"Jack," Skye repeated with a nod. "I understand. Kinda like when I hear someone call me Skylar. Or worse, Skylar Jade," she added with a giggle.

Then, she looked as Jack showed her what she did do, and she smiled, looking at the detail and the craftsmanship as it lay in her palm. She looked it over, somewhat impressed as she looked it over. "Wow...this is really good," she commented, looking over with a smile.

Then, Skye shook her head. "I don't really make anything, honestly. I mean...I appreciate art, and I read, but...I'm not really creative. Not that I haven't tried, I'm just not very good. Also it's hard when I'm trying to concentrate, and I get distracted...My distractions tend to come with a light show," she said somewhat sheepishly, offering the carving back.

Jack accepted the returned carving, sliding it into her pocket. She inclined her head.

"In duh way uzz nyutations, it's not an ugly nyutation to has," the prawn offerred in an attempt to console the girl. A light show, and hair that couldn't decide what color to be. Not too shabby, "I nean, iss it's any consolation, I right dere wiss you. Light up suntines, long ny s'ines." Jack trailed a finger along the hard ridges of her forearm, "No change colors, doh. Always 'lue. Light 'lue."

The prawn moved towards the front register, nodding to the attendant. It was one of the ones that had a hard time understanding her, so she'd keep small talk to a minimum.

"You... lizz sar s'run here?" the prawn asked, "No uh-sense, but like... iss not sa'se sore a young lady to 'e walkin' duh streets alone at diss hour... not really sa'se sore nee, ei-derr."

The prawn surveyed her newfound friend. She'd hate to see something happen to them, or hear about them in the news.

"No one screws around wiss ya when you're se'en seet tall..."

"Yeah...the color part is pretty neat, I admit. Though I don't really have any control. I'm pretty sure if you hung around long enough you could have me figured out by the color," she said with a light giggle. "Light blue would look good on you, I think," she replied, blushing lightly, her hair fading to pink to match her blush as she said it.

Walking toward the register, Skye shot a glance up at Jack in response to her question. "If you want to call it living," she joked dryly. "It's a bit of a walk from here, though. I've kinda been out and about this evening while my Aunt and Uncle were out working. Oddly....people give you a wide birth when your hands light up," she said with another shy smile.

"Some company would be nice though. I mean, the odds may be low, but it would be my luck to bump into the one ***hole who'd test his luck." She smiled again. "I'd really appreciate it."

Jack finished purchasing her books, then stepped aside, clenching the plastic bag in one hand. Skye agreed to some company and the prawn touched a timid hand to her chest in a gracious gesture.

"I'n honestly sur'rised dat you hasn't encountered trou'le yet," she admonished, "You'd sink solks would a'oid an o'ious nyutant, 'ut dat's gi'ing den too nuch credit. Solks are stu'id. Dey jus wanna gizz you nore trou'le once dey realize you're a nyutant..."

The prawn fell quiet when the bookseller started to help Skyler. She'd be happy to tag along, at least until she saw the girl home. Her aunt and uncle would probably thank her for it, if they even knew their niece was out at this hour at all... Jack took the chance to drink in the girl's appearance, the color-changing hair particularly... what did pink mean, she wondered? She wasn't being hostile, so it couldn't have been bad...

"I don't think I've been here long enough," she said with a giggle. "This is the first time since I've landed that I've gotten off my uncle's couch," The last part of her statement was said a little more dryly than the first. Then she nodded as she paid for her books and hung the bag on her shoulder.

"I didn't think about that. But then again I spent my whole life in a small port town in Maine, maybe thirty minutes from the closest city. So it wasn't as dangerous. Yeah I'm a little out of my element..."

Moments later they were stepping outside. And then she realized that her flimsy hoodie was no match for the 4am chill, and she slid closer to the larger mutant in the hopes of leeching warmth. "I think my uncle lives like....ten blocks from here," she murmured, biting her lip against the cold as she pulled the hood over her head.

"Give it time," was the prawn's equally-dry response. Not that she wished ill upon her friend, it was just that trouble had a way of finding people with an X Gene, regardless of the precautions one took avoid said trouble. Skye finished her purchase, and the two stepped outside, into the brisk night air. Skye nestled close, and Jack could feel her face climb in temperature. For someone she'd just met, Skye was certainly in the prawn's personal space. Not that she minded. Not even in the least bit.

