FIRST DAY

[goldtoxicity]

AGLIONBY ACADEMY rarely deals directly in the weird. Its halls are more accustomed to rumor rather than outright abnormal. The strange and mystical may walk among them, but no one can point to who or what does not belong. It's a balancing act of belonging, all of its students learning to carefully blend in to the society to which they belong.

And mutants surely do not belong.

In the wake of the tragedy now known as M-Day, the day ninety-eight percent of mutantkind lost their gifts and found themselves as an endangered species, the students of Xavier's School for Gifted Mutants found themselves lost. The school was no longer safe. Their classmates were mercilessly slaughtered. Their school destroyed. Their lives in shambles.

Aglionby knows a good headline when they see it. Just as surely as they know Headmistress Emma Frost's generous donation is more than enough to cover any other questions they may have, as well as tuition for every single student she enrolls. The merger between the schools is quick, hushed, and efficient. Before either school really knows it, Orientation Day is upon them. There's a ceremony full of lengthy speeches of unity and togetherness in troubled times, a brunch where students are encouraged to get together and speak, and games for bonding.

And afterwards, there's nothing to do but return to the dorms.

Comments

josh foley | marvel 616

[goldtoxicity]

BRUNCH.

[ for the first time in a long time, josh foley sticks out like a sore thumb.

he's not used to it. not anymore, at least. not when xavier's had so many kids with so many wild and beautiful mutations that golden skin barely clocked anyone's notice. people are looking at him and where he'd have once preened and soaked in their attention (and potential ire) he only wants to glare and lash out. this is a dumb idea, but the town is apparently so off everyone's radar and so full of politician's kids that they're supposed to be hella safe.

still. the food here is a hell of a lot nicer than the food at their old school. comes with money, he guesses, pushing the food around his plate. ]

What kinda fancy-ass meal is brunch anyway? [ he mutters around a mouthful of food. ]

GROUNDS.

[ A rousing game of SPORTS later and he's decently worn out. Josh flops down and rests his back against the tree. play nice with the humans, miss frost says. blend in like a normal teenager. have the kind of experiences that you should have.

eugh.

still... the grounds are pretty. there's no graveyard on these grounds, just wide open fields and sports centers and all the crazy kinds of shit you can have when your school isn't being blown up every other week. ]

DORMS.

[ the excitement for the day is finally over and done with. josh collapses face-first into the rec room sofa, grabbing a pillow and pulling it over his face. ]

CLASS.

[ so, new problem:

xavier's curriculum is so wildly behind he has no idea what he's looking at. not helped by the fact that he'd spent so much of this school year in a coma. the blonde looks up in a wild panic at the words on the board and then back to the book, brow furrowing.

he's so fucking lost. there's a gentle tap to the shoulder of the guy beside him, nervous. ]

Uh... Can you... I think I'm a little lost?

Brunch

[helpdesk_hero]

There is nothing fancy about brunch, save for the fact that it's made to allow people to sleep in. Which means you're going to be real fond of it real fast.

[Josh may stick out like a sore thumb, but David just... Well, he blends. Like he belongs here. Frankly, he hates it. Granted, being here had been his choice, hadn't it? His parents wanted him to come home, finish out a year, and go on to their dreams. Dreams he used to have. Hopes he used to hold up. It all seemed so silly now.

But Emma had stepped in, and so here David was despite being nothing more than human. And, if there was one thing he was thankful for, it was that he wasn't going to lose the greatest constant in his life since he'd had to leave his home for the safety of his family.]

Look at it this way: no more psychic assemblies. Unless the Cuckoos force them on us.

[goldtoxicity]

Just regular old boring assemblies on top of whatever the girls decide to pull. Oh yeah, so thrilled. Brunch is going to make up for that and make all this feel soooooo normal.

[ he crams the spoon in his mouth, frowning down at the food on his plate. ]

This sucks.

[helpdesk_hero]

At least we’re safe here. That has to count for something.

[Safe here and together. Tell him that means something, Josh.]

Like, I didn’t get sent back to Chicago.

class—

[beelines]

[ gansey had received notice of the merger before the term began, so he did have some time to mentally prepare for the sudden increase in aglionby's student population. it still feels a lot like walking into a historic moment the first day back — or a surreal one as two absurdly different demographics collide in the hallways and classrooms of the school.

he is a case of breathless wonderment and anticipation at what all of this will bring. change is in the air, gansey. change.

reclining back against his seat, he is a model depiction of leisure and self-assuredness in a sea of unease. his textbook is splayed open on top of his desk as he listens to the teacher drone on and on about a subject he doesn't particularly care for, while he tries his best to politely ignore the... ah, resplendence of the boy next to him.

that is, until he feels a light tap on his shoulder and a request for help made. ] Yeah. Sure. [ his posture straightens as he turns toward him. ] Which part are you stuck on?

