Fading Echoes . • . X-Men Fanfic . • . BOOK 1

neuf

That night, when it was nearly one AM, Xavier returned. He wore a heavy jacket and had her blanket over his legs. He pressed a few buttons on the wall and suddenly, a door opened near the wall.

Ekka pulled on a sweater and shook Brownie awake. Then, she raced out of the room, walking beside Xavier. "Now, you have to be very quiet, alright?" Ekka nodded, taking his instructions with serious precision. "Good. Come along," Ekka giggled, and walked quickly.

True to his word, Xavier brought her outside. Ekka shivered in the autumn cold, but she felt free. She felt the fish in the pond, and the birds in the trees. She heard the crickets and grasshoppers emerging from their homes to buzz and full the night air.

Ekka felt tears fall down her cheeks, and she laughed. She ran around, giggling and cry. Brownie ran behind her, as excited as she was. He moaned in delight. The two of them rolled in the grass, giggling and crying. She missed this --- she loved this.

Flutter would have loved this too, She thought. She would be buzzing around her head, tweeting excitedly. And Vera, she would love weather like this. Her favourite season was fall. She loved how the leaves changed colours and the brisk air chilled her lungs.

Ekka sniffed, she missed Vera. She was gonna go to college, and be smart. She had a life ahead of her, and—

"Miss Ekka, if you are going to start crying then we are will have to go back inside," Xavier told her. Ekka sniffed again, rubbing at her cheeks.

"I am sorry," Ekka murmured. "But, can we stay? I just for a little more?"

Xavier sighed, his eyes softening. "Fine. But only for a little more." Ekka smiled, and once again, she and Brownie were playing again.

~.•*•.~

Although that had been the first time Xavier let her outside, it certainly wasn't the last. Every other night, he came, let her and Brownie play in the darkness for an hour or so before having to go back to bed. This daily occurence of being able to play lifted Ekka's spirits. She wasn't as sad. In fact, she began to look forward to being outside, to being with Mister Xavier.

Sometimes, if she was very good that day, Xavier would bring a frisbee, and she and Brownie played with it for nearly an hour. Then, she would go back inside, go to sleep, and wait until they could go outside again.

This went on for a few weeks, unless Xavier said it was far too cold to go out for the night. If that happened, they'd play inside. He played board games with her, and taught her chess.

However, one night when they were outside, playing, Mr. McCoy came out too. Ekka was mid-throw with a frisbee, but stopped and stared at him. Mr. McCoy was furious. His cheeks flushed from the cold and his anger. His eyes narrowed, darting back and forth from Ekka to Xavier, as if progressively getting angrier.

"Why is she out here?!" He demanded, pointing to Ekka, who shrank away. Brownie came to her side, and she ran her fingers through his fur.

"It's important for her to do something physical," Xavier said simply.

"Charles, she—" he inhaled, glancing around. Then, he spoke lower. "Charles, Lwazi is here."

"What?" Charles stared at the man. "He's—" Charles looked at Ekka, then at Hank. "Are you positive?"

"He's in the school, Xavier. I didn't know... God. We need to hide her."