9/29 Instance: Not Mutants... Extraordinaries

[Saint Kurt]

Fr. Wagner's Office

[Rahne] Rahne fiddled with one of the strings of beads around her neck as she made her way down the corridor.

[Rahne] She shouldn't be this nervous surely? It was just Father Wagner after all, hadn't he said that if she ever needed to talk his door was always open?

[Rahne] And really.... he was the best person to talk to about... stuff like this...

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt closed his Liturgy of the Hours and flipped his laptop back open. He had all the files compiled now, but it still didn't make any sense. So he just had to keep reading and ... thinking about it. Praying about it maybe.

[Fr.Wagner] An answer would come eventually.

[Fr.Wagner] Still it was frustrating knowing that Remy and TJ were out there... Somewhere.

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt sighed. He'd tried not to let their departure distract him, but he was worried about them both, particularly TJ. Remy could take care of himself he was sure, but Kurt had make a promise to Christine. Now he'd broken it and he didn't know how to tell her.

[Rahne] Rahne knocked on the door politely even though it was already open and peered around it shyly.

[Rahne] "Father? Kin I come in?"

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt looked up to see Rahne lingering a little awkwardly outside his door. He hadn't had her in visit since he'd made her tea after his disastrous first circus skills class.

[Fr.Wagner] "Of course," Kurt said, "Sit anywhere you'd like."

[Rahne] Rahne steped into the room and looked around... this was sort of official wasn't it? So maybe the sofa wasn't the best idea...

[Rahne] She sat herself down on the chair on the other side of the desk, facing the demonic looking man and tapped her fingers on her knee nervously.

[Rahne] "Kin... kin I talk ta ye 'bout somethin' Father? There's naeone else here tha I really can talk ta 'bout this..." she trailed off and stared at the surface of the desk.

[Fr.Wagner] "Certainly. You can talk to me about anything you like," Kurt said, he got up from behind his desk and picked up his electric kettle.

[Fr.Wagner] "I'm going to make tea; do you want any?" he asked, shutting his door and going over to his sink to fill it. He was sure it seemed fairly odd for the school's resident German priest to have such British tastes in tea, but... he'd leave it to the students to work that one out.

[Rahne] "Aye, please." Rahne nodded. "Err... Father...?"

[Rahne] Rahne played with her beads, probably best to come out with it yes? "Father... wha I need ta talk ta ya 'bout is really..." how to word it "it's a matter o' faith." Aye, that covered it.

[Fr.Wagner] "Really?" Kurt smiled, "well, I'm probably qualified to answer your questions." He plugged the kettle in and sat down in the chair across from Rahne.

[Fr.Wagner] He couldn't believe it. A student was actually coming to him for spiritual direction? Then again, with his luck this was somehow going to turn into a discussion about six person orgies down at that Vito's place...

[Fr.Wagner] Of course, there was always the possibility though that Rahne just had regular questions about God and faith. There was only one way to know of course. "Why don't you tell me some of the questions you've been having," Kurt said.

[Rahne] "Well..." good grief, how to begin explaining it all "Do ye... know much 'bout tha Presbytarian faith Father?"

[Fr.Wagner] "Well, remember that I'm a theologian so while I may not be as knowledgeable as a Presbyterian Minister, I have a basic understanding of most forms of post reformation Christianity." Kurt paused, realizing that was a really long winded way of saying what he wanted.

[Fr.Wagner] So... "I know enough." Kurt said.

[Rahne] "Well... in tha case... ye'll know that I'm nae a very good one." Rahne twisted her hands in her lap.

[Rahne] "I... I dinnae realy know wha I am Father... I never really thought 'bout it afore..."

[Fr.Wagner] "Not a very good Presbyterian? Or not a very good Christian?" Kurt asked.

[Rahne] "Presbytarian... tha dinnae even like ye wearin' brightly coloured clothes Father." Rahne gestured to her pink, orange and yellow tie-dyed shirt.

[Rahne] "I... I believe in God... an tha Jesus is our saviour... and tha when ye been good ye die ya go ta Heaven an if ye bad ya go ta Hell... bu' all o' tha o'er stuff...." Rahne shook her head.

