13993/LCR Part 2: Dream a Little Dream

LCR Part 2: Dream a Little Dream
Date of Scene:	28 November 2021
Location:	Men's Dormitory (West Halls), Second Floor, Xavier's School
Synopsis:	A journey into the sleeping mind of a student reveals a strange sort of plot to save the aardwolf from his worst enemy: Himself. How will those involved proceed? Tune in next time! ON LCR!
Cast of Characters:	Kit Killovarras, Beast, Storm, Jax Miller, Scarlet Witch, Phoenix

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Kit Killovarras has posed:
Eight yeen who are teens, this is the fate of the school for the moment and to bed they have been sent! Or, four of them at least? Oh well, at least everyone is going to get some rest, or at least that's the hope.

Various yeens are given places to stay and all is going well with the power having been restored, folks are going back to their lives and get some rest after the evenings weirdness, but apparently the universe has more in store for the poor school and its inhabitants.

"Umm.... Guys?!" Kit calls shortly after walking into his room, his voice able to carry fairly far when he really needs it to.

Beast has posed:
"I /am/ going to get to take a shower, I -swear-..." Beast had been heading that way, the men's dorms being where he'd been headed, when the call goes out. "Unless you've found your room to be populated by smurfs, I swear..." but obligations being their obligatory selves, the good blue doctor diverts his path from going back to his room to head to the male student's dorms instead.

"Fair warning, I am going to start to smell like wet dog soon..." as he heads down the corridor, an inquiring eyebrow is arched up.

Storm has posed:
It is likely no great surprise that there are footsteps upon the stairs descending from the direction of the attic. Those footsteps are light but sounding a bit hurried in nature, and after a moment or two, Ororo Munroe steps down to the landing. She wears a pair of blue jeans, the right knee having a small slit in it, and a pastel blue t-shirt. Her long white hair has been braided, though there are tendrils of it that hang loose to either side of her face.

One of her eyebrows quirks up a touch as she looks down the hallway of the men's dorms, a flicker of curiosity showing in her blue eyes. There's a glance given in Henry's direction, and a smile teases at the corners of her lips at his mention of smurfs. "That is an interesting choice of infestations," she comments, a touch of amusement to her voice. "It would not have the benefit of soap, but I could provide a shower," she adds, teasing in her voice.

Jax Miller has posed:
    The first indication that a curious cat has heard that shout is the slight creaking of a door down the hall. A slight creak, because Jax believes in giving people trying to catch him sneaking about a sporting chance, and that little creak is all the warning they ever get. Next a head peeks out into the corridor, furred and semi-disheveled, but in the photogenic way known only to felines who can look good in any weather or condition.

    "Wha? Some people 're tryin' to sleep here, y'know?" Indeed, the feline mutant had only just come back from a Thanksgiving visit to his family, and that is never a task for the unwary. Not only does the Miller household know the true meaning of the word 'feast', this time of year they can be found in Aspen, and that's a flight that should never be undertook the day after a very heavy meal.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit's room is a generally normal students room, perhaps a little strange due to a lot of books without titles, various glass jars with various odds and ends; mostly dried bugs. Kit stands near the doorway with a confused look on his face, staring at.. Himself?

There is a sleeping Kit on the bed, dressed in very little other than a pair of boxers and sound asleep, despite the loud bark of a call earlier, or the fact that he's standing in the doorway.The bed itself is surrounded by what looks like green and blue fire and somewhere among the flames is an ancient looking book.

The air in this room is positively electric, the flow of magic an almost tangible thing that can be felt by any living thing, not just those who are sensitive to it and acting as the beating heart of this magical whirlwind is the sleeping aardwolf, who doesn't seem to be sleeping too peacefully at the moment either.

He's clutching his pillow, curled up and shaking ever so slightly, occasionally letting out a quiet yip or whimper, his hands and fingers flexing quickly every so often.

Beast has posed:
"Thank you for the offer, Ororo, but I think I'll pass on a sauwester on the shagpile," walking up behind Kit, there is nothing but silence for a moment or two. "Well, that's not something you see every day," he takes his glasses off his nose, cleans them on his track gear and puts them back on, poking them flush with his face with his pinky finger. "Nope. No better with clean spectacles. Master Miller, you are welcome to be narcoleptic if you like, as is your nature, but I suspect that this might pique your curiosity." He looks over toward Jax, then along toward Storm, gesturing in the room. "We have an arcane vortex, the necronomicon and a hyena in deep REM. Absolutely .nobody. is to say the words around the book, am I clear?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Sullen fire heralds the arrival of a face that is, generally, unfamiliar here to any of the students. However, she should be familiar to the faculty of the place. Wanda Maximoff. The Scarlet Witch. She who had a large part in setting up the current magical barrier around the school.

Wanda steps up beside Beast and looks curiously within. "Huh. That's interesting," she says. She slips past him and walks into the room. Her eyes take in the scene before her. And more, her senses take it in. She walks around the hovering book and magical field in a circle, as far as she can without meeting any walls or anything else blocking the way. Studying the phenomenon from every possible angle. "Anyone know what happened?" She doesn't look from the young yeen in the bed.

Storm has posed:
There's a glance cast further down the hall towards the squeaky door that opens, and she gives a soft chuckle at the comment from the feline mutant. Yet Ororo's attention easily returns to Henry, then the open door of Kit's room, and she starts to make her way down the hallway towards it.

"I suspected you may want to pass on it," Storm comments, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. And once she comes near enough to the door, she takes a look within the room, and one of her eyebrows quirks up. "That is... interesting," she comments, curiosity in her voice. There's a flicker of surprise that shows in her eyes as she looks over the sight once again, and she tilts her head a touch to one side, and in a blink there's a slight shift in the way she sees the room. "Most curious. Yes, I rather agree, it is best to not read anything from the book aloud. We could perhaps do without magical manifestations, especially those of the accidental variety," she muses. She's quiet for a moment, thinking. "Should he be awakened?"

The fire, understandably, draws Ororo's attention, and with Wanda materializing amongst that fire, she gives a nod of greeting. "Wanda, welcome," she offers. Her attention follows the Scarlet Witch as the woman heads into the room, and she gives a small shake of her head to the question asked. "I have only just arrived, I do not know what happened to cause this," she answers.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "I nap. I'm a growing boy." is all Jax says in reply, before he leaves his room clad in an oversized Buffalo Bills hoodie. Presumably he's wearing shorts underneath, but the hem comes down too low to ascertain this, and in any case the hoodie is voluminous enough that it rightly counts as appropriate clothing by itself. But, obviously, he's still tired, given that his tail is hanging nearly listless behind him and his ears have drooped into a nigh comical tilt.

    That is, until he arrives at the room, wraps his arms casually around Kit, and lays his chin on the yeen's shoulder. Then, as he sees what's going on, do his ears perk up again, and his tail swish and lift. "Whoah! Twilight zone time."

    And his arms just sliiiiightly tighten around Kit. "Don't get any closer. Same matter can't exist in the same space at the same time." Movie wisdom... you never know when it becomes applicable.

    Meanwhile, the static in the air quickly makes his thick fur floof out, until he's almost literally a walking ball of fluff.

    Hmm... sniff? Sniff sniff... For a moment, Jax seems to be sniffing the air, and then gives an experimental sniff behind Kit's ear.

    In a moment, his entire demeanor changes.

    His ears fold back, his tail lashes dangerously behind him, and his arms unwrap from around Kit, giving him a shove towards the wall and taking a step back, lips turned back into a semi-snarl.

