Homeroom

Rebecca flashed a sympathetic smile at Flute's question. She remembered how hard it was making friends when she was that age. "Even if you don't have a roommate, this class will be sharing the same floor of the dormitory building, and thus the same common room."

Then William voiced further concerns about Iris. "Well-" Rebecca began to address his concerns, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of a small woman in the middle of the room. The woman looked a few years younger than Rebecca, she was covered in eyes, and she had just appeared out of thin air. Rebecca facepalmed at the sight.

"Iris..."

"Are you serious?! I'd think the difference between me and a camera with a gun is pretty obvious. A camera can't think, a gun doesn't do nonlethal force. I, however, have a brain, and a conscience. I can analyze situations, determine the proper amount of force to use, if any, and apprehend threats nonlethally! On top of that, I'm fully devoted to protecting all of you idiots!

"Iris!"

"Hell, I can even talk potential threats down, avoid fights altogether!"

"You never finished that training. You said it was dumb."

"Most of all, I'm not some AI that could glitch out, I'm not a monster that doesn't understand humans, I'm a person! And none of you forget it!"

"Nobody called you a monster."

Then, as suddenly as she had appeared, the woman vanished.

W̶̲̙̰̗̓h̶̨̛̼̥̤̊͘e̶͇̙̿͂̄w̷̛̩̏̇.̸̝̤̞͉̾̋͠.̷̲̟̋.̶̢͇͉̞̎ ̶̢̆̽̾̚m̵͎͙̺̘͛͂a̵̢̎͐͌̊ņ̶̨͇̟͆̾̎̕i̷͎̎̆̑f̴̬̗̎̎e̴̛̗̅s̷̱̈́t̷̜̭̱̾͆͋̕͜i̵̧̯͔̫͂̆n̶̜͎͔͐ğ̷̰͙͖͙ ̴̢̜̞͍́̔̐̆ḷ̴̌͜͝i̶̦̽̒͋k̶̺͙͆͜e̵̦̩̦̽̆̐̽ ̷̛͖̣̜̍͑͊t̷̫̹̩̾ḧ̴̯͓̤́a̶̜̰̲̓͠ͅẗ̷̡̨̲͖́͗̌͌.̴̟͎͈́̓͝.̶̧͖̪̚̚.̴̘͚̯̑ ̶͍̘̫̚̚͘t̷̨͎̽́͝a̴̖͇͔͑͜k̴̪͠é̵̢̬͕̅s̶̠͇̜͛̃̔ ̸̢͉̞̒͑͝͠a̴̖̍ͅ ̸̲̝͛͝͝l̷̹̣̖͌̄̕͠o̷̲͓̻̗͆̉t̸͓̅͘.̶̜͎̉͂̉.̶͓͎̥̘̈.̴͓̓͜ ̷͇̫̈́ȯ̶͎̥̩̀̓͠ū̶̮͈̬̺̾͝ẗ̸͎̞̰͇́͗ ̴̩̤̄̈́̕͜o̸̦̗͗f̸̪̝͍̉̾ ̷͓͙̖͖͒̀̍̎m̸̠̺̽̎͒͠è̸̙̜̩͋͊̈́.̶̞͚̈́.̸̭̗̀̌͗̚.̵̝͈̱̥̆̇̊͝"̸̱̜̳̅̈́̽͂

"I know. Which is why you're only supposed to do it in emergencies. And definitely not to yell at the students. I'm... sorry about her. She can be touchy. She's not lying when she says she cares about your wellbeing though."

Edited by PossiblyQuiteInsane on Jan 14th 2021 at 10:34:42 AM

Matsuki

Seeing that Ms. Iris was quite angry now, Matsuki looked around the room at William and the others - making sure he could see them and look them in the eye. He then looked at Iris, and solemnly tilted his head a little bit. He apologized in an earnest if rather pointed tone, "I apologize for my classmates, Ms. Iris. You are right to be upset for this insensitive line of questioning, treating you as if you were equipment. If some of us acted in such a way, it reflects on all of us that we did not shut that down. And I apologize for not acting in regards to that."

He waited for any response.

