Kurt
—
She conked him on the back of the head lightly with the brush... "No. I won't."

"It'd be much more moving with a Southern accent, after all," he countered, ignoring the abuse for the moment in favor of pressing his point and he barely suppressed a snicker as she peered around, obviously checking to make sure there weren't any witnesses...hopefully to her embarrassment as she did the Southern belle routine, not to his imminent murder and the stashing of his remains.

"As God is my witness..." she finally began, and he rolled slightly to look up at her with a broad grin. "You're serious, aren't you? You're going to make me do the whole damn thing."

"Yup!" he answered cheerfully, and let one hand drop to pat consolingly at her calf as he continued to smile up at her. "Like you ever had any doubts?"

He winced melodramatically when she hit him with the brush this time, and rubbed at the spot with the spade of his tail, but his smile never died as she started again, reciting word-perfect from memory.

"As God is my witness, they're not going to lick me. I'm going to live through this and when it's all over, I'll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill... As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again. Unless Kurt eats everything in the house, in which case I'm screwed. Now change the channel."

He wasn't quite giggling by the time she was done, but he was pretty verdammt close as he applauded her performance enthusiastically. "A truly moving performance, I give it two thumbs up! Oh, and for someone who can't stand this movie you sure do have huge chunks of it memorized," he commented as he dropped his head back onto his arms and flipped through the channels in search of something that might be more to her liking. "Is it genetic or do they teach it in school down South?" he asked as he continued to flip...M.A.S.H...M.A.S.H...Star Trek...Twilight Zone...Fresh Prince of...eh, who cared...The Four Feathers - he flipped past that with a mournful sigh...Oooooh, perfect.

"There we go," he announced triumphantly, dropping the remote on the table just as one of the Rodents of Unusual Size appeared out of the shadows of the fireswamp and Wes - that is, the Dread Pirate Roberts - took care of it. They hadn't even missed that much of it yet. "That a bit better? We didn't even miss all of the ROUSs," he added as his tail poked her hand encouragingly towards an itch just beneath his right shoulder blade.

He was just reaching for more popcorn and getting contentedly into the movie - and the continued brushing - when an unfamiliar voice broke in and his head snapped around so he could see the door, and the very small, kind of confused looking, and really cute Asian girl standing there staring at them in surprise.

"Hi." She raised a hand almost as though she were asking a question at school. After a moment, one finger fell forward to point at the pair. "Were you grooming?" Golden eyes unblinking and tail coiled into a fuzzy blue question mark in the air over his back...which Rogue was still rhythmically brushing...he just stared at the girl for a heartbeat as his never quite audible purr stuttered to a stop. New girl...heavy accent...Marko something? Herr Professor had mentioned her after training this morning...

He had a very brief, somewhat manic impulse to see if he could actually get away with passing himself off as some kind of giant, mutated housecat. Instead he found himself smiling broadly, though in a way that kept his fangs neatly hidden away behind his lips.

"Family that grooms together stays together, ja?" he answered, cocking his head slightly and winking teasingly at her. "You must be the new girl Herr Professor said would be showing up today. Welcome to Mutant Manor," he added as his tail reached for the bowl of popcorn, refusing to let himself care whether she was going to accept and join them or make her escape from The Weird as quickly as possible as he held it out in offer. "Popcorn? The Princess Bride isn't too far along..."

Rogue
—
"A truly moving performance, I give it two thumbs up! Oh, and for someone who can't stand this movie you sure do have huge chunks of it memorized. Is it genetic or do they teach it in school down South?" She rolled her eyes as she continued brushing him. Really, he didn't need to know that she'd spent time in front of a mirror trying to get her eyebrow to do that thing that Vivien Leigh's does. Not like there was much else to do in Caldecott. "Shut up."

No better comeback than a well-placed shut up. Kurt flipped through the channels, and she readied the brush to hit him if he stopped on something equally retarded like Steel Magnolias. Finally, though, he stopped on The Princess Bride. That, she could handle. "There we go. That a bit better? We didn't even miss all of the ROUSs."

She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Yeah, much better. And it's hard to miss them when you got one on your lap." Squirrels were rodents. Right? She was about to double check that little factoid with Kurt when a voice behind her made her turn. "Hi." She raised a hand almost as though she were asking a question at school. After a moment, one finger fell forward to point at the pair. "Were you grooming?"

She didn't stop brushing him, just stared at the new girl. She didn't know her, and judging by her accent, she wasn't a Bayville native either. She vaguely remembered the Professor saying something about a new girl after training, but she'd been too busy thinking of creative ways to kill Scott and Jean to really pay attention.

"Family that grooms together stays together, ja?" She had the sudden urge to hit him with the brush again. Instead, she cracked a smile. "You must be the new girl Herr Professor said would be showing up today. Welcome to Mutant Manor." Okay, so she was the new girl, then. At least she'd made an appointment, unlike certain pyromaniacs who decided to pop in during breakfast. b"Popcorn? The Princess Bride isn't too far along..."

