Shaddup, Tweety, We're Talking Here!

[Rhetoric]

“Seriously? You were buried alive?” Liv’s eyes grew even larger than usual and she looked up from where she was sprawled in the grass to see if maybe Ian was just messing with her. There was nothing in his face that indicated he was teasing and Liv tsk-ed, folding her achy arms behind her head again. “No fair. I missed all the good stuff.”

The Paragon was kicked back on the lawn, her feet propped up on a soccer ball that she had bullied Ian into finding though she hadn’t motivated herself enough to get up and kick it around yet. She was sore as hell and for the moment she was content to just sit there, relax, and listen to Ian talk about the school. It seemed that fights and total, utter chaos were just a regular part of the curriculum… so she was going to fit right in. This place was going to be like circumventing a minefield. Just incase high school wasn’t dangerous enough, adding super powered bullies into the mix was going to make keeping a step ahead… highly entertaining.

Liv idly nudged her makeshift footrest toward Ian. She’d have kicked it properly, but there was a rather fat raccoon parked on her chest, playing with the zipper of her track jacket. A number of small animals had followed them from the sports shed to the lawn in true Disney fashion despite Liv’s cursing a blue streak at them and they were romping around her and the giant Acolyte with hyper glee. With a lazy gesture Liv flicked at the animal’s whiskers and grinned over at Ian. He was being inspected by a small regiment of overexcited squirrels. “Sorry, bro. This is just one of the hazards of hanging outside with me. I dunno how they find me but…” she shrugged and sat up, rolling the pudgy coon into the grass. “You! Get off him before I deal with you Piney style, you little hairball.” Liv shook her head and opened her arms for the scolded squirrel to climb up to her shoulder.

“So this Rumble dude is a real bastard, huh? That’s not the impression I got earlier. V made him sound like… I don’t know, like the pinnacle or something.” There was a moment of angry chattering and spitting while the raccoon and squirrel argued over who got to sit on Liv's shoulder and she yanked them apart by their fluffy tails, her mind rolling over the information that Ian had been pumping into her since she’d gotten outside. He had been around the school long enough to know who to ask for homework help, who was good for a laugh or a chat, and who would beat the everlovin out of her if she blinked at them funny. He had even filled her in on the teachers, which was a bit of a relief since Liv’s first classes would be the following day. She really didn’t want to make a terrible first impression. Going in looking battered was going to be bad enough, let alone walking into science and gawking at the hairy blue dude.

Her ex-roommate was going to be a point of contention, though. The stupid bitch smurf was just frustrating. Liv really didn’t think that Lore was terrible, but the whole trashing the room thing for no reason… that wasn’t going to fly. Temper tantrums and cheap shots weren’t Liv’s style and neither was whoring herself out to get back at someone else. That just seemed like a good way to get in too deep. She shrugged her slim shoulders, nearly displacing the rather stubborn squirrel hiding under her curls. “Thanks for the warning and all, bro, but I’m not like Lore. I’m not gonna go chasing some dude that’s clearly trouble, even if he is pretty.” For some reason Dante came to mind and Liv shook the errant thought away, rubbing the raccoon behind his ears while she frowned up at her new friend. “S’not my business, Ian, but what the hell happened to her? I can’t really believe you’d date a chick that was so… well for lack of a better word…cold.”

[Diesel]

Ian shrugged, one of the squirrels on his shoulder digging his claws a bit to not fall off, making him wince. "She wasn't always like that. When we first got here, well we got here at like the same time and all, she was a lot of fun. We made like crazy fun meals and I dunno babe," he picked up one of the squirrels off his shoulder and placed them on the ground, still not able to get over how bizarre this whole scenario was to him. He really did feel like he was in a Disney movie, but he wasn't oblivious enough to not know better than to say it out loud. Ian was fairly sure she'd sock him a good one if he did. "After LIMBO, that's when this whole thing went down that I told ya a bit about. Well it changed all of us, but now that I think about it, even before then there were big gaps that I guess I just didn't wanna see."

His normally friendly eyes had a far off look to them for a moment as he remembered the whole period that was only three months ago but could very well be three years ago for Ian. He was a totally different person then, someone who was so green and new to the horrors of the mutant world and the world in general. "It was bad for awhile babe. After the Brotherhood attacked... so many things were wrong. The fight itself was bad, but then some of the stuff I found out afterward, stuff that happened to some of the people that well that I cared for... it was mad hard." Ian pet the squirrel absently and kept thinking back to that time. He rarely talked about it, he didn't know why he was telling her as much as he was either. Hell even Niki never got him to talk about any of that, not the Brotherhood attack, and not Limbo. Most if the time he treated it like it was all a dream, but he was starting to remember how real it all really was.

Liv though, she was different for some reason. Ian found himself telling her things he never thought he'd say, and he honestly didn't know what it was. He was comfortable around her, she had a way about her that put him at ease. Maybe because she was brand new it was easier to tell her things, or maybe she was just the person around and Ian was just ready to talk about it all. No matter what the reason, here he was sitting on the grass and telling her some of his innermost demons. "If the Brotherhood attack wasn't bad enough, then we had the Limbo thing cause Wolverine and Nightcrawler were stuck there. We needed to get them out, not just cause they're part of the school, but so much depended on them coming back. People depended on it." A picture of the lifeless look on Aideen's face floated into his mind, making him cringe. It tore him apart what that girl went through, but also made him admire her all the more cause she survived, and he was proud in the small role he played to help her survive.

