WELCOME

[LAURA KINNEY]

Laura had awoken from yet another nightmare, sweating and ready to attack he first thing that moved and the fact that two doors up the hall from her room was the room of Danielle Moonstar, who was also known as Mirage for her ability to create illusions didn't help Laura. Sometimes her power could affect others while she slept, it seemed, although this was all hearsay to Laura at this point. Of course, there was a fair amount of gossip floating around the school about Laura herself, some of it (sadly) true, the rest entirely fabricated. She carefully lifted her sheet and blanket off of herself then stood, her feet slipping into the slippers that either Ms. Munroe or Dr. Grey (she couldn't remember which one of them) had purchased for her. She made her way to her door then slipped out of her room silently, closing the door behind her so gently it barely even made any sound. 

She quickly made her way down the West Wing hallway, muttering as she went, "Just get to Logan's room, just get to Logan's room, just get to Logan's room." over and over and over again. After what felt like five hours, but was probably more like five minutes, ten at the most, Laura was finally out of the West Wing that housed the student dorms. The girl broke into a run as she headed into the East Wing which housed the X-Men's rooms. Logan had shown her around when she first arrived, and had taken special care to point out where his room was if she ever needed him at any time when he wasn't teaching or in the Danger Room or outside. She'd just nodded her head and noted the route he'd taken to show her to her room, simply reversing the last part of it to get the route to his room. 

Now it was just a little after midnight and she was seriously in need of him. Not that she expected a hug and comforting words or fatherly comfort, not really no, at least the majority of her mind did not expect that, although there was a small, frightened part of her that just wanted her daddy like a little girl would. But Laura wasn't nine years old, she was nineteen, and yet she was running to the rooms that belonged to the man who could, arguably, be called her father, although the truth of matter was that he was her genetic donor. Some people would argue that that was what a father was, but Laura hadn't even bothered to explain how she was related to Logan to anyone beyond the staff, although the Stepford girls  (strange as they seemed to be, they were powerful for their age) had probably caught enough information from her mind to piece it all together. 

She slowly raised her hand and hesitantly knocked on his door, the adamantium that was laced to her skeleton making her knock louder and possibly waking up more of the faculty then just Logan. She spoke,knowing that if he was awake, he would hear her even if she spoke softly, "Logan, it is Laura. Please. I need you. Nightmares. You are the only other person here who truly understands them, on some level. Please, let me in. I am sorry if I have woken you." she waited for a reply of some sort, even if it was a negative one.

Tag: Logan//Words: 573//outfit: Pajamas and slippers, will edit picture in later! //Notes: Here we go!

This post has been edited by LAURA KINNEY on May 9 2012, 08:21 AM

[LOGAN HOWLETT]

If he said he didn't have nightmares on occasion to anyone who knew, he would definitely be lying. Of course even someone who could sniff out a lie like he could would have a hard time telling. He had nearly perfected the art of a lie but it was the damn psychic's that could still detect truth or not fairly easily. Thankfully he knew the few women with such capabilities and mostly stayed on their good side. Tonight was another fairly alright sleep. He always kept his window cracked to get a nice breeze going, so his room was always chilled nicely at night. Having slept soundly for most of the night, he heard knocking and then a familiar voice. Laura; or X-23 as was her codename, had apparently had the same type of nightmare he had for the longest time.

He had a dislike for being woken up, but he did need to help her adjust to normal life. His incident with Rogue during the time of Senator Kelly and Magneto's coup was proof that hovering over a Weapon X project was a bad idea, and even worse idea to bother one during their sleep. Sitting up he headed on over to the door and propped it open. "C'mon in kid. Take a seat wherever, shut the door behind ya." She looked rattled, so he wasn't sure what it was, but it had to have been fairly bad. They gave him the chills and worse on some nights, so he imagined what it could do to a teenagers psyche and only wondered what harm was already done.

"What was it this time? The Program? Stryker?" He was sure it was a mix of it all, but who knew. He took a sat near the head of his bed, figuring she might take a seat at it's foot, or grab a chair. In any case, his eyes would focus in on her, despite the lights off he knew they both had quite good vision. "They still give me the creeps, so don't worry I already know what ya feel like."

