wut, wut, wut, wut. wut, wut, wut, wut. Two updates in (basically) two days? Hey, it's technically three, but I haven't gone to sleep yet so i'm saying two and i'm the writer here so what i say goes. This is just a filler. There will probably be a lot of those in this story. let's be honest, the movie didn't really focus much on what training and bonding went on at the mansion. the ten minute montage was about all we got. I'm just... I'm so ready for Days of Future Past. Juuuust putting that out there. And that I have no other X-Men fandom friends. So... who want's to go see the movie with me when it comes out next flippin' year? :P
The night before had passed uneventfully. Each mutant had given their blood, as had Moira so Hank could compare the samples. Dinner had been eaten, and stories of Charles and Raven growing up in the mansion, of Moira's childhood, of Sean and Lettie's families, even Alex spoke of his childhood before prison. The bond of each person is the house grew stronger with each memory and emotion shared. The group had gone to bed early, knowing that if every day of training was to be as exhausting as today had, they would all need their sleep.
When Lettie awoke the next morning, she went downstairs after a quick shower. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found that everyone but Charles was already filling their plates and stuffing their faces. Joining in with everyone else, she mumbled a good morning. Lettie was much more of a night owl than a morning person. Charles came in shortly after her and also filled his plate.
"I've set up a few things around the grounds today. We'll be doing individual training for now. Moira and I will be collecting each of you when we are ready. Today is mainly seeing how progressed you are in your powers. Hank, if you'd like to join me for a quick run after we finish breakfast, you can go back to your lab if you wish." Hank nodded his agreement. "There really aren't any rules here, but keep in mind we do have a few. I ask each of you to stay on the grounds. Don't harm one another. Play nice. And please, for the love of all that is good, don't break my house. Other than that, I'll see each of you when I'm ready for you."
Charles quickly finished his food and he and Hank headed outside for their run. Moira said something about checking out the library and Erik stalked off without a word, leaving the younger mutants to themselves.
"So, what are we doing today then?" Raven asked.
"You live here. You tell us. What is there to do?"
"Well, we can go to the library with Moira. Or we can go explore the grounds. I lived here for years and I still find new things every day. Or we can..."
Lettie wasn't really listening to anything Raven said. She was thinking about her mum. She missed her an awful lot. Call her a baby, call her immature, whatever. Lettie loved her mom. She was all she really had in this country. And it sucked being so far away from her now. She wondered what she was doing, how she was doing. If she had a new routine or if she was still lost without having her only daughter there. If the fish was still alive. She really loved that fish.
"Lettie? Are you okay?" Alex asked from across the table.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking about some things." Lettie smiled.
"You were totally spaced out. Did you hear anything I just said?" Raven asked, sounding some what offended Lettie hadn't been listening to her.
"Umm. No. Sorry."
"Well, we're going back to that pond we went to before. You in?"
"Hell yeah! That place was beautiful!" Lettie said with a smile.
The group put their dishes in the sink and went upstairs to get changed. Lettie had been about to pull on a pair of shorts when there was a knock at the door. Opening it, she found Raven with a huge smile on your face.
"I brought a swim suit!" She said excitedly, handing the garment over to Lettie as she walked in the door.
"I was actually thinking about just wearing some shorts and a tee-shirt." Lettie told her, shyly. She was a conscious about her body, like most other young girls. The more clothes, the better in her eyes.
"Whatever. You can't wear shorts and a tee-shirt to swim in! That's not the point of swimming. Besides, you're really pale. You need the sun!" Raven argued.
"Rae, the pond was covered in trees. I won't get sun anyways. Besides, I'm Irish. I don't tan. I burn, then I peel, then I'm back to the same white color as before." Lettie argued back.
"Pleeeaaassseeeee. Just put the bathing suit on. I'll feel like an idiot if I'm in a bathing suit and you're in clothes."
"That's stupid." Lettie laughed. But she rolled her eyes and began pulling the suit on anyways. Raven cheered and went back to her room to finish getting ready. Lettie sighed. Oh well. It's just Sean, Alex and Raven. It's not like the entire world is going to see me. Pulling her shorts and a shirt over the suit, which fit her surprisingly well, Lettie slipped her shoes on, grabbed a towel from her bathroom, and stepped out to where Sean and Alex were already waiting.
"Where's Raven?" Lettie asked.
"I"M ALMOST READY!" She yelled through her door.
"Raven, we're going SWIMMING what do you have to do to get ready?! Just throw the suit on, throw some clothes on and let's go!" Lettie yelled back.
"Hey!" Raven opened the door, fully dressed and ready to go. "I'm a woman. Don't rush perfection."
The group laughed and joked, picking on Raven for being a 'woman' in all her 'perfection' as they made their way down the stairs and out onto the grounds. They met Charles and Hank, who were talking and walking around the building.
"Where do you four think you're going?" Charles asked.
"We're going to the waterfall. We'll be back in a little while." Raven told him.
"Don't stay gone too long. We still have training to do."
The teens mock saluted the man who had taken them in, who was training them to use their powers, and took off for the pond. As soon as they got there, the boys stripped down and jumped in.
"HOLY SHIT!" Alex yelled as his head broke out of the water.
"Cold?" Lettie asked, teasingly.
"It's freezing!" Sean complained.
"Well, were you expecting warm water? It's the middle of fall." Raven rolled her eyes.
"Well, why aren't you two in yet?" He complained. Raven looked at Lettie, who had looked at her. They were both thinking the same thing. Did they really want to get in to freezing cold water? Even if their bodies would adjust to the cold...
