Crossroads

[Taya Robbins]

Taya Robbins sat in bed staring at the open sketchbook in her lap, her mechanical pencil in her mouth and her padded fingers drumming nervously on her knees. Her striped tail lay curled on the mattress beside her, twitching as if it had a mind of its own. Every few seconds the tip of her tail leapt up onto the edge of her sketchbook, and she just flicked it off with her paw.

She'd found herself short on artistic inspiration, so she'd been looking over her last ten months' worth of creative output, which was enough to overflow two disintegrating, graphite-smudged spiralbounds. One of them was full of trees, animals, landscapes, half-developed character concepts.

The other was even more personal - pages and pages of anatomical studies. Hands, feet, legs, upper body musculature, face. From beginning to end, the sketches tracked a series of radical changes. Feet reshaping, elongating, growing pads and claws. The pinky finger atrophying as the other fingers grew thicker and stronger. Ears pushing upward and growing, nose and mouth squeezing forward into an animalian muzzle.

It was a journal of sorts, her own personal documentation of what had been a very long, very strange journey. She'd hoped that looking over the road behind her would give her some clues about the road ahead. But she felt just as uncertain as ever.

Her ears flinched toward the door before the knock came. "Taya? The teachers from Cullen's will be here in a few minutes."

Taya closed her sketchbook. "I know, Mom," she replied.

The bedroom door opened, and Lise Robbins leaned in, trying to cover her concern with a smile. She was a petite but athletic woman with sandy hair and a more than even helping of natural grace. Taya remembered when people used to say how much she looked like her mother. Of course, that wasn't the case anymore.

"Are you all right, honey?" her mother asked.

Taya would have said yes, but she knew her restless tail was a dead giveaway. "Well, I'm... just a little nervous."

"They're just here to talk. You don't need to make any decisions today."

"I know, I just..." Taya brushed an errant strand of red-gold hair from her eyes and sighed. "They're only interested in me because I'm a mutant, right? I mean, how do we know they're any different from the people at..."

She swallowed. Even after such a brief experience, she couldn't bring herself to say the word Jericho without a wave of nausea.

Lise sat down on the bed next to her daughter and squeezed her around the shoulders. "Honey, if they were anything like that, they wouldn't have gotten past the first phone call with your father, believe me. And you said you talked to some kids from Cullen's on that blog. They seemed normal, right?"

Taya wanted to protest, but they aren't my normal.

"Tell you what," Lise said, "you can stay upstairs, and your father and I can talk to them for a while. And if we hear anything we don't like, we'll send them right back out the door. Taya, I promise - we're not trying to get rid of you. We're in this together, okay, kiddo?"

Taya nodded. Her mother leaned in and gave her a kiss on her furry cheek - Taya couldn't help wondering whether her mom ever got hairballs from doing that.

"I'll get you when we're ready," her mother said. "Just try to give them a chance, okay, Taya?"

"All right."

"See you soon."

---

The Robbinses were leasing one of a long row of identical townhouses just behind the medical campus of the Compton University Medical Center, a development reserved mainly for the families of patients in long-term care. It wasn't much - two bedrooms on top of a living room and kitchen, a house that was practically taller than it was wide, but Lise and Kyle Robbins had done what they could to make it home.

Kyle looked up from the sofa as his wife came down the stairs. "How is she?" he asked.

"Nervous," Lise said. "I told her we could talk with them for a while - give her a chance to listen in and warm up to them."

"Think she's nervous about meeting other mutants?"

"Gosh, maybe. Would that really be so surprising? It's just as new to her as it is to us."

"'New,' that's one way of putting it." Kyle stood and pulled his wife close. "And how about you? Are you ready for this?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Lise said. "But I'll tell you, even a hint that they don't have our little girl's best interests in mind..."

"At least we're agreed on that."

Lise leaned against Kyle, and they shared a moment's silent embrace. And then the doorbell rang.

[Veritas]

Henri stood with Jacinda, his traveling sidekick, and waited for the door to open. Concious of his hair being at the mercy of the morning breeze, he pulled a small black comb from his inner jacket pocket and pressed it against his wavy, balding hair. That attended to, he put away the comb, and waited for the hosts to arrive.

