'One year,' He thought, staring blankly at the cast on his right foot. Jinka hated looking at the bare bandage; it always reminded him that he was doing this for a reason. All of his friends were probably shunning him from miles away and his closest family was heading back home as he sulked. The bitter icing on the cake was the victory that slipped his fingers when this all started. He never really tried to use his powers since then, partially because he couldn't run but also... fear? So, he'd just done his best to ignore them for the past few weeks. Still, no matter how hard he tried to wipe the frown off of his face, his bottom lip betrayed him in a pout when he actually sat down long enough to be with his thoughts. The only thing he could do was cling to the promise his grandparents made when they first came to this decision. If he could just tough this out for a year, things could go back to some sort of normal. He knew life would never return to the way it was, but he was home wherever they were. He definitely didn't feel at home in the mansion. Besides, how much could life change in a year?

The left leg bounced anxiously as he wondered what to do with himself once he was done settling in. Everything he'd normally do was off the table because of his ankle, he didn't know anyone here, and he really didn't feel like reading anything. A groan of boredom quietly escaped his throat as he grabbed the crutches set beside him and tapped the rubber stops on the floor rhythmically. It was going to be a long twelve months for this boy.

(Open tag)

Elizabeth held the metal tray firmly in both hands as she strolled down the hallway to the infirmary. She was finally getting around to returning some of the instruments she’d borrowed from the Doc. One of her classes had recently finished a dissection lab and she’d realized too late that she didn’t have quite all the supplies she’d need for it, but fortunately DocProf had been a lifesaver.

Now she had a tray of completely sterilized scalpel and tweezers and other tools all arranged exactly as they’d been when the Doc had handed them to her a couple of days ago. Fortunately the lab experiment had gone well - last semester Steve Jenkins had telekinetically animated one of the frogs, much to Liz’s private amusement and public annoyance.

“Knock knock,” she said as the infirmary’s doors swooshed open ahead of her. “Hey Doc, I’m returning the tools!” she called out.

She very quickly realized the Doc wasn’t there. She locked her gaze on the kid with crutches. “Hi there. Is the Doc around?”

The boy perked up when he heard someone enter the room and halted his tapping long enough to focus on what she said. "No," Jinka shook his head a little and set the crutches up beside him,"I haven't seen anyone since I sat down." His gaze drifted back to his legs, and he began to bounce the left one slightly.

She'd interrupted his thoughts, but he was actually grateful for it. Sulking always made the boy feel groggy and sick, so he took the opportunity to jumpstart his social batteries enough to talk to another person.

Elizabeth scrunched her mouth to the side for a moment in thought, absently taking in the kid’s situation, before brightening up. “Ah! Well then, I guess I’ll just wait here with you then!” she said sunnily. She strolled across the floor, her floral broomstick skirt just barely avoiding sweeping the shiny tile surface. She turned and sat on the edge of a bed near the guy and sat her tray on yet a third bed.

She glanced over at her partner-in-waiting and aimed her thousand-watt smile at him. “My name’s Elizabeth,” she said. “Or Ms. Sundance, if you’re a student. Are[i/] you a student here? I don’t recall seeing you before.”She was betting he was a new student. They tended to come at all times of the year and the school body itself wasn’t so large that Liz couldn’t at least recognize the students by sight, if not by name.

The blonde kicked her feet a little, letting them swing in the air. “So what are you in for?” she asked, waving in the general direction of his legs. The fact that he already had crutches made Liz even more confident he was new. With the Doc’s healing powers, few students on campus ever needed the devices, unless it was something super complicated or they just needed to learn lessons the hard way.

"Dormus-Jin," He replied with the raise of his head,"but most people call me Jinka." Jinka always hated telling people his full first name; it always garnered strange looks. Nonetheless, the pill that came with meeting new people had been swallowed. It was made easier by Elizabeth's radiant presence, so he had that going for him.

"Yeah, I'm new. Just got here, actually..." Jinka was still hazy on the concept of boarding schools. He always thought bad kids got sent to schools where they couldn't leave. Even if he didn't have a reason to assume the mansion was the mutant equivalent to Juvenile detention, it still felt weird to call himself a student here. The way Elizabeth asked about his leg didn't help that conception, but he tried not to dwell on it.

