2013.05.23 - Poolside

Thunderstorms are forecasted for the day; grey, ominous clouds are covering the sky, with the word out that there is the potential of hail. Still, it's hot and humid- the pressure hasn't yet dropped, and the wind hasn't yet kicked in as that distinct 'tell tale' coolness.

As a result?

The blue bamfer is making use of the swimming pool while the students are (mostly) in class. Cold water, warmer.. no matter. The pool will be used by the weekend, so what's a few days? Besides.. it's a great way to relax.

*bamf*

Kurt appears fifteen feet above the water, only to *SPLASH* down, making more than a few waves. He disappears under the water for a few seconds, only to reappear about twenty feet above the pool in a distinct *BAMF*... and

*SPLASH!*

Did someone call for cooler weather? Well here's the coolest guy around to help everyone chill out. One Bobby Drake wanders his way out back. He had a similar thought in mind to Kurt, get some swimming in before the storm...so he's in board shorts and a hawaiian shirt as he slips outside. He's got some water-proof bandages from the med-bay wrapped around his left arm and Kurt's probably the only one out here that knows why tight now. When he catches sight of the BAMF-SPLASH routine, Bobby smirks. He forms up a quick snowball and waits...the next time Kurt BAMFs to fall, he'll be getting a chilly surprise thrown his way. The students are in class. The students are in class. Right?

At least two of them aren't, though. Cessily comes out of the mansion, hand firmly around Laura's wrist. "Come on, it's the /pool/! It won't hurt you!" she insists. "And if you don't know how to swim people can teach you. Hey, even I could!" Cessily's being remarkably nice to the clone. Unusually so. Perhaps even suspiciously so. Cess herself is dressed in a simple green bikini and flip-flops, with a towel slung over her shoulder. "Worst case we teach you to lounge around poolsade and make the boys stare, right?" she says with a laugh.

It probably fits into the description of 'irony' somewhere. Domino had kept her distance from the mansion while she had been part of the team, yet now that she's purely freelance again she's waking up and starting her day in the very building she had tried to call home for a time.

This might be slightly awkward.

On the positive side she has a chance to scrub all of the Helldust off of herself and have a proper meal, and spend some time fussing over the cleanliness of her weapons because she's picky like that. It's a nice, clean start to the first problem of her day.

How is she supposed to get back to the city without her car?

The answer isn't far away, making waves in his usual fashion. Hard to beat the Bamf Express. Cheap fares, no crowds, very, very little waiting. Except that it's apparently taking some much-needed downtime for repairs. Or something to that effect.

When Dom makes her way to the pool she's kitted out in simple, comfortable black clothes (fortunately she forgot to clean everything out when she left) with a bag slung over her shoulder containing the armor and tools which survived the round trip with her. She's already trying to straighten the damp mess that her hair seems to favor, looking a bit weary around the edges but not too rough. That's the beauty of coffee.

"I already know how to swim." is said in Laura's usual emotionless tone as she's all but dragged towards the pool.

All right, so she isn't exactly dragged per se, but she definitely doesn't look enthused at the idea of being taken from what ever for this either. Either way the clone is in black shorts and a loose black t-shirt even as she's lead towards the pool.

"And we have finals soon..."

For her part, Jean isn't looking for a swim, even with the heat and humidity. But, that doesn't mean she's not up to enjoying the outdoors. Taking a break from both teaching and researching. She exits the mansion and sees that the blue bamfer is back and in fine form once again, after the excitement (so she's gathered) of recent days. She's not so far behind Dom as the mercenary makes her way to the pool. "Hey," she greets, both the merc and other nearby mutants. Her body language is relaxed, if not as up for watery excitement as many of the others. It's good, she thinks, to see people unwinding some.

*SPLASH*

*BAMF*

*SPL-- AT!*

Bobby's snowball is enough to surprise the fuzzy elf, and he lands with a little less grace than he could have. The back-sumersaults in the air? Causes him to truly land as a cannonball.. and the moment he's under water, he's back out.. poolside, shaking the water off himself.. right next to Bobby.

