While Xavia’s previous behavior might have hinted at parts of the redhead’s story, it didn’t mean that Alexandra was well prepared to handle it when she heard it out loud. She kept quiet, her attention solely focused on the other woman, observing her as she spoke. The brunette wasn’t the most empathetic person but, still, she felt sorry for her, for the things she had gone through, for what she was going through. It was a trauma that no one should ever experience.

When Xavia finished talking, Alexandra kept quiet for a few more moments, gathering her thoughts, trying to figure out what to say. “Listen…” she cleared her throat a bit, then lowered her voice – there were people around and it wasn’t a subject to be overheard. “I can’t pretend to fully understand what you’re feeling.” Her hand went on Xavia’s forearm, touching her lightly – it was a movement meant to provide comfort. “But I know one thing. Whatever happened, whatever you think you might have done…” she paused briefly, tightening her hold on Xavia’s forearm almost imperceptibly “It wasn’t your fault. None of it was your fault.” She spoke with conviction – it wasn’t only something that was meant to comfort Xavia, it was what she believed. It wasn’t fair for the victim of such abuse to blame herself.

Alexandra inhaled, tilting her head to the side slightly, searching for Xavia’s eyes as she spoke next. “Have you talked with someone about this? The police? A therapist?” She was certain that it wasn’t easy to do so; she wasn’t even sure why Xavia opened up to her – Alexandra could only assume that it was because she looked familiar. But she was pretty much convinced that such physical and psychological trauma couldn’t be fixed only by friends. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about.” It was sad that most of the times victims of abuse felt ashamed for what happened, felt like society judged them instead of their attacker. Xavia needed to know that there was no reason to feel that way. If she wanted to function normally again, to be able to care for her daughter, she needed help. Professional help.

"I cannot go to police," she said quietly, but did not elaborate. She did not know how the woman would take it if she explained that she used a mutation to punish the person who hurt her and he would probably not be a repeat offender. She had gone a little... Out of her mind with anger and grief.

"I am sorry I... Do not mean to bring it up. I will be okay." She was making a move normal to women and men in her predicament, shutting down and trying to move on in ways that don't tend to work.

She stared down at her hands and took a deep breath. "I do not mean to make t'ings weird." And that was true. She felt pretty crappy for her having opened up. Just... It was nice to unload that burden. "Anyhow, you do look familiar. If you are not my friend, I wonder what happen to her. It has been about five years since I saw her... I am sorry if I jumped to wrong conclusions... Resemblance is uncanny."

She canted her head and regarded her curiously, not sure what else to say. She hoped to have changed the subject successfully.

Alexandra guessed that it was a somewhat normal reaction for Xavia to shut down and change the subject. She smiled understandingly and didn’t push the other woman to tell anything she didn’t want to. Whether she would listen to her advice – to go to a therapist, it was up to Xavia now. Alexandra wasn’t particularly fond of forcing other people to do something they didn’t want… especially when she gained absolutely nothing from it. “It’s okay.” She assured the redhead, patting her forearm gently before removing her arm and placing it on her lap, where she joined it with the other. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Her eyes searched for Loki briefly, checking on the little trickster to make sure he kept busy. As he was busy playing with his new four-legged friend, Alexandra shifted her attention back to Xavia as she spoke about the woman she resembled. Five years. Alexandra had no memories dated that far. Her heart skipped a beat at the possibility but her face and posture remained unchanged. Only when Xavia finished talking, she shrugged briefly, to mimic the redhead’s own confusion in regards to her friend’s whereabouts. “Well then… Tell me more about this friend of yours.” She encouraged, her voice neutral.

"I work wit' her... She was kind to me but no nonsense. We did not know each ot'er well yet, but I liked her. Last time I see her was in Romania. We were fighting for our kind," the last sentence was quieter. "I was captured... After I was free, I did not remember anyone. I did not see her again, I do not t'ink... It has been at least five years... Maybe some less, but long enough."

