8/17 Instance: Brownies and Bellydancing

[fourpawsonthefloor]

Happens the day after Furniture are Friends.



sage: Tessa sat lounging on her bed, a book spred open in front of her. She wrote extraordinarily fast, scribbling on a sheet of paper what looked like notes.

Cessily: Cessily walked down the corridor, humming to herself, until she found the right room. She gave the door a light knock. "Heya... anyone there?"

sage: "Hmmm....Oh, yeah, come on in, just studying." Tessa sat up, laying her papers on her book, and striding over to open the door. "Hi."

Cessily: "Oh, hi." Cessily greeted her, putting on her most charming smile. "I'm Cessily. Cessily Kincaid. You are Tessa, yes?"

sage: "Yep, I'm Tessa." She smiled back at the silvery skinned girl, and stepped aside, motioning for her to come in. "You look pretty cool."

Cessily: "Oh, thanks." Cessily brushed through her hair with her hand as she entered. "Nice to meet you, Tessa. Friends can call me Cess." She turned to face her. "So, you just arrived here?"

sage: Tessa smiled and said, "Yeah. I got here a couple days ago. Nice to meet you, Cess." She extended a hand to shake Cessily's.

sage: "So, what are you up to today?"

Cessily: Taking Tessa's hand to shake it, Cessily gave her a friendly grin. "Well, welcome to our school then. Uhm... yeah, I'm also here because Japh told me about what happened the other day. And what you did for him."

sage: TEssa halfway smiled in remembrance. And then a thought dawned on her: what if she'd made Japh angry with it? Had he wanted his brother only to make him a new Meanie? "Uh...yeah. I wanted to know how that was going." She bit her lip.

Cessily: "This was so awesome!" Cessily exclaimed, beaming at Tessa. "Really, he's so delighted to have Meany back!" She tried to calm down a little again. "Uhm, yeah, anyway... I wanted to thank you for that. Whatever it was that you did, it's wonderful." She hesitated a moment, asking herself if it would be appropriate, but then decided to do it anyway. She pulled Tessa into a hug. "Thank you."

sage: Tessa laughed when Cess pulled her into a hug, wrapping her arms around the girls shoulders and squeezing back. So she wasn't mad at her. That was a relief. "I'm still trying to figure out what it was that we both did. 'Cause, I didn't make Meany. Japh did, I only helped."

Cessily: Cessily still smiled at her as she let go again. "Whatever it was, it helped him. And I'm sure Dr. McCoy will help you find out. Oh, right..." She opened the bag hanging over her shoulder and pulled out a plastic box, handing it Tessa. "I made some brownies this morning before class. Consider them a gift both to welcome you here and to say 'thanks'"

sage: Tessa smiled wide when she saw the brownies. She loved brownies. "Oh, thank you. I love them, though I can't figure out how to make them without burning something."

sage: "I wish there was something I could give you in return, though." She scrunched up her face in an apologetic squint. "I'm a horrible cook."

Cessily: Cessily waved dismissively. "Ah no, no need for that. Really, you're welcome. And I'm still learning myself, but I guess I could show you a thing or two if you'd like that." She let her gaze wander around the room. "So, after your first few days... how do you like it here?"

sage: "It's so much better than I could have imagined. Everyone is so accepting...and the mansion. It's huge. I like it, though, I never feel closed up."

sage: Tessa's face relaxed to clam when she thought of home. "It's good here."

Cessily: "Ah, wonderful that you like it. It's a great place, you'll see. A little weird at times, but I guess that's normal for a school like this. And one gets used to it. Where do you come from?" She wanted to know.

sage: Tessa smiled. "I'm from Greece. It's wildly different from here."

Cessily: "Oh, wow, Greece..." Cessily looked pleasantly surprised. "My parents took us to Athens and some of the islands when I was a kid. I remember that it was very nice there." She smiled sympathetically. "But you're far away from home then. What about your family? You really have to miss them."

sage: Tessa sighed. "I do. But it's easier on them and me this way. I get to study what I like and they dont' have to worry about it." She laughed as a thought struck her. "Not that they're going to have time, with the children still there!"

Cessily: "You have a big family then?" Cessily asked as she sat down on the edge of Tessa's bed. "I have two brothers and a sister myself. Though, I'm the youngest."

sage: "I have a huge family, three sisters and two brothers, and I'm in the middle. But even with so amny people, it can be lonely over there. There are so many things you can't do, even with your family. There's a ton of rules, but hey, what they don't know can't hurt them, right?"

sage: She grinned at Cessily with the slightest of winks, thinking of what freedoms she had.

