When you're angry, you can walk for miles without feeling tired. After the New Years Tses had, that was certainly the case. Leaving behind her apartment not far from Central Park, she'd made her way halfway across Manhattan it seemed, just trying to drown her thoughts away with her CD player blaring music in her ears.

Now everything that I love has died or has been shattered to pieces
It's always the same, they fear no way out

The sound tracks of her CD seemed to fit the emotions welling out in her heart, and the only therapy was the physical exhaustion that came from the several mile march. Her arms were covered with her arm bands, usual fishnets, and her long sleeved overshirt she had worn when she first came to this city. Her knees got nipped by the cold that went through her leggings, but she didn't care. Most New Yorkers had bundled up in jackets and coats, but she didn't bother. The only jacket she had was his, and right now, she wanted nothing to do with it. Her boots left tracks in the snowy pathways, and her feet gave the occasional tingles of pain where the skin was still new and raw. She was pushing her body again, threatening to lengthen her recovery time. But her pride and her pain was pushing above it all.

As her CD looped for the second time, Tses started moving back towards her familiar district of town. She started to regret how far it was, however, when a flurry of snow started falling. She knew she was going to be frozen by the time she made it back, her hair already covered in tiny snowflakes, and her feet felt cold even behind the think leather of her boots. She grumbled and sighed, trying to stop herself from sinking further into depression. This whole year was turning into a disaster. She was ready to just scrap the whole thing, and wished that were possible. Just burn up the first few days and pretend they hadn't happened. Start back at December 31st. No, December 1st. Before she met Ty, before any of this happened... she could just go back to being a thief, looking out for herself, and not taking anyone's shit.

Sighing, she came to an intersection, and started across with a few other pedestrians. Traffic was limited today, and most people had already ducked inside for shelter. As the blizzard picked up strength, she found herself one of the few lonely figures walking her way home. It was another wonderful winter day, and she was too cold to care.

Jacob was having just a little bit too much fun in the rotten weather for most people’s comfort. Having grew up in up-state New York, as well as having being stationed in Alaska for a time, driving in the snow wasn’t really a problem, at all… in fact, it was downright fun. His tires spun, slinging snow onto the sidewalks as he drifted around a turn, sliding on the slick snow with the precision of a scalpel. Indestructible by Disturbed was blaring through the vamped up speakers he had installed, and there was a smile on his face from ear to ear that would have been home on a demon. The engine growled with thunderous power as he slid around another corner, very aware and pleased that there weren’t many people on the road… but ever watchful that his fun didn’t get out of hand and become dangerous.

He was in town picking up a batch of parts for his pistol, who’s design was coming to steady fruition, this batch being in a small box on the leather bench seat beside him. He had finally gotten the pieces he needed for the trigger assembly, which were just the basic blocks. He would use a file and some other tools he had in the shop to custom make the pieces so they would fit, but it was coming together beautifully. A few more days and some more work, and he would finally have everything he needed. A 50 caliber pistol with a built in suppressor forged directly into the barrel, it would be whisper quiet and take down the biggest issue he was having that day. Not to mention his designs for the non-lethal rounds were almost done, but it was more chemistry than anything mechanical, and thus, he was more of a novice just figuring it out.

His black 67 Impala came around another corner, and he quickly let the engine rev down and slowed as he saw a young woman trekking through the oncoming blizzard, and very ill equipped to handle the environment. She seemed angry about something, just based on her pace and the fact that she obviously hadn’t been thinking when she left her house. Still, she was going to freeze, or at least get frostbite with the wind picking up in strength, and he couldn’t let that happen. Pulling over to the side of the road next to her but a short distance ahead so she could see the opportunity, he reached over and swung open the door.

“Hop in, before Old Man Winter kicks your ass any more than he has to,” he said with a friendly smile. He was a big guy, standing at 6’ 3” with next to no hair and a fairly muscular build, but his eyes and smile were kind, and he hoped she would see the logic in being in the warmth rather than trekking through the snow.

