bakerstreet | thursday pic prompt

[Despite some severe stomach issues, I had a ton of fun! I go to LARP there exclusively which is a little crazy... this was the very con that got me into LARPing 10 years ago this con! It's a deep hole - now I am the head of my own LARP at a different con. Tomorrow [wed] I'll have my 'catch up' day which is something I am desperately waiting for. I feel quite a bit better today than yesterday and hoping things just keep improving. I hope everything is going well!]

His breathing was faster than it should have been, his heart racing... he had gone deeper than he had expected to but there was something far more than that. There was something electric between them, arcing and leaving a sizzle across the skin, or perhaps that was merely the feeling of Aurus' thumb across his hand. That simple touch left a tingle that remained even after it had passed, making him wonder almost if Aurus had done so naturally or not. He breathed out slowly, trying to calm it, even as the sounds of changing classes started to filter in to them.

Their gaze held, binding and asking and wanting, all by the control of a desire that came from more than just the physical. That feeling again of standing at the edge of the cliff, waiting for the terror and excitement of the fall, but it would have to remain there pulsing just under his heart for now. Tonight. An agreement to something Charles wasn't even fully sure he knew what he was getting into.

And there was a part of him that wanted nothing more, the part of him that remembered how he was before he had been so deeply hurt.

The door opened and Charles leaned back as several students paused in the doorway, staring in surprise and wonder at the new comer in the room before several came closer, clearly wanting to talk to him and find out what was going on with the new comer. Parent? New student? Visitor? But a look from Charles did manage to keep them at bay briefly, looking to Aurus and bringing up a smile. "Changing of class means Hank's freed up for your little experiment time. Shall we?"

[Ooh! What kind of LARPing do you do? It sounds like quite a to-do and a good adventure. (My partner and I do a lot of spoken/live RP, but we don't do the formalized game-style LARPing.) I hope you had a good day of rest and are holding up ok after the you-know-what results. This has just felt like a very long week and I am overwhelmingly glad that it's Friday.]

Aurus was sure the students saw nothing--or at least very little: hands dropping away from each other, perhaps, as he and Charles mutually sat back. Nothing directly suspect.

But that didn't stop him from feeling like the whole surface of his skin was alight with some telltale mark from the charge that had built between the two of them. There was a thrill to that, the enjoyment of a shared secret knowledge, like they had just agreed to a kind of intimate conspiracy.

Of course that sort of feeling came with the inevitable sense that everyone would be able to read it on them at once; as if the moment it was struck, it was already the worst kept secret any two people could have. This wasn't a guilty feeling for Aurus. But either way he was (luckily) much better at keeping these sorts of things private than most sylvari who had an overwhelming tendency to act like, since it felt as though everyone knew, everyone virtually did know and there was therefore no reason to bother keeping anything secret in the first place.

The biggest tell that Aurus showed was a particular look in his eyes as he nodded in assent at Charles' suggestion and moved to stand, letting Charles take the lead to Hank's lab.

Even if he managed to hide it, though, he was undeniably aware of how intense his desire for Charles had grown. Not in the crude, simple sense of lust. This was something far more complex, but something that nonetheless made him wish that he'd been able to go on touching Charles' skin, something that made his hands already miss him.

Of course it was impossible not to notice how the students watched them as they left the room. It wasn't as though these curious stares were new. Aurus had been getting them all morning, but now he couldn't help but wonder a little what the students knew, or imagined, or suspected. Barring some unforeseen mutant power, he rationally knew that they should have no way to read the energy building between himself and Charles, but Aurus had to wonder: might someone else read it? Might Hank? He didn't know nearly enough of this world's culture to guess what the reaction might be.

"I hope," he said to Charles in a low, half-playful voice once they had passed the initial group of staring students, "that your student body is not overly inclined towards gossip and speculation. I think once this volcano has been made I'd better start to meet some of them straight away lest any wild rumors take hold."