    "Who are you?!"

    Wait, what?

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There's a sudden look of shock when the Yeen is shoved back into a wall, but then his tail flicks and his ears perk up, his lips curling up into an impossible little smile that flat out curves his jaw in the process. "Well well, can't fool you, can I kitty cat?" the yeen says, it's voice suddenly nothing like the yeens. "Wonder why.. Maybe it's because he dreams about you?"

The yeens fur suddenly melts away, or most of it does at least, leaving a twisted looking old man with one metallic golden eye. The old mans mouth opens ever so slightly and a string of sounds come out, an inhuman mixture of groaning, clicking, hissing, screeching and various other sounds that play out for a moment, then his lips close again and he adds, "But for the sake of simplicity.. You can simply call me, God."

Then? Then Wanda gets a glance, out of all of the people here and the old man just sort of grins that Cheshire cat grin again as he asks, "You could.. You could easily, one way or the other.. But are you willing to murder a child?" in an all too blunt fashion.

There's a cold laugh from the old man and he shakes his head, looking to Beast and Ororo before walking towards the book itself. "Humans.. Always willing to act with haste when a more delicate touch is needed. If you want to save your friend, I can show you the door, but I can not go through it with you."

Beast has posed:
"Oh geeze," that exclaimed as Wanda materializes, Beast gives a puzzled expression that way, mouthing 'How did she know?' at nobody in particular. Magic. Sometimes, they just know. Particularly when they are particularly potent, explanations may have been due to occur, but those are stalled.

Stalled by reaction and by the inherantly appalling sound of hearing the voice of 'god'? The man of words is at a loss for them, several steps back taken from the self-professed deity, but not far enough that he can't still see beyond to the Scarlet Witch, the student and the floating book and fae fyres.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"You aren't a god. You're an avatar," says Wanda without ever looking at the so called god. She does look at Jax when he reacts, though. "Avatar. Of a god. A god, not /the/ God." When the mention is to murder a child, she shrugs. "Perhaps. Perhaps not." Wait. What? She's willing to outright murder Kit?? It seems that's what she'd just said.

Wanda seems to consider things. "The avatar is linked to the book. The book is a prison." She doesn't return any greetings for the moment. There's a puzzle afoot. This is somewhat distracting from social niceties, which in a general sense of things Wanda finds to be bothersome and generally unnecessary.

"There are more, similar to the furry one?" She glances now to the others. "They must not be damaged. They are part of him. To damage them would be to damage him." She tilts her head ever so slightly. "I suspect you would like him to remain undamaged, yes?"

Only now does she look to the avatar. "Show us, please." Afterall, none have to actually step through any door shown.

Storm has posed:
A hint of a smile turns at the corners of Ororo's lips at Jax's comment, and she gives a nod in his direction, watching him as he approaches. One of her eyebrows quirks up a touch at the 'wisdom' shared, finding it amusing. And she blinks, surprised at the sudden shift of Jax's demeanour, from friendly to angry all in a rush. She tilts her head a touch to one side, her gaze turning to the awake Kit, who may or may not be the actual Kit given that there's a sleeping one as well. Things, sometimes, have a way of getting confusing before they get straightened out.

Then the awake Kit becomes not-Kit, which at least answers that part of the riddle. For now. A glance is given towards Wanda before she brings her attention back to the one who named himself as a god. Her brow wrinkles slightly at the last of the words he's said. "That is an offer that has an almost ominous sort of ring to it," she says softly. She isn't sure if this being is one that is deserving of trust, as of yet, and that tends to make her a bit on the wary side of things. "Where does the door that you mentioned lead to?" she asks, a touch of curiosity in her voice. It doesn't hurt to ask questions, after all. Hopefully.

"It would be preferred for him to remain undamaged, yes," Storm says, inclining her head towards Wanda. She'll leave the question about 'more of him' for someone else to answer -- she doesn't know.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There's something... unusually protective about Jax's sudden change in posture, edging around to be between the old man and the Yeen. "You stay out of his dreams!" Is that a tinge of a blush in the pink of his ears? Why, it sure looks like it. He'd probably look more impressive if he wasn't actually looking like an ambulant ball of floof, but there's only so much you can do when you've got fur, and there's static around.

    "Don't trust him!" Jax says perhaps a bit more loudly than he intended, but seems to catch himself quickly enough. "He's got the same stink on him as that mage hunter that tried to kill Kit last week." Was it last week? Two weeks ago? Long enough that his hand stopped hurting anyway.

    When Wanda mentions that the others should not be harmed, a few things and a few scents click into place. The next sounds out of the cat mutant's muzzle are not meant for human ears... a series of yowls and hisses, which is echoed back from several parts of the mansion. That all-cat cheer-up squad that invaded Xavier's last month? Seems they haven't gone far at all. And there's nothing like a friendly horde of cats to keep an eye on a multitude of yeens.

    "Not going anywhere you want us to go, Gandalf!" And, with a sudden burst of inspiration "Does his Grandfather know you're here? Because that could get interesting, I think."

    How is he so defiant in the face of someone who claims to be a god? He's met several by now, and standing next a goddess... yeah, it's easier to feel confident when you have an actual goddess on your side.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The old man waves a hand, willing the book to open as he explains, "Avatar, god, it really doesn't matter. I walked the earth when your kind were barely willing to venture out of your caves." Then there's a pause as the old man pulls the golden eye out of his head, turns it around and aims it over his shoulder at Jax.

There's a sudden sound, like a quiet humming and suddenly, the feline is in the air, being whisked towards the flames and specifically, the book as the old man looks at him, eyeless. "That smell, dear boy, is what happens when a relic is granted power. And since my prison is, in fact, a relic.." He motions to the book, the pages currently writing themselves.

'It wasn't working and he knew it, this young man would never back down and he didn't have the strength to protect--' The words were forming on their own, some of them in time with the twitching yeen on his bed and the sounds he makes.

"The door will take you into his mind." the old man says bluntly, finally letting Jax back down and popping the golden eye back into his head with a weird, wet pop. "He's currently trapped in a hell of his own design, thanks to the fact that he came in contact with my prison. Untangle him and we'll both be free, but do understand, there is something to be lost or gained in how you wake him."

Then the old man rips a page out of the book and tosses it into the magical flames, creating a black vortex of energy where the page burns away. "The choice is yours, wake your friend gently and save him from himself, or kill me and watch him descend into madness. Regardless of which you choose, I'll finally be able to go back to sleep."

Beast has posed:
"Oh, that's just peachy keen," Beast mutters under his breath, listening to all that has been said, including the yowl of watch cats with his ears desperately -trying- to pin. But they're not as mobile as other people's might be and he hunches his shoulders at the pain. "The power went out, there was dust of an unknown origin that arrived in the same instant and we found that we had multiple Kits. There are eight in total. One is female and albino, one is psychotic. We currently have them all housed in their own rooms and I think that's precisely where they ought to stay. There. Mostly caught up, as this is somewhat beyond most of us here, I think. Except Wanda..." tugging his forelock to the Scarlet witch, he glances at Ororo, then tenses at the 'scruffing' of Jax, taking steps into the room on instinct until he's set down and giving a serious glare to the avatar.