Figuring that better introductions were in order (which may very well have just been a little bit of absorbed Jean poking through), she added to Kurt's welcome speech, "This is Kurt, by the way. He's probably the kid that was described as blue and fuzzy, if you hadn't guessed from the blue fuzziness. I'm Rogue. I'm the bitch. Nice to meet you..."

Mariko
—
It was a weird thing to be confronted by Kurt. Or it felt weird to Mariko and she couldn't help but wonder if everyone else here was just fine with it, or if there was someone even weirder around the institute. She supposed she should have been more accepting. She was hardly the poster child for normal herself, unless everyone could go all flamey these days.

It seemed unlikely.

Seeing Kurt smile, Mariko ventured a smile back and decided to wave. It seemed better than pointing, but possibly made her look like an idiot, so she let her hand fall to her side.

"Family that grooms together stays together, ja?" At least he seemed okay. Quirky, maybe even weird, but mostly okay. Mariko didn't quite know what to say, so she said nothing, but simply nodded.

"You must be the new girl Herr Professor said would be showing up today. Welcome to Mutant Manor."

Again, she simply replied with a nod. As an afterthought, she added, "Mariko." She held out her hand to shake, but was somewhat surprisingly met with popcorn.

"Popcorn? The Princess Bride isn't too far along..."

"The what isn't what?" A moment's reflection told her that that probably wasn't the smartest thing she could have asked. They were almost certainly talking about a movie, the movie on TV, no less. "Haven't seen it," she said simply, before taking a handful of popcorn, briefly inspecting it for hair before popping some into her mouth.

"This is Kurt, by the way. He's probably the kid that was described as blue and fuzzy, if you hadn't guessed from the blue fuzziness. I'm Rogue. I'm the bitch. Nice to meet you..."

"Nice meet you, too. Hippo parents?" Mariko asked uncertainly as she dropped onto the couch beside Rogue. That was always the excuse people gave for weird names in American movies. At least she thought that was right. "Mariko," she added, not realizing it was the second time she'd said it.

Kurt
—
"Yeah, much better. And it's hard to miss them when you got one on your lap." Rogue responded to his comment about the ROUSs.

He was denied the opportunity to retaliate for that little dig, other than another slap upside the head with the spade of his tail, by the new kid's arrival. The cute new kid...

Amazingly enough, not only did she not run screaming from the room (and he really wouldn't have blamed her if she had, in all honesty), she actually smiled back and even waved sort of hesitantly. Not much of a talker apparently...though that could just be because all that really wanted to come out was incoherent babbling, under the circumstances. She might talk a mile a minute with 'normal' people, for all he knew.

He forged ahead none the less, filling the silence with his own babble as she stood there and Rogue - Gott love her - just continued stroking the brush down his back. Mutti would kill him for just lying there instead of standing up to greet someone new, but Mutti wasn't here and the steady movement of the brush was a welcome distraction.

"Mariko." she introduced herself, partway through, reconfirming his opinion that talking wasn't her strong suit...here and now, anyway. Though when she held her hand out to shake he felt a bit bad for the pre-emptive offer of popcorn. Still, it was generally easiest not to spring all the weirdness on a newbie at once. He'd discovered that the hard way years ago. Someone who seemed to be handling it all pretty well could just be in shock until one thing too many pushed them over the edge, and he didn't really feel like dealing with her jumping and screaming at the feel of three thick, fuzzy fingers. Not like it would irreparably shatter his self-esteem or anything at this point, but it had gotten old years ago.

"The what isn't what?" Okay, maybe not so much quiet or put off as having trouble with the language he decided a bit guiltily. And she did accept the popcorn - even if she did check it out a bit suspiciously first, and join them. So yay for the no making a hasty retreat. Ten points for the new kid.

"Ach, you haven't seen The Princess Bride?" he asked, shaking his head sadly as he pushed up on his elbows so he could actually look at her while talking. Not forcing the eye contact, though, in case that freaked her out. "You'll love it, it's a classic!"

"This is Kurt, by the way," Rogue broke in, and he waved his tail jauntily with a somewhat chagrined smile. Heh, introductions. Who'd've thought Rogue'd beat him hands down in the hospitality department...though she was really just a big, squishy Southern Belle at heart, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. b"He's probably the kid that was described as blue and fuzzy, if you hadn't guessed from the blue fuzziness. I'm Rogue. I'm the bitch. Nice to meet you..."/b

"Nice meet you, too. Hippo parents?" Mariko asked uncertainly as she dropped onto the couch beside Rogue and Kurt snorted in laughter, not able to keep it back despite knowing just how frustrating it was being the ESL kid who didn't know all the right words and expressions...just witness a lot of the outdated slang he'd picked up from watching American TV and movies from the 70s that he was still trying to break himself of.

