DISCLAIMER: X-Men: Evo belongs to Warner Bros. And Marvel Comics. I have never, and shall never own them, no matter how much I may want to. I've simply warped them to fit my own twisted mind. However, this fic and any original work herein is officially mine, and anyone trying to steal it will find out how painful a weapon a computer mouse can when used by someone with imagination.
WARNINGS: This is an AU (Alternative Universe) fic. Everything has been transplanted into a fantasy universe of my creation. Inspirations, despite what you might initially think, aren't actually from a certain Peter-Jackson-esque film project, since I started work on this before I ever *saw* those movies. Influences rather include InterNutter's spiffy fic 'Mein Teuful' (if you haven't yet read this then go do it *now*!) and various other sources I'll explain later.
CODES:
Hello = Narration
~ Hello ~ = Thought
"Hello" = Character Speaking
*Hello* = Bold
//Hello// = Psychic communication
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry I haven't updated this one in a while, but I kept being bitten by other plotbunnies, the results of which can be found in my account here on ff.net. You can all thank Harry Wriggle for this chapter being brought out at all; since it's primarily because of her prodding that I took the time to tweak it. So here you go, Harry. I hereby dedicate this chapter to you, and all your wonderful arty goodness. And I'll dedicate the next instalment to whomsoever writes a New Mutants fic (and tells me they have. Can't very well dedicate anything if I don't know any names), since I'm of the firm belief they don't get nearly as much attention as they deserve.
You watch, now I've said that they won't get *any* attention whatsoever. What's that great cloud of dust? Oh, that's just all the fanfic authors running for the hills so Scribbler leaves them alone in her gods-awful Author's Notes.
My fanfic competition is still running (how many times have I said that now? I'll shut up when I get some flippin' entries!), and now it's all official on InterNutter's site. Just go look in the contest section on the sidebar. There aren't any actual entries yet (hint-hint), but the rules and stuff are all up for your reading pleasure.
'Step we gaily, on we go....'
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'Of Beast And Blade' By Scribbler
Chapter Ten ~ 'Blood On the Wood'
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'The consciousness of being deemed dead is next to the presumable unpleasantness of being so in reality. One feels like his own ghost unlawfully tenanting a defunct carcass'. ~ Herman Melville
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"Oh, like, quit your whining, Kurt."
"But it still hurts. She didn't even check the water before she pushed me in. I ache all over from the blisters."
"Don't worry, I'm sure someone in the Infirmary can give you something for it."
"Danke Frauline, but I'm afraid the only thing that will make me feel any better is having Underling Blonderkopf move many miles away. Preferably on a permanent basis."
The three teenagers were seated in a small anteroom adjoining the main Infirmary - this being the only place for them until they were properly clothed. As of yet, Kurt and Kitty lacked any proper raiment, and were forced to content themselves with bedding sheets wrapped in toga-like styles around their respective bodies. The costumes were flimsy and not particularly warm, but a good sight more reasonable than the costume of the 'towel-incident' as it was now known.
The only person who truly liked these makeshift costumes was Tabitha, who revelled in sitting as close to Kurt as she could on the small wooden bench, and tousling any bit of blue fur poking through the folds of white fabric that she could reach. The only reason for her current absence was a summons she'd received from an Initiate on the other side of the building, but she'd taken great pleasure in assuring the furry youth that she'd be; 'Right back, and not to worry about a thing, darling.'
Jubilee sat pseudo-demurely in a practised sedate position next to Kitty on another bench across the room. The space was little bigger than the room they'd been in before, except that this one contained a window and several tall cupboards - one of which Kurt was now perched atop, in a pose the two girls could only marvel at.
Jubilee sighed. "You're not the only one. I've had to deal with her for three years - three years! - as a roommate."
"You guys share a room?" Kitty sounded incredulous.
"A dormitory, actually. Good job too. If we were on our own, we probably would have killed each other by now."
"I can imagine," Kurt said, dangling upside down across the top of one cupboard, using only his curiously formed feet as leverage. "I've had some violent thoughts towards her myself, and I haven't even known her that long."
"Well I think that you're both, like, cruel. Tabby can't be *that* bad." Kitty folded her arms, but Jubilee only shook her head.
"You'll see. But don't say we didn't warn you."
Kurt took this opportunity to launch himself off the cupboard, twirling in mid-air to land gracefully on four feet in the centre of the room, tail lashing furiously for balance.
"Stop it, Kurt," Kitty warned him. "That's, like, the third time you've done that. You're making me dizzy just watching you. Give it a rest, already."
"I can't help it, Kätzchen," Kurt apologized. "I'm bored."
Kitty glanced sharply at him, reading the deeper meaning in his flippant words. "Yeah, I'm worried about her too. But they said they'd let us know soon."
"It's just so frustrating!" His spaded tail thumped the floor in agitation. "I mean, I know they're doing all they can to help Rogue, but I still feel so worthless. Like I could be doing something.... anything, instead of sitting around here like a spare part."
"Well, technically speaking, you're not really 'sitting around'," Jubilee pointed out, referring to the numerous displays of fretfulness-induced acrobatic displays they'd borne witness to since Tabby left. "And I have to say, Kurt, that if you *were* in there with them," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the wall behind her; the only thing standing between them and whatever was happening to Rogue. "If you *were*, you'd probably be doing more harm than good. It never pays to get in a healer's way when he or she is working."
"I suppose," Kurt conceded sullenly. "But I just feel so *useless*!"
Quietly, Kitty rose from her seat and crouched beside him, encircling his shoulders with one skinny arm. "Me too. But we have to have faith and keep hoping. It's all we can do now."
Kurt turned to look at her, face mere inches from hers. His golden eyes were full of anguish, and Kitty was startled to see them shine with unshed tears.
"Faith? Hope?" he murmured. "What good did that ever do anyone?"
"Hope has kept more people alive than all the fighting in all the realms ever did," a deep, resonant voice answered.
All three teenagers looked to the doorway, taken aback at this verbal intrusion upon them. The thick oaken door was slightly ajar where Tabby had forgotten to close it, and as they watched it creaked slowly open.
Jubilee uttered a stifled gasp at the figure that was revealed, and quickly scrambled from the bench and fell to her knees, muttering, "Gods, praise be to thee and the one with which I am now faced. By all that is holy, I prostrate myself before the mercy of she who resides in Earth-Realm."
Kurt and Kitty were shocked at her sudden behaviour and curious speech. It was as if the oriental girl was reeling off words she'd long since committed to heart, and the pair looked to the one who could reduce the usually bubbly Jubilee to a reverential bundle, face pressed against the floor.
The figure was tall and more than a little imposing set against the bright backdrop of the torch-lit corridor beyond. Upon closer inspection it became apparent it was a woman, but one such as they had never seen before.
She stood with her hands carefully folded in the wide sleeves of a magenta robe, and gave off a near palpable aura of calm without having to move a muscle. As she stepped into the room, an air of age-old wisdom followed, flowing from her long white hair and making her mahogany skin glow with an inner radiance that diminished the poor trickle of sunlight leaking in through the window. She literally seemed to ooze authority and power, yet it was tinctured by a sense of benevolence and compassion.
She gazed at them both for a moment through fathomless azure eyes, before settling her focus on Kurt, who found he could not look away no matter how much he tried.
"And what use is faith, you ask? Faith has given those same people the will to live on, just as hope empowers their drive to exist in situations so dire, they would have them perish a thousand times over."
Kurt simply stared at her, chin dropped onto his chest, wondering what to say. Something about this woman's presence made him feel instantly alarmed, but at the same time, curiously at ease. Either way, he was lost for words.
The strange woman transferred her eyes to Jubilee, and smiled - not unkindly. "Raise yourself, little one. All are equal within these walls. I will have no-one bow to me as if I were of any more importance than them."
Jubilee peered up at her. "But you're so much greater than I. How can I not bow to you?"
The white-haired woman shook her head. "I am like yourself; no more and no less. I deserve no more awe than you give or are given by your contemporaries. Now child, please, stand up and be seated once more. Benches are for sitting and floors are for standing, not lying down on."
Jubilee gave a half-hearted chuckle, and returned to her seat, brown eyes never leaving the newcomer's face.
For her part, the dark-skinned woman turned back to Kurt and Kitty, who still crouched together on the floor, having frozen in place at her entrance.
"And you, honoured guests. Will you not also take your seats? Unless I am interrupting something by asking you to do so?"
The pair jumped apart, Kitty dropping the arm she'd held around Kurt like a hot coal. Kurt scuffed his foot self-consciously as he edged back to his bench, and Kitty shuffled back to her place, obviously embarrassed at the warm moment they'd been caught in.
The room was silent for a moment, none of the people in it knowing quite what to say, or else unbothered by the quiescence. The door still stood open, creating a carpet of flickering torchlight that wreathed the newcomer woman in an almost ethereal lustre.
Kurt cleared his throat, and warily broke the silence. As he spoke, he suddenly became aware of how young he sounded. How immature and naïve. "Excuse me, but.... who are you?"
Jubilee shot him an appalled look at his directness. When she spoke it was in a tone ringing with comportment, and quite different to the way she usually talked. "Kurt, don't be so forthright; she doesn't have to answer our petty questions. Hold your tongue."
Yet the woman only chuckled - a warm, friendly sound. "There's no need to be so formal, Jubilee."
Jubilee blushed at the familiar use of her name by such an influential person.
"It's only natural that he has questions to which he desires answers. That's why I called in, actually. To enlighten you a bit. It must be difficult, suddenly finding yourselves in a strange place with strange people."
"Ja."
"Like, totally."
She nodded. "My name is Ororo the White, and I am the Mother of this, the Temple of the Way."
"Ororo?"
"Yes. It's not a name you are familiar with, I'm sure. It is an Eastern name, from the far deserts, where sand is plentiful like water and water is as precious as diamonds."
Kitty blinked. "*You're* the Temple Mother? Does that, like, mean that you're in charge around here?"
"I am the guiding figure of this Temple. I oversee all that goes on, and offer my advice and skills when they are needed. So, yes, I suppose you could say that I'm 'in charge'."
"Oh." Kitty couldn't think what to say. Jubilee had only mentioned the Temple Mother in passing, and never said what she was like. She'd envisioned a maternal old woman, weighed down with years and hard labour. Ororo was nothing like she'd imagined. Youthful, composed and beautiful in an exotic, unconventional way, she looked more like an Eastern desert princess than a member of a temple, never mind a Temple *Mother*.
Ororo looked at them both. "Is that all? Surely you have more questions than that. I assure you, I won't bite."
"Ok, then." Kurt hopped up into a more comfortable position, crouching cat-like on the back of the bench. "First things first. We're both very grateful for your kind hospitality in taking us in and tending to us even though you didn't know who we were, but now I have to ask, what exactly *is* this place? I mean.... I know it's a temple, but.... but...."
Ororo crossed the room and leaned her palms on the windowsill, looking out onto the courtyard below. "A good question. I have told you that this is the Temple of The Way, but I'm not surprised that you don't understand what 'The Way' is. Let me explain." Here she paused, as if searching for the right words. Kurt and Kitty listened expectantly, and Jubilee watched with ill-concealed reverence for the older female who'd taken her in as a freakish starving waif and cared for her like a member of her own family.
"The Temple of the Way used to be one of many temples and sanctuaries devoted to the simpler aspects of life. Now we are but one, the last of our kind, and thus, also the last of an era." She sighed. "I'm not explaining things very clearly. Let me try again. Temples are usually houses of gods, as you well know. However, this is where we differ slightly from the norm. 'The Way' is more a style of living that is practised and taught here. We devote ourselves to spirituality rather than a specific deity. Modern life has distanced mortals from whence they came. Many do not remember their humble roots in the wilderness, and 'The Way' aims to remind them of this and so help them better understand the world in which we live. Do you understand?"
They nodded, albeit a little warily.
"A back to nature type deal," Kitty summarized.
"Yes," Ororo replied. "Usually, we're a refuge for people trying to achieve more of a balance with the natural world, as well as giving aid and shelter to those who pass this way. But of late, we have become rather inundated with.... special cases who need our help."
"Changelings."
"Yes. You're very perceptive Mr..."
"Kurt. Just Kurt."
"But how come there are so *many* Changelings here?" Kitty asked. "I mean, this place is, like, teeming with them - us. Whatever. Why do they all come *here*. Surely it'd be better if they stayed in their own towns and villages and let the world know about Changelings and what's happening to the... uh, the magical fabric of the realms."
"You make a valid point, Miss...."
"Pryde. Kitty Pryde. Or you could choose a nickname. I've acquired, like, plenty in the last couple of days."
