ArchivedLogs:Bee Therapy

Bee Therapy
Dramatis Personae Xiao-shan, Ivan
In Absentia	2013-08-15 Bzzbzz.
Location <XS> Gardens
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. The scheduled therapy session for one Ivan Dravovich has been set in an unusual place: The gardens surrounding Xavier's. Specifically, near the /bee hive/. That's where Ivan's new therapist wanted to meet him. /Why/? Who knows. Maybe she likes bees. Maybe she's just crazy. Either way, this is the place she expects Ivan to be for his therapy appointment; whether or not he's there, she's /coming/. All 7 feet plus change of her. Jin Xiao-shan is not a tiny woman. Half-Asian, half-caucasian, she's a walking /monster/ -- broad shoulders, a handsome face (with a jaw that you could stick a post on and use to break concrete), and a casual air of graceful sweetness. She's currently dressed for /outdoors/ work; a black sports bra, white tank-top, and a thin, loose-fitting black jacket on top; under that, plain blue jeans (hash-marked with countless injuries!) and tan sandals. Her hair is tied back in a pony-tail; in her hand, she's carrying a phone, which she is currently checking for messages. If and when she sees Ivan, she'll immediately perk -- waving one large mitt at him -- as she approaches, pocketing her phone. "Ivan Dravovich? Jin Xiao-shan -- ah, just 'Xiao-shan' works. Or Ms. Jin, if you want to be formal." Cue Ivan, standing somewhat baffled-looking right between two of the hives, staring wide-eyed into Xiao-shan's direction, jaw tense. He stands /perfectly straight/ in plain jeans and white dress shirt, his gaze following the woman around as soon as she's said his name. What was he doing? He seems to have forgotten in favor of /staring/, an errant upward twitch of one eyebrow betraying his discomfort. He takes two steps forward, and /away/ from the hives. Several seconds pass in which he remains quiet, before he suddenly says, simply, "Hello, Ms. Jin." "Ms. Jin!" Xiao-shan exclaims, as if it has been /decided/. And then she's offering her hand up toward Ivan as she uses that massive set of legs of hers to clear the distance between them -- offering up a... well, pretty much /massive/ hand for Ivan. It's probably just going to completely engulf his own hand. Though she's very gentle (firm! But /gentle/) when she shakes: "May I call you Ivan, then? Or Mr. Dravovich? Am I pronouncing that correctly -- Dravovich?" Xiao-shan's eyes linger on the bee hives, buzzing nearby: "--I was doing a little reading, and I heard you were interested in setting up -- expanding? -- the apiary. I don't know much about bees, but I thought -- perhaps we can make a project out of that? For your therapy. If that's something you'd be comfortable doing." "Ivan," is replied, in turn, very decisively. The question of pronunciation earns a simple nod from the student and no more. His hand may be smaller and his handshake slightly awkward, but it's firm despite him sporting a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights look. And again, he is slow in answering. While he thinks, a jumping spider no bigger than a pinky nail creeps its way out of his shirt collar and onto a shoulder. "... That does not sound like therapy." It's hard to tell whether or not he thinks this is a /good/ thing, his expression still largely neutral and tone of voice flat. Xiao-shan seems intensely /interested/ in this jumping spider that has crept out to say hi. She peers at it, nose wrinkling as she leans down -- quite a feat, considering her sheer height. "Hnh," she replies, her hand lifting up toward the jumping spider: "--does this one have a name?" To the matter of therapy, Xiao-shan blinks, as if surprised! And then shrugs, before rising to straighten out. "Well. We talk while we work? I've found I can best help someone when I'm working with them on a project they /want/ to do. I don't think," she adds, "you /want/ therapy, do you? But you probably /do/ want an apiary. So, we can combine them!" Ivan stubbornly stays right where he is, though his jaw tenses when he's leaned at by what he appears to think is an infinitely more intimidating person than he is. The jumping spider does much the same, angling its little body to let it observe this stranger with all of it front-facing eyes. Ivan's headshake in response to the question comes quicker than his verbal answers. But the proposed idea still appears to confuse him, to a point where he almost looks /suspicious/ - a narrowing of the eyes helps with that. He nods again, finally, but slowly this time. As though waiting for an addendum that /won't/ be to his liking. "Excellent!" Xiao-shan announces, and then her hands clap together -- CLAP! -- with a sound that some might confuse with the sharp crack of a distant lightning bolt. "Then it's decided. The bees will help us work through your issues. Bee therapy. Bzzbzz." Xiao-shan steps /around/ Ivan, then -- inspecting one of these bee-hives! "--hm, I'll have to talk to the Professor -- to make sure he's comfortable with this, and to find out how much space he'll be alright with giving us to work -- but, even if it's not much, we can at least work to /improve/ what we already have, yes?" A glance is thrown toward Ivan, then: "Oh, this is, of course, conditional on you working /with/ me. In therapy, I mean. But! In exchange, you get /all the bees/ we can bring you, Ivan. And!" she adds, as if this is a very important point she forgot: "Honey!" GONE is the little spider, as soon as that clap happens. As tough a shockwave blasts it off Ivan's shoulder, it dramatically THROWS itself onto Ivan's back, skittering in a twitchy path downward