Chpt 4- More Rememberances, Earned Trust, and A Visitor
Seven months later
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"Look Mir! Snow!" Mara exclaimed from the common room's full length window. It was just the beginning of the Christmas season, and the sisters, who had spent their lives in warm climates, were seeing snow for the first time. Their aunt had sent them full-length cloaks, as well as warmer clothes, so they needn't have bought anything in New York.
Mir grinned as she looked out behind her sister at the fresh blanket of fallen snowflakes that had suddenly appeared during the night. "Oh, wow..." She suddenly looked at her sister and grinned. "Last one's out has a date with The Blob!"
"Eeew! 'Like, so totally icksome!'"
Mir rushed out of the door, giggling as Mara ran after her. It was Saturday morning, and the girls were finally calling the Institute "home." The girls had gotten into the groove of things, and since they had started school in August (they even had some of the same classes with their friends), there had been many battles between the X-men, with them included, and the Brotherhood. Their addition to the team had pulled them through tight spots many times.
Since training with Professor X, the girls had developed their powers dramatically. Mara was just finding her specialty, even though Logan lovingly teased her, sometimes calling her the "Portable Fridge." It really surprised everyone, since it's kinda weird. It started with Professor's trial cube, which was purple... It turned out that anything purple works a lot better with Amarantha than anyhting else another color. Also, she could make the effect last a lot longer than she ever could before, regardless of color. The Prof said it must be involved with the pigments and the rainbow spectrum connected with her enzymes and DNA and the X- Mutation gene... and that's about where Mara drifted off, much to her dismay. She just wasn't a science/math based person.
Miracle was now above causing Kurt's vocal pipes to fail and such. She was very interested in medicine, so the Prof had started taking her to the local hospital and let her practice on the terminal patients. Like, healing hemophiliacs and blindness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes her powers succeeded, sometimes they didn't- the Prof was determing what the cause may be of that.
Their new cloaks, black with color and complete with a hood, made them think of Rogue's cloak, only Mara's had a shining dark, deep violet lining, while Mir's had a glittering gold. And they both had their signs in the upper right hand corner- Mir's had a sideways "s" with a vertical and diagonal line going through the center. The vertical line had arrows pointing out on both ends, and there were two dots opposite each other and the diagonal line. Mara's sign was a diamond outlined with gold- the top half sparkled with a silver glitter, and the bottom reflected the light in a purplish hue. Signs instead of signatures were common in their family, more like a tradition, and the girls didn't mind.
The new articles of clothing billowed behind the sisters as they ran outside, snow crunching underneath their new boots. The girls laughed as they tore past Kitty with Katherine and Rogue, Jean and Scott, Evan, Ororo, Kurt (who was lying in the crest fallen snow, making a snowangel, Kurt style), ... their faces a blur against the trees lined with snow, and the grey skies beyond.
"Hey Mara! Catch!" Mara dodged a snowball flying past her head. She stared at her sister with mock surprise, then scooped up some snow herself.
"Let the games begin!" she cried as the snowball fight ensued, which consisted of snow throwing and dodging behind trees and narrow escapes and misses and sometimes not so great escapes and misses.
"Hey Mara! Need help?"
"Miracle! Thought we'd join ya."
The two sisters could see their roommates off to the side, along with the whole Team. The girls grinned and nodded. Kitty smiled and lowered Katherine to the ground, who contented herself with batting handfuls of snow. The feline would not go far.
In the end, it was Mara, Kitty, Jean, Ororo, and Logan versus Mir, Rogue, Kurt, Scott, and Evan.
"This means war!" Scott shouted as he lowered his sunglasses at an oncoming snowball, thrown by Jean, who laughed as the snowball melted in midair. It had met the fate of Scott's laser eyes. It would be hard to get past him-
"Ow!" Scott turned around and ruffled his hair, dumping the snow off.
-Unless you could hit him from behind. Jean laughed and threw another snowball. This time it dodged Scott's attacks, and went around and hit him in the back of the head. And so this process repeated endlessly, them two going off in their own little world...
"Got ya!" Kurt said as he suddenly appeared over Kitty's head, dumped an armful of snow, then BAMFed away before he could land on top of her.
"Ahhh! Kurt!" she cried. "Totally not fair!" She laughed, shook off the snow and chased after him as he appeared nearby.
"Hehe..." Logan laughed quietly as he hit Rogue square in the back of the head. She whirled around and grinned.
"Come back here!" She ran after him with an armful of snow. He blocked any versatile attacks by shredding the snow with his blades.
Ororo was collecting any snowballs thrown in her direction by creating a small, and not very powerful, whirlwind around her, drawing in the snowballs and catching them, and throwing them back out in return.
"Hey Ama!" Evan shouted as he threw a snowball in Amarantha's direction. Mara calmly ducked, then turned on him in a calm fit of rage, as Mir joined her at her side, angry as well.
"What did you call me?" she asked in a strange tone.
Evan paled. "Uh... uh, Ama! That's your name, isn't it? Come on, I've known you since you came here, what's-"
The sisters cornered him against a tree. The others stopped and crowded around.
"What's going on?" Kitty, with Katherine in one arm, placed a concerned hand on her roommmate's shoulder, but it was immediately flung off. The two pairs of eyes still focused on Evan, who showed a look of terror on his face.
"If you EVER call my sister... that... that NAME again, that... TERRIBLE, cruel name..." Miracle grabbed Evan's collar and pulled him close, her eyes menacing and ice. "It would take a miracle for you to survive what I would put you through," she whispered, like ice was being shoved down Evan's back, mountainfuls of cold, hard ice...
"I... I don't understand!"
Mara suddenly came out of her daze, and she looked around. A smile came to her lips and she leaned into Mir to whisper, "They don't know what it means!"
