More of an explanation of this: I don't have much plans for this story. This is more of personal piece for me, written awhile ago. I found it while organizing my files and enjoyed it though, reading it back, so I thought I would upload it. That being said, this is set somewhere in Season 2 I think. I believe that's it. For anyone about to read, I hope you enjoy.

Kurt started. He'd just seen a new recruit of the xmen going to speak with the Proffessor. This one looked different, a lot less lively than Boom Boom or Bobby or Julie. Poofing away instead of blinking to break the stare, he went outside.

"I understand your hesitance to join us, but please understand me when I say to you that nothing like that will happen here while you are at the Institute," the professor said, the teenager walking beside him as stoic and as a the blackened bark of a strong young tree that had just been burnt. His footfalls were decisive, but they were hollow, speaking of his wish to turn his feet and make them say good bye to this new place away from everything he had known. His hand clung to the strap of his bag with the confidence an athlete showed after losing a race despite giving it everything he had. His expression differed. His eyes did not brim with the reassuring notion of coming back to fight another fight, run another race, vault over another obstacle. They were dark eyes, brown, light in them shaded.

"This will be your room. I think you'll find everything you need inside. Please, make yourself at home and feel free to do as you like." The young mutant went a few steps into the room, his eyes fixed on some far off place, soaring off the balcony and rushing over the tree tops. "Thank you." The silent hum of wheels on carpet signaled. He was alone.

"Hey, Professor! I heard we got a new student!" Kitty exclaimed, Kurt with her. "Yeah, where is he?"

"Yes. He's just getting things organized in his room. I'm sure he'll be done in a few moments."

"He is staying in a single room?" Kurt asked, trying to think of who had requested a room mate.

"For the time being, yes. At his own request."

"C'mon Kurt, let's go!" The two went off down the hall, the Proffessor lingering a moment longer. They were two of the most energetic attendants at the institute. Hopefully the young man would be a little bit more responsive to them.

"Oh, nope, this is Bobby's room," Kitty saw the mirror extended with a sheet of frozen sheen and several forgotten puddles on the floor. She closed the door as Kurt ran to the next room and checked, seeing it was empty. "Not here either." Closing the door, he checked the next one, Kitty soon beside him. There was a bag on the bed, and someone leaning on the balcony.

The muffled sound of a void being opened and closed phased out as Nightcrawler appeared on the left of the balcony.

"Hey! Welcome to the Institute! My name's Kurt!" He extended a hand, the other guy, having gotten off of his elbows, stood up straight, eyeing the new arrival without a flicker of curiosity nor a flinch of surprise. "Nice to meet you," was all he replied, reaching out to shake his hand. He felt the fur and his fingers tensed only for the time it takes to respond to something you perceive as normal but are surprised to find in your grasp. "Thanks," Kurt was relieved appearing in front of the new guy and introducing himself had gone well. "What is your name?"

"Riven."

"Cool name," Kitty came up behind them, Riven not seeming curious at her appearance either. "I'm Kitty," extending her hand, Riven's went through it. Chuckling, she solidified it and shook eagerly. "C'mon, we'll introduce you to everyone," she enthused, Kurt nodding. Riven seemed to give a look that was not discouraging nor encouraging the action. "I need to finish unpacking," the boy said, striding back into the room, every step swallowed by the absence of light in front of his body.

"Oh, yeah. Did you pack enough?" Kitty asked, Riven unzipping the bag and drawing out clothes, barely touching any of them. Most were dark in color, and as they began to cover the bed like the dying leaves that were starting to cover the sidewalks as the days grew shorter and the nights grew longer, it became apparent that most were long sleeved, and a plethora of jackets were also in side along with pants and scarves.

"I can help if you want," Kurt offered, Riven glancing at him and shaking his head.

"No, that's alright, thank you," he hesitated, or seemed to, a thought flickering across his eyes as movement flickered in his wrists, a skilled master itching to use his craft and remembering his stage was not set. Flicking his hand down, his fingers spread gently and lifted all of the clothes into the air, the articles placing themselves in the dresser at his behest. He lowered his hands, rubbing the back of his neck after everything had been put away.

"Are you a telepath like Jean?" Kitty asked. The movements seemed slightly different. Riven moved with more finesse and control when using his powers than Jean did. It was surprising. Kurt had been struck speechless. The new recruit shook his head. "No, it's...I have control over textiles."

"What, like, all kinds of cloth?"

"I would never want to get on your bad side!" Kurt joked, mirroring Riven's more expectant grin with a genuine one. "Hm." He raised his hand again, the jacket he had been wearing coming off of the balcony and slipping onto him as he outstretched his arm, the second resewing itself.

