Who: Rahne and Paige When: Sunday morning Where: Upstairs hallway What: Rahne is lost in thought and overwhelmed by being back
The gauze felt heavy against her shoulder, though she knew it wasn't. What Rahne Sinclair did know was that it felt heavy because it was a burden - a burden she had to live with. God, her creator, or whatever force was out there was reminding Rahne that she had to find a balance. She couldn't afford to stay the quiet, introverted girl that everyone walked over. Nor could she be allowed to give in to her wild urges and be a confrontational, fierce wolf girl. There was a median she needed to find, and if she didn't - more of what happened to her shoulder would happen to her. Her arm in a sling, Rahne knew that next time the bullet could have killed her - or worse, she could have killed someone.
These thoughts weighed down on her like the reminder of her shoulder did, and the lithe Scottish girl could only frown out the window as she overlooked Xavier's schoolgrounds and the snowfall that covered it. Having done scripture study earlier since it was Sunday morning had left her mind heavy. She was hiding again, once more for her own safety. But her inner wolf was howling impatiently within her, she could feel it. She wanted to be free of these walls, not caged in. She wanted to be free of her fears and lack of control that brought her back here. She wanted to be free of a whole lot of things. These weren't unobtainable goals, she realized. But they were still goals - things that she didn't yet have and she would have to work hard to reach them.
One day she would. But today? The stress was overwhelming on her first day back in America, New York, and Xavier's school. Rahne leaned her forehead against the cool glass and began to cry.