"You.. are going down.." and he reaches out for Bobby's leg before-

*BAMF*

Up.. and over the pool once again. THIS must be done before the greetings!

Bobby glances over when he hears Cessily and Laura exiting the mansion. He gives a momentary 'are they skipping class?' look before shaking it off. He's not in the mood to play 'strict teacher' today. Not after everything with the trip to two hells...yes Bobby considers Florida one, sue him...and his own issues. Instead he offers the students a quick wave. Domino gets a cheesy grin from Bobby and then attention returns to the pool. Kurt appears and Bobby lets the snowball fly. He pumps a fist in the air when the projectile finds its target and laughs. "Oh yeah!" he laughs out. Before he can greet Jean, Bobby's got a sudden Kurt-appearance to deal with. He flashes a smile but before he can joke, they're gone and in the air. "Whoa!" Bobby flails a bit.

"But don't you have metal in your...." Cessily trails off. Nono, don't be bitchy. "Right. Okay, so good! Nothing to worry about!" she bubbles. The metal student steps right up to the edge of the pool, and only then does she let go of Laura's wrist. "So we deserve to relax some. If we're busy stressing out we'll be so worried about failing that we'll fail!" She looks into the pool and waves. "Hello, Mister Wagner," she says. Then back to Laura. "Are you allergic to fun or something? Afraid people might kinda vaguely like you?"

Some (heck, most) of the people around the pool are familiar to Dom. The one that isn't happens to be the one that she catches a greeting from, stopping short and turning toward Jean. Cripes that's a lot of hair. "Hey, yours--"

Splash! A few drops of chlorine-treated water rain down across where the albino is standing, luck apparently not wanting to stand in the way of everything that happens in her life.

"--Elf." They'd better not have gotten my guns wet... Ahem. "Real graceful there, Frosty!"

There are some things about this place which she can admit to missing. Light misting aside, she's still wearing a partial smirk. The heavy bag gets unslung from a narrow shoulder then tucked aside, in an area less likely to be rained upon from the pool-side crew, before she looks back to Jean. "Crazy kids."

Jean doesn't look familiar to her, they may not have met before, though Dom's still of that 'just passing through' mentality. No need for introductions, right? She'll be out of here soon enough.

"Claws. Just my claws." is said in response by Laura to that partial statement. Which is more of a reaction than the Teachers get at first. After all, skipping class and all that...

Well...

"I can relax." is also said in her usual emotionless state, before finally she nods in the direction of Kurt and Bobby (even if the 'Iceman' is flailing a bit). On the other hand Dom and Jean don't get so much as a nod, but instead an open ear...

Well, you have to admit. Carrying that much hardware around is going to attract attention. So, regardless of whether or not they've met before, Jean can't help but give some to the albino merc. She gives the woman a smile, particularly as drops of pool water speckle her dark clothes. There's also the reality that the omega telepath can't help but pick up surface thoughts all around her. Though she never purposely pries, if she can help it. Thus, the merc's dry commentary on the scene causes her smile some. And the fact she's familiar to the others sets her mind at ease about who this person is, dragging guns to a pool party. "I don't think we've met," she tells the merc amiably enough. "I'm Jean."

Cessily's banter with Laura distracts her for a moment, as does Kurt's unceremonious lifting of Bobby. She has to grin at that. But, it's to the mutant girl that she calls out. "Cessily," she says, her green eyes dancing as she does, "shouldn't you be practicing your song?"

Once he rises from the water again, Kurt bobs there a moment, a pleased grin on his face. It's not the best weather for swimming, no.. not with those clouds, but there isn't a chance that he'd miss the opportunity when it was..

Okay, not so quiet anymore.

Now, now he can greet all, and Kurt has something of an impish smile for Dom. "Guten Morg-- Abend, leibling.. did you get food yet? Or are we stopping on the way?"

Kurt looks to the others, Jean, Cessily, Laura.. and offers a wave, complete with, "Guten Abend, meine Damen.."

