Bad decisions were common with Carrick, a lot of them like to lift a wallet here, help a robbery there, skip classes, and don’t call da after he told you to call. Recently Carrick had been trying to turn over a new leaf with some of those bad ideas, he had been calling home every other day, he had been picking pockets less often and he had even started to show up for class. Today however Carrick made a bad decision by shifting into his Gryphon form and going out for a fly when a snowstorm was on its way.

Under the impression he had some time before the storm hit Carrick took off without a change of clothes knowing full well that when he shifted back he’d be nude but… ”Coldcoldcoldcoldshouldhavebroughtsomeextraclothes.” pride got the best of him he figured the storm wouldn’t be too much to handle to fly in his gryphon form let alone his human one. How wrong Carrick was, anything higher than twenty feet off the ground and it was hard to see three feet in front of you add buildings and other things that would hurt like heck to crash into well the ground seems like a better choice.

Strong winds and lack of visibility forced the Gryphon to the ground but it wasn’t until he got to the woods on the mansion grounds did things really start to go wrong the familiar pain that came with the shifting started to occur and the feathers and warm fur were replaced with shaggy hair and pale skin. Carrick was naked in the middle of winter half a mile from the school. He could have flown but the winds were still bad and it was still hard to see but because of the trees blocking most of the wind and snow he could make out a darkened outline of the mansion.

Bushing some bushes out of the way with one hand while keeping his other hand elsewhere to give off the impression of modesty. If any of the teachers saw him he’d get in trouble and if Liz saw him. He’d figured he’d get yelled at a lot either from Liz or one of the professors or from his mother who was now on Ms.Taylor’s calling list. His thoughts were jumbled from the cold and the inability to stop and catch his breath.

”Don’tbeseendon’tb-b-beseenmovequickkeepthehandthereincaseanyoneisaround” Carrick made it to the edge of the forest in one piece however his feet were numb and his fingers were starting to become discolored. ”S-s-s-s-crewit!” Carrick said cursing to himself as he started to run across the mansion grounds nude during a snowstorm towards the kitchen doors muttering, ”Baddaybaddaybaddaybadday”

It had been snowing outside... A LOT Serena could see layers and layers of snow all over the place... It was surprising how much the sky could actually throw at them. It was new york however, so this wasn't completely unusual. Just a bit of an inconvenience as Serena couldn't really go outside, not that she would go into the city itself, but the grounds were nice.

There was a reason the grounds were nice. Her friend, Regan, was the ground keeper, a cuddly, sabre-toothed feline. She was a lovely, friendly, Irish cat. Well, you couldn't really call her a cat, she was taller than Serena...

Serena wondered if Regan was alright in this weather, but quickly dismissed the thought as she had a wonderfully thick fur coat. She would be fine. Also, she wasn't an idiot, if she got too cold, she would find appropriate shelter.

Serena found herself in the kitchen, making herself a sandwich and a drink after some power practice, it always left her feeling a bit low on energy, so eating and drinking was a good idea. She peered outside the kitchen window, for something had caught her eye.

There was a silhouette moving outside in the snow. Serena wondered who it was, and why they could possibly be out in this weather... She thought of going out to see who it was, but she was wearing a sleeveless top and jeans, it would just be too cold.

Besides, it appeared to be nearing the building, heading straight for the kitchen doors infact...

It was twenty steps now in the freezing snow and with each one in between the curses and the talking to himself Carrick counted each step his body starting to shiver more and more violently as his teeth became castanets with each clatter sounding as if they were better suited for a mariachi band than the teeth of the shifter. With his final curse Carrick opened up his wings and flapped once before landing into the door and pulling the handle simultaneously opening the kitchen doors and landing on the floor his nude rear in the air for all to see.

He laid still for a moment shivering his wings snapped back to his backside covering it in hopes to warm him but they were about as cold as the snow outside due to the amount that was still caked on it. Opening his wings quickly and shutting them even faster Carrick managed to do this a few times before lifting up his frozen head. In the process of opening and closing his wings all the ice and snow that was still latched on to his wings shot off in different directions. It wasn’t a lot just enough to cause a mess and a scene should Katrina’s mother be cooking dinner.

A second passed and his body still shook with each shiver and his teeth continued to chatter. ”C-c-coddle it’s col’d” Carrick managed to say as he closed his fingers and wiggled all his toes to make sure he still had them. They moved slow but were all still attached which meant, he didn’t have to go see Doc. Things were starting to look up.

