Mystique; Forest
Where else would I go? Shit. I want more options than this. But I'll take it. Always have before. Wish I knew where he had gone. Which I knew why. Fuck.
=BH= Forest - Abandoned Mining Facility
Not far from the thinned edge of the forest atop of one of the old rusty bits of machinery is a Toad. One of his usually pouting spots, complete even with crude etchings of choice words into the first few layers of rust that covers what once might have been a tree-chopper. The frost clinging to the cold metal is being carelessly flicked off to the muddy brown of the earth below. The small green man takes a deep breath, rolls onto his back and stretches along the broad front of the engine hood.
Mystique is somewhat less eager to be outside in the cold and damp, but outside she is, nonetheless. Her steps are sure and even, a long, rolling stride that carries her swiftly from compound to forest's edge. To Toad. She pauses at the front of the machine, yellow gaze bright on him.
Toad digs his shoulders into the edge of the hood, rust and grime gritting under the pressure. His head lolls over the side of the machine, eyes automatically falling to the upside down Mystique. Yellow gaze meets yellow. "Allo," Toad mumbles as his hands lace and fall over his stomach.
"Hello, Toad," Mystique answers quietly. She watches him for a moment, and then turns in silence to lean back against the hood next to him.
There is a quiet understanding that settles on Toad. Perhaps something akin to actually being brotherly, if one could ever accuse Toad of such things. He rolls again, flipping himself on his stomach and letting his arms hang over the edge freely. His chin settles on his shoulder, eyes lifting up. "A'right, luff?"
Mystique turns her head sideways to fix her gaze on Toad, and there is a very small smile on her face. "I believe my intention was to ask the same of you."
Toad looks almost blankly up on the smile, his face changing belatedly into something of acknowledgement to it. His eyes roam down and away. "Been bet'er," Toad admits with a restricted shrug.
Mystique turns her gaze away again, and it settles more seriously on a log some distance away. "I'm sorry, Mortimer."
"Me too," Toad mutters with a small glare down at his own boot print still immortalized in the chilly ground below. "Eh, bound ter 'appen someday, roight? Either this or 'e woz gonna kick the bucket sooner 'r later." There is the smallest trace of a choke in his voice.
"Perhaps," Mystique answers with a slow, careful blink. "Perhaps it was simply inevitable."
Toad's arms slide up, crossing under the same nesting chin. "Did'jer try an' stop 'im?"
Mystique's jaw tightens a touch. "No."
Toad's gaze finds her again, slightly narrowed in suspicion. "Why not?"
"He hasn't wanted to be here for some time."
Green fingers curl hard against the worn gray of his jacket. "Why?" Toad asks further. "Wot'd we do?"
Mystique's breath pauses for a moment, and there is a noticable tightening before she answers, "You'd really have to ask Erik."
Toad shies his attention away from her, cringing at the tightness. "Oh," he grunts after a while. "So that's it, then?"
Mystique turns her gaze back to Toad for a moment, and her expression loosens a touch at the cringe. "What else can there be?"
"Dunno," Toad drawls out, pulling himself up and scooting to perch back on the edge of the tree chopper with his feet dangling off the side. "'Ve never thought this far, honestly."
"Neither have I," Mystique admits quietly.
Toad props his hands behind him, head rolling up to peek between winter-wrought branches and at the murky sky above. "Long time," he mentions vaguely.
"Long time?"
"For him ter leave us now," Toad explains as blunt nails rake the uneven skin on his throat. "We've been a Brother'ood fer a damn long time."
"Yes." There is a lengthy pause from Mystique, expression held carefully even. Eventually she adds, "We have followed him for a long time."
Toad blinks evenly, letting a pause stretch out. "Do you even want'ter do this 'nymore?" he asks suddenly, eyes snapping over to her.
Mystique turns slightly to meet Toad's gaze. "I do not want to do /this/. But I believe in the Brotherhood as I ever have. So I will do what I must."
"Does Erik not believe in it 'nymore?" The first name rolls awkwardly off of Toad's usually agile tongue.
There is a very short pause before Mystique answers, voice and gaze abruptly tightened again. "No."
"Only fuckin' reason I got mixed up in this is 'cause he seemed so sure o'all o'... o'this," Toad snaps suddenly, though it's not directed at Mystique. His hand flaps in the air to indicate 'this'. "Wot the fuck am I supposed'ter do /now/?"
