Chapter Two:

"Ekka," Charles said. He had an amused smirk on his face as Hank helped her down from the jet. Her knees felt weak, and her arms gripped Hank's arm, her nails embedding themselves in his arms. "Are you alright? I hope the plane ride didn't scare you away."

"Ah, no, I–I..." She stammered quietly. "I–I did not know, uh... I—"

Hank chuckled, "Don't worry," he assured. "Everyone's first plane ride is different." She nodded absently, stepping into the platform that the jet rested under.

"So... Are we at the school you spoke of yet?" Ekka asked carefully, and Charles smiled at her.

"We are. In fact, we're underneath it. Some of the students should be on their break around now, actually. Maybe we'll be able to see them," he said, pressing a button on his wheelchair to roll forward with Ekka and Hank closely behind.

"Will I have to speak with...?" Ekka asked, hesitantly.

"If you are not comfortable with that, then no, but you'll have to speak to your classmates at some point, Ekka."

"Oh..."

"And, you'll have to speak English as well," Hank said. "Although there are a handful of students who are taking World Language classes, not many of them speak French like you do."

"I do not know much of the English language," she admitted, embarrassed. "I can understand it, for the most part, but I cannot speak it very well..."

"That's fine," Charles said. "I'm sure we can find a student who can interpret for you." Soon, they had made it to a big set of doors, and Charles pressed a button on his chair, making the doors slide open.

Inside were several students walking, or running, down the halls, all heading for different exits. Ekka looked at the crowd of students with wide eyes, watching as their gazes turn to her as well. She could hear cliques of friends staring at her with curiosity. They whispers to one another with intrusive questions.

"A new kid?"

"Who's she?"

"What's her powers?"

Ekka wanted to turn around and run back to the jet, demanding that they'd take her back to the Circus. Anywhere is better than here at the moment, not being stared at or questioned. Their stares reminded her of being back on stage at the circus. If she didn't start performing, Father would surely give her lashings later!

"Ekka, this way," Charles beckoned, and she turned to him, he was motioning down the hall and had been waiting for her. Ekka scurried over, keeping her gaze trained on the ground, refusing to make eye-contact with any of the other students. "Now, here at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, we try to strive to give our students the best education and academic opportunities as we can. You'll be given the same classes as the other children your age. If they feel too hard for you, then we can also lower them, or have one of the other students act as a tutor and assist you in your studies." Ekka barely listened as he continued to drone on about the school, and began to look outside one of the grand windows.

It showed a large yard that was a bright green with wildlife. Even with the loud halls, she was able to hear the birds chirping in the air and squirrels scurrying up trees. A few groundhogs were burrowed underneath big trees, as were a few harmless snakes as well. She saw a red robin fly towards the window, and the stop, staring in her direction, and cocked its head as its wings fluttered, holding it up.

"Ekka?" Ekka snapped her head around to see Charles looking at her, a small smirk grazing his thin lips. He had rolled farther away, and she noticed that she had just been standing there, staring off into space.

"I–I am sorry," she apologized, and hurried to catch up with him.

"Don't be," he replied. "I will have a schedule for the school day made for you and should be done in maybe an hour or so." He watched as a taller student walked by, obviously an upperclassmen. "Vera," the girl turned around.

She had brown hair with red highlights at the roots, and wore a purple sweater whose sleeves went past her hands, but had been scrunched up to keep out of her way. She also wore jeans-shorts, which would've contradicted the other warm attire, and matched the chilly day in early November, but she had black leggings on underneath, effectively providing the warmth it needed.

She came over and smiled a bit at the man. Charles turned to Ekka as he said, "Ekka, this is one of our students, Vera Masters. She, too, has the ability to control animals. I'm sure you'll get along finely." Then, he turned to Vera, "I believe you are taking a French language class, yes?"

"Yes, I am," she replied in English. Her airy voice held a bit of a Mediterranean accent to it that Ekka recognized as Italian.

"Great. Ekka is from France and doesn't speak much English, so she may speak a few French phrases as well as English ones," Charles explained. "Would you show her around the grounds? I'll make it as extra credit in your French class because of it." Vera's eyes lit up at the sound of extra credit.

"Of course," she grinned, grabbing Ekka's hand. She stiffened, wincing as she accidentally squeezed her burnt finger, but didn't want to be rude and pull her hand away, so she simply bit her tongue and looked at the ground.

"Great," Charles smiled. "I'll call you back here once I finish, Ekka." The girl gave a small nod, and the man rolled off with Hank behind him.