"I think I'll stick to Kitty. And in answer to your question, the reason so many Changelings seek shelter within our walls are countless and varied. Sometimes they are simply poor souls whose homes - for one reason or another - are no more, and subsequently have no place else to go. Being a Changeling is incidental. Other times, they feel ashamed of their powers. They don't understand what they are, and find their way here by accident. However, these types of scenarios are not always the case." She sighed. A small, sad sigh. "You see, as with all things, not all people are so.... accommodating to Changelings. Some folks believe that they're evil spirits. Demons that need to be cast out. They fear what they cannot understand, and from fear springs hate and violence. The majority of Underlings and Initiates here have been forcibly driven from their homes by frightened people they'd once called friends. They come to us seeking sanctuary and a friendly ear, which we readily give to anyone who asks for it. Over time, we've become known as the one place Changelings can go and be sure of protection, and so more Changelings join us to learn about their new abilities and escape the prejudice that hounds them in the outside world. Our numbers have swelled, but we never turn away a new member. We never have, and we never will, so long as I'm Temple Mother."
Kurt and Kitty sat in silence.
"I had no idea," Kitty said at last. "I lived so far away from other people, I didn't even know what a Changeling *was* until recently."
"Society just isn't ready to accept Changelings properly," Ororo said, matter-of-fact. "But I believe they will - in time. When they learn to see that they're no threat. That they're just human beings who have been given incredible gifts."
" 'They'? Aren't you, like, a Changeling, too?"
"Kitty!" Jubilee hissed. "Don't ask such a personal question. It's rude."
Kitty cast her a sidelong glance. ~Since when did Jubilee start caring about politeness? Perhaps this Ororo woman has, like, more clout around here than we realise. She sure doesn't show it, though. She seems so.... so down to earth and sensible. Not at all like I would have expected.~
Ororo, though, didn't seem to care about such a probing question being asked of her, and answered it placidly. "No, I'm not a Changeling. But I'm not exactly human, either. Let's just leave it at that for now, shall we?"
"But - "
"Now, I think it's my turn to ask *you* two some questions." She turned around to face them, leaning her back against the sill. "My first and foremost priority is the safety and well being of my 'children' and this Temple, so I hope you'll allow me a few queries in favour of their security?"
Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look. Could they really trust her? True, she and the other Temple dwellers they'd met so far had shown them nothing but kindness and generosity - well, everyone except that 'Ray' at the front gate - but then again, so had the innkeeper in Zanninsa, and look what had happened when they trusted *him*.
Yet still.... it was difficult not to believe the authenticity of Ororo. There was just something about her that prompted trust.
Kurt glanced at her. Even with his well-trained eye he could detect nothing but sincerity in her stance. Virtually nobody could hide everything in his or her body language. There was always something - a nervous tic, increased blinking, a twitchy nose - that indicated when a person was being less than truthful. Yet he could see nothing of this nature in her.
Kitty watched Kurt earnestly, waiting for his decision. She trusted his judgement, and when he nodded that they should answer the Temple Mother's questions, she didn't dispute his assessment of the situation. A kind of unspoken trust - shared partially by Rogue - had grown up between the two adolescents as they trekked ceaselessly through Germania and into Österrik. A bridge of belief in each other stretching between them in light of what they'd been through together since they met such a short time ago.
"Sicher, bitten Sie weg." Kurt replied. Then added: "Ask away," by way of translation.
Ororo look at Kurt for a moment, scrutinizing. "You're from Germania?"
"Ja, why?"
"Oh, no reason." Ororo waved her words away with her hand. "Now, please tell me; I know your names, but I do not know truly *who* you are, nor your purpose in coming here. Miss Kitty, you are a Changeling, so perhaps I could comprehend your motives. But you, Herr Kurt, I perceive to be of a different race, and so your reasons are a mystery to me."
"It's true, I'm not a Changeling," Kurt affirmed, flexing his feet to release the stiffness in his oddly shaped toes. "I'm of a race called Pella-Azul. Perhaps you've heard of it?"
"Pellae-Azuulle?" For a moment Ororo's demure mask slipped, and she looked shocked - maybe even a little bit frightened, but this swiftly vanished, and those who saw it wondered if it had really been there at all.
Kurt cocked his head. "No, I'm a *Pella-Azul*. But how do you know about - "
"A traveller passed through here once and told stories of your people," she said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. "Please, continue with your story. How did you come to be in Österrik if you live in Germania? It is a dangerous, gruelling journey through the Black Forest. One which I'm sure could not have been prompted without due reason."
Once again, golden eyes met blue as Kurt and Kitty wondered how much precious information they should divulge. Rogue's life - and perhaps even their own - may be at stake if they told the wrong person of her identity, but they couldn't really explain their presence without saying exactly who she was and the nature of their quest. No matter what Ororo had said, they both still nursed the fear that they and Rogue would be thrown out of the Temple should her reputation become known, and she would most certainly perish if abandoned that way before she was fully healed.
It was this final notion that spurred the duo into answering.
"You have to, like, promise that what we say, like, *never* leaves this room," Kitty demanded.
"You have my word."
"Mine too," Jubilee broke in, reminding them she was still there. "I'll keep it a secret until my dying day if you let me stay." She emphasized what she said by jumping to her feet and firmly closing the wooden door leading out into the corridor. Something in her eyes told them that she wished to remain predominantly because of Ororo - whom she obviously admired very much - but neither Kurt nor Kitty commented on this. Instead, they both nodded.
"Fein." Kurt drew a deep breath. "Ach, this is hard. We've... embarked upon a quest along with our companion - the girl who was brought into the Infirmary when we arrived. Our... companion wishes to reach a... a certain destination, and we - for various reasons - have decided to join her on her long journey."
"That sounds innocent enough," Ororo said indolently.
"No, it's not, simply because of the identity of our companion."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Who is she?"
Kurt met Kitty's gaze one last time for reassurance that they were doing the right thing. She nodded. It was too late to back out now. Everything rested on how the two Temple dwellers reacted to this next piece of information.
"She's The Rogue of The Guild of Assassins."
Jubilee gasped, and Ororo's incalculable blue eyes widened in surprise. The tension in the air hung so thick you could have easily cut it with a blunt knife, and both Kurt and Kitty waited with bated breath to see what would happen next; hoping against hope that the response would be a positive one, and they hadn't just ruined everything for both Rogue and themselves with their wagging tongues.
It was Jubilee who spoke first. "I never guessed... when you called her 'Rogue', it never clicked that... wow! So the Displacer Beast... that's how she was able to... wow!"
"I can see why you were reluctant to tell me," Ororo said slowly. Then she smiled. "But I'm glad you decided to be honest in the end."
The two teenagers let out a mutual sigh of relief. It was going to be OK. Neither Jubilee nor Ororo were about to send word to Rogue's pursuers from the Guild telling them where she was hiding. Nor were they about to turn the trio out on their ears for seeking shelter for a dangerous and wanted 'felon' within their peaceful walls.
Ororo's eyebrow rose again. "What was that about a Displacer Beast?"
"That's the reason we were forced to come here, otherwise we would probably have passed by," said Kurt.
"Last night, Kurt and I were, like, attacked by a Displacer Beast in the river, but Rogue, like, protected us from it. She fought and killed it, but was poisoned by its spines for her troubles," Kitty put in, anger in her voice.
"I see." Ororo folded her arms. "Quite the formidable fighter, isn't she. I've never heard of a Displacer Beast being vanquished by a mere *human* before. This 'Rogue' must be a girl of incredible strength of spirit."
"She sure is." There was a hint of inexplicable pride in Kitty's voice, and Kurt glanced sharply at her, wondering what it signified. Yet Kitty appeared not to have noticed this subconscious kindliness towards the girl who'd threatened her with a knife to her throat, so Kurt just smirked and let it go.
"She really knows how to pick her opponents." Jubilee leaned forward in her seat; excitement dancing plainly in her slanted brown eyes.
"You have no idea," Kurt muttered.
Ororo looked at him. "And what signified *that* remark, Blauhaut?"
"Wha... oh, nothing," he stuttered, caught slightly off his guard that she had heard him. This, combined with her use of his native tongue, served to confuse him enough so that his words didn't fool anyone.
Jubilee leaned forward again, resting her hands on her knees. "Oh come on. You can't just say something like that and then leave us hanging here. Spill, Kurt."
Kurt looked from one to the other, feeling slightly put upon. "It's not my place to say."
Jubilee gave a derisive snort, but Ororo regarded him quizzically. "You keep the secrets of others as well as your own, don't you Kurt? Tell me; is it worth it to protect The Rogue? One whose soul is tarnished with the sins of her past career?"
Kurt looked at the floor. "But there's more to her than that. Everyone hears the stories about her, but they forget that she's just a person. She has feelings, just like you or me, and they can hurt and feel betrayal. True, she's done a lot of terrible things. But when soldiers are sent into battle, they do just as many in the name of their work. She trusted us by telling us her secrets, and she doesn't trust people easily. It has to be earned and deserved. If - *when* she wakes up, if I'd betrayed that trust, then.... then I...."
"Hush, child." Ororo held up a hand to quiet him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wish to. Guilt is a heavy mantle to bear, and I won't burden you with it."
Jubilee looked slightly vexed at this, but didn't question the older woman's decision. In the Temple of The Way - no matter what she said or how much she protested - the Temple Mother's word was law. If she chose not to press either Kurt or Kitty for their information, then it was not up to anyone else to pry where she herself would not tread.
Kurt gazed at her, puzzlement warring with thankfulness behind his great golden eyes. "Thank you.... for not forcing me."
"I can tell that The Rogue is more to you than just a fabled escapee." Ororo shrugged, "But I must confess, I have my own personal theories concerning the nature of this 'quest' of which you speak. Would you allow me to voice them?"
"I.... I don't see why not."
Ororo nodded. "I shall say only two things, and leave you to interpret them as you will." She paused dramatically for a second. "The Silver Sword and Belvedere."
Kitty drew a sharp intake of breath, and Kurt's eyes took on the appearance of two new moons.
"How did you... what... who told you..." Kitty faltered, with Kurt adding his own exclamations in fevered Germanic.
"I do not *know* anything. As I said, I have a theory, which seems to have been proved correct if your reactions are anything to go by. And don't look so worried, Kurt. You told me nothing. I guessed by myself by my own methods. You are absolved from all moral blame."
Kurt stared at her. "How did you... guess?"
"Displacer Beasts are not native to this region. The Silver Sword is famous for owning one that he captured many years ago. He does not send his pride and joy out lightly, either. Coupled with this, Belvedere is the only inhabited place before the mountains and the border. If you were going anywhere, it was to Belvedere."
Jubilee's brown eyes shone. "Then it's true? You really *are* going up against the Silver Sword? In his own stronghold too? Wow!"
"No, we're not!" Kitty replied sharply. "We're travelling to Belvedere, but only to see someone that Rogue knows there, not to fight any Silver Sword. That's just crazy talk!"
Ororo cut in. "So what exactly *did* you intend to do once you reached your destination? It is unlikely that a girl like The Rogue would be undertaking such a journey and risking so much without some kind of reward at the end of it. If indeed this 'someone' she seeks is at Belvedere, that he or she is no doubt imprisoned there, or else has joined The Silver Sword's forces. Either way, a fight would seem to be the destined result. And if you are with her...." She left the rest unsaid, not needing to continue.
Kitty and Kurt fell into reflective silence, pondering the woman's words. It was true. They'd never even considered what would happen when they eventually got to Belvedere. It was something they'd always shelved as future tense; like the journey itself was the main thing, and what became of them at the end merely incidental. Perhaps it was significant of Rogue's influence on them that they never even considered what she was planning next - for planning she must have been. She was - or had been - an assassin, and planning was therefore an intrinsic part of her nature. Like Ororo said, you didn't just decide one day to head for the cartel of such a powerful person as The Silver Sword without *some* inclination as to why you're doing it. It didn't make sense.
"I guess," Kurt murmured, "We never really thought about it."
Their ponderings, however, were momentarily forgotten; as with a loud creak, the door to the room swung open. Everyone turned to look at who dared to interrupt them, and the tall redheaded girl wreathed with torchlight in the doorway quailed slightly beneath their collectively hostile greeting.
"I'm sorry... I'm interrupting... I'll leave... sorry..."
"No need, no need." Ororo swiftly crossed the small room and drew the girl into it with movements as easy and fluid as liquid silk, yet quietly forceful. "It's only right that you be present at meetings such as this."
"Huh?" Kitty blurted. "I thought you said this was a private conversation? How come *she* can listen in on it?"
The tall girl blushed slightly as Kitty spoke like she wasn't even there, but Ororo casually shut the door again and replied calmly. "Allow me to introduce my acolyte and apprentice, Jean the Grey." She pushed the small of the redhead's back, gently ushering her further into the room.
