(OOC: Central Park at night, in the middle of a thunder/rainstorm. Open for up to 2 other characters.)

(OOC 2: Background of why Iris is standing out in the rain at night.)

Iris stood at the water’s edge, hands in her pockets, the dull violet of her eyes and hair an outward indication that her liquid gem was active. Yet, she let the rain cascade around her unhindered, let it soak into her clothes and skin. Her mind floated among a myriad of thoughts, not really focusing on any of them. She simply stood, enjoying the feel of the chilly wetness against her skin.

Events of the past few days had pushed her toward the proverbial ‘fork in the road’. Her past life no longer held her in its chaotic grasp. It could once more, if she chose to let it. Or she could start over. Not completely, of course. Her Tia and Tio, Hunter to a certain extent, her friends at the Mansion, Virote.... There were too important people in her life right now to simply discard and start completely over.

But she’d allowed the events of the past year to mold her into a very negative person. It was time to move on. Time to recreate her existence, and decide what to do with it. She’d seen both sides, really. During Registration, she’d seen how some humans took their hatred of mutants to extreme lengths. Before that, she saw the opposite, mutants unleashing their wrath on the rest of the world. The worst part about it? She could sympathize with both sides as well.

But which side to pick?

With her liquid gem active, the rain around her magnified her senses quite a bit. She heard footsteps squishing closer from behind, but she didn’t move. Several minutes later she heard the soft click! of a weapon being either drawn or cocked; whether a gun or switchblade, she couldn’t be sure.

”Ugly night to be out on your own, lady.”

She turned, unconcerned, to look over her shoulder, staring out from underneath violet hair pasted to her face by the rain.

New York City at night in the rain was beautiful. The reds and golds of the electric lights and the passing cars reflected off of dark windows and wet blacktop, creating vertical striped blurry flames. Even the soggy sky took on an orange glow as the light from the city bounced back, reflected of the clouds. The sky showed off its own impressive electric display, reminding the city that electricity had been around long before concrete and steel.

Sebastian wandered down streets at random, taking in the sights of the nighttime cityscape. He was soaked within minutes of stepping out of the huge golden doors of the sanctuary where he was living. He wasn't sure how the place managed to keep its overly ornate doors open when it didn't charge its tenants rent, but he paid in his own way by working in the infirmary. So far there hadn't been any major injuries, but Sebastian was a little paranoid that if he left for too long some terrible accident would occur whilst he was away. It wasn't that he didn't trust the nurses to handle things; he just didn't trust machinery to heal a person. Blinking lights and fancy knobs meant nothing when a person lay dying on the hospital bed, at least, that was what he had tried to tell the nurses. They had politely, but forcefully told him that he needed to take the night off. They had handed him some sort of device that they said would ring if they really needed him, and then sent him out the doors for some fresh air.

Sebastian still felt like a tourist in the large city. He hadn't had much of a chance to explore since his arrival. He stared up at the lights and blinked as raindrops fell into his eyes. Quite suddenly, he reached an area of shadowy darkness, lit only in winding pathways. The park, he realized. It was the same park he had visited on his very first day in the city. This time, he didn't need to hide the horn on his forehead beneath a baseball cap. His tail was tucked up under his jacket because he didn't want to drag it through puddles, not because it could have been cause to lock him up in a concentration camp. He had half a mind to shift right in the park and enjoy the refreshing rain without the soggy clothing that were limply clinging to his form, to splash through puddles with hooves rather than soaking tennis shoes, but he didn't shift. Even in at night, even in the rain, there were always other people around. The situation could easily turn awkward if anyone stumbled across him mid-transformation. Instead he followed one of the dimply lit trails through the shadowy trees.

"Hand out of your pockets, princess."

Iris regarded the man pointing a small handgun at her. Very deliberately she turned around, and held her hands away from her body obediently. The man nodded his head sharply to the right.

"Search her."

Her eyes flicked slowly sideways as another figure appeared from the drenched shadows. This one held a short blade, and smirked at her.

"Don't move, and this will go much faster."

He approached, and began fishing through her pockets, and patting down her body, a rougher version of a cop frisk. Her eyes drifted back toward the one in front of her holding the gun. He looked to be close to her height; this city sure seemed to house some tall men. She wasn't used to being able to look people in the eye, or look up. The one going through her stuff was shorter than her, and leanly built. And he kept twitching....

"Not much here. Just a couple cards and a phone. No cash."