Swimming to the edge of the pool, the elf looks all the world as if he's simply going to pull himself out like 'normal' people, his hands on the edge of the pool. But no!

*bamf*

Kurt is out and dripping water, looking pleased with the drenching of Bobby. He does, however, resist the urge to shake...

Surfacing a moment later, Bobby has a mock-annoyed expression on his face. He swims to the edge looking like he might yell at Kurt...only for a grin to quickly spread across his features and him to start laughing. Climbing out of the pool, he pulls off his drenched shirt and tosses it onto a deck chair. "Good one," he comments to Kurt, giving his friend a light and playful punch to the shoulder. "Hey, Jean," he finally greets.

"Oh. I guess that's good to know," Cessily says, glancing down at Laura's hands, then back up at her face. "I don't think I've ever seen you laugh. You wouldn't even changed into that swimsuit. Um..." she huhs. "So...you can relax? Prove it." And with that Cessily takes the advantage of surprise to shove Laura into the pool.

The best way to read another's mind is for them to not realize that it's happening. The albino gets uncomfortable around psychics, and magic-users, as a general rule. If any of her inner thoughts are being picked up on, it's lost to her. Rather, she blames it on her luck running out that Jean breaks the ice, as it were.

A quick breath follows the other woman's introduction, as though psyching herself up for this conversation. "Domino. I don't think we have. Was part of the security team around here for a few months, and did some ..specialized training on the side."

Like teaching Jubilee how to drive, completely off of official record. Backroads, her own car, that sideview mirror never knew what hit it.

Kurt's greeting is regarded in kind. "You kidding? The cafeteria's one of the best things about this place. My stomach's set for -hours.-"

And Cessily just gave Laura a shove pool-wards. This should be entertaining!

Yeap. That was totally predictable. And it shows that Laura may have let her guard down. For the most part anyways. Because as she falls, she tries to make a grab towards the mercury mutant girl to /hopefully/ pull her in as well. But well... As much of a shapeshifter Cess is, that just might not be possible.

Either way. After a little bit, the clawed clone girl slowly surfaces. Or at least the top of her head does, so that he eyes are above the water. And she glances around. It's almost as if she's judging the others reactions to what happened, if they even noticed, before her head finally comes fully out of the water, and she lets out a faint, "Heh." before her expression and body language goes back to being emotionless.

"Ah." Jean nods lightly to the information Domino gave her. She was told about that, or she picked it up somewhere. She does try to keep up on the comings and goings at the mansion. But, even she's not hear all the time. And, let's face it, up until recently, she's been a little out of the loop on her whole life, nevermind the specific details here. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Domino. Was. You're not anymore?"

She waves a greeting to Bobby and gives him a smile. "Hey, snowball," she greets him. Her eyes flick to his bandages. A brow arches briefly, in silent askance. "Good to see you home, fuzzy," she tells Kurt. "I hear you've been getting into trouble lately."

That Cessily doesn't respond to her jibe means either she didn't hear her, or she is ignoring her. With only a moment's hesitation, she sends the melody to an earworm knocking on Cessily's metallic skull. Never ignore a telepath.

Kurt grins at Bobby, his tones amused, "You deserved it, mein freund. Und, the season is only starting."

And, of course, the cafeteria is one of the shining spots of Xavier's. No one starves.. regardless of the hour. With so much going on, training and the like, it's also high in calories, which translates out to: really tasty food. Dripping burgers with the works, steaks, chicken.. pulled pork! It's no secret that Kurt LIVES on the burgers. And it also serves as aid for when he wants to fuss over the albino merc. "Good.. but now I'm surprised you aren't laying out to digest." Like Bobby had found him in the lounge, laying across the back of the couch after eating nearly an entire tray of canolis.

*SPLASH*

The fact that Laura just hit the water, thanks to Cessily brings a wince. But.. girls will be girls, right?

Besides.. Jean?

"I.. well," and Kurt at least has the grace to sound a little sheepish, "I've been busy. But to good ends." Mutant research shut down, and the like.

