CHANGELING.

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

Laughter really was contagious, and despite his embarrassment Aster found himself chuckling, shoulders shaking as he removed his glassed to pinch the bridge of his nose. Students had used that word before when they thought he was out of earshot but never had he been told so abruptly and matter-of-factly, but he had to admit he found her brashness refreshing. “I’m charmed and I appreciate the offer but I’m, uh, let’s just say its all a bit too complicated to throw someone else into the mix. Lovely as you are.” His love life really had over-complicated itself these past few weeks and as much as he was enjoying all the attention, at some point he was going to have to sort it all out. “Hey, you never know maybe they’ll come up with a good nickname for you too.” He grinned as the plants fell from his arms, loosening as he relaxed control and curling back into themselves. “It’s alright I know it doesn’t. Other mutants can talk to animals fine and that’s an acceptable power but when I talk to trees… A double standard honestly.”

he’s adorable when he’s flustered - like a bunny or a baby deer - and it pulls a laugh out of caoimhe, even brighter than before. she’s not a particularly cruel person, but there’s some fun in harmless teasing even if she didn’t completely lack a filter to start with. “ understood. i do not wanna touch complicated, but if you ever change your mind, i do a great channing tatum. ” she does a great everything, but that’s beside the point. “ oh, and i’m not a student, by the way. just a boarder and definitely a full and actual adult, even if i’m borrowing someone else’s face. i don’t think...i ever actually introduced myself. i’m caoimhe, by the way, ” she introduces with another laugh. “ i doubt it. you’re a cute little plant loving gay boy. i steal people’s appearances. it doesn’t have the same cute superhero ring to it. ” still, there’s a light laugh and she tries not to linger on the though. “ hey, hey, no double standard here. it’s all weird to me. ”

[shiiftiing]

FUSIONSUNA.

The remainder of his coffee tastes far too sweet. Like creamer with brown sugar. Even though he swirls his cup, it feels almost hopeless to even out the stoichiometries and draw out the bitter taste of coffee. The last time Rod will ever let someone make a coffee for him. He stands up use the lame Keurig by the table but doesn’t lift his attention from the conversation. If is honest – and his face is – Rod doesn’t exactly get her jokes. That’s okay. Must be youth humor or something. Or he needs more caffeine. “There’s never a dull day at Xavier’s, I suppose,” he says, leaning against the counter to look at Caoimhe. “To think that there’s refuge for mutants. Who would have thought. What brought you here, if I may ask?”

caoimhe absently picks at her food as she watches him move, considering acquiring caffeine for herself but knowing she still hasn’t fallen in love with coffee. at this point, however, she’s pretty sure that she never will. “ it’s bullshit that we need a refuge at all, but i’ve been told i need to work on my anger. ” truthfully, it’s less anger and more jealousy, more resentment and regret. she wants her life back and she’ll never get it, all because of a gene no one can control. “ birds of a feather, you know ?? i’m a freak. guess i fit in better with other freaks. you want more than that on my tragic backstory, i’m gonna need something a little stronger than anything that keurig can brew up. ”

[shiiftiing]

ABERNATHYOWENS.

He looks at her, considering letting her believe whatever she wants to, then leans over the back of the couch and says behind a secretive hand, “I’m radioactive.” He lets a grin sneak onto his face, one of the first in months. The childish energy of Xavier’s was infectious and he couldn’t keep his glowering up long enough to prevent it seeping into his own nature. “I agree, it’s bullshit, but I wasn’t paying much attention anyways.”

curiosity is written all over her face as she waits for an answer and she’s pretty sure she’ll have to resort to drastic measures if he doesn’t answer her, but luckily, things don’t have to go that far. caoimhe’s eyes widen slightly at the explanation, but then her lips curl into a cheeky grin. “ wow, that’s pretty rad. ” her own pun pulls a laugh out of her, even though she knows it’s terrible and he’s probably heard it before. “ lucky. i can never tune it out, but i...grew up around a lot of that stuff. i mean, i’m from LA, so it’s kind of hard to avoid. ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

“People aren’t meant to be over six foot tall, I’ve officially decided.” He joked before choking on his response at her next statement, immediately turning red and having to swallow down the lump in his throat. “Wow, I um, hadn’t heard that one before. I mean people have called me that, but I just thought it’s cause I’m a teacher or whatever.” Trying to gloss over the conversation was definitely not working, Aster was clearly flustered and there was no going back. He watches her change and take a new face, another he doesn’t recognise as he begins to wonder what her true face is. And whether anyone has even seen it. Showing off his powers wasn’t something he got to do often, but when he did, it was impossible to hide how proud he was. “Plant gay, actually, as some of the kids have affectionately named me.” He grinned. “No, no um vegetables don’t really talk? They only have short life cycles anyway. Trees are the conversation starters, the older they are the more they have to say. But it’s not really talking its more like, feelings I guess.”

