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om_main2015-01-20 10:10 am
om_colossus) wrote in om_main2015-01-20 10:10 am
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Becky and Piotr, October 30
Becky frowned at her phone as she walked down the hallway. Huffing, she replied to her mom's text. Yes, she was eating plenty of vegetables, no, she hadn't driven anyone to move - that had been forever ago, and she was pretty sure her mom was exaggerating her role in the Murphy's decision to leave.
Distracted as she was, she was experienced enough at the text-and-walk that she could tell someone was in front of her. Trying to shuffle out of the way with a polite "Excuse me!" she glanced up at the obstruction... and up... and up... at a ridiculously attractive man.
Feeling a little faint, she wheezed, "Sweet Lilith, Mother of Monsters."
It was going to take a while for Piotr to get used to this huge place. he was headed for his room, but must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Was he even on the right floor? There was a girl coming down the hallway, and Piotr considered calling out to her. But she seemed entirely engrossed in her phone. He decided to wait to see if she'd be done any time soon. If not, he'd find his own way. That would save him from his usual awkward stumblings with strangers, which were becoming all too frequent now that he'd moved somewhere new.
When she moved to shuffle past him, Piotr just politely stepped aside. He smiled a little awkwardly when she looked up and was about to give a polite greeting when she said the weirdest thing he'd ever heard anyone say. Piotr blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" he asked in his heavily accented voice. Clearly his English must have failed him or something.
And he had an accent?!? Sweet baby Winchesters this was too good to be true. She let out a breathy giggle before collecting herself. "Hi! My name's Becky! Are you a new student here? And where are your from? Your accent is really cool." She thrust out a hand to shake... which still had her phone in it. Quickly pocketing it, she tried again.
Piotr still looked a little bemused as he took her hand and shook it gingerly. he was clearly pretty aware of how strong he was, given that he was acting like her hand might be made of porcelain. "Yes, I am a new student. I only arrived yesterday. My name is Piotr, I am from Russia. Pleased to meet you." Had he answered all of her questions in that rush? Yes, he must have. he had one of his own though. "What is Lilith? I do not know that word."
Giggling - he shook her hand like she was some delicate princess or something! - Becky squeezed his hand back and placed her other hand on his... finely muscled forearm before pulling away. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you!" She blushed a little that he had caught her earlier exclamation. "Um, well, Lilith is a 'who' not a 'what.' In religious mythology, she was Adam's first wife but refused to be subservient to him and left the Garden. And some believe that she went on to give rise to all the demons in the world, so... yeah." It wasn't the religious canon that Supernatural had used, but Becky had never really been a fan of the Eve storyline - Lilith had been way more interesting.
Piotr either didn't mind or didn't pay attention to the hand she put on his arm. He listened to her explanation with an intent frown. The words made sense to him, but he still wasn't sure he understood. "So she is a story?" That wasn't the question he really wanted to ask, but 'Why did you say that when you saw me' was too odd a question even for someone as straightforward as him. "I do not think I have ever it. Is it from your Bible?" He knew that western branches of Christianity had a different interpretation on the faith from the Russian Orthodox church, but that sounded really weird. Then again, he'd never really paid much attention to religion, so maybe he'd just missed that bit. He'd probably have paid more attention when his grandparents took him to church if he'd heard that one though!
Becky tried to remember - she'd researched all of the mythological origins of the Supernatural characters, of course, but it had been a while since she'd read up on Lilith. "Umm... I know she is in the Bible, but I think it mostly just mentions that she is demonic or something? Mostly I think she is a Jewish figure? I'd have to wiki it to be sure, though." Not wanting him to get the wrong impression of her, she also corrected, "And, you might be able to tell from that, but I'm not actually all that religious myself. So, you know, it's not my Bible or anything."
That was a surprisingly knowledgeable but even more confusing answer. Piotr's baffled expression deepened, particularly because this time he was pretty sure he was understanding correctly. Well, understanding the English (he knows what wikiing is, he has internet too). The rest, not so much. "So....why did you say it?" That was the bit he really wasn't getting.
Flushing bright red, Becky squeaked. "Well... uhh... it was mostly an exclamation of surprise? At seeing you. Because of, you know..." She waved her hand up and down to indicate his body.
Piotr blinked and then flushed wheb she pointed like that. "Sorry." He mumbled embarassedly. And then took a big step back. "I should not, how do you...say?" He paused for a srcond, trying to remember a word. "Loom." He finally cobcluded. Because clearly that's what she meant, right?
"What? No!" Becky stepped forward into his space again. "I meant that you're hot!"
Maybe Piotr didn't know what hot meant in that context, since all Becky's comment got in the first moment was a slow, confused blink. Except that then a flush spread across Piotr's skin and he got a bit of a (very large) deer in the headlights look. "Uhhh...." All the English seemed to be gone for a moment, before Piotr managed to rally enough to get out a "Thank you?" It sounded somewhat hesitant and made it fairly clear that his experience with girls was basically nonexistant.