[LAURA KINNEY]

 The door opened and then there was Logan. Everything will be okay now, Laura, She thought to herself as she fisted her hands at her side and forced herself to stand absolutely still so as to avoid throwing herself at him and wrapping her arms around his midsection and cling to him like she would have done if she had been ten years younger. Some part of her mind registered that her actions must have seemed somewhat silly to him. She relaxed as she remembered that, although the school had been outed as one for mutants, it was still a place of sanctuary and safety for the mutants living within its walls. It also helped that it felt far more like a prestigious boarding school and a family estate than anything else. "C'mon in kid. Take a seat wherever, shut the door behind ya."   She did just that, noting the open window and the fact that his lights were off. She moved to the foot of the bed and sank down in a sitting position on it, pulling her knees  up to her chest as soon as she was settled. She wasn't afraid of Logan, so much as she was of the memories the nightmare had stirred up. She glanced around once quickly, almost like a little girl checking for monsters, although she knew none of the figurative  sort of monsters that most children feared were there in the room, in a literal sense, she and Logan could both be monsters on occasion; and then there was the added worry in Laura's mind that Lady Deathstrike or Kimura were somehow there. This worry was only a product of the nightmare she had  just had, and hopefully Logan would understand all of that without her needing to verbalize any of it. 

Laura cracked a small half-hearted smile, an attempt to force herself to relax more but it shattered at the next words out of Logan's mouth. "What was it this time? The Program? Stryker?" An involuntary shudder ran though her entire body at the mention of "The Program" and when Stryker's name passed Logan's lips, Laura couldn't help  but shut her eyes and growl, wishing she could kill the man she held personally responsible for all the tortures she'd been put though in her years at the facility and for the death of her mother.  In the split second before she spoke, her head sank down to rest on her knees and her eyes shut tight, trying to block the tears that the girl knew were going to come, "Worse. The Procedure. The Program. Then last of all, Strkyer, watching while I killed my mom, this horrible  thin, knife-like smile on his face." The word 'mom' was a tortured gasp that came out slowly and painfully while tears cascaded freely down her face, landing to stain her pajama bottoms. 

Then Logan's final statement brought her head up from where it rested on her knees, her eyes opening to lock on his, a small ray of hope beginning to form in her heart,  "They still give me the creeps, so don't worry I already know what ya feel like."  She kept his gaze steadily, unblinking and unwavering, looking for answers in his gaze, answers she needed, "How do you deal with them, Logan? I wake up sweaty, and ready to spring at the first thing that moves, claws itching to be unleashed, horrified by the memories and helpless to forget. 'The creeps' is putting it very mildly, Logan. They scare me half to death. Especially the ones starring Lady Deathstrike and Kimura, her right hand woman. They are the ones who trained me, beat me, abused me until I was their little 'perfect weapon', or so they said. My life was a fucking hell there. It. Was. Horrible. I'd pray for death some nights, that's how bad it got. "   She smacked her fisted left hand into her opened palm right hand to emphasize her statement that it was horrible as she spoke. Had Laura been speaking to anyone else about this, Dr. Grey, Mr. McCoy, Miss Munroe, Mr. Summers, or even Miss Frost, she would used a different word in place of the curse word she'd used to describe what her life had been like there in Stryker's facility. 

 But with Logan, she did not need to censor herself or try and sugarcoat her life story, and the horrors that she had been though. He understood, completely what she had gone though, because he'd been though it too, and worse. And for this, above all else in her new, free life, she was grateful.  "I want to kill Stryker" she spat, "every torture that Lady Deathstrike and  Kimura ever put me though was because of his orders. Every single one!"   

As long as she was being honest, she might as well be brutally so, and speak her mind in regards to Stryker, "Why does he hate us so much, Logan, that he would do the things he did to me? To a child? He is more of a monster than you or I could ever be. He deserves death. I honestly believe that. Because of him, I killed my own mother. Sarah is dead because he released the trigger scent he had his scientists develop to make me kill on command. It is his fault she died." Laura ended her little rant against Stryker with a growl and then she slowly shifted her position by five point three centimeters. She needed to at least be able to rest her head against Logan's side, to be able touch him and convince herself that this was not all some dream she was having in her little spartan cell at Stryker's facility. "Sometimes I wonder if this is all a dream, and I am still at the facility." She stated, matter of factly and leaned over so she could lean against Logan. 


Tag: Logan//Words: 974//Outfit: Pajamas and slippers, will edit picture in later!//Notes: aww, poor Laura. I seriously was tearing up as I wrote parts of this.  