Mir let go of Evan, confused. "They... they don't? Don't you guys speak Latin? At all? Just a little? Or any knowledge of the curse words, maybe?"
They all shook their heads, weirded out. The sisters looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Oh! Oh my gosh we're so sorry!" Mara managed to say through the giggles.
Mir stopped. "I still meant what I said though." She looked at Evan. "Never call my sister a bitch again."
His eyes widened as he realized the potency of what he said. "Sheesh, I'm sorry..."
All of a sudden, Amarantha stopped. Crystalline snowflakes began to fall around them as her lips turned blue, and the coloring drained from her face. Mir could tell it wasn't because of the cold weather.
"Mara!"
Amarantha fell to her knees. Mir cried out as she knelt and her sister leaned against her stiffly, her eyes wide and cold.
"Mara... Mara," Mir whispered as she smoothed her long brown hair. "Mara... Amarantha, Amarantha Owen..."
Kitty looked at Rogue, concerned. She nodded.
"Mara..." Rogue said in a singsong tone. Amarantha began to pant heavily, her breath escaping her the minute it left her lips. She gasped, and then her eyes returned to normal. She let out a cry and buried herself in Mir's shoulder, crying.
"Ummm... okay... I said I was sorry! Sheesh..." Spyke looked at his aunt, who looked at him and shook her head.
"I have a feeling this wasn't about you, Evan," Rogue said.
Mir looked around, "Kurt?" she asked through threatening tears. "Could you please, get her out of the cold?"
Kurt nodded, solemn as Mir transferred her from her arms to his, still sobbing. Katherine noiselessly jumped from Kitty's arms, much to her surprise, to Kurt's shoulder. He then, much to Kitty's horror, BAMFed away.
"Hey! Katherine! Ohhh... I'll get her later..."
The others just watched in wonder and confusement.
Miracle stood up shakily. "I... guess, I should explain," she said, looking around at the group.
"Yes," Logan said gruffly, "I think you should."
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Kurt gently laid down his friend on her bed and pulled the covers over her, to ensure her warmth. She cried into the pillow as Kurt removed her cloak and laid it over a chair to dry. He then sat next to her and rubbed her back rhythmically, smoothly muttering senseless things, trying to calm her down.
"Oh... oh Kurt, it was horrible..." she said, still facing the pillow. She turned to face him and shakily sat up.
"Do you vant anyzing?" He asked quietly. Amarantha smiled and shook her head as she sniffed and leaned back against her pillow. Katherine jumped onto the bed and- (AN: REALLY FREAKY MOMENT! As I was typing this, my cat, Cocoa, did the EXACT SAME THING! My mother and I were really freaked out!) (Okay, later on as I was proofing, SHE DID IT AGAIN! Cocoa has ESP, I tell ya!!)
(An:*cough, cough* As I was saying,)
Katherine jumped onto the bed and rubbed against Mara, purring loudly. The kitten had grown on them all over the last seven months, especially her owner. Now the feline looked quite healthy, thanks to her new family suroundings. If Kitty couldn't take care of her, for any reason, the others would jump at the chance to take care of the cute technicolor furball. Kurt smiled.
"I'm glad to see Katherine likes you too..."
"Oh, yeah, she likes everyone." Mara looked up at her teleporting friend. "You like Kitty, don't you?" she inquired.
"Ummm... ja, she's a really great friend and all-"
"That's not what I mean and you know it."
Kurt blushed. "I... I... yes," he said with a sigh.
Mara smiled. "She likes you too. I can tell. Pratically everyone can. I'm surprised you haven't caught on and asked her out."
Kurt looked at her like she had just said she was a crazy alien from the planet Naa.
"She deserves someone better zan me..." Kurt clicked off his watch and reverted to his natural form, the blue German fuzzy elf dude.
Mara shook her head. "She still battles with you, when you're in your true form. She doesn't get repulsed and look away, does she?"
"But that doesn't-"
"Trust me. It may not look like she does to you, but she likes you. ALOT! It's really obvious, you really need to pay attention to what she does when she's around you."
Kurt blushed deeper. "I... I can't. Every time I look at her..."
"Aww, that's so cute!"
"Okay, since vhen are ve talking about me and Kitty? You should lie still and rest, the others vill be up here soon. Are you okay now?"
Mara smiled. "I'm okay..."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Mara shuddered. "Only with my sister."
"That's quite alright vith me." Kurt looked around, then back at Mara, who had closed her eyes and rested against the pillow.
"Did you really mean vhat you said?" he whispered.
"Yes, Kurt," Mara answered back.
"Oh."
The smile faded from her pale face. Kurt looked at her worridly.
"What I remembered... it was so horrible..." Mara opened her eyes, not being able to stand the emptiness.
"Are you sure you don't need a nurse?"
"Yes, I'm sure... I just need Mir." After a pause, "Kurt? Stay with me, please. Until they come... I don't want to be alone. And I trust you."
"Danke, Mara. Sure. Of course." Kurt smiled as he remembered the many times Amarantha had saved his life, AND Kitty's. Basically everyone. He had never felt anything for Mara and Mir other than strong friendship, and was very thankful for their presence at the Institute. He had come to depend on Mir's way of doing things with that certain edge, and Mara's kind and intelligent thoughfulness, especially in battle.
Kurt grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, gently holding his friend's hand. Mara opened and closed her eyes again and again... frightened doesn't begin to describe how the dancing images before her made her feel...
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"Mara!" Everyone crowded around the youth's bed, concerned for their teammate and friend.
"Katherine!" Kitty exclaimed as the little furball leaped into her arms. She looked around at the glares focused on her. "What? I'm, like, worried about Mara too!"
"Hold it!" Kurt whispered and shouted at the same time. He gestured to their friend, who was lying still, her eyes finally closed.
