Xavier Academy

Rogue

Marie D'Ancanto, better known as Rogue, lay in bed and debated whether she could get away with staying in her room all day. At least in here she didn't have to face the sight of bobby and HER together, it was bad enough that he had chosen someone else without everyone knowing about it. She felt a wave of self pity come over her then and she almost pulled the duvet over her head to hide. But her natural self confidence and resilience quickly re asserted itself and she decided she wouldn't give in to misery. She reminded herself that today was the day when new students arrived and she grinned, perhaps she would make some new friends today. She flung aside the duvet and headed for the shower...

...A little while later she was dressed and ready to face the day, just before she left her room she pulled on her black gloves that reached all the way to her elbows. She had several pairs in varying colours but she usually preferred wearing her black or purple ones. She flicked her hair back and pulled open the door to her room, it was still early yet and there were not that many kids in the hallways. She guessed those that were around would probably be grabbing breakfast and, as though conjured by that thought, her stomach grumbled. She walked towards the kitchen and smiled at the other kids who had had the same idea she had. She grabbed some toast with a extra dollop of black current jam and walked into the dining hall. Her smile faded when she saw that Bobby was already there, but then she forced herself to nod at him politely before she took a seat at another table.

Nathanial Winters

Nathanial climbed out of the car and looked up at the mansion that was going to be his home for the foreseeable future and scowled. It may have looked impressive and was no doubt better on the inside it was still, as far as he was concerned, a prison. Though admittedly he had not been forced to come here against his will he had felt he had had very little choice considering his limited options. Unless he managed to get a lid on his powers, which he doubted no matter what others said, he would most likely be stuck here for the rest of his life. Unbidden a memory of his family intruded into his thoughts and he clenched his fist at the vividness of the memory. As he remembered what had happened and why he was there he felt an all too familiar heat begin in his clenched fist. He glanced down and saw that his hand was covered in tiny flame, barely noticeable yet but he knew it would only grow.

No!I can't lose it here on the bloody doorstep. Get it together Nate!

He drew in a deep breath and fought to calm himself, pushing memories to the back of his mind and focussing on bland, calming thoughts. He was always in constant battle with his power having to keep himself calm to stop him from losing it but it had been getting more difficult since his family died. Gradually after a few moments he felt the heat fade and he saw his hand now looked normal. He breathed a sigh of relief and glanced around to see if anyone had noticed. Thankfully the others heading towards the doors all seemed too taken by the sight of the house before them to notice. He shouldered his rucksack and picked up his suitcase and with a last calming breath he climbed the stairs and entered into the foyer. He stood in the doorway unsure of what to do next.

"Wow," the older woman breathed as they exited the family truck. Freya Deveraux slowly climbed out, taking in the lush scenery of what appeared to be the gardens to the left of the estate. It was something majestic; that much was evident and she had no doubt that the inside was just as beautiful. A small smile graced her delicate little face and her aunt continued to marvel at the place. "Didn't know we were sending you to a castle, Fefe." Freya giggled and swiped away at the tiniest particles of food that might have fallen out of her cousin's bag of chips onto her outfit.

"Yeah, I know," she responded lightly and pulled out her violin case and handbag. As her aunt went to retrieve her suitcase, Freya noticed more students pouring in and a jumble of nerves hit her without warning. The trunk was shut tightly a few moments later and she visibly flinched at the sound, heart palpitating irregularly. Oh God...I can't do this...I shouldn't be here -

Suddenly, her aunt's hand was on her shoulder and Freya gasped, feeling her handbag drop to the ground. Apparently, during her mini mental breakdown, she had levitated her handbag. Freya smiled tight-lippedly and picked it up. Her aunt smiled.

"You're gonna be fine, Short Stuff." It took a minute before Freya's hand stopped shaking long enough for her to actually grab onto the handle of her suitcase and actually keep up with the grip. She didn't meet her aunt's gaze at first, opting to either keep her gaze low or observe the way some parents even tensed up as their child tried to hug them. That last sight caused Freya to sigh and return her attention to her aunt, painting on a brave smile. The woman's smile was knowing. "I know...I know you haven't been the most comfortable using your powers and everything that happened with your mom...but...just call me. Whenever you want. You're not alone."

