Regan was standing in front of what used her be her beautiful greenhouse with her clawed hands on her hips. She had picked up the door from the front yard and placed it to rest on the side of the greenhouse before coming to stand in front of it. She shook her head and sighed, this was going to be quite a mess to clean up and she wasn’t looking forward to it at all!

Deciding that she should most likely get the plants out of the cold greenhouse and indoors, she headed inside and started to arrange which plants were a total loss, which could be saved with repotting, and which could hang on the longest while she tried to fit them all in her room in the mansion for the time being. Humming softly, she worked diligently sorting her plants and saving the ones she could.

It was a major step for her.

Specifically, the step out the door and into the open air of the mansion grounds. It had been a long, long time since Rebecca ventured away from the safety of the school's hallways and rooms, but eventually she had to try making some new progress.

Even with her emotional instabilities, it was inevitable that Rebecca was going to develop cabin fever. With her increasing comfortability with the world came a renewed sense of curiosity and adventure (on a still relatively small scale.)

It was winter, and Rebecca's first attempt at opening the front door was thwarted by a frigid gust of wind. The second time, she came prepared, dressed in a puffy white jacket with a soft interior lining, pajama pants under her jeans, a hat on her head, gloves protecting her fingers, and a scarf wrapped around her neck and chin.

Now hidden in her outer shell of fluff and soft and warm, Rebecca set out into the elements, intending to visit one of her favorite areas of the Mansion: the garden. It was the area with the most memories, including meeting Agnes, asking her out, rekindling after their first fight.

So they were all Agnes memories really, but that was fine. Agnes was back at college, and Rebecca wanted to put some happy thoughts of her into her head. It was a place she could rely on for peace and--

And it was decimated.

Rebecca entered the much less presentable greenhouse, unsure of what tragedy wrought such damage to her safe place. A week or two earlier, she would have hightailed it back to the building, but she was brave! She had made so much progress; she knew there was nothing scary about the greenhouse, even if it was in shambles.

Rebecca cautiously walked through the rows of plant remnant, now curious about who was in charge of the greenhouse since Agnes retired from the job. At some point, she would have to meet the person.

In the meantime, she would look around, reminding herself that there was nothing to be scared of and nothing to surprise her in the quiet, familiar garden.

Regan continues to organize all of the plants, tossing all the dead ones into one pile, carefully placing the damaged ones that would make it, in another, and the ones that were fine in a third. Looking up she was glad to see that someone on the grounds had put plastic over the windows that were busted out. Thankfully that meant that if she rested the door against the doorframe, she could keep in the heat and leave the plants here instead of trying to cram them all into her room.

As she worked, she heard the footsteps of someone coming into the greenhouse. She peeked up over the plants and say a strawberry blond female come into the greenhouse. She had to giggle slightly as she looked a little like a marshmallow in her white puffy coat. Regan smiled softly and emerged from behind the plants. “Hello there, can I help you?” she said in her soft Irish tones. She felt quite bad for the state of greenhouse at the moment, but really this all wouldn’t of happened if it weren’t for Kaitlyn sneaking in here. “Watch your step, there is still broken glass and pottery on the floor there.” She pointed to the pile on the floor just in front of the female, last thing she wanted was to get someone else hurt.

>> “Hello there, can I help you?”

Rebecca heard the voice of someone behind her, and naturally her mind first went to a more paranoid place. Was it the person who shattered most of the greenhouse? Or maybe someone trying to steal... the plants... or something?

Okay, so her worries were ridiculous. She had to remember that most things in the world were not as scary as she was always expecting. Sometimes things were just normal and she was hyping them up in her head, so as the woman with the soft Irish lilt spoke, Rebecca turned to face her.

>> “Watch your step, there is still broken glass and pottery on the floor there.”

Or sometimes there was a giant tigress behind you.

Rebecca jumped back with a yelp. "Ack, big tiger!" She tripped in her heel and fell back down, a piece of glass cutting into her pants. Thankfully, with her double layering, her thigh was just barely scratched.

With a pout, for a moment forgetting about the vicious predator in front of her, Rebecca looked at her leg, where a small spatter of red was showing through her jeans. "Ow... stupid glass..."

