xmutanthigh | [OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

[Mortis, Lois, she can sense this is a lie. The vehemence with which he bites back at her, the weakness of the argument, the one obvious thing he's overlooking:]

I know you, Pyro. Intimately. If you wanted to, you could disappear. Asylum doesn't apply to people like us, so long as we stay strong. [She quirks an eyebrow at him, patronizing.] Maybe the kid is right. Maybe you have gone soft. [Her smile softens and she speaks kindly, a contradiction to the words that leave her lips.] Maybe you were just soft from the start; domesticated animals can't survive in the wild. Can't reintegrate properly. [She cocks her head to the side, her eyes filled with genuine curiosity.] Is that what happened to you?

[Only she can do this to him. Can irritate and bully him into snapping, into not caring one fucking bit about keeping control. The violence in John - the anger, the hunger for destruction - he hides it under a bored mask, lets it simmer and sometimes brim beneath the surface. But Mortis - every word she says grates on him, makes him shudder on impact, as if she knows which ones to say to insult him the most. His scowl deepens as his lips part to suck in breath, his eyes wide and furious, flashing in the hot heat of the fire.

It's telling how the fire isn't his first plan of action - what he wants from the moment she accuses him of being soft is to wrap his hands around her slim neck and strangle the life from her. Everything she says after that he merely processes through rage-tainted senses.

He's on his feet just as she asks her last question, stalking around the fire and roughly grabbing her by the neck, tugging her face up to his as he bends over her. The feel of her warm skin is jarring; the underside of her jaw is soft under his bruising thumb.

His voice is hard and firm, nearly a whisper, and filled with brutal promise as he sneers down at her, the words punctuated by vicious yankings of his grip.]

Shut the fuck up. You don't know shit about me. Say one more fucking word and I'll prove just how wrong the kid is.

[John is so close his breath is hot in her face, the smell of whiskey and burning filling her nostrils. She stares up at him, not even bothering with defiance, her hands empty of the death the could command, one resting gently on his wrist as her grips her throat.

She smiles, her eyelashes fluttering, almost ladylike as she parts her lips and laughs. It vibrates into Pyro's palm, the dismissive mirth unnerving.]

And what, Pyro? Kill me? I'm not afraid to die.

[Her eyes taunt, adding Not like you are. Her eyes glow red, like a cinder, her whole body giving rise to those familiar black tendrils. They reach out toward Pyro hungrily, but Mortis holds them back, matching his threat with her own. If he feels his chest tighten, a triphammer set into his heart, it shouldn't be a surprise.]

I am death.

[She laughs again and waits for his move.]

[The dark shadow on his expression deepens at her taunts, at the casual, intimate way her slender fingers curl over his wrist. His vision, his thoughts, his entire fucking being is still vibrating with the urge to destroy her fragile beauty and snuff out that awful, awful melodic laugh. He'd just like to shatter her into pieces, would just like to throw her into the pit of fire next to them and watch her skin flay out her bones.

But he's not surprised, even through his murderous rage, that she reacts this way - it's the way she always has with him. So flippantly, so unintimidated. His chest does tighten; his heart does skip a beat. This is the moment, like so many other moments. The moment he could crush his lips against hers and take out all his frustrations on her body, as if it could drain him of all the terrible feelings and impulses inside him, with hopes that when it's over, they will be gone. With hopes that maybe she would perish with them.

It's a split second choice, and he makes it. A different John from a different time would give in, but this time he merely viciously shoves her away, watches her fall back, and straightens, his labored breath evening and his eyes glaring steadily down at her. He swallows heavily and turns wordlessly away, scooping up Logan's discarded flask.]

[Despite being cast aside so violently, somehow Mortis manages to land gracefully in the snow. Her legs tucked under her, arms splayed behind her, spine arching just a little as she tilts her chin to fix him with a curious expression, one brow raised in curiosity.

The reaction is unusual, but it doesn't phase her at all. She shifts gracefully so that her bare hands are no longer buried in the damp, cold snow, and tips forward to knees with her hands by the flames. She isn't afraid of the fire, just as she isn't afraid of Pyro. She never has been. He was never one for a kill where you could see the light go out of someone's eyes.

She watches him stalk back to his place across from her, watches him drink, watches him seethe. She's always amused at how easy it's been for her to get such reactions out of him. It was one of her few amusements for a long time. She cups her palms together and brings them to her lips, blowing warm air between them, covering a soft, throaty chuckle. Her smile can be seen from behind her hands that same dismissive, bemused grin.]

Like I said...

[He nearly growls, licking the whiskey from his lips, turning his head to set his gaze on her. The hatred lingers, but he's back in control. John closes the flask and slips it into his back pocket, his upper lip curling up just so into a sneer.]

You're not worth it.

[He states the words plainly; he doesn't even mean them as an insult, not entirely. Because she's not. She never has been worth anything to him. Worth the anger or the effort. She's not worth anything alive, or dead, or writhing with him under the cover of night and their own darkness.]

Never have been.

Edited 2011-02-23 06:02 (UTC)

[She shrugs, nonchalant, unaffected by his disowning words. Her eyes catch the light of the fire; they do not leave him, nor does the intensity of her gaze soften.]

I was never the one who needed to feel worthy.

[She casts the statement aside, carelessly. It's a matter of fact in her mind. Her worth has never come from outside; it's never been about who she bedded, whose life she took. Her only concern was that it was she who did it. Her choice, her power, her life.

It's all she's ever wanted, to be herself.]

[He breaths out a humorless laugh at that, his sneering lip tugging up into a smirk. No, she never did. And as a result she's worth just so much, benefited and blossomed into such a good life.]

No shit.

[He says this dryly, reaches a hand out to quell the flames, put them out simply because he can.] Try not to freeze to death. [He stuffs his hands in his pockets and leaves, done with the conversation.]

[A stray Madrox grabs John's arm as he stalks from the dead campfire toward his tent. This particular dupe, who likes to think of himself as Maddy to separate himself from his innumerable dopplegangers, used to be a friend of John's. Or maybe just considered John a friend. To be hoenst, he's not sure if Pyro would even remember him, nobody else can tell any of the copies apart, but it doesn't matter. Not really.]

Hey, Pyro-man. [He grins nervously, his eyes flicking all around, above below, back to Mortis glowing in the moonlight where John has left her, making sure no creeping ears can hear them.] I got something for you.

[Maddy-Madrox fishes in his pocket for a moment, scowling until his hand emerges triumphant, Pyro's confiscated synthetic gauntlets dangling between them in the night. He knows he shouldn't be doing this, knows it'll probably get someone in trouble, maybe him, maybe another dupe. But he also just watched the tail end of the exchange between Pyro and Mortis, too far to hear anything, but still able to see Pyro threatening Mortis, see her threaten him back. This copy of Madrox knows it is the right thing to do and, though he may be the only one out of so many of the same man, the right thing matters to him.]

Thought you might need them.

[OPEN POST] NEW BRO'HOOD

MORTIS - Kayt

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MORTIS - Kayt

Re: MORTIS - Kayt

MORTIS - Kayt

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MADROX - Kayt ---- I hope you don' tmind playing with Jamie too...