cycleofages | And there's a storm you're starting now... [OPEN]

The forest was Rogue's favorite place in the entire complex. She knew that the sun and sky in the expansive room weren't real, but if she let go of logic, she could almost believe that she was really outside. That she was free. So it wasn't at all unusual to find her settled against a tree, staring up at the sky and the sight of the sun bouncing off the leaves of the trees. And when the sun began to set and the light dimmed, she didn't move, lost in thought and feeling almost at peace.

Graced enjoyed the forest as well. She used to hunt mushrooms with her father and now that her father was back in her life it was a sweet place to visit. She'd run through the green expanse of trees giggling as she climbed over the large rock towards the center of the room.

When she spotted Rogue she ran over with a breathless smile. "Want to play hide and seek?"

It was her favorite game to play with her father and while she knew that this woman was clearly lost in through she wanted to offer a small game of fun.

Rogue hadn't expected to see the little girl there. She'd seen her around the complex, but hadn't yet spoken with her. It was difficult for Rogue to be around children, after what had happened with the school and during the war, but now that the girl was here right in front her, giving her that smile, she couldn't turn her away.

"I'd love to play," she answered with her own smile, though it was small and a bit tired. "I'm Rogue. What's your name, sugar?"

"I'm Grace."

She beamed when Rogue said she'd play. "Daddy says I'm the best hider so count to ten and come find me okay?"

Grace recognized the tired look in the woman's eyes and she wanted to help. Her experiance with the world only allowed her to pull from what she knew and what she knew was how her father would cheer her up: with tea and games.

"I bet your daddy's right," she told Grace with a brighter smile, the girl's mood lifting her own more than much of anything else had at HQ thus far. "Go on, then."

Lifting a gloved hand to cover her eyes, she began slowly counting, keeping her voice loud so Grace would be able to hear her wherever she ended up. Rogue had never been able to resist children, especially the sweet ones who did try so hard to help. Even with the pain in her heart, she could already feel the little girl settling in where so many others had been before.

Grace's expression brightened and she turned to go run and hide. Even in a dress she managed to slip quickly through the forest. She found a comfortable hiding spot between a tree and a large rock. Grace was small and her rustic color hood hid her well.

Now she just waited with her fingers over her lips to keep herself silent.

"Ten!" Rogue called out loudly, waiting another few seconds just in case the girl needed a little extra time to get into her hiding spot. Pulling herself up to stand, she took a few steps forward, glancing around and trying to see if she could spot any signs of where Grace might have gone. This wasn't like the forests they'd hidden in during the war, though, and the footprints in the ground could have easily been from others in the complex.

"I wonder where she could be," she pondered in that same loud voice, a playful tone slipping into the words as she moved further into the forest.

Grace's fingers tightened against her lips when she heard Rogue begin to wander through the forest. She was only a few yards away when Rogue wandered into her sights.

She was trying to stay very quite.

Rogue spotted Grace almost as soon as she was in her field of vision, but she didn't let on to it. Where was the fun in ending the game so soon? So she continued on, wondering aloud again where the little girl could be hiding.

Slowly, she moved through the trees, circling around behind where Grace was, trying to be quiet herself as she neared so she could sneak up on the child.

Grace watched as the woman walked past her and, true to her father's way of playing, she began to sneak out of her hiding place in an attempt to follow Rogue. She had practiced stepping lightly and she was able to move without making a sound as she crept along.

A few more steps and she lost Rogue from her sight. She paused, moving low against a tree as to not be found. She had no idea what Rogue was sneaking up behind her.

Rogue didn't spend much time in the rec room, but something about it had called to her that day. Perhaps because there were people coming through, but not too many, and no one seemed ready to pull her into a game of air hockey. So she settled onto the floor in front of one of the low tables by a sofa and shuffled a pack of cards she'd found. They felt so familiar and yet so foreign in her hands, and it wasn't until she took off her gloves that it began to feel more natural. It was almost pure muscle memory to set up a game of solitaire on the table, the action and mere sight of the cards soothing to her nerves.

Remy settled in fairly quickly, as he often did on new places. The rec room had become one of his usual haunts, never able to turn down a challenge, specially a game, when it was offered. He wanted in to the room mid-afternoon, a pleasant smile touching his lips when his demon eyes settled on Rogue. His eyebrow quirked in amused surprised at the hand she was dealing herself and he sauntered over with a confident stride.

When he reached the table, he leaned forward against it, resting his palms on the surface of the table, mindful of her spread.

