(Continued from this thread Circus is in town.)

Of course when Carrick offered Sara a ride back, she accepted. She would have had to of been crazy not to accept. Ok so the question of how crazy Sara might or might not be was still in the air, but that was another point and another story line for another day. For today, she was a mansion tour guide, and she wasn't even on the x-men team or anything. Hopefully the others wouldn't mind.

When Carrick had shifted to his Gryphon form Sara was quick to slide herself onto his shoulders, between his wings. once again careful not to pull feathers or fur, but swift as well so as not to through the young man off balance while pulling herself aboard.

The flight lasted much shorter than it would have taken Sara to weave her way around buildings and red lights. They could just take a straight line, and half way home, in Sara's directions, all she had to do was point to the lart plot of land with the really big school in it. The grounds were beautiful from this angle of the sky. The trees had been changing colors so they matched the red and orange bricks of the large fence that circled the property.

There were kids skattered across the grounds, reading, excersizing, playing basket ball in the courts out back, or just plan being outside, and as the two of them got closer and closer tothe grounds, many heads turned to watch them, but over all, the excitement wasn't as overly dramatic as it was when Carrick first came out in the circus. Here, it wasn't exactly out of the norm for random lowd noices to echo down the halls. No one did a double take when a five year old could lift a car over his head so he could reach his base ball that rolled under it. You're skin tone could be purple, or in sara's case, her skin tone could be covered in golden honey hued fur.

So when our threads favorite WereCat made the mansions grandest entrance that could ever be made, should this be a psyphy/ fantasy convention atop the back of a Gryphon, it really could have been just like any other day here at the sister school for the gifted.

If eagles had eyebrows they could show emotions Carrick however even in his Gryphon form had eyebrows, though they were hardly defined he still could scrunch a pair of lines over his eyes, which in his opinion counted. When she didn’t answer his questions about the flying mutants having wings those eyebrows turned into a frown slightly as he let out a small chirp sound to show he wasn’t amused with being mounted with hardly any small talk. Though to be fair, he did from what he understood managed to scare her quite a bit with their previous flight, if she didn’t say anything other than where to go he wasn’t going to stay upset with her for very long.

The flight over the city was like any other city, big and busy people and cars scurrying about like ants, the building tops despite how high he wanted to fly still seemed as if they could go on forever, something he did not like. Strike one against the city of New York, he liked to be the highest thing in the air, if a bird flew high he would have to one up it….or eat it and buildings in his opinion did not look appetizing what so ever even in his shifted form.

The trip to the mansion was a short flight in his opinion but when compared to walking distance, hours at least. As he circled the grounds his mind started to take in the view and he appreciated the greenness for being so close to the city. Other than that large park and a few specs of green here and there it was safe to say this was not the ideal place to hunt for anything larger than a raccoon.

Wings stretched outright and his claws extended forward Carrick Landed softly on the grounds as some kids continued about their business while only a small fraction of them stopped to watch the spectacle of a gryphon and a cat woman ride in from the sky and touch down on the grounds. Despite the lack of attention he was getting from the children Carrick seemed to be more curious than anything else. He was so used to being stared at and pointed at, the fact that no one paid him much mind made him feel… invisible.

Eyes trailing around as Sara unmounted him Carrick stood upright looked around some more his bird head turning this way and that. ”To many people to shift in front of…” thought Carrick as he looked to some trees and a large bush and found his place to shift, yes he was fond of his ability to transform but didn’t like sharing the view with everyone, Sara just managed to be lucky.

Looking to Sara then taking off quickly Carrick in his gryphon form ran a few steps as his wings had begin to flap making him go all the faster. As he approached the trees he slowed into a walk and headed into the cover of the green bushes.

Minutes later after a quite transformation which strained his voice Carrick flew from the bushes and landed next to Sara though this time closer than he would have dared before. Even if she was a cat there were far to many people that didn’t really notice him.

