*******************
Seventh Fragment ~ 'Choices'
*******************
In the beginning, there was life, and then the people killed it. The Goddess mourned for the lost, and the skies turned dry so She could shed tears. And the madness still reigned, and death stalked the land. The Goddess fled the madness, joining with the skies for as long as She could.
When She came to Earth again, the people had left very little. The plants were dying, because the Great Plague had made the skies dirty. Yet the Goddess felt mercy, and nourished the soil where She fell with rain, and opened the clouds so the sun could warm the Earth.
She was weak in her sorrow for the world, and could only do so much. And the people saw Her and they knew Her. So when She succumbed to the frailties of Her human body, they gave Her shelter and food.
And the Goddess was grateful, and She cared for the people and the land. And She taught them of the Great Teacher, and of the Blessed Students, and the lost and the found and the hope of the future.
And the people bought Her offerings of green things, and they tended them in Her name.
And through the grace of the Goddess, the land turned green, and the people had plants to nourish them, and to feed their cattle. And the people were prosperous, and loved the Goddess. And the Goddess loved them back.
And She said unto the people, 'Go forth and seek out the survivors, and give unto them the plants, and tell them of My love.' And the people went out, for so great was the Goddess' love that she would save what little was left, and heal the world of the scars that the people had wrought.
Sing Her praises, and bless her name, the mighty Goddess of the weather, Ororo.
*******************
All those assembled gaped openly as Alvin finished his reverent litany. His words echoed around Kurt's small room long after he'd finished, and silence reigned in their wake.
The zealot wiped a tear from his ear and sniffed, nose red and eyes puffy. Fumbling in the pocket of his robe, he drew out a small handkerchief. It was bright yellow, and dotted with tiny cartoon kitten faces. The fact that he owned such a thing would've seemed laughable a few minutes ago, when they'd deemed him screwy, but now....
Now, hardly anybody noticed the odd scrap of fabric. They were too busy closing their jaws and slotting eyeballs back into sockets.
Robyn was the first to speak. "Green things?" she whispered. " Where you come from there are green things? Like... like *grass*?"
Alvin paused in the handkerchief's ascent and nodded. "The Goddess is powerful. She brought back all She could from before the Plague. Our land is lush and fertile now, and we live in peace."
"It sounds wonderful," said Kitty, cradling Hope in her arms. "I almost don't remember what proper green things look like."
"I've *never* seen grass," Robyn whispered in delight, "Only heard about them in the Story About Before."
The baby grizzled a little, and the blind girl dutifully lifted her to her breast. Nobody batted an eyelid at the sudden showing of flesh. Considering it had been such a short amount of time since they'd all met, they'd already become used to each other's habits and necessities.
The group of assorted mutants had all gone through to Kurt's room when Alvin awoke and Lance demanded he finally explain himself. The zealot had been more than happy to tell of his beloved Goddess and his mission, but insisted that the 'Blessed Student' hear too. Since the elf couldn't be moved very easily, they'd traipsed through to listen with him to the answers everyone had wondered about since first spotting Alvin out in the street with the Pig Brothers.
Pietro and Kurt, however, weren't only concerned with the idea that someone had brought nature back into this dark world once more. Both of them gawked, faces open at Alvin at the name he'd spoken. The name neither of them had heard outside their own thoughts in four long years.
"Daniels' aunt..." Pietro breathed, as if not believing what he was hearing. "*She's* the Goddess? Oh Jesus H... Oh crap... She - she doesn't know... Oh no..." He trailed off into incoherent babbling, muttering words so fast they were a mere hum and rubbing his temples with tapering fingertips.
Kurt, however, was silent. He stared at Alvin like he was a mere apparition. One of Pietro's ghosts, perhaps, or some shade from his own nightmares come to taunt him.
Ororo was dead. She *had* to be. After Scott and Jean were killed... she was gone. Just like Logan. He'd never found her body, but there had been blood. He'd *smelled* her blood in the aftermath of that terrible ambush, just as clearly as he'd seen his friends' bodies.
