Raven couldn’t help but feel she’d let her brother down.
I mean leaving him with a bullet in his back was a new low even for her.
Erik had told her to go settle in to the building they had captured and she turned on the tv to try to get her mind off things.
Of course the missile crisis was on every channel.
She sighs, pulling her knees up to her chest.
@the-realraven-darkholme
Another day, another job to attend to.
This time, it was some basic equipment relocation. 'Leave this to the mutant who can be at two places at once. What's the heavy lifting about it anyway?' Declared their new mighty leader who could lift everything, all at once, off the ground, with a simple flick of the wrist.
It was an approximation of what was said, of course, but the message was clear as day, even though it had all been decreed in the dead of night.
Still, it was a nice change of pace, especially after the last task he had been assigned to... Truthfully, fighting a blue bear in the sky was one of life's most unexpected throws at him, and he had been through much already.
On his last trip, he had been told to bring a passenger along with the remaining box: The newest recruit, Mystique, a woman with a resolved gaze and steady walk.
The scene shifted, and they were both thousands of miles away. Undeterred, she quickly settled in the new operating room and, without a word, began fiddling the many devices there. With a shrug, he left to finish what he started.
As he placed the last contents of the box in their rightful place, he began hearing an unfamiliar voice a few rooms down from where he was.
The operating room.
The warning alarms in his head quickly died down when the voice abruptly cut, changing to another, then another, then another...
Calmly reaching the operating room, he leaned against the door frame and looked over the new recruit, now curled up and sighing at the turned on TV set.
"You set it all up?" He genuinely marvelled before adding. "You'd have to teach me the ropes."
He walked up to the English roll arm sofa she sat on and rested his elbows on top of the backrest by her right side. Even from this angle, he could see some uneasiness in her position.
"I never saw the point of owning a TV. Every channel displays the same thing..." He commented, staring at the screen but not really paying attention to what was being said.
“I suppose so. Oh yeah Halloween!” She smiles a bit.
“That’s awesome. I’ve never done that. My brother was always so worried something would happen to me.”
She chucks the throw pillow at him.
Raven blinks up at him owlishly.
“I mean. Yeah. There’s so much I never told him. And so much I tried to that he never seemed to get. I tried to find a place to fit in in his home. But his mother really just wanted a doll to dress up. She never knew about my mutation…”
"Da, Halloween is plenty of fun for that. I also used to go to Ball des diables, the festival of fire-..." He started elaborating before being abruptly cut off by her sudden throw.
Now, as a trained fighter able to dodge most hits and think fast, a pillow getting chucked at him shouldn't be any issue...
However, he was clearly too distracted to teleport, sitting upright, cross-legged, on a sofa arm and at an extremely close range from the aim of a lady who has spent the entire night doing the most unexpected things in his company...
Alright, that last part should have definitely made him keep his guard up around her, especially since he was openly bad-mouthing someone she was more than close to.
Even so, his most reliable source of balance in situations like these would have been his tail. Sadly, it was currently dangling off the floor right behind him after he had hidden it from said lady's sight following her initial fright.
In conclusion, Mystique landed a perfectly aimed shot, with her throw pillow, at his head... While he landed in a thud, off the sofa, on his head.
Letting not a single groan escape his lips, he quickly recovered by doing a backward roll then, once on his feet, taking the pillow and using it as a new seat. He tried to act as nonchalantly as possible by resting one of his elbows on the now free sofa arm, choosing to remain on ground level for the time being.
"If not even telepathy can make it easier to understand people..." He sighed as shaking his head was not an option for now, then looking up at her and adding sarcastically. "Between that brother and this mother, that's quite the pleasant company you were surrounded with."
There must have been some pain from this heartache in that throw for a pillow to hit as hard as it did... Not as much as what I feel right now, but still.
He found himself glancing momentarily at the TV set, where another coverage of the missile crisis was rolling.
So earlier... She must have been thinking this was the only way for them to ever see her again.
