12453/Newbies Relaxing

Newbies Relaxing
Date of Scene:	14 November 2020
Location:	Rec Room - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	David and Jade are welcomed to Xavier's by fellow students. Fun, pizza, and song are enjoyed by all. Jade opens up a bit to David, Shannon, and Tabitha.
Cast of Characters:	Gecko, Nightingale, Rattlesnake (Reese), Siphon, SpyderByte, Ted Gammage, Jax Miller

---

Gecko has posed:
     It's been a busy day for many--a quick road trip to meet and recruit a new student. The 'adults' showed David around the school and explained how life functions here. The man didn't even know he was a mutant this morning, and now he's at a school full of them.

     Now, we're approaching the evening with the setting of the sun. With a hot shower complete, and a fresh change of clothes gathered, Jade is ready to relax. She falls backward onto a thick couch with a happy sigh as her body bounces.

     There's a towel draped over the hood of her outfit, framing her dark and damp hair. Occasionally, she reaches up and brushes it over her hair haphazardly to help dry it a bit quicker.

     The tomboy grabs a remote and flicks a TV, and pulls out her phone, browsing through pizza options.

Nightingale has posed:
     It seems that Jade wasn't the only one thinking about pizza. However, the young woman making her way into the rec room from the kitchen has taken another tack entirely when it comes to fulfilling the desire for a piping hot pie. Shannon's dressed for the evening in some two-piece pink satin pajamas, floofy Old English Sheepdog slippers, with her hair long and loose save for a pale blue braid dangling on the left side of her face; three little silver beads glitter on the end of the braid. She's carrying two large trays full of pizza with wisps of steam rising from them, her entrance heralded by the savory smells coming from the kitchen.

     Then there's the wings.

     There's no missing those, long and white and sweeping, like an angel's wings. However, this time, they were also both all wrapped up in bandages and splints, which did not bode well.

     Stopping in her tracks, she looks over those already in the room, a light smile offered to each. "Wow. If I thought it was going to be this busy in here, I'd have baked more."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    The new hot boy just happens to be coming in the room. And man, it has been one -hell- of a day.

    So check it out. We won the fight, right right big surprise there. Then Cyclops, THE Cyclops came asking for a sparring session right there in the damn cage! And then... There were some revelations. A few long phone calls, made on the drive from Long Island to Westchester, with the promise of more to come. Mom's not feeling this. We're gonna need to reassure her that this is all for real.

    But that can be handled later. For now, David's fresh out the shower and padding barefoot into the rec room, perhaps lured by the smell of steaming pizza. He's wearing a black cotton tank top that hugs his sleek torso, and a pair of baggy grey sweatpants with the Xavier School logo running down the left leg.

    "Eyy what's up," he says to the girls, an easy smile spreading across his face as he comes over and flops down on the couch next to Gecko. "What a day right?"

Siphon has posed:
    Having returned from her very first 'collection outing', Tabitha also took the time to get cleaned up and changed while the new hardbody was getting the introductory tour. Around here she has no need to conceal anything about her appearance so she's just decked out in black UnderArmor thermals under a copper crop hoodie and shorts with a pair of her black and copper Argyle knee-highs... and a pair of eye blindingly dayglow mint green fuzzy bunny slippers.
    Another thing she doesn't have to worry about here is keeping her aura passive, so the nebulous field of non-quantifiable energy mass that surrounds her body is in view as a faint heat shimmer effect around her spangled with copper glitter.
    She wanders into the room, giving Jade a quick wave before pausing in her tracks as she spies Shannon from behind. It takes an effort for her to swallow the massive lump that forms seeing her friend's wings in such a state, but by the time she's walked over to the bar to grab a can of mixed nuts she's managed to beat down the mental images of fire and failure. With her smile once more in place she walks over to Shannon and moves to give her friend a no-arms light lean/hug/nuzzle. "If we need more, I'll cook and you can rest and enjoy, 'K?"
    David's entry brings her intended question about the new hot boy to an end since he's right there. "Yep. The standard Xavier's 'show up out of nowhere' recruitment run. Do you feel sufficiently kidnapped?"

Gecko has posed:
     Jade blinks a few times as she looks up to the new arrival. She sets her phone aside with a sheepish grin and straightens her posture, legs folding into a lotus style.

     "Oh, heya. I'm, uh, Jade. Nice to meet you," says Jade.

     "No worries, I was just about to order some of my own. That's not against the rules, is it?" she asks with sudden concern.

     That's when David appears. Jade's big green eyes blink before she offers a goofy grin and says, "Oh, hey, 'sup man. I was about to order pizza; you want in?"

     Tabitha's arrival gives a flare to Jade's expression as she returns the wave. The smile dies down a bit afterward. Green eyes watch Tabitha with slightly furrowed brows for a moment.

     "Well, I don't care how we get the pizza as long as we do," offers Jade with a grin to Tabitha when the girl offers to cook. The girl's eyes shift into more reptilian slits.

Nightingale has posed:
     "It's okay, Tabby. Trust me, after last night, I need something normal like cooking pizza. Anyways, I'll be okay in a few days, just the protein and calcium will speed things up a little more." Shannon tries her best to offer a reassuring smile to Tabby, setting the trays down on the pool table. One has a very large cheese pizza, and the other looks to be a meat-lover's pizza of equal proportions.

     Turning to Jade, she dips her head and smiles. "Don't remember seeing you here," she says, offering her hand. "Name's Shannon. Call sign, Nightingale. And no, I don't think it's against the rules to order pizza. I just like cooking."

     The entrance of someone else unfamiliar has her lofting her eyebrows. Whoever this was, it was immediately evident they did a fair amount of physical training, and were likely to be someone best not trifled with. To David, she also offers a smile. "Just got here? Well, welcome!"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "I feel like I hit the lottery!"

    That's directed at Tabitha, with a grin to go with it, as he reclines on the couch and reaches back to rest his head in his palms. Then Jade asks him if he's down for pizza, and he slooowly rotates his head in her direction, making direct eye contact. "Hell. Yeah. Hell yeah."

    "Thank you," he says to Shannon, as he's eyed up and down and welcomed. He gives her a smile and a gracious nod, before he stretches his legs out real good, grunting a little when they reach maximum tension, then letting them go limp and slack.

    "So uh, what do you guys do when you're not taking classes or whatever?"

SpyderByte has posed:
The sound of chains and thumping boots against hardwood floor is heard coming into the room as Jeremy is seen. The young Goth is decked out in his long black trench coat, a long sleeved black shirt with a green power logo icon on the chest, and loose fitted black pants with multiple chains hanging off the hips. He's lanky and skinny, with long hair painted black with blood red streaks in the bangs. He even has a dog choke collar around his throat.

Over his shoulders is a level three backpack with a padlock on it. In his hands, he fiddles with a cell phone that he spins around in his palms. At the moment, he is glancing about the room and upwards, as if he was following something.

As usual, he has that shuffle step about him, a slow lurching stride.

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha lets out a soft sigh and nods to Shannon. "I know you will be. Just like you know I'm gonna fret and worry until I see you flying again."

    Then she's turned around to face the rest of the room tired but grinning again. "Not only is it NOT against the rules, but there's a stack of menus from the best places nearby under the bar by the landline."

     She lets Jade and David do their own introductions while she perches her tiny self on the back of a sofa and starts munching on mixed nuts. This activity is paused mid munch as the sounds of the Ghost of Jacob Marley approach the room. When the expected Jeremy enters she offers the goth an up-nod and quick, "Sup, Jer."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade gets a lopsided goofy grin and reaches up to take Shannon's hand.

