Her head hurt... It was a dull, throbbing sensation at the base of her skull and in her temples. Her eyes were squinted in concentration, glittering intently as she willed herself passed the point of no return with the patch of earth before her. Sweat dripped from the tip of her nose as she forced her focus on the growing plants, more than she had ever tried to do at once because Sam told her to practice.

She had been holding the current plant, a rose bush (because a tree was kind of not a good idea in a green house) which she had been causing to bloom and wither purposefully for the passed twenty minutes. That was an improvement, but it was still pretty hard to do for her.

Frustration welled up within her, she felt her concentration waning and then giving. Xavia grunted and sat down on the ground, hand rubbing at her forehead.

"Damn..." said the plant mutant, the bush withering into compost. It was a far cry from where she needed to be, but she wasn't about to push herself any further at the moment. She pushed herself up, winded, and went to the desk to grab her half empty bottle of water and take a swig. Her rump found itself in the seat of the chair and she leaned back, trying to relax enough to be ready for a ride on her bike.

But the ride might be short lived and take her back into town where she could flop down at home and go to sleep. A sigh was heaved, and she palmed her chin, staring at the withering bush. The whole thing had her more tired than raising her kid, all the training, the bruises, et cetera... But she wasn't about to give up on this ambition. No sir.

She clicked her tongue at herself in disgust for even whining about it in her mind.

Being at the Institute was certainly an experience. Wolf technically wasn't a student, though he had been invited to attend classes when he was ready. Mostly he was here to deal with his problem, but he was still learning a lot. For instance, that schools are very loud places to be. If he had been his old self, he would have probably not noticed at all, but now, well, now he dreaded hearing the bell ring in the hall. When students changed between classes, the hallways became filled with voices talking with each other, not to mention a thousand different scents he was not used to. It was difficult enough dealing with his new senses all the time, but it was almost unbearable when he got caught in a hall when classes were letting out.

This was such a time. The bell had rung and he had... well, he had panicked and jumped out the open window. Luckly he was on the first floor at the time, but it was still an embarrassing act for him. He couldn't deal with all that stimulus at once, so needed a place to lie low until the halls cleared, preferably someplace when neither the noise, or the smell could reach him. Then he saw the perfect place: the greenhouse. Unless there were a class going on there too, which he doubted since he couldn't hear any chatting going on, it was a perfect spot, and the plants scents helped block out the smell of student body BO. He quickly ran to the door and went inside, sighing a little in relief as the smells dissipated. he could hang out here for a while until things died down, then he could go back when the halls were abandoned once more.

The very young looking lady did not notice yet that another had slipped into her home away from home... She would finish drinking the water she was guzzling thirstily, and then take a few, deep breaths in order to collect herself. Sometimes she wished it could go back to being the easy stuff she grew up on... You know, the singing to the flowers and them responding in a series of... oh right... People could not communicate the way she did with flowers, so none would possibly understand.

Xavia stood up and grabbed for her watering can. She hummed softly in a very husky tone, kneeling down and caressing the petals before gently pouring some of the spray... "You know," she said, Slovakian accent as gentle as the song she'd hummed, "I t'ink we make plenty of progress today... what about you? Hopefully Sam will be happy, no?" She set the can down, and gently pinched a dead bud off of one plant, placing it in her palm. Her fingers danced over the poor budling, and she watched as it bloomed in response, "I promise him I practice, but it hurts my head... Not t'is... Never t'is... Watching flower thrive and..." She paused to sniff the bud... "And... ahh... smell pretty..."

Tyson didn't know why plants had less of an effect on him then people, not that he was complaining. Even though there was a variety of plant smells, it was not as overwhelming as the halls of the institute, he supposed maybe his instincts were geared towards interaction with animals more then vegetables. It was a small blessing that he could find some relief from the smells and noise. At least, that was what he had thought.

Tyson heard a voice in the greenhouse. Strangely, this conflicted with the information going to his nose, which could only smell other plants, mostly roses. But nevertheless, he could hear someone talking. He padded further into the greenhouse, glancing about for the source. It was then he saw a woman who seemed to be tender to the plants, but even after identifying that there was someone there, his nose still could not pick up a another animal scent. He came closer, wondering what was going on, then stopped as he recalled his own appearance. He didn't want to scare her by sneaking up on her. He looked like a monster, and turning about to be face to snout with a, for lack of a better term, werewolf was bound to send her into a panic until they were properly introduced. He backed off a little and pondered how to go about it. He wasn't that great at speaking at th moment, still working on getting his mouth to work the way he wanted, so he wasn't sure he could get her attention without sounding like he were growling at her.

