Room 408, Monday Morning

[reicicled]

While the lack of heat hadn't bothered Bobby so much, the lack of electricity was starting to get annoying. So he was kind of relieved when he woke up Monday morning to a drastically warmer room.

So after plugging in his phone to charge (and getting that email about class being canceled), he-

... Got distracted by the tiny little animated hockey game happening on his window, apparently.

Neat.

Comments

[refused2berescued]

"Oh," Uma said. "You mean like magic and stuff?"

That, at least, was familiar. "Lots of people on the Isle used to have magic. It doesn't work there, but you don't stop being a seawitch just because your magic doesn't work."

As soon as the barrier fell on the Isle of the Lost, Uma knew her mother would be right back to turning people into seaweed and stuff.

"...I have powers, too," she added quietly.

[reicicled]

"Kinda like magic," Bobby nodded. Sure, it was technically genetics, but honestly he didn't even really understand how that worked. Hank McCoy he was not.

"What can you do?" he asked, curiously.

[refused2berescued]

"Not much," she admitted. "Nothing worked till I got off the Isle. Made a gown out of my old clothes. Enchanted King Ben. Turned into a..." She stopped and looked up at him, more hesitant than he'd ever seen her. "I dunno if you'd believe it if I told you."

[reicicled]

"Turned in to a what?" Bobby asked, leaning forward. He had friends who turned into all sorts of things, Uma! He'd totally believe you.

[refused2berescued]

"Something like my mom," Uma hedged. "I dunno if it has a real name?"

She played with the edge of a braid. "Might be easier if I showed you. But it couldn't be here. It's, uhhh. Big."

[reicicled]

"Down by the shore somewhere?" Bobby suggested. He glanced outside, at the still snow-covered ground. "We could wait until it warms up though, maybe," he added. Reluctantly. Because he was super curious now.

[refused2berescued]

"There's a pool downstairs, I heard," Uma said, because she wasn't sure waiting was going to do her nerves any good. "We could go there? I sorta need water, too, yeah."

[reicicled]

"Then let's go look for the pool," Bobby said decisively.

[refused2berescued]

"Maybe it'll even be warm now that the power's back on," Uma said, dragging herself out of the blanket cocoon that she'd made. She was even dressed, in that she'd gone to bed wearing every article of clothing she had in an attempt to be warm.

Her other form didn't really feel the cold in the same way, but she'd have to get into the pool first and didn't want to screw up and get hypothermia while trying to shift.

"I, uhh, only did it once before," she added as they left the room. "It might take me a couple of tries?"

[reicicled]

Bobby shrugged. "I only have one class today and it was cancelled, so I have lots of time."

[refused2berescued]

"Just don't want you thinking I'm lying if I can't do it," Uma muttered, clomping down the stairs loud enough that her words were nearly drowned out.

Hope you were enjoying this peek into Uma's insecure side, Bobby.

[reicicled]

Like Bobby had never encountered a mutant with performance anxiety? Pfft, Uma.

"It's kind of a weirdly specific thing to lie about," he said mildly as he followed her down.

[refused2berescued]

"I'm a VK," Uma said carelessly. "Sometimes I just lie for fun."

They got to the basement, opening the door off the stairway. "What's that?" she asked, puzzled. "I smell water and...something else? Chemical-y?"

Public pools weren't really a thing on the Isle. And even if they had been, they would never have been cleaned.

[reicicled]

"The chlorine?" Bobby said, a note of 'doesn't everyone know what that is' in his voice.

[refused2berescued]

"Yeah," Uma said, giving him a look. "What is that?"

[reicicled]

Bobby at least had the grace to look somewhat sheepish as he realized his mistake.

"Chemicals so the pool doesn't get all gross and dirty after people swim in it," he explained. "Easier than constantly trying to clean it."

[refused2berescued]

"Oh," Uma said, because, again, pools weren't really a thing on the island. She only knew of them because the TV liked to show off the pools in various Auradon estates and at the school. They never really talked about pool maintenance, but it made sense. She couldn't imagine the precious Auradon princes and princesses swimming in dirty water. "Guess that'll make it easier to find the pool then," she said, turning down the hallway in the direction the smell was the strongest.

[reicicled]

"I mean, yeah," Bobby said with a nod. "But also, I can just..." he trailed off, and shrugged, "Anyway, you're going in the right direction."

[refused2berescued]

"You can what?" Uma asked, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Look, he'd said he controlled ice! He didn't say he had abilities with anything else!

[reicicled]

He made ice! But not out of nothing. "I can sense moisture in the air," he explained. "Part of my deal."

[refused2berescued]

There was a queen in Auradon who did just that! Uma didn't know how these things worked!

"So you're like a dowsing rod," Uma said, lips twitching. "With bonus ice cubes."

[reicicled]

"You're ever stranded in a desert with me, I will one hundred percent find you an oasis," Bobby nodded.

"If you don't kill me when I start complaining about the heat, that is," he added after a beat. Those complaints would start .5 seconds in to said desert-stranding, for the record.

[refused2berescued]

"I can gag you and then just let you lead the way," Uma offered, possibly a little too brightly.

[reicicled]

"Pass," Bobby said quickly. "Oh, look, the pool!" he added, gesturing at the doors to the locker rooms.

[refused2berescued]

Uma shrugged. He was the one who'd brought up complaining! And she'd found a very elegant solution that didn't even involve hitting.

"Well, I don't have a bathing suit or nothing, so I guess we can just go through," she said, peeking her head through and marveling at how clean and non-rusted everything was here. She should have expected it probably, but it kept being a surprise every time.

She made her wait straight through to the pool, stripping off her extra layers, boots, and socks right there at the edge. If it was going to be as cold as she thought it might, she didn't want to get all her stuff wet--or have to walk far before finding dry clothes she could pull on afterwards.

"We, umm, ready to do this?" she asked Bobby once he'd joined her. Her hand lifted up to grip the seashell necklace she always wore.