When Ah found Remy, he an' Nita were standin' close. Closer than they shoulda had a right ta be. Somethin' 'bout it made me not like it straight off.
"Remy, Ah've been callin' ya forever."
He smiled. Charmin'. All o' which didn't convince me for a second. Felt ta me like Ah'd walked partway in on a conversation Ah wasn't supposed ta hear. "Took me longer dan I'd planned t' find de torches."
He handed 'em ta me with a significant look that Ah understood ta mean that he didn't want me ta stick 'round long enough ta ask a lotta questions. Ah noticed he was favorin' one hand, keepin' th' other tucked close in ta his side. Ah worried th' inside o' my lip in frustration. We hadn't had enough time ta ourselves lately. Ah didn't like th' smell o' th' situation. Not one little bit.
"Remy..."
Nita tapped her foot slowly on th' ground. Not lookin' like she wanted ta stick around there for much longer. Ah silently urged her ta leave. Damn what Remy wanted. Ah was in no mood ta be stalled anymore.
"Better get back t' de house cher." He pushed me with just his fingertips against my shoulder. Caught off guard, Ah stumbled half a step backward. That hurt. Ah mean, emotionally speakin'. Physically, not at all.
"Ah guess," Ah said. Ta me it sounded sulky, but Remy didn't seem ta notice.
Hasty, Ah turned back ta the house. Each step seemed slower. Ah dug th' toes o' my shoes into th' packed sand, pushin' up trails. Ah bit my lip hard ta keep from doin' somethin' embarassin' like cryin'. Like turnin' around ta run after th' both o' them an' demand ta know what it is they were doin'. Ah trusted Remy, really.
Mostly, if Ah was bein' strictly honest with myself.
Except that Nita was pretty in this weird way that made it hard ta look away from her. Except that Ah couldn't forget th' way Remy'd been holdin' his hand. Ah didn't know what ta make of everythin'. How everythin' could piece together an' make sense.
Damn. Ah couldn't even decide if they were foolin' around or tryin' ta kill one another.
Halfway back, Ah knew, more than anythin', that Ah needed someone ta listen. Ah dropped th' torches on th' ground and went straight ta Kitty's cabin.
Ah went in without even botherin' ta knock. Kitty was sittin' in a chair by th' open window, her feet propped against th' windowsill, th' chair tilted back on two legs. She didn't seem all that surprised ta see me come in. It was so strange. Th' look on her face was calm. Everythin' Ah'd been meanin' ta tell her just flew straight outta my head. Replaced by nerves firin' in erratic bursts.
"Hey," Ah said.
"Hey," she replied. "How's it going?"
"Uh...not bad. How're you?"
"A lot better, actually."
"Yeah?"
Kitty released her feet an' th' chair settled with a thump. "I called up the Professor. He's gonna let me come back." Ah opened my mouth, not so sure 'bout what would come out, but Kitty beat me to it. "Don't even try and convince me that I'm doing the wrong thing, Rogue. I thought about it a lot. I think that's a big part of why I've felt so crazy lately." She laughed softly. "I mean, not counting the mercury and stuff. I know it's cool to pretend we're all adult and junk and live independently, but I guess I don't really see the point anymore."
"Not like it was much better back at th' Institute," Ah reminded her.
Kitty shook her head. "There were some problems, but there's nowhere perfect. I think being here let me see that. Like what Nita was saying about how you can't tell how a place is by what it looks like."
Mention of Nita's name brought me back ta my original point.
"Ah wanted ta talk ta you 'bout that."
"What?"
"Nita. Ah ran into her an' Remy just now."
Kitty raised a hand, shook her head violently. "Woah, woah. I don't want to hear any more of that stuff. Don't make yourself crazy. Remy wouldn't..."
Ah sighed noisily an' flopped backwards onto her bed. "Ah know. At least Ah thought so, but when Ah saw them...they looked guilty, Kitty."
Th' bed dipped when Kitty climbed up ta kneel alongside me. She pursed her lips. "That girl's up to something."
"Yeah?"
"Uh huh. I can feel it. John thought she was totally cute and John's never attracted to normal girls."
A thought occurred ta me. When Ah brushed my fingertips over her knees; her skin was cool. "What about John, Kitty?"
"Maybe he can come back with me?" her voice was a kinda bitter hopeful, like she knew everythin' wasn't gonna work out all neat an' perfect that way, but she still had ta say it anyway. "Maybe we can all go?"
There was a tight knot in my stomach at that. Ah swallowed real hard so that it wouldn't move up into my throat when Ah shook my head. "Ya know that isn't how it'll happen."
"I think we should talk about it."
"Okay," Ah promised. "Later."
"Okay." Her voice sounded thicker than before. "Um, so remind me again why we're not sneaking around to blow the whole lid off this Nita-Remy thing?"
"Ah don't know..." Ah drew th' words out.
"Come on. We can't sit here all day just talking and pretending like we don't want to cry." Ah raised myself up on my elbows so Ah could look her square in th' face, all ready ta protest. She tilted her head an' looked at me curiously. "We're such girls sometimes, I swear."
"Speak for your damn self!" Ah shot back as gentle as Ah could.
Kitty sniffed hard ta be done with her sadness. We both knew she was right.
"Why don't y' pretend like I'm an idiot and explain why y' t'ought it was a good idea t' break my wrist?"
Nita opened her eyes ingenue-wide and blinked. "I what?"
Gingerly, trying not t' jostle de t'ing, which was puffing up bigger by de moment, I used my good hand t' raise my wrist. "Here."
Nita's hands flew up t' cover her mouth. "Oh," she said faintly.
"Why don't y' keep pretending and explain why y' t'ought it was a good idea t' threaten me." Could feel de anger building up inside and dat wasn't a good t'ing, but tell de truth, mebbe it was de only reasonable response t' de situation.
