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Jolie rolled over in the soft bed, it had been by far the most comfortable thing she had ever slept on, but still she had trouble getting to sleep. She could feel the scrolls tugging at her, but she knew she couldn't seek them. Not yet, she would wait it out until she had found some safe way to retrieve them and escape. It felt like she had finally dozed off when she heard a knocking at her door. Ororo opened the door quietly and poked her head in, she didn't seem too concerned about Jolie's privacy.
"The rest of the academy is having breakfast, if you want some food I recommend you get some. The Professor will see you in his office after breakfast." Ororo left after having said that. She obviously had no desire to learn more about Jolie.
Jolie's heart beat a little faster at the mention of the office, and a small hint of relief that the Professor had not been seriously hurt. She managed to find a plain pair of jeans and a sweater in the dresser and opened the door cautiously. There were groups of kids wandering the hallway that had been so desolate the night before. She felt a little out of place in the crowded place, she slowly stepped forward and closed the door behind her. She could smell the food, and her stomach certainly voiced its need, but she wasn't sure where she needed to go. Looking around she decided to follow where most of the kids were gathering, down the hall and into a larger cafeteria looking area. There were large windows that showed a courtyard that she guessed, was where people usually ate, but the fresh snow and cold wind seemed to discourage that.
Jolie looked around and saw a number of tables filled with kids who were eating and talking. Jolie peered through the kitchen door to find a young girl who was rapidly dissolving and creating new arms as she juggled a number of different foods that she was apparently cooking. Jolie grabbed a tray and a plate and dumped as much food as she could from the good sized buffet onto her plate. She found herself an empty table and immediately began to eat.
It wasn't long before she heard someone laughing at her. She slowly looked up and swallowed her last bite of food. She looked up to see a confident looking boy with blond hair, longer that usual he ran his fingers through it while clicking a silver lighter open and closed over and over again. "Something funny?" She was annoyed by this young man and wanted nothing more than to fry his brain just the minute, but she steeled her anger and continued eating.
"Sorry, didn't mean anything by it, you just look starved." He pulled out a chair and sat down across from her. "I heard you came in last night."
Jolie stopped eating very suddenly, her throat had become very dry. "Yea." She mumbled it noncommittally. She was certainly in trouble if the entire academy knew what she was up to.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I was a runaway too. Folk's didn't think much of their freak son." He flicked the lighter shut a little more brutally than before. "Name's Pyro." He held out his hand.
She shook it but gave him a weird look. "What kind of a name is Pyro?"
He shrugged, "It's John, but Pyro's a nickname. It's what my friends call me."
"We'll it's nice to meet you Pyro. My name's Jolie." Jolie had nothing against gaining allies within the building. "I need to go talk with the Professor, but it was nice talking to you." She smiled and quickly disposed of her food tray before she walked back down the hall.
It took her a moment to remember where his office was, but her senses managed to lead her in the right direction. She knocked on the large oak double doors.
Come in.
She felt uncomfortable with him speaking directly into her mind, but she assumed he knew where his boundaries were with her. She opened the door and found him sitting in his leather chair again. "Please, sit." He pointed to a pair of cushioned seats in front of the desk. She sat down quickly, and dared a passing glance at the wall of books. "I was hoping, that we could discuss a few things." Jolie turned her attention back to Xavier, those same eyes calculating her like the night before.
"Like what?" She hoped he had no desire to repeat what he had tried before. Surely he knew that there would be no change.
"Why you are here of course." Jolie's eyes flickered back to the wall of books. Xavier followed her sight. "Do you like to read?"
Jolie nodded, it was true enough, when she had a place she called home she enjoyed reading well enough. "My mum taught me, I think..." She trailed off a little doubtfully; most of her past seemed like it was covered in a thick fog to her.
"Ah," Xavier smiled; he rolled over to the bookshelf and pulled off a red leather bound book. "Have you read much Cannon?" Jolie shook her head. "No, of course not. He never got very big, good friend of mine though." He handed her the book, she took it politely but was tiring of his small talk.
"How much can you tell me?" He looked to her, seriouslness replaced his earlier light demeanor.
Jolie just shrugged. "I don't think I can tell you anything. I was bound."
Xavier nodded thoughtfully, "What can you tell me about yourself then?"
Jolie was a little surprised by the question, but she again found herself empty of answers. "Not much really. I don't remember where I came from. What I do comes in bits and pieces, but none of it makes sense to me..." She trailed off, her past had been bothering her of late. Flashes in her dreams, the soft voice of her mother, but when she tried to focus it all vanished back into that gray haze.
"Who do you live with?" Xavier noticed her discomfort and tried again. "Do you live with your family?"
Jolie shook her head, "Not with my parents. No."
"Do you live with other mutants?" Xavier could tell by her expression that she either could not tell him, or refused to do so. "Do you realize they are manipulating you?" His voice was forceful now. He prodded into the weakest parts of her mind in an effort to turn her resolve. "You have no control over what you can or cannot say. Does this not frighten you?"
Jolie swallowed hard, she couldn't deny what he was saying, but she knew it was for the good of the Alliance. If she were able to speak then their secret would be revealed, and that just couldn't happen. She had earned her place among their ranks and now she would prove to them her loyalty. "There is nothing you can do to make me speak."
"Not even to find your parents?" He pried further into the gray parts of her memories. They had not protected those thoughts from him, mostly because they thought them unimportant. "I can see them, but you cannot remember their names. What kind of people are you protecting that they would take your family away from you?"
Jolie shook her head, "I'm not going to listen to you, they said you'd lie to me." She was uncomfortable now sitting in his office, and had a strong desire to leave.
"So there is a 'they'..." Xavier said more to himself than to Jolie. He stared blankly into the corner of the room. "I don't want to force you to tell me anything you don't want." He looked back at Jolie. "But I would like you to take some classes while you remain with us. It will help you bring back your memories I hope, whether you choose to share any of that with us, is up to you."
Jolie kept her eyes glued on the floor. "Are you finished?" The Professor nodded and Jolie got up quickly without saying anything more. She closed the door behind her, and Xavier went back to thinking.
Scott Summers sat in one of the smaller common rooms across from the front entry. He twirled a single white feather between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes didn't stray from its form, it was a perfectly white, not a blemish on it. His mind wandered from the feather to the girl with the wings for only a moment, he looked up to find Jolie staring at him from the door of Xavier's office. He folded the feather quickly in his palm and turned his head so it would look like he was watching the TV, his eyes however, hidden by his dark glasses followed her movements. She smiled slightly before she turned down the hallway and walked back to her room. Scott quickly pulled the feather back out, he was worried he had crippled it by folding it in his hand, but once he pulled it back out, it sprang back to its original gentle curve.