His wrapped leg rose until it was at eye level where he sat and the moderate amount of thigh his athletic shorts revealed the defined muscles that flexed to keep it there without support. "Cheer accident. Some people say it's not a sport, but they've never seen All-star." Jinka chuckled a little as he spoke and let the leg slowly lower back to rest on the floor. The memory of what actually happened flashed in his mind, and his gaze nulled to a blank stare for a second. It was as if the lights had switched off and back on again. He snapped back to what he was saying and cleared his throat slightly,"Not like I injure myself often or anything, I just... got too excited on the mat I suppose."

Something else struck him as odd about the institution now that he was within its walls."You guys have a doctor here? Why?" Jinka's neon highlighter of a windbreaker whistled lightly as he tilted his head a bit in question. He'd never been to a school that allowed an actual doctor, just nurses whose power stopped at administering prescription medication. The implication only added another log to the "You're basically in Juvie" fire that burned in the back of his mind, but he was almost certain there weren't doctors there either.

Elizabeth blinked at the name. “Huh, now that’s a fascinating name!” she said, her head tilting to the side in interested thoughtfulness. “Dormus-Jin. Jinka,” she said, making sure she captured his inflections correctly and started committing it to memory. Then she blinked again and refocused on Jinka.

“Well then, welcome welcome welcome!” Liz said, practically bursting with cheer. But not too much. Or at least she tried not to do it too much. “It’s always a pleasure to meet a fresh face - this is an amazing school, even if I do say so myself.” Her smile remained radiant and she waved a hand in a warding gesture. “Don’t worry too much if it seems overwhelming,” she said, reflecting back to when she’d attended the school as a student. “It’s like that for everyone - just ask questions if you need something or if you’re lost, or anything. Most people will be glad to help out.”

The zoopath listened sympathetically and winced a bit as the injury’s origin was alluded to. Her smile bounced back and remained firmly in place even as Jinka...went somewhere else for a bit. Now she was listening empathetically as well. She knew that look, having seen it dozens of times in her mirror and thousands of times on other people. Something was haunting him. It wasn’t the time nor place to pry though.

“Well the good news is, we definitely consider cheer to be a sport around here,” she said with a slight toss of her head. “The bad news is, we don’t have any official sports teams around here.” Her smile dampened and gained elements of apology and conspiracy and she spoke in a stage whisper. “Other schools aren’t that thrilled to go up against an entire team of mutants who can outdo them a dozen different ways without even trying.” She winked and shrugged in a “what can you do?” fashion.

Liz hopped onto the question readily. She was more than happy to let him take control of the conversation. Over her years of teaching, she’d learned it was a great way to give kids some power over their situations, especially when pushed into a new environment. “We’re quite fortunate to have Doc with us,” she said, yet another smile flashing at Jinka. “Kids will be kids. Most schools just have a nurse. But most schools don’t have an entire population of kids with powers and abilities that are still manifesting and changing that they don’t have control over.”

She shrugged. “Sometimes accidents happen. We don’t have a sports team, but we do have psychics, elementals, shapeshifters, super-athletes, and a whole slew of others that keep things around here exciting.”

Jinka's wrapped leg rocked gently as he listened to Elizabeth, her smile fueling his own to grow. It was a bit of a bummer learning that there were no sports teams at the school, but when she explained it the reason struck him as somewhat obvious. Even if the skill was a total bust, the basket he got his injury from would've been virtually impossible for a normal person to attempt; one could only imagine what another mutant could do. He nodded in understanding, able to comprehend why it would be better not to have them from experience. They'd probably burned that bridge long ago.

"I suppose a doctor would be a necessity here. This place is pretty huge and there's a ton of kids here," His smile softened a little as he relaxed a bit, "Sports teams would be rather dangerous, though." The boy rested his arms on his stomach and sighed softly through his nose.

"Shapeshifters are real? I never knew mutations could be so varied." Jinka's eyes widened a little as he thought about the possibility. It made him wonder if his powers were unique to him or if there was someone else on-campus that could relate. He slumped a little into his seat and his brows knitted together in thought. "Are the teachers mutants, also?" Jinka asked, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. 'I wonder what Elizabeth's is...' He thought to himself.

Jinka started to warm up. Excellent. This probably wasn’t the best time to mention the other main reason they had a doctor on staff. Mutants were still persecuted and the X-Men faced down serious threats - sometimes they needed a man who could heal severe wounds with just a simple laying on of hands. No need to mention that to Jinka just yet - he’d undoubtedly learn that in due time. For now he needed no reason to think he wasn’t safe there.

