*Disclaimer* I don't own X-Men or any part of it. I do, however, own Elf/Elli so don't steal her.
ELFEN
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Elf yawned, bending over her homework and squinting at the blurred letters. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. The letters were clear again.
"I have to sleep soon." Elf muttered, looking at the clock on her wall.
It was nearly midnight.
Elf yawned again, pushed her books off of her bed, and turned off her light. She crawled underneath the covers, not even bothering to change, and fell asleep almost right away.
The door to her room creaked open slowly, and a shadow of a figure stood there, silhouetted by the light of the hallway. They came over to the bed, watched Elf for a moment, their lips in a curious sneer, before they put something on the table next to her bed. After watching Elf again for a few moments, they scurried out and closed the door lightly.
Elf turned over in her sleep, her face peaceful.
Her eyes fluttered for a moment as she dreamed...
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(RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Elf sat up in bed, smashing her hand down on her alarm clock. She yawned, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and her hand brushed against something on ehr side table.
With a look of curiosity, Elf stared at the strange little box on the table. She picked it up, examined it, and then put it back. She would show it to the Professor before she went out with Kurt.
Elf went into her shower, taking almost an hour to wash all of her fur and her long hair. She sat in front of a vanity, brushing out her hair and tying it back in a braid.
Elf got dressed into a white tank top and blue drawstring shorts, then walked out of her room barefoot. It was the weekend, so there weren't any other students for Elf to worry about.
Rogue stepped out of her room, yawned, and then quickly shut her mouth and put on ehr best scowl when she saw Elf.
"Hello, Rogue." Elf said in a monotone voice.
Rogue sneered and walked towards the training room. Elf sighed. She just didn't understand Rogue, at all.
"Elf, did you want to see me?"
Elf spun around to see the Professor, sitting placidly in his wheelchair. She smield sheepishly, showing her fangs.
"Well, can we talk in your office?"
The Professor nodded, and a few minutes later they were in his office, looking at the little box.
"This is quite strange, Elf. You said it was just sitting next to your bed?"
Elf nodded, and noticed a little round button the same color as the rest of the box.
"Professor, what's that?"
The Professor turned the box and stared at the button for a moment. He pressed it, but nothing happened.
"Oh well. How about if I make you some coffee, Professor? I just learned how."
The Professor smiled his warm smile and nodded.
"Let's go."
Elf closed the door behind her as they left, and they began going down the hall towards the kitchen.
In the Professor's office, the little box clicked, and an explosion rocked the school.
******************************
Elf woke up in the infirmary, her vision swimming. She heard voices, but they sounded far away.
"I can't imagine her putting any explosives in the Professor's office, but she's only been here for so long..."
"I heard her mind screaming for help. It's just about impossible to do that without meaning it, you know."
"Look, she's awake!"
Elf sat up slowly, putting her hand to her head gingerly. Her fingertips felt a scratchy bandage that wound around her head.
"Elf, can you hear me?"
Elf nodded, and gulped. Her throat felt like sandpaper.
"Can I have some water?" She croaked.
Someone thrust a glass of water at her, and Elf drank it slowly.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice clearer.
"We thought you would know."
Elf suddenly remembered the Professor, and she looked around in a panic.
"Where's the Professor? Is he okay?"
Ororor nodded at her, and Elf wondered if maybe Ororo was a nurse or a doctor.
"He only got a bit bruised. According to him, you seemed almost...ready...for the explosion."
Elf looekd at Ororo questionably.
"What do you mean?" She asked, but then ehr mind clicked. "Wait, are you saying that I..."
Ororo bit her lip nervously.
"Well, we can't be sure. What was that box you showed him?"
Elf shrugged. she felt tired all of a sudden, like she hadn't slept for weeks.
"I woke up, and it was ont he table next to my bed. So I asked him what he thought it was. We were going downstairs, and then there was this explosion..."
Elf couldn't remember anything else from there on. Ororo looked satisfied.
"Your stories match. I tthink you're telling the truth, Elf. It's just that your past troubles me..."
Elf looked at her lap. She knew what Ororo was talking about.
"Is she awake yet?"
Elf looked up in surprise to see Kurt standing in the doorway. Wolverine stood next to him, which made Elf smile. Both of them came over, Kurt asking ehr what had happened and slipping into German, which threw ehr off, and WOlverine stood there, a satisfied look on his face.