"And keeping us busy with coming to save your tail," Bobby teases Kurt a little. He chuckles when Laura goes for a dip and shoots Cessily a quick 'nice one!' smile before turning his attention back to the other adults. "Maybe she came out here to do just that and found this gun show instead. Of course with the two of us, it's better than just laying out," Bobby jokes, flexing his arms and chest and trying to get Kurt to show off as well.

Cessily beams wildly, pointing at Laura and kneeling at the edge of the pool. "That!" she declares. "That was a smile! Maybe even a laugh! You /can/ have fun!" she says. "Now we just need to find you a date for the...."

Truth be told, she was so focused on her dunking scheme that Cessily didn't really register her teacher's arrival. Just part of the background sound. Not so much now.She's certainly not protecting herself, so she gets the full blast of the earworm, interrupting her sentence. Cessily grabs her temple and rolls back, standing up, "HI MISS GREY!" she shouts, a reaction to what seems to her to be quite the loud music. She tries to start doing a little rhyme to push Jean out - yeah, good luck with that.

"Was," Dom lamely repeats while promptly reaching up to scratch the back of her neck. "I've moved on."

More of a lateral shift than a forward one, really. Fortunately, Kurt provides an expertly timed distraction. "Been sitting still for way too long, already." Hell is -such- a boring place when one isn't busy running and fighting for their life. That, and she had been kinda hoping to catch up to the Bamfer and get back out of here before her return gathered any notice. Too late, there.

"You know I can't stay away from you, Bobby," she teases back. "I've had to invest in a refrigerator to get my drinks chilled, it's just not the same."

Wait--what? Laura smiled?! Dom missed it! Ah, darnit. At least it's been proven to be possible, though Cessily's high-volume greeting is met with a peculiar glance.

Was that a laugh? Maybe. A smile? Maybe.

And yet even as she drifts towards the ladder so she can get out of the pool, Laura just shoots Cess a look, even as the redhead girl goes silent. Sure she suspects things but well...

As she pulls herself out of the water, there is another nod at Jean, before she pauses at Domino and simply says, "You aren't the only one."

Wait. What does she mean by /that/?!?

Jean isn't a complete sadist. Not really. Thus, as Cessily at least makes the effort to counter, she backs off, letting the earworm fade out of the girl's skull. ~ Good effort, ~ she tells her silently. "Hi, Cessily," she says aloud, for everyone else's benefit. She gives a smile to Laura, as well. "Hi, Laura. Nice to see you relaxing." Still, her eyes dance.

She then returns her attention to the boys for a moment or two. Some things never change. "So, I expect you're working up quite the celebration for us, this weekend, Kurt?" Memorial Day and all that...

"Only once. The other time, well.." Domino and Amanda were the prime movers with -Mother-, of all people, in the mix! "Und that second bit, well.. it's not my fault I am irrestable." By all the wrong people, most of the time. "But," and he holds a finger up, "I did not leave without learning some neat new tricks which..." and he lets his voice trail off until it's nothing much more than a murmur, "I won't be trying again for a little while." Accessing Hell, well.. not a trick to use lightly. And that's not to mention the learning how to *bamf* someone's body part off? That brief thought gains a swish of his tail before,

"Sitting still for too long? I would have thought the excitement of the last few days would at least warrant a moment to take a breath.. then.." Kurt offers a grin to the albino merc, "I claim a ride on the bike." He did say he wanted to ride!

As for Laura.. and her cryptic words.. and the loud Cessily? The elf takes a step back to gather his towel to dry his hair first, the fur still dripping and sticking to his body in its dampness.

Bobby gives a few more flexes before flashing a grin Domino's way. "Hey, I'd offer to take you out for cold drinks sometime but it sounds like you've got a date with our favorite elf," he says. "New tricks are always good," Bobby comments, skipping the use of a towel. Instead he just flash freezes the water on his body and shakes the frost off. Of course he's being extra careful with that bandaged arm, making sure the bandages don't slip any. He quirks a brow at Cessily's volume increase and Laura's comment before glancing to Jean to see if she knows something he doesn't. It wouldn't be the first time.

