Derek couldn't sleep. Though, that was his fault by taking a nap from five to seven in the afternoon. Now he was wide awake at eleven thirty at night while most of his fellow mansion mates were snug in their beds either actually sleeping or binge watching a show on Netflix. Either way, he hoped that no one was downstairs.

Wearing a green t-shirt. black ankle socks and gray sweatpants, Derek made his way down the stairs of the second floor and onto the first one.

The library was pretty big as far as libraries and sources of information goes. He would've brought his laptop down with him, but Derek had forgotten to charge it  and didn't wanted to bring the charger down with him. Plus, he felt like turning pages instead of opening tabs.

Derek wanted to learn more about his powers. He wanted to know whether or not it was genetic or if it was just a simple, random mutation in his genes. The first couple of books he grabbed was on zoology and biology and a few on precolonial West Africa.

After gathering the books he needed, Derek sat down at a table and started to read.

Most of the nights in the mansion Victoria spent alone as the mansion was pretty quiet with everyone sleeping. On rare occasions, she might cross paths with someone who couldn’t sleep or maybe they were hungry for a late-night snack and then she would get to talk with them. She was starting to think tonight might be one of the many quiet nights though.

The blonde girl walked through the large building, in her light blue silk nightie, peeking in classrooms and wandering down hallways looking at the artwork or trying out random chairs. You know, just to see if any were actually comfortable. She found that only a couple were.

When she walked into the library she discovered she wasn’t the only one awake. A boy was reading through what looked to be a pile of books. She had never seen this boy before. She only felt it was her duty to welcome him if he was new, and if he wasn’t then he was still new to her. Win! Win!

She approached the boy from the opposite side of the table he was sitting at. Didn’t want to startle him if he was really focused on his reading. “Hello.”

Starting on a precolonial West Africa, Derek flipped through a few pages and stumbled upon some information concerning the different religions that were practiced at the time. It was all very interesting and Derek wanted to learn more and more about himself as a person and if his mutation was genetic or just a random spasm in his DNA.

He was so much into the book that he almost didn't notice the girl that had walked to his table.

"Oh, hello." Derek greeted with a smile. "How are you doin' tonight?" He asked with a warm smile. "Can't sleep either?"

She was happy she didn’t startle the boy and was received with a nice welcome. “Hello.” She replied with a little grin. Her ruby eyes looked over the books that had been collected. It was an interesting gathering of reading.

Victoria returned her attention to the boy. “I’m doing fine. How are you?” Her hope was that he was ok also. Perhaps just busy reading or possibly studying. Maybe he had a test to take. She shook her head slightly to his last question. “I don’t sleep at night. I pretty much sleep during the day, and most nights are pretty quiet.” She tilted her head up slightly as if recalling fond memories as a smile spread over her lips. “Sometimes some of my friends are awake because they can’t sleep and then we keep each other company.”

Gesturing to the books she questioned him a little. “Are you studying? Do you have a test or an exam or something?”

"Im doin' well, thanks for askin'." Derek looked into her red eyes and then back down at the book he was reading. He was getting a lot of information from what he was studying. The Orishas popped up a lot so they must've been of some sort of signifgents to the tribal Africans at the time.

"So you're kind of like an night owl like me, then," Derek looked up from his book and smiled at her, "havin' friends who are a bit like you can really be a good thing." Allegra was probably in her room sleeping right now so he wouldn't even bother texting her.

"Oh, no i don't have an exam. I'm reading up on animals and a couple of things concerning Africa."

Smiling and nodding to his replies Victoria watched him for a moment more. He looked like he was enjoying what he was reading. She liked when people did things they enjoyed. It made her smile seeing others when they’re happy.

“Umm…yeah I guess you could say that.” Even if he was only up this late due to not being able to sleep, as a few others who Victoria had met, it was still nice talking with someone and not the walls. “I agree, but even if they aren’t like you, as long as everyone gets along that’s what matters most.” She smiled softly.

“Is there something about African animals that interests you specifically? I mean there are some pretty amazing animals there, that’s for sure. Like lions and cheetahs and elephants.” She had watched lots of animal documentaries when she lived with her parents. Those were some of the creatures she liked most.

>> "Umm…yeah I guess you could say that...I agree, but even if they aren’t like you, as long as everyone gets along that’s what matters most.”

