Familiarly New Territory {Sean}

[Antosha Vikenti]

It had been four months since he had arrived in Pilot Ridge. Four long, tiring months that left him sure that he hadn’t actually arrived back at his high school alma mater. That everything was some long never ending dream and he’d wake up back in his cramped apartment in Topeka. However, standing here before the familiar stone building Antosha was fully aware that he had in fact—in a fashion—accomplished his goal.


No longer would he have to baby sit stinking humans that would whine about how unfair their lives were, how tired they were from working, how ‘haaaaaard’ it was to have their lives. Now he would get to be among his own kind. Possibly even be allowed to hiss when a particularly troublesome student came along. Though, if Dalton was still around it was doubtful he’d be allowed to get that far. So with this equally cheering and depressing thought, Antosha began his first day shadowing in Hammel.


----Unspecified amount of time skipped, but still same day----


His ink stained fingertips ran along the familiar walls of Hammel, lighter eyes wandering around as though he could catch ghosts of the past if only he looked fast enough. He’d taken a break from the boring routine of standing around the classroom, only moving around in order to help a student on their artwork. The teacher he was shadowing had yet to trust the tall Russian with anything more than that- something that had the panther inside him pacing and baring it’s fangs. A situation made worse by underlying tension in Hammel’s walls.


It seemed as though all around the barely controlled powers were battling for dominance; animals silently crying while they fed pheromones into the air; fire and ice making a friction in the air that promised storms at every moment, a promise thickened by the palpable ozone covering the grounds like a fog. Antosha ran his fingers through his recently shortened hair and sighed before straightening his black dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to reveal the dark ink on his forearms. Either he was being a far more melodramatic self than accustomed to, or he was made more sensitive to the air of Hammel by his absence. Antosha was inclined to believe the former rather than the latter due to the lack of memories of such a feeling during his school years.

With a rather disgruntled snort the panther pushed himself off the wall, heading through the familiar in a dreamlike sort of way hallways towards the once forbidden staff lounge. This, he reasoned, was a better use of his time than anything else since he could get coffee and meet any of his future coworkers. Antosha had already flipped through the school newspaper and marveled at the multitude of new names while mourning the loss of his favorite teachers. Dalton being first and foremost on that list since he’d maintained a personal relationship with the old man. That aside, the inner teenager in Antosha reveled in being able to step foot in the forbidden zone without being kicked out. Since boundaries hadn't stopped him in the past- breaking into the research lab, rooting through Dalton’s office, molesting Cobalt all come to mind immediately. He laughed as the memory of the last event played through his head again and Antosha pushed open the staff door with a black nailed hand, ducking his head to fit through the door frame as he walked in the almost empty lounge. The heady scent of coffee assaulted him before he went much further and with a casual wave to the other staff he made his way to the heavenly scent, pouring himself a cup without much more ado.

((OOC- Crappy started is crappy. Hope this will do anyway. ^^))

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean Neville didn’t live for coffee, because that carried connotations of addiction or religious adherence. However, the telepath thoroughly enjoyed coffee, and there were times that he relied upon it to make it easier for him to face the day: either because the caffeine provided him with the jolt of energy he required to face long hours or a difficult task, or because the caffeine worked its healing properties to counteract his telepathy-and-stress-induced headaches.

Today, he didn’t have a headache, and he aimed to keep it that way. His schedule was rather light: aside from his typical sessions for the day, he only had one conference and his typical paperwork. That was light, and, absent a student taking advantage of a teacher or the honor system, the day would remain light.

Sean valued those light days. While every day couldn’t be light, and he enjoyed his job and the work necessary to maintain the Mental Health Services Department, having a break in the pace did wonders.

The psychiatrist entered the staff lounge on his singular quest for coffee. Once inside, he saw a familiar person at the machine, although the profile of a person that he had not seen in quite a while. “Antosha?” He queried, as he approached the younger man and the coffee machine.

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha raised the steaming cup to his nose and sniffed once, self consciously looking around him with his amber eyes. It smelled as he imagined free coffee would usually smell- like someone had left it on the heat too long. The black haired shifter winced some but took a sip anyway, unwilling to sully his cup of heaven with any sort of cream or sugar.

The heated liquid burned its way down his throat before it settled in his empty stomach though the heat seemed like it continued without the liquid and spread through his limbs. Antosha let out a purr of appreciation of the blackened sludge, taking another drink of his first cup of coffee of the day with all the grace of a starving man set before a buffet. It disappeared far too quickly for his liking and as he reached to pour himself another cup the door to the staff room opened, causing the tall Russian to look over his shoulder.

