan] Meggan opened the door and poked her head inside, cautiously. She looked around the room in assessment before stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "Hi," she said eventually, "Thanks for this...."

[Elizabeth] "No problem. I am suppoed to be cutting back on the amount of sessions I give, but you're, well, to say you need extra help might not sound," she went a little red and gestured to the tea. "Lets just say your problems are a little more apparent than the others, eh?"

[Meggan] Meggan smiled and picked up a cup of tea, "Annoying is more like it," she said. "I don't know what's happened lately but my shapeshifting's relaly not working very well. It's exhausting trying to hold one shape..."

[Elizabeth] "Right, well, I dont know much about shapeshifting, but I'm guessing it's connected to your emotions. And...cause of your empathy it feeds off other people's emotions too, right?"

[Elizabeth] "Like...if you're scared, do you take a small shape that can hide easily?" she asked, trying to gt her head around it all.

[Meggan] "Yeah, and if I'm angry I grow claws and stuff... But... I thought I had all that under control long before I came here. It's just over this last two weeks or so that it's just completely broken." She sipped her tea, "It's really horrible..."

[Elizabeth] "Well, it's the change of scenery and people. And...do you rely on specific people to balance you off?" Lizzie asked, cautiously, sitting forward a little. "We'll work in sheilding in a moment, but knowing this would help..."

[Meggan] "Um... I don't really know.... I didn't used to..." she sighed, frowning in thought, "But... I guess I might a little now."

[Meggan] "Like... um... I was spending a lot of time with Pietro and I can't feel any of his emotions 'cause they move too fast so I could let my shields drop around him and not worry about it. But it was never a problem to keep both my shields and my appearance up at the same time before..."

[Elizabeth] "Well...Thing with having these powers is that you need to keep it up all the time. It does soon become an instinctual thing you dont have to constantly think of and I think this has been a setback for you."

[Elizabeth] Standing up she crossed the room and sat down on the bed, fodling her legs. "I rarely, if ever drop my sheilds. I have near destructive telepathy and I can't take that risk. People whose emotions or thoughts you cannot get are either a relief to be aorund, I know, or you have to think.." she paused

[Elizabeth] "You have to think 'is it a good thing?' Because you never know what you might not be able to see there."

[Meggan] Meggan sighed, "I don't like shielding, really. It feels wrong... I've had my empathy since I was a baby. It's always been there. And it's not just people that I feel. Animals and plants too... It feels so wrong to cut myself off from all of that... un-natural."

[Meggan] "And I can understand why I can't feel anything off of Pietro... but it does worry me that I can feel nothing from Remy... except for the other night..." she frowned, "But in that respect it was better I couldn't feel anything." She wandered across the room and plonked herself on the floor,

[Meggan] "It's just so difficult to have to shut it out all the time... and so... so cold..."

[Elizabeth] Lizzie sighed. "Sheilding isn't about cutting it all off....If you do it properly you can cut as much or as little off as you want. Like, I can tell you exactly who is in the school building right now. But I am sheilding off their thoughts. I could tell it was you at my door but I wasn't reading."

[Elizabeth] "Right now, what can you pick up off me?" she challenged slightly, sitting up a little straighter, closing her eyes.

[Meggan] Meggan blinked, that was unexpected. Uh oh! she felt herself change, grow wings and claws and ... oh not again. She squeaked, "Oh crap... what did I morph into?"

[Elizabeth] Opening one eye she almost smirked. Lowering her sheilds slightly had worked, and..maybe her suspicions were right. "So, what are you picking up off me?"

[Meggan] Meggan shifted uneasilly, she wasn't sure she liked the look on Lizzie's face or the fact she hadn't answered the question.

[Meggan] "Um... Mostly happy right now... no... content... Though... concerned..." she frowned, "Now please answer my question...."

[Elizabeth] "You're stealing my boyfriend's body," she replied lightly. "Go check yourself out in the mirror, Batfink - but careful with the wings!"

[Meggan] Meggan put her face in her hands. What was with her and shifting into people's partners lately?!

[Meggan] She closed her eyes and concentrated again, feeling the wings disappear and her form get smaller. She lifted her head, "At least I still had my own voice though..." she checked herself, woohoo! female!.... but blonde...

[Elizabeth] Supressing a giggle as she saw Meggan shift into....well, a blonde female not too unrecognisable...

[Elizabeth] "So, what exactly do you want help with, if you dont like sheilding?" she shruged, unsure of what she could do for the other girl.

[Meggan] "Well.. you're a telepath, right?" wait that wasn't her voice... "Hang on..." she went to the mirror, "Oh for goodness sake!" she sighed and used the mirror to fix her appearence back to normal. "Sorry about that..."

[Meggan] She sat down again, "I was just wondering well... I dunno... would you be able to help me figure out what the hell happened to break my shape-shifting this much?"

[Elizabeth] "No problem," she gave a wry grin and waited for Meggan to settle back down. "It'd help if we found the trigger. What happened, roughly, when you lost control of your shifting?"