Carrick blinked once and grunted trying to lift his body slowly up before he realized he wasn’t the only one in the room. Carrick spotted a girl wearing jeans and a sleeveless top, which made sense because they were now inside where it was warm… and he was naked.

Carrick’s face started to turn bright red as it seemed the blood which he htought was frozen was now rushing to his face. ”S-S-orr-y!” Carrick said managing to jump up and in the same motion swing both hands and one of his cold wings to cover the front of his body in hopes he didn’t add indecent exposure to his mansion rap sheet.

Serena was still watching the window to see if the figure was any closer. She had lost it though. She wasn't sure where it had gone... Was she going crazy? Was she just seeing things? She still wasn't 100% stable, but still this was ridiculous.

She was wondering whether or not she should quickly open the door to check for the figure. But then her thoughts were interrupted by a beast flying through the doors. No, it was a teenage boy with wings. Well that wasn't the weirdest thing she had seen around the mansion.

She stared at him for a second, felt herself going red, then realised what was making her go red. He was completely and utterly NAKED! Lying there on the floor, with a tail, and a pair of beautiful bird wings, yet he was also completely nude.

She felt herself gradually going red and as he looked up and was about to apologise or explain or something, but as he looked up, naked and started to cover himself, a completely involuntary reflex set in... "EEEEEEEEP!" She jumped backwards and covered her eyes.

The winged mutants body continue to shiver despite him now being indoors and not surrounded by snow, problem was he wasn’t warming up fast enough. A good sprint to his room and several layers of clothing should help him heat up quick enough, however due to the sudden ‘Eeep’ that the girl in front of him just squealed that was going to have to wait. There were two ways out of this current situation, back out the way he came or run past her and sprint to his room where his clothes were probably waiting on the floor for him.

Carrick chose the warmer route, ”Coddle coddle coddle!” Muttered Carrick as he ran past the young woman whose face was probably redder than his was whenever Liz was around. ”Don’t tell anyone, I’m Sorry!” Carrick yelled as he continued down the hallway away from the kitchen and towards the staircase closest to his room.

Fifteen minutes passed and he finally made it to his room, between dodging laughing students other red faces and the occasional professor who yelled something about detention Carrick was finally in his room with the door locked behind him. Still shivering Carrick ran to the biggest pile of clothes and through on a pair of pants a shirt and his flannel. Socks were a chore to look for but once he found them he finally started to warm up.

Another few minutes passed and Carrick walked into kitchen still fighting the cold that was affecting his body. He sneezed once then spotted the blonde he first saw when he entered the kitchen. ”There is a student running around in his birthday suit!” Carrick said trying to play it off that it wasn’t him, ”Bumped into him on the way down here.” Carrick shivered and found a mug in one of the cupboards and filled it with water then placed it in the microwave for a few seconds. ”Cheeky lil’ guy that one, never a dull moment here…” Carrick said trying to smile despite the fact that his teeth were still slamming together.

As he had run away, he had asked Serena not to tell anyone. She heard screams and shouting teachers at the nude student and then sighed, grabbed a broom and began sweeping the snow up, gathered the feathers up and stashed them in the bin.

She slowly felt the redness fade from her face. She made sure she had cleaned everything up then quietly had her lunch and did the dishes. She didn't want to make a mess. Her brother had taught her how to cook, and the importance of cleaning where you had cooked. Especially if it was in another person's kitchen, out of respect.

Serena leaned against the wall, sipping a cup of tea, waiting for the streaker to return to the scene of the crime so she could give him an earful. She waited, pondering what she would say to him. Two other students had entered the kitchen to get a drink. Chatting while they did so.

The streaker walked back in with a smile on his face and begun to talk about this mysterious streaker running through the school, the other two students laughed and left the kitchen. Serena (Still a little red) raised an eyebrow to the boy "Some mysterious streaker huh? Surprised no body caught him.

”I hear it is damn near impossible to catch him.” Carrick said waiting on the warm water to finish in the microwave. Turning towards the fridge and opening it Carrick grabbed some lunchmeat and then brought it over towards the bread and started to make a ham sandwich, ”It’s the weirdest thing too, everyone claims to have seen him but somehow he always escapes without a proper scolding or even a detention.” lied Carrick as his teeth continued to chatter in between words only the frequency went down the longer he was in the kitchen.