Regan jumped as the girl yelled out about her. Her emerald eyes grew sad as she was clearly hurt by the comment. It didn’t last long though as she watched the girl lose her footing and start to fall over. She ran over and reached out a clawed hand but it was already too late. She was down and worse off she had fallen right by the pile of broken shards slicing her leg. The smell of blood made the saber tooth press on her mind, but she quickly shoved it back and walked over to the injured girl.

Extending her clawed hand out to her, she smiled softly. “Are you alright? Here let me help you up out of that dangerous mess.” She looked as non threatening as she could possibly get. She would get out the first aid kit and make sure the girl was alright once she had helped her out of the mess of glass and pottery on the floor. Last thing Regan needed was another student getting seriously injured on her watch, even though the last one wasn’t her fault after all, she still felt awful about it. “Come on now, I won’t bite.”

Rebecca was so busy checking her poor thigh that the fuzzy clawed hand being extended toward her caught her off guard, eliciting another yelp because she did not know enough to realize how rude yelping actually was at the Mansion.

The big cat said she did not bite, which was enough to further confuse the girl. Nervously, she spoke hoping not to upset the beast of prey. "B-bit... kitties bite. And-and big cat's bite and you hae stripes and big cats wi' stripes a-are tigers and tigers DEFINITELY bite. And-- wait."

Her rambling logic math was adding up, but a variable finally occurred to her. "Um... tigers dinnae talk. And... you talk."

The world did not change all that much in the week she was away, even if it was a year for her. Tigers did not learn to talk while she was gone, so the next logical option was the answer to most situations in New York and especially at the Mansion. "You're... a mutant, too." Even in her current state, Rebecca knew enough to feel bad now. "Mutants dinnae bite. Well, mostly, Ah think."

Rebecca took the offered hand and slowly got up to her feet. Her cheeks were as red as the tiger lady's hair. (Another obvious sign now that her panic had past: Tigers did not have hair.) "Ah'm... real sorry..."

Regan couldn’t help but jump a little again as the girl yelped again. She sighed and kept her hand out. She wanted to make sure this girl was alright, once she was she’d leave her alone if she frightened her this much. Still smiling softly and kindly, Regan listened to the girl babble slightly non coherently, and tried to calm her with a few ‘Shhhhh’s.

Finally as she came around and she realized that Regan was actually talking to her, it all clicked together. “Yes I talk, and I walk upright, and I wear clothes.” She smiled and pointed to her dark green tank top. Regan was starting to feel pretty badly, she must have spooked this girl something awful for her to be in such a stammered state of thought.

Regan giggled softly and gave the girl a nod as she put it together that she was a mutant and not an actual cat. “Yes, I’m a mutant too. My name’s Regan, what’s yours?” The girl finally took her hand and she helped her up out of the pile of sharp and jagged glass and pottery. Regan waved her hand and shook her head at the girl’s apology. “Don’t worry about it, I tend to scare the heck out of everyone when they first meet me. I'm used to it.” She tried to play it off as nothing, but deep down it always hurt her a little.

Looking down at the girl’s leg, Regan nudged her head towards the large work table in the back. “I have a first aid kit back there, if you’d like I’ll clean your wound and bandage you up so you don’t get an infection.”

The tiger lady had a point; cats did not wear clothes (unless they had terrible owners,) and they did not walk upright (unless they were on the internet.) Her story was checking out; she was a mutant who was apparently named Regan. "Ah'm Rebecca!" There was still timidity in her voice, but she was also excited to be meeting someone new. More socialization had to lead to more normalization.

Regan gestured to a table, warning Rebecca against the possibility of infection in her wound, which sounded as unpleasant for her small gash as it would for a big slice. "Mhmm. Yes please, Miss."

As she was lead in the direction of the first aid kit, Rebecca felt it might be best to explain at least to some degree why she was acting so... well, rude and judgmental. "Sorry for before... Ah'm kinda... broken. Nae working quite right yet." It felt like an appropriate description in the shattered greenhouse. "Everything's a lil bit scary, sae... sorry." It really was not Regan; it was just a very unfortunately timed situation.

