>> “Shhhh, don’t be sorry. It’s ok, I’m here.”

The words were sweet. And Vicente was very thankful for them. Normally he had to always go through these shifts alone (he rarely tried to use them in front of other people after that first time), but it was rather nice to have someone else there; especially so since the concern in the woman’s eyes was so tender. She really conveyed that she understood what it was like to have to go through this. Maybe there was a lot more to her mutation than he originally thought.

Slowly though, the pain began to fade; very slowly. He could feel the headache that wanted to tear through his skull, just balancing on the edge, but it didn’t get worse than that. That was something he could be incredibly thankful for.

After muttering a “sorry”, Vicente closed his eyes tightly, trying to keep the pain from getting worse. So far it was working, but there was no reason to rock the boat, was there? Grinding his teeth a little, he just breathed and listened to the woman nearby until the pain finally eased up enough to allow him to look at her.

>> “Are you alright? Do you need anything?”

He smiled. Weakly, but she smiled just the same.

“I love that hint of an accent you have,” he muttered. It was just a way to show that he was indeed ‘alright’. “I’m…okay. Just, head still hurts. It usually hurts whenever I shift like that. I just…need to rest for a second.”

Regan stayed knelt next to her friend, her clawed hand still on his knee. She sighed softly but kept her soft smile on her lips.

She chuckled softly as he complimented her accent. “Why thank you. Yours is quite nice as well.” She laughed and got up slowly, using his knee for leverage. She headed to her back pack that was sitting by the pond and started to rummage through it. Finding a bottle of water, she brought it over to the man. “Here drink this. I’ll let you open it though; I’m still a bloody mess.”

She handed him the water and squatted down in front of him, her eyes still assessing him. “My name’s Regan, but “Father” called me Shamrock.” She smiled and extended her paw like hand to him. “I’m sure you can figure out why. What’s your name?”

She usually wasn’t so open with people, but she felt that this man could understand some things about her. She could tell that he was still getting used to shifting, and she knew it wasn’t fun. She hated when her saber fangs extended the most. It was like someone pulling teeth out of her head that went as deep as her brain. She cringed to think how it felt for the man’s entire head to change shape and it made her visibly shudder.

>> “Why thank you. Yours is quite nice as well.”

He grinned. It was nice to get a compliment. It funny, he didn’t come out here at all in order to make a new friend but it seemed as if that was exactly what he was doing. And such a find she was indeed. She seemed to understand exactly the type of trials that he had to deal with with his mutation and that was a rare quality to find in a friend. Though they had just met, Vicente was actually glad he went partially animal crazy and tried to attack her!

Hey, friends were made under stranger circumstances.

It was then that he watched her standing and maneuver herself back towards a discarded backup. He had not noticed it before but figured that he was in such an animal state prior that it made sense why he overlooked it. As she knelt to fish through the bag, he had to take a moment to look her over. Despite the mutation, she really was quite pretty: a lean body, feminine curves, and extremely pretty eyes, that added with the fiery red hair and it all added that she was indeed a beauty.

The idea of that made the young chimera smirk. He began to wonder if all his traumatizing experiences were going to land in him in presence of pretty women.

There were worse fates.

>> “Here drink this. I’ll let you open it though; I’m still a bloody mess.”

He blinked and looked up when he realized that she had returned, brandishing a refreshing looking bottle of water. He would have hated to have taken it from it but it did sound good to combat the remnants of his migraine.

His lips cocked into a smile, he nodded.

“Thank you,” he said as she carefully took it from her hands and unscrewed the cap. He only took a couple of quick swigs before he laid his head back against the tree. He could already feel it helping.

>> “My name’s Regan, but “Father” called me Shamrock…I’m sure you can figure out why. What’s your name?”

He smiled again. He suddenly just realized that indeed he didn’t know this young woman’s name. After nearly attempting to attack her, he supposed the least they could do was exchange names.

