>>"Upstate. I came to the city about a month or two ago. What about you?"

Gemma's eyes narrowed. He had been around for months? How did that happen? For a moment she wondered how many kids like him were still wandering the streets of New York, trying to hid a mutation...

"Baltimore" she answered with a smile "Came here about a year ago and got a job at the Mansion."

Has it really been so long ago?...

The cab ride was short; she allowed Chase to be silent, since none of the things she could have asked were any of the driver's business. Once they were at the Mansion, though...

He was indeed one of a kind, or at least one of very few. Never had he seen or heard of another runaway even remotely close to his age. Not alot of eight-year-olds had that kind of initiative.

Chase was silent for most of the ride-- he felt rude for not speaking, yet at the same time, he couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't want to talk about himself, particularly around a cab driver. For the most part, Chase just gazed out the window and let his mind wander. Mostly, he looked towards the buildings, trying to guess which building the school was.

The taxi veered to the left, pulling up to a large property, surrounded by a tall iron-wrought fence. A small booth was located at the gate, out of which a young man walked. He spared only a glance at Chase before addressing the driver. Chase shifted his gaze towards the plaque on the booth, sounding the simple, capital letters slowly.

Xavier's Sister School.

Xavier's? Chase glanced at Gemma, his face set in confusion. Xavier's was a school? His parents had never told him anything like that.

The kid was silent and she did not blame him. She did not want the driver to hear the rest of the conversation either. Even kids are entitled to their privacy.

Once the taxi drove off, she walked across the mansion grounds to the building, Chase in tow.

"Welcome to Xavier's" she said with a warm smile "Quite a safe place, you can't see it now but it's protected by all kinds of security. Including dogs and random mutants." she chuckled as they walked in through the front door. "Hall, living room, dining room, kitchen. Let me just drop these off and I'll show you around."

Dropping the shopping bags off in the kitchen, she turned to look at Chase.

"Everything in here is free, as long as it doesn't have someone's name on it. You can come down whenever you are hungry and find something to eat. I usually cook too, for the main meals."

Moving on, she lead him to the offices.

"This is my office, you'll usually find me here, if I am not in my room. Everyone has a room, although you might have a roommate if we run out of space, or if you want one."

She turned to look at Chase again.

"I am not going to pry into anything you don't want to tell me, but if you would like to stay, I do need to ask a few questions to check you in. Mostly, about your mutation. What is it exactly that you can do?..."

Asked in a nicest way possible.

Chase lagged behind Gemma, his head craning up towards the upper windows of the building as they approached. This wasn't the way he'd imagined Xavier's to be-- with how poorly his parents had spoken of it, he believed that it would be more bleak and prison-like, with bars on the windows and Doberman Pinscers. The place before him, though-- this place looked so grand, and beautiful.

"Like a castle," Chase observed. He trotted to catch up with Gemma as they crossed the threshold into the foyer, eyes roving around as she spoke. It was by far the nicest building Chase had ever seen in his short life. He listened as Gemma explained some basics about the Mansion, and led him to the kitchen.

The kitchen... Gemma set her bags down on the counter, began to talk about how the food was open to be eaten, if it wasn't already marked with someone's name. That was easy enough for Chase to commit to memory. He nodded, and shyly picked an apple out of a fruit bowl before scurrying out of the room after Gemma-- what, he was hungry!

They then went to the offices, all the while Chase attempted to nibble on the apple quietly. They stopped in front of Gemma's office, at which point, she faced Chase. Chase stopped munching on the apple to listen. Gemma explained that this was her office, which was where Chase could find her if she wasn't in her room. Chase's gaze flicked to the door, which boasted a plaque that read, "Gemma Taylor", then a couple of smaller words, which Chase couldn't sound out before the conversation's topic shifted.

>> "I am not going to pry into anything you don't want to tell me, but if you would like to stay, I do need to ask a few questions to check you in. Mostly, about your mutation. What is it exactly that you can do?..."

Chase blinked. That question was easy enough-- Jude had asked him the same question, so Chase assumed it was a customary exchange among mutants, just as it was customary among kids to exchange their ages. He was glad that Gemma wasn't going "to pry", much unlike the social workers would.

"I can make myself look different," Chase answered simply, "Like a whole other person, or just a little different..." Chase shrugged, stared down at his apple for a moment, "It's easier to do one or the other certain ways, though... I'm not very good at looking like a whole other person without something of theirs." Chase nodded at his explanation, to show that he'd finished, took a bite of his apple, and looked towards Gemma for the next question. He'd show her, but with that "no powers" bubble around her, it was an impossible feat.

