Night Air - (open)

Being a cat - well sort of - Layla loved the nighttime, even though she slept through most of it like most people. She wanted to get some fresh air, listen to the nocturnal animals and insects. So she decided to sit out on the backyard deck, and brought a book with her, "Lord of the Rings: Two Towers". Also, being a cat, it had its advantages, like having good eyesight in the dark, and she wouldn't have trouble reading in the low light.

Bare feet stepped onto the glossy stained wood, which was cool in contrast to the heat that still hung in the summer air. She wore short "Daisy Duke" styled denim shorts with rips and frayed edges, and a pink and white striped Abercrombie & Fitch tshirt. Her long dark hair was straightened and there was no breeze to blow it off her shoulders.

Layla stood there in the middle of the huge deck and breathed in the scents of the night. She smelled an owl and a few bats in the tree branches above her. Crickets and tree frogs chirped, and fireflies sparkled across the vast backyard. All the shadows that clung to their owners (trees, flower gardens, statues) were beautiful and gave the dark some character. She could also hear the trickle of a fountain somewhere nearby. Around the legs of the deck, in the grass, were some solar lights. And Layla could see the pool and tennis and basketball courts in the distance glowing with lights.

She smiled and looked up at the crescent moon, which reflected in her catlike eyes, a gorgeous symbol of the night. Mysterious and magical too. Layla wasn't exactly a practitioner of occult or wiccan studies, but she felt like the moon was a friend or guardian, so she bowed ever so slightly to it.

Finally she walked over to the wide wood railing and sat on it facing the backyard and with her feet hanging about 5 feet from the ground. She opened her book and started reading.

Makoto sighed and reached out to the branches. Everything was falling apart. Akachi was hurt, Makoto's darker side was becoming stronger. "Maybe.....maybe Xavier could help me...."

She had had just reached the part in the book when Gandalf the White lifted the curse from King Theoden of Rohan, when Layla's cat ears pricked up at a sound in the yard. Footsteps. She looked up from her book and scanned the yard with her night seeing eyes. She could see a figure but couldn't make out any details. She stayed quiet for a while to see what this figure would do, and thought that whoever it was could probably see her in the dim moonlight.

Makoto felt a power being copied when suddenly he had cat ears and a tail."The hell???" Makoto was freaking out. "What the fuck?" He looked around and yawned a little. "I feel sexy now." He said a little happy. He scragched his ears and purred. "This is awesome!!!!!!"

Suddenly Layla picked up the scent of another feline close by. She kept her eyes on the figure, still a good distance away, but easily seen by her nocturnal eyes. Not sure whether it was a friend or foe, but also not wanting to start a bad confrontation if it was a foe, she closed her book, set it aside on the edge of the deck, and silently hopped down and landed in the grass. Her black tail swayed back and forth as she walked forward a few feet. Still picking up the feline scent, she wondered if it was someone... like her.... Another cat mutant?

In a normal volume voice, neither whispering nor shouting, she asked the figure, "Who are you?"

Makoto was rolling around on the grass and mewing happily when someone spoke. He jumped up. "I wasnt doing anything!!!!!!" After he realized what she said he looked around. "My name is Makoto."

Layla heard the figure mewing like a kitten and rolling in the grass. By the voice that shouted in reply she learned it was a boy. He answered that his name was Makoto. Her eyes narrowed and focused on the silhouette on the ground. "Do you live here, Makoto?"

Makoto shook his head. "I dont live anywhere. I sleep in the woods." He looked around for the female. "Why?"

Layla hesitated, then decided to close the distance between them. She was now about 10 feet away from Makoto and could see him easier now in the dark. He had cat ears and tail just like her, which surprised her. If he didn't live here then he wasn't an X-Men, so Layla wasn't sure if he was an enemy or not. "I thought maybe you were someone coming home," She had only met a few people here and thought it could have been a teammate she hadn't met yet. Well, he was someone she hadn't met, but obviously he wasn't a teammate. "....You're a cat too?" she asked.

Makoto shook his head. "No....i instantly copy the mutations of those around me. So no.....im just a leech."