"Le sigh. Well. Rational minds ought to prevail." But he thinks to the Headmistress, just to make sure things are made note of <<....weird god thing in a book, magical vortex, prison in the book, need to wake up Kit without killing him or driving him bonkers. Please keep an eye on us, we might be stuck quite literally in the young man's head, which is probably not a fun re-enactment of Inner space. Oh dangit, now that's going to be bothering me.>>

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff gives an impatient nod. "It doesn't matter where the door leads to," she says. The nod was impatient, but her tone isn't. Her tone is thoughtful, perhaps even soft. She looks from the avatar to Ororo to Jax. "I can get him loose. But if I do, at best, he'll be damaged. A worse case, he'll die. The worst case, he'll die and the dimensional rift that's made itself at home inside him will expand until even I can't close it." She glances to the avatar. "As little as I trust this one, his door is the only viable option that I can see." For Wanda to admit that, the situation must be dire indeed.

For now, she doesn't interfere with the divine scruffing given to the kitty boy. For now. But she keeps a mental, and magic, eye on the boy, ready to intervene should it become necessary. Wanda considers the words. Considers the vortex. She glances to Henry and nods. Jade eyes turn to each in turn, starting with the avatar and ending with Jax. Her eyes linger on Jax. And then, the Scarlet Witch turns to look at the vortex. She steps forward and into it with no further words. Clearly, she'd rather try this. At least there's hope of salvedging the situation this way.

Phoenix has posed:
Henry's thoughts to Jean are met with an immediate response. <<I will watch. And do what I can from this side. Do be careful, Hank. You too, Ro. And Jax.>> To the Witch, she doesn't speak.

Storm has posed:
There's usually something rational about not angering Gods. Even ones that have only proclaimed themselves to be Gods rather than being ones of a more common nature. Ororo's gaze turns to Jax, and she raises an eyebrow slightly at the feline mutant's words. "Calm yourself, Jax. If we are to save Kit then it would seem we must be open to a number of different possibilities. Including a path that is unexpected," she says softly, watching him for a long moment.

Her gaze turns to the self-named God, and she raises an eyebrow slightly as she watches him, though her brow wrinkles when he essentially scruffs Jax in such a fashion. Yet she listens, and there's a frown that touches her features. She looks to the sleeping Kit, studying him for a long moment, and then she gives a small nod. Her attention shifts to Henry, and she tilts her head a touch to one side at the explanation that he offers, a flicker of surprise chasing through her eyes. Eight Kits. She'll boggle over that one later. "There is enough madness without sending another to haunt its halls. There is little choice in the matter, if we wish for Kit to be of sound mind, which we rather do," she says.

She looks to Wanda and gives a small nod, and then she steps forward and towards the vortex. There's a moment of thought for Jean, though -- an affirmation that she'll be as careful as she can. And then, she makes to enter the vortex as well. For her, the choice is simple.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Ever try to scruff a cat that did not want to be scruffed? Cat owners know better than this. Much like his less evolved brethren (and sistren!), Jax lashes out with a speed that is, in all honesty, a little bit scary. Mostly because those strong fingers, used to playing football on a semi-professional level and throwing three pointers on the basket court, seem to suddenly sprout claws. He misses the avatar by some margin, of course, but a half second earlier that would have raked open a cheek.

    And yet he calms down the moment he gets near the book. Excellent! That's the way he wanted to go anyway, less walking! And his eyes take in the writing in that same flash, and that tells him all he needs to know.

    He /acts/ the dumb jock, he's not actually stupid.

    And once on his toes (not all of his feet, it's a cat thing), he seems relaxed, nodding to Wanda. "Yeah. Golden Eye Gandalf wants to show us into Kit's mind? Why not."

    And finally, there is a grin reserved /entirely/ for the avatar. "I've been in his head for weeks. There's nothing in there that can scare me. Bring it."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
There is a moment where the old man wasn't going to say much of anything to the departing, but then Jax opens his mouth and the old man actually cringes a little as he turns his eye towards the feline. "Trust me.. I know." he says, making a slight face. "Not in Babylon nor Greece have I seen such things as what goes on in that boys head, nor do I want to again." Then, theres a sudden SHOVE of energy against Jax, aiming him towards the vortex. "Though for the sake of your companions, try /not/ to trigger anything unsavory, hmm?"

Entering the vortex would be a trip, a sudden feeling of weightlessness, a sensation of mind separating from body and then crashing down into a reality that feels both foreign and familiar all at once.

Before them are familiar places, familiar smells, this is Bushwick! And somewhere, off in the distance, people are chanting a name, whooping and hollering with excitement.

"Kit! Kit! Kit!" A crowd can be found, surrounding the yeen and another teen, but slowly, the chanting slows.. Some of the names come out in worried questions, then screams!!

Kit can be found sitting against a truck near the edge of the crowd, watching in horror as a massive creature repeatedly lifts and slams the body of another young man into the concrete. The beast is tall, eight feet or more thanks to it's elongated and nearly skeletal legs, it's equally freakish arms having no difficulty throwing the figure it's toying with around like a child trying to thoroughly break a porcelain doll.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy will not be shoved, thank you, not that he would've been. But he will lope on in, after a rather gentlemanly sweep of the arm toward the vortex for Storm's perspective as she does indeed step in before him. He's last in, bringing up the rear and on the other side of it, looks about with a careful eye. There's something to be said for knowing that none of this is real, but also the doctor is taking notes. Trauma is a terrible thing after all, imagination just adds fuel to that fire. Put the subconscious in and you get things like that. "I'm going to keep an eye on the mental architecture stability. I fear we'll end up with fragmentation --" besides which, he is fairly certain that it will be others in this scenario that reach Kit. Level heads, not getting distracted by other things.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Nobody sane wants to anger a god. Except, perhaps, for another god. Then again, who's to say gods are really what anyone would consider 'sane'? The trip isn't really unusual for Wanda. She's seen and experienced a lot through her life. She lands, as it were, on her feet and takes a moment to orient herself. "Bushwick," she murmurs.

The Scarlet Witch tilts her head as she hears a name being chanted. She turns and walks toward the sound. Once she reaches the crowd, she slips through it, and watches thoughtfully, but only for a few moments. Her eyes turn to scanning the crowd and around the crowd.

As her eyes alight on the Kit that she'd seen sleeping in the bed, she turns and slips back through the crowd. She makes her way around the outer edge of the crowd until she reaches the truck where Kit is. She settles to lean against it, and looks toward the fight going on. "Awful, isn't it?"

Storm has posed:
In every mind, there are pitfalls and traps. What they will happen to find within Kit's mind, only time will tell. For Ororo, the trip through the vortex is accepted with a usual amount of calmness. To panic would be a bad thing, for it would unleash a hell of a different variety given the tie between her emotions and her powers.

And once the trip is ended, there are the familiar sights of Bushwick, and she takes a moment to get her bearings. That seems... odd, and yet not at the same time. As she becomes aware of the chanting of the crowd, her gaze turns in that direction, her brow furrowed a little bit. The massive creature draws her attention, and she takes a moment to look over it.

Ororo gives her head a brief shake, and she looks further, finding Kit there where he sits near to the truck. She looks over to Henry, and she gives a smal nod. "That is a good idea. We do not wish to break his mind," she says softly. There is only a brief moment which passes, and then she starts to head in Kit's direction. Wake him gently, the God had advised. That might well mean that lightning may not be the answer to the problem.

Jax Miller has posed:
    YOINK!

    Still processing the mention of what sort of effect Jax has had on Kit, the cat mutant is flung unceremoniously through the Vortex. He'd have happily jumped in by himself, but somehow this is more appropriate. "I promise nothing!" is his parting shot as he fades from one reality into his best friend's mind.

