InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "rocks don't taste like dispair"

Erik Lehnsherr (wealreadyare) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-04-27 16:59:00

Entry tags:

erik lehnsherr, irene adler

WHO: Older!Erik Lehnsherr & Irene Adler
WHAT: Erik tries to avoid everyone at the manor and fails spectacularly.
WHEN: April 27th
WHERE: The X-Mansion
RATING: PG
STATUS: COMPLETE

There really weren't many places that Erik could hide in the manor. It had become rather obvious to him that he wasn't welcome here anymore than he might have been back home, so he'd been taking measures to try and stay out from under the feet of the people around. He had absolutely no doubts that Charles was sincere in saying that he would kick him out should he cause any issues with his students. Charles was always so protective of his kids, and Erik would never expect his old friend to put him ahead of any of them, particularly when his very existence like this seemed to completely upset this Charles anyway.

So moving between his old room, one which was apparently still his while he was here, and the other rooms that he needed to use, Erik had managed to avoid nearly almost all interactions with the other residents unless he moved to seek one out. But there really was only a certain amount of time that he could keep that up before timing got the better of him, and as he moved into the kitchen to get something to drink and eat, he found himself not alone. Casting a brief glance over at the woman in the room, Erik stood there for a long moment, drink can in hand before clearing his throat and nodding to her.

"Afternoon," She wasn't someone that he recognized so she must have been either from this place or from another reality entirely. Either way, it wasn't likely that she was one of them, so he didn't feel the need to pay her much more mind than the brief greeting as he moved to the cabinets to try and find something that wouldn't require him to stick around any longer than necessary. "One of Charles's friends? You seem a bit old to be a student. No offense."

(Post a new comment)

letshavedinner
2012-04-27 09:10 pm UTC (link)

Although Irene didn't speak to too many people over the public messaging system, that didn't mean she didn't pay attention to the things going on within the city. Partially due to curiosity, partially from boredom, and partially because her entire career was focused on locating those who needed her specialised attention, she spent a fair share of her time perusing the network and making mental notes of those who came and went. So she had taken note of the overnight change in Erik Lehnsherr virtually the moment it had become public knowledge. She simply had stayed out of it, seeing no reason to offer her insight into the situation and knowing, if Charles needed her in any capacity, he was perfectly capable of contacting her.

Of course, fate had twisted about in a way that ended with her needing his assistance first. And now here she was. Staying in his home all because the city had seen fit to bring a man in who killed women of her stature. Which meant that there was simply no ignoring the changes in a handful of those in Charles' life any longer.

Particularly when they saw fit to enter the kitchen just as she was sitting down for a cup of tea.

Had he ignored her, she happily would have returned the favour and kept her focus on her PDA. However this older, far more embittered version of Erik chose to be polite and she was scarcely going to be rude back. Particularly when he made the assumption that he did about her. In fact, her lips twitched ever so slightly as she continued to idly scroll through her PDA for a moment longer before she replied. When she did speak, her words were spoken almost lazily and clearly with an underlying hint of something else.

"Actually," she murmured, "it would be far more accurate to say that he is a student of mine. Although you could say we were friends as well, I suppose. I would certainly consider us as such." Slowly she looked up from her PDA, one eyebrow arching ever so slightly as she met Erik's gaze. "And it takes far more than a statement of the obvious to insult me, Mr. Lehnsherr, I assure you."

(Reply to this) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-27 09:27 pm UTC (link)

Interesting. Erik would never have thought Charles could be described as anyone's student at any point in his life. At least, not in a way that he would willingly admit, and to see someone describe him as such as enough to perk his interest. Pausing in his search of the cabinets, Erik glanced back over his shoulder at her, a clearly curious expression on his features, before he closed the cabinet doors back and crossed over to the table, setting his drink down at her stood there for a moment. "I was hardly trying to insult," Erik said, shifting to sit himself down. "I was only making it clear what I saw, but I suppose you women do tend to be rather touchy about your age."

All right. That would probably qualify as an attempt to insult.

"Though. I do find that I have to ask," Erik said, leveling her with a curious gaze as he opened his drink and took a sip. "What could Charles possibly have to learn? He's so well versed in practical every subject that one could think of that my mind struggles to come up with one where he'd need tutoring."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-27 09:48 pm UTC (link)

Irene's smile was a thin one, merely there for show and certainly in no way sincere. "Mmm," she replied with a tip of her head as she set her PDA down and reached for her cup of tea. "I suppose you're right. Women do tend to be a bit touchy when it comes to that particular subject." Casually, she tacked on as she raised the teacup to her lips, "Just as you men tend to be rather touchy about your perceived position of power and insults toward your manhood in any real capacity."

