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ტრεჟค - for the love of all that is holy and sacred, Shandra, please don't utter "Peta" for my name

Aren would have flushed he'd have been more timid, and more caring about what Shandra's friend might have thought of him. But as it was, he was still getting used to their culture, and there were so many layers to it that he felt that he was doomed to be completely out of the loop for eternity. Well, not eternity. Once he graduated and could sufficiently control his gift, the boy fully intended upon returning to his tribe.

This world was too confusing. To right his lack of tact, Aren lifted his palm to Kerri, wanting no ill feelings between them in the future. If Shandra liked this girl, then he'd do his best to get on her good side. After all, his old friend was his only ally in this strange place; though, she'd not seemed too keen on seeing him. Not nearly as thrilled as he'd been, anyways. "No offense meant, I assure you." Obviously Kerri was a strong woman, made from the same stuff as Shandra. Were all the pale-faced women like this? So odd. Most of the women he knew at home would probably beat a man to a pulp for not defending her. Here it was a bad thing; everything seemed to be opposite from what he was used to, and his head spun constantly while he tried to wrap his mind about the differences.

"I apologize for jumping to conclusions." His sentences were short, not the usual elaborate explanation that he probably needed for them to grasp his "Old World" concepts. Maybe Shandra would be nice and fill them in later. The apology was more meant for Kerrigan, but the way he phrased it might have been taken as an olive branch for Jack as well. He'd not intended it to sound that way, but he'd not go and make trouble out of it if the giant took it as a peace offering between them. Already Aren had been tackled; he needed no further proof that he'd likely be bested here.

The woman asked Shandra for his name, and a trepidation of anxiety surged through him for a moment.Red had been using his tribal name; and that had gone over so well in the plane that he'd decided to the name his father gave him a whirl. Aren stepped in there, not wanting Shandra to get the opportunity to open another can of hysterical giggles from what the others might think was a funny title; he saw no humor in it then, he wouldn't now. Being that it was his first night with the teams, he'd rather not display an uncharacteristic temper. "No need," He said, flashing a smile, "I can introduce myself. I go by Aren." He said, extending a hand out for her to shake. This was customary, right? Well, he knew it was customary to tag in a last name, but that was bad juju for the Blackfoot. A first name would have to be sufficient.

He glanced at Shandra, eyes bidding her not to correct him. Peta was reserved for when he went back home, where it wouldn't be thought of as something that sounded like it better belonged to a woman. Tilting his head to the side, chocolate eyes drank Kerri in, trying to commit her face to memory. What might you be called?"

On a previous episode of The Young and the Mutated, a random, long haired mystery man showed up on the beach behind Shandra. What does this mean for our plot? Why is Jacen so damned jumpy? Who is this mystery man? Why does he speak in gibberish? Why couldn't Maddy stop asking ridiculous questions in her head?!

Maddy took a swig of her drink and watched the goings on as if they were some sort of film, playing out before her. It all reminded her of those damnable soap-operas her aunt from Kansas always watched when she decided to come visit her sister on the east coast. Most of the time it was to mooch, but Maddy hated those soap operas most, as her aunt hated her for being able to tell what was going to happen next. This, however, was better than a soap opera.

Well Shandra had run off, and thankfully, whether it had been intentional or not, she had scared Alek off. She trusted the red head to deal with Alek, but even though she'd spent her early life in Massachusetts, she hadn't dealt with his sort of cold (as burning herself with solid CO2 doesn't count).

Maddy sighed slightly and simply let herself fall backwards onto the sand. It was much more painful than she thought it would be, but she didn't let on. there was a show to watch. It was far and dark, but there is no mistaking a big mutant fight what with water, and flips, and giant muscled Alphas. She felt like getting involved, but then again, she felt like leaving them to there own devices. There wasn't much she could do, anyways... She assumed she was sort of just supposed to stay here and look after the body.

Making a face, she raised her arm jerkily and pointed at Jacen, the only one left there besides there still ever unconscious Leion. "So, you. That was pretty hot, by the way. Did I say that that was hot, already? I don't know," she said, flopping back down. "What? Guys seem to love lesbians, so why can't I may one or two ambiguous statements of the sort, hm?"

Alpha: Drunken idiots.


Vallon sat on the hill like a lump, and finished off the graham crackers, he wasn't at all surprised no one had come up to see him or that Maddy hadn't returned, he was stupid for thinking any of this would have worked, who wants romance when they can all get drunk. Vallon gritted his teeth and looked at what was left of the right side of his shirt and decided to just rip it off and toss it in his small fire, he was already tired of this beach, he rather be fighting right now, it was much simpler and less messy. He growled a bit and ran his fingers through his hair and stood, as he looked at what was left of the food, he threw the chocolate in the fire as well, but kept the marshmallows and popped one in his mouth as he walked down towards where all the idiots on the beach where.

He slowly made his way around the outer edge of of the fires he could see people in between them, but he didn't enter. He was still mad, mostly at himself, he never seemed to fit in with these people, why would they do stupid things like get drunk especially near open flame, it just made no sense to Vallon. But he couldn't control the actions of others, he strolled around once he couldn't really tell where anyone was, and right now he wasn't looking for anyone in particular. He did wonder if Madison was alright but he assumed she didn't want to see him and thats why she hadn't come back either that or because she was board.