"I will not require it. But I would be grateful if you stayed, Toad."
Toad starts to slide off his perch, feel squelching into the soft ground below. "Yer never liked me before, Mystique." He takes a tentative step forward, tossing a suspicious look back to her. "Why a different tune now? Fuck. Not desperate enough to beg /Toad/ ter stay, I 'ope?"
Mystique is silent for a moment, expression gone dark with thought. She draws a thumb down her nose and then drops her hand lightly to her side. "We have never been particularly cuddly," she allows with a dry twist of her lips. "But there is something to be said for decades spent together. Fighting together."
Toad turns fully, face sparking into a smirk. "Cuddly," he repeats with a dark amusement at the tone. "Decades, shit," Toad remembers with a long sigh out. "Long time." There is a lapse of words, but the little mutant looks up to Mystique with a hesitant curiosity. "Yer need Toad?"
"A long time," Mystique acknowledges again, and then tips a small nod. "You do have your uses," she allows with a quiet smile.
"An' m'ranking in this new Mystique Brother'ood?" Toad asks quickish, hands shoving down into his jacket pockets.
"As ever, Toad. I have no intention of assigning us all numbers or giving out tiny pins to attach to our shoulders." Mystique's gaze turns forward again, fixing on a tree in the distance. "There is something to be said for those you know you can trust."
Toad shuffles awkwardly on his feet. His eyes scan along the ground, finally rising back to her. "Wait. /You/ trust me? Hold up, birdie. Remember just 'oo yer talkin' about." There is a wry twist upwards of his liver-colored lips.
"Do you have any intention of betraying the Brotherhood?" Mystique asks plainly, turning a blunt gaze toward Toad.
Toad's nose wrinkles up as he releases a bark of a laughter. "Betray it? To /who/?" He turns, flipping a hand back at her. "I'm 'ere s'long as there's an inch o'the Brother'ood left. You bloody well know that."
"Then I believe I trust you," Mystique answers clearly.
Toad grunts dismissively, stomping away from his perch of solitude and the mutant that disturbed it.
Mystique remains where she is, silent and still, as he leaves.
=BH= Forest - Abandoned Mining Facility
Not far from the thinned edge of the forest atop of one of the old rusty bits of machinery is a Toad. One of his usually pouting spots, complete even with crude etchings of choice words into the first few layers of rust that covers what once might have been a tree-chopper. The frost clinging to the cold metal is being carelessly flicked off to the muddy brown of the earth below. The small green man takes a deep breath, rolls onto his back and stretches along the broad front of the engine hood.
Mystique is somewhat less eager to be outside in the cold and damp, but outside she is, nonetheless. Her steps are sure and even, a long, rolling stride that carries her swiftly from compound to forest's edge. To Toad. She pauses at the front of the machine, yellow gaze bright on him.
Toad digs his shoulders into the edge of the hood, rust and grime gritting under the pressure. His head lolls over the side of the machine, eyes automatically falling to the upside down Mystique. Yellow gaze meets yellow. "Allo," Toad mumbles as his hands lace and fall over his stomach.
"Hello, Toad," Mystique answers quietly. She watches him for a moment, and then turns in silence to lean back against the hood next to him.
There is a quiet understanding that settles on Toad. Perhaps something akin to actually being brotherly, if one could ever accuse Toad of such things. He rolls again, flipping himself on his stomach and letting his arms hang over the edge freely. His chin settles on his shoulder, eyes lifting up. "A'right, luff?"
Mystique turns her head sideways to fix her gaze on Toad, and there is a very small smile on her face. "I believe my intention was to ask the same of you."
Toad looks almost blankly up on the smile, his face changing belatedly into something of acknowledgement to it. His eyes roam down and away. "Been bet'er," Toad admits with a restricted shrug.
Mystique turns her gaze away again, and it settles more seriously on a log some distance away. "I'm sorry, Mortimer."
"Me too," Toad mutters with a small glare down at his own boot print still immortalized in the chilly ground below. "Eh, bound ter 'appen someday, roight? Either this or 'e woz gonna kick the bucket sooner 'r later." There is the smallest trace of a choke in his voice.