    "Awesome to meet you. Yeah, I just got here not too long ago," she says before quickly adding, "Right! I am Jade, hah. I guess my codename is Gecko."

     The arrival of other students causes Jade to let out a little laugh before she says, "Shit, it got busy in here quick, that's cool. It's been great meeting everyone."

     "How long has everyone else been here?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon smiles, shaking Jade's hand firmly. "Great to meet you. Welcome to mutant high." There's a brief flick of her eyebrows as she sees the more reptilian look of the other girl's eyes, a little 'hrrm' sound coming from her. "Okay, that's cool. Never seen anyone with eyes like that before."

     Turning to David next, she reaches over to offer her hand as well. "So you must've just gotten here, huh? How'd it happen? I mean, if you feel okay talking about it."

     Though it's not quite Christmas yet, the chains and shuffling tell the tale that perhaps the ghost of Jacob Marley is in the house. Or maybe it's the mansion's local resident technopath. Either way, the winged teen lifts her chin a notch and smiles. "Heya, Jer. What's up?"

     Leaning into Tabby's hug, she does her best to reassure her friend, keeping a smile on her face for her sake. "Hey. It'll just be a couple more days of the splints, then a day or so of light duty. But I'll be back in the air before you know it."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David removes a hand from behind his head to handshake Shannon. He's doing his best to be non chalant about wings and weird auras and stuff like that. He's a mutant too, but his personal brand of weirdness is conveniently concealed inside his skull.

    "Nice to meet you Shannon," he says. "It happened just today! Like right now! I was at a fight down in Long Island and these dudes just... Came down to get me. I found out a few things today, heh!"

    The goth dude he doesn't know gets a smile and a quick, upward bro-nod. "Ey. Sup man."

SpyderByte has posed:
Slowly reaching out with his hand, Jeremy snags something out of thin air, then smashes his hands together around his phone. He squeezes his palms together tightly as his eyes give a quick, rapid flicker.

<< Found you. >>

The voice does not come from the Goth's lips. Instead, they come from the speakers of his phone. It's digitized enough to sound 'real'. Though, what is it that he actually find?

<< Hello. >>

He blows some bangs away from his face, tilting his head to one side as he offers everyone a quick smile, though the new face of David gets a curious look.

<< I need to see your phones. >> That much is spoken to Jade and David as he bobs his head towards them.

Siphon has posed:
    "I'd say spend time training our powers, but that's an actual part of the ciriculum so wouldn't count as 'outside classes'." Tabitha answers David's question about freetime activities. "There's a whole mess of stuff to do on the school grounds. Various sportballpuck stuff outside. Big pool. Woods with a lake. The music studio, where I spend the bulk of my time." She gestures to the room they're in. "And this place, obviously."

    Shannon's reaction to Jade's eyes cause Tabby to shift her gaze over and catch the reptilian orbs. "Oh, hey! Another member of the Awsome Occulars Club," says the girl with the solid black peepers.

    She chuckles at David's account of today's 'retrieval'. "He was like me. No clue about the whole mutant thing. Scott challenged him to spar after the arena cleared. Actually IN the fighting cage. It was a trip to watch. I think I'm gonna ask Ms. Braddock if she has any self defense classes for absolute newbs."

    As much as she tries to focus on where Jeremy grabbed out of the air, the things he can sense and work with remain just a faint background buzz to her own aura-augmented senses. When he asks for Jade and David's phones she speaks up. "It's cool. He's cyber security."

Gecko has posed:
     The compliments about her eyes makes Jade's cheeks redden. She grins and shrugs. Her pupils shift into even tinier slits like a gecko before they return to regular circles.

     "You should see these," laughs Jade. With that, she opens her mouth and shows off that a few of her teeth are sharper than regular ones. Then she sticks out her tongue, which manages to curve out like a snake for a moment.

     Jade's mouth closes with an audible pop as Jeremy's voice steals her attention.

     "Aight, man. Here," she says. The tomboy grabs her phone and offers it to him.

     Jade ruffles her hair with her towel, which is looking much drier than before.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon chuckles a little bit, shaking her head. "Oh wow, so you didn't know you were a mutant, either? But, you're probably in the best place to get things sorted out with your gifts." She glances down at her hands, and smiles lightly. "There's my wings, obviously, but then there's healing, too. So, that's where the Nightingale thing comes from, like Florence Nightingale. My folks tagged me with the name." She cracks a bit of a smile, crossing her arms. "She's not kidding about the sports, either. Just a few weeks ago, some of us from the school got together over at the Avengers place to take 'em to town with some basketball."

     Her brows flick upwards as she glances over at Tabby, letting out a low whistle. "Wait, did you say fighting cage? Are we talking like, MMA stuff here? Sweet!" She cracks a bit of a smile, dipping her head. "You could ask Ms. Braddock, or you could bug Logan. Sam's another good one, and so's Mr. LeBeau."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    Shannon's talking to him, yes. But Jade is opening her mouth and her tongue is... Woah. Wow. Huh. Hey. Hi. What?

    I mean, let's be real. Young women give young men a certain kind of energy, and David's sitting in a room full of them. He's doing his best.

    He blinks, realizing he's kinda staring, and shakes it off, returning his attention to Shannon with a slightly sheepish smile. "They called me Rattlesnake," he says. "That's my ring name. But I mean, I guess I could still use it huh."

    At first he blinks at Jeremy's blunt request, and the way he says it, but when Tabitha subtly vouches for him, he slips his phone out of the front pocket of his sweats and hands it over. "Aight man, here you go."

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Thank you for the trust. I could have done this while the phones were in your pocket, but I have been told I need to ask for permission now, instead of just doing things. I have impulse control issues. >>

Jeremy's phone continues to speak his voice through the speakers, even when he puts it down on the table next to him. He reaches out to take Jade and David's phones, staring at them for a moment as their screens light up, followed by bright green lines of code spreading from top to bottom in a hyper-fast rapid flicker.

<< There we go. You're now on the school's Intranet and your phones are encrypted. They will no longer show on cell towers. Your IP addresses are practically gone. You have to be careful out in the real world. >>

As he hands the phones back to him, a glowing green spider can be seen on the screen before it fades away. << My name is Jeremy. They call me Spyder Byte. With Y's, not I's. I added my contact info for you. I'm a Senior and Technopath. I speak to networked devices and take control of them. >>

He blows his hair away from his face again, then eases himself down into a section of a couch, leaning forward a bit to settle his hands over his knees as he turtles up.

Siphon has posed:
    "Oh, so this is a full game of 'What's Your Weird?'" Tabitha smirks as she watches the others do their show or tell moments. "The chuckleheads," a not so subtle glance to Shannon, "decided to name me Siphon when they learned what my deal was. Guess I'll keep it."

    She sets her mixed nuts aside, hops from her sofa perch, and goes over to the rest of the mixed nuts. David in particular. "If you'd like to see what my deal is, I'd ask you to hit me. Center mass. Hard as you can." Tabby is a proud one inch taller than Master Actor Peter Dinklage and could be used by the Keebler Elves as a chimney broom. But she's serious when she says this. Smiling, but serious.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade seems oblivious to David's stare. However, when Jeremy starts talking, her eyes widen.

     "Uh, you're not looking at my Twitter, right?" she asks sheepishly. Her cheeks redden slightly.

     The phone clicks a few times as Jade opens her browser and starts an order of Pizza. Once it's finished, she sets it aside with the screen showing the delivery update screen.

