Past Regrets, Future Decisions (Professor Xavier)

[Rory Ashe]

Rory was sitting in the library, reading over the records of the schools and it's inhabitants. Whether people were friends or foes he always liked to know about them, everything about them. He was like that before he had been trained for it. To truly know your enemies, sometimes you had to truly know your allies and that's what he was doing. Though he didn't know what use it was, he was planning on leaving soon.

It had been almost a month since he had come to the mansion, the longest he had ever been anywhere, and he felt he had over-stayed his welcome. Not only that, but he was getting antsy to leaving, staying tied down to one place for so long just felt wrong to him. He wasn't used to this many people, and he wasn't used to kindness, he was used to be alone. Which made studying about the mansion and the people who had been in it somewhat pointless.

Suddenly he heard his name, but he was completely alone, the library was empty. Then again he heard it and quickly set the book down and stood up abruptly, afraid someone was here with him. That is until he realized that the "voice" sounded much like Professor Xavier. He hadn't met him but once or twice over the month, mostly because the man seemed busy and Rory didn't socialize much. Regardless, if the Professor was calling him he was going to come, he was the man who had given Rory refuge after all. Slowly Rory put the books he was reading back up, then left the library. Making his way down the halls he eventually arrived at the Professors door and reached up to knock on it.

[xavier]

Professor Xavier would have contacted Rory sooner if he'd had the time. As things were though, he'd had to handle the transfer of Rose and Ian, and make sure no secrets of their move escaped. He'd had to get in contact with Sky to make sure she kept the information a secret for her sister's safety. Not to mention... He'd been looking into a school wide transfer. Cain was learning more and more about the school each day, he'd stolen their technology, and he had one of their former students at his side, telling him all their secrets. The school wouldn't be safe for much longer. Cain would soon strike it, as would the Nightshades. A move was most definitely in the future.

But, Charles had finally found the time to speak with their semi-permanent guest. With ease, he whispered to the man's mind, attracting his attention. The man would know what to do then. It was a summoning.

It didn't take Rory long to get to his office, and when he did, he would finally hear Charles' voice verbally. "Come in, Rory."

[Rory Ashe]

Rory had barely touched the door with a knuckle before he heard the Professor beckon him to enter. It was things like that, that made Rory dislike telepaths. Whispering in your mind, knowing you were there before you wanted to be known. They were a nuisance in Rory's opinion, annoying and disturbing. Then again, he had never before had to deal with a telepath he wasn't trying to kill. So perhaps telepaths who had ethics and morals were a bit different, at least he hoped so.

The large door opened surprisingly easy as Rory made his way inside. Like the rest of the mansion, this room was elegant yet comfortable. It reminded him of building styles a long time ago. "Ye wanted to see me Professor?" The ever-present Irish accent was still... Well, present.

[xavier]

Professor Xavier sat behind his large oak desk, paperwork stacked neatly across it's surface along with books and other necessary materials. A warm smile touched his lips as Rory entered, a hand offering him the chair opposite him. "Yes. Please, have a seat."

He waited for a moment, the door closed, and Rory to be seated. When all were met, he continued. "I'm sorry I couldn't meet with you sooner, as you can probably tell, things are quite hectic right now." A short pause. "How have you enjoyed your stay here at the school?" He starting off friendly, with a warm conversation before moving on to why he'd asked Rory to come today.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory immediately sat down when the Professor offered him a chair, he didn't really feel like sitting, but it was probably polite to do so. "Eh, it's no problem, boy-o." Yes, he even called people as old and respected as the Professor "boy-o". He couldn't help it really, usually he didn't even notice he had said it.

He felt like he was a child meeting with the principal, "It's been alright, I s'pose. Everyones friendly, beds are comfortable, but ye got no whiskey." Even in Rory's case, he hadn't been away from Ireland long enough to not crave whiskey.

"I don't mean to be rude or nothin' Professor, but I'm not tha' great at small talk, was there a reason ye wanted me?" Rory admitted, he really never had been one for polite conversations. He liked things straight and to the point. Though he was a bit afraid that the Professor was going to tell Rory that he knew who he was and that he had to leave, or worse, that he was going to call the authorities.

[xavier]

Professor Xavier ignored the 'Boy-o' comment. He never got angry or annoyed. It would take more then a little word like that to get on his nerves. He did run a school after all.