Iris rolled her eyes. After the kidnapping, she'd taken to only carrying her ID and a couple credit cards, and a bit of cash for food. They were easier to keep track of.

The first one swore. "Fine. Keep the cards. Dump the phone."

"Don't do that." Both men stared at her. The second sneered, and approached her again. Short though he was, he stood on his tiptoes to hold his knife in her face menacingly.

"You don't have a say, lady. You'd better be glad we're leaving you alive."

She blinked at him. A yawn abruptly made its involuntary way out of her mouth. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Can't help it. Can I have my stuff back now?"

The man laughed in her face, and she grimaced. Rank breath. The two men laughed, obviously thinking she was joking. After all, what was one unarmed woman to two armed assailants?

"Maybe we should rough her up a bit," the short mugger suggested. "Remind her who's turf she's on."

The first grinned, revealing teeth that were in serious need of a dentist.

"Ugh.... this is so cliche'...." Iris shook her head. Had she been her normal frame of mind, she'd probably be shaking in her shoes right then. But under the tanzanite's effect, the only thing these two bozos were accomplishing was getting on her nerves.

"Just give me stuff back, fellas. I'm getting tired over here."

The rain continued to pelt down.

Sebastian continued along the path, shoes squelching and hair dripping. He heard voices up ahead and almost decided to skirt around them to continue on his solitary way, but something about the situation seemed a bit off. The voices were a bit too emotion charged, a bit too harsh sounding, to belong to people who were simply strolling through the park.

Sebastian ducked off the path and into the shadows of the trees. Even his white skin and hair would be hard to spot through the curtains of rain and the veils of shadows. Carefully, he made his way around to where he could hear what they were saying. If it turned out to be nothing of importance, he could leave and no one would be the wiser. If something was amiss like he expected it was, he could perhaps step in to do something about it.

>>>"Maybe we should rough her up a bit, "Remind her who's turf she's on."
>>>"Ugh.... this is so cliche'.... Just give me stuff back, fellas. I'm getting tired over here."

Something was definitely wrong here. The men thugs obviously had less-than-pure intentions, but the woman seemed to be taking it rather well, at least, she wasn't panicking. Sebastian decided to step in: it wasn't a difficult choice. He wasn't about to let a couple of thugs take advantage of an innocent woman.

“You heard the lady,” he stated with confidence as he emerged from the shadows. He stood up as straight and tall as his 5'6'' allowed as he walked with purpose toward the woman.

“Give back the things you took and get out of here,” his voice was confident with an edge of anger to it. His somewhat shorter than normal tail swished behind him. There was no hiding he was a mutant, perhaps that would actually be helpful in this situation. Even if he was the shortest one out of all of them, the thugs would have no way of knowing what he was capable of doing. Hopefully they would back down.

Iris's eyes drifted sideways as a third figure materialized out of the rain.

“You heard the lady. Give back the things you took and get out of here.”

Well, at least this one was on her side. Maybe. Wait.... Was that a tail??

She tilted her head away from her assailants and craned her neck to see. Yes, it was indeed a tail. White and bedraggled from the rain, and oddly lion-like, but definitely a tail. So that likely meant he was-

"A mutant!"

She turned sharply back toward the muggers. Yeah, that's exactly what she was thinking. It didn't bother her as much as it seemed to bother the two thieves, however.

The gunman swung his weapon toward the newcomer, while the other one started yelling, "Kill it! Kill it!" Iris snorted, thinking he sounded like a housewife that just stumbled across a mouse or spider.

There could be a much larger mess, however, if this continued. She reacted out of instinct, more than anything. Before he could full twist and shoot, the mindless rainfall seemed to develop intelligence. A watery sheet solidified and slapped wetly across his wrists, knocking the shot well off-target. A second hit slammed across his face, with enough force to spin him around and lay him out on the ground.

Both the gun and Iris's belongings scattered. She grumbled, and moved forward to retrieve them, glancing sideways to see how Mr. Tail Man was handling Mugger Number Two.

Something about Mr. Tail Man sure seemed familiar....

>>>"Kill it! Kill it!"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at that remark and snorted, the sound distinctly horse-like. Like he hadn't heard that before. Funny how the attitude of fear and hate for those who are different never changed.

Before he could react further to the outburst, three things seemed to happen at once. The gun went off, the rain seemed to twist around and knock the gun out of the gunman's hand, and the bullet thudded into a tree far to one side of where Sebastian was standing. Either the rain was learning to have a mind of its own or the woman was every bit as much a mutant as himself.

