Gift on the Doorstep... Sort of.

[dakota]

It had been quite the day... And now it was dragging on toward night, she had been running about all day and exhaustion dragged at her paws... Wait... Paws? Yes. Paws. Dakota Taylor was, at the current time, in the form of an Australian wild dog. A dingo to be exact. This morning had been... Well... Interesting. And now she was on the run. No one was chasing her, but they easily could be... She had managed to dissapear from the sight of those she had terrified, and yet it would not be long before word spread about. Her aunt would understand... She hoped.

Dakota paused and lifted her head, glancing over her shoulder. She had left her neighborhood town behind her, far behind her and traveled all day and into the night. And now she wasn't certain where she was... Yet she soon came to the gates of a huge mansion. She wasn't certain why, but she felt like she should be here... Her large mismatched eyes would blink a couple times as she surveyed it. At this point she didn't care if this was the right place or not, her weary paws could not carry her any further.

Finally she would move right up to the gates and let out a loud howling bark, before falling, collapsing at the gate and falling unconscious out of pure exhaustion of both physical means and emotional means. She was done... And likely to be found sooner or later, and when she did, depending on who was in that mansion, it could either mean her demise, or her hope and future. But for now she simply had to wait and see.

[Tarot]

Marie had been distracted all day. There was something coming that night, she knew. Or someone, rather. A mutant, who needed help...

She sat on the grounds, absently shuffling through her Tarot cards as she waited. She hoped whoever it was would come soon. Although the days were still fairly pleasant, it got a bit chilly as the sun goes down, and she didn't feel like waiting out here all night.

But she didn't need to worry- it was only a few minutes later that she heard a loud howling bark, right next to the gate. She quickly made her way over to it, pulling it open to see a dog-like creature laying there. So... the mutant that she was helping was a shapeshifter, then?

She knelt to the ground next to the dingo with a frown. "It's okay. You're safe now." she said quietly.

[dakota]

Frightful images met her sleeping consciousness. Images of the terror in people's faces when she shifted into this non human form. Visions of confusion and hatred as some recognized her for what she was... A mutant. It was true, word was out and the mutants were in hiding. She had hoped that her power would be as simple as her communicating with animals, but no... She had become one... Well those images were played over and over in her mind until the voices sounded almost real.

A real voice was actually heard, and it jerked the girl out of her sleep like state, and she leapt up and away from the female beside her, growling a bit. And yet as she surveyed her, she noticed she was not hostile, not in the least. Her words were quiet and gentle, and she made no movement toward her. Now Dakota could not completely calm down so quickly when her nerves had been set on high the whole day, but at least she would not attack the other girl it seemed.

But she would stand a good couple feet away, hackles raised, muscles tensed, unsure whether to trust her, or if this could be just another of those people... And yet there was no fear in the other's eyes, no confusion... She didn't even seem to question why in the world a Dingo was in Massachusetts. Or in the US for that matter. But after a time, her hackles would lower, but she would watch the other quite warily. She had no clue that it had been known that she was coming... But the fact that the other wasn't afraid of her went a long way in the girl's confused mind.

She gave a slight canine whine as she dipped her head slightly, both in appology and utter confusion. She didn't understand what was happening to her. Now the smart thing would have been to shift back, and yet at the moment she couldn't seem to easily do so. It seemed her shifting was very much tied to her emotions, and until she calmed fully down and stayed calm, she could not change back to her normal form at will.

[Tarot]

Marie just stayed still, keeping her hand extended in front of her slightly. She didn't need her precognition to tell her that the poor girl/dingo was terrified.

She waited until she whined and dipped her head before she reached out to pet her head gently. "It's okay." she repeated.

She did wonder slightly why the girl didn't shift back. Perhaps she felt safer as a Dingo? No matter the reason, the girl was here now.

"Come on. Let's go in and meet Ms. Frost." She said, pushing herself off the ground and stretching her muscles.

[dakota]

Dakota watched her carefully as she sat there absolutely still. Indeed she didn't seem to be threatening her in any way, so this helped her to relax a bit more.

She watched her, ears perked forward, even after she had lowered her head a bit. Though soon she saw the other reaching her hand forward. At first she tensed up, but when she felt the gentle petting upon her head, she found it felt fine and didn't hurt her like she had expected when others reached toward her in this form. She heard her words and waved that tail slightly in response to her words.

Indeed she didn't shift back, mainly because she wasn't entirely sure how. It would come to her when she was perfectly calmed, but for now her nerves were on edge. And yet she wasn't as terrified anymore. She did feel safer as a dingo as well, but that wouldn't help her to converse with anyone.

She listened as Tarot spoke, and trembled a bit at meeting someone else, and yet if this other person was as nice as this one before her, then she had nothing to fear. Dakota would move after Tarot as she headed off in the direction of the mansion. Something about this place settled Dakota... Somehow she felt safe... Welcomed even... Or at least accepted for what she is... A mutant.

Dakota paused suddenly as she felt herself calm and her mind start to long for her real form. She hadn't been in it since this morning, this being the first time she had shifted. She looked to Tarot before suddenly beginning to shift to her human form. She smiled slightly as she looked to her hands and arms, rubbing them down a bit. Thankfully she found she had shifted clothes as well, though those were part of her mental image of herself. "Oh wow I'm me again... H-Hi... I'm Dakota... Dakota Taylor..." She spoke with a very obvious Austrailian accent, though her voice was rather soft and hessitant.

[Tarot]

Marie smiled at the girl as she shifted back. It would only have been a matter of time, after all.

"I am Marie-Ange Colbert." she said with a smile and a nod. "I don't even need to ask what your powers are- shapeshifter. I'm a precog."

She paused, then gestured to the school behind her. "And this is the Massachusettes Academy. A school for mutants."