xp_logs | Profoundly backdated: Wanda and Kylun, November 26th (Reply)

After the events of the Hellfire Club, Kylun finds himself in need of someone to talk to, and goes in search of Wanda; in a stroke of good luck, he catches her on the way up to her room from the medlab. A fairly rambly conversation takes place, which results in Kylun getting hit with a pillow.

With a tray cradled easily in one arm, Kylun knocked on Wanda's door. He waited a moment, then knocked again, brows furrowed. Perhaps he ought to have checked the journals since the mission; if Wanda had suddenly gone on vacation, for example, he would be very embarrassed if someone else should walk by and find him standing there.

There may have been some amusement when Wanda spotted him outside her door, looking rather perturbed. Rubbing her head as she tried to ease the migrine that followed that...whatever it really was, the Professor had told her what had happened and that there would be no long term effects from it. Right now, she just wanted her head removed.

"Looking for me?" she called, knowing that with his training she wouldn't be able to sneak up on him. It was still fun to try.

"Yes, unless I have gotten very turned around while looking for the bathroom." He grinned. "I find I need someone to talk to, and I do not have so many close friends among the staff, so here I am. I bring tea."

"Well, I do have a bathroom, you're more than welcome to use it," Wanda teased, eyeing the tea hopefully. "I could kiss you, you know. I was actually contemplating capturing one of the students in hopes of sending them for tea and asprin."

Unlocking the door, she let him in and grinned, "Come, both my shoulder and my bathroom are open to you."

"It isn't a shoulder sort of talk I need, I think," Kylun replied, setting his tray down on a table. "It is only that a curious thing happened during the mission, and I think I need to drag it out where I can look at it in the daylight." He grinned at her. "This is real tea, mind you, not the dirty water to which the British give the name. . . but wait, why would you need aspirin?"

"One of those talks? Then I am more than happy to help." Not answering Kylun's question at first, Wanda settled onto the couch and gestured for him to join her. "The Askani did a brain dump in my head, giving me all of their history and stories, the information I was recording." The look she gave him was partially amused, partially tired. "Normally, it would have taken some time--years perhaps--to get all that information. But I am better, just suffering a migraine and you needed to talk."

"Ah." Kylun nodded. "Zz'ria once told me of his awakenings in each new incarnation, and that sounds rather similar. Not a comfortable process." He shook his head. "But as much as I would like to hear more about the Askani and your experience . . . perhaps another time." Composing himself with a sip of tea, Kylun settled in his chair. "This Hellfire Club mission . . . it reminded me very much of what I used to do at the monastery. Dark magic and hostages, working under time constraints . . . it was all very familiar."

Taking up her own cup, Wanda tucked her legs up under her. "You have never spoken ill of your time there so this is not about bad memories?"

"No, no," Kylun said hastily, "nothing like that. It is only that I experienced a moment of . . . culture shock, perhaps?" He shook his head. "I should explain. When we entered the building, Alison ordered me down a side passage, where Selene's assistant waited to feed her power. The office was warded, the assistant was somewhat skilled on her own behalf . . ." He waved a hand dismissively. "The usual sort of thing. I cut through the wards and disabled her with little trouble. But then . . . you see, in my former life, those of our foes who possessed a certain level of mystical skill were considered to have soiled their souls beyond their current incarnations' ability to atone; we considered the proper recourse to be their release to, we hoped, find a better path in their next turn of the Circle." He smiled wryly. "There was a moment, on the mission, when I forgot myself, and considered killing Selene's assistant outright. I didn't, but the thought was there. It was something of an awkward moment."

"Ahhh, I see. I know you well enough to know that you don't relish killing but if it was something you had to do back home..." Wanda tilted her head at him thoughtfully. "And to be honest, it sounded like it needed to be done. Culture shock, indeed. The X-Men's way of doing things diverge from what you're used to."

"But it is not . . . I have no difficulty with that usually. It is simply a difference in tactics and approach. The X-Men--" Kylun paused. "The X-Men are not at war, as we were at the monastery," he said thoughtfully. "That is the difference, I think. And I have been at war for so much of my life that, perhaps, a moment of confusion is not so hard to understand."

She smiled at him. "Exactly my thoughts. You have trained and lived your life a certain way for so long, it is of no surprise that it is hard for you to completely readjust your tactics. You have been here a while but not enough to counter balance your life before."

"I think I am doing well overall, though," Kylun said after another sip of tea. "It is only that this was an unusual situation, particularly evocative. And I do not think I would choose to fully counterbalance my prior experience in any case--I am not ashamed of what I have done. It is just that things are different now."

"Things change," she agreed, rubbing the back of her neck. "Good or bad, it is not something that can be stopped." Looking thoughtful for a moment, Wanda finished her cup of tea. "Was the fight you fought back home harder than what we do here? Or just different?"

"Easier in some ways, harder in others . . . I think 'different' is a good word, all things considered." Kylun swirled his teacup pensively. "Our missions could be counted upon to follow essentially the same profile, which was easier--I sometimes find the sheer variety we find here to be exhausting. But then . . . by the time I came of age, we already knew we were fighting a long defeat. Here, we have more hope."

