Xaviers!

It's been a day or so since Sam opened up her memories and after trying to keep busy Shari finally runs out of things to do when most things on campus close for the night and even her homework for classes is done (if probably not entirely correct). So she finds herself wandering through the dorms, finding the stairs that lead up to the roof, emerging from the stairwell to the open sky. She sits down on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the open air as she stares up into the sky. She vaguely hums to herself as she seem lost in thought. The wind blows, whipping her hair around and making her shiver. Almost instinctively she grows a coat of thick brown fur that puffs out from under her clothes like a collar as her eyes grow completely dark, taking in as much light as biology allows and to her the blackness recedes as more tiny spots of light bloom in the sky. Angles and perspectives might change, despite what she'd told Natalie, but some things are hard to explain without muddling the message. The stars are still the same in the blurry streak of the Milky Way painted across the darkness.


((open))

With the increased visual acuity, she has no problem picking up the large wolf creature prowling around the grounds in the dark.

Shari glances down, eyes once again adapting to particular needs and shifting into those of a cat to make out more details (and to not have her eyes stabbed by ambient light). Something about the Wolf stalking around down there seemed familiar. One of the students she'd met maybe? "Hey!" she shouts down from the roof and waves at the wolf.

The wolf looks up, ears perking at the sound. It tilts its head as it regards her, then it barrels towards the dorm building. It takes a flying leap and begins scaling its way up the building.

"Whoa, hey, easy there, buddy!" Shari says as the wolf scales the wall of the dorms.

The wolf creature hauls herself up onto the roof, probably with a slight protest from the gutters. It eyes Shari for a moment and then shrinks with some nasty sounds before resolving into the shape of Tereza in a training uniform. "It's all good," she says, breathing hard.

"Oh, it's you! Tereza, right? Didn't know you turned into a giant dog."

"It's a new development," she says, "Do I know you?"

"Oh. Yeah, hang on... shoot, which one was it..." she mumbles, scratching her back of her head as her hair cycles through a couple different colors. "Blue? I wanna say blue. I don't remember the face though, sorry..."

Tereza processes for a moment, "Betty, right? You were looking at armor in the mansion."

"Yeah. 'Cept my name's actually Shari. I... wasn't really sure about the place and kinda lied about I am..." she says awkwardly as her hair settles on blue.

"Ah," Tereza says, "Well, no harm done, I guess. Some of us aren't sure about this place even after we've been here for a bit. Are things better?"

"I... don't even know. Kinda? I just realized some things that feel like they make everything more complicated. Like I ran from something but now I feel it might catch up?"

"I know that feeling. I have a shit of a sister who is still in Russia and she keeps coming after me for goodness knows what reason."

"Something like that. I don't think they're coming for me, but I broke our deal and they might if they knew..."

"There's more than enough people here to protect you," Tereza says, "I know that first hand. Had some old associates come after me and the X-men bailed me out of it."

"That's... not really something I want to rely on. If it comes to that everyone would be better off if I just ran. I'm pretty good at hiding."

"I thought the same thing for a while, especially when the shit hit the fan, but this really is the best place for you to be," Tereza reassures her.

"I'm not sure there is a best place for anywhere..."

"Look, I'm sure you already have some friends here, right?"

"I like to think so. But... I'm worried they'd disagree if they knew I've been lieing to them. Even just unwittingly..."

"I suppose that *might* depend on the lie, but they stuck by me after I became a hellbeast, so I can't imagine a lie big enough to get them to give you the boot."

"I think I can... It's not even about me or them. It's about my family and their 'friends'. They're... religious extremists, although where I'm from that's just kind of the norm."

"My mother... well, the woman who raised me, is a political loyalist, some might even say fanatic. And my sister and her 'friends' are definitely out to get me. Most people here know it and they still keep me around."

"Because you told them." she assumes.

"I had to figure some of it out, but yeah. So tell them. It'll be fine, I promise."

"I wish it was that simple." she sighs.

"Make it that simple. I swear, people over complicate things too much with their bullshit."

Shari let's out a short laugh. "I tried making it simple and I simply found a way to remind myself. Or Sam did, but I asked her for it so not like I can blame her."

"Sam's eternally helpful like that," she says with a half-smile. "I still say you're making this too complicated. Have some faith."

"My faith hasn't been doing me a whole lot of good, much as I want it to..."

"Maybe you just need to approach it differently? Really make it your own."

"I'm trying. I think. And maybe you're right. Maybe things aren't so bad..."

"That's a good place to start," Tereza says, "I know I started moving on after I hit that point. Even if I throw myself back into my past on occasion."

"That seems... counterproductive, but okay."

"Everyone has some questions still need answering, even if this last foray just made things more complicated."

"Complicated how?"

"Had to fight my way free of some shapeshifter they say is an alien," Tereza says with a shrug, "Managed to capture her and bring her back, so now they're trying to figure out what's going on with that."

Shari freezes and stares at Tereza. "You what now?" she stammers.

"Got ambushed by some shapeshifter. Some of the science-types here say she's an alien. I don't know about that, but considering I was bitten by a werewolf, I'm certainly open to the concept of strange things."