    Unsurprisingly, he lands on his toes.

    A few moments of scanning around, and then everything seems familiar. "So... you guys are pretty familiar with Kit's past, right? Right?" Oh wait... he's going to be local expert, isn't it? Yeah, no way that can go wrong.

    First off, there's a grateful nod to Doctor McCoy. "Thanks. I mean, he's been having some problems, and... " vague waving of hands. If this cat is the level head needed, then disaster may not be too far ahead. Case in point, he's immediately distracted by the chanting. And as he lopes towards the sound, he's giving everyone the benefit of a running commentary... some pun intended.

    "Kit used to hang around Bushwick before he came to the school. Hid who and what he was, 'cause his family kept him in their compound pretty much his entire life up to that point. And when he got here... well, he's got that stubborn hero thing going on, y'know?"

    Then he sees the scene, hears the sudden screams, and understands. "One of the things he regrets the most, is when he tried to stop a bully from hurting another mutant... he lost control and broke that bully's back. Paralysed him." It's not difficult to understand the symbology here.

    For a moment, Jax locks eyes with the Kit that's sitting against the truck, and then closes his eyes. Approaching slowly, he sings...

    ~Lights out and pull the shades,
    look back on better days,
    alone now with this pain it's burning,
    No one feels like me.

    I blacken all the walls,
    I'm blocking all the calls
    Once here but now you're gone
    It's hurting!

    And so here in my room,
    Dark as my soul,
    Grief is the weight
    Breaking these bones!~

Kit Killovarras has posed:
"It is.." Kit says, his voice barely a whisper as he stares. "He wouldn't stop fighting.. It didn't matter what I did to him, he just wouldn't stop.." Each few words emphasized by another sickening crack as the creature slams the limp body around. Then? Then there's singing and Kit's ears perk up for a moment, but they fold back again as he sort of shrinks against the truck a bit.

There's a moment where the massive beast suddenly stops, his eyes immediately turning to Jax, lips pulling back to reveal rows of jagged teeth. Whether the approach is a smart idea or not is anyone's guess, but the creatures attention is on the feline initially, then it slowly starts to notice the others with it's sunken, black eyes and tosses the body aside.

"It tries to protect me.. It always does, but it won't stop.." Normally the aardwolf seems fearless, often to the point of being reckless in his actions, but he couldn't be more the opposite at the moment. Whatever that thing is, whether a reflection of his psyche or something else entirely, he sounds like he's terrified of it.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy nods to Jax, keeping to the edge of the crowd and keeping all of his senses open to what's going on, including the monster. Poor kid, being terrified of a part of yourself is a hard place to be at. There's empathy fleetingly on Beast's face, before he carries on his self-imposed vigilance. Keen eyes note key features of the dreamscape though, fixing first on the people and their lack of definition, then how very vividly everything else has been painted onto the wax tablet of mind.

He crouches at the hood of the truck, keeping vigil on the monster within.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff doesn't look at Kit in this instance. Her jade eyes remain on the creature in the crowd. Her head turns, eyes taking in Jax as he sings. Her attention is diverted for only the first few bits of the song. She listens in the back of her mind, but turns her focus back to Kit and the part of him he's afraid of.

"It has no reason. It doesn't know it needs to stop. It doesn't know it should stop," she says. Her tone is kind, despite that the words might not be. "Only you can make it stop. I was the same as you, once. What I could do terrified me. But I learned that when I stop fearing and accept it, it's no longer so scary, and then it will listen to me when I say enough. Stop."

Wanda looks over the creature. "He's not so scary, really. Sure, he's big. But so are a lot of things. Really, he's magnificent." There's no insincerity to her words.

Storm has posed:
It's not something that Ororo has given a lot of time to recently, admittedly. Though it is something that she should give more consideration to, that little matter of taking the time to find out about the history of the students. There are times when it could be quite a useful thing to know. Although that can be a bit of a tricky thing, given how she feels about her own history.

Storm turns towards Jax when he sings, listening, and she tilts her head a little bit to one side as she does. Partway through the singing, her attention turns back to Kit. She studies him for a long moment, and then her gaze turns back to the massive beast with the jagged teeth. She admires the beast, looking it over from head to toe, and she finds herself giving a small nod to agree with what Wanda has said.

Her gaze turns towards them, and she closes the last few steps before she crouches down near to where Kit is. "I believe Wanda is right, in all that she has said," she says softly, looking over to the Scarlet Witch and giving her a smile before her attention shifts to Kit once more. She settles one of her knees to the ground, and she does no more than simply remain near, in the moment. This is, perhaps, a choice for Kit to make.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Ah. Coming to a stop, Jax slowly turns to look at the monster, keeping his claws sheathed and his hands by his side. For the moment, at least. "I'm not scared of you. I don't have to be."

    A glance over to Kit, with a fond smile. "My friend is not a monster, no matter what he thinks. No more than I am."

    And then he does the inadvisable... he turns away from the monster so he can continue to walk towards Kit, singing a new song, and yet familiar.

    ~Tell me how do I reach you when all I see is a stare?
    How do you look for the signs when nothing is there?
    So you think.
    When the water won't cut the flame
    And the Anger drives you insane
    Tell me how does it look from behind your walls of pain?

    I've been thinking
    Spend my time worrying
    About the way you don't seem the same.
    Hoping, waiting,
    For back how you were again
    There's gotta be
    Something I can say!~

    And then he kneels by Kit, taking the yeen's chin gently in his hand and turning his head towards him, singing the rest in a softer voice.

    ~When the faces all look the same
    And the angels cry out your name
    Tell me how does it look from behind your walls of pain?~

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Kit listens to Wanda and Ororo as they speak, but he's slowly shaking his head the entire time and when Jax comes up to him singing like that? The yeen suddenly breaks down crying, a real, UGLY sort of cry and he tries to talk, curling himself up as he manages to get out, "You don't understand!! I do con--"

Henry would be the first and likely the only one to see it, but for a moment it's like the world 'shivers', a sudden ripple splitting the air and bending light, then suddenly?

Dead silence, a sudden force that rips away all sound for a moment before the faint sound of flowing water comes across in the darkness. He was trying to say something, but all that's put to an end when the only light is suddenly the light of the moon and stars!

It's a beautiful place that they find themselves in now, white sands surrounding the stone walkway beneath their feet, a gently flowing fountain beside them all.. It's like a town square, but it's walled off in all directions. The walls are massive, twenty feet at least in height. There is a greenhouse, a small garden and what looks like a manor at the center of the walled in area.

It looks to be a few acres, but even at the furthest ends, the walls are visible. And for a moment, so is a familiar figure, though somewhat smaller by a few inches than they might recognize him, sneaking around near the manor and eventually? He starts to climb a pipe, moving for the rooftop.

Beast has posed:
"When you feel my heat, look into my eyes it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide, don't get too close, it's dark inside, it's where my demons hide, it's where my demons hide..." Hank murmurs lyrics in a soft singsong, looking up and around a moment before all the scenery changes, standing tall that he's not crouched in the Alhambra. He looks about this scenery also, noting the height of the walls. The quality of this memory. "Formulative, or simply vivid? I wonder."

