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poster:nacey posted on: 2:56 pm on April 25, 2003 It was the first house, and I swear, you could have fit ten houses in the front yard alone. The garden smelled great. I cannot tell you how unbelievably wonderful it smelt. It was lined with all kinds of flowers I didn't know the name of. Big purple ones and little orange ones and yellow ones... Roses everywhere. They weren't in any real expert landscaping layout, so it was clear that these flowers were a labour of love, and the people living here were not bothered by the fact that some faggy landscape architect from some unpronouncable place in Europe didn't design it for them. Annie, Cammo and Sarah corralled the kids up to the porch, and I lingered behind, trying to find out which plant smelled so damned good. Maybe I could get Sarah to grow me some. The door opened and the woman that answered it was a lot younger than I assumed she'd be. I guessed 70. She was about 45. She grinned and gasped and I edged forward a bit to get a bit of the attention. She stared at me and a smile cracked wide on her face. "Have we Rum Tum Tugger?!" I gave a tense grin. If they think they recognise a character in my costume, they might give me more candy. "Sure." The lady laughed at that, then looked to the kiddies. "Well, I'm sure you're all dying for some goodies... just wait here, I'll grab the bowl!" Annie smirked, and Cammo seemed to be trying not to snigger. Sarah frowned. "Who the hell is Rum Tum Tugger?" I squirmed. "Uhm... this totally self-obsessed ego type cat who's great with the ladies from the musical Cats." Annie and Cammo now just burst into laughter. From one of them issued a mocking "rowr!" and they both completely lost it. "Gettin' lucky with the laaadeezz tonight!" murmured Annie, and Cammo was *this* close to bursting a blood vessel. "As long as it's me," Sarah said, very calmly, so calmly it frightened me, till I looked at her face and saw a glint of amusement in her eyes. Great! Now EVERYONE was laughing at me! I was supposed to be ferocious and frightening! I was reduced to a tom-cat with an over-inflated ego! Fine. If I was going to be a tom-cat, at least it was a GOOD tom. The lady came back, cooing and grinning at the children, and she started loading our bags with candy. She was very generous. "You lot are the best I've seen all night!" she said, and she looked back to me. "Come into the light! I can't believe how amazing your costume is!" "One of our friends is a trained make-up artist," Cammo said quickly. "He's going to work for Hollywood you know. James Cameron movies and so forth." The woman nodded, her mouth open in an 'aah'. She took one of my hands, looking them over, and then she looked at my arms and chest. "That fur looks so real!" she gasped. "Prosthetics are amazing these days," I rasped. I could feel Sarah getting rather tetchy. "And it's the fold of skin over the claws that really blows my mind," she said, looking at my hands again. I smiled faintly. There seemed to be a clever gleam in her eyes, and I was really worried that Cammo's quick bullshit wasn't quite working. She lifted a hand, looking very intrigued. "Uh... may I?" I looked puzzled till she reached for a patch of fur on my chest. I could feel Sarah's fingers sinking into the skin of my hip as she got a hold of me. "For God's sakes, Sare! OW!" "It's all right," she said to Sarah, "It's only for a moment." I would have rathered that she didn't. Other than the fact that I would have been groped by someone in front of my girlfriend, a very territorial and insecure girlfriend, it would have been a dead giveaway if she felt my fur and didn't encounter either latex or polyester weave but my warm and very furry skin. For some weird reason, this strange woman took my pause to be an affirmation of my permission, and without even waiting for Sarah's okay, she sunk her fingers into my chest fur and started stroking it and massaging it like I was an overgrown kitty. Sarah's eyes widened, and I knew she was snapping. Okay, I had to admit, it felt pretty fucking good, but nowhere near as good as the stuff Sarah lays on me. She surged forward, growling gutturally at the woman and staring her dead, both Cammo, Annie and I catching her before she was able to get her hands on the woman and draw blood. The kids took one look at this and scattered, screaming and laughing and running back to the path. Annie wrapped her arms about Sarah, and in the ruckus I don't think she realised she was stretching a little from the worry. Cammo raced after the kids, trying to calm them down, and I did all I could to get away from the woman who was almost in convulsions of glee. "You're mutants aren't you?!" she cried. "Oh don't run away! I've never met a mutant before!" "You probably have," I said, and without much of a