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Rogue

—
She was glad that Kurt picked up on the obvious jab at his appearance. Really, she'd never so much as given the way he looked a second thought. Okay, maybe at first but the way she'd seen him was remarkably traumatic. Absorbing him right off the bat probably had something to do with it. She knew that he was really a normal guy before she even knew him. Still, it was fun to bug him about it. He knew that she really had no hang-ups about his appearance, and all was good in the world.

"You're just jealous of the fur and the tail," he informed her with an indulgent shake of his head. "It's all right, though, so many people are."

She sighed dramatically. "You're right. I want to be blue."

"Thank you," Mariko said with a nod, "and the big guy with the mini afro and the little guy with the moustache? Are they like sidekicks?" She looked at Mariko again, nodding in response to the girl's thank you. The big guy with the mini afro and the little guy with the moustache. Hm. She'd let Kurt take this one.

"You know," he answered, shifting his attention back to the screen at her question, "I might need to dig up the video so you can see it from the beginning. A classic like The Princess Bride deserves to be properly appreciated from the beginning."

She nodded. That was most definitely true. Of course, when Kurt said dig up the video, he probably meant it. There were so many movies in the collection, it was always fun trying to find one particular one. Especially when people didn't put them back properly. Just another one of the many things that really bothered her. She was pretty sure that she could blame Bobby for that, too.

Which reminded her... "Hey, Fuzzbutt." Poking Kurt in the side of the head, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You come up with anything good along the lines of revenge for breakfast? I haven't seen Bobby all day, but he's going to pay sometime."

Looking up at Mariko, she felt sort of bad about leaving her out of the conversation. But it was something important that just had to be discussed. Maybe a brief synopsis of the day's activities..."Kid dumped water on us and Kitty at breakfast. Thinks he's funny. He's going to die one of these days."

Mariko
—
"I might need to dig up the video so you can see it from the beginning. A classic like The Princess Bride deserves to be properly appreciated from the beginning."

Mariko smiled and gave the slightest nod of her head, "I think I'd like that," she said, graciously. She wasn't entirely sure she would, but it only seemed like the polite thing to say. Besides, blowing off potential friends at this point seemed like a dumb move.

"Hey, Fuzzbutt." Poking Kurt in the side of the head, she raised an eyebrow questioningly. "You come up with anything good along the lines of revenge for breakfast? I haven't seen Bobby all day, but he's going to pay sometime."

Curiously, Mariko glanced from Rogue to Kurt, before glancing back to the telly. Whatever they were talking about clearly had nothing to do with her.

"Kid dumped water on us and Kitty at breakfast. Thinks he's funny. He's going to die one of these days."

Kitty? For a moment, Mariko frowned. She was fairly sure she didn't know anyone else here, so why was that familiar? "Kitty who appeared on TV with you?" she asked, pointing a finger at Kurt. "Cool."

It was weird. Even having seen Kurt on TV before; even being warned about him by the professor, she'd been shocked to see him face to face. Still, she was cool with it now. At least mostly.

Kurt

—
She sighed dramatically. "You're right. I want to be blue."

"All the cool kids do," he countered. "Just ask Herr McCoy. Blue fur's the new in mutation. Of course, I've cornered the market on tails, pity for the rest of you," he added, waving aforementioned appendage cheerily around and then using it to retrieve the popcorn bowl so he could grab another handful.

Mariko smiled and gave the slightest nod of her head at his insistence that they needed to give up and just introduce her to The Princess Bride from the beginning, "I think I'd like that," she said, graciously, and he grinned back, fangs forgotten in the face of her general coolness. Of course, she was probably agreeing just to be polite, but that worked. It was all the in he needed to get her hooked on one of the greatest movies of all time.

"Hey, Fuzzbutt." Rogue poked him insistently in the side of the head as she spoke and he looked back at her, slapping lightly at her hand as he did so. "You come up with anything good along the lines of revenge for breakfast? I haven't seen Bobby all day, but he's going to pay sometime."

"Kid dumped water on us and Kitty at breakfast. Thinks he's funny. He's going to die one of these days." she added for Mariko's benefit and Kurt grinned and shook his head at the new girl.

"Don't mind her, if she hasn't threatened someone with death or dismemberment at least once before bedtime then her day's not complete," he told her with a wink.

"As for Bobby," he continued, shifting his attention back to Rogue with a grin," nothing specific yet, but Kaetzchen's in on whatever it is too. And if we don't manage to nail him before then, tomorrow at the lake might be a good chance to get him somehow," he suggested thoughtfully. "I'd say we should try and come up with something for tonight except we'll be at the concert, which is a hell of a wasted opportunity," he added, "because Bobby will too."

