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Creative Inspirations | Monday, period one

Jono looked...tired. He still hadn't quite slept off his little rampage through Zinyak's ship yesterday, and that was at least partly thanks to the fact that laying down with the blaster burns he'd taken on his way out had been an impossible proposition at worst, and a night of sleeping face-down and precariously balanced on mostly shattered ribs with no actual chest to support him at best.

One thing he could say for the simulation? Being able to drink coffee had been great.

//This week, we're hoping to take it easy on you lot,// he said, nodding to the students as they congregated for their portal. //Which I suppose isn't much of a stretch, considering this is a 'field trips and arts and crafts' class, but...it's been a long week for at least a few of us. So we're going to go and look at butterflies.//

Yes, butterflies.

Hannibal wasn't looking much more rested. Fortunately he didn't need much sleep, but nevertheless, having Jono half-draped over him and both cats on top of them hadn't been a recipe for restfulness. Especially given the number of times said cats had woken them up out of sheer perversity. (And once to throw up on the coverlet, because they weren't meant to eat nothing but store-bought treats they had found somewhere. At least they both seemed fine otherwise, though Hannibal had a sneaking suspicion there might be one fewer flamingo in the yard.)

He had a thermos of coffee with him, and was perfectly willing to share with Jono. He'd been very tempted to add vodka or bourbon to it.

"Butterflies are extremely fragile - not just physically, but in the effects that habitat change has upon their populations. So there are any number of places that seek to bolster their numbers, educate people about them, and also give us the opportunity to observe them."

//Today, we're going to England.// Because it was a butterfly conservatory that Jono had actually heard about, and he hadn't had a lot of time to really look into other options this week. But also because... //Slightly in the future. There's a place called Butterfly World in Hertfordshire, which currently has several hundred species of butterfly to observe, but they've got big plans to expand into something far more impressive still, and that's what we'll be going to take in, today.//

So, if butterflies weren't your thing, then at least you could observe the hummingbirds, or go into the underground caves to check out the spiders and scorpions, or poke around the ruins... The butterfly conservatory had options.

"Everybody please take note of any and all safety signs, and obey the conservationists," Hannibal cautioned. "There are many small and, as I said, fragile creatures in there."

The portal came, and he waved them through.

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Colorfully!

Nathan Byrn

Lottie Grote

Edward Kenway

Alluka Zoldyck

Wonder if your teachers need more coffee!

Or scorpions! Or ruins! Take your pick and mod it!

Could Lottie look at all of it? She would like to look at all of it, please!

Or fingerpaint butterflies on the walls. It's entirely possible your teachers are too tired to do more than give you a mildly disapproving look.

Inspired both by the butterflies (and ruins and scorpions) and by the events of the weekend, Lottie decided to go for an interpretive dance.

It involved at least a little bit of running around the room flapping her arms.

If you can find them in the biome. It's possible they may be ~~asleep~~ hiding.

The butterflies were lovely, and Hannibal might end up sketching or painting a few later on. For now, though, he was happy to find the most out-of-the-way corner he could - it didn't have a bench, but it was nearly impossible to see for the bushes - and sit on the grass and watch them.

//I think,// Jono murmured, wandering over to Hannibal with a butterfly perched on an outstretched finger, //this was the right call, today.//

Just, you know, mentioning.

Hannibal smiled at the butterfly, then at Jono, and made room for him. "Are we indulging the students or ourselves?" he asked, not particularly caring.

//It can be both, can't it? I'd say we're definitely indulging both.//

But yes, at least partly themselves.

Jono gingerly sat himself down in the space that Hannibal made for him, so as to not ~~disturb his injuries~~ scare off the butterfly, and then sort of slumped himself against Hannibal once he was settled.

//That's allowed, innit?//

"Absolutely." Hannibal watched Jono move, satisfied himself that it was no more than the expected pain and stiffness, and leaned back against the tree behind him. "How did you coax this little fellow to join you?" he asked, watching the butterfly slowly fan its wings.

