Watching the expression on the cat girl's face was a fascinating exercise. Amber saw expressions playing across her features but couldn't for the life of her quite figure out what they meant. Reading regular human expression was challenging enough and had never been one of her strong suites, but this was something else entirely. Perhaps it was a similar experience to trying to read the expression of a dinosaur.

“I live at Xavier’s Sister School. How about yourself?”

Amber was familiar with the sister school and, in fact, had even spent some time going to school there. That time of her life felt like an entire lifetime ago, so much had changed since then. Then she had felt comfortable there but now she wasn't nearly so certain she would. So much had changed in what was, in truth, a relatively short period of time and she was no longer the same person she once was. Even the simple act of hunting and killing for food was something she knew many of the mutants there would shy away from. Then there was the fact that her sister, Aura, didn't really get along there and pack was everything.

When the previously human woman announced that she wasn't so human after all, well, that made her far more interesting in Amber's eyes. Her head perked up and she took an extra long look at the woman. There was nothing to suggest she was anything other than merely human, not a look or a scent, but that wasn't so unusual among mutants. Her own sister was invisible to the naked eye, appearing utterly mundane and human when her aura wasn't around her, although Amber herself wasn't nearly so fortunate. In human form it was hard to hide her mutant status given her pitch black eyes and sickly complection. In truth, she looked like some unholy victim of plague. She'd never know what it was like to appear normal but perhaps that was a fact that made her stronger in the end.

Amber bobbed her head at both mutants in confirmation of understanding their names. Now the question of what Tses' powers might be, that was ever the interesting question. She looked long and hard at the girl before taking a step forward and sniffing her. Not that it made any difference in divining what her powers might be and, giving up a hopeless cause, she grinned and offered a reptilian facsimile of a shrug. She looked in Regan's direction, wondering if the cat might have better luck at the guessing game.

Regan extended her furry and clawed hand to Tses in an offer to shake it. “It’s nice to meet you Tses.” Regan always did her best to be polite to people, her “Father” always told her that was the most important thing in life. He said “If you ever want to be accepted, you need to have the best of manners.” Sadly he didn’t know how much that didn’t help at all, one look at Regan and her odd colors, everyone stared and she hated it. She wasn’t a side show attraction anymore, but she always felt like one.

“Really? A mutant too, what are the chances of that?” Regan placed a clawed finger to her lower lip and tapped it a few times while looking over Tses. “Well seeing as you are not visibly mutated and that two animalistic mutants freaked you out so you aren't an animal shifter. I’m going to guess that you can create or control something.”

Again Regan was envious but this time of Tses. She could hide amongst the world and no one would be the wiser unless she decided to show off her powers. She could feel both Tses’s and Amber’s eyes on her, and she could see them looking at her from the corner of her eye. Feeling completely self-conscious, Regan pulled the edge of her hoodie up around her neck and tried to nuzzle into more. She would really prefer to slink away and hide, but that would be rude. She looked back at Amber and wondered what she looked like in her more human form, or if she even had one.

Tses took the girls hand and shook it, forcing her manners to cooperate. She had to admit, it felt a bit odd. It was like shaking a cat paw but it was still human. The fur tickled her fingers, and the pad of the girls hand felt a little rough on her skin. Anthropic mutants always fascinated her. They still were human in most ways, but little things set them apart; a pair of fangs, a tail, some fur; She could get used to a tail, though, and wondered if she'd get used to being part cat. The agility would be fun, especially when climbing. She could enjoy climbing trees instead of just fire escapes....

She brought her attention back to Regan's question, and let the ponderings trickled away for now. "No I'm not a shifter, and it has nothing to do with animals. But the last part was close, I think. I guess I do a bit of both." Tses said. After all, she took energy from the moon, which involved a level of control. And then she converted it to explosives, so that involved some creation. She wondered how she could give a good hint, and glanced up at the sky. She hadn't thought about how they would figure out her powers. It just seemed like a good challenge at the time.

