A friendly face

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

It had been an quick decision, and one not lightly made, but Nikk had finally returned to the Institute from a long 'vacation' in Russia looking into his past. There were some unanswered questions he had, and he wanted to see what was left of home. Nikk had used what little he saved while being at the Institute, and his abilities, to make the trip. He was hoping that he could just pick up where he left off; he knew it wouldn't be that simple.

Nikk walked across the grounds to the entrance, surprisingly, no one was out. This is not normal. He noticed that not much had changed, decoration and things of that nature. As he made his way into the entrance hall, a shooting pain hit his head. What if they are upset with me for leaving with no notice? I was an idiot.... His stride slowed to a halt and now worry had completely began to envelope him. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea..." he began to back towards the door, hoping his appearance had went unnoticed.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh soars high over the Institute grounds, flipping end for end and throwing himself into barrel rolls. It was relaxing - he really needed to do it more often. Between teaching classes and getting his own classwork done, as well as mentoring the newbies and the occasional X-Men mission, he barely got enough sleep and enough time with Warren - it was hard to find time for anything these days.

He was really up at Warren's urging. And it was fun. As Warren put it, "You're one of the world's strongest telekinetics. Maybe the strongest. But why tax your powers deflecting something when you can just avoid it?" Josh had to admit he had a point - but it was reflex to halt incoming objects, whereas he had to consciously think about telekinetic evasion and flight. He was hoping he eventually wouldn't have to.

> What if they are upset with me for leaving with no notice? I was an idiot....

Josh almost loses mental concentration - which tended to be a bad thing at this height. Is that... it is!

There was no real danger of losing Nikk, especially with his flight speed, but he drops altitude rapidly. He sticks his landing on the front porch.

Josh raises and eyebrow and folds his arms. "You know, it's rude to leave without saying goodbye."

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

Nikk didn't even notice with his telepathy that anyone was around because he was so nervous of how some of his old friends might react to seeing him again. The Russian was surprisingly quiet as he made his attempt out of the door. Nikk wasn't the most eloquent, coordinated, and balanced person; he was actually very clumsy for the most part, especially when he was nervous. But he managed to open up the door without making much noise at all. He backed out of the building slowly and shut the door with such finesse. He sighed and turned around...

"You know, it's rude to leave without saying goodbye."

Nikk has not expected to see anyone, let alone Josh one of the only other students to have telepathic abilities. He couldn't even think a sentence in English, his body just took over into auto pilot and he used telepathy. Josh...yeah...I'm sorry... He wasn't sure if Josh was upset or not, and he wasn't going to read him to find out.

He took a deep breath and thought about what he was going to say. He realized he had involuntarily went straight to telepathy and he figured that speaking would be more appropriate. He took a minute to get his English skills going again. "I am not knowing vhat to say. I vould like to..." he paused to think of the phrase; his accent as thick as ever. "...to come back. Is dhis acceptable?" He wasn't very good with small talk, and he still wasn't sure how Josh was feeling. He licked his lips softly and looked at the ground. He would take whatever Josh through at him.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh...yeah...I'm sorry...

Josh rolls his eyes. "Not that, you dork. I mean, you did leave a note. In Russian. So we had to have Piotr translate it for us." He gestures at Nikk. "Now. What are you thinking? Coming all the way here and then slinking off without saying anything?"

He has a bit of a frown on his face. "You could have let us know what was up with you, though. We always like hearing from former students." Instead, Jake had set him to briefly check up on Nikk with Cerebro every couple weeks or so. It was a bit of a gray area, but given how they'd met Nikk in the first place, it seemed justified. The guy seemed to attract trouble.

"I am not knowing vhat to say. I vould like to... ...to come back. Is dhis acceptable?"

"You know, you can skip the kicked puppy routine. Nikk, you were hardly a problem student - not counting how we recruited you, of course. There will always be room for you here." Josh grins slightly. "Granted, are you sure of what you're signing up for? This means you've got to enroll for classes - and let people beat you up in training practice. And I should probably mention that I'm our unofficial medic until I get accepted to medical school. Are you sure you want to risk it?" Josh raises his eyebrow. "Oh, and we've also got a new class of baby mutants - I dunno if you want to deal with them... 15 is an annoying age." He lets out a breath. "It might be easier if you go back to whatever you were up to."