Tses had been a street kid long enough that she knew to be cautious when a car slowed down next to you. Even being a mutant, there were still situations you kept yourself out of, and muggings and attacks were still valid risks. No one had ever tried anything, but she knew a kid that got picked up back in Chicago, and they found her body about a week later. While Tses didn't know her, she understood the reality of what could happen, and it cave her a level of care. Through the snow, she peered at the classic car, and felt her face wrinkle with suspicion. It could either be some rich snob hoping to pick up a date, or just a random stranger noticing her rather frozen appearance. Moving forward like a stray to a strangers hand, she gazed into the cab of the car, and frowned slightly. It was hard to judge the stranger by appearance. He was a bigger guy, well built, but his expression seemed friendly enough. Her mind was betting towards good Samaritan, but she inwardly felt for her powers, just to be on the safe side. She didn't activate them, but she knew she had enough energy to defend herself if need be.

"I'm not sure you want me dragging this snow into your car." she said, arms crossed over her chest. Her face was pink from the cold, and her hair frosted with snowflakes. but her eyes looked colder than anything else: she always had a stare that could deter people from messing with her. One of the kids in Chicago had told her that she had a stance that dared people to try something. Maybe she did. But unlike a lot of people, her expression wasn't an idle threat.

Her eyes shifted from the man's face to the car just long enough to satisfy her curiosity. Even though she was 22 years old, Tses had never driven a car, let alone sat in one. She had taken trains, buses and a number of public transportation devices, but cars were still a mystery to her.

Jacob gave a slight chuckle at the young woman, concerned about tracking in a little snow in his car. “The leather protector I put on the leather will keep anything from doing any damage, and I would rather run that risk than let you freeze to death.” The truth was, he could see right through that excuse… her eyes spoke volumes. She didn’t trust the young mechanic, and living here, Jacob didn’t blame her. Still, she would freeze, and there wasn’t a bone in his body that didn’t want to help her out. “I don’t bite, I promise… I just don’t want you to catch any frostbite or any other cold weather injury…” And there was the Army coming out to play. No one called it ‘Cold Weather Injury’ except the military, and he couldn’t call the words back now, but perhaps that too would reassure her… if she even made the connection.

He also noticed that the young woman was eyeing his car, which made his pride swell just a little, considering the car was one of his proudest accomplishments. Fully restored, there wasn’t a speck of rust or any other damage on it, and the engine was powerful enough that he could probably burn out at a standstill without even meaning to. Not that he would want to ruin his tires so quickly with such a stunt, unless he was getting ready to change them out anyway.

Jacob tried to think of a way to assure her that he wasn’t going to try any funny business, and the only thing that came to mind was simply empowering the woman a little further. “Listen… I’m not going to try to twist your arm, but I’m done with work for the day, and I wouldn’t mind dropping you off somewhere. Better you be warm and get there than freeze to death, in my opinion, but ultimately, it’s your decision.” He would leave it at that, and see what she wanted to do. Grabbing the box out of the seat, he placed it into the back seat, and waited for her to make her choice patiently.

The man's reaction said a lot more than his actual words. He stayed calm and collected, and didn't overdo his attempts to reassure her. There was a difference between people who meant you harm and those that were genuinely trying to help. People who meant wrong showed subtle signs of irritation when you turned them down. People who tried to help usually shrugged off the offer and went on their way, because they were being nice and had better things to do anyway. The fact he wasn't overdoing his insistence was enough to make her consider the offer, and the weather outside made her cave the rest of the way.

On her back, the snow was sinking through her clothes, and her neck was being bitten by the cold wind. The car seemed warmer, and would definitely get her off her feet, which were starting to prickle with pain. He talked a bit more, trying to reassure her, and she felt herself give a smirk when he said he didn't bite. Her eyes had a small flicker of something that was amused and dangerous under the surface.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you don't bite. Because I tend to 'bite' back." She let herself sink into the seat of the car, and shut the door behind her, rubbing her hands together to try and warm up. She nodded her head down the road in the direction of central park, and tucked her legs close to make less space for her body heat to travel.

"I'm heading down towards central park. If you let me out there I can make it the rest of the way." She said. It was at least a mile away, and she was feeling relieved not to be making the walk by herself now. She glanced around the car, unable to hide a small amount of curiosity that slipped through. There were a number of different objects between the seats and then little displays on the other side of the steering wheel. She wondered what all of them meant, and felt that age old feeling of frustration. She hated not understanding things; but she also enjoyed being close enough to see more.

