I can't escape walking down these halls
Hard to where find a place where there are no walls
And no lines begging me to cross
Only straight ahead better move along
--Trapt, These Walls
Yey! Another chapter in another story! I'm trying my best, but it IS hard to juggle social studies; science; marching band practice for an hour and a half two days a week; football game half time shows every Friday night; practicing my flute, clarinet, bass guitar, harmonica, trumpet; writing three books at one time; AND having a boyfriend. It's extremely hard on me right now... but I'm so happy that I'm finally updating this book again! I don't want to keep ya'll waiting... So on with the chapter!
*I don't believe in disclaimers
Chapter 2: The Manor and the Glasses
Kurt looked over to the blonde-haired girl. He had gotten her the blanket requested by the professor and a pillow. Now she lay sleeping, dreaming on his shoulder. She had the power to do everything...he wondered what it was like to do anything you wanted...
'There has to be some limit. I mean, she can't do anything...can she? There must be SOME catch...' He shifted in his seat. The jet was dark, spare the glowing light and switches of the control panel where the Professor and Logan sat. One light, the emergency light, stayed on during the whole flight. It hung over Logan's head and barley lit more than the control panel. If it were any brighter it would cause reflections in the window and would make it difficult to see. It cast Logan's face in shadows. 'I wonder what she is thinking now,' Kurt continued imagining, 'What is she dreaming? Does she dream of the manor...?'
"Kurt," the Professor began, "I could not help but overhear your thoughts. She is not in dreams, nor is she in that body. She has sent a projection of herself somewhere. I'm not sure where though..." He gave a smile in confidence. Kurt recognized this smile to hold excitement.
"I don't believe it. There's no way she can do what she claims. I don't see why we wasted our time coming here anyways. I should be back at the manor sleeping." Logan was beginning to become irritated. He had just arrived back and his welcome was a rush to the jet.
"You don't have a clue to what Cerebrus showed me. I put on the head piece, and then the whole room was of her face," he left out the part where she looked different on purpose, "and ALWAYS the room is filled with the globe and mutants around it. She was scared. A man, much older than her, appeared and beat her brutally. I saw several images against my will." The professor rubbed the side of his face with his hand and all excitement was forgotten.
"Will you tell me of some of these scenes?" Kurt asked, unsure of the answer he would get.
"Well, you see, this man met a mutant somewhere and she restricted the house Dragon lived in. Or, you see, she made it to where Dragon could not leave unless another mutant escorted her, and she couldn't use her powers inside the house. She gave him a knife and then it shot immediately to the image of a refrigerator with a coded lock on it. There was an image of the knife being used several times, I watched against my will, no choice on my part." The professor looked grim.
"I don't see how any of this-" Logan began, but Kurt interrupted him.
"May I ask of these scenes?" Kurt shuffled his feet and arranged his jacket. The pointed end of his tail was swaying back and forth in the darkness.
Small lights suddenly flickered on in the aisle. The professor had mentally clicked the switch. "I don't feel in any mood to repeat them."
"But, sir, I feel something unfamiliar. I would like to know more about this girl." Kurt pleaded. Submission was apparent in the Professor's face. He steered his chair to the row in which Kurt sat with Dragon.
He reached over to roll Dragon's body in his lap. What he had said of the projection was true. The body breathed and her heart pumped, but she might have been dead otherwise. He situated the body in his lap and pulled the blanket off of her. Kurt held it in his lap while Logan listened to the conversation intently.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Kurt asked with an edge of nervousness and curiosity in his voice.
"I'm showing you the wounds in her right shoulder..." His voice trailed off as Logan looked back towards them. From his spot, he could see more than ten or fifteen different scars, and there was no telling how many times those had been cut. One of these wounds was fresh, perhaps from last night or the night before. Her powers had been prevented from healing these wounds. He now knew that it was not only the blood from her now-healed foot that held faint in the air.
"Her bra," the word 'bra' rolled off Kurt's tongue reluctantly, "was covering these wounds; I had paid no attention to her chest..." Logan let out a sharp breath of air of disbelieving laughter. Kurt was a man; of course he had paid SOME attention to her chest.
"Hmm... I've also just noticed, her skin's clinging to her ribs. Logan, call Ro (storm) and tell her to prepare food for Dragon." The Professor ran his finger over the ribs. They protruded from her skin like spikes and the scars on her chest could never be healed, even now that she could use her powers. "Her ribs weren't so apparent when she came in the ship, she must have been hiding her ribs from us..."
"Xavier, it's three o'clock in the morning," Logan rung in, "can't we just feed her a sandwich and let her sleep on the couch tonight? Calling the manor will wake up everyone." The professor took this into consideration.