Becky gave her megawatt smile. "No problem!" For a minute, she thought he was going to be like some of the other silly boys here who didn't know how attractive they were. "So, how long have you been at the school? Have you been given the tour? Oh! What grade are you in?"
In a way the barrage of questions actually helped Piotr, since they let him move past the flash of awkward from the unexpected compliment. "I arrived two days ago. Yes, I had a small tour. I am a ....senior? I am in my ladt year." Piotr ticked the questions off methodically, making sure to answer them in order. He just wasn't sure with that last one, back home they gave year levels in numbers but he knew it was different here.
"No way!" Hot, tall, and mature? This guy was the total jackpot. "So what made you decide to come all the way to the States for your last year?"
If Piotr was a jackpot he didn't seem aware of it. At this point he was mostly glad for a normal conversation. "I was offered by Professor Xavier." Now there was a name that sounded very different with a Russian accent. "My parents and teachers all said that going to America would be good for me." Piotr didn't sound entirely convinced. He had been quite content back home.
"Well, I'm not very patriotic, but we do have some awesome TV shows. And the school seems to be a really good place! Pretty much everyone has been welcoming and nice to me - which trust me, is pretty unique for an American high school." Not that she thought Piotr would have the same issues making friends as she normally did, but a little reassurance never hurt anyone. A thought occurring to her, she added, "Oh! But all the grumpy people hang out in the woods. And sometimes they can be all, 'grr, my territory!'" She was thinking of one dog demon in particular. "They're all bark, though."
Another realization hitting her, she gave a bashful smile. "And, uh, if you also like to be grumpy, you could probably totally join their party."
Aaaaand straight back to the Land of Confusion for Piotr. A forest full of grumpy people? Liking being grumpy? Did that word not mean what Piotr thought it did? "Grumpy means always angry, yes?" He asked with his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why do people enjoy this? And why do they bark? That is the sound dogs make yes?"
Laughing, Becky confirmed the definition of grumpy. "And it certainly seems like some people enjoy it. I think it makes them feel tragic and heroic." That wasn't to say that Becky disagreed - surliness often hid a deep inner well of pain and a heart that was yearning for love and acceptance. Just ask Dean. "The 'bark' thing is from an American phrase. When someone is loud and mean but doesn't actually want to fight physically, we say that they are 'All bark and no bite', like a tiny loud dog that acts like it can beat the bigger dogs."
The image was one that Piotr could picture well, and he chuckled at the thought. "I understand. We have a saying like that in Russia too." With a crooked smile he shook his head. "Still. Maybe I will stay out of the forest. I do not like to be grumpy. If these grumpy ones want to be left alone, then that is okay."
"Oh, they're not as bad as they like to pretend they are. In fact," she smiled with considerable pride, "Lots of people here will tell you that this one guy, Inu-yasha, is a jerk. And he can be, but it seems like life has just really sucked for him so I'm trying to help him see that being nice can be good, too."
Shugging, Becky got back to the topic she was most interested in - Piotr. "Anyways, do you know what electives you're going to be taking? Since the school is so small, all the years take electives together. I'm in Drama and Computer Science."
Piotr would have to keep that name in mind,With the way culture back home worked, he had plenty of experience with people trying to act all tough and surly. He could handle that easily enough. "I am doing ESL and Art." Piotr pronounced the three letter acronym very precisely, enunciating each letter as its own syllable. He also didn't seem to have any problem admitting that he was doing Art as a subject, "manliness" be damned.
"I think John's in Art. He's really great - he's going to be a famous writer someday!" Tucking her hair back, she asked, "What's ESL?"
"English as Second Language." Piotr replied, without noticing that he'd dropped a preposition there. Which sort of provided the reason why he was doing that class. "I am not going to be a famous writer." He added with a sheepish smile, but a touch of humor. "I only draw a little. I have never had electives like this before, so I had to choose."
"They don't have electives in Russia?" Becky pretty much knew nothing about the country except they had a bad reputation when it came to gay rights. Maybe they wanted to stamp out all types of choice early?
"Not like this." Piotr replied with a shake of his head. "not in my town. Boys work with wood or metal. Girls cook or do art. It is.... old fashioned." Piotr didn't sound like he particularly minded that fact, he just shrugged about it stoically. Then he flashed her another tentative smile. "I think I like your way more."
"It is pretty awesome here!" Becky enthused, "And there are so many options! At my old school, they only had World Cultures, Band, and Creative Writing - that's the one I took. We didn't really have any sort of gender divide, though. So what kind of things do you like to draw?"
One thing Piotr was even less used to than American culture was kids being keen on school. Even in his age group school was a chore back home. He didn't mind chores, but the enthusiasm here was different. And infectious. "I do landscapes. And I do uh....portraits. " That was the wrong order, he definitely did more of the latter. But it was also the one he was more self conscious about. Normally he'd have hesitated to admit it right off the bat. That infectious enthusiasm combined with his natural honesty made it easier though.