So that left the shorter twitching one holding the knife for Sebastian. Slowly he walked toward the mugger.

“Just drop the knife. It won't do you any good against me.” Even if you stab me, I'll just heal again.

The man glanced nervously at his partner for direction, but his partner was already down for the count. The man twitched, then lunged toward Sebastian, swinging the blade up toward the unicorn man's stomach. He was neither subtle enough, nor fast enough, to do any damage. Sebastian merely stepped out of the way and the man tripped as he tried to change directions and the knife went clattering off into the dark. The man pushed himself to his feet and with a nervous backwards glance, ran off into the darkness, leaving his comrade behind.

“That could have gone much worse. Thank you for knocking his aim off. It would not have been much fun to get shot.”

Iris shook her head as the knife-wielder made a very sloppy attack, disappeared into the curtain of rain, abandoning his supposed friend. 'Friend' being used loosely.

“That could have gone much worse."

Iris shook off her cards, glad they were laminated.

"Thank you for knocking his aim off. It would not have been much fun to get shot.”

"I'll bet." She returned them to her pocket, then turned to give her 'savior'. "You're welcome."

She pushed the soaked hair out of her face, blinking away the water. The rain obstructed her view of him, which elicited a feeling of annoyance. So she reached out to push the dripping liquid away from him, leaving him completely dry, and her able to see clearly. She tilted her head and frowned.

"I know you.... from somewhere...."

Sebastian turned around to see if the woman had missed picking up any of her belongings from the ground. It was hard to see with all the rain dripping in his eyes. He flicked his tail in annoyance and quite suddenly the rain stopped. Or rather was deflected away from him as if there were a giant invisible umbrella over his head.

“Thank you again,” Sebastian responded, flicking his tail to get the water droplets off.

>>>"I know you.... from somewhere...."

Sebastian straightened up in surprise, “You do?” He tried to search through his brain for any women he had met since his arrival in the United States. She wasn't from the Sanctuary. As far as he knew she hadn't been at any of the apartment buildings he had briefly visited. She certainly hadn't been at the hospital or the Labs, both of which had so graciously hosted him for a short time, free of charge. Perhaps he had met her in another lifetime. It was certainly possible that she could be a reincarnated spirit of a former acquaintance.

“I don't mean to be rude, but I don't recall having met you before.” There were still a lot of memories he could sift through. Perhaps it would come to him. Certainly he had met others with a similar calm and carefree manner, the way she had been almost bored with her assailants.

“Perhaps we should have another introduction, to jog my faulty memory. I am Sebastian Csendes.” He bowed and swooped up her hand at the same instant, touching it lightly to his lips before letting it fall back into place.

“I don't mean to be rude, but I don't recall having met you before.”

Was he being rude? Iris certainly didn't think so. Though in her current state of mind he could be and she wouldn't care much.

“Perhaps we should have another introduction, to jog my faulty memory. I am Sebastian Csendes.”

An amused expression crossed her dripping face, somewhat obscured by her hair, when he bowed and kissed her hand. His gentlemanly demeanor struck her as completely out of place with modern.... correction, 'local' society.

She inclined her head as a less formal gesture. "Iris Belamount."

She took a closer look, and spotted the small horn in the middle of the man's forehead. Her eyes flicked downward again. A horn and a tail? That was a unique combination, even by mutant standards.

She realized that she was the one being rude now, by staring. "Sorry." She released her hold on the rainfall, allowing it to return to its natural path.

.... And idly came to the conclusion that dumping the water back on him like that probably didn't fall in the 'polite' category either.

"Erm.... Sorry about that," she apologized again.

"Thank you for the help. I was just thinking. Wasn't expect company on a night like this." She took a deep breath, then smiled slightly. "Guess I should know better, huh?"

Roland had been watching from under his large black umbrella, a pair of low light binoculars pressed into his eyes. He had seen this woman in the rain before at the Park. The Park seemed to be an excellent place to look for people he could use. Mutants seemed to flock there, perhaps as a way to disappear from the bright lights and live in their own happy little world. He had the definite feeling she was a mutant from slight variations in the rain as it poured down on her.

The thugs had been easy enough to produce as there were originally three, two guys and a girl. They had decided to tax him first and now the girl was handcuffed to the bench, being good and quiet. The boys had simple instructions, to mug the woman pointed out, keep what they like and then return, where they could have their woman back. The instructions specified that the quality of the woman they returned to depended on their performances and that they were being watched. So off they went.

