Well, this was humiliating. Not only did he refuse to put her down, he refused to put her down until he had given her clothes and deposited her in the bathroom. Only then did she manage to get the door shut and have a moment to herself. Then she did the childish thing, silently stamped her foot a few times and moved to take a shower.

The water stung on her skin, and it took a while to get the blood from her hair. She debated for a bit whether or not to use Mariusz shampoo, and eventually caved in. She could deal with smelling a little manly, but having her hair caked in dirt and grime would be unbearable. It took a few minutes but finally with stinging skin and wounded pride, she had changed into the black wife beater and sweat pants and begrudgingly tried to sneak out of the bathroom.

If only she could get to the door and leave before he returned...

Once he was convinced that Evelyn had begun to shower Mariusz returned to his room and grabbed a second bottle of shampoo and a pair of white basketball shorts which was all he planned on changing into. The Mansion was home and he was tired and didn't feel much like fighting with his wings to stuff them into a shirt at the moment. Exiting from his room he went into the next bathroom down the hallway.

Quickly enough he had showered and washed out all his feathers with the shampoo, toweled himself off, and changed clothes. He assumed it would take Evelyn much longer since she was more blood covered and whatnot. She would have to wash her hair and he was given to understand that was a very labor intensive process for women with at least a thousand different products to use, if the commercials on tv were any indication.

He settled himself on the floor outside the bathroom door that Evelyn was behind and opened his Bible in his lap, opening to the Book of James in the New Testament and beginning to read from chapter two. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.*

*James 2:18 (NKJV)

The door creaked open, Evelyn peaked out, and there was Mariusz planted in the floor reading. So much for sneaking away. With a disgruntled sigh she stepped forward, and moved towards the door.

"You really are determined not to let me leave aren't you..." She remarked dejectedly. Part of her had the lingering thought that she should have showered faster, but then she felt too exhausted to argue with him more. As long as he didn't try carrying her again, they'd be fine.

She took a glance at what he was reading, quick scan of the pages and the echoes chimed in to the religious text. That said something about his personality and upbringing that it was a book he chose to read in his past time.

"Correct, I also was not lying when I said I will need a babysitter after I take my pain pills," Mariusz replied, closing the Bible in his lap and getting to his feet. He hadn't given much thought to the menu he'd prepare once they got down to the kitchen, but a lot of what he could make would depend on what the kitchen was stocked with. The truth was that he was hungry enough to eat just about anything. Of course, the menu would also partly depend on what Evelyn said she was hungry for.

"I assume you no longer need to be carried, but I can keep doing that if you prefer it," he said, shrugging his shoulders and displaying a slight ripple of muscles beneath his feathers. He gestured down the hallway. "Shall we?"

Evelyn started to relax a bit. At least he turned it around and it was him needing the babysitter, not her. Maybe she just had a big ego. Or maybe it was pride. She just wanted to feel like she could do things and it seemed like she had to constantly try to stop people from helping her all the time. Did she just seem helpless? Self-destructive Mariusz had said. Well, that could be one word for it...

She nodded slowly and started for the door, then her face turned crimson at his last comment. "No, I can walk." She quickly stuttered and hurried faster. Her echoes were focused on the wall textures again.

She walked for a few moments before finally speaking again. "I never really said thank you for what you did earlier... So, well... Thanks... I'm sorry I got you mixed up in all that..." She crossed her arms and looked down at the carpet. As if she didn't already know fairly well what the echoes would say about it. Better than looking back at Mariusz.

"No thanks is needed, the Gospel of Luke tells us that to those whom much is given much is required. I have been given wings, eyesight, and archery skills," Mariusz replied, shrugging his shoulders. "Because I can defend others I am required to defend others. To do less would be a... a violation. We are told in Romans Twelve that we should always try to live in peace with others, but that living in peace with others is also not always possible."

He led them down the stairs, slipping an arm around Evelyn's shoulders as she stared at the carpet in what he hoped would be taken as a reassuring thing, giving her a brief squeeze before turning her gently to head in the direction of the kitchen. A few moments later he pushed open the door and allowed her to enter before following her into the large food preparation room. "So," he asked, setting his Bible down on the counter top near the door, "What exactly are you hungry for?"

