Libraries are for Sleeping

[Frostbite]

Lorelai sat in one of the comfy chairs in the corner of the library she'd once claimed for herself, slouching down into it with her feet propped up on a chair she'd pulled up to serve as a footrest, tuned out as ever. There was a book in her lap, laid on the pages to hold her spot. Her head was leaning back against the chair, eyes closed as she had decided to take a little nap. She wasn't hungry; she didn't really care enough to feel hungry at that time, and she felt like reading a book she hadn't brought with her to the zoo.

Thanks to one lovely little new-girl midget she was rather sure, her skin was tinged blue from the shower she had taken yesterday. Tinting her skin the color of her hair was not something that Lorelai appreciated, so she had spent most of the day trying to scrub it off periodically until she couldn't handle the irritation anymore. It didn't work as well as she would've liked, so she settled for just wearing a hoodie to cover her bare, bluish arms and top half, and pants to cover her lower half. Her face was not as blue as her arms, as she'd put more effort into trying to lighten the ink, although her face was now a bit on the tender side. Her fingers were especially blue due to fixing her shower head and getting out the tips that had turned the water blue. Her fingers mattered less, so she could handle them being the color they were. It humored her to think that they matched her current personality and her powers, although it took 'Smurf' to a whole new level. That was why she did amuse herself the day before as well to get back at the midgety pain in the ass, who cleared out of her room, thank the f*cking gods.

Target practice!

She'd spent about an hour or so in the courtyard practicing and honing her skills at shooting icy shards and projectiles at the little birds who were unfortunate enough to come across her path. Moving targets were hard....at first. Taking down a few made life a bit more fun, so she was happy enough for the day.

Now, after a peaceful night of having her room back to herself and herself alone in its frigid coldness, she was content for just fulfilling the sudden urge to read a certain book, and settled for falling asleep. Music still played in her ears, and while they had an effect on her mood, they had no effect blasting in her ears even as she slept.

[Sketch]

There was a glisten among the stacks, a pale blue light that did not belong. It winked out of existence for a moment before appearing again. Max Shepherd was back in the library, this time without his art supplies. One run in with Rogue was enough for the quiet New Mutant, and he had no desire for another. He only kept his Sharpie on him, clipped to the collar of his shirt incase he needed it. So long as he didn’t make anymore fire birds in the library, he was sure he wouldn’t be chased out again. Sighing, Max added another book to his rapidly growing pile. He was skipping breakfast that morning, opting to go hungry instead of facing a room full of so many other people. Technology class had been bad enough, but a cafeteria… No. It was too much too soon. He would ease himself into it eventually but for now he was perfectly content with a few books and a spot out of the way where he could read them.

But there was some chick in his chair.

Max blinked rapidly, his eye-shine flickering. She was sleeping in the chair he wanted, book open on her lap, music blaring in her ears. Her feet were propped up on the only other chair and Max felt a wave of irritation. Way to be as inconsiderate as possible, he thought to himself, eyeing his blue haired, blue skinned classmate. For a moment he just stood there, feeling a bit lost as to how to proceed. She had a rather sour expression on her face, even while asleep, and since Max had no idea what ability had landed her at Xavier’s he couldn’t rationalize waking her up. With his luck he’d be electrocuted or turned to dust. That would not be an ideal way to start the day.

Grumbling to himself about rude blue girls, Max rolled up his sleeve and drew a fluffy, comfortable chair on his arm. The smooth lines of the Sharpie’s ink glowed as blue as his eye-shine and the chair appeared beside him. Settling himself, Max picked up his first book and, occasionally glaring at Sleeping Blue-ty, he began to read.

[Frostbite]

In her short nap, she felt something in her throat, as if she had snored and the vibrations woke her up from her light sleep. Opening her light brown eyes, Lorelai looked around and remembered she was in the library, although now she wasn’t alone. There was also an extra chair that hadn’t been there if she remembered correctly, and some guy was sitting there glaring at her when she looked over, one eye normal, one eye….glowing? Another new one. And he’s got a glowy eye. Ooooh, yay.

Her hand slid down to her iPod, knowing it well enough to just feel out where she should press to pause her music. Her eyebrow was raised slightly as she shrugged an earbud out of one ear and gave the guy a look. “Can I help you? Or am I just so goddamned beautiful you can’t help but glare at me in jealousy?” she asked, her tone rather sarcastic, wondering why this guy was just sitting there reading and glaring at her. She didn’t even know this kid, and already it seemed she made his day just a little darker, and it was only breakfast time.

