History of

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X-Men Kitchen 3rd

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Monday the 20th of September

Vlad entered the kitchens and went straight for the fridge but saw that there was little inside. Sitting down heavily in one of the chairs, leaning across the table for support since he was tired (physically and emotionally), Vlad rubbed his eyes. <"Do you think that whoever attacked us is going to come back?"> He asked his sister through a yawn he finally allowed himself to feel.

A little laugh escaped Korvka's lips as she noticed her brother looking at the nearly empty fridge. <"Here, these are better for you anyway,"> she said, holding her palm out and growing a vine of grapes. <"I need to eat anyway, I can feel myself getting sluggish."> She paused and sat opposite Vlad. The vine she made to wrap around the table's legs and some of the tabletop, offering ripe, purple grapes at nearly every coil. <"I think that its too early to know what happened, but I don't think we can feel as safe as we once did. There are a lot of people in this country who don't like mere talk of mutants, let alone a school encouraging them. If one of them found out where we are then there could be a lot of nasty things that follow."

Vlad popped a grape in his mouth and bit down. Suddenly though, he made a face and spat something out into his hand. <"Pits? You have all these powers and you can't conjure grapes without seeds?"> he asked jokingly, going to the cupboard to get a bowl to throw the seeds in and then sitting back down. <"So what you're saying is that we might not be safe here...">

Korvka shrugged, spitting a seed out into the bowl. <"If we were in very serious danger I think that Xavier would have stressed to us the importance of it. As it stands, I don't think any of us are particularly safe anywhere. Life as a mutant isn't all Danger Room and classes,"> she reminded herself in a soft voice, thinking about all those who were potentially gone forever.

<"There are so many gone,"> Vlad commented with a tight throat. His joy of not having lost his sister had not made him forget the tragedy that the school had just suffered. <"Twenty, at least. How are we supposed to move on from something like this? Pretend it never happened? People need to grieve...">

<"I agree, Vlad. More than half the school is gone...this place is so lonely and deserted now..."> Korvka stopped talking because her voice had gone hoarse, trying to keep a good hold on her emotions since she knew that many other people had lost lives and loved ones and here she was sharing a snack with her closest family. <"We can be grateful and offer support. I think we should volunteer to look for people and help clean up. Your powers would be tremendously helpful in cleaning away big stones and rubble."> Clearing her throat, Korvka grew a bit of celery and began to crunch absently. Torn between feeling relief and grief, she sighed and tried to think of another way to help.

Spitting a few pits into the bowl, which was becoming full as the pair snacked, the vines feeling lighter and barren along the table, Vlad too went silent for a moment. He knew they needed to help but exactly how was beyond him. <"We should talk to Xavier and see what he thinks. If there's any way any of us can help...I think we owe it to this place,"> he said determinately. Though he had only been in the mansion for a short time before the explosion, Vlad had known Korvka to enjoy her time spent here after her powers began to show themselves. It was easy to feel like an outsider these days, and having fewer faces to greet didn't help those feelings.

A few moments pass in silence, only the background noise of the television offering any break in the quiet.

<"I wonder why Kaider didn't follow us. I didn't hear em say anything about not wanting to, did you?"> Vlad asked casually.

<"Er,"> Korvka began. <"Ey likely didn't come because I was with you. Kaider and I didn't get off to the best start.">

<"What do you mean? I always thought ey was a pretty nice fellow. What happened between the two of you?"> Vlad asked more slowly, wondering if his sister had been able to control her temper.

Korvka looked a little sheepish but then sighed and shrugged her shoulder. <"Myetel and I were in his room, and Kaider burst in the door and started fucking with our minds. So, we chased em around the corridor and long story short, I beat the hell out of em."> Korvka finished, purposely leaving out the fact that she and Myetel were shirtless and making out.

Through narrowed eyes as if to pierce through the half story he assumed he got, Vlad remained silent for a moment after Korvka was finished. <"So ey didn't knock or anything and just burst in the door? How did ey fuck with your minds?">

<"Yeah, no knock or anything! We were just sitting on his bed and the next thing I know I've got this voice in my head telling me 'mutie porn' and I feel like a real pervert. So we went after em and boy, I let em have it."> Korvka finished with a little sigh. <"Apparently there were some major injuries. But that's not important now,"> she said as she dumped the bowl of pits out the window and then sat back down to eat another handful of grapes. <"I don't care what my past with Kaider is...I still don't care for em very much, but there are too few of us left to be making enemies.">

<"Mutie porn?"> Vlad repeated somewhat dully. It sounded to him like, if his sister's story was at least factual if not completely divulging, was in the wrong, but why would ey have said mutie porn if there hadn't been anything...His face went a little pink and he accidentally popped a grape in his hand and he thought. Clearing his throat, he spoke the next words slowly, as if he didn't want to know the answer but had to ask anyway. <"You...and...Myetel...you weren't...having -">

<"NO! We were not having sex. How do you think it would look to have two naked people chasing Kaider around the third floor? We had clothes on,"> Korvka reassured her brother. <"We were just kissing and touching, you know, typical boy girl stuff, nothing you'd be ignorant about.">

Vlad grinned and reached across the table to tousle his sibling's hair. If she said they weren't having sex, he'd leave it at that. He didn't think he could handle that anyway and truth be told, he might rather be left in the dark. <"You're right, its a nasty double standard. But I know how shitty boys are, Korv. You've got to be careful or they'll trick you any way they can think of to get in your pants.">

Scoffing and rolling her eyes (though with a little smile on her face), Korvka rebutted. <"Not all guys are shady and shameless flirts like you, Vlad.">

Though she had a point, Vlad conveniently ignored it and laughed, shaking his head to make his ebony hair fall around his face. <"I think I'm going to stay in here and find something to eat. Wanna grow me some vegetables? I've got a hankering for stir fry. I could save you some.">

Korvka nodded and went over to the stove to grab a pan. Growing Vlad a butternut squash, an ear of sweet corn, a few carrots, a sweet potato and a cucumber, all of which fit into the pan. <"I don't feel like eating just now, but save me some and stick it in the fridge,"> she said. Ordinarily she'd want to have her name on it in hopes that someone wouldn't steal it but now, she didn't much care if someone took the food. <"I'm going to wander around. I'm feeling listless,"> Korvka said as she placed a kiss on her brother's cheek. <"See you around,"> she said, giving him a tighter hug than usual. Then, she turned and exited the kitchen into X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Vlad got a knife and cutting board and started cutting vegetables.

Some time passes

Leisurely slicing, Vlad paused as he heard his sister's unmistakable voice thundering down the hall. Moments later he head someone storm past the kitchens and he dashed to stick his head out into the hall but Korvka had already shut her door. Figuring he'd let her have her privacy, he went back to cooking. He could console her with food when it was done.

The door opened slowly and Daniela peeked in from the X-Men Hall East 3rd. She looked around for a second, without noticing Vlad. "This must be it." she muttered to herself. Then she noticed Vlad, cooking away. "Ah!.. uhm.. hi?" she greeted him, still standing by the door.

