The problem with listening to music on the way to work was that whenever a song got cut short, it rattled around Emily's brain over and over again for hours to come. The trouble was, she always ended up listening to music with noise cancelling headphones whenever she was going anywhere. It was a habit that she'd developed whenever she had to take the subway anywhere, or ride a bus back to the mansion, really anything where there were a lot of other people in close proximity crammed like canned goods.

People had pointed out to her before that drowning out people's speech probably had very little to no effect on her not picking up on what they were feeling, but the Brit wasn't going to let something like simple logic interfere with her rituals. In fact she was well aware it probably wasn't having any effect on her headaches or stress directly, but she found playing a handheld game or reading a book with obnoxiously loud music while in those situations very soothing and really brought on the zen.

That being said, she now had some bouncy electro-swing stuck in her head that was being hummed as she strolled through the hallways of the mansion. It'd been a little while since this internship situation had started, and she was really grateful for the opportunity. Obviously initially she was a little apprehensive over the whole thing but had quickly warmed up to it. This was definitely a unique opportunity.

Besides, the brief moments she spent around Ms. Taylor-Cervantes were always a nice relief from the never ending pulse of emotions around her, even if most of the time she just got left to doing paperwork or moving around appointments. Emily picked up a stack of files from one of the rooms and made her way over to the office almost walking straight in due to the absence of emotions before stopping herself suddenly in front of the door, just an inch or two from walking straight into it.

Chiding herself silently over forgetting about the adapted thing she knocked on door gently, shifting her stack of papers and blowing some stray strands of her dark hair out of her face.

Work had been much easier since Gemma got herself an intern. Sure, that was not the main point of hiring Emily, but since she already knew the Mansion, and needed some practice for her Psychology studies, it was an added benefit that she helped out with the mountains of paperwork that tended to pile up on the guidance counselor's desk. And she had been doing a good job so far, too. Gemma could almost see the wood of the desk top as she sat at her computer, going through the day's schedule. She looked up at the knock on the door. Just on time.

"You don't have to knock every time, you know" she smiled, waiting for Emily to enter "Done with the forms already?"

Glancing around in the hallway Emily couldn't see anybody in the immediate vicinity, however she could feel them just around the corner or in some other offices, as she stepped closer into the door smiling a little everything just cut off. It was like a buzzing sound was removed and everything was suddenly a little clearer. She didn't hate her power, and she was certainly less angsty about it than a few years ago, but she did enjoy the breath of fresh air that was being around Ms Taylor.

Smiling sheepishly as she stepped through the doorway Emily replied. "Um. I know, sorry. Just a habit I guess..." When you could usually tell if somebody was in a given room, you didn't tend to wander about if they were busy before entering, Gemma being invisible to Emily's power often caught her off guard like that.

She nodded gently, shutting the door behind her. "They're pretty much all filled out, just need some signatures on a few and they're good to get filed." Surprisingly Emily had been on top of all of the work she'd been set by Gemma so far. It was something she just found easy to get done.

She shuffled through the papers she was holding and flicked to the pages that needed signing off, sliding them in front of the woman. "Here."

Gemma gave an impressed look as Emily piled the finished forms in front of her, and signed on the dotted lines. The girl had been doing good work so far as an intern, organized and well managed. Once all the papers were signed, Gemma set them aside, and looked up at Emily again.

"Actually, do you have a moment? I wanted to talk to you about something."

She offered the only other free seat in the small office, and turned her chair so that they could have a more comfortable conversation.

"You have been doing good work so far, you know. How are you feeling, with the internship and all?"

Emily liked Gemma, or at least she thought she did. The trouble was she relied so heavily on her power as a cheat card for navigating conversation and people's personalities that when she was without it everything got muddled and confused. She was genuinely impressed she'd not made a serious fool of herself in front of her boss yet.

Surprising how much a person could learn to rely on something in 3 years that she hadn't used for at least 16 years of her life. She blinked and turned back to Gemma. "Oh! Of course, what is it?" Was that too eager? A little internal scream went off in her brain.

She quickly took the seat offered to her and tried to settle her nerves. It didn't work, dammit.

