Austin "Reform" Xavier's Story

[font=Kristen ITC]The red headed girl stood in her dorm, occasionally she would try to form small objects in the palm of her hand and make them solidify but they would just turn back to smoke after holding the form for a mere ten seconds. "Aw, forget it," she breathed as she sat in front of her bedroom door, her hazel eyes just stared out into the hallway, not expecting anyone to come. Ana probably stayed there for about thirty minutes before she stood up and stepped out into the hallway. It was empty which was odd, the institutes hallways were always full of people, unless a group was out on a mission.
Nervously she took off down the hallway, she turned the hallway and sighed with relief as she was met with a group of familiar faces. She walked past the Gamma group and headed down to the danger room. The minute the girl turned the corner she saw Haven walk into the danger room and heard the muffled voices of people. That was before she noticed Flynn walk out of the room, "What wrong, Flynn?" she asked with a small smirk, "Did ya get it this time?" the red head then turned around and walked back down the hall. Her steps were graceful, but she'd twirl with almost every other step.
She had to admit, she was childish by the way she acted, but when she spoke she was as serious as she could ever be. (Depending on the conversation). Her curls bounced as she walked in the direction of her room but she took a sudden turn down to the kitchen.
Eagerly she searched the cabinets in search of something sweet to boost her energy. The volunteers who helped in the kitchen made it a habit to hide the sweets from her every time they knew she was coming. If she found them she'd be bouncing of the walls and be more irritating than before. With no luck she sighed and walked out before stopping in the hall, debating on what she was going to do next.

---

Hailee opened her eyes to a field in the middle of nowhere. Grass, gold from the summer sun, danced in a light, warm breeze, and there was only peace. The whole place had a dream-like quality to it - it seemed too pretty. Hailee found herself in the middle of said field, legs crossed and the grass tickling her nose. She noticed that all she could see in every direction was more grass, except for right in front of her, where the green leaves of densely packed trees were noticeable. There was one solitary oak tree in the corner of the field, in front of the wooded area, which waved in the breeze too.

Hailee knew this wasn't just a dream. She never had ordinary dreams.

A loud giggle caught her attention, and she looked up to notice a small girl, standing in an old style yellow dress, embroidered with little blue flowers. The girl appeared as if she'd been taken from a sepia photo - she blended in with the gold of the grass and the sunlight. The girl's hair - blonde, from what Hailee could infer - drifted in the breeze, but Hailee noticed something off with her. The blank expression in her eyes wasn't natural. The girl offered her a hand, and Hailee stood up, the laughter from nowhere in her ears.

When the girl pointed behind her, the crackle of fire wasn't audible. But as she turned, Hailee knew what she'd see. A barn, flames seemingly touching the sky, the column of smoke reaching higher and higher with each heartbeat, and Hailee knew what had happened. The girl in front of her... Her last moments were spent in that barn. The girl seemed to smile, and nodded her head, although she did not speak. Her face was a beam of sunshine to Hailee - something enjoyable and beautiful. But it all changed, and her face contorted into a look of fear and horror, before Hailee felt the ground at her feet melt away, and she was plunged underwater.

Just a dream... It's just a dream... Hailee had to remind herself over and over that it wasn't real, that the water filling her lungs was false. These were supposedly her own last moments, except she'd survived. Fear consumed her, and she kicked her legs in the deep water, fighting it, trying to keep it away. Her lungs burned, her heart beat fast and heavily in her chest, sending spikes of pain through her chest with every beat. She couldn't breathe - panic took over, and her lungs begged for that breath that would end it. She held on, and on, and when she felt something dark pulling her down, her lungs gave up. She took a breath, filled her lungs with water, and -

Hailee awoke, gasping. It was much later than normal, and she cursed herself for letting herself sleep for that long. She placed her hands on her forehead, laying in her bed for a few minutes longer. The spikes of pain were fading now, but it worried her. She hadn't had any palpitations for a long while now. She closed her eyes and reached out with her mind, trying to see if anyone else was awake and free to talk to. She pulled back as soon as she 'felt' Haven - at least, sensed that she was close to entering the Nether. She opened her eyes again as the feeling passed, and huffed a sigh of relief, heaving herself out of bed to take a shower.

Hailee had just stepped out of the shower and had gotten dressed, wearing a cream sleeveless top with black trim, and a black and white cardigan over the top, along with a pair of light blue jeans and suede dolly shoes, when she heard Haven calling. "Hallie, you in here?!" She'd change later, of course, but her training session with Summers wasn't until that afternoon, and she'd resolved to getting changed after lunch, but quickly called out to her friend. "Give me a second!" She ran a brush through her straight hair, and fringe, before walking out of the bathroom. She could hear her friend hitting the punching bag, the heavy thumps of her fists almost rhythmic to her. She pursed her lips together and walked to meet her friend. "It didn't go well, did it?" She sent the message telepathically to her friend so nobody else could hear if they walked past the dorm room. That is, if Hailee wasn't accidentally projecting to everyone in the near vicinity.

The sight of her friend was comforting to Hailee. The dark-haired beauty was the opposite of Hailee in every way, but that just brought the girl's closer. Truth be told, Hailee hadn't loved anybody as much since she had had to leave her sister behind. Haven was like her twin, her sister. They say that the girls were twins, and Haven was the 'evil' one. Hailee couldn't disagree more. She couldn't think of a less 'evil' person - it wasn't her fault that she had mutations that linked her to the Nether, just like anyone's powers wasn't their fault. Whatever she thought, Hailee approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, hoping to act as a comfort to her. "Hey, at least it's over for today. You don't have to do it any more than you have done already." She was trying to cheer her up, or at least, distract her. Staying optimistic was Hailee's key characteristic. She would do anything to cheer someone up - especially if said person was her best friend.

The other people drifting across her mind were her fellow Rookies, but mainly Austin and Azrael. She was half wondering whether they had a session together that day, or rather if they were just meeting up to chat. She liked both boys, but she knew that lots of others did. Nonetheless, she sent them a quick telepathic message. "Hey, are we training together later? If not, gaming marathon?" She hoped the boys would agree - it would be fun to let off some steam.

