Cole gave a reluctant nod at Serenity's first comment upon alighting. "It definitely looks better than it does on those postcards."

By that, he meant natural landscapes in general. He was not big on nature however, far from it, and he found himself questioning if the great scenery was worth being right in the middle of the natural environment, where it was uncomfortable, unsanitary, and not to mention dangerous. Sure, Colles was going to keep them safe from any wild animals, but they were not the only ones that could pose a danger. While his mind was on the topic of animals and danger, his ears picked up the rustling of leaves followed by the patter of paws against the dirt approaching the group. It was then revealed that it had been a large wild cat making those sounds, a large wild cat that was a friend of Colles. He then picked something else up - a yelp of fright from one of the other students. Cole exhaled into his fist to suppress a chuckle, but from his eyes, he was clearly amused. The boy was probably really new to have not been aware of Colles' abilities.

He then responded to what Serenity had to say next as the group made their way towards the lodge, while Kaze and Peanut Butter Girl had an exchange about the smaller cat in her arms. "It must be difficult, having your abilities be called 'ambiguous' by people who aren't even considered normal by our world's standards. Also, don't worry about it. I was just surprised because I didn't think you would have wanted to-"

He cut himself off, remembering that he did not want to bring up what had happened between them the last time, unless of course, she was the one pushing the issue. He just shook his head slightly, letting her step in before entering the lodge after her. Giving the place a quick look around, he had registered that there were three rooms for all of the present students to stay in. While upstairs, he found Serenity in the room that had a view of the lake. Since they were on talking terms again, he stepped up next to her to take in the scenery as well.

"Are you thinking of staying in this one?" He asked her first before following with some comments. "This window is the least accessible, so we would probably be the safest here. Then again, what if whatever that wants to attack us crawls out from the lake and climbs up here? We don't actually know what's in there, do we?"

Realizing that he had just scared himself by saying such things but not wanting to admit that, he simply turned to leave. "Excuse me, I shall have a look at the other one on this level."

At least while facing the clearing, anything dangerous could be spotted further away. Too bad both bunk beds were at equal distances from the windows.

---

The jaguar stopped and settled down right next to the entrance of the lodge, as if to stand guard. As he entered, Mr. Colles casually answered Kaze's question.

"We've had supplies delivered to Woodhaven beforehand. Nothing grand - instant, canned, and preserved food, stuff for making sandwiches, but we'll have meat, Kiddo. Mealtimes are going to get more interesting starting tomorrow."

He then retreated into his own quarters on the first level of the lodge, where he was going to be for the next couple of hours while the teenagers settled in.

@JewelProphet30 @Gentlemanvaultboy @Kazemitsu @PokimKyOshi

Sarah jumped off the bus the first chance she could. Overwhelmed by the sensations of the forest, she had no choice but to ignore her fellow campers, including the weird cat. She was still on the fence about that one, not quite convinced it was a cat, thought it put on a good show. For a moment her eyes fell on the lovely cabin that would be her temporary home. Sarah tried to smile, but the sensations took over before she could.
Inhaling deeply, Sarah walked over to the nearest tree and sat down against it. She closed her eyes and allowed the sensations of water and forest to pass through her. While doing this, she kept a close hold on her excitement. Breathe in - Breathe out The controlled breathing kept her heart rate somewhat under control as she slowly ajusted to the sensory overload.

After a couple of minutes she became aware of two things. First, the silence around her. She opened her eyes, blinking against the light, and realised that the rest of the group had moved towards the cabin. She shrugged and focussed on the second, more interesting thing. Sitting here, with her back against a tree, Sarah realised she could feel the tree's juices flowing within. This is new!
Sarah wasn't sure what this meant for her. On the one hand this was one more thing she could destroy if she wasn't careful. On the other hand, this was incredibly cool!!!

Sarah gave herself a couple more minutes to revel in the sensation. She closed her eyes again and rested her back and head against the tree. Huh, look at me, making friends with a tree. The thought made her giggle, yet it felt really right. It also instantly made her feel better, because she'd never hurt a friend. She got up, brushed herself off and started towards the cabin. Suddenly, she stopped, and turned back to the tree. She placed her right hand on the bark and said Thanks, buddy. I really needed that! She smiled to herself again and practically skipped back towards the cabin. She felt revigorated and happy and ready for anything.

"I'll let'er down once we get inside. Look at her, she ain't more than a snack to the things lurken round here." Claude said to Kaze, lifting up the small cat to him as far as she could without letting her stuff fall all over the ground.