Cessily relaxes visibly as the earworm fades out, hands dropping away. She heads down towards the ladder where Laura's emerging, tossing her towel on a lounger along the way. "What?" she asks, as Laura pins her in a look. "Oh, come on, you're not angry, right?" she asks, stepping forward to offer Laura a hand up. "How're you, Miss Grey?" she prods. "Do /you/ have plans this weekend? I was thinking of getting some of us down to Mutant Town, maybe, for a night out, or....something."

It doesn't take long at all before Domino's giving Laura a blank look. "I'm not the only one for what..?" Because why should things be easy around this place, ever!

The statement and resulting question continue to roll around in her thoughts when Kurt chimes back in. "Ah, you know me. Always onto the next big thing. Also, you can have a ride when you help get me back to where I parked."

Bobby's observation is a tricky one to respond to, especially with Kurt (and everyone else!) being right here. "I like to keep it simple." That should do. Hopefully. Dating isn't the word that she would use, that implies having a full-on relationship as an end goal. She's tried that once, any desire to try such again disappeared along with the first.

Is Laura angry? If she is, she doesn't show it. Not even as she just shakes her head at Cess.

On the other hand the clone girl does offer Kurt a slight glance, but she doesn't explain her cryptic words. nor does she explain to Bobby or Dom.

On the other hand Jean might pick up some random stray thoughts like the cloned clawed girl feels like she may have been staying a bit 'too still' for 'too long'. heck, the feeling may even be like the one that a certain other clawed mutant may have from time to time.

New tricks? Jean doesn't miss how Kurt's voice trails off, nor the sense of reluctance about his thoughts on the matter. But, as always, she doesn't pry. Though, she may pin him on it, later. She steps away from Domino now, however, letting the merc unwind. It's clear she doesn't want to chat about the whole moving on thing. And she and Kurt have a familiar enough banter that they sound something like an old married couple. Or how he and Amanda used to sound with each other. "I suspect restlessness is just part of the mutant genome," she remarks idly, picking up on both Laura and Dom. Most every mutant she's met has felt it at some time or another. Or, at least, more of them have than not. It's tough to put down roots when you're constantly afraid of being 'outted'. Perhaps that's why she loves the Institute and the mansion so well. It's the one (comparatively) safe place she knows. And it's good to be home.

At Cessily's invitation, the woman's brows rise. "Mutant Town? I don't have plans but... that seems quite the trip just to go for a night out." Like opposite end of city from where Westchester meets NYC. "Who all are you inviting?" Maybe a chaperone will be in order.

"Her time is her own, mein freund. If you wish to ask her, then just ask her," Kurt teases. "There is more than one way to get home. Und after awhile, she may very well be tired of picking the blue fur from her things." He looks to Dom; he's quite.. content at the moment. Genuinely. "Didn't I teach you better than that?" He shakes his head and exhales in a soft, Unglaublich..

The promise of a ride, of course, is tempered with the potential of Dom and Bobby going out.. and his brows rise. "I won't embarrass you by wearing leather. But, I might wish to try a trick.." Can he *bamf* a rider and a bike? That would be fun!

Allowing for Cessily and Laura's conversation, Kurt's not paying too much attention until Mutant Town is brought up.. and he adds his $.02. "Shouldn't you think about going to the Village or something? Mutant Town isn't the safest place to be." Not with displaced mutants and the, well.. ghetto-ization (in the classic definition) of a single .. type of people. "There should be shows opening, or galleries.." Or clubs.

Bobby glances from Kurt to Domino and back again. He silently wonders if he was wrong about the two of them but lets it go. "We can go for drinks another time. You two should go enjoy the bike," Bobby grins, stretching a bit. He frowns at the mention of Mutant Town as well. "Yeah, you guys should steer clear of there for a bit," he speaks up. He's a little worried about the people that kidnapped Kurt and Domino trying to get more and a whole town full of mutants seems like the place they'd target.

