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Jay gets home from work, tapping the door open with his toe, arms full of brown paper bags, but he has the strength to tote them around easily, barely looking over the top and with a carton of orange juice and one of milk hanging from each index finger. He sets everything down on the counter and takes a look around the living room and toward the bedroom doors to see who's home.
A set of steps was coming up the stairs behind Jay. Kaleb was just getting home and had a messenger bag over one shoulder. "Hold the door." He was pursuing like a man on a mission ducking in before it closed. "Wooo thanks. Didn't want to have to open it myself." He paused looking at Jay with a squint. "…Yes, I'm joking. You bought something. Be still my heart with pride. What'd you get?"
For all his overabundance of /stuff/ piled on him, Jay traverses the stairs lightly, glancing backwards when he hears a familiar voice. He may or may not know which twin it is right away since nothing mean was said, though he does indeed hold the door with a flip-flop bearing foot, waiting for Kaleb to get in behind him before tapping it shut with a grin. "Hey. Yeah. Ah said Ah'd get groceries, didn't Ah? Ah rarely say things Ah don't mean. FIgured we could all use some food that wasn't from Lambert's."
Lorna came up behind Kaleb, it would seem she was never too far from spending time with the young man these days. In her arms were several bags from a recent shopping trip, likely a few new albums that Kaleb had recommended along with whatever else had snagged her fancy. She'd even brought in a bag of cookies she'd baked that morning, in a bag on her other arm.
The bags of course, were a sure sign of why she was taking her time getting up to the apartment behind Kaleb. Of course, she could've levitated herself up, but that always carried a risk. She both loved and hated the city these days.
The door however, swung open just as Jay tapped it closed. "Well sure, close the door on me, but that means no cookies for any of you." She huffed lightly, stepping into the apartment, the door swinging shut behind her without so much as a twitch of her hand.
Kaleb stuck a foot in the door so it didn't swing closed. He blinked at Jay and sighed, lamenting faintly, "Less proud." He did 'help level shopping'. Sadness. He squint at her and said "I thought you'd leave it open with the knob or hinge or something." Which was a fair point. He dropped off his things stoppeing in his room and muttered, though sound always carried where it neeed to evntually with him, "Thank you for putting everything back wher you found it, Jay." Sure the thanks were reserved for respecting the things. He rejoined them both and said to Jay, "She made cookies." He squint back to Lorna, "Do you ever sleep? That was a late night."
Jay just stands there a moment, blankly, as Lorna comes in behind Kaleb and huffs at him. The young man blinks a couple times and shifts his attention toward Kaleb with numerous question marks hanging over his head. The look a brief 'is she kidding me?' look in passing as he sets things down in the kitchen. "We'll see if yer less proud when Ah make dinner later on. Though Ah suppose that's the way t'Vic's good graces than yers." A faint smile while he tucks away various things, nodding to Kaleb's lingering extension of voice. "Of course." Being poor gives one a healthy respect for the things you do have. Never a thing Kaleb has to worry about with Jay bumming around.
Lorna flashed Kaleb a smile, missing Jay's look as she made to settle on the couch, pulling out her bag of cookies and nibbling on one. "I baked them this morning, Kaleb. You know, some of us are early risers and actually enjoy getting up early." A pause, "Plus there's less competition to get on the training dummies at the school if you go in the morning. I had a thirty minute training session." She shrugged and continued to nibbling on the edge of her cookie.
"Jay do you want some cookies?"
Kaleb came out of his room, free of things except for a magazine which was an issue of Popular Science he was flipping through thoughtfully and didn't miss Jay's expression. "Yeeeees she's joking. Yes she's apparently talking to us still in spite of good sense. Yes Jay wants a cookie." Though he gave the winged wonder a look that suggested it was really the only answer. He looked back to his door and then to Jay and said earnestly, "I hope he wasn't too mean to you." He and why left vague with purpose.
"She ain't wrong. In the mornin', most of the kids are still in classes so it's easier t'get trainin' in," Jay confirms gently as he puts the milk away, then immediately takes it out again, bringing a couple glasses down, because what good is cookies without milk, perfectly fine with Kaleb speaking for him, it seems. The vague comment met with a long look at the haughtier twin, just taking in a deep, emphatic breath and letting it go with a poignant /weight/ to it, green eyes going a little wider as his response.
Lorna flashed Jay a grin as he brought out glasses and milk, and settled her bag of cookies on the coffee table. She waved off Kaleb's comments about still hanging around and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, I know. But may I remind you, Kaleb, that you don't know the half of how crazy my life has been and you're still not running in the opposite direction. So I submit that it's really a two way street." She beamed.
Then she rose, and went to find a plate to put her cookies on. It would be easier than fighting over a bag.
Kaleb arched an eyebrow and shook his head comisserating, "It got late. I stayed at my parent's place or I woulda helped you out. You had the best I had to offer. Were my people not so deplorably human in nature I'd have said come over last night." Apparently she'd showed. jay was right. There would be no living with him for the next week and the absurd levels of optimism in the apartment as a result. C'est la vie. He sat and let her get the plate and Jay unpack things and helpfully watched. "After last night? I believe you."
"Deplorably human…" Jay murmurs, teasingly with a gentle chuckle whispering under his breath as he works quietly around the kitchen, putting other groceries away while mindfully not getting in Lorna's way. A discrete glance sidelong to Kaleb stating his victorious and brief 'told you so' that he'd have to be satisfied with for the moment. But later…oh boy.
Lorna returned with the plate and started to settle the cookies on the plate. She plopped back down onto the couch beside Kaleb. "My adoptive parents are human." She offered dryly, glancing side long at Kaleb and snagging one of the many cookies she'd baked. The scent of chocolate lifting into the air.
"They're not all terrible, Kaleb." She glanced back to Jay and flashed him a smile.
"So, we were thinking once everything settles a bit, maybe going to a Beatles concert, you should totally come with Jay."
Kaleb squint to Lorna, and said just as dryly, "As is my whole not-Kellan part of my family, and everyone save three people I grew up with. At least yours seems to have recovered somewhat." He sat unmoving from his people-are-awful platform and fell silent. He didn't have to speak. She was doing a find job though it did sound a bit like she was talking on helium. For the life of him he kept his expression as deadpan as possible.
"Th' colored man who stood in front of Mister Cabot was human," Jay adds to the list of decent humans with no explanation as to who the hell 'cabot' was and why that matters. And not that it will sway Kaleb, nor is he really trying while he puts a bunch of canned goods away. "Th' police who took him down were human." Again, not that he plans it'll shake Kaleb's convictions. "Bad apples, Kale. Don't discount 'em all. Then yer doin' the same thing they are t'us—why do we got six bundles of spaghetti noodles?" Canting his head to one side, changing subjects fluidly. The mention of the Beatles and also Lorna's voice has Jay turning around, giving the two on the couch a very nearly pained look of yearning. "Oh /man/…" The hump on his back swelling and testing the stitching of his shirt. "That would be…everythin'. It'd be everythin'."
Lorna halted midsentence as her voice turned squeak and shot Kaleb a look, and elbowed him. "Right, cut it out or no more cookies." She then glanced back to Jay and flashed him a grin.
"I know right? The Beatles!" She squealed in delight and clapped her hands together humming the first few notes of their most recent top hit. Then she paused and looked over Jay again. "I figured Billy could get us over to England, or something. Then hey, we just need tickets. Right? It'd be fantastic."