"No way! Are they good? Can I see any? There's plenty of nice scenery around here for you to paint - but the lake is my favorite. And of course there are sooo many interesting people around here! I think some of them get touchy about being photographed, though, or at least Peter seems to think so. He's our resident photographer. So, yeah, you should probably ask before you paint people." Becky wrinkled her nose and muttered, "They certainly seem to have issues when you write about them."
"They are all right." The way Piotr turned allright into two words betrayed that he wasn't quite clear on what that meant. he had picked it up from others and didn't quite use the expression right. Also, his awkward level rose a notch when he discussed the quality of his work.
"Aww, c'mon," Becky tapped her knuckles against his biceps and just... paused for a moment, reveling in how firm they were. Coughing as she brought her hand back, she continued, "I'm sure they're awesome! So is your mutation something creative or artsy, too?"
Piotr didn't know what to make of the cough, but the question got a crooked smile. "No." He said with a shake of his head. "I can turn myself into metal. It is not art at all." Though he COULD probably pose as some sort of statue. But no, surely that doesn't count.
He would make a glorious, glorious statue, she thought with a whimper. "That's... pretty impressive. But, uh, I'm assuming you can still move? Do you get, like, metal joints and stuff, Tin Man style?" Oh gods, did he need to be oiled ?
"Who is Tin Man? I have not met him." Apparently Piotr's introduction to western culture didn't include The Wizard of Oz. "I am all metal, yes." Explaining his powers was complicated beyond that, so Piotr decided to make things easy on his shaky english. Show don't tell should solve the issue nicely. And the floor here seemed plenty solid. Without perceptible effort, Piotr gained himself a good head of height and a shiny metal skin. "Like this." He commented and grinned bashfully. Even his teeth were gleaming metal.
Was this what swooning felt like? A hand fluttered to Becky's chest before she reached out, asking "Can I?" even as she touched his metallic forearm. Letting out a stuttering breath, she pressed lightly against what had just been flesh. Now, it was firm - well, even firmer than it had been - and cool against her skin.
"Can you feel this?" She dragged her fingers lightly down towards his wrist as she looked him up and down. She didn't know where to focus! His ridiculous pecs, stretching that poor, abused shirt to its breaking point? Or should she examine how the light found each of his muscles and highlighted them perfectly? Oh Trickster God, she couldn't wait to see him like this in direct sunlight. He would glow.
The earlier rap against his arm had been more casual, so that Piotr hadn't stopped to consider it. When Becky asked permission it gave him pause though. Fortunately metal doesn't blush! And since she just went ahead with it it was much easier to just let her and not reveal his nerves with some sort of butchery of the English language.
Except of course then she had to ask a question that required an answer. "Y..yes." Piotr nodded jerkily. And after a moment added "it does not hurt." Because while he could feel the touch, he wasn't actually sure how hard she was pressing. "I can feel, but it is not the same." He really couldn't describe it though. At the moment even doing it in Russian would have required some flailing around to describe the difference when there is zero give in your body.
"This is sooooooooooooo cool! What are you even made of? Are you metal all the way through? Like, have you met Angie yet? She even has metal blood." She pressed a little harder and marveled at how unyielding the metal was. "Are you one of those indestructible people?"
Answering questions was easier than considering (and getting flustered by) being prodded by a girl he'd only just met. So even if he did feel weird, Piotr tried his best to answer without seeming TOO tongue tied. Not that he was eloquent in English at the best of times. "I think I am all metal. But I do not know. I have not been cut like this. Perhaps I do not bleed." It was possible, but Piotr wasn't racing to find out. "Perhaps I cannot be hurt. It has not happened yet." Piotr knew he'd been hit by a tractor to no effect and he'd experimented a bit. But he had no clear idea where his limits lay. Just that they were very generous. "It is a good power." Because yeah, even if he didn't know HOW invulnerable he was, Piotr kind of liked the idea.
"Have you met Simon yet? He can do this whole bio-scan thingie that would probably tell you. Are you going to be on the squads? They'd probably love you for the danger room sessions!" She reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to freak him out too much with her caressing tendencies.
"I have not met Simon. I will ask " Piotr was obviously comfortable with his powers, and he didn't seem more than idly curious. Bit he'd follow up on this. With the demonstration done, Piotr shifted back into his human form. "I do have a team. I do not know them well. But tje Danger Room seems exciting. Do you train there too?" It seemed unlikely, she didn't give Piotr the impression that she was a fighter. But in this place? Who knew?
"I do!" She enthused. "I'm not as intense as Midnighter or anything, but I train with a squad. I'm not naturally a fighter, but I do my best to help with the team." She pulled out her ever-present pen and mini notebook to wave in the air. "My power is psychic, when I write stuff down either it creates hallucinations where what I wrote happens, or if I write about someone close to me it causes a mental compulsion for them to act out what I wrote."