The frying pan was sizzling nicely with the bit of butter Vlad had managed to scrape from the bottom of the almost-empty tub in the deserted fridge. With a little shake of his hand, making it look effortless, the vegetables flipped in the air and landed back in the pan. Hearing someone in the doorway, Vlad looked over his shoulder and saw a newcomer. He was relatively certain that he'd spotted her during the conference with Professor Xavier but had been too preoccupied at the time to bother with introductions. "Hello," he greeted kindly with a little smile. "Eef you vont to talk I vood suggest coming closer. It is hard to hear vith this sizzle," he said, looking at her as he spoke to make sure she knew that she was more than welcome to come closer.

Kaider entered after Daniela, smiling since ey could talk to Vlad without Korvka hanging around. "Oh, hey, Vlad. Hopefully you're not feeling like being as mopey as Korvka..." ey said hopefully and good-willedly. Seeing the food, ey continued even more hopefully: "...Aaan' is that food for everyone? We got three new ones like Daniela here plus myself an' Shana."

"Sounded to me like she vas more angry than mopey. Give her a break, its out of her system now," Vlad replied to Kaider as ey entered the kitchen. It seemed only he and Flame were up to handling his sister's temper...well there was the Myetel character but Vlad was appreciating his absence and didn't pursue that thought any further. Looking over his shoulder to Kaider as he asked about the food, Vlad grinned. "Vell, it vos supposed to be for Korvka and I but I can easily ask her to give me more vegetables. There is enough here for a few," he said with a shrug. He thought about asking Kaider to go to Korvka's room to ask for more vegetables but remembering what Korvka had mentioned about their fight, he kept his mouth shut.

Devin entered the kitchen cautiously, looking for people he knew. He made a low whistle sound and Ala flew back to him, landing lightly on his shoulder as he looked around. He smiled to himself and approached Vlad. "Need you any help?" he asked, looking hopefully at the stove.

Virgil walked in a few step behind Devin, looks as if he's contemplating something with his slightly pursed lips and rubbed his chin.

Hearing more footsteps over his shoulder, Vlad, seeing that the stir fry was done, turned off the stove. He looked over his shoulder and grinned at Virgil and Devin. "Shame you had to come on such a stressful day, but nice to see you anyvay. If you vood get a big bowl, ve could all eat some. There isn't enough for everyone to haff their fill but ve can take the edge off," he said, pointing to the cabinet where the bowls were. "My name is Vlad, by the way," he greeted, his accent obvious.

Shana entered the kitchen and directed a tiny wave and grin towards Vlad. Upon hearing Vlad's explanation that there was not enough food, Shana moved ver to a pantry and began sorting through some items. "Well, i left some food in here from last time..." she muttered. Having a bit of trouble finding what she needed, she poked her bottom lip out and sat on the floor, cross-leged with her chin in her hand. After a moment's thought, she exclaimed, "Aha!" and reached to the back, pulling out two packets of ramen. "It's not much, and it's not nutritional, but someone can have the other pack," she offered, looking back over her shoulder and holding up the packages.

Good-naturedly, Vlad made a face at the mention of ramen noodles and laughingly shook his head. "You are too kind," he replied with a little smile on his handsome face. "But if you are villing to haff ramen then there vill be more for the rest of us," he said with a little shrug, stirring the vegetables while waiting for Virgil or Devin to grab a bowl.

Suddenly, Shana stood up and proclaimed, "We can serve the Ramen with the vegetables! It won't be much of a meal for each person, but it will be better than just ramen or vegetables alone." She smiled kindly.

Vlad paused to consider this and shrugged. "So long as ve don't use the packet of flavor. That alvays tastes like shit," he said, turning back to the stove and looking into the pan he'd just fried the vegetables in. "I could make a sauce, all I need is a bit of butter, some salt, and milk. Vood you look in the fridge for those please? I vill heat the pan again," he asked to Shana, turning to light the pilot again.

Devin quickly searched and found a bowl for the stir fry. He then went to the fridge and found the butter and milk, setting them near the stove. A whistle and Ala flew over to Virgil, landing on his shoulder. Devin did a quick turn around Vlad and grabbed the salt from where he saw it, setting it with the rest of the ingredients Vlad had asked for.

The little countertop by the stove was then filled with the things that Vlad had asked for. Seeing that it was a new face that had gotten the things for them, he smiled at Devin. "Thank you, uhh, vot vos your name?" He asked, pouring a bit of the milk into the pan before it started to really get warm. Then he added the butter and began to stir. "I forgot, I vill need flour to thicken it, I think there should be some in the cabinet by the sink," Vlad said, pointing. "And velcome!"

Shana could only stand and stare as the newcomer, Devin, flitted around the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients Vlad had asked her to get. She didn't even have time to move because he had reacted so quickly.

"Devin," he replied to Vlad's question. He moved over and got the flour. "I cooked for me madre when she was ill," he explained. Devin spotted a pepper grinder as well and grabbed it, placing it with the rest of the ingredients. He wasn't sure if Vlad needed it, but he added it just in case.

"Nice to meet you." said Daniela with a nod towards Vlad when Kaider introduced him to the newcomers. That being said, and as the others arrived, she made her way to the side of the kitchen, trying to stay out of people's way and sat down on a tall stool, her hands on her knees. As Vlad offered food to the others, she replied "Uhm, I had something on the bus, so I'm not really hungry, but I can help out if you want." Then afterwards, when Devin zoomed around the kitchen he'd never been in before, she could not do much but to watch in amazement, simply poking at Shana with her elbow and whispering with a smile. "He's supposed to be new as well, rite?"

Vlad bid another thank you to Devin for the flour and stirred the concoction before bringing it to his lips to taste. "Vell, ve grew up without a mother so ve got good at cooking, I guess the is something ve haff in common" Vlad answered to Devin with a little shrug, turning off the stove. He poured the contents into the bowl with the vegetables and stirred quickly. Soon he had gathered a few forks and walked over to the table that still had some grape vines from his and Korvka's earlier conversation. He sat down and invited the rest of the people to join him. Looking to Shana he shrugged. "I am too hungry to vait for noodles, sorry. Feel free to have some of this though!" He noticed the newcomers and gestured that they join him at the table. "My name is Vlad in case anyone missed it. Ve haff Devin, and...I need everyone else's name," said Vlad between a forkful of stir fry.

Devin took a very small amount of the vegetables. He whistled again and Ala flew back over to him. He fed one of the vegetable parts to Ala, who ate it quickly. He looked around the room at everyone there, waiting for names.

Noticing the bird, Vlad grinned a little and gestured towards it. "Does she like fruit? I know vere ve can get her fresh fruit at any time. I'm a bit surprised to see a bird in the mansion though," he added thoughtfully. He wasn't disapproving, merely stating alarm.

"Si," Devin said. "She is my...companion?" He was unsure that was the right word. "Ala does not leave me." He made a hum and Ala flew to the top of the fridge, careful not to hit anyone. From there she observed the group.

Having detected an accent on Devin earlier and was now free of any preoccupation that might have stopped him from asking. "So vere are you from? Spain?" questioned Vlad, careful not to eat too much lest someone else didn't get a bit.

"I am not Espanish!" Devin made a face. "I am from Italia." He smiled again. "Viva l'Italia," he said simply and shrugged.

Laughing richly, Vlad tilted his head a little to admit his mistake. "But I came by it honestly, madre and si are the same in both," he replied, the foreign language sounding strange through his Russian accent.

"Ah ha!" Virgil loudly exclaimed and briskly walked up to the counter, slung off his bag and set it on the unused part of it and began to unzip the second main compartment of his backpack. "I just remembered." He explained.

