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The Circle And The Flame	By : KMac Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3163 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men comics, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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[Feh� I have the worst luck with betas� sent this one off,
no reply� asked if she had it� and the email bounced� all errors are mine�]

Jimmy � Objects At Rest

Jimmy contemplated the art before
him. His love�s eyes were like amethyst
jewels, with a ring of warm gold rays just by the pupil. Her left iris had a small blue island in the
sea of purple, but the right did not.
He looked through his soft color pencils, trying some of the blues out
on a bit of scratch paper before risking one on the portrait proper. He had depicted her eyes before, but not
with this medium. With an application
of a wet brush to the pencil work, the lines would melt and flow together like
watercolor paints.
His easel was set in the solarium
of the Asteroid�s Garden. The large
rocky chamber was bright with simulated solar light, and filled with foliage
tenderly managed by Ororo. The glass
walls of his shelter kept out the mists that kept the plants healthy and
fragrant. Dion would like this place;
she adored flowers and natural surroundings.
Jimmy�s throat choked up painfully at the thought of her. He put down his pencil and wiped away the
burning moisture from his eyes. Sleep�
had been difficult for him lately.
She came to him in the night, often
in tears, and he so wanted to comfort and protect her. They were only silent phantoms to each
other, ghostly and immaterial. With
never a word or a touch, they had come to mean the world to each other, or so
he hoped. She meant everything to him,
and she always seemed so glad to see him.
But there was sorrow in her eyes in the morning, when his waking meant
they had to part. She was a mutant, in
the custody of Shield, so she had much to be sad about. Her shadow lay over everything he did, and
everyone he met. None ever compared to
her for him.
Jimmy watched her grow from a fey
wisp of a girl with spiky black hair to a breathtaking beauty with a long ebon
mane. He assumed he�d changed as much
over the years they visited each other.
She was why he was a Sorcerer.
Logic couldn�t explain her, but when he became skilled and powerful
enough to delve into the realm of the Spirits, he didn�t find her there,
either. Not even Margali could tell him
the source of Dion�s visitations, but his grandmother did say she was Jimmy�s
soul mate. As if he needed the Mistress
of the Winding Way to tell him what he already knew. It was clear to him, that if he never found her, he would never
find anyone.
They couldn�t speak to each other,
but over the years they found ways to communicate. That was how he knew her name; she formed the letters of dream
stuff until he realized what they signified.
He showed her he was called James in the same manner. He saw it on her lips when she greeted
him. Their language was formed of
images, rebuses, and painstaking words, formed letter for letter. Still, there were many concepts that
couldn�t be conveyed by the means available to them. With his eidetic memory and unique brain structure he could read
while he slept, but that didn�t really help, because like most people, she
couldn�t. He composed whole sonnets to
her, but she couldn�t read them when they were together, nor remember them well
enough to understand when she woke.
Some word, like �yes�, �no�, �stop�, and �go� were iconic enough they
worked as symbols in and of themselves, so she could use them, but it wasn�t
enough. Jimmy collected drawings that
preserved all the ideas she tried to get across to him. Some he understood, and others were puzzles
yet to be solved.
The majority of his work were
studies of the woman who consumed him, in every possible facet. Pictures in black and white or color showed
her dressed or nude, in whole or in part.
The one he was making now was a close up of her upper face, focusing on
her gem-like eyes. Putting his pencils
away, he wet the end of a fine paintbrush, as Ororo gathered up the winds
outside the solarium and made it rain.
The pattering drops beat on the panes of his shelter as he carefully
blended the colors he�d applied. Some
adjacent elements were combined, while others had to be kept separate; the gold
rays shouldn�t be lost in either the purple iris or the black of the pupil. The shade of Peter Rasputin stood near him, watching with careful attention.
<I like those pencils,> the big Russian said, a hint of
wistfulness in his voice.
�So do I, Peter,� Jimmy said. He finished up what he was doing as the gentle
rainfall ended, and packed his tools away.
Ororo opened the solarium
door. �Hello Jimmy, I saw you
painting. May I see your work?�
Jimmy hesitated, embarrassed. �I� uh�
You see, Frau, most of my work is very personal to me�� Her eyebrow rose in surprise, but she
inclined her head in understanding.