"Oh, and I teach biology now. And lab reports are serious business in my laboratory." Josh narrows his eyes in a mock glare.

[Nikkolas Blagetovich]

"Not that, you dork. I mean, you did leave a note. In Russian. So we had to have Piotr translate it for us."

Nikk looked up at Josh, slightly embarrassed. He didn't know how to write in English except when someone else's mind was around for borrowing. Nikk was extremely under educated and that was something he really wished he wouldn't have let go. To put it simple, he didn't make it through much of the Russian school system. "Oh. Vell, I vas in rush. I don't use English vell." He was glad that they find the note...sort of. His spelling and grammar skills in Russian was terrible.

"Now. What are you thinking? Coming all the way here and then slinking off without saying anything?"

Josh was being very sharp with him, which he deserved. He really should have said something to someone before he left, but he didn't. Nikk wasn't confrontational, and usually just left when a problem arouse. He didn't really like good-byes either. Ever since his little battle with Josh in Warren's mind when his mental blocks buckled and came down, he hasn't been 100% stable in his head. Excessive stress could really set him up for an 'outburst'. "I....I vas not very thoughtful. I think maybe everyone left or..." He didn't know what to say, but he knew he didn't want to cut straight to the point and tell the truth, but he knew he had to. "I vas afraid someone vould be upset vith seeing me here." He sighed, "But, I vant to make up to everyone.." His accent was thick, and didn't improve the more nervous he became.

"You could have let us know what was up with you, though. We always like hearing from former students."

Nikk bit his cheek. This was common when he was nervous. "I did not make right choice." He attempted to change the subject "But you look good. How is everyone?" He knew Josh would see right through this, but he did it anyway. "But I am fine. I vist Russia."

"You know, you can skip the kicked puppy routine. Nikk, you were hardly a problem student - not counting how we recruited you, of course. There will always be room for you here."

Nikk's eyebrow quirked. When he wasn't trying to take over Warren's mind or pick a fight with Josh, yeah, he was an alright 'student'. This was the response Nikk was looking for-sort of. "Thank you. It vould be great to come back. I missed everyone. Vhat has changed here? Somethings is different." He meant everyone being gone; when he left everything was lively and vibrant.

"Granted, are you sure of what you're signing up for? This means you've got to enroll for classes - and let people beat you up in training practice. And I should probably mention that I'm our unofficial medic until I get accepted to medical school. Are you sure you want to risk it?" "Oh, and we've also got a new class of baby mutants - I dunno if you want to deal with them... 15 is an annoying age." "It might be easier if you go back to whatever you were up to."

And this is where the comfort bubble popped. Nikk was ~so~ uncomfortable with school and school work. He started to breath hard, and shifted his head to the right, almost like a wince. He didn't want to be resident 'idiot' and be labeled at the Institute. The Russian hubris in him flared when it came to this issue. He did not like people knowing how severly stupid uneducated he was. He could handle the physical activity and the powers part of the school, but when it came to school part of school, he was terrified and unconfident. He was at a loss for words. "I..." his emotions were flaring, and he was starting to sweat. "I..." He didn't know what to say. A knot started develop in his stomach and it became harder for him to breathe. He knew he had to say something, and fast. "I...I have never finish school. I am not smart." He looked right at the ground as he said that to Josh. Nikk could move from emotional neutrality to emotional flares in an instant. He could loose control that easily sometimes.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> "I...I have never finish school. I am not smart."

Josh suppresses a sigh. This is why he was going to be a medical doctor and not a counselor. He felt for Nikk, but ultimately, he found the guy's self-effacing nature frustrating - and a little depressing. This is why we need a counselor on staff. Jake had a bachelor's in psychology, but he probably no more qualified to counsel hormonally-raging mutants than Josh himself was.

"There's something called the self-fulfilling prophecy..." Josh begins. "Anyway, what I mean is that if you say you're not smart, you're going to perform that way. You need to tell yourself 'I'm going to do well.' Getting yourself in the right frame of mind is half the job." Josh taps his temple. "You of all people should know that, Nikk. The mind is incredibly powerful."

"So, what do you say? Let's get you settled into a room and set up a class schedule. The fall semester starts next week." Josh gestures towards the front door of the mansion.