Desertion

[Deleted]

Wanda licked her lips as she left the compound, glad that Erik didnt have any telepaths to tattle on her growing disaffection with his methods. Her mutation working over time to distract and confuse the few sentries. Her job made easier by the fact that they were there mostly to make sure no one came IN. Rather then watching who left. She didn't know how Erik would have reacted to her simply asking to leave but after hearing how he had treated Raven for being a possible threat...it did not fill her with confidence. 


One hotwired car and twenty hours later, she was infront of his school, School for Gifted Youngsters indeed. it had been five, almost six years since she had seen him. But the impression he had left, and the few stories Raven and Erik told her confirmed that he would keep her safe until she chose her real path. Wanda took a breath and ghosted into the building, using her training from the Brotherhood to avoid detection. Charles?...Charles Xavier? would he recognize her mental voice after all these years? Could he hear her when she deliberately looked for him? 

[x]

The only problem with managing a school for mutants was the cost of upkeep. It seemed that something being broken or blasted or similarly destroyed was a daily occurrence. Charles considered it a tremendous stroke of luck that he’d had the good fortune to be born wealthy and for that wealth to have continually grown over the years—otherwise, keeping the school going would be impossible.

There was also the fact that Erik had been suspiciously quiet as of late, and Charles wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Surely his genocidal crusade against humans couldn’t have hit such a lull as to explain months of silence. And yet...the humans had been wonderfully cooperative following Raven’s actions in D.C. Charles had been over the moon in the months that followed.

Though both Erik and Raven had left him again (bleeding, no less, but thankfully all the damage that would have been done had already occurred over eleven years prior to that moment), Charles had been left with a rekindled flicker of hope. Erik had left his helmet behind and Raven had set mutants and humans on the path to peace. (Though Nixon’s impeachment had been a rather unpleasant bump in the road, his successor had proven himself to be as accepting. However, Charles still wasn’t too sure about Carter...)

A tug on the mental barriers he’d put in place immediately following his decision to reopen the school yanked him out of his thoughts and paperwork. He’d set the barriers up to allow through only those who bore no ill-will to the school and the students therein. Those who did...well, Charles was determined to protect his own. He reached out to determine who has arrived at the gate.

Charles? Charles Xavier?

Was that...Ashni? Ashni Bedi? The girl from Pakistan? It had been years since he’d last seen her.

Ashni? That is you, isn’t it? It’s certainly been awhile. Come in, my girl. I’ll meet you in the foyer, he projected, pushing himself back from the desk and heading for the door.

[Deleted]

She smiled at the welcome, wrapping her coat more firmly around her, still not use to the cold in the north east, even in fall. Ashni took him at his word waiting in the entryway. "You remembered." she said softly, there was a weight of extra life lived in her eyes then when he had last seen her. "I cry Sanctuary." she quirked her mouth up at the plea, laughing at herself, and intentionally using the word to hopefully gain at least a hint of amusement from Charles.


Ashni scrutinized the man in the chair for changes, but there were few the years had touched him only lightly. She shook her head mentally remembering the crush she had had on him how close she had come to leaving with him, for all the wrong reasons.  She steadfastly ignored the little pitter of her heart that was still that teenaged girl.  "Im looking for something other then what Erik wants for humanity. " 

[x]

Charles made his way to the foyer, keeping a loose awareness of her mind in his periphery. Part of him longed to delve in just a bit to see how she’d changed. After all, she’d only been a child of sixteen when he’d first met her—tragically older than she should have been in spirit, but still a child in many ways. She would have to be in her early twenties, no more than twenty-two by now.

He could feel her relief at his welcome, as though she’d feared that he’d turn her away. If he was going to, she wouldn’t have made it past the gates. Besides, he’d meant what he’d told her back in Pakistan: if she ever needed sanctuary, his door would always be open to her.

“I cry sanctuary,” she said when he arrived in the foyer. “I’m looking for something other than what Erik wants for humanity.”

