Mariusz grunted and shifted the weight of the heavy military surplus duffel bag on his back. Of course, he could have afforded something a lot nicer, but for long trips on the wing the surplus back was best for comfort and not moving around. His wings and shoulders were starting to ache a little bit from the length of the flight from North Wales, PA to the Mansion's location wasn't really all that long of a flight. Still, it was a bit longer of a flight than Mariusz had made in some time and that, coupled with the heavy bag on his back, was starting to tire him out. He'd passed over a town not too long ago and he knew from having checked a map ahead of time that the town wasn't all that far from the Mansion's location. Narrowing his golden eyes he gazed out into the distance and just spotted what he assumed had to be the right place, it was the only thing he could see that looked like it could be described as a mansion though he was still too far off to really know for sure.

A few minutes longer and the feathered mutant was certain he had seen the right location. Adjusting the heavy bag once more Mariusz cinched up the shoulder straps a little bit tighter to make sure that the bag was secured to his back. The last thing he wanted was for the heavy bag to bounce or jostle when he landed. If it did that it might come down wrong one one of his wing joints and dislocate a wing. He knew from past experience that a dislocated wing was not a fun time and he was in no hurry to repeat it.

Seeing what he assumed to be the front door of the place he was intending to reach he flew in that direction, gradually decreasing his altitude until he was just a few feet off of the ground. With a few powerful downbeats of his broad wings he came to a stop in the air and fluttered down to alight on the doorstep. Glancing around the door and the property he turned a small circle to better take everything in with a quick glance before returning his attention to the door and reaching out with his right hand to rap sharply one the heavy wooden door three times.

Regan had decided to enjoy a quiet afternoon with a book and was looking for the perfect sunbeam to curl up in. Remembering the front foyer had been full of big couches and large windows, Regan made her way down there to see what the sun was like there this time of day.

As Regan entered the foyer she saw that the one couch by the front door had a perfect sunbeam coming through the window. She quickly skipped over to the couch and curled up on it with her book, cracking the cover to where she had left her bookmark.

After a little while she was startled by a sudden knock on the door. Looking around the foyer for someone to answer, she sighed as there wasn’t anyone here but her. Grumbling as she stood up, she placed her bookmark in her book and set it down on the couch.

Padding over to the door, Regan straightened out her light green tank top and brushed the creases out of her faded blue jeans. She brushed her bright red hair out of her face and open the door slowly, her pierced feline ears and her emerald eyes just peeking past the edge of the door at the feathered person standing outside, her Irish tones greeting him meekly, “Can I help you?”

Mariusz ruffled his feathers and shook his wings, clearing a slight dusting of snow from them. "Would it be too much of an imposition to request admittance," the Czech mutant asked, streams of frosty breath shooting out with every word as he spoke. Most polite people would have offered immediately to allow him in given the weather outside. Snow had been falling steadily for the last half and hour that he had been flying and it was showing no signs of relenting as he stood on the doorstep of the Mansion. The one nice thing that could be said about the snow was that, at least, it was falling almost straight down with very little in the way of wind. Wind would have made the flight much more difficult and strenuous, especially in a blowing snow.

"Obviously, I have found the right place," the feathered man continued, speaking with a slight British accent despite being Czech and having been raised in the Czech Republic. A side affect of having had a private tutor for most of his life teaching him English who was British. "I am seeking the haven for those like me, and I wish to join the team that is here as well," he continued, swinging the heavy bag down off of his shoulder as he spoke. "Who is it that I will need to speak with," he finished in a direct tone.

Regan’s eyes widened as the feathered mutant asked if it would be an inconvenience for him to request a room. It was a rather bold statement to make when someone opened the door! She made a mental note that this was going to be the last time she was going to answer it if this was what she was going to deal with.

She gave the mutant a nod and moved out of the doorway to allow him inside and out of the snow. She flattened her ears on her red hair with his statement that he was obviously in the right place. Geez, he might as well have walked in and said “Hey I found the freak show!” Regan was finding this mutant to be quite rude whether he knew he was or not!

