xmutanthigh | [OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

[Kevin lurches forward a step, and reaches out a gloved hand before catching himself and stopping, frozen in that position. In that moment his expression slips (OOC: see icon, haha) and he locks eyes with John.]

Don't hurt him. He's telling the truth.

[John may very well have been telling the truth. Or he could've been lying. Kevin doesn't know. It has nothing to do with how well they know each other -- John's a talented liar. But Kevin is reassured, at least, that he's an adept liar himself, and maybe that'll be enough to save his old friend.]

Clever boy. [Mystique allows the corner of Magneto's mouth to quirk up just the tiniest bit. It's an admirable play, even if she's not convinced of John's sincerity. His honesty, however, is hardly suspect. Polaris had murmured about the whispers of adamantium in the air not long after Caliban had directed all of their attention to John's arrival. While Longshot, Madrox and Vanisher had been dispatched to fetch the prodigal returned, Mastermind and Caliban had been leading the man they call Logan on a merry chase. She spares only a sidelong glance to Kevin, hiding this knowledge, and nods to Polaris to go lend her talents to the capture of the Wolverine.

Conveniently, elegantly, as Lorna exits the cabin, the neutralizer glides lazily, confidently over to rest on a nearby table where Madrox and Porter eyes it warily. Mystique crosses Magneto's arms across her chest and regards John appraisingly.] You haven't forgotten everything, I see. That, at least, is a good sign.

[John barely looks at Kevin, even at his outburst, knowing not to take his eyes of Magneto, not out of fear, but as a sign of respect. He smiles, just a little, at Mystique's backhanded compliment, and then grows serious.]

I'm not kidding. He followed me here. Told me if I ever left he'd kill me. [And at the very least, Mystique and Magneto knows John wouldn't do something to endanger his life, not for good reason.]

We shall see. [Mystique spares a chuckle for herself, John never did have much of a sense of humour. Perhaps it's the gesture, or the offering itself, but she softens. Slightly. She turns her back to John to go to the window and peer out, thoughtfully. It's a sign of tempered trust, at least one of Erik's. Her eyes drift to Mortis leaning against a tree, bundled in a parka over her uniform, watching as one of Madrox's dupes builds a campfire.] I can say one thing for certain: he will not be killing you today.

[A simple nod from Magneto is enough to dismiss them. The spurious master of magnetism leaves the two boys with, "I'll give you some time to get re-acquainted. I have myself a wolverine to deal with." Turning on his heel, he exits the cabin and follows Lorna. There's a moment that seems frozen between Kevin and John, with just the echo of the slamming cabin door echoing in the silence. Then, as if a spell were broken, Kevin bursts back into movement, and marches over to John, waving a gloved hand at him.]

Dude... you crazy, coming back here? They could kill you!

Saying I've gone soft really helped my chances too, you stupid fuck. [John punctuates this by reaching over and giving Kevin a shove across the chest, the look in his hazel eyes wild and burning as he passes Kevin by and collapses tiredly in one of the chairs by the fire.

His sneer is gone, but the hard look in his eyes remain; he glares up at Kevin wordlessly for another moment, knowing there are people watching them, perhaps listening. The truth is he's exhausted and this isn't even halfway finished.

He's got his neck on the fucking line with some Magneto knock-off, he's had to offer up Logan, the unlucky bastard (although John's one to argue not as unlucky as he is at the moment), and now he has to deal with this idiot in front of him.]

Edited 2011-02-20 07:22 (UTC)

[Kevin flinches - pretty badly, too - at the touch. John was probably the only one who was never all that careful about the touching. Then he looks up, and meets John's gaze.

That look. Kevin can recognize it. It's betrayal. It doesn't matter why John is here now - whether he came to drag Kevin back home, or whether he really does want to drop the X-Men and join up with the Brotherhood again. Either way, Kevin can tell that John feels at least the smallest bit of betrayal from him.

