om_main | Simon and River

The siblings go riding! They talk horses, mentors, powers, and roommates.

River walked among the stalls, stopping beside each of them to look at the horses inside, and pet the ones that came close enough for it. She had shown up in the stables early, to do just that. Say hello to the horses, and pick one. By the time Simon joined her, she was in the stall with a colt much too young to be ridden yet, but whose mind was a bright, fresh, warm sort, petting him happily.

"Nótax is lovely," she informed Simon once he was within earshot. She hoped she was pronouncing his name right; it was written beside the stall, but even if the colt knew how to pronounce it, she couldn't get enough of a hold on his mind to know. Animals gave her emotions much more than thoughts, probably because her human mind wasn't used to their thought patterns and couldn't apprehend them. "I hope we're still here when it's time to break him."

"I've always disagreed with the term," Simon answered her, leaning over the edge of the stall wall, his arms crossed beneath his chin. "Can you hear them? Animals?"

"I can feel them," River answered, not bothering to agree with Simon out loud about that word. Breaking stiff shoes was one thing; breaking horses had never been an appropriate phrase. "They don't think like us, so I can't get thoughts."

"I can feel them too," Simon admitted, smiling softly. Strange, the way their abilities complimented one another. "Their systems, I mean. It's...comforting to a degree. Sometimes I come out here to groom them, just to clear my head."

"Come here, let me feel what you feel," River requested enthusiastically.

Simon hesitated for a moment, then opened the stall door and slipped inside, closing it behind him. "Alright, but stop touching me if you start to feel overwhelmed."

The look River gave Simon clearly stated, without any need for words, 'I'm not an idiot, Simon.' She waited until he was touching Nótax, then slipped her hand inside his, loosely threading their fingers. Her eyes widened slightly at the rush of information, and her breathing quickened before evening out.

She ended up getting a double dose, too, which was something Simon should have considered, but hadn't, as he struggled to juggle not only the information from the colt, but from River herself, his brain rapidly trying to pick the two apart, without a whole lot of success. He forced himself to try and concentrate just on the horse, pain pulsing behind his eyes.

It was so much that River's look of wonder turned pained after a few seconds, and she pulled her hand back, frowning. "That is a lot." And she was the one saying so.

Simon winced as he pulled away from the colt. "Uh. Yeah. That was a lot for me, too."

"We can try again in a little while," River stated. "I'll see you later, Nótax," she told the colt in a whisper as she patted his neck, then headed out of the stall, waiting for Simon to follow so she could close it up. "Which one do you usually ride?"

"I switch off, but Caesar, the big bay at the end, is who I've been riding most often," Simon answered, headed to the tack room.

River smiled as she followed Simon. "I know you too well. I'm taking Summer Storm." He was a chestnut with a bit of a grumpy streak, but she liked the way his mind felt, and she knew that she could be more stubborn than him, if necessary.

Simon glanced over his shoulder at her, then handed her a box of brushes. "Why is that? The knowing me well?"

"I thought it might be him," River answered with a smile, and took the brushes and a halter before heading back out. She would come back for the tack later.

He paused, glancing back down the hall at Caesar, then back at River before grabbing the things he needed and following at her heels. "Do I even want to know why?"

"He feels right for you," River simply answered, setting the brushes down and walking into Summer Storm's stall. He eyed her evenly, even when she stroked his muzzle, then eventually put the halter on.

"I think you're the first person I've seen that Storm didn't deliberately turn his back on," Simon commented thoughtfully.

"You didn't see him earlier," River answered, and held the horse in place firmly by the halter when he tried to move his head away. "None of that," she told him, just as firmly, and walked him out of the stall, tying the halter to a ring so that she could groom him.

Simon watched her for a moment, then smiled to himself, turning back down the hall to get his own horse.

* * *

Even a good half-hour into riding, it was still a struggle to keep her dominance over Summer Storm, but River, if nothing else, had always liked a challenge, and some progress had been made. She shortened the reins in her hands as Simon and she stopped on top of a small hill, the better to keep him in check, and once they were secure in the one hand, patted his neck twice. He didn't overly appreciate gestures of affection - for now, anyway, but River had hope for that as well - but they did, in short supplies, serve a purpose. She could feel it on his mind, even if she could not actually read the gelding's thoughts.

"The chances of someone with the right motivation and the necessary funds finding out about mutants and doing something of this scope about it are extremely slim," she stated, smiling as she looked over at her brother. The fact that they could ride in such wide, and private, grounds, was just one more luxury. "We really are lucky."

Simon glanced over at her, noting the way she had to keep a rein on her mount. River always had to take the biggest challenge by storm, and this time was no exception. When he looked back at the grounds spreading out around them, he smiled slightly. "I guess I had never thought of it quite like that. From what I can tell, he's also very powerful, too. Even with the use of that device of his - he can find mutants through their brainwaves, all over the world."

"He's proving a very adequate mentor so far," River agreed, "and will very likely continue to be so for quite some time." Which, coming from her, meant that she truly did agree with Simon about the extent of the Professor's powers - and, on top of that, his intelligence. There were few people she had ever considered adequate tutor material, whatever subject the tutoring might be about.

Her brother actually looked a little impressed. "You really like him that much?"

"He's teaching me a lot," River answered pointedly. That was what she liked; everything she could learn from him, and from few other sources. She liked his sense of humor, too, but she did not know if she liked the man yet. Time would tell.

