Not In Siberia Anymore [Intro; Open to everyone at the Institute]

[kid_from_chukotka]

Ilya stood in the lobby of the mansion, attempting not to panic. While his SHIELD handler worked out the final paperwork, she'd benignly told him to stay there. The thing of it was, though, he was pretty sure that an entire apartment complex from home could fit in here. He tried not to fidget as it continued to hit home just how far away from, well, home that he was. The world seemed suddenly much too big, leaving him motionless as he tried to figure out what to do. He looked at his bags and wondered if he should take them up to his room... except he had no idea where his room was. And despite SHIELD having taught him fluent English, the Russian was loathe to call out for help and say something stupid and grammatically incorrect. He didn't want to look like an idiot right after he'd walked through the door.

So the fifteen year old stood there, glancing around awkwardly, silent as a mouse.

Comments

[marvel_boy]

He wouldn't need to stand their awkwardly for too long. Topher had heard a new student was arriving, and given that he'd been told to wait in the lobby alone...well.

Sometimes that tended to scare newbies if they weren't used to the whole people with powers thing.

"Hey," he said, putting on his most welcoming smile. "New guy, right?" As if Topher didn't know. He knew everyone at the school by virtue of practically having grown up there. His parents had been X-Men on and off since practically the beginning. "I'm Topher. Topher Summers. Welcome to the Xavier Institute."

[kid_from_chukotka]

It was safe to say Ilya was very not used to the people with powers thing; he'd never even met another mutant before and all the ways he could screw up his first impressions with these people played out in his head. He startled slightly at the voice and relaxed minimally at the smile.

"Nice to meet you, Topher. My name is Ilya Gavrilov and, um, yeah. I'm new here." He wondered how bad his Russian accent was to American ears. "Thanks."

[marvel_boy]

The accent was fine to Topher. Then again, he'd grown up around Colossus.

"Sorry," Topher apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you there." At least he wasn't one of the ones who could phase through walls or something. Topher reached out to shake his hand. "I kind of figured. You had that deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming Shi'ar ship thing going on." Funny how one took things like Shi'ar ships for granted when one was used to their existence. "Here, let me help you with the bags. We can hang out in the library or the common room until the headmistress figures out paperwork and your rooming sitch." Sometimes it felt as though no matter how full the school was - and the school was already teeming with students despite the fact that the semester hadn't started yet - there was always room for more.

"Unless you wanna do the whole hanging out in the lobby thing some more. I mean, there's something to be said for lurking near the entrances." Anytime they ordered pizza from Salem Center, Topher did just that. Partially to stave off any unruly use of power, and partially because, hey, the pizza boy could be a cutie.

[kid_from_chukotka]

"It's alright. You don't have to help me with the bags if you don't want to bu- wait, there's a library?" Ilya's face lights up immediately. He loves reading. For most of his life he'd had no real access to new books and the world is so much more vast than the tiny education he had before. He can't keep from smiling. "Can you show me it?" Oh, God, he probably sounds so lame and dorky. Crap. Well, at least he didn't ask what on Earth 'sitch' and 'Shi'ar' meant.

[marvel_boy]

"Nah, it's cool." Topher had all that super-strength to expend, after all. He reached down and easily lifted up Ilya's things. He grinned. "The Institute's got a lot of layers," he explained. "The library is one of our best facilities, though. Huge, sprawling. Books, magazines of all kinds." Topher tended to spend a lot of time in there himself. "It's quieter than some of the common rooms, which is nice," he continued. He led Ilya past the double stair case and down a warm, sunny corridor. "Plus, unlike the public ones? This one's open twenty-four-seven." They stepped through a set of double doors into a wide, expansive room with large windows, riddled here and there with couches, chairs, desks, and some computer stations.

"I'd suggest staying away from the occult section. Magik built that up awhile ago, and the books are a little kooky."

[kid_from_chukotka]

Ilya's bags are fairly light. After all, he has virtually no personal possessions besides clothes, a laptop and a few books in Russian. He tries not to look amazed as they walk through the mansion, but it's obvious that he is; he hasn't seen a place like this in person before and quite frankly it's hard to believe this is real. It's like one of the palaces of Moscow, but they're just walking through it like they belong here.

