Set right atthe beginning of First Class
Charles was sat contentedly watching Connie as she sat opposite him, finishing very quickly a set of simple arithmetic questions she had been assigned for school. He was fascinated by her, following the path of her young mind as she conjured numbers fromnowhere.
She knew he was in there, of course, but for her it was normal. For what she could remember of her ten years of life, Connie had never been without her brother's presence, mental or otherwise. She was also comforted by the appearance and
feel of Raven's natural blue, marginally scaly skin.
After a minute more, Connie placed a hand over her mouth to hide a huge yawn, and dropped her pen to the page. As she sighed, Charles smiled gently and reached a hand towards her across the table.
"Come on, love, it's time you went to bed," he said softly. Constantine nodded as Raven walked past in her bathrobe, stretching down to plant a kiss on the child's cheek and stroke her hair.
"Night night, sweetie," she said lovingly. Connie held onto her hand and stood up herself. She smiled back, but did not speak. She wasn't one for words. As she looked questioningly at Charles he nodded.
"I'll be there in a moment," he promised. Connie dropped her eyes and left the room quickly, disappearing up to her bedroom. Raven looked at Charles.
"You're still doing that?" she asked. It was not a question, but insurance. The fact Charles kissed his sister goodnight each night did not bother her, but she was aware that it was not standard behaviour around a child of her maturing age. Charles stood
/and nodded lightly.
"Indeed. Constantine is different, she needs me to do these things," he answered quietly, calm as ever. Raven understood perfectly, of course, and nodded. They went about their business, Raven continuing to the bathroom as Charles folded Connie's paper
/and left it tidy, then sorted his own papers and walked across to the living side of the room. He picked up the blanket that was draped across the settee, folded it, then placed it on a chair as he went across the apartment to his sister's room.
Charles knocked Connie's door once, and of course she did not reply, so he pushed it open and went to sit beside her on the bed. She had her knees drawn to her chin, sat on the mattress with her eye sockets pressed to her kneecaps. Charles sighed gently
/and placed a hand over her fingers.
"Connie," he whispered. Connie hesitated, then released her knees and lifted her head. He smiled sadly at her. "Was today a bad day?"
Connie said nothing, of course, just nodded and picked at her sleeve. Charles paid attention to her thought as she answered.
I had three fits. They hurt.
Charles sighed and reached to stroke her face. Connie tilted her head into his palm but still kept her eyes on her cuff as he thought about this.
"Maybe you should stay out of school tomorrow. I have a lecture in the morning, but Raven will bring you to the library before her shift in the restaurant," he suggested. Connie nodded, relief clear on her face. Charles smiled sadly again and withdrew
/his hand.
"Come on," he said softly, moving forward to sit above her. As Connie lay down and curled up on her side, he pulled the covers up over her. As she shut her eyes, Charles brushed her hair from her face and traced his fingers down her cheek. After a moment,
/he leaned down to give her a kiss. "Goodnight, darling," he whispered, standing and switching off the light.
As the night went on, Raven was leaning against Charles with his arm around her as she listened to him reading his thesis aloud. The pair were very comfortable like this, having grown up together in the Xavier Manor House.
About an hour after putting Connie to bed, the screaming started. Charles went cold as the sound tore through him, and shared a brief glance with Raven.
"Not again. Connie!"
Charles called her name as he and Raven leapt up and ran through the apartment to Connie's room. Raven was first through the door, and went straight to the girl as she twisted and screamed, clearly in terror. Charles stood by the end of the bed as Raven
/wound her arms around his sister and tried to wake her.
"Hey, hey, it's ok. We're here, you're safe..." Raven chanted softly as the screams died out and Connie gripped her arm. She looked exhausted, and slumped back into the unusually blue arms of her sister as Charles switched on the bedside lamp and watched
/carefully. He and Raven shared another worried glance, and as she stroked the child's face he sat down beside them.
"What was it, love?"
Connie opened her eyes then, her huge blue irises terrorised as she fought to breathe.
"Mother," she breathed, her voice weak with lack of use. Charles felt his heart sink, and shifted even closer, placing his hands on her cheeks and looking into her eyes.
"You'll never go back to her. Raven and I will always look after you," he promised. Raven pressed her lips into Connie's hair as if to prove it, and Charles stroked his sister's face as tears spilled out and down her cheeks, wiping them with a finger.
After about a minute, Charles sighed and withdrew his hand.
"I have to study," he sighed apologetically, as Raven continued to gently rock Connie. Connie gripped both of their hands tightly, eyes flitting between them. It was clear she was afraid to be left alone. Raven stroked her hair and looked at Charles.
"Read here," she suggested. "We can't leave her." Charles nodded.
"Hmm. I'll just get my papers," he said softly, getting up and making for the door. Raven continued to hold Connie close as the child's heart rate returned to normal.
"I'd better go to bed so I can look after you in the morning," she whispered. Connie closed her eyes and snuggled into her arm.
Can't you stay too? she asked in a small mental voice. Raven smiled.
"Oh, sweetie, there's not enough room for all three of us. Charles won't be sleeping for a while yet, anyway." She paused, then as Charles reappeared in the doorway, whispered "If there ever comes a day when we can't be together..."
Connie smiled sweetly at the mention of Winnie the Pooh, her child's face as untroubled as it should be.
"Keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever," she answered softly. Charles smiled as he heard her, and Raven planted another, more meaningful kiss on Connie's cheek.
"Night night. I love you," she told her.
"I love you too."
Raven let go of Connie then, and got up off the bed. As she walked past Charles they kissed each other's cheeks and embraced lightly.
"Goodnight, love."
"Night."
Raven left the room and shut the door quietly as Charles sat down beside Connie and swung his legs up onto the bed. He arranged himself so that his texts were on his lap and his arm was wound around the little girl as she snuggled into his left side.
/With his left hand absently playing with her hair or rubbing her shoulder, Charles continued to read his paper aloud, quietly and in as soothing a voice as he could manage, more to himself than to her.
After about a half hour, Charles looked down to see Connie's eyes were open as she too read the paper in his hand, and he smiled.
"Would you rather I read in my head?" he asked gently. Connie let her eyes drift closed and snuggled more closely into the hollow under his arm, her head on his chest.
Not really, she told him.
"But you need to sleep."
Connie's brow furrowed.
Can't you make me sleep? I don't want to see mother again.
Charles sighed, then kissed her hair, running his fingers through it loosely.
"Night night, sweetheart," he murmured as he swept his fingers over her cheek and focused on her consciousness. "...And into a dreamless sleep."
He waited a moment to ensure it had worked, and smiled when he noticed that it had. Content, Charles continued to read his notes until he too grew tired, nodding off beside his sister and not waking until the morning.
Ta daa!
So this is Connie, one of my favourite characters that has come from the depths of my brain. Hermutation is probably not something that would exist in the marveluniverse but hey, this is fiction, why not make it happen for us on here? Anyway,
yeah, she's a cutie, I really hope you guys grow to like her as I post a little more ^_^