While everyone else began working, Neena headed for Tricity's office. The Headmistress had decided to take some time off after recovering; Neena didn't blame her at all. So that left the dark-skinned teacher to handle and organize things in the meantime.

Well, the office was trashed. Neena frowned as she looked around. If she had to guess, she'd say someone ransacked the place after the attack, maybe for the resident files. The computer had also been destroyed, though she was fairly sure the Danger Computer had backup. But darned if she knew how to pulled them up. She still had trouble programming a cell phone.... Speaking of which, she really needed to get another one soon.

A search revealed that most of the paper files were indeed missing; probably in a government office somewhere, either gathering dust, or being picked apart. She'd have to do something about that.

Later. Housecleaning first.

She began sorting through the mess. She knelt under the desk to retrieve some papers, but when she came back out, she smacked her head underneath. The blow effectively scrambled her visions, and she swore in Swahili under her breath. When she opened her eyes, one was stuck in xray, while the other went microscopic, giving her a rather spectacular view of the worms crawling through the dirt underneath the wall across the hall.

<"Hmm..... that's kind of catchy. 'Under the wall across the hall'.">

She blinked to get her vision back to normal. Microscopic deactivated first, leaving her to notice that the worms were not the only ones inhabiting the hallway. The statue-like creature from earlier hovered near a hole in the wall. He was a different shape than before, but it had to be the same creature. And he had to be a mutant; there was no such thing as talking gargoyles, despite what Disney said.

She decided to assume he was shy, and see if he felt like talking when no one else was around. She opened the door and peeked out.

"Hey there, m'friend. They won't bite, ya know. And neither will I." She smiled widely, and pushed her glasses up into her hair.

Jeramya inclined his head just slightly when the woman spoke. From the corner of his eye he remembered her from a day? Two days ago? He wasn't sure. Time felt like it was crawling to him, yet it felt like no time had passed at all. 'Maybe it comes from always watching...' She was being friendly, so he gave it a shot. "I don't think I'd taste very good. Kinda rocky and dry." He attempted a smile, though it would seem a slight smirk rather than a smile due to the angle of his head, still watching the goings on around him.

"I apologize if I intruded earlier." Jeramya said as he turned his head to fully look at the woman.

"I don't think I'd taste very good. Kinda rocky and dry."

Good, he had a sense of humor.

"I apologize if I intruded earlier."

Neena emerged fully into the hall and leaned against the wall, arms crossed easily.

"You didn't intrude. You're welcome here, though I must admit you're the first mutant I've seen who resembles a statue." She tilted her head curiousy. "How many different forms do you have?

"Oh, sorry." She straightened, and then bowed. "Name's Neena. Nice to meet you....." She let her sentence trail off to allow him to fill in his name.

Mutant. Forms. Jeramya gave the woman a somewhat curious and somewhat confused look. "I didn't use to..." He got quiet for a moment. "Father told me about 'Mutants', he said I might be one." He looked in Neena's eyes, "It's just a word to me, I don't really understand it." To answer her other question Jeramya took the form of an angel from the church, roughly six feet high, with wings folded against his back. "I'm not sure how many to be honest. I only really use two....this one and the beetle." He said refering to the angel and the small burrowing form.

"Others...I just copy when I see them." With that he shifted to a man in simple clothes, hat on his head and pipe in his mouth. Taking the pipe out of his mouth he tipped his hat to Neena. "My father named me Jeramya, many many years ago."

He seemed confused.

"Father told me about 'Mutants', he said I might be one."

Neena supressed a chuckle as he continued.

"It's just a word to me, I don't really understand it. I'm not sure how many to be honest. I only really use two....this one and the beetle."

Beetle? That must be what the little digger form was. Though that was the oddest looking beetle she'd ever seen. To her he looked more like.... a rock lizard. Or an anteater.....

The angel-like form was considerably taller, and she had to look up at him.

"Others...I just copy when I see them." She smiled at the tipped hat. "My father named me Jeramya, many many years ago."

"Nice to meet you, Jeramya. Hmm.... you don't look that old. Mind me being nosey?"

After the briefest of pauses, she continued. "Well, I'm not exactly a scientist, but it's obvious you're not fully human. So for now, I'm guessing that leaves you in the mutant category. And in that case, you're more than welcome to stay here, if you need a place to stay."

Looking at Neena closer, he looked her up and down before answering. "I don't mind you being nosey. In actuality, I'm probably no older than you are, but Father said I was probably born somewhere around the 1500's." He chuckled at the thought of being 'older than dirt'. Jeramya nodded at what the woman said. 'Makes sense I suppose.' Nodding and smiling, "Thanks. I hope you don't mind, but, what happened here?"

"I don't mind you being nosey. In actuality, I'm probably no older than you are, but Father said I was probably born somewhere around the 1500's."

"Really? Wow, talk about a time warp. Well, I'm thirty, or thirty-one, so we'll just put you down to mid twenties. How's that work?"

"Thanks. I hope you don't mind, but, what happened here?"

