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Ariana's first two classes were fairly easy. The class at her school in Charming was three chapters ahead of Bayville in government, and she had always been excellent at English. At lunch she joined the Xavier students at their table.
"How did your morning go, Ariana?" Kurt asked when she sat down. She poked at some of her food with a fork before answering.
"Not bad. My Government class in California is so far ahead of the one here, and English is almost too easy," she grinned and Kitty rolled her eyes.
"Look. Here come the losers," she glared and Ariana peeked out of the corner of her vision.
She saw a very large boy with a blonde Mohawk first. Beside him were three other boys. One had dark hair and an annoyed expression, while the other had white hair and a smug smirk. The third was more hunched over. He had greenish-brown hair and a grey complexion. Ariana had seen their type before.
"So you're the new X-Geek," one of them said. Ariana ignored them, but she wrinkled her nose at the smell he brought with him. "Hey, yo, I'm talkin' to you," his voice was insistent, annoyed that he was being ignored. Ariana winked at Rogue, who smirked.
"Hey, he's talkin' to you," a deeper voice repeated. One of them tapped her on the shoulder, and Ariana's amused expression became abruptly annoyed. She stood slowly and turned around.
"Do not touch me," she said simply and clearly. The greenish one hid behind the one with the Mohawk, but the others didn't move.
"Whatta'ya gonna do about it?" the white haired one spoke very quickly. Ariana turned her gaze on him.
"This is not the place, Ariana," Scott said. She knew that the rest of the table was standing without having to look.
"Yeah, you goody-goods gotta keep up a reputation," the toad-like boy said.
"C'mon, Ari. These losers ain't worth our time," Rogue waved a dismissive hand toward the Brotherhood boys. She glared at the boys for another moment, then turned and followed her peers out of the cafeteria. They exited the school and gathered in the deserted back parking lot.
"This isn't the place for a fight with them," Jean repeated Scott's words. Ariana glared at them both.
"You need to learn that I choose my own battles, and I don't need anyone else interfering, team or not," she growled. "Those 'losers' are a problem that needs to be dealt with, and if they want to pick a fight they had damn well be ready to finish it.
"But the school—" Scott began, but Ariana cut him off.
"Oh, don't worry, I wouldn't have used my powers. I know how to win a fight without them," she held his gaze until he broke eye contact, then she spun on her heel and left the parking lot. She didn't go back into the school; instead Ariana headed in the general direction of the outskirts of the city.
She ended up in a small park, sitting beneath a large tree. There was no one around and the silence was peaceful. She held up one hand and willed the soft heat to increase. Her hand abruptly burst into black flames. Mesmerized by the dark light, Ariana felt her anger slowly ebb away.
Once she was calm she began thinking about what she had seen in the fire, about how angry the boys had looked. Was it real or just an illusion? She checked the prepaid cell Gemma had given her before they had arrived at the Institute.
"So you can keep in touch with us," she had said. Ariana knew it was actually so that no one could track her down if trouble came their way. The club had its enemies, and some of those would do anything for revenge. There were no calls or messages on the phone. Tig had left nearly a week ago, but she had still received no contact from him. Ariana dismissed the worry she felt; things were probably just a bit more complicated than Clay had thought.
After a few more hours she got to her feet and looked around. The sky was tinged with brilliant fire in the west, and in the east a dusky purple and blue blanketed the horizon. It would probably take her another hour or so to reach the Institute – it would be full dark by then. Ariana began walking.
She would probably get ripped for skipping school when she got back, but it wouldn't be anything she hadn't heard before. As she walked Ariana felt a distinct chill in the air. With a start she realized that it must be rather cold. She had begun to notice that she didn't feel heat and cold the same way anymore. With the fire filling her, it took more to get her to even slip on a jacket. She remembered that, though at the time she had taken no notice of it, most of the other students had been wearing heavier coats than herself.
Winter was coming closer, and with it came Christmas. Christmas… It usually meant Gemma putting on a big dinner, and a party at the clubhouse. Every member tried to attend, accompanied for part of the night by their families.
It was so much fun, a time for SAMCRO to come together and just enjoy the season. This year she wasn't as certain. Would she be able to return to Charming for the holiday? She brushed the thought aside. Of course she would go back! Gemma would insist, no matter what Xavier said.
Ariana was so lost in her thoughts and memories of home that she didn't notice she had reached the institute until she literally ran into the gates. She grimaced and entered the code into the keypad. Slowly the gates swung open and Ariana entered, listening to the iron clang shut behind her.
She walked slowly, not worrying about the defenses. They were automatically disabled when the correct code was entered. She would have to enable them again at the door. So it was only by chance that Ariana looked up and spotted a figure scaling the wall.
The stranger jumped down and began running toward the mansion. Ariana clenched her fists, letting fire engulf them. Suddenly the stranger stopped and seemed to sniff the air.
It changed course and started coming for Ariana. She brought up both blazing hands to ward off the attack, but the fire did little damage as her assailant slammed bodily into her.
She flew back and landed on her side, luckily missing the stone fountain. Ariana scrambled to her feet and looked around quickly. She spotted the intruder, obviously identified as a girl, coming towards her again. She had no time to study the stranger before they were forced to exchange a series of swift maneuvers. Ariana hesitated for one moment when the intruder gave her a surprise – two glimmering claws shot out of each hand, disturbingly similar to Logan's.
"Damn," Ariana breathed.
That one moment gave her opponent a definite edge over her, though Ariana was certain she would have gained it quickly anyway. The girl slashed at Ariana with one set of claws; Ariana in turn sent a jet of flames her way. It swiftly became obvious that she was no match for the intruder.
Ariana was intensely relieved when the girl suddenly fell to her knees, hands clutching at her head. Logan was immediately by her side, and Ariana retreated to the foyer. Most of her teammates and a few New Recruits were gathered there, as well as Storm and Xavier.
"Please, students, return to your own pursuits. The situation is under control here," the Professor said. Reluctantly they all filed out. Ariana found Rogue and followed her to the kitchen.
"Who was that?" she asked, digging in the refrigerator for something to eat.
"Ah think her name is Laura," Rogue replied. "None of us really know much about her, but ah do know she's pretty messed up from whatevah happened to her."
"Well, she's a damn good fighter," Ariana mused quietly.
Short, I know, but I really wanted to get this up soon. Happy Holidays!