11/30 Instance: Too Many Redheads

[Slarti]

Current timeline.

<Jean> This was bound to be awkward, but dammit, it had to be done. Jean took a deep breath, ran her hands through her long red hair one more time, then knocked on the door.

<Cessily> "Oh, please come in, it's open," Cessily called through the closed door. She stood by the window, one of her painted pet rocks in her hands. Scanning her office, she made sure it was in a presentable state - not that she could have done anything about it if that hadn't been the case.

<Jean> Jean opened the door and just stared. "Holy buckets, they weren't kidding!" She was gleaming in the sunlight coming through the window. "I need my sunglasses!"

<Cessily> That caused an instant laugh coming from the silver mutant. "You're not the first one to get that idea," Cessily said, smiling at the fellow redhead. "It's also the reason why I get banned towards the umbrella when we're out sunbathing in the summer."

<Jean> "I can imagine... wow." Jean just wasn't getting over the shiny, plus, the feeling of blankness as her telepathy just slid right over the counselor. She came into the office and fidgeted in place. "I'm Jean... sorry... I kind of went through your stuff."

<Cessily> "Oh yes, the girl they rescued from this weird Circle Pines place," Cessily commented, putting down her rock and stepping away from the window, deciding to keep out of the sunlight to make herself easier on the eyes for her guest. "I've heard they mistook you for me at first. A demutified version of me, that is."

<Jean> "Yeah! Yeah... everybody got demutified and, like, kinda brainwashed... and so when I told them who I was they were all nuh-uh, you're Cessily! Go to your office!" Jean then noticed the woman had been petting one of those rocks. Good, maybe she was already high. "Soooo, yeah."

<Cessily> She smiled at the other girl. "Oh my, I can't imagine how strange that must have been for you," Cessily said, nodding. "I mean, this place is wacky enough even when you're not coming here fresh from getting your brains washed."

<Cessily> Looking Jean up and down, a frown showed on Cessily's face. "I don't know... think we really look anything alike? Guess that means there are just way too many redheaded mutants around if we're that exchangeable."

<Jean> "That's what I said! But no! Red hair, so they said I had to be you. Then finally when Rachel told them I wasn't you they were so sure you were at Circle Pines. I told them there were no other redheads, but noooo." Jean was twisting her hands together nervously. "I got really bored in here."

<Cessily> Cessily laughed. "Hey, then you already got a pretty good impression my job," she replied. "Where do you think all those painted rocks come from?" Looking at the other girl in silence for a couple second, the silver teacher then stepped forward and pulled Jean into a heartfelt hug.

<Cessily> "I owe you more thanks than I can give then," she told her. "Who knows how much longer I'd have been trapped in that horrible place if it weren't for you convincing them to come find me."

<Jean> Jean awkwardly returned the hug, her arms coming up around the teacher. She was nice and now she felt bad. "I stole your pot," she blurted.

<Cessily> Cessily blinked a few times. Now that was a random confession. Then, after trying to think about it, she simply burst out with laughter. "Really?" She leaned back, grinning at the young woman. "That's... uhm, perfectly fine." She tried her best not to giggle. "I didn't even know I still had some left."

<Jean> "Oh? Oh! Well, good." Jean let go of the shiny lady. "Still, sorry... but not too sorry, 'cause that's some goooood shit." She grinned, tucking her hair behind her ears.

<Cessily> "Well, in that case, it served its purpose, no?" Cessily put on a smile, turned to the side, and gestured at the free chair. "Want to sit down for a moment? I could offer you tea, or some hot chocolate. Someone brought me muffins earlier. I wouldn't mind sharing."

<Jean> "Thanks!" Jean plopped into the seat, grin still in place. "Yeah, I can see why Rachel said I was a shitty counselor. You're way nicer than I am."

<Cessily> "Aw, why thank you." Cessily smiled, stepping to the counter to fill up the water cooker and switch it on. "That's pretty much why I got picked for this job, you know? I'm not a trained shrink or anything, just a nice gal who knows how to make people feel relaxed." She prepared two cups, dropping tea-bags into them.

<Jean> "No wonder, with that stash." Jean snorted, then remembered herself. "I, uh... ate all your snacks too."