Kaleb fell quiet and just nodded; jaw tightening slightly. Yes he heard him, or chose to more accurately. He glanced to Lorna and reached for a cookie and ate it while she carried on sounding like one of the Chipmunks. He didn't even have the audacity to look apologetic. "Cut what out?" he looked to Jay and sighed, "I get blamed for everything." He glanced to her and finally relented because he was amused. He watched Jay for a long moment and nodded. "I'll take care of tickets. Or… Kellan can. We'll work it out."
Jay's brows lift upward softly as his smile curves likewise, "Not everything. Just the things we know yer doin'." Whispering a soft chuckle under his breath while he continues working. "Ah still wanna see if Ah can learn some of yer tricks, Kale. /Then/ you can blame me fer things." Casting an amused look toward Kaleb, then Lorna. "It'd be b'yond anythin' Ah could ever hope to see. Live music…man. It just has a breath of its own."
Lorna huffed and crossed her arms. "You get blamed when you make me sound like I inhaled a balloon." She shot back, quirking an eyebrow upwards and settling back against the couch as Kaleb relented. She smiled faintly as Kaleb volunteered to handle the tickets, and she glanced back toward Jay. "It's like a dream come true, yeah? I didn't think I'd ever get a chance to see them live in concert."
A pause followed, "Of course all of that is kinda dependent on things getting figured out here. The werewolves, Maximus.." She muttered and shook her head.
Kaleb was learning to take 'terribly pleased' into new areas of 'smug'. He ate his cookie with no regrets. He admitted, "I saw them last month. It's something everyone needs to be a part of. I was at this… peace rally while overseas cause I get invited to some crazy things. This… art gathering thing and they were talking about how one of hte guys was talking about humanity for more thna humans which… kinda makes me really dig where it's goin. Kinda wondering if one of them isn't like one of us, but it isn't the sort of thing someone jsut talks about. I like to think of that as a possibility. I have theories after really taking apart the album but that's just that. Ain't like other artists haven't been different before. Couple of them out there." He let his happy thought drift around in his head for a moment before blinking to Lorna, "I think it's fair to say that if we take a weeken d holiday that Maximus will still be ehre. Also, I was thinkin about what you said and I'm not saying you're wrong so please… don't do that squeaky thing with your voice, but you think he's hiding something else?"
Jay's wings fwip and shiver under their denim sheath as Jay finishes putting away groceries and starts folding up the bags. His look of utter yearning becomes a fixture as Kaleb explains his adventures seeing the band he took such pleasure in introducing Jay to recently. Yearning, but not envy. Never envy. Living vicariously through his friend's description, though? Lord yes.
Jay leans his forearms on the counter, facing toward the living room, his eyes slipping shut for an indulgent moment, trying to imagine. "Well sure, we have artists. With the sorts of talents we can have? Man." He sighs softly, green gaze sliding open again. "Ah gotta get another band together. Ah haven't been playin' enough…" Murmuring mostly to himself. Until Maximus comes up into conversation. "What about Maximus, now? Did you run into him somewhere?"
Lorna shot Kaleb another grumpy look, and got up with an annoyed huff, picking up the plate of cookies and taking them over to Jay in offering. "I think Maximus is always plotting, and or hiding something. Usually something awful and destructive for everyone involved. He's a bad person. His own people didn't call him Maximus 'The Mad' for nothing you know."
"And yeah, he showed up last night." She grumbled, "I know I need to stop rising to his bait, but oooh, he gets right under my skin so badly."
Kaleb smiled faintly rememebring that. That was the highlight of his trip and the guy wasn't without fond moments in life. He could be so very, very mistakable for Kellan right now with the ease of everything. Lawdy it was posible he could enjoy things. "Yeah I… have suspisciouns that John, in the band? I think he's an empath. Like one of those people that just can feel everything. I ahve a friend there, Mitch, who gets these… visions sometimes. Impressions. Like one of them see things before it happens sort of folks." He shook his head and let Lorna leave in a huff. Just because she wasn't mad at him for a few days ago didn't mean he wouldn't ardently try to give her a new reason apparently. "Yeah he does. I don't say it's without reason but if you're letting me get under your skin? Might be time for another layer of skin."
A sympathetic look following on the heels of a grateful one to Lorna, Jay takes a cookie from the offered plate and a bite from it. "When someone knows how to push your buttons, it's…difficult to go back. Even if they ain't tryin'." Jay feels a little guilt flush over his features and glances down to look at the cookie he's eating to try to hide it. "Considerin' what he did to you, you've got every reason in the world to not trust him. Playin' with your memory? Yer memory is a…" The pale man searches for a proper comparison. "It's lahke a scrap book of you. It makes ya who you are, the good an' the bad of it all." That clear green gaze reaches out to find Lorna's eyes, mentioning softly. "He erased you." A shoulder rolls slightly, Jay's mild nature allows that innocence and gentle nature to shine through. "You ain't under no obligation t'forgive him so easily fer that."
Jay glances away from Lorna, over her shoulder toward Kaleb. His expression shifts into a faint, fond smile. Oh, /Kaleb/. "Sometimes there's good reason fer those ruffles, Kale. Fer a guy with some quick triggers, yerself, Ah'd figure you'd know that." That smile lifts a little higher, eyes shining with humor. "An if anyone's a mutant, it'd be John."
Lorna shot Kaleb a dry look, "If you were really under my skin, there's be cutlery flying around and you'd like be pinned to the wall by the seat of your pants. Trust me, you'd know." She smiled at him, and glanced back to Jay as he took a cookie from the plate. Her smile faded somewhat as he spoke of what Maximus had done to her and she glanced down, biting her lower lip.
"He tried to tell Kaleb that he and I had been a thing, it's disgusting. I hate him so much for what he's done. Besides my memory? He tried to kill innocent people, he kidnapped a mess of people and used them as hostages when my father and I went to go help topple him." She shook her head against the memory. Her voice soft and hesitant.
"Thank you, Jay." She smiled again when the feathered mutant came to her defense about ruffles. And she went to grab herself one of the glasses of milk that Jay had set out before.
Kaleb arched an eyebrow and tilted his head to Jay, faint smile holding, "Oh don't mistake me, Jay. Trust me I'm more likely to scream at the earth until it will break off the chunk they are standing on and launch it into deep deep space before I'm apt to forgive anyone. Just saying gotta build up some armour so they don't bait us into a box. Chess isn't one by throwing the pieces across the room or by inviting opposing pieces over to your side of the board for a cup of tea. I agree about the ruffles, but also think they should be gathered and then launched tactically." He enjoyed the hell out of that cookie. Thoughtfully he boddled at Lorna, "You think I believe a damn word what people say about you? It's like you don't even know me, woman."
Tipping his chin down slightly when Lorna thanks him, smiling mildly, Jay accepts it easily and without any fanfare. His expression glowing with mirth when she sasses back regarding cutlery and threats of pinning Kaleb to a wall if she were really upset. Glancing over toward Kaleb, he chuckles in a breathy whisper. "Not everyone's suited fer chess, Kaleb. Some folks like lawn darts, instead." Slowly, he leans back, excusing himself carefully from the conversation while he watches to see how it plays out between those two. This could get…ungood.
