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Lorna had driven around for what seemed like hours but was barely half an hour, of searching for Seth. A groan escaped the green haired girl and she grimaced at the reek of a stinky exhaust from the car in front of her. The black cloud that puffed up and around the road way and her lips twist. Attilan had been so vastly different than that of New York City. Small wonder that Miss Crystal had been willing to fight tooth and nail to go home! There hadn't been an odd look her way for her green hair, not a muttered curse or a scowl. There'd been people with so many powers and the air had been so clean she'd gotten dizzy.
And she had been able to work on that whole flying thing without being scared someone might see her accidentally.
A horn honked behind her and she turned, happy for once that traffic slowed the cars on the road while she searched the sidewalks for Seth's person, hoping she wouldn't have to actually get out and try to park.
*
It would be difficult to pull a single thread out of a tapestry while walking past, and thus finding Seth from within the fortress of a vehicle would prove difficult. At least this would be true if the boy weren't out working, sloshing water across the front windows of cars in his usual hustle for a few extra cents. It was cold enough that ice had frozen the tips of his gloves as he worked, sliding along the sides of the vehicles to demand payment and scratch up the side when such wasn't rendered.
Thus he practically delivered himself to Lorna, sliding the squeegee over the window shield as he hollered out the going rate, sloshing grey suds over the wipers before blinking with the realization of just whose car he was working over. With a low whistle, he laughed and slid alongside the driver's side with a cheeky grin.
"Hey uh, you gonna pay for my services, Ma'm?"
The tone was teasing, despite the chapped nature of his skin and his flushed cheeks from the cold. When somebody honked at the delay, he made sure to turn and flash a lewd gesture before returning his focus to Lorna happily.
*
The powder blue '54 Chevy Bel Air that Seth sloshed soap and suds over the windshield was already spotless, but Lorna let him work until he realized /who's/ car it was. And who sat behind the steer wheel. A giggle followed as Lorna rolled down the window, and she put the car into park. "You'll have to hop in and warm up first. C'mon, we can hit a diner up the street. My treat. I have to tell you all about the week I've had!" Her green eyes sparked with delight and amusement.
A sweet melody played out from the speakers from the radio and she nodded to the passenger side door, and it unlocked. Clearly, she was getting better with her powers. "C'mon." She cajoled again.
*
The driver who was being waylaid by their discussion seemed to be losing his temper, if the insistent beep-beep blaring of his horn was any indication. Seth happily tapped his fingers to the beat of the incessant percussion with that ever present smirk while seemingly divided on this offer. As if he had a better place to be. An eyebrow quirked and he purred,
"You're just trying to kidnap me. I know it. 'Sbeen happening to all sorts of kids lately."
When his languid attitude had driven the horn-musician into a near tizzy, he finally deigned to dump out the suds bucket and slide into the back seat. The tools of his game were set on the ground as he leaned across the back of the front bench seat, warming his hands with the heater's blast as he nodded with a,
"Well?"
*
A laugh and Lorna started forward, much to the pleasure of those behind her in traffic. "Well, yes actually. I am kidnapping you." She waved a finger and the locks shut on all the doors once more, and then the heating turned up to full blast when she took note of his frozen form.
"You know they said it's likely to be one of the coldest years in ages." She arched a green eyebrow up as she turned, getting flipped off by the driver behind her for having taken up his time. But she didn't seem overly concerned as she continued driving. The radio changing stations without her so much as lifting a hand.
"But oh, my gosh. You will never believe what I've done this past week. I helped my tata dispose of a wicked king, who had all these people hooked up to this terrible machine. And I flew up and /crushed/ it from like.. half a mile away I swear!" She grinned, looking particularly proud of herself.
"And then I woke up and it was in this castle, I told you my tata was going steady with a Princess right? She actually grew up in a castle!"
*
"I made ten bucks yesterday."
The boy offered up, seemingly happy to simply share his good fortunes though they did not compare in scale. He peeled off first one glove and then the other, still laughing over her commentary before muttering,
"I didn't realize we had Kings anymore, much less wicked ones. That's some story book shit. Glad you got to go out and do it with your pops though."
*
What a Christmas tale for the ages. Go dispose of a tyrant king in some foreign unknown kingdom to help your father's girlfriend be Princess again.
Yep, to anyone else Lorna would definitely sound crazy.
"Yeah but because of that we missed all of Hanukkah, and I had planned to get everything set up and I had a gift and everything for my tata. I'm.. I wasn't raised Jewish, so I did all kinds of research and /everything/ to make it perfect." She pouted, her eyebrows pinched as she glanced back at him through the rearview mirror.
