EllaLouise Gartner stood outside of the gates of the Xavier sister school, her sweet features puffed into a huff of dissatisfaction. This was where the X-Men worked out of, huh? Stuffy. It reminded her of the many large estates back home. She wondered if this too was built upon the exploitation of slave labor when it first came to be, like so many of the lauded family dwellings back home. It caused the little doll of a southern belle to smack her lips plainly as she adjusted her Frilly little dress. She had to admit, when she looked into the mirror with this dress on, she felt cute as @#$^. It was important, when seeking employment, to make a good first impression, so she was dressed to the T's, with her long hair in pigtails, curled and tied with ribbons. She looked every part the innocent little aristocrat. She was gonna knock their #$^&ing socks off!

She wasn't just here for fun, of course, she had an objective in mind. Her lawyer had informed her that in order to meet the guidelines set by the trustee of her estate she needed to attend therapy specialized in mutant studies, prove suitability for employment, and prove she was, indeed, a contributing member of society. The seedy underbelly of the internets had gladly informed her that a place like this could check off all of those, and she could go on her way. Besides, she had some other motives as well, but those could wait until later.

She reached out toward the intercom, pausing as she realized she saw someone on the other side of the fence, not too far off. Oh, good. They had help on the outside as well. She would save the confusion of someone hearing a tiny voice over the intercom, and instead reach out to... whoever it was on the other side of the fence. Her short form had a hard time seeing them clearly form here. 

A tiny little voice wandered through the bars of the fenced gate. "Excuse me! Hi there! I'm here to speak to someone in charge!" 

Legally, Xavier's was required to give Ezra a lunch-- a pointless gesture, really, provided that he didn't eat. As such, Ezra used the free period to mill about the grounds, nose buried in a book. One lunch period was ample time for one lap around the grounds, and besides, the weather was absolutely gorgeous today. A soft soprano voice harkened to Ezra from beyond the fence. That, alone, drew his attention. Additionally, the person who summoned him was wearing the most peculiar outfit! Something about the dress was distinctly 17th century-- the collar, perhaps-- but the dress itself struck him as vaguely Victorian. This was offset by a very modern pair of pigtails. It was all wrong, all wrong-- a Frankenstein's monster of different periods in fashion, if he could be so bold as to make that comparison.

The site of antiquated fashion was, nonetheless, a welcomed one. Even if the collar predated Ezra's own existence. Ezra politely closed his book, using a bookmark to keep his place, as the petite blond addressed him through the fence.

>> "Excuse me! Hi there! I'm here to speak with someone in charge!"

"Do you mean, Mister Kipperling?" the homunculus offered. He'd be peering down his nose at the girl, if he had one, "He is the principal here. I am afraid that you will have to proceed to the front gate, however. Do you know the way there?"

Logically, she could just follow the fence, or Ezra could lead her there. But she would have to check-in before meeting with the principal. That was simply how things were done at Xavier's.

"I would be happy to escort you to the visitor's kiosk," Ezra insisted. That's where his walk would lead, anyways, and they could clearly see the small building at the entry gate, wherein an outpost of school security gave guess passes and ensured that no sketchy sorts were trying to venture their way in. It would be foolish to make the same trip, side-by-side, without speaking to one another. Today's tweed suit was a grey herringbone, accented by a maroon necktie and white crosshatched shirt. A newsboy cap was pulled low over the homunculi's eyes, and his hair was wrangled back into its usual ponytail.

Now, L was indeed an avid book reader, considering they were infinitely better company that adults who constantly insisted she was too young to be where she was, but history was admittedly not her favorite subject. She couldn't tell you the origins of any dress she got on MRetsy,  but she could tell you she looked @#$^in adorable in all of the ones she hadn't returned with a nasty message about sizing.