"No, if you were starving badly enough to stick someone with your ribs you would not want to sit there and smell the food while it cooks. They can volunteer some of their sleeping time to cook some small leftovers and scraps of food. Tomorrow is Saturday so they'll sleep in late anyways." Logan still looked tiered, and he had small circles under his eyes. "And we're not making her sleep on the couch. I need one of you gentlemen to volunteer your rooms t-"
Logan interrupted him, "I just got home professor. She can sleep on the couch until we fix her a room in the morning." The professor gave Logan a warning glance, he understood Logan was desperately homesick and tiered, but that was no excuse to be rude to a permanent guest. Kurt noticed this, and since he liked this girl, he spoke up.
"I will let her sleep on my bed. I will sleep on the couch in the study."
The professor's face showed gratitude. "Thank you Kurt, we'll get some of the extra linens-"
Logan put on the auto pilot and stood up to face them. "This is Saturday morning; none of the extra linens are going to be dry yet because yesterday was wash day, if I remember right. If it's so damn important that she have a bed, well..." Logan paused, he had dreamed of his bed ever since he left... "I'll let her sleep in my bed."
"This is too much trouble professor, I will sleep on the couch. I'll just use this blanket she has right now." Kurt leaned back as Logan passed the professor and sat in the seat across from them.
"I'll tell you what, Kurt." Logan began, "You both just sleep in the same bed. No problem there? I mean, you're so strict we all know you wouldn't do anything. And we know that you're too modest and shy. Why not just sleep in the same bed?"
Kurt's blue cheeks flushed as he diverted his gaze to the floor. Him, with a woman, in a bed? He had never done something like this, like...like... like a normal person. Like a person with peachy skin, no tail, and normal ears, with blunt teeth.
"I-I..." Kurt was dumbfounded. The professor nodded, paying no attention to the stuttering.
"Fine, it's settled. For tonight, she will sleep with Kurt." The professor wiped his forehead as if glad it was finally settled. He would never let this happen if it was before midnight. But three o'clock in the morning...patience was thin.
"Thanks Professor," he nodded to Xavier then to the other man, "Kurt." He stood up with a sly and triumphant grin. Shadow lifted his head when Logan headed back to the front. After he sat down, he nuzzled Logan's hand. He turned around to make sure the others weren't looking, then he petted the dog's head roughly, receiving a wagging tail.
"I'm sorry, Kurt. I am not in the mood. I was afraid to get her at any other time in the day. I thank you for volunteering to come." He then turned the chair and wheeled back to the front. Logan pushed a button and five rings passed before Rouge answered the phone, then Logan muttered a few words. The professor added a few comments at the end and then button was pushed to end the phone call. (AN: my bff just burped really loud... Good sound effect, :p) Kurt knew the Professor was talking to Logan telepathically because occasionally, he would nod his head.
Kurt ran a three-fingered hand through her ankle long hair. The body moved to lean on his chest, and since she was not in the body, her body was still limp. He leaned his head back and looked out the window. He gave a smile, it was a tiered and weary smile. Like when a painter is finished with the product and he is staring back to admire it.
There stood Dragon, balancing on the wing. He could see through her, her hair blew behind her. She held a small and sad looking smile. The boxer shorts she wore where whipping around in the wind. He saw a hand creep up to her sports bra and her examine her right shoulder. She then stood up, spread her arms, and let herself fall backwards.
Kurt was about to summon the men in the front of the jet, when he saw something in the corner of his eye. All of a sudden, Dragon woke and stretched. A tail crept between her legs and out under the sheet. It was blue and furry, like his own. Was this a trick? Before he had a second chance to think, the tail was gone and Dragon was staring at him.
A thought rung in his head, like when the professor talked to him through his powers, 'What,' asked Dragon.
"You have a tail?" Kurt asked.
'No,' rung the thought, 'it's too late at night, yer eyes're playin' tricks on ya'.'
"But..." He laid his head back with a smile of tired frustration. His sharp teeth were showing and his smile was so handsome. She touched the tip of his ear and it twitched as he turned his head to her. "You're sharing a room with me tonight..." he paused at the red flushing in her cheeks, he could see it in the darkness. "I didn't suggest it, it was Logan. Yesterday was wash day, where the extra linens were washed... and there were no extra sheets, they wouldn't let me sleep on a couch. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with it..."
'It's alright, I like ya, so don't worry about it.' She smiled at him, though the redness still hung on her cheeks.
He smiled back lazily, he then looked out the window to see the clouds zip by. The stars weren't visible in New York because there were so many lights. He gave yawn, which reminded Dragon of a lion, its huge fangs rearing.
