4/6 instance: Hissy Fits

[Ferguson]

Timeline: A day or so after Newfound Mayhem

Rogue: Rogue dipped the steak in the batter then dropped it in the frying pan with a loud sizzle sound. "Mmm. Gonna be delicious." She moved to get the next steak and started dipping it as well.


Tessa: Tessa shifted the baby to her shoulder as she sat down gently, picking the bottle off the table. She was glad she wasn't fussing, yet, but staring at the pan Rogue wass tending. "Smells good, whatever it is."


Rogue: "Makin' chicken fried steak f' me an' Sam f' dinner. He's workin' late t'night, so Ah'm gonna set it up in his room."


Mayhem: Mayhem sidled up to the door he was reliably told was the portal to the wonderful realm of food. AKA the kitchen. He'd already got lost three times on the way down here. Now the smells coming from it were making his mouth water considerably.


Cessily: Cessily sang along to a song playing in her head as she danced into the kitchen. She took a few steps, twirled around, and let her hair spin around to the imaginary music. "I won't be shamed, 'cause I believe that love is free!" Cessily didn't even notice the other people in the room at first, and so still danced. "It fuels the heart and sex is not the enemy!"


Mayhem: He scratched at his chest, fidgeting with his anarchy knecklace, before pushing it open. They're not really going to eat you. Coward.


Rogue: Rogue did her best to block out the sound of Cessily's singing and cracked her neck as she took a deep breath. She flipped the first steak on the frying pan and moved to get a bit of pepper to sprinkle in the oil in the pan.


Cessily: Cessily spun around another time as she made her way over to the fridge, and finally saw the other people in the kitchen. She stopped and grinned, her loose hair hanging in wild strands in front of her hair. "Oh, hi there!" She raised a hand to wave at the other... Ooh, new person! "Heya."


Tessa: "I think MJ wants to try some...still a little young yet." Tessa smiled at the little noises the child was making at the sizzling noise. "You can't eat that yet, little girl, even if Aunt Rogue's cooking is really good."


Rogue: "Yeah. Milk's probably still all she can handle. Y'all breast feedin' or givin' her formula? Or both?" Rogue ignored Cessiy and turned to smile at Mayhem, "Hey, sugah! Ya hungry? Or just explorin'?"


Mayhem: Mayhem coughed and raised a hand , waving weakly. "Um. Hi." Wow. She was really shiny...and there was the source of the smell. On cue, his stomach growled loudly. "Hungry. And explorin', if by that you mean getting lost tryna find this place."


Cessily: Tall new person, Cessily corrected herself in her mind. With tails and claws to boot. "Wow, is it the year of the cat already?" She asked, adding a laugh to her question. "Sorry. Please excuse my lame joke." She gave the new guy a smile. "Hi, I'm Cessily. But most just call me Cess. You must be really new. Didn't see you before."


Rogue: "Incredibly lame," Rogue mumbled under her breath. "Ya want me ta make ya one, darlin'? Ah have an extra steak."


Mayhem: "If it tastes half as good as it smells, yes please." Mayhem grinned before reachign out a hand to the shiny girl. "Mayhem."


Rogue: Rogue moved to the fridge, making certain not to touch Cessily or even look at her as she grabbed the extra steak. She put it on a plate and set it beside the batter. "Y'all can have this first one once it's done then," she flipped it again.


Tessa: "Formula, and milk. She's nowhere near solid food yet." Tess smiled, waving once at the new tall guy that looked...surprisingly like Vic. "Hey, there...Mayhem." Right, weird name, but then.


Cessily: "Mayhem?" Cessily asked as she took the hand to shake it. "Is that a nickname? Or were your parents anarchist, or just extreme free thinkers perhaps?"


Mayhem: "No, no, just weird." He grinned at the usual reaction to his name. "Mayhem's my real name. When I'm tryin' to be normal, I'll use my middle name." He rubbed at his black sleeveless poloneck. "I usually fail at the 'normal' though. Don't suppose there's any tea....?" His tail curled into a hopeful questionmark.


Tessa: "In the pantry on the...eye-level shelf. For us," she amended. "There's a few different labels in there."