Cessily retracts her hand, untaken by the sopping wet Laura, and moves out of the way as she emerges. "Right. So...." she stalls, and hummms, looking around at the others. "I don't really know yet," she says to Jean. "Would you want to come, Laura?" she asks as an aside. "The City's a lot more exciting than Salem Center, Miss Grey," she says. "Bright lights, big everything," she says. Cessily startles and snaps her look over to Kurt. Did he must make a dirty joke? "It's not so bad," Cessily says, shifting her weight awkwardly. "I know a few people down there. Maybe the Village," she agrees.

Once more, Blue Dude to the rescue. Domino silently motions toward him in a 'there you go' fashion when he comes up with perhaps the most ideal response yet to the matter. She has but two words to add: "Lint roller."

It's followed up with a thin smirk. "Don't worry about it. Looks better on me, anyway."

The silence coming from Laura earns her another glance. A mind-reader Dom is not, and Laura's pokerface easily rivals the pros. She's not about to assume anything where Clawgirl is involved, she's tried that before with less than stellar results.

Bobby's comment, on the other hand... She starts to walk around the pool, on a path that would take her right past Kurt. It's casual enough until the last second when she reaches out and nonchalantly -shoves- Kurt back into the pool, the grin now on her face impossible to ignore. "Sounds like fun, Frosty."

Being a free spirit does have its perks.

Well, in the case of Laura it isn't that she's afraid of being outed. Knowing her, it more has to do with a fear of /others/ being hurt or caught up in the whole 'Weapon X' thing with her by being too close. But hey, at least it sort of makes sense knowing Laura?

"Maybe." That's all the clones girl says regarding Cessily's offer, even as she eyes Jean, as if waiting to see if the older woman would be coming or not. On the other hand though...

"If we do, Domino should come along too."

Yes. /LAURA/ just said that. Out loud. Or at least she tries to right before that shove and person potentially ending up in the pool.

On the other hand, at Bobbys comment there is an odd look and an obvious, "Why should we avoid it?"

Jean rather agrees with Kurt in this instance. Mutant Town isn't exactly a 'safe' hang out. And she'd be happier if they it the village or the like, too. For her, though, Mutant Town is a connundrum. It's not right to shun other mutants because they've been forced into the 'ghetto'. But, the place does have a bad reputation. But, it may be less hostile to mutants than to humans. That's no surprise.

The telepath does look speculatively at Domino, however, when Laura suggest they take her with. That'd be one way to get to know the pale skinned mutant better. "I'll think about it," she tells Cessily, not making an immediate decision. "Let me know when you're going."

Right. Wrong. Jean's probably got it the most right. There's a comfort there, very much like Kurt and Amanda. A contentment. And Kurt is, when all is said and done, a true mutant. 'Normal' is not in the cards for him, ever. And that includes 'dating', which has been accepted a long time ago. Another dimension, perhaps.. another time stream.

And he honestly doesn't yearn for it. Not anymore. That way lies long, bitter nights.

So. Not. Him.

"That will never get you a da--"

*SPLASH*

That'll teach the blue bamfer to be more on his guard! Since getting home, he's been lazy. Hit with a snowball, and now, the last bit of him that sinks into the water is the spade tip of his tail.. which goes down rather theatrically, slipping under the water.

In the next second, however, there is that distinct *bamf* sound, and he appears over Domino.. just high enough to drip all over her, but before landing on her, *bamfs* away again, only to land just behind her. "The blue fur looks quite charming on you, leibling.." he teases. Yes, he knows that she meant the biker leathers, but!

Oh! Children!

*ahem*

"Nein.. Mutant Town, I think, in the evening, would be inviting difficulties. Day time, und charity work to aid it's.. soul would be helpful. But, I do think that the Village would be safer."

"It's just a dangerous place at night and there might be some stuff going down in that area that's dangerous," Bobby replies. He laughs as Domino checks Kurt into the pool, grinning again. "Of course it'd be fun. It'd be with me after all," he says. He gives Kurt a knowing look at the almost dirty comment but lets it go.