"Now yo' playin' my game, chere? Don' know if I should be touched or offended."

Rogue didn't look up as he approached, but she could tell from the clothes, the shoes, the walk - she'd know him anywhere. Remy LeBeau was like a sun, drawing her into his gravitational pull no matter what universe he was from.

Glancing at the hands with those sinfully skilled fingers, she didn't hide the smirk that curled up a corner of her lips as she moved a few cards. She continued the game with ease as she commented, "It's because you were touched that I'm playing this game. I've got too much of you in my head, swamp rat; I see a deck of cards and I've just gotta do something with it."

He breaks into a wide grin as he leans his weight on his palms, meeting her eyes, mischief dancing in those black orbs.

"I don' know 'bout dat, chere. Looks ta me like you got jus' enough." Remy was no fool, and he could follow what she meant by 'touching', even though the idea was a little disturbing. Was he, the other him, inside of her even now?

The sight of that grin just about took her breath away. He wasn't the love of her life, but he was. And lord did it make her heart and head ache something fierce.

"It'll never be enough," she said in a more somber tone, though there still a smile in place. "I miss my Remy like crazy. I always will." He was still in her head, of course, a constant presence offering her support, but it wasn't the same. A psyche in her mind couldn't wrap her up in strong arms and keep the world away.

"Sometimes we gotta make due wit' what we got, non?" His smile was a comforting one, understanding if not completely, at least partially what she was going through. Mourning what might have been wasn't exactly like mourning a man who was no longer with us, but he was no stranger to loss.

He motioned to the assortment of cards, a wry smile teasing the corner of his mouth. "You up fo' doubles?"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries with Gus, Rogue carried her tray of lunch over to an unoccupied table, settling down and picking up her fork, spearing a green bean and popping it into her mouth. She counted each chew before washing it down with a gulp from her large iced sweet tea - eating was a chore that had to be accomplished if she wanted to get back to her normal weight, but she still didn't enjoy it much.

Edited 2016-08-07 20:46 (UTC)

"You look like the rugs been pulled out from under your feet sugar."

Rogue took a seat in front of the older woman placing her tray on the table. She had the exact same thing as the other woman but she choose to disregard that fact for right now. She hadn't been sure what to say and it got to the point where she decided she didn't care.

She was going to have a conversation with herself if it was the last thing she did.

Rogue looked up as the younger version of herself sat across from her, her jaw dropping slightly as she struggled to come up with something to say. She wasn't wrong, this other self - she felt completely out of sorts, and didn't know which way was up most of the time.

"That's a pretty accurate way of putting it," she finally replied, noticing herself that the other woman's tray was a copy of her own. Their portion sizes were a little different though - she'd specifically asked Gus for smaller portions so she didn't waste food, because there was no way she was able to eat a normal sized meal yet.

"How are you handling all of this?"

"As well as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs." Her expression was relaxed though her shoulders were tense. She continued to wear the suite she'd arrived in and she had no intention of changing. She wasn't comfortable wearing any less and she was less comfortable around people and a setting she didn't know.

Rogue wasn't okay but she wanted to be strong and she had some practice putting up a front. While Gambit and another version of herself were here she had no one to talk to. She missed Storm and the others, her Gambit, her team.

"You look a might too thin hon." She nodded towards the tray in front of Rogue.

It was such a southern thing to say, that Rogue had to smile a little in amusement. She'd probably be saying the same thing if their situations were reversed; her role had always been that of taking care of everyone else first, and herself as an afterthought.

"I know," she said simply, giving a slight nod of acknowledgment. "It's something I'm working on." She lifted her tea again to take another sip, the condensation on the glass slick against her bare fingers; she'd taken off her gloves to eat, but the rest of her remained safely covered with the grey suit she'd arrived in.

Unlike her other self, Rogue wasn't putting up any sort of strong front. She was tired, she was lonely, and she was grieving the loss of everyone she'd ever known. Some of that was hidden behind good southern manners, but she didn't waste what energy she had trying to push the rest aside, not with another version of herself.

"Is it really true then?" Sayings aside Rogue wanted to know more about the woman sitting across from her. She hadn't gone to the hospital wing and she hadn't really inquired a lot about others here. Pulse had spoken to her at the meeting and ever since she felt an eerie amount of discomfort no matter where she went. She wanted to leave HQ but she didn't at the same time.

How different was this world?

