Backdated: Jean-Phillipe and Tat - Showing around.

[x-tatiana.livejournal.com]

Jean-Phillipe takes it upon himself to show the new girl around. Tat is awkward and confused, as she's been in the Mansion for all of a day.



A new student. The bits of information that had been provided on the journals had been enough to pique Jean-Phillipe's curiosity and rouse him from his normal disinterest. While he doubted that most of the residents of the mansion (and certainly his cousin) would consider him a good first impression of Xavier's, he had decided to take it upon himself to check in on the new girl. He rapped languidly at the door to the room Dr. Grey-Summers had put her in.

A muffled thump, cursing in Spanish, and then a rather hoarse "Just a minute!" answered his knock, a full minute passing before Tatiana pulled the door open. She was about 5'6" and thin - too thin at the moment, but more startling then that were the bruises that painted one cheek and her right arm. She blinked when it wasn't Jean, and adjusted her gaze several inches upward while trying to flatten her hair with one hand. It was kind of obvious she'd just rolled (or fallen) out of bed as she cleared her throat. "I- " She paused, swallowing hard. "Can I help you with something?"

Jean-Phillipe's eyes narrowed at the bruises. Another story of a mutant who had been greeted with fear and violence, he was guessing. A few sparks crackled from his hands as he frowned. He hoped for the day that mutants would be able to proudly identify themselves, and not hide. He shook his frown off at the skittish look on the girl's face and forced himself to smile. "Bonjour. I am Jean-Phillipe Colbert. I came by to greet you and see if anyone had shown you around the mansion."

"You're French," Tat blurted, before squinching her eyes shut. She couldn't believe she just said that. How rude was she? Of course he was French, and she was relatively sure he knew it, too. "Er... Sorry. That's really nice of you." She forced a smile, and then winced when it actually hurt. "I'm Tat. Or Tatiana Caban, if you feel like being formal. It's... nice to meet you."

Tat didn't know if this was normal, this 'people coming to your door and introducing themselves', but she didn't even know if she was going to stay. There was no real understanding yet on how she could stay, much less why. She hadn't filled out forms or told them anything about herself. In fact, last night was the first time she'd even told anyone her last name. "I don't really know how long I'll be here, but nobody's shown me around. I mean, just... Not that you have too, but-" She rubbed the good side of her face with a hand. Maybe if she just shut up now a hole would open under her feet and swallow her up right there.

"Non, it is fine," Jean-Phillipe reassured her. "I would be happy to show you around. It is why I came by, as it has been my experience that someone volunteers to show new people around. The mansion is a very large place, and it is easy to get lost." He shrugged. "Besides, that way you can meet some of the other people and get to know them."

Tatiana sucked in a breath, and then nodded slowly. "Oh...kay, I guess." She wasn't even sure if she belonged here - she didn't have any way to pay them, and for all that Dr. Grey-Summers had waved that off, she knew that money made the world go around. She nodded slightly, and licked her lips. "That- I mean, that's really nice of you, to show other people around." She curled her bare toes on the carpet, and nodded one more time, like she was almost convincing herself, much less him.


"Would now be convenient for you?" Jean-Phillipe asked. No time like the present, and it was most of the reason he had come by Tatiana's room. "You might want to, ah, put your shoes on first," he suggested.

Her shoes (what remained of them, anyhow) were currently sitting at the end of the bed, where she'd tried to get the blood off of them last night. "Now's fine. And I'm good." She smiled - it wasn't real, but there's no way he'd know that. She slipped out the door, closing it behind her. "So.. have you been here long?" Small talk. Small talk was good, and it wasn't talking about why she was in things that had Xavier's all over them, and that she'd spent over an hour trying to scrub off the blood last night, leaving her skin pink. Small talk was safe.

Jean-Phillipe quirked his eyebrow, which was his only reaction to Tatiana's shoelessness. "A few months," he told her. "There was a ...incident," he said, rubbing his forearms, "and since my cousin had already come here to learn, it seemed the place to go. I have been working with Monsieur Summers on getting better control of my power."


She had a feeling that asking about the incident would kind of defeat the point. If he'd wanted to tell her, he wouldn't have called it 'an incident'. "Do you like it here?" She hugged herself, her head tipping up to look at him. "I'm still figuring out if I... belong." That was the nice way to put it.

"In the time I have been here, I have come to the conclusion that everyone here is insane." When Tat gave him a startled look, he gave her a Gallic shrug. "Oh, this is a useful place, yes. Mutants are not something to be feared here, and one can learn control over their power. But still, for the people here..." He pursed his lips, trying to put his thoughts into the correct words. "They are...blase, about the bizarre things that happen around them."


"... I-" Tat didn't even know what to say to that. What to say about that. "Insane. Right." She licked her lips, and looked back at him. "It's... I'm still... trying to figure things out." That was the best way she knew how to put it, to try and figure all of this out.


Oh dear. The girl looked a bit overwhelmed. Jean-Phillipe tugged at his ear. "So, ah, shall we?" he motioned into the hallway.

"Right! Right. Let's just... I mean. You know where we're going, so I'll just follow you, okay?" Tat tugged on the hem of her shirt, looking up at Jean-Phillipe. This... this was going to be a long day.