This new one seemed a bit weird; she hadn’t known a new kid to just sit and look around like they didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Or maybe he was another one of the shy ones? God, why do I keep getting stuck with them? They’re just letting all the annoying ones in now, aren’t they? Figures.

“Well?” she asked, her tone growing bored as she gave him another look before rolling her eyes and picking up her book now that she was awake. Maybe she’d fall asleep again, though she still didn’t think the book was that boring.

[Sketch]

Max blinked, his expression not softening for a second as he looked over the suddenly conscious girl as though she were something sticky he’d just stepped in. Honestly he had no opinion on her in any way, shape, or form… that was just how his face. Intense and sort of unpleasant, even as his eyes flicked back to his book. “Help me… No, I don’t require assistance, but thank you for offering.” He didn’t understand why she thought he needed help… oh. Belatedly he realized she might have been employing sarcasm and he scowled down at the page he had been trying, unsuccessfully, to read. He’d read the same sentence about a dozen times, but he was distracted by… whoever she was as she snorted back into the land of the living.

He wasn’t sure how to proceed now that she was awake. Max could easily introduce himself, but she didn’t exactly look receptive, and the idea of small talk made his jaw clench. He’d spent so much time alone that people were simply… weird to him. Like that little blonde thing from the courtyard. She’d just nattered at him and smiled and talk-talk-TALKED. It was overwhelming.

And now he had some stranger throwing sarcasm at him.

“You’re blue.” Max’s voice was little more than a growl as he tactlessly stated the obvious. Really he didn’t want to get dragged into a conversation, and now that he’d spoken at all he instantly regretted it. Please don’t babble at me like Taffy. Please, oh please, oh please… Max kept his focus forcefully on the book in his lap, never mind that it was upside down, one eye deep brown, the other glowing faintly even in the library’s florescent lighting.

[Frostbite]

“Astute observation, now we know your eyes work,” Lorelai said, her voice dripping with more sarcasm as she noticed that this guy clearly did not grasp the concept of sarcasm, and seemed to lack people skills. Either this guy really was some kind of shy, or he was just weird. She smirked and looked at him, from head to toe as she considered how well someone like him would fit in with the rest of the animals in the school.

Anyone, she reasoned, someone new or someone who walked in off the street would probably be more well received than she, but she didn’t really see that as much of a loss. Whoever wanted to be accepted into a small, concentrated society like the one she found herself stuck in was probably bonkers. They were all a bunch of petty, immature children, half of which acted like truly rabid animals, and all thought themselves something fierce despite it not being the case.

This guy across from her probably wouldn’t take much part in all of their tomfoolery and wannabe mob mentality, but he was no doubt going to add into the already large number of people Lorelai was now seeing herself as too good to deal with. Whether she’d gone completely mad or not, she felt that she was almost re-enlightened, figuring that she was rising above dealing with the petty zoo animals she was stuck with because she had a mutation like them. This ‘enlightenment’ was slightly different from the last; it seemed to be more genuine, not based on the whim she had fancied herself when she first started pulling her stunts. This was after trying to make amends to a group of people who she believed thought themselves too good for her, and trying to repress what she had put herself through.

That was, clearly, no more.

Now, she felt as if she had the last of her emotional ties to any of the students cut and she had ‘transcended,’ seeing them all for the silly idiots that they were, and she had no doubt in her mind that this weird, grouchy looking kid was probably no different.

“If you don’t have any more obvious things to point out, I’ll be getting back to my book now,” she said with a roll of her eyes and a shake of her head before she lowered her head to resume reading.

[Aqua]

Heather walked into the library, her stomach fully sated. She was looking forward to her next tutoring session with Johnny and really felt that he was easy and fun to work with. He didn't talk that much but she didn't question it. He was in a brand new school in a brand new environment... with mutant teenagers everywhere. It had the ability to be a bit overwhelming sometimes.

She sat down at the other end of the library, not realizing that Lorelai or Sketch were there. Heather was honestly too focused on what she needed to help Johnny with as well as what things they needed to go over and what new things to teach. Heather mapped out a simple format in her head and was being quite the educator without the degree or certification.