She smiled wide as their teacher mentioned mealtimes would be getting more "interesting" before disappearing into him room. "Think that means we're going huntin? That is right up my alley right now." She said as she walked in. Normally in a building over one story instinct would draw Claude up to the highest floor to claim as her own, but as she got a view into the first floor room, through it's big window, and right into the think woods beyond she knew that she had to have that one. Hastily she moved in, sliding her bags under the bunk bed after setting her furry friend down in the room. "Ground floor! Squatch huntin HQ." She said loudly before leaning down to the cat. "You go scamper around, cutie pie. Familiarize yourself with the place. Just they not to get underfoot."

She stood up, cracked her back from the bus ride, and walked over to the window to gaze out into the woods. She took out the video camera, clicked it on, and raised it up to her eye to film the pines. Animal Planet had this sort of stock footage up all the time, so maybe the video would be more appealing if she got some for them.

"Huntin log, day one. Just got in to base camp. Somewhere out in them there wood could lurk the ferocious and powerful Sasquatch and I," she flipped the camera around, filming her face in a completely unusable closeup, "Claudia Rhodes, ultimate fighter, am going to find him. And when I do? I'm gonna kick his hairy ass."

@datadogie@Kazemitsu

Serenity smiled when Cole agreed with her and she watched the students around them as they walked inside before she shrugged a bit and glanced at Cole “It is what it is unfortunately, I have a little bit of everything it seems like though the biggest ability is being able to touch someone and know what’s going on with them, physically at least…” She smiled a little as she realized that she had inadvertently let Cole know why she had been so jumpy on the day they met but she just sighed. She moved through the cabin finding the room with the large window and view of the lake she leaned against the frame and looked out hearing the other walk up behind her again she shifted.



She listened to him for a few moments after he asked if she was thinking about staying in this room and when she had been about to answer Cole excused himself and left, she chuckled a little and pretty much ignored his words about thinks trying to attack them. She didn’t know what they were in for here in the woods but she also knew Colles wouldn’t let any harm come to them either so she just smiled and found a bed before setting down her bag and stretching. She could hear the murmur of the other students downstairs and she had seen one of the other girls sitting near a tree outside but in truth she was feeling a bit more at peace than she had for quite awhile and knowing she was alone she slipped off her gloves and closed her eyes for a few moments.

When she finally got the nerve up she laid one of her hands against the bunkbed where she had set her bag and took a deep breath as the memories from past groups came rushing in. She had been practicing the last few months on shifting through the information she got from a touch at least with inanimate objects, she had yet to practice on anyone living, and she smiled as she saw flashes of laughing strangers. Moving back from the bed she trailed her fingers over a wall controlling her breathing as she did so and smiled again as even more images came through. She was going to wear herself out but at least she knew she would sleep well tonight.

@Raptra

Wide-eyed, Andrew halted just by the entrance of the enormous wooden cabin, letting the element of surprise sink in. The cabin looked beautiful from its exterior alone, but upon entering the building felt like he’d swallowed a shrinking potion. The inside was vast and the interiors were just as gorgeous.

He watched as his fellow peers had already started climbing stairs and entering rooms. Not exactly sure if they’ve already been designated or if they’ve also been given the freedom to choose whichever room they’d like. The thought of it only made Andrew feel a little wave of loneliness wash over him. He’d hardly known anyone as of yet – he could already picture himself stuttering the life out of him just by introducing his name.

"No. This is ridiculous! Breathe. Calm."

Andrew reassured himself. It was indeed ridiculous to mess up doing something so simple! He came here to experience and explore the little but vast parts of the world that his past life had trapped himself from. In short, he had no time at all to be sheepish if he wanted to make friends.

A few seconds passed by in where Andrew found himself to be too much in thought, that the hallway that stood in front of his view had become almost empty, and the loud chatter of voices had escalated to the floors above. Trying to shake away his fluster, he inhaled deeply and straightened up his chest like a soldier ready to march. As the young boy headed towards the stairway, an awfully wide window was placed just beside it. Outside, he had caught a glimpse of a girl who chose to sit by a tree rather than come up and find her room.

For a brief moment, Andrew could see himself in her place. After all, he himself had always preferred the quiet. Perhaps he had forced himself too soon? But on the other hand, he didn’t seem to need any breaks since he felt fine and energetic enough to move around more.

