— Marlowe Faraday — Armonia Torres — Flavie Lefevre —

It became increasingly evident and through no small amount of thought that Flavie was surrounded by some sort of slavic descended barbarians. Or from the accent of the Art director, some sort of communist resistance movement ran by Che Guevara. She thought that the discussion of killing, from an outsider perspective, was odd but was sure there was probably a reason for it. This didn't make her any less nervous. She still needed to figure out where she was sleeping and whom she was sleeping around, hopefully not anyone who spit fire or flew. The idea of someone flying threw her for a loop, mostly because she couldn't imagine anything other than birds of prey.

Deciding to leaver her pyramid of backpack and two suitcases near the seats, she looked about for the least likely to impale her with a sword arm looking authority figure. There was one who looked like a lawyer of sorts, which was good because she certainly wasn't going near the one with the tattoos was addressed as "Art". Isn't that how Greaser Gangs worked here?

Flavie moved along the far, far edges of the auditorium with the hopes that she wouldn't be forced to speak to anyone else. Unfortunately, fate wasn't so kind, and she had to stop and vaguely acknowledge the fact that Harley existed. She managed to breathe out a "Hi" in a voice that suggested absolute terror, meekness, and breathe that suggested the tootsie roll she'd eaten earlier.

It wasn't that Harley hated everyone in the auditorium—maybe he did and just didn't have the stomach to admit it. Regardless, after the zealous outburst from the crowd, and after getting elbowed in the face by the person sitting directly in front of him, Harley had slowly crawled across the sea of people to get to the furthest end of the auditorium. It so happened that another person had the exact same idea. She seemed to have executed a little better than he.

Having stopped just in time to put the proper amount of distance between them, Harley lifted the ball cap from his head and simply stared at her. Subconsciously twisting the hat, he responded with a likewise, "Hi." That was probably the worst mistake he could have made. Giving an introvert nothing to work off of was like giving a T-Rex a pot of tea and asking him to take it off the stove before it burned. Burned tea. Who burns tea?

"Uh... Harley," he started, raising his hand after a brief pause.

Flavie raised her own hand seemingly automatically and proceeded to complete the by no means easy task of standing still and dying inside. After about ten seconds time she lowered her arm and shuffled her way around Harley as awkwardly as you might imagine. After crossing the, too her at this moment, vast distance around Harley, she did a short jog then a even shorter walk up to Marlowe.

She managed to, in a manner similar to a viet kong firing an ak47 into thickets, spurt out, "I don't know which room is mine, help?"

"Excuse me?" Marlowe coughed, having stopped in the middle of rigorously, and vainly, cleaning the grass stains that spotted his pants, "I'm sorry, can you run that by me again?"

Pausing for breath, Flavie said, slowly, attempting to alleviate her accent/not panic, "I don't know which room is mine." She stood stiff.

Marlowe gave a quick nod as he beckoned for her to follow. It wasn't an inconvenience, by any means, but he couldn't quite help but let a brief, exhausted sigh. From the look of it, his day had just recently taken a nosedive and it wasn't getting any better. "What's your name? I might be able to find out who your roommate is and then your room," he asked, giving Flavie his best smile.

"Oh! Uh. Flavie." she said, looking back. She'd left her things where she was sitting. "Can I grab my..." she struggled for the American term. "Stuff?"

"Right," Marlowe regarded, wading through the students and stopping at the exit as he gestured for her to go, "I'll be right here." Lucky for her, he was among the taller bunch of teachers and often had a way of standing out in a crowd. It was probably the hair.

The crowd had thinned, though due to the sheer volume of mutants of various sorts, it still took her a string of "sorry's" and "excusez-moi's" before she had finally reached her ticking suitcase, less important suitcase, and bag. Flavie eventually returned to Marlowe, her weight shifted to the ticking case due to sheer weight.

"Should I be concerned about the ticking?" Marlowe asked, arching a brow as he stared down at her.

Flavie looked aside from his scrutinizing gaze, "It's eh. Clocks. Plane let them on, so..."

"I bet that was a real pain in the ass," he said, smiling as he escorted her through the pile of students, "You'd think a bunch of mutants would understand the concept of personal space. Try not to get your eyes poked out, or skin flayed. God forbid that happens in a giant pile of puberty stricken, sex-crazed kids."

Staring forward unblinking, Flavie said with complete deadpan, "I'm not sleeping near those ones, am I?"

"Well, not any of the more volatile ones," Marlowe pondered and looked back at her. With a reassuring smile, [i]"Who knows, we might have ran out of rooms with all these kids blocking our exit. You may just have to room with a teacher." He chuckled as he pushed through to the hallway, attempting to remember where Art had specifically wandered off to.

Flavie said, with a small stutter at the start, "N-not the one talking about the killing?" She shuddered. "That one was..." she paused again to find a proper expression, "Spooky?" No, that was more what you would call ghost. "Or...other word." she finished with some disappointment.

Marlowe grinned, suddenly thinking of many appropriate and inappropriate substitute words. Shaking his head, he gestured toward the door specifically propped with a chair. "I assure you, she's not as bad as you think," he said, giving her a wink, "However, I think I know someone in here that can properly direct you. Sorry, I'm currently incompetent."

“Mars! Mi amor!” Art grinned as her pets greeted her friend, the dogs jumping up with pleas to be held and the cat rubbing against his legs, marking her territory. The Cuban woman was busying herself with the preparation of baked pork chops, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and tossed salad. It was hardly a bomb ass meal as she promised, but she figured she'd save the big meal to help prepare for dinner later that evening. With her fast metabolism, this was just a snack. The blonde turned her bright brown eyes to her old friend and blew him a kiss, using her heels to walk across the floor. Having extra hands give you a pedicure while you cooked was a feeling that she very much enjoyed. Delicate and glowing hands were flying about low to the floor, applying black tips to her nails. “Who's the newbie?” She was a ray of sunshine.... Well, more like a ray of rainbow, flitting around the kitchen with spices smeared on her hands and face and a smile gracing her lips.

The fact the woman was cheery eased Flavie a bit, the fact there were floating hands in the air did the exact opposite. Her eyes trailed them disapprovingly. Though, she was hungry. So still watching the, to her, magic hands, Flavie set down her things near the door next to each other and propped at about generally the same height. She was hoping the animals weren't a part of whatever strange food ritual might exist in the land of corned dogs.

Mars gave a chuckle, bending to grab the cat. Out of all the animals that trailed Art, Marlowe probably spoiled that cat the most and apparently it knew. Hugging the animal to his chest, Marlowe rested himself against the nearest wall. The sudden wave of relief that washed over him felt oddly like the pause in hurricane, and he definitely resembled the aftermath of one. Setting Fonz down, he smiled brightly at Art and was very well tempted to pick up the now mewling and irritated cat. "This, m'lady," he gestured toward Flavie with a wink, "Is Flavie the French. She's lost and I, for the life of me, can't seem to remember the assigned rooms."

Flavie nodded in the affirmative, looking at the food with a skeptical glance, "Oui."

Art watched as Fonz cuddled with Marlowe, one of the few males that the cat did like. A light giggle bubbled up but she suppressed and instead began to hum, letting calm wash over her and fill her music. She had noticed Mars seem to simply melt when he arrived and assumed he was stressed. The girl looked a bit tense too. “Mmm. Flavie the French, eh? I don't know about her, but I know of a Flavie Lefevre rooming with Miss Morena Silicus.” She gave a polite smile and snapped her fingers, the hands moving towards her body and seeming to merge with her until they disappeared. “Here. You look like you could use some meat on your bones, joven.” She grabbed a saucer and placed a pork chop on it that still had steam rising from it, garnishing it with mint and holding it out to Flavie, who took it greedily. It was the closest thing she'd seen resembling something that a human could put into their mouth and not become The Hulk. “No worries, it's organic. We don't buy supermarket groceries around here.” Art's gaze moved to Marlowe. “You want some, Mars,” she asked with a lifted brow, still speaking in a sing-song tone. "I'll take some, yeah," Mars breathed, snorting after a brief pause, "Supermarket groceries. I remember when I was practically forced to start a garden in my backyard after Ryan rented Food, Inc. Worst time of my life." He trailed off, chewing on his bottom lip slightly. The cat had settled on his shoes, looking up at his downcast eyes inquisitively.

