18 hours …. 18 hours is a lot of time to be stuck in the back seat of your fathers SUV as he and your mother drive you half way across the country to go to a new school. Now why didn't you fly instead it would have been quicker. And you would be right. Save that the world isn't that safe of a place for a mutant. And having paranoid prepper parents doesn't make it any easier. Besides it's good for family bonding … supposedly. Plus the additional charges for the 4 surplus military totes of Herbert's stuff would have cost more than driving it themselves.

Now that they were in the last few miles Herbert really started to get nervous. At the beginning of the trip everything was fine and he was able to just deal with life as t came. But as they got closer the pressure started to build. The Toyota forester came to a halt at a huge set of iron gates where a stylized plaque stood on the column welcoming them to Xavier's school for the gifted. Blinking at the gate Herbert poked his head over his mom's shoulder. “Well that's not intimidating at all.”

Smirking Beatrice reached back and patted her son on the head. “Oh don't worry about it. Think of it as a security measure at a Prison or a mental institution.” Both Greg and Herbert slowly turned to look at her and she blinked in confusion. “What?” Looking at each other the Dunham men both let out a sigh and shook their heads. If a telepath was able to read
their minds at that moment they would have heard simultaneously. ~Yeah that doesn't help at all. Mom/Honey~ There was no way they would be dumb enough to voice that out loud.

Reaching out with a grunt Greg hit the gate buzzer and keyed in a code he was texted in advance for when they arrived. Apparently due to the long drive up the lane waiting for someone to come and open the gate was a bit of a pain and you were not always guaranteed to have someone watching the monitors. So the code would just auto text the resident instructor in charge of their arrival giving them a 3 minute warning before they reached the front door.  

The day seemed unusually brisk to Elizabeth. It wasn’t a significant issue for her, as she genuinely enjoyed colder temperatures, but it meant her old friend Nico wasn’t happy being outside. So she’d left the parrot back in her suite of rooms, just on the outskirts of her psionic range, where she could just barely feel his plottings and schemings.

Instead, she was outside enjoying the weather with someone who could appreciate it.

“Attaboy!” she called out, clapping her hands as Zorro caught the ball in mid-air with a leap. “Great job!” The German shepherd responded to her praise with incessant tail-wagging and she could feel his joy radiating off of him. She beamed a smile in his direction and channeled some of her own happiness toward the dog.

As he bounded over the ground to return the ball to her, Liz felt a buzzing in a pocket. She answered it as she tossed the ball in another direction. “Got it. Thanks, Craig!” she said before hanging up. The current security monitor had agreed to just call her when the Dunhams arrived, since she’d planned on being outside anyways. This way there would be no chance she’d be late to the arrival of a new student.

Not long after, curiosity flared in Zorro and Liz connected to his mind, tapping into his hearing. A car’s tires were crunching the road up to the mansion. Ah, good. “Alright, boy, bring the ball,” she said, taking her place before the main doors of the mansion, slapping her best “first day of school” smile on. Zorro padded up beside her and waited until she took the ball and put it in a pocket of her jacket before settling down and sitting beside her, leaning against her leg.

It was somewhat gratifying to see someone waiting for them as Herbert and his parents pulled up. Though what distracted him from his nervousness wasn't that there was someone there it was the big German Shepard that stood sentinel beside the lady. This was a good sign in Herbert's mind as he looked over at his parents. The two were looking at him with some concern and he knew why. He wasn't good with new people. It was taking him to three shrinks and a palm reader before someone was able to diagnose him properly. Social anxiety disorder is a bitch and a half. Taking a deep breath he nodded to them acknowledging their concern. “I'll be ok. I got to push my boundaries like Dr. Caplan said. ….. at least they got a pupper for me to hang with.” 

Both of them smiled showing their support before Greg basically grunted his usual. “Time to get to work.” mantra. So with that the doors opened and all three climbed out. Greg and Herbert moved around to the back to start to unload as Beatrice shouldering her bag turned and strode up to the young lady and the dog without fear. Dispite their jobs both Greg and Beatrice shared the power of their family. Each had their strengths and they left the other too it. As a lawyer Beatrice gave off a sense of being dangerous. She was an alpha predator of the court system. Plus she was a mother protecting her young. And in any world or sense of the matter there was nothing more dangerous. Looking at Liz she smiled and offered her hand. “Hello dear. Beatrice Dunham. And you are?”