He yanks off a glove, and finger-writes Sorry into the wooden armrest of the chair that John's sitting in by letting his withering touch work into the wood. Gives John a moment to see it. Then wipes it away by decaying the entire area around it with his palm.]

[Yeah, what a shitload of good "sorry" ever did anyone. John scoffs at it, even as he softens a little, and turns to look at the roaring fire, resting his hand over his mouth. Absent the cool metal of his Zippo on his lips, John feels agitated and lost, even with the flames warming the room. Then again, Mystique would know what taking his Zippo would do to him, besides disarming him. And again, Mystique would know what it meant when Magneto shows a little bit of curiosity and faith and trust: let's see how well you've done, but tread carefully.

That makes him relax, just infinitesimally, and Kevin's outburst and his apology don't hurt either. Kid still has a heart. Maybe this wasn't a waste of time.

John drops his arm in resignation, turns his unwavering, angry eyes back to Kevin. He reaches out with his foot and kicks the other chair.]

Whatever. Just sit, you're making me nervous standing around like that.

[Kevin fidgets instead of sitting right away. Then he finally props himself onto the armrest of the other chair as if he might have to get up again right away. Now at a distance from John, he takes off his gloves to get some reprieve from them and shakes them.]

Look. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'm going to do what I can to save your ass, here. You're not safe right now.

No shit. [John says this with quite a bit of grating anger and a lot of sarcasm. As if he were saying, "No shit, it's raining."] Didn't know you cared.

[There's a pause; John looks to the door, to the guard no doubt beyond it, and then turns his eyes back to Kevin. He knows enough and he's not stupid enough to risk there being ears on them. John lets out a tempered sigh, lifts his hand and beckons some flame into his still-numb palm. The close heat soothes him; just having the fire near soothes him.

This would be easier if he could just burn the whole place down.]

So. You like it here?

Edited 2011-02-20 21:39 (UTC)

[Kevin manages to give him a wry smile, and a quick finger to the lips to indicate he should be quieter. He jerks a thumb to the window. Nothing's visible, of course, but someone is sure to be lurking outside, hoping to catch something - anything - incriminating. Kevin mouths some words to John.]

Not really.

[John's brows shoot up at that; he crosses his legs at the ankles and slumps further into the chair, extinguishing the flame in his hand. His anger has sobered; now he's just looking at Kevin, something like sympathy and knowing in his eyes, behind his mask.]

Food could be better.

[Kevin scoffs.]

Yeah. Tell me about it.

[Kevin's feeling impatient now, and angry. Angry at whoever's skulking outside, and angry at the whole situation. Even angry at John. He wants to just outright ask John what he's doing here, what the big idea is, but knows he can't. Even if nobody was around to eavesdrop. he's certain that John would just give him another sarcastic answer.]

[John nearly smiles, even huffs out a short laugh, and then silence reigns, the two mutants simply looking at each other with guarded, unsure, studying eyes.

He wants to ask Kevin plenty too. Why he left, what he's doing here, if it was all worth it. Instead he says nothing, entwines his fingers and leans them against his lips.]

Yeah well, if I live the night... I'm not a steak dinner, but I'm a friend.

[The words are hard for John, but he says them, sees no other way to communicate to Kevin that he's... a friend without giving anything away. Even admitting it is overly sentimental to him.]

[Kevin is actually taken aback. He studies John carefully, lifting his chin up, giving himself an aloof, detached look. John's words sound... sincere. And without hints of the usual sarcasm or irony that accompany his speech. So Kevin decides to play it the same way. He lets his own guard down in the next moment and speaks openly.]

You better live the night. You better keep smart and keep yourself alive. I don't want anything happening to you, man. And I... [He gives a small nod.] I am, too, okay?

[Yeah now, that's definitely enough of that crap. John's glad to hear it, of course, but he's not going to let it touch his heart or some shit. He straightens and shifts uncomfortably in his chair and then leans forward, his eyes hardened and disinterested and judgmental once again.]