"Kitty who appeared on TV with you?" Mariko asked, pointing a finger at Kurt. "Cool."

"Ja," he answered cheerily as his tail deposited the popcorn bowl on his bare belly, "my forty-five seconds of fame as 'Oh My God what is that blue thing?' And you totally should have seen the look on the reporter dude's face when Kaetzchen and I 'ported into that chopper, it was priceless," he added with a wink.

Rogue
—
"All the cool kids do," he countered. "Just ask Herr McCoy. Blue fur's the new in mutation. Of course, I've cornered the market on tails, pity for the rest of you."

She resisted the urge to inform him that if more people had tails like him, she'd probably be getting molested on a regular basis. Better to move on. Move on to something less awkward. Like killing Bobby. Always a good solid topic. "Don't mind her, if she hasn't threatened someone with death or dismemberment at least once before bedtime then her day's not complete." She glared down at him.

"You're next."

"As for Bobby," he continued, shifting his attention back to Rogue with a grin," nothing specific yet, but Kaetzchen's in on whatever it is too. And if we don't' manage to nail him before then, tomorrow at the lake might be a good chance to get him somehow," he suggested thoughtfully. "I'd say we should try and come up with something for tonight except we'll be at the concert, which is a hell of a wasted opportunity," he added, "because Bobby will too." She frowned. Going to the concert was a bad, bad idea. Everyone should have known that. Mariko didn't, of course, but Kurt... he'd been there. He knew that even the possibility of destroying Bobby wouldn't be enough to get her to go. Besides, there was always the distinct possibility that she accidentally would actually kill someone. And she most definitely didn't want that.

"No concert."

"Kitty who appeared on TV with you?" Mariko asked, pointing a finger at Kurt. "Cool." Rogue had completely forgotten about Kurt and Kitty's little fifteen seconds of fame. That's what she needed. Just enough time to announce that her name was not Vampyra and that whoever'd saddled her with that was going to die painfully.

"Ja, my forty-five seconds of fame as 'Oh My God what is that blue thing?' And you totally should have seen the look on the reporter dude's face when Kaetzchen and I 'ported into that chopper, it was priceless," he added with a wink.

Nothing was more startling than a blue demon popping out of nowhere. Except maybe a normal looking boy turning into a blue demon right before your eyes. That was pretty damn startling, too. She peeled off one of her gloves and reached for the popcorn. Greasy gloves were not fun to have. Looking over at Mariko, she added to their conversation, "Kitty is my roommate. You'll probably meet her when she walks right through the bathroom door without knocking."

Looking down at Kurt again, she put her hand on his chest. He was soft, and as long as he didn't move too much, there'd be no problem. The fur was thick enough. "Let me know if y'all come up with anything. You'd better not do anything at the concert without me."

Mariko
—
"Just ask Herr McCoy. Blue fur's the new in mutation. Of course, I've cornered the market on tails, pity for the rest of you,"

Uncertainly, Mariko waved a finger at the bowl of popcorn. "You sure they don't just want to show you how weird it is to see your food handled by something that's not a hand?" Which possibly makes it taildled. Weird or not, though, she had no problems helping herself to another handful of popcorn.

Seeing Kurt grin, Mariko was somewhat taken aback and for a moment, she couldn't help but be taken a little aback. Her hesitation was fleeting though and her smile only gone for a couple of seconds. Kurt had fangs and so what? She could deal.

"Don't mind her, if she hasn't threatened someone with death or dismemberment at least once before bedtime then her day's not complete."

"I should have tried that at the place where I was staying!" Mariko exclaimed with a click of her fingers, "some of those creeps really deserved death and dismemberment." She gave a shrug of her shoulders before adopting a look of mock wonder, "Apparently, there are worse things than being homeless."

"No concert."

Mariko's eyebrows arched. She was picking up some pretty strong anti-concert sentiment. This time, she wasn't going to be dumb enough to ask.

"Ja, my forty-five seconds of fame as 'Oh My God what is that blue thing?' And you totally should have seen the look on the reporter dude's face when Kaetzchen and I 'ported into that chopper, it was priceless,"

"I can only imagine," Mariko replied with a grin. It felt like she'd missed so much. No doubt she had. On the plus side, she'd probably missed a lot of bad stuff, too.

"Kitty is my roommate. You'll probably meet her when she walks right through the bathroom door without knocking."

What? Mariko was about to ask how that worked, but already, Rogue was back on the subject of vengeance.

