Welcome to Gaia! ::

OOC: I wrote a HUGE long post replying to Penny, I swear it must have been about 4 pages long! ... Then that damned page-swallowing Gaia error came up as I posted it and it was lost!! I haven't the heard to retype it tonight, sorry! ^_^;

Xavier brought Gen into his office and offered her a seat, "Normal is what you make of it. To some of the students, normal is seeing a teleporter blink in and out of the hallways or having a snowball fight with snow created by our student Bobby."

"What does this place offer?" She asked as Xavier pulled out Gen's file complete with signed documents from her parents.

"We offer a safe place to learn to use, explore, develope, and control mutant powers. Our student advisors will help develope a program specifically for you and what your needs are. Your advisor is Ororo Munroe, some students know her as Storm. While all of our students attend Bayville High School, many take after school courses here to help them learn 'mutant' related things. We require everybody to take at least one of these courses but encourage more."

Xavier handed her a map of the Institute, "Kitty Pryde will give you a tour of the Institute facilities and show you where your dorm room is. Do you have any questions for me? If not, my door is always open."

Before Xavier left he noticed a blip on one of the security monitors showing somebody outside of the Institute. He reached out to them for a moment to let the know they were welcome, "Please, do not feel you have to leave. You are welcome at the Xavier Institute."

OOC: Thanks Penance for the idea! biggrin

IC: Lavinia Simone Gates stared up at the wall of Institute from her vantage point. As of late, she had been hired to be a gardener for the X-Men due to her mutant ability of being able to make anything grow in any place. Being hired to be gardener could allow Lavinia to help out (and be paid) whilst keeping her neutral position in the mutant world.

Picking up her garden spade, Lavinia set to work pulling weeds and planting seeds. A chuckle escaped her thin lips as Lavinia thought, 'It rhymes!' and continued her work.

"What flowers would look nice here?" she asked herself, staring at a barren speck of land behind the Institute. "Poppies. Poppies would look lovely." And, removing her gloves, Lavinia placed her palms into the grass and concentrated on the land. After a few moments of concentration, around two dozen poppies shot out of the ground. Lavinia grinned and examined her work. "Not bad..." she muttered, picking up her tools and strutting over to another bit of land she thought needed more garden work.

OOC: Yay! Yesterday I got Volumes 3 and 4 of X-Men: Evolution Season 2! They were only $9.99! I was freaking out!

ooc: i'm going away for a bit. don't take my characters but you can npc them if they need to be interacted with. gotta concentrate on the last 3 weeks of school and then that last week of finals.

((OOC: Oh, boy, THIs could get interesting. A telepath talking to someone who hates telepaths... >.< I can just imagine. In fact...))

WHAT THE...?!?!?

Whirling, Raine's slim form flew into a crouch of self-defense, her crimson optics darting all along the lawn outside the Institute for the owner of the voice.

"Where are you?! What do you want?!"

She was on the defensive, her distrusting nature and almost uncaring personality signaling all the warnings throughout her mind. That is when she realized the voice...had been in her mind...sorta...

Raising herself from the crouch, Raine turned her cunning optics upon the building behind her. One hand lightly tangled the fingers in the ruff around Katori's neck, the canine growling softly as his ice-blue eyes watched the doors to the building, as if waiting for them to burst open and for the two of them to be attacked. It has happened before.

What...was it about the voice...

It seemed wise, yes, but...there was a different quality about it....

Eyes growing intense, she focused on the owner of the voice, hoping he could hear her own response.

'The question is....do you want someone like me around...?'

A smirk qraced her lips slightly, her homicidal and violent tendencies more then obvious. Oh, yes, she wasn't...um...exactly...the best person for students to be around.

((OOC: To reclarify, Raine is still neutral. She is violent, has blood-thirsty tendencies, and a sick and twisted sense of humor. All in all, she is still up for grabs by either side. Enjoy! ^.~))

Wiping the sweat from her brow, Lavinia stood and stretched. The Institute now had a garden and a lawn that shown a splendid metallic green. Lavinia stooped to pick up her equipment and head off for the day when she spotted a girl on the Institute's steps. 'Why is she just standing there?' Lavinia thought to herself, rocking on her heel. A thousand possibilities swept through her mind, each getting even more and more ridiculous and constantly returning to: "Because she can."