Rogue's head canted to the side. "How much is different." Besides age and clothing which were the obvious differences between the pair of girls.

It took real effort to keep herself from also tilting her head as her other self had - it was such a natural reaction, but now that she'd noticed, she didn't want to do it.

"Between us?" Rogue asked to clarify, not sure to what exactly the other woman was referring. "Or between our worlds? I haven't been outside here; I'm not ready for that yet." She wasn't sure if she ever would be.

"Between us sugar."

Rogue's tone softened a little bit, becoming more gentle. She was one edge and there was no doubt in her heart and mind that the other her was as well. It was awkward at best and while she wanted to throw a fit she knew that it wouldn't do either of them a lick of good. She had taken the time to have this conversation for a reason and she didn't want to lose that now.

Her whole life seemed to be about control now.

"This world probably has it's own problems and for now I'd like to deal with my own." Not to say it's in Rogue to sit around and do nothing should the situation come up. For now it's peaceful and she'll enjoy what little peace she's given.

Rogue watched the other woman for a long moment, debating what to share and what to keep to herself. But in the end, if she could somehow help this woman lead a better life, not make the same mistakes she had, then what choice did she really have?

"I arrived at Charles Xavier's school when I was seventeen," she started, figuring the basics were a good place to begin. "My adoptive parents didn't want a mutant in the family, so I left. I wasn't there more than a few days before I was kidnapped by Magneto - he made me absorb him so I could power a machine that was meant to change baseline humans into mutants. The X-Men stopped him, but I'd have died if it hadn't been for Logan saving me with his healing."

It was an event that had shaped her entire life from that point onward. She didn't say anything about the comment on the problems of this world; nothing needed to be said when she understood completely.

She listened quietly and when it seemed like the other girl was finished she exhaled a slow breath. "We have some things in common sugar but not all." She wondered what she should say but considering Rogue's openness she thought she should be too.

It felt right.

"I was thirteen when I ran away, papa didn't want a mutant in the family." It felt like some sort of sick joke when she repeated the similarity. "I found someone who was willing to take care of me and teach me..." Her voice trailed off and her brows furrowed. "She taught me how to use my powers." There are parts of her life that Rogue wasn't proud of and the Brotherhood of Mutants was one of them. She had trusted the wrong people and got hurt because of it.

"When we fought Ms.Marvel I-" She paused, biting her lower lip. It was difficult to admit. "I killed her." She wouldn't tell anyone else this but Rogue was... it was still her wasn't it? "That’s when I met Professor Xavier. He helped me and I've been with the X-Men since."

That was the short version.

The library might be small, but without being able to go to the City (for her own reasons), it was one of the best ways to pass the time. There wasn't much in the way of variety, but Rogue chose a history volume and settled at one of the tables. She had helped to teach various history classes at the mansion, and it was nice to immerse herself in the pages of the book.

Edited 2016-08-08 01:20 (UTC)

If there was any doubt that Hermione Granger would find a library, then you didn't know Hermione Granger. She found the library almost as soon as she left the meeting. The library gave Hermione life, and it was like her second home. She had a stack of thick tomes and was settled next to Rogue, not that the young woman could see her behind her pile.

It was a library, and so it felt a bit strange to jump into conversation with the young woman beside her, but it was nice just to have someone there. Another living person other than Kevin, who wasn't all that charming.

She shifted in her seat at one point, adjusting the way she was leaning over the table, and somehow managed to nudge the stack of books with her elbow - not enough to make them fall or even teeter precariously, but enough to shift them noticeably. Scrambling to grab the books (just in case), she straightened them with gloved hands and murmured a quiet but sincere, "Sorry!"

The small size of her room and lack of window meant that Rogue didn't spend much time there, preferring to either wander the complex or settle in the common area of the dorms. That was where she was now, curled up in a corner of the couch with the history book she'd borrowed from the library. It was a tome chronicling French royalty, and seeing the familiar names printed on the page was comforting.

Harry was wandering, unable to sleep, and thinking about his new life here. It seemed... strange, new, and wonderful, and scary, too. He had no idea how to feel here, except a sheer level or joy that no one here called him the Chosen One or expected him to lead.

Thank the gods.

When he spotted the woman curled up on one common area, he raised a hand, smiling. "Evening."

Breakfast was the time when Rogue was simply a spectator in the cafeteria. Now that she'd finally started her job as a helper to Gus, she worked during the lunch and dinner shifts, and whenever else he might say he needed her - it was more time than she'd been required to work, but she'd rather stay busy than spend too much time alone with her thoughts. And washing dishes and cleaning certainly did the trick of keeping her busy.