Yeah and fuzzy caterpillars turn into beautiful fucking butterflies. Just be smart and stay out of the way. I know what I'm doing.

Edited 2011-02-20 23:18 (UTC)

[Kevin lets John have his little hissy fit. After all, he knows it's necessary after letting slip something a little heartfelt or whatever.]

Yeah, yeah, I got it. Just let me warn you, okay? I know you think you know what you're doing, but... things have changed since you left.

[Kevin just lets that hang there.]

[And it does, heavy and significant between them. John peers up at Kevin, asks the question.] Like what?

[Now Kevin speaks freely, because what he's going to say next is nothing but facts. But small nuances of emotions flicker across his face that he hopes John can pick up on -- which the listener outside won't. Like little gestures that indicates Kevin's not quite comfortable here.]

The Brotherhood, it's a little more trigger-happy now. More so than before. Our own are killed -- sometimes for small reason.

Clive, I don't know if you knew him. He's dead. Made the mistake of looking at Magneto a little funny when he didn't like one of his orders.

(OOC: Hahha just randomly picked a name of a dead BroHood guy from Wikipedia. Yeah, that's all.)

Personally, I think they would've kept him around if we agreed his powers were more useful. He could fly, but it never came in handy too much.

[It's a subtle clue. Kevin is sure that his powers are deemed valuable here. To him, it's likely the only reason he's been spared this long.]

(OOC: Hahahaha that poor bastard.)

[Kevin would be right. John's still quiet, and for a moment after too; his expression gives nothing away, but his eyes are full and intense with thought.

This doesn't particularly surprise him - but it does make things harder. For him, for Kevin, for Logan.]

I knew him. [John says this in a careless drawl - he's not even acting. Always thought the guy was a useless idiot.] Better off without him.

Yeah, well, point is, he was killed for annoying Magneto.

[Kevin pauses a little awkwardly, and then gives a small smile.]

Hey, uh, remember that time Jono walked into the dark room cause he thought Hank was sneaking food in there and cheating on his diet? And interrupted some fluorescent pictures or - whatever the fuck it was - Hank was working on something. [He chuckles.] Yeah. That would've gotten him killed.

[Kevin, for the first time, allows himself to think about his friends, instead of shoving those thoughts way back down. Maybe he's a little bit homesick. Maybe just a little bit. Not that he'd say out loud. He wonders if John would take this as a hint to tell him about how his friends are doing. Without him having to ask outright.]

[But Kevin has to know - he can't. John shifts a little at the mention of Hank and Jono, the hard line of his lips softening and parting. It's not much, but his eyes dart to the door and back to Kevin. John's hoping he gets the point.]

Look kid, the X-men are soft. Beast and his little toys and Chamber and his food? Kindergarten shit. The Brotherhood doesn't have weak links. I've told you this. And Clive was the worst kind. He was in it for himself, not the cause, and he was useless. So shut up about the good ol' times, all right? It doesn't fly here.

Yeah. Guess they were really just looking for any kind of excuse to get rid of him.

Just -- don't give them one, okay?

[Outside, Longshot is hanging around, listening to the conversation going on inside. Literally. An acrobatic type, he often gets scouting and surveilance detail, his added luck making it easy for him to stay undetected without much trouble.

He's stretched across the snowy roof, his ear pressed to a convenient knot in the roof, listening to every word the two are saying. He scoffs at the weak conversation, sensing that there is much left unspoken between them.

Maybe he's not so stupid, Arthur thinks, listening on. Maybe...]

[OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

from iris

MYSTIQUE/MAGNETO - Kayt

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MYSTIQUE/MAGNETO - Kayt

iris

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still iris

FOREVER IRIS

HEE, AND FOREVER CRYSTAL TOO

<3333 sorry this took so long. with everything else i forgot! D:

tis ok! I'm glad there's so much to tag!

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Re: <333

LONGSHOT - Kayt