The one now identified as 'Jean' bent her head until her chin touched her chest and muttered self-consciously. "I shouldn't be here. She's right. It's a private conversation. It's nothing to do with me. I should go."
"My dear, if you are to be Temple Mother some day then it has *everything* to do with you," Ororo corrected her. "Now come, take a seat. I trust your 'errand' went smoothly."
"My... oh, yeah - I mean yes." Jean lowered herself onto the bench next to Kurt, shooting a wary glance at the elf-like boy with his swishing tail perched so close to her head. "Underling Tabitha is now safely stashed in the library sorting some old tomes for Initiate McCoy. She won't be done for another few hours at the very least. I specifically asked Initiate McCoy to find something else for her to do should she finish early, too. So I doubt we'll see her for the rest of the day."
Kurt's jaw dropped open. "*You* got rid Tabby? But... how? Why?"
Jean just shrugged. "I sensed that you weren't comfortable with her presence, and figured you might be a little more open to Ororo's questioning if Tabitha wasn't around, so I set her to do a task on the other side of the Temple. I hope I didn't step out of bounds by taking the initiative?"
"Not at all! Not at *all*!" Kurt assured her. "I'm extremely glad that you *did* get rid of her. I'm just a little bemused over how you knew she was making me uncomfortable. As far as I'm aware, we've never even met before."
Jean looked embarrassed, and began twiddling her fingers in her lap in patent agitation. Apparently she disliked being questioned on this topic, and reacted badly to bombardment with queries.
It was Jubilee who saved her from her own discomfiture-induced muteness, stating bluntly, "She knew, because she's a Teep-and-Teek."
"A what?" Kitty sounded, and looked, more than a little confused. "What's one of those when it's at home?"
Jean answered softly. "I'm telepathic and telekinetic. I can move things with my mind, and... sense more than normal people can."
"Was?" Kurt peered down at her. "You mean like sensitive hearing and the like?"
The older teen swivelled her head to look at him, and Kurt found himself locked with a pair of startlingly green eyes.
//No, but I can do other things.//
He jolted, and toppled off his perch in shock at the unfamiliar, yet symbiotic familiarity of the communication.
"What the - "he began, before hitting the floor with a dull thud. At once he sprang to his feet and, using his tail as a lever, returned to the bench next to Jean. He gaped at her, mystified awe written plainly in his fuzzy features. "*You*! It was *you* I heard in my head. At the riverbank - outside, it was you!"
"Yes, it was me," Jean replied, colouring a bit more. "Your despair was like a beacon telling us where you were, and I needed to bring you to the Temple so that we could help your friend. That seemed the best way of contacting you over a long distance."
"Excuse me." Kitty stood up. "But just exactly *what* is going on here? Kurt, what are talking about? Voices in your head at the riverbank? Care to explain to me what's going on?"
"That was how I knew the way here, Kätzchen," Kurt explained, not taking his eyes from Jean's face. "Frauline Jean here was guiding me via my mind."
"Pardon?" Kitty appeared still to be confused. She folded her arms over her chest and glared reprovingly in Jean's direction.
//Please don't be angry. I meant no harm. I only wanted to help you.//
The strange, voiceless voice penetrated her skull with the not altogether unpleasant sensation of a sharp mental prod. Kitty gasped, having never had anything but her own thoughts inside her head before, and her blue eyes widened in alarm at the sudden invasion. She rapidly recognised Jean's mental voice from when she'd ordered her to stay put outside the main gates, but was still slightly overpowered by the sensation of having someone else inside her head besides herself.
Jean looked pleadingly at her. "I thought that would be the best way of contacting you. I didn't mean any harm by it, honestly. It's just in my nature to use my mind like that. Please don't be offended."
"Frauline," Kurt laid a thick-fingered hand on her shoulder, "If you can get rid of Underling Tabitha as easily as that, then I'll be your friend for life, no questions asked." He smiled a toothy grin.
Jean looked uncertain for a moment, before returning it. It was very hard not to feel at ease with Kurt.
"Well, now that that's all sorted out - " Ororo folded her hands inside her sleeves. But she didn't get to say anything more, for at that moment there was a sharp rapping at the door.
"I'll get it." Jean said, and the handle ostensibly moved by itself as she exerted the other half of her powers. Kitty's eyes widened again, but she said nothing; a sign that 'weirdness' was fast becoming the norm for her.
Jubilee rolled her eyes as the door swung open. "What is this, 'invade the private conversation day'?"
A small girl with blonde hair tied in a simple knot at the nape of her neck stood in the corridor. Little more than a child, she walked uninvited into the room with an air of authority that rivalled Ororo's own. Jean closed the door behind her, and she surveyed those assembled with a critical eye. An air of maturity surrounded her, and Ororo stood.
"Kurt, Kitty, may I introduce Initiate Teah Ashari. Teah, meet Kurt and Kitty, our visitors from Germania."
"Charmed," Teah replied in a clipped, quite un-childlike voice. "One of the Underlings said that you'd be in here, Ororo. Actually, I'm rather glad these two are with you. It means I won't have to repeat myself to them later."
"Teah is our resident healer. She's been taking care of your friend since she arrived." Ororo explained.
"Really?" Kurt exclaimed. "How *is* Rogue? She's going to be alright, isn't she?"
"Please, tell us," Kitty chimed in. "We've been so worried about her. Nobody, like, knows what's going on. She's gonna be fine, right? Please say she's gonna be fine."
"Children, please." Ororo held up her hands for silence at Teah's expression. She knew the healer well enough to recognise when she was annoyed at being interrupted, and equally, knew her sharp tongue well enough to foresee what damage it could do if not allowed to continue speaking.
Kurt and Kitty fell into respective silence, and all four young people listened intently as the Temple Mother conversed with the unorthodox physician.
"How is the girl, Teah?"
Teah sighed. "She was hurt very badly. By the time we got to her, the poison had spread through most of her system. She was, quite literally, hanging on by a thread, and it was difficult to conceive that she'd lasted as long as she had."
"Had? What do you mean 'had'?" Kurt asked worriedly, but was silenced again by a look from Jubilee.
"As I was saying," Teah continued, sending a parallel glare at the elf, "We didn't think she was going to make it, but the fact that she'd hung on against such odds made us try anyway. Evidently, it was the right decision. I used my abilities to force the poison out of her physically. There was a lot of it, I can tell you. It was a long and painstaking process. I had to find out just how far it had got, and then push it out of the openings it'd entered by with my mind. Several times we thought we'd lost her, but always she'd come back to us. It was really, quite amazing."
~That's Rogue,~ Kurt thought to himself. Jean jerked her head up, and he shot her an apologetic look.
//That's alright. Just try not to think so *loud*, OK. I have to get used to tuning out your mental voice so that I don't sense anything I shouldn't.//
~OK.~
Jean winced, but gave him a lopsided smile.
"If you've *quite* finished with your little private conversation!" Teah's annoyed voice dragged them back to reality, and both teens looked culpably at her.
"Sorry."
"Traurig."
The Initiate grunted. "The girl had suffered severe wounds to her arm and neck. Removing the spines was difficult, but not impossible. However, it *did* sap a lot of my energy. Consequently, I had little left over to repair the damage to the broken skin and tissue. She'll carry the scars of this little incident for the rest of her life." At this, Teah paused for a moment. Then she sighed.
"I get the impression there's something you're not telling us, Teah," said Ororo.
"There is," the girl replied. "I'm reluctant to enlighten you because it's not good news, I'm afraid."
Kurt's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, my energy reserves were severely drained by extracting the poison and repairing what damage I could before its effects set in. We thought we were over the worst when the physical injuries were finally sealed up, but we - I - was wrong."
Kitty toyed distractedly with the edge of her makeshift clothing. She didn't say anything, but her silence spoke volumes. Furtively, she cast a glance at Kurt. His expression was tight, and he gripped the bench so tightly that she was sure the skin beneath his fur must be blanching. His golden eyes didn't blink once as he watched Initiate Ashari, and Jean gave him an odd sideways look. Kitty didn't need telepathy to understand how powerful the waves of worry coming off the elf must be. It was already patently clear in his body language.
"Teah, what is going on?" Ororo asked softly, voice betraying no emotion.
"There were.... complications." A cryptic answer, and not one that inspired any kind of confidence.
"Complications?"
Teah seemed irresolute for a moment, indecision wavering behind her eyes. Finally she took the plunge. "She has Shaking Sickness."
A collective gasp went around the room.
"Shaking Sickness?" Kurt repeated, aghast. "No. Oh please gods, no."
Similar exclamations exited the mouths of Jubilee and Jean, but curiously, Ororo was silent. She only gazed sadly at the healer, exquisite blue eyes filled with remorse. She seemed unperturbed, yet behind her gaze there was a lurch perceptible even to the most untrained eye. As if suddenly, all her hopes had come crashing down in one spectacular shambles, but she couldn't show her disappointment because of her role as the resident maternal figure. Temple Mother. The strong one. The one who was never affected by anything.
Kitty drew her knees up to her chin, rocking a little, eyes wide. Yet still she said nothing. Her mouth seemed frozen, as those four words burned their way through her skull and deep into the recesses of her mind to where a buried memory lay. A memory she'd purposefully locked up a long time ago, too pained to recall it and all that it entailed. Now though, it resurfaced with sickening clarity, bringing home all that she'd wished to ignore. To forget. Her mind swam as it pushed itself to the fore. Bonds broken. Released to force itself upon her reluctant psyche in a flurry of pictures.
[[[Father comes out of the bedroom, face pale and drawn. He seems more exhausted than usual, his light blue eyes solemn and filled with regret. One hand rests against the doorframe, supporting his dwindling weight as his weakened legs can no longer do. He smiles as he sees me, but it's forced. I know something's amiss, and I tell him so.
"Daddy, don't treat me like an idiot. Tell me what's wrong."
He smiles. A sad smile, like he's keeping a secret he really doesn't want to keep.
"Ah, my little Shadowcat. Always so inquisitive. But curiosity killed the cat, you know."
I frown. He's avoiding the question. Not telling me something. He only uses that nickname when he's sad or worried. I adjust the tray in my hands and peer around him into the bedroom beyond; at the small bundle huddled in the bed. But he moves in front of me. I look at him, and see something else in his eyes. He doesn't want me to see. Now I know that something is wrong. I've always been allowed to see her before. I'm bringing her breakfast, just like always. I have to get in to give it to her. I have to get in.
But his eyes. So sad....
"Daddy?"
He sighs, and coughs a little. His chest is getting worse. I can hear it. Soon he'll be confined to bed too, and I'll have to wait on them both. But no matter. I don't mind, as long as they get better.
He looks at me steadily. Searchingly. Then finally, he speaks.
"She has Shaking Sickness."
I gasp, and the tray almost slips from my fingers. Shaking Sickness? No, it can't be true. There's no cure for that. There's no cure for her. No, I can't believe it. I *won't* believe it.
He watches me. Sees my expression. He lays one wide hand on my shoulder in an act of comfort. It's calloused by years of hard toil. His face is pained with losing a loved one; at losing the only woman he ever truly cared for apart from me.
I want to scream at him. To shout, throw the tray down and tell him that she's not dead yet; that there's still hope. But the words hitch in my throat, so instead, I jerk away from his hand. I don't want him to touch me. I want him to take back what he said.
He stumbles as I wrench away from him. Then his face is filled with another kind of pain. I see him lunge forwards, one hand flailing for the doorframe and missing. He slithers to the ground as a coughing fit wracks his body, and lies there at my feet, hacking and wheezing.
The tray clatters to the floor, and I fall beside him. I don't know what to do. There's blood. It's so red. What do I do? What do I *do*? It's coming from his mouth. Oh gods, what's happening. He's so sick, but he was fine only a second ago. What's happening?
I can hear her inside the room, calling for me. Calling for him. She's delirious. But he can't come. I look at him, rub his back and pull at his shoulder.
"Daddy? Daddy!" I call. "Daddy, please get up. Get up, Daddy. She needs you. *I* need you. I can't do this on my own. Please don't leave me. Please don't...."
Blood on the floor. So red. So shiny. Sinking into the cracks and splits of the woodwork. He shakes, a big judder, and then lies still. Daddy?
The coughing's stopped, but I keep calling to him. She's gone all quiet, but I don't get up to look. I'm afraid. Afraid of what I might find in there, curled up in the bed. It won't be her. Not any more. Too quiet. She's gone.
It has no cure.
Daddy? Why won't you wake up, Daddy? Don't you love me any more? Don't you love Mommy? Please, stop it. It's your little Shadowcat, remember? Please. Oh, please....