"Vhat happened, Elli? Mein gott I vas vorried about you! Wenig Liebe of mine..."
Kurt took Elf's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Ororo smirked at the thought of Kurt getting tied down to a girl after claiming he was a ladies' man.
Wolverine cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.
"How, exactly, did all of this happen?"
Elf bit her lip, looking into Wolverine's eyes for a moment to show tht what she would say next was the truth.
"I think somebody wants me, or someone else, dead. That bomb was put in my room, maybe to kill me. Or for me to show to my friends, and then kill them."
Kurt's eyes widened, but Wolverine stayed calm.
"Zat is schrecklich! Mein gott!"
Ororo rolled her eyes, and Jean came out from another room. She looked at Wolverine, and her face turned red enough to blend in with her hair before she ran back to the other room. Wolverine looked after her with a bit of confusion.
"Wasn't that the little psychic?"
Ororo nodded and rewrapped Elf's bandage.
"Shit!" Wolverine hissed, hurrying to where Jean had gone.
Ororo just hummed a tune as she fastened the end of Elf's bandage and wrote down someting on a piece of paper.
"Here you go, Elf." She said, handing the sheet of paper.
Elf smiled a little as Ororo began humming again.
"What is that?" She asked, Kurt smiled just like she did.
Ororo looked at Elf in surprise, and then blushed.
"It's a song from Africa that I remember. It's about home."
Elf nodded, and felt Kurt's fingertips against hers. She slipped her hand into his, making little circles in his palm with her finger. Kurt smiled at her, and Oror moved away to check on something else.
"Elf, I could hardly sleep, knowing zat you vere here." Kurt said softly, leaning in closer to her.
Elf smiled at him as he put a hand to her cheek. This was very unlike Kurt.
Kurt brushed his lips over hers, his eyes only half open. Elf closed the gap between them, pressing her mouth down on his almost with need. Her hand went to the side of his face, holding him, while his hand went behind her neck to bring her closer.
"A-hem!"
Elf glanced over to see Jean and Wolverine staring at them, Wolverine looking murderous, and Jean looking amused.
Ororo stood to the other side, standing completely still, a clipboard in her frozen hand.
"Hey, do that in private." Jean teased as she walked over to them. "How's your head?"
Elf shrugegd as Kurt backed away. Wolverine gave Kurt a look that said 'I'm-gonna-kill-you' and growled.
"Wolvie! Stop it!"
Wolverine looekd sheepish, and slunk away. Ororo laughed and came over to the bed, writing on her clipboard.
Over the next half hour, Elf was brushed up on gossip around the school and so on and so forth...
******************************
Kurt frowned down at his plate of food. There never seemed to be enough.
Across the table from him, Elf ate her burger with a look of curiosity on her face.
Elf had never eaten a burger before.
Kurt took a huge bite out of his own, pondering the thought as he chewed.
"Kurt?"
Kurt looekd up at her.
"Whaizi?" Kurt asked, his mouth full of food.
Elf gave him a skeptical look and he swallowed.
"Vas?"
Elf put down her burger, and looked at him seriously.
"Do you know where I'm from?"
Kurt shook his head, and took another bite of his burger.
Elf sighed and sipped her soda. The fast food joint scared her out of her wits, with all these people around. She kept checking her ring to make sure it was still on, and whenever someone looked at her, her heart began to race as though she was being hunted.
"Elf, are you alright?" Kurt asked as Elf twitched slightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. There's just a lot of people here..."
Kurt shrugged, finished the last bite of his burger, and licked the ketchup off his fingers. He wished he had more money, then he would have gotten more food.
Elf finished her own burger, wiped off her hands with her napkin. She rolled up all of her garbage into a little ball, threw it out, and met Kurt at the door.
"Let's get out of this place."
Kurt grinned.
"Let's go to ze park. It is not so crowded in zere." He suggested.
Elf smiled with appreciation at Kurt and follwoed him out the door. The street outside wasn't as noisy as inside, being a sidestreet that wasn't travelled often, and Elf felt more at ease.
"Elf, vhere do you come from?" Kurt asked, rememebring her question from before.
Elf sighed, bowed her head, and began walking in the direction of the park.
"I'm going to tell everybody at dinner tonight, since everyone seems to think I'm from an abusive family." She mumbled, kicking at a tin can.
The can rolled down the street, and fell into the gutter. A car drove past, sleek and black, with tinted windows. Elf watched it go, and Kurt stood next to her.