Poking his head from behind the open door of the Forester Herbert adjusted his backpack and watched his mother put on her lawyer mode as he called it. The raven haired amazon of a woman could be as sweet as candy and any mans and a few woman's wet dream. Standing 6 ft 7 she was not a small woman by any means. Herbert even managed to convince her to dress up as Lady Dimitrescu for Halloween and his father as Ethan Winters. They won 2nd place in the law firms costume contest. The winner was of course the Managing partner of the Firm and his girlfriend of the week. “Oh god. Dad she's doing it again.”

Following a heavy thump Greg took a look and sighed before calling out. “Bea … Tone it down. She's One of his teachers. Not an intern at your firm.” Looking to Herbert he smirked and patted him on the shoulder. “Come on. Grab a case and lets get these things inside before she decides to eat the poor girl.” Snorting at his own joke he hefted two of the carrying handles and made his way around.

This got a bit of a stiffening reaction out of Beatrice and she with an embarrassed look to her face visibly relaxed forcing the threat and menace away. Beatrice sighed. “Sorry. Force of habit.” Looking over at the grinding noise of wheels on gravel she watched as her husband pulled two large military style surplus totes behind him and Herbert followed with the other two. 

Elizabeth arched an eyebrow as the SUV approached and a tall woman stepped out of it. No, tall wasn’t the right word. Towering was more apt. She was easily more than a foot taller than the zoopath and Liz had to tilt her head up to properly look at the woman in the eye as she shook hands with the woman. “I’m Elizabeth Sundance, I teach science classes here,” she said warmly.

Liz notice Mrs. Dunham’s posture and expression, but her own didn’t change. She understood threat displays very well, but she wasn’t personally intimidated. No, she’d seen a lot scarier. But this wasn’t a territory conflict or anything, this was a greeting, an introduction. “It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Something shifted around her neck and a scaly red head poked itself out over the collar of her jacket long enough to taste the air before returning to the coziness of Elizabeth’s neck. Liz’s smile turned a bit apologetic. “Oh, don’t mind my friend here,” she said, gently patting herself over the collarbone, careful not to disturb her serpentine necklace. “He’s a milk snake I’m taking care of temporarily. Just keeping him warm. Perfectly harmless!” She figured she might as well preemptively put a spin on the snake - in her experience she found that many folks had...extreme...reactions to surprise serpents in their presence.

Liz took in the familial interplay with a sly grin that smoothed back into her typical sunniness. “No need to apologize,” she said assuredly, waving a hand dismissively. “Move in day is usually an odd time for all parties involved. New place, new people, and you’re entrusting us with the care and safety of your precious treasure. It’s only natural.”

Having said that, Liz and Zorro turned their heads at the exact same time and Liz called out to Mr. Dunham and Herbert as they approached. “Do you need any assistance with the luggage? I can hoist a bag or two myself if you’d like.”

The snake around her throat shifted slightly, it’s coils gently rasping against each other and Liz could feel his warm contentment. She strode quickly to the main doors, Zorro stepping in perfect sync with her, and she pulled one of the doors open. “Allow me to get that for you,” she said, stepping back to allow the family in first. “No need to worry about parking or anything - there’s plenty of room for other parties as needed. Let’s go ahead and get you settled in, Herbert.”

Herbert was visibly relieved when Liz seemed to let his mothers lawyer mode slide right over her like water off a ducks back. That told him either she dealt with parents all the time. Or she had no idea how scary his mother could actually be. Mob bosses, criminals, crooked lawyers, and politicians were some of the nastiest folks in the world. And she had no problem in taking them to task. 

Beatrice was thankful as well. Though the milk snake did startle her slightly. I mean who just has a snake wrapped about her throat like that. Though upon closer inspection what she had initially thought was a beaded necklace was moving. “Well when you deal with folks who can usually buy or sell livelihoods with the stroke of a pen. It's hard to not want to make folks want to think twice.” Smiling warmly she moved along with the young lady and held the other door so the two men folk could lumber their way through into the main hall. “I made sure to have all of his records transferred over digitally already. But I also have a hard copy for your records.” 