Blood on the wood. In the wood. Silence in the bedroom. Silence all around us. It's stifling. I'm choking on it. The stench of old blood rises up around me, but I can't move. I can't. I want to be sick, but I just keep on calling until my voice is hoarse. Please, please wake up. Please...
There is no cure.
Daddy?]]]
"Kitty! Kitty, snap out of it!"
Kitty blinked, and stared about her blearily, as if reawakening from a dream.
No, not a dream. A nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare.
"Kitty, can you hear me? Kitty?"
Someone was holding her shoulders, joggling her roughly. She turned to face the person, and found herself gazing into a pair worried green eyes.
"Come on, Kitty." Jean jostled her again. "Snap out of it."
Kitty blinked again, horrific images still fresh in her mind. Her lips formed words, but her voice was a barely above a whisper. "Who... J... J... Jean?"
Jean smiled gratefully. "That's right. I'm Jean, remember? Jean the Grey. Come on Kitty. You remember me, don't you?"
"Wh... where?"
"You're at the Temple of the Way. You're safe here."
Safe? Kitty looked around her. No bodies. No plaintive calling. No retching coughs. Just.... safe.
Jean's eyes widened as the younger girl suddenly fell against her, weeping. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. Then, tentatively, she encircled Kitty's shoulders as she'd seen Ororo do to distraught individuals in the past. Kitty's slight frame shook and trembled, and she mumbled a vastly incoherent spurt of words the telepath could only partially make out, since her face was nestled into the shoulder of her robe.
"Breakfast... He was there... so... so sad... And I... I... he fell... Shaking Sickness... Took them both... Why... why me... Why them... never did anyone any harm... Not fair... now... now Rogue... Not again... please, no..."
"Shhh," Jean soothed, stroking the girl's spine. "It's OK. It wasn't real."
The tsunami of emotions coming off her was almost overpowering for the telepath. Pain, dread, fear, and despair - all of them leaked from Kitty's uncensored mind and gathered in the pit of Jean's stomach, making her nauseous. Yet she held on; unwilling to relinquish her hold on the poor girl trembling in her arms because of personal weakness.
Jean had sensed the change in Kitty when Teah uttered those words. It had been almost tangible. Then the images came; thick and fast, and terribly disturbing. What was worse was that they were real. Real memories, repressed for so long they sent Kitty into a trance-like state when they finally broke free. It had taken all of Jean's abilities to bring her back from the edge, and only *she* knew how close the younger female had come to toppling into oblivion and the insanity that awaited there.
Out of the corner of one eye she espied Ororo looking at her. Of all the people in the room, Jean probably had the fairest idea what the Temple Mother was thinking right now. Yet she couldn't say anything whilst Kitty was in such a pitiful state. Perhaps this was what it was like being Temple Mother. Wanting to do something, but not being able to because of the people you were committed to helping. Was this how Ororo felt?
One glance at the older woman's face, with its weary eyes and practised neutrality answered her question in an instant.
Ororo looked at her acolyte as she comforted the distressed girl. Jean was demonstrating exactly why she had been chosen as the next Temple Mother, but Ororo couldn't congratulate herself on her choice now. There were other matters to be attended to.
She crossed the room and drew Initiate Ashari aside. It wouldn't do to have Kitty hear if there was only more bad news since she was already in such a condition.
"Teah, is there nothing you can do for the girl. What are her chances of survival?"
"Slim to none," Teah replied dispassionately.
Ororo blinked. Really, it was quite disconcerting to have a mere child speak of death and dying in such a cold and clinical manner. However, it was part and parcel of her Changeling powers, and Ororo had long since grown used to Teah's oddities; to the point where she hardly even noticed them any more.
"If I still had full use of my healing powers then maybe - just maybe - there might be a chance. But I basically used up everything on the poison and flesh wounds. None of us in the Infirmary even realised about the Shaking Sickness until it was too late. Most likely a dramatic drop in body temperature induced it, possibly by her being wet and exposed to the elements. Either way, her chances of survival are infinitesimal at best. She's barely holding on as it is."
Ororo tried one last time. "So there's nothing you can do?"
"Without another healer, no. All we can do is wait. This girl is a fighter, and no mistake. But I have my doubts as to whether that will be enough in this situation. You know as well as I do that nobody had ever come through Shaking Sickness without a healer's aid."
"Nein!"
Ororo and Teah's heads both snapped up. Kurt glared at them from his perch on the back of the bench, anger smouldering deep in his golden eyes. Previously, he'd been watching Kitty and Jean, but his sensitive ears had easily picked up on their conversation, and what they said had clearly angered him.
"Nein!" he growled again, glowering at them. "She will not die! You don't know Rogue. She'll come through this. She *will*! She's not like other people. She'll succeed where they've failed. Just like she's done before. That's why she's called *The* Rogue. Nobody's ever had the guts to do what she's done before!"
"Kurt - " Ororo began, but he cut her off.
"No! I won't listen to your lies! Don't you understand? She saved my life. I won't just let her fade away and die because of that! She's stronger than you think - than any of us think!"
"Now look here - " Teah tried to reason with him, but Kurt would not be mollified.
"She. Will. Not. Die!" he said slowly and carefully, spaded tail lashing dangerously from side to side. Anybody who knew anything about tailed animals knew the aggressive nature of this movement. Across the room, Jubilee noticed it and began making her way towards him.
"Kurt, stop it," she said. "Teah and her team have done their best for Rogue. They can't help it if the situation's beyond their control now."
"No!" Kurt shook his head. "They haven't done their best. How can they have done their best if *she*," he nodded at the blonde girl, who folded her arms in irritation, "Can just stand there and calmly tell us that there's no hope. That there's nothing we can do!"
"Listen, kid," Teah stepped forward, brows knitted together in displeasure and missing the irony of the epithet, "Let's just say that I *did* have enough of my healing abilities left to get rid of the Shaking Sickness - which I don't. Even then I doubt we'd be able to save her."
"Lies! All lies!"
"No, I'm not lying. You see, the fact is, the problem's not only physical. Your friend has sunk into a state of unconsciousness so deep and intense that even a strong telepath would find it very difficult to break into her mind. She's set up defences so strong they damn near killed one of my team when he tried to fetch her out of it! In short, she's virtually dead anyway. And you know what? It's self-induced too. In a nutshell, She doesn't *want* to wake up!"
"What do you mean?" Ororo queried warily, eyes flicking between the two of them.
"Exactly what I said," Teah replied, keeping her own eyes fixed on Kurt. "The girl's basically trapped inside her own mind. I've seen it before. Sometimes it happens because of outside influence, but the majority of the time, the sufferer has intentionally created a world inside their head and then locked himself or herself inside of it because they no longer want to associate with the outside one. In such cases, it's impossible to revive them. This is one of those cases."
"No!" Kurt yelled, voice filled with remorse and unconcealed pain. "I don't believe you! You're lying!"
"Afraid not."
"Liar!" Before anyone could do anything, he gathered his feet underneath him and launched himself at the healer. "You're a liar! She'd never do that!"
An expression of panic briefly graced Teah's face as the boy flew towards her. His eyes shone, and his lips were pulled back to reveal sharp white fangs embedded among his other teeth. He looked, to all intents and purposes, like a demon of the worst calibre.
However, whatever his thoughts and purposes behind this rash action - perhaps there were none, but he refused to speak about it afterwards, so nobody is entirely sure what the thinking behind attacking the overly-mature child was - Kurt was never allowed to carry them out. He halted in mid air, mere inches away from Teah's face, and floated there uselessly.
Jean still held one arm protectively around Kitty, but the other was stretched out towards the incapacitated Pella-Azul, a physical gesture of the telekinetic power she was applying upon his body. Kurt's arms and legs windmilled, but he remained where he was, glaring and snarling at the individual so audacious as to leave Rogue for dead when there was still life left in her body. Now and then he spared a growl for Jean, but the redhead stayed firm.
"Kurt, stop this!" said Jubilee. "You're being irrational."
Kurt snarled at her. A savage, feral sound. Quite unlike his usual, easygoing demeanour. "irrational? Since when is refusing to abandon someone I care about irrational? Would you just leave Ororo for dead if there was even the slightest chance of saving her from sickness?" He paused, expectantly. "No. I thought not. Can't you see, Frauline? Even if there's the smallest ghost of a chance, I have to take it. I just.... I just can't face losing someone.... Not again.... I refuse to repeat my past mistakes.... I *refuse*!"
Jubilee simply stared at him, taken aback by the vehemence attached to his words. Kurt glared, anger welling up in his gaze. Yet it was impure, tinctured with something else; a desperation so concentrated it all but took her breath away. Obviously there was more to his fervent repudiation than met the eye.
"Kurt.... what do you mean? What past mistakes?"
"Nein, I.... I can't." He turned his head away, biting his lip. How could he have let that slip? His past shame was private. He couldn't let them know how he'd already failed his mother. Her death hung over him like a dark shadow. No, he couldn't let Rogue suffer the same fate for helping him. Mystique had tried to protect him, and it had killed her. He couldn't - wouldn't - let Rogue, or anybody else go the same way.
Jubilee watched as he closed his eyes. All at once he ceased struggling, letting his body go limp in Jean's ethereal hold. It was as if something was weighing heavily upon him, draining his energy.
Had Jean not been concentrating so hard on keeping him airborne, she may have sensed what was going through Kurt's mind. As it was, her attention was already divided between telekinesis and holding together Kitty's fragile grip on reality. If she let go, Kitty would have gone tumbling back into her memories, and this time Jean wouldn't have been able to bring her back. Similarly, if she released Kurt there was still the chance he could go for Initiate Ashari. It was a stalemate.
Jubilee took a tentative step forward. "Kurt?"
No response.
"Kurt?"
It was as if he were sleeping, suspended in midair.
Tentatively, she laid a hand on the white fabric covering his shoulder. It was a comforting gesture, but Kurt's face whipped round, teeth bared.
"Don't touch me! If you're not going to help me save her, then I don't want you anywhere near me!"
Her hand snapped back like it was affixed to a piece of elastic. He looked so.... wild. His eyes were harsh and unforgiving, as if she'd committed the ultimate betrayal by believing what Initiate Ashari had said. That there was no hope. That there was nothing any of them could do to help Rogue.
"Kurt, I - "
"Save it!" was the retort. "Unless you believe and are going to help me. Do you believe me, Frauline Jubilee?"
For a moment his expression was hopeful, almost pleading. Jubilee looked at him, and then was forced to look away. How could she inspire such false hope? It was better that he just accepted the inevitable now. Rogue couldn't survive Shaking Sickness, no matter how strong she was. It was over.
Kurt's face hardened. "Fine then. I don't need you. I don't need any of you. Jean, put me down."
"No, Kurt," Jean replied levelly. "I can't risk you hurting anyone."
"You're hurting Rogue by not letting me down!" he yelled, a new flash of anger appearing in his glare. "Let me go!"
"You're in no frame of mind to - "
"Let me *go*!"
"No."
~LET ME *GO*!~ he mentally screamed.
Jean gasped as his internal voice slashed through her skull, bringing with it a driving pain that only a telepath can feel. It hurt so much, but her resolve remained strong. If he was willing to do this to her just to achieve his own ends, then there was no telling what he'd do if she freed him. His anger and grief was too fresh; too raw. It was colouring his judgement, making him irrational. She had to hold onto him. She had to be strong, as befitted an acolyte.
~PUT ME *DOWN*!~
White hot, searing agony. It hurt so much. Jean gritted her teeth, but it was no use. Her grip on him was slipping. He floated closer to the floor, flailing violently and mentally screeching at her. She was losing her grasp. She was....
Suddenly, a physical voice sliced through their psychic battle. Resonant and filled with sad wisdom, it echoed inside their ears.
"Stop this madness, Kurt. Son of Mystique the Seer."
Everything stopped. Kurt froze, expression stunned. All and sundry halted until even their breaths seemed stilled. It was as if all the air had suddenly been sucked out of the room. All eyes turned to look upon the one who had spoken.
Ororo stood silent before them, face unreadable.
Slowly, and with painstaking apprehension, Kurt swivelled his head to look at her. When he spoke, his voice was shot through with incredulity, and not a little suspicion. "How do you know my mother's name?"
Ororo said nothing. She only watched him through eyes as blue as his hide and twice as impenetrable. Kurt narrowed his gaze, misgiving bubbling inside his gut. He'd never mentioned Mystique's name. So how could Ororo know that he was her son? How did she know such things as *any* of those she'd talked about?
"Who *are* you?"
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To Be Continued...
