mindreaderxiris-blog

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

Iris didn’t really like doing laundry, but it had to get done. At least they had washers and dryers, so it wasn’t the worst. Their clothes never ended up folded, though, no matter how many times they promised themselves they would do it. They heard Darren coming from his thoughts before the man actually entered the room. Good, Iris had been wanting to talk to him.

“It’s right over here,” Iris said, handing Darren the detergent as they finished loading the dryer with their clothes. Then they stood back and observed Darren for a minute. Finally, they spoke up. “So, you can do, like, power augmentation, right?” they asked, then explained, “Telepathy. You’ve been worried about whether or not to tell us. And your thoughts are weirdly loud to me. Might be because of the whole, augmentation thing. And before you ask, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. You get to decide when you want to tell them.”

What’s your ability?

Was it rude to admit just how much Darren hated the question? The probing eyes, prepared to be impressed. Prepared to size up another and mentally determine their threat risk. In Charleston it hadn’t mattered, spending hours upon hours with one another had built a decent amount of respect between everyone on the team, from what he could see, and he’d gotten comfortable with that familiarity. 

What’s your ability?

God, he couldn’t get it out of his head, and he’d only just overheard the conversation. Of course Atlanta and Charleston people were becoming acquainted. Of course they wanted to know. Darren had nodded as he walked by them, grateful not to be involved in the conversation. Moving around the temporary bunking, he grabbed clothing as he got permission from the refugees and slung it all into a basket- it was sad how little they’d made it out with. Doing laundry? Yeah that was his ability. His ability to not talk about his ability and do something productive. 

Not that he was ashamed, per say. Increasing a person’s ability was cool, or at least unpredictable, and diminishing them to near human status let him have some fun, especially with his ability not formally introduced to his new roommates, but it wasn’t…

Better than being a human bomb that could only explode once, but it wasn’t X-men status, and it wasn’t going to help in the slightest if he got caught out alone.

Darren pushed through the door that led to the “laundry room” with his head down, only to find he wasn’t alone. Small talk? He hadn’t had much practice with it, but maybe he could manage.

“You, uh, you see the detergent anywhere?”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

One advantage of hearing people’s thoughts was knowing when they were about to sneak out. Most of the time Iris didn’t really care, but it was nice to be able to tell Oz where they went when he asked, so that he wouldn’t worry so much. But sometimes, Iris was looking for an excuse to leave the base too. And this was a good one. So when Iris heard Luke sneaking out, they pulled on some sneakers and followed behind.

“I’m not a narc,” Iris huffed, turning sour when they heard Luke’s comment. “God, just because you can hear someone’s thoughts they start thinking... Whatever. Not the point. I’m coming with.”

       For the first time in what felt like an eternity, the beams of light that came down from the Georgia sun felt warm. The sensation was comforting and bright, the air devoid of the unnatural crisp chill that had crept in with winter, the air inviting and sweet. It felt like the type of day where you wanted nothing more than to lay in the grass and think about nothing. To do nothing. To feel nothing. He wanted to feel the spikes of the crumbling blades of brown sticking into his arms and the back of his neck, to feel the dirt beneath his fingertips and drink it all in. Though he wasn’t much of an outdoorsman, he was a fan of solitude ━━ and what a perfect time to be alone.

      His singular orb made one quick swoop around the expanse of room that surrounded the doorway, fingers moving to push a crushed carton of cigarettes down deeper into the pocket of a flannel shirt that had certainly seen better days. For a moment, he grew quiet, standing unnaturally still as he allowed himself to feel the room, his senses lingering upon something that felt out of place. Great. He wasn’t alone.

      “You gonna narc me out?” The male inquired plainly, a smugness settling into his chest to replace the mild concern that he’d felt a moment before. They had been pleased that they’d caught him sneaking off.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

“It’s faster,” Jamie replied baldly. He wasn’t about to get into why capitalism sucked donkey balls, mostly because he had things to eat and didn’t think any of them got out enough to understand the devastating impact it had on their society. They might’ve all been on the same genetic boat, but at least in cages, scientists needed them to stay alive whereas on the street, people couldn’t have cared less if people like him just disappeared, mutant or not.

