Lee was definitely getting better with this whole suddenly being able to turn off her siphoning thing that she seemed to have now. Well, at least better in terms of when she managed to do it, it didn’t startle her to the point of falling off the bed any more. But she wasn’t that good; more often than not, Lee wasn’t able to actually turn her siphoning off when she tried to. Which meant that Lee was often left with way too much energy after spending time with Blaine.

Still, at least going for a run around the park still worked to get rid of that extra energy. Which was a very good thing considering working at Haven didn’t exactly allow her to take her afternoon naps anymore, which meant that Lee was having more and more sleepless nights than than she had been having recently. Again.

So, dressed in grey sweatpants and a red hoodie, her hair tied back in a ponytail, Lee made her way out to Central Park. Kevin was asleep and Blaine was at Haven, doing something or other with the fight club, so Lee really didn’t have much else to do but try to sleep. At least once she got rid of some of her energy.

As she stepped into the park, Lee slipped her earbuds in, music playing, and started jogging.

"Knowledge is power."

The phrase represented the quintessential nature of humankind. Those which used it, sparingly or otherwise, appeared to do so without giving it much thought. Had they truly considered the topics that those three words were attempting to succinctly convey, they would not have repeated them for others to hear. The parable had been lost on them, believing the phrase to be a mere colloquial expression that one could dismissively throw around until it lost all of its meaning. In truth, those which used the quote were fools.

The ambiguity of the quote was undeniable, but Julian believed it to be intentional. One could never truly give the other all the help that they could, for the most precious secrets are those that we keep closest to us. Such was the nature of the quote; it evaluated humankind's thirst for knowledge and power in a way that the two could be held to be inherently linked. If one were to have knowledge, they would consequently have power.

Yet, that was not the sole purpose of the quote. Those three words provided the wisest with a discretionary tale. Choosing to lack knowledge would leave you powerless, which would inherently reduce your control on the circumstances surrounding you. Choosing to impart knowledge upon others would diminish your power, as the pool from which said knowledge could be extract had widened.

Thus, the only way to live life, in accordance with the quote, was to amass knowledge and refuse to impart it upon others at all costs. That was the way that Julian lived. In his profession, he was aware that knowledge was key. Whom you were, how you were, and what you did, were all factual aspects that could be interpreted and re-interpreted, giving birth to entirely new entities. Having the power to shape other's knowledge of matters, and doing so in your favour, only reinforced your control upon them and their surroundings. Julian was the God in his clients' lives. He decided their destiny.

The ambiguous concept of knowledge had been too wide to be regarded as a whole, which is what stopped many from reaching true power. They had failed in separating the concept into the most important areas, thereby failing the quote and themselves. In fact, one had to dispose of knowledge of himself, those around him, and the circumstances which shaped knowledge, in order to achieve true power.

Julian had taken one step closer to attaining ultimate power.

Julian Grant was a mutant. A shocking experience at first, causing an amalgam of feelings which fought for dominance, but one which had its own value. He did not believe that he had grown more powerful due to his mutation- being able to replicate the molecular structure of the things he touched unto himself- but due to the pivotal knowledge that he now had regarding himself. Amidst the anxiety, the panic, the rage, and the shabby guidance he'd received, the CEO of Scorched Earth Limited realised that his knowledge regarding himself was one step closer to being complete. In learning that he was a mutant, he explored himself far more than he had ever voluntarily done before, and consequently learned more about those around him. He was yet to learn the specifics which shaped how mutants were perceived (which included the power players in the scene), but one could easily tell that he had grown more powerful as a result of this knowledge.

But, one could never dismiss whom they were, for whom they are, as the two perpetually worked in tandem to create the individual. Despite being a mutant, Julian was also a playboy who enjoyed working out, attending events, and exercising control upon others. It was in recollection of whom he truly was, outside of his newfound abilities, that he found himself in Central Park, wearing jogging gear.

It had been a few days since the discovery of his powers- meaning training. He needed to learn more about them and about himself so that he could control his abilities better. Yet, that meant little to no actual physical training, which left him to feel 'soggy'. The Spinner could not have that.

His gear was the one he commonly wore for athletic purposes. The black trainers and black shorts were contrasted by the grey tank top, which showcased his lean, athletic physique. He put his smirk on and started running, thinking about how he could manipulate his new contacts and scenario to his benefit. If he had learned anything in life, it was that there was always a benefit to be had.

His stream of thought was cut short whilst he was jogging, noticing another that appeared to be doing the same. His thoughts would have persisted despite the company, if the company did not look the way she looked, or was dressed in the way she was dressed. Grey sweatpants, red hoodie, and a ponytail. The view from behind was perfect, but he was curious as to the view from the front. As such, he accelerated, running past the woman and catching a glimpse of her face and body as he did.

Julian's mind had already concocted a variety of scenarios in which the two could end up, many of which were incredibly indecent. Consequently, he pondered over how he would address the lady, but he was Julian Grant, so he did not worry too much about that.

The young CEO shot the other a playful smirk as he passed her, slowing down to a pace where she could simply run by his side.

Game on.

@leesmith

Lee’s mind was on the music playing in her ears, not really thinking of anything, as she ran. With how busy she was, all day and a good portion of the evening most days, Lee really didn’t have much time to just simply listen to music. Nor did she really have much chance to play her guitar since moving to New York. A guitar that had actually been over at Blaine’s apartment since before Christmas. She had played it more over there than she had at her own apartment since moving, but Skye’s arrival in the city had put a damper on that, too. Among other things.

Still, it was good to have the music in her ears as her feet rhythmically hit the pavement of the pathway. The other nice thing about running at night was that there were barely any other people around. Generally, all Lee felt was a blip here or a blip there, people off the path, just barely at the edge of her siphoning range. Not even close enough for her to even think about worrying about.

