After packing her entire wardrobe along with a few other neccessities, Piper made her way to the front hall. Jean Grey assisted her, carrying the girl's suitcase as Piper was too small to carry it. The little girl was ecstatic and nervous at the same time but made sure to thank her for the trouble.
Soon Scott arrived and he led Piper to a very nice sports convertable that had her awed. Scott shoed her in, spoke to Jean and got in on the drivers side. He told Piper to not touch any of the buttons and they were off to the air port.
Piper was awed by the scenery as they traveled. Her mind wandered as she watched the trees as they sheltered the road in a tunnel-like formation fly by. Fields swooped and danced, and birds chirped harmoniously before drifting away. She liked the silence Scott had allowed them, but soon she was bored and started examining the car. She couldn't tell if Scott was looking at her or the road, but when she felt like he was no longer looking at her she pushed one of the buttons. Hot air drifted easily at her feet and she giggled, wiggling her toes. She looked up to see Scott smiling and grinned. Then she pushed one of the big buttons on the side of the digital glass numbers.
Piper cried out at loud drums and guitar and screaming blasted from everywhere in the car. She jerked away from the stereo and pressed against the seat, hands over her mouth as she stared at the seemingly unassuming buttons with wide eyes. She had no idea why Scot was laughing, but she felt her face heat up he turned the music off. She relaxed as her shock wore off, slowly sliding her feet off the leather and settling them back under the warm air. Her face still felt hot and something irked in her chest, but when she looked up at Scott he still had an amused grin lighting his features. Seeing him so happy, even if it was at her misfortune, made the feeling in her chest lessen.
They sat in silence for another few minutes before she saw Scott reach towards the big buttons that made the awful music from before. She neerly panicked but was curious as he turned a different nob before pushing it. The sound was much quieter than before, but still that terrible screaming. She watched as he turned the nob and settled on a number and turned up the volume. A beautiful song fluttered through the unsteady radio, without music and wholly a collection of voices joining and leaving.
"Oh, Brothers, come on down, down in the river to pray..." Her spirit lifted as she listened to the beautiful leading voice. After just a few lines she was feeling better than she had in nearly a year, her tiny frame waving slightly to the imaginary beat. Scott watched her, caught between paying attention to the road and studying Piper's reaction to the Christian song. He had seen her reading her Bible once so he had turned it to the Christian station, but he didn't think that her reaction would be this strong.
Since the song just repeated, Piper found her self humming along to the woman. Once she realized this, she stopped and pinched her lips together. But she still found herself memorized by the song.
"Oh, Sinners, let's go down, let's go down, come on down. Oh, Sinners, come on down, down to the river to pray..." Just a few more lines like that and the song ended. The absence of it left an emptiness in her chest. She had forgotton just what effect a real song, one from the heart, had felt like. She had been used to songs like in Disney movies that she had forgotton her Beethoven, among others, that always left her heart soaring. She was knocked out of her thoughts as she felt a hand on her head, musing with her hair. She looked up to see Scott with his face still turned to the road. She realized that there was another song playing and listened. The singer was again a woman, albeit her voice was much less mesmerising.
"We pray for healing, for prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. And all the while, You hear each spoken need, Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things. Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops, what if your healing comes through tears?" This time when she started to hum along to the song, she didn't stop herself. It couldn't possibly be bad if she sang along to a song dedicated to her God. Scott wasn't telling her to stop or anything, so it must not be bad. They were the only ones in the car, and there were no back seats. She was safe.
Scott couldn't help but feel delighted as Piper started humming to the worship song. The longer she continued, the more he felt like praising her. Pride filled him as she hummed louder. All too soon, it seemed, the song ended, and the both of them frowned at the emptiness it left. Her felt the pride and other feelings drip away and be replaced with shock. He had to try something.
Piper looked up at him as he turned off the radio, afraid she had done something wrong, but was relieved when he smiled. "Piper," he started, and she felt her lips curl downwards at the shake in his voice. "Could you," he paused, "hum for me again? I want to try something." She blinked at the request before she felt dread fill her. Scott wouldn't like her anymore when he heard her. Would he kick her out of the car? Leave her to walk all the way back to the Mansion? Would he tell Xavier? None of them had ever seen her sing, even though Xavier said he knew she was a freak. Still, she couldn't disobey Scott. She sighed, resigned to her certain fate. She thought of the last song and started humming.
Scott payed attention to everything he felt as she hummed along, the girl somehow hitting every note from the song. He could almost hear the words as he felt something growing within him. Scott motioned for her to stop with his hand and watched her face fall. He frowned and pulled off into a gas station. He needed to call Xavier.