Jack kept a steady stride, but with someone whose stride was much shorter, she found that she was slowing down more, so as not to outrun her friend.

>> "I think my uncle lives like... ten blocks from here."

"Dat's not too terri'le," the prawn commented. Really, ten blocks wasn't a bad walk at all, "And you're close to an awe-sun 'ookstore."

Jack kept her hands in her pockets, unsure of what the appropriate way to walk with Skye would be. Of course, her hormones were telling her it'd be fine to loop an arm around her, hold her close, and--

The prawn cleared her throat. Enough of that.

"I lizz o'er near Central 'ark, o'er near duh zoo," the prawn explained. It was a ways further than the "ten blocks" Skye had mentioned, but she figured since they were swapping living situations... she might as well share, too...

Skye didn't mind being close to her new friend; and wasn't thinking about personal space; all she was focused on was that it was cold as balls outside and Jack practically radiated warmth. At least compared to how she herself was feeling right now. She smiled up at the prawn as they walked.

"Yeah, that is true. I'm going to go broke this way though, I know it..." she murmured softly as she scooted a little closer, but then she heard the bigger mutant clear her throat, and thought maybe she was doing something wrong, so Skye slid just back to where she'd been.

Skye smiled when Jack shared her own living arrangement. "Sounds like a nice setup. Once I get a more steady cash-flow, I should look into a place of my own..." she mused to herself, but out loud. As they walked, Skye looked around, trying to remember exactly how she'd gotten to the bookstore from Blaine's, but....nothing looked familiar.

Her hair turned purple again as her hands started pulsing with the nervous purple light, which soon turned black as fear, doubt, and a little bit of anger at herself set in. The light on her hands began to pulse with more of a black-light effect as her breath caught a little.

"Crap.....this doesn't look familiar...." she muttered. "I...I don't know where...." She took a deep breath. "I'm pretty sure I've gotten us lost," she said, looking up, the black-light effect making the lighter colored surroundings in the immediate area seem to glow.

She took a few more breaths, trying to calm yourself. Easy, girl....no need to blind and/or deafen your new friend....

"I'm sorry...I was sure I knew the way..." She took a few more deep breaths, the light dimming to a mere flicker, but it was still prominent.

“It's hard,” the prawn clicked sympathetically, in response to Skye’s comment regarding finding a place of her own, “Duh city is ex'ensi’.”

The reality of it was that Jack could only afford hole-in-the-wall places, before moving into Devon's complex… And she could only really afford living in Devon's complex because he'd cut her a deal…

Jack followed slightly behind Skye (she didn't know the way to her place, after all). Try as she might to keep her gaze turned outward, however, the prawn could feel her attention cleaving to the girl, and gaze venturing southernly. Skye's light show was even more entrancing in the dark. An anxious sound from Skye broke the prawn's reverie.

>> "Crap.....this doesn't look familiar… I...I don't know where.... I'm pretty sure I've gotten us lost. I'm sorry...I was sure I knew the way..."

Jack trilled, holding her hands up in a placating gesture. The lights had drifted towards a dazzling brilliance, which the prawn assumed meant that she was getting worked-up.

“Easy, easy,” the prawn murmured, digging into her pocket. She pulled out her smartphone, “You know duh address? Could look it u’...”

When lost, one has a tendency of wandering for a spell, finding something they think looks familiar, then keep going from there. That, is exactly what Skye had done before realizing she was lost, and now she'd feared she was even more lost than before. But Jack was there, and even though they'd just met...that thought alone made her feel better.

"Y--yeah..." she murmured, pulling a scrap of paper out of her jacket pocket; luckily she hadn't thrown it away. She then read off the address, putting it into her own phone as well.

"Maybe between the two of us, we'll find something..." she murmured, the black-light not ceasing to radiate from her palms. She edged a little closer to Jack as she looked.

"What does yours say....according to mine...I went way out of the way..." she murmured, biting her lip. Well, she'd really screwed up this time.

The prawn diligently input the address into her phone, waiting for the GPS program to process her request. Skye edged closer, and Jack noticed. Boy, did she notice. Her stomach checked. Her hand twitched. But she kept her hands to herself. She was anxious, the last thing she needed was some mutant behemoth manhandling her.

>> “What does yours say… according to mine… I went way out of the way…”

Jack's phone provided directions, and… sh**, that was far… really far.

