Your song reminds me of swimming

[singswithstars]

Characters: Drusilla and YOOOOU! [OPEN]
Location: Around the pretty civic areas that I'm pretending are around the Senate building
Planet: Coruscant
When: November 16, mid-day
What: Fishing in the Senate koi ponds for a friend to send to Betta George 8'D
Rating: PG-13? Idek.

Comments

[excessivehubris]

[Best not to ask why Charles Xavier was down around the Senate building, it probably had to do with, well mental creeping to be honest. Hey, just be glad he's not stuck in the library, though he's now headed in that general direction as he's almost finished with his research.

Its the nursery rhyme that catches his attention as he walks through the civic cluster, that voices and the way it pitches, rises and falls, is ... distinctive.

Pausing, he turns, automatically strengthening his shields, even as he begins to work his way across the lush grass towards the pond. Hands in his pockets he approaches with a thoughtful quiet, until his eyes confirm what his ears had already told him.

Her.

Standing back, quietly for a moment, he considers his options before walking closer. He can almost feel his mental Erik wryly telling him how many ways this is not a good idea but its open daylight and he's more prepared this time.

He hopes!]

I think, [he begins in a quiet voice so as not to startle her.] they'd rather stay in the water, love.

[singswithstars]

[ With his shields up, she didn't notice him until his voice, but it brings a warm smile to her lips. She lifts her head, extracting her arm from the water, but before bothering to turn to acknowledge him, she gives a little mental knock on his shields to say hello. ]

My Prince.

[ A glance over her shoulder, playful smile in place. You, dear, are welcome company. She gives a little pat to the side of the pool next to her. Sit, Charles, sit. She'd like to actually meet you now, instead of pulling near your entire person from the inside of your head. ] Why should they when I've playmates for them to find elsewhere?

[excessivehubris]

[Don't think he doesn't feel that little love tap there, Dru. Those shields are warm but solid, silence only from him today, he won't even risk a peek around them.

This doesn't keep him from smiling gently and walking forward when she pats the side of the pool, taking her up on her invitation and gracefully folding his small frame down beside her.]

You have a fish pond?

[Without his ability to read even surface thoughts, he can only make assumptions, which is not something he's used to, so it comes out awkwardly. He then recalls some of those nightmarish images she left in his head when they first met and he crinkles his nose a bit.]

Lets pretend I didn't ask about their fate.

[oxidantshappen]

[ It's certainly far from a good idea and Erik knows it. Despite accompanying Charles to the civic center, he'll let the man wander, keeping a close tab on him.

Drusilla's face is a familiar one, albeit only a brief visual that he's seen from the datapad so few nights ago. He'd confront her, but Charles seems intent on carrying a perfectly normal conversation and Erik's never been one to reign him in for following his own wishes.

So don't mind Erik, just standing a few feet behind Charles, hands in his pockets. It's certainly not a good idea, but Charles probably knows this already, so he'll just watch for now. ]

[singswithstars]

[ As Charles sits, she glances back to the pool, trailing pale, sharply manicured fingers over the surface as the fish start to relax, swimming closer, as her onslaught seems to be over for the moment. ]

I have a fish. George. I fear he'll become depressed without company. [ She's helping. And a small quirk of a smile and a mischievousness, side-eyed glance to the last part. ] Very well. I do like playing-pretend.

[ Oh, and Erik? She has definitely noticed you. A little hard not too, all that stern and disapproving. She almost giggles at the thought of him - such the wary protector. ] Your guard dogs' followed you, love, have you noticed? Such a good one. Be sure you give him a treat later.

[excessivehubris]

[He feels an itch to shoo the fish away, he knows she's dangerous but in the end, they are only fish and if he won't chastise Erik from terrorizing random NPC informants, he has little right to deprive her of the fish.

With his shields up Charles truly had not realized that Erik had followed him and he glances quickly over his shoulder towards the older man before looking back to Dru. A new tension runs through him and he reaches out to gently catch her wrist, an attempt to bring her focus back to him and off Erik.

After all, the concept of ERIK had been that bundle of memories and emotions he had tucked away from her during her attack, he knew they had fascinated her then and it worried him now.]

He's a good friend, [he emphasized, gently, smiling at her though the physical expression is probably much colder when compared to what he gave with his mind.]

Is that what brings you out here, love? Looking for a friend for your, George?

[oxidantshappen]

[ Erik tenses at the guard dog comment, feeling the inexplicable need to step in and reassure Drusilla that he was in fact, far from that. But he'll refrain, because the conversation only further sets Erik on edge and psychics were more Charles' territory than they were his own.

It does occur to Erik however, far from unintelligent as he is, that there's misdirection in the way Charles approaches her, turning the topic back to her attempts at fishing. She's doing it wrong, Erik's paid attention to that much when he was forced to learn to survive on his own. He walks over to the other side of Drusilla, in easy line of sight for Charles if he were to look up again before turning his attention back to the fish in the water. ]

You need to be more patient with the fish.

[singswithstars]

[ She blinks for a moment at the hand gripping her wrist. Well that is interesting. And he have really just done nothing but made her more keen on figuring out what Erik is and why he gets such a reaction from Charles. She has her suspicions. Things she wasn't allowed to touch before. Hmmm. She glances away for a moment, dazed, as if listening to some chiming carried in the air. Then a slow, slow, smile. ] Yes. A very good friend.

[ A girlish smile and a little bit of a giggle. She gives a nod to that question, though the truth being that she'd just been wandering by, saw the pond, and was struck with the idea. These sort of things happen fairly often

[excessivehubris]

[He casts a worried glance over at Erik, realizing -too late- the tactical error he's made in letting the older mutant come close to Dru with her abilities but there is little he can do at the moment. Not without lowering his shields, though he prepares himself for that if it seems that Dru will get aggressive with Erik.

