---

---

Taylor gasped, looking around the basement room. It had took him quite some time to wake up, and to realize that being almost ripped apart by a black panther wasn't one of his strange dreams. He grasped his chest, and looked down to see his red shirt was still ripped apart. The only difference was that the scratches on his chest were now closed, not to mention his bloodied hands now looked like he had just washed them and wiped them down.

He tilted his head to the left to see Katherine turn to the Professor with her hands on her hips, "Might I suggest that we adjourn class for the morning. We have students who are exhausted and injured who need looking after or, at the very least, should be allowed to rest in their rooms." Taylor rubbed his temple, as he sat up.

Loki had also seemed to be awake. Taylor, for a second, wanted to murder Loki by easily crushing his neck, but then calmed himself. It was actually not Loki's fault, his apparent fear of fire had kicked in so badly that it injured Taylor and Loki in the process. Taylor leaned on the wall, as his newly healed wounds were still tender.

"Loki, you good?" Taylor asked Loki, but winced a little, rubbing his chest. "I also agree on that Loki and I deserve a fucking break."

[c

Location: Range
Interacting with: Alexandra @sirena, Loki @BlackPanther, Katherine @Wicked Sweet, Taylor @Chaotic Chao, Grace @unfallenangel

---

---

"Oh? Off to see your boyfriend, Grace? Alright, just make sure that you both clean the bed sheets when you are done." Francis called after Grace as she left, knowing full well that she was really looking for Raylan. Francis knew he was dense, but he wasn't completely blind to Grace's obvious attraction to Raylan, the self proclaimed "bad boy".

Francis gave Alexandra an approving look and an affectionate pet on the head as she finished healing the others. "You did beautifully, dear, thank you for your hard work." He told her gently. Shortly after, Loki woke up. It was time for him to apologize. Francis kneeled besides Loki and placed one hand on his shoulder and offered a pair of sunglasses in the other. "How are you feeling? I realize that most, if not all, of your injuries and Taylor's injuries are my fault. For that I sincerely apologize. It was never my intention to have anyone get hurt, at least not on the first day. I realize that there were other ways, better ways, I could have gone about handling the situation. If there's anything I can do to make it up to you, please let me know." He told Loki sincerely and gently.

Then Katherine and Taylor said something that caused Francis to narrow his eyes and his expression to turn stern. He slowly stood up and turned to face Katherine and Taylor. "I understand that you are all already tired and sore. However, dear Katherine and Taylor, that does not give you the right to teach my class for me, are we clear? Understand that in the future, you can't just take the day off because you broke a nail or smudged your eye liner, Katherine. People will die if you cannot handle a little pain, and on the battlefield, a few bruises or a scratch on your face will mean nothing if you are 6 feet under, are we clear?!" Francis replied with a sharp and dangerous tone and narrow eyes and a furrowed brow. His body language heavily expressed that demanding immediate respect from Katherine, and it was enough to send anyone aback. He sighed and recomposed himself, yet held a stern, warning look in his eyes. "Now, in the future Ms. Katherine, I suggest you watch your tone and be a tad bit more respectful when addressing me or making requests, understood? And Taylor, please do watch your language or there will be consequences in the future. With that in mind, and since it is the first day, those who deem themselves unfit to continue have the remainder of the day off to relax and heal."

---

---

Location: the yard outside
Interacting with: Casey @The ghost in black

---

---

Sophie smirked slightly. "I think you misunderstand, Casey. In the range, I still could have killed you and everyone else in the surrounding area for probably the next 1/8 mile. I was holding back. I don't know what you mean by not being able to burn, but the heat alone would be enough to kill you." Sophie sighed and grinned softly. "I get what you are trying to say; thank you. I know I shouldn't be so cynical and pessimistic, I just.... find it to be difficult sometimes... So thanks." She look over at tree where Casey had obliterated the pencil, her gaze was steady and held little emotion besides intrigue and curiosity. However, on the inside, there was quite a bit of shock and impressed, that Sophie did not show. "I see what you mean by 'destructive'... I am curious... what else you are capable of.... you see, my powers are very straightforward. But yours.... you are capable of so much more. I see why the Professor chose you." She looked back at Casey and smiled. "I look forward to working with you in the future, then."

