Memories
Friends of the Shadow
Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men or any of their characters. Tora and Weapon X-ii are my own though.
Kurt was looking at the letter in disbelief.
"I think you should read this Tora."
"What?"
"Etana's letter to me."
Dear Uncle Kurt,
Hope you don't mind my familiar name for you. I had hoped that your mother would be the one to tell you this but she didn't. Margali and I are old friends. So when I rescued the mutant baby from the cliff his mother threw him from, I brought him to her. That baby was you Kurt. I feel terrible to know that if I did my duty as I was supposed to, you would never have been born. Now I know what stayed my hand when I prepared to kill Azazel. It was you and the fact that the world would be a worse place if you had not been born. And when all feels wrong, remember I gave my wings for you. I used my wings to shield you. So never doubt your worth Kurt. You were the one the Shadow gave her flight for. Until we meet again at the gates of Heaven.
Yours,
Etana
The final sweep of the 'a' looked incredibly final. Tora held out her hands for Kurt to cry into. Then her thoughts slid to the blue-white envelope with the silver seal embossed with a flying dragon, serpentine body twisting, wings open, head roaring defiantly to the sky.
Phoenix sighed.
"He never forgave himself. He couldn't"
"He wasn't supposed to feel guilty."
"But he did."
Cap burst into the room.
"Where's 'Tana?"
Then he saw the black clothes and the sad expressions and he sagged.
"No…"
A blue, furry hand reached out.
"Steve, I knew you and Etana were friends. You were one of eight people she left a letter for."
"Yes. Yes, we were friends…"
A smaller hand reached out and he was looking into golden eyes.
"Etana always spoke of you with the greatest respect and fondness. I think she classed you as a best friend."
"Thank you Tora. Will…Will I be able to see her?"
"I don't think that's a good idea. Firstly, viewings of the body aren't a part of Jewish culture and secondly, you haven't seen Etana since she contracted the Virus. It's better that you remember her the way she was. She had one of the worst reactions to the Virus so far."
"What do…?"
"Her wings were pretty much ruined. Her fur had started moulting. You get the idea. If anything, you have the best memories of Etana. As a whole, healthy warrior who was proud, honourable and stubborn as a mule."
Cap managed to squeeze out a slight laugh.
"Yes. She was always stubborn. Always…"
"You better come upstairs. There's the letter and a few things she left to you."
He realized what she was doing. Giving him the privacy to cry, without the others seeing him. Sometimes he wondered exactly how much Tora knew. He let her lead him upstairs. The room was pretty empty, unlike the other houses she had. He'd seen the Manhattan apartment a few times when she invited him over for coffee and Python marathons. But here was functional only. The letter was pressed into his hand. Then a small package. He could feel a frame and canvas through the paper and knew what it was. She had told him about it on a mission. A painting done by Da Vinci of her. She'd been complementing him on a sketch he had done of her while she was asleep and mentioned how Da Vinci had been a perfectionist who wouldn't let her move while he was painting her. That had led into a conversation about famous people she knew. He opened the letter and read it. He couldn't help but cry. It was simply put and to the point, very like Etana herself, telling him why she had pushed him away. Tora's hands were on his face, letting the tears slide away and he knew she would never speak of this moment to anyone. She knew and she always had.
Jean looked at her companion.
"How long had she known for?"
"Every time Etana went on one of her not-dates, she smelt of no one. Logan noticed but Tora ran into Cap one day and he smelt of Etana. So she guessed."
"Ah."
They all stared open mouthed at the tall man with a metal arm.
"Let me repeat the question. Where is Etana?"
"Nathan…?"
"Yes. …Father. Where is Etana?"
"She's dead."
He looked sad.
"I liked her when I met her. Much better than my reality's version at any rate. That one kept trying to kill me."
"You met Etana?"
"She was waiting when I arrived for the first time."
"Why is it she always did that?"
"You mean the being in the right place at the right time?"
"No, the being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"When did she die?"
"A week ago. The funeral was four days ago."
"Wasn't that a bit quick?"
"We found someone to do the service."
"Oh…"
He noticed red eyes and realized people probably didn't want to talk about this right now.
Jean sighed.
"Can we skip to August? Aside from the Shi'ar diplomatic incident, it was pretty boring in between."
"If you want to."