A/N: I'm sooooo sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I was delayed by various different problems and I'll try never to take this long again.
SOs to reviewers…
Firebreath: Glad to hear you like it.
ZORTRM: Yup yup yup. Kurt's in this chapter.
Faith: Yeah, I know where it's going. I always know where my fics go, but I just sometimes have problems getting there.
wolfg07: I will, don't worry.
Branwen: In response to your earlier review, I'll try to get some of the Phoenix stuff in there, even though I don't know too much about it.
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After saying her farewells to her family and moving her luggage to her Toyota, Kaeldra drove around the school and parked near a garage. At least, she thought it was a garage. A middle-aged man smoking a cigar sauntered over to her.
"You Kaeldra?" he asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "And you must be Logan."
"Right."
"Are you a teacher here?!" Kaeldra questioned incredulously, as he grabbed two bags from the trunk while she took the third and let the cat out of the back seat.
"Do you have a problem with that?"
"No, it's just that I didn't think the professor would let teachers smoke."
"I'm an exception."
Which wasn't quite true, but Logan reasoned she didn't need to know that.
They began climbing a stone staircase leading up to what looked to Kaeldra like the back entrance. She projected an image of people walking into the building in her cat's mind to signal that they were going inside.
Logan glanced over at her and almost fell down the stairs in alarm.
"Holy shit!" he yelled.
"What? My bags too heavy?" she quipped, a look of false concern spreading over her face as she looked up from the cat.
"No. It's just… your eyes," he wavered, still surprised.
"What's wrong with them?" Kaeldra asked with a worried expression.
"Th-They were yellow," he explained, continuing up the steps and into the building.
"So?" she wondered, confused by his reaction. "That always happens when I talk to animals."
"Yeah? Well, it'd be great if you could keep your glowing animal eyes to yourself," he said in a not-so-nice way.
Kaeldra frowned and glared at him when he turned away.
They were inside the building by this time and soon they came to a hall full of doors.
"Here's the room you'll share with some other girls," Logan said, dropping the bags onto the nearest empty bed. Kaeldra did the same. She took a moment to look around at the room that would be her home for the next few years. There were four other beds, though she noticed only three seemed occupied. A dreamcatcher hung above one, a stack of books sate on the nightstand next to another, and the last had a teddy bear perched on the pillows.
At least I'm not the only one who brought a stuffed animal, thought Kaeldra wryly.
"I'm supposed to take you to meet the other teachers. Let's go," Logan ordered impatiently
They walked down a few more halls and eventually came to an elevator.
"So what do you teach?" questioned Kaeldra as they took the elevator up.
"Art," was his abrupt reply.
"Really?" she asked, amazed that, well, someone like him would, or could, teach art.
"No."
"Then what-"
Their conversation was cut short by the elevator doors opening and allowing them into the next corridor.
Peering at his watch, Logan said, "Classes should be almost out by now. The professor says to meet in his office."
Taking a few more turns, they finally came the study Kaeldra recognized.
"This school is huge," she muttered. "I wonder how long it'll take me to get lost. They should have maps they give out, like at the zoo."
Logan snorted. Apparently he had heard her.
As they entered the room, the girl stared in awe. Standing before her was the most unusual assortment of people she'd ever seen. There was a man in his late 20s who wore interesting looking sunglasses that the professor said was Scott Summers a.k.a. Cyclops and a slightly younger woman named Ororo Munroe, but usually called Storm. Next came the most remarkable looking of the group, a blue man identified as Kurt Wagner or sometimes Nightcrawler who spoke with a German accent. His hand was on the shoulder of a short woman who couldn't have been more than 25. Her hair was blonde with blue streaks and her name was Katalyn Williams, also called Blade. Lastly was a young woman with black hair. She was introduced as Lana Stokes and her nickname was Spike.
"And I'm sure you know Logan/Wolverine," Professor Xavier finished.
"Well, hi to you all and I'll try to keep your names straight," Kaeldra told them shyly with a small smile.
"Now that you've met your teachers, I'm sure you'd like to get to know your roommates. Lana, will you please show Kaeldra back to her room?" asked the professor. "Thank you," he said when she nodded her head. "This is for you," he added, handing Kaeldra an envelope on her way out.
"So what are your 'gifts'?" she asked Lana while they walked down a hallway.
"I have spikes that come out of my skin," replied the teacher.