     The couch cushions resume standard shape as Jade stands. She stretches her upper body back and forth with arms raised. It makes her modest biceps flex a bit. With a grin, she grabs her 'BAD BOY' hoodie's hem and adjusts it.

     "Alright, I guess I'll play, though my weird is more than meets the eye," she says.

     Jade crouches then jumps. Her body shoots upward, and she flips, landing in a crouched position upside down on the ceiling. Then she bends her legs, keeping herself against the roof with just them.

     The vibrantly green-eyed girl offers everyone below a sheepish grin.

     "Not as cool as flying, but whatever," she says to Shannon.

Nightingale has posed:
     "Bullshit, that's not as cool!" Shannon fairly explodes, clapping and smiling up at Jade. "That is pretty flipping epic! Ha, I think your new theme song should be 'Dancing on the Ceiling'... whatcha think?"

     Smiling over at Jeremy as he works his tech magic, she leans over and shoulder-bumps him lightly. "Still amazes me how you can do that, Jer. High-tech, to toasters, it's like you're the tech whisperer or something."

     Peering over at Tabitha, she chuckles, and shrugs lightly. "Could be worse nicknames out there. And I'm not going to show my weirds. One, I can't till these splints come off and the docs clear me. Two, the other means someone would have to get hurt. Sorry, not going there."

     She eyes Tabby and David, frowning in concern. The way that seemed to be going, would her other weird be needed after all?

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    A lot's happening right now.

    Jeremy's explaining that he is like, a techno wizard of some kind, and that he's magicked up his phone for protection. Tabitha's right in front of him, smiling but serious, asking him to hit her as hard as he can like she's a mini Tyler Durden. The cute dragon girl just wooshed up to the ceiling. And she's standing on it.

    Man. Mutants. This is pretty wild.

    "Are you sure," he asks Tabitha, smirking a little. "I mean like, I know you can probably so some kinda crazy shit but like, you want me to -hit- you?"

SpyderByte has posed:
<< Go ahead and hit her. It's really cool. >>

Jermey says as he reaches for his phone and slides it over to him. He gives a smile to Shannon, shrugging his shoulders upwards.

<< What I do isn't anything great. I just talk to machines. They're easier than talking to people. >>

He watches Jade leap up to the ceiling, tilting his chin upwards and blinks a few times. << That is cool. >>

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha beams up at Jade on the ceiling. "I'd high-five you, but even with you inverted I probably couldn't reach." She giggles before shifting her focus to Shannon. She knows what her friend is probably thinking, so she just says three words to reasure her. "Labrynth and lemons."

    Returning her full attention to David she nods firmly. "Yes. I'm sure. Think of it as a two-way trust game."

Gecko has posed:
     The clapping and compliments send a wash of red across Jade's face and ears. A lopsided grin grows on her face as she shrugs a bit. Her hand lifts off the material, and her body slowly lowers until she's hanging upside down. She walks a few steps on the ceiling then just drops it off with no seeming muscle input. She spins mid-air and lands on the ground with a quiet thump sound.

     Her head turns to David and Tabitha. Jade holds up her hand to cash in on the offer for a high-five with a grin. Then the tomboy dragon leans over and nudges David's shoulder.

     "Go ahead, she must know she'll be okay. She wouldn't ask otherwise," says Jade.

Ted Gammage has posed:
In wanders Ted. He's not quite at the 'Ducking to get through the doorway' stage, but for a kid his age he's tall, and broad, befitting his powers. He is wearing his usual casual wear, jeans, boots, t-shirt with a flannel button up shirt that probably hasn't ever actually been buttoned up in as long as he has owned it. He's currently left his hat in his room for whatever reason. He's also got a big bag of chips and wasn't expecting to see many, if any folks in the room, but it's packed. "Oh, uhh..." he says, "Hay. Sup?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Yeah... I suppose they can be. But you talk to me sometimes." Giving Jeremy a one-armed hug, Shannon smiles lightly. "I'm not going to let you sell yourself short, Jer."

     Watching the exchange between Tabby and David, she purses her lips, brows beetling with concern. "I know you're tough, but do your gifts extend to kinetic force as well as other types of energy? I mean... yeah, okay, labyrinths and lemons and all that, but still, there's no reason both of us need to wind up in the infirmary in the space of two days."

     As Ted walks into the room, he might see two large pans of pizza on the pool table, the savory, spicy smells wafting through the air. One seems to be a plain cheeze pizza, and the other, a meat-lovers. Both appear homemade, and still have wisps of steam coming off of them. Shannon is over with some of the others, in her pink satin PJ's and a pair of floofy Old English Sheepdog slippers. Unfortunately, she's also wearing splints, both of her wings bandaged up. "Hey, Ted! We've got two new students, come and join us!"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "Whatever you say dragon lady," says David, with a goofy grin for Jade.

    He reluctantly stands from the couch, taking a moment to stretch his body and shake his limbs out. Very much like the way he did earlier today, before the bell rang on round one. Plus a little shadowboxing, to get some blood into his arms. Wew.

    "Alright, we're doin this," he says, putting his guards up with a wry smile. "Head? Body? Leg? Does it matter? Ah fuck it."

    He chooses 'body,' without any prompting, zipping in and throwing a crisp left uppercut to Tabitha's stomach.

    What happens next? Stay tuned!

Jax Miller has posed:
    Along the hallway comes an ambulant whistling. No, truly, a tune is being whistled out there, but there are no footsteps to accompany the sound that's slowly drifting closer. This can mean but one thing. There can be but one explanation! Well, two, but ghosts haven't been spotted in the mansion for months now...

    It is, indeed, Jax! Dressed in an oversized T-shirt and loose PJ pants that practically brush the carpet, he shoulders the door open, flicks his tail aside to stop the damned thing from getting caught and saunters inside, whistling 'Don't stop me now'. Step-step-sliiiiiide, towards the pool table for some pizza. Did the smell summon him? Are an ursine's sanitary arrangements mainly arboreal?

    His hand is reaching for a slice of meat lover (how apt) when the punch is thrown and he freezes. Eyes wide, ears splayed, tail suddenly poofed up. "Eeehp?"

SpyderByte has posed:
Tilting his head to the side, Jeremy watches curiously as he leans forward to see what happens with the punch. He continues to tap away at his phone.
<< Hi Jax! Come on over. >>

He scoots over, making some room for him next to him on the couch.

<< Tabby is showing off her powers. Hi Ted! >>

He lifts a hand upwards and waves to the large teen.

Siphon has posed:
    Ever punched wet sand? Where it just stops you cold without even causing backlash? It's one of the most anticlimatic things to punch, and David just did exactly that several times in rapid succession.

    The punches just stop about five inches away from Tabby's body, at the edge of the aura shimmer that surrounds her. And every time David's punches land there is a surge along her skin where the copper glitter that covers her chalk white skin brightens and grows. When the attacks end it's gone from sparkly glitter to Dalmation patches of copper on her skin.

    When it's over Tabitha hasn't moved. She just grins and wiggles her eyebrows cheekily. Then she licks her lips. "That was refreshing."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade can't help but return David's grin with one of her own. Then she steps back to watch the show curiously. The way David's hands just hit a speed limit and stop makes Jade's eyebrows rise.

     "Wow, that's cool as fuck, Tabby," she says with a big grin.

     She steps a bit closer to the two and says, "You can like, stab me and stuff, but it hurts like hell. And I don't want to bleed all over the place. I doubt anyone wants to see that either," she sticks her tongue out. Of course, it doesn't stop where it should; then it pulls back.