�I�ll make it up to you,� he promised.
�That isn�t necessary,� she
said. �I was merely curious.�
He smiled, �But how can I not do, �The
Goddess in the Garden�? She
blushed, as he went on. �I�m sure your
husband will like it.�
�If you want to, Jimmy. I will not refuse.� He could see her smiling after him as he
hurried to his room. He needed to put
his art supplies away and get ready for his gym time.

The four Raider trainees were just
doing their workouts for how, as they and their instructors cooled off from the
recent confrontation. Warren wanted to
apologize, but Kurt said Kitty wasn�t ready to hear it yet. As he entered the gym he saw it wasn�t just
the four of them today. Steve Rodgers
and Raven Darkholme both needed to regain the fitness each recently lost. As he worked, Jimmy watched Becky watch them
from across the room, and became aware of an undercurrent of tense hostility
between her parents. The Captain was
always polite, but that courtesy had a certain stiffness to it when he spoke to
Raven, and in return, she kept him at a suspicious distance. When she dropped a weight, Raven snapped at
him in anger when he picked it up for her.
Becky sighed, and he put his hand
on her shoulder in sympathy. She said,
�I wish they would stop that. I know
they don�t like each other, but they can make an effort to be civil to each
other, can�t they?�
Steve had turned away from Raven
with a faint offended expression, but when Jimmy touched his daughter
familiarly, he adopted a look of Parental Concern. Amusingly enough, it was nearly identical to the one that Raven
was wearing at the moment. Jimmy
laughed. �Maybe they have more in
common that they realize,� he told her.
�And in my experience with a passionate people, sparks of anger often
conceal flames of passion.�
Becky threw him an incredulous
look. �Them? They have absolutely nothing in common,
about anything.�
�Except you,� Jimmy said. He changed to another piece of equipment.
Becky shrugged. �Yeah, well, I don�t think that�s nearly
enough to bridge that gap. I�ll be
happy if they can agree to stop sniping at each other.�
�I can understand his annoyance,�
Jimmy said. �He feels like he was used,
and I�m sure you can understand, too.
But what is her problem?�
�She won�t say,� Becky said. �But I get the feeling that she�s afraid
that he�ll try to take custody of me away from her, or something like that.�
�Maybe you can ask someone to
arbitrate that they both respect to help them work out their issues,� Jimmy
said. �Logan, maybe.�
�That�s a good idea,� she
said. She gave him a quick hug, and
bounced from the room. Steve was still
giving him a stern look as Jimmy finished his own workout and went to shower.

That evening Jimmy went with his
brother and Kitty to a different dining room.
They were going to see some people they�d encountered in their time as
Hounds. He was introduced to the
Russell family; mother Suzanne, son Duncan, and daughter Rose. The father, a man named Dennis was still in
a light coma, but Suzanne was hopeful of his recovery. �Hello, Jimmy,� she said, and then hugged
Kurt and Kitty. �The two of you look so
much better now. I�m so happy that you
got away from Shield.�
�So are we, Kitty said. �I�m� I�m still sorry about� Emily.� Her hands twitched in a way Jimmy learned
meant she was thinking about her blades.
�You did what you had to, Kitty,�
Suzanne said. �I forgive you.�
Kurt fidgeted, and crouched down to
hug the little girl. Rose�s face lit up
when she saw him. �It�s the funny man,
Dunc�n!� she said to her brother.
�His name is Mr. Tails,� piped a
young voice from behind Jimmy. He
turned to see that Kurt�s young admirer Melanie had followed them, fuzzy blue
doll firmly tucked under her arm, jealous frown on her face.
�Liebchen, I�d like you to
meet another young friend of mine,� Kurt said.
Rose looked at Melanie, but her attention was quickly caught by what the
other girl was holding.
�Mommy, can I have one of those?�
Rose said, turning pleading eyes to Suzanne.
Melanie clutched her toy possessively behind her.
