Marius, Gaia: Lurking
Oct. 7th, 2024 09:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsGaia engages in some low-key stalking and ends up engaging in whatever you call a battle of wits when your opponent is Marius.
Under normal circumstances Marius was perfectly capable of blocking out anything other than the sound of his music and the burn of his muscles. However, the thing about the rowing machine was that your peripheral vision was in constant motion. As he glided back and forth he became aware of a persistent flash of pink in the corner of his eye -- a blob of colour that had suddenly appeared at the gym door to linger like a pastel phantom. It neither announced itself nor entered the weight room, and seemed content that this state of affairs should continue indefinitely.
After a few minutes of the situation failing to resolve itself he realised there was nothing else for it. Slowing to a stop, Marius removed an earbud and affixed his least-unsettled smile.
"Gaia! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The presence shifted at the address, clearly not expecting to be noticed. She let a pause linger before settling on, “Hello.”
"Thank you for the clarification." Marius moved to strip the padded gloves from his hands, then caught himself and smoothly redirected to wiping away imaginary lint. "Good to see you out and about," he continued, smile never faltering. "How do you find the place thus far? Somewhat more scenic than quarantine, I imagine."
“It is loud. A lot of people live here.” Gaia continued her residency in the doorway, making no move to enter even as the conversation continued. “I have a roommate now,” she added.
Marius' eyebrows briefly attempted to merge with his hairline. "Oh? Who might that be?"
If Gaia had feathers, they would have ruffled slightly in that moment. It was not that shocking. “Laura. She is also ‘new’.”
"Laura? Who- ah, right. She whom Kyle recently retrieved." The smile was still in place, but was perhaps in some danger of loosening. Naturally. Marius had been doing his best not to think too deeply on the fact the mansion now housed some version of the woman with whom he'd confirmed a sensual compatibility with other mutants, so of course that would be Gaia's flatmate.
"Yes." She watched him intently for a moment, sensing the change in vibe. "You do not like her?"
Marius waved a hand. "Oh, I've not even met her yet. Kyle has simply kept me apprised of the situation. I am sure rooming together shall prove an enriching experience for the both of you. Ah . . ." Mild desperation kicked up a helpful memory. "I heard you had a bit of an incident this weekend. Collapsed during field day, was it?"
Gaia frowned, though it couldn’t be seen from her place in the shadows of the door. That was not something she wanted people here to know about. She has tried to use her powers for the simplest of warping, and awoke face first in grass moments later. “It was nothing.”
Marius, well-versed in the art of downplaying, instantly recognised an amateur feint. He slung his legs off the machine to face her more fully. "Was it? I recall you had a similar spell when you first arrived. Sans the protoplasmic sac, that is."
The frown turned to a glare, though she only had herself to blame for insisting herself upon the other mutant. “A…. side-effect of this world. I will be fine in time.”
If Gaia had been hoping this answer would be sufficient she was about to suffer the first of no doubt innumerable disappointments at Marius' hand. The eyebrows climbed again. "That seems less than ideal," he remarked, his mindset seamlessly transitioning from one of diffuse guilt to that of a chronic patient. "Would it have something to do with your current nutritional deficit, perhaps? You could have simply been overcome with emotion by your first exposure to traditional team building exercises, I suppose, but that seems unlikely for an event that didn't even offer paintball."
His second comment earned him a look from the teen, humor not appreciated. “It is not me, it is this place. This world.” Something in the tone of her voice let on that she knew exactly why, but wasn’t going to share that particular piece of insight.
This elicited what was, perhaps, the opposite of Gaia's desire: a grunt of interest.
"Is it, then?" Marius' orange eyes flicked over her with slightly unnerving focus. "I've experience with a dimension that disagreed with me on a fundamental level, though happily it doesn't appear you experience our atmosphere as actively corrosive. Are there any particular accommodations that might be made for you?"
She returned his stare with equal intensity, silver eyes flickering in the dark of the doorway. "No." It suggested she had little faith in the people here to be able to truly address her problems.
"As you say." Somehow Marius' tone succeeded in being amiable whilst simultaneously conveying that the speaker believed this not a bit. There was, of course, always the impulse to push, but Marius was not unfamiliar with the desire for privacy. Even -- or, perhaps, especially -- when this desire might be counterproductive to one's own wellbeing. One was not obligated to disclose one's vulnerabilities or concerns, even to those with the best of intentions. .
That knowledge was something to hold against the intrusive thoughts that could not look at another mutant without searching for weakness.
"Be that as it may," he continued without so much as a flicker of expression, "should the need arise you shall find the medstaff are more than accommodating, even to less than conventional needs. Be warned, however, that repeated incidents may lead them to force the point. After a certain point random bouts of unconsciousness raise a few eyebrows."
“Hmph.” Gaia let the silence linger for a moment, thinking, considering. “Well, I believe the expression is, ‘what they don’t know won’t hurt them’.” She would be more careful from now on, until she could get to the root of her problem.
Shifting slightly in the doorway, she looked as if she were considering leaving now, having experienced enough Marius for one night.
"Really? Multiple well-meaning parties have taken pains to impress upon me the opposite." A grin flashed across his face. "Happily for you, I am both hypocrite and moral coward. Providing it doesn't become a more general issue, of course."
“Of course.” And with that, the pink haired menace turned and walked away, to wherever she might decide to haunt next.
