(no subject)
What starts out as an innocent request ends up in harsh truths. Erik finally admits his mental state is less than perfect and Bella declares war! Though really shejust heads back to her apartment wher eshe'll be trying to live life as Jezabella for awhile.
Eventually sitting at home, eating cartons of ice cream all by yourself while watching a Law and Order marathon, and sulking, just looses it's appeal. So what do you do? Buy more ice cream and head to the Island so you can sulk in the hot springs. Much more effective. And that's Bella intention right now. She's barefoot, draped in a black, silk robe that's wrapped snug around her waist, hiding the bikini clad body beneath. In one hand is a carton of Death by Chocolate ice cream, and in the other a spoon. Her head is dipped down, eyes low as she watches her feet as she moves.
And approaching from the opposite direction, a very familiar rhythm - the echo of Erik's combat boots against the rock of the floor hollow and weak, but very much intact as it races along the long passage ahead of and behind him with the impact of each footfall. What few doors there are in this hall are few and far between - a heavy CLANG briefly drowning out his footsteps as he pulls a door closed some distance behind him. A bend in the path ahead keeps him out of immediate sight.
Bella is about to turn the corner when she hears the loud clang of the door. Wide eyed, Bella pauses, spine straightening. She knows that clang and those footsteps. It's with a frantic urge to get the hell out of the way that Bella searches for an exit, a door she can sneak behind until he's passed. But she already knows there isn't one. So she does all she can and steps softly to the side, glaring down at her carton of ice cream accusingly. Oh like it's the chocolate's fault.
Without any interruptions to slow him down, it doesn't take him more than a minute or two to reach the aforementioned bend. Well-rested and erect, shoulders straight and posture flawless, he doesn't so much as hesitate at the turn...until, of course, the ice of his glare sweeps from left to right across this new span of passage, and zeros in immediately upon Sabella. Only mildly surprised (with brows lifted just enough to show as much) he draws up short a good fifteen feet away to look her over - and not without a minor level of suspicion. "I thought you were off island today."
Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. The little chant inside Bella's mind doesn't seem to work, and she curses internally as she hears the footfalls comes to a stop when he spots her against the wall. "I was. I decided I'd rather be here." Bella offers in a small voice, wounded eyes finally looking up to stare at Erik's chin. "I can leave again if you'd like and not come back until tomorrow?"
It never does, does it? The lift his brows falling slowly into a knit, Erik looks her (and ice cream) over carefully, her lack of eye contact noted and filed away as potentially important, but not nearly enough to make him flip the poles of the earth trying to get an answer out of her about it. "Don't be ridiculous." A snort, and brows still knit, he resumes his walk.
Not even once has it works. Why she still bothers is beyond her. The ice cream, though she despises it's cold nature, is clutched to for another moment as he snorts and begins to walk past her. The woman bounces on the balls of her feet for a moment. Shit, it's worth a shot. "Erik." Brisk, but hopeful. "I don't suppose you have some free time? Maybe just want to relax for a couple minutes, have some ice cream?" Finally her eyes drift up. If he says no, he has to say it to those hopeful eyes. Not that it's ever really stopped him before.
Magneto stops - boots scraping a bit as he half-turns back to her - cool gaze going immediately to her face. Mostly to check and see if she's serious, seeing as outside humor seems a little beyond him, lately. Seeing that she is, he flounders for a few seconds, a glance at his watch buying him no time at all. Damn. You'd think as leader of the faction he'd have some sort of excuse or another ready in storage. Ice cream. Brows at an awkward tilt for his hesitation, he finally turns more completely. "I've already eaten, but I could spare a moment or two."
Bella waits, bottom lip pulled between her teeth, for the excuse. He has work to do, other plans, or just a simple no before he stalks off. So surprise meets his look as he searches her face, two blinks before her face breaks into a cautious smile. "Thanks." So honest as she inclines her head towards the opening for the cave. "Wanna go sit? I just kind of feel.. out of the loop lately. Figure maybe you could fill me in some." Another blink as she realizes she doesn't want to push her luck. "Or not. Either way is fine."
Magneto exhales as he nods, right hand pushing his left sleeve back down over his watch before gesturing for her to lead the way.
Bella turns and begins to turn towards the opening, hurrying inside and gesturing for him to follow. There's an extra bounce in her step, pleased that he's actually agreed. "So you've been looking better lately." Yes! Start out with a compliment, always a good tactic. Bella looks towards the waterfall, settling by the edge.
Magneto falls into slow step behind her, one taken for every two of hers until she settles, and he remains standing nearby - arms eventually folding over his chest as his shoulders ease into a more relaxed slant. "I've been getting more rest at night."
