In truth Vicente loved to be in the kitchen. Not that he was the best cook in the world but, honestly, he was rather good with a knife. Maybe he was a chef in his life before he forgot everything? He certainly had the slicing skills. Oh well, that was just another item to add into the list of things that could possibly lead to his true identity. Not that he was not enjoying the identity he was creating for himself now, but surely a glimpse at who he was was not all that bad either.

He smirked at her reaction. She really was cute. That was why it broke his heart whenever she referred to herself as a “monster”. He hoped that eventually she would stop thinking like that. But only time could tell.

>> “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.”

Vicente waved his hand dismissingly.

“Psh, it’s been my pleasure,” he said as he plopped a couple of cinnamon buns onto a pair of small plates.

He returned to where Regan sat and set the plate for in front of her, along with a napkin, as placed the same in front of a seat across from her. He sighed as he took his seat and grinned. Cinnamon rolls really were an Achilles heel of his.

>> “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!”

“Haha!” he smiled wide, chuckling at Regan’s reaction to the food she would never make. “Then I promise, I will never ask you to make haggis.” He shrugged as he tore off a piece of the cinnamon roll and took a bite out of it. The sugar was just perfect. He didn’t know who made the majority of this stuff, but they were a saint. “To be honest, I like just about anything. I’m learning that I like spicy foods, if that helps?”

Regan smiled softly as Vincente told her it was a pleasure showing her around. She had never had someone say that to her before, it was kind of nice. She rubbed her hands together as Vincente brought over the buns and placed them on the table. They looked so delicious!

Vincente’s smile was a thing of beauty, he had such an amazing smile that Regan couldn’t help but smile just as widely back. “Well I’m glad that you promise not to ask, because I would tell you to go take a hike!” she laughed and turned her bun until she found the end of the spiral. With the tip of her index finger’s claw she pulled the edge of the spiral away from the rest of the bun and tore off a small piece gently. She carefully placed it in her mouth and started to groom her claws with her rough tongue until all of the sugar was off of it. Sometimes being furry made eating sticky things a little tricky. She let out a soft purr, “Oh my, those are good!”

Thinking for a moment on all the different foods that she had made over the years, one spicy dish came to mind that she really did love, “Oh I think I know a good one, how does seafood jambalaya sound? It’s a spicy rice dish with shrimp, crab, and lobster, in a tomato based sauce, with peppers and onions.” Regan was still purring softly as she spoke. She took another tear off of the spiraled bun and placed it in her mouth, once again grooming the sugar away from her furry fingertips with a smile.

>> “Oh my, those are good!”

Vicente nodded. He knew that they were good. Whoever made these cinnamon rolls certainly knew what they were doing. They always managed to make them with just the right amount of sweetness, cinnamon, and icing. It was just too good to pass up, especially when they were freshly baked. He certainly was glad that this was one of Regan’s first experiences here at the mansion. If the homey atmosphere wasn’t enough to make her want to stay, then the cinnamon rolls certainly must have sealed the deal.

He ripped off another piece of the pastry and ate it gratefully as he watched the young, feline mutant. It definitely seemed as if she were relaxing a lot more. He was glad for that. She was far too sweet to left to the device of the wide world any longer. Though he had a feeling she could take care of herself, he didn’t want her to get jaded with everyone. He knew what that was like.

Instead, he would rather she had a chance to see that there indeed there was some good in the world.

>> “Oh I think I know a good one, how does seafood jambalaya sound? It’s a spicy rice dish with shrimp, crab, and lobster, in a tomato based sauce, with peppers and onions.”

…he mouth actually watered a little at the sound of what she was proposing. Shaking himself out of his food-induced paralysis, the man had to smile as he took another bit of his cinnamon roll, nodding his head in agreement. After wiping some icing from the corner of his lips, he lifted his gaze to her and nodded.

“That sounds like a meal that I would never forget,” he beamed. “You got a deal, Regan. Just name the time and I’ll make sure to make room for it. I definitely have to try that now.”

Continuing the peel her spiraled cinnamon bun, Regan couldn’t help but smile at Vincent for bringing her here and having the great idea of a sweet snack. They really were perfect in every way; she was starting to wonder who had made them.

She giggled as Vincente went into a small state of shock as she described the dish she had in mind for him. “It is pretty delicious. I love anything with seafood in it!” she licked her lips and purred at the thought of all that yummy seafood.

Taking another piece of her bun, Regan thought for a few minutes about when a good time would be to cook dinner for Vincente. “Hmm, I’m not sure when you would like to have dinner. Maybe tomorrow night?” She giggled a little and smiled up at him, “That is if you aren’t sick of my company already.”