Cessily: "I'll get some." Cessily offered and basically skipped off towards the pantry. "Want anything in particular?" She had to giggle a bit at the tail forming a question-mark.


Rogue: "Can she be any more annoying?" Rogue asked under her breath to the dead cow in the frying pan as she pushed it around a bit, making sure it was getting cooked.


Cessily: "I guess I can consider myself lucky then." Cessily went on. "Not that my parents would be weird. But my grandparents certainly can be. If they would have had more say in naming their grandchildren, I'm sure I'd have ended up with a name like... Silverstar, or something."


Mayhem: "Um. Just normal builder's tea. Y' know. Vimes tea." Mayhem had to put a hand on his mouth to stop him laughing at the skipping. Nice to see happy people. "That smells....really really good, Rogue."


Hepzibah: Following the new baby scent, Hepzibah made her way toward the kitchen. She had a soft spot for Tessa and knew she was home with the new baby. As she got closer, she started to pick up another scent - and it wasn't the chicken fried steak.


Tessa: "Now that would have been interesting," Tessa remarked at Cessily's name comment. "I suppose I was...conservative with naming, this time. Relatively." Given, one name was Greek and one was German. "What's your middle one, if it's the normal one?"


Rogue: "Thanks, sugah!" Rogue turned a smile over her shoulder at him, "It's nearly ready. Grab a plate. They're up there," she gestured with the spatula.


Mayhem: "Robert." Mayhem turned to Tessa before easily picking up a plate. "Mayhem Robert De Noir. Hah."


Cessily: "Hey, that's a fantastic name." Cessily commented, returning with a couple bags of different teas. "My grandparents would love you instantly, I'm sure of that. And probably invite you to smoke some pot with them right away." She held out the teabags. "Uhm, I couldn't decide. Any favourites?"


Tessa: "Well that's new. I'm Tessa; my last name is fairly unpronounceable outside of Greece. This is Megara." She moved the arm holding the baby slightly, so he could see her over the counter.


Hepzibah: That's a...BIG...cat?? She eased up on the doorway and peeked around, her green eyes wide.


Tessa: "Hey, Hepzibah! Everyone's descended on the kitchen." Tessa smiled at the cat-girl in the doorway.


Mayhem: Mayhem leant closer, tail tip ticking as he looked at the baby curiously. "She's adorable." He purred. His eyes flicked up to Cess. "Um. Just regular tea. No flavoured bollocks..." He trailed off as he caught another scent, looking around. Cat!


Hepzibah: "Whoa..." she whispered taking in the sight. run?...stay?...run?...stay?...


Cessily: "Hey, Hepz!" Cessily waved her hand at the other girl and grinned. "Mayhem, meet the other resident sexy catgirl." She gestured between the two. "That's Hepzibah. She's new, too."


Cessily: Cessily put the other bags down and took the regular tea over to the counter.


Rogue: Rogue shoved past Cess and took the plate from Mayhem. "Want any sauce'r anythin', hun? Hey, Hepzibah."


Tessa: "She's pretty new; only born the day before yesterday." Tess smiled at him purring over the baby, surprised when she started to reach for him with a little burble.


Mayhem: Mayhem blinked slowly at the other cat, tail ticking again as he flicked an ear. Sniffing experimentally, he held out a hand to the girl - Hepz, was it? "Uuuh. Mayhem." He managed, trying to sound friendly. "Um. No sauce."


Hepzibah: Hepzibah stay glued to her spot in the doorway as she eyed the stranger. He was, without a doubt the biggest mutant-man-cat-thng she'd ever seen. Hell! He was the biggest anything she'd ever seen!


Cessily: Cessily put water in the boiler and switched it on, then grabbed a couple of cups from the cupboard. "Anyone else up for some tea?" She asked around.


Hepzibah: She felt her tail twitching as she eyed his hand warily. Finally she began to feel the others' eyes on her. Reluctantly, she took his hand briefly, ready to run in case he suddenly attacked her.


Tessa: "Oh, can I get some, Cess? Please?" Tessa was up for tea. Since she'd been told not to drink too much soda or coffee. God knew she needed the caffeiene.


