Regan remained silent while the men talked about history and the military. Regan loved to learn new things, but history was not on the top of her list. She liked tactile things, things that she could see, touch, and smell, even sometimes taste. Her senses are what made Regan good at growing plants.

Reaching the front door first, Regan turned to face her extremely tall companions and waited for them to join her. Regan smiled a fanged grin as Jacob put two and two together about her. She bounced on her toes and clapped her furry hands a few times when Jacob said he would make a point to come and see what she had done. “Oh that would be wonderful Jacob!” Regan may have been around 20 years old but some things made her giddy like a school girl. “If you even want to see some of my plants, come to the greenhouse in the back, I’m in there a lot right now since its winter.”

Regan smiled once again as Jacob said he’d show her some car stuff. She most likely wouldn’t touch anything because her white fur would get horribly stained, but she’d love to watch and learn. Giggling through a clawed hand to her mouth at the dog like commands Jacob gave his car, Regan looked over at Mariusz, “So where should we take Jacob to first?” She then looked back up at Jacob, “Do you want a big tour or just straight to the admitting office?”

"Yes, I rather imagine the wings might require a bit or adaption in some ways, as might some of the kicking and punching techniques given that I have talons on each foot and hand," he said, nodding his head and giving a slight indication of his other physical mutations. He, again, chose to omit the fact that he was wanting to learn the skills as a way of furthering his journey towards joining the team of X-Men. He had already seen a bit of the training and equipment that went into being one of the X-Men, but he still had not seen anything of a plane of the type that Jacob seemed to be describing.

"As I recall you are almost as new to the Mansion as I am, Regan," the Czech man said, nodding to Regan. "I think that the best course of action would be to head first to the Admitting Office. Even if Jacob is going to choose not to remain here at the Institute the people in the Office will be able to tell us what we can and cannot show to him. As new as we both are it would seem to me to be the wisest course of action to check first so as to avoid accidentally breaking any rules during our tour of the Mansion and grounds."

Jacob nodded, noting the enthusiasm the young tigress had about her plants. “As long as I don’t get kicked out before hand, I will make it a point to stop by the Greenhouse before I depart today.” His word was his bond, but the truth of the matter was, Jacob wasn’t sure what to expect from this place. Thus far, he had met two animal-based mutants, both of which weren’t from America, but were nice enough to show him inside. He simply listened, waiting to provide his input at the end when he had received both of his hosts’ opinions. Once they were finished, he spoke up.

“I am afraid I will have to side with Mariusz on this one. I wouldn’t want two inexperienced mechanics showing someone new around my shop, I would want to do it myself or let someone who had been there and knew what was what do it. Someone who knew when to say ‘don’t touch that button’, so to speak.” That said, he prepared to follow them, and then finally addressed something that Mariusz had said. “In truth, there is more grappling in Army-style combatives than anything, and the fact that you will be able to hold someone’s limb with your feet is something that could give you an edge.” That being said, he did a once over to make sure that his shirt wasn’t too stained or something, as first impressions were generally important.

Once again Regan gave a little bounce and another giddy clap of her hands. “Sure, I just finished repotting a batch of calla lilies today so it’s a bit of a mess in there.” She giggled and turned to open the large front door to head inside. “Welcome to the mansion.”

The large foyer was bright and open. There were couches and chairs littered about with overstuffed pillows. In front was a large set of stairs that headed up to the second floor. “I hope you are ready for a long walk Jacob!” Snickering she looked at Mariusz and gave him a playful wink since he knew how long of a walk they were about to partake on.

Regan padded over to the stairs and waited on the bottom stair with her hands folded together in front of her. She knew the men were talking about combat styles and different ways to adapt fighting for Mariusz and she didn’t want to interrupt them while they were speaking. Regan’s fighting style was wild and fierce, she was an animal after all, and with the sabre tooth in control when she fought, teaching her techniques was pretty pointless. Finally piping up she said, “Whenever you are ready gentlemen.”

“In truth, there is more grappling in Army-style combatives than anything, and the fact that you will be able to hold someone’s limb with your feet is something that could give you an edge.”

"I had not considered the the ability to grab things with my feet to be a terribly useful combat skill, though I admit I had most assuredly assumed that the possession of talons would be quite useful," Mariusz said in answer to Jacob's assessment. "Something else to consider in any sort of combat training is that I have an almost entirely hollow skeletal structure. It aids in achieving flight but it also means that I need to be careful with some activities, such as learning hand-to-hand combat skills."

“Whenever you are ready gentlemen.”

"I believe that we are ready, ano," Mariusz asked, looking first at Jacob and then at Regan. "Lead the way then, if you do not mind Regan. We will address what may be seen on a tour of the property and then continue on our way."

Regan began to remind Jacob of a young girl who was easily excited over everything that was in his Platoon once… this was after that one dreadful deployment, so she was a constant source of optimism for everyone who was always so dark and gloomy. It was refreshing. He walked as he talked to Maruisz, moving closer to Regan as they slowed to a stop and finished up their conversation. “Actually, that just means you have to do more counter-moves and such… redirecting the opponents momentum, rather than simply trying to stop it. Also, punching might be a bad idea… I have nearly broken my hand by punching someone, I couldn’t imagine having hollow bones and doing it.”

