The sun was rising, finally. Shane had been up the entire night, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to be able to get a moment of rest in this place. At the moment he was sitting on his bed, enjoying its comfort. He certainly hadn’t missed the increasing amount of time he’d been spending on beds as of late, but he still found them oddly uncomfortable, from an emotional standpoint anyways. He didn’t take gifts well. He had always preferred to earn what he had. These beds though, they were all charity, something he couldn’t stand the taste of…

.

It had been late by the time they finally got to the school, or at the very least the sun had set by that point. Dark skies was all that really stuck out for him. He was a little relieved of that though. He always preferred the cover of darkness when exploring new terrain. The Doctor and Gina had shown him to his room in the guest portion of the sleeping area, exchanging pleasantries before disappearing down the hallways to their respective homes. He just sat there, flexing his arm over and over again for at least an hour, playing around with it to see if it really was as good as new. He couldn’t find any fault in it.

Occasionally a stranger would wander past the door; they’d peer in, but only in passing. It was a good feeling, not seeing the tinge of disgust that he was accustomed to. He was still adjusting to their appearance though. He was astonished how many of them had nothing that marked them as mutants. The few he’d met all had something that gave them away, even if they hid it. Gina and he wore their mutations on the outside. There was the stranger in the park who hid another eye under a covering. Amber had her eyes branding her for life. But many of these mutants (at least he assumed they all were) had next to nothing to show for their gifts and curses. Even the DocProf appeared to be completely human as far as Shane could tell. Clearly it was going to be more difficult to identify mutants then he’d expected.

Eventually he could see lights go out in the halls as the noise level of the building slowly dropped to nothing. This was his signal that exploration time had begun. He removed his clothes and made for the door. The only reason he ever work those rags was to help him blend in. In reality, wearing pants just limited what he could do with his powers. Plus he was far better at blending in with his surroundings when he was spared the noise and colour of clothing. He slithered through the hallways, keeping an eye out for other people, making sure to avoid detection.

In his hand he carried the scrap of paper with the room number Gina had scribbled down for him. He figured he might as well start checking out that area. Staying low, to the shadows and along the walls, he slowly made his way down the mess of identical doors, watching the numbers as they rose, alternating back and forth between the left and right sides of the passage. Eventually he was upon the door on the paper. He went open the door to peek inside, but a bumped table made enough noise behind him to draw his complete attention.

A young boy stood in front of him. He was visibly concerned, and quite nervous. Shane eyed the boy with curiosity, slinking his way towards the surprise guest. He gripped a glass of water tightly, shaking in his concerned hands off to his side. A few drops splashing out on occasion. At the moment Shane wasn’t very human like in appearance, but he made no attempt to switch back in order to calm the child. “So, what’s your name?” he whispered, his voice maintaining its common rasp…

.

Morning was here now, though. He remained seated on his bed, head down, playing through the night’s events, trying to paint himself a mental blueprint of the building. A knock at the door grabbed his attention, breaking his concentration. He looked to the opening door to see a familiar face.

Breakfast was in its typical state of disarray in the cafeteria that morning, various murmurings of conversation climbing over as students conversed over breakfast. Nothing particularly outstanding or unusual stood out in the conversations-- what was going to be done today, things they'd seen on t.v. the night before, and typical teenage drama. Gina had munched her toast quietly, listening intently. It wasn't until one of the younger students ran in that things began getting interesting.

"I can't find Tommy anywhere!" he announced to the entire cafeteria, his shrill little voice climbing over all of the others. The noise lessened at the announcement, and one of the more-patient older children attempted to assist him.

"Maybe he's in the bathroom?" a female voice suggested.

"I was just in there, he's not anywhere!" the younger boy exclaimed, frustrated, "I can't find him anywhere."

A couple of other children rose up, finished with their breakfast, and moved to assist them in their search for "Tommy"

Gina finished her own breakfast slowly, but once she was done, she made her way upstairs rather hastily, beelining towards the wing where the guest bedrooms were kept. She'd helped the DocProf walk Shane to his room the evening before, so was familiar with where he was staying. Once to the room, she knocked twice to announce herself, before hesitantly popping the door open and poking her head inside and glancing around.