---

Austin woke up on the floor, to a loud beeping noise. He groaned and as he slowly got up on to his feet. Austin stood there for a few seconds and stare at the mess his dorm was, "Oh well I'm not cleaning up this stuff.... Time for training I guess...". He didn't worry about changing, he slept in his clothes anyway. He put his bedding back on the bed and walked out of his dorm and past the kitchen. "Wait.... food first" he made a turn into the kitchen and just took a toast someone was finished making and left for themselves on the table, "Don't mind If I do, thank you very much". He walked out of the kitchen and outside the Danger Room, someone was already inside, he clicked a tune with his tongue, waiting for them to get out. The door opened and Haven stomped out, "Hi?...". He walked inside to see Logan. "Ororo, it's one of yours! Finally too... I need a break...", Ororo came up to Austin and casually greet him, "Are you ready for the obstacle course?". Austin nodded "I've been practicing all week!". Walls, swinging ropes, enemies, hurdles, a whole lot of obstacles came up in the simulation, "Run Simulation: Shapeshifter's Obstacle Course 19, You ready?". "I was born ready". A loud beeping noise went off as he turned into a tiger and climbed a wall then swinged across vines as a monkey and landed on his feet at the start of a hill. Then he turned into a rhino and charged down the hill and took out the enemies. Then he turned into a horse and jumped the hurdles and then he dodged some harpoons in his snake form and turned into an elephant and took out the harpoon launchers. "Was I good?" Austin changed back to his human form and asked. "You beat your previous best, so you're getting there" Austin's spot on the leaderboard went up a space putting him on #21. "Yes!" he cheered "Thanks, Mrs. Munroe", he walked out of the Danger Room to his dorm and checked the computer and read some news about one of his favourite MMOs. He read to himself. "Ultimate Galaxies Online will be closing down early next month, anyone who invested money into this game will be given a full refund...". He sat there for a few seconds before letting out a huge "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the whole academy could hear. He later got a telepathic message from Hailee, He thought back I've already been training, video game marathon would be nice I guess... maybe later. Then he leaned back in his chair, thinking how it couldn't get any worse.

---

---

“Right. Let's do this.”

Tessa sighed as she turned around to see about twelve feet of roof ahead of her, her eyes narrowing. The blue and green orbs flashed as she grinned, her legs pumping as she ran. She could hear the screams of others as her body plummeted down towards the ground. Her eyes closed and soon... There was nothing but silence. She could feel the earth all around her body, the small creatures that lived below the surface going about their daily business. But she wasn't training for that. Instead, she tried to hear what was going on above. She sighed as she brought herself into a position of lying down, moving through the soil as easily as she moved through air, almost unaware of the pressure as the earth shifted out of her way and created space for her. She placed her palms flat upon the earth above her, coercing a small daisy to sprout above. Grasping onto its roots, she opened her eyes and simply stared into the darkness before giving a shout of victory. What's she doing down there? Is she dead? That was Professor Tec, right? She could hear the people talking above, though it was rather faint. She would have to work a bit harder to perfect this. Still, it was going much better than her attempts at exploring some other aspects of her power. Like turning into various elements. She had spent two weeks in the medical bay after trying to turn into a piece of metal and ended up being a copper bracelet for six hours. When she had returned to her normal form she was broken out in hives and had a green tint to her skin.

Not the best day of her life.

Satisfied with the training, she walked through the earth, surprising the students as she popped up. “And that is how you don't die when you leap from twenty feet up.” She gave a light smirk before canting her head to the side some. “Though, I wouldn't suggest that any of you try it just yet.” Beaming a smile, she skipped past them and headed indoors with a skip in her step. She waved to those that she passed by on her way to her room, throwing open her door and giving a light squeal. It was only her second year being employed by Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, only her second year of having one of the “upgraded” rooms, but she still loved it. She didn't mind when she had a room with Mia but she felt so official with her new room. That... She rarely slept in. But her furred companions loved the new space. She dropped to her knees to greet them as they ran up to her, laughing at the sight of Jade sitting on top of Bastille's head. “That's just... Oh, it's too cute!” She brushed her fingers through Bastille's fur before using her index finger to stroke Jade's small head. “I've got to go and get ready to train for a bit.” She stood up, turning her head as Talisman yipped softly, nudging his head against Tex's leg. “Haven's there... With Flynn. Fucking... Fantastic. Thanks for the update, lovey.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm as she made her way to the shower, though she didn't direct it towards her stubby-legged friend.

She didn't spend long showering, just a few minutes to scrub away the dirt. She didn't mind some dirt on her nails or smudges on her face but she didn't like feeling funky. By the time she re-entered her room, her once chocolate waves were now curls of hot pink that dangled past her waist. They were pulled together by a thin vine, looping around to place her hair into a ponytail. She moved to the mirror, staring at her body. Scars were... They were everywhere. She sighed as she pulled out her makeup cream and began to apply it to her chest. It was always the first scar that she covered before following up and covering the ones on her legs, back, and arms that weren't already covered by her tattoos. Ah, her tats. She wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, spending quite some time staring at the newest one that took up her right side. That was a masterpiece and something she felt absolutely represented her to her core. She sighed happily, blue flowers blooming and intertwining with her locks. She happily slid into a workout outfit, whistling to herself while she finished it all off with her favorite headphones. Clicking her tongue and gesturing to herself in the mirror as though she were some sleazy construction worker, she chuckled and headed out for the Danger Room. She let her beasties out and locked the door behind them, smiling at the students who were enjoying their weekend. It was a great afternoon. She gave a final wave to them as she stepped into the elevator and headed down below.

Being accepted to train with the X-Men meant so much more to her than just being a teacher. Having her own room was great but being part of the X-Men, even just as a trainee, meant that she had access to their cool vehicles and all the super secret rooms below the ground floor. The Danger Room was by far her favorite room. She also had that really cool uniform, though she didn't need it. Logan and Ororo told her that it was to help her and the others withstand immense amounts of G-Force as well as to regulate their body temperature, neither of which she needed because her body adjusted on its own. Still, she was not one to pass up looking fine as hell. She certainly filled out her outfit well enough. But she wasn't wearing it today. She passed by the locker rooms and found that Haven seemed to have left, a grin playing on her lips. Good. The last thing they needed was yet another scrap between the two. Flynn was leaving as well and she passed both he and Anastasia, offering only the redhead a smile before continuing on. “Blindside.” She gave a courteous nod though she all but ignored the leader of the BAM team. She made her way to the observation room where she found Scott and Ororo, leaning into the side hug of her African mentor. “I see dipshit's had his ass handed to him again. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?” She gave a grin as Scott gave one of her curls a tug. “Don't be mean.” She gave a shrug before narrowing her eyes some. “I think I'll go ahead and give it a go with Logan when you're done with Austin... Give us something urban.”