"You know you'd still be taller than me even if you sat." Bella points out with a cute smile as she curls her legs beneath her, eyes gazing up at him. "Good. Getting to sleep the natural way or taking the Sleeping Beauties?"
Magneto acknowledges Bella's first comment with a Look that says he's comfortable enough where and how he is, thank you, though his glare is turned back out over the water quickly enough. "The first one, I'm afraid."
"Well, that's a good thing then. I'd rather you be able to sleep without aid. The Beauties are healthier than normal sleeping pills, but they're still pills." Bella shrugs, slinking her hands between her knees as she frowns slightly. "So.. you think we'll ever have a conversation that you don't end up glaring at me over? Or will that probably happen when hell freezes over?" A mix of good natured laughter and a hint of seriousness
Magneto shifts his weight to answer, only to bite back the snark that immediately threatens to edge forth in answer to her question. With no more appropriate answer in sight, he's relegated to a slightly arched brow and a shrug, and eventually, a, "I suppose that depends upon you."
Bella traces the rim of the carton as she waits for an answer, eyes still settled on the standing man before her. "See, that's where my problem lies. Despite what you may think, I don't like upsetting you. I don't like the glares or the feeling that I've lost a friend." She sighs. Honesty sucks. "But I don't know what to say around you anymore."
"Then perhaps you should put more thought into what you say before you say it." Erik mutters simply, not really being at all helpful. Of course, he could be much worse, which is the thought he's currently comforting himself with as he glances down to a fleck of water that's managed to sink in through the chocolate brown of his dress shirt.
"Right." Or maybe she just shouldn't say anything at all. Wouldn't he just love the silence. "I'm sorry. This was a stupid idea." She's quick to her feet, bending to grab the ice cream as an afterthought. "I didn't mean to waste your time." There, that was carefully thought out.
Magneto lifts his eyes again at the double pause, only to see her getting up onto her feet. "Well, you're off to a brilliant start, my dear. Glad I could be of assistance." Grrmph.
Bella shakes her head at him, her look something like exasperation and annoyance. "Is there anything you'll be needing from me in the next, say, week or two?"
Another drop of water, and Erik takes a wary step back from the pool's edge, eyeing Bella as he does so - one eye narrowed in a look not entirely like the one he gave her upon catching her initially. "If you would be so kind as to leave that icecream in the freezer, I have a test or two I'd like to run." His smile is not a particularly large or nice smile, but it is there.
The ice cream container is lowered back to the lip of the waterfall. If he wants it in the freezer he can put it there his damn self. Arms cross over Bella's chest as she sighs, doing little to hide her frustration. "I'm going to take that as a no. Which will lead me right into my next question. Will you be needing me.. ever again?"
Magneto's head turns back to her immediately - any trace of annoyance or amusement lost in the same swift movement. That certainly got his attention. "Sabella, in the event that it has escaped your attention, the Brotherhood is doing very little at the moment. Until I see a clear course of action, it will continue to do very little. I'm not entirely sure I understand the question."
Bella remains as she is, though surprisingly, she's not on the defensive, stance wise. Just standing there, arms wrapped, expression frustrated and annoyed. "I would normally say that was aware that the Brotherhood is doing very little. But after last night, I realize I have no idea what's going on any more. And no matter what I try, nobody seems inclined to keep me informed." Arms drop back to her sides. "I'm asking if you really and actually have a use for me, or if you simply tolerate my being here because of the financial support I lend."
"I have assumed a policy of informing those who need to be informed, when they need to be informed." Indignant. There's really no other word for it, the frost in Erik's glare blazing away instantaneously at this particular turn of topic. "You are in a precarious position, my dear. /Any/ slip could give you away. You cannot afford to be seen on missions. You cannot afford to be caught /thinking/ certain things, here or elsewhere. You had a single chance to start over in the event of your discovery, and you lost it. /You/ lost it, Sabella, in a foolish, fairy tail murder that was as sloppy as it was unnecessary. So you will have to forgive me if I am less than patient in my efforts to keep you from outing yourself again, but there will not be any more opportunities to start over after the one you've already taken. You will be stuck here as the recruits are, or you will go to jail." Posture and glare hard, there's a certain measure of brimstone in his tone - words occasionally having to wrest their way from between hardly parted teeth as his eyes drill down into her.