For some reason it hadn't occurred to Sara that she needed to answer the question right then and there. She liked' showing rather than lots of talk, and it was him, who turned into the gryphon before she answered anyways. Sara wasn't sure how much one sided the conversation would be, and talking while flying was apparently best kept at a minimum. There were a lot more things in the air of New York city than one would think. Things that tasted really bad to those with such highly developed taste buds and sense of smell.

The truth was that there was one mutant kid who was new to the school, and had wings, but the only thing Sara really knew about him, was that he couldn't fly. In fact when they landed, and Sara had dismounted, she managed to see him. She was about to point him out to Carrick, when the Gryphon ran for the nearest make shift, shifting room to turn back into his human self. Again, Something Sara sort of wished she could do. It would be wonderful to switch back and forth. To hide among the norms. To order sushi at a proper restaurant without having strange looks thrown her way, or wise cracks made.

Carrick made a reappearance, and Sara's lips twitched into a smile at the corners, without opening her mouth so her teeth were still hidden. "This is it." Sara said giving a small wave of her hand. Tommy Jackson, the young boy with white and brown spotted wings was coming out of the tree he'd been climbing, only to fall the rest of the way on his back side. Receiving a nice grass smear down his pants. He was 8 years old, but even the kinder gardeners could see eye to eye with him. That is if his eyes were visible behind the mop of loose dirty blond curls that he was now pulling out of his round face.

A girl with purpley pink colored skin that looked like it emitted smoke and smelled of rose wood incense sat at the base of a tree reading a book with her own prehensile tail circled around her ankle and her lower lip stuck between her teeth. The book apparently was at a good part, and more important than looking up at the moment.

Off to the right, two boys were teleconetically moving paper airplanes in a dog fight competition. spit balls that were lined up on the wings made the ammunition, and when they missed the gathering crowd was in danger of be splattered with paper and saliva. As one unfortunate boy now demonstrated when the spit ball smacked him right in the middle of the forehead.

Other than those differences, the campus of the school, looked normal. "This is a school for the gifted." Sara explained. "For people like us." She glanced at Carrick over her shoulder. "Or a place to stay, that is protected and will provide a roof over homeless heads like mine."

Looking around the grounds and then to the young winged boy in the tree Carrick gave off a small huff as he looked to Sara and said, “This is a school?” a scrunched up face followed by a low tail twitch as he eyed the building. He never did like school, it was in his opinion boring and all the cool things he could learn in life he could learn on his own. Who said he needed a teacher to tell him what to read, if he wanted to learn about flying he would pick up an aviation book or even better a book dedicated to the movements of birds.

“So your not homeless any more are you? You have a home now right?” this place was as she said was providing a roof over her head. “Why would you want to live at a school? Doesn’t it get boring here?” Carrick asked curiously as he circled Sara a few times. If she were a mouse now would be the time he would pounce but tilting his wings in another direction Carrick glided towards the ground as he looked around the property.

Kids playing with paper airplanes, girls with tails reading books and then there was the kid with the small wings. If this was indeed a place for people like himself and Sara they were obviously hiding all the cooler people with even cooler mutations nearby, this was however a good start.

“So can you live here but not go to school?” Carrick asked curiously, he was a fan of change and despite how awesome things were back at the circus it was possible that he was growing antsy looking for a change of some kind. This change might be what he was looking for but school wise, he was content with not going to school and only reading when he pleased.

“This is a school?”

Sara nodded. She knew from what he'd said before, he wasn't a fan of school, but he they would talk longer, she could explain that this school was one that tried to teach more than what could go into a teacher's lesson plan. and to more people than to those who were within it's walls.

“So your not homeless any more are you? You have a home now right?”

"For now." Sara said. She'd come to the conclusion that even though living the way she had, in the past, hadn't been her choice, it had been her choice to keep living that way. Every now and then she did consider going back to it. Even though the mansion had grown on her, she still missed the solitude. Plus now, she was starting to hoard a small fortune. She had enough money now, out right, buy her own place and what ever she really wanted.