She gave a slight smile at what she remembered, though not about the being captured part. "T'ere were ot'ers, too... My partner, I tink she assign him to me, and anot'er woman... I t'ink is all."

Xavia looked down at her hands. "Lots of people I do not see in long time... Even my daughter's dad. T'ings were very much at unease back when."

Alexandra listened carefully, sifting through the information. This person she resembled worked with Xavia. They didn’t know each other well so it was quite possible for Xavia to be mistaken. They saw each other last in Romania, when they were fighting for their kind.

The train of thought paused as she registered the words. Their kind? There weren’t many kinds in this world that she could think about but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions – she interrupted Xavia, her voice curious. “Your kind…?” she asked. Depending on the redhead’s answer, she would soon find out if she got her heart racing in vain or not. She made sure that it sounded just like it was – a simple question to clarify the story. It wasn’t threatening, it didn’t sound disgusted – and Alexandra didn’t need to fake it. If it was the kind she guessed Xavia talked about, Alexandra had nothing against them. She was as neutral as Switzerland.

Xavia was captured. Then freed. Alexandra’s eyes narrowed, in an effort to remember something she’d read about Romania and the First and Second Registration Act at some point. But she’d read it years ago, not long after she woke up with no memories and tried to learn the kind of world she lived in – and found herself disgusted by the country’s history with mutants. She didn’t want the gory details. Was Xavia referring to these atrocities? She did say that she lived next to the border.

People, friends, the redhead hadn’t seen in a long time. Her daughter’s father, too. The troubled past. She wasn’t sure what to ask, what to say because Xavia’s story just raised more questions. “Was he – your daughter’s father - captured too?” she asked, in an attempt to encourage Xavia to talk more. She registered much sorrow in the redhead’s voice. With the snippets that Xavia had been giving her, she couldn’t exactly blame her – fight, capture, a missing father figure for her daughter, the events she’d shared earlier, it sounded like a troubled life.

And Xavia seemed to need to unload some of her burden. Alexandra was far from being the best person at handling such situations or even giving advice but she could listen.

"I am.... Different." She murmured, "Gifted... Um... Yeah." What else could she say? Her eyes met Alexandra's and she bit her lip, then she decided she could trust this person because she didn't seem like someone who would discriminate against her for being mutant. She licked her lips and then dropped her voice, "I can become plant, manipulate plant, and make plant... I go to Romania to fight for people wit' gifts. I do not remember everyt'ing t'at hapoen, still. I do not know if Jupiter got captured, I saw him last not long after my memory was restored for most part. I left for Michigan after I see him, my fat'er was dying. I find out about my daughter t'en. By t'e time I came back here, he was gone. I still have much to tell him... Much to find out..."

She felt bad for all the talking she did, but this is stuff she had never really opened up about before. Her face colored. "I am sorry, I do not mean to bring t'ese t'ings up. It is very long story and I know you probably have better t'ings to do t'an listen to me go on and on."

Disappointment settled in quickly, as Xavia confirmed the fact that she was a mutant, and, therefore, the person that resembled her was one too. It made it impossible for her and Xavia’s acquaintance/friend to be the same. Alexandra Dimitri was only human. A silent sigh escaped her lips, the shadow of disappointment came and went quickly from her face. She was used with only finding dead ends whenever it came to her past. Sometimes it felt like Alexandra Dimitri didn’t exist before waking up in that hospital bed in Moscow.

She recovered fast and, for now, kept to herself the fact that she wasn’t the person the redhead once knew. Instead, she let Xavia continue her story. The redhead had lost her memories too? Well, there was something they had in common, besides Xavia knowing someone who looked just like her.

"I am sorry, I do not mean to bring t'ese t'ings up. It is very long story and I know you probably have better t'ings to do t'an listen to me go on and on."

Alex smiled in an attempt to comfort the woman – it wasn’t the first time she said sorry for sharing her stories with her. “It’s okay.” she assured her. “I have the time.” She couldn’t do anything at the gallery right now without professional help from the renovation crew, the interviews were scheduled for the following days, her muse for painting was completely drowned by worries about finances and missing deadlines and Loki was always happy to meet new friends.