This post has been edited by LAURA KINNEY on Apr 29 2012, 03:21 AM

[LOGAN HOWLETT]

He watched and felt bad for someone for once. There were normal issues that every student had to deal with simply being a mutant. However, Weapon X had not only trained a child to be a killer, but had put her through the same processes they 'tested' on him. It was by no means a pain free process, and on top of that she was only a little girl. He'd been told that he accepted the position of test subject long ago, but who knew what amount of manipulation had already been done to get him there. Taking a small girl into a world of government lies, torture sequences, and mind wiping was no fun. He truly felt sorry for the young lady before him.

Reaching over his arm touched out to her shoulder, it was all the sentiment he could really muster. It was still odd to be 'nice' to people considering the amount of time he'd spent killing, and being an all around jackass to everyone. "I don't get over it really. I'm sure you might have heard the rumors, but when Rogue and I first came here, I nearly killed her because of our dreams." He pointed to his claws and let her know 'those' were what hurt her. "She's alive because she was able to sap the healing factor." Being responsible for hurting a child, and at that one he had come to look at akin to a daughter figure was tough on him at that time. They'd moved on now thankfully.

"We'll get back at them I promise. I've been at it for a long time now, and slowly things are coming to. It may not happen now, but all of them will pay for what they've put everyone through." He shook his head at how washed she was into fearing them. You could train a monster, but once it tasted freedom, captivity was never something they wanted again. Every time he felt the wind on his face during a bike ride, he was glad to know he was a free man. "He doesn't hate us; he fears us because we're different. All humans fear what they don't understand. You're safe here though, you have everyone around here to watch out for you. We're a family here, even if it's one big dysfunctional house, we're still a family." Family, now matter the word wouldn't bring her mother back, but it would support her with a foundation that anyone out of 'The Program' needed.

"Don' suppose they ever told ya about me did they?" He never got around to asking the question but felt as good time as any right now. It made him wonder what they told her to brain wash her into thinking he of all people was the bad guy.

[LAURA KINNEY]

She smiled when he laid his hand on her shoulder and  brought her own hand up and covered his with her own, out  of sheer fear, and a need to touch him, to remind herself that this was really happening to her. That she was really free and clear of Stryker's grasp, beyond his reach and beyond the reach of his lackeys.  "Thank you," she muttered, knowing he'd hear it. 

"I don't get over it really. I'm sure you might have heard the rumors, but when Rogue and I first came here, I nearly killed her because of our dreams."   Laura  was slightly shocked to hear confirmation of the rumor come from Logan's mouth, and a slight gasp of shock slipped past her lips.  She simply nodded when he indicated his claws, and said, honestly and truthfully, not that she needed to say anything about how dangerous their claws could be, to him of all people, "These claws of ours are dangerous. As we both know all too well." She shuddered and tried to banish the memories that could threaten to overwhelm her if she allowed them to so much as begin to surface.

"She's alive because she was able to sap the healing factor." She nodded again in reference to his statement and sighed, saying, "Heard the rumors 'bout that. Heard about what her power is, too. Actually, I  have heard a lot of rumors about a whole bunch of things around here. Seems like this place breeds rumors like a garden breeds weeds just as easily as  it breeds plants."  The truth was hard to find at this place, it seemed. Gossip seemed as commonplace  here as the studies and classes that they took every day.  Then again, teenagers were very gossip-y creatures, normally, it seemed.  Laura did not know how normal teenagers acted beyond the bare minimum she'd observed when she'd been forced to watch videos of humans interacting to learn how to socially react in almost any situation. She needed to learn how to act socially and how to be a 'normal' teenager, a 'normal' human being, actually. 


"We'll get back at them I promise. I've been at it for a long time now, and slowly things are coming to. It may not happen now, but all of them will pay for what they've put everyone through." Her tears dried as he spoke those words and made her that promise, and she allowed herself to give him, well the room rather, a  smile that was little more than a small half-smile. "You promise? Swear it? I might not know  exactly how hard you had it,  back in The Program, but I know how horrible The Program is.  And I am finding that  getting back at them is becoming a priority, now that I am free, you know?  I do not care how long it takes, three years, five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, fifty years, or even a hundred years or more, I just want  to see them destroyed, anything less than that is just too good for them. They do not even deserve  an easy death. Destruction is all they deserve, nothing less." She stated honestly, flatly, her tone entirely and completely devoid of emotion, and then leaned her head into his side, feeling suddenly very, very tired and lost and little girl-like. 

