Claudia and Pietro, at Lorna's bonfire

[om_quicksilver]

Pietro plays get to know you with the latest little tech nerd and finds her to his liking. Claudia mostly pays air guitar and is adorable, but she doesn't seem to mind him either.

Pietro wasn't sure what or how at the moment, when it came to the fire, but Eileen had her eye on John. If that meant rainbow colored fireballs floating around), Pietro could deal with it and assume the world wasn't going to burn down any time soon. That was what counted.

He wandered around saying hi and cracking jokes with people--stolidly leaving behind the drama of the last few weeks and just being himself--until he spotted one of the new kids... air-guitaring.

And she was adorable. Younger, probably about Kitty's age? Whatever, Pietro thought it was a shame he didn't know her already. He'd been getting lazy in his old age, clearly. He zipped up beside her--not too close, since that tended to freak people out--then grinned and said. "Good song, right?"

In her defense, Claudia had been totally caught up in the fingering of that particular riff, so she figured she was allowed to jump a little.  On the other hand, the music was great.  She tucked a stray lock of hair behind one ear as she tried hard not to blush, her cheap silver rings flashing in the firelight as she did so.

"Totally.  Seems like someone actually has managed to develop a taste in music," she said, hiding a little behind the snark.   "I almost want to believe in miracles, now."

Pietro smirked, running a hand through his windblown hair uselessly. "Believe in me, then. Well, I helped--it is my little sister's birthday. I'm Pietro." She probably knew that--people seemed to, since apart fro being the headmaster's kid he was apparently 'popular' these days (which still made him laugh regularly, because, ha,  no)--but maybe she was a wallflower, standing over here on her own. Who knew!

"The one who wants the space-age toaster," Claudia mused, grinning.  "I'm Claudia."

Ok, so that was just the first thing to jump out.  She might have paid a bit of attention to the other students, but she wasn't really about to just open up.  Besides, she had plans to work on with her little gadgets.  If she could get the parts lists and justifications, maybe even other people would help chip in for the costs.  One of the issues she'd had before was a dearth of spare parts.  Half the time she'd been stuck dumpster diving for broken electronics to salvage.

"What can I say, I think it'd be funny to make my sister's bread talk to her in the morning." Pietro chuckled and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his absurdly skinny jeans. "Not this sister--well, she'd probably love it too, depending. The twin sister. That's the other party, Tuesday night, for our birthday."

Claudia looked down at that, thinking.  Joshua would have probably thought it was funny, too.  Of course, he would have preferred it if his toast had complex differential equations or something.

"Lucky you.  All the parties in one place, one family, and two sisters to choose from."

"I am lucky," he replied immediately, proudly, "but it's nowhere near as simple as you just made it sound. At least three families are involved. And we're never all in the same place."

And never would be again--but that was a series of stories Pietro had no interest in telling. His smile wouldn't even have faltered if someone had been capable of catching his superspeed twitches, though, because he was lucky. At least, since Wanda had come. This time last year, he'd been visiting her at Agatha's. And now...

So lucky. "But I wouldn't be the one to choose. They would. That's just how we roll."

"You, me, and a boarding school full of zany hijinks, what's not to love?" Claudia said, gesturing around her.  "But since it is your not-twin's birthday, what are you doing all the way over here?"

She still didn't understand why everyone was going out of their way to be so freaking nice.  A few twists of DNA and everyone wants to know you.  "I won't be doing your math homework, you know."

"Girl, I get a week's worth of math homework done in basically the blink of an eye; I need all the busy work I can get to keep from chewing my own arm off." Pietro chuckled. "And all the entertainment. Which is my excuse for poking at people who look interesting--or do a mean air guitar--during parties."

It was true, too. He could just keep poking eternally at his sisters, best friends, and boyfriend, but well. He liked to keep in their good graces, and spreading out the pokage was good policy so far.

Claudia wasn't sure what to think of that.