[Rahne] "I'm nae gonna go ta hell fer bein' happy and likin' colour, am I?" Rahne looked up at Wagner.

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt laughed and jumped when the kettle started whistling. He stood up.

[Fr.Wagner] "Well, Presbyterians, Anglicans, Catholics..." Kurt said as he fiddled with the tea, adding sugar and milk, "all us are Christians and first and foremost follow the teachings of Christ."

[Fr.Wagner] "And the message Christ taught was one of love, inclusion, and acceptance. He wanted us to love each other and to love ourselves; that that was is the way to His Kingdom. All the other stuff, the laws and the rules? Those were made by people."

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt set the pot of tea and some Burton's biscuits down in front of them. "Sorry, I'm out of shortbread," he said.

[Rahne] Rahne blinked at Wagner, she'd never heard anyone say things like that before. "I was always tol' tha tha Elder's word was law..." She sighed and diped the biscuit in her tea.

[Fr.Wagner] "Then my word would be law in my faith tradition," Kurt said with a shrug, "and I'm certainly not qualified to speak in place of Jesus or God."

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt took a sip of his tea and thought a moment. "It would be... irresponsible to do such a thing. We know that God made all the good things in this universe. He made you. He made ... me. How could I then say that ... color is bad?"

[Fr.Wagner] "I wouldn't believe it myself."

[Rahne] Rahne stared at the table. "So then... wha does God want o' me the Father? Wha should I do ta... ta be good?"

[Rahne] *then

[Fr.Wagner] "To be good? Well it depends. Do you want to be a good Christian or simply a good person?" Kurt asked.

[Fr.Wagner] "And, I know you probably wanted me just to say something simple like 'say 5 Hail Marys and 2 Our Fathers and you'll be good', but it doesn't work like that. Good comes from within us and it doesn't look the same on everybody or even every day."

[Fr.Wagner] "There are times when I ask myself the very same question you're asking yourself. 'What does God want of me?' And between you and me, that question might be your answer. God wants us to ask questions, to be aware and alive. That's what makes us 'good'."

[Rahne] Rahne openly gaped at Wagner, no one had ever, EVER said anything like that before.

[Rahne] As far as she knew, the only way you could be really 'good' in God's eyes was to do everything that the bible and elders told you... and even then you were barely scraping through.

[Rahne] "Tha's... tha's nae wha gran'father Craig tol' me..." she stuttered the cursed silently, bringing him into the conversation was the last thing she wanted. After all, wasn't one of the reasons she came here was to get away from him?

[Fr.Wagner] "Our families can be powerful influences," Kurt said, "both good and bad. To use Jesus as an example again, think of the strength his mother gave him throughout his life."

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt gestured to the icon of Mary on his wall, it was the same one that Lizzie had flung at him months ago. It was strange how things changed. "It must have been so difficult for her, to see her son go through what he endured. Yet she also triumphed with him, yes?"

[Fr.Wagner] "And going back to your first question. How was Mary good? When God came to her with such an impossible task, she did not blindly obey and say yes. She asked a question instead, she asked the Angel Gabriel, how?"

[Rahne] Rahne swilled her drink around in the cup. Influence. Well, her Nan certainly was a good influence but she wasn't very religious... she seemed to be closer to the old gods more then anything but she had dutifully followed her parents wishes and had taken her to church every Sunday.

[Rahne] Grandfather Craig though... maybe she should tell Wagner about the whole thing, priests weren't allowed to tell other people secrets weren't they?

[Rahne] "So... God want's me ta question?" She gluped her tea. "Well... why did he do this ta me then?" Rahne held up a hand and it changed to resemble a wolf's paw.

[Rahne] "Gran'father Craig said... said tha I was an abomination ta God, tha I was tha devil's whore an a sinner an tha God was punishin me an my family." She felt the tears start to prick at her eyes.

[Rahne] "Nan says tha it isnae true... tha my 'bilities are a gif'... bu' why are tha like this Father?" Her hand went back to normal and she wiped her face quickly.

