ILLUSION

Chapter 1 :

It had been an extremely tiring day. All these people around him at all time, the aid in their training, the constant awareness of their minds while being obligated to contain himself to NOT hear even the most superficial thoughts, and now that he was preparing a cup of tea before, finally, going to sleep, Raven comes with her nonsense. Of course, he knows perfectly well it's not nonsense but he's not in the mood...

And now she's angry and hurt because of him... Being blue has nothing to do with it, she's naked for God's sake !

"Could you please put some clothes on Raven ? It's indecent."

"Why, do you find it disgusting ? Do you find me disgusting ?" she asks, fuming.

"This has nothing..." he tries to placate her.

"It has everything to do with it !" she exclaims.

He looks at her, standing proud yet searching for his approval. "Raven, I already told you that you're beautiful. As a little kid, I already told you that. What's happening with you nowadays ?" He's getting frustrated, he's exhausted, cranky, has yet to find the time to train himself, and oh joy, Erik's mind is approaching. He sees her opening her mouth again to begin another rant, but he interrupts her : "Erik's coming, you might want to tone it down"

Just then, Eric comes in, but perceiving the tension between us, stays in the doorway. And like that, seeing him, she begins anew :

"He can stay, after all he's the one to convince me I shouldn't be ashamed ! It's thanks to him, not you ! You never try to understand what it's like for others, you have it so easy, people don't look away from you ! Even I have the right to appear as the real me, you have no right to tell me otherwise !" Her eyes are bright with indignation, hurt, confusion and a mess of unrecognizable emotions.

Just then, he's thrust in a memory (one of his for once) about the beginning of their relationship. Quite shortly after her arrival in the household, she had asked him to not look in her mind at all because of her privacy. Seeing she was one of the very few precious people he had, he had acquiesced, and from this time onwards, reigned in his power to cloak it around himself as closely as possible, even if every nights, he got a hurtful pulsing headache. Some days later, to avoid a struggle outside, he asked her to take upon a more common appearance. When he left, her eyes had shown the hurt, making him feel guilty. She didn't really need to know of his headaches, did she?

Coming back to the present, he realizes in his fatigue, he has projected his memories to the other two. Erik seems surprised, and sympathetic too. Raven, she's obviously still angry and not thinking clearly... "Raven, maybe we could talk about it when you've calmed down ?" Apparently it was the wrong thing to say.

"Reading my mind again !" Erik tries to stop her, without results. She continues : "You shouldn't make promises at all Charles ! You need to control yourself, it's upsetting for others !"

And he snaps, finally it's too much, he sneers : "Oh I see, to appear basically naked everywhere because you're blue; and thus using your true form is perfectly fine, but letting my power run freely is completely out of bounds !" She looks stunned, she obviously never tried my point of view. "You do realize I have to concentrate every single second of the day on my shields for them to hold against all the minds I'm in contact with ? Or you simply didn't deem me unnatural enough to notice any kind of struggle whatsoever ? And I'm the insensitive one ?"

"Charles... Would you like for me to handle her...?" Erik projects to me, he looks concerned... I guess as I lose my cool so rarely, it must seem catastrophic for me to react so aggressively. Perhaps it's better this way. "Yes... Thank you my friend..." and he left the kitchen, ignoring Raven and once more trying to not project anything in the minds reunited in the mansion, enterprise rendered much more difficult with his high emotions.