Jamie raised his brows, willing to challenge Iris on the fact that the disgusting things that traveled through his head were in anyway comparable. He’d gone to school long enough to know that most teenage boys didn’t get as excited about the same chunks of meat that he did.

“That sucks. Maybe you should try other methods.” Jamie tipped his chin up. “ There’s always ECT, lobotomy, the good old fashioned club to the dome…”

“True,” Iris agreed. They heard Jamie’s thoughts about capitalism, but since he didn’t want to get into it, Iris didn’t bring it up. Iris didn’t know much about economics, anyway, so it wouldn’t be a very interesting conversation. 

“Ew, ‘chunks of meat’,” Iris repeated when they heard the thought in Jamie’s head. “That’s a disgusting way to refer to anything you get excited about. But no, don’t worry, I’ve heard thoughts that are way worse than any of your... excitement. The way some guys think about random women they see... ew. I’d rather you think that way about rats or tuna or whatever it is you like.”

Iris grimaced at Jamie’s suggestions. “Gotten a club to the dome enough times to know that doesn’t work, and I don’t really want to spend the rest of my life as a vegetable, so no to the other options. I’m sure Trask would be willing to try those out on me, though, if I asked.” Iris had thought before about maybe trying to steal one of Trask’s power-inhibiting collars, but they knew the others would be pissed if they showed they actually wanted one, so they didn’t voice that desire. Besides, knowing Trask, they probably had tracking mechanisms or something in the collars.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

lexircbinson:

“The hole is… regrettable,” Lexi nodded, though the building wasn’t exactly in tip top shape to begin with. “But who doesn’t want to show off a little their first night somewhere new?” Playing Devil’s advocate was not her forte, but she was trying. She nodded in return as Iris finished their thought, staying quiet for a moment. “Well… I can’t do a shooting range, but…. we could definitely let out some frustration in the training room if you want?” Lexi offered a little too enthusiastically. She liked working up a sweat, for sure. “Or we could go down to the basement and try figuring out a home made range for you.. it’d take a while to make it quiet enough, but I think it’s do-able.”

Iris stayed quiet at the comment about showing off on your first night somewhere new. They remembered their own first night, when they’d gone around telling people what they were thinking because they’d felt like they had to prove themselves. But that was different than destroying the floor. Just... not different enough for Iris to argue about it. “Yeah, let’s go to the training room,” Iris said. “I’m still trying to work on that thing where I see in people’s minds what they’re planning on doing before they strike, but it’s really hard. I need to keep practicing.” Iris probably wouldn’t become a regular out on missions anytime soon, but they wanted to be good at all kinds of combat just in case.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

‘I wouldn’t be surprised ‘cause I’m one of those people– or I would be if I’d pay cash money to those corporate pigs,’ Jamie thought as he mowed into a piece of chicken. He realized a beat late that conversing with Iris was both more enjoyable and the least. Most, because he could still converse with his mouth full and least because they could hear every single nasty thing that ever rolled through his head. Which was a lot.

“Yes, because that’s what I think about all day: what rustles Oz’s jimmies when no one’s looking,” he said with his mouth full before swallowing another gargantuan gulp. “Gross, Iris. Can’t you do something about it? Like, change the station like a radio or whatever?”

Iris snickered at Jamie’s thought. “You’d rather just steal, huh?” they asked, pouring themselves some coffee and sipping it. “And don’t worry, you have about as many nasty thoughts as other guys your age.”