glance I said, "Thanks for the candy, we gotta go." The Annie-Sarah knot and I ran from the porch, kids circling about us and causing utter mayhem. One smacked square into me, and Sarah was kicking her legs violently so that Annie couldn't keep her balance. I turned to help them, but in the struggle we all toppled over into a bunch of thick scrubby bushes with little purple flowers. We were deep in the flower bed that tilted down and away from the path a little. Only slightly, just enough so that it was a real hassle for us to get up on our feet again. We rolled about, grappled for a foot hold and for control of Sarah, and the more we moved the more the plants got crushed and the leaves broken. I found out exactly what it was that I had smelled that was so damned good. It was these plants. For some reason I was giggling, laughing madly, and I found just about everything around me riotously funny. Annie managed to get back on her feet again, regaining a good hold on Sarah, who had seemed to have calmed down a bit now, but they both stood there, staring at me. I wondered why. Then I realised I was rolling about in these plants like a cat on heat, purring and giggling stupidly. "What the f..." Sarah folded her arms. "Are you having fun?" I stopped and looked at her. I burst into laughter, nodding. "What's gotten into you?" demanded Annie. "It's what he's rolling in," said Sarah. "What is it?" "Catnip," she said. "We gotta get some!" I cried, and rolling over I started tugging huge tufts of the stuff out of the ground. "Hey hey hey!" Annie cried, jumping into the garden after me. "You can't rip up that lady's garden!" I turned shakily, looking like Ozzy Osbourne in a bad cat costume. "Why not? She upset my girl and grabbed my pec! Tit for tat!" Sarah covered her mouth and turned away. Annie just whimpered. "Very funny, now come on, back to the van." "Annieeeeee!" "Oh God..." I clutched sandy torn bits of catnip to my chest, giggling stupidly and singing songs about Annie and Cammo and Sarah. The kids all got a bit subdued then, because whenever an adult starts acting up, being silly is never very funny anymore. So everything had gone a little strange. We were walking down the street with kids that looked as though they were on their way to Church, sombre and quiet They were staring at a six foot man, for all intents and purposes, dressed up as a cat. He was covered in mud and grit as well as paint and prosthetics, and he was singing the theme-song to the 1970s version of the Spider-man cartoon, with choruses of Speed-Racer thrown in for effort. A few of the lyrics featured his friends taking part in rather unbelievable practices. "Come on kids!" I cried. "It's a party! You gotta have fun at a party!!" "I want my Mommy," whimpered one of them. "Cammo, make him stop!" Cammo sighed and looked at me, shaking his head. "You're a bloody mess, mate." I nodded, but then I pointed at him. "Hey, man, I didn't ask for this. I want candy too." "You're scaring the kids." "Why are they allowed to run around in circles being fuckwits and I'm not?" I pouted. Annie smiled nicely and patted my arm. "Tell you what... You make sure the kids don't wander off, Cammo and I will watch them... you take the rear okay? Sarah - keep an eye on him?" Sarah gave an amused smile. "Sure, always give me the difficult assignments." Annie winked at her and led the children down the path of the next estate. OOC: I hope I didn't screw up the characters too badly. :/ It's just that this post demanded to be done. And Ally wasn't here, and Jen was out to lunch, and so yeah... *^_^*
Poster:Angelface Posted on: 8:13 pm on April 27, 2003 “That was lovely, although I do think the cello was rushing the adagio just a touch.” "And it sounded like someone forgot to tune their viola." “Oh yes,” I agreed readily. “I cannot believe the Concert Master didn’t address that after the first piece.” "Any bets on whether they will have fixed it during intermission?" “Given that, and the four other egregious errors before intermission, I doubt it.” “Would you like to go for a walk? Or must I take you home straight away?” “I don’t think anyone will miss me.” I hope - I seriously hope - since I neglected to ask permission to go out today. He nodded, "Well, where would you like to go? The city is your oyster." He linked his arm in mine, "Sounds good." We walked along, past the lake and down the paths admiring the foliage dodging Frisbee’s and baby carriages. He’d taken the news about my gift rather well considering, but something was still nagging at me. “I uhm I have another confession to make.” "Oh? What is it now? You're really your evil twin and the real Angelica is locked in a basement in Queens?" I smiled despite my nervousness. “Cute. But no. I didn’t have a migraine last week. There was an accident at school and I had to .. use my