She gave Ororo a pat on the back before waiting until her run was finished with Austin. She was soon heading back down and entering the Danger Room, locking the door behind her. Ororo and Austin had already left the room and Logan was back in, putting out a cigar. Wolverine didn't bother turning, already smelling the young woman that oozed the sweet scent of flowers wherever she went. “Well, if it isn't Daddy's Girl. You come to take on the champ, Princess?” He turned to face her with his trademark smirk, brown eyes scanning her while she too took on an intimidating stance. Or, at least she tried. She ended up just grinning and rolling her eyes. “Shut up and let's race.” As she spoke the room around them began to change at the behest of the mysterious entity, Danger. It began to resemble a rundown end of Harlem, the room darkening as night time was simulated. Before Tecmessa had the chance to make a break for the bell at the far side of the “city”, Wolverine took off. “Hey, you! Dick!” She yelled out at him before a vine emerged from her back and shot out at him. It wrapped around his legs and slammed him to the ground with extreme force. She had learned quite some time ago that one did not go easy on Logan. He was a big kid. She didn't bother with the theatrics of slamming him around because she knew he'd just recover within seconds.

Instead, she let the vine detach from her body and took off past him. Her eyes adjusted to the lack of proper lighting within minutes as she began to scale the walls of the buildings, leaping across rooftops with a number of arguably unnecessary flips. She thought she had lost Wolverine but she should have known better than to get too comfortable with his absence. He had hunted her down and she soon found them both tumbling down three stories. She landed on top of him as he turned to avoid crushing the much smaller being beneath him under the weight of his muscles and adamantium-infused skeleton. She gave a grunt but didn't hesitate to cock back her fist and punch him in the face. “Ahh! Fuck! Stupid asshole!” Wolverine pushed her off of him and stood over her with a smirk as she cradled her aching hand. The pain was fading fast but not fast enough. “All these years and you ain't learned yet?” He turned and left her to get up on her own, not concerned about her safety. She ran after him, slowly picking up speed but not enough. With a growl, she found herself seeing through black and white lenses. Wolverine looked back to see a sinewy and fluffy cream colored wolf damn near on his ass, howling out with exhilaration. He gave a grin and turned, readying for a fight.

The lupine form of Tecmessa launched itself from powerful legs, tackling Logan to the ground and going for his exposed arms. He kept his claws at bay and instead kept to simple punches; He didn't want to kill her. She tore him up pretty bad but he was able to handle her with relative ease. Her strength was increased in this form but it wasn't a match for him still. She let out a canine whine and whimper as he tossed her to the side and kept running. She grunted and rose up slowly, taking back on her usual form. She held a hand out and began to clench her fist slowly. The action itself didn't actually do anything but it was generally a common way for kinetics to get a sense of their power and manipulate their desired energy. For her, she felt the air around them, forcing it to gather while creating more. Wolverine yelled out as he was slammed into a nearby building, thrown through the wall as heavy winds picked him up and tossed him. Tecmessa gave a shout of almost victory and ran past him, using the air to push her up to the rooftops. “Next time, agápi̱ mou!” She yelled out to him in Greek as she caught hold of a fire escape ladder and began her ascent. Still, Logan didn't plan on losing. His claws came out as he burst through the rubble and was soon surpassing her. She climbed faster, before reaching out and grabbing his leg. “Don't be a bitch, Princess!”

She wasn't listening though. He raised his foot to kick her down or, at the very least, remove her hand from his leg. But he found himself unable to bring it down. She grinned up at him as she dug her nails into him a bit and further found herself tapping into the metal that coated his skeleton. Manipulating his adamantium wasn't as easy as manipulating other metals. She had to also fight against his muscle and will power combined and she had to actually be touching him to do it. Still, she made his claws retract, glaring in concentration as she watched his fingers slowly, one by one, begin to lift until he was falling. She released him and moved away, jumping through the window as he fell. She would not let him win. She was scrambling through the simulated apartment in the dark, trying to find an exit before Wolverine recovered. Knowing him, he had caught onto something before climbing back up. She kept her cool as she found the exit that lead into a dimly lit hallway. She slid as she bounded up three flights of stairs, forcing the door off of its hinges with a wave of her hand. She saw the bell and her face lit up like a child in a candy store. She began to run for it but didn't make it.

She gave out a yelp as Wolverine tackled her, taking her down from the side. Bastard! She thrashed out and let vines whip out and wrap around him but found herself unable to discern him from her in their struggle and they ended up awkwardly tangled together. Wolverine was much more careful than she was as he slashed through the vines on his end, leaving her wrapped in them. He ran for the bell and was able to ring it just before she lashed out and caught his leg with a vine, throwing him from the rooftop. The simulation soon faded and she was on the ground, retracting her vines back into her flesh with a whine. “I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Fuck you.” The two bickered playfully as Wolverine helped her up. She gave the man a tight hug before limping her way out of the Danger Room. Wolverine remained, waiting for anyone else who wanted to take him on. “Hey, Princess! You got a match against that Russian boy tonight! Get some ice and walk that shit off!” Tec waved a hand nonchalantly as she ambled through the door and made her way back to the surface level and right back outside. She wandered around until she found the labyrinth on the west side, easily navigating herself to the center where a large oak tree waited for her. Groaning, she collapsed onto the ground and pulled her headphones over her ears, clicking the button on the wire to play the first song, Metallica's Battery. It was so fitting considering the battery she had just gotten. She sighed as her body began to sap the health from the tree. The leaves browned only a little – She wasn't dying or anything. She just had some bruises and cuts and aching bones. She didn't need too much energy from the tree. When she had finished she curled onto her side and closed her eyes, thinking about how she could improve her next run. She could beat Logan in an actual fight, given enough time. But she'd never beat him on a run. That was his arena. She gave a light sigh and curled her fingers around the blades of grass, encouraging it to grow taller around her. This was paradise.

Minus the memory of the ass whuppin'.

She pulled out her phone that was stashed between her boobs - because that was the safest place for everything - and scrolled through her contact list, wondering who she could harass for company. Most of her team members would probably be training today. Still, she decided she was going to harass everyone anyways. She arranged a group message with the text Boooreeed! Entertain at the lake in twenty or suffer! It was a bit theatrical, but that was totally her style. Pleased, she sent the text to Mia, Autumn, Alex, Tyler, and Austin. She realized that she had to actually dress for the lake first herself and found herself sinking into the ground. She walked casually through the earth back to the mansion, popping back up to surface level to find that Ororo must have migrated outside while she was battling with Logan; Her mentor would often step out when the two of them fought. She looked up to see her second-in-command on the roof and gave a light nod before heading indoors. She traveled to her room, quickly packing a bag and heading back out, pulling out her phone to switch songs. Not paying attention, she found that she had slammed into someone. Her headphones were knocked ajar, leaking out the tunes of Nine Inch Nails' Terrible Lie.