Evelyn listened politely as he spoke, and it further confirmed what she knew about him. He was devoted to a faith, and that led what he did. It was certainly a different perspective than she had encountered recently. Some people were heroes to make up for the mistakes in their past. Others seemed to feel a sense of duty or obligation. Maybe this was somewhere in that realm though. It was a religious obligation, but one nonetheless.

She wasn't really sure where she stood on things. She certainly wasn't a hero. She wasn't really much of anything. "I hope one day I'll be more useful at defending myself... Sometimes I feel like my mutation is useless for that sort of thing though. Gets me into trouble more than it gets me out of it." She remarked slowly. Her echoes faltered again as he put an arm around her shoulder, and she felt taken aback by the action. It was... reassuring, something Jensen might have done. But Jensen wasn't here anymore.

She glanced around the kitchen as they entered, and tried to think of something that sounded good. "I'm not really picky, just depends on what we have to work with..." She mused thoughtfully.

"Just about any mutation can be used for defense, if properly employed. Or so I would think." Mariusz replied, dropping his arm from around her shoulders and moving to investigate the kitchen, pulling open cabinets and drawers in a methodical fashion to locate everything before finally checking the pantry, larder, and refrigerator and finding all of them fully stocked. The only thing missing was alcohol, not surprising since this was a school where minor's could come and go as they pleased.

"As for food, I see what I need to make just about anything you would like to eat as long as it does not involve alcohol. This is a school after all," he said, turning to face her and leaning against the counter before crossing his arms over his chest. "So, what strikes your fancy? Any allergies I need to know about?"

Evelyn thought back to when the intruders came to the museum. She had used her available resources then to fight her enemies, but Gawain had been there too. Much of her accounted the success to her friend, but her echoes had helped a little. Then in the danger room simulation she had called the shots and that seemed to work well. Maybe alone she couldn't do as much, but on a team her echoes were useful. Perhaps if she stayed at the mansion for a bit longer, she'd learn more. But she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable staying here.

"I don't have any allergies, and I am willing to try anything once. Maybe make something your familiar with? Most of what I cook is pretty basic..." Considering she didn't keep many knives around at home, that did tend to limit things. A memory flashed through her mind from the day the riots started, and she doubted that fear would go away any faster.

"Lasagna sounds good to me," Mariusz answered, producing a block of mozzarella cheese and tossing it in Evelyn's direction. "Not as good as fresh would be but," he shrugged and rooted around for a moment in a cabinet before coming up with a cheese grater, garlic press, custard dish, and pair of cutting boards. "Get grating, grate up that whole block. We will need all of it. More cheese never hurt anyone. I hate ricotta though, so we will mix a lot of it with cottage cheese. That is healthier anyway." He tossed a head of garlic to Evelyn. "And mash up four cloves of that, no need to peel them the masher will not let the skin through."

He rooted around in the fridge a bit more and produced a yellow and a green bell pepper, an onion, several roma tomatoes, two jars of basic spaghetti sauce, a bunch of fresh spinach, and a can of calamata olives that had already been pitted. "Ordinarily I would make my own sauce, but that takes all day and I also do not feel much like waiting for chicken or beef to cook through, so this will be vegetarian," he said, shrugging his shoulders as he set everything on the counter on top of the second cutting board he had grabbed.

A few moments later and a big pot and skillet were sitting on the stove top, the former filled with salted water, and he had programmed the oven to pre-heat while setting a package of dry lasagna noodles next to the stove top by a bottle of olive oil. He set everything on the island, grabbed a trash can, and then washed his hands and the vegetables, oddly not retrieving a knife though bringing two bowls to the table and setting them next to his cutting board.

"My hands are clean, and my finger skills are better than my knife skills," he said with a shrug, slicing one of the bell peppers neatly in half and then removing the seeds from it before beginning to slice the pepper julienne style with one of his fingers as easily as a knife would slide through butter.

Lasagna. That wasn't particularly 'simple, but she knew the basics of it. She watch him shuffle through the refrigerator, then took the block of cheese without protesting. The cheese grater wasn't bad, but it could still bloody a few knuckles if you weren't careful. Her home cheese grater was circular and had a little arm to hold the cheese against the teeth so you didn't have that problem. If it was still there, that was....

