Peaking back into the world

[magnetic_magpie]

Who: Magneto and to be updated
When: Week of 4-10 through 4-15
Where: Mostly the HoA, a few others
Summary: Mags is talking to people again. A few people want to see him in person
Warnings: Will be updated
Other: Tag in with when you are meeting/where ok?

He'd made appointments with various people. He was going to keep them. But even still, he was looking entirely well. He'd lost a little weight, was tense, and mostly very still. Except his eyes. They never stopped moving.

Comments

[motioned]

After a second of taking in his appearance, her expression grows more worried, though she tries to mask it fairly quickly. She covers it with a smile, trying to appear as positive as she can, though it may not be quite convincing giving the circumstances.

"Good afternoon!" She walks inside the room.

[magnetic_magpie]

He forces the smile a little more and reaches over to pat her shoulder. "It's all right Ahiru. I'm doing better actually." He turns to usher her into one of the common areas. "How was school?"

[motioned]

She walks in as he beckons, gingerly taking a seat before she begins to answer his question.

"It was good! Math is still hard, but I'm trying my best."

[magnetic_magpie]

He settles into a near by seat, staying perfectly still. "Maths can be confusing yes. I like it though. Maths and languages, I was always rather good with them."

[motioned]

She smiles, folding her hands together in her lap and swinging her legs back and forth absentmindedly as she looks up at the ceiling.

"Reading is my favorite! Reading and history."

[magnetic_magpie]

"I always loved to read, even out of school. What are you reading?" This was a lot easier to talk about. Far easier. He'd keep this normal as long as he could. Mostly because he didn't know what to say.

[motioned]

"Lots of poetry!" She answers with a smile, though she knows she needs to move on from this soon.

"It's really interesting, we didn't have anything like the kinds of poetry and books we're studying now back home."

[magnetic_magpie]

"One of my girls likes poetry too. She made me a ring with lines from a poem on it." He'd lost the ring in Genosha's destruction.

"I'm glad you have them here. Books and knowledge are wonderful things."

[motioned]

"Oh, that was nice of her! What poem?"

"Yeah, I'm glad, too! I really love to read." She shifts, a bit uncomfortable. Small talk is normally welcome, but she came here for a reason, and they both know it.

[magnetic_magpie]

"By Edwin Markham. From The Shoes of Happiness, and Other Poems. It was published in 1913.

He drew a circle that shut me out —
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in."

He recited it easily. Lorna had scripted each line on a ring and linked the together, the last line holding the other three rings. He'd worn it on his thumb. He noticed the shift but didn't say anything. He wasn't inclined to talk about, resented being pushed, but afraid to not answer.

[motioned]

She pauses a moment, trying to work out the meaning behind the words, before realization overtakes her and she smiles.

"So it's saying that love conquers everything, in a way, huh? I really like that. She must have been really important to you."

[magnetic_magpie]

"Something like that, yes. That people use words to define others and label them in such a way that they don't matter. But love unites, rather than divides." Lorna's point had been that Mutants in general, and Magneto specifically, being so often being outsiders, shouldn't shut others out.

"She is. My youngest, my heir."

[motioned]

"That's a really good lesson, and she sounds really amazing, too!" There's more of that slightly uncomfortable shifting, though. Almost unconsciously, she chews on her bottom lip.

[magnetic_magpie]

"She is." Her shifting was making his eyes dart back to her, not really spooking him but drawing his attention repeatedly as he scanned the room.

"You're going to chap your lip."

[motioned]

She quickly moves a hand to her mouth, tentatively, before moving it away and smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry. I guess I didn't realize I was doing it."

[magnetic_magpie]

"It's all right. We all have nervous habits." His voice was gentle, and he offered a small smile, trying to be reassuring.

[motioned]

She smiles back, running a hand through her hair.

"I guess so! A lot of them are harmless, though."

[magnetic_magpie]

"A lot of them are yes. I used to chew on my school pens." His sister had broken him of that habit though, even if now he was fond of the memory.

[motioned]

"Really? Did that help with stress?" She tilts her head curiously.

[magnetic_magpie]

"It did. Gave me something to do while I was working. Children weren't supposed to fidget in school, and it kept me from getting into trouble with the teachers for it." Because he had been one of those children who hadn't be able to sit still.

[motioned]

"So how come you stopped, if it helped?"

[magnetic_magpie]

"Because my mother wished me to stop - it wore the pens out and didn't look proper. So my sister smeared bacon grease from a neighbour over them." And his face screwed up a little thinking about that one.

[motioned]

"Bacon grease? That's disgusting!" Her nose wrinkles up a little in turn.

[magnetic_magpie]

"It really was. Fairly effective way of breaking the habit." Still, he smiled a little. "Ruthie was trying to help."

[motioned]

"Ruthie? So that's your sister's name, huh?