Edited (found a missing word, oops) 2016-11-11 09:55 (UTC)

[Two different kinds actually. One is the one I run which is at anime cons, which doesn't involve costume and it's based on a sheet like D&D and we throw rock paper scissors to determine outcomes. The characters are anime and video game characters with some other media as well! Lots of fun! The other kind I am running a spinoff but don't run the main bulk of it. This is the more 'serious' LARP which is based on a Harry Potter-like magical world (interacts with the real world, etc) where we're going to the magical college called New World Magischola (sister to the College of Wizardry, which is another LARP in Poland!) and it's full costume, all in character, can get deeply emotional. Doesn't run off sheets or stats - the only rule of play is 'Defender decides the action'. I adore this LARP with all of my heart. It really gets to you. Both LARPs I have a family within and love them all ^_^ /rambling -- I am VERY glad it's friday now... I need this weekend to get stuff done and recover! And maybe get away from the insanity that's happening in my home country sigh]

If the students had seen anything, there was no sign of it in their looks, mostly just a great deal of curiosity about the new comer and what their teacher was doing with him. They knew what Professor Xavier could do and some had seen it, so thankfully whatever rumors spread would most likely be more innocent than the truth. Sadly, or perhaps just amusingly, Charles chuckled and shook his head no. "Oh, they're very much incline to exactly that. However, I don't get the feeling that anything too bad will come of it." Which suggested that perhaps Charles had scanned the minds of his students, but in reality he was just taking a healthy guess from what he knew of his students.

"However, your little show later will hopefully settle any issues that might arise and bring together a whole new series. They're going to be fascinated by someone who has powers like yours but isn't one of us. Perhaps it'll be good to open up their worlds a little further, as you've been doing to mine." He looked up to Aurus, giving that warm smile of his, leading the other towards where Hank's lab was safely at one end of the mansion, safe if any sort of explosions should happen. Or, you know, turn the entire room red. He would never live it down. It didn't help that there was a photo of his crimson self and his class all together.

He wasn't quite ready to discuss what he had felt back in the sitting room where Aurus had been introduced to the wonder of broadcast television. Those feelings, what he saw, what he felt in his heart and under his fingers... his hand rolled on the arm of his chair, briefly feeling the tingle across his skin again. It sent a shiver along his spine, one that reminded him of why he had broken them apart.

He brought them to the entrance to the lab, then nodded towards it with an incline of his head. "Thankfully the no longer red lab. I imagine Hank's getting everything set up for your bit of scientific fun, so enjoy yourself. I'll see you after for your... introduction to the children, shall we say?"

[That all sounds very fun, the latter group in particular! I can totally imagine the emotional potential. I was in Potter fandom years ago and had a group of friends who would get together for annual retreats each year and we'd have temporary RP spurts with everyone in costume (but all playing fandom characters). Nowadays it's just my partner and I, but this is the a huge part of how the relationships between our cast of GW2 characters have been built. Do you have a good option for getting out of the states for the weekend? (Wouldn't it be lovely to go lie on a beach somewhere for 48 hrs. /dreams)]

"I shall endeavor to to arouse no suspicions, I promise." But really, if Charles felt confident that the students were fine, then Aurus would take his word on it. It wasn't his chief concern anyway--he was far too distracted by the man beside him, the feeling that every glance they shared and every smile held a hint of additional meaning. And there was, admittedly, also a part of him that thrilled at the idea of how shocked some people here just might be if they knew the truth behind the two of them moving through the hallway together.

These notions, for the moment, could be pure levity and playfulness, and there need not be any talk about the meanings behind them. They could just feel buoyant and lighthearted, and as far as Aurus was concerned that was something to be valued in itself. Given how Charles had recoiled from the initial broaching of the topic, it was an absolute win.

Pausing outside of Hank's lab, Aurus scanned the hall around them for a moment to assure that they were alone. Perhaps it was always a bit more quiet at this end of the house, or perhaps the students were already making their way to their next classes. Regardless, things here were quiet, and there were no prying eyes to worry over.

"Then I go off to my next adventure," Aurus said with mock formality and a roguish smile. "Find me out in your garden later. I'll be the one in the center of the crowd with the glowing stone tablet. You'll want to see that." And he knew that Charles would because he'd not explained a thing about his plan and the promise of a glowing stone tablet would be an inevitable curiosity.

Presently, he reached out a hand and brushed his fingers along Charles' shoulder, then down his chest beside the aster still placed in his lapel, lingering just a moment, fingertips pressed lightly over the man's heart as he held his gaze.