'Yer're so dif'rent [different]. Ya' remind me of ma' own eyes. When I was little, mothers would pull their kids away from me ba'cause ma' eyes glowed. And I hardly ever went outside so that made it even worse...' She grabbed his hand, which startled him greatly. He was readying himself to pull back when he noticed that her first two fingers and her last two fingers moved together. She put her hand to his, her fingers were at least an inch bigger than his.
"You have long fingers." He said transfixed on the movements.
'Ya've got hands close ta mine. I never expected ta find someone like you.' She smiled sadly, similar to the one on the wing, before she fell. 'I saw what happened ta that 'Jean' girl. She told me ta stay there. I had ta stay, but she could've helped me leave, with 'er powers. But she said no...'
"Go to sleep, you are away from that place. You're room will have as many things as you want in it, including mirrors and things. Shadow can sleep on your bed, too." He turned his whole body to face her, leaving his hand in hers.
'No mirrers![mirrors]' She screamed loudly in his head, making him jump in the darkness. 'Mirrers, mirrers, I don't want ta see ma'self!' Seeing his questionable look, she answered, 'Ma' mother was ashamed a' me, she'd hide me 'n that room. I was happy there, an' even though she was 'ashamed 'a me, she still loved me. Then she married that awful man, I didn't even go ta' tha' wedding. I was four, a year later, that man ruined it all...'
"Even if she was ashamed of you, what does that have to do with mirrors?" Kurt was puzzled.
'I'll show ya later, much later. And mirrers, about the mirrers, it all had ta do with tha way I looked-'
She was interrupted by Kurt, "I think you're beautiful, despite the eyes."
"You haven't seen me. It'll only make things worse fer me, you too. Ya' don't want ta' see me..." She rubbed his palm lovingly while her blue eyes glowed in the dark, like some wild cat waiting to pounce. He could see every time she blinked, everywhere she looked. It sent an awkward chill down his spine.
"Are you able to change your appearance then?" He had a strange urge to run his fingers through her hair again, like he hade done while she was on the wing, but he held his hands in their spots with much effort. The darkness of the spot in the jet made him shrink into himself, folding his arms over his legs as he looked with a special interest at Dragon.
'Yeah, I heard tha' professor lecturing ya' on ma' past, ya' know that I couldn't use ma' powers in that house...' She gave a sad sigh, and he could see her eyelids droop over her irises, so he would leave that question alone for right now. She was remembering the fragile second in which she could feel her power shock through her body for the first time in fourteen years, when Kurt had entered the room. The fragile second in which an old memory of her powers tugged at her skin and the memories of her mother told her skin to change. She remembered looking at her succulent peach skin and then at a different color in the mirrors...
Kurt wondered if it was something he had said. But he was almost sure that she was thinking of old memories. He was unsure of whether he should interrupt these thoughts, but as he saw a wide smile spread on her face and her almost pupil-less eyes stare off, he decided not to interrupt her thoughts.
She was thinking of her mother.
~*~Later~*~
"Welcome to 'The Xavier Institute for Gifted Children.'" Said the professor with a great smile resting on his face, "Make yourself at home, for this one will be your home for as long as you wish."
She nodded with a smile of gratitude, then continued letting her mouth hang open as she studied the great rooms that they passed and walked through. Shadow followed her heel. After many, many confusing twists and turns, Logan said his parting and continued up a stairway to his room. They continued on through another hall and two rooms to find the kitchen where numerous people were crowded around.
The hinges on the door creaked loudly over the talking and complaining. The people here had been woken by the phone and could not fall into sleep again, so they had gathered in the eating place. Wide ranges of age stood on the tiles. From small preteens to ages of almost 25, excluding the professor. She smelled food, it was something her nostrils always recognized, while walking down the hall, she had hoped the smell was not that of the last meal. But food sat on the table with a small steam rising above it.
On seeing the food, she let her illusion down and her ribs stuck out an inch or so from her skin. When she finally walked through the door, all eyes were on her. Some of the people gasped, and a preteen whispered to one of their friends, "What's wrong with her eyes?"
She ignored it as a brown haired girl with two long, white streaks hanging in front of her face came forth and put a gloved hand almost too cautiously on her shoulder. Dragon began to wonder if this was from fear, but a quick flash of the girl's thoughts told her of the blight this girl carried in every cell of her body.
"Come on, sit and eat." The girl was younger than Dragon, about the same age as the boy who pulled out a chair for her to sit in. His eyes were blue, a luminescent blue for a fact, but his eyes were beautiful with the black pupil in the center. Her blind-looking eyes were horrid, she felt a pang of embarrassment for herself, but hunger prevailed and drove her to sit in the seat and grab the strange sliver ware. She had not held silver ware in her hands for more than fourteen years, she had been reduced to her fingers.