She considered the offer for a moment more, and made an amusing comment, but there was also some truth to it too. He could hear it in her voice… there was more than just a joke there, there was a little bit of a warning, and it would not have been wise to not pay attention to that. Luckily, he would have no issue with that, as he didn’t want anything more than to help her warm up a bit and get her where she was going. Reaching over, he directed the middle vent down a bit, as it didn’t have a side-to-side adjustor, and pointed towards one more near the door. “Should be plenty of heat coming from that vent, just keep your hands there a few moments and you should be warmed up before long.” With that, he was given directions, and the engine growled just a smidge louder as he eased towards the destination.

No need to be drifting with a passenger he could easily startle. He also wouldn’t argue with her hoofing it the rest of the way… she still had no reason to trust him, and obviously didn’t want him knowing where she lived. That was a perfectly safe thing to do, but it also meant she was good with forward planning and being precautious. She was thinking a step ahead, which was a good trait that was missing in a lot of people, made them susceptible to getting themselves in trouble more often than not.

He noticed her idle curiosity, and smirked a little bit. His old car had the most basic of basics, hardly anything compared to modern day rigs… and she still seemed a little more than a kid in a new classroom, checking things out. “I’m guessing you haven’t saved up enough for your own car,” he said more as a fact that anything, but a gentle enough ice-breaker, and a way to ease into a conversation by introducing himself and what he did for a living. “I’m Jacob. I built this car from the ground up… started on it when I was about seven I think. Baby is an old sweetheart.” He also used his right hand to cross his body and provide it for a small handshake, if she was willing, and while his shake was firm, it was not crushing despite his build.

Tses put her hands into the stream of heat, and the warm air hurt her fingers a little bit. But eventually she started to warm up, and the prickling pain started turning into more of a warmth. Outside the window, the snowflakes left little blurs of white, and the city looked like it was in a giant snow globe.

The stranger caught her distracted gaze, and Tses felt like she was caught with her hand in refrigerator. She felt a tiny bit of pink tint her cheeks, hardly enough to be noticeable, and she gave a little shrug of her shoulders. "I've never even been in a car."[/color] Tses said. She said it as a statement, without any sign of being embarrassed about it. It was just a fact of life. She resisted the urge to mess with the vent now that she saw it moved, and glanced at the driver. Her brain was buzzing with little bits of information as she tried to figure out how everything worked. The only thing she really recognized were the steering wheel and the petals, but that was mostly from the little racing games in the mall.

"I'm Tses." She answered, and in her brain she tried to process what it would have been like building a car when she was seven. It seemed too ambitious, but then again, she was living on the streets by 9. Everyone started somewhere, he just started out covered in grease instead of snow.

Jacob was very observant, so the slight flush was something he caught, but only barely. She was still young at heart, but that was just a very surface emotion that only revealed a small hint of what was hidden beneath the surface. The longer that she stayed in the car and talked, reacted, and spoke, the more pieces of the puzzle would be put into place and the more he would understand her.

“It’s nice to meet you Tses. So, why haven’t you ever been in a car? Just never had the need or desire?” A simple, safe question that could shed some light on her life a little, but without prying too hard. She could also re-direct it if she didn’t like the question or felt uncomfortable, allowing her an escape if she wanted it. Still, he wanted to know more about the young woman, and what circumstances would place her out in the cold without a jacket… and he wanted to ask, but had a feeling that it might be a sore subject.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

“Feel free to tell me it’s none of my business, but what had you stuck outside in the cold, no jacket, and marching like you were on a war path?” It was a simple question, but one that needed to be asked, because something had to have bothered her pretty badly to be stuck in that kind of situation.

Tses smirked slightly at his question, and chuckled, pushing her hair out of her face. It was now slightly dripping with melted snow, and leaving little dribbles of water down her face. "Nah, I've never had the opportunity." she didn't elaborate much more on it. She didn't act like she minded him asking, she just wasn't offering up any extra information. The whole 'I've been homeless since I was 9' type thing tended to just sound whiny and pitiful.

She frowned slightly at his second question though, and shrugged her shoulders. "Don't usually wear a jacket. Pretty used to the cold. But I walked a bit further than normal. It's been a bad year so far, and I felt like having some time to collect my thoughts." She pulled her headphones off her neck, and shook a few flick of water from the plastic on them. Now that the snow on her was starting to melt, she had to make sure the water didn't ruin her CD player.

"Some people go for a drive. I go for a walk." She commented, and fiddled with the seat-belt buckle to the left of her, trying to figure out what the metal was for. She glanced behind her seat, and found a piece of metal attached to a piece of very strong fabric, if you could call it that. She remembered seeing these on buses. Seat belts. The word clicked into her brain. The only time she really saw them though was in clothing boutiques where they were actually used for 'belts'.

