Arrival (Open)

[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Jamie was tired. She had been running for so long now. Since learning of her powers, she couldn’t stay with her family and community. They looked down on her for being a “freak.” Jamie had to get away and so she ran. For the past year she had been surviving by traveling across the country. By day, she would try to blend in with the human world, but her powers would occasionally spontaneously cause parts of her body to shift. She could be walking down the street and suddenly sprout a tail. Multiple times it caused her to be chased out of town. Eventually Jamie took to spending more and more time as various animals. She would fly as a hawk and run with the wolves to get away from it all. But she missed human contact.

Jamie had always wanted to see New York so she decided to go. Walking down Broadway, her arms started growing feathers. The tourists were freaked out and began chasing her. Fully allowing the change to take place, Jamie shifted into a hawk and flew away. While flying, her keen hawk eyes spotted a sign for Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning.

Diving down, Jamie landed in a tree outside of the school grounds. She saw kids playing in the yard…but they weren’t normal kids. They were mutants, just like her. Only they weren’t hiding their powers, but embracing them. Jamie decided to get a closer look by changing back into her human form and immediately shifting into a squirrel. Once the change was complete, she climbed over the walls into the courtyard of the school. She went over to a small group of students and proceeded to star at them.

[Katrina "Black Rose" Richards]

Kat had found a moment to herself and was glad for it. She'd found a good spot on the grounds by the courtyard to nestle under a tree and curl up with her favourite book. She was rereading the Harper Hall trilogy for probably the fourth time. The book was an old paperback, worn but in a well-loved and well-read way. The pages were that odd khaki colour that books turn with age.

There was a group of younger students playing not far from her and, occasionally, she would look up and smile as they played with their powers and each other, gaining experience, practice and friendships. It really was one of those sites that should be in a Public Service Announcement or brochure or something. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if they'd been playing with human children too. But this was fine, this was good, this was perfect.

She knew a few of them, since children seemed to flock to her. One of them, a thin boy with skin the colours and pattern of a calico cat and spikes on his shoulders, knees and elbows, came trotting over to her, the others a bit behind but following.

"Rose," the boy whined a little, pouting. "Arthur's being mean, can you make him stop?" He huffed a little and the boy named Arthur made a face. Kat shook her head and gave him a look.

"Arthur?" Arthur shifted where he stood and avoided eye contact.

"He started it. He called me names!"

"Toby?" She turned back to the calico boy. Toby made an indignant, breathy noise in his throat.

"He was cheating! He used his powers to trip me and I said that wasn't fair and he said we called powers okay but that doesn't mean he can trip me, tell him!"

Kat shook her head. "Arthur, tripping is mean no matter how you do it. If you're going to use your powers to catch someone, next time see if you can wrap them in the grass without letting them fall. Like it's a challenge. That way, you can use your powers, slow them down and nobody gets hurt. Toby, don't call people names, even if they did something mean. Now, everyone go back to your game." She watched Arthur's face light up at the idea of wrapping someone in grass instead of just catching their foot. He was a good kid with a fun power, he just needed a little guidance. Toby could be a little sensitive and wasn't good with cause and effect. They all went back to their game (except Arthur who ended up sitting in the grass making it grow and twist so see if he could do what Kat suggested) and Kat watched for a little while, book still open. She noticed a little squirrel paying an odd amount of attention to the boys and sitting oddly still. Kat wasn't generally fond of squirrels, but she'd never seen one sit so still and be so interested in people without guarding something. She deemed this odd, but not odd enough to be alarming just yet. She decided to put her book down and watch the kids play anyway.

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[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Jamie sat, mesmerized by the children play. It was fascinating to her to see kids embracing their powers instead of hiding them, and more than that, being accepted! Suddenly, a boy with a strange skin pattern and spikes fell on the ground after being tripped by another boy. Upset, he ran to an older girl who seemed to be monitoring the game before returning to his playmate.

