8293/Time for the Truth

Time for the Truth
Date of Scene:	18 October 2021
Location:	Wilderness Campsites
Synopsis:	Mystique told Kurt the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... the pain lingers and will remain.
Cast of Characters:	Kurt Wagner, Clarice Ferguson, Raven Darkholme

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Kurt Wagner has posed:
Days after Tibet. After Genosha. After...all of that. Kurt left immediately, didn't bother to stick around for the aftermath. It was right back to Xaviers, and to seclusion. He postponed a few of his classes, and was a scarcity around the main buildings. In fact, he set up a tent at the campsites and brought out what he needed from time to time, telling others he simply needed some time to himself.

With evening having come around, he's set up a small campfire. Darkness is spreading, and some of the light seems to reflect from his eyes as he pokes at it occasionally with a stick in order to shift the wood around. Though there is a chill in the air, he does not feel it physically, clad in a sweatshirt and sweatpants.

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "I mean - we were out... this way," Clarice remarks, as she tries to lead the way into the small woods at the edge of the property, keeping to one of the paths beaten through the trees by students out on nature hikes. It was getting dark, and the foliage overhead wasn't help matters - but it with all her time spent with Mister Creed, it wasn't like it was her first time in the woods at night. "That's about where Rahne got her foot stuck," she adds - gesturing towards one of the trees. They continue past it, the smell of smoke slowly starting to permiate the area, along with the occasional pop of wood from the fire - just before the light of the fire becomes visible through the trees.
    She spares Mystique a brief, questioning glance - unsure how close to hand the 'boss' wanted her for this one.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
It wasn't often that Mystique came to the school, at least not as herself. She had stopped putting on faces and poking her nose in the day the truce was made, the day Xavier's and the Brotherhood became allies. Transparency. She had meant every word she said that day, and from that moment on has kept everything that the X-Men and the Brotherhood did together complete transparent.

It seemed odd that she could do that, but it had taken her far too long to come to terms and accept the other things in her life. As she follows Clarice through the woods, she wasn't really listening to what the magenta mutant was saying, she was running things around in her head over and over and over again and it always ended the same way. Her hating herself.

At the sign of fire light, she looks up through the the trees, then to Clarice before she takes a deep breath and walks past her toward the campsite. "Stay close," she says quietly as she passes, then emerges into the fire light.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
There is enough light out for everyone to be able to see each other, though not for much longer. That is, if one's eyes are normal. Kurt's are not. With even a bit of a light source around, he can see perfectly well. Glancing away from the fire makes the surrounding area seem darker, though.

The area is quiet, the wind minimal. No noisy trees as a result, and the woodland creatures are mostly silent or somewhere else. As soon as he sees /her/ he rises and his tail appears to stiffen, betraying a sudden tense nature. "Why are you here?" he asks, quick to add, "To finish the job from all those years ago?"

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Clarice gives a nod as the woman passes her by - that at least answers that questions, doesn't it? Kurt's reaction to Mystique's arrival prompts a quiet sigh, however, as she hastily steps forwards.
    "Hey, whoa, Kurt... We come in peace," she reassures him - flashing the man a smile. "Just here to talk," she adds, staying several feet back from Kurt - with the fire between them. Not, it occurs to her, that that really matters much. They're both teleporters.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique stops just inside the fire light, watching Kurt by the light of the fire, reading his body language even before he stands up. There is no emotion on her face or in her eyes, she merely stand there letting him speak before she takes a slow breath.

"Are you ready to hear the truth," she asks plainly. "Or would you prefer to go on believing a lie?" Her eyes never leave him, truth is if he wanted to attack her, she'd stand there and take it.

"Sometimes the truth hurts more than the lie, and that is the case here Kurt, but if you'd prefer to continue the lie, by all means... but I am your mother, and you don't even remotely know what happened."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner doesn't pace, doesn't even move very much. Yet, there is a wilder look to him right now. "Then you should talk. Say what you have to say, then leave me be." There is a sort of wounded nature to the words, as if he was betrayed in some way.

Of course, it's Mystique he's looking at more sharply. "You can be anything you want, but for mein entire life, you could not be a mother to your son, could you? How long have you been watching us? Watching me? Und the time you finally say something is when I have a gun to mein head? Were you afraid I was going to die before you could pick the right time to tell me the truth, whatever it is?"

The words and questions cut sharp, but whether they're intended to hurt, it's difficult to say. /He/ is hurting, gesturing with an expressive hand that passes through the air beside him. "I am not the one who has been living a lie all this time. I could only know what I have been told, und now you are going to tell me it is all wrong?"

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Still not moving any closer, each word stabs straight at the open wound Mystique has always had, but she doesn't show it, no anger, no pain, an odd numbness.