"I've never been in a place this big before," he admits, looking at the huge library in awe. The library is bigger than his old house was. Ilya looked around, almost afraid to touch something. All the books are in pristine condition. Everything is beautiful. "I'm not even sure what 'occult' means. I mean, I know people back home used it to talk about things that weren't Christian, but... Russia isn't a really religious place." How many words is he going to not know or find have other uses in Russian?

[marvel_boy]

He can and should look amazed all he wants. The Institute was a pretty wondrous place.

Scary too, sometimes, but wondrous nonetheless.

"It's a little daunting at first," Topher agreed. "I grew up here, for the most part, so I'm sure there's a lot I take for granted. It's always interesting witnessing it through the eyes of someone new." Topher set Ilya's bags down near the entrance of the library.

"Make yourself at home," he added. "I mean, it kind of will be, for the foreseeable future. Why not make the most of it, y'know?" Students milled about amongst the small crowd in the library, as did some teachers, and some non-teaching-staff X-Men.

"Occult is...you know. Witchcraft. Supernatural stuff." There was no judgment or anything on Topher's face for Ilya's lack of knowledge. After all, everyone's experiences were different. Topher didn't judge people by those things. "Magik was one of the X-Men. She was Russian too, actually."

The Cake is Not a Lie

[dolemeck]

Once he made his way to the kitchen with Ilya, Dolemeck wheeled himself behind the counter to start getting out the things he would need to make him his cake. The Chicken pot pies he spoke of were out and ready for students to eat for lunch. Already a majority of them were gone, but there was enough left for himself, Ilya, and a few other people.

"Alright... they still look warm!" Dolemeck took note, floating a plate over to Ilya, and then a chicken pot pie to sit on it. "Grab yourself a fork and a knife and dig in! I will get to work on that cake for you."

[kid_from_chukotka]

Regardless of how many were gone, it was still a lot of food. Ilya knew he'd seen more food at one time, but only in storage in preparation for the winter. Having that much out in the open drove home how many people there were here and how well off they were.

Ilya took ahold of the plate, smiling slightly at Dolemeck. The mansion still seemed vast to him but the other guy seemed to know the layout fairly well; hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to get used to walking around this maze of a place. As he moved to get a fork and knife, though, it occurred to him he really couldn't do anything to repay Dolemeck for it. Except...

"You know, I know I'm new, but I'm pretty decent at using telekinesis on big things. Maybe, if you want, I can help you learn to move things that are bigger and weigh more? If you want," he repeated, not sure if he was overstepping his boundaries. Then he looked down at his plate and, in order to avoid saying anything else that was stupid, took a tentative bite of his chicken pot pie.

And then made a stupidly happy 'mmm' sound that immediately embarrassed him worse than words could have.

[dolemeck]

He could not help but chuckle again, seeing Ilya enjoying the chicken pot pie. It was as if he never tried it before. Was that even possible? If it was true, then that was rather sad.

"That would be great!" He spoke cheerfully, cracking some eggs into a bowl, and then grabbing a whisk to start stirring in the various ingredients he had inside of it. "It would help me be able to get out of my chair easier! Granted, I can use my powers to push objects that are heavy, just not lift them. It is quite odd."

He continued to whisk the batter for the cake, filling the kitchen with a sweet aroma of chocolate as he did so.

"Now, would you like any fruit on top of the cake after it is baked and iced?"

[kid_from_chukotka]

It is, because chickens don't tend to live if you put them in the Arctic Circle. He's had other foods others here probably hadn't, but he's been informed by SHIELD a lot of people apparently find eating reindeer disquieting, so he'll keep that to himself for now.

"I started with pushing things. Lifting came later, in the mine I worked at. It was mostly exhaustion, I guess; it was easier to pick everything up and put it in the cart than move it by hand after a while. So, uh. Pushing being easier than lifting isn't that odd, I think." Ilya is polite enough not to talk with his mouth full, but he eats like he's starving. He's not sure why, but ever since SHIELD found him he's been unable to turn away from food. Their working theory is his body was storing up energy for his healing factor to use.

