010. [ voice] / [ location: sanctuary for all ] take good care of yourself, you belong to me.

[notanemptymotto]

Those that either visited the Sanctuary For All, or lived there, had probably noticed that Helen was not in the infirmary that day. The bed she was in had been neatly made and put back into order as it should of been. Instead, with a bandage across her head from the injury she suffered, Helen had moved several boxes out of the storage rooms up into

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[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

He'd gone around to check on Magnus once again, but this time she was up and out of the infirmary. He headed to her lab first, and then to her office, smiling slightly as he heard the music. He was glad to see her out of bed, but he hoped it wasn't too soon.

As he stepped into the doorway, he crossed his arms and said, "You're rather chipper today? Christmas bug caught you?"

Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

Helen looked up at him and smiled. "Come now, Suresh, did you honestly believe that the holidays would escape a Victorian woman such as myself?" The smile she gave was rather mysterious and playful at the same time. Most in the Sanctuary already knew of her own Abnormality, but, she wasn't sure if they passed the knowledge onto him.

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

He raised an eyebrow and took a step into the office. She'd implied that she was older than she seemed, but no one had ever mentioned just how old she was. "Victorian, are you? I suppose that explains a few things," he replied with a bit of a smile.

But he did have to be somewhat stingy with his good cheer, and the smile is soon marred with some measure of concern. "How's your head?"

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

"A little light headed, but rather to be expected." Helen shrugged honestly. "I could hardly tell Mr. Petrelli and Gabriel at the time that the blood they were giving me was the wrong kind. The blood I keep on those shelves are for patients that aren't me. Mine is unique where it can become rather tricky with other blood types."

Which, just merely was the large complicated version of 'I am better.'

She smiled again though. "Most likely it explains my manner of speech, my mannerisms in general, and my accent?"

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

"Expect me to pester you about that, in the future. It sounds intriguing." He wasn't going to right now, though, because it sounded like Magnus was very aware of her health and limitations. Apparently complications due to the wrong blood type weren't really one of them.

He smiled back at her. "Well, I suppose I thought you were merely somewhat old-fashioned. But yes, it certainly does." He eyed the boxes somewhat carefully. "And you've had plenty of time to collect Christmas decorations, I see. Are you planning to put them up today?"

Mohinder wasn't exceedingly familiar with Christmas, but he had been through a couple in New York. It was close enough to Diwali that he could understand parts of it, but some of the cold weather traditions still mystified him.

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

Helen expected no less from Mohinder. He was a scientist, like herself, and when presented with a puzzle... well, they always wanted to solve it. She smiled at him and looked at the boxes littered around her office. She could of sworn she had more than just eleven of them.

"Not all today. Usually we decorate a fair amount of the Sanctuary. However, with so few residents, we only need to decorate the areas that people are in most of the time. I was thinking about recruiting our current residents to help. You're more than welcome to join." Helen then paused. "And perhaps you could bring a bit of your own traditions too."

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

"My traditions?" he repeated, thinking about it. "It's quite late for the Festival of Lights, but perhaps I can help...emphasize those aspects that seem to be in both holidays. After all, in a metaphorical sense, Christmas is all about the triumph of good over evil, light over dark, am I right?" He hoped so.

"Regardless, I can certainly help with the decorations, especially the hard-to-place ones," he added with a bit of a smile. "Recruitment certainly sounds like a practical idea." There wasn't much most people here were busy with, so there would likely be plenty of people to help.

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

That made her smile. It was a small smile, one she only reserved for people who were members of such an odd family she created over the years. Mohinder had certainly worked his way into it, being so helpful to her real daughter, and another that Helen considered her son. Even if he was thirty-two, she had plenty of years to be his mother.

"Festival of Lights... I certainly hope my Sanctuary in New Delhi has gotten back on it's feet by now." She mused softly to herself. Even before the Cabal attack, Helen had to find a new Head of House for New Delhi. The accident in the Hindu Kush left her without one. "But, yes, ultimately, the Christmas holiday is about hope."

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

Her smile made him smile wider, and with less reservation. It wasn't often that he was comfortable around other people- in fact, he could probably limit that list to his mother, Nirand, and Molly. But he was comfortable here, there was no denying it. He didn't have to hide, and not only did people consider his research serious, he was using it to help those who could use it. And, to be honest, Helen was just pleasant to be around.