[Jacinda Blake]

That had probably been the longest car ride of her life. It was not that Jacinda didn't enjoy Professor Bertrand's singular company. She just wasn't in a jolly mood these days. There was a new time line in her life it seemed, BA and AA; Before the Accident, and After the Accident. She was healing, but still a shadow of her formerly perky self. Once she'd gotten talking to Professor Bertrand, it hadn't been so tedious, as the subject of family had some mutual soft spots for them.. Talking, she found out, was helping her get over the hurt.

So was this trip.

It was a step, getting in a vehicle and going somewhere new, and not being afraid. Sure she missed her friends, but this was good for her, getting out and away and as a bonus she was getting to meet a potential new student and maybe do some good for her as well.. Taya Robbins, that was her name..

Now they were just waiting to go in.. Jacinda tucked her hair behind her ears and hooked her thumbs through the belt loops of her jeans while they waited..

[Taya Robbins]

The door opened to reveal a middle-aged man and woman, both casually dressed, standing in front of a modestly furnished living room. There was an unmistakeable moment of sizing-up even as the man smiled and extended his hand.

"Hi - Kyle Robbins, and this is my wife, Lise. You're from Cullen's?"

[Veritas]

"Hello, and yes."

Henri met Kyle's handshake, firm and brief, before pulling away.

"My name is Henri Bertrand. I am a professor at the Institute. This is one of our pupils, Miss Jacinda Blake."

Henri gave a polite smile to Lise as well before pulling back somewhat and letting Jacinda be introduced.

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda really wasn't sure what to expect from these people. They could be perfectly nice, or they could just be trying to cover up what they saw as a problem, like her own parents had.. but she gave them the benefit of a chance. Her job here was their daughter and making sure that she knew Cullen's really was a safe and pleasant place to be..

"Hello.." She smiled and extended her own hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

[Taya Robbins]

Kyle and Lise shook Jacinda's hand in turn, and Lise motioned toward the family room. "Well, come on in and make yourselves comfortable. Taya's going to be down in a little bit."

Lise was surprised, but a little encouaged that Mr. Bertrand had brought a student along. Jacinda seemed to have a very personable air about her - hopefully she could find a way to set Taya's misgivings at ease.

"Would either of you like anything?" Kyle asked. "Tea or coffee? I know it must've been a long drive."

[Veritas]

"Coffee, black please."

Henri found a single-seater, and slipped his coat off to drape against the back as he took a seat. He wore a white shirt, blue-grey tie, suspenders, and grey slacks, but somehow looked moderately disheveled in the nice clothes in a way that only a man who passively rebels such formalities could pull off. Both cops and academics prided themselves on it, and Henri was no exception.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Nothing for me, thanks.." Jacinda shook her blond head. She had guzzled down an enormous sized bottle of iced tea along the way, and would surely float away if she dared another sip of anything..

She perched on the couch, crossing her ankles and waiting for the talk to begin. For now she would just sit tight, until Taya made an appearance. She'd leave it to the Professor to talk about Cullen's, unless her opinion was asked for..

[Taya Robbins]

"Sure thing."

They both disappeared into the kitchen, even though it was obvious it didn't take both of them to pour a cup of coffee. "Well?" Kyle whispered.

Lise gave a facial shrug. "They seem nice enough," she whispered back.

Kyle grabbed a fresh mug from the cabinet and the pot from the coffeemaker. "No red flags yet?"

"No. Just so you ask them..."

"I will."

They reemerged, and Kyle handed Henri the mug before finding a seat across the couch from Jacinda. Lise sat in the remaining armchair.

"Well, we had a few questions we wanted to ask you before Taya gets here," Kyle said, clasping his hands together. "First of all... we spoke with your headmaster briefly about Taya's history, and we understand her sort of mutation is rare even among mutants. Do you have any other students with her sort of physical mutation?"

"And how do they get along with the rest of the students?" Lise added, glancing toward Jacinda.

[Veritas]

"Thank you."

Henri took the mug, letting it steam for a few moments under his nose. It smelled strong, which was exactly how black coffee was intended. He took a sip, and set it aside for the interim.

"I have a student with a similar trait, Martin Finkelstein. He is very gifted, highly intelligent, and socializes well with others."

