[Plot] A Lonely Island

[Edmond Spencer]

Edmond picked up his pair of chopsticks.

"There's no proof of that. It's just a suspicion."

[Diego Zapata]

"Her power is motherly meddling?" Diego asked as he tried to remember how to use chopsticks.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I never would have guessed it, from her attitude regarding Basil's own abilities. But zen again, some are more obvious zan ozers."

Colette cheated a bit, able to hold her chopsticks inside her fingers rather than just with them. But still she didn't take the first bite; manners and all. Things were done differently over here and she wasn't sure what traditionals were maintained in this home.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki reached out to try to help Deigo place his fingers right.

[Edmond Spencer]

"I never would have guessed it, from her attitude regarding Basil's own abilities. But zen again, some are more obvious zan ozers."

Colette cheated a bit, able to hold her chopsticks inside her fingers rather than just with them. But still she didn't take the first bite; manners and all. Things were done differently over here and she wasn't sure what traditionals were maintained in this home.

"If our suspicions are correct, she has plausible deniability. She isn't like me. Her power would be so subtle and so specialized, it would only be noticable to those who are countered by it."

[Diego Zapata]

"Thanks Chisa," Diego said, moving the chopsticks like they were talking.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette couldn't even begin to guess what manner of power that might be, so she didn't even try to speculate further. With Diego and Chisaki joining them at the low table she gave the girl an awkward little wave, still unsure as to the nature of relationship that she now shared with her former roommate.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki nods to Colette and gives a hesitant smile.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette picked up some of the eggy-rice dish in her chopsticks and paused to speak.

"I am very happy to see zat you are safe, Chisaki. When you were cryptic in your texts, I worried zat you were in some sort of trouble."

She then pushed the food into her mouth, the flavours managing to push her awkward expression from her face.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"No. I could not find Basil, and I could not say more."

[Chase Delacroix]

"Do you have any theories? " Chase asked after deftly handling his chopsticks as well as any native user.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"No solid theories, but I have ruled out anyone from his previous life, including his former mistress Amber and his friend Kyle.

It has to be someone who either he has maintained consistent contact with since the mutation, or someone he's met since then. "

[Chase Delacroix]

"Really? Why do you say that?" he asked.

[Chisaki Watanabe]

"Before his mutation, Basil had little contact outside of with other teenagers at his school, his mother's family, and George Benson. Teenagers do not have the sort of planning or resources to be capable of disposing a corpse this well or hiding a living person for this long. And his mother would have found him by now if some angry young person he jilted came back for revenge."

[Chase Delacroix]

"Which, of course, reinforces the idea that they likely have a connection with The Board. Even though the motive yet eludes us."

[Colette Rosenhof]

While not as loud as if they had been a metal knife and fork, Colette's chopsticks made a clatter against her bowl at the worse 'corpse'.

"Basil is NOT dead." She said with a level of conviction that might have been meant more to convince herself than anyone else. "If he believed his life to have been in danger he never would have signed ze letter, even incorrectly. He is incredibly stubborn, and frustratingly cunning. He is alive, and being held against his will, and I..." Her voice cracked as she started to break down. "... am stuffing my face instead of looking for him."

[Chisaki Watanabe]

Chisaki looked amid the assembled group, then her eyes fell to the table. She wasn't sure what to say.

[Kiwa Ealdwine]

Luckily, her more matured cousin did.

"I don't think he's dead either. I don't know what happened to him, but I don't think he's dead. Chisaki is right that we would have found him by now if he were.

If he signed something unusually since his disappearance, maybe that's a clue in and of itself that something fucky was going on. Maybe he was trying to make sure you all knew there was a problem, but he was still alive. I can't say, I don't know the lad.

But If he is dead, then starving yourself isn't going to change that." She replied in a stern, motherly tone.

"Eat. Rest here for the night, then start again tomorrow. You've already traveled halfway around the world today. Pushing yourselves too hard is only going to serve to cause you to fuck up."

[Colette Rosenhof]

It was the closing words that seemed to get through to Colette the most. Pushing herself too hard would make her more likely to mess up, this was true. And she couldn't allow that, for Basil's sake.