She popped the last bite of her bun into her mouth and took her plate to the sink and washed her furry hands off under the tap. She rinsed off her plate and placed it in the dish rack before coming back to stand beside Vincente to see if he was done so she could take his plate as well.

>> “It is pretty delicious. I love anything with seafood in it!”

Vicente sighed in thought, thinking about the possibility of the food promised. It really did sound quite wonderful. He hoped that Regan wouldn’t be put through too much trouble to make it, but since she had been so adamant about making him dinner, he didn’t want to deny her. Plus he would be helping out so at least it wouldn’t be TOTALLY on her!

The big question, was, when would they have this evening?

>> “Hmm, I’m not sure when you would like to have dinner. Maybe tomorrow night? That is if you aren’t sick of my company already.”

He would look forward to this.

Quietly he finished his cinnamon roll, munching on the last bit thoughtfully as a Regan finished her own, got up, and took her plate to the sink. Yeah, he had a feeling that she was going to fit in extremely well. Taking the last bite, he turned and was surprised to see Regan standing nearby. He quickly realized that she was waiting for his plate so that it too could be taken to the sink. Normally he would have cleared his own dish but instead he handed it over with a mute thanks.

Once the plate is taken away, Vicente stood up and leaned against the table with his arms crossed over his chest. He had to chuckle a little at her comment about being sick of her.

“Nah, sounds fantastic to me,” he said with a nod. “I don’t work tomorrow so yeah, it’ll be perfect.”

Regan smiled softly and took Vincente’s plate from him and padded over to the sink to wash it up and place it in the rack with her own. She had really enjoyed their snack break and was excited to see what else he would show her in the mansion. So far the experience had been wonderful and she was really enjoying Vincente’s company, he was a wonderful tour guide.

Turning to face her large friend, Regan smiled widely as he agreed that tomorrow would be a good day to make dinner together. “Oh wonderful! I’m so excited, I really hope you like my cooking.” She bounced a little once again and it made her hoop earrings clink against her little studs a few times. She was really starting to feel more comfortable around the mansion, especially with a nice new friend like Vincente.

Leaning against the counter in a similar fashion as Vincente, Regan gave him a little giggle. “So where should we visit next? Do you have any other favorite places in the mansion?” She said with a small tilt of her head. She was really enjoying this tour and was eager to see more as long as it wasn’t taking up too much of Vincente’s time. She would understand if he had other things to do or places he needed to be.

>> “Oh wonderful! I’m so excited, I really hope you like my cooking.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fantastic,” Vicente said with a nod.

In reality he really did think that it would be fine. Though he didn’t know Regan’s cooking skill set, he had a feeling that she was probably better than she feared. If there was one thing that Vicente was learning these days, it was that people were capable of far more than they thought they were. He knew that the meal would be just fine and found himself unable to wait.

He would greatly look forward to tomorrow.

So, with the cinnamon buns cleared, Vicente stood up and tried to figure where else he could show the young woman. There was so much at the mansion and though he wasn’t a real tour guide, he had explored a lot since he joined. Hmm, but what else was there?

>> “So where should we visit next? Do you have any other favorite places in the mansion?”

He thought for a second before he just shook his head.

“Except for my room and outside on the grounds, not really,” he said with a shrug. “But come on. I show you a couple of the boring classrooms, then maybe the garden before I finally bring you back to officially sign in? I’ll stay with you to make sure they give you a good room. Deal?”

Regan gave Vincenta a soft smile, he had faith in her cooking abilities it would seem and that made her quite happy. She really was a decent cook though. She had spent a lot of time in the kitchen with the cooks when she lived with her “Father”. They would let her watch when she was smaller, but as she grew up they let her help and taught her how to cook a wide variety of meals, they just never told her “Father” because she wasn’t supposed to be in the kitchen, but she was always hungry so she was always in there.

Now that everything was tidy and all evidence of their snack was eliminated from the scene of the cinnamon bun disappearance, they could go do some more touring around. It just so happen that Vincente said he was going to show her a few more places still. She wasn’t too sure about the classrooms as she was most likely too old to be taking any classes here, but it would be good to see them anyways. At the mention of the garden, Regan’s ears perked right up and she looked at Vincente with wide eyes. “They have a garden here? Oh that sounds like a place I would spend a lot of time at. I love plants!”

At the mention of getting signed up at the school, Regan looked down at the floor and curled her tail up so she could hold it close to her chest like a safety blanket. She still wasn’t sure about signing up to stay in the mansion just yet. “Ummm, yeah ok, that would be nice. I wouldn’t want to have a bad room.” She shuffled her feet and kept her gaze on the floor, unable to look at him right now.

>> “They have a garden here? Oh that sounds like a place I would spend a lot of time at. I love plants!”