“Why would you want to live at a school? Doesn’t it get boring here?”

"It can be, Carrick, but those days are rare." Sara began walking towards the mansion, hoping that he would follow along. Her ears twitched to catch every one of his movements as he circled her. "It depends on how deep you want me to go in my explanation. The simplest way for me to say this is that we are a place that promotes peace between humans, and mutants. Therefor we have made ourselves a bit of a target by groups of both. That's why, if you look around, there are a lot of different security cameras along the grounds. Also there are training rooms below to prepare some of the people here for the different situations that could arise."

“So can you live here but not go to school?”

She gave a one shoulder shrug. "I suppose." Sara wasn't going to say it, but she had never gone to school. She'd had a tutor, in the labs where she grew up, but that was to see how well she really could learn normal things. Not to actually teach her. Teaching her just happened to be a side effect of their experiment. "Did you want to go for a tour of the inside or just stare at the outside?"

His head turning from Sara to the grounds when she spoke, “Inside works I guess…” said Carrick as he continued to look around, his tail swaying behind his back both back and forth as his eyes trailed around trying to find the security cameras that Sara had mentioned. Something he figured he would have time to do if he stuck around for a while. The other kids, soon they would come to know him as well if this place continued to attract his attention so far all he saw was the grounds and the sky above it, lots of running room and even more flying room… this place would have to look completely different on the inside if he was to stay with the circus.

Following Sara to the entrance to the mansion Carrick’s jaw dropped slightly as he got a good look at the building. Yes it looked huge from above but when he was on the ground the building… it just looked ridiculously huge. “This is where you live… it’s humongous!” Carrick whispered as his Irish accent came out full bloom in his statement. How many lived there, no a better question was how many people could fit there? He didn’t know but he wanted to find out. Maybe the inside was bigger than it looked as well, maybe for once he could fly indoors.

“How big are those training rooms? Large enough to fly in? What about the hallways? They big two or are they like normal sized hallways, and the kitchen what’s that like?” Carrick asked curiously his wings opening and inclosing in exclamation as he thought about having the opportunity to fly indoors, which meant that he didn’t have to worry about the weather.

Getting excited he went on ahead and to open the large doors to see for himself, almost in a run as his wings flapped once then twice as his run turned into long strides. As he approached the door he turned the knob and swung them open as he eyed the inside entrance. “Holy Shit, this place is a wopper!”

“How big are those training rooms? Large enough to fly in? What about the hallways? They big two or are they like normal sized hallways, and the kitchen what’s that like?”

Well. Look who had a lot of questions now. “The training room I would have a little trouble describing. I know it’s large and I imagine you could fly in it.” Sara had been blind during the only time she had ever been there. Again, the room, like the rest of the mansion, might seem smaller now that she could see. Nonetheless, she did her best to answer the questions. “The halls don’t feel claustrophobic.” She said with a shrug. “If there isn’t a crowd you might be able to stretch your wings, and the kitchen is just that. A kitchen.”

“Holy Shit, this place is a wopper!”

“Watch the language.” Sara said with a small smirk. “This is a school after all.” Not that he seemed to have a lot of experience or care to. Still, Sara was amused as she slipped in through the doors behind him.

As he was followed in Carrick turned his head to Sara and gave a toothy grin before saying, “Another reason I dislike school!” his wings and tail stretched out to their full extent, one flap and another and Carrick was airborne before he landed and let out a small laugh like that of a child, “Way bigger than the joint I was sleeping in, couldn’t even open my wings half way.” turning on his heels Carrick looked to Sara, “Gobsmacked to say the least,” The idea of anyone living in a place this big was still mind boggling, though she did mention this place was a school so he guessed it should be upscale.