“Then you most certainly have it, my dear,” he replied. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”

The years had been kind to her, it seemed; she’d grown up into a very lovely young woman. She didn’t display any signs of harm, either physical or mental, which Charles took as an excellent sign. He wondered for a moment when (and how) she’d left her old life behind, but it was hardly the time for such inquiries. Ashni was looking for sanctuary, not a game of Twenty Questions.

“It’s good to see you again, Ashni.”

[Deleted]

“Then you most certainly have it, my dear,” he replied. “You are welcome to stay for as long as you like.”

She immediately relaxed, oh thank you... she had hoped his invitation was still open but she had not, could not truly count on it. 


Ashni could almost see his curiosity, if he asked her a question she would answer it gladly she had little to hide, and from a telepath? it seemed the hight of folly to even try. 


“It’s good to see you again, Ashni.”
Oh that treacherous youthful piece of her heart, it jumped like a trained dog at his words. She smoothed her expression hypocritically hoping he wasn't reading her thoughts at that second. "Thank you." she hefted the duffel bag in her hand "I don't come with much, but I am a hard worker." she quirked a smile "How ever you want me to." she winked, she had seen enough of him six years ago to know that he was not the kind of man to demand her company in bed in exchange for said bed. And she was self confidante enough to make the joke. 

Ashni looked around slightly curious now that her welcome was assured. The hall screamed old money and she wondered again how, and why he had come to make this school. "I will take any tests you want to prove i am not a spy." she tapped her head, "I assume you are already in here? If not." She doubted it but it was polite to offer. "I have nothing hidden." 

[x]

Oh, thank you, she thought, immediately relaxing at his confirmation of her welcome.

“Thank you,” she said aloud, hefting the duffel bag in her hand. “I don’t come with much, but I am a hard worker.” Ashni smiled a bit and added, “However you want me to.”

She winked and Charles smiled at the joke. That she could even make it was a good sign as to the growth of her own self-confidence. The last time he’d seen her, she’d been so unsure of herself, so stunned that anyone would take her own thoughts and feelings into consideration.

“I’m quite certain we can find a place for you here,” he assured. Ashni was a mutant asking for sanctuary, so she was perfectly welcome to take her time settling in.

“I will take any tests you want to prove I am not a spy,” she offered, tapping her head. “I assume you are already in here? If not...I have nothing hidden.”

“Of course you don’t,” he replied with a smile. “And no, I’m not actively in your head; I really needn’t be to see that you have no ulterior motives. If you did, you would not have made it past the front gate.”

The only ones who could make it past the front gate and harbor ill will were Erik and Emma—one of who was dead and the other lacking the one item that would have given him the advantage.

“Now, shall we get you settled in?”

[Deleted]

“And no, I’m not actively in your head; I really needn’t be to see that you have no ulterior motives. If you did, you would not have made it past the front gate.”



Really? How interesting, she was so very curious as to how his power worked. "What would have happened if I was a spy?" she wondered. Would her brain have oozed from her ears? At least she wouldnt have known she was dead! She was tired enough that the gallows humor of the image pushed a weary chuckle from her lips. 


“Now, shall we get you settled in?”

Ashni nodded. "So I really don't know what exactly you do that the Brotherhood doesn't" she verbalized "I know you don't attack humans, but thats about it." She dodged a pair of girls running out the door. "And you have alot more children, then he does." she stated curiously. She had alot of questions, perhaps too many for politeness sakes. "Why don't you? What can I do to earn my keep`?" she grinned slightly. "Do you know my mutation? I can make alot of money if you need it." God she was chattering on. But the warm wooden panels, the sun shining though the high glass windows, it was so different from her childhood, but it was screaming home to her. The whole aura of the house was different then the Brotherhood's dorms,  there, there was always a feeling of suppressed anger, hate. Here all she could feel was...welcome, safety. She was fighting the urge to just lay down on one of the carpets and bask in the sun like a cat, drowsily waiting for someone to pet her. 

