Settling In (Open to X-ers)

[kinetic_assault]

Brianna sat on the south lawn in yoga pants and a tank top in the lotus position, counting her breaths as she cycled through several breathing exercises at the end of her meditations. She'd been back at Xavier's for a couple of days now and she was settling in all right. Mom and Dad seemed to be having a good time back home, though she knew her father would want to get out on the road again as soon as possible.

She felt herself return to alertness and opened her eyes as if seeing the world anew for the first time. Her meditations always renewed her spirt and her mind and she was ready to take on the new day.

Standing in one smooth motion, Brianna LeBeau began tehe first of several katas, taking up an open fighting stance and working through encountering her foe, engaging and finally, dispatching that foe before beginning the next kata.

Comments

[seismic_shockwave]

Kayla was sauntering about in her usual semi-oblivious way, loud music blasting in her ears as she inadvertently started to sing along, in spirited though distinctly mediocre fashion, to Black Sabbath. She did, however, notice the newish girl and stopped to watch her for a moment, eventually removing one, though not both of her earphones.

"Pretty sweet moves there. I'm guessing you've got some training."

[kinetic_assault]

Brianna continued her current kata to its completion and then stopped, turning to face the newcomer.

"Thank you." Brianna said, her English accent coloring her words. "I'm Brianna LeBeau. Nice to meet you." she said, offering a hand.

[seismic_shockwave]

"Kayla Connors." Kayla replied, in a rather neutral accent that gave no real clues about her origins. "Pleased to meet you, too." She took the hand that was offered carefully, which is to say that it still felt awfully firm, but posed no risk of crushing Brianna's hand entirely.

"Hell of a Mansion, eh?"

Well, that probably said something about her location right there. She grinned broadly. "Are you related to one of the X-Men here or just a new kid like me?"

[kinetic_assault]

"Cheers, Kayla. Good to meet you." Brianna said pleasantly, noting the firmness of the handshake. It was a good handshake and she liked Kayla a little bit more already.

"I'm getting settled in again. Haven't been here since I was a little kid. My parents were X-Men. My father is Remy LeBeau and my mother is Elizabeth Braddock. They're both across the pond right now but they'll be back in the States soon." she said.

"How's your day going so far?"

[seismic_shockwave]

Oh my god, she said pond. Pond!

Kayla's handshake couldn't help but be firm, the girl could lift a car over her head and toss it. It was a small triump for it just to be firm and not bone-crushing in a horribly literal sense.

"Oh cool. My day's going all right, not much has really happened yet. Kind of avoiding math homework right now, so if I suddenly hide from the math prof, you'll know why." She grinned.

[kinetic_assault]

"If I see the math professor coming, I'll warn you and then run interference while you hide." she grinned.

Personally, Brianna loved math but she understood why it gave so many people fits. It could be extremely confusing to people who knew what was going on on the best of days.

Brianna grabbed her towel and just the noticed the earphones.

"Can I ask what you're listening to?"

[seismic_shockwave]

"Sweet deal." Kayla wasn't actually nearly as bad at math as she sometimes liked to claim, it was just that she wasn't as good at it as most other subjects. Also, it was just kind of boring and painful.

"Black Sabbath. Heaven and Hell to be specific, from the Dio period." She threw up the horns and struck a "metal" pose. "Because yeah, I'm a bit of a metalhead." She grinned broadly. "But mostly the classic, melodic stuff. Maiden. Priest. Not so much into the really hardcore death metal."

[kinetic_assault]

"I've heard Black Sabbath but that's about the extent of my metal knowledge." Brianna said with a bit of embarrassment.

"I've listened to a lot more mainstream stuff but I'm always open to new stuff." she said.

"Maybe you could give me an idea of which bands are the good ones? I'd love to hear them for the rest of my workouts." she said.

[seismic_shockwave]

"Hold on a sec." Kayla practically beamed and took out a small notepad and a pencil from the carrycase she was toting, furiously scribbling names down. "Well, if we're talking straight metal, for me, Iron Maiden are the gold standard. Casting a bit of a wider net, for more general rock music, it's tough to beat the Clash." She continued writing band names and songs down.

She laughed a bit. "I'm a giant music nerd."

[seismic_shockwave]

"Caffeine is a thing of beauty. Honestly, I doubt I could live without it." Kayla laughed. She'd learned to appreciate coffee at the shelter, ironically, because it was what was always available. And there was no doubt that it made mornings a lot easier to deal with.

