2013-02-18 A Touch of the Classics

Domino's had a chance to eat, rest, and get herself cleaned up, but she's still not looking completely back together. A smattering of superficial wounds cover what trace amounts of her skin are left uncovered, though she's finally put the work gear and attire aside and is dressed more casually. Urban camo cargo pants, ankle-high black boots, a simple, stretchy black long sleeved top, and an unbuttoned black overshirt help to keep with the general 'merc-lite' color theme. She comes down the stairs with some extra weight within each of her steps, head bowed to the screen of her smartphone while completely ignoring the landing. She's barely had a chance to sit still and already she's back to her usual business.

After breakfast, Vic 'Anole' Borkowski had gone for a run. Even if it was cold out, it was beautiful here in New York during the winters. Through the front door he appears, shivering only slightly in his 'work-out' clothing- Underarmor styled things in red and black. His earbuds are once more in his ears, leaving the young man singing as he entered. "Just singin' in the rain, just siiiiigin' in the rain. What a glorious feeling I'm happy again~"

It's past the time for those final classes, but there are a few teachers that do teach beyond their alloted time slots. While Herr Kurt Wagner won't necessarily offer the conceit of being a favoured teacher to some of the student body (more with the girls, though some of the boys thinks he's 'kinda cool'.), and there are a few of his students that descend the stairs, laughing. They must be his- otherwise, why in the world they be reciting Shakespeare at what sounds like 'at the top of their lungs' to get just the right accoustics?

"To be, or not to be; that is the question.." Comes from a young teen's lungs, countered with another, perhaps familiar German accented voice. "Whether 't'is nobler.." but before Kurt even has a chance to finish even the line of the soliliquay, he catches the form and figure of a be-spotted Domino.

Immediately, Kurt changes the play completely as he pauses theatrically on the stairwell, his hands reaching out to keep the students from passing him on the stairwell. His words begin in a staged whisper, yellow eyes gleaming, "She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?" With a slight raising of his tones, he looks to the pair with him, obviously having a rather good time in it. "Her eye discourses; I will answer it." Another step is taken, but before the second, the blue elf ceases his progress once again, his head hanging, his tail drooping as if in that battle with himself, "I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks..."

Noise. Sometimes, as crazy as it sounds, Domino forgets that she's at a -school.- Schools mean kids. Kids mean noise. Especially if they're following the likes of, say, Kurt. That voice... She continues trundling down the stairs but a smirk starts to creep across her face, her attention now divided between the tiny Squint-o-vision screen and the recital that's taking place behind her.

"You'll forgive me if my old English isn't up to snuff," she says back before turning around to look at the fuzzy blue guy with a slight flick of her head to pull the hair away from her eyes. The hand with the phone comes up to her forehead, "Woe is me, caught between the attention of two fair gentlemen with no clear recourse. Perish the thought that I should have to choose whom wins my heart."

Alright, that's enough acting for one day. She saw Vic coming back in from the cold while these two were busy goofing around. "Good run?" Man. Positive moods before and behind her at once. It's almost too much to bear. Someone has to be moody, darnit!

Tugging earbuds out in time to hear Kurt's words, grinning wide. "O, then I see Queen Mab hath been with you." he offered towards the Drama teacher, picking up the play almost instantly. "Its from Romeo and Juliet, Ms. Domino. And yes, thanks. It was a great run." Such a polite kid. Weird for this place, in a way. "Its an okay one, I think I prefer hamlet's monologues though." He had not heard his fellow student speakig those very words not a moment before.

As far as everything else is concerned, Kurt has succeeded in his stated goals. For the most part, though a smirk isn't quite as good as a grin. "She speaks.. and I attend." Holding a three-fingered hand to his heart now, his tail rises as he is encouraged, his expression.. theatrically hopeful, and he takes the final steps to stand before her, "for thou art as glorious to this day being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white-upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air.." Not bad for a man who learned English as a second language!

Now, however, with Domino's turning to acknowledge Vic, Kurt nods to his students. "Tomorrow morning, ja?" They're more than happy to split off- upperclassmen have things to do. Swim practice, basketball..

Now down the stairs, it's late afternoon, after classes has let out. The fuzzy blue elf is at the base of the stairs now, turning to watch the entrance of Vic, when the young man identifies the play from which Kurt takes his lines. "Ja.. I like Hamlet too, actually. We are studying it third year, though some of the students have decided that they want to put the production on as their final exam."

