Who: Poison and Angel When: March 18th, 2008 Where: Outside the mansion What: Old friends meeting again Status: Complete Rating: PG
It was a few days past the fight and Evelyn's hair was still growing out again after changing back to her more human appearance. At least she still had a wig or two for times like this. She headed outside for a stroll and to get a good look at the grounds and the damage done. Looking up, she caught sight of a winged man flying about. A full school full of mutants, it was interesting to see all the different types wandering about.
The damage caused by the creatures was a sight to behold, it was almost enough to be awe-inspiring if it weren't for the fact that one very disturbing fact stuck out; people had suffered. Assessing the damage to the school was Warren's way of punishing himself, see the once influential heir still had it in his mind that this was all his fault, or at least partially. Wings of glorious white carried him over the grounds once more, but once he spotted a figure walking about he'd descend to ground level. At the moment Warren had foregone any kind of shirt, wearing only the dark colored slacks he'd had on before his wings had torn his shirt asunder. A familiar face, but he was unable to greet her with the warm smile that usually graced his handsome features. Instead concern was displayed. " Evelyn, what are you doing out here? There could be more of those things wandering around. "
It was Warren Worthington the Third. She had heard he was a mutant with wings, but hadn't actually seen him around until now. TI was one thing to know something and quite another to see it with your own eyes. She smiled. "Hey Three. Just taking a look around." She stepped forward to get a better look at his wings. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself." Warren was such a pretty little bird man, much more interesting when he had his wings out like this. "They are beautiful."
Warren couldn't say he was completely surprised to see Evelyn here. He hadn't just learned that she was a mutant, considering he'd been at the school before the outbreak, he'd been able to look at the names of people who arrived here in search of safe haven. When he'd seen her name on the list, he couldn't help but look back fondly on their childhood. Her words and very presence managed to strip some of the sullen mood out of him, at last that amiable smile surfaced. " Three. I haven't heard that nickname in a while, Evie. " His own endearing name for her, which she may or may not have liked. That was the point of a pet name though. He chuckled somewhat nervously at the mention of his wings, letting them fold back against his shoulder blades, even if the compliment did make him want to spread them out with pride. One had to be modest, and he had always strived to be. “Well, now you know why I never had the guts to go skinny dipping at one of your crazy parties.”
Evelyn laughed. “I suppose I do. And it really IS a shame." Her eyes sparkled. "And I suppose you might be able to figure out why I never cared much for snow." Evelyn had been just a wee bit miffed that her great secret had been known to the Xavier crowd, curtsey of "Mr. Beauregard", or Mars as some called him. She didn't mind that the man had lied to her about her name, but the fact that he had found out she was a mutant and shared that info, with anyone, did irk her. "Would you mind if I touched them?" They looked so nice and soft and pretty.
“I guess we both had a lot to hide in those days. What's horrible is that now we know we didn't have to hide it from one another. “It would have been nice to have had someone like Evelyn know about his secret back when he was hiding it like a shameful secret. It would have done him a world of good to open up, but there wasn't any use in fretting over that now. Warren considered her request for a second, not because he was uncomfortable; she was an old friend after all, but because he rarely let himself take pride in his wingspan, and he had a lot of pride ever since he'd accepted it. With a nod of his head, Warren's chest arose, broad, muscular shoulders expanded and he'd let those feathery wings expand to their full and impressive wingspan.
Evelyn shrugged. "We had no way of knowing, and a very good reason to be cautious." Like for instance, having parents who wanted to kill her when they had found out. She wasn't quite ready to share the truth about them and what happened to them with Warren. He was a nice guy, which was the problem. Nice guys tended to frown on murder. "Ah well, best to leave the past behind you. I've always felt that was best, probably why I did so poorly in History." She gave an appreciative gasp as Warren let out his wingspan. "Oh my." Then she moved forward and carefully touched the wing. "Three... this is... amazing!" She looked up. "And you can fly." That was something her powers didn't do for her.
Warren was a nice guy, but to say that he would view things only in shades of black and white would be untrue. He may not have known it, but when it came to protecting those he cared about, Warren was capable of going to lengths others would not dare tread. The young man just hadn't been pushed that far yet, and thus far kept a strong moral outlook on things. He wasn't going to be so quick to judge. When she touched those feathers, his wings would shift slightly, indicating that they were more than just show. They were very much apart of him, and like any other part of his body, he could feel them. A smile at the mention of flight, looking almost like a giddy school boy from their childhood. " Oh, tell me about it. At first I hated them... but then I started flying. It might sound weird, but I think I was born to fly. At least that's how it feels whenever I'm up there. " Sometimes he favored the skies over the ground.