Blinking at his direct to the point questions, Regan shook her head as she tried to think, she was still so new here herself. “Umm I suppose you would want to speak to one of the people who run the mansion. I am fairly new here myself and have not met any of them yet, but I’m sure that the admitting desk would be able to assist you with all of that.”

Regan was quite flustered at the current situation and she fidgeted where she was standing by the door.

OOC: Anyone that would care to is, of course, welcome to jump in on this thread at any point.

"Thank you," Mariusz said, folding up his wings and stepping inside the entryway of the Mansion. He pulled his bag inside and set it down on the ground next to him just inside the entryway, taking a moment to close the door behind him. "I believe I have been remiss in my manners," Mariusz said, pulling gloves from his hands and putting the gloves into the pockets of the coat he was wearing. While the weather was such that others would have been wearing a heavy winter coat Mariusz was wearing what could, at best, be called a heavy jacket.

"I am Mariusz Kasparek," he said, bowing slightly at the waist. "I do not suppose I could impose on you further to help me to find the admitting desk," the feathered mutant continued, dusting the snow from his bag before picking it up and shouldering it once more. "If you would be so good as to lead the way," he asked.

Ducking out of the way of the feathered mutant’s wings as he came through the door made Regan have to tip top over the little puddles of melting snow that was accumulating on the floor. She had left her combat boots in her room because she didn’t expect to need them and she so did hate getting her feet wet, unless she was swimming of course.

Regan nodded as he introduced himself in a polite fashion and she gave him a little curtsy in return. “My name is Regan, no last name unfortunately though. It’s nice to meet you Mariusz.” She had hoped that she had pronounced his name right.

Tip toeing over a few more puddles Regan made her way to stand in front of him; he was another large mutant that towered over her small frame. Brushing her vibrant red strands out of her face Regan gave him another nod, “Sure I can lead you to the admitting desk, let me just grab my book from the couch.”

Regan padded over to the couch in her bare furry feet to pick up her book, her overly long tail swaying the opposite of her hips as she moved. She picked up her book and walked back over towards the stairs, turning just slightly to look over her shoulder at Mariusz, she waved her clawed hand at him in a “come here” motion, “Follow me.“She said with a small smile.

Mariusz arched an eyebrow, ever so slightly, at Regan's mentioning that she did not have a last name. He found it slightly odd that she had no surname, but after a moments reflection he considered it no more odd to his way of thinking than was the practice in some other nations of placing the surname before the given name. The Czech mutant also noted the way she stepped over and around the small puddles of melted snow that he had caused in the entryway, just like the normal cats she resembled Regan apparently hated water. He made a mental note of that fact so as to avoid the potential for causing her offense regarding water in the future.

"Thank you again for the hospitality," the feathered mutant said, adjusting the straps on the bag he had with him so it hung more comfortably between his wings as he moved to comply with Regan's instructions to follow her. Small talk with others his own age, or younger, had never been one of his strong suits. Judging from the book Regan had picked up, Patricia Briggs' Moon Called, which looked to be in the vein of contemporary fantasy Mariusz was not sure that discussing literature with Regan would be all that good of an idea.

Truthfully, he was not completely sure they would have all that much in common. Still, polite manners dictated that he should engage in some kind of small talk with her as a means of passing the time while she led him to where he needed to be within the Mansion. As the only thing he could be certain they had in common was physical mutation the Czech mutant decided that might be the best topic of conversation to pursue. "Of course, I cannot help but notice that you have a physical mutation, similar to me. Am I correct in guessing it is feline in nature," he asked.

Regan lead the way up the stairs and through one of the long hallways towards the admitting office. She gave Mariusz and small nod and a smile as he thanked her. “It’s not a problem Mariusz, all mutants are welcome here at the mansion. They even let in the stray cats.” She chuckled a little as she poked fun at herself to lighten the mood.