“A little walk, yeah,” Jack said placatingly. It was obvious that Jack had confirmed it'd be a long walk. At Skye’s pace, they might get to her house at five. If they speed-walked, that is. Jack surveyed her newfound friend, chirring softly.

“I-iss you want, n-ny 'lace is 'retty close,” Jack murmured, “Got a really nice couch. Can hang tight until nor-ning.”

Jack was constantly housing couch-surfers, so it wouldn't trouble her too greatly to surrender her couch.

Breathe, Skye. Breathe. Be cool. Don't explode... Luckily she'd learned to calm her emotions, though it didn't always work, it did help her not to flashbang everyone all the time. And now, that was coming in handy. But Jack's words calmed her even more. Her hair went to a calm shade of indigo as she looked up at her new friend.

"Really? I'd greatly appreciate it," she said with a soft smile. "I practically live on my uncle's couch, so a sofa really isn't a problem for me," she said kindly, giggling a little. "Thanks," she murmured, giving Jack a one-armed hug as she started walking with her.

The prawn waved for Skye to follow, only offering a short, “s’all good.”

The girl snaked an arm around Jack in a hug, which Jack reciprocated with a steadying one-armed hug of her own. She was so tiny. Very sweet. It wasn't her business how Skye lived, but she found it curious that she lived on the couch at her uncle's house. An absent-minded hand patted Skye's head.

“How old are you, anyways,” the prawn clicked, “Your uncle isn't gonna s’reak iss you aren't home in the nor-ning, is he?”

The question had been nagging Jack all night, for a handful of reasons. If Skye had a home, though, and if she was young enough to recognize curfew… well, let's just say that Jack didn't want to get her in hot water...

"Oh, I texted him, so I should be fine," she said. "He's letting me stay with him while I get on my feet; I just moved here from Maine, so I don't really have much to call my own," she explained, not remembering if she had already or not, but she was really self-conscious about that for some reason.

And then, came the question of age. Luckily, Skye still carried that fake ID from Maine, and though she didn't want to lie...eighteen was still just a kid to some people. And she hadn't known Jack for very long, so she looked up at the other mutant. "Twenty-one," was her simple reply as they walked together. The way she'd answered was seamless, and it still worked. Old enough to be considered a responsible adult, young enough to where living with her uncle wasn't considered weird or lazy. So it worked out.

Besides, once they got closer, and she was able to trust her more, then maybe she'd tell the truth. Maybe.

>> "Oh, I texted him, so I should be fine… He's letting me stay with him while I get on my feet; I just moved here from Maine, so I don't really have much to call my own,"

Jack nodded her head, her antennae lifting at the news. She'd been in a similar position too, when she'd first moved. She has stayed in hostels while pinning down an apartment and a position.

“Iss nice dat you has san’ily to hel' you out,” the prawn rumbled, “Es’ecially in duh city. It's its own entity.”

Then, the most crucial question.

>> "Twenty-one,"

A tension that Jack hadn't been aware she was carrying released from her shoulders. It occurred to Jack that she could be lying, but that wouldn't matter unless they went to a bar… or, you know.

A laugh burbled out of her, a sound like birdsong or a rippling brook. There was something familiar, yet distinctively inhuman, about it.

“Gosh, you’re young,” Jack said, with a pat on Skye’s shoulder, “Just had to ‘e sure I wasn't taking sun high school soss-nore s'run her uncle's house…”

The prawn paused, realizing what she'd said was a little rude. She stepped away from Skye, holding up apologetic hands as if to placate any simmering protests.

“N-n-not dat looking young isn't good! You really cute, it ‘ro’a'ly has its ad’antages. Right?”

She smiled up at Jack, nodding as her emotions began to calm and her hair turned into its flat brunette color; as it stood, she wasn't feeling much of anything in particular. "Yeah, Uncle Blaine and Aunt Lee have been amazing. He even got me a job that I start next week. And yeah...I'm beginning to see that the city is its own entity. And it can be a douche sometimes," she added with a slight snort.

But the mention of being young made Skye's hair flare purple again, the lights on her hands flickering a little with embarrassment. But as the other mutant rescinded her statement, the hair and lights turned orange as she smiled.

"It's okay, you meant no harm," she said, sliding in to give her a bit of a hug. "Maybe we should head out though. It is kind of an ungodly hour," she said with a slightly nervous smile.