Vallon sighed as he looked towards the ocean, and popped another Marshmallow in his mouth, then he took a deep breathe through his nostrils and walked into the area where everyone was at, Vallon trudched his way through looking around for someone that he figured would have some sense when he spotted Jacen, that guy always seemed to have his head on straight. Vallon made his way over as he got closer he saw Lieon on the ground and Maddy laying there as well. "Oi Jacen i...what happen'd over here, it looks like Lieon passed out, oh hello Madison." Vallon said trying to sound as friendly as he could but it was kind of obvious he was not happy with how things where going this night. "Want a marshmallow, ya look like ya could use one." Vallon said holding the bag out towards Jacen.

Despite everything that was going on in her close circle of friends, Raine was finding she could still have a relatively good time. It was human nature to feel like she needed to suspend her partying in lieu of the fact that there was dissention among the troops, but at the same time Raine had done nothing wrong – nothing to feel like she needed to bring down the rest of the party for. Sophia was her own girl, and the decisions that Raine would make, had made, were not the same ones she could expect from the other girl. At the end of the day Raine’s opinions on these kinds of things didn’t matter in the slightest and others would have to come to their own conclusions. Raine had enough of her own problems to tackle without wrestling others’ away from them. It was a hard, but necessary reality check.

These thoughts and more swirled through her head as she continued to dance with Christian, though they were replaced when the conversation between the two took a more serious turn. She started it, true, but at the moment it felt like the right thing to say. Raine had always been goo d at reading people, and it didn’t take an empathetic genius to know what was wrong with him. She caught sight of his attempt at a reassuring smile while he trailed off in response, her intent look sending his gaze to the ground as he asked if he was that transparent. She smiled at him, a knowing smile that held nothing but concern and care for the boy in front of her.

“Maybe…but I’ve always been observant, so it might only be apparent to me,” she said with a soft chuckle, tossing her curls over her shoulder. The two stopped dancing, pairs of people heading off in different directions as alcohol and hormones did their work on many of the party-goers. She was patient as silence persisted between them, her hands finding her back pockets as well as she remained motionless. If he needed time to collect his thoughts, she would afford him that. After all, there were many times when she knew what she wanted to say but the words alluded her. Heck, that happened a lot. She tried to soften the gaze that continually fell on him, making it more of an invitation to speak when he was ready as opposed to hovering until he said something that would placate her. When emotions were involved, vocabulary skills sometimes took a nosedive. When he did start to speak, she listened, waiting until he was finished before she made any comments of her own.

It was not until his gaze came back to her that she realized she was staring again, a soft smile gracing her lips. She understood everything that he was saying, and whether he knew it or not, her gaze almost told him that she had been in the same situation before. Romance was never an easy thing to do, and while people always say that best friends make the best lovers, there is a bit of trepidation that comes with friends becoming lovers. In situations as delicate at this, it was no wonder his voice quieted to almost nothing. She saw his face redden slightly, the look of embarrassment clear on his features as he apologized and looked towards the fire. Immediately, she shook her head, reaching out and laying a hand on his shoulder.

“There is nothing to apologize for, you goof. I asked, didn’t I? Look, I don’t pretend to be this relationship guru that has all the answers, I’m always too busy to really get involved with someone, but I can tell as an outside observer that there is some sort of chemistry between you guys, right or wrong. Emotions are…tricky things to figure out, you know? And I think that there is always that fear that if you escalate things with someone you already care about, there is no going back.” Her words were chosen carefully, edited by that trained eye that was always running through her head. She wanted to make sure that she said something comforting, but at the same time nothing that would come back to haunt her if something went wrong. Raine liked to protect herself - was trained to protect herself - in situations like this. Not for the first time since she had been promoted, she wished Katie were here. Her sister was always the one with relationship advice.

“I guess what I am trying to say is that you can’t let fear stop you from doing something with the potential to bring you so much happiness. I like to live in a world with no regrets, but if you can stand not knowing what things would have been like if you told her, then that is your prerogative. Do I recommend you march over and tell her right now? No. But I think that you should the right moment to explain things to her. It might change a bit of her perspective as to why you do some of the things you do.” Her shoulders moved in a slight shrug, an indication that these were just her opinions and nothing that she was pushing for him to do. All she could do now was wait and see what was going to unfold. The air between them was too tense now for her own sanity, so a smile broke across her features, her cup coming to her lips for another deep drink to wet her whistle.

“You think this is why they sent us on vacation? We wouldn’t have enough time between disasters to have these kinds of conversations at home, would we?”