Emily actually opened her mouth a couple of times to respond before actual words formed. "I- Uh- Well- Y-" She closed her eyes for half a second to gather a few thoughts. "I think so." More internal screaming... "Honestly? I've had very little ideas of what to do with my life, and the few times I've spent with people in a one on one, or socially intimate situation I've discovered that helping people deal with things, or really vent or work through something is... Valuable."

What did she actually think? Was this a test, or was Gemma just trying to get a read on her?

>>"I- Uh- Well- Y- I think so."

Emily seemed a little taken aback by her question. Was she surprised Gemma asked? Or did she have something to say, but wasn't sure how to say it without upsetting her supervisor? Gemma sat back, allowing her time to gather her thoughts.

>>"Honestly? I've had very little ideas of what to do with my life, and the few times I've spent with people in a one on one, or socially intimate situation I've discovered that helping people deal with things, or really vent or work through something is... Valuable."

Okay, that was better. Gemma nodded with a small smile. Maybe she was blindsided by the question, but Emily was actually good at her job, and she was doing well in her studies too. And it would have been a pretty crappy internship if she did not get to work with what she was actually preparing for: counseling people.

"Don't get me wrong, this is not a test. I just wanted to make sure you are doing okay. And... I wanted to ask how you'd feel about working directly with some students."

The problem, with working with an actual insightful human being, especially one that Emily couldn't really get a read on herself, was that her questions and thought processes completely threw her. She was trying to be honest but also really wasn't used to that. Emily had a tendency to change her responses depending on the person she was talking to but she did try to maintain honesty with Gemma.

The smile sort of soothed her nerves a little bit, Emily exhaled the breath she'd been holding as Gemma explained, suddenly feeling very very dumb.

"Right that makes sense." She agreed, processing the first half of Gemma's statement before the second. "Wait what? Uhm..." Then her brain caught up. "I'm not sure. Traditionally I'm a bit..." Bitchy. She was going to say bitchy but she left the words out. "Off with some of the students, I think it comes from living here for so long and feeling what a lot of them are for such a long time." Not all of them were painful, some of them were okay.

"One on one is fine. I'm not sure how I'd fair if I'm around your field." She admitted.

Gemma reiterated that this was not a test, and Emily seemed to relax a little. The Mansion was not exactly one of the internship places with high expectations and large amounts of work, but she apparently wanted to do really well. Gemma appreciated that, but she did not want it to get in the way of actual learning.

>>"Right that makes sense. Wait what? Uhm... I'm not sure. Traditionally I'm a bit... Off with some of the students, I think it comes from living here for so long and feeling what a lot of them are for such a long time."

"That is both an advantage and a disadvantage" she noted with a nod "Living here like we do, it's hard to keep personal and official roles balanced."

>>"One on one is fine. I'm not sure how I'd fair if I'm around your field."

Gemma smiled a little at that.

"One on one is where you would have to start. But would you mind telling me a little but about how it's different when you are in my aura?"

"Feels like mostly a disadvantage at times." She admitted sheepishly. It was much easier to speak to people at the University than it was around here. It maybe also had something to do with students there being more mature emotionally than here. Also the mansion tended to cultivate a particular kind of lost young mutant, or stressed out ones that couldn't control their powers, that most certainly didn't help with the general vibe of the place when Emily spent any length of time here.

"I've never really thought about that... I always just assumed this came easy to you." She actually blushed. "I guess that's part of the not being able to read you thing." She admitted.

Nodding gently she thought a little before answering. "Well, have I ever told you how my power works? I'm sure you have an idea from your position and my application?"

She paused before expanding. "I'm not sure about the exact radius, but normally I'd be picking up every emotion in this room, and probably the next two or three rooms at the same time. There isn't a way to turn it off, other than being around you, and when I'm close to a person it's much easier. It makes social interaction... Well, putting it practically some people think it's cheating. But I can avoid topics that seem to make people sheepish more easily than others, or nudge them to talk about something that's bothering them."

She shrugged. "It's sort of like I just have a little edge on most people. It's not massive, and it does give me quite large headaches." She admitted before adding. "But while I do... clean and clear while I'm in your aura, as in all of my thoughts and feeling are my own, and I don't have a headache, I do get thrown off by not knowing what a person is feeling."