"Limbo was where we went through it. I hope you never gotta go there babe, or anything like that. It's such a place where it's like outta a horror story, it will change ya even when you fight it. That's where I changed the most I think. What's weird though is that Lorelai didn't. She went through hell too, but somehow she managed to stay the same through it all. Meanwhile I'm shook up like hell, my whole world was upside down. Everything that I knew my whole life didn't seem to matter as much. I didn't get how it all changed me so much, but Lorelai didn't seem bothered. It was like it never happened for her," Ian said in disbelief, shaking his head and pulling a squirrel from atop his head.

"But I guess it all effected her later or somethin' cause after we split, I still wanted to be friends, but she didn't want to. Pretty much shot me down at every turn." He shrugged again and gave a sad smile. "Despite all that, I still feel bad about what Rumble did to her. He's a bad guy Liv babe, a really bad guy. Veronika, well she thinks he's good lookin' and rich, plus that girl Ember that he's obsessed with? She don't like her all that much so it doesn't bother her. I hate him, I don't really hate anyone babe, but him I hate. He's a destroyer of everythin' good." The far off look in Ian's eyes was replaced by one of true hate as his blood boiled just barely remembering how Rumble tortured Aideen all the time and how he nearly killed him and his girl. A squirrel sat on his knee and Ian pet it as gently as he could, hoping in the back of his mind that he didn't get bit.

[Rhetoric]

Liv had drawn her knees up under her chin while Ian was talking, listening intently as he unloaded on her. She couldn’t begin to understand what he and his friends had been through, didn’t want to ever have to empathize with the literal Hell they’d been through. The fact that this dude was still such a sweetheart when he would have been completely justified if he were jaded spoke volumes about who Ian was. It had been a golden moment when he had showed up in the door way to her room. A person couldn’t go wrong with a friend like Ian.

A loaded silence fell between the pair, not uncomfortable, just heavy, and Liv finally realized she had been practically squeezing the stuffing out of the poor raccoon. She let him go hastily and he let out a little strangled gasp before puffing up in annoyance, giving Liv a terse lecture on manners. Wonky kit, he grumbled, his dialect gritty and sloppy as shoved at her legs. Liv adjusted her position to sit cross-legged and the fuzzy bandit crawled into her lap, his chin propped on her knee. He’s upset. I can smell it, he told her. Fix it.

“Oh, stuff it.” Liv scowled at the raccoon, picturing him as a hat with a tail. Slowly she looked up to make eye contact with Ian. No shit he was upset. After everything that had happened to him and in only three months… well he was stronger than Liv was and not just physically. Twice Liv started to speak only to discover that she didn’t know what to say. Nothing that Liv could come up with seemed adequate and this whole conversation was way, way more serious than she had anticipated. “I…” her words fled again and she looked down at the raccoon in her lap. Running her fingers the wrong way up his fur she reminded herself that Emma Frost had named her Rhetoric for a reason. She was supposed to have some talent with words. Maybe she couldn’t be brilliant, but she could at least make Ian feel better.

Or try to.

“That all sounds unbelievably terrible. The Limbo part, and the whole, ya know, getting shit on by your best friend part. Frosty’s got snow for brains. Seriously. ” Liv snorted, her irritation at Lore doubling. Being mean to Ian would have to be like kicking a big, goofy puppy and between Lore and Rumble, the poor guy had been kicked quite enough. Then and there she knew exactly what she would be doing to get back at dear Frostbite and a devious glint sparked in the whiskey depths of her eyes as she absently pet the raccoon. Glancing at Ian, she smiled, shoving his arm lightly. “But just look at you, bro. You went through hell and came out the other side. How many guys can say that? Seriously, stop looking so serious or I’ll have to start translating for that little hooker on your leg.”

The squirrel perched on Ian’s knee was letting out a happy strings of gibberish, practically in heaven as she got a backrub. Nicey nicey two-legga! Yup, yup! Looooove him, best friend, yup yup!

Liv erupted into inappropriate giggles and smiled up at Ian. “I know I can’t really say anything to make you feel better, but if it helps at all, I’m awful glad you’re here.”

[Diesel]

A slow grin made it's way across Ian's face as he looked down at the very content squirrel on his knee. He for one was glad he wasn't bit and he felt better just petting her right there. Animals were always something that always made him smile, like his dogs back home that were just awesome. "Yea, it kinda makes it better," he said with a grin at Liv. "Honestly, until just now I didn't realize how much happened. I don't really talk all that much like that, so sorry for unloading on ya like that."

Something like this where it was two people with no pressure just chilling out was something that Ian probably needed as much as Liv from the day she had. It had been awhile for him to have a moment like now. He was always playing team leader or boyfriend or keeping his guard up with the guys, but never just relaxed and chilling out now. Ian used to have these moments more when he was back home and him and Eric were chilling on the beach after catching the knarly morning waves. "What sucks I think the most, is that it ain't over. With Rumble around it ain't ever over, and I promise you babe you'll see him for yourself and get it.."