gift and was stuck in bed.” "Were you hurt?" “No, just exhausted. It was a lot more than I’d ever tried before, but we didn’t have any other options. That’s why Annie was so rude when she picked me up. Well, not the only reason. She’s always exceedingly rude, but this time she had a reason for being so abrupt.” "What happened?" “A student lost control of her powers and injured Annie’s boyfriend.” That sounds much better than: A student ran away to another school run by a power hungry manipulative telepath who took her mind over and used our classmate to try to kill the X-Men and Annie’s boyfriend. Much better. He raised an eyebrow, "Well that certainly explains why she seemed so.. distraught." “You should have seen her drive home. It’s wonder we weren’t all killed.” He squeezed my hand, "Well, I for one, am glad you weren't. But how did you end up stuck in bed if Annie's boyfriend was hurt?" “Using my gift takes a lot out of me. Less now then at first. Now I can turn it on only when I want to, but once it starts,” I shrugged, “it’s like it has a life of its own.” "It isn't dangerous, is it?" “Not terribly. I lose consciousness before anything serious happens.” He stopped abruptly. "You lose consciousness?" “Only if it’s a major. Little stuff I just get a bit woozy.” "And they let you do this? I can't believe they'd let you do that.” He grabbed my arm and stopped our walk. “Do your parents know?" "They know about my gifts, and the school..." “And do they know your definition of ‘serious’? Or that you’re asked to use it?” He asked staring down at me. I met his gaze. "I wasn't asked to help Cameron, I volunteered. And truly, I am fine, there's no need to worry my parents needlessly." “I doubt they would consider this needless.” He released my arm and rand a hand through his hair, mussing it. “Is this why you want to be away on tour all the time? So you aren’t put in a position of needing to use it?” I reached my own hand up, hesitating before fixing his hair. "No, I want to be on tour because I love the music, and I love being around people who love music. And being away from Annie and her friends would merely be a bonus." “Your roommate and her friends can’t be that bad.” I pursed my lips debating how much to tell him, "I suppose, but you haven't met them, have you." “There were quite a few people in the front hall. Including one in blinding yellow. That was a costume, wasn’t it. And the uhm… cat. That was a costume too, right.” Poor man, he sounds so hopeful. "Yellow is Jubilee's favorite color, and is sadly commonplace. And the cat, well that's Max and he's..." Would I be breaking some sort of unwritten mutant law if I told Dimitri about Max's mutation? I suppose he caught onto my discomfort because he quickly took my arm and started us back on our way. “Maybe it would be best if I just met them in person so I don’t develop any prejudiced ideas about them. You will however keep the ones with the pumpkin away, won’t you?”. I gave a small laugh, "I'll do my best, and don't worry, the pumpkins will be going out of season soon." “Perhaps I should reconsider. Mistletoe is coming into season.” I felt myself flush slightly, "Yes, I do imagine so." Dimitri was silent for a moment and I bit my lip nervously. Slowly, he began to shift his head down towards mine, and my heart gave a splendid little jump as he brushed his lips softly across mine. This day was turning out all right after all.
poster:cammogirl Posted on: 10:20 pm on April 28, 2003 I was trying, trying really very hard, not to be disappointed by the visit to the first house. I mean, here I am, X-Men trainee, and I can't even take out a group of people to a simple Halloween Candy Run without something going wrong in the first five minutes. And it wasn't even a child that had lost the plot - it was one of the older students. Sweet God. Poor Max could barely walk straight without hugging trees and biting Sarah's neck. Heaven forbid the Team ever ask me to head a proper mission one day, if this was how simple outings resulted. "Okay team, next house!" I called out, leading the kids up the next driveway. Max was all ready to follow with, but I held him back with a patient smile. "Perhaps you should stay here with Sarah, hmm?" His face dropped with disappointment. "Oh." He looked down to his plastic cauldron of lollies and lifted it up to my face. "Get candy for me?" I sighed, smiling and rubbing his hair. "Okay, I'll get you some lollies. Just sit here and behave okay?" Max nodded thoroughly. "I'm fine man, really." I gave a doubtful smile. "All right." I walked up the driveway with Annie, shaking my head as I went. "You'd think with a mostly-trained X-Man around that this sort of thing wouldn't happen." She sqeezed my hand quickly, "Its not like you planted the catnip or even knew it was there. If I had known, I would not have