His mind stalls at the word 'fruit'. Sure, he's had some via SHIELD, in the form of juice since his body was less likely to reject that, but otherwise all he'd had experience with were berries. "There's fruit here?"

[dolemeck]

"Aye! We have bananas, and strawberries, and blueberries..." It then hit him that Ilya may have never seen fruit before. Dolemeck placed the bowl on the counter and wheeled himself over to the fridge. He took out all the fruit they had, and then wheeled over to Ilya so he could see.

"Here we go. All the fruit you have to choose from!" He smiled more, now using his powers to pour the batter into the small cake pan, set the oven, then place the cake pan inside of the oven. He even shut the door with his powers. "Strawberries are my favorite fruit."

[kid_from_chukotka]

"...I recognize these," he said after a moment, pointing to the blueberries. "The polar station's head on Ayon Island had a lot of perks for being, well, the highest ranking government official for miles and miles. Including better food for him and his family." He reaches for the blueberries, momentarily lost in a memory. "His daughter Marya snuck me some once after I was kicked out of the school. I never did figure out why." He pops them into his mouth and they're a lot fresher and better than he remembers, and he actually slows down to chew at a normal pace, looking around the kitchen.

"Don't hold it against me if... if blueberries are my favorite." It was only gift from someone else he'd ever gotten back in Ayon. Still, his need to make sure he's not saying or doing something wrong kicks in. "Is that okay?"

[nohoundsallowed]

Rachel went through the file SHIELD had given her one last time. She wanted to be familiar with this special case. Even if it really wasn't the strangest personal experience by a person on the campus, but it certainly was unique. She closed the file with a sigh and leaned back in her chair.

This meeting would certainly be interesting. She sent one of the students who had been loitering near her office to have the newest Xavier's student come to her office.

[kid_from_chukotka]

Ilya is more than a little nervous when he knocks on the door and gingerly opens it. He knows there's things SHIELD haven't told him that it's entirely possible they've told her, and it makes an already new experience incredibly nerve-wracking. If he only had more of an idea of how to act in a school setting, it might not be so bad, but it's been a long time since he set foot in a school.

He tries to straighten up and look respectful. "You wanted to see me, ma'am?" Oh thank God that came out both coherent and in English.

[nohoundsallowed]

At the knock on her door, Rachel smoothly rose to her feet. She gave her newest student a welcoming smile.

"Please, come in, Mr. Gavrilov. Have a seat." She gestured to the comfortable chairs in front of her massive desk. There were piles of papers and blueprints scattered across the top of the cherry wood desk. There might have been a computer buried under some maps of the grounds somewhere. "Please, pardon the mess. Construction is getting closer to completion, and I'm making sure things are in shape for the students."

She crossed around to the front of her desk. The redhead didn't figure she needed the authoritative symbol between them at the moment.

[kid_from_chukotka]

"It's not messy. It's necessary work," he said, recalling maps and hunting plans from his childhood and how his parents would pour over them. Of course, construction work was entirely different - he could read a map, he couldn't even pretend he knew how to read blueprints of anything.

Ilya sat down, still tense, unsure of what to expect. SHIELD tended to be very matter of fact and blunt with him, if only because they had a tinge of that with everyone they interacted with. The Headmistress didn't strike him as that distant, but she commanded authority, and for lack of anything to say, he simply said, "Ilya is fine. I mean, if you want." Russian teachers rarely called someone by their last name unless they were in trouble. Was he in trouble already? Even he wasn't paranoid enough to think so, but he supposed anything was possible.

[nohoundsallowed]

She gave a small, appreciative nod at the observation. As Ilya sat, she casually leaned against her desk. She would have hopped up to sit on it, but her skirt was a bit too short for propriety's sake if she had. She looked him over, taking in his tense posture.

"You're not in trouble. I just tend to be more formal upon first meeting a student. I know you've met Topher and Dolemeck already, but I want to more formally welcome you to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning."

It was unsaid she hoped he survived the experience. From his files, she suspected he would be a little twitchy about such phrasing. "I'm Rachel Grey-Ramsey, the Headmaster here. You can call me Mrs. Ramsey, Professor Grey-Ramsey, or some respectful combination of the two."

