Worlds on Fire: What Happens After

[x-molten.livejournal.com]

A slow waking in a strange place

What Amara noticed first was the cold. The change in temperature struck her with enough force that she gasped and sat up, a scratchy blanket pooling in her lap. She couldn't remember where she was, nor how she got there, and the fear from earlier was beginning to rise again. Immediately she felt warmer and strands of her hair began to dance in the updraft.

Kurt was sitting next to the seat where they'd laid her, head bowed as he prayed over the girl, but he looked up quickly as she sat up. "Amara? It is all right now", he told her soothingly. "You are safe."

Amara turned toward the direction of the voice, a soothing voice, not crazed or angry, but kind, gentle. Blue. He was blue. She liked blue. The blue of sky and stream. Her hair fell around her shoulders as the heat dissipated. "Safe? Where am I?" Another question dawned on her. "Who are you?"

"My name is Kurt Wagner." He kept his voice low, hopefully calming. "I am with the group who found you, and fetched you away from those people."

Those people. She shuddered and pulled the blanket around her body, suddenly cold again. But he...Kurt...said that he helped fetch her away from them. Huddling under her blanket, she took in her surroundings. A plane, or something like it. "Did you fly here to save me? Did you save the others? There were other girls..."

"We were able to bring some of them out", he said quietly, not wanting to lie to her when she'd only hear the truth sooner or later anyway. "I am sorry."

Amara nodded. "That's good. That some of them got out. They shouldn't have been there." She took a deep breath and willed herself not to cry, swallowing despite the sudden tightness in her chest. "It's good that some of them made it." Tears began falling and she buried her face in her hands as she sobbed.

Kurt winced, reaching out tentatively to squeeze her shoulder. "As I said... you are safe now. They will not come for you again."

"But how can I be safe if I'm the real danger? How can you be safe from yourself?" she asked from behind her hands. "I killed and ruined more than they ever could, and I did it without thinking."

"We are going to take you to a place where you can learn about your powers, if you are willing", he told her. "To gain control, and learn more of what you can do."

Amara looked up then, cheeks tear-streaked. She rubbed at her eyes and tried to clear her nose, which caused a small laugh. "Do you have a handkerchief?" She sobered and continued, "Control? Is that possible? I don't want to know more about what I can do, but I need to learn control."

"Of course." He produced one and offered it. "And I can see no reason now why it would not be possible. We have many young students at the school, working on their powers alongside a more usual education."

She blew her nose loudly and blushed slightly at the unladylike sound. "Thank you." Amara took the used handkerchief and slipped it into a pocket, promising herself to wash and return it later. "How big is the school? Where is it located? Are there other students with dangerous powers like mine?"

"It is not far from New York City, a reasonable size... and yes, there are a few. For instance, we have a young man with us who can cause earthquakes." He deliberately didn't mention Julio's name, leaving it for the boy to identify himself later if he so chose. "And others with powers of similar magnitude."

"I think I caused an earthquake, earlier. I don't remember much of what happened. Maybe that's best." Amara felt far more comfortable than she had when she woke up. And a tad sleepy, she thought to herself as she covered a yawn. "Wasn't given much of a chance to rest tonight," she said by way of apology.

"You should sleep", he said gently. "If you can. You have been through a lot today."

Amara yawned again and chuckled softly. "Perhaps a small nap," she conceded, nestling down and drawing the blanket over her shoulders. She closed her eyes and asked, "Will you still be here when I wake up?"

"Yes", Kurt said quietly, reaching over to tuck in the blanket. "I promise."

"Okay. Good." And with that she took a deep breath and let herself drop off to sleep, hoping to avoid the nightmares she knew would come in time.

~*~

A few hours later, some tears and a decision.

Amara walked softly through the forest, afraid of disturbing the trees and foliage anymore than they already had been. When she saw the devastation she had caused in the false dawn light, she nearly sobbed in shame and grief, the whole ordeal returning to her in a rush. She didn't know how she was going to face her father after what she did, but she wouldn't be talking to him alone, and took comfort in that. Rounding the final corner in the trail, she stepped into the small clearing that held their home, smoke already rising from the stove pipe. Amara opened the front door and walked into the kitchen, following the smell of coffee to where she knew her father would be.

Her father was hunched over the table, a cup clasped between white-knuckled hands. He looked old and worn and despairing - until Amara stepped into the kitchen, and he shed years in an instant as he rose, incredulous hope in his eyes. "Amara... Amara," he choked out, crossing the kitchen to her and taking her by the shoulders almost hesitantly, as if afraid she'd vanish like a mirage if he touched her.