Cessily: Looking over her shoulder, Cessily noticed the two feline mutants eying each other. She smiled. "I guess you two wouldn't have believed to ever see someone who's not totally different from you. Well, you came to the best place to find such people." She looked at Tessa. "Sure thing."


Rogue: Rogue put Mayhem's steak on the plate and handed it over to him. "Here ya go, darlin'. Enjoy."


Hepzibah: Hepz nodded, moving inside "Yes, Hepzibah. Nice to...meet you." She took a step inside, making a discrete circle around the other cat. "I just came to see the baby..." She thumbed over to Tessa and the wrapped bundle, never taking her eyes off Mayhem.


Cessily: "Well, I'm still waiting to meet another metal person." Cessily chimed in. "Though, Josh probably comes close. Granted, he's not made of metal, but being golden should count for something."


Tessa: "You want to hold her?" Tessa was aware most mothers didn't offer that so earily, but she was tired. "She's pretty calm, now..."


Mayhem: "Wow." Mayhem ran his hands through his dreads, not taking his green eyes of Hepzibah either, pupils narrowed to slits. "I-I've never met another obvious mutant, let alone another cat."


Hepzibah: Hepz was torn between Tessa and Mayhem, her head turning back and forth like a cartoon. "I...me?...I..."


Tessa: Tessa chuckled. "Him first."


Mayhem: Mayhem blinked, looking down at Tessa, then at the steak, then the baby. "Um. Well. If you're sure, I mean...." His eyes strayed back to the other cat.


Tessa: "Well, I meant Hepzibah could answer you first." Tessa barely held the grin in check. "But by all means."


Hepzibah: She swung her head back towards Mayhem and took a tiny step up in defiance at his stare. "Well, now you have." A good offense was the best defense. He didn't need to know she wanted nothing more that to skit under the counter.


Cessily: The water boiled, so Cessily poured it into the waiting cups and added the teabags. "Tea should be finished in a couple of minutes." She said, carrying the cups over to the table to set them down. "Awww, don't be shy, guys." Cessily smiled at the two new students.


Hepzibah: Moving towards Tessa, she finally tore her eyes away from Mayhem for a second and stared down at the tiny baby. "She's beautiful, Tessa." the feline whispered in awe.


Mayhem: Mayhem's tail twitched at the obvious challenge, back straightening from its usual slouch and ears going back as he eyed up the other cat. His eyes fixed on the other for a long moment before he slouched again, shrugging and looking away, not-quite submitting. "That's awesome. I mean, I figured I'd hafta spend the rest of my life on my own."


Mayhem: "Um. Let Hep hold her first. I has a steak to devour."


Cessily: "Well, no need to worry any longer." Cessily announced. She hopped up to sit on the kitchen counter, kicked her legs playfully. "We're like a replacement family for all the unique cases worldwide. But it's a wonderful place, full of nice people. Just wait and see."


Tessa: Tessa laughed, shaking her head. "Go for it, I'd hate for you to get the two confused. And hey, you'll have friends at this place. Most of us do." She smiled and stood to hand the baby to Hepzibah easier.


Hepzibah: Hepzibah stared wide eyed as Tessa came towards her with the baby. "I've never held a baby." She held up her hands in defense.


Mayhem: Mayhem glanced up at her from his steak, flashing her a smile. " 'S like holding a cat. Or two. Only less furry."


Tessa: "She's not moving quite as much, yet," she said with a smile. "But yeah, basically. You won't drop her, it's alright." Tessa stopped for a moment, "Jsut cradle your arms, and I'll set her down, if you want."


Hepzibah: How the Hell would you know, Tom-cat? But, still she stepped forward and held out her arms to received the baby. "Nothing like being in front of an audience when you do something for the first time..." she muttered.


Tessa: "Hey, I had an audience having her. All you have to do is hold her," Tessa joked. "And let me drink my tea for a minute."


Mayhem: Mayhem watched the other cat warily as he cut up his steak, reaching for his tea. He wasn't sure whether Hepzibah actually liked him or not. Hoped she did, he'd really like another cat as a friend.


Cessily: "Now imagine the performance anxiety when you have an audience during your first time." Cessily tossed in while putting on a cheery expression.


