ArchivedLogs:Hives and Bees

Hives and Bees
Dramatis Personae Jackson, Ivan, Peter, Sebastian, Shane, Shelby, sorta-Hive
In Absentia	2013-04-02 ... apparently don't mix as well as you'd think.
Location <XS> Rec Room - FL2
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. It is currently the break between class B and class C. Some students have taken advantage of this by going outside, where the spring sunshine is making a strong showing and driving away the winter doldrums. Others are in the library studying. The /cool/ kids have opted to come to the rec room, which is buzzing with activity--a couple of boys are getting in some videogame time, a trio of girls are chatting excitedly (see: gossip) at one of the tables as they primp and preen into compact mirrors, and then there is the seating area of beanbags that Shelby has claimed for herself and those she likes best. Her backpack is on the ground beside her beanbag chair--she's chosen the green one--and her sketchbook is in her lap. Rather than study, she is opting to draw herself in various rockstar poses and outfits. But it is not all for fun! She is having her little self-sketches parade around in a fashion show under her critical eye. "...shit, this one looks like a low-rent Avril." 'Cool kids', eh? One of them... might be slightly lukewarm, instead. The most boring of temperatures! Still, Ivan has somehow found himself in one of the adjacent beanbags - a black one - and has managed to sink back so far that it looks he might be attempting to disappear into the beanbag entirely. But it's /comfy/. His own backpack, heavy and packed full as usual, is beside him. Closed. He doesn't even have a book in his lap. It seems, for once, that he's actually using the break to... not... study? It might have something to do with the fact that he looks a little tired around the eyes, brows knitting together when Shelby speaks up. "... 'Avril'? What is 'Avril'?" Rasa is studying, but ze's not doing hir scholastic studies. Instead, ze is sitting upon a red bean bag and being red. Ze is almost the same color as the thing, at least the parts of hir skin that are showing. The rest of hir is covered in normalish blue jeans and a long sleeved black shirt with a number of designs across the face of it in pink and white. Ze is stuuudying, so the red shade that ze is being is devoid of words until Shelby and Ivan begin to speak. "Avril - the french pronunciation of 'April' is the name of a pop singer from Canada who makes a name for herself for being a tough girl. She got a lot of fame once for being so clueless in the music industry, she didn't know how topronounceDavid Bowie's name." Ze opens her eyes and glances at Shelby's sketch pad. "So, I guess that's a bad thing?" "What Rasa said. She's kinda boring now, popping out babies or whatever, but..." Shelby turns the sketchpad around to allow Ivan a peek at "Avril"--apparently a girl in a schoolgirl skirt and sleeveless button-up with a skinny tie, torn thigh-high stockings and sneakers. Sketch-Shelby blows the boy a kiss, the bracelets stacked on her arm falling towards her elbow. "It's been done," she laments to her roommate. "I need a /new/ look. Something that's gonna make me stand out, y'know? All the best acts got their own look." Ivan peers over at the animated sketch, eyebrows inching up as he stares. Whaat, it's an interesting thing for a sketch to do! Though... his face does grow ever so slightly redder at the sketchy, blown kiss, his eyes instinctively lowering to /anything else/ again. Oh okay that's Avril then I suppose okay. Quietly and flatly, he mutters, "Thank you for explaining." Rasa is sitting on a red beanbag in the corner with Ivan and Shelby. They are all looking at sketches that Shelby is making. Rasa just happens to be the same red color as the beanbag ze is sitting on, as if ze was actually trying to be that color. Ze smiles and nods to Ivan. "Any time. I spent a lot of time on the internet a while ago." Ze then focuses on Shelby's problem. "Almost everything's been done - rock star costume wise, I think. But really, the fact that Avril seems to own rights on ties is a pain in the ass to everyone who wants to be androgynous." Rasa shifts hir head, hir skin tone settling into something more standard, words cropping up on hir flesh as she runs through things that have been done. 'glitter jumpsuits,' 'rhinestone jump suits' 'jumpsuits in general' 'hooded sweatshirts' 'jeans and tee shirts' 'suits and ties,' 'those stupid devo hats.' "You just have to find something and make it yours, I guess." Ze frowns. "What else do you have?" That she made Ivan blush seems to strike Shelby as a badge of honor. She shoots him a grin before righting the sketchbook and flipping to a fresh page. Pencil is once again applied to paper. "I'm not wearing one of those stupid devo hats," she comments for absolutely /no/ reason at all. Her beanbag is green, her backpack overflowing with books...but ignored. Because rockstar dreams? So much more interesting. "I could stick with the art thing. Different white dress every time, slap some famous painting on it or something...maybe the good little girl look with some dark as shit paintings." Sketch sketch sketch, her brow rumples with both thought and concentration. Ivan watches Rasa's thoughts projected onto hir skin, hands fidgeting with the hem of his shirt until a yawn interrupts his stare. He streeetches his arms out in front of him before sinking slightly further back into the beanbag, still. Perhaps in response to the pressure, a foot-long, shiny black millipede crawls out from a shirt sleeve and sprawls itself across a leg, instead. Whoop. Input as to the conversation, however-- seems lacking. Ivan looks a little clueless. "I think you looked great Sunday night!" This is being ANNOUNCED from the doorway in a rather brightly cheerful tone. "So um maybe just keep with that?" Sebastian is rather brightly cheerful himself; swishy knee-length skirt (black, batik-printed with neon butterflies), brightly coloured knee-high socks, a black tee-shirt (also neon-printed in its corner with a bright splash of tropical plantlife.) Shoes pfft who needs shoes. He has his backpack slung over his shoulder, heavily laden with books apparently, and his laptop tucked beneath an arm. He is also /dragging/ his brother along behind him as he heads towards the group to PLOP himself cross-legged onto the floor beside Shelby and give the others a bright smile. Shelby gets a peck on the cheek. "Hi!" Shane is less bright. Black jeans, grey vest, white tee underneath. Sans books. Sans laptop. Though also barefoot so he's apparently right on board with this PFFT SHOES movement. In place of educational accoutrements he is wearing a scowl as he is towed along. He drops to the floor, too, dropping his head onto Sebastian's thigh and stretching over to /steal/ the laptop. There's kind of a grunt that accompanies all this; maybe it /means/ hi. "YOU'RE HERE." Is all Rasa can say the instance that the twins are within hir sensory range (which is very much that of a normal human.) Ze fidgets in hir seat as the pair join them and gets settled, but as soon as they are, ze starts crawling across the gap to hug them. Except Ze stops, looking at them wide eyed and questioningly. Soon, ze is biting hir lip, fidgeting in place, staring at them. 