TO the others, he waves, gives a double-gun thumbs up and starts noting even smaller details, as they do the work of well... reconstituting the kit, experience by experience. "We are the sum of the stories that went into making us who we are," is murmured, softly.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
History. Often relevant. Not always helpful. Wanda glances to Ororo as she backs her words. She glances to Jax as he sings, and then back to Kit. She watches the ugly cry, and then nods to the yeen youth. She can infer from his words that he meant to say 'he controls it'. "You do, and you do not. When you fear, you don't control."

As she, too, feels the world shiver, tremble, she glances around. And then nothing. The sound of water. As it clears and she can see the place around them, she looks curious. "Oasis?" Her eyes alight on the younger Kit. "Someone seeks escape," she says, amusement tinging her tone. She turns to walk that direction, toward the pipe being climbed. "Perhaps a little bit of both?" This to Henry, of course.

Storm has posed:
The white-haired woman looks to Jax at his words, and she gives a small nod, to agree with him. "Indeed, he is not," she says, a gentle tone to her voice. "No more than any of the rest of us are," she adds, a thoughtful note rising to the words. She falls quiet when Jax begins to sing again, her gaze slipping back to Kit as she listens to the words. She lifts a hand, about to reach out in an attempt to touch his shoulder when there comes that sudden silence, and the shift of surroundings.

That was... unexpected. Ororo's brow furrows a little bit, and she gracefully rises to her feet as she passes her gaze over these new surroundings. Did they somehow cause this? It takes her a moment to pick out the shorter figure of Kit, and one of her eyebrows quirks upwards slightly. "We are what our past forms us into, what we are made to be," she says quietly, her voice near a whisper in volume. Her gaze lifts to the stars, taking a moment to admire them. She hasn't seen them from quite this perspective in... a while. She takes in a deep breath of the desert air and lets it out a bit slowly. "Egypt. The Nile is not far from here," she offers, the words holding only a hint of something there within them. Yet that, that little bit, it is all she says about the location, and she turns her gaze back to Kit before she starts to approach him.

Jax Miller has posed:
    One moment he's comforting his friend, the next... hmm. Jax stands, slowly, dusting off his knees somewhat theatrically as he looks around. The place isn't familiar. That is to say, he's never actually seen it before, but he has a very good guess of where he is. And so, again, he provides the running commentary for the others.

    "Best guess? We're in his family compound. They kept him here for his own safety. Not just because they didn't know how the people would react, but because some mage hunters are actively trying to kill his entire family." Momentary pause, as he takes in the walls and the vista of the gilded cage. "Sad, when you think about it."

    And then there's young Kit. Awwwww... and here Jax is, without a phone to take a picture! "He'd plan his escapes and try to break out every so often. He says his family was never mad at him for trying, they'd just plug the gap he'd found. And then he'd try again."

    With no better impulse to go on, he joins Wanda in approaching the younger yeen, raising a hand in greetings, ears tilted neutral. "Hail, Son of Set! Greetings from a child of Bastet!" Bastet in a Buffalo Bills hoodie, but still...

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The group approaching would likely be about half way between the fountain and the building by the time Kit reaches the roof and moment he gets up there, the yeen pulls an object from his belt and looks at it, adjusting something on it before he suddenly sprints towards the other edge of the roof! He doesn't seem to notice the others approaching, not in the slightest, he's focused on something else. There's a massive gap between the roof and the wall, one no human could clear on their own, but he leaps without fear, gripping the tube in his paws and cracking it open as soon as his feet try to leave the roofs edge and suddenly? Flying yeen!

It almost looks like he's going to clear that impossible gap, but then a crack of black energy swallows him up and a split second later, there's a splash as he crashes down into the fountain! The image of a younger yeen is soaked, stunned as he sits there in the water, his lips slowly curling, his body shaking and then?

"DAMN IT!!" The bark that carries those words is practically deafening, something that could carry for miles and just that statement seems enough to summon it.. The massive skeletal being forms again, stalking towards the fountain and the younger yeen.. But this time it's not alone.

Another nightmare forms with it, moving much faster in her approach. She's much taller than Kit is, but not quite the size of the monster they'd seen earlier. She's equally deformed, her arms and legs whisper thin, blackened bones the only things visible of her legs and arms and her eyes are the same, sunken blackness as the first.. But this one is different. When it reaches the fountain, it wastes no time in approaching the very obviously emotional aardwolf and tries to comfort him.

Beast has posed:
"A little of both. This sets the mind to wonder. Certainly explains a good deal," For his part, Henry trots lazily up to the wall, twenty foot high as it might be and crouches, leaping fifteen foot straight up, grabs the wall and with a flip, sommersaults onto the top of it as Kit trots nearby. His job is to keep an eye on things after all, mostly what comes around from the outside into the scenario. He pantomimes taking off a hat he doesn't have and walks the wall like a professional tight rope walker to intersect. He looks over the edge to the outside of the compound also, waiting for the others to catch up. At least two of those people down there can fly, when they want to.

...Until of course the Yeen is soaked in the fountain, being approached by the abhorrent entities that are part of the young man's psyche. He remains where he's at, looking down with his head cocked on one side. "I wonder if these are not... reflections of a past life. Aspects of the persona seem to be logical, but the nature of the manifestation is telling." He observes.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff glances to Ororo and Jax, and then nods again. Nope. None of them are monsters. A thoughtful look. "Partially the past. Partially what we wish to be now. But both are relevant and have power." Wanda's lips lift in what some might consider a smile. But it's far more of a snarl than a smile. "Mage hunters. Once upon a time, they tried to eliminate myself and my brother too. Until they learned it's better for their health if they leave us be."

Wanda pauses as the younger Kit reaches the roof and does what he does. Henry gets a glance and a quiet laugh at his pantomiming. She watches, curiously, and makes no move at all to interfere. As the black energy forms and swallows the yeen, Wanda looks to the fountain a hair before he appears.

Again, she watches curiously the confrontation. She doesn't try to interfere in that either, as she turns to walk over toward the fountain. Glancing up at Henry, she nods. "I tend to agree. It's curious that there's two of them now, instead of one. I wonder that only one shows up later. It makes me wonder what happened to the other. Did he eventually come to accept that aspect of himself?" She sounds more curious than anything.

Storm has posed:
The weather witch listens to Jax's commentary without offering forth any of her own, for the most part. Information is a very useful thing, and she doesn't know a lot about Kit as of yet. "I suspect it would be hard to find fault in him for having curiosity of the world, to wish to see what was beyond these walls," she says softly. Who wouldn't be curious, after all? There's a glance cast in Wanda's direction, and she gives a nod to agree to her words of the past, for there is assuredly power there.

That crack of black energy catches her attention, and her brow wrinkles as she watches him end up crashing into the fountain. And swearing. That part is rather expected -- she'd be likely to respond in a similar fashion, all things considered. As the skeletal being forms, she tilts her head a touch to one side. Could it be his anger that brings it? It might be a possibility, and yet... there's a second one, now. And if anger causes the first one, then where does the second one come from? She wonders about that, given that this is a mindscape and emotions could certainly play a part. She isn't sure if that seems quite right, though.

Much like Wanda, she doesn't interfere either in what happens. "I wondered of that as well, that there are two in this moment and there was only one in the moments before we were here. Did something happen to the other one, could she have been killed in some fashion here or is it that she became a part of him, accepted or absorbed into him?" she wonders, curiosity touching her voice.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There's a reason Jax isn't hurrying. He knows well enough how hard it was for Kit to escape the compound, and how infrequently the attempt was even remotely successful. There's even a wince when the yeen ends up in the fountain... undoubtedly his parents thought that was a suitably mild deterrent, but he knows the unpleasantness of suddenly sodden fur.