“Shane, you awake?” Gina inquired hesitantly, eyebrows arching inquisitively. He was looking towards the door, so presumed he was. She wedged herself in further, closing the door to dull the noise outside.

“Morning, sunshine-- sleep well last night?” she greeted, as customary.

The winged ball of energy burst into his room, only to be greeted by his rather unexciting form seated on the bed on the opposite side of the room. His appearance was anything other then uninterested though. He flashed his newest - and possibly only – friend an unnaturally large smile as he slowly slid himself to the floor, leaving the mattress behind. He stretched himself out, spreading his limbs out several additional feet longer then they normally rested. His entire body was like one giant muscle, so keeping it loose was fairly important to him. Feeling adequately stretched, he popped down to a more normal human size and shape, extending a small wave in her direction.

“Slept like a baby.” He answered Gina, yawning at the thought of a good night sleep. His mouth opened wide and offset itself to his right as he let out the long, droning yawn. He was fairly tired, and he wasn’t doing a good job hiding it. He then realized that he was standing in front of her naked, again. He didn’t have much to be ashamed of, his form was what he made it out to be, which most of the time was just a blobby mass of black goo, but for the young girl’s sake, he figured it would be best if he covered up. Tossing on the few scraps of ratty clothing he had lying around the room, he came across his jacket, remembering why Gina was there in the first place.

“I believe this is for you,” he said with a smirk, holding up the jacket and tossing it her way. His clothes really stood out in the bedroom. They were all worn out and sun-bleached, lacking any real colour. This in contrast with the brightly coloured room made him stand out in a like a sore (discoloured) thumb. He knew that was the case, but buying anything new was never really an option for him. He rarely spent time in bright places anyways.

As he finished tossing on his few layers of clothing he eyed Gina curiously. “So, what on the agenda for today?” he asked, curious what else he needed to stick around for beyond the patchwork that she’d offered. It wasn’t that he was ungrateful for the hospitality, but something about a roof over his head made him a little uneasy. It made him feel as though he was being caged. He wasn’t a fan of that feeling.

"Slept like a baby," Shane confirmed, stifling a yawn. Gina couldn't contain her chuckle-- she'd never understood that saying. Sure, it technically meant that you'd gotten a good night's sleep, but the truth was that baby's didn't often sleep well-- they always woke up, wailing because they were hungry, or had slept all day and didn't want to sleep at night, or something like that. Truth was, sleeping like a baby was a sharp contrast to what the colloquialism actually meant. Shane busied himself in getting dressed, and Gina looked away. Anatomically, there wasn't anything to see, but Gina supposed that old habits died hard. Once clothed, for the most part, he picked up his jacket.

"I believe this is for you," Shane said simply, tossing it her way. Gina caught it in her hand, with a murmured thanks, and began surveying it speculatively. It had once been perhaps khaki in tones, but through some good use had faded to a lighter tone. The tear on the back wasn't as nearly as clean of a cut as Gina's. Gina had popped the seams open on the sleeve, so the mending would be fast, but the tear on the back? She'd might end up patching that, if the torn sides didn't connect just right. This was going to be a lot of work.

"Ah, yes, the much-loved coat," Gina had mused aloud, a smile touching her features as she surveyed it. "Much-loved" was simply a nice way of saying "practically mangled beyond recognition". Shane was almost finished dressing himself, which meant that they could get this show on the road rather soon.

>> “So, what on the agenda for today?”

"Well, patch up the coat, of course," Gina trailed speculatively, turning her gaze away from the coat and towards Shane, "And the DocProf will probably want to see you, too--" Had she believed that Shane would stay? Not really. Did she want him too? Well, he did dress like a homeless guy-- and it was in Gina's nature to want to care for others, make sure they had a roof over their heads or a place to go if they needed it... but she could understand the feeling of being caged-in by walls. She offered a shrug, "Other than that, I've got nothing. You?"

“I just want to get out of this room,” Shane confessed, though there wasn’t any kind of tone to his voice. He stated as a simple fact; he wanted to go out and explore. The previous day had been more then enough lounging then he would have preferred (despite the fact that he had a perfectly reasonable excuse). Right now though, he wanted to see the school. Despite the fact that he’d done a little recon the night before, all he really knew was the layout, but he didn’t know what resided behind many of the doors he past. Getting a little bit of a tour seemed like a useful way for him to spend his time today. That, and meeting up with the Docprof to confirm that his arm was in as great a condition as it felt would certainly be a load off of his mind.

