Jayden had barely been back in New York a couple of night before she had gone in search of her old contacts with The Order.  Before her dying mother had called her back home and away from the life she was just starting to create for herself, she had gotten herself involved in the organization.  It was doing good work for mutants and she wanted so desperately to be a part of that.  And, just as her dreams were started to be realized, life struck and she was forced out of the city.  Dead or not, she couldn't stop the resentment directed towards her mother.  Not much of a mother anyway, even when she'd been alive.

Aura was the first person she tried to call but an out of service recording was her only response.  That was distressing.  Aura had been her mentor, of sorts, and it was worrying that she was no longer contactable.  Had she left the city much like Jayden herself had?  Of her own choice or by force?  Was she injured?  Dead?  No way to no.  Besides, any lost contact was her own scar to bear.  She should have told her mentor.  Should have but didn't.  Didn't tell anyone.  

The next call she made had more luck.  Devon was contact number two and it had much more success.  After only a couple of rings he answered and his voice struck a strange feeling of nostalgia in here.  She kept it to the basics, that she was back in the city, was sorry for her abrupt departure and wanted to start doing good work for mutants again.  He suggested the meet at Sanctuary and so, here she now was.

The great golden doors of Sanctuary struck another nostalgic chord in her, this was even stronger than the last.  No more being forced out of her life for ungrateful family members, she vowed to herself.  Of course, her mother was now dead and she didn't have any other close family so it was probably a bit lite for that particular vow.  With a smile that felt unusual upon her face with all doom and gloom of her recent life, Jayden opened the doors and walked inside.

Darkshift had been one of the volunteers present when Odessa’s tragedy splashed across the tv. She’d joined him and the other volunteers upstairs to discuss what they were feeling and what they were thinking. Devon had quickly focused those feelings and thoughts into action. Darkshift had excellent ideas including training those willing and capable for awareness and defense, as well as joining in Devon’s idea to extend their efforts into the neighborhood both as volunteers and as a watch.

She’d trained many, helped get things rolling, and then had disappeared. He didn’t push as to why when she called, but eagerly encouraged her back to Sanctuary. She was trusted there and there was always a room for her should she need it. She helped make it what it was.

He’d arrived early to Sanctuary, dressed in black dress pants and a black button down he’d worn while meeting with a client earlier at Haven. He was chatting with Lisa when the doors opened and in she walked.

“Darkshift!” Tempest grinned, moving to embrace in a long armed shake – hand clasped to the upper bicep. “It’s good to see you,” he said with a warm tone and a quick nod.

“Good afternoon,” Lisa Wilson said, standing from her desk. “Welcome back. Mr. Haden and I have prepared your same room, cleaned and ready should you wish it.”

Devon turned to Lisa and nodded before looking back at Darkshift. “I readied some lunch. I haven’t eaten since breakfast early. You okay to chat and eat?” he asked with a glance towards the kitchen.

If Jayden harbored any thoughts at all that returning to New York was a mistake, being there in Sanctuary all but eliminated them.  This was a place where she could do some good, help her own kind.  Now that she was back she could find her own way again, step back upon the path she had so foolishly abandoned.  Never again.  

"Good to see you again, Devon" Jayden accepted the embrace, not having to feign warmth.  "Lisa."  A cool smile offered towards Lisa to accompany the name said in greeting.  She had known the caretaker of Sanctuary, of course, but they'd never had more than cursory interactions.  

"Lunch would be great."  She followed Devon to where he had cleared a room for the two of them.  "I haven't quite gotten myself fully settled yet.  Food is sometimes a luxury."  No need to mention the specific details of staying in an abandoned apartment building stealing to meet her basic survival needs.  None of that would last very long; she had vowed it to herself and wasn't in the habit of giving up before she succeeded.

"It doesn't look like much has changed around here," she glanced around as she walked, taking everything in.  "That's kind of comforting."  

>> "Lunch would be great."

“Lunch it is then,” Devon said cheerfully. He headed off to one of the smaller break out rooms where he’d gotten some lunch together: sandwiches, chips, fruit, water, a few sodas, some salad and of course cookies.

>> "I haven't quite gotten myself fully settled yet. Food is sometimes a luxury."

Devon turned and gave her a querying glance. He didn’t push but he did insist, “Remember, you can stay here. Food is always provided. Sanctuary would be happy to have your help and time again.”

>> "That's kind of comforting."

Sanctuary itself hadn’t changed much, but things were cleaner, more organized, and increasingly well-funded. Stable seemed the right word. “Things are stable,” Devon said with a grin. He ushered her into their lunch room and closed the door behind them. “I’m not here as often now with Haven and my business, but I’m visiting still every other day or so. Other volunteers have a presence too like Nate and Max. Geo moved back in if you ever met him?” he asked.

Devon waited for her to sit and then took a seat himself, eagerly opening a bottle of water to take a sip.

