Parents' Day - Eva, Yvette and Jono.

[x-penance.livejournal.com]

Jono happens upon a newly-arrived Eva Petrovic 'discussing' the previous weekend's events with her daughter and intervenes.



The rose garden was, by design, a somewhat private place, away from the more well-trafficked areas of the school, and as such, scene of more than one intense talk. This day was no exception, although said talk was being conducted entirely in Albanian. The small red girl and the thin, dark-haired older woman were oblivious to any passersby that might happen past, engrossed in the conversation.

"~...it has been not even a year, and you are telling me that there have been several cases of lives being in danger?~" Eva Petrovic's tone was angry and incredulous.

"~Mama, please, it's not like that...~" Yvette began, in mollifying tones. "~And please, keep your voice down? I don't want there to be a scene.~"

"~A scene? You're worried about me making a scene when my only daughter, the child I've sacrificed so much to raise, is put in danger every day?~" Eva spread her hands emphatically. "~You told me that you were coming her to learn to control your powers, but look at you! You're worse than you were when I saw you in October!~"

"~I am learning Mama.~" Yvette's eyes dimmed, matching the sad tone. "~And I will learn control, but it is not so easy as all that. It's not the school's fault, it's mine.~"

Jono had been keeping himself scarce for the majority of the day. He hadn't expected the mansion to be so crowded with happy families and students about to graduate or leave for the summer, although it had made the return easier for him and Paige. He'd made a few appearances in public areas so as to not be accused of "skulking", and had thought a walk outdoors might actually be good for some privacy.

He'd only caught the tail end of the argument, and while he didn't understand the language audibly, the telepathic gist behind the loudly-projected words he understood all too perfectly. When he recognized one of the voices as Yvette, however, he rounded the corner into the rose garden.

"Here now," he said, making sure both mother and daughter could hear his voice in their heads. He wasn't sure exactly how the words would translate from mind to mind, but he wasn't about to let the little girl be belittled for no good reason. "What's all this, then? Yvette's done nothing wrong, there's no call to be using that tone."

Eva visibly startled, unused to telepathic contact, and looked wildly around until she caught sight of the young man approaching. "~A voice, in my head...~" she began, sounding almost frightened.

"~It is the power I am telling you of, Mama. The mind speech, remember? This is Mr. Starsmore, he is a teacher here. He uses his mind to talk to people.~" Yvette reached out to pat her mother's arm comfortingly, and sighed as the older woman flinched back. Her mother still remembered being cut by her daughter's skin, obviously. "I am sorry, Mr. Jono, that we are to be making the noise..." she said in English. "My mother is being upset about the things that are happening."

That was the life here at Xavier's, Jono thought quietly to himself, carefully not projecting his mild feelings of exasperation. One crisis to the next, and sometimes the kids caught in between.

"No need to worry, Yvette," Jono said with a nod to the little red girl and her mother. "Mrs. Petrovic, right? Trust me, things may seem a bit crazy, but this school's a safe place. The Professor and the teachers, they're making sure the kids get taken care of, best they can. Folks like your daughter and me, we don't always have somewhere else to go, you know?"

Eva bristled, Jono's meaning, if not his exact words, coming across through the language barrier. "~Yvette has somewhere to go,~" she replied stiffly. "~Home, with her mother, where I know she will be safe. Away from this... crazy place.~"

"And she'll be safe there?" Jono's mental voice conveyed the slightest hint of sarcasm. "Blend right in, will she? Because people back home understand what she's goin' through?"

With one hand, Jono unhooked the clasp of his bandages, letting them fall slack to reveal the blazing energy that flowed from his chest and face. "We're not monsters, Mrs. Petrovic. And neither's your daughter. But people out there, what're they gonna see, d'you think? Here, it ain't perfect. But we understand each other. One day, she'll learn to control what she can do. But she won't learn that back home."

Eva gasped and stepped back, hands coming up as if to fend off a blow. "~What kind of... creature are you?~" she exclaimed. "~How can Yvette learn to control herself when there are such as you teaching her?~"

"~Mama, stop!~" It was perhaps the loudest voice anyone had ever heard Yvette use before. She stood between the two, glaring up at her mother with flaming blue eyes. "~Mr. Jono is a teacher here. He is not some 'creature', and neither am I.~" Her tone softened a little. "~They can't keep me safe here, Mama. But neither can you. You locked me away for months and still they took me away. And then I was taken and sold, like a piece of meat." Yvette's small pointed chin jutted slightly. "~They can't keep me safe, but they can teach me to keep myself safe. To help make things better.~"

Eva stared back at the small girl, mouth dropping open in shock.

Jono blinked at Yvette's outburst as well, fiddling with the bandages in his long fingers. "Dangerous world," he finally said, "No one's going to lie to you there, either of you. And you might feel like she's safer with you," he said to Eva, "but for how long? Here you know she'll have an education, and people who know about controlling powers like ours. And in some cases, how to help us help ourselves, 'til we learn that control."

Slowly, he wrapped the bandages higher on his chest and neck as he spoke, his mental voice unmuffled as the energy was concealed again behind the black wraps. "Your daughter's right. They can teach her things she won't learn back there."

Eva sucked in a trembling breath, looking first at her daughter, still standing so defiantly in front of her, then to the young man behind her, and back again. "~Is this what you truly want, Pendim?~" she asked, "~To stay here, where you might be taken again, or hurt, or even killed?~"

"~Yes.~" Yvette glanced back at Jono, seeming to draw courage from the fact he was there and backing her up. "~Yes, I might be hurt. But I have friends here. I can go outside. I don't have to worry about what people might think of me. I can even touch again, if the person has a power that protects them. And one day, I will have control.~" There was quiet conviction in Yvette's voice. "~Back home, I only learn to hide. Here, I am learning how to live.~"

There was a long silence, and then Eva nodded, once. "~If that is what you want, Pendim,~" she said, sounding resigned. But there was a hint of pride in her expression - and in her mind - too. My little girl is growing up. She looked again at Jono. "~I am sorry, for my words. It was not right of me to say such things. And not true.~"

Jono nodded. "No harm done," he said. "You should try five minutes in a room with my Mum sometime." He placed a hand on Yvette's shoulder, and the crinkling around his eyes showed what he could of a smile these days. "Yvette's signing up to take a Music class. That's what I teach. She's rather eager for it, aren't you?"

Yvette nodded. "~Yes. I will be learning the tamborine.~" Blue eyes glowed brighter. "~Mr. Jono is a very good teacher.~"

"~Music? You did not have that at your old school,~" Eva said, a small smile appearing. It eased the harsh lines of her face a little. "~You will have to write to me and tell me how you are doing.~"

"~Every week,~" Yvette promised. And there was the smallest hint of a smile on her face.