"Let me know if y'all come up with anything. You'd better not do anything at the concert without me."

Mariko considered offering her service and sure enough, it could have been fun. Still, the last thing she wanted was to be needy, over-eager to please, new kid. "Let me know how that goes?"

Kurt
—
Uncertainly, Mariko waved a finger at the bowl of popcorn. "You sure they don't just want to show you how weird it is to see your food handled by something that's not a hand?"

"Pfft! Weird? Around here weird is the natural state off affairs," he assured her, still grinning as she helped herself to popcorn despite her apparent reservations. "Wait until the first time Bobby freezes the pipes for the hell of it or Ray gets pissed at 'Berto and tries to zap his ass into next week. Soon enough getting snack food from a tail'll be one of the normal things."

Moving on, he blithely ignored Rogue's glare when he pointed out her fondness for threats, instead focusing on Mariko and her...pretty interesting...response to the comment.

"I should have tried that at the place where I was staying!" she exclaimed with a click of her fingers, "some of those creeps really deserved death and dismemberment." She gave a shrug of her shoulders before adopting a look of mock wonder, "Apparently, there are worse things than being homeless."

"It's amazing the kind of results you can get with a good, sincere death threat," he agreed, deciding that maybe now wasn't the best time to ask exactly what she was talking about...though she didn't seem touchy about it, so he'd probably go poking his nose into the subject later if an opportunity arose.

"No concert." was Rogue's only response to his thoughts on Bobby and revenge and he could have kicked himself - if his ass wasn't so firmly and comfortably settled on the couch - for even bringing up the subject. Gott knew he'd never even think of suggesting she come after that last time, but even mentioning it wasn't high on the list of clever or considerate things to do. He smiled apologetically up at her as his tail dropped the popcorn bowl on his belly and snaked down to wrap itself loosely around her calf. The verdammt thing had a mind of its own sometimes, but he didn't bother with unwrapping it, just shifted his attention back to answering Mariko's latest question.

"I can only imagine," she answered with a grin as Rogue took up the slack in explaining exactly who Kaetzchen was.

"Kitty is my roommate. You'll probably meet her when she walks right through the bathroom door without knocking."

"Gott, she's added so many potential victims to her list lately, hasn't she?" he added with a snort of laughter. "How many people hasn't she..." his voice trailed off for a heartbeat as Rogue laid her bare hand lightly on his chest, but he picked up again quickly, "um, seen naked around here?" he finished with a half-smile.

"Let me know if y'all come up with anything. You'd better not do anything at the concert without me."

"Of course not," he shot back with a wounded look. "What kind of friends do you take us for? I sure hope it's not the kind that are stupid enough to risk death or dismemberment by leaving you out of the payback," he added with a wink.

"Let me know how that goes?"

"With any luck we'll come up with something you can't miss," he replied, uncoiling his tail from Rogue's leg as he spoke, since somewhere along the line it had tightened its grip noticeably, the verdammt thing.

"Are you going to come to the lake tomorrow afternoon?" His tail curled into a slightly restless question mark as he asked.

Rogue
—
"I should have tried that at the place where I was staying!" Mariko exclaimed with a click of her fingers, "some of those creeps really deserved death and dismemberment." She gave a shrug of her shoulders before adopting a look of mock wonder, "Apparently, there are worse things than being homeless." Rogue nodded. Really, when in doubt, death threat. It was the only rule to live by.


"It's amazing the kind of results you can get with a good, sincere death threat. Definitely true. Sometimes a well placed death threat was all it took.

Kurt's support at the mention of the concert thing wasn't unnoticed, and she looked down at him. Not really appreciating, but more acknowledging. God knew it wasn't his fault, she wasn't going to pretend that he was to blame. And she definitely didn't want everyone else in the mansion to stop going to concerts on her account, but there was no way in hell she was going to another so soon. Maybe in a few decades.

Best to get things away from the concert. Kitty was a safe subject. So was revenge. And revenge involving Kitty, well. That was quite possibly the safest of safe subjects. "Gott, she's added so many potential victims to her list lately, hasn't she?" he added with a snort of laughter. "How many people hasn't she..." his voice trailed off for a heartbeat as Rogue laid her bare hand lightly on his chest, but he picked up again quickly, "um, seen naked around here?" She caught the momentary lapse in his sentence and raised an eyebrow. If it bothered him, she'd stop. Not happily, but she would. He seemed to have composed himself, though, and it was probably a good idea to just keep on truckin'. She asked Kurt to make sure to keep her in the loop on their plans for revenge, and he replied, "Of course not. What kind of friends do you take us for? I sure hope its not the kind that are stupid enough to risk death or dismemberment by leaving you out of the payback."

