xp_logs | Unwanted Guests

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"Toss Miles again, Mister Marko!"

Cain lumbered over to the pile of leaves that Miles was frantically raking up, smiling at the kid's exuberance. After Jamie had brought Miles out for the well-timed session of both stress relief and yardwork, the seven-year-old had attached himself like a limpet to the groundskeeper and followed him faithfully with a small rake, making piles out of the golden leaves along the woodline.

Glancing over to where the older students were laughing and talking amongst the fallen leaves, Cain smirked to himself. "Well, ain't we all just one big happy family?" he remarked to no one in particular. A tug at his sleeve made him laugh out loud, scooping Miles up in one arm and tossing him lightly into a well-padded pile of oak and maple leaves, the flutter of orange and gold making a perfect counterpoint to the boy's childish squeal of glee.

Wanda trotted out of the house and smiled as the cool breeze picked up. It was perfect October weather, the summer heat having been chased away. She headed towards the woods were she could already hear screams of delight. In fact, they were familiar screams at that. She blinked and slowed her walk slightly as she caught sight of the other person at the piles of leaves. Hard to miss was an understatement and not that hard on the eyes, either. Miles popped up from the leaves and squealed at her. "Hello Miles!" she called, cheerfully.

Cain turned to see the tall, dark-haired woman walking across the lawn to them. He gave a quick look down at Miles who was waving frantically. "Miss Wanda!" he squealed, running in circles around the leaves with his rake. "Miles has been playing in the leaves!"

Cain smiled and extended a hand. "I suppose you'd be the Wanda I've been hearing about then. I'm Cain Marko."

"Yes I am, pleased to meet you." She gripped his hand strongly and stepped over an enthaustic Miles. "I see someone's been busy already." There was a...flare in her mind, like a small headache and she blinked.

Cain narrowed his eyes at Wanda, repressing a sudden desire to snap at her for some reason. "Yeah, we figured it'd be good to give the kids something to do to take their minds off some of the crap going on... say, have I seen you somewhere before?" He couldn't get the thought out of his head that this woman was familiar somehow, and that thought kept pricking him, sending small twinges of annoyance through his brain.

Wanda blinked up at him, that headache growing stronger. Outdoors normally took care of the normal aches for her, this was unusual. "No...I do not believe so." She thought about that for a second. "You do seem...familiar, though. Not sure why."

Pausing to gather Miles up in one arm, Cain grinned quickly to mask his growing consternation. "You got a landing zone, Mister Blaire?"

Miles pointed to a large mound of leaves, and Cain obligingly tossed the child in a slow arc, sending Miles cannonballing into the leaves with another yelp of glee.

"So," he turned to Wanda, ignoring the constant tension that was building in his mind. "Scuttlebutt around the grownups is that you've got Evil Dad Issues."

She laughed for a second as she watched Miles struggle to climb out of the pile of leaves he had landed in. "That is one way of putting it, yes." Wanda bended down for a second to pick up a vacant rake. Physical activity would help, she was sure. "Never met the man but there are some issues there, to put it lightly."

"Fair enough," Cain nodded. "I actually met him ... well, a long way back. Long before you'd have been born, I'm sure. Trust me, you're not missing anything." Hearing some muffled noises from the leaf pile, Cain turned his head.

"Hey, little guy! You find a squirrel in there or something?"

She froze for a second at that but shook her head. "I honestly do not wish to ever meet him. There are too many issues there for it to go over well. Besides him being, well, evil and all."

Cain nodded absently, taking a step towards the leaves. "Hey, Miles? Come on out of there." he called. "Don't go messin' with the wildlife, your mom'll have my hide if we have to get you stitched up and-"

The pile of leaves burst apart in a flurry of yellow and brown, making Cain and Wanda both throw up their arms. When they looked, they saw among the leaves an inhuman figure, red of skin with batlike wings extending from its shoulders. Smoke curled from its nostrils as it cackled to the sky.

"KNEEL BEFORE ME, FLESHLINGS! FOR I SHALL REND THE SKIN FROM YOUR BONES AND WEAR IT AS A HAT! OR PERHAPS A SCARF! WHICHEVER IS IN SEASON! NO MERCY SHALL BE SHOWN!"

The threat would have possibly been more daunting were the creature giving it more than two feet tall.

The imp chortled with sadistic glee, rubbing its hands together. "Yes, tremble in fear, mortals! Make peace with your gods, for now you face the wrath of ..." its gaze suddenly fell over Wanda, and it took a step back, gulping. Then it saw Cain, and every muscle in its body shook with abject terror. "THE DESTROYER!!!"