"No," she finished just as soft, shaking her head wit'out taking her hands away from her face. Grabbed her shoulder wit' de good hand, mindful dat it might be asking for trouble. Didn't want t' have no good hands.
"Nita!" I said sharply.
She stopped abruptly and looked at me. "I didn't want things to turn out like this." She raked her hands back through her hair. "Namor was right."
Somet'ing familiar was swimming in her dark eyes. Wit' a start, I had t' acknowledge de look of regret. Didn't know why it was so hard t' remember sometimes dat de LeBeau family didn't have de key and copyright for dat particular emotion. "Namor?"
She was quiet, breathing in and out through her nose very slowly. When she spoke again, she seemed much calmer. "Namor. He's my cousin." Her hair was wedged mostly behind her ears and I couldn't help t'inking dat dey'd mebbe gotten more pointed since I'd noticed dem last.
Dis wasn't exactly clarifying de situation. "Your cousin."
But Nita wasn't paying much attention t' what I was saying. She touched my broken wrist very softly. "I'm sorry."
De way her fingers lingered made me jumpy inside. "I'm tougher dan dat, cher. Don't worry." Smiled, but I could feel dat it wasn't really reaching my eyes.
She shook her head. "No, really, let me fix that, okay?" When I couldn't t'ink of a way t' discourage her fast enough, she disappeared in de direction of her cabin for a minute. Braced against a tree, I tilted my head back and let de dark patterns of palm leaves turn into nonsense against de dimming sky. Wondered what ever happened t' my nice, restful vacation. Nita reappeared wit' a handful of gauze wrappings and a thin board. "Here." She took my hand again, careful not t' jostle my wrist. "Sit down." De girl had me over a barrel. I sat. She was cross-legged, my hand in her lap, practically. "This might..."
De rest of what she said was blotted out in a flare of pain as she adjusted my wrist into one line and bound it tight wit' de gauze. If I'd been ready for it I might have...but non. After what seemed like de longest time ever, she patted de top of my hand lightly.
"Who's Namor? What did he warn you about?" I managed, steadier dan I felt.
"He's my..."
"So y' said. But dat doesn't tell me anyt'ing."
"We...we don't do well with so much oxygen. It makes us...not ourselves."
"'We'? You're not a mutant."
"Not exactly."
"But you're not human."
She stood, brushed herself off. De wings at her ankles fluttered. "Not exactly."
"Not exactly?" Climbed t' my feet myself.
"We're close. As far as I can tell the two species are very close." She looked tired all of a sudden. Almost deflated.
"Y' okay, cher?"
"I'd better get down to the water. I haven't been in enough today." It was a struggle t' keep up wit' her, her speed poured on and herself practically skimming over de ground. De laws of gravity not applying. She shed pieces of clothing as she went, but I didn't t'ink 'bout dat much. I couldn't stop t'inking dat if she got down t' de water she'd disappear somewhere where I didn't t'ink I could follow.
She was waist deep and I was low on breath.
"Nita!" When she turned a quarter back, I could see de shadowy curve under her breast dat created a tight crescent wit' de line of her neck. Wit'out answering, she slid into de water as easy as a seal might. "Merde," I muttered under my breath.
Stripped off as much clothing as I t'ought would help and I plunged in after her. Was hard t' see anytin'g in de darkened water and my eyes burned from de salt. I'd almost given up when I caught a wisp of movement in de corner of my vision. Less graceful dan I would've liked in de water, I still managed t' catch hold. We rose, sputtering, t' de surface, my hand tangled in her hair.
"Do you want to drown?" she demanded angrily. "Because I could arrange it."
"T'ink I deserve more of an explanation dan you're giving before y' swim off wherever it is y' came from, cher."
She let out a genuine peal of laughter. I scowled and dat only made her laugh harder. "I'm not going anywhere. I'd have to be crazy to give up all my thesis work now."
Don't know dat I'd ever been more genuinely confused. Which is, naturally, de moment when Kitty and Rogue decided t' appear on de shore out of nowhere.
"Remy!" Was hard t' tell from a distance whether Rogue was upset or not. Not dat finding me wet wit' a naked girl was exactly de best of any world.
"This might as well be a goddamn Three Stooges movie," Nita grumbled. She looked pointedly down at my hand, dat was still caught in her hair. "Do you mind?"
I released her hair and waded toward shore, holding my soggy, splinted wrist in front of me. Mebbe de white bandages would act like a surrender flag.
Aro: Doesn't that suck? At least she tried to make reparations. Atlanteans seem to have some biologically-motivated anger management issues.
ishandahalf: I had a friend who kinda burned water once. She was trying to make ramen. But I think that cooking is mostly a matter of paying attention pretty closely at first. Later comes the improvisation.
kitsu black: I am not making up the ankle wings, although I find them rather silly and strange on a water-based species. I mean, she's not a flying fish or anything, but I'm trying to stick with canon here.
Jeanne Marie: My brain has been working slowly as of late, but you're welcome to borrow it at any time. I only thought to give you fair warning. (They did the puberty thing in the Spiderman movie and I was all, "Oh, so the web thing is like premature ejaculation? Hahahaeww." Hm.) I like Remy and Rogue because their makeout sessions are often fraught with mild amounts of peril. And John's totally on the mend. I'm guess he'll pop up again next chapter.
Taineyah: Um, shockingly enough I know how I'm going to end this puppy, so hopefully updates will be more frequent.
Seven Sunningdale: I'm sure they did clean up after themselves. And guys who cook are sexy. Or maybe I'm just biased because my boyfriend's coming over to cook for me on Wednesday. Hm. Nita's not quite a mutant. She's related to Namor. Like I said, I find the wings kinda silly, but they gots ta go in.