"Whatever … I don’t mind." Good, if someone didn’t care what happened, it made arranging things so much easier because they usually had little desire to complain about what did or didn’t happen. "There’s like a horde of things between us and them anyway, so no biggie." Frost gave an expressionless shrug of her shoulders, for all she cared in turn Catherine could ask to go to the exact opposite side of the zoo, in the end it didn’t matter, Frost could always come back if she cared enough to bother, otherwise she just ends up forgetting about the whole thing, it’s not like her life will be terribly affected by the fact she can’t see balls of fur and feathers waddling around. "All I’m into really is the free food.. it’s probably going to be crap anyway, but who cares? It’s free," Actually, in truth, the zoo canteen wasn’t really all that bad, at worse you just had to wait in a que, but Frost hadn’t been in a zoo in years, her parents took her at one point, before their precious daughter was suddenly a mutant freak.
"Besides, it’s not only the animal’s in the cages I’m interested in, we might manage to see something worthwhile outside of the cages too." Frost looked towards some of the nearby guys, though by her expression she didn’t find any too thrilling just yet, she really hated boring typical guys… they’re were so boring and common. "And if you lure a horde of those girlie cheerleader types Dawn, I’m going to freeze-dry them," Frost added with a slight curve to the side of her lip as she turned about, the blond haired girl only managing the slightest flick of her hair due to it’s short length. Being friendly with Riley for the last few years meant that Frost was aware of Catherine, she’d heard a few things from Riley himself, but they weren’t the most chummiest of friends, so there was only a certain amount of info he’d share on their random encounters. Frost’s curiosity got the best of her though and she wondered if she could learn what was causing the strange attitude that seemed to possess Riley as of late.
"Have you noticed Riley’s been acting rather weird lately," Dawn scrunched her nose at Frost’s comment, "Weird? He just had surgery," She replied in Riley’s defence, though her tone was still level and friendly enough, Frost gave a light hearted scoff, "He played ping pong… with Garnet of all people, and you said he was laughing, if we leave out the friendliness with the hot headed Barbie doll he’s been complaining chuckled at his pain for the last year, the laughter is weird considering things… as long as he’s not cracking under the pressure." Dawn gave a slight shrug at Frost’s explanation, but then replied with assurance regarding Riley’s behaviour. "Riley said he was just going to make more effort to be involved, I figured that was him just trying to be involved, besides, it was good to play with him, he needs to lighten up," Frost folded her arms across her chest, looking off to where Garnet and Madison had previously vanished off towards, "I’d prefer he didn’t buddy up with Lava Queen, she’s so annoying… she dated Max, that's how screwed up she is."
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"Yes may be best to do so" The other agreed, and so Angie smiled contently, one obstacle down, now the great unknown of learning about each other loomed before them… another challenge to be taken one slow step at a time. "I guess this place did not have the same appeal that I imagined" That was sad, she looked torn between being content and distraught earlier, so Angie assumed Jinlo was attempting to hide from her pain by smothering it with something beautiful… as Jinlo has discovered, that doesn’t always work. "They don’t seem as captivating as they once did" A sympathetic smile adorned Angie’s lips, as years progressed, sometimes innocent wonders faded, the mind becomes more and more contaminated and the life we all lead becomes harder and harder. What was once sweet and alluring becomes polluted and neglected, what made one smile easily no longer holds the same magic, the wonders of the world always begin to fade, for some it happens sooner, for others it might not happen so quickly, or fade so severely.
For now the solid illusion that sprang from the depths of Angie’s mind kept quietly curled within the bag hanging from the empath’s shoulder, motionless and secure in an attempt not to draw attention to himself. The door from the enclosure was opened by Jinlo, which usually seemed Angie’s chore, the amount of times she’s opened the door for people was countless, it felt strange having it done in tern, and not by some random guy attempting to flash his hollow charms.
"What are you at the institute for" Angie hadn’t been there for too long, but she was there long enough that she knew there was only one real reason students went there…because they were somehow different, "I mean what if your ability" Now that narrowed down the list of answers, and simplified the real reason she was there, it was so much more easier to say her powers, then what lead her originally to the doors of the institute. "If you don’t mind me asking" A slight shake of Angie’s head followed Jinlo’s question, a light smile forming as Angela formulated the sentence in her head…I never had to really explain my abilities to anyone before… here goes. The empath thought, pushing herself onwards despite also keeping some caution about the discussion, checking that no one was close enough to over hear as she discussed her mutancy with Jinlo.
"I can…"feel things from people? Gah, that didn’t go well when Connor read that in my file, I don’t think people like the idea of their privacy being stepped over like that…should I mention it?"…create illusions, based on peoples emotions. I also seem to be making friends, I have a small dragon friend I call Fear, we’ve been friends for years, but at first I thought he was a ghost, he used to be more like a ball of gas with red eyes," Angie gave a light chuckle, "I didn’t realize Fear was just stemming from some sort of mutant powers, coming to the school made me realize what I could do, one boy, Connor, he can mimic people’s powers, and he made all sorts of creatures come to life using my power. I’m still practicing… he says my abilities are based on emotions, mine and whoever I’m focusing on." She nodded slightly, still thrilled by the knowledge of her unique gifts, and yet intimidated by them all the same. "Here, look, he’s always with me," Whispered the empath, lifting the flap of her bag enough for the fledgling dragon inside to be seen, the eyes were closed, but opened somewhat sleepily, the nostrils sniffing slightly towards the other girl before once again returning to resting quietly, "He’s really sweet, he’s like my guardian, he won’t let anyone hurt me again." The again slipped out, but Angie didn’t look too phased, more focused on wanting to see Jinlo’s reaction and hoping she’d not be as frightened as Taylor had been… Fear didn’t mean to scare people, but some just didn’t connect with him, at least Dan had been really accepting of her little friend!
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Curiously listening to the explanation that Angie offered about her abilities, she could not help but realise that from what she had described about her abilities they were pretty close to what the blue furred doctor had used to describe the empaths powers when he was trying console her into finding more about the strange lethal hidden powers that lay within her conscious mind. Her curiosity peaked as she watched Angie slip her rucksack off from over her shoulder after speaking of a small dragon friend, this to her sounded somewhat weird, she was half expecting to see a stuffed toy residing within the rucksack. To her surprise and astonishment this was not the case within the bag was what looked like a very real and very alive dragon, her eyes widening somewhat in a mix of shock and wonder as her mind tried to accept what she was seeing.
A light smile touched upon her features as the creature moved it’s snout up towards her hand, and sniffed her finger tips. Her gaze lifted away from the creature contained within the bag, only to fall onto Angie herself shortly after she had made mention that the creature, Fear was her guardian whom would prevent her from harm once again. Feeling her eyebrows lift in concern was she conversing with someone who had faced hurt within their recent life. Even though she would like to know more to perhaps draw up a possible relationship between her experiences and Angie’s, Jinlo knew that she would not press the matter, out of her own experience, having to mentally live through her ordeal within Hell’s kitchen was often too much for her to bare at such an early stage in her recovery.
“You are an empath?” Jinlo queried just to clarify her understanding on what had been divulged to her by Angie.
