Day Two: Revelations

[Mara 29]

August spread out her blanket and settled herself on the sand, away from the noise and chaos of the Cove. She lay down on her stomach, laying her sketchpad before her with her pencils and tools nearby. A light breeze tossed her hair as she worked out another figure on the paper.

* * * * * *

Having finished his calc homework, Joseph set his backpack down by the net and joined up with a volleyball game out on the beach with some of his friends from school.

Edited May 21, 2008 by Mara

[Drake 53]

Peter answered the door when it rang. He opened it, finding a boy no older than Hailey. He was in dirty and tattered clothes. Looking beyond the boy, he saw a girl on a motorcycle.

"Hello," he said. "What can I do for you?"

Edited May 22, 2008 by Drake

[Andy 60]

"Uh, I heard it was safe here," Calvin explained, "for mutants, I mean. And, well, I'm in a bit of a situation here..."

[Drake 53]

"Oh, of course," said Peter, stepping out of the way to let the boy in. "Is your friend coming in too?"

Peter wondered how the boy could have known about the fact that this was a mutant safe haven. He would find out and determine if it was a threat to security however, that would have to wait.

[Andy 60]

"No," Calvin looked back at Kelly, "she was just giving me a lift."

Calvin stepped inside and glanced around the lobby. "This place is nice... Are you a mutant too?"

[Drake 53]

Peter gave a wave to the girl out on the motorcycle then closed the door.

"Yes, I am a mutant. Everyone here is," he said. "My name is Peter." He extended a large hand to the boy. "Are you in need of a place to stay?"

[Vergere 1]

Kelly nodded and started up the bike again, and flipped down the face plate, and headed on back to the Cove so Lance would stop worrying about the motorcycle possibly getting scratched or something. She pulled up into his parking space and took their helmets back inside, tossing his keys to him as she headed towards the back room to put away the helmets.

[Andy 60]

Calvin shook Peter's hand. "Yeah, you could say that," he replied. "Uh, might want to make sure there are fire extinguishers on standby, though, if you know what I mean."

[Vergere 1]

Catalina followed Kelly into the back room, hands on her hips. "I'll have you know, the minute you left, a huge crowd came in."

Kelly just grinned over at her. "Oh, really?"

"Yes. Really. And you weren't even around to help."

She kept grinning widely. "And I'm sure you did a lovely job and got an amazing tip count, since I wasn't here to detract from your sales." She turned and walked back out of the back room and into the main lobby area, patting Catalina on the shoulder as she passed.

Catalina sighed and shook her head, and couldn't help but grin. Put that way, it didn't seem like a bad trade off at all.

[Drake 53]

Peter raised an eyebrow then nodded. "A fire starter then. Fortunately, our rooms come equipped with fire-supressant systems...also, the walls are lined with state-of-the-art fire-retardant materials. If you really get crazy, though...well, we have someone who can help with that." He was referring to Jean, of course. He had heard about how she had used a telekinetic force field to contain the explosion of half a dozen train fuel cars before they could destroy a residential neighbourhood.

He led the boy up the stairs and down the hall towards the living quarters. "I suppose we should get you a shower and some clean clothes, da? I don't think most of the people here are your size. Kurt might have some clothes you could wear but...well, you'll see. What is your name, anyway?"

Edited May 22, 2008 by Drake

[Andy 60]

"That'd be great, thanks," he said. "And it's Calvin. Calvin James. Are there many people here?"

As if in answer, Chase popped his head out of a room further down the hall, and waved. "Can't talk now, sorry!"

He quickly went back into the room he'd picked, because he thought Kurt might not want to show off his blueness to the new kid just yet.

Edited May 22, 2008 by Andy

[Rogue 4]

While Lila was looking through phones, Jean stepped asside to call home and make sure nobody had burned the place down.

***

When Natalie saw Kelly enter the cove, she grabbed Marcus by the arm. "Sorry Neil! We gotta run!" She pulled her friend along and inside the Cove after her friend.

She saw Kelly enter a back room and sighed, looking around for Lance. Finally, she found him. "Hey Lance! You know my friend Marcus, right?"

Edited May 22, 2008 by Rogue

[Drake 53]

"Not too many yet," said Peter. "We just built this place over the summer and opened at the start of school. Already, though, we've had three new people join. One, earlier today." He spotted a blue tail snaking out of a doorway upahead. "Uhh...keep an open mind, Mr. James. This one might be difficult to explain. Kurt!"

The tail twitched in surprise and the blue-furred mutant leaned back out into the hall. "Whaddya wha..." he spotted Calvin and his eyes went wide. "Oh! Uhh..."

"It is alright. He is a mutant," explained Peter. "Do you happen to have any clothes that he could wear?"

Kurt scratched behind one pointed ear. "I think I might have something. Usually I just use my inducer." To Calvin, he said, "Come on to my room. We'll see if there's anything."

Peter heard the phone ringing in the kitchen. "I'll be back. I just have to get the telephone." He walked back to the kitchen and answered, "Hello?"

***

Marcus found himself suddenly dragged along for the ride before coming to stop at the counter. "Uhhh, hi," he said, offering a small wave and a nervous smile.

Edited May 22, 2008 by Drake

[Vergere 1]

Lance raised a hand lazily in greeting. "Hey Nat. And yes, I've seen him around." He walked over casually and held out a hand, "Lance."

Kelly headed back towards where the drinks were and got herself another refill, before casually walking over to where she saw Lance, Natalie, and Natalie's friend Marcus.

