halfamoon | Day 1: Under the Light of the Moon - X-Men - Rahne, Moira

Title: Just Another Scottish Wolf
Fandom: X-Men
Author: Apache Firecat
Characters: Wolfsbane, Moira X
Rating: PG-13/T
Summary: Rahne learns about Moira X.
Word Count: 1,240
Written For: Half A Moon 2023 Day 1: Under the Light of the Moon, 100 Fandom Hell Fandom #43, and Fannish 50 #12: Wolfsbane
Warnings: Spoilers, Cannon Character Death
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.

She likes to come here still, even though it's been years. She's always loved this land. There's about the Scottish moors that just calls to her. It is, of course, her home, but it's more than that, more even than the fact that the land, especially under the silver light of the full moon, calls to the wolf in her. She is a mutant, true, but she is a wolf first and foremost.

Well, perhaps not quite first and foremost. There's another reason this location remains always so near and dear to her own heart: Every inch of it reminds her of another time in her life. She came here as a terrified, young girl, seeking, and finding, refuge in Lady Moira's arms and heart. The woman had always been hard. She hadn't quite known how to love, but for the first time in years, Rahne had not been beaten or threatened. She had a full belly, warm clothes, and a warm, comfortable bed in which to sleep. Lady Moira may not have quite known how to show love, especially not to a girl child as she'd only ever had a boy and that had ended up so horribly, but Rahne, having lived for so many years underneath the brutal intolerance of Reverend Craig, had recognized not just kindness but genuine love even though it had not been spoken during that time.

It had taken several years before Lady Moira had finally told her she loved her, and after that, there had been one time, late one night after a long and grueling mission, when the poor woman had tried her best to apologize for not having said the words earlier. Rahne had ended that apology with a swift but long lasting hug and had confessed to her then that she'd never had to say a word for her to feel her love. Even when Rahne had become frustrated with Lady Moira's rules, she had always known she'd loved her.

She's heard she's back, but she hasn't dared to approach her. This Lady Moira, from everything Rahne has heard, does not at all sound like her Guardian Angel. Her Lady Moira was never a mutant, yet this creature who wears her name and face claims a mutantcy in being able to be constantly reborn and remember each and every life. If she's the true Lady Moira, she would've come looking for her by now, Rahne knows, but she hasn't. The woman claiming the name of the closest thing she's ever known to a mother is not Lady Moira. She doesn't know who, or what, she truly is, but she's not her mum. She's not the fiery but very human Guardian Angel who had fought so hard to defend her more than once over the years. She's not the strong, domineering woman at whom she witnessed the Legacy Virus slowly eat away at until it killed her. She's not the woman who loved her more than anyone else ever has or will.

Rahne looks up, her thoughts scrambling as she hears distant howls. She's alone here, as far as human and mutant companions go. Excalibur hasn't been at the old keep for years now. She can hear the screams in the howls, but they don't sound frightened. They don't sound like Lady Moira did sometimes in her last days. Suddenly blinking through newly forming tears, Rahne realizes why this Moira X bothers her so much.

it would be terrible enough if she had simply been wearing Lady Moira's face and name, pretending to be her while she worked on whatever secret mission she might have. It would scarcely be the first time that a villain had taken on the image of a X-Man. But this Moira X is disgracing Rahne's beloved Lady Moira every time she opens her mouth or looks out from what appears to be Lady Moira's wise and kind eyes. She has to have some secret plan to hurt the Professor. It's the only reason Rahne can fathom that she would have chosen Lady Moira, the X-Men's longest standing human friend. What else could she possibly have to gain from pretending to be her?

Rahne stretches slowly, the thin, brown fur already covering her body beginning to thicken. Her teeth grow rapidly into fangs as she considers what this mysterious villain must be trying to do by pretending to be her Lady Moira. Either the hoore's aiming to get close to the Professor, or as one of the X-Men's most revered Scientists, she's looking to get close to their technology. She's going to have to go to Krakoa, Rahne realizes. She's going to have to sniff her out and reveal her.

She wonders what will happen when she approaches her. She's going to have to play her moves wisely and cunningly. Surely, the creature knows who she is and of her relationship with Lady Moira. She's got her smell masked too, as well as her thoughts, or she would have been sniffed out by now. But of all the trackers, all the telepaths, and all those with advanced senses, none of them are Lady Moira's daughter. It's past time she went, baby boy or no, and when she reveals the ghalla, she's going to rip her throat out. Lady Moira would nae approve, but just this once, the disrespect of going against all Lady Moira stood for will be out of respect for her. She can't let the hoore continue with her mother's face.

But there's no way to know how long Rahne herself will have to work undercover. She's going to have to be careful and make sure the X-Men know she's right beyond a shadow of a doubt. She can go to Kitty, she thinks, and to Illyana if it's not too late, if they're not already under whatever spell this Moira X is undoubtedly weaving. Dani may help as well. She has a plan forming at long last, Rahne thinks, shrugging out of her clothes, but tonight, before she goes toward Krakoa tomorrow, she's going to have one last night off before she has to face the terror of looking into the eyes and face of her beloved mum and knowing it's some kind of monster behind that apparent kindness.

Tonight, she is going to embrace the Scottish moors and all they mean to her. She will derive strength from them and her wolf tonight, and tomorrow, her mission will begin. Tomorrow, she will face the image of Lady Moira, but she will bring the monster to justice. That hoore isn't her mum, -- and soon, the whole world will know it. She throws back her head and howls, a long howl full of all the emotions that have been raging within her for weeks, ever since she heard the news of this Moira X's existence.

Her long, vibrating howl carries clearly over the moors. The other wolves hush for a moment. She can picture them, with ease, tilting their heads to the side, lifting their ears, and listening. She howls again, letting them know that she is friend, she is one of them, and then she runs. She runs, allowing her full wolf out to completion and allowing her all too human thoughts to stop for a night. Tomorrow, she will deal with reality. Tomorrow, she will cope with emotions. Tomorrow, she will target Moira X. But for tonight, she is just another Scottish wolf.

The End