“Nice to meet you, Regan…or Shamrock. Whichever you prefer” he said with a nod. He could see why she was called Shamrock. The accent, mixed with the green shade of her stripes and it was not hard to miss. Gently he took her hand, gave it a soft squeeze and shook. “Vicente. It’s nice to meet you.”

Regan watched Vincente with a smile as he smirked and zoned out while she was getting the bottle of water for him. She wondered what he was thinking about to make him smile like that.

She happily handed him the bottle of water and nodded to his thanks, “It’s no problem. If you are anything like me, you need to replenish your body after a shift.”

Regan was glad that she was there for Vincente, and she chuckled softly as he gingerly drank from her bottle. She took in his form as he drank. He was tall, strong, and handsome. He made her feel tiny, and she kind of liked that.

She shook his hand back, “It’s nice to meet you Vincente. You can call me whatever you’d like.” She smiled and admired his face, he really was quite handsome, and she couldn’t help but keep looking at him.

Suddenly she started to laugh. “I’m sorry; I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…” she paused to laugh some more, “Look at us! Your shirt is shredded to bits and I’m covered in dried blood. Aren’t we a pair?” She stifled her giggles and smiled at her new friend.

She was quite happy that she had stumbled into Vincente, he seemed nice, and similar to herself. She was also glad though that they hadn’t decided to tear each other apart. That would have hindered this new found friendship immensely, and she liked her new friend.

>> “It’s no problem. If you are anything like me, you need to replenish your body after a shift…It’s nice to meet you Vincente. You can call me whatever you’d like.”

“Haha, alright,” he confirmed with a nod. “Regan it is.”

He smirked as he shook the woman’s hand. She was nice and he was very happy for that. It just struck him as funny that the last few months had been in some strange circumstances and yet there was always a beautiful woman around to help. If that were true then he definitely was an extremely lucky man. But he made no mention of that right now. Instead, eyeing the woman’s closeness, he simply tried to keep his grin from getting out of control. No need to scare her off now by acting weird.

Then again, nearly attack her with an animal’s head, then watching it shift back to human in front of her was probably strange enough! But such was life in New York, it seemed.

He sighed as he took another sip of water. The pain was finally gone, which is surprisingly fast considering that his very bones and muscles had reshaped themselves. But as he thought about this, he noticed he heard snickering. Eyebrow raised, the man tilted his gaze back up to Regan and smirked when he found her chuckling to herself.

“What?”

>> ” I’m sorry; I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…Look at us! Your shirt is shredded to bits and I’m covered in dried blood. Aren’t we a pair?”

Glancing down, he indeed did notice that his shirt was rather torn up. When he started to lose his mind to his more animal instincts, he probably shredded it up by accident. But as he thought about this, and glanced to Regan’s blood covered body, he had to snicker and then laugh out loud too. If anyone had stumbled across them, they certainly would have found quite a strange scene.

Shaking his head, smirking, Vicente finally paused long enough so that he could stand up. God, what a day.

“We’ll you’re certainly right about that,” he grinned as he looked down to his own tore up shirt. He would have to grab another one back at the mansion. But Regan’s problem, well, that could be solved far more quickly. “If you want to handle that,” he said as he motioned to all the blood on her. “By all means,” he said as he nodded to the lake. He had a feeling that he had interrupted her when he first barreled into the scene. “I promise I’ll be a gentleman and not look.”

Regan laughed right along with Vincente when he noticed how awful they must have looked right now. She sighed happily, and smiled. She was really enjoying herself, she hadn’t laughed like this in years.

She watched him stand up, and as she too stood up next to him, she realized just how much taller he was than her. She literally had to look up at him.

She gulped slightly as he told her she could go wash up in the water and he wouldn’t look. Regan had never really spent much time around men, or anyone for that matter. She was caged up with Shamus, and treated like a daughter with her “Father” and his employees. She was nervous but she knew that she had to get cleaned up; the blood was starting to smell rather unpleasant.

She sighed softly and nodded. She held up a clawed finger to point at him and gave him a fanged grin, “But no peeking!” She turned on her heels and headed towards her back pack, her long tail swaying behind her. She rummaged around in her bag until she found a small container that held a bar of soap.