"So.. I was actually hoping to kidnap you to help me get what I could set up. I want to try to get /something/ together.. even if I missed it."
*
Seth blinks at her, his expression owlish in the rearview as his head tilted to one side curiously.
"Uh, sure, I mean- I don't know shit about Hann-a-what or whatever?"
For a moment, he seemed to really be puzzling over how to say it before abandoning the effort with a disgruntled huff. The soaked mittens had been dropped to the floor and his fingers were beginning to flush red as blood returned to them, rubbed into life once more underneath the direct blast from the heater.
"What'cha need?"
*
A grin flashed over her features and she practically bounced in her seat. The radio station turned again, playing some sugary sweet Christmas song crooned over the speakers of the car.
"Hanukkah," She repeated, but took a careful turn onto the bypass that led out of the city.
"And I need help with decorations back at the school. I mean, I can hang up a /bunch/ of stuff if it has metal hooks.. But you're taller than me. Also I need to get into the kitchen and cook stuff. So that'll take sometime. I haven't really asked.. but I mean, my tata /is/ kind of best friends with the Professor that owns the school. And you're a mutant. And my friend. So.." She shrugged, "I figured I'd ask permission after getting you there."
*
"Oh."
Now he looked at the doors, as if actively considering bailing out the side of the vehicle before remembering that the lock wouldn't budge without her consent. Surprise adoption. Kidnapping. Same thing. The man scowled a bit as the consideration flitted over his features and then was abandoned before he crawled over the bench seat and plopped down next to her. All the better to fix her with a pointed glare. He had gotten mud on the seats.
"I feel like there was a conversation we had that I wasn't sure we had that you are sure we definitely had. 'Cause I agreed to dinner. Not meeting the family."
*
A wide eyed glance was shot in his direction as she pulled onto the ramp to lead north to Winchester. "It's not my family reaally," She murmured, "Just my tata, and some students that might be there still and didn't go home for break." She beamed him a smile.
"And there will be dinner. I just really need the help. I'm a good cook!" She added defensively.
"Please don't be angry."
*
Seth crosses his arms and glowers at her as he leans back against the passenger door. He tried the handle to confirm his suspicion.
"Not angry. Just ah-"
Scared shitless? That about summed it up. He let out a long sigh and shook his head before pulling off his hat and unzipping his jacket. Clothes bundled in the back as they wound out of town, the heat overwhelming after he had become so accustomed to a normal chill.
"-I'll do what I can to help. Dunno if I'll be much, but whatever."
Combing back his greasy hair with a hand, he re-wrapped it in an elastic band and turned his blue eyes from her to the scenery streaking by just outside.
*
The locks didn't budge, they were sealed by Lorna's powers and they certainly weren't budging anytime soon. The green haired girl arched a brow as he broke off, changing lanes and avoiding a speeder that had been tailgating her.
"Listen, I knooow that my tata is a bit.. overwhelming. He was in the papers and the TV and I get it. Really I do." She bit her lower lip.
"But he's nice, honest. Before I even knew I was related to him? He tried to help me. Just because I was a mutant and needed help." She laughed softly, "I showed up on his doorstep in tears because I found out I'd been adopted and he taught me how to fly." She smiled.
"And Professor Xavier is a telepath. He is the kindest person I have ever met in my entire life. He runs the school, and if you run into him… Well, I'm certain he'll be welcoming."
*
"You can fly?" The question was posed incredulous, his hands thumbing over the carton of cigarettes he had taken out of his pocket but knew better than to light in her car. Instead the box was turned again and again, pondering the LUCKY STRIKES branding across the white cardboard.
"A tele-what?"
No, he knew what that mean, and the expression chasing across his face reflected that. Another fidgeting motion as he tapped the bottom of the box in his hands and growled low,
"I'll help you with the holiday thing. Then I can take off. I got shit to do in town."
*
A shrug, and Lorna beamed brightly toward him. "A telepath. He can read minds, so, uhm.. don't think of something too loudly if you don't want him to catch it. From what I understand, I think /really/ loudly. At least my roommate Jean said so." She flushed faintly, and bounced in her seat as she changed the radio station again.
"Alright, I promise. I'll drive you back. Okay? No running off."
*
Seth stared at her as if she had just announced they were actually going to eat him for dinner. After a few slow blinks, he swallowed thickly and muttered,
"Would that I could."
The thought of someone reading his mind was pondered, and it wasn't long before a pronounced flush of embarrassment was over his cheeks. The carton of cigarettes were stowed once more despite the way his fingers twitched in need of a smoke right now as he mutely nodded in agreement.
"Jean can read minds too?"
It was like a minefield of people who knew they were better than him that could vivisect him at their whim. Not a pleasant thought.