He only paused for a beat, then turned and gave a knock on Hank's lab door to announce himself before stepping in.

"I hope you've got something good to show me, Hank. I've learned of satellites and been shown television. You've got some competition."

[If you could get over to Poland, you could play with that group there... we actually have a LOT of out-of-country-ers come for Magischola. A bunch of people from the UK, Denmark... and all over the US. I need to get a lot done around the house this weekend but oooooo lying on the beach sounds so lovely right now.]

It left Charles sitting there with a stunned expression - eyes wide, lips slightly parted. It wasn't an expression he very often wore yet somehow Aurus was managing to get it out of him again and again today. He watched the door shut and slowly sunk back into his chair, eyes closing slowly until he could rub a hand over his face. His fingers trickled down to where Aurus' fingers had rested over his heart which was currently beating quickly, almost a flutter. It felt like being a teenager again around the pretty girls. Having someone bring that feeling out in him felt all too rare. Moira had done it, with that sharp wit and intelligence and the look in her eyes, and Erik... damn him.

His fingers briefly fisted in the clothing over his chest before he released it. For right now, he had to go deal with paper work for the school, and... think. There was a great deal he needed to think about but more, he had to come to a decision. It was obvious that tonight was going to need a decision from him. Either he could let it go or he could keep protecting himself as he had been. His hand came down, pushing back the cuff on his sleeve to reveal the track marks that had been left behind by the drugs he had taken to keep the use of his legs and surpress the mental powers that had brought such pain to his life. He felt the thin, raised lines under his fingertips and let out a breath, then sent the wheelchair back in the other direction.

Hank, however, had to laugh in surprise at Aurus' choice of words. "Is that so? Well, come over here and we'll let you actually make some science instead of just seeing it." The chemicals needed were laying out along with a pair of goggles for the sylvari. "It'll be much more fun to actually be a part of it. I haven't done this in a long time... fun for me, too."

[Poland is one of the places in Europe I've never been, but I can imagine folks popping over for weekend visits for RP--we had a lot of friends from Denmark who used to spontaneously come to the UK for the weekend. Who knows, perhaps someday...when life is all less manic. Alas, no beach in either of our near futures, but perhaps some nice chill relaxing alongside getting life things done over the weekend.]

Truly shifting his focus to Hank and the experience at hand was, when it came right down to it, no small feat, even with all of Aurus' long practice of ordering his mind. He was still genuinely interested in what Hank was going to show him, and that made it easier, even as thoughts of Charles lingered.

He was half wondering about whether Hank would be able to read the new developments and subtle shifts of emotion on him straight away...or perhaps not quite yet but straight away when he saw him and Charles together next...or perhaps not at all. Perhaps everyone wonders if they have a "tell," but he had to actively stifle this train of though so that it wouldn't distract him as he stepped over to look at what Hank had arranged.

It was fair to say that he didn't have the first clue what he was seeing, so mystified curiosity helped him focus too. "What is all of this?" he asked as he looked over the spread which appeared completely un-volcano like to him. Just a bunch of bottles and jars and things (and also, what were those goggles for?)

He gave Hank a lightly teasing smile, "Are you going to try and teach me what all the fuss about science is? In my world people would call you daft for trying to make a sylvari appreciate such things."

[That's the trick of it, isn't it? When life is less hectic. Doesn't happen nearly often enough, though!]

If Hank guessed anything, he didn't show it, but there was a brief lingering glance towards the door that held a great deal of weight. In the back of his mind, he made a note to talk to Charles when they were done here. Something was going on, but he wasn't quite sure what it was. Sometimes Charles kept things from him, but often... he knew, even if he been an enabler before. He tended to want to please.

"Well all of this," gesturing over the table, "are what we're going to make our little psuedo-volcano with." He patted each ingredient as he spoke. "Baking soda, sand, water, vinegar, red food coloring, and for a bit of fun... sparklers. They're a type of firework. Now mind you, we're building a little version of the monster sized one Charles allowed his class to build and on top of that, let's just say children with powers they can't quite control can sometimes be well, enthusiastic."

But it wouldn't be long until they had a set up volcano made out of the sand he dumped onto the lab table they were working on. He offered over the pack of matches as the sparkler was stuck into the top, looking pleased. "Want to do the honors? Goggles on first, though." Popping his own on. Safety mattered, even if they were both adults.

