Abby was hungry. It wasn't a strange hungry though. She had just finished a two hour swim so her body needed food. But it was also long past dinner time. She entered the kitchen, hoping someone had made enough to last until then.

It was not to be.

There wasn't anything good that could be reheated or thrown together. Pouting a little, the blonde girl started searching for ingredients. If she was going to make her own meal, she was going to make something yummy. And right now yummy for steak and mashed potatoes. If they had the stuff for it.

Potatoes weren't hard to find. Luckily they had some of the red kind you didn't have to peel. Setting the bag down near the stove, she went hunting for a cutting board, knife, and pot. Once those items were found, she went back to the fridge. Steak would be near the bottom in the meat drawer. At least that's where it was last time she checked.

"Steak takes... less than ten minutes," she thought out loud. "Potatoes need to boil for... fifteen, right? Hmm, sounds right."

She picked out the smallest thing of steak, which had three in it. She could do all three so someone else could have something to eat. Shrugging, she put the package near the stove and moved back to the potatoes. Those would take longer so she should start with those. Before she started though, she needed a stool or chair or something. Being short wasn't any fun.

Rowan and his mother were tucked in and sleeping, Cafas was tossing up heading home. He just still couldn't get used to sleeping in an empty apartment, especially after so long with Maya living there. He was walking to the offices to get some paperwork done while he mulled it over when a rumble in his stomach caused an immediate redirection.

Fooooooood...

The kitchen light was on as Cafas drew near the door. On its own, hardly unusual. Teenagers with terrible sleeping habits and insatiable growth induced hunger were always in there cooking or eating. What was more unusual to Cafas was the apparent age of the sole cook up and about.

The X-man stopped in the doorway to watch for a second as the... Girl, he was gonna go with girl... Seemed to search for something to stand on. He couldn't say he blamed her, the benches weren't exactly short, and she was hardly tall for her age. A tray of steaks sat by the stoves, and pot and potatoes nearby.

Oooh, good idea. Steak and potatoes fills the stomach like a brick, real sleep inducing food.

She seemed like she could probably use the help at any rate. Should a kid her age even be using a stove unsupervised? Probably not, but this was the Mansion. It seemed the role of supervision fell to him, a woefully unprepared X-man. This one was so much older than Ro, how did that change things? What if she recognized him? She was the right age for Dusk, and most of the kids knew the X-men on sight.

Wing it..

"Need some help?" Cafas offered a smile and indicated to the ingredients on the bench.

Abby jumped at the sudden voice. She should probably pay more attention to that kind of stuff. Huh. He looked familiar. In that way everyone at the Mansion did. Being short meant it hurt to actually look up at faces. Usually unless they talked to her she didn't bother. Oh, he had asked something! But what?

"Um... sure?" It was better than not saying anything at least.

Abby ducked her head and finished moving her improvised stool. It was really just a chair but it would do the job. She put the back of it away from the kitchen door. She'd probably jump less that way. Hopefully.

Why would someone be here this late? Wait, duh, food. "Um... The potatoes will take longest so if you could help me cut them?" she offered now that she had an idea about what he had asked.

Yeah someone that needed a chair to get to the bench top really shouldn't be using a stove alone. Looked like Cafas got to be a responsible adult for the night. He'd kinda been looking forward to not having to, he'd been doing it all day. It just didn't appear to be an option. "Potatoes, sure. How are you gonna have them?" Chopping and a pot of water suggested mashed, but you had to check with kids.

Not like there wont be more potatoes around.

Cafas considered peeling the potatoes. That was something you were meant to do for mashing. The bag seemed to suggest this was unnecessary though. He frowned at it and got to chopping. If you couldn't trust a potato bag, who could you trust?

That is the dumbest.. You know what, never mind, sure, potato bags. Yup.

"I'm Cafas, by the way. What should I call you?" He glanced over at the girl, knife not losing any speed. It was a confidence bred of hundreds of home cooked meals, and immunity to metal. It probably didn't set the best example for a child, but hopefully she was old enough and smart enough to not try emulating it.

>>"Potatoes, sure. How are you gonna have them?"