[goldtoxicity]

[ joshua foley has never had to navigate a normal highschool experience as a mutant, every odd change and jump in power had been in the safety of an all mutant environment with mutant teachers. interaction with the townies around the school had usually been... unpleasant.

and so there's visible relief on josh's shiny golden face when gansey doesn't shake him off. he isn't sure what he'd been expecting, really. and that sort of made it worse. he lets out a soft laugh. ]

Pretty much all of it. Uh... if you can just, uh, show me where we are I can take notes and make sense of it later.

[beelines]

[ the honesty in his answer brings a smile to gansey's face, amused but not unkind. ]

Not a problem. [ glancing at the board and then down at his resplendent classmate's textbook, he leans over to tap his finger at the section they're on. ] Here. [ he lifts his gaze to meet his eyes. ] If you don't understand something, feel free to ask me. [ he pulls back then, resettling into his chair and then after a moment's beat— ] I'm Gansey, by the way.

grounds

[deadthing]

[Noah skipped all the scheduled activities. He didn't go to the ceremony because it was guaranteed to be boring and he didn't go to the brunch or play any sports either because, well, only living students get to do that stuff. It's hard to participate in group activities when most people don't even know he's around. But he is.

Today he's lurking around the campus, curious about the new additions to the student body. He wants to see them for himself rather than pry out first impressions from Gansey and Ronan when they come home. Not all of the mutants are obvious at first glance though—especially since he doesn't know the names or faces of most of this crop of Aglionby kids anyway. Just the ones in Gansey's wider circle, the rowing team guys who call out in passing or stop by their table at Nino's. So he's not entirely sure who's new and who's not unless they're doing something obviously mutant-y.

Josh stands out like a shiny golden beacon.

When Noah spots him sitting outside, he drifts over with a fascinated expression and plops down on the ground about a foot away. He doesn't know if Josh can see him or not, so he doesn't... say anything...]

[goldtoxicity]

[ he doesn't sense the boy.

it's not - inherently odd. josh's powers are still growing. their capabilities are limited. he isn't usually paying much attention to his surroundings, and he's only keenly attuned to the biological signature of those closest to him.

but he still jumps when he opens his eyes and spots someone staring at him a foot away. ]

Dude!

[deadthing]

[Josh's startled jump makes Noah jump too.]

Hey? Uh. Hey.

You were... [He makes a gesture meant to indicate zoning out, as if that's the reason for not greeting him like a normal person.]

David Alleyne | Marvel 616

[helpdesk_hero]

Brunch

There had definitely bee one thing at Xavier's that David had been very much approving of. The cafeteria was always open. They had to account for mutants with varied schedules, metabolic needs, and highly varied diets. It meant that there was always something available at all hours. Which made the idea of being a guy that woke up at six and not getting food until brunch strange.

But not nearly as strange as it felt to be here now, standing with a stray of food, looking around. He didn't belong here, he knew that. While some of the mutants stuck out like a sore thumb because of appearance or displays of power, David was just one of those who probably didn't belong here. He was human, but not in the way that the already established Aglionby students were. And it just made him nervous about how he'd be treated.

So he moves to sit at an empty table, not sure how to approach new strangers.

Games

Some people like sports for games. And David, despite how he was built, was happy that there were other options being presented. Throughout the afternoon he would absolutely make use of these. Chess? Yes. Cards? Absolutely. Of course he does let himself get pulled into a pick-up game of basketball as well. It was something, though.

"Don't suppose anyone here plays more like, well, video games? Or maybe more varied board ones?"

Maybe David missed the rather varied nature that Xaviers let them have.

Dorms

The only positive out of all of this? David could be friends with Josh without being his roommate. As much as he loved his best friend, and needed David as a strange anchor in light of all that had happened, the guy was a mess to live with. Constantly battling over clean floor space, trying to get him to do laundry, and all of that had been hell. A new roommate, David hoped, would be just the change he needed.

Speaking of which, David had opted to take the early evening hours to sit down at his desk and wish he had homework to do. Was it wrong that he wanted that? That he wanted some structure after everything his life had become?

"So," he said, speaking up to try and get the attention of his new roommate, "what do you guys do for fun here, after class hours?"