Ian raked a hand through his hair and squeezed the back of his neck in frustration. "Stay clear of him babe, cause he's bad news. No one really heard from his since the cookout yesterday, and that ain't really a good thing. Who knows what the hell he's been up to, and I'm betting babe you'll see first hand what I'm talking about," he said with a sigh and gave her a grim smile. "I know you ain't that dumb to go for a guy like that, but I just wanna warn ya. It's hard enough watchin' Aideen have to deal with him, and then my girl Niki, well she always tries to get in his face. It scares me cause I don't think she gets that this guy will kill her and not give it a second thought. But Niki..."

A slight smile came on his face thinking about her. He adored how headstrong she was, but it made him worry just as much. "You'll see what I mean when ya meet her. She ain't the easiest person to get along with, but she loves Aideen like nothing else and it kills her to see her go through it. I just worry cause Rumble is different than she's used to, and she won't back down." Ian stopped himself and looked at Liv with a sheepish grin. "Hey wow I'm sorry babe I don't mean to keep unloading on you like this. I don't really talk to anyone like this. I think its the animal," he said with a grin and rubbed the little squirrel's belly.

"But yea, that's really the only person you gotta watch out for. What else you wanna know? I mean I still remember being new in the school and stuff, and I wish someone was around that could tell me stuff. Like anything about the teachers ya wanna know? Or something else about the other people here?" Ian prompted and decided to let her do some of the talking. He was wondering what there was that she would want to know, plus it was a good way to keep her mind off her ruined stuff and Frostbite.

[Rhetoric]

Liv grinned over at Ian and shrugged, rolling the pooge of a raccoon around playfully. “I’m not real sure, honestly. I think this place might take a little time to adjust to. Like my last school didn’t have a half naked telepath in charge, or a giant ninja bunny that could operate smoke bombs, or… a jet.” She smiled, totally at ease and glad for the distraction of some quality company and pretty scenery. Sure Liv had questions, but there were simply too many bouncing around in her head for her to be bothered sorting them on the spot. She would save them for later, for when she was in the mood to fully process everything she’d been through since arriving. For now she was happy to just hang out and pretend that she hadn’t lost her books, her phone, and her drum kit.

Wincing, Liv rolled her achy shoulders, dropping her drumsticks out of her sleeves and rapping them absently on the grass. Her Da was going to murder her for letting Lore wreck that kit. The drum set had been a big deal, a Christmas present from her father, and not something that she could easily replace. She could practically see him, standing there with his arms crossed that familiar look of stoic disapproval on his face. Her Mam was going to be far less concerned about the drum kit and more annoyed that Liv had let herself get sucker punched like that. Liv’s mother was… colorful to say the least and if Liv knew what was good for her she would be keeping this from her parents for as long as she could.

“How long before this place stops feeling like camp or something?” she asked absently, sitting back to watch the sky change colors. “It doesn’t even feel real, you know? Like this is all some massive joke or Frost is going to come out here and tell me there’s been a serious mistake and I’ve got to go home.” Liv smiled, her voice light despite the genuine worry behind her words. The school was like a new pair of jeans and the fit wasn’t quite comfortable yet. She saw the way the Paragons operated, the way Veronika had been adamant about the team taking care of its own, and Liv wanted to be a part of that. She was a social creature by nature, be it herd, flock, pack, or Team, she reminded herself. Two-leggers… HUMANS call them teams. Family. Lord, I’m losing my mind. Whatever word she used, Liv didn’t want to be seen as some dead weight loser that got her ass beat the first day. It didn’t take much to see that the Paragons valued usefulness. If all she had to offer was a smart mouth and an impeccable back handspring, she was likely going to be in trouble.

The sun was slowly disappearing and it was painting the clouds with a stunning combination of orange and pink. It was making Liv miss home and her perpetually amused smirk sort of fell. Had she been home, Liv would have been bedding down the trail horses for the night, doing a last once over in the stable and gathering up tack that would need cleaning or mending. She probably would have snuck Houdini out of his stall and disappeared into the Pinelands for a while to just sit and listen as the woods came to life at night. Most of the time the massive German shepherd that doubled as best friend and guardian would make the run as well and the pair would just kick back and enjoy the serenity that nature always provided.

Somehow Liv already knew there wouldn’t be many serene moments while she was at Xavier’s.

That prompted a low chuckle from the Jersey girl and she moved into a Valdez, pretty much propped up into a backbend in the grass. “I’ve got a question for you. Is this place always so… bat shit insane?” Muscles shrieking in protest Liv kicked her legs over so that she was standing upright a chipper little grin on her battered face. “People being buried alive, sent to hell, sword fighting with cute little bunnies, and ice to a wall… I’ve only been here a day and I already know that this place is a circus.”

[Diesel]

"Oh man babe, you don't know the half of how crazy this place gets," Ian said with a slight grin and shook his head just thinking about it. "Lemme tell you just what happened the last couple of days, to give ya a hint on what daily life here is like. Last week alone, Katana threw a shit fit in Drama class over nothing, which by the way is a normal thing. I don't got that class, but Gavin was telling me about it and it's kinda a regular thing with her so you learn to expect it. Anyways that started the craziness, which then moved on to gym, where we got buried alive. But BEFORE all that.." Ian's eyes were wide as he looked back on the insane week they had which was really all in the norm at the school.