Vlad peered around Devin and quirked an eyebrow at Virgil. "Vot are you doing?" he asked with a laugh.

Kaider sat down and let the others discuss about the food. Ey'd eat pretty much anything. At some point ey felt a rather crushing despair try to come over em, but ey fought it off for now and tried to ignore the source, which was external. Ey tried to locate it, but sensing Myetel in its vicinity, ey promptly stopped and instead shielded emself telepathically.

Daniela simply remained sitting in her place as the food was "served" she really wasn't that hungry. Instead, she figured she could stir up some conversation while the others ate, she really didn't know much about the others, their histories or powers. She didn't know if it was really curiosity or just her distrusting nature acting up, but she liked to be aware of the people around her. "Uhm, maybe while we eat we can pick dodgeball teams?" she asked, figuring it would make for an interesting situation. "Those who want to play, that is."

Before immediately agreeing, Vlad suddenly assumed a thoughtful expression. He hadn't played sports with anyone since he'd almost crushed a player trying to slide home. That was only a few months ago but the memory was still fresh. Through a forkful of stir-fry, Vlad pondered the possible consequences. If he wasn't careful he'd throw a ball and crush someone's bones. With a rather defeated sigh, he kept his mouth shut and continued munching.

"Oh, we'll play one of the team versions? I can play, but I'll have an edge even if I try not to use telepathy", said Kaider. Ey noticed Vlad's sad seriousness and said: "We could use foam balls. I don't think even you can get too much force behind them." Kaider smiled at Vlad and ate some cookies – ey wasn't really hungry for real food for now.

"Hey, that's brilliant, Kaider!" Vlad said somewhat excitedly. "You are very observant vith your powers," he commented with a grin. There was still enough stir-fry for anyone who wanted some, Vlad still making sure he didn't wolf the whole thing down before giving other a chance. "So I elect that the new girl...err, vot vos your name?" he asked Daniela, turning to look at her warmly.

Shana shrugged at the fact that no one seemed to want her noodles, so she began to cook up a bowl full. She excitedly listened to the dodgeball conversation float around the room as she waited for her food to cook. "Kaider, we can always change our mind at the last second!" she winked and stirred the boiling pasta.

"Uhm, Daniela" replied Daniela with a small smile, she was suprised she was first pick, but she figured since the group had just met each other it was more of a wildcard thing. "So we're playing with powers?" she asked, it scared her a bit but she couldn't say she wasn't curious about everyone's abilities. She stood up and sat at the table, closer to the others, the only person whose powers she really knew was Shana, and she had a pretty kickass one at that. Though the Kaider person had mentioned telepathy, which could make Daniela uncomfortable, she didn't want anyone peeking into her head.

"No, I didn't meant to put you on the spot, Daniela. I vos going to say that you could be a captain and haff first pick," Vlad explained. Standing up, he called over to Shana, "if you want vegetables speak now and I'll save you some. There should also be some sauce left in that pan if you care for some."

"Umm, " Shana replied, thinking for a second, "Sure, why not?" She poured the now softened noodles into a bowl.

"I should not play," Devin said quickly. He didn't have the words to properly describe his powers, but if they were playing with powers, even with softer balls (Devin had no idea what 'foam' was but he assumed it was a softish material), he could and most likely would hurt someone.

"Ah, I thought you wanted to captain a team." replied the girl to Vlad. "I don't know if I'm captain material though." she added. Then she turned to Devin. "Don't worry, we'll only hit each other with the foam ball. Not directly, so unless you light the ball on fire or have the ability to explode when in contact with foam, I don't think you'll hurt anyone." said Daniela with a smile.

"If 'foam' is like feather ball from home, I should not play," Devin said with a laugh. Nevermind that he could throw a feather ball through a wooden door, he didn't want to think of the damage he could do to a person. "I will be...arbitro? referee?"

"Vell, you cannot hurt me, so if you want to continually pelt me with foam then I vood not be upset vith you," Vlad replied to Devin. "But its not like I can turn mine off. I might think I vos throwing lightly and then smash a face in," Vlad said with a little shrug, pushing the bowl of leftover vegetables on the corner of the table for Shana when she was ready for them. When Devin insisted still that he not play, Vlad's eyes became bright, thinking that Devin too might have super strength. "Vot is your power? I too am very strong, almost got me into big trouble on my baseball team."

Devin looked at Vlad. "I...aumentare la forza cinetica...uh..." He rubbed his head slightly, searching for the words. "Strong is one word. I can...show you maybe? My words are not so good yet."

Listening very carefully to the Italian that Devin was using, Vlad worked it over in his head for a moment and stuck on the words 'forza cinetica.' "Kinetics?" He asked to no one in particular. "Like, you use your kinetic force to be strong?"

"Ah, but there is still that last second!" replied Kaider to Shana. "An' as for using powers... well, it's impossible for some of us to not use them, so I figure we can all use our powers. Just as we all know what they are." Ey then followed the conversation about Devin's powers, not sure what to think quite yet.

"So you're one of the ones who can't turn their power off?" asked Daniela as Kaider replied to Shana, she couldn't imagine what that was like, since she had to struggle to turn her power on in her current situation. Then she listened intently to Devin and Vlad, it sounded like he had some sort of acceleration ability, might be interesting to investigate it, since she had always supposed her ability might be related to some sort of stasis field effect (Daniela was not versed in science, but she had read up a bit on possible explanations for her power). It was interesting to hear about powers from kids like her, all the mutants she had met outside had been scumbags, one of them was the reason why she was 17 and still afraid of the dark.

Shana rolled her eyes at Kaider and laughed quietly and she scooped some vegetables and sauce into her bowl of noodles. She made her way to a chair and sat down to eat, still listening to the conversations in the room.

Devin tried to figure out what Vlad was saying, but the words were lost on him and he shrugged. "I am sorry, I can not...uh..." He sighed and shrugged again. "I need more practice with the language."

With a casual wave of his hand, Vlad gestured that Devin's grasp of English wasn't a problem. "Don't vorry. My accent probably isn't helping you any, but you'll be speaking English better by next month. Now, onto this ballgame, are ve all sure ve should be playing if so many are concerned?"

"Yeah", replied Kaider to Daniela. "It would be nice if I could turn it off sometimes, but it's like I'd lose a sense. It would be terrible to lose the sense of touch, for example, ye know?" Ey listened to Devin and Vlad and sighed. "Well, maybe we should do something else if we have so many uncontrolled powers. Of course we could set the Danger Room to interrupt if an accident is about to happen, but that isn't totally foolproof either."

Devin looked around the room. "What is...your powers?" He knew the grammar was off, but he had lost the word he was going to use so had to change the sentence. Devin's eyes traveled to each face. He wasn't shy in the least about asking.

"Vot are your powers," Vlad corrected kindly. If Devin was going to learn English then they'd might as well not waste any time. He already had a pretty good grasp on it so far, just some of the more intricate nuances of the language were escaping him, as well as a few words. "Vell, I have super strength and durability, vich is vy I said you wouldn't hurt me and you could pelt me all you vanted," he replied with a grin. Turning to Kaider, Vlad nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Ve vill all just agree to be careful then."