[For srs. /wistful sigh I've been so bad this weekend though. Properly shut my brain off and vegged which is no good considering how much work I should have gotten done.]

Aurus certainly noticed the way Hank looked towards the door when and he would have quite liked to know what he was thinking in that moment. Ironically though, that wish just made him think of Charles again: Charles was a man who could answer that question for himself whenever he wanted, whenever curiosity struck. But as Aurus now knew, he didn't simply do it whenever curiosity struck.

How had he come to exercise that level of restraint, of self control? How many times in his life had he sated his curiosity only to discover, perhaps, that the answers were something other than what he wished to hear? How did he grow to understand that the promise of small immediate knowledge was less of a pure pleasure than it must at first seem? Did he learn it as a child? For that matter, had his powers been with him his whole life?

All these were things that the two of them had not spoken of yet, and Aurus made a mental note that later, when the time was right, he would ask. For now though, there was the volcano to be building.

What was appealing about this, as far as Aurus was concerned, was not so much the science of it, but the company: Hank was an enjoyable young man to be around, his soft social awkwardness a fascinating counterpoint to his confidence in the lab. So even if the sylvari wasn't interested in learning the science of what they were doing qua the science, he was still a good attentive student who asked questions and paid attention.

He was slightly incredulous about the idea that they were going to light any type of firework indoors. Tyria did certainly have fireworks, but they were almost invariably the sort that shot up into the air and exploded in dazzling colors. He put on the goggles though (strange things that they were--not made of glass and leather or, indeed, any substance that he was familiar with) and took the proffered matches.

"Very well. This being your lab and your demonstration, I can safely say that I bear no responsibility for whatever happens next." It was all teasing though, because of course Hank would know exactly what was going to happen, and Aurus wasn't genuinely worried about any of it.

He struck the match, lit the sparkler fuse, and took a step back from the table, watching as it burned down, and more than half expecting the loud bang of an explosion--albeit a contained one--when it did.

"I'm not Charles," Hank joked, a smile coming up to his lips. "I promise no explosions, no being covered in baking soda soaked in red food dye." Which explained the crimson nightmare of a photo that Charles still got a chuckle over. He stepped back as well, eyes bright as he watched the fun.

And it was. The sparkler lit up and happily shot golden sparkles up along with fire, while baking soda-dish soap lava spurt out along with it and down the sides of the sand volcano. A little messy, a lot of fun, and the fascinating (to him) reaction to make carbon dioxide. He gave a little chuckle at the whole thing, after all this was meant for very young children, before he peered over towards their alien visitor. The golden light really set off against that strange blue skin, making him seem even more other worldly than he was. This whole thing, in many ways, was one strange moment after another but Charles clearly seemed keen on Aurus.

Inside, Hank was... worried. Charles didn't open himself up to many and he didn't assume Charles had to Aurus, but there was something in that little moment that hinted to him something was going on. Charles wouldn't allow Aurus to remain here if the other was a danger, but just what it was Hank couldn't put a finger on. Some part of him wanted to make things were okay - for Charles' sake as much as the school.

"What do you think?" He asked, the smile still remaining despite his own concerned thoughts.

Aurus shared Hank's chuckle at the display--it was fun, though perhaps the fascination of it was lost on him somewhat.

"I think," he answered, giving Hank a knowing sort of look, "that if this is a display done for children and at a school, it must have some purpose other than simply to amaze and entertain. You're trying to teach them some idea with it, and I have to assume that idea is not that they ought to make eruptions of red foamy bubbles and gunpowder sparks at every free opportunity."

He considered the differences between this world and his own for a moment, thinking on how he might answer his own implicit question. "I've spent very little time around asura. I don't trust them. No Secondborn with any sense does. But I do know that they are fond of putting on displays to inspire the inventive spirit of their youth--their 'progeny,' as they say.

"Is that your intention here as well? Or is there something else you hope for your students to understand?"

It was a simple question at its surface, but there was quite a lot behind it. Aurus had spoken relatively little with Hank about his people or their history thus far, for one thing, and while Charles would now know what a Secondborn was, Hank would not. Neither of the men, however, yet knew the specifics of what the asura had done to Aurus's brothers and sisters in their youth.