"On the day you were born, such a beautiful, amazing boy... a mob of angry human decided that you and I were demons," she says slowly, but not quietly, she's making sure he can hear her even in his pain. "I barely got the cord cut and they were driving me hard into the forest carrying you, hunting me like an animal. I was physically weak, exhausted, I couldn't even shift forms. They wanted to kill you, to kill me, to erase our existence. I had one prayer, one hope, that I could hide you and come back, but that failed."

She glances to Clarice for the briefest moment, then looks back to Kurt. "By the time I knew you were still alive Kurt, you were with the family at the circus, you were ten or eleven years old, you looked so happy, so content, you had a real life and family... and I was a monster who killed, terrorized, and despised humans so much for what they'd made me do."

Another deep breath, no tears, but her voice sounds like there should be tears. "You are right that I should have told you sooner, I have no excuse for that. I feared destroying your life by telling you, because of what I was."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Even with Mystique's calm demeanor, Clarice knows Kurt's words must sting like knives. Her hand reaches out, resting on Mystique's arm for a moment, her expression a small, but encouraging smile. She lets the contact break, though, as she starts to move around the fire towards Kurt. There's concern in her expression, and a hint of apology. She knows //she// hid things from him as well - and that he was perfectly aware of it given her slip.
    At any sign of tension or hostility at her approach, though, she'll come to a stop, her hands hanging loose and empty at her side.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner moves such that neither can come to approaching within arm's reach of him, preferring to keep his distance. For a teleporter who can go away at a moment's notice, there may be no such thing as too close, but the symbolism is simple: he does not want to be touched.

There is laughter from him, but it is not a happy laugh. Rather, it is biting, uncomfortable. "Please do not call me those things. I know what I look like, und what you look like. That is the reason you were on the run, ja? The reason they would have killed us? Because it is true, I look like a demon. How great a comedy is that, hmm? That someone who looks as I do should be as much a man of the faith as I am? Many times, I have felt like it was a cruel joke being played on me, a test to see if I would crack, if I would break, if I would be what they saw me as. But I did not give them the satisfaction. I was always a freak to them, to the ones who paid to come see us perform. Many of them thought it was just a fancy costume, until they saw the things I could do."

He stops in this only long enough to consider Clarice. "Und you. You lied to me as well, und poor Rahne tried to lie for you. What were you trying to protect me from?"

"What were /you/ trying to protect me from? Yourself?" He asks Mystique again, his expression dark, clouded, hurt. "Is what you were then what you are now? Have you changed? Truly? I want no mother who is a murderer, a killer."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique's back straightens and for the first time there is emotion to her voice, pain over hearing what he calls himself. "You /are/ beautiful! You have let the world decide what you should believe about yourself, but you are a beautiful mutant." She has to calm herself again, resist the urge to walk around or through that fire to get to him and shake sense into him. "Your mother and father are both mutants, there is nothing demonic about you Kurt."

Another moment, a small one, to grab the rest of her control. "I have been under the Lasso of Hestia and questioned by Wonder Woman herself. I have not murdered an innocent human, mutant or other wise since two months before I asked Wonder Woman to do it. I was arrested, I spent time in prison and now am in a program that has... I have to check in weekly, report my every action, I am monitored and watched. I realize just how horrible of a person I was, why do you think I stayed away from you?"

She wants to scream, to cry, to run and not to, but instead she stand there calmly. "I was not worth of being your mother, I am trying to be worthy now... too late, I know."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    The moment Kurt moves back - Clarice moves back as well, going closer to Mystique instead. She has no desire to crowd the man, and she was very much starting to feel like this was not a place for her - but Raven had asked her to stay close.
    At the question directed towards her, she murmurs in a quiet voice, "I didn't expect her to do that. She didn't even know why... I haven't known the truth for very long. Whether you believe it or not, this isn't easy for Raven, and I know it isn't easy for you, but as soon as I learned the story, I thought you should be told. It's just-" Her gaze goes from Kurt, back to her mentor as she concludes, "She needed a little time to be ready for that."
    She looks back to Kurt adding, "I know you're hurt that the truth was kept from you this long, but she's here now, and she is trying."

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner stares openly at Mystique. "Father is also a mutant? I would not have known a thing about that, either. He also has had no presence in mein life. I grew up a child of the circus, with everyone mein mother und father, yet no one truly either."

There are other things he wants to ask. How many people Mystique has killed. Instead, he picks apart what she does say, and the way she says it. "But you have killed those you deemed guilty? Like the one who had me at a disadvantage? Did they have a trial? Were they sentenced to die, or was that your decision?" While it could sound like he's piling on, it's a testament to his own morals and ethics. "What if I said I was a moment away from teleporting when you stabbed him over and over?"

He crosses his arms, giving her a sharp look. "I cannot say that it is too late for anything, but if you are trying to be better, I need to see how. You cannot expect to do what you have done over the years, und have me wave it away. I am a forgiving man, but those are not things I can forget."