"Well, that's good to hear. I hope the students haven't been giving you to much trouble." A short pause, as he smiled a little. "I'm sorry. You'll have to go off campus for liquor of any sorts. We do have teenagers here, some of who would be all to eager to get their hands on some." And others that would probably see how big of a fire they could make with it.

But now, it was to business. Rory wasn't interested in idle chitchat. "Well, I have an offer for you. You have many years of experience and knowledge that I feel would be useful to share with the next generation. If you will accept, I'd like to offer you a position here."

[Rory Ashe]

"Nah, the kids are friendly..." A bit too much sometimes, Rory was easily annoyed though so he couldn't exactly say much about the kids. He knew they weren't really bad, it was just him that would get annoyed. "Eh, that's fine. I should probably be cuttin' back anyways." Rory didn't drink too much, but when he did he would always drink a lot. It took a lot to get him drunk though so it evened out. Either way, he knew he was sharper and faster without alcohol so he was trying to stop drinking it completely; the Irish in him didn't like that.

What the Professor said next though pretty much stone-walled Rory. He would have never guessed the man to ask that, he was expecting something more along the lines of; get out, or, you're not welcome here anymore. "A position? In what? I'm not that great with math or anythin'." Rory said, immediately assuming that the Professor meant a regular teaching position.

[xavier]

Professor Xavier almost raised an eyebrow. Not all of the students were friendly. He just hadn't met the more... intense students yet. None the less though, he let the subject drop, just like the alcohol one, which had reminded him of Logan just a little. Logan liked smoking and alcohol far to much, and the students knew it.

It was now Charles' turn to laugh though, shaking his head. He couldn't imagine Rory teaching in a classroom setting. "No, no. Not unless you want to teach in a classroom." He paused. "Have you ever seen a Danger Room session?" Rory probably had used the danger room at least once since coming to them, but he'd probably never watched a session between students and a teacher.

[Rory Ashe]

Rory didn't understand why the Professor was laughing. Did he think Rory teaching a class would be funny? That made him a little upset, of course Rory could teach a class of teenagers. Though, the more Rory thought about it the more he realized too that it wouldn't be a good idea. Him in tight spaces with teenage mutants all day long? That's a disaster waiting to happen, indeed.

"No, no I don't want to teach." Rory said, shaking his head resolutely before he heard what the Professor had actually meant. Rory nodded slightly as he spoke, yes, he had been to the Danger Room. He had been shown how to use it and used it once, but that was about it. "I've been in one, but never seen one, no... Why do ye ask?"

[xavier]

"Well then, I believe you'll understand after you see one. " Charles manuvered his electric wheelchair out from behind his desk, motioning for Rory to follow. He lead the tall man down the hall to one of the elevators, that took the two down to the lower levels of the school. In a matter of minutes they were outside the Danger Room, the password being put in by the Professor. In the room? A few students stood waiting around, probably for their 'guide' for the session.

Professor Xavier waved a small greeting to them, before heading towards a doorway in the wall, that normally wasn't there. "This way Rory." A few moments later, and they were up in the observation deck, one of the X-men at the control panel, ready to start the simulation. The guide to the students entered, a tall tiger like woman that, for some reason looked a hell of a lot more fearsome then she should have. Heather Robinson. She overlooked most of the students training sessions, well those who were in Paragon, just waiting for their 20th birthday.

And the simulation began.

"You see, Rory. Students go through group training exercises, survival, infiltration, and so on. In groups like this, there needs to be one person in charge, someone who knows battle inside and out. You, Logan, and Heather, and probably the most knowledgeable people I know that meet the criteria." The session was survival, and Heather had taken charge of the students in a heartbeat. And the students were listening to her with out a second thought. "The students need someone who won't panic in an emergency, to teach them what to do, and make it second nature."

[Rory Ashe]

Rory wasn't too sure what he meant by as soon as he saw a training session, but understood when the Professor began moving toward the door. Apparently they were going to go watch one. In only a few moments they were at the Danger Room, and Rory now understood why all the halls, stairs, and elavators in the mansion were shaped the way the were. It was much easier for a person in a wheel chair to get around, which was good considering the leader of the school was in a wheel chair. Which Rory had to repeatedly prevent himself from poking fun at.

