Riding the bus was always something of an uncomfortable experience.  There were too many people around in too close proximity and which gave Masque a vaguely claustrophobic feeling.  It was the looks he was given that reminded him that no matter how prettily he painted his face he would never look quite right, would never be quite like everyone else.  There were reasons why he usually avoided public transit but there was no other way he could travel; he barely had enough to eat and pay rent most of the time let alone pay for a taxi.

Masque exited the bus a couple of blocks before The Mansion.  When Ryden had told him about the place, a place where mutants could go and get live in peace, he thought it was too good to be true.  In fact, he still thought it was too good to be true.  A search online had, however, supported the information Ryden had told him.  It was a school, apparently, and a place where mutants could be safe and supported.  Too good to be true almost certainly but it was a chance he had to take.  Hope for something better and never knowing if it was true was far more painful than discovering hope that was dashed.

As Masque walked up to the gate of the building, he couldn't help the uncomfortable fluttering in his stomach.  He paused at the entrance to gather his thoughts before approaching the door and knocking.  There wasn't anything else he was supposed to do, right?  If they asked for money then he'd have to simply turn around and head home, such as home was anyway.  If it came to that, well, he supposed he wouldn't be any further back than he was to begin with.

There was a guy at the door. Sam blinked as he walked up behind him with Bruno trailing. Bruno, Sam’s rather large Saint Bernard sniffed the air when he spotted the stranger and approached with caution. Sam reached the door before Bruno and he was slightly winded from the jog around the mansion grounds, it had been a while since he took Bruno for a run and he forgot how long of a run a lap around the grounds could be.

”Hey man, can I help you?” Sam asked as he approached the door while pushing Bruno behind him trying to make sure his dog didn’t decide the newcomer was deemed worthy to become the next victim in a rather slobbery dog kiss.

Now on the doorstep Sam looked to the newcomer and gave him a quick once over. His skin was well, Sam deemed his skin tone ‘pasty’ white and the lack of any facial hair including eyebrows caused Sam to stare for a second before he noticed Bruno was starting to push Sam’s hand away so he could investigate the new comer. “Woof’ the dog said as he puffed out his cheeks while his tail wagged happily.

A young man opened the door and Masque looked up at him briefly before looking down towards the ground.  There didn't appear to be anything unusual about him, but then again that was pretty common for mutants wasn't it?  He knew there were plenty, maybe even most, who looked and acted completely human and could fit into the human world without issue so that really shouldn't be a surprise.  He had been expecting someone a lot older, however, and that was really what threw him.

”Hey man, can I help you?”

Masque lifted his head back up, his eyes meeting those of the stranger.  He nodded his head silently.  Now was the moment when he'd discover, one way or another, if this Mansion place was just another pipe dream or if there was actually something to it.  The hope was almost painful, as much as he wished it weren't.

Masque lifted his right arm up, skin bare, and waited to make sure that the stranger had noticed the gesture and his attention was properly upon him.  There didn't seem much point in writing on paper, since it was pretty obvious he was a mutant and this place was purported to be somewhere in which mutants congregated safely.  Neat black writing appeared on his flesh.  'Hello.  I heard mutants were welcome here.'

Masque watched the stranger's expression intently, waiting for a reaction.  Either he'd be turned away or he wouldn't and he wasn't entirely sure which prospect made him more nervous.

The man was quite, which took Sam a back slightly especially seeing as the guy was on his doorstep. Okay not really just ‘his’ but more of the mansion. Sam’s hand was pushed away from Bruno as he walked closer to the newcomer and started to sniff the air around him. Bruno let out another small ‘woof’.

The stranger’s white skin (if you could call it skin) covered his body it seemed when he revealed his arm to Sam. Sam waited to see what he was going to do then writing appeared on his forearm. Sam’s lone eye squinted for a second while he was trying to read it. He leaned in and read what it had to say then leaned out when he read it as it became more visible. ”Everyone is welcome here.” Sam nodded his head offering the unknown man with a friendly smile before turning towards the door and waving him in.