    And then the two figures appear. Things begin to make a bit more sense. Heading towards the fountain, Jax sits down on the sand, cross-legged. "His parents are Magi. Imagine how quickly he had to learn magic just to be able to see the world a bit, even just for an hour or two. And falling in a fountain sucks when you've got fur." In fact, he gives a glance towards Doctor McCoy when he says that. "Am I right?"

    A sigh. "Anger. I think the big thing is anger. He was angry when he hurt that bully, and control or not, his anger is always there when he needs it." For a moment, the cat mutant is silent, and then he unsheathes his claws, dragging a furrow in the sand in front of him. "The beast inside. I play guitar to get mine to shut up."

    The other thing? Black, withered, but comforting? "You think the second one is hope? Smaller, darker, but still there?"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
Beyond the compound is a black, empty sea with only stars on the horizon and it's far from calm. Hurricanes, dozens of them form and vanish on a whim in the distance and on the horizon, where sea meets stars, there is a constant storm, belting violet lightning across the water endlessly.

The smaller figure tries to wrap her arms around him, tries to comfort the aardwolf as much as she can and her touch makes him break for a moment, choking back tears for a moment before he pulls away from her and climbs out of the fountain, quickly regaining his composure.

"Go away..." he says quietly as he stands there soaked, then shakes off a majority of the water and repeats the command, this time causing both of the figures to slink back and melt away into mist. He still hasn't noticed them, paying the people in his mind no mind as he walks back towards the place he called his home for so long and the closer he gets, the more the world warps, the more the stars flicker and the air begins to shimmer.

Silence again and the next place they wind up? A street, just in front of the old 46th Street Theater, looking onward towards a barren street in the dead of night.

Beast has posed:
"I go running to quiet mine," Beast calls down, leaping off the wall and nailing the superhero landing, walking closer. "Wet fur makes you feel about twice as heavy and the sudden cold isn't something you can express to anyone that doesn't have it. When you're accustomed to it, aiiiiee." He leaves that mental image where it belongs, giving a little full body shiver in empathy.

"Hmm. Hope. Maybe. Or it could actually be a gamut of other things. Consolation, self-pity even, but I doubt that." He narrows eyes on the vignette, then when it alters somewhat, observes "...I have a feeling the imaginary friends and being a psychic magi are probably a thing that can be a bit more than it is when you're oh, say... me. My imaginary friend just played ball with me bouncing against the back garage wall. His, I think, were there when he couldn't get out. TO be a perpetual prisoner, even for your own good..."

And he catches the shimmer, because he's been expecting it. "Huh, I know this place. It's abandoned."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"It's never easy to be a prisoner, even if it's for your own safety," says Wanda, her voice quiet. She watches the beasties thoughtfully. "Anger and... despair?" The question is probably rhetorical, but spoken aloud even so. To Ororo, Wanda shakes her head. She glances to Jax and lifts her shoulders in a shrug. "I'm not certain. The actions of the smaller one make me wonder, Kitty. First it confronted him with the other, then tried to comfort." Powerful Wanda might be. If one of the others had said Jax's name, she hadn't caught it.

"When I'm angry, I find something to destroy that will bring some benefit, and then I go meditate." She glances around. "Here we go again," comments Wanda. She looks around and nods agreement with Henry. "I have been past there before." She starts walking again, heading for the old street theater. There doesn't seem to be anything else, so perhaps inside...

Storm has posed:
"It is fitting, for the larger one to be anger. It burns brightly and looms large, ready and willing to push our actions when it sees fit. To control it, to keep it reined, is not always an easy thing," Ororo says softly, a thoughtful tone to her voice. "I meditate, as well." Everyone deals with their anger in their own ways. For Storm, that generally means meditation of one variety or another. Everyone has their own emotional consequences.

"The second, it may be hope. Perhaps something else. Perhaps despair. Whatever it is, then where had it gone in that moment that we arrived in?" she asks, curiosity coming to her voice. "Could he have dismissed her somehow, set her aside or restrained her in some way? He pulls away from her, here," she adds, a frown touching at the corners of her lips. What could prevent her from being present later? Her gaze turns to Henry, and she tilts her head a touch to one side as he speaks, listening attentively and then giving a small nod. What he says makes sense as well, yet which is the truth of the matter? The solution to what's going on might lie in that.

And then there's the silence again, and another shift of location. This one, Ororo remembers. She takes a moment to look over the space, and there's a ghost of a smile that touches her lips. "I remember this place," she says softly. "I went with Jean, once, and we found him here. Hiding," she comments, a thoughtful note claiming the words. "Inside," she adds. And she starts to head towards the door of it.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Really?" Jax looks surprised for a moment, when Doctor McCoy mentions his imaginary friend. That was something he did not know about the teacher... "Never had any imaginary friends myself. Never needed them. Always had plenty of actual friends around..." And again he watches the young yeen walk away with a visible wince. They were as different as night and day, and although he's always known that in a way, he never had it brought home to him quite like this.

    Wanda gets a shrug in return. He's just as much at sea as everyone else. "They smell strange though. The big one, smoke and decay. Hot, angry smells. The smaller one? Dust. Wet earth... Like being in a sand storm in the middle of a forest after it's been raining. Dunno if that makes any sense." But the nose? The nose never lies.

    As the scenery changes again, Jax doesn't even get back up this time, just watching the empty theater. "I think this may be where he lived before the school found him. Not sure. There's... there's a lot of things he doesn't talk about. Not even to me." But luckily, Ororo solves that particular mystery.

    A tad more reluctant than before, Jax stands and follows the others. The first two memories he could understand, had been told about. Now? Now it feels like he's trespassing on hallow ground.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The door to the theater, the one Jean and Ororo would have found unlocked and open? It's locked.. By then there's something else. There's a sound that starts, subtle at first, but it's like twinkling.. It's quiet and it sounds like it's coming from all around. It's about this point that a figure rounds a corner, walking tall as he normally does, a metal cage of a muzzle on his face and bandaging covering several wounds.. Beyond that? He's wearing shorts and nothing else.

He looks broken, the fur along his abdomen thinning slightly, revealing faint bruises on his sides and along his abdomen. His eyes are sunken, almost as if he's been bleeding profusely, but none of it seems to register for him.

As he approaches the door, he clears his throat quietly, holding up a hand and when he does, the massive skeletal thing forms behind him, shackled to his wrists and mimicking his movements. Blades of energy fly from the claws of the creature behind him, controlled in their flight to slash through the chains that lock the theater door.

When the door falls open, he walks through without really waiting for the others, but stops a few feet in and looks over his shoulder at them, tilting his head a little as he finally speaks. "Well, come on.." before he starts deeper into the theater.

Eventually, he'll find his way up some rickety stairs and into a balcony on the upper level of the theater, overlooking the stage in the darkness of the abandoned building, finding a place to sit and relax.

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy watches THIS turn of events with a penny-drop moment. "Ooooh, my. Oh. Erm. Well, that happens sometimes, I suppose. I mean, I don't know many mages, but spiritpower isn't unheard of. Manifestations... that's more your area of expertise, Wanda." But he follows, a look to Ororo given in that moment and a quizzical look. "Did he look this bad when you found him?" Because the doctor knows what he's looking at and that's not, well, it shouldn't have been quite as survivable as perhaps it ended up actually being.

