[video || telepath PSA]

[selfgovernance]

Hello again, Sacrosanct.

[And here's Charles, looking just so entirely harmless and dapper it's practically an art-form.]I'm entertaining a brief curiosity - are we doing anything for the children come Halloween? I'm not certain how other cultures interpret October's end, but where I'm from the little ones sort of dress in costumes and bribe

Comments

[audio]

[hopediesalone]

I've...heard of it.

[No Halloween in the City, but it came up in more than a few things he'd read and seen.

fajkl;df goddamn it soft spot for kids why. Though wow this guy seems...he'll be keeping an eye on him.]

I wouldn't be against helping out.

[audio]

[selfgovernance]

[JUST WHAT DOES THAT MEAN...]

Excellent, thank you.

[smile!]

Might I ask your name?

[audio]

[hopediesalone]

No trouble.

[It means he doesn't trust you and you kind of remind him of his old boss.]

...Protoman. And you would be?

[audio]

[selfgovernance]

The name's Charles - Charles Xavier. It's wonderful to meet you.

[don't worry, protoman, he will just be suave and smarmy at you until you wake up one morning and realize he's not awful. IT'LL HAPPEN.]

video;

[fuckinghubble]

Halloween? You mean we're still celebrating that here?

video;

[selfgovernance]

I don't see why not.

[Since, you know, after all the awful shit that's happened, a little happiness can go a long way.]

video;

[fuckinghubble]

Heh. With a reason like that, who am I to argue?

video;

[selfgovernance]

I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking.

[There's a little smile, self-deprecating and entirely devoid of seriousness, and then,]

How are you, Raimi?

[video]

[spacebased]

Candy?

[Alex's laser-like focus on the essentials makes itself evident once more.]

[video]

[selfgovernance]

[you miss nothing, computer-person of questionable gender.]

Ah, yes? I expect Kit Kats will be in rather short supply, but hand-made confections would work just as well.

[video]

[spacebased]

[Yessssssssss cooking.

However, a small factual detail remains to be clarified.]

I don't know what a Kit Kat is.

[video]

[selfgovernance]

[Good Heavens. CHARLES ACTUALLY RECOILS FROM THE SCREEN in what may actually be sheer horror. Feigned, of course.]

It's-- a candy wafer. They're coated in chocolate and sold in packs of four, which may be broken apart and eaten. They were quite popular during the Second World War, due to the high caloric intake and relatively handy packaging. Personally, I enjoy them with a decent cup of tea.

video;

[bluekocytes]

How can you tell what date it is when we're so far from Earth?

video;

[selfgovernance]

I believe the wearables have a calendar function? It could be wrong, I suppose. I hadn't considered that.

[there's a brief pause, and then a clack of keys as Charles amps up the encryption level.]

Darwin is... gone. If you hadn't noticed. I'm sorry, Raven.

video;

[bluekocytes]

That's what I meant, though. Where are they getting that from? What's the point of keeping track of Earth seasons here?

[...]

I... I hadn't seen him for- I didn't even get a chance to talk to him properly. I should have guessed.

[pause, and then, in tones of growing horror]

So he's just going back to die?

video || x-cryption

[selfgovernance]

Tradition. Comfort, perhaps. It's easier for people to comprehend the passage of time when it adheres to something familiar, yes?

[o-oh baby. Charles doesn't quite flinch, but it's close.]

I-- can't say with any certainty. I would very much like to think not, however.

video, x-cryption

[littlest_xman]

[yeah he's just gonna ignore the Halloween nonsense (which is not to say that he wouldn't say no to candy) and get straight to the point.]

Darwin.

video, x-cryption

[selfgovernance]

Indeed.

I--

I know he was having some difficulty, after AM. And his mutation can make him immune to my telepathy if it comes across as a threat. I thought perhaps we could search for him together.

[Not that searching had brought back any of the others, but... ever the optimist, Charles.]

video, x-cryption

[littlest_xman]

I've been searching.

[Ever since Alex and Hank had disappeared, Logan had kept an even closer eye than usual on the rest of the x-babbies Charles included. He'd noticed as soon as Darwin had gone missing.]

Haven't found any trace of him.

[yet.]

video, x-cryption

[selfgovernance]

That doesn't mean that none exists, as I'm sure you well know.