Regan smiled over her shoulder at Mariusz, he sure was direct and straight to the point! “Yes, you are correct. I have all the benefits of an enhanced tiger when I am in this state.” She decided not to elaborate too much beyond that for the moment, no need to freak out a bird mutant by telling him the other half of her mutation was a primitive sabre tooth cat that acted purely on instincts and would most likely try to eat him. “I assume that you are similar to a bird of prey?” she questioned with a smile. Regan was smart, she read a lot of books of every variety, and she recognized the feather patterns on Mariusz from the various birds of prey she had read about, though he was grey instead of brown.

"Quite right," the feathered mutant replied, removing a pair of leather gloves from his hands and stuffing them unceremoniously into a pocket on his jacket and returning the friendly smile of the catgirl. "Though my mutations are not quite as directly related to a single animal as are yours. I do not really know of any bird that has quite my coloration, though I confess I have truly not made an in depth study of the subject. I am no orithologist, the ology I chose to study and now devote myself to is theology," he continued, chuckling slightly. "I hope you will forgive my little pun."

"As for my particular mutations, I am sure you have noticed some of them. The feathers, for example, and the feet," Mariusz paused for a moment to wiggle his toes, being careful to make sure the talons on his toes did not do any damage to the flooring. "Similarly, the wings are rather obvious, so I can fly. I also have heightened vision, eagle eyes if you will, and retractable talons in each of my fingers," Mariusz continued, finishing his list of mutations.

"I think I have heard that this place is also a school for mutants, is this true," the winged man asked.

Regan chucked softly as he started to talk about his mutation not being geared to a single animal like hers was. She had to stop in the hallway for a moment and look him in the eye. Mariusz was obviously very intelligent, but he was not very observant. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but how many white tigers do you know that have bright green stripes?” she said with a grin as she pointed her stripes out.

She snickered at his little bird pun and shook her head at him; at least he had a sense of humor. “That was a good one, bravo to you sir.” She smiled softly and then continued to listen to him name off his different aspects of his mutation. She giggled as he wiggled his clawed toes in the air and she decided to do the same with her own clawed feet, though her feet looked human, just covered in fur and cat like claws where her nails should be. “I have my own little set of abilities as well. You have seen the fur and claws, as well as fangs. I have enhanced hearing, sight, and smell, as well as twice the physical capabilities of a regular tiger. I also have enhanced healing, which sure comes in handy as a cat!”

Nodding once again to his question, Regan turned to start heading back in the direction of the admitting office, “Yes it is as well a school. They have teachers that teach the regular things you would learn in school, but they also teach the children about their powers, how to use them and control them safely so that if and when they decide to leave the mansion, they don’t go around hurting people.”

"Now that you bring it up I do not think I have ever seen a tiger with green stripes," Mariusz responded. "Of course, I also tend to try to avoid cats for purely physiological reasons," he continued with a straight face. "Though I must confess I do not understand why a cat would need a healing factor, I thought all cats had nine lives," he continued in a wry tone. He continued to follow Regan as she turned down a different hallway and continued to lead him along and listened as she explained a little bit about the school for mutants that was located within the confines of the property.

"That seems pretty reasonable to me. Obviously, mutants need to be well versed in all the basic areas of knowledge as well as understanding their abilities and how to control them," Mariusz allowed, nodding his head. "While I do not have any abilities that are inherently dangerous I can certainly understand that there are others with abilities that would require they learn control in order to avoid being a danger to themselves and others."

Mariusz fell silent for a moment and thought over his next words before speaking. "Are you a student here at the school? I confess your age is somewhat difficult to guess at since I have no idea how to guess the age of a feline. Also, do you know if the school happens to have a teacher for religious studies and Renaissance and Reformation Europe? I did not really set out to come here to be a teacher, but it would be wrong of me to not do something to pull my own weight."

Regan couldn’t help but chuckle as Mariusz kept a straight face while commenting about avoiding cats. “Well you don’t need to worry about this cat Mariusz. No offence, but I prefer seafood to poultry, and besides, you have way too many feathers to pluck.” She giggled with a clawed hand to her maw. Regan thought about his comment about cats having nine lives for a moment before replying, “Well I guess that is how we get our nine lives, by healing through the things that should have killed us.”

