Logan was pacing the length of the floor in front of Xavier's desk. "Been a month, Chuck, ain't heard a peep out of her. Figured she'd have told us somethin' by now."
The Professor sat calmly behind his desk, watching the restless movements of the Wolverine. "She's a complicated young woman, Logan, who lost everything dear to her because of bigotry. It's no surprise that she's wary of accepting a hand held out in friendship, afraid of taking a chance on something else she's afraid of losing.
"What I'm curious about is why you're so worried about her."
"Can't I just be curious, too?"
Xavier chuckled. "If this behavior from you were a regular occurrence, then I wouldn't wonder at it, but for you to act this way over a stranger is what makes me wonder what's different this time."
Logan finally stopped pacing and sprawled into one of the leather armchairs facing the desk. "I dunno, not sure if it's somethin' I can even really explain," he said. He was well aware of the strangeness of his actions, his attitude. "I talked to 'er, after 'Ro and I took the kids to that concert, and I ... there was somethin' about her."
He looked down at his hands, a common focus of his attention. "An' when Scott an' I went to see her, she was different, I could tell she'd been drinkin', tryin' to drown herself. Ain't a good way to go through life. Guess I just feel like she deserves better."
"That sounds remarkably like how you've taken Kitty and Jubilee under your wing, so to speak. You saw something in them that needed help and you gave it willingly." Xavier shook his head ruefully. "I don't think you've ever given an answer without some sort of fight, Logan. Maybe she's not the only one who's changed."
His head cocked to the side, eyes going distant as usually happened when someone was in telepathic contact with him. When his eyes refocused he smiled at Logan. "Would you be so kind as to answer the front door? There is no one else on the first floor who would get to it in time."
As soon as he finished speaking the doorbell sounded. Logan gave him a funny look before getting up to do as he'd been asked.
He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised to see Teva there. "Speak o' the devil," he said when he opened the door. "Took ya long enough." She looked like hell, her clothes hung looser on her than they had before and she had dark circles under her eyes. Her long hair was tangled and pulled into a messy ponytail.
Teva drew herself up and he saw the anger in her spark to life. Good, at least she still had that. "You always answer the door like an arsehole?" she asked. "Do you know how many times I changed my mind about this?"
He couldn't help smirking at her, teasing her to watch her temper flare up now that he knew it was there. "Just didn't expect it to take a flamin' month."
"Aye, well, neither did I. It was'nae something I wanted to decide quickly. I'm no impulsive, never have been, and I did'nae intend to start with this."
"Nothin' wrong with bein' a little reckless," he said, moving aside to let her in. He reached for her bag and she let him take it, noticing the little twitch she gave when their hands touched and wondered at it but didn't mention it. "Makes life more interestin' sometimes."
"I'll keep that in mind," she replied dryly, looking around the vast foyer. Her eyes went a little wide at the understated decorations that managed to speak of wealth. "Is, uh, Professor Xavier around? I wanted to see him, y'ken, to be sure I'm no making a foolish choice." She still clutched a hardshell guitar case.
Logan nodded. "He's down the hall, first door on the right. I can take yer stuff to an empty room, if ya want," he offered.
She hesitated a moment before relinquishing her guitar. "Damage that and I'll kill you."
He smirked again. "Don't worry, darlin', I'll be careful with it."
Teva breathed out a little shakily. "Sorry, dinnae mind me. I'm all strung up and likely to say another dozen stupid things before day's end." She gestured to her things in his hands. "Thanks." She turned to leave, then turned back. "I threw out all the alcohol in my penthouse."
He raised an eyebrow, a little impressed. "Told ya drinkin' wouldn't solve anything."
She shrugged, the fingers on her left hand moving as if she were making chords on a guitar. It must have been a nervous gesture or she was just playing music in her head. "Easy to say that when you dinnae have a drinking problem."
"True. I'm glad for ya, darlin'."
"Will, uh, will I see you around later?"
"Yeah, I'll be around. You get goin'."
She gave him a little wave with her hand and went on, her shoulders squared now. The last time he'd seen her they'd been hunched, and the change in posture made him think she'd be alright.
Xavier was waiting for her in his office, having come around his desk to greet her properly. He seemed the perfect gentleman, his voice cultured and pitched to cultivate calm and ease in his audience. "It's good to finally meet you, Ms. Lawson. I was hoping you'd accept my offer."
She bit her lower lip, gnawing on it a moment before she answered. "Truthfully, I'm still no sure I want to accept it, but ..." She looked away from his steady, sure gaze, embarrassed. "I just dinnae want to be alone anymore," she finished quietly. Something about the man made her words seem perfectly rational.
"You won't be alone here," Xavier assured her, gesturing for her to take a seat. "I know that your life hasn't been an easy one; most of the people here have been through tragedy of some kind or another. We have children from broken, abusive homes, from parents who didn't want them because of what they are, children who had been living on the streets before we found them, just trying to survive.