Kurt smiled mischievously, and
reached for a bag he carried. �Ah, my
gypsy blood warned me of this, liebchens, and I came prepared�� Out of the bag came another fuzzy topped
blue moppet dressed in black. He barely
had time to present it to Rose before the girl engulfed it in her embrace and
cuddled it tenderly. This second
simulacrum was Kurt-as-a-Raider, instead of Kurt-as-a-Hound. An �M� adorned its beltline, and there was
no �H� stitched across the torso. She
and Melanie were soon comparing the dolls when Kurt turned to Duncan.
�And you, little man, are too old
for such a toy, ja?� Kurt said, his mouth quirking in amusement. The boy looked as if he wasn�t entirely sure
about that, when Kurt handed him the bag.
Duncan looked suspiciously inside, and smiled amazed as he dumped the
contents on the table. There were a
number of smaller articulated figures, of more normal proportions. He laid them out, and Jimmy saw well-worn
renditions of Shield fighters and the Raiders, along with some newer figures. Kitty and Kurt were new additions, along
with a man in a Nazi uniform with a red skull head. Both old and new was the figure of Captain America, who seemed to
have been given a new head to allow him to join the good guy side.
�Most of those belonged to Mack,�
Kurt said. �When I asked Ororo to make
another �Mr. Tails� for Rose, she gave me the other toys, because Mack didn�t
play with them any more. Seems he�s too
busy trying to join the roster, these days.�
He ruffled the boy�s hair, but Duncan was oblivious, already plotting
out campaigns for his toy warriors.
�Thank you, Kurt,� Suzanne
said. �You�re so good with
children�� She gasped as her empathy
reacted to the stabs of pain from all three of her visitors. Even Rose looked up, a said frown on her
face as she also picked up the emotions.
Oh, Dion, Jimmy thought.
�I�m sorry, I forgot,� Suzanne
said. �It�s okay, Rosey, mommy just
said something stupid.� Rose shook her
finger at her mother in mock seriousness, and then went back to playing with
Melanie.
�It wasn�t stupid,� Kurt said,
uncharacteristically subdued.
�Unfortunate, perhaps.� Kitty
was still struggling to smooth out her expression, and her husband put a
comforting hand on her shoulder.
Suzanne looked thoughtful. �The children�s center always needs
volunteers,� she said. �Sometimes
parents want a little alone time. You
could sign up?�
�Ja�� he said. �Jimmy and often watched over the littles of
the Gypsy camp. That was fun, wasn�t it
brother.� He smiled at Jimmy.
�Mostly,� Jimmy said, and then he
smiled back. They looked at Kitty.
�I� used to babysit,� she said, her
voice rough with suppressed emotion.
The tight expression on her face melted slowly to a sad smile as she
looked into Kurt�s hopeful eyes. She
hugged him, and then leaned back to face him.
�It sounds like a good idea.�
Kurt picked her up and whirled her around, a broad grin breaking out
across his face. She grinned weakly in
return, hitting him playfully on the shoulder until he set her down again.
Suzanne motioned them away from the
children. �Isn�t there anything that
can be done, medically?�
Kurt sighed. �They looked. Most of what Shield cut to sterilize me was removed. Even if the ends could be reconnected, there
would not be� room for any comfort on my part.
The� tubes would be stretched so taut as to practically pull my testes
out of my scrotum.� Jimmy made a face,
as Kurt continued. �I am informed it is
not a pleasant condition.� He sighed
again. �I would gladly risk it, if they
thought Katzchen�s condition was repairable.�
Kitty buried her face into his shoulder, and he stroked her hair. �Since it is the female who bears, Shield
takes extra pains with them. Not only
were her tubes removed and thoroughly sealed, but her womb was� damaged. No medical procedure can reverse that.�
Jimmy�s eyes burned with
sympathy. Their mother had been so
looking forward to grandchildren. The
same thing had been done to Dion, she�d showed him the scars after they�d captured
her. His own fertility meant nothing
without hers� if he ever found her.
She�d never been able to convey to him what her mutation was, but he
knew that she was a �comfort woman� to a large corpulent Shield official; her
beauty becoming her curse.
Pulling himself back to the
present, Jimmy heard Suzanne saying that her two children wanted to visit the
pool room, but she had to do something tonight.
�A pool? I love to swim,� Kurt said.
He looked at his lady. �Can we
accompany them, Liebe?� She smiled
her assent, as Melanie bounced over to them.