Elizabeth kicked her feet again, watching her skirt bounce around with the motion. “Aye, that they can be,” she agreed. “But we still have sports shere. Intramural events mainly, occasional tournaments and such just for our students. Sometimes we play with no powers, but where’s the fun in that?” She winked at Jinka. Sports also helped students learn to control their powers and how to use them in various settings, assuming their powers were easily lent to athletics.

Liz’s brown eyes practically sparkled with Jinka’s revelation. “Oh yes, mutations run the gamut of possibilities,” she said excitedly. “I knew a girl, super sweet personality, who could detect precious gemstones . Another could manipulate emotions by playing music - she gave amazing performances! This other kid could make it snow when he danced.” And there were hundreds more she knew, but she decided to focus on some of the less lethal-sounding ones.

She was nodding along even before Jinka finished his question. “Just about all of us are,” she confirmed. “Right now I believe there’s only one non-mutant on our staff. It really helps us with the students - we know what it’s like growing up different and so amazingly unique.” Something dark flashed across her thoughts but she forcibly didn't allow it to tarnish her smile. The teachers also needed powers in case they needed to protect the students, from themselves or from outside forces. She didn’t want to go down that road. She just kept smiling.

"Wow..." Jinka was completely thrown off by the last mutation in particular, "Snow dancing? That's actually pretty awesome, though maybe not helpful in a tournament." He was somewhat jealous of it for two reasons. Bonus points to stage presence aside, it sounded less dangerous than his own which he liked. In practice, he'd have snow following wherever he went but he was Canadian so it wouldn't phase him. Then again, he was still unsure of what his powers were. How would he figure it out? Was there some sort of test?

From what he was hearing, he'd be seeing a whole lot of things around the mansion. Things he probably wouldn't be able to explain to himself. Things that would probably fascinate him beyond his imagination's grasp."Unique," His chest bounced in a light chuckle, "I'll say. My grandparents couldn't find anything like this school up north. I'm still not entirely sure how they found out about this place, but I guess grandma's more capable of using the internet than I thought." His eyes narrowed slightly as he questioned their internet prowess aloud, gaze drifting away from Elizabeth for a moment. He was oblivious to the more serious aspects of the precautions around the institution, for now at least.

The speedster shrugged his shoulders, the top whistling quietly,"Well, I don't think I'll be much of a hassle. Unless I bump into a bunch of stairs, but I can hop on my good leg and I have enough balance to do more than scale a few steps."

Elizabeth’s grin widened and took on a vulpine aspect. “You’d be surprised,” she chuckled heartily. “It’s pretty difficult to play basketball against a guy who can whip up a blizzard toblind you and make you slip and trip with every step you take.” Naturally, other students developed counters for those antics, and even that was a lesson in and of itself. Creative application and foreplanning were valuable tools for their students to learn, no matter what path they took in life.

The blonde airily wiggled her fingers off to the side and snorted. “I’ve long since given up on figuring out how people learn about us,” she said easily. “Way I see it, the people who are meant to be here are the ones who find their ways here.” Of course on occasion they had to bring students or even non-students in from other situations, like Atlantis, but normally even then, the mansion wasn’t the one to initiate outreach.

Liz shook her head. “Oh no no,” she frowned with amusement. “A hurt leg won’t be an issue at all. I imagine Doc will be back in a bit - he’s never gone too long without leaving a note or something.” She glanced over at Jinka’s leg and crutches again, eyeing them critically. “With an injury as simple as yours, he can probably have you fixed up and ready for running and tumbling in a few minutes.”

Jinka's brows shot up as if to say "Fair point." What Liz said was true, there is merit to the concept of the application as many forms of technology have shown. His mind wandered slightly to imagine what his ideal application would be. Certainly not spinning in the air, though he was decent at that as well.

"Really?" The idea of being able to skip the healing period made him perk up slightly. If the doctor had that kind of skill, he'd at least be able to move around faster. "Is he a doctor or a miracle worker?" He joked, lifting himself to sit upright and flick one of the crutches, "I'd be so grateful if I could ditch these things. Walking with them is like learning to eat with chopsticks." A bright smile crept onto his face as the idea of being liberated from them set in. Perhaps he had judged the school too quickly and written it off without considering they were also just people. Sure he was a mutant, but he never stopped being a person. Jinka's eyes bounced around the room, the rock of his leg shaking him gently.

Liz laughed merrily. “He’s both actually,” she said, nodding her head which caused her wavy hair to bounce around her shoulders. She gripped the edges of the bed she was sitting on to anchor herself as she leaned forward. “Doc Prof is a doctor but also a mutant with the ability to heal people. I’ve seen him heal people from some pretty amazing things.” She inclined her head at Jinka.