Iris snorted when Jamie suggested they change the station. “Dude, you think I haven���t tried? Nope, it’s like North Korea up here.” They tapped their forehead and explained, “The radio is always on, there’s only one channel, and as much as you try to ignore it, it’s pretty much impossible.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

resurrectedgxd:

For a moment, Oz’s thoughts ran unrestrained rather than his carefully crafted ‘thought out’ sentences. His mind flashed to Jamie, and how the three of them were listed to be sent on to Mexico when the timing was right. How he’d felt the twinge of a challenge in her actions as Rosita did as she pleased. Oz took another drink as he focused on clearing his mind- it was the least he could do (or at least try to do) when around Iris. Their power had been obviously overwhelming at times, and he’d never want to overload them with his own insecurities. How they managed to continue to look to him as a leader, he’d never know; not when they had access to every doubt that crossed his mind. 

His teeth found his inner cheek and he chewed on it slightly in concentration.

When I found them, they were scared and alone. He could remember it clearly, particularly because he rarely went into the field anymore. And right now, I’m treating them like any other mutant that comes through. Keep ‘em safe ‘til they can move on. If they choose to stay… Conscious words failed then, and instead his mind filled with a sense of duty, of preparation to do what he had to do to maintain authority. It’d happened before, several times, and there was a familiar sense of dread that accompanied the decision each and every time. As laidback and caring as Oz was for his mutant family, he wouldn’t let anyone threaten them or their safety.

A sigh escaped his lips, having made a decision. And this time, he spoke aloud to reiterate his point. “I’ll go talk to Rosita, I’m sure Calder will be with her.” Talk to… though Iris would be able to read that he meant he was willing to do more if he found it absolutely necessary. “And I’ll keep an eye on them. I don’t want you trying to snoop, just let them keep to themselves.” For other mutants, that would be that. But Iris, they’d be able to hear the “but if there’s anything I need to know…” that echoed behind those words.

Iris looked away from Oz as he thought. They didn’t want him to think they were trying to pry, but it wasn’t like they could just ignore his thoughts, either, especially standing so close. But they appreciated his attempts to clear his mind and think about only one thing at a time. It definitely helped. It was one of the reasons Iris respected Oz so much. 

“Hopefully they’ll just move on soon,” Iris said. This was one of the times they liked their power. They could understand the things that were impossible to put into words. And since Oz knew that, he didn’t have to try to explain. 

Iris nodded at Oz’s decision. “They’re hiding something, but that’s not really something I can hold against them. They just seem really practiced in hiding their thoughts, so it makes me suspicious.” But Iris knew that could just be their own prejudice since they didn’t like them. 

“And by the way,” Iris told Oz, remembering one of his thoughts from earlier, “it’s easy to see you as a leader. Especially because I know how much thought you put into every decision you need to make. What is it that they say about courage? That it’s not about not being afraid, but doing what’s right despite your fear? I think it’s the same when it comes to doubt.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

lexircbinson:

“Is that so?” Lexi asked, the smile spreading across her lips more apparently. God how many times did they have to go through this with new people? Lexi understood having a chip on your shoulder, but anyone who came here who was anything less than grateful had a way of getting under her skin. She did not work so hard with Oz to get this place up and running for the past six years to have people questioning their position. She nodded as she listened to Iris speak, noting in her mind what she needed to remember but didn’t want to fan the flame too much. They had to get along, after all. “Come on, Iris, don’t act like you can’t hold your own. ‘Offensive’ power or not, we make due with what we have,” Lexi chastised them lightly. Lexi’s own ability wasn’t particularly offensive in it’s nature, but she’d be damned if that would stop her. “I can only imagine… just try and breathe and give it some time. It’ll work out.. or it won’t. Either way we’ll deal with it.”

