When people need inspiration, they desire the kiss of a Muse.
But what if a Muse lacks inspiration?
Kissing a Muse can be a whole deal of trouble.
And if there is no one to kiss her, she needs to seek inspiration in other ways.

For example, a Danger Room.

Dressed in training gear (plus gloves), Sveta was standing alone in between shadows and lights, waiting for the next attack to come. It was a simple training program, desinged for beginners and warm-up, not able to do any kind of serious damage. She could deal with that. She just needed stuff to hit.

Of course, self-defense training was Sam's responsibility, and Sveta was nat part of his team. But she was an exception from many rules, since her ability was something that needed to be controlled.

She wished.

Another neutral-looking man lounged at her from the shadows; Sveta ducked, and kicked, and sent it back to where it came from. She turned around, ready for the next attack. All that training with Sam was paying off. She felt less vulnerable now.

Of course, you can't just go on punching computer generated dummies until everything is right in the world. She would need someone to talk to. Eventually.

Agnes needed to work out. Despite all her work as a part-time gardener, all the air she got, all the sunlight and exercise, Agnes still felt like she was not doing enough. Not that she thought she was gaining weight of anything, she was not one of those stick thin girls that thinks she fat, instead wanted to work on her both her fighting skills and her powers. A couple times now Agnes has had run ins with people who could very well threaten her life. Chase, for example, the nice young boy she helped to rescue. That mob was ready to rip him limb from limb and there was little she could do about it except scare them off with her power. If that had not had worked, she didn’t know how things would have turned out.

So she needed to work on something. If only to make it feel like she was making some sort of progress.

She remembered the way back to the Danger Room. Ever since Gawain had showed her, she knew the way rather well. Especially since she nearly broke his jaw when she slugged him. But could she get in on her own? She wasn’t sure about that. Gawain had said she should train with her powers so why shouldn’t she be able to use that Danger Room again? Then again…she just was not sure…

But Agnes just shrugged. Maybe she would run into him down there. After all, she doubted he did anything else. He didn’t have much of a social life.

Making her way into the lower levels, Agnes stretched and tried to loosen up her muscles. Dressed in an “Xavier Insitute” gym shirt and her maroon colored sweat pants and regular tennis shoes, the runaway strolled through the halls of the underground facility. She had to admit that whenever she walked down here, she was impressed by the sight of it. To think that the school was able to maintain something like this just astounded her.

Once she spotted the familiar door, she took a breath as she walked up to it. She could hear…something inside, but she could not be sure. Was it Gawain? Good. Then he could let her in and workout while he did something else elsewhere.

She knocked on the large door, unsure if it would even be heard.

“Gawain? Is that you?” she asked as she knocked.

There was a knock on the door. Sveta missed a beat and got punched in the stomach; the air lest her lungs with a hiss and she doubled over, ducking another punch.

"Pause" she coughed, gathering herself and walking to the door.

Was she in trouble? She shouldn't be. But you can only get into trouble so many times before you start automatically assuming you are.
That only lasted until she opened the door.

"Agnes!" she grinned, not moving in to hug her, but grinning none the less "I haven't seen you forever! Vat are you doing here?"

Agnes waited…and waited. What the hell was going on in there? Hopefully Gawain wasn’t doing some simulation “date” or something. Eww! She wouldn’t put it past him.

She sighed though. She was going to get ready to leave when she heard the gears click inside the door. Standing casually with her hand on her hip, she waited until door finally began to open. She didn’t know what was going to be on the other side: zombies? Breaking dancing dinosaurs? Giant floating hamsters that bounced around like balloons? From her last experience she knew that practically anything was possible. But she was not at all prepared for what was actually going to greet her from the other side.

She blinked…

…she smiled…

…then she laughed!

>> "Agnes! I haven't seen you forever! Vat are you doing here?"

