Trowa and Ororo - Backdated

[ax_storm]

Ororo wasn't the kind of flyer Trowa was hoping to draw, but things turn out all right in the end.


Trowa's self-appointed mission to see to the security of the grounds was off to a slow start, in his own estimation. Part of that had been the process of settling in, and being evaluated. The other had been the Professor's insistence on fussing over his health: dentist, doctors, therapist... he was certain he'd seen more professionals in the last week than he had in all of his life prior.

It was an annoyance, mostly.

But this afternoon he had all to himself, and it was time to get to work. He hiked away from the school, toward one of the forested areas, looking for the proper setting. He needed more of a meadow than just a clearing, and it took him more time than he liked to find it.

Finally, he settled himself on the grass, legs folded under him, eyes half shut. He needed to be visible, but non-threatening if he was to be at all believable. Then he began casting about with his sixth sense, looking for birds. The best would be a bird of prey, but ravens or crows would do in a pinch.

Ororo had been going for a flight, because it was a good day for it. Admittedly, all days were good days for it. The winds carried her above the grounds, but she never went too far up. Not because she felt unsafe, but because she liked having a connection to the Earth. The point was still to explore, after all.

And so she tilted her head curiously when she spotted a young boy sitting cross-legged in the middle of a meadow. Her all-white eyes were staring at him shamelessly as she tried to decide whether to risk interrupting his meditation.

Trowa glanced up at as her shadow passed overhead, reaching for the weapon he thought would be hanging at his side. He watched her for a few moments, his superhumanly sharp eyesight picking out the details of her face, even at a distance. She didn't seem hostile, but she was definitely watching him. He kept his gaze skyward, letting her know that she was being watched in turn.

Well, so much for that, Ororo had already managed to disturb him. She sighed slightly, irritated with herself, and directed the winds to set her down a few meters from the boy. Her eyes returned to their normal blue as the wind around her died down. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Hopefully you haven't scared the birds away." Trowa didn't seem especially put out by her presence, though he made no gesture of welcome either. He simply remained seated in his grassy hollow, regarding her as if there were miles between them instead of conversational distance.

"I can't promise I haven't," Ororo stated after a moment's thought. They wouldn't exactly be used to her up there, and with the winds she commanded... "Were you hoping some would stop by?"

"I was hoping to recruit one. A hawk if there's one around, maybe a raven. I want an aerial view of the grounds."

"You see through animals' eyes?" Ororo asked softly, and glanced at the sky, then slowly crouched down, watching him. "Should I leave you to it? I don't want to scare them away for you."

"You'd be better off sitting down here. If you start flying again, you might scare them away."

Ororo shifted easily to a sitting position, unconsciously mirroring his. "I can walk, too, you know," she pointed out with a small smile, then grew silent, looking up at the sky in the hope of seeing one of the birds he wanted.

"It's a long walk back to the main building." Trowa closed his eyes and settled his hands on his knees, trying to cast his odd sixth sense wider. He could sense animals all around... hundreds of them, big and small. All humming around the borders of his own consciousness. But narrowing down the mind he wanted to contact out of all of it, narrowing down that ocean of perceptions and needs down to one flesh and blood creature, was dizzying.

Finally, he brushed something bird-like and tried to strengthen that faint touch to an inquiry. That was one of the things about birds that made them good allies; they were almost all curious.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a young crow perched on a nearby rock, watching him and Ororo with bright, black eyes.

Ororo had watched the crow make its descent with wide, amazed eyes, and she was now smiling at it, but otherwise remained completely still, wary of scaring it off.

Trowa relaxed - more slumped, really - and reached into his backpack for the container of chopped meat he'd brought with him. He'd hoped for a bird of prey, but crows were intelligent. That made them easier to bargain with. Sometimes. If they weren't feeling playful.

He held out a bit of meat, trying to project a concept of sharing and safety. This was the difficult part... he hardly knew what that felt like himself. The bird fluffed her feathers and shifted, watching them, slightly agitated. Finally, she flapped over and perched on Trowa's wrist to gobble the offering.

Ororo looked - and was - fascinated by what was going on, and it seemed to be no problem at all to remain still and silent as she watched the boy and the bird. Her blue eyes twinkled happily. Ainet had taught her so much about being in harmony with nature, but this reached a whole other level.