[Meggan] "Um..." Meggan thought back, "Well... my foster parents were here... and they met Pietro and Alex... and then there was that party thing where Ali was mean... and then Pietro went back to Italy..." she didn't notice but as she said that her eyes changed to silver instead of brown,

[Meggan] "Um... then my foster parents took me and Alex shopping before they went home... and after that my powers broke completely. Though they were a bit dodgy before... 'cause I've been getting pissed off at the camera men.... and I got cross at Sharon in Ethics..."

[Elizabeth] "Ah...So, it's a case of everything at once...Well, I've been there with my powers. I know it can be very hard. But, the trick is to help...section off your powers. You don't have to sheild out completely - your human empathy can be more sheilded off than your animal and plant empathy..."

[Elizabeth] "And, well, maybe if you sorted things out in your own head a little. You have to learn to deal with people and not get angry sometimes, It's just life."

[Meggan] "I've not lost my temper in years...." she looked down at her hands, "I don't know what's wrong with me... and why now? I was fine when I arrived here. Why has it taken so long to mess up?"

[Meggan] Meggan sighed heavily, feeling totally hopeless. This was all so unfair. She'd spent her life learning to control her shapeshifting and now something had broken it.

[Elizabeth] "You miss him." Lizzie said softly.

[Meggan] "Huh?" Meggan looked up, surprised at the abruptness.

[Elizabeth] "Pietro. You really miss him, dont you?"

[Meggan] "I..." Did she miss him that much? "I guess so... but... how canone person going mess up my powers so much? It doesn't make sense..." she shook her head, trying to organise it in her own mind. Remy had said that to her too...

[Elizabeth] "One person can mean more than the whole world."

[Meggan] Meggan blushed, "We're just friends..."

[Meggan] Ok, now she was feeling uncomfortable again... why was it that people insisted on bringing this up?

[Elizabeth] Shrugging Lizzie sat back a little, reaching for her half forgotten tea. "So? Friends can mean just as much to us as a lover."

[Meggan] Meggan frowned, "I'm never going to get the hang of this stuff..." she sighed inwardly, "I'm so afraid of hurting people... I feel awful because I can't make a choice... but I don't want to..." she stopped herself. Lizzie didn't care about his, why should she?

[Elizabeth] "Hey, now don't get yourself down. Chosing is hard, but maybe that's what's holding you back. You're afraid to hurt someone and you care about everyone too much to just single one guy out, right?" taking a moment to think - maybe she was barking up the wrong tree here...

[Elizabeth] "But, maybe what's holding you back is that you're not chosing and you're getting more and more tied up in the knots of it all. You're only hurting yourself by all this."

[Meggan] Meggan sighed, maybe Lizzie had a point, "I'm just worried... I don't want to hurt either of them... and I don't want to lose either of them as a result... and I know that when I tell the one I don't choose... I'm going to feel how much I hurt them..."

[Meggan] Meggan blinked as she felt tears form in her eyes, Damnit I am not gonna cry!

[Meggan] "And Remy said... he said that maybe I was ... um... using Pietro as like a 'crutch' for my empathy... like hiding behind him... Maybe I am but it's nice to not have to shield, like I said before. It makes it easier somehow..."

[Elizabeth] "To me it sounds like you are...I'm sorry, but - you can't just hide behind someone to not use your powers. You'll never learn that way."

[Elizabeth] "And, it is hard but unless they want to share you, you will have to pick one. Or neither. There're plently of guys in the school and the world. You dont have to date either Pietro or Alex only."

[Meggan] Meggan nodded, chewing on her lip, only vaguely aware that her hair had changed colour again. "I just... how in the hell do you decide something like this?!" she put her face in her hands, "I've never been around people my own age before... never mind all this."

[Elizabeth] "You just need to think. And ask them to both back the hell off. I saw them when we all went out together then came back here - it was like you were some kind of prize...Pietro would grab you for himself and try and be all impressive, then poor Alex would feel he had to do the same."

[Elizabeth] "You certianly need space from both of them, as much as that might hurt. But they're like two kids playing for some prize and you're your own person, not their trophy."

[Meggan] Meggan sighed. Lizzie certainly did talk a lot of sense. She wished she'd spoken to her about this, sooner. She twisted the ring on her finger around in nervous habit. "I just don't want to upset them... And they've done so much for me..."

[Meggan] "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be asking you what to do... you have your own problems, right? And Remy too... but you guys are so easy to talk to..."

[Elizabeth] "Well...Sometimes we need to talk to people to make sense what we already know." she mused, chewing her lip. "You cna hardly know what to do if you've never been in this situation before. You do need to talk, it's obvious. And, sometimes you do have to upset people. It sucks, but it's life. And think how upset you are now being dragged between them like a prize cookie."

[Elizabeth] "They are doing things for you, but how much of it is to buy your attention? To make you think that 'yes you should be with me, look, I'll give you all this and I will say all that'. You just have to think what is really going to hit your heart and make you feel special."

[Elizabeth] "It doesn't have to be an expensive dinner or jewellry or roses or chocolates either. It can be something so simple. Holding a hand, kiss on the cheek, a word. All of those can mean so much more than grand gestures."

