Aberrant: Mutant High - Homesick

[SalmonMax]

My name, she wrote in a thin lined, neat handwriting, is Hikialani Mizuki. The words were captured in the small leatherbound writing journal that her mother had given her for her thirteenth birthday. She'd seen it once at Barnes & Noble and thought it was adorable. Adorable things tended to wind up in her stockings on Christmas, so it wasn't really a surprise.

The light in the airplane cabin was dim, save for the little spot shining from her overhead lamp, and the noise of the engines was making it hard for Kia to think of what she wanted to write. It was weird...keeping a journal was easy when nothing of consequence was happening. It was only when things that really needed to be written down happened that her muse ran out of things to say.

I'm on a plane now to the school I'll be living at for the next few years. It's in New York, and the pictures in the brochure were really pretty. I'm excited about going...I think it'll be amazing to meet other kids like me and be in a place where I won't have to be so careful about what I do and who sees me. And they have a lake, and a swimming pool, so I'll still be able to do that. It won't be the same, but if everything stayed the same, then where would we be?

She paused and looked at the words she'd written. They felt hollow. No. Shallow. They were true as far as they went, but they covered up a deeper truth; an ache of loss. Kia missed her home. She missed her family.

After a second Kia folded her journal and tucked it away in her carryon bag. She opened, for the umpteenth time, her brochure for the school, and dug out her iPhone to look up interesting facts about New York online.

It was a few hours later when the pilot's voice informed everyone that they were beginning their final descent. Did that sound a bit morbid? Final descent? Like a Greek hero leaping into Tartarus on his last adventure, never to return? She chuckled at that and fastened her seat belt, then looked eagerly out the window. The lights of New York were rising up into the night air...an insane forest of them reaching impossibly high. Despite everything, Kia held her breath in awe at the sight of those silhouetted skyscrapers. She imagined all the pieces; all the steel beams and concrete pouring...all the workers who toiled day after day, suspended precariously hundreds of feet up. It was nothing short of miraculous. What she could do seemed positively trivial compared to these things.

The airport gave way to a taxi and street-level New York, which was only amazing if you looked up...or if you paused to think about the sheer NUMBER of people that crowded one's field of vision at any given moment. Having grown up in non-urban Hawaii, this was the first city of consequence Kia had ever seen much of. It was captivating.

The city melted away, the buildings getting smaller and smaller until they were mostly one and two story commercial and residential. Then there was some countryside, mostly dark. She spied the lights of a small town, off through the trees, but the cab didn't go that way.

And then they were there. Kia stared out the window at the campus...the main building of which they were pulling up in front of. At first it seemed smaller than she was expecting, but then she realized the building was much deeper than was immediately apparent; it just wasn't a big vertical tower. Furthermore, there were buildings littered -all over-. All parts of the school. She wondered which ones her classes would be. Where would she live? Where would they eat? The questions didn't fill her with worry, but with growing anticipation. This was an adventure! The rush was a little like the first time she'd gone glide-diving off a volcano, or had seen how deep underwater she could go.

She paid the cab and grabbed her baggage out, awkwardly carrying both large suitcases in one hand and her carry-on in the other, to leave it free enough to open doors and so on. The first thing Kia noticed was that she was far from alone. The looping mansion driveway was crowded with cars coming and going, and she was not the only person lugging suitcases, though she was having an easier time of it than some.

Inside the mansion's foyer was an organized chaos, as what she assumed were upperclassmen guides were sorting the incoming into lines by their name, and checking lists to make sure everyone was accounted for. Kia obediently joined the 'M' line and gave her name when asked. Moments later she was armed with a little steel ring with a fob and a card on it, and an extra armload of pamphlets and folders of information and rules that she added into her carry-on bag.

By the time Kia got to the room marked on the cardboard strip around her access card she was even feeling a little tired. Carrying those suitcases up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator had that effect. With a swipe of the card she entered the room that she'd be calling 'home.'