�Can I go, too?� Melanie said
excitedly.
Kurt crouched down to her
level. �Only if your minders agree, and
they aren't upset that you followed us. I
don�t mind if you come, but they might be mad you snuck off.�
�Will you help me?� she said
hopefully, and Kurt took her hand to help her apologize to the couple that
looked after the young orphan.
�What about you, Jimmy?� Kitty
said. �Pool room, before late dinner?�
�I can�t be there for right away,�
Jimmy said. �I have an appointment,
myself. But I should be there for the
hour before late dinner starts.� He
smiled, �I have to warn you, sister, he swims like an otter, and you already
know what wet fur smells like.�
She blushed, and play hit him on
the shoulder. He bowed to her and took
his leave. He just had time to get to
his fitting at the secret meeting.

�There you are, James, I was
beginning to get worried,� his mother said.
�I�m sorry,� he apologized, knowing
that she had indeed been concerned to call him �James�. He donned his new suit, and the tailor
checked the fit, the procedure overseen by Ororo. Jimmy�s outfit looked alright he thought, it wasn�t really his
style, but one seldom choose what they wore at a wedding.
�Frau Munroe?� he said. When she came over he gave her a slim
notebook where he kept his of people on the Asteroid. In it were studies of people, and detailed depictions of some of
the rooms or views to be found here.
Some were quick captures of his impressions of a person or area, and
other pages were nearly finished works.
The pleased look on her face was worth a little soul-bearing. �The one in the middle,� Jimmy said, �the
one of Kurt and Kitty dancing? That
will be my gift to them at the dedication.
I got him talking about when they turned from friends to paramours, and
the dancing seemed an important step.�
�That will be wonderful,
Jimmy. I know they will love it.� She found some his sketches of her and
smiled. �Logan would definitely like
something like this,� she said.
�Ah, but I still think I�ll paint
what I saw this morning,� Jimmy said.
�I just haven�t had time to sketch it yet.�
Suzanne Russell entered the room,
checking behind her to see that she wasn�t being followed. �Okay everyone, they�re at the pool with
Melanie and my kids.�
Jon laughed, �That ought a keep
them for awhile, so let�s get serious planning this party.� He got the gatherer�s attention. �You all know that Kurt and Kitty performed
their own marriage, considering it sacred, but what they missed out on was
celebrating it with family and friends.
The surprise dedication ceremony will help them solemnize their union
before their peers. Thank you all for
your hard work.� Everyone turned back
to their task, and Jon sat down at a worktable. �Got �em, Pete?�
�Right here, Uncle Jon,� the
silver-haired boy said, laying two knotted loops of twine on the table. Jon used a cone to determine the exact
sizing of each ring, and began using his metal manipulating powers to make gold
and platinum wires to twist about each other, emulating in metal the appearance
of the twine rings. For Kitty�s, he
added a large blue sapphire, and two small diamonds, held tight in the weave of
metal.
The tailor had Jimmy change back to
his regular clothes. He did, and
hurried back to watch his father finish the new rings. �Put them back, Pete, before they
notice.� The boy nodded, and blur-ran
out the door with the bits of knotted twine.
�I hope he doesn�t run into
anyone,� Wanda said.
�Not a chance,� Jon told her,
tapping his head, indicating personal insight.
�When he�s at speed, everyone else looks like statues.�
Jimaine and Ororo were working on
the dedication clothes; a curious amalgam of Western formalwear and fancy Gypsy
garb. Kurt�s suit vest was colorfully
embroidered, and instead of a cummerbund the outfit had a fringed sash. Kitty�s gown was everything a young bride
would wish for, with a dash of Romany flair.
�Jimmy,� his mother said, �I
brought his earrings. Be sure to wear
the mate to this one.� She held up a
good hoop marked with sigils of good fortune.