"And how did you bring her back to reality? You seem like you have more interesting tricks up your sleeve than punching, and know the best kind of karma to serve."
“Mutant. And proud.” She replies. “I want to watch the world burn. And take every mutant which can’t hid and protect them. The ones Charles deems too ugly. To… her nails rip into the sofa.
“I’m going to make him regret treating me like a child. I’m going to rain hell upon everyone who ever did.” There’s a gleam in her eye.
He wouldn't say Mystique had been that guarded during their game about her feelings and opinions but this... Felt like it was part of something much bigger she buried from most. Something he only caught a glimpse of today.
From her eyes to her tone and in her gestures, a glimpse of what the world has done to the woman in front of him.
The World declared war on her, and she will fight dirty to win every battle it threw at her.
"This is a vow for the ages." He mused. "One we rarely hear of nowadays."
He did hear something similar from their team leader not long ago... There was as much passion in it too.
"You already left your first mark on the World, one nobody can ignore or hide." His tail lazily motions to the TV set. "You have a greater head start than most."
Before this very moment, he had felt the final outcome of that day to be purely coincidental, but perhaps coincidences like these were what the World needed... And not everyone could push things to align this intriguingly.
"I propose we drink to officiate your vow to the future..." There are no better ways to fuel a fire and remove any once of hesitation. "Or do you have a different way of celebrating ? There are no greater declaration to the World than one hitting International News."
She shakes her head. “Erik did that. I just stood beside him. Refused to be a lapdog for the government anymore. It’s been a long time coming I assure you.” She replies.
“But I think. It’s been a while since I stood up for myself. And it’s a start. So yeah. I’ll drink to that.” She smirks.
It was his turn to shake his head.
"For the Governments of this world, there is one single motto any good soldier, any good lapdog, must follow : 'The very act of thought is defiance'. " He sounded as if he was recounting something.
"It doesn't matter if this was towards a direct given order or for any kind of non combat situation, anyone who doesn't abide by it is on the same level as whoever first began standing up against them." He announced simply. "Willingly becoming a deserter afterwards makes you a similar threat to them as our leader... It is the final Badge of Honour."
If it's been a long time coming, then she really knows how to make an exit.
"Better late than never." Leaving everything behind is never an easy decision, as there's no turning back. "We'll have to do without any gold or silver, so consider this round of drinks on me."
"What's your liquor of choice ? Wine, whiskey, or something fancier ? Name it and you shall have it."
“Well it wouldn’t be the first cause I’ve deserted. So many times how things start at the first never make it to the final product.” She sighs.
“What’s the strongest thing you’ve got? I haven’t indulged in a while.” She replies.
She has a track record... Who knew ?
"I like to keep an open mind about all sorts of things." He began. "As such, I have the strongest drink of every type."
"Everclear stands on top of all and is yet to be challenged, but more flavourful choices are out there for the same kind of effects..." Even when drinking, tasting something without a flavour is a waste. "Your vow is a mighty and personal one, after all."
It's what makes it memorable.
"To quickly review tastier but just as potent picks, Austria's Inländer Rum could knock the most seasoned of sailors out and Stroh is the one that comes to mind for spiciness. For whiskeys, look no further than Scotch, some are fruity while others lean on smoky. Aragh sagi is Iranian moonshine tasting of raisins and dates with an extra floral aroma. Its strength..?" He considers his own question before answering, his tail tip moving from left to right like a metronome. "A real coin toss."
"What else... Oh right, this is a personal bottle I went as far as hiding away just in case." He spreads his arms slightly, sprinkling in some level of gravitas on his next announcement to her. "The Queen of Spirits, the Green Fairy herself."
He didn't think a beverage with that specific balance of strength, citrus and anise had been easily available in more than half a century, but she might be a traveller herself.
He rested his hands on his knees, seemingly done with his summary, then looked up at her again as she remained unmoving from her high position on the sofa.
"Now, all the cards are in your hands : The final choice is yours."














