Release Who: Kitty OTA What: Chilling and thinking When: Sunday afternoon Where: Rec room, secondary facilities Rating: G to start
Almost a week to the day later, and Kitty was finally well enough for Hank to let her go. Thanks to his quick thinking and unmatched knowledge on just about everything, he'd been able to stabilize her after the poisonous bug mutant had had his way with her. When he ran his talon arm thing through her, he'd missed major organs by just a fraction. His poison got to her quickly, though, and she'd been weakened enough to need monitoring for some time. And there was also the matter of the slow healing scrape across her face, Never before had Kitty really cared too much about what she looked like, but at the moment she almost wished she could go unseen for awhile.
Ororo was on top of getting things repaired at the school; she knew who to call and how quickly things would be done. She'd come down to visit a few times, but kept their time short since she was so busy and Hank didn't want Kitty getting worn out. It had taken a lot of convincing and, ultimately, puppy-dog eyes to get him to wheel her over to the secondary facilities today. She was tired of being cooped up and wanted to be with other people, too.
Walking was not fun. It felt like being stabbed all over again if she didn't go slow enough. Getting to the rec room she'd been ambushed by some of the younger girls who had been wondering where she was. One of the girls in particular, a little blonde girl by the name of June, was exceptionally happy. She and Kitty had bonded instantaneously in the way Kitty and Ororo had.
Sitting now on one of the long seats built into the high windows of the rec room, June had a pillow on Kitty's lap and had fallen asleep to Kitty running her fingers through her hair. The sky was gradually darkening and Kitty had her attention outside to watch the sunset. Behind her came the distinct sounds of people watching the playoff game between the Packers and the Bears. Every now and then the group watching would cheer, or boo, or both at the same time. It made her smile, even if only slightly.
It was crazy to think about how resilient everyone was. It was like they took a day or two to reassess and evaluate, and then got back to work. Classes would even resume on Monday. Not her classes, but the others at least.
With a sigh, Kitty rested her head against the wall and watched a squirrel as it jumped from tree to tree, trying not to think about anything else but the little girl there with her, and the failing light of the winter sky.