Henri glanced sidelong to Jacinda to make sure he got an unspoken confirmation, then continued.

"I would fault him for being somewhat mischievious perhaps, but young men and women are expected to find mischief at times, within reason."

Henri crossed his legs, and continued.

"The major issue with such a trait, as you are no doubt aware, is that one must wear it on one's sleeve, so to speak. Others, such as Jacinda and myself, are reasonably able to show and conceal our traits as we choose.

Martin, and our other students with physical traits often seem to have an easier time interacting with others because they feel compelled to. They are usually quite candid, even cathartic, about their uniqueness."

[Taya Robbins]

"And how about off-campus?" Lise asked. "I mean, obviously you're not responsible for people in nearby communities, but do students with..." She struggled for a moment and settled on Henri's choice of words. "...physical traits do things like field trips, extracurricular activities, or just heading out with some friends?"

[Jacinda Blake]

She felt a need to chime in with her two cents...

"I've been at Cullen's for a while now and I've seen all kinds of mutations, not just on students around my age either. Some of these kids haven't even hit puberty yet and their mutations have already begun.. It's hard on everyone at first." She shrugged a shoulder and continued..

"Outside the school, yeah there are always going to be people who will look at mutants of any kind - obvious or not, like there is something wrong with us, but at Cullen's it's really just like any other school. If you're surrounded by people that you know like you and support you, it get's easier to.. you know.. go out and face the world."

Jacinda blushed.. "Sorry, didn't mean to run on like that.."

[Taya Robbins]

Somehow, Lise sensed Jacinda was talking as much about herself as about any other students she knew. "No, no, it's good to get a student's perspective," she said softly. "Thank you."

She and her husband shared another look - one that said it's time to ask.

Kyle nodded and turned back toward Henri. "I understand Cullen's offers its services pro bono to mutant youths," he said. "And that it's almost entirely privately funded. Which is commendable, but we're a little concerned about accountability. Particularly about ideology. You see we... don't want our daughter subjected to certain... extreme political views."

"We've heard all we want to about the Brotherhood, and Saladin, and his war for mutant supremacy," Lise cut in. "We don't want our little girl anywhere near that sort of hatred."

[Veritas]

"The Brotherhood has no interest in mutual cooperation between humans and mutants. The Cullen Institute holds such interaction as a high ideal."

It was easy for this delicate social experiment to fall into an "Us vs Them" fallacy, and Henri attempted to bring levity to the discussion.

"Obviously we cannot be politically neutral on the subject of mutant rights and the observance of such rights, but we do temper this common decency and the respect of both law and morality."

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, of course, we're not neutral either," Kyle said, and he clasped hands with his wife. "Especially now. But with some of the rhetoric flying around, we feel we have to be careful."

"To be honest, I don't think either of us is entirely sold on the idea of a school entirely for mutants," Lise admitted.

"Not that we think your intentions are wrong," Kyle interjected.

"No, no, of course not," Lise added. "But there's something about the isolation that we're not sure is healthy. And we wouldn't even be considering this if Taya's case wasn't so... extreme."

She sighed heavily. "You know, Taya would like nothing better than to just go back to her old school. And if her mutation was something that could be hidden, we'd be fine with that. But frankly, we're terrified about what might happen to her there. Several of her friends have already stopped emailing her because they found out she's a mutant."

"All we really want, Mr. Bertrand, is to find a safe environment for her," Kyle said. "Somewhere she can grow, and learn, and socialize just like any girl her age needs to. She's been in medical care for over a year now. She needs her life back. No experiments. No indoctrination. Just... a place to be herself. Can Cullen's provide that?"

Both husband and wife looked imploringly at the two mutants.

[Jacinda Blake]

Time for the teapot to whistle again, Jacinda thought.

"That is what Cullen's is all about.", she answered honestly, looking from one parent to the other.

"Because the students there are all mutants, we get to learn things they don't teach at 'normal' schools. We have classes, in controlled environments, where we can explore the potentials of our new abilities. Play around with them, to put it bluntly. One on one with a teacher, or in a class setting, so we can interact with the other students."

She squirmed a bit. "We're encouraged to be ourselves and learn about the different gifts that we have, so that by the time we graduate, we are confident and in control of ourselves."