She nodded, grinning maliciously and rather theatrically back down at him. "Good."

"Let me know how that goes?" She grinned at Mariko. In time, she was sure the girl would learn that when it came to revenge and pranking in the mansion, it was harder to go through the day without hearing about something than it was to completely miss a prank.

"With any luck we'll come up with something you can't miss."

She nodded again, adding, "Or it'll be something so emotionally scarring that he'll just have a dazed look on his face for days. And that speaks for itself."

"Are you going to come to the lake tomorrow afternoon?" She looked down at him again, still absently stroking his chest. The lake. Bathing suits and swimming and... all other kinds of lakey things. Not exactly her favorite place to be, but there was bound to be at least one shady spot where she could just sit and read without worrying about getting splashed or thrown into the water. Who knew, maybe if people were calm enough, she'd actually wear a bathing suit. Doubtful.

"You know me. Any excuse to work on my tan."

Glancing up at Mariko, she turned the question to her. "How about you? Up for a day of everyone wearing far too little and throwing water on each other like immature four year olds?"

Mariko
—
"Wait until the first time Bobby freezes the pipes for the hell of it or Ray gets pissed at 'Berto and tries to zap his ass into next week. Soon enough getting snack food from a tail'll be one of the normal things around here."

"Frozen pipes?" Mariko echoed, "should I be offering to help with your vengeance plans so I know you'll have my back when I need you?"

"It's amazing the kind of results you can get with a good, sincere death threat,"

Mariko said nothing, but simply replied with an amused grin.

"Gott, she's added so many potential victims to her list lately, hasn't she? How many people hasn't she... um, seen naked around here?"

Mariko's eyebrows arched. She was a little intrigued, mostly concerned, but a little intrigued. Still, the topic seemed to be heading past, so she was happy to put it on the back burner. She'd deal with it if and when it came up.

"You know me. Any excuse to work on my tan."

With a broad grin, Mariko flicked out a finger to point at Rogue, "You know, I haven't known you more than a couple of minutes, but I could tell that," she teased.

"How about you? Up for a day of everyone wearing far too little and throwing water on each other like immature four year olds?"

That did sound like fun, Mariko decided with a smile. It didn't take long for her expression to drop though. "I can't," she said after a moment, "when I was trying to cram everything I need into a rucksack, my bikini didn't seem that important. I could come down there in my underwear, but hey, who'd want to see that?" she joked with a grin, before shrugging, "I guess I can still come down anyway, shorts, t-shirt, just hang out."

Kurt
—
Rogue looked down at him when he asked about the lake, hand still stroking absently across his chest in a way that really shouldn't feel that good because...well, it just shouldn't. Or he shouldn't notice. Or something. So he worked hard on not noticing and almost missed her answer.

"You know me. Any excuse to work on my tan."

With a broad grin, Mariko flicked out a finger to point at Rogue, "You know, I haven't known you more than a couple of minutes, but I could tell that," she teased.

"Damn, she's good. She's got you figured out already," he chimed in as Rogue passed the question along to Mariko.

"How about you? Up for a day of everyone wearing far too little and throwing water on each other like immature four year olds?"

Kurt looked hopefully at her as she smiled at Rogue's description. Obviously she had to come, after all. Couldn't miss a chance to come hang out and get to know everyone - and see them all at their most juvenile and entertaining, of course. And the fact that seeing her in her bathing suit would be a bonus had absolutely nothing to do with anything. At all. But then her face fell and Kurt cocked his head, wondering what was wrong...and still very much not thinking about Rogue's hand tracking its way across his chest, thanks. Nope. Not giving it a moment's thought.

"I can't," she said after a moment, "when I was trying to cram everything I need into a rucksack, my bikini didn't seem that important. I could come down there in my underwear, but hey, who'd want to see that?" she joked with a grin and his eyebrows crept right up into his hairline as he raised one hand with a pretty good approximation of a leer. "I guess I can still come down anyway, shorts, t-shirt, just hang out."

"Let's just pretend that wasn't a rhetorical question, shall we?" he asked. "And speaking for all the teenage boys in residence I think I can say that would be a very long line," he added with a grin and a wink, simultaneously trying not to cringe at the anticipated retaliation from Rogue.

"Seriously, though, you can probably borrow something from someone, and if not I'd be more than happy to introduce you to the wonders of beautiful downtown Bayville tomorrow, including a stop somewhere that sells bathing suits," he offered. Totally out of the goodness of his heart, of course.