"Y'know," he answered, shooting a conspiratorial glance back at Rogue, "it's entirely possible she actually has been at some point in time." Bats, birds, why not a hippo if it had suited her purposes?

"And I'm sorry for laughing," he added, turning back to Mariko with a sheepish smile. "Not like I haven't managed to mangle the language in some pretty interesting ways, after all. But it's 'hippy'. Hippos are those fat, grey things in tutus from Disney's Fantasia," he offered helpfully. Because, yeah, laughing at the new foreign kid...kinda tacky.

Rogue
—
Mariko sat down right next to her and she flinched almost instinctively. It was okay. She was wearing sleeves. She reached over Kurt to pick up the glove that she'd taken off before, chuckling at the question about her parents being hippos.

Y'know, it's entirely possible she actually has been at some point in time." Rogue nodded.

The woman had been just about everything else on the planet. Plus, "She's already a cow."

"And I'm sorry for laughing. Not like I haven't managed to mangle the language in some pretty interesting ways, after all. But it's 'hippy'. Hippos are those fat, grey things in tutus from Disney's Fantasia."

She nodded, agreeing. Hippo fit Raven, though. Irene, too. Fatass cows, the both of them. "It's not my real name. I think."

She looked back at Mariko, noticing again just how close the other girl had sat, and not really wanting to explain why sitting down right next to her was a bad idea. Normally, she wouldn't have really cared about it, but the girl had just slipped up the language and had the two of them laugh at her. Besides, brushing always put her in a good mood. Not that she'd admit it. Because really. Taking a cat brush to your "brother" was not a normal thing.

She tried to inch away from Mariko, but failed. Kurt really needed to lose weight. "Kurt, get up for a second. I'm moving over." She glanced back over at Mariko. "Nothing personal. Just don't feel like killing anyone today." Except Bobby. And Pyro. Jean and Scott, too. Okay, she had a list. But she didn't feel like killing someone without good reason.

Once she was settled into her new spot, she continued brushing Kurt and looked back at Mariko. Say something friendly. Ask her where she's from, or what her powers are. Yeah. Jean was going to get it. Bitch needed to learn to keep her fucking mouth closed. "So, uh... What are your magical wonderful splendid gifts?"

Mariko
—
"Ach, you haven't seen The Princess Bride?"

Mariko shook her head. It probably shouldn't have been too hard for Kurt to believe. At least, logically speaking. She'd grown up in a different country. No doubt there were plenty of things each had seen that the other hadn't. She said nothing though; it sounded crabby in her head and would probably sound worse out loud. Besides, with the whole grooming spectacle, logic seemed to have left town a long time ago. Perhaps she'd even left it back in Tokyo.

"You'll love it, it's a classic!"

"Okay!" Mariko said about as brightly as she could, trying to get enthused about a film she knew nothing about.

"Y'know, it's entirely possible she actually has been at some point in time."

"She's already a cow."

Despite all the layers of attitude she'd been hiding behind since she left home, Mariko recoiled a little as the pair laughed. At Kurt's comment, she was just about ready to leave. Laughing she could endure if she'd said something stupid. Actual teasing, deliberate mockery, that was something else.

"And I'm sorry for laughing. Not like I haven't managed to mangle the language in some pretty interesting ways, after all. But it's 'hippy'. Hippos are those fat, grey things in tutus from Disney's Fantasia."

Mariko nodded, appeased by the apology, before rubbing a hand over her face. "Sorry, my English is usually better."

"Kurt, get up for a second. I'm moving over. Nothing personal. Just don't feel like killing anyone today."

Mariko's eyes widened. Nothing personal, I just don't want to sit near you. Whatever that meant. Nothing personal but I'd rather kill you than be near you no less. It really wasn't the first time she'd had a girl that opposed to being physically near her. Just the first time it had happened with so little reason. It was funny, but she'd assumed that Rogue was joking when she said she was the bitch.

She wanted to speak up, to give Rogue a piece of her mind, but she thought better of it. Kurt was trying to be nice, so she didn't want to go off on her friends. Besides, if she got kicked out of Xavier's, she didn't really have anywhere else to go. Propping her chin on her hand, Mariko stared at the wall.

"So, uh... What are your magical wonderful splendid gifts?"

"Huh?" Mariko asked, turning to face Rogue with a glower. "I can tolerate being near strangers, not just people I know without threatening to kill them, which is apparently kind of unusual. Oh, not to mention not making weird jokes to make fun of the new kid. Don't worry; I'll be nowhere near you." Climbing to her feet, she spared Kurt an apologetic glance, "I didn't mean to spoil your movie," she said, a little plaintively, "I just can't handle this right now." With a shake of her head, she turned to leave the room.