He then turned as they directed their attention to the young Tigress. “By all means, lead on. Perhaps if I am going to teach you about mechanics, you can teach me how to not kill every plant I have ever gotten.” It was true too… he eventually gave up and began to put fake plants in the shop for décor. He hated that too, because he would look up directions on how to do the best thing for the plant, which plants were very good at surviving, and he still managed to kill them all.

Regan continued to wait and listen to the men speak about adapting things for Mariusz to learn more combat skills, she grimaced as Jacob mentioned almost breaking his hand by punching someone. Any mention of breaking bones made Regan squirm, too many times had she had hers break in the bars of her cage growing up, and a few times had to have them broken again because she healed faster than a doctor could set them. “That does not sound pleasant Jacob.”

Smiling at Mariusz and Jacob, Regan gave Jacob a nod at his comment. “Oh of course, I think that would be a fair trade on skills. I have some spare pots in the greenhouse; we can pick you out something easy to start with.”

With a little skip in her step, Regan started up the stairs to the second floor once again. She curled up the end of her tail to keep it from dragging on the floor or getting stepped on accidently. “Just follow me, it’s a bit of a walk but we’ll be there before you know it, right Mariusz?”

“Actually, that just means you have to do more counter-moves and such… redirecting the opponents momentum, rather than simply trying to stop it. Also, punching might be a bad idea… I have nearly broken my hand by punching someone, I couldn’t imagine having hollow bones and doing it.”[/i]

"I will have to take your word for it for now. I am afraid I do not know the first thing about hand-to-hand combat but given the rather... pronounced, in some cases, prejudices against mutants it would seem a wise skill to acquire now that I am to be living in America. At least for the immediate future," Mariusz answered as they walked up the steps following Regan. Of course, she knew right where they were off to. In some ways she probably knew where they were headed better than the Czech mutant did since she had been living in the Mansion for a longer period of time.

“Just follow me, it’s a bit of a walk but we’ll be there before you know it, right Mariusz?”[/i]

"It is a bit of a walk, this is true," the feathered man allowed with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "However, it will give you an excellent chance to see a portion of the residential areas of the Mansion. As an adult, I am assured, that you will have a private room the same as myself and, I assume, Regan as well." The feathered man gestured down the hallway that led in the direction of the admittance office. "Regan, if you would be so kind as to continue as our trailblazer?"

Jacob noticed in his peripheral vision that the mention of breaking bones had disturbed Regan, but instead of asking why, he let it slide from his curiosity, as it would be prying. Especially if it was a bad memory… best not dredge up any more of those than he had to, as his own memories were not all that light hearted either. “It’s not pleasant at all, believe me. Besides, there are far more effective ways to deal a blow to someone without risking injury to yourself.” And he would leave it at that.

He then switched gears for a moment, addressing the pottery issue with a smirk. “Well, the only plant I have managed to not kill is made of plastic, so I wish you luck in green thumbing me.” He was also starting to grow suspicious of this ‘walk’ she kept mentioning. Either it was going to be an extremely short walk, and she was simply teasing, or it really was going to be a long walk, which was fine as well. With Regan as their guide, he addressed what else the young bird-mutant had said.

“Hand to Hand combat is more than just fighting and being able to defend yourself. It sharpens your mind, being able to react to the chess game of combat, and you use muscles you never realized existed, strengthening your core in a way no exercise can.” He followed the tigress, and it was a noticeable thing that his steps were perfectly paced to hers, even to the point that her left foot hit the ground at the same time. Old habits die hard.

With a warm smile, Regan nodded at Jacob’s comment about turning his thumbs green. “Well I will certainly try my very best to keep you from killing anymore plants. I don’t know how good of a teacher I will be, but I will try and that’s all that matters.” With that Regan spun on her heels and strated to head down the long hallway.

With a nod to Mariusz asking for her to keep leading the way, Regan confirmed what he had told Jacob. “That’s right; adults at the mansion get private rooms. I have my own room as well since I’m roughly 20 years old. The students are two per room.” She smiled over her shoulder and continued. “The rooms come furnished so if you decide to stay all you have to do is move in your personal items and clothing.”

Regan’s feline ears flicked back as she heard one of the set of steps paired up to fall as her’s did. She looked over her shoulder and noticed it was Jacob. She giggled and turned forward to keep leading the men down the hallway. Military men never really changed, she thought to herself.

“Hand to Hand combat is more than just fighting and being able to defend yourself. It sharpens your mind, being able to react to the chess game of combat, and you use muscles you never realized existed, strengthening your core in a way no exercise can.”

Mariusz latched onto the mention of the game of chess as they walked down the hallway in the direction of the admittance office, trailing just slightly behind Regan. Chess was a game he was intimately familiar with, it was almost a prerequisite in the diplomacy game or if you were family to someone in the diplomacy game. "I do not know that I have ever heard combat referred to in chess terms before. I am, of course, familiar with chess. Almost a requirement for someone that is family of a diplomat," Mariusz said, not noticing that Jacob's footsteps had locked into the same rhythm as Regan's as his certainly did not.

