A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Your feedback absolutely makes my day! So here it is. The X-Men get to know the Do'Urdens a little better and Storm starts to comprehend the magnitude of what's happened to her now that the initial euphoria has worn off and begins to understand what that means for her future. And heeerre we go!
Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.
The night was clear and silent. An unnatural stillness seemed to have fallen across the world, making it seem as if the sky itself was holding its breath. The stars were pale jewels against the blackness, offset by the moon making it's slow journey across the heavens, and all oblivious to the tumultuous emotions of those looking upon them.
Ororo Do'Urden, who had gone most of her adult life by Munroe, who had taken the name Storm to beat back her underlying lack of proven identity, greatly envied those oblivious stars.
It had been three days since her family's unexpected reintroduction into her life; three days since all she had ever known had been turned upside down in earnest. The last 72 hours had been the most emotionally draining, mentally taxing times of her life, and although things had settled down a bit after the initial frenzy of introductions and reunions that first day, life at the mansion was still far from normal. The Do'Urden family and company had spent their days getting to know each other and learning a little more about their respective worlds. One of the first things Ororo had done was take them all on a tour of her home, a venture that had taken them the rest of the first day and a good part of the next. They talked about whatever came to their minds, from Ororo's less then ideal childhood (that had led to more than a few tears from her guilty parents, though none of it was remotely their fault), to mutants and their struggle to find acceptance in a world where different was often mistaken as dangerous. Drizzt especially seemed to sympathize with the mutant's plight, and she and her father had spent many pleasant hours in conversation while they walked the grounds. Given the choice, most of her family would much rather be outside than inside, and Ororo had found herself walking through the gardens and lawns even more than usual.
As a direct result of her sudden interest in the outdoors, she hadn't seen any of her teammates much, a situation that she knew they couldn't be happy with, but she just wanted this time to be alone with her family. She needed to get everything straight emotionally before she could move on to more complicated matters. Ororo knew that eventually she would have to lift up both her life she had found on Earth with the X-Men, and the heritage she now knew she possessed, and try to find some way to reconcile them to herself, but she wasn't ready just yet. Everything still seemed a little too unreal.
In fact, that was one of the reasons that she was sitting up on the roof of the mansion, admiring the stars and enjoying the solitude. She had told her family that she just needed a little air and some time to herself. They had understood completely. At this point in time, everyone was very careful not to force anything and to let matters progress at their own pace. If she said she needed privacy, they were only too willing to give it to her. The X-Men weren't nearly so polite.
Ororo suppressed a groan as she heard the Professor's chair come across the roof. She didn't bother trying to mask her thoughts, the Professor would've known full well that she wanted to be alone and had chosen to come up anyway, any uncomplimentary thoughts picked up were his own fault. Deep inside, Ororo knew she was being a little uncharitable, but she couldn't bring herself to care.
"The rest of the team is worried about you." Came the inevitable comment.
"They shouldn't be," She muttered. "I'm better than I've been for as long as I can remember."
"And how would they know that?" The Professor pointed out mildly. "They haven't seen you for days."
Ororo's cheeks burned in shame at the blunt statement. The X-Men had been the closest thing to a family that she had ever had until a few days ago. She really hadn't been fair to them since her birth parents had shown up. Suddenly, she felt as if she had abandoned them. "I know." She said softly. "And I do feel terrible about that. I'm sure they're worried and I'm flattered for their concern, but I just really needed this time to…I don't know…get things straightened out. There's just too much going on right now, I feel like I need to focus on one part of my life at a time or I'll just be completely overwhelmed."
"I understand that, and so does Jean." The Professor assured. "But the rest of the team is not gifted with the same abilities we are. They can't feel your mind and know that this separation is what you need."
"Can't you explain it to them?" Storm almost pleaded, an act that was out of character in and of itself. "I'm not ready to deal with them, not with everything else still unresolved. I don't mean to abandon them," She added softly.
The long silence stretched on for many minutes, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Up above, the stars twinkled merrily, as if to mock their insignificant troubles. Ororo finally broke the quiet.
"They want me to go back with them," She blurted suddenly. "My family…They haven't said so yet of course, they're all so paranoid about taking things too fast, but I can tell. Some of the comments they've made, the way they talk about Earth as if it was just a passing phase of my life, they're expecting that when they leave, I'll go with them. To Fearun and Mithril Hall," She paused for a moment before continuing. "Home." Even to her own ears, it sounded as if she was testing out the word to see if it fit.