"Oh," was all Kaeldra could say as she tried not to imagine the gruesome effects that it might have on a person.
"Not very pleasant," Lana continued, "as it ruins my clothes and it hurts a lot. I'm not quite as lucky as Logan is to have the gift of healing." She extended her arm, revealing large scars.
"Ouch," Kaeldra muttered quietly.
"Well," said Lana, trying to lighten the mood, "here we are. I'll let you get acquainted with the other girls and the boys that will most likely be in there too."
After Lana left, Kaeldra knocked. There were the sounds of scuffling, whispering, and a door slamming shut.
Someone called, "Come in."
Kaeldra slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside. She was welcomed by the faces of six teenagers staring at her.
"Um, hi," she ventured timidly.
"Hey," replied one of them. She had brown hair and a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "Are you Kaeldra?"
"Yep."
"I'm Kitty Pryde."
"Hi."
"Sit down," Kitty invited, moving over to make room for Kaeldra in the circle. "Is this your cat?" She picked up a fluffy brown feline from where it had been resting on the bed with the dreamcatcher.
"Yeah. Her name's Mocha," answered Kaeldra, reaching over to scratch behind the cat's ears.
"So what are your powers?" piped another girl who had black hair with red highlights in it. "I'm Michelle, by the way."
Kaeldra responded by focusing her concentration and becoming invisible. There was a gasp of surprise, then, "Wow!"
"Cool!"
Kaeldra relaxed and felt herself come into view.
"I can also communicate with her," she said, nodding toward Mocha, "and other animals."
"Really?" asked Michelle, interested. "Is it like talking to people?"
"No… not really. It's more complicated," Kaeldra explained. "Most animals can't understand human language, so you have to talk using pictures and feelings. The type of animal determines the difficulty of the communication too. For example, it's easier to talk to cats than fish, because their brains are more complex, and it's almost impossible to communicate with something like a clam that doesn't even have a brain."
"Does tameness have anything to do with it?" questioned Kitty.
"Yeah. Pets are a lot less troublesome than wild animals, since they know some human words and are more familiar with some of the thoughts you send."
"How about some introductions?" suggested a boy with hair that looked like it had been naturally brown, but was bleached on the top part. It stuck out in all directions. "I'm Kyle." He put his hand out to shake Kaeldra's.
"Hello," she replied warily. His smile and eyes seemed to suggest a prankster. Though Kaeldra herself was one on occasion, she knew to be careful around others who enjoyed practical jokes. When she took his hand, she felt a small jolt of electricity. Kyle flashed her a grin.
"You can call me Volts. Wanna go out for lunch tomorrow?"
Kitty threw a pillow at him.
"Just because you're a heartthrob doesn't mean you should start hitting on someone five minutes after they get here. Especially." she said, "when you have a girlfriend.
"Moving on," said Michelle. "Rogue?"
"Hi, I'm Rogue," said a girl with brown hair and two white streaks in the front. She had a slight accent that Kaeldra guessed came from Mississippi or somewhere around there.
"And I'm Bobby," said the boy sitting next to her.
"My name is Piotr, but many people call me Colossus," declared the last guy, who looked older than all the others.
"I'm Saria," came from the doorway as another girl walked in. "You're Kaeldra, right?"
When the person in question nodded, Saria gave her a friendly smile and went over to a bed and began to read.
"She's not really a group person," Kitty explained in an undertone.
All the students welcomed Kaeldra and soon they were lying around on the floor and chairs talking (Saria not included, of course).
"Are you related to Ms. Stokes?" Kaeldra asked Michelle.
The latter sighed. "Everyone asks me that, but no. Most of the teachers use their nicknames, by the way."
"So do you have a nickname?" Saria called from her book, startling Kaeldra.
"Um… sometimes people call me Kael for short."
"No, I meant like a nickname that relates to your powers."
"My friends' name for me used to be Ermine, because that's my favorite animal. It fits too, since ermines can camouflage themselves."
"Well, Ermine, welcome to Mutant High," Rogue said.
Kaeldra smiled. Suddenly she realized that she was still holding the envelope that Professor Xavier had given her.
I wonder what it is, she pondered as she opened it. When she saw what was inside, she grinned. It was a map of the school.
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Phew… that was my longest chapter so far! As always, I'm working on the next one. I'm not sure where to cut it off, though. Oh well.
()--- Ermine/Tree