'you're here, you're here, you're really really here' begins scribbling itself all over every visible part of hir flesh in a rosy pink color. "Hi." "Oh my fucking god!" Shelby shares Rasa's enthusiasm. The sketchbook is /tossed/, landing with a flutter--and revealing pages covered with sketches of sharky teenagers, the sap--as she bolts to her feet. She does try to wait until Sebastian is settled before /plastering/ herself to his side in a clingy and flexible curl. Cheek kisses? She'll do one better and aim for his mouth, though fortunately the need to express gladness at Shane keeps that effort brief. Once done, she reaches down to pat Shane on the forehead. No kisses for grumpypants. But her grin goes ear to ear as she leans up against Bastian's side. "If you wanna give 'em kisses, Rasa, I'll hold 'em down for you." Ivan peers the twins' way as soon as they make their presence known. A content smile makes its way past his tired expression- he may not be in the sharks' usual social circle, but he knows their situation. Perhaps it is his assumption that Catching Up Time is nigh that helps him make the decision to finally puuull himself out of the beanbag that looks like it was about to swallow him whole. Causing the millipede on his leg to fall to the ground, subsequently curling up! Ivan swings his backpack onto his back again, and crouches down with a somewhat worried look on his face to grab the insect to cradle it in two hands. Whoop. Aaand he's off, beelining his way out of the room with nothing more than a quiet "Good bye." Sebastian is opening his arms to accept HUGS because he wants all the hugs. But his smile is fading as Ivan gets up to go, a worried frown on his face. "-- oh gosh do I smell? I swear I /just/ showered." FROWN. But still hug. "You smell." This is Shane's helpful contribution, from the floor. Sebastian's face falls further. He sniffs, not at armpits but just at his arm. Sharks, not very sweaty. Sometimes kind of fishy though. But right now he pretty much just smells like his current coffee-chocolate-lime shower gel. "Oh." More frown. "... hi, guys." This time it's more subdued. "-- do we get kisses?" At least this is /hopeful/. At least from Bastian. Shane scowls more, this time at Sebastian's computer as it wakes up, clearly not fast enough for his liking. Rasa gives Sebastian a hug, careful not to touch his skin to hirs, but it is a strong hug anyway. When ze pulls away, ze watches Ivan leave, lifting a hand to wave to him, a wrinkle of concern between hir brows, but no words appear to give way what ze is worried about. When he disappears, ze turns hir attention to Shane since Shelby is more than capable of distracting Sebastian for a while. Ze lays down on the floor to mimic the prone twin's posture, without the brother thigh to keep hir head up. Ze rests hirs instead on hir arm. "Hi." Insistent. "Did you want hugs too? Shelby is giving out kisses. I do not give out kisses because few people wish to actually make out with themselves." "See you, Ivan!" It is a cheerful farethewell, but admittedly a distracted one. Shelby is not at all concerned about skin to skin contact--a few abrasions are /nothing/ compared to her joy at having the twins back. Zoop, there go her arms around Sebastian's neck to interfere with his sniffing. And if B wants kisses, she'll start setting a line of then along the curve of his cheekbone and bare brow-ridge. "Shane would totally make out with himself, I bet," she says between shows of affection. "Are you guys back to stay for real? Like, for real real? Do we need to like, hide you in our closets or something? 'Cause I'll totally do that. You can come out at night and sleep with us." Tee hee. Bastian stops his sniffing in order to dispense squeezes, hugging Rasa tiiiight. His smile returns, first at the hugging, a little brighter still at the string of kisses. "We're here for-real, we'll be living here during the week anyway although I'm kinda pushing for them to just let us stay always and not go back to the city." Shane just kind of continues his scowling. Typing in Bastian's password to log in to the computer. The /terrible/ part of the discussion, though, does at least catch his attention. He beckons towards Rasa. "I'd /totally/ make out with myself," he agrees. And then stops. And turns his head up to /eye/ Sebastian with /very intent/ speculation. Sebastian's eyes widen huge. "Oh no-no-no," he's already /bapping/ Shane on the head. Rasa raises an eyebrow at Shane, curious. "You might think that now, but you might feel like it's weird - plus, I'd know too if you'd feel like it's weird because of the telepathy." Rasa glances to Sebastian as he starts bopping Shane and rolls on to hir back, hir melting a little across the floor. "I am glad you are back. Please... I... hi." Words fail and melty!Rasa is covered in script too small to read at the moment. Hir whole face eventually ends up pink and rosy due to thoughts instead of blushing. "So sorry, B is otherwise occupied," Shelby says in lofty fashion, tugging Sebastian back towards her--and saving Shane from further bops. "If you're gonna be a pervert, be a pervert with Rasa. Zie's totally offering and everything, Jesus, Shane. Don't make me come over there." Because she is quite comfortable wrapping around Bastian as she is. Threat made, she picks up the earlier thread of conversation, brightening again. "Oh my god, that's /awesome/. Man, if they let you stay here the whole week...fuck those assholes, they /better/. I totally bombed my first biology quiz, you /gotta/ stay. Jim's helping with algebra, but..." The excitement seeping through the borgnet stirs a more