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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2021 2:26:42 GMT
Dark brown eyes stared at the blue of the pool. The blue of the water was calming in a way to the man who struggled to make sense of the daily conversation attempts Americans tried to make with him in English. But wasn’t Enrico American? He considered the thought while gazing at the water. Certainly his parents wanted him to have a better life in this country and to do so meant becoming American.. didn’t it? And if he became “American” Enrico wondered if he would be losing the only thing he had of home was memories and the values instilled by his upbringing.
It did not take long for the dark green button up shirt to be removed by Enrico. He tossed it to the left of his chair and then carefully removed the blanket wrapped neatly around his “legs”. The blanket was nice and warm, good for cold nights outside but terrible for the water. Besides Enrico thought he would look more ridiculous trying to swim with it, not that he would after all.
Once the Cuban folded the blanket and gently reached down to let it fall to the tiles to the right of his chair. The sound of suckers squishing and sucking to the tiles, Enrico’s at the moment red colored tentacles reached down to touch the smooth tile surrounding the pool. Slowly the young man dragged himself out of the wheelchair and only for the briefest moment was on the tiles before again like a mind of their own. Enrico made his tentacles move outstretched toward the hedge of the pool, sucker on and leisurely pull the brown skin lad toward the edge until he slipped in under the water.
The cool water embraced him in a hug that comforted Rodigruez. Only the sound of the water around him as he sunk below the water until he lower half rested against the bottom of the pool, his red tentacles and two longer tentacles were outstretched around the lad anchoring him to the bottom as he breathed the water. From above it either looked exactly like it was, a mutant with squid like features taking a swim.. or a butterfly that in a moment of peace has blossomed to show its red petals.
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Post by CHARLES XAVIER on May 30, 2021 7:07:30 GMT
For once, the house was quiet. It was the weekend, and the majority of the students had wanted to go out to the city for the afternoon. Those who remained were mostly settled into their own rooms, entertaining themselves, or using the phone to contact outside friends or family. Charles, while he could appreciate the opportunity to get some work done without a cacophony of voices in his head, did like to use the chance to check in on some of the mansion’s residents who were less.. outgoing, and sometimes fell under the radar in a large group.
He didn’t need his abilities to know where Enrico would be. Coming from the back courtyard, Charles parked his chair a few feet from the edge of the pool and offered a friendly smile. ”Hola,” he greeted. When Enrico had first come to the school he knew very little English, and so Charles had taken it upon himself to learn some Spanish so that they could better communicate. He wasn’t fluent, and his pronunciation was shaky at times, but he was able to get a point across. ”How’s the water?” he continued in Spanish.
The pool had been there for decades, but it hadn’t gotten much regular use before Enrico showed up. Much like how it was beneficial for physical therapy in people who had been injured or had difficulty with mobility, being able to stretch his limbs in their intended environment had seemed like a natural idea to help the young man begin to grow more comfortable with mutation and understand all the things he was capable of that he couldn't quite experience on land.
@enrico
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2021 18:31:03 GMT
The calmness that could only be found underwater was peaceful. Tranquil enough that Enrico almost lost himself in it without even moving from his anchored spot at the bottom of pool. However, a familiar voice jeered Enrico from his peace enough for him to look around out of habit. Enrico of course did not see anyone else in the water which made one of his eyebrows raise curiously until Enrico realized that it was Charles using that strange mind power of his.
Agile as he was in the water, Enrico had his suckers along his cephalopod arms detach from the bottom of pool haste fully before like a rocket the young mans hip siphons ejected water that his siphons had sucked up launching the mutant up to the surface.The Cuban wasn’t sure how to describe the feeling of hearing someone else’s voice in his head other then both odd and weirdly intriguing. That is why Enrico had a broad smile toward the British man after flipping his black hair out his eyes. Rico had no ill will toward Charles, frankly the Cuban was thankful that his school had found him and Satire when he did.
“Good, wonderful actually… it’s easier to move” He admitted the latter part a tad more bashfully then normal for Enrico however all of it in Spanish. Even if he didn’t understand the language or what people were saying around him, it did not take away from the fact Enrico came from a family that valued voicing their opinions which came naturally to Enrico. The broad chested lad folded his arms and leaned against the edge of the pool, his eight cephalopod arms some anchored their suction cups to the side of the pool below the water while the others floated around Enrico.