[x]

“What would have happened if I was a spy?”

“I set up mental barriers around the premises,” he explained. “They’re designed to protect this establishment from anyone who harbors any ill intent to the school and the students therein. Basically, they expel those who would wish us any harm.”

He could sense a couple of his students running towards the door and sent them a quick warning that there was someone in their apparent path.

“So, I really don’t know what exactly you do that the Brotherhood doesn’t,” Ashni pointed out. “I know you don’t attack humans, but that’s about it.”

Ashni managed to dodge the pair of girls and avoid an accident, which was quite fortunate. He’d have to have a word with them about heeding his warnings when he gave them.

“And you have a lot more children than he does,” she continued. “Why don’t you? What can I do to earn my keep? Do you know my mutation? I can make a lot of money if you need it.”

Charles laughed. “I can assure you, that shouldn’t be necessary. Thank you for the offer, though. This is my family’s estate; I come from rather old money, as it were. We’re not hurting for money, I can assure you.”

He motioned for her to follow him to the elevator (set up and installed back in the 60s, before the draft stole everyone away and his telepathy became too wild to control).

“As for what we do here, we operate a school. We don’t attack humans because doing so actually harms the mutant population, particularly in the long run,” Charles clarified. “Aside from that, we focus on training and educating the next generation of mutants.”

The elevator doors opened and Charles motioned for her to go first.

“Would you prefer to stay in the students’ quarters, or with the staff?”

[Deleted]

“I set up mental barriers around the premises,” he explained. “They’re designed to protect this establishment from anyone who harbors any ill intent to the school and the students therein. Basically, they expel those who would wish us any harm.”

Expel? How? She wondered, and how would he make sure they didn't come back, with friends?  When he refuted the need for money she raised an eyebrow, this place had to cost a fortune, and even more so with the children and the staff needed to care for them and the grounds. 


“As for what we do here, we operate a school. We don’t attack humans because doing so actually harms the mutant population, particularly in the long run,” Charles clarified. “Aside from that, we focus on training and educating the next generation of mutants.”



A school, an actual school where they were learning more then just how to survive and use their gifts, more then gorilla tactics and terrorist strikes. Her slow smile grew wider, if he was telling the truth...well she could become use to this, perhaps find a real home...if... if...

When they got to the elevator her estimation of how much the upkeep on the mansion was grew exponentially. "I think with the staff? At least since I plan on working to earn my keep." she answered to his question about were she would like so stay, "Where do you sleep?" for once it was an innocent question devoid of double meaning. She would have zero objection of he did take it as an offer, but she doubted he would.

[x]

Ashni wondered a bit at the term “expel,” and Charles wondered how exactly to go about describing the barriers he’d put in place. They were designed to cause pain to any who tried to come to the estate with impure intentions in regards to the students housed within. The more a potential threat tried to get past them, the more intense the pain became. The school was meant to be a safe haven, a place where mutant children could grow and learn and gain control of their abilities without fear. Charles had no intention of letting anyone through who would purposefully hurt his students, or his staff.

He could feel her growing sense of hope as he explained the purpose of the school. She seemed quite enamored with the idea of a school specifically for mutant children, where they could become something other than weapons. There were whispers of words such as home, and Charles sincerely hoped that Westchester could become such for her. He wanted her to feel like she belonged; that was part of the mission driving the school, after all.

“I think with the staff,” she answered, a bit hesitant in her response. “At least since I plan on working to earn my keep.”

He gave a nod at that and hit the button for the topmost floor.

“Where do you sleep,” she asked as the doors closed.

A small brush against her mind revealed it to be completely innocent, a mere inquiry to sate a bit of curiosity.

“I’m with the staff as well,” he replied. “Before the elevator was finished, though, I was set up on the first floor.”