     "There was other stuff too, but nothing I can show off or anything," she vaguely mutters.

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Ah, lotsa new ones lately," Ted says. He does wave at Jade, "Good t'see ya again," he notes with a friendly smile. He grins at Jax and Jeremy, giving each a wave as well. "Hey Shan" he says then seems to kind of forget who all he's greeted. Also punching going on. "Uhh, ah was thinkin' ah'd have to break up somethin' but y'all are just testin' powers?" He quirks his brow a bit and chuckles before he does drop onto an empty seat which may creak just a little in protest. "Fun but not alla us could test them safely here," he muses.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon goes as if to extend one wing in a wave to Ted, but flinches as all she winds up doing is pulling against her splint. "Ooof. Hey, Ted. You're just in time for a game of 'What's My Weird'. There's some pizza over on the pool table if you're hungry."

     It seemed the pizza was not going to last very long, not with a certain walking appetite with a tail slinking about, pilfering a piece of pizza pie. Rolling her eyes, she chuckles a little bit, just shaking her head. "Hey, Jax. Why do I get the feeling I should've made some more of that?" Because, pizza. What other sustenance was so universal and beloved, as to be its own reason?

     Plopped down on the sofa next to Jeremy, she looks on at the display of powers, letting out a low whistle. "Okay, I know who else I'll be bugging for picking up a few pointers in hand-to-hand," she says to David, allowing herself a light smile.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Eeeh, fighting..." Jax shakes his head, but does listen to the interesting mix of powers being both discussed and displayed. So, listens and watches, really. Two things at once, he's actually multitasking. Adding to the difficulty multiplier is the pizza, of which several slices are liberated, and the leap over the back of the sofa to land next to Jeremy, opposite from Shannon. And not a single bit of topping was disturbed.

    Bit of a wasted effort as they get eaten a moment later, but... oh well. Style, y'all.

    A wave is returned as the cat kid leans against Jeremy, clearly not having figured out the concept of 'personal space'. "Hey, I'm Jax. Been here a whole two weeks. Try not to get lost in the back yard, it's huge."

SpyderByte has posed:
Giving a grin, Jeremy leans back against Jax as well. He's warm and fuzzy. He's in the middle of him and Shannon now. A Spyder sandwich.

<< It's nice not being the new guy now. I've been here a few months. >>

He gives a long stretch of his arms upwards, then flops one around Shannon's shoulders, and the other around Jax's. He brings them in for a quick squeeze before he slips his hands back down into his lap.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David inspects his hand for a moment. Huh. Alright. Everything's still intact, kay. "That's some trick," he says to Tabitha, a bit of a grin on his face. "Does it work on whatever? Can you stop a knife with that? A bullet?"

    About then, Jade comes up to the two of them to volunteer. Then she does that thing with her tongue again, unf. Maybe she doesn't miss the smile it puts on his face this time. "So you can heal like a lizard too?" he asks. "Even if you like, lop off a limb?"

    Before Tabitha or Jade answer, David takes a moment to turn and wave at the two people who walked in while he and Tabitha were fooling around with superpowers. "What's up guys, I'm Dave," he says. "New in class, like brand new. Like, today new, heh."

    Shannon's compliment kind of puffs him up a little, making him grin at her. "Yea sure, right on. Been fighting since I could stand up straight, I could probably teach a bit."

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha giggles and a bit of pink appears on the parts of her chalk white skin that aren't currently covered in a Dalmation path of copper. "Thanks. I've apparently had it to a tiny degree my whole life. Then... things happened about two months ago and I went through the 'swoop in and retrieve' that David got this afternoon."

    David's questions cause her grin to widen. "From extensive testing and re-testing I've learned my aura can absorb any form of kinetic, thermal, photonic, and electromagnetic energy. I cannot absorb magic. So yeah. Knives, bullets, fire, lasers, sunlight, heat, hard radiation." She stops ticking off stuff and shrugs sheepishly. "A bunch of stuff. Still haven't convinced Scott to laser beam me with his eyeballs, though."

    The addition of two new arrivals cause a brief pause then grin. "Hiya Ted, Jax." She goes to put her can of mixed nuts back under the bar. "Won't need those anymore since David just topped off the tank, so to speak."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade does catch David's look as her brows furrow; then a confused grin spreads on her face.

     The girl's gaze turns to Ted across the room when she sees him waving at her, which she returns in kind with a permanent grin.

     "Well, I mean, I've never cut my arm off to test it. Haha, but yeah. I do heal when I'm cut and stuff," she says.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Having discovered someone who doesn't mind him leaning in, Jax takes full advantage and makes himself comfortable, feline style. That means he's taking up as much space as he possibly can, while at the same time being considerate of other people who want to sit. The theory that cats are sentient liquids gains some more evidence today.

    "Why all the cutting and stabbing and shooting and punching? Is my weird that I've never been in a fight?"

Ted Gammage has posed:
"Ted," is the offered reply in way of introduction. "Ah, two shiny new students then. An' ah got to go on my first 'talk up the school' trip so, s'been an interestin' week." He does offer a quirked brow, "Your power got somethin' to do with punchin'?" he wonders. "Y'hit real hard or somethin'?" He looks to Shannon, noting her condition, "Those your's are y' wearin' someone else's injuries again?" he wonders, concerned, though he does smile lightly at the rest group all piled up on the couch.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon makes an odd little 'wark' sound as she's pulled in for a hug, becoming part of a Spyder sammich. She does twist about a bit to keep her bandaged wings out of the way, reaching over to return the hug. Glancing over at Ted, she shakes her head. "My own this time," she replies. "Outing last night went south in a big way, I wound up slammed back against a wall. It..." Her voice trails off, her brows furrowing, and a bit of a hitch in her voice. "...it was something that really hit below the belt. And something I should talk to Miss Grey and Mr. Summers about as soon as I can."

     Peering around Jeremy over at Jax, she shrugs lightly, tilting her head to the side. "No shame in never having been in a fight. But as much of a feline side as you have, I wouldn't be surprised if enhanced senses were in there somewhere, and the way you just jumped onto the couch without flinging pizza everywhere, that's some next-level agility. Anyone ever test your gifts out yet?"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    "Nah dude," David says to Ted, with a grin and a headshake. "Guess it turns out I'm a--" he blinks, searching for the word. "Telepath? Yeah. I've been fighting as a pro for like two years, and I just thought I was good at it, you know? Turns out I was reading the other guy's mind. Crazy right?"

    He smirks at Jax. "I had my first fight when I was fourteen. I mean official like, with a ref and a ring and all that."

He glances over at the pizza the catkid was recently nomming on. It makes him remember there's actually more on the way. "Wonder where that delivery guy is at," he muses.

SpyderByte has posed:
With Jax practically oozing on him, Jeremy wraps his arms around his waist so that he can settle in against his chest like a lazy cat. His other shoulder is still resting against Shannon's. He looks comfortable and cozy.

<< Everyone has really cool powers. Can't wait to see how we all do together. It would be interesting to see how we all do. Wait until you guys see our advanced gym. It's so fun. >>

He's calling the Danger Room 'fun' now. He's definitely grown since his time here.

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Tested out? Eh, about a dozen coaches for the CFL, was trying out for the Bulls, had some interest from a few NBA teams, like half a dozen scouts from the MLB..." Is he flexing? Or does Jax honestly believe that's normal for a kid his age? With arms wrapped around him, he melts just a bit further against Jeremy, stretching his legs out in front of him. Toes splay. Claws pop out for a moment and then retract. Toes go back to normal.