Freya refused to cry. She spent half of the night balled up and crying her little heart out until there was nothing left by dry heaves and sobs. She and her aunt had not always been close; even when she was younger, she favored simply being with her Dad. But this support - when she couldn't even have her mother's - was enough for her. She reached over and wrapped her arms around the woman's waist, melting into the comforting embrace. After a few short moments, they pulled away, her aunt gathered her face and kissed her forehead gently. Freya was smiling brightly then, eyes shining with the tears she refused to shed.

"Thanks, Auntie May. I, uh, better go." With a firmer grip on her things, Freya headed up the stairs and into the house, looking around the foyer. She heard talks of going to register, so she followed the masses that were heading in the direction she needed to go.

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"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you or your kid, lady. Just messin' around," Warren tried to reason through clenched teeth, anger rumbling beneath the kind facade he had been trying to exude. The stupid old hag was still gaping at him in horror while the little girls' eyes were eager and hungry for more of the little show he put on.

"Stay away from us, you freak!" Warren flinched at that and closed his eyes, clenching his fist to keep from reacting the way this woman was provoking him to. The small pond behind him slowly began to ripple with his emotions and she gasped, pulling out her phones. "I'm calling the cops - "

A small cry escaped her lips as a bullet of water shot through her flimsy flip-phone - who in the hell carried those anymore? - and what was left of the device crashed to the ground. Still, the child seemed utterly fascinated and clapped her hands excitedly. Warren sighed and stood, shoving his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

"Try calling 'em now," he growled, turning icy blue eyes in her direction and she took a step back. Luckily for him, no one else was around this secluded part of the park. He had stopped in the small town to grab a bite to eat and sleep somewhere, but now, it was apparent that he probably should leave in case she actually ran to find the police or something. He grabbed a hold of the duffel bag and the bookbag he owned, hopped onto the skateboard, and pushed off, speeding away down the street.

Fifteen minutes later, Warren was seated in a taxi, picking off invisible pieces of lint on his clothing, trying to squash down the nerves that were annoying him. Try as he might, however, the nervousness at being in a new place was suffocating and pulled the collar of his shirt, exhaling deeply. As much as he wanted to relax, he knew he wouldn't be able to - not until he was able to see this academy for himself.

"We're just a few more minutes away," the driver said and Warren nodded, having refused to remove his dark shades. When he felt the guy still eyeing him in the rear view mirror. Cursing under his breath, Warren fixed the man with a sharp glare.

"Got a problem?"

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---

The alarm went off, making Kitty yelp in surprise as she was awoken from a very light sleep. She suddenly disappeared into the blankets, and found herself staring up on the bottom wooden frame of the bed from underneath.

“Jeepers…” She muttered as she rolled to her side and out from underneath the bed.

Finally dragging herself to her feet, Kitty let out a large, drawn-out yawn whilst she stretched her arms at the same time. She rubbed the blurry, sleepiness from her eyes as she stumbled over to her dresser blindly. With yet another yelp, she banged her hip on the corner of the dresser.

With a soft moan of annoyance, she threw her drawers open and picked out a nice little outfit for the day. She quickly combed her hair and brushed her teeth, and the moment that the white foam from the toothpaste was wiped from her mouth she threw open her door and made her way to the kitchen.

Her feet shuffled quickly down the hall, using the smooth soles of her shoes to glide across the hardwood floor occasionally. Kitty grabbed the railing of the stairs and plopped her butt on it, sliding down the smooth railing. If she had tried this four years ago, she would have fallen right on her arse, injuring herself and some poor bypasser within her vicinity. She hopped off with a smile and darted down the hallway.

Kitty found herself throwing open the kitchen door in a somewhat similar way she did to her bed room door. There was an odd, energetic grin on her face, despite the hour of the morning. She grabbed a bagel, a butter knife, a small packet of cream cheese and poured herself a glass of milk. She put the cream cheese on the bagel with the ut-most swiftness, though she almost cut herself with the knife. How Kitty could cut herself with a butter knife? Well, this is Kitty we were talking about.

Humming under her breath, Kitty skipping gleefully into the dining hall, bagel and milk in hand, to see it was occupied.