"I wish I could drive." Elf mumbled to the air.
Kurt and Elf shuffled along, both unsure of what to say in the awkward silence. Kurt finally saw a fountain, the entrance to the park.
"Here ve are, Elf!"
Elf stood in awe across the street, taking in every piece of information she could. The park entrance was indicated with a tall black, wrought iron gate that swung open onto the street. The fence went around the whole perimeter of the park, with ivy crawling up to the top in some places. Through the fence she could see the tall pine trees, little bushes beneath the trunks, scattered around the paths. The fountain in the front sprayed out crystal water from a group of cement angels, each spouting water from its mouth or a trumpet.
"Vas?" Kurt called from the park entrance. "Too much for you, Elf?"
Elf blinked, and frowned at him. How had he gotten there so fast? She guessed at using his gifts and hurried towards him.
"You should wait for me next time!" She chided, pulling at his sleeve.
Kurt shrugged and led her through the gate.
"Zis is ze best park zat I know, Elf." Kurt exclaimed as they walked to the center of the park. "I zink (cink? sink? I don't know how to write it) zat you vill like it."
Elf heard a roar, followed by peals of laughter and someone yelling.
"What was that?"
Kurt shrugged again and they approached the noise with curiosity.
Lining the path were cages of animals: monkeys, lions, tigers, bears(oh my!), goats, sheep, and a little corral with ponies inside of it, tied to the center with long ropes.
"What is this?" Elf breathed, horrified at the sight of cages.
They reminded her of the cold little cell she had lived in for most of her life.
"I guess it is a zoo. Zere has never been one before." Kurt answered, looking at the lion.
Elf stared into the lion's face, a long scar down it's nose. It's eyes were so sad...
"This is horrible." Elf hissed, moving on to the monkeys.
The monkeys jumped around in their cage, howling and screaming and rattling the bars. Elf put her hand on a bar gently, so as not to scare them. One of the monkeys ran over to her, staring up with innocent eyes as it reached for her hand. In a second, it had pulled off her ring and put it on its own finger, making a very small hologram of the normal Elf appear in the cage.
BAMF!
Elf sat on the tree limb, staring down at Kurt. He tried to get the ring from the monkey, but it wouldn't give it back. Elf finally BAMFed her way into the cage and grabbed it from the little ape. As she slid it onto her finger, a group of teenagers began coming towards the cage, curious about what the monkeys were screaming about. Elf BAMFed out again, to the other end of the cages. She walked up to Kurt with a smile, taking his hand and looking into the cage to watch the smoke inside of it clear.
"Kurt, this place scares me." Elf whispered, watching one of the monkeys watching her.
"It is just a zoo, Elf. Vas is there to be afraid of?"
Elf bowed her head, hoping Kurt didn't have telepathy as one of his gifts.
The monkey watching her slunk back into one of the shadowy corners, and sat down, holding its knees to its chest. Elf felt horrible comparing ehr past situation to a monkey's, but the sight was uncanny. But then to her shock, the little primate opened its mouth and spoke.
"I know all of your secrets, little girl. I know why you scream, why you cry, why your nightmares keep you awake at night. I know why you'll end up in a cage like this again, just watching as people ogle at you and trying to keep hold of your sanity. Oh yes, little girl. I know exactly what you're thinking this moment. I know everything about you, from the day of your birth-" The world seemed to go black except for the sound of the ape's voice. "-to the day of your death."
******************************
Elf woke up, Kurt calling her name. The teenagers from before were crowded around her, all trying to revive her. They stepped back in surprise when she opened her eyes.
"Elf, are you alright?" Kurt asked, holding her up.
Elf nodded, holding her head.
"Kurt, let's go home." She said, her voice so faint it was hardly even a whisper.
Kurt nodded in agreement, helping ehr stand up and walk towards the entrance to the park.
"Kurt, we would get home quicker if we..."
Kurt nodded again, and wrapped his arms around her protectively. With a BAMF! they disappeared in twin clouds of black smoke.
A stranger stepped out of the trees, watching the cloud thin. She pulled out a radio and spoke into it, her voice low.
"I have identification for the escaped mutant, and an ally. Possibly another mutant. I'm ready to report back to base. Over."
The radio crackled in return to her comment.
"Hurry up then, girl! We don't got all day!"
