Rowan sat, comfortable in the calming silence the two had created. Just silently petting Zorro. Rowan could feel himself completely shifting back. His head hurt a little, and his teeth ached a lot, but he wasn't at risk for losing control anymore. Fluffy wasn't pleased, still giving some mental thrashes, but seemed to accept he wasn't mauling any cops today.

And, for the first time in many years, Rowan thought that maybe he wasn't such a bad kid after all. He had been able to keep himself calm, mostly, while being interrogated for a pretty serious crime. He had avoided shifting despite his fear and anger, a feat he hadn't been able to do before coming to school...that was something he could brag about at his next Danger Room session with Mr Johnson. And, better still, Zorro wasn't scared of him.

Maybe he wasn't a great kid, but he was a better kid than he had been.

As Ms Sundance spoke Rowan turned to look at her. Actually look at her, not at the floor not at his hands but at his teacher. He had been to a dozen schools, kicked out of every single one, and he had been to schools who said the same thing. We teach, house and protect you. Lies, for the most part. But Rowan found himself, for the first time, believing that. It would have been so easy for Rowan to be thrown to the sharks. But he wasn't.

This place...actually cared about him.

He felt his breath get stuck a moment. There were a hundred things he wanted to say, but he had his tough and prickly persona to maintain. He finally was able to speak, although his voice did crack a moment.

"I hope there are sugar cones for the ice cream, bowls are just no fun."

Liz listened to what Rowan said and what he wasn’t saying. She did a lot of filling in the blanks, based on other kids she’d known, what she’d seen in his file, and even her own experiences. It could be hard trusting people, especially when you weren’t always in control of yourself and couldn’t trust your own feelings. But already the lad had come so far from when he’d first arrived and Liz was going to be damned if she was going to let anything undo all of that work.

She turned and looked at Rowan with a laugh. “Oh child, we have everything! Even waffle cones and various toppings!” Largely because Liz herself had smuggled them into the school and made little caches all over the kitchen, a holdover from her days as a student. The junk food wasn’t from then of course, but she regularly rotated her stashes, which came in handy for her late night wine and whine sessions with Becca or when she needed to bribe or console a student.

Food was magic. “Come on, let’s go stuff ourselves with sugar and empty calories. Also: fudge syrup. And caramel.” Liz winked and then lunged forward so she could roll to her feet. Zorro startled at the sudden movement, but reading her posture (and feeling the calmness she broadcasted), he stilled quickly, although he too stood up. “Arriba, arriba, andale, andale! If we hurry we can get to the kitchen, get our ice cream, and clean up before anyone catches us!” A little urgency and drama couldn’t hurt.

And thus did Liz and Zorro lead Rowan off for a time of pure confectionary distractions.