picked that house." I sighed, rubbing my face. "Max has always been fine around it. I guess he's just never rolled in it before." I glanced back down the drive. "It's probably stuck in his fur too. He's going to be like this a while. At least until the scent wears off." I shook my head. "Even so, that scene before was inexusable. There were children running everywhere, screaming... what a bloody joke." "Well Sarah didn't seem too pleased either... And the kids seem to be recovering, well mostly," she shrugged a shoulder towards one of the little girls who was sticking close. "I think Sarah was more concerned with the middle-aged woman coming on to her boyfriend," I said. "That woman is lucky Sarah didn't rip her face off." Looking at the girl, I squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and smiled. "She'll get used to it. I know my little sister got a bit freaked when my older brother got sloshed for the first time. It's okay, kids adapt, and after a bit she'll realise that there isn't anything seriously wrong with Max." She looked up at me, ears pricking at my conversation. "He's just very jolly right now." Annie snorted, "He's a regular St. Nicholas.. if Santa ever wore a loin cloth." I winced. "Dude! Mental picture!" "Oh god, I'm never going to be able to look at a mall Santa the same way again." I handed the little girl Max's plastic cauldron, and I knelt next to her. "I'm going to give you a very special mission, okay?" She nodded quietly. "Max is feeling a bit silly cause he fell in those flowers. They don't do anything to us cause we don't smell as good as he does. It's because of his mutation. Anyway, he can't go up to the doors to ask for candy, and it'd be sad if he didn't get any candy, right?" She nodded again. "Right. So can you collect lollies for Max for me?" She stared at me as if to ask me why the hell she'd want to do that for. "Come on, please? He didn't ask for this to happen to him and I'm sure he'd do the same for you." I could see she relented, looking to her feet and nodding finally. "Okay." "Good girl," I said. Annie gave a little sigh, "Aww, if you aren't just the little ladies man." I winked and dropped a kiss on her lips. I stopped, looked at her, and cracked up. "I never thought I'd see the day where I'd lay one on Michelangelo Turtle." Annie grinned and looked down at my own costume, "So if you've got these tighties on out here... Does that mean you haven't got anything underneath?" I merely wiggled my eyebrows at her. Before much more could stem from our innuendo filled conversation, the kids squealed and jumped and let us know that they'd done their job with the trick-or-treatering. The little girl (called Sandy, incidentally), bounced at my feet and held up Max's cauldron. "I got him candy!" "Great!" I said. "Come on kids, let's get more candy!" They cheered, and I thought maybe I wasn't doing such a bad job after all.
poster:Amezri Posted on: 4:35 am on April 29, 2003 The mansion was blissfully quiet. Most of the students were out trick or treating or egging houses. Cassie let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She was glad they brought her back, but she was scared and ashamed. Kurt continually assured her that it wasn't her fault, except... "Huh?" "I said, do you want to watch a movie." Kurt flashed a toothy grin. "What were you thinking about just then?" Cassie ducked her head and shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Movie sounds good. What one?" "'Captain Blood'," he smiled, bouncing over to her. She made a face. "Is that another one of those old pirate films?" She never really understood his obsession with action adventure on the high seas. "Ah, the best! Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland!" He struck a swashbuckling pose, waving his arm around as if he were brandishing a sword. Seeing that she still wasn't smiling, Kurt paused. "You know... a good pirate is nothing without a saucy wench." Cassie scowled. "Perdón? Did you just call me a wench?" He stared at her for a brief moment before grabbing her out of the chair and throwing her over his shoulder. "Well, you certainly aren't a lady." "Put me down!" Cassie squealed, kicking her feet in the air. "Kurt!" /This is ridiculous./ She shifted and slid out of his arms. "I hate pirate movies." Kurt stood, tail twitching behind him, looking slightly hurt. "What would you suggest then, Zauberin?" She smiled finally, thinking of the perfect compromise. "Follow me." She left the kitchen, not even pausing to make sure he was following. ~~~~~ Kurt trailed her all the way to the entertainment room and watched as she dug through the video cabinet. "Curiouser and curiouser," he whispered. "Ah ha!" she exclaimed, waving a video in the air. "You get your pirates and I get my sarcasm and wit." "What is it?" "'The Princess Bride'."