Bella meets indigence with a wry smirk. For all of his words, she looks unconvinced and more than a little annoyed. "I don't need reminding of just how precarious my position is Erik. It's my life that's on the line if I screw up again. A life I very nearly lost in my last attempt to free myself from police custody." Her voice is dead calm despite the flare in her eyes that betrays her true feelings at the moment. "I know that I lost it. And I know what I did was foolish. And stupid. And I berate myself about it every fucking day. If I could go back in time and erase my mistakes I would. But people simply can't do that. They can only learn and move on." Bella shakes her head, eyes closing to hide emotions that he doesn't need to see. "Not once, during that time did I ask you for your help. Yes, Toxin was involved, and I'm aware she's your second in command so her helping me took away time from you and your cause. But she is also my best friend and would have been there for me, Brotherhood member or not. Not once, Erik. All I wanted from you, was maybe a hug. Or some show of support. Some friendly gesture. But all I receive from you is cold glares and snarky comments. No matter what I do for you. How I try to help, nothing is good enough. I'm at my wits end. Tell me what you want from me."
Magneto listens, the quiet, deadly anger in his tone and expression sustaining itself without effort or show of strain as she argues back in turn. "Stability." A shift in posture squares him to her, though his arms remain folded right where they are. Not that he looks particularly huggable at the moment anyway. "From you, Sabella, I desire stability - emotional and professional. I do care for you. I keep an eye on you. I do, in my own way, make a concentrated effort to see to it that you do not self-destruct, purposefully or accidentally, regardless of how things may appear. But times have changed. There are things I do not wish to talk about, with you or anyone else. I don't want to be hugged -- For God's sake, Bella, this is a terrorist organization! The history we share is distracting, and as a direct result, dangerous to us both. I went through an odd period. That period has passed. I'm sorry that I'm not fulfilling your monthly quota for physical attention, but quite frankly, I've only engaged in the act once since the masquerade, and not because I went sniffing after one of the women here on the island. I have more important things to worry about."
"An odd p.." All of her breath, her anger rushes out of her at once. The stance, the tension, all of it is gone. Replaced, for the briefest of moments with a look more stricken than anything else. "You know. Sometimes it just isn't about the physical things." She whispers, not bothering to tear her gaze from him. Let him look into the hurt he causes, she doesn't care anymore. It's not as though he'll suffer for it, he has no heart. So how could it possibly ache? "Sometimes it's about someone needing the person they considered a friend to be there for them. Emotionally." Her eyes narrow as she pushes thoughts of him and another to the back of her mind. Not now Bella. "I'm sorry that my presence is such a burden. You should not be so distracted. Or have to watch me like some juvenile who'll self destruct at any moment. That's not fair to you, and it isn't fair to the others who need you." Her hands are forced behind her back to hide the gentle trembling of thinly concealed emotions. For him to call her simply an 'odd period' is the equivalent of her calling him Hitler. Except.. he doesn't care that he hurts her quite as much as she cares about hurting him.
Magneto's pupils contract at the emotion he sees there, but there's little he can do, now - like a locomotive building up steam, there's no turning back or slowing down, and when he finally moves, it's to take a step in her direction - then another, arms unfolding so that his hands fall slowly back to his sides. "Emotionally, Sabella - again, in the event that it has escaped your notice - I've fallen into disrepair. My sanity, you could say, has fallen into disrepair. It's not so surprising, really, considering my history. Considering what must be done. In effect, my dear, you might have been better off trying to be friends with the island's new fountain."
The trembling in her hands now begins to spread through the rest of her. Both arms are pulled from behind her back to rest at her own sides. She's shaking softly, fear as he comes closer. She has no weapons on her at the moment so if he's going to attack there's little she can do. And would she really want to? No. No, she'd let him kill her. "You are not the only one who's sanity has fallen into disrepair." She reminds. "In order to put myself back together, back to some semblance of normalcy, Emma Frost had to rip two personalities from my mind. My mind will never be whole. It'll never be healed, and the emotions those Telepaths forced into me will never go away. All I've ever wanted was to be here for you. To help you however I can. And now you tell me that.. I don't do that. All I do is make things worse."
"You desire what I cannot and will not give you. You make assumptions...how long have we known one another? You cannot possibly expect me to react well to some of the inquiries you make - decades of conflict..." Stopping well within arm's reach, Erik's looming presence is certainly threatening, the look in his eyes severely unbalanced - but he's not moving to attack, either. Watching her. "You try too hard, Sabella. There are times at which things should simply be left to grow or die as they will on their own."
