The blonde stumbled her way down a flight of stairs and quickly out into the courtyard crossing over towards the café that was housed in one of the university buildings. Now that Serena was in her third year, and was still achieving the same level of grades she was being asked by the university to help out some of the newer students attending the university, and she'd been asked to meet her first such charge here about 5 minutes ago.

All she knew was the student in question was a male, also from the British Isles. She had no idea which part of the UK he was from, and she didn't know what course he was studying (Thanks information office), however she was certain that she was late.

She'd spent a little too much time in the library polishing of an essay for one of her lecturers on the viability of different blood donors based on their type... And as a result she was now having to sprint across the courtyard towards the café where she skidded to a stop. She glanced around. It was still fairly early in the morning and as a result there was still a faint mist clinging low towards the ground where the grass was caked with frost as if someone had taken a giant vat of icing and slathered it across the courtyard.

She pushed open the door and glanced around to see one very sleepy looking barista leaning against the counter and only one other patron, whom she approached with a broad smile.

Artair sat moodily starting at his watch and silently cursing his course tutor for making him attend this meeting so early in the morning. So yes, he was a foreign student and yes admittedly he had been given a lot of leniency as far as a deferred placement, but seriously? His adviser was already late, his hangover was killing him and his stomach was grumbling at the lack of food this morning. He'd hoped to have been spending the day either asleep or catching up on his coursework but no, he was sitting here in an empty cafe and a blinding headache.

He'd only been given a basic amount of info before hand. He was meeting a 3rd year, same age as him and she was from somewhere in Britain. He only hoped she wasn't English, not that he'd say it out loud.

At least the cafe they'd chosen for the meeting was pleasant. The light and minimalist design was appealing and the liquid gold they called coffee wasn't too hard on his wallet. His stomach growled at him and just as he was about to order something the door was pushed open and a blonde woman entered the cafe. Between one blink and the next she'd already started bearing down on him with a smile far too cheerful for the time.

Serena stiffled a yawn and smiled down at the moody looking gentlemen sitting in front of her. She offered him a smile and studied him quickly. Hmmm... That looked like a hungover student if she'd ever seen one. (She definitely had seen them). "Hello there, I assume you're Artair?" She offered him her hand, whether or not he took it was a different matter, but extending the courtesy was the important part.

She smiled knowingly. "I know these meetings can be a pain. I'm Serena, would you like me to grab you a coffee before we start? I could do with one." She offered with a placating tone. It was common knowledge around campus and especially in early morning Bio-chem lectures that the best way to a students heart was with a good cup of coffee, at least if you're not counting bacon that is.

Serena was fairly certain she'd pronounced Artair's name correctly, and she was also fairly sure that she recognised it's roots as an early version of 'Arthur'. It wasn't very likely that many people on the campus recognised that at first.

Artair's foul mood refused to shift under this annoyingly cheery smile, however the manners drilled into him leapt into action. Rising quicker than his hangover was happy with he took the offered hand. "Morning," he replied in Gaelic, before his brain flicked the English switch. "Sorry, I mean good morning, you must be Serena?" It was far too early if, after months here, he'd still defaulted to Gaelic. "And yes, another coffee would be great."

His brain now functioning a little quicker, he realised she wasn't only English, she was southern. This was going to be..... fun. Hopefully she wouldn't read too much into his language slip, but chances are it'd be mentioned. He always hated having to explain it to half interested tourists, that yes, he spoke Gaelic first. Yes, he could understand your English fine please stop talking to me like I'm two and no, I'm not going to help you learn some swear words. That last one he'd had to say far too much. Another, admittedly small, part of his brain recognised she hadn't only spoken his name in the Gaelic form, she'd pronounced it pretty well.

It was only after all of this that he realised he'd gone off into his own little world again and had probably been staring a little creepily. So, to counteract this, he gave what he'd hoped was convincingly warm smile. Maybe she wouldn't think he was a complete moron?

