(Continued from here!)

How the hell did this escalate? How did a hallways squabble lead to Eupraxia on a New York bus sitting next to the cruel Princess, Amethyst?

Because she was too stubborn for her own good. That was absolutely it. She fired off a RHETORICAL challenge to Amethyst, expecting the sheltered royal to shy away from it. She underestimated how stubborn entitlement could make someone.

Because the Mansion was out of the way, a bus route passed close to the gates every hour to give the kids a chance to go out into the city. This was not Praxi’s first time leaving the Mansion walls, but it was the first time she’d go further than the nearby pizza shop, and they had no teacher to watch over them.

But Praxi was stubborn and proud, so she was swallowing any concern. They were the only two on the bus besides the driver who was clearly adjusted to mutant passengers. Still, the further they went, the more humans would come to the bus.

This was a dumb idea, but there was no turning back now. ”So where are we going, your majesty? The other students have told me about places, but I wouldn’t want to bring you somewhere you can’t handle.” Praxi, stop antagonizing. Except she did not have that toggle, or she wouldn’t be on a stupid bus.

A bus, as far as Amethyst understood, was a vehicle of 'public transport.' As in, transporting the general public.
The goop girl did start out strong in trying to break her.

Amethyst picked her way aboard in a flowing lilac dress, accented with heavy golden jewelry set with amethysts. Nothing too flashy, in case the humans had an eye for jewels. This was a dangerous thing to do, walking out with no help or supervision, only accompanied by a very antagonistic puddle of slime. The drive did not seem to pay much attention to either of them, which, frankly, was worse than either alternative. Amethyst perched on the edge of the seat, trying to not touch anything in her vicinity. If this bet was not going to kill her, the filth might.

Still, her pride was at stake here.

>>”So where are we going, your majesty? The other students have told me about places, but I wouldn’t want to bring you somewhere you can’t handle.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes at the goop.

"Please. If I can survive this dung cart, I can survive anything. Do your worst."

She would never say it, but Praxi felt envious of Amethyst's dress. It was frustratingly pretty with the way it flowed, because Praxi knew the fabric would either get stuck to her surface or sink into her if she got too unfocused. Either way, it would not flow on her the way it did when Amethyst stood in it. Little things like this made her easy to dislike.

True to form, the Princess also wore jewelry, but that made Eupraxia less jealous. Thanks to the royal's habit of dropping gems due to her mutation, the slime girl had a nice little collection floating inside her which she felt as an almost tingly sensation as they floated lazily in her form. Well, gems and a few other important small items. Sure, she might not have had nice clothes, but she did sparkle.

They set off on their little journey without a purpose, but Eupraxia had a place in mind. It had come up in her interaction with Celeste and remained on her mind. "Well, my worst means we're riding this bus until the Sugar Hill stop. At least that's what the computer said." A phone was not practical for Eupraxia, but a professor had set her up with a computer that responded to her voice and eye-tracking. That last one did require her to keep her eyes in the right place, which was a problem for a girl who let parts of herself drift casually when she felt like it.

Sitting on one of the chairs, a small portion of Eupraxia's attention went to retaining the right texture. She wanted her surface to be slick, not sticky; it might look bad for the school of she left trails of herself all over the bus. After a short bout of driving, they pulled to a stop. Eupraxia was nervously excited, but the digital sign did not say Sugar Hill. "Inwood/Sherman Ave." She sighed, assuming they had a ways to go. Next time, she would just take that cool jet Maya liked to fly around in.

Praxi's daydreaming was interrupted as the front doors of the bus opened up and two people stepped up to pay their fare. Instinctively, Euprxia pulled herself back until she was less of a girl and more of a dense puddle sitting on her seat so she could be blocked by the back of the chair in front of her. "Amethyst, they're humans. Real humans!" she whispered nervously.

>> "Well, my worst means we're riding this bus until the Sugar Hill stop. At least that's what the computer said."

"Whatever you say" Amethyst shrugged. All parts of this city were equally weird to her, and it wasn't like Atlantis didn't have its own dirty or scary parts (she just never went there on purpose). But if the slime girl wanted to prove that she wouldn't last among humans, she would also have to hold up herself.

Which did not last long. The bus stopped, and two people boarded. Amethyst glanced over at the green slime, which was fast turning from girl into embarrassed puddle.

>>"Amethyst, they're humans. Real humans!"