"And I can't lie and say that I won't always desire it. Or some level of it. You were the one to show me what I could truly be if I put my mind to it. You took the darkness in my soul and taught me to harness it like I'd never known I could. I'll do what I can to put aside the foolish, heartfelt emotions. But I will not ever stop wanting you in the more raw.. primal way. And for that, I'm sorry. I am a succubus at heart. And that will never change." And that's what happens when you help someone tap into their own darkness. Her lip curls back, fang showing for a moment as she takes a trembling step forward, chin lifting so she can still look at him. It's her attempt to show he doesn't scare her. Which is obviously a bold faced lie. "And when I stop trying all together? All you'll do is tell me I've lost my will for the Cause, and we'll be right back here. I cannot win with you. You won't let me."
"Succubi require men. In general. Not specific individuals, Bella." Head lowered at her advance so that the words are murmured deliberately into her ear, Erik is careful not to make physical contact despite the nearness of her - the muscles in his arms, neck, and torso tense in direct contrast to the cool liquid of his tone. "I wasn't aware that it was a competition."
Bella's look shifts for a moment, long lashes drifting heavily aver her gaze, hiding it from view. "And you will always be one of those men." He can consider himself warned. "I am attracted to power. And nobody has more power, in my eyes, than you." The words whispered into her ear trail along her skin, leaving a line of tension in it's wake to match his own. "That's ironic dear, since you're the one who turned it into one."
"No, my dear - your continuous effort to find a solution to my every problem was not my doing. And with each new offer you make, each solution you offer, I will keep turning you down. If any of us here on the island are in need of a baby sitter, it's you." Posture and position unchanging, Erik glares hard at the far wall over Bella's shoulder, and through whisps of her hair, ready to move should he need to.
Bella snorts, unlady like, but she hardly cares at the moment. "Is that so? Well, let me apologize then for my bothering to care for your well being /dear/. I assure you it will not happen again." Her voice is practically hissing from her lips in an angry whisper. "The next time you have a heart attack or collapse from a gunshot wound, perhaps you can find someone else willing to die to save you." She'd offer, but he'd only just turn her down.
Magneto arches a brow. Heart attacks and gunshot wound-related collapses /are/ rather inconvenient in the scheme of things. "It's the little things, Bella. Wanting me to discuss my problems. The pills. As you require men, I require dignity."
"The pills are better for your health than the ones you were taking, i refuse to regret giving them to you. /However/, I can cut back on the questions and invasions of your privacy in regards to such things." Bella can give him that much atleast. "But really, what will all of this change?" She fears it'll change nothing and only cut her even further out of the loop.
Hands flexing at his sides, Erik leans back an inch or so once the tension from leaning has begun to build uncomfortably in the small of his back - chin lifting a bit to compensate for the difference. He's still very close, voice quiet, glare hard and unfeeling. "Precognition is not an ability I have been granted with."
Bella is used to the glare, and returns it, though her is hardly as unfeeling as his own. She doesn't move except to match the lifting of his chin, ensuring eye contact continues. "In other words, it'll change nothing. I'll still be nothing more than some foolish child you feel you have to keep your eye on."
"That, my dear, is entirely up to you. Make a puppet of yourself all you like. I no longer have any desire to pull your strings." And with that, a small, smug smile, and a dismissive nod, Erik starts to turn.
Bella narrows her eyes into the back of his head as he turns his back to her. "I am nobody's puppet. And you will do well to remember that when you're healing yourself next time you're on death's doorstep." Because she won't be here to save him.
"I'm reasonably certain Ms. Dramsdadt will oblige, if I ask nicely." And with a dark chuckle, Erik starts off in the direction of the passage they emerged from. "To heal me, that is."
"Perhaps she will. I do hope for your sake she's as efficient as you hope, since you're about to be doing a lot of your own fighting." Because she intends to take quite a few of those recruits with her when she leaves. As if she'll leave her children here with someone who has no regard for their future? Please. Bella's eyes darken, her smile wicked as she watches him exit. "If you want a war, Erik my darling, you've got one." She whispers once he's out of ear shot, lips curling.
Again, Erik stops - and again he turns, as slowly as he always does. It's more dramatic that way. Fortunately, when he stops he /is/ out of earshot, but her initial reply has sunk down into his mind and prompted another arched brow. "I don't suppose you care to offer a more elaborate explanation?"
Bella watches as he pauses and takes the opportunity to stride to where he is and move in front of him. She doesn't stop as she passes, instead, the next comment is thrown over her shoulder. "You're the evil genius. You figure it out."
Magneto's brows hood low as his glare follows her out, his left wrist lifted to check the time before he glances up after her once more. Four hours head start should be more than sufficient, and this way he doesn't have to soil the floors of his /own/ cave system with the blood of the tenuously loyal. A careful look passed over the entire cavern to check for eavesdroppers, he finally heads in the direction of the elevator, expression impossible to decipher.