Greg shook his head at Liz's offer. “Nah we are good ….  thank you though. It's good for him to be self sufficient and deal with things himself. He may not be very big but Herbert's no quitter.” Grinning at his son it was easy to see that Greg was also a rather large man as well. Not quite as tall as his wife but standing at 6'4. 

Herbert though just groaned as teenagers do when their parents embarrass them. But unlike others he never said a word. He kind of just stared at the ground trying to not draw attention to himself. Though once in side he looked about in a bit of awe at the building having never been to a mansion before. Though he had been to a few old universities that had the same …. feel. Looking up at the ceiling he wondered if he could pilot his drone in here without an issue. 

“That won’t be necessary, Mrs. Dunham,” Elizabeth said with a smile and gentle shake of her head. “We’ve already made several copies of Herbet’s records.” In fact, Liz had been perusing one such copy for most of the day. It gave a lot of information on what the kid had done, even if it didn’t say who he was as a person.

“Very well,” she said warmly to Mr. Dunham as he pushed past her with his part of the luggage, even if she didn’t feel too warmly about what he’d said. “The offer stands anyways. Just in case.” She winked at Herbert and flashed a quick “parents, am I right?” expression at him. At least, that was her intent. It was potentially too much information to convey through a slight shrug, widened eyes, and a tight smile. She smoothed her face over, hopefully before Mrs. Dunham could see the look.

Liz followed the family into the mansion, allowing her door to thud shut behind her. “Welcome to the Xavier Sister School,” she said, maneuvering around the Dunham’s and their luggage, Zorro circling around on their other side in perfect sync. Turning to face them, she clapped her hands together. “Let’s go ahead and show you to your room, Herbert, and then we can start a tour. Sound good?”

Liz was already whirling and taking off her jacket, which she hung on a nearby coat rack. Now the milksnake was on full display around her neck, basking in the warmth of her body heat. “Now if you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to the boys’ dorms,” she said, heading off toward a massive staircase in the foyer. “This is our main entryway, by the way. On this floor is mostly communal recreation recreation areas, the kitchens, and the school. The second floor is mostly living spaces. If you have any questions at all along the way, feel free to ask!” And with that, Liz started up the stairs, her faithful dog trotting up beside her.

Taking one of Herbert's cases Beatrice nodded at Liz's comment. “It's good to see that the staff her is so dedicated.” Walking along behind Herbert and beside her husband the two began to make motions and speak in Gaelic to each other. Commenting on the schools quality and what they had read already on the place. 

Herbert moved along with her hoisting the case up the stairs with a little effort. Looking over at her he pursed his lips a bit and opened and closed his mouth a few times. So when he spoke it was rather quiet. “Wh, Wh .. what do you mean Sister School? I .. I … I thought this was the only school.” He kept his face from looking at her obvious uncomfortable talking with new people. Though when she mentioned the kitchen he seemed to perk up a bit. But then how would she know his interest in cooking and being able to be let loose in a industrial commercial sized one none the less. A grin spread over his lips as he looked over at the case his mom was pulling and the thick note book he had full of recipes he had collected and developed himself. “.... um … is the Kitchen free range?”

The fact Herbert was opening up brought smiles to his parents faces and they went silent. Watching him as he struggled to push his way out of his shell. 

Elizabeth smiled gaily and decided that, in the wake of Mrs. Dunham’s compliment, this probably wasn’t a time to bring up the fact the mansion was somewhat understaffed at the moment. Oh everything totally got done that needed to be done, but most of the staff was left rather stretched thin. Which was why Liz was pulling duty as a greeter and impromptu tour guide.

As she led the way up the stairs, he couldn’t help overhearing the Dunhams’ conversation, even if she couldn’t understand it. Still, it reminded her of Carrick when he’d break off into bouts of Irish. But it was probably for the best she couldn’t understand any of it - most of what she knew consisted of curses that Carrick had used extensively.

Herbert soon made his way to Liz’s other side, sorry keeping her company on one side already. The milk snake contentedly ignored the boy, even as he asked about the school. “That’s actually a pretty good question,” Liz said, waving a hand.