“Sveta!” she exclaimed. “Oh my god, it’s been so long! I just came down to get some training in. I thought Gawain would be down here so he could let me in,” she explained as she stood back to smile at her best friend.

Seeing her made her feel a little bad though. How long had it been since she called her? Sveta looked good, if not like she needed to talk. Agnes should have tried better to keep in contact but she was always so bad at things like that. Maybe that was a side-effect of having lived so long in isolation from the rest of the world. Even in high school she never called her friends and they never called her. At least she thought they did not. Her mother tended to keep a close eye on that phone line.

But she paused and smiled at Sveta again. It really was nice to see her.

“What about you? What’re you doing here? How goes things” she asked with a grin.

>>“Sveta! Oh my god, it’s been so long! I just came down to get some training in. I thought Gawain would be down here so he could let me in,”


Agnes was happy to see her. That suddenly reminded Sveta that she had friends. At least one friend. Her age. And she suddenly realized Agnes was exactly what she had been missing all this time. So she laughed too.

>>“What about you? What’re you doing here? How goes things”

"Whew. Busy." she grinned, looking at her "I really missed you though. It's kind of my fault we did not meet..." gloved hands on her hips, she tilted her head at Agnes. "So. Do you really need to train? Because I thing drinks and talks are in order. Hm?"

Training could wait. Girl talk could not. There were so many things to catch up on...

>> "Whew. Busy…I really missed you though. It's kind of my fault we did not meet..."

Agnes waved her hand in a dismissive way. That meant absolutely nothing to her. If anything it was both their faults for not keeping closer tabs on each other. There was no way that she was going to allow Sveta to take all the blame on herself. After all they were friends and that meant that they both had to try to be in each other’s lives.

She tilted her head as a relieved and yet odd expression came across the Russian’s face…

>> "So. Do you really need to train? Because I thing drinks and talks are in order. Hm?"

Agnes smirked. So the world was conspiring against her to keep her from training, huh? Shoving her hands into the pockets of her sweat pants she just chuckled and shook her head.

“Nah, I guess I can always find Gawain later to let me down here. Besides, who am I to deny myself best friend time?” She grinned wide. Being around Sveta had the oddest effect on her. Both her and Gina actually. They both had these personalities that simply made her want to grin. Made her want to feel normal. She nodded to Sveta. “Shall we, maestro?” she smirked and waved for Sveta to take the lead.

They both had a lot going on. So they both needed the girl chat…

>>“Nah, I guess I can always find Gawain later to let me down here. Besides, who am I to deny myself best friend time? Shall we, maestro?”

Sveta giggled and nodded, and felt like a girl. Well, she usually felt like a girl, but now she felt like a normal girl, hanging out with a friend. Because that's what girls usually do. When they are not being kidnapped and are not causing city-wide havoc. Good times.

They walked back upstairs together; the living room and the kitchen were deserted. Sveta looked around.

"I say, get drinks and a lot of food, and go up to my room. Or yours." she suggested with a grin. Opening some cupboards and drawers, it was clear that Halloween did not pass without a trace - most of them were still stuffed with remaining candy. And chips.

Agnes chuckled as Sveta took the lead and made her way back up into the kitchen. She felt good, real good to just spent some gossipy / chit-chat time with her best friend. Sveta was the person who introduced her to Xavier’s mansion so in the runaway’s book, the made her best friend material. She really needed to try harder at keeping this girl in contact there. Then again life happens and people get busy. Bu t still, she would

Once they made it to the kitchen again Agnes paused as she looked about the room. It was ways so clean, which was odd considering the fact that she lived and worked in a school.

She then smiled back at Sveta as she turned on her

>> "I say, get drinks and a lot of food, and go up to my room. Or yours."

Agnes beamed and nodded. “That sounds like absolutel great idea,”/ She then maneuvered herself to the kitchen’s fridge and began to riffle through the leftovers: soda, candy, food that had been used in a Halloween party? Considering where they were, she was not surprised.