Realizing he was near a crowded hallway, Mars immediately looked up to smile and nod to Flavie. "Does a Morena sound familiar to you?" Flavie was chewing on the porkchop, "Mmph?" she swallowed. "A little?" She went back to indulging her wanton food lust.

“Breathe. There's more where it came from.” Art gave a light laugh and pointed towards the bar stools near the island counter. “Morena doesn't have any bad marks. She's a magic channeler. Pretty awesome to have one of them around again; Remember Majesty?” Art gave a light grin as she moved back to the uncooked meat, spreading more seasonings on them before popping them into the oven. Marlowe groaned, wading through the animals clogging the entrance. Either he had a thing for well-seasoned food, or he was just that hungry and hadn't yet realized it. He waved his hand toward Flavie, pulling one of the stools out for her to sit. Flavie held the porkchop in her mouth and took the seat with some relief, as from a combination of mental exhaustion from constant worry and hunger, standing was killing her legs. The whiskey laid out prior to their entrance was quickly snatched and poured into a glass Marlowe retrieved. He quickly downed it before turning to look at Flavie.

"You can have as much pork as you want, but none of this stuff," he commented just as he averted his attention toward Art, "Majesty? That sounds familiar. You know, as long as she doesn't summon a rampaging demon." Flavie finished ravaging the porkchop and asked, meekly, "Demon?" Then skeptically, [i]"Really?" Marlowe gave her an exasperated look. "How long have you actually lived in this world? Specifically, this universe." That was a tough question, she recalled distinctly one time where she spent about a week in some strange worlds. Most of the time, time didn't pass in normal time. Sometimes it did. It made no sense to her. One had way too many birds. "...fifteen? I think?" She hadn't really considered how long she'd spent elsewhere.

“We had a mutant here once whose X-Gene allowed them to channel the magic in the world. She could summon demons from Tartarus. Which is pretty bomb. My mom would have loved her; She was Greek.” She gave a fond smile but quickly tucked away the tears that threatened to fall as memories of her mother attempted to flood her mind. “Here.” She loaded brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes with another of the nearly fifty already cooked pork chops onto a plate, motioning for the two to dig in. “But Morena seems to be on the up and up.”

That was an interesting speech. To tell the truth, River never expected such an 'act of war'. Of course, it was all to encourage the usage of self defence and to stand up for who they really are. Fight the oppression if it comes to your doorstep, it was an effective method to prevent people from screwing around with you but in the end, where would that leave everyone? It would eventually start a war, that was for sure. River got up from his chair and moved between the other students which wasn't very hard given his small frame. Most didn't even notice him and the others simply stepped aside as he came, allowing him further passage. River didn't have much of an issue to be in bigger crowds and it wasn't very uncomfortable, but getting out to get some fresh air sounded like a good idea. Moving towards the exit, he saw a few faces he had never seen before and others whom he had laid eyes on in the past. Without saying a word, River simply moved past them but stopped dead in his steps once Marlowe appeared. Why was that guy so scary? It's not like he would pin River to a wall and beat the crap out of him. Taking a deep breath, and waiting a distance from Marlowe and the girl he was escorting, River continued once there was acceptable distance between the two. Marlowe was most likely no one from River's past and this cat and mouse business was getting seriously old. The kid would need to stop being so paranoid, people would start wondering, not to mention Marlowe himself.

Once he was finally out of the auditorium, River made his way down the hall and towards his room. He had no idea who his roommate this year would be, and hopefully it wasn't some kind of super charged uncontrollable bomb. Being blown up in his sleep didn't sound very tempting, but everything that had happened today got him thinking. How many of the people in that auditorium had been through something unimaginably horrible due to their powers? Who had accidentally killed someone they loved or had been chased out the door by that very person? After that speech of war, River couldn't help but think about all the poor souls who needed to sit through that after having been through enough bloodshed already. River himself didn't quite understand what it felt like, he'd never been there. He never had a family to begin with and in a way, that's incredibly relieving. There were never any catastrophes in his life, and his power wasn't at all devastating to say the least.

Once River got settled in his room, made his bed and made sure that his pew-pew stick was there for ready access, he left for the cafeteria. Damn, he hadn't even eaten yet. Hopefully he wouldn't need to sleep with a gun under his pillow due to his roommate. Who knows, though. Perhaps his roommate had the mutation to summon unicorns.
River walked along the corridors, knowing which one lead where at this point, and turned a left before ending up by the cafeteria, finally. After taking a seat, he took a deep breath and considered what he could eat. Perhaps something small would be enough, since the whole school would eat dinner later, though River hadn't even had breakfast yet. A sandwich would work. Yes, that was a good idea. River moved towards the glass display and reached for a ham and cheese sandwich and a small bottle of juice before retiring back to a table and started to eat. For a kid from the streets, he seemed to have very acceptable table manners. Chew with your mouth closed, sit up straight, don't talk with food in your mouth. Not that he had anyone to speak to, but still. Hopefully no one would be pissed off at him for taking a snack before the big meal, but given that he was starving, perhaps it could be overlooked.

Outside the sun was shining brightly and perhaps he could go and enjoy it some. Though, the teachers most likely wanted the students to stay in for a little while. If everyone ran off, where would that leave all the new ones? For once in their lives, it would be nice to not have to fend for themselves every step of the way. If someone asked, River would help, but seeking out stray sheep wasn't on his to do list.

Mila quickly rushed through the halls as she hurried her way to the auditorium. She was late, she knew she was late and she hated that fact. The trained girls foot falls made hardly a sound against the polished oak. She found the auditorium and her stomach sank as she heard a voice speaking out from behind the doors. Mila took the door by the handle and lightly pulled it open before slipping in and easing the door shut behind her. She tip toed along the back of the huge room, hoping the great magnitude of other mutants hid her late arrival. She found an open seat next to some random individuals that paid the girl no mind. She sighed with relief, believing she was an invisible enigma. She was certain she was a ninja. Yes, ninja indeed.

Mila folded her hands leisurely over her lap as she sat quietly in the auditorium. She was a bit set back by the mild eagerness of killing. How it seemed to be such a simple notion to wipe another person out of existence. She was all for defending ones self but there certainly were more option then killing. Though she couldn't very well blame them. She heard of what had happened not long before with their previous Head Master known as Xavier. He seemed a nice man from what she heard. She sighed lightly under her breath. If they wanted to kill that was their business. She didn't need to join in on the blood shed.

As the assembly came to an end Mila pushed herself to her feet. She looked around idly as the masses shuffled about to leave the room. She was in no rush to push herself through a crowd. She stretched her arms up into the air, yawning lightly as she wiggled and stretched. She over slept and her body was feeling a bit stiff. As time passed and the delightful view the floor was a relieving symbol of room to walk. She swayed through the remaining stragglers, making her way into the hall way and using her sense of smell to lead her way towards the promise of food. She might be a killer but the promise of food gave her good brownie points. And now she wanted brownies.

As she turned down ta hall she noticed the room with the chair propping the door open. She pushed her way through, stepping up and over the chair casually as if the thought of moving it out of the way and replacing it was far from her mind. She looked around the kitchen, noticing how the small animals relaxed along the floor. And two people sat on stools while the girl that introduced herself as Art was cooking food.

"Hello." she spoke simply. Her accent flawlessly American. She had no intention to let anyone know she was from Russia. Living a life on the run left little room for people to know her true origins. "I heard there was food?" She asked, looking for permission to make herself a plate. For such a petite girl she had a rather big appetite.

Daisy/Duncan/Freddie

Daisy was startled to see Marlowe file into line next to her, grass staining his normally immaculate clothing, his stunning blue eyes marred by a little red. She blinked a couple of times rapidly, unsure of what was wrong or how exactly to proceed. Not wanting to interrupt Kitty’s speech, she settled for reaching over with her tiny hand and giving his own beautifully manicured one a warm squeeze. He would talk to her later if he wanted to or needed to, and it wasn’t her place to pry, just to be there.