“The rooms come furnished so if you decide to stay all you have to do is move in your personal items and clothing.”[/i]

"Yes, I am sure I am not the only resident here that found that to be most helpful," Mariusz remarked in response to what Regan had said, diplomatically omitting that furnishing his room in the Mansion really would not have been any kind of serious obstacle. While the Czech man had plenty of money, and access to gobs more if he needed it, he was not about to simply start throwing that fact around. If nothing else it was rude. "It would have been quite difficult to carry a bedroom set here from Pennsylvania on the wing."

Jacob gave a small, but hearty chuckle. “If you know how to keep them alive, then I’m pretty sure you will be able to teach me a thing or two.” He followed her at an even pace, a bit slow for his taste, but then again, his own walking pace was ungodly fast compared to most people. He listened to the pair talk about rooms and whatnot again, as though Jacob had decided to come here to live. “I don’t really picture myself living here… I got my own place, my own business, just outside of the Big Apple, and unless they say I have to live here in order to visit, I think I like the idea of my own, paid for, roof over my head.” He said this with a smile, and not without a little bit of pride. He was happy that he had managed to pay for his own shop, get it paid off, and still have enough income to do just about anything aside buy a fancy schmancy mansion. Not that he ever would… even if he did have that much money.

He then addressed Mariusz about the chess reference from earlier. “Well, Chess is about moves, counter-moves, and strategy. The same can be said for Combatives. Every lock, punch, and move has two or three counters you can do to try to gain the advantage… with few exceptions. A straight arm-bar doesn’t really have a counter except defeat for the one pinned, or in the case of real combat, a broken arm. If I do wind up giving you some lessons though, it will make more sense. It’s a little more intense than Chess though, you don’t have time to contemplate your moves… they have to be muscle memory and instantaneous.” The explanation was simple enough, but complicated at the same time… he just hoped that he understood everything, with the exception of the straight arm bar.

Regan smiled at Jacob and put a little skip in her step at his comment. He had faith in her ability to teach him something about plants and that flattered her. “I’ll do my best anyways!” she said with a giggle as she made her way down the hallway. Feeling the men gaining on her heels, she picked up the pace. She normally did walk at a fast pace or just ran around on all fours, but she was trying to be polite.

She swiveled her feline ears back to listen to Jacob speak about his home and shop on the outskirts of town. “Oh well that sounds nice. I would love to have my own home someday, though I doubt anyone would want to do business with a cat.” She gave a half smile at her comment. Sometimes being a cat all the time was really a bummer, especially when she wanted so badly to be accepted.

Turning left at the end of the hallway, the group was halfway through their trip. She listened to the chess analogy and it made a lot of sense, each move was a different maneuver just like in a chess game. She never really played many games, her claws tended to get in the way when it came to picking up small items. She opted to do things that were a little more favorable to her mutation.

Pointing a clawed finger down the second long hallway, she smiled. “The office is down the end of this hallway, we are almost there!”

Mariusz looked down the hall in the direction that Reagn was indicating. Sure enough, there was the admitting office at the end of the hall. Even though Jacob had just stated that he preferred not to move into the Mansion it still seemed quite logical that they would be able to find someone there that could answer their questions about what they could and could not show Jacob as well as answering his questions about a jet that may, or may not, be located on the property. As far as Mariusz knew there was no such jet, but he was so new to the Mansion and even the country that he had no way of knowing quite for sure.

"I have no doubt of the truth of what you are saying Jacob," Mariusz replied to Jacob. "It really does make quite a bit of logical sense. I just had not considered it in quite that way before." As they had been getting closer to the office Mariusz had not missed the fact that Regan had picked up the pace a little. He was not altogether sure why she would choose to do that but it was her choice to make since she was the leader of their little group as the moved through the Mansion.

Jacob continued multitasking relatively well. When his mind wasn’t actively engaged in responding to Regan or Mariusz, he was probing the grounds with his ability, sensing all the different high-end mechanical devices that were present and focusing on figuring out their function, the reason that they might have been installed. He did take a break from that and engaged Regan in conversation though. “I could always use a front-desk clerk. My staff sometimes has a hard time keeping appointments and whatnot in order, and you would be able to keep our decorative plants alive.” From the tone in his voice, he was being light hearted, but it was also a serious offer. If she wanted employment, the opportunity was there.

Mariusz replied to his earlier comment, and Jacob simply smiled a little bit, responding with a “Not a lot of people do until they get a good instructor.” That certainly was the case for Jacob himself. His first instructor was nicknamed ‘Grizzly’ simply because he was so flawless with his moves, he would just tire out his opponents and use his impressive stamina to outlast them until they made a mistake. Jacob couldn’t count how many times he sparred with him, and he honestly lost more than he won. Even when he finally was of the same level as his instructor, they were neck and neck, and it was the most intense workout that Jacob had ever endured.