and awaay. Ivan himself, to his credit- stays perfectly still, though his eyes widen once more. As Xiao-shan approaches the hives, something is /stirring/ inside. Bees spill from the openings at the bottoms of the hives in batches, as though they'd been freshly disturbed by something within, though they don't seem particularly aggressive once they're out and bumblin' about. Only then does Ivan turn to face his supposed therapist again, brow furrowing as he /peers/ and asks monotonously, "Issues?" "Oo," Xiao-shan announces, at the sight of the bubbling froth of bees that emerge from that hole -- she seems /fascinated/ by this. "Hn, they aren't going to sting, are they?" she asks, glancing toward Ivan -- just as he sets her with that gaze and asks about -- the dreaded /I/ word. "Hm?" Xiao-shan asks, lifting her head away from the hive -- ignoring the flow of bees for just a moment. "Does it bother you that I used that word? Or do you just want me to clarify what I mean by it?" "They are good bees." This, presumably is Ivan's answer to whether or not they will sting. The spider that previously made its way onto his back reappears on his side, crawling over onto its ride's stomach. To be joined by two more spiders, apparently, crawling down and out of Ivan's collar. He continues, his tone changing with audible confusion moreso than anything actively disapproving, "You do not know me yet. You only know a /thing/ happened." "Good bees don't sting?" Xiao-shan asks, the side of her mouth quirking up into a smile. Her eyes drift to the spiders crawling out of his collars, eyebrows lifting in clear interest -- at that last statement, she tightens her mouth into a thin line and nods her head: "Yes, that is true. If I implied otherwise..." She pauses, that line getting a little /more/ tighter, before: "Ivan -- you're a student in a school that secretly helps mutants -- your best friend was kidnapped and tortured -- you're dating a lovely person who has been through terrible things -- /and/ you yourself were recently kidnapped by... giant bugs." She takes a step forward. Tentatively! "You're right; I don't know what your issues are -- but if you don't have /any/? You must be some sort of /robot/." Aand back to neutral Ivan's face goes, though-- his shoulders very slightly sink down during the summary of events. But despite the fact that he very probably isn't a robot, he continues not to move, and not to speak. Waiting, quite patiently, as his gaze is averted to the grass in front of him. If his silence and scarce body language at all resembles reluctant defeat, there's probably a good reason for it. Xiao-shan takes another tentative step forward -- and another! -- before she brings one of those massive hands of hers down. Very carefully, and very slowly -- both seeking to make sure Ivan isn't going to pull away, /and/ making sure none of his spider-friends are beneath her palm -- bringing her hand down to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm here to work with you to help you feel better, Ivan. About yourself, about what's happened, about what's happening. That's it. All I want from you," she adds, "is for you to talk to me -- /trust/ me -- and help me help /you/ build an apiary." Her face splits into a grin: "Are you okay with that?" There are no attempts to pull away, but that's not to say his look upward when his shoulder is squeezed is anything but skeptical. But he does... eventually, after another deep breath, concede, and nods. Then, almost without pause and with a brief glance to his squeezed shoulder, he adds quietly but clearly (past the Russian accent, anyway), "You are very /big/." Being opinionated, it turns out, it not one of his aforementioned issues. "Hff," Xiao-shan responds to this observation, before slinging her /other/ arm around, and: "Yes, I am. So are my arms -- the better to hug my students with!" Before she's crouching down to do exactly that! And unlike /some/ people, Xiao-shan knows how to give someone a hug without threatening the integrity of their rib-cage. "I will consult the professor about the apiary," Xiao-shan informs him, post-hug! "But in the meanwhile. Is there anything you want to start talking about? Anything that's bothering you? Even just something you want to get off your chest." Aaaa hug. Ivan stiffens further, apparently not expecting said hug! The spiders still visible on him jump ship entirely, disappearing between the blades of grass below. "Nn-" Clearly in need of recomposing himself, Ivan rolls back his shoulders and frowns. He turns his head one way, in exactly one half of a shake of his head in answer, before... something occurs to him, and he turns to face Xiao-shan again. "Why would being 'some kind of robot' be bad, if it is easier?" Xiao-shan frowns a bit when /Ivan/ frowns, though it's largely one born of fretting: "I'm sorry; was that a bit forward of me? Some students aren't comfortable with -- hnh," she says, at his question. Promptly /grinning/. "--well, I don't know. Maybe it /would/ be healthier for us to be a bit more robotic. But we aren't -- we're..." Xiao-shan's eyes drift toward the /bees/, again: "--very /social/ creatures. We need people; we need to understand -- and be understood. The more we fight those needs, the worse off we tend to get. In my experience, anyway," she adds, her eyes drifting back to Ivan. "Do you think you'd /prefer/ it if you were a robot?" HMM. Ivan moves too, now, turning to look toward the ground more actively than before. He crouches down to plant a hand down into the grass, then less forcibly flat answers, "I think I would not know how to prefer things, if I were