Crow Comes Home To Roost (IC) (Open)

[Quinn]

The bus pulled up at the exterior to Claremont Academy, and a medium-sized teen hopped out. A pair of gym bags hung from each shoulder, and he was dressed fairly well; a Boston-style pea coat, blue jeans, and a pair of well-worn boots. He looked up at the huge gates in front of him, tilting his head as if in thought. Taking a few steps forward, he looked at the plaque on the pillar, in full view of anyone passing by.

“The Claremont Academy for the Gifted - Scientia Potentia Estâ€

He looked at the motto, running the words over in his head. Then the young man simply spoke to the air, musing.

"Strong doors. Hate to see the bum who'd try and kick 'em down."

He shouldered his burden again and walked to the smaller door in the gates, about to reach for the doorknob...then he stopped. And looked at his bags. And looked at the door. Then looked at the snow-and-slush-covered ground. Then back at his hands, holding the bags.

"Ah...cac."

[Electra]

While the boy was debating his predicament, he caught a glimpse of movement at the top of the wall. A skinny orange cat picked its way neatly around the decorative ironwork, pausing to look down at the stranded boy It cocked its head, appearing to consider the situation, then leapt down, behind the wall and out of sight. A moment later, the gate swung open on soundless hinges to admit the boy. The cat, now sitting sedately in the middle of the broad paved driveway, looked on while washing one paw.

[Quinn]

The boy looked down at the cat, then tilted his head again. Carefully, he stepped across the threshold, and remained standing there, looking at the cat. He blinked at it momentarily, then looked up, and shrugged. Carefully bending his knees, he managed to reach a hand out and scratch the top of the cat's head, lifting one shoulder to avoid dropping one of the heavy bags, and stood again.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

His voice had a bit of a brogue, but he hid it well, and he looked about the snow-covered quad. Place was covered in snowy footprints, and the statue was gleaming white here and there. He could see a few fliers in the sky, and he looked somewhat jealous as they went overhead.

"Don't suppose you know the way to a cafeteria or something?"

[Electra]

The cat, who upon closer inspection wore a blue collar with a copper tag, bumped his head against the boy's hand appreciatively, giving him a little purr. When he straightened, the cat stood as well, his tail waving lazily as he headed down the driveway. He cast a look over his shoulder to make sure he was being followed, then continued at a leisurely pace. The pair wound around the largest building, following a shoveled sidewalk path to a smaller side building. From the sign on the door, this looked like a classroom building, not the cafeteria that had been requested. The cat sat down in front of the building, folding his tail around his feet, and waited, looking expectantly at the doors.

[Quinn]

The boy followed the cat, mystified but intrigued, and oddly at ease. If anything, he acted like he'd seen weirder than a particularly precocious cat. That, and the little furball was cute. He looked at the door, then down at the cat, raising an eyebrow.

"This...doesn't look like a cafeteria..."

Eh. Still, a door was a door, and the cat clearly led him here for a reason. He shifted his burden around his shoulders in a vain attempt to make a free hand to open the door with.

[Electra]

Before the boy could get a hand free to open the door, a bell rang, the sort that anyone who'd ever been to high school was familiar with. Moments later, students began walking out the doors, singly or in groups, dispersing across the snowy campus. Most of them looked normal or nearly so, a few were decidedly strange. As he watched, a tall girl with auburn hair came out the door and headed for the cat, picking him up for a cuddle. "Hey, Oliver," she told the cat, before noting that he'd brought a friend. "You been picking up strays again?"

Erin took a moment to assess the newcomer, for that's what he obviously was, a strange teenager with his arms full of baggage and a vaguely lost look. "Hi," she said, "I'm Erin. Guess you met Oliver already. You want a hand with those bags?" Oliver climbed onto Erin's shoulder, looking pleased with himself.

[Quinn]

The boy looked at her, then the cat, then his rather sharp features softened in a smile, and he shrugged. Then hastily shot a hand up to keep one bag from falling down.

"Strays, huh? S'pose I should resent tha', but it's probably accurate. I'm Morgan."

Morgan's Irish brogue came in a bit thicker as he spoke, but he clamped down on it fast. As he shuffled with his bags, he looked at Erin with a bit of a sheepish look, nodding.

"And...yeah, could use a hand. At least until I find a cafeteria, don't want to impose or anythi...ng...."

His voice trailed off, and he looked at the cat with narrowed eyes, mouth quirking in a half-smile. Morgan then spoke directly to the cat, as if he expected a reply.

"Heh. You're no average ball of fluff, are you? Are you a cat sìth then?"

[Electra]

Erin reached out and took the largest bags from Morgan, treating them as though they were weightless. "We don't know what he is," she said artlessly, "but he's definitely not an average cat. I think he uses my computer when I'm not looking. Have you checked in at the front and gotten your room assignment yet? You might want to dump off your stuff before hitting the lunchroom."