He motioned towards the door with his head. “I vote we try and find the doc, first and foremost.” He began walking towards the door rather eagerly with a slight hint of a bounce in his step. He continued to look down at his arm, flexing and stretching it, testing it out to prove to himself that it was as good as it seemed. The anticipation of getting a final verdict was killing him.

He stepped out into the hall, unsure of where to go exactly. Finding the infirmary was one of his main goals on his little mission, but he’d been unsuccessful in the hunt, so now he just waiting for Gina to show him the way. The hallway was filled with the sound of younger children running around, laughing with one another. He found himself yet again baffled by how few appeared to have no visible signs of mutation whatsoever.

A few concerned looking boys came bolting past them, shouting the name Tommy over and over again. They didn’t pay him much attention. He liked that. “Is it always this crazy around here?” he asked. He was obviously feeling a bit of excitement himself, but he wasn’t sure if he was catching the infectiousness of the other children’s laughter, or if it was simply his anticipation.

"I just want to get out of this room," Shane admitted, in his typical fashion, "I vote we try and find the Doc, first and foremost." Shane nodded with emphasis towards the door of the room.

"Well, then let's get out of here," Gina answered, cracking a smirk as Shane practically trotted out the door and into the hall, pausing a moment as the din of the hallway met his ears. Gina meandered on after him, tossing the coat over her shoulder as she pulled the door shut behind the two of them. Yeah, it was chaotic, but it was a chaos that Gina was used to. Older kids bustled past towards their own rooms, to get ready, while the younger ones were full of vim and vigor, and currently romping around like little maniacs. Shane seemed to be taking it all in, so Gina allowed him to, skimming the crowd for a familiar face. Particularly Agnes. She might as well have introduced them, since she'd be dragging Shane to their dormitory later anyways... after all, that was where her sewing machine was.

A few boys past them, hollering in search of Tommy, paying little attention to the two stationary figures in the hall. Apparently, they hadn't found him yet.

"Is it always this crazy around here?" Shane inquired. He seemed jittery, which was odd-- he didn't strike Gina as the excitable type. But, being around such a high concentarion of mutants could do that to you.

"Pretty much," Gina said casually, giving a casual shrug, "I mean, it is a school full of mutant kids." She paused a moment longer, watching the other kids hum around like little bumblebees. After not spying Agnes in the throngs, Gina decided it would be best to carry on-- maybe they'd meet later.

"Come on," Gina said decidedly, looping her own arm through Shane's as a means by which to guide him towards the stairs, "It's something of a walk to the Infirmary, so I'll show you some of the sights along the way, okay?" Anyways, they were going to pass the kitchen, so maybe the cook would give him a muffin or something for breakfast. Gina began to descend the stairs, keeping to the side so as to avoid being mowed-over by the onslaught of students that were running upstairs.

Gina gave his arm a good yank. He wasn’t quite expecting to be led down the hallway arm in arm, and if he hadn’t been wearing sleeves, it’s very likely her tug would have gone as well as pulling on a roll of toilet paper. He followed along behind her, hunched over a bit to compensate for their height difference. The interlocked arms were an effective way to keep tabs on one another among the dense crowds in the hallways, but they certainly didn’t offer him much in the way of a low profile; being dragged around hunched over seemed pretty attention grabbing to him.

They moved through the crowds past doors to a cafeteria. The kids were all pouring out, so he assumed that breakfast was ending. The sound of both their chatter and the pounding of their feet created quite the wall of sound, making communication between any two people quickly devolve into a friendly shouting match. The smell wafting up from the kitchen was pretty good, but the two of them kept moving, if for no other reason then the fact that moving perpendicular to the other children could only end badly. Gina had mentioned that they would be seeing the sights along the way, but so far it seemed that this miniature stampede would be the guide for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, once they reached the bottom of a squeaky set of stairs the crowd seemed to disperse in all-different directions. Gina began to continue on with the rest of them, but Shane held firm, and motioned to her to move to the side of the hallway. “I think it might be worth waiting for it to calm down a bit for a minute.” He said, smiling wide and extending a hand out over the heads of the little monsters, pointing to all of them at once.

