Oh, Kami.. he had a mouth on him, didn't he? Had she the ability she might have blushed at his curse. Instead, she focused on him having stated that he liked weird. Did... that mean he liked her? Was he a friend now? She had only ever had her sister as a companion for so long that having not one, but two friendly interactions with people perked her right up. Her tails and ears here straight and alert.

If he offered his hand she would lean toward it to rub her cheeks across it. Not only was she able to mildly scent him for future finding, but face scritches felt particularly good. She did offer her sleek back for pets as well.

"They are indeed demons." She stared up at him, unblinking, for just a moment. "My breed is believed to be most vicious, and particularly spiteful toward humans... devouring them, enslaving them, raising their dead to do our bidding." She giggled in her human voice, that of a young girl.

"What fables do they spin around you?" Hiyori discreetly curled her tails up and away, attempting to hide them from view. "... Gomenasai. It can be hard to battle back instinct. Movement tends to draw my attention despite my best attempts... and even more so when it is covered in fur."

Her pupils expanded to the point her eyes were nearly all black and her claws flexed like little white needles from her little paws. She tore her gaze away soon enough and stood, walking in a slightly different direction to shake the murderous intentions off.

"Sometimes it feels as if I am more cat than person."

>>>"My breed is believed to be most vicious, and particularly spiteful toward humans... devouring them, enslaving them, raising their dead to do our bidding."

It took him a second before he smirked and laughed a bit as well. It was an odd having a cat giggle before him. Even weirder he was laughing with it and talking with it. ”Right on.” he raised his hand, ”Can’t imagine I’d be worth eating or enslaving. Takes away… me flare?” he said trying to find the right word.

The shifter’s curiosity got the better of him and he reached over to pet the cat-girl? She said she was born like this so did that mean he was talking to a cat of a girl who was a cat. It was starting to get confusing the more he thought about it so Carrick did what he did best and stopped thinking.

His tail mimicked hers and went behind his body out of view. ”Got no idea love.” he laughed again ignoring both other voices in the back of his head. Both of them were asking if she was food. He made a mental note to stop eating animals on the property when in his Gryphon form. Last thing he wanted was to eat someone.

”Preach girl.” he nodded his head, ”Normally it’s just fight n’ flight but me instincts keep asking if yer food.” he flashed his pointed teeth. ”I don’t eat people… or cats now.” his pupils turned to cat like slits to oppose hers.

”Gryphons don’t enslave, devour sure. We like gold, women and above all else protecting our hoard. Because it’s ours and no one elses.” his hoard was currently under his bed. No one was dumb enough to check under there what with the food and garbage. ”Apparently we’re hard to kill. Knights would try and claim fame by offing ‘em.” he shrugged. ”So if ya see any knights, I was never ‘ere.”

She quietly appraised him for a moment, "While I have no such desires, I cannot speak on the behalf of others. I'm sure you would make a wonderful personal minstrel."

Contrary to how one would think a small cat would react to being told they looked like food (Assuming the small cat could understand) Hiyori actually grew excited. Someone else who understood the frustration! When instinct rammed its way to the front and overrode normal sensibilities. Her large eyes twinkled excitedly.

"How exciting! That is not unlike the myth of dragons, yes? A hoard, and fantastical battles with knights!" She had read a bit on Gryphons while studying up on other myths and legends and apparently hadn't given them nearly enough focus.

"Why, I think I could handle some human in an oversized tin can. I would not stand by and watch as someone attempted to rid the world of your flare for fame or glory."

She slunk back slightly as the familiar purple mist cropped up, swirling about and eventually condensing into the next for she had chosen. She hopped into it as it solidified, vanishing behind the black and white striped cloth of her newly formed shirt. The figure was different from the last; A black sharp cut bob, sleep black cat ears atop her head, and large yellow eyes with slitted pupils. Hiyori clasped her hands behind her back and offered a sly smile.

"At least in my mythology people are terrified of harming me lest they incur a lifetime of bad luck."

”True, but cash is kings. Just as easily pay me to sing songs bout ya.” he smirked, ”Be easier than the whole enslavement thing I’m sure. Have a tendency to be difficult.”