His head looking to the somewhat high ceiling Carrick jumped and then landed his wings folding up behind him as his tail swayed back and forth happily, “Hey Cat where is the Bog?” Carrick’s legs shifted uncomfortably as he looked to the woman, “To be honest I needed to go since you first saw me change…” shrugging his shoulder Carrick continued to shift back and forth till she could show him the way or show him the direction, either would work.

“Another reason I dislike school!”

“No cussing?” Sara shrugged with one shoulder. There really wasn’t much she could say about herself. She was only tutored, and she’d never actually attended a class. Plus she could have a bad potty mouth. “For me, it’s a simple matter of respect.”

Sara was amused as Carrick spread his wings within the entryway of the mansion. Partially her human side reading his reaction. She admitted to herself, she was starting to feel happy here. Protected within the walls, despite she knew the mansions history. Realization these days, had only just hit her that she could try to bring that feeling to a few other individuals. Her feline side had much different thoughts. As those wings flicked, Sara desired very muck to take a large feather. Carrick needed them for flight, and yet she knew that she wanted one, or two or all of them. She knew very well that she could take them and pluck them to have the feeling of her nose rubbing against the softer tips. To taste whatever the quill carried with it. Sara’s eyes had dilated again, till there was just a rim of golden amber around the pit of pool like pupils. Before Carrick turned around, Sara blinked, turning down the hall and swallowed. Carrick spoke of finding himself doing things he wouldn’t normally do. Yeah. Sara had that problem too. Just the things she knew part of her desired, were also things that she knew she would hate herself for doing.

“Hey Cat where is the Bog?”

“Huh?” Bog? Sara was pulled away from her inner thoughts so hard and confused by the word she forgot to correct the boy about calling her Sara. Not Cat.

“To be honest I needed to go since you first saw me change…”

“Oh the bathroom.” Sara motioned towards the hall. “It’s to the right down there. Can’t miss it. Third door on your left. Why didn’t you go while in the air? Birds do that all the time.” Sara thought about this for a moment. “Or is it hard with the cat parts in the back?”

Feeling the gaze of the cat upon him he again shifted uncomfortably as he turned his head to the way she pointed. His feathers ruffling slightly as he nodded his head to her he said, “I’ll answer that in a second…” his ears finally registered what Sara said and he turned his head his eyebrows glancing down as his eyes trailed to his tail, which flicked with curiosity.

Something he didn’t like about himself and she managed to point it out. His expression turned to one of somewhat disgust as he grabbed his tail. His body tensed up for a moment as he felt his balance lose itself. Knuckles white Carrick looked to Sara and said, “Not a cat part…” his tone was more of disbelief then anything else, and it wasn’t that he was lying to Sara he was lying to himself. The thought of being a contradiction of himself was something he didn’t like to think about.

He was human, bird and cat, he was a contradiction of himself and it only made his head hurt whenever he thought about it. When his mutation first manifested he was more focused on his wings and far more accepting than his tail. Over the few years however he was warming up to the idea of his tail resembling that of a cats though when Sara mentioned it a minute ago he reverted to his old thoughts.

It was far easier to think of yourself when you were half something, he could rationalize the things he said and did that way but when you tossed the ‘cat’ into the bag things just became jumbled and he didn’t like things jumbled, he liked them simple. Sighing slightly as he let go of his tail Carrick looked to Sara his eyebrows raised into a more calm expression. “I’ll be back in a second…” with that he walked to the bathroom as his tail drooped low as his hands came together into a praying positioning as he thought more on his dilemma.

Not a cat part….. NOT a cat part. Oh if that was not a cat part, then Sara’s backside must have resembled a mouse’s tail. Hello! Sara was part cat. Very much part cat and she knew other cat parts when she saw them. It was something that came with the BEING PART CAT THING!

Oh and look at this. He thought he could pause this conversation. Sara blinked at him as he turned around. That’s right. His cat tail side was facing her quite squarely and he said it was not a cat part. And just like that cat tail was not a cat tail, this conversation wasn’t going on pause. It could pause when Sara was done talking.