”Especially mutants.” Sam raised his hand and covered his hand in ice quickly to demonstrate he was a mutant. Sam got the feeling that the guy had a difficult time being around those who were non-mutants they way he worded his sentence at least gave Sam that feeling. ”You looking for a place to stay?” Sam asked curiously started to walk backwards into the mansion in case the guy decided to play etche-sketch on his arm again. Sam didn’t know if the guy could talk or not but as long as he had been a greeter Sam had been able to be a little more sensitive when it came to mutations. If someone didn’t want to talk there could be a good reason behind it.

”Everyone is welcome here.”

Masque nodded, relief flooding him and some of the tension draining away.  Hope was such a powerful thing and dangerous when it was dashed because it made everything so much worse.  Sometimes the only way one could deal with the harsh realities of life was to snuff hope before it ever appeared, but maybe this was  proof that hope wasn't always bad?  That sometimes, once in a great while, hope actually turned out to mean something?  It was probably too soon to tell, but this was a sign that maybe he had made the right choice.

Masque watched in fascination as the man's fist covered itself in ice, no clearer demonstration needed that not all mutants stood out the same way he did.  He hadn't met a lot of mutants in his life, but even the few he had showed him the great variety that mutants came in.  

”You looking for a place to stay?”

Once again Masque nodded, following the man inside.  Once again neat black letters appeared on his flesh, such as it was, before fading away.  'My name is Masque.  I haven't been doing so well lately.'  And by lately he meant for years with no prospect of improvement.  Except maybe here, through this place.  If the signs of hope proved true rather than painful illusion.

Sam smiled towards Masque when he named himself and said he wasn’t doing so well. Sam had been in rough spots before, a lot some more recent than he’d care to admit but he was recovering slowly he was focusing more and more on the students and the school again. Even if he still didn’t have any actual students in any of his classes.

”Why don’t we take a tour first and then we can get some paperwork taken care of.” Sam said as he looked down to Bruno and pointed. ”Go play.” tilting his head then running off shortly after Bruno departed leaving the two alone in the main hallway of the mansion.

”Hope you don’t mind the paper work or me asking a lot of questions. Kinda one of the many jobs here I have. Need to make sure everyone checks out alright before we let them stay here. I’m sure you can understand.” Sam waved him forward as he tried to keep his eye in the sight of Masque’s arm just in case he needed to respond to something.

Pointing with two of his fingers Sam directed him towards the teacher hallways, which was closest to the mansion entrance or at least where they entered. ”Down that way is the offices of the teachers and those employed by the mansion. I’ll take you that way to get some of the paperwork down so we can save the details of that area for later.” walking further down the hallway Sam directed the newcomer towards the next wide frame doorway towards the kitchen, ”You mentioned you weren’t doing to well. You hungry or thirsty food here is free well sorta but you don’t need to worry about that right now.”

A tour sounded like exactly the kind of thing that was needed and Masque nodded his agreement at the prospect.  Even right at the beginning of the tour he could tell that this place was unlike anything else he had seen before?  Was it like what he expected a mutant community to be like?  Maybe not but then again, he really couldn't put into words exactly what he thought one might be like so perhaps that didn't count for much.  

As Masque followed his guide around, he nodded and gestured appropriately at the comments made.  No, he didn't especially mind either paperwork or questions.  Yes he understood about such jobs that needed doing.  He could imagine how a mutant with an undesirable streak of violence might not be welcome in such a place.  Or, maybe, if a mutant had dangerous powers it might be necessary to know about those.  Luckily his powers weren't really dangerous to anyone.

Masque perked up at the mention of free food and drink or at least mostly free food and drink.  He assumed that might have something to do with contributing around the place but that could probably be specified later.  His usual neat black writing appeared on his arm.  'Its not always easy coming by regular meals but I do what I can.  Food is always appreciated'.  Some days he had to remind himself that there were those far less fortunate than himself.  At least he had some skills that helped him feed and shelter himself.

