X-Men Evolution: Rogue Evolution

D&D is for Nerds 4.4

The evening's dusk brought a myriad of colors in the dying sun's light. Swaths of purples, reds, and oranges highlighted the wide blue sky as the great orange sun slowly began its descent along the horizon. Anna and Ororo never spoke of their routine in so many words. It just so happened after post-dinner chores that Anna would seek the weather witch out and join her side while she mediated, her skin warmed by the summer evening air.

Often times the location would vary between the front lawn, to the balcony in Ororo's room, or even the lip of the Olympic-sized pool in the rear of the mansion. More often than not though, Ororo was sure to be found just outside her greenhouse on the roof. Despite being outside the long glass hut, vines like so many tentacles branched out the windows and budded bright pink and white flowers along their long limbs. The mother plant may have been somewhere inside, but the odd plant's many children thrived even outside the protection of the greenhouse, filling the roof with greenery. Among these many vines and limbs was a spot just large enough for Ororo - and conveniently - for Anna to sit next to her.

For the longest time, Anna didn't know what to do with this 'meditation' nonsense. Trying to empty her head and just breathe felt like trying to bail out the ocean with a teacup. On the rare moments, her mind seemed to cooperate, all she felt like doing was falling asleep - and a few times she did. It was all so frustrating, Anna was tempted, especially the first few times, to just get up and leave. After all, punching one of Logan's training dummies felt far more cathartic than just sitting on a roof stewing in her own anxiety. For whatever reason though, she never did. Instead, she found herself asking questions, and Ororo would actually answer.

Ororo had a certain way about her, how she answered Anna's many spit-fire questions about what they were doing. She never argued with Anna or told her she was doing it wrong. Instead, she would gently correct her. Ororo would suggest things like 'not fighting the thoughts and simply letting them float on by' and 'when thoughts are suddenly brought up, don't judge them and don't feel bad. Relax and let them be.' Over the course of several days and weeks, Anna started to feel at least a touch better about sitting out there on the roof of a mansion with nothing but her random thoughts and the crazy swamp plant monster for company. She had even started trying to meditate separate from Ororo. A few times when she was alone in her bedroom and at least once while she was at school in the girls' bathroom. It wasn't always perfect, but it seemed to help at least a little with her anxiety and anger.

However, that evening it was almost like it couldn't be helped. No matter how much she tried to 'let things go' or relax, it felt like every emotion kept coming back tenfold somehow. She found herself more than once picking at the bottom of her shoes or a patch of dry skin near the nail of her thumb. A breeze gently glided over the rooftop, tussling Anna's hair, and played a soft melody on the wooden wind chimes hanging next to the greenhouse door behind them.

"What has you so twisted up, my dear?" Ororo sat to her right as always. Her back was straight and her neck carried her head with such smooth elegance, her upper half looked as if it could be a bust.

"It's hot." Anna curled her back like a wilting flower and rested her forearms on her knees. Another soft gust of air tickled her cheeks and jostled the peddles on the vine creature around them.

"It is humid this evening, yes."

Anna played at the seams in the tops of her sneakers and the fuzzballs in her laces. A silence hung between them before Anna felt the words fall from her lips. "I think you had me pegged wrong at the mall a few weeks ago."

Ororo didn't open her eyes. Instead, she still faced where the sun had set, her face relaxed. "Did I?"

"Yeah. You said: 'I'd make friends faster here than I thought.' I don't think you took into account how much of a fuck up I was when you said that."