Fiona

...huh.

That was something.

Truth was, Fiona could relate. She wasn't sure what she was. Maybe she was some freaky metahuman, or maybe she'd stepped in some radioactive goo without knowing. Or maybe she was some scary-ass demonchild and her real parents swapped her at birth.

Somehow, that last one sounded the most convincing.

Point was, she still remembered how everyone gawked when she exploded like the Fourth of July, and how everyone on Twitter was calling her Flaming Demon Lady for the next week. She promised Deedee she wasn't gonna think about it anymore, but she still remembered how it felt. So... Iris didn't scare her. Not really. Startle her, maybe. But she'd be a fucking hypocrite if she was gonna go calling anyone else a monster. If she was in her shoes, she'd be saying the same thing.

That said.

"Okay, couple things." Baldy was up first. "Like, I get what you're saying. I sure wouldn't want someone holding an MK 47 to my head while I'm trying to sleep. But that ain't what they— what Iris is doing, and they aren't a machinegun taped to a damn camera either! I mean, if I said 'hey, I don't wanna be around you cuz you give me the heebijeies,' that would be the same thing, right? Speaking of which, sorry about earlier, my bad, but that doesn't make you what did okay either."

And Matsuki was next on her shitlist. "As for you, not gonna say what baldie did was right cuz it wasn't. At all. At all at all. But it wasn't anyone else's fault they didn't shut his damn mouth! I mean, I wouldn't have stopped anyone if they did, but it's not like it was their responsibility! I'll take responsibility for my own fuck-ups, thank you very much, and I expect baldy and everyone else here to do the same!" She briefly glared at William, her visor flaring up like a solar flare before settling down.

"'Sides, I don't think anyone was asking you to put all the blame on the rest of us! Like, who're you supposed to be, the morality police? Cuz I don't see a badge or anything from where I'm standing."

Matsuki

Matsuki turned and looked at Fiona for a moment as if he was confused by the angry reaction he got from her. Like he wasn't used to this kind of a response to how he handled it. "...I'm afraid I don't understand why you're angry. When we as a unit did not correctly intercede and enforce respect for Ms. Iris, it stands to reason we as a unit have to collectively look at our responsibility for the harm that William's words did to Ms. Iris. Everyone bears responsibility for it. You. Me. William himself. It just...stands to reason that we need to behave more cohesively to make sure these kinds of things don't happen again."

Indeed, Matsuki saw nothing wrong with what he said and did. It just all seemed normal from where he was standing.

Deedee

By the time she realised it, Deedee was already raising her hand. A life of mediating problems between everyone in your life does things to you. "Uh, the issue was the wording. Had you said 'I'm sorry for the inaction, and I'm sure my classmates are too', no one would really, you know, have cared about it. The way you said it was, somewhat condescending, which is ironic, since to be a unit, we're supposed to be equals." That would've been enough, but the gears in her head kept turning. Was it really fair to blame Baldy? Yes, the comparison would've made anyone angry, but what if it was an honest question? Was it really fair to not even address the fact that Miss Iris—an adult—decided to show up in her scariest way possible and called them all idiots, for what could've been an honest line of questioning?

What did that say about other adults at the school?

"William's question was badly worded, too, but given today is our first day introduced to any of this, and it's all new to us, I think it was valid. I think Miss' Iris reaction wasn't warranted, but it is still valid, and I can't blame her for it. What you said doesn't do justice to what I think. I am sorry for saying nothing, but until we're a more cohesive unit who understands each other better, I'll rather you don't speak for me either, Wings."

She proceeded to impatiently munch on the cap of her pen and pray someone else would carry on the on the conversation, or for the floor to open up and swallow her. Whatever happened first.

Flutura

Flute blinked at this ensuing discussion, before heaving a sigh as her gaze grew half-lidded. They were definitely saying a lot. It seemed to all make sense, at least, but Flute knew enough to think that it was blowing things way out of proportion.

“...I'm just glad Ms. Iris is watching over us. It's nice,” she eventually said, drumming her fingers against her desk absentmindedly. “Talking about someone like you're above their feelings is bad. Or like if they're not in the room when they are. I was gonna say something earlier but didn't, apparently that makes me wrong too.”