His dark brown eyes glanced at the wheelchair that Charles sat in next to Enrico’s own wheelchair. Carefully with one of his two much longer cephalopod arms reached for the British mans wheelchair. Gently he unsheathed a claw from his cephalopod arm club and tapped it against the metal on Charles chair. All the while Enrico has a friendly smile on his face meaning no harm or ill will. “Do you think I could walk like the others someday?” He asked softly but hopeful. In that moment he was reminded of his times always stuck inside back home in Havana, bound to his chair and discouraged strongly from using his cephalopod half to move.
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Post by CHARLES XAVIER on May 31, 2021 1:30:55 GMT
”Sorry,” Charles said, not intending to have startled him, but having no other way of getting his attention from the bottom on the pool. He grinned slightly and nodded his head in confirmation that he understood, and was glad to hear, that he had been able to make himself comfortable in the water. ”Did you swim much at home?” The two had talked sporadically about Enrico’s life before coming to America. He knew that he had been forced to hide his mutation from the outside world, but was unsure if he had had opportunities like this to relax in his old home.
Charles watched curiously as Enrico extended an arm to him, tapping the side of his chair. He furrowed his eyebrows a bit, unsure of what he was thinking, until Enrico spoke enough that he was able to piece together the question. ”Do you think I could walk like the others someday?” He took a second to translate his thoughts before replying. As a person who generally was very articulate and well read, Charles had really gained an appreciation for those who spoke English as a second language because it was a struggle to find the words he needed.
”I very much think it’s possible.” he said, nodding his head to reaffirm the fact. ”It may be difficult or… strange at first. Your legs,” he said, with a gesture to one of his tentacles to indicate that that was not exactly the right term, ”are not used to walking, they may not be strong enough right now. But other creatures with legs like yours are able to move on land.” Which made him believe it would be possible if it was something that Enrico wanted to work to accomplish.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2021 14:38:52 GMT
Enrico was silence by Charles question. A rather simple question in reality brought about some memories regarding his time back home. Enrico shook his head finally to answer the man before.. after appearing to struggle and contemplate his words based off the way his brow furrowed and his face turned to look away from Charles. “I wasn’t allowed to go outside or really go beyond my room and our family library.” He admitted in Spanish.
The young mans normal fingers seemed to tap the edge of the pool, the man was fidgeting because these weren’t not the best of things to speak of. “My family didn’t want anyone to know about my.. condition” he said in Spanish slowly and a bit sadly despite controlling himself not to cry even if his voice faltered showing the sadness of the fact. Then Enrico took a sigh and forced a smile at the mans explanation of his reasoning for why Enrico could potentially walk.
Charles was right, stranger creatures moved on land without even tentacles like slugs and snails so why couldn’t Enrico learned how to use his limbs more effectively? Enrico smiled with a nod, seemingly given some hope by Charles in regards to his circumstances. “Who could help me learn to walk? Or better practice my mobility beyond the chair?” He asked before looking at Charles own wheelchair. Enrico bit his lower lip and then cocked his head to the side. “Did you.. swim a lot before the wheelchair?” Enrico tried to ask Charles if he swam a lot prior to being wheelchair bound. It didn’t even occur to Enrico that Xavier could still potentially swim as far as Enrico knew about Charles predicament which was little.
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Post by CHARLES XAVIER on Jun 7, 2021 3:52:37 GMT
Charles nodded his head patiently as Enrico struggled to decide what he wanted to share. He had never been hesitant to speak with Charles, once they made it past the language barrier, but it was obvious that home brought back some unpleasant memories. ”I’m sure they were only trying to keep you safe.” he said, gentle and sincere. While he had met parents who were frightened or embarrassed by their children’s mutant abilities it seemed Enrico’s had done what they could try and give him the best possible life under the circumstances.
