Getting to Know Those you Once Knew

[Anja Drake]

"Would you really?!" Anja exclaimed, nearly tackling Mr. Rhee to the ground with a pouncing, clumsy hug. She needed every ounce of help she could get with her powers. This was great! This was perfect!

...She would have hugged the professor for a long time had she not felt the sensation in her stomach begin to flutter again. Any bit of over zealous emotion of any kind would/could send her into unwilling transformation. Anja realeased him immediately; she didn't want him to be her next accident.

"Woa-I...sorry." She spoke lamely and took a deep breath

[Dragon]

John certainly hadn't expected such an effusive outburst from a girl he'd taken to be so reserved - he was so surprised he burst out laughing. He threw one hand back to the fountain rim behind him to keep from being plunged into the water and returned Anja's embrace with the other.

"No, no, it's good to see you're excited," he said. "I'm afraid I don't have my calendar on-hand, but how about if you drop by my office tomorrow? We can schedule some sessions in the training rooms and see where things go from there."

He paused, his levity tempered by a fraction.

"Of course, you're free to choose another one of the mutation counselors to help you out. But I think I'd recommend you choose either Mr. Daniels or me. Naturally, we'll be taking every precaution, but, if the worst should happen, either one of us would be capable of taking control of the situation, keeping you and ourselves safe. There's going to be some risk involved no matter how we approach it. But the rewards are so much greater."

[Anja Drake]

She nodded slowly and turned totally serious.

"With all due respect, Mr. Rhee. I like and admire the other counselors but I would much rather have you help me." She sounded shy, even though she didn't mean to. "I...trust you and you're the only adult outside my family that I am sure I can trust."

Anja closed her eyes and centralized her senses on Mr. Rhee, his aura was so different than anything she had ever seen. It was like there were layers to him, multiple tones for each layer. Strange.

She opened her eyes again and turned her face to the night sky. He knew the dangers of unexpierenced mutants and she hoped he was right when he said he could prevent something bad from happening to him or her.

"Mr. Rhee, I'm going to be honest. I'm terrified that I might hurt you. I've lost control so many times that I stopped counting and sometimes I don't remember what I do during my transformations." She shivered due to the night air and subconciously pulled her sweater tighter around her.

"I've killed before." Her voice cracked slightly. "And unfortunately, I remember everything; those people...their screams are branded in my head."

[Dragon]

John nodded. He'd wondered - her mother had very been tight-lipped about Anja's background. He knew there were several incidents she had been forced to conceal from the local polizia, but he hadn't been sure until now how serious they were.

Perhaps if she hadn't been so secretive, her daughter would have received the help she needed much sooner. Or perhaps Anja would be trapped in another sort of institution with nothing to stand between her and the Angel she feared. John didn't know, and so he had no grounds to condemn. Anja's mother had done what she thought was best for her daughter. That was more than could be said for many parents in her position.

"There are some things that never leave," John said in a low voice. "I wish I could tell you otherwise. But I think it is the part of us that is most human that reminds us of such things."

Gently, he laid a hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going into this blindly. I know she is dangerous, and I am prepared to face her. I promise you, Anja: the Angel will not harm anyone as long as I am with you."

[Anja Drake]

Anja's eyes found his, she could feel it; two of a kind the both of theirs were, only one had the advantage of actually seeing the other. She stared for a while at him; or at least, she kept an observant 'eye' on him. Her senses were on him, and him alone.

She heard the sincerity of his tone and she knew he wasn't lying to her. He was very powerful; she could sense that easily.

Anja held him in her senses for a while longer before sighing and letting her senses go and flow over the grounds of the institute again. She took the hand on her shoulder and patted it; she used her eyes to look away from him and back to the night sky. Still slightly wondering what it looked like.

"I would be very grateful if you would help me." She closed her eyes and stepped away from the fountain. She began to walk further into the maze of hedges; there was definately no way she was going to sleep. Her heart was racing and she needed to settle down...away from other people. "I'll stop by your office tomorrow and...Mr. Rhee, thank you for talking to me. I really needed it."

She smiled, very weakly, back over her shoulder at the professor and disappeared around a high row of hedges.