Leaning toward Lise, Jacinda turned pink. "I'm sorry to be a bother, but might I use your bathroom? As you said, that was a very long trip.."

And I drank too much ice tea..

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh - no bother," Lise said. "It's just upstairs, the middle door on your right. I can show you."

"Why don't you check up on Taya while you're at it?" Kyle suggested.

Lise nodded - she knew Taya had probably heard the whole conversation from her room. Maybe she'd feel confident enough to come down.

As the women disappeared upstairs, Kyle turned back toward Henri. "I'd like to thank you for coming all the way out here," he said. "That really means a lot to us. Our only prior experience with a mutant-specific institution was when we visited the Jericho Center on a referral. Unfortunately, it turned out to be everything we were afraid of... I'm concerned it might have soured Taya on looking at any specialized institutions."

[Veritas]

Henri's brow furrowed.

"I can only imagine the ordeal was unappealing. I know of this place. You can rest assured, your daughter will not endure anything nearly so degrading at our institute."

[Taya Robbins]

Kyle nodded earnestly. "That's very good to hear."

He wasn't certain why he felt he could trust Professor Bertrand so implicitly. The man seemed to have an unswervingly straightforward manner about him, as if the truth were a part of his makeup.

"I don't know what reasons your students usually have for coming to Cullen's. In our case... well, we've both been pretty overwhelmed, to be honest. I wish we didn't have to disrupt her life any more than it's already been disrupted. But I feel like we need some help."

---

Lise noticed Taya's door was still cracked. As Jacinda ducked into the bathroom, Lise gently pushed the door open.

There was a bump and a scramble, and then Taya pulled the door aside while rubbing the back of her head. "You could knock?" she said.

"I didn't think you'd be listening that closely," Lise replied wryly. "How do you feel now? Think you wouldn't mind talking to them for a little bit?"

Taya's ears dipped as she thought it over. "They sound nice enough, it's just..."

Lise frowned. "What is it, honey?"

"Do I really need a..." Conscious of Jacinda in the next room, she whispered. "...special school?"

"You know it's not like that, Taya."

"Isn't it? It's a private school in the middle of nowhere that only teaches freaks. What else would you call it?"

Taya's ears twitched and then flushed pink. Lise looked over her shoulder and saw Jacinda standing in the hallway and trying not to look awkward.

[Jacinda Blake]

"I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll just go back to the.. umm.."

Jacinda stammered, feeling awful that she'd walked right into the middle of what was obviously meant to be a private conversation. She didn't feel angry or upset at the term freak, or at how Taya felt. She knew first hand how scary it was to be presented with the idea of going off to a school for mutants. She could only guess how scary it was for someone who was visibly mutated..

"I'm sorry!" She muttered again and started walking quickly back the way she'd come.

[Taya Robbins]

"Wait! No, I didn't..."

Taya scurried past her mother out into the hallway after the other girl. Jacinda turned, and suddenly Taya felt very self-conscious.

The watchword for Taya's appearance was, apparently, feline. She was covered from head to toe in tawny orange fur turning to cream at her throat, and she had a catlike face with green, liquid eyes, a bare pink nose, and tall, triangular ears beneath a shock of red-gold hair. She was dressed very lightly considering the time of year, just a midriff-baring yellow T-shirt and a pair of shorts. Her legs were digitigrade, and her large, pawlike feet were bare. A white-capped tail twitched fitfully behind her.

"I'm sorry, that... came out wrong," Taya said, and her ears sank.

[Veritas]

Kyle nodded earnestly. "That's very good to hear."

He wasn't certain why he felt he could trust Professor Bertrand so implicitly. The man seemed to have an unswervingly straightforward manner about him, as if the truth were a part of his makeup.

"I don't know what reasons your students usually have for coming to Cullen's. In our case... well, we've both been pretty overwhelmed, to be honest. I wish we didn't have to disrupt her life any more than it's already been disrupted. But I feel like we need some help."


Henri nodded.

"I will tell you a little about my past, okay?"

He paused to take another couple of sips of his black coffee.

"Twelve years ago, I was an Inspector in France. It was similar work to your detectives in America. I worked in Marseille, in the Riviera, you know it?"