Hepzibah: She let out a nervous laugh and held the baby in her arms, suddenly she looked up alarmed. "Is her head supposed leaned way over like that??" Dear God! I already broke her!


Mayhem: Mayhem looked up, blinking at Cessily, before blushing slightly and muttering into his tea.


Tessa: Tessa laughed. "It's okay, just support her head, she can't do it herself yet." She adjusted the baby's head so that she was cradled in Hepzibah's arms, blinking up at the girl holding her. "There."


Cessily: "Well, I'm not saying that I had, of course." Cessily added. "Just imagining it to be something pretty outstanding." She smiled, watching Hepz hold the baby. "You're doing that fine."


Rogue: "You would have liked one though, I bet." Rogue rolled her eyes and put the second steak on the pan.


Mayhem: "See? Not so hard, is it?" Mayhem gave her a small smile before going back to what he did best - devouring food.


Hepzibah: Oh, thank God, I didn't break her... She stared down at the infant staring up at her. "She looks like you, Tessa." Then she caught Cess's comment. "Imagine living with no fewer than a dozen other people in the same room. You get used to having an audience...for everything." Some of her bunk mate had been less discrete than others.


Tessa: "No, you didn't break her," Tessa said idly, halfway not realizing she hadn't actually heard it. "Babies are resilient."


Cessily: "Oh my, that must have been tough." Cessily replied. "My three siblings alone often drove me crazy back home. And we didn't have to live in the same room even."


Mayhem: "I have a brother. We share a room, and he's older then me. I learned to kip downstairs if he has anyone over." Mayhem shuddered theatrically. "There's just some things you really don't want to see."


Tessa: "I won't get started on living in a Romani family."


Rogue: "The only audience I prefer is Sam. Anyone else gets their ass kicked for looking."


Cessily: "Does that mean that I and my camera won't be invited over anything soon?" Cessily asked cheerfully, giving Rogue a wry grin.


Rogue: "Hell fuckin' no," she shot her a glare.


Mayhem: Woo. Missing something here. Mayhem took a gulp of tea. "That steak was awesome, Rogue. Um. Must give me your recipe." He tried.


Rogue: Rogue grinned at him, "Can do, hun. An' thanks. Glad ya enjoyed it."


Cessily: Cessily put on a mock pout. "Aww, too bad." She then laughed again. "Well, call me if you ever change your mind." She hopped of the counter, waved, and gave Rogue a wink, before picking up her cup of tea.


Mayhem: "If everyone cooks here half as good as you, I'm gonna be getting fat." Mayhem grinned back, on a smarming roll.


Cessily: "Oh my, I guess I better head off now." Cessily said after a glance at the clock. "I'm late to class already. So, see you all later, okay?" She gave Mayhem another smile. "Was nice meeting you. Welcome to Xavier's."


Rogue: Rogue growled under her breath and felt her shoulders tense. "Ah'm sweepin' our rooms f' bugs an' hidden cameras."


Mayhem: "Thank you!" Mayhem smiled back. "I'll look out for thee later."


Rogue: "You do like to flatter, don'tcha Simba?" Rogue grinned at him.


Cessily: Waving at the others, Cessily headed out with her cup in hand.


Mayhem: "Simba?" Mayhem smirked. "Well....if it gets you everywhere, then I'll certainly try."


Tessa: "Bye Cess!" Tess waved to her as she left, smiling. "So, Mayhem," she started, sipping at her tea, "Where are you from?"


Mayhem: "Me? Plymouth, Devon. In England. That's why I sound like a farmer." Mayhem sat back, large hands wrapped around his cup.


Rogue: "Well... Ya are kinda... Lion like. Ain't like a cat really. Too darned big. An' ya got that tuft at tha end o' ya tail. Reminds me o' mah friend who left. So ya get his nickname. Gotta pass it on some how, right?"


Hepzibah: Hepz rocked that baby and tried to imagine the huge cat on the back of a John Deere. The image made her almost chuckle out loud.


Tessa: "That does explain a lot." She smield, taking in the new set of DNA; he had some surprisingly--scarily so--familiar mutations. But it was at its core different. "You have a few interesting mutations."


