SIXTY NINE ✖ VOICE & SPAM

[wedonot]

[Filtered from Alpha, Riddick and Creed]

I've got Rogue. I'm bringing her to the infirmary, and I've been able to flush out Alpha's handiwork. She should be back to normal once she wakes up.

And for the record, I'm more than willing to do the same for anyone else who's been affected.

[Private to Ned]

Any luck determining who the remaining victims are?

[Spam for Raven, backdated to after Zane's been healed]

[Once Zane is out of the woods and taken care of, and Charles finally feels like he can leave him to recuperate without feeling like he's abandoning him, he heads back to his room to wash up and change. He throws out the sweater - actually, he's almost considering throwing it over the side, because even if he could get all the blood off of it, he doesn't want to wear something that feels - and looks - more like a bandage now than an article of clothing.

He's so tired of this. He just wants his little circle of people to be safe, to stop having to deal with the reality that they're probably never going to be, no matter where they are.

It's an exhausting reality.

Once he's cleaned up, he throws on another sweater and just takes a moment to breathe, rubbing his temples with the pads of his fingers. This entire thing is just one giant headache, and he wishes it was less of a liability to just reach out and immediately find the other damaged people.]

[Spam for Touko]

[Charles heads to the library when Touko's shift is ending, just as Anya requested, and he's not... really sure what he's getting himself into. Obviously what Alpha's done to her needs to be reversed, but Anya's not wrong about how traumatic it can be, when you might like the person you were now more than the person you would have been without the tampering. It's not a simple matter of knowing that someone like Rogue or Riddick would be better off not getting homicidally angry.

Fortunately, it doesn't take long to find her.]

Ms. Fukawa? I was wondering if I could talk with you for a minute.

[Private to Zane, later]

[So. You're not on his item anymore. Which means either you've been reassigned, or.]

I have a potentially strange question to ask.

Comments

[permutates]

I thought if anyone would be able to tell if you were different, it would be me.

[ There, that's better. She breathes out. ]

I didn't know you still had that. The sweater.

[wedonot]

[He'd been about to reassure her again, that he's fine, that he'd be able to stop someone from doing that to him, that he be able to stop almost anyone from doing almost anything to him as long as he had his abilities, but her comment catches him a little off guard, and he chuckles.]

Why would I have gotten rid of it?

[permutates]

Cause it's terrible.

[ She can still see some of the misaligned seams. Okay, most of it is fine. But still. ]

[wedonot]

But you worked very hard on it. I'd have kept it even if it had three sleeves.

[And besides, you know how rare it was for people to do nice things for him just because they wanted to back in the day. It's special. :c]

[permutates]

[ Her hand covers her mouth. ] Tell me you wouldn't have worn it.

[wedonot]

[Charles just chuckles, flashing her a wide, genuine smile.] I would have worn it with pride, thank you very much.

[And you know what? Fuck it. It has been a really rough day, he's tired, and he's pretty sure it's going to get worse before it gets better, because that's usually how things work when there's a crisis like this. He's reaching over and pulling her into a hug, resting his chin on her shoulder and trying to pretend that this is more about comforting or reassuring her that he's alright, instead of him just really needing a hug right now.]

Thank you for checking on me.

[permutates]

[ She would expect herself to go stiff, even just for a half-second of surprise. But she doesn't. It feels natural. It feels real. She closes her eyes, pressing her cheek against him. ]

Thank you for being okay.

[ Her voice is soft, and she means more than just this. ]

[wedonot]

I usually am. [It echoes something he's said to Erik more than once, and something Erik's said to him, and thus it's one part joke, one part deadly serious. They find a way to survive. They always have, and hopefully, they always will.

He hangs on maybe longer than he should, but does eventually pull back, giving her shoulder a final gentle squeeze.]

I still have the scarf and mittens you knitted me, too.

[permutates]

Oh, great, the mittens because I couldn't manage individual fingers.

[ She is so embarrassed.

And, more than a little bit - pleased. ]

[wedonot]

That's still better than I could ever manage. Anya at six was better at knitting than I ever was.

[Which is God's honest truth, she was adorable and infinitely better at keeping her stitches straight than he ever was. Which is why he abandoned knitting and just became an enthusiastic supporter of Raven's efforts.]

[permutates]

Well, you were hopeless.

[ It makes her laugh just remembering. ]