Agnes sighed. She was still trying to make herself feel better after everything that she had gone through with Julliard. It was hell waiting to find out if she even have made it into the school. Though she knew that her audition went well, that was not always the case with school like that. Maybe they wouldn’t like her background, or maybe they would think that despite her skill, she didn’t have enough experience or practice required. Whatever the case, Agnes was still a bundled mass of nerves as she tried to calm herself down.

Maybe she could play a little? Maybe that would calm her down. Though she did not know the success of that because playing her violin would only remind her constantly of Julliard, but she always played the violin whenever she was confused; it was indeed a conundrum.

The young runaway sighed though and continued her trek to the schools music room. She needed peace and quiet. Normally when she needed these things, she would turn to Rebecca, but she her sweet girlfriend was still in Finals Studying mode and Agnes did not want to interrupt her. Not again…

…ahem.

So she decided that she would go down to the music room and maybe get some private practice in, just to sharpen her skills a little and take her mind off of Julliard and what it would mean if she got in. But as she made her way down to the classroom, the young insect queen had to pause, her wings fluttering curiously. She tilted her head, catch the sounds of piano playing…and singing. At first she couldn’t make out the words clearly, but the music was very pretty.

She was struck by the beautiful of it and found herself following the music, almost as if she were following a siren’s call. She really could not stop her feet from moving. That was why she had found herself standing at the music room’s door and peered inside…

Who is that playing? she thought…

It had been a long time since the piano in the music room had been used, judging by the dust that was on it. It was also terribly out of tune and needed a skilled hand to tune it. Someone who had seen pianos before, someone who had used them for her own purposes. Someone like Emerald Lupin.

Yes, that’s right, the tough gal from the Institute, champion of justice, feral wolf girl, the one that could kill a man with a punch liked music. Like, isn't a good way to describe it however, Emerald loved music, especially music that could be played on the piano. Out of a simple dare long ago from her childhood, Emerald learned how to play, write and read music fairly well. It was a way for her to release the creative energy she had stored up inside of her.

Oddly enough, Emerald was far more creative than she would let on to others, mainly because she didn't want to be viewed as weak due to her intense love for the musical arts. The werewolf tuned the piano to near perfection scrounging up the old sheet music she had stored in a secret, loose brick she had hidden in the wall. Ruby had started giving her. This of course meant there was a lot of video game tunes in it, something Emerald didn't mind due to the fact that for her it was fairly easy to play and good practice.

After doing a quick perimeter check Emerald stealthily sat down at the piano with a few sheets of music in her hands. The she-wolf placed the music on the stand and sat down on the uncomfortable piano stool, nearly sitting down on her tail in the process. Was she nervous? Oh hell yes, but judging by the nice, shining day and all the much better things than being in an old music room. Emerald was almost sure that no one would interrupt her practicing.

As soon as Emerald's fingers touched the keys, she couldn't help but sing along to the beautiful song she was playing. Ruby played the game in front of her dozens of times, that game being one of her favorites and Emerald had heard that tune a lot. With all the times her sister played however, Emerald couldn't help but learn it and begin singing along with it, finding it to be a beautiful piece of music.

Emerald's voice wasn't super star diva, amazing extravaganza. Her voice was however, actually pretty good and in a way reflected the songs lyrics perfectly. Her deep voice tended tor rise and fall with the music perfectly and the way she inflected her voice showed that she put a lot of emotions into what she was doing. In a strange way, Emerald's voice sounded wolf like, but not in a snarling terrifying sense, more like the melodic howling that can be heard from a wolf in the dead of night. Something that was likely heard on the campus of Xavier’s every once and a while.

During the last stanza, Emerald did the best, for this was part that she invested herself the most in, her piano and voice playing perfectly in sync with one another and her voice, actually sounded nearly flawless.

Silent black, the dawn, and time tells its tale
Darkened blood, it flows, the forest receives
Look within the dark as deep as you dare
There inside you find destruction you seek

I call out these prayers to the sky, heavy with thought, see your face
I carry these memories inside, thoughts of a soul colored by love
See me grow wings and fly high, passions will die down below
I burn in a basin of fire, Watchers look on as they dance in their merciless sky
Watching me, watching you"

As the song finished, Emerald let out a relieved sigh, glad that she was able to sing and play something in relative peace. Now, she found herself lightly playing on the piano's keys trying to tune it a little better than she already had. Emerald couldn't have anyone abusing this ivory keyed treasure...if she saw that she might punch them.