"And I'm a telepath", replied Kaider to Devin. "It means I know what ye're thinking. Of course I try not to do that usually but I get most surface thoughts. An' most often yer surface thoughts are the ones ye say out loud anyway, or some emotions that observant people could see in yer behavior or hear in yer tone of voice, so I'm really not prying that much, ye know." Ey defended eir abilities a little, but ey thought it was justified. "I'm also really agile. It's not anything regular humans couldn't do really but I make it look easy."

Shana, still munching on her lunch, replied after swallowing, "I can fuse with stuff. It sounds weird, but it's really useful." She took another bite, chewed, and swallowed. "I'll show you later. Too busy with food at the mmoment." She grinned and continued eating.

Daniela backed away just a bit, she had to struggle to use her power at all but sometimes she couldn't control the size of the shields, so she tried to make a small one. "I do this." she said simply, holding out her hand and lifting her index finger a bit, then she focused and a tiny, marble shaped and sized reflective object appeared, hovering right over her finger. "I can make them bigger... but that's about it" she said as the shield disintegrated and she lowered her hand. "Oh, they're also hollow."

With a pluck, Vlad picked some of the grapes that Korvka had grown along the table earlier before everyone came into the kitchen, and munched them while watching Daniela, ignoring the pits and just crunching them. "Vot is that exactly? Some type of force bubble?" he asked curiously. The little demonstration hadn't given him much of a clue.

"I don't really... know." Daniela replied to Vlad with an apologetic smile. "I mean... I guess it's like a force field, but it seems physical, not like.. energy. I can make them bigger but it'd be very draining." she added. "Truth be told I don't know much more than you guys about my power, it's part of the reason I came here."

Vlad nodded his head, not pushing his curiosity further. It would drive him batty if he didn't know about his powers. Luckily, when he stopped getting cuts and scratches from baseball and started accidentally wrecking things (an unfortunate side effect of having learned to use his body's strength naturally before his powers manifested), it was made pretty clear. "So if everyone vill kindly hurry up, ve can go to the Danger Room, like Kaider suggested. Seems like the safest place to give it a go," he said, stretching his arms over his head and leaning back in his chair. However, he exerted a bit much too force, and the back of the chair snapped off, the legs then collapsing beneath his weight to send Vlad crashing to the floor on his buttocks. A wide smile crossed his mouth and he started to laugh.

Devin, who had been listening to everyone, jumped as Vlad crashed to the floor. When he started laughing, Devin joined in, standing and putting his hand down to help Vlad up.

"Still getting used to mine too. Can't tell if I'm getting heavier or if I'm just stronger than I think I am," Vlad said without apology or embarrassment in his eyes. He took Devin's hand, assuming that he was strong enough to actually help, and pulled himself up, surprised by the strength he felt in the Italian's hand. "Thank you," he said with a grin. He looked down to the chair and picked up the pieces. "Guess I should stand from now on."

Shana swallowed the last of her meal and took the bowl to the sink, quickly washing it out. She moved back a little when Vlad's chair broke and smirked when he started laughing. She continued to put the bowl away then walk back to the door as Devin helped Vlad back to his feet. "I'm ready when you guys are!" She then looked at the broken chair for a second, and gathering an idea, moved to the collaberation of wood lying in Vlad's arms. "I think I can fix this..." she mumbled.

Entering in from the hallway Flame paused at the door to hold it open for Korvka to enter behind her. "So, where's this food I heard about?"

Seeing her brother clutching a few broken fragments of a chair to his chest, Korvka let out a laugh as she entered. "Broken something else, have ve?" she asked, arching a brow and pulling up a chair next to Devin. She turned to Shana and said, "I apologize." Looking to the others, Korvka saw her vines on the table, still laden with a few bunches, and plucked one.

Vlad, still holding the broken bits of the chair in his great arms, saw Flame enter, and then Korvka. He grinned a little sheepishly and shrugged. "Guess I did. And the food...vell, I think Shana's eaten the last bit of the stir fry. Korvka could vip up some more vegetables in no time, though," he said, suddenly remembering his promise to save his sister some.

Devin sat back down now that Vlad was on his feet. He whistled to Ala, who flew down and landed on his arm. "Hai fame?" he asked her quietly, picking a grape and holding it to her. "Lento," he said as she tried to snag it out of his fingers. She crooned, and he let her have it. Devin looked over at Korvka. "You are Korvka?" he asked, his accent butchering her name a bit.

Having heard Shana, Vlad looked at her and nodded briefly to acknowledge her. He then rested the chair bits on the part of the table closest to her so that she could do what she wanted.

With a turn of her head, her wildly curly hair following the movement, Korvka nodded to Devin, smiling a little as he tried to say her name. She still wasn't feeling 100% herself but she supposed the others were right about not dwelling on it too much, she just couldn't help being an expressive person when faced with such strong emotions. "That's me. Vot is your name and who is your little friend?" she asked, flattening her palm and growing a few crimson berries, holding them out for the little bird if she wanted them.

Daniela couldn't help but laugh when Vlad fell to the ground, though it died off quickly, then she simply asked something she had been wondering from before. "What is a 'Danger Room'?" she didn't quite like the sound of it.

Devin smiled as Ala hopped off his arm and perched on Korvka's, taking a berry from the pile. "I am Devin. She is Ala." Devin hummed at Ala and the bird shifted her grip slightly so her talons weren't digging into Korvka's arm as much as they would his own. Shoulders were easy perches, arms were a bit different. Devin put a finger under Ala's chin for a moment, checking the sparrowhawk's eyes. He hummed to himself, and she chirped. Devin looked at Korvka. "I like your...power?"

Shana turned to look at Korvka, a little shocked. "Oh.. umm.." she turned a bit red. "It's fine. I wasn't trying to argue, just lightening the mood, you know... Yeah, I'm sorry too, if I offended you." She attempted a small smile then turned back to the broken chair lying on the table. She touched her fingertip to one of the legs as she placed the base on top of it. Slowly, the wood fused with her finger and it visibly wiggled as she tried to find the place where it would best connect. Piece by piece, she worked on the chair while the others talked.

Before Korvka continued with Devin, she gave her full attention to Shana, grateful to have cleared the air between them. She even smiled at her, looking quite relieved. "I am expressive and sometimes my temper gets avay vith me. Ve are good now, thank you," she said graciously. It was true, she didn't have any right to criticize, but the shock was slowly wearing off and she was starting to feel slightly more like herself, here in the kitchen greeting newcomers. Turning back to Devin, Ala having eaten all of the berries in Korvka's hand, she grinned a little. "Thanks, they can be useful," she said, flattening her palm again as a small branch laden with berries grew from the center. She laid it on the table.

Seeing his sister apologize to Shana, Vlad pieced together who he'd heard her shouting at earlier. Well, at least she apologized.

Ala followed the branch, one clawed foot grabbing the branch while she attacked it. Devin looked at her and smiled. "Stai per ingrassare," he told the bird. Devin turned back to Korvka. "Grazie! Ala did not eat on the aeroplano and I do not know where she can...uh...dove si possono cacciare...uh...catch meat?" His fingers tapped on the table for a moment while he searched his English vocabulary.

Shana smiled back at Korvka and continued to repair the chair.

Placing her hands on her hip Flame smirked. "Wow, looks like I really am missing out on the party. Food, broken furniture, hot guys," Giving a wink to Vlad with that. "This is more to my liking. And the Danger Room," replying to Daniela's question, her face perfectly serious as she did. "Is pure torture."