�Yes, mama,� he said. He saw Suzanne talking to Jean, who
coordinated living assignments for the number of orphaned children that lived
on the Asteroid. Suzanne gestured to him
come over, and as he came up to them, he said, �Melanie gets along very well
with Rose, now that they�re on equal footing, toy-wise.�
Suzanne gave him a surprised look,
�How did you�?�
�I�m a Gypsy seer,� he said. �Besides, what else what you be talking to
Jean about? I do think it would be
better for Melanie to be part of family instead of just being someone�s
assignment. But, do you think your
husband will mind when he wakes up?�
Suzanne closed her eyes, and
smiled. �Thank you, most people say
�if� he gets better. But yes, he did
want a bigger family.� She winced. �I�m sorry, that�s a sore subject with you,
too, isn�t it.�
Jimmy just nodded.
He knew Suzanne�s empathy had picked up his pain earlier. Jean raised an eyebrow at him, but he just
looked back at her. Let her think that
his pain was only for his brother and Kitty�s sake. No need to tell her what his true feelings were. <James, you don�t have to bear this
pain alone,> Charles said to him.
<They can help you if you just let them know you have a
problem. Don�t shut out your friends.>
<I can do this myself,
Charles,> Jimmy answered silently.
<It�s too� personal.>
Jimmy could feel the Professor�s disappointment, but the spirit didn�t
persist. Magnus and Stephen Strange
also disapproved, which made it a clean sweep of his personal advisors, but he
didn�t care.
He said his goodbyes, and started
to head off to the pool. Before he got
out the door, Raven intercepted him.
�May I speak with you, Mr. Szardos?�
Jimmy gave her a little bow. �Lady Darkholme, certainly. And call me Jimmy, please.�
They found a quiet corner and she
studied her hands before she looked up.
�I want� I need to get him something for this celebration� but I don�t
know what. Your mother said I should
ask you.�
He looked into Raven�s eyes and saw
her sincerity. �My brother wants, more
than anything, more than he wants to have his own family� he wants to know his
origins. He knows now that you are his
mother, but he wants to know who his father is, too.�
Raven�s eyes widened in
surprise. �I� I�m not sure.� She bit her lip and looked away. �I thought I knew him� he was so�
charming. I was married to a Shield
Administrator. It was safe, and I was
willing to stay there indefinitely.�
Her smiled was crooked. �It was
an easier life than always being on the run.
But my husband wanted a family.
Unfortunately, I think the man was infertile. I was desperate�� She
sighed. �Ashton Zell(*) was on my
husband�s staff. I was drawn to him,
drawn more than to anyone else I�d ever met.
We had a torrid affair, and I conceived. I lost my shapechange when I gave birth, and you can guess what
little Kurt looked like.�
Jimmy nodded, encouraging her to go
on. �I tried to find Ashton,� she
said. �But he was gone, and I had to
run. I took the babe to the Gypsies
that I�d gotten my rings from, and then I went back to look for him
again.� She shook her head, her
frustration still clear after all the intervening years. �Not only was he not there, but no-one even
remembered him. It was as if he�d never
been there at all, except for my memories and the child I�d left behind.� She looked at Jimmy. �What do you suggest I do?�
Jimmy pulled out his sketchbook,
and flipped it to an open page.
�Describe him to me. I will draw
what you remember, and we�ll both sign the finished work. We�ll title it with the only name that you
knew him by, and it will make Kurt very happy.�
She raised an arched eyebrow. �It will?�
�Ja. His father�s face and name, as you knew him,
is far more than he�s ever had. Who the
man really was, well, that�s a mystery for another day.�
She nodded, and began to describe a
man she�d never been able to forget�

Jimmy finally made it to the pool
with his swimwear. The two little girls
were giggling in a corner, while Kurt was in the water, teaching Duncan how to
hold his breath. Kurt looked like a
drenched cat, as usual, and Kitty was having trouble hiding her amusement. Jimmy sat in the shallows next to his
sister-in-law, and put a companionable arm around her shoulders. �That�s my brother, swims like an otter;
sheds like a cat.�
�Mm hmm,� she said. �I hope the filters are up to it.�
�Hey, now,� Kurt complained, tail
splashing water at them.
�What the f� uh, heck is this blue
crud in the water!� Logan growled. Half
a dozen fingers pointed at Kurt, who affected an innocent �who, me?�
expression. �You gonna clean that stuff
up?� Logan asked him, scowling.
�Ja�� Kurt said, resigned to giving
up his fun.