She eyed Matsuki for a moment then, before her gaze fell astray with a sigh as her bugs buzzed about irritably.

“Can we all stop talking like we know everything? It's our first day, and it's not been more than an hour already. Unless you wanna go back to your old schools.”

Xavier

As Miss Raleigh explained the security measures, another hero appeared that Xavier recognized. It made sense, he supposed, to have the hero with the all-seeing eyes act as their security system. But William brought up an interesting point, which sparked some debate.

"If I may interject, Matsuki." Xavier spoke up, putting the feather into the small storage compartment of his chair. "I don't believe collective responsibility applies in this case. We have only just met each other, so it is unreasonable to expect us to act cohesively at this point."

He turned himself towards the teacher. "More to the point, William raises a valid concern. Miss Iris, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're able to see through walls, yes? In which case, we essentially are being asked to trust that you will not abuse said power."

Xavier placed a hand on his chest. "My parents are heroes like you, so I of course would extend that trust to you as I would to them. But surely you can understand why not everyone would feel the same, yes?"

He folded his hands on his lap. "Obviously it would be unreasonable to demand sweeping changes, but I'd recommend you keep that in mind the next time you introduce Iris to a group of new students."

Nathan

"Eeeeeek!" Nathan almost fell out of his chair at Iris's sudden appearance. "A-ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry—"

And then things started getting heated in the classroom, an argument starting up between one boy and the others as to whose fault this was. "G-guys," Nathan tried to interject, "c-can we please not start a fight on the...f-first day...?"

He swallowed, then quickly looked away and pulled his hood down over his face.

Matsuki

The teen blushed a little, realizing that the others really did not care for that kind of approach, and that he was being perhaps more than a little unfair by asking for cohesion as a group at this point. Plus, again, the fact this was a completely different place that had completely different values from what he was brought up around.

"...Yeah, you're right, Xavier." He looked around and sighed, "I'm...I'm sorry, everyone. I overstepped my boundaries and made an ass of myself."

Homeroom, Silver Boy

"Whoa, hey there. I hopefully haven't done anything to offend, but if I have I would like to apologize to Iris. She's doing real hero work here keeping us all safe and I for one think that's incredibly noble."

Lewis leaned back in his chair, trying to affect a 'cool guy' look while still being somewhat respectful.

"Besides, there's much more important questions to ask. Like persay, how long we're gonna have to train before we get sent out to fight a villain or two?"

William had not been expecting to cause such a row. He probably should have paid more thought to his choice of words, but it was far too late for that now. "I'm err, sorry Iris I should have been somewhat more sensitive. Nevertheless I should think that you can understand why your role might be seen as unsettling, a great deal of trust has been placed in you."

Dead Men Are Quiet

Gottfried's been silent for a while.

A part of it were Natsuki's wings, and the beckoning glow on them. It sounded like touching them was ill-advisable, but he feared no physical injury these days. It was instead the glow itself making him hiss like a bass-voiced tea kettle. The arrival of Iris provided a welcome distraction, for the most part.    "If you wish to speak of this other world, someday, sometime... then I shall lend you an ear of mine."    He lilted at the not-so-AI with a nod, the still nightmarish grimace unchanging.

   "To be suspended between reality and dream... or salvation and damnation, if you will... I know this feeling well. It accompanies me since, and though it might differ from yours... I suppose we can compare notes if nothing else."    That out of the way, Gotfried turned to Rebecca.    "Somewhere that lacks of light and brightness - I trust that is not an issue, is it?"   

   "And I will adhere not to collective responsibility. I would loathe to bring you down with my eventual exploits."    There was no guarantee those would happen, but it would be better safe than sorry. This lot seemed like decent people, for the most part; it would behoove him not to make things harder for them than they already were.

Homeroom

Rebecca hadn't anticipated the little argument Matsuki had started, but thankfully, that seemed to fizzle out on its own. Which meant she could get back to answering one last round of questions. But first...

