Magneto; News
=BH= Toad's Quarters - Refinery Lv 2 - Abandoned Mining Facility
Each of the upper level factory rooms currently cleared to serve as living quarters are square, and approximately 17x17. The floors are clean concrete, and the walls and ceilings have been freshly painted a uniform white. A single double bed occupies the back right corner, a single wooden desk and chair the left, next to a single wooden four-shelved dresser and a small bookshelf.
[Exits : [O]ut]
Equipment of all sorts is stacked up in Toad's room. Far more than what usually is lying around. Computer bits, random machinery parts, and even a taken-apart speedometer are littered on the floor along with every available surface. Toad is in the middle of this, likely reflecting what a child looks like in the strewn wreckage of wrapping paper on Christmas morning. His goggles are snapped on, eyes magnified as he happily fiddles with the back of an old motherboard.
There is only one room on the upper level that contains more metal than Erik's, and the occasional movement of bits and pieces behind the door is indicative of Toad's presence within its walls. So it is that the trek is made from one to the other - a pair of heavy knocks beat in against the steel door before Erik opens it for himself.
Click. Tick. Clack. Toad is involved with his work. He can barely drag himself away from it even with enough time to let out a grunt of acknowledgment to the knock. With a tight twist of a screwdriver he finally looks up, his fingers wiggling past the plastic tool's handle to peel his goggles up and to his forehead. "Sah?" Toad wonders.
"Toad," serves a duel purpose as greeting and answer while Erik scowls down at his feet and leans to close the door after himself - endeavoring not to step on anything that looks important, or like it might pierce the bottom of his boot.
The door being closed gets a special attention. Toad pulls himself up, fingers still wrapped around the length of the screwdriver as his motherboard is left at his feet. His eyes narrow in a blink of curiosity. "Wot can Toad do fer yer?"
"Nothing, Mortimer." The door successfully closed, without anything more pressing to distract himself with, Erik is forced to turn back to Toad, who he simply eyes for a moment before speaking. "I am leaving the Brotherhood."
"Eh?" Toad demands, his fingers tightening around the poor, helpless tool. "Eh, wots that?" There is a sudden flood of confusion in his voice, and the very edging of panic in his expression. "Yer not-- like, just fer a bit? A mission, per'aps?"
Magneto's brows twinge downward against confusion and panic alike. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet, if not quite -- soft. That would be gay. "Not this time."
Toad falters, his back bending as he subconsciously hunches with the news. His hands and tool alike are brought closer into him as he starts to wring it. There is a long, breathless pause. "So," Toad says loudly, straightening up, flipping the screwdriver to the floor, and locking in on Magneto. "Where're we going, Sah?"
"I am leaving the Brotherhood," Erik replies after a carefully measured pause, cold eyes kept warily upon Toad despite a growing desire to look pointedly elsewhere. "Doing so requires that the Brotherhood remain here."
It is rare for Toad to outwardly let his guard down, but against the cold eyes and words the little man cannot help but be swayed a little into a hurt look. "But, but Sah..." Awkwardly he rubs his hands at the sides of his pants, attempting to free them of the lingering feel of grease where it has long been washed away. "Yer can't leave Toad."
"Toad -- if it were possible to remove only a few of you, I would -- but I fear it simply wouldn't...I would still be leaving some behind." For whatever reason, it is more difficult to explain to Toad than it has been to explain to some of the others. Erik pulls in a deep breath and steels himself. "I need you here to provide structure that I cannot while I am away."
"They won't miss Toad, no Sah they won't!" The green mutant insists. He takes a step forward, the motherboard kicked carelessly to the side. Yellow eyes waver on the older man unhappily. "You need someone to carry yer bags."
"Mortimer." Jaw now more visibly clenched, Erik exhales. "It is nothing that you have done. You are not being punished -- I simply need time. And for you to be a man. If worst should come to worst, I am leaving control of an entire bank account to you, and Stvol will know where I am within the city."
