Alethea fidgeted about, the seat which she had been within for the last, well, she wasn't actually sure how long wasn't doing her any good; she had been comfortable, curled up asleep and covered over but now she seemed rather awake and aware to her surroundings again. She could faintly hear Erik and Charles talking, casting a quick look over her shoulder she couldn't help but raise a dark eyebrow at the sight of a chessboard. Well, she couldn't fault Erik's attempt at making up there, they did always like to play, even if Charles looked less than interested as he drunk from his glass and looked out at the night beyond the window.

Honestly, Alethea didn't know how long they'd been flying for, or how much of it she had slept through, but even she leaned against the table and looked outside. The waters below were an inky mass, almost endless in how much they stretched and no doubt how deep they went. At that thought she winced, her mouth pulling downwards, well she just accidentally made herself feel sick. The clouds were drifting aimlessly above the waters and around the jet, she could easily spy these because they were a different kind of dark, more of a patchy grey than anything else. 

To be fair, there wasn't a whole lot to look at out there, and her companion across from her had seemingly drifted off to sleep again. Alethea looked sidelong at Logan, he looked sort of relaxed, she guessed; it was hard to tell considering he was still holding onto the armrests of his chair and was rather upright in sitting. She smothered a laugh though, she couldn't quite imagine his tall frame hunching and curling up in a chair like she did, the thought was amusing though.

Rubbing a finger against her eye, Alethea was at least pleased to see he looked less pained than the last time she caught him sleeping. She had woken briefly and seen him look hurt, but more of a hurt that came from deep inside; him being honest and answering what he dreamt about made all the more sense why he looked so lost in his sleep. At least this time he looked peaceful, she hoped he was at least having a restful sleep, not being plagued by memories from his time and whatever horrors he had lived through and seen.

By sounds of it, from the little snippets they had spoken about, he would've lived through a lot of painful moments, she had earlier presumed he must be one of the most resilient people she knew, but each moment and conversation just cemented that to her. She didn't know, if that was her, she knew she'd be more of a nervous wreck; there must be a lot going on in that head of his, yet he seemed relatively in control and fine. Alethea had to give credit to Logan's mental strength there, because anyone else would surely break and buckle.

Swinging her legs over the chair, she stood and dropped the blanket back with the pillow. She stretched up onto her toes and tilted her head and looked Logan over one last time before turning and walking off. She did pause and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge before passing Erik and Charles, popping her head into the cockpit she smiled at Hank and waved the bottle in the air.

Her friend looked thankful of the refreshment and took it from her hands when she cracked it open and held it out to him. "How's it going?" She leaned against the co-pilot seat, she wasn't going to sit in here with Hank, no offence to him, but looking at the long stretching horizon and all that water wouldn't do her any good. Honestly, she didn't know where her hatred for water came from, well, deep water, but she just despised it. 

"Honestly? A lot better now Erik isn't trying to crash us," Hank admitted, looking over the top of his glasses with an awkward smile. Alethea nodded, his expression said it all; he honestly thought Erik was going to bring them down, and there wouldn't be anything any of them could do. Hank glanced quickly over his shoulder, he could just about see the cabin, but not really. "How is going out there?" He was hesitant in asking, all was quiet and he got a little suspicious.

Alethea's purple nails drummed on the chair as she looked over all the different controls. She didn't know what half of them did, or what they were for. Looking back at Hank, she smiled honestly, "Logan is asleep, Charles and Erik I think might be playing chess."

"All is fine then."

"For now."

"Stop it," Hank shot that down with a frown, he reached up and flipped a switch above his head, Alethea didn't know what it was for but she watched him curiously. Honestly, anything technical that Hank was hugely involved in, she didn't understand, she found his smarts an interesting and endearing quality, if she ever had a problem, she knew Hank would have this analytical way of looking at it; between them they'd come up with a solution.

"Sorry," she laughed quietly, she was sorry, she didn't mean to possibly taint it. She did think though, that Charles and Erik had worked their issues out, or at least Erik listened to Charles and then put a stop to it by almost crumpling them up in the jet. Alethea just sighed and shook her head, running a hand through the long dark purple locks, she frowned when her fingers snagged a knot or tangle.

"You're at a loss, I take it?" Hank smiled when he got a dramatic groan, he knew full well travelling sometimes was boring to Alethea. If she could sleep through a whole journey, then that was a win. She just got fidgety, sitting still in one place just didn't seem to suit her, she always had to be doing something.

"You're the only one I can talk to, Hank. I don't want to wake Logan up, and I'm not getting involved in a chess game. That's one boring game I'd rather not watch." Alethea actually shuddered, she wasn't even into sports, watching them play chess would be as entertaining as watching a tennis match, actually watching paint dry might've been more entertaining to her...

"I'm sorry that I'm not really going to be a good conversationalist at the moment, Thea." Hank was honest in his reply, not that he couldn't multitask, he was very good at that, but he was currently piloting, he needed his focus here.

Alethea pouted slowly and rested her forehead against the back of the co-pilot chair, "You're sending me back out there, aren't you?"