*
A pause and Lorna tilted her head, eyes on the road. "You know her?" A furrow of her brows followed. "But yeah, she can read minds too. Lets see.. Miss Crystal, the princess my tata is dating, she can control the elements. Like all of them?" She arched a brow.
"There's a bunch of mutants at the school. You're not a lone Seth.." She bit her lower lip.
"Besides," She brightened, "You've got me around too!"
*
Seth laughs as he shakes his head, finally glancing up at her from his consideration of the passing scenery.
"No, you've mentioned her before. I do listen, you know."
His tone was teasing, even as he tried to swallow the rising anxiety. The youth had only set foot in a school room twice, and both times, he didn't come back the next day. There was a quiet in the wake of her words as he seemed to be pondering something, then suddenly froze mid-fidget and looked sideways with a real concern on his features.
"Wait. You can't read minds too, can you?"
*
That earned a giggle and Lorna shook her head, "Nope. I can't. Just move metal. Well, okay, the magnetic field around the metal. You know like how the Earth has a magnetic field all around it? It's like that. That's how I can fly." She beamed, glancing at him briefly and back at the road.
"I really wish sometimes I could do other things, but recently?" She exhaled, "Some of the stuff my tata can do. It's just amazing. He can do little things too, like bending paperclips into tiny little shapes.. without messing up anything else. I /really/ wish I had that control."
*
Seth seems to relax as he realizes whatever thoughts he had in her company were still private, sinking back into his seat with a deep sigh. There was a knowing nod at her words, a casual toss of his shoulders as he muttered, "Jack of all trades, Master of none. Ye'r better off knowing what you know and getting good at it."
The vast spread of abilities had always puzzled him. In his travels he had met many other mutants, the seclusion from society often forcing them into the lowest castes that had always been his home. Everything from electric sparks to the manipulation of wood; thus magnetism was neither puzzling nor surprising. Turning over his hand, he looked at the riddle of his own flesh and frowned as if pondering something in his silence.
*
She let the ride go on for some time in silence. She turned off the exit leading to Winchester, glancing briely toward Seth as she drove. "I told you I met this disposed King right? He's freaking crazy. Like wears make up and sleeps in it crazy. Like he threw glass against the wall in the middle of a conversation! He told me I must be part parrot 'cause my hair is green."
"He was totally scary. He's related to Miss Crystal though, and said he'd be around. Like it was threat. He sent me a fur shawl before. Miss Crystal said I can't get rid of it 'cause it's a bad idea to insult a king or something. Even if he's not king anymore."
*
Seth shrugs at her story, seemingly thankful for the change in conversation.
"Rich people are nuts. I was runnin' errands once for this Don upstate. Old crime family. Guy loved cats. So one day, I show up to drop off some goods, and one of the other blokes workin' for him answers the door dressed up as a cat. Was pretty strange, all kinds of belts and stuff plus ears, a tail, whole deal. He tried to talk and say somethin', but the boss man squirted him with a squirt bottle. Crazy man. 'Parrently he'd done something to piss him off, and that was the punishment but Don seemed to be enjoyin' in quite a bit."
The youth trailed off, seeming to realize his story really didn't compare to a sky palace or a mad king. It's what he had to offer though.
"So the Makeup guy is related to your dad's girl? That seems all kinds of messed up."
*
Another nod at that, "Yeah the Lipstick King is related to Miss Crystal, but she's super nice and totally normal." She made a face.
"He totally tried to manipulate me too. Like it was totally obvious." She rolled her eyes, turning off the free way and into a rather nice part of town. The houses slowly grew further and further apart. Woods becoming the predominant surrounding outside.
"I dunno. Kinda awkward situation.."
*
Seth joins in with a confirmative,
"Yeah, I'd say. Your dad knows how to pick them."
There was a cheeky grin as he stretched out in the seat, his consideration of their surroundings never slackening despite their alien nature. It had been years since he'd been this far outside of a city, and the span of near-empty woods unsettled him more than he cared to admit.
"What goes into this Hanukah thing?"
*
A grimace followed as she slowed the car to a stop before a rather large gate. An 'X' prominent at the top of the wrought iron gate and she flexed a hand, the gate lock opening as she offered a wave and a grin at the camera. Then she proceded to turn the car up the private drive, glancing side long at Seth.
"Well there are candles? And fried foods. And it's all about this celebration.." She bit her lower lip, "Also please don't freak out.. This isn't exactly what most people consider to be a /school/.." She fidgeted and as the car pulled up the drive.. there was the X-mansion.
*
"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me."