Yet Alvin knew her, and he knew her powers too. He knew of her love of plants and all things green. He knew of her aversion to fighting. Little things, things nobody should know unless they'd spent time with her. That must mean... perhaps... Was it even possible?
"She's alive?" he murmured at last.
Robyn looked up where she sat next to him on the bed, brown eyes worried. The strange cat - forgotten in the telling of the story - had taken up residence in her lap, and watched the elf through slits in green pools, as if understanding his thoughts and reaction where the little girl could not.
"Kurti?" Robyn reached up to stroke his cheek. He didn't even acknowledge her touch. "Kurti, what's wrong? Didn't you like the story?"
"All this time I thought she was dead, like the others," Kurt went on, "And she was alive." Tears made the fur beneath his eyes wet, but he didn't brush them away.
Kitty and Lance were confused. "You know this Goddess lady?"
"I knew her," Kurt replied, shaking his head sadly, "Once. We were on the same team. Lived together. She was... she was part of my family."
More tears splashed down, and Robyn dislodged the cat to hug him as tight as wasn't painful. The feline mewled a bit, and clambered onto the child's shoulder instead. Batting out a paw, it caught a lock of indigo hair, as if patting Kurt to make him feel better too.
"Kurti?" The Sad Times were starting again. Robyn felt her own tears start to fall. Tears of helplessness that she couldn't do anything to alleviate her brother's pain; that she couldn't just cuddle him and make all the bad things go away like he did for her.
Lance winced, remembering the conversation of earlier. _Ouch._ "But isn't that good news? That she's alive and well?"
"She is alive," Alvin cut in, snagging all their attentions back again. "But she is not well."
"What?" Pietro broke from his mutterings to stare hotly at the zealot, and demanded, "Whaddyameansheain'twell?"
Alvin took a moment to offer Robyn his handkerchief for her to wipe her eyes before answering. Then, he sighed. "The Goddess is wise and great, but she is not eternal. The light of our order dims day by day as she exerts her will to make our land a haven once more. That is why she sent us out, to retrieve those who would come and live in our utopia of green and receive her blessing before it extinguishes. To retrieve the Blessed Students she promised she would not lose, before it is too late."
{VIP}
Pietro had him by the lapels before he could say another word. "Stop talking in circles," the albino growled dangerously, madness enhancing his savage edge. "What do you mean, 'dims day by day'? You saying she's sick?"
Alvin gurgled a little, and Pietro eased his hold enough for him to breathe. The man rubbed at his neck, and said, "No."
Sighing with relief, Pietro let go of the robe completely, but stiffened under the wanderer's next words.
"She's dying."
"Nein!" came a soft voice from the bed.
Pietro was fury incarnate, he turned on Alvin, eyes blazing, and exploded, "*Dying*? You come all this way to give us hope that there's something left in the world apart from this... this fucking *wasteland*, only to tell us that your 'Goddess'," here, there was a sneer the likes of which only sceptics and madmen can achieve, "Is *dying*?!"
Alvin looked profoundly distressed, and gazed around at all of them bleakly. "We tried everything we could," he explained hastily, shielding himself from another attack, "But her sickness doesn't come from any disease or illness. She is simply... tired. She withers a little more each morning, as the green abounds."
"She must have pushed herself too far healing the land," Kurt's voice cracked. He bowed his head. "That sounds just like something Ororo would do. She never... never spared herself for us. Why would it be any different now? Ach, Tapferes[1]."
Robyn reached up with the handkerchief and brushed it against his fur, mopping up his renewed grief. "Kurti, don't be sad. Please?" He didn't answer her, and she gazed impotently around the room, not knowing what to do.
Robyn hated it when Kurti was sad. When he felt pain, so did she. Many were the nights she'd cried to herself when he was gone because he hurt so much of the time. Nothing seemed to help him. She used to think it was because he was lonely, because his friends were all gone. But then they found Pie-Pie, and Miss Kitty and Mr. Lance, and he was *still* so sad. She understood only a little of his melancholy, but knew that somehow it was attributed to what he'd lost. The people he'd known before the Bad Times came.