poster: SeijiTataki Posted on: 7:11 pm on May 4, 2003 The sounds of campy old martial arts music filled the ghastly empty mansion, the lighting in the den turned off completely, lit aglow with only the lighting that was being broadcast by the television screen. Besides the large screen there was a small portable DVD player, tell-tale wires running to the A/V jacks in the front of the screen. The image of a asian man stepping out from a dojo appeared on screen, as he would sneak forward, beginning to train upon a post. Pulling away from the image, one would see a slender blonde man working infront of the screen, practicing the same manuvers from the movie exactly -- perfectly. Training form or not, the muscular man could be seen repeating everything flawlessly. And then there was Derek. Here he was, sitting atop the couch with a bag of popcorn, munching upon it's contents quietly, absorbing every little detail of the training session that was occuring simultaneously upon the screen. The young mastermind had wandered out of his room on this night -- everyone had left the school to have their fun, collecting candy. He never was really sure as to why, since the money they spent on costumes could be applied to buying candy itself. Irregardless, young Chen would watch the movie intently, groaning slightly as the training session cut to an end for dialogue and plot. "..Tch. You think that a movie named 'Bulletproof Monk' wouldn't even bother with such a cliche'd plot.." Speaking to no one in particular, he would lean forward from his seat, pressing the fast forward button on the DVD player, which promptly skipped ahead on the burned VCD, running to the next fight sequence. As he sat back up, he would glance to the side, whereupon he found find one Kurt Wagner, accompanied by a very unhappy looking Cassandrea, toting a copy of The Princess Bride in her hands. He paused, releasing a handful of popcorn as he offered a sort of stifled wave. Ah crap! There're people still.. He offered a fake smile, nervously, "Uh...Hi there?"
poster:Jen Posted on: 10:43 pm on May 4, 2003 That’s right, Cammo, give me the tough assignments. Keeping Max out of trouble, and off me – at least until we get home - without attacking any more overly friendly middle aged women or making any more children cry. "This is all your fault you know. You and Annie. I never should have let you two talk me into this. " I snapped, thumping my head on an available tree. "You should have just left me at school." "No!" Max frowned, taking my hand and cuddling it to his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm ruining the fun for you." “You didn’t ruin it. I did. Me and my ‘irrational outburst’. Jean was right; I am completely out of control. How am I going to explain the black eye I gave Annie, or the bruises she and Cam are going to be sporting by tomorrow, not to mention that someone is bound to find out I scared all those kids?” "Oh man," moaned Max, smiling and leaning against me, then jumping back as he remembered his make-up. "Dude... those kids were having a wild time! And the only reason they started acting weird was cuz I was. Hang on..." He silently moved his mouth around what he just said, then abandoned it. "Anyways, it wasn't you all right? Repeat that to me -- It wasn't you." “Max the dress is a loss from rolling in the flowerbed. I don’t think your make up can make it any worse.” I gave him a slight grin, ok more like a grimace. “So maybe I get off on the scaring the kids half to death part, but the rest? And I think I recognize that woman from church. What the hell am I going to do? Besides never return to church again.” "She came onto me, man. I could smell it." He shrugged. "She upset you. Listen, maybe you do need to control yourself a bit more. But so do I. So does Logan. It's a part of our mutation, and we won't be able to solve it overnight, okay? It'll take time." I rubbed her shoulder. "The thing is, you're not going to have to do that alone, okay? It's what me and Logan are here for. To help you out." “There’s no help for me. I’ve been here what? Six – seven months and I’m no more in control now than when I arrived. Maybe I don’t go looking for a fight anymore, but I’m still more than ready to jump into one. Cameron might have been able to talk our way out of that if I didn’t go nuts. By tomorrow afternoon, everyone in town will know.” Max held me by the shoulders now, staring me dead in the eyes. "You didn't see me when I got here. I got here when I was twelve. By the time I was fourteen I was more animal than human." He swallowed, looking a little uncomfortable. "Logan helped me find the human in me again, and so did Professor Xavier. They won't abandon you. No one here will. We'll do everything we can to help you." Just remember - it takes time. It'll take time." I hadn't realized I was crying until Max brushed a tear from my cheek. "It's too hard, Max. It's just too hard. I'm fighting with myself every minute of everyday. I can't do this for 40 – 50 - 60 more years. I can't." "Hey... Logan and I - we're both animalistic people. We accept that. That's what's most important, Sarah. We accept it about ourselves, and we're accepted by those around us." He cradled my face. "We all accept you. You're a part of the family now. We'll forgive you if you have a bad day and just