Seth didn't freak out, but he certainly sounded exasperated. The look he shot her was scathing, even as he began to pull back on the layers in preparation to step back outside the warm car. From within the lapels of his jacket, he growled out stubbornly,
"I don't even rob places like this, Lorna! And you want me to go to dinner here? I haven't showered in like 3 months. Jesus."
And it almost sounded like he was really praying.
*
A small, sheepish, smile pulled at her lips as she glanced his way. "Sorry, but if I told you before we got here, I know you'd have fought me tooth and nail to get away." She murmured, biting her lower lip as she unlocked the doors and turned the car off.
Unstrapping her seatbelt, she stepped out of the car with a creak of the door. "C'mon, hardly anyone is around I bet. Most of the kids are home for the holidays. And there are showers all over. You can use the one connected to my room. Granted my room is a guest room technically, it's kinda the room I'm always using these days."
*
Seth follows her lead though he didn't stop scowling at her. It would take a while for him to sort out his silent pouting, even as they ascended the steps to the entrance. The anger at her betrayal was draining away with every lift of his foot, the confidence abating as his stride fell into place behind her own, willing to shadow her lead with an obvious nervous energy sending trembles through his hands. By the time they reached the entryway, he had forgiven her enough to bump into her in his effort to draw closer for confidence.
"Fine."
It was the only forgiveness she would get. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stayed just behind her stride as his eyes wandered in a mixture overwhelmed discomfort and wonder.
*
At least they didn't run into any students as Lorna leads up him the front entrance and up the grand stairwell to where her room was. She smiled at him, reaching out to hook an arm over his shoulder.
"So, my room is here. It's a guest room technically, like I said, so there's really not much in there.." She let go and moved to open the door near the end of the finely decorated hall.
Once inside was a very pleasantly decorated room, perfectly neat and tidy. Not a thing out of place. It wasn't overly large by the standards of the mansion, but to Seth? It was likely huge. On the bed were several pieces of metal that looked like some manner of armor.
Lorna gestured to the door to the side, "The bathroom is through there. I'll find you something clean.." She had no idea how, but she would…
*
Seth grunts and slinks into the bathroom, unwilling to talk to her more than was necessary. He would help her set up this weird Jewish birthday thing, and then scram. Though the promise of a shower was a strong enough draw to at least earn her a glare before the door shut, leaving her to puzzle out the clothing situation.
The water ran for what seemed like forever, no end to the hot steam that scrubbed away months of filth, nicotine under the nails and alcohol in his pores. If she came back earlier than he anticipated, than she would even be privy to the happy little noise he made as he lingered under the spray, simply drinking in its warmth and the sensation of being clean. Eventually, the water was turned off and the door opened enough to allow Seth's features to emerge.
Peering around the edge of the door with blonde hair plastered against his features, already beginning to form waves as it dried, he queried in a far more pleasant tone,
"Clothes?"
*
Lorna blinked as Seth peered around the door and a flush pulled at her cheeks. In her arms was a pair of sweats. "I uhm.. sort of raided my tata's closet. I wasn't sure what would fit you. He's kinda taller than you, but I figured you could rool up the pants some. And I really didn't want to rifle through other student's clothes without asking.."
She held out the clothes toward and and beamed, "But I figured since it's /my/ father, well, no one can get that mad. He might get irritated but I mean, it's for a good cause." She shrugged.
*
Seth stares at her openly before groaning and snatching the clothes. From the other side of the closed door, he intoned,
"You know, I kind of want him to like me. Or at least, not wanna kill me. Maybe he won't recognize 'em. Did you remember a shirt?"
The door opened and he stepped out with his things bundled under one arm. He hadn't felt ready to desecrate newly cleaned skin with his own filthy undershirt and so he tossed them to the ground while looking at her expectantly.
Gaunt though he was, his flesh was completely unblemished, not a scar or bruise evident. The musculature that toned his skin was underwhelming due to a lack of nutrition, but a natural strength was obvious in the complete lack of softness in his appearance. With any thickening of the flesh, he would have resembled some Nordic god, poised as he was with hair still dripping against his shoulders and blue eyes glaring fiercely.
"And sweats? I hope you shoo me out of here before the festivities start. It's not party attire, ya'know?"
*
A shrug followed and Lorna turned to grab a long sleeve shirt off the bed. It was simple, one color and clearly bigger than he was around the shoulders. Still, it would serve for now. "My tata won't kill you Seth, geeze. He encouraged you to come along with me here. So really, he gave permission. He just didn't know it."
She laughed sheepishly, turning to the metal plates on the bed and she lifted up a hand, pulling them up into the air and then gently (mostly gently) settling them down into a pile on the floor in the corner.
"Besides, he's not even home. So we have time to get everything together and then worry about it."
*
To Be continued?