Aurus might not be able to read that Hank was worried for Charles, but he didn't need to in order to realize that there was much that he and Hank should probably discuss with each other, and to take a subtle opening where he saw one.

[*HAS TO REMEMBER HOW THE VOLCANO WORKS*]

For Hank's side of things, there were several things in those questions that he most certainly did not understand. 'Asura', 'secondborn', but also the tone in which it was asked. The smile fell from his face, brows coming together, before he decided to, cautiously, answer the questions as much in the way they came. "The point of this demonstration is, yes, to inspire the students and get them more interested in science. From here, the goal is to explain the reason why the lava happened - that the combination of baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, or NaHCO3, mixing with the vinegar, HCH3COO, produces CO2 as a byproduct of the acid-base reaction and the gas creates the foam." Rambled off easily, not too worried on the details. "In other words... get them interested in the why behind things through their own natural curiosity."

He flashed a quick smile, because really it was something he had far too much of and loved indulging the students in it, but he did peer just as curiously at Aurus. "Where or who is this 'asura'? Is that what your species is called, then, Secondborn?" Hadn't the other mentioned a different name before?

[I am so not a chemistry-type person, so I'm definitely not going to be fact checking you! lol]

The technical names that Hank used for the chemicals were so much of a foreign tongue to Aurus, but that wasn't really the point. The real question was about the consequences if the students' curiosity led them towards dangerous things. This was an oblique sort of query though, and also not precisely the point.

Aurus shook his head a little at Hank's question. "Secondborn is a shorthand--it's my generation. Amongst the sylvari--my race--there were a dozen who came first. And then there were all the rest. First among those 'rest' were a large group of us who awakened at the same time. As a designation, 'Secondborn' both means very little and very much.

"As for the asura, they're an imp-like race, short in stature with long ears, and they are our closest neighbors within the Maguuma Jungle. They're also the foremost scientists in my world. Their whole society is built on their love of experimentation and invention. And to many of their kind, my people are no more than kindling."

[Hey my facts proved to be very true! XDDD]

"Oh." Quiet, surprised, and a little bit disgusted in the mere idea. The very first thought that came to his mind were the Nazis, but he pushed that aside with a deep-down shiver. "I can imagine why you wouldn't hang around them, then," he said quietly, frowning as he looked at the mess on the table. With a shake of his head, he went to get things to clean it up, talking over towards Aurus as he did.

Really, to him it felt like there was something more in the air, something like a tension around Aurus, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He gave the other a look for a few seconds, then turned away to grab something against the wall.

"Firstborn, I'd guess? That first dozen? How many of you Secondborn are there, then?" He had a container lined with a bit of plastic tarp, and he held the container up towards the sylvari for him to take it. "Hold it right up against the edge of the table there so I can push this mess in." And he went around to the opposite side.

[I have the utmost faith in you! :D]

Doing as he was asked to help Hank with the clean-up, Aurus carried on with his explanations as they worked. He truly wasn't so mistrustful of either asura or of scientific endeavor in general as to not see its benefits. He just believed that it required a cultivated ethical mind--far more cultivated than what asura culture tended to focus on. As to the culture of this world, he honestly couldn't yet judge. (He would certainly have been shocked to know about the history of the two world wars though.)

"Yes, Firstborn, and they're rather proud of that status. By contrast to their twelve, we number in the hundreds, and the sylvari that have awoken since number many thousands.

"I will admit, of course, that not all asura are so terrible. But the trouble is not the individual. It's a culture where, when it comes to invention, the ends justify the means. I don't think they ever pause to question whether they should do something, only whether or not they can."

He looked at Hank quite earnestly then. "I don't mean to imply that I think you are similar. We don't know each other at all well yet, but I've not gotten that impression from you. Besides, you and Charles have clearly known each other for quite some time, and he strikes me as a man for whom ethical questions are paramount."

[Well yesterday was a bust for tagging... don't drop your phone into a sink. :( Got a new phone now but not happy about needing a new one.]

"Sadly, I think Humans here can be very similar sometimes. The whole 'should they', thing." Hank might have been a touch guilty of that himself, sometimes. "Usually it's all in the best interest of things, but sometimes... history has proven that it was at the cost of something greater." His lips thinned slightly; he grew up in a time when war was still something very much on the minds of people.