Abby smiled shyly as she cut into one of the red potatoes. He seemed nice. "Mashed potatoes, with butter and salt and pepper. Red ones are easier since you don't have to peel them," she told him. She kept her eyes on the knife in her hand. She had cut herself before by not paying attention.

She cut the potato in half then cut one of the halves in half. The patter continued until she had bite sized pieces waiting to be put in the pot of-

Oh she had forgotten that part. Putting the knife down she picked up the pot and carried it over to the sink, filling it a little over halfway full of water.

>>"I'm Cafas, by the way. What should I call you?"

She may have jumped a little when he spoke up. But she didn't spill the water. That was good. Though she did wonder how she would get the heavy pot onto the counter. Well, she could always ask.

"I'm Abby. Could you help me get this up there? It's kinda heavy." Her voice went from a normal talking volume to a much softer and quieter one as she spoke.

Cafas smiled and finished chopping potato pieces. "Mashed, got it." the young girl finished with hers too, and clambered off to fill a pot with water. Cafas figured he'd let her until she asked, or it became obvious she needed help. For all he knew she might be super strong, or at least stronger than she looked. He also felt it might be more encouraging than jumping straight to her aid.

"I'm Abby. Could you help me get this up there? It's kinda heavy."

"I'll do my best." Cafas was on best spotter duty. Just like he'd do it at the gym. He took the weight of the pot gradually until it began to move. It would keep Abby pushing at nearly maximum effort. Just for the extra show of it, Cafas grimaced and flexed, feigning effort. "Whew." Cafas faked wiping his brow with the back of his hand, "You're right, that was heavy." A wink flashed onto his face, as gone as quick as it arrived.

Potatoes were added to the water, with a little salt, and the burner beneath the pot lit. He didn't know exactly why you were meant to cook potatoes from cold, but the internet had taught him it, and thus it was how he boiled potato. Cafas turned his attention to the steaks, then down to Abby again. "So, how do you like your steak, Ms. Abby?" Not that he would be likely to get it perfectly right, but knowing would help him guess better, surely.

Riiiiight...

>>"I'll do my best."

Abby had expected him to just take the pot from her. She almost dropped it when he grabbed hold but didn't take all the weight. Then he took some of the weight, enough for her to finish the task.  She hadn't had someone do this since her Mommy died.

>>"Whew. You're right, that was heavy."

Abby blinked at Cafas. Really? She had seen boys older than her, though younger than him, deal with a full pot of water without any trouble. She blinked at him again. Slowly this time.

"You might not want to try that with others around my age," she said slowly. "Most don't like being babied." Though maybe he didn't have much experience with those her age. But... He's in the school, isn't he?

>>"So, how do you like your steak, Ms. Abby?"

This made Abby shift uncomfortably. She set her eyes on the linoleum floor before she answered. "So long as it's not raw or burnt, I don't really care. Meat is meat. And now he was going to look at her weird.

"You might not want to try that with others around my age, Most don't like being babied."

"Oh... Sorry." His apology was mumbled in the general direction of the bench, his face fighting a losing battle against a slight blush. Of course it came off like that, he was totally treating her like Rowan. Rowan would have been all over it, flexing his muscles and talking about how strong he was. Rowan was four. Clearly Abby was not as easily impressed as a four year old, she had to be at least twice to thrice Rowan's age.

"So long as it's not raw or burnt, I don't really care. Meat is meat.

Oh thank goodness.

Cafas was back to smiling as he shot off for a few seasonings. "I can manage that for sure. How are your with spicy food?" Cayenne pepper was grabbed anyway, he could always just not add any. He briefly considered grabbing some coffee too. He'd seen that on a bottle of steak rub before, and was sorely tempted to try it. Tonight was simply not the night though. "And how do you feel about vegetables? Anything you hate? Gotta get some vitamins into this meal somehow."

Vegetables, the true enemy of children.

A skillet was dug out of a cupboard and was set to busily heating over a high flame. Cafas dug some butter out of the fridge and threw a lump into the microwave. The good thing about butter, it never took long to melt. Pastry brush in hand, he brushed the meat with a mix of melted butter, herbs, and spices over the steak. It was his usual recipe, totally stolen from the internet, not that anyone needed to know that. One steak was brushed with only butter, just in case Abby didn't like the more seasoned ones.