Derek smiled and nodded his head. "I completely agree with you." Both diversity and similarity was needed to make life both stable and exciting.

>> “Is there something about African animals that interests you specifically? I mean there are some pretty amazing animals there, that’s for sure. Like lions and cheetahs and elephants.”

"Not really, no. It's something about my mutation. I can communicate and influence the behavior of animals." Derek added the last bit of information. He looks up at the girl and smiled widely. "Also, what's your mutation?"

His acknowledgement of her statement made her grin and nod. She pretty much felt everyone living in the mansion had a similar view. Everyone got along pretty well, as far as she knew, and worked together for the betterment of everyone else. She could only imagine how things were during the day time with more people interacting with one another. The thought was both exciting and intriguing.

“Wow! That sounds really cool! So, you’re like Dr. Doolittle? At least the talking with animals part anyway.” She immediately wondered what conversations with animals would be like. Was it how they portrayed the in the movies? Why not ask? “Do the animals talk like in the movies? Are they all like, hey how’s it going?” She couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of a cat saying such a thing.

Victoria’s face took on a puzzled expression as she thought more on the idea. “Does it work on people who have animal traits?”

His question was one she was used to answering already. "I'm allergic to the sun. We don't mix very well."

>> “Wow! That sounds really cool! So, you’re like Dr. Doolittle? At least the talking with animals part anyway.”

Derek chuckled a bit, "I guess, in a way, I am like Dr. Doolittle." It was nice to be compared to such a character especially that's who he fell in love with.

>> “Do the animals talk like in the movies? Are they all like, hey how’s it going?”

Well, that was something that Derek had to think about. "Uh, not really. It's hard to explain, y'know? It's...more like their movements if anythin'." He tried to explain with a shrug of his shoulders. He ran a hand through his short hair and turned his attention back down to the books in front of him. Man, he had a lot of reading to do.

>> “Does it work on people who have animal traits?”

That also was a good question. "Uhhh...I dunno. I don't think so? I'll have to try it out."

>> "I'm allergic to the sun. We don't mix very well."

"Aw, no! I'm sorry about that!" Derek frowned some. He couldn't imagine being allergic to the sun.

Victoria was glad she could make…umm…she didn’t know his name. She forgot to introduce herself as well. How could she forget that? She liked learning people’s names in case she ever saw them at night again.

Straightening herself up more she made a proper introduction. “I’m sorry, I forgot to do this first. I’m Victoria and it’s very nice to meet you.” She said with a pleasant smile. “May I ask your name?” That was better. She nodded slightly to herself.

“So you just tell the animals how to move or what to do, but they don’t talk?” If the animals talked back that would be more fun, she thought so anyway. “If you’re going to try your mutation on someone with animal traits you might wanna ask if it’s ok first. Just to make sure they don’t get mad or freaked out when their tail or wing starts moving on its own. If it works that is.” Suddenly the girl was feeling kind of scientific about it all even though it wasn’t even about her.

His reply to her mutation question sort of made her feel like it might of made him feel sad. “It’s not your fault. I was born with it, so I’m used to it now.” She perked up and smiled. “That’s why I’m up talking with you now!”

"Nice to meet you, Victoria. I'm Derek." He introduced with a wide, warm smile on his face. He liked getting to know other mutants inside of the Mansion.

Derek scratched the back of his neck in thought. There was still a lot that Derek didn't know about his mutation and he doubted that he would ever be able to. Or, well currently that is. "I don't know how to explain it, but once I learn more about my self, I'l let you know." The twenty-year-old was starting to feel tired and would probably be heading to bed soon.

Derek smiled, "well, do you have other people to talk to at night?"

Nodding in acknowledgement of Derek’s reply, Victoria tried to help his confidence. “I know the teachers and probably some of the older students would be willing to help you understand how it works and what you can do with your mutation. They’re pretty good about that here. Or so I’ve heard from other students.” She spoke with a smile.

“Umm, it all depends on who’s awake at night I suppose. I don’t have any regular night time friends though.”

"I agree," Derek sighed and closed the book. He studied Victoria's face before smiling. "I think I'm gonna hit the hay. Maybe tomorrow we can stay up and talk some more." The twenty-year-old mutant gave her a smile before standing up from the chair. He the books back where originally found them.

"I'll see you around, Victoria. Nice meetin' you," and with that, Derek headed upstairs to sleep.