keenly awake presence; in Shelby's mind, first, though her eagerness makes it /gravitate/ towards the twins. Poke. Pooooke? "Won't know until I try!" Shane says this while still /eying/ Sebastian: "C'mon, the internet has told me it's gonna be totally hot." But he isn't, at least, chasing /after/ his brother. He even removes his head from Sebastian's lap, in order to shove the laptop aside and lie down instead next to Rasa, nestling his head up against /hir/ side instead. "Biology? I can help! I can help both those things but --" Sebastian's eyes are /lighting/ here. He leans back into Shelby's wrapping happily. "-- of course he can help he can't /wait/ to nerd it up again. I think I missed out on those Asian genes." Shane even manages a tiny twitch of smile here. But it fades into a thoughtful frown at -- something. Unheard something? Unheard something that is pulling Sebastian's brows inward, too. Rasa is soft and squishy and may just be made of gelatin right now, or perhaps an over abundance ofcartilage. Ze looks an arm around to rest across Shane's shoulders, pleased and possibly vibrating with happiness - or reverberating from being snuggled against by Shane. When the twins go silent, Rasa speaks up. "What's wrong?" hir other arm tucks under hir and presses herself up a little. "You're only allowed to make out with B if I'm in the middle. Naked." This too is a threat of sorts from Shelby, given Shane having a heaping dose of the gay. She is unconcerned with unheard nothings, being more invested in tucking her head into the crook between Sebastian's neck and shoulder, and breathing in deeply. Mmm, smellygoodsoap. Of course, that only lasts until Shane vacates the premises and she's able to take over Bastianlap. She replaces hugging with reaching for his hand to spread blue fingers and tease at the webbing between. "Probably wishing we didn't have to go to class soon," she says without looking over at Rasa, "but we /could/ skip...score some privacy...save bio for later..." Omnomnom? Omnom Sebastian? Omnom twins? That mental presence is curling in more hungrily. Because apparently the twins are tasty? Someone has given it this idea, anyway. "Done. Can I bring Eric and Daiki too? Rasa, how do you feel about orgies?" Lazy orgies, apparently, Shane certainly isn't moving. Just nestling into squishyrasa, his eyes closing. "Daiki would never have an orgy with you he doesn't even like sleeping with you at school in case someone overhears." Sebastian's nose crinkles. His hand spreads underneath Shelby's, his other reaching to run lightly against her hair. Combing. With claws. "-- Skip class?" He looks like maybe Shelby just suggested /murdering/ their next teacher. "Did you go to Pa's class this morning?" Shane is asking Rasa and Shelby this /totally casually/. "Has it been -- good?" Sebastian's brow furrows again, but he ignores it. "No, I don't think -- anything's wrong." He doesn't sound quite certain, though. He glances towards the door as though expecting someone. SwedishFoamRasa is comfortable. New words start to form on hir hands and face, things to the effect of finally having hir family back and how they shouldn't leave again when Shane asks hir about orgies. Ze goes a little pale and isn't quiiite so squishy. "I um. I don't know. I don't ... you see. that would be lots of people touching me. Lots of people. So many people. Touching. I don't know what I would do with myself like that. Touching. Naked." There's a vague sound of horror in hir voice, but also a healthy dose of consideration to the idea. It isn't... completely dismissed. Ze instead chooses to focus on the other topic. "Oh, it was good. Mr. Holland does a very good job with discussing art, and letting us try stuff." Shelby is an impressionable youth. Yes, she might have mentally denied the concept of cannibalizing her boyfriend but with that presence /right there/ and hungry, she is compelled. While Bastian combs her hair out, she brings his fingers towards her mouth. Innocently, at first, just touching a kiss to each tip in between conversation. "Sounds good to me. We could always gag Daiki if he's worried. And yeah, skip class," she confirms. "Not your /dad's/ class, he was totally awesome, yeah, but fuck bio, man." You can't nibble on sharks in bio, so what's the point? She demonstrates on Bastian's middle finger--not a chomp, but not a love-pinch either. "Having an orgy with Daiki," Sebastian is saying practically, "wouldn't work /anyway/. /Everyone/ would just end up with Daiki and ignoring each other." His fingers press against Shelby's lips, his smile warm -- warmer still even at the bite. He clacks his teeth back towards her in return. "-- Yeah okay point but c'mon is that /bad/, he's hot -- is it disorienting for you to change into someone? I mean maybe an orgy could be /fun/ like. Fuck all the people, /be/ all the people." Shane creeeps a hand up towards Rasa's face, fingers streeetching. But doesn't actually touch because sans permission that'd be /rude/. Also because there's a moment where his eyes go somewhat blank, his expression puzzled. Sebastian is mirroring this puzzlement. It takes a moment to pass. "-- good," Shane says, a little distracted, "he's -- good? Happy. He's been happy, right?" "We're not really having an orgy, are we?" Sebastian looks /confused/. "He is always full of smiles," Rasa claims quietly, looking at Shane's hand and considering, "But I don't know him well enough to say if he is happy." Shelby with borgbrain can answer that one. Ze instead considers the first part of the conversation. "I'd be reading your mind the entire time. That can get uncomfortable. I don't know how to control it yet - and Professor Xavier says he will help me in time, but things have been very busy with everything and I've mostly opted for combat classes." Ze turns hir head, more excited. "Did you know? I got detention! I was a bad student! I marched right into the danger room and demanded that Mr. Logan train me. And he's going to. I just... had to do detention for doing that whole thing and there's a rumor that Mr. Logan got in trouble for not locking the door so I couldn't." Ze is thrilled. "Did you want me to read your mind?" "You're putting /way/ too much thought into this, B," Shelby advises her boyfriend, following one nip with a sharper one before grinning up at him. "Jax is pretty good. Like, getting laid /every fucking night/, it's been driving me /insane/ but now you're back so I'm totally in for the sexings..." She