Before Kyle could answer, he waved a hand dismissively at the importance of knowing the Riviera.

"No matter. But I do remember, when I was a younger man, we had many Algerians to immigrate into the south. You see, France and Algeria, I suppose it would be like America and Mexico. Very close, but also many prejudices. I remember many young kids who came with their families to find work. Alone, it was very difficult, and many turned to crime to find a living because many French people were wary of these Muslims who did not speak French."

Afraid he was nearing the point of rambling, Henri paused for another drink, and continued on.

"Many of these young people ended up living together to lessen the culture shock and hardship. It was perhaps like a transition. They were no longer in Algeria, but they were not quite comfortable to consider themselves French. No matter what kindness I and others might do for them, we could not understand, because we did not share this common thread. Finding others who could relate was just as important as reaching out to new people. It may not be a perfect analogy, but I see a lot of young and gifted people now, and I recognize that need not only in them, but also in myself."

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda turned, not knowing what to expect, but it was definitely not Taya. She'd been having visions of some horrible disfiguring mutation. Something that would scare the kids at a normal school and cause this poor girl to seek out hospitals and other schools for privacy.. Taya was just.. adorable.

She couldn't help the smile that returned to her face. "Oh.. Hello, Taya! It's ok, you don't need to try and reword anything around me, I think I've heard it all. Really it's ok.."

Taking a step back towards the pair in the hall, Jacinda held out her hand, fully comprehending that if Taya did accept the invite to shake hands that she would be greeted with a paw, and that was ok with her.

"I'm Jacinda. I go to Cullen's, I'm sure you've heard.. I'll tell you anything you want to know about the place.. It's really not some weirdo mental facility I swear.."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's ears slowly came back up, and she stepped forward to take the handshake. Her padded paw dwarfed Jacinda's hand even though Jacinda was at least four inches taller.

She smile sheepishly, and there was still a fair bit of pink in her ears. "No, I know it's not. And... I know that sounded bad, especially coming from somebody who looks like me. It's just, I'm still getting used to the idea of being a mutant."

Lise stepped back out of Taya's room and looked between the two girls. "If you'd like, I can just let the two of you talk...?"

Taya heard the question at the end of the question mark and nodded. "That'd be fine, Mom. My room?"

Taya led the way in and realized she'd left her bed completely unmade and covered with sketchbooks. "Oh... sorry." She quickly stacked up the books and tried to pull the bedspread straight.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Hey, nice room.." Jacinda helped out, pulling one corner of the bedspread straight and smoothing a hand over the cover. "Good enough, right?"

Turning around, her eyes lit upon the pile of sketchbooks. "Oh you draw too, huh? I have absolutely no talent for sketching.. I'm so jealous."

It seemed that Taya didn't really have it so bad, as compared to some of the other mutants Jacinda had met since joining Cullen's. At least her mother and father were the very textbook definition of supportive. It made Jacinda's heart ache.

Why could her parents have been like that? Maybe if they had, she'd have just stayed at home and then maybe they wouldn't have gone to the lake..

Her brow knitted itself into a frown.

[Taya Robbins]

Jacinda was definitely trying to be nice, Taya decided - the room wasn't much to speak of, just enough space for a twin bed and a dresser and a minimal closet. Taya wished she could at least have a desk for drawing, though she'd grown accustomed to using a sketchbook in just about any position imaginable. At least she had a window here.

But she appreciated the effort all the same. "Thanks," she said. "It's not much, but it's better than being at the hospital. I really miss our house in San Mateo."

She leaned against the edge of her bed, one of her sketchbooks still tucked in her arm. "So, um... is it kosher to ask... what's your thing?"

She watched Jacinda expectantly.

[Jacinda Blake]

She didn't need to ask which 'thing' Taya was refering too. Mutattion was definitely the subject of the day and Jacinda would share, if it would help put this girl at ease.

"It's fine, yeah.. Ask me anything, really." Jacinda backed up a few steps just to give herself some room.

"How about I just show you?" She grinned. She lifted her hands up in front of her, palm forward and pushed at the space in front of her, a gentle wind blew out of no where, ruffling Taya's soft fur..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya blinked in surprise. "Whooooah."