Jacob shrugged slightly towards her comment about not having the opportunity, and followed it up with something simple. “Well, if you are ever in the market, I know a thing or two about cars, and I might be able to help you out. I own a shop outside of town that doubles for a junkyard, and there are plenty of inexpensive vehicles I can put together pretty cheap.” Reaching down, he grabbed a small card out of the cup-holder there, holding it out to her so she could take it. It was nothing fancy, just had ‘Jacob’s Junkyard and Shop’, an address, and a phone number on it.

Moving away from that topic, she went into a little bit of what had happened, without actually telling him anything. He respected the way she was able to maneuver in the conversation without giving much away, but by her body language, she was agitated, and it wasn’t because she found out her fridge stopped working and her food was spoiled. Someone had messed up the start of the new year, and she had done the grown up thing and walked away and let herself cool off… although the snow seemed to want to turn her into a Tses-sicle.

She fumbled for the seat belt for a moment, which in this vehicle was just a simple lap belt, and he smirked. Using his knee to hold the steering wheel, he unfastened his own and showed her the basic operation. “Keeps you in place if someone were to hit me… but in this car, we would win just about any fight. Baby here is made completely out of steel, not the fiberglass you see in all the modern cars, so she is built like a tank.

Tses took the card with a 'thank you', the word gradually becoming more familiar to her. While she still wasn't a very polite individual, she was learning some of the smaller pieces of being sociable. She took the little paper and tucked it into a pouch she had strapped to her calf just inside her boot, then watched as he showed her the seat belt. It was simple enough, and it made a lot more sense once he explained it. She tested hers once, buckling it, then she decided she didn't like how trapped it made her feel and pushed the button to release it. The material felt like a tough piece of leather, but made of hundreds of strands. She resisted the urge to mess with it more, and glanced at the stranger.

"I can't imagine why you'd want to strap yourself to a hunk of metal..." She muttered, and let the seat-belt return to it's original position. She then wiggled slightly and crossed her arms again, glancing out the window and trying to figure out where they were in the city. Traffic in New York always seems to crawl, and she wondered if she would have made it faster on foot.

"And thanks for the offer, but I don't know how useful a car would be in this city. I feel like vehicles spend more time standing still than moving." She commented.

The simple thank you, a dying word it seemed, was a good sign that she had some courtesy, and it went a long way to show that kind of respect in Jacob’s eyes. Having been a NCO in the Army, respect was something like money… hard to obtain and valuable beyond measure. He chuckled a little at the way she had phrased the bit about her seatbelt, but didn’t really press too far with that. He would, however, provide a simple explanation. “The seat belt makes sure that if someone were to hit me, I don’t go flying through the windshield or anything crazy like that. It keeps my butt right here, regardless of what happens… but to be honest, I also tend to do a little bit of drifting in the snow, so I am a little more risky than some.” The traffic, having been stuck for a moment while some idjit got his car out of the road that he had slid into a light pole, finally cleared up, and they were moving again.

He nodded thoughtfully at her words. “Honestly I agree with you, if you don’t want to leave the city. But if you ever go anywhere but here or another one of the main hubs, a car is a must.” Simple enough, it was true. Getting anywhere was a pain in the neck unless you had a car or you didn’t leave outside a few miles from your home. They were fast approaching the park where she said she wanted to be dropped off, but the park was very large… had a several block circumference. “Which part of the park did you want me to drop you off at?”

Tses thought about what he said for a moment, glancing at the seat belt, then at the windshield. Secretly, she was calculating rather or not her powers would be any good in a car crash, and she eventually decided that they wouldn't be much use. Unless she wanted to try and bust the windshield first, but then she would end up rolling through glass, and from experience, that was rather painful to go through.

"I guess that would be better than eating pavement. Still don't like the idea of being strapped to anything though." Tses said, and she subconsciously rubbed her wrapped arms. In her mind, she remembered being tied to the hospital bed a few weeks back, and that memory sent a little chill down her spin. In a way, flying out the window seemed better. She could deal with physical pain. Emotional stuff was much harder to handle. That was the same thinking that drove her into the snow to walk for a few miles. She could deal with a cold. but the pain in her heart wouldn't go away.