"Ah," Simon replied, as he translated the statement. "Well, I'm glad that he's helping you. Do you feel like you're gaining more control?"

"He insists on going through it step by step," River answered evenly. She rarely bothered answering Simon's questions directly, the way she would with a lot of other people; he was smart enough that she didn't need to. "Control is the first one." She wanted to be climbing all the steps, but Xavier sadly advocated patience.

"Prudent," her brother answered, a touch of amusement in his voice. Moira was much the same. When he'd first told her about his foray into DNA, she'd given him a half-hour lecture on how dangerous it was to push himself like that. He continued to do it, nonetheless, and he knew River would be no different.

"Dull," River replied, with a smile over at Simon. They were of the same mind. "But instructive, so far."

"I'm going to end up visiting you in the infirmary, aren't I?" Simon laughed softly.

"It is the one place anybody's most likely to find you," River pointed out, smile turning bratty.

"Cute," he answered, rolling his eyes a little, then nudged Caesar left, taking a wide switchback down the hill. Deciding not to engage her at her own game, he took a more practical tact. "Have you met many of the other students so far?"

"A few," River answered, and made a face, as she gave Summer Storm a bit more leeway and urged him into a walk beside Caesar. "I need to make more of an effort. Meet more. Brian told me all about his work in particle physics," she added, with a bright smile.

Simon raised a brow at her. "You actually got Braddock to say more than two words?"

"A lot more," River confirmed, smiling slightly. "Don't tell me you're surprised."

"He seems like a condescending ass, if you ask me. Most of the time he's so wrapped up in his work, he doesn't bother with the rest of the waking world," her brother snorted softly.

"And it's you talking," River pointed out, but not in a way that challenged Simon's opinion. Brian Braddock was much worse than Simon was. "But he'll respond if you show good manners, and respond enthusiastically if you ask about his research."

"Really?" Simon asked, honestly intrigued. "He always seems so private about it. What kind of research is he doing?"

"He's studying the behavior of neutrinos," River answered, looking thoughtful. "I think he's very used to being alone." Apart from his sister - ring a bell, anyone? "His sister has been teaching him to shield himself from telepaths, so I'm less certain than I could be."

"It sounds like I need to have a talk with both of them," Simon murmured, suddenly that much more interested in the Braddocks. Brian for his research, and Betsy for her shielding knowledge. "How are you getting on with your new roommate?"

"She freaked out when I told her what I did," River answered with a grimace. River, as a rule, never freaked out, and did not understand people who did. Not even now that she could feel them freaking out. It seemed like such a waste of energy better spent analyzing the problem, and finding a solution.

"Ah," Simon huffed out the sound, guiding Caesar across a small stream. "She's new. And, I suppose, recent events haven't leant much trust toward psychics in particular."

"She didn't even know about that," River answered, and pulled the reins in a little tighter when Summer Storm tried to go the way he wanted, instead of the way she wanted him to go - across the small stream, alongside Caesar. His irritation was loud, but it was only that, irritation, and he settled back into his stubborn groove quickly enough. "I won't be surprised if she ends up asking for another room. Her discomfort is obvious even without empathy." The slight edge to River's tone was actually aimed at herself, and not her roommate; she didn't like the feeling of inadequacy that accompanied that thought.

Simon looked over, concern poorly masked on his features. "River. She's just unsettled by her arrival. You've done nothing wrong. I'm sure that she'll realize what an amazing roommate she has."

River was silent for a few, long seconds. "You don't know what it's like. What it feels like." She hadn't known, before. She had never made friends with people her age - at least, not since she was little - but she had never felt the way they felt about her before.

He was quiet for a moment, both absorbing that and feeling for his sister. No, he couldn't imagine what it must be like for her, especially when she was trying to make friends for the first time in her life. "Do you...I can speak to her for you?"

River's instinct was to say no, to want to do this herself, but she took a few seconds to consider, looking at Simon in thoughtful silence. "You can speak to her if you like. But not for me." This was between Harley and her, and bringing Simon into it could do more harm than good, if Harley felt that it was another - intrusion.

Simon nodded gently, still watching her with an odd sadness, despite the fact that he understood her reasoning. "Alright. Look, if...if this doesn't work out, we'll find you a new roommate. A better one."

River gave Simon a sharp look, both for his suggestion and for the way he was feeling about her. "You're not responsible for my rooming arrangements, Simon." The fault, such as it was, was with her as much as with Harley. She felt uncomfortable about all of it.

"I'd like to think I'm at least a little responsible for helping you to be happy," Simon murmured in response, ignoring the look she gave him.

"You make me happy by existing," River answered, rolling her eyes. Somehow, she managed to even make that declaration sound as bratty as humanly possible.

He blinked at her, a little speechless, despite the ill-mannered tone with which he was so intimately familiar. "I...mei-mei. You make me happy too."

River grew quiet for a few seconds, letting Simon's and her own emotions alternately itch at her, and soothe it over. "I know." Her I-know really meant I'm-sorry, and she thought that he could tell, from her tone. She looked over at him again, meeting his gaze and holding it, making the connection only stronger. "But you're not responsible for me. Responsibility implies an obligation."

"Love, then?" Simon asked softly. "If I'm not allowed to be responsible for you?"

River smiled over at him, earnest and vulnerable in a way she rarely was with anybody but Simon. "Love never needs permission."