Prior to Cuba, he’d slept in the easternmost room on the second floor, his childhood bedroom and full of memories both terrible and pleasant. After he’d returned home from the hospital, sentenced to life in a wheelchair, the boys had helped him convert one of the rooms on the first floor into a temporary bedroom while Hank finished construction on the elevator and other adjustments needed to make the mansion wheelchair accessible.

[Deleted]

Ashni's mental control was faltering a bit, this was hour 25 and her last meal had been some terrible drive thru she had forced her self to choke down almost six hours ago. The first floor? Oh... her tired mind put two and two together. I wonder if that means it was a recent accident and not from birth? The injury was a non starter for her, it was how she met him, so the chair was simply the mode of transport he used. 

Her eyes drifted closed for an instant, allowing her mutation to work its mischievous way, "What can I call you?" she asked just before he elevator lurched, The sudden surge of adrenaline pushed another bit of bad luck, caught off guard and half asleep she fell sideway into his lap with a yelp. Her arms went around his neck to try and catch herself. Oh.. she blinked in surprise, her over tired brain sped madly Its been a while...far to long. came the thought. Since she had been in a mans arms, in the years between their meetings, she had embraced her sexuality, and yes the world she had been a part of, between her mutation and the seed of self confidence he had planted, she had been able to choose for the most part Who, How, and When.

So when her hips shimmed to press her bottom more intimately against him, it wasn't simply a learned reaction of a practiced courtesan. It as also the simple result of her attraction to him.  Part of her wondered if the injury was sever enough that he might not be capable anymore.

[x]

A wave of fatigue came from Ashni, along with a faint impression of hunger, and Charles immediately thought about priorities. Though it wasn’t exactly standard meal time, he wasn’t about to deny the poor girl food if she needed it. He made a mental note to inform her of the kitchen’s location and encourage to go get something to eat if she so desired.

He sensed when his comment about the first floor clicked and made a concerted effort to block out the result of that realization. Charles didn’t care to think much about that day under the hot Cuban sun, nor the results of it—despite the fact that he was confronted with the reality of the situation every waking moment. It was a reality he’d long since forced himself to accept and had chosen instead to focus on the school and the students therein. He didn’t have time for pity anymore, especially with Erik still at large.

“What can I call you,” she asked just moments before a sudden lurch of the elevator sent her tumbling into his lap.

Reflex had her arms wrapped around his neck to keep her from falling further, which wasn’t entirely possible, considering the wheelchair and his legs broke the worst of her fall. A sharp thought of It’s been a while...far too long flittered through her mind and old reflexes had her pressing her bottom a bit more intimately against him. Charles immediately slammed down any biological response his mind wanted to send to what remained of his lower extremities; Ashni was exhausted, hungry, and she’d come to the estate for sanctuary.

And while he certainly agreed that it had been far too long since he’d last been intimate with someone (getting a school for mutants up and going was difficult enough, but when one added in keeping the government at arm’s length as well as keeping an eye on Erik and his Brotherhood, Charles had very little time for himself, let alone for romance), it wasn’t his place. After all, he was old enough to be her father! No matter how lovely she’d grown up to be, it simply wouldn’t be proper.

“Are you quite alright?” Charles shifted as much as he could, subtly trying to put a bit of distance between their more intimate regions.

[Deleted]

Ashni couldn't help the lick of her lips, or the soft flush the lit her cheeks, as she wiggled in his lap. "Sorry." she whispered biting her lip, as she felt the non response from him. Not interested...or not able? She wasn't sure which she was rooting for. The selfish part of herself almost hoped he was no longer able, but the larger potion hoped for his sake she just wasn't attractive to him.

When he tried to move away from her with a question about her health she was tired enough that the disappointment was obvious on her features. Not interested....damn.  "I'm fine are you?" she asked into the darkened box the stopped elevator had become. 

One last time...just in case. She shifted forward resting her hands on his shoulder, her chest pressing against his, "Is there a way to call out? Or..." she licked her lips "Are we stuck in here." she breathed out huskily. 

