Regan paced back and forth in the hallway while she waited for Vincente to return from changing his shirt. It had been shredded when she met him in the woods and he couldn’t go walking around like that with a tigress, everyone would have thought she had done it. At least that’s what she thought anyways.

She was so nervous and her stomach was getting rather upset from all of the butterflies that were flapping their wings in her gut. She ran a clawed hand through her bright red tresses and sighed.

What if she isn’t accepted here? What if she is too different to be here? What if something goes wrong? What if the sabre tooth took over completely and she put everyone in danger? So many ifs!

Taking a deep breath, Regan stopped in her tracks and tried to calm herself down. She closed her emerald eyes and hummed an old Celtic tune to herself. She swayed her body side to side as she hummed; her long tail swaying in the opposite direction of her body playfully. Regan had learned the tune from Shamus, he used to sing it to her when the sabre tooth had taken over and wouldn’t let go of her mind. For some reason the tune calmed her. Shamus was a cruel man, but it was the only way he was able to bring Regan back from her feral mind when he had let her go too far. The tune still calmed her to this day.

Vicente had taken his leave from Regan, just in order to change his shirt. It had been rather shredded up and that was the last thing he wanted people to see, him wandering around the mansion with a feral mutant and possibly leaving them to their imaginations. Besides, it would not have been kosher for him to gallivant around like that. Not when he was trying to show the best of the mansion to her and convince her that it would be fine for her to stay.

Deep down, he really hoped that she would. If only for the fact that he really felt like he had met a kindred spirit in her. He really did feel like…well…that he could help her. Or, maybe, she could even help him by at least being her friend.

Back in his room, Vicente fished through his minimal clothing until he found exactly a deep blue shirt that was etched with black swirls. Slipping that on, he sighed when he found that it was just a tad bit tight. The majority of his wardrobe did come from second hand stores and even though he had a job now, he had yet to go and pick some new clothes.

So, with his muscle-defining shirt on, Vicente moved to step out of his room and returned to the hall where he had left Regan waiting. God, he hoped that she was okay. He could only imagine what she must feel like. Hopefully she didn’t think that he abandoned her.

Moving back outside, he smiled when he found Regan waiting for him.

“Hey, you ready?” he asked with a warm smile. He could practically feel the nervousness wafting off of her. “You…okay?”

Regan jumped a little when Vincente came out of his room. She was so focused on calming herself down that she didn’t hear him come through the door, like she normally would have. She spun around on her heels to face him and was greeted with his warm smile. That smile made all of her butterflies flutter a little differently and then they went away.

She smiled softly and couldn’t help but look him over with that tight shirt on. He might as well have just walked around shirtless, but Regan honestly didn’t mind, he was nice to look at after all.

Nodding softly to his questions she smiled and focused on his face, his deep brown eyes drawing her attention. “I think I’m ready, and I’m alright Vincente, just nervous.” She wrapped her arms around her chest to hug herself and rubber her right shoulder.

Her eyes darted to her feet and she shuffled a little. Giving a slight sigh she looked back up at Vincente and slapped a small smile on her face for his sake. She didn’t want him to worry about her, but she appreciated his concern greatly. No one had cared about her since her “Father” did, and it sure felt nice.

Apparently he had caught the feline off guard. Instantly he started to apologize for sneaking up on her. She must have definitely been nervous and he could understand that. Coming to this place could indeed be pretty intimidating, especially when one didn’t know what to expect. Regan definitely didn’t know what to expect, or rather, she had expectations that were waiting to come true. It was heartbreaking to see her suspicious of such a wonderful place as this but Vicente knew that with time she could hopefully get past it.

He hoped so.

>> “I think I’m ready, and I’m alright Vincente, just nervous.”

Thinking for a moment, Vicente looked back at her and the small smile she plastered on her face. She was trying at least. With crooked grin that probably made him appear more playfully devious than he wanted, he reached over and carefully gave her arm a soft squeeze.

“It’s understandable,” he said with a nod. “But you’ll be fine. And,” he stepped back and elegantly held his arms outward, as if displaying himself to her. “besides, you’ve got me here.”

He posed rather comically before he just chuckled and carefully moved past her. Though she had seen the mansion when they first walked in, there was still so much more to show her and it was just easier to start from the beginning rather than the middle. So, back to the foyer and parts beyond they would go. She deserved to see everything, after all.

“Come on,” he said with a little wave. “We’ll start at the front doors again and move in from there. Who knows,” he shrugged. “Maybe you’ll make another friend along the way. Just, you know, not as handsome as me.”

He winked as he moved on to start the tour.