"You're right about Charles, though." At least that much he was certain... now. That had not necessarily been the case always, given that not even ten years ago Charles had basically given up on the entire world, shutting it all out and, even if he didn't always want to admit it to himself, abusing the drug he had created with his help. Now, though, that had changed. Charles lived for the students and the school. All for the better.

"I've known him for-" he calculated back quickly, "about fifteen years, now, and we've hardly been apart for it." Which almost sounded like there had been more at some point, but nothing ever had. Hank didn't go that way and Charles... hadn't... he still wasn't sure how that worked. Damn it, Erik.

[Oh no!! I hope it was insured at least? That is seriously rotten. :( I am having the biggest DNFW day today. I have to sit here because these are my scheduled office hours but I want nothing more than to put my feet up and have a nice cup of tea. Having to mark student work feels about as appealing as clawing my own eyeballs out... /procrastinates by tagging instead.]

Aurus was not presuming that Hank and Charles had been lovers, at least not exactly (he did wonder), but he did presume from what Hank said that there was some sort of intimacy between them. It would have been very strange, to his mind, for two people to have known each other for fifteen years and hardly ever been apart during that time without there being some manner of intimacy.

"You knew him before his injury then," it was a strangely casual observation in its delivery, though of course in substance it told Hank that Aurus had managed to learn a fair bit about Charles already.

The sylvari did not, however, go on to ask what Charles had been like before or how it had changed him or anything so crass as that. In fact, he took up a tone almost as though he was beginning a completely new topic. In point of fact, he was just going to be blunt along a different vein of bluntness.

"May I ask you something that might seem rather obtuse?" Well, he was going to at any rate.

"Are there social rules or norms for appropriate relationships in your culture--different ways that men are expected to behave with men and women expected to behave with women? Or expectations for how you will and won't behave with your students."

It was (deliberately) a question that could be taken in a number of ways, and Aurus let his meaning remain ambiguous mostly to gauge what Hank would do with it. Besides, he wasn't trying to ask directly about Charles, nor even to imply that it was Charles he really wanted Hank to tell him about...which of course didn't mean that what he'd asked didn't run the risk of raising suspicions.

[Sadly, nope. Had to pay full price for the phone. Nice phone though - pretty happy with it so far. Only real downside was I lost the photos and videos from the last six months or so which includes my recording of Adam Lambert singing when I saw him in concert. :( I thought it was backing up to the cloud... turns out it wasn't.]

There was intimacy, but not of the lovers sort. He had seen Charles naked, helped the hand through showers and baths, through horrible reactions to the initial stages of the drug and nightmares. All in all, Charles was his best friend, and he believed the same of the other in return. They had gone through more than most together.

"I did," he confirmed quietly, a brief sadness crossing his face. At the first question, Hank looked up, but before he could say sure, the question that followed made both of his brows shoot up. To be fair, the very first thought in his brain - given that question about Charles moments before - was that Aurus was... interested in Charles. After all, why ask that question when there had only been two real points of connection since Aurus arrived, himself and Charles. (It did pass quickly through his mind that he could be the face of that, but he pushed it aside a heartbeat later.)

No, Charles wouldn't let that happen, at least he was fairly sure, so maybe it came up for another reason? "Well, yes, there are, as I imagine there were in your home," Hank started with a certain hesitation. So, instead of floundering into the unknown, he actually turned it back on Aurus. "Why do you ask?"

His gaze was frank, studying, trying to understand why Aurus was asking this at all.

[Ugh how gutting. That is miserable. Nothing feels quite so bad as losing photos you can't replace. The financial part of it blows too. Hopefully the new phone will have a long and healthy life with no suicidal sink-dives.]

Aurus was, for the most part, a good person. But there were places where (as certain people would be quick to say) he was also a sly bastard. There was no maliciousness to any of what he did, but there was a certain degree of dissimulation. And there was also a masterful poker face.

So the moment that the surprise registered on Hank's face was the moment when, to Aurus's mind, the two of them started playing an oblique kind of game around meanings said and unsaid, suspicions provoked but unconfirmed. For Aurus, the game was this: just how far could he stretch playing innocent before Hank really started to catch on? And if he started to catch on (Aurus genuinely planned to avoid that) just what shape would his suspicions take?