"Everyone.. could you please let me talk to my sister alone?" Miracle glanced at Kurt, as if saying, "You too, buster."
One by one they filed out of the room, grumbling their complaints as Mir shoo'd them out the door.
"Don't worry, I'll bring updates and hellos to you all later." Miracle promised. She then shut the door quietly and rushed over to her sister's bed.
"Mara..." Miracle gently placed a hand on her sister's arm...
Mara gasped as she sat up with wide, smoky eyes. She gasped for breath and curled into a ball as she started sobbing with fear, relief, and fright.
"Mara! Mara, it's okay, it's me!" Mir placed her hands on her sister's shoulders and leaned her against the pillow. "Come, talk to me..."
"Oh... Mir..." Amarantha cried as she leaned against Mir, and the tears coursed down her cheeks. "I couldn't sleep... the nightmares..."
"Shhh... It's alright, Mara." Mir smoothed her sister's hair and rocked back and forth, whispering quiet words of comfort to her precious sibling.
"Miracle... it was horrible. We got lost, and we were all by ourselves. We came across a cave... oh, we were so young. Not even 8 years old. It was a place for play, to us. We had wandered so far from home... The cave... it was so mean! At first it showed us dancing paintings... the traveling performers, the singers and the dancers, the actors! One looked like Mother... and she did everything on stage, she was such a great performer, every time she went out there she took the audience's breath away. And the man... he was handsome, with strawberry blond hair, and the kind of eyes that made you want to dance with him forever... He the director, or manager, or whatever-the person in charge of the group... He looked at her with such love..."
"Then there was a princess, with a jeweled tiara resting upon dark brown hair, and she was riding a beautiful white horse. Her elegant gown was gorgeous... She was riding through a forest, and she met up with a knight... his silver horse contrasted with his light brown hair. His clothes seemed to be the finest in all of Xanth... They were out of focus... we saw only their profiles. The princess sobbed and the knight comforted her, then they rode off together, quietly talking... then they faded."
Mara had at frist spoken with awe and just a little fright. Now the fear overtook the surprise and was evident in her voice.
"At first we weren't scared, and we went further and further into the cave... Oh, so little did we know! It was a game to us, a silly game. Then, echos started crying out our names, and then the walls made fun of us. Faster and faster, the wails cried out 'Amarantha' and 'Miracle!' The walls showed a purple flower that never died, and a person rising from the dead... Then we shouted at the echo, that our names weren't Amarantha and Miracle, but Mara and Mira. Then the echos 'corrected' themselves, and then they started chanting that, while the walls showed a really scary world, all red, surrounded by black, and all of it was empty, and mirrors, reflecting themselves so much they were turning green. By then we had stopped running and started to cry, and we wanted to go home so much... then, the water... the cave flooded with boiling water... We screamed and screamed! Nobody came, Mir! Nobody! Not even a nymph or an ogre, even a harpy would have appeared like hope to us then, it hurt so much! It soaked our clothes and burned our skin, and we couldn't breathe, it was rushing so fast..."
Mara took a deep breath as she gazed into her memory, and shuddered as it crept up behind her.
"Then we washed out of the Cave of Horrified Names, and when we woke up, we were home, and Mother was there, taking care of us..."
"Shhh... it's okay. You're alright." Mir kissed her sister's forehead as a tear slid down her face, unnoticed. "You are Amarantha Owen Meoskite, not anyhting else. All that's behind us, no more hot water. No more cave."
"What we didn't see, Mir... what we didn't see. We had washed against the mouth of the cave, which was lined with jagged rocks... Mother came. She found us. She carried us home in mid air. She telepathically floated us home. Then she took care of us. And... she didn't ask what happened."
"Oh, Mara... we'll find answers soon. For now, cheer up. Everything's alright now."
Mara smiled sadly at her sister. "I'm still shaken up, a little." Her eyes widened. "Kurt! Oh, Miracle, did you see... Oh, he, he's so much more than the facade he puts on."
Mir raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Ohh... he's so trustworthy and kind, so much more serious than he normally seems. And guess what..."
"What?"
"He is totally GAGA over Kitty!" Mara laughed. "He can barely look at her without getting hearts in his eyes, it's that bad. I'm surprised he's lasted as long as he did without getting on his knees and begging her to marry him."
"Really? No way."
"Yes way! And you KNOW Kitty is so in love with him, she'd probably take him up on his offer!"
"That's so cute!"
Mara smiled, but it soon faded as she thought of something.
"I hope we find love someday," she said in a wistful tone.
"Why, of course we will. If only you smile a little, 'For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.'"
"Oh come on Mir, you know I don't like the County Paris. I like Romeo much better. Next time, say one of his quotes. Or Juliet's. Or the Prince. Maybe Mercutio."
"Hun, pratically everyone likes Romeo better than Paris. You've got to be insane not to. Here: 'What's in a name? What which we call a rose by any other would smell as sweet.' Also, 'Good-bye, good-bye. Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I shall say goodnight, 'till it be morrow.'"
"That's Juliet. Both of them." The corner of Amarantha's mouth turned up in a small but cute smile.
Mir smiled. "There you go. There's that smile. You're going to find the best man of all, with good looks and a nice personality and a big pay check, while I find someone like The Blob."
After pausing for a moment, both girls grimaced with disgust.
"Eeeew..." they said at the same time, then erupted into giggles.
"Guys? Can we, like, see her now? Is she okay?" They heard a knock on the door, and Kitty's voice, although muffled, reached their ears. Mir turned to Mara.
"Are you able to get up now? It's almost lunch time... and we haven't even made snow angels yet! OR a snowman!" Mir said.
Mara smiled. "How about a snow mutant?"
"Yeah, that too. We could learn from Kurt."
