fandomtownies | The Beach [Thursday afternoon]

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The Beach [Thursday afternoon]

Max was glad the weather seemed to be holding. At least in relative terms. It wasn't raining, at least, and that meant he could still spend time at the beach. It was starting to get chilly, but for someone who grew up in Antillar it almost felt balmy.

The whole situation with Raven was getting complicated... More and more people were getting pulled in. Which was probably a good thing for Raven, but it meant more mental juggling on Max's part. He scowled ever so slightly as he looked out over the waves.

[Open beach, and Max would welcome an interruption to his brooding. Because he's not very good at it, really.]

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Raven, not quite the interruption he was hoping for, was apprehensive about continuing her training with Max, but having Karla with her this time provided her some reassurance that she wouldn't end up doing something foolish. "Thank you for coming with me," she said softly as they approached the beach.

"You're welcome," Karla said quietly, giving Raven a soft smile. "It'll give me a chance to clear my head. Ethics was...rough, today."

Max sensed their approach, but waited until they were fairly close before turning and nodding. "Raven." He inclined his head slightly to take the both of them in.

"I agree," Raven was saying softly to Karla. "I did not like that place at all."

When Max turned, she greeted him. "Professor Maximus. Karla was willing to accompany me, as I said." See, she was helpfully supplying him with a name!

"Hello to you, too, Professor," Karla said, giving him a nod and a wry smile back. "If I didn't have rehearsals soon after this, I'd suggest we just combine it with our ~~handwavey~~ sparring sessions."

"I appreciate you coming," Max nodded at her in appreciation. "I think your being here will make this easier on everyone."

Well... on Raven, at least. It wasn't going to be any easier for Max.

"What should we work on today?" Raven asked. "Karla knows what I am, and I do not feel the need to hide anything from her."

Karla gave Raven a soft smile for that. Sometime soon, she'd have to take the other girl aside and explain to her everything from back home. Especially if she planned to offer her a contract.

"I'll be happy enough to sit back and watch until it's time to go," she said, calling in her script. "Don't worry about me." She sat down on the air, doodling in the margins of the script, attention closely focused on them, for all that she was pretending otherwise.

Max nodded at that and turned to Raven. "What have you learned and experienced since last week?"

Raven blushed. "There was a party at which many girls, including myself, felt the irresistible urge to kiss each other. Afterward I had feared I was using my powers unconsciously because I wished to experience affection. Later a boy kissed me on the roof." Nope, not awkward talking about this at all. "And today in class we were shown the effects of gluttony. I felt very uncomfortable and had to struggle to keep my temper in check."

Max was sorry to have missed that party. Max was not going to let any sign of that touch his emotional state or his expression.

"What made you so uncomfortable?" he asked, because that was a much safer topic than the party.

"The creatures there were deriving pleasure at the expense of others," Raven said. "They had slaves to serve them food and entertain them."

"And that made you angry," Max nodded. Which made sense. "Did you find it alluring, as well?" With her worries about wanting to be controlled...

"The place was filthy and the creatures disgusting," Raven said. "It held no such interest for me."

"And so you felt anger. For the exploitation. But you controlled yourself, right?"

"I did," Raven conceded with a nod. "I knew it was all an illusion, however. It was generated by the computer."

"Still, you maintained control." Max gave Raven a hard look. "That is worth appreciating."

"Perhaps," Raven said. "I would feel more pride if it had been a real situation, however, and not a simulation."

"Why?" Max asked curiously. "The emotions you felt were just as real."

"But I also knew the situation was false," Raven pointed out. "And I did not have the despair of the slaves or the greed of the creatures there to contend with, as simulations have no emotions."

"Can you imagine a time when you would have lost control anyway?" Max asked.

"Yes," Raven admitted. "Had it been real, I would have been sorely tested when the grotesque creature who ruled that place told me it wished me to dance for him, and when I refused, it opened a trap door so that I fell into a pit."

"I think you worry too much about might have beens. Which is not to say that you shouldn't consider them, but you focus on them in a way that obscures how much control you do have."

Max paused and glanced over at Karla, wondering if she'd chip in or remain silent.

"You did better in that situation than I," Karla said quietly, keeping her eyes locked on her script. "I nearly lost control in there and I knew it was a simulation as well."

"It was extremely stressful," Raven agreed. She shook her head. "I will count it as a minor victory, but if it were real, it would surely have gone differently. I would have wanted to free those who were enslaved or imprisoned."

"Would it?" Max quirked an eyebrow. "You should know that nothing is certain until it happens."

"And there is a difference between wanting to free the slaves and losing control," Karla pointed out.

"I know," Raven said. "I just believe knowing it was not real made it much easier to deal with. I knew there was no true danger to myself or the other students."

"Of course there was danger," Max countered. "You could have lost control."

"If we'd gone there a few days after the other island, you likely would have," Karla agreed. "Max is just saying that you're making progress."

"Progress," Raven said, nodding.

"It's important to remember that. Be aware of how far you have to go, of course, but do not let that blind you to how far you've come."

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The Beach [Thursday afternoon]

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