"What else can you do?" Kitty asked, finding this guy was getting kind of cute. He was quiet but he definitely wasn't shy. His thick auburn hair was in a low ponytail that reached his shoulders, his bangs framing his face without anything pinning them back, a strand of hair falling somewhat messily between his brows.

He glanced at her, another thought seeming to cross his mind, like an old barrier still being erected after its use had run its course. "Uh, sorry?" Kitty tried to apologize, suddenly getting kind of nervous.

"No, you're fine..." Riven assured her, glancing away and back out to the spot vast distances away from Bayville. Kurt fiddled with his image inducer, the blue hair spreading all over his body along with a tail growing from the bottom of his spine. The new recruit glanced at the sight, remembering.

"It's cool if you don't want to tell us, I mean, it's not like we're in the danger room or anything," Kitty pulled back her inquiry. Riven nodded, pocketing his hands. "C'mon, you gotta meet Jean!"

"And Scott! They are probably together."

"Yeah, it took them long enough!"

Kurt chuckled, Riven following them out of his new room.

"It's nice to meet you, welcome to the institute." Jean greeted Riven like a rose, beautifully open and warm. "Where did you live before coming here to Bayville?" Scott asked him.

"I've moved around a lot."

"Anywhere interesting?"

Riven nodded, "A good number of places."

Scott glanced at Kurt, who just shrugged. Jean and Kitty took Riven over to meet Amara and Julie, who had stopped studying after seeing someone new standing in the mansion. "So, what's the new guy seem like?" Scott asked Kurt's opinion, not able to have gotten to know him much in the past couple of minutes.

"He seems like a good person, nice, but he's been pretty vague and private about his powers and what he did before coming here."

"That's too bad, it makes sense though – others probably weren't too accepting of him wherever he came from," Scott shook his head, the ignorance of people still coming to bite them all. Kurt nodded, having been considering that was the case himself. Scott's remark seemed to confirm it.

"Oh come on, I'll show you mine if you want!" Jubilee pressed, a spark of energy appearing in her open palm. Riven watched it politely but his pupils dilated at the light, eyes not widening at the sight.

"Kitty said you're a telepath too," Jean mentioned to him, inquiry in her tone. Riven shrugged, tucking that away. "I can only move textiles," he specified, glancing around the room. With everything in it, he probably could have passed himself off a full-fledged telekinetic. "Like those curtains?" Amara asked.

Turning his attention to them, they soon blew out as if caught in a breeze, Riven's jacket lifting from his toned frame in the same manner. He took a step back as Kurt poofed in front of him, Jean noticing he seemed to get used to things pretty fast, not reacting to his sudden apparition anymore than she did. "Hey, do you think you could untie his knot?" Kurt asked, holding up a shirt. "Rogue'll be mad if I bring it back like this." Riven took the purple strip in his hand and looked at it. The knot undid itself, pulled by the delicate hands of a weaver and smoothed to the texture of a silk veil not yet soiled by the world. Kurt's face lit up, Kurt looking into Riven's as he took it back. "Thanks!" He disappeared again. The girls started to giggle. "Now we know who to go to if we need our shoes untied."

"If I could have everyone's attention please. For those of you who did not meet him earlier, I'd like to introduce you all to someone. This is Riven Anselm. He is a new student who will be joining us here at the Institute."

After the dinner Riven had had a lot of new faces and a lot of questions, each encounter leaving him the greater gatherer of information. Now he was looking around the mansion, having made some excuse to get out of everyone's sight.

"Hey, what are you doing up here?" A rough, masculine voice questioned him from behind. He turned calmly to address the owner, having an idea as to who it was. "I was just looking around."

"You must be the new recruit I was talking with the Professor about. We'll have to see what you've got before you can do much around here. Name's Logan."

"Nice to meet you. Riven."

"Guess you've met everyone else around here."

"Just about."

"Hm?"

"...Ororo and McCoy, your two collegues, I haven't met them."

"Hn, would have thought they'd have introduced themselves by now. McCoy is probably helping the Professor with something, Storm is probably up in her green house. I can take you up there if you want, sure she'd like to talk with you."

"..."

"...You got a problem?"

Riven shook his head, turning to face Logan and following him through the manner.

"Oh, and don't get too used to this, I'm not a guide here." Riven, his eyes roaming as if he only had one time to take it all in, shook his head. It seemed apparent he wouldn't need one. Narrowing his eyes, the man wondered what this kid's story was. From what he'd heard from the Professor, it was a pretty interesting one.

