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((OOC: when you are very late in noticing you posted with the wrong account... for clarity! no, Adder does not spontaneously gain the ability to look like Aiden))

...was being human worse to snakemint?

Adder's ears flicked back and he eased backwards a bit, now even more flustered. Especially when he tried to shift back to wolf but couldn't concentrate enough, so there was just a jittery white haze around his shoulders for a bit that couldn't quite get itself to coalesce into fur.

This was not going well. What a day for his first class.

At least he could nod, and so claim kitten. Not that her behaviour really helped: when snakemint put her down, the kitten jumped onto her foot to swipe at an ankle, then raced away to climb, claw-over-claw, up Adder's leg. And ribs. And head, biting the point of his ear on her way for good measure.

Adder had learned to stand still while being climbed, because trying to either stop her or help her almost always turned out far worse. Once she was settled on the top of his head, paws growing more and more tangled in his messy hair, he dabbed at the little points of blood rising on his bare skin. There were quite a few similar tiny scabs to keep the new holes company.

It also kept him from immediately answering, skirting around the subject in his head a few times. "Adder," he finally said, almost sulking at having to say it.

Why

Had

He

Agreed

To

This? Aiden sidestepped the grouped punches as best he could, catching the edge of the last on a rib and wincing. "I'm still just aiming for a decent nap," he muttered, and quick-stepped back a bit. Seriously, why had he agreed to this? Other than the sleep. This ought to give him a couple of minutes so far. How much did he want to go for?

He just sighed at Sam's attempts to taunt him. He didn't like hitting people, especially people he knew. Even Sam hadn't been annoying enough to make Aiden want to hurt him. Yet.

He was getting annoying enough to make Aiden want to show him up a little bit, though. No, dancing wasn't all he could do - but it certainly had its uses, like allowing him to dive sideways over Sam's leg, rolling a bit and landing on one of his batons: he twisted it to dig the handguard into the fresh ice and kicked off it to launch himself back at Sam.

At which point he did not attempt to land a blow, but instead just 'danced' past.

Because Sam was not quite annoying enough yet.

He thought his heart would be pounding. Stress, anticipation, pressure, nerves.

It was easier to think about how his newly refitted uniform fit - well, not as tight in the shoulders as he'd found his old shirt size, and not as black as most of the new uniforms so he'd maybe be a tiny bit less likely to overheat and collapse at a really, really inopportune moment - than about what was going on, but somehow it wasn't really all that hard to think about that either.

Riots. Like what had gone on just before Cafas had convinced him to join the team. Had Cafas actually done any convincing, or had it kind of just happened? He attributed the decision to Cafas, but then again Cafas had kind of just fixed most of his life, so...

Had to say, though. Helicopters. Not a fan of flying in general, especially after Alaska, but that had been all airplanes. Sometimes airplanes that looked smaller than this helicopter. And definitely more... rickety.

Aiden had to swing his batons into his lap to sit comfortably-ish in the aircraft, and then his hands were busy settling the headset into place. Basically a super heavy set of headphones and mike. Nothing too unfamiliar there, other than the part where he hadn't played a multiplayer video game in literal years. This set cut out excess noise really nicely. If it weren't so heavy and clunky, he'd want a set for running.

Then Saphirus was talking, and Aiden's focus flicked away from the equipment to his partner and senior. "I'll be going after myself first if I suck," he retorted, adjusting the microphone a little bit more. The plan made sense, and was really the best use of him he could think of. His other thought was more like what had happened in his tryouts, but that was just being another body. If there was something more he could do, that was best. That was what it meant to be an X-Man a lot of the time. Do something in a way no one else could.

"If I disappear, I'm probably not actually dead," he said. "I'm not planning on another Alaska thing, though."

Urg, half-yelling into a mike was not easy on the throat. They were in the air, though, and Aiden's stomach was less thrilled about it than his throat was about the shouting. And then Saphirus jumped out of the helicopter.