Lunch was basic affair but Jayden wasn't going about to complain.  Food was food and until she got fully settled, it was still a little dicey when and how much she was able to eat at any given time.  That would change.  Soon.  It all ready was changing.  

"There's something to be said about doing things for yourself and not relying upon charity," she responded to the suggestion of moving into Sanctuary.  Of course, that something was probably that she was stubborn to a fault.  Well, there were worst things to be than stubborn, right?  

As they walked, she noted that Sanctuary had, in fact, changed for the better.  Things looked neater and more organized and some of the feeling of desperation had been lost.  If she didnt' know any better, she might even think there was actual money being invested into the place which was needed and welcome.  

Jayden took a seat and helped herself to a sandwich as she listened to Devon speak.  "I haven't met Geo but I do want to start volunteering.  I wouldn't have left before, except my mother was dying.  I should have told someone but, you know how it is."  She shrugged and looked away.  "It won't happen again."

>> "There's something to be said about doing things for yourself and not relying upon charity,"

Tempest gave a quick nod to that, though he wanted to make a few suggestions. He figured better to revisit it later. He didn’t want to insult Darkshift or make her feel he was deriding her pride. She was a hard-working person and independence was clearly important to her.

Once they were seated and eating, she clarified her interest in volunteering again. Devon smiled at that but frowned at the mention of her mother. Even if you didn’t love your parents, those were hard times. Of course, Devon knew the pain of a parent’s death well, too well probably. He hadn’t exactly taken it well, but he also felt responsible. It was difficult to know if it was or not.

>> "It won't happen again."

Devon shook his head, quickly dabbing his mouth with a napkin, and swallowing the bite of sandwich he’d been chewing. “I appreciate the intention, but it’s okay,” he said softly. “You are clearly an independent person and privacy is important. I’m not sure how well you and your mother got along, but I am sorry to hear about the loss or at least the difficult it must have caused you. I know many here don’t have good relationships with their families,” he nodded.

“You do what you need to do. Know that I’ll support you and whatever you need, so yes I appreciate you informing me if you need to leave, but know that I’d rather you’d be telling me to help you out. We’ll get along here, but Sanctuary also will support you. We help each other out, right?” he smiled. “And on that topic, if you want to stay here it doesn’t have to be charity. You can work here full time between managing, helping kids, training people, handling neighborhood watch, etc. Only problem then is if you did need to leave you should really ask for time off,” he chuckled, grinning.

Jayden knew that her insistance upon not accepting Sanctuary as the safe place to stay was shere stubbornness and little else.  That's what the place had been designed for, after all.  A place where homeless and struggling mutants could find a place to get themselves back up on their feet.  The words 'screw that' came to mind because using her own resources to build herself back up was something she needed to do for herself.  Nothing against other mutants who needed the help and in truth it was a very good thing the help was there, but she wasn't one of those other mutants.

Finishing the last of her food, Jayden nodded as she listened to Devon speak.  It was good to have that understanding and suppport.  "Not so good a relationship with my family but despite that, I couldn't just let my mother die without saying goodbye."  Maybe one day the feelings of bitterness would fade, maybe once her life was properly back on track.  There had once been a time when their relationship had been much better than in the final years before she'd left.  Maybe, one day, she'd be able to remember that time and feel more fondly about her memory.

"I'm comfortable training and handling the watch as well as any other odd tasks that need doing.  And I promise to inform you regarding any future plans to leave."  She returned the grin, feeling much more at ease than when she had first walked through the door.  

"I'm hoping to have a more permanent place to stay within a few weeks.  My time here might be a bit more limited until then, but I'll do what I can."  No need to mention the specifics of exactly how she was going to find such a place, not that she had really worked out the finer points of those specifics yet herself. She was two parts resourceful and one part stubborn to a fault: It was going to happen whether the universe liked it or not.

>> "Not so good a relationship with my family but despite that, I couldn't just let my mother die without saying goodbye."

Devon nodded quickly, “Yeah complicated situation. Good to do, closure and all.” He gave the woman a half-grin, “It may be hard now, but long term I’m sure you’ll be thankful to have done so. Hard choice to make. I’m glad to see you back again, though.”

Jayden offered help with watches, training, odd jobs, and even promised to notify if she had to leave. His smile brightened and he gave her a reassuring nod as he finished his sandwich. He followed it with the rest of his water.

>> “…My time here might be a bit more limited until then, but I'll do what I can."

“Okay, well remember the option is there,” Devon said with a glance upstairs. “Honestly, I’d be happy to have a few more strong, capable mutants in long term residence. The violence on Utopia created a sense of anger in our community and even the public. But the federal government is anything but supportive. I’m concerned that the anti-mutant gang activity may take a sharp rise,” he sighed. “Do what you need to though, take care of you.”

