Chapter 5

Bruce was easier to find than Aurora had suspected; he had taken his time hunting, leisurely plotting the land and occasionally leaving a heavier footprint at a wrong turn in the unfamiliar woods. When she finally found him, he was casually brushing the dirt over the remnants of his prey with a clawed foot. Aurora smirked a little at him, jealously admiring the sleek planes and confidant posture he always wore in this form. Her? Think hairballs and menacing violet eyes – terrifying, right? When she stalked on all fours next to Bruce, she knocked his shoulder playfully, receiving a rumble of a greeting. 'Teaching the wildlife who's boss I see?'

'You betcha'. That bunny looked at me the wrong way, let me tell you.' He threw her a toothy grin, onyx teeth protruding out in a uniform manner. 'Have you unpacked now?'

'Pretty much, just my clothes and bathroom stuff left. It's kinda awesome, you know? We've never owned this much, it's like our territory and shit.'

Bruce scowled, walking beside her with non destination in mind. 'Don't swear, you're not some thug fresh out of juvi.'

'You swear as well! Hypocrite, I declare!'

'I don't swear for the sake of it, do I? Besides, I doesn't suit you.' Aurora growled a warning, throwing her brother a dark glare. Unfortunately, it didn't have the desired effect of sending him running in terror, but the appearance of another wide smirk. 'Awwww, does the littl' princess mutant wanna be a badass like her bro?'

Said 'princess' gave a loud snort to disprove that theory. 'Right, cause you send everyone cowering in your midst.'

'Errr…hell yes! You did see Bradley and his puny friends crying like babies, right? Or are you as blind as the mole I caught earlier?'

'Shut up!'

'Silver tongue strikes again!' Bruce quickly dodged the predictable swipe of her blue claws, replying with a lunge to her waist, flipping her over into a heap at the base of a thick tree. Aurora quickly recovered and teleported a few metres above his head, knocking him to the floor with both legs before landing on top of him, claws at his throat and a rare smug grin. However, Bruce wasn't fazed. His skeletal tail cracked on her back like a whip, startling her enough to flip them over. Bruce let out a roar of triumph, which bubbled into throaty, humanoid laughter as he sat on her with his arms crossed and chin lifted to the air. "I'm the king of the mountain, I'm the king of the mountain!"

"BRUCE GET YOUR BUMPY ASS OFF OF ME!"

"Say it!"

"…"

Bruce jumped a little again, his exoskeleton digging into her ribs to release a yelp. "Sayyyyyy it…."

"Never! I still have my pride!"

"Ha! Oh really…" Bruce's tail swung down to the inner curve of Aurora's foot, swirling around the skin devilishly.

"AHHHHHHHHHHSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP-" She roared at the torture, the pitch of her voice painfully high. "I'LL DO ANYTHING AHHHH STOOOOPPPPP!"

"….Anything?"

"YESYESYESYESYESYESYES!"

"Fineeeeeee. Beg!"

"Like hell-" Bruce's tail was accompanied by his hands tickling her heaving sides as she writhing beneath him. "-OK OK I'M SORRY STOP!"

"Stop…?"

"FUCK YOU ARMADILLO!"

Bruce snorted at her vulgarity, increasing the intensity of the torment. "Wrong answer Akhla Teke. You don't address the alpha like that!"

"AHHHHH OK I'M SORRY PLEASE STOP!"

"Please…" His tail switched feet, "what?"

"PLEASE ALPHA!"

Bruce roared in victory, rolling off of his beaten sibling and stalked off. He could practically feel the death glare at his back, concocting the revenge he undoubtedly had in store. Not that he wouldn't respond tenfold. And while that would seem petty compared to his usual standards, getting the upper hand on Aurora was priceless. As he heard the faint padded landing of her jumping next to him, he send a quick gloating smirk, before sniffing the direction of the mansion back. Sandstone and the caldron scent of the other mutants caught his nose east of them. As the Arkens made their way back, they both moved towards the open doors of what seemed to be a conservatory attached to the end of a branch of the mansion, fresh pollen with terracotta and upturned soil reeling them in. Ororo was there inside, snipping away at a potted rose bush while a girl with auburn hair and a streak of acrid white sat reading at a patio table. Both Arkens were tentative at first, but were eager to look inside, seeing as it seemed to be a greenhouse of sorts. Many of the plants were creepers, running all over the walls and ceiling, many with blossoms and curls of new shoots; some potted plants ran the edge of the oval room, various green metal shelves running the edges of the planes of glass, filled with gardening utensils and smaller pots. A table near the door they had entered had a few magazines and half consumed remnants of tea as well. The heavenly perfume of Eden made them forget to change to their human forms, so that when they came to say hello to Ororo, her eyes widened, before she put a hand to her chest and relaxed in recognition. Bruce hastily formed back into his bronzed skin and curly jungle of hair after Aurora had morphed back as well. He tentatively gave the girl sitting down an apologetic look, and was happy to see a growing smile back. She was reading A Pair Of Blue Eyes, a book Bruce had seen Aurora read feverishly last year with adamant praise. Even though he himself preferred Edgar Allen Poe to Hardy, he still knew that this was one of his less well-known novels, and Bruce found himself surprised that the girl was reading it. While she didn't look unintelligent, he wouldn't have thought that a Goth would be so into 18th century romance. She was wearing low rise black jeans, rolled above the ankles with worn flip flops and a My Chemical Romance cropped top that was covered by a netted layer on top, leaving her glowingly pale abdomen on show. A few metallic rings poked out from her fingerless biker gloves, which were sandwiched inside her book to hold the place. Half of her face was covered by her hair, while her white streak was tucked into her ear; Bruce saw that the lower lip was slightly dimpled with its fullness, like her cheeks, while her cupid's bow was a little thinner, but extremely curved like a cartoon. Her green eyes, glazed over by the darkening afternoon light, were nice, Bruce thought, and reminded him oddly enough of the bottle green walls of his new room. It was only a few seconds after he noticed the tug of her mouth, and the lengthening of her eyeliner as she raised her eyebrow did her realize that he had been caught after staring for god knows how long.