"You can write anything and it happens?" That seemed more than a little powerful, and it surprised Piotr that such a normal, cheerful seeming person would be able to do something like that. Not having met many mutants, Piotr hadn't considered how far mutant powers could go. Of course in his case that just lead to a different flavour of at a loss for words from usual. Despite that it was clear that he was as impressed with her gift as she had been with his.
Becky nodded, paused, squinted, and then shrugged. "Well, it only lasts for a couple of minutes, and the people I write about have to be pretty close to me for my powers to actually affect them and make them act out what I write. But yeah, at the least I can create any hallucination I want!" Her love of her powers was pretty evident in her tone and glowing smile. "I'm hoping practice can help my powers last longer! Five minutes is just not enough time to really develop a plot."
"Five minutes can be a long time." Piotr demurred, still clearly impressed. "If you want to tell a story, why not do it again after the five minutes? It can be like episodes on television." Piotr had only really used his powers to lug trees and tractors around. So it was more normal for him to think of 'civilian' applications rather than superheroics.
She hummed, thinking about it. "That's not a bad way to look at it, actually, though I'm more of a TV marathoner - sleeping is for the weak. And you would still get the disappointing reminder of reality in those few in-between moments... But I have been working on overlapping repetitive commands, though it gets pretty exhausting. But like I said, I'm still working on it! Can you stay metal forever, or does it wipe you out?"
Shop talk about powers was a novelty for Piotr. But it was still shop talk, and that sort of eminently practical discussion worked to put him further at ease. Quite without noticing it he was starting to he (a little) less awkward. "It has never tired me before. If I am tired when I change then I am no longer tired while I am changed. I think metal does not need rest. "
"Oh man," Becky chuckled, "you would absolutely win at the zombie apocalypse. Do you need to eat or anything? Do you get really tired again when you change back?" She loved talking about powers and seeing how everyone could have such different manifestations.
"Zombie apocalypse?" Piotr tilted his head to the side and frowned. "Like in the movies? I do not think anyone wins if that happens."
Still, she was probably right. He didn't really think he was likely to get bitten. "I must eat when I am normal. And I get tired when I turn back, as if I had been doing the same things as a normal human. If I run a long time as metal then I will feel that when I turn back."
Huh, so there were some drawbacks. Though if he could get all the supplies he needed and had a good team to watch his back, Piotr would probably be set. "That's neat! Did you get to use your powers a lot back in Russia? Or are they like the US, super paranoid about mutants and all?"
"Mutants are dangerous." Maybe it was his loose grasp of English, but Piotr stated that as a fact. "I kept my powers secret. No-one in Russia knows. My parents were very surprised when Professor Xavier came to them to say I am a mutant." His lips twitched from his earnest expression to something quietly amused. "But I practiced in the fields when I was alone. It is good to move the tractor when it is stuck."
"But mutants aren't dangerous," Becky was mostly confused as to why he would think that, but her response was also fairly practiced from how many times she had posted about it online. "Most of us don't even have intrinsically dangerous mutations, and those who do... they're not any more dangerous than humans who are allowed to carry concealed guns everywhere they go. And while there are bad mutants, there are bad humans, too."
"Ah, I say it wrong!" Piotr hurried to correct himself, to the point where he didn't pay as much attention to his English. The backslide made it pretty clear why he speaks in such a slow, deliberate fashion. After the first correction he reverted to form though. "I mean that people think mutants are dangerous in Russia also. "So I keep my powers secret. "I think people will think my powers are dangerous. Maybe even the government." And that was not someone you particularly wanted to cross in Russia.
"Oh!" All smiles again, Becky was a little pink in the cheeks from embarrassment. "I see, sorry I just went off on a rant. I do that sometimes." Looking down for a minute, she jumped a little when her phone's chime went off. It was probably her mother, responding to her text, so she ignored it for the moment. But it made her realize that some time had passed, so she gave Piotr a wry smile and a giggle. "So, uh, I kind of just trapped you in the hallway, huh? Were you headed somewhere in particular?"
Getting past the miscommunication (how many was that now?) was a relief. "I was trying to find my room. I think I am lost." Piotr admitted with a shrug. He'd completely forgotten about that, and didn't seem in any great hurry. On the whole, meeting someone new had been worth the wrong turn he'd taken somewhere. Looking down at the phone he quickly added. "I can find my room alone, do not worry. You have to answer that, yes?"
Becky frowned, considering the mansion's layout. "Yeah, you're a little lost. You're practically at the girl's dorm!" Smiling and grabbing his forearm, she tugged him back the way he came. "It's not important enough that I can't show you how to get back, first. And besides, this way you can tell me more about Russia! Have you ever been to Moscow? Why do they paint their buildings all those different colors? They're so pretty!"