"He doesn't hate us; he fears us because we're different. All humans fear what they don't understand. You're safe here though, you have everyone around here to watch out for you. We're a family here, even if it's one big dysfunctional house, we're still a family." "Hate, fear, no matter what you call it, he ruined your life and mine. I do not think he is sane, anymore. Actually, I do not think that he was ever sane to begin with. Yes, that is exactly what Sarah would say when I asked her about it, on the rare occasions we were allowed to be together," She responded to his remarks about Stryker. Laura was taken aback by his next remarks about everyone there being a family and it being a safe place for her,  but she smiled, half-heartedly and said,  "Safety, that sounds like bliss. But what if they find us? What  happens to us then? And a family, that would be nice. So, I suppose that makes you my dad, by that logic then? Mr. Summers seems too stiff and I do not think he seems very dad-like. He may be as much as  a part of this place as these four walls, and the leader of your team, but he does not seem very fatherly. You may be harder to get along with, and surly and grumpy, from what the rumors say, at least, but you're definitely more like a father than Mr. Summers. It certainly does  seems like it can be dysfunctional around here at times just from what little I have seen. I know I will always miss Sarah, but I think I would like a family, no matter how dysfunctional and crazy it can get. Who is the house mother, so to speak? I have heard some rumors identifying me as your daughter, maybe we should just go with it, I mean, genetically speaking I am-more or less- your sister, but I believe that I feel more like you are my father than my brother. I  want the stability you seemed to have found here. I know how to kill people in a thousand different ways but when it comes to being a normal teenager, I do not know anything, and I need help. Do you know anyone who would be willing to help me to work on that?" Laura asked, totally honest and needing to be focusing on something other than the nightmare, the memories that it had dredged up and the worries that floated around in the back of  her mind.  

"Don' suppose they ever told ya about me did they?" And there it was, the one question she hadn't wanted to  ever hear him ask, the one question she didn't ever  want to have to answer, the one thing she had no desire to explain to him, even and above explaining her very existence to him. Her smile turned into a frown as she forced herself to  stay calm and focused, she spoke slowly, carefully choosing her words, "They told me bits and pieces, like that you were a willing participant throughout the whole process,  even the bonding process, and stuff like that. They told me if I ever saw you to kill you on site, trained me to do that. Lady Deathstrike told me how evil you were, how you had stolen her father's formula for Stryker or something, I never really believed her. She seems to have it out for you for some reason. And Kimura, well, she followed Lady Deathstrike's lead in everything to do with me. Yet Sarah told me to trust you if I could ever get away from them., with or without her. And, well, obviously we both know that I listened to my Mom in the end rather than Lady Deathstrike and all the rest. Best decision I ever made."  She paused then curled herself up  even closer to him, and began to relax, her eyelids fluttering shut against her will for a few moments then opening once more.

"Logan, about our first meeting, I want to say,  I am sorry for my actions. They were uncalled for and unjustifiable in all ways, I see that now, though I concede I could not at the time. I truly am sorry for both my words and my actions at that time. I was angry and upset and, well, my training was still fairly at the forefront of my mind then.  Can you ever forgive me?" She said, ending her apology with a plea for his forgiveness, as was to be expected (from what she had observed of human behaviour, that was), though it was simply a question asked in the darkness to her mind, as everything she had said had been. And it was not as though Laura would  ever admit to pleading with anyone for forgiveness of something she had done, aside from killing Sarah, which she had pleaded for with tear-filled eyes even as she buried her claws into her mother's body, and sliced upward. But she would not think of that now, she could not think of that now or ever. Thinking of it for more than a few moments at  a time  would lead her to a complete break down and even here, safe as she felt in the rooms belonging to her closest blood relative, safe as Logan insisted she was here at the school, Laura would not allow herself that luxury, any and all tears shed for Sarah, any and all break downs she felt like having, either had to be in the privacy of her own room with the door firmly locked, or the bathroom that was closet to her room with the door firmly locked and secured by the aid of her desk chair which would be  placed directly below the doorknob to ensure it stayed locked. Then and only then would the girl allow herself to truly break down as she remembered the horror of being forced by that foul creation of Stryker's, that evil trigger scent, to kill her own mother. 