Evidently her roommate, a girl listed as 'Oneca' on her little form, had gotten here first. And had very specific notions of aesthetics. Black candles huddled in ominous little cliques along the headboard under the long window that overlooked both beds. The bed on Kia's right was ordained in ministerial black, with a white lacy pillow. The bedsheets fell in layered onyx ruffles to the floor. On the bookshelf in the wall adjacent were a number of books that could only be correctly referred to as 'tomes,' and most of them sported occult symbols down the spines. A black hankie was draped over the lamp on the end table between the beds to mute its light.

It looked a little like the backdrop from an Evanescence video.

Kia quietly shuffled in and laid her suitcases on the bed that was still made up in generic grey and white sheets. She felt like an intruder in this room that was so obviously not her own. What kind of girl was Oneca? Would they get along? What if they didn't?

No, she decided. They absolutely would. She would make sure of it!

With that Kia stripped out of her fluffy white gore-tex parka, revealing a tight t-shirt underneath which in turn revealed a slim, girlish body colored a deep, natural tan. Her love of activity and athletics had given her excellent muscle tone and shaped her into smooth curves that would not be out of place on a competing gymnast or dancer. If Kia's body had a flaw it was that she was still very young looking...a little late to flower into full maturity. At fifteen years, she could be mistaken for thirteen, partly due to her natural smallness (which her mother teased came from her Japanese father's side). Of course, any of that could be changed for Kia...but it took effort, and besides, she was comfortable with herself as she was. Both her mother and father had assured her that taking a little extra time to grow up just meant that she'd be even prettier when she was done than if she'd done it quickly. Kia wasn't quite sure how that worked, but her parents were both very smart people and she trusted them.

She changed into a nice thin sweater in red and yellow and green stripes, and into a pair of jeans, then pulled on her blue windbreaker. Dressing felt weird in that room...like someone was about to burst in any second and demand to know who she was. Once she was finished, Kia decided to head back downstairs and look for someplace to eat. She still felt that hollow ache...and if it wasn't hunger, then she still hoped putting some food on top of it would clear it away, at least for a little bit.

(Moar to come)

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja still couldn't get a hold of Morri - she thought she was avoiding her - and now she couldn't wait any longer. She was a big girl, and growing, and she found herself eating like a horse some days - like today. Besides, she still intended on tracking Morri down at some point.

Her long silver-blond hair was tied back in a solid braid, save for a few tresses framing her face, and she was dressed simply in a pair of tight black jeans and a fuzzy pink sweater that showed off a hint of firm midriff. Ratty running shoes and a well worn - though still expensive looking - short leather jacket completed the amazon's outfit. God! I hope I don't need to change three times again, today. Maybe I should have brought an umbrella...

Reaching the bottom of the stair, Sonja turned the corner a little too quickly and nearly stumbled over a small girl trying to decipher a map of the LHA campus. She bumped her, but quick hands steadied her before she fell.

"Sorry 'bout that, didn't see ya there," Sonja apologized. Looking down, Sonja saw where the girl's finger was pointing, and smiled. "New here, hmm? Freshman?" she asked, a trifle uncertain - the girl was small. "Don't bother with the map, I'm heading to the Cafeteria right now anyway, I'll show you the way." Her grin grew a little wider as she added, "Just promise not to start any fights, 'kay? I don't want to have to change a bunch of times again today. I'm Sonja, pleased to meet'cha."

[SalmonMax]

Kia stands still at the torrent of words tumbling from Sonja's mouth, focusing more on the woman...the girl?...at first than on what she's saying. Sonja looked like she just tumbled out of the pages of some movie, or fashion magazine. Possibly for the first time in her life, Kia found herself feeling a bit self-conscious...had she ever thought she was pretty?

Then the meaning of the words came home and she blinked, and smiled a pixieish smile that somehow transformed her from 'really cute' to 'cuter than a kitten falling asleep.' She grabbed Sonja's hand and shook it.

"I'm Kia, and you got me, I'm a poor lost freshman. Thanks a lot for helping me out this way. I was on an airplane forever coming up here and I'm really hungry."