“ agreed. you should all be banned. ” a loud laugh rolls out of her at his response, more than a little amused by the way the single word makes him trip over his words. having grown up among the scandalous youth of hollywood, caoimhe is used to words a lot dirtier than daddy, but she figures not everyone has her big city charms. “ oh, you poor, sweet, innocent man. you are prime daddy material. 10/10, would recommend. not that you’re swinging my way unless you’re more into the body than the person, but hey, if you’ve got a celebrity crush you’ve been eyeing, i’m free later tonight. ” another loud laugh. “ kidding, mostly. ” she’s done it a few times with friends - more than friends, really - that new about her mutation, but it’s been a while and she’s not looking to ruin what she has. “ plant gay ?? i love it and, i gotta admit, i’m a little jealous. ” she quirks a brow at the explanation. “ makes sense. i mean...it doesn’t, but i support you and your little gay plant conversations, so i’m gonna say it makes sense. ” 

[shiiftiing]

ABERNATHOWENS.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Quite the opposite.” Owen lifted his fingers and moved them slightly. The image on the television flickered and distorted, eventually going dead. When he lowered his fingers, it sprang back to life again. “It’s hard enough to not ruin every piece of technology in this room. What’s got you so up in arms anyway?”

curiosity lights up caoimhe’s face long enough to keep her from scowling for at least a few moments ;; holding onto resentment has never been a particular strong point of hers, especially not in the face of something new and exciting. “ fun trick. what’s the secret ?? electricity ?? radio waves or something ?? what’s your thing ?? ” it’s teasing, mostly, but she’s genuinely curious. “ i just hate gossip shows. it’s bullshit to use other peoples’ lives as fodder for your entertainment. ”

[shiiftiing]

SCVINGRACE.

Grace smiled quickly, but it dropped from her face as she stacked the pamphlets in a box to take back to Howlett. “Can’t bail. They have me on the desk and when I’m not on the desk, I’m out at the activities making sure everything runs smoothly.” She glimpsed the paper, with the smiling, happy faces . She wasn’t there the day they took promotional photos, and she was glad. “And I should probably make you go to a few of them if I’m doing my job correctly.”

caoimhe makes an exagerated face of disgust, pretending that’s the worst thing she’s ever heard. “ sounds boring. i’m sure the world probably won’t implode if you disappear for a few minutes. hell, grab a flask and you don’t even have to leave your pretty desk, ” she suggests before chuckling. “ yeah, good luck with that. ten bucks says i’m not as young as you think i am. ”

[shiiftiing]

FUSIONSUNA.

The way she responds makes Rod question if there are underlying currents beneath her words. Perhaps it is the affective qualities of the broadcast. Perhaps it is a matter of volume. He doesn’t want to read far into it, but she has effectively half-captured his interest.

The staff and faculty lounge is not as organized as one might think. Sure, it’s as orderly as any office with a water dispenser, microwave, and a vending machine, flyers postered all over the walls. But there are clear signs that people inhabit this space. Water bottles, Diet Pepsi cans, leftover napkins, small ranch dressing stains, and unused plastic knives decorate some of the tables. And while not as loud, the room certainly has a conversation in the air. Take for example, the cluster of Spanish-speaking staff in the corner. ¿Y que dijiste? / Dije lo que pensaba, followed by laughter. Rod raises an eyebrow and waves with two fingers to the group, not so much inclined to join them but rather desiring to sit with a more intimate conversation. “Please, make yourself comfortable. If you wanted, you could pass as faculty.” He gestures to the individual to sit down with him. “Rod,” he says, always the one to introduce himself succinctly, and offers his hand. “So, you had a good day? Before – that whole television incident?”

noise doesn’t bother her, not like it bothers some people. she grew up on red carpets in front of the inescapable din of the press and their flashing cameras, after all, so a little white noise never bothers her. it’s the mention of herself that gets under her skin, the way her agony and loneliness is reduced to nothing more than another celebrity gossip story. it’s also, of course, the fear that someone might see the broadcast and do the impossible - put two and two together to realized that she’s the missing socialite freak.