let go. Lord knows how many doors Xavier has had to replace because of Logan, or some other mutant losing it. Okay? It's all right. You're allowed to be who you are." “So we chalk this up to a bad day and go about our lives.” I knew I still have some explaining to do to Xavier and Logan and probably Jean and definitely some replanting in Touchy-feely’s garden but maybe it wasn’t as disastrous as I was thinking. I did get back under control pretty quick this time. “If we hurry, we might get to hit a couple of houses before we have to go home. Cross my heart I won’t hit anyone that doesn’t deserve it.” Max grinned brightly. "Cool!" He leant down to kiss me, then stopped himself, looking very unhappy. "I can't wait to get this shit off me." “It will come off in the shower, won’t it?” "Yes," said Max, "But it might also come off on you." “Then we’ll have to help each other get all clean, won’t we. Come on, Tugger, I want lollies.” (Edited by Jen at 11:20 pm on May 4, 2003)
poster: Owlie Posted on: 11:06 pm on May 6, 2003 OOC: So Allison is a dork (who sucks at volleyball) and is incapeable of any and all thoughts pertaining to Annie. Ergo, this post and character. Clara never quite understood the connection between a Druid holiday and the compulsion people had to dress like fools and beg for food from strangers. Mind you she thought the Druids were a bit nutty also, but at least their actions were backed by a full belief system. However she was grateful for the depressed population in the library. Since she was all by herself she didn't even bother to turn on the lights as she thumbed through the thick tome of Greek Myths. As she read, she idly wondered if Icarus was some distant relation of Mr. Worthington or if there were any mutants in Ancient times. It would account for some of the stories. Closing the book she wondered if she would be lucky enough to find a free television to watch the Tales from the Crypt marathon. She may not understand trick-or-treating, but there was something to be said for family traditions, even if family was 3000 miles away. She padded towards the rec room in hopes to find it empty, she was displeased to find that there were in fact three fellow students inside, two boys and a girl, apparently arguing over what movie to watch. She sighed loudly in the doorway when it was apparent no one wanted to watch the Crypt Keeper. She cleared her throat, "Excuse me, is there another television available? Anywhere?" "I think there might be one in Logan's room. No one can stand that much hockey. Good luck with that," the girl said. Clara thought back to her meeting with the staff the week before and decided that wasn't an option, "Never mind then." Clara sighed and rotated her neck, stretching it. She supposed she could reread the story of Peruses or write a letter to her brother instead. (Edited by Owlie at 11:07 pm on May 6, 2003)
poster: nacey Posted on: 4:20 pm on May 8, 2003 OOC: Just a short Max post for Jen. I felt very very silly. It was two hours after the event, the kids were starting to tumble into the van all tired, and I was disappointed because I wasn't allowed to go get candy. I was most surprised when a little girl, who'd been previously acting rather terrified of me, settled next to me and tugged on my arm fur. "Max?" I looked down. "Hey Sandy. What's up?" She handed me the plastic cauldron I'd brought but had gone missing. Now I knew where it went. "I got you candy." My mouth dropped open and I took the cauldron. "Oh... Look at that... You got me lots!" She nodded silently. "That's special," I said, patting her on the shoulder. She looked at my arm, and seemed intrigued. With a little tentative smile, she patted my arm fur and smiled when she found it wasn't hairy man's body hair, but soft fluffy fur. "Careful," I said with a wink, "You'll make her jealous." I tilted my head to Sarah. Sandy's eyes got big as saucers and she started to pull her hand back. I expected her to get all tense and quiet, like she did whenever the kids moved away from her, but she didn't; instead she ducked down and said "It is soft, isn't it?" Sandy smiled brightly, putting her hand back and scruffing the fur happily. "Like a kitty." "A very big kitty." Sarah said looking up at me and grinning. "Who now has enough candy to keep him hyper for a month!" I said. Annie and Cammo piled into the front seats, Cammo wrestling her for the driving seat. She acquiesced and let him drive, and I was a little nervous getting in the car with someone who drove opposite once upon a time. I looked to Sandy next to me. "Have you got your seatbelt on?" Sandy nodded. I turned to Sarah. "How about you?" "Like I need a seatbelt." "Let's not test that theory," I said, reaching around her and doing it up. "After all. Not much healing can be done if your arm comes totally off. Or something." "It probably could," she said a bit sourly. "Lots of reptiles can regrow tails and stuff." "I don't want to have to find out," I said with a worried frown. "Besides, we have to set a good example to the kids." "Yeah I've already inflicted enough trauma on them today. I certainly don't need to add anymore." She wriggled in her seat. "Can you get this heat-pack thing off me? It's really uncomfortable and I don't need it anymore," Sarah said shifting so he could turn her back to me. "Hang on," I