She fell in to the right and just slightly behind Sonja, cheerfully ceding the dominant position. "So...are there a lot of fights here? It looks kind of like a prep school. What year are you?"

[Sonja Bahaar]

The freshman - really? I can't remember when I was that small - smiled and Sonja had to restrain herself from ruffling Kia's hair. My God! She's just adorable. Sonja returned the handshake and settled for returning the grin.

"Kia, that's pretty," Sonja slowed down so Kia was walking beside her instead of behind, though she had to shorten the length of her strides, then pointed out the next turn. "This way, ignore the map. Anyway, no, there's not usually this many fights. Just got a lot of new faces this semester."

They made it to the cafeteria, and Sonja slipped into line. "I'm a Sophomore, just turned sixteen at the end of October." Sonja started loaded up a tray, surprisingly high for someone with her figure, offering a few suggestions and warnings. "You said you had a long flight, from where, if I may ask? I'm from LA myself."

[SalmonMax]

"You're sixteen?" Kia asked, startled. She laughed. "You're only a year older than me!"

She gratefully took a plate and started loading it. Unlike Sonja, she took just a little food...but took some of everything, passing nothing up.

"I'm from Hawai'i," she answered, pronouncing the word with just a little stop at the end. Hah-why, ee. "My name's actually Hikialani, but I always go by Kia."

It was easy to see the islander features on Kia now that she mentioned it, though her eyes had a definite Asian cast to the, the rest of her face, especially her dimpled, round-cheeked smile, definitely had a polynesian look to it.

"So are you used to the winters here yet?" she ventured. "I figure in LA it wasn't anything like this, right?"

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Yeah, sixteen," Sonja assured with a grin and a slightly self-conscious shrug. "I get that a lot. Puberty was kind, maybe too kind, hmm?"

They collected their respective meals, then headed to a corner table that was conspicuously empty. Sonja had a nod or a greeting for a number of the people they passed along, seems like the tall sophomore was pretty well known. She did roll her eyes and gave a sniff when one boy asked her what colour her bra was today.

"Boys!" Sonja grunted, sitting down with her back to the corner. "Hawaii, I've been there a few times. Great waves and hiking there. Must've been awesome living there." Sonja giggled when she was asked about the winters. "Well, true, winter in LA wasn't like this, but we also have a home in Iceland as well as... Anyway, it's nothing I can't handle - I love skating and skiing."

Sonja began eating, rather quickly but still neatly, then asked Kia a question with a pair of raised eyebrows. "Any hobbies or clubs you're looking to join? By the way, you don't mind if someone else joins us, do ya? There's another new girl was I hoping to see here."

[SalmonMax]

Wow, she's rich too!

"No, not at all!" Kia gushed. "The more the better. Invite everyone over." She grinned and shook her head to indicate that was a little joke, then went on. "As for clubs, I really like swimming, so I thought I'd see if there was a swim team or anything like that. Maybe track or a sports team too while I'm at it."

Something occurred to her as she looked around the cafeteria. Most of the students looked pretty normal...but there were just as many oddities for the sharp-eyed to notice. One kid's hair actually seemed to be made up of writhing feelers. Another had weirdly oversized hands and arms.

She looked at Sonja and asked, "How do sports...work here, anyway? Are we allowed to use powers?"

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Technically... no, we're not allowed to use powers during official competition. Sure, some kids can still get away with being a little more agile or having higher endurance than normal, but if the coach or majority of the other kids think your are cheating, they're gonna insist you get 'tethered'." There was a slight slump to the Barbie-like blond's shoulders and she sighed.

"I pretty much always have to wear the damn thing if I want to play any team sports, so I've been starting to lean more towards Track and swimming, myself. They aren't as fussy when you're competing only against yourself." She gave a shrug. "They usually let me play basketball without any problems, as long as I don't pour on the speed."

"We have a great pool," Sonja continued after a bite of ham, "so we always have a swim team - I can show you were it is after lunch, if you want. Along with Track, there's also a gymnastics club - my room-mate coaches the little kids - martial arts club, and fencing team. Sport teams change a little more, depending on interest and the number of students available. Right now, we basketball, baseball, and soccer. We ended up being short for official teams in football and hockey."