[Rahne] "Sometim' I won'er... if i'm really a mutant an nae jus' a... a monster... 'cos tha's wha a werewolf is isnae it."

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt's eyes dropped to the floor as he listened. It was experiences like Rahne's that always reminded him how lucky he had been. How lucky he was.

[Fr.Wagner] He took a deep breath. "Nothing angers me more than when I see or hear of God's name being used for hatred. Remember what I said about God creating only good things? Hatred - that is evil. It is impossible for God to hate."

[Fr.Wagner] "I will tell you two stories," Kurt said, moving his chair closer to hers. He handed Rahne his handkerchief and then took her hand.

[Fr.Wagner] "The first is that when I was a child, my mother was a very devote Catholic and she took me to church every day. We always sat in the very front because she always said 'the priest will recognize and angel when he sees one'."

[Fr.Wagner] "We were with a traveling circus, I went to a new church every month and yet she was right. No priest ever denied my right to attend mass. If I'd sat further back in the congregation however, people might have stared."

[Fr.Wagner] "The second story is shorter. Do you know what I was originally trained to do? When I graduated from seminary?"

[Rahne] Rahne shook her head. "Nae... are tha... differn' type o' priest o' somethin' Father?"

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt smiled. "Well, obviously it would have been difficult for me to work as a parish priest, that is, a priest with a church community. So I work directly for the Vatican. And originally, I was trained to be an exorcist which is a special kind of priest."

[Rahne] Rahne's jaw droped. "Nae way man!" She gasped, all respect forgotten for the moment. "Ye... ye drove ou' demons!?"

[Rahne] "Fer a livin'!?" She blinked at him, at the blue man with yellow eyes and a long tail.
[Fr.Wagner] Kurt immediately realized Rahne had the wrong idea.

[Fr.Wagner] "Actually no," he said. "I was trained as an exorcist, but I never actually performed one. At least not in the way you might be thinking of. In Catholicism, the rite of 'Solemn Exorcism' is performed by a team of priests in the rare case of a true demonic possession."

[Fr.Wagner] "More often than not though, exorcisms are "simple"; the idea being that people, people like your Grandfather who said such terrible things, or even bad events can allow a negative influence into a person's life. It can make them feel further away from God by exposing them to evil." Kurt explained

[Fr.Wagner] "That's all that evil is, a block between us and God. And as for monsters... During my training I was present at two different Solemn Exorcisms and the things I saw and heard... Those were monstrous and they were nothing like you," Kurt smiled. "Or like me."

[Rahne] Rahne smiled "Ack, who knew tha all tha denomination's were so differn'?"

[Rahne] "Never hear' anythin' like this 'for ta be honest Father... after tha whole... thin wit' my gran'father Nana stoped takin' me ta church... tha's 'bout fou' years go..."

[Fr.Wagner] "Well I could see how his words would sour both her and you to the idea of church and religion in general. It seems that too often, in the hands of people, we forget that all we are really doing is praising God. We should do it in church and outside, with our actions and our words. "

[Fr.Wagner] "And we don't have to even talk about God to do it." Kurt said with a smile. "There was a very holy man, Saint Francis and he told us to 'preach the Gospel always, and when necessary, use words'. That's what I am trying to do; to use words in order to change to way we think."

[Fr.Wagner] "Professor Xavier calls people like you and me 'mutants', but the church uses another word. We use the word 'extraordinaries'." Kurt said.

[Rahne] Rahne blinked... 'extraordinaries'?

[Rahne] Her Nan had said that she was 'unique' with 'powers', grandfather Craig had called her a 'freak of nature' who was 'cursed' and worse, and she'd gotten used to being refered to being a 'mutant' with 'mutations' here...

[Rahne] "Exraordinaries?" She gave him a shy smile "I kinna like tha... tha's tha nicest way I've ever heard it pu'."

[Rahne] "So... i'm... we're exraordinary?" That was such... such a positve way of putting it!
[Rahne] An extraordinary couldn't be a monster or hellspawn or a freak could they? They could do groovy and good stuff.