That was, until Lee felt energy behind her, steadily growing closer.

Slipping one of her earbuds out, Lee started paying closer attention to her siphoning as well as less attention to her music as she listened for whoever it was coming up behind her. Because of that, Lee wasn’t startled as a man came up beside her suddenly. Nor was she surprised when he passed her.

Though, Lee was a little surprised by the look he gave her, checking her out as he passed. She certainly wasn’t dressed in a way that would make her expect to be checked out, the sweatpants and hoodie were far from her sexiest outfit.

And as the man passed her, he slowed down, looking at her with a smirk as he jogged along beside her. Lee just looked at him with a raised eyebrow for a few moments, expecting some sort of comment to come along with the smirk, but when nothing did, she spoke first. ”Can I help you?”

Her face was pleasing to the eye, which caused both of his to lock onto it as soon as they could. A warm feeling washed over him as he looked over at her. Most- especially those that were foolish and naive in nature- would have described the feeling as affection for another: for a stranger, for a friend, for a romantic interest. Julian? He was not a fool, and he certainly was not naive. He was fully aware that the warmth he felt was no more than the growing hunger for the other; a physical attraction that could not be sated in public. What his mouth dared not say, his eyes certainly conveyed, for several indecent scenarios had run through his mind once more.

Julian believed that one needed to know the other before they attempted to control them; and, oh, how he wanted to control her. This meant that he would have to get accustomed to her, both in terms of physique, personality, and interests, in order to play to those aspects and his strengths and win her heart, or her body, for the night (in fact, the night had started, which made the morning a more likely alternative). Certainly, the physique was what he was most interested in, which was why his eyes did not shy away from any details that her face or body presented. Had any unattractive aspects or malformations been present, he would be sure to dismiss her from his mind and presence.

Her physique was decent enough for one night. Yet, he became more intrigued when she spoke.

Getting to know her personality was going to be a bit more difficult, apparently.

When she spoke to him, her eyebrows raised, and her tonality did not seem as endearing as he would have liked.

"I'd change the voice, perhaps." Julian thought to himself, shaping the woman before him in the folds of his mind, as a sculptor shaped the clay, into someone he would have preferred . He disregarded his own thought, brought back to reality by the cold breeze which stung across his face.

The young CEO realised the same smirk he had given her when he passed her was the same which he currently held. It was entirely possible that he would seem facetious, or creepy even, so he allowed his facial muscles to relax into a more pleasant smile. Given her words, the mutant expected her to be hot-tempered and independent. That made it more difficult for him to win her over, but not impossible.

He was only now starting to know her personality.

"You already are," he replied, the words coming softly out of his mouth after each step, synchronized with the air he expelled. Julian's personality had altered slightly as to gain what he wanted, playing a nicer, more mundane version of himself. As such, the CEO chuckled to himself and shook his head.

"Sorry for staring. I just... I enjoy jogging with other people more than I do alone. It's more cathartic that way." As soon as those words left him, he looked straight ahead. He let there be a small pause in the conversation before proceeding with the next step of his plan. Having too long of a pause would allow her to interject- perhaps to his detriment- and having too short of a pause would have made it all seem scripted.

"If you find it weird, or anything, I can just... run ahead. Sorry." Julian apologetically said, his tonality evidently lower as he accelerated slightly. The distance between the two increased.

According to Julian's theory, the interaction was meant to award him control over the other, even if in the slightest. He believed that she had seen him as irritating at first, given his outlandish and forward personality. However, when faced with someone nicer and more genuine than initially conceived, the woman would feel guilt settle in for her preconceptions. Her guilt would only be intensified if she were to refuse to jog alongside the genuine man, whom only appeared to enjoy her presence. To avoid said guilt, she would accept, opening the gateway for conversation down the line. That was Julian's theory, and plan. He hoped he was right.

If not, they could always interact after the jog, having built a rapport to begin with.

Now, Julian only had to make sure he remained in character.

Lee could see the man jogging beside her eying her as they went. And, though she wasn’t used to that kind of attention while she was wearing these kind of clothes, even less so considering she was wearing a hoodie on top of her tank top, Lee was used to seeing them. At least she was when she actually noticed the looks.

But Lee was noticing the look this time. Thankfully for the man beside her, it was too dark for Lee to see the look in his eyes. If she had seen that look, the next part of the conversation would have turned out to be much different.

Instead, Lee just glanced over at the man, her eyebrow still raised, to see the man’s smirk soften into more of a smile. That was better, Lee thought. Maybe she wouldn’t have to beat him for the thoughts she figured he was having. Though, that thought was shattered a moment later when he replied to her question, and Lee’s other eyebrow rose to join the first. She was already helping him, was she? And just how was she managing to do that, she wondered.

Apparently the man realized that his first answer didn’t really answer anything, and he spoke again, clarifying his previous thought. He preferred jogging with someone else? Well, Lee supposed that was possible, though she tilted her head slightly in thought as she looked at him. At the same time that the man turned to look ahead once more. She generally preferred to go for runs by herself, immersed in her music. Though, that was likely because the person she would like to run with generally wasn’t capable of going for a run the times that she felt the need to go for one. Plus, with the energy she had, how long she generally ran for, who was really able to keep up with her?

Then he was apologizing, saying that he could run ahead if she found it weird, even going so far as to actually start leaving a gap between them as he picked up the pace a bit. ”I’m just not used to running into many people when I run at night,” Lee said to the back of the man running in front of her. Though truth be told, Lee was going for her run a little earlier than she normally would be. ”So I’m used to running by myself. Company’s not a bad thing, though. Especially since I’ll be going home to a sleeping house.”