#i might even argue itd make everything worse

[altherei]

A Bargain of Grief

((Note: I meant to post this before I left for a short holiday trip, so the events of this post actually took place on 12/22.))

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The summons from her father had come somewhat surprisingly- even more so with how urgent his missive seemed. Immediately concerned something was amiss in her family, Altherei hurried back to the small house her father kept in the heart of the Ghostlands. While it’d been a while since she’d been in the blighted end of Quel’thalas, she had never been afraid of it. The roads were familiar, and she didn’t fear the creeping shadows made by dead branches dipping under the light breeze.

When she arrived at her father’s estate, he was quick to welcome her in and give her a warm embrace. It didn’t take long, though, for her to see the deepened creases in his skin- the past few months had been rough on them all, and none moreso than the patriarch of their family. There was a weariness in his eyes that she hadn’t seen since the death of her mother, and his usual warm smile- the one she’d inherited by all accounts- wasn’t present.

“Sit my dear, sit. We have.. much to discuss.” He lowered himself onto the couch, setting down a kettle of tea and two mugs. He filled hers first, then his own, and the gentle scent of honeymint slowly wafted around the living room.

“What’s wrong, Ann’da? Your letter seemed.. rather urgent. Is everything all right?” Altherei blew over the top of the mug, sending the steam flitting away for a moment as she eyed her father.

“No.. no, little one. I am.. frightened. For you,” He added with a nod of his head for emphasis.

“.. For me? Why?” While she could quite easily guess a few reasons.. it would be better to hear it from him.

“We’re at war, Altherei. I know you hold great distaste for it- and so do I. So do Salaras and Maelus. .. So did Eldwin.” His voice fell- the loss of his oldest son, his firstborn, was still hard. He cleared his throat and continued.

“And I am proud that I raised you- that your mother and I raised you- to have the compassion that you do. That you look around and see this world, and its people, for what they could be. But.. I worry you do not see them for what they are,” His brows creased together, leveling a stare at her.

“You think I’m being idealistic. Naive,” She surmised, but not bitterly.

“Yes. And while I will never tell you to stop looking for the good.. quite frankly, it terrifies me what you’re doing right now.”

“What- with the Outreach? You know about that?” It was hardly a secret, but her father had also kept himself largely shut away since Eldwin’s death. Many of her worst habits, including hiding away in her work during times of stress, she inherited from her father. But many of her best traits, too.

“Of course,” He laughed softly in response. “How could I not? The trips I take into the city are few and far between now, but I see your flyers up, and every so often I see a stranger wearing one of those armbands you’re so proud of,” He gestured to the one she kept on her arm at almost all times.

Altherei smiled a little. She was proud of them- the armbands, the flyers, the Outreach- and certainly the people in it, too. But Darsamane’s smile left as quickly as it’d come.

“But your openness with all this.. I wake up at night wondering if I’ll lose you next. If some rogue loyalist to the Warchief will see fit to take matters into their own hands and hurt you- or worse- just because you choose to try and make the world a better place.” He peered down into his tea, untouched still. Alth took an uncomfortable sip of her own. He continued.

“This world is cold and unforgiving, little one. It will take and take from you until you have nothing left. These factions are much the same. Our leaders care nothing for their people, only furthering their selfish goals. And while you may have found a small pocket of like-minded individuals..” He drew in a long breath, and let it out on a heavy sigh. “I fear there are far more who would sooner take you and your group out of the picture in the name of continued war.”

Altherei frowned. “That may be true, but I’m not afraid of the-”

“You -should- be.” Came his cold reply. Altherei was shocked into silence for a moment.

“Your desire to help, to make the world a better place.. I.. I couldn’t be prouder of it. Really, that’s the truth,” He was quick to begin, “But it is that same desire that landed Eldwin in an early grave, made his wife a widow, and his son fatherless.”

“It was the unethical orders of a power-hungry loyalist and a rigged trial-” She tried to argue.

