FORTY NINE ✖ VOICE/SPAM

[wedonot]

[Private to Lua]

Anya's asked me to share the conversation we had during the flood a few weeks ago with you. When would be a good time for you?

[Private to Merlin]

How long has Morgana been back? [He is willing to bet that you've known she's back for a while. B(]

[Filtered to Jean and Alex]

Arkady wanted to speak with me and a few other mutants about things she's experienced in her world. Would you two be interested in coming along with me?

[Open Spam for the CES]

[Erik's assessment to Moira during the flood - that Charles wasn't depressed and was still an optimist - was accurate. He'd come a long way from the crushing, oppressive, miserable depression that had followed him since Cuba, and things felt better, if not perfect.

But - as it often seemed to happen - recently, things had gone from fine to getting progressively harder to deal with, and Charles needed space and time to deal with it, to give himself time to rebuild his defenses and come back ready for more of it, which was why he was currently running through the CES in sweats and had been for the better part of an hour. The CES was currently a forest, probably somewhere in North America or maybe Europe. The air was chilly and damp, but not enough to be uncomfortable, and when he finally stopped, panting, leaning against a tree, he squinted up at the sky and trying to determine if it was actually going to start raining or not.

Ever since his spine had been healed, he'd maybe overcompensated for the time he'd spent in the wheelchair, or maybe it had something to do with what had happened with the Vanquish, but either way, he often went on runs in the morning. Today was different in that he was pushing himself to the point of exhaustion, because as long as he kept moving, it felt like he was doing something, allowed him to turn his mind off for a while, instead of examining his guilt about what he'd done to Moira, or his conflicting feelings about Anya, or his worry about Morgana. It was hard not to feel trapped, here, but the CES helped, and so he didn't move to leave just yet, wanting to catch his breath before he headed back in.]

Comments

[surrenders]

[A couple hours later, Lua's slipped on over, trying to push back any apprehension she might be holding back. Anya thinks she needs to know, so she'll come listen, but that doesn't stop her from wondering what could be so bad she doesn't want to say it herself.]

[wedonot]

[Charles closes the door behind them and gestures towards the armchairs and couch, not really sure how to begin, because he's not really sure how he feels about any of this, really.]

Did she tell you anything about what happened?

[surrenders]

Not enough for me to guess what I'm gonna see.

[She takes a seat, eyes following Charles, not sure how any of this is going to work.]

I want to know more why she asked you to show me than what it is, I think, but she's the only one who's gonna know that.

[wedonot]

She said she wasn't sure she could get it all out herself without something forcing her.

[He takes a seat across from her, leaning forward so his elbows rest on his knees.] You're sure you're comfortable with this?

[surrenders]

[She doesn't yet know if that's the whole truth - there's something in the back of her head analyzing motives now, looking almost too hard at them - but she barely knows Charles, so isn't about to say that. Instead, she nods and tries to look comfortable in her chair.]

Enough that I can do this.

[wedonot]

[He nods, and hesitates slightly before asking another question, figuring this is more or less important to establish before getting into the conversation itself.]

You know how I'm involved in this situation? [He assumes she does, but it never hurts to make sure your assumption's true.]

[surrenders]

Through her father. [Lua doesn't get all of it, not how every relationship intertwines, but thinks she has enough of an idea to help.] I've seen enough about the two of you I think I see where you and her get into it.

[wedonot]

Erik's not her father. [It's not an accusatory statement, but it's important to establish and keep in mind.] Believe me, I understand how having him around is complicated, for everyone involved, but he's not her father. It's an important distinction to make.

[It's been a matter of some frustration, to be told you're responsible for decisions you never, personally, would have made, and while Anya didn't know a Charles Xavier, Wanda had, and it certainly hadn't been pleasant, to be told that was his fault when he knew he'd never do something like that.]

I've been trying to help her if I can, but I didn't know exactly why she was an inmate until the flood. I can show you the conversation, more or less the same way you'd remember watching a film or a play.

[surrenders]

[She's already misspoke, and she's aware of the difference, so doesn't have much to say to that. Instead she just nods, like "it's all right, go ahead".] That'd be best.

[wedonot]

[Charles nods, and brings a hand to his temple, resting his fingers there and gently reaching out to Lua's mind, not wanting to startle her. He shows her Anya's half of this conversation, and what he said in response, but not his emotions or internal monologue, or Anya's, either, as he wasn't listening in at the time.]

[surrenders]

[Lua watches through closed eyes and makes sure to listen hard, since she'll only have this moment again in her memory, not how it really was. She doesn't even allow herself to speculate until it's over, since she's been only half right about the answers to her questions, and isn't sure what to do about the other one, and tries to keep everything straight in her head as she looks up.]

This is just how it was? [When she's done this before, there's always been a little of the other person.]

[wedonot]

[Charles lowers his hand and closes off the connection, not wanting to spy on her.]

Yes. I'd rather have a conversation about what I thought about it than just show you, if that makes sense.

[surrenders]

[It does, since she can keep what she remembers and what he thinks of it separate. For Lua, what's important is what Anya said, what she believed when she had to tell the truth, not how someone else who might want to spin it can tell her.]

So what were you thinking?

[wedonot]

That I'm very concerned for the well being of several people I care about, and I'm disgusted that she was willing to kill her little sister and maim her brother to get what she wanted, when they were just as much victims of her father as she was. [Again, it's not angry or argumentative, because he's not looking to pick a fight, here. He's deeply upset about what she said, on a number of levels, and he does have some amount of anger towards her, because she reminds him of someone else, but he's not looking to pick a fight.]

Do you think she's a threat to Erik or any other mutants on board, particularly Wanda or Pietro?

[surrenders]

[It isn't the time. It might never be. But all she's hearing is condemnation, a complete inability to see that sometimes you only have terrible choices, is enough to shut her down, though all Charles will be able to see is a little more tension.]

No. They're not the people she knew, right?

[wedonot]

Sometimes people have difficulty making that distinction.

[surrenders]

She knows. First thing that came up, almost.

[wedonot]

With all due respect, I still think I had a right to be concerned. I don't think she's an irredeemable monster, but being told she'd prefer a world where we don't exist and that she effectively started a genocidal war back home was concerning, and I'm not interested in watching the people I care about get hurt. You know her better than I do, thus why I felt the need to ask.

[surrenders]

I think you got times when, even if someone's telling the truth, it's the truth at that second. Not how it really is.

[wedonot]

I was still concerned. Thank you for answering.

[surrenders]

You got to watch out for other people, right? But she's not gonna be up to anything.

[wedonot]

I'm glad to hear that. [Even if he's still not going to be trusting her with anything any time soon. B(]

I'd still like to be able to help her in any way that I can, and if there's anything you need from me, don't hesitate to let me know.