It was always something wasn't it? One day it might be cultists trying to unleash a demon god on the world and then the next the evil empire next door has declared war. Not today though. No, today Drew had the distinct pleasure of taking part in an epic battle of good versus evil. Arrayed against him was a combination of orcs, dragons, goblins, and other foul things whose stench alone could beseige a castle. It was probably the orcs. They never bathed and ate some of most disgusting things imaginable. Drew wrinkled his nose briefly. Battles were bad enough when they didn't stink to the high heavens.

Not that he was fighting alone. Facing an army of hundreds, perhaps thousands, on his own would be suicide. King Sam had brought his army when notified of the threat. In fact the man himself was taking part in the battle. Well, he would do after he stopped ogling his voluptuous bodyguards. Not far from the king stood the elven archer Mirror. Darn good shot but Drew had never quite figured out whether it was a man or a woman. Mirror hadn't ever parted with it's real name either so he couldn't judge by that.

Last but not least was fair Princess Calley. She was quite beautiful until she opened her mouth. Calley was unfortunately smart mouthed and rebellious to boot. It was her smart mouth that had started the war that led to this battle. Of course the lady had paid for it. One of the enemy warlocks had bestowed a curse most foul upon the dazzling woman. In times of crisis her body would twist and morph into that of a hideous dog. The tragedy had not dulled the maiden's tongue at all though.

After the usual shows of force and what not from both sides the battle began. Drew had little time to keep tabs on his allies as he was swamped by orcs and goblins nearly immediately. He severed limbs and removed heads as swiftly and efficiently as he could. Occasionally he heard the sound of one of the Mirror's arrows whistling past him. There were also more than a few frozen fiends lurking about the battlefield signalling that the king had been busy as well. Just as the tide was beginning to turn an ominous roar rung out over the battlefield and Drew awoke from his dream.

It really was an excellent decision to take a taxi here. Saved Drew any number of hassles. He removed his bag from the back and paid the driver before heading up to the gates and onto the mansion grounds. It was good to be home. It felt like he'd been away for a lifetime. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, Drew headed on into the mansion to see what his returning would bring about.

Alice Tyler was suffering from an acute case of loneliness. It seemed that no one was available that day, no one had any time to spend with her. Not her roommate, Kaitlyn, not any of her classmates, nor any of the other friends she had made at Xavier’s. And she certainly was not going to call her older brother, Toby. Not only was he too busy studying for exams, but begging him to hang out with her just seemed so...desperate. Though she did miss him, she did not want to waste his time.

Therefore, she sat alone on one of the pleather couches encircling the living room, legs hanging over one of the arm rests. In her hands was a copy of The Fault In Our Stars, her latest literature acquisition. She was perpetually stuck on the thirtieth page, glossing over the words with her eyes but not truly absorbing them with her brain. It was one of those frustrating moments when she was so bored, reading could not even help remedy her affliction. Head thrown back, book collapsed on her stomach, and hands dragging down the sides of her face, Alice sighed a long, mighty sigh...and decided to grab a snack.

She stood up, thumb bookmarking the page, and dragged herself to the kitchen, the sleeves of her gray cardigan trailing over her fingertips. She tried to ignore the busy chattering of other students as she entered through the doorway, but each grouping of friends seemed to intensify her pangs of seclusion.

I’m such a loner, she lamented with an uncharacteristic frown.

After opening the fridge, inspecting its contents and deeming them unappealing, and then closing it several times, Alice finally decided to check the pantry. Though it was equally as unfruitful, she dejectedly grabbed a few chocolate granola bars (something was better than nothing) and sauntered back into the living room. By the time she got back, there was a new presence strolling through the foyer and into the space. His back was to her, but she would recognize that head of pink hair and tall physique anywhere!

“Cafas!” the girl squealed, skipping up to the young man tugging excitedly at his sleeve. “Didja get a haircut recently, or━”

Or...that was not Cafas. Whoops.

She immediately backed away, eyes wide in surprise. “Oh...um...sorry. I thought you were this other guy...” She silently prayed for the ceiling to collapse and drown her.

It was probably the hair color that did it. He'd colored it pink today on a whim. Without seeing his face and being unfamiliar with him in general Drew assumed it'd be pretty easy to get the two of them mixed up. So he just grinned at the girl that called him Cafas and tugged on his sleeve. She was a new one. He hadn't met her before. Then again there were bound to be plenty of new ones around since his abrupt departure. The brunette barely came up to his chest. Probably fairly young.

"Quite alright miss. I probably should have chosen a different color for today anyway."

Dropping his bag on the floor Drew bowed to the young woman. It was only proper after all.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss. I am Andrew Leroy but you may call me Drew. I am just returned from a journey."

He straightened up and glanced around the foyer again before recalling where he was. Ooopsie. Hopefully the young miss wouldn't mind so much. Heck if it appealed to her he may well keep up with the courtly manners and talk. It'd be a fun way to ease back into his place here at the Mansion.

"Quite alright miss. I probably should have chosen a different color for today anyway."

Thankfully, the man reacted kindly, and she didn’t feel nearly as embarrassed as she would’ve if he hadn’t been quite so accommodating. And it seemed he was at least familiar with Cafas (but then again, who wouldn’t know of the dreamy pink-haired movie star...). It was...strange, though, when he bowed to her. Literally bowed, as if they were living three centuries in the past, and she was royalty whilst he was a simple peasant.

"It's a pleasure to meet you miss. I am Andrew Leroy but you may call me Drew. I am just returned from a journey."

Alice tilted her head in slight confusion. A journey? This guy was weird. But kind of cool at the same time, in a polite, chivalrous, knight-in-shining-armor kind of way. And who was she to judge? If anything, she only thought him strange for having too many manners and outdated language, and those things were probably silly to find strange. She shrugged and decided she liked him and his odd behavior.

“Heh. Well, my name is Alice but you may call me...Alice.” So smooth. It was the curse of having a short name. There were hardly any acceptable nicknames she could derive from it! But she attempted to shrug it off...

“So, Drew...are you new to Xavier’s?” The way he surveyed the area with slight familiarity made her doubt that, but one could never be sure. And if he was indeed new, perhaps she could give him a tour!

Drew smiled a little even as he began to realize part of the reason for his slip into the more formal way of talking he'd developed over the course of his little trip. Shaking off the unwelcome knowledge Drew smiled a little brighter as the girl gave her name.

"Lady Alice then. Quite a pleasure to meet you."

Closer observation made the resemblance that he'd unconsciously picked up on slowly disappear. There were subtle differences that were Drew's saving grace. He might not have tolerated an exact duplicate. At young Alice's question Drew felt himself grin widely.

"I'm afraid not my young Lady Alice. I was, in fact, Sam Johnson's assistant before I left. Whether or not he'll allow me to continue in that position is another thing entirely but hardly anything to worry about."

He chuckled a little.

"But since I haven't been here recently maybe you'd like to give me a tour anyway?"