It Is Almost Summer Now (open)

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It looked like it was almost summer now; the weather was fine, everything was green and blooming and the ground has gotten warm again. Thankful for the latter circumstance, Michael was sitting on the ground with his back against the tree, enjoying the fresh and warm air. He was glancing through a newspaper, hoping there could be some idea for him to maybe find another part-time job or even get started with the continuation of his education. So as not to be startled by someone approaching, which happened every now and then - now that he was unable to unwillingly perceive people's emotions from a distance anymore - he was sitting half-facing the mansion's backdoor.

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Violet always tried to keep a positive attitude. With her recent work gathering intel for the Professor about Weapon X, she was having to put a little more effort into staying positive, but she refused to let it get to her. Since she didn't have any classes to teach, she decided to get some fresh air. As she stepped outside into the fresh air, she took a deep breath and smiled to herself. Since she had no time restraints, she walked out onto the grounds slowly, taking in the gorgeous landscaping and sunshine. She saw a young man reading a newspaper under a tree, and she didn't want to bother him, so she kept to herself as she walked.

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As Michael was turning over the page, over the top of it he noticed someone some distance from him. Raising his eyes, he saw a young woman whose name he didn't know. It wasn't surprising, people came and went around here, and with his not too social way of life recently unfamiliar faces outnumbered those he knew.

Without his powers interfering with everything he perceived, he was unable to tell if she was looking for a company, but still, he gave her a nod and briefly raised his hand to acknowledge her presence and to be civil: he wasn't going to ignore anyone by burying his face in his newspaper.

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Violet waved back and started to walk towards the young man. It would be nice to have a casual chat with someone. She was social by nature, but hadn't had much time for meeting new people or even spending time with the people already in her life of late. It didn't cross Violet's mind that he may have waved just to be polite. As she neared him, her smile widened and she said, "Hello," and plopped down on the ground. "What are you reading about?" she asked, once again diving head first into conversation without any of the socially acceptable segues. Violet was overly friendly, but had no grasp of what was appropriate in social situations. Some people found it endearing, others found it annoying.

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It hadn't been Michael's intention to have the woman come over, mostly because he presumed that in his current engrossed-in-out-of-school-matters he'd have nothing to offer as an interesting conversation material. But company he didn't mind.

"Just some local ads," Michael replied. "Maybe some job or something." Even without using his powers, he could see that she was an outgoing and lively person.

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Violet nodded. Another aspect of Violet's personality was her uncanny ability to be genuinely interested in what was said to her. "Doesn't sound like you're in too dire a need," she said with a hint of a soft laugh. When she realized it hadn't sounded as funny as she'd intended, she shook her head slightly and held her hand out in greeting. "My name is Violet, I guess I should have started with that."

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"No, and that's because I'm not," Michael agreed, and it was true, too. "Nice to meet you, Violet. I'm Michael." He noticed she had striking blue eyes, and wondered whether he would have remembered such a noticeable feature if he had ran into her somewhere in the hallway before.

He didn't scan people's emotions any longer, not without their permission, but his old habit of countering this uncomfortable quality with always speaking his thoughts out loud still remained. "I wonder whether I could have remembered you if I had ran into you somewhere around the school," he told Violet.

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Violet ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly. "I don't know," she answered, "I usually have at least half a dozen things on my mind at any given moment and tend to forget I've met people sometimes." She shrugged, not too worried about whether or not they'd possibly met in passing. "I was a teacher here around the time of the sentinel attacks, but then I was on hiatus for awhile." Her expression was mildly curious, seeing if added details might jog his memory. She didn't remember meeting him before, she knew that much.

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"Oh, all right," Michael nodded and folded the newspaper. "Well, there were quite some numbers here before the Sentinel attacks, it was easy to get disoriented."

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"Other than the kids in my classes, I didn't really socialize much. I tend to keep pretty focused on my work." When Violet first came to the mansion, she worked on collecting information about the sentinels for the Professor and, when the attacks started, she headed to Washington D.C. with the X-Men to fight. "And I got hurt pretty bad during the attacks, so I didn't socialize too much after, either." She sighed slightly. "It seems like things never slow down, but at least it's never boring!" She smiled again, having shifted her perspective in order to see even her hectic work schedule in a positive light.

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"That is true," Michael agreed. "I was there in Washington, too, but I was with the Professor. You were out in the field, I guess?"

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Violet pulled her knees up to her chest and nodded. "I wasn't assigned to any of the teams, I just kind of showed up on my own. I helped for awhile," she paused, the memory still painful. She'd signed up to help, and she would never regret that, but she hadn't been prepared for the things she saw and experienced that day. "And then there was an explosion and I got hurt, spent the rest of the battle in the museum with the healers."

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"Ah," Michael said, "I'm sorry to hear this. I hope it wasn't anything drastic? I can only assume that the healers took care of you, but I hope it hasn't been giving you nightmares? I know it has, to some."
As was usual with him, he spoke without smiles or frowns or any other obvious signs of emotions, but it didn't mean he was indifferent towards people he spoke to.

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Michael had an odd manner about him, not exactly cold, but different somehow. Violet noticed, but didn't give it much thought. She lived in a world of mutants, where the only common thread was being different. She nodded slightly, "I've had some nightmares; I think that's pretty common after so much trauma," she sighed and continued, "The healers took care of me, but I don't think there's any way to be prepared for what happened that day. I mean, after going through it, I think I'll be better prepared next time, but you have to be there, you know? Or else you have no idea."

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"Of course," Michael agreed. "In a way, it's a unique experience, so there is no training for that. Maybe, unless in the army-" He thought. "I'm all for it remaining a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are other, more sane ways to make our abilities applicable, I think."