The music was far more enchanting than Agnes had originally given it credit for. As she drew closer to the music room, she could not help but feel herself lulled on by the notes and the voice that accompanied it. Slowly it turned into a very beautiful song, but Agnes could not place who the voice or the talented playing belonged to. She remembered that Kate played the piano, but that did not sound like her voice. Besides, she doubted that Kate actually sang along with her piano playing, she played more classical stuff.

Lifting her gaze, Agnes quietly peeked into the room and peered closely to see, to her surprise, that she actually recognized the person playing the music. Her wings expanded with surprise as her mouth gapped wide. She simply could not believe that that was Emerald.

Emerald, the feral woman, who made her a part of her pack, who feared the full moon because of the damage that she could cause! This very woman played the piano and sang with a majesty that she really didn’t think existed in the world anymore. So shocked by this, Agnes nearly dropped her violin case. But she scrabbled to catch it before it clattered onto the ground and made a racket. She didn’t want to disturb this beautiful song.

As silent as a ghost, Agnes slipped into the room, unseen by the young werewolf so sang so beautifully and played the piano with such talent that it actually tugged at Agnes’ heart strings.

For whatever reason, she simply would have never thought of Emerald in this way. Music was so…vulnerable for people. It opened up the floodgates and allowed them to expose part of their soul, the part that needed to sing out for the rest of the world to hear it. Agnes never really thought of Emerald as having to expose herself in such a way. Instead Emerald always came off as the powerful woman that never liked to sound vulnerable.

This was definitely a surprise for Agnes.

Sitting in one of the desks at the very back of the room, Agnes smiled to herself as she listened to the music and had to sigh. It really was quite beautiful. And to think…that Emerald had kept this secret from her for so long…

When the tune finally came to an end, Agnes wiped a small tear away. Then, without realizing why, she had to clap…

While she aimlessly tuned the piano, attempting to get it as perfect as possible, Emerald wondered to herself if it was possible that anyone heard it. The werewolf shook her head at the notion, most mansion students being caught up in their own lives to notice a little thing like music playing in the music room. Besides, most music classes were over so it wasn't like anyone was going to just pop in on her.

Clap, Clap, Clap

Emerald froze, her tail going stiff and rigid her the fur on it getting fluffed out. Someone had heard her, someone was clapping, but someone had still heard her. The werewolf bit her lip hard, waiting for the clapping to stop and the mocking to begin. When it didn't though, she took a moment to take in the scent of the person who had just walked into the room. It took her but a few seconds to realize who it was.

Agnes, the girl she had made part of her pack, the girl with the horrible past that rivaled her own. Agnes was the one that heard her little musical interlude. This was the second time the girl had seen her really this vulnerable, with the walls that so heavily guarded her emotions down.

Well, it could be worse, could have been Mirror that saw this Emerald thought tucking a stray strand of hair behind ear absentmindedly.

Music was one of the few ways, Emerald felt it was safe to express herself with, other than fighting of course. While fighting got a lot of her physical urges out of the way, her music, well that helped her with emotional things at times. The wolf girl wasn't a flawless musician and if anything she needed to practice a lot more if she intended to do it professionally, which she didn't. However, many said that she was above average in the arts and could go far with it.

People are nuts, there is no way I'm anything more than meh when it comes to this stuff. Who the hell are they kidding with that? What is it just to make me feel better? Emerald chided herself. Then again, she never played for anyone outside of her family. Maybe she could just try to play in front of others without being embarrassed to see if she was actually good.

Then again his was just something fun for her, something she needed. As ashamed as she was to admit it, Emerald knew that if it wasn't for music, she would have lost herself a long time ago. Wether it was to her own sorrows or just the possible darkness that at times brewed in the back of her mind, Emerald felt that music was one of the few things that could fight it off. It also helped that it calmed the beast within on her more volatile days. Several sweet howls to the moon always tended to calm her down and to her that was making music as much as playing the piano.