“Ahh, good morning Rogue. Lovely day, isn’t it?” She beamed, hoping to send some happiness in her direction. Everyone knows how much tension there has been between the two ever since Bobby had chosen Kitty over Rogue. Speak o’ tha Devil…”

“Mornin’ sweetheart!” Her grin was as playful as ever as she flashed it in his direction, plopping herself into the chair next to him. “It’s a lovely day to be expecting some new mutants. I remembered last year it was raining, that was rather pitiful. Everyone was gloomy. Definitely not the mood you wanna set for an entire year!” She giggling girlishly for practically no reason. She leaned back in her chair, her legs crossed, and took a bite out of her bagel, humming and giggling again as she licked a large glob of cream cheese off of the corner of her mouth.

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Xavier's place was pretty darn big.

Excusing the lack of much intellect in Evan's thoughts, the boy was correct, as he had already gotten lost a number of times. Evan, or Spyke, as he preferred, could be counted as a new student. Or maybe he couldn't. Having an relative that taught at the school was definitely a popularity booster, especially if she was the kind of teacher who went off saving the world with the X-Men on her Saturday afternoons. It was in this way he wished he was just a new student, as attention always made him weird.

Not that he wasn't weird already. He was a mutant. Weird was his middle name. Not really- he, actually, didn't have a middle name. But, that wasn't the point. Being the nephew of an X-Men was cool until he found out that was how he had been genetically passed his curse.

But, without being mutated, how else would he be standing, lost once more, in the halls of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters? That, he didn't know. So, Evan Rogers, the newbie that had managed to get separated from his aunt after he remembered her specifically saying "Don't wander off!", had a new perspective on being a lost mutant- a perspective that really made no sense. It was a loose-loose.

In fact, what made the situation worse, was that Spyke wasn't sure who to ask for help. As he knew none of the other students, asking to wrong person could be fatal- their mood combined with power might leave him as hedgehog-goulash. Not nice, his inner conscience scolded him at the sound of the former bullying word. Spyke's bone manipulation power had been a hit with the kids at his old school, as he had no control over it. Often, when his nerves were acting up, he'd find himself projecting spikes, much like some kind of porcupine indeed. Although he saw the similarities, that didn't mean he had to like the reference.

Wandering aimlessly through the hallway, not sure exactly where he was going, he almost didn't catch the loud echos of mutant voices- all of them eagerly chatting about registration. He had already registered... well, no, his aunt had really registered him but the difference didn't matter.

Following the sound of teenagers, he found himself right back where he had started when entering an hour or so ago. It was the foyer of the academy. Now in a familiar place, he may be able to find his way to... anywhere else. In fact, he really didn't have a preference. The foyer was full of new, happy students and if he ever stood a chance of his aunt finding him, it wouldn't happen here.

Spyke made for the door, casually yet awkwardly nodding to people as he went. He even gave a thumbs up to a group of nice looking mutant girls, but meanwhile slammed into some guy holding a rucksack and suitcase. "Sorry, man!"Evan yelped as he nearly tripped out the door and down the steps, just barely catching himself through a sharp piece of bone that broke through his skin (and shoe) and grounded him into the floor of the building. He tried to turn his grimace into a friendly smile and blinked away the pain. Smooth, Evan, he thought to himself. Very smooth.

"I suppose your new here too?" he guessed, as the kid had been standing in the doorway, looking slightly quizzical (100 points for Evan and his very slowly growing vocabulary!) before being body-slammed by the clumsy armadillo. Once again, smooth.

(I attempted to write this in my character's personality, so excuse me if it doesn't sound too great. In hind-sight, it wasn't as big of a failure as I assumed it might be from the get go.)

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"Thanks a lot," Freya exclaimed as she finished the registration process, holding onto the paper that had her room number on it. She slid the key into her pocket, gathered her things and proceeded back towards the foyer. There was a staircase in that direction, right?

It was definitely easy to get lost in the school. It was its own maze. As devastatingly beautiful as it was, trying to find your way around the place when you hadn't even been there for two hours was beyond annoying. Freya made her way slowly through the throng of mutant students who may have been new or just old students trying to see who the fresh meat was. One kid in particular had this freakishly captivating tongue that was longer than life and...green along the tip? No judging, she had to mentally tell herself and smile politely.