“I just... I don’t want them putting us at risk. But I also don’t want to listen to their thoughts at all, because they’re so annoying,” Iris said. “Honestly, the first thing she does is destroy part of the floor in the common room by growing a tree out of it. Sure, she got rid of the tree, but little miss nature still can’t fix concrete floors, so there’s just a big hole there now. And she expects us to be all ‘welcome, how can we help you, warm towel, back massage?’ Yeah, I get that they’ve been through shit, but it’s not like the rest of us haven’t gone through just as bad. And I’m just stressed and my head hurts like hell because everyone’s thinking too loud and I just wish I could go out to a shooting range and fire some guns or something to get out all this frustration. Or at least spar or something.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

Jamie made a face at Iris’s confession. It was the one thing Jamie had difficulty coming to terms with or maybe he just didn’t really get it when he’d always been the way he was. He was getting the stark impression that not all mutants were made the same, but having the fact that he wasn’t like the others dawned on him past puberty made sentiments about normalcy awkward and weird. Even worse were sentiments about listening to other people. “Gross. I wouldn’t even want to listen to that if they said it aloud.” Granted, he did anyway, without choice.

“I’m sure there’s a place for you on Dr. Phil,” he told them, making little effort to lend a hand despite sitting directly next to the coffee machine. “What do they even expect you to do? Kinkshame people into submission?”

“Yeah, and you’d be surprised how many people manage to control themselves from saying anything when inside they want to strangle the poor employee for daring to give them the wrong kind of straw,” Iris said. “It’s ridiculous. But it’s better than some of the thoughts people have here, so it can be a nice break, actually.”

Iris hadn’t expected Jamie to make them coffee, so eventually they managed to get up and go get some for themselves. “Ew, don’t even make me think about all the creepy things people think about. You know how many perverts there are out there? It’s... disgusting.” Iris shuddered as her coffee brewed.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

lexircbinson:

“Listen..” Lexi started, sighing under her breath. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to always hear what other people were thinking- and Lexi wasn’t equipped to know how to help them tune people out. Still she looked at Iris seriously, ignoring the soup on the stove completely. “You don’t have to worry about whether these new people are hiding things from us or not. don’t get me wrong- it’s.. amazing that you can do that, and you care enough to, but it isn’t worth your sanity.” And with that, her moment of sincere seriousness was over. “Besides, anyone does anything funny, and I’ll kick their ass,” she added with a wink. “I’ll get Sam to look into them a bit more- but remember, we’re here to help people. But don’t let ‘em give you too much sass, Soon as Chelsea gets back we can get together a crew to move people.”

“Well, you can kick Rosita’s ass then,” Iris mumbled, grabbing a bowl for their soup. “Not only is she a bitch - and her boyfriend’s not much better - but they’re both trying to hide something. I get wanting to keep your secrets, but whenever I remind them that it’d better not be something that puts the MU at risk, they get even more defensive. They’re just... suspicious. And obnoxious, on top of it. Makes me wish I had an offensive power sometimes.” Not that Iris would actually use it against them; they didn’t want to get kicked out. “And they call me nosy and act like I’m trying to read their thoughts, when that’s the last thing I want. They’re annoying enough when they’re talking; just imagine what their brains are like.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

sisterxnature:

“I’d hardly call it a beacon. Hello, Dramatic,” she said with a condescending scoff. “It doesn’t even come close to reaching over the existing treeline and the tremors can’t be felt beyond a ten foot radius of growth. I know what I’m doing.” Rosita rolled her eyes. “If you want a beacon, I can damn sure build on if you keep running your mouth.” She gave a sweet smile and ran her fingers through her hair. Calder had to step between the two when he noticed the way green lights had begun to weave between his lady’s fingers, the way the green of her eyes began to glow and pulsate. 

“Alright – calm down. Both of you. And you, with your nosy-ass–” Calder turned his gaze to Iris, thick eyebrows drawn down in frustration. “Nobody around here wants your worthless sympathy, Army Brat. What people probably want is for you to mind your own business. Not everyone wants to be your open book to read and judge. Seriously… How do you people even begin to tell people that this is supposed to be a safe place for them when you immediately start treating everyone like hostiles just because they won’t let you probe their most precious and secret thoughts. Is that what you people do here? We’ll be your friends and family as long as you pull your own weight and give us all your secrets. Otherwise, you’ll be considered suspicious and dangerous and be hounded by our telepath until you break and you have no secrets left to hide.”