Mayhem: "Um. What?"


Tessa: "Your mutations. They're interesting. A little familiar--" She glanced at Rogue to see if she was thinkign the same thing. "I can read your DNA. It's not soemthing I can control, it just happens, with everyone."


Hepzibah: "Tessa...are you ready to take her back now??" Hepz was trying to hold out till the new mom finished her tead, but afraid to hold the baby any longer was to tempt fate.


Mayhem: Mayhem blinked at Tessa. "...You can? And....familiar? Um." Wow, jut when he thought he had this place worked out, something else happened to throw him off balance. "I'll take her, if you want..."


Hepzibah: Hepz drew back and held the baby a little tighter.


Tessa: "Oh, sure," she answered, setting the teacup down. "Got nervous?" She smiled aat Hepzibah, taking her daughter back gently. She'd done the same thing the first time she'd held her, and then promptly given her back to a nurse.


Hepzibah: She handed the baby over to her mother, eyeing Mayhem again.


Mayhem: Mayhem frowned at Hepzibah. "I won't hurt her."


Tessa: "I don't think he's going to hurt her," she said to the white cat-girl. "You want to take her, Mayhem?" Even in just two days, it seemed like a month already. "Guys are actually fairly adept at handling babies."


Rogue: "Hepzibah, be nice," she scolded gently.


Hepzibah: "No, you won't hurt her." Hepz growled under her breath in Mayhem's direction and wondered just how good his hearing was.


Mayhem: "Should hope I am." Mayhem grinned a little uneasily. "Been holding babies for a- what the hell was that supposed to mean?" He looked at Hepzibah. He had good hearing.


Tessa: "Yep, ears work," Tessa commented dryly.


Hepzibah: "Just what it sounded like." She narrowed her eyes at him. Then she turned to Rogue. "I am being nice," she insisted pointing to his face. "See? No claw marks. That is nice - just ask Kyle."


Rogue: "Megara is not f' y'all ta protect, Hep. Mayhem ain't gonna do nothin' ta her. An' if he does, as much as y'all or even Ah'd like ta pound him, that's Tessa's job. So calm down."


Mayhem: Mayhem jerked back as if the finger was loaded. "N-no claw marks? Look, I-I'm not here to cause any trouble, alright? I'm not gonna be hurting anyone's baby, I have to hold them all the damn time at home! What's your problem with me?"


Hepzibah: You are the biggest scariest damn thing I've seen since I set foot in this place! "Nothing, Simba." She crawled up on the stool and crouched down, her tail swishing.


Tessa: Tessa sighed. "It's okay, no one's going to be hurting anyone, really." She smiled with a serene facade. "Or they better not be. And he's not that scary, Hepzibah. I've seen worse."


Hepzibah: The cat twitched her ears. "Are you in my head, Tessa?" She turned her head to face the telepath. She was a lot less abrasive than Monet. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Tessa was poking through her thoughts.


Mayhem: Mayhem's ears went back as he watched Hepzibah, just about reigning in the urge to bare his fangs and hiss at her. He licked his lips, tearing almost black eyes off her, tail whipping from side to side.


Rogue: Rogue narrowed her eyes a bit when Hepzibah called him Simba, but didn't say anything. She didn't know Vic and didn't know what that name meant to her. Rogue finished the second steak and put it on a side plate, then started with the third in the pan.


Tessa: "I can pick up your thoughts when they're especially loud, but not really, no. I'd hardly invade everything without you telling me to." Tessa smiled gently, hopping up onto a bare stretch of counter.


Hepzibah: Hepzibah snapped her head back around at the sound of his tail whipping around. Her own tail began to curl angrily in response.


Tessa: "Skittish, pussycats?" she asked, upon seeing the two tails whipping around.


Hepzibah: Hepz's body tensed at the sight of the much larger cat starting to bare his canines at her. She unsheathed her claws and hunched up getting ready. A growl began to bubble up in her.


Mayhem: Mayhem's ears flattened as he crouched too, reacting on pure instinct to the other cat. His own claws slid out, a low, rumbling growl of his own sounding. Dimly he realised this was not a good idea. Really wasn't. But the other cat was challenging him.