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*TRANSLATIONS*
GERMANIC:
'Sicher, bitten Sie weg' - Of course, ask away
'Blauhaut' - Blue pelt
WARNINGS: This is an AU (Alternative Universe) fic. Everything has been transplanted into a fantasy universe of my creation. Inspirations, despite what you might initially think, aren't actually from a certain Peter-Jackson-esque film project, since I started work on this before I ever *saw* those movies. Influences rather include InterNutter's spiffy fic 'Mein Teuful' (if you haven't yet read this then go do it *now*!) and various other sources I'll explain later.
CODES:
Hello = Narration
~ Hello ~ = Thought
"Hello" = Character Speaking
*Hello* = Bold
//Hello// = Psychic communication
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry I haven't updated this one in a while, but I kept being bitten by other plotbunnies, the results of which can be found in my account here on ff.net. You can all thank Harry Wriggle for this chapter being brought out at all; since it's primarily because of her prodding that I took the time to tweak it. So here you go, Harry. I hereby dedicate this chapter to you, and all your wonderful arty goodness. And I'll dedicate the next instalment to whomsoever writes a New Mutants fic (and tells me they have. Can't very well dedicate anything if I don't know any names), since I'm of the firm belief they don't get nearly as much attention as they deserve.
You watch, now I've said that they won't get *any* attention whatsoever. What's that great cloud of dust? Oh, that's just all the fanfic authors running for the hills so Scribbler leaves them alone in her gods-awful Author's Notes.
My fanfic competition is still running (how many times have I said that now? I'll shut up when I get some flippin' entries!), and now it's all official on InterNutter's site. Just go look in the contest section on the sidebar. There aren't any actual entries yet (hint-hint), but the rules and stuff are all up for your reading pleasure.
'Step we gaily, on we go....'
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'Of Beast And Blade' By Scribbler
Chapter Ten ~ 'Blood On the Wood'
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'The consciousness of being deemed dead is next to the presumable unpleasantness of being so in reality. One feels like his own ghost unlawfully tenanting a defunct carcass'. ~ Herman Melville
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"Oh, like, quit your whining, Kurt."
"But it still hurts. She didn't even check the water before she pushed me in. I ache all over from the blisters."
"Don't worry, I'm sure someone in the Infirmary can give you something for it."
"Danke Frauline, but I'm afraid the only thing that will make me feel any better is having Underling Blonderkopf move many miles away. Preferably on a permanent basis."
The three teenagers were seated in a small anteroom adjoining the main Infirmary - this being the only place for them until they were properly clothed. As of yet, Kurt and Kitty lacked any proper raiment, and were forced to content themselves with bedding sheets wrapped in toga-like styles around their respective bodies. The costumes were flimsy and not particularly warm, but a good sight more reasonable than the costume of the 'towel-incident' as it was now known.
The only person who truly liked these makeshift costumes was Tabitha, who revelled in sitting as close to Kurt as she could on the small wooden bench, and tousling any bit of blue fur poking through the folds of white fabric that she could reach. The only reason for her current absence was a summons she'd received from an Initiate on the other side of the building, but she'd taken great pleasure in assuring the furry youth that she'd be; 'Right back, and not to worry about a thing, darling.'
Jubilee sat pseudo-demurely in a practised sedate position next to Kitty on another bench across the room. The space was little bigger than the room they'd been in before, except that this one contained a window and several tall cupboards - one of which Kurt was now perched atop, in a pose the two girls could only marvel at.
Jubilee sighed. "You're not the only one. I've had to deal with her for three years - three years! - as a roommate."
"You guys share a room?" Kitty sounded incredulous.
"A dormitory, actually. Good job too. If we were on our own, we probably would have killed each other by now."
"I can imagine," Kurt said, dangling upside down across the top of one cupboard, using only his curiously formed feet as leverage. "I've had some violent thoughts towards her myself, and I haven't even known her that long."
"Well I think that you're both, like, cruel. Tabby can't be *that* bad." Kitty folded her arms, but Jubilee only shook her head.
"You'll see. But don't say we didn't warn you."
Kurt took this opportunity to launch himself off the cupboard, twirling in mid-air to land gracefully on four feet in the centre of the room, tail lashing furiously for balance.
"Stop it, Kurt," Kitty warned him. "That's, like, the third time you've done that. You're making me dizzy just watching you. Give it a rest, already."
"I can't help it, Kätzchen," Kurt apologized. "I'm bored."
Kitty glanced sharply at him, reading the deeper meaning in his flippant words. "Yeah, I'm worried about her too. But they said they'd let us know soon."
"It's just so frustrating!" His spaded tail thumped the floor in agitation. "I mean, I know they're doing all they can to help Rogue, but I still feel so worthless. Like I could be doing something.... anything, instead of sitting around here like a spare part."
"Well, technically speaking, you're not really 'sitting around'," Jubilee pointed out, referring to the numerous displays of fretfulness-induced acrobatic displays they'd borne witness to since Tabby left. "And I have to say, Kurt, that if you *were* in there with them," she jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the wall behind her; the only thing standing between them and whatever was happening to Rogue. "If you *were*, you'd probably be doing more harm than good. It never pays to get in a healer's way when he or she is working."
"I suppose," Kurt conceded sullenly. "But I just feel so *useless*!"
Quietly, Kitty rose from her seat and crouched beside him, encircling his shoulders with one skinny arm. "Me too. But we have to have faith and keep hoping. It's all we can do now."
Kurt turned to look at her, face mere inches from hers. His golden eyes were full of anguish, and Kitty was startled to see them shine with unshed tears.
"Faith? Hope?" he murmured. "What good did that ever do anyone?"
"Hope has kept more people alive than all the fighting in all the realms ever did," a deep, resonant voice answered.
All three teenagers looked to the doorway, taken aback at this verbal intrusion upon them. The thick oaken door was slightly ajar where Tabby had forgotten to close it, and as they watched it creaked slowly open.
Jubilee uttered a stifled gasp at the figure that was revealed, and quickly scrambled from the bench and fell to her knees, muttering, "Gods, praise be to thee and the one with which I am now faced. By all that is holy, I prostrate myself before the mercy of she who resides in Earth-Realm."
Kurt and Kitty were shocked at her sudden behaviour and curious speech. It was as if the oriental girl was reeling off words she'd long since committed to heart, and the pair looked to the one who could reduce the usually bubbly Jubilee to a reverential bundle, face pressed against the floor.
The figure was tall and more than a little imposing set against the bright backdrop of the torch-lit corridor beyond. Upon closer inspection it became apparent it was a woman, but one such as they had never seen before.
She stood with her hands carefully folded in the wide sleeves of a magenta robe, and gave off a near palpable aura of calm without having to move a muscle. As she stepped into the room, an air of age-old wisdom followed, flowing from her long white hair and making her mahogany skin glow with an inner radiance that diminished the poor trickle of sunlight leaking in through the window. She literally seemed to ooze authority and power, yet it was tinctured by a sense of benevolence and compassion.
She gazed at them both for a moment through fathomless azure eyes, before settling her focus on Kurt, who found he could not look away no matter how much he tried.
"And what use is faith, you ask? Faith has given those same people the will to live on, just as hope empowers their drive to exist in situations so dire, they would have them perish a thousand times over."
Kurt simply stared at her, chin dropped onto his chest, wondering what to say. Something about this woman's presence made him feel instantly alarmed, but at the same time, curiously at ease. Either way, he was lost for words.
The strange woman transferred her eyes to Jubilee, and smiled - not unkindly. "Raise yourself, little one. All are equal within these walls. I will have no-one bow to me as if I were of any more importance than them."
Jubilee peered up at her. "But you're so much greater than I. How can I not bow to you?"
The white-haired woman shook her head. "I am like yourself; no more and no less. I deserve no more awe than you give or are given by your contemporaries. Now child, please, stand up and be seated once more. Benches are for sitting and floors are for standing, not lying down on."
Jubilee gave a half-hearted chuckle, and returned to her seat, brown eyes never leaving the newcomer's face.
For her part, the dark-skinned woman turned back to Kurt and Kitty, who still crouched together on the floor, having frozen in place at her entrance.
"And you, honoured guests. Will you not also take your seats? Unless I am interrupting something by asking you to do so?"
The pair jumped apart, Kitty dropping the arm she'd held around Kurt like a hot coal. Kurt scuffed his foot self-consciously as he edged back to his bench, and Kitty shuffled back to her place, obviously embarrassed at the warm moment they'd been caught in.
The room was silent for a moment, none of the people in it knowing quite what to say, or else unbothered by the quiescence. The door still stood open, creating a carpet of flickering torchlight that wreathed the newcomer woman in an almost ethereal lustre.
Kurt cleared his throat, and warily broke the silence. As he spoke, he suddenly became aware of how young he sounded. How immature and naïve. "Excuse me, but.... who are you?"
Jubilee shot him an appalled look at his directness. When she spoke it was in a tone ringing with comportment, and quite different to the way she usually talked. "Kurt, don't be so forthright; she doesn't have to answer our petty questions. Hold your tongue."
Yet the woman only chuckled - a warm, friendly sound. "There's no need to be so formal, Jubilee."
Jubilee blushed at the familiar use of her name by such an influential person.
"It's only natural that he has questions to which he desires answers. That's why I called in, actually. To enlighten you a bit. It must be difficult, suddenly finding yourselves in a strange place with strange people."
"Ja."
"Like, totally."
She nodded. "My name is Ororo the White, and I am the Mother of this, the Temple of the Way."
"Ororo?"
"Yes. It's not a name you are familiar with, I'm sure. It is an Eastern name, from the far deserts, where sand is plentiful like water and water is as precious as diamonds."
Kitty blinked. "*You're* the Temple Mother? Does that, like, mean that you're in charge around here?"
"I am the guiding figure of this Temple. I oversee all that goes on, and offer my advice and skills when they are needed. So, yes, I suppose you could say that I'm 'in charge'."
"Oh." Kitty couldn't think what to say. Jubilee had only mentioned the Temple Mother in passing, and never said what she was like. She'd envisioned a maternal old woman, weighed down with years and hard labour. Ororo was nothing like she'd imagined. Youthful, composed and beautiful in an exotic, unconventional way, she looked more like an Eastern desert princess than a member of a temple, never mind a Temple *Mother*.
Ororo looked at them both. "Is that all? Surely you have more questions than that. I assure you, I won't bite."
"Ok, then." Kurt hopped up into a more comfortable position, crouching cat-like on the back of the bench. "First things first. We're both very grateful for your kind hospitality in taking us in and tending to us even though you didn't know who we were, but now I have to ask, what exactly *is* this place? I mean.... I know it's a temple, but.... but...."
Ororo crossed the room and leaned her palms on the windowsill, looking out onto the courtyard below. "A good question. I have told you that this is the Temple of The Way, but I'm not surprised that you don't understand what 'The Way' is. Let me explain." Here she paused, as if searching for the right words. Kurt and Kitty listened expectantly, and Jubilee watched with ill-concealed reverence for the older female who'd taken her in as a freakish starving waif and cared for her like a member of her own family.
"The Temple of the Way used to be one of many temples and sanctuaries devoted to the simpler aspects of life. Now we are but one, the last of our kind, and thus, also the last of an era." She sighed. "I'm not explaining things very clearly. Let me try again. Temples are usually houses of gods, as you well know. However, this is where we differ slightly from the norm. 'The Way' is more a style of living that is practised and taught here. We devote ourselves to spirituality rather than a specific deity. Modern life has distanced mortals from whence they came. Many do not remember their humble roots in the wilderness, and 'The Way' aims to remind them of this and so help them better understand the world in which we live. Do you understand?"
They nodded, albeit a little warily.
"A back to nature type deal," Kitty summarized.
"Yes," Ororo replied. "Usually, we're a refuge for people trying to achieve more of a balance with the natural world, as well as giving aid and shelter to those who pass this way. But of late, we have become rather inundated with.... special cases who need our help."
"Changelings."
"Yes. You're very perceptive Mr..."
"Kurt. Just Kurt."
"But how come there are so *many* Changelings here?" Kitty asked. "I mean, this place is, like, teeming with them - us. Whatever. Why do they all come *here*. Surely it'd be better if they stayed in their own towns and villages and let the world know about Changelings and what's happening to the... uh, the magical fabric of the realms."
"You make a valid point, Miss...."
"Pryde. Kitty Pryde. Or you could choose a nickname. I've acquired, like, plenty in the last couple of days."
