driftfleet | though it hurts to breathe

Who: Raven, Hank, Charles and Erik
Broadcast: No
Action: On the Heron
When: Now onwards!

[ It had taken her a little while to calm down with Hank at her side, long enough that she's practically itching to make her way over to the Heron as soon as she can, device in her hand - the temptation to text ahead, to make sure they're really there, that they're okay, is almost a little too daunting and there's not much Raven can do other than force herself to stop. She's stronger than this, true, but coming out of the other side of something as horrendous as Apocalypse and standing tall, waking up on the Fleet, trying to figure out if she can handle it all again - it's too much.

The only thoughts in her mind are that she needs to find Charles, she needs to find Erik, and she needs to make sure they're alive, that they're safe, that they're here. This is going to be impossibly difficult for all four of them, Hank at her side, but they could work through it. They beat an all powerful mutant 'God', they came together as a family and they worked, hard, to make sure they all came out alive the other side.

What was the Fleet after all that?

It doesn't take her long to break away from Hank into a practical run as she reaches the Heron, a flash as she makes her way down the hall to find the other two mutants. Erik is important in her mind, of course, but her first instinct is to call out for Charles, standing outside the door and pressing her fingers against it, afraid for a moment that he won't answer, that he won't be there. The fear grips her, and her hands shake, but she does it anyway, knocking and calling for her brother.

After that, later... Well, she has to take time to calm down. Once she's sure Charles is safe, that Erik is safe, she can actually move to relax herself, the weight on her shoulders fading away. It takes time, but it happens, slowly... But she doesn't leave. She doesn't feel like she can leave either of them, and she wonders how they're going to handle that. ]

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Everyone does. [It's a cop-out of an answer, but it's all he's willing to give up.] Have you eaten yet?

[ Charles shakes his head. He barely trusts himself with his mug, much less with cutlery. If he subjected Raven or anyone else to those lost moments of control, everything he had said earlier would be subject to scrutiny.

And he can't have that. Not yet. ]

No. Though I'm sure we have some food from the planet below.

Probably. [Instead of finding that food, though, Erik gets up and heads to the paste dispenser.]

We've been asleep for a while, so we likely need it.

I -- Yes. Most likely.

[For all his talk, Erik doesn't feel hungry himself. It's more that he knows the signs of his body needing something. He's lost weight since Cairo, side effects of being disinterested in eating half the time. There's no grimace of distaste when he plates up some chicken and cheese flavoured protein.]

I'll take stock of what food I put away before-- well, before. [At a time when his first reaction won't be, 'I put that in there ten years ago, it's going to be disgusting by now.']

[ Charles blinks as he parses that. ]

I'd be surprised if you could even remember that.

I don't remember what I made. Just that I was making things. [Something about a new refrigerator niggles at his mind, another half-formed memory he can't grasp. He'll look later. He sits back at the table, slicing the solids apart with a knife and eating a piece.]

[ Charles watches as he picks up his cup. It slips from his grasp and lands on the table, cracking slightly. ]

[The sudden noise startles him for a moment, and he looks to Charles, and the cup. At the tea that was already spattered around there, now growing as it seeps through the crack.]

It's nothing. Just me being clumsy.

[There are things you don't forget, even through the decades. He drops his eyes to Charles's fingers around the cup and remembers how they had shaken when he'd finally agreed to let Erik into Ometotchtli, just for a moment. He remembers watching Charles drift in and out of unconsciousness after Cairo, all traces of control shattered in the wake of Apocalypse. He had seen his face afterwards too, on odd occasions around the mansion, where he forgot to keep his guard up and the frayed edges were visible.

Erik sets down his fork and sighs, keeping his gaze on his own plate.] Charles... [There's a mixture of weariness and question in his tone, though it's an opening remark only.]

It'll come back.

[ The retort was out before he could stop himself. Charles grimaces slightly before getting the cloth to mop up the mess. ]

It always does.

I believe you.

[That's not what this is about, though. It's about right now. He pushes a square of protein around on his plate.] That doesn't mean it's not-- [Gone? Absent?] --under pressure, at the moment.

[ Charles hums lightly, a faint agreement. ]

I think we're all just a little tired.

[That, he can't argue. Erik feels like he could sleep for another week. Left to his own devices, he probably would, out of a lack of inclination to get up.]

I still have a bottle of sleeping tablets. If you need any.

[ He smiles at Erik as he finishes cleaning. ]

Thank you. I'll certainly take that under consideration.

[Erik snorts. What a non-answer.]

You should eat something as well. That will help.

[ His expression flickers as he gets the spoon. It wobbles in his grip before finally clattering to the counter. To his credit, he looks vaguely remorseful, though not all that torn up about it. ]

It might have to wait.

[There's a pause before Erik gets up, moving around the table to bend down in front of the minifridge and open it up.]

[ Charles watches Erik carefully, not saying anything. ]

[These fridges never were big enough. It had bothered him a lot, back then. Storage was at a premium. Pushing aside containers of soup and stew (Worth keeping, no good for this), he finally finds the cloth-wrapped packet he was looking for.

Shutting the fridge door, Erik comes back to the bench and places the packet in front of Charles.]

If my memory serves me, these are vegetable scones.

Edited 2016-09-05 11:42 (UTC)

My appreciation for your memory only seems to grow, old friend.

[ He swallows those last words, but he takes the packet with a proper smile. ]

I'll try not to drop them.

[To his credit, it doesn't seem to phase Erik. It reminds him more of how things were a few weeks ago, when things were simpler at the mansion.]

I take pride in remembering pointless things. [Other memories can be more ephemeral. He'd already joked as much to Hank earlier.] As long as they don't hit the floor, I doubt it matters.

[ Charles frowns. ]

It's the principle of the thing. Good manners belong to the table, after all.

[ He takes his time pulling them out. At least Charles feels less self-conscious about his movement. ]

[Erik seats himself again, returning to his own meal.]

If you say so.

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