"Thank you." Piotr said as he obediently let himself be tugged along by the much smaller girl. "I have been to Moscow. it is where I left from to come to America. I think they paint the buildings because it is pretty. I do not know if there is another reason." Piotr trotted along easily, answering questions about Russia as best he could. And clearly enjoying the company.
Distracted as she was, she was experienced enough at the text-and-walk that she could tell someone was in front of her. Trying to shuffle out of the way with a polite "Excuse me!" she glanced up at the obstruction... and up... and up... at a ridiculously attractive man.
Feeling a little faint, she wheezed, "Sweet Lilith, Mother of Monsters."
It was going to take a while for Piotr to get used to this huge place. he was headed for his room, but must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. Was he even on the right floor? There was a girl coming down the hallway, and Piotr considered calling out to her. But she seemed entirely engrossed in her phone. He decided to wait to see if she'd be done any time soon. If not, he'd find his own way. That would save him from his usual awkward stumblings with strangers, which were becoming all too frequent now that he'd moved somewhere new.
When she moved to shuffle past him, Piotr just politely stepped aside. He smiled a little awkwardly when she looked up and was about to give a polite greeting when she said the weirdest thing he'd ever heard anyone say. Piotr blinked in surprise. "Excuse me?" he asked in his heavily accented voice. Clearly his English must have failed him or something.
And he had an accent?!? Sweet baby Winchesters this was too good to be true. She let out a breathy giggle before collecting herself. "Hi! My name's Becky! Are you a new student here? And where are your from? Your accent is really cool." She thrust out a hand to shake... which still had her phone in it. Quickly pocketing it, she tried again.
Piotr still looked a little bemused as he took her hand and shook it gingerly. he was clearly pretty aware of how strong he was, given that he was acting like her hand might be made of porcelain. "Yes, I am a new student. I only arrived yesterday. My name is Piotr, I am from Russia. Pleased to meet you." Had he answered all of her questions in that rush? Yes, he must have. he had one of his own though. "What is Lilith? I do not know that word."
Giggling - he shook her hand like she was some delicate princess or something! - Becky squeezed his hand back and placed her other hand on his... finely muscled forearm before pulling away. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you!" She blushed a little that he had caught her earlier exclamation. "Um, well, Lilith is a 'who' not a 'what.' In religious mythology, she was Adam's first wife but refused to be subservient to him and left the Garden. And some believe that she went on to give rise to all the demons in the world, so... yeah." It wasn't the religious canon that Supernatural had used, but Becky had never really been a fan of the Eve storyline - Lilith had been way more interesting.
Piotr either didn't mind or didn't pay attention to the hand she put on his arm. He listened to her explanation with an intent frown. The words made sense to him, but he still wasn't sure he understood. "So she is a story?" That wasn't the question he really wanted to ask, but 'Why did you say that when you saw me' was too odd a question even for someone as straightforward as him. "I do not think I have ever it. Is it from your Bible?" He knew that western branches of Christianity had a different interpretation on the faith from the Russian Orthodox church, but that sounded really weird. Then again, he'd never really paid much attention to religion, so maybe he'd just missed that bit. He'd probably have paid more attention when his grandparents took him to church if he'd heard that one though!
Becky tried to remember - she'd researched all of the mythological origins of the Supernatural characters, of course, but it had been a while since she'd read up on Lilith. "Umm... I know she is in the Bible, but I think it mostly just mentions that she is demonic or something? Mostly I think she is a Jewish figure? I'd have to wiki it to be sure, though." Not wanting him to get the wrong impression of her, she also corrected, "And, you might be able to tell from that, but I'm not actually all that religious myself. So, you know, it's not my Bible or anything."
That was a surprisingly knowledgeable but even more confusing answer. Piotr's baffled expression deepened, particularly because this time he was pretty sure he was understanding correctly. Well, understanding the English (he knows what wikiing is, he has internet too). The rest, not so much. "So....why did you say it?" That was the bit he really wasn't getting.
Flushing bright red, Becky squeaked. "Well... uhh... it was mostly an exclamation of surprise? At seeing you. Because of, you know..." She waved her hand up and down to indicate his body.
Piotr blinked and then flushed wheb she pointed like that. "Sorry." He mumbled embarassedly. And then took a big step back. "I should not, how do you...say?" He paused for a srcond, trying to remember a word. "Loom." He finally cobcluded. Because clearly that's what she meant, right?
"What? No!" Becky stepped forward into his space again. "I meant that you're hot!"
Maybe Piotr didn't know what hot meant in that context, since all Becky's comment got in the first moment was a slow, confused blink. Except that then a flush spread across Piotr's skin and he got a bit of a (very large) deer in the headlights look. "Uhhh...." All the English seemed to be gone for a moment, before Piotr managed to rally enough to get out a "Thank you?" It sounded somewhat hesitant and made it fairly clear that his experience with girls was basically nonexistant.
Becky gave her megawatt smile. "No problem!" For a minute, she thought he was going to be like some of the other silly boys here who didn't know how attractive they were. "So, how long have you been at the school? Have you been given the tour? Oh! What grade are you in?"