"Rite..." said simpled Daniela turning to Flame. She got the inkling suspicious the other girl was just trying to freak her out. "I don't doubt you.... but maybe something more specific would be nice?" she added. In the meantime she just looked at Shana's power in action with amazement in her eyes, it seemed to be extremely versatile.

Vlad caught Flame's wink and grinned, looking at her as she spoke to Daniela.

Korvka just watched Devin with amusement as he tried to think of the English to describe Ala's predicament. The little bird seemed to be pulling berries off at an alarming rate and Korvka smiled, stretching her finger out to stroke Ala's sleek feathers. "It is nothing, really. There are voods nearby, Myetel disappears there a lot, she could find something to eat there if she knows how to get back." Here, she listened to Daniela and smirked at Flame's comment about it being pure torture. "No, Flame is right," Korvka agreed. "Its like a simulation room vere ve can practice powers against, vell, dangerous odds."

"Like I said, torture, especially if you get Wolvie leading the session, or Scott." Flame let a full body shudder go down her body, playing up how bad the room was. But, she had the same done to her, as all new kids did, it was better to expect the worse when it came to the Danger Room than underestimate it.

Kaider followed Daniela's display of her powers with interest, but ey would have wanted to know how they worked in detail. Ey too chuckled a bit as Vladimir wrecked a chair. The good mood quickly dissipated as Flame and Korvka entered, and ey just observed them reservedly for now. Hearing Korvka speak of Myetel, ey almost wanted to mention that Myetel was apparently being intimate with a new girl in the hallway, but ey had more sense than that, so Kaider instead explained the idea of the Danger Room a little better: "Yes, the Danger Room creates artificial surroundings for us to train in. It can be an extremely dangerous situation or it can be a sunset beach, whatever. For our game we'll just put it on gymnastic mode with a safety setting, so if the room thinks that hurtful force is being exerted, it'll try to stop that, but nothing else, an' it'll look like a well-equipped gym."

Giving a roll of her eyes and a wave of her hand towards Kaider's description, Flame headed over to the fridge and cupboards of the kitchen. Ey explained what the Danger Room was in clearer detail, but she was still annoyed with it, unable to understand how ey could be so unaffected by those missing. Making a bowl of cereal was safer than her opening her mouth and reacting to em.

Meanwhile, Kaider sat and glared at Flame, wondering why on earth she insisted that ey didn't feel anything – not everyone's reaction would be shown outwardly, and Flame if anyone knew how reserved ey was. Kaider continued glaring but didn't do anything else.

Eventually, through making herself a giant bowl of cereal, feels the glare she's getting, turning back to see who it was. Raising a brow at Kaider it was Flame's time to glare. "You in my head?!" Really, what else could cause it to get that angry so suddenly, the earlier argument was well over, at least to her. However, if it invaded her privacy of thought, this would be a whole new argument.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Kaider. "But even I can't block some of the stuff ye're broadcasting for all psychics to see. Are ye saying I can't even glare at ye for thinking ye're in error?"

"You just keep your mind melding to yourself." While she and Kaider were normally not on the same page when it came to a lot of things, Flame couldn't really remember last time the two really argued amongst each other. It was not fun, and only made what had happened of late worse.

"Oh, I will." Kaider continued glaring. Ey too hated arguing and so, though ey wanted to respond in detail about why ey thought Flame was wrong, ey kept eir mouth shut.

Noticing the tension seemed to be escalating again, Daniela figured it might be good to just go ahead and do what they were planning on doing from the start. "How about we head to this Danger Room thing?" she said as Kaider offered a better explanation on what the thing was. Why does the school need something like that? she asked herself. It should be interesting to check the place out, but at the time she was more interested in getting a move on, it seemed like they had all been cramped up in the kitchen for a long while now.

Wisely, Korvka managed to keep her mouth shut while Kaider and Flame were arguing, though she understood both sides had a point. This whole mess with the explosion she assumed would have united the mutants still left, but she supposed that until a definite enemy emerged they couldn't unite under a single cause. The old faces of the mansion who were left were all feeling something, she realized after having lost her head completely in the hall. At the mention of the Danger Room, Korvka shook her head. If she wanted to get some stress out then she'd go hit her punching bag. "I think I vill pass this time. I'm going to see if Myetel is back yet. Velcome to the school," she said with a wave to the new students. "Flame, keep an eye on him," she quipped with a wink as she nodded her head towards Vlad. She knew her brother too well to have missed the attraction. She gave Ala a quick stroke with the back of her finger and then exited to X-Men Hall East 3rd.

With a sudden, fleeting, sour look on his face as Korvka mentioned Myetel, Vlad too bit his tongue. The last person he wanted to piss off in this crisis was his sister, who would likely be set to explode molten hot lava rage over the entire kitchen if he said some choice words about Myetel now. No, he'd said he'd stop butting in, but it was harder than he anticipated. "Daniela's right, let's go," he said as he was standing and headed towards the door, waiting for the others to follow.

Shana sighed at the once-more arguing between Kaider and Flame. She put the now repaired chair on the floor, stating, "That should do it. It's a lot stronger than before, now." She nodded at Vlad's decision to move on to another room, wanting to get away from all the tension, and she moved to the door as well, exiting into X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Vlad exited to X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Devin had kept silent during the exchange, but as Vlad left, he whistled at Ala to get her to come and followed to X-men Hall East 3rd.

Daniela simply nodded as the others left and then followed after to the X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Flame made a face at this all. "Why would anyone willingly go to the Danger Room?" She was more focused on her food at this moment in time, although Korvka did want her to watch her brother... Shrugging it off she grabbed her bowl and spoon and followed after into X-Men Hall East 3rd, making a point of ignoring Kaider.

Kaider wondered if Flame's conditioning against the Danger Room was just a show or if she really believed that the room was out to get her or something. Ey then just shook eir head at the ideas. Flame was beyond silly now. Kaider watched as the others left and waited for Virgil, who had been apparently lost in his bag. "Well, follow us if you wish, we're going underground with the elevator." With that, Kaider also left.

Virgil solemnly followed Kaider to X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Some time later...

Jean had entered through the window with both an extra fridge and a whole bunch of groceries with which to fill the kitchen. She had just finished putting everything to their places.

Myetel entered and after giving the red-headed woman a short (for him) glance, he gathered a whole bunch of cereal, pastry, sandwich-making materials and tools on the kitchen table, so that it was nearly full of stuff. This time he managed to only break one closet door. After having piled all the stuff, he glared at the broken door and then at Jean. "I'll fix that", he said relentlessly.

Jean sighed and mumbled something about having to go back to the store again. She watched as Myetel assembled his stuff and then looked at the broken closet door. "I'm sure you would." She then put it back in its place, all fixed, and left through the window again.

Nicole entered and just stood in the doorway as Myetel gathered his stuff and Jean fixed the door before leaving again. She rubbed self-consciously at her arm, staring at the food, then at the fridge.

"Just take or make anything you like", said Myetel while speed-making sandwiches and speed-eating them after they were done. He seemed to eat much more than he should be able to and his sandwich fillings contained a ridiculous amount of calories. "Or... well, I guess I could make some for you if you're looking for a sandwich?"

Taking a seat at the table, Nicole stared at the amount of food Myetel seemed to be consuming. "Your metabolism runs really high, I suppose..." She tilted her head. "A sandwich would be nice."