Her expression faltered for just a moment, did he speak to her in... Was that Gaelic? She'd heard a few phrases before when she'd gone through a weird phase in poetry, but she had never actively pursued learning or understanding it. But he seemed to catch himself and switch it to English. That was odd. She had never met anyone from the Isles who greeted in a different language before.

She smiled and nodded at his response in a polite, practiced elegance before moving over to the counter and chatting to the barista for a couple of minutes while they prepared some fairly strong coffees. Serena was extremely familiar with most of the cafe's around the campus. She still had a little two much in the way of night owl habits and as a result often ended up with caffeine fueled mornings.

She brought the coffees over, both particularly strong as she had a suspicion he might have needed them just about as much as she did at the moment. She pulled out a seat to sit then pulled out a plastic covered file she had to work with when she was helping Artair. She looked up again, and gave a friendly smile. "The kitchen should be opening fairly soon if you want some decent breakfast, but until then we can wake ourselves up and get the early stuff out the way."

The blonde pulled her hair aside and pinned it back, taking several long gulps of near scalding coffee and then put it down and placed her hands together neatly on her lap, looking at the other Brit. "So Artair, if I might ask where in the UK did you come here from?" She inquired.

A couple of quick gulps of the coffee greatly enhanced Artairs' brain function. It also made him realise how hungry he was. The thought of a way too greasy breakfast helped bring his head back around to why he was here. It also made him realise his prejudices were dangerously close to showing and, well, the logical part of his mind just wouldn't shut up about them.

"I'm from Kirkwall, on Orkney," he replied, "Just a bit further north than nowhere." Which was only half a joke, the Isles weren't exactly accessible. Again in as many days his mind turned to home. As much as he'd hoped he would picture his family or the rolling hills, all he kept remembering was four, white, sterile walls.

Absently scratching his chest he continued on "What about yourself? I was told you were also from Britain, but that was about it honestly." He had asked as a simple polite gesture but with his foul mood lifting he found himself genuinely curious. It would always pay to know someone with a bit more experience at NYC and who knows, maybe this wouldn't be such a bad morning.

As the Scottish gentlemen spoke about his background, Serena suppressed a smile. She wasn't sure about Orkney, but she'd definitely heard of a place called Kirkwall before, in a video game she'd played with James. She certainly didn't bring up that thought with Artair. He didn't seem to be the most amicable sort in the morning, and she certainly wasn't going to add to that whilst trying to do a job with him.

Serena smiled. She wasn't entirely sure how to answer. She paused, then gave her reply. "Well I was born somewhere South, I know that much. But we moved around a lot, I was near Edinburgh at some point." Again, small pause before she added. "And I moved here when I was 11 or 12, been here since."

She didn't elaborate further. Yet, anyhow. She didn't see the point until they knew each other a little better at the very least. "I know New York fairly well, I stayed in the city for a few years, then at the Mansion a little upstate, Also the university campus fairly well. I'm in my third year." She wasn't afraid to admit she was a mutant, that was for sure.

That..... was not the answer he was expecting. He probably be wise to remember she'd had a much broader experience with the world than he had. And the Mansion? Why was that ringing a bell? Some distant memory was screaming at him but if it was more important surely he'd be able to remember. Clearly the coffee needed some more time to kick in.

Slightly more amenable, and frankly less grumpy, Artair remembered why he was actually here. "So what exactly was this meeting set up for?" he inquired. The information he'd been given had been vague at best. He paused slightly, trying to recall the hazy phone call he'd received, "About all I've been told is it's standard practice for students in my, situation, to get help or advice from a senior student."

His hand had returned to idly scratching his chest. Its like they had a mind of their own at times. He was sure his Aunt would say something about playthings and the devil but he'd never been able to remember bible verses. Or much, at least at the moment, since the comment about the mansion was still bugging him. Why did that seem so important? Did it really matter at the current time? When would the kitchen start serving food?

She chuckled lightly and had another drink. She was all too familiar with the university being hands on with their students. She was a single, foreign student with no family to speak of when she'd enrolled. So of course they had kept an eye on her. "It's a pain, I had to deal with them too. But long story short, I need to speak to you about how your studies are going, and how your living situation is panning out, offer advice and all that." She replied, supplying a smile.