“Ouch! Ah! It's cool! I'm fine!” She overreacted a bit, smiling as she steadied herself and re-shouldered her backpack. “Oh! Hey, Ace! Saw you on the roof. More training?” It was a rhetorical question because the answer was completely obvious. Still, she gave a friendly air as more flowers bloomed in her hair with her improved mood. “Hey... Actually. Some of us were going to head out to the lake. Maybe you want to come? Actually, it might just be me. Nobody's texted back yet.” She gave a soft laugh and shrugged before looking down to see her two dogs join the party. Jade leaped from her perch atop Bastille's head and scrambled up to Tessa's head, peering through large black eyes at Azrael. “Don't be weird, Jade,” she chastised softly, though she kept eye contact with the boy in front of her. “So... I should get going. But... It'd be great. To see you at the lake. You should definitely come. I'd be terribly sad if you didn't.” She found herself at a loss for words and beginning to blush with embarrassment, rushing past her winged teammate and back outside.

The lake was only a mile walk down a path behind the mansion. Tessa strolled along with a whistle, readjusting her headphones with her phone in one hand while she waited for some sort of hopeful response.

---

He was spinning in his chair, bored and annoyed. He got a text from Tessa, He read "Booooored, come to the lake in twenty or suffer. Sent, 19 minutes ago, Oh Crap!". He quickly texted back Sorry been busy drenched in annoyedness or whatever, I'm coming right now. After he send it he ran out of the mansion bumping into people and tripping over, "Sorry, I'm in a hurry! My life's hanging in the balance!" he would usually reply with or say something even stupider than that. He kept his eye on his watch. "Nearly twenty minutes up!". He finally made it to the lake and saw Tessa whistling and having her phone in one hand, he walked over casually with his hands in his pockets and a hood on his head, "Hey Tessa, I got your text, If you wanna know, I just didn't worry about it for a bit, I just found out some bad news and I was kinda down in the dumps, ya know? You get what I mean right?"

Anastasia sung small tunes in her head, the clock ticked loudly in her small one person room. All day it seemed as if everybody was ignoring her. She hadn't even gotten a chance to train since all the leaders were with the others. The girl laid in her room throwing a blue rubber ball at her ceiling before she rolled out of bed and pulled on a nicer outfit than the one she was currently wearing. Ana grabbed her camera, pencils, watch, drawing pad, and shoes before heading out the door and walking towards the back exit of the school. Her hazel eyes scanned the grounds for anyone she might see and spotted two figures by the lake, feeling social for once she walked down to them with a small smile planted on her face. Her bag bumped against her left leg with every other step she took which she found rather irritating but she left it. She knew if she moved it it would just rub against her bruise on the side of her neck, which would irritate her even more. "Hey guys," the girl waved slightly and placed her hands on the bags strap.

---

He looked over to Anastasia and took his hood off his head, "Uh... Hi Ana.... you um... look... nice" He looked back and just wanted to faceplam. You awkward little doofus, why don't you just smash your own face with a hammer already? You wouldn't get any more unintelligent than this, he thought in his head. He noticed the bruise on her neck. "Uh... Ana? Did you do something to your neck? It looks... bruised, did you hurt yourself?" He thought again, Oh of course she did you imbecile, what kind excuse to talk to her is that, your questions are awful as well, Jesus, what's wrong with you?

Alex flipped through the pages of his text book, barely taking in the information on the pages. While not his favourite thing to do, he was certainly not adverse to taking an hour or so out to study, but today he just couldn't seem to focus. He knew the reason. He had a training session that afternoon and waiting for it was making him restless. Slamming the book shut, Alex grabbed his headphones, letting Billy Talent drown out the world. Once his training session was over, he would be able to focus better. He began drumming on his desk when his phone buzzed. Checking the ID, Alex hesitated for half a second when he saw Tecmessa's name on the screen.

Boooreeed! Entertain at the lake in twenty or suffer!

A small laugh escaped Alex as he imagined Tessa's dramatic delivery if she had asked him in person or over the phone. Figuring he had nothing better to do until his training session, Alex folded his uniform into his messenger bag. Be there, as requested. Might take longer than 20 minutes. Please don't hurt me too badly He sent the message as he closed his dorm door behind him.

The weather was pleasant enough, Alex thought, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. The kind of day that wasn't meant to be spent inside studying or wearing form-fitting leather suits, regardless of how good the air-con inside was. Being on the other side of the academy to the lake, it was probably going to take him more than twenty minutes to get there, but given his prior warning, he doubted she would split on exactly twenty minutes. He gave a few amicable 'hi's' to students he saw milling around the grounds, but beyond that, his walk to the lake was quiet and uninterrupted. As he rounded the corner to the lake, Alex slowed his pace, identifying the other two that were with Tessa, who had changed her hair to pink. He had long since given in trying to keep up with Tessa's hair change. You could take a picture of her and a week later you'd have a picture that was two colours behind. As he came closer, he saw that they were Anastasia and Austin. Well, there were certainly worse people to while away an afternoon with. He pulled his headphones out and stuffed them into his pocket, "Hey guys," He greeted the group, being sure not to make any accidental skin contact with anyone. He was wearing long sleeves as a precaution, but he could never be too careful, particularly since he accidentally set himself on fire just shaking hands with Tessa. He'd heard of people feeling warm when they came into contact with a crush, but bursting into flames was another level. "I'm here as you requested, my lady" He said to Tessa, grinning as he bowed dramatically.

The room was very bright when Tyler went to stand in front of the mirror. When his face looked back at him he seemed older, more mature and more serious. Unlike his normal outfit he was dressed in a suit and he was straightening a tie that was tied in a better knot than it ever had been before. He bent down and put on the shoes that were right in front of him, black and polished. He heard a knock on the door and he moved towards it. When his hand reached for the doorknob the scene shifted. All of a sudden it was stuffy and dark. On the roof above him he could hear drops fall. Looking around he saw he was in a car, a good one too. The windows were tinted, from the outside nobody would know who was in here. The car was long, behind the driver there were 3 rows of seats.