Mara giggled. "I'll be okay. It just... took me by surprise. I'll get over it."
"At least I'll have the next one," Mir referred to the rememberances as she offered an arm to her rising sister.
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"Girls, today you have a visitor."
It was a few days later, and Christmas was right around the corner. The mansion was decorated beautifully with lights and wreaths, and Christmas trees.
The sisters had eaten lunch already and were on their way down the staircase, giggling with joy, to the main doors, dressed in their winter clothes and cloaks, when Professor X came to a stop in front of them. Mir came to a halt on the bottom step, and Mara almost crashed into her, but caught the banister in time.
"Oh?" Mir questioned.
"Aunt PL never told us she was coming to visit." Mara peered over her shoulder.
The Prof shook his head. "This isn't your aunt, girls..." *Miss Maia Meoskite... err, Meos told me not to tell them who she was,* he reminded himself. *In fact, so did Miss PL. Strange family... "Your visitor is in my office. Feel free to go in. I thought you might want to spend some time alone." *Boy, this family sure has weird nicknames. Meos, PL, Mir and Mara...* the Prof said to himself. Well, he was kinda right, if you thought about what he knew about the Meoskites, which wasn't much.
Mir looked at her sister questioningly and headed for the Prof's office, Mara right behind. They didn't know of anyone else who would come to visit them like that besides their aunt. It was most certainly a mystery.
"Oh, and Mara? Mir?" The Prof called after them. The girls stopped and turned around.
"The next time one of you has a recollection, please see me instead of worrying everyone half to death." The Prof said it warmly, with a kind smile, before he turned away, but the girls still blushed with embarrassment.
"Okay, Prof..."
"Umm... anyway, let's go, Mara."
"I hope we still get to make the snowangels and snowmen... or, mutants later!" Mara said, mostly to herself, as she followed her older sibling into the Prof's office. But the thought was easily forgotten as they entered the room.
The woman had her back to them. She was studying the collection of photos the Prof kept on the full length shelf, making her unable to recognize. Her hair was long, almost down to her knees, and was wavy and a very deep red. As far as the girls could tell, it wasn't done in any specific hairstyle; it just flowed down her back like a fiery creek, and it ended with an angle at the bottom. Her black blouse and long, rippled skirt made her seem taller than she actually was, especially since she was in high heels.
After a moment, the woman turned around the face the girls, who had shut the door behind them. Her face was round, her limbs were graceful, her skin a pale white. Her expression showed hope, a little fear, and excitement. She hadn't worn much jewelry, except for two bracelets on her right wrist, the criss cross band on her ring finger, gold hoop earrings, and an enclosed metallic necklace. Her eyes changed colors rapidly, at first a green/grey, then a blue/green, then a brown/hazel, with flecks of yellow... Constantly adjusting, just like Miracle's.
Mara gasped and put her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. Miracle's expression was undefinable.
"Hello, Amarantha Owen. Hello, Miracle..." the stranger said with a sad smile. Although, the mother of the two teenagers should hardly be called a stranger. "My name is Maia Meoskite... Meos to friends... Oh, it's been so long... too long, my daughters."
"Muh... Ma... Mom?!" Amarantha ran into her mother's waiting arms, Miracle soon after her. Then the the dam opened up and flooded and the threesome started to cry, letting every burden of pain and suffering empty from their souls, everything they had endured over the long years of separation.
After the group had calmed down, the girls dragged their mother to meet everyone; the others politely said their greetings and chatted quietly with Meos until dinner. Afterwards the sisters went up to Mara's room (it was neater and in more order than what Mir's could ever hope to be) and filled their mother in on everything that had happened since they were seperated. She listened quietly, smiling and crying at all the right places.
At least an hour or two had passed; the girls were too busy to keep track of the hour, and time still found them surrounding Meos on Mara's bed, talking away about nothing in particular or everything all at once. Their mother kept kissing them on the forehead and hugging them close- it was hard to believe she was here, after so long, after she left them... She was just as they remembered... just as they recollected, just as they recalled...
Of course, there was just one question that could not be avoided for long.
"Mom?"
"Yes, Miracle?" Meos smiled lovingly as she gazed at her daughter.
"Why did you leave us?" Amarantha and Miracle looked at their mother with sad eyes, eyes that expressed their hurt over the many things they had forgotten, the things they had remembered, the things they will never know.
Meos visibly saddened and hugged them both tight.
"My little one, my pretty one..." she spoke in a calming tone that seemed to be made with honey, "it was not my choice. I had to, otherwise... SHE," Meos spoke with obvious disgust, "would have gotten to me, through you. I don't care WHAT Selene says, I swear, she's out there, just waiting to do... something! And I could never let her get you. Both of you. You'll just turn out like SHE did, or how I did, or worse..."
"Who is *she?* The woman you're talking about," Miracle asked, the same time Amarantha exclaimed, "But you turned out just fine, Mom! I'd love to be you!"
Meos laughed. The two girls were amazed; they hadn't heard her voice in a long time, and the disks didn't count. Her laugh was special; it wasn't harsh like the wind before a storm. It sounded like the wind in a meadow filled with precious flowers and grass, right after the rain. It was the sweetest sound they had ever heard.
"In response to 'Rantha, you should have seen me back when I was your age. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, watching out for anything that could send me back. What I went through should never be repeated again, by me or by anyone else. And in response to Mira... my mother's name was Colleen."
The girls gasped. Colleen... the name from Miracle's recollection. Colleen was Meos's mother? That meant... Colleen was their grandmother. And from the sound of it, that could not be good.
They hadn't forgotten about her. They never could. What they remembered could never be let go. Especially if it was shared with the other sibling.
That reminded them that their mother did not know that they remembered things... special things. So they immediately listened closely as their mother stroked their hair and told her tale...