"In the nicest possible way, yes." Hank laughed quietly, he got another dramatic noise come from her before he heard her boots walk away, she left the door open though and from the short sigh and sound of impact, he got the sense she had sat herself down in the seat across from where Charles was sitting.

"You must be bored," Charles commented, in truth her appearing was welcomed considering Erik hadn't that long placed the chessboard down and had sat leaning against the table near to Alethea's current chair.

Alethea smiled plainly, her expression trying to muster enthusiasm and got a dry chuckle from Erik for it. Even he wasn't buying that as she gave Charles a lazy thumbs up. "Your chess game is the onboard entertainment."

"I haven't agreed to play," Charles said while swirling the contents of his glass with a look shot her way.

Alethea raised an eyebrow and looked up at Erik, he just looked back down at her before they both looked Charles's way. "Come off it, I suck at chess, Hank is always busy with something, you haven't played in years. As if you're not going to play."

Charles turned a little in his seat and looked at her, she just looked at him patiently, Alethea knew full well he didn't exactly have a response. What she said was true, Charles hadn't played for years, she disliked the game and no patience for it, and Hank was always busy tinkering about with whatever science contraption came to his mind. Erik was always Charles's fair equal in the game, and they all knew that.

"I could give you a rough lesson," Erik toasted his glass down at her and got Alethea frowning at him, she looked at him like he'd just said the most ridiculous thing ever. "Or not." He drunk slowly from his glass and found himself sighing over the taste of the alcohol.

Alethea just looked at Erik before shaking her head, "Good?"

"You have no idea."

"Well, your mind is going to get blown when we land and get actual food." Alethea said while pointing up at him with a grin. If the taste of whiskey after years was blowing his mind, well then, she could only imagine decent food would just make the man's head explode, not literally. Frowning though, she propped her elbow against the armrest, her chin leaning against her palm as she looked Erik up and down curiously. "Can I just say though, for someone who's been in a basement for years, you are looking well."

Erik just looked at her for a long silent second or two before tilting his head and nodding. "Being public enemy number one, though I am guessing they'd have loved nothing more than to treat me badly, they just couldn't." He didn't know why the reason for that was, just to keep him alive and healthy enough to keep him imprisoned so he could dwell over what he did, that was about the gist of it. "But thank you."

Alethea laughed quietly and waved her other hand his way. "Only you could take what I said as a compliment, Erik." She didn't mean it as a compliment, she really didn't. 

Erik just smiled lightly down at her and had Alethea just staring at him with a blank look. "And your earlier words weren't either?" 

She opened her mouth and just reached over and whacked him gently on the arm. "You're a dick. Shut up." She huffed and crossed her arms, Charles just looked confused while Erik smugly drunk more of his drink and chuckled over her general reaction. Alethea wouldn't take back saying Erik was one of the strongest people she knew, because he was, but likewise when he had his powers, Charles was the same; why Erik saw fit to just throw this back at her, she didn't know other than him being a nuisance.

"I don't even want to know," Charles decided in the end, he just didn't; he, as a whole wasn't sure how he still felt about Erik being out and in front of him. Mixed emotions, pain was quite prevalent but of course, there was also this small slither of, not happiness, but something lighter to see that the humans hadn't badly treated him while he was in his cell. If they did, Charles knew full well the vendetta that Erik would conjure in his mind, the man could dwell and brood for years, that was more than evident.

Erik looked like he was going to open his mouth, and Alethea held up her hand, a very determined expression on her face; she had somehow forgotten how annoying Erik could be, moreover how he liked to apparently wind her up just to watch the reactions. "Shush, and play chess."

"Oh, I don't know, I'm quite enjoying this little chat." Erik sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking about the cabin and then looking back at her.

"You're enjoying it, because you're being annoying." Alethea stated with a frown appearing slowly on her face.

"You know, you've called me more names in this day alone than I think you ever have before." Erik sighed again and tried to look pained by her name calling. It didn't work, mainly because he didn't take any of it to heart, it was a defence thing for her, when all failed just throw bad insults out. 

"I'm not apologising." Alethea was firm on that as her eyes side eyed him, her arms crossed across her chest again as she even let out a huffed sigh.

"A good thing I wasn't expecting one then, isn't it?" Erik questioned back while looking down at the glass in his hand, there was a slower sigh come from him this time, clearly thinking over something which had the siblings in part either looking at him curiously or not at all, Charles briefly looked then apparently the window was more interesting, Alethea just tilted her head interestedly. "I didn't kill the president." His tone was low, serious even as if he wanted to just clarify something, address the elephant in the room, as it were.

"The bullet curved, Erik." Charles replied, eyes still looking outside the window as he sighed heavily. He wasn't wholly prepared to have this conversation, although he knew at some point it would no doubt come up.

"Because I was trying to save him. They took me out before I could." Erik was sounding rather firm on this matter, he looked at Charles explaining this with such clarity it was hard to tell, even for Erik and his ways, whether he was actually being honest or just trying to cover up a lie with his version of the truth. 

"Why would you try and save him?" Charles found himself frowning, he looked slowly away from the window and to where Erik still leaned. He had no love for people, Erik made that abundantly clear; to save a human in such power...the thought was also unimaginable to Charles.