She bounced up from the bed, beaming. "That is so cool! So you, like, control the wind? Outside, too?"

[Jacinda Blake]

She couldn't help it, she was grinning like an idiot.

"Mhmm, yep. I'm learning new things constantly. It was scary at first.. I actually tore down my old high school's gymnasium, in a prom dress no less..." She trailed off a with the last bit, blushing at the inglorious reminder..

"It helps that the teachers at Cullen's are mutants too.. They've been where we are now, and so they know some tricks for triggering and controlling some of the abilities that go along with mutation. In my case, a softer touch was required.." She grinned..

[Taya Robbins]

Taya winced empathetically at the mental image - she could imagine how scary that must have been.

"I didn't even know that kind of thing was possible," she said. "Of course, I didn't know it was possible to turn into a giant, two-legged cat, either."

She said it in an almost off-hand way, almost as if it were a joke. If she was concerned at all about her appearance, she wasn't showing it.

"That's one thing I was wondering, though," she said. "As far as I know, I don't have any, um, special abilities. I can hear and smell better, and see in the dark, and I've got these..." She raised her paws and flexed them, baring a set of impressively curved claws.

"But it's all pretty self-explanatory. I guess... I'm not really sure what going to mutant school could teach me."

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda understood.. as best as she could for someone with active, rather than passive abilities. Although, maybe Taya had active ones too, that she just hadn't discovered yet? She didn't know..

"Well.. no one can tell you what is right for you. We're just here so that you know that if you want to get out of here.." She gestured around meaning the hospital campus in general.. "..and go back to school, there is a school where it's ok to be you. Aside from being full of mutants, we are actually a very good school. The professors are awesome. We have athletics and arts.. It's really great."

Jacinda sat on the side of the bed. "My former room mate, Tess. She was going to be in the Olympics! They kicked her out though, because she was a mutant. Doesn't that suck?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's jaw dropped, exposing a very functional-looking set of fangs.

"No way! That's awful!"

She sighed and sat back down on the bed next to Jacinda. "I guess that probably means I couldn't play sports at my old school, either. Too bad. I'm going to miss lacrosse."

Taya was pensive for a few moments; it seemed that thought had dampened her mood.

"Do you ever wish you could go back to your old school again?" she asked. "I mean, I know they all probably freaked out when you blew down the gym, but... you still had friends there, right? Don't you ever wish you could... I dunno... make it up to them?"

Dang it, dang it, dang it. She was trying to come at this delicately, but she was doing a horrible job at it. She was sure Jacinda knew the question wasn't really about her.

---

Lise came back downstairs without Jacinda or Taya and sat beside her husband on the sofa.

"The two of them are talking," she explained. "It seemed like the right thing for both of them."

Kyle rubbed Lise's back affectionately. "Well... maybe finding that common thread is what Taya needed," he said, meeting Henri's eyes.

"You mentioned human-mutant cooperation earlier. I think that goes both ways. And I wanted to let you know that, if Taya does end up attending Cullen's, Lise and I are planning to move to the Westchester area. We've both decided we won't be sending our daughter cross-country to go to school. We'd like to try to be as involved with her and with the school as possible."

[Veritas]

Henri smiled, appreciative at the parents' dedication in their daughter's life.

"I am pleased to hear that. Your daughter is very blessed to have an active and supportive home life. For the early ones, it was usually not so. A child should have loving parents, mutant or no."

He took down the coffee another level, and continued.

"If you need any assistance with the transition, we would be eager to help. Have you found property for purchase? There are many faculty and some students who do not live on campus, so we can assist you if you need it."

[Taya Robbins]

"We haven't really had a chance to look, other than browsing some of the listings online," Lise said. "I'm sure we could use your help. Thanks."

"You've been a great help already," Kyle said. "It's really refreshing, too. Seems like the only mutants you ever hear about on the news are the counter-cultural ones, the extremists, the vigilantes. We're both happy to find a place where Taya can be far away from all of that."

[Veritas]

"This extremism that is so widespread in the media, I think is the result of sad, desperate souls. People and mutants alike, if you take away their hope for tomorrow, and their prospects for a happy future, it makes throwing their life away seem less foolish.

We both want nothing but good successes and happy experiences for Taya. I think that with so many people in a common interest, she will be fine."