_The people he used to know..._
All at once, a thought struck the little cat-girl. An idea that made the spark of hope Pie-Pie had created when they found him flare inside her chest once more.
"Kurti," she said breathlessly, and caught his chin in her hands. She pulled him to face her, gently but firmly, and met his gaze with her own. "Kurti, we could go to the green place. We could go and see the Goddess. Alvin could take us there, couldn't he? It... it sounds a lot nicer than Bayville. There aren't any hunters, are there?" This last question was directed at Alvin, who nodded, still keeping one eye on the seething Pietro.
But the albino was listening intently to Robyn, a different, hopeful, almost pleading light replacing the insanity in his eyes. The same expression was mirrored in the faces of both Lance and Kitty, and they all of them watched the tête-à-tête between elf and child with bated breath, like it was the most important summit of leaders in the history of the world.
Robyn continued, childish excitement etching her furry face. "Kurti, we *could*. We could go to the green place, and you could see her... the Goddess lady, we could go live with her. It'd be just like it was before the Bad Times. Like you told me. No more hunters, no more going hungry. We could be free. Kurti, please say yes. *Please*, say we can leave here and go with Mr. Alvin to his home."
"The Goddess would welcome you," the zealot put in, nodding emphatically. "I could take you to her. The journey is long and arduous, but what waits at the end is pure paradise. I would gladly lead you hence."
"Liebling, I - "
"Please?" Robyn cut Kurt off, tone switching slightly to include a note of desperation. "You hate it here, I know you do. And... and I worry about you all the time when you go out. Last night... I-I-I thought you weren't going to come back at all. I thought you'd left me for good. Please, Kurti. I don't want to risk losing you again. I want you to be happy. This... this Ororo lady sounds nice. She has all the things you talk about in the Story About Before. She has grass, Kurti, *grass*. Just like you told me about. Wouldn't it be nice to stand on proper grass again?" A stray tear tracked a path through her cheek fur. "Please," she finished simply "Please, Kurti.".
Kurt looked at her, looked into her eyes. How could he leave Bayville when he hadn't yet repented for what he'd done? All the pain he'd caused?
Over the top of her head he caught Lance's eye, and the older boy turned away, knowing what was probably going through Kurt's mind at that precise second.
Pietro stood in the centre of the room, something akin to desperation tincturing his ice-chip eyes. All his choler had evaporated, and now he gazed at Kurt like a lost and frightened child - quite unlike any of his other incarnations. Egotistical Quicksilver, 'janitor' of a destroyed Bayville, madman, big brother to Robyn - he was none of those anymore. He was just... Pietro. Everything had been stripped away until only this raw emotion stared out at the world, watching and waiting for Kurt's decision.
The elf jolted suddenly as he realised that whatever he said now would affect all of them. He didn't understand how or why, but somehow, this assortment of motley mutants had come to look upon him as their leader. Kitty, Hope and Lance, Pietro... Robyn. Whatever he decided to do, they'd follow him, because they had no place else to go anymore. No place left to run. What did the world have to offer them, mutant survivors? Kurt had helped them so far; brought Hope into the world, given them advice and a place to stay, risking his life to keep them safe. He was as much a leader now as Cyclops had been before.
Robyn gazed soulfully at him, and the black cat on her shoulder fixed him with a blank stare. Kurt found himself returning it, unable to meet the eyes of anybody else in the room. The cat didn't blink, and neither did Kurt. Gold and green. Green and gold.
_Green..._
Robyn started as Kurt cleared his throat. "Ja, liebchen," he rasped, smiling wanly. "Let's go. Let's leave. There's no place for us here anymore. Perhaps there we can make a new life for ourselves."
Robyn smiled through her tears, and hugged her brother again. The cat meowed but hung on as Kurt returned the embrace, stroking the little girl's hair, and a collective sigh went up from around the boxy room.