"C'mon. If you're an animal psychic like me, you'll definitely wanna go outside first," she said, and Ekka barely had the chance to say anything as she dragged her outside.

~•~•~•~

"And here we are!" Vera smiled after leading her to a opening in the large yard, finally letting go. Ekka could feel the animals everywhere. Had her fingers not been throbbing in pain, she would have smiled. Instead, just absentmindedly nodded, cradling her abused finger to her chest.

"Well?" She turned to the girl, who had been really absorbed in her finger. "What do you think?"

"I... I... I like it," she whispered, looking down. Speaking English always made her upset with herself because the language was so complex that she had a hard time speaking it half the time.

"The animals are amazing here, no?" Vera plopped down on the grass. Ekka didn't move, and only stared at her. "It's so calm here... So peaceful... I hate it." Ekka blinked, not expecting this from the brunette girl with such a relaxed tone, it was as if had just asked for the time.

"Why?" Ekka asked, very confused.

"I mean, why this?" She motioned to the large land. "I get to control birds and squirrels, which isn't any good if I'm up against an enemy and I don't know how to take over, like, a bear, or somethin'." She sighed, turning her head to look at my feet. "What about you, kid?"

"I... Do not control animals," she whispered.

"Eh? Speak up, I'm not a mind reader."

"I do not control animals," she repeated a little louder. "I talk to animals."

"Same thing," she shrugged, "C'mon, I'll show you the rest of the campus, you're gonna love it." Vera grabbed her arm, dragging her away from the peaceful scenery, and back on the path to the huge school.

~•~•~•~

Ekka met a lot of people while she and Vera roamed the school grounds. She met some of the other students, and Vera allowed her to speak in French and translate for her. Most of the kids were Vera's friends, like a girl name Tara who could move water, or a Russian girl named Mercy who could heal animals, but she would receive the injury in the process. That ability irked her, but the girl explained how she also couldn't feel pain because her nerves were damaged when she was young, and she was incapable of physical feeling pain afterwards.

After they had explored the exterior and interior lay out of the school, Vera took her back to Charles Xavier's office, about a little over an hour later.

He was sitting at his desk, speaking with a man. Charles stopped in the middle of his conversation, "Ah, yes, Ekka. I do have your schedule and your books." He moved back to go into his desk and retrieve the papers.

The other man glanced at her. He had gruff features — a overgrown beard he didn't care on shaving, ripped muscles, and dark eyes that looked angry for some reason. Ekka knew that these rough features usually came with several scars as well, but he bore none that she could see.

"Why are ya starin' at me, kid?" The man asked gruffly, his voice a deep baritone that rumbled in his chest. If she didn't know better she would have mistaken it for a growl.

She adverted her eyes elsewhere, however, looking now at the intricately-plated tile flooring. "Here it is." Charles Xavier took out several sheets of paper, four thin, hardcover books, and handed it to Vera. Vera took the papers, but gave Ekka the heavy books to carry, and she didn't complain. "Be sure to read this to her, and make sure she remembers it."

Vera nodded, but looked a bit as confused as she was, "Why can't she read it, Professor? I mean, it is her schedule." Then, Ekka blinked, suddenly remembering something very important, and her cheeks felt hot.

She tugged on Ekka arm lightly, "C... Can we go?" She whispered so only the girl could hear, but of course, Charles heard as well.

"Yes, you are dismissed," Charles said, waving her away. Ekka hurried out of the room while Vera read the papers to her.

"Let's see... You have Mr. George for homeroom, then Mr. Gill for second period, an—"

"Where do I sleep?" Ekka asked, cutting the girl off.

"Uhm..." She flipped through the pages a little, "Room 18 on the second floor."

"Can we go there?"

"If you want, sure," Vera shrugged, changing their route toward the south side of the building where the staircase was. "Anyways, for third period, you have..."

~•~•~•~

Vera led Ekka to her room, and the door had been unlocked. The room wasn't small, there was a twin-sized bed near the wall and a nightstand beside it. On the other side was a large drawer for clothing. On the opposite side of the room was a desk and her closet, which had a lot of unused hangers already there for her. On the side of the wall, to the left of the bed, was a mirror, and a large window that had a seat on it. It showed a great view of the yard with the small pond, and several trees. She could see the kids walking back towards the large school for their next class, talking to their friends or just walking quickly, silently, and lonely.

"Wow, nice view," Vera said after there had been a short silence between them. "Wish my window was like this. I only get the trees and then a glimpse of the road." Vera turned back to her paper, "Well, I pretty much went over everything you needed. Your next class should start in about ten or so minutes, and that's with Mrs. Kenny." She patted Ekka on the shoulder, and the girl flinched, backing away. Vera gave her a strange look, "I'll be going then. I'll see you later, kid." She flashed Ekka a two fingered wave, before retreating out wooden door.