“Semantics do not matter, Altherei!” He almost shouted, then quickly caught himself and lowered his voice. “I..” His voice caught in his throat, and he reached over to take her hands within his own.

“I cannot lose another child. I have lost two already. Please don’t make me lose my little girl.”

She looked into his eyes, and saw just how tired he was in that moment. They had all suffered loss, but to him.. to a parent, it was different. He lost two of his own children, buried before their time. He’d lost the love of his life, buried her too. And when she considered it all from that lens.. were she a parent, she’d be terrified too. To know that she was almost quite literally staring war in the face and refusing to fight back.. of course it would terrify him. Were her mother still alive it would terrify her too. She had a feeling of what her father might ask of her, and her ears fell back.

“.. I.. I’m sorry, Ann’da. But I can’t abandon this work. I know it’s dangerous, but.. but I have good people around me. People who care about this work, and protecting those of us who chase it.”

“Then let someone else chase it, my daughter- please. Why does it have to be you?”

“.. Because if not me, then who else? You always taught me that I should never wait for someone else to take up the mantle when I could do it myself. That it was every person’s responsibility to stand up against injustice when they face it.”

“Yes, but that was before our Warchief took up the mantle of the future Lich King!” His voice rose, and it was clear he held as much rage and disdain for Sylvanas as she did- perhaps more.

“She had no issues taking a torch to a World Tree- no issues bombing- BLIGHTING- her own city and soldiers to prevent its loss. She may’ve once been a great leader for us but she abandoned our people long ago to serve the dead! Do you think she’ll have any qualms squashing the Outreach? Do you think her loyalists would bat an eye before calling your actions treasonous and leaving you to hang?!”

Startled, Altherei stared at her father with wide eyes. Seeming to understand he crossed a line, Darsamane dipped his head, and the fire that had overtaken his words fizzled underneath the weight of his worry. It all came from a place of love.. she knew that.

“Please.. please, Altherei. Let someone else take this burden. It doesn’t have to be you.” His voice was quiet, pleading as she knelt before him and wrapped him in a tight hug. He knew her mind was made up- perhaps it was why he was so desperate not to let go of her.

“I’m.. I’m sorry, Ann’da- really, I am. But.. if I do nothing.. I could never forgive myself. I have to do this. I’m sorry.” She stood then, and having nothing else to say, dipped her head once and threw her cloak around her shoulders. After she left, Darsamane could only hold his head in his hands. Gone were the days of easy troubles- tending scraped knees and soothing childish nightmares. Now the problems his family faced were intimately, frighteningly real. He couldn’t lose his daughter- but how could he protect her? He was no spellblade, no ranger.. just an old man of science. Surely he’d think of something.

As Altherei departed, her heart was heavy. She understood that her father’s concern, and even his anger, came from his love and his grief. A parent should never have to bury their child, after all- and he’d buried two. In a way, it was selfish to continue the Outreach’s work. But what was more selfish- continuing to aid others despite the grief it brought those closest to her.. or refusing to help the many to bring peace of mind to the few? It was a cold equation, yet simple. If she died for the cause of peace, then so be it. But at least she would have died as she lived- for something.

She continued down the path that lead to Tranquillien to catch the flight master, on her way to handle more work at the ruins of what would soon be Haven. But neither she nor her father had been aware of the two yellow eyes that had been watching their conversation from a distant hill, peering through the windows of his estate. A guttural growl came from a sneer as the eyes disappeared into the shadows.

#current #story

[thorne93]

Signs

Prompt: (Request from Anon) hii! can i request a chill/fluffy charles x reader (ft the rest of the team) where theyre all talking about zodiac signs over breakfast and arguing about whos sign is the best and everything, and raven being totally obsessed with which signs are the most compatible (+reader is an aries and id imagine charles is an aquarius or taurus? but idk if theres any canon info on that or not) this might be a corny request but itd be cute i think! if you do it thanks in advance!!❤♈️            

Word Count: 1326

Notes: Beta’d by the amazing, flawless @like-a-bag-of-potatoes

Anon, I hope I did this justice for you. I LOVED this idea because I love astrology and X-Men. I found all the signs (save for Reader and Charles) online, so idk if it’s super accurate but I went with it! I hope you all enjoy it!