He exhales in Clarice's direction, running both hands through his curly hair. "I do not know how anyone could ever be ready for news like this. I am going through multiple things I want to do right this moment, und some of them, I would hate myself for them afterward."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
"I will always protect mutants Kurt," Mystique says plainly. "We went there to save those children, and no amount of talking nice was going to save their lives. You had already exhausted yourself, I had no idea if you could even teleport any more and I wasn't taking that chance. Yes, there those who have died because they attacked another of my team, or myself, or innocent mutants, but it was not a decision I made casually. I did it to save the lives of those around me, or to rescue those who could not escape on their own."

Still unmoving, she remains where she was, watching Kurt and knowing full well, deep in her soul, that she will never be what he wants or needs. She has fought for mutant rights her entire life, she has been tortured, maimed, drugged, abused and hunted by humans. Humans were the reason she lost her son, and they will be the reason he will never accept her.

"The things that have changed... no more terrorism, no more murdering humans, no more hunting them as they hunted me, over and over again. My own human parents tried to kill me, not once, but twice before I escaped, I have lived in pain and suffering from humans, and yet I have sworn to Wonder Woman, to Lydia, to Clarice and now to you, I do not harm humans unless they attempt to harm me or those I love. I try non-lethal means first, but if they attack me with lethal force, I defend with lethal force."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "No. I can't imagine you would be. I- I also discovered recently that things I thought I knew about my family, weren't the way that I thought. Parts of that realization were painful, but parts were wonderful," Clarice offers with sympathy. "So... I don't know how you feel. But I know what a mess it can be, and that it's better to know."
    She looks towards Mystique as the woman speaks - not offering any feed back of her own, just letting Mystique's words stand for themselves. There were a few moments where she nodded, however. She, too, was unafraid to use lethal force to protect others.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner moves closer to his tent, letting his gaze move away from both members of the Brotherhood. His body language is completely uncomfortable, and nothing they are saying is helping make it any better. "Whatever you feel you were driven to do, I am sorry it ever got to be that bad. I am sorry you saw no alternative, sorry you grew to be so comfortable with killing in retaliation, for revenge."

He tells both, "I do not kill, und perhaps that is a flaw of mine. I believe all life is sacred, und it is not my place to decide the ultimate fate of another man or woman, especially when they may not have had a choice of their own in some cases."

The blue, fuzzy elf admits, "Perhaps this is a fatal flaw of mine, but I cannot see my beliefs about this changing, even if someone is attacking me with lethal force. I believe there is always a way to end a conflict without taking a life. There are some here who are more open about killing, und it pains me just as much to see."

Raven Darkholme has posed:
Mystique shakes her head slowly "No, that's not a flaw on your part. You have no idea how much I respect you for that, for the fact that you don't kill and won't kill," she says perhaps too quietly. "I would say that I am proud of your conviction and ability to live by those standards and rules, but it likely means nothing to you."

She shifts her weight slightly, but still doesn't move any closer, in fact she takes one slight step back. "I said what I came to say, and as you requested, I'll leave now."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    "Not everyone's comfortable with killing. I won't go into my own past - that's not what we came for, but I'm with Rahne, and you know she agrees with you. That's not always the most comfortable thing between us, but I'd never ask her of doing something that she doesn't agree with." She shifts uneasily before adding quietly, "I wouldn't have asked her to lie to you that day. I- it caught me off guard when she tried to."
    Her gaze shifts towards Mystique again as the woman starts to withdraw, and she nods, glancing to Kurt again for a moment. "Take care of yourself, Kurt. And I am sorry for trying to mislead you that day. Please don't hold it against Rahne." She gives the man a brief smile, before turning to accompany her mentor back onto the path, a concerned gaze going to her companion.

Kurt Wagner has posed:
Kurt Wagner finds a log to sit upon, glancing skyward. "I will pray that either of you think twice the next time you feel you have to kill. I do not blame Rahne for any of this. Now, bitte, allow me to be alone with mein thoughts. I have no more words for now. Gute Nacht."

Once they have left, he lowers his head, holding it in his hands. How is he going to face this? The answers have not made the facts any easier to deal with. A pit feels like it's burning a hole in his stomach, getting deeper and darker, threatening to drag him to untold depths as the flames of the fire grow smaller, ever closer to merely glowing before going out. It is in this place that Kurt sometimes resides, and it is in this place where he is at his most vulnerable.

Raven Darkholme has posed:
With no other words, true to her promise, Mystique turns and heads back along the path, not even Clarice gets any words. Only after they are a short distance away does the cobalt mutant pause and look back toward the camp site, only briefly, before looking to Clarice.

There is nothing in her face, no emotion, that numb returning and staying, even in her tone as she says, "Home please."

Clarice Ferguson has posed:
    Silently, Clarice wraps her arms around Mystique - and stands there in the forest with her for a long moment. Finally she whispers, "He just needs time. Things will get easier." They might not ever be a //family// - but she truly believed it would geet easier. Kurt was a kind, and forgiving man.
    That said - the pair blink away in a flash of purple energy - to appear beside Mystique's desk in her room, leaving Kurt to his forest alone.