"You'll like Ororo, Kleines. She's nice, and kind and wise. And when we get there, I'll show you grass, and we'll stand on it together when its wet with morning dew, just like I told you."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] Brave one
Seventh Fragment ~ 'Choices'
*******************
In the beginning, there was life, and then the people killed it. The Goddess mourned for the lost, and the skies turned dry so She could shed tears. And the madness still reigned, and death stalked the land. The Goddess fled the madness, joining with the skies for as long as She could.
When She came to Earth again, the people had left very little. The plants were dying, because the Great Plague had made the skies dirty. Yet the Goddess felt mercy, and nourished the soil where She fell with rain, and opened the clouds so the sun could warm the Earth.
She was weak in her sorrow for the world, and could only do so much. And the people saw Her and they knew Her. So when She succumbed to the frailties of Her human body, they gave Her shelter and food.
And the Goddess was grateful, and She cared for the people and the land. And She taught them of the Great Teacher, and of the Blessed Students, and the lost and the found and the hope of the future.
And the people bought Her offerings of green things, and they tended them in Her name.
And through the grace of the Goddess, the land turned green, and the people had plants to nourish them, and to feed their cattle. And the people were prosperous, and loved the Goddess. And the Goddess loved them back.
And She said unto the people, 'Go forth and seek out the survivors, and give unto them the plants, and tell them of My love.' And the people went out, for so great was the Goddess' love that she would save what little was left, and heal the world of the scars that the people had wrought.
Sing Her praises, and bless her name, the mighty Goddess of the weather, Ororo.
*******************
All those assembled gaped openly as Alvin finished his reverent litany. His words echoed around Kurt's small room long after he'd finished, and silence reigned in their wake.
The zealot wiped a tear from his ear and sniffed, nose red and eyes puffy. Fumbling in the pocket of his robe, he drew out a small handkerchief. It was bright yellow, and dotted with tiny cartoon kitten faces. The fact that he owned such a thing would've seemed laughable a few minutes ago, when they'd deemed him screwy, but now....
Now, hardly anybody noticed the odd scrap of fabric. They were too busy closing their jaws and slotting eyeballs back into sockets.
Robyn was the first to speak. "Green things?" she whispered. " Where you come from there are green things? Like... like *grass*?"
Alvin paused in the handkerchief's ascent and nodded. "The Goddess is powerful. She brought back all She could from before the Plague. Our land is lush and fertile now, and we live in peace."
"It sounds wonderful," said Kitty, cradling Hope in her arms. "I almost don't remember what proper green things look like."
"I've *never* seen grass," Robyn whispered in delight, "Only heard about them in the Story About Before."
The baby grizzled a little, and the blind girl dutifully lifted her to her breast. Nobody batted an eyelid at the sudden showing of flesh. Considering it had been such a short amount of time since they'd all met, they'd already become used to each other's habits and necessities.
The group of assorted mutants had all gone through to Kurt's room when Alvin awoke and Lance demanded he finally explain himself. The zealot had been more than happy to tell of his beloved Goddess and his mission, but insisted that the 'Blessed Student' hear too. Since the elf couldn't be moved very easily, they'd traipsed through to listen with him to the answers everyone had wondered about since first spotting Alvin out in the street with the Pig Brothers.
Pietro and Kurt, however, weren't only concerned with the idea that someone had brought nature back into this dark world once more. Both of them gawked, faces open at Alvin at the name he'd spoken. The name neither of them had heard outside their own thoughts in four long years.
"Daniels' aunt..." Pietro breathed, as if not believing what he was hearing. "*She's* the Goddess? Oh Jesus H... Oh crap... She - she doesn't know... Oh no..." He trailed off into incoherent babbling, muttering words so fast they were a mere hum and rubbing his temples with tapering fingertips.
Kurt, however, was silent. He stared at Alvin like he was a mere apparition. One of Pietro's ghosts, perhaps, or some shade from his own nightmares come to taunt him.
Ororo was dead. She *had* to be. After Scott and Jean were killed... she was gone. Just like Logan. He'd never found her body, but there had been blood. He'd *smelled* her blood in the aftermath of that terrible ambush, just as clearly as he'd seen his friends' bodies.