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m serious, I’m a Cancer,” Raven insisted as she sat at the large round breakfast table in the breakfast nook of the kitchen.

“You know, I can see it,” Hank agreed as he eyed her sweetly.

“Thank you, Hank!” she said, thrusting her hand at him.

You weren’t sure how it got started, but as everyone was making waffles, pancakes, toast, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and pouring cereal, milk, orange juice, or coffee, a huge thing had erupted about astrology. Raven was trying to tell everyone she was a Cancer.

“But I’m a Cancer too,” Peter interjected. “And you and I are nothing alike.”

You scoffed. “As if. You two are the most smart assed, sneaky, overly clever bastards here. You’re almost like twins.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Raven said with a smile.

“Okay, Y/N, what about you, huh? What magical sign are you?” Peter asked, so far he’d made no bones about how silly it was to discuss zodiacs.

“I’m an Aries,” you informed sticking your tongue out.

“Figures,” Scott said. “What with the fire breath and all. Aries is a fire sign so…” he shrugged.

“Good morning, everyone,” Charles greeted as he entered and grabbed a cup of coffee, and made a plate of bacon and pancakes. Your stomach felt the full force of the butterflies erupting around inside. You’d had a bit of a crush on the Professor for a while but you were a student-teacher at the school so you weren’t sure how appropriate that would be to make a move. Yet, that didn’t stop Raven from constantly pushing you two together.

“Good mornings” rang out from each of the students and teachers around the table.

“What are you all so animatedly discussing? I could hear you well down the hall,” he informed as he sat down and sipped his coffee.

“Astrology,” Jean said simply.

“Ah yes. Let me guess, Raven brought this up,” he said with a teasing smirk at his friend.

“How did you know?” Jean asked.

“See when we used to go around pubs--”

Raven smacked his arm and he began laughing.

“Shut up,” she instructed. “No one needs to hear that.”

“Professor, what’s your sign?” Jubilee asked.

“I’m an Aquarius,” he informed simply.

“Makes sense,” she said. “They’re usually truthful, inquisitive, highly intelligent, and kind.”

“Oh please, you could apply that mumbo-jumbo to anyone,” Peter said. “Besides, Cancers are sympathetic, sensitive, and caring too, no different.”

“Yes, but Cancers are very emotionally driven while Aquarius are much more thought driven,” Jubilee added.

“So what’s yours then?” Peter encouraged.

“Pisces!” she announced with pride as she sat up a little bit.

“Why am I not surprised?” Logan said in a deep voice. He’d been rather quiet through the whole ordeal except a smirk here or there.

“And just what is that supposed to mean?” Jubilee demanded, turning to the hulking man on her left.

“Means you’re spunky and artistic. Of all the Pisces I’ve met, they’re all just like you,” he informed nonchalantly.

“So you mean they’re all great?” she said with a scrunch of her nose.

“Please, we all know no one can get anything done without a Capricorn,” Scott boasted before leaning back and tucking his hands behind his head.

“Let me guess, you’re a mer-goat?” Peter said. “Psht.”

“I’ll have you know, I’m ambitious, determined, and practical. All the things you aren’t, Mr. Cancer,” he shot back.

“I’m shaking in my boots, the goat is gonna get me.”

“Hank, what’s yours?” Raven asked before she quickly followed up with. “No! Let us guess.”

“I bet it’s Taurus,” Peter said.

“I’m thinking Virgo,” you offered.

“Wrong, both of you,” Hank informed.

“Is it Leo?” Raven tried as she had been staring at him as if he were a puzzle.

“Yes, how did you know?”

“Simple. Leo is lion. Lions are known for their heart, being optimistic, kind, and loyal,” she explained with a kind smile.