"Because he was one of us." 

Charles leaned his head back against the headrest, he looked at Erik as a heavy sigh came from him. He looked in utter disbelief, like he couldn't quite comprehend what Erik had just come out with. He even shook his head, happy to see that even Alethea was looking at Erik like he'd grown a second head. But there was also doubt lingering in her amethyst eyes, she couldn't quite say Erik was lying, he was a very convincing liar, they knew that, but how he sounded, it just sounded so earnest, much so for him to be sitting there lying to their faces. 

"You must think me so foolish," Charles looked away from his sister and back at Erik, he'd just been silent, watching Charles and gauging his reaction to his words. "We've always said that they would come after us." 

"I never imagined they'd use Raven's DNA to do it," Erik had to admit to that, any conceivable idea he had to take people down could be easily flipped and used against them all. But to use Raven? Erik hadn't ever contemplated that outcome, never.

"When did you last see her?" Charles asked, his voice sounding the tiniest bit hopeful that Erik would relay some good news about the shape-shifter.

"The day I left for Dallas," Erik pushed away from his leaning place and came and sat down in the chair opposite to Charles. 

"And how was she?" Though still hopeful, Charles's tone changed to one of more curiosity.

"Strong. Driven. Loyal." Erik listed, out of the corner of his eyes he saw Alethea pinch the bridge of her nose, an irritated sigh coming from her. It wasn't like Charles's reaction differed, his eyes turned hard and he looked at Erik with just this look, like he expected something else than character traits.

"How was she?" Charles tried again, hoping to chip away a little at Erik until he got at least some truth to how Raven was when Erik last saw her.

"She was...we were...I could see why she meant so much to you. You should be proud of her, Charles. Both of you should be. She's out there fighting for our cause." Erik seemed to struggle to begin with, before finding a different avenue to go down.

"Your cause. The girl I raised; she was not capable of killing."

"You didn't raise her. You grew up with her. She couldn't stay a little girl forever, that's why she left." Erik easily shot down, much to the blank look which was suddenly sent his way by Charles as he just blatantly said this.

"She left because you got inside her head." Charles said while leaning forwards and looking firmly at Erik, what could've been a simple conversation just couldn't be just that.

"That's not my power. She made a choice."

"But now we know where that choice leads, don't we? She's going to murder Trask, they're going to capture her, and then they're doing to wipe us out." Charles just listed out what they knew would happen if they didn't intervene, he watched Erik shift a little in his seat, the truth clearly didn't settle well over him.

"Not if we get to her first. Not if we change history." Erik paused; he sounded like he truthfully believed that they could deter Raven's death. "I'm sorry, Charles. For what happened. I...truly am." He tried to bridge this gap, apologising for what happened back on the beach and anything and everything in between. 

"It's been a while since I've played." Charles tilted his head, wincing a little when his neck clicked but he downed the rest of his drink and looked at the chessboard that had just been ignored until now.

"I'll go easy on you. Might finally be a fair fight." Erik just decided to leave it, as bad as that was there was no point pushing this topic on Charles any more than what he already had, he wouldn't hear any more of it.

"You have the first move." Charles just watched Erik manipulate the piece he wanted to move and sighed softly.

"Can I be honest?" Alethea piped up, watching Charles finally pick the piece he wanted to move. He brushed a hand through his hair and looked her way, she'd taken to kneeling in the seat, both elbows on the armrest and her chin leaning in her palms. Her eyes flicked between both males, Erik paused drinking and looked at her curiously. "I think we're rather used to having the odds stacked against us and us still coming out okay. Do I think that once we're in Paris, everything will go okay? No. We've got people who hate us, people who don't know we exist, and Raven who wants to be left alone to achieve her mission; success isn't going to be easy. I don't want to go there and get soppy on you guys, but when we work as a team, we're pretty bloody good. I'm sure between us we can stop Raven from killing Trask, no matter how much that guy may deserve some karma, it isn't worth her life." 

"This is different than Shaw," Charles stated, that was a cat and mouse game at best that just led into chaos. Yes, Shaw wished to start another war, he wished for a mutant uprising and the humans to be more or less eradicated; much like Trask's want to eradicate mutants, there were some similarities, but it was different. This was a human devising a way to physically hunt mutants out.

"Either way, people are going to be aware to us existing now. It is up to them how they react to that." Erik said while looking away from the board and to Alethea, she just frowned slowly at his words but found herself nodding, he had a fair point there.

"From experience, people don't do well with things that differ from them." Alethea's eyes went distant as she stared at the chess pieces.

"Then that's on them, not you." Erik moved a piece and just looked at Charles suddenly when he shot him a displeased look. He didn't exactly need or want another sibling listening to Erik and whatever he came out with, especially considering Charles knew both sisters were very tempted by his little ideals, Alethea stayed though, Charles never questioned why, but he didn't want to watch a repeat.

"I nearly hit someone with a door when we were on our way to get you out of your cell."

Erik double took before letting out a chuckle, "Starting off small."