Looking over her shoulder at Vincente she nudged her head. “Ok, turn around.” Once he had turned around, Regan quickly peeled off her tank top, unbuttoned her jeans, slipped out of them, removed her bra and underwear, and darted into the cool water with a squeak. “Oh lord, that’s cold!”

She lathered up her soap and started to wash her body. The suds were turning pink as they slowly scrubbed off the dried up blood. Regan used the bar of soap to wash her face and hair as well. Rinsing off the suds, she realized that she couldn’t see if she had blood on her back because there was no mirror. Sighing softly, she wrapped her arms around her chest and looked over her shoulder at Vincente again, “Umm, I hate to ask this of you since I told you not to peek.” She sighed again, she was rather embarrassed, but she didn’t want to miss any of the blood, “But could you see if I got all of the blood off my back?”

>> “But no peeking!” .

Vicente smirked, nodded, and gave a gentleman’s bow. Though he was a flirt, Vicente was never the type to do anything underhanded like that. It was just wrong and something he didn’t care to. At least now that was what he thought. He didn’t know what his former self would have done in such a situation.

…

Best not to think about that right now.

He waited, watching as she went back to her bag and started to rifle through for whatever it was she needed. He really began to feel bad, letting her wait around like that, covered in drying up blood. It must be held on fur. That was definitely one of downfalls for being hairy. Vicente remembered when he was practicing with his bear head last, one of the younger mansion students had thrown a wad of gum at him. Gah, he was fit to kill them. No matter how he scrubbed, he couldn’t remove it and instead just pushed it in deeper. Finally if came to the point that he needed to cut the gum out and let the hair regrow.

But blood. God. Just imagining it all laced up in between the fur. No matter was it just sticky, but probably itchy too. He felt for the woman.

>> “Ok, turn around…Oh lord, that’s cold!”

Vicente turned around, facing the forest, then snickered as he heard the woman yelp out about the freezing water. Covering his mouth, his shoulders shook as he tried to keep the laughter in. It really was extremely funny imagining her face the second she hit the cool liquid. But he didn’t turn around. No. He was honest to his word and instead, with his back to the water, simply leaned against a tree and crossed his arms over his massive chest.

Quietly he hummed to himself as he heard the sounds of water being displaced and fur being scrubbed. He thought once he even caught the scent of blood mixing with the large body of water. He could only wonder how refreshing that must be for her.

Fiddling with the tatters of his shirt, he continued to stare off into the woods when--

>> “Umm, I hate to ask this of you since I told you not to peek…But could you see if I got all of the blood off my back?”

…

“Umm…no problem,” he said. He really didn’t want to peek at the woman since he promised that he wouldn’t. But, he figured that since she asked for his assistance, it would probably be ruder if he didn’t. So, with that conviction in mind, he turned. At first all he saw was the white and stripes of her fur. But that quickly descending into him following the silhouette of her curves. Nothing obscene just checking for blood.

Obviously.

Ahem.

He paused though when he caught a splatter of red still dried into her fur.

“Oh, yeah, there’s some there,” he said, pointing. “There, in the middle of your lower back. Um, not that I was intentionally looking there, you know. Because, you said not to peek, so I wasn’t. But, yeah, I see blood there…” Cough. Cough. “I’ll turn back around now,” he said as he turned his back to her again. He was sure she could reach that spot without problem.

Regan stood still as she watched Vincente turn and examine her back for traces of blood. When he told here where she missed some, she tried to look over her shoulder to see it. Keeping her one arm wrapped around her chest, she used the other hand to feel the spot he was pointing to. “Oh, I found it, thank you!”

She quirked a brow as he was getting increasingly nervous, she didn’t understand why. As he coughed and turned back around, she gave a little giggle and started to wash the patch of blood off her back. When she was finished, she rinsed off and stepped out of the cold water to dry off. She shook the water off her fur and grabbed a small hand towel from her bag to pat dry the rest before rummaging for some fresh clothes. All she had was her back pack and it held what few possessions she had.