Seven months later
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"Look Mir! Snow!" Mara exclaimed from the common room's full length window. It was just the beginning of the Christmas season, and the sisters, who had spent their lives in warm climates, were seeing snow for the first time. Their aunt had sent them full-length cloaks, as well as warmer clothes, so they needn't have bought anything in New York.
Mir grinned as she looked out behind her sister at the fresh blanket of fallen snowflakes that had suddenly appeared during the night. "Oh, wow..." She suddenly looked at her sister and grinned. "Last one's out has a date with The Blob!"
"Eeew! 'Like, so totally icksome!'"
Mir rushed out of the door, giggling as Mara ran after her. It was Saturday morning, and the girls were finally calling the Institute "home." The girls had gotten into the groove of things, and since they had started school in August (they even had some of the same classes with their friends), there had been many battles between the X-men, with them included, and the Brotherhood. Their addition to the team had pulled them through tight spots many times.
Since training with Professor X, the girls had developed their powers dramatically. Mara was just finding her specialty, even though Logan lovingly teased her, sometimes calling her the "Portable Fridge." It really surprised everyone, since it's kinda weird. It started with Professor's trial cube, which was purple... It turned out that anything purple works a lot better with Amarantha than anyhting else another color. Also, she could make the effect last a lot longer than she ever could before, regardless of color. The Prof said it must be involved with the pigments and the rainbow spectrum connected with her enzymes and DNA and the X- Mutation gene... and that's about where Mara drifted off, much to her dismay. She just wasn't a science/math based person.
Miracle was now above causing Kurt's vocal pipes to fail and such. She was very interested in medicine, so the Prof had started taking her to the local hospital and let her practice on the terminal patients. Like, healing hemophiliacs and blindness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes her powers succeeded, sometimes they didn't- the Prof was determing what the cause may be of that.
Their new cloaks, black with color and complete with a hood, made them think of Rogue's cloak, only Mara's had a shining dark, deep violet lining, while Mir's had a glittering gold. And they both had their signs in the upper right hand corner- Mir's had a sideways "s" with a vertical and diagonal line going through the center. The vertical line had arrows pointing out on both ends, and there were two dots opposite each other and the diagonal line. Mara's sign was a diamond outlined with gold- the top half sparkled with a silver glitter, and the bottom reflected the light in a purplish hue. Signs instead of signatures were common in their family, more like a tradition, and the girls didn't mind.
The new articles of clothing billowed behind the sisters as they ran outside, snow crunching underneath their new boots. The girls laughed as they tore past Kitty with Katherine and Rogue, Jean and Scott, Evan, Ororo, Kurt (who was lying in the crest fallen snow, making a snowangel, Kurt style), ... their faces a blur against the trees lined with snow, and the grey skies beyond.
"Hey Mara! Catch!" Mara dodged a snowball flying past her head. She stared at her sister with mock surprise, then scooped up some snow herself.
"Let the games begin!" she cried as the snowball fight ensued, which consisted of snow throwing and dodging behind trees and narrow escapes and misses and sometimes not so great escapes and misses.
"Hey Mara! Need help?"
"Miracle! Thought we'd join ya."
The two sisters could see their roommates off to the side, along with the whole Team. The girls grinned and nodded. Kitty smiled and lowered Katherine to the ground, who contented herself with batting handfuls of snow. The feline would not go far.
In the end, it was Mara, Kitty, Jean, Ororo, and Logan versus Mir, Rogue, Kurt, Scott, and Evan.
"This means war!" Scott shouted as he lowered his sunglasses at an oncoming snowball, thrown by Jean, who laughed as the snowball melted in midair. It had met the fate of Scott's laser eyes. It would be hard to get past him-
"Ow!" Scott turned around and ruffled his hair, dumping the snow off.
-Unless you could hit him from behind. Jean laughed and threw another snowball. This time it dodged Scott's attacks, and went around and hit him in the back of the head. And so this process repeated endlessly, them two going off in their own little world...
"Got ya!" Kurt said as he suddenly appeared over Kitty's head, dumped an armful of snow, then BAMFed away before he could land on top of her.
"Ahhh! Kurt!" she cried. "Totally not fair!" She laughed, shook off the snow and chased after him as he appeared nearby.
"Hehe..." Logan laughed quietly as he hit Rogue square in the back of the head. She whirled around and grinned.
"Come back here!" She ran after him with an armful of snow. He blocked any versatile attacks by shredding the snow with his blades.
Ororo was collecting any snowballs thrown in her direction by creating a small, and not very powerful, whirlwind around her, drawing in the snowballs and catching them, and throwing them back out in return.
"Hey Ama!" Evan shouted as he threw a snowball in Amarantha's direction. Mara calmly ducked, then turned on him in a calm fit of rage, as Mir joined her at her side, angry as well.
"What did you call me?" she asked in a strange tone.
Evan paled. "Uh... uh, Ama! That's your name, isn't it? Come on, I've known you since you came here, what's-"
The sisters cornered him against a tree. The others stopped and crowded around.
"What's going on?" Kitty, with Katherine in one arm, placed a concerned hand on her roommmate's shoulder, but it was immediately flung off. The two pairs of eyes still focused on Evan, who showed a look of terror on his face.
"If you EVER call my sister... that... that NAME again, that... TERRIBLE, cruel name..." Miracle grabbed Evan's collar and pulled him close, her eyes menacing and ice. "It would take a miracle for you to survive what I would put you through," she whispered, like ice was being shoved down Evan's back, mountainfuls of cold, hard ice...
"I... I don't understand!"
Mara suddenly came out of her daze, and she looked around. A smile came to her lips and she leaned into Mir to whisper, "They don't know what it means!"
Mir let go of Evan, confused. "They... they don't? Don't you guys speak Latin? At all? Just a little? Or any knowledge of the curse words, maybe?"