Releasing his hand, her gaze was caught by Nia stepping forward, her skin aglow. Of course, the woman would have been radiant simply because of her confidence, but literal radiance was certainly eye-catching. “Show off,” muttered Daisy in a teasing tone, grinning from ear to ear. She listened carefully to her friend’s words, and while they seemed to get a roaring response from the student body (at least in the beginning), they left Daisy feeling very somber.

Of course she would defend the school by any means necessary, it had been a promise she had made when she had accepted the position as teacher and Daisy did not take promises lightly, but the thought of actually having to act on that pledge made her feel nauseous. Perhaps it was ironic since she taught combat, but Daisy had never been quick to violence, only using it as a means of defense, and even then she chose to quickly incapacitate her foes rather than deal permanent damage. The thought of actually taking a life… it scared her, and Daisy didn’t scare easily.

The assembly came to a close and the students and teachers began to disperse. A loud rumble gurgled from her stomach and Daisy wrapped her arms around herself sheepishly. With a metabolism as high as hers it was never a smart idea to skip a meal, but breakfast had been the last thing on her mind that morning, and now she needed sustenance. Standing on her tiptoes, Daisy ducked between people, peering around bodies, trying to locate Freddie’s familiar form so that they could walk to the kitchen together and take advantage of Nia’s fabulous cooking skills.

Instead, she found herself locking gazes with the last person in the world she wanted to see. All of her nervousness from that morning came back in a rush, her stomach knotting painfully, her heart rate accelerating rapidly as if she had just finished a sprint. Even though he was all the way across the hall, Daisy found her body frozen in place, unable to disengage, to walk away.

‘Fuck,’ she thought to herself, her panic expressing itself in a notable widening of her already large eyes, ‘Oh fuck me. Fuck. FUCK.’

She knew what she wanted to do. Her instinct was to teleport away, as far away as she could, dig a hole wherever she ended up, and die in it. In fact, she might have actually flickered out of existence for half a second, she wasn’t really paying close attention, but as her body began to get over the shock she resolved herself to the situation. She was an adult, a grown woman, not a little girl who got scared and fled. She would deal with this accordingly.

Straightening, she was abruptly aware of how short the skirt of her dress was and blushed a bit, tugging at the hem in a vain attempt to make it cover more of her shapely legs as she crossed the auditorium room floor. Eventually she came to a stop, her ruby heels clicking together with finality. There was no running away now. Taking a deep breath, Daisy forced herself to lift her head and once again meet his gaze. ‘Was he always this BIG?’ she thought absently to herself as she tried to scramble together some sort of greeting, something that would be appropriate to say in this, the most inappropriate of situations.

“H-hi,” she said finally. ‘Absolutely pathetic,’ she thought to herself.

Duncan watched with cold blue eyes, surveying the room for any potential threats. At any given time, anyone in that room was a threat. He didn't cheer along with the crowd, he sat and watched the pixie like blonde teacher. Her skirt pretty short, it looked good. Daisy had a fantastic pair of legs. He remained seated, arms folded and mouth shut as Art began her little tirade. Duncan had nothing against cursing, he himself was pretty bad for it but Art doing it in front of some very young children and he didn't really appreciate it. It was a good job he liked Professor Torres.

Students began to file out of the room, Duncan remained in his seat for a little while and just as he stood, he saw her directly facing him. He wanted to call her by name but was well aware that it might draw funny looks and the last thing he wanted was for attention to be drawn to them. She did look so fucking hot in that skirt though. "Miss Vaughn, good to see you" DS had made a habit of hiding his unique accent, it could get a little confusing for some so often he masked it with a more generic English one, it was a bit of a talent actually. "I was wondering when I could swing by your office and return that copy of Julius Cesar to you?" It was a code, obviously only known by the two of them. When Daisy first gave him that book six months ago, neither knew what it would eventually lead to.

Daisy hesitated, her lower lip catching between her teeth. Part of her, the part of her that was more honest with herself, knew that spending any more time alone with Duncan was an infinitely bad idea. It was too much time alone over break that had gotten them to where they were in the first place. On the other hand, meeting would give them time to talk and give her the opportunity to put an end to... to whatever exactly this was. And she had to stop it, she was a teacher for crying out loud! That fact of course didn't stop her from watching as his hands slid into the pockets of his jeans, remembering how those hands had felt, and his lips- 'GAH!!!!!' she screamed at herself internally, 'STOP IT!!! JUST STOP!!!'

"Yeah," she said, shaking her head a bit to focus herself, "Yeah, that sounds good, I will probably be in my office shortly after lunch. We should talk." Her tone was a little tense, but when she looked back up at Duncan her resolve wavered. Damnit if she wasn't fond of the young man. "You did like it though?" she asked, her tone returning to its normal, warm range, "The book I mean? I have the rest of Shakespeare's works if you'd like them."

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune but omitted, and the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat and we must take the current when it serves or lose the ventures before us." Duncan knew the book inside and out, quoting literary and scholarly figures was not new to him. Often the young man would use quotes to get his point across. He was a man of few words but when he did use them, they always meant something. DS had the unique ability to convey his thoughts and feelings with but a look and in that moment, his steely blue/grey eyes were telling Daisy exactly how he was feeling and exactly what he wanted, "Yeah, I'd like to take a look at your collection"

A dry half smile crept up onto his young face . "After lunch I can do" Duncan quickly scanned the room again, prying eyes and little birds caused all sorts of problems and he had to make sure none were watching. He took the left hand from his jean pocket and placed it on Daisy's right arm gently. "I'll be seeing you, Professor Vaughn" The context of his words were subtle, the dark meaning only known by the young teacher and her student.

Daisy shivered at the power with which his voice conveyed the quote, his gentle touch sending shockwaves up her arm. "Mmm," she murmured in confirmation, her addled brain unable to form real words as she watched him meld into the mass of students headed towards the cafeteria or elsewhere. This was dangerous. Daisy was outranked, out of her depth, and she knew she was in trouble. Suddenly she sensed a presence beside her and practically leapt out of her skin. "Freddie!" she squeaked, quickly forcing herself to calm down and her voice to return to its natural pitch, "I didn't see you there. You hungry? I hear there's going to be a pretty bad-ass meal in the teacher's kitchen." Daisy breathed deeply. Good. That sounded normal, casual, very Daisy-like. She completed the sentence with a cheeky wink and a grin, hoping to whatever gods may or may not exist he wouldn't call her on it.

"If Nia is cooking you know that it'll be good" Freddie had yet to speak to his old flame, he knew he'd had to eventually. "Come on, Daze. Let's go get something to eat" He hooked her arm with hers and smiled. "Who'd have thought when we were students here that we'd wind up as teachers? I tell you what, I certainly wasn't thinking about that when you me and Nia used to rob Logan's stash for liquor" Freddie chuckled as he walked with Daisy to the cafeteria. "You've been tutoring that Spencer kid right? How's he doing?"

Daisy laughed. Oh boy did she remember stealing Logan's liquor, and remembered even more vividly how pissed he was about it. "Spencer?" her heart beat sporadically but her smile didn't waver, "He's a smart kid, and a really talented writer. I know his mutation is kinetic energy absorption, but the guy really has an outstanding gift. He'd give my mom a run for her money," she laughed a bit, and then frowned. "What do you think of Spencer?" she asked. She was genuinely curious, she put a lot of trust in Freddie's opinions.

"There's a lot of pain in him" Freddie said pretty bluntly. "You can see it in his eyes. He's carrying a lot of weight and he's hiding behind this aloof, elusive exterior. The only reason I know that is because I see a lot of me in him, when I was kid. Only difference is he can maintain control, like he compartmentalizes everything. I used to let everything get to me and I'd blow up, as you well know. Stick it out with him, Daze. I get the feeling that, if this kid is ready to open up you're the one he'll do it with" Finally the two reached the kitchen and the gorgeous smell of food. "Enough about work, lets eat"

Aurora Claudwell

Rory caught the wave from her favorite instructor. She felt warmth within her as she shot Daisy a big smile, genuinely pleased to see her mentor among the faces of the teaches that took the stage. It was such a welcome experience to see so many familiar faces after such a long and lonely vacation. She laughed, doing her best to keep it quiet, as Alicia slipped her arms around her for that friendly embrace. She was caught up in her own excitement and was just about to answer her when the voice speaking changed.