"Perhaps," Mystique answers with a slow, careful blink. "Perhaps it was simply inevitable."
Toad's arms slide up, crossing under the same nesting chin. "Did'jer try an' stop 'im?"
Mystique's jaw tightens a touch. "No."
Toad's gaze finds her again, slightly narrowed in suspicion. "Why not?"
"He hasn't wanted to be here for some time."
Green fingers curl hard against the worn gray of his jacket. "Why?" Toad asks further. "Wot'd we do?"
Mystique's breath pauses for a moment, and there is a noticable tightening before she answers, "You'd really have to ask Erik."
Toad shies his attention away from her, cringing at the tightness. "Oh," he grunts after a while. "So that's it, then?"
Mystique turns her gaze back to Toad for a moment, and her expression loosens a touch at the cringe. "What else can there be?"
"Dunno," Toad drawls out, pulling himself up and scooting to perch back on the edge of the tree chopper with his feet dangling off the side. "'Ve never thought this far, honestly."
"Neither have I," Mystique admits quietly.
Toad props his hands behind him, head rolling up to peek between winter-wrought branches and at the murky sky above. "Long time," he mentions vaguely.
"Long time?"
"For him ter leave us now," Toad explains as blunt nails rake the uneven skin on his throat. "We've been a Brother'ood fer a damn long time."
"Yes." There is a lengthy pause from Mystique, expression held carefully even. Eventually she adds, "We have followed him for a long time."
Toad blinks evenly, letting a pause stretch out. "Do you even want'ter do this 'nymore?" he asks suddenly, eyes snapping over to her.
Mystique turns slightly to meet Toad's gaze. "I do not want to do /this/. But I believe in the Brotherhood as I ever have. So I will do what I must."
"Does Erik not believe in it 'nymore?" The first name rolls awkwardly off of Toad's usually agile tongue.
There is a very short pause before Mystique answers, voice and gaze abruptly tightened again. "No."
"Only fuckin' reason I got mixed up in this is 'cause he seemed so sure o'all o'... o'this," Toad snaps suddenly, though it's not directed at Mystique. His hand flaps in the air to indicate 'this'. "Wot the fuck am I supposed'ter do /now/?"
"I will not require it. But I would be grateful if you stayed, Toad."
Toad starts to slide off his perch, feel squelching into the soft ground below. "Yer never liked me before, Mystique." He takes a tentative step forward, tossing a suspicious look back to her. "Why a different tune now? Fuck. Not desperate enough to beg /Toad/ ter stay, I 'ope?"
Mystique is silent for a moment, expression gone dark with thought. She draws a thumb down her nose and then drops her hand lightly to her side. "We have never been particularly cuddly," she allows with a dry twist of her lips. "But there is something to be said for decades spent together. Fighting together."
Toad turns fully, face sparking into a smirk. "Cuddly," he repeats with a dark amusement at the tone. "Decades, shit," Toad remembers with a long sigh out. "Long time." There is a lapse of words, but the little mutant looks up to Mystique with a hesitant curiosity. "Yer need Toad?"
"A long time," Mystique acknowledges again, and then tips a small nod. "You do have your uses," she allows with a quiet smile.
"An' m'ranking in this new Mystique Brother'ood?" Toad asks quickish, hands shoving down into his jacket pockets.
"As ever, Toad. I have no intention of assigning us all numbers or giving out tiny pins to attach to our shoulders." Mystique's gaze turns forward again, fixing on a tree in the distance. "There is something to be said for those you know you can trust."
Toad shuffles awkwardly on his feet. His eyes scan along the ground, finally rising back to her. "Wait. /You/ trust me? Hold up, birdie. Remember just 'oo yer talkin' about." There is a wry twist upwards of his liver-colored lips.
"Do you have any intention of betraying the Brotherhood?" Mystique asks plainly, turning a blunt gaze toward Toad.
Toad's nose wrinkles up as he releases a bark of a laughter. "Betray it? To /who/?" He turns, flipping a hand back at her. "I'm 'ere s'long as there's an inch o'the Brother'ood left. You bloody well know that."
"Then I believe I trust you," Mystique answers clearly.
Toad grunts dismissively, stomping away from his perch of solitude and the mutant that disturbed it.
Mystique remains where she is, silent and still, as he leaves.