The game continued without incident for a few minutes before, out of nowhere, the spiky boy's foot was caught in the grass. It was as if the grass had grown and twined itself around his foot, refusing to let go. The boy tried yanking his leg free to no avail. Desperate, he started to cry. Without even thinking, Jamie scurried forward and began using her squirrel teeth to bite at the grass in an attempt to free the boy's leg.

[Katrina "Black Rose" Richards]

Kat smiled a little when Arthur managed the trick but sighed and frowned when Toby started to cry. She set her book on the grass and started to get up slowly when she saw the squirrel she'd noted before scurry over to gnaw at the grass. Her brow furrowed. That was no squirrel, clearly. She didn't know of anyone who could turn into a squirrel, but it was chewing on the grass at Toby's feet, not hurting Toby. She ran over all the same and addressed the children first.

"Everyone back up. Toby, honey, calm down." He'd stopped crying to stare in shock and confusion at the squirrel. He opened his mouth, but Kat shook her head. "It's not trying to chew off your foot. Arthur, let him go." Toby liked to exaggerate. She crouched down and used her empathy to reach out to the "squirrel." She touched the surface emotions and, sure enough, that creature was human. Well, mutant, but now wasn't the time for semantics.

"You're no squirrel," she said pointedly to the fuzzy newcomer. "And I prefer my introductions to be face to real face. So, if you wouldn't mind...?" Her voice was friendly but with a tone of warning. She had sensed confusion, wonder, surprise and concern from the "squirrel," not malice or ill intent. However, one could never be too careful.

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[Kole "Shade" Hannigan]

Kole was walking down to the pool area, wearing just his bathing suit with a towel around his neck. He stopped when he saw rose off in the distance walking over to a crying child. Kole was not surprised, she had kinda become like a den mother for the younger students here. What he was surprised by was the fact that when she reached the crying child she bent down and started talking to a squirrel.
"what the fuck?" he said to himself
figuring she may have finally lost it he decided to go check on her. He teleported over and approached slowly so as not to startle her in case she really had lost it
"Rose.... are you ok?"

[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Suddenly, two humans were standing right over her. The girl started talking to her but the squirrel part of her mind was paralyzed with fear. Jamie tried to control the squirrel's brain but it wasn't working out very well. She had stopped biting at the grass but was quivering with fear.

Jamie was fighting to quell the squirrel's instincts but to no avail. Completely controlled by the squirrel's brain, Jamie ran as fast as her little squirrel legs could carry her and scampered up a nearby tree, clinging to a branch.

[Katrina "Black Rose" Richards]

Kat frowned as the little thing panicked and ran. She watched carefully in what direction it went. Kole was questioning her sanity, but she couldn't be bothered with him at that moment. There were a few reasons a shapeshifting mutant could be at the school disguised as a squirrel, all of them demanded her full attention. She stood quickly and walked slowly and carefully towards the tree the unknown mutant had climbed.

"It's not a squirrel," was all she said to Kole, putting her hand up with her palm facing him to indicate that now was not the time for him to be questioning her. She focused hard to re-find a link to the mind of the squirrel-mutant. She found that there were two kinds of panic, one she could read and one that she was unable to touch. This mutant had the mind and insticts of a squirrel AND a person at the same time. How long could it stay that way before the squirrel took over? She took a breath and exhaled through her nose, focusing on the human emotions, ignoring the animal instinct of flight as opposed to fight. She used her empathic powers to try to calm the mutant's human mind, hoping that it would help her override the squirrel mind. "It's okay," she said softly, still slowly approaching the branch until she was underneath. "I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to meet you. This is a safe place..." She sincerely hoped she was calling this scenario correctly.

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[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Jamie could feel her little squirrel heart pounding. The creature was so afraid. Jamie had to admit that she was a little bit afraid herself. Every time someone discovered she was a mutant, she was treated with fear and hostility.

Jamie looked down at the humans gathered beneath the tree. The girl seemed to be staring at her quite strongly. Suddenly, Jamie began feeling a sense of calm washing over her. The calmer she felt, the more control she gained over the squirrel's mind.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to meet you. This is a safe place..."