"Well gym is that class that everyone, and I mean everyone takes, so that means that you got all the Hellions and Corsairs too and it ain't easy cause Wolverine teaches it. In the middle of the starting exercises, Spitfire, oh that's Aideen by the way, comes in and damn she looked HOT, uh no pun intended. Like everyone's used to her dressin' all conservative and stuff, you know plain clothes that cover everything up, her hair is always up in like a braid or somethin' and I don't think she wears any makeup. And she comes into class wearin' this shirt that like, well damn it was just surprising. It was all short, showed off her stomach and uh, other stuff," he said with a blush tinging his cheeks as he remembered how weird it all was.

"But anyways, it like made everyone go 'oh shit' and Rumble man, oh forget about it he went right over to her. Thing you gotta know about Wolverine, Aideen's like his favorite student. They actually get along and chill and stuff, so when he saw Rumble comin' over, he grabbed the dude by his ear and all but threw him back to his spot. THEN Inflict, who's power is that he can pretty much make anyone he touches experience serious pain, put his hand on Wolverine and pretty much threatened him right then and there. I think everyone was holding their breath at that point." Ian shook his head with wide eyes as he still couldn't believe that Inflict had the balls to threaten Wolverine like that. I mean, it was freaking Wolverine! "Later on me and Niki went after Rumble on our own and he buried us, and then right after we got out, we see Frostbite walkin' over and helping HIM. It was such bullshit and I don't think anyone could believe it. It was a shock that's for sure, but hey Rumble played her big time it seems in the end."

Ian sighed and took another squirrel down from his head and placed it on his shoulder, where it made itself comfortable and curled up into a little ball and hid behind it's tail. The one on his knee he was pretty sure was snoozing to her heart's content. "Oh and the next day was just crazy shit from beginning to the end. So we had Biology/Science in the morning with Doc, or Beast whatever. Anyways our science projects were due that day so you had a bunch of people bringing their stuff in. Well first off, Chase like wrecked Katana and Chupacabra's project, which was funny in a messed up way. She used to be a Paragon, but the night before Frost switched up her and Frostbite, so we got stuck with her. She's kinda a basket case. So that started off Biology, the whole damn room smelling like rat guts. That believe it or not was the calmer part of the class. So the thing was that Doc, Kitty, and Wolverine were gonna judge our projects."

He saw the look that crossed Liv's face and he nodded knowingly. "Yea Rumble and Aideen were in the class by the way, so you see where this is going," he said with a sigh, but then a smirk came across his face. "To make a long story short babe, first Rumble and Niki got into it when he started in on Aideen again, and THEN oh man then shit hit the fan. Rumble started in on Aideen on really personal stuff, stuff that I don't even know how he knew and holy shit Wolverine snapped! Like totally went berserk on Rumble. First he grabbed him and beat the shit out of him, then he picked him up and just threw him out the god damn window! We were like three floors up to. The freaky shit was that Rumble was like laughing the whole time and enjoying it, and then the whole room shook cause Rumble got that earthquake thing. And to make shit even worse, it all happened just as Frost came in with Veronika's parents, who are like huge donors to the school. It was bad man, real bad." The smirk on his face widened as he looked at Liv. "But I gotta say, seeing Wolverine beat Rumble to a pulp and then throw him outta window just made my week, even if he did end up getting suspended."

Ian let out a slight laugh as he looked back on all the stuff that happened in just the past couple of days. "Next day was actually the calmest of the week. Emma's English class is always all orderly cause you know it's Emma Frost." He nodded his head gravely at that as it was pretty obvious. "Art class was nuts as usual, Chase went streaking in class, and I really coulda done without that. Saturday was the crazy cookout, and well I already told ya 'bout that," he smirked slightly and shook his head. "And this was a calmer week than normal by the way," he added and laughed slightly at the look on her face. "Anything else babe?"

[Rhetoric]

Liv blinked, her grin tilting into a full on smirk. “Honestly? I don’t think I wanna know anymore. This place really is… I mean kids getting chucked out windows?” She laughed, scooping up the raccoon and shaking a scolding finger in his furry face. “Why didn’t you tell me, huh, Pooge? You fill me in on the bombs and bon fires, but neglect important stuff like dudes getting tossed from the third floor… some informant you are.” She tapped his nose lightly and the Pooge barred his teeth, gripping her finger with his paws.

Mouthy thing. I ent no one’s informant. I am a procurer.

“That’s a fancy way of sayin you’re a fuzzy, little thief.” Liv giggled and glanced over at Ian, a soft blush burning her cheeks. He must have thought she was a lunatic, having a full on, adult conversation with a fluffy pest. Liv knew what it looked like. As awesome as her power was, it did tend to make her look like an utter jackass. Sure people talked to their pets, but how many of those pets could help with a crossword puzzle or help her study for a chemistry test? There was none of that insipid, mushy ‘baby talk’. In fact, Liv spoke to her furry and feathered friends with the same devious, sarcastic tone that she often used on the two-leggers in her life.

Eyebrow popped, Liv smiled as the squirrels continued their careful inspection of Ian. He was taking it all in stride, being as gentle as possible with them. It didn’t go unnoticed and Liv listened to the bushytailed rodents chatter amongst themselves as they sniffed and circled, climbed and jumped about. When they were satisfied all but two bounded across the grass to settle around Liv murmuring their acceptance of this giant among them. Liv smiled warmly and shook her head. “They tell me everything,” she explained with a shrug. “I already know about the bonfires, the cookout fiasco, hell even the sonic boom thing that happened while I was off campus today. They’re useful, huh?”