An aside to Jax as he sniffs the theatre, follows the yeen, is soft. "I had quite a number of imaginary friends. When I was young, I wasn't exactly up to my eyeballs in kids that understood me much. I ended up dumbing myself down and playing the class clown in school, so people wouldn't notice how good my grades actually were, or that I'd skipped several grades."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff looks to Ororo and nods. "What was he hiding from?" She looks thoughtfully at Jax. "Hm. Wet earth. Growing things. Dust, dying things. Interesting." She falls silent as a much changed Kit appears. She waits, watching curiously as he weilds his magic. When bidden to follow, she does so.

Inside Wanda follows, and up those rickety stairs. She follows to where he stops, and takes up a position to the left of him. She looks out over the balcony railing, into the darkness of the stage.

She glances to Henry, and then to Ororo, curious of the answer to that question too. Had he been that bad? She wouldn't know. This is the first time she's meeting him. Technically. "I had my brother." Of school, Wanda remains silent.

Storm has posed:
The scents that Jax offers up from the creatures are tucked away, perhaps for future consideration. There isn't a comment that she offers up about them, though it is a bit on the curious side of things. She isn't sure what the scents really add up to meaning. Once Ororo reaches the door, she does try to open it and finds it locked. That causes her brow to furrow, and she glances briefly to the others before looking back to the door. "It had been unlocked, when Jean and I were here to find him," she says softly.

Her gaze turns to the figure that rounds the corner, and she tilts her head a touch to one side as she looks him over. She watches him as he approaches, and her gaze turns towards Henry before she shakes her head. "He did not look this rough when Jean and I were here. This is perhaps another time, I am uncertain," she says softly, her tone thoughtful. She steps aside from the door when Kit has come closer, to be out of the way. A flicker of curiosity touches her blue eyes, and her gaze turns towards the shackled skeletal thing. That's... different again, from what they've seen before. And interesting.

When he invites them to come in, she gives a small nod to him and the steps forward to enter the theatre. And she continues to follow him to the stairs and up them, and to the balcony there. She doesn't take a seat, but she does hold her attention to him, perhaps waiting.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Everyone likes a clown." Jax whispers back, but his eyes are glued to Kit. It doesn't take an expert in body language to figure out what he's feeling right now, not with the suddenly listless tail and drooped ears. The expression on his remarkably expressive face is one of pure worry, mixed with horror. No power in the world could stop him from going in there now. Into the gloom, up the rickety stairs, into the balcony. But he refuses to sit, even when Kit does.

    "You're hurt." It's not a question, it's a statement. And rather than finding a seat for himself, Jax goes over to his friend and kneels again... and then he has that awkward, fidgety, uncertain air about him, the one only ever shown by people who desperately want to help someone and yet not knowing a lick of first aid. "You need to see a doctor."

    The chained creature is ignored. The mystery can wait. His friend is hurt and needs help.

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The image of the badly injured Kit sits there for a moment, then looks to Jax and gives a smile. "It's fine. This is just a memory." he explains with a little smile. Then he looks to the others, McCoy and Ororo get his attention first as he explains, "And no.. It wasn't this bad by the time they found me," There's a pause as a band forms around his left bicep, something metallic and emblazoned with five letters: ESSEX. "But that's because someone else intervened." Ororo gets a little smile as it speaks a finishing thought. "You found me several hours after this when I was sleeping under the stage." Then the band around his arm starts to hum quietly and the wounds along his abdomen start to fade, almost immediately.

Then there's a little sigh as he looks to the stage and a spotlight illuminates a single spot, revealing Kit in his bed, still sleeping. "I'm sorry if the steps to bring you here were painful for any of you.. But I had to bring you to a part of our mind that he doesn't go to willingly." There's a little chuckle and a half-hearted smile before he adds. "I am the reason he came in contact with the book, I'm the one who asked the Mad God to bring you here.. And I need your help."

Then there's a glance to Wanda and a little tilt of his head before the yeen admits, "And, I am sorry that you got caught up in this. I never thought by reaching out that I would pull in people that he doesn't know.."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy's eyes fall onto the band upon Kit's arm as it manifests and his face goes all still. He presses lips together, looks at Ororo and Wanda briefly, then back at the band, particularly as it seems to heal the yeen. "Oh, that can't be good," he sighs, but says nothing further, pushing his spectacles up his nose instead, looking at Jax for a long, long moment.

Nothing is said, just a nod to the cat-mutant teen, then beyond at the stage, where the spotlight hones in. "I suppose the sensible question would thusly be: WHat do you need us to do, Other-kit? Riddle me this, all that jazz." He exhales.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff isn't really sure about the scents either. Mostly, she's just guessing from her own experiences. Because really, her nose isn't that sensative. Wanda's eyes are drawn to that band that says Essex. Her eyes narrow ever so slightly, and she looks thoughtful. Whatever she sees or senses, she doesn't share it.

When a spot is illuminated upon the stage, Wanda's head turns, her eyes moving to that spot. Her attention goes back to injured Kit, and she shakes her head. "I'm fine. I am sorry you had to bring us to a place he finds painful, though." Her lips curl up ever so slightly. She shakes her head again, a slight motion. "I felt the rift. When it formed. I was delayed or I would have come sooner. This sort of thing is my responsibility."

Wanda's eyes are drawn by the blue one, and she lifts a shoulder. "Might not be all bad. Probably isn't all good."

Storm has posed:
There's a small smile that touches at the corners of her lips and she inclines her head slightly towards Kit, watching him. Her gaze flicks towards the metal band when it forms around his arm, a touch of curiosity reflecting in her eyes. She looks over to Henry, and then she gives a small nod of agreement. It may not be good, but there's naught they can do about it from where they are. "We can perhaps find out more later," she says softly. There is a look that she gives towards Jax, watching him where he's knelt near to Kit, and then her gaze lifts back to Kit's features, studying him. "Yes, that is where I remember you being," she says softly. Her gaze turns towards the stage, to where the spotlight illuminates the sleeping Kit in his bed.

"There is no need to apologize. It is what needed to be done," Ororo says softly. She shifts slightly, settling lightly on the back of one of the seats here, still watching Kit. She tilts her head a touch to one side, and one of her eyebrows quirks up just a tad. "How is it that we can help?" she asks softly, curiosity coming to her voice. Her gaze turns to Wanda, and she studies the redheaded woman for a long moment. "I am not entirely certain that the responsibility of it falls upon you," she says softly, her tone thoughtful. Her attention shifts back to Kit, waiting.

Jax Miller has posed:
    The name means nothing to Jax, but when the band seems to start healing Kit, he leaves it be. He's not about to take Kit's word on it that he's fine, it seems, but will take actual proof of healing as his cue to let that particular worry go. Awesome. Only half a dozen full on existential crises left!

    His nose, at least, confirms the bona fides of the memory-yeen, and finally the feline takes a seat. On his own terms, of course... it's a cat thing. He straddles the balcony railing, so he can watch the sleeping Kit and the talking Kit at the same time, seemingly as comfortable as if he's sitting on a sofa, tail swaying slowly to maintain balance through angular momentum. Practical physics in motion. "I'm here. What do you need?"

    No further questions, no quarreling, no remonstrating. His best friend needs help, and there he is. "How do we help you, pup?"

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The band eventually fades and the yeen gives Henry a look and a little smile. "Other-Kit, I like that.. Even if we are one and the same, in a sense." Then he nods and explains, "We're breaking.. Both him and I, we have been for a while." He looks back out to the sleeping Kit. "I've been trying for weeks now to help him however I can, but there is only so much I can do with dreams and nightmares. When we're awake, I can whisper in his ear that something needs to be done, but I can't rightly will him to do it, after all."

