No Angels

Chapter 6

" - Moira - " The brown haired woman gave her a once over, the cautiousness and suspicion never leaving her eyes. 

" - Raven - " The girl with honey colored curls looked young enough to be a teenager, but she still gave her a friendly smile. 

" - Alex - " The blonde haired boy crossed his arms, a look saying 'I-could-care-less' crossing his boyish face.

" - Sean - " The redheaded boy gave a simple, yet awkward wave.

" - Hank - " The man pushed up his thick framed glasses, before giving her a small smile. 

" - And you already know Erik and I." Erik gave her an amused smirk from where he was standing. "Nice to meet you all," Heather said a little breathlessly, trying to make note of each of their names - while also trying to avoid Moira's gaze. "So," Raven asked, stepping forward, "What's your ability?"

"I, uh - " For a moment, Heather panicked. What if they didn't accept her like Charles did? What if they were afraid - even disgusted - by her power? She knew it was stupid, but you'd be surprised by how many people were uncomfortable with her gift. "I can see and talk to dead people," she explained finally, stepping back slightly, as if preparing for a hit. 

Raven's eyes widened in astonishment and the rest of them looked at her with a new curiosity - even Alex looked a little interested. "Is there more to it than just that?" Moira questioned calmly, and Heather shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. I've just never really - messed around with my powers before." Charles put a hand on her shoulder and said, "That's what we're here for. To help you uncover more about your powers."

"I thought we were here to fight Shaw."

The look Charles gave Sean was so unimpressed that even Heather had to laugh. As Charles stepped away from her, Raven came closer and - something about her just made Heather feel calm and relaxed, like she was with a close friend instead of a girl she barely knew. She could honestly see herself being friends with this girls. "Come on," she said, pulling Heather along, "I'll give you the tour."

On the tour was when Heather first caught some passing glances of a few ghost roaming the halls. Whenever she'd turn to get a good look at them, however, they were gone - almost as if they were never there. She tried not to dwell on the matter though - instead focusing on Raven, who was kindly explaining anything and everything that Heather asked. By the end of it, she was pretty well educated on what exactly was going on with their mission, as well as the powers of the others. 

"Could you show me?"

Raven stopped and turned around to look at Heather with a confused expression. "Show you what?" Honestly, Heather didn't mean for it to slip out, but she was curious. "Your natural form," she explained, cheeks reddening in embarrassment, "I mean, only if you want to." Some expression passed over Raven's face, before she nodded and changed rather gracefully. It wasn't what Heather had really expected. Her skin was blue and scaly, her eyes yellow, and her hair red, but - it was still Raven. The shape of her face, the small smile - it was all her. 

Heather gave her a wide smile, replying, "That's so cool." Raven blinked in surprise, as her body changed back to her human-like appearance. "You're not - " Raven may have appeared surprised, but a look of relief crossed her face. "Scared of you?" Heather finished, "Of course not."

Raven's blinding smile returned and she almost looked like she wanted to swirl Heather around in the air. "Can you show me how to talk to ghosts?" She asked after a moment. Heather glanced around, before shaking her head. "There's no ghost around here at this moment," She explained, "But when I find one, I'll come to you."