"Oh? I rather thought that was the whole point" Amethyst smirked, raising an eyebrow at the puddle. Did she really thing she was going to fare better among humans than the princess did? Amethyts flashed a friendly, well-practiced royal smile at the people. "Hello there. Welcome aboard!"

There was some sense of smug superiority that Eupraxia was the one in control of their trip. Amethyst knew nothing outside of the Mansion walls, and while Praxi only knew what she looked up before leaving, she was more knowledgeable. Maybe that sense of pride had her acting like some expert on their voyage.

That pride and confidence receded when confronted with real humans. The only thing that kept her from oozing out of the bus entirely was Amethyst’s smug retort. This was the point. Praxi just… er, needed a minute.

A man and a woman, both in their early twenties claimed seats and placed messenger bags and purses on their laps. Expecting a quiet bus ride into the city, they were surprised to be greeted by anyone. Noticing the young woman sitting further back on the bus, they smiled. “Well thank you! Are you in charge of the bus?” he asked lightly, playfully engaging with what he assumed was some local schoolgirl.

Feeling irked, Praxi tepidly raised her head over the back of the chair in front of her, along with two arms to prop her up. She made a very concerted effort to be as solid as she could muster. ”She isn’t! I am. She doesn’t even know where we’re going.”

The pair experienced the initial surprise of seeing a girl made of green goop speaking to them, but fortunately, the woman smiled warmly. “I see. And are you two from the Mansion I’m guessing?”

Cautiously, Praxi murmured, ”Mhmm.” She was unsure of what these humans were angling at, so she was not going to be bought in by pleasant tones and polite questions

>>“Well thank you! Are you in charge of the bus?”

Amethyst was pleased that her greeting was well received; it was a small victory over Praxi who immediately turned into a puddle. The two young people seemed decent enough, even if their outfits were a little shabby by Atlantean standards. Then again, they were taking a bus, so that much was to be expected.

"I..."

>>”She isn’t! I am. She doesn’t even know where we’re going.”

Praxi pulled herself together, probably to spite her, and made an appearance that clearly surprised the passengers, but did not trigger any immediate violence from them.

>>“I see. And are you two from the Mansion I’m guessing?”

"Terrifying humans" Amethyst whispered with a smirk, before she responded louder: "She is. I'm visiting. As an... exchange student."

Eupraxia did not like to lose. She spent most of her life salvaging small victories as an annoyance. Now that she was a real person with rights, she wanted to stop losing. That’s what made Amethyst so annoying with her smug pretty face. That was what forced Praxi to sit up and engage with the humans. She resisted the urge to glare at Amethyst through the side of her own head, because she wanted to keep her eyes on the humans.

Surprisingly, making her appearance to these people was not met with disgust. They were polite, which Amethyst was smarmy about. Darn princesses.

“Oh, an exchange student? Where are you from?”

”She’s from… Greece.” Eupraxia almost mentioned Atlantis, but she realized the Mansion might not want to broadcast the Atlantean refugees they were hosting or the royalty they had walking the halls. ”A small island off Greece. I’m from there too, but I live here now.” Was this nervous talking? Maybe, but at least she was talking.

“Oh, so you’re friends from home!” Eupraxia scrunched her “nose,” but it was thankfully hard to tell with her less-defined face, and she kept her comments to herself. “Are you two going anywhere exciting in the city?”

Eupraxia was still apprehensive, because this was not what she expected from humans. They were suspicious; did humans act nice to lure mutants into trouble? Then again, Amethyst was already treating her like she was paranoid. Praxi had to keep her composure, and so far, these were just two nice younger people. ”It’s a secret. She can’t know because she hasn’t been to the city yet and I’m in charge today.” As opposed to Atlantis, where Amethyst would be in charge by default.

She was oblivious to the bus coming to the next stop and a more middle-aged pair getting onto the back entrance of the bus, giving her and Amethyst (by association) dirty looks.

>>"Oh, an exchange student? Where are you from?”

Amethyst opened her mouth to answer, but Praxi was faster.

>>”She’s from… Greece. A small island off Greece. I’m from there too, but I live here now.”

>>“Oh, so you’re friends from home! Are you two going anywhere exciting in the city?”

Amethyst glared at the goop girl who was apparently making things up now. Greece was one thing (a common mistake apparently, at least in America, but she was learning their geography was shaky at best in general), but friends?! The princess huffed under her nose.

>>”It’s a secret. She can’t know because she hasn’t been to the city yet and I’m in charge today.”

