XxxX
It was late. Or early. Whichever you consider two in the morning to be. Wolverine had heard someone moving passed his room in the hallway. Automatically suspicious he opened his door quietly and silently followed the light padding. Whoever it was was good at sneaking around. Anyone else wouldn't have heard the slight movement of bare feet moving lightly over the rugs and wood floors.
He saw the front door silently closing. Either a student was sneaking out or someone had broken in and was now on their way out. He opened the door and saw a shadow moving towards the forest surrounding the grounds. He shut the door and ran after the figure, no longer caring if they knew he was following. When his speed picked up so did the shadow's. It ran into the trees where he lost sight of whoever it was. He sniffed the air and began following the scent.
The scent stopped suddenly. He searched for the scent again but found nothing passed the point where he stood. That meant they were hiding in the trees here. "Following me, Wolverine?" he heard a taunting voice from above him. Hearing a soft thud at his back, he turned and came face to face with red eyes and full lips turned up in a smirk. Dria's hair hung in her face, she peered through it like a curtain at Wolverine.
"What are you doing in the forest in the middle of the night," he asked suspiciously.
"Getting air," she said and began slowly circling him. "Is that against the rules?" she teased. Wolverine snarled. She chuckled and came to a stop in front of . "You need to loosen up, Wolverine," she said tugging the front of his shirt. She looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes and smiled sweetly. Her smile was beautiful and enticing when it wasn't a taunting smirk. "When's the last time you went for a walk under the moon?" Wolverine glared at her suspiciously. Dria hooked her arm in Wolverine's "Come on, big guy." She tugged his arm and led him into the woods.
Wolverine let Dria lead him along, curious about the strange woman. After a few minutes, she released his arm and walked beside him. They walked for an hour and were headed back to the mansion. Neither had spoken. Dria caught Wolverine looking her at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Just ask," she said. He turned to look at her. "You're wondering about the scar on my face since I heal."
"I've never known someone with a healing factor to scar," he admitted.
"I'm guessing you've never had your powers halted or had them returned shortly after." He gave her a weird look. She smiled at his confusion. "Let's just say I got in some trouble." They had returned to the mansion. Dria stood at the front door. "Good night, Wolverine," she said disappearing into the mansion. Though Wolverine walked in only a few seconds later, she was already gone.
XxxX
Dria had been laying on a thick branch of a large oak reading when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She had been at the institute for about a week and had gotten to know the students so it didn't surprise her to see Kitty's number show up.
Rogue's voice came from the other end. "Hey, Dria. Can you come pick us up?" her voice was a little off.
"Sure. What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothin'. Kitty and I just ended up a ways from school." Dria heard Kitty yelling in the background how she had told Rogue it was a bad idea.
"You follow the Brotherhood again?"
". . . Yeah."
Dria chuckled. "No problem. Your secret is safe with me," she said and hung up. She leapt nimbly from the tree and landed softly on the grass. She padded barefoot to the garage. She saw Wolverine's legs sticking out from under the SUV. She could hear him working on something underneath. Crouching by his legs she said, "Boo." She heard his head hit metal and a growl. She chuckled.
He slid out from under the car. "What?" he snarled agitated.
"I need the car," she said still smirking.
"Why?" he said sitting up.
"An errand."
"What kind of errand?" He stood up whipping his greasy hands on his pants.
"A feminine kind of errand."
He glared down at her suspiciously. "Meaning?"
Dria rolled her eyes. "I'm picking Kitty and Rogue to go get tampons. Happy?" She snatched the keys from the front pocket of a shocked Wolverine. "Maybe next time you won't ask me about my errands," she teased getting into the car. She backed up and left. Dria flipped open her phone and called Kitty. "I'm on my way. Where are you?"
"At a Seven Eleven on highway 44."
"Ok, stay there," Dria said and hung up as she sped off in their direction.
When she arrived, Kitty ran out to her. Rogue took a more relaxed pace, her arms crossed over her chest. "Thanks, like, so much," Kitty gushed and hugged Dria.
"Anytime. Get in the car. I'm gunna grab something." Dria went in and emerged with a pink box. Kitty and Rogue gave her a weird look. "So Wolverine doesn't bug me again next time I tell him I'm going to run an 'errand'," she said with a smirk, tossing the box to Kitty.