While on the subject of sizing it was worth addressing  the mass of the man on the other size of the fence. She'd missed that at first. Holy cow. He was something, wasn't he? She gave a bit of a wide eyed expression. The doll of a girl blinked a few times before recovering, and smiling sweetly.  He'd mentioned a name, but she'd missed it staring at his mug. "Yes, that sounds like the right person!" Oh good, he was taking her seriously. Strange, but refreshing; It was enough to make her forgive his honestly offputting appearance. He had no nose. "I'm sure I can find the front gate. I started there, after all. I only came around when I noticed someone I could talk to."

She turned and started walking down the length of the gate, sizing him up as she went. He had a book in his hand. She hadn't noticed on account of the face. He was dressed quite old fashioned as well. Stuffy, perhaps, but dapper if nothing else.  She supposed he had to be, lest people take one look and run the other way. People were like that. They watched, judged, and acted without ever looking closely. People sucked.

"That sounds like a plan!" His strides were much longer than hers; she would have to step four times to meet his one. Luckily he didn't seem the type to be in any hurry. "What are you reading?" 

She remained silent for a second, and then got to thinking. This chap was perfectly reasonable. Why get anyone else involved. "I don't suppose we could just skip the kiosk, and let me right on in, could we? I'm in quite a rush, you see."

The young lady seemed slightly taken aback by the homunculus that addressed her. The look Ezra returned was drawn and patient. He'd been around for over three centuries, this reception was nothing new to him. He could only, placidly, wonder which reaction she would choose. Frantic gasp? Surprised scream? Terse but polite response? She blinked, then gave a polite smile-- ah, these were his favorite people. He quirked a polite smile back. The girl insisted that she could find the entrance herself. Ezra bowed cordially at the waist.

"Ah, I see," he replied, "I'm certain... there must be some sort of... greeter at the gate."

The fact that security had not greeted the child was curious on its own. Ezra continued in that direction, strolling at a liesurely pace in that direction. He'd glance in the kiosk on his way by, but... perhaps they were just distracted? Eating lunch? Lots of the staff ate lunch after the student lunch, unless they were teachers.

>> "What are you reading?"

"Chopin," Ezra replied brightly, "The Awakening." He chewed on an appropriate synopsis, one that might appeal (or make sense to) a younger demographic. The homunculus was always enthusiastic about sharing knowledge with young minds, and encouraging curiosity, "The story is about a woman who grows tired of trying to meet peoples' expectations."

That was one way to put it.

>> "I don't suppose we could just skip the kiosk, and let me right on in, could we? I'm in quite a rush, you see."

Ezra cast a sidelong glance through the bars of the wrought iron fence. The bars stood even taller than the homunculus himself.

"I... don't believe that's possible, Miss," he said plainly. Besides, which, it wasn't his business. The lady had insisted that she could find her way to find the kiosk herself. He wouldn't help her enter the grounds without a pass. That was unnecessarily dishonest.

There must have been some confusion, you see, as while the little woman had stated she knew where the entrance was, she was just as sure she wanted an escort. Her Mruber car had left quite some time ago, and who knew what sort of creepers were about? She wasn't worried about getting hurt; that was impossible, but there were worse things in this world than getting physically hurt.

The booth up front had been empty when she'd arrived, though she wasn't too excited about meeting who ever was supposed to occupy it. People at doors were the worst. They stopped people that looked like her all of the time and helped them find their parents. It was all she needed, today, some good willed buffoon trying to do the right thing for her. She might not be able to maintain her cool.

"I'm afraid no one was there... A change in shifts, maybe?" She cooed innocently, tilting her head as he mentioned the book he was reading. She'd been a highschooler at an all girls school in the south. She'd definitely read 'The Awakening'. Her 10th grade teacher adored the book, and the author. L recalled enjoying it as well. She snorted at the synopsis, though. It was a fair shake if you were trying to paraphrase for... a kid? 

"That's one way to put it. It's definitely not a treatise on proper swimming technique." She muttered. Maybe she was reading too far into things. "Is this your first time reading it, or one of many?"