Oh, she was enjoying this way too much. The princess folded her arms. "She decided where we go, and I am making sure we actually get there." she clarified. She didn't notice the older people either.

Eupraxia did not want to claim ownership of Amethyst, but she knew the right thing was to step in before Amethyst went off, offering her whole title or whatever princesses had. The fantasy shows she had seen since her arrival made it sound like princesses had twelve wordy titles, which seemed excessive and absolutely Amethyst’s style.

Their accents were similar, so it was obvious they came from the same place. Amethyst still glared when she pointed it out, either because she was acting like they were friends or because being Greek was an inaccurate assumption people kept making about them. (From what she had read, Atlantean culture was more comparable to Minoan culture, but try telling that to Americans.)

It was also clear the princess took issue with how Praxi designated herself as their leader. She clarified her role, essentially as Praxi’s supervision, and the gorgon wanted to chime in and argue, but she overheard an older voice speaking in the back of the bus.

”Why would they let a mutant like her on a bus?”

“Any mutant, really.”

Praxi felt a sinking feeling, like her cells were heavier now. She wanted to puddle again and hide, but they already saw her. They did not want her here. She already knew this would happen, but came anyway. This was a mistake. This was--

“What about you, young lady?”

”Ey?”

Evidently, while Praxi heard the comments from the elders on the bus, the humans that were being nice to them did not and continued speaking. “Oh, it is young lady, right?” She smiled when Praxi meekly nodded. “Have you been enjoying New York?”

”It’s been okay,” she answered, before shyly admitting, ”I’ve sorta only seen a little bit of it, too.”

The male traveler grinned. “There’s a lot of city to see. Most people never see it all, even when they live here.”

”Why do so many of them come to New York. Do you hear them? Clearly from somewhere else.”

Praxi’s hearing was poor, so if the old people on the bus were whispering, they were doing a poor job. It did still have the effect of making her wish she had just stayed at the Mansion.

Amethyst did not notice the older couple on the bus until they started whispering. Or doing what they thought was whispering, anyway, because she could hear them quite clearly. Maybe they had hearing problems.

>>"Why would they let a mutant like her on a bus?... Any mutant, really.”

Oh, there it was. The scary humans. Amethyst glanced at Praxi, who seemed to be pooling in an uncomfortable way. The younger couple seemed friendly enough, and they were keeping up the conversation, asking Praxi about how she liked the city, and how much of it she had seen. Amethyst wondered if the goop girl had actually been lying about just exactly how comfortably she moved in New York. She sure as stars was not comfortable now.

>>”Why do so many of them come to New York. Do you hear them? Clearly from somewhere else.”

Amethyst turned around, looking the couple over with royal disgust. She was not used to being subtle, or looking away. Other people looked away when they met her. Her gaze clearly made the old couple wildly uncomfortable.

Praxi did not being treated like she was lesser than people. It was not uncommon; she was slime, and that let people act like she was just something monstrous or sub-human. She was not below humans, but it was hard to feel that way when she was in the minority.

It was important to behave; she was an Atlantean and her actions technically reflected on the other gorgons. She still wanted to throw slime at the bigot couple and slither off the bus.

Thankfully, one of the younger humans noticed what the elders were crowing and frowned. “I’m sorry, is there a problem?”

The old woman, who had stayed uncomfortably meeting Amethyst’s gaze, muttered, “The mutie’s the one with the staring problem.” Amethyst was a lovely young woman, but a crone like that would not assume a human girl would be traveling with a slime puddle.

Well, that just sounded stupid. And it was stupid enough for Praxi to reform and turn around. ”Excuse you, but Amethyst has no problem with staring, and especially glaring.” It was like a royal talent. ”Plus you were staring first, skyrva.” It was not a polite word, but it was also thankfully an Atlantean word, so Praxi doubted she could get in trouble for that.

“Oh, it talks for some reason,” the man retorted in disgust.”

”Hey, you--!”

Before Praxi could say the kind of words she generally saved for guards, the younger man stood up and walked down the aisle of the bus, placing himself between the old couple and the girls. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to be respectful of these young women or get off the bus. I won’t be dealing with discrimination on my nice ride downtown.”[/color]

>>“I’m sorry, is there a problem?”

Oh, there was a problem. Princess Amethyst was sitting on foul-smelling American public transport with a gorgon, and she was being stared at by peasants.

>>“The mutie’s the one with the staring problem.”