Around her neck, her necklace tugged free from under her shirt, and the little moon glittered slightly with the light above her. She put her hands behind her head, and tried to think of another hint to give next, while still thinking over the last idea.

"Then again... I'm not sure I'm really 'creating' things in the long term way of thinking about it..." She added, considering how destructive her powers were.

Amber had to admit, Regan's guesses regarding Tses' powers were good ones. She had met other animalistic mutants before, both shifters and those who were more innately part animal and they didn't tend to react the same way to her as more human mutants, especially when those animalistic traits were of a predatory nature. There was a certain shared understanding among predators, a certain understanding of the way these things worked that humans were largely lacking. Even prey animals, however, at least had an innate knowledge of the ways of nature. It was something most humans were mostly lacking in.

Amber turned her head to the side, considering the hints Tses had given them. Kind of control and kind of creation and a distinct look at the sky. Kind of meant not really, but possibly related so that ruled out a lot of different things. The look at the sky was interesting and Amber herself took a long hard look at it as well. To her, however, it was just the sky with the bright moon in the middle whose light was well needed for her to be able to hunt in the night's darkness. Without it, as much as she preferred the night, she'd be blind although still far from helpless.

So, what had to do with creation, control and the sky but not really any of them? Another chirp and a shake of her head gave hint to the fact that she still didn't have an answer for the girl. There were simply so many different mutant powers to choose from that it was nearly impossible to guess, even with the hints given.

Regan watched Tses and Amber in turn. She loved how even as an animal she was able to understand everything that was going on and being said. How she wished she could do that with the saber tooth instead of sitting in the background and wondering what was going on. Hearing muffled speech and sitting back like she was watching a foreign movie with no subtitles, it was so frustrating! What she would give to be able to be of her own mind and still have the full power of the saber tooth on her side. But alas they were so different and really they were two different creatures. She would have to just accept her fate and hope one day to find a way to communicate with her other half.

She watched Tses look up at the sky and she looked up too. Puzzled she looked back at Tses and noticed a little sparkle on her neck. Stepping closer to get a better look she saw the little moon pendant and like the smart and clever cat that she was made one connection. “The moon! It has something to do with the moon!” She said excitedly as she pointed up at the sky and bounced a little.

Thinking more about the second half made her scratch her head though. She looked at Amber to see if she had any clue, but the dinosaur looked about as puzzled as she did. How does one create but not create? She wasn’t quite sure how that worked so she shrugged her shoulders at Tses and shook her head with a quirked brow. “I’m stumped at the second part, you got me there.” She quite admired Tses for being able to play this little game with them. Non visible mutants were never easy to spot what they could do, it was always a guessing game. It was actually quite fun to play ‘guess the power’. Regan wished her mutation and power possibilities weren’t so in your face obvious, but then again she still did have part of it a secrete now didn’t she?

Tses was enjoying herself, possibly more than she should. Somehow, having then guess her powers alnost made her feel proud to be a mutant. She felt unique; and as the guesses got closer she smiled.

"The moon part is right. I can do something with its reflected energy. That's part of the 'create' thing. But what I create trends to destroy stuff, which is the 'not create' part."[/b] She explained, and shrugged her shoulders. Reaching into her energy reserves, she let the moons glow travel through her veins and flicker around her. The energy was like a dancing, glowing green light with the behavior of smoke. "The light doesn't do anything until I compress it. Makes a little night light though."[/b] She messed with the light for a few minutes then let it fade.

Looking at the other girls (Amber was a girl name right?), she let her smile fade a little but still tried to look friendly. "So you two do anything else besides well, no offense, being a more visible mutant? Well, I don't know if you're always visible Amber..."[/b] She added, glancing at the dinosaur. It seemed like she was most likely a sifter, but if she was why hadn't she changed back to talk? Perhaps it was to be safe... The concept of lacking clothes didn't dawn on her. In the corner of her eye she kept seeing a flicker of green, and she had to keep reminding herself Regan had a tail: a fairly long one at that.