Yet Alvin knew her, and he knew her powers too. He knew of her love of plants and all things green. He knew of her aversion to fighting. Little things, things nobody should know unless they'd spent time with her. That must mean... perhaps... Was it even possible?
"She's alive?" he murmured at last.
Robyn looked up where she sat next to him on the bed, brown eyes worried. The strange cat - forgotten in the telling of the story - had taken up residence in her lap, and watched the elf through slits in green pools, as if understanding his thoughts and reaction where the little girl could not.
"Kurti?" Robyn reached up to stroke his cheek. He didn't even acknowledge her touch. "Kurti, what's wrong? Didn't you like the story?"
"All this time I thought she was dead, like the others," Kurt went on, "And she was alive." Tears made the fur beneath his eyes wet, but he didn't brush them away.
Kitty and Lance were confused. "You know this Goddess lady?"
"I knew her," Kurt replied, shaking his head sadly, "Once. We were on the same team. Lived together. She was... she was part of my family."
More tears splashed down, and Robyn dislodged the cat to hug him as tight as wasn't painful. The feline mewled a bit, and clambered onto the child's shoulder instead. Batting out a paw, it caught a lock of indigo hair, as if patting Kurt to make him feel better too.
"Kurti?" The Sad Times were starting again. Robyn felt her own tears start to fall. Tears of helplessness that she couldn't do anything to alleviate her brother's pain; that she couldn't just cuddle him and make all the bad things go away like he did for her.
Lance winced, remembering the conversation of earlier. _Ouch._ "But isn't that good news? That she's alive and well?"
"She is alive," Alvin cut in, snagging all their attentions back again. "But she is not well."
"What?" Pietro broke from his mutterings to stare hotly at the zealot, and demanded, "Whaddyameansheain'twell?"
Alvin took a moment to offer Robyn his handkerchief for her to wipe her eyes before answering. Then, he sighed. "The Goddess is wise and great, but she is not eternal. The light of our order dims day by day as she exerts her will to make our land a haven once more. That is why she sent us out, to retrieve those who would come and live in our utopia of green and receive her blessing before it extinguishes. To retrieve the Blessed Students she promised she would not lose, before it is too late."
{VIP}
Pietro had him by the lapels before he could say another word. "Stop talking in circles," the albino growled dangerously, madness enhancing his savage edge. "What do you mean, 'dims day by day'? You saying she's sick?"
Alvin gurgled a little, and Pietro eased his hold enough for him to breathe. The man rubbed at his neck, and said, "No."
Sighing with relief, Pietro let go of the robe completely, but stiffened under the wanderer's next words.
"She's dying."
"Nein!" came a soft voice from the bed.
Pietro was fury incarnate, he turned on Alvin, eyes blazing, and exploded, "*Dying*? You come all this way to give us hope that there's something left in the world apart from this... this fucking *wasteland*, only to tell us that your 'Goddess'," here, there was a sneer the likes of which only sceptics and madmen can achieve, "Is *dying*?!"
Alvin looked profoundly distressed, and gazed around at all of them bleakly. "We tried everything we could," he explained hastily, shielding himself from another attack, "But her sickness doesn't come from any disease or illness. She is simply... tired. She withers a little more each morning, as the green abounds."
"She must have pushed herself too far healing the land," Kurt's voice cracked. He bowed his head. "That sounds just like something Ororo would do. She never... never spared herself for us. Why would it be any different now? Ach, Tapferes[1]."
Robyn reached up with the handkerchief and brushed it against his fur, mopping up his renewed grief. "Kurti, don't be sad. Please?" He didn't answer her, and she gazed impotently around the room, not knowing what to do.
Robyn hated it when Kurti was sad. When he felt pain, so did she. Many were the nights she'd cried to herself when he was gone because he hurt so much of the time. Nothing seemed to help him. She used to think it was because he was lonely, because his friends were all gone. But then they found Pie-Pie, and Miss Kitty and Mr. Lance, and he was *still* so sad. She understood only a little of his melancholy, but knew that somehow it was attributed to what he'd lost. The people he'd known before the Bad Times came.
