For the entire first 14 years of his life, Azim had lived in Radiant's enclave, away from all other civilization.  While some might choose to use words like 'cult' and 'indoctrinated' (and those words would not be wrong), words like 'family' and 'love' could also be used.  For 14 years, he had lived among his own kind, mutants every one of them, learning and growing and, mostly, thriving.  Then everything had changed.  His best and closest friend, Silver, had been tortured nearly to death for the simple crime of looking into the human world and from that moment, he knew he couldn't remain among them.

With little planing or notice to anyone except Silver, he hid within the truck heading to New York City for supplies and left the only life he'd ever known forever.  He'd been discovered in his hiding place when they'd stopped for gas a few miles outside the city.  It hadn't been a pretty picture.  A copious amount of yelling and accusations of betrayal and hatred had been thrown in both direction but, in the end, what could they do to force him to remain in a place he no longer wish to remain in?  He has given some food and left of the side of the road to fend for himself.  Thus left the last reminder of home he'd likely ever see again.

Secretly terrified, the was nothing to do but go forward into the city.  The further he traveled the more buildings appeared and the with them the more people walked the streets.  Never had he seen such a place like this, having only the approved pictures his teachers had allowed him and Silver's stories of what the city was like.  Awestruck, his pace slowed as he tried to take in all the different sights and sounds around him. 

He had an address for the Mansion; Silver had managed to get him that much.  All of a sudden, however, it struck him that he had no idea how to get to this address?  So many people and cars and buildings and streets, so many different smells and sounds and sights all of them new and overwhelming.  Humans, humans everywhere where prior to this day he'd never even seen 1 human, let alone an entire city of them.  He froze in place, panic clearly written on his features.  Around him, people walked by, staring at his blue skin and energy tail and more than one overtly crossing the street to avoid him.  No one stopped to help and he felt tears well up in his eyes.

Celeste was having a very off day. She had woken up late (despite her usual hatred of sleep, it was amazing, despite the dreams of Halloween night.) Her stab wound was healing fairly nicely and the bruises all over her back no longer hurt but were still discolored. It made her a little self-conscious, but luckily she wasn’t going swimming anytime soon (especially in this cool, cold weather.) 

Celeste wore her diner outfit as she walked as fast as she could towards her diner. She had to hit the metro then a short bus ride to it. She nearly wanted to just take a Lyft but she knew she needed to save money. She had no idea about those hospital bills… Yikes.

She sighed as she took her iPhone out and texted her manager, Barb, that she was going to be really late. Like, really, really late. Her manager had been going pretty easy on her, so she was sure it would be fine. Barb had found out about the Halloween night incident and, well, she’d been a mother hen ever since. There was so much going on and Celeste’s mind seemed to not be able to keep up. It was infuriating to her. 

Celeste put her phone back into her purse to exchange it for a water bottle out but once she pulled it out, about to take a sip, her eyes caught a young looking mutant with blue colored skin and some type of tail. He was not moving and Celeste’s intuition immediately kicked in – something was wrong. She didn't know what. She did know that even though New York was a bastion of tolerance, there was still really dangerous people in the city who were not friendly with mutants. Could he be in danger? Several people were walking away from him but Celeste ended up walking up towards him with a small, gentle smile on her lips.

She put away her water and once she was closer, she knew her instincts were right – was he about to cry? His eyes were really watery. Oh no. What if he was thrown out of his home? She bit her lip as she approached the young boy, “Hey there, I’m Celestina. Celeste for short. Are you okay? You seem kinda lost…?” She asked quietly, in a soft yet firm voice. He needed to know she wanted to help but that also meant showing some authority. Or something? 

She stayed a little bit away from him, just in case he was dangerous though. Celeste was not going to get herself put back into the hospital bed with more stab wounds or ugly colored bruises. No way, Jose. 

The sounds and smells of the city were closing in on him.  All around there was movement and raucous and hostile looks and words and none of it was familiar.  For so long he'd felt constrained in his little forest enclave and resentful that they wouldn't let him leave.  Now, the one thing he wanted most was to go back home among his Radiant family, back in the quiet of his former life.  Maybe they'd forgive him.  Maybe, if only he performed proper penance, they'd let him come back.  

Some small part of him knew that was impossible and he felt paralyzed and overwhelmed.  He couldn't go back but how was he to possibly go forward?  Surely he had made a terrible mistake and Silver hadn't actually been hurt that bad anyway.  Surely.  Except, even if he had, the choice had been made and he was now stuck with it.

It took a moment for him to realize that someone was speaking him.  Trying to blink back the tears that still lurked at the corners of his eyes, he saw a young, blond woman in front of him.  She didn't look like a mutant but experience had taught him that many mutants looked just like humans.  She looked like a human.  Gods, what if she was a human?  What if she wanted to hurt him?  Because humans hated and featured mutants?  How would he ever know?  He'd never spoken to a human before.

"Um.  Yes.  I'm lost."  The battle with the tears was finally lost and they started streaming down his face, unable to be contained any longer.

Celeste wasn't sure what was wrong with the kid that stood in front of her or why he was so upset. He looked lost, defeated, and afraid. Could he not be from around New York? That was a possibility - it is a huge cultural shock. All the people, the cars, the lights... It was the city that never sleeps, after all. 

It took him a moment to register that she was speaking to him. Her face increasingly showed genuine worry. Something was really wrong and Celeste had no idea what. Did he have any parents or guardians around? He was only a few inches shorter than Celeste, so she began to move a little bit closer to him as the tears began to fall down. He was lost. 

Celeste frowned, "Oh. Are your parents or guardians around...? Is your home around here?" She said supportively, with worry increasing. It was scary to be alone in a brand new place - she had been in his shoes not too long ago. Not lost, but a new place. She was basically right in front of him at this point. He probably wasn't a threat or anything, but she did need to help him. Something was wrong and she was apparently the only one going to help him. 

He was definitely a mutant. Could there have been something going on due to his mutation? Cast away? Parents kicked him out? She didn't want to make assumptions but she did need more information. She didn't want to bring the police involved unless absolutely necessary, especially considering their desire to use META bots in situations with mutants. She nearly put her hand on his shoulder to give him an encouraging squeeze but knew that might not be a safe thing to do. "It's going to be okay," she said encouragingly, "I can help you. I just need you to tell me where your home is or what is going on."