>>"I can make myself look different. Like a whole other person, or just a little different... It's easier to do one or the other certain ways, though... I'm not very good at looking like a whole other person without something of theirs."

Gemma blinked.

"Human shifter?..."

That explained how the kid managed to stay out of sight for so long. If you can change your appearance it is nearly impossible to find you...

"Wow, that is a very rare ability" she smiled at Chase "I would love to see it later. So." she looked at him, munching the apple "What do you say we go back to the kitchen and get something to eat, I kind of skipped lunch. If you decide to stay, we can look for a room for you after. Hm?"

>> "Human shifter?..."

Chase nodded, "I guess you could call it that..."

His father's words of choice had always been "sub-human doppelganger", which was a term that Chase had tucked away, but didn't use. It was a big word, and a funny one, but he'd save it for when he was trying to impress someone with big words.

>> "Wow, that is a very rare ability... I would love to see it later. So-- What do you say we go back to the kitchen and get something to eat, I kind of skipped lunch. If you decide to stay, we can look for a room for you after. Hm?"

Chase smiled shyly at the way she said "rare", as if it were something to be proud of. His eyes seemed to glow with delight. She even wanted to see it later! This Gemma-lady was so cool. Chase nodded his head when Gemma suggested lunch, and immediately stopped eating his apple. He understood the difficulty of watching someone else while you had not.

"Okay," Chase agreed. The two began their return back to the kitchen, with Chase lagging behind Gemma while he looked around, then scurrying after her when he realized that he'd fallen behind. He was fascinated by the few other students that were in the halls, those visibly mutated, and those that weren't. None of them spared him more of a glance, perhaps a brief but polite greeting to Gemma, before continuing on. A lot of them were older kids, and very tall, but... none of them even did a double-take at Chase.

It was so weird.

They wandered back to the kitchen; Gemma allowed Chase to stop and look around when he wanted to. She was secretly proud of all the students they encountered on their way to the kitchen; none of them were rude to the new kid. Most of them were older, too. She smiled to herself.

"So." she said, as she started to unpack the shopping bags "I'm thinking sandwiches, that's the quickest food I can think of right now. Sounds good?" if not, she thought, she could always think of something else "Is there anything you don't or can't eat? Allergies, diet, anything?"

Most important questions first. She allowed him to sit wherever he wanted, as she walked around and put all the groceries away, except for the ones she was going to need for sandwiches.

"We have a lot of students with all kinds of tastes and restrictions, so we are prepared for virtually anything." she smiled

They made their way back to the kitchen. Gemma began unpacking the shopping bags, so Chase stood up on his tiptoes, grasping the edge of the counter so that he could see over its edge, "Can I help, Miss Gemma?"

Gemma proposed sandwiches.

"Sandwiches sound good," Chase agreed. Sandwiches actually sounded fantastic, for Chase hadn't had some of those in a while, "I'm not allergic to anything... not picky either..."

He'd never been given the opportunity to be a picky eater, in his younger years. Chase either ate what he was given, or he didn't eat. Gemma went on putting the groceries away, explaining that some students had all kinds of "tastes and restrictions", to which Chase inclined his head, and inquired, "Like... students that can only eat chocolate?"

Chase didn't sit down. He simply stood at the edge of the counter, watching as the groceries gradually shrank to the materials needed for sandwich-making. He didn't sit because he wanted to help, wanted to be of some use in the sandwich-making process, much the same as any kid would.

>>"Can I help, Miss Gemma?"

"Sure" she smiled, putting some stuff in the fridge; with the amount of stuff already in there, it looked like playing Tetris. She was good at that. "In a minute."

>>"Sandwiches sound good. I'm not allergic to anything... not picky either..."

"That's good" she nodded, still smiling. She guessed he would not be picky - runaways rarely ever were - but it was good to know he had no allergies either. None that he knew of, at least. She'll keep an eye on him, just in case.

>>"Like... students that can only eat chocolate?"

"Nah" she grinned, shaking her head "You would need to have a very special mutation to make me believe that. Otherwise, you are stuck with decent food." she chuckled "But we have kids who can't eat dairy products, or are allergic to peanuts; that kind of thing."

She arranged all the sandwich ingredients on the kitchen table; it was easier for Chase to access than the counter. Pulling out a chair, she put a plate in front of him and nodded.