Pausing for a few moments as she gathered her thoughts on how she would divulge her abilities, so to not scare Angie off too swiftly by announcing that her abilities have the power to kill, yet alone the fact that she cannot control her powers. At the present time very little was known about her abilities, those that Dr McCoy had introduced her to help with the analysis of her powers and it’s trigger were only just starting to brush upon the surface of her mutant powers. So far she knew that her powers were somewhat along the lines of Telepathy where as opposed to influencing the mind by placing thoughts into the target’s conscience, she was able to influence the body, by making the target feel nauseous to the point that they were physically sick, or to the more extreme case, force the target’s brain to become subject to a seizure.
“I am not fully sure about my abilities yet” Jinlo spoke apprehensively, feeling somewhat awkward about her lack of knowledge about what is residing within her. “I just seem to be able to affect someone’s physical condition” She continued, pausing as she continued to strain out for time to think about how she would talk about her abilities. “I have been able to make someone throw up and well...” Jinlo continued pausing in her words as she looked towards the ground, trying to muster the strength over the guilt that still tore through her mind, as much as she wanted to avoid admitting it, she knew that it was inevitable that Angie would find out, be it her own admission or through Angie’s empathic abilities. “It can also kill” Jinlo confessed, her gaze lingering on the ground, she was unable to bring herself to look towards Angie as she committed to her confession. “But Dr McCoy is helping me learn to control my powers, so I won’t be able to harm anyone.... again”
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
No apprehension, no fear of what wasn’t considered possible, the lack of negative reaction was enough to draw a proud little smile on Angela’s features, which could be seen in her eyes as Jinlo looked back at her. The expression on Jinlo’s face however caused Angela’s gaze to drop it’s focus instead of Fear, her smile only slightly fading briefly before Fear’s ever present charms strengthened it once more.
"You are an empath?" Suddenly waiting for Jinlo’s reaction to Fear seemed like child’s play in comparison to this moment, the truth was all she can answer with, and yet discrection might end up being the better path to take. People didn’t like hanging around others who could so easily pry past the fronts put up, but it wasn’t Angie’s fault she could, and it wasn’t like she did it intentionally, and she always tried very hard to let them keep their privacy. There was a slight nod of Angie’s head, but no verbal comment was made, it didn’t need to be, not when you’re a student in a school of freaks and those abnormal, you were what you were, and people just had to accept that.
"I am not fully sure about my abilities yet" Came an honestly spoken truth, one that Angie found herself wondering the meaning of, as simple as it sounded, it could mean a great many things. Didn’t she know at all what she could do? Or didn’t she know exactly what it was she was doing whenever she did whatever she could do? Sometimes I confuse myself when I think too much, the empath thought with a dry humour as her honey brown eyes looked back at Jinlo. "I just seem to be able to affect someone’s physical condition" Curiosity sparked even more, Their condition? What exactly did she mean by that, for a brief moment images of people growing fatter and thinner sprang to mind, though her thoughts were scattered aside as the other girl continued on.
"I have been able to make someone throw up and well... "Oh, Angie realized, That sort of physical condition, it seemed basic enough, but the idea of being forced to throw up was rather impressive, she’s been sick enough to know it really wasn’t pleasant and she’d definitely feel threatened by it! If not threatened, totally disorientated by it, though thoughts of Danger room sessions were cut short as Jinlo continued, "It can kill" Came the startling confession, which at first seemed so earth shattering that Angie could almost feel the slight intake of air in her lungs as she softly gasped. Images of Danger Room sessions however instantly swirled back into her mind, splitting her focus as thoughts divided themselves to assess the comment and also to continue paying attention. "But Dr McCoy is helping me learn to control my powers, so I won’t be able to harm anyone" Everyone would be upset at the idea that their powers can kill, and Angie hadn’t thought about it much, but the comment threw her mind into over drive as she analysed not only the powers of others, but her own and all their capabilities.
"Dr McCoy seems really cool," Angie commented rather affectionately towards the resident genius, they may not have talked much but he seemed so smart and so caring and compassionate! Not fooled by the fact he could also be a ruthless adversary, Angela wondered if perhaps that’s why he was even all the greater in her mind, to have such power and yet bare such a deep well of kindness regardless. "So many students at the school have really dangerous powers… even mine could kill I guess… if I made someone really depressed, or really scared, I could drive them to suicide or give them a heart attack, the teachers all try really hard to help us handle our abilities…McCoy helps us the most I guess when we’ve messed up, he reminds us aches and pains can always heal, but it’s up to us to stand up and take responsibility for our actions and our future actions too, not to give up and let our past pains control our powers." Angie could almost feel the now faded ache of her shoulder, the pain that had stayed with her because she followed her mothers wishes instead of the doctors offer of support. On her return to the school he had been quick to help fix what should have been fixed weeks before, "Well, that’s what I think anyway," There was a very light whisper of laugher on the edge of her words as the empath added in her last comment on the good doctor.
"Are you living in the school, or do you have somewhere else to stay?" Not intentionally trying to pry, like learn if Jinlo had nearby family or friends or even enough money to have her own place, be it owned or rented, but if the other girl stayed in the school then there was more chances of Angie seeing her around.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Tucking a stray curl behind her ear Catherine found her eyes drifting off towards the enterance to the zoo ... looking at dumb animals had to be better than classes .. didn't it? She wasn't a great animal person herself, even though she part owned a horse which was stabled at the school. Guinea and Cat shared a tenuous relationship, neither really understanding one another. But after a rocky start things had slowly been improving between horse and rider.
"There’s like a horde of things between us and them anyway, so no biggie." She nodded in response to the other girl, tearing her eyes away from the front of the zoo. Her hand drifted towards the ten dollars she'd bought with her, she had to agree with Frost that the idea of free food was attractive. She wanted to have enough money to buy and ice cream and perhaps something from the shop.
"Besides, it’s not only the animal’s in the cages I’m interested in, we might manage to see something worthwhile outside of the cages too." Catherine felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips ... yes she would be keeping an eye out for more than just the zoo's occupants. "And if you lure a horde of those girlie cheerleader types Dawn, I’m going to freeze-dry them," Trying to disguise a laugh Cat ended up snorting instead, she then threw an apologetic look in Dawn's direction. She guessed that Frost didn't know that she herself had began cheerleading ... but that was only because of Riley.
"Have you noticed Riley’s been acting rather weird lately," Her hackles instantly rose at the mention of Riley, if Frost was going to start having a go at her about Riley then Catherine wasn't going to stand for it. She'd had enough of people butting in and trying to tweak things."He played ping pong… with Garnet of all people, and you said he was laughing, if we leave out the friendliness with the hot headed Barbie doll he’s been complaining chuckled at his pain for the last year, the laughter is weird considering things… as long as he’s not cracking under the pressure." Garnet!!! He'd been playing ping pong with Garnet! The slut! Catherine felt herself puff up at the very thought... and laughing with her.
"Riley said he was just going to make more effort to be involved, I figured that was him just trying to be involved, besides, it was good to play with him, he needs to lighten up," Yes but couldn't he make an effort to be involved with someone other than her?! Catherine cast an ugly look over towards Riley. Well see if she cared, she was going to enjoy today and she wasn't even going to think of him. Tossing her head she turned her back on him.