“Excuse me.” Sara said as she followed Carrick down the hall to the mens’ room where apparently he also thought he could hide from her voice. “you know no matter how much you hate a part of yourself, it’s still you. You are still part cat.” Sara called into the door, as she stood to the side with her palm pressed against the smooth wood so her voice could better echo around the kid…. And apparently the other inhabitants of the men’s room.

A boy came out that was not Carrick and gave Sara a WTF is wrong with you look before continuing down the hall. “Hi Steve.” And back to the conversation at hand.

“You seem to love the face you have wings, and don’t get me wrong. They are very lovely wings, but that CAT tail of yours and the back end of a lion when you turn, which is by the way, a large cat as well, is just as much a part of you.” Yeah yeah yeah. Sara had heard these words before as well. She had no idea really why she felt the need to tell Carrick about it. “People are fascinated by you in dreams, You’re a gryphon, part bird part CAT. If you were just some giant bird acting nearly as stupid as you are right now,” This coming from the crazy cat lady yelling into the men’s room. “You wouldn’t put nearly as many butts in the seats at the circus. Who cares about giant eagles when there are giant flying cat beasts on this planet?”

Ok. So at this point Sara really didn’t care how about how much of a crazy cat lady she looked like. Carrick was going to listen to something.

Knowing that the cat was following him Carrick hurried into the bathroom and into a stall the handicap stall to be precise the other stalls were to small and his wings made things awkward for him to move about in the normal sized stalls. Sighing as he locked the door Carrick looked at the toilet for a second before he started to do his business.

“Excuse me.”

Carrick grumbled slightly as the door swung open and the woman had continued to talk. About what? Well something about him being part cat, which he knew but still wasn’t happy about the idea. His ears twitched as his wings were mentioned and he smiled slightly, despite the insults she was giving him she happened to be praising his wings… something that he took pride in greatly. She then proceeded to mention his ability in brining in cheering fans to the circus; again he smiled and nodded his head happy to absorb the praise.

Flushing the toilet Carrick turned around and unlocked the door and exited to wash his hands as the sink turned on he started to mumble about his time at home mentioning thinks like, “Da, was right, only a woman has the audacity to disturb a man in the bathroom…” looking up into the mirror he smiled thinking of his father and his nagging mother and then his brother, someone he sometimes liked. Looking into his multi-colored eyes a memento of both parents seeing as their eyes were green and blue.

After washing his hands he washed his face with a cup of cold water before he shook his shaggy head and then grabbed his tail in one hand and petted it with the other. He liked his tail he just didn’t like that it reminded him that he was a contradiction of himself. Letting it go and sighing Carrick wiped his hands on a towel and then braced himself for Sara, the spokeswoman of cats everywhere.

“Cats are lazy,” he said simply as he exited the bathroom his eyes fixed on Sara, “And there is nothing greater than a flying bird,” extending his wings and arching them forward Carrick waved them in Sara’s face, “You can hardly keep your eyes off them…” changing the subject to before he smiled, “And I didn’t relieve myself because I may have animal urges from time to time but I’m still running the show, that and you're a cat but still a woman, Da would kick my arse if he found out I did something like that in front of you.” Carrick said simply as he his tail flicked in Sara’s direction in between his legs.

Ok. When Sara was looking back on how this conversation went, there were going to be some things that she regretted. The way she acted and things that she said. Still. She was sure she had a point she was making. Things could become confusing so easily for her lately.

“Cats are lazy,”

Only if they wanted to be Sara currently felt anything but lazy in her pain in the tail side manner at the moment.

“And there is nothing greater than a flying bird,”

“I’ll give you two guesses as to which side of mine would truly agree with you.” Sara said when the boy finally came out again. Did he really have to extend his wings? Sara’s eyes started to dilate again, before she tore them away from the flicking feathers. Her arms crossed as if that made an invisible wall for her hands. What was wrong with her? It was much like there was something missing in her usual practices that kept her sane.