She sat back down, balancing on the soccer ball. “If this guy causes so much trouble, why not boot him out? I mean, that has to be a better alternative to throwing him off a building.” Liv looked thoughtful a moment before she shrugged. “I guess that’s what happens when your parents have money. Must be nice. If I acted up, my ass would be back in the truck and heading back to Batsto, make no mistake about th—AAAH!” Something small and feathery dropped out of the sky hurtling into Liv’s face. She tipped back off the soccer ball, landing in the grass in a groaning heap. “Cuil, I hate you.”

[Diesel]

Despite everything, he had to admit that Liv was kind of adorable they way she handled and spoke to animals. Ian was a big animal lover, and it was pretty awesome that he found a friend in someone who not only loved animals too, but also had a connection with them. It was really fun for him to watch. "Man it must be awesome to have a bunch of little animal friends like that. Even if they do dive bomb you," he said with a laugh looking at the little bird bothering Liv.

"Aw admit it they're pretty awesome." Ian laughed and tickled the squirrel under it's chin. "I think it's like a cool series where you have a cool chick with a band of animal spies. That's pretty sweet babe." He looked at her again with the animals and laughed slightly, returning to petting the squirrel on his knee. Ian decided to hang out with Liv a bit more if it meant she'd have animals around her. They calmed him and he had fun when it was just then and furry little creatures everywhere. It really made Ian loosen up and just be himself without any pressure to be anything else.

"I have a feeling that if they got rid of Rumble, it would be even worse sending him out to the world. It's messed up in my opinion, cause I think the reason they don't do anything is cause Aideen handles him pretty well. Not that she didn't hurt him, cause she did plenty of times. OH MAN, I totally forgot to mention what happened at Bobby's class. It was crazy, Aideen like snapped totally! I mean I don't know what happened to make her snap, but holy shit, so like we're all in the lake cause it's after class and we were all messing around. Not Aideen though, she don't like water and she went to put the boat we made back in the boathouse. The next thing this huge ass crash like echoed through the area and Rumble was literally thrown out through the boathouse wall. If you went by the docks yet, you'd still see the hole in the boathouse wall." Ian smirked thinking about how awesome it all came out to be, though it was scary as hell in the beginning.

He looked back at her as his smirk fell, recalling the whole incident. "So anyways, first off it was weird and crazy as hell, cause Aideen is mad tiny next to Rumble. He's got like a foot in height on her and at least a hundred pounds on her. But she hit him and kicked him hard as hell, sending him to the floor each time, it was like everyone was dead silent while it was happening cause Aideen NEVER snaps babe. She's got like this crazy disciplined self control and stuff, it was all just nuts. Then she had a fire dagger to his neck, and Bobby managed to break it up literally at the last millisecond. She was gonna kill him," Ian said with wide eyes, remembering how the whole thing happened in like slow motion. It wasn't till then that he realized just how dangerous she was, and just how lucky Rumble was, son of a bitch that he was. "That was number two on crazy shit that happens at the school. First was the Wolverine throwing Rumble out the window stuff, but that was awesome. Made him the most epic and badass dude EVER!"

He smiled slightly as the squirrel on his knee rolled over on to its belly and he scratched it lightly. "It ain't all that nuts in every aspect though. Cause we're together all the time and we pretty much are like a big family here, everyone is mad tight. Obviously you got enemies and relationships form and stuff, but the friends you got are mad tight. Like I had friends I was tight with at home, but it's different here. You'll see what I mean, it's kinda a cool feeling," Ian said with a slight smile. "So what exactly did you're animal spies tell ya 'bout the stuff going on around here? I wanna see how much they really know what goes on." He was curious since he knew a lot of stuff went down without him knowing but also if the animals knew exactly what was going on too.

[Rhetoric]

She couldn’t have kept the smile off her face if she wanted to. Ian was asking for an awful long list. “Well…” Liv rubbed her thumb over the bruise on her jaw while she thought about it. “Think about it this way. Emma Frost has a line on everythin that happens here at the Academy. My little friends here, though, are the eyes and ears on the outside. They knew who goes into the woods and what they get up to, who smokes out by the lake, and apparently those wolf kids hunt out here. Really they tell me all sorts of stuff.” Liv gestured to the animals resting in the grass around them, her smile relaxed and genuine. “They don’t miss much.” Gently, she plucked the sparrow out of her curls and held him in her palm. He looked far from happy, his little feathers puffed out and his bead-like eyes smoldering. “What’s the matter, Cuil?”

I dun like that cold egg. She’s dangerous to yeh, Livi. Cuil peeped, hopping up and down on her hand. Next time the messes with one of my flock I’ll have’er beaked in the eyes.