"How about this, how about I find a place near Sanctuary, that way I'm always on call when I'm needed?"  Even once she had her feet again, there was something to be said about having one's own space, one's own home.  Besides, with all the mutant activity and the sometimes violent mutant activity, apartments around Sanctuary tended to go for cheap.  No one seemed to want to take the risk and, sometimes, she couldn't blame them.

"You're probably right about closure.  Down the road, I'm sure I'll be more at peace with that decision."  She sighed; it wasn't really something she wanted to think about anymore.  Others might have had less complicated relationships with their family, but that certainly wasn't here.

"So, what's changed around here?  Anything I should know about?  Is the Order still around?"  She hadn't been with The Order long but for her limited time with them, she knew they did good work, work that went beyond simply housing wayward mutants.  If possible, continuing that work would be ideal.

>> "How about this, how about I find a place near Sanctuary, that way I'm always on call when I'm needed?"

“Honestly,” Devon chuckled, “That’d be wonderful. You don’t have to live here, but proximity would be great. Knowing there’s reliable, strong willed people around who care about Sanctuary and its people makes me feel a lot better.”

He nodded along with her comments about closure and being at peace with the decisions she’d made. He gave her a reassuring smile. It was a tough decision she’d made, but she’d taken the harder path because she knew it was the right one. Devon knew Darkshift knew it, however it never hurt to hear it from someone else.

As for the Order?

“Not much changed with Sanctuary itself other than I’m starting to be around less often. I’ve met a few former members of the Orders; it really didn’t have a footing left before I came here apparently. There was some sort of coordinated attack a month or two before I came in?” he half-asked, half-stated. “A few people were asking me if I was Order before I even found out what they were.”

“I think a few are looking for different work now,” Devon nodded slowly. “What they stood for did inspire me to pull together some people after I got my parents inheritance. It’s been a crazy few months but I opened my own treatment center. Meanwhile some of those patients, the mayor, some investors from people I’ve met, and a few others… We put Haven together as a charitable and educational organization. We’ve got a primary mission of empowering people to work in arenas like LGBT and mutant rights.” He grinned and chuckled but the pride was clear in his voice, “Busy, let me tell you, but so worth it.”

That settled that, then.  Jayden wasn't quite certain how she'd find the money for an actual place just yet, but with proper determination and proper application of force of will, these things had a way of working themselves out.  

It didn't sound like there was much Order to come back to.  Which, if she were completely honest with herself, maybe wasn't the biggest surprise.  She hadn't been with them long but during her short time among them, she'd seen only a few others aside from its  leader, Aura.  With Aura gone, maybe it was only a matter of time before the entire organization crumbled.  Such a shame.

This 'Haven', however, sounded promising.  "If you need a hand helping with Haven, let me know.  LGBT rights are just as important as mutant rights and have almost as far to go."  She wasn't exactly in the closet about being gay, but it wasn't something she advertised much either.  Life was hard enough being a mutant without being a gay mutant on top of it all.  Her step father had discovered her very brief girlfriend in high school and, suffice to say, things hadn't exactly gone well from there.  She hadn't had a girlfriend since and while she might try to convince herself it was because life was too busy, hectic and dangerous, sometimes she was lonely.  

Devon’s grin brightened.

“I agree,” he nodded. “There’s a lot for us to do. You’re exactly the kind of person we want Haven investing in toward leadership, which is different for everyone. Making hard choices, investing in other people, helping improve society in these various avenues…” He smiled, “I’d be happy to have you involved based on your efforts here.”

His head bounced a bit side to side, “You get back into the groove here, your residence… We’ll then have you by the Haven building on the park. It’s a bit swanky, but it’s primarily for training space, educational classes, and then a bit of fun at the club we’ve got.” He chuckled, “And people sometimes live there too…” Devon held up his hands in immediate defeat, “No pressure of course.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as his voice lifted, “I’m sure you’d really find worthwhile value in Haven’s activities, especially considering some of the Order’s goals.” Devon nodded again. “There’s a lot to do and it can’t all be done by the X-Men and the police after all. We need to keep the government thinking of the changes we want. There are common people who need those empowered to leaders in their fields to do something. Not everyone has the means to make a place for themselves, so we help them find that safe Haven.”

Devon laughed, “Blah blah blah, that’s the spiel.” He grinned again, “So how about you call me next week and we chat more, eh?”

It was good to have a feeling of purpose in life again.  Ever since going back home, she'd been drifting and aimless.  Something about the death of a parent of questionable quality served to place everything on standstill in one's life.  Well, that was done and over with now and it was about time to get back to actually living.

"I appreciate it.  I tell you what, if I haven't found myself a proper residence within a month, I'll cave and take the one offered.  Fair?"  She laughed, feeling unusually good natured from their discussion.  

"I look forward to working with you and with Haven on this and I'll be sure to call next week."  Jayden got up and prepared to depart.  "Thank you for seeing me and I look forward to working with you."  She extended a hand for a handshake.