    "I mean, I've run away from dozens of fights. Try to catch me when I'm trying to be elsewhere, an' good luck with it. But that's just regular stuff, I guess, everyone can do that if they practice hard enough."

    How much do those ears actually hear? His nose has been proven to be able to find food anywhere in the building. As for those eyes... they look so feline it's not hard to imagine that they might let him see in near total darkness. Everything about him screams 'apex predator'. Except for the relaxed attitude, that just screams 'house cat'.

Siphon has posed:
    "It shouldn't be too much longer. All the regular places know there's good tips to be had, but we'll have to send a couple folks out to meet them at the gate to keep the grounds private." Tabitha has found herself the largest of the bean bag chairs and is in the process of burrowing herself into it to become some kind of strange spotty copper deviled egg.

    "Yeah, that place is a lot of fun. Incredibly frightening at times, but still fun." Then she pauses and grins over at Shannon. "Well, when it's not taken over by a minotaur." Talk of being in fights causes her to squirm a bit and go quiet.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade shrugs and smiles to Jax, watching him snuggle up on Jeremy.

     "I don't get into fights; I just know what happens if I get injured," she says.

     Jade's phone begins beeping, so she quickly grabs it and picks it up. "Hey! Yeah, I'll be there in one minute. Sorry for the wait," she says.

     She slaps David on the arm and says, "Pizza's here; I'm gonna go grab it. Just be a minute."

     With that, the tomboy skirts around people, then she jogs out of the room.

Ted Gammage has posed:
At all the fight talk, Ted kind of wrinkles his nose. "Ah try t'avoid them m'self," he notes. He nods to "New Guy" and chuckles, "Ah, yeh, ah think there's ah few of those around here too. Kinda like what Jer here does, only he's a machine telepath, right?" He half smiles but looks around again. He peers down a moment then hefts himself up, "Eh, ah think ah'll go fer ah bit," he says with not much further explaination and heads toward the door.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon hugs Jeremy and Jax for a moment, but frowns as Ted is getting up to go. "Hey... is everything okay?" She gets to her feet as well, taking a step or two towards him, looking a little bit worried.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    The slap on the arm kind of like, activates David.

    "I'll give you a hand!" he calls out, as he hustles after Jade.

    Presuming the two just-got-here neonates can find the right place to go, they'll be coming back in a minute with another army of food for everyone. Good thing, too. There's a lot of people chilling in the rec room now.

SpyderByte has posed:
Wiggling his feet in front of him a bit, Jeremy is looking at his phone screen in his hands as he peers past Jax's shoulder to do it. He tilts his head upwards as Ted says he is going to leave.

<< Yes! Machine telepath. You are going? >>

He looks over at him curiously, then watches Shannon head after him. He shuffles a bit on the couch so his butt gets a bit more space, most likely dragging the cat on to his lap in the motion.

Ted Gammage has posed:
Ted yawns lightly and looks back at Shannon, "Mm? Yeah, I'm alright. Tired. Few things on my brain. I'm going to go lay down a bit." He gives a light nod to his teammates and waves, "G'night," and he slips out back down the hall to the dorms.

Nightingale has posed:
     A light sigh escapes Shannon and she shrugs. "G'night, Ted. Sleep well." And that was that. At least her spot next to Jer on the couch was still warm, and she perches her posterior on the perfectly puffy couch, leaning in to complete the hug that is a Spyder sammich again. The talk of pizza arriving, and its actual appearance, does make her smile a little bit. "There any supreme among that, or BBQ chicken?"

Siphon has posed:
    "Out the front door and straight!" Tabitha calls out as the freshest of the fresh meat head out to collect the pizza delivery. Then she finger waves to Ted as he assures Shannon that he's just tired. "G'nite, Ted. Try not to make any bone-grind bread, 'k?"

    She looks over at the pile of Jax, Jeremy, and Shannon and briefly considers moving over there. Then she considers that such a task would involve moving and decides against it. "No idea. Jade placed the order. Guess we'll find out. Unless they get lost."

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is the expected 'cat activation noise', for which the most accurate onomatopoeia would be 'Mhhrrrhhrr?', as Jax falls backwards and ends up sprawled on Jeremy's lap. Okay, so, that's a thing that happened. And the fuzzy lump isn't making any moves to get up either, quite comfortable where he is, thankyouverymuch.

    At least until his keen senses begin to detect more food entering the house, and his head swivels towards the door well before the additional comestibles actually come through. "So, have I said recently this place is awesome?"

SpyderByte has posed:
There's another giggle from Jeremy as Jax is now sprawled out on his lap. He props his chin on the back of his shoulder for a moment as his arms give him another firm squeeze around the middle. He bumps his cheek against his, then shifts out from under him so that he can give a long stretch.

<< I need to finish some homework and then talk to Miss Grey about an extracurricular activity coming up. It was great to meet the new kids. Enjoy the pizza guys. >>

He leans over and gives Shannon another hug, then walks past Jax as his fingers brush over his ears for a moment before he heads down the hall with a jangle of chains along his pants.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade re-enters the room holding a few boxes of pizza. Her toned arms mildly flex as she holds them securely. Also, a blush that reaches from ear to ear across her face.

     David is just behind her.

     The girl clears her throat. "Hey guys, more pizza for everyone."

     The tomboy carries three two boxes to a table and carefully sets them down before she brushes off her hoodie for no discernable reason.

     "Okay, so these two are pepperoni, the two David has are supreme," she says.
With that, she opens up the top pepperoni ones and grabs a slice for herself.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David, grinning, sets stack-of-boxes number two down next to the one Jade just placed on the table. "Get it while it's hot."

    He opens a box and peels off a big slice of supreme, taking his first bite of it still standing. Mostly cause he isn't sure what the seating situation is right now. But also because, well, he was in -two- fights today, one with a bona fide X-Man, and he hasn't eaten anything yet.

Siphon has posed:
    "Well, they didn't get lost. Achievement get!" Tabitha's words carry the bare minimum of energy and emtotion as she lays near motionless in her bean bag nest. It's not that she's sleepy, quite the opposite in fact, but there's something to be said for being energized AND cozy. She notes the flush on Jade's face as the dragon lady sets up the pizzas. "Is it really cold out there?" She shivers and mutters, "Guess it's time to hibernate."

Nightingale has posed:
     With Jeremy taking off, Shannon just pouts a little. She curls up on the sofa, quiet for a few minutes. Her nose doth detect a most delectable, delightful bouquet of meat, cheese, bread, and vegetables, making it impossible for any sort of introspective reverie to last for very long. "Oh. Wow. If that's the stuff from the pizzaria down in Salem Center, stand in line!" Unless Jax moves away, she reaches out to offer a hug to him as well, just to see what'll happen.

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is probably some kind of social convention about ruffling the cat kid's ears, but right now it seems like Jax doesn't mind. He does mind when Jeremy moves away, laying obstinately in the warm spot he's left behind until the actual appearance of food perks him right up. There is time for a brief hug with Shannon and then...

    Space becomes available on the couch almost immediately, and it is distinctly Jax-shaped. The food gets his full attention, all other subtle social cues are utterly missed. "Pepper and Roni, my favorite combination."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade furrows her brows from Tabitha's comment, clearing her throat one last time. "Not really? No. Why?"

     After that, she's munching down pepperoni. Her expression relaxes, green eyes drifting shut. A soft raspy hum rumbles quietly in her throat.

