Lee was at the Sanctuary for the evening to help out. Though tonight was different than her normal volunteer work. Instead, Lee was sitting beside a bed, donned in a medical gown, mask, and gloves. Just to be on the safe side. The young woman who’s bed she was beside had powers that had something to do with diseases.

And despite the potential danger that being here caused, Lee also knew that it wasn’t right to let the girl lay here like this, all on her own. Even if she wasn’t conscious at the moment, Lee didn’t feel that the girl should wake up by herself.

But Lee also knew from experience that sitting beside the bed of someone who wasn’t conscious was extremely boring. So Lee was sitting there, a book in her gloved hands, reading as she sat there waiting.

In a slumber, her body remained within stillness. Hours passed, time concluded - it wasn’t entirely memorable to the female how she had gotten herself into this situation to begin with. Her body however, began to persistent against the diseases ambushing her immune system. Her eyes tenderly unlatched from each other, and her heart began furiously beating in her chest.

Being in this type of situation again, being monitored - worried her. She wouldn’t want to be labelled as a ‘science project’. This wouldn’t cause her as much paranoia because she had the advantage of her abilities now. Also, the individuals who volunteered at the facility were bewilderingly respectable of her own boundaries. She tried to remain calm but that wouldn't stop her from questioning the woman and her intentions.

“Who are you?” A crease in Larraine’s blanket appeared as she rolled her knees toward herself. Worry of the unknown was transparent throughout her words. As her eyes scanned her environment, Larraine’s paranoia began to lessen. A minor smile came across her face as she perceived the equipment the woman was wearing. It definitely was understandable to an extent, but she had never met another individual who had gone through so much precaution whilst around her. “Name's Larraine. I'm sure you're already aware of my abilities, right?” She introduced herself to the woman after gaining proper consciousness. Why not strive to be polite?

“I like your mask.. It’s interesting.” She groggily murmurs, a beam appearing covering her after after conveying her words. Her dazed-self wasn’t entirely entertaining either. Her eyes fixated onto the woman and then downwards to the book. “What book are you reading?” Larraine inquires, her expression lighting up as she questioned her. Reading couldn’t be considered an acquired hobby for her anymore. It seemed more so similar to that of an intense passion, a craving.

The book Lee had grabbed to read was not nearly as good as she had hoped. Still, while not the most entertaining thing in the world, Lee knew from experience that it was much better than sitting staring at the clock, or at an unmoving body in a bed.

Though, if Lee had been watching the body laying in the bed, she would have realized that the girl had woken up. If that had happened, then the words, sounding loud in the quiet room, wouldn’t have startled Lee. The initial shock over, Lee raised her eyes to look at the woman in front of her. A young woman who looked like she was only barely awake.

But she was asking questions, which was perfectly understandable given the circumstances. Such as waking up in what had to be a strange room, with a person you didn’t know sitting beside your bed.

”My name’s Lee,” she introduced herself. ”Blaine had to head to work, so he asked if I’d be here when you woke up.”

After another couple moments, time the young woman spent waking up it seemed, she introduced herself. And asked about knowing her mutation. Lee nodded slightly. ”Nice to meet you,” she replied, though she did not extend her hand to shake; there were too many things that could be passed on to her, and then the baby. A thought that Larraine seemed to share in a way when she asked about knowing her mutation. Lee nodded slightly again. ”A little, at least,” Lee told Larraine about the seed storage facility they were building to power the place. ”I thought it’d be better to be on the cautious side.”

She wanted to know about the book? Lee smiled slightly behind her mask as she set the book on the floor beside her, not even bothering to mark her place. ”It’s about vampires,” Lee replied as she straightened up again. ”And it’s absolutely horrible. The only reason I haven’t just tossed it is because it’s the only thing I’ve got to read here.

“But how are you feeling?”

The woman, Lee, was connected to Blaine. “Are you two partners?” She simply inquired, allowing herself to get into a more comfortable position on the bed. It was heartwarming to know that even when he wasn’t able to be in Larraine’s company and despite them not being too familiar with each other, he still asked another individual to care for her whilst she was unconscious. “I would assume that you were siblings, but you don’t appear to be that similar. At least not physically.”