Cessily: "That's nice. I always loved being part of a big family." She suppressed the slight feeling of sadness that she felt as she thought about her family. "But I know what you mean." She gave Tessa a little smirk. "I'm sure you'll love it here then. You get to be all independent, and you'll see that they give you quite a bit of leeway here, so you can enjoy your time just like you want to."

sage: Tessa giggled. Finally, soeone who knew what she was talking about! "Oh, I'm planning on it. I've heard there can be some pretty interesting moments around here." She sprea her arms out to her sides, gesturing about the room. "I don't know if I'll want to leave when term's over."

Cessily: "Well, you don't have to leave. Several students usually stay here. Or they visit others during the breaks." Cessily put on a wry smile, curious about what exactly Tessa had meant by that. "And yeah, it can be quite interesting here, that's true. Uhm... depends on what you mean by interesting, that is..."

sage: Tessa laughed at the hesitation. "I only meant that it's not so strict here. You can date without the adults breathing down your neck about getting married."

Cessily: Cessily raised an eyebrow at that. "My, now that is really strict. I understand that you're glad to have some time to be all on your own now. Things here are way more relaxed most of the time." She crossed her legs. "So, did you get to meet the other students yet?"

sage: TEssa combed her fingers through her hair, just a little embarassed that she'd let that part slip. "I've met some of them...Japh of course, and Laura, TJ, Remy, and Rogue...all of them are so friendly. I'm surprised the school hasn't expanded already."

Cessily: Cessily nodded in agreement. "Yeah, people are very nice here. And there are lots of new students this semester, but it's a big house." She smiled. "If you want I can give you a tour through the mansion and the estate and introduce you to some of the others later."

sage: Tessa's face lit up at that suggestion. "I'd love that! If you don't mind, of course..." She pushed the thought of what would Mama and Father do? out of her head forcefully. This was her time now...but her fingers wouldn't listen and fidgeted in her lap.

Cessily: "Why, I'd love to." She beamed. "You'll make lots of friends in no time here, just wait and see." Cessily noticed that Tessa seemed to be a little nervous. "And don't worry, people are really friendly here. And you're very nice, too, so you'll all get along."

sage: "I certainly hope so. So tell me, how long have you been here at school?"

Cessily: "Not very long actually." She told her. "I've come here just a few weeks before the last semester ended, so I'm basically not much further than the freshmen who just arrived."

sage: A smile crossed Tessa's mouth as she thought about that. Here was someone she really thought she could understand. "So...what do you do? for...your power, I mean."

Cessily: "Yeah, my power... well, I was basically turned into a blob made out of metal. Liquid metal, to be specific, so I can change my shape and do all sorts of things with it." She shrugged. "It's kinda weird, but actually quite funky. How about you? What can you do?"

sage: "Oh, that sounds cool." Tessa smiled at Cessily. "I'm a telepath. And I can find other mutants. Even if they don't know yet if they are one. It can be a little awkward at times, when people don't realize you know what they're not saying about you." She laughed when she thought of her family's thoughts that she'd seen. "But in comes in handy sometimes too."

Cessily: "I bet." Cessily laughed. "This must be really strange. But we have several telepaths here at the school, like Lizzie and Rachel or Professor Xavier himself, so there are lots of people who can help you with your ability. Like, control it better so you only use it when you want to. And you can find other mutants? How does that work? Do you just have to look at someone to know if it's a mutant or not?"

sage: Tessa sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Kind of. When I look at you, I see just...you, only different. It's like when I see someone who's a mutant I can see what they're made of. Like, something just...I don't know, just files itself away in my head. And when that hapens, I can tell if it's already released itself. Mutantcy, I guess, likes to play with the people it takes over. Sometimes it'll come out for no reason, and sometimes it has to be pushed out. Which is when...what happened with Japh happens." She shrugged. It wasn't at all easy to explain, but hopefully Cess would understand some of it.

Cessily: Cessily listened attentively and slowly nodded at the end. "Yeah... I think that I understand what you mean. That makes sense. Though I guess this has to be pretty weird at times, no?" She laughed dryly. "In any case, I'm sure Dr. McCoy would be thrilled to talk with you about this. He's the local specialist when it comes to figuring out how mutancy works."

sage: Tessa let a long laugh. "So I hear. I'm excited to meet this Dr. McCoy. Scott says he'll take me to see him. He wants me to change his eyes. I'm not sure I can...I've only done it twice now." She flicked her eyes up to look into Cessily's,
smiling. "But I hope I get better at it if I can."