Settled at her usual morning table with a large cup of coffee and an omelet, she breathed in the scent of the delicious caffeinated beverage and struggled to wake up. It had been another long night with little real rest.

Edited 2016-08-08 02:19 (UTC)

And she would find a man walking up to her table, and nodding to the seat opposite her. "May I pull up a chair, Rogue?"

First tip of the hat that he knew a version of her. He wasn't planning on keeping secrets from her, that was true, so there he was, in his usual morning self, smiling. He had been thinking of catching up to her for awhile, but he had no idea of what she would want or how she would react, so he was taking his time.

Even if patience was not always an easy thing.

She looked up as the man neared, and she couldn't help the way her eyes widened slightly in surprise. The man knew her, clearly, but she didn't know him. She'd never seen him before arriving in this place; it was possible that he didn't even exist in her world.

"Of course," she said with a nod and a ghost of a polite smile. "You know, I'm starting to wonder whether I should go by Marie in this place, since there's two of me here." It was meant to be a bit of a joke, a lighthearted comment as well as her own way of trying to see if he knew the other her, and if perhaps he was from that universe. She really had no intention of changing her name in that way - it would be too painful.

"Thanks." Pulse grinned and sat opposite her.

"Use the name that makes you the most comfortable, I say." He chuckled as he sipped his water. "You too look enough different to make it noticeable.:

He smiled at her. "Neither of you are the one I know though, who also looks different from you two. Which makes it even odder to be here with the two of you." He offered her a small smile.

"How are you settling in?"

It was so strange to think of there being so many other versions of her out there in the multiverse. She'd always known it was a likelihood, but to actually see it now... She wondered if any of the others had fared better in their lives.

She couldn't imagine what it was like for this man or even the Gambit who was here, being faced with so many who were familiar but not actually known. Dealing with that with just one was proving more difficult than she'd ever imagined.

"Not very well, to be honest," she answered, her smile turning apologetic for not choosing pleasantries over the truth. "Being underground isn't... easy for me, and I'm not ready to face the city."

Pulse nodded. "Me either. I'm used to traveling a lot, being on the move. Being holed up feels a whole lot like a trap."

He shivered a little without realizing it. "I'm going to clear and head out to the city some day soon, maybe get a job out there. If there's anything I can do for you, please let me know. Us transplantees and mutants should stick together." Things had not worked out with his Rogue, and that life was gone, but he did feel fondness for that other woman, and he felt like he owed her something. Paying it forward seemed a good way to pay down that debt. Besides, getting to know her would be fun.

His offer made her smile, because it was kind of him, and reminded her a little of the way Erik thought. Which was a good thing, in her mind - they did need to stick together, look after one another, if they were going to make it in this strange place.

"I appreciate the offer," she said with sincerity. "I can't really think of anything I need though. I've done without for so long, not much seems all that important anymore." The result of almost a decade of war.

Pulse nodded. "Sounds like you had a rough time back in your world." He nibbled some on his food as he regarded her.

"My name is Pulse, and I..." He paused. "I don't want to sound like I am hitting on you, because I'm not. That said, my power is such that you can touch me if you ever want human contact. Your power can't touch me unless I want it to."

He spoke softly, eyes down at first, then lifted them to hers, unsure if he was doing the right thing to tell her.

A rough time. That was one way of putting it.

Rogue stared at Pulse for a long moment, digesting what he'd just told and trying to understand what it meant to her. Did she care that someone could touch her without being hurt? Did she deserve that sort of gift? Her gaze stayed fixed on his expression as the seconds stretched between them, and finally she sighed, feeling more tired than she had before this revelation.

"Thank you for telling me," she said just as softly, a deep sadness creeping into the words and thickening her accent. "If I'd known you a few years ago, I would have..." She shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't matter. Thank you."

Pulse winced at the look and sound of her and he swore to himself. Well done, Pulse. You dumbass.

"Rogue, I... I didn't... damn. I'm sorry."

He rubbed his face. "I just figured you could use a real hug. God knows I could sometimes." He shook his head. "But, ah, anyway. We should hang out sometime. When you feel up to outsideness, or activity." Now he felt awkward.

Lord, could she make things any worse? She'd known how to talk to people once upon a time, but apparently those days were long gone.