"I don't know what I'd do if I left the city. The only place I've been to besides New York is Chicago, and I grew up there. Took a bus here, and have just walked everywhere since." She glanced around as they approached the park, and nodded her head to the east side of the park. "Over there. Towards the grocery store on the corner." She declared. The trees looked like heavily salted broccoli from here. Or maybe they just looked like frosted forests. It depended on which side of her was looking at them. The bitter angry side of her saw broccoli, and that was starting to win over.

Jacob couldn’t help but smirk as she pieced together the risk from what he said, visibly looking at each individual part of what could happen, and likely imagining it. Considering she had never been in a car, it was interesting to see her learning all of this for the first time. Jacob had done the same thing, many years ago, but a car was something he had worked on or towards his whole life, so it was a little bit of a different scenario.

He nodded. “I can kind of understand that idea. Are you claustrophobic maybe? I know someone who has that and despises seatbelts… he feels like it’s too constricting.” And he would leave it at that. If they were going on a long trip, having some fun, or moving at high speeds, he would insist on the seatbelt, but none were true, and as such, he left it alone. No need to try to pressure her to do something she doesn’t want to do. He then received instructions on where to go next, and then addressed what she had said before that.

“Ah. I moved a lot when I was a kid… both my parents were in the Air Force, and I was in the Army for about eight years, so moving comes with the territory. I would—“ Jacob stopped mid-sentence to a scene folding out to their left, where two older boys… high-school aged from the looks of it, where kicking another boy who was on the ground on the edge of the park. “Excuse me a moment…” he said, sliding to the side of the road, and quickly getting out. He moved quickly and quietly across the street towards the fight, grabbed the two boys who were kicking the younger kid, who he now saw was a mutant based on the webbed hands and what he thought were gills, and picked both the young men up by their necks, slamming them into the hard ground. Their backs had hit first, so he hadn’t really hurt them, just knocked the wind out of them and scared them good.

Standing up, he stood there, glaring at the two older boys, who quickly scattered into the park. He then helped the young man up, and asked if he was OK, which was responded with thanks and something along the lines of ‘I could’a won.’ He offered him a ride, which was refused, and the boy began to run home, away from the park. Jacob watched him for a few moments, and he rounded a corner and was out of sight. Returning to the car, he stepped in and began to pull towards the grocery store which was only a few more blocks. “Sorry about that… can’t stand bullies or hate crimes.”

Claustrophobic. Tses had heard the term, but never really thought of herself as being categorized by it. In a way, she could see the little tendencies that would make him say that. But it seemed like such a weak thing to admit to. She mulled over the statement for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really feel claustrophobic.... But I usually think of claustrophobic as just tight spaces, and I'm pretty fine with that." She said with a shrug. She listened politely while he talked about moving, then blinked in surprise as he pulled over, and got out of the car. It was definitely an unexpected action, at least it was until she saw the kids.

Tses mentally backpedaled at the situation presented to her. she was in a strangers car by herself: a rather nice, custom car, which she was certain was quite valuable. Her inner thief like valuable things, but it liked to steal them cars were something she always avoided though, because they were traceable and easy to get jailed over. The lingering sensation to try to hot rod it and drive away quickly vanished, and then she wondered why the stranger would leave her here anyway. If she were a better thief, she probably could have made money off it. How did he know she wasn't one? He was so focused on the kids, he wasn't concerned about his Baby, and that made her look closer at the situation.

One of the kids was a mutant, and he was obviously being picked on by other street kids. Again, this was nothing super startling to Tses. She'd been beat up a handful of times by bigger kids, and it was just something you learned form. You got tough, or you didn't make it. But then she realized the other kids were humans, while the victim was a mutant. So that was it. It was personal. This was a case of prejudice, just like the video she'd seen in the restaurant with Ty. And the only people she'd seen step in to these situations were other mutants. Tses smirked inwardly, and as the situation diffused, she settled back in the chair. The kid ran away, and Jacob came back. Tses looked ahead for a second, then finally turned back to him.

"You a mutant?" She said. It wasn't an accusation, just a question. He didn't seem to show much that showed he was different, but then again, neither did she. In her mind, she tried to guess what his powers could be before he said anything. The only thing she could think of was something to do with cars, since he said he'd started building this one when he was 7. That had seemed really young to her, and she wasn't sure if it was mutants odd. She was usually pretty bad at these guessing games, so she pushed the thoughts aside for now, and watched his reaction.