[Fr.Wagner] "It's because of what I believe, and what the church is coming to believe. I was trained as an exorcist because it was not yet known whether these powers people were manifesting were good or evil. But my training was useless; they are not evil."

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt frowned. "Even people who use these new powers to do bad things... To commit violence, to hurt people. It's not the power that's bad, it's the person using it, the choice they've made. And as you've seen, even something as good and powerful as God Himself can be used wrongly..."

[Fr.Wagner] "... Like your grandfather did."

[Fr.Wagner] "But I've come to believe, as many have, that what we are seeing is a miracle. All over the world, all at once. Mutation is a cold scientific word, but what is happening... is extraordinary," Kurt finished.

[Rahne] Rahne mulled this over for a few minutes, and when she finally did speak it was slowly and with deliberation. "When... when I firs' started ta... ta shift... I was scared. I couldnae 'troll tha wolfy... I killed sheep 'cos tha wolf was hungry."

[Rahne] "Tha way Nan foun' ou' was finin' me in our garden, 'tween forms wit' a bullet in me leg... one o' our neighbours ha' shot me 'cos he thoug' I was a feral dog... I... I dinnae blame 'im, I was killin' his 'stock..."

[Rahne] "After tha'... I thoug' I WAS cursed, ye know? Bu' then... I started thin'in... o' all tha' good I coul' do... say in tha police o' consevation ye know?"

[Rahne] "An'... an' ta see tha worl' through tha eyes an ears an nose o' a wolf... ta run an' feel tha win' in ya fur... bitin' tha horizion an' runnin fer miles an miles an nae gettin' tierd..."

[Rahne] Rahne gave Wagner her widest smile. "Aye... tha' is extraordinary!"

[Rahne] "I'm... i'm nae cursed am I?" Her smile was so wide she was worried the top of her head
might fal off. "I'm blessed!!"

[Fr.Wagner] "Of course you are," Kurt said grinning. "And what happened to you, the way it happened... That's why what Professor Xavier is doing is so important. To show the world that there is nothing to fear and that nobody is cursed or freakish so that when more people like us come along..."

[Fr.Wagner] "They won't have to go through what you did or what I did. We're here" Kurt said, pointing at the floor for emphasis, "to show the world, to preach not with words, but by our actions."

[Fr.Wagner] "We may not have been called to be extraordinary, but we are and it appears that with that comes some responsibility."

[Rahne] Rahne's expression darkened slightly as she though back to the night after that meeting they went too. "Wha' 'bou' people LIKE my gran'father an tha Jono dude... tha people tha see us as tha 'freaks'?"

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt sighed. He sometimes wished he hadn't agreed to drive them to that meeting, or that when he'd seen what was going on he'd simply turned around and drove away. But he hadn't, he'd want to them to see. To see what the stakes were, what a dangerous game it really was that they were all playing

[Fr.Wagner] But it hadn't worked out so well in the end. Not everyone had seen it. Maybe he hadn't taught them well enough or maybe Jonothan Starsmore just seemed more interesting. But the message he had wanted to impart... hadn't gotten through to everybody.

[Fr.Wagner] "It's difficult isn't it? For years I was angry at everybody because they couldn't get past my appearance, refused to see the abilities that I had, all the hard work I did to have them. In the end, I realized I could be angry all the time or ... forgive them for being so stupid." Kurt laughed.

[Fr.Wagner] "But people like Jono Starsmore, they are seeking to turn that anger into action and that is dangerous. But fighting with more anger won't work and so once again ... forgiveness."

[Fr.Wagner] "It's the only thing that takes his intentions, to separate and to harm, and makes you immune. You may not be able to forget, but at the very least you can protect yourself from him by not being angry."

[Rahne] Forgiveness?

[Rahne] Rahne shook her head "I... I didnae wana thin' 'bou' it really... bu'... tha Jono, he's ether insane o' stupid... mebby both..."

[Rahne] But really... after hearing Father Wagner talk and thinking back to her own experiences, and the stories that she's heard from the others... it wasn't so hard to understand his anger and hate.

[Rahne] She'd experienced hate, from humans AND fellow extraordinaries.