After looking over everything she and Johnny would need for the morning, the New Mutant finally relaxed and patiently waited for the Acolyte to show up. She was a bit early anyway and decided to finish drawing an abstract angle of a simple four pedaled flower. It was a simple sketch really, something to let the time pass. But Heather's creativity and talent even made a drawing of a ladybug seem real.

[Chupacabra]

"Mmm, yes. That is beautiful." Alex said coming up from behind to look over Heather's shoulder at what she was so intently working on. He had seen her from across the library where he had been trying to find a book on astral projection or the meanings of dreams. He had so many issues in his life that seemed to happen when he had no control over himself or the world around him.

His mutant power for one thing had him swimming in a state he was still trying to work on and since Kitty had said something during his training he thought he might look at alternate ways of control. He knew he had a long way to go before he could simply take control in a physical way but he thought if he tried to do so from a different angle he might get the two ends to meet in the middle and if he could get enough slack in the two loose ends of his physical world he might be able to tie them together somehow.

The other big mystery of his life was just that, his life. Up till the point at which he woke that fateful day he had little memory, and there had been precious little help from the Headmistress about it all. He wondered if she knew more than she had told him about his past and was simply keeping it from him to keep him there at the school. He wasn't a big conspiracy theory kind of a guy, so he didn't dwell on that too much, but she had to know more than she revealed.

The clearest thing that he had from his past was the memory of a girl with blonde hair, who looked more like Heather than he could even believe. "Not remotely as beautiful," he said almost timidly. He was not the brash ladies man that stereotypes would have dictated, so he steadied his voice from wavering and let his sincerity show. "-as the one who drew it, but few things in this world are I think." He came around to the side of her and smiled with a lifting of his brow to ask "Hello Heather, may I sit with you and talk?"

[Aqua]

"Huh? Oh!" she replied as she became aware of Alex' presence. When it came to her work, Heather was definitely serious about it. It was her way of being in a peaceful place even though she was in deep concentration and thought. To some it might have sounded like a contradiction; however only a true artist could really understand it. The water manipulator gave her team mate a small smile and looked at the few chairs beside her, wondering which chair he would take. It was only a few moments before Johnny would arrive and then it would be back to business. But Heather didn't mind having Alex as company for the moment.

Their relationship wasn't something one would call close, however Heather did feel for him whenever he had his episodes. Controlling a power as strong as his was something she believed to be rather difficult. Of course she had no idea what it was like, her body transforming into different things based on her emotions. However coming to the conclusion that controlling your emotions was a big part of Alex' power, came rather quickly. Heather closed her sketch book, not really glad that Alex saw her unfinished work, and nodded her head.

"Sure," she continued to say. "Of course you can Alex." He definitely changed throughout the months. Since he cut his hair, he looked way more clean cut and neat. It was a good change for him and Heather noticed how it made him look older and generally more attractive. She heard his compliment and said "Thank you", still being oblivious of whatever deeper meaning there was to it (if there was one).

Alex definitely had the Latin fever going on, but his attitude when he first came was an automatic turn off to the team and the rest of the students. Since then he worked on it and was slowly becoming a part of the New Mutant family... slowly.

Heather adjusted herself in her chair and crossed her legs. "What's up?" she asked, wondering what was bothering the boy or just whatever was within the goings on of his mind.

[Chupacabra]

He didn't know exactly how to go about it. It wasn't every day that he asked someone if they were somebody special in his life that he had forgotten all about. It didn't make much sense to him though, at least not the more he thought about it, if she really knew him why didn't she let on that she did. Unless he had done something to her that had wronged her severely.

"Well, uh, I thank you of course." He nodded and smiled more as he took the chair right next to her and pulled it up to the table and a bit closer to Heather as he spun it around so it's back was to the table. "I hope I am not intruding on you and, if I am then please tell me so, but I find I am in need of-" His lips shut slowly and his brow furrowed slightly as he found himself searching for the words. A sudden itch began to pick it's way down his back and across his shoulders as the embarrassment began to overtake the courage he had charged ahead with when first he saw her moments before.

