for preciousblueberry

[ihearyouthink]

The Mansion

It was the middle of the day, the suns rays filtering in through the dust in Charles' study. Still in his dressing gown, a half empty glass in hand as he idly watched the particles swirl in and out of the light beams. He took another swallow, letting his thoughts dissolve back into nothing.

All the students were gone. They had left, one by one, as his confidence waned and crumbled. The stress had finally gotten to him, between losing Raven and the war taking most of his students away, he couldn't handle being a failure anymore.

At this point, he didn't even care. All he cared about was keeping his legs going with Hank's serum and drinking away the voices in his head. He took another swallow, draining the glass.

Comments

[shadowblends]

Pulling his attention away from the sign, the cobalt-tinted mutant wrinkled his nose toward the gate in front of him then, with a shrug of the shoulders, he easily scaled it and dropped down onto his feet on the other side. His yellow eyes darted back and forth, checking for any sort of alarm or security that might have been set off, though when noting happened, Kurt hurried toward the front door of the mansion.

As he approached the building, he tried thinking about what he was going to say, but couldn't seem to get the words to run together correctly in his head. Before his nerves got the better of him, a hand raised from his side, reaching to knock on the door even though he wasn't sure if he needed to actually do that.

He stood there, silently waiting, still wondering if this was a good idea or not. This place was huge, almost overbearing in size and it was quiet. If this was a school then where were all the teachers and students?

[ihearyouthink]

Hank was out at the moment getting groceries. Not that Charles knew that or cared at the moment. He ignored the knock, sliding down further into his armchair. Thinking they'll just go away, probably someone selling something that didn't notice the place looked abandoned.

[shadowblends]

When there was no response to the knock, Kurt's features shifted to confusion, head leaning to the side in thought. "Absolute silence, no answer at the door ..." he trailed off, letting his curiosity get the better of him and reaching to grasp the handle.

His eyes widened when it opened with ease and he hesitantly poked his head between the frame and the door, gazing around the inside of the front of the school. "Wow," he breathed, glancing over his shoulder then slinking his way into the building, leaning his back against the door to shut it.

"Hallo? Is there anyone here?"

[ihearyouthink]

There's a long silence, the house seems completely empty. But after a moment, there's a step on the stairs as Charles comes trudging down, his glass still in hand. Rubbing the bridge of his nose as he came.

"Whatever it is, we're not buying, just...move on, okay?" He stops cold though when he sees the blue youth standing there, a familiar knot of guilt tightening in his stomach that the alcohol couldn't quite mask. "...we're closed," he says tightly, not wanting to deal with this right now.

[shadowblends]

The silence is almost deafening and just when he thinks about turning to leave, the sound of footsteps catches his attention, making him spin back around. He inhales, holding the breath as Charles comes down the stairs, broad golden eyes watching him closely.

"I am not selling anything." Kurt raises an eyebrow and tips his head to the side as he examines the man on the stairs. He looks older than a student, but doesn't seem to be dressed for the look of 'teacher' at the moment. When Charles speaks, everything makes a little more sense. "Why?"

[ihearyouthink]

It didn't take a telepath to see the blue young man was a mutant. Probably came here looking for help. Help that Charles couldn't give him anymore.

He drowned that thought with another swallow of his drink, rolling his shoulders back to shrug off the responsibility. "No one left, that's why."

Charles stepped slowly down to the floor level, having trouble not looking at Kurt. "Should just go home, kid. There's nothing for you here." He walked on past, heading for the next room to look for more serum, he knew it was about time for his shot.

[shadowblends]

Again, confusion creased the teen's features, nose wrinkling at the others words. "Where did everyone go?" he questioned, pushing off of the door and moving forward a few paces. "Are you the headmaster of this school?"

It didn't seem like he was planning to leave, but there was good reason for that.

"The problem with that is there is nothing for me there either." Kurt's gaze stayed locked on Charles, his tail slinking from beneath his coat to finally twitch freely behind him as he shifted to trail after him.

sorry I disappeared

[ihearyouthink]

"Well go...somewhere else," he says in his best facsimile of an I-don't-care attitude. Trying not to care anymore so it didn't hurt. "...bright young man like yourself can surely figure out something," he says as he rummages through the clutter to find a certain syringe and tourniquet.

The blue shadow wasn't leaving though, Charles glancing back at him as he stepped back. "Prehensile tail..." The professor side of him wasn't completely drowned in alcohol. "Must come in handy." But the sarcasm still prevailed. Tying off his arm as he slumped into a chair.

that's okay! real life happens and all

[shadowblends]

It's tempting - so tempting to simply do as Charles told him and take off, but with nowhere else to go and no one to actually help him keep an eye out for trouble, it was not the most ideal situation; he'd rather find a hideout where he could actually be safe.

An eyebrow lifted toward the comment about his tail, head turning to glance at the appendage then returning to Charles just as he secured the band around his arm and sat down. "At times ... Other times, it's--" he stopped, mouth hanging open in shock before he finally gathered enough nerve to ask, "... what are you doing?"

Re: that's okay! real life happens and all

[ihearyouthink]

Since while the serum was in effect, he couldn't use his ability to make the blue youth go away, there was not a thing he could do about Kurt in his house if he decided to stay.

He sighs, "This sort of thing isn't meant for an audience." The syringe full of serum comes out, amber liquid inside. Without it, his powers come back and he loses the use of his legs. Win-win...and a lose-lose in a way.

[shadowblends]

His brow furrowed at that, golden eyes examining the strange liquid in the syringe that Charles was holding. Is that ...? The first thought that comes to mind is drugs.

He reached to grasp the hand that the other male was using to hold the needle, firmly gripping his wrist to keep the item held aloft. "You don't seriously need this, do you?"

[ihearyouthink]

"Let go," he said, trying to pull his wrist back, anxious that he was getting to be too late with the dose. But the other mutant was much too strong for him to break the grip. "I do need it, please!" Was he begging? Yes, it had come to this. He didn't want to feel helpless, like a cripple that couldn't help anyone, and yet this is what it had reduced him to.

He pulled in vain on his arm, already feeling the fringes of people's thoughts around him. His legs starting to fail him, as he tried to push Kurt away....and he couldn't.

[shadowblends]

"But--" he hesitated with his statement, concern creasing his features at the pleading tone. The blue boy didn't want to let him do it, but there was a lingering thought, buzzing in the back of his mind like an annoying bug that couldn't be shooed away.

Regardless of the fact that he didn't approve of Charles injecting himself with whatever was in the needle, he couldn't get over how desperate the man had sounded. So, with every ounce of hesitance tamped down, he released his arm and turned away, letting his gaze avert to the ground.