She took a long contemplative sip of her diet coke than added a nit more to her dissertation on the sporting dynamics of the Lawrence Hunt Academy. "There's also a whole bunch of unofficial clubs and pick-up games. There, the rules are whatever the students can agree on for powers - makes for some very strange and occasionally awesome games." Sonja laughed as she remembered something else. "There's even a group of flight-jockeys wanting to start a Quidditch team."

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri entered the cafeteria and paused, looking around. Curtis wasn't there, and she relaxed. Seeing Sonja made her tense up again. Without acknowledging her, Morri got in line and got the food she wanted. Without looking at her, she angled toward Sonja's table, stopping about ten feet away. She turned her head and stared at the far wall, making sure to not look at her or the other mutant. Without saying anything, she waited for them to acknowledge her.

[Sonja Bahaar]

As Sonja gave Kia her spiel on the athletic endeavors of LHA, she noticed Morri entering the cafeteria. She cocked her head, a little surprised that Morri didn't seem to acknowledge her - she couldn't have failed to have noticed her in the corner. A crinkle formed between her pale brows when she watched Morri stop just ten feet away, apparently watching the wall in great interest. Huh? Why isn't she coming over? I got a seat for her and it's just me and Kia. Maybe the new girl is giving her pause.

"Morri, come join us," Sonja called out invitingly, waving the red-eyed girl over. "It's just me and Kia. It's alright, she's new too and she said she doesn't mind."

Sonja nodded at Kia, silently asking her to slide over. That would put Sonja between the two new girls, and give Morri the seat with the clearest view of the rest of cafeteria - she would see anyone else approaching.

Just in case, of course.

[SalmonMax]

Kia laughed at the Quidditch comment, then followed Sonja's eyes over to Morri. Her eyes widened almost comically at the sight of Morri's own glowing peepers.

"Oh, yeah!" she called, scooting over happily and waving her over. "Come over and sit down with us! I don't mind at all!"

[z-The Morrigan]

The moment Sonja and Kia invited her, Morri turned to face them. She took the spare seat quietly and without a sign of awkwardness. She looked from one girl to the other, then grabbed a handful of green beans and began to eat. The heat of the food didn't seem to bother her.

She remained silent, her glowing eyes watching the rest of the room.

[SalmonMax]

Kia's brow furrowed in confusion as Morri started shoveling food into her mouth...by hand no less!...as if it was about to run away. She turned the full force of that confused expression on Sonja as she fingered her silverware.

Clearly, she thought, if silverware was given, it was normal to use. But maybe they made accommodations for mutants who couldn't use it? But this girl's hands seemed perfectly normal! Why wouldn't she be able to use it?

"Um...so...are you new here too?" Kia asked Morri. "I just got here a little while ago."

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Come on, Morri, just try using the fork! The food isn't going anywhere, no one's gonna take it, and you'll get less gunk on your hands, so less on everything else." Sonja tried to convince Morri on the usefulness of silverware, but Morri was having none of it. With a sigh, Sonja let go - for now - and set a large stack of napkins next to the feral freshman. ... Actually, I don't even know what grade she's in.

'Really new. New new,' Sonja mouthed in reply to Kia's question before turning her smile back on Morri. "So, Morri, after you left yesterday, everything turned out okay? I saw you on the computer - you're learning really fast," Sonja said encouragingly.

[z-The Morrigan]

She eyed the fork, but Morri knew that she had a better weapon in her hands than those things. She wasn't sure why Sonja kept trying to arm her when what she had was more than adequate.

"Fought liar with no sword," Morri grumped, pausing long enough to get those words out of her mouth before returning to eating.

She paused, looking at Sonja. Comprehension dawned on her features. Her friend wanted her to eat with weapons! Morri grinned at Sonja, though really more like she bared her teeth. Blood ran from the pores of her skin, and Morri formed a knife from them. Nodding at Sonja, she stabbed her meat (and the plate and a little into the table) and lifted it from the plate (after shaking the plate off). "Fork," she agreed and started to rip the slab of meat apart with her teeth.

