Not A Broken Bird

Xavier watched her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction to the vial. He didn't know what it was like to be a witch but he just felt in his gut this was something. There were strings being pulled here and not by the usual puppeteers. Given it was all theory, though, Xavier opted to keep it to himself. For now. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Oh, genius minds? I like that. Agreed."

Something made her want to reach back out to the vial. She had to curl her fingers into fists to resist the urge, silently count to five before it went away and she could turn her full attention back to Xavier. "Oh, of course. I mean, I wouldn't lie when your skills are involved."

@havensdalestarters

"Oh my goodness...Is that Benjy Montgomery? Wow. Long time, no see! Wow. Oh wow. Um, how are your parents?"

the magic box had taken a hit during the earthquake and the place was a mess. determined to try and get some semblance of order back in place, love had taken it upon herself to tidy up.

truly, alison's favorite part of summer, as much as she always missed her students, was the free time it granted her. sure, she usually spent the first few weeks dealing with chores, catching up on her reading, but then she just relaxed. and part of that was shopping.

Jenny laughed without thinking, pressing her lips together. She hadn't even thought that bringing up their school would... well. It wasn't there, anymore. "You're only as old as you feel, right? Besides, some people are hundreds of years old, nevermind just 25 years older. I will add pumpkin pie to my list!" she added with a bright smile. Jenny wondered if she should have asked, she knew that everyone was handling the 'new' Havensdale in their own way. When Alison answered, though, her expression softened and she nodded. "Of course, I'm sorry. I'm sure that we'll rebuild, you know? And it'll be better, after we get through... everything, I guess. I think it'll be better. And hey, you know you're always welcome to come by Ivy's place too. Us witches have got to stick together."

"Okay, that does make me feel somewhat better. Like, yeah, sure, in 25 years I would be..." Alison quickly did the math and couldn't help but grimace. "...over fifty, but yeah, at least, that's under a century. So, thanks, Jenny. I mean it. Really." Hopefully she sounded sincere. She really had meant it. "If you are going to be taking requests. generally, I have a whole list of baked goods I would never say no to. Not that I'm trying to get you to bake for me, of course." At the mention of a hypothetical rebuild, Alison forced herself to nod. Yes, Jenny had a point. It wouldn't be the same, but it would be a start, and that was something. "I might take you up on that offer one of those days. I could use a little...kindred spirits."

"So true," Ian nodded before offering up a small smile. He wanted to say something inspiring about how they would survive this, like always. That they would rebuild and be better than ever. There was a light at the end of this never-ending tunnel, but Ian wasn't so good at the rousing speeches these days. "Samson's doing great. I mean, he's really got the hang of having opposable thumbs again and his magic's come along too. Anything a cat can do, he can do better, now." He canted his head as she murmured, letting the sentiment sit between them. "Yeah, it could be better," he sighed, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Then, without further thought, he offered, "I see ghosts now."

"Oh wow, thumbs. Yeah, that would definitely be an adjustment, wouldn't it?" she agreed. It was funny, how easy it was to take something as basic as thumbs for granted. Alison had tried, in the last few years, since the Dome came down, to not take so much for granted, but old habits remained, despite her best efforts. "Did it impact his magic, the whole being a cat thing? Or, I guess that's a pretty personal question. Pretend I didn't ask that, okay?" She was more than ready to agree to move on, to make some sort of small talk (maybe something about sandwiches?) but then... "Ghosts? Like, ghost-ghosts?"

"Oh!" Rhiannon jumped, turning with her small but mighty fists clenched before letting out a breath. "Sorry, you gave me a fright. Don't worry, I promise I won't be kicking your ass today." @havensdalestarters

Alison pulled her hand back, as if she had been burned. She had not meant to startle Rhiannon, had simply put her hand on her students' shoulder as a prelude to asking her how she was. "No, I should be apologizing to you. Although...language."

"Thank you," he said, a little surprised to hear it but grateful nonetheless. Xavier watched her hands as she took the vial, waiting with anticipation for her to open it. He often did trust his instincts and they actually, rarely, let him down. At her words, he let out a breath. "I wish it were better news. I, ah, wish that all the time, actually. We could really a use a win," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

It took Alison a moment to respond to him. The strength of the magic from the vial had caught her attention. It had been ages since she had felt magic that strong, since she had allowed herself to feel magic like that, and she was surprised by how much it had unsettled her. Alison was suddenly glad she hadn't fully opened the vial, and she gently put it down on the table. "As long as it's not bad news, I think it's okay." That's what she told herself everyday. That's what she wished everyday.

"Yeah, we definitely put a lot on these cups of coffee. We need them to solve the world's problems at this point," Andy sighed. She nodded at Alison's question, both of them knowing that Havensdale's hospital was non-stop now. "Honestly, Ali, I don't know how I'm still standing sometimes. And, uh, Landon... That kid... if I could stitch him to my side to make sure I know where he is all the time, I would." He was okay, though. He was safe. Andy let out a delayed laugh then, looking over at her apologetically, "Sorry, that was gross."

"I had a nightmare, back in college, that coffee stopped existing, and not going to lie, I am still traumatized by it," Alison admitted. "I mean, obviously, so much has happened since then, but just imagining having to go through it without caffeine..." She couldn't help but shudder. At Andy's comment, Alison felt a rush of sympathy and sadness. Yes, things at the school were challenging, but she knew it was nothing compared to what the others were going through. She wanted to give the other woman a hug, but that felt just this edge of too forward. "I feel that same way," she said at last. "Maybe not literally stitching. But the worry."

