Unsuccessful Communication

"I'll leave the three of you to speak." The coach said, closing the door to his office as to give the trio some measure of privacy. At this point in the day, the gym was pretty busy, the school day having ended and a number of students beginning to come in for their lessons.

Thus leaving Esau looking across at the two men with a raised brow. "Whatcha want with me?" Esau asked. "If my dad owes you money, go take it up with him, why the fuck are you bothering me for?"

"I can assure you, Esau, we are not here to talk about your father's gambling addiction, nor his other addictions." Charles' words made Esau even more curious, wondering to himself as to how he knew that. Even more so as to why he was here in the first place, especially if it wasn't for his fathers' gambling addictions, perhaps his mother had done something? "Your mother is also not why we are here."

"How'd you..."

'I'm here, Esau, to offer you a place where you can be surrounded by people just like you." The voice that rung inside Esau's head made him quickly shoot to his feet, rapidly staring around at his surroundings. Yet the familiarity of the voice made him instantly look straight to Charles upon confirming it was just the three of them in the room.

His sudden reactions however had made Logan tense up, warily watching Esau for any sign of aggression. There was plenty of it from the kid, but he did not act upon it and so Logan in turn, remained seated.

Though he never once lowered his guard.

He had briefly seen the kid spar against his opponents before the coach called him over. It was the same group that Charles and he had seen upon first entering into the gym, the same group that had continued to spar throughout their conversation and even after that.

One fighter, Esau remained a constant throughout as each fighter he went up against constantly swapped in and out when one fighter grew tired or got overwhelmed. The constant mix of fighters and their styles never once halted his actions, Esau consistently being the aggressor and just beating his opponents into submission.

Just from that single instance, Logan had been able to see just how talented the kid was. More so than any of the kids they currently had back at the mansion, when it came to combat that was.

"You?" Esau questioned slowly. "You're a mutant?"

"A telepath," Charles confirmed, then indicating towards Logan. "My friend here, is also a mutant, just as you are. This is precisely why we would like to offer you a position at our institute. A place in which young mutants like yourself can come together and learn to hone and control your powers."

Esau ignored all that though, looking directly towards Logan. From the moment he had laid eyes on the smaller, burlier man, Esau had been filled with a desire to fight the guy. He had the same air around him that every other fighter had possessed before he beat them. That air of confidence and strength, yet this Logan held a much higher degree of it.

That meant a challenge.

Recently Esau had faced very little of such a thing.

"What can you do?"

"None of your business, kid," Logan replied gruffly, nonplussed at being viewed as just a freak show, something to satisfy Esau's amusement.

"Why not?" Esau pressed. "Is it something stupid? Embarassing? Humiliating?"

"You can keep throwing out words, kid if you know anymore that is. But my answer isn't going to change. I'm not some circus freak that shows off his skills for your amusement. Charles has got an offer, you're gonna listen and then you're gonna accept it because it's a hundred times better than anything you've had up till this point." Logan retorted, staring down Esau whose smile widened dramatically, though not before dipping slightly in the beginning.

Charles could see the look in the kid's eyes and also read the thoughts that went through his mind. 'Logan, please do not agitate the boy.' He chastised telepathically.

"Really?" Esau asked, completely unaware of what Charles had just said. "I am, am I? Why's that? Because you're gonna come along and get me away from my deadbeat dad? Or how about my gold digger of a mother? Is that what you're going to do? Do you think I need your help getting away from them? What makes you think I want to leave? Or couldn't leave at any point?"

"That is not what we are saying." Charles tried to intervene. "We are simply offering you a place in which to be surrounded by people that are just like you. A place to make friends." Esau didn't even turn to face Charles, just continuing to stare down at Logan who never once looked away. 'You've touched a nerve, Logan.'

'The kid was violent, you saw it. He didn't simply beat those kids, he brutalised them. There were times when a fighter was knocked unconscious, but he kept hitting them, stopping them from dropping to the floor. Another fighter would have to come in just to distract the kid so they could drag the other fighter to safety.' Logan replied easily. 'He needs a reality check.'

'And I suppose you are the one to give it to him?' Charles asked, feeling a headache coming his way. Perhaps he should have brought Ororo along with him after all, at least she wouldn't have just clearly torn open a mental wound that had not even come close to healing.

"Esau, would you please accompany us to my home, meet the other students, get to know them?" Charles wondered, hoping to rectify some of the damage Logan had done in this meeting. "You are moving to Bayville next term, are you not? Well, our students go there as well. It would be a perfect way to make friends before your school term begins."

Esau rounded on him. "You're a telepath, right? Read my mind." He spat out. 'Fuck you, there's your answer.'

With that, Esau stormed past the group, the door slamming harshly behind him to the point it swung back open. The gym went completely silent as Esau walked straight out, not saying a word and completely pissed. Something that made everyone who knew him, take a wide berth, just to make sure that they didn't end up on the receiving end of his anger.

As this unfolded, Charles sighed heavily.

"I told you, Charles," Logan said. "Should have asked, Ororo."

"I am beginning to question my decision to bring you along also." The wheelchair-bound telepath agreed. "Though I admit, this is not entirely your fault. Esau, it seemed, misconstrued your words and jumped to conclusions. Part of the blame falls on my shoulders, for not recognising the volatile nature of his connection to his parents."

Though as Charles thought upon it, he wondered to himself just what kind of connection Esau had with his parents. Often volatile and neglectful relationships like the one Esau shared with his parents was easy to spot. There were clear signs, not only in the way they acted to certain phrases but also in their thoughts that only he as a telepath would be able to spot. Yet, in Esau's mind, his relationship with his parents was equal parts hostile and loving.

A strange mix that he had not quite seen before.

Then again though, it was not like he was perfect, a mistake had been made. Though it was not beyond rectifying, that much he knew. 'Despite their hostility towards one another, both Esau and Logan share many similarities.' That difference was probably something that led to the two clashing as they had and it was also why Charles didn't believe Esau was beyond reach just yet.

Logan had not been open to the idea of his dream or the X-Men in the beginning. It had taken time, but ultimately, he had opened up to the idea and eventually gotten on board. If Charles had been able to do that with Logan, handling a younger version of him wouldn't be so hard.

"What are we going to do about the kid?" Logan asked.

"Well, I'm going to have to ask that you don't get involved from this point on." Logan had no problem with that at all. "As for now, we just give him some space, let him calm his head and then approach him once more. We have a headstart and lucky for us, Mystique does not know he's a mutant."

Logan rose to his feet, Charles turning his wheelchair around, the two making their way out of the office, ignoring the glances and mutterings sent their way as they headed towards the coach.

"You're going to have to work hard, if Mystique figures out what he is and recruits him, you'll be giving her a very talented and very violent fighter," Logan warned, Charles knowing full well what that could mean. He had faith in his X-Men and their talents, despite how young they were. Yet he also couldn't ignore the things he had seen, both in person and in Esau's mind about his talents. Nor could he ignore Logan's words or the thoughts of those around him on Esau.

Talented it seemed didn't even come close to describing the boy's affinity for close-quarters combat. Nor did the word violent truly encompass the brutality with which Esau fought.

"I do remember you also being quite violent when we first met, Logan." Charles hinted.

It was his hope that maybe if Logan realised the similarities he and Esau shared, then he might be able to help the young teen from going down the wrong path.