---

---

Had Alex not been so focussed on healing Loki she would've heard him purr and thought it was adorable. Despite her exhausted state she was able to muster up a smile at both Katherine and Grace, who both reassured her that she did a good job. She would've thanked them, but she was still trying to catch her breath. As Professor Latour affectionately patted Alex on the head and said, "You did beautifully, dear, thank you for your hard work" she felt a warm feeling in her chest. She was relieved that he wasn't disappointed in her. As Loki woke up she was surprised to be met with golden, feline-like eyes. He seemed to be looking around for something, but she didn't know what. "Are you two okay?" the young man asked. Alex nodded and gave him a smile. "I’m...okay..." It probably wasn’t a good idea to force herself to talk, but she wanted to give Loki a little bit of reassurance. Luckily Grace continued to say, “Hey, Loki, you’re okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. No one got too badly hurt. Are you okay?” before she left to get something to eat. Professor Latour called out as she was leaving, mentioning a boyfriend and bedsheets. Alex wasn't exactly sure what he was getting at, but now she knew the other girl's name and that she had a boyfriend of some sort.

Shortly after the young man woke up the professor proceeded to apologize for what had happened earlier, feeling responsible for what had occurred. "Alexandra here mended you up pretty well,” Katherine added. "You look a lot better now than you did moment ago thanks to her.” At the other girl’s compliment, Alex shook her head. ”It was...nothing. Really." Katherine placed her hand upon Loki's, looking into his eyes. "Nothing that happened this morning is your fault." Alex hadn't seen everything that happened earlier, but she was sure the young man before her wasn't to blame and no one else seemed to blame him either.

Alex watched at the brunette addressed Professor Latour with her hands on her hips. She thought that Katherine's suggestion was a good one, as she wasn't sure if everyone was fit to proceed with training. She hadn't noticed that the other young man had woken up as well until he spoke up, agreeing with Katherine's suggestion. But Professor Latour wasn't very happy with the tone in which Katherine had spoken to him. Alex was a little surprised at the professor's sharp tone, as she had never heard him sound so intimidating before. But he was still allowing those who felt unfit to proceed with training to leave so they could rest. Although she felt rather tired, Alex thought it would be alright for her to stay for the remainder of the day. Her body had other ideas, however. As she tried to get up her legs turned to jelly, causing her to fall over.

@Chaotic Chao@Wicked Sweet@Ace of flames01@sirena

---

Loki Nodded to grace then gave a faint smile to Katherine. "Thank you..." he then looked at Alex and gave a slightly brighter smile her way. "Thanks for patching me up." he was met with a lot of it wasn't your fault line and ran a hand through his hair. He couldn't help but feel some of it was...he gave a nod to Taylor and saw the tears in his shirt he winced. "I'm guessing that was me....sorry." he know realized his mind had gone feral and that would explain the black spot in his memory between not wanting to turn and being stuck between forms. He inhaled and was soon talked to by the professor and given a pair of sunglasses. He put them on and relaxed a bit at the usual swath of darkness.

"thanks. Though I wouldn't know because I can't really remember....We both made some mistakes today I guess." he slowly sat up and yawned. The yawn briefly showing all four of his sharpened canines and he slowly stood. He walked to Katherine and kissed her cheek. "Thank you for helping me." he then walked over to Alex, helped her up and hugged her before giving her a kiss on the cheek also. "Thank you for mending me" Then with minimal effort he picked her up and put her on the couch he was on. he then walked to a more open spot and shook out his muscles a bit.

"I wouldn't say I'm unfit....but I don't think I should shift again for awhile. Don't think my body will let me" he went back to Katherine and noticed she seemed upset. He could feel it much like a cat or dog would. He picked her up and put her in q chair. He then pulled the chair over to the couch and sat on the floor. The way he was positioned was clear he was blocking both the girls from getting up. He tilted his head back and looked up at Katherine. [color]"I'd say you got traumatized because I looked horrific for a moment there. So...you get to stay there for a bit."[/color] he then looked at Alex. [color]"And you over did it with the healing so you get to stay there. Now. I will get whatever you two want for today"[/color] he gave a smile to both. He was trying to be as positive as possible...and trying to defuse any negative energy. It was clear he felt guilty. He looked at Taylor. "Same for you but I feel like you're not going to take me up on that"

---

---

Taylor didn't mean exactly what he had said, he was rather angry about the situation. He was rather stunned by the Professor and what he had said though, which perfectly had set Taylor straight. "Sorry..." He sort of muttered, he was about to mumble something else. But he was sure, that the Professor would have might have heard him and put him in deeper trouble than he already apparently was in. So Taylor had said nothing, but made a small dent by leaning his arm back to the wall.