"Now. Here is your plate, there is the bread, and here is everything else. You can choose what you want to put on your sandwich. You are free to have more than one, so don't stuff it full at one go." she chuckles. Little kids tended to do that. Especially if they were hungry.

>> "Nah... You would need to have a very special mutation to make me believe that. Otherwise, you are stuck with decent food..."

Chase sighed, adjusting his hold on the counter. It had been worth a shot-- Chase liked chocolate, so if he could convince Gemma that he could only eat that? But, grown-ups were smarter than that. Oh, well.

Chase watched as Gemma arranged the ingredients so that Chase could reach them, and they were all fanned out. She even pulled up a chair, and grabbed him a plate. Chase clambered onto the chair while Gemma spoke.

>> "Now. Here is your plate, there is the bread, and here is everything else. You can choose what you want to put on your sandwich. You are free to have more than one, so don't stuff it full at one go."

"Okay," Chase agreed. He surveyed the ingredients before him, lips puckered uncertainly. There were so many decisions to choose from. He drew his plate with its two slices of bread closer, brow furrowing speculatively. Maybe... peanut butter and jelly? Yeah, that sounded good...

Chase slid those two jars closer to him, and then grabbed the butter knife.

"What kind of sandwich will you have?" Chase asked Gemma, small hands fussing with the jar of grape jelly. He couldn't open it.

>>"What kind of sandwich will you have?"

"Hmmm" Gemma hummed, not sure about the answer, as she reached over and opened the jars for him. Looking at all the things on the table, she was just starting to realize that she overdid the whole thing again. Oh well. most of it will get eaten. One could always count on kids who lived in dorms.

"I think I'll stick to the classics" she chuckled finally, and started assembling a turkey-and-ham sandwich. She glanced at Chase as he worked on his own. He suddenly looked very young, even with the visible mutation. She wanted to ask so many questions... but she didn't. Not yet.

"So, this is it" she said finally, meaning the Mansion "Oh, we also have a library with a lot of books. And classrooms. And an infirmary with a very nice doctor who is also a mutant."

He did not mention the Danger Room. Not yet.

>> "Hmmm... I think I'll stick to the classics."

Gemma popped the two jars open for Chase with ease, then set them before him once again. His hands were just too weak.

"Thanks," Chase chirped. He took the knife back up in his hand, and went on spreading the grape jelly on the first slice. Once that was done he scraped the excess jelly off of the knife, and went on to the peanut butter.

>> "So, this is it... Oh, we also have a library with a lot of books. And classrooms. And an infirmary with a very nice doctor who is also a mutant."

That sounded like a lot more than what they has seen. Chase cleaned the knife off once again, replaced the lids on the jars, and completed the sandwich. He took an experimental bite. Maybe, a bit too much peanut butter--

"Can I see those, too?" Chase inquired, after finishing his first bite. Or did he have to say he'd stay first before getting the full tour? "Please, Miss Gemma?"

>>"Can I see those, too? Please, Miss Gemma?"

"Sure you can" she smiled and nodded, completing her sandwich. When Gemma was making a sandwich, she did not kid around. Hers looked like the pictures on the signs in front of sandwich bars.

"This place is officially a school" she explained as they ate "But we have a lot of people who live here who are not students. Some just come here to train with their powers and learn more about mutations in general... some, like me, work here, and some come here to take care of the school. And of course, there are a lot of people here who have nowhere else to go."

Chase munched on his sandwich and listened. While Gemma's sandwich would have featured on the cover of a magazine, Chase's looked... Well, like an eight-year-old had made it. This information sounded vaguely familiar, or parts of it did. Chase recalled that day when he'd met Aedus and Agnes. Oh, yes-- this was the place that she had spoken of.

"Is it just a big kids' school?"Chase inquired. He'd seen only big kids thus far, and Agnes was a big kid, too, "What about... say, an eight-year-old? What if an eight-year-old wanted to go to school here?" Chase obviously wasn't asking for strict metaphorical purpose. He didn't say outright that he was asking in regards to himself, but... Gemma was probably smart enough to know that he was.

>>"Is it just a big kids' school? What about... say, an eight-year-old? What if an eight-year-old wanted to go to school here?"

He was eight years old. And already alone. In Gemma's opinion, that was something that should never happen. Ever.

"He certainly could" she smiled at him "The school is open to anyone, we just usually get older kids because most mutations don't manifest so early. But yes, if an eight-year-old wanted to go to school here, we could arrange that."

She did not mention background check. That tended to make eight-year-olds run away. She'll deal with that later.