Ian snorted a delayed laugh at her choice of phrasing. Old habits weren't the only thing, huh? To save her his cruder humour, he didn't comment any further (unheard of, truly). "Ah, your secret is safe with me. The less we know about the secret life of our teachers, the better. I'm still shocked you don't all actually live in the school." He said it without thinking, cringing too at his poor choice of phrasing. "Oh, yeah. Totally understand that. I'm lucky I have ol' Samson back at the apartment, he keeps things running way better than I do. And he used to have whiskers. Me? Yeah, yeah. Living the dream-," he started before his eye was drawn to someone he knew no one else could see. Blinking several times, he pulled his focus back to Alison. "Could be worse."

Well, she had not offended Ian. That was a relief, and Alison felt her shoulders relax, and she knew that if she smiled, it would be an actual genuine smile. "Oh no, I live in my own place, thank you very much. Well, rent my own place if you want to get all technical about it. Which given everything is probably a good thing." She couldn't quite bring herself to laugh, but maybe being able to talk about what had happened at the school without her voice shaking was a good first step. "Ah yes, Samson. How is he doing?" Alison did have quite a few questions about the witch-turned-cat-turned-witch, but maybe it was best to go straight to the source. "But it could be better," she murmured.

Xavier nodded, offering a sympathetic and always genuine smile in response. He knew that words weren't going to make anything better right now, they needed to do something. They needed action. He knew there were more important things than this soil, too, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on. That there had been a larger plan, a bigger intention, behind what had happened here.

At the "I'm just a guy" comment, Alison felt herself frown. Sure, she had not spent a lot of time with Xavier for obvious reasons, but regardless, she did not like it when anyone, student or otherwise, put themselves down. Especially when they were talented.

"Oh, I can imagine. I'll still have to correct myself at our 25 year class reunion," Jenny joked. The implication that there was a normal future for Havensdale weighed heavy on her mind, but she smiled anyway. "Of course! I'd love to give you it. Do you like apple pie? That's my latest project, so you'll have that to look forward to." Jenny pressed her lips together, deciding if she'd ask the dreaded question or not. "But, um, how have you been anyway?"

"The idea of your twenty five year high school reunion is giving me severe anxiety," Alison admitted, because the school didn't even exist anymore. "Just thinking about how old I would be then..." She let out a mock shudder. "I'm more of a pumpkin pie girlie, but if you're offering me a slice of free pie, I will not turn it down." Alison paused for a second, wondering how honest to be. But Jenny was, odd as it felt, an adult. "I've been...You know, it's been a tough few weeks."

"Alison. Sorry, old habits - oh, no. I didn't mean 'old'. Youthful habits," she corrected jokingly. It might have felt like just yesterday that Jenny was gushing over the prom decor, Miss Halliday at the punch bowl as a chaperone, but it wasn't. It so wasn't. Jenny beamed when Alison took a bite, though, clapping her hands together. "Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it. Do you want to come with me to Ivy's? You can grab another for the road, too."

"It's fine. I mean, I'm used to it, you know. It's basically the only downside of the job. And I definitely didn't think you called me old," Alison said, with a quick laugh. Yes, she did feel old these days, but she knew that wasn't Jenny's intention at all. She took another quick bite of the brownie, just barely resisting the urge to shove it all in her mouth. "I'm not a great baker, but I will be getting this recipe once we're at Ivy's. Trust me on that."

"I've gotcha," he nodded, sending a swift finger gun her way to punctuate his understanding. Even now, he struggled to stay serious. How he'd managed to channel his inner Mark Morrison for so long before the dome came down, he had no idea. Playing hero was exhausting. Relax, he told himself. He just had to ask how she was. "Me too, Miss H, my graduation is but a blur to me at this point. I just wanted to, ah, ask how you were doing? If you needed... anything."

"Old habits die hard, I'm afraid." And saying 'die' to Ian Morrison was almost certainly a mistake. Allison was tempted to apologize, but she also did not want to draw attention to her faux pas, so instead she just moved on. "Don't tell anyone, but most graduations are a blur to me. They do tend to run together, I'm afraid." She considered the offer. "I'm doing...Well, I've been putting off spring cleaning for so long that it could be considered summer cleaning. And are you okay, Ian?"

Xavier appreciated her kindness regardless of the situation. No doubt that anyone from the Resistance showing up wasn't exactly a good sign. Thankfully, he wasn't delivering bad news. "It's me. Yeah, of course. And if there's anything you- you need, just let us know. I'm getting off track, though, sorry." He took a breath, producing a manila folder and three soil filled vials. "I was wondering if you could have a look at these samples and this data, see what you think. See if you... feel anything from them. Anything different, or weird. Powerful. Would that be okay?"

Alison forced herself to relax. Just because of what had happened at the prom, it did not mean that seeing a member of the Resistance out and about was necessarily a bad sign. "I will, if I think of anything," she promised, although she could not think of anything at the moment. Alison took the three vials, unable to help but raise an eyebrow at the sight of the soil. "I'm assuming you want me to do some, well, magic, on it." She was willing to do so, to help the cause, but she was a little surprised that their scientists hadn't been able to figure out anything.