Once back at the mansion. Wolverine stood in the garage with his arms crossed and a glare on his face. Dria got out and tossed the keys to Wolverine who caught them. Kitty got out holding the pink box and practically skipped into the mansion. Wolverine's glared turned into a scrunched scowl, like he smelled something horrid. Dria just winked at him as she walked passed him to join the two girls inside.
Later that night, Dria lounged on a couch in the living room with some students and Storm watching the news. A story came on about a tipped oil semi on highway 44. The semi overturned for unknown reasons and nearly ran over a car which miraculously seemed to phase through the semi and emerge unscathed. The semi the stopped just short of gas station.
Wolverine's aggitated voice came from the doorway. "Feminine errand?" Dria sighed and looked over her shoulder at Wolverine. He nodded his head towards the doorway. She took the hint and followed him out of the room. "What the hell was that?" he snarled. A few students passing in the hall stared as they walked passed.
"You caught me. Let's at least talk about this someplace where the students aren't listening," she said matching his aggitated tone.
"Fine," he snarled. Dria led the way to her room and shut the door. As soon as the latch clicked, Wolverine repeated, "What the hell was that."
"The girls followed the Brotherhood. I'm guessing something went wrong and they saved people," Dria said leaning her back on the closed door, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So you helped them cover it up," he growled.
She shrugged. "Sure. Why would I get them punished for saving lives?" Wolverine growled. "What are you going to do now, Wolverine?" she dared.
He thought for a moment then snarled, "You think I'm the protective one."
This earned a smile from Dria. "That's the closest thing to a jest I've ever heard from you." She walked over to Wolverine. "I'll talk to them. Thanks, big guy," she said and kissed his cheek. He growled and left.
XxxX
Dria woke with a yell. She clamped her mouth shut to bite back the sound so as to not wake anyone. She got up and went to the window to open it for some fresh air. Her door flew open. Turning, Dria saw Wolverine standing in the doorway. He wore dark pants and was shirtless. His hair was disheveled like he had been sleeping. "Need something, Wolverine?"
"Why'd you yell?" he snarled. She was in thin baggy black pants and a black tank top. Her dark hair was shaggy and messed.
"Just a dream. You worry too much," her tease didn't have the same fire behind it. She opened the window then sat back on her bed. He walked over to her bed.
"What was the dream?"
"A memory." Wolverine folded his arms and stared at her. "When you live a long time, you tend to live through some shit."
"I know what you mean, kid." Dria gestured to her bed.
"How did you get metal on your bones?"
"In a lab. I don't remember much. My memory was wiped," he said sitting on the edge of her bed.
She folded in her legs. "Must be nice to not have to remember," she mused.
"No, kid. I don't know a lot of what happened in my life. I know most of it wasn't so nice."
"Some things are better off forgotten."
Wolverine watched her a moment. "That dream really got to you, didn't it?"
A sad smile flickered on her face. "Am I that obvious?" she asked trying to joke.
"A little," he said playing along. She laughed.
"Thanks." They sat in silence for a moment. "You really are protective," she teased, more her normal self. Wolverine scoffed. "You know it's true. You came charging in here looking for a fight." Wolverine 'humph'ed and Dria chuckled. "Go get some sleep, Wolverine. You know boys aren't allowed in girls' rooms after nine," she mocked.
Wolverine stood saying, "I ain't no boy."
Dria laughed. "Course not, big guy."
XxxX
Dria stood on a step ladder and was reaching up taking a burnt out light bulb out of a wall fixture in a hall. The burnt out light bulb in one hand and a new one in another, she reached up to put the new one in.
Cannonball stole Amara's math book. He used his powers to bolt from her, laughing. He looked over his shoulder to see where Amara was. He ran into the wall and ricocheted off. Cannonball crashed into Dria. Cannonball flung down the hall. Dria dropped the light bulbs and fell back. Expecting to fall on the ground, she was surprised when her fall stopped without her landing on glass.
She looked over her shoulder to see Wolverine, his arms hooked under hers. "Nice catch."
"What were you doing?" he asked helping her to her feet.
"Changing a light," she said gesturing to the shattered bulbs. "Where's some candles?"
"Um, probably the closet down the hall," he said taken aback by the sudden change in topic. "Why?"