The thought of Max and Garnet dating amused her .. she wondered who had dumped who. Because she had the idea that neither would have been very happy with then development.
'Are we going in then?' She'd rather deflect the conversation away from Riley, she didn't want to spend the day answering questions about the relationship between the two of them.
ooc: Thanks for you text Angie ... it motivated me to post!! I hope things improve your end. They are improving a bit my side, I'm getting up and about more now. I can help my mum prepare meals and get out of the house using my crutches (I can't get in the house yet lol) and I feel like I'm on the home run with my frame as it should be off in the next few months!
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Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Shalimar waited for a few moments for a response from either of the other two, it seemed like the breif moment of akward silence felt like hours. Deep down the feral wondered if she should have walked into this situation the two seemed like they were talking but being the curious kitty she was the feral couldn't help herself. Even if she was intruding a part of her didn't care there were very few people she could get close to and even though they barely knew each other Shalimar felt there was something comforting about Connor.
Finally it seemed like the silence was broken as the girl spoke up.
”I’m Racheal.. never shortened”
Shalimar noticed her response had a hint of a sharpness about it . The feral could tell right away nick names were right out! She made a mental note then and there about her name
”I don’t know many people here either..Not well anyway… those I do I’ve found that throwing myself into the unknown seemed to work best to get to know them..”
"Well I guess we're in a similar boat then..."Shalimar said with little smile "I find a little awkward around the other kids sometimes....guess it's just part of who I am....Although sticking around Connor here helped a lil bit." Shal said with a sly grin giving a playful punch in the arm to Connor. Maybe she was being a little bit more outgoing then she should be but she couldn't help herself she was always so quiet, a little church mouse kind of character and she had convinced herself that starting with this day she would really make a effort to break out of her shyness.
"Well Racheal it's very nice to meet you....I don't mean to intrude but would you mind at all if I hung out with you two?"
She asked looking back over her shoulder she noticed how some of the students seemed to be heading off in groups she just hoped she didn't come across as a killjoy.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"Yeah," Frost agreed, deciding to ignore Garnet, despite the deep disliking that was like an infection in a sore for all the ice elemental cared. The years on one team or another left Frost with a sense of control in a situation, she was always head strong and opinionated, yet there was a confidence that was missing in the earlier years of her life in the school. And unknown to the young Miss Drake, she and Catherine had more in common then just their dislike for Garnet. Though as they trailed towards the main attractions of the zoo, Frost seemed distracted by a familiar face, though Racheal seemed distract and awkward. While Catherine would recognize Connor, neither girls would know of Shalimar, so Frost had wondered if it was some random chick that had descended upon her female team mate, or maybe someone she didn’t like? If Connor hadn’t been there Frost might have offered a lifeline for the other feral, she didn’t seem too bad, she wasn’t overly fond of Garnet and especially the team leader’s stupid fire powers, so that only helped raise Racheal in Frost’s favour.
"Some guys have the looks, but then they open their mouths and you just want to ram a fist down their throats," It seemed random, but she was eyeing one of the groups of boys, they sometimes hanged about the stables just to annoy Heath, so most stable goers new of them and their leader Damon who even Riley felt inclined to hurt at times. It made enjoying a good perve difficult when you knew the guy was a total jerk, and Frost seemed to know more jerks then not. A teasing little smile flickered across her lips as she looked over at Catherine, pinching her fingers together lightly to create a light sprinkle of ice flakes to fall faintly seen. "Maybe if their lips were sealed shut it might help," If Catherine wasn’t sure of Frost’s powers, her name plus the obscure little show of ability ought to tell her, and would make the comment make sense as to it’s meaning. Sometimes Frost had the urge to freeze shut half the mouths in her dorm room as of late, though the temptation was subdued, waiting for any of her team mates to annoy her enough for her to finally lose her temper with them. Though it was clear that Frost wouldn’t get the group in trouble by doing so on such a whim, though the desire could perhaps be seen in the glint of her eye as she cast Damon and his lot a final glance before they continued off down one of the paths, a map scrutinized thoughtfully under the mutants bright gaze. "Ok, at some, I’m taking a detour to the Platapusary," There was a light amusement in her voice as Frost pointed it out on the map.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"Towards the marine section…?" It was Riley who spoke , his eyes flickering over to some other nearby students as he made the suggestion. “Arlen. Heath” he called, at least one of the names ringing a bell in Michaels mind.
Arlen! Scott’s friend from way back. And lets face it ‘way back’ with Scott was a lot further than it sounded. Suddenly the mention of the marine section made a whole lot of sense. *Oh my god I’m going to meet a merman* Michael though amazedly. *This Institute just couldn’t get much cooler!*
He tried though to keep his excitement from showing too much, as Riley continued with the introductions. Arlen’s rather regal nod Michael replied to with a more relaxed one of his own but Heath’s elegant bow he could never have hoped to equal even if he had tried. Which, given the strange looks the gesture had drawn from several passers by, wasn’t something he would have been even remotely temped to do.
"A pleasure to meet you my fellow students," Heath announced happily, his accent clearly betraying his English origins. The words were slightly formal but apart from that friendly enough, as was Arlen’s greeting when it came and Michael was only to ready to return the civilities when his eyes suddenly widened as Arlen’s tail waved into view. Ok they were teenagers on an outing and so a certain amount of eccentricity was to be expected of them. Heaths bow could be easily shrugged of as high spirits. A tail however.. that was something else!
And it wasn’t even the sort of tail he should have had, well not in Michaels imagination anyway. It didn’t have scales and to be honest there was nothing even remotely fishlike about it. In fact.. it looked suspiciously like Talias! * Curiouser and curiouser * Michael thought to himself as he moved slightly to hide it from the crowds. *And definitely not discrete!*
Apparently Riley shared his opinion "Just… remember what we learned in class guys,” he told his intriguing friends seriously “for when we speak to people outside the school, we’re trying to blend." *And not doing a very good job of it up till now* Michael thought to himself, slightly confused by the whole proceedings.
“Lauren showed me how to use a blender…we made milkshakes." Heath announced with a satisfied grin, the rather out of place statement bringing a questioning look to Michael’s eye as he glanced over at his team mates. Riley for one didn’t seem to pick up on it, or if he did had apparently decided that here and now wasn’t exactly the place for explanations. Nor did he make any move to get Arlen to put away his so obviously inhuman appendage, despite the repercussions that would undoubtedly ensue if anyone caught sight of it.
Normally of course Michael would have defended any mutant’s right to be themselves and to hell with what other people thought. That was after all one of the main aims of the Institute, wasn’t it? To help mutants realise that they had nothing to be ashamed of no matter how far their looks differed from the accepted norm! It was just that……
They had been asked to keep a low profile here at the zoo. To just give themselves and the other students one day off from the complications that being different automatically brought into their lives. *Not going to happen * Michael realised with a sigh. *Its only a matter of time before someone notices and then…. Well lets just say this happy little excursion will probably turn into something very different.*
It was really strange how Riley just let it go, but then again, maybe there were deeper reasons behind Arlen’s total disregard for the instructions they had been given by Mr Summers. Reasons that Riley as Arlen’s friend knew about and which Michael didn’t! I could well be that the merman was simply as out of touch as to what could and couldn’t be done safely in the human world as Scott was. The astral mutant could only trust his team mates instincts and hope that they could at least confine whatever attention they were going to attract to their own group rather than let it spill over and spoil other people’s day as well.