Eventually sitting at home, eating cartons of ice cream all by yourself while watching a Law and Order marathon, and sulking, just looses it's appeal. So what do you do? Buy more ice cream and head to the Island so you can sulk in the hot springs. Much more effective. And that's Bella intention right now. She's barefoot, draped in a black, silk robe that's wrapped snug around her waist, hiding the bikini clad body beneath. In one hand is a carton of Death by Chocolate ice cream, and in the other a spoon. Her head is dipped down, eyes low as she watches her feet as she moves.
And approaching from the opposite direction, a very familiar rhythm - the echo of Erik's combat boots against the rock of the floor hollow and weak, but very much intact as it races along the long passage ahead of and behind him with the impact of each footfall. What few doors there are in this hall are few and far between - a heavy CLANG briefly drowning out his footsteps as he pulls a door closed some distance behind him. A bend in the path ahead keeps him out of immediate sight.
Bella is about to turn the corner when she hears the loud clang of the door. Wide eyed, Bella pauses, spine straightening. She knows that clang and those footsteps. It's with a frantic urge to get the hell out of the way that Bella searches for an exit, a door she can sneak behind until he's passed. But she already knows there isn't one. So she does all she can and steps softly to the side, glaring down at her carton of ice cream accusingly. Oh like it's the chocolate's fault.
Without any interruptions to slow him down, it doesn't take him more than a minute or two to reach the aforementioned bend. Well-rested and erect, shoulders straight and posture flawless, he doesn't so much as hesitate at the turn...until, of course, the ice of his glare sweeps from left to right across this new span of passage, and zeros in immediately upon Sabella. Only mildly surprised (with brows lifted just enough to show as much) he draws up short a good fifteen feet away to look her over - and not without a minor level of suspicion. "I thought you were off island today."
Keep going. Keep going. Keep going. The little chant inside Bella's mind doesn't seem to work, and she curses internally as she hears the footfalls comes to a stop when he spots her against the wall. "I was. I decided I'd rather be here." Bella offers in a small voice, wounded eyes finally looking up to stare at Erik's chin. "I can leave again if you'd like and not come back until tomorrow?"
It never does, does it? The lift his brows falling slowly into a knit, Erik looks her (and ice cream) over carefully, her lack of eye contact noted and filed away as potentially important, but not nearly enough to make him flip the poles of the earth trying to get an answer out of her about it. "Don't be ridiculous." A snort, and brows still knit, he resumes his walk.
Not even once has it works. Why she still bothers is beyond her. The ice cream, though she despises it's cold nature, is clutched to for another moment as he snorts and begins to walk past her. The woman bounces on the balls of her feet for a moment. Shit, it's worth a shot. "Erik." Brisk, but hopeful. "I don't suppose you have some free time? Maybe just want to relax for a couple minutes, have some ice cream?" Finally her eyes drift up. If he says no, he has to say it to those hopeful eyes. Not that it's ever really stopped him before.
Magneto stops - boots scraping a bit as he half-turns back to her - cool gaze going immediately to her face. Mostly to check and see if she's serious, seeing as outside humor seems a little beyond him, lately. Seeing that she is, he flounders for a few seconds, a glance at his watch buying him no time at all. Damn. You'd think as leader of the faction he'd have some sort of excuse or another ready in storage. Ice cream. Brows at an awkward tilt for his hesitation, he finally turns more completely. "I've already eaten, but I could spare a moment or two."
Bella waits, bottom lip pulled between her teeth, for the excuse. He has work to do, other plans, or just a simple no before he stalks off. So surprise meets his look as he searches her face, two blinks before her face breaks into a cautious smile. "Thanks." So honest as she inclines her head towards the opening for the cave. "Wanna go sit? I just kind of feel.. out of the loop lately. Figure maybe you could fill me in some." Another blink as she realizes she doesn't want to push her luck. "Or not. Either way is fine."
Magneto exhales as he nods, right hand pushing his left sleeve back down over his watch before gesturing for her to lead the way.
Bella turns and begins to turn towards the opening, hurrying inside and gesturing for him to follow. There's an extra bounce in her step, pleased that he's actually agreed. "So you've been looking better lately." Yes! Start out with a compliment, always a good tactic. Bella looks towards the waterfall, settling by the edge.
Magneto falls into slow step behind her, one taken for every two of hers until she settles, and he remains standing nearby - arms eventually folding over his chest as his shoulders ease into a more relaxed slant. "I've been getting more rest at night."