Another figure stepped into the doorway behind Amara - Ororo, still clad in her leathers. She stood unobtrusively, watching as the girl's father embraced her happily and checked her over for signs of injury. She could only imagine the relief he was feeling and silently thanked the Goddess that the scenario had such a happy ending.

Amara burrowed into her father's chest, arms wrapped around him tightly, eyes spilling hot tears. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she kept repeating, finally believing it herself. She held on a few moments longer, then moved back a bit to look up at his face. "There's something I have to tell you, Papa. And there's someone you should meet." She looked over her shoulder at Ororo and smiled tremulously. "She helped save me, and the town. I'm a mutant."

"... child, right now I wouldn't care if you told me you were the dark goddess herself." Her father stopped, taking a shaky breath and giving her another fierce hug. "Nothing you could tell me would matter. Nothing. You're safe." He drew back, taking her face between his hands for a moment and giving her an almost fearfully intent look, as if he wasn't positive that she was all right. Only then did he look up at Ororo, trying to smile. "You have my thanks," he said hoarsely. "I only wish I had more to give you than words. You've given me back the most precious thing in the world."

"That is all that matters, then," Ororo replied, giving the man a reassuring smile. "Amara is a very brave girl, and I know she would not want you to worry about her."

After another fierce hug, Amara steered her father in the direction of the living room, where there were enough seats for everyone. "There's a school in America," she began once she settled into a chair, still weary from the night's events. "It's a school for mutants, where they can be safe and learn how to control their powers. They want to know if I would like to go."

"In... America?" He looked hesitant, his eyes going back and forth from his daughter to Ororo. "I... what is it that you do? Your power?" he asked awkwardly, then blinked, his eyes widening slightly in realization. Few in the city would have called Amara's father a foolish man. "The... eruption?" he ventured uncertainly.

Amara nodded. "I can...I manipulate magma. I can create volcanos or earthquakes, among other things, but I don't know everything I can do yet, and I have no control over my mutation. So when they...when I was threatened, I instinctively made the earth go 'boom'. And they promise to teach me how not to do that anymore unless I want it to." She glanced at Ororo. "Am I getting this right?"

The white-haired woman smiled and nodded. "Yes, you are doing very well. Though it may sound like quite a bit of responsibility for Amara to handle, I am confident that with some help she will easily learn to control her powers. The school has many young people undergoing the same challenge, so not only would there be guidance for her, but also other students in the same situation." She paused, letting this information sink in for a moment. "The most important thing is Amara's well-being and safety. And the school is probably the safest place for her to be right now."

"I've only ever wanted you to be safe... and happy." He reached out and took his daughter's hands, his expression very grave and his attention only on her, now. "Is this what you want? To go to this school?"

"I don't know. I don't want to leave you. I promised I wouldn't ever let anyone take me away, and here I am four days later about to break that promise. How can I do that to you? How can I leave you alone?" Without any warning, she flew into her father's arms, weeping freely, all of the fear and confusion and hurt finally catching up to her. "I can't leave you. You'd be alone. I was so afraid that they were going to...they were going to kill me. And you would have been alone."

"Oh, child." His arms went around her, holding her tightly. "I would miss you," he murmured into her hair, "I would miss you so very much. But to be away from here, to be trained in this... this power you have? Wouldn't that be better for you? I'm your father, Amara. I want what's best for you. And besides," he said gruffly, although his eyes were damp, "you were always meant to... to do things that the other girls your age weren't. I always knew you were special. Perhaps this is your opportunity."

"This would be a beginning," Ororo said to both of them, quietly so as not to intrude too much on the moment. "Not the end in any way, but a start to anything you may wish to do. And if you decide it is not for you, then you may come home, at any time. It is your choice."

Amara shifted her gaze between her father and Ororo, seeing love and affection in the former, and hope and assurity in the later. She realized then that she had to do this, that she could do this, because if she stayed, she could hurt her father or Jimena's children. "I will go, then. Perhaps this really is my opportunity." She smiled up at her father. "And I will only be a plane ride away. You could come visit me, or I will come to you. And that's a promise I intend to keep."

After another quick hug, she turned to Ororo, still smiling. "I've never flown in a plane before."

Ororo chuckled and stood, her leathers squeaking only slightly as she moved. "Then this will certainly be an interesting first ride. I hope it does not spoil you for all other plane rides in the future."