Shadow came up next to her, and sat with a wagging ebony tail next to her. She gave every other bite to the dog on the floor, until the boy who had pulled out her chair gave the dog a separate bowl. She couldn't tell what it was she was eating, but it looked good, smelled good, tasted good, so it was good enough to eat.
"I would like to introduce everyone to Dragon." Seeing that her mouth was full, he gave the basic and known information. "She comes from Alabama, and she can't talk, but she has many powers." He looked at her and saw that she was paying no attention, wrapped up in the food. Kurt was standing next to her with a smile of gratitude and satisfaction, he was glad that something was being put against her ribs. The professor continued, "We don't know of any limit to her power yet, but I am sure it is a very small limit. She may very well be the most powerful mutant in this room." He paused as the dog's tail bumped against the chair, "The dog's name is Shadow. From the behavior I have observed from this dog, it is harmless.
"Professor," chimed in a boy older than the blighted girl, a thought produced by many of the mutants said this as Scott Summers. He wore sunglasses over his eyes, this was another blighted mutant. He tapped his head, signaling the Professor to communicate through their minds, but Xavier shook his head.
"She can read minds too, there is no point."
"Well, professor..." Scott paused and glanced at the still-eating girl, "some of the younger children are afraid of her eyes..." He motioned to the four or five preteens in a corner, huddling next to each other, talking nervously.
She looked up at this remark, all attention was on her. She held her wrist out, flicked it, and then a pair of black sunglasses was in her hand, as if they had been dropped from the ceiling. She flung them open with the one free hand and then placed them on her face with a friendly smile, showing she wasn't offended, then she continued with the food. Scott gave a nervous glance back at the professor, who smiled triumphantly. Scott smiled back and walked over to one of his friends.
Kurt twitched his tail and then thought back to the glance he had seen of hers. He smiled and then thought back to how much she would enjoy herself here. He would find out about this tail too...
The girl with the two white streaks came forth again. "I thought you might want this." Dragon paused to take brief look at the fabric the girl held. She then wiped her hand on a napkin and began to feel the fabric. Dragon then turned to the professor and made a bunch of signals with her hand.
"She wants to know what it's made of," Said the professor in a kindly tone.
She turned back to the girl for an answer. She smiled and said, "It's made of silk. I thought that you might want it. It's a shirt, I got it on short notice, so... I hope you like it."
A big smile spread across Dragon's face and she turned excitedly to the professor with wild hand motions. The professor translated, "She wants to know if it's a gift, she said she remembered getting one once." Xavier smiled forcefully, shoving the sadness from his face. After the Professor's comment, Scott looked at Dragon sympathetically.
The girl turned to Dragon and put the shirt in her hands. "Of course it's a gift, silly." Dragon looked at the girl and stood to give her a shallow bow of thankfulness. Then she pointed to herself and pointed to the streaked girl then turned to the professor with more hand motions.
"Uh, professor?" Inquired the streaked girl. Shadow cocked his head and licked his muzzle.
"She wants to introduce yourself. She's says it's more personal for you to introduce yourself than for her to read the thought of your name." Xavier said with an impressed smile.
"My name is Rouge." Answered the girl with a smile, Rouge knew that Dragon was afraid that Rouge would think her weird. But Rouge found Dragon interesting. "If you have so much power, how come you can't speak?" Scott craned his head, interested in the answer.
Dragon looked to the floor then looked at the professor. She fingered slowly the words of the silent language. "She said that her doctor thought it was traumatic stress or something, she can't remember. But she also said that she can't heal herself. She can only heal others." He looked at her foot, which was not the peach it had been when she had healed it. It was starting to bleed through the bandage which she had to used temporarily. 'Kurt,' Thought the professor 'I want you take her and bandage her foot properly when you get to your room.' Kurt nodded, unnoticed.
Rouge looked at Dragon, then held out her hand. It took a moment for Dragon to realize what the gesture meant, and then she snapped her hand out and shook Rouge's gloved hand with a tinted red flush. Dragon gave another shallow bow and continued to eat. Shadow went to Rouge's side sniffed for a second, rubbed on the protected skin of her legs, then went to Kurt, who stroked the dog's fur.
~*~ I'll update as soon as I can, Review please! I won't update until I get five reviews, is that fair? Later! Oh, and I'm changing my name to 'Wolf Blade' because 'Kitten's Blade' doesn't show up on the Fanfiction.net search engine for the name of the author.