A familiar figure awaited his amber gaze and the shifter raised his still empty cup up to the entering man. The sound of his name didn't deter him, only causing him to smile in a way that seemed a bit more dangerous-in the way a cat is dangerous to a mouse-than he'd been in high school. "Neville, it has been awhile da?" he nodded once as he replied, his thick accent still in place in his tone. Though none of his past flamboyance, heavy gestures, and use of babe came close to speech.

Once again Antosha shifted his body out of the way of the coffee pot, his hip resting casually against the table as he glanced briefly to the empty cup before returning to the old mentor. "It is nice to see pleasant faces after this day. So many of the old friends have left, it seems. So how have you been, Neville? Still scaring graduates with the infamous condoms?" he smiled into his mini speech, tilting his head to the side as was his habit.

((LALA~ Is crap for you~!~!
Forgive that it is short and.... Different I suppose, than how he used to be.
Muse was "Miss Jackson- Panic at the Disco"))

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had no desire to be called by his surname if it was not accompanied by an honorific. Otherwise, it sounded as though he was in the military, which was certainly not the case. He found something inherently dehumanizing about reducing someone to their surname, which was why, no matter how much trouble a student might find themselves in, the psychiatrist used their given name, or their full name, if necessary, never the surname alone. “It’s ‘Doctor Neville,’ or ‘Sean.’”

The students weren’t allowed to call him by his given name, because of the potential havoc that could play on boundaries. However, Anthosha had graduated years ago, and given that he was in the staff lounge, he was here in at least a semi-professional capacity. Sean need not worry about those boundaries then.

With that, he crossed the room to approach the coffee pot, sniffing appreciatively before he poured himself a cup. “The next lecture is slated for the beginning of the summer term, as always.” As always, he would have to prepare his materials to answer the students’ questions about the facts of life. As always, he would stress the importance of safer sex, which is why he made condoms readily available to the students.

“And how are you doing?” He asked over his shoulder. “What brings you back?”

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha felt a small smile pulling at the edges of his lips and he ducked his head to hide the soft chuckle. It seemed even the idea of calling Neville 'Doctor Neville' again was enough to be laughable. The Russian would have preferred to shorten it to only 'Doctor' but somehow he doubt Sean would go for it. So Antosha only raised his head and smiled at the male before reaching for the abandoned coffee pot. "Sean it is."

As he responded, the male in question was already halfway through the room aiming for the coffee pot. Antosha suppressed another laugh at Sean's response to the condom question and took a drink of his black sludge before responding. "Da? Well remind me what day. I would love to bring a video camera this time. Save you some time from having to repeat it to every Casanova coming around."

"Ah... Why come back? Simple really. I'm getting a degree to teach, and I would rather teach children like me than humans who I would have to hide from." he explained, shrugging once at the end before glancing at Sean with a wry smile. "Not to mention I had to come back for the wedding. Kent got married late in December and Mayu's already gotten engaged. I swear it is like she is competing with my mom for the better wedding." Antosha laughed and shook his head at his own statements. "Do you remember Mayu? Real quiet telepath. She was in the journalism club, dated the atomic manipulator, followed Dalton like a lost kitten? She got accepted into Stanford when she graduated?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“You know we don’t film it.” And, if Antosha no longer remembered that – which was to be expected, as most graduates had more important matters on their mind than the exact instructions for their high school sexual education lecture – Sean reiterated the point. Although he offered the same basic instruction each year, the psychiatrist changed the material from lecture to lecture, responsive to the questions that the students had asked. Sean found more utility in the exercise when actively engaging the students and imparting the knowledge that they wanted or needed.

Beyond that, there were security concerns. Given the disaster of 2011, the psychiatrist took more suspicion in technology, at least technology that recorded images as opposed to the projector. He also didn’t want the students, their faces, names, voices, and questions recorded for the future; they deserved that much privacy.

The young man’s explanation made sense, and Sean nodded to confirm that. “There is a certain degree of comfort that comes from paying it forward.” That had been (partially) his motivation for applying for the job as the Hammel psychiatrist. It was one of many reasons that he had kept the job for decades.

A smile crossed his lips at the mention of Mayu. “I remember Mayu quite well.” Sean remembered all of the telepaths that came through Hammel, and she had been in his office a few times. “Has she set a date yet?”

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha nodded slowly to Neville’s response, having honestly forgotten about whatever rules were involved in the infamous condom speech. It had been years since he had heard it so it was natural the he had not remembered something as trivial as ‘no filming’. Something in the panther suspected that Neville knew this as well, which he was rather grateful for since it meant he wouldn’t honestly have to apologize for his blunder. His life after high school had been filled with work, alcohol, a few too many lonely nights in bed, and an attractive blue eyed porcupine.