“So, you heard and saw the whole thing didn't ya,” Emerald started, turning to look at her pack mate with those sea colored blue eyes of hers. Emerald slid off of the piano stool and walked over to Agnes, she sat right in the desk next to her. “Guess one more of my big secrets has been revealed. My ability to averagely play music. Maybe I should give you the pack title of secret keeper.”

>> “So, you heard and saw the whole thing didn't ya…Guess one more of my big secrets has been revealed. My ability to averagely play music. Maybe I should give you the pack title of secret keeper.”[/color]

Agnes smirked a little as she listened to Emerald. It took her awhile to finally turn around and face her but Agnes was not surprised. She had not really intended to catch the woman off guard, but it was doubtful that Emerald was expecting an audience when she started to play that piano and began to sing. Emerald was not really the type to suddenly start singing for an audience. For a second Agnes actually feared that she had ruined this whole experience but, thankfully, the wolf girl had not suddenly bolted over and started to bite her face off.

Not that Emerald would actually do something like that…

Well…not that she really knew whether or not she would…

…okay her head hurt now.

She giggled at Emerald’s last comment and shook her head. It was probable that Emerald did not want it found out that she had this talent, but Agnes could help praising her.

“Emerald, why would you ever want to keep that a secret? And you are definitely not average!” she said in a fawning manner. “You have a beautiful voice and play wonderfully. Much better than some of the kids I have seen come through here,” she beamed.

It was true. She took music classes here and she had seen only a few students who were exceptional at the piano. That was not to say that she was mocking the others, only that they needed more practice. Emerald was, by far, well beyond them on the scales of talent.

“Why would you want to keep something like that secret?” she asked. Quickly, though, she recanted and shook her head. “Gah, I’m sorry, that’s really none of my business, is it? I mean, you sing and play gorgeously, but I’m sure you have your reasons.”

She smiled warmly, though as she looked at Emerald with a bit of extra pride. It was nice to learn something new about people…especially something so sweet and surprising.

There it was the compliment that Emerald didn't honestly expect to receive. Her family had always praised her for her music, she had her praise from her music teachers as well for putting. A delightful amount of energy and passion in her her music as she did everything else. Additionally, Emerald never really thought of her music as good and still didn't think of herself as such. But now that someone besides family mentioned it, it did change things a little.

The werewolf felt her cheeks pinken a little placing her hand behind her head a smiling sheepishly. To be honest, the girl was flattered, she had never really complimented on her abilities as a musician by anyone outside of the family. Hell,she even kept her talents a secret from Johnny when she was in a relationship with him because she was afraid of him thinking she had gotten too soft.

"You really think I'm that good?" Emerald questioned her pack mate, that blush still clear on her face. It was surprising to see Emerald acting this modest when she was usually very self confident about her abilities with things. But when it came to music she didn't really think she was all that great. She didn't know what it was lately but her soft side seemed to be coming out more and more leaving her wondering if maybe she had gotten soft.

Of course the question came up as to why Emerald was keeping that a secret and the wolf girl looked down at her feet for a moment. That was a long story to tell, but maybe it would be okay if she summed it up a bit, she had summed up other stories for Agnes without getting into the gory details so she was sure she could do it for this.

"Well, other than howling which is a wolf's natural music, I'm afraid people will think I'm some sort of softy...which according to my little sister I'm a big squishy softy, but no one else has to know that," Emerald explained smiling at the mention of her little sister who she missed terribly. The Lupin sisters were hardly apart before all of the events happened the way they did and now that they were apart, it did seem like Emerald was sometimes missing her better half.

"Ruby's actually never forgiven me for going out and earning money back when she first got here. Stopped doing music stuff for a while because I wanted to make sure she was healthy and okay, she had a lot of medical problems when she first got here. Still don't understand why she's mad at me, she's way more important then my tinkering on the Ivory keys." Emerald said with a small shrug. The way she said the last sentence though she sounded not only adamant but also motherly in a way. It would seem that the wolf girl had to take on the role of a mother to her baby sister, perhaps far sooner than she intended.

