Mutant human relations left a lot to be desired. The right way to address such problems differed depending on who you asked.  Some believed that dangerous mutants needed to be controlled and policed in order to help facilitate getting along with humanity by less dangerous mutants.  Others believed that mutants needed to be tagged and tracked so that law enforcement knew where any potentially dangerous mutant was at any one time.  Still others believed in isolation, that the only way to have positive relations between mutants and humans was to keep them separate but equal.  

Then there were those who didn't believe the attempt should even be made to have the two peoples get along.  Whether the belief was in mutant or human supremacy, the basic tenant was the same: One was better than the other and the 'lesser than' should be exterminated at worst and controlled under the heel of the superior race at best.  Members of both sides of that coin were often dangerous and unstable.

Ambrosia was a mutant and not of the supremacist type.  Facilitating the friendship and understanding between mutants and humans was a laudable goal and one which she had dedicated her life to.  Violence, however, was never the answer.  No, what was needed was a combination of talking, the hand of understanding and the positive energy of the Earth mother.  Love, acceptance and positive thinking, these were the strongest weapons in the fight to unite two peoples.  If only more people knew it.

To that purpose, Ambrosia found made her way to a drum circle dedicated to channeling the energies of the earth towards the purpose of bridging the gap between two disparate peoples.  The circle took place in the early afternoon at a small park.  Getting out of her smartcar, the walk to find a small group of a couple dozen people, drums and other instruments in hand.  Some were obvious mutants while others could be human or mutant.  Long skirt swishing in the gentle breeze, she waved upon her arrive.

"It's such a pleasure to see all of you again. We're going to do some good work here today."

Manticore had never let his status as a mutant get in the way of his life. From the day he had sprouted claws and a tail, he kept on going full throttle and done exactly what he wanted to do. Of course, anyone who knew him was more then aware that he didn't hold any respect for political correctness. Heck, one night in a bar with him and his mates would show that as far as mutants and humans went, he had no special distinctions between them. One could be as good or bad as the other in his eyes, and he preferred good company to any that took extreme views that would threaten his friends, wither they were mutants or humans.

Manti had also never let his appearance keep him from going anywhere in the city. He knew of course that some places were riskier then others, but as far as his daily life went, no body could keep him from riding down the street on his custom motorbike. People may have stopped and stared at him. Some may have thought his mane was a helmet the way the wind blew it back, but nobody could deny the redness of his fur or the tail that whipped behind him marked him as a mutant. Despite this, Manti never took much notice, as to him, his looks were awesome, and anyone complaining otherwise just had some issue with themselves they hadn't worked through.

Manti pulled into the parks lot, kicking his bike stand out before climbing off, taking a brown bag off with him. He was having a bit of a late lunch, the smell of a toasted ham and cheese wafting from inside it almost enough to make his mouth water at this point. Despite his love of motorbikes and city living, his sense of smell made it easy to appreciate the parks in the city, where the green smell drowned out the usual background scent of exhaust. Thus he enjoyed occasional breaks to...

...was that a smart car? He didn't often see these around. Most people tended towards large sports vehicles rather then the compact 'mini' car. Probably out of some idea that the smaller models were embarrassing to drive. Of course, being a motor enthusiast, he knew better. Some models got 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, and used two motorbike engines. Smaller package, but had a nice kick to it. He doubted he could fit in such a car comfortably, probably hit is head on the roof, but that didn't mean he couldn't admire it.

There was a sound of drumming and instruments tuning from the park, "What's going on here?" he said aloud to himself in a quizatory tone. Looked like there was some event going on. Well, he hadn't asked for lunch and a show, but sometimes you just got lucky. He walked towards the group, stopping a fair distance where he could sit and watch the goings on while sliding his sub out and taking a bite, his razor sharp teeth making short work of it.

Ambrosia wasn't much of a drummer herself.  She did, however, have a love of music and talent in playing  both the flute and the violin, both of which she had brought this fine afternoon.  Melody and rhythm went fit together like two puzzle pieces, each complimenting the other and enhancing the overall experience.  It felt like ages since her last circle and nothing served to help relieve stress quite like it.