She smiled again. She had so many different smiles. This one was one she used for people who shared similar deep interests with her. “If you mean do we let the kitchen just wander about and fend for itself? No. Well, not usually,” she said, pausing meaningfully as her eyes drifted away in memory. Then she glanced back at the boy as they made it to the top steps. “If you’re asking if you can use the kitchens, go for it,” she continued, giving him a wink. “Just make sure you leave the place cleaner than you found it and don’t get in the cook’s way.”

“Do much cooking, do you?” she asked in a friendly tone.

It wasn't lost on Herbert that she deflected on his question but it was expertly deflected with the joke about the kitchen. Actually grinning a bit he Nodded in understanding. It was common sense. Hell in any military the person you really don't want to piss off isn't any of your superiors or the generals in any way. In fact the top brass of any walk of the military walk on egg shells around this individual. And that was the head cook. You piss off that man and your time in the military gets even worse. After all as the old saying goes. An army marches on it's stomach. So there was no way in hell he was going to get on the bad side of the school head cook. 

Herbert's gaze was drawn to his parents when she asked her last question. And the quite audible snickering like they were sharing an inside joke. Which wasn't really a inside joke but at the same time was. Herbert loved cooking. It was one of the things he did the most to unwind and de-stress after a long hard day. It was common for their neighbors to find little baskets of fresh baked goodies or pots of soups and stews. His mother swore Herbert's stress cooking made her put on 10 lbs. cause of how good it was. “Y … Yes … a little … la lately I've been watching a lot of Sh … Shhh … Shokugeki no Soma”

And Bingo was his name-o. It seemed that Herbert did indeed cook, or was at least really interested in it. His stammering didn’t slip past her notice, but her expression changed not one iota. Elizabeth was no stranger to shy kids, or even scared ones. She herself had fit in those categories quite often as a teenager. It was one reason she was back teaching at the mansion.

I haven’t heard of it,”Liz said lightly with an apologetic smile. “I’m assuming it’s some kind of cooking show, right? Oddly enough, I never really watched many of those.” She had spent much of her teenaged years first in extracurriculars at her public school, then in hiding at the mansion, when she wasn’t getting kidnapped, that was.

“But I have been known to whip up a mean omelette or crepes suzette,”she continued smoothly as she led the group around a corner. “I have a weakness for breakfast foods. They’re easily the greatest inventions ever.” Fond memories of sausage, eggs, and other delicious things were starting to make her mouth water. Zorro’s mouth also started to water so Liz dialed back on the vivid reminiscing. “So what about you? What’s your specialty?” she said, nudging in Herbert’s direction, although she was nowhere close enough to actually touch it. It was the thought not the contact that counted.

Nodding in understanding. Most folks weren't up on anime when you used their Japanese names. In north America one had to often use the English translation name to get any recognition. “N .. Not surprising. It's what you get when y yy you turn the show Iron Chef on the fff food network into an anime.” Actually smiling he was honestly able to relax a bit as he got into explaining things. 

Following her around the corner he listened to the whole crepes Suzette and omelets stuff and nodded. Those were fairly good things. So when she mentioned breakfast foods he let out a small laugh. “Everything is b … better with …. b … b bacon.” It was when she asked what his specialty was that he kind of froze. Not cause he didn't want to answer but more he wasn't exactly sure what to call his specialty. “um … I guess … for breakfast... I do a mm  mean Monte Cristo b but I tend to go a bit off normal and make it …. k Club sandwich style.” Glancing down at the drooling dog he blinked and without thinking reached into his pocket and pulled out a baggie he always carried out of habit for his dog Murphy. Inside were some easily recognizable strips that any pooch would go bonkers for. He had Beggin strips. Popping open the bag one could easily smell the treat for the name sake and he had almost tossed the pooch one when he halted and looked to Liz. “oh … Nut bunnies …. Sorry f f force of habit with mm Murphy … is it ok?” Holding up the strip to show her.

Ah, it was some kind of an anime show. That definitely explained why Liz hadn’t heard of it all. “Ah, gotcha,” she said nodding. “I was never able to get into anime myself. Now I’m afraid I just don’t have the time.” She shrugged. What could you do? She was more of a documentary and science report kind of gal anyways.

Elizabeth was delighted as Herbert described his culinary focus. “Oh my, now that sounds delicious! I’d certainly like to try one some day,” she said. She flashed him a wide grin as her face brightened somehow even further. “One of the great things about cooking around here is that there’s always someone willing to eat whatever you make, either because it’s amazing or because the person literally has an iron stomach.” She laughed.