[SalmonMax]

"That's...progress, I guess?" Kia offered timidly. Then she squinted at the 'knives' in Morri's hands.

"It almost looks like those are made of blood or something." She chuckled to show that she knew how silly that idea was.

[z-The Morrigan]

"Is," Morri said, holding her left hand over the table. She released the knife in it, which collapsed into a splash of blood. As the other girls jumped back to avoid the small wave, Morri summoned another knife. She stabbed a green bean, frowning at how slowly it would be to eat like that. Unaware of the aghast looks on the other girls' faces, Morri pondered how to eat small items rapidly.

[SalmonMax]

Kia stared at the display, her mind awhirl.

that's the grossest power ever! i wonder if she can make -anything- out of it though? does it HURT? she doesn't look like it hurts.

"I...uh...oh!" she manages to chirp, looking a little queasy when she sees the splatter on the table, and quickly turning her attention back to Morri.

"Can you make other...shapes out of it?" she asks. "Like...look."

She picks up her spoon and demonstrates scooping up some beans with it, then points at Morri's new knife. "Can you make a spoon? They're a lot better for eating than knives."

[GDP_ST]

The change in the quality of ambient light was the first clue to todays happy diners as Alex wandered in through the newly-repaired outer doors, noting that it was hard to believe that the place had been trashed yesterday. A small gaggle of female freshmen in the food line looked over their shoulders as the young Mithras picked up a tray and fell into line behind them, then caught an acute attack of the shy giggles as he gave them a polite, friendly smile. His blond hair fell in pristine waves to below his shoulders, and he was wearing a sky-blue t-shirt that matched his eyes perfectly, along with a set of pale, faded jeans.

Alex didn't really notice the near-squeaky whispers from the four girls in front of him, looking around as he was for a certain purple-hued young lady who'd been on his mind all morning, even the parts he'd been asleep for. Especially those parts. Not seeing Violet anywhere, he sighed and turned to fill his tray from todays selection of food before moving out into the cafeteria proper to find a seat. He paused there, looking around for a friendly face and not seeing anyone he knew, indecision clearly writ all over his glowing features.

[Sonja Bahaar]

"Damn! That's gross! I thought they... glooped back in or something." Sonja eyed the mess, then carefully picked her tray and moved to the other side of the table, now facing Morri. While Kia demonstrated the usefulness of a spoon, Sonja queasily eyed the blood seeping to the other side of the table. That will take more than napkins.

Sonja got up and headed to the service counter, intent on getting a wet towel or something, looking back, calling over her shoulder, "Kia, show her the fork again, it's pointy-stabby, she might like it better."

Sonja turned back about to ask for a wet towel, and squinted at the unexpected light as she found herself eye to eye with the glowing boy V had been drooling over. Hugnh! He's... Whoa!

"Whoa! Um, hi, sorry, friend just had an accident and I was - Hey, can I get a wet washcloth or something? Unless you guys want to scrub blood off the table," Sonja called over Alex's shoulder. What was asked for was quickly provided, and she deftly caught it out of the air. She looked back at the gorgeous blond, her smile a little wider than she had intended, her eyes a little wider. She wasn't aware of what her suddenly rapid breathing was doing to her tight, pink sweater.V saw him first, V saw him first, you'll never hear the end of Barbie and...

"So, um, V isn't here right now, but if you want, you can join me at my table, I already got two other new girls there, another new face is welcome. You're... Alex, right? I'm B - Sonja!" Sonja turned away, mortified, her cheeks faintly rose as walked quickly back to her table.

[GDP_ST]

Hel-LO! The sudden eye contact had been quite a zing, but as Alex quickly ran his eyes down then up the amazon's body while she spoke to the cafeteria staff over his shoulder, he couldn't help but linger just a moment on the contents of the pink sweater the girl was wearing, which shifted appealingly only a few inches from his chest. Bad! Do NOT stare at a woman's boobs on the first meeting... He snapped his eyes up again before she looked back at him. That wasn't much better from the point of view of avoiding the urge to stare, but at least girls didn't mind so much if you thought their faces were worth staring at, right?