Shrugging, Lavinia picked up the last tool and, placing it in a bag she always brought along, started heading towards the gated entrance. Being in a neutral state was not easy for Lavinia. Considering her house was on the other end of town and took quite some time to get to, Lavinia was often times wishing to be living with either the X-Men or the Brotherhood, each close enough to walk to and not worry about being abducted.

Lavinia smiled warmly. But then, how would I get money? I certainly couldn't get a real job. Besides, being a gardener/freelancer is much more fun than working at some fast food place, smelling like grease all the time. And also, settling down just isn't my thing.

Turning to stare out at the beautiful Eden (which gave her her nickname) she had created, Lavinia's smiled broadened and she pushed the gate open, a spade falling behind her.

The woman simply took a seat next to Jacen on the park bench. As he knew, there was no mistaking who that was when he heard her, let alone seeing her and what she was dressed in. A rather elegant white dress.....at a public park.

"You know I'm from Boston, dear," she said with a sly grin on her face. "And besides, I had family business to tend to."

"Family business...," Jacen absently mimicked her.

"Is everything alright? You seem to be distracted by something."

"It's nothing, Ms. Frost," he answered immediately.

Emma looked at him hard, like she was the recipient of a massive insult. "You know you can call me Emma," was all she said.

"I'm sorry. Emma. I'm just." Jacen stopped speaking for a moment. Suddenly a massive headache came over him, along with some gut-wrenching nausea. "Emma....," he stammered, "Get...out...of my mind...please...."

"You know how concerned I am for your well-being," she said quietly as a few people walked by.

Jacen smiled big when he heard that. "Emma Frost. The White Queen. Showing concern? Is the world ending soon?" The glare he recieved from her would have at least triggered a war if nothing else. There was a moment of silence between the two before Jacen spoke up again. "What exactly bring you here again, Emma?"

"I did, in fact, come here to speak with you," she said as she moved a bit closer to him and rested her hand on his. "How long do you plan on languishing as Magneto's dog?"

".......You know the answer. The man saved my life, and I owe him that much," Jacen said calmly, "If I were to turn my back on him now, that would be most dishonorable."

Emma let out a small sigh. "Scion......Jacen....," Emma said, trailing off. That was the first time she had ever used his Christian name. "You are so much more than someone's flunkey. And I know how much it eats at you knowing that you're a much better leader than Magneto's son."

Jacen didn't say anything, but the expression on his face said it all. Where was Pietro during the jungle exploit? He certainly wasn't leading the Brotherhood's escape efforts. All Jacen did was shake his head, trying to clear that thought from his mind.

"I'm looking to start my own private school," Emma said abruptly, "And I want you to be my first student."

"..............."

"You have all the qualities that I'd be looking for in a first time enrollment," she said, obviously doing what she could to butter him up, "The physical skills, leadership skills, and your intelligence. All three of those you rarely find in a man, let alone someone as young as you are."

"......Emma...I told you....I can't," Jacen said sheepishly. Maybe he would have liked this, but...he didn't want to dishonor his debt to Magneto.

"That's a shame," she said while standing up. "Oh. Here." From wherever it was stashed at, she handed Jacen a small business-type card. "My number. In case you change your mind sometime down the road. Just remember, even if you aren't my first enrollment, you will be second only to me." Then as she gave him the business card, she leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, still trying to sway his mind. "I hope to hear from you soon," she said as she turned to leave.

That obviously caught Jacen's attention somewhat, but he knew where his loyalties lay. Slowly, he palmed the card and put it into his pocket before speaking up.

"Thank you, Ms. Frost...I mean Emma," he said, "It's always a pleasure being able to converse with you."

And he did always enjoy speaking with her. He had plenty of time to do just that when she had to stitch the fabric of his mind back together. Piece by piece, over a two month period, Jacen was convalescing under the White Queen's care. And they became rather close friends, though this was the first time they had spoken since she helped him.

Knowing for a moment that he was going to have some peace to himself, Jacen leaned his head back on the bench and started to absorb more UV rays. Emma had said some things, and maybe even tampered with his head, but he was thinking about what she said. He was definitely thinking.