She peered up at him as she took a sip of her tea, then set the cup back down and flashed him that same smile. "Ah, now that, I'm afraid, is really none of your business. Confidentiality and all of that, you see." Dragging one fingertip idly around the edge of the cup in front of her, she thought for a moment - head tipped slightly to the side - before simply tacking on, "Really, though, for someone who has known him as long as you have, I would think it would be rather obvious."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-27 10:12 pm UTC (link)

Erik had more than enough experience with ballsy woman to know exactly when his ego was being prodded at, when he was being challenged to rise to bait that would only leave him in the position to get knocked back down. But even as he recognized it, he couldn't deny the flare of emotions in him that rose at the implication that he wasn't able to recognize something so obvious in Charles when he really should be able to. Even with how they had been at odds with each other for so long, Erik had always still felt that he understood Charles well enough to be able to place himself into any situation and predict just how his old friend was going to react, but here, now, with these circumstances, Erik wasn't so sure that the things that he knew held up at all.

Not that he was going to allow that thought to show as he peered across the table at her, not willing to flinch in the face of such an obvious challenge. No, he wasn't going to let a mere human quell him, much less one with seemingly no precedent to do so. "There's confidentiality when it comes to taking classes now?" Erik asked, raising an eyebrow at the woman across from him. "Unless you're his therapist in some vein, I wouldn't see how that would apply, my dear."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-27 10:21 pm UTC (link)

Irene couldn't help but laugh softly at Erik's statement, truly finding it amusing. "You know," she replied lightly, "considering how you seem rather convinced at any age that I am his therapist, it almost is enough to make one wonder if you are, perhaps, projecting your own desire to speak with one upon your friend." With a bemused shake of her head, she took another sip of her tea.

"I will say it once more, Mr. Lehnsherr, and then I am liable to become rather cross that you insist on asking. What I do and do not teach Charles is none of your business." She arched one eyebrow slowly, eyes gleaming slightly as she tacked on, "And do spare me the 'my dear' sentimentality, won't you? We both know you don't consider me a dear whatsoever. I am, after all, nothing more than a mere human."

Gaze dropping back to her PDA as she received the notification of a text, she checked it briefly before once more setting the device down and turning her attention to the man sitting across from her. She studied him for a long moment, eyes searching for something only she could see, before she suddenly smiled ever so slightly. "You really are lost, aren't you?" she murmured, almost to herself. "A fate worse than death, I would imagine, for someone with your particular views of the world around him."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-27 10:46 pm UTC (link)

His own desire to see a therapist? Erik had no need for one. He never had, and he assumed that he never would. He had issues, certainly, things that he hadn't quite dealt with over the course of his life in any healthy way (unless killing those who had wronged him counted as healthy), but it was unlikely that sitting down and talking with a stranger about them would truly do him any good. Particularly with the sort of traumas that he had had to deal with recently on top of everything else.

Taking a sip of his drink, Erik stayed silent, though, just allowing the woman in front of him to say her piece. She at least seemed to understand where he stood on things and didn't seem exactly upset by it. If anything, the look in her eyes showed that she was more than delighted to be able to call him out on his overly polite language that really was little more than words. As much as he said 'my dear', he could have easily said 'mere mortal' and meant about the same thing.

Taking another sip of his drink, Erik was stilled, though, by her next statement, peering at her over the can as he tried to figure out just where she had gotten that or what she was pulling that from. If she hadn't already said she was human, he might have assumed she was a telepath without the sort of code that Charles had tried to maintain towards those he knew or at the very least, some sort of empath of the unconscious, but right now, he was just baffled. "Did Charles tell you something?" Erik asked, peering over at her with a deep confusion. "I know Raven wouldn't have."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-27 10:56 pm UTC (link)

"Hardly," Irene responded without pause. She had anticipated the question, the immediate, logical assumption, and was more than prepared with her answer. To respond without pausing would, she was fairly certain, make him believe she was lying. "I needn't have anyone tell me something that is rather obvious, after all. I do have eyes and a mind, both which work rather well if I do say so myself."

Finishing her tea, she calmly set it down without breaking her gaze from his. Her eyes shone with a mixture of amusement and an obvious challenge she was all too willing to accept. As far as she was concerned, before her sat a man who had gone far too long without benefit of anyone pointing out rather significant flaws in his views of the world. She just so happened to be in the mood to change that.