trails off not to daydream about the sexings but rather to look absent-mindedly up at the ceiling. Pondering something? But just as the twins' expressions clear (kind of), hers brightens. "Oh, /sweet/!" She can unleash /all of the affection on them/, telepathically! << C'moncanwepleaseskipIwannamakeout! >> "Oh /man/, Ras, you were /bad/?" Shane's hand moves from reaching to touch hir lips and instead curls into a fist. To offer a KNUCKLETAP. "/Awesome/ you wanna be my detention buddy?" "-- why is my dad getting laid driving you insane?" Sebastian says puzzled, at least in that moment before the telepathic words come through. His eyes wiiiiiiden. So do Shane's. "-- Wait," the twins say, in tandem, "/Pa/'s in here too?" Sebastian says this /horrified/, immediately stiffening to shift /just/ slightly away from nipping. Shane says this with a /wide/ and kind of wicked grin. "Ras, you should kiss me." Rasa is a rather, well, once squishy form on the floor, laying down and relaxing happily in the company of rejoined friends, with a devious and mischievous Shane resting against hir side. Shelby has curled herself in Bastian's lap, but he is beginning to look uncomfortable at the vocalized thought that his dad is 'in there.' Shelby may or may not be biting playfully at his fingers. Rasa gives Shane a knuckle bump with hir sleeve over hir skin so that there isn't any actual telepathy, but since they are talking about telepathy..."It's probably easier to pull away if you use your hand rather than your face," the young metamorph admits, lips pursing in thought. "You know, if you don't like it. But... I guess we can kiss." Ze looks a little confused by all of this, especially about the conversation about the twin's dad. Ze isn't going to make the first move. In order to prepare hirself, hir skin turns a metallic shade of bronze. Shelby is /trying/ to bite, anyway. Sebastian is resisting and it makes her sad. << What? >> The eyes, they are looking up at him all pleading like. "He's not there right /now/. I mean...okay, he kinda is, but..." She pauses, gaze unfocusing then snapping back to her twin's face. She grins. "He's not sexing anyone right now. He's being all teacherly. Oh man, I bet we could make him blush from /here/, we should try that." Once she's done being distracted by ShaneRasa, anyway. Her head turns, still comfortably set on Bastian's thigh, so she can eyeball the two. "Easier doesn't mean funner," she points out. "Go easy on the tongue though, huh Shane?" There may or may not be a little thread of protectiveness creeping from her mind when she says this. "Isn't he, like, always here?" Sebastian still seems kind of uncertain about this whole deal. "Him /and/ his pretty guy, oh /man/ we ran into him at your show he's like the hottest fucking cripple." Shane says this with a grin. "Also kinda badass he basically turns people into robots, I think he should make Liza a /laser-shooting/ leg." Sebastian winces. "Him /and/ Micah /and/ -- oh gosh and /so/ many people. You, um, haven't like -- seen him -- uh --" He's eying Shelby, but then blushes deep and apparently thinks better of this line of thought. Shane doesn't, though: "Banging Micah?" This makes him snort. Amused. "Jeez. This Hive thing is a mindfuck. I like kissing," he assures Rasa. "But you pull away if /you/ don't like it." He tips his head up, touching his lips to hirs, caaaareful of the teeth. And the skin, really. But his /lips/ don't scratch. Peter emerges from a corner, clad in his black hoodie, jeans, and Batman-Zombie t-shirt. Thick glasses, too. As he steps into the room, he takes one look at the situation he sees out before him -- Shane kissing a gloopy Rasa -- Shelby trying to bite /Sebastian/ -- and just stares. Confused. And proceeds to glance around. Probably looking for Rod Serling. There's a noise, then. A noise that doesn't quite belong. It started out barely noticeable, the as a hum in the distance. Like a tap having been opened somewhere, a bath slowly filling. Though no, that is not the sound of water. Not at all. It is, however, growing louder over the course of a few minutes. By the time its source manages to make it anywhere near the Rec Room, there are a few noises that join it outside in the hallway-- noises of other students and their sharp inhales, a scuffling of feet as someone jumps aside and into a wall. Buzzing. It's buzzing. And it's on its way, from the sounds of it. Rasa sits up a little more to facilitate the space so that if ze truly does not like this kissing thing, ze will be able to duck away. Otherwise, it might be hard. Then there is lip to lip contact in which the metamorph only has a moment of squinty eye shut trepidation. Suddenly, the blob Rasa becomes another Shane, reaching up behind his neck and pulling him into a deeper kiss, the skin types not a problem in the least. New!Shane also reaches out and grabs his arm affectionately, while his mind explores the original's mind. The words 'not going back' and 'want to go back,' are over written with 'don't want to go back' in thick black ink, in Shane's handwriting over New!Shane's face and hands. "Yeah, seen him a /few/ times," is Shelby's bad news for Bastian. He didn't even have to finish the question! But rather than go into detail--though certainly those details flow through in the undercurrent of her thoughts--she remains distracted by the prospect of a Shane and Rasa makeout session. When contact is made, her eyes fly wide. "Holy shit." <<ThatlooksjustlikeBohmygod>> --which naturally leads into all sorts of unhealthy thoughts. The only upside to all of this is that she is otherwise rendered speechly, only absently flicking a wave towards Peter and missing the approaching buzz entirely. OMNOM TELE-MORPH. This time, the mental CHOMP is much quicker, much less forewarning. It's less a hungry eating and more a lazy /flush/ that spills out from Shane to Rasa, unthinking. NOM. It's not a painful thing, just a fast one, a sudden mental rush that fills Rasa's mind with /many/ minds, loud and then background-quieter. There's a moment, at the shift, when Shane's eyes widen huge, a moment when his gills flutter rapidly, a moment when his only thought is << holy shit >>. But this is quickly followed by << holy shit, /cool/, >> and he misses the new arrivals, too, focused onstead on kissing Rasa. Or kissing himself? RasaShane. He is responsive to the deeper kiss, lifting a hand to curl lightly around Rasa's neck with a quiet (amused? happy?) hum. ... possibly