Rogue: Rogue turned to glare at both ferals. "Stop it, now! Take it outside. This kitchen just got done with reconstruction."


Tessa: "Okay, no clawing people in rooms with my child." Tessa was off the counter and between the two cats faster than she'd have thought. "I can and will hurt anything that hurts my daughter. On a molecular level."


Mayhem: Mayhem sidestepped, eyes still fixed on the other cat, all but ignoring the others in the room.


Rogue: Rogue took a page out of Tante Mattie's book and picked up the wooden spoon by the stove, whapping the counter right in front of Hepzibah to get her attention. "Stop it," she growled out. "Now. Or Ah'll finish it. An' trust me, y'all do not want me in this. Ah will win." She turned a glare to Mayhem, "Same goes f' y'all."


Hepzibah: Never taking her eyes off him, Hepz crawled down off the stool and flexed her claws. There was no one else in the entire universe but the two of them.


Mayhem: Mayhem jumped at the spoon-thwap, ears immediately swivelling up before he caught sight of Hepzibah moving. He backed up a step, eyes not leaving hers, crouching as his back hit the counter behind him.


Hector: Hector strolled into the kitchen, a severe case of the munchies knawning at this tummy. He stepped in, saw Hepz ready to attack, and... A catman, and vanished on the spot. "Fuck this.... I'm going back to bed...."


Tessa: "Enough, both of you." Tessa concentrated on Hepzibah, worming into her mind the least intrusive way she knew how. She really hated having to do this.


Mayhem: Mayhem kept his back to the counter, watching Hepzibah, still growling but not making any other move.


Hepzibah: Her attention diverted between Rogue's spoon whacking, Hector's entrance/dissappearance and the sudden feel of Tessa in her head, she backed up slightly. But she kept her eyes on Mayhem, her tail still twitching angrily.


Rogue: Rogue saw Tessa looking hard at Hepzibah and knew she was taking care of her so Rogue stepped in front of Mayhem, hovering to block his sight line of Hepzibah. "Look at me," she ordered.


Mayhem: Mayhem' tried to look around the sudden blockage but couldn't, so did as he was told, reluctantly, still growling and his green eyes almost hidden behind the pupils.


Rogue: "Stop it. Now. Y'all do not wanna find out how bad it hurts if Ah take ya down. We'll find out if ya got healin' if Ah get involved. Hear me?"


Tessa: She kept up the calm speaking in Hep's mind, hoping it would soothe her back.


Hector: Hector snuck up behind Hepz as her attention was diverted. He reached up to softly touch the back of her head, and shifted his field onto her, using the full force to completely numb as well as vanish her entire body.


Mayhem: "But she-" Mayhem stopped. How did he explain it? "I mean, she-" He stared at Rogue for a moment before deflating. "Aaaah. I just made a total pratt out of myself, didn't I." His tail whapped against the counter again.


Rogue: "Not ya fault. She did start it, but that don't matter. Alright? There's ta be no fightin' 'round any babies. An' none in this kitchen." She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes a touch, "Got it?"


Hepzibah: For the briefest second, Hepz heard something behind her and felt a hand on the back of her head. Then she fell to the floor.


Mayhem: "Um. Yes?" Mayhem looked down sheepishly. "Um. Sorry."


Tessa: "Hector!" Tessa pulled back to herself, surprised at the sudden numbness of mind she was getting from Hep. "Warn someone before you do that!"


Rogue: Rogue couldn't resist. She reached up and ran her hand over his hair in a slight petting gesture. "Should apologize ta Tessa, too. Ya put her baby in danger."


Hepzibah: I'm going to kill Hector. was her last thought before she passed out.


Hector: He left the field drop, and vanished again himself, "What's the use of being invisible if I warn people?" He smiled.


Mayhem: Mayhem grinned at the petting. "Try behind the ear. You'll get me to purr then." He looked around Rogue to Tessa. "Hey, um....I'm so- hey, where'd Hepzibah go?" He looked around worridly before seeing her on the floor. "I-is she alright?"


Hector: Hector propped Hepz up, "Yeah... she'll be fine in a second..." I might not be.... Girls arn't happy when they wake up...


