Hello again. I'm sorry that I have taken so long to update. I was on vacation for about seven days until I got back last night. Well, I won't keep you waiting! Remember to leave a review when you're done!

The disclaimer from last time is for each chapter. I'm not writing it more than once because it's a waste of typing.

Homeless

A silver haired teen was the first one in the kitchen, followed by another that Larka knew from biology class: Lance.

"Who's she?" The silver haired teen asked.

"Larka Vibes," Lance answered easily. "She's the one that everyone is talking about. The one that decided to show her true self in 7th hour."

Larka caught the angry scent that came off him, but she showed no sign of noticing.

"Yeah," she started. "I like to randomly reveal that I'm a mutant to this nice world." She didn't try to hide the sarcasm.

"Cool, so what can you turn into? I heard it was a bear, but I doubt that because it would've been a lot more damage. And there was hardly any? So what do you turn into? I'm guessing it's a wolf, am I right?" All this was said with one breath and so quick that Larka didn't even catch the first half.

"Lay off the questions yo!" Todd said, but he didn't sound like he heard all of them. "Pietro's kind of a fast talker."

Larka smiled and said, "Yeah, a wolf. Smart, strong, fast. A hunter. And what are you too?"

"Fast huh? I'll show you fast," suddenly he was straight in front of Larka.

She blinked in surprise. "So, your power is speed?" She smiled, not waiting for and answer she turned to Lance. "And yours is…?"

He looked annoyed. "I can make earthquakes and … stuff. They call me Avalanche and they call Pietro Quicksilver." It didn't sound like he was trying to hide anything, just like he was bored and didn't care what he said.

After that it was quiet for a long time. Or at least what seemed like a long time to the wolf-girl. She hated silence, it was too still. She thrived on anything exciting, anything at all. That was the hunter in her.

She broke the silence by asking a simple question. "So, how do you guys feel about humes?"

Pietro gave her a questioning look. "Humes? You mean humans?"

Larka nodded.

"They're okay I guess," Lance started slowly. "They don't bother us too much…" the wolf noticed that he sounded as if he were trying to hide something.

Pietro added, " I don't like them all that much. Why should I when they hate all mutants without even trying to them, us. They usually just say blame us for being born and start a riot." He shook his head as if there were no word for it. "They're cruel being," he ended harshly. Larka still had trouble understanding, but again the point was made clear enough.

Todd scratched his head as if in embarrassment. "Like I said, he talks fast. You just gotta get to know him, yo. It'll be a bit easier then…"

Larka smiled. " I caught the gist of it. You don't like humes." It wasn't a question.

"Why all the questions?" Lance asked suspiciously.

She turned her green eyes on him, taking a moment to answer. "I'm just curious I guess, I always have been. Anytime there's a chance to know more, I take it."

Larka readied herself as a siren went off in the distance, sounding like a whistle had been blown sharp in her ear; even though the ambulance was miles away.

"Ouch, I'm sure that's a little loud on your dog ears," Pietro pointed out when he too heard the sirens.

Larka smiled. "Wolf ears make it fell like a bell going off in my head."

"You'll have to be careful on your way home," Todd warned. "Cops will put a mutant in jail for any reason they can find. You're known now, it'll be harder yo."

'Yeah…home…' Larka pushed away the thought. "I'll be fine, I can take care of myself."

Lance caught the way she tried to hide something, but chose to say nothing. Larka noticed none of this.

"Where exactly do you live?" Pietro had to ask.

Lance hid a smile behind Quicksilver's shoulder for asking the question that he himself had held back.

She paused, looking for some answer in her head. A few seconds passed and she gave it her best shot. "I just kinda move around. Hotel to hotel." She looked at all their faces, everyone except for Lance seemed to be buying it. "Places like that. Sometimes I just camp out in the woods…it's much more peaceful there…"

'I think they bought it…' Her green yes showed no emotion. Only the usual curiosity that filled the wolf-girl's eyes.

"Well that must suck, why don't you have a permanent home?" This time his question was easier to answer. And even truthfully.