"Yes, we do. Even when we think we're facing defeat...something comes along. Not what we always expect but we have pulled ourselves out of some hairy situations. I wish sometimes fasters but..." Wanda sighed. "What did you mean by long defeat?"

"Ah." Kylun smiled. "This is a piece of history; you might well find it interesting." He leaned back in his chair. "The original monastery was built on the site of Zz'ria's defeat and binding of Necrom, in a remote region of what is now Tibet. There it stood for thousands of years."

He poured himself another cup of tea. "Now, as I said, many years passed; the monastery endured, and the world outside changed. And then a man seized the reins of power in Germany who counted among his many obsessions a hunger for the occult, and with him the followers of Necrom made common cause. To shorten a long tale: a group of Necromite cultists, with his backing and on his behalf, stole the great seal which imprisoned their master from inside the monastery; they meant to bring it to their ally and use Necrom's power to aid his cause. Warriors of the monastery pursued them, and at last brought them to heel in Switzerland, recovering the seal. But it had weakened, so far from its home and the heart of its power, and would not have survived the return journey. Instead, we relocated the monastery. But the seal continued, slowly, to decay, and Necrom was more and more able to work its will in the world." He smiled sadly. "That the final disintegration occurred on my watch was an accident of timing as much as anything else."

Wanda grinned at him with a slightly stunned expression. "If I say 'If that was the short version...' would you throw your tea at me?" she teased, leaning back. "I have heard bits and pieces of this from you before but it still is amazing to me. And no wonder you had that hesitation last night. All your life fighting for the same cause..."

Kylun raised his eyebrows. "I just might! And I have excellent aim with tea." He grinned, shaking his head. "I still wake up sometimes, even now, expecting to find myself there. For all that this place has come to mean to me, for all I have made a new life here . . . it is still the rhythms of the monastery that feel the most real to me."

"I know how you feel." There was a pause. "Without the fighting and the demands, of course. I had a rather severe shortage of demons until I came to the school. This place--" Wanda patted the wall behind her affectionately. "--means a lot but we have other homes that are just as important to our hearts. Even if mine tends to move around quite a bit."

"And if mine exists only in memory." Kylun's grin widened. "You see why I wanted to talk to you? You're very sensible. Especially for someone whose powers depend upon making no sense whatsoever."

Wanda's eyes widened in mock hurt. "My powers make complete sense, thank you very much. Even if it's only in my own mind. Just because you can't see the logic does not mean there isn't any." She stuck her tongue out at him and giggled.

"Ah, so you are admitting your insanity?" Kylun snickered. "Because as all know, only the mad can make sense of utter chaos."

"Oh please," she huffed, "when have I ever claimed I was sane? I'm completely, wonderfully insane but at least I'm pretty."

"As long as you avoid high heels. After all," Kylun continued, absolutely deadpan, "one would not want any pigeons to mistake you for a skyscraper. That would be most unfortunate."

"Oh ho, now those are fighting words...if you weren't holding your tea, still." Wanda pulled a face at him. "That is cheating because this pillow had a much needed destiny to fulfill by meeting your face."

Kylun sipped his tea with elaborate care. "It is, alas, a tragic thing for a destiny to go unfulfilled. Perhaps the pillow will have better luck in its next incarnation."

"That is too bad because if you don't stop drinking the tea, how am I ever supposed to be able to hand you your gift I got on my vacation?" she asked sweetly.

"A gift?" Kylun asked, intrigued. "I suppose that would depend on if there really is a gift, in addition to this being a clever ploy to get me to put my tea down so you can hit me with the pillow."

"Maybe a baby of a ploy," she admitted, rummaging through a rather large bag that seemed to live on the floor next to her couch. Holding up a small package she waved it at him. "Gift."

"Ah," Kylun said, his eyes lighting. "For that, I suppose I can forgo my shield." He unwrapped the package carefully, revealing a finely-worked handmade comb. "A lovely piece, this," he commented, testing it carefully between his fingers; his eyebrows went up slightly as it bent without breaking. "And quite sturdy enough, I would say. Thank you very much." He spread his arms, smiling sardonically. "And now, I suppose, my just deserts?"

Wanda weighed the pillow carefully before tossing it aside with a laugh. "I think I shall save that for the next time you and I do hand to hand in the Danger Room," she teased. "I am glad you like your gift, I thought you would when I picked it out."

"Ah," Kylun grinned. "That presupposes I will give you such an opening again." He shook his head. "How likely do you think that is?"

She looked as innocent as a cat sitting next to puddle of spilled milk. "Would I tell you how that will happen?" she asked, waving a hand at him as she huffed. "Allow a girl to have some secrets if you please!"

"But of course." Kylun allowed his smile to grow just a trifle smug. "Keep all the secrets you like."

Just for that, she threw the pillow at his head. "Seems that we have a challenge, then."