Rosita peered around Calder, her eyes narrowed. “Like I said, if we wanted this kind of treatment, we’d have stayed in our Trask cells. Mutant Underground – refuge for the abandoned and abused. Yeah… Refuge my ass.”

Iris was going to try to explain that they tried to avoid anything that would indicate mutant presence if someone were to stumble upon it, but they didn’t even care anymore. Let these assholes get themselves seen and taken in, Iris didn’t care. It would teach them a lesson, and then Iris wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. They noted the way Rosita’s hands started glowing, but Iris stood her ground, unafraid. If Rosita used her powers on Iris, all the better. That would get Rosita and Calder thrown out of the MU and again, Iris wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. 

“Oh really?” Iris asked. “Because you seemed to want my sympathy a minute ago when you were saying ‘oh, please, excuse my girlfriend’s bitchiness because we were almost just caught by her sister’ and all that. Which, yeah, sucks. I get that. But I get the feeling you’re not really that crushed about it, especially given your sudden and very drastic change in attitude.” Iris breathed heavily out of their nose. “I don’t want to fucking know all your secrets. I’m just telling you that whatever you are hiding, it had better not put the rest of us in danger. Because there are people here who can do things to you you don’t even want to know about. And also because, surprisingly, not everything is about you. I get that you’re used to only caring about yourself because you’re used to being on your own, but that’s changed. You’re here now. So yeah, you need to contribute a little. And yeah, if you’re trying this hard to hide something I’m gonna be a little suspicious, especially since you’ve chosen to be so bitchy at the same time, so I’m gonna give you a warning or two. So get your heads out of your asses and realize that it takes a lot to keep this thing up and running, and show a little gratitude for the help we’re giving you. Or is gratitude not in your repertoire? You’d better learn it soon, because while I’m the easiest to piss off, just by the nature of being forced to listen to your obnoxious thoughts, it won’t take long for the others to catch on. And you don’t need any more enemies than you already have, do you?” With that speech done, Iris turned and headed back towards headquarters.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

Jamie chewed loudly to punctuate his disbelief as he picked through the box. He didn’t trust any of them. Before he knew it, Raj was going to get him caged, declawed and neutered. Typical. He scoffed at Iris’s comment about feeling useless. He tried to push out the flood of deprecating comments that filled his head out of his mind but he knew it was too late. They could probably sense his self-loathing or some weird voodoo bull shit anyway. 

“Yeah, must be great going outside and having to listen to what the normies think all day. The fuck do they have to worry about? It’s not like they have to eat seven thousand calories a day just to survive or you know, worry about mass genocide.”

“Sometimes it’s kinda relaxing to listen to their worries,” Iris said. “Y’know, remember what it was like to be normal. But then when you have to listen to people get pissed off for having to wait more than two minutes for their Frappuccino and it’s like, okay, can I turn this off now?” They sighed, balling up their potato chip bag and tossing it into the trash a few feet away. “God, I could use some coffee. I wish I had telekinesis instead so I could make it without getting up. Like, why can’t I have a fucking useful power?” They felt okay telling Jamie about this because they knew how much self-loathing he had too.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

Jamie gave them a side-long stare as he drank some juice right out of the carton. Sometimes Iris’ powers kind of freaked him out, on other days he just wasn’t self-aware enough to realize what kinds of things rolled through his mind on an hourly basis and was shocked to find that Iris seemingly shared his indecent thoughts about chicken wings.

“You totally told him, you snitchy snitch.” Jamie climbed onto the nearest raised surface with a take-out box of cold chicken and some random vegetables Rosita had thrown in there because she was quietly concerned for his digestive system. “I don’t know what the fuck everyone’s expecting me to do but if you’re asking me, no. Not really unless you count avoiding Raj as ‘doing something’. What are you doing?” 

Jamie stuffed a piece of chicken into his mouth and chewed it with all of the manners of a wild animal, which was to say none at all. He swallowed the mouthful with a gulp. “Aside from snitching.”

