Xaviers!

Once again Miriam finds herself doing her best to avoid running into Sam, though she's a little less focused on it this time around. Maybe she doesn't care as much anymore or maybe it's just because on some level she wants Sam to find her and she's just trying to avoid any chance of running into Sam and having her be the one to ignore Miriam. If there's one thing Miriam excels at it's hurting others before she gets hurt herself. So now she's spending her time eating dinner behind the med center, sitting on some utility box, leaning against the wall and using a mostly empty styrofoam box as an ashtray. It almost feels a little nostalgic, if there's any way to see her time at Muir in a positive light. At the very least it feels familiar to avoid contact with others by hiding in a place like this.

But this time she's not flailing to push stray thoughts of others away. She's picked this place for a different reason. From here she can reach some of the few seriously ill people that have been transferred to the facility. Something about a program that two young mutants are helping out with. Miriam doesn't really care about the details. Only that due to it two comatose patients are being treated in the infirmary and that she's been spending her time making mental contact with them, feeling out their faint consciousness and telling herself that she's keeping them company, even though they're not really aware of her. Mostly she's just going through their memories though, tracing out their lives in a thinly veiled attempt to escape her own for a while.

Miriam likely sees the ravens before she sees Sam in the flesh. That's the way it increasingly is, lately. Sam's not far behind, though. She looks a bit weary, but determined as she approaches.

"...well, this is a bit familiar," she says by way of greeting.

It seems that Miriam didn't notice Sam's harbingers, judging by how her attention snaps back into her body, though the birds only add to her suddenly feeling cornered by her presence.

"Sam..." she simply says, wary of why she's here, considering she must have been looking for her to wander into this place.

"...how've you been?" She asks cautiously.

"Just peachy. Even got myself a secret lair. It needs some work." she says, snuffing her cigarette out in the cold remains of her dinner.

"I figured you... needed some space after the other night, aye?"

"But there's something we need to talk about."

"Not really interested." she says a bit too harshly.

"Okay, I know I didn't... handle that all too well."

"Yeah, no. But that's alright. I shouldn't have said anything."

"...technically you didn't, but..."

"...well, I'm not that oblivious, aye?"

"Oh my god, fine, I'll talk about whatever it is that's so important if you'll just change the topic."

"...well fine then," she sighs.

"Will's in trouble."

Miriam sighs. "What happened now?"

"He clocked the headmistress. He's in the cells now."

"Well that's just fantastic. Told you what's in that box was bad news."

"I think what's already out has left him... well, pretty unstable. What we let out was a pretty impulsive side of him."

"And now you want my help putting it away again?"

"The Headmistress more asked me to... let the other two out."

Miriam stares daggers at Sam. And with her power there's a certain mental weight behind that. "You know my opinion on that."

"Well I wasn't about to do it without you," she winces. "I already promised that."

"But... I don't think she's going to let him out unless we do something."

"Fine, fine... We could just try to balance him without opening that thing and just tell her we opened the box. It's not like she could really check."

"We just... we've got to convince her he's not going to do that again."

"No. We have to make sure he actually doesn't do that again. I can probably do that."

"I don't want to hurt him, though."

"The headmistress did seem like she had... rather strong opinions that he should get his memories back, though."

"I don't care what the headmistress thinks. He was fine, we fucked it up, I'm not going to help mess him up more."

"...okay," she sighs. "Just as long as we do right by him."

"Why does the headmistress care so much about his memories anyway?"

"She just said... it's what she'd want if it was her," she shrugs.

"She was very particular about it."

"And that doesn't sound suspicious to you?"

"I guess I don't... entirely disagree with it, aye? They're his memories."

"But I know you really don't want him to think of you that way."

"Some things are better off forgotten. She can't hold him hostage until we dig that up!" she says, blissfully unaware of that fact that technically the headmistress 'owns' Will.

"I don't know," she sighs with a wince.

"Ever feel like you've got too many bloody people to please?"

"No. Because I don't feel like I have to do right by everyone. And why should I. People are mostly bastards."

"I know that'd be easier, I just... I don't know."

"Bloody hell..." she mumbles. "Just pick somebody and do right by them. Stop second guessing everything you do!" she gives Sam some advice she could probably stand to listen to herself.

"Right, I'll just pick who I can afford to disappoint," she grumbles. "Bloody simple, that."

"Pick what you think is most important. It's what you have control over. If you gotta please people then at least go with who you think is right. Or I can just reach in there and make sure it's me, if you want to make this easier on yourself."

"...well you're on the list, for whatever it's worth."

"Thanks..." she mumbles. "Will trusts you more than me. He goes along with what I want, but that doesn't really count. Do what you think is right, I'm not going to get in your way anymore."

"If... if he ever decides to hate you for something you never even did, I've got your back, Miriam."