>> "You really think I'm that good?"[/color]

Agnes had tilted her head. How could Emerald not realize that she was that good? How could she even consider that she would be anything but? The more she thought about it, though the less odd that it seemed. After all, people told Agnes that she was good all the time and yet she never wanted to believe them. Honestly, the only reason that she had applied for Julliard was because…well…she didn’t know why. But she had to admit, Rebecca’s pep talk (plus their mutual admissions of love) did serve to be an excellent prod in her arm.

She smiled a little at the thought before she finally greeted Emerald with a smile and a nod. She really hoped that Emerald was just being modest, not that she really and truly believed that she didn’t have any talent. Modesty she could work around…

“Of course I do,” she said with a nod and an encouraging smile. “Emerald you have a beautiful control and a wonderful voice. I’m actually a little jealous,” she grinned. It was true. She knew how to play her violin but stick her into a sing situation and she would more than likely blush fiercely.

>> "Well, other than howling which is a wolf's natural music, I'm afraid people will think I'm some sort of softy...which according to my little sister I'm a big squishy softy, but no one else has to know that…Ruby's actually never forgiven me for going out and earning money back when she first got here. Stopped doing music stuff for a while because I wanted to make sure she was healthy and okay, she had a lot of medical problems when she first got here. Still don't understand why she's mad at me, she's way more important then my tinkering on the Ivory keys."[/color]

Agnes had to chuckle a little at Emerald’s words. It definitely sounded like something that she would do; doing whatever she felt was best for whoever was involved. Emerald was a sweet girl, she really was, but she tended to take her role as the alpha extremely serious. That meant that she always needed to exude this tough demeanor in order to maintain her place at head of the pack. On top of all this, she was now dating someone, a situation that would have to call for her to be vulnerable every once in awhile.

No wonder she was hiding out in the music roll and played all by her lonesome. She probably needed to get some of these vulnerable feelings out. Agnes almost felt a little ashamed for having interrupted her and invaded this private moment.

…almost.

She smiled warmly.

“Emerald, bit of advice?” she said as she leaned forward. “It takes real balls in order to be a musician, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise,” she nodded. “In my book, that is a bigger sign of being tough than anything else.” As she said this, she reached over and squeezed her friend’s arm. “Been awhile,” Her smile evident that she missed her friend. “For awhile there, I thought that maybe you had forgotten about me,” she grinned. It was nice to see Emerald again.

One might not believe it from the way she acted but when it came to her music Emerald was one of the most modest people in the world. The wolf girl was modest with a few other things as well, never being one to brag about anything but her ability to lead a pack or her fighting skills, other than that, she didn't think she was all that great at much. She knew she was okay, but she never really thought she was as great as Agnes was saying.

"Howling with the other wolves gave me a lot of practice with he whole singing thing. You should come to the forest with me some time and listen to the sound of the other wolves. It's really a beautiful sound to hear," Emerald smiled, her tail wagged idly at the thought. Nothing was as beautiful as the sound of the wolves howling in the night, chorusing to communicate, with one another or to just join in the nights wonderful song. Not only that but it was a way for her to get lost, not just in wolf form but in the sound of the music of the other wolves.

It was then Emerald heard how much balls it required to play music. To really let ones self go and let out those emotions on the tip of her tongue through the pads of her fingers. Emerald was not usually that great of the whole "expression of her emotions" thing other than anger, so the music was a nice little escape for her.

"Well I guess if one of the toughest chicks around says I'm tough, then whose to say I can't be one bad ass with a good music skills?" Emerald boasted, trying to stick her chest out a little to look important and tough. She put on being tough, even if it was mocking fake super tough very well. The werewolf tucked her hair behind her messed up ear idly, pondering how to continue this conversation. "Yeah, we seemed to have gotten caught up in our love int rests. Which you changed again without telling me it seems. Rebecca's a tough girl now that she's my student but I'm warning you beforehand if you ever find any bruises, those are probably from me."

>> "Howling with the other wolves gave me a lot of practice with he whole singing thing. You should come to the forest with me some time and listen to the sound of the other wolves. It's really a beautiful sound to hear,"[/color]

Agnes smiled a little in thought. Listening to Emerald talk, she actually began to imagine it. Sitting out in the middle of dark and green wood, closing her eyes and feeling the sway of the breeze, listening to the howl of the wolves and the feeling of nature all around her. Agnes could practically feel the grass beneath her bare toes, the sharp cry of the wolves in her ears and instantly she felt somewhat at peace. It really was a glorious sensation in the back of her mind. Maybe she was romanticizing it, but she couldn’t help it. It all sounded too beautiful.