This would probably be the last time she would be so blunt for a while, but she was very attracted to him, his kindness had captured her attention as a teen, and seeing him again as a grown woman....well other things had captured her attention, his long boned hands, the expressive and slightly sad eyes. As well as the body being a wheelchair did nothing to distract her from. 

[x]

“Sorry,” Ashni said as she worried her bottom lip.

There was a touch of concern from her regarding his lack of a physical response. Not interested...or not able? Charles swallowed; it wasn’t the first time a younger woman had displayed interest in him after arriving at the school—he could still recall Lana’s teasing and self-determined mission to get him to blush that she’d only given up briefly after she’d caught him drunk and in a bad way over Erik and Raven.

Ashni’s disappointment as to his priorities was obvious not only in her expressions but in the emotions she was projecting. Not interested...damn. Really, it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested—Ashni had grown up to be a very attractive young woman and good for her that she’d managed to not only accept but embrace her sexuality—but she was a bit young for him. He’d been in his late thirties when he’d met her, after all, nearly forty. It was an age gap of twenty-three years or so. While such age gaps were not exactly something new to humankind, Charles wasn’t quite sure if he was up for it.

“I’m fine,” she said. “Are you?”

A stray thought of One last time... was all the warning he got before she shifted and pressed her chest against his. Charles cursed the fact that the lack of sensation from the mid-thigh and below was something his upper body had decided it needed to accommodate for in the last decade or so and cursed the utter lack of warning for his slow response to completely stomp out his reactions.

“Is there a way to call out? Or are we stuck in here?”

Whatever they’d taught her back in Pakistan, she obviously hadn’t forgotten it. And as he hadn’t been intimate in nearly two decades, he was finding that he was having a hell of a time keeping his physical reactions completely under control. And unlike Lana, who had found him while he was still nursing a broken heart and struggling to make the school a viable reality, Ashni was acting on a crush she’d managed to harbor and cultivate for the past five or six years.

Charles sent out a plea to Hank, hoping that he didn’t sound as desperate as he thought. Hank was prompt as ever, responding almost as soon as Charles had sent out the request. At best, it was just a blown fuse and the situation would be sorted out in no more than twenty or thirty minutes, depending on how long it took Hank to get to the fuse box in question. At worst...well, they could be well and truly stuck for the time being.

“I just informed Hank of the situation,” he replied, swallowing again. “At best, it will be resolved in a few minutes. At worst...well, we may be here for a bit longer than we’d anticipated. Apologies; I can’t say it’s ever done this before.”

[Deleted]

Ashni felt a familiar thrill of feminine pleasure as he started to show the first hints of attraction, She pressed closer feigning a yawn to excuse her behavior. Though at the moment she had never been more awake, her blood humming in her ears as it had not for over a year, and even then there had not been this level of frustrated desire. In her culture it was unthinkable for a woman to be the aggressor in any sort of relationship with a man, only her..training allowed her to over come the pressures of her heritage.  Her fingers curled around the nape of his neck, nails scratching him lightly, as she employed the slightly subtle tricks she had learned. 

For her his age was as little an issue as his disability, the only thought she had to either was a tiny remorseful thought in the back of her brain that he would not be able to be the one in control. On the other hand a smirk curled her lips as they brushed past his cheek. I have many tricks to show. After all her belly dancing gave her incredible muscle control, and when she was dominate....well it was a hell of a ride, fractured images and sense memory flooding her for the instant. Her thighs pressed together in anticipation, if this DIDN'T work she would be one frustrated woman.  

“I just informed Hank of the situation,” he replied, swallowing again. “At best, it will be resolved in a few minutes. At worst...well, we may be here for a bit longer than we’d anticipated. Apologies; I can’t say it’s ever done this before.”

"I take the blame for this." she breathed the words into his ear, "My mutation causes bad luck when i'm tried." She licked her lips 'accidentally' flicking her tongue over the shell of his ear. "I hope you can forgive me for this." 

