Life had changed in recent weeks, there was no way to deny it.  On the one hand, Masque finally had a place to stay that he could properly call home.  He had no more worries about when he was next going to eat or how he was going to pay his rent.  No, now all he had to worry about was contributing a bit around the Mansion and getting along with everyone and things were set for him.

The other side of life, however, was discovering the danger and violence that could sometimes be attracted due to the simple fact that he was a mutant and one who couldn't completely hide his nature.  Sometimes that meant hostile humans attacking for no reason and other times that meant finding himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and being one of the only ones actually equipped to try and help.  Or at least, his power should allow him to help but recent lessons had taught him that such was no always the case.  Sometimes the dangers involved people dying and those were the times that he most dreaded.

Between meeting Aura and the bloody corpses she had left in her wake and more than one encounter that very nearly ended in serious injury, Masque made the decision that it was time to start learning to properly use his power in a fashion that might actually be useful to someone.  To create art was his passion and have a body that was a living art project was something that could be considered a dream but there was surely more to it than that.  He could imagine the uses he could put his power to, between the stealth of being able to blend into the world around him and the enhanced durability of his tough stone skin but he didn't quite know how to make use of that yet.  It was time for all of that to change.  It was time to take some initiative and start guiding his life in a desired direction rather than constantly reacting to whatever life threw at him.

The first step in Masque plan to gain a better and more practical control over his power wasn't necessarily the one that would immediately come to mind.  There would be no diving into combat nor even some kind of basic brawl.  Nor was he about to break into some store and try to hide in plain sight, skin changing to match the walls or shelves around him.  No, his first step before anything else was to find himself some reliable means of transportation that wasn't the public bus.  Some days it just didn't feel safe to be riding among so many strangers.

Even given his new life at the Mansion, Masque knew there was no way he could afford a car even if he had his licence, which he did not.  One day, perhaps, that would be in the books but that wasn't likely to be for a long while.  Instead, a bike seemed the most practical option.  Not only was it much less expensive with no need for a license but the constant riding around the city was likely o help with his overall fitness level which could only be beneficial given what he had planned.  Which, aside from learning to better defend himself, was still a little on the fuzzy side.

One of the many benefits to having a place to live where he didn't have to pay rent was that it was much faster and easier to actually save up money for purchases like bikes.  His art and, to a lesser extent less upstanding skills, allowed him to save up a few hundred dollars within a reasonable amount of time and it was with those savings that he purchased his new baby.  It was nothing fancy, got from a nearby bike store that specialized in refurbished and restored bikes, but it was far better than he ever could have expected to acquire a couple of months ago and it would do just find for day to day transportation.  Of course, the bike was the easy part and he only had the most vague idea where to go from there.

Once reliable transportation had been found, it might have been a simple matter to allow the overwhelming question of what was next to overcome him and force him into inactivity.  However, Masque had never been the type to allow circumstances to get the better of him.  Just because he didn't have a clear idea of where to start didn't mean that it was time to throw his hands in the air and just give up.  At least he had an idea of his final destination and that could at least offer him a general direction.

A private area to practice on his own, Masque decided, was where he wanted to begin.  Of course he knew he could use the facilities at the Mansion to begin his training but he didn't want to do that for much the same reason that he didn't want anyone actually involved in training him.  At least at the beginning, he had to prove that he could do this himself and that required solitude and silence.  There were expectations involved in including others and he wasn't quite ready for any expectations aside from those he had of himself.  Probably the rest of it would come eventually but there was no reason to hurry the process along.

The internet was a wonderful thing when it came to looking up just about anything and it was through that assistance that Masque finally decided upon his next step.  There was a small state park near the edge of the city that would suit his purposes nicely.  It was apparently not too well known and had a combination of forrest and rocky terrain with a stream that ran down the center of it.  Especially if he went later in the evening, it should be quiet enough that he would be able to practice in peace.  Once he had the basics, then it might be time to talk to someone about proper training.  One step followed by another.