“ oh, you have no idea, ” caoimhe says with a chuckle as she settles down into a seat. it’s a joke with herself mostly, since she’s not sure he knows what she can do yet, but it amuses her if nothing else. there’s a brief moment of hesitation and she considers lying, but figures the fact that he’s staff means that he’ll probably find out the truth eventually. “ caoimhe. nice to meet you. ” there’s a small shrug after she shakes his hand. “ good as any. i mean, the institute is nice and all, but it’s sort of more like xavier’s home for crazies than anything. ” 

[shiiftiing]

FUSIONSUNA.

Noticing someone’s distress, Rod walks over to the group of students who managed to lug a CRT into the cafeteria and diplomatically tells them to turn the volume down. A rather ineffective move, given how the group says that they’re about to start playing Melee or whatever – what is even a… Gamecube? Rod walks over to the individual who raised the complaint and inhales deeply. “Would you like to have lunch in the staff and faculty lounge? No noise, no distractions, even their monitor’s getting a repair.”

caoimhe appreciates the attempt at silencing the television, even if it doesn’t go according to plan, but she appreciates the offer of peace even more so. “ that would be great, thank you, ” she answers, voice strained but annoyance not directed at him as she stands up and gathers up her things. “ you’d think people would have some respect for others, but maybe it’s just been a while since i’ve been in a school. ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

She was amazing, truly, and she was right about the freckles, Aster couldn’t spot a single mark out of place. He felt honoured that she’d chosen his face, though it was odd to find himself smiling back with the same smile. “It’s a bit much isn’t it? I mean I grew into it and I was so clumsy in high school, they didn’t even let me into the chem lab but, guys seem to like it. And besides, there’s nothing I can’t reach.” He grinned. “Oh, I um,” he twisted in his seat, looking for anything green, “Sorry, I need a- There you are.” His smile spread as he splayed his hand, and the branch just poking through the window came racing towards him, growing longer and longer and curling around his arms when it reached him. It started sprouting the moment it settled, yellow flowers appearing along its body. “Friendly this one.” He grinned, despite the fact he now couldn’t move his arms.

“ it’s a lot. i mean, i’m not that short, but you make me feel tiny. i swear you’ve got more leg than i’ve got body. you make it work though. besides, haven’t you heard the great news ?? all tall guys are automatically daddy, ” she teases. caoimhe doesn’t expect that he’ll see her actual shape anytime soon, but he can get a good enough idea from the forms she usually takes. that’s her cue to find a new one rather than continuing to star back at him with those familiar eyes and after a few moments, she’s smaller again and back to being curled up in the chair. brown eyes follow his hand, then trail off to watch the way the branch grows up to him, curling around him like some kind of friendly animal. it’s amazing and her face lights up, a small chuckle escaping her. “ plant boy, huh ?? that’s pretty cool. do they talk to you ?? i bet salads are the worst. wait, is that rude to say ?? ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

He settles himself back down, it’s really not that funny, especially when there are kids still in shitty situations. But sometimes it works for Aster to laugh through his own pain whenever it gets trudged up, better than crying about it at least. He chuckles with her, mouth opening to form a response when suddenly he’s staring back at himself. Aster sits back in his chair, baffled, trying to gather what he’s looking at as he hears the familiarity of his own laugh coming from somewhere else. “That is incredible.” He starts leaning forward to get a better look. “You’re incredible, I mean, look at that you even got my scar right.” He points above his lip. “Sorry, I’m ogling, you don’t want to be ogled. What were we talking about? Right, shitty parenting. Yeah, my parents still don’t know I’m a mutant, and honestly I don’t want them to. It’s a part of myself they’ve never had an opportunity to make me feel bad about.” 

