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xp_logsA disguised Crystal searches for any clue as to the whereabouts of her missing cousin, attempting to get his attention without letting him know who is looking for him.
Attilan Date: 28 August, 2009
The green-haired woman drew attention as she walked into the restaurant. She knew it, and she'd known her presence would get looks, but gaining attention this way was better than getting it as her self. No one could know that the princess of Attilan was, in essence, wandering the country, attempting to find the man who had taken over her mind and convinced her that the acts leading up to her parents' deaths were the right thing to do. She wasn't trying to hide from sight, she just didn't want anyone to recognize her. Disguised like this, in clothes that reminded her of the horrible outfit she'd worn during the ice-climbing trip in the Adirondacks, Crystal was sure there wasn't any way anyone could recognize her. Not Maximus, not Medusa, not Forge, not even anyone who was a "fan" of hers would look at her and see their princess.
Maximus had to have gained some followers somehow. Crystal sincerely doubted that the prince would be doing his own menial tasks such as shopping, but she hoped to flush him out by asking questions. Perhaps even now someone was watching who knew where he was, some other crazy lunatic who believed that killing and forcibly exiling people was the right way to set up a kingdom of the future. Let the report come back to him that some random woman was searching for him and let make of that what he would.
Crystal took a seat at the bar, bright green eyes flickering up to the screen for a moment before she ordered a drink. Without global events to report, and without much in the way of crime, anything could be turned into news. Crystal could only hope that, if reports of a green-haired woman searching for him made its way to Maximus, he would send someone after her rather than go on another killing spree. Who would he kill this time, anyway? With Medusa and Blackagar as actual ruling king and queen of the country, and all the people who helped them living safely in the palace, there was no longer any reason for the would-be king to go after the remaining former government officials.
Despite her intentions and dedication to finding her cousin, there was very little that Crystal could do on her own without being able to say who she was or without any official backing. Now she was simply a young woman, out on her own, searching for a missing friend. Anyone who approached her was greeted with a smile, a picture taken in much happier times, and a variation of the same story depending on how the conversation began. "~I am looking for this man. Have you seen him? Why yes, he does bear a striking resemblance to Prince Maximus. He is missing, too, just like the prince. I have been searching for him for several weeks now. His family believes that he left on his own, but we would like for him to come home.~"
Unsurprisingly, at every place she visited, in every town where she traveled, no one had seen the man in the picture, and Crystal quickly left each town and was onto the next one before anyone had the chance to track her down and question her. However, reassuringly there were never any reports of random murders, no reports of sightings of Prince Maximus, and no reports of a missing Princess Crystal. People in the towns talked of daily life, of the way things used to be and of the way things were now, of wondering what loved ones were doing in the rest of the world.
Crystal thought of her family, of Medusa and Blackagar at the palace (she hoped to see them soon) and of her parents and aunt and uncle (she would never see them again, she was doing this in the hope that other people would be able to see the parents, children, aunts, and uncles they hadn't seen for over two years but she would never see her parents again.) She was doing this for her. She was doing this for Medusa. She was doing this for her parents. She was doing this for Forge. She was doing this for everyone who had been affected by the plane crash and the relocation of Attilan.
Another day was over. Surely she would have better luck tomorrow.
Meanwhile, someone has taken notice of Crystal's search.
Attilan Date: 29 August, 2009
His was a court of rags, a court in exile. But though his crown was a mere hood to hide his face, though his imperial throne was a dilapidated easy chair missing half its stuffing, Maximus carried on as if both were of the finest gold. He had been denied the substance of power--for now--but the forms were yet his to maintain, and one day it would be remembered that this was how he had begun his ascent: humbled, yet not broken.
As Maximus had his court, so too did he have his courtiers: disaffected men and women culled from those who had most suffered in the disaster, minor mutants who trusted neither Attilan's young rulers nor the school they had founded. Many of them had been unsure of him, too, at the beginning--but as the weeks turned into months and years, and he whispered ever-more-boldly into their minds with his own shrunken power, all of them had come to see the light of his dream for Attilan.
One of them ran in now, out of breath as he made a clumsy obeisance to the throne. Maximus gestured him to speak, and the words tumbled out. "Sire, a woman is looking for you. I could not find out her name, and she did not use yours, but she had a picture."
"Show me," Maximus said grimly, and reached for the other man's mind. The photograph was clear, and it was him, years younger and to all appearances happier--though he remembered the occasion, well after he had determined to destroy Blackagar. Of the woman who held it, Maximus could only collect snatches of a low voice, a flash of green hair: no one he recognized, though hadn't Crystal said something about a green-haired woman at Xavier's?
Maximus stood, drawing everyone's attention. "We must prepare to move the court," he said. "Agents of my brother, the false king, are hunting us."