[Quinn]

Morgan looked as she hefted the heaviest of the two gym bags, (which, really, besides the cumbersome and awkward shape, hadn't really been that heavy for him) and felt a distinct feeling of inadequacy. Which disappeared quickly as she commented on the cat's using of the computer.

"So that's where that lolcat meme came from! Heh, maybe I'll give the little guy a cheeseburger at the cafeteria or something."

As she mentioned room assignment, he looked somewhat blank, before nodding at her.

"Yeah, room assignment. Err...I just shipped up here from Boston on a red-eye, and the only thing I had to eat was sandwiches. Corned beef ones. Dry corned beef ones. Eech. Ergo...let's just say Centurion himself couldn't keep me from a plate of fish and chips or a slice of pizza right now."

He shuddered at the thought of the packed sandwiches his dad had made. He might have been something great, but cooking...was not his forte. And Morgan liked to eat. He liked good food. He especially liked cardiovascular feasts of doom like only good American cuisine could make.

"I don't suppose room assignment can wait?" He looked somewhat hopeful, praying the campus had a good lunchroom.

[Electra]

"Yeah, sure," Erin said with a shrug, starting down the path. "You can dump your bags in the common room at the dorm and come get them later. No one will mess with them." She moved with the grace of a trained athlete, the heavy bags not even putting a hitch in her stride as she led the way to one of a pair of handsome dormitories. "This is the upperclassman dorm," she told him, "you'll probably wind up bunking here. They'll give you the list of rules and stuff when you get orientated."

The first floor of the building had the common room, a large room with comfortable chairs and couches, one wall dominated by a large flatscreen television with all sorts of video game hookups. Shelves held paperback books, puzzles, and board games. Erin dropped the gym bags off in the corner and waited for Morgan to catch up.

[Quinn]

Morgan dropped his bags, but then reached down, unzipped one, and took out a single folded-up article of clothing. It looked like some kind of coat, but it had odd markings here and there over what was visible. Unbuttoning his pea coat, he folded that up and placed it into another one of the gym bags, revealing a simple navy blue hoodie beneath it, before throwing the other folded coat over his shoulder and stretching.

"Right, then. Sorry if I'm keepin' y'away from something, I really 'preciate the help."

He looked about at the common room with a very approving face, noting the video game station with a bit of a gleam in his eye before turning back to her.

"A good room. You spend a lot of time here?"

[GranspearZX]

Marcus didn't often have reason to be in the upperclassmen's dorms. By now he was garnering something of a reputation as a kid who didn't actively seek out attention, but he was still approachable by most standards. Once or twice he'd been seen on campus in bear form--an odd sight considering he was usually meditating, and even then he hadn't bitten anyone's head off. Literally or figuratively. Today, he was just roaming, looking for a quiet place to do just that, eventually finding himself in the mostly empty common room, save two others besides himself.

"...huh. Didn't think anybody'd be here... Hi." Marcus smiled and waved. He didn't know either of the two, but he was terrible with first meetings and remembering peoples' faces. Morgan's was... rather distinct; Marcus was certain he'd remember if he'd seen him before.

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin walked down the stair, zipping up his leather jacket most of the way. He wanted to get outside again, try to get some good angles for a few photos of the snow. His digital camera was safely secured in a pouch by his side.

He didn't notice the growing crowd until he pulled his deep navy ushanka onto his head. He stopped, raising an eyebrow at the others.

Really, he seemed underdressed even with the hat and jacket. It looked like he was wearing a t-shirt underneath the jacket, and he only wore casual jeans and some heavy sneakers. Then again, this was a school for metahumans, so nothing should be taken for granted.

"Hey Erin. Um...hello fellas. I sadly don't recognize either of you."

He strode forward, offering his hand to first Morgan, and then Marcus, giving both a warm smile, and not even playing the "who can crush who's hand" game with them.

"Name's Corbin. Glad to meet you fellas."

[Quinn]

Morgan looked somewhat mystified at the speedy arrival of the other kids; apparently around here they accumulated fast. Though they weren't getting any of his food. No sir. Well...maybe a few fries. He shook his head at his rather disjointed process, shaking their hands and giving a bit of a lopsided smile. He did like crowds sometimes, and all of these friendly folks were definitley making his arrival more pleasant.

"Morgan, Morgan Crowe. I guess I'm the new guy here, nice to meet all of ya."

He blinked briefly, as if remembering something, then stooped and picked up another one of the gym bags, except this one actually had a lock on the zipper.

"On second thought, think I'll keep this one with me. Was going to raid the lunchroom before I got my room assignment, any of ya care to tag along?"

[GranspearZX]

"I've only been here a few months... transferred from FDR."