"You still haven't answered my question, you know," she pointed out evenly. "Not that I expect you will. Of course you're lost. How could you not be? All of that power, all of that superiority, ripped away from you by the very beings you chose to destroy." Reaching for the teapot, she poured herself another cup and tacked on in a casual tone, "Fortunate for you, it's scarcely permanent."

Pausing, she peered back up at him with a slight twitching of her lips. "You did realise that much, didn't you?" she asked with feigned concern. "I would so hate for such good news to come from such a terrible source. It might be enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth and we certainly can't have that, now can we?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-27 11:18 pm UTC (link)

Rather well seemed to be a major understatement at the moment. At least, in so far as thing related to him. Erik was certain that he hadn't even so much as mentioned the fact that his abilities weren't completely dulled anymore to a single soul in the place yet. He had barely even been trying to make it work here so how in the world she had been able to tell that... Taking another sip of his drink, Erik settled the can down in front of him and folded his hands on the table as he offered her a probing gaze. There were times, not often but occasionally, that Erik wished he had Charles's ability, that he could just figure out what was going through someone else's head without having to guess.

"I realized it," Erik said. "I realized it some time ago, in fact, but even as it gets better, it is hardly anything like what it once was," He said with a furrow of his brow. "The question I have, though, my dear, is exactly how were you able to tell? It isn't as though I am some sort of unconscious magnet. It's not nearly strong enough for that yet." He imagined it probably would be, eventually, as soon as the strength started to return, that his control would take some time to return with it. "Unless there have been things that I haven't noticed."

Which...could always be possible.

Clearing his throat, Erik raised his folded hands, pressing them briefly against his lips in thought before sighing, "And yes. If you really must have an answer, I am. But not nearly for the reasons you stated in such a level of sarcasm that even the most oblivious individual couldn't miss it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-28 12:02 am UTC (link)

Raising her teacup to her lips, she blew lightly across the steaming liquid before taking a small sip. This really was a rather fun game she was playing, she decided. Something told her, however, that the man across from her might not agree.

"You really should learn to pay attention," she said casually as she set her cup down and wrapped her hands gently around it. "I've already explained how I was able to tell. I have eyes. I have a mind. I know how to use both quite well." She knew he was likely struggling with believing such a thing, but she also knew she was telling the truth. She hadn't asked a single soul about his ability, or lack thereof. She hadn't needed to. It really was written quite plainly on his face if you knew what to look for.

Sitting back slightly, hands folding into her lap, the corner of her mouth quirked just a bit. "Do you know the trouble with stereotypes, Mr. Lehnsherr?" she asked, barely pausing before offering an answer. "However steeped in truth they may be, there are always exceptions to be found." For a brief moment, she simply stared at him across the table.

"And perhaps," she pointed out in a tone that was quite civil even if her words were anything but. "if you didn't behave as though you were oblivious to everything beyond your own, blind prejudice, I wouldn't feel the need to act as though you were."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-28 12:28 am UTC (link)

Eyes and a mind could only do so much as far as Erik was concerned. There were limitations to even the most brilliant individual, and no matter how intelligent the woman in front of him thought she might be, no matter how intelligent she might be, Erik could not fathom what she might have drawn on in order to make the conclusions that she had. The issue was that she didn't seem at all willing to tell him, either, so he was going to have to be content with not knowing. And Erik had a very hard time with being content about something like that.

"Perhaps there are," Erik said, raising an eyebrow at her. "But I've found that if you try and accommodate the exceptions, they only disappoint you in the end. Or do much worse damage." Some humans might have meant well. They might have thought that they were helping or doing their best to make things more manageable. They might have tried, but at the end of the day, they would never understand. And it would be that lack of understanding that would drive them to always choose their own side over freedom and equality, that would always have them placing their own perceived safety above anything and everything else.

"And my prejudice isn't blind, my dear," Erik said. "It is born of a lengthy history and experience. There may be exceptions, yes, but at the end of the day, humanity is still more willing to destroy what is different from them than try and understanding and accept it."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-28 12:42 am UTC (link)

Although she wasn't all that surprised that he'd missed her point, Irene did find herself a bit disappointed. She really had thought he was more intelligent than that, would have been quite certain of it in fact. Idly, she wondered if the younger version of himself would have immediately argued the point or realised what she was saying without having to actually say it. She wondered if, perhaps, this version was simply too wrapped up in his own fanaticism to truly see any other side besides his.

