The Wild One

[Hannah Murphy]

An beleaguered X-Corp official knocked on Ms. Minamida's office door. Murphy stood next to her, staring at the door quizzically for a moment until a student walked by. Murphy stood up a little straighter, growling very softly.

"Stop that," the X-Corp official says. Murphy stares at the ground, looking chastised.

It had been a long day.

[Ashlie Minamida]

This was getting tedious. She really needed to figure out a way to set up a stand-in for herself that could deal with at least some of the endless inquiries. If only she could deal with the administration without having to deal with the people she could be so much more efficient about it.

"Come in."

[Hannah Murphy]

The official leads Murphy in and slaps a folder down on Ms. Minamida's desk.

"This..." he glances at Murphy. She smiles back at him, a mouth fall of sharp teeth. "This is your problem now."

The file was probably unnecessary. All of the information had been sent electronically, but slapping down emails wasn't very dramatic.

"Good luck," the official says, walking out of the room.

Murphy smiles at Ms. Minamida.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"How unnecessarily rude." she says as she looks after the official leaving.

"You're Hannah Murphy, I take it." she says, her expression softening a bit.

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy nods.

"Murphy."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"And it says here that you're a mutant." she says in an attempt to get Murphy to talk more.

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy nods. She holds her hands out and flexes her fingers, briefly popping out claws before retracting them again.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"You don't like to talk much, do you?"

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy shakes her head.

"Sorry."

[Ashlie Minamida]

"That's quite alright with me. It says here that you might be developmentally challenged. Is that true?"

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy stares at Ms. Minamida for a moment. She really, really wished people could learn how to use body language properly.

"Don't know."

She tries smiling again. It works. Sometimes.

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie's body language is next to non-existent, regardless of whether one approaches it with animal or human expectations. She does smile back at Murphy though.

"I don't think it's true. You clearly understand me and you're aware of your surroundings. How long have you lived without human contact?"

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy looks thoughtful. She taps her fingers against her thigh. The pattern makes it clear she's counting.

"Five years, three months," Murphy says. "Two days."

A few more taps.

"Eleven hours."

[Ashlie Minamida]

Ashlie briefly wonders if the girl could be autistic. She has little way of judging these things outside of consulting lists of diagnostic criteria even though she's aware they are by no means perfect.

"We have a room for you. No roommate for now to not overwhelm you. You'll have to take a couple of placement tests so we can judge your academic prowess."

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy nods,

"Thank you."

She glances at the door and then back at Ms. Minamida quizzically.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"Yes, you can go. I'll take care of your paperwork and send anything that needs to be signed to your room." she says, grabbing a welcoming package as well as a door-key with a number on it to hand to Murphy.

[Hannah Murphy]

Murphy hesitates for a moment and then carefully reaches for the package, taking it from Ms. Minamida. Once she takes them, she immediately hugs them close to her chest.

"Thanks."

Without breaking eye-contact with Ms. Minamida, Murphy backs out of her office.

[Ashlie Minamida]

"How very odd..." she says after the door closes.