Removing the last of her gear, she turned around to see a very large, red mutant standing not far from her.  Most, she was certain, would find him very much intimidating, especially if they weren't used to interacting with mutants.  He was easily twice her size and probably very capable of doing a lot of damage if he chose to.  All in all, he didn't exactly look like the type to frequent a drum circle, but one learned quickly not to judge a book by its cover.


"What's going on here?"

"Welcome newcomer.  We're holding a drum circle in tribute to mutant/human relations.  There's music, dance and performance.  You're welcome to join us, either as a participant or an observer."  She offered a welcoming smile.  Being an openly visible mutant, she knew first hand that a few nice words and a smile went a long way. Sometimes people judged based on no other information than the fact that you looked strange and that judgement hurt.  And she, being a 5 foot faerie girl that was pretty much the opposite of intimidating, didn't get it nearly as badly as some. 

Manti found himself approached by a slight figure. Yes, slight was the right word, short, slender, with a pretty obvious physical mutations that just screamed elf. Or a fairy if comparing sizes, Manti was taller then most, he towered over this one, though it obviously didn't phase the... let's see was she a teenager or an adult? Honestly it was hard to tell because of her looks. He caught her scent, and recalled a similar one coming off the smart car in parking. So this was the mysterious owner, and the appeal she apparently had for it made total sense. It would have been cramped for Manti, but she had plenty of leg and head room to spare.

She greeted him, and her tone and demeanor made him think 'hippy', or at the very least an eco-friendly flower child type. He wondered if that had something to do with the effects of her mutation, or if it was the other way around, and she went that route willingly because of her mutation. Manti had a few behavioral that manifested because of his mutation. they were mostly negligible, small reactions to his mood, but get him around catnip and... well, let's just say many people got a laugh out of slipping some into his drink once.

Upon being invited to 'join in,' he gave a chuckle, "Thanks,but I'm gonna need some food in me before I go around strutting my stuff." he said, taking another bite of his sub. He was up for fun of course, but a guy as big as him had to eat when he had to eat. "But don't let me stop you," he said between chewing, his shark-like teeth somewhat visible as they tore the meat and bread apart.

"Hey, its not for everyone," Ambrosia responded with a beaming smile.  It was pretty much the response she had expected from the large, red mutant.  "But please feel free to enjoy the show."

Ambrosia approached the circle and, once a few greetings had taken place, took her place.  Instead of standing within the circle, however, she stood in the center and took out her violin.  One other woman with pale blue skin and no hair also stood in the center holding an acoustic guitar.  There were also a couple of people with spinning poi along the outside of the circle.  Sometimes there was fire as well, but not today.  Fire worked best at night.

The drumming started with Amrbosia and the guitarist supplying the melody from the center of the circle.  She danced as she played, letting the music take her and her body moved as the music spoke in her soul.  Beside her, her fellow melodist did the same and they played off of one another, both with their melodies crisscrossing back and forth and with their bodies dancing around each other.  On the outside of the circle, the poi spinners spun their poi to the music, incorporating them into their own graceful dancing.  As they played, a small crowed began to gather to watch them.

The music lasted for about 30 minutes.  At its finale, Ambrosia let out a large stream of green and purple fire from her mouth up into the air.  Her fire wasn't strictly dangerous, but it sure did look impressive.  As the music stopped, she and the other performers began to pack up their instruments, many breaking into groups of two or three as they prepared to return to wherever home happened to be.  Today was a success.  She glanced back to where she'd last spoken the red stranger to see if he had stayed for the entire show.

Manti watched with mild interest as he ate his lunch. While he enjoyed the occasional night club scene, this was obviously not that kind of dancing. This was more artsy and expressive, and while still fun, not something he was likely to join in on. The beat of the drums were nice though, along with the music, and the poi spinners were entertaining to watch. This was further proven by the crowd that began to gather to watch. Manti noted a few mutants among the drum circle, ones with more obvious mutations at least, and he guessed that like his own circle of friends, this was a mixture of humans and mutants who got along, which was something he could appreciate.

Eventually things did start to die down again, and the drumming drew to a close with the elf girl spouting off some multi colored fire trick. Manti's abilities were mostly physically based, strength, agility, and the obvious physical mutations, so it was interesting to see someone show off some powers that were more energy based. True, he knew a few who could do things like that, but not many who used it to perform. It made him consider what other things he could do. Of course he had his spines and teeth, but aside from biting cans in half at parties, he couldn't see them being that entertaining.That was fine, he was more then content with having a look that screamed lion and made full grown men think twice about getting on his bad side.