He meant her. Sighing, Liv cuddled the little bird to her chest and looked up at Ian. “And they’re brave as hell, Big Guy. You remember Cuil, don’t you? He was at breakfast this morning.” She brushed a finger lightly over Cuil’s chest feathers. Really, she didn’t deserve such amazing friends. Cuil had only just taken to her the night before, but her little warrior bird was already fiercely protective. If it weren’t so damn cute it would be laughable, but Liv knew better. One sparrow wasn’t all that dangerous, but a flock of angry little birds with pointy beaks and razor talons…

“I’ve got a dog, back home. A German shepherd, Lothario. He’s just about the coolest thing on four legs. Lo works with my Da, but he’s my best friend. He likes me better.” Liv stared up at the darkening sky and watched the fireflies blink in and out of existence. The squirrels were starting to make their way back toward the trees. The predators and nocturnals would be coming out soon, and the tiny fluff balls were heading for cover. Somewhere nearby an owl was proudly alerting the night to his presence and Liv stretched, wincing a bit at the ache in her arms. This must be one of those rare peaceful moments he was talking about. Better make the most of it.

Propping herself up on her elbow Liv looked over Ian carefully in the failing light. He was a cool guy. He had come to her rescue and hadn’t even cracked a single Disney joke. If anyone, Liv could probably get away with telling Ian about home without getting laughed at or mocked. “Lo and I used to drive my parents crazy. I’m always good for a distraction and he’d nick a bag of chips out of the cabinet, or a beer out the cooler. The best was when Da grounded me for locking my brother out on the roof. Lo stole his keys to the truck and buried them in the yard. He had no idea what was going on until he threatened to cut the Comcast and my sister ratted us out. God forbid she miss her stupid Vampire Diaries or whatever crap she watches. I think Da wanted to laugh about the whole thing, but my Da… he’s got a real rigid streak in him. He put Lo on the leash for a month and I lost trail privileges. That’s what my mom and I do. We run a stable that offers tours into the Pine Barrens.” For a moment she was quiet, absently stroking the Pooge raccoon. “I know it sounds stupid, but I just get on better with animals than I do with two-le— people. Maybe it’s just the mutant stuff kickin in.” Liv let Cuil hop onto her shoulder peeping quietly into her ear while the Pooge cuddled up to her, seeming to sense that she needed a little extra comfort. “Aww, thanks guys. It’s just been a long day.”

[Haven]

"I'll say it's been a long day." Niki said walking up on the pair from behind and stepping between them to take a seat on the grass opposite the pair. "Been a long day lookin for you" she said to Ian "and I find you out here with" she motioned her one arm around and all about as she leaned back casually on the other "whatever this all is."

The look on her face was one that she wore when she demanded an explanation and Ian knew it well. She had looked all over for him as she had sorted through her feelings and the choices she had made. She'd given up a lot to be accepted here at this place, to be taken seriously as someone who was willing to be a team player and not feared as an outright murdering terrorist. She had payed the price, been tested and tempered by the crucible of wrath and disdain that she was subjected to from not just the Headmistress and her thick headed militant boyfriend Headmaster, but every student and teacher who felt they had cause.

Through it all her man, her love, had stood by her side and then along came today. Sitting up she leaned in a bit toward Ian as she folded her legs Indian style and rested her elbows on her knees. "You never shunned me before, but then I guess this new girl had your eye huh? So you gonna tell me what's goin on Papi, cause I sure ain't gonna ask her. And I ain't wastin words tellin her she's sittin with my man. Heh, she reminds me of that joke about the girl with two black eyes- looks like in her case she already been told somethin once." Her head finally turned away from her boyfriend and her gaze met Liv's eyes. "So, Ian..." she said still looking at Liv ".. what exactly is goin on?"

[Diesel]

The laugh that was coming from Ian at the story Liv told about her dog died when he saw Niki come up. Not that he ever had an issue seeing his girl, but damn now he was confused and a protective feeling rose up in him when it came to Liv. She was really chill and she been through a lot. Though he had a feeling she didn't like breaking down in front of him earlier, it did sort of spark the beginning of a friendship that he had a feeling would be an awesome. "Lay off babe, she had a rough day dealing with Frostbite's stupid ass tantrums, and she's mad cool. And since when am I shunning you?" Ian's face was scrunched up in confusion as he tensed up again, trying to figure what he did wrong today.

"Is this 'bout me slacking off on my homework this weekend and how I busted my butt to get it all done today? Aw babe, don't get mad at me for that, I been goin' between Ivy and Torri all day to get my stuff done," he protested and smiled sheepishly at Liv. "I kinda tend to put things off. And I still gotta wait for Spitfire so she can check over my Math stuff, cause you know that there ain't anyone better than her for that." Ian sighed and gave Niki a half smile. "Sorry babe. By the way Liv, this is my girl Niki that I told ya about, Niki, this is Liv, she's the new Paragon, and check it out, she can talk to animals! I made new friends!" He held up the little squirrel that retreated to his arms with the newcomer and used his finger to pet her head gently.

"Anyways we met up before dinner," Ian said still petting the squirrel as his expression turned slightly dark than his usual light hearted expression and had a hint of sadness to it. "Frostbite went nuts and trashed all her stuff. It's mad messed up," he gave Liv a grim smile. "But I told her that we could salvage it. Blondie said that she'd take all the water out of her stuff, and Sean could repair a lot of the electronics. And I think a dude came in that has a power that's based on electronics so we could always ask him to help." He had already told Liv all this earlier, but was just sort of filling Niki in while thinking about it himself. He wasn't going to tell Niki how he found Liv, since it wasn't for him to tell, but he knew how Niki would feel once she heard what Frostbite did.