Truth be told, L wasn't the type to read a book a thousand times. There were too many good books to spend too much time dwelling on one. Though if you asked some of her teachers back in the day, there was only one good book, and L found that one particularly dull. 

She sighed as the giant man turned down her request. Damn. It had been worth a shot.

The gates were locked when they arrived out front. Maybe it was because there wasn't anyone on shift at the moment? She stopped on the other side, and looked through the bars at the very tall person. "See? No one here. Think you could help me, Mister..." They hadn't been introduced, after all, and while he had no nose, and was covered in scars, he seemed like a giant puppy dog, to be honest. Easy enough to deal with in conversation, and polite as all getup. Yes, this was her guide to the mansion, she'd decided. He would do just fine.

The girl's retort earned a furrowed brow from the homunculus. She had read The Awakening? Hm. Either Ezra was in the company a savante, or this person was secretly older than they looked. If they were older, however, it wouldn't be polite to ask them their age. Ezra clutched the book to his chest, his pace subconsciously quickening towards the kiosk. How embarrassing.

"I've read it a handful of times," he replied. For a moment, Ezra was about to assert that he was the librarian, as if that meant he had to be well-read, but... well, if this person wasn't older, he was not about to defend himself to a child. Ezra approached the kiosk, with its mirrored windows. Someone should have been there to greet the girl at the gate, particularly given the prevalence of the vigilante's based-out of the Mansion.

>> "See? No one there. Think you could help me, Mister..."

"Pahlke. Ezra Pahlke," the homunculus replied, bowing slightly at the waist, "And you are?"

Skeptically, he rapped his knuckles against the window. Even if some of them were on lunch break, he highly doubted that the kiosk would be empty. He righted himself, waiting for a response... and heard nothing. Ezra tried the door, which slid open with minimal struggling. Well, they had the sign-in sheet, and the guest passes, right there. Ezra supposed he could just sign the girl in and let her in.

The homunculus penned the sign-in himself, marking the date and the time (after a brief glance at the clock). His golden eyes lifted towards the petite blonde. As soon as she gave him her name, he'd pen it in, retrieve her a pass, and figure out how this door operated.

Was... Was he speeding up? Jees, did he have somewhere to be or something?

"Ahem, Could you slow down a bit? I can only only move so fast with these little legs, and this certainly isn't a place a lady should walk around alone." Nowhere in NYC was, nowadays. There were a bunch of criminals from another damned dimension out and about. 

She didn't appear to react a whole lot when he mentioned he'd read that book several times. Fair enough. It wasn't exactly a slog, as far as she recalled. She gave him a slight affirmative grunt.

"Well, Mr. Pahlke, Might I say it's certainly a pleasure to meet you. My name is EllaLouise Gartner. " She gave a little curtsy in response to the bow. He was so old fashioned. It was like he was the actual imaginary caricature one made for the teddy bears at their tea parties that they definitely didn't still have amid bouts of extreme boredom when games weren't cutting it and you literally had no one to talk to, but no drive to actually go outside and talk to anyone.  You know, normal adult twelve year old behavior.

They arrived at the kiosk, and, like she'd said, there was no one there. Maybe someone was sick? Bad communication? Either way, she smirked a tad as he reached in and started filling out the paperwork. 

She stood patiently on the other side of the gate as she worked out how to open it. He would certainly want to get back to his reading after this if she wasn't careful. You see, people tended to bother her less when someone was with her, and as mentioned before, he wasn't terrible company thus far, and so the plan to make him stick around had to come into play quickly. 

"So, you'll be showing me around, then? If I'm going to be staying here, as I plan, I will have to get a good sense of the accommodations. Her eyes lingered on the book for a moment. "Perhaps you could show me to the library, at least? I would want to see what sort of reading was available." And if you don't mind going to a place you probably won't mind showing me there, and then after that you will feel obligated to complete my tour. Maybe you will also get me ice cream when we get to the kitchen. She was hungry for ice cream all of a sudden.