In a way the barrage of questions actually helped Piotr, since they let him move past the flash of awkward from the unexpected compliment. "I arrived two days ago. Yes, I had a small tour. I am a ....senior? I am in my ladt year." Piotr ticked the questions off methodically, making sure to answer them in order. He just wasn't sure with that last one, back home they gave year levels in numbers but he knew it was different here.
"No way!" Hot, tall, and mature? This guy was the total jackpot. "So what made you decide to come all the way to the States for your last year?"
If Piotr was a jackpot he didn't seem aware of it. At this point he was mostly glad for a normal conversation. "I was offered by Professor Xavier." Now there was a name that sounded very different with a Russian accent. "My parents and teachers all said that going to America would be good for me." Piotr didn't sound entirely convinced. He had been quite content back home.
"Well, I'm not very patriotic, but we do have some awesome TV shows. And the school seems to be a really good place! Pretty much everyone has been welcoming and nice to me - which trust me, is pretty unique for an American high school." Not that she thought Piotr would have the same issues making friends as she normally did, but a little reassurance never hurt anyone. A thought occurring to her, she added, "Oh! But all the grumpy people hang out in the woods. And sometimes they can be all, 'grr, my territory!'" She was thinking of one dog demon in particular. "They're all bark, though."
Another realization hitting her, she gave a bashful smile. "And, uh, if you also like to be grumpy, you could probably totally join their party."
Aaaaand straight back to the Land of Confusion for Piotr. A forest full of grumpy people? Liking being grumpy? Did that word not mean what Piotr thought it did? "Grumpy means always angry, yes?" He asked with his brow furrowed in confusion. "Why do people enjoy this? And why do they bark? That is the sound dogs make yes?"
Laughing, Becky confirmed the definition of grumpy. "And it certainly seems like some people enjoy it. I think it makes them feel tragic and heroic." That wasn't to say that Becky disagreed - surliness often hid a deep inner well of pain and a heart that was yearning for love and acceptance. Just ask Dean. "The 'bark' thing is from an American phrase. When someone is loud and mean but doesn't actually want to fight physically, we say that they are 'All bark and no bite', like a tiny loud dog that acts like it can beat the bigger dogs."
The image was one that Piotr could picture well, and he chuckled at the thought. "I understand. We have a saying like that in Russia too." With a crooked smile he shook his head. "Still. Maybe I will stay out of the forest. I do not like to be grumpy. If these grumpy ones want to be left alone, then that is okay."
"Oh, they're not as bad as they like to pretend they are. In fact," she smiled with considerable pride, "Lots of people here will tell you that this one guy, Inu-yasha, is a jerk. And he can be, but it seems like life has just really sucked for him so I'm trying to help him see that being nice can be good, too."
Shugging, Becky got back to the topic she was most interested in - Piotr. "Anyways, do you know what electives you're going to be taking? Since the school is so small, all the years take electives together. I'm in Drama and Computer Science."
Piotr would have to keep that name in mind,With the way culture back home worked, he had plenty of experience with people trying to act all tough and surly. He could handle that easily enough. "I am doing ESL and Art." Piotr pronounced the three letter acronym very precisely, enunciating each letter as its own syllable. He also didn't seem to have any problem admitting that he was doing Art as a subject, "manliness" be damned.
"I think John's in Art. He's really great - he's going to be a famous writer someday!" Tucking her hair back, she asked, "What's ESL?"
"English as Second Language." Piotr replied, without noticing that he'd dropped a preposition there. Which sort of provided the reason why he was doing that class. "I am not going to be a famous writer." He added with a sheepish smile, but a touch of humor. "I only draw a little. I have never had electives like this before, so I had to choose."
"They don't have electives in Russia?" Becky pretty much knew nothing about the country except they had a bad reputation when it came to gay rights. Maybe they wanted to stamp out all types of choice early?
"Not like this." Piotr replied with a shake of his head. "not in my town. Boys work with wood or metal. Girls cook or do art. It is.... old fashioned." Piotr didn't sound like he particularly minded that fact, he just shrugged about it stoically. Then he flashed her another tentative smile. "I think I like your way more."
"It is pretty awesome here!" Becky enthused, "And there are so many options! At my old school, they only had World Cultures, Band, and Creative Writing - that's the one I took. We didn't really have any sort of gender divide, though. So what kind of things do you like to draw?"
One thing Piotr was even less used to than American culture was kids being keen on school. Even in his age group school was a chore back home. He didn't mind chores, but the enthusiasm here was different. And infectious. "I do landscapes. And I do uh....portraits. " That was the wrong order, he definitely did more of the latter. But it was also the one he was more self conscious about. Normally he'd have hesitated to admit it right off the bat. That infectious enthusiasm combined with his natural honesty made it easier though.
