video ♦ 001 ♦ raven darkholme ♦ day 48

[hidingtiger]

[ It doesn't take long for Raven to figure out how to get the communicator on. It does take her a little longer to decide whether or not she wants to actually do anything with that information, though. When the feed switches on she's sitting comfortably at the edge of the fountain, although the expression on her face is anything but entertained. ]

When I said no, I meant no. I don't know where all this... [ the feed jumps about a bit as she rotates her wrist, but it comes back to normal after a moment or two. ] technology has come from, or why you'd bother disguising it, but it's not happening. I'm not interested.

[ And then she frowns and folds one leg over the other, gaze dropping from the communicator to somewhere to the left of her. She's had enough of talking to the device on her wrist it seems, because after a moment or two the video flips and it becomes apparent that she's stood up and has started to walk through the town.

It lasts a moment longer before her wrist bumps her leg and it cuts out. ]

Comments

action;

[hidingtiger]

[ There's not much time between the feed cutting out and Charles' voice echoing out to her, but it feels like it stretches forever. She stands awkwardly, still in exactly the same spot that she'd stopped in when Charles has asked her to, and her arms fold over her chest as she waits.

It isn't long though, and she turns around immediately when she hears him. There's no mistaking the look that she gets when she finally locks eyes on him - relief, still tinged with fear but already so much safer in her mind than before. ]

Charles, thank God you're here. [ She doesn't move until he's a few feet away from her, unfolding her arms and quickly wrapping them around him. Her face presses into his shoulder and for a moment she's just going to stay there, clinging to him like a life line. ] I thought it was Shaw. I thought he was separating us. I thought I was alone.

[ The unsaid again hangs heavy in the air, and she scrunched her eyes closed before shaking her head. ]

What is going on?

action;

[mentis]

Raven. [ His voice doesn't so much as break as it dips, his arms wrapped tight around her as though he could keep her safe simply from that. ] I would always find you, nothing nor no one could ever stop me.

[ He takes a breath, another, lets the presence of her seep in to the corners he's reserved for fretting about her back home. It's enough that she's here ( and he should probably feel selfish about that, the gladness that his sister is stuck in the same hell as he and Erik are).

He pulls back, hands on her shoulders. ] I am still unsure who brought us here, our 'kidnappers' don't want to be seen, but don't fret - Erik and I have yet to be attacked in our sleep and the people are rather friendly. We'll keep you safe until we can find a way home.

[hidingtiger]

You mean I'll take care of you.

[ Of course she's teasing him, because if she gets too serious then the reality of all of this will start to sink in. After all, Charles said 'find a way back home', not just get home. That means there's not even a plan yet - though she doesn't fault him for that, of course not. No one else so far has sounded all that hopeful about leaving, either. ]

Don't worry so much. It's okay, we'll figure this out. [ Maybe she's reassuring him more to help herself than anything, but it's likely he'll see through that anyway. She laughs and it's not at all amused, it just sounds nervous and a little panicked still. She's past the worst of it though, now that he's here too. ] Do we even know where this is? It doesn't look like any town I've ever been to.

[mentis]

It's not. It's - from what I've heard there are all manner of unexplained things here, creatures we've never come across, technology I've never seen. It's fascinating, if not strangely unsettling.

[ He sighs, glances up at the fountain and back again, thinking of the body in the water and all sorts of other tales. ] Come on, Erik and I are staying in one of the houses. We can talk there.

[ He offers her his arm because it's a familiar gesture and one endlessly teased for but can he really help himself? ]

[hidingtiger]

I've heard as much. Did you know they have a robot here, designed to look like a human. [ It's kind of fascinating, really. It's just a shame that they had to be stuck in this place to discover as much.

The offered arm earns a genuine - if only a small smile from her, and she quickly slips hers through his. She even leans in a little, gives his side a gentle nudge and briefly tips her head enough to rest it on his shoulder. ]

You've got a house? That is more than I was expecting. [ And it earns a curious look from her. ] How have you already got a house set up? I was just with you, you can't have been here much longer...

[mentis]

I've only been here a scant few days, but long enough to be missing I'd assume. [ He smiles at her as he leads her back where he came, a decidedly more leisurely pace than before. He's still wearing the boots from his uniform, though with an outfit more mismatched and worn than she'd be used to. But he looks happy despite the worry written around his eyes. ]

A young woman kindly directed both Erik and myself to a free house. It seems to be the norm here. Any escape attempt is thwarted and you know him - I think he'd prefer to have somewhere defensible if it came to the worst. Not that I think it will. [ The horror stories aside he doesn't want to worry her. ] So we've been trying to settle. Well, I have. Erik's been testing the waters.

[hidingtiger]

[ She's more than happy to be led to this house, but the more he talks the more confused she gets. It hasn't been a few days, after all, it's been a couple of minutes since she last saw him. She pulls her arm out of his, takes hold of it and stops walking very abruptly. ]

Few days? You've been here a few days?

[ Clearly this is something that concerns her, and she steps slightly to the side and makes very serious eye contact. She wants answers, Charles, and she wants them fast. ]

How can you have been here a few days when I saw you just before I left?

[mentis]

I'm not sure.

[ He gives her a helpless, almost wide-eyed expression. Charles Xavier never stumbles in his knowledge, not for the longest time. He's been a little ... distracted since coming here and he knows they should do something about knowledge gathering but --. ]

There are things even the people who have been here the longest don't know.

[hidingtiger]

[ Cue a huge groan as Raven covers her face with her hands. That's really not what she wanted to hear from the smartest person she knows. Great.

She sighs heavily, but nods and worms her arm back around Charles', nudging him into walking again. ] So what you're saying is no one has answers, even you? This place just gets more and more confusing.

[ She gives him a small smile though, dropping her gaze to the ground as she walks. ] Least you're here. It could be worse.

[mentis]

It could be.

[ He squeezes her wrist as gently as he can. ] I'll do my best to find answers, Raven. I know how worried you are and I hate to not be able to fix that. So I'm going to do a bit more digging.