The Professor was quiet for a long moment. The statement wasn't out of the blue, indeed, he had almost been expecting that Ororo's family insist that she leave with them right away. To his relief, the group seemed more sensible and compassionate than that. They seemed determined to make this whole thing as non-traumatic as possible. Charles Xavier was grateful for that much, but as gently as they were making the transition, as compassionate to Storm's feelings as they were, the fact remained that they had every intention of leaving with one of his brightest and oldest students, and once they had taken her, he wasn't sure when any of the team would see her again. Ultimately it was her choice though, the Professor had to remind himself. If she believes she will be happier with them, than so be it. The thought was painful, but he had no right to keep her from her family if that is where she decided she belonged.
He was burning to ask if she was going to say yes when they asked, but his abilities made the question redundant. He could feel the conflict roiling within her. He realized that, if asked the question that very minute, she would have no answer. She didn't know what she was going to do. It was also unnecessary to point out that the X-Men were here for her, no matter what she chose. She already knew that. The silence stretched on until once more the magic of the night settled over the scene.
Nothing else was said between the two, they simply sat in companionable silence, watching the stars and the moon travel across the sky.
Elsewhere in the mansion
Zaknefein Do'Urden slipped through the shadows as easily as a wraith. Drawing the night around him like a cloak, he slipped through the corridors of his sister's home. His stealth was more out of habit than any real desire not to be seen. As a child, he had always been quiet and graceful in his movements (with his father being Drizzt Do'Urden, how could it be otherwise?), and that natural silence had only been improved with his training both at weapons and as a ranger. His father had been his teacher in both pursuits (though his mother and the other companions of the hall had helped quite a bit with the weapons part) and had mercilessly drilled stealth and silence into his son's head. Zak didn't think he could stomp his feet any more if he tried.
He was somewhat lacking in clear direction this night. He had no mission, no task to complete. He was simply wandering for the sake of wandering; every so often he would stop to closer examine something that caught his interest.
Zak found his sister's adopted world absolutely fascinating. Although he was hardly a child and had seen his fair share of adventuring all across Fearun, he had inherited his parent's wanderlust and the prospect of exploring a new place sent his blood flaming. This world was so different from what he knew, he wanted to learn everything he could while he was here and preserve it in his memory forever. Were that they could stay longer.
Zak didn't know exactly how long it was going to be before they went home, but he had a feeling that the time was fast approaching. Both of his parents, while thoughtful of Ororo's feelings and harboring their own fascination with this world, were beginning to get anxious. They wanted to have Ororo home and wouldn't breathe easily until she was. It was nothing that an outsider would've noticed, and he was sure that Ororo hadn't, but Zak could tell. It was in the little glances they would shoot each other, the way his father would stare out at the horizon or his mother would bite her lip just so. They liked it here, they would happily come and visit again, but they were ready to have their daughter home for the first time in years.
Zak's private musings were cut off as he detected the approach of two people. Having no real desire to suffer their curious stares, he melted deep into the shadows and waited for them to pass, confidant that his training and innate kinship with the night would shield him from the humans' inferior gaze. Once the two rounded the corner into his line of sight, he recognized them as two of his sister's teammates, her team leader and red haired friend (Scott and Jean, he reminded himself). As he expected, the man walked right past him without knowing he was there, but the woman stopped and directly faced the half-drow. "Why are you hiding there?"
Zak felt his face burn all the way to the tips of his ears. She was a telepath, of course, he had known that. Father would rap my knuckles. Zak thought to himself wryly before answering the woman.
He shrugged. "Just habit I suppose. Drow are a stealthy race by nature and, though I am only half-drow, it is my nature as well. And my father has taught me enough of it's importance for stealth to be thoroughly ingrained in my actions."
The woman smiled at him while the man's expression did not change. He didn't give the impression of being hostile exactly, but he was watchful and wary. Past the initial introductions, the Do'Urden family and the X-Men hadn't interacted much. Scott just didn't know how to take any of them, and he didn't entirely trust them. It occurred to Zak that there was an opportunity here to break the ice. He had yet to have a lengthy conversation with any of the X-Men, it might be advisable to get to know them a little better while at the same time letting his sister's team become accustomed to the idea of his presence.
The one called Jean apparently had the same idea, because she quickly invited Zak to join them. "We were just headed down to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Interested?"
Zak wasn't really hungry, but it was too good of an opportunity to waste and he quickly agreed. Scott seemed to hesitate and assess the half-drow before he nodded his assent and motioned for Zak to join them in their walk.