Lorna returned to the couch and settled back down beside Kaleb, glass of milk and plate of cookies in hand. She glanced at him and smiled, "Well I'll let you handle the chess game, how's that? I might have had to read The Art of War thanks to my father, but it doesn't mean I enjoyed it. I'll just be the powerhouse here, how's that?" She dipped her cookie into the milk with care, nibbling at it after.
"And what bothers me isn't that I think you'll believe him, Kaleb. It's more of.. geeze, how would you feel if I someone you hated went around telling people you'd been together? It's gross, he's at least my father's age and I hate him. It's enough to make me gag." She shook her head.
Kaleb tilted his head to Lornaand watched ehr sit. He said nothing for a while. Finally he looked at her quietly admitting, "Look, I get it. I do. I just don't like to see someone like that put you ina position to make your life more difficult or unsafe than it already is." He looked to Jay and abck to her shaking his head, "I can pass, it doesn't mean I'm unaffected when people do stuff like that. Last night he got under your skin and make you smack him with the balcony? Sure you get it out and then every one of those people in that room know you for exactly who and what they have decided you are and that can have a ton of backlash. They go after you, them me and Kellan, and maybe the rest of us? You know what happens to Maximus? Nothing but getting thwapped with a balcony and him laaaaughing because he made you hurt you by forcing your hand. He's done enough of that. " His brow furrowed and he picked at his fingers. "You don't deserve that. Don't give him that powerback."
Jay mouths toward Kaleb, pointing gently toward Lorna as she walks back to the couch to sit by him, 'Lawn dart'. And tries to give him a look that may seem to say he needs to pick his battles. His nose buried in a glass of milk by the time Lorna turns back around to sit. Though, to Kaleb's point, he can't really debate it, falling quiet with a tip forward of his chin toward his chest.
Lorna wrinkled her nose, "Does that mean you want me to start wearing my hair brown? Because I can do that, if'll make you feel better about being seen in public with me, Kaleb. My sister made me a charm." She leaned back on the couch, finishing off her cookie and hooking a green eyebrow upwards.
"I didn't bring the building down around his ears, I wanted to, but I'm not that stupid. Unless he was attacking me, I'm not going to just .. ugh.. I know well enough what would've happened if I had smacked him around like I wanted to. Why do you think I didn't storm out of there immediately?" She shook her head and heaved a sigh.
Kaleb looked to Jay and arched an eyebrow. Yes, lawn dart, but he was a a chess piece and didn't know how not to be one as much was Jay's point that neither did she. He ventured an answer o her "Because youre stronger than he gives you credit for. And, no. I'm not saying you should change … you. Can you give me just a modicum of credit here that maybe my goal in life isn't to endanger you guys? Maybe Kaleb Miller, crabby jerk, has his own reasons to be concerned, and maybe is actually just tired of people lie him do stuff like that?"
He pressed his lips together and sighed quietly. "Look, you're not going to be happy unless I go into things I don't want to and then you won't be haappy that I did. I'm dropping it okay. Can we just go back to everyone just agreeing I'm the callous, heartless bad guy and you not being treated like you're someone's puppet? I liked the part where you were okay, everything worked out,a dn we got to eat cookies. Can we jsut do that?" He hated talking for this reason. He could talk music. He could talk technical facts. He was shit with people.
Jay remains quiet throughout the choppy parts of the conversation. He was willing to step between the waves every so often to see if he could calm the seas, but sometimes you just had to let it all go and hope for the best. Slowly sipping at his milk without thinking about it, the red headed man stays in the kitchen, quietly observing the two, gaze flicking back and forth. He does speak up when Kaleb tries to end the line of conversation. He mentions quietly from his perch, "We know y'want to keep us safe, Kale. Ah know there's reasons somewhere b'hind it all, but y'ain't the bad guy you want folks to believe." He shrugs and sighs, stepping forward and away from the counter. "You don't wanna talk about it, we don't gotta." Willing to give it up, for now.
Lorna shifted, setting down her glass of milk on the coffee table. Then, slowly, without so much as looking at Kaleb, sat back beside him. Close enough to brush her shoulder against his and oh so slowly drop her head against his shoulder. "Okay." She offered softly, smiling gently in his direction.
"I don't think you're just a crabby jerk, Kaleb. I've never thought that." She whispered, glancing at him from a sideways angle. "I wouldn't keep accepting your invites to hang out with you, if I did."
Kaleb looked over to Jay and said nothing, but he did not accepting Jay's words without argument. Lorna was regarded with curious suspicion. An eyebrow went up as she sat down. For what it was worth he didn't 'shoo' her away nor bark at her to demand what she thought she was doing. So that was…alright? He seemed pretty content to let them do as they will with that whole social niceties thing. "Lorna you do remember when we met you led off with 'I have the worst taste in men' right? It's really 50/50 if your argument is at all helping your cause." The irony of that, however, did actually make him laugh. "I'll see who I gotta abuse over there to get us like like 5-7 tickets. So you know now last month it was already pretty packed. But soooo good. I'm excited you'll get to see it. How long we wanna hang out there? I can have my dad's secretary arrange accommodations and things." because there were people who talked to people who did things to make stuff happen. Life was sort of like one big jukebox for him: He issued it a command and mechanically gears worked behind the scenes to meet the request and at the end? Music. Not really so different.
"Oh, he's a crabby jerk," Jay counters with an amused little smile, absolutely certain of that much, his mouth turned into a quiet, bemused smile of fondness. "No point in pretendin' a goat's a zebra by paintin' stripes on it. It's still gonna eat yer garden." He shrugs a shoulder, arms folding smoothly over his chest. "It's just gonna look real fabulous while it does it." It is what it is. "Yer a crabby jerk, Kale. But yer our crabby jerk." Jay isn't going to ignore his friend's flaws. What good is that?
Conversation switches back to the possibility of the concert and Jay exhales a deep breath. "/Oh man/. Ah don't even care about the details. Ah'll sleep on an abandoned boxcar fer that chance. Ah've done some stuff t'see good music before, but fer that?" Jay whistles low.
Lorna sat up, glancing side long at Kaleb and then back to Jay, "I said he's not just a crabby jerk. There's more going on in there. Like being a groovy dancer and having a great taste in music." She flashed Kaleb a grin. "So I don't feel too bad about bringing cookies over."
At the mention on the concert though she clasped her hands together on her lap and bit down on her lower lip in an attempt to stifle the grin that bloomed there. "Billy can portal us there and back no trouble. I mean, we can be in England for the concert and be back in our own beds if we wanted." A pause, "But I have never been out of the country, so I mean.. well, that could be a blast."
Kaleb muttered, completely not offended, "Woooow you are all so /very/ flattering. Whatever would I do without you two? Oh yeah destroy gardens and become Kaleb: Cabbage Killer." Everything else aside he was still in a pretty good mood, as far as the Kale-o-meter went. Having something to look forward to was a nice change of pace. Though at the notion of going and coming right back without staying boggled his mind. "Lorna what fun could there possibly be to sleeping in your bed?" And as soon as the words left his face he immediately regretted it holding up a finger, jaw agape, and annotating, "Wow, that came out…entirely inappropriate even by my standards. Um, As a point why would you go to England and not stay two or three days, enjoy hotel amenities and the city for a while? Especially if you haven't really been out of the country before?"