"Da", replied Myetel, for once forgetting to use English, and then made an assortment of sandwiches with different fillings. "Take any you like, I'll eat the rest." He then started eating the high-sugar cereal and even ate a whole bar of chocolate between bowls.

Nicole grabbed a sandwich at random, not really caring what was on it. She ate it quickly, resembling a starving creature in her haste. She didn't reach for another, though, just picked up a chocolate bar and started on that.

Myetel ate the rest of the sandwiches and after a bunch of fruits, he finally settled to eat another bar of chocolate, slower this time. "Is there anything else you'd like? I probably know most places where the foods are", he said and looked at all the closets.

Nicole finished the chocolate and looked up at Myetel. "Um...are there any strawberries? Or blueberries? Or...Oh, I know! I would kill for some sweet rolls!"

"There should be berries in the freezer", said Myetel and pointed at one of the fridge-looking appliances. "And sweet rolls... If I'm thinking of the right thing, they should be around there." He pointed at a cluster of closets.

Nicole stood and started opening closets, poking around. "You said in one of these?" she asked, her voice slightly muffled from being inside a closet.

"Yes. They are some kind of pastry, right? And I don't think I took them to this table." Myetel looked at the table to see if any of the stuff was labeled a sweet roll while eating a small sugary pie.

With a wiggle, Nic pulled herself from the closet clutching a plastic wrapped pack of dinner rolls. They were clearly labeled "Hawaiian Sweet Rolls". She danced around the kitchen for a moment in triumph, her eyes glowing gold. "Found them!"

Korvka walked into the kitchen, surprised to see Myetel and Nicole there. Her cheeks blushed a little involuntarily but she staunched the reaction and waved a little to Myetel and Nicole. "Hey," she said a little dismissively. Walking over to the fridge she began to look for any meat, wondering if Devin was following right behind her.

"Good", commented Myetel, slightly absent-mindedly, to Nicole's discovery. He did raise his eyes and head when Korvka entered. <"Hello. Do you feel better or something? I didn't manage to visit you yet.">

Another surge of guilt swept over Korvka but she gulped it back and shrugged a little, looking over her shoulder to Myetel. <"I feel a little better, yes,"> she replied. <"Devin has been teaching me Ala's calls,"> she replied, gesturing to the bird on her shoulder. <"Do you know if there is any meat in here? I can't seem to find any and I think Ala and I both are a little sick of vegetables and berries!">

Myetel raised an eyebrow at the bird. <"Why do you need to know that?"> he asked casually, not really caring about some bird and its calls, but went ahead anyway. He wasn't interested at all in who this Devin person was supposed to be. <"Check the new fridge, Jean just brought loads of stuff and I didn't eat nearly all of it."> He pointed at the new fridge sitting inconspicuously in a corner next to the other ones.

Nicole saw the other girl enter and froze, her hands still clutching the rolls. She stopped glowing gold and watched the exchange, a little curious since she couldn't understand a word of it.

Devin entered behind Korvka and caught the tail end of Myetel's comment, though he couldn't understand it. He looked at Korvka, confusion in his eyes. Devin went to the table and nodded at Myetel. "Hello," he said, his voice thick with his accent.

Myetel barely glanced at Devin, but as he did, he realized the new guy was indeed new. "You're new, right? What's your power?" asked Myetel, looking at Devin inquiringly.

With a little grin Korvka shrugged and made her way to the new fridge. <"I guess there's no reason really, he asked me to take care of his bird and I needed to know the calls. I think he missed the game though,"> she added absent-mindedly. <"When did this get here?"> she asked, bending to look inside the new fridge, her eyes bulging a little as she saw how well it was stocked. Extracting a package of beef she began to avidly read the label to see how it was processed as Myetel and Devin curtly greeted each other. <"Devin has a pretty cool power but you'll probably have to use a translator on your computer unless you can speak Italian,"> she said with a grin as she shut the door with her foot and deduced that the meat was safe for her to eat.

Nicole stared at Korvka for a moment and shrugged, digging a roll out of the package. "Do we have any lettuce?" she asked absently, gnawing on the roll.

Devin looked from Korvka as she spoke to Myetel. "Uh...my powers...I have strength. I cannot make the words to describe it."

Hearing Nicole's question, though not remembering whether she'd gotten the new girl's name or not, Korvka held out her hand and grew a small head of lettuce. "Here," she said as she tossed the lettuce at her from across the room, then immediately making the hum for Ala to nuzzle her so that she wouldn't decide to pursue the green ball of lettuce as it headed to Nicole with relatively good aim. "Devin, can you cook at all? I am really bad and I'm hungry."

<"What game?"> asked Myetel, though honestly he didn't care on whit about some game. As for Korvka's question about the fridge, he replied: <"Jean Grey brought it."> He continued eying Devin while Korvka spoke and started looking down his nose at the newcomer. When he heard Devin understood only Italian properly, he said, in Japanese (using a rude choice of Japanese words, but not a rude tone): <"Unless you understand Japanese, I guess> nevermind." The last word was English. He wondered how Korvka had gotten to know a newbie so quickly that she was asking him to cook, but he guessed that the newbie had been wandering around lost and she had helped her and would now get her efforts repaid. Or something like that, as he lost interest and started thinking about something else.

Nicole caught the lettuce and looked at Korvka. "That...was awesome! What else do you do?" Her eyes were glowing gold again as she put the package of rolls down and picked the outer shell off the lettuce.

Devin nodded. "Yes, I cook. What would you like?" He looked around the kitchen, snooping slightly into cupboards.

<"I think they were planning on playing dodge-ball or something else that seemed utterly inappropriate given the circumstances."> Korvka replied to Myetel somewhat bitterly but she did not pursue that line of thinking any further. There was no need to get fired up as soon as she'd calmed down. Somewhat surprised but flattered at Nicole's enthusiasm about her powers, Korvka could not help a small smile pulling across her face. "I can grow things and mobilize things, basically. But only if they're natural, like plants or trees, soil and stuff like that." Looking over to Devin as he began rummaging through the cupboards, she walked over to the right one and pulled down a pan. Handing him the package of meat, she shrugged. "Just a bit of meat and Ala can have the rest, but I suggest letting her hunt in the voods nearby. Myetel can tell you vether there is enough small game."

Myetel heard Korvka say his name but acknowledged that it wasn't a question and thus didn't react to the others, continuing thinking about computers.

Devin put the pan on the stove and unwrapped the meat, turning the stove on medium heat. He was glad that Vlad had shown him where things were. "Pasta?" he asked towards Korvka.

Nicole grinned at Korvka, her eyes illuminating the room more. "You...grow them? Like...create them?"

In a little stride, Korvka had crossed the kitchen and was digging in the dry storage cabinet for a package of pasta. Finding it, she read the label and deduced that she wouldn't be able to eat it. <"Goddamnit!"> she exclaimed, tossing the package back. Digging some more she managed to find a package of brown rice that expressed being organic. "There is no pasta here that I can eat but this rice seems ok. Uhh...I have no idea how to make rice." Then she looked at Nicole, having handed Devin the package of brown grain. She couldn't help but be a little mesmerized by her golden eyes, squinting a little as her pupils dilated to adjust. "Yes, I can conjure them. I don't think create is the right vord, if they didn't already exist I couldn't make them but if you vonted say, a sprig of mint," clenching her hand and then opening it, a little sprig of green pungent leaves lay against her palm. "or a peach," she said holding her other palm flat while a little leaf grew from her palm and the life of a peach unfolded rapidly before their eyes, starting small and then stopping at average size, waiting to be plucked from the little twig growing from Korvka's hand. "Then I could do that," she said with a grin, taking a bite from the juicy fruit.