She quickly slipped into some fresh undergarments, a pair of faded blue jeans, and a light green tank top. “Alright, I’m all dressed again.” She used the towel to dry the ends of her vibrant red hair and then started to comb it out. “Thank you for being a gentleman. I appreciate it.” that soft Irish voice, expressed her appreciation.

Finally clean, her fur was snow white with the deep emerald stripes. She felt so much better now.

Dusting off her paw like feet of dirt, she placed them in her combat boots and started to lace them up. “So now we need to take care of your shirt, don’t we?” She smiled up at her large friend. She realized that she really did like feeling small around Vincente. It was odd and she didn’t know why she liked that feeling, but she did.

>> “Oh, I found it, thank you!”

Vicente waved his arm in showing that he heard her. Still keeping his back to the water, he shoved his hands into his jean pockets as he stared out towards the forest. He was not thinking at all of the small of her back or other, lower parts, that were hidden beneath the water. That would just be rude of him, wouldn’t it?

So, in silence he continued to look off into the woods, waiting for Regan to finish her bathing. He had a feeling it was coming to an end when he heard the sounds of water sloshing and shaking of fur. But still, he waited quietly until she was done drying herself off and dressing again. In the meantime, he glanced down to his shirt. It really was pretty tore up. He should change that when he got back to the mansion.

Speaking of, he wondered if Regan was one of the new students there. It was kind of odd to just be out in the middle of the woods for no reason. Then again, considering her mutation, maybe that was exactly what she was doing…

>> “Alright, I’m all dressed again. Thank you for being a gentleman. I appreciate it.”

Vicente turned and nodded with a small smile.

“Of course. I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”

Standing before the woman, looking down at her, he actually realized how small she was. Despite her ferocity, she was a shorter and, in a way, reminded him a lot of a couple of friends he already had at the mansion. She would definitely fit in there.

>> “So now we need to take care of your shirt, don’t we?”

He chuckled sheepishly as he held up a few of the tatters that clung onto his ruined shirt. The few did his pull up did reveal the tightly formed musculature of his stomach and chest, as well as a few of the tattoos and scars he had, things that he didn’t remember the origins of. With a sigh he released the tatters and let them once against cover his body.

“Well, we’re not far from the mansion. I can just grab a change of shirts there,” he said. Then, he cautioned to question her. “Are you a new student? Is, um, that why you’re out here? To get used to things?”

Regan smiled widely as Vincente confirmed that he was a gentleman, it was a rare trait to find these days. “Well I’m glad that you are. I think “Father” would be happy that I ran into a gentleman while being in this situation. I think he would have liked you Vincente. He was a gentleman too.” She let out a soft sigh as she remembered the man that had saved her from Shamus and the cage.

It had been a few months since her “Father” had passed away. The household employees had kept Regan hidden and took care of her until the house was sold and they all had to leave. She didn’t have anywhere to go after that, no one else had known about her and she had no paperwork, so there was no way to legally leave anything to her. She was on her own and managed to make a few dollars as a sideshow attraction before deciding to stay in the woods.

Regan giggled with Vincente as he examined his tattered shirt. She saw the tattoo of the lady on his stomach muscles and touched it with her index finger, she’d only ever seen tattoos in magazines. “Oh I like that! Is it real? I like her hat and she is very pretty, is she someone you know?” Sometimes Regan had the mind of a child, fascinated by simple things that she had been sheltered from all her life. She then ran her finger softly over some of his scars before he let the tattered bits of his shirt go. She’d ask about those another time.

Regan smiled softly as Vincente mentioned he could change at the mansion. He lived there? How perfect was that? Then her smile faded as she answered his question. “No, I’m not a student there. Not yet anyways. I was going to head there after I had washed up to see if they had a corner for me. I was told they are very welcoming to mutants.” She let out a soft sigh and continued to answer his questions while looking down at her feet. “I have been living in the cover of the woods for a little while. The world is not exactly welcoming to a monster like me.”