He shook Corbin's hand, then Morgan's; Corbin seemed vaguely familiar, but he wasn't sure why. He'd probably seen him somewhere on campus. Marcus even offered an introductory handshake to the one Corbin referred to as Erin.

"I was headed that way eventually; I guess I wouldn't mind."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin nodded as the two fellows gave their names.

"Morgan, Marcus, good to meet you guys. Sorry I haven't met you before, Marcus. Guess things are just busy enough around here..."

He gives a helpless shrug, with his grin saying "what are you gonna do?".

"Raiding the lunchroom. I like the sound of that. I'm pretty darn hungry right now. Hope they've got plenty of chow cooked up. I don't know about you guys, but I could pack away a fair bit today."

Considering he was the size of some NFL players, that seemed like a perfectly logical idea. He strode towards the door, making sure his hat was secure.

"Let's go!"

[Electra]

Erin gave a nod to Marcus, and a reasonably cordial smile to Corbin, which was about the extent of her normal pleasantries. She peeled the cat from her shoulder and set him down on the couch. If Oliver wanted to get into the cafeteria, which was of course off-limits to pets, he'd have to make his own way there. Which wouldn't be a problem for him. "Don't worry," she told Morgan, "Lunch just started, the caf won't close for another ninety minutes. Plenty of time for you to stuff yourself."

She looked up the stairs to see if any of her friends were coming to lunch, then headed for the door after Corbin. Despite the cold and snow, she didn't bother with a jacket.

[Quinn]

Crow looked at the others as they walked out the door, looked at the coat hanging off his shoulder...then a wry smile crossed his face. Shaking his head, he looked back at the cat and shrugged, hurrying after the others with his bag and coat. Strangely enough, as the small cavalcade walked through the snow, he seemed unaffected or unconcerned by the early February cold, even when a particularly nasty breeze blew by.

[GranspearZX]

Marcus was pretty well dressed for the cold; he was wearing his Freedom Heroes jacket and a pair of gloves. "Eh, don't worry about it, Corbin... It's been kinda busy for me too, and I wish it was just school... but hey. That's life, I guess."

He stuffed his pockets, blowing a cloud of his own breath into the air before looking back at Crow. "So, where're you from?"

[Quinn]

Morgan shrugged, keeping an easy lope with the others and looking everywhere at once as he drank in his surroundings. Very little seemed to escape his scrutiny as he looked up, down, side-to-side, and at the strangest place.

"Boston, actually. My dad transferred me here after...well, let's just say he thought I needed better instruction than what I was getting."

A small but mischevious grin creased his features as he said that, and he looked at the others warmly.

"Actually, this isn't my first time here. Technically. The only couple times it happened, it was a quick stop while my dad paid a few folks he knew here a visit. How long've you all been here?"

[GranspearZX]

"Boston, huh? Bruins. Great team." Marcus smiled and nodded at the very literal inside joke.

"Me? Since about... October. I was going to FDR High before that. Still kinda getting used to things around here but it's really not so bad. I've lived in Freedom City since I was like 10, so I might as well say I'm from here..."

He looked over at Corbin and Erin. "What about you guys? If you don't mind me asking, that is..."

[KnightDisciple]

Corbin looked over at Marcus with a wry grin.

"I actually started here at the beginning of October, just a bit after the semester started. My family had moved out here sooner, but...the circumstances that led to me being here took a bit longer to come to fruition."

He looked towards Morgan with a friendly smile.

"I'm sure you'll settle in just fine. Even if you do get stuck with a roommate. Though, from what I've taken to understand, "stuck" is probably too harsh of a word."

[Electra]

"This is my second year here, I started at the beginning of last summer," Erin replied, glancing around campus as they walked. All was as it should be, which was reassuring in its familiarity after all this time. "It's a pretty good place to live. You want to make sure to follow the rules and not mess up, that makes things a lot better. People don't get away with a lot here, you know? But it's a good school, good training."

[Quinn]

Crowe looked at the group somewhat appraisingly, then shrugged and kept following.

"Considering who the principal is, I'm not surprised. That guy's got everyone's number, even my dad's."

He looked around at the campus again, tilting his head to the side as they approached the cafeteria doors. His eyes lit up briefly as he asked his next question.

"So...ooh, does the campus have a boxing team?"

[GranspearZX]

"Y'know... I'm actually not sure." Marcus looked thoughtful. "Never thought to ask, though I wouldn't be surprised, especially after the week I've had. Studying's been kinda wearing me out... Just thinking about exercise of any kind is giving me a little bit of a headache." Marcus looked around the cafeteria. There were still a few people around--some students he even recognized, and he nodded in their direction as the group walked in.

"...I'm gonna guess that you've boxed before then?" It really was a silly question but there was no harm in asking.