said, "I need to get the wings off first... is that okay?" "Anything, just get it off." I smirked, "I've heard that one before." "Max!" she said turning, looking absolutely scandalized - until you looked into her eyes. "There are children present!" I grinned. "Babe, they live in the same place as Logan and Rogue. The damage has been done already." Sandy nodded in agreement. "Mr. Logan squeezes Ms. Rogue's bum-bum a lot." "I think I'm jealous. You never squeeze my bum-bum." I smirked again, shaking my head. "Something I'm sure I'll be more than pleased to rectify." I pulled the wings away, and then peeled away some of the tape carefully and pulled off the heating pad. Digging around under my seat, I pulled out my favourite old duffel coat, which used to be my Dad's. "Here," I said, "Put this on." "I don't need..." but gave up before she even finished the sentence and let me tuck the coat around her shoulders. "You shouldn't go out without your coat. You'll catch your death of cold," Sandy stated with all the authority of a nine-year-old. I nodded. "That's you told." She turned to Sandy. "I thought girls were supposed to stick together." Sandy frowned. "Yes but how can we do that if you're stuck in bed with an awful cold?" "I don't get sick, Sandy. I can't." Sandy titled her head. "Because of your mutation?" "Uh huh. I can't get sick, but I can't keep myself warm either - even with a coat." I wrapped my arms about her and snuggled close. "That's where I come in. With fur and warmness." Sandy giggled and blushed at us. "And pushiness and bossiness and-" I put my paw over her mouth and leant to Sandy. "I look after her and then sometimes she looks after me. More than anything she's a really great alarm clock." She pulled my paw away from her mouth, and mock glowered at me. The effect was rather lost since she was rubbing my paw with her thumb. "And he tries to keep me from doing things that get me in trouble." I playfully looked very serious. "That's because you're mad and you try to do silly things." "Like growling at the lady?" I nodded. "Exactly. But it's okay, I do silly things too. Like rolling in catnip. Speaking of which..." I looked down and sniffed myself. "I think the effect is wearing off." I pouted. "Darn it."
poster: Angelface Posted on: 12:00 am on May 9, 2003 The evening had been lovely once we left that poor excuse for a symphony. After touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we stopped at a delightful little dessert shop and split a Lemon Tart. The earlier revelations had certainly lifted a weight off of my shoulders and it was so much easier to be relaxed around him, as he had taken the news so calmly. I was beginning to realize how lucky I was to have found him and that maybe Mr. Summers' warnings about being careful among the humans were a bit paranoid. Perhaps if they met more mutants like me and fewer like oh say Wolverine, human-mutant relations would be better. Dimitri smoothly pulled his Mercedes into the parking lot at the side of the school; it wouldn't take long for me to decide who I prefer driving with, him or Annie. "Well Angelica, I had a wonderful evening." "As did I." Dimitri saved me from having to find something else to say by getting out and coming around to my door. "I will be in the city Thursday for my audition. Might you be able to come? I could use the moral support." "I'd love to," he said, offering me his hand. "Just tell me when and where." I took it and stepped out of the car, over his shoulder I saw a large van pulling up the driveway, and in the front seat I saw Annie and Cameron, most likely with several of our house mates in tow. I was not mistaken and stepped back into Dimitri as more children than should have been possible piled out of the van shrieking, laughing and jumping about. Trick-or-treating had been an obvious success.... or on second look perhaps not. Max looked like he had been mud wrestling, and Sarah's costume was in disarray, what had she been? An angel? I must not be the only one to see the irony in that. And if I was correct Annie was limping and one of her eyes seemed swollen underneath that ridiculous orange scarf around her head. "What were they doing?" Dimitri asked, he had obviously followed my gaze and seen the same things I was. "I believe they were Trick-Or-Treating, but with Sarah in the mix, it probably ended up in a brawl. I'm sure everyone is thankful the police aren't involved." Jamie and Claire came racing over, orange plastic buckets straining at their straps. "Angelica! You missed the coolest night! First this lady started touching Max-" Claire began. "Well, that explains the brawl," I muttered to Dimitri. "-And Sarah got real mad, and then Max rolled in Cat Nip and started singing silly songs," Jamie continued. "It was weird, but look at all the candy we got!" Claire finished. "Sounds like you had a good time. You should probably get in and get washed up. It's close to light's out and you," I said looking at Jamie, "have an early lesson tomorrow." "But we haven't even counted it all yet! And we have to trade, too. Annie said she'll give me her junior mints if she can have my Reese's and Snickers," Claire protested. "Angelica, these lovely young ladies can't possibly go to bed without completing the ritual. But I would think you'd like to get that makeup off before