Piper sat quietly inside the car. Well this was it. She wouldn't be going to the circus and would have to settle with living in a box or something. Maybe a group of gypsies would pick her up and she'd live like Mesmerelda. She almost smiled at the thought. It felt like forever before she saw Scott come out of the store, a bag in his hand. Her got in the car and rooted through the bag, but Piper kept her eyes down. Her father hated her looking at him when he was mad.
It was because she wasn't watching him that she jumped when a can of root beer apeared in front of her face. She followed the hand holding it to Scotts face and realized that he was smiling at her instead of snarling in disgust. She took the pop slowly and stared at it in awe before popping the top.
I thought you hated me, she thought, willing him to suddenly be able to read thoughts. You ran away and frowned and didn't like me anymore. But he ignored her thoughts, getting ready to pull out of the parking lot.
The ride to the airport continued in silence, though the two listened to the radio the entire way. Scott noticed that Piper didn't hum along to any more of the songs and barely drank her pop. He didn't push her, and she followed him as they went through the usual airport routine, including getting lost around the Atrium and having to ask a guard to their plane. The big black man had looked suspicious of Scott, but then he looked at Piper and she captivated him with her big eyes. Soon, they were boarding the plane and Piper was coming out of her usual shyness to investigate every little thing. Scott was even having a hard time keeping an eye on her, much less keeping her in her seat. The other patrons of the plane didn't seem to mind at all, one old lady giving her a sucker to her delight and a young woman with an infant teaching her how to hold it. Piper had a great amount of charisma, Scott could see, and when taken out of her element had an immense, unsatiable curiousity.
All too soon, it seemed to Piper, it was time to lift off and she had to buckle down beside Scott. He showed her how to work the seat belt and she played with her tray while outside the plane built speed. Scott just had to watch her again as the plane left the ground; she froze, gripping the tray in her hands and stared wide-eyed at absolutely nothing. As she got used to the sudden upward movement she started giggling at the butterflies that filled her stomach, and she felt like a small child again. It touched his heart to see how out of character she was acting now that she was out of the Mansion and far, far away from her father in the Bible Belt. He wondered how cheerful she would have been had her father not turned abusive, how happy she could have been if her parents had accepted her.
Piper never wondered what could have been, especially not now. Though thoughts and worry of her father seeing her still patrolled her mind, she felt content and peaceful at this moment. She had Scott there and he eased her nervousness greatly, and she sent a small prayer of thanks to God for him.
All of the excitement started catching up to her as the adrinaline started wearing away. She yawned, leaning her head on Scott's arm. It reminded him of how small she was, and he could hear Jean's words in his head telling him to watch over her and keep her safe. Even if he would do so on this plane and everywhere else, he had a feeling that not even the Professor could save Piper from her nightmares.
Hours later Scott woke Piper from her sleep and they exited the plane. They searched for their bags, Piper once getting hers confused with an old woman's, and left for a taxi. Scott followed instructions from Xavier on a piece of paper and even more hours later, they found themselves driving through the woods.
Piper's spirits, however, were low. Rain rapped cruelly at the glass windows, her hair and drewss were wet and sticky from when they had gotten their rental car, and there was a weird smell coming from under her seat that she was scared to check. Scott had tried to cheer her up numerous times.
"I'm sure the tents will be nice and warm," he had tried to assure her at one point. "The lady who leads the troupe is very nice, and a friend of the Professor. I'm sure she'll lend you a towel to dry off with."
Piper had even tried reading her Bible during the ride to cheer herself up, or at least to keep her mind busy, but she only got car sick. Needless to say, her mood was very dour, a completely different mindset than Scott had seen on the plane. The sight of the Munich tents themselves didn't help her mood very much either. Scott had discribed them to be gold and red striped, with glowing lights and warm people surrounding the tents, luring and tempting visitors to come in and spend their coin. Instead, the tents looked like two shades of clay mushed together, the light coming through different RVs and caravans dull and cloomy. Only a tall person in a cloak stood in the rain, the hood up to protect the person's identity as well as themselves from the rain. Scott donned the coat he bought at one of the major cities she couldn't pronounce and openned the door, running to the firgure to speak to them. Piper got the notion that the circus was closed for the night and sighed.
She chose at that moment to look out her side window, just enough time to catch a figure run through the flap of a tent. She looked at Scott and the cloaked figure to see that they were engrosed in a conversation, Scott frowning and using his hands to help get his message through. She glanced between Scott and the tent for a few moments, almost hearing a little voice in her head whispering for her not to go after whatever it was, but her curiousity overwhelmed her.