It was all a sort of misdirection, a way of hiding a topic of discussion in plain sight.

"Fewer than you might expect," he answered honestly. "And fewer among my race than among humans in my world. That, I suppose, is why I ask: I'm used to the idea that humans find sylvari a little strange--too blunt, a little indelicate about topics humans tend to treat quite sensitively, matters like sex and death.

"I have learned the norms of human culture in my own world, but I don't know them here. I don't even know if it makes sense to speak of a mutant culture, per se--whether you have different norms of your own." He paused here and then amended, "Well, I know that mutants prefer not to be asked prying questions about themselves and their abilities. Charles told me that much."

He wasn't lying when he said any of this, but he was deflecting attention away from the underlying questions he hoped to suss out answers to--things like whether casual sex was permissible here, whether there was social censure against particular sorts of couples--the sorts of questions that he didn't think he ought to ask Charles, but that he did think he ought to know the answers to to understand the man better.

[The new phone is water proof mwhahahahaha so no more suicides by water!]

Charles would not be happy Aurus was playing mind games with his friend. Really? (No okay he would be amused.) Aurus did have an advantage that in some ways, Hank McCoy could be a little naive and think the good in people, something that would come out more and more the older he became, but he was a smart cookie. So as he listened to Aurus explain himself, his brows came together, listening closely, deciding on what road to take this down. If Aurus had some sort of eye on Charles, it felt like he should make sure there were no ill intentions there. That was... to put it politely, a hot bed of issues waiting to explode and he didn't need Charles being set back because of something this stranger did. At the same time, he knew he could be misreading it, given the differences in said cultures, and decided to be on the generous side and believe this was innocent. For now.

"As far as the mutants go, it depends entirely on the individual. The students and staff here are generally more open about talking about their abilities, some more than others," he didn't, but only a certain amount of people knew what his was at all and he was fine to keep it that way, "but outside of the school, you don't ask. Some want to hide what the are - fear of reprisal, fear of others, embarrassment." Something he and Charles had both learned the hard way.

"...is there something more specific you want to know?" And there was the next move in the game. He finished dusting sand off into the bin and walked it over to put beside the door when he left.

[Yes, excellent. If only all phones were waterproof by default.]

It was noteworthy, as far as Aurus was concerned, that Hank elected to speak about neither sex nor death but instead mutants. That perhaps gave a first indication about the relative openness these topics enjoyed.

Of course he had also set himself up to be able to pass at least a few things under the banner of cultural difference now: by saying that sylvari tended to be rather blunt about sex and death he ought to have excused himself for being blunt about the same topics. (The truth of the matter was that he personally was never obliviously blunt about either; only intentionally so. Some other sylvari that he knew would probably have scandalized either Charles or Hank or both of them already.)

"What else do you not ask about, aside from mutant abilities? You avoid speaking candidly to children about certain topics? That's a trait of human culture in my world, though it seems to me that there's little clear agreement on what age precisely the expectation changes.

"Having never been a child myself I find that the particulars have never felt very intuitive. And I am going to meet your students, so it's probably best if I know in advance."

Again, all true, strictly speaking, though also played for effect: the remark about having never been a child was deliberately placed to surprise, since that was something Hank didn't know about him yet. It also presented a detour away from the topic of Charles, a diversion so that he could circle back around an approach the subject more obliquely.

[It's so damn stupid that they aren't. The majority of phones in Japan and China are... they know they can make a lot of money on it here.]

Well Aurus' attempt to shock certainly got that reaction. Hank's brows shot right on up, blinking at the idea. So the sylvari... were born as adults? That concept was so very foreign to him that it took several moments to put it together, a hand coming up to rub at the bridge of his nose before resettling his glasses. Focus on the rest, Hank, focus on the rest.

"Please don't discuss sex or death with them? That's... considered taboo to speak about to children, even with adults to certain degrees. Your bluntness might comes as a bit of a... shock to some people, though of all people I imagine Charles might laugh it off." Here he paused and fixed Aurus with a look, a harder look. If there were certain thoughts in there, he hoped this would edge them out. "We've gone through a lot, some of us. Certain subjects might be harder than others, and some might be all but twisting a knife. Tread carefully."