"Well, the key to good air guitar is to actually know how to play," she pointed out.  "Just like the key to playing guitar is to pick something besides 'Stairway to Heaven' to learn."

"My dad had a friend with a sticker on his Fender that said, No Stairway. I didn't get it when I was a kid--now it makes me laugh." Then Pietro corrected, "Not Lensherr, I mean. Maximoff." Actual dad, yeah, that.

"I used to drive one of my fosters crazy when I would use my electric to write up book reports.  It was actually kinda fun to come up with a coding to do all the notes as character without making my ears bleed from the unusual combinations," Claudia admitted.  Atonal and sometimes clashing, but quite interesting as far as things went.  "Not really music, though.  I got the idea off this sound guy on the Simpsons."

Pietro chuckled. "Wow, if I didn't know it was impossible, I'd say you must have even more time to burn than I do. But that's brilliant, seriously. Sounds like you landed in the right place." His gaze fell on Kitty because--yyyyyyeah. Displaced nerd weirdos tended to like it here.

Pietro oughtta know. Nowhere else in the world could he have been assured that his own birthday party would be a success for any reason other than Wanda's awesome, seriously.

"Priorities," Claudia said.  "I have them."

She let that sit for a beat, then grinned even wider.  "Time spent hacking, whether inside a computer or assembling new uses on old technology, is always well-spent.  I sorta just see how things connect and how to make them work better, I guess.  Still kinda pinning that down, actually.  I've been doing weird science stuff for so long that it's kinda hard to say what's what, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I see your point. Not exactly something that gives you a flashing sign like: Hey Welcome to Mutanttown, Population: You." Like his had, Jesus. Or, you know. Wanda's. "I sometimes think parts of our mutations show up before we fully manifest though. Like I was always a hyperactive little shit. So maybe that's a thing."

"Well, when I was little, if I asked a question, Joshua would always try to find a way to explain things to me.  Things like using a swing-set as a metaphor for relativity," Claudia said.  "I mean, I could probably pass a GED test without studying, but apparently I'm socially retarded so nobody wanted to push me out of my age group.  It was always interesting hacking in to read my files and see what people were writing about me."

She considered the comment about hyperactivity or maybe stages in mutant development.  "I guess that would make sense, that our abilities mature in stages.  Might explain why mutants don't go totally insane more often.  But I never really did much with biology, more chemistry and physics.  Especially with hanging out in Joshua's lab.

"But I don't really know if hyperactivity is the right word if you're living life at a faster pace than most of us experience.  Like two computers can run the exact same number of calculations, but if one has a faster processor, it finishes those steps that much sooner, but it's still the same process."

"The prefix 'hyper' is always relative to what the majority--be it processors or people--standard," Pietro said with a shrug. "It's not hyper to me. If it were up to me I'd call bisexual flat out sexual and monosexual tragically limited, but alas the vernacular does what it will without my approval.

"Same with 'retarded', really," he said with a smirk. Ah, ableist language, jerks were always so quick to apply it to people who didn't fit in. "You're socially uninterested, or selective, so you get tagged with a label with little to do with you and everything to do with them."

"I never saw the point in forced social interaction with people who don't even know that quarks aren't just a character in Star Trek," Claudia said, rolling her eyes.  "I joined a few clubs that weren't total snooze-fests when my foster family du jour would allow it, and that cleared some of it up.  As for the rest?  On the internet, you can be anyone you need to be.  At least in the right circles."

She still wasn't entirely sure why she kept coming to these parties.  Maybe it was just because she wanted to know more.  "So, are you the one who actually has taste in music, or should I be looking elsewhere?"

Pietro's smirk stayed firmly in place; ahhh, he sure did love him some nerd-snobs. Some of nature's most adorable and entertaining creatures! He totally got that--if not the bit about being anyone you wanted to be. Pietro had only ever wanted to be himself, which was precisely why he liked it here, but whatever floats the boat. "You can look around for someone with better taste, but I assure you they don't exist. Though, okay, music-wise, Curtis is also damn amazing. But this is me, yes." He gestured broadly to indicate the currently playing selection.