Xavia, whose watering can was empty by that point, straightened her tired form up and rubbed her back a little... The wolf man would be able to see she wore no gloves, she had no need, but he wouldn't know that. It was then that she turned around, and upon espying the hulking werewolf, she lifted a brow and canted her head.

Now, he might find it odd, this reaction of hers... But she was used to being around large beings. After all, Jupiter was pretty massive in comparison to her. She was pretty petite and delicate, and had an otherworldly look to her much like the roses she'd been tending to. "Hello there." She strolled on passed him, watering can dangling from tapered digits in an almost... halfazzard manner. Sure enough, the scent of roses wafted around her, it seemed to seep from her very pores, that scent.

"You come to escape or you come to learn?" she murmured as she turned the spigot of a nearby faucet and filled the watering can once again. "You come back tomorrow morning if to learn, class is at 8 am sharp." Xavia turned the spigot again and then faced the man-beast, both brows aloft as if she were waiting for him to reply to her or do something besides stand there.

Tyson tensed up when the woman turned around, steeling himself against any reaction she may make, screams, yells, panic. Strangely enough she acted as if this was completely normal. This threw him for a bit of a loop to where he could only stand in shock for the first few moments. Still she just went about her business as if there was absolutely nothing unusual about the situation. The smell of roses seemed to be coming off her in waves, and Tyson came to realize he wasn't smelling the flowers, he was smelling her. It was strange, but what wasn't strange in his life now a days, he was a literal wolfman, he was in a house of mutants, and he had recently had a conversation with a giant prawn. This should probably be on the low end of weirdness at this point.

"You come to escape or you come to learn? You come tomorrow if to learn, class is at 8 sharp." He then guessed she must be a teacher. Given the circumstances he would guess botany. "Hrr esscape," he said, trying to form his mouth around the words, his words carrying growling tones. "Halls arrrrrr too loud, therrrrrr arrrrr to many sceents." he grumbled, doing his best to answer the question with as few words as possible. "Whoooo, arrrrr you?" he asked. He had other questions of course, like her scent, but guessed that this was something to do with her abilities, but introductions were probably the best way to go at this point. "You grrrroowww all the floooowerrrs herrrrrrr?" he asked, wondering if that is what she did with all her time. He had to admit, she wasn't exactly what he imagined when he thought of a botany teacher, with a face like that she could probably be a supermodel for all he knew.

She gave a slight smile, flashing imperfect, but white teeth with a slight overbite on the top and a hardly-there buckle between two of her bottom teeth. "I am Xavia --" pronounced with no mind for deliberation as Sah-vee-ah, and not ex-ay-vee-ah "Warshalai, and I teach biology." As she strolled, once again, passed the wolf, she hummed a little bit and knelt down to tend to some poppies, simply touching one blossom with the tip of her finger. The bloom opened to her touch as if a shy child with a gentle teacher. The watering can was plied after that, and she went on to say, "You come to right place to hide for moment, smells nice in here, no?"

The woman continued pampering the plants in front of her until the can was empty again, then stood to face him. She'd grip the handle of the can with both hands, the object would rest against her upper thighs as she lifted her chin and looked him right in the eyes without so much as a lip curl of aversion.

Nothing, not one inch of her would read as frightened or disgusted by his furry appearance.

"Sarrrrrr-veeeee-aaaaarrrrhhh," he tried, the exotic sounding name fighting against his canine lips. It surprised him that she was a biology teacher, he wouldn't have guessed it given her apparent love of plants. He watched as she touched a flower to have it bloom in an instant, leaving Tyson wondering if he'd stepped into a Disney movie. Either that or her skill with plants had more to do with her mutant abilities. As she commented on the smell of the greenhouse, he nodded in agreement. He much preferred this to the crowded halls. Even stranger was the apparent relief he felt to be able to talk to someone who didn't smell so strongly.

