2012-07-10 Tastes Like Mourning

It's just past dinnertime at the Xavier Mansion, and the last of dinner has been served. The kitchen is scarce as most of the mansion's inhabitants have scattered after their meals, leaving a forgotten room behind. So, naturally, Talia decides to haunt it. She sets her iPod down and clicks it to play 'Maria' by Blondie, and yanks open the fridge. At the door she stands, hip cocked to one side as she hunts for something worthwhile. Eyebrows lifting, she leans in and starts to dig at the back of the fridge finding a little bit of paydirt: a large wedge of cheesecake on a plate, wrapped in plastic. With that and a bottle of water, she nudges the refrigerator's door closed with her hip and moves to the island in the middle of the room.

Dinnertime is over. Which is exactly how Piotr wants it. Ever since Jean died - and lets face it, despite the lack of a body she almost certainly is dead in space since the Professor can't find her - Piotr's been avoiding crowds. And while the students were, naturally, shocked and saddened they're still kids and Jean was only a teacher and doctor to many of them. Nodding to the one still here, he makes his way toward the kitchen.

News of Jean's death is part of why he's back. Arriving as secretly as he could with a little help from the Professor, Bobby's been making the rounds at school. Yes, he's pretty devastated that Jean's gone but he's trying to cover that up in true Iceman fashion. Dressed in cargo shorts and a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt, a pair of sunglasses topping his head, Bobby Drake's on his way into the kitchen for a snack as welll. "Whoa, crowded room."

Talia looks up from the island in the center of the kitchen with a surprised look. A little awkward, she reaches out to the iPod and taps it, turning down the music a few notches. Judging their morose faces, she's definitely heard the news around the mansion, and returns to them a look of quieted sympathy. "Oh, hey guys, I'm a shadow here just getting some dessert. You're more than free to grab a fork and dig in, because I'll never forgive myself if I eat all of this." She motions to the cheesecake, but not the bottle of water. Oh no. They can get their own.

A semi-familiar voice he wasn't expecting to hear causes Piotr to turn and then he pauses, brows rising a bit. "Bobby? You have returned." Well, duh. "You have heard...?" Still, he's obviously pleased to see the other man since times like these are when team mates should come together. "Welcome home."

Bobby blinks a few times, just looking confused. "Okay...someone fill me in. Did Kurt get Rule 63'd or has he been getting busy while I've been away?" he asks, smiling a bit. He flashes Piotr a grin though. "The one and only," his expression dims slightly at the question. "Yeah," he doesn't want to dwell though. Not right now. "Thanks, big guy."

Flashing a pair of yellow, investigative eyes towards the two of them, Talia turns back to her cheesecake and takes another small bite. Sensing that the conversation's not going to hover on memoriam, she takes a quick sip of water and speaks up. "It's a complicated story, but Mr. Wagner's given me a room here for a little bit. We're distantly related, again, very complicated." She pushes the plate out, making it more accessible to all.

Piotr is kept filled in on new arrivals so Tali's presence doesn't surprise him though he has no idea of the details. So that little bit was interesting. "Then be welcome here. You are Talia, correct?" She could be no one else. "I am Piotr." Continuing into the kitchen, he opens the fridge to see what leftovers are there.

"Oh, so Kurt didn't get turned into a woman. Okay. I didn't know he had any relatives," Bobby replies with a smile. "Name's Bobby Drake," he says, casually. He finds a spot to lean for now, waiting for the fridge to be free.

"Yeah I'm Talia. Talia..." She blinks, finding a bit of awkward to muscle through. "...Wagner." She laughs softly. "No, no Kurt did not get turned into a girl. He's still around and I'm here now too, and I'm going to stay out from under everyone's feet here as much as possible. It's nice to meet you two, Bobby, Peter." She sets her fork down and reaches for her bottle of water, fidgeting with the cap. "So were the two of you students here?"

Piotr pulls out a sealed container then transfers half a chicken to a plate. It's barely had a chance to cool since dinner just ended. "Piotr." he corrects. "No, I was not a student here though I do teach here now." On second thought, he pulls out the other chicken half since he missed lunch. It takes a lot to fuel him.

Bobby's unphased by the awkward. He just smiles. "Hey, no need to worry about getting in anyone's way. It's a big place and if you're one of Kurt's relatives then I don't mind you being around," he says. "One of the original five students," he winks and makes a quick finger-gun gesture at Talia.

"Ah, right, Piotr, sorry I forget about that somet-" She stops herself, going once again to the water bottle. She catches Bobby's gun-hand and is shot directly between the eyes, cracking a grin towards him. "Original five? You know, this place is really, really nice. I don't think if I was a student here I'd ever leave, I'd probably go Piotr's route and start teaching. Speaking of that, big guy, what do you teach?"

"Russian and art." Piotr answers as he replaces the container in the fridge and get a knife and fork. "How much have you been told about the school?" In other words, how freely can they speak in front of the new girl.

"Bingo, blue babe. Me, Cyclops, Angel, Beast, and Jean..." Bobby trails off. He looks away, fighting to keep that smile on his face. It's not easy, the expression wavering. He stalls a little before heading to the fridge to get himself some water. "Going to be teacher here myself soon," he remarks. Piotr's question gets an interested nod from the icy mutant as well.