"̸̠̍̒̀Ǐ̷̱̣͛'̴͇̎͗̌̆m̸͎̫̥͜͝ ̷͖̆͑͝s̶͍̱̣̀̈́ͅö̴̠̋̐r̶͇͙͗́r̶̟͐̀y̷̰͂̆ ̵̩̱̟̍͆͠ť̴̥̘͓̓̑̉o̶̫͑͗͊̕o̶̰̊͗.̸̬̺̍̿.̶͖̂̓.̸̢̛̩̠̜̿̕ ̸̛̥Ĭ̴͎̦̠͌͠ ̸̬̠̕͘͝ǫ̶̫͈̹̀ṿ̷̨̘̤̓͠e̵͖̜̍́̋͠r̶̦̲̼͒r̴͇̖̈́̂͌́e̶͖̦̝͋̃̾͝ͅa̵̢͚̠̐͆̋̚c̸͕̺̙̰͐̚t̷̺̯͗̂̒̐ę̴̻͌̕̕ḑ̴͔͈̓͝.̶̨͎̊̊ ̵̮̭̄͐I̵̺̦̦̓̈́͌ ̶͎͓͎̔̒̇͠h̷̨̡͍̘̔ḁ̵͈̒̂v̷̢̝̤̟̏e̵̫͖̓͐̂.̷̧͍͉͉̐͊.̶͚̆.̷̗̘̓̀͝ ̴͍̪̑͊͘i̵̹̺̗͗̚̚͜ş̴̭͓̀̓̐s̷̛͉̝ừ̴͎̝͘e̵̘͍̍̔ș̸͚̓̒̒ ̵̥̦̿w̸͖͈͛̂i̴̳̓́t̷̳͖̐̏̔̉h̶̦͖͎̭̎ ̸̳́̃b̵͕̩̘̌̈́̌̆è̵̳̄̉͊͜ȋ̴̺̬͒͘n̸͓̹̠̳̎̃g̷̨̟͘͝͠ͅ ̵̢̛̰̓͋̏t̵̺͚̓̐ȓ̸̨̘̆̓͜e̴̝̙̓͌̕a̶̎̚͜ṫ̶̢͈̑̚ẽ̷̝̅̌̄d̷̲̯̖̮͆͠ ̵̛̞͈͠a̶̳̮̥̯͗͠s̴̪̅̽́̅ ̴͖̽l̷̘̫͇͊é̶̟̤̤̿s̴̬̀͛s̸̨͊̚ ̷̗̘͐̀t̶̗̻͋̐͝͝h̵̢̛͕̃̈́ä̶̗͍̮́̀ṇ̶͍̅̆̃ ̵̢̳̬̳͗̕h̵̫̲̬͂u̴̜͌m̵̜̻̘͎̑͘a̸͕̯̮̼̍̉͝n̴̨͓͐͌̃,̵͚͚̫̞̉͒͑ ̶͇̼͎̍̐̈́b̴̰͇̲̒̕ǘ̴̥t̶͍͑ ̶͇͉̿͜͠t̷̼͛h̸̤̀ã̴̘̲̀ẗ̷͚́͛'̵̘̲̺͆̑̕ș̷̛̩̣ ̷̠̺̈͊n̶̲̘̑̽ͅo̷͇̮̭͘ ̶̜̩̺̹̔̄̂̍ȇ̴̦͕̏̑̈́x̶̘͖̿̍ͅc̷̯̣͋u̶̞̦̒̃̚s̴̛̙̑͘e̴͈͍͑ ̴̯̩̲́f̶̡̞̾͗̈́͝o̶̘̥̮̠͒͠r̸͍͉͐̓̈́̾ ̵̨͉̓b̷̯̓̐l̷̩̖͛ȯ̸̰̥̾́͜ͅw̵̘̫̰̉̈́̎i̷̲̾͆n̴̛͉͈̐̐̌g̸̖̋̚ ̶̛̫͎̉ṵ̷̫̤̽̊p̸̞͎̌͑͘ͅ ̵̤̣̥̅͗͝á̶̙̑̒͑t̷͖̜̮̤̉͆́͑ ̵̧̺̭͛́̕y̷̨̜̯͉̽͊̈́ǫ̷̟̀̇u̷̝̥͕̩̍̆̚.̴̭̝͔̑̊͘"̶̢̮̙͖̑

"Thanks, Iris. As for your concerns, Xavier, yes, Iris can see through walls, and I can see why that would unnerve you. We're asking you to place a lot of trust in her not to abuse that power, which is why it's important to make a good first impression." This pointed comment seemed more directed at Iris than the students. "With that said, Iris wouldn't be in this position if she didn't have the full trust of every member of the staff. She's a lot, but she's not one to invade people's privacy."