Okay, thats two times in two days that I've been rendered speechless by girls on the first meeting. I've really got to get a grip here. He mused as Sonja bashfully and a little breathlessly invited him over to her table, then blushed and turned to walk away, presenting him with another eye-catching view. Get a grip... Heh. Oh, hell! This place is turning me into a drooling pervert!

Brutally suppressing the effects of the swirl of solar-fuelled hormones that were coursing through his body, Alex followed Sonja back over to her table. As the blonde amazon sashayed back into her seat between the cute younger girl and the strange one with the red eyes, Alex set his tray down across from the three ladies, smiling and nodding a greeting to the other two as he sat.

"Hey there. I'm Alex."

[z-The Morrigan]

Kia's instruction regarding reshaping her knives earned her a blank stare. Morri could tell that her knives were better weapons; why would she purposefully make such an ineffective weapon? With a snort, she set her knife down on the table, letting it splash into liquid. As such, the fact that the blood from the previous knife had already disappeared was easily missed.

Morri stared at Sonja as she talked to a male, then brought him over to the table. Morri stared at him with unblinking eyes and no smile. To the casual observer, it could be assumed that she'd taken an instant and hot disliking to him.

In truth, that wasn't the case, at all. Morri was wired very simply at the moment; there were instinctive responses to many things. However, without the subtext of civilization, some of those responses could get a bit lop-sided. Take the example of Curtis; he startled her, and she tried to knife him over it. With Kazuo, it became a dominance issue, and she tried to knife him over it.

Being faced with Alex's beauty didn't allow for "she tried to knife him over it." She didn't have a context for the sensations she was feeling, so she was left feeling unsettled and nervous. Normally, she'd run away from someone making her feel like that, but she didn't want to run from him. Conflicted and growing more and more anxious, Morri tried to convince her body to flee. Instead, she stuffed more green beans into her face and glared at Alex.

[GDP_ST]

Oh shit. What'd I do?

Alex blinked in confusion as those glowing red eyes fixed on him, the girl's face unexpressively hostile as she picked up a handful of beans and shoved them into her mouth without so much as blinking or looking away for a moment. Each chew seemed to be a personal thing, between Red-Eye and those beans like they were worry balls and he was the cause of her worry. He looked at Sonja and the slighter-built girl beside her for help before his cerulean gaze returned to the crimson glower across from him.

"Umm... I'm guessing that I'm sitting in a friend's place?" he ventured at Morri with a smile. "I can move, if you want?"

[SalmonMax]

Kia shook her head, beaming a little bashfully at the glowy mutant. "No, you're fine," she assured him. Then, realizing that could be taken two ways she quickly added, "I mean, there's no one else sitting there."

She offered a dainty, brown little hand.

"Hi. I'm Kia. I'm just starting here this term."

[GDP_ST]

He took her hand in gentle golden fingers, the shifting swirl of his aura as it played over her hand as warm as it looked. Alex smiled, though his blue eyes darted sideways to the glaring Morri before returning to Kia's.

"Alex, and snap. Just got here yesterday. Hopefully we'll be able to have lunch today without a battle royale breaking out." He grinned mischievously at Sonja before nodding to Kia once more and letting her hand slide out of his.

"How're you finding the school so far?" he asked Kia, starting to cut up his ham as he tried to ignore Morri's glaring without actually ignoring her. Not that either were easy tasks.

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri fidgeted a little in the chair as she finished off her green beans. Her red eyes still on Alex, she licked her hand clean. Without missing a beat, she then dug into the rice pilaf with the same lack of delicacy she'd shown for the beans.

But his question gave her a chance to talk to him. Maybe if she talked to him, he'd be a jerk or liar and she'd know what to do with him. "Curtis jerk and stupid boy liar." She waited to see what her gems of input would bring to the conversation.