Cessily comes through the atrium, following behind a clutch of half a dozen students, heaving off to this way and that. She'd ressed simply enough, carrying her books in her arms in a fit of retro behaior. "You'd make a good Hamlet, Victor," Cessily says with a gentle smile of support.

Well gosh, Elf's really pushing this one..! As he approaches and rattles off way more from that piece of work than she could ever hope to remember, she finds a means of responding where no words at all are required. It's a page right out of the Book of Wagner, at that.

A quick, light kiss to his forehead.

He's not the only one that can take a person off guard.

Dom's response to Vic is to simply snap her fingers and sweep her arm around to point at the lizardy kid. "Point to you. That's all a bit too classic for my liking." Hmm. Now there's officially enough happening that her attention has become too divided. With the press of a button she turns the phone's screen off, dropping it into a volumous pocket on those cargo pants.

"You think so? Thanks, Cessily!" Vic replies to the other student, a wide smile growing on the green-skin's lips. "You'd make an excellent Ophelia." he replies back, by way of dramatic compliment. "O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I! Is it not monstrous that this player here, But in a fiction, in a dream of passion, Could force his soul so to his own conceit That from her working all his visage wanned, Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect, A broken voice, and his whole function suiting With forms to his conceit? And all for nothing, for Hecuba!" Vic replies, another of Hamlet's monologues. The kid loved the theater, what could he say.

Okay.. point to Domino. Kurt stands there for a long moment before he truly realizes what it is that just happened. He's momentarily stunned and unable to parry, or rather, unwilling to parry. A grins creases his face, the sharpened teeth tempering the image of 'fuzzy blue elf' just a little. His voice drops, and he holds a hand to forestall her stepping away until he manages, "Ich bin froh, Sie sind sicher nach Hause, leibchen." //I am happy you are home safely.//

Cessily's encouragement of the little green fellow gains, Kurt's attention, and his hand does drop as he turns to the students now. "Ja.. I think he might." Beat. "Vic, would you like to sit in on the practices?"

Cessily looks just a bit impish as she looks over towards Domino. "You'd prefer the musical version?" she asks. The silver girl nods repeatedly to Victor. "You have a natural presence," she says. Her books get held closer to her body and she makes an increasingly amused face. "Vic, are you hitting on me?" she asks with a teasing tone. She clears her throat, "There's fennel for you, and columbines. There's rue for you, and here's some for me. We may call it herb of grace o' Sundays. O, you must wear your rue with a difference! There's a daisy. I would give you some violets, but they wither'd all when my father died. They say he made a good end." Here Cess pauses and manages a lyrical verse, "For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy." She's got none of Vic's natural skill, partly making up for it with sheer enthusiasm.

"Ich habe dir gesagt, dass ich sein würde," Dom quietly says back to Kurt. //I told you that I would be.// Not completely unscathed, but well enough. And, speaking of powdered aluminum a few hours ago, she almost does a double-take upon seeing Cessily over there. Someone like that she would have remembered seeing before! "Couldn't give you an honest answer, I'm not all that familiar with either."

Sheesh, then the silver girl starts reciting some, herself! "Maybe I should be attending your class," she sides back to Kurt, completely deadpan. Well, it's better than flinging text messages to one another during class, she'll give those two that much.

"Sure!" Vic replied, "I'd love to! I was in the drama club at my last school." Cess's words though have the young man blushing. "What? No, I mean, not that I wouldn't I just. I wasn't." And, in fact, he wouldn't. This particular green-guy doesn't swing that direction, even if no one in school has heard him say as much. The lack of girl at the recent dance was just another of so many piling clues. And now the shy looks away from Cess. " But, yes, Mr. Wagner- I'd really like to sit in."

"Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself, she turns to favour and to prettiness," Kurt finishes, yellow eyes facing Cessily. That is enough, however, and the blue elf turns his attention back to Domino. His gaze studies the new bumps and bruises, at least the new scratches that can be seen, and he exhales softly and nods.

Domino's offer to take his theatre class, however deadpanned, is greeted with a smile that finds renewed vigor, those sharpened fangs showing. "You would be most welcome, leibchen. Everyone would be clamoring to be your lines coach."