Laura could not allow what little reputation she already had, albeit only though the in-house rumor mill of the school, to suffer because some girl  had happened to find her crying in the bath tub, the water dirty, tainted  by her tears,  and red because she'd been cutting herself to try and deal with the pain. Just thinking of it in passing made her want to cut herself, although she could not, not if she wanted to hide the scars of the previous cuts from Logan for now, and perhaps for ever. She could not risk him seeing them and questioning her about them. She just couldn't.  Her eyes fluttered again, a few times more and she began to slowly drift off to sleep again, hoping that by sleeping in close proximity to Logan, her lone family, the nightmares could and would be kept at bay.  Laura could feel  her grasp on  consciousness slipping, and feeling utterly safe in Logan's presence, she allowed it to slip and welcomed the bliss and peace she hoped she could now find in sleep, the bliss and peace that had eluded her earlier and sent her running to these rooms and the man whom they housed. 

Tagged: Logan// Words: 1,793//Wearing: Pajamas and slippers, will edit in picture later. Slippers may come out in the next post or so, feel free to have Logan take them off if he thinks it will help her sleep better.//Notes: The poor dears! She is simply exhausted, and that is why she fell asleep at the end of the post. Logan can either let her stay  where or return her to her bed, if he wishes, though she will definitely stir soon and talk some more. My muse for her was insisting that she needed even a short sleep. Do not feel that you have to match exactly my post, I just had a good day muse wise. 

This post has been edited by LAURA KINNEY on May 16 2012, 06:00 AM

[LOGAN HOWLETT]

"Don't grow up with that in your mind kid. Revenge is all well and good but it leads you down a dark road." He didn't want her or any of the students trying to get revenge for something that happened. This was a fight for the adults, and they would be the ones to bring about a conclusion to this thing. The students needed to sit back until asked, even if they wanted to fight. Of course that rarely happened, so it was one big cluster of screw ups. Somehow though, Charles managed to make it work. The Professor was truly an amazing man that had managed to band together the lost and desolate and give them hope. It was that personality, that drive that made them all follow his ideals.

[b]"Don't listen to the rumors, it will just get you confused. Just try to do your best to blend in, it takes time but you can do it. I do promise that I will try to get them to pay for the things they've done; they've done more than you know to just us." He had already seen the files, contacted old liasons and seen what Stryker had cooked up. The first of all things though that surprised him, was the Sentinels. The fury that had welled up inside him was astounding when he learned of them. Not only was Weapon X backing the project but The Hellfire Club was as well; specifically Sebastian Shaw. That man was by no means good, and had no positive intentions for the world.

He sort of had a mental pause when she stated him as her father. It didn't have any true meaning for him, but knew it obviously meant something for her. She might have had his mutations to an extent but she was still a child even if she didn't want to be labeled as one. Her musings of him being a father wouldn't be shunned though, and he'd simply keep the image with her. Someone had to care for the broken or lost as Charles would say, so he might as well. "I worked for Stryker willing for a time yes. There were a lot of events leading up to it that made me not care about my own life. Joining up in the Army lead me through a lot of doors, and I did a lot of things I regret. What matters is where we are now though, and we need to focus on the future." He didn't want her to think he was a bad guy though. There was an example every Professor here had to set for the students.

He watched as she slowly fell asleep and gently set her head down on the bed as he stood up. He took to a desk off to the corner and sat down looking over things mentally. Perhaps he would take her to Alkali and get her some ease of mind. None of the others would agree; taking a student to a place like that. He felt the need to give her some closure though, and help her know that everything would be alright.

[LAURA KINNEY]