She sighed as she returned to Sveta’s side and held up the fruits of her conquest in the forms of soda, food, and most important of all…ice cream. They wanted girl time, well they were going to get it in spades.

Attempting to balance the food and drinks, she smirked at Sveta.

“I’m good with either option. My room? I don’t think my roommate is in right now so that could be fine,” Agnes said happyily.

>>“That sounds like absolutel great idea. I’m good with either option. My room? I don’t think my roommate is in right now so that could be fine,”

"Sure" Sveta nodded, and grinned when she saw the ice-cream. She fully approved of the ice cream. It was an essential part of girl talk. She gathered a few other things, including spoons, and lead the way up to Agnes' room. Once they were settled down, with the choice of food and drinks arranged on the floor between them, Sveta sat down with her back against a bed.

"Sooo..." she smiled at Agnes mischievously "What's new?"

Food was collected as if they were squirrels storing for the winter and the pair of friends traveled up to Agnes’ room. Once inside, the runaway’s suspicions were right and there was no sign of Gina. She must have been out studying with a couple of her other friends or taking a flight. She was thankful that the little gargoyle managed to have such a busy social life. Such a thing was definitely not be difficult for her. She had a loving personality that people just gravitated to.

Agnes as well. But she was also thankful to have some good ole one-on-one time with her best friend Sveta.

Once on the floor, they separated the food between them and relaxed in an extremely cozy and girlish manner. Agnes chuckled as she sat back and nibbled on some salty chips with a can of soda next to her.

>> "Sooo...What's new?"

When was the last time she spoke to her? She had to think about that. The last she could remember was…she told her about Rhythm. That seemed like eons ago. Those months flew by extremely fast. At least that is how she thought about it now.

She sighed a little as she bit into another chip.

“Nothing much,” she said with a tiny shrug. “School and such. I graduate this year and I gotta figure out what I’m going to be doing with the rest of my life,” she said with a small sigh. “and, unfortunately, that girl I told you last time that I was see, well…we’re not seeing each other anymore.” Another sigh and another shrug of her shoulders, she smiled at Sveta. “What about you? More kidnapping attempts?”

>>“Nothing much. School and such. I graduate this year and I gotta figure out what I’m going to be doing with the rest of my life. And, unfortunately, that girl I told you last time that I was see, well…we’re not seeing each other anymore... What about you? More kidnapping attempts?”

"Nah" she shook her head with a smile, waving the question away. She was interested to hear more details before it was her turn. It was how girl talk worked, obviously.

"I am sorry to hear that. I am sure you will find another girl who is much nicer" she smiled. "So, what are you thinking of doing after school? Do you want to go to college?"

Agnes was nice. And smart. Sveta could imagine her going to college. That's what normal teenagers do, right?

"Do you have to decide soon?..."

>> "Nah"

Agnes had to blink at that short response. That was smart of Sveta to turn the attention off of her and back to Agnes. But at least she was glad that her friend had not been kidnapped again. Unfortunately that seemed to be a trend with her.

She smirked as she munched on another chip.

>> "I am sorry to hear that. I am sure you will find another girl who is much nicer…So, what are you thinking of doing after school? Do you want to go to college? Do you have to decide soon?..."

Agnes sighed a little as she thought of Rhythm. She was definitely a beauty and no girl made her feel so special before, but it was a doomed relationship. She knew that now whenever she thought about it. Maybe that was for the best because the last thing she wanted was to go out searching for her…again. She did that once after they broke up, if only just to apologize, but she could not find her. Her old haunts, the old café where she played, none of them had seen her in forever. The idea made her sad that Rhythm just up and disappeared.

But, as she thought, maybe it was indeed for the better.

And besides, like Sveta said, she may already have met someone nicer…Jasmine…

She shook the thought away, choosing that it would be better to see where that relationship went before she thought too much of her, and returned to Sveta’s last questions.