”I see someone cleaned up after him as well.” Carrick said looking up from his lunchmeat and bread to see a bunch of feathers in the trash bin. ”Not very good on the upkeep either. Just letting all those wings on the floor.” Carrick looked from the bin to the woman, ”What’s yer name? I’ll be sure that the ‘streaker’ gives you a proper thanks for helping him escape without a trace.” Carrick smiled and flashed his elongated canines in the process before running over to the microwave when it started to beep.

Pulling the mug out and taking a sip Carrick’s body shivered as the hot water burned his tongue, ”Hot.” was all he could muster before returning towards his sandwich, which had far too much ham on it and not enough bread. Carrick returned to the microwave and started to heat up the snack before cleaning up his mess. ”Never seen you before round these parts, meaning you must be new here. Carrick.” Carrick said pointing to himself when he said his name.

Serena wouldn't let it on to the trouble maker. But he was actually pretty funny, she half smiled through the stern look on her face. "I'm Serena, How about you?" She asked with a friendly smile. She might as well get to know him a bit, she had after all, already stuck her neck out for him.

She remembered. He had wings didn't he? That must have been his mutation. She thought they were beautiful from the brief glimpse she caught of them before she shielded her eyes in terror... That was embarrassing. "So, I hear the streaker had some pretty impressive wings..."

Serena was enjoying joking around with the streaker. He was actually pretty amusing. He had that mischievous personality which always made people laugh just for how silly he is. It reminded her of herself when she was younger, she would do anything to get her dads attention, she guessed she had changed since then.

Carrick pointed at himself again when she asked him his name, ”Carrick.” Carrick pointed at Serena, ”Serena,” he pointed back at himself and smiled, ”Carrick.” the microwave dinged and Carrick removed his heated sandwich before taking a bite of it then speaking with his mouth still full ”M’eard he did doo.” Almost on cue his wings shifted behind his back letting Serena know that they were there.

Chewing his bite finally Carrick swallowed and then pointed towards his golden brown wings, ”Not a ton of us in here with fully functional wings, one guy a regular shaper, struts around like his all that,” Carrick said imitating a strut while he stuck out his wings slightly and puffed out his chest, ”But the kicker is, bloke can’t fly with his wings cause they are attached under his arms like this.” Carrick waved his free hand under his arm where the wings were. Carrick took another bite of his sandwich then added, ”Poor Bastard can’t even fly with ‘em more of a short glide or a running leap.” Carrick said again through a slightly full mouth. ”Looks like a giant chicken really.”

Carrick’s tail started to sway back and forth a bit more when he moved further from Serena and closer to the fridge, ”Beaky ain’t too bad though.” Carrick said while opening the fridge his body all but disappearing from view except his tail, which twitched when he spotted the barbecue sauce. Taking a ste back and another mouthful of a sandwich Carrick chewed while he added some sauce to his sandwich. Finishing his bite Carrick looked back to Serena, ”When did you move in?”

Carrick placed the sauce back in the fridge and he continued towards the hot water he heated up seconds before. ”Top favorite wings in the school,” Carrick thumbed back towards his own that opened a bit while he leaned on the counter, ”Though I might be the slightest biased and all.” Carrick chewed and swalloed another bite and took a sip of his water, ”Still too hot..” setting the mug down Carrick shifted his gaze towards the woman, ”About you though? Got anything like these?” Carrick said shifting his wings out a bit more before they closed, ”Let me guess you have horns don’t you? Carrick asked curiously lifting his hands and placing a makeshift pair of horns (thumb and pinky) on his head.

Serena studied Carrick as he moved around doing various things, then noticed a tail pop out when he went behind the fridge... She hadn't noticed THAT before. It was interesting.

As he spoke, she became gradually more sure, that he must have ADD or something, he couldn't seem to keep still or stop chatting, that might have been because he was cold and trying to warm up a little, Which was fair enough considering he was out in that storm.

"A few weeks, I start classes next week, you?"

When he asked her about her power, she shuddered a little. She didn't want to go into specifics, but she didn't really want to be rude or upset him. "Well... Lets just say, I don't have the most... Friendly power?"

She hoped that her comment would be enough to make him accept that she didn't like talking about it. Truthfully, her own mutation scared her quite a lot.

”Condolences about the starting school next week, if you want I can tell you which professors you don’t want to sit in the back of the room for because they like to pick on them.” Carrick said smiling and remembering the English teacher who loved on signaling Carrick out when he was busy trying to sleep. Wasn’t like he showed up every day to that class you’d assume one would be rewarded and not called on. Turning to his sandwich Carrick took another bite and continued to talk, ”But welcome to the school, great place to live usually I’m rarely bored here.”

