Power Guidance (Eryn)

[Isabella Bellefonte]

The week had been rather tedious for Bella. From midterms to preparing for the cruise to practicing her new area in her power; it was so overwhelming. But if anyone could handle it, it was Isabella Rae Bellefonte. No problem. However, just for a little encouragement, she had emailed her favorite teacher: Mr. White. He was her mentor, and he often gave her more advice than her own father (who was always away on business).

The young girl crossed her legs, and made herself comfortable in the chair. Mr. White was so uplifting. He helped her a lot when she first started developing her powers. His own power in telepathy made her confident in his advice about mental gifts. It was mostly his support that caused her to further hone her mental powers. The task of mastering her ability was very daunting at first. He broke it down for her, so she could feel better about tackling the gift she was given.

The young girl ran a hand through her hair, and practiced her mental wall, letting it up and down. Since this was just a regular training room, she could feel emotions of people going down the hall (as she was alone in the room). With one swoop of her wall, she was able to cut out their feelings, and she straightened her spine, as if to signify that she was feeling her own emotions now. The only downside to her power was that she felt exhausted on days where she had to focus on school work and keeping her guard up. For example, she could not feel confident in taking her tests in her classes, because the anxiety of the people around her was slipping through the stressed cracks in her mental wall. It was annoying. Perhaps Mr. White could help her with that as well.

He always seemed like such a good guy. And most of the students enjoyed his advice giving sessions, and encouraging teaching style. Some teachers would not go out of their way to make a student feel comfortable when they didn't have to. It was a reason a lot of students had a hard time grasping power control, in Bella's opinion (which she was not afraid to voice when it came to the students). Then again, it also came down to who was willing to go the extra mile in mastering an ability. Bella, after several years, was unafraid of going that mile.

[Eryn White]

Walking down the hall to the training room, Eryn reviewed his plan once more. He had gained Bella's trust, and he in turn felt he knew her well enough he could flip her to his side. His group's methods weren't exactly the kind of thing that she would be approving of, so he had to be cautious with it. Let her in slowly. Make her understand it really was for the greater good in the end. So as he walked to the door, he let himself feel anxious. His spy training was an incredible boon with the girl. In the same way he had been taught and trained on how to beat a polygraph, he could control his emotions, and fake them. Apparently well enough to fool the still young empath. Still, he was cautious not to overplay any of it.

Opening the door, he greeted her. "Hello, Ms. Bellefonte. How are you doing today?" Even as he asked this, he thought heavily of things that made him nervous. And a little sad, and scared. He knew she'd pick them up, unless she was entirely blocking all emotions. And even then, she was a receptive young girl, and would likely notice something in his mannerisms. Or so he hoped. Even if she didn't, he had other ways to get her to check.

[Isabella Bellefonte]

When the door finally opened, she looked up and plastered on her best polite smile. That was the thing about being a Bellefonte, one was taught how to be a lady and be polite even when they didn't feel like it. At least she was comfortable around him, and didn't feel the need to be proper.

"I'm great, Mr. White. It's good to see you!" At this, her smile became genuine; truly, it was great to see him. Out of curiosity, she put down her wall and let a little bit of emotion hit her. What did a teacher feel? His nervousness made her frown. That wasn't the Mr. White she knew, but she figured that no one was invincible. "How are you?" She had a little more emphasis on this than she intended. But it was mostly respectful concern.

"I'm practicing a new area in my abilities. For a short amount of time I'm able to make someone feel a particular feeling. May I?" Bella held out a hand, a brow raised. She wouldn't mind testing it on someone with such a strong mind. It would be a true test of her abilities thus far. And she knew he wouldn't mind helping as he had in the past.

[Eryn White]

Smiling at her response to his greeting, Eryn did feel genuine happiness. He liked Bella. She was a delicate child, but she had such great potential, and he knew that he filled a certain father figure niche in her life. To be fair, he did feel like she was a daughter of sorts. He would do almost anything to help her if needed, and a lot of his focus had changed in the past few years. He still had his goals to protect all of mutant-kind, but to him, this girl was the face that he placed on the race. Whenever he questioned his goals, he would imagine young Bella, and his resolve would return. He hated having to try and manipulate her, but he'd hate for her to misunderstand his goals and intentions.

So he played his little act. "Well, I just have quite a burden on my shoulders right now. But I mustn't let it bother you." Another slight focus of will and he hid his nervousness and fear and sorrow. "Of course, you can use it. Would you rather I fight it, or are you not feeling up to that yet?" Sitting down across from her, he nodded and would comply with whichever she asked. Should she attempt to manipulate his emotions, it was very unlikely she'd be able to get past his mental defenses unless he intentionally lowered them.