Around him there were more people in the car, some of them he knew, some of them he had never seen before. All of their faces looked sad and he noticed he himself had tears in his eyes. A feeling creeped in, he knew where he was and what he did there. As the car stopped Tyler opened the door and opened an umbrella. He held it over himself and the lady that came out after him. She put her arm on his and together they walked to the entrance of the cemetary. The other people that had been in the car before now walked behind them, he noticed that the lady next to him pinched his arm slightly. The entrance to the cemetary looked familiair, not from dreams, but from real life. They walked through it and continued up the hill. They arrived at a fresh grave and seats were on the side. Despite the rain the seats were dry, maybe someone had just done so. He sat down in the second row while there were still seats in the first. Did that mean he was not as close as he had thought? As the priest started talking Tyler noticed he couldn't understand what was being said. He didn't here prayers, he didn't hear the speeches and he didn't hear a name. As the coffin slowly went down, Tyler slowly woke up.

He stayed still in his bed for a moment soaking up the dream he just had. He did notice when it was a dream, even though his dreams were more like reality than any one elses. Eventually this would happen, or at least was very likely to happen. The future was never set in stone, Tyler didn't predict destiny, but more probability. On the one hand he was curious as to whose funeral it was, on the other he was glad he didn't know. It would freak him out, let alone the person it was about. Judging from his face in the dream it would be a few years before this would come to pass. Nothing to worry about now... He got up made his bed and went to the bathroom. As he was brushing his teeth he heard a future knock on his door. With his toothbrush still in his mouth he walked over to his door and opened it to see a smiling Autumn standing there. He greeted her in between the foam that still covered his mouth. "Woodworning!" She replied with a cheerful:Good Morning." He walked back to the bathroom and washed his face before he came back to the room.

"So..., what shall we do today? Can't I just train with you all day instead of my bruise session with Mia later today?" He walked over to the closet to take out a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and changed into them. "It's gonna be 15 minutes of dodging punches and then 30 minutes of getting the crap beat out of me." He turned to Autumn with a big smile on his face, "Can't you watch my training and take Mia's eyesight away every other two minutes or so? I'll make you pancakes if you do..." Tyler tilted his head to the right and looked at Autumn with big questioning eyes. Still smiling she replied:"As tempting as that is, You know I can’t do that, besides you’ll never learn, otherwise..." She patted his cheek and continued. "Come, let's get breakfast."

A little later they were on their way for some breakfast. Maybe not the promised pancakes, but he would still make her something. Plus he could use some tea and the way Autumn made it was just perfect. He opened the fridge to get the yoghurt and added the mueslie (with little pieces of chocolate of course) he just got from one of the cupboards. When he sat down on the counter and started eating he saw how Anastacia was only a minute behind them. Ana usually hyped from her own natural self, add a bit of sugar and Anazmanian Devil is born. Quickly Tyler dumped his bowl in the kitchen sink, he was mostly done in any case. He grabbed the last bag of sweets and opened it. He gave half of it to Autumn. "Quick, Ana is coming, let's stuff our faces and hide in the living room." He followed his own instruction and stuffed his face with the sweets. He walked into the living room jumped on the couch and tried his hardest not to make any sound.

Trying to hide behind the couch with his mouth full of sweets was quite doable. Not a sound came from him. In his mind he could here his phone go off. Luckily it gave him time to switch of his sound before the sound actually came. Autumns phone was not so lucky and the sound came like an earthquake. Apparently Ana did not stop by as nobody looked over the couch. With his mouth still full of sweets he attempted to speak. "Danwger awerted. By we way, iws Tewwa asking us to come fo we lake." He swallowed the last of the candy and had to admit that his jaw was hurting from all that candy. "I'm just gonna go change into my swimgear, meet you there?" He didn't take his questioning eyes of her until he was already out the door. He ran up the stairs and along the corridor carefully avoiding the people he would have bumped into if he hadn't had his gift

Quickly changing he ran back down the stairs. If he would keep running he would have been the first one at the lake, even before the person suggesting it, so instead he slowed his pace when he saw Ana and Austin. In his mind he already heard the conversation that would continue between the three of them, and somehow he thought he would be the cockblock conversationalist there and so decided to keep jogging on. He passed them with a quick "Morning" and continued until he saw Tessa and Alex in the distance. Now it would just be silly if he ran on, so he stopped. "Morning Tessa and Alex, thanks for the idea, it's perfect weather to go swimming. I just saw Ana and Austin a bit back, and I'm sure Autumn's on her way too."

"Thank you, Austin. You look nice as well," the red head smiled at him before tying her hair up with her ribbons, and adjusting her back so it didn't put so much weight on her shoulder. Ana looked back at him to answer his question, her hand faintly touched the bruise before coming back down to the strap of her bag. "Uh, yeah...training earlier this week. Not that great..." Anastasia looked at Alex, it was slightly obvious that he liked Tessa, "Hi," she gave a small wave before taking out her camera from her side bag and putting the strap around her neck as a 'professional' photographer would've done.

---

"Good morning" He replied to Tyler and as he went to catch up to the rest of the group. "Swimming?... Can I come? But then I have to go back to my dorm and get my board shorts and stuff, Is it fine that I meet you there? I have to get a few things anyhow so I can" He got to speaking pretty fast from babbling on so much. "Okay I think you get my point.... so can I come with ya?" He put his hands in his pockets and gave them all a bright, beaming smile.

---

---

She grinned as Austin was the first to show up and they were already halfway there. She pulled her headphones down and gave him an upward nod. “Don't sweat it. The important thing is that you're here and we're ready to go swim!” She gave a light fist pump before giving him a playful shove. As they neared the lake she could sense another person approaching, canting her head to see Ana before she spoke up. The colorful Greek-Brazilian young woman could not help but to issue a sigh of relief when she saw that she wasn't around Francis this time. “Hey! Anastasia, right?” Of course she already knew the young woman's name. Everyone knew who she was. There were more than a few students, Haven especially, who didn't like or trust Ana because of her former affiliation with The Brotherhood of Mutants. Tecmessa didn't mind at all. Her father told her a lot of stories about Eric, the founder and leader of the Brotherhood, as well as some of the other mutants with him. Honestly, Eric didn't seem like a bad guy. Charles didn't hate him and neither did Tessa. She remained quiet after her own initial introduction, watching with a soft laugh as Austin stammered over his words while he was talking to her. “I'll just leave you two kiddies... aloonnne,” she teased, pinching Austin's cheek before jogging ahead of them and putting at least ten feet of space between them.

