ax_main | Gilmore & Vex, November 16

Gilmore meets Vex'ahlia (and Trinket) and is both charming and charmed.

Vex arrived early for class, trying to get a feel for the layout of her new school. This was one of those combined distance learning classes with varying age groups in the space. She poked around, found a good seat, and waited for her classmates to shuffle in. Vex tilted her head when remarkable well dressed boy with beautiful hair came in.

She thought about the students that Vax and Percy had described to her. When the young man noticed her she thought she saw recognition in his expression. Definitely someone that knew Vax. Working with process of elimination, and eyeing the boy's accessories, she asked, "Are you Gilmore?"

Gilmore swept back his hair -- he was having a truly magnificent hair day -- and grinned broadly at the young lady who seemed to already know him. He was fairly certain he already knew who she was, too. He collapsed down into a seat near her and leaned one arm on the back. "I am, the one and only, and one hundred percent at your service, miss. You must be related to my dear Vax'ildan, aren't you? I didn't think mutantkind could get much prettier than him, but I'm re-evaluating my stance on that now."

"Oh now I see," Vex said with a grin. "You are a heartbreaker, aren't you?" She offered him a hand. "I'm Vex'Ahlia. Pleased to meet you, darling."

Making a quick decision, Gilmore took her hand and half-bowed over it, with a firm and warm grasp. "Vex'ahlia. Utterly enchanted. The boys didn't mention you were joining the wild mutant rumpus here at Xavier's fine institute. Are you something of a surprise?" he inquired, eyes glinting with delight and gossip.

Oh, he was a charmer. No wonder both Vax and Percy were so fond of him. There was more than good looks. "Circumstances finally changed. And I was tired of Vax having all the fun."

"Is that what Vax has been having?" Gilmore asked, amused. "Or does your arrival herald the beginning of the fun?"

"I suppose that depends on what your preferences are for fun," Vex said with an arched brow.

Gilmore spread his hands, and offered up a veritable cornucopia of suggestions. "Dancing? Singing? Karaoke? A marathon of terrible movies? A marathon of wonderful movies? Snowball fights? Declaiming impromptu poetry to the stars? Shopping? Browsing without actually buying? Drinking too much coffee and debating the real meaning of the end of Inception?" He paused then to add, "I'm sure I can come up with more, if you give me a moment."

Vex grinned and tapped the edge of her desk. "Well, clearly we'll need to hang out outside of class."

"Name the day and I'm yours," Gilmore replied smoothly. "I haven't gotten out of here into town much..."

He trailed off, catching sight of Vex's necklace, and was distracted by the cunning little charm. "Do forgive me for staring an inch lower than your lovely eyes, my dear, but that is a charming bear pendant you have. Is it handmade?"

Vex touched her necklace. "I'm not sure. Vax liberated him for me. I've seen some of your craftwork. Percy sent links."

"Percy talks about me too? I may blush," Gilmore gushed, clearly delighted. "Yes, I run a modest online empire out of one-half of a dorm room and a few tables where I can find them in the basement. I've never tried metalsmithing on such an intricate scale. He looks quite lifelike, your little friend there."

Vex glanced at the wall clock, checking how many minutes they had before class. She turned sideways in her chair and touched the necklace again, this time releasing Trinket from the charm. The bear appeared by her feet. He sneezed and sat back on the floor. Vex reached to rub his head.

"I was advised not to bring him to classes, since he may be distracting, but occasionally Trinket is more lifelike."

That bit of magic caused Gilmore to sit up straight in surprise, both caught off-guard and completely fascinated by the... sudden small bear in the room. An actual bear. Gilmore tilted his head and gave the creature a good look, then melted again and leaned over with a hopeful look up at Vex. "Trinket? He is darling. And he's alive, isn't he? He's not mechanical -- that's part of my X-gene, I can tell these things. Does he allow himself to be pet? How in the world did you do that?"

“Trinket, what do you say?” Vex asked, checking in before agreeing on his behalf. He didn’t seem to mind petting, but there were so many new people she didn’t want to assume.

The bear made a nonplussed sound, either not understanding or not caring.

“You can pet him. He hasn’t viciously attacked anyone, so you should be fine.” Vex scooted closer. “And I guess the best way to explain it is that I can enchant objects. I haven’t tried making other animal companions come to life, but I’ve turned a few items into other things.”

"That is..." Rarely at a loss for words, Gilmore found himself unable to summon a descriptor that would accurately encompass his feelings about Vex's ability. Blinking, he reached out to rest a ginger hand atop Trinket's furry little head, taking care to pet only if Trinket seemed undisturbed by this hand.

"I create things, too, but they're generally mechanical. Physical. Ah... inert, not living. The proverbial 'bomb out of a paperclip and gum' sort of arrangement. Nothing... quite like this little wonder."

Trinket looked at Gilmore skeptically before nuzzling his hand, accepting more petting.

“I’m not very mechanical,” Vex admitted. “I can lend a hand, but I’ve never engineered myself. Imbuing objects with life is somehow less complicated. I was wondering actually, you do your own leatherwork right? I had an idea for my brother and I was hoping I could commission you and Percy to craft.”

Gilmore half-laughed, disbelieving that he was actually petting a small friendly bear at school. There was a fractured nursery rhyme lurking in this situation somewhere, he was certain. "Leather is one of my specialties. I would adore the opportunity to work with Percy, especially on something for dear Vax'ildan. What did you have in mind?"

Vex eyed the door. "A belt. Something I can enchant to take the shape it's crafted to resemble. I'm thinking snake. It'll make strip poker a more interesting party trick."

Class was about to start, and Gilmore knew he should pay attention. Regretfully, with one last pat, he withdrew his hand from Trinket's fuzzy little head. "You are, without a doubt, the first lady who's requested I craft a leather snake for her brother," he purred amusedly. "But for Vax? Anything."

Vex winked at him. “We’ll chat outside of class, darling.” She leaned to scoop Trinket up and kissed the top of his head. “Sorry sweetheart, but better put you back before we’re supposed to learn things. Unless you want to read Shakespeare for me.”

Trinket huffed a sigh.

The bear wasn't just alive, he had personality. Gilmore watched in fascination, absently pulling his books from his satchel (Shaun Gilmore carried nothing so pedestrian as a backpack). "My dear, this class cannot pass quickly enough. I live in anticipation of our conversation."

“You’re a treasure,” Vex said with immediate fondness. Vex gave the bear a final snuggle then popped him back into necklace shape.

Gilmore winked at Vex, but when he turned to pay attention to the lesson, he couldn't help but feel a little something... different. A missing piece had just slid into place regarding his new friend Vax'ildan, and he thought he understood each twin just a little bit better for having met the other. He felt very certain, as he had when meeting Vax and Percy, that he'd just made the acquaintance of someone who was his now. Or, maybe, more accurately, he was theirs.