Cessily: She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure Scott would appreciate it if someone could help him with that. In fact, there are several students around who I can imagine to be delighted at the possibility of someone helping them figure their mutation out." She returned Tessa's smile and reached out to lightly squeeze her shoulder. "Oh my, I don't want to put you under pressure or something."

Cessily: "Just take you time. You get better at it, that's for sure. We all have learned so much here already, and you have plenty of people who are there to help you."

sage: Tessa didn't smile when Cess finished speaking. "I'm only worried that everyone will want to change something. But I don't want to end up changing who they are. And I'm afraid it might do that. We all have to live with some things, you know? I don't want to end up making people forget that they're not better than everyone else."

sage: She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair, playing with a strand that wanted to lay right over her eye. "But I can't say no to people who need help, either."

Cessily: Cessily kept on smiling, giving her a sympathetic look. "I understand that you think that people might demand that of you, but... don't worry too much about it. I'm certain no one will want to put any pressure on you. But it's admirable that you want to help. And you already did that."

Cessily: She had to think of Rogue and Kevin, who would greatly benefit from any help they could get regarding their powers. "But you just arrived here, so take your time to settle in, relax a bit and have some fun."

sage: That brightened Tessa's look. "I'm going to. I already love the classes, and I'm looking forward to this field trip on Saturday. I wonder where's we're going..." She laughed. "It ought to be fun, wherever it ends up."

sage: "I love the class. I wish we had a dance studio around here...so I could practice."

Cessily: Cessily laughed. "Oh yes, Howlett's classes are fun. They are among my favourites." She gave her an excited look. "And you like dancing?"

sage: Tessa poked her tongue through her teeth, and smiled. "I love dancing. It's what we do in Greece!"

sage: "I haven't done it in so long, though, I'm not sure if I remember how to do it..."

Cessily: Cessily flashed a grin and laughed. "Oh my god, me too! I love dancing! I was so good in high school, but I haven't really done it since my mutation manifested." She gestured excitedly. "But I so wanna practise again. And Howlett teaches dancing here at the school. We even have a room. So we can like practise together, yes?"

sage: Tessa giggled. A dance partner too? "Oh that is so cool! I'd love to learn your dances. What type do you do best?" She kept her own style quiet...too many people though it wasn't tasteful.

Cessily: "Well, of course my parents insisted that I learn ballet and all the classical dances, and although I love doing that, I actually prefer more modern styles, like street dances, but also Latin dances." She smiled. "And I'd love to dance with someone again. How about you, what do you like?"

sage: Tessa looked at the ceiling and slid the corners of her mouth up. "I do Oriental Dance. I think Americans call it belllydancing?" She let her lips curve all the way up, and continued, "Too many people at home thought it was promiscuous. But it's really not. It's really fun."

Cessily: "Oohh, bellydancing?" Cessily gave her a long look, eyebrows raising. "Wow, that's cool, and I don't think it's promiscuous. Even if it were, so what? I think it's very sensual." Her fingers played with her necklace and she gave Tessa a coy smile as she tried to hide the excitement her imagination created. "And I'd really love to see you dance."

sage: "I'd love to show you how. It's fun to learn. And it's a great workout." She slid her bottom lip through a gap in her teeth, and contemplated what she'd say next. "Maybe we could get some of the girls to learn it?"

Cessily: "You'd show me? That would be wonderful, Tessa!" Her gaze went to the ceiling. "And yeah, that's a fantastic idea. I'm sure some of them would certainly be up for it." Cessily chewed on her lower lip as her mind envisioned how cute some of them had to be when doing this.

sage: "Yes!" Tessa threw her arm up in the air and did a little boogie dance on the bed. "You're going to love it!" This was going to be so exciting.

sage: Tessa was going to love this school, definitely.

Cessily: Cessily sat on the bed giggling as she watched Tessa. "This will be great. I can't wait!" She chimed in, still laughing. Oh my God, she is super nice and gorgeous and pretty... Cessily's mind was racing and she looked at her feet for a moment to try to calm it down a little. "Hey, what about if I show you the rest of the school now. And I can show you the dance room."

sage: "Oh, that would be terrific!" Tessa's smile widened till it went ear to ear. She already loved Cessily.

sage: She stood up and took Cessily's hand, trying to lead her to the door in her hurry.

Cessily: "Just wait and see, this will be so much fun!" Cessily gladly let herself be led out of the room by Tessa, a wide smile on her face.