“The first one it is.”Sighed Andrew as he continued to head up the stairs to where the others could be found, heaving along with him his mildly heavy duffle bag. He had made it this far to even think of going back downstairs. If he could just find a room to rest, that was all he needed to recharge himself until the next time he had to go out or meet anyone.
The top floor had two big rooms for him to pick. As he approached the first room closest to him and slowly pushed open the door, his eyes immediately landed on the occupant with alarm; the girl with blonde hair with purple streaks that he saw earlier on the bus! It looked as if he disturbed her from doing something important and started to fluster up with immense embarrassment. He didn’t expect to encounter and have to socialize with anyone so quickly, it was something Andrew was clearly bad at. “I-I-I-I’M SORRY!” Andrew exclaimed bashfully, though successfully getting the words out of his mouth through the stuttering errors and quickly darted out and towards the next room on the same floor.

Thankfully, this particular room was completely unoccupied and Andrew had all the time and space to catch his breath and calm his pounding chest. While he still wasn't around anyone, he took off his scarf and gloves to finally be able to give his suffocating body some air.
As he continued to scan the room, a wide window had been placed just beyond it. “What is it with this place and huge windows?” Andrew thought to himself, perplexed. He walked over it to look out and saw that the view was facing the campfire and picnic place of the cabin. Not quite a pleasing sight to look at when the early sun rises, but it was better than nothing.

When it came to the bunk beds, two of them just across each other, Andrew had no particular preferences whatsoever as he set his bags down next to the nearest bottom bunk at the left side of the room and sat on his bed. The mattress wasn’t too hard nor too soft – it was just right and Andrew could already feel his nerves calming down. He continued to carefully untie and take his shoes off to lay his whole body down as he took in the comfort of the bed and the solace of the silence while he still had the whole room to himself. But behind his shut eyelids, he still wondered who would be his roommate and silently prayed that they wouldn’t be the type who would prank him in his sleep. Not only because he’d get scared, but his instincts would surely kick up and tell him to turn the whole room into a freezer.

@Dutchess Sarah @JewelProphet30

"Kaze?" Claude called as she exited the room and stepped through the hallway, camera once again raised up to her eye. "Where are you you big hunka man? I gotta get some reference footage of ya."

She couldn't have the Animal Planet thinking she was hoaxing them using her big dragon friend, after all. But apparently he was staying outside for now. She was just about to make her way out to look for him when she heard movement upstairs and stopped.

She looked up, tracing the banister up the side of the stairs with the camera and grinned. May as well see what the rest "the team" was up to while she was at it. She hopped up the stairs, taking them two at a time, and as she made it to the top she was met with a pair of room and a boy crossing the hall between them.

"There he is, our first boy! Hey, how's it goin?" She said with a grin. She gripped the banister, planted her soles on the top step, and leaned way back to get all of Cole in the frame. "What's your name? How ya enjoyin the fresh air so far? What do you think might be lurkin in these woods?"

@Raptra

Kaze simply raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm surprised we aren't expected to hunt and gather. It'd be a fun activity." He said as the teacher gave him his answer. Yay, canned food. Yuck. He'd hunt for his own stuff later on, for now he deposited the luggage he was carrying in the main room minus his duffel bag. That he held his a wing and went back outside. From there students could hear the creaking of wood, the occasional snap of a branch, and some rustling. The behemoth of a student had made a giant hammock in the trees, higher up off the ground. A good thirty feet up.

Giving it a test lay he nodded to himself before his ears perked up. Someone had called his name, judging by the sound it was Claude. Sighing he rolled out of the hammock and landed on the ground with a loud thump. He poked his head into the building just in time to see the lava girl go up the stairs. "Dammit Claude you know I don't do stairs that aren't concrete or registered for my weight." He growled up at the excitable girl. He folded his arms and gave her a stern look from the bottom of the steps.

"Ah, that explains the gloves," he responded to Serenity sharing her ability with her.

So, it turned out that she actually was some kind of empath, it was just that it was by touch. If the both of them touched she would probably be frightened by a vision of that 'thing', but that was what the gloves were for. She, like everyone else, would have to find out sometime though. As passed the stairs to make his way to the other room, he was intercepted by Peanut Butter Girl, who currently had a video camera in her hand. It was rather apparent that it was rolling, but observing how she was teetering on the edge of the top stair, he stepped back and waved her forward. He then thought for a couple of seconds before speaking.

"A very good day to all who see this, I'm Cole Ryder from the Haven, and we are currently situated in Woodhaven, a cozy little place in the middle of Haven Forest."

He kept a straight face while saying all this, though, it was difficult to tell if it was an attempt at dry humor or if he truly saw no reason to smile. At some point, Cole heard somebody walk past behind him, and thought he felt a slight change in the surrounding temperature as that happened, but simply dismissed it for the time being.