"Well, considering that I kinda just went with one of my favorite song titles when they said I needed a codename," Claudia admitted.  "I'm not quite sure I shouldn't feel a little left out for not having flashy powers."

She gestured a little at some of the multicolored fire-sculptures flying around the party.  "Stuff like that almost makes me itch for a notepad, or a computer.  Trying to figure out how to do something similar.  It'd make the gym more challenging if there were ways to simulate other powers."

Pietro had to think for a moment to come up with her code name, then he remembered. "Joan Jett is a goddess."

"The Danger Gym does some pretty impressive stuff," he admitted after that. "But I would definitely like to see more of--well, yeah. That. A little less of it controlled by a crazy ass self-professed pyromaniac, but I think he's on a leash tonight."

Or Eileen would make him puke up his toenails. Seemed to be working so far?

"Am I going to be in trouble if I say I was thinking of Cherie Currie?" Claudia had to ask.  Although Jett did have talent, too.  She just wanted to yank Pietro's chain a little.

She kinda liked the training, even if it was really, really demanding, especially if you didn't have much on the power front.  "Not all of us have powers that let us seemingly defy the laws of physics.  I almost feel inferior.  Maybe I'll build myself some kind of edge."

"Also a goddess." Pietro waved off that first part. Jett was totally more his type of punk rock woman, but he'd never complain about Cherie Currie, come on! Iconic! 

"As for your powers not being flash--you should totally build yourself an edge, if that's a thing you want. I enjoy my flash." To illustrate he held up one hand and let it vibrate into a blur for a moment. Sans the usual commentary on how useful that particular trick was; she was way below his age threshold for inappropriateness, he suspected.

Claudia may have been young, but you don't crawl around the underbelly of the internet without learning things you can't unlearn.  So she arched an eyebrow at that.  "I would think being used as a vibrator would be a little demeaning."

"That's like saying having someone sit on my face would be demeaning," Pietro responded immediately. Hey, she was the one who went there!

Claudia had to laugh at that.  "Definitely not on my to-do list."

She wasn't being insulting, exactly, it was just that she certainly wasn't in the market for much of anything, and if she were, she'd need to share more than just a band or three.  "But you might be able to tell you where I can get my hands on some decent records.  Vinyl, by preference.  Digital recording clips too much."

"Yeah, that was not a suggestion, merely an anti-slut-shaming comment," Pietro said with a smirk. He wasn't sure how she'd meant it, but he definitely hadn't wanted to imply she should invite people to sit on her face. As for sitting on his, she was way too young--and he was way too taken. "Curtis works at Empire Records in town and the staff there is amazing. If they don't have it, they can help you get it. I know 'em all; we should go."

"I was just thinking that you definitely do not run on four AAs," Claudia pointed out.  "But then, I prefer a guy who can speak geek rather than getting a strange glazed expression.  On the other hand, a trip for vintage vinyl?  That would totally kick ass.  The other kids at my last place kept using mine to practice their hip-hop idiocy."

Pietro laughed at the AA's comment--and refrained from pointing out that his dick didn't run on batteries either, and yet he was fine with that being used for his partners' pleasure. Kiiiiind of the point of sex to use all natural gifts to give your SO good times, but seeing as it was not ever gonna be a thing for them, he just appreciated her sense of humor with it. She was kind of adorable, yeah.

"That is a great plan. You'll love the shop, they cater to like every possible demo. Vintage love to club kids making remixes on their iMacs in their garages, seriously." Though he smirked a little there, too. A fair warning was totally in order: "Though, I should warn you, if you're not into hip hop some of the stuff at the dance party on Tuesday will send you screaming. I like all the best, from punk to traditional to rap."