"…Was there anything you wanted to stop by and see on the way there, I’m not really fussed… the animal’s I’d be interested in aren’t even here,"
Normally Michael would have been all too keen to learn what apparently extremely exotic animals Riley would have found worthy of a visit but for the time being he was much more concerned with the possibility that soon Arlen was going to be the one that people would be looking at if he should be in a cage. “I’m just happy to be out and about” he said casually. “ After all, its not every day you get a chance just to relax and enjoy a nice uncomplicated trip like this one. Where we can be just like everyone else. Even if its only for a little while” .
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"Well I guess we're in a similar boat then... " Oh Connor wasn’t sure he liked the sound of that, though he strained a smile and kept polite as he could try, there was something in her voice that suggested she was hanging around. Oh well, he might have looked forward to spending more time with Racheal again, but he was hardly going to be rude about it… "I find a little awkward around the other kids sometimes....guess it's just part of who I am....Although sticking around Connor here helped a lil bit." What? Connor stared, he wasn’t sure if he managed to cover his shock well or not, luckily Connor could get a very blank expression that helped hide his shock. Though if you can read Connor well enough you learn to pick up small signs that could very easily be overlooked, few managed to decipher the elder Enrights expression. Though one didn’t need years of experience to see the tension form as a playful punch landed against his arm, she was acting as if they knew each other, of god she was acting as if they really, really knew each other. What if they knew each other more then just… it didn’t bare thinking really, that would be horrible, to be acting as if he didn’t know someone who he apparently helped, how he helped her only Connor could imagine right now. Was she flirting with him? Was this flirting?
She was really pushing herself onto him, or into the group since Racheal was already with him, and she was being playful… He wasn’t a playful kinda guy, it all was too confusing. Though according to his sisters Connor didn’t have a girlfriend, that didn’t stop him from being interested in girls, surely even he got interested… It wasn’t like Shalimar wasn’t pretty, she had a body, that couldn’t be denied, and yet… glancing between Shalimar and Racheal, there was something more appealing with the green eyed feral, her shoulder length brown hair, the cat slit eyes, was it crazy to consider her more normal?
"Well Racheal it's very nice to meet you....I don't mean to intrude but would you mind at all if I hung out with you two?" For a moment Connor was going to subdue to the request, however he gave a glance to Racheal, her heart, her body itself betrayed her, but even without her body’s treachery, her facial expression was easy enough for Connor to interpret. "We were waiting for my family," it wasn’t a lie, and Connor even glanced around in half a hope that they might have impeccable timing, though his father had a class so unless he bailed out of that there was no chance he’d be here so early. "I tend to get into trouble when left on my own so Racheal was keeping me company," He gave Racheal a delightful little smile to show his humour, though Connor wasn’t one to tolerate others making light of his flaws and so while Rachel might easily associate what he hinted at, with the situation at the lake. "It’s a bit overwhelming to be here, all the students, all the animals… I was just going to hang back to be honest, I’m not really ready for crowds.." Connor’s bright eyes seemed suddenly transfixed on something that had caught his attention, a flutter of a paper swirled about gently by a bin, he seemed to frown slightly as his trail of thought split slightly. Though his eyes soon focused on a couple further up discussing about the animals they had enjoyed and what they thought was their favourite moment of the day. For a moment as Connor’s hearing struggled to pick out their voice amongst all the noise, it dawned on Connor that he clearly made out what they said by the movement of their lips, even if the voices were difficult to isolate. All former topics vanished from thought as Connor leaned slightly towards Racheal and grinned as he whispered this newfound talent. "I can lip read! Oh that’s cool," The delight was evident, even if he tried to keep a rather casual air about his discovery.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Tucking a stray strand of hair behind on ear she glanced over at the freezing mutant. She liked this girls attitude and found it hard to understand how they had never really talked to one another before today. In fact ... didn't even really have many memories of the other girl around the Institute. Cat was quite sure that they didn't have many, if any classes together. She was sure if she had been in close proximity to the other girl she would have realised how pleasant she was to talk to.
Her eyebrows lifted slightly as she listened to Frost's description of the other sex. Tucking the zoo pamphlet into the back of her jeans she eyed the other girl appraisingly. That one obviously had a sensible head on her shoulders. Cat could think of several guys who she could have applied Frost's description to ... Max's name jumped into her head. There was no getting around the fact that he was good looking, but there was also no denying that he could wind her with only a few words.
As they moved off into the zoo she let her eyes wander around her. A pair of small black monkeys were sitting on a log, staring at the three girls with interest. Everything was lush and green with small notices outside the various enclosures to explain to the public what they were viewing. "Ok, at some, I’m taking a detour to the Platapusary,"
'The what?' Cat had never heard of a Platapusary, lord only knew what lived in one of those. She peered over Frosts shoulder, eyeing the odd creature which was drawn next to the Platapussary. 'How cute!' She wasn't one for thinking animals were all sweet but the small animal looked so bizarre, but in a positive way.
ooc!!! You know my weaknesssssss!!!
Angie: mwuhahahaha! insider information used shamelessly here. -wiggles the cute critter before her nose-
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Ben tried to hide his anguish at the idea of having to go into the aquarium section with a group of youths he did not know all that well. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed of being uneasy around large marine creatures it was just that people tended to find his fear somewhat amusing. It wasn’t his fault that his survival instinct kicked in when in the presence of large aquatic predators… or just plain old large fish. So he tried to keep a smile on his face as his team mate sent a questioning glance his way.
"Proper introduction, Heath, Arlen, this is Michael and Ben,"
The darklight mutant was glad for the change of subject and turned his attention to the two newcomers. He recognised Heath having met him a couple of times before when they had gone out as a group. As far as Ben could remember Heath was some kind of time traveller who was good friends with Lauren. It was strange the way information was stored in a sort of “need to know” box in the back of Ben’s mind. It only seemed to contain the essentials about people but whatever was in there was never forgotten no matter how long it had been since their last meeting; a strange skill but a useful one.
As for Arlen, Ben did not have any real knowledge of the merman. He had seen him with Scott upon occasion but that was as far as it went. So Ben returned their greeting with a smile and a nod, which was when a tail suddenly flashed into view. It was blue and furry just like Talia’s, which made Ben feel slightly guilty. It had been quite a while since he had taken the time to go down and pay Talia a visit… not that you could really call it a visit. He would show up and she would give him one of those “why are you here again?” looks. But she had started to humour him and they would have a brief conversation before he left as the unavoidable awkward silence struck. He made a mental note to pay her a visit when they got back, just to check how she was doing.
"Just… remember what we learned in class guys, for when we speak to people outside the school, we’re trying to blend."
Riley’s comment snapped him back into reality and drew his attention to just how conspicuous the aforementioned tail was. It seemed like Arlen had no real conception about what was and wasn’t “normal”. And judging by the frown on Riley’s face there would be no easy way to explain it to him. What Arlen needed was a holoemitter, one that just took away the tail. Then he would be free to let it swing… or whatever it was that tails did and not have to worry about drawing attention.