>>"I've never really thought about that... I always just assumed this came easy to you. I guess that's part of the not being able to read you thing."

"Well, it's good to know I make it look easy" Gemma noted with a smile. She had her hard times finding a connection to some students, or getting them to open up to her while she was also acting as den mother to the Mansion. It also did not help that she was married to law enforcement, but she made it work.

>>"Well, have I ever told you how my power works? I'm sure you have an idea from your position and my application?"

Gemma nodded. Emily was an empath. She knew the general parameters of her powers, and could see where the discussion was headed, but she wanted to wait for her to express her concerns about it anyway. When in an adapted aura, it was like one of her senses was not working. It was the same with many other mutants around Gemma.

>>"I'm not sure about the exact radius, but normally I'd be picking up every emotion in this room, and probably the next two or three rooms at the same time. There isn't a way to turn it off, other than being around you, and when I'm close to a person it's much easier. It makes social interaction... Well, putting it practically some people think it's cheating. But I can avoid topics that seem to make people sheepish more easily than others, or nudge them to talk about something that's bothering them."

Gemma nodded. Empathy was an extremely useful tool to a counselor or psychologist, but a lot of people, mutant or human, did not take kindly to their most private emotions being read. Not until they understood more about how it worked, and trusted the person doing it.

>>"It's sort of like I just have a little edge on most people. It's not massive, and it does give me quite large headaches. But while I do... clean and clear while I'm in your aura, as in all of my thoughts and feeling are my own, and I don't have a headache, I do get thrown off by not knowing what a person is feeling."

"I see." Gemma nodded again "I am not going to lie, your powers definitely give you an advantage on other people in our profession, but it definitely raises ethical issues. You would have to disclose them up front to anyone you counsel, for starters. And you can't solely rely on them even then... Would it help you to do a few sessions along with me? To see how much you pick up without your powers?"

Okay so it seemed in retrospect silly to think that somebody with no kind of power could just completely naturally understand people and do all of this easily. But Emily wasn't perfect, and it definitely helped to realise that Gemma probably wasn't either. Emily always had odd thoughts while in an adapted's field. She wondered idly if it was a placebo thing, or if other people's emotions really effected her cognition much.

Emily felt extremely awkward waiting for Gemma's responses between questions and her own answers. She still wasn't used to the dynamic. Not being able to pick up on somebodies emotional reaction was like missing lines of dialogue when trying to act out a scene or something, it was like she was just missing some context.

She gave a strained smile. "I know. Trust me, I do appreciate the complex relationship on Ethics with my power." she chuckled and shook her head a little. "I've gotten into arguments with a teacher about mine over the nature of Telepathic and Empathic mutants, he thought we should all walk around wearing tags or disclosing to everyone that we talk to that we have a power. I have strong thoughts on the topic." She admitted.

"Although, It would be very different circumstances I suppose. And yes, I have learned that I can still be thrown even with them." She smiled awkwardly. "Empathy doesn't equal telepathy for reading people." She admitted.

Now that she was watching for specific signs, Gemma could pick up on some of the unease Emily had in her aura. Relying on her powers to read people, losing one of her senses probably threw her off quite a bit when having important conversations like this. Who wouldn't want to be able to read their boss' emotions, after all?

>>"I know. Trust me, I do appreciate the complex relationship on Ethics with my power. I've gotten into arguments with a teacher about mine over the nature of Telepathic and Empathic mutants, he thought we should all walk around wearing tags or disclosing to everyone that we talk to that we have a power. I have strong thoughts on the topic."

"Putting tags on people is never a good idea, no matter how many times someone comes up with it." Gemma nodded in agreement. Debating ethics was one thing, even disclosure... but psychology teachers should have known better than that.

>>"Although, It would be very different circumstances I suppose. And yes, I have learned that I can still be thrown even with them. Empathy doesn't equal telepathy for reading people."

"And emotions are never clear cut." Gemma added with a small smile. It seemed like Emily was aware of her powers and limitations. Might as well help her to the next step. Gemma picked up a file from her desk. "Well, in that case... I have a meeting scheduled with a student. She will be here soon. I was wondering if you might want to sit in, if they are alright with it?"