Neena took a deep breath and let it out in an exaggerated 'Pffft'!

"Humanity decided it was time to repeat history, yet again. Did you hear about the Mutant Registration Act? Or whatever they called it. Anyway, mutants were forced to register, and those considered 'dangerous'," she made a 'quote, unquote' motion with her hands, "were shipped off to a modern day version of the Concentration Camps. This school has always welcomed mutants, and worked hard to help them learn to accept and control their abilities. The government apparently considered us a threat, and sent an mini army of humans and Stalker Robots to 'round us up'. 'twas not a pretty sight." She shook her head to emphasize the statement.

Sighing she turned and walked back toward the office, and stopped in the doorway. She sighed again.

"Fortunately the law was overturned, and they let us go back home. Unfortunately, now we have to rebuild, on our own. The tricky part is going to be getting the kids to trust humans again." She glanced left and blinked, taking a look through the walls at where the kids were working outside and in the other rooms. Finally she shrugged and glanced back, smiling again.

"Ah well. Everything takes time. So Jeramya, welcome to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters."

((OOC: Sorry Iris, that little writing thing I was doing took longer than I thought it would. But I'm back.))

Jeramya listened carefully to Neena as she explained what had happened in the recent past. Not only of this place, but in the country. He thought he recognized a few things that she mentioned, but others like Concentration Camps, repeating history and 'Stalker Robots', he'd just nod his head and file it away and ask later. He kept his eyes on hers the whole time she spoke, until she turned around and headed away at which point he took a slow step forward. After a few steps he felt uncomfortable in his current form and returned to his natural one, horns and all. He began walking on all fours as he followed her slowly.

"I'm very sorry to hear about that. I think I can understand the fear they can feel towards...us..." Jeramya said referring to humans towards mutants. "It's similar to people and their fear of the devil, how any thought to associate with it should be stoned, hanged, or beaten to death." His tone was soft and sympathetic, but as he spoke, he remembered how he was chased from his home for just such a thing. Closing his eyes tightly for a few moments to let the memory pass, he looked at Neena again. "Thank you for the welcome. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." He smiled his odd smile.

(OOC: No worries.

"I'm very sorry to hear about that. I think I can understand the fear they can feel towards...us... It's similar to people and their fear of the devil, how any thought to associate with it should be stoned, hanged, or beaten to death."

"Yeah," Neena replied in like tone. Her mind's eye traveled back in time to her own childhood, where only her grandfather treated her like a fellow human. She shrugged, and continued back into the office. "That's humanity for you. If they can't understand it or control it, kill it. Hopefully we'll be able to change their minds eventually." She erased the pensive expression and smiled back at him. "It'll happen one day, at least in the majority. We just have to keep trying."

"Thank you for the welcome. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

"Thanks for the offer, m'friend. There is a lot to do, and will be for a while. Just nose around, I'm sure you'll find something. Although I should warn you, some of the younger crowd are prank happy, so be prepared."

She rolled her eyes a bit, and began searching for a New Resident form. If Jeramya was going to stay for an extended period, he would need to be entered into their files. Once the files were back together, that is.....

"Well," she said with a sigh, "I can't find it. Well, like I said, you're welcome to stay. I'll just have to track you down later with the paperwork. Though, from the looks of it, you've got quite a bit of control over your mutation. But if you ever decide you need some help figuring it out further, we can help you do so. There's a special training room in the basement for that. And once things return to normal, we can either provide or set you up with any other schooling you may need or want. That's up to you; just let me know."

Abruptly she smiled at him. She folded her hands and leaned her head on them. "The fifteen-hundreds? Wow..... So you've seen a lot history firsthand, haven't you? That must have been something! What country were you born in?"

Neena seemed to have understood his meaning. 'She seems to know a lot,' Jeramya thought to himself as he listened quietly as Neena spoke, 'Optimistic too.' She helped ease his thoughts and even put a slight smile on his face. He chuckled slightly as she mentioned the kids were 'prank happy'. "Thank you for the warning.," He paused for a moment, unsure if he wanted to open up or not, "I'd never been much of a prankster, nor had many played on me. Sounds fun."

He tilted his head to the side as he watched the woman search through the room for something. Though he had no idea what she was looking for, Jeramya leaned to the right, then left, as he looked around the room, up on the walls and ceiling, at least what he could see of them. He was still looking around when he realized Neena was speaking to him. Slightly embarrassed he stopped looking at the room and made sure not to make eye contact.

When she mentioned schooling Jeramya clasped his hands and twiddled his thumbs nervously, while looking at the floor. He'd hadn't had any schooling in Greece, and Father had only taught him to read, write and helped him with his spoken word as well. He thought about the church and smiled. Father had made a comment once, 'I suppose you can only pick up so much from birds.' He had been referring to Jeramya being on the roof of the church for so long and had picked up on the basics of English.