Jay chuckles, honestly and audibly, his shoulders shaking with the honest and rare sound, a dimple appearing low on his left cheek for a moment. "Lahke you've ever set foot in a garden, city boy." Ribbing Kaleb fondly. He completely misses the insinuation as Kaleb states it, that is, until he turns around and points it out in the next breath. Jay's whole face flushes with color and again, the young man /laughs/, his wings shaking with it under his shirt. Oh, perfect. Perfect. Stifling the sound and folding his arms over his chest again, Jay chokes on his own breath in an effort to silence his mirth, though it shines right through those brightly colored windows to his soul. "He's got a point, Lorna. If yer goin' all that way, why not stay a stint if ya can?"
Oh Lorna turned red immediately, she'd spent too much time around Remy not to. And of course, that led to all manner of other embarassing things as she squeaked, clapping a hand over her lips. A chortle followed and she bit her lower lip, sinking against the couch. "Uhm.. er.. uh.. w-well.." She coughed and fidgeted, scratching the back of her hand.
"I dunno.. that.. that's fair." She mumbled, "It's just what Billy did last time we went to Rome for Pizza."
Kaleb was still smarting at stabbing himself in the foot over that one. Her words took him off guard, "You know Rome isn't in the US right? Now if you mean," And his voice changed to a technical match to hers down tot eh inflections, "'Oh guys, I only really got to see the eatery and the street but not experience the city.'?" He pause and relented, "Sure I get that but if you're about to tell me you have no mastery of basic geography after we just had a war over there? I'm callin shenannigans on the voracity of the school's cirriculum."
Jay's attention swings toward Kaleb when he points out that Rome isn't in the country, and then follows it to question the school. He slowly facepalms, not quite the smack, more like a slow rub that slides up through his hair and then along one side of his cheek, amused as he looks back and forth between the two. "But then, by that point, poppin' in and poppin' out like ya said fer the concert doesn't really count, either." Though at least he's a little more sheepish about it.
Lorna sank further into the couch, clapping her hands over her features. "Oh. My. God. I know it's not in the US Kaleb!" She squeaked, biting her lower lip and trying to squirm her way into the cushions of the couch and disapear. It wasn't working. "GOSH!" She was bright red.
"I just.. gah! I have never traveled via plane, or spent a good, quality amount of time outside of the US in any offical way. I don't even have a passport!"
Kaleb watched her get shorter and shorter sitting next to him and asked "If you disappear into the couch Jay and I get your cookies right?" Oh he was enjoying watching her turn red in the face. A faint grin went back to his roommate. "There we go. Soooo we should fix that. At some point" He sighed nd shook his head, "How you all manage without I do not know. Lo, help is on the way." Kaleb Miller; Herald of Stuff.
Friday night. At the school the previous evening, maybe as an act of some olive branch to show he wasn't resentful to the help Lorna offered. It wasn't her fault, and she did try the best she could to do right by them. So in the end the invite to come over and play some cards or board games or something and listen to some albums was offered.
While she had summer classes the Miller Twins did not. Kaleb tried to take a nap but between him throwing white noise at the electronics in the house and the projections in fragmented motes thrown against his brothers consciousness? It was fair to say Kaleb was the only one in that apartment getting any rest in the hot, late afternoon.
For Lorna's sake at least the invite was genuinely extended, if not a bit formally, at least not forced or begrudging. See? She told Kaleb if he asked her to do things she'd go and he did. Maybe not always entirely awful.
Kellan hadn't planned to go to school for at least a year, taking the year to do other things, but when the offer of the school came up — well, he was strongly considering starting in the fall. Especially after talking to Vic about helping him finish up his GED. He had already acquired some summer reading books, just some things to brush up on while he was considering what he'd like to do. They were all stacked up neatly on the coffee tabke, about 24 of them, of various topics. It didn't hurt that he could read four of them at a time. He was stretched out on the couch reading one while a copy of him was in the kitchen getting some ice and pouring a drink. A third copy was was fishing around in the bedroom looking for something.
Lorna came over, with ice cream this time and as usual a bag of cookies. She looked somewhat tired today, her outfit a simple blue floral printed dress, belted with a thick white belt. She knocked, and waited for either someone to answer the door or for an 'You can come in', either one worked in her regard. "Hey," She offered as she came inside.
"I brought sweets." She grinned.
The radio continues to try to play Frankie Avalon quietly kept breaking into pulling radio station from a neighbouring signal bringing Winston Churchill's public address over the air. It was getting fuzzier though in a building haze of white noise; Frankie continued to try to croon on about some gal he met on a beach.
The Kellan in the Kitchen goes to open up the door and let Lorna in. "Heya," he says and offers her one of the tumblers with ice and a cold coke. Then he brings one over to himself on the couch and one to Kaleb. "Oo, cookies." He makes grabby-hands toward the bag and hopeful face. "I keep hearing about them but I haven't gotten to try one yet!"
Lorna grinned at Kellan, and held the bag out in offering. "Thanks for the tea. Help yourself. I made them this morning." Her gaze scanned the room and settled on the books, her eyebrow climbing upwards. "You hoping to get your degree over the summer or what? Geeze." She whistled, glancing over the stack and making to settle on the couch with her ice tea.
"How are you doing Kellan?"
The good news was the projected screaming on Kellan's out-of-network frantic noise and phantom images stopped appearing about the time there was a thump and the sound of a light bulb popping from Kaleb's room. That alarm clock of his suddenly sounded clear as if it had been ringing like mad for a while but was silenced. Two slaps later and it was shut off. A moment after that Winston Churchill left the station alone and the static went back to subsiding to a much clearer sound.
Wearing trousers and just a t-shirt a tired, annoyed, and slightly disheveled Kaleb, wandered out of his room holding back a bloody nose giving both a lift of his free hand in acknowledgement and focused for now on tending to what had grown to be a commonplace annoyance as of late.. The door closed and he ran the tap for a while to put himself back together. Oh life's tiny hurdles.
"It's, ah, coke.. but I can get you tea if you want tea?" Kellan reaches into the bag and grabs a cookie with a brilliant grin though and goes back into the kitchen. The Kellan on the couch is the one that answers her, "No, I mean, these are all just refresher type things and stuff to get an idea of what I might want to do about my degree." Glancing over toward to Kaleb he frowns a bit and says, "Anything we can do to help?"
Lorna sat up as Kaleb entered, her brows climbing higher and as he shut himself away her gaze fell back to Kellan. "Is that an every day thing?" She asked softly, her brows furrowed. Concern etched clearly over her features. "And no, uhm coke is fine. Really. Thanks." She sipped at it, and colored faintly as her gaze swung back to the textbooks.
"You aren't sure what you want a degree in?"
Kaleb muttered through the door to Kellan number 3, "Fix me a drink?" He sighed. This was not how he'd planned to have the evening start. "Kell, give me five minutes. Can you send my regrets to Ms. Dane for making her wait, and yes everything's fine?" Oh yeah, he heard stuff. All the things. The water ran and the lock clicked shut for the meantime while he put himself together. Still stubborn. That meant he was healthy right? Sure his head was still screaming and he washed his face with cold water trying to just calm his world back to the present.