"̷̙̖̹̕͝͝Ŝ̵͓͋̾o̴͈͊͠m̶̪̺̳̫̑é̶̛͚̔͐ḩ̴͚̹̄͌̅o̸̥̰̊̈́̊͝w̶͈̺̻̿ͅ ̶̛͈̻̅I̵̱̘͂ ̷͍̩̯͖̊̈́͗f̴̩̙̳͋̽͆e̷̜̩̾e̴̹̪͛́̇̚l̸͉̹̋ ̸̧͖͚͓̂͒͂̉l̴̰͛́͒̕į̷͎͚͐k̵͔̗̜͘̕͝e̸̥͇̓͛ ̵̪̮̆̈Į̵̝̣͐̓͋'̴̋̉ͅm̶͉̪͔̎̎̀͝ ̸̡̎̄͛͘t̶͕̮̩̘̀͒h̶̰̅̿̀͛e̸̠̖͍͋ ̵́̅̀̋͜o̸͈̬̕͝ń̸̫̻̃̿͌è̵͖̱̹ ̷̭͇̻͉͋͒̈́͘b̷̺̀̽é̵̢̨͙͉ì̶̡́͛̇n̶͇̥̯͌͌̎̇͜ğ̴̘̣̳̂͗ ̷̲͇̬̍̿̔c̷̜̈́ḩ̶̎͒̄a̷̬͍̟̋̈́ͅs̶̡̛̈̍t̷͎̦̖͈̄ĩ̵͔̘̱̿͘s̴̛̟͙͌͋͠ȩ̴̥̈́d̴͔̥̓̓͊͝.̶̧̒̐̚"̶̟̮̹̝̂̆͛͘

"Good."

"As for fighting villains... that isn't really the point of this school. Our curriculum isn't to train superheroes. We do have elective courses if you'd like to go into that field, but even then, sending you to fight villains would be way too dangerous. Most've our students aren't as combat ready as you are, Lewis."

"And Gotfried, a dark dorm room is probably among our least extensive customizations. I'm sure it'll be fine. And I'm sure Iris'll take you up on that offer.

"̸̜̖͍̈́͝Ẁ̶͎͚̩̲h̵̟͔̹̳̿͑̈́â̷͕ẗ̴̩̘́͛̌͌?̶̲̺̂͊ ̶̨̘̈́̊͝U̴̖̙̍̄̔͝m̸̙̲̤̼͗͑̚.̸̟̰̼̂̎̃͘ͅ.̵͈̬̯̺̋ ̵͕̦͙͐̏͆͘y̶̠̋̇̏̎e̸͈̹̹̜͂͋͛͠á̵̘̺̈́̉h̶͖̱͛̄.̴̧̗̩̀̓̏ͅ"̷͍̭̭̮̒̽͋

"Now if that's all for the questions, it's time to introduce you to Dr. Gold."

Conference Room

Rebecca led them down the hall to a medium-sized conference room with Spartan decor, next door to the therapists' office. The chairs and tables were set up in a circular formation, and in the center sat an older woman in a lab coat with golden eyes and a sense of strength and wisdom about her.

"This is Dr. Estelle Gold, the school therapist."

The woman spoke up. "Sorry for meeting with you in such an empty room, but my office isn't really big enough for an entire class. It is a very comfortable office, though. I'll be seeing each of you in there at least once a week for your mandated therapy sessions."

Flutura

“Hello, Dr. Gold,” Flute greeted the woman with a nod, looking around the mostly empty room for a moment before finally staring at the doctor in question directly. “Thank you for being a therapist. It's very nice of you.”