“I have been thinking,” she said with a nod. “I think I definitely want to go to college. And no, I don’t have to decide soon. I’m sure that the mansion staff will let me stay as long as I like, especially Ms. Taylor the guidance counselor, but I would just feel better actually doing something with my life than just sitting around, ya know?” she said with a small nod. “So I’m thinking of jumping into college, but I still don’t know what to study. It’ll probably either be music or botany.” She had to laugh at that thought. Those were two COMPLETELY different fields of study. But both very real possibilities for her.

>>“I have been thinking. I think I definitely want to go to college. And no, I don’t have to decide soon. I’m sure that the mansion staff will let me stay as long as I like, especially Ms. Taylor the guidance counselor, but I would just feel better actually doing something with my life than just sitting around, ya know? So I’m thinking of jumping into college, but I still don’t know what to study. It’ll probably either be music or botany.”

"I hear you" she nodded with a smile, nibbling on a cookie "Music sounds great, I heard you play, I think you would like it."

Agnes was good at music. And studying music was something Sveta imagined as being a lot of fun. Hard work, too, but still better that, let's say, business... bleh.

"Botany's nice too" she added with a smile "And you can still change your mind once you are in college, right? So you have a lot of time..."

Sipping some of her soda, she thought about things for a while.

"I think college is a good thing" she concluded "I was thinking about it too, but I don't have enough money and I don't think they would give me a scholarship. But as you said, sitting around is getting annoying, so I'll need to start doing something..."

>> "I hear you…Music sounds great, I heard you play, I think you would like it."

Agnes nodded. She certainly did love playing her violin so what’s to say she could not study music? She knew how to read a music sheet, she had years of experience, and she certainly did feel attached to her instrument. But that was not to say that it would be easy. Of course it would difficult, most things worth doing were difficult. And yet the idea of learning how to professionally play was an interest that constantly floated into her mind. There was nothing to say that she couldn’t do it.

>> "Botany's nice too…And you can still change your mind once you are in college, right? So you have a lot of time..."

“Oh yeah,” she said with a smirk and a nod. “That is the good thing about college. You can always change your mind if you need to. I could even double major if I wanted to. Get degrees in both music and botany!”

She giggled at the idea. A bontanist / professional violin player. The concept was just all around funny because those two were completely different fields and a person merging in the both of them was just absolutely ridiculous. Or at least that was how it seemed to her. She could be very wrong and maybe they would mesh well. She would never know until she tried.

>> "I think college is a good thing…I was thinking about it too, but I don't have enough money and I don't think they would give me a scholarship. But as you said, sitting around is getting annoying, so I'll need to start doing something..."

Agnes smiled a little sadly. Sveta had such a kind heart. But why shouldn’t she be able to go to college? After all, it was not like Agnes was rolling around in the money either. She would have to get scholarships and jobs too. It wouldn’t be an easy thing for either of them. But she knew she had to try.

She nodded.

“Well that doesn’t mean you can’t try, Sveta,” she shrugged. “I don’t have money either.” she snorted with a grin. “Unless you and I decide to rob a bank and make our lives outta that.”

>>“Oh yeah. That is the good thing about college. You can always change your mind if you need to. I could even double major if I wanted to. Get degrees in both music and botany!”

Sveta laughed. Not that would be unique. Not to mention awesome. just like most things about mutants. She didn't think for a moment that the two would not work together....

>>“Well that doesn’t mean you can’t try, Sveta. I don’t have money either. Unless you and I decide to rob a bank and make our lives outta that.”

She grinned.

"Now there is an idea" she nodded "We could go rob one. Flood the whole building with bugs and then walk in and take the money." she winked at her "They would never catch us... oh wait. They would."

It was funny because it was never going to happen.

"Still we could be famous. Two hot girls robbing a bank. Make front page and become popular."

Scandal. That was one way to make money. Also a great way to get kicked out of the country...

College, check. She smiled at Agnes.

"So... have you been dating anyone lately?"