Josephine pulled back with a sigh. Her blue eyes moved over her daughter's features, red rimmed and radiating warmth as she thumbed Fern's scaled cheek. They were rather close in height now. With a smirk, she set her hand on top of the girl's head and gave it a pat.
Fern pulled back from her with a groan. Brushing her black hair from her face, she huffed. "Oh my god, Ma, it's an inch! Quit gloating!"
"An inch more than you got, baby."
The young woman pursed her lips. With a shake of her head, she stepped around her mother and grabbed her suitcase off the bed. Throwing it on her back, Fern shrugged as she tightened her grip on its handle. She adjusted to the extra weight with ease and nodded toward the door. "Walk me out?"
The elderly woman inclined her head. "I'd be happy to."
"Yeah, a little too damn happy if ya ask me."
Josie grinned. She wrapped her arm around the girl's broad shoulders and steered her toward the door. "I'm gonna turn your bedroom into a kennel for Bruno's little girlfriend."
"Bruno's little girlfriend is a hundred pound Rottweiler."
"So?" She gave her shoulder a squeeze before letting her arm drop. As they slipped out of the room, she went on, "Giant dogs with unknown rabies statuses need love too, baby."
Fern's eyes narrowed slightly. "No they don't."
"Yes, they do." The woman smirked. As she began to lead her down the stairs, she continued, "Don't act like they're not adorable together."
The grey skinned girl shook her head. "I'm starting to think you've got a thing for strays, Ailey."
Josephine turned and shot her a glare. Eyes fierce and tone stern, the blonde snapped, "Don't talk about yourself like that- and don't you roll your eyes at me Fern Ailey, or I will knock you down the rest of these stairs, so help me God, darlin'."
"Your idle threats have no effect on me anymore, old woman." Fern winked playfully at her.
"Don't make me get the broom, sugar."
The younger Ailey's skin flickered a moment and she quickly assured her mother, "I'll be good."
"Well," A masculine voice cut in. The women looked over to find the taller man, Erik, standing a few feet away from the bottom of the stairway. His smile wide and just a touch wicked, he continued, "Not too good, I hope."
Josie lifted a fine blonde brow at him. She felt Fern tilt away from the man, could see her skin twist with discomfort from the corner of her eye and put a hand on her shoulder. Voice a touch colder than it had been, the elderly woman asked him, "Didn't I tell Bruno to guard you?"
"Raven's spoiling him with her affections in the kitchen as we speak." Completely undeterred by her tone, he looked back at Fern. "All packed?"
She offered him a curt nod and stepped down the final stair.
It was then Charles and Raven made their reappearance, with Bruno trailing hotly at the blonde woman's heels. Both mutants wore excited smiles. It was the man who took the lead however, and quickly moved to take the suitcase still slung over the younger Ailey's back. "Erik! Where are your manners?! May I?"
"I'm good," Fern told him, her skin still a bit darker than usual.
With a more genuine grin, she moved to give her dog's head a rub. Bruno let out a gruff bark and his tongue lolled out, relishing in the abundance of affection he seemed to be getting lately. The membrane over Fern's eyes blinked over them as she hugged the large animal. Her heart heavy, she pulled away from him. The girl ruffled his cheeks and growled playfully at him before standing.
With a hitch her voice, she asked, "Shall we?"
Charles nodded and led the group outside.
"Call me when you get there," Josie told her daughter, but she made no move to venture past the door. Her features steeled, she offered her daughter a wink as Fern squared her shoulders. The grey girl returned the gesture with a smirk and threw her suitcase in the trunk before sliding into the backseat.
The dog began to whine as Fern got in the car. It moved restlessly around Josephine's feet, whimpering and pulling to follow, but the woman kept a tight hold on the dog's collar.
Raven slid into the back seat beside her with a soft encouraging smile on her lips. Fern didn't acknowledge it, nor did she look back at her mother or the house, as they pulled out into the hidden driveway that would lead to the highway.
"So, Miss Ailey," Charles began. He glanced at her in the rearview mirror and grinned at her, "Did Raven mention that we hope to have several others at the base by the time your plane arrives?"
"More or less." Fern smirked. "I guess this means you don't know Casten, huh?"
"Not exactly," the British man admitted. "But from what I've seen, he seems like a lovely man."
The grey girl hummed with doubt. "He's alright."
"Not a fan of doctors?" Erik asked from the passenger seat. His suitcase open in front of him, his stoic gaze didn't leave the pages in his lap.
"Not at all."
The blonde beside her pursed her lips to suppress a smile. "Well…" Raven chuckled, "I'm sure Hank will be happy to hear that."
"Hank?" Fern repeated skeptically.