"Worse comes to worse?" Toad blurts out, his brow fully crinkled over knitted eyebrows. "Dun' see why yer can't take Toad 'long wit' yer!" His hand gets shoved back into his hair as he takes a deep, throaty breath of air. "Yer going to the city?"
"Because it would defeat the purpose." Frustration finally breaks through and ups the volume of this particular retort only to be forced immediately down again. "As far as I know, yes."
Toad twitches down, his head hanging for a brief moment at the louder tone. Now without the comfort of the screwdriver, Toad's hand instead wring themselves. "Oh. A-all right, Sah. Yer still got my number, doncher?" Toad chances a glance up. "Y'know, if yer ever need me."
"I do." Voice carefully even once more, Erik finally glances to the far wall when Toad's head lowers, though his shoulders remain rigid and his posture is formal. "I intend to leave in the morning. I will leave you the relevant information before I go."
The yellow gaze shifts to the same wall Magneto looks at, but Toad is quick to glance back to the Master of Magnetism. "Aye, Sah. If you need me--" he begins to suggest again. "Aye." Slowly Toad sinks down into a crouch, now staring at the floor.
"You will be the first man I call," Erik lies, brows knit and voice low to make it sound convincing, at least, before he pries his eyes away from Toad's sink to turn back for the door.
Toad's head is muffled in a nod, but he turns his eyes up anyways. The bottoms of Toad's forearms slide down from his knees into his sides. "G'bye, Sah," Toad bids quietly.
"Goodbye, Mortimer." And without a tremendous amount of hesitation, Erik opens the door and edges through it, leaving it open enough for his paces to be audible down the hall, back in the direction of his own quarters.
Silence takes hold of the room, the kicked motherboard laying to the side, it's feelings like very hurt now. Toad stays in his crouch for enough time that his legs start to ache even in the familiar position. After a good potion of an hour has passed Toad finally stirs himself, creeping to his window and sliding it up as ice shards flake off. He pauses, glances back, and crawls outside into the cold.
/:(/
Each of the upper level factory rooms currently cleared to serve as living quarters are square, and approximately 17x17. The floors are clean concrete, and the walls and ceilings have been freshly painted a uniform white. A single double bed occupies the back right corner, a single wooden desk and chair the left, next to a single wooden four-shelved dresser and a small bookshelf.
[Exits : [O]ut]
Equipment of all sorts is stacked up in Toad's room. Far more than what usually is lying around. Computer bits, random machinery parts, and even a taken-apart speedometer are littered on the floor along with every available surface. Toad is in the middle of this, likely reflecting what a child looks like in the strewn wreckage of wrapping paper on Christmas morning. His goggles are snapped on, eyes magnified as he happily fiddles with the back of an old motherboard.
There is only one room on the upper level that contains more metal than Erik's, and the occasional movement of bits and pieces behind the door is indicative of Toad's presence within its walls. So it is that the trek is made from one to the other - a pair of heavy knocks beat in against the steel door before Erik opens it for himself.
Click. Tick. Clack. Toad is involved with his work. He can barely drag himself away from it even with enough time to let out a grunt of acknowledgment to the knock. With a tight twist of a screwdriver he finally looks up, his fingers wiggling past the plastic tool's handle to peel his goggles up and to his forehead. "Sah?" Toad wonders.
"Toad," serves a duel purpose as greeting and answer while Erik scowls down at his feet and leans to close the door after himself - endeavoring not to step on anything that looks important, or like it might pierce the bottom of his boot.
The door being closed gets a special attention. Toad pulls himself up, fingers still wrapped around the length of the screwdriver as his motherboard is left at his feet. His eyes narrow in a blink of curiosity. "Wot can Toad do fer yer?"
"Nothing, Mortimer." The door successfully closed, without anything more pressing to distract himself with, Erik is forced to turn back to Toad, who he simply eyes for a moment before speaking. "I am leaving the Brotherhood."