Taylor had then turned his head to Loki. Oh, he so wanted to punch Loki so hard in the rib cage. He then realized, he was giving off an very sharp glare at Loki, and shook it off. Loki apologized, but Taylor just shook his head, biting his lip as his eyebrow raised at the apology. How could you apologize to doing something like that!?

Taylor cooled himself down, and attempted to give Loki an less hostile look, a smile even. "Oh, I'm taking you up on it. You owe me a brand new red shirt, this exact color too. And you owe me food and a drink, the expensive kind." He joked, but he was serious about the shirt. But Taylor honestly really wanted to strangle Loki like they were in a horror flick, and he looked away from Loki, letting out his real expression on his face where no one could see.

Pushing the sketchpad behind her back on the counter, she looked down down at her shoes and kicked her toe against the floor. That was private. Biting her lip slightly, she nearly jumped when the door swung open and then young girl from earlier with the telepathic powers, what was her name, Dani? She mentally rolled her eyes at herself for not remembering.

After a few moments, Grace smiled shyly at the young psychic and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She watched as she opened the cabinet, but soon realized she was too short to reach the contents. “Here. I don’t mean to be rude, but let me get it for you.” Grace stood up, grabbed the box of cereal, and placed it lightly on the counter in front of Dani. “It’s easier than trying to scale the cupboards, trust me.”

The room was quiet, the tension clearly visible as the three stood in silence, each one waiting for the other to make a move. As she perched herself back on the counter again, Grace looked across at Raylan and nodded slowly, watching him gently dab the rag against another bruise. He really did look like he had been hit by a bus, or a train. Either way, whatever it was, it clearly won. “Yes,” she answered finally and her eyes lifted to the ceiling. “I decided that the meeting was far too boring for me to sit there any longer.”

As she thought about it, she realized that she just wanted to go back to her room and go back to sleep. The night before was clearly taking its toll on her body. “Besides, when giant cats come out to play, little birds tend to run and hide,” she admitted softly and kicked both feet out, one at a time. The heels of her shoes tapping against the cabinets underneath her.

“Dani?” Grace asked suddenly, trying to diffuse the tense silence surrounding them. “Um… How are you? I mean, are you okay from everything that happened? That was a lot to take in.” The thought of Loki’s human form contorting into a large cat still haunted her mind. Grace shook her head, trying to get rid of those horrible thoughts. As she mentally replayed the scenes, she couldn’t help but think about what professor Latour had said as she left.

Her temper flared and anger flashed in her eyes as she turned back to Raylan. “Oh. And Latour said that we need to make sure we clean the sheets when we’re done with whatever we’re doing,” she said acidically. She didn’t mean to sound so hateful, but she respected Latour as her superior, and the way he had spoken to her made her very upset. She tucked her hair behind her ear again to get it out of her eyes. A small smirk curling her lips as she waited for his reaction.

Grace was not one to really give into peer pressure. She liked to have fun from time to time, but not to lose who she really was, and for Latour to assume that she had was frankly insulting. Taking a deep breath, she tried to reign in on her emotions as she sat there kicking her feet. She knew that Dani could feel what she was feeling and hear what she was thinking, so she tried to control herself and not let her temper get the best of her.

Interacting with: @Ace of flames01@Chaotic Chao@The ghost in black@unfallenangel@Damo021

Folding his arms Bao watched on as Loki was giving some care after nearly mauling everyone to death. Hopefully they didn’t have to worry about that too much more in the future. The last thing Bao wanted to deal with fighting extremists is a sudden panther attack. Martial arts can only do so much with panthers.

