Just A Round of Solitaire - Open

[vanessa]

The sound of shuffling cards could be heard along with the soft crunching noises of the forest litter underneath his boots. It wasn't loud enough for anyone outside the forest to hear, or at least he thought. Remy held a normal deck of cards in his hands, normal unlike him. He grabbed the first card off the deck, A joker. He held it between his fingers before if lit up brightly and he flicked it at a nearby tree. There was a small explosion and a small burn mark, but no serious damage. His red eyes scanned the remainder of the forest, no one in site it was just him as it usually was. Remy was accustomed to being alone, he had been while younger.

He put the deck in his jacket pocket except for a few cards. These cards he played with, twirling his fingers until one or all disappeared only to have them reaper with the flick of his hand. But that wasn't his power. He contained large amounts of energy inside him, kinetic energy he could give to intimate objects in large quantities. Taking another card in his gloved hands, the King of Hearts, he flicked it at another tree again. Remy wore black fingerless gloves on his hands, it served as a small barrier against the energy flowing out of him.

He pulled another card and flicked again at a large tree. The explosion was slightly bigger. The thought of the X-Men and the Brotherhood angered him, how they were affiliated and had these little family type groups. And when his temper flared so did the kinetic energy in him. It was a reason he was careful with his temper. He drew another card, The Ace of Spades this time. Holding it carefully between his index and thumb he was about ready to throw yet another card at another nearby tree. Well until he heard something behind him.

[Pyro]

[OOC – Rough chronology in relation to site-wide return of the BEM plot arc:
Between Starbucks (I like my coffee…) and Bear’s Head (Garlic days…). Magneto, Mystique and Pyro are at the new BEM HQ (assuming Mystique comes back with M&P, if not I’ll edit accordingly]

Pyro had always been a light sleeper at best, but even by his standards reading the ceiling at god-knows-what hour as the first streaks of pre-dawn light tinted the blackness a weird hazy green was not normal. Sleep, it seemed, was as elusive as the answers he’d failed to find in that landscape of plaster while telling himself he wasn’t looking for them, and that doesn’t make any sense, which would make the frustration worse if he wasn’t too tired to care any more.

The night – if it could be called that and not early morning – was hot as hell, which probably didn’t help matters, but since that was after all his weather it was a pretty poor excuse. He wondered vaguely whether the others were having similar problems; their rooms issued little enough noise, but the silence was no guarantee. Mystique had as much, if not more, to get her head around, though the whole ‘Ice Queen’ thing made him question whether she was the sort to lie awake agonising (the mere image, however, probed a little harder to shake, given how he was a teenage boy and she given to a casual nudity that, without constant proximity, he seemed to have become re-sensitised to). As for Magneto, Pyro doubted the Master of Magnetism allowed anything to get to him, because with the things he’d seen and done they would drive him insane if he did, and didn’t know whether admiration, envy or repulsion was the best response to that that ability.

The three of them, back under one roof… something pretty near the top of the Things That Will Never Happen list. Only against all the odds it had. The dysfunctional little family, together again.

It was probably that which above all else made his head spin and warded off the dark embrace recent events and the fact he was back in ‘his own bed’ should have left him more than ready to surrender to. Because while alone was bad this was… complicated.

Sighing, he stretched out sluggish limbs, the prickle of pins-and-needles resisting movement and forcing him out of numbness and into something nearer awake. Staying here and thinking about things he knew he’d be unable to bring to a neat conclusion wasn’t going to accomplish much. Swinging his legs around onto the floor, slipping the Zippo (yes, it was sad for an almost-grown-up to sleep with any sort of comforter, but the empty, vulnerable feeling letting it out his grip inspired outweighed any sort of embarrassment, and only the bleakly insane would consider insulting a fire-starter) back into the pocket of jeans having to be prepared to run at any moment had trained him not to bother removing, he decided trying to sleep was pointless, and although wandering was probably not much more purposeful it was at least something to do. Technically he wasn’t supposed to go out, seeing as how they were by now no doubt plastered all over the news and should therefore go to ground and stay there, but he’d never been the sort to pay much attention to minor details like that. Besides, he could always claim to be patrolling, or something…

Which was how he came to be out as such an unholy hour, the dull click of a habitually flicked Zippo punctuating the silence as the small flare it emitted did the darkness… and how he came to notice that he wasn’t the only one breaking the blackness with crimson and gold. Not a good sign. He was torn between calling for help and investigating himself, plumping for the latter as proving himself couldn’t be a bad idea right about now, with faith being such a valuable and constantly shifting quality and allegiance offering better survival odds than trying to make it alone.