Cessily takes a few long steps to fetch her towel and offers it to her classmate on extended arms. Least she can do, having dunked her. "Who?" she asks, and then realizes who Laura's looking at. "Her? I...didn't even know her name. I thought hs ewas just some friend of Mister Wagner's. You know her?" she asks. Cess finds herself rather /staring/ at Kurt's antics. An uncomfortable shift. "Um....right. Right. Totally will, Miss Grey," she tells Jean.

"We /are/ being trained as X-Men," Cessily reminds Bobby. "Do you all think we're that terrible?"

Huh?

Dom's not one that gets caught off guard a lot. And yet, Laura seems to know exactly how to do it. She wants -me- to chaperone? "I don't know about that, kiddo. I'm not an official part of the school."

Not that she flat-out refuses. There isn't a -no- said anywhere in there. Instead she chooses to hide behind a technicality, one which could be overlooked by certain individuals. Some of them currently present.

Then she's getting rained on. "See, I've got this little raincloud that just keeps following me around lately..." she continues as though nothing were amiss, one hand held out palm-up as the drops come showering down around her.

And a tiny bit of blue fur.

"So glad to see you've got your mojo back," she says while rolling the strand of fur around between finger and thumb before flicking it aside.

Her amusement returns long enough to address Bobby, keeping it simple and plenty open. "Guess I'm just lucky to have the opportunity."

Cessily's surprise is met with an impish grin. "I was the firearms instructor, remember? You couldn't wrap your mind around why such a thing was necessary around here. You're right, though. I'm not sure what the trouble is with Mutant Town. You kids have a teleporter, combat training, better control over your powers. I'd think Mutant Town should be more worried about you all showing at its front step."

"Dangerous?" Laura says in the direction of Bobby and Kurt as she raises a fist, before...

*SNIKT!*

"So are we."

Then there's a nod at Cess. "I know her. She tried to bring me back to Weapon X. We blew up a train instead. Then she signed my enrollment paperwork for the school." Pause. "And I know her name."

Yes, Laura said /ALL/ of that. She was almost wordy!

Of course she does nod at Dom in agreement as the albino says all of that. Heck Jean may even pick up the fact that the clawed girl is being completely honest in regards to everything she said.

Jean shakes her head now, answering the question Cessily posed to Bobby and, by extension, Kurt... and, by further extension, all the Sr. X-Men -- not to mention Dom's observation. "It's not a matter of you being terrible, Cessily," the telepath says matter-of-factly. "Or dangerous, Laura. Your training's coming along very well. And I'll concede to Domino's point that there are a lot of people around that can add to your defense. And that any one of you could wreak serious havoc on anyone that tried to do anything against you. Even more so when you're together -- especially as your teamwork improves." She glances around at everyone, now. "It's instead a question of not being reckless. We all know we're training you to fight and defend yourself. But that doesn't give any of you -- any of us," she eyes Kurt and Bobby as she adds that, "leave to go purposely putting ourselves in harm's way without good reason. A night on the town, just because you're restless, doesn't really qualify as a good reason. Not when there are safer places to go to get the same sort of experience -- but without the increased chances of random violence."

She gives a wry smile. "Even when we were your age and the Professor was training us, we weren't allowed to go unchaperoned into dangerous neighborhoods." She chuckles softly. "Imagine having him ride shotgun on your shopping trips." Even if it was only via telepathic proxy.

Kurt shakes to get some of the water off of him before retaking another towel, thank you Bobby! "Und you think you'll be an Xman in the three months you've been here, fraulein?" Those glowing, pupilless yellow eyes look to the young Cessily. "Why should we take the time, then, und train.. you already know all, ja? Und can take care of yourself?" He's trying to be gentle, he is.. but he's also working with students from the very beginning so they can truly -understand-.

Even Laura.. and Kurt looks to Laura. "Which is another reason why it may not be a good idea," he says flatly. "Your flashing the claws?" Perhaps the girl made a point that she wasn't trying to make?

Now, teacher-mode is turned on, and the elf sits down on a chair, towel in his hair. There, however, Jean offers the more politic answer.. but Kurt is German, and has that to fall back on!