The woman scowled at the radio as she clipepd it to her belt. With a quick glance around, she launched ehrself into the air, spreading out wings made out of compressed air. She smirked to herself, knowing she would be killed if the Weapon X project figured out she was a mutant.
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Elf and Kurt reappeared in the infirmary. Elf's legs wobbled and Kurt had to hold her up as Ororo came over.
"Where did you guys go? We were trying to contact you when the Professor got a strange reading from Elf and-" Ororo stopped as she realized Elf was beginning to break out in a sweat.
Ororo put the back of her hand to Elf's forehead, and frowned.
"Leave her down here, Kurt. It looks like she's coming down with something."
Kurt put Elf into one of the beds, kissing ehr softly on the lips before standing back. Ororo stuck a thermometer under Elf's tongue, took her pulse, and looked into ehr eyes with a light. Reading the thermometer and clicking her tongue, Ororo sauntered over to a table, wrote something down on a piece of paper, and came back with a cotton swab.
"Open up." Ororo chirped.
Elf opened her mouth, and Ororo put the swab to the back of her throat. Elf gagged, frowning at Ororo as she put the cotton swab onto a dish.
"Well, Elfie. Looks like you are coming down with something. Why don't you just go up to your room for now? I'll send Kurt up with something for you in a little bit, okay?"
Elf nodded and disappeared in black smoke. Ororo clicked her tongue and wrote down some more on ehr piece of paper. She handed another slip of paper to Kurt, and sent him to the kitchen. After both of them were gone, Ororo collapsed into a chair and heaved a sigh.
"That girl..."
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Elf sniffled, blew her nose, and sipped her orange juice. It was the most she could do with the flu beating her down.
"Knock knock, Elf. Are you zere?"
Elf sniffled and cleared her throat.
"Come od id, Kurt." She croaked.
Kurt peeked in with a smile.
"How's my sick leetle keeten?" He taunted, coming in with a book.
Elf took the book reluctantly, and sniffled. She didn't bother using her hologram now, since she was confined to her room. Kurt grinned at her.
"More of zis and you vill be swamepd vith homework."
Elf scowled at the little book, and tossed it into the growing pile next to her bed.
"I dod wad ady more homework."
She blew her nose again, and took another sip of orange juice. Her throat burned like fire when she did, but Ororo had told her to drink the burning liquid until she felt better.
Elf covered her mouth suddenly and ran into her bathroom. Kurt followed her, muttering a curse, and held her head still as she vomited into the toilet.
Kurt gave her some water to rinse out her mouth and brought her back to her bed. Elf sniffled, blew her nose, and sat sullenly.
"I don't like being sick." She grumbled.
Kurt sat next to her on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders. Elf sniffled and leaned onto him, feeling like a small child.
"Elf, zere are things in zis vorld that you vill not like, but you vill have to go through them to get through life. Do you understand?"
Elf nodded and sniffled. The door to the room opened and Elf got ready to put up her hologram before she saw it was Ororo with a enw box of tissues.
"I thought you might need these, Elf. How are you feeling?"
Ororo set down the box of tissues next to Elf on the bed and stood wringing her hands like a worried mother. Elf looked up at her, with bloodshot eyes and a runny nose, pale skin beneath ehr pale green fur, and her tall pointed ears drooping.
"I feel like shit." She grumbled.
Ororo frowned at Elf's language, but shrugged. She would probably respond the same way if she had a tail that went limp and lifeless while she was sick.
"Elf, sorry to tell you this, but there's no medicine for the flu. I've tried to see if anything worked, from coughs to colds, but none of them lessen symptoms for the flu."
Elf scowled at the box of tissues and Kurt looked at his watch.
"I have to get going. I'm helping the Professor build his office again."
Kurt grinend and did some strange footwork as he walked out the door. Ororo sighed and smiled at Elf.
"Maybe you could come down to the kitchen later. I'll make you some soup."
Elf smield backa s best she could, and then fell onto her side when Ororo left her room.
"Ooooooooo, my head." She mumbeld into her pillow.
Elf's head pounded like a hammer from her congestion. She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling, letting the sleepiness that came with the flu wash over her until she was sound asleep.
The shadowy figure appeared at her window, dropping a little box onto the bed next to Elf. They snaked away as silently as they had come, and still Elf slept on...
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Okay here's the thing: I can't put in chapters so often. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky, so the chapters will be delayed.