He took a look around at halls that faced him now. They looked a fair bit classier then the dorms upstairs, presumably from less frequent trampling. He looked back to Gina, tapping her foot, looking as though she was anxious to get going. “So…” he started, unsure exactly what to ask. “Where are we exactly, right now?” He nodded towards the nearest door to them. He hadn’t come down here last night, mainly just exploring the uppermost floors. He rubbed his forehead while he waited to hear her response. He had a bit of a headache – perhaps to much yelling for one day.

Descending the stairs was, as always, like a fish attempting to swim upstream. Gina was well-accustomed to such a workout, and had adopted a tactic of turning her body sidewise and using her shoulder to part the crowd. Shane, however-- he seemed to be struggling. Not only because of the crowd, but because he was stooping down to Gina's height for her to lead him along. Gina wanted to pause and give Shane the spiel of what was what, but the din created by the other students made it nigh impossible to do so.

They made it to the base of the staircase, finally allowing for them to breathe. Gina paused for a moment, trying to decide where they would head first. She might have began absently following the flow of the crowd, but Shane gave a tug on her arm, motioning towards the hall's edge. Gina followed cluelessly, drawing close so as to hear him clearly.

>> “I think it might be worth waiting for it to calm down a bit for a minute.”

Shade cracked a smile at her, gesturing broadly at the bustling children.

"Oh," Gina said, surveying the crowd. It was normal, for her, but perhaps it was a bit overwhelming for Shane? She smiled understandlingly, gave a shrug, and replied, "All right, let's wait it out a little bit." She fidgetted slightly, not out of anxiousness, but out of absentmindedness. She didn't do well at sitting still. The crowd lightened a little, for no one stuck around this area long.

>> “So… where are we exactly, right now?"

Gina looked around speculatively, arching her brows slowly. It wasn't that she didn't know where she was, but it took her a moment to register where they'd wound up. Gina paused, inhaled, and assuredly answered, "It's mostly classrooms and such, down here. But, you can get to the library, too. This door here, though-- this door leads to my favorite area," Gina grinned, nodding towards the door, "This here is the cafeteria-- come on."

The crowd had cleared enough for them to cross the hall without linking arms and throwing themself into the throngs of people. No, now they could stroll casually across the hall.

The two of them walked into the cafeteria, and the smell was intoxicating to say the least. Shane hadn’t really smelt that many types of food in one place together for a very long time. He also hadn’t really had too many meals he didn’t hunt for in the past few years either. In actuality, he wasn’t sure if he had much in the way of taste buds anymore. He hadn’t really made much use of them in a while, and most of his meals weren’t ingested through his mouth in the first place. Much like his sense of smell, his sense of taste was slowly beginning to drift away on him.

Aside from the two of them, the place seemed to be fairly deserted. A few stragglers huddled around a table designated for cereal, and a man cleaned up around another table covered in napkins, and other items such as that. Shane spotted a basket of muffins that looked absolutely phenomenal. He looked to Gina for approval, but at that moment she wasn’t paying attention to him, a different basket of delicious most likely catching her eye. Taking a peek around for anyone else that may be looking, Shane slyly grabbed the largest muffin he could spot and took it into hand, giving it a good sniff to savor the moment. He morphed his mouth a little wider then the tiny slit it had been. A few teeth popped out as he prepared to take a large bite when suddenly a voice chimed in from behind him.

“Good morning.” Shane spun around, caught off guard by the sudden addition to the room. Standing by the coffee machine sipping out of a plain mug was the DocProf, smiling his trademark, comforting grin. Shane grumbled a bit, looking down to the ground where his muffin now resided. He enjoyed startling Shane a little too much.

Gina meandered in behind Shane, surveying his reaction. She imagined that his eyes had begun to sparkle like a kid making their first trip to FAO Schwartz, but then again, she wasn't really paying much attention to his reaction. Sure, Gina had just finished with breakfast, but she still surveyed the baskets upon the tables, which contained a variety of small sides to the main breakfast. She was speculating over a basket of scones for a while. She really shouldn't, but a familiar voice snagged her attention.

>> "Good morning."