"Erik!" Charles exclaimed annoyed, Erik held his hands up and at least tried to look ashamed at encouraging her lashing out at humans, it didn't work because Charles just narrowed his eyes unhappily. 

"No, my point is that there are people out there that are stronger than me, definitely more dangerous...what if, even if we stop Trask, what if people still go down the line of wanting us gone? All it takes is someone who hasn't got good control and, well..." Alethea made a noise which both Erik and Charles presumed was meant to symbolise death as she hung her head, before peeking back through her hair at them both.

"Then that is a bridge we shall have to cross when we come to it." Charles said slowly and thoughtfully, he didn't like to say that she had a point, but she did. One thing at a time though, as it stands, they were going to land in Paris earlier than planned, which meant they could run through ideas of just how to get to Raven, and what to do then.

Hearing a cough from the other end of the cabin had the three looking down there, Charles raised an eyebrow at Logan looking around confused, Erik just frowned his way and Alethea popped up like a meerkat from over the seat and smiled his way. "Good evening, Sleeping Beauty! Have a good sleep?" She rested her head on the back of the chair and even from where she was, she saw the look Logan shot her way before he ran a hand down his face.

Charles just looked at Alethea as she slid back down the seat and looked awkwardly his way, Charles shook his head, a smile coming to his face as it was clear that Logan just wasn't awake and ready for Alethea's level of cheer. She could be overly enthusiastic at times, Charles could admit to that, but that was one of her endearing qualities, that happiness could be contagious, especially her smiles and laughter.

Moving another piece and just watching as Alethea jumped up and lazily hovered down the aisle back to her original seat, Charles just tilted his head in thought. He couldn't imagine it, a future where those two were together, he didn't doubt Logan, he wasn't calling him a liar considering how honest he had spoken about the subject, no matter how brief. But they were an amusing pair to think about, his gruff, sarcastic and sometimes standoffish nature, and her, smiles, comforting and wanting the best for everyone; even if Charles could admit Alethea had a sarcastic nature lurking within her. Maybe that's what they bonded over? Sarcasm. The thought had Charles shaking his head again and topping his glass up, the future was going to be certainly entertaining watching them two, he meant no offence.

—

"Paris!" Alethea threw her arms in the air and looked around with a wide smile on her face. She'd never been to France before, the skyline looked like most cityscapes, she guessed all cities were the same in some way or another, buildings blocked together and close together as high-rises were dotted about here and there. Of course, she was more than interested in seeing the Eiffel Tower, but this was shot down by Charles.

"We're not on holiday, remember?" Charles frowned and pulled his sister's arm gently, her feet landed back on the ground as she looked awkwardly around. He just looked at her with a hopeful look, excitement had slip-ups, it was different than Raven who usually did such things to prove a point, Alethea often didn't realise she did them.

"Yes, I am aware. We're here to find Trask, and more importantly Raven. But we're here a day early, so can't we at least look around?" Alethea removed his hand from her arm and held it lightly, even swinging it between them as they took to walking.

Charles wiggled his hand free and put his arm around her shoulders, looking over his sunglasses at her, Charles honestly thought the time change would be hitting her, he certainly felt his body shift a little sluggishly. Hank for one looked ready to drop and sleep, having piloted them here, he needed a rest for sure before this conference. They knew that the Hotel Royale was where the meeting was happening, that was where Trask would be, along with Raven. It made sense to at least scope out somewhere to stay until then, especially seems Hank looked like he really needed to sleep even though that could end dangerously.

"It hasn't changed much since I was last here, I don't think you're missing out on anything." Erik said while stepping beside the pair, he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and frowned about himself.

Alethea shot him a look, "Yeah, you. Since you were last here, Erik. I've never been."

"What are you hoping to do?" Erik asked, he was curious, what could she fit in to the small avenue of free time they had. Alethea just narrowed her eyes, having her glasses on Erik had sharp green eyes stare up at him. Disguise or not, he was at least still glad she opted for that than the serum.

"I don't know! Just look around..."

Erik frowned down at the shorter female beside him. "That sounds dull." He was expecting something else, something definitely more tourist sounding, not just have a look around the city, even though that could sound like a tourist thing, it also sounded way too aimless.

Alethea smirked and wagged a finger up at him, "You've been here before, how about a refresher and a tour?"

"Absolutely not," Charles shot that down even before Erik could think of a reply.

"I was joking!" Alethea laughed and held her hands up, Charles looked uncertainly at her while Erik just shook his head, he wasn't going to openly call her out as a liar, but she sounded quite serious then. In front of the three of them Hank was silently leading the way from the airstrip and seemed to have it in much the same mind as Charles; find somewhere cheap and easy to stay in, to rest and plan.

Logan walked in the back of the group, his eyes scouring around the city they were now within and finding himself frowning every so often over the little conversation in front of him. Yes, Alethea and Erik getting along really didn't sit well with him, it made him as uneasy as it clearly did Charles. Logan just raised an eyebrow, did the man just go through the whole family, or something? Literally, Erik and this family just seemed like a bad match, but Logan just pulled his leather jacket more around himself when the wind picked up.