[Meggan] Meggan smiled at Lizzie's use of the work 'cookie'. "I just... I feel so guilty all the time... every time I spend an hour or so with one of them I feel like I have to do the same with the other... to make it fair...."

[Meggan] "I'm annoyed at myself for getting into this situation too. I feel responsible... I had no idea how either of them felt for ages... then Pietro told me... and then Alex... and everything is such a mess. I don't even know how I feel about it because I get so much interference..."

[Elizabeth] "Which is why you need them to stand off from you. You shouldnt have to feel guilty and you shouldnt have to spend one hour with one then feel you have to do the same with the other. You deserve to pick and choose how much time you spend with people and when. Not feel obliged."

[Elizabeth] "And hun, you didn't ask them to fancy you, did you, eh?"

[Meggan] Meggan raised an eyebrow, "No..." she grinned, "But... I dunno... maybe I led them on without realising it... I have a very odd view of the world because of my up-bringing so... I dunno... I romanticise everything... it's not all bad though"

[Meggan] "I know I probably should ask for some space but... I don't know what the hell I'd do in the mean time. I've got so used to talking to them and... well... you can see the result of 'space' from Pietro." she sighed, "Gods I'm so messed up, aren't I?"

[Elizabeth] Lizzie stood up and went over to Meggan andsat with her arm around her. "There is a school full of people you can hang out with. And this space from Pietro is what you need. You're dependant on him being around you as a buffer and maybe thats how he's been led on."

[Elizabeth] "And - being messed up comes with being a student here I'm afraid," she gently rubbed Meggan's arm and gave her a smile. "But, you just need to work at it."

[Meggan] Meggan smiled, she pulled Lizzie into a hug, "Thank you... you're really nice..." she sat up again, "I just feel like I'm back at square one with my shapeshifting right now... everything's working on suggestion. Need to fix that before I turn into something dangerous in a lesson..."

[Meggan] "And... I dunno... if it wasn't for Pietro being part of the 'problem' it might be nice to have the buffer... at least then I'd be able to feel my own feelings instead of someone elses...."

[Elizabeth] "Well, its good to have a buffer as a last resort. But - is it really your feelings you would be feeling in that case? Or just his weaving into yours?"

[Elizabeth] "It's hard to know, and as fast as Pietro's thoughts and emotions are they are there - and if you're around him long enough you get used to the pace and feel them too."

[Meggan] "I did feel them a little bit... only for like a split second at a time though.... and it surprised me..." she blused at the memory, "It was nice though. Reassuring. Like when I felt something off Remy the other day.... At least I know they have feelings, even if they like to hide them."

[Meggan] "Maybe I should move back outside. It's not like the cold weather will have any effect on me... But I feel bad leaving Laura on her own - I might offend her..."

[Elizabeth] "No. No way. That's only running again and - well, Remy is a nice guy, but...If he was Italian, I'd call him a Stallion," she looked sideways at Meggan, wondering if that'd make sense.

[Elizabeth] "Lets just say you'd need to go pay Annie a visit...." she sighed.

[Meggan] "Hmm?" Meggan was confused slightly, for a moment, "Oh! no... it wasn't anything like that..." she blushed again remembering Remy had kissed her, "I just felt... a lot of pain.... It was right after I shifted into TJ by accident... guess the shock did it...."

[Meggan] She frowned, "I hate that I keep turning into people I know... I turned into Victor when I went to see Rahne yesterday... and she wasn't exactly pleased to start with."

[Meggan] "Stupid Empathy.... Stupid Shape-shifting." she sighed, "Maybe I shoulda stayed in that caravan...."

[Elizabeth] She shook her head; she had been trying to make a point about...never mind

[Elizabeth] "You need to sheild. Badly. And like I said, you can section it off. Just...Let me help. You did do the right thing by coming here though, I swear."

[Meggan] Meggan smiled, "I know... And I'm sorry if I don't sound all that grateful right now. I am, but I'm more pissed off with myself..." she tugged at her hair, noticing it had gone white again. "This is so annoying, you have no idea..."

[Meggan] "I need to shield from myself, never mind everyone else....."

[Elizabeth] "Okay, well, hopefully I can help you..." she smiled and stodd up. "Ready to start?"

[Meggan] Meggan nodded, she crossed her legs and closed her eyes. She was going to have to work really hard on this from now on.

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Woo! Hopefully Meggan will have a little less trouble then. Great instance - good explinations of the the problems and whatnot.

Paws

[Freak]

Meggan's quite the tasty prite cookie, btw.
And I really like it. That's such a good way to say what's going on from Lizzie. Although you know that Alex will be shattered if Meg tells him to back off, right?

[Svartfreja]

it would only be temporary backing off Meggan wouldn't like it lol

[Scumfish]

Well, Peeto's backed off - a few hundred miles at the moment And damnit, Liz - he dont treat Meggan like a prize!! XD *pets his poor unloved Peeto*

Nice instance, guys really good - poor Meggan, shiftin Peeto's hair n eyes!!