Gina looked up, a smile touching her face, "DocProf!"

Okay, so she hadn't been too attentive when she walked in, but the DocProf was standing there, lounging casually by the coffee machine with a simple, ceramic mug cocked in his hand. Shane had startled, dropping his... muffin?... on the floor. But, since Gina hadn't been holding any food, she didn't drop anything. Gina took a path with little resistance and darted towards the DocProf right after she'd exclaimed his name, and before he could move away, she gave the DocProf a hug of salutation.

"Mornin', Doc," Gina greeted chipperly.

"Good morning, Gina, dear," the DocProf said with a grin, releasing her with a warm, firm hand on her shoulder, "How are you this morning?"

"Good," Gina said with a bob of her head, "I was giving Shane the grand tour-- actually on the way to see you."

Shane was left standing alone, looking far more awkward then he actually felt. The Doctor’s constant calmness left him in a constant state of skepticism. The first time they met, he seemed different, more open and less judgmental then he did now. At the moment, his smile seemed less genuine and more of a way to conceal his actual feelings. He could have been wrong however. Shane did make a habit of assuming the worst of people, and he was far from skilled at reading people’s expressions. But, he was sure that the doctor’s body language had changed from the moment they left the hospital.

He spent a moment looking down at his feet where the muffin was resting. The floor seems clean enough, he thought to himself before letting a small tentacle of flesh sprout out from the bottom of his pant leg. It reached out, grabbing the muffin and pulling it under the fabric, keeping it safe for later. He maintained eye contact with the doctor while doing so, and the doctor stared right back at him. There was clearly mutual suspicion in the air. The two boys who had been hanging out in the back started to feel like whatever the conversation was going to be about, they didn’t need to be there for it, and took off.

“So,” Shane started, rubbing the back of his head and breaking eye contact first, losing the stand off. “When do you suppose you could check out this arm for me?” he asked. Gina must have been able to sense the tension that had sprung up, seemingly from nowhere, and thought it was better for him to swallow his pride and change the subject to lightening the mood up a bit; a move oddly unlike him.

“How about you two meet me there in 10 minutes?” He answered, still staring directly at Shane, and still smiling wide. “I just have a few things to take care of first, but they shouldn’t take long.” Shane nodded in agreement, looking to Gina for approval, and not seeing any kind of protests.

“Wonderful. “ he responded, finally looking around the room and giving Gina a reassuring look. “I guess I better get going then. Cheers.” He said, raising his coffee mug up towards each of them and tossing them both a complementary nod. He exited quickly, though not in a rush. He was much quicker on his feet then you would expect from a man of his age.

Shane approached Gina, looking back towards the door. “What was that about?” he asked, though partially as a rhetorical question. He lifted up his arm, and watched as the muffin popped out of his skin coming to a rest in an outstretched hand. He popped the entire thing into an oversized mouth, swallowing it whole. He flashed a grin towards Gina, his mouth still comically oversized.

Shane interjected with a very forward inquiry about when the DocProf could check out his arm. If Shane thought there was some heaviness in the air that Gina could percieve, he was wrong. She wasn't even paying attention, but had turned her attention to a particularly enticing basket of cookies. How cookies had wound up on a table at breakfast was beyond her, but who could pass up cookies? Maybe it was the kid that could summon inanimate objects at will-- however they'd gotten there, Gina didn't mind. She took advantage of the opportunity, snagged a cookie (or two, or maybe three), and began munching on one while holding onto the other two in her opposite hand. She'd fly it off later, anyways.

The DocProf suggested they rendezvous in ten minutes, which Gina absently nodded at, even though he didn't seem to be addressing her. Again, she wasn't paying attention, but noticed when Shane glanced towards her for a go-ahead. Gina shrugged and nodded, but said nothing, as she was currently silenced by a mouthful of cookie. He gave Gina a smiling glance and a nod, before hustling out. Shane meandered towards Gina, following the DocProf with his gaze.

>> "What was that about?" he inquired airily, bringing a muffin forward and devouring it whole. The fashion in which he'd consumed it reminded Gina of a shark, and she smiled back at him, though with more modesty.