Regan waved off Vincente’s apologies to spooking her, it was her own fault for getting wrapped up in her own head. Sadly that happened a lot, she had a habit of over thinking everything, but that came with what she had to do that to protect herself.

She smiled a more genuine smile as Vincente squeezed her arm and it eased some of her tension. She started to giggle when he presented himself to her. “You sure are funny Vincente.” She shook her head at him softly and snickered again with a smile.

As Vincente moved past her she got that wonderful scent of his in her nose again, sometimes being a feline was a good thing. Smells left such an impact on Regan; they made strong connections in her mind to good and bad memories. They did the same for humans, it was a scientific fact, but with her enhanced sense of smell it was easily doubled. Vincente’s scent made her feel safe.

As Vincente motioned for her to follow him, she did and she started to laugh when he mentioned meeting other mutants that were not as handsome, “I don’t think that’s even possible Vincente.” She giggled with a clawed hand to her mouth, “You are quite handsome.” Regan stopped a moment with wide eyes. Did she just say that out loud? Oh geez! If she weren’t covered in fur Vincente could have seen her turn about fifty shades of red right now.

Looking a little bit like a deer caught in the headlights, Regan coughed and continued to follow Vincente to wherever he was going to lead her.

>> “You sure are funny Vincente.”

He grinned. He thought so! Though it really was just to help ease the young woman’s tension rather than to show off his comedic skills. In reality he was a little worried about Regan. He had a feeling that she was going to fit right into the mansion but she didn’t believe that. She didn’t have to say it out loud, but he could clearly see that she was extremely nervous. Maybe with laughter he could help to loosen her up a bit.

One could only try.

But, deciding that would be a discussion for later, Vicente moved past the young woman in hopes of leading her back to the mansion’s front doors and lead her through. He passed with but a passing joke about himself (again just to alleviate tension). Her response, though, was enough to make him pause.

>> “I don’t think that’s even possible Vincente…You are quite handsome.”

He…couldn’t move. Standing still, he tilted his head but he just silently grinned to himself. He could only imagine what was running through Regan’s head at her comment. He heard the smallest of gasps but was it about what she had said? He would have cautioned to turn back to check but he didn’t want to scare her off. So, with just a hidden smirk, he continued on and pretended as if he didn’t hear her.

Though, it was rather cute.

***

It didn’t take him long to reach the front doors to the mansion. The foyer was massive, with sitting areas, various furniture, décor of all kinds, but in the end it all gave same impression…home. It was not sterile and cold like one would expect a mansion to be. Instead there was such a warmth and joy to this mansion that it would immediately make every student, runaway, and terrified mutant think only one thing…they were home.

He stopped at the front doors, turned around and beamed again at the young were-feline. He was hoping that she was relaxing a bit more by now.

“Well, in case you didn’t see it the first time,” he said with a grin. “This is the Xavier Sister School, a haven for mutants of every kind. From what I’ve learned, students can find a home, acceptance, even an education here so that whenever they do want to leave, they can be ready for the world.” he sighed as he gestured all around him. “What would you like to see first?”

Regan followed Vincnte to the front entrance of the mansion in silence. She still felt like a dummy for what she had said about him being handsome. Geez that was stupid, her and her big mouth! She thought he must think she’s a complete twit right now. After all his reaction was to stand still for a few moments with his back to her, she could just imagine the look on his face. How embarrassing! It was moments like that that made her wish she could just be in her feral mind all the time, but alas that just wouldn’t be right.

She took in all of the comfortable furniture that was littered around the room. The front foyer was very welcoming, and it did remind her of the mansion she spent the second half of her childhood in. It made her smile softly to herself. “Reminds me of “Father’s” home, he liked to fill his home with comfortable things, I miss him.” She let out a little sigh and looked at her feet.

As Vincente started to talk so looked up at him and giggled to herself. He was smiling proudly; he really wanted her to be comfortable here, she could tell that much, especially since he emphasized the word “every” when talking about mutant acceptance here at the mansion.

Regan shrugged a little when he asked her what she wanted to see first. She had no idea what was in the mansion in general, other than the front doors and Vincente’s room. So she opted to let him choose, “How about you start by showing me your favorite place in the mansion?” She smiled at him and rocked on her heels with her hands tucked into her jean pockets. She was still nervous and felt quite awkward at the moment, she wished she could read Vincente’s mind right now, she wanted to know if he thought she was a total dodo brain.

>> “Reminds me of “Father’s” home, he liked to fill his home with comfortable things, I miss him.”

