Xaviers!

First, he lost his best possible roommate. Then he failed his first attempt at the test to officially join the X-Men. He had kept his beast side in check but did so too much. He had hesitated to use his abilities and failed to stop the simulated villain.

Leo stalked the hedge maze, his beast demanding release. He couldn't fight it any longer. A savage roar echoed across the university grounds as he vented his frustrations.

It felt fantastic.

(open)

"Oh my word, what is happening over here?" a voice said from around the corner.

A wave of embarrassment washed over him as he said, "Sorry. I'm... having a rough day."

"Yes, I can see that. And what exactly are you doing, scaring the squirrels?"

"Blowing off steam. I roar apparently."

"I'm... still getting used to having animal instincts," he added by way of an explanation.

"Did I scare you?"

"We are made of sterner stuff in Symkaria," Katarina proclaimed, in a way that neither confirmed nor denied Leo's statement.

He made a dubious grunt but didn't say anything else about it.

"I'm Leo, by the way."

"Katarina. Katarina Karkov. It is a pleasure, I am sure."

He wondered if maybe this girl would be the one to see the person underneath the beast and find something attractive there. But maybe that was just his teen hormones talking.

"So... what brings you out here?"

"I just needed some air. To get out and avoid...some people."

"I get what it's like to need space. Anything bad happen?"

"A friend -- or who I thought was a friend -- has made it clear what she thinks about me, and it is not...not welcome," she said, frowning.

"I know all about people I thought were my friends letting me down. Ya know what I say? Screw her."

"I believe that would only make the situation worse."

He sputtered, "Not what I meant!"

"I mean, just forget about what she thinks of you," he said despite needing to heed that advice himself.

"There are...complications that make that rather difficult."

"Like what? She a relative or something?" he asked, sitting on the grass so he can be at eye level with her. It kinda sucked being so tall.

"Or something. Family connections, for sure."

"I get that you're bein' cagey because we just met, but you don't have to be. I don't gossip."

"Hmmm. That's just what a gossip would say," Katarina teased. "And you have shown yourself to be oh so quiet and reserved up until this point."

He laughed. "Yeah, well, I never said I wasn't a loud, brash American. And one with a literal wild side."

"Yes, I can see that. You would think they were operating a zoo here; it seems like half the student body have animal sides. It's a wonder they do not start charging admission."

He frowned at that.

"That isn't funny," he said with an insulted tone, bordering on a growl.

"Oh, put your heels in a cooler, it was not meant with offense," Katarina said, a little dismissively.

"Well excuse me for held captive and experimented on a zoo," he countered irritably.

"It is alright, you are excused," Katarina said, missing the point. "We shall put it behind us.

Does yelling out here help?"

Her dismissive attitude only made his annoyance grow.

"You can't talk about people like that and just wave it away. It's bad enough that ferals like me have no choice but to look like animals without shit like that."

"In Symkaria, we do not stand ashamed of our mutations. They are a badge of honor," Katarina said, flatly.

"Sure sounded like you were mockin' me," he grumbled.

"It seems to me that you are predispositioned to be prickly."

"Well, you're not wrong," he admitted, "And I am still gettin' used to bein' this way. So I guess you get a pass."

"So. Is it all bad, being as you are?"

"Well... I'm stronger, move faster, heal faster, and I'm sensing the world around me in a way I never even imagined."

"And that roar? That roar felt great."

"Then there you have it. You should lean in to those things, and not let meddling..nogoodniks get in your way!"

It was possible she was projecting.

"I don't want to gi... and we're not talkin' about me anymore, are we?"

"But of course we are. You should be happy for the gifts you have been given!"

"Gifts..." he said with a scoffing bark of laughter.

"You don't understand," he sighed, studying his hands, "I'm not just a mutant but also a mutate, the Muir doctors said. It was a 'meddling nogoodnik' that made me like this."

"Then you show them that you can turn your...lemons into lemonade, was it?"

"Well, I am tryin' to join the X-Teams. But... I failed Kinney's test. She said I was too... afraid of myself. That... how could I get people to trust me if I can't even trust myself?"

"Well, then that seems like you have something to work on!"