Opening Day [OPEN]

[astonishing_xmods]

WHO: EVERYONE
WHAT: Mingle/Figure out Room Assignments/Meet old friends again
WHERE: The whole campus.
WHEN: September 1st, 2018
WARNING(S): None. If anything goes into warning territory, please create a new log for it.




For all of the newcomers, welcome to Professor Xavier’s Institute of Higher Learning! For all of our returning students and staff, welcome back! Once Professor Xavier’s welcome speech wraps up, it’s time for everyone to get themselves situated in their dorms and, more importantly, get to know your fellow mutants! Even if you’re not sharing rooms, you’ll still be sharing the same campus with each other, so don’t be afraid to get used to all of those new faces! Or even catch up on old ones! You have options; don’t be afraid to use them.

[[ ooc: This is the general mingling post for all of our characters to get settled into their rooms, get to know each other, reminisce with old friends, all that jazz. The log will be split into multiple locations. ]]

Comments

[kamiizumi]

[That is...a lot of stuff.

Leo, on the other hand, is a minimalist kind of guy; he's only got one box to carry in himself, and most of that is just stuff like bath towels that he couldn't really make a case for not needing. April, always the one to think about the kind of boringly practical things that wouldn't occur to all the ninjas in her life, had come after him with one of those "off to school" checklists from Bed Bath and Whatever; they'd crossed quite a few things off, because clearly corporate America just really wanted to get people to spend money on shower caddies and pencil holders they didn't honestly need, but even Leo couldn't really argue for not needing towels.

(It kind of helps the packing situation that Leo doesn't wear much in the way of clothes.)

He steps inside and effortlessly slips around the boxes and suitcases to deposit his lone box on the other bed, then turns to Shindou and matches that bow.]

Leonardo. It's nice to meet you, too.

[presto_turn]

[Well, at least it doesn't sound like they've gotten off on the wrong foot. It'd be terrible to spoil the first day over something so mundane.

Shindou can't quite keep from slowing down his unpacking marathon, though, once Leo actually steps all the way into the room. Staring is impolite, and so he makes sure that his attention doesn't fully wander away from stocking his wardrobe. (He just brought the essentials, too, really: dress clothes, soccer kits, pajamas...an assortment of boxer-briefs with "Armani" trimmed across the waist. You know, just everything he needed to survive.)

But his roommate's still a lot to take in! He has an actual shell, and the rest of him looks more reptilian than anything else. The most obvious question is whether that's his day-to-day form, but seeing Leo getting set to move in answers that one quickly enough, Shindou thinks?]

Is this going to be your first year at the Institute? [His smile flickers. He feels weird having to ask this. After so long in stasis, it feels weird not knowing everyone once again.]

I, ah...don't know how many students were around while they were still rebuilding.

[kamiizumi]

It is. First time in school at all, actually.

[The kind of training he's been spending his whole life doing isn't really the same thing at all, even as structured and formal as Splinter sometimes gets about it. It's still just a few of them and a single master, it's not structured in the same way at all, it never really touches on balancing equations or the grammatical parts of a sentence because it's all about punching things and hiding in the shadows.

Though at least he's gotten the impression that punching things might still be on the curriculum here. He's awesome at that.

Maybe it'll make up for his lack of knowledge of algebra.]

Did you go here before?

[presto_turn]

Oh. [He can't say that's surprising. Fitting into a normal classroom with Leo's mutation would have been next to impossible, wouldn't it?

It's the question that comes afterwards that gives Shindou pause, making him freeze in the middle of unzipping another suitcase. That's kind of a loaded question...and one he doesn't know how to explain. Probably too much to hope that there'd been a handily condensed explanation of the Phoenix effect tucked into the student orientation packet this year. "Please welcome back the Class of 2017 from being frozen in time" or something like that...?

So, he just says:]

Yeah. I started high school here the year the Sentinels attacked.

[Which, on a normal time scale, would mean he'd be midway through college by now. Or else that he'd entered his freshman year around the age of nine.]

It's...a long story, but that's the last year I remember. So, I'm starting back as a sophomore this term.

[kamiizumi]

...oh.

[Okay, that has got to be awkward.]

Sorry, that...sounds complicated. I didn't mean to step on any toes.

[presto_turn]

Ah, no -- [Alright, now he just looks guilty. This is probably more mutant craziness than anyone needs dumped onto their first day.]

It's fine. I just thought that I should mention it, in case...