”Kinda like dragons, don’t got scales or nothing. Better looking too.” he nodded his head before laughing, ”Just need a can opener.”

Watching her mist out into another form, he stood and took a step back not sure what to expect. ”Well, I hid me tail I’m sure I could pull of the whole angel thing. Bad luck’s nothing to divine wrath. Right?” his tail wrapped his leg and he opened his wings fully making sure to avoid any bushes.

”So you can do bad luck fer a lifetime, what about good luck. Wouldn’t mind me some of that.” he folded his wings back behind himself and his tail went back to doing it’s own thing.

"With how fanatical some can get you might wind up the divine leader of a cult if you aren't careful.... unless that is the goal."

The teen chuckled airily and clasped her hands behind her back as she leaned to get a better look at his wings. They were magnificent, truly, and left her pondering on what it would be like to fly. What did clouds feel like? What did his feathers taste like? How different would the world look from really high up?

"Good luck? Hm. I would say that my actions speak louder than words," She glanced at the two halves of his instrument, "But I have no objections about offering a falsity to act as a placebo in hopes that you will bolster your own luck... if that is what you wish."

She grinned at him, sharp teeth gleaming. "I must ask, are you on the team of heroes with the rest? I have met one other such student who is in training and seeing as I aim to join myself I would love to grow my web of connections."

”Never again.” Carrick said flatly half joking or was he? There was a couple close calls that made even him uncomfortable. Sure the pay was fine for a while and the attention was nice but it got to the point where he wasn’t even allowed to fly. Just sit pretty. He hated sitting pretty.

His eyes followed hers as she looked at his instrument and smirked, ”Always found words far more comfortin.” he smirked, ”All I heard was that yer blessing me with luck. Which Canadians always need, not like their blessed with the Irish luck.” he flashed his teeth back at her.

Her next question caused him to laugh, ”Me? Training to be an X-men? No, Why would I do that?” he asked shaking his head and laughing. ”More of a lover than a fighter. Can take a hit sure, but not like I like getting punched around.” he folded his arms, ”Do I look like a hero to ya?” he raised his eyebrow.

”Cat’s make webs now?” he grinned.

She looked mildly alarmed at what she took as an admission of cult fellowship but made no further comment on it. Not her business, after all.

"I don't know much about Irish luck, I got side-tracked by legends of the cat-sìth." In fact, there were many things she hadn't bothered to look into since they didn't suit her own narrative at the time.

She was genuinely surprised by his answer. "...I suppose I assumed that most, if not all, of the young capable people here, came to the school in hopes that they would be future members of the X-men team. That is why I am here, after all.

As to whether or not he looked like a hero, well, that was a tricky question to answer. What were heroes supposed to look like. "...Yes? I don't see any clear indications that you would not be a hero. No devious mustache, or villainous steepled fingers to suggest the oppsoite."

She did incline her head a little though, "I apologize for assuming, however. I suppose it is not fair to place such an expectation upon people without asking them first."

Hiyori smiled innocently back, "One can make anything if one puts their mind to it. A web is a very simple design in Kirigami."

”Oh? So yer a hero then?” Carrick asked curiously. ”I’m only ‘ere to finish school. Promised me mum.” it was a promise he broke before he de-aged. Now he had a second chance to make good on the promise. ”This was just highly recommended fer mutants like me.” he looked to his wings then smirked, ”Obviously gifted.”

”Part cat,” he shrugged waving his tail behind him. ”Apparently we can enslave and devour.” he smirked, ”Sides don’t think I could pull off a devious mustache.” he stroked the area where the mustache would have been. ”Beard might be more my speed.” he said now stroking the non-existent beard like he was deep in thought.

”All fine love, I’m used to disappointing people.” he said with a laugh, ”I mean, I caught someone before from a burning building, smelled awful. Had to set him down. Took forever to get my wings to stop smelling like ‘em.”

Web design? ”Kirigami?” Carrick asked curiously, ”That a website?”