Rogue: Rogue grinned and did as he said. She missed hearing a purring big cat.


Tessa: "Because if you don't I'll turn you neon glowing pink." Tessa stated flatly, still concentratign on the invisiboy. "And I mean that." She turned to Mayhem with a small smile, "Don't worry. She's fine. Just...asleep, for a moment."


Mayhem: Mayhem tried not to be distracted by the scritching, leaning against the hand in question and yes, indeed, purring, blinking at Tessa. "Oh....good. Um. Sorry 'bout that...."


Rogue: Rogue couldn't help the giggle and kept it up, bringing her other hand up to his other ear to give him mirroring sensations. "Aww, Ah missed that."


Hepzibah: Slowly, the white feline shook her head and looked up from her new found home on the kitchen floor. "You are such an ass." she growled at Hector, trying to get her head back together.


Mayhem: "Mmmnnnrrrr."


Tessa: "It's alright. I'd've bet on Rogue to break it up pretty fast," she said. "Come on, Hepzibah. Up we go." Carefully cradling her daughter, she reached an arm down to help the white cat to her feet.


Hector: "Sorry..." He smiled sheepishly and helped her up as well.


Rogue: "At least Ah didn't tackle either of 'em yet." She rubbed circles behind the ears before scritching again. "Ah think Ah figured out his weakness, y'all. Man, reminds me so much o' Vic."


Mayhem: Mayhem was leaning heavily on the counter, eyes closed in bliss and purring pretty ecstatically and not really paying any attention to anything.


Tessa: "He reads like Vic too. It's a little scary, actually." Tessa grinned.


Hepzibah: Once on her feet, Hepzibah looked abashed at the room. Me and my damned temper. "I'm sorry, Tessa...I just - I just wanted to see the baby."


Rogue: Rogue had to resist rubbing her nose to his. One, she wasn't drunk. Two, this wasn't Vic. Which lead to: three, he'd think she was flirting likely...


Hepzibah: "I should go." Too embarassed and mad and flustered to do anything else, she made towards the door.


Rogue: "Ya don't hafta leave, Hepzibah."


Hector: Hector stood, and headed over to the fridge. He grabbed a coke and some sandwhich meat and started chowing down. "Oh man... like crazy hungry now...."


Tessa: "Hey, hold on, don't run off." Tessa stepped nimbly in front of Hepzibah before she got far. "Stay. Please."


Mayhem: "Nooo...don't leave, 's alrigh'." Mayhem pulled himself away from the pettings with difficulty, blinking at the cat. "Was partly my fault."


Hepzibah: "No it wasn't," she mumbled at him crossing her arms. "It's mine. I'm sorry."


Mayhem: "I'm sorry too." Mayhem pouted at her, folding his arms as well. "Didn't have to get all huffy with you, did I? I'm a new kid so you don't know me. I get that. It's okay."


Tessa: "I think this is the first time we've had people voluntarily apologize to each other, so soon..." Tessa murmured out loud. She'd remember that. (Not that she wouldn't anyway.)


Hepzibah: Does he have to be so damn nice? She shot at Tessa. Nodding she still kept her distance, but tried to smile. "I've just never met anyone else like me - except Kyle, and I don't really think he counts - being a dog and all."


Hector: Hector eyed the baby as he finished his drink. "Hey! Who's midget?..." He smiled, and ignored the drama that was being wrapped up.


Tessa: "Yes," Tessa answered quietly. "Just try and be nice back. And she's mine," she ansered Hector, without looking away. "My daughter."


Mayhem: "Same. It's really....weird. I mean." Mayhem scratched the back of his neck, still eyeing up the other cat. "Good weird. I hope. Um. Can we try again?" He warily held out a hand. "I mean, I'd like to be friends and all. Be bad if we're the only cats and we can't get along."


Hector: "Oh cool! I'm great with babies!" He tossed his trash. "I've got like a hundred little brothers and sister...." He walked over, and made hisself visible on the way, and made faces at the baby.


Hepzibah: She eyed him for another full second before she cracked up with a chuckle. "Have you ever actually watched how cats treat each other?" She held out her hand, hitting the redo button. "Hepzibah." At the same time she turned towards Hector. "You mean your parents kept breeding after you were born??"


