The Sorcerer's Apprentice {Stephen Strange}

Ten

When Doves Cry by Prince

Emerson paced -well, floated- around her room the entire night. She read non-stop, trying to gather as much information as possible. She's read through all of the books provided, meaning she should ask Stephen for more resources. She only wishes he would provide her with more advanced literature. She keeps reading about the same three topics and would love to learn more. Emerson finds the mystic arts very intriguing and mind-bending.

Staying awake all night to wander around the building made her miss being able to use her legs even more. It's easy to take what you have for granted until you don't have it anymore. She seems to be jealous of those who are able to freely walk; it would make life so easy.

The sergeant's thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. She sits up in the bed, grabbing her legs and pulling them over the ledge of the bed. "Come in," she shouts loud enough for the voice to hear her. The door slowly opens to reveal Stephen in his robes, dressed and ready for the day. His hair looks freshly washed and his goatee trimmed. His posture looks strong and formal causing her to feel unprofessional in her pajamas. Her hair is disheveled and her under eyes are probably puffy. "Strange," she greets him and he looks her up and down, suddenly making her feel quite self-conscious. Stephen can't help but grin after seeing her messy hair and barely open eyes. Even after waking up, Emerson manages to look attractive.

"Moore, good morning. I wanted to start the day early in order to start with your physical therapy before our training session today. Then would you care to go out for dinner? I'm missing American cuisine," he sheepishly smirks. She lifts herself off the bed and into her chair and he steps forward like he wants to help. She adjusts her feet on the stirrups and places her hands on the rough wheels.

"Let me get changed and we can start right away. And I would love to go to dinner with you- I mean, I'd love to eat some familiar food... With you, tonight," she spews out, causing him to laugh. Emerson pushes herself to her dresser to grab out her robes for the day. He awkwardly stands in the doorway, watching her.

"Glad that's settled. I'll wait in the gym for you," he tells her before walking out and shutting her door. Of course, I'd say the wrong thing and make it weird. The soldier continues to scold herself as she picks out her robes for the day. She brings her things to the bathroom down the hall to start getting ready for the day. She peels off her pajamas and undergarments before putting the plug in the bathtub and turning the water on. As the bath fills, she brushes her teeth and combs her hair. Once the tub is full of hot water, she turns the faucet off. The sergeant lifts herself out of the chair and sits on top of the bathtub ledge. She pulls her legs over the side and sets them in the water before dropping herself off the ledge and into the tub. Water splashes around me, falling over the sides. She cringes at the thought of someone else cleaning up the water as she cannot. If the tub were more accessible for those in a wheelchair, maybe she wouldn't have made such a mess. Kamar Taj needs to invest in showers you can sit in rather than tubs with high ledges.

Emerson leans her head back, resting it against the cold, tile wall. her eyes close as she thinks about the many books she read last night in her study. One of the books sticks out in particular; it spoke of spiritual herbalism used in the Mystic Arts. There are special plants and magical herbs with many properties such as healing and cursing. She feels interested in learning more about it as she's always had a green thumb. It would be helpful to find out if there were any herbs that could help with her rehabilitation process... This is definitely something she should discuss with Strange.

After spending some time in the bathtub cleaning herself and washing her hair, she begins drying off the top half of her body before pulling herself onto the ledge. She sits on it and dries herself off even further down, leaving only her legs wet. She uses her hands to grasp them and pull them over the side of the tub, resting them on the mat beside the tub. The water drips off her legs and onto the cushioned mat, soaking up any liquid before it reaches the wood floor. She finishes drying her legs off the rest of the way before getting dressed for the day. The sergeant fastens the robes around her waist and begins tying up her damp dark brunette hair. She scoots herself into her wheelchair and cleans up the bathroom as much as she can before leaving to meet Stephen in the rarely used gym. Normally when exercising they both do everything outside, however, Strange thinks physical therapy would be easier to do inside.