When she described her power she seemed almost reluctant to discuss it and left it as a very vague answer, ”Figured you had horns, don’t know why all girls hate horns. You never look bad with them.” Carrick said nodding his head taking another bite of his sandwich. A few seconds passed and Carrick silently finished his sandwich in a few big bites followed by washing it down with his heated water. The cold feeling that had embraced him minutes before was starting to fade. His body started to warm up and now that he had a full stomach he was feeling energized as well.

Energized as he was he was even more curious now about Serena’s true abilities he said it was horns only because she didn’t feel like discussing it. Carrick oddly enough understood how she felt when he first sprouted his wings life was difficult and it was hard to make friends, that was until his personality started to adapt to all the attention he had been receiving. ”Where you from?” he asked taking another sip of his water and stared at the woman with his mismatched colored eyes while his tail was swaying back and forth.

Serena shook her head "Nah, I'm actually looking forward to starting lessons, I feel like I've been trapped in my room, I just want to get on with my life. She was sick of sitting around in her room all day long, she needed something to focus on, and Class was as good an excuse as any.

She giggled lightly at the comment of horns and sipped her tea. "No. I do not have horns... my power is just dangerous and I don't like advertising it to anybody." she said clearly wanting to drop the subject.

She smiled at the comment, she could hear the Irish in his accent. "England, how about you Carrick?" Serena asked, glad for the sudden change in subject. She had to say, she was glad for the sudden burst in people from the Isles, Regan was Irish too. She felt a little more at home with them, as if they wouldn't laugh at her tea addiction or her accent.

Carrick was about to take another sip but stopped short when Serena said she was looking forward to classes, really? Another one? ”Well, they best way to not feel trapped is to escape once in a while, why I go flying.” Carrick finally took a sip of his water and added, ”I usually feel the exact opposite when it comes to lessons and all that jazz.” which was why Carrick often used his class time to escape by not showing up to said classes. One of the reasons he was doing poorly in most classes, not all of them because a select few had a person of interest, which kept him coming, and somewhat motivated to do well.

Carrick nodded his head again and lifted his hand to his forehead to make horns once again, ”Right, I get it your scary.” he lowered his horns and shrugged, ”I get it you don’t want to talk about it. Just keep in mind it could be worse.” Carrick said sipping his water again finishing the mug in the process. Turning and heading to the sink Carrick added, ”There are always a few of us that don’t like what we can do. Just don’t let it make you too scared to fit in here right?” Carrick refilled the mug and walked to the microwave again and turned it on.

A few seconds later the microwave beeped and he removed the mug and instead of sipping it right away he blew on it and set it down less he’d burn his tongue again. ”Condolences about being from England.” Carrick said with a smirk showing his elongated canines in a playful manner. ”What?” Carrick scoffed before adding allowing his think Irish accent out, ”Can’t tell where I’m from? You and me same side of the pond.” Carrick said before looking to his cup waiting for less steam to come out of it. ”Ireland.” Carrick said trying not to think about what he’d be doing back home.

Serena hadn't expected honest advice from the guy to come through the doors to suprise her nude... but she got it anyway. She smiled and nodded. She figured she'd end up fitting in anyway, she tended to be socially adept normally.

She laughed at his comment "Yeah, I thought so, dunno why I asked, blonde moment." She grinned at him.

Carrick returned her grin with a smirk of his own before he shrugged, ”Happens to all of us I suppose.” snapping his fingers Carrick added, ”Been mistaken for Australian before by some Eejit in the park. When he told me to watch out for stingray’s and crocs and all that Steve Irwin stuff I waited till he wasn’t looking swooped down and grabbed his Frisbee and dropped it in the middle of a pond.”

Carrick laughed at his own story, ”Let me tell you, the ape wasn’t happy in the slightest. But that goes to show you never pick on an angel with a tail.” Carrick said nodding his head in a matter-of-factly manner as he picked up his mug and took smug sip.

After waiting for a second Carrick shrugged again and took a step back, ”Well, might as well be off. Got some angel stuff that needs to be done and all that.” Carrick said waving his hand putting an emphasis on ‘all that’. Another step back and Carrick waved to her, ”You get lost or need some company track me down I shouldn’t be too hard to find. Be more than happy to hang out with the ‘new girl’” Carrick made quotations with his one free hand before adding, ”Even if she has horns and is from England.” Carrick let out a quick laugh and was already down the hall glad she didn’t make it extremely awkward due to the fact that she saw him run into the mansion naked less than an hour before.