Then she decided she frankly didn't care. She hadn't come into this conversation with the intention of changing his mind and she was hardly going to let the fact that she wasn't successful in doing so deter her from saying her piece. So after studying him over the brim of her teacup for a long moment, a careful mask of neutrality upon her face, she took a small sip then finally replied in a calm, collected tone.

"Yes, I suppose I can see how a human with my particular skill set could do quite a bit of damage to the unsuspecting, and underestimating soul who crossed my path and insulted my very existence for nothing more than my mere genetics," she agreed with a slight tip of her head. Eyes sparkling in a way that would warn anyone who knew her that they were treading in very dangerous territory, she added, "However, fortunately for anyone who might fit such a description, I don't feel the need nor have the desire to spread the secrets of those around me." She gave a slight shrug. "If others wish to see what I see they only need to merely look. The fact that most are incapable of doing such a thing is hardly a reason to reward them."

Irene grew silent for a moment after that, her attention once more going to her PDA as it beeped yet again. Her tone sounded almost distracted as she spoke again, fingers dancing across the small keyboard while simultaneously continuing her conversation with the man sitting before her. "Insofar as humanity's propensity to destroy that which is different rather than attempting to be understanding?" She shrugged lightly and that same gleam returned to her eyes as she finally looked back up and over at him.

"One need simply replace humanity with mutant, and one might think you were speaking of yourself. Funny how that works, isn't it?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-28 12:54 am UTC (link)

"I waited once, my dear. I hide once. I ran once," Erik said, well aware of exactly what she was trying to do. It was the sort of argument that had been posed to him for years, and while he might have actually considered it years before, when he had been less injured and more open, now, the only thing that the argument served to do was enrage him. "I let their tendencies run their course while trying to be the better person, follow the laws that were enforced upon me, and do what I was told I needed to do in order to survive, and I still lost everything that meant something to me. It was taken away in their demonstrations of violence, and I will be damned if I just sit aside and let the same thing happen again."

While he might have been calm upon the start of his statement, by the time that Erik had concluded, his tone was clipped and forceful, as close to shouting as one could get without actually doing so.

"If I must destroy them before they destroy us, then so be it," Erik said, practically spitting the words. "I don't care how it sounds to someone like you."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

letshavedinner
2012-04-28 01:16 am UTC (link)

For all of Erik's rage, Irene remained completely calm and fully in control. Whatever she was feeling was of no concern of his and she was hardly going to give him the satisfaction of even offering a hint that his words might affect her. Instead she finished her second, and final, cup of tea before placing it back on the table.

"How very odd, Mr. Lehnsherr," she remarked in a mild tone. "You claim you don't care how your opinion sounds to someone like me, yet you allow my words to enrage you to such a state as this." Rising to her feet, she gathered her teacup and the pot. "I would think such behaviour would be unbecoming of a supposedly higher evolved being such as yourself."

Carrying the items to the sink, she set them down then made her way back to the table. Picking up her PDA, she flashed him a thin smile. "And since you seem wholly and fully incapable of offering false pleasantries when faced with no other, offered option at your disposal, allow me to be of some assistance," she said silkily.

"My name is Irene Adler. Ms. Adler, if you please. And for the last time, I am not your dear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've someone who requires my attention and, what's more than that, is capable of benefiting from it as well. Good day, Mr. Lehnsherr. Although it has scarcely been a pleasure speaking with you, it certainly has been enlightening."

With that being said, she turned away and, head held high and back straight, calmly exited the room without so much as a glance backward.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

wealreadyare
2012-04-28 01:53 am UTC (link)

Adler. Irene Adler. Erik had never been very good at introductions particularly when the individual involved was a human and not someone that he was intent on knowing for long. But the name Irene Adler being leveled in his direction cleared up a great many questions that had been running through head since she had started making so many on the spot observations. He was as well read as the next individual his age, perhaps not nearly as much as what Charles was, and it was impossible to not recognize the only woman who had ever outsmarted Sherlock Holmes. Even if she looked decidedly less Victorian than he might have expected, it would have been hard to maintained such a standard in a modern world with modern surroundings, so he had absolutely no reason to doubt her introduction. Stunned, more so than he probably should have been, Erik could do little more than watch her leave the room with a baffled expression on his features.

What else could he have said, though, when she had been so succinct about her dismissal of him?

Picking up his drink, Erik finished it off with a sigh before standing to start looking for something to eat again. Maybe attending to his stomach would stop the way that his mind was spinning under the influence of everything that she had said and the anger that it had provoked in him. He could only hope.

(Reply to this) (Parent)