Chapter 7:
The rain poured down outside the Xavier Institute late one night, the drops echoing on the roof of the building. All were sound asleep in their various beds as the clock struck three in the morning. However, one occupant of this mansion was wide-awake and not in her room and that was Sienna. She was sitting on the window seat of a small room with her knees hugged against her body as she stared out silently. Dressed in black, the figure was almost invisible in the darkened room except for the moonlight that illuminated the room. A tear was evident on her cheek and she shrugged it away carefully as she watched the moon travel across the sky. She stayed in that posture for a long time, acknowledging no movement or noise that came from the other areas of the Mansion.
The girl was not the only occupant of the house that was wide awake by then, however. Above her on the second floor, the form of the Wolverine tossed and turned sleeplessly as a nightmare gripped his mind. Waking suddenly, he gasped for air and then got out and fastened a pair of trousers around his waist. Padding down the stairs, he grabbed a soda from the fridge and grumbled softly about there being no beer in the school. Ripping off the top, he drank about half and then took the bottle with him as he walked towards the stairs. About halfway up, he turned and saw a small flash of emerald green. Sighing, he walked towards the source and stopped in the doorway as his eyes recognised the form of Sienna perched near the sill.
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Minutes later, Sienna turned and started as she made out the form of Logan. Standing, she watched his eyes as she smiled shyly at him and twirled a piece of hair in her fingers. The movement Logan noticed and he reached out a hand to pry it away. Stopping, she looked at him wide-eyed as his fingers swept gently across her hand and moved the lock out of the fingers. Taking it, he stroked it gently and then let it hang as she nodded but without saying a word. Her green eyes seemed to search his soul and he shifted uncomfortably and then spoke.
"I doubt you can answer this but have you ever had the nightmares of Weapon X? I couldn't sleep so I came down and found you. Why do you sit here night after night without a sound?"
Sienna nodded and then shrugged as if to suggest she didn't know why. Motioning him over, she pointed to the stars and then signed something fast. Logan gave her a quizzical look and she patted the window seat carefully and then hunched up her legs again. Seating himself next to her, he looked out into space and spoke quietly. "It's hard for us, isn't it? To have no past we remember or to be trapped with the memories of a human corrupting our souls and marring our bodies. The others don't understand, they all have the memory of their past life but not us. You never knew anything other than the cell and I can't trust what I remember."
Laying a hand on his arm, she touched it gently and Logan looked at her. Moving a finger along the lines on his hand, Sienna traced the details carefully and then sighed and leaned up against his broad chest. Stroking her hair, Logan wrapped his arms around her slim form and closed his eyes as he breathed in her bodily perfume of cinnamon and baby powder. Even though she never spoke, she was somewhat calming to the bristly Logan. Resting back against the sill, he fell asleep as the green eyes of Sienna glanced out into the darkness and rain. The next morning, she slipped away and sat in the garden. Settling herself against a ceramic statue, Sienna watched the sunlight stream down and smiled.
Life here was peaceful...