She opened the door, the rain masking the sound, and slipped out, not shutting the door in case the adults heard. She had to squint against the rain and made her way to the still-open flap. She walked as slow as she could at first, so as not to draw Scotts attention, but as the rain soaked her clothes and seemingly her bones, she hurried faster until she was sprinting. She squeezed through the flap and shut it behind her. She stood gasping for a moment reveling in finally being warm, starting to squeeze out excess water from her dress, when a dark growling behind her made her freeze. She didn't want to turn around, didn't want to look to see what made the noise, least doing so were to make it real and not a figment of her imagination, but it continued and grew louder and more fearsome, and it made her turn around.
Crouching and stalking toward her was a fierce, angry looking white tiger. Fear made her take in every detail of it. It's lips were curled back in a protective snarl, its huge fangs glisening yellow and white with saliva. It's tiny ears were laid back, and it's eyes a haunting yellow-gold, reminding her of looking in a mirror, yet not quite as dangerous. The monster's fur was short, sleek, and glistened like snow and coal, and it's giant paws shed seemingly larger talons, all looking so very sharp. She faintly registered it's long tail swinging behind it menacingly.
Piper felt her heart hammer against her chest, almost as if the eyes she were staring into was somehow pulling it out of her. She felt frozen, though she could suddenly feel every limb of her body shaking uncontrolably. So overcome with fear was she that she felt tears prick at her eyes. She had been forced by one of the older mutants at the Mansion to watch a documentary of tigers after one of her Disney movies, and now flashes of tigers pouncing and tearing at their prey's flesh filled her thoughts. She was utterly terrified of this animal, and at the moment she felt like this beast's prey.
She jolted out of her thoughts as the beast crouched mere feet from her, ready to pounce. Instead of the flight or fight instinct that was supposed to whisper in her ear, she head instinct whisper sing. For a moment she didn't know what to do, to run or sing, but the voice came again. Sing, She saw the monster's flank wiggle, almost reminding her of a domestic cat. Sing, now!
She opened her mouth, and instead of a scream as most girls would have done, a beautiful line of notes sprang to life. It made the tiger pause, so she continued, very much wanting to continue breathing. After a few seconds of watching the tiger relax, she listened to the song as well and recognised it as the second song that came on the radio what seemed like a lifetime ago. She started adding words to the soothing song. "We pray for blessings, we pray for peace, comfort for family, protection while we sleep.." She watched as the tiger lowered itself to the ground, and as she continued to listen to her own voice, she calmed as well. She lowered herself to her knees and sang a little louder, gaining a little confidence. She filled in the piano with her voice, becoming a one-child acappella. "We pray for healing, for prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. And all the while, You hear each spoken need, Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things..." She continued to serenade the beast, watching it lay it's head on it's mighty paws, it's claws thankfully stowed away. "What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?"
Piper jumped as she watched the shadows ahead of her and behind the tiger move, and as she skipped a few notes she watched as one, two, three tiny baby tigers made their slow, shy way to her and the now-realized mother tiger. Two of them, slightly larger than the third cub, nestled down with their mother next to her paws and nuzzled her face. The third and smallest of the family sidled next to her, rubbing it's large, fuzzy face on her hand and knee, then layed down and stared at her expectantly. She realized that she had stopped her song completely and obliged the baby's silent request. "We pray for wisdom Your voice to hear. And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near. We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love as if every promise from Your Word is not enough. And all the while, You hear each desperate plea and long that we'd have faith to belive.." She repeated the chorus, though it seemed like the tigers weren't really paying attention to the words. She wasn't either, and she really didn't understand them anyway. "When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win, we know that pain reminds this heart that is is not," she swallowed a lump in her throat as she remembered the next part of the song. The line resounded deep within her, and it seemed to be the only line of the song she really understood. "This is not our home..." She paused to wipe away a tear, "It's not our home. 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raidrops? What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near?" Her voice lowered, not only because the singer's did at this point in the song, but also because the song stinulated the same questions to resound in her head. It seemed that voicing them out loud made them exist, if only necause of the song. "What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life is a revealing of a greater thirst that this world can't satisfy?" She put her hand on the runt tiger's head, feeling the baby's purr vibrate her hand. "And what if trials of this life: the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are Your mercies in disguise?"
She let the song's piano ending trail off in her head, so deep in thought trying to study the song that she didn't follow it with even a slight humming. She wondered for a moment over the song, but didn't get very far when a dry, itchy tongue slid over her face. It tickled her scars so much that she burst into giggles, grasping the mother tiger on each side of her head and running her fingers through the fur in thanks. The tiger growled and Piper yanked her hands back, but she started licking Piper over her hair, face, neck, and arms. Piper giggled and flopped over, tired and relieved, and cried out in surpise when the cubs started crawling over her in play. Giggling turned into laughing and she picked up the smalled runt, wrapping it in her arms and hugging it. It wriggled free in a few moments and pounced on one of it's siblings, making Piper laugh again.