There's a momentary look given to Wanda as the aardwolf nods and explains, "That was my doing, sadly. It wasn't as subtle as I wanted, nor as clean. But apparently, it did the trick. Perhaps a little too well, if it got the attention of someone outside the school."

Ororo gets a warm smile and the yeen continues talking, "He needs to learn how to deal with his emotions and, until recently he was doing fairly well, all things considered. The problem is, one of them is acting up, making it harder for him to deal with the rest of them. He's terrified for some reason and even for as much of us as I can see? I can't understand why."

Then the yeen gives an almost dramatic shrug, both paws coming out to his sides as he explains, "So I brought seven others to the school who might be able to help. Each of them has the same problem, even if their lives are different at key points in history. I brought them here thinking I could talk with them, see if they have any insight into what the source of the problem is.. But since I can't leave my own head to go talk to them, I have to ask you to do it for me.."

Then he looks at Jax and tilts his head, "As for you..? Please, be patient with us.. We can be stubborn and reckless and down-right annoying at times, we know, but we have our reasons. There is a lot of healing that needs to happen, but first we need to figure out where to start.."

Beast has posed:
Henry McCoy nods very faintly to Wanda. She saw it. But then there's the rest of it. The whole Kit and Kaboodle as it were, which is the crux of this whole thing. He looks at Ororo, then most significantly, at Jax. "I think this is where you rise to the occasion, kiddo. We'll all be here, in our capacities as we can support, but I think ... the loudest voice in all of this is going to be you. Wanda can help considerably with the..." he waves a hand around at well, just about everything really. "But in the end, you have to reach him. And after that, we can help out."

He looks at the womenfolk here, for a sense of solidarity in this. "No?" support and the necessary weight to provide that support, is important. He himself, nods to this version of Kit and backs up a bit, to sit in one of the seats on the balcony, with a prodigous 'creak' as he does so.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff doesn't argue with Ororo, but there's a certain sense of knowledge to the look she gives the weather witch. Her eyes, and her attention, returns to Other Kit. It's a fitting moniker. She nods to what he says. "It did indeed. From the outside, even from here, I can see several posibilities. But none are pleasant, and the likely outcomes are bleak at best." At least she's honest, right? "In truth, I have no real preference for how this ends, so long as the universe is whole when it's all over." Harsh, Wanda. Harsh.

"He's terrified of his anger." Wanda seems to have had sudden inspiration. "Terrified that when he gets out of control, it's not a result of the circumstances, but a result of what he wanted, deep in his heart." She gives a soft laugh at the yeen's words to the cat. "Who isn't stubborn, reckless, or annoying at least part of the time?"

Henry's hand wave at everything brings another smile. "Indeed," she says. "Mystical, magical, that I can help with. Acceptance? Learning not to fear? Perhaps. It will depend on him. The ..." She pauses for a moment before continuing. "Manner I learned in was not what I would call pleasant." But she does nod about the support. "I will help however I can."

Storm has posed:
As the Other-Kit, as he's thus been named, speaks on the matter at hand, Ororo listens attentively. Her brow wrinkles a touch, but she doesn't see fit to interrupt him at all. She tilts her head faintly to one side, and the fingers of one of her hands lightly settles at the back of the seat she's half sitting and half leaning against. "Was it touching the relic that caused this breaking to start happening?" she asks, a touch of curiosity to her voice.

"Terror has a cause, a starting point. Something that makes it rear up to be, even if it is something that does not necessarily make sense to those who are not the affected person," Ororo says softly, her tone thoughtful. This is something she has some experience with, given her own history that she doesn't talk about. "I wonder if his terror is caused by the emotion that is running amok or if it is the one that runs astray," she muses, giving that a moment of consideration.

She looks to Henry, giving his words some thought, and then she gives a nod. "I believe that may well be the best option. I am inclined to agree, that we are best placed as support for what is to come, but Jax is the closest to Kit, the one who is most likely to be able to find things out," she says.

Next, Ororo's blue gaze turns to Wanda, listening as the redheaded woman speaks. "That does seem rather likely, yes. Especially based on what we have witnessed here," Ororo says, giving a small nod. She looks towards the sleeping Kit, studying him for a moment. "We will have to see about finding a way that works best for him. Not all learn in the same way," she muses.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "As I was going to Saint Judd's, I saw a man with seven pups. Seven pups had seven minds, seven minds had seven thoughts, seven thoughts had seven riddles. Riddles, thoughts, minds and pups, how many were going to Saint Judd's?" Jax sums up, running a paw over his face for a brief moment. A sigh. "Just tell me something straight... did this start before or after the trip? Before or after the incident in the Corinth Sea?". Oof, that's half a world away!

    "And what's stopping me from hopping on a plane and flying straight to Alexandria to call in the cavalry?" Now he's looking directly at Other-Kit, with that serious look on his face that's rarely ever there. Wearing a mask, or taking one off? "I want to help you. I will help you."

    That is said with a glance at Doctor McCoy. "Rising to the occasion is easy. Rising in the morning... that's hard." Boom. Instant joke. Because Jax can't act serious for very long. But he does swing his leg over the balcony railing and drops on the balcony side. "And you're going to help me." he says, pointing at other-Kit, suddenly all serious again. "You say you're splitting apart? Fine, you will start by stopping all this 'we' crap, okay? Say I. Singular. Begin there. Because you are you, I can smell that. This nose don't lie."

    For a cat that's usually laid back, he's extremely animated now, practically glowing with purpose. And the next victim of that purpose is Wanda. "I care. I care how this ends, I care what happens to Kit, I care a lot. And as far as I'm concerned, they universe can blow up if there's not going to be enough space for my friend to be in it. So stow the none are pleasant talk, okay? That's giving up before we begin, and that's not how this team works."

    Wait, what? What team?

    Is he angry? Is he just... could it be? Is he /motivated/? No. No, far worse, he's motivatING. Like a football coach before a game. Finally, he rounds one more onto Kit, approaching quickly. "And yeah. You can be annoying. And stubborn, and reckless, and secretive and all that." At which point he flings his arms around the yeen, and squeezes him into a hug. "And I don't care, 'cause I love you. So hang tight, I need to go wrangle seven puppers."

Kit Killovarras has posed:
The subconscious creature sort of pauses when he's got an emotional kitty suddenly hugging him, giving a little chuckle as he sighs and returns the gesture. "It started before.. But, not by much." he admits. He doesn't comment on the question of hopping a plane, but he does correct, "Breaking does not always mean breaking apart, Kitten. You're right that him and I are the same, but I'm only one side of the same coin. As I said, I am the voice that whispers in his ear, tells him things like when he should be painfully honest." Then there's a playful little grin as he muses, "I help him decide on things like.. What to sing in a nearly empty music room. You would call me his Subconscious Mind and while we are the same, we can be very different as well."

The others are given a glance and a smile as the yeen explains, "I can keep him asleep for a day or so.. It will give you time to interact with his counterparts, but when he wakes, the rift will close and they'll be gone. He'll refocus the energy I used on instinct. Make the most of it." There's a moment taken as he nuzzles Jax, his lips barely parting in the process and then?

They're back in the yeens room, no flames to be seen, no fitful dreams, no ancient god nor strange book.. Just Kit, peacefully asleep in his bed, no longer clinging to his pillow or shaking.