part of his mind might /also/ be on the fact she looks just like Bastian but it doesn't seem to bother him. << You okay? >> is a quiet shared thought, layered over the happy (which, itself, is layered over a mire of less-happy.) He's focusing on the happy. Sebastian, meanwhile, just swallows. His eyes have widened, too. He is kind of staring, kind of reaching for Shelby's hand. << ... >> "That's --" Blinkblink, one set of eyelids and then the next. His cheeks flush dark. "..." /NOW/ Peter is just staring, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, at what appears to be... Shane. Making out with... Shane. Except one of them has words written on him. And then... he clears his throat. Politely. Before taking a few shuffling steps back. And adding, rather quietly, as if fearful of somehow making this /more/ awkward: "H-hey... guys! I heard you -- came back. I'm glad you... um, should I just leave you alone?" He looks around him, in a slight panic, searching to see if anyone else is here. Or if there's a 'DO-NOT-DISTURB' sign dangling just-out-of-sight. "Jesus Christ what the hell?!" Comes a young, startled voice from the hallway, before about five seconds later, that buzzing noise swells to levels great enough to make the lion's share of the rec room's visitors stare toward the doorway as a few specks swirve their way into the room. Fuzzy little bees that, despite their stinger, pose little of a threat. When a few dozen more join after them, however, and one or two people start to rise from their seats. A second later and a CLOUD of chaotically circling bees, close to a thousand in number for sure, moves into the room, taking up the entire doorway. And... someone standing in the middle, seemingly completely at ease, expression blank. Someone looking a little glassy-eyed, head angled a little absently. Oh hey, Ivan, you've returned. And brought friends. For Shane, there definitely was returned /Happy!/ at the other end of his telepathic link with Rasa, and a mirrored ache in response to what he is feeling, the sensation wrapped around by the metamorph's mind and clung to as new and interesting and engaging, and a quiet response, practically in Shane's own tone of << yeah, are you? >> before... All hell seems to break loose after a moment. Rasa's form begins to shift uncontrollably, hands releasing Shane spasmodically. First, She's Liza, a woman in the med bay, then he's Flicker, who melts into Hive, who is quickly replaced by another guy who recently left the infirmary but might be wandering around the grounds rolling in the dirt. But that guy doesn't stay very long, instead turning into Shelby, who looks terrified at herself in Bastian's lap, and then there are wings and darkness as RasaShelby turns into Dusk -- but it keeps going, shifting, melting and shifting as other parts of Rasa's mind interact with other people in the Hivemind, the faces looking increasingly ill at the rapid changes. There are Bees. Rasa probably knows there are bees, but there's also a hive in hir mind and that's a little distracting. Shelby slips her hand into Bastian's, but that contact doesn't stop her staring. Nor does drawing his knuckles to her cheek, scratchy though they are. Staring. Stare stare stare. She's, uh. Suddenly flushed. But /not/ embarrassed. This is a different sort of heat and with it comes the bone-deep knowledge (haha bone) for everyone in the uplink of just how tingly the teenager is finding this show. "I...will be in my bunk." Points to her for the geek reference, points removed for incorrect quotage and for not thinking bunk but thinking /shower/. She scrambles to her feet, giving Bastian's hand a most inviting tug, but letting go afterwards to collect her backpack. Not the sketchpad, she forgets /that/ because...bees? << Whafuck? >> Her intentions become a little muddied at that point--not because she doesn't decide to go, she's still ducking towards the exit, but now it's a toss up between whether she means just to escape or if she'll carry through with the threat of happytime afterwards. Auuugh, bees everywhere! No stinging, no stinging! Run awaaaaay! << Yeah, >> starts out happy but then << oh fuck shit oh god what did I do crapcrapcrap, >> given the hivemind they're sharing continues even after Shane has pulled back. His arm drops to loop around Rasa's shoulder, eyes wide and /worried/ now at this rapid shifting. "Oh god, oh fuck, guys I broke Rasa." Bees, what bees, Rasa is /breaking/. Bastian notices the breaking but he /also/ notices the bees because there is a freaked Shelby. "Woah woah wo-- oh gosh everyone is going -- oh gosh." He gets to his feet, staring at Ivan, then staring at Rasa. "-- are you okay, are you hurt do you -- /ummmm/ I think we should -- doctor --" His teeth clack together. He looks at Shelby fleeing, looks back to Rasa. "Yeah, doctor --" Shane is agreeing, but his teeth are sinking down into his lip, welling up a few small dots of blood bright against blue skin. "Shit, Ras, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -- c'mon can you --" His arm is looping more securely beneath hir, but as he looks to the door he frowns deeper. "-- I-Ivan? Do, uh, do you need a doctor too what the fuck is wrong with you." Sebastian looks back towards Ivan, as well. "..." He swallows once more. "-- Yeah, are, um, are you okay?" SO MUCH GOING ON. "Ivan's fine," Peter says, cocking a glance back toward Ivan as he emerges amidst a swarm of circling bees -- he quickly adds, though: "Ivan I dunno if you should bring all those bees in /here/ someone might be allergic--!!" And then Shelby is darting away, as Rasa's form begins /flickering/ between shapes, and Peter frowns! /Very/ sternly. "What -- on /earth/ -- Rasa?" Then, to the shark-twins: "What did -- I can go get Dr. McCoy," he finishes, and he's ready to /dart/ off to do just that! When the bee-surrounded Ivan has wandered further into the rec room, it becomes clearer that he... doesn't really know where he's going at all, his steps sluggish as his knee eventually hits a chair on his path no nowhere in particular. Whoop. Time to turn around and head in another direction, albeit somewhat wobbly. Bees engulf the chair he wandered into, only to rejoin the swarm again a few seconds later. "Yes." Comes a quiet word from Ivan's mouth, inside the buzzing cloud, barely audible over sounds of /near a thousand bees/. "Fine." Ivan's head turns toward the beanbags and his friends before his eyes manage to find them, still largely unfocused, mouth half open though nothing coming out. The swarm around him swells in beats, a second or so apart, like a heart, contracting and /exanding/ outward at the sight. "Oh fuck, make it stop make it stop make it stop." Rasa starts mumbling, hir vocal tones changing with each new person ze shifts too, the queasy confused look remaining on all of their collective face. "Why did you have people in your head where did the people come from? Shit. People everywhere. Bees." Now the mess that is Rasa is staring wide eyed at the bees circling, more words starting to scroll across hir face. 