"No way! Are they good? Can I see any? There's plenty of nice scenery around here for you to paint - but the lake is my favorite. And of course there are sooo many interesting people around here! I think some of them get touchy about being photographed, though, or at least Peter seems to think so. He's our resident photographer. So, yeah, you should probably ask before you paint people." Becky wrinkled her nose and muttered, "They certainly seem to have issues when you write about them."
"They are all right." The way Piotr turned allright into two words betrayed that he wasn't quite clear on what that meant. he had picked it up from others and didn't quite use the expression right. Also, his awkward level rose a notch when he discussed the quality of his work.
"Aww, c'mon," Becky tapped her knuckles against his biceps and just... paused for a moment, reveling in how firm they were. Coughing as she brought her hand back, she continued, "I'm sure they're awesome! So is your mutation something creative or artsy, too?"
Piotr didn't know what to make of the cough, but the question got a crooked smile. "No." He said with a shake of his head. "I can turn myself into metal. It is not art at all." Though he COULD probably pose as some sort of statue. But no, surely that doesn't count.
He would make a glorious, glorious statue, she thought with a whimper. "That's... pretty impressive. But, uh, I'm assuming you can still move? Do you get, like, metal joints and stuff, Tin Man style?" Oh gods, did he need to be oiled ?
"Who is Tin Man? I have not met him." Apparently Piotr's introduction to western culture didn't include The Wizard of Oz. "I am all metal, yes." Explaining his powers was complicated beyond that, so Piotr decided to make things easy on his shaky english. Show don't tell should solve the issue nicely. And the floor here seemed plenty solid. Without perceptible effort, Piotr gained himself a good head of height and a shiny metal skin. "Like this." He commented and grinned bashfully. Even his teeth were gleaming metal.
Was this what swooning felt like? A hand fluttered to Becky's chest before she reached out, asking "Can I?" even as she touched his metallic forearm. Letting out a stuttering breath, she pressed lightly against what had just been flesh. Now, it was firm - well, even firmer than it had been - and cool against her skin.
"Can you feel this?" She dragged her fingers lightly down towards his wrist as she looked him up and down. She didn't know where to focus! His ridiculous pecs, stretching that poor, abused shirt to its breaking point? Or should she examine how the light found each of his muscles and highlighted them perfectly? Oh Trickster God, she couldn't wait to see him like this in direct sunlight. He would glow.
The earlier rap against his arm had been more casual, so that Piotr hadn't stopped to consider it. When Becky asked permission it gave him pause though. Fortunately metal doesn't blush! And since she just went ahead with it it was much easier to just let her and not reveal his nerves with some sort of butchery of the English language.
Except of course then she had to ask a question that required an answer. "Y..yes." Piotr nodded jerkily. And after a moment added "it does not hurt." Because while he could feel the touch, he wasn't actually sure how hard she was pressing. "I can feel, but it is not the same." He really couldn't describe it though. At the moment even doing it in Russian would have required some flailing around to describe the difference when there is zero give in your body.
"This is sooooooooooooo cool! What are you even made of? Are you metal all the way through? Like, have you met Angie yet? She even has metal blood." She pressed a little harder and marveled at how unyielding the metal was. "Are you one of those indestructible people?"
Answering questions was easier than considering (and getting flustered by) being prodded by a girl he'd only just met. So even if he did feel weird, Piotr tried his best to answer without seeming TOO tongue tied. Not that he was eloquent in English at the best of times. "I think I am all metal. But I do not know. I have not been cut like this. Perhaps I do not bleed." It was possible, but Piotr wasn't racing to find out. "Perhaps I cannot be hurt. It has not happened yet." Piotr knew he'd been hit by a tractor to no effect and he'd experimented a bit. But he had no clear idea where his limits lay. Just that they were very generous. "It is a good power." Because yeah, even if he didn't know HOW invulnerable he was, Piotr kind of liked the idea.
"Have you met Simon yet? He can do this whole bio-scan thingie that would probably tell you. Are you going to be on the squads? They'd probably love you for the danger room sessions!" She reluctantly pulled away, not wanting to freak him out too much with her caressing tendencies.
"I have not met Simon. I will ask " Piotr was obviously comfortable with his powers, and he didn't seem more than idly curious. Bit he'd follow up on this. With the demonstration done, Piotr shifted back into his human form. "I do have a team. I do not know them well. But tje Danger Room seems exciting. Do you train there too?" It seemed unlikely, she didn't give Piotr the impression that she was a fighter. But in this place? Who knew?
"I do!" She enthused. "I'm not as intense as Midnighter or anything, but I train with a squad. I'm not naturally a fighter, but I do my best to help with the team." She pulled out her ever-present pen and mini notebook to wave in the air. "My power is psychic, when I write stuff down either it creates hallucinations where what I wrote happens, or if I write about someone close to me it causes a mental compulsion for them to act out what I wrote."