     "Sho good," she says.

     Her clean hand reaches out and ruffles Jax's head as he hovers over the pepperoni. "Have at it," she grins.

     For a moment, Jade is quiet as she eats. Her green eyes scan the room with some form of deep thought behind them.

     "Well, I know what flavor of weird everyone has now, mostly. What about other stuff? We could talk about stuff we like. Or things other people might not know."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David's slice of supreme is gone in a chomp or two. He reaches down and peels off another one before even thinking about where's he's gonna sit. If it's open, he flops down. And eats very contentedly.

    "Things we might not know?" he asks Jade, the sentence muffled by half a mouthful of pizza. "Do you wanna like, play never-have-I-ever?"

Nightingale has posed:
     "Well, there's always music," Shannon says, smiling somewhat. Standing up from the couch, she meanders on over to the upright piano that's off to one side of the room, reaching out to run her fingers lightly over the ivories. "Anybody got a favorite song or should I just pick one?"

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha shrugs from her nest while everyone else goes for pizza. "No reason. You just looked a bit wind burned, and I really, truly hate the cold." Even here inside and cozy she's dressed in thermals and multiple layers. Jade's questions cause her to perk a bit. "Music. All of music. I really should schedule some studio time to remas... well, make masters of my songs."

    She pauses as David brings up never-have-I-ever. "Never have I ever played never have I ever."

    Shannon moving to the piano causes Tabby to perk up more and actually start to stir from her nest. "Seranade us, sweet friend."

Jax Miller has posed:
    Ears perk when his head his ruffled, proving that perhaps Jax has a very tactile personality. He helps himself to a few slices, on the general principle that you can never have enough food when you have the metabolism of a predator, scaled up to human size. He's by no means huge, but certainly taller than even a lion. And, of course, far more active.

    Ears droop when 'never have I ever' is mentioned, and he shakes his head, waiting until he's no longer chewing before offering comment. "Oh no, no no no... just ask me anything you want to know, it'll have the same effect but quicker."

    The mere suggestion of a string twanging has his left ear swivel towards the piano. Ooh, music!

    Very expressive thing, ears.

Gecko has posed:
     "Hell yeah. I mean, not my favorite song, but the first thing off the top of my head would be 'Mad World,'" she says.

     She grabs another slice and takes a bite. Her gaze returns to David for a brief moment. It seems as if her attention takes a detour around anywhere else until it returns to him.

     "Ah, how do you play that? Although, it doesn't sound like Jax or anyone wants to. Asking questions..." she pauses and thinks for a second before adding, "...I guess I don't know what to ask.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David gives Jade a wide smile. He holds up a finger to request she wait a moment for him to answer, because he's chewing. Gulp. Okiedoke.

    "Alright, it's easy," he says. "All you got to do is think of something you've never done, and tell us what it is. If someone in the room -has- done that thing, you take a shot. But I bet they keep the booze locked up around here, hehe."

    The look-away-and-look-back thing she does makes him smile a little brighter, it may be noted.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon gets a bit of a blank look on her face as she looks over at Jade, and shakes her head, sliding onto the piano bench. "Ugh, sorry, I don't know that one. I could work on learning it, though, maybe?"

     She smiles a bit over at Tabby and nods, cracking her knuckles. "Well, there's always a classic..." Her fingers dance over the keys, a driving bass beat soon overlaid by familiar chords ascending in a desperate crescendo.

"Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where's the streetwise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?
Isn't there a white knight
Upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn
And I dream of what I need..."

Jax Miller has posed:
    Twitch. Twitch. Ears twitch when the bass line starts. A few seconds in, and his tail is bopping out the beat, his toes are tapping and... yeah... there's no stopping this.

    In the break between the final line of the first verse and the start of the chorus, he leaps up on the back of the sofa and sings. On key. In tune. With volume!

    "I need a hero!
    I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night!
    He's gotta be strong, and he's gotta be fast
    And he's gotta be fresh from the fight!

    I need a hero!
    I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light!
    He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon
    And he's gotta be larger than life!"

Siphon has posed:
    "No liquor in the school sections unless the faculty have desk whisky somewhere." Tabitha shrugs as she rises from her nest and starts walking over to the piano. "Never really had an urge to drink booze, myself." She doesn't go into details. "I know Mad Wo..." Then Shannon starts cranking out another classic. "Bonnie Tyler, nice! I've got next for Jade's request." In the meantime she joins Shannon in the vocals, adding in the back-up singer parts and hand druming the percussion on the edge of the piano.

    Jax's voice joining in causes her to crack a huge smile and give him a double thumbs up. The interplay between Jade and David passes by her, though. Which wouldn't surprise her if it were brought to her attention. Huh... that would be something she hasn't explicitly told anyone here... the thought passes through her mind and is swept aside by the music.

Gecko has posed:
     "Oh, we're not supposed to have alcohol? Hmmm..."

     Shannon's answer doesn't seem to bother Jade; she responds with a big smile. "No worries."

     When the music starts up, Jade laughs and claps once. It's not long after that Jax and Tabitha join in with singing and more.

     A grin creeps onto Jade's face. She wipes her hands off on one of the napkins then steps to a slightly more clear spot. Jade lifts her hands near her head as she bounces in place. They shift around, pumping up in tune with the piano beat.
     Her goofy dance only lasts for a minute before she laughs and drops into a more lazy pose enjoying the music. Her face red once again but a big grin on it.

Nightingale has posed:
     While there was no booze visible, the bar in the room did seem to have quite a selection of non-alcoholic drinks, mostly sodas of various varieties, that might seem to serve the purpose. Meantime, Shannon grins at Jax and Tabitha, really starting to whale away at the piano. Getting Jade up and dancing, too, sure didn't hurt matters, and the energy in the room is positively electrifying as she continues on with the next verse.

"Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There's someone reaching back for me
Racing on the thunder
And rising with the heat
It's gonna take a Superman
To sweep me off my feet..."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    Damn, this girl really knows how to play the piano...

     Oh shit! Catboy can sing!

     Woah what, Tabitha can sing too?!

    All of a sudden Mr. Rattlesnake, king of the cage, feels like he's in the company of people who are way classier than him. A ripple of anxiety runs through him. But what is he gonna do, just sit here and eat pizza while they sing and dance and stuff?

    Nah. No way. If there's one thing you -can- do Dave, it's dance.

    So he hops up to his feet and sliiides over to where Jade is cutely bouncing in place.

    "Yo you come here often?" he asks the gecko girl, dancing in front of her while the other three are literally putting on a show. "This place is wild right? Love it!"

Jax Miller has posed:
    From the back of the sofa, Jax starts to dance and pose as he sings, walking along the edge of the couch, leaping to another bit of furniture, sliding along the edge, stepping to the back of an empty chair... he goes full on Jamiroquai, going so far as to tilt a chair back while he's standing on the edge of the back rest, then abruptly stabilising it with his other leg and balancing there.

    "I need a hero! (Dramatic pose!)
    I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night!
    He's gotta be strong (flex), and he's gotta be fast (two armed motion to himself)
    And he's gotta be fresh from the fight! (Dramatic pointing towards David)

    I need a hero! (Leap to the top of the piano)
    I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light! (Dramatic pose!)
    He's gotta be sure and it's gotta be soon (Pleading gestures)
    And he's gotta be larger than life!" (Arms flung back, standing up tall, chin to the ceiling!)