[Rogue 4]

"Hey Peter." Jean said, watching as Lila searched through the phone store. She felt bad for the girl. Jean's parents had taken some convincing, but they'd come to accept the fact that Jean was a mutant, and more importantly a person. Both her parents were well educated, open-minded professors, so she supposed that helped. "I'm out shopping with Lila at the mall, and I just wanted to make sure everything's going smoothly over there."

***

"Lance, Mark and I were hoping that you and Kelly wouldn't mind taking ten minutes out of your busy schedules," She smirked in amusement as he had been lazing around again. "To talk to us."

[Andy 60]

"Oh well, never mind," muttered Chase. And he followed Kurt and Calvin to Kurt's room, "Calvin, wasn't it? I'm Chase."

"Hi," Calvin replied, "yeah, it's Calvin."

"Rough day?"

"Yeah," Calvin sighed, "I've had that a lot today."

"Oh, sorry," Chase apologised. He really had been master of the obvious today. He decided to shut up.

Calvin let out an involuntary yawn. "Sorry, it's been a long day as well as rough."

[Drake 53]

"Things are going...well enough for this place," said Peter. "Hailey and I broke the lawn, Chase Mitchell came over to drop off his papers and will be staying for dinner, and a young boy named Calvin came by looking for a place to stay. He is a pyrokinetic mutant. He looks like a runaway so I offered him a shower, some clean clothes and a bed for the night. I figure I can leave the decision if he can stay permentantly up to you. The boy seems stable enough, though the burns on his clothes suggests a problem with control."

***

Kurt managed to find a clean pair of shorts, a t-shirt and some clean socks. "Sorry, that's all I have. We'll have to buy you some more later."

"That's alright," said Calvin. "Anything is better than this." He waved a hand over his dirty, burn-spotted sleeping clothes.

When they returned to the hall, Hailey was returning from her shower. She was back in her regular clothes with a towel wrapped around her head. "Hey, boys. Oh, someone new." She smiled. "I'm Hailey."

"Uhh, hi. I'm Calvin. Nice to meet you," the boy said.

"You too, Calvin! See you around!" Hailey disappeared into her room.

Kurt put a hand on Calvin's shoulder and steered him down the hall. Once at the end, they came to the bathroom. "Here you are, mein freund," Kurt said. "Take your time. When you're done, come meet us in the kitchen."

"Thanks," Calvin said and then went into the bathroom.

"Come on," Kurt said to Chase. "Let's go see what there is to eat!"

Edited May 22, 2008 by Drake

[Vergere 1]

Dryly, "Well, I don't know. As you can see, this place is just filled with people I need to go take care of." Lance motioned around the truly empty Cove. Besides the small group of four, Neil, Catalina, the manager, and another worker were the only ones in sight, and even they were lazing around.

Kelly nudged him - hard - in the side with an elbow as she walked up. "Sure, we have time."

Edited May 22, 2008 by Tyche

[Rogue 4]

"Well, this is more of a conversation for a back-room." Natalie told them, hinting towards the subject matter.

***

"I'll talk with him when I get back." Jean told him, running a hand over her face. "Just keep trying to make him comfortable for now. If this kid's a runaway, we may have no choice but to bring him home. We'll see what it comes down to. In the meantime, did he bring anything with him? Clothes, toothbrush, that sort of thing?"

[Vergere 1]

Lance nodded, and motioned to the back room. "You know the way. Ladies first." He let Natalie and Kelly head on to the back room while he and Marcus followed a few steps behind. Lance closed the door behind him, and Kelly went and sat in one of the chairs that were around the table, propping her feet up on it.

[Drake 53]

"Professor Xavier never had a problem with housing mutants in need. I do not think he would mind one more," Peter said. "And he had nothing but the clothes on his back. Kurt is around his size so they are trying to find some for Calvin to wear."

Kurt and Chase came into the kitchen. Kurt smiled and gave a thumbs up before moving on to the fridge.

"Correction, they found some. He will be needing more, though."

[Rogue 4]

"I know Peter. The Professor did everything short of adopting Scott, and he took in Rogue, even though she was a runaway. I just need to clear it with him first, and I need to learn why he ran away in the first place." Jean looked over to see Lila paying for a phone. "What size clothes is he? I might as well pick up the essentials while I'm here."

***

Natalie sat down next to Kelly, making room for Marcus to sit beside her. "Kelly, Lance...remember how I told you about the dolphin the other day?" She asked, sheepishly.

Edited May 22, 2008 by Rogue

[Vergere 1]

Lance couldn't help but sigh softly, "Why do I get the feeling I should sit down for this one..." And as he said that, he pulled up a chair, spun it around, and sat on it so that his arms were resting on it's back casually as he looked at them.

Kelly glared pointedly at him. "Play nice." She glanced at Marcus before looking cautiously back at Natalie. "Yes. The one that saved you from the shark."

[Drake 53]

"Uhh, one moment. He's in the shower so I will ask Kurt" Peter looked over at Kurt. "Hey fuzzball. What size of clothes do you wear?" After relaying the sizes over the phone, he said, "Would you like to speak to Scott? I think he is napping in front of the TV. I would love to wake him if you need me to." Peter chuckled.

***

Marcus' eyes shifted nervously, back and forth from Kelly to Lance and back again.

[Rogue 4]

Natalie took Marcus' hand, holding it to comfort him the way he had comforted her before. "Marcus here...he's the one who saved me...the one I freaked out at. And....he knows about you too Kell." At her expression Natalie spoke quickly and defensively. "Now I didn't tell him, and that's why we're here right now because there's someone else who knows about you."

***

Jean rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'd love to. And he's no doubt watching the Auto channel again. It's okay, I'll talk to him later when I get home. I wouldn't mind if you sent Kurt over in about a half hour to help with the bags though."