Taming the Wild

School Days for the Lehnsherrs

Charles was right - he did have a lot of work ahead of him. Erik's children were indeed lovely, bright kids, but there had been things that were concerning Charles right from the start. Despite the impressive speed in which they grasped the new lessons and their excellent progress in their studies, both kids lacked a lot in social skills and simple things like playing with their classmates or just having fun. The strangest of all was that they did not really seem to be upset about it at all. It was as if they didn't want to participate in any form of entertainment. That puzzled Charles because most of the other kids he had to deal with welcomed all types of fun and games. While the other kids came to school for games and socializing mixed with some studying and knowledge that Charles had to manage to put in their heads, it seemed the two Lehnsherr kids came only to look unusually serious and withdrawn for their age and terribly focused on their studies. Not that Charles was complaining from kids that studied too much but... these kids just studied too much!

Charles knew himself a bit about studying too much. He had after all done that himself. As a kid he spent his days either studying and worrying about school or hiding in a corner of his parents' mansion with a book or a favourite toy. Those were the little joys of his childhood, the most happy memories of when he was a kid and he cherished them dearly.

However, he knew why those were his only joys he had then - it was his way of escaping reality. His way of dealing with it, his way of surviving. His way of protecting himself, his mind, his precious inner world from everything he had to deal with. He sincerely hoped these kids did not have problems similar to his.

He couldn't just ask because they always avoided all non-school related questions from Charles, Moira and Hank as well as from their classmates. They were really guarded, uncharacteristically so for 10 year olds. He couldn't use his telepathy to quickly read their minds and find whatever he was interested in because his moral code dictated that this was a violation of people's privacy. All he could hope for was for the kids to feel safe enough to open up and share with him whatever was making them crave that sanctuary of their mind from reality. He sure hoped it wouldn't take too long for them to spill whatever was bothering them because the sooner he knew, the sooner he could do something about it.

He wasn't sure exactly how much involvement Erik Lehnsherr had in all of this. If Charles had to be honest, Lehnsherr was confusing him. Charles felt curiosity, some kind of strange pull to get to know the man better as if they could actually be friends if only they'd let themselves. There was something noble and good that Charles felt was hiding inside Erik, hidden behind a mask of rudeness and an I-don't-give-a-damn attitude. And yet the strange way the man acted, the things he said made Charles fear that in reality Erik might just be an asshole.

Erik did save him though. And as Charles later discovered, it was not by accident. It turned out Lehsnherr saw Charles riding like crazy towards one of the most dangerous parts in the area - it was something Charles did not know but apparently these woods were a place where ruffians and thugs liked to gather. Erik then left his shop, straddled his horse and followed Charles towards the danger in case of an event. And lucky for Charles Erik did so because his help really did come in quite handy as we already know!

These were not the actions of an asshole, Charles thought. But then there were the things Erik blurted out every time they talk... The condescending smirk, the harsh words about books, his general rudeness... as if he wanted people to not like him. As if he was trying to push them away. A realization hit Charles. Maybe Peter and Wanda were just mirroring what their father was doing. Erik worked most of the time, led a sheltered life, didn't seem to have many friends although he was respected in town, Charles knew that much. His kids were now studying most of the time, led a sheltered life, didn't seem to have many friends although the other kids in the class did respect how smart they were. It was definitely mirroring! Maybe the situation was much deeper than Charles originally thought.