She suddenly began to experience hot-flashes, however, moments afterwards faded. Instead of worrying about how agonizing the symptoms were, she instead worried for the woman sat at a distance from her. “It’s nice to meet you too,” Larraine mumbled. “This is regular for me - these symptoms. I wish that it was somehow different. But this is the way it is now.” That analogy depressed her in a way, mainly due to her wanting to revert time. Maybe then she would have more control over her abilities and would be able to conceal them away from her family.

Her eyes were attentively locked onto the book. “I prefer non-fictional books,” she confirmed. It wasn’t a particular preference as she changed her mind every few months depending on what interested her in that given time. “Is that BiLight?” She questioned. In all honesty, she had no idea behind the reasoning of BiLight's name. Perhaps it was pandering. There weren't even any bisexual people in the book, however, there were definitely love-triangles and later on, a demonic blood thirsting succubus of a child in the series. “At least it is entertaining in a completely, utterly unrealistic way. At the end of the day, who doesn’t want to be apart of a love-triangle between a vampire and a wolf?” It wasn’t entirely clear why she said that as she definitely wouldn’t want to be apart of a love-triangle; especially between mystical beings. But it was a understandable comment, especially coming from the lips of a teenager.

Larraine felt as if Lee was interrogating her, however, that was common for her to experience. She answered the question, “I would be lying if I said that I felt perfectly fine.” The reality of her situation was tiring, painful. It had become custom to feel the pain that was related to her abilities. “My abilities have their ups and downs, primarily downs - but at least I’m able to help other people. I don’t always want to help other people, believe me.” She scoffs, crossing her legs. She truthfully couldn’t recall the last time she was in company of an older woman. “How are you feeling, Lee?” Her mannerisms were polite as she questioned her.

Lee shook her head when Larraine asked her question. ”No, we are definitely not siblings,” Lee said, still shaking her head slightly. ”Nah, he’s my boyfriend. He wanted to stick around until you woke up, to make sure you were alright, but he had to go work, so he asked me to sit with you.”

Seeing the girl sudden break out in a sweat, Lee set her book down on a nearby table and grabbed a cloth that was sitting there. Then Lee stood up, taking a step forward, and gently wiped the sweat from Larraine’s brow as the girl explained that this was normal for her powers. ”And we will have to see what we can do about making this become less regular for you,” Lee said with a bit of a frown. ”If you want the help, that is. There are so many people around here willing and able to help, should you want it.”

The young woman seemed to be doing better after a few moments, so Lee set the cloth back down on the table and returned to her chair as Larraine started asking questions about the book she had been reading. ”No, it’s not Bilight,” Lee replied with a shake of her head.

But that wasn’t the last of Larraine’s thoughts on the book, and Lee just raised an eyebrow. ”I certainly wouldn’t want to be,” she said, with another shake of her head. ”Life and love are often difficult enough without having to deal with a love triangle. Hell, just trying to survive at times is hard enough.”

She’d be lying if she said she felt fine. Lee nodded. That was pretty obvious. ”Is there anything I can do to help?” Lee asked. That was what the Sanctuary was for, what she was there for. Then Lee smiled behind her mask when Larraine turned the question around. ”I am feeling fine,” she replied. ”Just have to find the right ways around when dealing with powers, and it seems that my oh so fashionable outfit here is doing the trick so far. And believe me, I’ve had to figure out more than my share of loopholes, workarounds, and ways to deal with my powers.”

Regardless how poorly written the book managed to be, it still garnered an attentiveness within Larraine due to conversational aspects and previous obsession. "I never thought I'd be in this situation again," her announcement was bittersweet. "At least society is starting to become more welcoming to the idea of mutants nowadays. That's a positive."

An appreciated sigh of release traveled throughout her lips as the older woman gently caressed her brow with the cloth. She fixated on a certain aspect of her words - or hint towards personal experience. "No one ever explains proper techniques on how to correct the faults in your.. abilities. My powers are even such a hassle that I can harm others from being around them. From simply being around them." She tries to remain as reasonable sounding as possible while conveying her thoughts, her genuine emotions. Her sentence however would enter a dark territory momentarily.