'what /is/ going on, what's wrong, is everyone okay?' is followed by 'oh god oh fuck oh shitcock, oh embleer motherfucking lords of kobol I think Rasa's turned into /everyone/ and Ivan's turned into a /bee/.' "Stop being a bee, Ivan!" ze shouts, probably louder than ze wanted to, but he does look rather glassy still. "I... stop, just why are there people?" Rasa is... still shifting and very confused, settling into the size and appearance of Jackson for a moment before morphing into Dusk and Hive and finally into Sebastian for a moment. Hir clothes are getting quite torn and distended by this, when they are not horribly constricting on larger bodies. "Are you an embleer fucking idiot, Peter, he's not fine you moron he's your sharding roommate shouldn't you be able to tell this shit?" Shane is /scooping/ Rasa as he gets to his feet, an arm beneath shoulders and an arm beneath knees. "Fuck." "Don't think cursing's going to help things," Sebastian murmurs, resting a hand on Shane's shoulder and murmuring quietly to him in Vietnamese. And after, "-- I think things are definitely not okay, um, /both/ of you need --" Frown. "-- Medbay?" There are quicker-approaching steps in the hall. Jax is looking pretty much Jax-y, black jeans laced up the sides in hot pink rubbon, black tee over pink fishnet shirt. Bright blue hair. Silvery makeup. He wears a slight frown as he approaches the room, looking over the scene uncertainly. "Ivan." This is what he says first, soft and firm. "Ivan, you hear me?" To the twins he gestures, towards the doorway. "What happ -- no, tell me later. Rasa, we're gonna take you to the medbay, honey-honey, okay?" There's worry on his mental plane but he doesn't, actually, even seem much surprised. Attended Xavier's for years, taught at Xavier's... maybe he's just hard to surprise. Peter does a double-take, having apparently /not/ noticed Ivan's shambling, zombie-like wake. And now the room's filling with an expanding /cloud/ of bees, swelling out and shrinking back in, like the sluggish rasp of a lung. Peter looks around, eyebrows briefly jammed together: "He's -- usually not like --" He had just been about to /dart/ off to fetch a doctor, but now he's moving toward Ivan instead -- Ivan, and the window nearest to him. Opening said window! There are people in here. Ivan is aware of this much. There is now even a Jackson! But there is also a Rasa. There is a Rasa and ze is shouting. There is a Rasa and ze is shouting at /him/. Unfortunately for just about everyone, that seems to be the only thing that manages to reach Ivan at this point, his head angling back ever so slightly as a largely neutral expression suffers just a /twitch/ of sadness. He leans forward in what appears to be an attempt to start walking that way, but it proves largely unsuccessful as he stumbles. What does move, however, is the bees. They expand further around Ivan, but the same time that window is opened-- they promptly contract, tightly together, a concentrated mass id mid-air. It TAKES OFF, leading the way for Ivan as it heards /straight for Shane and Rasa/, intending to engulf them with speed moreso than accuracy. Rasa wraps an arm around Shane's shoulders, but it's rapidly turning into a wing, hir shirt clinging to hir neck by the neck line, but the sleeves completely torn out now. Ze also tries to be as easily carried as possible, which is incredibly difficult when one's body just keeps shifting. Ze clings to Shane as he carries hir for transportation reasons and stares at Jackson. "You're in my head." As ze speaks, ze turns into Jackson, tattoos and everything appearing where hir shirt fails hir. That is, until ze is covered in bees. "What the crap." The seems on hir jeans start popping before ze turns into a smaller person again. This time, Shelby. "/Osiris Christ/ why is /every fucking person/ at this school a shitting /idiot/." This is what Shane says, freezing dead still en route to the door as there are suddenly bees. His instinct is to bare his teeth at them, but he quickly regrets this, because. Beemouth. "/Ivan/ dude you have /fucking shitty/ timing can't we do the beething /later/." Sebastian steps back, his teeth baring at the cloud of bees, too. "-- Ivan? Ivan, maybe the bees should go outside now," he ventures, much more quiet and less sharp than his brother. "I think Rasa needs a doctor." "I think everyone here needs a deep breath," Jackson says. "Um, though preferably without inhaling any bees." Tentative, he reaches to rest a hand on Ivan's shoulder. "Ivan. Ivan, listen to me. Remember what I told you about making sure to focus on a piece of /yourself/, too? This might be a good time." Peter, having just opened the window, turns -- briefly -- wide-eyed, as a horde of /bees/ lunge toward Shane, Sebastian, and Rasa. Everyone's talking to Ivan at once, too! Peter proceeds to turn and backwards hop /outside/ of said window -- butt first! -- clasping the windowsill edge in his hands, his feet propped on the wall outside -- dangling two stories up on the exterior of the school. He releases one hand to point at his face, and calls out to Ivan, in what's not /quite/ a shout but is probably pretty loud: "Ivan! Bee-beard!" RIGHT HERE. The bared teeth do little to scare the bees off, a good number of them colliding with and bounding off of whatever part of Rasa and Shane they can get to. They're /surrounded/ in buzzing, now, with about half of the insects attempting a landing while half hovers possessively around the pair. Ivan continues unsteadily ambling forward, unblinking and with Rasa as his and the bees' only concern right now. But-- then there are words. His name, several times, and Jackson's hand on his own shoulder. "{It... it's okay. I'm just.