Raising the still steaming cup of coffee to his lips he took a sip to cover his smile at remembering the feisty porcupine. Though if he ever dared tried to forget about it, the word across his knuckles would serve for a reminder. Since he was occupied many states away Antosha had not kept up with what had happened at Hammel after his graduation. Kent had mentioned only a few things in passing, and though the panther had a vague idea what had occurred in 2011 he was left mostly in the dark about what exactly had happened to crack down the security in Hammel.

Antosha shook his head slightly at Neville’s response to his reasons for returning to Hammel. “You give too much credit, Sean. I would not have thought of such an unselfish reason. Though… I suppose since I’m here I will undoubtedly attempt to ‘pay it forward’, da?” he was rambling towards the end, his head cocked slightly to the side as he thought. Indeed he had only originally returned to preserve his own desire to avoid the massive human population, but now that he was here there might be truth in his returning Hammel’s favor to another child. Perhaps he’ll have to rescue a small child from a frozen lake once again.

“Nyet. We, Kent and myself, have talked her out of rushing into anything too soon. She is only twenty now, plenty of time to wait for marriage.” He explained, smiling in return to Neville. He was glad that the old mentor remembered Mayu, though it had not yet crossed his mind that Neville would remember her merely from the fact she was a telepath at Hammel. “If you would like I have pictures of the family now? She has grown well, as has Rayne. Though… You would see Rayne a lot I would think, since she attends Hammel.” He laughed softly at his second blunder of the afternoon.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

One of Sean’s reasons for initially taking his job at Hammel had been from a desire to pay it forward. As distressing at it had been to first develop his powers, and as difficult as the move had been to Hammel from his childhood home, the psychiatrist had benefitted from his time at Hammel. As far as he was concerned, he had had the best trainer in the history of the school, and he had said as much to colleagues before. The time spent with Robert had proved invaluable, and he wanted to provide that to other students, even if he could only achieve a fraction of what Robert had achieved. His mentor had been dead for a decade, and he tried to live up to his memory.

Given Mayu’s age, that was for the best, and the psychiatrist nodded to convey that. Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that Sean had been prepared to settle down in a relationship at the age of twenty-two, he was not an advocate of young marriage. He thought that the additional life experience provided a stronger foundation for a lasting relationship, and hundreds of relationship studies and meta-analysis backed his opinions there. “That is for the best.”

If the relationship was strong enough to last, she could get married in four or five years, none the worse for wear. Then, at the question, he smiled and nodded. “I’d like to see whatever pictures you have with you.”

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha never really felt the desire to pay it forward when he started looking to become a teacher. No, he chose his career on the basis that it was better than struggling. Not to mention he could get others to indulge in his passion. Plus he could spend his time among his own kind, shoving their hands into art. Perhaps he could start the pay it forward of his own, not having the back ground that Sean did with past experiences. Sure, Antosha knew that Hammel had helped him out a lot but he couldn't really pin it to one specific person. There was no one in his past, Mayu being the obvious exception, that Antosha could say helped him anymore than another.

The Russian smiled gratefully at Sean's nod. He'd gotten mixed complaints so far as to his sister's situation and it was pleasant to know that their general consensus was one that could be acceptable. Apparently not acceptable to the younger generation, but they hadn't really experienced anything of life yet. Not to say that he had a ton of life experience under his belt either, but he definitely had more than most of the Hammel students. With the exception of a few here and there that had the sort of sob stories one couldn't relate to unless they had been in that very situation. He returned the male's nod when the telepath vocalized his opinion to show he wasn't just ignoring it.

There was a small pause after Sean said he would like to see the pictures before Antosha smiled at him in understanding. Ant always enjoyed to show off pictures of his family members. So he scooped his phone out of his pocket and with a few quick jabs at the older touch screen he was loading up the file that had pictures of the wedding. As he loaded the first one of Gaia and Kent he turned the phone to offer to Sean. "Here. Pictures of the wedding. It is the best I have and has everyone there. Kent, Gaia, myself, Mayu, Rayne, Porcupine, Akilles.." he beamed more at the male, growing even happier to show off his slowly expanding family. Since Antosha had grown up with a rather small, if close knit, family it made him happy to be able to claim so many under the word family. Even if he still wasn't too fond of Akilles, though he respected the dark man for being able to defend his sister. "If you would like, I can show who is who?" he spoke up suddenly, realizing Sean may not be able to tell who was who since he hadn't really known any of them.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had a number of opinions about the world that the younger generation had inherited. The psychiatrist had spent his entire young adulthood, and then the intervening decades, trying to make the world a better place than it had been during his childhood. They had made strides with civil rights, with women’s liberation, with LGBT rights, with disability accommodation, and in some other areas. Yet, the nation was economically far worse off than it had been, and all of the benefits that Sean had had as a young man for education, for homeownership, for employment, for healthcare, and for pensions and retirement become severely limited, if not changed completely. For this, the psychiatrist was both apologetic and mournful, particularly since enough members of his generation experience neither for what they had created for future generations.