The only obvious course of action, Bruce concluded, was to pretending nothing happened and to immerse himself in Aurora and Ororo's conversation, which seemed to have gone from the pleasantries to the types of plants here. He didn't like the rush of blood to his face; it made him want to revert made into his black form, where his skull was bare of the insulating hair.

"…And Bruce, how are you settling in? Logan mentioned you went hunting?"

"Yes ma'am. The wildlife is very fat around here." He said bluntly. He didn't really understand Ororo's or the mysterious girl's amused expression until Aurora said, "Sorry, we're not really used to talking about hunting with other mutants, or anyone, really."

Ororo laid a hand on her shoulder maternally. "I understand. Bruce, call me Ororo, please or Storm, which is my mission alias. This lady is Rogue, a year above you, Aurora. She's been here for a few years now."

Rogue got up, shaking hands with both of them warmly while holding onto her book with the other. Bruce fought the bizarre urge to tightly hold onto her hand, to show how strong a hand shake he could give. "Y'all are gonna love it here, its lika' home ta me. Ya' know ya' sound just lika' Logan when he goes on about huntin'."

Aurora lightened up at the man's name. "Logan hunts as well? In the grounds?"

"Yeah, though he says it ain' like the game back in Canada. You feral mutants really love ya' meat!" Her warm laughter coaxed a relaxed giggle from Aurora, unaware that she had never gotten along this well with some one her age since she could remember. Bruce's formal demeanor slipped slightly, only to be slapped back into shape; for some unfathomable reason he wanted to hear her laugh again, to memorize the notes it habituated over. Before he could stop himself, he asked "Feral mutants?"

Rogue's gaze flipped back to him, stiffening him painfully under its curious anaylsis. "Yeah, like, mutants who have animalistic qualities, lika' huntin', speed, trackin', that sorta thing. They're usually more in touch with nature, they're not as common as others 'cause they prefer forest ah' guess, righ'?"

Bruce gave a stiff nod, boring his eyes into hers. He took the opportunity of Aurora's reply and Ororo's consecutive comment to take in every detail of them again. Rogue's eyes were almost a solid block of colour, with a darken rim of moss. Black makeup cloaked the skin around her eyes, a purple hue under. Her lips were bare, a little raw and sore looking like Aurora's were because she bit down on them so much. The bridge of her nose was strong, its tip curved and molded by the cartilage; Bruce's eye sight was easily strong enough to see the tiny pierced skin of where Rogue must usually have a nose ring.

Suddenly Bruce's probing was cut short by seeing Ororo grasping Aurora's forearm again and smiling with a goodbye. He swiftly walked past Aurora to the door, nodding a goodbye. He didn't want Rogue to pin him down with her eyes again, so he refused to look back. The oak doors opened to a corridor opposite the common room Aurora had been in before. Bruce followed her silently, perfectly covering the anger that suddenly boiled in him by their exit. Why did he feel so…jumpy in Rogue's presence? There was no reason for it, she barely reached his chest! Her gaze seemed so innocently curious, yet fierce at the same time, which unnerved him; it was like she disliked him or meant him harm like the kids in their old town, but it still made him uneasy, and furious. Boiling, because he hated feeling like this, and concluded it must be her fault. Maybe she was an empath? Controlling and sensing his emotions for fun? Bruce swiftly concluded to avoid her at all costs, but then faltered at that plan. He liked those eyes, they were pretty, and like his Man O'war painting, reminded him of buried treasure. Had she ever read Treasure Island? Bruce instantly scowled at his urge to find out. Compromise; it would be unlikely never see her around. He would watch in those events from afar, and not draw attention. Sorted.

Hello readers! Thank you for those have favourited and reviewed and followed ect.! I feel special heehee.

I hadn't planned on bring Rogue into the exquation, but know I have, I think I should state that Bobby and Rogue's relationship never really took off, and the attraction was a while ago. I'm slightly AU-ing, but at this point, Rogue's taken the cure, hence the summery (well for Rogue) clothing. Xoxooxox