It was pleasant enough weather, although it looked like it had recently rained, small little puddles littered the roads and paths; the sun was still shining in a rather clear blue sky, and white fluffy clouds drifted about, not showing any signs of rain anymore. He was at least glad of that, Logan had a feeling that rain would just make this whole trip to Paris a lot worse, he didn't know why.

Luckily hopes and prayers answered, a convenient little hotel seemed to cater to spontaneous guests, they didn't seem wholly fussed about who they had staying and none of them wished to point out that it might not be safe but it wasn't like they couldn't all look out for themselves, and they could also look out for Charles.

The best part of this dodgy little hotel was that it had a bar and having discovered he drew the short straw and somehow got lumbered with sharing a room with Erik, Logan was making use of the bar for as long as possible. Charles obviously was never going to share a room with him, the pair barely managed to get along when travelling here, and Hank, well, even Logan could see the lankly male was finding it hard to keep himself together, he looked tired, and Logan guessed he was going to eventually pass out.

Alethea won out of all of them, having getting her own room. That had looks sent her way, but she just seemed over the moon, and in fact Logan couldn't help but eventually muse, while sitting at the bar, that being on her own meant she could get up to whatever she wanted. Actually, maybe her being on her own was a bad idea...

Even when everyone was walking off to their rooms, Charles and Hank, even with him being sleepy, were talking about a plan for tomorrow, Erik would chime in then and the three would nod and go over things again. Logan was leaving them to it, they clearly knew Raven way better than he did, he couldn't contribute to this plan, he was just glad to see that finally they were here, that a turning point was coming up, Trask was going to get stopped soon, very soon.

Logan's thoughts trailed off, his head tilting as familiar footsteps echoed from the little foyer behind him, he also recognised the steady beat of the heart and found himself turning on the stool and frowning. "Where are you going?" Alethea clearly hadn't realised he was there, Logan had to give her credit for looking ashamed at being caught out. "Well?" She was just standing still and staring at him, Logan leaned back against the bar and watched her sigh and walk forwards. He knew what she was doing, he'd already guessed it, she had said it too, she wanted to go on an explore.

Jumping onto a stool next to him, Alethea looked at him seriously. "Want to go somewhere more interesting?"

Logan frowned her way, looking her over as she leaned her head against her fist and looked at him patiently. "Are you asking me out on a date, Thea?" Smirking, Logan wasn't exactly the smoothest with words at the best of times, and this was one such time and it had her letting out a laugh.

"You're not going to let me walk out of that door. So, either come with, or I'll pretend like you won't follow." Alethea waved a hand at the main exit that could be seen from where she was sitting. If she honestly walked away from him now, she knew he'd down the last of his drink and just walk after her; that wasn't presumptuous, she just knew it because Charles had shot down her want to go for a walk, Logan had loyalty to Charles, no matter which version, and he sure as hell clearly wasn't going to let Charles's sister go off.

Logan sighed and looked around the bar, it was small, badly lit and really, he was only present to get a drink, it wasn't the worst place he'd ever drunk in, but it was creeping up the list thanks to some of the people present who were eyeing them both weirdly; mainly Alethea, clearly people hadn't met many with purple hair. He couldn't help but feel like she'd draw some attention to herself, purely accidentally wherever they went.

Alethea rolled her eyes and slipped from the stool. "So, you've chosen option two." She waved over her shoulder and started to walk off, her hands slipping into her pockets, she had put her gloves on and seemed more than content to just see what was around the area. 

Logan let out a low sigh, in truth it sounded more like an irritable grumble, he turned and finished what he wanted of his drink before standing and pulling his jacket on. He exited the hotel and looked around, he could track her, as bad as that was to admit her heartbeat was unique to his ears and she had this comforting vanilla aroma, "Logan! Fancy seeing you here," he had barely walked out the door to look to the wall where Alethea was leaning, grinning his way.

He walked her way and straightened his jacket out, standing in front of her, he looked at her seriously. "We're not going far, right?" Alethea stayed leaning against the wall, a small grin on her face as she hummed out a reply. Logan frowned, he was being serious here, Charles would never forgive him if something happened while the man thought she was in her room. Or maybe he didn't. For all Logan knew, Charles suspected she'd go wandering too and knew. "Thea, I'm being serious. We're not going far."

"I know I heard you!" She actually sounded like she whined out her reply, not liking him lecturing her.

Logan's frown if it was possible, just seemed to deepen, "There's a man here somewhere, who has machines that can hunt mutants out. Us even being here, right now, is dangerous." He hated to state the obvious, they weren't near the hotel where the conference would take place, however, he also had zero clue where Trask was even staying. Nor did Logan know if he had anything Sentinel related with him, if he did, and if a mutant crossed his path, Logan knew the man wouldn't hesitant to strike.

"I know." Alethea's tone turned serious too, her expression going blank as she stared up at him. 

Logan nodded, "Right," he said, seeing as how she understood the gravity of this, he nodded his head to the side and watched her peel away from the wall. She seemed less enthusiastic now, and Logan couldn't help but feel like she was just hoping he'd go along with this little walk without a comment. Chance would have been a fine thing, whether he voiced a thought or not, but he often had many thoughts about many things and this was one time where he had to say something.