[x]

The close contact made it incredibly difficult to keep her thoughts out of his reach, bits and pieces of emotions and thoughts slipping through. Ashni yawned and immediately utilized her excuse to press closer to him. Oh, he was going to have a difficult time explaining this to Hank. The younger man would either pass out from secondhand embarrassment or from laughing too hard.

Her nails scraped against the nape of his neck, and Charles started a bit, utterly unused to physical contact there. Even when he was young and able to walk, he hadn’t much cared for people touching his head. It all felt far too intimate, something to be shared with a lover in the privacy of one’s bedroom rather than a casual touch between near-strangers.

I have many tricks to show, her thoughts slipped through immediately followed by fragments of memory of her past sexual exploits and Charles nearly choked at the images. Certain biological responses were becoming more and more difficult to control, and Charles wasn’t sure what exactly to do. Lana had been easily enough deterred in that she didn’t land herself directly in his lap. Words were enough to turn her away; Ashni seemed to have taken seducing him as a personal challenge which she absolutely refused to fail. She shifted in his lap, pressing her thighs together and anticipation flooded over to him.

“I take the blame for this,” she responded, breathing the words into his ear. Charles swallowed. “My mutation causes bad luck when I’m tired.” She flicked her tongue of the shell of his ear and Charles bit back a groan. “I hope you can forgive me for this.”

“Hank will have it sorted out shortly, I'm sure,” Charles insisted, staring up at the ceiling of the elevator and resolutely thinking about anything other than her obvious determination to get him worked up. “Though, perhaps you should get some sleep? If you lose control when you’re overly tired, a bit of rest may do you the most good.”

[Deleted]

"Umm rest?" she purred, she was as close as she could physically get, but she still attempted to snuggle in harder. "Can I just nap here?" she asked dragging her breath string the hair next to his ear. "Or am I making things...hard for you?" she wondered.

Ashni was tired, and horny enough to be growing bolder and blunter, if Charles wasn't interested in her he was going to have to be explicit. He was showing just enough response to give her encouragement.  Humm Telepath does that mean.. She pictured her ontop of him, she could almost feel him between her legs as she moved over him. The image shifted to her licking down him, her fingers playing the spot inside of him that would give him pleasure. Ashni wasn't aware enough of the social differences to know that, that particular sort of activity wasn't as accepted. For her it was just one more trick in her arsenal of seduction and sex.

Hell even if he WASN'T physically able anymore, perhaps she could do him a favor like this, envisioning them together. 



It wasn't that Ashni was determined to seduce him, but she was very physically attracted to him, and the slight crush she had developed as a teen was influencing her decisions. Real emotions, when she knew him better and determine that she DID enjoy his company just for himself would come later.

"We have time before Hank comes. Would you like that?" 
She you be referring to her napping, or the explicit images flickering across her mind

[x]

“Umm, rest?” Ashni was purring, for God’s sake. She snuggled into him as close as she could physically manage, and Charles swallowed, willing away all of his physical reactions. “Can I just nap here? Or am I making things...hard for you?”

She knew damn well what she was doing, and while part of Charles was honestly flattered, there was still another part of him that couldn’t get past the teenaged girl he’d first meet years ago.

Then the images started flooding in. Charles’s telepathy was one that had two settings: distance and touch. Distance allowed for much easier and effective shielding—there was a reason he valued his personal space—but touch...when he was touching another person, thoughts and feelings all became so much harder to ignore. It was like trying to ignore someone shouting right in one’s ear. Ashni couldn’t possibly know about that, but she was certainly taking advantage of his mutation, sending him image after pornographic image. This woman was going to be the death of him at this rate.

“We have time before Hank comes,” she pointed out. “Would you like that?”