She sighed, though, as she tried to imagine, being surrounded by wolves and not fearing them. She knew that Emerald could shift into a wolf, as a matter of fact she had seen it a couple of times. But real wolves, out in the wilderness, would Emerald be able to protect her from them? What if she had gone on her own? Would she survive.

Agnes blinked and shook her head. She was carrying such thoughts way too far. And it was ruining the imagery. She sighed a little, forgetting her fanciful thoughts when she allowed herself to return to the conversation at hand.

>> "Well I guess if one of the toughest chicks around says I'm tough, then whose to say I can't be one bad ass with a good music skills?...Yeah, we seemed to have gotten caught up in our love interests. Which you changed again without telling me it seems. Rebecca's a tough girl now that she's my student but I'm warning you beforehand if you ever find any bruises, those are probably from me."[/color]

The runaway paused and tilted her head? How in the hell did Emerald always seem to know about these things?! It was a concept enough to drive Agnes mad! But as she eyed her, she quickly noticed Emerald’s nose and instantly she realized it. If Emerald had met Rebecca by chance then, of course, she would have smelled Agnes scent on her. Damn Emerald and that nose of hers!

Then again, how could she really blame her? She was right. This was the second time that Agnes had a girlfriend behind Emerald’s back. God, she really hoped that Emerald didn’t think less of her because of that.

But she arched her brow when she mentioned bruises. Bruises?

“Wait…w-why…would she have bruises from you?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes.

Emerald couldn't help but grin like a fool when Agnes' eyes narrowed. She knew that look, that was a look of someone trying to protect thier mate, a protective mate syndrome if you will. She hereself had her own looks such as that back when she was dating Johnny and now that she was dating Akshay those looks had returned especially when Mirror nearly killed the boy.

The wolf girl wouldn't have been offended of Agnes decided to deck her or growl at her because that showed that she indeed cared for the other person. That and in her mind that was a normal response figuring out that your loved one was hurt by someone, even if they were close to you.

Love..hmm, that's gonna make things worse if she loves the girl. Better put this as kindly and tactly as possible.. Emerald thought nad nodded to her own good idea. If anyone knew the wolf girl well enough, they all knew how "good" she was at tact.

"Yer girlfriend asked to be trained in combat because she wanted to protect you. She was practicing with her powers and after a brief missunderstanding I agreed to teach her how to fight and not get herself killed if she ever had to fight another mutant," Emerald replied nonchalantly, it was a normal thing for someone to want to protect thier mates. Thats what Agnes was probably going to do now wasn't it? "Brusing is sort of mistake measuring in training, more bruises you have, more mistakes you make, more you have to train. Rebecca doesn't get all that beat up because she's a fast learner."

Considering how Emerald learned to fight, well after her mother taught her of course,the wolf girl was taking it considerably easier on Rebecca than she could have. It wasn't like she decided to make the girl dodge bullets or arrows. Or perhaps try to get her to fight a massive animal, no she wanted Rebecca to learn her own strengths without her nearly dying in the process. Learning one's own strengths was the best way to learn how to fight, even if it was not the fastest way to do so.

>> "Yer girlfriend asked to be trained in combat because she wanted to protect you. She was practicing with her powers and after a brief missunderstanding I agreed to teach her how to fight and not get herself killed if she ever had to fight another mutant…Brusing is sort of mistake measuring in training, more bruises you have, more mistakes you make, more you have to train. Rebecca doesn't get all that beat up because she's a fast learner."[/color]

Agnes tilted her head. Rebecca…combat training? What the hell was she taking combat training for? Sure the last time when they were out at her house some combat training probably would have been helpful but they had not gotten into any dangerous situations since then. At least not that Agnes knew of, unless Rebecca was doing some things that were dangerous behind her back and was simply not telling her everything. The runaway could believe that. As much as she loved Rebecca (and she was sure that she was loved back), she knew that the young Scot wanted to protect her.

She narrowed her eyes further though. Protect her? What was she thinking? That Agnes didn’t know how to take care of herself? For over a year she lived on the streets, fighting people off and running for her life and suddenly she needed protecting? Her fists balled up a little at the thought.

