Xaviers!

It had become obvious to Tereza that she'd let some things slide while preparing for the band's gig, so she'd been working hard to get caught up. There was homework to do and an exercise routine to get back into. It left her little time for anything else once she got going. She was finishing up the latter at the moment, slowing down to a walking pace from a morning run in time with the beeping from her wrist monitor. She exhaled a foggy breath and started walking off the run, hands on her waist.

((Open))

"Looking good out there, Tereza," Brown-Haired Will said, coming up behind her.

Tereza turns around at the compliment, smiling, "Thanks, Will. Just making up for some lost time. How's it going with you?"

"Ehhh," Will said, shaking his hand from side to side. "I'm coping. Post-fight reassembly blues and whatnot. I'll be OK.

Figured I'd just get out of the dorm before I got everyone in a foul mood, y'know," he added, with a small laugh.

"Upset the roommates or someone else?" She asks with good-natured concern.

"I'm just saying, if your girlfriend decides to sic her wolves on me, I don't heal so good at the moment," Will said, whispering mock-conspiratorially.

She quirks an eyebrow, "Why would she do that?"

Will waved his hand a little, to try to dampen the impact.

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing. Had some power problems with Miriam last night, and Sam sort of jumped to her defense, thinking that I had hurt her in some way. Didn't get the full Wrath and Fury of the Morrigan, but the third-degree remains the third-degree."

"That sucks," she empathizes. "Anything I can do?"

"Oh, no, I didn't mean to come looking for a solution or anything. Sorry if it came across that way!" he said, putting his arms up a little bit defensively. "Just needed to get out and about."

"Fair enough, just second nature for me to offer," Tereza says, "I can certainly understand needing fresh air."

"And you know I'd never try to hurt Miriam, or any of you or any of that. Just like I'm part of your Expansion Pack, I'm part of her Easy Bake Coven," Will nodded. "Or whatever cutsey term we're using to describe...whatever the heck is going on in there."

"I've been quietly thinking 'monster movie room', but it always sounds ridiculous whenever I think about saying it out loud."

"You think ASHLIE threw us all together specifically to create a Lugosian horror? Or was it luck of the draw?" Will joked.

"I actually asked to room with Vivienne and that's when she told me about the larger rooms, so I suggested Sam and Miriam. Although I'm not sure what came over me on that account. I'm happy to have your mirror in the room, even if it was unexpected."

"Well, that's me, showing up where you least expect it," Will tried to joke. "I wasn't expecting three of me to show up at the gig, but I guess I may have to get used to that from now on.

You guys sounded great, by the by."

"Thanks. Not sure if there'll be another performance, but I enjoyed singing with Viv."

"It's not for everyone," Will agreed. "Some people don't like an audience, and that's OK.

At least, that's what I'm told," he added. "I speak from no experience whatsoever."

"Me and my acoustic in front of the XUB is fun, when I'm in the mood. Singing and playing with them in the music room is fun. But the big crowd..." She shakes her head, "If they want to do something like that again, I think they'll need to find a new guitar player."

"No, I get it. It was something personal between the three of you, and suddenly you were showing off to hundreds of strangers. Could have been offputting even if we weren't immediately attacked."

"I know Sam really enjoyed it though, so I imagine she'll angle to do it again."

"Well, there are other ways to support a burgeoning artiste," Will said, putting on a mock-air of refinement. "Road tech. Booking agent. Muse. Groupie. Sexy pants.

...OK, maybe that last one is just me."

She laughs, "Yeah, I think that's all you. Maybe I can start teaching myself to be a sound engineer. I've already got exceptional hearing."

Will paused for a moment. "How exceptional?"

"Better when I'm fuzzy, but I can usually make out what's going on in the main room from my bedroom with the door closed, even when I'm not." She pauses, "Why?"

"Just...useful information to know what your roommates are capable of," Will said. "And about the necessity of purchasing white noise machines."

"I can always crash in someone else's bed if you need a private room to entertain someone, Will," Tereza smirks.

"This is the inherent problem with existing in a mirror," Will joked. "No bed with which to share. "ts why I had to crash in Miriam's room last night and created this whole brew-ha-ha."

"So we should hunt for a fold-out couch? That would probably get squeaky under certain circumstances."

"I imagine the times I need one probably could be counted on one hand, albeit maybe a freaky mutant hand with a variable number of fingers," Will said, with a tad of a forced laugh.

"Well, we can always make arrangements if you need something," Tereza says, "Just let me know."

"I didn't want to bother the three of you last night, especially with my shifting on the fritz," Will said, slightly missing Tereza's point. "Something vaguely sacrilegious in all that."

"Oh, we weren't doing anything last night," Tereza said with a shrug, "Villain attacks are not particularly conducive to... group activities."

"Not how I planned last night to end, either," Will nodded. "But, erm, group activities or no group activities, I wasn't about to risk accidentally shifting the three of you. Miriam was a gamble I was more willing to take, there."

Tereza seems to ponder that for a moment. "Why?"

"Why didn't I want to shift you guys? Because when I accidentally shifted Tosh, he screamed bloody murder about it until he shifted back; it was a deeply unpleasant experience. And, well, Sam's the Morrigan. And you two are her Champions. I don't want to hurt any of you guys; it'd be like...doodling a mustache on the Mona Lisa or something."

"Well, Tosh is Tosh. I was just curious about why you were willing to risk it with Miriam."

"It's a...different relationship," Will said, pausing for a moment to figure things out.

"Like, when I'm part of the Pack, there's a very...." he said, struggling for words. "It's a familial feeling? No, that's not quite right Peaceful isn't quite right, either, but it's like...things are humming and vibrating at the right...frequencies. Like, the three of you are always in tune together. And when it so happens that whatever I'm doing lines up with what you guys are doing, it feels amazing and wonderful and like a good time. And if I come in and disrupt that, it's like I'm breaking something...important. It's why I'm not...quite Pack. Not in the way that Sam and Viv are to you. I'm not fully on the outside or anything, but it's different."

"But Miriam? Miriam doesn't vibe like that. Just like my experiences with you and with Sam are colored by my experiences with my Sam and company, my experiences with Miriam are colored by her double, and everything that happened there. It's...we don't vibe. It's more...two broken people coming together. And if you're already a little bit broken, what's smashing the pile a couple more times going to do? There's more snark, and back-and-forth, and...cruelty is the wrong word, but a bit of well-intentioned teasing there.

Basically, if Sam falls down the stairs, I feel like I should rush over and make sure she's alright. If Miriam falls down the stairs, I feel like I should rush over to laugh."

"That didn't make any sense, did it?"

"It's interesting, but I think I get what you're trying to say. I don't know that I understand, but I think I get it. Though that may not make much sense either."

"We're different people," Will nodded. "And I've come to accept the fact that my points of view are...distorted enough that most people won't understand. That's why I kind of tend to turn in on myself and whatnot; people don't like what they see when I open up."