Zorro’s ears twitched and he immediately zeroed in on the bag Herbert had opened. Immediately the smell of the baconesque strips flooded his nostrils and Liz’s to a far lesser extent. His saliva glands began pumping into overtime. Liz chuckled. “Go for it,” she told Herbert. “Zorro’s been a great boy today, he deserves a treat.”

They were making good progress to the boys’ dorm. “So, I take it you have a dog?” Liz asked interestedly. “I thought I smelled one on you.”

Grinning he looked to Zoro and leaned over and offered the Shepard the treat. “Yeah, A b b beagle named Murphy.” Kneeling down he began to scratch and give the dog all sorts of attention. And as he did there seemed to be a tension that began to melt from the young man. For the moment he was absorbed into the dogs awareness and the pain in the young man was obvious. He didn't want to be here. Yet he knew he had to be. His life was being thrown to the wolves so to speak and he was without his usual life lines. 

Both his parents looked to Liz as Herbert lost himself in the animal. Letting out a small sigh Greg muttered “We didn't bring him with us cause we knew it would be hard for the both of them. Murphy has been a part of Herbert's life since he was 7 we got him as a pup and this is pretty much the first time the two have been separated.” Beatrice placed a hand on Gregs and nodded knowing that the trip home would be hard for them as well. “Now that we know animals are allowed. We will bring him with us when we visit.”

Taking a shuddering breath Herbert rose and nodded. “T.. thank you. … is he going to be around all the time?” There was a bit of a hopeful expression in his face. As he turned to follow the young lady to his new room. 

Elizabeth took several steps before she realized Herbert had stopped. She actually noticed Zorro stopping first. Liz followed suit and half turned back. Zorro was chewing and devouring his treat, his tail happily wagging and his joy washing over onto Liz as well. He was giving the boy his full attention - how could someone with treats and scritches not deserve all that focus?

Liz smiled. Zorro was usually a hit with students, although some of them, like Kalos, were terrified of dogs. Still, animals tended to do wonders when working with kids and teenagers, helping in ways even a guidance counselor couldn’t. And for some of those reasons, she rarely brought Nico around to first meetings.

Liz nodded thoughtfully at the parents. “Oh absolutely, we have quite a menagerie here, in fact,” the blonde said. “Dogs are absolutely welcome - Herbert will just have to fully take care of the dog. However if something goes wrong, either the school doctor or myself can take care of it.” She ran a finger down one of the coils of the snake around her neck.

Herbert seemed to realize he wasn’t in alone in the world anymore so Liz decided to get the group moving again. She was pretty sure nobody wanted to stand around with luggage all day long. “Oh yes,” Liz nodded. “Zorro lives on campus with me. Faculty quarters are in a different wing. I have a parrot as well - I’m sure you’ll see him around some time.” She flashed a wink at Herbert and with a psychic nudge, Zorro licked at Herbert’s hand and then trotted off in step with Liz.

Not long later, they reached Herbert’s room.

“Here you go,” Liz said, opening the door and then stepping back to let the Dunham’s in first. It was a standard dorm-style setup. Two beds that could be made into a bunk bed, two desks, two dressers, a shared bathroom. The basics. The room was still on the spacious end for a dorm though. “You’re pretty lucky right now - you don’t have a roommate at the moment so you’ll have the whole room to yourself.”

That actually threw all three of them. The entire Dunham family actually stared at Liz in confusion at the idea that Herbert could have his dog with him while attending the school kind of broke them for a moment. But being lead into a two person room and being told that Herbert was getting it all to himself kind of snapped them back into reality. Placing the cases in the room so Herbert could unpack at his own pace. “Well I guess that makes sense. Some folks powers would be attuned to animals so kind of pointless if they didn't have their medium near by to work with.” Said Greg with a contemplative tone. 

Looking through the room and to the closet and into the bathroom Beatrice nodded in approval. “Private bathroom so he won't get planters warts like that summer camp when he was 8.” That comment made Herbert face-palm which made her look at him funny. “What? It was a pain in the ass taking you to get those things burned off. Though I'd pour some bleach into the shower before you use it to be safe dear.” 

Herbert looked over at Liz with an expression that just said. HELP ME!!!