[embodier]

( brunch )

[ ronan rarely goes to class unless he's being forced, and orientation for the new mutant students is no exception. he's not there at the beginning, having ducked gansey's attempts to get him out of bed by virtue of locking his door and planting his headphones over his ears so he wouldn't hear the knocking and disappointed noises.

at the brunch, however, he's found at their usual table, and it's probably quickly apparent why he'd been late. there's a nasty cut across the bridge of his nose that's bruising, he has a black eye and split lip, and his knuckles are a bruised, cut-up mess. the dark circles under his eyes and the usual irritable sneer on his mouth are out in full force, too.

he has his feet kicked up on another chair at the table, and even though she isn't supposed to be there and he'll probably be asked to leave with her if any teacher gets the nerve and has the patience to deal with ronan, chainsaw is perched on the table by his arm, puffed up and watching the rest of the students with overly intelligent interest. .. ronan himself doesn't seem interested in the school's new students, but with him, one never knows how deeply the disinterest actually goes. ]

( latin class )

[ latin appears to be the only class that ronan has bothered to attend today. he's slumped down in his seat, and seems to be paging through a copy of de rerum natura, which is not part of the curriculum, but since he's already finished the classwork, it doesn't much matter.

chainsaw is, somewhat mysteriously, missing. unless, of course, you happen to look in the hood part of his hoodie, where she's curled up in a feathered ball asleep and mostly blending with the black fabric.

ronan lynch, the general consensus is from people bothering to explain things about the school to the new students, is a really weird one, dangerous. a delinquent. would sooner knock your teeth out than say hello. the black sheep of his family, not like his attractive, promising older brother or sweet, lovable younger brother. ... but he's the best latin student in the school, at least, so. you know. ]

brunch

[goldtoxicity]

Hey, uh... are you okay?

[ frankly, it's none of his business. all he's aiming to do is ditch his tray and get back to the room before he's got to put up with julian in his space.

but josh struggles to walk away from anyone in trouble. ]

[embodier]

[ ronan spares the guy a long, cool-eyed stare, nothing in his expression for several moments. finally his tongue darts out, touching the split in his lip, and his lips twist into a grin that someone could cut themselves on. ]

You should see the other guy. [ his glance drifts away, down to chainsaw by his arm, and he touches a surprisingly gentle fingertip to her beak. ] .. Gansey pull his politician act on you yet?

[ gansey moves quick, so he wouldn't be surprised. having brand new mutant students at the school would be right up gansey's befriend-everyone alley. ]

[goldtoxicity]

[ politician act? he raises a pale eyebrow, gaze shifting from the boy's knife-like grin to the bird perched delicately beside him. ]

The only politicians I know are the ones that are all, like, obsessed with giant mutant squishing robots. Sooooo... No?

[ he shoves his hands in the pockets of the uniform, slouching. ]

Latin

[helpdesk_hero]

[Good thing no one has bothered to warn all of the new students. Especially not the one who looked just about as bored with the latin class as the person seated beside him seemed to be. Really, David had expected class to be a bit more advanced than this.

David, also already finished with the assigned classwork, just looks enviously at the book the guy has.]

I should have though of extra reading materials.

[embodier]

[ for a few moments, ronan doesn't respond, as if he hadn't heard david. but then eventually, not hearing a response from anyone else, the book lowers, and he cuts ice-pale eyes toward the other teen, brows arching in mild surprise.

gansey talks to him in the few classes ronan bothers to show up to. parrish sometimes shares glances with him. but most people know he's vastly, wildly uninterested in conversation, especially about anything he deems fucking irrelevant.

but this guy's new, showed up with the new students from xavier's, and clearly hasn't been warned about ronan. and who knows, maybe the obvious signs of a fight in the marks on ronan's face and hands are just an everyday occurrence in a mutant school. ]

.. What? [ his brows lower again, glance flicking from david to his book, then back to david. finally he snaps it shut, tossing it onto the other teen's desk as if he could care less what happens to it. welcome to aglionby, the stuck up shithole of the south, or something. ]

brunch—

[beelines]

[ when it comes to ronan, some days are easier than others. today is turning out to not be one of those days. his failure to get his friend out of bed this morning hasn't deterred gansey from trying to make the most out of the first day back to aglionby. for more than one reason, he is particularly anticipatory of what this term will bring.

it's an inexplicable feeling of certainty that he can't express in words, yet he somehow just knows that it's going to be a promising year. in what exactly, only time can tell.

but however uplifting or spirited his day has started out quickly dampens and soon diminishes entirely at the sight of ronan — or, rather, at the state of ronan. he felt relieved, maybe even happy, to see that he came to school after all, but that initial exhalation of breath has been stifled by the taut lines of his mouth. he tries not to show it on his face, his discontent and worry. ultimately, he is betrayed by his own emotions as he pulls out the chair next to him and sits down in front of him, his brows furrowed and his tone rigid. ]

Who was it? [ he is assessing the damage, first to his face and then to his hands. ] You should have said something to me last night.