She hummed, skipping a bit in a merry way until she heard Alex's voice. She paused and turned just in time to catch his dramatic bow. She couldn't stop her face from turning a bright shade of red, giggling like a moron. “You're such a moron.” Still, she gave him a bright smile. Normally, she would jump on her friends or hug them tightly or at least hook arms with them. But she had to very careful with Alex. When he first walked into her Botany class and shook her hand... Well. He shared her powers for a few minutes and managed to catch on fire. It was a terribly frightening experience for her and she had to cancel her classes for an entire week. Still, he seemed to think that it was his fault (though she disagreed completely) and had come to apologize. After that, she liked to consider them to be the best of friends. She acted like an idiot around him, even when they were in class. She couldn't help it, enjoying just his mere presence. She bit down on her bottom lip and turned her head to hide her blush until she got it under control. “I'll let you off easy... This time. But next time, I might have to kick your ass.” She gave another dopey smile before noticing that he was wearing a long sleeve shirt. Her eyes lit up and she smirked as she immediately grabbed onto him and linked her arm with his. “Now, then. What are your thoughts on a party? X-Men style!” She began rambling on about lights, amazing food, music, and general party things before releasing him to jump in front of him. “I was thinking that it'd be great to celebrate us - all of us - getting chosen for the new generation.”

She continued walking, using her hands to animate her words as she spoke. “We could definitely exclude Francine and his nightmare sidekick though. Along with a few others.” She practically growled at the mere thought of that dastardly duo. She couldn't help but to narrow her eyes before taking a deep breath. “Happy thoughts... Flowers. Organic chocolate. Great headshots. Alex's face.” She grinned some more before turning at the sound of footsteps approaching fast. “Oh, hey. Glad to see you could make it, Richie Rich.” She gave Tyler a light punch on his shoulder before looking behind him as if expecting Autumn any moment. “Alright. So, you down for a party? No Beta honchos. Just the coolest of the cool cuttin' a rug and getting some macking done. Except you. You can't kiss anyone because it'll probably be Autumn and if I see you kiss her... I'll bury you.” While it might seem to the outsiders that she and Tyler did not get along, with Tessa taking on the role of the stereotypical big brother threatening the boyfriend, it was quite the opposite. She enjoyed Tyler's company and they were always in the kitchen together late at night. Sometimes she even managed to get him to harvest with her. She turned back to Alex with a smile. “I almost forgot.” She held her hand out and bit down on her lip again, though this time it was for concentration. A green apple emerged from her palm and she offered it to him. “You're welcome.”

Was she trying too hard with him? Scott told her that she didn't need to but she felt that she did sometimes anyways. She couldn't really help it. She was a sweet person and she did really like him. Sometimes it was easy for people to think that she was fake or that she just tried to hard because... Well, she had been told before that it was almost creepy how sweet she was. That might have had something to do with her having come home naked once after giving her clothes away to a homeless person when she took a trip into the city. She had to climb through the window after turning into a squirrel to avoid being seen while she got more clothes. But someone had been up and managed to snag a picture before her shift. She wasn't really ashamed - She had put her clothes to good use. But it was irritating that someone tried exploiting her. She had gotten a week of detention, forced to take up extra cleaning duties and not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities when she found the source of the passed around picture and broke his wings. And his nose. And his arms. And one of his legs. Then she buried him up to his neck out in the front yard. Logan thought it was hilarious. Her father didn't. But, that was years ago and she was a lot more calm. Especially since Marcus was expelled afterward.

She overheard Austin behind her and gave a smirk as she called over her shoulder. “Yeah, dipstick! That's why I texted you!”

“Ouch! Ah! It's cool! I'm fine!” She overreacted a bit, smiling as she steadied herself and re-shouldered her backpack. “Oh! Hey, Ace! Saw you on the roof. More training?”

"Yes, it was." He smiled at her. It was an awkward smile.

“Hey... Actually. Some of us were going to head out to the lake. Maybe you want to come? Actually, it might just be me. Nobody's texted back yet.”

" I think I would like that, thanks for asking." A small twitch running trough his wing, which was covered by his jacket. Just then, a pair of dogs walked up next to her and sat, a small squirrel-like creature hung on her head. It was cute. She whispered something to it, but he wasn't sure what.

“So... I should get going. But... It'd be great. To see you at the lake. You should definitely come. I'd be terribly sad if you didn't.” She then brushed past.

Azrael smiled nervously. He would have to go now, he didn't want to upset her. He wasn't really sure what swimming would be like, especially with wings. They were helpful most of the time, but, sometimes they were hard to deal with. It made sleeping quite difficult. He decided to head outside, take a cruise around, and look for the lake. It was a nice day to be flying. He slowly removed his jacket and shirt, expanded his wings, flapped a few times to stretch them, and took flight. He was about 50 feet above the roof when he found it. He flew over, hovered for a moment, and decided to settle into a tree. It was a nice view, a few birds fluttered just below him, chirping happily. He had got here rather quickly, and, to make sure he wasn't seen on the way, he had flown fairly high. He wondered what water would be like with his wings, he had a hunch that it wasn't going to be very good.

The others would probably be a little while. The moment that thought crossed his mind, he heard voices. Once they were done speaking, he made his way down, lading about ten steps away. His attempt at a silent landing backfired, a flap from his wings sending a thin layer of dust towards the group.

"Uhh, sorry. Hello everyone. How are things?" His wings twitched mildly as he tucked them behind his back. They still stuck out somewhat, which left him very prone to having them brush against people. He approached the circle, unsure of how or whether he was supposed to integrate himself within it or just stand in the back. he decided to go with the latter. He stopped a step away, waiting for someone else to speak.

---

"Oh.... right, you could've said that in the text, I'll go get my stuff!" he turned into a cheetah and said in his best Arnold Schwaggnegger impression "I'll be back". He ran off to his dorm, the others could hear yelling of 'It's a cheetah!' or screams for help until they figured out it was just Austin trying to quickly get his stuff. It took a few minutes until he finally came back, "I told you I'd be back" as he smiled and turned back to his normal form. "Oh, what's up Azrael?" he gave a smile to him.

Anastasia "Blindside" Cloverfield

Autumn sat in her room, with a sketchbook in her lap, softly sketching as the morning broke. She was up early today, she didn’t know why. She sketched a small fairy, her wing iridescent and exalted as she danced over a water drop. As much as Autumn loved to paint there was something beautiful about pencil, in its varying shades of gray, it could mimic any texture, any color, without actually being there. She set her book down on the nightstand beside her bed and stood. She was in a room alone. Her powers made that a necessity, and while she was used to the solitude and wanted it at first, after living here, being accepted and making friends that would last a lifetime, she couldn’t help feel like maybe she’d wanted to be a little closer to her peers then that.
As the morning pressed on, Autumn dressed in her usual attire, a simple pink and white sundress Her hair was tied back, spiraling down to her shoulders, and decorated with a nice pink headband. She threw her sketchbook inside her bag, popped in her earplugs and made her way toward Tyler’s room.

