Reconsider [XMEN AU]

S i x t e e n

Dalisay let her lips curl into the most obscure smile she could muster. Taking a seat beside his, her tongue hugged the inside of her cheek momentarily, as she needed to find the words to say to him. Nothing awkward or too cordial, but just enough to hint that there was still an elephant in the room. She wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to avoid frank conversation, but at present Dalisay could only manage one personal catastrophe. The one involving her mother appeared more imminent, with a possibility of greater casualties than only herself, so Dalisay chose to deal with that first and put her issues with Kurt on hold. They were on the same side, as Kitty had recently pointed out to her. She had a side. There was no reason for her to abandon such an idea to reimburse a previous problem.

No, it was time to move on and concentrate on the task at hand. Or at least, Dalisay attempted to convince herself.

"How've you been?" Dalisay asked, causing Kurt to turn his head and face her. She wasn't exactly great at small talk, and more or less hated the idea of it, but he was her teammate as she continuously reminded herself. If he wasn't well or able, they'd have a big storm coming. Regan Wyngarde was many things, but weak had never been a choice characteristic of Dalisay's mother.

"Very vell, danke." Kurt responded with a subtle nod. "And you? How is your training faring?"

"It's..." Dalisay hesitated, shrugging in an attempt to feign humility. It wasn't bad per say, but she didn't need to tell him how wonderful or terrible she was faring. Though her gut told her not to, she recognized that Kurt would find out soon enough if she was true to her word or merely exaggerating to impress him...but why she would, Dalisay had no idea. "It's going alright, but team exercises are still a bit of a challenge for me." She explained finally, letting out a breathy sigh. Her eyes roamed over his momentarily, wondering if he had changed at all through his time away from Xavier's school.

He still appeared to be himself: trusting, honest, kind...the physical manifestation of the best characteristics found in the human race. Despite this goodness, the gleam that Dalisay had almost found herself pulled to was now fading, and for reasons, she couldn't hope to comprehend. It wasn't as if they'd even known one another for years or even months before she'd taken his memories and made him forget she'd helped him.

Why had she done it? Dalisay couldn't help but ask herself. She was scared, despite the expanse of mutants around her. She feared ostracization, as much as Dalisay hated to admit it. For someone who acted like they didn't care what anyone thought of them, Dalisay had an uncanny ability to hold onto every terrible thing said about her. She couldn't let the opinions and thoughts of others go for some reason. She didn't know if it was her shitty upbringing or just her own self-deprivation that brought it on, but Dalisay did know that such care could not be helped.

"I understand," Kurt responded slowly...enunciating each syllable as if there were words on the tip of his tongue that he was mustering the strength to utter. Thankfully, their conversation was paused by Scott's own questions for the indigo mutant.

"Kurt, what happened with Angel?" Scott Summers asked from the cockpit, raising one eyebrow ever so slightly. "Is he coming back anytime soon?"

Dalisay's ears perked up at Angel's name. Like the infamous Jean Grey, there had been whispers of his heroics all throughout the X- Mansion, but never any word as to what happened to them. Also like Jean, Dalisay merely assumed Angel was dead, what with the reverence everyone spoke of him with. Knowing now that he was alive made her feel a bit better, but now the question remained as to why he'd left in the first place. Dalisay had felt quite at home in the mansion, but sometimes things did feel a bit...off. As if certain people were entitled to more knowledge or respect simply because the Professor unknowingly deemed it so.