"Eh?" Toad demands, his fingers tightening around the poor, helpless tool. "Eh, wots that?" There is a sudden flood of confusion in his voice, and the very edging of panic in his expression. "Yer not-- like, just fer a bit? A mission, per'aps?"
Magneto's brows twinge downward against confusion and panic alike. When he speaks again, his voice is quiet, if not quite -- soft. That would be gay. "Not this time."
Toad falters, his back bending as he subconsciously hunches with the news. His hands and tool alike are brought closer into him as he starts to wring it. There is a long, breathless pause. "So," Toad says loudly, straightening up, flipping the screwdriver to the floor, and locking in on Magneto. "Where're we going, Sah?"
"I am leaving the Brotherhood," Erik replies after a carefully measured pause, cold eyes kept warily upon Toad despite a growing desire to look pointedly elsewhere. "Doing so requires that the Brotherhood remain here."
It is rare for Toad to outwardly let his guard down, but against the cold eyes and words the little man cannot help but be swayed a little into a hurt look. "But, but Sah..." Awkwardly he rubs his hands at the sides of his pants, attempting to free them of the lingering feel of grease where it has long been washed away. "Yer can't leave Toad."
"Toad -- if it were possible to remove only a few of you, I would -- but I fear it simply wouldn't...I would still be leaving some behind." For whatever reason, it is more difficult to explain to Toad than it has been to explain to some of the others. Erik pulls in a deep breath and steels himself. "I need you here to provide structure that I cannot while I am away."
"They won't miss Toad, no Sah they won't!" The green mutant insists. He takes a step forward, the motherboard kicked carelessly to the side. Yellow eyes waver on the older man unhappily. "You need someone to carry yer bags."
"Mortimer." Jaw now more visibly clenched, Erik exhales. "It is nothing that you have done. You are not being punished -- I simply need time. And for you to be a man. If worst should come to worst, I am leaving control of an entire bank account to you, and Stvol will know where I am within the city."
"Worse comes to worse?" Toad blurts out, his brow fully crinkled over knitted eyebrows. "Dun' see why yer can't take Toad 'long wit' yer!" His hand gets shoved back into his hair as he takes a deep, throaty breath of air. "Yer going to the city?"
"Because it would defeat the purpose." Frustration finally breaks through and ups the volume of this particular retort only to be forced immediately down again. "As far as I know, yes."
Toad twitches down, his head hanging for a brief moment at the louder tone. Now without the comfort of the screwdriver, Toad's hand instead wring themselves. "Oh. A-all right, Sah. Yer still got my number, doncher?" Toad chances a glance up. "Y'know, if yer ever need me."
"I do." Voice carefully even once more, Erik finally glances to the far wall when Toad's head lowers, though his shoulders remain rigid and his posture is formal. "I intend to leave in the morning. I will leave you the relevant information before I go."
The yellow gaze shifts to the same wall Magneto looks at, but Toad is quick to glance back to the Master of Magnetism. "Aye, Sah. If you need me--" he begins to suggest again. "Aye." Slowly Toad sinks down into a crouch, now staring at the floor.
"You will be the first man I call," Erik lies, brows knit and voice low to make it sound convincing, at least, before he pries his eyes away from Toad's sink to turn back for the door.
Toad's head is muffled in a nod, but he turns his eyes up anyways. The bottoms of Toad's forearms slide down from his knees into his sides. "G'bye, Sah," Toad bids quietly.
"Goodbye, Mortimer." And without a tremendous amount of hesitation, Erik opens the door and edges through it, leaving it open enough for his paces to be audible down the hall, back in the direction of his own quarters.
Silence takes hold of the room, the kicked motherboard laying to the side, it's feelings like very hurt now. Toad stays in his crouch for enough time that his legs start to ache even in the familiar position. After a good potion of an hour has passed Toad finally stirs himself, creeping to his window and sliding it up as ice shards flake off. He pauses, glances back, and crawls outside into the cold.
/:(/