<Cessily> That made her laugh again. "Always be prepared for the munchies, that's why they're there," she said, pouring the boiled water into the cups. "Don't worry too much about it. Most of this stuff is just here out of habit or to offer it to my guests. You see, the weed doesn't actually do anything to me. Not physically, anyway."

<Jean> "That's what I was wondering about, since you're like... well that big blue guy told me you're inorganic and didn't have DNA so that's why they couldn't test me and blah, blah, whatever." Jean made another face, pulling up her legs to rest her chin on her knees.

<Cessily> "That's right," Cessily said, carrying the cups over to the desk and carefully putting them down. "You'd be surprised about the auto-suggestive power of the mind, however. I've trained myself to feel appetite despite not requiring any food, or become tipsy when tasting something alcoholic." She nodded at Jean's cup. "Would you like some sugar or milk?"

<Jean> "Uhm, sure? Thanks." Jean watched the woman. Mutants were so weird. She was lucky she wasn't weirder, really. "That's funkeh. I'm, like, well, a telepath. Rachel's my cousin. I promise though, I'm way less nuts than her. Like, not nuts. At all."

<Cessily> After dropping a cube of sugar and pouring a splash of milk into Jean's cup, Cessily glanced up at the other girl, watching her for a couple seconds, before responding with a smile. "You know, I actually believe that," she replied, taking a seat herself. "Rachel and I were both students here around the same time, so I know she can be tiny bit... unique."

<Cessily> Her smile widened. "But then again, we all are, no?"

<Jean> "Aaah, not wonder she knew I wasn't you, because... damn." She made a dismissive noise, bouncing a little in the chair as she accepted the cup and sloshing it a little. "Grey genes. My mother says they're the problem." Jean nodded.

<Cessily> "Ah no, I think your mother was just exaggerating," Cessily assured her, stirring her own cup of tea. "I mean, I seriously doubt you'll go crazy with power and threaten to raze the Earth anytime soon, too."

<Jean> "Not that I know of," she said, taking a sip of the tea. Milky tea was ... different. Jean smiled and pretended she liked it. "Especially if I stay nice and mellow. Speaking of, where'd you get that stuff?" That was conversational, right?

<Cessily> "Oh, it's not that hard to find," Cessily replied, before raising the cup to her lips to take a sip. "There's this delightful little tea store in town that sells the most delicious Darjeelings." She nodded at Jean and smiled, putting her cup back down. "If you're looking for something more... exotic, however, Rubin's just the right guy to ask."

<Cessily> "Have you, uhm, met him yet?" Raising her hands, she waggled them next to her head to indicate big, flapping ears.

<Jean> "Oh I don't mean..." Jean actually looked at the shiny lady, and had to squint when the sun hit her at just the right angle. Duh. Bad telepath! Her grin turned sly. "Rubin, huh?"

<Jean> She flapped a hand beside her own head then, the sly expression fading into something far less clever. "I... don't get that..." She looked around and lowered her voice. "Is somebody listening?"

<Cessily> She dropped her hands again. "Sorry, that's just me being in idiot, and trying to find a way to explain that he looks like a big, human elephant without actually being insensitive and saying he looks like a big, human elephant." She folded her hands and nodded. "But yeah, he looks like a big, human elephant."

<Jean> "Wow. A big, human elephant is... wow." Hey if she had to talk to the Cheshire Cat she would for more of that stash! "Guess he won't be hard to find," she giggled.

<Cessily> "Should you still have any trouble with that, I suggest just following the source of the smoke," Cessily replied. "There's about a fifty-fifty chance you'll either find him or Johnny at the end of the trail. That would be our student with the fire mutation. I don't know if he'll also sell you any pot, though."

<Jean> "Sweet! Thanks!" She was happy they weren't beating around the bush anymore, and bounced, taking another sip of the weird milky tea. This was like something her mom would drink. "Fire mutation, huh? That... sounds... hot."

<Cessily> "Quite." Cessily nodded and took another sip of tea. "I think the vast majority of fire alarms around here can be traced back to various power mishaps or experimentation. Not only by Johnny, mind you. The rest is more or less evenly distributed by Calvin's creations exploding or some students trying to make booze in the chemistry lab."

<Jean> "I like fire." Jean nodded in agreement. "Good to know I'm in like-minded company I suppose."

