Xaviers!

Emilie lead Steph to the cafeteria . It was pretty standard as cafeterias go, though perhaps with a bit more selection to accommodate both local and American students.

"Here it is!" Emilie stated dramatically at the front of the food counter, making displaying arms and magic hands.

Stephanie followed Em into the cafeteria and grabbed a tray to begin working her way through line. She caught sight of her reflection in the glass door of one of the drink refrigerators and let out an involuntary growl. She looked ridiculous--a werewolf in a training outfit with a Coach purse slung over her shoulder? Really? She belonged in a zoo, not in a cafeteria full of normal people.

She tore her gaze off herself and tried to focus on following her nose to food that sounded appetizing.

Unsurprisingly, the tray was soon filled with meaty protein, almost to the point of being cumbersome to carry, much to the chagrin of Stephanie (and much to the delight of her long-suppressed wide side). She set her tray down, fished her credit card out of a wallet tucked into her small purse, and paid for her meal.

She paused, waiting for Em, "...where can we sit?"

"I'm practically the Queen of this place. We sit where we please."

The wording suggested Emilie wasn't above kicking a person out of their spot but she did no such thing, navigating them to a spot along the wall, thinking it might be more comfortable there for Steph's burgeoning wolf senses if it didn't think it could be surrounded.

Steph followed and set the tray down, then gingerly sat trying to be mindful that she's bigger and heavier than she remembers, and also has a tail that can get pinched in some chairs--as she learned the hard way about a week ago.

"Since you work here....any food to never order?" she asked, trying be polite instead of just tearing into the food without even using utensils like her other half wanted to.

Well I would say blood sausages but I bet yer new gut would disagree." She laughed.

Meanwhile, Stephanie had already eaten three-fourths of a large cheeseburger in a decidedly unladylike fashion. She finished the burger and wiped her muzzle with a napkin.

Emilie would get the sense that the wolf and Stephanie were fighting inside her mind to control things.

"I'm sorry...have horrible manners like this..."

"It's cool.

Could I ... uh, offer some advice?"

"...sure?"

"You got another voice knockin' 'round in there?" She asks, the taps the side of her own temple.

"...sort of. It's more...just. Urges. Instinct, I guess." she replied.

"I've known alotta yer kind in my time.

Best thing to do is not fight the instincts. Not all the time. Had a grown up once explain it's like fighting a teenager forcefully.

That is to say, you gotta trick it into compliance. Make it think it's got the upper hand."

Steph nodded, listening carefully and trying to process her roommate's words while she fumbled with a knife and fork to cut up a chicken breast, finally giving in and just picking it up with her hand and eating it.

"You say that like you're an old pro," she replied after a mouthful of chicken. "Guess I am the exception with how late I found out about this..." she added after a beat.

"Something like that." She smirks.

"Somebody who deals with this kinda stuff probably has better advice, but i'll pinch hit until that person shows up.

What do you like to do, other than spend too much money on handbags?" Her tone was obviously joking.

"Chase cars. Bite mailmen...you know," she attempted to joke back.

"Used to love to read...write...too hard to focus now. Was a cheerleader for almost 15 years."

"Bitchin'. Only sport worth doing I say. They don't fuck around with that 'safety equipment' bullshit like those pansy ass football players." There might have been just a shade of sarcasm there, but it was followed by - "Ever break yer neck?"

"Actually...came close once. Doctors were amazed I walked away from that fall. I think...I've been a frea--er...mutant for longer than just a month...just. Sort of ..., suppressed the big wolf thing."

"More unsolicited advice, don't use that word here." She replied. She didn't seem mad, but there was a very serious edge to the statement.

Steph remained quiet, though still ravenously devoured the food on her plate. After an uncomfortable pause, she replied. "I'm sorry."

"Don't bother me." Emilie replied. " Not that I like it, but I've been called worse, by our own kind actually." She observed with another one of those sarcastic smirks.

"But some of the others really hate being referred to by names like freak, or weirdo. The really uptight ones don't even like Mutant. "

"...I've said a lot worse things," she said quietly. "To people I cared about a lot."

Emilie tilted her head, wondering if one of those people was Trev.

"You can always say you're sorry. Everybody likes an apology, as long as you mean it.

And if they don't them fuck 'em." Emilie added, just to make sure she wasn't being tooooooo nice.

"Yeah...you're right." she replied. "I...I should. I mean...I think he's probably half the reason I'm here right now."

"Oh? How come?" She asked.

"My lawyer from X-Corp...she told me that Trev brought my...situation... to their attention."

"Oh. Huh." Emilie didn't wanna press Stephanie too much on that topic. She was probably upset to be here at all. Grilling her about what she did to require a lawyer would be later girl talk. Instead she asked- " dude, what lawyer did you get?"

"It's been sort of a crazy month...um...Charlene something?"

"Dun think I've had that one." She says, then immediately realizes her error and smooths it over by changing the subject.

"Well I can't promise it will be any less crazy here, but now you got people to weather the storm with." Emilio replied with a broad smile.

"So....what um..." Stephanie said through a mouthful of fried chicken, "what, uh."

Is your curse? Do you do? Are your powers?

"What are your powers? I...is that how you ask that? Is that rude? I'm sorry. I'm not used to this."

Stephanie let out an enormous open-mouthed belch, and looked immediately notified.

"Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so sorry."

Emilie laughed at the belch in a childish fashion, but otherwise didn't acknowledge it.

"Nah, that's not rude, though not everyone feels comfortable answering."

Emilie had more or less figured out the response to this one after years of answering. As always, she took the closest dangerous looking object (the fork in her left hand in this case) and attempted to stab herself with it. The fork was incapable of making contact however, for within a quarter of an inch from her right forearm some kind of shield went up to prevent it from breaking her skin. The tension in her left wrist proved that she was really trying to penetrate the shield with the metallic object, but it wasn't budging.

Once the fork started giving under the pressure, she stopped. " Whoops." She remarked sheepishly, and started bending the soft metal back into place with her hands.

"Are they always on?" she asked, looking in with curiosity.

"Nope." Emile replied. "Would be a lot more helpful if they were. Got some pretty nasty wounds it coulda kept off me if it were.

My powers kinda suck, but years of practice make you get creative inside of your limitations. "

"I got stabbed in jail two weeks ago. Not a scratch on me now...seem to be stuck this way though."

Emilie took a few forks full of food into her mouth as she thought on it.

"There's a girl here, a Russian. Not the friendliest sort, but people seen her in a wolf form. I worked with her for a bit when she got punished for fightin' with another student.

Anywho, point is that she might be able to help."

"I'll have to look her up..." Steph replied, tearing into her third and final burger.

"...do fights happen a lot here?"

"Not anymore than any other school I'd say, but they're more violent when they do happen cuz most kids got at least one or two different tricks up their sleeve.

Even the invisible kid has started blinking in and out so I hear. Prolly not gonna be long before he can move about here completely undetected by the eye.

Good skill to have if you wanna go around haymakering your enemies and getting off hands clean." She replied, smirking.

Stephanie looked profoundly concerned by this. "I hope not...I could seriously hurt someone with these things..."

I already have...

"Don't worry, most of the people who start fights around here are outsiders or other bad guys. They usually deserve their throats ripped out and we usually let them off easier than I like."

This didn't seem to calm Stephanie down any. She fidgeted slightly in her seat, looking uneasy.

Emilie chewed a bit before speaking again.

"You don't have to fight if you don't want to." She offered.

"...you're right. She seems like... she wants to though."