Xaviers!

"They will find me. They know how." She's certain of that, even if she couldn't articulate why she's certain.

"The world's a big place... Right now they just know where you are."

"What then? Live on the run? Live in the middle of nowhere off the grid? You wouldn't be happy doing that."

"I don't know, it's not like I've had a chance to think this through. But there's plenty of cities to disappear and start a new life in. Away from all this."

"And you'd want to do that with me?" Miriam can sense Wanda's mind searching for something to hold onto. At the same time, she again becomes uncomfortably aware of being hungry and just how close and alive Wanda is.

"I... I do..." It sounds so easy in her head. Run away with her, figure out a way not to hurt her... Maybe she'd even be okay with it to let her... She snaps back into reality and she has no idea how to even bring this up. "I need you, Wanda. You're the only thing that's good in my life and... I don't want to hurt you, but... I need you..." she trails off in a whisper, her head sinking against Wanda's shoulder.

Wanda's obviously a little confused, but the reassurance seems to at least corral her wild mind. She puts her arms around Miriam, still shivering slightly, but mostly from the cold air coming down from above. "You're cold. We should warm you up."

"Please trust me..." she whispers and pushes a mental suggestion along with it. It's not really intentional, she just can't bear the idea of having Wanda react like Haley; and her desire for her to be okay with this is dominating her thoughts as she slowly lifts her mouth towards Wanda's neck. She tries to be gentle, but ultimately her sharp teeth sinking into Wanda's skin is vicious. Carnal.

Wanda gasps, obviously a bit numbed by the cold, but biting through the skin is still biting through the skin. Wanda's grip on her tightens and her hindbrain tries to fight the suggestion, but it's finally pushed aside by the creeping sensation that the bite instills in her. She sags against Miriam, brain in a pleasant fog. Haley's blood was good, but Wanda's blood is... different. Miriam can feel the rush, not just the liquid rush but a euphoric sensation of her own that wasn't there when she was drinking blood out of a can. It's almost enough to make Miriam feel alive again, but not quite.

For a moment Miriam forgets what she's doing. Nothing has ever quite tasted this good, like a warm mug on a snowy night, like orange light shining through a window. And on some level she realizes that once she stops she'll be left outside in the cold again, cut off from the momentary warmth and light. But it's not infinite. Every moment she spends like this she's slowly snuffing it out and having to live with that would be worse than going back to the cold. So with some reluctance she pulls back after a while, running her tongue over Wanda's bloodstained skin to not let any of it go to waste before she leans back with a soft sigh.

The warmth is still there, though not as strong as it was. Wanda's obviously just a little light-headed, but she blinks and reaches up to her neck, not feeling any injury. "How? What?"

"Thank you..." is all Miriam whispers, reaching out to gently run the back of her hand over Wanda's cheek.

Wanda takes Miriam's hand, holding it against her cheek. Miriam can feel the tears frosted there by the cold air coming down the stairwell. "Least I could do... I think."

Somewhere deep inside Miriam realizes (or convinces herself) that she doesn't deserve Wanda. She's done nothing to deserve this but she can't give it up, now more than ever.

"I'll protect you from the rest of them. Here or anywhere."

"Then, we should probably stay here. More people here to help you, if you need it." She struggles to her feet, "I'm cold.... I need to get somewhere warm."

"Yeah, I'm sure people would love to 'help' me with this." she says, slowly getting up and helping Wanda do the same. "Come on, the fireplace in the foyer might still be lit."

"No... not whatever you've got going on... protecting me... You're fine." Wanda's judgment might be a bit impaired.

"I suppose..." she says as they make their way down the stairs.


The trek across campus is unpleasantly cold, but thankfully fairly short and soon they're in the mostly empty mansion, the fireplace in the room still crackling with a small fire.

Wanda finds a seat as close to it as possible and snuggles down into the chair, color returning to her cheeks as she soaks in the warmth.

Miriam sits down next to her a bit reluctantly, watching her with bit of a heavy heart. She almost certainly deserves better than this, yet she's not sure she could bring herself to leave, even once she's safe. She lets out a soft sigh and reaches over to brush some hair out of Wanda's face.

Wanda smiles at her, obviously more certain now that this is Miriam despite the whole drinking blood thing. She reaches out and pulls Miriam close and hugging her tightly, "Thank you for protecting me."

Miriam musters a smile. "Safe it for when I actually do..."

Outside the small but intense snowstorm around the Lighthouse slowly spreads out, losing intensity as it turns into just regular snow that begins to coat the school and the town.

"You occasionally protect me from myself," she says, "So I'm allowed and I owe you." She kisses Miriam's forehead gently, "So what do you need me to do for you?"

"This. This is fine. Be my light and my warmth."

Wanda nods, leaning her head on Miriam's. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Don't worry about it, I'll... handle it."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"You already did. Really, it's fine." she lies.

"Well, if you need me to... whatever that was again, just ask."