Her eyes lifted to see the rather eccentric art instructor talking, as if she were a war general in an old film. Rory's own chest filled with a sense of unease as the woman spoke, her appetite for battle seeming to spread to the other students in the assembly. She frowned, one of the few hidden numbers here that didn't seem to be so amped up about waging war on their enemies. Rory was a natural fighter, built for combat and for destroying things with grace. For surviving. But she would never be able to view death as a friend. Despite her lithe, agile build, and her nature to fiercely protect what she loved, she never did so in the interest of killing. It made her wonder how useful she'd be if there ever came a time when violence was the only means of defending what she cared for. Did she even want to be an X-man?

She was grateful when the assembly finally ended. If left too long sitting still, she tended to wander a little too deeply into her thoughts. "Come on, lets go," she said to Alicia at her side. As she stood from the chair she took hold of her friends gloved hand, effectively pulling her up from the folding assembly chair and towards the doors at the back of the large room. She did so gently of course. It wouldn't do if she lost track of her own strength and broke her friends arm. She maneuvered through the aisles between the chairs, "That was an interesting speech..." she commented. She was about to continue her thought as they reached the back of the auditorium, until her eyes landed on another familiar face. One she had no anticipated seeing here.

Rory stopped dead in her tracks, just a few feet away from the girl with green streaks in her hair. "Naka?!" she exclaimed. Her hazel eyes fluttered at the sight, attempting to place it, to make sense of it. "Are you a..." she began to ask. She paused when she noticed how worn she looked, and the awkward, tense posture she took. "Oh god, you're hurt!"

Danny Green

A smirk formed at the corner of Danny's mouth as Duncan threatened the newbie about his empty water bottle. Of course it was just an empty threat as Duncan just liked giving people a hard time. Something Danny had grown accustomed to.

"Don't break them too bad. He'll need them to survive the battle simulator." The kid's eyes widened with terror and turned forward. Duncan was starting to rub off on him scary enough. Out of everyone in the school, Duncan was the last person he would ever be the closest to as they were complete opposites as far as personality went. But Duncan was a good person in Danny's eyes and a fun person to talk to. Danny was pretty much friends with everyone, especially with Headmistress Pryde, but he just had that bond with Duncan.

As more and more people began to file in late for orientation, Danny looked about at the teachers. Some were new and some Danny knew of before the vacation. They had a great staff this year and great stuff was going to happen. When Art stepped up to the podium, She began her usual rant that never failed to leave people a little uncomfortable by her words. Her personality resembled that of someone people talked about fondly about named Logan. No matter how abrasive she was, if this school was going to survive, they needed a strong person like her around to kick everyone's asses from time to time. With such strong personalities entering the Institute this semester, Danny was a bit nervous wondering if he was going to warm up to people. Others off the bat would see Danny as quiet when they first meet him, but becomes open and outgoing once he's talked to you for some time. He just hoped people didn't think he was timid all the time. He hated being taken for granted, almost as much as seeing someone drinking from a Styrofoam cup. No matter; Everyone normally warms up to him eventually so he just shook the thought out of his head.

After the assembly, everyone filed out rather quickly and soon the auditorium was nothing but empty chairs. As he was leaving, he noticed Duncan stop to talk to Daisy. It was blatantly obvious they liked each other by they way they looked at one another. One would think they were fucking, but that would be absurd. Daisy seemed too innocent for that. Can't say the same for Duncan, however. Of course, Duncan wouldn't admit such things to Danny if he did have a thing for the teacher. He hurried and exited the auditorium into the crowd of mutants. Danny smiled and greeted some people he talked to the previous semester, making his way through the crowd of anxious students. It didn't take long for his stomach to start growling as he didn't even eat breakfast that morning. Quickly, he made his way to the cafeteria and went to the kitchen himself to grab a meal. Most of the fruits and vegetables used in the cafeteria were grown by yours truly, with the help of others. They didn't have any of those harmful chemicals in them like you would get at a normal store, something him and Art totally agreed on. He even convinced Headmistress to put recycling bins all over the place and to stop using cups and plates that would harm the environment. Let's just say it became pretty green around here after Danny came along.

Being vegan, he had his own stash of things to eat. He grabbed a vegan wrap and some water he kept in a reusable plastic bottle and took his meal outside to the gardens. A lot of the flowers and plants that make the Institute so stunning were grown by Danny when he arrived. He helped maintain the beautiful scene by tending to the gardens and plants. The greenhouse that sat at the edge of the gardens is where he did most of his experiments with plants and where he would spend most of his time. Being a future Botanist, he always looked for new medicine, cures, and poisons with his plants that could be beneficial to the Institute. Danny sat down by the gardens and began to eat his meal, soaking in the sun. He didn't want the new students scared seeing him turn green from lack of sun and water. Art had already scared them enough. Letting out a huge sigh, he looked down at the ground and waved his hand over the grass. Immediately, a vine grew out of the ground and shot up, producing a bright red apple which he picked. The vine retreating back into the ground and Danny bit into it, chasing it down with some water.

Alfredo and Armonía

"Oh, hello.”Art turned around to face Nia with a smile on her face. Indeed there was food but she hadn't planned to offer any of her meal to the students. Still, she couldn't just leave the door open and feed Flavie only to deny other wandering and hungry students who hadn't managed to find any of the other three kitchens. With a polite nod, Armonía fixed a plate for Mila and set it on the counter. “I'd direct you to the dining room but you'd probably end up trampled on the way there. Please, take a seat.” She motioned towards another bar stool. As she was just about to turn, she caught sight of a blonde pixie cut and her smile widened. And then Freddie came in. Her heart thumped in her chest and she quickly drew a deep and sharp breath. “Hey, guys.” Her voice was just barely a whisper. It was an awkward moment and she turned to Marlowe, nodding gently. “Watch the food, eh?” She gave both he and Daisy a hug, hurriedly moving towards Freddie and tugging him by the arm to the elevator and eventually to her room. “I am so sorry. For everything.” There was pain in her eyes as she spoke, recoiling from him as though she felt unworthy. She had loved him and he had loved her for many of their high school years at Xavier's. And then she left. She didn't say goodbye or reach out to him while she was gone. She simply left.

"Hey..." Before Freddie could get another word out, he was pulled by the arm into the elevator. "Nia what the hell?" She didn't answer and pulled him further, this time into her own private room. There it was. The apology he had waited so long to hear but it didn't satisfy him in the slightest and that was for a simple reason, he had already let it go. "Nia...you broke my heart. I loved you since the day I first saw you pouncing on Hugo Pardue after he slapped your ass" The Italian let out a soft chuckle. "Then you left me. You left us and I had a lot of anger about that, so much anger Nia. I carried it for a long time, a long time. Then something happened..." Taking her hand into his, he pressed it against his chest. "...My heart is flawed. I was diagnosed with HCM and I was told that basketball was no longer an option for me. I realised that at any moment, this heart could stop and I would die with hate inside of it. Hate inside for you. No, I didn't want to die with the knowledge that the only person whom I ever loved was now the source of my pain. So I let it go. I never understood you when we were together and I never understood you when we were apart. But now, that doesn't matter because I forgive you."

She couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes as he spoke. She hadn't expected it to escalate so quickly to such a point but it did. Her lip was quivering as she let her fingers curl in his hand against his chest, lowering her head. “I guess we all got some shit after Charlie died...” She wanted to move closer, to rest against him and comfort both of them. But she couldn't. She slowly moved her gaze to meet his, her brow pinching in confusion. “You knew. Back in the day, you knew that I was a serial killer. When Charles died... I remembered. I was awful. You knew I killed people every day and every night and you still loved me.” It had been a great source of confusion for her. Not just finding out about her past, but that her two best friends knew the whole time and kept loving her. She didn't mind that they kept it a secret; Charles Xavier told you to do something and you did it. But she couldn't see how they cared about her when she had been so distant from everyone and so mean and just so.... Depressing. “Fuck, mi amor.” She sighed and pulled her hand away. This was the most awkward conversation she'd ever had. And she had a conversation with Logan and Scott once about protection during sex. Logan was one to talk – He was such a whore. “I missed you... I thought about you every day. I knew... Kitty told me about your heart and I wanted to be there. Really, I did. But After finding out everything, how fucked up I am. I didn't want to stress you out trying to figure myself out. I'm no good for you, Alfredo.” Her voice died down to a whisper at the end as she spoke with little conviction in her voice, clearly displeased with having to say what she said.

She was the only one besides the brother he hadn't seen in three years whom ever called him Alfredo. "No good for me? No good. Let me take you back, Nia. Just before our senior year, not too long after our first meeting with the Brotherhood. You, me, Daisy and a couple of others snuck out. We wanted to unwind after all we'd been through so we got out our fake ID's and we headed to that little country bar, you remember? You remember what happened that night? I got drunk and I got pissed off and my telekinetic pressure got so intense that it brought down that entire building. Scott came to our rescue but by that point, I was out of control I couldn't stop. The ground began to feel the pressure, nobody could move because I was keeping them in place. Then out of the dark, your light shined and you fought through my ability. You walked over and you kissed me. The world slipped away, it was just us. You saved me and lot of others that day, so the next time you say you're no good you remember that. It was only you, Nia that could ever save me from that ugly thing that eats away inside of me."

She did remember that night but she only shook her head. "I don't even know if that girl exists anymore. I smile and pretend I'm okay. I'm an actress, it's not hard. But I don't know who I am anymore. I've never known."

"I know who you are" Freddie took a step forward. "You're Nía Torres. Teacher. X-Man. Badass. Love of my life." That last part was unexpected, he didn't plan on saying that, just like he didn't plan on putting his hands against her soft cheeks. "I forgive you, Nia. Forgive yourself."

"Oh, amore mio. Che casino che abbiamo trovato noi stessi dentro." She let herself finally move against him, burying her face against his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him. "Zeus, aiutami," she whispered to none but herself.

Freddie held her in his arms for what felt like an eternity but could really have only been a few minutes. They just stood their in silence, he pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head. "Come on, Nia. Let's go back downstairs. I wouldn't want to leave anyone in charge of your cooking for any longer than necessary" He chuckled lightly before pulling away. "Coming?"

She nodded with tears still in her eyes, though a smile on her face as she held his hand tightly, the two heading back to the first floor kitchen. "Zeus, I've missed this place."

River

After finishing his sandwich, River got up and stretched his body before putting the bottle in the recycling bin located by the glass display and continued out into the hallway. What could he do while waiting for dinner? Well, the only thing he could do was to walk around aimlessly or perhaps squeeze in a few hours of training. The latter was the more productive choice but the training facility was most likely not open yet. Damn, he didn't have enough time to go to the forest and practice and he didn't have access to the school's training area the first day of the year. Well, walking around aimlessly it was, then. With his hands in his pockets, River found it a good idea to go to his room, grab his iPod and continued down the corridor until he could make his way towards the hall and finally stepped out into the sun. It felt wonderful against his skin, and it would only feel better once he dropped down on the grass in the gardens and turned up the volume. River's music tastes varied drastically depending on his mood. Anything from a piano and violin to hard beating rock music filled his iPod to the brink.

Out in the gardens there already seemed to be another person. Wasn't that the tree hugger boy? Yeah, it was him. River had never really talked with him much, if at all. He didn't have any memories of it, but he seemed kind enough. His name was Daniel, always called Danny apparently. His powers were a pretty sight to say the least, something River would openly comment on if he was of a more social brand.

The sky was nearly glowing the pretty blue hue, clouds not visible for as long as the eye could see. Some mutants could even control that. The amount of powers in the world was almost unfathomable and yet, mutants were being suppressed and bullied into submission. How was that even possible? They were stronger than humans and had every means of fighting back, but they didn't. River wasn't in a hurry to lead a war against humanity but he couldn't help but think about why the world was scaled as it was. With a soft sigh, River covered his eyes for a moment, shielding them from the sun. It was getting warmer.

Jade Green

Jade’s eyes lazily went back toward her shoes her mind was not focused on the speech. It did not really matter to her. She just wanted this to be over with so she could go paint in her room. However she looked up once she heard the question about killing. A teacher walked up stating yes they would if attacked. After the teacher had introduced herself as Armonía Torres, Jade heard the whistles and cat calls. eh really how hormonal can you fuckers be. Jade listened to Armonia’s speech. She was very indifferent about what was being said by her new teacher of many subjects. She was certain she was not going to like Armonia Torres. It saddened Jade as art was her favorite subject and she had hoped to get along with the art teacher. After she went back in line kitty finished up the speech giving them freedom to do what they wished for the evening. Of course it would be good for her to look around the school get to know it better. However she felt she had plenty of time for that. Right now all she wanted to do was go paint something to settle her nerves.

Jade got up out of the chair following all the other students out of the auditorium. She kept her head down trying not to draw to much attention to herself. She had to back track a couple of times as she had got lost a few times. Once she reached her assigned room Jade walked to were her belongings were being kept. She had selected the bed on the left in the back. She still had her suit case packed and a couple of boxes untouched. Maybe I should deal with this mess before I paint. The room was very large with four beds, four desk, and four dressers. As far as Jade could see she had only two roommates. She had never shared a room in her life. She did not know if she should feel happy she would be sharing a room with two other girls, maybe even gaining some close friends, or frightened that she would be sharing a room with two other mutants girls who would be very moody once a month with the power to kill someone if they did not get their chocolates.

Jade shook the thought out of her head. She would just have to deal with that problem when it came to it. Right now her problem was to unpack. If by the time she had finished painting and she had time Jade wanted to go look around outside. The schools garden was beautiful and she wanted to take time to appreciate it. Jade started with her two suit cases. Jade would not call her clothing fashionable. Of course she had the money for that kind of clothing but Jade liked clothing that was simple. She only had blue jeans. She did not wear shorts nor dresses. Jade’s shirts were simple colors that she would always wear over white or black long-sleeve shirts. After she had placed her clothing, not so neatly, into the dresser she went for the boxes. Nothing much of value was in the first two. Bed spread, a simple lamp, picture of her mother and father, computer, shoes, and a small rug to place beside her bed. The last two boxes were filled with art supplies and a picture of her brother Cody. She placed her brother’s picture on top of the dresser the side closest to the bed. She set her art supplies and computer on the small desk.

Jade had not brought canvases in her room and she was glad. The rooms were very large but not large enough for her art. She would be in the art room a lot and this bothered Jade as she knew this meant spending more time with the teacher who had made a unnatural speech. Well unnatural to me.She was not sure the art room was open for the students now so she was not going to be able to paint. So instead Jade went to her desk sitting down she got out a drawing pad with charcoal sticks and pencil sets. She hated being interrupted when drawing so she hoped that if her roommates came in they would respect her enough to not interrupt. Just like she would respect them if they.

As jade was looking upon the blank white sheet of paper it dawned on her she had no one to sketch. The only time she used charcoal was to sketch a person’s features. Jade gathered up her pad and tools, putting them in her shoulder bag, she headed out toward the garden. Maybe I can find someone to sketch there. It took no time at all to find the way leading outside. She picked the biggest tree to sit under. After slipping her art supplies out of her bag Jade looked around for a perfect candidate for her new art project.

Morena

Apparently Morena was supposed to be awestruck, the speech was supposed to encourage her and make her think. Unfortunately, none of those things had happened. She had made no sound and never even smiled. The words had meant nothing to her except a chance at actual schooling and a little bit of free time. Maybe those things should have made her feel awesome. But they never did.

Turning away from the others in the room she left it, heading out and moving towards anywhere. All she could say for now was that she had no idea where to go and no idea of what to do. Wandering appeared to be her forte these days.