"He's one of us," Raven was quick to assure her. "He's a scientist at the base."
Charles stiffened in the front seat. His blue eyes lifted once more to the mirror and he cleared his throat, earning a quick, frightened glance from the grey skinned girl. Delicately raising his fingers to his temple, the Brit let Erik take control of the vehicle as he watched memories play in Fern's mind. There was a haze of scalpels and speculums, of needles and restraints put in place by cold hands and he offered her what he had seen of Hank in response.
Fern flinched at the intrusion into her mind. It wasn't painful; just surprising. She honestly hadn't thought of what Charles' or Erik's mutations could be. Frankly, she had been too blown away by Raven to really care. It was odd to see, pictures playing out in front of her eyes in such a way. There had been no television in her home growing up or in the homes of anyone she knew (not that she knew many people), but she supposed that the experience was similar.
The young man Charles showed her wore horn rimmed glasses and spoke excitedly about genetics. His enthusiasm reminded the scaled girl of Casten. The psychic also showed her his feet and his hesitance, something Fern was grateful for and she eased back into her seat before the panic could really set in.
The blonde beside her glanced between the two but said nothing on their little exchange. Instead, she asked if Fern had ever been on a plane before. When she answered in the negative, Raven beamed. "You'll love it. It's so pretty up there."
Fern lifted an amused, near invisible brow at the blonde, but stayed quiet.
"You're not scared of heights, are you?"
"No."
"Oh, good." When the taller girl merely continued to smirk at her, Raven looked to the front seat. "Where are you fellas off to again?"
"Our next mutant is in Georgia," Erik replied as they continued down the highway.
Charles had taken control of the wheel once more and they were making fairly good time. Without a doubt they would be at the private landing strip in less than an hour. Agent Sullivan had been the one to make the arrangements and had assured them he would meet the young ladies at the strip when they landed in Virginia.
"Do you know anything about them?" Fern asked curiously.
"His name is Armando," Charles told her. Keeping his eyes on the room, he added, "he drives a cab in Atlanta."
The young woman nodded, but let Raven take over the conversation once more. The blonde was exuberant, happy to fill the silence with banter with Charles about the prospect of finding more mutants. Erik and Fern were content to listen with the former occasionally butting in to remind his friend that it wasn't the best idea to put blind faith in the government.
By the time they reached the airport, the two were in an intense discussion about the difference between trusting humanity and naivety. Both of the young women were very bored by it. Raven, because she had heard it before, and Fern, because she knew better than to trust anyone past a certain extent. While Charles peaceful outlook was adorable, she had seen Erik's harsh reality and found it easier to accept.
The plane itself had been stripped of all staff except for a pilot, who had been informed early on that he would be couriering two young ladies with skin conditions. The pilot seemed completely at ease with the notion and even made a point to introduce himself to the both of them before takeoff.
"Michael Jacobi."
Fern arched a brow, but said nothing as he shook hands with Raven. He was in his mid to late forties, pale and portly, but smiling pleasantly. When he hesitated to do the same with Fern, she smiled at him and simply lifted a hand in a wave. "Good to meet you."
The relief was palpable on his face, but the young Southerner didn't take offense. He inclined his head and tipped his hat respectively. "And you, Miss Ailey."
"You're not put off by my…?" A gloved hand gestured to her face.
"For the money they pay me, you could be Satan himself and I'd still be have to transport you, Miss Ailey."
"Who says I'm not?"
Michael faltered a moment before letting out a nervous chuckle.
Raven sent an elbow into Fern's side. The grey girl didn't so much as flinch, merely continued to smirk at the man in front of them. When he remained uncomfortable, Fern blinked and let her expression soften a touch. "Have you been a pilot long?"
"Nearly twenty five years."
"Were you in the war?"
He blinked, "Why, yes, I was."
"Then I thank you for your services." The Ailey girl inclined her head in respect. Brightening a touch, she smiled and asked, "Do you think you could show me how me the cockpit? I've never been on a plane before."
Michael returned her grin and nodded. "I'd be happy to." His gaze shifted to Raven, "Would you care to join us, Miss Darkholme?"
"No thanks." The blonde waved a dismissive hand. "I've heard enough about plane semantics and how engines work in the past week to last a life time."
Fern lifted a near invisible brow, but didn't ask. She merely assumed it had something to do with Hank, the young man she had gushed about on the ride to the airport (much to her peers annoyance). With a shrug, the young woman looked back to Michael. "Lead the way, Mr. Jacobi."
A/N: After all your wonderful reviews, I decided to post a bit sooner than I usually would. A shout out to my lovely beta, Linda Ku, for helping me with this!