"You can write anything and it happens?" That seemed more than a little powerful, and it surprised Piotr that such a normal, cheerful seeming person would be able to do something like that. Not having met many mutants, Piotr hadn't considered how far mutant powers could go. Of course in his case that just lead to a different flavour of at a loss for words from usual. Despite that it was clear that he was as impressed with her gift as she had been with his.
Becky nodded, paused, squinted, and then shrugged. "Well, it only lasts for a couple of minutes, and the people I write about have to be pretty close to me for my powers to actually affect them and make them act out what I write. But yeah, at the least I can create any hallucination I want!" Her love of her powers was pretty evident in her tone and glowing smile. "I'm hoping practice can help my powers last longer! Five minutes is just not enough time to really develop a plot."
"Five minutes can be a long time." Piotr demurred, still clearly impressed. "If you want to tell a story, why not do it again after the five minutes? It can be like episodes on television." Piotr had only really used his powers to lug trees and tractors around. So it was more normal for him to think of 'civilian' applications rather than superheroics.
She hummed, thinking about it. "That's not a bad way to look at it, actually, though I'm more of a TV marathoner - sleeping is for the weak. And you would still get the disappointing reminder of reality in those few in-between moments... But I have been working on overlapping repetitive commands, though it gets pretty exhausting. But like I said, I'm still working on it! Can you stay metal forever, or does it wipe you out?"
Shop talk about powers was a novelty for Piotr. But it was still shop talk, and that sort of eminently practical discussion worked to put him further at ease. Quite without noticing it he was starting to he (a little) less awkward. "It has never tired me before. If I am tired when I change then I am no longer tired while I am changed. I think metal does not need rest. "
"Oh man," Becky chuckled, "you would absolutely win at the zombie apocalypse. Do you need to eat or anything? Do you get really tired again when you change back?" She loved talking about powers and seeing how everyone could have such different manifestations.
"Zombie apocalypse?" Piotr tilted his head to the side and frowned. "Like in the movies? I do not think anyone wins if that happens."
Still, she was probably right. He didn't really think he was likely to get bitten. "I must eat when I am normal. And I get tired when I turn back, as if I had been doing the same things as a normal human. If I run a long time as metal then I will feel that when I turn back."
Huh, so there were some drawbacks. Though if he could get all the supplies he needed and had a good team to watch his back, Piotr would probably be set. "That's neat! Did you get to use your powers a lot back in Russia? Or are they like the US, super paranoid about mutants and all?"
"Mutants are dangerous." Maybe it was his loose grasp of English, but Piotr stated that as a fact. "I kept my powers secret. No-one in Russia knows. My parents were very surprised when Professor Xavier came to them to say I am a mutant." His lips twitched from his earnest expression to something quietly amused. "But I practiced in the fields when I was alone. It is good to move the tractor when it is stuck."
"But mutants aren't dangerous," Becky was mostly confused as to why he would think that, but her response was also fairly practiced from how many times she had posted about it online. "Most of us don't even have intrinsically dangerous mutations, and those who do... they're not any more dangerous than humans who are allowed to carry concealed guns everywhere they go. And while there are bad mutants, there are bad humans, too."
"Ah, I say it wrong!" Piotr hurried to correct himself, to the point where he didn't pay as much attention to his English. The backslide made it pretty clear why he speaks in such a slow, deliberate fashion. After the first correction he reverted to form though. "I mean that people think mutants are dangerous in Russia also. "So I keep my powers secret. "I think people will think my powers are dangerous. Maybe even the government." And that was not someone you particularly wanted to cross in Russia.
"Oh!" All smiles again, Becky was a little pink in the cheeks from embarrassment. "I see, sorry I just went off on a rant. I do that sometimes." Looking down for a minute, she jumped a little when her phone's chime went off. It was probably her mother, responding to her text, so she ignored it for the moment. But it made her realize that some time had passed, so she gave Piotr a wry smile and a giggle. "So, uh, I kind of just trapped you in the hallway, huh? Were you headed somewhere in particular?"
Getting past the miscommunication (how many was that now?) was a relief. "I was trying to find my room. I think I am lost." Piotr admitted with a shrug. He'd completely forgotten about that, and didn't seem in any great hurry. On the whole, meeting someone new had been worth the wrong turn he'd taken somewhere. Looking down at the phone he quickly added. "I can find my room alone, do not worry. You have to answer that, yes?"
Becky frowned, considering the mansion's layout. "Yeah, you're a little lost. You're practically at the girl's dorm!" Smiling and grabbing his forearm, she tugged him back the way he came. "It's not important enough that I can't show you how to get back, first. And besides, this way you can tell me more about Russia! Have you ever been to Moscow? Why do they paint their buildings all those different colors? They're so pretty!"
"Thank you." Piotr said as he obediently let himself be tugged along by the much smaller girl. "I have been to Moscow. it is where I left from to come to America. I think they paint the buildings because it is pretty. I do not know if there is another reason." Piotr trotted along easily, answering questions about Russia as best he could. And clearly enjoying the company.