Hanging around

[Shade]

((Set a day after "A hotel as a place to hide" // open))

Shade was hanging upside down, her knees bent around one of the lowest branches of Michael-Sydney, the huge tree on the grounds. She had no idea how she had managed to do this and even less of an idea how to get down to the ground again without doing it headfirst, but for now she didn´t care which might change any minute - as soon as there was too much blood in her head.

It was a rather warm day for the time of the year and after she had spent more than 12 hours in a row sleeping to catch up her lack thereof, she had decided to go out and relax a little. And that she did, although her position was not too relaxing. Life was good and that made up for it.

[Pietro Maximoff]

((OOC: Also set after "Three Weeks In."))

::Pietro jogged his security sweep, not running at his normal great speed. He had promised Wanda he would not, until the dressing on his ribs had been removed. His face remained covered in bandages from the collision; he would not recover those smaller injuries for quite some time.

Jogging back up the grounds, the dressing shifted uncomfortably, and he paused beneath a tree to adjust it. Concentrating on himself, he began to unbutton his shirt so he could check the dressing.::

[Shade]

Shade had her arms dangling towards the grass, slowly starting to wonder how to get either up on the branch or down to the floor again when she noticed a movement to her right. Turning her head a little she tried to make out who it was, having slight problems doing it upside down first and because the person was looking rather patched up. She noticed it was Pietro and scowled. Not just because he looked like he had gotten into a rather nasty fight but also because he did not notice her presence. Over confident, cocky, always watchful and suspicious (or at least that was how she saw him) Pietro, was totally oblivious to the world around him. And opening his shirt.

Shade cocked a brow, half bewildered, half amused. Her mood was good enough to not give a snarky remark, not even to someone like Pietro. Besides, they had called a truce. "How did I deserve that striptease?" she asked, her brow still raised.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Hearing a voice, Pietro tensed immediately, his fingers pausing in their task. His shirt remained half open as his head whipped around towards the voice. He recognized her immediately, the child Rogue's friend, who called herself "Shade." She dangled upside down from a branch and he had managed to miss her. Wanda was right; he needed to take time to put himself together again.

He assumed her comment was meant as a joke, so he didn't snap at her. Instead, he began to button his shirt again; he could adjust the dressing inside.:: "Hello."

[Shade]

"Hello." Shade replied. She had somehow expected a snap or at least a scowl, but it didn´t come. She didn´t feel like asking why; he looked too battered to dig into the matter further with jokes. When he turned around she saw that he was even more patched up than she had thought. There were bandages under his shirt as well. "Not meaning to offend but you look like something heavy ran against you." she said, her voice unjoking. Normally she would have worded it rather like ´gee, whatever happened to you´ but this was Pietro, different matter than a friend where she knew she could ask.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro's expression did not shift. She was close, however it had been he that had run into something heavy. He finished buttoning his shirt and spun his body so he could fully face her.:: "It has been a long month."

[Shade]

Hanging upside down was getting somewhat annoying and Shade bent her body a little, trying to grab for the branch she was hanging from to pull herself up again. It worked... after the third attempt. She swung down from the tree, only then she answered. "Looks like it." she said, no sarcasm in her voice. "Normally I´d offer someone looking that ragged an ear and you look like you could need one, but I guess you wouldn´t want me to listen."

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro did not open easily to others, and she was correct. They only had an uneasy truce, and he did not know her well enough to get into all of his baggage. Still she could not possibly be completely unaware of everything that had happened. He remained silent for a long moment, mulling it over.:: "Magneto returned."

[Shade]

Shade had been away for some days. And when she had been at the mansion that week earlier she had had to do, preparing lessons. She had hung around, read a lot, talked to some people. That kind of news hit her totally by surprise. She blinked a few times, memories of the recent conversation she had had with Gambit about Magneto coming back to her. "What?" she just asked, momentarily too taken aback to keep her composure.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Perhaps Pietro had misjudged and she had been unaware. She was surprised enough to have been unaware. His expression remained grim.:: "Magneto returned."

[Shade]

She had not asked because she had not got his words, but she didn´t say that. Her mind was racing suddenly and the predominant emotions in it were slight anger mixed with the confusion of too many unanswered questions. When? Why? What had happened? And what did Pietro´s state have to do with it? Had he beaten up his own son that badly?
"That´s... unexpected." she said after a moment.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro nodded slightly. "Unexpected" was one word for it; "horrible" was another. Although it had only been one in a laundry list of terrible events that had plagued him this past month, it had easily been the worst. Magneto was the reason he had not slept, why he had spent so much of the past few weeks unable to eat, restless, with those memories of childhood reemerging in the form of nightmares in those few hours he did manage to shut his eyes.::

[Shade]

Shade thought for a moment. Some part of her was growling slightly, demanding to go and find Magneto at once, finally finish what she had started months ago. Another part was above that for now thinking that he was not worth that much immidiate attention. Her own angers against him aside, she had changed since they had last met. She would not run after him at once, he would not ruin these nice days, Magneto would not make her feel more upset than happy. Still, she was curious.
"He´s is here?" she asked.

[Pietro Maximoff]

::Pietro stared for a split second. She asked if he was here when he had already said so; did she not trust his word? Or did she mean at this moment in time. Did she intend to speak with him? He could not imagine seeking out Magneto for the purpose of civil conversation. There was nothing in that man deserving of such pretenses.:: "Somewhere here."

[Shade]

Shade nodded slightly, sitting down in the grass, leaning her back against the tree, thinking for another moment. Don´t, Shade, she told herself. If he´s around he´ll cross your path sooner or later. Besides the things you have to settle, the last thing you want to happen is just even slightly appearing like you´re running after him. You´re no longer like that, more scared than anything of what he could call you, what he could think of you for leaving the Brotherhood. You´re above that, you´re much stronger. Don´t let your impatience win there.
"I´ll want to talk to him sooner or later." she said.