thornx (thornx) wrote in x_flashback_x, @ 2008-01-20 14:14:00 |
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Thorn grumbled as he walked through the gardens. Once again, he was left behind to watch the hideout and man the defenses. The plants seemed to be commiserating with him, leaning close and patting him on the shoulder and back when he got close enough.
She might have put on a brave face for her brother's benefit, but the truth of the matter was that Wanda was fairly terrified. Reports of cannibalism tended to have that effect. She was supposed to be patrolling in turn with Thorn, but instead was standing and staring out into the near-darkness of the early evening, convinced that every sound she heard was an infected human, intent on eating her alive.
She jumped as Thorn approached, arms flying up to ward him off with a well-placed hex. “Sorry,” she said with a sigh, lowering her hands as she realized who he was, “I'm a bit, jumpy tonight.”
Greenery rippled around him for just a moment. Then it calmed down. He shrugged. "Better safe than sorry I am sure." He moved closer. "I take it your brother is out on some mission as well." He half asked.
Wanda nodded stiffly, trying not to let it show how much it bothered her being separated from Pietro at a time like this. She knew she could handle herself, especially with Thorn at her side, but still...
”Yours too?” she said, more as a comment than a question, energy still pricking her fingertips from before. It was a relief to indulge in conversation and there was something reassuring about Thorn's presence.
Thorn nodded his head. "Mystique sent him off to get some information." He frowned, knowing what that probably meant. He had an idea of what his brother did, though they never spoke about it. "You know, about what's going on. I think that's what she's off doing as well." He looked out over the grounds. "And we are both left here." he slightly groused.
Five minutes ago, Wanda would have thought the only emotion she was capable of fell somewhere in the range of panic to nervousness. This proved an incorrect assumption, however, as she felt a small smile curve her lips at Thorn's remark, and the emotion coloring his voice.
”As usual.” She murmured lightly, half amused and half exasperated at the truth of this remark. Defense did seem to fall inordinately upon them, if only because of the nature of their powers.
”Not that I mind, exactly,” Wanda hurriedly added, lest her remark seem a veiled criticism of Magneto.
"I think my brother made some weird deal with Mystique when we joined up." Thorn admitted. He let his hand lightly touch some nearby plants who looked needy. "I know my powers work best with the green I know, but sometimes I think everyone, or at least my brother, thinks that my power is useless out there." He was a bit tired of being underestimated and protected by his brother. "I CAN take care of myself, you know." He obviously had no problems with showing dissatisfaction.
Wanda liked to play the role of confidante, she listened to Thorn attentively, her face openly sympathetic.
”Brothers, well, good brothers are like that. Wanting to protect you from everything.” She smiled slightly thinking that Pietro certainly fit this model of brotherly behavior. “I think it gets to be something of a habit, and they can't recognize that we're adults now and able to look after ourselves.”
She hadn't even realized the accidental use of `we,` or that she had perhaps confessed more than she had intended to.
Thorn nodded. "Exactly. I'm not thirteen anymore." They weren't on the streets anymore. "And you have got a much better control of that hex thing than you used to, right?" He sighed. "I guess it's partly my fault. There was a time when I was completely lost and he took care of the both of us. But that was in the past, we're in a much better place now." Which was also his brother's doing. Thorn gestured and there was an upsurge of brown and green until there was a comfortable bench like place for his to sit. He thumped down on the newly created seat and looked at Wanda, then looked away.
It was still eating at him, after all these years. Perhaps because he never spoke of it, never having anyone to confide in. He would have loved to truly confide in Wanda, but knew that might not be wise. His brother had hitched their horse to Mystique's wagon, not Magneto's. Despite his brother's carnal interest in the man.
Her eyes widened slightly, realizing for the first time the odd parallels in their childhoods. Without consciously making a decision to do so, her feet drew her to the bench and she sat next to Thorn, demurely folding her pale hands in her lap. She watched his profile carefully as he looked away, clearly intrigued by what she saw there.
”I do,” she said softly in response to his question, remembering the past with painful clarity. Slightly emboldened by the trust Thorn seemed to be demonstrating, Wanda could feel herself opening up fractionally. “Pietro was the same way, I can't tell you the number of times my powers ended up risking his life or he saved mine.” She closed her eyes briefly, disliking the memories of fire and violence. “I wouldn't have survived without him.”