Talia lowers her eyes at the mention of Jean, giving Bobby some privacy to keep to his thoughts. After a few heartbeats, she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and leans back on the swiveling chair. As Bobby passes, she squeezes his upper arm in sympathy, but offers him no words of it. "I've been told a little bit about the school, but I'm a pretty fast learner. You guys teach mutants how to control their powers while giving them an education so they can have a chance at living normal lives out there in the wild." She smiles, looking to Piotr. "It's a good cause."

"It is." Piotr agrees. "The Professor is very wise. And very idealistic. Sometimes I wonder if he is, perhaps, too much so but I have hope that is not the case." He pours some iced tea and then brings everything into the dining room.

The squeeze makes Bobby pause and he gives a quick smile of thanks. He doesn't say anything though. "Oh, the Proff isn't too idealistic. Trust me on that one. We wouldn't be here if he was."

"Well, but he's not interested in any of that terrorist stuff you hear about on TV lately, right?" Talia perks up, trying to get some answers, apparently. "I mean, you guys, Kurt, everyone I've met here so far isn't the militant sort, so I don't see any reason why you aren't the idealistic good-guy types." Her vision swaps between the two of them while she brings her water bottle to her lips. "I'm sure Charles is doing what he can to find out who did that at the Stark building, isn't he?"

"No." Piotr agrees. "No one here advocates violence. While I can sympathize with Magneto and understand his frustration, his methods only serve to increase hostility toward mutants as well as often targetting the innocent and possible allies to our cause. I just wonder sometimes if there's a third way." Shrugging, he starts digging into his dinner.

"Well, we have some violent people," Bobby teases, thinking of a certain Canadian. "But this guy's right. We're not the crazy terrorist types," he says. Piotr gets a curious look from the cryokinetic. "Maybe we can talk about that later. I have a couple ideas on some things. I mean I still support the Prof's goals but maybe there are some ways of going about it the two of us could come up with."

Talia, vaguely, grins at the way the two of them are dodging around her. She laughs breathily towards her cheesecake, turning her fork over to cut it. "It's good to hear that. These days you never know who to trust, and I was pretty sure coming here would be a good idea. Look, I'm no wilting flower, if the two of you need a little bit of help in helping out there, you know, taking care of people and doing things the right way? Please, let me know. I was trained by the best and I think you'd be surprised that I'm worthy of suiting up."

Piotr nods to Bobby. They'll definitely be doing that. "If the Professor says someone can be trusted, they can be trusted." Pause. "Though I must admit that while I have on occasion wondered if he was correct, he always has been."

Bobby stares at Talia for a few moments, considering her. His eyes narrow and eventually he smirks. "We'll have to see if you can keep up sometime then," he says. "I'd say the Professor has an edge on us when it comes to knowing who can be trusted, big guy," Bobby replies, tapping his temple. He knows the Professor wouldn't read minds without permission but he knows from experience that the 'troublemakers' tend to think too loudly to ignore sometimes.

"Yeah, right, being able to read minds pretty much puts you in the forefront for never getting screwed over. I've always been so jealous of his power, or any telepaths for that matter. It seems like the key to the castle." She replies to the two of them, vaguely speaking as if she's known Xavier for years. "Though my dad always said that it's usually the person that's willing to do things the hard way to make sure they get done the right way that you can trust, even if you can't read their minds."

Piotr considers for a moment then shakes his head. "I would never want to be a telepath. Even the best of people think things no one else should ever know about. It would be nice to be able to fly however."

"I've got no reason to envy other powers," Bobby grins. "I've got the best one there is. No one's got a cooler power than Bobby Drake."

"Oh damn, Bobby that's..." Talia starts with a playful rolling of her eyes, but then she stops herself. She turns to put her fork in the sink and clean it off. The iPod changes tune to some old Rolling Stones, which puts a little bounce into her step. "I've got a pretty good power. I throw bolts. I possess minds. I cling to walls. I do the bouncey, swashbuckling thing." She winks to them, turning back to the cheesecake, which she begins to wrap up. "So, where -are- we allowed to use our powers here? We'll have to work out sometime."

Piotr can't help but smile at Bobby. "We are allowed, yes. In fact, encouraged to with the proper supervision if it's in any way dangerous. And the students are very good at getting into situations that can end up dangerous even with the best safeguards. Just what your restrictions are, you will need to work out with the Professor."

"Nothing but truth," Bobby finishes for Talia. He nods along to what Piotr says, sipping his water. "That's right. Gotta talk with the Professor and..." Bobby pauses, shaking his head slightly. "speaking of the man in charge. Sorry to chat and run but the Prof wants to see me. I'll catch you guys later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you around Bobby." Talia speaks up, reaching for her iPod and attaching it to her hip. She turns to look at Piotr and offers him a friendly, supportive look. "You guys hang in there and if you need me I'm staying in the girls' dorms right now. I don't think you're allowed back there, but I'm easy enough to find." With a pat to the table, she leaves Piotr to his meal and tramples Bobby's shadow on her way out into the hallway.