The Wolf Within

Posted on Tue Apr 8th, 2025 @ 7:38pm by Charles Xavier & Darian Elliott & Jennifer Bryant & Rahne Sinclair

3,694 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: December 4, 1990

Jennifer’s path for locating Rahne was a grisly one made up of scratches on the wood floor, tufts of rabbit fur, and eventually drops of blood. The trail took her outside to the patio next to the pool where the massive auburn furred wolf was happily ripping apart and devouring the cottontail that it had managed to catch. Its paws were the size of plates and its sharp fangs glinted amongst a blood soaked muzzle. As soon as Jennifer came into view, its keen yellow eyes locked onto her and the deep rumble of a growl resonated through its barrel chest.

Darian froze the second he stepped outside, his eyes going wide as saucers at the sight before him. "Yo, what the actual fuck?! I knew it! I knew I wasn't trippin'!" He threw his hands up, pacing in a tight, frantic circle before pointing accusingly at the massive wolf. "Ain't nobody wanna believe me, but ohhh, look at this big-ass, murder-ass, rabbit-munchin' ass wolf! Who's crazy now?! Huh?! Who's the fool now?! Not me!"

His tirade was momentarily interrupted by the grotesque sound of bones crunching between the beast's massive jaws. His stomach flipped, but he powered through. "Nah, see, this right here is why I don't mess with the woods. You see this shit, Jen?! That thing got rabies or some kinda plague! You betta' stay way the hell back before you get foamed up or worse!"

Darian pointed dramatically toward the house. "That German guy with the tail is a priest, right? Nah, bump that. We need guns with silver bullets and probably, like, animal control or some shit! I ain't tryna' be no horror movie statistic today!"

Jennifer looked at Darian. "There's no such thing as magic," she said inaccurately. She didn't know about all of that yet. She did know about mutant powers. "She's just a mutant like us." Her eyes lowered to the dead rabbit. She couldn't really say anything. She wasn't a vegetarian. Still, she didn't like to see it. She took a step towards the wolf and lifted her hand gently up.

"Whatever dat is, it ain't right!" Darian's voice piqued with a falsetto as he said, "Ain't right at all!"

"It's Rahne, right?" Jennifer said gently.

The wolf’s previously bristled and alert body softened a little as Jennifer spoke her name but its yellow eyes remained tense and uneasy. Its gaze darted back and forth between Jennifer and Darian, unsure of what to watch or who to trust. While there was a rough and ferocious exterior to the beast there was also fear in its eyes.

Professor Xavier had mentioned Rahne’s past had been hard and judging by the way the wolf tightly held onto the rabbit carcass in its paws, it seemed afraid that it might get taken away. After a long pause the wolf lowered its jaws and crunched and swallowed half the rabbit’s spine while still staring at them.

"Maybe we could go get some meat from the cafeteria," Jennifer suggested. "Then you won't have to hunt it."

"Cafeteria?" Darian dropped the panicked routine and scoffed. "Man, is that what they call a kitchen in Canada?" He looked back at the giant wolf thing. "Might be some rats up in the attic. Seems more his style."

The wolf’s yellow eyes narrowed at their banter, an obvious understanding of their conversation but an aversion to participating in their running dialog remained. Darian and Jennifer didn’t seem to want to take the rabbit away from the wolf so it returned to consuming the entire carcass until only a red stain and some hair remained on the patio. Standing up and licking its chops clean, the wolf shook its shaggy, massive frame and stretched before looking at the pair once more; its disposition seemed to calmer now that it recognized they weren’t a threat. There was a long pause of waiting and staring until they realized that Darian and Jennifer were blocking the wolf’s way back into the mansion.

Darian kept his eyes locked on the massive wolf, his body wound tight like a spring, ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble. "Yo, keep talkin’ to him," he whispered urgently to Jennifer, jerking his chin toward Rahne. "He ain't killed us yet, so maybe he confused or some shit. Sing him a song or sumthin’, I dunno, just don’t let him kill us!"

"It's a she," Jennifer said. "Can you change forms again, Rahne?" she asked.

The wolf seemed surprised by the use of her name, at least as much as a massive canine could look surprised as its little eyebrows lifted up and the yellow eyes softened. In response to Jennifer’s question the wolf shook its head in an obvious gesture of ‘no’.

"Well, we're all mutants here," Jennifer said in a friendly voice, her own nervousness fading. "It's nice to meet you."

Darian snorted, keeping a wary eye on Rahne. "Yeah, you speak for yourself, girl. I ain't never met no damn werewolf before, and I ain't about to pretend this ain't freakin' me the hell out." He took a half-step back, putting Jennifer slightly between himself and the massive wolf, though he'd never admit he was using her as a human shield. "What’s next, huh? We got a zombie in the basement? A vampire in the attic? Maybe Bigfoot chillin out back by the pool?" He let out a sharp, nervous chuckle, shaking his head. "Nah, y'all some damn Scooby-Doo-ass weirdos, man."

