Returning late with a rather half asleep teenager, and another which seemed way too tense for his own good, wasn't exactly how returning back to base was envisioned. Sean Cassidy and Alex Summers were the last two to be recruited, which meant that the initial act of finding any more mutants was now over with. But it also meant that they were two more new additions to try and introduce to everyone else, as well as two more new additions to try and get to settle down in this base quickly. Admittedly it was not the easiest place to call a temporary home. It was rigid, and run on rules, after rules. Agents watched nearly every move, and if they didn't then the CCTV cameras would.

Pushing open the door to the shared space, it could be easily admitted that none of them expected anyone to still be up. It was almost midnight after all, most would be in bed fast asleep by now. Apparently not according to Liesel, who seemed nose deep in a book. Though hearing footsteps she looked up with a smile. She had to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust from small print to now looking at people, but she smiled nonetheless. "Evening." She marked her page and snapped the book shut. Tilting her head she looked over the four males and frowned. "Tired?"

"You have no idea!" The curly copper haired teenager wasted no time in exclaiming with slight over exaggeration at her question.

Liesel laughed and shook her head. "You have been busy then?"

"Well," he walked away from the other three and sat down by her side. He stretched his legs out and rested them on the coffee table. "Attempting to chat up a girl ends in failure and then these two appear, yeah, I've been busy."

Liesel looked at the boy curiously, he was strange. "Liesel, this is Sean." Charles decided to get one introduction over with now seeing as how she was here.

"Hi," Sean smiled at her while resting his head back on the sofa.

"Hello." Liesel replied while drumming her fingers on the cover of her book. "And you are?" Here she looked to the otherwise silent blonde.

"Alex." He answered not waiting for Charles to introduce him.

"Hello." Liesel said in a quiet voice and narrowed her eyes when all she got in return was a nod. "You know it is usually the stoic who care the most." Liesel looked Alex up and down and raised an eyebrow. "What institution have you come from?" She asked upon seeing the dull uniform colours and matching hoodie and trousers Alex was standing in.

"Liesel-"

"I merely ask." She cut Charles off with a curt smile. Turning she opened her book and waved a hand at them. "As you were, fellas, as you were..." Liesel's voice trailed off as she got lost in the written words before her. She minutely paid attention to footsteps shuffling away from her and down the hall. No doubt Sean and Alex were being shown which rooms were spare and going. The opening and closing of doors echoed mutely in the quiet space. All the while she remained motionless, cross legged having a reading pyjama fest on the sofa.

Feeling the sofa dip however caught her attention, looking away from the page and to the side she wasn't wholly surprised to see Erik sitting there. He leaned back into the cushions and stretched his legs out, resting an elbow to the armrest and leaning his head against his hand; he shut his eyes as the other arm rested by his side. Shrugging slowly Liesel looked to the side and picked up a pillow. Smiling somewhat mischievously she placed it to her head before slowly laying down. Turning onto her back she opened her book and found her place again.

Seeing as how neither of them had moved to their rooms, Charles shuffled back down the corridor once he was sure neither Sean or Alex were going to suddenly decide to try and leave. Peering around the door frame he couldn't help but lightly smile. It was too hard not to, really. Though Liesel seemed quite content with reading and laying comfortably on a pillow which now rested in Erik's lap, he on the other hand had taken to frowning; yet otherwise he hadn't moved from his original position, though he did have to wrestle his arm out from underneath Liesel to rest it on the back of the sofa. With a quiet sigh Charles rolled his eyes and turned away. He was leaving them to it. It wasn't like they had any real plans tomorrow, other than getting to know each other. But that was about it. Knowing how the majority of the team were teenagers; Charles highly doubted they'd be up early. Face it, tomorrow was going to be a lazy day. Would a lazy day actually be so bad? He mused over this as he finally settled down in his room to get some much needed sleep.

Much needed sleep and Liesel was not an equation that was needing to happen right now. However...one of two people in the room needed sleep. "Have you finished yet?" Erik asked, sounding tired.

Liesel peered over the book so only her eyes could be seen really. "Be more specific." Her eyes narrowed slowly.