"Lauren showed me how to use a blender…we made milkshakes."
Ben had to repress a laugh. That was such a great reply to the comment that had just been made. It was horribly out of context and a complete misunderstanding but apart from that it was a logical reply to Riley’s statement; which somehow appealed to Ben’s rather strange sense of humour.
As Riley enquired about their choice of animals, Ben glanced back at the map. It would be best to find something on the way to the marine section, that or plan out a loop that would include most things. Ah, there… the red panda’s. They were a species that Ben had not yet seen and they were very rare in this day and age so it would be well worth seeing one. Having decided on what he wanted to see he was just about to speak up when Michael’s voice cut through the silence.
“I’m just happy to be out and about. After all, its not every day you get a chance just to relax and enjoy a nice uncomplicated trip like this one. Where we can be just like everyone else. Even if its only for a little while” .
Ben caught his friend’s not so subtle hint and was not so sure what to make of it. To be honest, the darklight mutant was just happy to be out of the institute for a while he enjoyed the change of scene. And maybe he had gotten caught up in the moment which had made him careless but he figured that they could handle the attention their new friend would draw. Then again it would be nice not to have to put up with the disgusted looks people through at you.... He sighed, why could things never be simple. Well Arlen was Riley’s friend and in the end it was his call, Ben would just follow, but he figured that maybe his input on their destination might get things moving.
“Well I have never seen a red panda so why don’t we circle through the Asian section of our way to the aquarium, then maybe the penguins?”
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the ZooSorry for the delay in replying.. I got really stuck "I’m just happy to be out and about" So was Riley, and Riley was pretty sure in some ways Arlen was happy for it too, Heath was nervous, excited and awed but always nervous of seeing the new world. It was nice to be outside of the "After all, its not every day you get a chance just to relax and enjoy a nice uncomplicated trip like this one. Where we can be just like everyone else. Even if its only for a little while" It couldn’t be helped but be considered a hint as far as Riley was concerned, it sounded like a hint, like the kind Graham used to make, trying not to be rude where Forrest would be blunt and upsetting. The 13th-century Knight however stared for a moment, wondering if he would be capable of pretending to be like all these students, they all had such mystic powers and Heath didn’t care how often he was told it was all natural, it wasn’t for him and never would be. He would never be like them, and students like Damon and the like would always take advantage of that. For a moment Riley eyed Ben’s expression and then focused back on his other two friends.
"Well I have never seen a red panda so why don’t we circle through the Asian section of our way to the aquarium, then maybe the penguins?" Asian section? Riley glanced down at the map and looked over the creatures, smiled slightly knowing that Heath definitely wouldn’t know any of those animals and then eyed Arlen some more. It would be so much easier if Scott was here, Arlen would listen to Scott, the fairy was always more cautious then the mer-prince… which was strange considering a considerable less people would see Scott.
"The Asian section sounds good…" Riley began, looking over the map thoughtfully, "You know, I’d not mind to see a Komodo Dragon again, I wonder if they have them anywhere here…" Hazel eyes continued focused on the map and Heath fidgeted nervously for a moment as he looked suddenly nervous. "A… a dragon?" Of course, the image Heath thought up was nothing like what Riley meant, and yet somehow by Riley’s playful calm it became somewhat clear that was what he was aiming for, to be teasing Heath in obvious misunderstanding. "Mhmm," Came the cool reply and Heath eyed Riley suspiciously for a moment, "You jest with me," Heath folded his arms decidedly on that, he’d caught his friends trying to play a joke on him before, which Heath was always light hearted about because it was never done by them to be cruel but to be playful. "A dragon?" Riley smiled, though it faltered briefly as he eyed Arlen’s hands absentmindedly wringing his tail with his hands, but then turned around to head the way Ben had suggested, and Heath hesitantly followed.
"Why must you cage these creatures?" Arlen’s question was soft, and some part of him didn’t really expect an answer he’d like, another part just didn’t know what to expect, it seemed cruel to him to lock them up. "Would it not make more sense to see them free?"
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"The what?" No surprise, likely most students hadn’t heard of or never saw a platypus before, the only reason Frostbite had was because she remembered her family holiday so many years ago. It wasn’t the last holiday her family ever took her on but it was the most longest Frost ever remembered, commercial airplanes were no where near as speedy as the X-Jet and it had taken two days to get to their location by plane. Australia was a very long way from the rest of the world, but Ann had a lot of fun there, it was a really good memory, most of her family trips were. It was the memories that followed after that were hard to deal with. "How cute!" That’s what Frost had thought as a little girl, it wasn’t soft and fuzzy as most girls would define cute, but it was different, and Frost loved the creature all the more for the differences it represented. Just like her, them as a group, they were strangely bizarre as well; they were like the platypus of the human world. Or so came the thought to Frostbite as she stared at the picture.
"They’re freaks too ya know? When people first found them down in Australia, everyone thought they were telling stupid stories for attention, because the creature they described was so weird," Frost folded the map and let her arm hang by her side as she eyed the different ways, hardly caring if there was protest towards classing mutants of Xavier’s as freaks or not. She hardly cared, it was just a title for those who were different, she’d been called far worse over the last few years, especially considering half the school seemed convinced Anna Drake was just some slutty teen, when the truth couldn’t be further from the truth. "Hey, the food court is in the centre of the zoo, we could cut through to get there sooner or go right around and get there at the end, any preference?" Frost had directed the question towards Catherine, Dawn seemed focused on looking around at that point and Frost wondered if she was searching for her boyfriend, usually it was a miracle not to see them side by side when out on trips like this.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Catherine had never been to Australia, wasn’t that interested in animals in general and had definitely never heard of a platypus. She’d not even have the faintest idea of what one might look like, anyway everyone knew that Australia was full of bizarre looking creatures. Studying the small picture she felt a smile spreading across her face, it did look adorable.
"They’re freaks too ya know? When people first found them down in Australia, everyone thought they were telling stupid stories for attention, because the creature they described was so weird," She nodded in response to Frost, lifting her eyes away from the platypus and looking instead at the elephant enclosure that they were passing. Her feet slowed slightly as she gazed at the huge impressive animals. Were they Indian or African … she could never remember which had the biggest ears. A baby was stood next to it’s mother, curling it’s trunk around her leg. It made Catherine think of the way children hung onto their mothers skirts … the way she probably had, oddly there was no pain in thinking about her parents only a warmth at remembering them.
"Hey, the food court is in the centre of the zoo, we could cut through to get there sooner or go right around and get there at the end, any preference?" Frost was looking at her with an expression that demanded an answer. Making a quick assessment of how hungry she was she replied to the freezing mutants request.
‘I’m hungry now … I wasn’t up in time for breakfast.’ Not that was anything unusual, when faced by the question an extra quarter of an hour in bed or food there was only one answer in her books. As she answered she caught sight of Paige Gifford sitting on a bench watching the elephants. She was all alone and looked both young and vulnerable. For a moment she wondered if she should ask the girl to join them, but then Frost was replying to her and she forgot about the healing mutant as they strolled past.
ooc: they were soooo small and so cute (remembers the cute way it swam around)
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Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
The trip to the zoo was just what the doctor ordered. Literally. A little outing without the worry of Amber hanging over her That was how the Dr McCoy had put it when he had urged her to come. Crystal sighed and pushed back her silver streaked hair. As if that was even possible!