}." Russian, flatly spoken. The buzzing from the bees seemingly growing louder with his words. His eyes stay on Rasa and Shane, even if Peter's well-meant attempt to drag attention toward him earns him at /least/ half a head-turn. "{I'm fine, I just wanted to help. What happened and why is Rasa changing and panicking. I'm-- sorry, I'm sorry I'm only... helping?}" Doubt. Doubt that seems to aggravate the bees, somehow, becoming less predictable in their movements as they cling and swarm. The bees find extra purchase on Rasa from time time to time, but when ze shrinks, the bees just fall right off, bumping in to each other. At the end of hir wits and covered with bees, Rasa finally focuses on something else for a moment - and is Jax again. "Ivan. I'm okay. Please, take the bees outside with Peter and come see me later without them, after the doctor sees me. Okay?" Please? Hir free hand keeps scrubbing at hir jean clad thighs, the denim way too tight in this form. Shane is still frozen still. His hold on Rasa is solid-steady, perhaps more out by dint of the fact that he has mostly just stopped in place, muscles tense. "Ivan. Dude. /Bees/." There's a faint tremble to his wiry arms as the swarming grows more erratic. "Ivan," Sebastian's gills are fluttering madly, his teeth still bared, his claws extending slowly, as he watches the swarm engulfing his brother and his friend. "Send the bees out, okay? Towards Peter. /Past/ Peter. Back to their home." His voice is -- steady. But it's definitely not /happy/. Jax's hand doesn't leave Ivan's shoulder. "Ivan," he says again, quiet and steady. "Ivan, hey. It's okay. You're okay, everyone's okay, but the bees have to go outside, alright? You can visit Rasa once ze's in the medbay. Without the bees. We can practice with them later. Just -- just right now, Ivan, keep them calm and keep /you/ calm and send them home. I think you gotta get ready for class in a minute, anyway. What class do you have next, do you know?" Peter doesn't say anything! He just remains clinging to the window ledge, balanced on his toes against the brick outside, blinking owlishly and watching. Should a surge of /bees/ make their way to him, he will -- not too quickly! -- duck. Finally, Ivan's face manages to find an expression to settle on-- wide-eyed shock, as it turns out, is the only thing he can manage as the bees suddenly detach from their persons of choice, of their own volition, /dispersing/ and spreading through the rec room. They boy who has now ceased his control over them blinks, finally, with a twitch of that held shoulder. "{I'm sorry, I'msorryI'msorry.}" His attention snaps to Jackson, now, still blinking. "{I don't...}" He pauses hands shaking my his side, brows pulling together as he stares directly at Jackson. Possibly a little bit through him. "... Capitalism and its Critics." Apparently that's the password for all the bees to SHOOT upward to collect on the ceiling in a blanket of buzz, leaving everything below just as it was. Once they're all gathered in one spot, they /do/ surge toward Peter, messily and chaotically, many a bee crashing into the window next to him. Even they eventually find their way though, even if it takes them a while of bumbling against glass and windowframe to do so. Free of bees, Rasa is seen to be shifting more slowly, some tears sliding out of the corner of hir eyes at the exertion hir body is going through. Hir jaw is set and locked, taking each new voice in hir head, analyzing it, focusing on it abd becoming that person for as long as ze can hold on to the thought. There are still so many voices inside hir that ze is only able to stay as Jim for a minute, jeans completely popping at the seams before shifting into Liza for two minutes. << Can we go now? I lied when I said I was okay. >> Shane does not need to be asked twice. He doesn't look at Jax, doesn't look at Ivan, just holds Rasa close and heads /quickly/ for the door. Sebastian lingers, his claws still out, his teeth still bared. << Fuck, >> is in his head, and, quieter, aloud, "Thanks, Ivan." "OK. OK. Bees need to get home, and then you need to get to class cuz the bell's gonna ring in a moment, okay? We can talk after class. Where is that class, you got everything you need for it? Need to stop by your room?" Inside, Jackson is a lot less even-keeled, somewhat fretting about how this is going to make him miss work this afternoon, somewhat fretting about the twins. More than somewhat uncomfortable at the mental images going through his head. He turns to watch the bees on their way out. As the bees /surge/ out of the room through the window, Peter makes a sound not unlike a tiny 'yipe!'. His hands /disappear/ from the windowsill; for several long moments, as the bees stumble and plough bravely on to escape, he remains unseen. But then -- after about ten seconds -- his head 'pops' up, peering around to see if the coast is clear. And presuming it is... he very, /very/ carefully crawls his way back into the room. The room is empty now. No buzzing, save for the occasional twitch from a lone bee that finds itself waking up after having crashed into something in the fray of things. Jackson has Ivan's full attention now, and the boy shakes his head slowly in response to the last question asked. "Ny-- No, no I am fine. I just wanted-- I didn't know there would... it was stupid, and I will /not/ do it again." Shock turns slowly to sadness, then merges with anger. At himself, but anger nonetheless. At least he seems somewhat more aware of his surroundings again! Speaking of which, he turns to look for Rasa and hir carrier, a little too quickly-- the bees that are left look to them as well, lifting off the ground and furniture in an uncoordinated and wayward fashion. If they find a spot to land on either of them, they might not currently be so friendly as before-- stingers at the ready. Rasa just clings to Shane as they start moving, thinking this may all be okay soon, please be okay soon, when suddenly there's something very sharp in hir skin - or what looks to be Micah's skin. "Ouch!" ze yelps, staring aghast at the stinger bee combination which very quickly becomes a stinger only situation. Then, there's another. "What the fuck?" Yeah, that doesn't usually come out of Micah's mouth - it's probably best that ze is now shifting into Sebastian. Shane's teeth clench, his breath drawn in sharply, gills flaring, eyes widening. It's all more at the echoed pain from Rasa through their mindlink than from any real pain himself, given the protection his hard-thick skin against the bees that are nevertheless tearing themselves open on his hide. << /fuck/ >> comes shortly before "FUCK YOU