[Rahne] "I pity 'im Father. Wha' musta happen ta him ta make 'im like tha?"

[Rahne] "Bu'... i'm nae angry at him, anger is dangerous... 'specially fer people like me..." she smiled ruefully. "Ye saw me lose it on tha bus on tha way back."

[Rahne] "Bu'... bu' if he does anythin' ta... ta hurt people..." she trailed off. She hoped it would never come to that.

[Fr.Wagner] "Actually, I was a little preoccupied on the drive home," Kurt said. "And the unfortunate truth is that probably many of the same things that have happened to him have happened to us."

[Fr.Wagner] "It's the way he chose to react that makes him dangerous. He lost hope. And don't worry Rahne, you'll learn how to control your own power better and better with practice. Don't be afraid of it. I hated teleporting and thus never learned how to do it properly until I was in my mid-20's."

[Fr.Wagner] "Don't forget what we talked about earlier, Jesus' most important message was love. We have to love ourselves, our whole selves, even the parts that may frighten us. Because without love..." Kurt smiled and trailed off, letting her consider Rahne possibilities.

[Rahne] Rahne brighten. "I am learnin how ta 'troll it better, I was able ta pick Vic up an' carry him ta tha nurse's office."

[Rahne] "An... an sin is nothin' more then an absence o' love, 'cos God is love yeah?"

[Fr.Wagner] She carried Vic to the nurse? He didn't even want to know.

[Fr.Wagner] "Let's leave out sin for now and just say that the more we love the closer we are to God," Kurt said.

[Rahne] Rahne nodded, it was going to take a while to get used to all these new ideas.
[Rahne] "Aye.... well, I shoul' be goin' now Father, it's gettin' late." She stood up and went to the door.

[Rahne] She stoped at the open door. "An' Father? Do ye know much 'bout tha Hindu religion? Why they show their god Vishnu always havin' blue skin?"

[Rahne] She smiled warmly "It's 'cos blue is tha colour o' heaven... I thin'... when God made ye Father, he chose tha right pallet."

[Rahne] "Goodnight Father Wagner." Rahne left the room.

[Fr.Wagner] "Goodnight, and thank you," Kurt said.

[Fr.Wagner] Kurt stood up and looked at his hands. Blue, huh? Well, if he ever decided he didn't want to be a priest... Of course, being a priest was the best thing ever. It was nice to finally get to act like one for a change.



[Edited on 1/10/06 by Saint Kurt]

[Saint Kurt]

This instance is complete now. It takes place before the game on 9/30.

Thanks
-e

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Awww - very sweet. Expecially the blue thing. That was great. Good to see some more back ground on Rahne, and more of Kurt's theology. You guys did a wonderful job!

The line that made me snort with laughter though was this:

[Fr.Wagner] She carried Vic to the nurse? He didn't even want to know.

Paws

[Scumfish]

Why is it when people see the name 'Vic' in a sentance they allways think the worst?

Cute instance, guys Like it a lot.

[HoodedMan]

I wonder why. Hey, I really liked the blue thing as well. Great instance, guys.

[Saint Kurt]

Originally posted by Scumfish
Why is it when people see the name 'Vic' in a sentance they allways think the worst?

Actually, it was not so much "Vic" as "nurse's office". If Rahne had said "Carried Vic to the tennis courts" or something, Wagner's reaction would have been different.



-e

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Originally posted by Saint Kurt

Originally posted by Scumfish
Why is it when people see the name 'Vic' in a sentance they allways think the worst?

Actually, it was not so much "Vic" as "nurse's office". If Rahne had said "Carried Vic to the tennis courts" or something, Wagner's reaction would have been different.



-e

Ah...but what if it had been 'bedroom'? Poor Wagner, he's heard enough tales.

Paws

[puppygirl]

That was the funest instance I've had so far, awesome character developement and I think I cemented Rahne's title of 'absolute sweetheart' with that blue comment

Have to say, my favorite line was

[Fr.Wagner] He couldn't believe it. A student was actually coming to him for spiritual direction? Then again, with his luck this was somehow going to turn into a discussion about six person orgies down at that Vito's place...