"I see you're making new friends," Mr. Xavier pointed out. Mark turned and Quinn picked up her scarf as she did. Mr. Xavier gave a small smile. "And I see you're opening up a bit." Quinn narrowed her eyes before looking away. "Why don't you two clean up and then go play outside? Or I could find a student to give you a small tour."
"Thank you Professor," Mark said with a smile. Quinn nodded and Mark nudged her. She looked over at him, her eyebrows meeting in confusion. He shook his head, a sign for her to forget the gesture. She ran a hand through her greasy white hair and laughed quietly. "There are small washrooms attached to your rooms if you'd care to go have a shower," Mr. Xavier said, smiling. Mark nodded and gently took Quinn's hand. "Thanks again Professor." Mr. Xavier shook his head. "No thanks needed Mark, I'm here to help."
Mark turned and pulled Quinn with him. "What's up?" Quinn asked. Mark shook his head. "Nothing," he replied. Quinn didn't say anything and he let her hand go. "I'm going to have a shower," Mark said, heading down a hall. "You should too," he called over his shoulder. Quinn stuck her hands in her back pockets, nodding, before turning and heading to her new room.
Entering the room she looked around. Two beds, two small dressers, a desk, two bedside tables with a lamp on each of them. A large bay window with a window seat at the far end of the room. The door to what she guessed was a closet was on the wall on her left. On her right was a door that led to what she guessed was the bathroom.
Quinn walked over, shut the window, and drew the curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness. Then she went over and locked the door, grabbed the chair from the desk, and shoved it under the doorknob. Mark would probably have a couple things to say about her procedure but she didn't care, she was still wary even though she knew that no one was going to hurt her here. Probably.
Only then did she start undressing. Sweater and army pants first, then her long sleeve shirt and jeans. She was left just in her tank top and boy's swim trunks. She stepped into the kitchen, leaving her clothes on one of the beds, and shut the door, locking it. She pulled her shirt over her head and started to unbuckle the two belts that were wrapped around her upper half: one over her smooth stomach and the other over her chest.
The belts fell to the tiles with a clatter and her wings twitched once, the muscles wanting to open and stretch. Quinn sighed in relief and tipped her head back, a small smile crossing her face. She unlocked the door and stepped back into the main room, letting her wings open as she did. The breeze from her wings unfurling caressed her face and she sighed, completely content. After a couple minute she closed her wings and stepped back into the bathroom.
The water ran over her face, hot and scalding but rejuvenating. Quinn wrapped her arms around herself, holding in the warmth. She had already washed her hair, twice, and conditioned it. She had used up half the bar of soap trying to get all the mud and other unwanted substances off her body. Now she just wanted to stand in the too hot water and let all her tense muscles relax.
Biting her lip she felt a burning behind her eyes. She placed her head in her hands and sunk to her knees. The water cascaded over like a waterfall and she started to shake. Tears dripped from the corners of her eyes even though there was no logical reason for her to be crying. "He-he safe," she stammered. "There-there's no nee-need to b-be sca-scared for him anym-more." She shook her head as her body continued to tremble. Eyes closed she turned off the shower and pulled the shower curtain away.
Carefully stepping out she wrapped her towel around herself and went into the main room. Quinn winced slightly at the cold air. She knew it wasn't actually cold, it only felt like that because she was so hot.
With a sigh she went to her bag, tears falling silently down her cheeks, and unzipped the top compartment. She out a black, tight fitting long sleeve shirt and grabbed her army pants. She pulled the pants up to where they rested on her slim hips and reached into her bag for a pair of scissors. She laid her shirt on her bed and studied it, biting her lip, opening and closing her scissors with little snapping sounds. Her tears were drying up and she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Then she bent over and cut two slits down the back of her shirt where her shoulder blades were. Pulling the shirt over her head she maneuvered her wings until they slid out of the slits. She smiled at her handiwork.