Rebecca was SO in for it now.

But even as she thought this, her eyes looked up to Emerald who was standing there, having spoken to her as nonchalantly as possible. Emerald bruised her girlfriend and was teaching her to fight and pretty much allowing her to throw herself into any dangerous situation. During her fight with Malachi, Rebecca was already pretty brazen and not it would only going to be exponentially grander! Especially now that Emerald was training the young woman.

It was the thought of that that definitely started to make the young runaway angry. Of course Rebecca was her own woman and could make her own decisions but this was obviously the wrong one! And for the wrong reason!

She shook her head as she set her violin case on the desk next to her a little angrily.

“Goddammit,” she muttered bitterly. “I don’t need any protection. I lived by myself, without a home, in that city for a long time. I know how to protect myself! I’m going to kill her myself,” she growled. Then she turned to Emerald. “Why did you agree to train her? How could you do that? She so idealistic she’s going get herself killed!”

Emerald could perfectly see Agnes being mad at her and her having to explain herself that's how packs worked so it was logical for her to demand an explanation why Emerald was teaching her girl how to fight. At first, Emerald thought that a simple explanation would be the end of it but this didn't seem so. Agnes was angry at Rebbecca for wanting to learn more so then Emerald even bruising her, something that confused her to no end.

What was wrong with a lover wanting to learn how to protect their love as long as they didn't get in over there head they should have been fine right? The werewolf watched Agnes react and while she somewhat understood her not wanting to have Rebbecca in danger,s he didn't understand why she just thought that Rebbecca was going to flat right out run into danger.

What the hell does she think I"m teaching Rebbecca, how to stop a moving train with her face?! Emerald thought a little irritated at this new development

Emerald folded her arms over her chest, her eye narrowed at the younger girl. Her tail was pointed up straight to the ceiling, her shoulders square, with her feet shoulder length apart. The Alpha was not pleased with this, not a bit.

"I'm not teaching her how to stop a bullet for you with her chest, I'm teaching her how to be smart! How to help you, which is what she wants, whether you want her to learn it or not. She asked me to teach her and wolves don't go back on our promises!" Emerald snarled, bearing her sharpened teeth a little. She was angry and a little hurt as well that Agnes would think that she would put her girlfriend into danger. Emerald wasn't that sort of teacher, she knew the risks that came from all of this.

"Damn it, she didn't learn how to survive like we did, that girl has had no hardships in her life so it was a hell of a rude awakening when whatever happened to her and you her that made her want to protect you so damn much. She loves you, and mates protect their mates in any way they can. Also what I'm teaching her isn't completely about fighting it's about defending yourself and others first. I'm making sure she doesn't die if she decides to protect you or anyone else that needs her help. She wanted to be an X-man, someone that protects people and as her mate you should be damn well supportive of that!" Emerald demanded of her friend, slamming her hand down on the other girls desk in frustration.

With that, Emerald got up from the chair and walked over to the music stand to gather her things. Her stance was still the same, the Alpha was still standing her ground on this because she knew she was right. It wasn't like she was trying to kill the other girl, she was just teaching her how to be safe and to defend herself as well as others. The way she had stared at Agnes with such raw determination and knowledge that could only be learned with much experience. Miss Lupin knew all to well of how harsh the world could be and the more she prepared people for it and the possible dangers they faced the better off they would be.

Emerald grabbed her bag and slammed a few sheets of music in there haphazardly. She wasn't in the mood for this, she didn't want to be angry at Agnes so it was best she left before things got worse.

It was needless to say that Agnes was fuming. Not just because Rebecca had kept this secret from her, but also because both she and Emerald were doing this behind her back. In Agnes’ mind, it was not right. All she ever wanted was a calm and peaceful life and it seemed that at every turn she was denied it. First her home of horrendous, then she had to live in the streets, then once she found a home, her past still managed to find her here! And now Rebecca was throwing herself into the line of danger thinking that she needs protection too?