"Don't grow up with that in your mind kid. Revenge is all well and good but it leads you down a dark road."  Laura sighed and said, "I ain't a kid, Logan,  I have not been one for the longest time. And as for my growing up, I pretty much spent my formative years growing up in a dark, hellish place. This school, it's like heaven for people like you and me. People out of The Program. This is our place of light, comfort and safety. I would fight to my last breath to keep it so for us and all the others.  I may be nineteen years old but I am not a kid, maybe physically I am a kid,especially compared to you and several of the other professors here, but in all other ways I am  not a kid. You know as well as I do who stole my childhood from me, because he is the  same man who stole your past from you.   I hate to say it but it's true. I am not really a kid, anymore, never really was, actually. Well, except when Sarah would visit me. She would read me fairy tales and children's books hidden behind such titles as The Art of War. Revenge is the main thing that I thought about these first few weeks after I escaped the Facility. You are right, I suppose. I do not  like it but I will let it be, for now.  I know that, I just wish there was something I could do, you know? When i'm old enough, by your reasoning and estimation, I want in, if you have not destroyed them by then, understand?" 
Laura  twisted a hand into the blanket and tried to banish the thoughts of what she would like to do to Stryker and his minions,  in order to allow herself to start trying to be a kid, maybe not a fully 'normal' kid but a kid, nonetheless. So instead of thinking dark thoughts like the ones that had begun to spring up in her mind, she forced herself to wonder about 'normal' things, like the weather (which was, she reflected, a complete non-issue when a mutant with the ability to control the weather lived at your school), when her next class assignment was due and what she had to do to get it done in time, and what would be on the television the next night. She really hadn't watched that much TV prior to coming to the institute, most of what little she had seen had been observational 'training' videos of people interacting so she could learn how to act around people. But now she had a chance to 'catch up'  on what she had missed, a chance she would take and embrace happily, although she would not allow that chance to infringe on her  physical training routine. Speaking of, maybe she ought to speak to the hand to hand combat teacher, whatever his name was -All Laura could remember was that it was something Southern and French-about a few lessons, just to keep in shape and maybe learn a few new things.   She needed to be a kid, she really did, Logan seemed to be quite  insistent about that, so for him, she would try to be a kid. She wasn't sure how successful she would be, but she would try her hardest to just be a kid. It was the least she owed herself not to mention Logan. She should ask him who the hand to hand combat teacher was, and how a student would go about reaching him, before she forgot about it.

 "Dad," she almost choked on the unfamiliar (in so many ways) word, unsure how well Logan would respond to the as-yet-unfamiliar-to-him title, but seeing as how he hadn't said anything to contradict her, he obviously wanted to give her the sense of family that she needed, "Who's the hand to hand combat teacher?  All I can remember is that it's something Southern and French sounding, LeFou, or Leboue or something like that. And how would I go about getting in touch with him if I wanted to schedule a meeting? I want to stay in shape, I know you want me to be normal, but I, I just, I need to stay fit. I just need to keep fit. " She asked, unsure if he would completely approve of her decision or question  or the reason that went unspoken. Sure she was taking the 'regular' physical education course for her grade level but she wanted more than that, needed more than that. That class only ran so many hours a week and Laura had yet to develop her own fitness routine for the days when the class didn't run. She figured brushing up on her hand to hand combat skills couldn't hurt anything. She could maybe do two or three sessions a week and run around the grounds a few times as well as utilize the workout room in the lower levels. 


"Don't listen to the rumors, it will just get you confused. Just try to do your best to blend in, it takes time but you can do it. I do promise that I will try to get them to pay for the things they've done; they've done more than you know to just us." 

"Right, rumors are bad. I'll try my best to ignore them. If you believe in me, than I know I can blend in. Thank you, Dad. That means a lot to me. Damn them to the deepest pit of Hell for all they've done. When you say 'us' do you mean 'us' as  in you and I or 'us' as in mutant-kind?" Laura sort of figured that he meant mutant kind but she still had to ask, had to know.  The question's answer was obvious but she still needed to hear it. She couldn't explain why but she needed to know. 

 

"I worked for Stryker willing for a time yes. There were a lot of events leading up to it that made me not care about my own life. Joining up in the Army lead me through a lot of doors, and I did a lot of things I regret. What matters is where we are now though, and we need to focus on the future."

  The younger, female  Howlett nodded her head and replied, "At least you had choices. All I ever knew as a kid was The Program and killing. TThis school is a place of safety and learning and it's definitely where I need to be right now. I can try and focus on the future. Although right now, when I focus on the future, all I can see is hate and darkness and I don't know why. I want to see light and goodness and peace and tolerance and love and  Professor Xavier's ideals realized, but I can't. I want to see this brighter future he talked about, I really do but I can't right now. It'll take some time before I can, but I believe I will be able to see it, given time." Everything she said came from a place of honesty and trust and truthfulness but she could only expose herself like this with Logan. With everyone one else, she felt unsure of herself, unsure of how much she could share before things got uncomfortable for both parties involved. She only spoke to others when spoken to for the most part, when she was around other students. When she was around the faculty she spoke a little more freely but still hid some details depending on the faculty member's power. Around the psychics, she didn't bother to hide anything,  knowing from her job as Miss Frost's bodyguard/personal assistant that to even try was to fight a losing battle. Laura hated losing a battle so she didn't bother to hide her thoughts from the telepaths that inhabited the mansion, even though she was starting to hate  the lack of privacy she  may or may not have felt each time she was around any one of them. 