Hard to where find a place where there are no walls
And no lines begging me to cross
Only straight ahead better move along
--Trapt, These Walls
Yey! Another chapter in another story! I'm trying my best, but it IS hard to juggle social studies; science; marching band practice for an hour and a half two days a week; football game half time shows every Friday night; practicing my flute, clarinet, bass guitar, harmonica, trumpet; writing three books at one time; AND having a boyfriend. It's extremely hard on me right now... but I'm so happy that I'm finally updating this book again! I don't want to keep ya'll waiting... So on with the chapter!
*I don't believe in disclaimers
Chapter 2: The Manor and the Glasses
Kurt looked over to the blonde-haired girl. He had gotten her the blanket requested by the professor and a pillow. Now she lay sleeping, dreaming on his shoulder. She had the power to do everything...he wondered what it was like to do anything you wanted...
'There has to be some limit. I mean, she can't do anything...can she? There must be SOME catch...' He shifted in his seat. The jet was dark, spare the glowing light and switches of the control panel where the Professor and Logan sat. One light, the emergency light, stayed on during the whole flight. It hung over Logan's head and barley lit more than the control panel. If it were any brighter it would cause reflections in the window and would make it difficult to see. It cast Logan's face in shadows. 'I wonder what she is thinking now,' Kurt continued imagining, 'What is she dreaming? Does she dream of the manor...?'
"Kurt," the Professor began, "I could not help but overhear your thoughts. She is not in dreams, nor is she in that body. She has sent a projection of herself somewhere. I'm not sure where though..." He gave a smile in confidence. Kurt recognized this smile to hold excitement.
"I don't believe it. There's no way she can do what she claims. I don't see why we wasted our time coming here anyways. I should be back at the manor sleeping." Logan was beginning to become irritated. He had just arrived back and his welcome was a rush to the jet.
"You don't have a clue to what Cerebrus showed me. I put on the head piece, and then the whole room was of her face," he left out the part where she looked different on purpose, "and ALWAYS the room is filled with the globe and mutants around it. She was scared. A man, much older than her, appeared and beat her brutally. I saw several images against my will." The professor rubbed the side of his face with his hand and all excitement was forgotten.
"Will you tell me of some of these scenes?" Kurt asked, unsure of the answer he would get.
"Well, you see, this man met a mutant somewhere and she restricted the house Dragon lived in. Or, you see, she made it to where Dragon could not leave unless another mutant escorted her, and she couldn't use her powers inside the house. She gave him a knife and then it shot immediately to the image of a refrigerator with a coded lock on it. There was an image of the knife being used several times, I watched against my will, no choice on my part." The professor looked grim.
"I don't see how any of this-" Logan began, but Kurt interrupted him.
"May I ask of these scenes?" Kurt shuffled his feet and arranged his jacket. The pointed end of his tail was swaying back and forth in the darkness.
Small lights suddenly flickered on in the aisle. The professor had mentally clicked the switch. "I don't feel in any mood to repeat them."
"But, sir, I feel something unfamiliar. I would like to know more about this girl." Kurt pleaded. Submission was apparent in the Professor's face. He steered his chair to the row in which Kurt sat with Dragon.
He reached over to roll Dragon's body in his lap. What he had said of the projection was true. The body breathed and her heart pumped, but she might have been dead otherwise. He situated the body in his lap and pulled the blanket off of her. Kurt held it in his lap while Logan listened to the conversation intently.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Kurt asked with an edge of nervousness and curiosity in his voice.
"I'm showing you the wounds in her right shoulder..." His voice trailed off as Logan looked back towards them. From his spot, he could see more than ten or fifteen different scars, and there was no telling how many times those had been cut. One of these wounds was fresh, perhaps from last night or the night before. Her powers had been prevented from healing these wounds. He now knew that it was not only the blood from her now-healed foot that held faint in the air.
"Her bra," the word 'bra' rolled off Kurt's tongue reluctantly, "was covering these wounds; I had paid no attention to her chest..." Logan let out a sharp breath of air of disbelieving laughter. Kurt was a man; of course he had paid SOME attention to her chest.
"Hmm... I've also just noticed, her skin's clinging to her ribs. Logan, call Ro (storm) and tell her to prepare food for Dragon." The Professor ran his finger over the ribs. They protruded from her skin like spikes and the scars on her chest could never be healed, even now that she could use her powers. "Her ribs weren't so apparent when she came in the ship, she must have been hiding her ribs from us..."
"Xavier, it's three o'clock in the morning," Logan rung in, "can't we just feed her a sandwich and let her sleep on the couch tonight? Calling the manor will wake up everyone." The professor took this into consideration.