"He's a busy man," Gina said with a bob of her head, speculating over her cookie for a moment before taking another bite, "I mean, he singlehandedly handles all of the healthcare in the school, spare some of the nurses and such... I'm sure he has business to take care of before we drop by." Gina saw nothing the matter with this, and seemed unaware that this question may have been a rhetorical one. Since they had some time to relax, Gina slouched against the wall, took another nibble from her cookie, and sighed. These were some dang-good cookies.

Shane, taking a cue from Gina, leaned up against the wall opposite her. His muffin hadn’t really offered him the kind of sensation he’d hoped for, which meant that his taste buds really weren’t very functional. It was possible that he might be able to craft them when he formed a mouth, but simply making and sustaining vocal cords was hard enough, a vanity like taste buds was more then he really needed. He licked his lips and fingers all the same though. That was the first bit of real food he’d had in a while, and on an emotional level, that was a big deal. Physically though, it really didn’t offer him much in the way of nourishment. It was clear to him by this point that he was a full-blown carnivore. Besides, he really wasn’t all that hungry.

“So, anything else worth seeing?” he asked, looking around the room for any other hidden gems that may be laying about in the room. He was beginning to feel more comfortable in the school, and as a result, more willing to use his powers or expose his face. He stretched his neck out in order to get a higher vantage point while he scoured the room for his hidden treasures. He kept an ear open for Gina’ response, but he wasn’t really completely paying attention. If he heard any words that implied they were moving on, he’d follow.

His headache was getting a bit worse. He wasn’t quite woozy yet, and he could walk fine, but it was the type of throbbing pain he’d become used to. In the hallway he could hear an adult walking a few young boys to a classroom. They were whining excessively, the name Tommy occasionally catching Shane’s attention. He took a few steps towards the door, sticking his head on a still elongated neck out to peek at the commotion.

Gina watched as Shane took what seemed to be an experimental bite out of the muffin. He ate gingerly, as if he feared that biting into the muffin would sting his lips... or lack thereof. Gina chewed speculatively as Shade inquired about if there was anything else worth seeing. She speculated-- it wasn't worth showing him the classes, or the library really, unless that was of interest to him? She could take him to the pool, or go outside, but that was more than a ten minute trip. A speculative frown touched upon her face. They'd go up to her dorm later and pass the common room as they went, which was a definite must.

"No, not really," she admitted lamely. Gina shrugged a shoulder, went on to explain that, "Maybe, if we had more time, but not with only ten minutes." As a courtesy, she always tried to be on time-- keyword, tried. She started working on the second cookie speculatively.

"There's always plenty to see, though-- we could just wander," she proposed, nodding her head towards the door, "Come on, let's jet and see if we can't, y'know, kill some time." There was only so much you could do in a cafeteria, after all. Gina began trailing towards the door, fairly certain that Shane would follow on his own fruition.

The time passed fairly slow, he was forced to admit. The whimsical excitement of the day before had settled and everything seemed to be moving at a much slower pace. The minutes became a sort of a stop and smell the roses kind of event, though the hallways didn’t offer much in the way of interesting sights; at least not ones that he hadn’t seen repeating as the worked their way towards the infirmary.

The halls seemed almost ominous. Not 15 minutes earlier they were the sites of stampedes, and now they just seemed barren. There was something that gave it an eerie tranquility. He wasn’t entirely sure if he liked it. There were faint, muffled voices escaping through doors open just a crack, exposing the lessons to those that cared to listen.

His attention was elsewhere though. He was scanning the area for as many useful details as he could remember. He never liked being in a place he was unfamiliar with, so this slow pace was a treat to him, allowing him to soak in his environment. He hadn’t come to this area on his midnight excursion, so it was all foreign to him. The most important thing to him was knowing that, if push came to shove, he had a mental map of where the nearest exit was. And he was feeling as if there were judgmental eyes watching him around every corner. The DocProf’s attitude seemed to indicate a lack of trust, which perhaps was good instinct on his part. It put both of them on edge though, and this was his ground. Shane wasn’t exactly comfortable leaving the ball in his court, but there was little he could, other then play nice, for the time being.

A few knocks on the door that read “INFIRMARY” echoed through the air as the man of the hour opened the creaky door, smiling his same old smiling and inviting the pair in. “Let’s just get this over with.” Shane thought to himself, eager to get back to life without a roof over his head.