Fires burning everywhere, smoke blacking things out, fighting, gun shots, blood, ringing, rings, shots, smoke, fire, so much fire.

"Ah!" Riven's eyes snapped open, his auburn hair and the sheets damp on his body. He sat up, looking around half-panickied and panting. "...It was just a dream...just a..."

The lunch bell. Kurt had elected to let Riven shadow him for the day at Bayville High. An enthusiastic student, it had probably been a good choice.

"You're gonna wanna avoid that lunch line if you can, and..mh, I didn't know this was on the menu today."

"Hey crawler!" A warty voice got Kurt's attention, both he and Riven turning as a pale teenager approached the two with two other guys, a silver-haired and a brown haired one.

"Oh man, they couldn't have skipped today. It's the Brotherhood," Kurt mumbled to Riven, getting slightly tense. His gaze was directly mostly on the lead one.

"Yo, I'm Todd. You Kurt's shadow?" he asked, getting pretty close to Riven. He nodded, looking them all over, not necessarily sizing them up. Lance stepped forward. "Guess you're like us then, huh? Mutants." Another nod.

"What, you got a problem speaking up?" Pietro snarked, drawing Riven's gaze.

"No."

"Tch, you sure don't Pietro," Todd voiced Riven's own thoughts, turning back to him. "Soz it looks like you'z already picked your side."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Toad. It's not like we've never brought someone over to the Brotherhood," Lance smirked at Kurt, whose glare intensified towards him.

"Tabitha is not one you. Leave her alone, Alvers."

"Or what?"

"Let's go Kurt," Riven's decisive voice got both of their attention, Lance smirking and Kurt coming to his senses and looking slightly withdrawn. "Guess you only talk when it matters." Riven looked at Lance without care to his remark, picking up his tray and following Kurt without speaking again.

"Hn, didn't expect that," Todd remarked, Lance and Peitro glancing at one another. "What are you thinking Lance?"

"...Let's keep an eye on him, for now. I've got a feeling about this guy."

"Like you had a feeling about Tabitha? -Ah!"

"Sorry about that, she's a good friend of mine," Kurt openly apologized for leaving Riven aside while he tried to settle a score in the middle of the cafeteria. They were approaching a table of other Institute members. "It's alright," Riven replied, not caring about the Brotherhood in the least. He didn't want to be part of another one.

"Guess you've met the next generation of dropouts," the pale girl said as Kurt and Riven sat across from her and a purple rooster.

"Riven, this is Rogue," Kurt introduced them, Rogue having disappeared last night.

"Nice to meet you," the teenager said.

"Whose the new guy Rogue? He doesn't look like another loser."

"Riven, this is my friend Risty. She's a new student here too."

"Not anymore! I'm passing the title onto this guy – Riven right? As in, torn in two?"

The mutant nodded, introducing himself to her as well.

"So, what do you think of coming to school here?" Kurt asked expectantly of his companion, having gotten him to open up a bit and been able to learn a little more about him after spending the day together. He had never been a formal school, he liked to learn, and he was pretty clever.

"It's very different," was his first reply, Kurt giving a start at that answer then grinning. "I've never been home schooled. What's it like?" he asked, hoping that was something Riven would talk about. He thought for a moment, and it appeared that it was. "It was actually pretty rigorous, it wasn't so structured," Riven admitted.

"I guess it would be harder, not being able to talk with your friends in between every class."

Riven didn't say anything in reply, seeing Scott pulling up in his car.

"Ah, our ride's here!"

"Hey, new guy!" Riven leveled his gaze at the silver blur, who stopped right in front of him. "What's your power?" he asked, his eyes seeming to ask something different. Riven looked at him carefully, debating whether to answer him. "Hey, Maximoff, we're leaving," Scott said, coming to stand by Riven and Kurt.

"You know I'm quick, Summers," Pietro replied, looking back at Riven. "So what is it?"

"It's complicated."

"Psh, jeeze, what a loser. Let the x-geeks have him," Todd replied, opening a can of soda. Blob tossed back his third, looking at his house mates. "I don't know Toad, the guy sounds kind of tough."

"Not intimidated easily anyway," Pietro somewhat agreed. "You're not the guy for that," Lance replied, getting laughs from Blob and Toad. Wanda sighed, looking at Lance. "He's being vague around everyone, he's not only avoiding telling you anything."

"We might be able to convince to join the Brotherhood. He doesn't trust the X-men yet anymore than he does us."

As stated, I don't know if I'll continue this or where it is going, but there are some possibilities of further chapters. I hope you enjoyed it.