"You know you'd still be taller than me even if you sat." Bella points out with a cute smile as she curls her legs beneath her, eyes gazing up at him. "Good. Getting to sleep the natural way or taking the Sleeping Beauties?"
Magneto acknowledges Bella's first comment with a Look that says he's comfortable enough where and how he is, thank you, though his glare is turned back out over the water quickly enough. "The first one, I'm afraid."
"Well, that's a good thing then. I'd rather you be able to sleep without aid. The Beauties are healthier than normal sleeping pills, but they're still pills." Bella shrugs, slinking her hands between her knees as she frowns slightly. "So.. you think we'll ever have a conversation that you don't end up glaring at me over? Or will that probably happen when hell freezes over?" A mix of good natured laughter and a hint of seriousness
Magneto shifts his weight to answer, only to bite back the snark that immediately threatens to edge forth in answer to her question. With no more appropriate answer in sight, he's relegated to a slightly arched brow and a shrug, and eventually, a, "I suppose that depends upon you."
Bella traces the rim of the carton as she waits for an answer, eyes still settled on the standing man before her. "See, that's where my problem lies. Despite what you may think, I don't like upsetting you. I don't like the glares or the feeling that I've lost a friend." She sighs. Honesty sucks. "But I don't know what to say around you anymore."
"Then perhaps you should put more thought into what you say before you say it." Erik mutters simply, not really being at all helpful. Of course, he could be much worse, which is the thought he's currently comforting himself with as he glances down to a fleck of water that's managed to sink in through the chocolate brown of his dress shirt.
"Right." Or maybe she just shouldn't say anything at all. Wouldn't he just love the silence. "I'm sorry. This was a stupid idea." She's quick to her feet, bending to grab the ice cream as an afterthought. "I didn't mean to waste your time." There, that was carefully thought out.
Magneto lifts his eyes again at the double pause, only to see her getting up onto her feet. "Well, you're off to a brilliant start, my dear. Glad I could be of assistance." Grrmph.
Bella shakes her head at him, her look something like exasperation and annoyance. "Is there anything you'll be needing from me in the next, say, week or two?"
Another drop of water, and Erik takes a wary step back from the pool's edge, eyeing Bella as he does so - one eye narrowed in a look not entirely like the one he gave her upon catching her initially. "If you would be so kind as to leave that icecream in the freezer, I have a test or two I'd like to run." His smile is not a particularly large or nice smile, but it is there.
The ice cream container is lowered back to the lip of the waterfall. If he wants it in the freezer he can put it there his damn self. Arms cross over Bella's chest as she sighs, doing little to hide her frustration. "I'm going to take that as a no. Which will lead me right into my next question. Will you be needing me.. ever again?"
Magneto's head turns back to her immediately - any trace of annoyance or amusement lost in the same swift movement. That certainly got his attention. "Sabella, in the event that it has escaped your attention, the Brotherhood is doing very little at the moment. Until I see a clear course of action, it will continue to do very little. I'm not entirely sure I understand the question."
Bella remains as she is, though surprisingly, she's not on the defensive, stance wise. Just standing there, arms wrapped, expression frustrated and annoyed. "I would normally say that was aware that the Brotherhood is doing very little. But after last night, I realize I have no idea what's going on any more. And no matter what I try, nobody seems inclined to keep me informed." Arms drop back to her sides. "I'm asking if you really and actually have a use for me, or if you simply tolerate my being here because of the financial support I lend."
"I have assumed a policy of informing those who need to be informed, when they need to be informed." Indignant. There's really no other word for it, the frost in Erik's glare blazing away instantaneously at this particular turn of topic. "You are in a precarious position, my dear. /Any/ slip could give you away. You cannot afford to be seen on missions. You cannot afford to be caught /thinking/ certain things, here or elsewhere. You had a single chance to start over in the event of your discovery, and you lost it. /You/ lost it, Sabella, in a foolish, fairy tail murder that was as sloppy as it was unnecessary. So you will have to forgive me if I am less than patient in my efforts to keep you from outing yourself again, but there will not be any more opportunities to start over after the one you've already taken. You will be stuck here as the recruits are, or you will go to jail." Posture and glare hard, there's a certain measure of brimstone in his tone - words occasionally having to wrest their way from between hardly parted teeth as his eyes drill down into her.