Omega: Catalina – Meet New Friends

Kerrigan could tell that she might have been a little harsh in her response to the man standing next to Shandra her expression softening slightly as he raised his palms towards her, shaking her head as he spoke. It was her gesture to show that there would be no bad blood between them for his actions, and in all honesty she was far from mad in the first place. After all, on some level there was recognition of his chivalrous attitude that was not negative – Kerri was a girl after all. She could only hope that he didn’t think all girls at the Academy were like her: stubborn to a fault, overbearing to compensate for any weaknesses that might show through, often too strong for their own good, and sometimes unwilling to accept help that was offered. He apologized again, this time in words, and Kerrigan simply shook her wet curls once more, lifting one hand like she had seen him do before.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. It had to of looked odd to someone who knows nothing about me or my personality. It’s already forgotten,” she said with a smile, not sure if he was apologizing just to her or to Jack as well. He stepped forward, introducing himself instead of waiting for their mutual friend to do it for him, the redhead not missing his looks towards Shandra as if warning her to keep quiet. Between the look and the phrasing of his introduction Kerri had a suspicion that this was not his real name, but she kept quiet. When they got to know each other better, she could bring it up. Until then, it was best to stay tactful and pretend like she “knew” nothing. Kerrigan did not shift under his gaze, instead stepping forward and accepting the handshake that was offered. Her grip was strong but far from overpowering, her eyes taking him in for a moment before she responded.

“I’m Kerrigan, but most people just call me Kerri. It’s nice to meet you, Aren. Oh, and muscles back there is Jack,” she said with a quick motion over her shoulder to indicate the other part in their little scuffle. Well, rather big scuffle. She was still wrestling on whether or not to forgive him for this whole mess (even though part of it was her own fault), but he was clearly going to have to earn the right to kiss her again. Whatever might have happened between them in wake of “the incident” would be on indefinite hold.

“So, I’m guessing you aren’t an islander, so you’re going to be joining us on one of the teams, right? Alpha or Omega?” With as many new students as they were getting (most of which seemed to be on the blue side of things), Kerrigan was understandably curious. It really didn’t matter either way, she was clearly friends with people on both sides of the proverbial team line, but she was secretly hoping he would be an Omega. The Alphas had already gotten a surge of fresh meat, and it would be nice for Petra to have someone else new to go through orientation with.

Maddy stared up at the sky. It was surprising, but at least out here you could see the stars. At the Academy you could see some, but not like this. It was brilliant. Hell, in Boston, you could hardly see the sky let alone the stars.

She blinked, hearing Jacen speak up. "Pft. I know you didn't say anything. I'm just kidding." She always got a little kick out of things when people jumped to deny prejudices like "No, I don't hate gays!", or "I'm not a racist!".

"As for when we get back? Oh, I've already got that whole spiel playing out in my mind." It was true. Every now and again she would just go off into her own little fantasy world where events played out in her mind as she thought they would. Nothing ever really came of them, but every now and again they would result in a witty remark to be made later.

"We'll probably just go back to school, and the teachers will try and give there whole continuity game. You know-- everything is as it was, nothing has changed; go on with your day children; everything is stable," she said, waving it off. "But we'll go back, and eventually we'll get attacked again, or there will be someone or some place to save. We'll go out. We'll fight. We'll get hurt. We'll get healed. Exit, stage left, then repeat the next night." Maddy sighed.

"Hell, you've been around on the teams longer than I have, you should know that, right? Or am I being too simple?" She made a face. "If anything they'll put us back in the Danger Room, if they haven't built the mansion up again." Strangely enough, she thought it might mean good for her, the mansion having been destroyed. it meant they would have to replace things in the lab, which meant new toys for her to annoy Dr. McCoy with.

She scratched her head, sand working it's way everywhere. That's when she heard Vallon's vice coming from right next to her. She didn't bother to look, but took a long intake of breath and began to spew out "So basically I came over for a drink then Leion was really drunk and kissed Jacen before passing out but then a tan dude with a Native accent came to scare Shandra but Jacen jumped him and it turns out she knew the accented dude but she ran off leaving me and Jacen with the dear departed Leion and there was a fight down on the beach but I'm too lazy to move." Maddy sucked more air in. Okay, no more really long run-ons tonight.

"Oh, and I found a drink, actually," she said,, patting the pretty much empty water bottle next to her. "So tonight is going pretty well, I'd say." Flopped back down to look at the stars.

Alphas: Flying is the best thing in the world-winning isn't so bad either.

Hoshi grinned as Wilbur plotted out their flight course. "Sounds good to me!" she said. She extended her wings as Wilbur gave the countdown. Just as he reached one, Hoshi spotted Molly. "Hey Molly! wait there. I"ll be back in a minute or two- racing someone!" she shouted as she lifted into the air after Wilbur. Hoshi nearly changed into her dragon form but decided that it would be a very bad idea, given the amount of humans and drunk people around. besides, it wasn't fair to Wilbur.

She soared through the air happily, zipping past Wilbur. She whipped around the hill, close enough to it to feel the dirt stinging her cheeks. Flapping her wings hard enough to raise clouds of dust, Hoshi wove between the people going up the hill and landed at the top, panting from such a hard and fast flight. She rested for a second and then flew back to Wilbur. "I guess next time we should give me a handicap of some kind." she said sheepishly. "Come back down to the beach, i want you to meet one of our teammates." Hoshi added, still panting.