The sleek black ears on the top of her head perked at the mention of a heroic deed he had done and the expression on her face shifted into catish glee. Perhaps he was a bit of a closet hero, then?

"Kirigami is the art of cutting paper. Most notably people make snowflakes in winter with the method." Hiyori clipped two clawed fingers together to simulate scissors, "I dabble in it, but I am mostly into Origami. I find folding intricate things to be much more relaxing."

A flutter of much smaller wings than his caught her attention. Her ears swiveled first to the source, a rather brave bird who had landed in the top branches off a tree, and her eyes followed slowly, perhaps a bit reluctantly.

"I will one day bear the title of 'hero' myself if only to prove to those who do not believe I can, that I am."

That she was not a mistake. A fluke. A bad omen. That she was just as capable as the rest of her family, even if she had been born in a much smaller body.

"My sister and I were sent here as a punishment originally. My father assumed that the American education system would fail and that we would wish to return home to where it is safe. But," Her pupils dilated and her tail twitched, as her vision narrowed on the unaware bird above them.

"He did not realize that both of us would relish the challenge and the adventure. I am quite enjoying it here myself. People are much less polite so I do not feel nearly as bad when I defeat the bad ones."

She glanced at him from the corners of her eyes, while clasping her hands behind her back in an attempt to distract herself from her instincts. "...Is Canada very similar to here?"

The shifted cocked his head confused, what did cutting paper have to do with anything… was she calling him a snowflake? Carrick looked down at his hands and accepted that he was an individual and unique, so nice of her to notice. ”I made a cootie catcher when I was younger.” he said proudly. He never caught any cooties so it must of worked right?

The bird was noticed by both of them given their abilities it was Carrick’s reaction to her that he commented on. ”Anything that moves get your attention or is it because it’s prey?” Carrick asked his tail flicking behind him curiously. ”Movement for me, then I wonder if it is prey. Usually is. No matter the size.” he flashed his teeth in a grin.

”That’s a bad reason to go into the hero business. Personally I’d do it fer the fame and glory. But Pride cometh before the fall right?” he asked before adding, ”If yer gonna do it do it fer yerself. Never understood the appeal of being one.” Carrick said truthfully. A simple narrative shift made heroes the bad guy. His father was a prime example of it.

”Beating baddies on yer own already? Why train fer it then?” he asked curiously. ”Sounds like yer doing a bang up job already. Just enslave or devour some people collect a check save the day.” he said giving a thumbs up.

”Canada?” he asked confused before remembering that he told her he was from there. ”Oh yeah Canada where I’m from… Totally, we have extra A’s and hockey though.” he said summing up his knowledge on the unfamiliar land. Ireland and America. That was all he knew.

....Cootie... catcher? Puzzled, she tried to visualize what that could possibly be, but had to give up after a moment because the conversation moved along.

"Anything that moves. It is very inconvenient." Especially at times when she couldn't help but make little chirping sounds at birds and other small animals. "If you have enough imagination anything can be a prey item. String tends to be quite easy to kill, and hours of entertainment."

She finally tore the eyes away from the bird and back to Carrick. "There is no proof for me if I don't also earn the title. One can say they are anything, but until it is proven others can simply disagree."

She flexed one clawed hand in thought. "My sister received training in various forms of combat, but I did not. I do still have much to learn in that regard, even if I am capable of defense and offense in my own right."

She smiled, "Enslaving people is unfortunately much more tedious that one is led to believe. You still have to provide food, and shelter, and such."

...Hockey?

"Ah. A sport I take it? I never venture into sports of any time. I do not know much about what 'hockey' might entail."

”String huh?” he laughed, ”That makes way too much sense now.” he grinned, ”Spent a year of school playing with a string on me desk.” folding his arms. ”Everyone just thought I had some form of ADHD.” he chuckled and always figured it was a bit of both.

”I mean, even with proof I’m pretty sure I can disagree with something. I’m just stubborn sometimes.” his tail flicked behind him debating if he should let her know he was messing with her.