Regan smiled and gave Rebecca a nod. “It’s nice to meet you Rebecca.” She said as she led the way to the table in the back. She looked at where she had gotten cut and gave a little sigh. “Well I don’t think your pants are going to roll up that high, I think you may have to take them down a little from the top.” She knew that was going to make the girl uncomfortable so she took her apron off of the hook by the table and handed it to her. “Here you can wrap yourself in this, I’ll be as fast as I can cleaning it up.”

Once again Regan waved a hand at Rebecca and shook her head. “Really it’s fine, I can understand.” She gave her a small smile and looked away for a moment. “Besides, like I said, I’m used to people freaking out when they see me.” Shrugging it off she just let it go like she usually did and focused her thought back on Rebecca. “So do you want to talk about it? I know I’m a stranger, but I have a good ear if you need one to listen.” She said with a smile and tapped a clawed finger on one of her feline ears. She hoped that maybe if Rebecca got some of her fears off her chest, she’d feel a little more comfortable, though she’d understand if she didn’t want to talk about personal things with a total stranger, some people were just open though.

Rebecca felt a little uneasy being told that the next step in fixing her leg involved taking off her pants. There was a lot of (relatively) recent memories and arguments that made her hesitant to oblige the request. Her concerns were offset when Regan handed her an apron, and the logic was pretty sound.

Resigned to the facts and her fear of infection, Rebecca fumbled with the strings, tying the apron up in the back. "Alright, bit that's it. Ah'm nae whorin' anymore. Ah'm back with someone now." This was a strictly medical de-pantsing.

With the apron secure, Rebecca fumbled further with the button on her jeans until they were finally able to slide to her knees. She wobbled for a moment, looking down. The apron covered her front; the back was exposed, but she had a flat bottom anyway, so it was not like she was showing off.

Standing there with a light blush, feeling self conscious for obvious reasons, Rebecca considered the strangers offer. She was trying not to spill her burden on others, especially when she just met them. Maybe there was a short version of the story? "Well, um, Ah was away for a long time in a scary place." Agnes kept reminding her that she was really only gone for a week, even if time worked differently in the Ragman. "Well, not a 'long time' really, bit the way it worked it was a long time. And it was dark. And scary. And silent. And lonely."

Okay, so the short version of the story needed work.

Regan’s eyes just about popped out of her head as Rebecca said she wasn’t going to be a whore anymore. She coughed as she tried to speak, her clawed hands up in front of her chest waving. “Good lord Rebecca! I have no intentions of any sort to be doing anything other then clean your cut!” Regan was now feeling very awkward in Rebecca’s presence. Regan had no idea what love or intimacy was like, but she knew enough of the lingo to put two and two together as to what Rebecca was saying. Regan rubbed the vibrant red hair on the back of her head and stared at the floor as Rebecca started to undo her pants, she was almost afraid to even look at her right now.

Still looking at the floor, Regan patted a clawed hand on the table. “Here hop up on the table, it will make it easier for me to clean your cut.” She placed a lot of emphasis on the last few words. She offered Rebecca a hand up onto the table and kept her emerald eyes lowered as she spoke about her little experience. She nodded softly and pulled out the first aid kit from under the table and flipped it open, still trying to find any excuse not to make eye contact with Rebecca right now. “Well that sounds rather traumatic, I can see why you would be a little broken up about all of that.” Regan was rather curious, but she was polite enough not to push people into feeding her curiosity, her “Father” had taught her proper manners after all.

She pulled out the saline solution, as well as some ointment and bandages. She walked over to the large sink and scrubbed her clawed hands clean of dirt so she wouldn’t end up making the cut worse in her attempt to clean it up. She dried her hands on some paper towel and then brought the roll back over with her to the table, still keeping her eyes glued to the floor.

Regan was placing a lot of emphasis on her desire to clean Rebecca's cut. The tiger woman must have placed a lot of importance on proper safety procedures. If that was the case, the last thing Rebecca wanted to do was disobey, especially with the looming concern of an infection hanging over her wound.

The young Scot hopped onto the table, quickly letting out a small, "Eep!" when her barely clothed bottom touched the table that had spent so much time out in the winter elements. "Sorry... cold."