_The people he used to know..._
All at once, a thought struck the little cat-girl. An idea that made the spark of hope Pie-Pie had created when they found him flare inside her chest once more.
"Kurti," she said breathlessly, and caught his chin in her hands. She pulled him to face her, gently but firmly, and met his gaze with her own. "Kurti, we could go to the green place. We could go and see the Goddess. Alvin could take us there, couldn't he? It... it sounds a lot nicer than Bayville. There aren't any hunters, are there?" This last question was directed at Alvin, who nodded, still keeping one eye on the seething Pietro.
But the albino was listening intently to Robyn, a different, hopeful, almost pleading light replacing the insanity in his eyes. The same expression was mirrored in the faces of both Lance and Kitty, and they all of them watched the tête-à-tête between elf and child with bated breath, like it was the most important summit of leaders in the history of the world.
Robyn continued, childish excitement etching her furry face. "Kurti, we *could*. We could go to the green place, and you could see her... the Goddess lady, we could go live with her. It'd be just like it was before the Bad Times. Like you told me. No more hunters, no more going hungry. We could be free. Kurti, please say yes. *Please*, say we can leave here and go with Mr. Alvin to his home."
"The Goddess would welcome you," the zealot put in, nodding emphatically. "I could take you to her. The journey is long and arduous, but what waits at the end is pure paradise. I would gladly lead you hence."
"Liebling, I - "
"Please?" Robyn cut Kurt off, tone switching slightly to include a note of desperation. "You hate it here, I know you do. And... and I worry about you all the time when you go out. Last night... I-I-I thought you weren't going to come back at all. I thought you'd left me for good. Please, Kurti. I don't want to risk losing you again. I want you to be happy. This... this Ororo lady sounds nice. She has all the things you talk about in the Story About Before. She has grass, Kurti, *grass*. Just like you told me about. Wouldn't it be nice to stand on proper grass again?" A stray tear tracked a path through her cheek fur. "Please," she finished simply "Please, Kurti.".
Kurt looked at her, looked into her eyes. How could he leave Bayville when he hadn't yet repented for what he'd done? All the pain he'd caused?
Over the top of her head he caught Lance's eye, and the older boy turned away, knowing what was probably going through Kurt's mind at that precise second.
Pietro stood in the centre of the room, something akin to desperation tincturing his ice-chip eyes. All his choler had evaporated, and now he gazed at Kurt like a lost and frightened child - quite unlike any of his other incarnations. Egotistical Quicksilver, 'janitor' of a destroyed Bayville, madman, big brother to Robyn - he was none of those anymore. He was just... Pietro. Everything had been stripped away until only this raw emotion stared out at the world, watching and waiting for Kurt's decision.
The elf jolted suddenly as he realised that whatever he said now would affect all of them. He didn't understand how or why, but somehow, this assortment of motley mutants had come to look upon him as their leader. Kitty, Hope and Lance, Pietro... Robyn. Whatever he decided to do, they'd follow him, because they had no place else to go anymore. No place left to run. What did the world have to offer them, mutant survivors? Kurt had helped them so far; brought Hope into the world, given them advice and a place to stay, risking his life to keep them safe. He was as much a leader now as Cyclops had been before.
Robyn gazed soulfully at him, and the black cat on her shoulder fixed him with a blank stare. Kurt found himself returning it, unable to meet the eyes of anybody else in the room. The cat didn't blink, and neither did Kurt. Gold and green. Green and gold.
_Green..._
Robyn started as Kurt cleared his throat. "Ja, liebchen," he rasped, smiling wanly. "Let's go. Let's leave. There's no place for us here anymore. Perhaps there we can make a new life for ourselves."
Robyn smiled through her tears, and hugged her brother again. The cat meowed but hung on as Kurt returned the embrace, stroking the little girl's hair, and a collective sigh went up from around the boxy room.
"You'll like Ororo, Kleines. She's nice, and kind and wise. And when we get there, I'll show you grass, and we'll stand on it together when its wet with morning dew, just like I told you."
*******************
To Be Continued...
*******************
[1] Brave one