Arianwen stood outside the gates, having finally reached her destination after long months of travelling. She could distantly hear her last ride's engine moving away, even through her noise-canceling headphones, and figured it was maybe a mile or so down the road. She didn't have any certainty on her range of course, only guessing, but it seemed as good as any. The sun was still bright overhead so she left her goggles on while studying the school and grounds from the gates, hair pulled back as usual and face pale against the black of her clothing and dark-tinted ski goggles. Finally she sighed and started looking for a way to open the gates or contact whoever was inside that could. She found the little white radio box affixed to the wall beside the gate and walked over, pressing the button and speaking clearly into the speakers.

"My name is Arianwen O'Connell, and I'm looking to become a student here." She said formally and then waited for a reply.

Do it, just do it, Elizabeth told herself as she walked down the main path to the mansion’s main gates. She’d only been...home for a few days, but she’d spent most of that time in seclusion. She’d left her room to eat and hide in the library, for the most part. And all she’d done was read and cry and sleep. But she’d finally had enough of herself. It was time to go out into the world--alone--something she would not have done before. But she was a different person now. Right.

Just before Liz reached the gates, she noticed a new person standing there. She looked to be about her own height and presented a striking contrast between the girl’s pale skin and dark attire. Liz had definitely never seen her around before, even though she hadn’t been back for very long. But even then, the girl would’ve gotten through the gate easily if she lived there.

So, assuming that the girl was a visitor (an assumption that proved correct once Liz was close to overhear the girl’s statement to the intercom), Liz stepped up her pace and proceeded to do something that she’d never really been one to do. Outrightly approach a stranger and initiate conversation with her.

“Hi there,” Liz greeted the girl with a warm smile. She waved as she pushed the gate open enough to slip through. She leaned past the girl and activated the com again. “Don’t worry guys. It’s me, Liz Sundance. I’ll take care of it.”

Stepping back, Liz gave the girl another smile before stretching out her hand. “So, yeah, I’m Liz. Short for Elizabeth. New student, you said?”

Ari looked up at the girl coming up to her, blue eyes shrewd behind the dark lenses of her goggles. She heard her name, stashing it away in her mind before gingerly taking her extended hand. She gave it a brief shake before retracting her own hand, not wanting to keep contact for too long. Even through the gloves that could be overwhelming in the long-term.

"I'm Arianwen, though it seems you probably heard that. Are you a student here then?" She asked, absently shifting her headphones into a better position and double checking the set of her goggles. She was paranoid about losing those protections, especially around a complete stranger.

The handshake was like a butterfly. Quick, slight, barely there and then just as gone. Handshakes tended to tell quite a bit about people. Exactly what they said, Elizabeth didn’t know, but it did seem to her that Arianwen wasn’t quite used to giving handshakes. She wasn’t sure if that even meant anything either, but it was a random tidbit of information she didn’t know a moment ago.

But anyways, back to what mattered.

“Ooo, that’s a pretty name,” the blonde stated, drawing out her “O”s. She rolled it across her mind. “And yes, I’m a student here. Going to be a senior, actually. Pretty exciting, let me tell you.” She leaned in knowingly at that last part before standing straight up. “Well, come along with me and I can show you around the campus. M’kay?” she asked, barely waiting for an answer before practically prancing through the gates back onto the grounds with an energy she didn’t have a minute before. Maybe it had something to do with rationalizing her way out of doing something she had wanted to make herself do. Eh. Whatever.

Once the gates were closed, Liz started walking at a moderate pace toward the mansion. “So what grade are you going to be joining?” Small talk was what was required of these introductory tour-guide things, right?

Arianwen leaned away slightly when she leaned in, the action more automatic than anything else, then followed her in through the gates.

"I'm a sophomore." She replied calmly, looking around from behind shaded lenses. Everything was darkly shadowed of course, but she'd gotten used to it. She studied her surroundings, thankful for the thick soles of her boots as she stepped on a few raised areas of the path. Without them she'd be able to feel every bit of it. Just like without the headphones she'd hear even the rustling of the breeze in the branches and grass as though it was inside her ear rather than the whispered conversation it sounded like now. She could feel said breeze against the skin of her cheeks, a light stinging like the aftermath of a slap.