She had thought.. no she had hoped that it would be once they got established at the Institute. After all Amber was supposed to be safe there. That was why they had gone in the first place. How foolish that seemed now in the light of what had happened. ‘I should have known better ‘ Crystal thought to herself, her mind stubbornly refusing to let go of her worries even in the cheerful atmosphere of the zoo. ‘I should have realised that if she played her little mind games on people like Logan she would end up getting hurt’
Even now Crystal felt sick when she thought about what had happened. She had come so close to losing her sister. One flash of those adamantine claws and it would all have been over . And it would have been her fault as much as Wolverine’s if Amber had in fact been killed. She should have watched her. She should be watching her now instead of being here alone. Fear started to rise again, setting Crystal’s heart racing, her every instinct telling her to go back. That something would go wrong if she wasn’t there to take care of her sister. That she must always be there to take care of her.
It was fast becoming a full blown panic attack, the very thing Dr McCoy had warned her about. ‘If you don’t relax a little, my dear, you will make yourself ill” the blue furred physician had told her gently ‘and then you will be in no fit state to look after Amber, will you?’
It had made sense at the time. Crystal was far from being stupid. She was all to well aware that she was on the brink of a breakdown and that if she didn’t take a step back she was going to be the one spending all her time in med lab. But knowing something and actually doing it were two very different things and leaving Amber behind, even with the doctors assurance that he would keep her safe, was proving harder than even Crystal had imagined.
The young blond leaned heavily on the back of one of the many surrounding benches trying to steady her breathing. ‘Focus on something else’ she told herself sternly. ‘you can do this!’ Crystal closed her eyes and slowly counted to a hundred, feeling the panic ease as she did so even if the fear was always there, underneath the surface of her mind, just waiting to break out. Fear for Amber. Fear of Amber! Both equally present and equally strong.
Today though she was not going to let them beat her! With trembling hands Crystal opened her bag and brought out her camera. This was her lifeline. Her passion. The one thing that helped her forget, even for a moment, the mess her life was in. As if capturing other people’s happiness on film could somehow renew her faith that one day she and her sister would be smiling and well again. Crystal had to believe that it was possible. Otherwise…..
She wasn’t going to go down that road. Not again. Instead she forced herself to concentrate on the people around her, searching the crowd with an artists eye for likely shots. Click, and a child’s first sight of an elephant was captured, her face full of wide eyed wonder. Click, a beautiful blond youth playing with an incongruous tail that marked him as a mutant. Click, brilliant eyes , startling in their blueness….
Logan’s son! Fear leapt again, but Crystal forced it down. This wasn’t the fierce, violent man who hadn’t even tried to excuse himself for what he had done to her sister. This was, from what she had heard, a young man with his own problems. Out with some friends for a peaceful trip to the zoo! And one of the friends in question wasn’t unknown to her.
Shalimar! Crystal hadn’t had the opportunity to spend any time with the blond feral since their arrival at the Institute. There had been altogether too much going on, both bad and good for Crystal to have done much socialising. But after all , wasn’t that why the doctor had sent her out today? To do just that? Socialise. Make friends. Try to get some semblance of a life together outside of Amber’s shadow? Crystal took a deep breath and made her way over to the little group hoping she didn’t look as nervous as she felt. “Hey Shalimar” she said a trifle shyly. “Nice to see you again.”
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Oh, brilliant why did she have to open her big mouth? The thoughts came silently, bringing a soft blanket of uncertainty as soon as she spoke them. It had been an attempt to understand, common ground. But how easily could those same words be taken for an invitation to join them? Inwardly she sighed. It wasn’t exactly that she’d mind spending time with the other, but more that right now she wanted to spend time with Connor. She’d been enjoying their time together, but Racheal just struggled to relax around strangers. Even people she knew often failed to gain her trust. Heck the bus journey it’s self had felt awkward at times. Sure she spent it with Connor, but with Riley occasionally talking to the male feral, even without her apprehension towards the student-teacher it would have made things awkward.
"Well I guess we're in a similar boat then..." Mentally Racheal wanted to disagree, but then she had opened the doors for this. But what could she do, just tell her to bugger off? Not really. There was some things Racheal could manage as far as being rude was concerned. Ignoring them, perhaps a snide remark in response to one of their’s. But Shalimar seemed pretty sincere as far as her want for company went. "I find a little awkward around the other kids sometimes....guess it's just part of who I am....Although sticking around Connor here helped a lil bit." Considering Connor’s earlier reaction to Shalimar, it would have seemed that this ‘sticking around Connor’ happened before his memory loss. And this theory seemed to be backed up when a playful punch was delivered. Almost immediately Racheal felt herself tense further, her rather protective streak showing briefly in a glimmer of her green eyes as she watched Connor tense uneasily at the ‘friendly’ gesture. It was strange, the unease which settled in her at that moment, her eyes fixed on Shalimar now. Yes, she’d feel protective towards friends, even towards her team mates upon occasion. But for a moment there was something else. And it wasn’t exactly a distaste towards the other, only a wish that’d she’d go. Unfortunately, it seemed unlikely that that wish would be granted. Immediately anyway.
"Well Racheal it's very nice to meet you....I don't mean to intrude but would you mind at all if I hung out with you two?" Yes, came the swift answer in Racheal’s mind. Yes, Racheal realised she did mind rather a lot. It was strange because she knew full well that it wasn’t necessarily Shalimar herself she rejected, but the invasion of her time with Connor. And part of her mind wanted to snap right then. It wasn’t as common as it might seem, for Racheal’s guard to go up against someone who was so unaware of the danger they were bringing against themselves. And normally, a strange would just be greeted by an untrusting but at the same time attempting to expect shy girl, so it would seem. But there were some things which seemed to light a flame in her, fanned to a fire. And, so it seemed, this was one of them.
"We were waiting for my family," They were? Feline eyes lost their guard, turning towards Connor a little suddenly, before giving the slightest nod. Confusion seemed to com to her eyes for a moment, before she realised something. He was slowly, it seemed, diffusing the situation. Blinking slowly she tried to take it in. Did he feel the same, or was it far too obvious the hostility which had risen in her for a moment. Either way, she relaxed just a touch as she listened, nodding quietly again. So, they would wait for his family. She didn’t mind if that’s what he wanted. She’d met his father who seemed nice enough, and although her brief passing with Madison had left no impression, she still remembered the love in his voice when he spoke about his siblings.
"I tend to get into trouble when left on my own so Racheal was keeping me company, The smile Connor offered her didn’t go unnoticed and it was returned easily enough, a soft chuckle escaping her lips almost silently. And in that instant the tension from her seemed to drain, settling again as she seemed to feed off Connor’s calmer reaction to it all. As for the trouble, she knew what he meant, or could easily guess anyway. And although normally she would have never laughed at that event, at the same time the smile and wording Connor used seemed to gently make light of the situation, and despite it all the green eyed feral couldn’t resist.