He watched as Xavia continued her work, unabashed by his presence, and felt a bit more comfortable. He had to admit she was a strange one, but he was beginning to appreciate that it was a nice kind of strange that people seemed not to care what he looked like. "Hrrr you cooontrrrrowl plants? Hr" he asked, wishing to confirm his thoughts before birds started alighting on her shoulders and burst in to spontaneous song. He was content to stay here a while, or at least until Xavia kicked him out. It definitely beat risking the halls again.

Her brow knit as she concentrated on his words to try and understand him... "I suppose you say I control plants... I make plants and become plants too." The plant mutant moved to the large nail in one of the support beams, and she placed the can on the nail which took her standing on her toes a bit and straining because it was a bit taller than she was. "Still learning how to do t'ings, but I am making progress," she went on to admit without being shy.

"I was lab experiment when t'ey find out I had power." And, she added silently, I hope my little girl doesn't have to suffer that way. "You stuck as wolf man?" She wasn't trying to offend him by her question, merely ask him about what he was going through. A surge of sympathy would touch her unusual, caramel colored eyes, and she would tilt her head in mild curiosity. But judgement? No. He would not be the first, nor would he be the last animal mutant she had ever seen, or a mutant which would be stuck in one size/color/state-of-being... No...

After all, she was friends with a Lioness, ex lovers with a red... devil looking fellow that dwarfed pretty much all of humanity... She rubbed elbows with a ferret dude... and she had seen horrible things in Romania, as well as her stint as a musician that left her slightly famous around New York City.

They was she described her powers was a little strait forward, basically anything to do with plants she could do, including apparently 'becoming' plants. He thought about her scent and guessed she must be more plant based then animal based, which would explain why her scent was of roses. Then of course she said that she was still learning, which he supposed would probably be a life long thing, just as everyone else was always learning new things about whatever it was they were trying to do. "Hrrr you maaaake aany kind ooooof hrrr plant?" he asked, wondering if she was able to make any kind of plant she wanted. He scent of roses made him recall that, while roses had several varieties of color, blue was not one of them. He wondered if she could make a rose variety which did not exist in nature.

"I was lab experiment when t'ey find out I had power." The statement caught him by surprise, was she like him? At first he felt a bit of camaraderie, but it was followed quickly by a bit of dread and fear. If she were like his, and was still like this, did that mean they couldn't cure her? What did that mean for him then? He thought over her statement, she was a lab experiment, THEN they found out she had powers, maybe he had jumped the gun a bit. Maybe her powers were not a result of the experiments done on her, just something that was there all along, unlike him. His father had turned him into what he was, he wasn't like this before. "Hrrrr you aaalways haaaave powerrrrrrrs?" he asked, hoping to reaffirm his thoughts, hoping this was the case. He didn't want to think that the institute couldn't cure him.

"You stuck as wolf man?" It was a blunt question, but her tone wasn't judgmental, so he simply nodded. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about really, he was trying not to focus on his condition and get along as usual. He told himself it was temporary, it was really the only way he could get by at the moment was to believe there was an end in sight to this, that he would be able to go home and pretend this never happened, forget about his father and forget the experience altogether.

"Was born wit' powers, medicines in labs bring t'em to surface I guess." She had no idea he was wondering if she could be cured... But she wouldn't want to be anyhow! This was who she was and she accepted the bitter truth a long time ago, having to swallow it like a pill and to make peace. So many people died because of what she was, and she'd had to accept it all. Xavia leaned against the post and looked at him with knowing and wise-beyond-her-years eyes.

She didn't have much to say at the moment beyond the response she gave already. If he had asked her if she wanted a cure, she would have had some sage advise for the wolf... But he left the question unspoken. She didn't know what he was thinking, but she did leave a chance for him to unload. Why else would he want to hide aside from the smells? Sometimes she felt like some of the others were just as lost as she had been when she was younger.

It would take a lifetime to gain some understanding... Why people discriminate, why others wanted to control or experiment, why people die or disappear for the name of science... And so many more things. With a sigh, she eventually spoke again, shaking her head to dispel the thoughts. "You are welcome here anytime."

She seemed to gloss over his first question. He guessed it was not something she really knew yet, or something she didn't share with others. He guessed it wasn't really that important, he was just curious. The vibe he got off her was that she was very at peace with herself, so he suppose she just like being supportive of others.