"That'd be nice," she said quietly, then shifted in her seat. "I didn't mean- I didn't think you meant... It's just that, I don't know that I could even hold someone's hand right now. I think if you hugged me, I'd end up crying all over you." And then things would be really awkward.

"No, I just... realized I had been a little insensitive. I'm not really a people person." He offered her a light grin.

"There are worse things than crying over someone. If you ever felt like you needed to, I wouldn't object." He paused. "One time I would have thought worse of you, but a lot has changed in my life. Hell, I cry often enough myself."

her waved around them, then nodded. "Losing a world seems like a good reason, for one."

Rogue wondered briefly at what might have caused such a profound change in this man she had just met, but his guess at her troubles changed her train of thought. Sighing heavily, she shook her head and told him, "My world was lost before I got here."

She smoothed her hands over her hair, tucking the signature white strands back behind her ears in a nervous gesture. "There was a war. We... We lost. There was maybe a tenth of the population left."

"Ouch." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Rogue, that has to be rough to deal with, even now." he rubbed his face and blinked at that.

"I hope you can stay here permanently then." Because why would you want to go back?

Even now. Glancing at the other people in the room, she could imagine them all being marched into camps, then dumped outside the perimeter when they were of no more use. She could see them being strapped to a table in the lab, feel their life draining into her...

Shifting again in her seat, she shook her head again. "We fixed it. We sent Logan, Wolverine, back in time and we stopped the war before it happened. I could feel the timeline changing and that's... that's when I ended up here. If I go back, I don't know what I'd be going back to, but I wouldn't remember anything of the life I've lived." Another sigh. "I hope I can stay here, too."

Pulse blinked some more. "Time travel. Wow." He shook his head. Okay. That was a new one. But as he glanced around the place, he chuckled to himself. So was dimensional travel, right?

"Well, I'll do my best to keep us all here, then." And he would. He wasn't sure what he could do, but first he would create an infrastructure to get himself resources. And that meant hitting New York. He nodded to himself.

"When you feel like heading to New York, let me know. I'm probably headed there as soon as I can."

Maybe one day she would tell him the specifics of how they had managed time travel, of how she had gotten to be part of it all. But that would mean telling him about the lab, about the mansion, and... Well. She wasn't quite ready for people to know about that. She wasn't ready to see that look in their eyes.

"I will, thank you," she replied with a soft smile. She was quiet for a moment, pondering the things he'd said thus far, before carefully, curiously asking, "Sugar, how did you know me in your world?" Because he hadn't really said anything about being with the X-Men, but he knew about her powers, and knew how his worked with them. He had made the effort to approach her here about that fact, so there had to be something behind it all, especially with what he'd said about the man he used to be.

'Well, I was a thief and an art collector and critic. I'd worked with Mystique, who, in that world, raised that version of you for some of her childhood. You were growing closer to Remy, who had not... been completely forthcoming on certain things. And who had pissed off Mystique. So she hired-slash-blackmailed me to come to the mansion and show you that there were others who could be as slick and as charming as Remy, without the baggage."

he sighed and rubbed his face. "It was a dumb idea, but challenges have never been things I backed down from well. So I came, and I romanced you. And first thing, I told you the truth. We argued, and fought, and then Apocalypse attacked."

He shuddered, remembering that. "An ancient mutant of power, he was trying to kill the X-Men and... that was so far out of my league all i wanted to do was run. But there you were, in the heart of it. And some part of me ran the wrong damn way. Suddenly, I was there, and holding on to the bastard. And using my powers to negate his. The good guys won, and we started talking and sitting together... but... truth to tell, I'd been shown I wasn't an X-man, and my presence was making things touchy for a number of people, so, after a long goodbye weekend, I left. That was several years ago."

he nodded, leaving none of it out, not putting himself in any better light than it had been. "I watched you in the news, and in newspapers, wondering what might have been and moving on with my life."

And there's a storm you're starting now... [OPEN]

Friday, August 5: Forest (Evening)

Friday, August 5: Forest (Evening)

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Saturday, August 6: Rec Room (Afternoon)

Saturday, August 6: Rec Room (Afternoon)

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Sunday, August 7: Cafeteria (Lunch) [Closed to the Rogues]

Sunday, August 7: Cafeteria (Lunch) [Closed to the Rogues]

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Monday, August 8: Library (Morning)

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Monday, August 8: Dormitories: Sun Dorm (Evening)

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Tuesday, August 9: Cafeteria (Breakfast)

Tuesday, August 9: A Breakfast of Strangers

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