Like a total - hm. Idiot or boss? Debateable, although not a debate he'd let either Saphirus or Sam, who got to hang out in the chopper a little longer and wasn't supposed to be drinking any more than he already had so far, hear in any way, shape, or form.

Aiden took the normal way down, thinking all the way that rappelling out of a hovering helicopter was something he both didn't want to have to do again and was something that would be infinitely easier with more practice, so he'd probably have to go and do it over and over in the Danger Room sometime soon.

And over, and over, and over. Or learn to fly. That would help too, but honestly would take a lot more work.

And he didn't want to fly. He liked being on the ground.

Oh please no.

"Please don't call me that," Aiden muttered, turning to keep an eye on Sam even though they hadn't really started yet. He had a feeling that there wasn't going to be any sort of formal start, though, so he didn't let his focus fall completely on finding his balance and adjusting to the familiar-forgotten weight of the batons. "You're more of a Frosty anyway. Have you looked in a mirror?" All glittery with ice on his skin.

...not that Aiden could really say anything about glittering. Snow sparkled way more than ice. Ice was just shiny.

"If I didn't heal, I never would have survived long enough to enroll here in the first place." Sam was way more mobile than he was. And faster, and more experienced, and more practiced with a vastly more powerful mutation. If this were a real mission, and Sam were an actual opponent, Aiden would be ----ed.

So very, very much.

Pain? Wait, there was his move. Aiden moved a little more onto the balls of his feet, regular runners more familiar but less flexible than his original uniform's footwear, and pivoted clear of the first kick. Fresh snowflakes spun and danced in his path, kicked into both motion and existence by the fluid motion -

And then made their oh-so-casual way over when he turned right into a second attack. A fist might have less force than a foot, and the snow might wash away the pain almost immediately, but still -"...ow" Aiden muttered, quickly stepping backwards and rubbing his elbow against where Sam had hit him. "Healing means damage goes away, not that I don't get hurt," he grumbled. "But I guess it hurts less because it doesn't stick around."

Now that they had so clearly begun, Aiden kept moving, still not as practiced at maintaining his snow generation as he could be but at least conscious of what indirect control he had. "Just please don't cut anything off or anything."

...Less because of how it would leave him unconscious for quite a while and more because the regenerated tissue would be kind of permanently white.

Regret.

That was the sensation of the moment. Also, apprehension and a very large dose of what in the world had he just agreed to no he knew what but WHY

But he had, and he had had a reason. He might as well see it through. Or more through. Sam was a very significant member of the X-Men even if he had issues. Aiden ought to be able to trust him to stop if he asked.

"It's your paperwork," Aiden muttered rather than actually protesting as he left his chair. "You do it." And, really, he had had enough of moping and floating around aimlessly, accomplishing nothing. Running was a little bit better but, really, it didn't do much. It didn't get him anywhere. And also it didn't have the opportunity to knock himself out with his powers because he didn't stay in the same area long enough to develop the snow anywhere near far enough.

"Mind throwing some snow around to start?"

There was something to be said for Xs and priority-ish access to the Danger Room, especially on warm days. Like today. What Aiden had to say for it, today, was thanks.

Unfortunately, even his time slot came to an end, and the room quietly put away all of its snow and cold while Aiden woke up. He still hadn't recreated the Alaska incident, intentionally or accidentally, and so it was getting easier to push himself properly. He needed to get back in the condition he'd achieved, and the skill, and then keep improving on that.

He was barely into the hallway, still-frozen towel slung across the back of his neck, when his comm went off.

All?

And Cafas sounded tired. Aiden immediately turned around, no longer heading back to his room to shower. He was close enough to the War Room now. There was no point to detouring or delaying.

Juliette was already there; he nodded to her as well as Cafas as he slid into a chair and adjusted the starting-to-soften block of ice cube towel across his neck.

"Wh-"

Aiden started to speak, but shut his mouth mid-syllable when Juliette asked first. Same question, so no point in asking it twice. It'd get answered (or not) either way.