"It’s a bit overwhelming to be here, all the students, all the animals… I was just going to hang back to be honest, I’m not really ready for crowds.." Holding back seemed like a good idea. They could still go around and see everything, or at least most, but avoid the crowds. Crowd avoiding seemed like a good idea to Racheal as well really, considering her distaste for them and a small nod was given. As Connor seemed to become mildly distracted by something, her feline eyes turned back to Shalimar, trying to figure out how she was taking this, and silently hoping she would take it the right way. Not that she wanted to hurt the other as such, or under different circumstances she wouldn’t welcome the chance to perhaps make a new ‘ally’ at least, but right now she had been hoping for the chance to spend time with Connor.
Before she, or anyone else for that matter, could react to Connor’s words, suddenly a soft whisper was uttered, a whisper filled with excitement really despite the attempt to tone it down a little, and her eyes turned a little to Connor as he did. "I can lip read! Oh that’s cool," This time the chuckle that escaped Feral’s lips was more full, smiling gently and happily at the male feral’s most recent discovery. Of course, anyone outside this mini interaction could have taken this the wrong way, or at a little strange. Feral gave a small nod towards him, though something in her wasn’t too surprised at his discovery now that she thought about it. To a limited extent most people could lip read but didn’t realise it. And considering the fact that Connor wore ear plugs to the Dying Star on her first night at the institute, and yet was still able to ‘hear’ when spoken to… if he could lip read that made even more sense really. ”Cool” She agreed softly with a smile and a nod, after all, it was. Useful too.
Once more it seemed that someone got in before Racheal could gather her thoughts and actually say something. Though saying that, it didn’t seem like there would be a high chance of her actually saying anything anyway. There wasn’t much left to say and Connor’s wording had been far more diplomatic than she was sure she’d have managed. Even so, the movement caught her eye before the voice reached her, eyes turning to blonde haired girl, blinking slowly. Another unknown. But not to Shalimar it would seem. “Hey Shalimar” … “Nice to see you again.” The dark haired feral’s eyes turned briefly to Connor, wondering if he would know this newer stranger. Now.. this could work for or against them really. It would certainly be easier to encourage Shalimar to go with someone she knew, and who obviously knew her in return. Although it wouldn’t be said that Racheal was a natural optimist, nor a pessimist for it seemed to change as easily as the English weather, there was some optimism now that this could work favourably for all of them.
As tempting as it was, Racheal wasn’t about to just suggest such a thing. Neither was she so bold in such a situation nor quite that foolish. After all, a sudden suggestion taken by the new girl’s presence might have seemed over eager, and as much as her mind might at times picture herself actually snapping and taking her anger out on another, with the exception of Max it very rarely came to light. Although her mind was quickly working through the scenario, finding a solution for them all, it remained stumped at a single hurdle, that she seemed to be standing there like a little bit of an idiot. But what was there to say? So far at best she’d managed a rather abrupt introduction followed by an empathy for the other female feral. Perhaps a slightly foolish one in retrospect, but it had felt needed at the time. But now it seemed there was little left but to allow the situation it’s self unfold. Racheal’s eyes dropped a little to the object in the stranger’s hands, blinking slowly. A camera. Now that would have been a good idea. But then what use would she have of needing a camera normally? The thought bothered her a little. If she decided to leave the institute… no, as she was leaving the institute, it would have been nice to have some pictures, some physical memories.
With the quiet hope that Shalimar would now find her attention drawn to the newcomer, Racheal’s eyes slowly returned to Connor. ”While we wait for the crowd to die down a little, we could look at what’s round here..” She whispered softly in thought. Of course, by staying around here if any of Connor’s family did turn up, they wouldn’t be far away from the entrance. ”Then it should be quieter while we explore” She continued quietly with a smile. There was still an edginess there, a want to escape the situation. But things had settled a little, and with the light humour Connor had entered into the air, even if some was unintentional, she found herself relaxing a little, and just a little less likely to do a vanishing act.
Hannah: In this world we're forced to make choices everyday. We don't always know the consequences. But it's how we react to them which makes us who we are
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
The tail wasn’t going to go away and that was all there was too it. Michael could see that his hint hadn’t even registered on Arlen’s radar and he really didn’t want to beat the merman metaphorically over the head with a heavier one and risk spoiling the day for all of them. Who knew anyway! Maybe they would get lucky. Maybe no one would notice it or, if they did; maybe they wouldn’t react as badly as Michael feared they might. It was just possible. About as possible as flying pigs! But then again… the young Scot smiled wryly.. hadn’t he already seen things just as strange as winged porcine at the Institute.
So Michael forcibly set aside down his concern and listened instead to talk of red pandas and dragons, registering once again Heath’s archaic language as well as his all too literal interpretation of Riley’s words. There was definitely some mystery there that Michael would like to get to the bottom of but there too he wasn’t going to force the issue. After all it would in all likelihood be made clear as they wandered round the zoo. And this was supposed to be a fun outing, not an interrogation.
Arlen though didn’t seem to be getting into the swing of things, at least not as far as the having fun part was concerned. Instead he looked rather worried and the question he came out with, while relevant in the extreme, wasn’t really conducive to uncomplicated enjoyment of their surroundings.
"Why must you cage these creatures?" he asked seriously, the distinction his choice of words made between himself and his companions not lost on the astral mutant. "Would it not make more sense to see them free?"
He had a point. Cages weren’t really high up on Michael’s list of favourite things . He supposed that being inside one could do that to you. But still there w major differences between what had happened to him at Harmony Market and what was going on in in zoos like this one. And it couldn’t be summed up in the absence of demons. It was more complex than that,,the whole area swimming into one of those typically human grey areas that he wasn’t at all sure Arlen would understand.
“It would,” Michael answered “that would be ideal… but.. most of the people here could never afford to travel to where these creatures live and see them in the wild.
And yet” Michael continued seriously “its important that they do actually see them.”
It was true. He had always suspected that it made a difference, getting up close and personal to creatures you had only encountered before from descriptions in books or safely tucked behind the tv screen. and even the short time he had been in the zoo had confirmed it. . Watching a documentary about elephants was all well and good but it wasn’t the same thing as actually standing beside one and looking into its wise eyes. It made them come to life. It made you believe.
“Its one thing to hear that animals like this exist somewhere.” he explained But somehow they don’t seem real until you can see them and smell them and hear them first hand. Once you’ve done that then they count. And people can really relate to them.
I know they always should but.. it’s a bit like the way it is with fairies.” This was perhaps an argument that Arlen could relate to though Michael realised that it too was open to misinterpretation. He would just have to be sufficiently clear in what he said to avoid that or at least be ready to pick up the pieces if it all fell apart.
“Not that Im suggesting for one moment that fairies should be put on display like this.. its just that….. well our two races have grown so far apart that now there are very few people who have retained an ability to even see Scott. And if the fairies were in danger we wouldn’t even think to come to their aide. These animals… Michael gestured around him. ‘To most people they are becoming almost as ‘unreal’ as the fairies are. They don’t play a part in their everyday lives and so if they disappear they think that it doesn’t matter. Except that it does. It matters a lot. And places like this help them to realise that. ”
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo
Shalimar simply listened as the other two responded to her query. And the result although not hostile was still not happy. She honestly expected Connor to be a lot more hostile then he was toward her but he really didn't remember much about her for some reason or another or just chose not to remember. However as she looked from Connor to Racheal and back again she could feel the strain between the three and it didn't take a psychic to realize that it might be better for Shalimar and more importantly for the other two involved in the conversation if she exited herself.
