a meeting, of sorts

[aslandish]

[ Fall approaches, the summer days drawing to a close as the leaves begin to change. A warm breeze ruffles the branches, sending a brief cascade of color raining to the ground. Every so often, one of them touches the lake, clear waters nestled in a quiet clearing. As the ripples spread, there is a moment where the air itself appears to shift.

A breeze from some unknown plane blows in the opposite direction.

Something is about to happen. ]

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[xdaddy.livejournal.com]

[ Magneto doesn't belong here, that much is obvious -- but there is something that swept him into a world that seemed bereft of much else, where woodlands take the place of steel and iron and concrete, where lakes with scattered flowers and leaves fill the space of industries and smog.

Something inexplicable, ineffable, and he is here, at the very edge of the lake, the gritty sea breeze of the beach still on his tongue, however faint now, and he regards the stillness of the water's edge with serene distrust. ]

Come out.

[aslandish.livejournal.com]

[ The wind quiets, the silence itself suspended, as tangible as the air itself. The atmosphere shifts, then, a warmth to it that wasn't there before.

A great lion stands at the edge of the lake, his mane of shining gold with eyes as ancient as the sea. Present where moments ago he was not, he looks upon the other, a visitor in a land of kings. There are no questions in that face, no uncertainty over the stranger's appearance, but rather a sureness in that posture and gaze that speaks of knowledge and unfathomable mystery.

Will you speak with him? ]

[xdaddy.livejournal.com]

[ Erik knows him, he finds. Discovers that right down to his bones he knows him, distinct and impenetrable, the way one moves towards the sun, the way one instinctively reaches out for warmth. But there is another feeling, a slow, slow burn of question that surprises even him because the lion had not spoken.

It is a majestic, beautiful creature. It is more than that, and Erik removes his helmet because it feels right. Tucks it under his arm and regards this embodiment of a feeling that had left him cold, so many years ago. ]

...I know you.

[aslandish.livejournal.com]

[ He is sunlight in the midst of winter, the thaw before the spring, and though he has many names, many faces by which he has been known, the essence of he himself has ever been the same.

It is well that the other knows him. Aslan knows him, too.

Knows him well. ]

You are far from home, Erik Lehnsherr.

[ A voice with depth and gravity, untamed and wild as the beast he shows himself to be. It is not without warmth. ]

What is it that you are seeking?

[xdaddy.livejournal.com]

[ It is an incredible sort of warmth -- so much like the one he had felt a lifetime ago when he lit candles in the name of one of the lion's many, many faces. The essence is the sunlight in the midst of winter that Erik never saw, the thaw before the spring that Erik had turned his back on in anger -- and it is anger that feeds him now as he looks into a face that could be eternity, that could perhaps give answers to the boy he had been long ago.

Where were you when they came for us? ]

Magneto. [ Erik corrects simply, and there is something inside him that stirs at those words, the infinite wisdom that lingers right behind that tone, low and rumbling and a stranger to him now. ]

I seek answers. I know you have them all.

[aslandish.livejournal.com]

[ Magneto. The name he wishes to embrace, to encompass him and act as both sword and shield to those who might stand in his way. He knows why he's chosen it, the reasoning behind it, the hate he harbors in his heart, and that question that so many have asked before (where were you when we needed you?), unknowing that he was there all along, sharing in their pain and heartache.

The truth, unfortunately, does not always console those in the throws of grief and rage. ]

Ask.

[xdaddy.livejournal.com]

[ No, it does not. Erik has violent thoughts about that warmth, a reminder of days laid out and buried, and Aslan is a familiar companion even if he had turned his back on him. He looks down at his palm, the leather glove of a curling fist as he relaxes it again. Centers his thoughts because no matter how much this Lion's presence rattles and derails him, he clings tightly, ever so viciously to his newborn ideals.

Perhaps there had been a shred of goodness left in him once, long ago -- now forever buried by this latest act of betrayal. ]

You know what I can do. What I will do. Are you here to stop me?

[aslandish.livejournal.com]

[ He remembers those days, a time when he could walk unseen beside a young man, a child, with so much yet to live for. Now there is a wedge, a great chasm between them both, one that he would cross if only Erik would allow him.

His gaze does not waver, a solemnity bordering on sadness reflected in those all-seeing eyes. ]

I am not.