Welcome to Gaia! ::

On the beach: Awkward.

Molly glanced at Jacen when she caught him watching her for that moment and smiled at her briefly before returning his attention to Hoshi and Wilbur. Molly gave him a brief small nod in response to that brief look and smile. She didn’t really know him all that well but then again she didn’t really know many people on her own team all that well. She was also uncomfortable...he was kind of cute actually. Molly didn’t have any experience in dealing with members of the opposite sex outside of a professional or mission based environment.

Hoshi’s question about earlier in the day had Molly looking off to the side, a nervous habit of hers, as she tried to fabricate a feasible excuse to give her. Admitting that she suffered from aquaphobia would beg the inevitable question as to what caused it. ”I...” She began shifting her gaze back to Hoshi and shrugged rubbing the back of her neck with a frown. ”I’m...” She struggled for the least humiliating way of phrasing it. It was better to just come clean since at some point her problems might actually become something that could hinder the group as a whole. ”I’m a...aaahhh...I suffer from aquaphobia.” She finally finished. She would leave the reasons for her problems off the table...she really didn’t want to go into details on them at the moment.

She almost laughed at Hoshi’s comment that Scott didn’t just throw people on a team. The laugh she stopped came out as a slight snort which Molly covered by rubbing at her nose and turning her head like she was about to sneeze. Cover up done she shrugged at her friends’ question and gave her answer even though it wasn’t directed to her. ”I’m not entirely sure when I noticed mine...I suppose you could say I began to develop it early...I was an unusually bright child to be honest. I didn’t officially come into my powers until my teens though.” She said with a half of shrug.

Omega - Beach - Why Does Quiet Never Last?

Maddy moved to the left slightly and glanced over at Jacen. "Oh, specifically? What, does that mean who we're gonna get attacked by next?" She chuckled lightly, the smile fading quickly after. "I don't know... Have the juniors run into the Brood yet? Oh, or maybe the Hellfire Club, that would be fun." She moved back to her original position. "I'm hoping on undead Nazis or something like that... you throw Zahmbie Nahzis into any situation and you've got a good show, in my opinion. ... I hear they're really popular these days among the villain echelon."

She sighed as others came over, though not particularly because of them. She gave a little salute to all of them. Honestly, the Alphas seemed to spring up like damned weeds. Were Xavier's little propaganda-esque speeches or idealist beliefs that appealing? Well, she knew the answer to that, but didn't like it. She couldn't remember actually talking to Hoshi, though she had had time to work with Molly on... something before Limbo that she couldn't remember.... it involved phones, right? Her eyes went off in the distant, trying to search her selective memory for any data on the subject. She got nothing.

She tried adjusting herself on the ground again, but couldn't get right. As Vallon moved closer, Maddy pushed herself up from the sand, wavering. Her hand went to her back, and she back it with a little twinge shooting up to her head. She heard Vallon's voice, but it didn't quite register until a moment after. "Hm? Oh, well, if that's what you want to call it. Yeah. Fun." she tried to crack her back again, but failed.

Oh yeah! It had been the bomb threat to the hospital that they had done! How in the hell could she have forgotten that? It had been the highlight of her month. it was one of those things you always wanted to try but weren't stupid enough to actually do.

She looked over at Molly. "Well look at this one. For putting on this whole shy and reclusive personality, you sure have no problem with ego," she said jokingly. Molly was bright, she knew. Maddy, too, could remember some of her old classes and tests. Even before she came to the Academy, she had been thought very intelligent. they liked to use the word "gifted", like they called the stupid ones "challenged". Dr. McCoy, in the many classes she had with him, would always tell her [sometimes jokingly, sometimes seriously] that she never applied herself. She thought that true to a certain extent, but it didn't change anything. It was funny how he never said it when she showed up in the labs to work without being prompted.

Shandra undid the lid to the water bottle as she looked around. It seemed almost as she did though, Peta was right back to following her. She'd known that he was persistent...but still, she was so use of people wondering off and not following her when she left them. Even Antonio usually went off and did his own thing...or gave her a while...usually though, he found another girl or guy to go chase. Peta seemed a bit more stubborn though. But it was only a matter of time before he became uninterested in following her around...everyone else did.