Bella meets indigence with a wry smirk. For all of his words, she looks unconvinced and more than a little annoyed. "I don't need reminding of just how precarious my position is Erik. It's my life that's on the line if I screw up again. A life I very nearly lost in my last attempt to free myself from police custody." Her voice is dead calm despite the flare in her eyes that betrays her true feelings at the moment. "I know that I lost it. And I know what I did was foolish. And stupid. And I berate myself about it every fucking day. If I could go back in time and erase my mistakes I would. But people simply can't do that. They can only learn and move on." Bella shakes her head, eyes closing to hide emotions that he doesn't need to see. "Not once, during that time did I ask you for your help. Yes, Toxin was involved, and I'm aware she's your second in command so her helping me took away time from you and your cause. But she is also my best friend and would have been there for me, Brotherhood member or not. Not once, Erik. All I wanted from you, was maybe a hug. Or some show of support. Some friendly gesture. But all I receive from you is cold glares and snarky comments. No matter what I do for you. How I try to help, nothing is good enough. I'm at my wits end. Tell me what you want from me."
Magneto listens, the quiet, deadly anger in his tone and expression sustaining itself without effort or show of strain as she argues back in turn. "Stability." A shift in posture squares him to her, though his arms remain folded right where they are. Not that he looks particularly huggable at the moment anyway. "From you, Sabella, I desire stability - emotional and professional. I do care for you. I keep an eye on you. I do, in my own way, make a concentrated effort to see to it that you do not self-destruct, purposefully or accidentally, regardless of how things may appear. But times have changed. There are things I do not wish to talk about, with you or anyone else. I don't want to be hugged -- For God's sake, Bella, this is a terrorist organization! The history we share is distracting, and as a direct result, dangerous to us both. I went through an odd period. That period has passed. I'm sorry that I'm not fulfilling your monthly quota for physical attention, but quite frankly, I've only engaged in the act once since the masquerade, and not because I went sniffing after one of the women here on the island. I have more important things to worry about."
"An odd p.." All of her breath, her anger rushes out of her at once. The stance, the tension, all of it is gone. Replaced, for the briefest of moments with a look more stricken than anything else. "You know. Sometimes it just isn't about the physical things." She whispers, not bothering to tear her gaze from him. Let him look into the hurt he causes, she doesn't care anymore. It's not as though he'll suffer for it, he has no heart. So how could it possibly ache? "Sometimes it's about someone needing the person they considered a friend to be there for them. Emotionally." Her eyes narrow as she pushes thoughts of him and another to the back of her mind. Not now Bella. "I'm sorry that my presence is such a burden. You should not be so distracted. Or have to watch me like some juvenile who'll self destruct at any moment. That's not fair to you, and it isn't fair to the others who need you." Her hands are forced behind her back to hide the gentle trembling of thinly concealed emotions. For him to call her simply an 'odd period' is the equivalent of her calling him Hitler. Except.. he doesn't care that he hurts her quite as much as she cares about hurting him.
Magneto's pupils contract at the emotion he sees there, but there's little he can do, now - like a locomotive building up steam, there's no turning back or slowing down, and when he finally moves, it's to take a step in her direction - then another, arms unfolding so that his hands fall slowly back to his sides. "Emotionally, Sabella - again, in the event that it has escaped your notice - I've fallen into disrepair. My sanity, you could say, has fallen into disrepair. It's not so surprising, really, considering my history. Considering what must be done. In effect, my dear, you might have been better off trying to be friends with the island's new fountain."
The trembling in her hands now begins to spread through the rest of her. Both arms are pulled from behind her back to rest at her own sides. She's shaking softly, fear as he comes closer. She has no weapons on her at the moment so if he's going to attack there's little she can do. And would she really want to? No. No, she'd let him kill her. "You are not the only one who's sanity has fallen into disrepair." She reminds. "In order to put myself back together, back to some semblance of normalcy, Emma Frost had to rip two personalities from my mind. My mind will never be whole. It'll never be healed, and the emotions those Telepaths forced into me will never go away. All I've ever wanted was to be here for you. To help you however I can. And now you tell me that.. I don't do that. All I do is make things worse."
"You desire what I cannot and will not give you. You make assumptions...how long have we known one another? You cannot possibly expect me to react well to some of the inquiries you make - decades of conflict..." Stopping well within arm's reach, Erik's looming presence is certainly threatening, the look in his eyes severely unbalanced - but he's not moving to attack, either. Watching her. "You try too hard, Sabella. There are times at which things should simply be left to grow or die as they will on their own."