The moon explained a lot as did the idea of creating an energy that then destroyed things. Amber watched in fascination as Tses created her light from seemngly nothing. Or, if her explanation was to be believed, from the natural energies of the moon. Not the most stealthy of powers granted, but even not considering the destructive aspect of the powers, it was something whose uses were immediately clear. As someone only moderately adapted to the night in which she made her home, an at will light would be a great boon.

"So you two do anything else besides well, no offense, being a more visible mutant? Well, I don't know if you're always visible Amber..."

Amber nodded her head in affirmation although it wasn't entirely true. Her eyes, always, were what gave her away and the deathly pallor of her skin. Still, compared to how she looked presenty, she could almost blend in with the humans around her. At least, with some dark sunglasses and valumenous robes she could. Mostly. Although that presented an unusual sight in and of itself. Perhaps it was time, now knowing these two were both fellow mutants and not a threat, to assume a form that allowed actual speech.

Amber lifted a clawed hand with a finger up to indicate that the others should wait. She chirped her request, hoping the understood. Having done her best to get across her wishes, she run the short distance to where she had her robes stashed behind a tree at the edge of the clearing. As always,shifting took a short period of time and, although horribly painful, it was something she had gotten used to. Once her human form was back, she put her heavy wool robes back on. Winter was such a mixed blessing, with its early nights allowing her to actually be out in human form for longer but also with its frigid weather, weather she was not especially well adapted to.

Once shifted and properly clothed she made her way back to the other two. She inclined her head first towards Regan then Tses. "This is how I appear normally. Not the perfect fascimile of human, but perhaps a little more so than being a living dinosuar." She smiled with wan humour.

Regan nodded as she listened to Tses explain the rest of her powers to the pair and then gasped at her little demonstration. “That is really neat and quite beautiful Tses. You remind me of a firefly when you glow like that.” Regan smiled softly and watched the green light fade away. It was a very neat power, and the fact that she could then use it as a weapon as well just made it that much more amazing in her eyes. “That is a nice power to have, you got lucky!” She said with enthusiasm, because in Regan’s eyes, looking human and having useful powers that could be easily hidden was a blessing.

Not really sure what to say about Tses question as to what else the girls could do, Regan looked at Amber to see if she would go first. She watched the dinosaur mutant nod her head and then put up a clawed digit in what looked like a “one second” gesture. Regan nodded and shuffled her feet in the snow as they waited for her to come back. She flicked her tail around a bit as she felt the tension to answer the questing building, but thankfully Amber had come back dressed and human like.

Relaxing she looked at Amber and smiled “You are beautiful Amber.” She said with a soft sigh. Here the dinosaur mutant was a beautiful girl. Sure she had black eyes and pale skin, but that was something that could be adapted to go out in public. Regan couldn’t do anything to hide herself. She had to cram her tail into a pant leg and even then it would stick out the bottom because it was so long. Her ears got squashed under hats and her feline muzzle was noticeable even under a scarf. Not to mention the layers of clothes and gloves needed to cover her fur and claws made her overheat badly. There was just no way for her to be amongst humans and it was rather disheartening.

She shrugged her shoulders a little and decided to just say a little about her mutation and not bring up the inner beast. “Well I can run fast like a tiger and for long distances, I have enhanced sight, hearing, sense of smell, and agility just like a cat. I’m stronger then most humans and I heal slightly faster as well.” She shrugged and looked at the ground where she was still shuffling her feet in the snow. “Well and I got the claws, fangs, and fur as you can see obviously.” There was no way that she was going to reveal the saber tooth to them, not right now anyways. She didn't think she looked like she was hiding anything, but maybe to others she did look like she was hiding something. Only time would tell.