The click-fwoosh of an expertly formed fireball, which he proceeded to toss casually in one hand as he waited for a response, announced his arrival far better than any words could.

[vanessa]

Remy transfered the card in his hand to fit between his index and middle finger. He turned slightly as he saw a fireball that seemed to be floating between the trees. But as he squinted his eyes for a second look, he convinced himself he wasn't hallucinating as he saw the flame emit light on a person. He turned fully to face the person, his trench coat swishing lightly behind him. He held the card in his hand at his side just in case he would need it.

He took a couple of steps forward, his red eyes glowing the still black morning. Upon further examination he concluded that it was a kid, a teenager to be specific. Though his face brought up familiarity in Remy's mind he couldn't put a name to his face. "Hey Kid, isn't it past your bedtime?" He asked announcing his presence further. Although it was dark, the flame the kid held illuminated his face and he could see that he was indeed quite young. Remy once again held the card in his hand between his thumb and index finger, a look at it told him it was the four of clubs.

[Pyro]

"Can’t sleep" he shot back, his tone somehow balancing a deliberate childish whine with an undeniably adult piss off, switching to flicking the flaming sphere from one hand to the other "There’s some asshole in the garden blowing up the pretty trees"

Suffice to say it was unlikely Pyro would be taking a shine to this newcomer any time soon. ‘Touchy about being short’ didn’t quite do justice to his height issues, and being the ‘kid’ of the Brotherhood wasn’t something he was particularly enthused about either, so this guy’s choice of epithet for him went down like a lead balloon and hardly helped the potent combination of sleep deprivation and caffeine withdrawal. Red eyes should probably have been more menacing than he was finding them, but he’d seen too much for that to spook him the way the stranger probably hoped they would, and so a dismissive shrug and a returned dark glare were all the response they merited.

"I hope he knows where he is…" Pyro continued, the sing-song childish tone still evident but taking on a more sinister, mocking quality as he squared up, running his eyes from the man’s head to his feet and back again before settling on meeting the crimson gaze with a slight smirk. "And has a pretty damn good excuse. Because daddy doesn’t like trespassers"

10 points for style, minus a few million for the head-spinning calling Magneto ‘father’, even jokingly, has inspired, but all in all pretty well pulled off, all things considered.

[vanessa]

Remy smirked at the mention of a guy blowing up trees. He hadn't blown up any yet, though the idea sounded appealing. Now if had been doing the same thing without his gloves then a tree or two might have been seriously damaged. The kid transfered the fireball into his other hand, it hovered inches from his skin. A mutant definitely. He thought to himself, but the identity of the kid was unknown to Remy. But he didn't exactly expect him to know Remy either.

He red eyes scanned the dark forest again, he hadn't realized he was on someone's property. Not that he would have cared, but it would have been nice to know, in case he did want to blow up some trees. "Really, and who's property might this be then?" He asked. Honestly he was tired, insomnia kicked in and the strangest times. Chances were that a mutant lived around here, and Remy wasn't sure whether he wanted to meet him or not.

"But first things first, who the hell are you?" He asked as he flicked his hand causing the card to disappear, but only to reappear in his other hand.

[Mystique]

What Mystique did when she 'lay in bed' was her own business and a mystery to all that were not present... However know that when she didn't have 'entertainment' she barely slept at all, anxiety due to ... absolutely nothing.

It didn't take her long to find that Pyro was no longer in his room. Her soft footsteps shifting with ease along the wooden floor. Her eyes narrowed, glancing about the place before she knew that it was void of his presence, no clicking, no footsteps, no sighs or voice. But just what would he be up to at this early/late hour? A smile spread across her face as she decided that she would soon find out.

