What Is Normal Anyway?

[Shadowcat]

Kitty gave Cal a small wave and a smile. Okay, so this wasn't too bad. This wasn't thinking about Xavier, nor was it people eating her. Fun fun.

"Peter drew me, and it's really good. Check it out."

Feeling ridiculously small, Kitty turned her smile on Peter and took the sketchbook from the giant. She traced the smooth, graceful line of the giraffe's neck lightly with one finger; it was really, really good.

"This is great," she said. "I always wished I could draw."

At least do something other than add up big numbers in her head and do those stupid logic puzzles, anyway. Well, and dance. But whatever.

"Look, those are just the way my spots go, too."

Kitty looked up, brows drawing together a little in confusion - oh, but right, Cal had probably been wandering around in animal form again. Which would also explain why she was naked. And in Peter's shirt.

Uncomfortable.

"I'm sure," Kitty said, handing the book back to Peter. "It really is good. Are you going to be an artist? I mean, when you leave here?"

[tingrin]

"Are you going to be an artist? I mean, when you leave here?"

Kitty's question took Peter somewhat by surprise. "I had not thought about what I will do when I leave here," he said, thoughtfully, more to himself than either of the girls. "I had hoped to become a fully fledged member of the X-Men team, but it seems that Miss Monroe has yet to make any sort of decision about the future of such a group."

He scratched at his head thoughtfully. "I would like to be an artist," he said, almost wistfully. "If I could sell some of my drawings, I could buy many nice things for my little sister. I had thought about going into the city and drawing portraits for tourists, but I do not think that would be approved of."

It was an almost daring suggestion for the big man, who adhered to rules as tightly as though Superglued to them.

[Shadowcat]

"I had not thought about what I will do when I leave here. I had hoped to become a fully fledged member of the X-Men team, but it seems that Miss Monroe has yet to make any sort of decision about the future of such a group."

Kitty's shoulders shrugged against her hoodie uncomfortably at the thought of anyone becoming a full-fledged member of the X-Men. Even if she'd fought with them the once and done her share of good, the idea frightened her - if she was the one in charge, she'd have disbanded them. Kitty hated fights. But she wasn't, and she guessed she could see the necessity of such a defensive body. After all, the bad guys were still out there, and Kitty doubted many of them shared her qualms with widespread genocide.

"I would like to be an artist. If I could sell some of my drawings, I could buy many nice things for my little sister. I had thought about going into the city and drawing portraits for tourists, but I do not think that would be approved of."

"Why wouldn't they approve of it?" Kitty asked. "People do that all the time, don't they? Like, in New York and stuff?"

She was sure she'd seen a couple guys skulking around with canvases. She didn't think Peter would be as ready to accept the uniform of the black turtleneck and scowl, though.

"And you could always sell them on eBay if you didn't want to paint the tourists," Kitty said, trying to be helpful, looking to Cal for the requisite nod of assent and agreement-noise. "You could paint what you wanted then, too. You wouldn't have to go what they told you to do."

The caricature guy at the mall in Deerfield had waxed poetic on artistic freedom to one of Kitty's old friends, Mary, many a time, at least according to Mary. Mary'd waxed poetic on it, too, mostly because Mary had a crush on the caricature guy.

[Animaux]

"Are you -" Cal cocked her head towards Peter, remarkably like a cat - "not full-fledged? No offense - I mean, I hope it's a compliment, I thought you were." Fumbling slightly: "I'm still new, eh? Clearly." She smiled and tried to remember how cocky she had felt as a giraffe.

At Kitty's suggestion that he become an artist, she turned to the other girl and nodded. "He should be. I'd buy that" - indicating the drawing - "if I had more than... twelve dollars, I think. And change." She smiled at the Kitty. "You're right about eBay. Or online commissions, you know?"

[tingrin]

"Are you not full-fledged?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders briefly and smiled. "Miss Munroe is still dealing with all the paperwork that has come in the wake of..." He broke off, not wanting to say the words loud. It'd somehow make the Professor's death more real than it actually was. "...the tragedy, da?" He closed up his sketchbook and turned to look out the window for a moment.