Tses felt rather delighted with their reactions to her powers. Usually, she only used them when she wanted to freak people out, so this was a nice change. She'd never heard her powers described as beautiful before, and she'd certainly never been compared to a firefly before. The only things she typically heard when her powers were activated were 'freak', 'maniac', 'mutant', and several other colorful terms. Although, the more she thought about it, she really wasn't sure what a firefly was. She'd heard the word before, but had never seen a picture of one. It could have been a bad compliment, but the way Regan said it convinced her otherwise. She made a note to find a way to look up the word firefly in the future. It would be nice to know what she reminded them of.

As Amber gave a signal, Tses waited, and was surprised when she returned in human form. The dark eyes and pale skin were more Tses' style of beauty, and she felt herself smile. "You look.... exotic." She said, trying to think of a good word to describe her. The dark eyes fascinated her, as did the pale skin, and she was curious to learn more now that the other girl could talk and wasn't all 'dino'. She controlled herself for the moment, deciding an interrogation about how Amber could see with such dark eyes could wait for later.

As Regan described her own powers, Tses listened respectfully. Now that she wasn't going to be eaten, her curiosity kept her on her best behavior. "You guy s are a lot more interesting than me. I think having the whole 'visible mutation' thing can go both ways. I mean sure, sometimes humans mess with people they can TELL are a mutant, but I've had a number of issues with mutants who've assumed I'm human." She shrugged, and leaned against a tree.

"At least your powers make people think twice about messing with you. I have to blow something up before anyone cares." She rolled her eyes. She didn't even get into the whole 'moon phase' thing, because that was a whole other can of worms. The last thing she needed was random strangers knowing there were points where she was less powerful than others. Sure, she could store up energy, but it was definitely limited.

“You are beautiful Amber.”

Amber nodded her head in acknowledgement of the compliment. "Thank you." It wasn't the sort of compliment she was used to. Aura had always complimented her on her eyes and skin but Aura was special. She didn't think in the same way as most people and she appreciated things differently than most. It was one of the reasons Amber loved her sister and one of the things that made her proud to call her pack.

Amber addressed Regan. "You're fortunate, then, that your enhance attributes don't go away. I have to choose between the body and the senses of a hunter and the words and hands of a human. When I shift, the world opens up to my senses. Now, everything seems dull and mutated." Her expression took on a dreamlike smile. Truly she was blessed to be as she was, a creature more than human.

"You look.... exotic."

Another inclination of her head, this time towards Tses. Exotic was a word she had heard to describe herself much more often as it was often used as a polite way to say she looked like a freak. She didn't think Tses meant it that way but, even if she had it was something she no longer minded. Aura and Abyss alike had taught her well; that to be a mutant was something to be proud of because it meant you were more than merely human. That was a lesson she had taken very much to heart.

"Believe me, standing out doesn't make things any easier living life as a mutant." Amber suppressed a shudder, remembering some of the experiences she had dealing with anti-mutant haters. Maybe it was different for someone like Regan who looked obviously dangerous, but she only looked strange. Or, as Tses stated, Exotic. "Sometimes its better if no one cares. Or at least easier."

Regan listened intently as each of the other girls spoke in turn. She tilted her head to the side slightly at Amber’s comments about the world being dull when she was a human and in truth, Regan had no idea what that really meant. She had always been able to hear people breathing, see in the dark, climb trees or the sides of buildings, even have impeccable balance. She never really felt the lack of those enhanced senses. Even though the saber tooth was much more enhanced and powerful than she was, she never felt the lack of that extra power because she never truly felt it. The saber tooth was it’s own mind, it’s own creature that Regan was only privy to viewing from a foggy, mumbled world inside her head. She had never considered herself fortunate. “Perhaps I am, but it has it’s drawbacks too. Like trying to block out every single person who is talking in a mile’s radius.” That was something that had always made Regan prefer to be outdoors or alone someplace. Her hearing made her ease drop on everyone even when she wasn’t trying to, it took a lot of practice to try and block certain noises out, but when she was tired it was a lot harder to do. It was bad enough to have to share her mind and body with a beast, but to have to listen to so many people nattering away in so many different conversations was like torture, it made her want to scream.