[Jacinda Blake]

"Do you ever wish you could go back to your old school again?" she asked. "I mean, I know they all probably freaked out when you blew down the gym, but... you still had friends there, right? Don't you ever wish you could... I dunno... make it up to them?"
"Not once." Jacinda answered honestly.

"They bailed out on me, not the other way around." Same thing with my family too..

She didn't say it though, that was a wound that was still rather tender. Besides, Taya had the happy family thing going for her and Jacinda wouldn't rob her of it, not for anything. It was too precious.

"I made friends almost immediately. Friends that I can count on and that count on me. We're kind of, 'in it together' now. It makes the people I called my friends at the other school seem rather superficial in comparison, but that dosen't mean it has to be that way for you.."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's ears sank again - she flipped them up, and they sank again. When you had so many emotional indicators, it was hard to keep them all in check.

"I tried to keep in contact with my friends online," she said. "But... well... most of them stopped emailing me months ago."

She'd tried to tell herself it was just because she was far away. They had other things to do, and she was the kid with the weird problem who moved away to get help.

"Thing is, up until now, I really haven't had a choice," she said. "I dunno if my parents told you... I didn't always look this way. I looked, well, normal. At first when I started changing, they thought it was some weird kind of cancer. And even when they found out I was a mutant, we didn't know what was really happening to me. But sooner or later I realized this is what I am, and I'm okay with it. I'm still the same person. If I can go back to my old school and see my friends again, I can make them see that... can't I?"

She pulled up her legs beside her, and her tail curled up on top of them almost on reflex. "Going to Cullen's, it... it sounds nice, but it's sort of like giving up. Saying I can't make it in the real world. And that scares me."

[Jacinda Blake]

"Yeah..", she sighed.. "When you put it that way, it does sound like that.."

Jacinda crossed her ankles and stared at her feet, which she was wobbling back and forth. "Well.. we're not here to convince you that you have to do anything. You don't have to make this choice, yes or no... Cullen's or not, today."

She looked over at Taya, wanting so bad to tell her that she very much doubted that things would ever be the same for her, but she couldn't say that for sure.. Could she? Jacinda didn't know the people at Taya's school, they might be really great and come around and welcome her bad with open arms, but she doubted it..

"We just want you to know, that if you want to.. It's an option, and a pretty good one in my opinion. Either way.. I have email too, and we can keep in touch, and I will write you back..."

She smiled.. Maybe Taya just needed some time to think about it all...

[Taya Robbins]

Taya held her breath - for a moment she was afraid Jacinda would think she was judging her. Like she was in a position to do that...

But she smiled back, relieved. "I'd like that," she said. "I mean, not that I'm deciding. Either way. Yet."

She laughed nervously and toyed with the tip of her tail. "So... just between us mutants... what's the freakiest thing you've seen so far? Other than me, of course."

[Jacinda Blake]

"Hehe.." Jacinda smirked.. "You're not freaky, Taya. Hmm, let's see.."

To her, none of her fellow students were freaks, or freaky. She'd done a couple double takes upon seeing some of them for the first time, but once you got talking to them, it became quite clear that there were people - with personalities and feelings beneath whatever exterior there was. It was a lesson the rest of the world could greatly benefit from..

"Well.. I don't know if freaky is how I'd put it, but we have Marty, who's become officially the Bat-boy. There's Damien who is something like a little black Gargoyle - if you do come to Cullen's try to avoid the two of them together, that's just asking for trouble." She tapped her lip with one finger in thought.

"My Olympic room mate? She was bendable, like rubber! Everywhere! She could tie herself into a pretzel literally.. It looked so painful, but she swore it felt great.. stretching, she said.." Jacinda shook her head.

God, she missed Tess...

"When we're all together though? It's nice." She smiled. "They're awesome. My gang as it were.. Oh, and then there's Carlos, can't forget him. He can control fire the way I can control air.."

Jacinda left off the bit about his bad luck. Personally she chose to ignore it. He wasn't bad luck to her..

[Taya Robbins]

Jacinda's glee was infectious - Taya couldn't help smiling. "Wow... it sounds amazing! Like something out of a sci-fi story."