Vicente frowned slightly. Apparently Regan had lost someone close to her. He didn’t want to pry by asking so much about her past, but he understood that feeling of loss…even if it was in a different context. Vicente had lost himself. With no memory of who he really was before waking up in that damn alley, it was very much like losing a loved one. Knowing one’s self is supposed to be a constant, something that can always be depended on because they are there for you always. When that is taken away, it very much is like losing someone close to you, at least in his opinion.

But, again, he didn’t want to pry into something that she didn’t want to talk about. So, he gave her shoulder a very soft squeeze.

“Sorry,” was all he said. If she wanted to talk about it, he would be more than willing. But only if she came to him.

For now, he should focus on the task at hand. There was still a tour that he needed to give (even though he was probably not the most qualified).

>> “How about you start by showing me your favorite place in the mansion?”

“Hmm, okay,” he said with a nod and a short smile. To be honest some of his favorite places included his room and out in the gardens. Solitude was unfortunately one of those things that he just loved to be around. It allowed him to think and the mull over his situation. But…he could at least think of one place that didn’t involve just solitude. “Follow me.”

Vicente moved to the staircase and started to climb. Not just to the second or third floor, no, he climbed and climbed, moving swiftly inside doors that led to other staircases, most of which were seldom used and void of any other students. He could hear Regan keeping up with him until and he smirked. He did move rather fast.

Moving through on last door, the pair of them were suddenly flooded with sunlight and the young chimera smirked. He walked through the door as the scent of fresh air and a cool breeze wafted across his nose. A happy sigh fell from his lips as he stepped out into a lone balcony that overlooked the huge expanse of the mansion’s grounds. Sure it was technically still outside and it was pretty solitary…but nothing could beat this view.

He leaned against the railed and stared out at the grounds. Past all the green, the running and playing students, the lonely road, one could see the silhouette of New York City. The huge buildings, the glare of glass…it was definitely a breathtaking view.

“This is my favorite place, Regan,” he muttered as he stared out at the city. “Not because it’s lonely….but because I get to look at everything in this town. And, despite all the bad things…it’s good to be able to just take a step back, look at it all, and realize that no matter what, there is always something beautiful to look at.”

He smiled as he turned to look back at her. There was always something beautiful to look at.

Regan smiled softly at Vincente as he gave his condolences and her shoulder a squeeze. She let out another soft sigh as she remembered curling up on the plush couches with her “Father” where he taught her how to read and write. Maybe someday she would tell Vincente about her past, she felt that she could trust him.

As Regan waited for her large friend to think of where to go first, she continued to rock on her feet with her hands in her pockets while looking at her black combat boots intently. All of a sudden Vincete told her to follow him and she turned on a dime to fall in behind him.

He moved quite quickly but Regan kept up just fine. She was a distance runner in her normal state, so this wasn’t taxing her at all, working out regularly also helped. She made a mental note that at some point she was going to have to challenge Vincente to a friendly race. That thought made her crack a sly smile.

The stairs seemed to never end, but after what seemed like the stair master from hell, they reached one last door. Vincente opened the door and the sunlight flooded in. Regan felt the pupils of her eyes adjust to the sudden change of light. The cool breeze that followed was so refreshing, Regan preferred to be outside after the years she spent locked up in a cage and kept hidden in the mansion.

Once her sight had adjusted properly she stepped out onto the balcony with Vincente. He was already leaning on the railing and taking in the amazing view. She smiled as he spoke, he was right. No matter how awful things were, there was always something beautiful to remind you that life could be good.

The breeze blew through Regan’s vibrant red hair and it made a few strands flow over her face as he turned to her with a smile. She smiled softly back to him as she shyly brushed the strands out of her face. “It is an amazing view,” she said with a grin, Vincente looked good leaning up against the railing in that form fitting shirt, “I can see why this is your favorite place to be.”

She moved to stand next to Vincente at the railing. She placed her hands on it and leaned forward to take in more of the view of the city. How she wished she could just go out into the city and walk down the street without people screaming or judging her. It made her sigh and she turned to look up at Vincente. “You have good taste, I might have to invade this little place of yours from time to time.” Her voice was soft, the hints of her Irish accent just highlighting the words as she spoke. Her emerald eyes searched Vincente’s handsome face as the breeze played with her red locks, blowing them around her head and face as she stood looking at him.

Vicente had actually forgotten that he was up here with Regan. It was not that she was forgettable or anything like that, Vicente just had a knack for falling into his own thoughts when he wasn’t paying attention. And this was certainly the truth about his current predicament. Standing up here, in one of his favorite spots, looking out over the mansion grounds and the city beyond, it was easy to see how he could get so lost. It was the perfect to do so.