[GDP_ST]

Alex blinked at Morri. "Curtis? He's a little..." Arrogant? High-handed? A wanker? He noted the staring red eyes and opted to give an honest if diplomatic opinion. "He certainly seems a bit lacking in people-skills, yes. He rubbed me a little the wrong way when we met." He smiled wryly, remembering the encounter. "I don't know who the stupid boy is, though. I'm sorry."

[z-The Morrigan]

Morri's eyes widened dramatically at his statement about his first meeting with Curtis. Just as it was occurring to Alex that something might have gotten lost in the translation from English to Morrish, she snapped, "Rub you? Bad! Curtis bad! I-" She stabbed the air, an action that might have been less ridiculous had she removed the ham skewed on it first and finished, "for you!"

He was nice. He was pretty, like the sunlight through the trees. How Curtis could have abused him, she didn't know. But she'd seen Vyse's men torture men and women alike through touch, and she was sure that Alex had been similarly abused. Now that she saw him as someone to be defended, Morri finally had a way of dealing with Alex.

"Stupid boy cross," she added quickly as she drew lines on her face with her finger and started to stand. "Find bad Curtis. What piece you want?" She looked deadly serious as she scanned the cafeteria.

[GDP_ST]

What the hell?! Did she mean...? Does she think I mean..? Oh, shit!

"Wait!" Alex said with some urgency, half-rising and making a 'calm down' gesture with his hands. "Not like you think. Curtis didn't 'rub me' like that. He didn't touch me." He caught the enraged young woman's gaze with his own and spoke more gently. "It's a way of speaking. 'Rub the wrong way' means 'be a jerk'. I think he doesn't know how to socialise very well, but he didn't hurt me." He gave Morri a good-humoured smile. "I'm sorry for not being more clear to you."

[SalmonMax]

"Uh..." Kia's eyes flicked between Alex and Morri uncertainly. Hearing Morri speak was both a bit unsettling, but instructive. And if she talked like that, odds were strong she sort of -understood- like that too. Which was to say, poorly.

"Morri? I don't think he meant...what you think he meant."

She eyed Morri's ham-defiled knife worriedly.

"It definitely didn't mean anything that would need you to use that."

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja sat down opposite Alex, scrubbing at the blood, while, out of the corner of her eye, watching the solar-powered boy interact with the two other girls. Morri glared, not entirely sure what to make of him, but didn't seem inclined to stab anything other than her ham. Yet. Kia had a dreamy little smile on her face that Sonja was afraid matched the one on her own lips. She seemed entirely unaware of the slight arch to her back that caused her chest to jut just that much more prominently.

Things were going as well as could be expected, until Morri mentioned Curtis. Sonja jerk her head up, eyes wary, failing to notice the blood fade away into nothingness. Then Alex said the name again, and Sonja winced, followed by a facepalm as Morri remarked on Curtis' impending vivisection.

"Ixnay on the Urtiscay, Alex," Sonja hissed at the surprised Brit, before turning a gentle smile and gentle words towards Morri. She reached out a calming hand, but carefully did not touch her feral companion, only a tightening around her eyes betraying her worry.

"Relax, Morri, Cur - um, the Jerk just thinks too fast, his mouth can't keep up. He didn't do anything to Alex, no worries, 'kay? Just sit back down, and we'll learn more about Alex, right? He's much nicer." Sonja pulled her hand back, straightening her shoulders and crossing her legs, feigning unconcern with the 'Jerk'. She raised a surprised brow at finding the blood gone, then shrugged and took a bite of roast beef, hoping to infect Morri with the idea that Curtis just wasn't worth the bother.

"So, Alex, where are you from?"

[GDP_ST]

He forced himself to relax and sat down, hoping the strangely feral girl took her cue from the others. He smiled up at Morri as Sonja urged her to sit, then opened up his Dr Pepper and took a sip.