Vic bustles in the front door. He's got a to go bag from Saganaki in one hand and a bag of groceries on his arm. "Hello," he says brightly when he sees his peeps are here, including Kaleb if muttering counts. And it does! "I just picked up a few things, and they made too much cheese at the restaurant, so we've got feta and saganaki." He sets both bags down on the counter. "And olives. Mounds of olives." He's in jeans, a t-shirt. After working hard all day, he should have signs of exertion about him, but he's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Lorna grinned as Vic entered, her gaze lifting to the bags of food her brought. "Hey I brought over ice cream and some cookies. Because you know, I can't go a day without sweets." She shrugged easily, moving to give her nephew a hug and ruffle his hair.
"How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages. You're what, four weeks old now?" She teased, rocking her weight back upon her heels.
Kaleb was still for a moment and then popped the door letting Kellan #2 into the bathroom. The door shut again leaving the other Kellans out there with Vic and Lorna. Finally, after a few moments, the tap shut and Kellan made a beeline for his room to get rid of the t-shirt presently ruined by the nosebleed and to get presentable. At least he did his hair while in there and didn't look like some night terror haunt him awake. That too took a minute to put himself together. He didn't bother cleaning the glass that sprinkled across his drafting table. Kaleb looked to Kellan-with-him with a tired and defeated look. Yeah. On time right? Company. Echo's eyes studied Kellan's face for a moment as if remembering how to rebuild his own into an expression. Right, we had this. He said with a shake of his had, "Let's just… do dinner." and put this moment back in the denial box.
There are currently three Kellans wandering around the apartment, but once all of the things, including drinks and cookies make their way back to Kellan Prime, the others simply vanish and he's left both with a cookie, a coke, and he relays Kaleb's message over to Lorna with a faint nod, "Yeah, it happens a lot." Then there's Vic coming in the door and he says "Cheeeeeese, oh and olives!" How many things can he juggle, he wonders, olives are good with cookies right? He does set everything down though to head over to Vic and slings his arms around his neck to kiss him hello shamelessly. Not that he forgets that drink, going to fetch it, he brings it over to Kaleb and hands it to him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
"The restaurant opened back up," Vic tells Lorna amiably. "I've been working, it's great." Long hours, a handyman's play, and he that grin is thrilled. With a laugh, he adds, "Almost six. Soon I'll be counting in months." The multiple Kellans get a puzzled, puppyish look from him as he tries to suss out which one is Kellan prime. Then they all become one again, and there's that grin, reprised. He slings his arms around Kellan and kisses him without shame. "Hey there, handsome," he murmurs. Then lets him go so he can deliver his drink. "Aunt Lorna, you don't have to bring sweets over, but the fact that you do is one of my favorite things." A glance to Kaleb, and his brow knits. "Hey, Kaleb," he says. "How's it going?" The Vic version of 'you look like hell.'
Lorna laughed lightly at her nephew, reclining back onto the couch as she sipped at her coke. Green eyes drifting back toward Kaleb, her gaze lingering with no little hint of concern there. She bit her lower lip, and then forced a smile once more. "Dinner? Might as well. That means no more cookies until after we eat something other than chocolate and sugar you know." She teased lightly.
"And I'm happy to hear that the resturant is working out for you Vic, that's great." A pause, "I really bring over cookies constantly because I think it's the only reason Kaleb tolerates my presence these days."
Kaleb gave Vic a shrug with an arch of his eyebrows as if to answer, 'well shitty, obviously but what else is there to do about it?' which of course got the very Kaleb answer of, "Iiiiii'm swell, Vic." Is sarcasm a superpower? Kaleb did, though get a grateful look. He took the drink, and knocked back an aspirin with it. He paused and took one more drink to kick his nerves back into submission. That done he wandered over locking his eyes on the emerald haired young woman come to receive their invitation. No cookies until after dinner?" He snagged one now waggling his eyebrows at her. "Okay now dinner then. How you? Drive okay? You had practice this morning." Someone remembered her itinerary it seemed.
"I get to eat my cookie," Kellan states to Lorna. "I haven't even gotten to have one yet!" And with that he does, in fact, go to rescue his cookie and eat it before he slips back toward the kitchen to help Vic with unloading the bag that he brought in and putting things away. It's also a good excuse to steal another kiss. He chuckles to Lorna, "I'm pretty sure that the fact you're our friend factors into it somewhere."
Cookies? Vic looks around. But dinner is coming soon, so he settles down. Besides, there's this kiss to see to. "You're so groovy," he murmurs to Kellan in a sappy tone. So owned. In the bag there are eggs, milk, sandwich fixings, a few cans of soup, and enough fresh veggies for a salad. He opens up the takeout bag and starts arranging feta and olives on plates. "I'll warm up the saganaki," he says. Flambeed, fried cheese really is better warm. There's also bread from the restaurant, cut into slices. "Maybe we can have this with dinner," he says. "Like an appetizer." Flashing a grin at Lorna, he says, "I think he'd tolerate you without the cookies. He tolerates me, after all."
Lorna laughed softly as each in turn scarfs down another cookie. A glance spared toward Kaleb followed and she moved toward the table where food was being set up. "Kellan, I suppose since you already have a cookie and your brother hasn't shared, then yes. You get to keep your cookie." She flashed him a smile as she sat down, putting her coke off to the side in front of her.
"Practice was okay. Twenty minutes on the obstacle course, thirty minutes on the punching bag, and another twenty minutes for running and other conditioning." She made a face, "I'm exhausted still, but oh well. I'm getting better, and that's the point right? I kinda stay away from weight.. too much metal and I'm always tempted to use my powers." She colored and shrugged, biting her lower lip again.
She propped her chin up with the palm of her hand and heaved a sigh.
Kaleb glanced from Lorna to Kellan and Vic, unphased by the display of affection, blinked, and shook his head, "Wow we have a Kaleb Miller Tolerance Meter running now? Is there a chart with extrapolated data and a Venn diagram too?" He kinda did like those. He sighed, "I have reached a new level of awful without even trying. Amazing. I'm such an overachiever. He reached for another cookie giving Lorna a wink clearly breaking the no more cookies before dinner rule. His drink was set down and for now he focused on that. Antagonizing the few people close to him that would weather it to bring him back to himself. He listened to the day play out and considered that. "Eh makes sense. You could be a weightlifter, I could front a band. We could cheat the world wall to wall but where's the art in that?"
"Should I start calling you auntie Lorna, too?" Kellan asks Lorna with a flash of a grin as he indicates that he can eat his cookie. Which he does, with impunity. Then there's a little hip-bump against Vic as he helps with the stuff in the kitchen, getting things put away and helping with dishing up the food. Then he grins over at Lorna from the kitchen and says, "But isn't that kind of a good test, too? To see what you can endure without using them?" Then he glances over to Kaleb. "I suppose we could set one of those up. Anyone got a pad and a pen. I bet I could run those numbers."
Vic hip-bumps Kellan back, lightly. No need to send the boyfriend flying when a little tap will do. He puts the saganaki in the oven to warm up. It'll take a little while. He too helps with the dishing of food. The portions he offers up tend to be rather generous. He's going by what he knows. Kaleb gets a warm, kind smile. So utterly sincere. "We know you care about us," he says, as if such accusations were a compliment. He goes quiet, thoughtful as he considers not using his powers. Some of them are inherent. He wouldn't know how not to use them.
Lorna glanced back to Kaleb, watching him steal a cookie. A fork twirled into the air from the table, and moved to stab the bag threateningly, the tongs bending and weaving like a snake. She smirked and wiggled her fingers. "No more cookies till after dinner." She teased, and crossed her legs, sipping at her coke.