The halls of Xaiver’s was almost always a buzz with activity, and at first, it was overwhelm, it still is. The earplugs help but it doesn’t nothing for her other senses, she could smell everyone, perfume, collage, soap, toothpaste. She could sense them all too, all the powers, ranging from weak to impressive. She’d been training and learning well, so she was able to slowly embrace all of it, take it all in and not let them rush in all at once. Tessa taught her that. Smiling at the thought, she was greeted sweetly as she passed by the other students. “Morning, Good Morning.” She would say sweetly in reply. She got to Tyler’s door and almost knocked, of course he opened it before she could. She was struck by the sight of him, he wasn’t particular buff or anything, actually compared to a lot of the men here, he was rather small but still, shirtless was shirtless. She smiled anyway, shaking her head some at the toothpaste and toothbrush still in his mouth. ”WoodWorning.” He greeted as he let her in. ”Good Morning.” She said back as he made his way back. She took a seat at the desk as he walked off into the bathroom to finish. Autumn took a breath, She was in love with Tyler, had been since the first time he helped her with her attack, the way he held her, cooed softly into her ear, how she was safe, and how everything would be alright, she believed every word of it, without any proof. He’s always helped her, always been there for her and she’d always be there for him, she recalled then once when his vision had overwhelmed him, she felt it, the immense physic power that woke her from her sleep, she remembered running to his room, opening in the door to find him there, clutching his head, his breathing labored. Almost in a similar way that she’d end up during an attack, though she clutched her chest. She remembered without thinking that she placed her hands on his and dulled his sense of touch, numbing his pain, but at the same time, increasing her touch, It was painful and her head swam but she held him there like that until the vision was over. They’ve been practically inseparable ever since.
"So..., what shall we do today? Can't I just train with you all day instead of my bruise session with Mia later today?" He asked after getting dressed. Autumn could only laugh behind her hand.It's gonna be 15 minutes of dodging punches and then 30 minutes of getting the crap beat out of me." He said looking at her "Can't you watch my training and take Mia's eyesight away every other two minutes or so? I'll make you pancakes if you do..." Titling his head in that way that was so unbelievably charming, it made her smile.”As tempting as that is, You know I can’t do that, besides you’ll never learn, otherwise...” She told him sweetly, her welsh accent heavy in her words. She pat his cheek. ”Come, Let’s get breakfast.”

Once in the kitchen, Autumn set to preparing tea for the two of them, as Tyler rummaged through the cupboards for something to eat. Tyler was an amazing cook, and for Autumn whose sense of taste was very particular that was saying quite a bit, The only one person besides herself to make her any food would be Tessa, who else besides Mother Nature would be a master in the kitchen. Autumn was a fair enough cook but she never bothered with making them anything, expect for Tea, She was Welsh after all. As she boiled the water, her bouncing best friend got the most wicked grin on his face and snatched up all the snacks. He shoved some in her hands as he turned to her "Quick, Ana is coming, let's stuff our faces and hide in the living room. he said and was off, leaving Autumn looking more then confused. ”Tyler?...Tyler?!” She huffed but his mischief rubbed off on her and she scurried out of the kitchen. ”Why I let you talk me into these things I will never know.” She said as she ducked on the couch with him. It was then his phone went off and shortly after as did hers. She usually had her phone on vibrate and that noise alone was enough to make her head spin but this time, she must have done something with the volume because it went off. Nice and Loud. She fumbled to turn it off and read the text. Tessa. At this, she smiled. Once she did, Tyler looked up and checked to make sure if it was safe. When it finally was he spoke again. "Danwger awerted. By we way, iws Tewwa asking us to come fo we lake."He swallowed stiffly. Autumn nodded. [b]”Yes, I got the same message” She said, knowing Tessa only texted him, for her sake. They tried to be civil around her but they weren’t all that close, they did share a love of cooking and her, so they had some things in common, though Tessa made it a point to make sure that he knew he was in immediate danger of castration should he make any move on her. Much to Autumn’s dismay, he was the only boy she wanted to. "I'm just gonna go change into my swimgear, meet you there?" He said and took off before dashing off before she could answer. She rolled her eyes, smiling, before climbing off the couch and placed the last of the snacks back into the cubboard. Sweets were not really her cup of tea. ”Oh! The tea!” She gasped and took the water off of the stove before it began to sing. If it had, God only knows what that would have done to her head.
Not that it mattered. A pulse came to her head, so harsh and violent that she dropped the kettle to the floor. She gasped out loud, sucking in deep breathes as she clutched her head with one hand and the counter with the other. ”Oh Haven... Please calm down...” The Nether was acting up again, and as usual Autumn could feel it. She could tell that this wasn’t it’s usual flux, Haven was angry, her powers going array. Autumn braced herself. She knew that the Beta team would be training this morning and Professor Monroe warned her but still, Autumn was never fully prepared. Taking slow deep breathes like Tessa taught her she managed to calm herself. Thankfully it wasn’t a panic attack. Just an overload of the extrasense. All Autumn’s senses were higher then normal, and by way of Mutant standards and while she couldn’t manipulate that sixth sense, she could always feel when others where using theirs. She breathed out and all was calm again. Haven was calm as well. She’d asked about her later.

Tessa did give them all twenty minutes and Autumn had enough headaches for one day. She quickly gathered the swimsuit she and Tessa picked out a few months back and hurried to meet the others.

She rounded the corner and saw the group, she smiled before approaching seeing Tessa and Tyler talking. She was glad for it, her smile faded though as Tessa threatened Tyler. Alright. So, you down for a party? No Beta honchos. Just the coolest of the cool cuttin' a rug and getting some macking done. Except you. You can't kiss anyone because it'll probably be Autumn and if I see you kiss her... I'll bury you.” Autumn groaned. “Tessa...Honestly” She whispered quietly before rushing up to greet them, taking her usual place beside Tyler as Tessa went off to Alex. Around the same time, Azrael arrived. ”Good Morning, All, How do you do?” She said, and felt a little foolish afterwards. Autumn was sometimes too formal with her friends, but old habits...as it were. Autumn yelped a bit, grabbing on to Tyler’s arm when a cheetah zoomed by and then shifted into the form of Austin. Autumn placed a hand on her chest a bit to calm her heart. ”Good Morning, Austin, You gave me quite the start there.” She said somewhat nervously. It was then that Ana appeared and Autumn smiled her as well. "Please tell me you /all/ know how to swim, and wont have any problems with a jet ski? She commented, searching, it seemed, for a response. Autumn knew why. Most people didn’t seem to trust her. Tyler really didn’t like her. She heard the rumors of her being with the Brotherhood but frankly she didn’t believe it. ”Good Morning, Ana, I know how to swim but I’ve never been on a jet ski, you’ll have to show me sometimes.” She said and smiled, genuinely.