“He’s one of our hidden treasures around here,” she continued, her feet kicking higher. “Because of him, we can really push ourselves to our limits and he’s one of the reasons we don’t have a lot of legal issues around here - if there’s an accident and someone gets hurt, even severely, Doc can almost always heal them up and make them good as new.” She gave Jinka a side glance. “That doesn’t mean we get to just do stupid or dangerous things, by the way,” she quickly added, “it just means we can experiment and test outselves in a safer manner.”

Liz hopped off the bed and grabbed her tray. She figured she might as well go ahead and start putting away some of the instruments. She knew a bit of Doc’s organizational methods and that a few of the scalpels and stuff were kept in some of the drawers and cabinets on the walls. “Sooo,” she drawled as she started gathering up some blades. “What do you do? I’m an animal psychic, myself. I know what animals think and feel and can push them around and such.”

Jinka only brightened when it was confirmed that his chances of walking by sunset were high. His eyes closed slightly as his smile grew, dimples caving into his cheeks."Can't wait to meet him! He sounds like just the right guy for this job." His head tilted to the side a little as he brought his focus to Liz as she moved and started tidying up.

The question stumped Jinka when Elizabeth asked. He'd only used his powers once and he was too terrified to actually pay attention. Perhaps he was a human drill? That was one explanation, but it was flawed. If he were meant to be a drill he wouldn't have a bum leg. "Well... I'm not entirely sure. I was midair when it turned on. All I have to go on is a video but I'm too blurry to focus on. My hypothesis is something to do with twisting, but I could be wrong," His brows furrowed in thought as he raked his brain for a name that fit his mutation.

"How did you figure out what yours was?"He was unfamiliar with the concept of animal psychics, but anything seemed possible to Jinka by then. The boy was also fishing for methods to test himself once he was able. It would be safer for him if he knew exactly what he was doing, so he found himself wanting to learn about his mutation rather than neglect it. If anything, remaining ignorant would put himself and everyone he cared about in danger.

Elizabeth laughed. Jinka’s mood seemed to have rapidly improved since she’d come in and that was no small source of joy for herself, either. It made her continued smiles effortless. “He probably is,” she said, tucking away a handful of probes in their proper drawer.

Liz shrugged and shook her head, even as she scanned the rest of the cabinets and shelves to see where to put the rest of the instruments. “Oh well, don’t worry too much about it, we’ll work with you to help figure out what you can do,” she said as if it were no big deal. And it really wasn’t. Sometimes students came after only their first mutant manifestation, when they only had a vague idea what they could do. In some cases it turned out their gifts were vastly different in nature.

And then things just got interesting when after a couple years their X-Gene would alter and their powers would evolve new and different facets. Sometimes it required retraining a kid entirely as they wrapped their heads around the newness.

Then Jinka turned her question around on her, but with a twist. Her smile cracked and she thanked God her back was still to the lad. She didn’t say anything for maybe half a second, then spun around and slapped a cheery smile back on. “Oh, just your basic, average trauma. Death of a close family member.” It had been her little sister. A car wreck. “Got the news, couldn’t handle it, then boom! I’m in my cat’s head.”

She kept her voice upbeat, entirely at odds with her words. Even after more than a decade, it was still hard to reflect on. Her smile widened, a bit painfully so, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “The cat never forgave me,” she continued, winking at Jinka, trying to regain her prior composure. “But I guess it all worked out. I got a parrot as a best friend after that so it’s probably for the best that the cat avoided me. Nico would’ve shanked the cat for sure.”

Jinka nodded and his focus drifted from his own mutation to Elizabeth's. The small pocket of silence made his smile waver just a little before she turned around. Then she dropped a bombshell. The boy's jaw tensed as he listened. It was offputting to see someone recall a tragedy with a smile on their face, though he noticed it was less bright than before. Her story made him feel lucky he hadn't killed his friend when his powers manifested.

"Wow... that does seem traumatic. You must've been freaking out when you realized you were in a cat after hearing something like that." He couldn't fathom getting a double whammy of the uncanny like that. Though, he would assume being an animal psychic would make animals like her. At least one did, this Nico fellow.

Her last statement sank in after a second and his brows furrowed, drawing so near his eyebrows stretch,"Did you just say 'shank'? You have a parrot that shanks things? How does that even... His eyes darted from side to side as he tried to imagine a bird picking up a needle and attacking someone, but it only came out as comical. Realistically, that was also extremely dangerous.