"-well, in need of your help." His leaned forward tipping the chair's back closer to the table as two of the legs came off the ground slightly. "I am not sure what this means, I have memories that, well they are not very clear and I hope it means, well I have done nothing to hurt you ever but only just to help you if that was the case? No?" He shook his head and realized he wasn't making much sense at all, and the shame and embarrassment began to overcome him as he reached up to scratch the side of his neck and felt the pox of feathers beginning to poke out through his skin. "Oh no. I'm, I, I'm su-suh-sorry. I don't think I'm making much sense. Am I?"

[Aqua]

Alex seemed to be quite nervous at the moment and that certainly didn't pass Heather's head. She actually thought, given the circumstances, that he was going to ask her for some help with school work or tutor him as well. Maybe Frost had told Alex to ask her since she was already helping Johnny; but she doubted it since Ms. Frost was one to inform all parties.

Heather tried to understand exactly what Alex what trying to ask her or say. "No Alex you've never hurt me," she replied slowly. "Why would you think so?" Her eyebrow rose, quite confused about what was going on at the moment. She was a patience person though, and believed that maybe there was a slight language barrier which made Alex unable to express his mind.

It was then she could see his body start to change and Heather's eyes grew slightly wider. She heard about his episodes and Riker was always there to make sure Alex didn't hurt anyone. But Riker wasn't there and Heather wasn't really aware of how to handle Alex if he decided to turn into a giant manbear thing. "Alex please relax," she said easily. "Try to control yourself." She was very nervous herself now and kinda regretted being alone with the boy. But Heather really wanted him to be a part of the team and having them chat for a couple of minutes seemed like a good idea.

"Should I go get help?" She didn't know what it was, but she reached out for his hand, trying to calm him down. His current state was something she wasn't really understanding. Was he that afraid of her? And if so, she really didn't and couldn't understand as to why.

[Chupacabra]

"NO!" He cried out a little too loudly and he frightened himself. It was an answer to her question, but it was a command he was giving to his body. He did not want to change, not now, of all times this was the worst. He closed his eyes and remembered what he had been working on with Kitty, but it was not enough, he could feel the change coming on too rapidly.

There was no way he was going to be able to talk with her now, the tragic emotion in his chest made his heart ache even more for the truth and the answers he so desperately hoped she had for him. "I -I can't stop it" his eyes widened as he wanted nothing more than to have control over himself. It was maddening, and at the same time freeing, as he felt his human self slipping off like an old sweaty sock.

"I won't hurt you" his voice strained against his form as his soft mouth became a razor sharp beak "you're all I remember, but I can't remember more~or~why~~~" his voice was no more trailing off in a trill of a cawing sound as he spread his wings and pushed the air down and away, lifting himself into the height of the ceiling above. His wings strong and wide gave a force of wind to the table and her books and papers as he found himself with little room to navigate. Though the room was large and wide he was used to open skies in this form and needing to take perch he alighted on a nearby shelf overlooking the room from a higher level of the library. Keen though his eyes were the blue girl struck his avian mind as odd and he cocked his head to the side to peer at her.

[Sketch]

Max looked up at the bird that was glaring down at them from atop a book case. Oh sure. Other people were allowed to power up in the stacks but not him. That made perfect sense. Clearly this sort of thing, people blatantly disregarding the rules as stated by the staff, happened all the time. It was going to take some getting used to. Max wasn't one for disobedience or causing a stir. He just wanted to keep his head down and plow through his classes as unobtrusively as possible. His eyes drifted in the direction the massive bird had come from and caught sight of the blonde from his team. He couldn't remember her name because really, who cared, but her papers were moving about as though displaced by a gust of wind. Wing beats most likely. Or the open window...

"This place is weird." Max directed his words to the unpleasant blue girl. Before settling back in his fluffy chair. "I think that bird is giving you the stink eye. That or he thinks you're lovely, but given your current demeanor and attitude, I'm willing to bet that it's the former." His book came back up to conceal his face and the weirdness unfolding around him. It was too damn early in the morning for such asinine disturbances. He needed to psych himself up for another class later. All those people shoved into one room... his breath quickened at the thought.

KaZZAAKKkkk

His social anxiety was put on hold as the unmistakable beam of a concussive blast lit up the lawn outside the window. Max's book fell into his lap as he jumped a mile. "What was that?" Book forgotten, annoyance and agitation no longer on his mind, Max left his chair and hustled to the open window. There was a goddamn jet on the lawn, people standing around yelling at each other... "Weird." Really, Max didn't know what else to say.