Haddix looked around the courtyard of the mansion, the devastation that had been wreaked plainly evident. But he was sure. Deathstar had said she was an x-man. Had said these were the mutants that had saved them from the camps those weeks ago. He whistled softly through the holes in his mouth where teeth should rightfully be. He didn't have enough money to get false teeth put in their place, so the Pit Bull found himself smiling even less than he did before his visit to the camps.

There were several mutants milling around the courtyard, performing different tasks with varying degrees of dedication. one group was talking amongst themselves, occasionally tossing a piece of trash into a wheelbarrow. Haddix looked around, avoiding eye contact as much as he could. She had to be here. He made his way up towards the mansion, wondering what he would even say to her if he found her here. How like you, he chided himself, always rushing into these situations without a damn thing to say? It didn't matter though, not really. He just had to see her again.

As he walked towards the mansion, he thought about the other people he'd seen in the camp that had been identified as X-Men. There was Ted, Lycan, he'd decided to call himself. And there was Neena, the girl he'd though was blind at first. He kept his eyes down, watching his feet as he walked. He took his sweatshirt off, revealing a beater underneath, which showed off his tattoos and--more importantly--his mutation. He tied the shirt around his waist, making a point to leave the knot loose.

Running a hand over his shaved head, he wondered how Deathstar would react when she saw him. He didn't want to think about what it would be like if she wasn't here. There wouldn't be much he could do if that was the case, so he decided he just wouldn't even worry about it. As he reached the door to the mansion, he stopped and looked around, then gave the door a hard, heavy knock. Here goes nothing... he thought.

Raina heard the door knocking and couldn't see Neena anywhere in sight. Was she helping some of the newer mutants in the mansion? She wasn't sure. She waited a bit longer till the echo of the knock started driving her crazy. She took a big breath. "OKay, I can do this...."

She walked up to the door and swung it open "Hi, welcome to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters" she said sounding like she was reading off a card. She cracked a smile and couldn't help laugh at herself. "Sorry, new to this..." the young man seemed familiar... she couldn't put her finger on it. Had he been in the camps?

"I'm Raina," she said extending her hand "Sorry about the state of things, we've been working on this place for a few weeks now. If you can carry a sludge hammer I'm sure we could find you a bed." she gave him a wink and handed him one of the mansion brochures.

Deathstar helped out the others cleaning and fixing a place she once called home. She was excited to be alive and at the mansion again, never thought I'll see this place, it's not a 4-star hotel, but being here is better than living at the camps. Wearing a pink scarf around the crown of her head, and a all black track suit, She felt comfortable wearing what she wanted even though the majority of her wardrobe fell prey to the raid. I wonder how Haddix is doing, I never did get a chance to say goodbye to him, she said to herself quietly, while in the mist of thought she heard the doorbell ring and quickly rose up to answer the door assuming everyone was busy at work.

As Deathstar approached the door she saw the man of her thoughts for the past weeks standing a few feet away. A rush of adrenaline fluttered Deathstar's mind as she ran to door "Haddix", she yelled with joy, jumping into his arms hugging tight. Get control of yourself stupid, she released her grip of him, gently brushing her hair with her palm embarrassed that he caught her looking a mess. "uh!, Raina this is Pit..I mean Haddix, I met him at the camps" she says as she introduced the two. "Come in!, come in!, sorry this place is a drag, it used to look like mansion until the raid". She desperately tries to hide her smile, but it was very obvious. "So how have you been?, how did you find me?".

Raina gave a laugh. "OK, I can see when I'm not needed but Haddix..." she started pulling a new student package out of her bag and giving it to him. "It's really important you fill out these forms and take a look through this package. it's got a map in it, and Star here could show you where the dorms are and your way around too..." she passed him the map. "But it's also very important that you set aside a time with either Neena or myself to let us know your age, your mutation, and if it's a danger to others. The information is completley confidential but as we take everyone's safety very seriously it's important." she spun on her heels and gave another wave goodbye. "I can see when I'm not needed, see ya later Star!"

ooc: I take my leave!

He was about to reply to Raina when he saw Deathstar behind her. She wasn't behind Raina long before Deathstar mauled him with hugs. It was a nice feeling, and he held her tight while she clung to him, making sure to avoid hitting her with his spikes.

He nodded to Raina as she told him he needed to check in with her sometime before leaving.

"So how have you been?, how did you find me?"[/i]

Haddix ran a palm over his shaved head and smiled a bit, careful not to show the gaps in his teeth. "Well, I remembered you saying something about the x-men. Did some searching on the internet and I found abut this place. I was really hoping to hell you'd be here to, otherwise I'd be up s*** creek, huh?"

He resisted the urge to take her hand, and instead said, "So how can I help put this place back together?"

"Well, I remembered you saying something about the x-men. Did some searching on the internet and I found abut this place. I was really hoping to hell you'd be here to, otherwise I'd be up s*** creek, huh?"

"Nah!, all the clues would have pointed you here anyway" She says as she lets out a small chuckle. "Can't believe you did all that to find me, that says alot about your character", she says as packs a smile on her face.

"So how can I help put this place back together?" , Haddix asked, "Well as you can see the major damage is fixed, now we're working on the minor such as the holes in the walls, plumbing, and that should be easy now that you are here", while walking through the mansion she lets out a deep sigh realizing there is still alot of work to be done. "So!, your thinking of becoming an X-man?"