When the elf girl looked his way again, he clapped his hands together slowly in approval. It had been good entertainment. He wondered if they did this often or if it was a one time fling. Demonstrations were tricky that way, you never knew how long they were going to last.

It was always a thrill to perform and especially so when it was all building towards a good cause.  Amrbosia enjoyed a good night at the club complete with thumping base and a top notch laser show as much as the next person, but this was where her real passion lay.  A dance club had a different kind of energy while out here she could really connect to nature.  Music and dancing were powers all on their own.

It took a few minutes for Ambrosia to make her way back to the red mutant. Certain social obligations were necessary, from saying goodbye to friends to speaking to interested and adoring fans.  Well, maybe adoring might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but a girl could dream, right?  The power of positive thinking went further than many gave it credit for.

Eventually, however, she managed to make her way out of the crowd and back to the newcomer, violin case in hand.  "So, what did you think?"  Feedback, negative and positive alike, was always welcome.  The only way one knew what to work on was to be informed.

"It was good," said Manti, "A bit... artsy for my taste, but good none the less." he added honestly, "Liked the drums and the music, but I'm afraid I'm a bit rough around the edges when it comes to fancy dancing." He crumpled up the empty bag of his lunch and put it in his pocket. By his style of dress, one could guess he was more into biker culture, hard rock and loud music. True, he could enjoyed other stuff, but it wasn't his favorite. He could sugarcoat it, sure, but that wasn't his style. He was pretty strait forward with criticism when he had it and didn't expect any special treatment should it come his way. In fact is was easy for him to take criticism because of how he looked. He looked awesome, but of course not everyone agreed with that, so occasionally someone would make some comment on it and he took it on the chin, but it never got him down because of his confidence. Criticism was good, kept you grounded and helped you improve and stuff. Not being able to take it generally meant lack of growth.

"You guys do this often?" he questioned, honestly wondering if this was a regular occurrence, and if they changed up their routines. Honestly if this was a volunteer thing, he would consider doing some stunt riding, though maybe this particular group would not appreciate as much as his own group of friends would.

Ambrosia laughed at the description of the performance, the sound coming across almost musical in nature.  She could see that he didn't exactly look like the sort who frequented such things, but it was all the more fun to introduce those into the fold that didn't look and act like everyone else.  She was certainly no biker herself, but she had a gift for getting along with people from disparate backgrounds.  It wasn't the freaks and weirdos that were the problem; different shapes, styles and philosophies were all beautiful, it was those people who fell in the middle of the crown.  Your 'traditional' types that promoted the needs of money and conformity and being 'normal'.  Because where was the fun in that?

"We don't do this too often.  Once every couple a months, maybe twice that in the spring and summer.  Gathering mutants publicly like this, we have to change locations every time.  The world is a hard place for those who are different and we learned a long time ago if we didn't change locations regularly the human supremists would come along to disrupt things.  Or the mutants supremists, for that matter, who can't stomach the idea of mutants and humans getting along peacefully."  The disgust at such people was evident in her voice.  

"How about you?  What do you like to do for fun, if not artsy, fancy dancing?"

The way the girl talked sounded at first as if it was going to lead into some sort of ideolog, however when she acknowledged the fact that both humans and mutants could be supremacists, he had to admit he was a little relieved. Manti was definitely not one to indulge in extremism of any sort. He liked his group of friends, a mix of humans and mutants who got along without the hypersensitivity that seemed to permeate much of society these days. They could crack any type of joke without someone flipping the table over some type of 'offense' against one group or another. Perhaps part of that was Manti looked too intimidating for most to risk mock offense. In any case, he was relieved that this wasn't a statement of 'pro/anti-something or rather'.

"How about you? What do you like to do for fun, if not artsy, fancy dancing?"

"I like to indulge myself in the fine art of motorcycle repair, stunt riding, and general awesomeness." said Manti, taking a satirical tone of an imitation of a high class British accent. If there was something he didn't lack it was sense of self confidence in his ability to make a funny statement. If anything it broke the ice and made it clear what type of personality he was. Despite his fearsome appearance, Manti was a fun loving guy, rough around the edges sometimes, but nothing like the creature that someone may assume his fur, fang and claws would suggest. Despite this Manti loved the way he looked, he owned it as much as any of his bikes, and it allowed him a degree of freedom that he imagined most desired. Manti was as non-conventional as you could get, and loved every moment of the ride.