Vic's excited response gains a laugh, "Then you will come. I'll give you a schedule of when we meet, und I think you will like it. Class trips to the theatre when new shows come, und I am trying to get a trip together to London for 2 weeks.. to tour the West End und the history of theatre in England."

"Are you a new teacher?" Cessily asks of the pale woman. "It's not every guy who solliloquizes at me," Cessily point out to Victor. She smiles, though, and lets him off the hook saying, "Junior and a senior, though...." she waggles a hand. "No offense," she adds. Their teacher comes to Cessily's unintentional rescue, adding a few lines and then making the offer of a lifetime. "London!?" Cessily perks up. "I've never been to London!" she declares excitedly.

"That be /amazing/. I've always wanted to see a show in the west end." Victor replied first to Kurt, before giving Cessily a little wink and half smile. "Yeah, It only be a good thing for me, in those 'social' clique sort of ways." He scratches the back of his head. " Oh! That's Ms Domino, Ms. Domino, this is Cessily." Vic takes it upon himself to introduce the two to one another, before he's back on drama. "I'm looking forward to it already, Mr. Wagner."

Dom's a little surprised to hear that she could sit in on Kurt's teachings, here she had just been making an off-handed remark for the sake of talking more than for the presumption of going back to school in a literal sense. "Good to know," she tells the fuzzy drama teacher. It may never happen, but they do still have the Danger Room.

Vic's introduction is followed by a somewhat awkward smile from her end, though she confirms it with a nod. "Not a teacher, but I do work here." In a fashion. More or less. It also looks like she got in a tangle with a thorn bush not too long ago, though she's left the armor and trench behind in favor of more casual monochrome shades for today.

"It wouldn't be hard to go over. Just need to be sure all the paperwork is right is all. I will have more information for you before the last marking period." It's an outing Kurt will enjoy as well. It'll easily feed into his love of the dramatic, his flair for the theatric. He looks to the students, his head dipping slightly, "Just keep the grades up in the other classes. I do not wish to hear any bad reports in the lounge." As if any work is EVER discussed in the lounge? Hell no! Beer. Pizza. Beer. Wii Rock Band. Beer. Pool. Beer.

Domino's surprise gains something of a smirk in response, and he clears his throat, shifting his weight. As he stands there, an idle left hand begins to creep across and scritch at his forearm. He winces, drops his hand.. only to do it all over, though with the same reaction. Trying to cover for that, he nods his had in support of Domino's word. "Firearm safety instructor. Upperclassmen, ja?"

"Senior," Cessily says, her eyes darting as she brushes her hair back. She's taken classes with Mr. Wagner before, so why didn't he recall her? Could it be she was blending in? Cessily's stomach flips slightly at the thought, and her lips shif tup in a slight smile. "Firearms?" she asks, even as she gingerly extends a hand towards Domino. "We...have powers," she says, "What would we need guns for?"

"Well, not everyone here has powers that work at a distance, and we might be faced with guns. Knowing how they work and how to use them just is another skill. Anyways, if we play the hawaii five-o theme while we practice, we can pretend to be in hawaii."

Vic stated, with a playful half grin gracing his lips. "So, you know how its Presidents Day today, right? I was thinking about getting a charcoal grill from somewhere and grilling up some hotdogs or something for lunch later. I mean, the stuff in the cafeteria is great, but a little cookout of our own might be pretty baller."

Slightly awkward. "Primarily," Dom replies while reaching around to rub the back of her neck. Truth of the matter is they hadn't exactly figured out the specifics of that stuff yet, she's still quite new and getting settled in. "Also here to help keep you kids safe."

Cessily's offered hand is accepted with one of her own. Once more Vic is there to stand in and help answer the question, maybe she should get that little green dude on the payroll! "There's students around here that know how to fly, others that teleport. Should we pull the driver's ed program?" she asks Cessily with a friendly smirk. "Powers, skills, everything is worth being well informed of. Besides, this state's got some excellent hunting ground."

Yellow eyes alight upon Cessily, and his brows rise, his hand now idly scritching at his arm. "Ja, I know.. you sit next to Trevor, who insists upon trying to gain your attention whenver we do our improvisation work so that you can be his partner." His smile grows, and he quirks his head, "Which reminds me. We will also be doing a 'Whose line is it anyway' show for spring.. but I was planning to announce that in class tomorrow." Just so it's -truly- improv.