"We been sorta relaxing since then. OH!" He leaned up and gave her a kiss on the cheek since he didn't wanna disrespect Liv or make her uncomfortable, and he hated PDA to begin with. "That dinner was AMAZING babe, I had three bowls. We ate pretty well before we came out here to chill and I didn't know you can cook. Thanks for that." Ian smiled at her and then looked at Liv with a grin. He warned her before that Niki was a bit prickly when someone first met her, but she was mad cool once someone got to chill with her. He really liked Liv and he hoped that she wouldn't be too intimidated or pissed by Niki's brash behavior.

[Rhetoric]

Academy : 1 – Peace and quiet : 0

Liv bristled and sat up with deliberate slowness, eyeing the glaringly pale girl that had just parked in the grass with her and Ian. She didn’t know the newcomer, but Liv was well acquainted with that tone. It was a blatant and clear warning to back off and comprehension dawned as Ian leaned over and kissed the stranger on the cheek. Ooooh, so this is the girl friend… huh. Liv had been warned about Niki’s prickly personality, and the Paragon smirked across the grass, already dismissing the curvy albino’s aggression. Animal wasn’t the only language that Liv communicated in. She spoke bitch pretty fluently and she got the hint, as unnecessary as it might be. “Wow, you weren’t kidding, Ian. She’s totally pretty… and charming.” Showing off her teeth in a lopsided grin, Liv offered the other girl a quick nod. The chick was about as cuddly as a porcupine and just as well mannered, but as the girlfriend of her only actual friend at the school so far, Liv was reserving judgement. “How’s it going… Niki, right? I’m Liv Cooper.”

Cuil wasn’t so quick to forgive. The sparrow knew aggression when he heard it and he was so puffed up he was near perfectly round as he chirped abuse from Liv’s shoulder. The squirrels that had been cuddling up the big Acolyte scampered off toward the trees and the chubby raccoon simply peeked out from under his tail to hiss at Niki before hiding his eyes again. “Wimp,” Liv muttered affectionately. “Go on and get outta here, you Pooge. I’ll talk to you later.” She nudged the raccoon in the direction of the woods and shushed the sparrow peeping indignantly from behind Liv’s curtain of curls. “That’s enough, Cuil. Just because someone talks tough doesn’t mean you have to posture back. Rule number one : behave.”

What is rule number two, Livi? Cuil’s small peeping voice made Liv laugh happily as she whispered back. “Tell you later...”

“So we have you to thank for dinner. It was amazing, Niki. Thanks. Made a decent projectile, too. I should have aimed for that creeps eyes. That sort of seasoning probably would have stung like hell…” Liv shrugged and leaned back into the grass again. She had no problems with this chick and she hadn’t done a thing to get worked up about. Ian was a cool guy, a real easy going dude and Liv was capable of laughing off a few bad vibes. “So Niki, aside from feeding newbies and gluttons like Ian… what’s your jam?”

[Haven]

She gave Ian her cheek willingly, but never wavered her stare into Liv's eyes. Hmm.. seems pretty genuine..not stupid, that's fer sure...and Frostbite has a problem with her? Well Hell, she must be good people then. Niki's hard look broke and suddenly her features softened as she regarded Liv. Still not sure exactly what the girl was all about and not one to ever take a new person into her graces that quick she let the scowl melt off her face. She did after all compliment her cooking. "Charming huh? You are cool, and funny. I'll give ya that."

She raised an eyebrow as she shot Liv a half smile at the cute sarcastic remark she made. "My jam? Just livin, tryin to survive and not get pulled into all the crazy crap this place has to offer. Ya know what I'm sayin? Guess I owe you an apology. Lookin all over for this guy and I find him out here with you? You can understand I'm sure." She never did say she was sorry for anything, but the thought did cross her mind. It was a definite step away from the Haven of the past, to even consider an apology to a girl she didn't know who was takin up time with her man. It was a noticeable step, and she glanced back to Ian.

"Oh, you thought I was kiddin 'bout bein able to cook? Mi amor that's just a little something I make sometimes when I feel like something simple and hearty and I'm glad you liked it." Her award winning smile lit up her face as she looked at him then. How could she stay mad at that big lovable lug? "Did you get any of the plantains? I hope Jasper saved you some." She reached out to take hold of his arm around the wrist and pull it up to slide her hand into his. "You know I wanted to talk with you about something, but later is fine. I'm glad you got all your homework done though. You love to put it off and then it takes up all day Sunday, cept.." then she paused. Something Ian had said clicked in her head and she suddenly wondered how long ago he got done and how long he'd been hanging out with this girl.

"I'm just wonderin how long you two been hangin out, cause well, maybe I wont apologize to you if you been keepin him busy for hours." She looked at the two of them, Liv and then Ian in turn, considering what kind of things might have been said or done in the time they shared. Her grip tightened if only ever so slightly. "So you 'met up' before diner huh? ...where?.. and when?" She knew Ivy hardly ever left her room so that meant Ian had probably been in the girl's dorm. She figured that if Frostbite saw Ian in Liv's room that might explain why she went off on the girl and all of her stuff. "And how does Frostbite figure in to all this?" She had no idea the two girls were room mates, she could care less who roomed where.