"Miles!" Cain shouted, taking a step forward. At that point, Miles, still clutching his rake, popped out of the leaves and saw the imp. His frightened gaze met the demon's as the infernal creature did a double-take.

"You! I, Ed'zpaak of the seventh circle order you to assault the Destroyer while I make a strategic call for reinforcements!"

*WHAP!* The demon's head rocked to the side as Miles swung the rake like a club, catching the imp squarely.

"Beelzebub's eyes! Attack the Destroyer, not me, you treasonous goblin!" Miles' blue eyes narrowed as he lunged forwards, swinging the rake like a home-run hitter going after the record books.

"MILES IS NOT A GOBLIN!" *WHAPWHAPWHAP!!!*

Cain managed to close his mouth and looked to Wanda. "I... that would be a demon. We get those here."

Her eyes were probably the size of saucer cups, she realized, and blinked. Miles seemed to be enjoying himself, darting in and out and whacking the screeching demon on the head. "It is...rather ugly, is it not?" she asked, staring at the sight of small child, small demon and leaves flying everywhere. "Should we intervene?" Wanda asked, hands rising slightly, just in case.

Cain started to speak, but took an instinctive step back as Miles executed a near perfect running uppercut with his rake, catching the imp under the chin and sending it flying back into a tree with a wet thud. Cain raised an eyebrow to Wanda. "Looks like this one's under control." He reached out and grabbed the back of Miles' collar, hauling the raging seven-year-old off the ground. "Simmer down, killer. I think you beat the bad guy."

The smell of brimstone wafted across the lawn, as Cain and Wanda both looked up at the sound of screams from the other students on the lawn. Demons, more than one, could be seen at the side of the house. Cain looked quickly to Wanda.

"Can you provide cover fire?" he asked, assuming her hand gestures meant some kind of energy power. At her nervous nod, he pointed. "DO IT!"

"HEY!", he bellowed across the lawn, getting the attention of the students. "BOATHOUSE! NOW!"

Wanda turned and walked backwards for a few steps, getting a handle on the situation. "Cover fire...no, better yet, we need cover." Raising her hands, she activated her powers, the hex rings bright around her hands. The strings were everywhere in her mind and a good deal of them centered around the trees and leaves. Smirking, she looked over her shoulder at Cain. "My apologies!" she said and he turned to look at her. Her grin was wild as the chaos pulsed through the strings. "This will be messy!"

Mentally, she grapped several strings and yanked. A few feet backwards took her out of the path of a suddenly large gust of wind, slamming into the trees and piles of leaves. Crackling noises erupted as several small branches broke and there was a sudden wall of yellow, red and orange leaves. It looked like the forest exploded.

"Holy shit!" Cain exclaimed, drawing a muffled "pottymouth!" from the green boy in his arms. Students were running past, hands over their heads to shield them from the maelstrom of autumn foliage. Cain nodded to Wanda and began herding the students up the path to the boathouse. "ANGIE!" he called, noticing the French girl's red hair running by. As she turned, he fished his house keys out of his pocket and threw them to her. "FRONT DOOR! GET EVERYONE INSIDE!" She nodded and ran off, leading the pack of students.

Turning to Wanda, Cain placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's the last of the kids!" he yelled, "Let's go!"

There was a shock in her mind when he touched her shoulder but she shook the feeling off and nodded. "Yes, let's! I'm not sure how long this will keep up!" Wanda ducked her head and picked up a straggling smaller child, shielding him from the leaves. She, in turn, was trying to keep Cain's body between her and the worst of it. She bit off a curse in Romanian.

Cain brought up the rear, tucking Miles against his body like a football. Looking down at the child, he gave a reassuring grin. "You showed him, huh, champ?" Miles gave a thumbs-up, but Cain could tell the kid would need a round of reassuring once the adrenalin wore off.

As they reached the front door of the boathouse, Cain shouldered the door shut, glancing around at the students and children gathered in his house. Taking a quick head count, he got an idea.

Grabbing a photobook of structural diagrams, he flipped to a dogeared page with a photo of a stone retaining wall. He shoved the book at Marie-Ange, who blinked.

"Walls." Cain ordered. "Now." The French girl nodded, glancing past Cain and out the window, then out the patio door.

"It will take a moment but, yes, I can do that." Marie-Ange took up a post by the large bay window and concentrated as a large stone wall began to form, surrounding the boathouse. As the students slowly began to settle onto the couch and the numerous beanbag chairs Cain had laying around, he turned to Wanda, who was slowly picking leaves out of her hair.

"Welcome to Xavier's," he said with his best smile. "And this is a good day."