Mayhem: Mayhem took the hand, grinning himself. "Oh aye. Have an entire house of cats back home. Still."


Hector: "What... Sometimes lightening does strike twice...." He frowned, made another face at the baby, trying to make it laguh, and headed back to grab another coke.


Rogue: Rogue smiled at them both. "See, not so hard."


Hepzibah: She shook his hand, but in the back of her mind, she couldn't help the feeling, You are the biggest, scariest damn thing I've seen since I set foot in this place.


Tessa: Tessa laughed herself at the faces Hector made, amused at the little burbles egara was makign as well. "Well, she likes you."


Hepzibah: "Nope. Not hard at all, Rogue." Hepz answered, smiling.


Tessa: "I keep telling you he's not that scary, Hepzibah. You should have seen Kyle halfwya through looking like he does now. That, and changing him the rest of the way, was scary."


Mayhem: Mayhem let go of the hand, smirking a little before turning to the kettle. Needed more tea. Stat. "Hold on, scary? Me? Pffft. I sound like I've just come in fresh from shepherding and you're calling me scary?" He grinned easily.


Hepzibah: She frowned. Halfway through looking like he does now? Changing him the rest of the way? Then she was distracted by Mayhem. "Ok, sweetie. Look. From down here, you look like a freaking mountain on legs, all right?"


Tessa: "He didn't always look like he does now, no. Josh, and McCoy, and I changed him to a stable state. That was less than comforting." She's not telling Hepzibah about the other person she really changed. Aside from the part that she killed him.


Rogue: "Nope. He used ta look like a regular person." Rogue scowled. The asshole who did that would pay one day.


Tessa: "Except for the teeth."


Mayhem: "....Mountain on legs?" Mayhem looked down at himself as he got the tea ready and the kettle boiling. "Nah. Too skinny."


Hepzibah: She was torn between the two conversations, but Rogue won out. "Wait...someone did something to Kyle to make him - like he is??"


Rogue: "Yeah." She let out a slow breath to calm down as she went back to the steak, hoping it wasn't burned. "An' he's definitely top on mah hit list."

[Elfdame]

A good offense was the best defense.

I know someone who would agree. ;-)

"Um. Let Hep hold her first. I has a steak to devour." Not to be totally sexist (although I am, of course, *snicker*), but that is the basic difference between men and women.

Tessa's in great shape for a new mom: hopping on counters, hoisting up kitties from the floor. Nice to have a mutant healing factor!

"You mean your parents kept breeding after you were born??"

Ah, see, I knew there was a reason I was last in line!

This was a neat interaction of so many different characters. And I loved all their little asides and internalizations.

[wingyding]

mutant ftw. because I have no baby skillz irl. except for a few instincts of 'ohgod make it stop crying now'.

[Ult_Sm86]

Does Tess have mutant healing??

[Elfdame]

I assumed most of them do. Maybe I don't read enough comics. I know Spidey bounces back pretty quickly, tho he's more altered-genetic than born-funky-genetic. Or maybe she was in reeeaallly good shape. I've never popped a kid out, so wouldn't know, but have had each of my 3 stepgirls here after they gave birth, and they weren't supremely perky for a while even tho they were healthy teenagers.

So I guess my comment was out of order. Sorry!

It was a very interesting Instance, either way. And I *loved* the panic at the droopy head. Hahahaha! Who can't relate to that, the first time?

[Esynthia]

Yeah, Tessa doesn't have a healing factor. And that's ok, Elfie, you weren't out of order I think wingy just chose to play her better because its not real life... I already told her she was bugging my OCD with a 2 day old child who coos and reaches for ppl... 2 day olds sleep. and cry. and eat. maybe look around a bit and cry some more. LOL

[Elfdame]

"2 day olds sleep. and cry. and eat. maybe look around a bit* and cry some more."

*with wobbly eyes

and emit myconeum. Wheeee. But this is a special baby, so we cut some slack. And she gets props for staying in character, even to great little details like how she uses her mind.

[Ult_Sm86]

Don't worry Esy, I promise Antonia is not going to challenge your OCD.