"I like cooking. Cooking's fun, and hey, you get to eat it afterwards, right?" Kayla didn't do a lot of things that anyone could consider "girly" in any sense, but cooking for other people was one of the exceptions. "Just make sure you don't drink all the OJ. Or Kayla gets cranky."

"Well, I keep pretty busy with school stuff. Kinda looking for a job right now, being really bummed out that NHL hockey isn't even a thing right now ... I spend a lot of time haunting the recesses of the Internet or blasting music that Brooke hates." She grinned. "Mostly just getting into the swing of things here at mutant school."

[kinetic_assault]

"There will be plenty of OJ for the cook." Brianna laughed.

"I've never watched a hockey game. Football is more my thing and Manchester United is playing soon. Do you watch?" she asked.

[seismic_shockwave]

Cooking was going well enough. Nothing here was terribly complicated to make, and scrambling the eggs actually made that simpler. The bacon was the good stuff, thick-sliced and it wasn't long before everything was starting to smell like bacon.

"I gotta admit, I never really paid much attention to soccer before the last Olympics. Then our girls had a run at the gold medal and I kinda started thinking it might be fun."

[kinetic_assault]

"I keep forgetting that most people on this side of the pond call it soccer. Got to remember that for future note." Brianna said, thinking it over.

"But I love the game. I was pretty good at it but my...my ability made things a little problematic in playing the game." Brianna said.

[frostfurlady]

"Granny says they call it that because it's close for association," comes a sudden quiet voice. "Instead of rugby. And what they call football is more like rugby." Danielle stepped out of the bushes. "It's all very confusing. But really, the only important thing is that the Huns Must Be Chastened." Fan hatred of the Glasgow Rangers takes on a new tone when explaining it to your half-Norse grandchildren, it seems.

[wild_child]

"Eh, none of it's as good as hockey," Rose said from the doorway.

She smirked. "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Been a while, Cajun."

[kinetic_assault]

Brianna noted the first newcomer and was about to agree with her assessment somewhat when Rose spoke up.

She turned in her chair and looked at her other Canadian friend.

"You can clearly hear my accent. Why do you bloody insist on calling me 'Cajun'?" Brianna said, fighting the grin that now pulled at her lips.

"I missed you, too, Rose." she said, before looking back to Danielle.

"I'm sorry, but we haven't met. Brianna LeBeau." she said, extending a hand.

[frostfurlady]

"Danielle Hrimharisdottir," Danielle says cheerfully.

After Breakfast

[kinetic_assault]

After breakfast, Brianna is sitting in the common room, watching Japan's Next Top Model on the telly.

Re: After Breakfast

[iced_cherub]

And here would be Bobbi sitting in a corner looking at a class yearbook, only because she wants to try to know what her biological fathers are like. Of course she's bare footed, in shorts, and a backless blouse, her wings cloaked over her shoulders.

Re: After Breakfast

[kinetic_assault]

"Bobbi-Bug! What are you doing over there?" Brianna asked. "Don't be a stranger. Come hang out." she said, indicating the telly.

Re: After Breakfast

[iced_cherub]

"I was..." She shook her head and put the book away. "There subtitles?" She walks over. "Ooh, I like that dress."

Re: After Breakfast

[kinetic_assault]

"I don't need the subtitles, but I can turn them on for you. Or I can translate." Brianna said. She was fluent in Japanese and she loved watching their programs. She also had a love of Toky-Pop that she wouldn't discuss with anyone.

"This one is even better than the American version."

Re: After Breakfast

[fourshelled]

Pete was relatively happy to have the morning to himself. He usually had to ride shotgun with one of the turtles having the body until he had class. He had found himself as himself this morning in bed.

The redheaded teen had notebooks and things tucked under his arm as he went down to the common room. He pulled up short seeing a nice-looking girl in there. Watching a show on modeling. And the girl who gave him stuff on Valentine's Day.

"Uhhh." The sound came out before he could stop himself. He clapped his mouth shut and tried to look for some place to hide in the room.

Re: After Breakfast

[kinetic_assault]

Brianna turned to see who their company was and smiled. She hadn't see this person around the school yet, but now was as good a time as any to make friends.

"Hello. I'm Brianna LeBeau. Please don't think you have to leave. Bobbi and I can turn it down." she said, indicating the TV.

"Or...you could watch it with us?" she suggested with a smile. "It's almost over."

Re: After Breakfast

[iced_cherub]

"Japanese right? I'm still struggling with German. Though it's one I want to try to learn." She sat down on the floor near the couch to watch, hearing the sound from the doorway she looked and smiled at Pete.

"Hi."