"I'm not going to try weight lifting." She muttered drly, her gaze swinging back toward her nephew and Kellan. "Oh now, I am not going to be called Auntie Lorna by you. I already feel old."
Kaleb winced to Kellan. He had to back Lorna's objections for his own reasons. "Pleeeease don't call her 'Auntie Lorna'. That's creepy for me. New deal, when I don't go out to dinner with people you can call them any sort of familial name you want. I don't make baby jokes at Vic, I get this, deal?" Not incriminating at all. Though at the offer to run the numbers he pushed himself to his feat and said simply, "Yeah. I got some graph paper. You got me curious now." Kaleb eyes the fork and ate his illicit victory cooking at the fork as if to taunt it back. Aw yeah. Kaleb; Cookie Thief. It was at least enough to clear the static on the Twin-link brain network a bit so he wasn't projecting like a machine gun full of media and noise. There was the sound of the broken glass being swept into the trash though as he usually had 'help' for these things, "Lorna, not to sound like a total jerk," What he was going to use his Kellan voice? "I might need your help changing a light bulb later." He did, however bring back graph paper and a pencil for Kellan. He was serious.
Once the food has been set out and they are done, Kellan hooks a finger in Vic's belt loop to pull him a little closer, and toward a seat near him at the table. Then he laughs at Lorna's response, and then to Kaleb he looks a little more seriously. There's a pause, and then a nod, and Kellan says "That's fair. No jokes about the fact my boyfriend is weeks old, and I will make no jokes about you dating my boyfriend's aunt." Okay, maybe just that one last joke. There's a flash of a mischievous grin, and then he's digging into his food. The graph paper is set aside for after dinner. Priorities, after all. At least he seems back to his good-natured self after his week or so of lethargy and feeling inadequate. There's that.
Vic grins as he's tugged, and he follows along. One arm slips around Kellan and he steals another quick kiss before sitting at the table. Saganaki's food is excellent even in leftovers form. Warm saganaki with lemon juice squeezed on it for that little bit of tartness that really makes it, fresh feta, a variety of olives, and the sliced bread to pile it on is delicious. No wonder Vic works there. "I don't mind the jokes," Vic says, not helping at all. "But okay."
Lorna waved her hand and the fork settled down back to its proper position. A glance followed to Kaleb as he explained why it was creepy for Kellan to call her 'Auntie Lorna' she bit her lower lip. "Yeah, I can help with the light bulb." She mumbled, distractedly before Kellan's words had her cheeks turning a dark pink hue. A sharp glance followed in Kaleb's direction and she fidgeted in the seat. Her mouth fell open, and she looked as if she'd say something more before she stalled out and halted.
She sank slightly in her seat, biting her lower lip. "Uhm.. ah.. er.. I-I.. a-are.. we… uhm.." She fidgeted, and turned a darker red.
Kaleb pointed two fingers at Kellan with a squint and went to speak but no words came up; his jaw tilted at an angle. Thanks Kellan. And then Lorna asked and he sighed. Ya know, for all the things he's done to his brother over the years… "Thanks for putting me on the spot, Kell. This payback for letting Teddy and Billy think I'm you?" Probably. Likely. He glanced sidelong to Lorna and was not, by any textbook, 'ideal dating material' unless you really wanted to wish someone a very fantastic looking headache. One eyebrow went up and he asked idly, "Well depends. one We doing dinner Thursday?"
Two fingers pressed to the table counting and emphasizing a very serious point, "And two, before you agree to anything remember, Kellan is the warm fuzzy one not me. I am fundamentally bad at this. It would give me zeeeeero joy to see you miserable because this factoid got somehow ignored. Contrary to popular belief that doesn't make me happy. The Kinks, the cookies, and Ecludian geometry? Sure. So think carefully on that please before you make that choice." But he gave her that choice.
Kellan looks over toward Vic and leans a little against his shoulder, "I know you don't." And to be honest, he's been starting to get used to it, too. But he won't admit that. Instead, he grins a little as Lorna turns a fascinating shade of red before looking back to Kaleb. There's a slight shrug of his shoulders. This could be payback for any number of things Kaleb has done to his twin in recent memory. Remembering that Kellan is the "nice one" might also include remembering that Kellan is the patient long-game revenge-fulfilling one. There's just a smile as he looks from Kaleb as he lays out the transaction, to Lorna to see what her answer might be.
Vic's brows lift as he watches the exchange between twins, and he leans in turn closer to Kellan. He offers Kaleb a soft smile as he lays out his terms for Lorna. He doesn't issue threats as to what will happen if he hurts his aunt. Threats are cruel and unnecessary. He keeps quiet, shoveling dinner into his face as he watches to see what Lorna will say.
Green eyes flickered toward Kaleb as he spoke, her cheeks still burning brightly as she slowly sat up in her chair. Her heart hammering in her chest and a million different thoughts floating around in her head. She bit her lower lip, looking very much as if she were lost and confused. She sat in silence, her gaze lingering on Kaleb as she seemed to listen to him and think about his words with care.
"C-could we.. m-maybe talk.. talk in private?" She squeaked, glancing toward Kellan and Vic, still red in the face.
"Sure," Kellan says and grabs his plate from the table as well as his glass and says, "Lovely night for dinner on the patio, what do you think?" He grins over at Vic and does wander off through Kaleb's room out to the patio to plunk down out there and finish his eating while leaving Kaleb and Lorna whatever privacy they need for that conversation.
Kaleb professed to play a long game, but Kellan was actually good at it, and his twin knew how to bait Kaleb's hand every damn time. Still he was patient and calm either in indifference or an acceptance of logic prevailing. Also neither of the parties involved brought it up but that she asked for clarification? A pivot in the game board happened. To her question he shook his head and remained as casual and clinical as ever. "No reason why not. Now or after dinner makes no difference to me. Just don't hurt the railing on the balcony. I don't want Jay to dive roll into traffic while he sleeps accidentally. He's been staying out there."
Vic rises as well and says, "Sure, it'd be a shame to waste a night like this." He flashes Kaleb and Lorna both a smile and follows after Kellan. He grabs an extra couple slices of bread. Then he disappears along with Kellan.
Lorna fidgeted, her features still hot as Kaleb and then Vic departed for the patio. She swallowed hard a lump that formed in her throat. She hesitated, turning those green eyes of her's down at her lap and picking at her skirt. "You.. you're seriously actually.. actually interested in.. in me?" Her voice was small and barely about a whisper, her gaze lifting back toward him.
"Like.. with everything and my family.. a-and the crazy things that happen? And .. m-my hair? I mean.." She bit her lower lip again, chewing off a piece of chapped lip and wincing when it pulled and stung. "I.. I've only ever had one boyfriend. And I wasn't.. I'm not good at this? I mean.. I only ever kissed him like once.. and.. I'm not sure.. I mean.. gah." She pressed her hands against her still burning cheeks. "I like going out with you Kaleb. I like spending time with you." She mumbled.
Kaleb listened and heard Lorna out instead of tuning her out. Her reasons for being nervous were very strange to him and maybe that was a benefit that they were. There was a subtle shake of his head admitting with a hint of humor, "Myyyyy family scares the shit out of me. Yours?" He squint at Vic and then back to her, "only when he threatens me with having to cook my own meals." He knew it's not what she meant because even visiting the school he could hear the motes of gossip and he new that people human and mutant alike had a love of bringing her up in gossip and discussion. It wasn't something that sat well with him, but he knew what she was getting at even if all his expression suggested otherwise.