Siphon has posed:
    Between vocals Tabitha grins and shrugs to Jade, "Well we are all quite underage." Then Jade is bouncing, David is asking her to dance, and Jax is going absolutely wild. Tabitha is all good with energetic movements, but she would never call what she does dancing. She grins widely at Shannon and continues to belt away with her crisp soprano. She wishes she had The Twins with her, but they're snugly tucked away in her room and she's not about to leave to get them.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade turns to see David dancing near her with the cheesy line. It puts a goofy grin on her face as she shakes her head.

     "Shut up," she says, still grinning.

     A sharp tooth snags her lower lip as Jade looks off to the side. It doesn't take much longer before she joins David and starts dancing in place once again. The MMA fighter seems to encourage her now that she's not standing by herself. Jade's not some dance-master, but she's got a few moves.

     "Listen, my alcohol is medicinal, so it's cool," she says with a laugh to Tabitha.

Nightingale has posed:
     A brief shadow seems to cross the winged teen's pale blue eyes as she looks between Jade and David, but the music otherwise takes her concentration. Then again, how could one remain in a down mood, with a showboat like Jax in the house, or with a vocalist like Tabitha joining in? "Well, at least y'all can dance," she says, while she's leading up to the bridge of the song.

"Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I can swear there is someone, somewhere watching me
Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach like a fire in my blood...!"

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David is no dance-maestro either. He knows how to 2 step, shuffle, a couple other things. Not the usual dance you'd do to I Need A Hero on piano, but whatever. He's athletic and coordinated enough to sell it. Jax points at him dramatically, and he spins on his heel to face the cat dude and point back. Then Jade tells him to shut up, which makes him grin and keep on dancing.

    Today, this young man had a pro MMA fight, and another fight immediately afterward with Cyclops himself. But he's dancing like it aint no thang. Being eighteen is pretty fuckin cool.

Jax Miller has posed:
    Equally, being an early sixteen and with enough confidence to float a mid-sized battleship, Jax lets his feet and body do as they please, with a few nudges here and there from what we shall laughably call his higher brain functions. It's probably not the first time someone has been dancing on the top of this piano, but how many of those people were sober and using the full surface afforded without even a hint of hesitation?

    Yeah, in your face, previous X generations!

    As the piano goes into its furious melodic pace for the bridge, Jax leaps from the piano, over Shannon's head, flips in mid-air and lands on his toes... on the edge of the back of the couch, to continue the song at full volume and impeccable pitch.

Siphon has posed:
    If asked, Tabitha could speak for the being sixteen part. The flotilla scale confidence? Signs are hazy. Ask again later. When Jax jumps up on the piano she gets a scandalized expression that lasts until he's vaulted off. Then she leans over and gives the piano a 'there there' hug before glaring over her shoulder at Jax. Not that it causes her to break stride on vocals.

    One side effect of so many teens being energetic is body heat. That plus the vibrations from the piano brushing up against her aura and Tabitha can't help but start to drink in a small portion. As the song nears its end her skin starts to become more and more copper until all of the chalk white is gone and she looks like a liquid copper statue. Even her teeth can be seen to have changed when she smiles.

Gecko has posed:
     Jade comes to a halt with a happy sigh. She steps over to the couch and plops onto the arm of it. Her mouth widens in a yawn, flashing those pointy teeth further inward.

     "I might get some sleep soon. Been a long a day," she says.

     "I was shocked. I have, like, my own room?" she asks with a laugh.

     "I'll get used to it, I guess?"

     She slips off the arm onto the cushions and chews on the inside of her cheek in deep thought.

Nightingale has posed:
     With the song finally drawn to a close, and the last chords fading into nothingness, Shannon allows herself a light smile. "Bah. Sleep is for the weak!" she quips, waving one hand at Jade. "But... yeah, long day, first day here. Mine was kind of like that. And you know, this is just the start."

     Jax's showboating has her applauding, and actually laughing for a moment. "Holy hell's bells, you're good. Okay, that's it. I'mma gonna take Andrea up on that threat of putting me through the paces with her trainer, so I can keep up with you!"

     Tabby gets a smile and a thumbs-up. "You're really good. Maybe you could go professional with a voice like that. Same for you, Jax."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David drops into a seat as well, looking a little deflated. Still grinning from ear to ear, but the fatigue of the day is finally beginning to show.

    He lifts his hands and claps for Shannon, Jax and Tabitha slowly. "So uh. Does everybody do that here?" he asks. "Am I gonna be walking down the hall and people break out into song and dance all of a sudden? Heh."

Jax Miller has posed:
    The only accurate onomatopoeia for the sound Jax makes when he's complimented for his song and dance routine would be 'Phbbbt'. As he collapses into a beanbag chair, clearly he doesn't take himself seriously enough to consider himself good enough to do anything but entertain a room of friends. Professional? Hah! That's what football is for.

    "Hey, my first day was a dance with full costume and Dazzler up on stage doing 'Thriller'. You got off easy." he grins over to David, even while he's starting to go back to his recumbent state. Whew. That was a lot of energy spent in one go. "Guess everyone here is happy to be here, y'know? Me, I'm... well, kinda used to this kind of atmosphere. Didn't even occur to me until two weeks ago that not everyone has it this good."

Siphon has posed:
    How the turns have tabled. Most of the others are winding down while Tabby the Copper Bookend is hopped up on all that energy she took in. "Yep. I won't be sleeping for days now that my tank is topped off." She shrugs and grins, her teeth now as black as her eyes. "Maybe I'll do some homework." She pauses in mock thought then giggles. "Nah!"

    Blushing is not something that will ever show up on her bright copper skin, which is another point in its favor. But she does shrug and admit, "I talked to Andrea about helping me to put together a perfoamance portfolio. Maybe get some studio work. It would certainly help me feel better if I had my own income for once."

    David's remarks get a giggle. "Well, Xavier's has graduated at least three major pop and rock superstars that I'm aware of. One of which is our contemporary music teacher, The Dazzler herself." She gives him a moment to soak that in then shrugs, "We usually keep it confined to the studio, though. Mostly."

    Jade's remark about having her own room gets a vigorous nod. "I know! I'm still not really used to it. I don't even sleep in my bed most nights. It's just too damned big! The overstuffed loveseats are more my size."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade smiles as she watches Tabitha acting all energetic now. Then she offers an apologetic grin to Shannon.

     "Yeah, sorry. Sleep times soon. I got flown across the country, and I'm trying to catch up on top of the long day," says Jade.

     "Who's in charge of dorms? I might need to talk to someone about where my room is."

     Her green eyes fall on Jax as he talks about being used to all this. A tooth catches her lower lip and gnaws at it idly. She shrugs and replies, "Yeah. The last year was quite different than this."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ha, no, David. Well, not usually." There, let him make of that what he will! Shannon can't help a little smile. "Tabby's right. We've got Dazzler as our contemporary music teacher. Andrea Jackson's another alumni, she just graduated this year. And there's several promising musicians among the students."

     Jade gets a bit of a frown, and she crosses her arms. "Wait, you haven't got a dorm straightened out? Ugh. I'd ask Sam who to bump that one up to. But if you want to bunk with me for the night while they get that straightened out, I wouldn't mind."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David watches Jade out of the corner of his eye while she's talking. She's had it rough. At least that's the vibe he's picking up. She's a tough one though, he can tell. He makes a mental note to get her to start talking about it at some point.

    "I'm glad to be here for sure," he says, nodding at Jax. "I don't think it's hit me yet though, you know? Like it just happened today."