"It's more that I'm not into people scratching up perfectly good music because that's the only thing they know to use a turntable for," Claudia said.  "I have a broad taste in music, as long as it actually is music and not some tweaker with no sense of rhythm or poetry screaming nonsense at the top of their lungs.  Besides, a good beat is all you need for a dance, right?"

Pietro grinned brightly. "I  knew I liked you. I could not possibly agree more with everything you just said. We are gonna get you seriously hooked up."

"You may not like hearing this, but I may have to go slow in rebuilding a collection.  I am on an allowance, and I was kinda hoping to save up for a Nexus 7," she admitted.  "Bartering for talking breakfast breads, maybe?"

"Oh we can totally work out a deal," Pietro said agreeably. He was on an allowance too, of course, but having occasional access to Erik's credit card was a perk like none he'd ever had in his life--he was not above using it as a force for good. As in music and books. "I'm not one of these rich kids, but there's usually a little extra to go around these days."

"It's still more money than I could usually scrounge.  I tried selling some of my inventions, but the wrong people kept getting interested," Claudia admitted.  "It's one thing to make a very annoyed teacher's classroom a text-free zone, but it's something else when someone wants that zone to cover a much larger area.  Like, say, a military installation."

"Yeahhhh pretty sure the NSA is sniffing around a lot of our students," Pietro said with a little roll of his eyes. Fuckers--mutation was not there for the benefit of the oppressors, okay. That was demeaning. "I think people kinda expect the headmasters to be up to the same kinda shit here, but I haven't heard anything about it so far. And while I've only known the old man for like three--almost four years--I'm pretty sure he's not into that.

"As in I think he'd end anyone who suggested it." Pietro made a wry little smile, there. It sounded like he was joking, but he wasn't sure he was.

"You run a safe haven for known mutants, I'm pretty sure people will expect you to be training a private army or something.  Which, you know, we kinda are," she said, with a dry chuckle.  "Most racists can comfort themselves into believing they're the superior race.  If you don't consider mutants to be human, we've got skills they can't match.  It makes us scary.  The kind of hatemongers that are out there won't ever believe that we aren't going to try and crush them under our bootheels.  Just look at history."

She didn't like that, but she damned well wasn't going to be a victim.  "On the plus side, from what I've seen, I wouldn't want to try to crack the school's network from the outside.  I've also been trying to put together some plans for an emergency comm unit that doesn't use the usual methods for transmission."

Honestly, it made Pietro really happy to hear one of the new, younger kids talking about this stuff sensibly. He'd had that don't wanna be an army/not gonna be defenseless/history is against us conversation with everyone from Jack to Alison to Scott Summers, of all people, and it was always good to hear it from new quarters. He nodded and smiled genuinely as she talked. 

"Very cool idea--especially now we have some mutant-friendly connections that aren't in the house." So far they were all pretty nearby, but there was always Agatha Harkness, Moira's people and the Braddocks in the UK, and plenty of other sympathizers. "History isn't on our side, but most of us are pretty keen on taking its lessons to heart." Or at least, enough that they might escape being totally fucked. Possibly. Maybe.

"It just occurred to me that if the world is going to label us as a subversive or terrorist group eventually, we might as well start putting some protections in place now.  To try to keep the casualties down before the war has even started in earnest," Claudia said, then shook her head.  "But that's not worth talking about at a party, now, is it?"

Although she had brought it up.  "It's not all weaponizing, anyway.  What the students here can do could benefit people just as much.  Even the little things like the holographic images for the kids who can't really go out in public without drawing attention.  If you gave that to someone with a disfiguring injury, it might give them the confidence to start rebuilding their lives. "

"You should talk to Lydia and Warren--Arthur too. They're working on all kinds of stuff like that," Pietro said, approving smile still well in place. Oh yeah, lucky them for finding this one, for sure. "That was the brain trust--and the money--behind the coming out parties so far. Plus a few PR saves of import. And I guarantee you they're just getting started. They claim to want input, and that's good shit."