"And I can't lie and say that I won't always desire it. Or some level of it. You were the one to show me what I could truly be if I put my mind to it. You took the darkness in my soul and taught me to harness it like I'd never known I could. I'll do what I can to put aside the foolish, heartfelt emotions. But I will not ever stop wanting you in the more raw.. primal way. And for that, I'm sorry. I am a succubus at heart. And that will never change." And that's what happens when you help someone tap into their own darkness. Her lip curls back, fang showing for a moment as she takes a trembling step forward, chin lifting so she can still look at him. It's her attempt to show he doesn't scare her. Which is obviously a bold faced lie. "And when I stop trying all together? All you'll do is tell me I've lost my will for the Cause, and we'll be right back here. I cannot win with you. You won't let me."
"Succubi require men. In general. Not specific individuals, Bella." Head lowered at her advance so that the words are murmured deliberately into her ear, Erik is careful not to make physical contact despite the nearness of her - the muscles in his arms, neck, and torso tense in direct contrast to the cool liquid of his tone. "I wasn't aware that it was a competition."
Bella's look shifts for a moment, long lashes drifting heavily aver her gaze, hiding it from view. "And you will always be one of those men." He can consider himself warned. "I am attracted to power. And nobody has more power, in my eyes, than you." The words whispered into her ear trail along her skin, leaving a line of tension in it's wake to match his own. "That's ironic dear, since you're the one who turned it into one."
"No, my dear - your continuous effort to find a solution to my every problem was not my doing. And with each new offer you make, each solution you offer, I will keep turning you down. If any of us here on the island are in need of a baby sitter, it's you." Posture and position unchanging, Erik glares hard at the far wall over Bella's shoulder, and through whisps of her hair, ready to move should he need to.
Bella snorts, unlady like, but she hardly cares at the moment. "Is that so? Well, let me apologize then for my bothering to care for your well being /dear/. I assure you it will not happen again." Her voice is practically hissing from her lips in an angry whisper. "The next time you have a heart attack or collapse from a gunshot wound, perhaps you can find someone else willing to die to save you." She'd offer, but he'd only just turn her down.
Magneto arches a brow. Heart attacks and gunshot wound-related collapses /are/ rather inconvenient in the scheme of things. "It's the little things, Bella. Wanting me to discuss my problems. The pills. As you require men, I require dignity."
"The pills are better for your health than the ones you were taking, i refuse to regret giving them to you. /However/, I can cut back on the questions and invasions of your privacy in regards to such things." Bella can give him that much atleast. "But really, what will all of this change?" She fears it'll change nothing and only cut her even further out of the loop.
Hands flexing at his sides, Erik leans back an inch or so once the tension from leaning has begun to build uncomfortably in the small of his back - chin lifting a bit to compensate for the difference. He's still very close, voice quiet, glare hard and unfeeling. "Precognition is not an ability I have been granted with."
Bella is used to the glare, and returns it, though her is hardly as unfeeling as his own. She doesn't move except to match the lifting of his chin, ensuring eye contact continues. "In other words, it'll change nothing. I'll still be nothing more than some foolish child you feel you have to keep your eye on."
"That, my dear, is entirely up to you. Make a puppet of yourself all you like. I no longer have any desire to pull your strings." And with that, a small, smug smile, and a dismissive nod, Erik starts to turn.
Bella narrows her eyes into the back of his head as he turns his back to her. "I am nobody's puppet. And you will do well to remember that when you're healing yourself next time you're on death's doorstep." Because she won't be here to save him.
"I'm reasonably certain Ms. Dramsdadt will oblige, if I ask nicely." And with a dark chuckle, Erik starts off in the direction of the passage they emerged from. "To heal me, that is."
"Perhaps she will. I do hope for your sake she's as efficient as you hope, since you're about to be doing a lot of your own fighting." Because she intends to take quite a few of those recruits with her when she leaves. As if she'll leave her children here with someone who has no regard for their future? Please. Bella's eyes darken, her smile wicked as she watches him exit. "If you want a war, Erik my darling, you've got one." She whispers once he's out of ear shot, lips curling.
Again, Erik stops - and again he turns, as slowly as he always does. It's more dramatic that way. Fortunately, when he stops he /is/ out of earshot, but her initial reply has sunk down into his mind and prompted another arched brow. "I don't suppose you care to offer a more elaborate explanation?"
Bella watches as he pauses and takes the opportunity to stride to where he is and move in front of him. She doesn't stop as she passes, instead, the next comment is thrown over her shoulder. "You're the evil genius. You figure it out."
Magneto's brows hood low as his glare follows her out, his left wrist lifted to check the time before he glances up after her once more. Four hours head start should be more than sufficient, and this way he doesn't have to soil the floors of his /own/ cave system with the blood of the tenuously loyal. A careful look passed over the entire cavern to check for eavesdroppers, he finally heads in the direction of the elevator, expression impossible to decipher.