They all shook their heads, weirded out. The sisters looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Oh! Oh my gosh we're so sorry!" Mara managed to say through the giggles.
Mir stopped. "I still meant what I said though." She looked at Evan. "Never call my sister a bitch again."
His eyes widened as he realized the potency of what he said. "Sheesh, I'm sorry..."
All of a sudden, Amarantha stopped. Crystalline snowflakes began to fall around them as her lips turned blue, and the coloring drained from her face. Mir could tell it wasn't because of the cold weather.
"Mara!"
Amarantha fell to her knees. Mir cried out as she knelt and her sister leaned against her stiffly, her eyes wide and cold.
"Mara... Mara," Mir whispered as she smoothed her long brown hair. "Mara... Amarantha, Amarantha Owen..."
Kitty looked at Rogue, concerned. She nodded.
"Mara..." Rogue said in a singsong tone. Amarantha began to pant heavily, her breath escaping her the minute it left her lips. She gasped, and then her eyes returned to normal. She let out a cry and buried herself in Mir's shoulder, crying.
"Ummm... okay... I said I was sorry! Sheesh..." Spyke looked at his aunt, who looked at him and shook her head.
"I have a feeling this wasn't about you, Evan," Rogue said.
Mir looked around, "Kurt?" she asked through threatening tears. "Could you please, get her out of the cold?"
Kurt nodded, solemn as Mir transferred her from her arms to his, still sobbing. Katherine noiselessly jumped from Kitty's arms, much to her surprise, to Kurt's shoulder. He then, much to Kitty's horror, BAMFed away.
"Hey! Katherine! Ohhh... I'll get her later..."
The others just watched in wonder and confusement.
Miracle stood up shakily. "I... guess, I should explain," she said, looking around at the group.
"Yes," Logan said gruffly, "I think you should."
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Kurt gently laid down his friend on her bed and pulled the covers over her, to ensure her warmth. She cried into the pillow as Kurt removed her cloak and laid it over a chair to dry. He then sat next to her and rubbed her back rhythmically, smoothly muttering senseless things, trying to calm her down.
"Oh... oh Kurt, it was horrible..." she said, still facing the pillow. She turned to face him and shakily sat up.
"Do you vant anyzing?" He asked quietly. Amarantha smiled and shook her head as she sniffed and leaned back against her pillow. Katherine jumped onto the bed and- (AN: REALLY FREAKY MOMENT! As I was typing this, my cat, Cocoa, did the EXACT SAME THING! My mother and I were really freaked out!) (Okay, later on as I was proofing, SHE DID IT AGAIN! Cocoa has ESP, I tell ya!!)
(An:*cough, cough* As I was saying,)
Katherine jumped onto the bed and rubbed against Mara, purring loudly. The kitten had grown on them all over the last seven months, especially her owner. Now the feline looked quite healthy, thanks to her new family suroundings. If Kitty couldn't take care of her, for any reason, the others would jump at the chance to take care of the cute technicolor furball. Kurt smiled.
"I'm glad to see Katherine likes you too..."
"Oh, yeah, she likes everyone." Mara looked up at her teleporting friend. "You like Kitty, don't you?" she inquired.
"Ummm... ja, she's a really great friend and all-"
"That's not what I mean and you know it."
Kurt blushed. "I... I... yes," he said with a sigh.
Mara smiled. "She likes you too. I can tell. Pratically everyone can. I'm surprised you haven't caught on and asked her out."
Kurt looked at her like she had just said she was a crazy alien from the planet Naa.
"She deserves someone better zan me..." Kurt clicked off his watch and reverted to his natural form, the blue German fuzzy elf dude.
Mara shook her head. "She still battles with you, when you're in your true form. She doesn't get repulsed and look away, does she?"
"But that doesn't-"
"Trust me. It may not look like she does to you, but she likes you. ALOT! It's really obvious, you really need to pay attention to what she does when she's around you."
Kurt blushed deeper. "I... I can't. Every time I look at her..."
"Aww, that's so cute!"
"Okay, since vhen are ve talking about me and Kitty? You should lie still and rest, the others vill be up here soon. Are you okay now?"
Mara smiled. "I'm okay..."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Mara shuddered. "Only with my sister."
"That's quite alright vith me." Kurt looked around, then back at Mara, who had closed her eyes and rested against the pillow.
"Did you really mean vhat you said?" he whispered.
"Yes, Kurt," Mara answered back.
"Oh."
The smile faded from her pale face. Kurt looked at her worridly.
"What I remembered... it was so horrible..." Mara opened her eyes, not being able to stand the emptiness.
"Are you sure you don't need a nurse?"
"Yes, I'm sure... I just need Mir." After a pause, "Kurt? Stay with me, please. Until they come... I don't want to be alone. And I trust you."
"Danke, Mara. Sure. Of course." Kurt smiled as he remembered the many times Amarantha had saved his life, AND Kitty's. Basically everyone. He had never felt anything for Mara and Mir other than strong friendship, and was very thankful for their presence at the Institute. He had come to depend on Mir's way of doing things with that certain edge, and Mara's kind and intelligent thoughfulness, especially in battle.
Kurt grabbed a nearby chair and sat down, gently holding his friend's hand. Mara opened and closed her eyes again and again... frightened doesn't begin to describe how the dancing images before her made her feel...
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"Mara!" Everyone crowded around the youth's bed, concerned for their teammate and friend.
"Katherine!" Kitty exclaimed as the little furball leaped into her arms. She looked around at the glares focused on her. "What? I'm, like, worried about Mara too!"
"Hold it!" Kurt whispered and shouted at the same time. He gestured to their friend, who was lying still, her eyes finally closed.
"Everyone.. could you please let me talk to my sister alone?" Miracle glanced at Kurt, as if saying, "You too, buster."