She soon found herself outside the headquarters, keeping an eye out because Pyro had a way of letting himself be known.. And indeed it took no time at all to notice a dancing ball of light. She gave a slight huff, perhaps a laugh, perhaps a sign of disappointment.. He was so quick to show off, then again could she blame him? After all she felt no shame in being what she was.. And she was disgusted by humans, the way they acted and reacted to the events around them... But then again to compare Pyro to herself was a stretch. After all her whole body could be used, more than others.. at least. He was dependent on that lighter, or something to create the flame to manipulate it. Then again since she was injected with the 'cure' she also found out how helplessness felt.

She heard him talking and decided she would have to intrude on this little party, be it private or not.. After all this was better than laying alone in bed, one type of action was better than none at all.

She drew closer and saw Gambit, playing with his cards. Really, when you think about it they were about on the same level, Pyro and Gambit.. carrying things around just in order to use their abilities. Of course a lighter seemed much more... well, mature than a deck of cards. But then again Mystique didn't put much thought to this, just an outside view of the toy obsession.. Almost like they were in the sand box threatening one another while twirling around some form of cheap plastic junk - treasure in the eyes of youth ..But none the less even children can get hurt by one another and they weren't what you would call 'normal' kids either - Gambit hardly being a 'kid' anymore.

As Mystique drew up behind Pyro she let her hand trail across his back, soon followed by her voice - to show of course that she too had stepped onto the board. She had heard Gambit's last response to Pyro, but nothing more and that was all she needed to make herself known too. "You'll find that out when he chooses to tell you and no sooner." She lowered her chin, keeping her yellow eyes on him as she smiled mischievously. Pyro might be younger and may have to answer to certain people within the Brotherhood but she would be damned if anyone else tried to place him beneath them.. They were a team, a family.. right..? Or at least the closest thing she would have to one.

She let her hand drop from his side, bringing it in front of herself. Mystique was clearly 'different', if you could put it that way. She may not have any visible weapons and her angle of defense/offense may not be clear but she held an air of confidence about her that made it hard to doubt she was more than capable. She brought her head back up, keeping contact with his red eyes, "What were you looking for here? Of course we would hate to disappoint you..." she added softly, quirking her eyebrow a bit. Perhaps this could all end without violence, either way.. if there was some sort of conflict she would be satisfied, enough.

[vanessa]

Right after he asked his question another figure joined their little early morning party. Though this one was all too familiar to him. It was Mystique, Remy knew her of course and wondered if she was still working for Magneto and the Brotherhood. Though last time he had checked she had been given the cure, seems the cure wasn't a cure after all. "Well, Look who we have here." He said putting his cards away in his pocket.

"Raven, still hanging around with Magneto and his Brotherhood are you?" Remy had taken to calling certain mutants by their first name. More of a habit than anything seeing as the public freaked out when they heard the word 'mutant'. His crimson gaze met her yellow one and he wondered what she had been up to. Remy on the other hand was a loner at the moment. He hadn't joined the X-Men nor had he joined the Brotherhood.

He suspected that she would assume which side he was one, truth be told Remy wasn't sure which side he wanted to go on. Both views appealed to him equally, so he just decided to remain unaffiliated for the moment. But maybe he did want to join the Brotherhood. After all the X-Men and Storm had hinted about the possibility of him joining, it only caused him to visit the Mansion less often.

[Mystique]

Mystique's smile seemed a little more genuine as he put his cards away- at least that meant he wasn't here with a purpose of hunting anyone.. Of course the Brotherhood weren't doing anything 'wrong' at the moment so perhaps that's no sign at all. She couldn't tell if he was under the wing of the X-Men or if he was, as he usually was, alone.

She took a few steps towards him, eliminating the distance between the two, after all she had been much, much closer to him than this before. "It's nice to see you too." And thought Mystique's words were not ones to be laced with happiness or kindness, she meant it.. somehow. Of course whether she was glad to see Remy LeBeau or just glad to see him because he was.. pleasing to the eyes was unknown.

She didn't let her gaze leave his as she drew upon answering his next question. Magneto had left her.. yet he came again to take her back. Was it really for the best at that moment? She chose not to question it much more, they had went through round after round of this.. However the way Magneto had completely let her take control, became submissive to her.. that was something, right?

