Ophelia Ward

“Alright. I’ll be there.” Reyna gets the text within a couple minutes, but she decides to wait. Who knew how Ophelia’s lot would react to her? She tended to be a polarising fighter–depending on whether people approved of her methods or not. But she only manages to wait for 5 minutes, too worried that Isla might not be as okay as she thought. Kneeling next to the young woman, she used her powers to travel to the location Ophelia had given her.

Reyna is shocked by how much it hurts to hear her voice again. More than twenty years since she’d seen Ophelia, and yet it reopens wounds like it was yesterday. But it didn’t matter. Not now. Not while Isla lay unconscious beside her. “I found her. She’ll be fine, but she’s hurt. Give me an address, we’ll come to you. I’ll explain there.” It would be far easier than either of them trying to navigate the streets. And Reyna remembers how protective Ophelia is. She wants to return her daughter to her as soon as possible.

So she followed the trails, the whispers around her telling her where the most recent raids were. Where not to go. And she went, looking for Isla in desperation. She’s nearly out of gas, ready to give into the despair threatening to take over, when she feels her phone vibrating in her pocket. Not many people had her number, and instantly she knows. Grabbing it, she picks up with her breath thin. “Hello?” She tries to catch her next breath, hoping to hear Isla’s voice.

Felix sets their elbows on the table and leans on their palms. A smile creeps over their face and becomes a full grin showing his pointy canines. “I’m curious to see what you choose, maybe the cat like everyone else.” Humming for a moment, they decide to tell her instead of making her guess. “Felix.”

“So, Ophelia~” they sing her name in the tune of The Lumineers song, “what book are you reading?”

Ophelia makes sure to roll her eyes as loudly as possible at that one, not because it was annoying or anything but she knows teasing is more fun if she pretends to be bothered by it. She shakes her head at the cat bit, “Felix Felicis, are you lucky then?”

“To the celestial and my soul’s idol, the most beautified Ophelia.” Felix recites a line from Hamlet. They are pretty sure she’s probably heard all kinds of references towards her name before, but they didn’t care. Leaning against an open palm, Felix flicks the writing utensil in their hand back and forth while staring at her. She looked like she’d be bubbly, also looked like she didn’t want to talk.

So, of course, Felix continues the conversation, “I’m pretty good with names and faces as long as I connect them to something. So now, you are either that song by the Lumineers or straight out of Hamlet. Are you a student too?”

Opi was used to the Shakespeare references, and more recently the song ones. They didn’t annoy her though. Instead she chuckles and shrugs as if to say what can I do? They seemed nice, a little strange maybe, but most people did here. She glances towards the couch she’d been heading towards and bites her lip before making a decision. Another friend never hurt.

She sits in the chair beside them instead, book perched on her lap. “I am, and not fair. I don’t know your name yet, how can I choose a device to remember it by?”

Awhile back, Felix was walking around minding their own business when they realized something wasn’t right. They’d stepped into a time that should have been over about one hundred and forty years ago. During those lost few months, they came across a man claiming he wanted to help mutants like Felix. They took the man’s offer, because there was no other choice at the time, and came to be friends with the telepath. Somewhere along that friendship, they both realized they could use Felix’s ability to slip through time to their advantage. That’s why the vampire showed up here at the Institute in 2018 six months ago.

Now, Felix was sitting around laughing at himself because why on earth would anyone at this age go back to school? It was a calculated move, but still it was a ridiculous thought. Sighing after finishing homework in the lounge, Felix looked around at the other people and picked a target for conversation. “Hey, have we met before?”

Putting Isla to bed was exhausting. The little girl was constantly running back out of the room the moment Ophelia thought she was free to come down to the lounge. But around the third or fourth try, it stuck and Opi was humming happily to herself as she entered the lounge with a book under her arm. She wasn’t sure where Reyna was tonight, but if her girlfriend needed her she’s sure she’d know. She’s halfway to her favorite couch when their voice stops her.

Even if she was desperate to go settle down, she stops and smiles brightly. She didn’t have it in her to be rude or dismissive. “Hi, no. I don’t think so, I’m pretty good with faces,” she says before jutting out a hand to shake. “I’m Ophelia.”