Marius turned back to the rowing machine, now unaccountably cheerful. For some reason this felt like a victory.
Under normal circumstances Marius was perfectly capable of blocking out anything other than the sound of his music and the burn of his muscles. However, the thing about the rowing machine was that your peripheral vision was in constant motion. As he glided back and forth he became aware of a persistent flash of pink in the corner of his eye -- a blob of colour that had suddenly appeared at the gym door to linger like a pastel phantom. It neither announced itself nor entered the weight room, and seemed content that this state of affairs should continue indefinitely.
After a few minutes of the situation failing to resolve itself he realised there was nothing else for it. Slowing to a stop, Marius removed an earbud and affixed his least-unsettled smile.
"Gaia! To what do I owe the pleasure?"
The presence shifted at the address, clearly not expecting to be noticed. She let a pause linger before settling on, “Hello.”
"Thank you for the clarification." Marius moved to strip the padded gloves from his hands, then caught himself and smoothly redirected to wiping away imaginary lint. "Good to see you out and about," he continued, smile never faltering. "How do you find the place thus far? Somewhat more scenic than quarantine, I imagine."
“It is loud. A lot of people live here.” Gaia continued her residency in the doorway, making no move to enter even as the conversation continued. “I have a roommate now,” she added.
Marius' eyebrows briefly attempted to merge with his hairline. "Oh? Who might that be?"
If Gaia had feathers, they would have ruffled slightly in that moment. It was not that shocking. “Laura. She is also ‘new’.”
"Laura? Who- ah, right. She whom Kyle recently retrieved." The smile was still in place, but was perhaps in some danger of loosening. Naturally. Marius had been doing his best not to think too deeply on the fact the mansion now housed some version of the woman with whom he'd confirmed a sensual compatibility with other mutants, so of course that would be Gaia's flatmate.
"Yes." She watched him intently for a moment, sensing the change in vibe. "You do not like her?"
Marius waved a hand. "Oh, I've not even met her yet. Kyle has simply kept me apprised of the situation. I am sure rooming together shall prove an enriching experience for the both of you. Ah . . ." Mild desperation kicked up a helpful memory. "I heard you had a bit of an incident this weekend. Collapsed during field day, was it?"
Gaia frowned, though it couldn’t be seen from her place in the shadows of the door. That was not something she wanted people here to know about. She has tried to use her powers for the simplest of warping, and awoke face first in grass moments later. “It was nothing.”
Marius, well-versed in the art of downplaying, instantly recognised an amateur feint. He slung his legs off the machine to face her more fully. "Was it? I recall you had a similar spell when you first arrived. Sans the protoplasmic sac, that is."
The frown turned to a glare, though she only had herself to blame for insisting herself upon the other mutant. “A…. side-effect of this world. I will be fine in time.”
If Gaia had been hoping this answer would be sufficient she was about to suffer the first of no doubt innumerable disappointments at Marius' hand. The eyebrows climbed again. "That seems less than ideal," he remarked, his mindset seamlessly transitioning from one of diffuse guilt to that of a chronic patient. "Would it have something to do with your current nutritional deficit, perhaps? You could have simply been overcome with emotion by your first exposure to traditional team building exercises, I suppose, but that seems unlikely for an event that didn't even offer paintball."
His second comment earned him a look from the teen, humor not appreciated. “It is not me, it is this place. This world.” Something in the tone of her voice let on that she knew exactly why, but wasn’t going to share that particular piece of insight.
This elicited what was, perhaps, the opposite of Gaia's desire: a grunt of interest.
"Is it, then?" Marius' orange eyes flicked over her with slightly unnerving focus. "I've experience with a dimension that disagreed with me on a fundamental level, though happily it doesn't appear you experience our atmosphere as actively corrosive. Are there any particular accommodations that might be made for you?"
She returned his stare with equal intensity, silver eyes flickering in the dark of the doorway. "No." It suggested she had little faith in the people here to be able to truly address her problems.
"As you say." Somehow Marius' tone succeeded in being amiable whilst simultaneously conveying that the speaker believed this not a bit. There was, of course, always the impulse to push, but Marius was not unfamiliar with the desire for privacy. Even -- or, perhaps, especially -- when this desire might be counterproductive to one's own wellbeing. One was not obligated to disclose one's vulnerabilities or concerns, even to those with the best of intentions. .
That knowledge was something to hold against the intrusive thoughts that could not look at another mutant without searching for weakness.
"Be that as it may," he continued without so much as a flicker of expression, "should the need arise you shall find the medstaff are more than accommodating, even to less than conventional needs. Be warned, however, that repeated incidents may lead them to force the point. After a certain point random bouts of unconsciousness raise a few eyebrows."
“Hmph.” Gaia let the silence linger for a moment, thinking, considering. “Well, I believe the expression is, ‘what they don’t know won’t hurt them’.” She would be more careful from now on, until she could get to the root of her problem.
Shifting slightly in the doorway, she looked as if she were considering leaving now, having experienced enough Marius for one night.
"Really? Multiple well-meaning parties have taken pains to impress upon me the opposite." A grin flashed across his face. "Happily for you, I am both hypocrite and moral coward. Providing it doesn't become a more general issue, of course."
“Of course.” And with that, the pink haired menace turned and walked away, to wherever she might decide to haunt next.
Marius turned back to the rowing machine, now unaccountably cheerful. For some reason this felt like a victory.