"I don't think I would have either." Thorn admitted. He had been so surprised by being kicked out. Everything had happened so quickly and he doubted he would have survived the streets on his own. "He didn't have to leave you know." He said out of the blue. "I was the one with the obvious mutation, the one they kicked out. He could have stayed, been safe and warm and fed just as long as he kept it hidden." He looked down. "He didn't even know he was a mutant too when he threw everything away to come help me out." He dropped his head and tried not to cry. All of those things that he and his brother never really talked about came back full force.
A look of ineffable sadness passed over Wanda's face at this confession. She was touched, both by the image of a younger, vulnerable Thorn and his brother's sacrifice as well as the parallels to Pietro. At the same time she felt a surge of resentment toward his bigoted parents, it reminded her all too well of the humans she and her brother had encountered their entire lives.
Without thought, she curved her hand around Thorn's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. “I'm sure you would have done the same for him, had your situations been reversed” she said quietly but with utter conviction, lowering her own head to try to make up his half-hidden features. “And look how it ended up. You are together, working for a cause you both believe in. I'm sure your brother doesn't resent his earlier sacrifice.”
Thorn leaned into the touch. It was nice to have some affection by something other than a nearby tree or plant. He shook his head. "I know he doesn't resent me." That wasn't the problem. "But I'm not sure if I can forgive myself for what he went through to take care of me." Especially since he was sure it was part of the reason that Demon was the way he was now. It weighed heavily on him. As for having a cause to believe in, well, keeping himself and his brother safe was good enough cause for him. If they had bartered their way into a group that wished the same for all mutants, then so be it. And there were some benefits to being in this group, like having people he could talk with. "Yeah, if the world's about to end, I guess I can't think of a better place to be while everything is going down."
A thin line of worry appeared between Wanda's brows as she listened attentively to Thorn. His words echoed her own private fears so perfectly that it was disconcerting. “I feel the same way sometimes,” she confessed, still watching Thorn carefully with concerned eyes. “But it's not your fault that your abilities caused problems, it's the fault of the humans who couldn't accept you.” She knew such an argument would do little to lessen his guilt, but felt she had to say it anyways.
”And besides, who's to say he won't have to rely on you in the future?” Wanda queried darkly, still haunted by what she knew of the disease infecting humans. “I suspect he'll be lucky to have such a devoted brother before this crisis is resolved”
"Well a fine pair we make." It may not have been his fault, but he hadn't been of much help. He just knew that his brother would have been better off without having him to look out for. "And it's those same humans who are being turned into those creatures. Kind of poetic justice." He just wished he could have known what happened to his parents. If they weren't dead or cannibal, then he would have loved to remedy that. He smiled. "If he does need me, I will hardly let him down." He took her hands in his own. "And I am sure you will do the same for your brother as well. So I guess we have nothing to worry about, what with all of us ready to rip anything that might threaten us to shreds."
Wanda's concerned face softened somewhat at the smile. She returned the expression hesitantly, hoping the mood would last. His hands interlocked with hers was oddly comforting and she relaxed slightly, releasing a tension in her posture that had been there all afternoon.
”You're right, I would do anything for Pietro,” she said honestly, with a firm little nod of her head. Her smile widened at his last remark, her mood strangely lifted by it. “We are a ferocious lot, aren't we? I know we'll protect each other, but it's still nice to have family to rely on.”
Thorn nodded. "Real family is a good thing to have." He didn't consider his parents part of that family. They had failed the test but his brother had passed. He glanced at Wanda. She was lucky to have a mutant father, someone who wouldn't turn their back on her or her brother. He stood up and helped her up. The ground returned to its natural state. "I suppose we should return to our rounds now. Gotta let the others have someplace safe to come back to."
Wanda smiled up at him before rising to her feet, pleased with what had passed between them. She felt so lonely sometimes, despite the closeness she shared with her brother. It was nice feeling that someone else shared her feelings, and the sense of regret over the past.
”Right again,” she said with a light laugh, reluctantly turning her attention back to the task at hand. “Take care of yourself Thorn, I'd hate to face defense duty alone.”
She bit her lip for a moment, hesitant to say more but then boldly plunged forward. “It was nice talking to you alone. I enjoyed it.”
"Well, we will just have to do it again sometime." He offered. "I'm sure you can figure out how to find me." It wasn't that big of a place and he was usually tending to his plants or soaking up some sun when he wasn't on guard duty.