Nodding as Mariusz agreed about the teaching of the younger mutants, “I think it is a wonderful idea myself, there are too many people out there that would love to use lack of control as an excuse to have us all locked up or destroyed.”

Regan shook her head in response to the first question, “I’m not a student here, I’m actually the gardener and groundskeeper here at the mansion, I have a bit of talent with plants and I like to be outside so it works for me. As for my age, I honestly don’t know how old I am, I believe I’m roughly 20 years old, but I’m not sure.” She gave him a small smile and then continued to answer his questions, “I don’t believe that they have a teacher for those subjects here yet, but I’m sure that the desk clerk can find that out for you. We are almost there, one more hall to go. This place is so massive, it’s easy to get lost.”

"I am certainly glad you prefer seafood to poultry, and yes I do have rather a large amount of feathers," the Czech man allowed, following along with Regan. "And it is good that you have nine lives. I am afraid those of us with wings are not so lucky, I actually have hollow bones which makes flying much easier but it also means my bones are more likely to break and shatter."

“I think it is a wonderful idea myself, there are too many people out there that would love to use lack of control as an excuse to have us all locked up or destroyed.”

"Not so long ago people from my part of the world tried to lock up and destroy all those belonging to a different ethnic group. Sadly, those mistakes have continued. The Nazi's and the Jews, the cleansing of the ethnic Albanians in other parts of the continent, the other atrocities committed in Bosnia. Just because someone is different, that does not mean they are bad. Of course, there are always going to be a few bad apples in the bunch that will cause all of them to be labeled as bad," the feathered mutant said in response to Regan's comments.

"...We are almost there, one more hall to go. This place is so massive, it’s easy to get lost.”

"Yes," Mariusz said, nodding his head at what Regan had said, "I can tell that the Mansion here is quite spacious, as I assume the grounds that are also part of the property are as well. Should offer ample room for someone with almost any kind of power to be able to practice and learn control safely." The avian mutant walked along in silence for a moment before another question occurred to him. "How are the rooms here? Are they furnished or did I bring far too few of my possessions with me," he asked, shaking the sack on his back a little bit to help make his point.

Regan couldn’t help but frown slightly when Mariusz mentioned his hallow bones. “That must be very inconvenient for you. Have you ever broken any?” She was very curious about this one drawback to his mutation. Regan had her bones broken many times over the years with Shamus while trying to escape her cage. He always had a doctor to reset them, but more than once they had healed up faster than the doctor could get there and they had to break them again, it wasn’t something she liked to remember and it made a shiver run up her spine.

Sighing at the mention of the different people that were slaughtered for no reason other than being different, Regan thought of all the mutants that were here at the mansion and how most of them were children. “It’s such a waste of life. I wish everyone could just get along, but people fear what they don’t understand.”

Turning left down the last hallway, the pair were almost at their destination. “The rooms are fully furnished with a bed, dressers, a desk, sofa or arm chairs, and a nightstand. It’s set up so that you can just come in and be at home. It’s nice for those that come here with nothing because they are runaways or have been kicked out of their homes. You will be able to just go in, put your things away and enjoy.”

"I have been fortunate to have not broken any of my bones. But, I know they are hollow, I have seen the x-rays that have been taken over the years. The doctors were all rather shocked to see hollow bone structure on the x-rays," Mariusz said with the smallest of smiles. They turned another corner and he saw, at the end of the hallway, what looked lie it must be the admittance area that Regan had described a few minutes earlier. It would be nice to be able to stop hauling around the heavy bag.

"I suppose it also makes sense that the rooms would be furnished," Mariusz said. He had not considered the fact that some of the people here might need that kind of assistance. One of the side affects of growing up in the kind of environment that he came from was that he was often not quite as aware of the difficulties that some others had to go through life with. "Nice to hear that I will not have to come up with furniture and everything else I need." He diplomatically avoided mentioning that coming up with the money for that would not be an issue for him. "Looks like we have found the right area."