(open) Arrival at the academy

[Shadow cats]

The wind sounded almost like a beast roar past as the bus the professor had sent to get him approached the school in the middle of the school year. Trees bordered the outside walls of the huge estate with their evervescent green leaves. Tunes floated from the back of the bus from the only passenger's seat. It abruptly stops as the battery for the device ran out.

“Dang it. I just charged this thing.”

With a careless shrug the passenger known as Zachary Kaine tossed the device into his duffle bag. He stares down at a tail that consecutively disappeared into smoke and reappeared out of smoke as the bus finally reaches the turn-around at the front of the school. With a clang the doors open. “Only stop.” calls the bus driver as he holds the door open.

This is it. Wonder what it is like?

Dissipating his tail once more before getting up he stares out the windows as he walk down the aisle, duffle bag in tow. Waving to the bus driver on the way out, Zachary quickly steps out onto the grounds of the academy wondering who he would meet at this school for mutants.

[Rapunzel]

Erza was late to meet the new arrival at the Academy. She was asked personally by the professor to meet a new mutant who was going to be going there. His name was Zachary Kaine and he looked different physically and that he turned into mist. That's all she knew about him. What she was to do was welcome him and show him around the school and try to make him feel at home. That made Erza very nervous. She wasn't much of a people person, she stuttered, she was clumsy and shy and the list went on and on. Not the best candidate to make a new student feel right at home. Maybe he would make fun of her and make himself happy that way. Who knows?

She had tried her best to comb out all the extra dandruff out of her hair and to pull out the quills, too. She didn't want to weird him out or anything. And it was embarrassing when her dandruff went all over the place. She also didn't like it when she sneezed how spikes of her hair would go flying out stabbing things. It was terrible. But she was getting better at controlling it, if only a little.

She ran towards the main gate and she already saw him there waiting. Shoot! I hope he's not mad, she thought. When she was almost to the gate, she tripped on her own two feet and fell on her hands and knees. She blushed and picked herself up immediately, wiping away the dirt. She nervously shuffled over and opened the gate.


Erza had been rehearsing what he would say to the boy once she met him. her nerves were spilling over completely and she was beginning to break into a sweat. The closer she got to him the redder she got. Erza walked up to Zachary and nervously and hastily bowed, speaking really quickly.

"Hello my name is Erza Sovari it's a pleasure to meet you I'm here to welcome you to Xavier Academy the school for the gifted and give you a brief tour I hope that you can make yourself at home and enjoy your stay thank you please follow me!"

When she was finished speeding through her lines without pausing at all, she stayed there, still bowing, her hair over her shoulders, gasping as he softly caught her breath. How could the professor do this to her? He was probably laughing at her, too. Slowly, she tilted her head upward with an apologetic and embarrassed look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry...."

[Shadow cats]

A few seconds pass outside the gates as the bus quickly departs. Feeling it may be impolite Zachary refrained from phasing through the gate or flying over it, especially since both would have him lose the duffle bag. Thankfully a cool breeze was passing through and so it wasn’t too hot to wait through. Within minutes however Zachary notices a commotion outside the doors of the mansion as a younger girl with vibrant red hair that reached past her waist barreled down the stairs.Zachary notices that she misses the last step and lands on the pebbled walkway with her knees before quickly getting up. She tries brushing off the rocks as she approaches the gate.

I wonder if she is in my classes… and what her powers may be.

With a few steps she easily and politely opens the gate blushing. The slight wind messes with the trailing end of her hair as she bows, surprising Zachary as, though he knew people used it as a way of greeting, he had not expected this form of politeness. Few emotions showed though as the red headed girl hurriedly greeted him and introduced herself in a rush of words. ”Pleasure to meet you. I’m Zachary Kaine.”

Her hair hid her face from view as she had talked. It parted though as she looked up, her eyes staring at him like he was going to laugh or get angry with her. An apology slowly fell into the air and trailed off as she continued to look at Zachary. “What are you sorry for?” Raising his left eyebrow singularly he reaches down and gabs hold of the handle straps of his bag. Swinging it over his shoulder he calmly walks by and stops next to her. The faountain near the entrace bubbled and frothed with water as Zachary slowly looked around the premises. After a few seconds he look over at the young red head. “Ready?”