When she confessed to liking to spend time with him he very seriously replied with a polished deadpan, "Hell you should definitely date me then. I can totally cure you of that." There was a sage nod to follow. His forearms pressed to the edge of the dining table and one hand closed over fist as he laid it out for her. "Look, here's the thing. I like going places with you. You're not stupid and I can actually have a real discussion and it's cool. I like doing these things. At some point it isn't going to work out and yeah, that'll be a bummer but I'm not going to hate you for that. Til that time? Could actually be pretty cool. The people I deal with though are horrible and if it comes to you having to smack someone with a table I'll hold your purse and tell you where you missed a spot. I'd rather it not come to that, but I'm on your side here. Soooo if you want see how it goes, we try it out and if it works groovy. If it don't no hard feelings and we try not to make things weird cause I don't… actually enjoy the idea of you hating me." For a paragon of sound he was not good at efficiently arranging them to communicate. The irony was not lost on him.
Lorna's eyebrows furrowed as she eyed him from her seat and as he spoke, she shifted, fidgeting in her chair. Her cheeks still hot, "I'm not a good kisser." She mumbled softly, her voice squeaky. "And I.. I can't really cook anything besides baked sweets. Uhm ..Don't.. break up with my via your butler on the phone?" She sank deeper into her chair.
"I-I guess.. t-that's uhm.. that's.. most of it.." She squeezed her eyes shut, her nerves shot at this point quite plainly. She was trembling faintly, and she bit her lower lip again, wincing as she pulled on a the skin wrong. It stung and her gaze opened back to settle on Kaleb.
"Uhm.."
Kaleb arched an eyebrow and listened to her concerns and ticked them off succinctly. "Not concerned. I have a chef and prefer to eat out. That fella was a coward. Also I can't send my butler. He's my father's man and I wouldn't endanger you like that and closest I got around here is Jay and he wouldn't let me do that so you're covered." He eyed her to see if there was anything else on that list. He sat up with a nod and said in announcement, "I'm not stabbed with a fork. You can come back to the table, guys." He glanced back to Lorna and gave her a friendly wink. "It'll be fine, lawn dart." Did he just take a barb at her to give her a different emotion other than embarrassment to focus on? Likely, though he would never admit it's deliberate.
Lorna remained beat red, and looked awkward sitting there. Even Kaleb's attempted barbs and teasing to get her to get over her spiraling embarassment didn't seem to scratch the surface of the young mutant's nerves. She'd wound herself up so very much that she didn't seem quick to calm down either. She kep darting glances a Kaleb, looking very much as if she was lost on how to act.
For the first time since they'd started hanging out, she didn't have some witty come back or attempt to even try it.
Instead she reached for her coke.
When the call comes out that no stabbings have occurred, Kellan, who had been enjoying his meal out on the balcony with Vic, snuggled up against his side comfortably, glances over his shoulder. "Looks like we can go back in," he grins and peels himself up to his feet and holds out a hand to give Vic a hand up. That it lets him pull him back in to kiss him on the way back into the house? Total coincidence. He surveys the pair as they return to the table, but doesn't ask.
Vic glances over his shoulder too, and he's reluctant to stop with the snuggling, but he lets Kellan up, then gets up himself. "Doesn't look like anything exploded," he mentions. Then there's that kiss, and he's left grinning like an idiot. With dinner dishes in hand, he comes back in on Kellan's heels. "Hi guys," he says quietly.
Kaleb looked to Kellan and Vic, "So we were speaking earlier, and it's been decided we need to go see the Beatles in England. Jay, Lorna, and I are in. We were going to ask Billy to take us out. Spend a couple days out there. You two should come with." Yeah Kaleb's face gave away nothing, but who would expect it too? Stuff? He was good with focusing on stuff. He looked from Kellan to Vic to Kellan. He looked back to Lorna and noted to her, "We're telling you, two days, it's like another world there right now."
Lorna didn't say anything, and only glanced up at Kellan and Vic as they entered she. Her hands wrapped around the glass of coke, rubbing off the condensation with a tap of her fingers. "Yeah," Her voice was some what weak and she cleared her throat before speaking, smiling faintly. "I'll take your word for it. Two days. I'll have to tell Uncle Charlie that'll be gone for a few days. Otherwise he'll worry." She grinned.
"And I don't think anyone wants a telepath worried, yeah?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna say having him in my head once was more than enough," Kellan says with a faint little smile as he settles back into his chair and scoots it close to Vic's so that they can resume snuggling while the last bits of dinner are finished. "I'm down for going to London for a couple of days. We stil have all summer until classes start up." He glances over to Vic and asks, "Can you get a cuople of days off to go to London?" Those large eyes say ''pleaseplease take time off and come to London''.
Vic glances down at the table when Uncle Charlie is mentioned. "If we go on my days off it should be all right," he says. "I can ask for days off but I hate to ask too often." He considers, then says, "Maybe I'll just do as much of my work in advance as possible and we can hope nothing breaks down." He grins. "My boss is a nice guy, he's pretty flexible."
Kaleb arched an eyebrow and looked to Lorna, "If I help you cram for French can you get out of class Thursday and Friday?" Because Kellan brought up a great point and someone was on summer classes. A hand rubbed at the back of his neck thoughtfully. "Good. So, we went on a trip tot eh school yesterday, Kell. It… checks out. They asked me a bunch of questions though and I told them I wasn't deciding squat until you got to check it all out and we talked which… they seemed pretty cool about." He twirled his fork in his fingers idly for a moment and offered tentatively. "Guy there said they helped him get rid of his migraines… might be able to fix the tinnitus. Might be able to heal the left ear entirely? Who even knows but apparently they have people who can try which… is pretty far out."
Lorna shrugged, "Uhm, French lessons are really just my father's requirement. Since I got through German and Polish alright.. the Latin based languages are ..uhm really hard. He wants me to learn French along with Italian.. I also have Geo-physics reading I have to do, and stuff. And training, both with my powers and with combat.." She winced, exhaling a breath.
"I can ask Uncle Charlie though, he's tried to get my father ease up a bit over the summer at least. I'm sure he'll be down for me going to a concert." She blushed and looked down at her plate. "Uhm.. he might be okay with it.." She went from sure to maybe within a sentence and she dragged her hand through her hair. The more she thought about it? The higher she considered the likelyhood of Charles inviting half the school along with..
Kellan seems to brighten when Vic indicates that he can probably go, his smile widening happily. "Great. We're going to have so much fun." Of this, he is confident, nodding along with Kaleb. Then he looks even more pleased, "Yeah? That's super cool. Maybe they can help you with that.. and I want to go and check it out and meet folks soon. Sorry I couldn't make it with you guys."
Vic rubs the back of his neck, then asks, "Is that school just for you guys?" He looks up and around the table. "I know I'm not like you guys, but I'm not like anyone else either, and I don't think they've got a school for mystical anomalies." He smiles a little. "I'm sure I could get into another school, but I thought I'd ask."