"I came here because I needed to learn control over my abilities. I still have much to learn. My father, Nikolai, he is a great man. He says that you must learn something new every day. I will never stop learning and in that sense, where better to stay than a school?"

[Shadowcat]

"Are you - not full-fledged? No offense - I mean, I hope it's a compliment, I thought you were."

Peter would make a good X-Man, probably, Kitty thought; anyone who could become magically invulnerable to all attack would be great defense, and the best offence was a good defence (or was it the other way?). But that meant that Kitty herself would probably make a good X-Man, so that had to be skewed logic.

Can't we all just... get along? And preferably not kill people?

Peter shrugged (good sign). "Miss Munroe is still dealing with all the paperwork that has come in the wake of... the tragedy, da?"

Erk. "Do you want to be one?" Kitty asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice. Artists weren't supposed to become freedom fighters. Kitty wished briefly that they could be part of a world where the biggest battles Peter would have to fight would be about whether or not art was too girly for a 6'5 guy.

"I came here because I needed to learn control over my abilities. I still have much to learn. My father, Nikolai, he is a great man. He says that you must learn something new every day. I will never stop learning and in that sense, where better to stay than a school?"

"But you can't learn everything at school," Kitty said. "Life experience counts for something. I mean, I'd stay here forever if I could - well, if I could get home once in a while - but there are some things I think you have to learn just by living on your own."

Ew. Kitty would avoid that particular phase as long as possible. Maybe she'd just become a teacher here. That was sort of like living on her own. "That's what my dad says," Kitty added to make it a little more obvious that it it wasn't as if she wanted it to be true.

"He should be. I'd buy that if I had more than... twelve dollars, I think. And change. You're right about eBay. Or online commissions, you know?"

Kitty tried not to feel warm and fuzzy about being right. It did, after all, happen to a lot of people, herself included, a lot of the time. "I could chip in seventeen fifty if I had my wallet," Kitty said to Cal with a small chuckle. "I think you could be an artist if you wanted, Peter. It might take work, but I think you could do it."

She tucked one leg up under herself on the pot, slouched comfortably to one side, playing with the string on her hood. "Or you could teach it here. I think it'd be fun to teach."

[Animaux]

Cal nodded at Peter, not sure what to say. His goals were so much loftier than hers; she didn't usually care to seek out knowledge, and she certainly didn't have her father as a great role model to look up to. She felt, once again, very small.

She momentarily considered changing into a tiger to feel more powerful, but felt it might upset Kitty. Instead she licked at one hand in a nervous gesture.

"Do you want to be one?" Kitty asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice.

Cal glanced up at Peter with a tiny flash of eagerness. She liked the excitement of being one of the X-Men; she was already doing some rudimentary training herself. But she could tell Kitty was uncomfortable with it, so she kept silent.

"...there are some things I think you have to learn just by living on your own."

Cal did open her mouth this time. "You learn a lot by living on your own. More than at school... well, in my experience. Then, I haven't been here long, so..." she trailed off.

At Kitty's offer of her wallet, Cal smiled back, and turned to Peter. "She's right - I'd take a class if I could learn self-portraits like that -" and she pointed her nose at the giraffe drawing.

[tingrin]

The compliments from the two girls put a pleased flush on Peter's face. "Spasiba," he said. "You are very kind to say so. Perhaps I shall take a trip into the city one day and see whether I succeed. But you say, I need a black jumper and a scowl before I even attempt it." He smiled at them.

Kitty passed some comment about thinking it would be fun to teach and his brow furrowed in thought. "I like small children," he said. "For some reason, they appear to enjoy my company as well. They like me to tell them stories."

So much was true. Peter was a natural around the juniors and could often be found passing the time of day with them, discussing with a serious expression the importance of testing the alkali levels in your soil before sowing the potato seed.