Man, how many meals did you reject at that age?

"So, why you eating so late? Trouble with the other kids?" Bullying was a problem at any school. Living with the bullies could only make matters worse. Given Mama T wasn't with them, the role of supporting Abby, best Cafas could tell, fell to him.

>>"Oh... Sorry."

Abby shrugged. It was a big deal. Though Abbigail knew a few other students who would be upset over it. Best to warn him now than him having angry kids on his hands. "S'okay. Just letting you know."

>>"I can manage that for sure. How are your with spicy food?"

Spice? She looked over to see the pink haired man holding cayenne pepper. That wasn't too spicy. "My daddy used to put hot sauce on everything so I'm good."

>>"And how do you feel about vegetables? Anything you hate? Gotta get some vitamins into this meal somehow."

That made her blink. "Um, potatoes are vegetables. But if you think we should make another," she took a moment to decide. Peas or corn? Or broccoli. But she didn't really like cooked broccoli. "Corn is good with mashed potatoes. You can put them together on the fork and it tastes good." She moved to get a bag of frozen corn to add to their meal.

>>"So, why you eating so late? Trouble with the other kids?"

She shook her head as she went about reading the instructions on the bag. They could be microwaved. "I'm a shifter. Shark," she stated while putting the bag in the lower microwave. There were leveled microwaves so younger kids could make things like popcorn. "Best time to swim and not scare anyone is while most everyone is eating. That and I don't keep track of time very well."

"Potatoes barely qualify. You need colourful vegetables in your diet." Cafas hovered his hand over the skillet to test the heat. Abby had the corn handled. Of she was happy to make and eat corn, he wasn't going to argue. Just because he'd spent hours memorising nutritional data didn't mean the girl had to eat like he did. For one, she just didn't have the volume to support his caloric intake.

"I'm a shifter. Shark. Best time to swim and not scare anyone is while most everyone is eating. That and I don't keep track of time very well."

"Cool, and good of you to consider others with your swim times. Thinking of others is important." Cafas lay a steak into the skillet, the unseasoned one. That way he wouldn't taint it with spice flavour. Even if Abby could handle spicy food, it didn't mean she'd necessarily like his mix. Kids had more delicate palates after all.

"I manipulate metal. Not as cool, but it's what I got." Cafas shrugged. Shifting seemed so cool. Maybe it was just a case of the grass being greener on the other side, but being a shark, or a tiger, or pure air, it just all seemed so cool. Cafas would never know what it was to actually be something else. He flipped the steak to sear the opposite side.

It's a wonder Calley never shifted me... Maybe if I asked nicely, though e'd likely never shift me back.

>>"Cool, and good of you to consider others with your swim times. Thinking of others is important."

The little blonde shrugged.  It wasn't really like that. She was just tired of others freaking out when spotting her while swimming.  That and while she was friendly with a lot of her classmates, she didn't really have many friends in the Mansion.

She could probably count the wolf shifter as a friend. Maybe a few of the older girls who liked to dress her up.

>>"I manipulate metal. Not as cool, but it's what I got."

"That seems cool. More useful probably," she mused. It often came up in her age group. Mutations that would be useful for the X-Men team. Speaking of, didn't someone mention a pink haired member of the team. Huh, she was possibly talking to an X-Men. "I can only shift when I have plenty of water, so it's not really helpful on a day to day basis."

The microwave dinged it's finish and Abby took the bag out, being mindful of the heat. She carried it over to her chair and climbed up. She opened the bag as quickly as she could. Then she went for the fridge. Before she opened the door, she turned back to the pink haired man. "Is it okay if I add butter to the corn?" He seemed pretty conscious of health stuff. And butter wasn't technically healthy for you.

"That seems cool. More useful probably. I can only shift when I have plenty of water, so it's not really helpful on a day to day basis."

"Useful is all a matter of application. I'd imagine you'd make an amazing lifeguard." Cafas turned his smile to Abby briefly as she waited on her corn in the microwave. Sure, it might take some getting used to, but a shark had to be an amazing swimmer, and it may well just become an attraction eventually. Not that Abby would necessarily want that, but there were plenty of other jobs that could likely make good use of her abilities.