ELFEN
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Elf yawned, bending over her homework and squinting at the blurred letters. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply. The letters were clear again.
"I have to sleep soon." Elf muttered, looking at the clock on her wall.
It was nearly midnight.
Elf yawned again, pushed her books off of her bed, and turned off her light. She crawled underneath the covers, not even bothering to change, and fell asleep almost right away.
The door to her room creaked open slowly, and a shadow of a figure stood there, silhouetted by the light of the hallway. They came over to the bed, watched Elf for a moment, their lips in a curious sneer, before they put something on the table next to her bed. After watching Elf again for a few moments, they scurried out and closed the door lightly.
Elf turned over in her sleep, her face peaceful.
Her eyes fluttered for a moment as she dreamed...
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(RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Elf sat up in bed, smashing her hand down on her alarm clock. She yawned, swinging her legs over the side of the bed, and her hand brushed against something on ehr side table.
With a look of curiosity, Elf stared at the strange little box on the table. She picked it up, examined it, and then put it back. She would show it to the Professor before she went out with Kurt.
Elf went into her shower, taking almost an hour to wash all of her fur and her long hair. She sat in front of a vanity, brushing out her hair and tying it back in a braid.
Elf got dressed into a white tank top and blue drawstring shorts, then walked out of her room barefoot. It was the weekend, so there weren't any other students for Elf to worry about.
Rogue stepped out of her room, yawned, and then quickly shut her mouth and put on ehr best scowl when she saw Elf.
"Hello, Rogue." Elf said in a monotone voice.
Rogue sneered and walked towards the training room. Elf sighed. She just didn't understand Rogue, at all.
"Elf, did you want to see me?"
Elf spun around to see the Professor, sitting placidly in his wheelchair. She smield sheepishly, showing her fangs.
"Well, can we talk in your office?"
The Professor nodded, and a few minutes later they were in his office, looking at the little box.
"This is quite strange, Elf. You said it was just sitting next to your bed?"
Elf nodded, and noticed a little round button the same color as the rest of the box.
"Professor, what's that?"
The Professor turned the box and stared at the button for a moment. He pressed it, but nothing happened.
"Oh well. How about if I make you some coffee, Professor? I just learned how."
The Professor smiled his warm smile and nodded.
"Let's go."
Elf closed the door behind her as they left, and they began going down the hall towards the kitchen.
In the Professor's office, the little box clicked, and an explosion rocked the school.
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Elf woke up in the infirmary, her vision swimming. She heard voices, but they sounded far away.
"I can't imagine her putting any explosives in the Professor's office, but she's only been here for so long..."
"I heard her mind screaming for help. It's just about impossible to do that without meaning it, you know."
"Look, she's awake!"
Elf sat up slowly, putting her hand to her head gingerly. Her fingertips felt a scratchy bandage that wound around her head.
"Elf, can you hear me?"
Elf nodded, and gulped. Her throat felt like sandpaper.
"Can I have some water?" She croaked.
Someone thrust a glass of water at her, and Elf drank it slowly.
"What happened?" She asked, her voice clearer.
"We thought you would know."
Elf suddenly remembered the Professor, and she looked around in a panic.
"Where's the Professor? Is he okay?"
Ororor nodded at her, and Elf wondered if maybe Ororo was a nurse or a doctor.
"He only got a bit bruised. According to him, you seemed almost...ready...for the explosion."
Elf looekd at Ororo questionably.
"What do you mean?" She asked, but then ehr mind clicked. "Wait, are you saying that I..."
Ororo bit her lip nervously.
"Well, we can't be sure. What was that box you showed him?"
Elf shrugged. she felt tired all of a sudden, like she hadn't slept for weeks.
"I woke up, and it was ont he table next to my bed. So I asked him what he thought it was. We were going downstairs, and then there was this explosion..."
Elf couldn't remember anything else from there on. Ororo looked satisfied.
"Your stories match. I tthink you're telling the truth, Elf. It's just that your past troubles me..."
Elf looked at her lap. She knew what Ororo was talking about.
"Is she awake yet?"
Elf looked up in surprise to see Kurt standing in the doorway. Wolverine stood next to him, which made Elf smile. Both of them came over, Kurt asking ehr what had happened and slipping into German, which threw ehr off, and WOlverine stood there, a satisfied look on his face.