Still he had to fight back cracking a smile as he watched Latour give it to Katherine and Taylor over wanting to leave early for the day. Seriously do they even realize what they’re getting into?! This was going to be an ass-kicking, take no prisoners, battle for the future! No one can just hold up a time out gesture and expect it in something like that. Still Bao himself has gotten a taste of Latour’s anger. It doesn’t come out often but when it does... shit. Its the kind of thing that can reduce the strongest of mutant men and women and reduce them to tears. “Oh damn I’m gonna need some ketchup for those harsh browns you’re serving Latour...” Bao chuckled patting the teacher on the shoulder.

Still business was in order and while he had plans of starting things out in the range. The fact that the range is now more of an actual oven range roasting away at 450 degrees made it a bad idea. Instead Bao glanced around the room to Taylor and Aaliyah respectfully. “Alright listen, if you two need some time to freshen up, change out of ripped clothes, etc, head up to your rooms and do so. I’m expecting you guys out at the track by the end of the next thirty minutes okay?” Bao didn’t even wait for a response. “Yes excellent glad you two are on board! Let me call up the other three here and make sure they’re going to be there.”

Pulling out his smart phone Bao started dialing in the number for Grace, Alexandra, and Casey. “Listen let me make this brief. Be out at the track in the next thirty minutes or I’ll figure out a way to seek panther Loki on all y’all.” There was a brief pause because Bao chuckled. “Seriously I’m playin’, but you guys are expected to be out at the track for real. See you guys there!” Ending the call without letting them get a response out Bao turned to Latour as he started to head out of the room. Giving him a smile and double thumbs up as he headed out.

Location: Kitchen
Interacting with: Raylan @AcerRo, Grace @unfallenangel

---

---

”Thanks,” Dani said quietly as Grace placed the box of Fruity Pebbles that had been sitting in the cupboard on the counter in front of her. While she wasn’t really happy that she had needed someone else’s help, she could tell that Grace had just wanted to be of some help. Besides that, Dani had to admit that Grace was right about it being better than trying to climb the fancy cabinets and either damaging them or hurting herself.

Fortunately, the older girl turned back towards Raylan after a few moments of awkward silence and answered some question he had asked before Dani had walked into the room. As Grace continued talking to Raylan about the meeting, Dani went about getting a bowl and spoon from the dishwasher so that she could eat her cereal, absently noticing that Raylan seemed to be in a rather good mood. If she was being honest with herself, Dani had been afraid that Raylan would lose it if he thought she was reading his mind, so it was quite a relief that his mood seemed so pleasant. Still, she made sure to keep from doing anything that might set him off; she didn’t want to risk provoking him in any way.

Once Dani had retrieved a bowl and spoon, she made her way over to the refrigerator to get some milk for her cereal. Unfortunately for Dani, Grace decided to ask her if she was okay with the mess with Loki’s shapeshifting that had transpired during the meeting in an attempt to break the silence that had fallen again. ”I’m fine,” Dani replied softly, fidgeting slightly where she stood a few feet from the refrigerator. ”It, uh, just gave me a bit of a headache is all.”

While Grace turned back to tell Raylan what Latour had told her as she left the meeting room, Dani went back to getting the milk from the fridge for her breakfast. She had to admit that she was a bit surprised by how angry she felt Grace getting as she talked with Raylan; it just didn’t seem… characteristic for the older girl. Hopefully Dani could avoid getting on Grace’s bad side. It honestly didn’t seem like it would be pretty. Maybe not as bad as getting on Raylan’s bad side would be, but definitely not something that Dani would want to try to do.

Dani’s ruminations were cut a little short, however, when she heard Grace remember that she could hear her thoughts and feel her emotions. Figuring that she couldn’t say anything that would make knowing that someone can read your mind better, Dani chose not to say anything as she pulled the jug of milk from the fridge, walked back over to the counter, and made her bowl of cereal.

”Thanks again for your help getting the cereal, Grace,” Dani said as she walked over to the bar in the kitchen and sitting on one of the stools so that she could eat, her feet dangling a fair bit above the floor. While she still didn’t like needing help, it couldn’t hurt to be polite and acknowledge that Grace had helped her. Besides that, saying please and thank you had been ingrained into her at the foster home where she used to live.