[Diesel]

Ian shrugged, not noticing the change of grip on Niki's part and shared a look with Liv. He didn't want to give out her private business but he could tell Niki was on her possessive streak and he wasn't in the mood really to deal with it. Liv seemed to get his silent communication and Ian could clearly read that she didn't want him to say anything. He could respect that, after all it wasn't Niki's business what happened in there, and he could imagine she didn't want many people to know. "I was goin' to see Ivy, and well pretty much I walked in on Frostbite and Liv gettin' into it and I stepped in. Finally got a chance to tell Frostbite what I think of her. She tried to blame me by the way cause I never looked for her to give her a chance to apologize, what kinda shit is that babe?" He scowled as he thought of the conversation and how it was the same shit over and over again, Frostbite not taking responsibility for the shit she pulled and blaming everyone but herself.

"I mean what kinda shit is that, I'm supposed to stick around and be available for her to find me and apologize? That's such bull man, but I ain't surprised she tried to twist it that way. I'm glad I told her what I think of her," Ian said and shook his head in disgust again. "Anyways we sorta been chilling since then, Liv's stuff got trashed and we decided to relax first with that awesome dinner and then just chinning here with these little guys," he said point at some of the squirrels who now ran away and his behind Liv, and the one little one that stuck with him on his shoulder and stared at Niki cautiously.

Ian gave Niki an odd look then and sat up straighter, his relaxed stance from earlier pretty much gone. "What are ya questioning me like this for anyways? Ya actin' like the second I ain't with ya I'm screwin' around with some other chick. What the hell Niki, when did I ever give you a god damn reason to be so suspicious of me?" Now he was annoyed, mainly cause he wasn't a cheater and he never did anything to deserve the interrogation or the third degree. He took his arm back from her grip and went back to using both hands to bring the little squirrel down from his shoulder and pet her again.

Sure the whole thing started that night they got back from Limbo and Niki kissed him while he was still with Frostbite, but he really wasn't a cheater. The next chance he got, he told Lorelai what happened, apologized, and said that he was willing to still try to keep their relationship going and he wouldn't do that again. Frostbite told him they were done, and he respected her decision. He just didn't have it in him to lie to someone he cared about and he would think Niki by now knew he cared about her to stick with her as much as he did.

Ian met Liv's pretty light brown eyes with an apologetic look on his face. He was having a blast spending time with her one on one, and he loved their conversation and how relaxed he was. Now he was just annoyed and tense and not in the least bit happy. In fact, he didn't even want to discuss any of this crap anymore. "Hey Liv, where did the other little guys go? They coming back?" He asked desperate to move on so he wouldn't have to talk about this crap and just get angrier. He tickled the little squirrel's head and smiled as her eyes closed, loving the attention. "I miss the other little dudes, though I could do without 'em climbing on my head." Ian put the squirrel on his knee and kept petting her gently. "They're pretty knarly little guys," he said with a soft smile.

[Haven]

"Hold on. Now who's givin who attitude?" NIki asked Ian, dusting her hands off. "I wasn't askin because I don't trust you - I don't trust HER, ya goofball. Hey I don't even KNOW her. I don't know what her intentions are with you, and on top of all of THAT I've never lied to you about my feelings or held in anything from you. Are you saying you want me to start now?"

She looked at him sternly and then realized it was her that had been shady, she shouldn't have, but no - "No, hell no, my feelings are valid and I'm not gonna apologize for em or keep em from you. I wouldn't want you to keep yours from me. So, sorry Papi, but that's how it is and thats all." She was done blowing up, her emotional outburst spent she took a second to center herself and drew in a slow deep breath.

"I'm sorry Liv. You didn't need to see that, or have me judge you. Ya seem pretty O.K. but you can never tell, and I really care about this guy. Hey you know, you spent some time with him, he's just damn amazing." She looked at Ian and let her lips move the word 'sorry' before she turned back to Liv. "Had a bad day huh?" she said seeing the split lip and the telltale signs of Lorelai's handy work. "Well, it's over now and next time I see her I'll pound her face again for you if you like." She grinned at the poor sweet Paragon.

"I can be a bitch sometimes, but it's just.. it's nothin personal really, if you can believe that. It hasn't been all wine and roses for me up till now and most times I keep a wall up, so I get it if you don't want to be too friendly with me. BUT if Ian's willing to throw a number eight hissy-fit for ya here, then you have to be somebody special." She finally relaxed fully, knowing at least Ian knew how she could be and not getting exactly why he'd jump to the conclusion he did about her not trusting him made her heart break, but she knew he'd get over it in a minute or two. He usually let shit roll off his back.

"As for that crazy icy asshole, I don't care who thinks I did her wrong, she deserved what she got. That's just payback for messin up so many people's lives. Your life" she looked at Ian "my life, the lives of our team mates. I'll be the bad guy again, since that's the role I'm oh so good at" she smirked "but I just did what she was askin me to do. Guess it only made her worse. So, I should probably say sorry for that too Liv, since she took it out on you." She said back to Liv.

"But.." her eyes looked up into her man's then. His sweet, soulful, caring eyes, and she melted. "..at least you got to say your peace baby." She reached over to offer her hand to the squirrel Ian was holding for inspection, and to give Ian a chance to feel the calmness of her presence too, before she inched closer to him to try and pet the furry bundle in his hands. "I can't believe she actually went there!?! Like it's your responsibility to tract someone down so they can apologize to you? I guess I musta gave her brain damage when I hit her cause that's freakin ignorant, and to say something like that out loud is just shows how stupid she really is."