~*~*~*~

After who knows how long she found herself in a crowded hall. Messing with the strange crystals around her neck she tilted her head and took off the necklace. Studying the leather cord and the gems that were held by it. As she took a single gem in her hand, or even became solely focused on one they started to glow. She almost screamed when they did so, dropping the necklace and planning to step on it.

That was when a faculty member came over to her and stopped her before she could panic. Picking up the necklace delicately the woman handed it to her and looked at her expectantly before going away.

Morena sighed and continued through the crowd, no one laughed but she was sure that no one really cared. She felt lucky to have had someone help her. Maybe this strange neck piece would benefit her in the future.

~*~*~*~

Morena made her way outside and sat with a relaxed smile on the ground, but as she did the bright green crystal on her necklace glowed dark. She jumped and her heart rate increased, but in her attempt to ignore it she pulled out the journal and fountain pen that came with the necklace.

As the book opened the gems glowed bright, she shook her head and tossed the gems on the ground where the light dampened but still remained effectively vivid. Taking her fountain pen out of reflex she started to write on the page. Her words were fast, scribbles and blurs to the others around her yet Morena saw only her sharp handwriting and what seemed to make perfect sense. Though she had no idea whoa she as writing it just seemed to flow down on the page, she liked the special ink too. It was a bright gold that practically glowed, never mind it was glowing...that is when she shut the book and threw it next to the gems. She realized they had stopped glowing and sighed in relief.

The ink of the book hadn't though, she could tell it stopped when she closed it but when she cracked open a page the words were bright and golden. This thing was cursed. She had to get it out of her life.

Getting up she grabbed the tools and walked over to the trash can, tossing them in and smiling. Then in a mad panic she dug through the trash, searching for the tools. If she didn't find them she swore she would hit herself. Why had she tossed them in the first place? As soon as she found the items she hugged them to her and walked back inside.

Today is going to be a strange day. Morena thought as she continued to have this love-hate relationship with tings from students, to staff, to of course, her cursed tools. She was obsessing over all of them.

Mila Kovsky

Mila looked around as more joined the kitchen area. She went over to the plate Art had made for her. She picked up a piece of brussel sprouts with her fingers and popped it into her mouth, giving it a thorough chew as she watched as Art suddenly stopped what she had been doing and took one of the arriving males and dragging him out of the kitchen. She blinked a few times, trying to understand why she had done such a thing but simply gave up. It was of no concern of her own. She finally swallowed before picking up the plate in her hands and stood there a bit awkwardly, unsure what to do or say. "Uhm.. I think I am going to eat in my dorm." She said with a nod as if she agreed with herself. "Bye bye." With that she turned on her heels and stepped around the blond girl at the door and gracefully crawled over the chair once more without spilling her meal.

She looked left and right, trying to figure out where to even go. She had no idea where her dorm was. So might as well go on a search. She took a left, heading down the corridor with slow steps. Picking at her food with her free hand. Chewing as she looked around the walls and the beautiful architecture and furnishings. Casually swaying around other students. After a little while of wandering she gave up as she saw the exit out into the garden/courtyard area. A few other students had seemed to gather there to relax. Might be a good idea until she could figure out where she would be staying.

Using her body to push open the door she walked out into the courtyard. Finding an empty stone picnic table she walked over to it. Instead of sitting on the chair and placing her food on the table she stepped up onto the seat and sat herself down on the table top, resting the plate on her lap. She like having a higher view of the area. Able to see things and people relaxed her nerves. She lightly picked at her food as she sat there, humming a quiet tune to herself between the bites.

Alicia Taylor.

Alicia looked up to see Daisy smiling at her and Rory, she couldn't help but smile and wave back at her, then she heard the speech start looking towards Headmistress Pryde listening to her speech, she never knew Professor Xavier but has heard all of the good deeds he has done over the years and for mutant kind. Then Art took to the podium listening on what she had to say, Alicia quietly thought to herself about joining the X-Men but she wasn't sure if any of her friends joined then she would try and get in as well. When the other students started to cheer after Art's part of the speech she didn't know what to think about it.

But once the speech was over Alicia felt her friend Aurora taking her hand and quickly got up following behind her best friend as they went through the isle of chairs as the other students started to leave the auditorium. "That was an interesting speech..." Aurora said, Alicia nodded gripping her friends hand gently not enough to hurt her but more of a friendly way. "Yeah it was pretty interesting, not sure what to think about what Art said." Alicia answered when they were at the back Alicia noticed Naka, she didn't know the other girl very much but she could tell by the look of her she was in some kind of fight and also she had that party girl kind of vibe from her. "Are you okay?" Alicia asked her.

Luna Marionette

Luna raised a coy eyebrow as she looked over the teachers of the year, she knew most of them from the last couple of months. She continued to twirl her hair between her fingers, her gaze shifting to the students as Kitty continued to speak a smile sprung to her lips as she spotted Rory and Alicia two rows ahead of her. She flivked her gaze to a boy who had stood up and asked a question, he had a good point...however she was rather surprised at the answer, she physically flinched as the student body erupted with roars and claps of approval. The noise pierced her ears painfully, despite herself she warranted some self control and did not join in the cheering, she'd only just started really repressing that killing instinct...she smirked as Armonia shot down a lot of enthusiasts. Part of the X-Men? Would be interesting...worth working towards Although the thought was there she was still teetering on the edge of the idea, if she wanted it she'd have to go all out to even get a hint of a chance, she was sure she was generally viewed as a wildcard or worse...cold-hearted bitch had been used to describe her before, which was charming and hinted maybe she wasn't 'good' enough to be part of the X-Men. Besides she wasn't sure she would die for the sake of the students or random mutants...well maybe a few...

She pulled back from her thoughts, preferring to end her current train of thought she looked back up at Kitty retuning to what she was saying. Stark Industries technology? Typical...couldn't just be simple locks Luna did not lurch to her feet with the same enthusiasm as the other students, she stayed where she was for a moment before slowly getting to her feet, silently cursing herself for wearing her contacts today, she scanned the crowd leaving the hall for any sign of someone she knew. She'd lost sight of Rory and Alicia as soon as everyone had jumped up, she didn't fancy exploring alone...plus she wasn't keen on admitting it but she was looking forward to seeing some friendly faces after being away. She stood where she was biting her lip gently a sharp canine sliding over her lower lip, one hand resting on her hip whilst the other hung by her side aimlessly. She hoped her friends would still recognize her even with the change in style no more dull grey jumper and torn old jeans, nope she had changed to a newer look with a low cut tight fitting purple vest top, half body leather jacket done up to just below her cleavage, tight fitting skinny jeans and heeled black lace up ankle boots. New look, new attitude...well she was working on that one...new year, new opportunities. She continued to scan the crowd, ignoring the looks she was getting...though they weren't really looking at her face. Maybe toning it down a bit wouldn't hurt...

She felt a smile tug at her mouth as she saw Alicia stood at the back of the auditorium, she took a step forward carefully weaving through what was left of the crowd. When she was a little closer she noticed Rory was with Alicia as was another girl whom she didnt recognize. "Hey strangers" She purred in greeting as she pulled up next to Alicia a hint of a smirk on her lips. She took in the dishevelled appearance of the girl Rory and Alicia were talking to and lifted a questioning eyebrow at her, though she didnt repeat the previous questions...

Oona Fredrick -

Oona sat silently through the speech, same thing she said at the beginning of the year, though the interjections from the other staff were different this time round.
when it was over she stifled a yawn and said goodbye to Harley and Adrien "i'm heading to my room, i need a nap, see ya guys"

Oona walked out and down the hall slowly, by herself, taking in the appearances of many of the new students, she hadn't actually known Professor Xavier but he was some kind of hero from before, it stopped apocalypse, she wished she could have met him, he sounded like an amazing person.
Her mind fluttered to the other students again, she thought about some of the powers she knew about, they were all amazing, she felt really insecure here, her power was only good for party tricks, and to save herself from drowning, which didn't happen often as she went in water about as often as a blue-jay would.

her mind wandered a lot, she realized, maybe she had ADD, she didn't know, her parents never had her tested, but then again she was barely in elementary school when they died. No of her foster parents bothered. 'there i go again' she thought 'on a new tangent, maybe i'm more tired then i thought' she hurried her stride a little but not much, fishing her key out of her pocket she unlocked her dorm door
She headed to her 1/3 of the room, it was mostly covered in pictures, some of her parents, some of fish, she had a picture of Cthulhu up there to but mostly just for kicks. she had a little desk that had nothing on it but a small pile of 4 or 5 notebooks and 2 or 3 actual books.