Sometimes, maybe a little more of that darker (bluer) side of him came out than he would have liked.

In all honesty, Aurus did not actually need to be told not to discuss sex or death with the students. He was not nearly that tactless. The question had served a purpose though, moving the conversation into interesting (albeit not exactly anticipated) waters.

For a long moment Aurus held a level gaze with Hank--this was a side of the man that he'd not seen before, and it intrigued him to discover what there was beyond his slightly awkward geeky charm.

He did, however, find that he needed to make a decision now: he'd not intended to disclose anything specific about his relationship with Charles. He did not want to break Charles' confidence or reveal anything private that he would not wish anyone to know.

But this warning that Hank was issuing came, if Aurus read it right, from a genuine concern for his friend. Aurus could dodge the subject, but that would only build unease and mistrust. He had to weigh that against the possibility that Charles would not want Hank--evidently his closest friend--to know. This really was one instance where Aurus wished he knew more about the attitude towards intimate relations in this world, so that he could know just how secret these sorts of matters were generally kept.

In the end, though, only one approach really felt right to him. "I assume that we are no longer speaking about the students," he said, though the way he said it conveyed quite precisely I know we are no longer speaking about the students. And his lack of surprise at Hank's words on its own perhaps conveyed that yes, Aurus had already seen how difficult some subjects were.

"Charles is an exceptional person, and if I understand you right, I believe that you are worried about him. Worried because of me."

Well he had no idea just what Aurus did or didn't know and he would be beside himself if he didn't say anything and Aurus went and spoke to the students about such a thing. The older students would be fine but not the children. Better to cover all of the bases properly. For the rest, Aurus would be right. He was worried about Charles. Even after the time since Logan had left the school and the circumstances had happened those years back. Charles tended to do two things - either throw himself into the fire or barricade himself so much from it as to freeze from lack of warmth. It was just natural now to try and keep him from both extremes, to protect Charles from himself.

He reached up and took his glasses off, pulling a kerchief from his pocket and started cleaning them. "In part, I was," he said quietly, his gaze focused on his work in ihs hands. "Some of the students have gone through those tragedies and we're helping them to work past that, but otherwise, you're right. We're not." He lifted his glasses up to the light to inspect them carefully, then returned them to his face.

"I don't know what's going on between you two, but I'm letting you know to tread carefully. You asked the differences between our cultures, the relationships between certain genders, and I'm telling you. In matters of certain subjects, you take time, you learn, you walk carefully, if you know that the ground between you is hazardous. You don't want to fall into a hole, and you don't want to set off an explosion that could hurt you both. Regardless of who you're talking to."

That move--removing glasses, wiping them clean--was such a tactical way to disengage from continued eye contact that Aurus couldn't help but wonder what it was that Hank was keeping hidden. For the moment though, his attention was not on excavating that particular mystery.

Instead he took the time to think about what Hank was (and wasn't) saying and to measure how he wanted to answer him. In truth though, he was missing a fairly crucial piece of information which would shape just how he took Hank's advice.

Which meant that Hank was about to experience some of that bluntness Aurus had spoken of. Not sylvari bluntness per se; this was purely Aurus's particular version of it:

"You needn't worry for your students--I'm really not that indelicate. But I need to ask you, Hank, were you and Charles ever lovers?"

This time it wasn't merely a question for shock value. Aurus felt that he needed to know for sure, because if Hank and Charles had once been lovers sometime before Charles' injury--if they'd once been lovers and Hank had sat by and let this kind of isolation take hold in Charles' life for a whole decade since--that, to Aurus, would be a kind of abandonment from which he could accept no counsel.

Well congrats on getting him to choke, Aurus. Hank coughed hard, actually putting a hand down to steady himself for a second as he stared at Aurus before shaking his head. That certainly was blunt! "No!" Okay that probably sounded awful, so he repeated him, softer. "No. I like women, to start with," oh that felt far too personal to be telling a stranger out of the blue. "Charles... wouldn't be my type even if I didn't. He has his own tastes." Ones that ran usually to the beautiful as well as intelligent, quick thinking and sharp and well generally female from what he had seen in their years.

Erik was... an exception, but he wouldn't talk to a stranger about that.

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