“A sophomore, you say?” Elizabeth noticed. “So you’re what? Fifteen? Sixteen? I’m seventeen, myself.” As she talked, they also walked. If one would look to the left, one could possibly see a group of kids playing frisbee. Or rather, three kids hopping, flying, and throwing sticky globs of goo at a teleporting kid with a disk. Yet if one looked to the right, she could observe a purple and red skinned boy sitting beside his winged girlfriend underneath an oak tree. They were merely two common sights at the mansion.

“Well, to start off this tour, these are the mansion grounds. Gigantic and huge, these extend all the way around the school/mansion. There’s a swimming pool and a hedge maze in the back and lots of room to roam.” Liz waved her hands in the general directions of the things she spoke of, in order to emphasize her directions. That, and it made her feel like an authentic greeter-person-tour-guide.

“Oh, and watch out for the occasional dog patty. The mansion allows pets and not all of them can use a litterbox,” she warned, giving Arianwen a knowing wink. She averted her face again in order to continue walking towards the huge edifice. She’d probably show Arianwen the maze and such afterwards. The girl could possibly be tired, after all, and could just want to find a room and rest for awhile.

"Sixteen. I was home-schooled last year." She replied, offering up that little bit of information in a polite manner because that's the way conversations were held right? She nodded along as Liz spoke, glancing at each thing she gestured to with her gloved hands tucked into her coat pockets and her backpack hanging from her slim shoulders. Absently she wondered what this girl's mutation was, but thought it might be too rude to ask and so kept those idle thoughts to herself. Though she assumed she'd be asked a similar question by some one here soon enough, her mode of attire was more than just a style after all. It was a necessity that few could resist being curious about.

Indeed, Elizabeth was a mite curious about Arianwen’s clothing, but it never occurred to her that it could be for any other purpose than a fashion statement. And even at that, Liz felt it would be rude to ask about it.

She acknowledged Arianwen’s answer with an angled nod of her head. The pale girl was only a year younger than herself. Liz continued their journey, pointing out a few more minor things along the way, pacing herself so Arianwen could mentally digest everything she said. Soon, they were at the mansion’s front doors. She opened one of the double doors and stepped to the side, allowing Arianwen to enter first if she wanted, before entering herself with the door closing behind her.

“And this is the mansion interior,” she announced grandly, her voice faintly echoing in the open space. “Particularly, this is the entrance or the foyer.” She dropped her hands from where they’d been extravagantly waving to add a dramatic sense of grandeur to her words and placed them on her hips. “Well,” she addressed Arianwen. “Do you have any questions so far? About the grounds, me or even the mansion? I’m an open book.” She felt it would be much easier to adjust to the place (since she’d known many people become a little overwhelmed their first time in the mansion) if Arianwen could adjust their pace.

Ari bit her lower lip, flinching slightly as the instinctive reaction caused a flare of pain in said lip. She released it, absently soothing the spot with a sweep of her tongue while she thought.

"How are the accommodations for the more troublesome mutations? Would one be able to, say, sound proof and black out their room if need be?" She asked hesitantly, trying to make the question sound hypothetical rather than personal. She wasn't sure she succeeded but even just being able to black out the room would be helpful, provided she didn't have a roommate who disagreed. But she'd just have to wait for an answer and see what she could do from there.

Instead of being an open book, perhaps she should’ve been a sneak preview of the first few chapters of it instead. Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20. Soundproofing rooms? That certainly wasn’t one she’d heard of before in relation to mutations (disregarding jokes made by students with noisy neighbors) and she’d never have thought of in order to prepare an answer for. But she’d do her best to answer it.

“Well, blacking out a room shouldn’t be too difficult. If you get one with a window, you can probably find some heavy cloth like stage curtain material to block out the light. And you can always turn the lights in the room off. Although if you end up with a roommate, this could lead to problems,” Liz rambled, ending with a bit of a laugh.