"No, if you were starving badly enough to stick someone with your ribs you would not want to sit there and smell the food while it cooks. They can volunteer some of their sleeping time to cook some small leftovers and scraps of food. Tomorrow is Saturday so they'll sleep in late anyways." Logan still looked tiered, and he had small circles under his eyes. "And we're not making her sleep on the couch. I need one of you gentlemen to volunteer your rooms t-"
Logan interrupted him, "I just got home professor. She can sleep on the couch until we fix her a room in the morning." The professor gave Logan a warning glance, he understood Logan was desperately homesick and tiered, but that was no excuse to be rude to a permanent guest. Kurt noticed this, and since he liked this girl, he spoke up.
"I will let her sleep on my bed. I will sleep on the couch in the study."
The professor's face showed gratitude. "Thank you Kurt, we'll get some of the extra linens-"
Logan put on the auto pilot and stood up to face them. "This is Saturday morning; none of the extra linens are going to be dry yet because yesterday was wash day, if I remember right. If it's so damn important that she have a bed, well..." Logan paused, he had dreamed of his bed ever since he left... "I'll let her sleep in my bed."
"This is too much trouble professor, I will sleep on the couch. I'll just use this blanket she has right now." Kurt leaned back as Logan passed the professor and sat in the seat across from them.
"I'll tell you what, Kurt." Logan began, "You both just sleep in the same bed. No problem there? I mean, you're so strict we all know you wouldn't do anything. And we know that you're too modest and shy. Why not just sleep in the same bed?"
Kurt's blue cheeks flushed as he diverted his gaze to the floor. Him, with a woman, in a bed? He had never done something like this, like...like... like a normal person. Like a person with peachy skin, no tail, and normal ears, with blunt teeth.
"I-I..." Kurt was dumbfounded. The professor nodded, paying no attention to the stuttering.
"Fine, it's settled. For tonight, she will sleep with Kurt." The professor wiped his forehead as if glad it was finally settled. He would never let this happen if it was before midnight. But three o'clock in the morning...patience was thin.
"Thanks Professor," he nodded to Xavier then to the other man, "Kurt." He stood up with a sly and triumphant grin. Shadow lifted his head when Logan headed back to the front. After he sat down, he nuzzled Logan's hand. He turned around to make sure the others weren't looking, then he petted the dog's head roughly, receiving a wagging tail.
"I'm sorry, Kurt. I am not in the mood. I was afraid to get her at any other time in the day. I thank you for volunteering to come." He then turned the chair and wheeled back to the front. Logan pushed a button and five rings passed before Rouge answered the phone, then Logan muttered a few words. The professor added a few comments at the end and then button was pushed to end the phone call. (AN: my bff just burped really loud... Good sound effect, :p) Kurt knew the Professor was talking to Logan telepathically because occasionally, he would nod his head.
Kurt ran a three-fingered hand through her ankle long hair. The body moved to lean on his chest, and since she was not in the body, her body was still limp. He leaned his head back and looked out the window. He gave a smile, it was a tiered and weary smile. Like when a painter is finished with the product and he is staring back to admire it.
There stood Dragon, balancing on the wing. He could see through her, her hair blew behind her. She held a small and sad looking smile. The boxer shorts she wore where whipping around in the wind. He saw a hand creep up to her sports bra and her examine her right shoulder. She then stood up, spread her arms, and let herself fall backwards.
Kurt was about to summon the men in the front of the jet, when he saw something in the corner of his eye. All of a sudden, Dragon woke and stretched. A tail crept between her legs and out under the sheet. It was blue and furry, like his own. Was this a trick? Before he had a second chance to think, the tail was gone and Dragon was staring at him.
A thought rung in his head, like when the professor talked to him through his powers, 'What,' asked Dragon.
"You have a tail?" Kurt asked.
'No,' rung the thought, 'it's too late at night, yer eyes're playin' tricks on ya'.'
"But..." He laid his head back with a smile of tired frustration. His sharp teeth were showing and his smile was so handsome. She touched the tip of his ear and it twitched as he turned his head to her. "You're sharing a room with me tonight..." he paused at the red flushing in her cheeks, he could see it in the darkness. "I didn't suggest it, it was Logan. Yesterday was wash day, where the extra linens were washed... and there were no extra sheets, they wouldn't let me sleep on a couch. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable with it..."
'It's alright, I like ya, so don't worry about it.' She smiled at him, though the redness still hung on her cheeks.
He smiled back lazily, he then looked out the window to see the clouds zip by. The stars weren't visible in New York because there were so many lights. He gave yawn, which reminded Dragon of a lion, its huge fangs rearing.