One by one they filed out of the room, grumbling their complaints as Mir shoo'd them out the door.
"Don't worry, I'll bring updates and hellos to you all later." Miracle promised. She then shut the door quietly and rushed over to her sister's bed.
"Mara..." Miracle gently placed a hand on her sister's arm...
Mara gasped as she sat up with wide, smoky eyes. She gasped for breath and curled into a ball as she started sobbing with fear, relief, and fright.
"Mara! Mara, it's okay, it's me!" Mir placed her hands on her sister's shoulders and leaned her against the pillow. "Come, talk to me..."
"Oh... Mir..." Amarantha cried as she leaned against Mir, and the tears coursed down her cheeks. "I couldn't sleep... the nightmares..."
"Shhh... It's alright, Mara." Mir smoothed her sister's hair and rocked back and forth, whispering quiet words of comfort to her precious sibling.
"Miracle... it was horrible. We got lost, and we were all by ourselves. We came across a cave... oh, we were so young. Not even 8 years old. It was a place for play, to us. We had wandered so far from home... The cave... it was so mean! At first it showed us dancing paintings... the traveling performers, the singers and the dancers, the actors! One looked like Mother... and she did everything on stage, she was such a great performer, every time she went out there she took the audience's breath away. And the man... he was handsome, with strawberry blond hair, and the kind of eyes that made you want to dance with him forever... He the director, or manager, or whatever-the person in charge of the group... He looked at her with such love..."
"Then there was a princess, with a jeweled tiara resting upon dark brown hair, and she was riding a beautiful white horse. Her elegant gown was gorgeous... She was riding through a forest, and she met up with a knight... his silver horse contrasted with his light brown hair. His clothes seemed to be the finest in all of Xanth... They were out of focus... we saw only their profiles. The princess sobbed and the knight comforted her, then they rode off together, quietly talking... then they faded."
Mara had at frist spoken with awe and just a little fright. Now the fear overtook the surprise and was evident in her voice.
"At first we weren't scared, and we went further and further into the cave... Oh, so little did we know! It was a game to us, a silly game. Then, echos started crying out our names, and then the walls made fun of us. Faster and faster, the wails cried out 'Amarantha' and 'Miracle!' The walls showed a purple flower that never died, and a person rising from the dead... Then we shouted at the echo, that our names weren't Amarantha and Miracle, but Mara and Mira. Then the echos 'corrected' themselves, and then they started chanting that, while the walls showed a really scary world, all red, surrounded by black, and all of it was empty, and mirrors, reflecting themselves so much they were turning green. By then we had stopped running and started to cry, and we wanted to go home so much... then, the water... the cave flooded with boiling water... We screamed and screamed! Nobody came, Mir! Nobody! Not even a nymph or an ogre, even a harpy would have appeared like hope to us then, it hurt so much! It soaked our clothes and burned our skin, and we couldn't breathe, it was rushing so fast..."
Mara took a deep breath as she gazed into her memory, and shuddered as it crept up behind her.
"Then we washed out of the Cave of Horrified Names, and when we woke up, we were home, and Mother was there, taking care of us..."
"Shhh... it's okay. You're alright." Mir kissed her sister's forehead as a tear slid down her face, unnoticed. "You are Amarantha Owen Meoskite, not anyhting else. All that's behind us, no more hot water. No more cave."
"What we didn't see, Mir... what we didn't see. We had washed against the mouth of the cave, which was lined with jagged rocks... Mother came. She found us. She carried us home in mid air. She telepathically floated us home. Then she took care of us. And... she didn't ask what happened."
"Oh, Mara... we'll find answers soon. For now, cheer up. Everything's alright now."
Mara smiled sadly at her sister. "I'm still shaken up, a little." Her eyes widened. "Kurt! Oh, Miracle, did you see... Oh, he, he's so much more than the facade he puts on."
Mir raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Ohh... he's so trustworthy and kind, so much more serious than he normally seems. And guess what..."
"What?"
"He is totally GAGA over Kitty!" Mara laughed. "He can barely look at her without getting hearts in his eyes, it's that bad. I'm surprised he's lasted as long as he did without getting on his knees and begging her to marry him."
"Really? No way."
"Yes way! And you KNOW Kitty is so in love with him, she'd probably take him up on his offer!"
"That's so cute!"
Mara smiled, but it soon faded as she thought of something.
"I hope we find love someday," she said in a wistful tone.
"Why, of course we will. If only you smile a little, 'For Venus smiles not in a house of tears.'"
"Oh come on Mir, you know I don't like the County Paris. I like Romeo much better. Next time, say one of his quotes. Or Juliet's. Or the Prince. Maybe Mercutio."
"Hun, pratically everyone likes Romeo better than Paris. You've got to be insane not to. Here: 'What's in a name? What which we call a rose by any other would smell as sweet.' Also, 'Good-bye, good-bye. Parting is such sweet sorrow. That I shall say goodnight, 'till it be morrow.'"
"That's Juliet. Both of them." The corner of Amarantha's mouth turned up in a small but cute smile.
Mir smiled. "There you go. There's that smile. You're going to find the best man of all, with good looks and a nice personality and a big pay check, while I find someone like The Blob."
After pausing for a moment, both girls grimaced with disgust.
"Eeeew..." they said at the same time, then erupted into giggles.
"Guys? Can we, like, see her now? Is she okay?" They heard a knock on the door, and Kitty's voice, although muffled, reached their ears. Mir turned to Mara.
"Are you able to get up now? It's almost lunch time... and we haven't even made snow angels yet! OR a snowman!" Mir said.
Mara smiled. "How about a snow mutant?"
"Yeah, that too. We could learn from Kurt."