His comment about being a pain made her feel a pinch of guilt. Not much, really, but enough to make her wonder if Peta even realized how much she was just used to being by herself. After all, she used to be the tag along back when they first met...he probably had no idea just how used to being alone in a bunch of people she was. It...wasn't that he was a pain, it was simply that she was not used to...him, not anymore.

Shandra looked up, her face cooling down the more water she drank and the more she tried to remember the story he was telling her about. It was like a faint memory, she could remember the general idea of it, but the details and road of the story were blowing raspberries at her from the other side of the fence. The last time she'd heard the story had to be what felt like a lifetime or two ago.

Despite what he said about never being called Peta again...he'd probably always be Peta to her. Just, she'd try to avoid using his name cause he didn't seem to want it anymore...but she was already bad with names to begin with, him changing it up was not going to help with that in the least.

The redheaded omega swirled the water in her hand, the liquid filling up just the last few rings of the plastic water bottle. She stared down at it for a moment before looking back up. Peta apparently wanted some sort of connection again. She was just a familiar face to him, even if she had grown quite a deal since the last time she saw him, and that was probably comforting. Especially when she knew how close he was to his family back on the reservation, and how much he probably missed what was familiar to him.

"So you're really staying for a while huh?" Shandra asked, her tone idle as she slowly lifted her luminescent eyes back up to his, no longer skittish about just how different they were in the dark compared to others. "At least you're on the Omegas...the Alphas are in a bit of..."

How to put it nicely?

"...turmoil right now."

Not that the Omega leader herself wasn't...but, more than likely, she couldn't see Peta pissing her off. He might get under her skin with the old fashioned ways, but then again he might fit right in for that too.

Shandra put the water bottle in the nearest green reciprocal for recycling and moved her head as an indicator for Peta to follow if he wanted to. She hated staying in one place so long, especially in an area where she was already uncomfortable, unless it was a secluded area where she could relax. A party was definitely not somewhere she could relax.

Moving quietly on the skirts of the bonfire ring, Shandra took a moment to look back around. It seemed that Vallon had joined the now smaller group that was watching over Leion. She smiled for a moment, it was nice to see at least one Alpha that wasn't doing something to get them in trouble. Antonio was dancing with Sophia. Seemed he had finally found a new shiny toy instead of herself...which was odd a little. But hey...she'd been the one to try and get him to stop hadn't she?

She supposed she'd have to wait a bit to go acquire a fitting suit. In all the time she'd stolen, oddly, she still didn't have lock-picking down. She'd thought to see if Antonio wanted to see what the place looked like when the lights went out in the town but now she knew he had a new toy (Sophia).

More than likely, if she knew anything, he wouldn't want to wilt the innocent flower that was that particular Alpha with the idea that he'd sneak off in the middle of the night. Nor would he want to be disturbed when he was actually getting to have a bit of fun Dancing. She could only hope that Antonio didn't...hurt this particular person. She had a feeling Sophia was a wear it all on the sleeves kind of gal and that Momma Bella would immediately activate at the sign of "abuse".

Shaking her head lightly to herself, Shandra relaxed her shoulders. She walked besides Peta quiet for a moment, slowly moving out of the way of the regular people as they decided that going into the ocean would be great fun for them. Shandra resisted the urge to roll her eyes...that was fairly easy as she thought about how perfect of a night it actually was. She missed nights like this...

"So..." Shandra slowly spoke up toward Peta, her volume almost as quiet as the soft breeze that was rolling in from the ocean as she toed the line of the sand and water. "Why...did you leave the reservation? I thought..."

She trialed off, not knowing exactly how to finish that. But maybe he'd understand that anyways - trailing off was kind of her thing anyways.

"You know...I barely remember that story you're talking about," Shandra smiled wryly as she stopped for a moment, debating if she wanted to take off her shoes and attempt to put them in the pack with the roller-blades or not. "I mean...if you're not tired later..."