Carefully setting to work on the cheese, she paused to take the garlic as well and set it off to the side. Mariusz was already moving around with busy activity, locating ingredients for the sauce. "Vegetarian is fine. I think the less work the better after the day we've had." She admitted. When he set out the cutting board, there was a slight moment of fear that flickered through her mind. But he never moved to get a knife, instead he had his own manner of slicing the peppers. Relief settled in and she resumed grating the cheese. Soon, she had a nice pile where the block had been, and the garlic had been taken care of.

"Always hated knives..." Evelyn said quietly. "We have a few at the museum but the blades are all dulled so they don't bother me. But I've never really been able to get myself to deal with one in the kitchen."

"What is wrong with knives? I have my own built-in set of Ginzu's though, so I may not be the one to ask," Mariusz asked, holding up a talon and shrugging. Finishing with the peppers and moving on to dice up the onion. He sliced it in half and reduced the entire onion to minced pieces in about thirty seconds with no tears. "My mother was always a fan of that trick," he said, referencing the onion and standing up. Crossing to the stove he emptied the dried noodles into the boiling water and reduced the heat so the pot wouldn't boil over.

"I prefer making these from scratch too, but that is too much work for right now. Still, garlic-basil pasta is quite good." He returned to where he had been slicing and dicing things and tipped the peppers and onion into the bigger of the two bowls he had set on the table and began took the olives. Opening the jar he went and drained it over the sink then upended it on the cutting board.

"The garlic can go in the big bowl here with the peppers and onions and, if you are done with the cheese, I have another job for you. Working together will speed up the process," he said, tipping the olives into the smaller bowl and starting on the tomatoes.

Evelyn shrugged and moved to put the garlic in the bowl as he instructed. "Knives...I don't know. Mum cut her hand with one when I was little and I guess I never really got over the sight of it. She had to have her hand stitched up and guess I'm paranoid. Having someone put a knife to my throat this week didn't make that any easier. I think having a pair of talons would be more useful. Guess it still cuts the same way, but somehow doesn't make me feel as nervous..."

She turned and put the cheese aside, waiting for her next instructions. She didn't get a chance to work with someone in the kitchen much so it was an interesting experience. After her mother's accident while cooking, she had given up on the kitchen entirely and instead made a habit of eating out. Evelyn tried to learn, but she didn't have the same abilities cooking as she did with art. Memorizing recipes and techniques only went so far when she couldn't bring yourself to use them.

Mariusz rose from where he was sitting and working and moved over to the stove top, grabbing the peppers, garlic, and onions and bringing them with him. "Mushrooms would be nice in this too, but it seems the Mansion is all out," he said with a shrug, then he unstoppered the olive oil and eyeballed about two tablespoons worth into the skillet before turning on the burner underneath it.

"I suppose I can understand the fear of knives then, with the traumatic experiences," he produced a spatula and held it out to Evelyn. "A lot of people use butter to saute, I do too sometimes. But we will use olive oil tonight since it is healthier and right here." He upended the bowl of vegetables and garlic into the skillet.

"Push it flat and stir or shake the skillet occasionally. If you do not the garlic may burn and become bitter." He placed the bag of prewashed spinach up next to the skillet. "Every so often throw in a handful of spinach, it will cook down so do not worry about overflowing the skillet. I will start on the cheese mixture to be the lasagna's binding agent."

As he finished speaking the timer went off and he removed the noodles from the heat and their pan, immersing them in a tub of cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent them from sticking to one another.

Evelyn took the spatula and settled into her place to watch the stove. Burnt garlic would certainly not be appetizing, so she made sure to follow instructions carefully. She listened to Mariusz as he spoke and added spinach whenever it seemed some was cooking down. She could hear as he went back to work on the noodles and smells of their meal began to fill the kitchen. She hadn't realize how hungry she was earlier but was feeling more grateful Talon had convinced her to come here and make something to eat.

"So how long have you lived here?" She asked as she cooked, giving the pan a little shake and adding some more greens. Her echoes moved around the room, taking note of the garlic in the sauce pan, the various states of cooking from different pans and dishes. The echoes did help a bit with multi-tasking. She could easily glance at Mariusz without worrying she'd let the dishes burn.