Beyond Evolution

It was, actually, a beautiful morning. The sun seemed to have risen early, lighting the blue and white of the sky in a way that made it known there wouldn't be any storms that day. The grass was green and smelled fresh-cut, the dew glistening and not ready to leave. All across the nation, people were beginning to set out or set up for their Day of Remembrance, giving thoughts and prayers and thanks to the soldiers who had died, and for those who still lived, whether they were home with their families or overseas. Xavier's was doing the same, in a way.

White chairs were set up in rows before the makeshift stage in the memorial garden outside of the school. Thanks possibly to Laura, the flowers were all in full bloom, highlighting the strange placement of the day in the year. A memorial for those who had died, in the middle of the earth's highest point of life. Maybe it was supposed to be comforting, or perhaps just a reminder. Life goes on, and life can still be beautiful despite all of the death in it.

By 9:15, everyone was seated. There was a noticeable absence, though, new to this ceremony. The front, right-hand row was empty. It had been sectioned off as people were filing in, reserved in spirit for the members of the school who were no longer with them. Some faces from the audience were absent as well, people who couldn't bring themselves to come or didn't want to. The Intruders lined the back rather than sitting, shadowy presences watching a tribute they'd never had on their own, but could appreciate the value of all the same. On each seat was waiting a flower and a small piece of paper, with Frye's poem written on it.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there. I do not die.

Xavier moved to the podium, not needing a microphone as his words echoed out mentally to those in attendance. It was kept simple, and short, but would feel like he was speaking to each attendee personally, rather than to the group as a whole. The words were what one might expect -- geared towards remembering those they'd lost as they were in life, not in death. Remembering what they'd lived for and valued and wanted for others, not allowing pain to take hold and twist things. It wasn't just the dead that were being mourned, though. There were lives that had been irrevocably changed forever, people like Adrien and Rogue, Sadie and Kevin, whose powers had placed them back in isolation. People like Scott and Lorna who had lost someone so close to them that it felt as though their own lives were slipping away. Even simply the humans around them, who had suffered a blow to their sense of natural security, who now had worries and suspicions in place that they hadn't before. To them, Xavier brought out the words of Marianne Williamson, made famous by Nelson Mandela. Words of hope and a reminder that they did still have in them a goodness that needed to be shown, if they or the world were to heal from what had happened.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

It was announced that instead of simply markers for those who had died in these attacks, there would be another sculpture added to the garden, created by Kevin Ford. For now, the marker made for the base of it sat in its place, the words of Shelley inscribed on it -- 'Peace, peace, he is not dead, he doth not sleep. He hath awakened from the dream of life.' Instruments from the music room began to play, powered perhaps by Luce or maybe by Cal, Zinman's Adagio For Strings moving across the garden as, one by one, those seated came up to put the flowers down next to it. Once through, anyone who wanted to come up and speak was welcome to.


[Open to all! Feel free to tag reactions, or if your char gets up to speak, etc]

It wasn't that Kate didn't appreciate it: the fact she was allowed to stay here, the fact that the school had lawyers on her side, and the whole basically getting off blame-free for leveling Times Square. But the boundaries of the property were feeling more and more like a prison, and one she was trapped inside somewhat voluntarily at that - she chose, after all, to come back here. Not under these circumstances, but it was a choice she made herself none the less. As the school assembled for the memorial service on the lawn, Kate instead got dressed for another affair entirely.

The name of the game was anonymity: her face (along with Sadie's) had been plastered on the internet and television like they were celebrities, and the whole point of this 'sneaking out' thing was to basically avoid reality. To forget, for a little while, that they were mutants who had done a considerable about of damage to the city around them. Though it was a cool day, the air was still humid; jeans, a t-shirt, and a light hoodie would have to do. Sliding on a pair of ridiculously oversized sunglasses, Kate pulled her hair into a ponytail and popped her hood up, looking vaguely like some kind of bank robber. That was ironic. She had enough money that they could disappear for a very long time, but she didn't see it quite coming to that just yet.

< You ready to go? > Reaching out with her mind, she gently probed that mental link she'd gotten so accustomed to, moving out of her bedroom and into the hall, heading toward the room where Sadie was staying. The link with Nate had disturbed her, on some level, because he was very dangerous on a lot of levels. But Sadie was a normal girl - what trouble could she really cause, with gloves on?

[ Sadie, obviously! ♥ ]

Laura had been in the memorial garden before the ceremony, rooting plants in the soil, coaxing blossoms open by the markers and around the stage; when the last speech was finished and everyone had filed out, leaving a pile of cut flowers by the base where Kevin's statue would sit, she stayed behind. The garden almost felt like home to her these days, which might just have been a sign that she had made remembering the dead too much her own personal responsibility. She spent too much time there, too much time remembering names and faces, too much time tending flowers on graves that few people visited. Awful as it was, she just didn't trust anyone else to remember - if she forgot, if she let those details slip away, they might be lost forever. People who'd mattered once, who'd had lives and families and friends, might just disappear as if they'd never existed. There were people buried here who'd been forgotten by the rest of the world - if they were forgotten here as well, then they might as well have never been born, and preventing that was something she took personally. She couldn't protect the school, she couldn't stop the terrible things that happened there, but at least she could do this. Remembering, that was Laura's job.

( Delicate roots already trailing from her wrist, she made her way to the oldest markers, the ones from before death had become such a familiar thing at Xavier's. )

( NARRATIVE )