That's right...regular people needed sleep...but since her plans at getting a suit to swim in had been blown, she had to find something else to do. There was only so much studying a girl could do...

"Feel up to story telling later tonight?"

That might seem weird if no one had known that the guy beside her loved getting into stories. She remembered that much - he was always happier when he got to tell her why or how something happened according to the stories that had been passed down.

"'Cause apparently I'm not the only one who had a reason to go to the Academy anymore..." Shandra tailed off, almost instantly after she'd asked him about a story, her meaning should be pretty clear...though she hoped he'd figured out that mutants weren't exactly liked by the "pale faces".

Although technically Caucasians was only a very small portion of the world outside of his tribe... still, once again, she hoped that she'd gotten across the idea of mutants not being a good thing outside of his people. Having an entire island turned on them for something they couldn't exactly help, not really anyways, would suck. And it definitely wouldn't be the kind of thing Peta was used to.

"Though..." There was a smile to her voice, "at least I finally got around to cutting my hair."

He'd known her back when her hair used to be around the length to be at her waist, now it rested comfortably at her chest. It was a sad little attempt at humor, since they'd both changed so much, but it was kind of...a safe point to turn the conversation just encase Peta accidentally started to let something slip.

ტრεჟค Catching up with an old friend..

Aren's chocolate eyes blazed when she stared up at him, fiddling with her water bottle in what he might have described as a nervous habit. "For a while, yeah." He said flatly, leaving out the part that he'd been packed and ready to go home when he'd been promoted to the teams. The council had given him three extra years to make the decision to stay with them, or for him to choose to be with the palefaces. But, the palefaces didn't generally receive mutants as well as the tribe did, and his mutancy was just as much a part of him as his native blood.

The conversation switched a bit, and Aren didn't feel compelled to add more to her query. His brow furrowed though, when she mentioned trouble with the teams. Why were the Alphas in turmoil? The look on his face molded into that of a quizzical expression, his eyes telling her that he expected her to brief him on the details of what exactly she meant.

What had he been invited to? Already he felt his head swim; Scott had said that the vacation was well deserved, but had said no more. At the time, he'd been okay with walking in blind. But now, now he wanted to be informed, just so that he knew what to expect when they returned to actually doing team activities.

But she didn't answer, instead, Shandra focused the conversation on his home life, on something familiar to the both of them. Though, it was probably nothing more than a distant memory to her and his heart cried out for it. The homesick feeling that wrought his insides made him think of Feather-woman for the second time tonight. He smiled at her though, his eyes displaying that he knew why she was confused. "You thought that I was never to step foot off of the rez." Aren finished for her, knowing that was exactly what she'd wanted to say.

People were still around... it wasn't the best place to have the conversation, but Aren kept his voice low so that the passerbys would miss what he said. "My powers came in shortly after you left... I'd wake up too big for my bed, or my trousers wouldn't fit because I'd shrank a few inches in my sleep." This was a story he could have done without, it wasn't anywhere near as wonderful as the lore of the Blackfoot. "I hadn't any control... I'd become small or large on a whim, if I was frustrated... I'd grow taller... if I was ashamed, I'd shrink down to size." He dug a bare foot into the sand, reveling in the feeling of the soft grains falling over the top of his foot. "Napioa came to me in a series of dreams, speaking of me needing training for his gift, so I did what most people in the twenty-first century would do... I googled places that might help me, and I happened upon the Academy." He wondered if she'd be shocked to know that he used a search engine, that he'd gotten onto a computer at all. When she had stayed with them, he'd not shown any indication that he even knew where the power button was. "After reading what I could about it, I printed the information and took it to council, and told them of my dreams... they agreed to let me come here." It wasn't him leaving that had been the issue though; it'd been the timing. He only had another year left before his Day of Decision would be on them, and it had taken a lot of convincing of the older members to allow him three extra years.

But it wasn't as though this didn't set him back too. Three years would mean that he'd not have his Man's ceremony, that he'd not find out his place among his people for that much longer. It's just the price you pay for being special. Learn patience.