"Storm's coming. Can't you feel it?" He thought about it a moment after a while he realized there was a prickling sensation at the back of his head. She nodded. "Thought so. Animals can feel storms. Beast probably feels something too." No sooner after she finished, there was a distant roll of thunder. Dria walked off to gather candles while Wolverine went to run a Danger Room session.
XxxX
Dria sat in the observation room, watching the kids practice. Wolverine had gotten annoyed and went to show the students how it's done. The lights flickered before sending the school into blackness. She heard one of the younger girls scream at the sudden dark. Dria made her way down to the Danger Room.
She saw the students feeling their way around, trying to find the door. They were trying to go on memory but they had been in a different environment when the Danger Room was on. She walked over to Wolverine and put a hand on his shoulder. His claws popped on instinct and he whirled on Dria. Her arm ripped slightly, leaving three red gashes on her forearm. "Hey now. You're lucky you got someone that heals," she teased as her arm closed.
"What are you doing down here," he snarled, a little pissed that he really could have cut one of the kids.
"Apparently no one down here can see in the dark. I thought I'd get everyone upstairs where there's windows." She rounded up the kids and got them in a group where everyone had a hand on someone's shoulder. Wolverine's eyes adjusted slightly and he followed by sound. "Watch out for the door frame," she said over her shoulder. She heard a thud as one of the boys forgot to check the area in front of them for the door.
Everyone made it up the stairs with minor amounts of bumping and tripping. Red sunset poured in through the windows. The students poured into the living room as the sun set. Dria had set up and pit candles around the room. There wasn't really a reason everyone gathered in the light. It just seemed safer to be where you could see your own feet. Dria sat on the back of a couch watching over the flickering room.
Wolverine leaned against the large door frame with his arms crossed. "Why so uptight, big guy?"
"Only the area around the institute lost power." Dria slid off the couch and walked to Wolverine.
"I know. Someone's going to break in."
Wolverine glared dangerously at Dria. "How would you know this?"
She shrugged. "What else would happen in a contained blackout. Either someone's coming in, or the fact that it's just the area around the institute is a coincidence," she said. She ran her nails along his arm as she walked through the door. "I don't believe in coincid-"she trailed off as her head cocked like a dog smelling something. "Speak of the devil," she snarled and bolted.
Wolverine snarled and followed. They ran through the institute. Wolverine recognized the scent and growled. Dria was ahead of Wolverine to the point where he only caught sight of her heals when she turned a corner. 'Gotta admit, the kid's fast,' he thought as he ran.
When he rounded a corner he came upon Dria. She was pulling long thin fangs that dripped a toxic green fluid out of Sabertooth's shoulder. She leapt back from him and he lunged for her. She dodged and Wolverine popped his claws. He lunged for Sabertooth but Dria held her arm out. "No, he's mine," she hissed in a deep threatening tone. He looked to Sabertooth. There was something wrong with him, he was unsteady.
He retracted is claws. "Have fun, kid." Dria leapt at Sabertooth and grab a fist full of his hair. She slammed his head repeatedly into the wall. A sickening crunch emitted as the back of his skull caved in. Something was definitely wrong with Sabertooth, he wasn't healing.
A gasp from behind Wolverine caught Dria's attention. She turned and saw Kitty with her hands over her mouth and a horrified look on her face. Dria turned back to Sabertooth and saw the gory mess she had made. She dropped Sabertooth. Kitty turned and ran off down the hall. When Dria turned back to Sabertooth he was gone. He must have healed enough to slip out the window he had come through.
Wolverine watched Dria. Her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white and her hands were shaking. The other instructors had joined them in the hall. "You ok, kid?" Wolverine asked. The other teachers had come to see what had upset Kitty.
"What is going on?" Storm asked.
The Professor saw Dria. "Alexandria, what's wrong?" he asked concerned. She said nothing as she walked passed the teachers. Xavier reached out a hand and touched her arm to try to comfort her as she passed. He recoiled his hand as if he'd been shocked. They watched her retreat into the dark of the hall.
"What's wrong with her?" Wolverine asked.
"I don't know. But something is very wrong. When I touched her I felt immense waves of pain and hate. This isn't like her at all." He shook his head. "She's never been like this. If there's one thing I know about Alexandria, it's that she is always in control. And the emotion coming off her, she never lets psychic powers touch her. She never makes mistakes."
Wolverine thought back to when they faced off and she touched open wires. If the kid never made mistakes, she had let him win. But why?