The answer she gave about when she had her powers satisfied him to an extent, she was not in the same situation as him, so took that as a sign that he would receive the help he wanted. He could hold on for a while, it would probably take some time to figure out. In the mean time he just had to take it as it came until then.

He didn't really understand the look she was giving him, he wasn't the best at reading people, so he guessed she was examining him. He felt a little self conscious, but tried not to show it. She had been nice so far so he was probably wrong. "You are welcome here anytime." the sigh in her voice made him feel like she had reached the end of her interest in the conversation. "Thaaaankss," he said, glad that at least he had someplace quiet he could hang out when things got to much for him.

He turned to look at the flowers she was working on, roses, it figured, probably one of her favorite plants with the smell she gave off. He squatted and pawed at the ground a little, running his claws through the dirt. He tried to make a small sketch in the dirt, however, his paws wouldn't respond properly. It had been the case since his change. Anytime he tried to make any sort of delicate movement, his fingers and hands didn't respond accordingly. It was like trying to move your arm, something that should be simple and automatic, and instead you leg kicked. As a result anything he tried ended up as nothing more then chicken scratches, a series of scratches forming nothing distinct or recognizable. Frustrated he wiped the scratches away.

It wasn't so much lack of interest as it was just... being tired. She had a full schedule with teaching students, being taught by Sam, running a business from a distance, being a mom... also from a distance. If he looked close enough, he would see the tired written across her face, rather than disinterest. "You are welcome."

She watched him quietly for the time, curious as to what he was doing and why, but she wasn't worried about him messing up the plants because she would fix them. Xavia gave a slight smile off to the one corner of her lips and said, "You know, one can get in touch wit' t'emself better if t'ey close t'eir eyes an' relax for few moments before trying somet'ing." She offered that little bit of advice in hope she hit the nail on the head with whatever it was that might be bothering the poor fellow.

Hell, she would do well to follow her own advice, she thought, and closed her eyes to demonstrate. A few, deep breaths later, and she flipped her palm open and upward. It started with a tiny tendril in her palm, and would soon grow larger in size until it eventually became a "staff", or rather a rowan seedling without much greenery on it.

Tyson stopped to listen to Xavia's advice. He wasn't really sure what exactly he was supposed to look for by closing his eyes and trying get in touch with himself. But he may as well try it, it's not like he was making any progress. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to visualize. Something simple, just something easy. ABC. He moved his hand and tried to trace it out, trying to let whatever inner self he was supposed to be looking for do the work. When he finished, he opened his eyes and looked down.

All he saw was a mess. Claw marks zigzagged over one another, looking more like he was trying to scratch some itch on the ground. He hadn't even formed anything resembling the letters by accident. With a short growl he wiped them out again. "Hrrrrr hhhhaands don't worrrrrrrk rrrrrrright," he said, as if she needed to see how badly he had mutilated the exercise. "Caaaan't hrrrr wrrrrrrite orrrrrr drrrraw hrrrrr, caan't eeeven hooooold a penssscccill rrrrright," he reached for one of the roses, his paws shaking as he tried to simply pick one, only to wince and let out a small whine as his paw closed around the whole of the stem with his fist, piercing his hand with the thorns. He let go quickly, and saw blood on his hand where his the thorns had punctured the pads. He looked at it disappointedly, he should have expected something like that to happen.

She moved to sit next to him, and if he did not stop her, she would gently take the crushed bloom from his paw and fix it so it was blooming again. She could not put it back on the bush, so she picked the thorns from it and set it aside for a moment. Then she would turn her attention to the injury and say, "Hold still," very softly, concentrated on plucking the thorns from his flesh before grabbing some nearby aloe and plying the soothing stuff to the wounds.

If he hadn't stopped her from any of that, it would only have taken her a few moments to do all of this. She didn't bother to wrap it, thorn punctures weren't ever deep or bad, for the most part. He would live. Instead, if he still didn't stop her, she turned his hand over and placed the bloom in his hand.

"Here, just cup your hand --" she thought "hand" would make him feel less beastly than paw, "gentle now... Mr....?" She gave a sheepish smile, realizing she had never asked for his name.