The microwave bell went off. Cafas examined the underside of the steak. He was no expert, but it certainly looked good to him. almost as good as the corn smelled.

But is it brown enough? What was I meant to be looking fo...

"Is it okay if I add butter to the corn?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, no problem. If that means you'll eat veggies, it's fine by me." Anyway, she could likely cope with the calories. Growing kids needed lots of energy to build themselves. It would barely make a dent on Cafas' daily energy output either. "If you could bring me some too, I'd appreciate it." More internet cooking tips. It makes steak extra tasty according to youtube chefs.

"So, can you shift back and forth whenever you like?" That would make it far more useful to her. He'd known shifters that couldn't though. Like Calley with new forms, the dork. Every time, stuck for hours. Maybe that had all just been him messing with Cafas actually...

>>"Useful is all a matter of application. I'd imagine you'd make an amazing lifeguard."

Abby thought about that. Except for people being afraid of her tail there didn't seem to be any drawbacks. She'd have to remember to write that down as a possible job.

>>"Hmm? Oh, yeah, no problem. If that means you'll eat veggies, it's fine by me. If you could bring me some too, I'd appreciate it."

She was happy he didn't have anything against butter. She pulled the tub out and scooped a generous amount into the corn bag. Then she held up the tub and knife for Cafas. She didn't know why he wanted the butter but butter was yummy so it probably didn't matter.

>>"So, can you shift back and forth whenever you like?"

Abby took a moment to actually think about the question. Her first reaction was to say something about needing water. But that wasn't all of it. She had done a few experiments back when she first lived in the Mansion, to figure out how deep a bath she could take before shifting.

"I need water at least up to my neck. I get gills and it hurts to try to breathe through them without water. I've been able to do it with just my head submerged, but it's not really comfy," she tried to explain. It was hard to think about how and when she shifted. Usually if something was uncomfortable she just didn't do it. Like lift her neck out of water. That hurt lots.

"Can you use any metals?" 

That was how this worked right?  You exchanged information about your gifts.  She thought it was at least.  When she learned something about someone's ability she gave them a bit about hers.

"Thanks." Cafas accepted the butter and knife. A moment later he had deposited a perhaps over-enthusiastic amount of it onto the cooking steak. it began melting quickly over the meat, a shiny oily yummy coating. A quick rub a round the pan to coat the underside, a couple of test clicks with the tongs, then it was out on a plate. Now they had to let it rest a little.

The other steaks went in together. They sizzled happily. Well, as happy as steak could be. "All the metals I've tried. I couldn't say for sure with things like uranium. Nor with the alkali metals, because it has to be in it's metal form to work, and those will react with even the water in the air. I assume the answer is yes though." Possibly a dangerous assumption. It didn't really matter though, he had no intention of coming in contact with most metals.

It would seem they were going to play the old information exchange. It was a Mansion favourite. It made a good ice-breaker for most of the students, because there was always something there. It was Xavier's, after all. "So, what type of shark do you turn into?" As an Australian, sharks had always been part of his culture. He'd spent hours as a kid looking up different kinds of sharks. Threshers were his favourite. The tail was just too cool.

Cafas flipped the steaks and buttered those ones too. The internet couldn't be wrong, not when he'd seen so many different sources telling him it was good. Maybe not good for his arteries, but Cafas didn't feel like that was a massive issue given his work out regime.

>>"All the metals I've tried. I couldn't say for sure with things like uranium. Nor with the alkali metals, because it has to be in it's metal form to work, and those will react with even the water in the air. I assume the answer is yes though."

Abby knew some of that. Uranium was an element. Alkali metals were... not quite metals? "What're alkali metals? I don't remember," she muttered. Half of her hoped he heard and would answer. The other half hoped he had no idea she spoke up. She took out a strainer for the potatoes. Then she went looking for a mixer thing.

>>"So, what type of shark do you turn into?"

This Abby could talk about. She had gained an extreme interest in marine life after living at the Mansion for a year. "Adolescent tiger shark. I have the marking and everything," she grinned, raising her skirt a little to show her gray legs and the darker stripes across them.