”But I can imagine that must have been very isolating.” Having any mutation often was. Even those who could appear more normal had to deal with the fact that they were somehow an ‘other’. The thought that something was ‘wrong’ with them. But some, like Enrico, had a much greater personal risk. He didn’t know for sure, today, what would be done to someone like him were he exposed and truthfully, he tried not to think too much about it.
Charles was happy to move on to a more.. hopeful topic. ”I’ll do my best to assist you in any way I can.” he said when Enrico asked who would work with him. ”I may not be able to move like you do, but I can’t fly either— and I was still able to teach Sean to do it.” He had been the one to help Sean realize the additional application of sonar ability, and he had helped work through the calculations to get him in a air. ”I imagine this will be far less dangerous.” He smiled a bit at the attempt at a joke.
The next question took him a moment. Charles had gotten more comfortable talking about the chair, especially with kids who never ceased in their ability to ask uncomfortable questions, but it was still fairly new for him. He shook his head. ”Not really. You know, we had a pool here my whole life but it was basically just a decoration.” There were certainly things Charles had taken for granted, living in a house like this with a family who wanted nothing to do with each other. ”I enjoyed being in the water, though. I see why you feel the same.”
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2021 2:25:00 GMT
A part of Enrico wanted to believe Charles words. That they were simply trying to keep Enrico safe from the harsh world outside their home. The world he never really got to see that much of before he was thrusted into America like a fish out of water. Or in this case a cephalopod without his Cuba. A faint smile aroused from Enrico’s face as he nodded solemnly toward Charles observation. “ Yes” he said in his accented English as it was one of the few words he knew how to pronounce at least somewhat correctly. Because it was so true. Enrico had felt like an observer of life from a distance and now.. now he wasn’t exactly sure what he could do with his life. Enrico’s head cocked to the side again and his eyebrows scrunched together in that subconscious way that Enrico did signaling that he was in thought. Enrico had met Sean, the lad was certainly friendly and Enrico thought they could become better friends if one of them knew more of the others language. But Enrico had never seen Sean fly and from what he knew about the mans abilities they were mostly in the domain of screaming. “ You taught Sean how to fly? Do you train pigs to fly on the weekends?” Enrico said in Spanish with a grin trying to be humorous. “ Can you teach me how to fly?” Hey might as well ask? Enrico figured with a smile, sounding foolishly hopeful even though he was sure the answer would be no. Enrico bit his lower lip figuring that he might have overstepped. Americans and British he assumed were similar, didn’t seem to appreciate the opiniative nature that Enrico brought from his upbringing. Something about the Americans keeping stiff upper lips? Or was that the british. “ I.. also wanted to say that I appreciate this school being so Uh wheelchair accessible” Enrico said in Spanish with a small smile. “ Living on the streets on wheeles is not easy” he admitted CHARLES XAVIER
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Post by CHARLES XAVIER on Jun 12, 2021 6:58:50 GMT
Charles laughed as soon as he got the joke. ”Sean’s mutation..” he explained, as best as he could in Spanish. ”He can produce a sonic force strong enough to keep him in the air.” It wasn’t what most people would think of when they found out his power, but most abilities had multiple applications when you understood their mechanics. Enrico’s physiology had the potential to prove similarly versatile, serving him both on land and in the water once he learned how to move most effectively.
But flying likely wasn’t going to be an option. He grinned again and chuckled at the suggestion. ”Why don’t we start with walking and see how it goes? You could always study to be a aircraft pilot.” There were ways to fly without having your own wings.
”It’s the British,” he said in response to the question Enrico had not vocalized, though the expression on his face had made it clear he was second guessing his words. "Though I suppose Americans can also be quite stiff." Charles was wiling to make light of his own awkwardness. While it wasn’t the most comfortable topic of discussion, he certainly didn’t mind it, especially with Enrico, who he knew he dealt with many of the same things.. and likely many more.
”I imagine it’s not.” Charles didn’t spend much time in the city and when he did, it was often a frustrating experience. ”I had to make a lot of changes to the house after I was injured. There are things I had never thought about, that other people don’t think about.” Accessibility was more than the building having an elevator. It was the width of the doorways, the spacing between furniture, the height things were placed. The process of figuring these things out for himself had been.. tedious, to say the least, so he was honestly glad to know someone else could benefit from it.
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