Haddix couldn't help but smile when she did, although his was admittedly more subtle, hiding the gaps in his teeth. He walked beside her, his hand occasionally brushing up against hers.

"Well as you can see the major damage is fixed, now we're working on the minor such as the holes in the walls, plumbing, and that should be easy now that you are here."[/i]

He laughed a bit. "Well I'll certainly do my part to help out." He surveyed the damage. Having no real experience with home repairs, he figured he'd mostly be bringing things back and forth between the people who really knew what they were doing. This didn't bother him, but it did make him feel as if he should learn some skills other than fighting.

"So!, your thinking of becoming an X-man?"[/i]

The question caught him by surprise, so much so that he did a double take. "What? No. I mean, i don't know. I just came here to find you. I don't know about this whole X-Men, Order deal. I'm just concerned about living my life, ya know?"

Deathstar laughed to herself as felt haddix attempting to grab her hand, she loved the fact that he has hardcore exterior and a lovable interior similar to herself.

"Well I'll certainly do my part to help out."

"Yea, we are gonna need all the help we can get" she said with grin on her face. Deathstar is very knowledgeable about power tools, she used to use them to steal cars, and breaking into home when she was on the street.

"What? No. I mean, i don't know. I just came here to find you. I don't know about this whole X-Men, Order deal. I'm just concerned about living my life, ya know?"

"I understand",she says with a quick reply. She picks a box of materials to fix the holes in the wall on the upper floor, "we can start upstairs fixing the holes in the walls upstairs if you don't mind", she headed toward the stairs giving him no choice but to follow her. "So where are you staying at the moment?".

He picked up a large bucket of tools used for patching holes in walls and smiled. There was something about a girl that knew her way around tools that he just couldn't shake. He followed her down the hallway towards the staircase.

"So where are you staying at the moment?"[/i]

"Well, my land lord evicted me when i went in to the camps, so i've been out looking for a new place while i stay at the Y," he said. He made a point not to sound sheepish or apologetic when he said this. He wasn't ashamed, and he wasn't looking for a handout.

The hallway was in pretty bad shape, Haddix noticed as he put the bucket down. "So, where do we start?"

"Well, my land lord evicted me when i went in to the camps, so I've been out looking for a new place while i stay at the Y"

"The Y?, never heard of it" she said as she proceeds up the stairs carrying tools in her hand heading to her room.

"So, where do we start?" Haddix asked, "well we can start on my room, all my clothes and belongings were trashed, I guess this is the new beginning", She opens her fragile door seeing the destruction, a huge mess on her bedroom floor filled with debris and burned clothes. She suddenly became mute realizing the damage was more than physical, she drops the tools hard on the ground picking up a frame with her parents picture inside. Deathstar took a deep inhale fighting back rage as she clinched her fist, and eyes filling up with tears, "Sorry!, I haven't mentally recovered from camps". She stands up quickly putting the frame on her undisturbed dresser, shakes the hair from her face, and picks up the tools from off the ground. "Let's start shall we?" she desperately tries to change the subject.

[ooc: sorry for the absence. I've been out of town all weekend]

"The Y?, never heard of it."

"Yeah, you know, the YMCA?" he said. "It's not a bad place to stay, if you don't mind the total lack of privacy."

He put a hand on her shoulder as she stood there, lost in memory. "Hey, it's okay to take some time, you know?" After that he dropped his hand from her shoulder and began picking up some of the rubble around the room. He left things that looked like they may hold sentimental value on the bed, not sure what to do with them. He took larger pieces of rubble and began placing them into a pile in the hallway. "Hey, does this place have a lift or anything?" he asked idly.

Deathstar takes in a deep inhale while getting herself together emotionally, she felt a warm tingling sensation as Haddix touch her shoulder, "Thanks!" she says as she turns to look at him. Getting back to main issue of her room, Deathstar begins to throw out rubble from her room hallway following Haddix's lead, "YMCA, I ran away from that place once, thats how ended up here" she applies some sheet rock to the gaping hole in her wall, applying paint soon after. "I really would like to thank you for helping me..I mean us" she corrects herself instantly. "You can stay here if you like, until you get back on your feet" Deathstar smiles hoping he will say yes.

"Hey, does this place have a lift or anything Haddix asks

"Unfortunately no"

He shook his head as Deathstar told him there wasn't a lift at the mansion. "Damn," he said under his breath, "guess we'll just have to move this stuff the old fashioned way, huh?" He looked at her as she smiled and was tempted to take her hand, despite the spines on his knuckles. "It's the least I could do," he said with a smile of his own. "You can stay here if you like, until you get back on your feet" Said Deathstar. He looked around for a second. "If they've got an open room, I might just do that." In truth, he wasn't sure if she meant here specifically or just in the mansion, but he assumed the latter. He knew she could have a bad streak, but wasn't sure it was that bad. He picked up some rubble and put it on the pile. "Yeah, the Y's not too bad, but I don't think I'd miss it much." Pitbull stopped himself from smiling too much, still self conscious of his teeth that were missing. He ran his palm over his closely shaved head, looking for something to say. The growing silence was rather awkward, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could go making small talk before he made a total ass of himself. After moving most of the rubble out of the room, he sat on a clear patch of floor, resting his weary legs. The toll of walking clear out here was starting to be realized. He looked up at her. "So this school, is it a good place?"