Regan nodded in agreement with what Amber had said about not being a visible mutant. “Trust me, the whole cat thing is not all it’s cracked up to be. Everyone is afraid of me. I have been called so many horrible things. I try to help someone and they run away screaming. I wish I could turn all this off when I wanted to, it would make my life so much easier.” Regan sighed heavily as she also remembered the years she spent locked up in a cage back in Ireland. Left in the garage of Shamus’s house until the next side show exposition was in town. She was just a money making scene for Shamus, he dressed her in a Tarzan like outfit, a fur bikini, for the added effect of the wild tiger girl. It was embarrassing and she wasn’t going to talk about it with a bunch of strangers. She did find comfort though in knowing that they each in turn had something that they disliked about their mutations.

Tses settled back as the other two girls spoke, leaning against a tree and watching them. In a way, she related to them. But in another, she didn't. She didn't know how it felt not being able to hide what she was. The only life she knew was one on the streets where human, mutant, it didn't matter. You still had no home, no family, no money. You wanted something? You took it. You wanted to live? You fought for it. There was no maybes or what ifs or could bes. There just was. This was one of the rare points in her life she was able to choose her path, and had the option to be something more. Her life was changing. She wondered if their's ever would.

"People are never nice. Whether you look like a cat or look like a human. They're always going to find something wrong, and it's up to you to use those negative things as your stength. Although, I'm probably not the best person to get advice from." Tses' eyes twinkled slightly with mischief. "I don't exactly follow the golden rules you 'mansion' kids seem to." Heck, she didn't follow ANY of the rules they seemed to. She glanced at Amber, watching for a reaction from her. It was always interesting to see how people responded to her slightly rebellious nature. Most people disapproved, a handful tried to reform her. The rare few enjoyed what she did. Like Ty.

That didn't really matter now though.

"Sometimes life could be 'easier' without dealing with prejudice and powers, but that would change who you are. That animosity makes you stronger, if you let it."

“Perhaps I am, but it has it’s drawbacks too. Like trying to block out every single person who is talking in a mile’s radius.”

Amber nodded being one of the few, perhaps, that could understand the drawbacks of such heightened senses. "I guess I should be glad I don't have to deal with that all the time." There were two ways to look at her state, one positive and one negative. On the one hand, she felt lacking and inadequate in her human body, missing the strength, speed and enhanced senses of just about every one of her creature forms. On the other hand, however, there was something to be said about human comforts and human culture. There were things she just couldn't do while shifted and she valued those things, differently perhaps but no less so, than she valued the things she could do while in dinosaur form.

“Trust me, the whole cat thing is not all it’s cracked up to be. Everyone is afraid of me. I have been called so many horrible things. I try to help someone and they run away screaming. I wish I could turn all this off when I wanted to, it would make my life so much easier.”

It was such a sad reality and one which Amber understood only too well. She offered up a supportive smile to Regan. "That's why its important to defend yourself and show others that you aren't willing to take that sort of abuse." It was something Aura had taught her and she had taken that to heart. "Only by showing people we won't be made victims will people come to respect us." One day, perhaps, they might even come to respect the fact that mutants were their betters, but she didn't feel the need to express that particular thought; at least not until she knew more about the other two women.

"People are never nice. Whether you look like a cat or look like a human. They're always going to find something wrong, and it's up to you to use those negative things as your stength.

Amber turned her attention back towards Tess. "Oh, I don't know about that. I think its just a matter of finding the right people. I was an orphan, you know, adopted by a mutant by the name of Abyss. In joining his family, along with my uncles, aunt and dear sister, I learned for the first time that there are those out there worthy of calling pack. So, don't give up hope." It was an unusually positive speech for her to make but no less true for it.