[Animaux]

"I'll come with you," Cal smiled back. "You'd be surprised at how many tourists the Dancing Monkey trick can attract. Think of the business!"

"Small children are nice to you so you don't sit on them," Cal laughed a little. "Anyhow, everyo- they look up to mutants who might be X-Men."

[Shadowcat]

(just a for-the-record type thing: is it assumed that sometimes stuff said outside of quotation marks was actually said aloud? I don't usually italicize thoughts because I don't like doing them in first person, and I think I made it confusing, but I'm not sure what the format on this board is.)

Cal started licking her hand and Kitty glanced over at her, vaguely curious. It must be strange to be half an animal in your head, or at least to be Cal and however she worked, Kitty thought; though it might seem equally strange to Cal not to be that way. Huh.

"You learn a lot by living on your own. More than at school... well, in my experience. Then, I haven't been here long, so..."

"I think it's just that you learn different things," Kitty said, ever the mediator.

"She's right - I'd take a class if I could learn self-portraits like that -"

"Spasiba. You are very kind to say so. Perhaps I shall take a trip into the city one day and see whether I succeed. But you say, I need a black jumper and a scowl before I even attempt it."

Kitty flushed slightly. "I think you could do it without," Kitty said. "I mean, without a black turtleneck, not without a shirt, I think even artists need shirts. I was kidding."

See, this is why I don't talk, Kitty thought to herself. I'm bad at it.

"I like small children. For some reason, they appear to enjoy my company as well. They like me to tell them stories."

"Maybe it's because you treat them like grown-ups," Kitty said. She and most of the others in the mansion had seen Peter talking seriously to packs of the younger kids about farming techniques and stuff like that. "I think they like that - no one else really talks to them like they can think for themselves."

Kitty hadn't even been one of those kids, though. She was too old - almost Peter's age.

Well, maybe. He could only be, like... well, whatever he is, I'm still not THAT much younger.

[Animaux]

[OOC: Only stuff in quotation marks is said out loud, and thoughts are generally in italics. Does that help? : )]

"You do learn different things out in the world. More useful things." Cal quickly amended her statement because she didn't want to argue. "To me, at least. So far." She shrugged good-naturedly.

"...not without a shirt, I think even artists need shirts. I was kidding."

Cal wiggled her shoulders playfully. "Well, I've got one of his shirts, so either way we have a start." She tried to make that sound like she wasn't flirting, but a little twitch in her stomach told her... maybe she was. That made her distinctly uncomfortable and she tried to change the subject.

"That's true, there's no sense talking to kids as if they're - well, as if they're animals. Then again, I think there's no sense talking to animals that way either. Condescending - most people would be surprised what kids and animals can understand."

[Crypt]

Liam's sharp ears picked up the soft sounds of voices through the walls as he loped down the hallway, his long legs carrying him quickly. He wrapped one long hand around the doorway as he came to it, peeking around tenatively. He still felt wary around these new people; they were all so different, and they could do so many things.
Adjusting his shirt nervously, he stepped through the doorway, curling his wings in so he could fit through.

[Animaux]

"Oh gee -" Cal started as Liam came into the room, and the words escaped her mouth softly. She had seen him before, but rarely; he was quite new, and reclusive, and she had never actually spoken to him.

And even though she could change into so many animals herself, the human features mixed with animalistic ones... It gave her the willies a little bit. She was not entirely used to this 'mutant' idea yet.

But she recovered and smiled at him anyway. "Hi, is it - Liam? We're just talking about... things. Art. Look at this beautiful drawing Peter did -" and proudly, as if she felt her body was partly responsible for the drawing's beauty, she pointed at it again.

[tingrin]

His cheeks flushing bright pink yet again, Peter turned the pages of the sketchbook again. He'd also not had a lot to say to Liam since his arrival: but that was more due to circumstance than deliberation.

It occurred to him yet again that at some point, things would resume some air of normality in the mansion. And without the Professor, nobody really knew what form that normality would take. He smiled shyly at Liam.