Soon they were walking through a door in the Danger Room that he had never noticed before, it lead to an observation deck that could easily see the entire Danger Room. Rory of course immediately noticed the tige-like woman that was up there. "I'd hate to see the size of her litter-box." Rory said as soon as the girl turned her back to him, unable to restrain himself from saying it.

He quickly moved toward the window though when the Professor motioned toward the students that were apparently being trained by the tiger-lady. "I see... Simulation training to help the students prepare fer the real thing, makes sense." Rory said, watching the students train for a moment before speaking again. "So, ye want me to help teach these kids how to fight?"

[xavier]

Probably to everyone's surprise, if anyone had been looking, Professor Xavier smiled when Rory joked at Heather. Oh, few people had the guts to say something like that about Heather. And it was a good thing the mic hadn't been on, or Heather would have broken down the wall that hid the hall up to the deck to get her hands on whoever had said that.
"You better hope she never hears you making fun of you. Heather might just ripped your arms off." His tone was almost... laughing? But something about it was dead serious. "She can be a little short tempered, so I don't think she'd put up with any joking. From anyone."

It was obvious as they watched the simulation that Heather was no wimp. If students gave her back talk, she let the simulation get at them with out her help for a few moments until they apologized. If they didn't move fast enough she would literally drag them around like they weighed nothing. And if she went after something, it wasn't going to get back up.

"Exactly. This world doesn't show mutants any mercy. Even if they are only children." Rory would know that for a fact. That was life. "As long as I am alive, I will do everything in my power to make sure they are prepared for anything thrown their way." A short pause, as he nodded. "Yes. And you might actually enjoy it. The students are full of surprises..."

[Rory Ashe]

Rory had glanced at the Professor when he made the quip about the girl/tiger apparently named heather and saw a bit of a grin. With the Xavier's temperment Rory had expected to be scolded for making fun of her, it surprised him that he got a smile out of Xavier. He turned his attention back to the danger room session as Xavier began to talk and as he explained what Heather would do to Rory, he couldn't help but notice the man's tone.

Xavier thought it was funny that she would rip Rory's arms off? Well, he had to admit, it would be pretty funny to watch her do especially considering Rory couldn't die. "Aye, thanks for the heads up." Rory said honestly, thankful that the Professor had warned him before he made fun of Heather to her face. It was then that he did begin to notice how she trained the students.

She was quite rough with them, not that it bother Rory though. She was a world nicer to them than his trainers ever were to him. Death was common during his training, both for him and for his fellow recruits. He shuddered at the thought of these students being put through training like that, he doubted any of them would have survived.

"Aye, I know that better than most... believe me." He nodded slightly, he was sure the Professor knew of the cruelty to mutants as well as Rory did too. Something told him that they had both experianced a lot of it first hand. What he said next impressed Rory somewhat. This man really did care about the children in the school, his expression and tone both spoke volumes more about how much he cared than his words did. That was something to respect.

"I'm sure they are... Well, I'd love to teach these kids. Fighting has always been a way of life for me, and has the discipline involved has taught me more than any book. I'd like to pass that on." He said with a nod. Rory had trained people before too, and done an excellent job with it. Such an excellent job in fact that it still made Rory nervous when he knew the soldiers he had trained were nearby.

[xavier]

"Indeed. It's not always one could catch Heather in a good mood, so I once again caution you about what you say and do around her."

His smile formed once again, knowing that many students were found in the infirmary by either Heather's training sessions or Heather herself. He couldn't remember if anyone had been able to see the woman in a good mood for more then five minutes. Her feral abilities only measured by her feral temper. Xavier couldn't help but scan a few of Rory's thoughts when he commented about knowing mutant prejudice, and what he saw only made his heart sink.

"Yes...it is sad that we've gone from prejudice of race to prejudice of genetics." he said, looking out towards the window for a bit before returning his gaze to Rory, "Which is why it is imperative that we teach students to use their powers to help. I build this school to increase human and mutant relations. Though some believe it is a lost cause, I always believe it can be done, and still do."

The stern tone in his voice only emphisized his beliefs. He had faith in not only the students, but the school and the world itself. Though times were hard with Cain and the Nightmares out there, and he knew that Apocalypse only sought to keep this treaty until Cain was destroyed. That made things all the more complicated, but he fought those thoughts back, smiling his gentle smile when Rory said he would help train.

"Splendid. I'll see to it that you are placed on the training schedule, perhaps taking Logan's place since he seemed to have wandered on his way once again."