“You can hardly keep your eyes off them…”

“Trust me. It’s not because I want to compliment them. Could you not flick them so much for a moment?” Sara purposefully closed her eyes and pressed her digits on either side of the ridge of her nose. Eyes closed. She felt like she had to yank her own actions into obedience.
“And I didn’t relieve myself because I may have animal urges from time to time but I’m still running the show, that and you're a cat but still a woman, Da would kick my arse if he found out I did something like that in front of you.”

Sara looked up slightly surprised. Her nose flushed a darker pink hue at being recognized so point blankly as a woman. OK add two brownie points for the kid. She sort of liked that. She was so used to doing the tom boy thing, and everything on her own, without so much as a door held open. Even if Sara’s arms were full. “Thanks.”

“And feline laziness is only a matter of opinion.” Sara raised an eye brow when she noticed Carrick’s tail flick, but said nothing about it. “Did you want the tour to continue?”

Her eyes continued t focuses on his wings and once again he felt unnerved around the giant cat. Doing what he was asked Carrick folded his wings behind his back making them small as possible his tail stopped flicking it’s displeasure at Sara and wrapped around his leg once again. Head tilting to the side Carrick blinked once and then asked, “Thanks for what?” did he do or say something that would require a thank you? He washed his hands… maybe she meant thank you for that? His mother was always thanking his father for washing his hands after he used the bathroom maybe this instance was similar.

“Matter of opinion my arse!” Carrick murmured to himself as he nodded his head when she asked about the tour, “Think that would be a good idea…” following Sara around the mansion would be easy for the most part, she did after all seem to stand out more than most of the other members of the school.

---

After a full tour of the mansion ensued they found themselves back at the main entrance and once again Carrick could hardly believe that this place was a school. He saw the rooms all of which were fairly big, high ceilings, enough room for him to stretch his wing, which was a step up from his tiny cramped trailer, which he rarely slept in just because it was to small.

The library seemed interesting enough, and he was a fan of the basketball courts and the pool, even if he didn’t do much of those when he was a kid. Having wings often meant he was either picked last for a team or not at all. Remembering once or twice when he was chased away from the pool or the court Carrick’s tail twitched with annoyance. He didn’t like being left out but he was for the most part used to it, if people couldn’t like what he was he preferred not to know them, only a waste of time in his opinion.

The kitchen had a full fridge of actual food, not just birdseed that again was another point in the mansions favor. The only thing he had against this place was the classroom. It wasn’t that they were bad it just they were classrooms and therefore something he did not like.

“I think I might like it here…” Carrick said as he eyed a few kids looking at him from around the corner, some with interest others with slanted eyebrows and looks of disgust. Returning some looks Carrick looked to Sara and asked curiously, “Not sure feels the same…” looking back to the corner and finding no one now Carrick looked back to Sara his tail twitching behind him again, “Do I have to go to school if I stay here?”

They finished their tour of the mansion, and it took Sara a lot less time than she thought it would take. It wasn't hard for Sara to notice the different emotions running through Carrick based on his expression and the beat of his heart. she did her best to make the things he found boring, short, and sweet. Then if he asked questions, she did her best to answer them. Sara amazed herself on how much she actually knew about the mansion despite most of her time that she had spent there had been spent without being able to see. It wasn't till they were approaching the large doors to the front of the mansion again that Carrick asked a question that really stumped her.

"To be honest, I'm not really the one to answer that question." Sara said with a shrug. "I grew up with a sort of schooling, I know it's important, but I have no official school records to prove it." The kids that had peaked around the corner to give herself and Carrick the odd looks received a stern 'Mind your own business if you can't make friendly faces' raised eye brow just before they ducked back around the corner. It seemed that even in a place that encouraged this much diversity, that some people still struggled with understanding the concept.

"If you want, I could put you in touch with the people who are in charge of running this place." Sara said. Thinking of Sam and artfully leaving out the fact that the people who were in charge of this place were teachers.