Because of this, he realized that the landscape for family planning for Antosha’s and Mayu’s generation differed significantly for his own. Still, it was better to wait a bit, both for economic planning and for the purposes of emotional maturity.

Sean sipped his coffee and then set down the mug, waiting for Antosha to take out the pictures. Once upon a time, the photos would have been physical, individual pictures. However, with the advent of digital cameras and camera phones, one could store thousands of pictures on a single device. This resulted in more photos, in more candid shots, and in the easier ability to share them. He peered at the small screen, not attempting to take the device from Antosha, since many people were particularly possessive about who held their phones.

“Please,” he replied. He would happily listen to Antosha as he described everyone in the photos that he shared.

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha knew his generation was miles different from that of what Sean's was. They were more apt to make stupid decisions and marry young. Something Mayu was guilty of. Though her decision to become engaged was more just the two of them getting swept up in what could only be described as a teenage romance. It was like a wild fire between the two of them. It started in only a second before it was burning out of control. The only really reliable between the two of them was they were actually in love with the only person, not just the idea of being in love. Ant himself was guilty of that crime- being in love with the idea of a person rather than the person themselves. It's how he deluded himself that his nightly flings might be something more... Substantial.

The shifter frowned slightly when Sean didn't the offered phone but then smiled just as quickly when he realized that the older man was merely being considerate. With a slight nod he turned his body stand beside Sean, holding the phone between them as he pulled up the first picture of the wedding. These were actually copies of the pictures taken by the photographer, as Antosha had no skill when it came to using his phone's camera. A few of the pictures were actually taken by Antosha himself, but that was using his more professional camera.

The first picture though was one of Gaia walking down the isle, and as Antosha flipped through he began explaining. "That is Gaia, my mother, in the wedding gown obviously. She got lucky with her genetics so she still looks fairly young. Anyway, the guy standing at the alter is Kent, Mayu's uncle. Mayu is standing on the bride's side. She got lucky with her asian genetics as well, I don't think she's really aged. Beside her is Rayne. Who has gotten really tall. She's at... 5'9 now? She dyed her hair black as well, just to match the family. On the side with Kent is me and my twin, Vladimir. We're kind of back on speaking terms now thanks to the wedding me." He paused every once in awhile to give the male time to view the photos before he skipped to the reception, showing the male Gaia and Kent dancing before he turned to where a photo of Mayu beside a strange gothic male was. He had long hair, dark eyes rimmed with black, and a labret piercing. However he was smiling in the picture and Ant's thoughts were only of how gentle the male was to Mayu and how nice he was to everyone important to her. "That is Akilles, her fiance. He looks scary but... Honestly he's probably better than I was back in high school. Complete mush on the inside when it comes to her." He continued flipping through and stopped at a picture with himself, a tall shirtless stranger with spiked hair, and a short male standing between them with the typical emo hair cut. "This is me, my дикобраз, porcupine or as his name actually is... Xavier, and his baby brother, Xander." There was a small smile on his lips as he tapped their faces.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Enough people had married young in Sean’s generation. Growing up Catholic in the 1950s and 1960s had seen far too many weddings born from a desire to have sex with the blessings of the Lord (or rather to avoid sin by having sex outside of marriage) or to legitimize a child’s birth in the eyes of the Church and the surrounding community. Such marriages were often, although not always, doomed to failure. The psychiatrist wanted more for future generations than to feel the need to marry young due to a lack of other options or to mounting societal pressure or a sense of desperation. For Mayu’s sake, he hoped those were not her reasons, although, either way, waiting would benefit her. Waiting allowed a couple to learn if they had the ability to last, and it allowed each member to mature a bit more. This was not guaranteed success, but it surely helped.

With his mug in hand, Sean peered over the young man’s shoulder. Fortunately, with the psychiatrist’s height, he could see clearly behind almost everyone, save Kane, Vincent and a couple of others in his five-and-a-half decades of life experience, some of whom were deceased. He listened carefully as Antosha flipped through the pictures, matching faces with names, descriptive information, and backstory. “Everyone looks happy,” he remarked.