Regan’s attention was brought back to Tses as she spoke. She couldn’t help but scrunch her brow and place her clawed hands on her hips in an irritated posture. Her tail twitched around behind her as she was feeling quite insulted by the ‘mansion’ comment. She would address the rest of her statement after, but that part slightly irked her and made her let out a low growl before speaking. “Just because I live at the mansion doesn’t mean anything about who I am! I choose to be nice to people, I choose to do what I feel is the right thing to do, I choose! They don’t tell me what to do or what rules to follow. You really shouldn’t assume things, it makes you just as judgmental as the humans who hate us just because we are different!” She ended her little rant with a huff and stayed silent for a bit as she cooled off her temper. She was lucky to have been allowed to live at the mansion given how dangerous she could be, she wasn’t about to let someone insult her home where she was finally being accepted for who she was and not being stared at like a complete freak of nature all the time. Regan was so irritated that she didn’t even hear Amber say that she was glad to not have to deal with heightened senses all the time like Regan did.

Finally cooling off a little, she noticed that Amber had started to speak and offered Regan a bit of support, but she wasn’t quite sure how to really take it. She could stand up for herself and scare everyone out of their wits in the process, or she could just continue to stay hidden from the world. Then it hit her that she had stood up for herself just moments ago with Tses. She had managed to stand up for herself without letting the beast overcome her. Maybe she could do it, maybe she could show the world that she wasn’t going to take the stares and glares they had to offer! Oh who was she kidding? She could never handle having that many people staring at her and not want to crawl into a hole somewhere to escape the probing eyes. So she just smiled at Amber and gave her a nod in thanks.

Hearing Amber talk about her own experiences and family, Regan nodded in agreement and looked at Tses. She felt like it was only fair to share some of her past as well. “Amber is right you know. I was an orphan as well. I was found in the woods in Ireland by a human named Shamus when I was just a toddler. He was an evil man. He named me and kept me locked up in a cage in his garage. Only time I got to come out was when there was a side show or circus in the area. Then I was put on display for money. Eventually though my “Father” was visiting Ireland and saw me at one of the shows. He was so appalled by what Shamus was doing, he bought me off of him and smuggled me back to America. He was a human too. Not everyone is bad Tses.”

Tses felt a snarky remarking building in her mouth as Regan grew irritated, but she managed to keep her mouth shut. At least at first. She watched the girl lash her tail and it made her laugh; a sort of snort. This girl was pretty mixed up, at least her mind. She rolled her eyes, then did a backflip landing in a handstand for no apparent reason. But it was what made Tses ....Tses. She did it for the same reason she catwalked on tall buildings, or stole stuff; for the kicks of it.

Walking on her hands for a couple feet, she flipped back to a standing position with a snotty smile. She didn't care if the girl didn't like her, or if she pissed her off at this point. She was out in the moonlight, and it's energy was like a drug dizzying her common sense. "I choose to be nice to people." She mocked, and crossed her arms. "You seem perfectly find with snapping at people when they irritate you though. You're 'good behavior' only go so far? And I never claimed to not be judgmental or any of that shit. But that's who I am as a person, not who I am as a mutant. Mutants or humans. There's not a diff. Everyone's got their own little demons and monsters that come out and play when you least expect them to. I just embrace mine." She had a wild sort of mischief that took over her expressions as she talked, that 'I dare you' face people make before doing something dumb like jumping off a bridge or skydiving. Except she was jumping without a parachute, and enjoying the thrill of the risk. 3, 2, 1. What will this become? Didn't matter to her. There was nothing to loose. Nothing to gain.

The sob story was same old same old. If they had met at a different time, perhaps Tses would have reacted better. But this was Tses post New Years, heartbroken and reckless. She had nothing to hold onto, no one to really care about or look after. She had no rhyme or reason in her life, no direction. She was a lost soul; a will-o'-the-wisp, just looking for someone to drag away from the safe path and into the darkness she was so tantalized by. Consequences were null and void. She was after fun and amusement. Life had no consequences she cared about.

"Not everyone is completely bad, but everyone has a dark side, dearie, and I'm sure your's is just as frightening or more than anyone else's."