So yes, there was quite the warm smile in response to her assertion. "Well then, perhaps I can contribute. And I can certainly help today. Just tell me what I can do." He'll wait until they're actively putting things up to offer his use of his ability to place the decorations higher. He doubts Doctor Magnus has seen it before, and- well, if he was taking a break from the more serious kind of help, he might as well enjoy it.

He stepped up to a box and just looked inside, curious. "So you have a Sanctuary in India?" he asked idly.

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

"I do. I have twelve located all around the world. The one here in Taxon is from the Pacific Northwest." Helen watched him look inside the box, nodding for him to continue. She wanted them to chose the ornaments or decorations they liked. That would be what decorated the Sanctuary this year.

"It was attacked by the Cabal, unfortunately. It along with Tokyo, Moscow and Beijing were attacked, and Tokyo was completely destroyed." A small frown tugged at her face. "We managed to get most of the Abnormals out."

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

His smile faded, although not entirely. He looked up from the box to stare at Helen. "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad you were able to save most of the people. I hope they'll be able to manage rebuild, without interruptions."

He looked down to the box, feeling as if he must have accidentally drawn the serious subject in somehow. Well, perhaps he could change the subject, as well. Reaching in, he pulled out a large and yet delicate snowflake, made out of some sort of metal. It had many whorls and points to it, and it shining white, with all color accents. It smiled wryly at it. "Of course, the first thing I take out of the box is representative of the cold." He'd been trying to avoid the weather as much as possible lately. He examined the snowflake carefully- he obviously had some sort of affinity for it.

[Location: Sanctuary for All] (in which holmes makes lovely bs)

[notanemptymotto]

Helen's attention returned to Mohinder as she laughed lightly. She crossed the room over to him, looking at the ornament. Ah - that one. She hadn't seen it in sometime.

"That was given to me in London, Christmas of 1945." Helen looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows. "One of the boys that had been staying in the U.K. Sanctuary once his home was destroyed by the Blitz. He was an Abnormal, well, rather more like how you all are." She reached up and put her hand under the ornament gently. "Capable of controlling his body chemistry at unseen levels of the time."

[Location: Sanctuary for All] (it is quite lovely! <3)

[chase_evolution]

Mohinder turned the snowflake over in his hands, just trying to imagine all the various holidays it had been present for. The history Magnus gave him was even more interesting. "He could control his body chemistry?" he repeated. There were a few different ways that could be interpreted, and Mohinder wanted to ask about some of them, but- even he recognized when he was being too scientific- occasionally.

He smiled at the snowflake and then up at Helen. "If this is any indication, he was very grateful for the help." After pausing to contemplate the situation, he couldn't help but ask one question. "This place- your Sanctuaries...did you keep them secret from the world this whole time?"

[Location: Sanctuary for All] (holy crap late tag is like days late)

[notanemptymotto]

"Most of the people in the cities know that the building is there, but avoid it." She explained as she shifted through the box. "Governments allow them to exist, knowing that the people who work for my Network know much more than they ever could hope to know. If something happens in the Abnormal world, we are the ones responsible to fix it."

She raised her eyes and smiled at him. "It took him several years, of course."

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[chase_evolution]

"It's more acceptance than our world has seen, sadly," he replied, sadly. "The moment they learned of our existence, the United States government took it upon themselves to remove 'the threat.'" He shook his head. "Maybe others would not be so hasty, but I doubt it."

He set the snowflake to the side and started looking through more of the box. "It's kind of odd- in our world, we had a secret organization called The Company that appeared to do the same job your Sanctuaries do, Doctor Magnus. It was started to help people with special abilities, but it quickly became warped, focused only on research and keeping the reality a secret from the rest of the world. I worked for them, shortly, when I was trying to cure an aggressive virus."

He looked up and gave her a small smile. "I had grown wary of anyone claiming to help us- but this place, it's everything the Company had claimed to be, and more. I truly wish we had them where I come from."

[Location: Sanctuary for All]

[notanemptymotto]

Helen nodded slowly. "Gabriel told me much about the Company. Creating the Sanctuary Network is not an easy thing. We have corruption, just as this Company did. The difference is that I personally chose the Head of Houses, and then they chose the people under them. We're also fairly selective in who we chose. Not everyone can live here or even work for us. They have to be capable of understanding that all beings have the right to live. Something your Company seemed to have forgotten along the lines."

She brushed some of her hair from her face, over her shoulder. "If I could find a way to your world, I'd certainly create a Sanctuary for you all there. You need it."