Surprise For A Feral

One Step At A Time

K took a deep breath as she lifted her hand to knock on the door leading to the attic of the Xavier mansion. She had never spoken more than a few sentences with Storm, but she knew well enough that the woman was inspirational. And she thought she could work with her. To add to it, Ororo had been championing women's causes with the teen girls that stayed and learned at the Institute. She hoped that Ororo would be willing to help her too – or at least be a sympathetic ear as she spilled her guts.

The stunning dark skinned goddess answered the door with a smile that fell completely when her eyes rested on the tiny, gaunt woman before her. "K! You look ill! Please, come, sit!" Ororo exclaimed as she dragged her to a chair. "I know that I haven't seen you lately, not with all the decorating and preparations for the holidays, but ... I don't... How did this happen? What's wrong?" she asked her. It was clear that Ororo felt a bit guilty for not having checked on her earlier, even it K was not someone that she should have needed to check on. She, like most of the staff had just assumed Logan had it covered. They didn't know that she'd shut him out too.

"I need - " K started to say, trying to phrase the words properly. "I'm told that I need a friend, and I don't want a telepath pushing ahead of me right now, unless I ask for it."

Storm tipped her head, completely understanding K's reasoning, as she urged her to continue.

"Charles told me I need to talk to someone, but I can't talk to him or Logan. A man wouldn't – couldn't – understand. And Jean ... is out for the same reason as Charles." Storm closed her eyes with a sigh. She had hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was.

Although K didn't know it, when she was younger, Ororo had made the mistake of catching a ride with a stranger who nearly raped her. It was in her panic as she struggled against the man to get away that she managed to accidentally kill him. It scarred her mentally and made her very reluctant to take another life, but it also caused her to have a lifelong aversion to strangers.

Particularly men she didn't know well. She reached out and covered K's hand with hers, trying to reassure her, but not entirely sure how to go about it. "What happened?" she asked in a soothing tone, concern etched on her features. "Was it at the facility?"

K nodded once with a totally unreadable expression, her gaze on the ground as she swallowed and slowly began her story. It was a rough start ... and at first, she didn't understand all that she was saying ... but by the time she was done, Ororo was horrified, not only for K and the damage it had done to her, but also for Logan. She knew it must have been the worst kind of torture for him to be unable to help someone he cared for.

The two women talked for hours, sharing experiences and getting it all off of their chests. When it was over, both women were worn out, and amazingly, K felt a little better. She even decided to take Ororo's advice to ask Jean to put her into a dreamless sleep.

In truth, she didn't even know the redhead could do such a thing, though by the time Ororo finished telling her the details on how it was one of Jean's favorite tricks, she was well and truly convinced. When their time together came close to ending, Ororo noted that K looked a bit more nervous. She guessed at what had her concerned and she promised to keep the details of K's story to herself, though she also promised to check on her.

The smaller woman let out a sigh of relief. She didn't want the looks of pity that were bound to come when the group as a whole knew for a fact what had happened.

On seeing that the load on K's shoulders had started to lighten, Ororo scooted closer and gave her a tight hug. "You are welcome any time, day or night - and if it would help, my door is open if you don't want to be alone at night. I too, know how the shadows can hold too much evil."