The suggestion for a cookout out back brings Kurt's attention around, and he nods his head slowly. "I think that might be able to be arranged. It is still cold out, however, with snow on the ground. But, if you can get around that, I don't see why not."

As for why they'd learn guns and safety? Well, Domino actually answers the question even more gracefully than the fuzzy elf could, and again, he nods his support. "Ja.. und there is a statement that always comes into play.. 'Know thine enemy'. Und that includes weapons. Know what they are capable of doing, and what they cannot."

Definitely slightly awkward. Cessily's staring at Domino, but just staring doesn't suddenly grant her telepathy. "Trevor," Cessily mutters, then then ohs, staking a small step back from the group and tipping her head down. "He's just...got a crush," she says, waving a silver hand back and forth. "Driving is something normal people do, though," Cess says. "Could...maybe....we could use the danger room?" she suggests. "That's inside and warm."

"I probably stink," Said the recently returned from a workout Vic. "Cess, I'm going to make that cook out happen, tell other people!" Vic grins, and runs on off. "Thank again for the invite, Mr. Wagner. See you later, Ms. Domino!"

Dom just chuckles in response to Cessily's remark. "Guess I'm just normal, then." It's impossible to make such an announcement with her skin and features. The departing Vic gets a quick and entirely lazy salute, "Such energy in that guy." There's something else now on her mind, though. The redhead here knows about the Danger Room! That should in turn mean that she doesn't need to be too careful in what all gets said amongst the group. Or, she could simply let the previous matter rest. That seems like a more safe bet. She's already looking shy over this classmate business, it's kinda entertaining to watch!

Kurt flickers a glance towards Domino before he returns his attention to Cessily once he confirms that the abino had actually heard the same thing, and gained the same meaning from it. "If he bothers you, I can move him to another set, ja?" All the teacher needs is a complaint; he likes having an orderly (after a fashion) class!

He lowers his voice however, ducking his head as he does so, his hand rising to idly scritch at the fabric covering fuzzy arms. "We do not speak of such things in the open, fraulein. You know that.." or maybe she just forgot? It is pretty cool, and it is so easy for one to be carried away by the very existance of it. "To do so would mean extra work time." With him, with Piotr.. or Logan!

Taking a half-step back, the elf looks to Dom, and he can't help but laugh. "I don't believe in such a thing anymore. 'Normal'.. even those who claim to be such fall short of that mark."

"On it, Vic," Cessily replies, reaching in to her pocket and pulling out a phone. As she grips it, her arm grows dentrites and starts pressing the buttons in earnest. "Bother me?" Cessily asks with confusion. "No, no, he's not bothering me. It's...." Cessily shifts her feet. "Not bad." She ohand and claps her hands over her mouth. "Ohmygosh, sorry!" she says. "It's just so easy to forget," she says.

Times like this, Dom's reminded of what life must be like as a teacher. By the same count, it reminds her of why she's glad to not have such responsibilities. Getting punched seems like a nicer alternative than trying to herd a bunch of kids, mutant or not!

"He's right, of course. Safety protocols are there for everyone's benefit. But, since you're already familiar with our playroom maybe sometime you'll get to see why the inclusion of weapons can be useful for some of us. We can't all be shapechangers or throw elements from our fingertips."

There is no question that Herr Wagner loves working with the students. His love for 'his kind' is evident in everything he does; the way he leads his students, the way he speaks to them, and even when he chastises them. He takes 'they are the future' very seriously.

As serious as he can, that is.

"Ja, it is.." and Kurt points to Domino. "Safety protocols." Though, he offers something of an indulgent smile. "I will not tell." Beat. "This time."

The blue fuzzy elf turns to Domino, and reaches to put a hand upon her arm, yellow eyes studying her for a long moment. "I'd like to speak with you later, liebchen." Not a question!

Cessily is given his attention briefly, and he smiles at the young woman, "Because you are so eager to get a little more work, I will help that along, und give you more to do. Outside, in the back later. I will message you, ja?" But until then?

"I need to go.." and Kurt's scritching becomes a little more evident. "Growing back.." he mumbles. It's not a full step that he takes, however, before he simply disappears into thin air, leaving behind that acrid smell of brimstone.


 * bamf*