“Have you contacted the authorities about uhmm- Jupiter, missing?” She shrugged slightly – it was the only advice that came to her mind. After all, she was horrific when it came giving advice about finding things – four years and she found almost nothing about her own past. “Maybe they could help you locating him.”

She caught the disappointment in the woman's eyes... Was it because she was mutant? Xavia stiffened for a moment, prepared to leave so as not to cause any trouble. It wouldn't do for her to pick a fight with someone who was normal, she wasn't like the ones who fought for the wrong reasons.

But them Alex recovered and Xavia relaxed, and the other asked her about contacting the authorities. "No. It would not do me any good. I have not seen him in almost five years." She sighed and looked at her hands. "I just want to make sure he knows of Delilah... He has t'e right. But nobody knows where he is."

She gave a bitter smile. "She looks like him except she doesn't have his bright red skin. Anyway... I am sure he will come back. He and t'e ot'er clones are much too stubborn to be gone for too long." Yep, clones. How many? She was not sure but she knew they were all humungo, red guys named after planets... Or gods?

Alexandra simply nodded. She had to agree with Xavia – five years was a very long time. As the redhead continued to speak, she didn’t seem concerned about her daughter’s father well being. Soon, she understood why – red skin, clones – he too, was a mutant. While Alexandra supposed that he might have disappeared against his will, listening to Xavia now made her think that disappearing and reappearing was something she was used with. “Well, then. I’m sure Delilah will have the chance to meet her father.” She wasn’t that sure but she assumed Xavia knew better.

The conversation came to a halt, as the brunette found herself unsure of what to do or speak next. The woman’s life seemed complicated, with many twists and turns along the way and while Xavia shared many things with her, she wasn’t certain if asking more questions would make her seem intrusive. She blinked faster, looking into the distance for a moment while she gathered her thoughts – while Alexandra could be charming in any formal social situation, being friendly wasn’t something she did often. “So…” she began, shifting into her chair. “Is Delilah a mutant as yourself and Jupiter?” And speaking of… “I should probably mention the fact that I’m human… so I’m pretty certain I’m not the person you’ve met years ago.” Alexandra added, feeling like she had to clear up the confusion. Even if it meant adding one more person that Xavia once knew to the missing list.

She cared a lot... She wanted desperately to know if Abyss and his clones, especially Jupiter, was okay... But it hurt to think about him. "He has to be okay." That came out as a whisper, and the truth that it was torture wasn't hard to figure out, but she didn't say so.

When asked about Delilah being possibly a mutant, she lifted her shoulder a little. "Aside from having Down Syndrome, I do not know yet. But if she is, at least I am equipped for it." But as for the mention that Alex was not a mutant... Well... Xavia thought it wise not to mention the supposed cure.

"Okay," she said, deciding not to try and change her mind for the moment. "If you are ever curious about t'ings, maybe you can come to Mansion where I teach. Up to you, T'ough." She gave an encouraging smile, hoping that the awkward feeling the conversation just took would lift and turn around. And hopefully she could bite her tongue on her weirdly complicated and somewhat (understatement) tragic life.

Being friendly was hard, Alexandra concluded as she found herself unsure on how to respond to the fact that Xavia told her that her daughter had Down Syndrome. Nothing really seemed appropriate so Alexandra pressed her lips together, deciding to keep her mouth shut and not to comment on the matter. She simply nodded in agreement when the redhead mentioned that she was well prepared to handle her daughter's possible mutation. Clearly, she needed to brush up on her people skills. Not everything in life was just business.

"Mansion? You teach at Xavier's?" she asked, hesitantly. She thought she read somewhere that the Mansion was the colloquial name for Xavier's School for the Gifted but since she lacked mutant acquaintances in New York, any reading on the topic was out of pure curiosity and most of the details were lost. Something else she should probably brush up on, too. Mutant population in New York was surely more numerous that she was used with. "And sure, I'll come to visit sometime." She concluded the sentence with a smile, in response to the redhead’s encouraging one. There was no better place to learn about mutants than Xavier's, if Xavia indeed referred to it.

