School was officially back in full-swing at the Xavier Institute and boy, did it feel like it. Returning students bemoaned their syllabi and pitied the starting steps of the freshmen before them. And amid all the steps of various shapes and sizes, the world-renowned and worldly-round Professor Henry Phillip McCoy trudged his way into the faculty lounge with the heavy footfalls of his custom working shoes. Even with the acommodations for one such as he and the varying mutant physiologies on campus, walking barefoot in the hallowed halls of learning while he was teaching felt...off.
It was one thing to swing from bar to bar in his laboratory, or to have extra maneuverability during missions or a need for urgency - walking through school hallways should be done with intent and care. He certainly didn't need some funny-person with bright ideas trying to change campus dress code off of his example.
Thus; he'd sprung for some wide-toed suede shoes that had extra room for his dextrous digits. The downside of this, however, was the weariness he felt from standing and walking around for prolonged periods of time - a condition that certainly hadn't improved with the onset of his new mutation and his increase in weight to carry.
"Every side has its thorn", Hank mused as he instinctively went to the fridge and checked for his afternoon snack. He shifted his weight from one hip to the other, browsing through before-
His brow furrowed and he let out a sigh. Someone had taken his container of strawberry shortcake, which he'd forgotten to label. He could use his sense of smell to track down who the culprit might be, but it was a waste of talents, time and effort on something as petty as pilfered sweets. Instead, he put on some water to boil, went over to the lounge couch and fell back with a satisfying WHUMPF and a small grunt as his weight fully sank in.
The bouncing blue Beast's feet ached a bit more than usual, likely due to his walking around during class to check on his students today. He knew he could've left it to the teaching assistants while he waited at his desk, but there were some lines of sloth he simply couldn't stand in the cultivation of knowledge. Leaning over with some exertion, he managed to slip off one shoe and then used his bare foot to free its captive brother.
Turning to his side and laying back with his head on an armrest, Hank found a rare moment to put his feet up after a long day with a sigh of relief...