He smirked at her reaction to that. He was not surprised. Considering that he met her when they were both out in the wilderness, it was obvious that she would have an affinity for the greener things in life. The gardens he knew were quite pretty. Whoever was taking care of them before did an absolutely great job with keep everything just in place, nicely watered and cared for. He had heard that it was a girl who used to live here at the mansion too but moved away to college.

How sad. Hopefully the mansion could get someone just as good to keep up with caring for them.

But, back to the manner at hand, Vicente nodded to her.

“We do have a garden. And your more than welcome to spend the majority of your time there. The last gardener did a great job of keeping it nice and well-kept. I’m sure you’ll like it. We’ll save that for last, okay? Let’s just get the boring stuff done now.”

He proceeded to led her out when he mentioned signing her up to stay here. Her posture and voice seemed to lose some of its excitement.

>> “Ummm, yeah ok, that would be nice. I wouldn’t want to have a bad room.”

Trying to be comforting, Vicente smiled as he reached over to give her shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry. These people are nice. And they’ll be great to you. I’ll make sure of that.”

He gave her a wink and led her out into the halls again. First stop…the classrooms…

Regan liked the thought of seeing the garden, from what Vincente had said it sounded quite wonderful, but it also sounded like they were in need of someone to take care of it once again. Maybe she could do it? It would be nice to get any excuse to be outside and among plants, and away from people. She was not overly fond of being around others, just like real tigers, she preferred solitude most of the time, but there were some people that her human side attached to and wanted to be near. Being two different creatures could be very draining sometimes, and very annoying.

She nodded softly at Vincente’s reassurance and looked up at him when he squeezed her shoulder. She was just going to have to trust him, which was not something that was easy to do at all with her past history. She followed him out into the hallway, still holding the end of her long tail in her clawed hands, as they headed towards the classrooms. She wondered what they taught here at the mansion and finally broke the silence to ask in a small voice. “So what do they teach here at the mansion? I never went to a school, “Father” home schooled me for my own protection. At least that’s what he said, though I think it was to protect all the other children from me.” She sighed and looked down, watching Vincente’s feet so that she wouldn’t lose him if he turned a corner. She really did hate what she was and she would give anything to look like a normal human being, and yet at the same time, she just wanted to be accepted for what she was.

Vicente led the way. he really did think that the classroom portion of the school was a tad boring so it was probably better to get that out of the way first before they ended the tour with the gardens. The gardens were really what Regan wanted to see but if they had gone there first, then that would have only left the classrooms and no tour should ever have to end with that. It just didn’t make any sense to him.

So, the boring route first. Regan would thank him later for that.

He marched on, leading them away from the kitchen and back out into the hallways. There was so many classrooms for the school, but Vicente wouldn’t have to show Regan ALL of them. Just a couple of sections here and there should be enough for the purposes of this tour.

It was as he was moving along, though, that he heard Regan muttering…

>> “So what do they teach here at the mansion? I never went to a school, “Father” home schooled me for my own protection. At least that’s what he said, though I think it was to protect all the other children from me.”

She sounded apprehensive. Not that she was scared, but she seemed worried about her fitting in. Again her train of thought, judging by her words, seemed to bring her back to the idea that she was different from everyone. Maybe she was. But the truth of the matter was that this entire school was dedicated to “different” people. Regan was probably going to fit in far more than she knew.

“Everything,” he confirmed. “Mainly elementary school through high school, but after that, they can help you get a job, even get into college if you want. But their main goal is just to offer a safe haven for mutants. Many are runaways, orphans, but there are some whose parents send them here to get a handle on their abilities.” He smiled as he glanced over his shoulder to her. “You’d be surprised how many people think they don’t fit in come to this school…only to find out they do.”

Following diligently behind Vincente, she looked up at him when he started to speak to her about the school. She was quite impressed at the lengths the school went to help mutants do all of the things that they dreamt of doing in their lives. Being a mutant was such a difficult thing to have to deal with and yet these strangers opened up their home and provided everything that the mutants could ever need to succeed. Needless to say, Regan was a little awestruck. “Wow, that’s quite amazing.”

She wondered what she might learn here at the mansion and school. She had done the basics of elementary and high school at home with her “Father” and whizzed right through it all. She was a smart feline and she loved to learn. She never actually graduated though because she was smuggled into the country by her “Father”. Since she had no birth records or any sort of identification, she wasn’t able to enroll in the home schooling program, he just taught her along their guidelines. Before his passing though, he had identification papers made up for her so she could at least make her way in life somehow without him. Once again the memories made her miss him terribly.