"I've worked very hard to provide a place of safety for them, as well as the adults who live here. It's a very large, extended family of sorts, each person having their own place and way of contributing. I won't turn you out should you not wish to teach but I do so hope you will still consider the position. You have so much to share." He reached out to touch her arm and jerked back suddenly.
Teva jerked, too, nearly spilling herself out of her seat. She'd felt a rush of her own fear like it was being pulled out of her. "What was that? What just happened?"
Xavier rubbed his hand across the front of his suit jacket. "You are an empath, are you not?" When she nodded he continued. "As hard as you're trying to shield you're still leaking some emotion. My own mental shields and powers are strong; I think touching you when your emotions are running strong and you have less control may have triggered a sort of power surge." He frowned, considering. "Do you have more trouble controlling the empathy when you touch someone?"
She nodded, feeling dizzy and weak. "Some people are worse than others. Logan ... I touched him, when he took my bags. It was just a few seconds but I got so much from him, such a strong personality, a lot of pain and darkness, arrogance, protectiveness ..." She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I've no felt anything like him before."
"There must be some telepathy involved, then, if you were able to pick up qualities along with raw emotion. Have you ever experienced voices that seemed to come from nowhere? Or thoughts that weren't your own?"
Teva nodded again, let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Aye, but it's erratic. It's never been as much of a problem as the empathy, that's what keeps me awake at night, trying to block out everyone's emotions." Her hands shook in memory. "I hated touring with the band because it meant hotel rooms, and hotels full of people. The crowds at the concerts seemed easier to handle because I could feed everything back at them. I dinnae ken how I'm going to live in a school full of people, though."
"I can help you with that," Xavier assured her. He gave her a small smile. "And I can help you develop the telepathy, should you so choose, but for now I believe that I can shore up your defenses, allow you to shield more permanently so that you are not overwhelmed." When she nodded in response, he asked, "May I have your hand?"
She offered it warily, expecting another shock, but instead she found peace. Quiet. She watched his eyes close and she felt her own drift shut in response.
After what seemed like mere seconds she found herself blinking, the shaft of sunlight that had been slanting across the desk now in a different position.
"Are you alright?" Xavier asked, watching her carefully.
"Aye, I think so." She ran a hand over her head. "Did it work?" She had a feeling it had because she felt stronger, less jittery than she had since before she'd manifested.
"Yes, though it took a bit longer than I'd anticipated. You're strong and the fact that you've gone so long without formal training from another so psychically gifted made it somewhat difficult for me to duplicate and then boost your mental shields. I have had many more years experience and as such my shields are more ... sophisticated than yours. Your shields are very much like a tangled brier patch that I had to watch my step through." He glanced down at his pocket watch. "Dinner should be ready shortly. I would like you to join us, so that the other adults may meet you."
Teva blushed when her stomach growled. "I guess I dinnae have much choice, then."
She found herself shying away, though, when they entered the dining room and a wave of sound hit her. Belatedly she realized that none of the accompanying thoughts or emotions followed, just blessed silence in her head but for her own rambling psyche. She looked around and found kids ranging in ages from what seemed like five all the way up to high school age, and quite a few who would be college age. Numerous adults occupied the table that Xavier guided her to, Logan among them. He sat next to a pretty redhead, the seat on his right unoccupied.
He raised an eyebrow when he saw her, then jerked his head to indicate he wanted her to sit beside him. She took the seat, tucking one leg up beneath her in a gesture she'd been doing for years. A plate piled high with food was pushed in front of her.
"How did you ...?"
"I'm good at guessin'," he replied. "Probably too much food, little thing like you probably couldn't put that much away."
The challenge was evident in his eyes, as was the amusement. She met it with determination and her Scottish stubbornness. "Are you always this much of a pain in the arse?"
"Oh, definitely," came a female voice. The redhead next to Logan leaned forward and grinned. "It's what he does best. I'm Jean, by the way."
"Also known as Kill Joy," Logan muttered, poking at his mashed potatoes with his fork. "Ya never let me have any fun."
"When your definition of fun is being obnoxious and a little bit rude, it's my natural duty to make sure you don't have any." Jean's words carried only a little seriousness; the underlying tone was affection and something else Teva couldn't quite pinpoint.
Teva glanced across the table and found Ororo smiling at her. "It is good to see you again, Teva. You are looking well."
"Thanks," she replied, even though part of her wanted to argue with the 'you are looking well' comment. She knew she looked like hell twice over, but she'd spent that morning agonizing, second-guessing herself over whether or not she was crazy. She'd pulled on whatever clothes were clean, which just so happened to be her oldest pair of jeans and an old long-sleeved Master of Puppets tour t-shirt. Getting the knots out of her long hair just hadn't seemed worth the effort.