”Alright, grub it is!” Sam said as he smiled when Masque responded to him. Walking into the kitchen and pulling some glasses from one of the cabinets Sam pointed to him and asked, ”Water? Milk?” before setting both glasses down on the counter to rummage through the fridge, ”Hope reheated spaghetti is alright, we hade a big spaghetti dinner last night. Some of the kids wanted to make some for dinner so there is tons of left overs, doesn’t happen every day but when it does there is usually leftover for days.” Pulling a large tray of pasta from the fridge Sam placed it next to the glasses and got a plate for Masque.

Scooping the pasta for him Sam started to get the interview process out of the way a bit, small talk was good like that. ”So, Masque where you from?” he asked putting a paper towel over the plate of pasta before putting it into the microwave and turning it on. Putting the tray back into the fridge Sam pulled out some milk and poured it into a glass for himself and Masque if he wanted it otherwise he would have gotten water.

”I hail from Colorado, but that was a lifetime ago. Been living here for a few years now.” Sam said proudly before removing the plate and offering it to him.

All of a sudden the entire experience of being in this strange mutant mansion felt a little overwhelming.  Masque pointed at the glass of milk, a dazed expression on his face.  What was he doing here anyway?  How could something like this actually exist?  It was as if something in his cynical world view had suddenly become brittle and was at risk of snapping at any moment.  This wasn't how life was, or at least not how his life was.

Masque gratefully accepted the spaghetti and began eating.  Some recent good luck meant he wasn't quite as ravenous as he otherwise might have been, but he was still grateful for the food.  In his life, there were good weeks and bad and this was turning into a very good week.  A dishonestly good week, or so his brain kept trying to tell him.  There had to be something he was missing.

'I'm from here,' Masque wrote after taking a sip of milk.  'But I haven't exactly been living in this area of the city.'  Because he'd been living in one of the worst areas.  Because the place he'd been staying could barely be considered shelter, although it was better than some.  'This place seems too good to be true.'  Overstatement of the decade.

Sam smiled when his words spelt out he was from the city, ”Ah a local!” Sam took a sip of the milk and was left with a mustache. ”A lot think that sadly.” Sam said shrugging his shoulders and walking back a few feet to hop on the opposite counter.

He was sitting now but continued, ”Started with a few mutants who came into some money and wanted kids like them to have a place safe where they could grow up, go to school and just have a childhood. One thing led to another and this was the second school that came out of it.” Sam said smiling, ”Now don’t get me wrong nothing is truly free. If you won’t be attending classes and don’t have a job we can help you find something. To help pay for food and all that jazz. We don’t really ask for anything in return except a little help with some of the schooling or cleaning every now and then.” Sam said sipping his milk again.

”Think of it as a family with an open door policy you want to live here, learn here eat here. Go for it just remember us if you ever have any time or money you want to help offer. We have staff to do most of it but every now and then everyone can use a little help. Right?” Sam asked before he hopped down off the counter and continued on with the questions, ”Not wanted for murder are ya?” Sam asked curiously, tough question to answer but I’d rather have you tell me before we find out some other way. It is a school after all.”[/color] Sam said.

”And how old are you?”

Well at least the story behind the Mansion sounded plausible.  That had to be a good sign, right?  Nor could he think of any reason why someone would want to create something that sounded like what the Mansion was except that it wasn't.  Unless it was some secret training ground for evil mutants who wanted to take over the world or something, but that sounded way too ridiculous to be true.  That was the kind of thing you read about in comic books not the sort of the thing that actually happened in real life.

'I'm good with working,' Masque wrote.  Whatever work he was put to was sure to be more pleasant than begging on the street, not to mention warmer during this time of year as well.  'Cleaning I can do although I don't really have many applicable skills.'  Unless one counted hacking into emails and personal websites but something told him those weren't the kinds of skills that were really being searched for.

'No, not wanted for murder,' Masque answered, a little shocked at the question.  'Are mutants wanted for murder common?'  Now that was something of a distressing thought.  He wasn't sure he'd feel comfortable living with murderers.  'I'm 22.'