Oona threw herself down onto her bed, staring up at her blank roof. she yawned again then turned and curled up above the blankets, facing the wall, to try and sleep, she knew it wouldn't come but it was always worth a try.

As Alicia looked at Naka she watched as the other mutant students met up with one another watching each of them talking and catching up with one another. "So what did you have planned for today Rory since its our first day back?" Alicia asked and then she heard a familiar voice coming from behind her, Alicia turned around and couldn't help but smile and quickly pulled Luna into a tight and friendly hug. "Luna! Long time no see how have you been?!" Alicia said before letting go of her friend looking at Luna for a moment, it felt good for her to see both of her friends together missing hanging out with both of them before the school year ended. "We all should hangout tonight." Alicia said looking towards Naka. "Your more then welcome to hangout with us to, do you need to see the doctor?" Alicia asked.

Jade Green
Jade traced her fingers lightly over the clean white paper. She looked around still in search for some face to draw. So many people moved around the grounds, some sitting, yet she still could not figure out who would make a great portrait. Jade leaned her head back against the tree. All she wished for was to go back home and be in her own room. However she needed to be able to control her power and this was the only place for that. Even if she got to go home the house was being rebuilt and remodeled because of her losing control. Jade would not have peace either way. She needed to focus on now, now was the charcoal portrait, she blinked a few times at the sun before getting back at her task.

Jade almost gave up no one jumped at her until a guy who looked a little older than her passed by. His hair was raven black covering most of his eyes, the color of his irises a deep gray, and his skin was very pale. She only needed a few seconds of looking for his features to be burned into her mind. It was a gift, not a mutant gift, just a natural one too have the ability to remember every inch of someone’s face. This was a gift she loved very much. She could remember Cody’s face so clearly in her mind without looking at his picture. This had always eased her mind. If something ever happened to the pictures of Cody she had the power to recreate it. Now that is a beautiful gift to be proud of. she thought in her mind.

She closed her eyes thinking about Cody for only a moment or two. Then switched her thoughts to the young man she seen moments ago, picking up her charcoal pencil, she started to draw. To some this could be considered strange or even weird. However she had always liked to sit in parks to pick out unknown people to draw. Jade had many sketch books filled with strangers she had never spoke a word to.

Duncan/Daisy

After sufficiently stuffing her face, Daisy washed her dishes and placed them neatly in the drying rack. She paused briefly, considering waiting there for Freddie and Nia to return, but finally decided against it. Something told her that they were only going to have eyes for each other for a little while, and as fun as third-wheeling tended to be, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

“See you around, Mars,” she said with a wink, patting the man on the shoulder as she walked towards the hallway, “Let’s get coffee at the bakery tomorrow, my treat.” Maison Bon, or the bakery as the pair fondly called it, was a quaint little café in Paris that offered arguably the best espresso and pastry assortment in all of France. A little far away, perhaps, but what was distance really when one could teleport?

Daisy wandered about halfway down the hallway, her fingers trailing along the polished wood paneling that lined the walls, before flickering out of existence. Jumps didn’t last long, hardly a fraction of a second, but that minute amount of time was becoming one of the few times that Daisy felt completely and utterly at peace. The in-between, she wasn’t exactly sure what it was or what to call it, was totally silent, warm, and weightless, like returning for just a brief moment to the womb. It was an intangible sanctuary, away from reality and its problems, and it never lasted long enough.

Daisy opened her eyes. Before her lay the four familiar walls of her office, three of which were lined floor to ceiling with fully-stocked bookshelves, the fourth possessed an immense glass window (complete with window seat) that overlooked the school grounds. Her desk, an immense oak monstrosity built for a person of large stature, dominated the center of the room, flanked on either side by comfortable, worn armchairs in a similar carved style.

Daisy bypassed them all, choosing instead to kick off her shoes and curl up on the soft cushion of the window seat. She glanced briefly over at the door, half-expecting it to open and finding herself vaguely disappointed when it didn’t. Sighing heavily, she let her forehead fall against the cool window pane and her eyes slide closed, her heart filled with both dread and anticipation of the hour to come.

It was strange, the way his abilities became apparent during use. Duncan would watch as his veins would glow a violet/purple hue beneath his skin, his blue/grey eyes would shine ever so lightly dependent on the power he was exuding. Normally the energy conversion was passive, but recently the young Brit has more so been forcing the conversion himself. He was slowly getting the feeling that something inside his body was changing. For the better? That was yet to be decided. He watched as the glow dissipated from his wrist and he got to his feet.

Lunch time was quickly coming to an end and so that meant it was very much time for something a little different. Grabbing the book from his bed-side table, Duncan began the walk to Daisy's office. The best thing about her office, bar the wonderful view of the outside, was the fact it was completely isolated. It was the furthest office from any other room in the building and it was rarely ventured to by students unless Daisy so requested. DS had been inside quite a few times in the past seven months. Arriving at the door, he opened it slowly and there she was, sitting by the window where he knew she'd be, it's where she always was. Closing and locking the door behind him, Duncan walked up to her desk and placed the book on it gently. "Daisy"

Daisy's eyes opened slowly, the light from the window making them look more amber than their usual chocolate hue. "Hi Duncan," she said, a half-smile on her lips, her tone a little sad. It felt so natural to have him near her, so right, but she knew better, she was the adult, she had to. She reached out with a delicate hand and patted the space on the cushion beside her, a place he had occupied many times over the last few months, reading to her from writings or just simply talking. "Come sit by me, I have something to say."

"Hm" Duncan smiled lightly before walking across the wood floor and taking his regular seat on the cushion next to her. He had lost count of the amount of times the two of them had sat there together over the past few months. It was a special place for the both of them. "You know, it's funny that you have something to say" Duncan tilted his head side ways and his smile grew slightly. "Because I've got something important to say too" Leaning forward, he took his hand and placed it against the back of her head as he pressed his lips to hers in a strong kiss.

Daisy's eyes flew open in shock, warmth spreading throughout her body from the velvety friction of skin on skin, her torso automatically leaning in to get closer to him, to feel more of him. It was natural. It was carnal. It was- "Wrong!" spluttered Daisy, teleporting herself to the other end of the office, viciously fighting to clear her head, "This is wrong, Duncan! I'm your teacher for pete's sake, I should be taking care of you, not taking advantage of you. Fuck!" She buried her face in her hands for a moment, her palms scrubbing at her cheeks as if to scrape away the blush that betrayed how much she wanted him, how much he had grown to mean to her. "Duncan, I- I care about you," she started once she had calmed down a bit, "You must know that," her expression was as earnest as her voice, trying to get him to understand, "But this can't work. I'm not... I'm not right for you. Not in that way..."