For too long people have been wanting to protect Agnes and there is only so much that the “damsel-in-distress” can undergo. She was more than tired about hearing how people needed to protect her…

>> "I'm not teaching her how to stop a bullet for you with her chest, I'm teaching her how to be smart! How to help you, which is what she wants, whether you want her to learn it or not. She asked me to teach her and wolves don't go back on our promises!"[/color]

Agnes rolled her eyes. There went Emerald with her growling and baring of teeth. Despite all that, while most people would have been scared, Agnes simply was not in the mood. She had enough on her mind already, now including Rebecca learning to fight, to really care whether or not she was breaking some wolf pack protocol.

Agnes was far worse than an irritated wolf…she was a pissed off girlfriend…

>> "Damn it, she didn't learn how to survive like we did, that girl has had no hardships in her life so it was a hell of a rude awakening when whatever happened to her and you her that made her want to protect you so damn much. She loves you, and mates protect their mates in any way they can. Also what I'm teaching her isn't completely about fighting it's about defending yourself and others first. I'm making sure she doesn't die if she decides to protect you or anyone else that needs her help. She wanted to be an X-man, someone that protects people and as her mate you should be damn well supportive of that!"[/color]

Defiant to the end, Agnes glared as Emerald turned her back on her and stormed back to the piano to collect her things. What right did Emerald have being upset? Self-defense training is one thing but encouraging Rebecca to be an X-Man, to willing throw herself in danger was absolutely ridiculous! Agnes was fuming. And though she liked Emerald, she really did not want to be around her right now, especially since she now needed to talk to Rebecca about this.

“You’re right. She didn’t have the upbringing that you and I had,” Agnes confirmed in with nod. “But now that she was encouraged to be an X-Man, she is going to see A LOT more of it. THAT is what I was protecting her from. Day-to-day dangers, fine, people live with that. But now she will go on missions and see the worst of the worst! You didn’t the look in her eyes when I told her what was done to me. It was like something died. That should have been enough, Emerald. That should have been enough.”

Just as angry, and just as bold, Agnes angrily picked up her violin case and stormed out of the music room. Tears stung her eyes. She knew, somewhere in the back of her mind, that Emerald was right, that Rebecca could not have been shielded forever from the horrors of the world. But being an X-man? That was just far too much for her to handle right now. She just could not stand the thought of Rebecca getting it into her head to run head first into danger now…

Oh for the love of god. Emerald thought the palm of her hand hitting her face. I want to hug her and smack the hell out of her at the same time.

Emerald watched at Agnes rushed out and would let out a sigh of exasperation. The werewolf dropped her bag and shifted into her wolf form and took off after her friend. She hated this, she hated making people feel this way, even if it was the honest truth. Agnes just didn't get it and Emerald didn't think she would. Not a lot of people did, but Emerald did and Rebecca was just too damn good of a X-man to let that talent go to waste.

It didn't take Emerald long to catch up to Agnes, the massive she wolf stood as a confident Alpha, as she did before, with her fur bristed a little from the fact that she had just argued with someone. She made her way several lengths in front of Agnes and shifted back into her human form. She stood between Agnes and any alternative paths other than back to the music room or through her. Emerald didn't care what happened, even if Agnes used her powers on her, Emerald didn't care, Agnes just needed to see this .

"You're right, I didn't see the look in her eyes when you told her about you're past. Watching innocence die isn't an easy thing to watch happen, especially if it's someone close to you. Me and my baby sister were in the camps during registration, believe it or not I get what you're saying," Emerald stated, her voice cold and steely. This was the voice of someone who was forced to see someone who had seen far too much in a life that was far too short. The love for her sister showed as well as the pain in her eyes when she mentioned the camps and how Ruby lost that wide eyed trust in the world while she was there.

"You don't think it killed me when Ruby asked me if she could learn how to fight? I didn't want her to see what I saw, but then I saw something in Ruby that I saw in Rebecca, it was that steely determination that you had when you were facing me down. They want to make a difference in this screwed to hell world of ours. They see people like us and try to help us out, even if we know we can take care of ourselves. But Rebecca and Ruby, they don't want to see anybody get hurt like us.And that's something we just have to respect because hell, nor threats nor anything else in this stupid world will stop them. Because they love our stupid a***es too much which is why we just gotta respect that and protect them too. " Emerald's words were filled with such passion she was pratically seething within her.