Erik's eyes opened, "You know what I mean."

"The page, yes. The chapter, no. The book, definitely not. This particular sentence, in a few words. This paragraph...give me a few sentences." Liesel said, he may have skimmed the specifics; but she surely hadn't. And if anything her doing so caused him to narrow his eyes down at her, which she responded to with a smile. "If you are tired, why are you even out here? Why did you not go straight to bed?" She asked while lowering the book and resting it against her chest as she simply looked up at him.

Sighing heavily, he ran a hand down his face. Rubbing his eyes and looking about the dimly lit room; Liesel had found the dimmer after further inspection of this room, and set it to a low setting which made the space a lot less blinding. "Because if left to your own devices you won't."

Liesel pouted at this. "That doesn't matter."

"Really? How would you like being woken up by hungry teenagers in the morning because you've fallen asleep on the sofa? Do you honestly want that? It doesn't sound like the most ideal way to start the day, does it?"

Snapping the book shut, Liesel sat up and flung her legs over the edge of the sofa. Putting the book on the coffee table she stood up slowly. Straightening out the loaned pyjama trousers she pulled her cardigan more around herself before gesturing a hand to the corridor. "Bed before you yourself sit there and go to sleep. Then who will be the one getting woken by hungry teenagers?" Liesel smiled and laughed quietly.

Erik stood up and looked to the discarded book. "Why didn't you just read in your room?"

Liesel looked at him like he was stupid as she moved towards the doorway. "How else would I know you'd returned, if I wasn't out here?" She asked simply while reaching her room and opening the door quietly. Erik looked at her and shook his head, he didn't quite know how to really answer that so he didn't. "By the way: welcome back, and good night."

"Good morning." By now the time had shifted past twelve.

"There's those specifics!" Liesel laughed quietly with a growing smile. "Good morning then, Erik." Leaning upwards she reached out and loosely wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "And welcome back. Yes, I know, there was no immediate danger by going out to get these newcomers...but I did have a small slither of dread knowing that you were out there."

"If something bad did happen, and you were there; what would you do?"

"It isn't that. It's knowing that if something bad did happen that you are not alone. Now seriously, go get some much needed rest, yes? Good night, good morning, whatever! See you tomorrow, Erik." Liesel slipped away from him and smiled one last time before walking into her room and shutting the door quietly behind herself. She shuffled over to her bed and simply collapsed on it. Curling around the pillows she held onto them, shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

----

Waking up to silence was something new, something completely alien. Liesel had never known herself to wake up to nothing. No quiet thrum of activity, no quiet murmurings from beyond her door, not even the sounds of traffic could be heard. Seeing as how she was half buried in her pillow, her lone visible eye looked about dimly. Apparently to the digital clock on the bedside table it was 9.20, which seemed way too early to be awake. Pushing herself up onto her elbows she yawned quietly before manoeuvring herself out of bed. Reaching down she pulled her cardigan off of the floor, where she vaguely remembered throwing it sometime in the night.

Pulling it on she rolled the sleeves up as she padded quietly towards the door. Her bare feet hardly made a sound against the white tiled floor which led to the main living space. Reaching behind herself she took to tying her hair up and off of her face, she'd shower later once she had breakfast. She figured now that there were more people present there'd be some sort of queue for them, the sooner and earlier she got in there the more likely it was to still have hot water. Scratching the back of her neck she yawned quietly behind her other hand while turning the corner. She stopped short though and frowned.

"Good morning," Charles said rather cheerily, too cheerily for such an early time of the morning. Liesel looked about with a frown still on her face. She pointed a finger at him, then lowered her arm and just looked about. "Are you okay?" He asked concerned by her moment.

"I feel like I'm intruding, you seem so content out here on your lonesome." Liesel said while finally moving out of the doorway and moving over to the table which sat in the kitchen area.

Charles laughed quietly at this and placed the newspaper he was reading down on the table. "This place is as much yours as it is mine." He said firstly while she leaned her head against one folded arm while the other reached out and picked at the corners of the paper across from her. "There is no need for you to feel as such."