“I did not snitch on you, jerk,” Iris said, snorting and sitting back in their seat. “And I’m not really doing anything. Just trying to figure out what other people are doing. ‘s pretty quiet in here considering all the new people here. Not that I’m complaining about that. I like the quiet.” Iris sighed and finished their bag of chips. “God, sometimes I feel useless around here,” they sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Much as I hate going on missions, sometimes it seems nice to get out ‘n all.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

sisterxnature:

Seeing that it was Iris intruding, Rosita’s sass immediately dialed itself up to an eleven. “If I wanted to ask permission before using my abilities, I’d have stayed in my Trask cell,” she chimed with a flip of her hair. Green eyes turned brown as she tried not to glower too much. “Besides I don’t think he would complain about us going out of our way to not use up your beds and providing a garden of fresh food. That’s what you guys said, right? Everyone has to use their powers to do their part or something like that.” Rosita scoffed and retreated to her seat, redirecting her energy to using her fingers for roasting cubed venison she’d skewered earlier. 

If there was one thing that Calder had learned about Rosita after she found herself, it was that she didn’t like being reined in. So all he could really do was stand back and watch and wait until she was done before attempting some kind of damage control. That was what he was doing now, offering a wry smile for Iris. “Don’t take it too personally; she’s still a bit shaken from getting away from Sentinel Services yesterday. It’s nothing that we haven’t done a hundred times… But it was her sister that grabbed us this time.” The light in his eyes faded a little, sadness taking his smile. 

Calder had learned how to work people – and they had both definitely learned to carefully veil their thoughts. Neither of them had any problem playing whatever emotional card necessary to put people off. Besides, they weren’t exactly lying; Rosita’s sister had captured them yesterday. They just weren’t as torn up about it as they led on. Not that anyone needed to know that. 

“Considering the people we’re around every day… I mean, you can understand why she doesn’t exactly broadcast who she is. Almost all of us know what it’s like to have your family throw you out or turn you in for being a mutant, but a sad lot of mutants don’t extend that same empathy when your family has rank in Sentinel Services and Trask.”

“That’s not their business, Cal,” Rosita growled, her gaze fixed on the browning meat on a stick. She played her part well, grimacing as memories of her father and sister bragging about their stomach-churning work over dinner years ago. 

“It’s not permission to use your abilities,” Iris said, rolling their eyes. “It’s permission to build a beacon outside our secret shelter that practically screams ‘something mutant is going on here.’ Oz would want to know about that.” God, was this girl obnoxious. And her boyfriend didn’t help any either; he just tried to make excuses for her instead of calling her out on her bitchiness. “And by the way, my mom works for Sentinel Services and my dad's in the army, so you’re gonna have to try a little harder for sympathy, especially when I know you’re trying to cover up your thoughts and hide something from me.” They couldn’t figure out what it was, but they still knew it. “When people are really broken up about something, they don’t need to try so hard to think about it. I get wanting to keep some stuff private. Fuck, I don’t want to know ninety percent of the things I know. But if whatever you’re keeping secret is going to affect our safety here, then I care. So if you’re keeping something secret from us that’ll put us at risk, you’d better own up to it now. Because I will find out.”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

southsidestray:

Jamie wasn’t much of a social animal, choosing to slink around the corridors and interact by snooping and secrecy over chatting. He wasn’t especially friendly, nor did he have much to contribute to most conversations so when he could, he avoided getting dragged out into team meetings. The sound of crinkling bags and crunching, though, always seemed to draw him out of the dark whether he liked it or not. His curiosity (and hunger) always got the better of him.

“Hey Iris,” he greeted, creeping cautiously into the room. Jamie didn’t make a sound when he walked, his boots clutched in one hand. The consequence of wearing clothes was that they did make noise and Jamie wasn’t nearly self-loathing enough to test his theories without them. Iris wasn’t a bad person anyway. They were certainly the least annoying of all of them if only because they kept to themselves and occasionally pretended he wasn’t there, which was perfectly fine in his books. “Have you seen Raj? I think someone snitched on me and told him I ate his burrito.”