‘Thank you for being a therapist...?’

“I haven't had a therapist before. Not a regular one,” she mused aloud, letting her bugs buzz around her and perform a graceful aerial show (not that it could really be picked up on by the untrained eye) before causing them all to congregate on her person. She didn't want to make the room dirty, after all.

“Is anyone really scared of bugs, by the way? I want to know, just in case,” she asked the group as a whole; teachers and students alike. It'd be nice to know what to expect.

Fiona

Fiona was doing some thinking as they made their way to the conference room. She wasn't sure if she'd ever done a lot of thinking, but something the teacher said struck a chord. She hadn't been planning on doing any hero stuff or anything when she got here. Mostly because she didn't think she deserved to be one. Or if she even could. It was the one thing she wanted most. But now? Even if she got over herself, even if she learned to control her powers, who would want to be saved by someone with that sort of face—

FUCKNOFUCK, REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAID DAMMIT'

She smacked herself in the face. Or helmet. Either one worked. But she promised. Promised Deedee she wasn't gonna think about that sort of stuff anymore. None of her other friends bothered talking to her after Flaming Demon Lady, but Deedee did. And she wasn't gonna let her down.

But damn if it wasn't hard.

By the time she got to the therapist room, she was in two states of mind. Part of her wanted to chuck the therapist out the window and let God sort her out. Like, okay, not really? But she was never keen on someone getting in her head, and really didn't want someone doing that shit now. And the fact it was mandatory pissed her off even more.

But... she promised. Promised she'd stop thinking about... everything. So if this old lady could help her sort things out...

"Hi, I guess. So, uh, how does this therapy thing work? Like, you're not gonna try and mess with our heads or anything, right?"

And then the bug girl was talking about bugs. Like, she guessed it made sense? Still seemed a bit on the nose. "Not really? Like, sometimes there's a spider or something trying to crawl in the tank, but I always stick my hand out and give it a good zap, yeah?"

Deedee

Following the class down the hall, Deedee debated with herself if old myths of dragons weren't just of drunk people fighting angry dinosaurs, and exactly how many of her classmates wanted to take the more hero-oriented classes. Leader would be all over them, for sure. Mitsuki and One too, probably. The lines blurred there, as did the distinction between gigant bird nests and gold nests. How many of them wanted to go out and punch bad guys? How many of them could? She wasn't joking when she said she'd like to try and learn how to fight, but she wasn't even sure she could manage it. She was never an active person, but knowing her heart rate and blood pressure skyrocketed after her brain underwent months without a good night's sleep—the prospect of ever doing exercise again was haunting, to say the least.

Dragons can only be considered dinosaurs if they are feathered, as dinosaurs are giant birds, end of the discussion.

She wasn't planning on asking anything—the doctor might not have been covered in eyes, but she still commanded a silent respect—but Fiona's question made her perk up. "Hold up, Miss, can you mess with our heads? As in, do you have powers? What are they like?"

Was she scared of bugs? "Uh, I'm fine with flying bugs, but the crawlies scare me a little bit. Then there's spiders, which are like," She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to convey with it, but Deedee made an elaborate hand gesture at Flute followed of several frowns, tongue clicks and hmm 's. "you know what I mean?"

Flutura

Flute's face seemed to fall with sadness upon hearing Fiona's reply, but she nonetheless nodded slightly in understanding. Deedee, however, caused the girl to look towards her in curiosity —before sending a few colourful butterflies her way and letting them flutter around her gracefully.

“I'll keep the ants and spiders away, then. I can give you a few cool flying bugs if you want sometime. Like dragonflies.”

Fiona

As soon as Fiona saw Flute's face droop, she backpedalled like a motorcyclist on reverse. She didn't care for creepy crawlies, but she didn't want to make someone sad over it. "Uh, I mean, only the real nasty looking ones? I don't go zapping bugs for the fun of it. Sides, I like some bugs, yeah? Like, I don't know, maybe..."