"England." he said deadpan, as thought that would be the sum total of his answer, then he grinned at the girls. "Actually Sussex, though I went to the private school at Winchester since I was 8. Dad's job took him all over the place." He took a forkful of beans, chewing and swallowing before continuing.

"How about you ladies?" he asked with a warm smile. "Where do you come from?"

[Jor]

Jor still hadn't quite gotten used to being given free food yet, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth and was taking advantage of the cafeteria as he caught up on all the missed food he hadn't eaten in the last month while living on the streets. As he carried his tray of food into the he only saw a couple people he'd met so he headed to their table.

He was careful not to do more than look at Morri briefly and then look away casually. Looking to Sonja and the others, "Hey, you guys mind if I join you?"

[SalmonMax]

Kia abruptly jerked herself out of the little daze she'd fallen into staring at Alex's face. He's talking to me! Or...us!

"Hawai'i," she blurted quickly. "Waimea on Kaua'i. It's a little town on the south side..." Her cheeks colored a little and she looked away, at Morri's knife. "It's pretty small. Most people haven't heard of it."

[GDP_ST]

"I stayed on Maui once a few years back." Alex said with a smile, deep blue eyes observing Kia with warm interest as he spoke. "Visited Kaua'i, but not your town. Lovely island though. It must have been awesome growing up there. Lucky." He finished with a mock-reproachful smile.

"How did you end up here, other than the obvious?"

[SalmonMax]

"I..." Kia's reply was interrupted by her sudden realization someone else had spoken. She looked up and spied Jor standing there, and her face lit up again with her thousand-watt smile. "Of course! Have a seat. We were just getting introduced. I'm Kia. This is Sonja and Morri and Alex."

She looked back at Alex and said, "Well, you know, once my parents found out about my abilities they weren't sure what to do, but mom's an old friend of the doctor on campus here, and she told mom about the school..."

Kia takes a deep breath to refill her lungs after all that talking.

"And...here I am."

[Jor]

Jor took a seat next and smiled understanding. He didn't blame Kia for not noticing him at first. At his old school he had been considered very good looking but he didn't hold a candle next to someone like Alex. Besides if he the shoe were on the other foot he was sure he would have done the same. He'd done his own share of drooling when he'd met Sonja the day before.

As he sat he made a point of not going near Morri or making any unexpected moves. It looked like she was using those blood blades to eat and he didn't want to be too close to that, the looked wickedly sharp.

"So anything interesting to do around here?"

[z-The Morrigan]

Somewhat at a loss, Morri sank into her chair again. She'd seen victims retract their statements before, so she resolved to wait and watch Curtis. If she was him rubbing someone, she'd deal with it.

Morri looked closely at Jor, but she'd seen him coming; plus Sonja had spotted him and pointed him out to Morri. If Sonja was alright with it, then she would tolerate him. Red eyes in a beautiful face flicked over him, then away, falling on Alex again. "From Africa," she told him, which was as close to the truth as she could manage. Eileen had done tests which indicated that she probably wasn't a native of Africa, but there was no way of telling where she was really from, not until she started to remember. If she started to remember.

[Sonja Bahaar]

Sonja watched Morri, glad that she seemed to be calming down, even opening up a little. She waited for her to expand on 'Africa', but when the silence began to stretch, Sonja stepped to fill the breach.

"I'm from LA, Holmby Hills, actually, but we spend a fair bit of our time at our home in Reykjavík, too." Sonja took a sip of her drink, then added in afterthought, with a smile, "That's the capital of Iceland, by the way, just in case you didn't know."

Sonja nodded in greeting to Jor, then smiled at Alex - Damn it's easy to smile at him - flashing perfect teeth, agreeing with him about Hawaii. "Hawaii is great to visit, been there a few times, myself. My family travels all over for vacations, though I usually end up arguing with my sister to go someplace actually fun."

[GDP_ST]

Alex nodded to Jor companionably as the other guy sat, offering him a glowing hand. "Hey there. Alex Andrews." He listened as Sonja as she explained where she was from, then gave her a teasing, charming smile.

"So is L.A. as mad a place as I've heard. Never been there myself, you see."