"Yes." she answered with confidence, and even so it was quiet obvious. "Whenever you have people that want you, you tend to keep coming back. I mean you have to think about it, what does the 'world' have to offer us but hate? At least others like us aren't wishing for our extinction." Not to mention Magneto wants to bring the world about in a whole new light, one that would be much more comfortable for Mystique and others.. that are mutants. But enough about her, she was more elusive and mysterious and liked to keep it that way.. The question was what was Gambit doing out here in Brotherhood territory? "What about you Gambit?" She called him by his mutant alias because she felt that your birth name was... a slave name. "Just where do you call 'home'?" Ah, a name that most felt was such a strong need.. Home meant refuge, refuge was a place of peace.. How could that not appeal to someone? She stepped forward and let her hand moved across his upper arm, in a downward motion. She leaned in just a little closer, "Have you found a place where you are wanted?"

[vanessa]

Remy stood his ground as Mystique took a couple of steps toward him. He wasn't uncomfortable around her, and not like they had been less distance before them. She expressed how she was happy to see him, he wasn't sure why she would be but he accepted it nonetheless. But she was with Magneto again, so whether to trust her or not was the main question. Remy crossed his arms loosely in a more comfortable position. His red eyes looked from Mystique and to the kid, he still didn't know who he was but apparently he was in the Brotherhood as well.

She called him by his codename, Gambit. It didn't bother him that people called him that, he knew Mystique hated birth names with a passion. "Home? If you think I'm with the X-Men, your wrong." He said simply, as if she had said that he would have been insulted by the thought. She closed even more distance between them, he remembered how she did that to people. Making some uncomfortable or hate her for invading their personal bubble.

Remy didn't mind so much, "Now why would anyone want me? We only live in a world where our extinction is on everybody's wish list." He replied. Being unaffiliated had its quirks, Remy could go on his own opinions rather than keep them to himself and go along with the teams. But as much as he liked being alone, he wished he could pick a side just so he could have a place to call a home.

[Pyro]

At Mystique’s touch he turned slightly to confirm that it was her – though the voice was recognisable enough it seemed somewhat… unreal, that she would be one to leap to his defence – then back to glaring at Gambit with a smirk which, in keeping with the sandbox tone of the ‘conversation’ thus far (as Mystique had rightly picked up on), practically screamed out an infantile You’re gonna get in trouble… though that look changed quickly enough to Huh-what-now? as it seemed that this newcomer was not such a stranger after all…

"You know h…" he started, but it seemed no one would pay much attention to anything he had to say. The way things were panning out, it wasn’t as if the question needed an answer anyway. Yeah, these two had been… close. It felt almost indecent to watch their reunion. Almost. Not that he cared about decency, really.

Pyro extinguished the fireball, since it seemed sort of useless now, switched back to clicking the lighter with just enough irregularity, and more than enough volume, to irritate. Because whatever else was still up in the air, he’d decided he definitely didn’t like this ‘Gambit’.

The conversation ground on, leaving him feeling more like a third wheel on a bicycle by the second. He was used to sitting out these ‘deep’ conversations at Magneto’s side, but watching from Mystique’s was a new twist, and the subject matter was a little more… inflammatory (can everyone say family issues? All together now…). It wasn’t the first time since the reformation of the Brotherhood that he had been left watching as ‘adult business’ was worked out, and it wasn’t a feeling he liked, being relegated to resident ‘kid’ having survived off his own back and, before that, acted as Magneto’s second-in-command.

If convincing Mystique of his new maturity was his goal, however, then his response hardly dispersed the ‘sulky kid’ vibe. "You’re right, no one wants you" he scowled, flicking the Zippo open, then shut, then open… "Road’s that way" – he indicated with a slight tilt of the head, otherwise staying with dark eyes trained on him from beneath an ever-deepening glare – "Keep walking until you hit it. Or, better, something hits you"

[vanessa]

Gambit's eyes narrowed as the kid responded, apparently for Mystique. "I don't remember anybody asking you kid." He said scornfully looking past Mystique, glaring back at the kid with his red eyes. Most would have found his glare intimidating, not that Remy cared. Though he figured the kid wouldn't care much. The truth for Remy was that he was stuck between choosing sides, though the X-Men had been indirectly bugging him about choosing a side theirs of course. Remy was sick of it all and he'd been meaning to talk to Eric about the possibility of him going along with the Brotherhood. Remy had affiliated with the villains before, so nothing really new.