'Yer're so dif'rent [different]. Ya' remind me of ma' own eyes. When I was little, mothers would pull their kids away from me ba'cause ma' eyes glowed. And I hardly ever went outside so that made it even worse...' She grabbed his hand, which startled him greatly. He was readying himself to pull back when he noticed that her first two fingers and her last two fingers moved together. She put her hand to his, her fingers were at least an inch bigger than his.
"You have long fingers." He said transfixed on the movements.
'Ya've got hands close ta mine. I never expected ta find someone like you.' She smiled sadly, similar to the one on the wing, before she fell. 'I saw what happened ta that 'Jean' girl. She told me ta stay there. I had ta stay, but she could've helped me leave, with 'er powers. But she said no...'
"Go to sleep, you are away from that place. You're room will have as many things as you want in it, including mirrors and things. Shadow can sleep on your bed, too." He turned his whole body to face her, leaving his hand in hers.
'No mirrers![mirrors]' She screamed loudly in his head, making him jump in the darkness. 'Mirrers, mirrers, I don't want ta see ma'self!' Seeing his questionable look, she answered, 'Ma' mother was ashamed a' me, she'd hide me 'n that room. I was happy there, an' even though she was 'ashamed 'a me, she still loved me. Then she married that awful man, I didn't even go ta' tha' wedding. I was four, a year later, that man ruined it all...'
"Even if she was ashamed of you, what does that have to do with mirrors?" Kurt was puzzled.
'I'll show ya later, much later. And mirrers, about the mirrers, it all had ta do with tha way I looked-'
She was interrupted by Kurt, "I think you're beautiful, despite the eyes."
"You haven't seen me. It'll only make things worse fer me, you too. Ya' don't want ta' see me..." She rubbed his palm lovingly while her blue eyes glowed in the dark, like some wild cat waiting to pounce. He could see every time she blinked, everywhere she looked. It sent an awkward chill down his spine.
"Are you able to change your appearance then?" He had a strange urge to run his fingers through her hair again, like he hade done while she was on the wing, but he held his hands in their spots with much effort. The darkness of the spot in the jet made him shrink into himself, folding his arms over his legs as he looked with a special interest at Dragon.
'Yeah, I heard tha' professor lecturing ya' on ma' past, ya' know that I couldn't use ma' powers in that house...' She gave a sad sigh, and he could see her eyelids droop over her irises, so he would leave that question alone for right now. She was remembering the fragile second in which she could feel her power shock through her body for the first time in fourteen years, when Kurt had entered the room. The fragile second in which an old memory of her powers tugged at her skin and the memories of her mother told her skin to change. She remembered looking at her succulent peach skin and then at a different color in the mirrors...
Kurt wondered if it was something he had said. But he was almost sure that she was thinking of old memories. He was unsure of whether he should interrupt these thoughts, but as he saw a wide smile spread on her face and her almost pupil-less eyes stare off, he decided not to interrupt her thoughts.
She was thinking of her mother.
~*~Later~*~
"Welcome to 'The Xavier Institute for Gifted Children.'" Said the professor with a great smile resting on his face, "Make yourself at home, for this one will be your home for as long as you wish."
She nodded with a smile of gratitude, then continued letting her mouth hang open as she studied the great rooms that they passed and walked through. Shadow followed her heel. After many, many confusing twists and turns, Logan said his parting and continued up a stairway to his room. They continued on through another hall and two rooms to find the kitchen where numerous people were crowded around.
The hinges on the door creaked loudly over the talking and complaining. The people here had been woken by the phone and could not fall into sleep again, so they had gathered in the eating place. Wide ranges of age stood on the tiles. From small preteens to ages of almost 25, excluding the professor. She smelled food, it was something her nostrils always recognized, while walking down the hall, she had hoped the smell was not that of the last meal. But food sat on the table with a small steam rising above it.
On seeing the food, she let her illusion down and her ribs stuck out an inch or so from her skin. When she finally walked through the door, all eyes were on her. Some of the people gasped, and a preteen whispered to one of their friends, "What's wrong with her eyes?"
She ignored it as a brown haired girl with two long, white streaks hanging in front of her face came forth and put a gloved hand almost too cautiously on her shoulder. Dragon began to wonder if this was from fear, but a quick flash of the girl's thoughts told her of the blight this girl carried in every cell of her body.
"Come on, sit and eat." The girl was younger than Dragon, about the same age as the boy who pulled out a chair for her to sit in. His eyes were blue, a luminescent blue for a fact, but his eyes were beautiful with the black pupil in the center. Her blind-looking eyes were horrid, she felt a pang of embarrassment for herself, but hunger prevailed and drove her to sit in the seat and grab the strange sliver ware. She had not held silver ware in her hands for more than fourteen years, she had been reduced to her fingers.