Even those dressed less than appropriately, such as Mayu’s fiancé, looked happy enough. This was important, since those who could convey dissatisfaction in photos had twice as much within them in person. Dissatisfaction was not a character flaw, but it did require internal work, and sometimes changes in external factors, in order to contextualize and process.

Antosha’s smile did not go unnoticed, and thus the psychiatrist asked, “How long have you known Xavier?”

[Antosha Vikenti]

Antosha couldn't help but smile as Sean looked over his shoulder. In his experience there were few men taller than him, and in his book the taller the man the more attractive. Which might have been what led to him having the smallest of crushes on the psychiatrist back when he was attending school. But... That faded, as do most crushes that occurred to the Russian man. As did his desire to be with taller men -after all when you were 6'10 no one was really taller so you learned to deal with what you were given. A small smile pulled at his lips at Sean's observations and he nodded gently. "It was a fun night... If only a bit immature." He chuckled softly, a memory of everyone singing some raunchy British wedding song coming to mind. Apparently someone had thought it would be a good way to end the night by singing a wedding song that only talked about sex. Granted Gaia didn't actually appreciate it, since she just tossed a bucket of ice at the singers. But everyone else enjoyed the song, and the alcohol. Which might have actually been what led to the song....

He made no notice of the fact some of the attendees were dressed in what others might think is inappropriate. Since he adopted the gothic look himself, he didn't really notice it as anything but normal anymore. Amber eyes flicked to the older man's face with a slight hesitance, wondering what was going on in the telepath's mind. It's not as if he relied on Sean's words or thoughts. He just held the man in high regard.

However the doubt was shifted at the other's smile and he let out a sheepish laugh. "We met... My freshman year? He is Finnish Italian from Kocher." A small smile played on the Russian's face, unable to keep back his happiness. He raised his hand to show Sean his inked knuckles. "Is his name tattooed here. As a drunken dare..." Another sly smile before he continued. "But it is okay. He has my paw tattooed on... let us say private areas used for sitting." There was no reason he couldn't say 'butt', but for some reason Ant felt it would be inappropriate to the older man.

(( Kevin Bloody Wilson - Kev's Wedding Waltz... Haha... HAHAH... HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHA. Ant's family is so messed up. Because I can actually see them singing this. :/ I make weird people.

Also.
Short.
Sorry.
Also-
Crappy.))

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean smiled as well, and replied, “That happens to most of us at gatherings, in one way or another.” When people had fun, they tended to let down their hair. The only difference was that now technology had changed with the advent of digital cameras and video phones, such that not a moment of those indiscretions went unrecorded.

Tattoos were one of those cultural components that Sean understood on an intellectual and social level, but in which he had never had any interest. They had not been as popular when he had been young, nor had body piercings, not the way that they were now. The Punk movements had popularized both. His most rebellious body modification had been his pierced ear, which had long-since closed up. Josh had a tattoo, although it was smile and not visible except in the warm weather; Sean liked it because it belonged to his partner, but he had no particular interest in tattoos beyond that.

However, he understood the significance in the exchange that Antosha and this other man had made, and he nodded to convey that. “Does he make you happy?”

Sean knew the answer, but he wanted to ask regardless. In his experience, most people enjoyed speaking about their significant others when given the opportunity; he certainly did. His partner did even more than Sean himself.

[Antosha Vikenti]

"Is a shame my mother could not share your opinion," Antosha spoke up, his lips twisting into a sly smile, "She decided we were to mature very quickly. Threw a bucket of ice on the lot of us. Though... Now I am unsure if it was to get us to stop singing or to sober us up." He ended his statement with a laugh and a shrug.

Tattoos, as shown by his body, were a big part of Antosha's life. It was an expression of the soul underneath the skin. Not to mention the fact he was heavily involved in art, so transferring his work from canvas to skin wasn't that big a deal. Usually he only liked the tattoos that meant something for a person, not the ones half done on a drunken dare or because it was your 18th birthday. Which might have been a bit hypocritical for the Russian to say considering one of his most visible tattoos was decided on a dare, but he chose to think of it as a momentous day for the friendship between him and the icy porcupine.

Antosha's amber eyes flicked up to study Sean briefly before his face split into a wide smile. "He makes me very happy. But we are not dating." He explained casually, giving his phone one last look before he noticed the time.

"Pleasant as this is, I will have to cut it short. I have a few classes tonight and would need to leave now to have time to make it there." The Russian pushed off the counter and carefully rinsed out his cup, planning on just taking it with him for now. But after a moment he set it inside the sink and turned away to walk to the door. The Russian paused at the door frame and looked over his shoulder at Sean, offering the older man a slight smile. "We should do this again, Sean, da?"