She almost felt jealous that she didn't have some incredible power of her own - hah, that'd freak her parents out if she told them. She still held her tail in her lap; she was feeling too excited to hold it still otherwise.

"I think I'd like to see the place," she said. "For a visit, at least. See what all the fuss is about." A stray thought crossed her mind, and she laughed. "Bat-boy and Cat-girl? That's gonna work really well."

And Damien sounded a lot like the boy who'd replid to her post on that mutant blog. Asking for trouble? Definitely sounded like the type she'd like to meet.

[Jacinda Blake]

"Yeah, it's really cool." Jacinda agreed.

"I think that sounds like a great idea! Maybe stay a weekend as a visitor? I'm sure the school could arrange that for you and your parents. You could meet everyone, and see the mansion, and pop into some of the classes..."

Jacinda was getting animated and excited.. Showing Taya around Cullen's sounded like fun and it would help take her mind off her recent loss.

"One of the teachers is here now, downstairs with your Mom and Dad, if you'd like to meet him? Professor Betrand, is his name. He's not the most lively of the bunch, but I managed to ride here in the car with him and he's really very nice..."

[Taya Robbins]

Mansion? Taya had heard it was an old building, but she really didn't know what to expect. This was sounding awesome--

Whoops, she's almost forgotten how reluctant she was supposed to be feeling about all this. But at the moment, she didn't really care. At least now she knew there was one cool student at Cullen's, and if she liked the place...

"Sure!" She hopped up from the bed and stretched out her spine - that always felt so good, especially when she was shaking out excess tension. "I, uh... I hope you don't think I'm too much of a wuss... you know, hiding up here when you first came in."

[Jacinda Blake]

Hopping off the bed too, Jacinda stretched and headed for the door. "Of course not, Taya. I don't blame you. It's not easy.. meeting new people anyways, but when you're a mutant it's a whole new mess."

She opened then door and smiled. "But there are some good people still, I promise."

[Taya Robbins]

Good people. Taya knew it was true; she'd met her share on her cross-country medical journey. But she'd been burned before, badly. That was a lot of fear to overcome - whether it was from her animal side or her human side, she wasn't certain.

But darned if she was going to let people like the Jericho leeches dictate how she lived the rest of her life.

"Well... here goes nothing."

Her feet padded almost silently down the steps after Jacinda, and she paused about halfway down, paws braced on the bannister, having found herself the center of attention.

"Professor Bertrand, I presume?"

[Veritas]

Henri smiled at the polite young girl as she came downstairs with Jacinda. He rose to his feet with a bit of effort, leaning on his cane a bit as he did so.

"Hello there. And you must be Miss Robbins?"

Henri backed from his seat, deferring it to the young lady of the house. Just as good, as Henri was always contented to stand. He extended to her a hand in greeting.

[Taya Robbins]

Taya couldn't help grinning impishly at the thought of saying, no, Taya was the other furry girl with cat ears upstairs, but that probably wasn't the best way to go about introductions with someone who might be responsible for her grades some day.

"That's me. How are ya."

She came down to floor level and, for Henri's hand, offered a paw with three fingers and a thumb, all thickly padded.

Lise aimed a look of gratitude at Jacinda and said, "Taya, this is Henri Bertrand. He teaches... history, was it? At Cullen's."

Taya smelled the air surrounding the professor - it was a mix of light cologne and cigarette smoke. He made her think of an avuncular Mark Twain.

She accepted the seat, sitting forward so her tail could curl comfortably into her lap. "Are you a mutant, too?" she asked.

[Veritas]

He took her hand in greeting, noting with a curious expression as his grip managed to disappear in her own. Breaking the introduction, Henri stood opposite Taya, near where Jacinda now took her seat.

"I am, yes."

The Professor tended to be modest and reserved about his nature. He would answer questions and provide a demonstration only if requested, as he felt that showing his talents spontaneously was an easy way to make a social situation uncomfortable.

"I think if I told you that it was super speed, you would not believe me."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya wrinkled her nose and grinned - an expression that on her face unintentionally resembled a snarl.

"I bet you read minds," she said. "That'd be handy for a teacher."

Kyle and Lise smiled politely, neither of them quite confident about the etiquette of discussing mutations.