Taking a deep breath, Jamie began concentrating on her human form. Her tail was immediately sucked into her body. As she began to get bigger, her fur disappeared and her bones shifted, until she was a human clinging to a tree branch. Jamie felt extremely out of place crouched in a tree wearing nothing but skin tight clothing and bare feet.

Jamie had no idea what to do. She was too nervous to speak so she just stared at the people below her, her eyes filled with fear.

[Kole "Shade" Hannigan]

Still not entirely convinced of Roses sanity Kole decided to just play along for now. He followed her toward the tree "Then what is....." just as he said this the squirrel shifted into a human "oh" Kole sighed and thought "thank god she's not crazy" then he looked up at girl in the tree. "Hey cutie, whats your name?"

[Katrina "Black Rose" Richards]

Kat started to smile when the squirrel shifted into the shape of a girl. A frightened girl, she looked young, could be the big eyes. Her smile turned to a scowl as she glared at Kole. She smacked his arm.

"Kole. Shut up." She shook her head. Now was so beyond not the time for this nonsense. She sighed and looked back at the girl. "Hey, it's okay. Ignore him. Can you come down so we can talk to you?" She used her calming, friendly voice that she used with frightened children. She didn't walk down to them, but made it clear she meant them no harm.

The girl was nervous, Kat didn't need her empathy to tell that but the fear, concern and confusion were so overwhelming. Kat had to make sure not to be taken over by them. Stay dominant in her emotional state, even as she felt the girl's panic wind its way into her own chest. She swallowed it back and began to erect the extra barriers she'd learned to use with the help of the Professor. She remained in control now, but was still keenly aware of the other girl's emotional state.

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[Kole "Shade" Hannigan]

"I was just being nice, relax." Rose had a tendency to freak out over weird stuff so Kole was use to getting hit randomly, but this time he legitimately just trying to be nice. It was clear the girl was freaking out. he had seen this look in a lot of people when they first got to the school. "Any way like I was saying," he looked back at the girl "my name is Kole this is Kat, we're mutants like you this place is safe for all of us, whats your name?"

[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Jamie stared at the people beow her. For the first time in a long time, there were people who weren't afraid of her and hated her. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down enough to speak.

"I'm Jamie," she said softly. Still a bit wary of the people below her, Jamie remained perched on the branch.

In her emotional state, it was difficult for Jamie to remain in complete control of her powers. Her eyes shifted from their natural brown color to the yellow eyes of a wolf.

[Katrina "Black Rose" Richards]

Leave it to Kole to be blunt and to the point, she thought. She was scared, confused, disoriented. One piece of information at a time would be best, but no, by all means, just give it all to her at once. She tried not to get annoyed about it, it wasn't a huge deal, he was just so impulsive.

She focused on the girl, Jamie, and smiled warmly. "It's nice to meet you, Jamie...I know you're a little nervous right now..." She paused. "I can help if you'd like. My powers are good for calming people down....Speaking of, do you need any help getting down from there?"

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[Kole "Shade" Hannigan]

Kole looked at Jamie as she sat in the tree and examined her starting at her head and working his way down her body looking for any sing of injury. She didn't seem to be hurt but she had a familiar thin layer of grime on her that indicated she had been homeless for quite a while. When Rose asked if she need help getting down Kole extended his arm and said in a reassuring voice
"come on down, we won't hurt you."

[Jamie "Shift" DiFiore]

Kole and Kat seemed genuinely friendly toward her. This was a new experience for Jamie. She could feel herself relaxing a bit, which was good because her heart had been beating a mile a minute.

"It's nice to meet you, Jamie...I know you're a little nervous right now... I can help if you'd like. My powers are good for calming people down..."

Jamie tilted her head in a quizzical manner. "What...how can you do that?" Jamie whispered.

Seeing Kole's outstretched hand, Jamie took a deep breath and grasped it and jumped off the branch, lightly landing on her feet. "Thanks," she said nervously.