Shadow came up next to her, and sat with a wagging ebony tail next to her. She gave every other bite to the dog on the floor, until the boy who had pulled out her chair gave the dog a separate bowl. She couldn't tell what it was she was eating, but it looked good, smelled good, tasted good, so it was good enough to eat.
"I would like to introduce everyone to Dragon." Seeing that her mouth was full, he gave the basic and known information. "She comes from Alabama, and she can't talk, but she has many powers." He looked at her and saw that she was paying no attention, wrapped up in the food. Kurt was standing next to her with a smile of gratitude and satisfaction, he was glad that something was being put against her ribs. The professor continued, "We don't know of any limit to her power yet, but I am sure it is a very small limit. She may very well be the most powerful mutant in this room." He paused as the dog's tail bumped against the chair, "The dog's name is Shadow. From the behavior I have observed from this dog, it is harmless.
"Professor," chimed in a boy older than the blighted girl, a thought produced by many of the mutants said this as Scott Summers. He wore sunglasses over his eyes, this was another blighted mutant. He tapped his head, signaling the Professor to communicate through their minds, but Xavier shook his head.
"She can read minds too, there is no point."
"Well, professor..." Scott paused and glanced at the still-eating girl, "some of the younger children are afraid of her eyes..." He motioned to the four or five preteens in a corner, huddling next to each other, talking nervously.
She looked up at this remark, all attention was on her. She held her wrist out, flicked it, and then a pair of black sunglasses was in her hand, as if they had been dropped from the ceiling. She flung them open with the one free hand and then placed them on her face with a friendly smile, showing she wasn't offended, then she continued with the food. Scott gave a nervous glance back at the professor, who smiled triumphantly. Scott smiled back and walked over to one of his friends.
Kurt twitched his tail and then thought back to the glance he had seen of hers. He smiled and then thought back to how much she would enjoy herself here. He would find out about this tail too...
The girl with the two white streaks came forth again. "I thought you might want this." Dragon paused to take brief look at the fabric the girl held. She then wiped her hand on a napkin and began to feel the fabric. Dragon then turned to the professor and made a bunch of signals with her hand.
"She wants to know what it's made of," Said the professor in a kindly tone.
She turned back to the girl for an answer. She smiled and said, "It's made of silk. I thought that you might want it. It's a shirt, I got it on short notice, so... I hope you like it."
A big smile spread across Dragon's face and she turned excitedly to the professor with wild hand motions. The professor translated, "She wants to know if it's a gift, she said she remembered getting one once." Xavier smiled forcefully, shoving the sadness from his face. After the Professor's comment, Scott looked at Dragon sympathetically.
The girl turned to Dragon and put the shirt in her hands. "Of course it's a gift, silly." Dragon looked at the girl and stood to give her a shallow bow of thankfulness. Then she pointed to herself and pointed to the streaked girl then turned to the professor with more hand motions.
"Uh, professor?" Inquired the streaked girl. Shadow cocked his head and licked his muzzle.
"She wants to introduce yourself. She's says it's more personal for you to introduce yourself than for her to read the thought of your name." Xavier said with an impressed smile.
"My name is Rouge." Answered the girl with a smile, Rouge knew that Dragon was afraid that Rouge would think her weird. But Rouge found Dragon interesting. "If you have so much power, how come you can't speak?" Scott craned his head, interested in the answer.
Dragon looked to the floor then looked at the professor. She fingered slowly the words of the silent language. "She said that her doctor thought it was traumatic stress or something, she can't remember. But she also said that she can't heal herself. She can only heal others." He looked at her foot, which was not the peach it had been when she had healed it. It was starting to bleed through the bandage which she had to used temporarily. 'Kurt,' Thought the professor 'I want you take her and bandage her foot properly when you get to your room.' Kurt nodded, unnoticed.
Rouge looked at Dragon, then held out her hand. It took a moment for Dragon to realize what the gesture meant, and then she snapped her hand out and shook Rouge's gloved hand with a tinted red flush. Dragon gave another shallow bow and continued to eat. Shadow went to Rouge's side sniffed for a second, rubbed on the protected skin of her legs, then went to Kurt, who stroked the dog's fur.
~*~ I'll update as soon as I can, Review please! I won't update until I get five reviews, is that fair? Later! Oh, and I'm changing my name to 'Wolf Blade' because 'Kitten's Blade' doesn't show up on the Fanfiction.net search engine for the name of the author.