[embodier]

[ ronan watches silently as gansey seats himself, the sneer dropping away but leaving his expression dark and mutinous. ] Why, so you'd mother me last night, too? [ he shifts, raising his hand off the table to rest his chin in his palm, stubbornly not looking at the other boy. ] It's fine, Dick. It's practically how Skov says hello.

[ it had been a good fight. for a few short minutes, ronan had very nearly felt alive again. and then skov had gone down and stayed down, and ronan had only realized after the adrenaline had worn off how badly he'd fucked up his hands again. but the pain helps a little. keeps him focused, keeps him awake.

at his elbow, chainsaw stretches, her still-growing wings spreading briefly as she croaks recognition to gansey. then she's burrowing her beak back down into her wing to doze back off again. ronan.. doesn't quite smile down at her, but it's a near thing, catching himself at the last moment. instead, he lifts the hand not bracing his chin to touch a fingertip to her still-small head. ]

So? [ he prompts after a moment. ] Which ones are you planning to adopt? [ of the new students, of course. ]

Noah Czerny | The Raven Cycle

[deadthing]

aglionby grounds

[Noah doesn't spend a ton of time at Aglionby. It's not like he has classes to attend anymore. He turns up now and then when Gansey and the others are leaving for the day or, less often, at lunchtime. Usually not for long. Being there gets him caught up in the past, makes him feel sad and strange.

He can't resist sneaking a peek at the Xavier's-turned-Aglionby students on Orientation Day though. He skips all the actual events, but he wanders the campus, lingering hopefully near buildings and the front gates.]


monmouth

[Later, back at Monmouth, Noah doesn't go straight to his room. He's restless and buzzing. So much is happening.

He paces along the rows of tall many-paned windows, looking out at the town, and fusses with the piles of research materials sitting around the room. After making a meandering circuit of the space, he ends up in the middle, at the foot of Gansey's bed. He perches on the edge of it and leans back, gazing up at the shadows between the ceiling beams.]

Hhhmmmmhmhm.

[It's sort of a sigh and a hum at the same time.]

Aglionby Grounds - lmk if this is okay

[helpdesk_hero]

[Sometimes you just need to get out of the building. New building, same stupid high school shit. He relaxes a little once he's outside. Still, this place could be better.]

It's too damn normal here.

[Not that he thought some special school willing to take mutants and former mutants thanks to Emma was really truly normal. But it's strange when there aren't people flying to class in the halls. Or at least, so many fewer.

Hell, he even misses Jeff, and the mutant-ghost had nearly killed him. Three or so times.]

monmouth

[embodier]

[ the door slams, which means it can only be one person. ronan crosses the room, pausing when he realizes noah's laying on gansey's bed, and pauses to peer down at him, brows lowering over his eyes. ]

Hey. [ he gently kicks noah's foot. ] What're you daydreaming so hard about?

barrington whelk | trc

[mactare]

[ ooc; hit me up for plotting or just drop a thing if you want him. ]

points to eyes, points to u

[embodier]

[ when he steps out back of the main building, he isn't expecting to see whelk. for a moment or two, he just sort of squints at him, but.. he's smoking, and ronan's kind of itching for a cigarette after spending nearly a whole fucking day in this shithole.

by now, his hands and nose are bandaged, so he jerks his chin up, pointing to the pack still in whelk's hands. ]

Hey, lemme bum one off you.

childe pls

[mactare]

[ well, shit.

he didn't think that he would get busted by a student so soon into the year, especially not by ronan lynch. it feels almost like he got caught red-handed doing something bad by a model student, which ronan sort of is if he compares him to all his other students.

he stares back at him, unblinking, for a moment.

........ah hell, whatever. if he doesn't give him a cig, ronan'll just get one elsewhere. ] Here. [ he pulls the one from between his lips as he releases a wisp of smoke into the air. ] You can have this one. [ he offers it to him. ] I'm done with it. [ did you think he was gonna give you a new one? because if you did, then you're fucking hilarious. ]