A note of sadness trailed the lines of his face; being chosen for a gift sucked at times. Three more years before he'd know whether or not he'd be the next Storyteller. It'd been all he'd wanted as a child, so he knew each of the Blackfoot stories better than he knew the back of his hand.

Shandra had said just the thing to cause his mood to brighten; his mouth curved upwards at her words. She wanted him to retell the story. "Shandra, dear.. I'm always up for reliving a story." The fact that she remembered that detail when he'd not truly spoken of his desire to her made him feel more comfortable, and he could feel the pieces fall back into place.

The redhead trailed off again, and the new Omega shook his head in disdain. It had been one of the hardest things to grasp when he'd first arrived: the intolerance of those who were different. His tribe had been accepting, had celebrated the fact that one of their generation had been gifted. The outside wasn't so keen on the idea of people having the ability to do things they couldn't. "No," The tone was bitter, as though he were sucking on a tree root, "You aren't. It still amazes me that people can be so cold. " Obviously they needed more Blackfoot philosophy in them, because no matter what they thought... He'd been given his gift, and he'd cherish the blessing from Old Man without them tainting it.

Such subjects were better left alone, and Aren brushed past it easily when Shandra made mention of her long, fiery locks. Well, they'd been longer before, but the shorter style worked just as well. "I like it." he said, nodding appreciatively as he absently twirled a lock around his finger, just to test to see if it was as soft and silky as it looked; it was better.

His own hair was about the same length, and was an uncommon thing for males here. Thus far, he'd avoided taking the sheers to it, as though it were the last piece of his culture for him to hold onto while he was so far away. But, as Shandra had asked, he was here for a while - enough time for his hair to grow back before he returned to Montana. "I noticed that most boys here wear theirs short..." He left the statement open, an unspoken question of her opinion hanging in the air.


Link to the Story Peta Spoke of: Poia

Alpha - Dance, Dance

“You are old enough… But then, would you really want to put up with us whiney rookie teenagers all day?”, she questioned with a small smile… There was something in her tone that suggested mischief… But still, the smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. She was trying to be happy for his sake. Though he went on, and mentioned ‘Love’ and she blushed furiously, unable to help it. She assumed that he was just humoring her… But it didn’t stop the connotation from making her cheeks flush a cherry color—Regulating her to silence for abit, less she wanted him to hear her stutter.

Some of the flush did fade though, when he called himself disfigured…For some reason that bothered her, a lot. She hated when people put themselves down… Especially when she saw no fault. She felt his hand catch hers as she spun and she held onto that hand for a moment longer than necessary, enough to simply get his attention—If she didn’t already have it.…She stood still a moment, leaning up so that he could hear her. “You are wrong, you know, mon ami… That scar…It doesn’t take anything away from you—You are not disfigured. Ah told you…It doesn’t make you any less…So please, don’t insult yourself. Vous etes beau…Believe it…Because Ah have eyes… And Ah say its so.”

She nodded to him, her words seeming very creole, holding a southern surety that she knew them to be true, though nervous, because she wasn’t sure how to tell a man, who obviously thought very highly of his looks—That he was still very beautiful after being injured. Prettier than she was, at any rate. He probably wouldn’t believe her…If it bothered him that much, but… She tried.

Out of respect, she also let it go.

She glanced over around his shoulder, again spotting Raine and Christian…They were still talking… Raine's face kind of looked serious. She felt her heart grow heavier the more she saw her roommates face... She would talk to her tonight, and Christian, if he would talk to her later on...Sophia was gradually starting to feel worse about turning them away….But there were just things she couldn’t… Say. Couldn’t do… It was all too complicated for words.