Alethea didn't reply to him, her eyes just looking about herself, she was enjoying looking over the street they were on; the architecture differed a little to what was back in America, but there was something still familiar about the streets, perhaps because it was lined with shops, she very well could be back home, or even back in England; it was a universal thing, just shops were shops no matter the country it was familiar territory.

Logan understood her want to get out, to explore, she just seemed curiously minded and sitting still was dull to her. Nudging his shoulder gently against hers had Alethea looking at him weirdly, she still looked unhappy. Logan looked at the people passing them by, none of them gave them a second glance, "I know you're not stupid, Thea. So...guess I'm sorry about what I said."

"You suck at apologising." Alethea scoffed and shook her head, "But apology accepted, I guess." She returned the favour of being vague and got a smirk for it. "I know it's perhaps not wise to be out, but I can't help with making a plan to get Raven, Charles and Erik are taking lead there. I haven't got an alternative, watch television, sleep or go for a walk; you can see why the walk was the option I went with." She paused, a heavy sigh coming from her as she looked at him honestly. "I can't sit still because the prospect of tomorrow is just unsettling to me."

"Do you think Raven won't listen to you?" Logan asked, he couldn't stop her feeling that way, but he could try and understand the why.

Alethea ran a hand through her hair, an awkward laugh coming from her as the pair paused to cross a road. "Honestly? I don't know. We haven't seen her for years, we're all different people, Logan; we're not who we were, so much has happened...what if familiarity is gone?"

"You're a family, family doesn't change, no matter the time that's passed." Logan said while following the other pedestrians, honestly, they were aimlessly wandering but they hadn't gone too far, thankfully.

Alethea looked at him curiously, "The mutants from this time and the future school, they're all a family, regardless."

Logan shook his head and looked at her, "I think all mutants are a weird family, in some way or another." When people turned their backs, well, when some did, mutants who otherwise hadn't ever got along were suddenly side by side, fighting and getting along together.

"You make us sound like we're all related somehow..." Alethea said awkwardly with a laugh coming from her, Logan's distant expression disappeared as he just shot her a confused look, that just set her laughing more before letting out an exclaim when someone rushed and barged into her.

Logan steadied her by clasping onto her shoulders gently, even he frowned at the retreating form of the suited man, he didn't even glance their way, he was busy trying to hail a taxi without any regard to the fact he'd blatantly walked into someone. Logan watched him suspiciously, but nothing alerted him to being anything to do with Trask, he was just some rude man who didn't even spare them a second glance.

"It isn't just Raven," Logan looked down and had Alethea just looking his way slowly, he let her shoulders go and she smiled his way thankfully for helping her catch her balance. "It's Erik."

"Of course it is." Logan despaired, well, he certainly knew this was coming.

"I said to Charles, when you first mentioned Erik coming out of his cell, whether we were ready for that, let alone the world. You said that the Erik you knew, was as bad if not worse than the Erik we know. I've said it, he is always planning, what we plan for tomorrow may very well differ to his plan. Do you see what I'm hinting at, Logan?" Alethea asked, jumping out of the way of someone with a little dog yapping about on its leash, she gave the dog a weird look before feeling a hand on her shoulder and she gave no resistance to being guided to the other side of Logan.

Having her walk on the inside of the pavement and not on the road side, he found himself nodding slowly, he fully understood where she was coming from. It wasn't like he hadn't thought a similar at some point throughout this. The Erik he knew could be cleverly conniving, Alethea was right, he was often planning something. "Do you think he'll double-cross us?" Logan found himself asking, a frown slowly appearing on his face as he felt stupid for even asking this.

Alethea looked at him worriedly, "Don't you think he will?"

"For what purpose?" Logan asked, Erik got here because of them, he was free because of them, surely there would have to be at least a little loyalty to that fact? But then Erik did like self-preservation, Logan couldn't deny that...feeling a hand pat him gently on the arm, Logan looked away from the street and down at Alethea, she smiled sadly at him.

"Does Erik need a reason? He often does things he wants to, regardless." He was a reaction to an action at the best of times, and Alethea did and had always feared that having him free would just cause chaos in the world that it didn't rightly need. It was bad enough with Raven and the Sentinel issue, but what if that got solved and then along came Erik with a new and bigger issue to resolve? Logan suddenly didn't feel as confident about being here as he did previously, things had been going relatively smoothly, why now did he feel, much like Alethea, that Erik was about to be the hiccup in this? "Are you hungry?" Alethea's voice cut into his thoughts, Logan slowly blinked and realised he was just staring off at nothing, but he looked down at her.

"Are you sure this isn't a date?" He commented with a chuckle, Alethea looked at him with a rather unamused expression, Logan was taking her answer as a no. Although it was entertaining to watch her cheeks go a little rosy and her to shift uncomfortably and awkwardly. Teasing her shouldn't be funny, but it was a little.