Before Fiona could say another word, her jaw dropped at the sight of brightly coloured butterflies fluttering towards Deedee, floating around her like something out of a fairytale. She wasn't sure if it was the bright, beautiful colours or the way they flew around with her such skill and grace. Fluttering about, free to express themselves, free to be free.

But either way, she was mesmerised.

"...pretty."

Gotfried

Mandated therapy sessions? He doubted he was still to be saved like that, but still he gave Doctor Gold a curt nod. Once the discussion shuffled toward insects, the ghost knight shrugged, the plates creaking.    "Insects partook of me before. There is nothing left of me to fear from them. If they need a place to nestle should you be unable, they are free to come."    He nodded at Flute.    "But they must not partake in this armor if they can help it."   

Nathan

"H-hi, Dr. G-Gold..." Nathan gave the therapist a shy wave. Mandatory therapy sessions, huh? Well, he wasn't entirely sure he needed therapy, but if that was what it took to control his powers...

"B-bugs?" He looked over at Flute. "I-I like butterflies...and ladybugs...s-scared of...most of the others, though..."

Meeting Doctor Gold

Lewis looked a little uncomfortable at the news that this school wasn't for training up powerful heroes to fight villainy and also that there was mandatory therapy of all things. His little bit of silver for idle fidgeting flowed inconstantly around his fingers as he sized up the doctor.

"Eh, alright doc but I don't think you'll get much off me. Most of my problems are the fleshy organs stuff, not the brain. Thanks for the offer though."

Flutura

Flute found herself flushing a little at Gotfried's response, and Fiona's backtracking brought a weak smile onto her face—though she was aware that muttered admiration was likely because of Deedee more than the butterflies themselves. Still, she ducked her head and listened, and nodded gently especially when the meek Nathan spoke to her.

“I'll keep some ladybugs free for you. I've got some nice ones,” she informed the latter, before turning towards Gotfried and smiling in clear gratitude. “And thanks. That's very nice.”

Don't put any in the armour. Got it.

Deedee

They were beautiful. It took her a great deal of self-control to not begin laughing with pure glee, but she could still hear herself giggling at the sight of the butterflies. She spun slowly on her heels as they circled her, and felt like a child playing on their grandparents' backyard as she did so. She wondered if that's how fairies were like. She wondered if Flute was a fairy queen, or a wood spirit. She wondered if Flute was a real name. She decided to stop wondering. "Thank you, Flute. Would you really give some to me? There were always dragonflies around my house, so it'd be, like, a piece of home. You'll really have to teach me how to take care of them, though. I've never, you know, actually done something like that, but I'd do my best."

It took Fiona muttering and a couple of seconds for her to remember she agreed to share a room ten minutes ago. Moreso, that she actually cared for this person's opinion on her pet choosing. "Hold on, is that OK for you? To keep them in our room? They wouldn't be too big or pester you in your tank. There must be a way for them to, uh, to not do that." It's not like she actually knew if that was true, but it couldn't be that hard, right? The mask really didn't help matters on knowing what her roomate was thinking, though, so she tried to swallow the pang anxiety creeping up her throat and try for a smaller smile instead. "Pretty please?"

Xavier

Xavier knew, of course, that the school wasn't themed around fighting villains. That was fine; his first priority was helping others. That didn't mean going out and crimefighting.

Still, he felt a pang of regret, knowing he'd probably never get to the level of his parents. But he let that regret fade, assuring himself he'd help just as many people as them.

He smiled as the class was brought to meet the school therapist. "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor Gold."

More than anyone, Xavier knew the importance of mental health. His parents dealt with minds all the time, after all.

"I'm not afraid of bugs." He added, at Flute's question. Perhaps because he couldn't truly see them, or perhaps because he knew he could crush every bug within 30 feet at once. Either way, he wasn't bothered by them.

Fiona

"uh, what...?"

Deedee snapped her out of her reverie. She'd been so fixated on the butterflies (at the very least), that she'd plumb forgotten everything else. "Oh, right! Like, it's fine I guess? I mean, I don't think they'll wanna take a swim or anything. And, uh... they're kind of pretty. So, fine by me, yeah?"

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 20th 2021 at 9:26:06 AM