"The people here are changing the world," Claudia said, gesturing towards various people, especially the celebrity mutants.  "Might as well make as many of those changes for the better, huh?"

She wished she had that kind of unlimited resource, but she wasn't interested in handouts, either.  If her ideas and gadgeteering were worth something here at Freak Central, it meant that she was giving something back.  She was more of a gray hat than anything, but she preferred having outcomes that didn't end up measured in lives lost.  "I just don't want to mooch off the good will like some ingrate.  Even if it's just because I happen to be a mutant, this is practically the first good thing to happen to me since Joshua... died."

"Even if your talents weren't useful--which they are--it wouldn't be a free ride. Training, not training, doesn't matter--we're building a community, and that's gonna be our biggest asset." Though Pietro hadn't had that conversation with Erik specifically, he knew he felt the same. The shit that man and his family had been through--no one knew better than him how important that could end up being. Inevitably would end up being. History taught them that, too.

"I know how that is, though." Some might say Erik was the first good thing to happen to him and Wanda since Django died... But Pietro was just gonna stick to saying this place, yeah. "Who was he?"

"My brother, the real genius.  He took care of me after our parents died, gave up what should have been his fun years to look after his bratty baby sister and work his way through college," Claudia said, looking away.  "We had all these games that weren't really games, just his way of trying to explain to me what his physics research was about.  When he got that research grant, it was like nothing would matter except us.  There were nights when we both fell asleep in his lab, because I'd go there after school."

Welp, that explained why she was so impressed with him having his sisters--and Erik, he guessed--here. Jesus Christ, if he lost Wanda, there was no question in his mind: Pietro would lose himself. He'd be dead within, like a month. Easy. It wasn't the same, no two families were the same, but still, he got it as much as anyone could, he figured. 

"That is one of the saddest things I've ever heard," he said honestly. He was not one to sugarcoat the horrible, and she didn't seem like the type who'd appreciate it, anyhow. "Not that it helps, but I'm sorry."

"One of these days, I'll figure out what really happened.  He was researching teleportation, but they were going to yank his funding.  He took too big a risk," Claudia said.  She knew what he must have done.  They wouldn't have pulled his grants if he'd shown them a big success.  He'd been saying for months that he had all the pieces, he just needed a chance.  "For a long time, I hoped he'd just gotten the exit coordinates wrong, that someday I'd get this phone call, and it'd be him, saying that he'd accidentally ended up in Sri Lanka or something."

More like his atoms were scattered between here and Sri Lanka--but while Pietro wasn't for sugarcoating, he also wasn't for being a huge dick, either. Especially not about someone's family. "That's so shitty. But--I mean, I'd do the same. That's just, like. How family works."

How it should work. Pietro's gaze flicked to Remy, but only briefly, before returning to Claudia.

If he had said that, she would have actually agreed.  As days became weeks, then months, and finally years, she knew he wasn't coming back.

"It was a half a lifetime ago," Claudia said.  "Literally.  If there were a way for him to come back, it would have happened by now."

"Most likely," Pietro agreed readily. "You're kind of a little bad-ass, clearly. That makes you worthy of all the vinyl we can unearth for you."

"You may reconsider that when you see my wish list," Claudia retorted, grinning.  "Some of the classics don't come cheap."

"If I can't swing it, we just need to find other, more creative solutions," Pietro said with a grin. Not necessarily illegal! Just, you know. Ways.

"If you have to get creative like that, I want detailed descriptions.  Unless it involves getting naked or anything like that," she said, adding the last as an afterthought.  No sense getting the NC-17 version of anything.

With another little chuckle, Pietro promised, "No naked descriptions for you, you have my most solemn word. Anything else, you'll hear about it."

Though, now she mentioned it, knowing music!Jack, naked might help... but no, he was taken now. Hee!

Claudia laughed at his look, grinning even wider.  "Then we should make plans after the festivities.  I have this funny feeling I won't be hard to find."