She smiled as the wings moved. As he talked about flying she ducked under them to get a look at the back. "It sounds wonderful." She traced the back and then suddenly stopped. She lightly touched his back, scars. "Warren," and using his name showed how concerned she was. "How did this happen?"
“Oh, " his voice dropped the undertone of pride and excitement it once carried. He forgot about those scars sometimes, namely because the shame he once held for those wings had long since vanished. Now he only had shame for that moment. “I was a child, Evelyn...I was afraid of disappointing my father... “He winced just thinking about it. Just as he was capable of feeling Evelyn's fingers roaming over his feathers, he could distinctly remember the agony he put himself through when he'd severed those wings. “I was a boy... terrified. I cut them off, but they grew back... "
Warren couldn't see the cold look that showed in Evelyn's eyes. His father, of course. He was the one SHE blamed for this whole mess. The man couldn't just accept his son for the wonderful person he was. No, that man had the idea that having these wings was something shameful. On an impulse and with more compassion than she had thought she had, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him from behind. "Oh Three..." Her skin was a bit cold against his own, her strong arms held tight. "I guess I can understand. I tried to hide my own after all, until the accident that is." The 'accident' in Australia where her parents tried to kill her and she took them out instead. "Obviously after that I didn't have to worry about being a disappointment to the parents." She pulled back and quickly ducked under to his front. "I do hope you've gotten over that silliness by now." He had to have, since he didn't take the cure. She had never even considered getting rid of her own mutation.
His wings folded when she embraced him, and he'd set his hand atop one of her forearms, almost as if to assure her that not only was her comfort appreciated, but that he had gotten over that. “Yeah, I'm over it. Like I said, I know now I was born to fly. “She was greeted with a smile when she brought herself around once again, but it faded not too long after. She'd mentioned something, an accident. “What accident? What happened to you exactly? "
She returned the smile. "Good to know. Shall I start calling you chickenboy or do you prefer turkey? Though, I don't think either can fly... hrm... swan... no that's too dignified. I know! Pigeon!" Her eyes sparkled with mischief. She had always loved teasing Warren, and he was usually a pretty good sort about it. The teasingness went out of her as he brought up the 'accident' again. "Oh, that. Well I was just referring to when my family went on that trip to Australia and I was the only one who came back." She explained reluctantly.
“No. No, bird names, thank you. Angel will do. “Or Avenging Angel, though he'd gone by that name as a teenager, during his short-lived stint as an adventurer. The X-Men themselves seemed to have grown fond of just 'Angel'. He really hadn't found out about her parents, but had naturally assumed the worst. That they'd been consumed by the virus. “What happened..? I don't want to bring up any painful memories. "
She laughed. "But Angel is so dignified." she complained. "I guess I will just stick with calling you Three." Ah well, it seemed that she would have to tell that old tale again. "It's not like it happened recently." She started. She was more than over it. "We were out taking in the sights in the outback. One of those safari picture tour things, just the guide and my family." So far that was the complete truth. "Then we... happened across a snake clutch. I'm not sure if you know but the ten most poisonous snakes are all residents of Australia." She shook her head. "The rest of the party got bitten and I found out I could speak with snakes. Saved me, but not them." Again mostly true, she just left out that she had set the snakes on her parents and the guide. The same snakes they were going to have be her executioner. "I managed to figure out how to drive the truck and get back to people. Made up some story about how I escaped that didn't involve talking to snakes and that was that. There was really nothing more to do but go get the bodies and start planning the funeral."
He watched with a grave expression as she related the tale of her parents’ demise. Evelyn may have always been the 'bad girl', the one that got them both in trouble while Warren simply tagged along innocently, but he'd never think her capable of murder. Of course, he also didn't know that she'd been put in a life or death situation either. “God, I'm so sorry, Evelyn... I didn't know. I wish I'd been there for you... "
She shrugged. "It was a long time ago. I've more than gotten over it by now." She moved closer again. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for you either." Hanging out with Warren had actually kept her from some darker aspects of a socialite's life. She could have easily fallen to taking drugs of becoming an alcoholic if it hadn't been for the influence he had made on her life. "But, that was the past. We're alive in the here and now." She smirked. "You have wings, I have scales. You can fly, I can talk to snakes and happen to be poisonous." Suddenly it hit her how humorous this was and she started laughing. "Oh, oh my goodness. They call you ANGEL." She wasn't sure if he got the joke or not.