Ekka stared at the door for a few seconds, before setting her books in the desk, then moved to sit at the chair in front of it, thinking. She began to wonder what was going on in the Circus, and if Father had realized she left yet. Did he punish someone because of her? Would he? Was coming here the best idea? She... What if he finds her? Would he find her?

Ekka shuddered at the thought and decided to turn her mind elsewhere. She began to wonder how Frais and Velu were when suddenly, there was a loud bang on the glass window.

Ekka yelped, jumping out of the chair to hide under the table, peeking over the side to inspect the source of the sound. A small greenish, yellow bird had ran into the window, and now fell on the sill below. Ekka gasped, running over, and struggling to pry the side of the window open.

Finally, it released, and she scooped the small bird up. It fluttered in her hands, it's right wing bent at an awkward angle. She could feel it's pain, and it made her sick, tears rising in her eyes. "It is going to be okay," she whispered, trying to dart around the room, looking for something — anything — she could use to help the bird. Unfortunately, her room wasn't equipped with a animal-first aid kit.

What was she going to do!? She thought frantically. Then, she remembered Charles Xavier, he'd know what to do!

Ekka ran down the hall, but realized too soon that there were masses of people coming the opposite way. She squeaked in surprise, holding the injured bird close to her chest, and began to force her way through the crowd. Eventually, she made it to the other side, which had been fairly empty, and began to run again.

Ekka looked down at the bird. All this moving was making her a bit dizzy. Ekka gave her a apologetic smile, there wasn't much she could do on that. She began to run again, she could hear the small bird squeaking in pain, and she frowned. "I'm getting you help, do no—"

She crashed into a large man, her hands releasing the bird. Her eyes widened, "No!" She subconsciously reached out with her mind, trying to connect with the bird, but instead, connected with the large man.

'Save her. Save her. Save her. Save her...' was drilled into his head. Suddenly, he jumped, catching the fragile bird in mid air, and fell to the ground easily, protecting her.

Ekka stare at the man in shock, and the man seemed to be just as surprised as she was. "What the h—"

"Ekka," she whipped her head around to see Charles Xavier looking at her with concern. "Why are you running? Is something wrong?"

"I–I..." She stammered, and turned back to the man who was holding the injured bird. Catching unto her gaze, he opened his palms to see the small bird fluttering in his hands. Ekka gently scooped her up and presented her to Charles. "Mr. Xavier, she crashed into my window and I did not know what to do. She was crying and she is hurt an—"

"Why are you speaking French?" The man behind her asked, but his question was ignored.

"Slow down," he said. "You said she hit your window?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I–I do not know how to help and I do not want her to die and—"

"Take the bird to Mr. McCoy. He'll help her. Go down that hall and take a right, it'll be the third room on your left," Charles instructed. Ekka nodded, about to run again, when he grabbed her arm, "No running in the halls, Miss Ekka." She looked down, embarrassed, but began to walk — very quickly, that is — and following his directions.

Hank's classroom had been luckily empty, and she walked straight in. He was sitting at his desk, writing something, but looked up when she came in. "Mr. McCoy, Mr. Xavier sent me to you," she explained before he could greet her. She showed him the bird in her hand, which had thankfully still been living. "She flew into my window and she's hurt. Can you help her? Mr. Xavier said you would."

"Yes, of course," Hank replied, pulling his chair back to take something out of one of the drawers in her desk. Ekka recognized it as the first aid kit he used on her after Father burned her the other day. "Set her down," he ordered after taking a few tissue papers and laying it out on his bed.

He began to expertly examine her wing, and Ekka stared at him with anxiety and concern. He glanced up at her, "Take a seat, Ekka. We'll be here a while."

~•~•~•~

"All done," Hank said, twenty minutes later. The bird's wing was properly wrapped, "It was broken pretty bad, so it definitely won't be flying for at least five or six weeks." Ekka nodded, getting up from the desk. The entire time, she was speaking to the small bird, keeping her calm and coaxing her to not panic.

"Thank you, Mr. McCory," Ekka said quietly, exhaling. Now that the bird had been safe, she felt depleted of energy.

"Well, it's class time now, which is where you should be." Ekka blinked, then remembered Vera's warning about how her next lass started in ten minutes, which had been twenty minutes ago! "I'll write you a pass so you don't get marked late, but try to stay on schedule."