She let Antonio lead, not surprised that his hands were callused, because of the…Unsavory things he mentioned, and their lifestyles, she held on gently—Surprised at how easy it was to dance with him. He stayed with her, not pushing her too far, but enough to make it fun. She didn’t take his closeness any way or the other—Because how else did you dance? It wasn’t like they were at church camp and had to have a bible between them…

Every so often she looked down, just to make sure her feet were going where they should, but for the most part she kept her chin up… He went slowly, at introducing new things, and luckily, she was a fast learner if someone showed her how… So it wasn’t hard, so long as she didn’t try to count out the beat. That just confused her. So far she hadn’t lost her balance either, which was nice.

She laughed quietly when she twirled in the sand, the driving beat of the song causing her to twist—Her hips swaying low in the opposite direction of his, the transition smooth. She never really noticed him watching her face, her eyes actually closed for a moment, having fun again for the first time since the thugs… It was when she was dancing with her back to him, one hand above her head, the other still holding onto his, since he was leading, that she tilted her head and asked slightly breathless, “You said…There were things that you did? When you leave for awhile? What kinds of things?”

She was curious…No one had ever explained to her what happened to cats when they got curious. She wanted to know what he did that the law frowned upon…To be honest, he was in the X-Men, the law really didn’t care for them much to begin with. They were too much like vigilantes. So what other laws would he feel the need to break?

Her eyes still closed, she just waited for a reply, trusting that he wouldn’t let her fall or something like that—Which, should let him know, that she was taking him seriously. He wanted to teach her to be better…To have more confidence, she would do her best to try.

Omega: Blanking Out

Things were fuzzy for a bit. Petra usually held her alcohol well but that evening she had been so annoyed at the behavior of her teammates that she was sipping on the vodka bottle a little more than usual. When the words around her started getting a bit more distant she put the bottle she was drinking from down and started to let it pass. As much as she didn't like her new team leader, she didn't think having a massive hangover the next morning was the way to keep impressions high.

Game. Play a game. She looked at Eli and muttered jokingly, "Game? You barely standing. If we play game, I suggest move from ledge, yes?"

What game could they play? Any games she usually played required cups or cards. None of which they had. She didn't care much and shrugged, "How about truth or dare? Always fun game when people not so uh... thinking."

“So what makes you think this is possibly going to work?”, demanded a female voice, features indiscernible from the shadows of the out door patio to the closed beach front restaurant… She went unnoticed with her two other companions. The bonfire burning not far away took the attention of all the innocent X-Brats…They never noticed that they were being watched. Followed… But, due to her particular skills…If she was caught, whomever caught her—Deserved to catch her.

Catch her, and then be killed, for having the audacity to try and stop her.

“Because it worked before.”, came a deep male voice. It belonged to the man she called her boss—“It wasn’t perfected then.”

“It is now.”, came another male voice, belonging to the man she called Father. She hated, that she had to breathe the same air that he did. But she followed orders like a good soldier…Most of the time. And while this was relatively painless, she still wanted to cause the man she deliberately stood far away from grievous amounts of harm.

If anyone could have seen them, the three of them, they would have noticed the body by her feet.

She glanced down and nudged the prone figure slightly with the point of her boot. He groaned pitifully, and she rolled her eyes and touched one of the two hand guns on her belt. “What do we do with the Daniel fellow? He should only remember following that sniveling boy, the ice user, and begging him to take him back. Then to be turned away by the Stone girl… But there is no guarantee. He accepts that he was merely crying on a local mans shoulder about lost love…But later on, he might also recall giving us schematics to the building, and forcing him to go there in the first place.”
Her boss was quiet, as was her father… And for a moment she thought that she would finally be allowed to kill someone this whole, ridiculous, damnable trip. But her boss was paying her very well, for her expertise and her professionalism. So he would receive nothing but the best.

“Leave him.”, the boss instructed disdainfully of the flat scan human—He was the furthest thing from a mutant there could be. What a simpleton. “The toxin will act fast. Even if he does eventually break your spell…It will be too late.”

“Before dawn then…It will be done before dawn.”, she replied, accepting her employers decision.

“Before dawn.”, her father agreed, as if his word held relevance—And she sneered. She was again tempted to damage him, to shoot him where he stood. He needn’t be involved in this… She could handle it all on her own. But the Boss didn’t think so.