FUCKING DIPSHIT ASSHOLE." And then he is /bolting/ with his cargo held tight to his narrow chest. Because Rasa is in pain. And medbay. /Flee/. Sebastian says nothing of the sort. There is hissing and there is pain and these things are leaking through to him. He is watching Shane's hiss, and watching that tensing, and watching those gills, and even before Shane has started his angryyelling there is a blue streak /flying/ towards Ivan. Claws out and aimed to clench down against the other boy's side. Teeth bared and aimed to sink /in/ at the shoulder. He says nothing. Just silently /furies/. Jackson's breath catches sharp, too, and it's a jumbled mess of things that go through his mind. Ohgod Shane, ohgod Rasa, ohgod Micah. Ouch stings? AUGH RAGE? Hivemind is a messy place to be. His reflexes are unfortunately no match for superhuman ones, and there is a blue streak /there/, attacking, before he has chance to react. But then he is pulling sharply at Sebastian's shoulder, putting up a shimmery-sheen of shield over the still-open window in case the /rest/ of the swarm decides to return. "/Bastian/ stop it." It's not panicked or angry but it's /hard/ and firm in time with the pulling. "Bastian. Shane is /fine/ Rasa is /fine/ get /off now/." /Jackson/ might not have superhuman reflexes, but /Peter/ does. And all Peter sees as he stands up is a blue streak of teeth, fangs, and claws heading STRAIGHT FOR IVAN. Peter /leaps/. Fortunately, it isn't Sebastian Peter's going for -- it's Ivan. He /throws/ himself at his own roommate, aiming to try and tackle him out of Sebastian's way and hug him to the ground. On the way, the only thing he manages to get out is a squeak: "IVANDOWN." Anger melts easily from Ivan's face under a newly incoming flood of confusion when the bees find their targets, and subsequently sting themselves to death. "{No,}" He utters again, as the remaining bees in the room go ROCKETING upward so fast they manage to knock themselves out, if not flat out kill themselves on impact. "{Nononono--}" Confusion turns once more to fear, and he only manages half a step toward Jackson, supposedly in an attempt to find shelter, before a multitude of things happen all at once-- a set of Sebastian-owned claws manages to find purchase on his side, matching teeth only grazing his shoulder as Peter helps in quickening everyone's journey downward to the floor-- where Ivan does his best to lie flat on his back and unmoving, eyes tightly shut, hands lifting to his face instinctively. Anger does not melt so easily from Sebastian. His claws dig, at whatever flesh they can /find/, and when Peter tackles he doesn't seem much to care about New Target, teeth /chomping/ down towards the NEW form before Jackson tugs at him. Even then he doesn't seem mollified so much as fuming, /jerking/ away from PeterIvan pile to glare at all concerned. << Fuck, shit, /Shane/, oh god what did I -- >> This just cuts off into a hissing snarl, claws still very much extended as he bats Jackson's arm away impatiently, paying little heed to scratchy-rough skin. His teeth are clenched, gills flaring rapidly as he looks at the others. Sniffs at the air and the metallic tang of blood in it. It does not /help/ his wired-tension, adding a distinctly /hungered/ edge to his thoughts. The bat of arm comes with a brief flicker of lighting around them, and Jackson drops his hand but not his /guard/, watching the teenagers warily. "Peter, Ivan --" He sounds flat, kind of even, kind of /tired/. "Y'all should probably medbay, too. Please don't bring any bees down there, Ivan. Probably actually not any bugs at all. Sebastian --" His tone doesn't change, here, though his mindscape /does/, twisting into a hard sickened knot of guilt and stress and worry and: "Get yourself calm, an' go see Professor Xavier." Peter's meat isn't as readily piercable as Ivan's; his muscle's got a certain /density/ to it, refusing to yield to all but the sharpest of pokes. That doesn't mean a pair of vicious shark teeth coupled with claws can't find purchase, though -- Peter grits his teeth a bit as he feels something snap down on a shoulder, managing to rip through cloth. But then Sebastian's off -- and Peter just stays put, on top of Ivan, counting backwards from five. And then... he shifts, sitting up -- looking toward the tensed Sebastian, Jackson -- then back down to Ivan. "It's okay," he tells him, and then: "Nobody's dead." He gives him a tug, AWAY from Sebastian, eyeing the shark twin warily. It is a while before Ivan manages to breathe again. It is probably a good thing that he is not part of the Hive collective, or else a lot of people would be learning a lot of Russian cursing right now, even if it would be in the saddest of tones. Tears in the shirt around his shoulder and his side turn red at the edges, blood spilling slowly out onto the floor. The tug from Peter causes Ivan to open his eyes, but his hands remain in front of his face and he seems /very /reluctant to rise, wincing and possibly-- crying. Manly tears. No actually they're not, but he's not sobbing, at least. "Y-yes." He manages, reaching for Peter in order to try and haul himself to his feet, with a brief and very fearful glance to Sebastian, pushing /away/ from him. "I'msorry, I will-- go." There are tears in Sebastian's eyes, too, making the huge-wide-black glisten brightly. Whatever he says is not particularly intelligible, being in Vietnamese, but its tone suggests it's probably also cursing. His nostrils are still flaring. /Staring/ at that blood. "Yessir," is all he says to Jax, balling up clawed hands and moving somewhat /stiffly/ to hurry past the others and -- report to the principal's office. Because even angry-moody-bloodfrenzy Sebastian can't really ignore a direct order from a teacher. (Or his dad.) Jackson is combobreaking by being dry-eyed, at least insofar as anyone can see; his knuckles /grind/ against his good eye though it seems more weary than anything else. "C'mon," he says, nodding towards the door. "Let's get y'all cleaned up, okay?" He goes to close the window, shield vanishing from it, and then gestures the teenagers towards the door. Peter has /slowly/ peeled himself up from Ivan. He is notably keeping himself between Ivan and Sebastian -- but when he catches sight of the tears, he starts to frown. And then he looks to Ivan, and /more/ tears, and more frowning, and -- he shuffles along next to Ivan. "...man this is /all/ the sads now I just wanna give /everyone/ a hug." WHISPERED.