Taken aback by Alison's response regarding blinding 63 people in a hospital ward, Atticus's next words caught in his throat as the tone abruptly became solemn. His spirits sank as she scoffed and shook her head, but he couldn't blame her. The first time his powers had manifested hadn't exactly ended well for those involved either. But before he could make an empathetic response, she composed herself and smiled again. "Let's just say these eyes let me do things with a slingshot you wouldn't believe." At her next comment, he raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I'll show you how to tumble... If you think you can keep up."
Alison punched him playfully in the chest, which he felt more than a normally built person would due to his hollow bones. While his bones were more likely to break than someone with a standard bone structure, his eyesight and acrobatic skill combined with the usefulness of his claws were usually enough to keep him out of any real danger of encountering that problem in the first place. As she turned to greet the newcomers, Atticus turned also, nodding to the young man who had introduced himself as Scott. Apparently he could "shoot death rays from his eyes". "Name's Atticus," he said. Since anyone else had given out their real names, there didn't seem to be much point in keeping his concealed. It wasn't like any of these people were mob informants who would rat to his sometime employers.
Logan proceeded to speak for everyone to answer Scott's inquiry regarding everyone's mutations, and when he called him "Talon," Atticus winced, wishing he hadn't been as reserved about giving out his real name. Now his "alias" might be called into question. He was hoping to avoid mentioning his past, since he doubted the others would trust him very easily if they knew that he had done work for criminals, and he didn't want anyone's pity or sympathy if they knew he had grown up homeless and had only turned to those sources of employment out of desperation. When Logan said Atticus had claws like him, he smirked faintly to himself, realizing the deeper meaning behind the statement. There was an unspoken connection between the two, a sort of understanding. Maybe they'd talk about it someday, but they both knew the other had been through some rough shit.
When Logan addressed Alison and said she likes to break light bulbs, Atticus grinned in spite of himself and shot a teasing glance at her, at once playfully mocking and sympathetic. Logan was oversimplifying them, but for now it got the job done. After that, Logan scowled and stalked upstairs like a wolf who had just lost a mating challenge, apparently done with introductions. Atticus smiled inwardly, taking a mental tally. Talon one, Wolverine zero. Then, Charles came downstairs and offered everyone an early dinner. Atticus, realizing he had not eaten since breakfast, agreed with Alison that food sounded really good right now. He made for the stairs, stepping past Scott warily. As much as Wolverine had tried to put the others at ease about his death ray eyes, Atticus didn't relish the idea of being in the way if Scott lost control.