In her sleep, Laura rolled her left arm free of the blankets and because she'd worn a black tank top to bed, all the 'X' shaped scars she had cut into her arm were visible. She didn't know however that they were visible or that Logan could see them nor what his reaction would be.  She thrashed about in the big bed, kicking off her slippers, obviously in the throes of another nightmare-memory. Once again, she was in  the tank with the green liquid in the dark room, the bubbling liquid metal nearby, she could hear the pop of each bubble even under the water, could see and feel scientists and Stryker all watching, felt the  necklace bearing the dog tags that were slipped around her neck bearing only the designation of "X-23" and as the child-sized body-mold full of needles lowered, she screamed, "No! Please! Please,please, No! Please, stop!  No! No! Please! No!" She shot upright, awakened by her own screams. Her eyes were wild, darkly lit with terror and pain and anger, then the girl blinked a few times then realized she she was safe, and that she was in Logan's room, far from anyone who would harm her in any way. She finally spoke after several long moments of awkward silence, noting that her scars were visible and not wanting to talk about the newest nightmare-memory to plague her sleep, she said, "So, I suppose you saw the scars? Don't rightly know why they won't fade any more than they already. They're self-inflicted, in case you're wondering."  

With one hand, she tore at the military style necklace that bore the dog tags she still wore hidden under her clothes and pulled it free of her neck in a swift and fluid motion. Tossing them over towards where Logan sat, she said,  "They branded me with these tags and that designation, since an actual brand with that designation would only scar and heal over in a matter of hours. I hate that designation, that 'codename'. It's not what I would have chosen had I been able to choose. I  wish I could change it, leave 'X-23' in my past. I'm Laura Kinney-Howlett, not X-23. X-23 is a completely different person, a warrior, a killer, a living weapon. I am a person, a human being with thoughts and feelings of my own. I am not anyone's property. I want those, and the necklace they hang from, burned, melted down or otherwise destroyed. I don't want those tags anymore. They're  my past. This school, this 'family', the X-Men, all of this is my future. Those tags belong to my past. I don't need them now. They're not who I am anymore, they're who Stryker and all his minions wanted me to be." She stood up and walked over to him and threw her arms around his neck and held him tight, breathing in his scent. The next thing she said could very well shock him and send her racing either for her own room or for Doctor Grey or McCoy, "Dad, I want to have your name, I want to be a Howlett, if you would like that and allow me that honor. Please. I want to keep Sarah's name, but I want to add yours to hers. I want to remember my deceased mother and to honor my very much alive father. Would you allow me to become Laura Kinney-Howlett? To legally name myself your daughter? To cement my ties to you in a legal and binding manner?"  She was a curious child, beginning to grow under her father's hand. Her mother's guidance would forever remain with her but now she had to rely on her father for wisdom, guidance, help and punishment  when that was warranted.  She wanted and needed to do this to mark her ties to both of her parents, even if one was dead and the other hadn't known she existed until several months ago when she had attacked him and then disappeared, returning some time later when Emma Frost reappeared at the school after having been thrown out. Laura had followed Emma to the school as the girl hadn't wished  to serve Selene, The Black Queen of the opposing Court to Emma's White Court, which had folded upon Emma's abrupt departure from the club, all the members of the White Court becoming absorbed into Selene's Black Court. Laura had waited a day or so before fleeing, carrying only her most valuable possessions with her, along with the jewelry box that held the jewelry that had marked her as the White Rook. It had all been given to her by Emma, who had been Laura's Queen (and still was, in Laura's mind) and so she claimed it as her own upon her departure. Laura hadn't owned such fine jewelry before and she wasn't about to give up the few fine pieces she had owned. 

Words: 2,189 with  the quotes,  2,041 without the quotes. //Outfit: Pajama top and pants and slippers, which have fallen off her feet. Will edit picture in later. // OOC Notes: so, so, so sorry I'm so very late! Life just seriously took over, my brother graduated high school, then sumer hit and I forgot about the site for a little while and now summer's nearly over, and my brother's about to move to his college dorm next weekend. Can you forgive my tardiness?//THREAD Notes:  These two have a lot to discuss now. At some point, I'd love to do a thread where they visit Alkali Lake and Laura gets some sort of closure. Please, again don't feel obligated to match my word count. I finally had a good day, muse-wise after a dry spell.