A big new place

The Rottweiler's eyes widened as he focused in on whatever creature was laying on the chair. Another loud sound, he backed away from the recliner and skittered out of the library into the hall. Shin yawned. Another good stretch, he smacked his lips, shifted the text book that lay open across his lap, and looked blearily around at the racks of books. Last night had been massive. What had he—

“Oh dear.” It seemed he’d fallen asleep in the library while he was studying. That was a first. The only person he’d known to do something like that before was Ghost, and she was—probably waiting for him at Full Circle, wasn’t she?! He leaped up out of his chair, folding the text book under his good arm, then ran, ran, ran, to his room! A hurried shuffling of papers, folding and unfolding of clothes. No time to shave. He rushed to the sink and slapped his face with cold water to wake up. This was bad, he couldn’t be late. He… he looked up at the calendar pinned to the bathroom wall beside the mirror. Today was circled as his day off. Sam or Streak had mansion greeter duties today, and Shin was free from the book store’s call. He slapped his cheek a few times to be sure he wasn’t dreaming. “Ow!” Nope. Definitely awake.

He took his time putting on his clothes after that. He pulled on a yellow T-shirt, then threw a white dress shirt on over that, taking careful consideration of his cast. A green-tea-colored scarf trailed from his neck as Shin bent to tie his orange tennis shoes. He smirked at the black and white checkered pants he'd selected for the day. It took a whole lot of moxie to wear those pants Kokoro had given him for his birthday. He still hadn't worn them enough to feel stylishly-satisfied. Today, he'd change that.

As he put the finishing touches on straightening his collar and scarf, Thor, the Siberian husky, padded up to nudge the back of Shin’s calf with his nose. Shin glanced down at the dog with a warm smile. “I guess you’ll be wanting your day off too. Well come on, then. Let’s grab your leash.”

~*~

Thor and Shin made their way out into the front lawn of the mansion that morning with a song in their hearts and a bounce in their step. Freedom tasted nummier than the waffles he'd made that morning. He'd even managed not to botch the recipe! Thank goodness for Circe and Dom's help in being his willing test subjects for every practice waffle he'd made. He'd really improved. As he walked along the path towards the main gates, he caught sight of a young boy with short straight blond hair waiting patiently for some soul to give him aid.

Shin puffed out his chest and approached. If Sam and Streak were busy, it would be his pleasure and duty to offer such aid, even on his day off. "Greetings," he smiled. "Need any help?"

"Indeed, you are." Shin replied curtly with a knowing smirk, and reached forward to press a button on his side of the wall. The iron gate swung open smoothly. He ushered the boy in. "This is the right mansion. I'm a greeter here. Say hi to Thor."

The Siberian Husky took a step forward, sniffing at the kid's shoes. Shin eyed the bags and took note of the way the boy carried them. It seemed like he was holding them tighter than one normally would. Perhaps he couldn't bare to let go? Thor looked up at the brunette with a happy bark and wagged his tail, sitting down.

"If you need help setting up your stay here, I can offer it. We also have classes, if you need schooling, and actively help students gain mastery over their gifts.”

Shin let go of the leash and extended his left hand for a shake. "My name's Shin. And you are...?"

"Nice to meet you, Ted." Shin nodded, with a firm shake. He let go, and dropped to pick up the leash again. Thor got one gentle tug. The dog rose and walked over to stand on Shin's right. He looked up to Shin, tongue lolling out. Shin ruffled through the dog's scalp and scratched behind his ears. Thor grinned at the attention.

"So, I suppose we should go sign you in at the office and get you a room for your bags." The Asian nodded to the luggage. "Need any help carrying them?" Even though he had his hands full with the leash and a cast, Shin still offered.

Shin turned to face Ted as he walked, and spoke. "Well, the mansion teaches classes for grades K-12 in addition to those. Anything they'd teach for those grades, we have teachers for. We also have a self defense teacher, if you wanna get your karate on. If you want, I could give you a tour. We could go see him and say 'hiya'." He swung his cast arm down in a joking chop.

Thor walked along ahead of them, pulling Shin forward. He gave a sharp tug and Shin nearly tripped. Apparently, he'd spotted a squirrel. "Easy, boy..." Shin pulled back on the leash and slowed Thor's pace. He smiled weakly at Ted and nodded to Thor. "Sometimes, he gets ahead of himself when we give the full mansion tour. I think this time, he wanted to show you the mansion's fauna."

Shin nodded as they approached the front doors of the mansion. He held the door open for Ted and his luggage. Thor waited all-too-patiently as the young boy entered the main lobby. Shin popped in after him, closing the door. He crossed his arms and glanced up at the chandelier on the ceiling appreciatively. "This is the front lobby of the mansion. It's sort of the main hall. From here, there are two staircases that lead up to the second floor and the dormitories. Boys have one side, girls have another." He winked at Ted. He trusted the boy'd figure out his own. "The library is on the first and second floors of the mansion. I'll show you that in a bit. The classrooms are all on the first floor. Follow me."

With a tug, he walked Thor past the picture of Charles Xavier down the hallway to Streak and Sam's office. After a minute of walking, they were there. Shin walked into the room and dropped down into the swivel chair, turning to face Ted. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the chair in front of the desk, then turned to pick some folders up from a nearby file cabinet. Thor sat patiently, watching Shin work. They'd done this enough times by now that the dog knew what to do here. No barking, no tail chasing, and this most certainly was not his territory, no matter how many times he hopefully made it so (which was never, thank God. Sam had taught him basic mansion manners, of which Shin was more than grateful). Shin opened the folder and pulled out paperwork, plucking a blue-rippled pen from a cup on the desk. He popped it to the ready position and looked to Ted. "So, what can you tell me about yourself?"

Shin wrote those first two things down quickly, then glanced up to smile at the boy. "That's a start. Basically, I'm looking for your full name, power, how much control you have over it, what classes you'd like to take, and a number we can contact your parents with to let them know your status." 'Or if we have any problems that require their attention,' he mentally added in.

Shin let the pen rest a moment, and turned towards the computer. He typed in a few keystrokes and brought up the listing of open rooms. He skimmed down the list, then stopped on a free one. Ah, there they were. He bent down to root through the key drawer and extracted the appropriate key, setting it down on the desk in front of him for later. He then turned back to face Ted, and steeped his fingers.

"Let's start simple. Tell me about your name and how you came about your particular gift." He assumed he'd get a description of the gift in-question with the answer to this as well.

Shin sat bolt upright. A million-and-one thoughts poured through one ear and out the other. Turns. Into. Stuffed Animals. The applications for such a gift were truly endless. All the way from looking adorable on the couch to looking adorable on the front lawn. And then there was looking adorable on the kitchen table, carrying the plushie around through the park, sharing a PB&J sandwich with it, having a little tea party, putting two stuffed bears in a cage together to have a UFC-grade caged bear death match, and...

Shin wrote down Ted's full name on the sheet of paper, as if nothing had happened. "That's quite the interesting gift you have. I'd like to see it, if you're willing to give a demonstration." He inquired tactfully. He smirked at the thought of 'choosing one's abilities'. If only such a choice were possible, kids like Cody wouldn't suffer from anemia and collapse due to their powers.

Thor's ears perked at the boy petted him. Thor enjoyed being petted. He sat up and walked closer to Ted, then sat back down in his primo petting location. 'Pet away~', he seemed to bark.

Shin finished jotting down the few classes Ted had listed, as well as the specific power and how long it had been active while the boy focused on Thor.