>> “Well I’m glad that you are. I think “Father” would be happy that I ran into a gentleman while being in this situation. I think he would have liked you Vincente. He was a gentleman too.”

Vicente smirked a little bit. He could only wonder what her father would have thought about him right now. Even if the man was a gentleman and Vicente had done his best to act as one, it was still pretty close to being just a tad bit scandalous. But, at least Vicente was proud of the fact that he really didn’t peek at Regan. Not until she asked him to check for more blood, that is.

>> “Oh I like that! Is it real? I like her hat and she is very pretty, is she someone you know?”

He flinched, only slightly. Not because she scared him or harmed him with her paws, but more because she had, well, hit probably the one spot he knew of that he ticklish. Though he smirked and jumped, Vicente tried to pass it off anything but the fact that he was sensitive there and hoped that Regan had missed it too.

Thankfully the conversation switched once he asked her about the mansion. She seemed just a little…distant about the subject. He guessed that maybe he was wrong in assuming that she was attending there. And she confirmed that when she began to talk…

>> “No, I’m not a student there. Not yet anyways. I was going to head there after I had washed up to see if they had a corner for me. I was told they are very welcoming to mutants…I have been living in the cover of the woods for a little while. The world is not exactly welcoming to a monster like me.”

He frowned a little sadly at her commentary. First of all it was terrible that she was living out here in the woods. Not because she was in the woods, she had the perfect mutation for such a life, but because she was by herself. Living in solitude, though at times can be beneficial, was also…well…lonely. He didn’t like to think of anyone being purely by themselves, mainly because that was how he woke up. That was how he lived most of his life now—alone.

But probably the worst of it was what Regan referred to herself as. He didn’t like anyone thinking that they were a monster, especially mutants. The only monsters he had really experienced thus far had been people with evil intentions, and those could both come in mutant and human forms. Regan, though, was no monster.

He shook his head as he looked at her.

“You’re not a monster,” he said as if there was absolutely no point in arguing it with him. “Trust me, I’ve met a couple monsters before and you definitely don’t fit into that.” He smiled warmly as he looked at her, hoping that he imparted the honesty in which he spoke with. “But I know one thing, I’m not leaving you out here,” he grinned. “Follow me to the mansion. I’m sure they could give me a home, they can definitely give you one.”

Regan raised a brow as Vincente flinched when she touched his tattoo. She wasn’t sure why but smiled at him. “I’m sorry.” She wasn’t sure if she had hurt him or if she just overstepped her boundaries.

Regan looked up from her toes when Vincente told her she wasn’t a monster and that she didn’t fit into that category. She saw the warm and sincere smile on his handsome features and she smiled back at him. She was even more touched that he wasn’t leaving without her. Regan leaned in towards him and stood up on her tip toes, placing her hands on his chest for support. She whispered “You are a true gentleman Vincente.”

Stepping back Regan smiled appreciatively to Vincente, he was helping her more then he knew. She walked back to where her bag was and started to pack up her stuff, placing her bloody clothes into an empty plastic bag. Regan looked up from her bent over position, her tail twitching gently behind her. “Do you think I will fit in there at the mansion?” She wondered if they would accept her there. Vincente may have found a place there, but he also looked human most of the time.

Finishing up her pack job, she grabbed her back pack and slung it over her shoulders. “Well I think I have everything.” She smiled and felt her stomach flutter; she was starting to get really nervous. She wasn’t sure of all of this, but she trusted Vincente. She felt like he would make sure she would be alright.

With a hefty sigh Regan shoved her hands into her pockets and rocked on her feet. “Well I guess its lead the way!” her Irish tones were softly spoken and yet a little shaky, the nervousness was coming through in her voice even though she was trying to hide it.

>> “You are a true gentleman Vincente.”

Vicente had to grin a little stupidly at her remark. He really hoped that he indeed was a gentleman. He believed he was, he believed that he acted like one right now. But the simple fact that he didn’t remember his past made it far more difficult for him to accept anything like that about himself. At least for right now. Since he didn’t know who he really was, it was a crapshoot guessing the type of man he was before he lost his memories. But, he would have to take that day by day, it seemed.