Suddenly the conversations in the room dropped to a murmur and she could have sworn she heard the distinctive sound of teenage girls squealing and giggling. Teva turned her head to see what the problem was and she damn near rolled her eyes. Walking into the room was a man that most women she knew lusted after: Warren Worthington III, owner of Worthington Industries now that his father had passed. She supposed he was attractive, if one liked their men slightly effeminate, with long, wavy, golden blond hair, blue eyes, the very image of an angel. His suit probably cost more than most mortgage payments. She supposed she shouldn't think uncharitable thoughts towards him but he'd been trying to get in her pants for a while now, ever since her third world tour.
She thought she may have growled when he started coming her direction. "Nice to see you again, Teva. I'd heard you might be coming here to teach." He flashed that smile at her, the one she called 'The Toothpaste Model Smile.' It likely worked on other women. "I'd hoped the rumors were true."
She chewed on the inside of her lip a moment before answering. "I did'nae ken you lived here, War." She called him that because she knew it irritated him. They'd gone on a couple dates before she'd started ignoring him. "Funny how that never came up."
"I actually have my own place, but I do teach business classes here."
"I bet you're verrae good at that." She could feel Logan's eyes on her, knew he was listening to the conversation. Hell, everyone in the room was probably trying to figure out their history.
Another thousand-watt smile. "Oh, I am. I did want to let you know that if you're ever interested in putting together a solo album, I'd be more than happy to offer my studio for your use."
There was another growl but this one was from Logan. "Ya mind steppin' away, bird brain?"
Teva choked down a laugh. "Thanks, Logan, but I can handle this by myself. Done it more than once." She turned back to Warren. "I appreciate the offer. I'll think about it, but I've got a lot going on right know, y'ken?"
"Oh, of course," Warren replied, ultimately solicitous. "I won't push, but don't hesitate to let me know."
"I'll do that." She watched him round the table and take a seat next to a big, furry blue man who would look more at home with the Muppets than sitting there daintily holding a teacup in clawed fingers. She felt the insane urge to giggle and turned back to her food, surprised to find that she actually had an appetite. Logan nudged a glass of water her way and she nodded in thanks, not entirely used to someone taking care of her. Judging from the looks some of the others were giving them, it seemed this wasn't usual behavior for Logan.
She glanced up and found Xavier watching them, a thoughtful look on his face before he smiled at her. She sighed and dug into her food, then, grateful that no one else interrupted her meal, and when she was finished there was nothing left on her plate but part of a crust of bread. She hadn't realized she even had much of an appetite.
She didn't want to interrupt Logan's conversation with his friends so she did some people watching. There were quite a few residents with visible mutations, one girl with pink hair and bones protruding from her skin, another kid with a forked tongue that he seemed to enjoy sticking out at people. There was a man a couple seats down from Ororo that had strange red-on-black eyes and when he caught her staring, he grinned at her.
"Remy LeBeau," he said, offering his hand across the table.
"Teva Lawson," she said, offering her hand, but if she'd expected him to shake it she was surprised when he pulled it close and kissed the back of it.
"Enchante, Ms. Lawson." His accent was all New Orleans. "Pity we had t' meet this way."
She knew he meant the circumstances of her coming to the school. She shrugged. "Dinnae ken if I would have met you otherwise."
"Wouldn' 'a been for lack o' tryin', chere. Remy very fond o' beautiful women."
"Knock it off, Swamp Rat." Logan was paying attention to her again. "She don't need ya charmin' the pants off o' her."
Teva raised an eyebrow at him. "You keep riding to my rescue and I'll start calling you my White Knight."
Remy busted up laughing. "The Wolverine be more like the Black Knight, non? Short enough t' bite ya legs off."
She couldn't help the giggle. "Glad to ken there are Monty Python fans here." She bit her lip when Logan frowned at her. "What? Sorry, sorry," she said, trying not to laugh. "It's quite the image, though, it'll be hard to get rid of."
Logan grumbled at her.
"I can't help it if he's charming, Logan."
"Charming?"
Jean spoke up again from beside him. "Yes, charming. Unlike some people I know."
"I can be damned charmin' when I wanna be, Jeannie." Logan smirked. "All I gotta do is take my shirt off and all the women swoon."
Teva coughed, trying to clear her throat. She stared at him but he just stared back, unapologetic. "You certainly are sure of yourself," she said as she pushed her plate away. Suddenly she felt tired, exhausted. "Would you mind verrae much showing me to my room?"
He shook his head. "Nah, I can do that." He offered her a hand up which she accepted, feeling a little unstable. "You, uh, want a tour or somethin' first?" he asked when they were back in the hallway. "Just so ya can get an idea where everything is."
She looked at him, wondering what he was up to, but she was too tired to care. "I..." she began, intending to say no, but the way he was looking at her made her change her mind. "Sure. That would be nice."