But, a shifting of movement out of the corner of his eye and the presence of another voice had quickly brought him back to reality.

>> “It is an amazing view…I can see why this is your favorite place to be.”

He smiled. He was glad that Regan appreciated something like this. Vicente didn’t show this spot of the mansion to many people but he was fairly certain that others knew of it. Thankfully, in his experience, no one had ever been up here when he was. He really was grateful to that since he was such a solitary beast.

But Regan, he sensed a kindred soul in her. He had no problem sharing this part with her. Who knows, maybe it’ll do her some good and help her loosen up around the mansion. Sure it was going to be a tough transition but had a feeling she would make it.

Her voice again shook him out of his musings. He turned to her, a soft expression on his face as he let her speak without interrupting.

>> “You have good taste, I might have to invade this little place of yours from time to time.”

He had to chuckle.

“Haha, I knew the risks when I decided to show it to you,” A simply shrug and he just grinned as he watched her. “By all means. Just don’t be surprised if you catch me up here too. But, I’m willing the share.”

Quietly he straightened up and he turned to look back out over the grounds one last time before nodding to Regan.

“Come on. There’s a lot more to see,” he said as he led the way inside. “I haven’t even showed you the kitchen yet.”

Regan stared out at the view from the balcony for a while. They were both silent and lost in thought. Regan thought about what life could be like here, would she be able to exist here? There were so many other mutants here and Regan was used to being alone, social interaction wasn’t something she was used to; she was always awkward around people, well except for Vincente. For some reason she felt like he knew how she thought and felt, and why like a real tiger, she spent her life alone.

The sound of Vincente’s deep voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She giggled softly at his comments, “Well I’m glad you don’t mind sharing, and I don’t mind you being here with me one bit.” She tilted her head to the side and smiled at him with gentle eyes, “I won’t ever interrupt you up here though, not on purpose anyways.”

Regan turned and took another look out at the city and sighed. New York was beautiful from a distance. As Vincente straightened up and turned to head for the door, Regan turned as well. He was going to keep showing her around the mansion, next stop was going to be the kitchen. She wondered if that was also one of Vincente’s favorite places, it was going to be one of her’s! Regan’s mutation made her have to eat quite a bit to keep her mind in control of the sabre tooth.

She pushed herself away from the railing and headed towards the door to follow Vincente to the next destination on the tour, though she was a little sad to leave the outdoors and the amazing view.

>> “Well I’m glad you don’t mind sharing, and I don’t mind you being here with me one bit…I won’t ever interrupt you up here though, not on purpose anyways.”

He smirked. Walking away from the balcony, Vicente led the way back inside the mansion. He was actually a little worried about showing this spot off since he would have hated it to stop being just for him. It was one of his getaways from the rest of the world, it allowed him to be free from the rest of the students and to have a safe haven from all of them when he was feeling far too out of place. But, seeing as he and Regan were on the same page a majority of the time, he had a feeling that it would be fine to share such a thing with her.

After all, he doubted that there would be many times when the two of them would cross paths up here. The school was big and varied, he was certain that she would probably be making a ton of friends before long. Probably even that gargoyle girl, Gina. She was chatty with new students all the time!

Only time would tell. The time right now, though, was telling him that they needed to go to the kitchen.

So, back down he led the young woman. With the endurance of a star athlete, Vicente could have moved without breaking a sweat. But, in all honesty, he didn’t want to leave Regan behind. So, instead, he slowed down and began to point things out as he saw them. He started slow, pointing out the girl’s and boy’s wings of the school, mentioned a few of the teachers, and even pointed out a student or two that he recognized.

In the end, he actually sounded a bit more informative than he would have thought. Maybe he was better at this than he thought.

Leading back down to the foyer, Vicente went out on about signing up.

“Anyways, in the end, I’ll take you to the sign in person,” he said with a shrug as he began to walk backwards, towards another hall that would lead them to the kitchen. “He’ll just ask a few basic questions, have you fill out a form, and whalla, you have a room. Easy as that.”

He smirked as he stopped in the middle of the hall and sniffed. Someone had apparently just finished making cinnamon rolls, his favorite. A happy sigh and he turned to Regan.

“Kitchen is around the corner,” he said as he led the way. “Just a quick note, most food is up for grabs unless someone has written their name on it. So feel free to grab something or make something whenever you are hungry.”