[A shrug. Mostly in case Leo wonders why seeing some of their older classmates is confusing and potentially trying for him. Or why he's not exactly up to date on the current just-about-anything.]

I'm glad to be back, anyway.

[kamiizumi]

[Maybe that could just mean (or also means) that he's glad he's not frozen anymore, and not back at this place specifically, but...

Well, there's something about his tone.]

You really like it here, huh?

[presto_turn]

I do.

[He doesn't have to hesitate at all before answering. Even after the violence, the Sentinel attacks, being displaced in time...it's a relief just to be here. Not quite like coming home, not exactly, but there's a similar sense of belonging. Of knowing that he's where he's supposed to be.]

This school's important to me. We all stand up for each other here.

[kamiizumi]

...so like family.

[On one hand, these are good things to know. He's supposed to be reporting back, after all; Splinter sent him to learn more about this place and these people as much as he sent him to learn how to control his power. They don't know enough about the wider state of things, or about the players on the stage of the mutant issue, and while Leo doubts Splinter would have sent him off alone (especially after recent events) to somewhere he believed was truly dangerous...they've had little to prove that this place is on the level, either.

So this is comforting, in a sense. Shindou seems like a sincere person.

But on the other hand, it also really just makes him miss his family, and this is only day one.]

[presto_turn]

Mn, sort of like that.

[That's never been Shindou's preferred metaphor, but he can see how it would ring true for other people.

He goes quiet for a moment, then, snapping a now-empty suitcase shut. Most of the clothes finally seem to be out of the way, so he switches over to breaking open a box and beginning to arrange the rest of his things: books printed in a mix of English and Japanese, his laptop, a framed photograph or two of his parents and his old soccer team. Getting them positioned just right gives him time to weigh exactly what he wants to ask next, because...well, assuming anything about other mutants' experience with family is always a dangerous gamble.

Finally:]

...Have you lived away from home much before this?

[kamiizumi]

[The silence is as good a chance as any for Leo to turn attention to his own (much smaller job of) unpacking. Towels, sheets. Only a couple of books (but Miyamoto Musashi and Sun Tzu are good to have in any collection). A box of Master Splinter's favorite green tea.

He's reached halfway in to pull the next item out when Shindou speaks again, and he pauses.

The question is awkward, but not, as one might expect, because of Leo's family.]

...once. For about a month.

[Easily the worst month of his life, but none of that could be blamed on his family - none of that could be blamed on anyone but the Shredder.]

[presto_turn]

[From the way Leo says it, Shindou can guess he's probably not talking about going away to band camp. Still, he opts not to pry, giving a sober nod while he makes quick work of filling the bookshelf above his bed. Probably better to give the guy time to get the sheets on his bed, at least.]

Well...

If you need help finding anything around the school - or with classes or whatever else - you can ask. Most of the Mansion still looks the way I remember, from what I've seen.

[kamiizumi]

Thanks. I was thinking of taking a walk around the grounds once I'm done here...I don't like getting lost.

[Getting lost implies a failure of preparations. Getting lost sinks missions. Yes, Leo thinks of a lot of things in that framework; it's practically reflex at this point.

It's not quite an explicit invitation, since he's not sure if Shindou actually wants to hike around or if that's going to stir up the wrong thoughts at the wrong time. But he doesn't sound at all like he'd discourage company, either.]

[presto_turn]

Oh. Do you want me to show you around some? Once you get away from the Mansion, it can be hard to find your way at first.

[Shindou is not the most eager volunteer, but it's not like he has any other plans nailed down for the day. Whatever he does after unpacking, he knows it's going to end up amounting to a game of "How many people don't I recognize?" in any case.]

It's fine if you'd rather learn your way around on your own, too, though.

[kamiizumi]

I wouldn't mind, but I'm pretty used to having to figure this stuff out on my own, too, so it's not a big deal if you'd rather not.

[Leo is way too proud to assume he's going to get that lost on his own.]

[presto_turn]

Maybe I could give you the quick version of where everything is inside, and then you could check the grounds on your own?

[Because, yeah, that's going to end up being quite a hike. And, besides the fact that there are still things - more people, really - that he needs to deal with inside the school, he's not sure exactly what on campus Leo'd be interested in.]

There's a lot to see. I think the school owns most of land around campus, to help keep up privacy...

[kamiizumi]

That sounds good, thanks.

[He'll more than likely be taking the unorthodox route around the grounds, anyway, and that's easier done on his own.]

Do you know if it's fenced all the way around?