Charles Xavier Shielding lessons, first run

[basic_powers]

As Tyler jogs in from his practice outside, he glances around the bar room proper to try and spot Charles for his next lesson. Seeing however, as it is evening for the Bar and the dinner crowd is making it difficult to spot anyone. Even standing up on rafter above the crowd isn't helping, and really, he's looking forward to this lesson.

Less likely to get him blown up, or grant superpowers, after all.

So then, it comes down to how best to get his teacher's attention in a crowd...without alerting the rest of Milliways.

Scooones, SCOOOOoones, Scones, Scones, Scones, Crumbly buttery scoooooooOOOOOOoones, sung inside of his head.

Comments

[balancingminds]

"What is it about Milliways that makes you feel safe? Let's see if we can find elements to work into the shields. They don't even have to be incredibly concrete. It's the idea and the purpose behind them that holds the power."

[basic_powers]

"The people here."

...he didn't need to think about that much. It's the family he has here that makes him feel safe, like this place is home. They'd protect him, and he'd protect them with that determination.

[balancingminds]

"Then work them into your wall. Work their strongest traits and then whenever you think of your wall, think of them and it's there and as solid as they are. It might take some time to get right but you need to feel safe in your head."

[basic_powers]

He needs to feel like all of his secrets are safe.

"...build from the center, then outward."

The determination and the desire to do good, all of the heroes he's know. Ray's ability to stay sane in the weirdest conditions, that's the framework of the walls, engineered mobile framework, like rebuilding the gauntlets. And energy walls. Though it's getting harder to hold those up into place, they're hard to see or get through.

"Hnnh..."

Should he shouldn't he, stop that second guessing, what do you need to do? Trust.

[balancingminds]

"Could the rafters be useful to have a mixture of physical and more abstract elements?"

He doesn't understand all the references in Tyler's thoughts but he can see they're effective and will keep talking and helping him do what he knows how to.

[basic_powers]

That's...that's a good idea. Rafters to get too and from areas of thought. It's a three-dimensional maze, and growing a little like a tree. Different rafters moving around to different pathways or hidden rooms.

Easiest access is at the first level of rafters above the crowd/observations. And it's a solid set up for now, a space that offers a lot of room to watch for incomers.

[balancingminds]

Charles smiles as the shields grow, "Yes, make it your space."

[basic_powers]

There's lots of space between the rafters to look out for things or to watch other rafters as they extend or retract, the higher up they go. Hidden doors in the walls, here and there.

The other rooms might move around, but with the walls of weirdness Milliways and it's various patrons provide... and it's much more secure. He can build more onto it later, he's still got lots of room to grow.

[balancingminds]

It can be adapted as he needs it and only he knows his way around it, "Wonderful."

[basic_powers]

"Thanks."

[balancingminds]

"You did most of it,"

Which made Charles' teaching job much easier as it was more like leading.

[basic_powers]

"I'm still learning stuff."

Maybe in time, the set-up he has will be something completely different.

For now though, he feels a lot more secure, it's less likely he's going to let something slip now.

"Ready to try those scones now."

[balancingminds]

"And you won't stop learning, that's the joy of it. Right, I asked for a good variety so we have cheese, date and the classic scone. Also jam and clotted cream which you have to have with scones. Would you like some tea if I ordered it?"

When it comes to tea, Charles becomes rather British.

[basic_powers]

"Is it anything like japanese green tea?"

He does honestly like learning stuff, provided it's not likely to send him to the infirmary. But don't tell some of his teachers that.

[balancingminds]

"It's stronger in a different way and you usually add milk and sugar to it or sometimes lemon. It's a black tea instead of a green tea. Though if you like green tea better we can get that."

[basic_powers]

"I'll try it with milk and see how I like it. Green tea was okay, I might have it again if I ever order riceballs for lunch."

[balancingminds]

"Then one moment,"

He finds a rat and soon returns with a tea set of English Breakfast tea with warm milk, cubes of sugar and lovely plates. The pattern though if you look closely is made out of little hobbit holes with hobbits on the edges.

[basic_powers]

...Okay, tea in Milliways is really, really neat. Hobbits!

Ray did take the time to read the Hobbit to him at least once.

"Hobbit tea!"

[balancingminds]

Charles laughs as that's just perfect,

"Well, hobbits know how to do tea properly."

[basic_powers]

"And they don't waste time going about it," Tyler grins, carefully picking up a tea cup. "Okay..how do you do a proper tea?"

[balancingminds]

"I pour out the tea for us and then you take a sip and decide what you want to add to it. Then we drink our tea and eat our scones slathered with whatever we'd like,"

He's always loved that scones are one of the foods that you're encouraged to make a mess with.

[basic_powers]

...Tyler has decided with that first cup that his tea needs milk and two lumps of sugar.

And five seconds after his first bite of a scone with clotted cream he really likes proper tea.

Thank all the gods he spends so much time working out or he'd never burn off all these calories. For now, there is nothing but delight in a new thing.