[Rapunzel]

Erza blinked a couple of times as she noticed that he wasn't laughing or really reacting much at all. It was surprising since most people would react by either laughing or looking at her weird. Zachary did neither, which caught her off guard. She stood upright and smiled sheepishly, embarassed to make such assumptions out of a stranger. Erza wondered about his powers, in the file it said Sublimination, which sounded really neat except for the fact that Erza really didn't know what that was and had never seen it before.

"R-right then," she said walking towards the mansion, "f-follow me....

"As I said before this school is called 'Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters,"she paused, forcing herself to do so, but the silence lasted to long and she struggled to continue, "the address is 1407 Graymalkin Lane, Salem Center, located in the very northeast corner of Westchester County here in New York. You would do well to remember that so that you always know how to find your way back here! The motto of the school is Mutatis Mutandis, meaning... umm... 'the changes that need to be made....' or something like that. A-a-anyway," she paused once again but mostly this time because they were going up the steps and she wanted to be really careful because she was afraid to fall again, "Uhmm.... t-t-he c-courtyard is here as you can see, there is a f-fountain as well as memorials from past m-mutants over there. This place is really c-calm and there is a lot of greenery and benches to relax on. A lot of students like to be around here to study or play around or hang out and stuff...."

Erza paused and watched him curiously, wondering what he thought about that so far. As she watched him she noticed how different his hair was. She was secretly glad for that, her hair had all kinds of problems. It's not as if his hair was a problem, but it was different. Was that because of his mutation? Or maybe he just dyed it. As for the tour, she hoped she wasn't doing a lousy job and that he wasn't bored to death with her or anything.

[Shadow cats]

With an awkward grin, Erza stuttered as she turned around and proceeded to walk back to the mansion, Zachary right behind her. Pebbles clicked under their footsteps as they progressed across the courtyard towards the mansion in ease, the wind having died down to a mere breeze. Zachary listened intently as she stated the official name for the school. After stating the name she pauses, the silence slowly building. After the silence had lasted almost a minute she continued and stated various points of information to Zachary. She stuttered a few times as they continued up the court yard and neared the stairs.

School for the gifted… hmm. Has a ring to it. And the address…. Definitely going to remember.

As they started to climb up the steps however she stopped and trailed off from talking again. Looking behind him he glances and checks that his tail was still dissipated and that the extremely thin cloud it became was still wrapped around him. Seeing that it was he realized she was being careful because of the stairs. Looking back around, he looks at her as they get to the top of the stairs. Stuttering, she continues her tour as she starts pointing out points of interest in the courtyard.

Statues?...

Looking off to the right he can just barely glimpse ten statuettes in various poises circled by artistic flowers. Taking a few seconds to look at them he slowly scans his eyes across the building, noticing the various points that she had talked about. Eventually her red hair catches his eye away from all the green and he notices her staring at him. Looking up to the sky and then down to her he lets a bemused grin grace his features as he light heartedly asks a question. “Is there something wrong with my hair?”

This was definitely a pretty cool place...

[Rapunzel]

Erza blushed and her face turned as red as a tomato as she realized she had been staring at him and he had noticed. He smiled and asked if there was something wrong with his hair. She shook her head rather violently and waved her hands in front of her. "N-n-no! Your hair is f-f-fine! Moving on...."

erza abruptly turned away from him and up the steps to the mansion. Opening the door she made sure he was right behind her so that she didn't slam the door on him or anything. Not that the door would slam closed or anything. She was just paranoid like that, but was also trying to be polite. They entered and immediately went to the Lounge.

"This is the L-l-lounge," Erza gestured at the furniture all around her and the P-p-plasma screen TV, "and the Kitchen is j-just that way," she said, pointing towards the kitchen, and walking towards it. They entered and she gestured towards the large dining room table and the other tables, "the students and teachers eat here, but you don't have to eat here, really. It's just formal that way, I guess. I like to eat outside. All the classrooms and the Library are located on this floor, too. Now we're going to the second floor...." Erza turned to him and spoke meekly.

"...Do you have any questions so far...?"

[Shadow cats]

A blush tints Erza’s features red as she stutters in response to Zachary’s comment. Unease seems to define her stance as she at Zachary. Turning in a blur, she continues up the stairs in a blur off swirling red hair. Taking swift steps he stays near her as they enter the mansion through it heavy oak front doors. Quick steps echo around Zachary as he enters the mansion with Erza leading the way.