---

"Of course I know how to swim" Austin replied to Ana. "But I've never had any experience with jet skis, gotta try that, Another thing that will probably make me fall on my arse" He went on walking over to the lake, "Hey Tessa! Where the heck's Marigold at? She's your best friend and yet she hasn't turned up yet" He yelled out to her as he kept on walking until he finally made it to the lake and took his shirt off and got in his board shorts. He decided to wait for the others, he sat at the edge of the lake and dipped his feet in and took out his phone and started mucking around with some of his apps as he waited for the others to get here. He started texting Hailee. Yo, It's Austin, I'm at the lake with Tessa, Alex, Tyler, Autumn, Ana and Azrael. Ya welcome to come, I don't mind If ya don't though, cya. He turned his phone off and started eating a packet of salt and vinegar chips. He moaned and said to himself, "Hurry up, already guys, I'm so boooooooored"

---

Hailee listened to her 'twin' hit the bag over and over. She felt tired just hearing her. She listened to her reply, and pulled a face, sighing as she did so. "Maybe it's not so much controlling it, but channeling it...?" She suggested in reply. She knew exactly how Haven felt - it was one of the problems she had herself, minus the evil spirits trying to possess her body.

As Haven mused to herself, Hailee received messages back from Austin and Azzy, just after a loud 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!' from downstairs. Hailee chuckled to herself, guessing that was Austin discovering something amiss with his MMOs. She'd ask about it later. The first message she received was from Azrael, saying; "Perhaps. I do not know the answer, but either one would be fine. Goodbye." She had to laugh a little at that, too - Azzy sounded so posh it was unreal. She found the kid likable - she loved his company, as she did with many of the others at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, but it amused Hailee from the way he sounded like he was one of the Church people back at 'home', except he was the complete opposite. She shook her head, still grinning.

The second was a reply from Austin, who seemed rather disappointed. She'd guessed right, apparently. His message asked about doing it later, and Hailee nodded her head. Seemed like she'd be doing something this evening, at the very least.

“I don’t know Hay, this is just...ugh...I don’t wanna talk about it anymore...” Haven brought her attention back to reality, and Hailee looked up from her lap. "I understand, you know. You aren't the only one linked up to a whole other dimension, you know." She shrugged, a slight smile on her lips, letting her twin know she was kidding. Haven got up and went into the bathroom, getting changed, when noises outside caught her attention. Confused, she stood up and headed over to the window, leaning on the windowsill. Many of her friends were down there, by the lake, laughing, from the looks of things. She felt her stomach turn in dread. What if she was invited? What would she say? How the heck would she get out of that?

Austin turned into a cheetah and raced off, when Hailee noticed who he had just been with. Her heart sank along with her gut. It was Ana. Of course. Why else would he race off so quickly to get his stuff? She could hear his movements now, around the mansion somewhere. He really was an eager thing. Hailee sighed a little. At least she could pretend she had forgotten at this point.

Haven exited the bathroom, wearing her usual style of clothing. Hailee liked it - she just couldn't pull it off herself. After adding loads and loads of jewellry to her outfit, Hailee grinned. She'd gone against adding contacts, which Hailee thought was good. She liked when her twin was herself, and didn't hide anything. Hailee liked doing it too, but she had resolved that some things couldn't be shown off. Like her depression. That was definitely a no-no.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket as Haven asked what they were doing. She shrugged, pulling out her phone and tapping her password in lightly. She waited patiently for her phone to load and felt Haven sit down on her bed. She'd received a text from Austin, and felt her gut flip in terror. There was her dreaded invite. Instinct turned her head to look at the large body of water that was her own personal nightmare, and swallowed the foul taste at the back of her throat. "Umm... Apparently we've been invited to a... gathering at the... lake." She croaked. Her fear was quite obvious, and she really wanted to go and see everyone, but her fear of the water was almost paralysing. Even the idea of going near the water made shivers go down her spine. She stared at the text, emotions of want and fear mixing together and just confusing the girl. "What. The heck. Do we do?" She muttered. "I want to go, but then... I'll be near the water... What do you think?

Anastasia "Blindside" Cloverfield

"Oh, what's up Azrael?" Austin spoke kindly. If Azrael hadn't known better, he would have answered literally, something along the lines of "The sky." However, he was previously made aware of the true meaning, albeit somewhat embarrassingly.

"Nothing much, Austin. What's up with you?" He smiled at Austin.

"Please tell me you /all/ know how to swim, and wont have any problems with a jet ski?"

"No, and no. I'm not really sure what a jet ski is. I am, however, curious as to what swimming will be like. I haven't been in a number of years." The last time Azrael was swimming, it was long before he had fully developed his wings. He would've been around 9, at a motel in the south side of Vegas, just off I-95. It was a memory Azrael was particularly fond of.

Ana made her way down to the water. "Come on, guys!"

Azrael expanded his wings, and took off his jeans, revealing a pair of gym shorts underneath. He waked down to the lake, and made his way in slowly. The water was cool, but it was refreshing. He made it up to his stomach, but further than that would've been dangerous, he thought. He began to stretch his wings, and then he made his way further in. It was incredibly difficult, nearly impossible to even walk. He attempted to tuck his wings, but that didn't improve anything. He would have to practice, and what better time than now.

He began by putting himself completely underwater, and expanding his wings. He flapped, and it sent him backwards quickly. Now, he would have to figure out a way to re-position his wings without launching himself forward. he tucked, and re-adjusted his angle, arcing them in towards his back, expanded, making sire they stayed angled properly, and flapped once more, with the same effect. He popped his head up from underwater, noticing he was a considerable distance from the group. He kept his head up, and made his way back to the group, using his wings to swim. This had taken a toll on his stamina, it was a very difficult task.

He stood for a moment, watching the others. The seemed to be having such a good time. He smiled, this was nice. This was what it was like, to be carefree for a few moments. Just then, he felt a splash on water on the side of his face, from an unknown party. He laughed, and, as out of tough as he usually was, he felt, happy