"Vhat happened, Elli? Mein gott I vas vorried about you! Wenig Liebe of mine..."
Kurt took Elf's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Ororo smirked at the thought of Kurt getting tied down to a girl after claiming he was a ladies' man.
Wolverine cleared his throat, catching everyone's attention.
"How, exactly, did all of this happen?"
Elf bit her lip, looking into Wolverine's eyes for a moment to show tht what she would say next was the truth.
"I think somebody wants me, or someone else, dead. That bomb was put in my room, maybe to kill me. Or for me to show to my friends, and then kill them."
Kurt's eyes widened, but Wolverine stayed calm.
"Zat is schrecklich! Mein gott!"
Ororo rolled her eyes, and Jean came out from another room. She looked at Wolverine, and her face turned red enough to blend in with her hair before she ran back to the other room. Wolverine looked after her with a bit of confusion.
"Wasn't that the little psychic?"
Ororo nodded and rewrapped Elf's bandage.
"Shit!" Wolverine hissed, hurrying to where Jean had gone.
Ororo just hummed a tune as she fastened the end of Elf's bandage and wrote down someting on a piece of paper.
"Here you go, Elf." She said, handing the sheet of paper.
Elf smiled a little as Ororo began humming again.
"What is that?" She asked, Kurt smiled just like she did.
Ororo looked at Elf in surprise, and then blushed.
"It's a song from Africa that I remember. It's about home."
Elf nodded, and felt Kurt's fingertips against hers. She slipped her hand into his, making little circles in his palm with her finger. Kurt smiled at her, and Oror moved away to check on something else.
"Elf, I could hardly sleep, knowing zat you vere here." Kurt said softly, leaning in closer to her.
Elf smiled at him as he put a hand to her cheek. This was very unlike Kurt.
Kurt brushed his lips over hers, his eyes only half open. Elf closed the gap between them, pressing her mouth down on his almost with need. Her hand went to the side of his face, holding him, while his hand went behind her neck to bring her closer.
"A-hem!"
Elf glanced over to see Jean and Wolverine staring at them, Wolverine looking murderous, and Jean looking amused.
Ororo stood to the other side, standing completely still, a clipboard in her frozen hand.
"Hey, do that in private." Jean teased as she walked over to them. "How's your head?"
Elf shrugegd as Kurt backed away. Wolverine gave Kurt a look that said 'I'm-gonna-kill-you' and growled.
"Wolvie! Stop it!"
Wolverine looekd sheepish, and slunk away. Ororo laughed and came over to the bed, writing on her clipboard.
Over the next half hour, Elf was brushed up on gossip around the school and so on and so forth...
******************************
Kurt frowned down at his plate of food. There never seemed to be enough.
Across the table from him, Elf ate her burger with a look of curiosity on her face.
Elf had never eaten a burger before.
Kurt took a huge bite out of his own, pondering the thought as he chewed.
"Kurt?"
Kurt looekd up at her.
"Whaizi?" Kurt asked, his mouth full of food.
Elf gave him a skeptical look and he swallowed.
"Vas?"
Elf put down her burger, and looked at him seriously.
"Do you know where I'm from?"
Kurt shook his head, and took another bite of his burger.
Elf sighed and sipped her soda. The fast food joint scared her out of her wits, with all these people around. She kept checking her ring to make sure it was still on, and whenever someone looked at her, her heart began to race as though she was being hunted.
"Elf, are you alright?" Kurt asked as Elf twitched slightly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. There's just a lot of people here..."
Kurt shrugged, finished the last bite of his burger, and licked the ketchup off his fingers. He wished he had more money, then he would have gotten more food.
Elf finished her own burger, wiped off her hands with her napkin. She rolled up all of her garbage into a little ball, threw it out, and met Kurt at the door.
"Let's get out of this place."
Kurt grinned.
"Let's go to ze park. It is not so crowded in zere." He suggested.
Elf smiled with appreciation at Kurt and follwoed him out the door. The street outside wasn't as noisy as inside, being a sidestreet that wasn't travelled often, and Elf felt more at ease.
"Elf, vhere do you come from?" Kurt asked, rememebring her question from before.
Elf sighed, bowed her head, and began walking in the direction of the park.
"I'm going to tell everybody at dinner tonight, since everyone seems to think I'm from an abusive family." She mumbled, kicking at a tin can.
The can rolled down the street, and fell into the gutter. A car drove past, sleek and black, with tinted windows. Elf watched it go, and Kurt stood next to her.
