Author's Note: The first few chapters are a bit short, sorry about that. We'll be working up, I promise. Reviews = love. I need love.
Disclaimer: I don't own the x-men characters.
Airae is mine.
The night was chilly, frost creeping into her skin and sending shivers running down her spine. The girl sat on the curb with her hands pressed against her mouth, rocking her fail body back and forth in a desperate attempt to generate heat. The clothes she had now hung in filthy rags off her body, and offered little protection from the night.
Turning, she glanced over her shoulder to check on two younger boys who were leaning against the brick apartment building behind her. One was asleep, his blond hair stuck in odd angles and his mouth gaping wide. He looked to be about eight years old, although his body was painfully thin and obviously malnourished. His fair head rested on the shoulder of a slightly older boy, one who was passing his time by scratching moody scribbles onto the concrete sidewalk with a piece of stone.
Feeling the girl's gaze, the older boy returned her stare and moaned, trying to move as little as possible so as not to wake the younger. His high-pitched voice came out as a whine, his soft brown eyes boring into hers pleadingly. "Airae, when are we going to leave? We've been sitting here for hours, and we've got almost nothing to show for it."
Airae tried to keep her irritation from entering her voice, speaking softly to the boy. "Hush, Michael. Just a little while longer, I promise. I know it's been a rough day, but we'll be able to rest shortly. Maybe you could take a nap like your brother, it would help you pass the time more easily."
Turning, she pretended to ignore the weary sigh that came from behind her. In reality, she was every bit as exhausted and ready to leave as the younger boy, but she knew that they didn't even have enough money for a decent meal. She couldn't bear the thought of her younger brothers going hungry another night. They were just boys, after all. They deserved much more than a weather-torn box in an alley, which was the best shelter she had been able to scavenge.
"Airae?" Michael's voice was quiet, with an almost slurred tone, and she could tell that he was on the brink of falling asleep. Airae waited for the boy to continue; he knew she was listening.
"Airae, why can't we go home? I miss Mom and Dad, why do we have to stay here?"
Blinking away the tears that his unexpected question arose, she didn't turn to face her brother. Airae stared at the pavement in front of her instead, searching for the right words to say. "Michael…I've told you before, we can't go home. We have nowhere else to go, but I'm trying. I'm trying."
Airae looked over her shoulder to see the boy's reaction, terrified that she might see resentment or blame in his eyes. But she was greeted with neither, for the boy had already fallen asleep, his head resting against the brick wall behind him.
Airae let out a deep breath, leaning forward to place her head in her hands. She had been sitting on the street corner for almost the entire day, waiting for passerby generous enough to donate some spare change. She hadn't been able to gather as much as she hoped, although she had been afraid that she wouldn't have any better luck if she moved to a different street. People just weren't as kind to strangers anymore, even if those strangers were starving children.
She stretched her short legs out in front of her, relieving her muscles from their cramped position. Airae didn't need to look behind her to know that her brothers were asleep, she could feel their dreams pressing against her mind.
Smiling, she allowed herself to slip into the youngest one's for several moments, amazed by the youthful innocence that simply radiated from everything there. Airae pulled herself away reluctantly, her happiness quickly evaporating. She could remember all too clearly what had happened the last time she had meddled in another's sleeping habits, and the memory was still too painful for her to approach.
Not for the first time, Airae wondered what she was. For as long as she could remember, she possessed the ability to experience the dreams of those around her, to slide herself into the dream and see for herself what it was like. As she grew older, Airae learned that she was able to manipulate not only the dreams, but could also persuade the minds of others to simply fall asleep.
She had only ever tried it once. And that experience had left her without parents, without a home, with no means of providing for her younger brothers.
They had been on their own for two weeks, and already the boys were on the brink of starvation.
Airae let out a string of curses, kicking a stray pebble at her feet. She watched it skid across the road and come to a stop several feet away. Running a hand through her limp blonde hair, Airae closed her eyes in frustration. It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to find a job, but who would want to hire a filthy, inexperienced girl?
Why couldn't she have controlled herself? Surely there must have been some way for her to influence her parents without actually harming them? She could understand why the rest of her family wanted nothing to do with her after what had happened, but why did they have to punish the boys as well? They had done nothing wrong; it was all her fault…
Airae cried out in anger, stomping her foot against the pavement roughly. It wasn't fair, what had happened to her brothers. They were completely innocent, and would probably die because of her inability to provide for them. Protect them as a sister should.
A slight noise to her left startled her out of her thoughts, and Airae glanced upwards, surprised to see that a man had approached while she had been lost in her emotion. Scrambling to her feet, Airae tried not to let herself be intimidated by his tall stature and stern features.
She was prepared to recite her familiar routine, and had just opened her mouth to speak when the man raised a hand to stop her, shaking his head slightly.
Airae studied the stranger apprehensively, taking in the obvious smells of liquor and cigarette smoke that surrounded him like a cloud. He had thick, broad shoulders, which were covered in a neatly pressed dark coat. The features of his face were mostly hidden by a brimmed hat that rested upon his head, but she could see that his face was slim and cleanly shaven.
Airae watched as the man studied her for several moments, then allowed himself a grin which showed rotting, yellowed teeth. "Hello there, beautiful. Begging, I see. Why are always the pretty ones so often in trouble?"
Eyes widening in fear, Airae managed to take several steps away from the man, who was still grinning crookedly. She had met creeps like this man, but on those occasions, she had had the strength to run away. Adrenaline could only do so much when a body had been without food for three days. She said nothing, but was forced to do a double-take as she watched the man pull several wads of cash from inside his coat pocket.
Still smiling at her with as much charm as he could manage, he threw it into the tin at her feet, and watched as the girl hastily retrieved the money and began to count it, her face frozen in shock as she counted the figures again.
Glancing up suspiciously, Airae clutched the money to her chest, almost as if she were afraid the man would take it back. "What do you want?" She asked, defensiveness still plain in her tone. It was easy to see she didn't trust the man, but he hadn't expected her to anyway.
Rather than answer the girl's question, the stranger jerked his head in the direction of the sleeping boys, leaving it cocked to the side questioningly.
"Am I wrong in believing that those are your brothers? They are so young, for the world to have shown them such cruelty."
Airae glanced from the boys back to the stranger, choosing not to reply. She knew that he must have had some ulterior motive for his kindness, and was waiting for him to reveal what that was.
He tilted his head so that he was able to take in all of her, from her tattered clothing to the matted hair that hung in strands around her face. "How would you like to work for me? I can help you support your brothers; you won't have to live in such poverty."
Running the edges of the bills between her fingers, Airae didn't look at the stranger. He pressed on, watching her intently.
"They will never go hungry again. They will have a proper shelter above their heads, warm clothes, a place to live and be happy. They can have a home."