"It is just a sketch," he said, his tone deeply apologetic.

[Shadowcat]

(okay, that's what I thought, but one never knows.)

"You do learn different things out in the world. More useful things."

Kitty decided to nod and smile.

"To me, at least. So far."

"Well, I've got one of his shirts, so either way we have a start."

Flirt! Kitty flushed just a tiny bit on Cal's behalf. She didn't think she could ever knowingly flirt with someone like that. It just wasn't in her.

Cal was still talking, but Kitty was no longer really paying attention; hearing footsteps outside, she looked up to see a boy entering the room, trying to fit his wings through the door. What was his name...? Kitty had called him Batboy in her head since he'd come to the Mansion and felt vaguely guilty about it the whole time but had never managed to catch his name, so she wasn't left with many options.

"Hi," she said, deciding to skip the name altogether, hoping either he'd reintroduce himself (unlikely) or that someone else would remember it and greet him with it.

God, Kitty was glad she at least looked normal. It was a horrible thing to think, but it made everything so much easier.

"Hi, is it - Liam? We're just talking about... things. Art. Look at this beautiful drawing Peter did -"

Liam. Well, that was a pretty name. Kitty couldn't remember where it came from, but it sounded vaguely... actually, she had no clue, but it was from somewhere specific, she knew that much.

"It is just a sketch."

"It's a very good sketch," Kitty said, voice firm, especially for her. "Here, Liam, come look." Liam Liam Liam. She tried to print the name firmly in her head so she wouldn't have one of those awkward moments where you become friends with someone and, three months in, have to guiltily ask them who they are again.

[Crypt]

Liam's eyes moved from figure to figure before he turned to Cal, his wings opening slightly as he relaxed slightly. "Aye, Liam." He recognized her momentary uncertainty, even though it didn't bother him. He'd been receiving reactions like that since he arrived. Unlike most mutants at the school, he didn't exactly look human.

Taking a slow step closer to Peter, still instinctively wary of anything that much larger than him, Liam glanced at the sketchbook, noting the subtlety of the lines and the graceful curves. "Peter... your drawing is wonderful. You have quite the gift there."

[Animaux]

Cal swallowed as the bat-man moved closer, feeling slightly ashamed of her nervousness. You've been a bat, stupid. You know how it feels. Hell, you could probably hang out with him - ha, ha - sometime. She looked up from her seat and smiled, checking the shirt for the umpteenth time to make sure it covered her.

"If you don't remember, or if you do - I'm Cal, this is Kitty and that's Peter." She gestured to her friends.

[Crypt]

Liam turned back to look at Cal, his goggles blocking the view of his eyes in the bright light. He could tell by the tone of her voice that she was still nervous; he gave his best close-lipped smile, not wanting to alarm her any more than his appearance already did. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

[tingrin]

"It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Peter inclined his head graciously. "Indeed. And it is a similar pleasure to properly meet you, Liam. Things have been somewhat ... uncertain around here for a while." He folded up his sketchpad again and turned to look out of the window. "Perhaps the time is coming soon when we may all begin to understand what our role will be."

The big Russian was eager to get on with his life, it seemed, in whichever way Fate saw fit to direct him. Big and easy going, Peter was never over-concerned about anything; he tended merely to go whichever way the wind blew him.

"I am going to return my sketching things to my bedroom," he said, after a brief pause. "If you ladies - and Liam - will excuse me?"

[Crypt]

Liam stood watching Peter as he responded, but flinched and tensed as the tall man shifted suddenly, his wings begin to flare instinctively. He growled inwardly as Peter simply turned to glance out the window.

You fool! These people are no' going to harm you! he thought angrily, only able to force his body to relax with extreme effort. His eyes darted around in embarrassment, searching for an open corner in which he could more easily relax, the walls offering the feeling of safety against his back.

Shifting away from Peter as he spoke, the winged youth nodded silently, giving the Russian plenty of passing room.