Nicole was staring at Korvka. "That...is the greatest gift ever!" She smiled, gold sparks starting at her fingertips. She didn't seem to notice anything, though, as her hands started heating the lettuce she was holding.

Devin took the rice and frowned, scowling at it. "I am not knowing how to cook this," he said, still looking at the rice.

Sighing, Korvka shrugged her shoulders and took the rice back, standing in front of Devin as she read the label to see if it had instructions as she finished her peach. "I have tried before but it always comes out sticky and gross. I guess ve can make stir fry, ve've got plenty of vegetables and spices," she conceded with a little shrug. Looking over her shoulder to Nicole as she complimented her powers, Korvka took immediate notice of the sparks at her fingertips. "Thank you," she said, turning to speak to her better. "Vot about you? Vot is your power? Oh, and haff you met Devin? He is new too," she said gesturing to the tall Italian at the stove.

Devin waved at Nicole, looking back at her. "Hello," he said in greeting while reaching around Korvka to take the rice back. "We need water," he told her.

Nicole tilted her head and laughed. "You two can't cook rice? That's pretty bad." She looked around, opening cupboards until she located a large sauce pan and took it out, checking to make sure it was clean. "It's pretty easy."

With a sheepish grin, Korvka faced Nicole again on her way to get a pot from the lower cupboard. "I can sautee and that is about it for my cooking skills. Are you good? Because last time I tried rice I burnt it beyond recognition," she asked with some enthusiasm as she pulled out a pot and stood up again. Filling the pot with water from the tap she returned it to Devin, placing it on the burner in front of him. "And you never told me vot your power is. Something to do with metals or heat?" she asked somewhat cluelessly, making guesswork of what she'd seen. "They're at least emotional based though, correct?" she asked, almost wanting to touch the sparks but knowing better.

"I guess so," Nicole answered. "They're only active when I'm feeling emotions. Mostly all they do is either get really hot or cold. And kind of solid...ish." She went over and looked into the pot of water, frowning. "You need to get this to a boil, maybe add some salt to the water. It'll make the boiling temperature hotter and add some flavor."

"You know, Vlad mentioned something about that. He alvays vos the chef," Korvka said absently as she added a pinch of salt to the water as per Nicole's instructions. Turning to Myetel, seeing that he was preoccupied, Korvka smiled at him. Nicole wasn't being too forthcoming with her powers, likely because she didn't seem to know much about them to begin with - a reason lots of kids came to Xavier's school initially. <"So what did you discover about her powers? I'm just looking for a synopsis since I don't quite understand what she's saying about solid."> Korvka said, bumping Myetel with her hip to get his attention as she stood next to him and looked up with a little smile.

"<Heyyy...>" started Myetel when Korvka bumped him, but didn't start about wanting to be left alone since it was Korvka after all. "<Well, her powers change a little according to her emotions. I got some interesting readings from them...>" Myetel then continued to explain what he thought he had found out in scientific detail, his speech gradually becoming incomprehensibly fast, and he seemed to have gone on to explain his results just to himself without really noticing.

Devin started whistling to himself as he cooked, which caused Ala to trill along with him. It was apparent that she knew the song as her counter melody meshed so well with the song he was whistling. He was listening to the words around him, but couldn't understand the Russian, so he ignored it for the most part.

Nicole stared at Korvka and Myetel as they spoke. When Myetel started talking in Russian way too fast, which was apparent by the blurred words and sounds, she actually giggled before catching herself clasping a glowing hand to her mouth.

Korvka had been listening along just fine until Myetel's voice went faster and faster, her eyes becoming wider as she let out a rich laugh. To bring him back to the present, slower moment, she placed her hand on his arm. <"So what you're saying is that those sparks can become solid if she concentrates enough? Hell, that's pretty cool!"> Feeling that she had a better understanding of Nicole's powers, Korvka looked over to the girl who had her hand clapped over her mouth. With a bemused expression, Korvka said to her, "I think I understand vot you vere trying to say about your powers now. Could you demonstrate for me?" Then, with a glance to Devin as he cooked and crooned with Ala, she began to hum a second counter-melody to the song he was whistling while she waited for Nicole to reveal her mouth again and answer her.

Myetel changed his monologue to an internal one after Korvka had summed his words. "<Well, that's one way it apparently works, I suppose.>" He then wondered if he should ask if he and Nicole could continue the research, but just continued thinking about the results for now and kept on nibbling on the foodstuffs that were on the table.

Nicole lowered her hand and thought for a moment. "Um...sure." She went over to the pan on the stove and put her hand near it. The heat from the glowing heated the water, causing it to steam. When she put her hand to the pan, though, she suddenly yelped loudly and drew back, a flare of silver igniting, sending a heat wave through the room and scorching the floor.

Devin pulled away from Nicole as she ignited, throwing his arm over his face to protect it. He backed away, standing in front of Korvka as the heat wave went outward. "Buon Dio che cosa era?" he muttered at the girl.

<"HOLY SHIT!"> Korvka exclaimed, jumping a little as the heat wave blasted the floor, turning her head to avoid the blast or any subsequent debris. "Ok, sorry I asked," she said as she lowered her arm and wiped a bit of sweat from her cheek. Looking down she noticed her markings were becoming more noticeable thanks to Nicole's warmth, and felt her stomach growl. Growing a cucumber and crunching on it immediately as she peeked around Devin's frame to see how the water was coming for the rice. "Do you put it in after its boiled?" she asked, peering from Devin to Nicole.

Myetel also protected his face by turning it away once the heat wave was apparent. Once it had passed, he put the stuff he had gathered on the table and not eaten back into the closets and fridge. He then turned to Nicole and asked: "Do you want to continue the research now?"

"Sorry," Nicole said quietly as she stepped away from the pan. She rubbed her hands on her legs and looked at Korvka. "Yeah." When Myetel spoke, she turned to him. "Is there a safer place or way to do this? So I won't keep damaging things?" She gestured at the now scorched floor.

Devin looked from Korvka to Myetel and then Nicole. He was at a slight loss, but didn't seem concerned. He went back to the stove and continued cooking.

"Vy not take her to the danger room?" Korvka suggested with a little shrug as she looked to Nicole. It was obvious that she felt a little sheepish about her lack of control and Korvka felt an altogether unfamiliar pang sympathy for her. She knew what it was like to have accidentally done things that damaged goods or others with powers that, in comparison, seemed much less volatile. However, she was a little unsure how to mention it without saying something that would likely have been considered rude or tactless. Boys were much easier - she could just tell Vlad not to be a baby and to try better next time but Nicole seemed more fragile than that. "Um...you vont haff to vorry in the danger room. You can set it up anyvay you need," she said, hoping that sufficed.

Myetel thought about how he could use the Danger Room without having to deal with Xavier or having to make the room interfere with his measurements. "It's Xavier's territory", said Myetel. "I wouldn't want to use it. But if you think you aren't comfortable in your room, I guess that's the only place we could use."