She adjusted the weight onto her right leg and and crossed her arms across her chest. In a way, she thought that was slightly rude to mention he was leeching off her powers, stealing them, using her. But on the other hand she knew he couldn't help that, if that was a mutant ability, so she didn't make a comment on it. Instead, she asked, "And what are you doing here?" She doubted he only came here to use other mutants powers temporarily while in the same close proximity.

Makoto sighed. "I need the proffessors help..." he looked at the cat girl. "My mind is fractured. There is anogher personality inside of me....he is a murderer and a torturer...i need his help to get rid of him."

She didn't speak for a moment, but studied him. Her animal instincts told her that he was telling the truth. Her tail twitched and she said, "I'm sorry to hear that, but I haven't actually met the Professor yet either. I'm new here and have only seen a few people around the mansion so far." She thought this sounded like a task for a mutant with the power to read people's thoughts or personalities, and she hadn't met anyone with that power yet. Just a couple shape-shifters and a power absorber/healer/bone controller.

Makoto sighed. "Thanks anyways...." ghe crushed Makoto proceeded to slowly walk deeper into the woods as he thought about Akachi. He was afraid thhat he would eventually hurt her.

Although Layla was only a young teenager, and didn't have any mind powers, she felt bad for Makoto and wanted to help somehow. He was walking away and Layla quickly said, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Though, she didn't know what she could do.

Makoto shook his head. "The only thing you can do is stay away..those around me end up getting maimed or killed. Most of yhe time be me...."

Layla watched as he walked away. She thought maybe if she couldn't help him in the way he wanted, she could try to cheer him up. She always tried to cheer up people who were sad. She morphed into a small black cat and chased after him. She jumped around wildly and rolled in the grass, crouched down on her front paws and pounced at invisible mice, purring.

Makotto smiled a little and kneeled down. "Thank you." He said hugginv the kitgen. "You managed to cheer ne up a litte....you never told me youe name kitty."

She was caught in the embrace and purred. Layla liked hugs, they could hold many different meanings and emotions. She didn't really know this Makoto, but even strangers needed hugs in times like this. Morphing back into a girl, she was knelt on the ground and hugged him back. "Glad to cheer you up, even if a little. And my name is Layla," she smiled.

Makoto smiled and looked up at her. "Can i trust you Layla?" He asked cautiously. "I have a secret...Your the only person that i have met so far with a truly kind soul."

Layla looked at him and replied, "Well, I'm a member of the X-Men. I don't know if that means anything to you," she hadn't heard of the Brotherhood yet, but thought there might be other mutants out there who didn't like the X-Men, "but I like to think I'm trustworthy." She grinned. "So yeah, I can keep a secret, but it's totally up to you whether you tell me or not."

Makoto nodded. "I was a member of the Brotherhood of Evil mutants...i ran from my home there because im afraid i will end up hurtting the girl i care about again.....she doesnt even remember who i am because she got shot in the head trying to rescue me."

Evil mutants? She wondered if she should be cautious with this boy, but only saw heartache written all over him. Shifting her position on the ground and sitting with her arms behind her holding her up, Layla felt sympathy for Makoto. "I'm sorry," she said quietly with sadness in her eyes. "That must be really hard for you. She might come around again if you keep caring for her and showing her that you're there for her," replied Layla as she tried to give advice. She didn't really have any experience with love herself, being only a young teen, but she remembered overhearing upperclassmen, in high school back in her old school, talking about their boyfriends and girlfriends.

Makoto shook his head. "I can never go back. The best thing for her is for me to dissapear. She has someone else who cares about her and will look after her. Soon I don't think I will even be me anymore. I'll become a monster who lives to create death and chaos....I don't want her to see me like that." A tear fell down his cheek as he thought of Akachi. "I just hope she stays safe..." He looked up at Layla. "Please don't tell the other X-men you saw me."

She sat up, "Well I'm sorry I can't help," Layla twisted a couple blades of grass in her fingers. She looked back up at him and said, "No, I won't tell any of the other X-Men, but if I see Professor Xavier would you like me to tell him you were here looking for him?" She thought that might be the best way she could help Makoto, since his purpose here tonight was to find Xavier.