001 - Video

[pratservant]

[It's a two-for-one special when the feed begins. The face in front belongs to a young man with dirty blond hair, aquiline nose and perfect jawline. And he seems to be shirtless.]

[The face peeking over his shoulder looks to be around the same age with dark hair and pale skin. Mostly ears and cheekbones beyond that. He's still stuck in one of

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[excessivehubris]

[That has got to be one of the more fascinating calls for help he's heard across the data pad since he arrived here.

Sitting up and looking at the mixed matched pair, Charles can't help chuckling at them.]

Prince Arthur of where?

[excessivehubris]

[That last thought has Charles giving a low, wry chuckle and sending along a wave of understanding.]

I've ... run into a similar situation myself, Arthur. It is, unnerving.

[supercilious]

[ Near simultaneously: He's reading my- ]

How did you know what-

[ -mind. Sorcery? Christ, don't think about anything. ]

I was thinking!?

[ How dare he. And the anger is borne of a hatred of vulnerability and the confusion of a pleasant young man being bloody magical and everything is overwhelming today, he hates this place, hates it. ]

[excessivehubris]

[The anger is like a wash across his mind, though no worse than anything Erik's ever thrown at him and Charles counters with a mental blanket of calm, as its so difficult to have a conversation with anger and hatred.]

Sorry, Arthur but you were projecting loudly. Lets not let this get us off on the wrong foot eh, now there's a good chap.

[supercilious]

[ Arthur (calmly) turns his device off. ]

[excessivehubris]

[Very well done.

Too bad Charles is horrible about taking a hint.]

You do realize the device was more for your comfort than my own, yes?

I can see, where your trepidation for this situation is coming from, Arthur but ignoring it, isn't going to bring you any answers and right now, you need all the answers you can get.

[supercilious]

[ Arthur sits quietly, and he's not angry but the fury's there, deep in him, grudges and old wounds and hurt pride. ]

I don't want answers. I want you out of my head.

[ He squeezes the bridge of his nose, feeling incredibly naked. There's too much he keeps from others, or from himself, to be entirely comfortable with this. Arthur demands honesty of himself but he also lives between the lines, hiding all his deep passions and doubts and anything that belongs to the man instead of the prince, as though the two aren't the same. ]

[excessivehubris]

[Well, best to be shot for a sheep as a lamb as the saying goes. He could simply wipe the memory of this conversation from the man's mind and let them start fresh but that would be the easy way and while expedient for Charles, would not help Arthur in the long run.

Not if he truly wanted to keep those private areas of his mind, private.]

I ... do sincerely apologize, Arthur. It is not my intention to be intrusive, though I feel it important to advise you that you are projecting more personal thoughts that you mean to. I am deliberately shielding away from them.

But you must, must understand that this place you have come, abilities like mine are common place and in fact I have learned that some of the people kidnapped here are finding themselves with powers of the mind they've never known at home.

[Planting the idea, that people are being 'changed' here maybe a little deeper than just the words, in an effort to deflect attention from Merlin's natural gifts. At a surface level only comes a explanation of the Force and how it

[supercilious]

[ Hiding from what? ]

I'm not hiding.

[ But the idea of anyone being able to do this is abhorrent. He has no weapons against it, no defences, couldn't even tell that it is occurring but for Charles' voice in his head. So the idea of a shield, however means he must come by it, is appealing. ]

[ He stops thinking that Charles should get out, and starts thinking. He's not a stupid man, and if there are irrational prejudices carved into his very firmament, there are other things too, honor and honesty, determination to master anything he tries, the sense that Charles is not a threat even while his skin is still crawling from the feeling of it. ]

[ After a moment he flicks the datapad back on. Still false calm layered over anger. ]

All right.

[excessivehubris]

[Charles might have been holding his breath, hard to tell but when the datapad flicked back on, in a show of good faith, he stopped communicating to Arthur through his mind.]

Hello. [He greeted him back with a warm smile but then sobered.]

Thank you, Arthur.

As I was saying, there is a power here, in this place, that can be harnessed by those who are sensitive to it and used in much the same manner as how I was just speaking with you.

There are ways to deflect others from being able to casually delve into your mind. I can teach you to harness that control.

[Probably best not to mention that regardless of how much shielding he taught Arthur, the strength of Charles's natural abilities could render the point moot. But he genuinely did not want to make a habit of bouncing into the minds of those who reacted so vehemently against it, as this young man.

At least, not unless he absolutely had too.]

[supercilious]

[ Probably best not to mention that, yeah. ]

You'll find I'm a fast learner.

[ A lifetime of training in physical discipline combined with a strong desire to never let that happen again can work wonders, after all. ]

Were you planning on giving me your name? Or d'you expect me to pluck it out of your head.

[excessivehubris]

I imagine this place will prove to be quite the learning curve for us all. Regardless, I am prepared to start whenever you are ready, Arthur, though I imagine the sooner, the better.

[His lips twitch but the expression is somewhat sheepish as he ducks his head.]

My apologies, of course. Charles Xavier, please, call me Charles.

[supercilious]

Tomorrow, then? Not as though I have much else to do.

[excessivehubris]

Tomorrow will work fine, meet me at the library?

[ooc: Do we want to log the awkward? :)]

[supercilious]

I ... may require directions.

[ ooc // YES PLEASE though I am about to go to bed. if you could set it up that would be amazeballs. ]

[excessivehubris]

Ah, yes, yes of course. Let me see if I can just ...

[Give him a moment, got to fight with this damn datapad and the idea of sending files. It would be so much easier just to send a head thought but he dutifully sticks to it and soon the location and direction of the library comes across to Arthur's datapad.]

There we go, this is getting easier and easier.

[ooc: \o/ I can take care of this! Goodnight!!]