"As for what is lurking, it's hard to say. Here at the Haven, unexpected things pop up everyday. There is much to discover about the environment, our peers, and even ourselves. The staff claim that the woods are safe, and I sincerely hope they are right. If they aren't, then this footage might be the last thing I leave for the world to remember me by," he then ended off matter-of-factly.

While all this went on, Kaze had entered the lodge and he spoke to the girl, calling her 'Claude'. Thinking that she would now have her attention on the dragon boy, Cole nodded to the both of them and resumed his walk to the next room. Upon entering, he felt the chill again, it was very slight, but this time, he was sure it was really present. He caught sight of one of the other students occupying one of the beds, and assuming that the boy was asleep, he quietly set his belongings down and made his way over to the window to take the view in.

@Kazemitsu @Gentlemanvaultboy @PokimKyOshi @JewelProphet30

"Hoo hoo hoo," she said as Cole walked away, turning the camera back to face her while still hanging from the steps. "Spooky. Does he know somethin' we don't, I wonder?"

The dude had certainly given off a mood, in that he had given off no mood whatsoever. Even that bit about this possibly being the last record of him seemed as though it wasn't a joke.

Kaze's voiced seemed to give Cole the cue he needed to get away, disappearing into the other room as Claude let herself swing back to film the dragon man. "That there is Kaze. Big fella, ain't he? But no fur, so he ain't what we're looking for." She said to the audience as she filmed him. "Why don't you tell the folks at home a little about yerself, Kaze."

Kaze watched Claude talk to her camera with a dead-pan facial expression. When she turned it to him, wanting him to say something for people at home about himself, his eyebrow crept up slowly. "I'm a dragon and I ate all your princesses. Now why are you going on about Bigfoot? He's probably a mutant like us. Well more like me since I can't turn this off." He growled out.

For people who had looked into his history they'd have noticed he'd been the same. A non-human looking being living out alone in the forest. He only came to Safe Haven because he had been told there would be others like him. They hadn't explained that it was other mutants, he had been expecting other non-human looking people. He had been disappointed at the severe lack of such people. Sure there were a couple here and there but it didn't stave off the loneliness of being so rare. Was this how panda bears felt?

Serenity smiled a bit as she watched the past play behind her eyes until she was jolted by the sound of a voice close behind her and she turned to see the boy who had gotten frightened earlier. He was bright red and she shifted opening her mouth "It's...Alright..." she trailed off as the boy turned and fled the room, in truth she hadn't been bothered by his appearance though it looked like he was easily flustered and she shifted pulling her gloves back on she turned and set her bags on the bunk to claim her bed before she stepped back into the hall and glanced around seeing Cole talking into a camera and the peanut butter girl from the bus holding it she shrugged and went to the other door and knocked before she poked her head in and smiled "You know you'll have to have contact with us all eventually..." she pointed out as she spotted the boy and she stepped inside "I'm Serenity and it's nice to meet you!"

@PokimKyOshi

@Kazemitsu@JewelProphet30@Raptra@PokimKyOshi

"Imma box him then sell the video to Animal Planet." She said confidently, pulling herself back up onto the step. "If they're gonna fund a whole show about four big ol' rednecks going to look for him I figure I'll get on there easy."

She suddenly smirked, tilting her head from behind the viewfinder. "You really think he's a guy?" Claude hadn't considered bigfoot might be sentient. To her it was simple; cool ass people would be living at the school and in the dorms, but you'd keep a weird ass animal in the woods so you didn't have to clean up its massive mythological dumps. Still, the thought excited her. "That'd be even better." She said with a smirk. "We could do pre-fight trash talk, interviews, do this up right."

Her thoughts were pulled away from the idea of a properly promoter pay-per-view when she heard voices coming from another room. She turned her back to the stairs and peeked around the corner into the nearest room. The boy from the hallways was in there, along with a girl from the bus and and a dude that was already in bed.

"C'Mon, you're all Tuckered out already? We barly just got here."

Kaze narrowed his eyes slightly when Claude went on about boxing Bigfoot and selling the video to Animal Planet. Then she continued going on about more television oriented things. "You do realize he or she is probably out here to be left the hell alone if they even do exist. Being constantly transformed is not exactly the best experience in the world." He stated, gesturing to himself as a prime example.

"Hell I lived in the forest for a long damn time before I came to the Haven. It took a lot of acclimating to live with you normal mutants." Kaze continued grumpily. Then the girl got distracted, as usual. Sometimes he started to think she didn't have the right hair color.