"I wish I could drive." Elf mumbled to the air.
Kurt and Elf shuffled along, both unsure of what to say in the awkward silence. Kurt finally saw a fountain, the entrance to the park.
"Here ve are, Elf!"
Elf stood in awe across the street, taking in every piece of information she could. The park entrance was indicated with a tall black, wrought iron gate that swung open onto the street. The fence went around the whole perimeter of the park, with ivy crawling up to the top in some places. Through the fence she could see the tall pine trees, little bushes beneath the trunks, scattered around the paths. The fountain in the front sprayed out crystal water from a group of cement angels, each spouting water from its mouth or a trumpet.
"Vas?" Kurt called from the park entrance. "Too much for you, Elf?"
Elf blinked, and frowned at him. How had he gotten there so fast? She guessed at using his gifts and hurried towards him.
"You should wait for me next time!" She chided, pulling at his sleeve.
Kurt shrugged and led her through the gate.
"Zis is ze best park zat I know, Elf." Kurt exclaimed as they walked to the center of the park. "I zink (cink? sink? I don't know how to write it) zat you vill like it."
Elf heard a roar, followed by peals of laughter and someone yelling.
"What was that?"
Kurt shrugged again and they approached the noise with curiosity.
Lining the path were cages of animals: monkeys, lions, tigers, bears(oh my!), goats, sheep, and a little corral with ponies inside of it, tied to the center with long ropes.
"What is this?" Elf breathed, horrified at the sight of cages.
They reminded her of the cold little cell she had lived in for most of her life.
"I guess it is a zoo. Zere has never been one before." Kurt answered, looking at the lion.
Elf stared into the lion's face, a long scar down it's nose. It's eyes were so sad...
"This is horrible." Elf hissed, moving on to the monkeys.
The monkeys jumped around in their cage, howling and screaming and rattling the bars. Elf put her hand on a bar gently, so as not to scare them. One of the monkeys ran over to her, staring up with innocent eyes as it reached for her hand. In a second, it had pulled off her ring and put it on its own finger, making a very small hologram of the normal Elf appear in the cage.
BAMF!
Elf sat on the tree limb, staring down at Kurt. He tried to get the ring from the monkey, but it wouldn't give it back. Elf finally BAMFed her way into the cage and grabbed it from the little ape. As she slid it onto her finger, a group of teenagers began coming towards the cage, curious about what the monkeys were screaming about. Elf BAMFed out again, to the other end of the cages. She walked up to Kurt with a smile, taking his hand and looking into the cage to watch the smoke inside of it clear.
"Kurt, this place scares me." Elf whispered, watching one of the monkeys watching her.
"It is just a zoo, Elf. Vas is there to be afraid of?"
Elf bowed her head, hoping Kurt didn't have telepathy as one of his gifts.
The monkey watching her slunk back into one of the shadowy corners, and sat down, holding its knees to its chest. Elf felt horrible comparing ehr past situation to a monkey's, but the sight was uncanny. But then to her shock, the little primate opened its mouth and spoke.
"I know all of your secrets, little girl. I know why you scream, why you cry, why your nightmares keep you awake at night. I know why you'll end up in a cage like this again, just watching as people ogle at you and trying to keep hold of your sanity. Oh yes, little girl. I know exactly what you're thinking this moment. I know everything about you, from the day of your birth-" The world seemed to go black except for the sound of the ape's voice. "-to the day of your death."
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Elf woke up, Kurt calling her name. The teenagers from before were crowded around her, all trying to revive her. They stepped back in surprise when she opened her eyes.
"Elf, are you alright?" Kurt asked, holding her up.
Elf nodded, holding her head.
"Kurt, let's go home." She said, her voice so faint it was hardly even a whisper.
Kurt nodded in agreement, helping ehr stand up and walk towards the entrance to the park.
"Kurt, we would get home quicker if we..."
Kurt nodded again, and wrapped his arms around her protectively. With a BAMF! they disappeared in twin clouds of black smoke.
A stranger stepped out of the trees, watching the cloud thin. She pulled out a radio and spoke into it, her voice low.
"I have identification for the escaped mutant, and an ally. Possibly another mutant. I'm ready to report back to base. Over."
The radio crackled in return to her comment.
"Hurry up then, girl! We don't got all day!"