Once again lost in thought, Regan realized it had been a while since anyone had said anything, so she asked another question. “Do you go to school here too Vincente? Or do you teach something perhaps?” She smiled and tilted her head to the side slightly as she eagerly awaited his answer.

>> “Wow, that’s quite amazing.”

Vicente nodded. It was true that the school was impressive. Though he just learned that he was a mutant months ago, Vicente was actually continuously surprised by the lengths that this school went through in order to give mutants a better life. In a way it inspired him to want to reach out to mutants too. Maybe that was why he was so stalwart in trying to get Regan on board with the mansion. There was just so much that it could offer her. So much that she deserved.

In the end, no matter what, he hoped that she saw that.

Quickly after her comment, she had gone quiet. He didn’t want to interrupt her since he figured that she was just trying to get the lay of the land. So, in silence, he pushed on and on until he finally reached the classrooms. A glance to her showed that she was still contemplating something so, out of respect, he decided to remain quiet until she was ready to speak again.

Standing outside of the classroom wings, he waited until she looked up at him and smiled back at her.

>> “Do you go to school here too Vincente? Or do you teach something perhaps?”

He smiled a little.

“Nah, I-I don’t teach anything,” he said with a shrug. “To be honest, I’m kind of just floating right now. Since I have no memory, or record of me, I can’t really even get my GED since they calculate that I am too old to be in high school classes. But,” he shrugged. “They are trying to help me. I’m sure something will be figured out so that I can at least get some kind of official papers. I help out where I can, though.” he said with a nod. “Come on, I’ll show you only a couple classrooms and then we can go outside.”

Listening to Vincente talk about his lack of papers made her smile a little because he was in the same boat that she was. She had no real papers, not memory of where she was from prior to being caught by Shamus. They had something else in common it would seem. Placing a clawed hand on his upper harm, she looked up and smiled softly. “Don’t feel too bad about having no memory or papers Vincente, I’m in the same place as you are. I have no clue who my real parents are, how old I am, or where I was born. I have no papers to say who I am or where I’m from in Ireland. I understand that lost feeling very well.”

Regan was glad to hear that the school was doing everything it could to help Vincente, and she wondered if maybe they could help her too. Shrugging off the thought, Regan looked up at her tall friend and smiled as he mentioned seeing a few classrooms and then the gardens. “Ok that sounds good to me. I have never seen a real classroom before, this is kind of exciting!” She giggled and took a step forward to peek around Vincente’s shoulder. She wondered if there were students in the classrooms today, she hoped that they weren’t going to interrupt anyone’s learning in the process of their tour.

It felt odd telling someone he didn’t know who he was. Not that he was embarrassed by the fact, but more saddened by the fact that he didn’t know who he was. It was frustrating and it could be for anyone going through such a circumstance. Vicente was fairly certain that a good majority of students may have passed through these doors with the same traumas. Did they ever get help? Did they ever find out who they were? He would never know. He could only help that his experience would end pleasantly so that he could relate such a story to anyone who happened to have the same problem.

Stopping momentarily in his tour, he felt the soft paw of Regan brush his shoulder. He glanced back to her, offering her a small smile in response. What a switch where she became the comforting one, huh?

>> “Don’t feel too bad about having no memory or papers Vincente, I’m in the same place as you are. I have no clue who my real parents are, how old I am, or where I was born. I have no papers to say who I am or where I’m from in Ireland. I understand that lost feeling very well.”

He lowered his gaze. So she too suffered the same issue. It was not so much that she forgot who she was, though, but more that she never knew who she was. Which was worst? Losing what you once had, or never knowing to begin with? Both could be hellish.

But there was not use thinking about it now. They needed to get back into the swing of things so that they could get outside. Thankfully she seemed to share the same ideas.

>> “Ok that sounds good to me. I have never seen a real classroom before, this is kind of exciting!”

With a smirk he led on.

The classrooms were pretty basic that he showed her. Large rooms, filled with desks all facing a whiteboard against one wall. The majority of the rooms were empty now but in a few weeks they would explode with a number of students. For now he enjoyed the peace of it all. The pristine rooms, the books that lined shelves around every corner, desks where the teacher would sit and look over his class, it was all very…inspiring. To know that mutants who felt so taken out of society could get the same experience/education in a place specifically built for them. It made him thankful for the place.

Eventually, though, they were inside far too much. After showing off regular classrooms, music rooms, even an art room that had clay and paints all ready to be used, Vicente finally reached a point where he felt like they could go outside. The gardens would be far more open, and far easier to breathe.

Once outdoors, he smiled as he glanced to Regan.

“And this,” he motioned to the lawns, the hedges, the rows of trees, and a greenhouse in the distance, “Are the mansion grounds. Perfect place to get some fresh air.”