The wolf growled at Darian’s remarks before it sprang into action. Moving at a surprising speed, it whizzed past Jennifer and pounced on Darian with snapping jaws.

Darian's scream split the night. "AAHHH—SOMEBODY HELP ME! GET THIS BIG-ASS BITCH OFF ME!" His arms flailed as Rahne pinned him down, her powerful paws on his chest, her hot breath washing over his face. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW I WAS GON' DIE"

Panic overtook instinct, and with a sharp POP, thick quills erupted from his skin—sprouting from his hands, his arms, even his cheeks.

Rahne let out a yelp of surprise as the quills jabbed into her, immediately springing back with a pained snarl. She shook herself, growling, the fur along her spine bristling as she pawed at the sharp barbs lodged in her paws and muzzle. The huge beast recoiled and limped back a few steps as burning agony filled its senses. The once fierce beast had now dissolved into a whimpering animal that appeared to be in obvious pain. Pathetically trying to remove the quills from its skin the wolf continued to whine in a cadence that sounded more like a child crying than an animal.

Meanwhile Darian was still thrashing on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut as he flailed at thin air. "OH GAWD, I’M DEAD! SHE'S RIPPIN’ ME APART! I CAN SEE THE LIGHT! BIG MOMMA, I'M COMIN' HOME!"

"Medic!" Jennifer screamed. "We need medical help here!" She started running towards the mansion, waving her arms. "Medic! Medic!"

~Jennifer~

The voice in her mind was calm, smooth as always—Professor Xavier, unmistakable and serene amidst the chaos.

~Darian is unharmed—his dramatics are, unfortunately, quite genuine but not life-threatening. His powers protected him. However, Rahne... Rahne is hurt. She needs help. I suggest you turn your focus to her if you wish to ease the situation and earn her long-term trust~

"But I don't know anything about medicine," Jennifer whined.

Jennifer skidded to a stop in the snow, chest heaving as she processed the message. She whipped around to look at Rahne, who was now pacing and limping in circles, trying desperately to paw and bite at the quills sticking out of her paws, muzzle, and chest. The massive wolf let out a low, pained whimper that cut straight to Jennifer's heart.

Darian, still sprawled on his back, was kicking and flopping like a fish out of water, clutching at his chest as if Rahne had torn him apart—though not a single drop of blood was on him. "I'm dyin', Jen! I can feel my soul leavin' my body! This is it! This is how I go out! Death by werewolf! I knew it! I FUGGIN' KNEW IT!"

Jennifer turned and looked at Rahne. Maybe this was straightforward. She leaned forward and took one of the quills between her fingers. "Easy..." she said gently as she slowly drew it out. Then the next. Then the next.

The wolf calmed and laid down next to Jennifer, its original howling whines turned into soft whimpers as each quill was plucked from its skin. But the massive beast seemed quiet and relaxed now that Jennifer was helping her. Looking up with gentle yellow eyes, the wolf appeared grateful for the assistance. Now that the animal was close to Jennifer there were more details she was able to pick up, small flecks of pink nail polish on the wolf’s claws and a gold chain with a locket that was so tight around its neck that it was hidden in the fur. Clues that this wasn’t some wild wolf or something from a horror movie, just a lost girl who turned feral to survive.

Jennifer noticed these details, though she had inferred as much already from the professor's words. She kept pulling the quills out until they had all been removed. She smiled gently to Rahne. "It's ok," she said. "You're with friends now." She gave Darian a bit of a sharp look. "You're safe here."

The wolf’s yellow eyes looked up with a touch of gratitude. The act of kindness was not lost on the beast despite its feral nature. But whatever sweetness appeared in the wolf’s gaze diminished the moment Darian began to talk again.

Darian sat up with a sudden yelp, like someone had jabbed him in the ribs, his wide eyes darting around wildly as if expecting Rahne to pounce on him again. His chest heaved with every breath, and for a long second he just sat there blinking, mouth slightly agape.

"I—I'm alive?" he gasped, looking down at himself, patting frantically over his chest, shoulders, sides, even lifting his shirt to double-check that he wasn't missing any pieces. "I ain't dead? I don't believe it! I can't believe it!" His voice cracked with disbelief, practically shouting into the cold night air. "Ay, shit! I survived a werewolf attack! Y'all better put my face on a T-shirt, baby!"

Still on his knees, Darian caught sight of Rahne and winced, his bravado shrinking a little as he took in the blood and quills matted against her fur. "Damn," he muttered, his wide-eyed expression softening just a little. "Jen, you sure did a number on that guy..."