Remy remembered Mister Sinister and wondered if Eric knew him, no doubt he did but it wouldn't hurt to ask. But anyway, Remy didn't have a place to call home. He was more on the run because well not that his mutation showed but his eyes were noticeable and people these days bugged him anyway. So he lived sort of in hiding, sometimes taking random walks through places, this time it had been insomnia bugging him and the forest just called to him telling him to take a walk.

((ack.....no muse....))

[Mystique]

Remy made a point, slightly. I mean homo sapiens did desire the mutants to become extinct.. But now they were several out there who weren't just that- homo sapiens. She gave him a smile and a roll of her eyes to the side as she let that comment go.. She couldn't deny that it felt good to be this close to him at the moment, still.. that was her way, just Mystique in general, right? She turned her gaze back towards him, her eyes resting on his. Really there was nothing to gain in his death, especially if he was being honest and wasn't affiliated with the X-Men. "Well, you are unique, special.. There are many reasons for you to be wanted." She heard Pyros outbursts and she turned to him, angling her chin down and giving him that 'sit this one out' look. Of course Remy soon responded to Pyro's taunts and if they kept this up this whole chance meeting would mean nothing. Pyro was jealous, she knew that much.. of Mystique and possibly now Gambit. He wanted attention (of sorts), and he was just going about getting it the wrong way.

She turned back to Gambit and picked up where she left off, "We are all special and unique in our own way... each and every mutant. I wont lie and tell you you don't speak the truth. There are several out there that wish for nothing more than to have us wiped from the face of the earth.. However there are those that stand united. Acceptance may not be something easily handed out by the world but I believe that we are all at a point of understanding one another here." Here, the Brotherhood.. the place that was the refuge of Mystique, Pyro.. and others like them. "Perhaps you should stick around in one place to find out if you are wanted there or not."

ooc- Me too.. don't worry.

[vanessa]

Remy could see that she had been pondering on his death, made him kind of glad he wasn't with their enemy it would be bad for his life. The kid seemed jealous on the fact that he was getting left out of this whole conversation. Remy figured that he was probably in this kind of situation like this often, being just the one who stood their and watched as life passed by. Remy listened as Mystique enlightened him on the Brotherhood and how it seemed like such a safe haven for Mutants such as himself. It made the X-Men sound cruel in a way, he wasn't sure how but the thought of even joining their forces mildly disgusted him.

"The Brotherhood you mean." He replied. Maybe he wanted to join the Brotherhood. Maybe he could be of some use to Eric and the Brotherhood. After all he had more than just cards hidden up his sleeve, a few plans were formulated into his head and he couldn't wait to put them to use.

((bleh. so short......))

[Mystique]

Mystique let a half smile slip onto her lips as she watched him reply, saying the word 'Brotherhood'. Had a nice ring to it, and of course it would to her.. After all she came back and was still here. "Yes, the Brotherhood." Of course his verbal reply was short but his body language showed that much more was going on inside of his mind.

She let her eyes drift down the front of him, her smile becoming more visible now. Of course she didn't let her attention be diverted for long because she soon again met his gaze. "Some can see the potential in others, some can't." She leaned forward to whisper, perhaps because she didn't want Pyro to hear this... or maybe it was just to draw a little closer to him. "You know that you have had my attention before."

Ah, that was Mystique for you.. when she was near she was always close and always.. well, mysterious. She was absolutely unreadable yet she laid everything out there for him. She had an interest in Gambit, she saw him as someone.. not to mention someone that she would like to have a relationship with, within the Brotherhood. Yet she could not ask.. She would have to make it seem like an offer so he could find it own his own or perhaps voice his own interest. Besides, she wanted his actions governed by his sound choice and not as if she led him into this. She merely waited for his reaction, watching him and wondering what was going on in that head of his.

[vanessa]

Remy knew that there was more to Mystique than what meats the eye. It reminded him of times he had back when he wasn't such a wanderer. Not that it was that long ago, but it still wasn't recent. She moved closer to him and spoke to him with a whisper, apparently she didn't want the kid to know. And once she said it he agreed, it would have been weird had the kid heard that. "I know." He whispered back, a slight grin on his face.

Remy thought for a few more seconds, maybe joining this group wasn't such a bad idea after all. Its not like he would have been entirely new to the others, he already had friends in there. "So what does it take to join you guys?" He asked his voice a little louder this time. Just the fact that Mystique would be their added to the benefits he could get out of this whole thing.