And for today, he was accept that he was a gentleman. And that made him smile.

Well, that at the fact that the pretty feline as he leaned up against him to whisper. He didn’t know why such a intimate things made him grin. Maybe because it was so intimate and close and that seemed to a rarity for the young man.

He blinked as she moved away from him to begin to gather her stuff. He really did have a feeling that she was going to fit in rather perfectly with the rest of the students at the mansion. There was yet a time for him to see them turn anyone away.

>> “Do you think I will fit in there at the mansion?”

“Of course,” he responded. The look on his face was rather confused, almost as if wondering how she could even ask such a question.

But it didn’t take long for him to conclude as to why she asked that. She did just finish referring to herself as a “monster”, so social acceptance was probably something that she didn’t quite expect. But if there was one thing he knew about the mansion in the short time that he has been here, they were not going to turn her away based on how she looks. There was simply no evidence of that, especially considering the majority of mutants that he had seen there.

>> “Well I think I have everything…Well I guess its lead the way!

He looked up as he noticed she had finished gathering her things. The tone of her voice denoted that she was probably nervous. All he could do was offer her a kind smile and a reassuring hand.

“You’ll be fine,” he beamed happily. “And trust me, they won’t kick you out. As a matter of fact, one of my good friends there is a gargoyle.”

He chuckled as he began to lead the way back to the mansion and leaving her to think about what he had just said.

Regan smiled a small smile as Vincente looked puzzled to her question. She didn’t quite believe him; she had many experiences that told her the way she looked was not accepted in most places. People feared her when she was just her normal self, what would they think when the sabre tooth took over?

Standing with her hands in her pockets she waited for Vincente. As he told her about his friend the gargoyle, she tilted her head to the side and looked very confused. Regan had read about gargoyles, but they were just stone statues on old buildings. They were used to “protect” the buildings, how could one be a mutant?

As Vincente started to leave and head towards the mansion, Regan snapped out of her thoughts and ran after him. She looped her thumbs into the straps of her back pack and followed in behind him, the breeze wafting Vincente’s sent into her pink nose. Her nose wiggled as she took it in, she quite liked the way he smelled and she would remember it from now on. The manly smell from the human part of him, the musky wooden scent of the bear, and the mix of two more scents she couldn’t quite place still. It was so unique, it was …. Vincente. She smiled to herself and followed her large friend through the woods to his home.

Vicente smirked as he happily led the way back to the mansion. Regan had gone quiet after he told her what to expect and he was glad for that. Not that he didn’t enjoy conversation with her, but it was more because he would rather she be surprised when she finally did see the school. From the looks of her, it looked as if she hadn’t been inside a place for awhile, especially considering her attitudes towards how people treated her.

What was it like? He could never really understand because he didn’t have the same type of mutation that Regan, or Andrea, or Gina had. They had to deal with their mutation all the time and not only that, other people were privy to it. Just thinking about that lack of privacy, that destruction of mystery, just slightly made his head hurt. He would never have to go through that because he could shift back into a human. But Regan, despite how pretty and as fun of a person as he thought she was, she would have to deal with more closed minded people the rest of her life.

But, there was little he could do to help with that. He would do the most he could in one simple manner…he would be that friend she could always count on. He was happy enough to do that.

He smiled back over his shoulder to make sure that she was following him before he turned back to leading the way.

***

It didn’t take long. He had surprisingly didn’t get that far from the mansion when his instincts took over. Regan herself was pretty close too! If she had just kept walking in this direction, she probably would have made it here all by her own.

Still, he was only too happy to guide her.

Stepping out of the tree line, Vicente placed his hands on his hips as she breathed in the air of the mansion. He grinned as he nodded to the large building, mutants of all types hanging around, playing, or studying, before he turned back to face Regan. Just in case she felt nervous again, he offered his hand to her.

“Regan, welcome to Xavier’s Sister School.”