”Good thing yer going to this school then,” he said with a shrug watching the clawed hand. He imagined it be hard to play with those, he no longer wanted a pair. ”They got people here that teach offense and defense.” he said making karate gestures. He was from the school of pub fights meaning he would just grab something and throw it.

”And it’s a place with room n’ board. Speaking from experience the food and rooms are pretty grand. Just leave the enslaved here.” Carrick said smirking, ”I’ll even keep an eye on ‘em for you for a fee of course. Don’t really thing I’ll engage too much in the devouring though. Not really me thing.” he shrugged.

”Hockey?” he asked grinning only having played it once. It was hard to fly in skates or skate with wings, the wings always seemed to want to open when he built up enough speed. ”Oh it’s great. Ya wear ice skates, shoes with blades on the bottom. Ya get ta carry around a big stick and any differences get settled with a good ol’ fashioned fight. Winner gets ta keep some ones teeth and a few minutes of rest.” he said summing up what he knew about it.

”You know I’m not really from Canada right, love?” he asked now wondering if she was messing with him. The Princess was pretty good about that too.

Hiyori chuckled, "I will make sure to drop off all enslaved persons here for you to deal with, then." Her ears flattened back slightly, "Unfortunately we have rooms elsewhere. My father thought it best to entrust an Aunt of ours who lives here to find us adequate shelter elsewhere, in hopes that it would be terrible and further push my sister into wanting to come home and abide by the family rules." She fussed with her nails slightly, reminding herself to try a different color next time.

"Unfortunately for him, I happen to like hunting rats, and my sister can adapt to almost anything."

He explained the sport and she did find herself a bit intrigued. Ice skating but with sticks and violence? It certainly sounded fun to watch. Probably not fun enough for her to want to participate.

She did look mildly confused when he walked back on his claim to be from Canada. He had told her that was where he was from, after all, so why would she not believe him? The teen tried to recover quickly with a mischievous smile and a bob of her head.

"But of course I did. Did you really think I was from Japan?"

Carrick shrugged, ”What do aunts know?” he said with a little smirk. ”If she was looking out fer ya, she would have found a spot with more rooms fer all the enslaved.” he said with a sigh. ”Well at least ya found yerself a place like this and caretaker fer all of yers.” he said grinning.

Scratching the back of his head his tail flicked behind him mischievously. His hand went to the back of his head and he scratched it trying to not make eye contact. His first thought was she was messing with him again and he wanted to make sure there was no one else around to acknowledge she was messing with him. It was important to Carrick he was the one that was the one that messed with people. ”Ya know a lot about Oni fer not being Japanese…” he paused, but so did he apparently. Videogames… One of his few learning mediums.

”Well, I’m from the Emerald Isle…. Ireland.” he said as a matter of fact. He would have felt bad if someone pointed out how gullible she was if she wasn’t messing with him and in turn he’d have crossed a black cat and that was something his mother warned him about. Though she probably didn’t know that they were in the enslaving and devouring game.

”I mess with everyone. Can’t play favorites.” he shrugged, ”How long ya been here the states I mean?”

...Tail... wiggling about back there.

She very nearly almost lost track of what they were talking about. "Other cultures have their own variants of Oni as well, but... your point is valid." Her eyes trailed after the motion of his tail like a vintage Kit Kat Klock.

"Oh? Irland? Truly? I have seen pictures, but I am sure that.... they don't do it any...justice." She trailed off again, and suddenly her human face went completely slack and expressionless.

On the inside, there was a dangerous level of the pupil to eye ratio and butt wigging going on. It was very hard to concentrate on anything else.

Almost exactly the same time he asked her about her length of stay in America, the female form started to vanish in whisps of purple haze and Hiyori in cat form and fury came launching out of it with eyes wide, ears back, and claws extended.

"ONLYAWEEK" The statement was a tad garbled as she was flying at him, the general area his tail had been that is, but it was still there if you listened hard enough.

Regardless of how he reacted, she chose not to feel too bad on the inside. There were bunny kicks in her belly that needed out and all of her toys were at home where she couldn't grab and pretend to disembowel them!

"RAASORRYIJUSTWANNABITEIT"