Mara giggled. "I'll be okay. It just... took me by surprise. I'll get over it."
"At least I'll have the next one," Mir referred to the rememberances as she offered an arm to her rising sister.
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"Girls, today you have a visitor."
It was a few days later, and Christmas was right around the corner. The mansion was decorated beautifully with lights and wreaths, and Christmas trees.
The sisters had eaten lunch already and were on their way down the staircase, giggling with joy, to the main doors, dressed in their winter clothes and cloaks, when Professor X came to a stop in front of them. Mir came to a halt on the bottom step, and Mara almost crashed into her, but caught the banister in time.
"Oh?" Mir questioned.
"Aunt PL never told us she was coming to visit." Mara peered over her shoulder.
The Prof shook his head. "This isn't your aunt, girls..." *Miss Maia Meoskite... err, Meos told me not to tell them who she was,* he reminded himself. *In fact, so did Miss PL. Strange family... "Your visitor is in my office. Feel free to go in. I thought you might want to spend some time alone." *Boy, this family sure has weird nicknames. Meos, PL, Mir and Mara...* the Prof said to himself. Well, he was kinda right, if you thought about what he knew about the Meoskites, which wasn't much.
Mir looked at her sister questioningly and headed for the Prof's office, Mara right behind. They didn't know of anyone else who would come to visit them like that besides their aunt. It was most certainly a mystery.
"Oh, and Mara? Mir?" The Prof called after them. The girls stopped and turned around.
"The next time one of you has a recollection, please see me instead of worrying everyone half to death." The Prof said it warmly, with a kind smile, before he turned away, but the girls still blushed with embarrassment.
"Okay, Prof..."
"Umm... anyway, let's go, Mara."
"I hope we still get to make the snowangels and snowmen... or, mutants later!" Mara said, mostly to herself, as she followed her older sibling into the Prof's office. But the thought was easily forgotten as they entered the room.
The woman had her back to them. She was studying the collection of photos the Prof kept on the full length shelf, making her unable to recognize. Her hair was long, almost down to her knees, and was wavy and a very deep red. As far as the girls could tell, it wasn't done in any specific hairstyle; it just flowed down her back like a fiery creek, and it ended with an angle at the bottom. Her black blouse and long, rippled skirt made her seem taller than she actually was, especially since she was in high heels.
After a moment, the woman turned around the face the girls, who had shut the door behind them. Her face was round, her limbs were graceful, her skin a pale white. Her expression showed hope, a little fear, and excitement. She hadn't worn much jewelry, except for two bracelets on her right wrist, the criss cross band on her ring finger, gold hoop earrings, and an enclosed metallic necklace. Her eyes changed colors rapidly, at first a green/grey, then a blue/green, then a brown/hazel, with flecks of yellow... Constantly adjusting, just like Miracle's.
Mara gasped and put her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. Miracle's expression was undefinable.
"Hello, Amarantha Owen. Hello, Miracle..." the stranger said with a sad smile. Although, the mother of the two teenagers should hardly be called a stranger. "My name is Maia Meoskite... Meos to friends... Oh, it's been so long... too long, my daughters."
"Muh... Ma... Mom?!" Amarantha ran into her mother's waiting arms, Miracle soon after her. Then the the dam opened up and flooded and the threesome started to cry, letting every burden of pain and suffering empty from their souls, everything they had endured over the long years of separation.
After the group had calmed down, the girls dragged their mother to meet everyone; the others politely said their greetings and chatted quietly with Meos until dinner. Afterwards the sisters went up to Mara's room (it was neater and in more order than what Mir's could ever hope to be) and filled their mother in on everything that had happened since they were seperated. She listened quietly, smiling and crying at all the right places.
At least an hour or two had passed; the girls were too busy to keep track of the hour, and time still found them surrounding Meos on Mara's bed, talking away about nothing in particular or everything all at once. Their mother kept kissing them on the forehead and hugging them close- it was hard to believe she was here, after so long, after she left them... She was just as they remembered... just as they recollected, just as they recalled...
Of course, there was just one question that could not be avoided for long.
"Mom?"
"Yes, Miracle?" Meos smiled lovingly as she gazed at her daughter.
"Why did you leave us?" Amarantha and Miracle looked at their mother with sad eyes, eyes that expressed their hurt over the many things they had forgotten, the things they had remembered, the things they will never know.
Meos visibly saddened and hugged them both tight.
"My little one, my pretty one..." she spoke in a calming tone that seemed to be made with honey, "it was not my choice. I had to, otherwise... SHE," Meos spoke with obvious disgust, "would have gotten to me, through you. I don't care WHAT Selene says, I swear, she's out there, just waiting to do... something! And I could never let her get you. Both of you. You'll just turn out like SHE did, or how I did, or worse..."
"Who is *she?* The woman you're talking about," Miracle asked, the same time Amarantha exclaimed, "But you turned out just fine, Mom! I'd love to be you!"
Meos laughed. The two girls were amazed; they hadn't heard her voice in a long time, and the disks didn't count. Her laugh was special; it wasn't harsh like the wind before a storm. It sounded like the wind in a meadow filled with precious flowers and grass, right after the rain. It was the sweetest sound they had ever heard.
"In response to 'Rantha, you should have seen me back when I was your age. I was constantly looking over my shoulder, watching out for anything that could send me back. What I went through should never be repeated again, by me or by anyone else. And in response to Mira... my mother's name was Colleen."
The girls gasped. Colleen... the name from Miracle's recollection. Colleen was Meos's mother? That meant... Colleen was their grandmother. And from the sound of it, that could not be good.
They hadn't forgotten about her. They never could. What they remembered could never be let go. Especially if it was shared with the other sibling.
That reminded them that their mother did not know that they remembered things... special things. So they immediately listened closely as their mother stroked their hair and told her tale...