�Not until we leave,� Kitty said. �And you should talk, Mr. Short and Hairy.�
Logan crouched and picked up a
soggy blue clump. �At least I don�t
shed like Bluefooted(**) here.
Kurt shrugged expressively, and
went back to watching Duncan swim underwater.
�Mr. Tails!� a pair voices cried out, as Melanie and Rose cannonballed
on either side of him.
Kurt sputtered and wiped his face,
then grinned and caught the two of them up in a big hug. �Ach, nice to see you, too, Liebchens,�
he purred as he made sure to shed on each of them.
�Hey!� Rose said, and from there it
degenerated into a game of catch-the-elf.

It was days later before the young
couple was surprised with the ceremony.
The beautiful clothing and all the efforts that everyone had made to
pull off the occasion caused both of them to choke up. But Kurt and Kitty rose to the occasion, and
there wasn�t a dry eye in the audience when they reenacted the vows they made
to each other, and explained the reasoning behind them. To the mixture of Christian and Jewish
traditions, Jimaine added some Gypsy elements, as she called blessings and good
fortune upon them.
When Kurt kissed his wife to
uproarious applause, it was time for the giving of gifts. Jimaine smiled at them, �Kurt, here are your
earrings back. This is the one that
matches Jimmy�s.� He turned his ear to
her, and she quickly re-pierced it, and put on the gold hoop. �Kitty, I know you don�t approve of magic,
but I�d like you to have this ring of protection.� She offered a delicate golden hoop with a Stars of David engraved
on it. Kitty beamed, and allowed
Jimaine to put it on her ear right away.
�Speaking of rings,� Jon said, �I know you wear your
twine on missions, but when you�re home, maybe you can wear these.� He gave them each a ring box with their
partner�s ring in it.
Kitty held up Kurt�s wide band and
started crying. �It�s so
beautiful.� Kurt got down on one knee
and pulled the string from her finger, and put the smaller band on her. She looked at the glittering gems still in
tears, then tugged him to his, and gave him his own new ring.
Now it was Raven�s turn. �Be sure to thank your brother, he helped me
on this,� she said hesitantly. She
handed Kurt the wrapped portrait, and he took the paper off the portrait of a
devilishly handsome man with a pointed goatee, and sparkling eyes. �Ashton Zell� was carved into the frame, and
Jimmy and Raven both signed it. �This
is your father, Kurt, as I knew him.�
It was Kurt�s turn to weep, and he fiercely embraced his mother to her
obvious embarrassment.
�My turn,� Jimmy said. �The details probably aren�t exact, but
that�s not the point here.� He showed
them a large portrait of the two of them dancing in Hound gray in a shabby
candlelit room. A record player could
be seen on a wire spool table, and worn blankets lined the walls, but what made
the portrait come alive was the interaction between the two figures, as sexual
tension oozed from them. Kurt�s face
bore a tender, if toothy smile, and Kitty�s smile showed her shy interest, a
blush obvious behind the tattoos.
�Mein Gott, brother, it�s
beautiful! Here, look Liebe, a
bottle of old spice on the ground, you can just make it out.�
�And on the table, the record player has a
mismatched arm,� Kitty said. �And
behind that� a ball of twine.� She gave
Jimmy a kiss. �It�s all wrong, of
course, but all the elements are just right, which makes it perfect. Thank you so much.� Jimmy felt himself blush at the praise.
Logan stood up and reached into a
pocket to pull out a letter.
�Half-pint, yer folks are safe, and hopefully it�ll stay that way. We found a way to get word to them about
your freedom, and marriage. They got to
see a photo, but they had to give it back, o� course, too dangerous to keep. But they wrote ya a note, and promised
they�d write more when possible.�
With trembling fingers Kitty opened
the letter, and scanned it quickly. She
chuckled. �It�s better than I
expected,� she said. �They�re happy I�m
safe and glad that I�m happy, but� they wish I could have settled for someone a
little less� blue.�
�But mein Katzchen, how
could they think I was unhappy, married to you?� Kurt fought hard to keep the earnest look on his face, Jimmy
could tell.