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Hey, I understand, it's sudden. One day I was at home, doing homework with my tutor, and the next thing I know there's a knock on the door and these people show up representing Xavier's. Couple of days later, bam, here I am. At least I'm not that far from home."

    Yawn, streeeeeeetch. Seems like Jax is about ready for a nap himself.

Siphon has posed:
    "Girl's wing, room 8 is yours, Jade. I saw the new nameplate on my way down here." Tabitha says this as she settles onto the piano bench next to Shannon and starts to gently play semi-random tunes as they come to her before settling on the light and airy intro to one of her own songs.

My eyes are heavy
Morpheus comes!
The gift that is carried
Is me in his arms!
Blue is his veil
And stars are his eyes
I lay on his hands
My lonliness I cannot stand

I've been needin' a hand
For too long
I've been needin' a friend
I'm not strong
Will you give me the strength?

I believed in you
You fooled me
Why?

    The notes at the end of her lyrics get more heavy and then she fades them out. "And that's where the heavy guitar and drums kick in. Might figure out a purely acoustic piano version someday."

    Jade and David get an understanding s mile over her shoulder. "Trust me, it will settle in before long." She mainly focuses on Jade when she says, "This place is the real deal."

Gecko has posed:
     The tomboy listens to Jax for a second and pulls her legs up to sit sideways against the sofa's arm.

     "Well, Jax, Ted, Jeremy, and Samuel all came and picked me up in Austin," says Jade. However, there are zero hints of a southern drawl in her voice.

     Tabitha and Shannon's comments about her dorm make Jade shake her head. "No, no. I do have a dorm. I just--I don't know; I just need to talk to someone about it."

     "I don't feel like I should have a room where it is," she says. It's like she's pulling her teeth with every carefully chosen vague answer.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David quirks an eyebrow at Jade, shifting in his seat a little to face her more. "Where it's what?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Something from science classes past bubbles up within the recesses of Shannon's mind as she listens to Jade. The reptilian eyes, the ease with which she walked on the ceiling, all betokened a distinctly reptilian nature to her mutation.

     But just how deeply did that run?

     Slowly, the winged teen's brows loft, understanding coming to her eyes, and she nods slowly. "Gotcha. Well, then I'd definitely take that to Miss Grey. She's pretty chill to talk to. Think you'll like her."

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha is filled with energy, both figurative and literal but it hasn't derailed her mind so much as greased the wheels. And the way Jade is dancing around her words more than she was with her feet earlier tickles at a series of memoories of other orphans she shared her previous home with. She nods to what Shannon said.

    "Miss Grey can absolutely help you with that, Jade." What it is she's so certain can be helped with she doesn't say. She only gives Jade a slight acknoledging nod before continuing her semi-random ivory tickling.

Gecko has posed:
     One of Jade's subtly clawed hands tugs her hoodie up, and the girl gently nibbles at the collar with her front teeth. Her legs shift up against her front like a shield.

     One hand slides up to comb through her hair and scratch her scalp a little vigorously.

     " Before I mutated last year, I was a guy," she says flatly. Eyes fixed on the coffee table, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

     "It's not something I wanted or anything; it just happened."

     The tomboy exhales hard as her eyes flutter for a moment. She nods to no one in particular and says, "Okay, yeah. I'll talk to her tomorrow. Thanks."

     "I mean it'd bother you two, right? Me being in there," asks Jade. She risks a glance for a moment at Shannon and Tabitha before she rapidly shifts her gaze to David for an even briefer moment. David might see a hint of a 'See? Told you.' sort of expression flicker across her face in that instant. Once that moment's up, her gaze shifts back to a wall, or a table, or the TV.

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    David catches the 'told you so' look, and comprehends the event to which it refers. It makes him flinch a little. Rattlesnake, clearly, did not know who he was talking to.

    A few thoughts run through his mind in opposite directions all at the same time, like cars playing chicken at an intersection. So she's a boy? But like. She seemed to like him. Or was that just his imagination? Are we projecting again? Well maybe she wants to stay like that, and just like... Be a girl. That would be cool.

    The kid's eighteen, he's being as introspective as he can be.

    His gaze loses focus as well, looking away from other human beings while he sits there feeling sheepish as fuck for a minute.

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just shakes her head and smiles at Jade. "Why would it bother us? You're just you." However, the part about not wanting the mutation has her letting out a little sigh, and now she's the one running her hand through her own hair. "I don't think a single one of us here ever asked for our changes. But we have it anyways. Some of us lucked out with family that still love and support us, some didn't. Thing is, though, we're all here now, and when it boils down to it, we're all in this together." Laughing a little bit, she shakes her head, with a wry smile. "Maybe we're not the Howling Commandos. But we're still a family here."

Siphon has posed:
    Tabitha's headshake isn't delayed in the slightest. "Nope. Having you as a neighbor wouldn't bother me at all. Wouldn't be the first time, and anyway the main concern to me is YOUR comfort." Being topped off with energy means her all-around senses are at their clearest. So when Jade looks her way she makes sure to meet her gaze and offer a small smile.

    "I've been how I am physically since birth, but before here I lived my whole life at an orphanage in Maine. Shared bunks with plenty of runaways, abused, or abandoned kids with the more mundane versions of stuff." She snorts as she turns around on the bench to face the others. "Hell, having everyone around helped me figure out that I'm Pan/Ace." She shrugs once more. "You are who you are and the only one who can know for certain who that is, is you."

Gecko has posed:
     Jade fidgets in her seat as she listens to everyone else and thinks. "Okay, but the dorms are not coed for a reason."

The tomboy stands up with one last heavy sigh. She steps over to the boxes of pizza and closes them, and stacks them together. She looks to Shannon and Tabitha and offers a weak smile as she says, "Thanks. I appreciate you being nice and understanding."

     "You're both right; I'll talk to Ms. Grey tomorrow. It'll get sorted one way or another. For now, I'm gonna call it and get some rest," she says.

     With that, Jade walks to the rec room door with pizzas in hand, presumably to handle trash and save leftovers.

     "I'll catch you three later, sleep well when you do."

Rattlesnake (Reese) has posed:
    Now it's David's turn to get all sour.

    He listens to the other girls talk about family, and it twists something in his stomach, puts a drawn expression on his face. All of a sudden he's wondering if he made a rash decision. He runs a finger along the edge of the phone in his pocket, wondering what mom's up to right now. And his uncles and cousins.

    "My family's all back in AZ," he says, with a wry smile.

    When Jade gets up to leave he kind of fidgets for a sec, then hops up and hustles after her down the hallway. There's something he's gotta say.

Nightingale has posed:
     Smiling a bit to Jade, she nods. "S'all good. No worries. Sleep well when you get there!" Her smile, though, turns to a frown as David takes off. "David? Wait, I'm sorry, don't... ahh FRAK." Running her fingers through her hair, she grumbles loudly. "Great. How else can I fowl up today?"

     Glancing quickly to Tabby, she gets up, resting her hand on the other girl's shoulder. "Sorry, I've got to make sure he's okay." And with that, it's her turn to take off out the door, hoping to set things right.

Siphon has posed:
    "Good night, Jade. Rest well." Then David is out and down the hall and she smiles to herself. "You too, Rattlesnake."

    She leans her head against Shannon's hand. "So long as you remember to take care of yourself as well. Don't think I won't ambush you with tea to make sure you're resting."

    And then there was one. With a slight shrug Tabitha spins back around on the piano bench and starts playing again. Might as well put all this energy to a purpose while the school sleeps around her.