Emily did wonder a little how obvious it was that she was complete socially inept in Gemma's aura... She just could not get over how absolutely weird it felt. She was so used to having this ever present extra sense, and now it just wasn't around. There was something so jarring about the normal suddenly being the abnormal. How did she get buy when she was a teenager before her power manifested? With less headaches, probably.

She blushed and nodded a little. "Sometimes when I'm passionate about something I struggle to keep my mouth shut, I just can't stop it." She supposed that was another thing she could really learn from Gemma. "I made the comparison between forced disclosure of powers and certain other historical examples of such labelling, he was not impressed." She recalled the argument bitterly. Of course, that lecturer had gotten into a bit of hot water when she'd brought his views to the attention of his boss. Oops.

"As far as I'm concerned there is a difference between actively reading people's private thoughts, and not being able to not notice something. Like it's mostly like I have an extra sense, and I'm not going to apologise to some people or walk around with it spelled out on my forehead, even if some people think I should." She added a little more passionately than Gemma had probably heard her by this point. "Again though, disclosure is a different thing. And I respect that." She replied more softly.

Damn, Gemma had a way of actually making her contemplate things. She must've been really good at her job after all.

"No they are not." She admitted. She'd learned that lesson a long time ago. But they were definitely a useful thing to have. She supposed Gemma ought to have understood her point of view on power disclosure, being that she had a similar aura effect, even if she wasn't technically speaking a mutant. "I would certainly be willing to sit in. I just hope I don't make anybody uncomfortable." She totally lied, she meant she hoped she didn't embarrass herself in front of Gemma.

>>"Sometimes when I'm passionate about something I struggle to keep my mouth shut, I just can't stop it. I made the comparison between forced disclosure of powers and certain other historical examples of such labelling, he was not impressed."

Gemma smiled a little at that. Emily had passion for what was right, as any resident of Xavier's tended to do, and she was brave enough to call things out when she felt like they were not moving in the right direction. It was an important quality, and one that would make her a trustworthy counselor one day.

>>"As far as I'm concerned there is a difference between actively reading people's private thoughts, and not being able to not notice something. Like it's mostly like I have an extra sense, and I'm not going to apologise to some people or walk around with it spelled out on my forehead, even if some people think I should... Again though, disclosure is a different thing. And I respect that."

Gemma nodded again. "You will have plenty of time to figure this out." It would be a part of her training, and her process as a professional. There might not be one clear rule for every occasion, so the best she could do was to consider the possibilities, and try to do her best. Which Gemma knew she would.

>>"I would certainly be willing to sit in. I just hope I don't make anybody uncomfortable."

"Well, we will just have to try and see. And if you do, we'll deal with that" Gemma noted with an encouraging look. Sitting in on a session was an exercise in trust anyway. She hoped the student wouldn't mind.

There was a knock on the door, as if on cue. It seemed like they timed their talk perfectly.

"Come on in, Alice!"

For once Alice wasn't quite sure why she'd been summoned to Mrs Taylors office. She'd gotten good at sneaking in certain alcoholic solutions and hadn't been caught sneaking out in months, Couldn't even be about her school work because it was all going pretty well this time around. She hadn't even sworn at one of the younger kids in days. In theory it could have been something clerical or about her family but she found it hard to believe she'd need to have an appointment for something like that.

Throwing on what amounted to smart clothes for her and headed out a little early. While she liked to be late to anything official as a matter of course, she had at least enough respect for Gemma that she generally made an effort not to be a complete ass about things like this.

When she approached the office she could hear some voices coming from inside, so she was surprised with the instant invitation to enter. Granted she was more surprised to see Emily in the room as well. Even the sudden jarring loss of her powers had less of an effect than normal. Raising an eyebrow at the other girl, "Well, clearly it must be something big if the both of are in trouble."

"Hey Mrs T, look if we could just get the lecture over with I have some work to finish and about 3 meals to prepare ahead of time. And I'm sure Emily doesn't want me hanging around her work too long." Giving her......friend, a quick grin, "bad influences and all that."