Xaviers!

The green-haired boy, wearing his version of the X-Uniform, was out in the cold English air doing exercises.

He was jogging laps around the gardens, darting between (and occasionally through) the rose bushes, leaping over flower beds, and the like, trying to keep up a steady rhythym as he continued along the upteenth circuit of this obstacle course.

((open))

Aiden had been out for a jog when he saw Null running through and jumping over hedges. He headed over to jog alongside the green-haird uniformed boy.

"Never thought I'd see an X-Man training outside," Aiden joked.

"Too much control in the Danger Room. Plus, it's not somewhere I'm looking forward to returning to just at the moment," the boy shrugged.

"Too much control? What are you looking.for exactly, X-Man?" Aiden asked.

"There's only so much you can learn in controlled conditions, Praetor. And, after last week's embarrassing loss, there's clearly still much more I need to learn."

Null wrote:"There's only so much you can learn in controlled conditions, Praetor. And, after last week's embarrassing loss, there's clearly still much more I need to learn."

"Ah, the fight," Aiden said, "Saw posters for that around the campus. Hopefully it wasn't just a regular arena and was instead a bit more... realistic."

"It was in the Danger Room. Best for the safety of all involved.

My team was...unsuccessful. And since I selected them, the blame falls to me."

"True, it does," Aiden said, "What would you do differently then?"

"Drill more, is the first thing that comes to mind. We had a chance to win, I gave the order...and my team hesitated. Gave the other team enough time to mount an attack we couldn't defend ourselves from.

Increasing my own personal protections seems like an important step, too. I actually gave my counterpart some protection I don't think they've cracked yet; perhaps I should have done it to myself, as well."

"Drills are a good idea. Teamwork requires training and effort and it's good to recognize your own weaknesses," Aiden said, "Are they your team then moving forward? Or will you find a new one."

"The extent of my freedom and personal movement here are, shall we say, somewhat up for debate. I don't think the headmistress would approve of me having my own team apart from hers. And, to be frank, several of my teammates seemed pissed about the whole thing, anyway.

So I suppose it's all up in the air, for now."

"Just sore about losing?" Aiden asked though he was rather curious as to why Null was so restricted.

"I don't know, entirely yet -- I've been giving them some space. I think at least one of them blames herself for the loss.

She's not wrong, but that doesn't do anyone any good. Can't change the outcome now."

"I take it the winners probably aren't interested in going another round either," Aiden said.

"I asked, and they said no.

Heck, I even said I enjoyed it and would fight them again for the hell of it, just to get some pride back. Still no."

"Smart of them I suppose. They don't have to worry about you fixing problems in your strategy," Aiden said, "Though rather boring as well."

"Well, that's The Pack for you. Plenty of wasted potential there for being interesting, if you ask me."

"You know them well then?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah, you could say that. I bet...uh, 'Will' .... is kind of being their lapdog at the moment.

Sam and I were close, in another dimension," he said, as if that was the most normal sentence in the world. "And Tereza and the others see us...or Will, at least... as part of their 'pack', whatever that means."

Another dimension?

"Feral shifters," Aiden said with a shrug. "They always seem to adopt some odd behaviors because of the 'beast'."

"I'd say I didn't get that, but I do. It turns out changing your entire physical makeup can destroy your psyche. Who knew?"

Aiden chuckled.

"Especially when you grow up in a society that thinks you're a monster," Aiden said.

"Werewolves are monsters, last I checked."

"I'm not sure I follow," Aiden said, "Unless you really mean that they've got some kind of magical curse like in movies."

The boy tapped his nose. "Got it in one. Tereza's mutant power is ice related; the wolf is some kind of mystical curse.

Viv isn't even a mutant at all."

"Non-mutants at a mutant school? Next you'll tell me that she's some kind of sea sprite or faerie," Aiden said dryly.

"Is your secondary mutation the ability to be right when being sarcastic? Because you're two for two."

"Apparently it is," Aiden sighed. "Our single lesson on magic during training was that it was real, but to leave it to her Ladyship and her squad of Praetors."

"This campus is practically dripping with it. Far more Hogwarts than one would expect from the big X logo out front."

"That sounds... inconvenient," Aiden said as he tried to recall things from the briefing on magic.

"Eh, I'll level with you -- I've struggled more with telepaths than with magicians. Magic has all sorts of rules, and I'm good at breaking those."

"Praetorian squads always have some kind of telepath on the squad for a reason," Aiden agreed. "I do still find there are always rules to exploit. Though they are generally the personal kind rather than the... more concrete kind you're probably referring to."

"Yeah, telepaths and their ethics. Those are much more...flexible, when they need to be."

"A truism perhaps," Aiden said, "But that sounds rather like you have some personal experience."

The boy smiled a tight-lipped smile. "I've been around a bit, and come back around the long way. There are few things I do not have experience with."

"Ah, is that from before you came to this dimension?" Aiden asked.

"Yes, actually. I was leader of the X-Teams back in my home dimension. It's been...quite the culture shock, being around here."

"That different?" Aiden asked. "These X-Men I mean."

"It's not the X-Men..." the boy said. "It's just...the world.

The Mutant Rights Act never passed where I'm from. In about 10 years, a mutant is elected Prime Minister and passes all sorts of reforms. By the time I'm from, there are plenty of mutant celebrities and actors and things; Mutant Town in downtown London is a thriving community, some 'normals' have started getting, like, implanted horns and wings just to look more 'unique'. All sorts of things -- we're trendy and hip. Not to say there aren't any problems still, of course, but...it's just different.

Here, everyone hates us and it's...you know. It's just not right."

"You've fallen quite a ways from paradise," Aiden said, "Into our very wrong world where many mutants need Praetorians to protect them."