"I don't have a family to live with, I never did." Her voice was surprisingly cheerful.

Pietro for once didn't reply, but not because of shock. Todd just happened to beat him to it.

"Why don't you stay here with us, yo?"

Larka shook her head no almost immediately. "I'm sorry, but I don't accept charity. Her voice wasn't rude, just truthful.

Pietro spoke up. "Don't look at it like that. You're a freak like us," the girl smiled, "that automatically makes us friends."

Larka was still unsure.

"Lance, man. What do ya think?" Todd asked almost demanding an answer.

Avalanche shrugged. "I don't really care, as long as she doesn't stay with me."

"But, I-" Larka started to argue.

Pietro was suddenly at her side, she hadn't even seen him move. 'He's really fast. I didn't see a blur or anything…'

"Now, now," he started. "There's no argument. We offered. Don't worry 'bout it."

She smiled and reluctantly gave in. "Fine. You guys win." She laughed. "But just this once, I don't want you to start thinking I'm a push-over."

Pietro acted as if what she said would never happen in a million years with a sly smile. He casually put his arm over her shoulder and lead her to the living room couch. He sat down, bringing Larka with him and taking his arm away. Todd came to sit on the other side of Larka.

"All the rooms are full, so you'll have to bunk with Pietro." Todd informed Larka.

Pietro opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off as two more people came through the front door.

One was a girl who much resembled Pietro in the face, and the other was a largely overweight male with little hair. Larka recognized neither of them.

The girl didn't even look at anyone in the room, she stomped up the stairs and slammed the door hard behind her. The fat one murmured a hello and went into the kitchen.

"Umm, who were they? The other mutants that live here?" Larka asked before Pietro could say whatever it was he was going to say.

Pietro sighed, looking up to where the girl had gone. "Wanda and Fred, they're know as Scarlet Witch and The Blob. Don't worry about Wanda, she…just likes to keep to herself…"

Larka nodded. "It really is a full house."

Pietro smiled, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad roommate. If Wanda wasn't so…not nice, you could've roomed with her…but, oh well!"

"What's on TV ?" The fat one named Fred walked in with a sandwich five times bigger than Larka would ever eat.

Larka laughed, making Fred look over at her in surprise.

"Who're you?" He asked roughly.

"Larka's the name. Larka Vibes." She smiled. "You'll be having to put up with me as the new roommate."

Fred grunted and turned to a large armchair. He plopped down and flicked on the TV, ignoring Larka.

"Sorry 'bout that, yo." Todd said loud enough that Fred could hear. But he obviously didn't because of the intensity of watching some sitcom. "He isn't much of a talker."

Larka smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. I don't mind even a little bit."

After that an awkward silence fell, and they all either stared at the floor or blankly at the television.

"Hey, don't you need to go get your like…clothes and stuff…?"

Larka laughed. "Yeah, I guess I do." She stood up. "I'll go ahead and get them, I promise it's not a lot." She walked to the door slowly and turned her head as her hand touched the knob, "I'll be back in a bit, see ya."

She heard them say goodbye, but the door was already shut and she already standing in the moon's light. Without pause she went straight to the edge of town to a thick forest that held her home. The trees here was so thick and full that an entire mansion could be hidden there. If fact, it did that very thing. Hide a mansion that schooled mutants so that they would have understanding of their power and others.

Larka moved through the trees silent as the wind, no longer touched by the moon under the thick trees. The path was well hidden in the great foliage. It was that way incase a hume ever stumble into the forest or came in willingly. More than once the teachers at the mansion had to escort a foolish hume out of the woods. Many came in and go lost, even the best of navigators. The forest was avoided because of it; thought to be cursed. And so the mutants were in a safe place, at least for the time being.

When she came out back into the moonlight, the great mansion sat before her. She didn't take but two steps when she heard movement from back in the trees.

She spun around and stared at the figure hidden in the trees. Her senses told her who it was, but she wished it were someone else. 'This was the reason I came alone!' She though helplessly.