Kaleb said simply to Lorna, "hey invite em. Everyone shoud see these guys. And Vic if the school isn't for magical anemones the apartment is. We'll figure it out." But the more he thought about it the more he actually smiled a faint smile to his brother. He was actually kind of afraid and projecting again back towards Kellan's direction. At this table in front of not-strangers he seemed to open up just faintly . The more he tried to tackle it purely from academic the more nervous he actually sounded about it. "Yeah. Maybe it'll stop the ringing static. Lorna said that there's a guy there who specializes in like, I dunno how'd you put it, regeneration? Restoration? Something like that." His brow creased and dropped the missing puzzle piece from the school tour that was bothering him. It was to Kellan he admitted what really only he knew, "I kind want to find out if they can give me full hearing back to my left ear but I don't think it works like that. Still it's something. Lots of telepaths too that do weird things with it as it turns out. It think I'd trust them to help you."
"He's a biokinetic. Actually, my friend, Josh. He was a doctor, he's teaching first aid classes. But his powers are based on his ability to manipulate the body and its cells. He's able to heal damage and make it never appear." She held up her hands, smooth and unblemished. "I fell down and scraped my hands on the pavement, I called Josh to come look at Ninette.. he healed her. Completely. And she's immune to the werewolf-y bits. He said it's a virus by the way." She glanced between those gathered.
"He's healed someone that was a rotten zombie too. Brought her back. I saw it with my own eyes. He helps out in Mutant Town. If someone gets hurt and they don't have a healing factor? Call him. He can bring someone back if they're recently dead. It takes a lot of out him, but he can do it." She glanced around the table once and nodded once.
"Not a telepath. But there are several there. Miss Frost, Uncle Charlie, and Jean for starters."
Kellan's eyes slowly widen when there's talk about bringing people back from the dead and he is a little bit quiet for a while. He nods a bit and he asks Lorna, "Do you think maybe Vic might qualify for the school if we ask Professor Xavier really nicely? I mean.. he's not technically a mutant but he's.. gifted, certainly, and unusual, and doesn't have a school of his own for his particular nature. I mean.. I dunno. Maybe I can ask him when I talk to him." He looks a little bit hopefully. "It can't hurt right? The worst he can say is no."
Vic smiles warmly at Kellan, and the other two will just have to hold on to their lunches, because Vic is going to be sappy and hug Kellan there at the table. The more the school is shopped to the twins, the more Vic wishes he could go. "I'm like a mutant in a lot of ways," he says. "More like one than a mystic. I can't even use magic like Billy."
Kaleb looked to Vic and said "If you're at all peripherally related you should leverage that to the best of your ability, Vic. Trust me, it does wonders." Few enjoyed abusing familial ties for personal gain as much as he did. Lo did the Miller Twins ride the hell out of the family name. Let's face it, it was fun and got them where they wanted to go and people to look the other way. Even Kaleb's eyes got pretty large when she brought up healing the dead. "Uhhhh if he met that really anemic guy who keeps chasing all these werewolves around you think he can help that guy out?"
A glance was spared toward Vic and she smiled, "I don't see why he would turn you away. I've never seen Uncle Charlie turn anyone away." She paused, "Better you stick with calling him The Professor though." She shrugged and at Kaleb's words blinked. "Um, I wouldn't recommend running around the school telling everyone you're Magneto's grandson. That's a good way to make everyone very confused. Including.. uhm Miss Crystal. She doesn't know Wanda and Strange have magical kids." She colored pink again.
"Just my recommendation."
Kellan glances between Kaleb and Lorna, and then he says to Vic, "I'm going to ask him, and we'll see what he thinks, and then maybe he can do the brain scan thing on you, too. It's super awkward but not terrible. I mean, he's already seen ah.. all of you.. in my head." There's a slight coloring of pink at the tips of his ears, "So I mean.. at least that's out of the way, right?" He clears his throat a little then says, "We'll figure it out and see if we can't get you in."
Vic clears his throat when Kellan says Charles already has seen all of him. "Oh, um. Then I guess there's nothing new for him to find I'll be too embarrassed about." Vic hasn't exactly been around long enough to gain too many issues or dark thoughts or deeds. With a nod to Lorna, he says, "I won't tell anyone. I know that Dad want me to keep it on the downlow anyway. It's too dangerous if people know he's got sons that can be used against him." To Kaleb, he adds, "It's a nice thought, though."
Kaleb glanced back to Lorna and arched an eyebrow, "Yeah I'm with Lorna. Opening with blackmail material might be kinda extreme and leave you no room for vertical leverage extreme…and also probably unnecessary. Especially if it's going to damage all parties? Sort of sucks all the fun out of it." Man it could be so hard to tell if he was joking or not. At Kellan's admission of what the Professor scanned his face warmed to an ear to ear grin that was amused, not mocking. "Aaaaah I thought so. Man, that's rough." Kaleb could sympathize, he came out of that as scoured and raw as anyone else. He looked back to Lorna who has looked distinctly uncomfortable for the majority of dinner now and asked, "You alright? You wanna take a walk or something?"
Lorna blinked once. Twice. A third time. Then her cheeks turned hot once more. "Oh my gosh. Ew. I don't need to know that mental picture of anyone in my family doing anything. Seriously! And I thought my father was the one I had to tune out when he got all .. ew.. ew.." She shook her head, and clapped her hands over her features. Her gaze swinging toward Kaleb, still blushing furiously. At least her gross out was because Vic was family.
"I.. I am going to take that walk and pretend I didn't hear that my nephew had sex before me. Nope. Nope. Nope." She got up, shaking her head.
Kaleb sighed, "Yeah and it only took him a couple weeks to figure it out? You are an old maid, Ms. Dane." Oh he was risking taking a fork to the thigh for that one. He finished his drink too amused with such a great opportunity to pick up that old joke where she dropped it and thought it forgotten. Soemtimes it was the little things that made a moment worthwhile. He stood and grinned shakign his head, "Sorry, left yourself a target on that one. C'mon. It's actually not bad outside right now."
Kellan looks over at Lorna and laughs, "Oh, Lorna." Because honestly, if it isn't obvious how all over one another Vic and Kellan are at any opportunity within the safety of their own apartment? Well, one has to be pretty blind. "Sorry," he says. Not sorry. He grins a little then and gets up to start cleaning up the plates and whatnot after dinner.
Vic's cheeks turn pink when the others' do, and he bows his head. "Sorry," he says, though he doesn't sound sorry enough not to have done it! He'll do it again, too. Lots. Maybe just not talk about it, though. He glances sidelong at Kellan. Yeah, it's going to happen again tonight, too. At least twice.
Lorna shook her head, still pink as she clapped her hands over her ears. A glower and a pout following as she glanced in Kaleb's way. "I am not an old maid! And if I am it's not my fault!" She huffed, muttering under her breath about how stupid boys were. She made to ruffle her nephew's hair, a sign that she forgave him at least as she made her way toward the door.
Oh Kaleb might offically be 'boyfriend' level, for the moment, but he was assuredly not in her good graces in that moment.
Kaleb grabbed his coat heading out because while it was warm it could rain blood and aliens at any moment and a gentleman always had a coat to lend. He actually did not excuse himself from that. Or perhaps it was protecting the sanctity of stuff, or looking out for someone else's things. Quality of stuff showed appreciation right? Lorna what did you get yourself into? At least he was indigenous to being in no one's good graces and didn't find that a mood dampener at all. he did offer an elbow to ehr though. It was something. Prepschool was apparently still well beaten into him.