Rolling her eyes, her expression shifted and Logan just found it was his turn to look hesitantly her way. She had this little mischievous glint in her eyes, currently being tinted green behind her glasses just made them look sharper; even the smile tugging at her lips went incredibly well with her cheeky expression. Reaching up, she patted him on the shoulder, "Sure, if accompanying me on a walk for the sake of making sure I don't get lost, or so you can snitch to Charles that this happened, is a date to you. Then a date it is, Logan." The pat on his shoulder was rather patronising as she even sounded it too before smiling and slipping away from his side when a little café caught her eyes; more the array of pastries within the window is what caught her eyes.

Logan held a hand out, "I wouldn't go to Charles. What am I, ten?" He scoffed and followed after her, he put his hands in his jean pockets and just looked over the food. He didn't know how the little hotel was even paid for; he was too busy scoping out the area to miss the whole checking in moment. So, he couldn't help but tap her on the shoulder lightly, "How do you plan to pay for something?" He asked curiously, he didn't remember witnessing anyone get money for this trip. That was something that probably should've come with hindsight.

"Oh," Alethea stopped practically ogling all the food beyond the window and smiled up at him. "Did I fail to say? Most of Erik's stuff is in storage, he spent time in France when he was hunting for Shaw. That also means he left money behind, luckily, it's all still in circulation or else this would be awkward." She beamed at her explanation, even rocking on her heels a little as she continued to smile up at him. She knew he heard her explain where the clothes came from, that she gave to Erik. Did Logan honestly think it was just clothes Erik had left behind? "There you go, Logan. Your date is funded by Erik, can't say he didn't do anything for you." She shrugged and turned back to the window, tilting her head and looking over the pastries again.

Logan had all manner of responses, but he just found himself raising an eyebrow and finding himself shaking his head with a quiet laugh. "You gonna go in, or just continue to stand there?" He decided to just ask, he could've commented about her stealing money from Erik's stored possessions, but really, Logan honestly didn't care all too much if they were taken from Erik. That should've made him feel bad, but actually, with everything Erik did to him, and there was plenty, Logan thought that actually, sure, yes indeed Erik could fund this little venture.

Alethea's eyes flicked sidelong at him, because of the glasses one eye was purple and the other still a greenish hue. "Want something? Remember, it's all on Erik..."

"Well, you know what? I am suddenly feeling hungry, so yeah, I'll take you up on your offer." Logan said, sounding as thoughtful as he did sarcastic, it made Alethea laugh, she somehow thought he'd change his mind, by all means she didn't know what could ever give her that impression.

"Come on," Alethea patted his arm again and nodded towards the door, they were just standing a little in the way of people who were still busying around the street. A few times people had shot looks their way, not that either seemed to pay mind or care. Right now, all Alethea seemingly cared about was enjoying this little snippet of normalcy before tomorrow, and also getting food. The fact that Logan was humouring her and joining in was just a plus, a bonus she would happily accept with open arms.

Soon, with food in hands the pair were back to walking along the street, Logan found his jacket being pulled on gently when Alethea caught sight of a little park. She looked rather excited at the prospect of walking in it, so he just gently shook her hand free, placed his hand against her shoulder and held onto her, she was literally just going to go running across a street. Logan had zero idea she had such awful awareness, if she saw something that interested her, she made a beeline for it, regardless of anything dangerous around; busy road, cars, that equalled danger.

She seemed relatively unbothered by being reigned in and guided across a street, means to an end, as long as she got in the park, she seemed happy enough; he could even carry her over the road, and she wouldn't give a damn as long as she could explore this little park. It was small, a block of flats seemed to be situated nearby, so perhaps the two things were linked like a communal garden space or something, regardless dog walkers and other visitors to the green space were just meandering around.

Kicking back on a bench, Alethea stretched her legs out and wistfully sighed. Logan looked her way curiously, that was quite the sound to come from her and he didn't know why. She looked around and stared up at the sky before eating some of her cinnamon roll. "It's mad to think about, isn't it? How everyone tomorrow will be celebrating negotiations and such, if I were back home, I'd probably be watching it on the news. Never thought I'd actually be here for this." Alethea wondered aloud, she seemed to be more musing to herself than wanting an answer.

"Well, I can't say I thought I'd be here." Logan leaned back against the bench too, his legs stretching out alongside hers and crossing at the ankles.

"That's a good point. What would you have been doing? Like, when you first appeared, Charles said he had met you before, when we were looking for Shaw, right? But you basically flipped him off. So, with this, where would you have been, and what would you have been doing?" Alethea turned, tucking her legs up and looking at Logan curiously, needless to say him suddenly hopping and appearing in an earlier version of himself must've been both jarring, and just overall a weird experience. But surely, he was doing something with his life before he hijacked himself?

Logan sighed slowly, his eyes looking around the park and trying to think of a suitable answer. Well, he was clearly body guarding before he came back; no, Alethea did not need to know, yet again, how he awoke in this time and where, and who with. That was just awkward, Logan felt awkward in that situation let alone telling her...when he first met Charles, way back when, he was in a bar, but he wasn't really doing anything, he had been involved in the Vietnam War...

Alethea just looked at him worriedly, he had that far off look again and she leaned forwards and appeared in his line of sight. "That bad?"