"I'm basically a peer assistant. I've lived in New York since I was a kid, and I've been around the university for going on three years now, So I'm very familiar with your situation." She added.

A grin was threatening to tug at the corners of her mouth as her mind wandered elsewhere. "I must say, your English is very clear even through your lovely accent. One of my best friend's is from up in Scotland too, and I have a much harder time with her accent." She admitted, taking another drink of coffee nearly empty of her cup. Serena glanced at the watch on her wrist and perked up.

"Oh, the kitchen's about to open, would you like something? They do a fairly good full English here." She supplied. "The bagels are pretty wonderful too." She added, standing from her chair.

With his headache having gone from a blinding, screaming pain to a dull thud, his mood had improved significantly. "Oh I can understand their concern, as annoying as it is," he replied smiling, "I'd do the same in their position, especially considering they gave me a deferred placement." He did appreciate the fact that the university had been kind enough to defer him a place for 2 years and helped him set up medical insurance and the like. "As far as studying is going it's honestly a wee bit easier than I would have guessed. I was expecting a bigger jump in difficulty from high school."

Thinking on it his only issue had been the mutant biology elective's lecturer. "I don't know if its a problem but something seems," he paused for a second, not able to think of the right way describe it "off to me." He'd always looked at Artair a bit weirdly and he couldn't place exactly why it felt this way.

Knowing Serena had lived here a while was definitely useful, he'd barely been able to stumble his way around New York, even getting into some of the rougher areas by accident. He'd have commented on it if the next sentence from her hadn't made him laugh. "Yeah, I've heard people say our accents are softer than some of the lowland areas, especially around Glasgow." He'd shuddered inwardly, remembering the time a bus full of Glaswegians had descended onto the island and managed get it stuck through the pier. "I think it has something to do with how Gaelic sounds made their way into our English speech."

Finishing his coffee and letting the wonderful taste linger a little, Serena's mention of food brought his ravenous state back to mind. "That sounds like an excellent idea." the prospect of a full English, a little taste of home, was the best idea he'd heard all day.

Serena chuckled as she stood and tucked her chair in. She nodded in understanding and agreement. "That was good of them, generally speaking NYU Is pretty good with all of that." She felt a mischievous smirk touch the sides of her mouth. "Yes, I hope you'll refrain from mentioning this to others, but the UK school system is quite a lot more intense than the one over here." She replied.

She noted that he mentioned something was off, and decided to wait until she'd ordered for them before going to actually get that sorted out. She chuckled at the comment on accents. "That's true, but I don't mind. I find her accent pretty sexy myself." She responded with a playful smirk, a small twinkle in her eye.

"Right then, I'll be right back." She supplied politely and moved over to the counter and ordered a full English, and a couple of bagels. She brought the bagels back to the table with some cream cheese and other toppings fairly quickly, along with a second coffee for herself. She offered him a bagel before taking another herself and buttering it, nibbling at one edge. "The rest of the food will be a little bit, have some bagel if you're hungry though"

She tilted her head and looked at him. "Now, you said something was off. What did you mean by that?"

Standing, albeit slowly, he smiled at Serenas' comments. He fully understood the leeway the university had given him, especially with a 2 year deferred placement. He did, however, reserve the right to grumble. It's what his people did best. It was reassuring to hear Serena confirm his own suspicions, but who was he to complain about an easy first year with plenty of time for personal activities. Smiling he noted to her, "I had heard the UK's system was generally good, but coming here has definitely hammered home how well off we are back home."

Serena's next comment elicited a louder laugh than before drawing a startled look from the barista. He'd certainly learned that over here, people seemed to love British accents. It had netted him more than one date. Smiling back a little cheekily, "Can't say I disagree, I've been missing the sound of a Scottish lasses voice for a while now," he joked.