After a few moments later and a flight of stairs, Freya paused. Which way was her room again?

(OOC: Posts are never this short, but I wanted to leave this open ended in case anyone wanted to spot her in the hallway)

The plane ride had been anything but fun, Nattie had spent the vast majority of the trip trying not to talk to the overweight guy in a suit sitting next to her, that no matter how high he had the fan on managed to sweat profusely. Even after he had asked her if he could point hers as well at himself he still looked like he was about to melt into a gelatinous soup. There was also the seven year old sitting behind them, whose father was more interested in playing games on phone then the fact that his bratty kids kept kicking the back of Nattie's seat. It would have been different if it had not been on purpose, but after the fourth time of her asking the boy very politely not to kick the seat and his reply of flipping her off she was sure that base of her spine would be numb by the end of the flight from the constant impact of kids feet on the back of the chair. Deciding to put a pillow as low as possible in the seat to help with the vibrations, only then was she finally able to get some relief. Needless to say, her mp3 player and the large supply of books from home had been a God send. Now after getting off the plane and heading to pick up her bags Natasha had the old adage 'Toto we're not in Kansas anymore.', go through her head. She knew she would have to get a taxi next and that was going to be a night mare, when she had went to New York with her mother to go visit her grandmother when she was fourteen it had been a complete mess. It had taken them almost twenty minutes to flag down one taxi. She hoped that maybe it was easier to get one at the airport but she wasn't holding her breath.

The driver had been a little reluctant, to take her to where she had requested to go. Nattie new the stigma that being a mutant had all to well. But that was the reason she had come to this place to begin with, it was like he thought he might catch something from her. He refused to get out and help her put her bags in the car, only popping the trunk from the inside of the taxi, after all was said and done it had been almost as silent on the car ride as it had been on the plane, not that Nattie minded much. They pulled up to a large iron gate, the driver of the taxi rolled down his window at a speaker box out front. She could hear a voice come over the speaker,

"Yeah uh I gots this gurl here that says she's a new student. Will ya let me through I got somewhere else I gots to be ya know", the driver replied.

The squeal of metal as the large iron gates opened, all Nattie could do as they went up the long drive way was that the grounds were huge and the so was the school. It reminded Natasha of pictures she had seen of the British country side, she half way expected seeing some guy in a tailored suit with a monocle and a cup of tea as the pulled up to the front door. But that was not what she saw, the door opened and there was a tall man, he was wearing a plain white t-shirt, jeans, biker boots and he had some hellaciously huge mutton chops. He looked more like a bouncer than the prim and proper British man who had previously been the mental image in Nattie's mind.

Whoever he was obviously worked out "Holy crap look at the guns on that dude seriously, what does he bench press... elephants?", Natasha thought to herself as the guy walked up to the car and opened the door for her. "Well at least he's got manners."

The driver popped the trunk again and for the first time slid open the small door in the Plexiglas window that separated the driver from the passengers in the back. "Hey kid, I ain't got all day you know, and I don't want to hang out at this freak show any longer than I have to. So pay me, get your shit and get out."

Nattie glared at the guy, pulled the money she owed from her back pack, handed it to him, and he quickly slid the little door in the window shut. She looked back at the guy that had met her at the car who was also giving a glare at the back of the drivers head, as the driver counted his money.

He then turned his attention back to Natasha, "Come on out kid... I'll get your bags."

Nattie nodded and scooted over to the door he had opened for her, hooking one of the straps of her back pack over her shoulder as she stepped out of the car. The man who had greeted her at the door slammed the trunk of the taxi down, she noticed that the driver looked back for a moment like he was going to say something. But after taking a second look and realizing it had been the man who had come to the door and not the girl he had been driving slamming his trunk he changed his mind, turned around, and drove away. Nattie couldn't say she blamed the driver, the guy was huge and quite intimidating, but she had a small smile of satisfaction seeing the mans fearful look and the slight squeal of the taxi's tires as he hastily drove away from the school.