"Ich hörte dich singen.." She heard a voice speak behind her. She jumped from suprise, turning around so quickly the cubs jumped off her. She stared wide-eyed as a really dark and blue figure stepped out of the shadows of the tent. It was standing upright like a human, but it was covered in blue, and the blue was it's skin, not clothes. And though it's head was down, she could see it look at her and the ground with bright, glowing yellow eyes. It's hands were behind it's back, but she could see it's toes and there were only two. She barely caught sight of a nervously swishing pointed tail before the humanoid spoke again. "Sie sind .. sehr gut darin." She blinked and stared at it. It stood upright like a human. It talked like a human, though in a language that she could only assume was German. It sounded human. It even acted human, a boy as far as she could tell, and he looked very familiar. He coughed and stuck a hand out, with only two fingers and a thumb she noted. "Mein Name ist Nightcrawler." Now that she could understand, and now she realized why he looked familiar.
"You're from the posters!" She exclaimed, jumping up and taking his hand. He winced but she didn't notice, so busy shaking his hand and wondering how she was meeting someone famous. Nightcrawler had been pointed out to her by Scott on one of the Munich circus's posters. He had told her that Nightcrawler was a mutant like him and her but he was forced into hiding, and she could see why. If her eyes and scars isolated her from the rest of the mutants at the Mansion, she could only imagine how blue skin- fur, she realized- yellow eyes, and a tail could be a problem with getting along with people.
Nightcrawler smiled at her nervously. How he could be nervous around her when he was obviously a few years older than her was beyond her. "Ja, I am ze main act." She jumped when he spoke in, albiet very accented, English. She grinned at him.
"Oh, you can speak English! What'd you say earlier?" She tilted her head at him as he blushed.
"Y-your singing, it vas sehr gut, very good." She had no idea why he was blushing but she smiled at him and was about to thank him when she felt tugging at her dress. She looked down to see the tiny tinger glaring up at her almost as if it was jealous of the attention she was giving the blue boy. Piper giggled and let go of his hand, kneeling and giving the big kitten a pet on her head. "I zink she wants you to sing again," Nightcrawler said, watching the two children. Piper blinked up at him, feeling the baby purr under her palm.
"Okay," she said simply, sitting back and wondering about what song she should sing. Just when she was going to ask him if he had any ideas, she heard the flap behind her open, the sound of rain becoming dominant. She shivered as cold wind shook her core and looked over her shoulder. She flinched as she saw a wet and red faced Scott looking down at her. She felt herself try to smile at him, but knew it was no use. His slightly bushy brows were knit over his red glasses and a frown scowled at her through the drops framing his face. She gulped. If he looked mad in the car, he was furious at her now. She suddenly saw a flash of her father with the same expression and looked down, knowing that if she didn't look at him then her beating wouldn't be as bad.
Scott's frown changed as he watched her and looked at the tigers surrounding her and the wary-looking Nightcrawler beside her. He felt his anger ebb away slowly to be replaced by worry and relief. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Go get in the car," he told her evenly. He watched her get up silently and obey, staying as far away as possible when she passed him. There was silence for a moment as the near twenty-year old studied the older teen, and vice versa. Nightcrawler was the first to speak.
"You are a mutant as vell?"
Scott nodded. "I am."
"Und she as vell?"
He nodded again. "She is." Silence stretched again as Nightcrawler thought.
"Vill you boz come back vhen ze rain clears?"
Scott grinned. "She's magnetic isn't she?" Nightcrawler blushed and suddenly dissapeared in a puff of smoke. Scott laughed and turned, looking for the cloaked gypsy that was Nightcrawler's adoptive mother and leader of the Munich circus. Wait til I tell the Professor about this, he thought. The mutant he wanted to be friends with Piper has a crush on her instead. He frowned when he thought about her. He had nearly pulled his hair out in panic when he found her missing from the car. He had seen that dead look in her eyes at her home in Oklahoma and in the car when he had asked her to hum and wondered if the two incidences were connected. He told the gypsy that he had found Piper and they would return to watch the circus when the rain cleared. He got in the car, drove to a motel not too far from the circus, and soon the both of them were in bed and sleeping.
A/N: Sorry about the uber long wait. I wish I could say I spent all that time going over this chapter to make it better (which is true) but I didn't. I kind of... sunk into a funk. I hope this isn't terribly terrible. The ages are a guestimate, but I am starting to think that Kurt is older than Scott in the movie. The German that Kurt speaks is from Google Translate, so if it's wrong please tell me. The songs mentioned and quoted in the story are Blessings by Laura Story and Down To The River To Pray by Alison Krauss from the movie O' Brother Where Art Thou.