Regan was avoidant, but she did express her understanding of Rebecca's position given the limited amount of sharing Rebecca could give. As her new "nurse" was drying her hands off, Rebecca looked to the floor as well. "Yeah... it was a bad thing... bit now my girlfriend and Ah are back taegether, sae one good thing happened!" If there was one silver lining to being lost in the Ragman, it was definitely how much better her relationship with Agnes was.

Hearing the little screech that Rebecca made as she hopped up on the table made Regan’s pierced feline ears flick forward. She giggled a little and smiled while still keeping her eyes on the floor. “Sorry about that, it should warm up in here soon. They put plastic over the windows so that should help.” She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder at the plastic.

Once she was rather settled, Regan unrolled a few sheets of the paper towel and folded them up. She walked over to Rebecca’s cut leg and carefully tucked the paper towel under her thigh so as not to scratch her with one of her claws. She rolled up the apron just enough to expose the cut clearly and finally smiled while looking up at Rebecca. “Good news, it’s not that bad, but it still needs to be cleaned. Can you hold the apron there for me please?”

She went back and got the saline solution as she listened to Rebecca talk about getting back together with her girlfriend. She cracked open the bottle and grabbed some clean gauze before walking back over to Rebecca’s leg. “Well that’s good to hear. I’m glad to hear that, it’s always good to be with someone you love.” She flashed Rebecca a sincere smile and then placed the gauze just below the cut. “This will most likely be cold so brace yourself.” She gave Rebecca a moment and then poured the solution over the cut to flush out any dirt or debris that may have gotten in. She then dabbed the gauze that had soaked up some of the solution, over the cut to pat off any leftover solution and blood. “There you go, the worst part is over, now let’s get that wrapped up.”

The solution was cold, as Regan had warned and promised, and there was a sting.Rebecca initially cringed, followed by flinching slightly just about every time the gauze was dabbed against the wound. She kept her lips tightly sealed, choosing to take the cleaning like a trooper without any meek sounds in response.

When the worst was officially over, (according to Regan,) Rebecca was able to breathe a sigh of relief and speak again. "Thank ya. That wasnae too bad."

Backtracking to the nice comment Regan said regarding Rebecca's reignited relationship, the shy girl smiled brightly. "Yeah, Ah'm really happy. She's the sweetest. Like a princess." The image was still fresh in Rebecca's mind from rereading the poem she wrote the year before about her forbidden love of another girl's girlfriend.

Rebecca was finally back on track after a few indiscretions, which she learned from. She was certain she had slept with enough people for one lifetime. "Now Ah can gae back tae letting Aggie be the only one tae take my pants." The correct phrase was actually "get in her pants," but regardless, neither one was appropriate conversation; a realization sadly lost on the socially oblivious Rebecca.

After cleansing the cut with the solution, Regan moved back over to the first aid kit and pulled out a large bandage that would cover Rebecca’s wound. She pulled back the plastic backing part way and exposed the gauze. She then squeezed out a small amount of ointment onto the gauze and moved back over to Rebecca’s leg where she carefully placed the bandage over the cut and pulled away the rest of the backing, securing the sticky part to Rebecca’s skin. “There we go, you’re all patched up.”

Regan smiled softly and returned to the first aid kit to clean up and put everything away. She looked up out of the corner of her eye when Rebecca started talking about her girlfriend. A small smile crossed her lips and she nodded. It was a little odd to hear of a girl with a girlfriend, but Regan had come across such things in books and on TV so it wasn’t unknown to her, just odd, but she would never be so bold as to say that to Rebecca, that would just be rude. “Well she sounds lovely Rebecca. It’s always nice to hear about love stories.”

After finishing cleaning up and putting everything away, Regan walked over to the sink and washed her hands again, she was just drying her furry hands off when Rebecca made another comment referring to her pants being off. She blinked a few times trying to figure out what exactly she meant by that, but Regan was clever enough to figure out it had something to do with them being intimate together. She coughed a little awkwardly while keeping her back turned towards Rebecca. “Well speaking of pants, you can pull yours back up now.” Regan said while rubbing a clawed hand over her feline face, it wasn’t often that she was the one feeling rather awkward in someone’s presence, but somehow Rebecca was managing to do it by bringing up a topic that Regan had no experience in whatsoever. Thankfully the tigress had read enough romance novels over her teenage years to get the just of what Rebecca was talking about, even though it flustered her greatly.