“But as for soundproofing, I’m not sure. I don’t think we’re allowed to do anything to actually change the rooms. Poking holes in the walls with staples and tacks seems to be the only things we can do. Unless you can find something, I guess, that you could hang on the walls....” Liz trailed off, attempting to think of possibilities but failing. She’d never had had to consider it before. “But I guess you could always talk to a member of the administration. I’m just a student.” She gave the other girl a friendly smile and a helpless shrug.

After a moment’s pause, she tilted her head a notch and spoke in a casual voice. “Please don’t think me rude, but would these specifications be related to you mutation?” Curiosity echoed in the senior’s voice. She had just assumed Arianwen was talking about her mutation, whatever form it came in that apparently required sensory-blocking utilities. After all, those were specific questions one normally wouldn’t think of (she hadn’t, anyways). It seemed logical to her.

She listened thoughtfully, nodding her understanding. She thought she could maybe hang some egg-crate padding on the walls then, as long as she kept it tight to the surface and layered it right it should dull the sounds from outside her room. At her question she gave her a small smile of reassurance.

"My hearing and sight are extremely sensitive. Light hurts my eyes, and noises most people would be able to ignore give me headaches. I'm also very sensitive to touch, especially skin-to-skin contact." She replied, briefly explaining her problems and gesturing to her eccentric get-up as she did so.

And with that bit of information, Elizabeth jerked away a few inches, unconsciously attempting to avoid physical contact with the other blonde. Not because she suddenly developed a heavy sense of prejudice against fellow mutants or she felt that Arianwen had some type of contagious malady, but rather because she didn’t want to accidentally brush up against her and discomfort her. Even though they were already several feet apart. So what? Being considerate was never bad.

“Geez, that sounds pretty bad,” Liz stated plainly. Sympathy, she did feel. But the girl’s mutation made her outfit make more sense. Dark goggles to block the sun and thick headphones to block out sound. Liz had just figured that they were part of her outfit, like she was styling with her shades and grooving to some music only she could hear.

“My abilities render me prone to things as well,” Liz said, attempting to make a connection with the new girl by revealing a snippet of personal information. (That is how one makes somebody feel welcome, right? Show yourself friendly and stuff like that?) “I can sense the emotions of animals and sometimes if they’re really riled up, they can mess me up so bad. Like mood swings from Hades.” Okay, so maybe her vulnerability wasn’t quite analogous to Arianwen’s, but it was the closest she could come.

“Anyways,” she said with a smile and a sweep of her arm. “Shall we get on with the tour?” She began heading toward a hallway that would eventually lead to the kitchens, her body language indicating that she’d still answer any questions Arianwen may have.

Arianwen smiled at that and shook her head.

"You're alright, I'm used to people being closer than I'd like." She assured her, lifting one shoulder with a shrug. And she nodded at the other girl's attempt to relate, making an appropriately sympathetic noise. She understood how that could be pretty bad. But at least Liz could still touch people, could see the world in its' original colors. Then she followed her down the hall, studying the inside of the mansion curiously.

The two girls made it the kitchen without any problems. Elizabeth did live there, after all. And she had no record of anything unorthodox happening in the kitchen (besides losing Bready, her chewiset and funnest friend ever) but never anything life threatening. So all in all, they arrived at the kitchen quite safely.

“This place is, as you can probably tell, the kitchen. It’s open at all hours of the night or day. If you feel the need to eat, just make yourself at home. The cupboards are generally fully stocked with all sorts of goodies and the fridge is always full of scrumptious stuff.” Liz swept her arms for a proper dramatic effect, very much like revealing a wonderfully majestic, cinematic utopia to Arianwen. Fortunately it had been cleaned recently, or else the evidence of various students who were not Cleaning-Type students would’ve ruined the moment a bit.

“Any other questions so far?” the blonde asked the other blonde. Maybe the girl had seen some interesting artwork or something in the halls on the way to the kitchen. She’d pointed out one of the sculptures as being her favorite and had also noted the authenticity of one of the suits of samurai armor. And they’d certainly passed any number of paintings, as well as several other kids (although, a bunch of random kids probably wouldn’t be considered art, by most people. Especially not a still life). And just in case there were questions, Liz wanted to be sure to answer them promptly. She was still trying to get the hang of being the welcome wagon.