Did I say something… wrong

With sweeping gestures, Erza started showing off the rooms which included in them a huge plasma tv. Plush carpet muffled our footsteps as she continued ahead of Zachary towards what she had indicated as being the kitchen. A ornately designed table was tucked into what was the apparently the official dining room. With some thought she states her preference for the outdoor eating arrangements before referencing the fact that the classes and Library would be on this floor.

Wonder what they study.

Before continuing Erza finally turns back to look meekly at Zachary as she asked for any questions. “Well… what kinds of classes do you guys have, … and what is on the second floor?” Taking his eyes away from Erza he looks around wondering where the other students might be.

[Rapunzel]

"We have all kinds of classes here," she said, "Science, math, English, History, Languages, drama, music, art, business, law, accounting, lots of things. You'll be able to see them all when you sign up for your classes. And we're about to go to the second floor now."

Erza felt a little more confident as the tour went on. In the beginning she kept stuttering but now it wasn't as bad as before. She lead Zachary to the stairs where they lead them to the second floor. Erza was extremely careful going up the steps. She didn't want to be tripping and falling. Also, she didn't like going to the second floor, even though her room was up there. It was mostly the steps part she hated. Looking down to the first floor was always so terrifying, so she made sure she never looked at anything but the floor.

"This is the second floor. On this floor you can find many dormitories. And on the third floors, as well. Actually, we didn't even have to come up here! Because the weight room and the pool and pretty much everything.... is down stairs... and I forgot to mention that. Heh, I-I'm s-s-sorry...."

Erza scratched the back of her head as she blushed once again. She was embarrassing herself again and her anxiety was kicking up again, which meant she was stuttering again, which was yet another thing to be freaking out about.

[Shadow cats]

With a bursting smile Erza starts rattling off a list about the classes held at this school. Birds twittering their song from outside the kitchen, drifts in while she continues through a growing list. Keeping eye contact, Zachary lists to the various classes and continues to sort through which ones he would like till his ears prick up at the assertion that there was an art class.

Yes…. Definitely going after that class.

Blowing off Zachary’s second question she turns up the stairs and continues up them in silence. Curious about the second floor Zachary quickly follows her, silently taking two steps at a time. At the landing, Erza states that this floor and the third floor consisted of the dormitories. She starts stuttering again after she vocally realizes she missed some of the rooms and places on the first floor. Blushing she ruffles up her hair a bit as she apologizes for the mess up. ”No problem… though I was wondering… do we get to pick our rooms, and also, when do I sign up for classes?” With a glance to the side, Zachary notices a hall with doors set in at intervals.

I want one of the rooms by the stairs.

[Rapunzel]

"No," she said, "Unfortunately.... you don't pick your dorms. Well... I didn't get to pick my dorm. But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky."

Erza twirled her fingers through her hair and blushed. She pretty much told him everything he needed to know. Unless she needed to tell him about the Danger Room and all of those things. Did she? Erza couldn't remember. Oh, wait! She remembered! That was good. At least she wouldn't be embarrassing herself yet again.

"Oh, and uh.. one more thing," she said, "tomorrow you'll be meeting with the Professor and you'll get to schedule your classes then... I think. In the mean time, I guess the tour is over, so you can do whatever you want now. Until tomorrow. So... is there anything you want to do?"

[Shadow cats]

With a simple answer Erza puts off Zachary’s mind from the possibility of picking his own room. Tilting his shoulders at an angle he assuredly drops down his arm, thus resting his duffle bag against his side. Though it did not contain too much besides clothes, it was heavy. This he knew was mainly due to the items he had brought with him that had been just a part of his collection. Silence slowly builds up tension as Erza starts twirling with her vibrant red hair, blushing yet again.

This place is definitely better than I had expected from what I had been told of it.

Looking down at his duffle bag he sorts through the information he had been told. One thing that Zachary noticed however was the number of student he had seen, or lack there of, other than Erza. The ever present silence would slowly build as Zachary contemplated the classes and which he would look into when Erza broke the silence. Looking up, Zachary looks towards her almost rose colored eye’s as she continued with her answer to one of his questions. With her words also seemed to come the conclusion to the tour of the school.

Hmm. What exactly is there to do. Probably won’t want to go to the library…

The silence returns for a few seconds as Zachary lifts his free arm and ruffles the hair on the back of his head before letting out a sigh. “I don’t know… hm... What would you suggest?, “ stated Zachary a little uneasily. The weight of the duffle bag reminded him that he might have to take care his things later as well anyway. This thought only lasted a little bit as he noticed that the back of her hair was looking almost spike like, drawing his curious gaze.