caoimhe spent years hiding what she could do and she’s still hiding the core of who she is, but she has to admit that there’s a certain thrill to the way people react to her abilities when they’re not trying to burn her at the stake. he’s fascinated and startled and maybe even amazing and it makes her feel special, a smile spreading across her face that should be more than a little familiar to him. “ i always get it right, ” she hums, shifting a little bit in her seat to accommodate the lankiness of the new body. “ down to the last freckle and mole. it makes it more fun, especially on picture day. ” another laugh rolls out of her. “ ogle away. do you think i changed into you just for comfort ?? i’m just messing with you. you’re way too tall compared to what i’m used to and i’m pretty sure i’d die it if i tried to walk. it’s cute, don’t worry, people are into that, it’s just a lot of leg when you’re not used to it. i prefer under 5′8″ when i’m picking a shape, ” caoimhe explains. “ fuck them. wherever they are, they can rot while you’re off doing...whatever it is you can do. ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

“They are.” He replies, shoulders shaking from a slight chuckle. This isn’t a conversation for laughter but Aster can’t help it, he escaped their house, and now more than a decade later it still makes him feel giddy. “It would, definitely, but it’s not just mutant kids that get kicked out. Sometimes you keep your mutation a secret for years, then your parents catch you kissing a boy and, well you can guess the rest. What I’m trying to say is, and there definitely are good parents out there, the bad ones will always be bad. We shouldn’t feel the need to change ourselves to appease them, they’ll always find something.”

the laugh surprises her, brows knitting together as she looks over at the other mutant. he seems glad to be away from his parents and, while it’s understandable given what little she knows about them, in a way she’s almost jealous. she wants that kind of confidence in her position, wants to be sure that she’s where she needs to be. “ yeah, true. god, my mother could handle me being queer just fine, but a mutant freak ?? that’s just too much. maybe i should have picked one or the other. ” there’s sarcasm burning in her voice and she shakes her head. “ it’s not like we can change ourselves anyway. well, i mean, most of us can’t. ” it’s a distraction from the subject, words coming out as a chuckle while her features shift to mirror his.

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

Finally he’d gotten it right, but he found himself staring at his book as it sat on the table in front of him, her words striking truer with him than he’d expected. He looked up at her again, knowing that his experiences probably weren’t close to hers, but that it would help to switch the focus off of her. “Kids always blame themselves but, it’s never actually them. My parents they uh, made me loathe myself. They would speak to me like I was their biggest problem and their lives would be perfect if I just stopped being me. And so even after I left, I thought everything was my fault, I thought I wasn’t good enough for anyone or anything. Parents they, mess with your head. They influence so many aspects of who you become as a person and then blame you for them. It’s never the kid’s fault, kids aren’t the problem.”

“ they sound like assholes. you’re better off without them. ” she feels flighty, like her skin is itching and she needs to be somebody else before things get too real. it happens all the time now. she’s never comfortable, never able to find someone that she can be without nervousness and discomfort. she wonders, however, what he might do if she changed now. would he be frightened off or would it just make him more curious about her. “ but not all parents are shitty - or so i hear. some kids do stupid thing and their parents get mad and...i mean, usually for humans it doesn’t end like this but it’s still bad sometimes. i don’t know, i guess. it’s all just stupid. it’d be easier if no one was a mutant. ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

“Because people that are that low, you realise they’re not worth your thoughts or your time or your pain.” Aster had abandoned the idea of asking her directly, if she was skirting around the issue he was in no way going to make things better by prodding it. “The type of people who lie to themselves, assuring themselves that they made the right decision by kicking-out their children, they don’t deserve your love. And parents are supposed to love their children but, lots of them just don’t, and sometimes we have to accept that’s just the way they are and find love somewhere else.”

part of her wants to believe that he’s right and she knows that if she can believe that, maybe she can start being at peace with who she is instead of all the lies she’s created, but it’s not as easy as that. “ what if you’re the problem ?? ” her voice is quieter now, less angry and more guilty than anything. her gaze flickers towards the television for a moment before back to him. “ what if you weren’t good enough ?? what if you screwed it up and they’re right to be angry or...or ashamed of you ?? ” she ruined everything for her mother, after all ;; they would never have their perfect life back.