"R–Right. I am sorry, I was not watching the time an—"

"Don't worry," he smiled, handing her a slip of paper. "You might want to head off now, though." Ekka nodded, placing a finger for the small bird to hop onto, which she did.

"Thank you again, Mr. McCoy," she repeated.

"No problem," he smiled, "And please, call me Hank." Ekka gave another nod before quickly walking down the hall.

~•~•~•~

Mrs. Kenny, who happened to be a maths teacher, hadn't been pleased that she was late, but overlooked it because of what had happened concerning the bird. After a rather confusing class where she taught the students long division — Ekka didn't even know what that was — they were sent to their English teacher, Mr. Walker.

Mr. Walker had been nice to Ekka, favouring her since she couldn't read English — she could barely speak it as well — and taught her the basic formation of words and letters. He has asked her to spell something in French, her native language, when she was having issues reading it, and he had been mildly curious. Then, she explained that she couldn't read French either, which brought up the awkward topic of if she could read anything, which was no. He decided to talk to Charles Xavier at a later time and decided to keep her on learning the English alphabet.

Ekka was relieved to hear that his class had been the last class of the day, meaning she was free to go back to her room. As she brought together the books she was given by Charles for her classes, she noticed a few of the students — boys and girls alike — had crowded around her.

Ekka sank into her chair as one of the male students stepped forward, "Hi, I'm Henry, what's your name?" He greeted, holding out his hand.

"E–Ekka," she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear. She didn't take his hand.

"That's cool!" One of the girl exclaimed, and Ekka looked at her hands that were clenched around her books. She didn't like how they were staring at her. She felt like she was at the Circus again.

Make them dance! Father growled in her ears, make them sing! I want the audience to be entertained, not asleep!

"So!" A different girl perked, "What your power? Is it animals? I love animals they're so cool and—Ow!" Someone had hit her in the arm.

"Shut up, Faith! You're making her cry!" Ekka blinked, feeling her cheeks which were indeed wet. She felt the small bird on her shoulders, poking its thin beak at her cheek gently.

"I am sorry," Ekka whispered, trying to get out of her chair, hardly remembering to bring her books. The crowd of children parted, allowing her to leave the room quickly.

~•~•~•~

By the time Ekka made it to her room, she was completely exhausted. After the long plane ride to the school, exploring the mansion's grounds, saving the small bird, and having to spend two more hours in classes, she felt like she was going to faint at any second.

Ekka stumbled to her bed, setting the small bird on the nightstand before collapsing on the bed. Ekka was surprised when her entire body sank into the mattress, as if she were sinking into the earth.

Ekka scrambled off the bed, startled and staring at it. She had never slept in a bed before, now that she thought about it. She only slept in the animal's cages, and before that, on the floor of the trailer along with the rest of the kids and Fira.

As soon as the name emerged in her mind, she shoved the thought away. She definitely didn't want to sleep on something that would consume her whole while she slept, so she decided that the floor would be much better.

She stripped the covers off the bed, laying them on the floor. Then, she took the casing off one of the pillows, and created a makeshift nest for the tiny bird. She easily rested her inside of the nest and smiled.

"I apologize for the busy day," she whispered to the bird, who chirped in response. "I hope it will not be as bad tomorrow." Ekka paused, "I suppose I haven't named you yet, have I? Do you have a name?" She shook her head, no. "Okay. I guess I will give you a name. How about..." She was quiet for a few seconds to think. "Flutter. The English word, Flutter. Since I found you here, in America. Do you like that?" The bird chirped loudly in a proud agreement.

"Great," Ekka smiled, "Allow me to rest, Flutter. We can play more tomorrow." Ekka laid on the bare pillow and wrapped herself cozily in the blankets, falling asleep quickly.

Man, I love X-Men.

Fun fact: I started watching X-Men movies when the first came out on VHS (yes, those existed, I feel old). I had to be, like, five or six—I realize how much violence I was exposed when I was little, wow. We used to watch them all the time, and a few years later, we got the first three movies all together, and that was amazing, lol.

Fun Fact #2: My favorite is the second one, lol.

Quick question, doesn't relate to the story at all: Did anyone else watch the original cartooned version of X-Men on like Nick and Nicktoons? I think it still comes on, actually. Those were the best. That episode where Kitty Pride (Shadowcat) and Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) were sick was my favorite. Man, I loved her growing up. I thought she was the coolest person ever lol.

Sorry, I'm rambling. I'll get back to writing, and I'll see y'all next time. Remember...

Don't melt~!

~Happyritas OOO