Natasha held the door open for the guy as he stepped over the threshold with one suitcase in his right hand, one in his left, and another tucked under his left arm. Nattie was sure that the suitcases were pretty heavy since her mother was kind of OCD about things she might need and had jam packed the cases. As the passed the threshold a bit he sat the cases down on the floor, Natasha however was too memorized, by the decor inside. Suits of armor, antique furniture, she had never seen anything so fancy in her life.

"Hey kid... I didn't catch your name?", the mans voice pulled her from the trance of the school and back to reality.

She turned to the guy, "Oh sorry, um the driver didn't say anything about my name did he. My names Natasha Kinski, my parents enrolled me a few months ago."

The man nodded, "Yeah I seem to remember hearing that name come up. Names Logan, I guess you can say I'm one of the teachers, but just call me Wolverine. You'll remember that before you'll remember Logan or Mr. Howlett. Any way, you should head to registration first, they'll give you all the junk you need, probably some stupid paper work or something. I don't know, I'll figure out where your room is going to be and put your bags in there. After you get registered though you should go see Professor Xavier. I'm sure you'll find someone to help you find your way around, I have to keep an eye out for more people coming in though."

Natasha noticed his wording was kind of strained like he really wasn't used to talking to people that much, and that maybe he had been coached on what to say, either that or he was trying to make sure he didn't say something wrong.

"Oh okay, thanks."

It didn't really matter much his instructions were clear enough for her to know where to go and she headed in the direction that Wolverine had pointed.

Nate Winters

Nate was standing somewhat awkwardly in the foyer unsure of where he was supposed to go or who he was supposed to see. He guessed that it would make sense to ask someone but he really didn't want to do that, as silly as it sounded since he was in a school Nate really wanted to avoid others as much as possible. It was easier that way, less chance of others getting hurt if he lost control. He was debating whether he should simply go exploring when a young guy bumped into him, normally this wouldn't have bothered Nate as he doubted it was on purpose but in this case it actually hurt. Whoever this guy was he was strong and Nate felt his control slip for the second time in the space of a few moments. Again he felt the heat in his palm and as he glanced at his hand he saw the familiar orange glow surrounding his hand.

Angry at himself he forced it away again with a lot of effort, maybe he wasn't ready for school if he couldn't handle even this much interaction without having a problem. He decided it would be worth talking with the headmaster and explaining the situation, no doubt they would ask him to leave as he doubted many other mutants here had as much issue controlling their powers as he did. He was interrupted from his thoughts when the guy apologised then asked if he was knew here.

"Yes." He answered his tone making it clear he did not want to talk to anyone, hopefully the guy would get the message that it was safer if he was left alone.

Rogue

Rogue had barely started eating when SHE came breezing in, as usual acting as though everything was fine and she hadn't stolen Rogue's boyfriend. But then she had every reason to be happy and acting on top of the world, she had the guy and didn't have to deal with a power that meant she couldn't touch anyone. Rogue glared at her as Kitty spoke to her as though everything was okay, we're not okay she thought bitterly and seeing Kitty sit next to Bobby she had to turn her face away. Why did it still have to hurt so much? Why couldn't she turn off the pain of seeing the two of them together? For a moment she imagined touching Kitty and watching the smile fade as Rogue drained her powers. She wouldn't be gloating then would she? But she frowned inwardly feeling guilty, she knew she shouldn't imagine using her powers like that as it made her no better than guys like Pyro who thought himself better than everyone else.

Bobby's voice addressing her distracted her from her thoughts and she managed a weak smile and a nod at his reminder of their task later. She finished her breakfast and decided to see if she could help any of the new students no doubt waiting in the foyer. She remembered how scary things had been for her when she had first arrived and wanted to make it easier for others just joining the school. She put her plate in the sink and walked towards the door passing Kitty, she stopped next to the other girl and glared at her.

"I just want to make things clear, we are not friends, I will be civil when we have to work together but other than that I don't want to talk to you."

Rogue didn't wait for a response simply walking out of the kitchen and into the foyer, she saw one guy bump into another and then apologise. She also saw another girl with several suitcases, she cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough that all three could hear.

"Hi there, I'm Rogue." The twang of her southern accent evident in her voice. "Do you guys need some help?"