"What? No, no. Just...uneventful, boring." Logan said slowly, face it, body guarding could only last so long and he knew it as a future was slowly creeping forwards where he would be taken and experimented on.

"You are many things, Logan. But I can't ever think of describing you as uneventful and boring."

He paused eating to slowly look her way, Alethea just smiled his way. "You don't need to further butter me up, Thea. The food was enough, flattery is unneeded."

She laughed at that and shook her head, "You're an idiot." She decided, "I take it back, maybe you are boring and uneventful."

"As well as an idiot?" Logan wished to just say too, waving a hand her way and not taking any of this to heart. "I've been called worse things, but nice to see how you truly feel and think of me." He joked, he was joking, his tone was sarcastic sure but he was laughing quietly to himself. Only he got a frown sent his way by Alethea, "I'm not being serious." Logan thought she hadn't figured he was joking entirely here.

She rolled her eyes, her expression going distant as she just watched someone who was jogging laps. "I'd have remained in the school. Bored, day in and day out just existing. Do you know why I was so adamant on coming out?" Alethea's tone was quiet, her face turning and looking at him, Logan just shook his head, the way she spoke just had him struggling to think of what to say, or if he should say anything. She clearly needed to come out with something, and Logan would let her do just that. "Because the last few years of my life have been nothing but mundane. Life is just a rollercoaster, with little snippets of good before a load of shit comes to throw you off course. Shaw, Cuba, the War; everyone I know and was close to going, leaving and possibly dying. I can see why Charles opted out, that pain is a lot to carry. Carry it I did though...my point is that if things still go to pot, if tomorrow doesn't go to plan; I want at least some decent memories to recall and dwell on."

Logan sat thinking over her words for a few moments, the takeaway paper bag in his hand was scrunched up and dumped in the bin a little to the side of where they were sitting. Alethea held hers out and he threw that in too before turning, resting an arm across the back of the bench, he had her looking up from her lap at him. Logan tilted his head, he had many responses that he could come out with, some more diplomatic sounding than others, but instead he gave a nod. "Yeah, you deserve that. Everyone deserves that," he said slowly, when things got bad, it wasn't like he didn't often find himself dwelling on past good experiences. 

Who didn't do that? Everyone needed to draw hope and happiness from something, and those were memories or at least memories of moments such as this; sitting in a Parisian park, having eaten takeaway pastries as people around them just paid them no mind, and they paid no mind to them either.

With a smirk though, his hand tapped her on the shoulder, Alethea tilted her head and looked at him curiously, she didn't know why he was looking at her like that for, but she fidgeted and brushed her hair over her ears waiting for him to talk. "You want your recent memories to involve me?"

Alethea let out a disbelieving laugh as she looked at him incredulously, Logan just continued to smirk, although that was more growing into a wry, lopsided grin. "I don't even know what to say!" She continued to laugh and shake her head in shock, although she eventually frowned and looked at him curiously. "If I said yes, would that be such a bad thing?" She questioned, her tone a little awkward sounding as she didn't quite know how or what he would respond with. 

She liked Logan, found his company enjoyable, reassuring and fun; there never seemed to be a dull moment, his dry sense of humour made her laugh, and so did his sarcasm. But that wasn't to say he couldn't show moments of clarity, or care, even showing that however his disposition may appear, that deep down, as she had already said, he was a good guy who cared a hell of a lot more than what he perhaps outwardly showed.

Also, Alethea wasn't blind, nor was she a hugely aesthetic person, but anyone and everyone could see that Logan was a good looking man, although he spent an awful lot of time frowning and looking rather annoyed at near enough everything, it didn't mean when he rarely wasn't frowning away at something, that his features weren't pleasing to look at; hell, even Alethea had to hold her hands up and say even when looking livid, Logan still was a good looking man, the annoyance really played well with him.

But he had a rather contagious smile, when he smiled and wasn't smirking about looking smug at something or rather, and his eyes were kind even if they had moments of looking lost and confused, before he could comprehend the situation around him, they had only ever looking understandingly and curiously at her; Logan had never looked at her like he wasn't hugely interested in anything she'd come out with, even if it was throwing numerous questions at him for the sake of her curiosity, Logan had never looked fed up, or annoyed, he just watched and waited and looked at her with this level of patience that someone would have when they clearly hugely respected another, but also valued whatever they were about to say.

He had been honest about the future her and himself, and though she had hoped not to allow some imprinting or a line to cross, she also couldn't deny the fact that quite simply, being around Logan made her feel safe, wanted, not that she didn't with her friends, but it felt different with Logan, like it was treasured time to be in each other's company. But and if she was being honest, her stomach did this weird twisting thing around him, and her heart felt weird; undeniably, Alethea wasn't stupid, she understood what a crush was well enough, and she didn't know how to cope with that really.

Even with being lost in thought, she came back to when Alethea felt his hand to move from her shoulder, his fingers chanced to brush through her hair, the action was gentle and familiar and though it had originally made her jump, she actually found the warmth of his hand against and amongst her hair comforting. Something was niggling away in her though, something stating that over the course of this little moment, and maybe even over moments that happened on the jet, that something had shifted here.