plotted starter for whichever one of Erik's family members wants to pick up the conversation and explain that this idiot fell asleep and let his tea go cold @wcrriorhearts / @mxndwitch / @survivcrsguilt
Erik Lehnsherr does not get sick. It’s a statement of fact, an acknowledgement of the way the world is; the mutant has had injuries aplenty, but he could count on one hand the number of times he has been genuinely ill. Meaning that, when his heart starts to fail, he is quick to notice.
It’s to be expected really, at his age. Auburn hair has long since greyed, and the strands around his temples are most definitely heading for white. Muscles and joints are not what they once were, and on bad days it can be painful to work with his hands; his days of sewing are long gone. His limp is more pronounced now than it ever was, and he frequently relies on the manipulation of magnetic fields to move about the island with any kind of ease. Erik has reached an age that, to most, would be entirely unthinkable. He knows the time he has left is short.
And still, he goes on. The mutant is not afraid of dying – hasn’t been afraid of that since the age of sixteen – but dying means leaving his family, his loved ones, and he will take every moment with them that the universe will allow. He will wring as much time from this life as he can, will hold on with everything available to him, until he is forced to let go. In the meantime, he is determined that his family will have no cause to worry, or to fear. And if his heart needs a little encouragement from his mutation every so often, then what of it? Nobody needs to know.
The unexpected wetness on the back of his hand jolts Erik awake, confused gaze taking a moment to focus on the world around him. He’s at home, in his favourite armchair, and Persephone is sitting at his feet, licking his hand in a way that means she’s hoping for either food or a scratch behind the ears. The mutant blinks a couple of times. Did he fall asleep in the armchair again? How embarrassing. A quick glance towards the familiar voices he can hear in the kitchen. Hopefully they didn’t notice his little nap.
Calloused fingers receive another lick, and with a small smile Erik obliges the request, lifting his hand to rest it on top of Persephone’s head, gently scratching his thumb behind one of her ears. His other hand reaches out to retrieve his cup of black tea from the nearby table, but instead grasps only air – it takes a couple of attempts before he realises the mug is no longer there. Forehead furrows. “Did someone take my tea?”
It has been a long time since Ella visited Genosha. These days, life has become busy for her and while she sees Jesse regularly, phone calls have been her main way of communicating with her grandfather in later years. Being close to Jesse has come with regular updates about the family and so Ella knows that something had been going on with the older mutant, even though everyone seems to be beating around the bush about it.
They all came to visit for Hanukkah the previous day, thinking it would be lovely to get everyone together again for once. Ella's younger siblings Ava and Lyra are racing around the house with the same skateboard that Jesse once used to teach Ella. The twins are much calmer these days and are somewhere inside trying to teach Jesse how to play Fortnite and while the women are in the kitchen talking about dinner plans, Ella has decided to join her grandfather in the living room. Nimble fingers reach out for the cup of tea on the table next to him and when she finds it cold, Ella takes it to the kitchen, asking her mom for a new one.
Persephone seems to have woken Erik when she returns to the room and Ella grins slightly. "I did. It was ice cold. Mom's making a new one for you. Did Persy wake you?" Her gigantic wolf familiar keeps close to Erik these days and everyone likes to joke about it, saying she senses that the mutant is getting old and needs a guiding dog. But Ella knows that the reason for it is different. She can see it in the thousands of golden threads that tie Erik's life together, which have been snapping more and more over the years, but never as rapidly as they do now. Persephone is a harbinger of death around humans and she can sense just like Ella that his days are numbered.
He knows, Ella is sure. It's why he wanted them all to come for the holidays like they used to, why he often sits quietly and just observes, as if he is taking in scenes for the last time. And she, as someone whose gift is death, can sense it around him. She has come to terms with her powers through the years and has grown painfully accustomed to sense death around people she knows, but it hits differently this time, because it is her grandpa and it is not just a vague shadow of death, but the absolutely inevitable. The threads will sever one after the other, until his tether to life is gone. It happens to everyone, but she isn't sure she is ready to say goodbye yet. Persepone stops liking his hand and lies down at his feet again, while Ella flops into a chair opposite him. "I brought my book, you know. The one we used to write in when I was little and came over for Hanukkah." He taught her everything about their heritage, about his parents and their traditions and Hanukkah used to be her favorite holiday, because it was just theirs. The others never came over for it and so she had something that connected them.
