𝙼𝚞𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝: 𝙲𝚘𝚍𝚎 𝙽𝚊𝚖𝚎𝚜

𝙲𝙷. 𝟼 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚃𝚛𝚊v𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛

Christmas season ended faster than you thought, yet the mansion was still the same: dusty, untidy, and gloomy. After the Christmas holidays, the host and Hank returned to their original state, drinking or either, immersing nearly all day in research. They were in low spirits as always though there's one thing that seemed odd to you—Pr. Charles's mental state.

He had been drinking more than usual and seldom left his study or room for almost a day. That Pr. Charles didn't talk to you much as expected, but what about Hank? On other days, the brotherly-like figure would make some time for you to chit-chat; in case you felt isolated from ordinary conversations and became even more reserved than you already did. But ever since Alex's visit on Christmas Eve, the adults got lesser and lesser communication with each other afterward, let alone talking to you.

You were sure this had to do with the 'adult conversation' that Mr. Xavier didn't want you to take part in the talk. For this reason, you decided to mind your own business, which was doing whatever didn't involve the older man was the best choice, for fear he would be like Mr. Turk. Mind your own business, as in, didn't care about how many bottles of alcohol Mr. Xavier gulped down. Because sometimes, when you had the nerve, you would go and encourage him not to drink; other times, you chickened out, so you could only take away the bottles secretly before he went to reach for another one in the kitchen cupboard. Nevertheless, the host wasn't stupid, and he would take the drinks back to his room or office in the end, which were the rooms you were forbidden to enter or disturb. And you couldn't help but wonder exactly how many empty bottles were in his living quarter.

Apropos of Alex, he provided you his number, saying if you needed something to use or someone to talk to, he was willing to serve the Sauven junior anytime. Up to now, you'd called this brotherly-like figure twice for venting the vapidness in the mansion, for which you were grateful.

After studying in the library, you thought walking along the pool was a great idea.

Nice weather and a good mood, altogether, you expected today to be relaxing despite that Pr. Charles's and Hank's down spirit practices. You had secretly determined to bring the lively colors back to how they could've used to be. With palms facing the soil, you began to manifest your power. In the blink of an eye, buds rise slowly above the earth, growing taller and healthier. Ultimately, to a bed of beautiful roses. Fascinated at what you could create today, you didn't stop to grow flower beds around the pool.

Feeling tired after growing five beds of blossom, you headed back inside. Drenching your energy, you took a mental note to remind yourself: that growing plants in January wasn't a good idea. Then you quickly thought of the chicken soup, which Hank had promised to cook you some. Mouth drooling at the thought, you skipped merrily to the front door, only to find the door left wide open.

You knitted your brows, questioning yourself if you had left the door ajar an hour ago. Closing the door behind you, you soon heard some creepy noises, and the sounds of growling and clashing came from upstairs. You stood completely still by the door, dumbfounded, not daring to move a bit, as you saw a person thrown to the other side of the stairway, followed by Hank, who had turned to his mutant form. Hank then threw himself on top of the stranger and flung the man again; only this time, the stranger landed hard on the ground, at least a foot before you.

Hank took a great leap forward, hanging himself upside down on the chandelier, ready to strike the person again. You were taken aback by his mutant state since it was your first time seeing him turn like this: blue, furry, and aggressive.

No wonder he didn't like it, you thought.

You shouldn't be scared off like this easily by any means; there are all kinds of mutants in the world, and Hank wasn't the bad one. If Hank was attacking the person, which meant he didn't invite the man in, he had to take immediate action. Discarding the thought about frightened, you quickly gained your attention back onto the fighting men. The better option was to approach them as moderately as possible in order not to piss off Hank more and attack the person again.