>> "Well, Mr. Pahlke, Might I say it's certainly a pleasure to meet you. My name is EllaLouise Gartner. "

Well-meaning but too anxious to clarify, Ezra accidentally wrote the young woman's name as "Ellouise Gardener" in the sign-in book, not that it really mattered. To the side, he added a scribbled note that, "Nobody was around, so I signed her in. --Mr. Pahlke" in one margin, and recorded the time. The pen and binder were replaced, a guest pass was retrieved off of he desk, and Ezra closed the door to the kiosk, extending one of the patches towards EllaLouise.

"It is a pleasure, Ms. Gardener," he echoed. Thankfully the difference between "Gartner" and "Gardener" wasn't night-and-day, so Ezra might have been able to get away with his faux pas.

>> "So, you'll be showing me around, then? If I'm going to be staying here, as I plan, I will have to get a good sense of the accommodations."

"There are-" Ezra began to protest, "What I mean to say is-"

There were tour guides, and he was not one of them. He was the librarian.

>> "Perhaps you could show me to the library, at least? I would want to see what sort of reading was available."

The spindly man was somewhat placated by the request. The library was his domain, so he certainly could show someone, this young lady included, the library.

"I could show you to the library," Ezra agreed, "But I also must insist that we find a real tour guide for you. I am... among one of the newest additions to the staff, so my knowledge of the campus is not extensive."

Hence why he was spending his lunch strolling about the grounds. Ezra strode towards the Mansion itself, glancing over his shoulder to ascertain that the young woman was following.

The mispronunciation of her name did get a little bit of a head tilt out of her, but she paid it little mind. She had a plan, after all, and it involved getting a tour of this place one way or another.

"Well, I certainly appreciate anything you can to for me, Mr.Pahlke. I do wonder, though, if there might be a place I can freshen up along the way? It was a long ride, getting here." She smiled innocently up at him as he made toward the large building. Surely they could stop by the washroom, yes? What was one little detour?

She took not of his struggle to find a nice way to turn her down. Adorable. Truly. How far could she push his good will? It would be a stimulating experiment. She figured she could ring it up to 3 at least; Yes, that would be par tonight. Any more would be icing.

"So you are new here as well? How are you enjoy your stay thus far?" Would you recommend this place to a little kid who happens to be an adult?

As she climbed the steps to the mansion, she smirked to herself, shifting to an innocent smile before he looked back next; she assumed the man would get the door for her. He seemed the type.

Ezra nodded in quiet confirmation. There was indeed a restroom, and who was he to deny someone the right to use it? He didn't even know where they went on these tours, besides the library-- he supposed that the bathroom would be a necessary trip at one point in the tour.

"Relatively new," Ezra agreed, "It is not a bad place to work. The staff is small, and I have always enjoyed the library... so it is a job that I am happy to fill."

At least, for the time being. He tended to cycle through jobs every twenty or so years, maximum. As the girl anticipated, Ezra did get the door for her, stepping aside to allow her to pass. It was a force of habit-- from his era of origin, or perhaps because he was literally built to serve others. Once L had entered, Ezra followed her in, absentmindedly wringing his hands as he walked.

"This way," he said faintly, gesturing towards the hall, to the left. Where were the student restroom again? Towards the classrooms? he didn't pass them on his way into the library. His amber eyes slid over doors inquiringly. He was too bashful to ask a student. After some quiet milling, he saw the familiar placard on the wall with the simplified woman in a dress and the words "Girls' Restroom" written plainly in English and Braille.

"Here you are," Ezra said, gesturing with a palm pointed upwards. He could call to request an actual tour guide once they got to the library, "I'll, hm, wait in the foyer."

It felt weird to stand in the hallway outside of the girls' room. But... if he stood in the hall, he could see when Ms. Gardener left the restroom. He'd wait to walk to the foyer until after she disappeared within the bathroom.