Ruby, her baby sister meant a lot to her and this much was certain, she was protective of her with everyone in the school knowing that if they messed with Ruby they would likely end up with thier faces caved in. With that though, Emerald knew she had to let Ruby grow up in some ways, even if she didn't want to her too. The pup was still innocent enough, but not like she used to be. The camps jarred her out of that mentality prety heavily and Emerald hated herself for letting them get caught.

The wolf girl then took her leave, turning on the ball of her heal to walk away.The blue eyed she-wolf would get her bag at another time but for now, she needed to listen to some music in her room for a while. How did something so innocent like her talking about music with Agnes turn out so wrong?

Agnes was storming away. She was upset and she was trying to remove herself from the situation before she said or did something stupid. Agnes knew that Emerald had a point, that Rebecca could not be protected forever, but Agnes wanted to do that for her. It made her feel good that there was at least some people out in the world who managed to hold onto their innocence for a fair length of time after she had lost her innocent views of the world thanks to her parents’ actions at such a young age.

It simply was not right. Rebecca was so sweet and she had such a good heart that Agnes did not want to see her running into the field of battle. Why did the world have to blur lines? Why could Rebecca just stay sweet and out of the line of danger? It was not far.

But as she stormed on she heard the soft padding of paws next to her. She rolled her eyes again and huffed as she tried to walk faster, trying to get back to her room so that she could slam the door and ignore Emerald for a while. She needed the peace and quiet and serenity of her room; her one sanctuary in this whole school.

Unfortunately, not even on her best day, could Agnes out walk a speedy werewolf. Soon Emerald had slipped by and, further up ahead, had shifted back into her human form. Agnes sighed as she came to a stop, realizing that there really was no way for her to slip around Emerald since she was barring the hall. Turning back around would lead to nothing, either, since more than likely Emerald would just follow her back to the music room.

She narrowed her eyes as she watched her.

>> "You're right, I didn't see the look in her eyes when you told her about you're past. Watching innocence die isn't an easy thing to watch happen, especially if it's someone close to you. Me and my baby sister were in the camps during registration, believe it or not I get what you're saying,”

Agnes simply tilted her head in the other direction as she watched the woman. If Emerald was so knowledgeable about this, then why the hell did she encourage it? Why couldn’t she just let Rebecca turned her happy little butt away from a career of X-Men and instead pursue just a quiet and calm life? Why did she have to agree to Rebecca’s plans? It was not that Agnes was mad that Rebecca received bruises from Emerald, she was mad because her girlfriend was encouraged to do something this dangerous instead of being shown just how dangerous the life was.

Training was one thing. Joining the X-Men…faaaaaar different.

>> "You don't think it killed me when Ruby asked me if she could learn how to fight? I didn't want her to see what I saw, but then I saw something in Ruby that I saw in Rebecca, it was that steely determination that you had when you were facing me down. They want to make a difference in this screwed to hell world of ours. They see people like us and try to help us out, even if we know we can take care of ourselves. But Rebecca and Ruby, they don't want to see anybody get hurt like us.And that's something we just have to respect because hell, nor threats nor anything else in this stupid world will stop them. Because they love our stupid a***es too much which is why we just gotta respect that and protect them too. "[/color]

Agnes sighed as she listened. Emerald did have a point. Rebecca did have a certain type of determination about her that it would make it hard to persuade her to think otherwise about her decisions but all that should have been enough for Emerald to know not to make the mistake of encouraging the decision. SHE WAS AN X-MAN! She should have known better than to do that, especially since she knew the types of dangers they got into!

She clenched her jaws, her gaze narrowing onto Emerald to a near pinpoint accuracy as she tried to let the woman’s words sink in. She knew that Rebecca loved her, she truly did, but that did not mean she needed a protector at the same time. There was a lot of respect in her heart for Rebecca, especially after everything that they went through, but she was still fuming over this revelation. Maybe that was why her mouth moved faster than her brain today.

Just watching the she-wolf get her last word in (as she tended to do), Agnes felt her anger well up inside her heart. She was tired of her concerns being treated as if they were groundless…

“Stay away from her, Emerald,” she said with true warning in her voice. “Just…stay away from her…or else…” she muttered with clenched fist and walked the hall, ready to finally head back to her room.