Regan could tell by Vincente’s body language that he wasn’t too keen about giving up this little hiding place, no matter how much he tried to hide it from her with his handsome smirk. She made a note not to trespass on this spot too often, she knew her scent would linger here and that was never good when dealing with predatory instincts. Vincente was not a predator, but he was part animal, Regan knew exactly how that felt and what it did to her own senses, she wasn’t going to inflict unnecessary discomfort on him. After all he was a gentleman.

Following Vincente back inside Regan remained silent. She kept up with the swift man as he made his way back down the stairs and through the various corridors in the mansion. She noticed that he slowed his pace and started to show her the different areas of the mansion and pointing out familiar faces. Regan nodded and smiled softly, shyly brushing her red tresses out of her face as they fell forward.

As they made their way back down to the foyer Regan giggled at Vincente, he was really trying to sell the mansion to her. He must really want her to stay here she thought, it was a nice feeling. Most people wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible, but not Vincente, he seemed to enjoy her company, and she enjoyed his.

All of a sudden Vincente stopped in the hall and Regan almost walked into him. She looked at him with wide eyes a moment as he sniffed the air, she sniffed it as well and closed her eyes with a happy purr, “Cinnamon buns…” she murmured softly as she opened her eyes to find a smiling Vincente in her view.

Regan followed once again as her large friend lead the way to the kitchen. She nodded as he told her about the food situation. “I’ll make sure I keep an eye out for names.” Regan wasn’t about to step on any toes. “I like to cook, and I sure like to eat, I have a feeling you will find me in the kitchen quite a bit.” She chuckled softly, “Maybe I could cook you dinner sometime?” she hesitated slightly, “You know, as a thank you for the tour?” She quirked a shy grin and looked up at Vincente with innocent emerald eyes.

>> “Cinnamon buns…”

Vicente barely heard her as he led the way into the kitchen. The scent from the cinnamon buns were far to enticing for him to ignore. The reality was that Vicente was learning an awful lot about himself as time pressed on. One of these things happened to be that the man, despite liking spicy foods and hating “anime” cartoons, he was a big fan of sweets. Maybe that was why he had the physique he had? In order to combat the sweets that he liked?

Whatever the case the man smirked as he led the way into the kitchen. It was massive and also one of his favorite places. A large fridge (seemingly too big for resident usage) dominated one wall while cabinets, shelves, hanging fruit, etc., was all around. If there was one message that this kitchen was trying to present it was that none need go hungry.

And sure enough, as they entered, there was a plate of freshly baked cinnamon rolls sitting on the counter. No one else was around but that was not surprising, food just tended to appear from time to time. Either food was being teleported in or a mutant was secretly cooking just for the heck of it.

Vicente smirked. They did look tasty. He offered Regan a seat at one of the tables and immediately went in search of plates when she began to speak.

>> “I’ll make sure I keep an eye out for names…I like to cook, and I sure like to eat, I have a feeling you will find me in the kitchen quite a bit…Maybe I could cook you dinner sometime? You know, as a thank you for the tour?”

He paused as he grabbed a couple of plates from the cupboard. Turning around, he found Regan looking up at him with innocent eyes. It really was startling how pretty her eyes were. With a small smile, also hiding a tiny blush, he grinned and nodded. Why not?

“Sure,” he said with a nod. “But only if I can help. I would hate for you to go through so much trouble just on my account.”

The kitchen was certainly a very impressive place. It was a massive space dedicated to food, but it still felt homey, not industrial. It was comfortable to be in and Regan could see herself cooking up a storm here on a regular basis and it made her smile because she loved to cook.

Taking the seat that Vincente offered her, she watched him make his way around the kitchen to find some plates. Regan was impressed as he found what he was looking for with ease; it was going to take her a while to learn where to find everything in this giant kitchen.

Regan’s heart jumped slightly as Vincente paused to her request to make him dinner, did she say something wrong? Oh what a way to make things uncomfortable, she was so good at being awkward she should win a prize. She fidgeted in her seat until Vincente finally turned to face her with a smile and she breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing her shoulders.

As he agreed to dinner, on the condition that he would help, Regan bounced excitedly in her seat, clapping her furry hands together a few times. For the first time in front of Vincente she was smiling a fully fanged grin, he had made her day. “Oh I would love to have you help me, even though it would be no trouble to cook for you, you are going through the trouble of showing me around after all, it’s the very least I can do.”

Propping her elbows up on the table, she placed her face into her hands and watched Vincente organizing himself for their sweet snack. She smiled softly at him as she spoke, “So what should we make to eat? Do you have any favorite dishes? I like almost everything, except Haggis, I promise I will never make you Haggis!” She made quite a sour puss face at her last statement and stuck out her tongue in a classic “yuck” pose.