"Yes Madame." She said softly as she picked up her chopsticks and resumed her meal, though not with the same gusto she originally had.

[Edmond Spencer]

Edmond had been sitting to Colette's right, and reached out a set of slender fingers to rest his hand on her shoulder.

" He'll keep."

[Chase Delacroix]

"I haven't given up on him being alive. If I seem detached about it, it's just I have the tendency to... compartmentalize."

And worrying isn't going to help him.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette eventually spoke up again. "Are kidnapping and similar acts methods zat members of ze Board have used in ze past?" She asked as she turned to look at Edmond - seeing as how he was the resident expert.

[Edmond Spencer]

"It isn't generally the moves of the Board as a whole, but you must understand. Any group is comprised of smaller working parts: It's members.

Who knows what any individual member is capable of. Generally, they are meant to operate altruistically. But the path to Hell and all that..."

[Diego Zapata]

"So, assuming for a moment that whoever has Basil both believes what they're doing is for the greater good and hasn't made any demands that we just don't know about, what could having or possibly controlling him accomplish? And does him being a mutant have anything to do with it?" Diego asked.

"Tell me, is anyone on The Board that you know of especially against our kind?"

[Edmond Spencer]

"Not that I am aware of.

However, my family became more concerned with my doings when it became evident I may be carrying the X-Gene."

[Chase Delacroix]

"Then they've probably done the same since learning about Basil. Another reason to talk to them," Chase supplied.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Well, zat is somezing I should be able to arrange." Colette said between mouthfuls, having taken some time to reflect and regain her appetite. "I have been in contact wiz a member of ze family, and have met some ozers. We were able to arrange one meeting and it was most amicable, I do not see a reason why zey should object to a second."

[Edmond Spencer]

"Which Spencer have you been talking to?" Edmond asked casually, more or than his internal monologue would indicate.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Madame Dafne is ze one I have been speaking wiz ze most, but Gus was present at ze meeting as well."

[Edmond Spencer]

"Gus?

Augusta?" He asked.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I... am not certain zat zey go by Augusta any more, zey insisted on being called Gus upon our meeting. I am not certain what zey consider zemselves, I did not zink it prudent to ask, but zey are definitely no longer female-presenting. At least, not at zat time."

[Edmond Spencer]

The shut-in Gen-X in the room looked incredibly confused by the words coming out of the French girl's mouth.

"I only followed about half of what you just said."

[Chase Delacroix]

"She means Gus no longer thinks of herself... themself?... as female."

After a pause, Diego said, "It's a thing people can be public about now. Not to say it's not still a battle to be different."

[Edmond Spencer]

Edmond looked at Chase, then Colette. His eyes stopped there, his head tilting slightly.

"That explains some things."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette tilted her head in a similar manner, her appearance much more adult and substantial than she had been at the beginning of the meal. "It does?"

[Edmond Spencer]

He paused for an uncomfortably long time. Being alone so long had clearly made him a bit awkward socially. Maybe he wasn't even aware of how long he had paused for.

"When I was his age, I wasn't exactly shy about my interest in women of every make, model, and design. Still not, if we're being honest." He chuckled.

" I would have never dated a woman who was so obviously a mutant when I was young, no matter how attractive I might have thought she was. It would have drawn too much attention to myself.

But I suppose I've been isolated long enough things have changed around me." He gave a sad sort of a smile, before obscuring his face with his drinking glass.

[Diego Zapata]

"When you're obviously a mutant, appearances tend not to matter all that much. Same goes for being at a mutant school. It just becomes normal," Diego said.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Ze world has changed, but not as much as you might zink. I can tell you zat Basil's family certainly do not approve."

[Edmond Spencer]

"Jessica doesn't approve of anything that she doesn't regulate. Don't let it grind you down."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I had met madame Benson on several occasions, and I can tell you zat I can count on one hand ze number of fucks I give about what she does or does not approve of." Colette made a vague gesture with her hand, if you could call it that - the fingers had melded away to leave it more of a ball at the end of her wrist. "It is of monsieur and madame Stolarz zat I am concerned. Actually, zat is incorrect. Amit does not appear to mind zat I am a gentile."