starting. You wouldn't want to get it all over everything." I looked at him oddly, "What makeup? Claire's far too young for makeup." "Am not!" she pouted. "It - it's not make up?" Claire looked a little ashamed, "Yeah… It's always like this." Dimitri quickly realized his error and looked to me for some guidance. I didn't have any to give him. You just get used to things like this, although Kurt still earns a double take when I bump into him in the halls. He settled for: "It is quite stunning." which wasn't great, but wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was almost grateful when Annie came hobbling over to round them up, "Come on you two, you're gonna miss out on the fun; and Claire, if we can get enough Dum-dums between us, I can show you how to use them in a cake." Claire tugged on Jamie's arm. "Let's go ask Sarah for hers!" "I dunno, Sarah likes her lollypops, you'll have to make a pretty good deal," Annie said. "Well you gotta ask at least," Jamie said dragging Annie away. "You two missed a good time," Annie said before winking and stage whispering to Dimitri: "I thought we had a deal." He gave her a confused look, "A deal?" "You know - not bringing her back, slavery ring, East River..." I gave her a withering look, "That's quite enough from you, now if you'll go on up to the house and leave us alone." Annie snorted and leaned down to the girls, "She wants to be alone with that boy so they can snog." "Kissing.... ewww." The two girls made faces and dashed off to try and negotiate with Sarah. I didn't like their chances and I would really like it if Annie went away so I could say goodnight to Dimitri without an audience. As Annie hobbled off, Dimitri turned to me, "That's an odd girl, but I do think she's got the right idea." "What? Throwing me in the East River?" "Actually I was thinking more of the kissing," he gave a little wink and leaned down to kiss me again. I closed my eyes, and was thoroughly enjoying the kiss until someone behind me cleared their throat. I desperately wanted to stay where I was, but I just had to turn around. I fought a wince when I saw who it was, “Uh, hello Mr. Summers. Happy Halloween…” He crossed his arms and looked Dimitri over. “Angelica, your mother called earlier.” At least he didn't add the 'and we couldn't find you' part. “Oh?” I really should try to spin this in some way but I don’t know how, so I’m stuck with ‘Oh.’ “Yes, perhaps you should go and call her back.” Leave it to someone who wears glasses all the time to have mastered the are of speaking without words or eye contact. The 'like now' had been clear as day in that. “Ah Good night, Dimitri. I'll ring you with my audition time.” He nodded, "I will talk to you later." Then he kissed my hand and turned to go. "If you'll wait Mr. Sergetov, I'd like to have a little chat with you." I winced, but made may way inside. I just hoped Mr. Summers didn't drive him off. I pondered venturing into the rec room, but judging by the noise level, that was where the trick-or-treaters had gathered. I decided to move on and go call Mother. (Edited by Angelface at 10:53 am on May 9, 2003)
poster: Amezri Posted on: 7:16 pm on May 9, 2003 "Cold?" he asked, nuzzling her neck. Cassie snuggled closer. "Not really." After a minor usage conflict in the rec room, they'd decided to let the younger kids have the television and find somewhere else to go. Kurt teleported her to the remote spot on the back property where they'd spent many a night just sitting and staring at the stars. "I miss this," she sighed. "Just sitting here, with you, not worrying about what mutant's going attack us next. Or what *I'm* going to attack next." Kurt gave her a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be all right." "Maybe. What if I'm not? What if I go all Dark Hydra again?" She looked to the distance, thinking of all the ways she could hurt people if she lost control. "Then we'll just have to lock you up and throw away the key," he joked. "I hope you kill me. I hope you find some way to put me down so I'd never hurt anyone again," she said seriously. "Cassie... I don't think I could ever be part of a plan that leads to your death." /This is where the tragic heroine says, "If you loved me you would,"/ she thought. She knew, however, that he would never make such a ridiculous oath and she wouldn't force him to. "I know." "Would you ask me to?" Her face blanked suddenly as if she were listening to someone far away. Kurt nudged her questioningly. "The kids are back," she said in a half-whisper. "How do you know?" he asked with a furrowed brow. "Residual powers from Emma, I suppose," Cassie shrugged. "Let's stay out here for a little while longer. I don't want to have to deal with hyper children running around the mansion." "I'm sure the older students have it under control." She smirked. "You do remember who's with them, right?" "Ah.. I conceed," he chuckled, shifing his position slightly. "I'm sure they're all fine though." "Oh, I never said the kids wouldn't be fine. I just know they're all going to be on sugar highs because they couldn't wait to get home before digging into their stash." Kurt thought about it a second before nodding in agreement. "Let's stay out here a little longer then," he said, mimicing her previous statement.
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