SEVENTY FOUR ✖ TEXT

[wedonot]

Just so everyone's aware, I'll be making myself available for anyone who feels that they're in need of counseling in light of what happened.

On a similar note, especially in light of Mark's disappearance, if anyone is interested in volunteering as a counselor to those who might need it, I'd be happy to discuss how to make that work.

[Unless you're a cannibalistic serial killer, in which case you will need to find somewhere else to hang out. :|]

[Filtered to various Friends & Family]

I apologize for not being in touch sooner. I'm alright, and I'd appreciate hearing from you when you've got opportunity.

[Private to Anya]

I hear some congratulations are in order.

[Private to Alex]

Can I come see you?

[ooc: Charles is unaffected by the flood, but if you'd like to be all cuddly and fond with him, I am def up for it. :]b If you think you should be on the filter, you are, and if anyone wants to backdate anything for post-MirrorBarge fallout, I am down!]

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[wedonot]

[Charles hugs him tightly and rubs his back, carefully projecting calm in an attempt to soothe the hurt. He's not taking the emotions away, not without permission, but it's just an extra way for him to reassure and comfort, and that's all he wants to do right now, even though it's taking a little bit of effort not to get choked up.]

I'm alright. I promise I'm alright. [And even if he's not right now, he will be. He has people who love him even when he's at his worst, and he loves them too. And he knows how lucky he is to have that.]

I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner. I was so worried when I heard what happened.

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[tolaywaste]

[Alex sinks into the calm. He needs it, maybe more now than he ever did except when Darwin died. He was a stonefaced mess then, and he wasn't comfortable enough to let Charles in right away. He was barely comfortable speaking, asking for food in gestures and looking at no one until some of the hollowness got filled up.]

[But this is different. He knows what good a little nudge can do, from experience.]

[He pulls away now, slowly and reluctantly, and backs into his cabin so Charles can follow.]

It's okay. I'm - [His mouth hangs open, the intent to explain his state of mind after resurrection utterly defeated by an inability to find the right words. Instead, he falls back on what's easy, ushering the emotion-memory to the front of his mind, the way that the pain and the fear at being in the infirmary overrode sense for a while, and then the slow-cold-burn depression drift of the ensuing days, wrapped up in Nathan's cabin in blankets with no concept of the passage of time.]

[His feet scuff against the floor as he walks back to the bed, flopping down on it without meeting Charles's eyes. He's ashamed. He doesn't even really know why.]

I think I just needed some time.

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[wedonot]

[Charles hesitates near the door for a long moment before crossing over and sitting down next to him. There's space between them, but there's still light telepathic contact, just enough to say that he's here and listening, and to reassure them both - or maybe just Charles, who's been incredibly worried since he heard what happened - that they're alive.

Usually, he would start saying that he understands, but it wasn't him. That Alex would never be like that, that they're different people, and that's true, but he's been having a hard time separating himself from the person he'd been there, too. Admittedly, at least part of that has to do with the fact that he'd effectively been Erik, but it's not hard to see how one decision might have changed his life in a way that would have warped him, turned him bitter and angry and scared, willing to lash out at an entire species to protect people from what had happened to him as a child. And his anger had gotten someone he loved killed.

He'd like to pretend that the line between him and that sort of rage was thicker.]

I understand. [And for a moment, he can still feel himself relating with his counterpart, because he'd loved Alex in his own way there, but he hadn't known how to help him the way he'd like to. And here and now, he's not sure what to do, either. There's a part of him that wishes he could do something as simple as wrapping him up in a blanket and hugging him to help ease the pain and frustration, but it's not that easy. He's not a little kid.

So instead of offering a solution, or trying to tell him what he's sure dozens of other people have already tried to force on him, he just puts out the offer as simply as he can: he wants to help. Tell him what to do.]

Can I do anything?

[Do you need to talk, cry, yell, just sit here quietly, it's all wrapped up in there.]