a robot. Maybe I would know how to be more efficient. But I would not /like/ it." Three itsy bits spiders crawl back up onto Ivan's hand, a few seconds later. Retriev'd. He rises to watch them closely, as though /they/ were the ones he was talking to. "Maybe just a robot /sometimes/, then?" Xiao-shan offers, before: "Bees are a bit like robots, aren't they? When they're working together -- something like a computer." She reaches out for the hive, touching the box as the bees buzz around it -- the contact is brisk and light. "From what I've read, you've sometimes... gotten overwhelmed by them? When it happens -- is it something like what you'd imagine a robot feels like?" "I have less problems with them now." The spiders on Ivan's hand begin to crawl up toward his sleeve as the student turns to look at the hives, as well. From both them and the rest of the gardens, bees start to gather as though /called/ to Ivan. They start collecting on one of his arms as he stretches it out in front of him, his eyes following every individual that lands on the limb. A hundred of the insects are gathered within almost no time, and more still slowly join in. When he glances up at Xiao-shan, he looks no less alert than before. "I did not /mean/ to." "--mmn! That's good. I mean, being overwhelmed by bees; that doesn't sound like a good thing. But I guess what I'm curious about, Ivan, is -- did it feel pleasant? When it happened? Losing yourself to the bees," Xiao-shan asks. "Did it make you feel more comfortable?" She watches, intently, as the bees swarm along his arms; her gaze flickers to his own eyes, catching that alert expression. "Sometimes, when we're stressed, it can be very /pleasant/ to -- lose yourself to something. Just kind of -- shut ourselves off for a while." The look Ivan shoots Xiao-shan then is one of contemplation, though it doesn't last long. With a lowering of his eyebrows, the flow of bees is stemmed and the ones on his arm promptly drop. Some fly around him to continues their bee business elsewhere, some just go /straight down/, ending up tumbling over each other in the grass. Ivan's arm drops slowly back to his side, his tone of voice just /this/ side of annoyed, "No." Xiao-shan frowns at this response, eyebrows leaping up as the bees begin to tumble to the ground! "I'm sorry, Ivan. Was that a bad question to ask? Can I ask --" She pauses, considering as she taps at her chin with one hand -- the other hand remaining firmly atop of the hive, as if she's querying the /bees/ for an answer: "Can I ask you to describe to me what it was like, then? Being overwhelmed by the bees? If not pleasant -- was it frightening?" "It was the same as everything. But with... /more/." The apology is not acknowledged, and Ivan's gaze on Xiao-shan is unwavering. One of his hands finds its way up to his neck, and he moves slowly to take a few steps toward the school. Before stopping again, just to /stare/ at it. "It is frightening /after/. It will not happen again." "Hnh. Well," Xiao-shan says, and now her eyes are slipping away from Ivan -- and up toward the sky. "--it's good that you have control over it. But if it doesn't... hurt? If it only frightens you -- because of what happens after? There might be some benefit to /letting/ it happen, again. In a controlled environment -- /if/ you want to learn more about it," she quickly adds, head snapping down to focus on Ivan. "Maybe with a telepathist nearby, to monitor you? But, I think that it's important to confront the aspects of your power that frighten you -- learn to understand them to their full extent. Though I also don't think," she adds, with a crooked smile, "that you should go rushing off to confront everything that scares you. And if it's something you absolutely do not wish to do..." ... Consider Ivan's attention recaptured. His eyes find their way back to Xiao-shan, and he swallows. The hand on his neck rubs down /hard/, for a moment, before it slides back down. "... I do not wish to do it by accident." A tiny correction. "Oh, yes," Xiao-shan agrees. "Not by accident. But on purpose -- carefully. In a controlled environment, with those you trust -- and with preparations made to account for possible difficulties..." She pauses, before clucking her tongue again, eyes cast toward the sky, and: "I'll ask the Professor's opinion on it." Then, a step toward the school, behind Ivan! "--we can cut this session short, I think? Unless you want to go on. I don't want to stress you out -- /and/ we have a lot of work to do -- in preparation for the apiary. I can email you what the Professor thinks about that, and we can get started with some basic blueprints by the time we have our next session?" Once more, Ivan is slow in responding. A lean forward indicates he might be itching to take off, but he stays put, eyes on the school building. His shoulders pop up for a moment, though they relax after a long inhale that's drawn in to say, "Yes." He nods, briefly glancing sideways to Xiao-shan with a smile that he seems to attempt to make genuine, but falters soon after. Nevertheless, he adds a little more quietly, "Thank you." Xiao-shan, in response to that half-tried smile, produces one of her own -- bright, easy, and cheerful: "Alright, then, Ivan. Thank /you/. If you feel a need to talk with me -- for /any/ reason -- between now and our next appointment, don't hesitate to drop me a line. Otherwise... I'll see you during our next session. You're free to go. Fly!" she adds, gesturing with her arms toward the school. As she actually /expects/ Ivan to sprout wings and -- buzz away. Hey, it's Xavier's. Some of her students probably do that.