[kid_from_chukotka]

"It's an honor to be here, Professor Grey-Ramsey." And he really, really means that. Living in SHIELD captivity was suffocating and claustrophobic and hadn't done him much good psychologically. "I know I'm behind the other students in terms of academics, but I promise I can catch up."

Or at the very least, he will work hard to do so. He doesn't want to waste this unexpected second chance at education.

[shadeblossom]

Hana got the usual staff notice that a new student arrived. She liked to know a little about where each one was from so that she could occasionally try to work some local dishes into the school menu. It was nice to give them a little bit of home every now and then.

When she heard they were getting a student from Russia, she was very excited! Misha had been helping her with her Russian speaking and she'd tried her hand at a few dishes, but it was exciting to get a fresh perspective on her progress. And another guinea pig for her recipe experiments, since the local kids sometimes didn't care much for Russian fare.

Hana checked with Rachel to see where Ilya would be roomed until the dorms opened and popped into the room before he was scheduled to arrive. She left a small, white box tied with pink ribbon on the desk in the room with a note written in Russian attached:

Welcome to Xavier's! I'm Hana Blaire. I run the kitchen here. I hope your trip here was pleasant and I hope you're settling in well.

I'm looking forward to meeting you. I've been learning the Russian language and cooking for a while now. I would be pleased to have a chance to practice more. Feel free to stop by the kitchen and say hello any time!

In the meantime, I hope these vatrushka give you a little taste of home while you're setting in.

Hana Blaire

Inside the box, there were two sweet dough pastries with a rich, sweet cheese filling.

[kid_from_chukotka]

Ilya had already been given a warm greeting by more than one person, but the gifts and the note had to be the biggest surprise since he'd gotten here. Twin spikes of anxiety and joy rose up in him; on the one hand, he wanted to be able to let himself believe the best about Hana and imagine having at least one person to speak Russian to. Her writing shows she has a good grasp of the language, after all. It's that fear of being part Chukchi and Siberian and therefore subpar. You didn't have to study Russian long before you got to the Chukchi jokes.

Still, it's just so incredibly nice to have something he recognizes. Granted, the cheese isn't reindeer cheese like in most of Siberia, but it's still instantly recognizable as food and as something he could've had at home. He slowly savors the first one before hiding the other away for later. Even if he's not sure how much she knows about him or how he should feel about this, he wants to thank her in person.

If he's wiping at his eyes a little as he seeks out the kitchen, it's with a small smile on his face.

[shadeblossom]

Hana was in the kitchen, sitting at the big island with a recipe book open by one elbow and a notebook by the other. She thought she'd be past so much note taking once she graduated, but apparently not! When the door opened, she looked up and smiled at the unfamiliar face.

"You must be Ilya," she greeted him, pushing the books aside and switching to careful Russian. "Welcome! How have you liked everything so far?"

[kid_from_chukotka]

"I am. Ilya, Gavrilov Anatolyevich," he introduces himself in the formal Russian order. His manners are the one thing that aren't rusty, and he offers her a slight smile in response and switching his own language; she may detect the softness to harsh sounds typical of those in the Russian Far East. "Everything has been great and the people have been kind. Thank you very much for the food and the note. I was not expecting that. It means a lot to me."

[shadeblossom]

"You're very welcome. I hope I'm not abusing the language too badly. It's my newest language. I've been learning from my boyfriend. Our boys are picking it up much faster than I am, though." Especially the words they weren't supposed to pick up.

She hopped down from the bar stool at the counter and extended a four-fingered hand to shake his.

[kid_from_chukotka]

"You're doing fine. You have an accent, but it's actually very charming. Where in Russia is your boyfriend from?" Ilya takes her hand gently, smiling genuinely at her. It's stupid, but he can't help thinking about how romantic it is that she'd learn a language for someone she loves, and it reminds him of his father failing so badly to learn Chukchi for his wife, who thought every attempt was perfect in how flawed it was. "And how many languages do you speak? I'm always impressed by how smart some people are with languages - I'm still refining my English."