//Mostly I just stood still for a while,// Jono admitted. //I have a way with butterflies, I suppose.//

He generally had no problem getting them to land on him. Secondary mutation? Or just fantastic luck.

Jono held the butterfly up, in case Hannibal wanted to try getting it to climb onto his finger for a hit. It was pretty zen, having something that fragile just chilling out on you. He'd recommend it any day.

Hannibal was content to watch it without stealing Jono's butterfly mojo. "If we sit here long enough, we will probably have more of them."

//That, I wouldn't mind,// Jono decided. //An excellent excuse to stay put and not disturb them for a while. And honestly, right about now I'd take about any excuse to stay put and not disturb anything for a while.//

If there was anything wrong with resting his head on Hannibal's shoulder during class hours, well, Jonothon really had no fucks left to give.

Why would there be anything wrong with it? They were just sitting here. Hannibal would even lean his head on top of Jono's. And watch as a butterfly came flitting closer as if deciding which of their knees to land on.

"I've always been fond of the imagery of the chrysalis," he murmured. "It starts with humble beginnings, works diligently to transform itself, and comes out again beautiful and ready to fly."

//Creatures that go from one thing to something completely different are fascinating, aren't they?// Jono watched his butterfly crawl from his fingertip to his knee. The one that was still deciding veered a little to investigate one of Hannibal's, instead. //I've heard more than a few mutants use the butterfly analogy on several occasions, when explaining to mutant children a bit about what they're going through. It sometimes helps.//

"You're often wrapped up enough for one," Hannibal teased, tugging lightly at a bandage with one finger."Although I'm not certain how I feel being likened to a caterpillar." The second butterfly landed on him for just a moment before flitting off.

//There's no shame in being a caterpillar,// Jono decided, shaking his head just the slightest bit. Not too much. He was comfortable where he was. //It just means that, whatever you've accomplished in your life thus far, you've still got so much potential to do so much more.//

Since the mutant analogy didn't work so well with the baseline humans, Jono didn't have any problems skewing it just the tiniest bit to fit.

Hannibal chuckled. "Well played." He settled in a bit further and closed his eyes. "Does that mean I should find an additional purpose for my talents?"

//Only if you want to,// Jono decided, shrugging his shoulders and closing his eyes as well. //If you're happy the way you are, then there's no point changing... too much...//

Cozy.

"Quite happy," Hannibal answered, "but I enjoy a new challenge sometimes, too."

It really was lovely and calming here, wasn't it? The butterflies had been a good call. Hannibal thought as much in Jono's direction as he watched another one flit past.

Jono sent back a warm little tingle, a sort of smile with the physical equivalent filed off.

//Well, then perhaps I ought t'start challenging you...//

He'd come up with something.

I look forward to it.

When he woke up.

Not hiding. Jono was definitely not hiding. Though the butterflies were really quite relaxing. And the hummingbirds, and the flowers, and the sound of a waterfall somewhere in the distance...

Not hiding. Maybe napping.

Definitely dozing a bit, once they got back to the classroom.

Alluka had stumbled across ~~a day late, but shush~~ a maybe-napping Jono while they were still at the conservatory and she exchanged a glance with her bunny for a moment before she nodded.

A moment later, her bunny nodded too.

Then she snuck forward and leaned her bunny against his side. It could keep him company while she went to go see the ruins. Alluka crept off, feeling ridiculously pleased with herself.

And, so help him, when Jono woke up in order to round up the students in order to catch the portal back to the island and realized that he had company of the fluffy stuffed bunny variety, he maybe melted a little. Or his heart grew three sizes that day. Or... something.

He was pretty certain Alluka was trying to kill him with adorable.

And, shut up, the bunny maybe got a bit of a squeezy hug before he set off to round up the students, stuffed rabbit in tow.

It's also entirely possible at least part of this is method roleplay. Why must I Monday?

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Creative Inspirations | Monday, period one

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Listen to the lecture!

See butterflies!

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Create! Be inspired!

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Talk to the teachers!

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OOC!