Nodding as she went off to order, Artair studied the menu a bit before deciding on exactly what he wanted. He ordered a full English and glass of orange juice, and apparently made it back to the table first. The sudden appearance of bagels however, answered that question and they looked awfully tempting. Serena's offer had barely left her lips before he'd wolfed down the bagel. Smiling sheepishly he'd nearly missed what she'd said next.

How would he explain it exactly? It wasn't even anything specific it was just a weird feeling he got. Sighing he started speaking, "Its hard to explain honestly, but its about my Mutant Biology lecturer. He's giving me a weird vibe, if that makes sense?" Pausing he looked for a reaction before continuing on, "It's like every time he looks at us he's trying to figure out who's a mutant and not." Artair didn't like to sound like he was insulting the guy but he'd not been able to shake this feeling since starting the elective. "It's getting to the point I'm feeling uncomfortable in the lectures and I'm not the only one."

Serena chuckled and nodded. She most definitely agreed. "Yeah, I definitely found getting through highschool here not too difficult." She paused. "Well, I suppose at the time it was a little stressful, but looking back on it now it was a complete breeze."

A playful grin was now plyed to her lips. "Mhmmm~ I definitely agree on that front." She smirked.

A sip of the fresh coffee was followed by attacking the bagel, nibbling at it slowly but surely. Serena wasn't that hungry, but she figured that was probably the sleep deprivation talking. So she'd just make sure she got something in her before she inevitably crashed when she got back to her apartment.

Leaning forwards as Artair explained what was troubling him, her brows knitted in concentration as she thought about it. She nodded a few times. "Right."

She let him finish explaining before interjecting with her own thoughts on the matter. "Yeah, the lecturers are a mixed bag for mutants, a couple of mine know I'm one, but if the lecturer is genuinely making students uncomfortable your best bet is to report him to the faculty, they are generally pretty good at hammering it down fast." She paused. "Keep in mind, the University is rather good at catering to the students, because we're effectively customers." She added.

Coffee had meant to help Artairs' brain work. At this point however, it didn't. "Wait, you're a mutant?" he'd managed to blurt out before he'd been able to catch himself. The way she'd said it was like she'd already mentioned it. Surely he'd have noticed that? He was frantically going over the conversation trying to figure out when she'd said something out it. Why the hell couldn't he find it?

When he finally realised it was like he'd been slapped. The mansion was what she had said. Not a mansion, The Mansion, with a capital T. She'd been in Xaviers. That what his mind had been freaking out about. He'd finally met another mutant and it had been completely blasé.

Signing he rubbed his eyes before he started, "I'm sorry, that probably came across badly. I am way to hungover for revelations and this one just took awhile." Taking a deep breath he smiled before continuing, "I honestly didn't expect to meet another mutant so soon, or have it be completely normal." His own experience with others like him had been non-existent. As much as Artair loved Kirkwall, he knew he would've been shunned had he revealed his powers.

Artair hadn’t realised, he’d been holding the fabric of his shirt quite so hard and had to take a few deep breaths before his muscles would release. This had all happened for too fast for him and he wasn’t prepared for it. The hangover wasn’t helping much either.

Suppressing a smug smirk that was threatening to appear the blonde responded. "Yes I am. I don't tend to work very hard to hide it." She winked. He seemed quite taken aback. She'd pegged him as a mutant from his reactions in their conversation so far, surely she couldn't be too far off? She knew that a lot of mutants were very nervous over their powers, hell. She used to be.

She quirked an eyebrow. "It's perfectly okay, it's fairly early." She paused. Had he really not met another student on campus yet? She knew of several who were fairly outgoing or at the very least were incredibly obvious. Funnily enough, just then the barista brought over a full English and placed it in front of Artair where Serena pointed. "Hah, well that'll help." She chirped.

She took a minute to add. "I'm a little surprised I'm the first you've met. There are quite a few of us around campus, and a decent number with visible mutations." She added thoughtfully. "Well regardless, most of the university is welcoming to mutants. I think the number of students helps, they are pretty liberal and progressive." Serena finished her second cup of coffee.

"If anyone is giving you directly trouble, or other mutants and nobody is doing anything about it, let me know." She stated matter of factually.