"I think I'll stick to Kitty. And in answer to your question, the reason so many Changelings seek shelter within our walls are countless and varied. Sometimes they are simply poor souls whose homes - for one reason or another - are no more, and subsequently have no place else to go. Being a Changeling is incidental. Other times, they feel ashamed of their powers. They don't understand what they are, and find their way here by accident. However, these types of scenarios are not always the case." She sighed. A small, sad sigh. "You see, as with all things, not all people are so.... accommodating to Changelings. Some folks believe that they're evil spirits. Demons that need to be cast out. They fear what they cannot understand, and from fear springs hate and violence. The majority of Underlings and Initiates here have been forcibly driven from their homes by frightened people they'd once called friends. They come to us seeking sanctuary and a friendly ear, which we readily give to anyone who asks for it. Over time, we've become known as the one place Changelings can go and be sure of protection, and so more Changelings join us to learn about their new abilities and escape the prejudice that hounds them in the outside world. Our numbers have swelled, but we never turn away a new member. We never have, and we never will, so long as I'm Temple Mother."
Kurt and Kitty sat in silence.
"I had no idea," Kitty said at last. "I lived so far away from other people, I didn't even know what a Changeling *was* until recently."
"Society just isn't ready to accept Changelings properly," Ororo said, matter-of-fact. "But I believe they will - in time. When they learn to see that they're no threat. That they're just human beings who have been given incredible gifts."
" 'They'? Aren't you, like, a Changeling, too?"
"Kitty!" Jubilee hissed. "Don't ask such a personal question. It's rude."
Kitty cast her a sidelong glance. ~Since when did Jubilee start caring about politeness? Perhaps this Ororo woman has, like, more clout around here than we realise. She sure doesn't show it, though. She seems so.... so down to earth and sensible. Not at all like I would have expected.~
Ororo, though, didn't seem to care about such a probing question being asked of her, and answered it placidly. "No, I'm not a Changeling. But I'm not exactly human, either. Let's just leave it at that for now, shall we?"
"But - "
"Now, I think it's my turn to ask *you* two some questions." She turned around to face them, leaning her back against the sill. "My first and foremost priority is the safety and well being of my 'children' and this Temple, so I hope you'll allow me a few queries in favour of their security?"
Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look. Could they really trust her? True, she and the other Temple dwellers they'd met so far had shown them nothing but kindness and generosity - well, everyone except that 'Ray' at the front gate - but then again, so had the innkeeper in Zanninsa, and look what had happened when they trusted *him*.
Yet still.... it was difficult not to believe the authenticity of Ororo. There was just something about her that prompted trust.
Kurt glanced at her. Even with his well-trained eye he could detect nothing but sincerity in her stance. Virtually nobody could hide everything in his or her body language. There was always something - a nervous tic, increased blinking, a twitchy nose - that indicated when a person was being less than truthful. Yet he could see nothing of this nature in her.
Kitty watched Kurt earnestly, waiting for his decision. She trusted his judgement, and when he nodded that they should answer the Temple Mother's questions, she didn't dispute his assessment of the situation. A kind of unspoken trust - shared partially by Rogue - had grown up between the two adolescents as they trekked ceaselessly through Germania and into Österrik. A bridge of belief in each other stretching between them in light of what they'd been through together since they met such a short time ago.
"Sicher, bitten Sie weg." Kurt replied. Then added: "Ask away," by way of translation.
Ororo look at Kurt for a moment, scrutinizing. "You're from Germania?"
"Ja, why?"
"Oh, no reason." Ororo waved her words away with her hand. "Now, please tell me; I know your names, but I do not know truly *who* you are, nor your purpose in coming here. Miss Kitty, you are a Changeling, so perhaps I could comprehend your motives. But you, Herr Kurt, I perceive to be of a different race, and so your reasons are a mystery to me."
"It's true, I'm not a Changeling," Kurt affirmed, flexing his feet to release the stiffness in his oddly shaped toes. "I'm of a race called Pella-Azul. Perhaps you've heard of it?"
"Pellae-Azuulle?" For a moment Ororo's demure mask slipped, and she looked shocked - maybe even a little bit frightened, but this swiftly vanished, and those who saw it wondered if it had really been there at all.
Kurt cocked his head. "No, I'm a *Pella-Azul*. But how do you know about - "
"A traveller passed through here once and told stories of your people," she said quickly. Perhaps too quickly. "Please, continue with your story. How did you come to be in Österrik if you live in Germania? It is a dangerous, gruelling journey through the Black Forest. One which I'm sure could not have been prompted without due reason."
Once again, golden eyes met blue as Kurt and Kitty wondered how much precious information they should divulge. Rogue's life - and perhaps even their own - may be at stake if they told the wrong person of her identity, but they couldn't really explain their presence without saying exactly who she was and the nature of their quest. No matter what Ororo had said, they both still nursed the fear that they and Rogue would be thrown out of the Temple should her reputation become known, and she would most certainly perish if abandoned that way before she was fully healed.
It was this final notion that spurred the duo into answering.
"You have to, like, promise that what we say, like, *never* leaves this room," Kitty demanded.
"You have my word."
"Mine too," Jubilee broke in, reminding them she was still there. "I'll keep it a secret until my dying day if you let me stay." She emphasized what she said by jumping to her feet and firmly closing the wooden door leading out into the corridor. Something in her eyes told them that she wished to remain predominantly because of Ororo - whom she obviously admired very much - but neither Kurt nor Kitty commented on this. Instead, they both nodded.
"Fein." Kurt drew a deep breath. "Ach, this is hard. We've... embarked upon a quest along with our companion - the girl who was brought into the Infirmary when we arrived. Our... companion wishes to reach a... a certain destination, and we - for various reasons - have decided to join her on her long journey."
"That sounds innocent enough," Ororo said indolently.
"No, it's not, simply because of the identity of our companion."
She raised an eyebrow. "Why? Who is she?"
Kurt met Kitty's gaze one last time for reassurance that they were doing the right thing. She nodded. It was too late to back out now. Everything rested on how the two Temple dwellers reacted to this next piece of information.
"She's The Rogue of The Guild of Assassins."
Jubilee gasped, and Ororo's incalculable blue eyes widened in surprise. The tension in the air hung so thick you could have easily cut it with a blunt knife, and both Kurt and Kitty waited with bated breath to see what would happen next; hoping against hope that the response would be a positive one, and they hadn't just ruined everything for both Rogue and themselves with their wagging tongues.
It was Jubilee who spoke first. "I never guessed... when you called her 'Rogue', it never clicked that... wow! So the Displacer Beast... that's how she was able to... wow!"
"I can see why you were reluctant to tell me," Ororo said slowly. Then she smiled. "But I'm glad you decided to be honest in the end."
The two teenagers let out a mutual sigh of relief. It was going to be OK. Neither Jubilee nor Ororo were about to send word to Rogue's pursuers from the Guild telling them where she was hiding. Nor were they about to turn the trio out on their ears for seeking shelter for a dangerous and wanted 'felon' within their peaceful walls.
Ororo's eyebrow rose again. "What was that about a Displacer Beast?"
"That's the reason we were forced to come here, otherwise we would probably have passed by," said Kurt.
"Last night, Kurt and I were, like, attacked by a Displacer Beast in the river, but Rogue, like, protected us from it. She fought and killed it, but was poisoned by its spines for her troubles," Kitty put in, anger in her voice.
"I see." Ororo folded her arms. "Quite the formidable fighter, isn't she. I've never heard of a Displacer Beast being vanquished by a mere *human* before. This 'Rogue' must be a girl of incredible strength of spirit."
"She sure is." There was a hint of inexplicable pride in Kitty's voice, and Kurt glanced sharply at her, wondering what it signified. Yet Kitty appeared not to have noticed this subconscious kindliness towards the girl who'd threatened her with a knife to her throat, so Kurt just smirked and let it go.
"She really knows how to pick her opponents." Jubilee leaned forward in her seat; excitement dancing plainly in her slanted brown eyes.
"You have no idea," Kurt muttered.
Ororo looked at him. "And what signified *that* remark, Blauhaut?"
"Wha... oh, nothing," he stuttered, caught slightly off his guard that she had heard him. This, combined with her use of his native tongue, served to confuse him enough so that his words didn't fool anyone.
Jubilee leaned forward again, resting her hands on her knees. "Oh come on. You can't just say something like that and then leave us hanging here. Spill, Kurt."
Kurt looked from one to the other, feeling slightly put upon. "It's not my place to say."
Jubilee gave a derisive snort, but Ororo regarded him quizzically. "You keep the secrets of others as well as your own, don't you Kurt? Tell me; is it worth it to protect The Rogue? One whose soul is tarnished with the sins of her past career?"
Kurt looked at the floor. "But there's more to her than that. Everyone hears the stories about her, but they forget that she's just a person. She has feelings, just like you or me, and they can hurt and feel betrayal. True, she's done a lot of terrible things. But when soldiers are sent into battle, they do just as many in the name of their work. She trusted us by telling us her secrets, and she doesn't trust people easily. It has to be earned and deserved. If - *when* she wakes up, if I'd betrayed that trust, then.... then I...."
"Hush, child." Ororo held up a hand to quiet him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't wish to. Guilt is a heavy mantle to bear, and I won't burden you with it."
Jubilee looked slightly vexed at this, but didn't question the older woman's decision. In the Temple of The Way - no matter what she said or how much she protested - the Temple Mother's word was law. If she chose not to press either Kurt or Kitty for their information, then it was not up to anyone else to pry where she herself would not tread.
Kurt gazed at her, puzzlement warring with thankfulness behind his great golden eyes. "Thank you.... for not forcing me."
"I can tell that The Rogue is more to you than just a fabled escapee." Ororo shrugged, "But I must confess, I have my own personal theories concerning the nature of this 'quest' of which you speak. Would you allow me to voice them?"
"I.... I don't see why not."
Ororo nodded. "I shall say only two things, and leave you to interpret them as you will." She paused dramatically for a second. "The Silver Sword and Belvedere."
Kitty drew a sharp intake of breath, and Kurt's eyes took on the appearance of two new moons.
"How did you... what... who told you..." Kitty faltered, with Kurt adding his own exclamations in fevered Germanic.
"I do not *know* anything. As I said, I have a theory, which seems to have been proved correct if your reactions are anything to go by. And don't look so worried, Kurt. You told me nothing. I guessed by myself by my own methods. You are absolved from all moral blame."
Kurt stared at her. "How did you... guess?"
"Displacer Beasts are not native to this region. The Silver Sword is famous for owning one that he captured many years ago. He does not send his pride and joy out lightly, either. Coupled with this, Belvedere is the only inhabited place before the mountains and the border. If you were going anywhere, it was to Belvedere."
Jubilee's brown eyes shone. "Then it's true? You really *are* going up against the Silver Sword? In his own stronghold too? Wow!"
"No, we're not!" Kitty replied sharply. "We're travelling to Belvedere, but only to see someone that Rogue knows there, not to fight any Silver Sword. That's just crazy talk!"
Ororo cut in. "So what exactly *did* you intend to do once you reached your destination? It is unlikely that a girl like The Rogue would be undertaking such a journey and risking so much without some kind of reward at the end of it. If indeed this 'someone' she seeks is at Belvedere, that he or she is no doubt imprisoned there, or else has joined The Silver Sword's forces. Either way, a fight would seem to be the destined result. And if you are with her...." She left the rest unsaid, not needing to continue.
Kitty and Kurt fell into reflective silence, pondering the woman's words. It was true. They'd never even considered what would happen when they eventually got to Belvedere. It was something they'd always shelved as future tense; like the journey itself was the main thing, and what became of them at the end merely incidental. Perhaps it was significant of Rogue's influence on them that they never even considered what she was planning next - for planning she must have been. She was - or had been - an assassin, and planning was therefore an intrinsic part of her nature. Like Ororo said, you didn't just decide one day to head for the cartel of such a powerful person as The Silver Sword without *some* inclination as to why you're doing it. It didn't make sense.
"I guess," Kurt murmured, "We never really thought about it."
Their ponderings, however, were momentarily forgotten; as with a loud creak, the door to the room swung open. Everyone turned to look at who dared to interrupt them, and the tall redheaded girl wreathed with torchlight in the doorway quailed slightly beneath their collectively hostile greeting.
"I'm sorry... I'm interrupting... I'll leave... sorry..."
"No need, no need." Ororo swiftly crossed the small room and drew the girl into it with movements as easy and fluid as liquid silk, yet quietly forceful. "It's only right that you be present at meetings such as this."
"Huh?" Kitty blurted. "I thought you said this was a private conversation? How come *she* can listen in on it?"
The tall girl blushed slightly as Kitty spoke like she wasn't even there, but Ororo casually shut the door again and replied calmly. "Allow me to introduce my acolyte and apprentice, Jean the Grey." She pushed the small of the redhead's back, gently ushering her further into the room.