<Cessily> Cessily arched an eyebrow and gave the new student a somewhat awkward look. "Uhm, you're not going to set fire to the mansion, are you? Because I'm sure I'd be in sooo much trouble if anyone suspected I might have encouraged you. Besides, it would be totally bad for, like, everyone living here."

<Jean> "I can control it. Make stuff. With my teke." Jean tucked her hair behind her ear and fished in her pocket for her lighter, right next to Rachel's cigarettes.

<Jean> Flicking it on, she pulled the flame from the lighter and fed it, growing and forming it into a fiery teacup floating in midair. She shrugged and grinned.

<Cessily> "Ooh, that's pretty... neat!" She gave the girl a grin, trying to not look too unsettled at the same time. "Good thing I'm fireproof, though."

<Jean> "Fire's pretty..." Jean watched the flames dance for a while. "It's contained, mostly. It needs air, but the holes in the shields aren't big enough for it to get out if I don't want it to..."

<Cessily> "Well, that's reassuring, I guess," Cessily commented as she ran a hand through her hair. "Still, could you do me a favour and make sure to know where the nearest fire extinguisher is located before you, uhm, play around with that indoors?"

<Jean> Jean looked over at the other woman and squashed the flames. "I never burned my own house down, if it's any consolation."

<Cessily> Cessily laughed. "That's good to hear," she said, tucking a strand of metallic red hair behind a shiny ear. "Don't get me wrong, I just want you to be safe. It's easy to overestimate one's abilities, especially when only just exploring their potential."

<Cessily> She leaned back, playing with her spoon. "Speaking of, is it true that you volunteered for this Circle Pines place?"

<Jean> "I've had them for a while..." She put her teacup down on a table. "I did. Sort of. My parents... they suggested it, and after I was kicked off my team..." Jean shrugged with a loud sigh and shifted, quirking her mouth sideways to stare out the window. "I so didn't know it involved this freaky culty erase your identity thing."

<Cessily> "Yeah, I doubt they mentioned that in the fine print, did they?" Cessily tried to reassure her with a smile. "And don't worry, I won't judge you for making that choice. I know it's hard to deal with all the rejection one may be suddenly faced with when revealed to be a mutant. So hard, they may in fact wish to be someone else entirely."

<Jean> "The cousin with the same exact mutation and striking hair going suddenly homicidal and trying to blow up New York may have had something to do with it too." Jean smirked and stretched her legs out in front of her to inspect the toes of her shoes.

<Cessily> She cleared her throat, shifting a little in her chair, while awkwardly trying to bite her lip and smile at the same time. "That's... understandable," she said. "I guess no one finds the idea of maybe turning into a crazy human disaster too endearing." She cracked a grin. "But as you can see, everything worked out for Rachel in the end. So... yay!"

<Cessily> "Well, more or less, anyway."

<Jean> "Mmm, yeah. She's great." Jean wrinkled her nose, then turned it back into a smile. "Well, thanks for the tea and the lowdown, and... for being cool about my snooping around in your stuff."

<Cessily> "You're welcome." Cessily nodded, still smiling. "Feel free to come back for more anytime! Well, tea and conversation, I mean, not the pot. It's probably bad enough I got this stuff in the first place; I don't need to be caught providing my students with drugs."

<Jean> "Oh, I don't know, you might have kept me from going all Rachel, you never know." Jean gave her a bright grin and a wave on her way out the door. Now she just needed to find the elephant man.

<Cessily> Cessily returned the wave, before she leaned back in her chair. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, unable to shake the feeling that she might see that girl again inside her office someday. After taking a thoughtful look around, she picked up her desk lamp and took the small bag filled with dried green out of the bottom compartment.

<Cessily> Having a secure stash was a great thing. Having a backup stash was even better.

[PsychoKez056]

Everyone get high and just chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiill!

[PanicSwitch]

I second this chilling.

[steyn]

<Cessily> "Ah no, I think your mother was just exaggerating," Cessily assured her, stirring her own cup of tea. "I mean, I seriously doubt you'll go crazy with power and threaten to raze the Earth anytime soon, too.



Ha!
Also, yeah, come to Rubin if you need something to chillll.

[Ult_Sm86]

So you guys just get high and follow fish around the country?
"Pretty much, bro."

"... That's so chill."

I think we should have a snack-attack instance with everyone.