MUSES: Magik & Cosmo. TOPIC: The White Rabbit. DATE/TIME: Monday, 4-9-18 @ 19:30. LOCATION: Limbo. RATING: R... for Rasputins.
Limbo: The dimension that God created
to house his worst creations - according to
the realm's young caretaker, anyway. Despite her best
efforts, only a small city block's worth of garden
existed there; the rest a battered hellscape.
Illyana's fingertips brushed across the ten-foot hedge, the walls of greenery served as the corridor through Limbo which she transported mutants. The partial maze shielded visitors from the contrary landscape that existed outside of her small sphere of influence. The garden was perfectly safe, given two important variables were met: Magik was present, and her soul sword lay sheathed within the stone, dead center of the oasis.
The living walls were grown to keep the uninitiated mutants' minds pure, they were utterly wasted with Magik's company. Most individuals traveled this path in stark contrast to the world just outside. However, when Illyana's eyes glanced toward Mikhail his entire aura felt in sync with the ether. She'd yet to witness the older Russian be monstrous, though his brand of chaos did jive with their current surrounds. "You never travel with me..." Illyana offered. Her method of spanning long distances was still slower than his own.
"My own sister questions my intentions?" Mikhail responded with a slightly pained grimace, quickly chased off by a smirk. Though he teased, he was not ignorant to the meaning of her thought. Cosmo did rarely accompany his sister on routine travels. Of course, he doubted these types of trips would not stay routine for much longer.
Illyana's eyes rolled at the unsatisfactory answer offered by Mikhail. "I transport all types of people you know... I hear things." She challenged - or bluffed more precisely. Magik hadn't heard anything, but she had noticed a change in the wind. People, especially important people, were quieter now. Less open to let something sensitive slip. And more prone to shelter their own back - even in the presence of their own security.
"You hear things..." Mikhail's smirk grew into a grin, because of how adorable his sister's big girl routine was and because he was glad she'd been gifted with better perception than Piotr. "Well, when you hear something that sounds important... let me know." He instructed her, though he stopped their advance. "Why do you wear this?" Mikhail pointed toward Illyana's black hooded sweatshirt with two large eyes and a toothy grin.
"My Cheshire Cat hoodie?" She looked slightly offended and looked down at the print. "It's from Alice in Wonderland... heard of it?" Magik shot back, only a tad defensive. The tale of a young blond girl being whisked away to a strange land seemed to resonate with Illyana. Go figure.
"Da, Alice," Mikhail answered dismissively, which only seemed to annoy his younger sister more. He sized up his sister once more and attempted to clarify his tone. "This Alice, what does she do?" Mikhail asked a question he never intended her to answer. "Nothing. Things happen... and she reacts." Cosmo explained, "she has no... agency." His hand clasped on Illyana's shoulder and his dark eyes locked with Magik's. "The time to be passive is over. You might have once been like Alice, but now we must not follow white rabbits. We must not let our fates be decided by others," Mikhail warned as much as he told, for the waters that lay ahead were murky at best.
Magik should have brushed him off, she should have rolled her shoulder and told him he was being overly dramatic. Her body had tensed not just at his words, but at the sincerity in his eyes. Their family's deep voices and thick accents could make birthday wishes sound ominous, but something else told Illyana she'd best heed her brother's words. She nodded instead of clapped back, her features tightened with compliance.
Mikhail's warning stuck with Magik for days after their exchange in Limbo and she attempted to be less reactive and more proactive. She'd be ready, ready for whatever her chaos wielding brother spied on the horizon.