He as glad Neena changed the subject quickly. Nodding, as he started with the easiest of her questions, "Greece. Father guessed it was somewhere around that time, yes." Jeramya was quiet for a moment. "I may or may not have been present during the 'history' you're referring to, but I don't remember or know of anything." He trailed off as he absently rubbed his right hand over the scar on his chest. "I only remember stumbling to the church in the village, or rather, what I hoped was the church," He chuckled before continuing. "And then about 2 or 3 years ago, I was above the ground, on the top of Father's church."

"Greece. Father guessed it was somewhere around that time, yes. I may or may not have been present during the 'history' you're referring to, but I don't remember or know of anything. I only remember stumbling to the church in the village, or rather, what I hoped was the church. And then about 2 or 3 years ago, I was above the ground, on the top of Father's church."

"Bummer." Neena wrinkled her nose. "I wish I could have slept through my history class that easily. Not so easy when your teacher's a psychic though," she sighed. "Ah well. I guess you'll just have to pay closer attention to today's new then, eh?" She winked to show she was teasing.

"Well, like I said, I'll have to get back with you later on the paperwork, but just for the record, do you need anything special at all? Allergic to any food or drink? Any health problems? Special sleeping needs? Once the dorms are rebuilt, that is...."

Jeramya gave Neena a small shrug as if it say 'sorry' for not knowing much of the history, as she had seemed hopeful of. Though her wink made him feel a bit better. When she began asking him if he had any special needs he gave the woman a quizzical look, not fully understanding her. He shook his head slightly, "Umm...not that I know of...I don't think so at least? Are those things a lot of people need that life here?" Jeramya felt fine, 'Maybe it's because of how I've lived for so long....' He mentally shrugged as he waited for Neena to respond, hoping that he didn't seem to odd.

"Umm...not that I know of...I don't think so at least? Are those things a lot of people need that life here?"

Neena shrugged. "Well, not a lot, necessarily, but special needs aren't uncommon among mutants. Sometimes, especially when mutation first manifests, a person is very sensitive to certain things. Like in my case, my mutation manifest itself at birth. I nearly went blind in my first month of life, and I'm still sensitive to sunlight. A pyrokinetic may be vulnerable to water or ice, so you wouldn't want to give him a roommate who can manipulate water. Things like that. Plus you've got the basic things that affect even humans, like allergies to plants or foods, or a kid that may have a mental or emotional disorder."

She took a deep breath, then laughed again. "Just normal stuff like that."

'Maybe it's because of how I've lived for so long....'

She nodded. "It's possible. My grandmother always claimed that my generation was sicklier than hers, and I believe it. And my generation seems to be hardier than the new ones. Of course, it depends on whether you view mutation as a sickness or an evolution."

Jeramya looked directly at Neena as she explained more about mutants, and what could be which each. In one hand, it made sense to him, but in the other, he wasn't use to it all and didn't know much about other mutants, so he'd just trust the woman. 'If generations get sicklier and weaker as time passes, what does that mean of mine?' He thought to himself as he unconsciously rubbed his hand over his scar.

Jeramya winced slightly, just for a quick moment, as he imagined feeling the heat and the blade in his flesh for just a moment. He was quiet otherwise thinking on what Neena had said. "Hmm...Well, honestly I'm not sure, about myself now that you've brought up those ideas." He lightly ran his fingers over his skin, making a soft grating sound, as if two stones were being rubbed together. "I take the form of statues, might that I am stone as well now?" He shrugged slightly and smiled gently at Neena. "Be it what it is, I'll leave that in your hands, as you know more about all this than I." He backed up slightly and half turned. "Unless there is anything else, I'll take my leave. I'm sure you have much to do, I wouldn't want to get in your way of that. Not too much at least." A smirk flashed across Jeramya's face.

"Hmm...Well, honestly I'm not sure, about myself now that you've brought up those ideas. I take the form of statues, might that I am stone as well now?"

Neena shrugged, curiosity written on her features. "It's a possibility. If you're really interested in knowing, we can find out later, once the house is rebuilt. Only if you want to, of course."

If it were her, she wouldn't care one way or the other. But then again, she cared very little about the details of her own mutation. She knew the basics about how it worked, and had good control of it, thanks to years of practice, trial and error. But that was Neena, Ms. Easy-going-and-carefree. Others cared much more deeply about their mutations, and it was part of her job to help them figure out not just what they needed to know, but also what they wanted to know.

"Be it what it is, I'll leave that in your hands, as you know more about all this than I."

Actually, that was a debatable point, but she didn't say that outloud.

"Unless there is anything else, I'll take my leave. I'm sure you have much to do, I wouldn't want to get in your way of that. Not too much at least."

She smiled easily and waved at him. "Nah, you won't be in my way at all. Go ahead and poke around. Just remember what I said about the youngsters."

For a few minutes after he'd left, her mind wandered. With her eyes hidden behind her glasses, it was impossible to tell where she was mentally. But the easy smile had vanished, leaving behind resignation in its place.

Then she blinked, and a grimace replaced the pensive expression.

"I hate organizing...." she mumbled, as she bent to collect debris from the floor.