"I don't know much about bikes but I do know a thing or two about general awesomeness," Ambrosia answered with a cheery giggle.  She had a strong sense of personal identity, a solid group of friends, a decent job she enjoyed and a passion for getting things done.  In all that, what did she have to feel bad about?  Some might say the fact that she was a mutant and a visible one at that, but those people were either ignorant or visible mutants themselves who hadn't had the opportunity to find the beauty in it.  Life for her kind wasn't always easy, after all.  That's why she was working so hard on changing that.

"So, are you doing anything this fine afternoon?  What do you say I treat you to a coffee or a drink?  You seem like an interesting sort of fellow."  They type to be friendly towards almost everyone, guys sometimes thought she was being flirtatious when she was just being herself.  Well, maybe sometimes those were one in the same but one shouldn't jump to conclusions, right?  Expectations and assumptions got people in trouble, the universe had a way of lighting whatever path was most appropriate if you knew how to listen to it.

"Well now, never let it be said that I was one to turn down a free drink with good company." said Manticore, giving a toothy grin. Honestly coffee was not his favorite, it had a very strong scent that sometimes was irritating to him. He could stand it, after all he hung out in a motorcycle bar where smoking was a guarantee, so irritating smells could be gotten used too. He was social enough to where he could endure a little bit of discomfort if he got to hang out with friends. He had just met this woman, but he was always on the look out for more friends to hang out with. And if he was lucky enough, maybe she would let him look under the hood of her smart car.

"So what will it be coffee, tea, or something a little stronger?" he said, hinting at his preferred preference. Manti had develop a taste for alcohols, beer, liquor, rum. His biology was such that it broke down the alcohol like any other toxin, so he never got drunk, letting him enjoy a variety without a hangover later. Well, it did make him thirsty if he had too much, booze didn't replace water.

Ambrosia could take a hint when it came to drinks of preference. She wasn't what one might call a big drinker, but she did enjoy her alcohol and could even be considered an occasional club girl, when the urge moved her.  Somthing about fruity alcoholic drinks, heavy base and dancing just fit together perfectly.   Now that she stopped to think about it, it had been a long time since she'd had the chance to really go out and enjoy herself.  Drinking and driving, of course, was a solid no go.  Of course, she had the added option of flying home.

"I know of a little pub not far from here, if you don't mind walking.  I've been there a couple times and they're usually friendly towards mutants."  Sometimes it felt like finding mutant friendly places was getting more and more difficult.  This was supposed to be a day of positivity, however, not one for moping about the woes of the world.  

Manti had no problem walking anywhere, though it was a little slow paced. He liked speed, wither it was on a cycle or just plain running, but he was adaptable.He had no issue with pubs either, he frequented bars in his biking circle, so a pub was just a less smoky place he could drink. "I'm sure the'll have no problem with us," said Manti, "If they do, I can always just smile," he gave a short grin, exposing his teeth, laid in multiple rows, looking all the world like some sort of nightmare inverted chainsaw. Manti rarely had to actually use his teeth as a weapon, mainly because the mere sight of them gave anyone second thoughts about the benefit of causing trouble for something that could likely sheer and arm off.

"So what is it you do, besides dancing and demonstrating." he asked. It was opened ended, he didn't know if she had any other abilities in addition to her fire-breathing, or if she had a job of some type with this as a hobby of sorts.

Ambrosia smiled back, with far less toothiness and far less intimidation.  Some relied upon intimidation while some relied upon charm, and she was definitely in the latter category.  "I can see why people might choose to just listen to what you have to say and not argue about it.  No one's scared of an elf girl."  Not that she minded of course; being friendly was just the way she was.  If people were afraid of her she'd be more sad than anything.

Ambrosia began walking towards their destination.  "Well, music is pretty much my passion.  Well, that and helping mutants.  I connect mutants in need with resources to help them.  As for powers, I can transform into a tiny dragon."  Nope, not intimidating at all.  When the word 'dragon' was attached to a form little larger than a cat, it was hard to be scary.  "How about you?  What do you do?"  She left the question just as open ended.