“Hey,” Iris said. “Yeah, please don’t walk around naked,” they requested, hearing Jamie’s thought about clothes making sounds when he walked. “And no, I haven’t seen Raj. I didn’t tell him, though to be fair, you did eat his burrito.” Iris didn’t understand how Jamie ate and slept so much, but they didn’t really question it, either. All they knew was that they got weirdly hungry whenever they focused on Jamie’s thoughts. “So, you up to anything today?” Iris asked.

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

Iris tended to spend most of their time in their closet of a room, particularly when they had new people around. They could just sit there in the dark and try to block out the voices in their head. But every once in a while, Iris’s room got old. And they sort of felt the need to socialize, too, especially to see if the new people were hiding anything they needed to know. And to get to know them, befriend them, yadda yadda yadda. So Iris left their room to go get a snack and took a seat in the main hangout space. They contented themselves with just eating their chips for a bit until someone else came into the room. “Hey,” Iris greeted. “’sup?”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

Iris watched with a neutral expression as Rosita built some weird tree home. They did understand Rosita’s need to be around nature, but Iris still wasn’t happy about what they were watching. “Did you ask Oz before doing this?” they asked. At least it was a pretty well-hidden area outside the headquarters. It wasn’t like they were building in plain view of passersby. Iris turned their look to Calder. “I just heard that you two were out here and was wondering what was going on.” They didn’t trust the two, and sneaking off had been pretty suspicious, but it looked like they were just building some weird home. But as long as Oz was okay with it, it was fine with Iris. The further away they were from the headquarters, the quieter their thoughts would be, and the fewer headaches Iris would get. They did want to keep track of what they were thinking, though, so it was both good and bad. Whatever. Iris would be glad to get their thoughts out of their head, especially at night.

“Sorry, but not really. Dorms and bunkbeds are not my scene.” Rosita glanced over her shoulder at the person that had intruded on her “building session”. The green-haired mutant’s eyes were like emeralds. She was in the process of building a nice little grove near the Underground’s headquarters. She didn’t mind working around inside and hanging out, but the lack of privacy wasn’t going to cut it. Besides, Rosita missed the feeling of dirt under her nails.

Calder was nearby, knowing that he was useless when it came to their wilderness survival – except when they were near a body of water and he got to electrocute a bunch of fish when they were too lazy to play a waiting game. He didn’t mind getting to sit it out though. Even after all the years that had gone by, he never got tired of watching her create. 

“She’s so dramatic,” she said with a feigned look of apology. Chuckling, he took a sip of his apple juice and shoved off of the tree he’d been leaning on. “But, uh, did you need something…?”

[mindreaderxiris-blog]

Iris stared at the pot where they were heating up some soup. They had soup a lot at the MU. It was cheap and easy to store for a long time, and soup was filling. And it was warm, which was nice. Iris noticed when Lexi entered the room and took note of them, but Iris didn’t really respond. Iris had to practice not responding automatically to people’s thoughts; it would help them blend in more in the real world. But Lexi’s worry was palpable, and Iris knew it was a matter of time before she asked them what was wrong. And there it was. Iris sighed, not taking their eyes off the soup on the stove. “It’s just... all the new people here,” they admitted. “Getting used to their thoughts and everything. It’s a lot louder here now. It’s... difficult. Plus I’m trying to make sure they aren’t hiding anything from us that we need to know, so I’m trying to concentrate on them, but that just makes the headaches worse.”

@mindreaderxiris

Lexi strolled into the kitchen, catching sight of Iris and shooting them a small smile. She wasn’t sure if they were being more quiet than usual, or if she was just imagining things.. so it was as good a time as any to check up on them. Grabbing a bottle of water the brunette hopped up onto the counter top and looked at Iris intently. “What’s up, kiddo?” True, Iris wasn’t much younger than she was, but Lexi had a habit of using nicknames like that. It didn’t always come off as the joke she intended.. she really needed to work on her tone.