Her reaction to potentially disowning the Bilight series disappointed Larraine without her proper understanding why. Attachment wasn't a feeling she held dear to her, or so she assumed. It definitely wasn't an ideal read by any means necessary. It was however once of the first books that Larraine's prepubescent mind paid any layer of mind to. "Love seems difficult. Managing yourself and another person seems difficult too. There's a certain amount of maturity you need before crossing into that path and I believe often or not people enter relationships without realising certain aspects or not reflecting upon those aspects, then later adapting to it after their first breakup or two." She goes on a tangent. Shortly afterwards, she would apologetically grimace in the woman's direction. "But then again, Bilight isn't that mature, I suppose."

"I'm honestly not sure." She simplistically responded to her question about the different ways the woman could aid her whilst in her presence. "I commonly have to wait out the side-effects. They can last for hours, days. It began with one disease, an illness, a disorder. It spiraled out of my control." An unacknowledged tone fought against her understanding of her bodily functions. Her ability was unexplored and even bewildered the younger female. Despite the fact that she had suffered from her abilities for years.

"Basically, you're not experiencing any discomfort right now because my powers aren't projecting. That's a sign that soon all this'll be over with. Let's hope that no one else in this facility has a disease or two hidden within their bodies." A rare optimistic glare appears in her eyes, albeit briefly. "Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting fashion statement. I believe that you won't need it soon, however." She then cocked an eyebrow in Lee's direction to inquiry about the loopholes that she has personally faced herself, or so it seemed that way due to the timing of her expression.

Lee nodded slightly when Larraine said that people were growing more accepting of mutants. ”It’s been hard fought, but it’s about time,” Lee said, her voice soft to avoid putting too much emotion into it.

As Larraine explained a bit more about her powers, Lee nodded again, smiling sadly. ”It makes for a lonely life,” Lee said. ”Staying away from people, avoiding relationships so you don’t hurt anyone. Some people can actually work on their powers, test and figure them out, while others just are and there’s not a whole lot you can try to figure them out.”

Lee’s smile widened a bit at this point as she looked at the younger woman laying on the bed. ”But when you find the right people, with the right ideas, things can be figured out, and with how many people are around here, I’m sure we can find some way to help you.” Now, Lee knew that this was all dependant on whether Larraine actually wanted the help. Right now it sounded like she did, but it was possible that she would change her mind once she felt better.

The girl had an idea about love, but at the same time, not really. ”Love - real, true love - is probably both the easiest and hardest thing you’ll do,” Lee said after a few moments, her expression having turned thoughtful. ”But you shouldn’t have to ‘manage’ the other person, just...be with them. If you’re managing them, something probably isn’t right.”

Lee stopped there. She was here to keep the girl company, and considering they had literally just met, that likely didn’t include giving advice about love.

At least Larraine thought that she was getting closer to the end of what was going on with her powers. Lee nodded. ”So I can’t help with your powers right now, but can I help you with anything else? Do you need anything?”

“You’re telling me,” Larraine remarked in response to Lee’s statement about the acceptance of mutants. She then heeded the elder’s words, listening to her attentively, allowing their conversation extend. As this occurred, the contagion that swarmed within the depths of her body went into the final stage of its healing process.

“I believe that there’s hope for everyone.” A surprising, cut-short sentence is communicated to the woman, as the teenager smiled gently. “Even me, although I choose to disagree most of the time. It’s just irritating, that’s all - being looked down by the normies.” A continuation of expression is then pronounced from the young lady, as her eyes goggled toward the emptiness of her reflection in the glass of the window to her side.

A silence is established after Lee advised the girl about her overall concept of ‘misguided love.’ Throughout her statement, her head bobbed in an attentive manner, as she wouldn’t want to interrupt her. A thankful expression is then formed on her face as the woman finished her sentence. “You’re more experienced than I am in the love department. I wouldn’t doubt your knowledge.” She comments, smirking.

Momentarily, Larraine reflects on Lee’s next offer. “I wouldn’t necessarily reject help. I’m not exactly in the position to do that.” She replies boldly, with an emotive expression on her face as she moved side-wards, applying pressure to her feet as she went to stand from the bed. “Would you help me?” Her question had undertones of curiosity, suspicion and trust. Considering her current situation, that was to be expected regardless of her prior statement.

She then properly stood for the first time during their conversation, seemingly rehabilitated from her prior indispositions. She adds onto her previous question, “All I need is guidance away from the streets, and I want to be able to control my abilities.” Her words asserted a blunt desperation into the atmosphere, which forced Larraine to make eye contact with Lee to ease the importance of the utterance.