Without warning, the crow flew off, soaring high. Trowa didn't so much as look up to watch it go, but hurriedly took a large pad of paper and a pencil from his backpack and began sketching.

Ororo waited silently, watching the strokes of the pencil as he drew. She was in no hurry to go anywhere, and she was far too intrigued and amazed.

Trowa's drawing seemed to come in starts and stops rather than a natural flow of lines. His brow was lined with concentration, his lips pressed into a straight line, but his eyes didn't seem entirely focused on the page. Finally, he snapped out of it, just as the crow swooped back down between them. She hopped up and down, eyeing Trowa impatiently. Wordlessly, he spilled the chopped meat in front of her, watching with a quiet half-smile as she began eating.

There was nothing 'half' about the smile that stretched Ororo's lips as she watched the crow eat the meat. This was so very amazing, all of it. Did he even realize?

The crow somehow managed to get all of the meat down, despite the fact that it had been sized for a larger predator. She seemed in no particular hurry to fly away either. She wiped her beak on the grass, preened for a few moments, then fluttered over to examine Ororo. She was not quite bold enough to land on a strange human, but she did peck curiously at her boot laces, then looked up at Ororo inquisitively.

"She wants to know why you don't talk to her too," Trowa said, tone utterly level. He'd gone back to his sketching.

"Ah," Ororo answered quietly. "I wish I could." She held her hand out towards the bird, watching her - since she was a her - hop away before tilting her head at her fingers.

After a moment, the crow approached again, looking at Ororo expectantly.

"You can pet her," Trowa said, almost distractedly. "I told her you'd like to groom her to get the concept across."

"Thank you," Ororo told him quietly, earnestly. She reached out gently, stroking the back of curved fingers on the head of the crow and biting down on a smile.

The crow sat patiently under the touch for a few moments, then finally hopped away and took flight, leaving just the two children.

Trowa looked up. "Thanks for staying still."

"Of course," Ororo told him, watching the crow until she couldn't see her anymore, and then looking back at him with a small smile. "Can you talk to all animals, or is it just birds?"

"I haven't found an animal I can't communicate with yet." Except people, but that was an issue on several levels. "Being able to explain what I want in concepts they can understand depends on the animal. They don't usually want much to do with people."

"Why would they," Ororo agreed. She was still pleasantly surprised that the crow had let herself be petted.

Trowa nodded and rose to his feet. "Are you staying out here?"

"Not sitting on my ass," Ororo replied as they pushed up to her feet. "Are you headed back? I'm Ororo, by the way."

"Trowa Barton. And yes. I have what I came out here for." He brushed the grass from his jeans.

"Bird's eye view," Ororo stated, or asked, mimicking his motion.

Another nod. "I wanted my own maps of the area, including an overhead view of the grounds."

"Why's that?" she asked, and started walking in the direction of the mansion, waiting to see if he would follow.

The thin boy fell into step, though not quite beside her. He was almost walking at-heel.

"Because I trust my maps. I know what I'm looking for."

It felt natural to keep her upper half of her body slightly angled towards him, even as she wondered at what he was doing, walking a bit behind her like that. "What are you looking for?"

"The most strategically advantageous locations on these grounds. What those are will change according to the situation, so I need to learn the territory from all possible angles."

"In case of an attack?" Ororo asked, frowning thoughtfully.

"Hn." Trowa nodded. "The security here seems lax. It's best to be prepared."

Ororo was silent for a few more moments, and then she asked, "Are you taking that on on your own?"

"One man can't cover every contingency." The wind teased at the boy's spiky overhang of bangs, but he ignored it. "Tessa and I are both dedicated to this mission."

Well, that begged her next question. "Can one man and one woman?"

His neutral gaze focused on her. "Why are you asking?"

"I care about this place, and a lot of people hate us," Ororo replied, very simply.

Trowa nodded in acceptance of the explanation. "You should talk to Tessa, then. She has a greater knowledge of this place than I do."

"I will," Ororo confirmed. She had not expected this today, but she had been complacent. It had been a while since she had had to think of exit strategies in case of a raid or an attack, and she had never had to on a scale as big as the mansion, with quite so many kids. She had trusted that the Professor had, but it would not hurt to be doubly prepared.