She pushed her husband on the
arm. �That�s not what they meant,
fuzzy.�
Becky gave them a decorated wooden
sign that said, �The Wagners�, in letters both carved and burned into the
wood. �My dad helped me with it,� she
said, looking over at the blond man with a smile.
Steve smiled back. �Wood shop was one of my best classes.�
Not being part of the family, most of the other
guests gave their good wishes, but the children Suzanne looked after each
contributed drawings for the occasion.
The happy couple hugged and thanked them.

As the evening wore on to dinner
and dancing, the children were long since sent to bed. Jimmy sat in a corner, and dank enough
alcoholic spirits to keep the Spirits of his conscious at bay. Dion had come to him last night, weeping and
devastated. Her owner had passed her to
a colleague who wasn�t at all gentle.
It made him burn with frustrated anger to see the bruises and bites on
her pale flesh, and know that there was nothing he could do. He�d comforted her as much as he could,
without a word or a touch. The outrage
and love in his eyes would have to be enough.
Eventually, when she faded into
deeper, dreaming sleep, she�d left him.
He�d gotten up, and paced his room.
If only he wasn�t so stupid! He
should have figured out her clues to her location years ago. She was in America, he�d learned that much,
and was on the East Coast, but there was no way to pin point her location, as
there had been for Raven. She was north
of Maryland; he�d felt that when they rescued the Captain.
He slammed his fist on the table,
making the cluttered empty glasses rattle against each other. There were thousands of communities and
millions of people crowding the New England coast, and the Raiders wouldn�t
commit to a mission without a specific target, and he couldn�t provide that. He buried his face in his hands, and tried
to pull himself together. He was so
tired, and so despondent, and the alcohol wasn�t helping� but he didn�t care�
for a moment, a brief moment, his aching soul was anesthetized. It blunted the edges of his pain� but also
washed away his common sense.
Finally someone intruded into Jimmy's
dark corner. It was Kurt, of
course. Kurt always tried to help him
when he was like this. But Jimmy could
no longer console himself with the bitter thought that at least his brother was
alone, too�
�Come on, bruder, off to bed
with you,� Kurt said, taking a forgotten half-filled glass from his hand. �That�s enough to drink.�
�Leave me alone, arseloch,�
Jimmy heard his slurred words, but as if someone else was saying them. �Why don�t you go take your muschi(***)
to bed?�
Jimmy barely had a chance to
register the look of shock and anger on Kurt�s face, before a hard blue fist
sent him abruptly into blessed unconsciousness.

* A/N: I suppose
I�ve come to terms with the Draco storyline in the comics. For one thing, the old �German Count� story
is far too vague. That two word
description is practically all the personality the character ever had in the
original cannon, and that gives a writer little to work with. Having Azazel be Kurt�s father, on the other
hand, opens up many new possibilities for drama. Ol� Azzy isn�t the mythological Devil, or even an infernal demon;
the new canon states he�s from a prehistoric breed of demonic looking mutants,
who were thrust into another dimension by a band of angel-like mutants. So this is my take on the story, with a
�Shield Administrator� taking the place of the Count. Check out �Azazel� in Wikipedia; Kurt�s father is mentioned on
the page.

** A/N:
/Snicker. Props out to an artist
named Bluefooted who has a site at Angelfire� err, it seems to be gone� But, the Nighty pics are mirrored at
www.furandbrimstone.com/art/bluefooted/bluefooted.php. The pics have some hilarious domestic scenes
that deal with shedding fuzzy elves among other problems. PLUG: Bluefooted�s art can be seen at bluefooted.deviantart.com/gallery. Beautiful stuff, including original works
and Harry Potter fanart. Anyway, I�d
planned this scene back when I wrote the original �Mr. Tails� scene in SATK,
and I finally worked it in, adding in Duncan and Rose.

*** A/N: And
finally, I had Kurt say when he and Kitty first met that there was a somewhat
rude word in German that meant both cat, and a women�s sexual anatomy. I�ve never used it before, because Kurt was
would never dream of saying it. (Okay,
he refused to, happy? Darn uppity
characters�) Ordinarily, Jimmy wouldn�t
either, but he�s been kinda stressed lately.
Just wondering� what do you all think of Jimmy and his problems?
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The Circle And The Flame