"Girl and I didn't do anything," Jennifer said. "You're not hurt. Go ahead and get up. Maybe you should go get some help?" Jennifer was sort of at a loss.

Darian scoffed, dusting himself off with exaggerated flair as he pushed himself up to his feet. "Bish, please," he huffed, rolling his shoulders like he was shaking off the whole experience. "Ain't nobody need help now that I’m back on my feet. Large and in charge, baby!" He flashed a wide grin, arms spread, basking in his own legend. "Y'all just witnessed history! Darian Elliot, werewolf slayer, walkin' away without a scratch!"

With a soft growl the wolf watched Darian strut and peacock across the patio and as his back turned to the wolf, it sprung into the air. Right in front of Jennifer’s eyes the wolf’s body melted away and shifted into that of a young girl. A transformation that seemed almost magical, a scruffy auburn haired girl no older than thirteen replaced the wolf. Had she not witnessed it herself, she would not have believed it to be true.

“Ye stoopid bloody dost!” The now enraged girl shouted with her thick Scottish accent as she began to pummel Darian with her fists. "I am no' a werewolf."

"Ow—yo, what the—" Darian, who had been mid-strut, let out a very undignified squawk as tiny, furious fists started pelting his back and shoulders. He spun around, flailing slightly as he tried to fend off the unexpected assault. His eyes landed on the scowling, scrappy-looking girl in front of him, and he reeled back in sheer confusion. "Damn, bish, dafuq I do to you?! Actin' like I dissed yo mama or some shit!"

He took a step back, rubbing his arm where she'd landed a particularly solid punch. "I don't even know you, lil' dude! Where the hell did you come from?!"

"Ye filled me wi' quills!” Rahne continued her tiny fury of blows as Darain’s ignorance continued to fill her with rage. “Ah wisnae gonnae bite ye, jist scare ye, ye big bully!"

Darian blinked at her, bewildered for a beat longer—then snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "Aight, aight, okay," he said, holding his hands up in mock surrender, still rubbing the spot where her little fists had landed. "Yo, where I come from, don't start none, won't be none. You jumped me like it was the full moon, girl!"

He took a half-step back, giving her a once-over now that his brain had caught up. "You’re, like... a kid. That's wild.” He shook his head, clearly amused now. "Seriously, you were all fur and teeth a minute ago. Had me thinkin' I was in a damn horror movie. What was I supposed to do, toss you a Milk-Bone and hope for the best? Next time, maybe give a guy a heads-up before you go full 'Teen Wolf,' yeah?"

Rahne scowled at Darian and his comments. If some people could fly or make quills, why would being a wolf be so outrageous? "Aye, I dinnae like bein' a lass, folks are nasty tae each other. But when I’m a wolf, nae one shouts at me or beats me. I’m free tae dae as I please."

"We're all mutants here," Jennifer said. "We have different gifts and vulnerabilities and backgrounds."

Darian folded his arms across his chest, eyes narrowed at Jennifer. "Yo, 9-Volt, was your whole background standin' back like a streetlamp while folks nearly kill each other?" His voice had turned sharp, still laced with attitude, but now edged with something closer to hurt. "’Cause from where I was standin’, all I saw was you lettin' me get jumped by some bite-sized werewolf while you just watched.”

He gestured wildly toward Rahne, who had since folded her arms and started pouting more than growling. "I thought y'all was supposed to be the real-deal X-Men, big damn heroes an' all." He shook his head. "But right 'bout now I'm seein' a whole lotta nah, and I'm startin' to think maybe y'all ain't got it like that." His lips smacked against his teeth, expressing his incredulous opinion. "Now I’m gettin' smoked by a damn kid 'cause nobody said nothin' at at the front or even sayin' sorry now. Shit feels real different from the brochure, ya mean?" He arched his brow at Jennifer over a cocky smirk. "What am I sayin'? You probably ain't even one of them, is you?"

Jennifer looked at Darian for a long moment. She was angry at first. He had antagonized Rahne when she was trying to calm the wolf down and he had still wound up hurting Rahne worse than he had been hurt. Besides, it had all happened too fast for her to really do anything. She didn't have superspeed or healing. She had told him Rahne was a mutant. She had tried to get him help when she thought he was injured and then she had done what the professor said. Then she took a deep breath and didn't say any of that out loud. Darius was scared and upset. This was supposed to be a safe place for him. "I'm sorry, Darian. I'm new at all of this. I wanted to keep you two separate but it happened too fast for me. I got scared when you went down. I thought you were really hurt. I tried to go get you help. I don't really know anything about medicine. But the professor said you were fine and Rahne was the one who was hurting. So I got the quills out."