"I think I'm just gonna sit up here for a while." Lettie spoke first.
"Yeah, I'm gonna sit with her." Raven agreed.
"Are you kidding me? The two of us have to sit in here and freeze our asses off while you two stay up there dry and warm?" Sean whined.
"Hey, neither one of us told either one of you two to jump in the water as fast as possible." Lettie defended as she and Raven sat at the edge of the rocks with their feet in the water. As soon as Lettie's toes felt the cold, she gasped. "That is fucking cold." She laughed, only imagining the way the boys must feel.
"Whatever. You guys are missing out." Alex laughed as he ducked Sean under the water, holding him there for a while. When Sean finally fought his way up to the air, he screamed,
"OH, IT'S ON!" and tried to tackle Alex into the water. Instead, he bounced off of him and only succeeded in dunking himself in.
"They're crazy." Raven said with adoration in her voice.
"Absolutely insane." Lettie agreed with the same tone.
Ten minutes later, the girls were deep in a talk about everything and nothing when they heard the guys getting out.
"Awe, already done?" Raven asked with a teasing tone.
"Nnnoo..." Sean answered, sounding suspicious as hell.
"Then what are you guys doing? And Sean, why the hell do you sound so guilty?" Lettie asked, turning to look at him. He was standing behind Raven and Alex was behind Lettie with a slight smirk on his face. Lettie realized two seconds too late what was about to happen. "NO! DON'T YOU GUYS DARE! I SWEAR IF YOU THROW ME IN THIS WATER I WILL-" splash.
"HOLY SHIT BALLS!" Lettie rose from the water screaming. "It's so cold it hurts!"
Raven was yelling obscenities from beside her where Sean had thrown her in. The guys were still perched on the rocks, doubling over in laughter.
"That was cruel!" Raven complained. "You guys suck."
"Yeah, well." Sean laughed as he jumped back in.
Twenty minutes of splashing and swimming, playing Chicken on the guys shoulders, and complaining about the temperature, their bodies had finally gotten used to the water. After knocking Raven off of Sean's shoulders for the third time, Lettie patted Alex on the head.
"Let me down, I'm tired." She asked. Unexpectedly, he complied. Swimming over to sit underneath the waterfall, Lettie found that it was not only beautiful, but slightly warmer without the cool breeze going through the air. Alex had followed her and was perched beside her on the bench-like rock.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't believe that this is real life. We're all at a waterfall, playing chicken, while our trainer is back at his mansion, where we all live. We're going to fight a war against other mutants. We're going to save the world. And a week ago I was working at a bookstore and going to school for cosmetology. Living in a small apartment with my ma and our fish. And I didn't know any of you."
"It's real. It's a dream, but it's real." Alex said, laughing. "I know what you mean. If you had told me, a week ago, a year ago, or 15 years ago, that this is where I would be, I would have laughed in your face."
At that moment, Sean and Raven swam under the waterfall.
"Not interupting anything, are we?" Raven asked with a smile. "Sean's hungry."
"Sean's always hungry." Lettie rolled her eyes. "It's freezing out here anyways. We need to change clothes before we die of hypothermia or pneumonia or something."
Getting out of the water was worse than getting in. Bodies and hair and clothes soaking wet and weighed down with freezing cold water, water than the towels could only lift so much of, was miserable. The wind had gotten cooler and the skies were dark.
"Lettie." Raven complained. "Can't you dry us off?" Lettie was silent. "Lettie?"
"It's just... I haven't used my powers since that time here. When I tried warming the water. I'm... I'm afraid to. I'm afraid they still won't work."
"Girl, your powers are going to be fine. Warming the water was a big job. You're not broken. But I get it. I'm not going to push you."
Lettie smiled, thankful for that. She knew she was letting them down. Knew that, before, she could have had them dry in no time. But now? Now, she's afraid to even try.
By the time they reached the mansions, they were only damp, but their clothes were stiff and their noses were runny and sniffling. When they walked through the door, Charles met them coming down the stairs.
"Oh, dear. I'll go put on some tea, yeah?"
The mutants all nodded their heads and told him just how much they would love that before heading up to their rooms. The first thing Lettie did after stripping out of her cold, damp clothes, was take the hottest shower she could stand. She could feel her body thawing out, though her nose was still runny.
She was relieved to see a grey sweatsuit on her bed when she finally walked out of the warm, steamy bathroom. She swore it hadn't been there before. She just assumed that Raven had put it there for her. That was fine with her, she hadn't thought to bring sweatpants.
She and Raven emerged from their rooms at the same time, and Raven was wearing the same suit.
"Thanks for the sweatsuit." Lettie said gratefully.
"I didn't give you the sweatsuit. It must have been Charles." Raven told her as they walked down the stairs.
"- if that's okay with you." Charles was saying to Alex.
"It's fine with me, if Lettie is okay with it." Alex told him, drinking his hot cup of tea.
"Okay with what?" Lettie asked.
"Ahh, I was just talking to Alex here about training after we finish our tea." Charles smiled warmly at the newcomers as he offered them tea and sugar.
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Well, Alex told me to bring a fire extinguisher. I thought, instead, we could just take you." Charles told her.
"Charles... I don't know if I can... My powers. I'm not sure." Lettie said uncomfortably.
"My dear, I am sure that you have nothing to worry about." Charles told her comfortingly. "You have to try your powers some time, right?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose." Lettie said slowly, as she made eye contact with Alex. He was watching her carefully, his eyes scanning her face. He smiled when she did. "Alright. After tea."