The one now identified as 'Jean' bent her head until her chin touched her chest and muttered self-consciously. "I shouldn't be here. She's right. It's a private conversation. It's nothing to do with me. I should go."
"My dear, if you are to be Temple Mother some day then it has *everything* to do with you," Ororo corrected her. "Now come, take a seat. I trust your 'errand' went smoothly."
"My... oh, yeah - I mean yes." Jean lowered herself onto the bench next to Kurt, shooting a wary glance at the elf-like boy with his swishing tail perched so close to her head. "Underling Tabitha is now safely stashed in the library sorting some old tomes for Initiate McCoy. She won't be done for another few hours at the very least. I specifically asked Initiate McCoy to find something else for her to do should she finish early, too. So I doubt we'll see her for the rest of the day."
Kurt's jaw dropped open. "*You* got rid Tabby? But... how? Why?"
Jean just shrugged. "I sensed that you weren't comfortable with her presence, and figured you might be a little more open to Ororo's questioning if Tabitha wasn't around, so I set her to do a task on the other side of the Temple. I hope I didn't step out of bounds by taking the initiative?"
"Not at all! Not at *all*!" Kurt assured her. "I'm extremely glad that you *did* get rid of her. I'm just a little bemused over how you knew she was making me uncomfortable. As far as I'm aware, we've never even met before."
Jean looked embarrassed, and began twiddling her fingers in her lap in patent agitation. Apparently she disliked being questioned on this topic, and reacted badly to bombardment with queries.
It was Jubilee who saved her from her own discomfiture-induced muteness, stating bluntly, "She knew, because she's a Teep-and-Teek."
"A what?" Kitty sounded, and looked, more than a little confused. "What's one of those when it's at home?"
Jean answered softly. "I'm telepathic and telekinetic. I can move things with my mind, and... sense more than normal people can."
"Was?" Kurt peered down at her. "You mean like sensitive hearing and the like?"
The older teen swivelled her head to look at him, and Kurt found himself locked with a pair of startlingly green eyes.
//No, but I can do other things.//
He jolted, and toppled off his perch in shock at the unfamiliar, yet symbiotic familiarity of the communication.
"What the - "he began, before hitting the floor with a dull thud. At once he sprang to his feet and, using his tail as a lever, returned to the bench next to Jean. He gaped at her, mystified awe written plainly in his fuzzy features. "*You*! It was *you* I heard in my head. At the riverbank - outside, it was you!"
"Yes, it was me," Jean replied, colouring a bit more. "Your despair was like a beacon telling us where you were, and I needed to bring you to the Temple so that we could help your friend. That seemed the best way of contacting you over a long distance."
"Excuse me." Kitty stood up. "But just exactly *what* is going on here? Kurt, what are talking about? Voices in your head at the riverbank? Care to explain to me what's going on?"
"That was how I knew the way here, Kätzchen," Kurt explained, not taking his eyes from Jean's face. "Frauline Jean here was guiding me via my mind."
"Pardon?" Kitty appeared still to be confused. She folded her arms over her chest and glared reprovingly in Jean's direction.
//Please don't be angry. I meant no harm. I only wanted to help you.//
The strange, voiceless voice penetrated her skull with the not altogether unpleasant sensation of a sharp mental prod. Kitty gasped, having never had anything but her own thoughts inside her head before, and her blue eyes widened in alarm at the sudden invasion. She rapidly recognised Jean's mental voice from when she'd ordered her to stay put outside the main gates, but was still slightly overpowered by the sensation of having someone else inside her head besides herself.
Jean looked pleadingly at her. "I thought that would be the best way of contacting you. I didn't mean any harm by it, honestly. It's just in my nature to use my mind like that. Please don't be offended."
"Frauline," Kurt laid a thick-fingered hand on her shoulder, "If you can get rid of Underling Tabitha as easily as that, then I'll be your friend for life, no questions asked." He smiled a toothy grin.
Jean looked uncertain for a moment, before returning it. It was very hard not to feel at ease with Kurt.
"Well, now that that's all sorted out - " Ororo folded her hands inside her sleeves. But she didn't get to say anything more, for at that moment there was a sharp rapping at the door.
"I'll get it." Jean said, and the handle ostensibly moved by itself as she exerted the other half of her powers. Kitty's eyes widened again, but she said nothing; a sign that 'weirdness' was fast becoming the norm for her.
Jubilee rolled her eyes as the door swung open. "What is this, 'invade the private conversation day'?"
A small girl with blonde hair tied in a simple knot at the nape of her neck stood in the corridor. Little more than a child, she walked uninvited into the room with an air of authority that rivalled Ororo's own. Jean closed the door behind her, and she surveyed those assembled with a critical eye. An air of maturity surrounded her, and Ororo stood.
"Kurt, Kitty, may I introduce Initiate Teah Ashari. Teah, meet Kurt and Kitty, our visitors from Germania."
"Charmed," Teah replied in a clipped, quite un-childlike voice. "One of the Underlings said that you'd be in here, Ororo. Actually, I'm rather glad these two are with you. It means I won't have to repeat myself to them later."
"Teah is our resident healer. She's been taking care of your friend since she arrived." Ororo explained.
"Really?" Kurt exclaimed. "How *is* Rogue? She's going to be alright, isn't she?"
"Please, tell us," Kitty chimed in. "We've been so worried about her. Nobody, like, knows what's going on. She's gonna be fine, right? Please say she's gonna be fine."
"Children, please." Ororo held up her hands for silence at Teah's expression. She knew the healer well enough to recognise when she was annoyed at being interrupted, and equally, knew her sharp tongue well enough to foresee what damage it could do if not allowed to continue speaking.
Kurt and Kitty fell into respective silence, and all four young people listened intently as the Temple Mother conversed with the unorthodox physician.
"How is the girl, Teah?"
Teah sighed. "She was hurt very badly. By the time we got to her, the poison had spread through most of her system. She was, quite literally, hanging on by a thread, and it was difficult to conceive that she'd lasted as long as she had."
"Had? What do you mean 'had'?" Kurt asked worriedly, but was silenced again by a look from Jubilee.
"As I was saying," Teah continued, sending a parallel glare at the elf, "We didn't think she was going to make it, but the fact that she'd hung on against such odds made us try anyway. Evidently, it was the right decision. I used my abilities to force the poison out of her physically. There was a lot of it, I can tell you. It was a long and painstaking process. I had to find out just how far it had got, and then push it out of the openings it'd entered by with my mind. Several times we thought we'd lost her, but always she'd come back to us. It was really, quite amazing."
~That's Rogue,~ Kurt thought to himself. Jean jerked her head up, and he shot her an apologetic look.
//That's alright. Just try not to think so *loud*, OK. I have to get used to tuning out your mental voice so that I don't sense anything I shouldn't.//
~OK.~
Jean winced, but gave him a lopsided smile.
"If you've *quite* finished with your little private conversation!" Teah's annoyed voice dragged them back to reality, and both teens looked culpably at her.
"Sorry."
"Traurig."
The Initiate grunted. "The girl had suffered severe wounds to her arm and neck. Removing the spines was difficult, but not impossible. However, it *did* sap a lot of my energy. Consequently, I had little left over to repair the damage to the broken skin and tissue. She'll carry the scars of this little incident for the rest of her life." At this, Teah paused for a moment. Then she sighed.
"I get the impression there's something you're not telling us, Teah," said Ororo.
"There is," the girl replied. "I'm reluctant to enlighten you because it's not good news, I'm afraid."
Kurt's blood ran cold. "What do you mean?"
"Like I said, my energy reserves were severely drained by extracting the poison and repairing what damage I could before its effects set in. We thought we were over the worst when the physical injuries were finally sealed up, but we - I - was wrong."
Kitty toyed distractedly with the edge of her makeshift clothing. She didn't say anything, but her silence spoke volumes. Furtively, she cast a glance at Kurt. His expression was tight, and he gripped the bench so tightly that she was sure the skin beneath his fur must be blanching. His golden eyes didn't blink once as he watched Initiate Ashari, and Jean gave him an odd sideways look. Kitty didn't need telepathy to understand how powerful the waves of worry coming off the elf must be. It was already patently clear in his body language.
"Teah, what is going on?" Ororo asked softly, voice betraying no emotion.
"There were.... complications." A cryptic answer, and not one that inspired any kind of confidence.
"Complications?"
Teah seemed irresolute for a moment, indecision wavering behind her eyes. Finally she took the plunge. "She has Shaking Sickness."
A collective gasp went around the room.
"Shaking Sickness?" Kurt repeated, aghast. "No. Oh please gods, no."
Similar exclamations exited the mouths of Jubilee and Jean, but curiously, Ororo was silent. She only gazed sadly at the healer, exquisite blue eyes filled with remorse. She seemed unperturbed, yet behind her gaze there was a lurch perceptible even to the most untrained eye. As if suddenly, all her hopes had come crashing down in one spectacular shambles, but she couldn't show her disappointment because of her role as the resident maternal figure. Temple Mother. The strong one. The one who was never affected by anything.
Kitty drew her knees up to her chin, rocking a little, eyes wide. Yet still she said nothing. Her mouth seemed frozen, as those four words burned their way through her skull and deep into the recesses of her mind to where a buried memory lay. A memory she'd purposefully locked up a long time ago, too pained to recall it and all that it entailed. Now though, it resurfaced with sickening clarity, bringing home all that she'd wished to ignore. To forget. Her mind swam as it pushed itself to the fore. Bonds broken. Released to force itself upon her reluctant psyche in a flurry of pictures.
[[[Father comes out of the bedroom, face pale and drawn. He seems more exhausted than usual, his light blue eyes solemn and filled with regret. One hand rests against the doorframe, supporting his dwindling weight as his weakened legs can no longer do. He smiles as he sees me, but it's forced. I know something's amiss, and I tell him so.
"Daddy, don't treat me like an idiot. Tell me what's wrong."
He smiles. A sad smile, like he's keeping a secret he really doesn't want to keep.
"Ah, my little Shadowcat. Always so inquisitive. But curiosity killed the cat, you know."
I frown. He's avoiding the question. Not telling me something. He only uses that nickname when he's sad or worried. I adjust the tray in my hands and peer around him into the bedroom beyond; at the small bundle huddled in the bed. But he moves in front of me. I look at him, and see something else in his eyes. He doesn't want me to see. Now I know that something is wrong. I've always been allowed to see her before. I'm bringing her breakfast, just like always. I have to get in to give it to her. I have to get in.
But his eyes. So sad....
"Daddy?"
He sighs, and coughs a little. His chest is getting worse. I can hear it. Soon he'll be confined to bed too, and I'll have to wait on them both. But no matter. I don't mind, as long as they get better.
He looks at me steadily. Searchingly. Then finally, he speaks.
"She has Shaking Sickness."
I gasp, and the tray almost slips from my fingers. Shaking Sickness? No, it can't be true. There's no cure for that. There's no cure for her. No, I can't believe it. I *won't* believe it.
He watches me. Sees my expression. He lays one wide hand on my shoulder in an act of comfort. It's calloused by years of hard toil. His face is pained with losing a loved one; at losing the only woman he ever truly cared for apart from me.
I want to scream at him. To shout, throw the tray down and tell him that she's not dead yet; that there's still hope. But the words hitch in my throat, so instead, I jerk away from his hand. I don't want him to touch me. I want him to take back what he said.
He stumbles as I wrench away from him. Then his face is filled with another kind of pain. I see him lunge forwards, one hand flailing for the doorframe and missing. He slithers to the ground as a coughing fit wracks his body, and lies there at my feet, hacking and wheezing.
The tray clatters to the floor, and I fall beside him. I don't know what to do. There's blood. It's so red. What do I do? What do I *do*? It's coming from his mouth. Oh gods, what's happening. He's so sick, but he was fine only a second ago. What's happening?
I can hear her inside the room, calling for me. Calling for him. She's delirious. But he can't come. I look at him, rub his back and pull at his shoulder.
"Daddy? Daddy!" I call. "Daddy, please get up. Get up, Daddy. She needs you. *I* need you. I can't do this on my own. Please don't leave me. Please don't...."
Blood on the floor. So red. So shiny. Sinking into the cracks and splits of the woodwork. He shakes, a big judder, and then lies still. Daddy?
The coughing's stopped, but I keep calling to him. She's gone all quiet, but I don't get up to look. I'm afraid. Afraid of what I might find in there, curled up in the bed. It won't be her. Not any more. Too quiet. She's gone.
It has no cure.
Daddy? Why won't you wake up, Daddy? Don't you love me any more? Don't you love Mommy? Please, stop it. It's your little Shadowcat, remember? Please. Oh, please....