"You're Zaknefein right?" Jean asked, seeking to start a conversation.
"Ororo's brother, yes." He replied. "But you can call me Zak, everyone does."
"I actually like Zaknefein." She said. "It sounds much more interesting."
Zak shrugged as if it didn't matter. An awkward silence grew "So how long have you known my sister?" Zak finally asked, seeking some common ground.
The woman smiled. "Scott and I were the Professor's first students, so we've known Storm ever since she got here. Years and years ago, I feel like I've known her my entire life."
She is a sister to Ororo, Zak realized. Perhaps not in flesh, but more like siblings than perhaps Ororo and I will ever be. He felt the familiar stab of pain at the thought of what could have been. So much was stolen and lost forever.
Jean must have sensed his change of mood even if she did not catch his thoughts, because she quickly changed the subject. "So…Storm said that your father and you are rangers?"
"We are." Zak confirmed. "Do you not have such people in your world?"
"I don't know." Jean said. "Not under that name for sure, but they might be called something else. Storm never actually described what a ranger was, so I couldn't tell you." She sent him a hopeful and questioning look.
A grin tugged at Zak's lips. He was proud of his occupation and of his religion and enjoyed speaking of them. He reached into his tunic and drew out his holy symbol. A gift from his grandfather upon the completion of his training, the unicorn's head was made of Mithril and caught the light exquisitely as it dangled from his hand. "My father carries a similar pendant," He started. "Though his is carved of scrimshaw. It denotes us both as followers of the goddess Mielikki, the Lady of the Forest. A ranger is the name given to those who follow the Lady and uphold her principles, those who care for the forest and the natural order, protect it from those who would disrupt that order, and defend those who cannot defend themselves. She demands high morals of her followers." He added. His love for his Goddess was obvious in his voice.
Jean nodded as she absorbed the information. "In that case," She began. "No, I can say in all confidence that we don't have rangers here. We have forest rangers that do sort of the same thing, but theirs is just an occupation, there's no goddess or religion involved. And all they do is protect the forest, they don't do any of that 'defend the weak' stuff you mentioned."
Zak gave a soft smile as he shook his head. "Your world is so different from mine. It's absolutely fascinating."
"I feel the same way about your home." Jean said. "It sounds like something out of a fantasy novel."
Not knowing what a fantasy novel was, Zak didn't have anything to reply to that.
After a quick snack in the kitchen, Jean gave a long stretch and a longer yawn and announced that it was time for her to go to bed and asked if Scott would be joining her.
"I actually think I'm going to work on my car a little." Scott responded. "I'm really not tired yet." He seemed to weigh something in his mind for a moment before turning to the third of their party. "Would you like to come with me?" He asked.
"Come with you? To do what?" Zak asked, taken back.
"You said you were interested in the way things work around here, I just thought you might like to learn a bit about cars."
Zak's eyes shone at the prospect. Ever since these strange horseless wagons were described to him, he had been dying to find out how they worked. He eagerly agreed and waited while Scott turned to put their dishes in the sink. As he passed Jean, Scott leaned down and briefly whispered to her, unaware that Zak could hear his every word. "I still don't know if I trust them or believe them, but at the very least I can try to talk with them. I owe Storm that much."
Zak sighed, this group's trust was hard earned it seemed. Still, he thought that he had just made a good deal of progress in easing tensions. He would likely be the mediator in the coming days he realized. His interest in this new world would allow him to more easily befriend Ororo's teammates and smooth relations between the two groups. Recognizing the potential for him to make this entire situation a good deal easier, he vowed to spend more time with his sister's friends in the coming days. Besides, befriending those whom she thought of as family could only bring Ororo and he closer together. Zak was determined to make up lost time.
A/N: There it is. I wanted to make the easing of tensions really gradual, just because I think that's a more realistic course to take and was trying to think of a way to get them to trust each other without making it seem too rushed or taking up a million chapters. Then I thought that there had to be an intermediary, someone from the Companions who sort of befriends the X-Men. That way I could ostensibly hurry up the granting of trust a bit through that character and still make it seem realistic. At first I was going to use Regis, just because it suits his personality, but then I was reading over a few of my previous chapters and realized that I had hinted that Zak was fascinated with Earth and thought that I could use that as a jumping off point. Anyway, there I go rambling again. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and I hope to hear from you again. Tell me what you think. I especially would like to hear your thoughts on the first part. I tried and tried and I think it's ok now, but it took a lot of work and editing. Any suggestions for improvement are welcome.