Laura's words, however, her virtual stream of consciousness brings Kurt's regard back around to Domino, and he exhales softly.

"Yeah but being dangerous doesn't mean we have to go looking for trouble, huh?" Bobby counters. He nods as his fellow teachers speak. Of course he just ends up looking guilty as Jean mentions not being allowed out without a chaperone. He did his fair share of breaking that rule. The memories of a few of his old trips float to the front of his mind but he pushes them aside and smiles again.

"You did what!?" Cessily sputters, flailing her arms at Laura. Domino's history has totally skated past her - admitteldy she was never the most dedicated firearms student - but now she's looking at Domino again. "So you kidnapped her and then set her to school?" she asks in disbelief. Cessily looks back and forth between Laura and Domino. "Huh," she says. Cessily carefully reaches out towards Laura's hand. "You can...um...put that away. Nobody's questioning the badness of your ass."

A sputter. "I've been here two years!" she says, exasperated at Kurt. Probably not the best way to sass things, in all honesty. "And you guys are..." she catches herself. "...really....good teachers?" she asks, crinkling her brow and hoping the wording works out. "That must have been awkward," she adds to Jean's comment on the Professor.

Out come the claws. "Thought I told you not to play show and tell with those, kiddo."

She really can't pursue the matter any, though. There's a sudden shift of focus from the points of adamantium claws to the ghostly merc. On the inside, Domino's completely beside herself. Laura really just said all of that...

On the outside, she's got a wistful little smile about her. "Yeah... That was a fun trip." Except for the 'knowing her name' part. That's ..well. It's Xavier's. She couldn't hide that bit forever. In truth, maybe she didn't want to, either. Which is a good thing, as that particular cat's progressively getting hauled out of the bag by the tail, claws and all.

At least it's helping Laura to be social, right? Lucky, lucky Dom.

Cessily's reaction does have her lightly clearing her throat, however. "Not..exactly. It's a long story." Well, not that long of one, but one which she'd rather not get into at the moment!

Laura doesn't even try to imagine the shopping trips. She just eyes Jean with an odd, almost confused gaze before she shakes her head.

All though as her claws retract, she tilts her head slightly at Kurt, as if silently asking some form of question. That is before her gaze flickers to Bobby for some reason.

"No." is said to Cessily with a head shake after Dom explains a bit. "She did not succeed. A truce was called. We talked. I walked away. /Logan/ is the one who told me to go here. But not as a student. And that was /after/ he found out I even existed."

Jean smiles gently now, kindly. She reaches out to lay a hand on Cessily's arm, likely catching the gist of what was in her thoughts before she caught herself and adjusted. "I think the point we're all trying to make is that we care about you. We just don't want to see you hurt. Or see you hurt others. We're actually not all stuffy adults who can't remember being 18 and just wanting to let loose and party, you know." Maybe there's a hint of mild reproach in that comment. "But, trust me. If there's a trick to be tried? We've tried it." Her smile widens a little. "And it never hurts to remember: It's very difficult to put one over on a telepath."

Kurt rises again from his seat and hands the towel back to Bobby. "Danke, mein freund.. I think I'm done swimming for the time." He, too, remembers their times out.. and he -still- enjoys them with friends. But he's done 'relaxing', as it were, and it's time to get started again..

Those solid yellow eyes land on Cessily once again as she offers her defense, and his brows quirk a little as she begins to run out of her own steam, the arguments now sounding in her own ears how they'd sound in everyone elses.. and he offers a smile, and a nod, his tones gentling. "Ja.. we are the best. Und as Bobby said, no sense looking for trouble.."

He turns towards the Institute, though it's really easy to believe that there will be no walking involved for him to head back in, and he offers to Domino. "Catching a ride with me oder Bobby? If me, I will be ready soon.. need to get changed.. und the like."

There's a look spared for Laura, and he offers a hint of a nod to the girl. He knows she's better than simply claws. She's shown it over and over. What she has is a case of the 'Logan's.. which is to be expected. BUT.. one day..

"Listen to Jean.. we have tried them all.."

*bamf*