Xaviers!

A tall woman presides over the workers at the various refreshment tables, keeping an eye on things. She's wearing a long skirt and the occasional glimpses of her feet show sandals. Her top leaves her arms bare, revealing some scarring on her left arm. Someone familiar with dog bites might say that's what it looks like, though it'd be from a really big dog. Her right arm is tattooed from the back of her hand to her shoulder in one long vine-like pattern that wraps in on itself in twists and turns. As that arm moves about, someone could almost swear that the vines form actual letter-like patterns, but surely that's just a trick of the movement.

A woman who looked to be in her late twenties to early thirties approached, her dirty-blonde hair done in an "up' style. Not particularly tall or imposing, the woman possessed a striking visage in the way in which she carried herself and how she was dressed. A small red and gold pin in a possibly familiar shape adorned her lapel and caught the sunlight as she leaned down and took a glass of punch.

"I'm not so late that I missed whatever uplifting speech was planned for this little shindig, am I?" She asked the taller woman before taking a sip of the fruity beverage.

"I don't believe so," the tall woman said, "But we've been so busy, I haven't been paying attention." The woman dusts her hands before extending her right hand, "Wanda."

The shorter woman took Wanda's hand and shook it firmly. "Jezabelle, or Jez for short." She looked down at the woman's arm before letting go of her hand.

"Nice ink, that must've taken a long time."

"Thank you. It took several years and a lot of hard work," Wanda says, "You're from Genosha?"

"Well I think it was worth it. I'm too chicken to get one myself so I have to just stay on the sidelines and fawn over everyone else's." She nods her head as she takes another sip of her drink.

"Mhhm. Well not originally, but close enough."

"I think the number of people who can actually say they're from Genosha is somewhat small," Wanda says with a laugh, "But it's a good to have a haven like that."

"Well I won't lie and say it's perfect, but for some people it's the best hope they've got. Hopefully by the time I retire I'll be able to say it's perfect, or we won't need to send kids there for their own safety."

"If you ever need someone to consult on the weather there, let me know. I'm usually up for taking trips."

Jezabelle smiled. "I'll keep that in mind the next time the rainy season is a little late in coming. Just as I hope you'll keep me in mind if you know of any gifted youngsters who might not be able to adapt to life outside of school grounds." She paused for a moment with her cup in midair, staring off into the distance.

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye...” She notes Jez’s stare, “Is something wrong?”

Jezabelle shook her head as though trying to come back to her senses.

“Sorry about that. I’m in a meeting with a couple of cabinet ministers and one of them said something so stupid that my mind had trouble processing it. That’s happened to you before, right? Where someone says something so messed up that you’re at a loss at how to respond?”

"All the time. Usually when I'm arguing with someone about the environment," she says with a smile. "Frequently cabinet ministers are short-sighted fools, despite their responsibility for long-term planning."

"They see as far ahead as the next election. Sometimes I think the Greeks had the right idea when their elected officials were decided by drawing lots."

"Is that how Genosha does it? I'm a little behind on my Genoshan politics."

"Eh, it's more of an oligarchy. Those with the most power tend to rise to the top. It's not a system I'm particularly fond of, but I honestly doubt any other would work any better."

"That does have some issues, but I suppose once it's ingrained, it's hard to break."

"Might makes right, as they say. Whether it's a clever tongue, hefty bank account, or laser eyes."

“I remain content with influencing the natural world. It’s good to see some good people keeping an eye on the political power.”

"And it's good to see some people caring for, and actually doing something about the environment. I think the important thing to remember when dealing with people is that no one sees themselves as the villain, they're just seeing things from a different perspective. Finding the mutual understanding, that's the key."

"I've met several people who were perfectly aware and happy to be the villain, but in general, you're correct."

"I can't imagine someone thinking of themselves as evil and wrong and being alright with that. But I'm glad I haven't met them all the same."

"The ones that do are usually... quite unusual. And require special... handling."

Jez just have Wanda a knowing smile and a nod of the head. She wasn't exactly about to discuss Genosha's methods of dealing with such problems, certainly not in an area where there may be prying eyes and ears.

"Will you be teaching here?"

"A few science classes and I'm managing the grounds staff. We're trying for a more natural approach the care of the campus' vegetation. I have faith it will work out fine, but the school is treating it like some sort of experiment."

"Hey, if that's what they need to do to wrangle some funding for it, it's all good."

"Funding for some things have been a challenge, despite the generous donation of X-Corp and others. But I let the administration worry about that sort of stuff."

"I've heard there's good money in developing new apple varieties. If resources are ever stretch a little too thin of course."

"An interesting proposal," Wanda says, tapping her chin. "There might be something long term there."

"Something as simple as a blue skin could have companies fighting over the patent rights. I remember as a kid I visited an orchard where they could plant a tree and get it to bear fruit in as little as two years. Imagine what could be done with the aid of some of our more botanically-gifted students.

Jezabelle smirked to herself. "I should have majored in business."