Darian sucked his teeth and scoffed, clearly not satisfied with Jennifer’s response, no matter how measured it was. “Nah, nah, you gotta do better, for real. Can’t just let shit pop off like that and then be like, ‘Oops, my bad.’ This ain’t middle school, girl. Ain’t nobody handin’ out gold stars for tryin’.”

Before Jennifer could reply, the calm, collected voice of Professor Xavier cut through the air like the first drop of rain before a storm.

"That will do, Mr. Elliot."

Darian froze mid-eye roll, his arms still crossed as he turned toward the voice. Xavier approached, his hoverchair humming softly beneath him, his expression even—calm, but firm. His eyes, however, were sharp as ever, missing nothing.

"As Headmaster of this school," Xavier said as he came to a stop, "my responsibilities include not only monitoring your academic and curricular development, but your interpersonal growth as well. Emotional maturity, social relations, and mutual respect are also evaluated criteria in your extracurricular assessments—and those grades do, in fact, affect your overall standing."

He turned first to Rahne, his voice softening. "Miss Sinclair, while I must remind you that campus policy discourages traversing the mansion in wolf form, I acknowledge that this incident may have had its roots in motivations other than defiance. And when help was offered, you accepted it. That, my dear, is not weakness, but courage. You've earned high marks for today.”

Rahne remained silent when the Professor appeared, while he had been a nice man during all of their interactions there was still an ever present fear of authority in the girl. She froze and tensed as he spoke in anticipation of the rage and physical violence that was destined to follow. It was only when he complimented her did she finally remember to breathe, the tension finally leaving her small, scrawny frame.

The Professor turned to Jennifer next. "Miss Bryant, your initial hesitance was understandable. The situation was unexpected, escalated quickly, and involved unfamiliar individuals and conditions. However, you remained calm, prioritized the injured party, and acted with thoughtful care in a moment of confusion and emotional stress. Well done."

"Thank you, professor," Jennifer said. She let herself relax a little. Just a little.

Then Xavier's eyes landed on Darian, and his tone shifted—not cold, but certainly no longer warm.

"As for you, Mr. Elliot... your response was uncalled for. You displayed hostility and reckless bravado from the outset. You antagonized a fellow student—one you believed to be a wild animal—and continued to escalate even after the situation was explained. You ignored the basic tenets of compassion and cooperation in favor of mockery, projection, and showmanship."

Darian's posture slouched, his head dipping slightly.

"You've earned demerits," Xavier concluded. "Please report to my office to discuss how you will work them off. Now."

Darian grumbled something beneath his breath as he turned and slinked off toward the main hall.

The Professor turned back to the girls, and the sternness in his face faded into something far more proud. "Very well done, both of you," he said kindly. "This school exists to foster growth, and today, you've both shown just that."

Then, with a mild but unmistakably cheeky twinkle in his eye, he added, “Now, if you two would be so kind as to dispose of the... unfortunate remains Miss Sinclair left behind, I would consider it an additional mark of goodwill."

"Yes, professor," Jennifer said, looking to Rahne. "Should we bury it?" she asked the other girl. That was her instinct but she wanted to see if the other girl had different ideas.

"Aye, I'll clean it up, ye don't hae tae get yer hands dirty cause o' ma mess. Nice lassies dinnae like blood an' rabbit guts.” Rahne said to Jennifer before walking over to the grizzly bits of rabbit that hadn’t been eaten. Despite the commending conversation with Xavier, Rahne was pouting and almost on the verge of tears as she picked up the feet and tail of the once woodland creature.“Ah'm nae guid at this, Ah should jist go live in the woods an' nivver become a lass again. D'ye think they hae fae folk in America? Maybe they'll tak' me."

"I don't know," Jennifer said uncertainly. "But I hope you don't do that. People get worked up sometimes. We're all dealing with a lot here. But, as long as we have each other, I think that makes it easier." Jennifer looked over at the rabbit. "Should we bury it?" She did want to help but she was not quite sure what to do with the remains.

Rahne furrowed her thick eyebrows as Jennifer asked her the same question for a second time. She had already answered that question. But Jennifer had been kind to her so she would extend her the same courtesy. “Nature doesn’t bury its dead to rot alone in a hole, that’s man’s doing. Ah’ll leave the bits oot in the woods and it will be someone else’s dinner. Ye can cover up the stain on the patio wi' some snow, when it melts, the blood’ll go wi' it.”

"Ok," Jennifer said simply. She started back toward the patio to do just that, scoop snow on top of the blood. She stirred it a bit to make sure it mixed in well.

With the blood guilty covered under a white blanket of snow, there wasn't anything more to be said. Both girls wandered their separate ways. If not richer for the experience, they were at least more familiarized with the X-Mansion which was to be their new homes.

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