Devin looked over at Myetel. "Could not you do it out of doors?" he asked, his eyes traveling to the floor and the pot, which was slightly bent out of shape. It seemed as if the new girl had melted it slightly.

"I guess either would work," Nicole said in response to Myetel and Devin's suggestions. She shuffled slightly from one foot to the other.

"You can check at any rate. I doubt Xavier would mind since I think that's where the others vent to play ball. If they're not done by then you can try outside. It seems to be a nice day outside," Korvka added in a tone that indicated the she considered the situation to be solved. Going over to Devin, she put her hand on her hip and looked at the water. "Nicole, veren't you going to help us make this rice?" She asked, looking over to her with a cheeky smile and an arched brow.

"I'm sure I could use the Danger Room, but then it's not ME in control there", said Myetel. "And outside... well, let's say I don't want to start forest fires or make it that much more easier for humans to see there are little defenseless mutants in here. Speaking of which, how come the floor looks like that but none of us is burned and no one's hair caught on fire?" He looked inquiringly at Nicole.

Nicole went over to the pot and grimaced. She opened the rice and poured it in, looking around for a spoon to stir it with. "I think, now this is just conjecture and a guess, but I think it's because when the silver energy flairs, it heats and expands the air, which is why there is a wave of heat. The energy itself stays pretty concentrated on me unless I will it otherwise. So the burning will be only on what I am close to." She shrugged and picked up a wooden spoon from the drawer Devin left open.

Devin stared at the girl, lost to what exactly she was saying. He got the gist of it, but she said it all too fast for him to pick up most of the words. He looked over at Korvka. "It is almost done."

"Really?! Korvka asked incredulously, walking over to inspect the rice to see for herself whether it was truly done or not. She thought she had much more time. "Shit, guess I vasted too much time. Keep it varm vile I sauté some things up," she said. Crouching down by the lowest cupboard in the cabinets by the stove, Korvka drew out a silver frying pan and set it on the counter nearest her. She then crossed to the fridge and broke off a bit of butter. She dropped it in the pan and began to grow vegetables for her stir fry: squash, peppers, onions, kohlrabi, and even a handful of almonds. Soon the kitchen was filled with the sound of food being cut. "Could you turn the next burner on? I vont the butter to melt," she asked Devin with a little smile.

"Maybe we should call this a day then", said Myetel, sounding a bit disappointed, but not quite since he had gathered quite a lot of data after all. "I'll go pick up the monitor and sensors, okay?" He waited just long enough to catch Nicole's confirmation, but then remembered that he should have done something with Korvka as well. <"Korvka, should I come into your room later or will you join me? Or...?"> He wasn't quite sure if Korvka still wanted his company for the moment – who knew, maybe she would rather be alone after the kidnappings and such after all, he certainly didn't know for sure.

Hearing Russian was like an instant way to catch her attention and Korvka found herself listening to Myetel as soon as he spoke, though she wasn't facing him or positioned so that she could see him. Looking over her shoulder, she stopped cutting for a moment to look at him. There was a sense of guilt within her about how quickly she'd take to Devin but Korvka merely reminded herself that Myetel and she had never defined things. <"Yes, I'd love to see you. Will you be in your room? I can stop by when I'm done eating.">

Nicole nodded and stirred the rice, a bit disappointed herself. She took the rice off the boil, moving it to the sink to drain the remaining water. "They are in my room," she told Myetel. "Go ahead and get them whenever."

Devin watched Nicole pull the rice off the burner and frowned at the Russian being spoken. He continued stirring the meat, not saying anything right away.

<"Okay">, replied Myetel and left.

Korvka scraped the chopped vegetables into the sizzling frying pan and instantly flipped the pan in her wrist to turn the slices over. The smell and sound of the food sautéing filled her nostrils and she licked her lips unconsciously.

Devin was watching Korvka out of the corner of his eye and smiled when she licked her lips. "Hungry?" he asked almost nonchalantly as he looked towards the other girl, watching her with the rice.

Nicole tuned out of the conversation as soon as Myetel left. He was the one who had talked to her, after all. And she barely knew these other two.

"Hmm?" Korvka asked somewhat disconnectedly when Devin asked if she was hungry. "Oh, yes, of course," she said, not knowing what had made him ask. Perhaps it was just obvious from the way she watched the vegetables flip in the pan. "How is the meat coming along?" she asked, looking over to Devin as the ingredients in her pan sizzled pleasantly.

"It is done," Devin said, taking it off the heat. He looked over at Korvka and smiled.

"Rice is done," Nicole said as she slid the pan of rice on the counter. "Mind if I join you?"

"I guess I don't mind," Korvka answered in what she thought was a friendly voice to Nicole's question. Korvka was busy digging through the cupboards to find a bowl to mix everything in, finally finding a lime green colored one. She walked back to the counter and grabbed the rice, beginning to dump it in the bowl. "Could you chop up the meat?" she asked no one in particular but looking up briefly at Devin as she spoke. She tipped the vegetables into the rice and began to stir with a wooden spoon.

Devin quickly began breaking up the meat and carrying the pan over to her. He glanced at the meal and smiled. "This is good," he said quietly.

It took Nicole several moments to find plates and forks. She brought them over to the table and set them down. Nicole looked over at the food and inhaled, a small smile igniting her eyes again. "I agree."

With a stir that sent the rice, vegetables, and meat tumbling quickly, Korvka sat down at the table and grabbed the nearest spoon. Looking around she noticed the plates and spooned the food out evenly between the three of them. When she was finished, she sat down at the end of the table (near the chair that Vlad had broken earlier) and began to eat.

Devin took a seat one chair over from Korvka and whistled. Ala flew over and perched between them. Devin carefully fed her some of the meat, stroking her head while he did so.

Nicole sat down across the table, eating quickly. The rate at which she shoveled down the food could have given Myetel a run for his money. (Her table manners having been set by a navy man, who were known to eat fast.)

Noticing how quickly Nicole was forking food into her mouth quite impressed Korvka, who had seen her father and brother eat like it was going out of style, and also had the experience of eating with Myetel, who did everything fast. "Slow down," she advised around a small mouthful of the concoction. "You tend to overeat if you eat too fast. Learned that vone a bit ago," she said as she paused her eating. She looked over to Ala and smiled a little before resuming her attention to her meal, thoughts running through her head like a news reel.

Nicole swallowed then looked at Korvka. "Burn energy quick enough. No worries about over eating." She resumed eating, cleaning her plate before the others had even gotten halfway done.

Devin snorted in laughter at the two girls. He wasn't one to comment on people's table manners, mainly because his were proper where everyone else's weren't, strictly speaking.

Korvka continued to eat, shrugging at what Nicole said. Her silence was purely convenient; too hard to talk with food in your mouth. When she finished she stood up and took her dirty dishes over to the sink. Running hot water over them, she rinsed them and put them in the sink with the rest of the dirty dishes. She'd do them later, today had been long and taxing enough. "Thank you both for your help. I'm pretty useless in the kitchen," she said to Nicole and Devin. "I'm going to see Myetel. See you two tomorrow," she said before hugging Devin quickly as he sat and exited to X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Devin watched her go, then stood and cleaned his plate. He nodded at Nicole, then wento out to X-Men Hall East 3rd.

Nicole followed suit, cleaning her plate as well. She grabbed a few rolls before leaving.

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