"Happiness comes in many forms-in the company of good friends, in the feeling you get when you make someone else’s dream come true, or in the promise of hope renewed. It’s okay to let yourself be happy because you never know how fleeting that happiness might be…" Duncan quoted before getting to his feet. "I make you happy, Daisy. You seem to have this notion in your head that you're taking advantage of me. You forget who I am" He began to take a few steps forward. "I'm Duncan Spencer and I have seen more in my eighteen years on this Earth than most do in their entire lifetimes. I know that this could all go wrong for both of us but that's kind of the point. Happiness is fleeting. I make you happy, Daisy, you know that and I know that. We need to take what we have now and live like there's no tomorrow because for us, as mutants as X-Men, they're probably isn't one" He reached her after a few more steps and placed his hands on her warm cheeks. "Look into my eyes and tell me, you don't want this"

Daisy shook her head, laughing dryly. "I know who you are, you dork," she teased, "And are you seriously quoting One Tree Hill right now?" she asked, her laugh spreading so that it shook her entire body, her eyes tearing up a bit with mirth. Eventually her laughter subsided, her expression growing more somber. "What are you getting out of this, Duncan?" she asked finally, "I hope you aren't expecting some sexy-older-woman with experience schtick. I-" she hesitated a moment, her face growing very red, "I haven't actually been... with someone before." She laughed, trying to dispel her embarrassment, "Not a lot of boys are into girls who can put them in headlocks, you know?" Her joke fell a little flat, and she reached up, tapping his nose with her pointer finger. "It's a lot of risk, Duncan, not just for me and my job, but also for you, and I want to know... I want to know why. Really why."

"Course I'm quoting One Tree Hill. It was the best thing ever on television" He chuckled alongside her until the tone because much more serious as she revealed her lack of experience as well as asking him what he wanted and what he got out...whatever they had. "Why?" Duncan repeated. "I spent years on the outside looking in from my own self exile. When my parents died, nobody, not a single person, understood me. So I isolated myself, the pain I carry was mine and mine alone. I hid in the darkness. Then one day, I look up and there's this girl, she has the sweetest and most genuine smile I've ever seen. She looked at me with pretty brown eyes and saw something in me that nobody has ever saw in me. She saw goodness. What do I get out of this? I get you"

For a moment, Daisy didn't speak, she simply fixed Duncan with a hard stare, her expression unreadable. "Well then," she said just as the atmosphere started to become uncomfortable, a huge grin breaking out on her features as she pressed her lips firmly to Duncan's, "I suppose that is a sufficiently romantic reason." She laughed, poking his chest lightly, "Though I hope you haven't been anticipating any special treatment. I still expect you to turn in all of your homework assignments on time." She giggled a little and kissed him again, this time lightly on the nose. Part of her had the sneaking suspicion that they were both going to come to regret this, but Daisy had made her decision, even if it was fucking insanity for better or worse she was going to stick with it. "Do you want tea or coffee?" she asked, looping her arms about Duncan's waist, "I can put the kettle on."

Naka

Naka watched the assembly with a wry smile, even as it became over run with teenage (and adult) bloodlust, she didn't even flinch. She'd heard talk of Xaiver's death, and though it hadn't effected her, she could understand their attitude. As the speech came to a close, most of the students seemed in a hurry to file out, some milled around to talk to the faculty. Just as Naka was making back up plans in her head, a familiar face spotted her. Her friend seemed to sense Naka's injury too, and the young woman sighed softly as they walked closer.

Inwardly, the gypsy girl cringed, but outside, she smiled through the busted lip, hoping her swollen eye wasn't showing. "You should see the other guy..." Naka awkwardly trailed off as she shrugged. " Nice to see ya Rory, I didn't know ya went here..." The two had only ever seen one another in public, party settings. They'd drank together a few times, and Naka had nothing but warm feelings for the girl. The friend soon was joined by another and seemed to be in a rush to get going. Naka shook her head, "Listen Rory, if ya could just show me the hospital bay...or....whatever you call it here, I can fend for myself from there."

It was a lie.

But Naka wasn't about to show weakness in front of these other girls.

Aurora Claudwell
She was about to respond to the ground around her when she heard another familiar voice chime in. Her head turned, and for a brief moment, Rory was distracted by the appearance of Luna. Luna was familiar, of course, but over vacation, it seemed that she'd gone through a wardrobe change. "Hey, Luna," Rory replied, as her eyes skimmed over her bold outfit choice, "You look good," she said, but it was stating it lightly. It was obvious from some of the side-long stares that Luna was getting that this look worked for her. Rory was impressed.

Thankfully, Naka spoke again, reminding Rory that there were more pressing matters at hand here. "Oh! Of course!" She recollected herself, "It's just down the hall from here. They'll be able to take care of you there. I've seen them handle -much- worse." She gave her friend a grin. Of course, Naka was showing her defensive side. But Rory understood. Knowing Naka before now, and having experienced coming into this place without anywhere to go home to, she understood that certain situations just required you to be strong in order to feel safe. In order to feel like you had some sort of control. She didn't challenge her on it, but instead simply said, "Follow me."

Her hazel eyes flashed towards Luna and Alicia, who seemed content conversing, and she waved them along, signaling for them to come along for the walk. As they passed through the doors, she spoke to Naka again, voicing the thoughts that had buzzing in her mind since she had unexpectedly found her here, "So...I had no idea you were a...mutant." She approached the subject a little hesitantly. It was strange discussing mutation with someone from her past, who had never known that side of her.

-|- Mila Kovsky |-| Morena Silicus -|-

Morena sat there, in some tree, staring down at two people. A couple? Yes. Were they about to make out? Hopefully not. With a silent giggle she continued to watch them, like a stalker. It was very fun. She felt all dangerous, like...something that was dangerous. Humming she shifted positions, for a better view of the scene.

Then and only then did she notice the creepy, and now glowing green gem, still attached to her neck even after all of the dumpster diving to find it once more. With a scream she took it off and tossed it. But, with a sigh and a grimace, she hit the head of the girl below her. "Oops, I'm sorry." She stated as she thumped herself and flattened, before falling off of the tree with a very, graceful..OK it wasn't at all a graceful landing.

Groaning and rolling around on the ground she stared up at the guy, with an apple of all things. Did he want to look and sound like an- never mind. "Hey, I need medical attention over here."

Mila blinked a few times as she felt a hard object drop onto her head. At first she thought it might be an acorn but then she heard someone from above apologize. She looked up before she noticed the girl fumble before falling to the earth like a graceful paraplegic. She softly giggled into her hand. It wasn't funny that she fell and hurt herself, but at how unexpected the whole thing was. It was a nervous laugh. She had never expected girls to be falling out of the sky. It was like a strange lesbian dream.

She laughed once more at the thought. She took the plate off her lap and set it on the table. She reached and grabbed the gem before pushing herself off the table and walked over to the girl. She knelt down at her side, offering a kind smile. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. Can't you tell by now?" Morena groaned out as she pushed the girl away and rolled onto her knees. "Can I have my necklace back now? I kind of need it." Her hand greedily reached out for the necklace, glaring up at the girl she snatched it and scrambled away. "What were you two doing out her anyways?"

Mila softly laughed, seeming unphased by the rude comment and actions. She released the necklace as Morena grabbed at it. She was a little confused by the girls scrambling. It's not like Mila was an intimidating or mean looking girl. "I was eating some food that Art made." She stated simply, pointing back at the plate of food sitting alone at the table.

"I'm sure. Now, tell me, do you know why this thing is glowing so much?" Morena asked, prodding the gemstones in her hand and looking up at Mila with an accusing glare. "Because it freaks me out. More then I want it too."

When her hand went closer to the ground or trees the green stone would glow bright, and once again, Morena dropped it. Pointing and staring at it. "Why? Why was I pinned with these ones? Where are yours?" She exclaimed, crawling away with frantic eyes. "i'm sorry, these things just seem to be the highlight of my life though. I need to figure them out. Hand me yours."

Mila looked at the girl a bit puzzled. 'Where was mine?' she thought to herself, repeating the question the girl asked. This had been the first time she had ever seen something like those stones. "I don't have any stones.. I just thought they were glowing because of some batteries or something." She mention honestly.

"Well great, good for nothing and strange." Morena muttered, reffering to both the gems, and Mila. "So, how are you doing today? I mean, before I barged in on you little party and wrecked it."

She laughed at herself and laid back, staring at Mila between her slightly crossed legs, not realizing what she was doing was probably wrong. "And who are you? Can you give me information on the others here? I need it."

Mila softly laughed to herself. This girl was definitely... Unique. She smiled warmly at the girl. "My name is Mila. I am a new student here so I wouldn't really be able to tell you much about other people here." She left out the fact of her powers. She often liked to keep it a secret. If they knew your powers they knew how to defeat you. Or so she was trained to believe.