“Right you are,” Hank agreed with the raise of his coffee cup.

“Lion is a beast, after all,” Logan said with a nudge to Hank who gave a half-smile.

“Oh, Logan, what’s your sign?” you asked.

“Oh, no, I’m not getting involved in this BS.”

“Come on, it’s just for fun.”

“I don’t even know it,” he said. You weren’t sure if he was lying or legitimately didn’t care to remember.

“Well what’s your birthday?”

He told everyone with a roll of his eyes.

“Taurus,” Raven said. “He’s a Taurus. You know, I can see it now. Practical...ambitious, reliable.”

“Great, I sound like a new appliance or car,” Logan scoffed, still poring over the newspaper.

Everyone laughed as they went back to eating for a second before Raven broke the clatter of dishes and chewing.

“You know, none of the signs mean anything without knowing who they go best with,” she offered, her eyes flickered to you. Your stomach knotted as you realized where she was taking this.

“Oh, yes!” Jubilee agreed.

“So let’s see,” she started, eyeing the table. I’m Cancer and we’re best with….Taurus?” she informed, pulling her expansive astrology knowledge to the forefront of her mind. “So Logan, you and Peter should go on a date,” she joked as everyone laughed at the expression on Logan’s face.

Peter made a kissing face toward Logan before his middle claw came out. “You’re not my type,” he informed with a snort.

Laughter rumbled around the table.

“Wait, Jean what’s your sign?” you asked. “We have to know if you and Scott are compatible.”

“I’m a Virgo,” she said quietly, her gaze dancing to Scott next to her.

“Oh, yeah,” you said as if it was obvious. “Virgo and Capricorn are a match made in heaven. Both are practical, driven, loyal, and ambitious.”

“Virgos are also perfectionists, which rings true with Jean,” Peter said.

“I am not a perfectionist,” she argued. “I just like things to be their best!”

Another roll of laughter went around the table.

“Okay, fine, maybe I’m a bit of a perfectionist.”

Peter coughed, “Control freak.”

“Har-Har,” she sneered at him.

“So that leaves Jubilee. Pisces, right?” Raven confirmed as Jubilee nodded. “I think the only person you fit with at the table is Peter…”

“I’m fine with that,” she informed as she stared at him.

“We should put it to the test. Everyone here who matches the zodiac should go on date,” Peter offered.

“That’s dumb,” Scott said.

“You just think it’s dumb because you’re already dating your match. This Saturday, we all date our match. So that’d be me and Jubilee; Jean and Scott; Raven, you and Logan.”

“Do I have to?’ she pouted.

“You could do worse, sister,” Logan insisted.

“Hmm, so that leaves Hank, Charles, and Y/N. Y/N, you’re an Aries, right? I hear they go good with Aquarius.”

“I-uh-yeah….I wouldn’t know,” you said, suddenly flustered. Your face was red, you were aware, and being aware made it all the worse.

No one else had known about your crush on Charles except Raven, now it seemed everyone who was looking at your face was keenly aware of your embarrassment.

“What about it, Y/N? Care for a date?” Charles offered, flashing a grin that took your breath away.

“Uh...sure,” you whispered.

“Wait, so where does that leave me?” Hank asked. At that moment, Storm walked in.

“Storm, what’s your sign?” Raven asked as she turned around while Storm fixed a plate.

“My zodiac? It’s Libra, why?”

“Perfect! Libra and Leo go together.”

“Uh, Storm, would you want to go on a date this Saturday? We’re trying to prove something,” Hank informed, feeling silly.

“Would I ever! Yes! Let’s do it. I don’t know what we’re proving, but I’m down.”

“There, it’s settled! Everyone will have a date and we’ll go over who had the better time on Sunday.”

“I’m very much looking forward to this,” Charles informed as he stared at you.

“Me too,” you squeaked.

#signs #charles xavier #charles xavier x reader #xmen #jean grey #peter maximoff #scott summers #logan howlett #hank mccoy #raven #mystique