And he should perhaps move the other as well, his secret. He would pay a visit, as soon as he could, to decide.
Attilan Date: 28 August, 2009
The green-haired woman drew attention as she walked into the restaurant. She knew it, and she'd known her presence would get looks, but gaining attention this way was better than getting it as her self. No one could know that the princess of Attilan was, in essence, wandering the country, attempting to find the man who had taken over her mind and convinced her that the acts leading up to her parents' deaths were the right thing to do. She wasn't trying to hide from sight, she just didn't want anyone to recognize her. Disguised like this, in clothes that reminded her of the horrible outfit she'd worn during the ice-climbing trip in the Adirondacks, Crystal was sure there wasn't any way anyone could recognize her. Not Maximus, not Medusa, not Forge, not even anyone who was a "fan" of hers would look at her and see their princess.
Maximus had to have gained some followers somehow. Crystal sincerely doubted that the prince would be doing his own menial tasks such as shopping, but she hoped to flush him out by asking questions. Perhaps even now someone was watching who knew where he was, some other crazy lunatic who believed that killing and forcibly exiling people was the right way to set up a kingdom of the future. Let the report come back to him that some random woman was searching for him and let make of that what he would.
Crystal took a seat at the bar, bright green eyes flickering up to the screen for a moment before she ordered a drink. Without global events to report, and without much in the way of crime, anything could be turned into news. Crystal could only hope that, if reports of a green-haired woman searching for him made its way to Maximus, he would send someone after her rather than go on another killing spree. Who would he kill this time, anyway? With Medusa and Blackagar as actual ruling king and queen of the country, and all the people who helped them living safely in the palace, there was no longer any reason for the would-be king to go after the remaining former government officials.
Despite her intentions and dedication to finding her cousin, there was very little that Crystal could do on her own without being able to say who she was or without any official backing. Now she was simply a young woman, out on her own, searching for a missing friend. Anyone who approached her was greeted with a smile, a picture taken in much happier times, and a variation of the same story depending on how the conversation began. "~I am looking for this man. Have you seen him? Why yes, he does bear a striking resemblance to Prince Maximus. He is missing, too, just like the prince. I have been searching for him for several weeks now. His family believes that he left on his own, but we would like for him to come home.~"
Unsurprisingly, at every place she visited, in every town where she traveled, no one had seen the man in the picture, and Crystal quickly left each town and was onto the next one before anyone had the chance to track her down and question her. However, reassuringly there were never any reports of random murders, no reports of sightings of Prince Maximus, and no reports of a missing Princess Crystal. People in the towns talked of daily life, of the way things used to be and of the way things were now, of wondering what loved ones were doing in the rest of the world.
Crystal thought of her family, of Medusa and Blackagar at the palace (she hoped to see them soon) and of her parents and aunt and uncle (she would never see them again, she was doing this in the hope that other people would be able to see the parents, children, aunts, and uncles they hadn't seen for over two years but she would never see her parents again.) She was doing this for her. She was doing this for Medusa. She was doing this for her parents. She was doing this for Forge. She was doing this for everyone who had been affected by the plane crash and the relocation of Attilan.
Another day was over. Surely she would have better luck tomorrow.
Meanwhile, someone has taken notice of Crystal's search.
Attilan Date: 29 August, 2009
His was a court of rags, a court in exile. But though his crown was a mere hood to hide his face, though his imperial throne was a dilapidated easy chair missing half its stuffing, Maximus carried on as if both were of the finest gold. He had been denied the substance of power--for now--but the forms were yet his to maintain, and one day it would be remembered that this was how he had begun his ascent: humbled, yet not broken.
As Maximus had his court, so too did he have his courtiers: disaffected men and women culled from those who had most suffered in the disaster, minor mutants who trusted neither Attilan's young rulers nor the school they had founded. Many of them had been unsure of him, too, at the beginning--but as the weeks turned into months and years, and he whispered ever-more-boldly into their minds with his own shrunken power, all of them had come to see the light of his dream for Attilan.
One of them ran in now, out of breath as he made a clumsy obeisance to the throne. Maximus gestured him to speak, and the words tumbled out. "Sire, a woman is looking for you. I could not find out her name, and she did not use yours, but she had a picture."
"Show me," Maximus said grimly, and reached for the other man's mind. The photograph was clear, and it was him, years younger and to all appearances happier--though he remembered the occasion, well after he had determined to destroy Blackagar. Of the woman who held it, Maximus could only collect snatches of a low voice, a flash of green hair: no one he recognized, though hadn't Crystal said something about a green-haired woman at Xavier's?
Maximus stood, drawing everyone's attention. "We must prepare to move the court," he said. "Agents of my brother, the false king, are hunting us."
And he should perhaps move the other as well, his secret. He would pay a visit, as soon as he could, to decide.
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