"It's only you up, huh?"

"It is."

"For how long?"

"For about two hours." Charles replied while her eyes snapped to him with surprise. "Not all of us can have lay-ins you know?"

"What have you got to do that warrants you being up so early? You out here sitting and guarding the fruit bowl or something?" Liesel asked while nodding slowly to the fruit bowl at the other end of the table, the contents of which was untouched; save for one missing apple which Liesel had the other day.

"For one: planning a meeting of sorts had me waking up and thinking."

"And secondly?"

"The fruit bowl will be fine without my help." Charles smiled, Liesel rolled her eyes. "Are you hungry?" At this Liesel pulled a face, "What is it?"

"I've been spoiled."

"Sorry?" At this Charles was rather confused, he sent her a puzzled look even as he shifted to stand from the table.

Inhaling deeply Liesel looked about herself. "The food is...rubbish."

"I know, but we have to make do with what we've got, no?"

"That's admirable." Liesel said while shutting her eyes slowly only to open them and look to the male across from her. "Does it make you uncomfortable?" Liesel asked while sitting upright. Charles looked somewhat ashamed that he had been caught staring at the tattooed numbers etched onto her arm. "I did once think about burning it off, you know? But then I thought, they're as much a part of me as say...my fingernails." She paused and rocked onto two legs on her chair. "What is this meeting you mentioned, Charles?" Liesel asked deciding that perhaps talking of something else would actually get him to talk, other than sending her slight saddened looks and silence. He wasn't the first to act as such, and she was sure he wouldn't be the last.

"Briefing, of sorts. It would be much easier to tell you all why you're all gathered other than tell you in separate and in passing."

"How entertaining."

"You don't approve I see." Charles finally moved and walked towards the kitchen area. Truth be told there wasn't a whole lot to choose from to eat. So after waving boxes of cereal in the air, and even the bread, it seemed settled to hunt out a bowl and some juice, after Liesel had stated that the coffee tasted like rainwater, Charles was not sure if she really knew what dirty rainwater tasted like, but he wasn't going to ask. Placing the chosen cereal, the bowl, and the glass of juice down he returned for the milk and sat that down before settling into his chair again. He leaned back and watched her simply pour the cereal and milk into a bowl, picking up the spoon she stabbed at the floating shapes before shaking her head. "Why, may I ask?"

"There is no easy way to tell someone that they're going to have to fight. And that they've been practically bought here for such a reason; as well as clearly acting as unknowing research subjects." Liesel ate a spoonful of cereal slowly, she looked at him with a simple look. Swallowing and nodding at him, she smiled thinly. "You don't need a meeting for that. Unless of course you have been instructed to. What...are we going to have to sign some piece of paper, or something to guarantee our silence and cooperation?" Liesel asked sceptically with a quiet scoff.

"Whereas you are up to date with everything, and why you are here, others aren't." Charles replied sternly, Liesel continued eating as if clearly getting on the wrong side of the telepath, again, didn't affect her at all. "If you have any queries like that, wait until then to voice them, yeah?"

Liesel scrunched her nose up and sipped from her glass. "Ja." It was silent then, all that could be heard was her quiet eating. And even that ended after a few more minutes. "Sorry." Liesel pushed herself out of her chair and took her stuff to the sink. Leaning against the counter she looked at Charles. He turned in his chair to look at her properly. "I've always had a problem with my opinions. And thinking before speaking too, it seems. I suppose I've got to learn to curb those habits, hm?"

"It would perhaps be for the best."

Liesel winced as she pushed away from the counter. Stopping by the table she picked up her glass and drunk from it before pointing a finger at him with a smile. "Can't ask me to change too much, don't expect miracles." She turned on her heels and returned to her room. "Say, what time is this meeting?" She asked from over her shoulder.

"Twelve." Charles simply replied while she quietly repeated that and returned to her room. He sighed and picked up his newspaper again, sighing again, but heavier, he couldn't help but remind himself that this whole thing wasn't likely to be easy.

----

Edited: 10/June/2019

Reedited: 16/August/2021