The princess' eyes flashed. She knew that word now, it did not take long in the US to learn that was a slur used to all gifted people, demigods and gorgons alike. Which was, frankly, insulting in itself. The young man seemed to be on their side in this argument which was mildly confusing. Didn't Praxi imply all humans were horrible?

Talking about the goop gorgon, Praxi formed herself back into some kind of an anthropomorphic shape out of sheer displeasure.

>>”Excuse you, but Amethyst has no problem with staring, and especially glaring. Plus you were staring first, skyrva.”

Amethyst blinked at the word, then bit back a laugh.

>>“Oh, it talks for some reason,”

>>“I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to ask you to be respectful of these young women or get off the bus. I won’t be dealing with discrimination on my nice ride downtown.”

Amethyst looked between the young man, the older couple, Praxi, and the driver. The bus pulled up to a stop, and the mutant-haters got off with the last shreds of their dignity. The princess looked at the gorgon, raising an eyebrow. Maybe not all humans were so scary to mutants after all?

"Why did they even do that? They did not seem to have... any specific problem with us?... Other than you leaving stains on the seat, probably."

Praxi had done such a good job of slinging around a curse at the old jerks, it almost threw her off when she heard the Princess nearly laugh at her. Evidently, she was not expecting Praxi to cross those lines, which was fair, because while the Princess annoyed the slime girl, she still kept words like that off the table. It was the kind of insult a guard would cut a kid’s tongue out for-- well, if she had a tongue.

Being called an it reaffirmed the old man’s status as a skyrva, but for some reason, the younger human stood up and interceded for them. Praxi was not sure, but she might have even seen some kind of badge being flashed, even if she would not recognize it.

The mean people got off the bus after an awkward silence, leaving Praxi and her primary antagonist sitting there as the young man returned to his partner. Amethyst was still shocked by the unnecessary treatment, and Praxi shrugged or made some approximation of a shrugging gesture. ”It’s not like you have a specific problem with Gorgons, right?” Disliking a group for who or what they were wasn’t a specific thing. ”And I don’t leave stains. I’m too thick to seep into things, thanks.”

What was more of a surprise was the young man. ”Um, sir, why did you tell them to leave?” Her watery voice lowered as she asked, ”Are you a mutant, too?”

He smiled, shaking his head. “Nope. Just a human, but that doesn’t mean I have to stand for people being cruel to other people.”

“Especially to kids,” his girlfriend agreed. “That was just rude. I hope you two are okay?”

”Oh. Yes. Thank you.” Eupraxia was still unsure of how she wanted to take the kindness of these humans, so she quietly sat back into the seat and tried to reflect on this while they rode to their stop and their mission for the day.

Amethyst was no stranger to court intrigue and inter-personal drama, but it was strange to her to be glared at by strangers just because they assumed she was a mutant. She didn't even have any visible mutations! It wasn't like she was a gorgon or anything.

>>”It’s not like you have a specific problem with Gorgons, right? And I don’t leave stains. I’m too thick to seep into things, thanks.”

Oh, Amethyst had many specific problems with gorgons. Usually, they were specific to the person. In this case, she was irked by the way Praxi seemed intent on carrying her gems around inside her jelly body. That was a terrible way to wear anything.

Praxi ventured to ask the younger couple why they had helped, and they stated that they were not mutants, just bystanders who did not like cruelty. Amethyst gave Praxi a knowing smirk. See? Humans. Nice and helpful humans.

They rode the rest of the way to their stop without incident. Of course Amethyst only knew it was their stop when Praxi indicated that they should get off the bus. The princess stepped daintily off the smelling vehicle, and looked around suspiciously, gathering her skirts.

"So... where are we?"

Despite an unfortunately stressful bus ride, the young Atlanteans succeeded in their journey. Praxi paid close attention to the stops, terrified by the notion of leading her and the Princess into the depths of New York with no way back. It was such a relief to have her destination in sight, she was able to ignore odd glances she might be receiving from pedestrians on the sidewalk.

As expected, the princess was out of her element and curious where her gorgon antagonist might be dragging her. Praxi waved for her to follow and led them to a storefront with a colorful sign decorated with cartoon animals, listing "Cosmopawlitan" as the business name.

With a sweeping gesture into the store, the sounds of animals could be heard within. Dogs playing together, cats purring and lounging, and plenty of tanks and small cages for smaller animals. "It's a pet store! They have small animals and you can take them home as companions. I asked Miss Grey and she said pets are allowed," she promised enthusiastically, leading Amethyst inside.