Xaviers!

"You said you kept fiddling to fine-tune things. Never quite worked out? Was this bashing your head at a wall over and over again, or something more...fundamental?" he asked, sliding a little bit over on the piano bench as he continued to play.

"Probably more the former in pursuit of the later. I don't know, I was trying to make you... like me but I wanted it to feel real and not like I just stapled it in. Needless to say it's hard to create something you're not sure how it's supposed to feel to begin with. Except for... well, that's how I ended up pushing you the direction I did but... yeah. That was... bad. On pretty much every level."

"Yeah, there's a difference between playing a role and being something. And stuck in a loop, there's no time to cultivate anything. Storebought is not always fine," Will nodded, continuing to play. "And, knowing you like I do, you probably doubled and tripled down, aye?"

"No, I sat down in deep introspection and learned how to be at peace with--of course I did!" she says, throwing notes into Will's play that harmonize but keep trailing off into dissonant tones before being reigned back into the arrangement. "And storebought sucks. I want refined opulence. I feel like that's not too much to ask for in return for no effort."

"Yeah, not going to happen when your subject reverts to a crude form in every loop. Unless crude was what you were looking for..." he joked.

"Well, somewhere along the way I must have learned something because that's when I started asking you for piano lessons..." she says and starts taking over the lead on the piano to lead into a slow and soulful piece, not quite singing along but humming the accompanying melody. And as she plays the broken car fades back into a piano, facades around her unfolding into different styles, sometimes modern glass and steel, sometimes the dark gothic arches Will has seen her summon before. But in between is wild ivy clinging to it and winding through the shifting architecture. And occasionally brickwork and large factory windows that almost look like they could be made from gingerbread and sugar-glaze.

"Been taking some people in to redecorate, have you?" Will asked, playing along. "Seeing what takes root?"

"It just... kind of happened. There's a reason my mind is a giant cathedral, closed and sacrilegious to alter but... even a tomb has visitors and flowers..."

"And, of course, one less dead person, now. I'm sure after months of feeding on blood in a loop, the flowers and candy mean more than just 'I know some people'. They're celebratory gifts, after all."

"They're... yes, I suppose so. Or maybe I just got sick of people banging on my metaphorical doors so I let them track their saplings and saccharine treats all over the place." she says with a conspiratorial smile that kind of acknowledges she's being intentionally, well, Miriam about this.

"Maybe it just means you prefer the way Sam smells and the way I taste," Will smiled back.

"I'm never sharing a god damn thing again." she groans and overdramatically ends the song by burying her head on the keys with her arms on top of it. Her power continues to betray her though as a sugar-glaze window fully manifests, letting the sun in to fall on the flowers sprouting on the window-sill.

"Well, if you don't share, you don't get what you want in the end. Sad fact of the world -- have to open yourself up to be vulnerable to get what you want."

Will leaned up against the piano keyboard some. "Besides, the touches of light help out some here, I think. Really ties the room together."

"Thanks." she mutters from underneath her protective house of arms. "A bright future of renovating awaits."

Will laughed, and paused.

"You know. You're going to have to do this twice, in a ways. Figuring out what you and Sam are, that is, compared to you and me."

Miriam lifts her head just enough that when she lets it fall back down the pianos speaks for her with a loud dissonant Bwaung!

"Oh I know." her head suddenly snaps up as she straightens out and looks at Will. "Go pretend to be me and tell me how it went, will you."

"No, I won't," Will said, crossing his arms. "First, she's a telepath, and she'd see through that in about 0.5 seconds. And secondly, I don't think I could be nearly as sarcastic and wallowing as you can be. No dice."

"Other than that though, perfect plan." she groans and instead of headbutting the piano again leans into Will and rests her head on his shoulder.

"Besides, you want me negotiating for you? I don't think you'd like the deal I came back with," Will grinned.

"You're right, I can't imagine it'd be much of a negotiation and more of an unconditional surrender. I may have walked half a mile in your shoes once but that doesn't mean I'd enjoy being set up as a footstool."

"I don't recall too many complaints," Will said. "Though I think you would have preferred the shower more had I been able to be female for it. Interesting, being on the other side of it for once."

"I won't hold the failures of your body against you too much. Though you are wearing the hell out of that dress, I have to admit."

"Well, I thank you for it. I strive to do my best in all things.

And I also take no blame for the failures of my body when locked in a stupid form by crazy outside juju. Just had to make do the best I could back then -- just like I won't blame you for being a bit scratchy. First time out, and all."

"Scratchy!?" she huffs. "That must have been your fault for working with more refined material than you're used to."

"Honestly, it's probably not knowing how to use your crazy mind-powers. After all, I don't have the level of control to not turn the practice room into a gothic cathedral," Will deadpanned.

"Years of building walls are good for something. You know, I should blame you for how literal my power has become. You got your... interpretiveness all over me."

"Well, considering how versions of you have turned out without listening to me, I think I shall take that as a compliment."

"Sure, as long as we're in agreement that listening to you is the hard part." she smirks and gently elbows Will in the side.

"Considering how upset you were in the loop, I'm sure there were days you made sure no one could listen to me, aye?"

"Hell sometimes I made sure you didn't think too much. Though I don't think you saw that as much of a punishment because the easiest way to do that turned out to put you into timeout as the common-room couch or a waste-basket."

"Zen and the art of sanitation," Will nodded, sagely. "Probably more hygienic than being the common-room couch, at least around these parts. And that's probably the least-squeamish way to get rid of me if you needed a day off. Not the most effective way, mind you, but it will work in a pinch."

He sighed, letting Miriam lean in to him more.

"It's a long time to be looping. I'm sorry I couldn't figure out what was happening earlier, or help at least make them less frustrating while you were going through them."

"I'm sorry my means of shutting you up don't live up to your lofty ideals." she laughs weakly, avoiding the more complex issue of the loops for at least a couple of moments. Finally she sighs with a bit of an almost frustrated huff. "As you may have deduced, I don't do 'asking for help' very well. My gut reaction to this savior shit is always going to be...lousy and maybe it just took me a while to be willing to listen and let you guys do that... hero thing you do. Which really, it shouldn't work as much as it does. It's infuriating."

"I just have a lot of experience rushing in to save the day, and very little regard for my own health and well-being. It's a combination that works better than it has any right to.

I do get asking for things being hard, though. I understand it. Because it sucks when the answer is no, or things try and fail, or any number of other things. Leaving yourself vulnerable? Without something in return? Clearly bullshit."

"Yes, finally! Somebody says it. Sometimes things just don't work out."

"Well, I've learned a thing or two about fixing that over the years, and it's by being incredibly stubborn."

"I believe you meant to say obnoxious. But try as I might, I can't argue with the fact that you guys did break the loop and dragged me back into the land of the living. At least I can claim it only worked because of me. And ignore the fact it was because I let myself get swept up in doing some heroic non-sense."

"It's contagious. The longer you stay around here, the more you get the urge to go around in spandex tights and yell "halt, evildoer.""

"Not a chance in hell. I may enjoy wallowing in misery but that is a bridge too far even for me."

"You'll come up with a name like Madame Mind and stand there, with one hand on your temple, saying things like 'their shields! They're too strong!'. It's a tragic fate; I've seen it happen far too many times," Will mock-sighed.

"Is it too late to go back into the time loop?"