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

The undertone of anger catches him off guard, and Aster adjusts his thinking accordingly. She’s much closer to this than he first thought, and it’s fresh, and what she needs right now is a friend, not some nosy teacher who thinks he’s a detective. “Schandenfreude. It’s a German word, it means happiness at the misfortune of others, many think it comes from our evolutionary instinct to be the best. I think it’s just an excuse to be a bad person. I have, a friend, who’s here because when his father found out he was a mutant he went from being adored to being hated, hunted down even. But he’s been here a few years now and he’s come to the realization that if someone you think loves you changes their mind because one aspect of you changes, then they didn’t really love you in the first place.” 

“ people will do anything to convince themselves that the horrible things they do are right, no matter what it costs. ” her mother sends her money every month, as if that makes up for hating her, as if money is something important to either of them. it’s her way of convincing herself that she did the right thing, but caoimhe doubts that she’ll ever be able to see it like that. “ is that supposed to be better ?? is it supposed to be less bullshit to think that the people that are supposed to love you have never loved you, rather than just turning their backs on you ?? how is it not worse to think that they’ve always been one wrong move away from hating you ?? ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

He sets himself back in his chair, noticing that the proximity is unsettling her, and resides himself to listening. Her pain is clear, and Aster hypothesises that she either knows the girl she’s talking about or went through a very similar situation, either way, he has to fight the urge to offer her a hug. Clearly that would only make matters worse and Aster feels as if he’s on tender hooks here as it is. “I’m sorry to hear that, and wherever she is I hope she’s safe, and much happier now than she would have been. I think the problem is that, with the majority, people aren’t interested in people. If they were they would show empathy for this girl, but instead they only care about the ripple affects of her personal struggle. I would happily ban it all if I could but, people have smart phones and those would take us years to disperse.”

“ maybe she was happy where she was. maybe she didn’t want to give everything up. maybe she’s alone and scared and it’s bullshit because she didn’t do anything wrong. ” a sharp sigh escapes her, shifting to pull one leg up to her chest and resting her chin on her knee. her gaze doesn’t meet his for a long moment, but she isn’t running and that’s a good sign. after all, it’s easier to talk about herself as if she’s someone else, as if she’s just another fake identity like all the rest. “ nobody has any empathy. everyone is just voyeuristic and terrible and cruel. even the best people still think ‘thank god that’s not me’ and it’s...i just hate it all. whatever. it doesn’t matter. like you said, it’s not going away anytime soon. ”

[shiiftiing]

ASTER-REINHART.

Her expression tells him that something has hit a sore spot, and his healing instinct kicks in, pushing him to settle in the chair across from her. “I agree, it should be no one’s thing but it’s been happening since the widespread availability of information so there’s not much we can do besides turning the television off.” Aster offered. “Do you think what they’re saying is real though? I always thought most of it was fabricated just for drama’s sake and nothing real was actually being touched upon.”

she tenses up slightly when he moves closer, all of her walls going up as she feels the way he wants to help. it’s frightening to her - a sign that he wants to know more than she wants to give - but she doesn’t bail quite yet. “ if only the media had a basic sense of decency, ” she says with a sigh. then again, if they did, she wouldn’t be at the institute now. “ i wish we could just...ban it from here or something. i know i’m probably not the only person who hates it. ” then comes a question that’s more difficult to answer without honest, so she settles for an answer just to the side of honesty. “ some of it is. like that girl on screen, leeann daniels’ daughter who turned out to be a mutant. she’s really a mutant. she really had cameras glued to her while her mom turned her back on her and they really don’t know where she went. she’s a missing girl without a family and everyone’s just obsessed with how scandalous it is that she’s one of us, like the scandal is more important than she is. ”

[shiiftiing]

ABERNATHYOWENS.

Owen eyed her suspiciously and after a moment, leaned over to switch it to a sports game with a sigh. “You have legs, you know.” He returns to the book he was reading. “And unless you’re hiding some injury everyone is unaware of, then it should’t be too strenuous for you to change the channel your own damn self.”

“ you were closer than me, ” caoimhe huffs, rolling her eyes as she looks over at the older man. “ but maybe my mutation means i can’t walk. maybe it means i can’t click buttons. who knows ?? you shouldn’t assume anything about people, but don’t worry - next time i won’t ask a basic courtesy of you. i wouldn’t want to strain your abilities or anything. ”