He watched them pat her down and brandish their weapons. The look on the woman's face was priceless , especially considering her yawn in the middle of it all. Everything seemed to be going to plan until a second party joined the fray. The horn on the man's head and the tail hanging from behind gave Roland an extra bit of delight as there were now two mutants to document. The thugs seemed to take the mutant's appearance badly, not to mention the effect of the rain acting against the one who was now laid out at their feet, sending the other screaming and panicking and now running back to Roland. He shook his head and made a 'tsk' sound. Amateur was running straight for him, not even doubling back. Good thing the mutants hadn't decided to give chase.

"Okay, man! We did your deed for you! Now let Lola go!" Roland smiled. "You did as well as could be expected. Did you get anything? Credit card? ID?" The fool brandished a knife and started waving it around at Roland."Man, screw you and your deal. We went down there, we keep what is ours. Now let Lola go, or I swear you'll be ---glllk!" Roland had stepped forward and stabbed the boy in the throat with his own knife. Lola didn't seem to mind, seeing how the wait had been too much to bear for her. The boy gurgled as blood freely ran and bubbled from the hole in his throat. "Nope, still not sorry"

“Nice to meet you Ms. Belamount,” Sebastian knew that most people called each other by their first names even after they had just met. He thought about just calling her Iris, but couldn't help himself. The old fashioned ways had rubbed off on him and stuck with him through the years and he didn't quite care to discard them yet.

He waited patiently while she seemed to be analyzing his facial features. Was she still trying to figure out where she had seen him before? She apologized for staring, then let the rain return to its normal path, pelting Sebastian yet again with water. He smiled good-naturedly as she apologized yet again.

“If I had wanted to stay dry, or be a living page from an alphabet book, I would have brought an umbrella.”

>>>"Thank you for the help. I was just thinking. Wasn't expect company on a night like this... Guess I should know better, huh?"

“Nor would I expect to find company on an evening like this. I suppose the weather brings out the solitary thinkers and the solitary thinkers attract the attention of thieves and cutthroats who prey on the innocent.”

“I suppose standing in the rain has lost its appeal. Perhaps we should move to somewhere safer. What do you think we should do about him?” Sebastian indicated with his chin toward the unconscious man, still lying on the sidewalk. Certainly he could heal him, but Sebastian suspected the man had suffered not much more than an impressive bruise. Perhaps the marks would be a visual reminder of one reason not to mug people.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Belamount. If I had wanted to stay dry, or be a living page from an alphabet book, I would have brought an umbrella.”

Iris chuckled. "No offense, but if you were a bit more horse-like, with that horn and tail of yours you'd make an amusing alphabet book entry. U stands for Unicorn, carrying an umbrella. Oh what a lucky fella!"

She had no clue how close she was with the unicorn comment. It just seemed to fit his remark.

“Nor would I expect to find company on an evening like this. I suppose the weather brings out the solitary thinkers and the solitary thinkers attract the attention of thieves and cutthroats who prey on the innocent.”

"Not all solitary thinkers are innocent," she replied quietly, her gaze drifting slightly sideways into the dark. She hadn't really intended to answer out loud, as it was merely a passing thought with no meaning. She shook her head and refocused on her horned acquaintance.

I suppose standing in the rain has lost its appeal."

So it did. She smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of it beat on her face.

"Perhaps we should move to somewhere safer."

A shame Sebastian disagreed. Ah well.

"What do you think we should do about him?”

Iris opened her eyes and tilted her head toward the prone mugger. For a moment she just looked. It would be so easy to leave him there. Just walk away, never look back. If she were on her own, or even under the influence of a different facet of her mutation, she'd do just that. It was so easy to just turn your back on someone you don't know, or someone who's done you wrong.

She sighed, walked over to the man, and knelt by his head. She felt for a pulse, and found it strong and steady.

She held out her hand, palm down. The rain once more seemed to take on a mind of its own, pooling beneath the thug's body. He was lifted several inches above the ground. With a gentle wave, the blob moved, along with its burden, to a nearby tree, and flipped over slowly, leaving the man on his back, partially shielded from the downpour.

"He'll be fine," she remarked blandly, then turned to her fellow mutant. "If you're looking to dry off and warm up, there's a cafe about a block that way. We can walk it fairly quickly."

Though she wasn't really keen on the idea of leaving her namesake behind, she did need to find someplace quiet, before her gem deactivated on its own, and she passed out.