"Pietro? What are you doing here? How did you get through the forest" Larka tried to sound casual, but she wasn't sure if she pulled it off.

"You're one of them," Pietro said quietly. "A X-freak." His tone was cold and distant, something Larka would never have guessed he could sound like.

She shook her head. "I didn't have a choice." Pietro didn't say anything so she went on. "I had nowhere else to go! Who would take in a mutant. A freak? A human would never understand…so I turned to mutants…"

Pietro looked over her shoulder at the mansion before replying. "So you lied? We gave you a place to say because we wanted you to have a home, and you already have one?" His grey eyes bore in to Larka's, but she didn't back.

She notice the past tense in the verbs, and started to understand what was coming.

She closed the gap between then and tried to explain. "I never said I like it here. No one speaks to me, no one is my friend. The professor is the only one that talks to me…I guess I could call him a friend…but barely! They're scared of what I can do."

Pietro asked, "Because you're a wolf. I find that hard to believe."

"Never mind that." She muttered.

Pietro let it go by pointing out his concerns, if you could call it that. "They aren't going to let you leave. Once you're with them there's no going back. Especially to join the Brotherhood."

Larka smiled. "No. Maybe the others won't like it. But the professor will let me leave. I'm sure of it." She changed subject. "What did you mean? Brotherhood? I've heard of it but-"

"Never mind that," he said sharply using her own words against her. "Maybe is was a bad idea to ask you to live with us." Larka had known this was coming, but she still froze. "You should just stay with the…X-men."

She shook her head and grabbed Pietro's wrists. "Don't say that! I don't--I'm not one of them!"

He pulled away from her grasp, and she reluctantly let him.

Her mouth was open to say more, but steps behind her made all speech stop dead. She turned, knowing the Pietro hadn't heard a thing, just as a roar exploded into the night. A large hairy shape flew at Larka, knocking her to the ground. All the air felt as if it were squeezed out of her body as she wrestled to get the thing off.

'It smells like a cat, but older and more ancient. Like no cat I've ever smelt before!'

Within seconds Larka changed from hume to wolf to fight back with tooth and claw. She sank sharp canines into the shoulder of the cat and raked claws across its belly, causing its dark blood to fall on the ground. The creature roar in pain and readied itself to attack back.

"Sabretooth, no! Get off of her!" Pietro's voice commanded suddenly.

The beast growled angrily but quickly release the white wolf. Larka dashed a safe ten paces away and snarled at the on Pietro had called Sabretooth. Her head down with fangs showing, ears flat against her head. Claws ready for battle and legs stiff in a threat. Her stance showed that she would attack in a heartbeat if need have it.

"Larka, don't attack him," Pietro called gently, his voice trying to calm her. He turned his attention to the man that attacked the white wolf. "What do you want Sabre, you know you're not welcome in the X-men's front yard."

The big cat grunted. "Your father sent me to ask why you're rubbing shoulders with the enemy." He glared at Larka, showing her his fangs in a deadly smile.

"Just tell Magneto that she isn't the enemy. She's…just a student." Pietro said smoothly.

The beast growled and disappeared back into the night.

Larka followed him with all senses, glad when she could no longer feel him. A flash of white and hume Larka returned. Blue streaks and all.

"I'll be going inside now, bye Quicksilver." Without waiting for him to respond, she walked to the mansion. As she lay her hand on the door, she looked over to where he had just been.

Pietro was gone. Somewhere into the night, most likely back to his home. Larka's eyes stared longingly, wishing it could have went differently.

The door was silent as she slowly opened it. Stepping inside she froze. No lights were on and no mutants could be heard moving through the house.

'It's never this quiet so early…and the lights are never off…' Her thoughts remain revolving around that topic. 'Strange…'

The door shut loud behind her. But she wasn't the one who shut it. From behind where the door had been a bald man in a wheel chair came into view.

Larka sighed in relief. "You scared me profess-" She paused sensing something wrong. "Professor, you smell different…what's going-"

She was cut off as pain exploded to the side of her head as something hard hit it. Her eyes slowly closed and she fell to the ground.

Then there was darkness.