Certain parts of him would no doubt love that. His face had probably turned a shade of red he hadn’t experienced since he was a teenager. And yet...he had no romantic interest in her, and while she was certainly sexually appealing, he had a reputation as headmaster of the school to uphold.

“As lovely as your offer sounds, Ashni, I must decline,” he managed. “You’re tired, and hungry; you’re not particularly in your right state of mind, and I would much rather address this after you’ve gotten plenty of rest and had something to eat.”

If she gave in, he’d have roughly eight or nine hours to figure out how to best address the issue. Perhaps she’d even been embarrassed about her behavior? No, no, she wouldn’t; considering how she was raised, it was likely something she’d wouldn’t entirely regret. Best to deflect for the moment, wait until they were both in a proper state of mind.

[Deleted]

Ashini sighed feeling the skin near her lips heat, a smile full of confidence in herself and her desirability graced her lips...until he rejected her. Ah well, not interested is not interested... it was a bit of a blow to her ego, she could count the men that had turned her down on one hand. She shrugged lightly brushing her lips over his neck again, wondering absently if he preferred men, it was not a forbidden concept to her, in her culture yes, in her life? no.

Ashni pulled back a rueful smile on her face, her hands glowed a single point of light in the darkened cab. The elevator lurched into operation again. "What are the odds of that?" she said smiling slightly sheepish. While the initial power surge hadn't been intentional she had realized a little bit ago that she could probably skew probability enough to at least get them to their destination.  But by then she had been thoroughly set on her course of seduction. 

She climbed out of his lap tugging her clothing back into place, everything had ridden up in her wiggles against him. There was no aspect of self consciousness, she was not ashamed of what she had done. Through out everything she had managed to stay heart whole about her job and her sexuality. The man in the chair beside her had set that seed with in her, and she had kept it alive through the years.


Ashni picked up her duffle bag slinging it over her shoulder as the elevator doors opened, "Rest and food." she nodded. "What shall I call you?" she wondered. "And if you change your mind...well door is open." she winked back at him. 

[x]

Ashni deflated a bit when he rejected her advances once again, and Charles swallowed a sigh of relief as she went to withdraw—only to tense up a bit when she brushed her lips over his neck once more. The contact made it impossible to ignore her inquiry as to his sexuality. And really, it wasn’t so much that her advances were completely unwelcome—another time, another place, if they had met in any other way.

She pulled back with a rueful smile on her face, her hands glowing in the dark of the lift. The lift lurched back into action and Charles shook his head in a bit of unsurprised amusement. Considering her mutation, as well as the fact that the lift had never really malfunctioned before, the fact that she’d had any effect on the situation wasn’t as much of a surprise as it was a confirmation of a prior suspicion.

“What are the odds of that,” she said, having the good grace to look a bit sheepish.

“Indeed,” Charles replied.

He could feel Hank’s confusion, and sent the poor man a quick explanation. They would have to come up with a way to make it harder for Ashni’s power to interfere with the estate when she was somehow compromised. Hers would not be the first mutation he and Hank had to consider when ensuring that the school would only suffer minimal damage, nor would it be the last.

Ashni readjusted her clothing and grabbed her duffel bag as the doors opened.

“Rest and food,” she agreed with a nod. “What shall I call you? And if you change your mind,” she added, “well, the door is open.”

She winked and Charles smiled a bit. “You may call me Charles or Professor,” he answered. “Whatever you’re most comfortable with, of course.”

He pushed himself out of the lift. “There are three rooms open: the one two doors down on your left, the second-furthest room on your right, and the one in the middle of the hallway on your left. You can pick any of them; I’ll introduce you to the rest of the staff later, once you’ve gotten some rest and a bit to eat.”

He wondered if she had any dietary restrictions. Was she allergic to anything? Did she have any particular foods she wouldn’t eat out of deference to her religion? What did she find inherently distasteful and avoid purely on her taste buds?

“Would you like for me to have someone bring you food, or would you rather I give you the location of the kitchen so you can procure your own food?”