"Well I guess I sorta became the third wheel in all this I think I better..."
Then the opportunity fell into her lap as she heard a somewhat familiar voice.“Hey Shalimar! Nice to see you again.”
The blondie haired feral turned her head only to have a smile come to her face. The voice came from Crystal, one of the few faces Shalimar really had gotten to spend some time with. Even if the time wasn't the happiest it was still nice to see her.
Shalimar first not wanting to be rude looked at Connor & Racheal and saw her way out. "I'll leave you guys alone but it was nice to meet you Racheal. Hopefully we will have a less socially awkward encounter next time. Connor, Racheal take it easy!"
And with that she disengaged from the two and walked over to Crystal. Shalimar could see the shyness in Crystals dimeanor and chose to take the up front approach. "Hey Crystal, I had wondered where you had gone to. Seems like a while since we saw each other. It's nice to see you again as well!"She said grinning as Shalimar brushed the long, blondie streaks of hair out of her face. " If you want to do you wanna hang for a bit and check this place out? Seems like everyone has sorta split into groups."The feral asked hopefully. The truth was for a pretty independent girl Shalimar was getting quite lonely and did want someone to be around.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo"Well I guess I sorta became the third wheel in all this I think I better..." The sentence cut off with another unfamiliar call addressing someone in their group. As if walls of a room were slowly closing in on him, Connor felt an unease inside as another figure approached, his breath momentarily catching in the tangles of his throat. "Hey Shalimar" A friend of the new girls! One that didn't seem to give Connor much of her attention, a suggestion that neither knew each other, which meant she was there solely for Shalimar. "Nice to see you again." Awkwardly Connor gave a nervous little smile, glancing over at the other faces he did recognize to see if there was any chance to sneak off with Racheal to the other group they were more familiar with. But that was rude... he couldn't just run off with Racheal.
"While we wait for the crowd to die down a little, we could look at what’s round here.." It didn't really look like there was a hell of a lot in this particular area, at least not for Connor's interest, it was too dirty, he really wanted to just go off and pick up some things that lay scattered. Some people with obsessive compulsions could convince themselves that everyone had the same urges, but Connor knew a lot of people just didn't care, and even if he didn't care himself he knew they'd stare if he went off to start picking up rubbish. "Then it should be quieter while we explore" Quieter... now that was a thought worth thinking over, one that was definitely very tempting, and Connor looked at Racheal a little too obviously interested to be able to pretend he wasn't for the sake of etiquette.
"I'll leave you guys alone but it was nice to meet you Racheal. Hopefully we will have a less socially awkward encounter next time. Connor, Racheal take it easy!" With that Shalimar turned off to step around and face the other new comer, and with that the sensation of claustrophobia faded with a soft chuckle from Connor, who gave a quiet reply under his breath. "Less socially awkward?" Flaming blue eyes turned teasingly towards Racheal, who would be the only one able to hear his quiet words, "Never!" There was a grin, fully aware that it would take himself a long while before comfort could be gained from crowds... if ever it was even possible. Racheal didn't seem to be so different from Connor in those regards so he figured she'd understand how he felt.
"Dad and Chris were going to come down to the zoo together... he had classes in the morning though, we don't have to hang around here if you don't want.. Dad will find me wherever we are," The offer was in case there was something more interesting that Racheal wanted to see that wasn't in this exact area, after all, Logan prided himself on being able to sniff after any scent and he proved his abilities by finding Connor in the first place. As long as it was relatively quiet, Connor admittedly didn't really mind where they went, he really just wanted to have the company while he went around the zoo, that's all that mattered right now.. it felt nice to be with someone and feel as if the day was theirs to do as they pleased without the stress of... well... everything that involved a life inside a crowded school.
Re: Friday March 30th: A School Trip to the Zoo "Well I guess I sorta became the third wheel in all this I think I better..." Third wheel, to Racheal at least, didn’t sound quite right. She’d always imagined the third wheel to be a tag along, who willing or not was excluded and quiet. This more confident feral was far from that it seemed. Yet it was an uncomfortable feeling which had come about and there was a chance of her going when another spoke up, drawing her attention. Green feline eyes seemed to almost spark in interest at this hopeful development, waiting quietly, stealing a glance to Connor.
"I'll leave you guys alone but it was nice to meet you Racheal. Hopefully we will have a less socially awkward encounter next time. Connor, Racheal take it easy!" It was like a cooling, refreshing shower, those words reaching Feral’s ears. Not that right now she looked forward to a next time. She could not, as yet, really hold anything against Shalimar. It wasn’t like she really had done anything wrong except unbalance her fragile footholding in her own mind. But it would still put her on edge. Not that many first meetings were easy for the feline morpher. After all, before coming to the institute a few months previous, first meetings had not always been so pleasant.
"Less socially awkward? The whispered words brought her eyes back to meet Connor’s, a smile finding her features as form simply the tone of his thoughts she knew his own thoughts mimicked her own on this matter. "Never!" The smile seemed to spread, the faintest chuckle audible. Yes, it seemed neither of them were exactly the most social of people. And those which were more naturally solitary would never find socialisation easy.
"Dad and Chris were going to come down to the zoo together... he had classes in the morning though, we don't have to hang around here if you don't want.. Dad will find me wherever we are," She nodded. Her previous words had been in response to his own, which she guessed now was more of an attempt to rid themselves of the undesired attention, even if it had not quite gone to plan. Her eyes turned briefly to the departing backs of many of the other students, eager to explore, towards the map in thought. She’d never been to this zoo, though she had seen a few in the past. She could hear the sounds of the animals, cries to each other, not too far off. She was never sure if she liked zoos or not. To keep wild creatures in cages seemed like a crime. And yet, she had also seen what had happened to some in the wild at the hands of humans far crueller than those who ran these zoos. At least they were safe, protected.
”Awkward is a speciality” She said softly with a smile at the after thought to his previous comment, her gaze returning to meet his. There weren’t many people she was confident in holding their gaze comfortably. Often her eyes would drop or an anger would boil in her blood. But now her eyes were calm, as they so often were with him.
”In that case, I wouldn’t mind seeing the wolves” Her words came slowly, wistfully. Wolves, Jake. The two in her mind went hand in hand. Connor was the only one who knew much about her twin. It wasn’t as such a secret that she hid, but more that there had been so much pain surrounding him that it was easier to keep quiet. And even then she had not told Connor everything. She couldn’t bring up that deep betrayal which seemed to seer her heart. Her betrayal. She realised suddenly how deep her thoughts were coming, how pained. ”And the big cats, of course” A smile refound it’s place, matching the lightness in her voice. ”I love watching their movements.. I’m not sure I could ever truly match them”
Hannah: In this world we're forced to make choices everyday. We don't always know the consequences. But it's how we react to them which makes us who we are
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