“Uhmm…” The brunette fidgeted in her seat, as she searched through her pocket, as she remembered that she still had some business card samples she had ordered for her gallery. If she and Xavia were to maintain contact, they did need the means to do so. Fishing her wallet from the front pocket of her hoodie, she removed a card from it and offered it to the other woman, her lips curling back up into a smile. The business card was a glossy black – on one side, Elysium, the name of the gallery was written in cursive. On the other side, her name, phone number, email address and the gallery’s website. “You have my phone number on here. Call me and we’ll set up something?.”

There wasn't much one could say. Xavia hadn't meant to come off as so matter of fact about her daughter and being prepared for mutation. She did not treat Delilah any different or think Downs was anything to be ashamed of. It was just what one did when they had a big pile of stuff on one's plate... They deal.

"Yes. You are more t'an welcome to come. We can arrange a day. I can give you tour, even." She was smiling a little, hoping to make it feel less awkward. She had to admit the whole thing was just one big ball of mess and she worried Alexandra may have gotten all kinds of the wrong impressions of her.

It just happened to be a bad few weeks.

She took the number into her phone and saved it, then gave her own business card since she was still technically CEO of the greenhouse company her family ran.

Alexandra nodded in response; a tour of Xavier's School - the Mansion, sounded nice. Hopefully, the gallery wouldn't eat up all her time from now on - she expected to be busy until Elysium got off the ground but still, she wished to have enough time to pursue other activities. Oh well, only time would tell.

She let her wallet rest on her lap as she took Xavia's business card. Her eyes dropped to it, glancing over the writing. Xavia Worshalai. Greenhouse company. A smirk crept up on her lips. Fitting. Poetic, even considering her mutation. Pulling out her own phone, she slid her thumb to the home button to unlock it, typed in the number and saved the new contact. Sliding her finger to lock the screen, she pocketed the phone and slipped the business card into her wallet.

Wallet in hand, hands resting in her lap, Alexandra looked back to Xavia. Cue the awkward silence. The brunette cleared her throat and looked over her shoulder to see inside the store. "Do you want me to get some tea or something from Starbucks?" A shrug followed her question, as she turned to look briefly to the redhead, then to the sky who'd gotten darker during their talk and threatened New York citizens with one hell of a storm. "Or do you want to get home before the storm hits?" she offered up a second option, letting brown eyes sliding back to Xavia as she spoke.

"I do not mind rain unless it is too cold." She said honestly. Of course not! She was a plant. "I feel like I have taken up enough of your time, t'ough." Especially since things kept getting awkward for one reason or another.

"And it is getting late, I should jog home and you should get your pooch inside before he causes any more trouble." Humor danced in her eyes at that one.

She gave Alexandra a chance to respond as she bent down and pet the playful dog. She really had not been concerned about the dirt the dog got on her. Hopefully now it made sense to Alexandra, knowing what she was now.

“It’s fine.” Alexandra assured Xavia, when she mentioned that she had taken enough of her time. Sure, things got awkward here and there – Alexandra guessed that it had much to do with the fact that in the last four years she had little interest in developing her social skills beyond being charming and schmoozing the rich to open up their wallets and buy art. Giving advice to someone in need … she certainly wasn’t a natural at it.

Brown eyes slid to Loki as the redhead bent down to pet him. The pug’s ears perked up as he shifted his attention from his playmate to the human petting him. As he was one who never refused human attention, he sat himself down, enjoying the petting. Alex smiled, shaking her head then looked back at Xavia. “Yeah, I should probably take him home. He’ll be falling asleep in no time, with all the attention he’s been getting today.”

Reaching down, she untied the leash from the table. Loki’s attention shifted toward his master, wiggling his tail. Alexandra straightened herself back up, pocketed the wallet that had been resting on her lap and rested her hands on her knees. “Take care of yourself, okay?” she said to Xavia, the line of her lips curving up to form a small smile.