The woman scowled at the radio as she clipepd it to her belt. With a quick glance around, she launched ehrself into the air, spreading out wings made out of compressed air. She smirked to herself, knowing she would be killed if the Weapon X project figured out she was a mutant.
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Elf and Kurt reappeared in the infirmary. Elf's legs wobbled and Kurt had to hold her up as Ororo came over.
"Where did you guys go? We were trying to contact you when the Professor got a strange reading from Elf and-" Ororo stopped as she realized Elf was beginning to break out in a sweat.
Ororo put the back of her hand to Elf's forehead, and frowned.
"Leave her down here, Kurt. It looks like she's coming down with something."
Kurt put Elf into one of the beds, kissing ehr softly on the lips before standing back. Ororo stuck a thermometer under Elf's tongue, took her pulse, and looked into ehr eyes with a light. Reading the thermometer and clicking her tongue, Ororo sauntered over to a table, wrote something down on a piece of paper, and came back with a cotton swab.
"Open up." Ororo chirped.
Elf opened her mouth, and Ororo put the swab to the back of her throat. Elf gagged, frowning at Ororo as she put the cotton swab onto a dish.
"Well, Elfie. Looks like you are coming down with something. Why don't you just go up to your room for now? I'll send Kurt up with something for you in a little bit, okay?"
Elf nodded and disappeared in black smoke. Ororo clicked her tongue and wrote down some more on ehr piece of paper. She handed another slip of paper to Kurt, and sent him to the kitchen. After both of them were gone, Ororo collapsed into a chair and heaved a sigh.
"That girl..."
******************************
Elf sniffled, blew her nose, and sipped her orange juice. It was the most she could do with the flu beating her down.
"Knock knock, Elf. Are you zere?"
Elf sniffled and cleared her throat.
"Come od id, Kurt." She croaked.
Kurt peeked in with a smile.
"How's my sick leetle keeten?" He taunted, coming in with a book.
Elf took the book reluctantly, and sniffled. She didn't bother using her hologram now, since she was confined to her room. Kurt grinned at her.
"More of zis and you vill be swamepd vith homework."
Elf scowled at the little book, and tossed it into the growing pile next to her bed.
"I dod wad ady more homework."
She blew her nose again, and took another sip of orange juice. Her throat burned like fire when she did, but Ororo had told her to drink the burning liquid until she felt better.
Elf covered her mouth suddenly and ran into her bathroom. Kurt followed her, muttering a curse, and held her head still as she vomited into the toilet.
Kurt gave her some water to rinse out her mouth and brought her back to her bed. Elf sniffled, blew her nose, and sat sullenly.
"I don't like being sick." She grumbled.
Kurt sat next to her on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders. Elf sniffled and leaned onto him, feeling like a small child.
"Elf, zere are things in zis vorld that you vill not like, but you vill have to go through them to get through life. Do you understand?"
Elf nodded and sniffled. The door to the room opened and Elf got ready to put up her hologram before she saw it was Ororo with a enw box of tissues.
"I thought you might need these, Elf. How are you feeling?"
Ororo set down the box of tissues next to Elf on the bed and stood wringing her hands like a worried mother. Elf looked up at her, with bloodshot eyes and a runny nose, pale skin beneath ehr pale green fur, and her tall pointed ears drooping.
"I feel like shit." She grumbled.
Ororo frowned at Elf's language, but shrugged. She would probably respond the same way if she had a tail that went limp and lifeless while she was sick.
"Elf, sorry to tell you this, but there's no medicine for the flu. I've tried to see if anything worked, from coughs to colds, but none of them lessen symptoms for the flu."
Elf scowled at the box of tissues and Kurt looked at his watch.
"I have to get going. I'm helping the Professor build his office again."
Kurt grinend and did some strange footwork as he walked out the door. Ororo sighed and smiled at Elf.
"Maybe you could come down to the kitchen later. I'll make you some soup."
Elf smield backa s best she could, and then fell onto her side when Ororo left her room.
"Ooooooooo, my head." She mumbeld into her pillow.
Elf's head pounded like a hammer from her congestion. She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling, letting the sleepiness that came with the flu wash over her until she was sound asleep.
The shadowy figure appeared at her window, dropping a little box onto the bed next to Elf. They snaked away as silently as they had come, and still Elf slept on...
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Okay here's the thing: I can't put in chapters so often. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky, so the chapters will be delayed.