To his question Sam shook his head, ”Not really, no however some kids have a difficulty controlling their abilities, every now and then a kid can lose control of his or her ability, the mansion and it’s staff need to be aware of any dangers a ability can posses.” Sam took a sip of some milk, ”One of the kids I taught a few years back couldn’t maintain physical contact with anyone without poisioning them.” Sam said simply, ”She had to get used to wearing gloves and some extra clothing but she adapted well enough and has her powers for the most part under control.” Sam said trying to put the guy at ease.

”22?” Sam asked pointing to himself, ”Got a few years on ya. You’ll fit in nicely here.” Sam said nodding and finishing his milk, ”Once your settled I’m sure we can help ya find something your good at. Might take some time but it always works out for everyone.” Sam walked over and placed his empty glass in the dishwasher, ”Once you’re finished eating I’ll take ya to your room.”

Sam did a mental check of the basic questions he already asked Masque, ”Now is Masque your actual name or a nickname?” Sam asked curiously as he took a few steps and waited till the guy was done eating. ”Oh and if you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to ask. Why I’m here.”

Masque was fortunate in that his own ability didn't really pose any danger either to himself or others.  The most he had to worry about was colours and patterns appearing when he wasn't meaning for them to do so.  Sometimes when he communicated and was feeling stressed out or overly emotional that would effect how things appeared, but that was more annoyance and inconvenience than anything.

'I guess I'm lucky then,' Masque wrote.  'I don't have to worry too much.  My power can't really hurt people.  That must be terrible to deal with.'  It was hard to imagine what it must be like not to be able to touch people or to have to constantly worry about what one might inadvertently do to another person.  

'Masque is not my real name,' he answered, his mind returning to the discussion at hand.  'My real name is Aaron Striker.  It just didn't seem right to keep using it once I ran away from home.'

”Some are luckier than others.” Sam agreed as he noticed that Masque was wrapping up with the food he had gotten him. ”Well when I get your paper work started you can fill that area in as you see fit.” Sam waved him on as he started to walk out of the kitchen. ”Just place the dishes in the sink for now, we can continue on with the tour.” Sam said as he entered the hallway.

”If your interested in reading at all we have a pretty big library most of the staff in there know their books as well so if the library doesn’t have it we’d be able to get it in time.” Sam said pointing to a set of double doors that lead into the library further down the hall. ”And if you are interested in taking some classes here or somewhere in the city we have the means to get you started we hired a few more teachers recently that specialize in pre-college and college classes. Keep in mind we can’t give you a degree or anything but some of the classes can make the college courses easier.”

Sam walked to the staircase as he counted on his fingers everything he was supposed to discuss, clearly it had been some time since he had lead a tour, even a short one. ”The first floor for the most part are classrooms, the kitchen, the living room and dining room and the library. The basement has some training facilities but you’ll need a staff member to access those and you don’t need to worry about that for the moment. The upstairs are the bedrooms, we have a co-ed hallway a girls hallway and a boys hallway.” Sam said continuing to count on his fingers.

”Your room will be in the co-ed hallway, mostly for staff members and adults.” Sam said as he walked up the stairs to the co-ed hallway. ”Again any questions feel free to ask, I know it can be kind of over whelming the first time you get here.”

Sam placed his dishes in the sink before dutifully following behind to continue the tour.  Was this something that he was really doing?  Getting himself involved in some strange mutant school?  It seemed that he was and, even stranger, he was actually starting to feel good about the decision as strange and unexpected as it was.

'I enjoy reading although art is my real passion,' Maskue wrote.  'But I never did graduate.  Its kind of complicated.  Is that something I could fix here?'  Graduation was  not something he had ever even considered until that point.  When one is concerned with making sure one has enough to eat and a dry place to sleep its not so easy to think about things like school and getting a proper education.  

'Thank you for this.'  Around the words this time were a warm red halo as Masque focused on his new unbelievable reality.  'I mean it.  I really am grateful.'  He looked down the hallway at all the rooms and was stunned at just how many mutants there were in this place, assuming that all the rooms housed mutants, of course.