Yet, here Erik surprises him, as the man is wont to do from time to time. Coming forward and offering her an enticement away from an open attack upon himself. Really, Charles recognizes he needs to learn to stay out of Erik's way more often but that need to 'always know best' is a hard habit to overcome.

With a breath and a hint of a blush on his cheeks as Dru intones very good, which he knows she didn't get from him, Charles forces himself to relax a notch as he watches the two interact. With how quickly Dru's mind can skip tracks, Charles bites his tongue and lets Erik respond to her rather than interrupt them.

After all ... to be blunt, its not like they don't have a lot in common.]

[oxidantshappen]

[ See Charles, Erik is still certainly capable of taking care of himself, but that's not to say he isn't hesitant about the matter in the first place. He's seen first hand what Charles is capable, seen first hand what Dru did to Charles and the last thing on his mind is angering either of them.

He glances back at Charles, noting the faint blush across his cheeks -- at least someone agrees that they're more than just friends -- before kneeling down on her other side. If Charles is keeping his shields up, then Dru must have gained that from Erik and it doesn't take the man more than a few seconds to make that leap that she's read his mind without permission.

Charles has been cautious enough not to let anything about Drusilla out, but Erik is still naturally curious about her, brushing aside his instinct to simply hurt the woman for the attack the other day as for the unwelcome brush against his thoughts. But she is dangerous as they come, a near opposite to the welcoming personality that was Charles Xavier. ]I'd argue its one of my

[singswithstars]

[ Charles' blush gets a sly, knowing smile from Dru and a pinch at a leg before turning her attention completely to Erik. Look, Charles. She's playing nice. Mostly. ]

I'd argue the same. But not always. Not for certain things. [ She can see that in you. It's said offhand, as if his personality was painted right over his face. And just as casually, she turns back to the water, going over his suggestion of patience.

She could be tapping into the Force to slow the fish, like Isolde did, but Dru's not a big fan of the whole Force deal. She likes it better this way. Hair falling around her face, she leans over the pond, slow and cautious, and trails her fingers just over the rippling surface of the water, waiting. Her voice comes out as a soothing whisper as she looks to be concentrating - attempting it Erik's way. ]

Shh, loves, shh... There there.

[ While waiting for the fish to calm, she hums some wordless melody to herself and a good moment or two passes before she speaks up again, out of the blue ]What the stars whisper to me I can

[excessivehubris]

[Actually given what he knows she is capable of, Dru is playing quite nicely and Charles is grateful, because he is also aware of what Erik is capable of and if everyone is willing to be civil -so to speak- he's going to relax a little. Sorry fish, you're sacrificed in the name of good relations; sometimes Charles' moral compass can pick and choose it's true north

[oxidantshappen]

[ Watching the two of them talk put Erik ill at ease, not having the same ability as either of them to join in on all the cryptic words they said. But he doesn't miss a beat, the analogy made clear to him in her own sort of apology. Restless as Erik may be among someone he doesn't quite understand, the words grate on him as clear as day.

He's cautious enough not to upset her, not when Charles is nearby, a visible distraction from taking leaps that lead nowhere. ] The stars are unpredictable when they cluster.

[ But he won't hold it against her, not when she's dangerous and Erik is still in this hesitant state of what should happen rather than taking a plunge into the unknown. There's a comfort in knowing Charles is close by, and through Erik tries to focus on the fish swimming instead, it's a stark awareness that he has no means of protecting himself from any sort of mental intrusion. He relied on trust from Charles, but Dru is all together an unpredictable woman, harmless as she looks here. Erik brushed that uncertainty aside, his

[singswithstars]

[ The fish go circling around, closer and closer up to the surface, and Dru is making little goo-goo noises and tongue clicking things like you do when playing with puppies. She appears to be nothing more than a simple little girl playing with the cute little animals

[excessivehubris]

[Her rebuke had him laughing softly as he bowed his head and accepted the remark with good humor. He had, perhaps, been trying too hard there.]

Fair enough, love.

[He offered before turning to watch her focus on the fish, caught almost at once at how childlike she seemed and how at odds this was with what he knew from her time in his mind. The differences held his attention and peeked his curiosity, his desire to know about people and about her given the depth of her power and ability.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the way she suddenly went still and focused on something only she could see but in the moment when she turned towards Erik he tensed. When she spoke, Charles felt the same cold dread go down his spine as when she'd first spoken words like this to him and he sat forward, his voice gentle by insistent.]

Dru...

[His shields fell back a layer, an instinctive maneuver that saw him reaching towards her except ... she wasn't there. Damn it, damn itIn a breath he slid past her and reached for Erik, his eyes

[oxidantshappen]

[ Even Erik had to chuckle at Charles' attempt to cooperate with her, caught off guard as he was by the cryptic conversation they were carrying. There's a time for overthinking things, Charles, however familiar you are with the woman in question!

His focus is on the Dru, watching her reach out for the fish. It's a perfect maneuver on her part, one Erik would have been pleased to see, had it not been for the fact that she suddenly tensed up, and Erik's eyes go wide out of fear, the split second memory of Charles in the same position at the forefront of his thoughts.

But it's not Charles looking back at him, it's Dru, dark eyes peering back at him and it's another split second flash of Emma on the Caspartina before she tore him apart to shreds.

Erik's phantoms haven't gone away, not truly, because even with Charles at his side, they're still a persistent reminder of where he's come from, where he'll go and sorry Charles, but calming Erik's mind won't do much good just yet