Roland made the knife return to his utility belt as it was replaced with a high end digital camera phone. He grinned , zooming in as the boy, still somehow twitching, kept reaching for his foot. He gave him a swift kick, silencing him.He continued zooming in on the mutant pair as they maneuvered around the other thug. As the unicorn pointed at the thug, Roland took a picture, a lovely profile of him standing above the boy.

e smiled as the next picture came easily. The female mutant had her hand on the boy's neck, surely checking for a pulse. He took several shots before and after, hoping for something indistinct in motive. He was equally fortunate to take several shots of her raising him on a platform of water. He neglected, however, to take any of the victim being placed gently under the tree. Not as if he was going to wake up, anyway. He looked around and made sure he hadn't left anything behind, making his way down the trail.

He snapped one shot off as they walked away from yhe scene and then stood half hidden in the foliage, snapping pictures of the two as they walked away. " Not even a shred of concern for your alleged victim. How callous." He snickered to himself and then stood as close as he could to the boy while staying on a path, ensuring no footsteps were left nearby. He saw a nice, sizeable rock and moved it to three feet above the boy's head. Gravity did the rest. He could see some gurgling, so to make sure it was finished, he "dropped' it two more solid tiems from varying heights.

>>>"Not all solitary thinkers are innocent,"

No, he supposed they weren't. The way she looked away at that moment made it seem a bit like she was feeling guilty for something.

As he mentioned moving somewhere else, Iris looked up, letting the rain fall right in her face as if she were trying to absorb it. Of course, she was a water manipulator. Perhaps she preferred to stand in the rain. For that matter, perhaps she preferred to remain in the park where suspicious people seemingly lurked behind every tree. She did seem perfectly capable of defending herself, and perhaps enjoyed the adrenaline rush. Perhaps he was inadvertently being rude to make such an offer.

While the unicorn man pondered this, his companion bent to check the mugger's pulse and used her gift to move him toward a tree. At least he wouldn't drown while he was unconscious.

>>>"He'll be fine," she remarked blandly, then turned to her fellow mutant. "If you're looking to dry off and warm up, there's a cafe about a block that way. We can walk it fairly quickly."

She certainly didn't sound enthusiastic about the idea, but perhaps it was the fact that she had just been mugged that gave her the expressionlessness in her voice.

“Warming up does sound good, at least to me. Perhaps I can coax you in out of your element with a cup of coffee? My treat.”

It seemed like it had gotten colder out since he had left the Sanctuary, or perhaps the cold was finally starting to sink into his bones. For some reason the night didn't seem quite as beautiful as it had when he had first ventured out, when he had been oblivious to the ill intentioned shadows lurking in the darkness.

--

Melissa Rivers turned her coat collar up against the chilly wind, then peered through her own camera lens. She didn't bother taking any pictures, because the darkness and the raindrops would have messed up the resolution of the pictures anyhow. The digital zoom did help magnify the little drama that was playing out on the sidewalk. Interesting how oblivious some people could be. She waited for the dynamic duo to wander off towards some warmer dryer location and wondered if they would be hooking up. Knights in shining armor and all that. Not that she cared. She continued to wait until the other man with the camera was finished, apparently making sure all of the muggers were finished off. He was an efficient one. Truly, this night was turning out to be more interesting than she had anticipated. She had started out tailing a mutant that had been holed up in the sanctuary for days, then he actually decided to go out, for once. It seemed he was up to his normal interfering do-gooder activities and nothing more. The other man was much more interesting.

She put away her camera and walked down the path towards his location, not trying to stay hidden, just walking. She stopped not far from where he was hidden.

“You are very efficient, it seems. Would you care to join me for a walk, sir?”

“You are very efficient, it seems. Would you care to join me for a walk, sir?”

The phone vanished from his hand, replaced by the umbrella. Roland spun on his heels to find the young lady looking at him. There was no reason to make any sudden moves. He was caught if there was catching, killed if killing. Best to make the best of the situation. He stepped close enough to also shield her from the rain and continue the illusions to anymore onlookers, should there be any more eyes in the night. Putting distance between himself and the crime scene was also an excellent idea. " Thank you for noticing, Miss. You must be my superior though. Perhaps this walk is for educational purposes?"

He made sure to keep his hands free and visible in case the lovely young lady had eyes attached to rifles. Only the innocent umbrella covered them. " I take it you aren't the police or I'd be in handcuffs nor a casual onlooker hence the lack of screaming. " He stood still for a moment." Identities aren't that important, really. Which way are we walking, by the way?"