Blood on the wood. In the wood. Silence in the bedroom. Silence all around us. It's stifling. I'm choking on it. The stench of old blood rises up around me, but I can't move. I can't. I want to be sick, but I just keep on calling until my voice is hoarse. Please, please wake up. Please...
There is no cure.
Daddy?]]]
"Kitty! Kitty, snap out of it!"
Kitty blinked, and stared about her blearily, as if reawakening from a dream.
No, not a dream. A nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare.
"Kitty, can you hear me? Kitty?"
Someone was holding her shoulders, joggling her roughly. She turned to face the person, and found herself gazing into a pair worried green eyes.
"Come on, Kitty." Jean jostled her again. "Snap out of it."
Kitty blinked again, horrific images still fresh in her mind. Her lips formed words, but her voice was a barely above a whisper. "Who... J... J... Jean?"
Jean smiled gratefully. "That's right. I'm Jean, remember? Jean the Grey. Come on Kitty. You remember me, don't you?"
"Wh... where?"
"You're at the Temple of the Way. You're safe here."
Safe? Kitty looked around her. No bodies. No plaintive calling. No retching coughs. Just.... safe.
Jean's eyes widened as the younger girl suddenly fell against her, weeping. For a moment, she didn't know what to do. Then, tentatively, she encircled Kitty's shoulders as she'd seen Ororo do to distraught individuals in the past. Kitty's slight frame shook and trembled, and she mumbled a vastly incoherent spurt of words the telepath could only partially make out, since her face was nestled into the shoulder of her robe.
"Breakfast... He was there... so... so sad... And I... I... he fell... Shaking Sickness... Took them both... Why... why me... Why them... never did anyone any harm... Not fair... now... now Rogue... Not again... please, no..."
"Shhh," Jean soothed, stroking the girl's spine. "It's OK. It wasn't real."
The tsunami of emotions coming off her was almost overpowering for the telepath. Pain, dread, fear, and despair - all of them leaked from Kitty's uncensored mind and gathered in the pit of Jean's stomach, making her nauseous. Yet she held on; unwilling to relinquish her hold on the poor girl trembling in her arms because of personal weakness.
Jean had sensed the change in Kitty when Teah uttered those words. It had been almost tangible. Then the images came; thick and fast, and terribly disturbing. What was worse was that they were real. Real memories, repressed for so long they sent Kitty into a trance-like state when they finally broke free. It had taken all of Jean's abilities to bring her back from the edge, and only *she* knew how close the younger female had come to toppling into oblivion and the insanity that awaited there.
Out of the corner of one eye she espied Ororo looking at her. Of all the people in the room, Jean probably had the fairest idea what the Temple Mother was thinking right now. Yet she couldn't say anything whilst Kitty was in such a pitiful state. Perhaps this was what it was like being Temple Mother. Wanting to do something, but not being able to because of the people you were committed to helping. Was this how Ororo felt?
One glance at the older woman's face, with its weary eyes and practised neutrality answered her question in an instant.
Ororo looked at her acolyte as she comforted the distressed girl. Jean was demonstrating exactly why she had been chosen as the next Temple Mother, but Ororo couldn't congratulate herself on her choice now. There were other matters to be attended to.
She crossed the room and drew Initiate Ashari aside. It wouldn't do to have Kitty hear if there was only more bad news since she was already in such a condition.
"Teah, is there nothing you can do for the girl. What are her chances of survival?"
"Slim to none," Teah replied dispassionately.
Ororo blinked. Really, it was quite disconcerting to have a mere child speak of death and dying in such a cold and clinical manner. However, it was part and parcel of her Changeling powers, and Ororo had long since grown used to Teah's oddities; to the point where she hardly even noticed them any more.
"If I still had full use of my healing powers then maybe - just maybe - there might be a chance. But I basically used up everything on the poison and flesh wounds. None of us in the Infirmary even realised about the Shaking Sickness until it was too late. Most likely a dramatic drop in body temperature induced it, possibly by her being wet and exposed to the elements. Either way, her chances of survival are infinitesimal at best. She's barely holding on as it is."
Ororo tried one last time. "So there's nothing you can do?"
"Without another healer, no. All we can do is wait. This girl is a fighter, and no mistake. But I have my doubts as to whether that will be enough in this situation. You know as well as I do that nobody had ever come through Shaking Sickness without a healer's aid."
"Nein!"
Ororo and Teah's heads both snapped up. Kurt glared at them from his perch on the back of the bench, anger smouldering deep in his golden eyes. Previously, he'd been watching Kitty and Jean, but his sensitive ears had easily picked up on their conversation, and what they said had clearly angered him.
"Nein!" he growled again, glowering at them. "She will not die! You don't know Rogue. She'll come through this. She *will*! She's not like other people. She'll succeed where they've failed. Just like she's done before. That's why she's called *The* Rogue. Nobody's ever had the guts to do what she's done before!"
"Kurt - " Ororo began, but he cut her off.
"No! I won't listen to your lies! Don't you understand? She saved my life. I won't just let her fade away and die because of that! She's stronger than you think - than any of us think!"
"Now look here - " Teah tried to reason with him, but Kurt would not be mollified.
"She. Will. Not. Die!" he said slowly and carefully, spaded tail lashing dangerously from side to side. Anybody who knew anything about tailed animals knew the aggressive nature of this movement. Across the room, Jubilee noticed it and began making her way towards him.
"Kurt, stop it," she said. "Teah and her team have done their best for Rogue. They can't help it if the situation's beyond their control now."
"No!" Kurt shook his head. "They haven't done their best. How can they have done their best if *she*," he nodded at the blonde girl, who folded her arms in irritation, "Can just stand there and calmly tell us that there's no hope. That there's nothing we can do!"
"Listen, kid," Teah stepped forward, brows knitted together in displeasure and missing the irony of the epithet, "Let's just say that I *did* have enough of my healing abilities left to get rid of the Shaking Sickness - which I don't. Even then I doubt we'd be able to save her."
"Lies! All lies!"
"No, I'm not lying. You see, the fact is, the problem's not only physical. Your friend has sunk into a state of unconsciousness so deep and intense that even a strong telepath would find it very difficult to break into her mind. She's set up defences so strong they damn near killed one of my team when he tried to fetch her out of it! In short, she's virtually dead anyway. And you know what? It's self-induced too. In a nutshell, She doesn't *want* to wake up!"
"What do you mean?" Ororo queried warily, eyes flicking between the two of them.
"Exactly what I said," Teah replied, keeping her own eyes fixed on Kurt. "The girl's basically trapped inside her own mind. I've seen it before. Sometimes it happens because of outside influence, but the majority of the time, the sufferer has intentionally created a world inside their head and then locked himself or herself inside of it because they no longer want to associate with the outside one. In such cases, it's impossible to revive them. This is one of those cases."
"No!" Kurt yelled, voice filled with remorse and unconcealed pain. "I don't believe you! You're lying!"
"Afraid not."
"Liar!" Before anyone could do anything, he gathered his feet underneath him and launched himself at the healer. "You're a liar! She'd never do that!"
An expression of panic briefly graced Teah's face as the boy flew towards her. His eyes shone, and his lips were pulled back to reveal sharp white fangs embedded among his other teeth. He looked, to all intents and purposes, like a demon of the worst calibre.
However, whatever his thoughts and purposes behind this rash action - perhaps there were none, but he refused to speak about it afterwards, so nobody is entirely sure what the thinking behind attacking the overly-mature child was - Kurt was never allowed to carry them out. He halted in mid air, mere inches away from Teah's face, and floated there uselessly.
Jean still held one arm protectively around Kitty, but the other was stretched out towards the incapacitated Pella-Azul, a physical gesture of the telekinetic power she was applying upon his body. Kurt's arms and legs windmilled, but he remained where he was, glaring and snarling at the individual so audacious as to leave Rogue for dead when there was still life left in her body. Now and then he spared a growl for Jean, but the redhead stayed firm.
"Kurt, stop this!" said Jubilee. "You're being irrational."
Kurt snarled at her. A savage, feral sound. Quite unlike his usual, easygoing demeanour. "irrational? Since when is refusing to abandon someone I care about irrational? Would you just leave Ororo for dead if there was even the slightest chance of saving her from sickness?" He paused, expectantly. "No. I thought not. Can't you see, Frauline? Even if there's the smallest ghost of a chance, I have to take it. I just.... I just can't face losing someone.... Not again.... I refuse to repeat my past mistakes.... I *refuse*!"
Jubilee simply stared at him, taken aback by the vehemence attached to his words. Kurt glared, anger welling up in his gaze. Yet it was impure, tinctured with something else; a desperation so concentrated it all but took her breath away. Obviously there was more to his fervent repudiation than met the eye.
"Kurt.... what do you mean? What past mistakes?"
"Nein, I.... I can't." He turned his head away, biting his lip. How could he have let that slip? His past shame was private. He couldn't let them know how he'd already failed his mother. Her death hung over him like a dark shadow. No, he couldn't let Rogue suffer the same fate for helping him. Mystique had tried to protect him, and it had killed her. He couldn't - wouldn't - let Rogue, or anybody else go the same way.
Jubilee watched as he closed his eyes. All at once he ceased struggling, letting his body go limp in Jean's ethereal hold. It was as if something was weighing heavily upon him, draining his energy.
Had Jean not been concentrating so hard on keeping him airborne, she may have sensed what was going through Kurt's mind. As it was, her attention was already divided between telekinesis and holding together Kitty's fragile grip on reality. If she let go, Kitty would have gone tumbling back into her memories, and this time Jean wouldn't have been able to bring her back. Similarly, if she released Kurt there was still the chance he could go for Initiate Ashari. It was a stalemate.
Jubilee took a tentative step forward. "Kurt?"
No response.
"Kurt?"
It was as if he were sleeping, suspended in midair.
Tentatively, she laid a hand on the white fabric covering his shoulder. It was a comforting gesture, but Kurt's face whipped round, teeth bared.
"Don't touch me! If you're not going to help me save her, then I don't want you anywhere near me!"
Her hand snapped back like it was affixed to a piece of elastic. He looked so.... wild. His eyes were harsh and unforgiving, as if she'd committed the ultimate betrayal by believing what Initiate Ashari had said. That there was no hope. That there was nothing any of them could do to help Rogue.
"Kurt, I - "
"Save it!" was the retort. "Unless you believe and are going to help me. Do you believe me, Frauline Jubilee?"
For a moment his expression was hopeful, almost pleading. Jubilee looked at him, and then was forced to look away. How could she inspire such false hope? It was better that he just accepted the inevitable now. Rogue couldn't survive Shaking Sickness, no matter how strong she was. It was over.
Kurt's face hardened. "Fine then. I don't need you. I don't need any of you. Jean, put me down."
"No, Kurt," Jean replied levelly. "I can't risk you hurting anyone."
"You're hurting Rogue by not letting me down!" he yelled, a new flash of anger appearing in his glare. "Let me go!"
"You're in no frame of mind to - "
"Let me *go*!"
"No."
~LET ME *GO*!~ he mentally screamed.
Jean gasped as his internal voice slashed through her skull, bringing with it a driving pain that only a telepath can feel. It hurt so much, but her resolve remained strong. If he was willing to do this to her just to achieve his own ends, then there was no telling what he'd do if she freed him. His anger and grief was too fresh; too raw. It was colouring his judgement, making him irrational. She had to hold onto him. She had to be strong, as befitted an acolyte.
~PUT ME *DOWN*!~
White hot, searing agony. It hurt so much. Jean gritted her teeth, but it was no use. Her grip on him was slipping. He floated closer to the floor, flailing violently and mentally screeching at her. She was losing her grasp. She was....
Suddenly, a physical voice sliced through their psychic battle. Resonant and filled with sad wisdom, it echoed inside their ears.
"Stop this madness, Kurt. Son of Mystique the Seer."
Everything stopped. Kurt froze, expression stunned. All and sundry halted until even their breaths seemed stilled. It was as if all the air had suddenly been sucked out of the room. All eyes turned to look upon the one who had spoken.
Ororo stood silent before them, face unreadable.
Slowly, and with painstaking apprehension, Kurt swivelled his head to look at her. When he spoke, his voice was shot through with incredulity, and not a little suspicion. "How do you know my mother's name?"
Ororo said nothing. She only watched him through eyes as blue as his hide and twice as impenetrable. Kurt narrowed his gaze, misgiving bubbling inside his gut. He'd never mentioned Mystique's name. So how could Ororo know that he was her son? How did she know such things as *any* of those she'd talked about?
"Who *are* you?"
*******************
To Be Continued...
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*TRANSLATIONS*
GERMANIC:
'Sicher, bitten Sie weg' - Of course, ask away
'Blauhaut' - Blue pelt