Blue paused while measuring spices into one of the dishes, wondering how much he should tell her. He swore some secrets he would take to the grave, but after two different near death moments, maybe it really was worth giving her a clue. "I...used to work for someone. Not quite a chef. Cooking, bit of housekeeping. Honestly, where'd you think the accent came from? Utah? Ha."

He had been speaking that way for so long he wondered if he could even drop the accent now. The fake formalities, the laid back attitude. Much of that was worked into him through very specific training and...interest. "Le's say...I spent a little time as a kept man. An' when I left, I decided money wasn' worth havin' no free will of my own. Although, some habits don't go away. Like an accent." It was odd admitting the secret out loud. He grimaced once more at just the memories.

"Although cookin' woulda been a lot easier if I had your powers, luv. I c'n cook things faster, but that trick would have saved me a lot of time."

Oh no, she'd opened her big fat mouth and made him talk about stuff again, hadn't she? Well, screw that! She'd listen, but she hoped he didn't expect her to return the favor.

"Huh. I mean, I wondered... but didn't really think it was important enough to dig for information for. S'just part of the you that I know." Did... that make her a bad friend? She wasn't sure. The kind of friendships she had grown up with had been far outside the bounds of normal any way, so it was hard for her to grasp what was expected of her in one these days.

"I'm glad you got your freedom back." She discarded the pile of bones in her sink to deal with later and poked at the very floppy carcass that was left. There was still cartilage in there... but soft tissue was a pain trying to separate from other soft tissue. Entirely too much work!

"Yeah, I suppose it'd make things a heck of a lot easier in a lot of ways, wouldn't it." She set about washing her hands before hovering to figure out what else she could so.

"This is all new to me. Junk food was easier to obtain while I was running around, so actually sitting down and trying to cook a meal is basically a science experiment to me at this point." Berry tried to claw his way up the back of one of her legs, so she paused momentarily to pick him up and settle him on her shoulder, half-tucked into the hood of her sweater.

"I'd probably still be living off of it if multiple scenarios hadn't popped up at the same time and forced me to look into healthier alternatives."

Though, she still was at war with vegetables. She'd spent half her childhood forced to eat various vegan foods that tasted like dirt wrapped in yard trimmings. It took a lot of effort to get herself to willingly eat them now, many years later.

She squinted at the bag of fresh asparagus she had purchased with a scowl.

Blue was starting to understand that part of what made their friendship work was Juniper's willingness not to ask questions. She didn't pry, and he didn't either. Those awkward feelings and emotions didn't have a place in most of their conversations, and they were experts at dancing away from them. But, sometimes a little story about the past wasn't bad. It was like, letting someone into a part of his life he had hidden, and it made him relax, feel almost safer. Like, if he slipped up and the accent dropped, she wouldn't judge.

If he slipped up and appreciated the presence of a kitten, she might tease him, but still accepted him.

"Junk food may be easier, but when you burn through calories like me, you learn what food is worth the effort. A bag of chips is more energy than it's worth, and cooking something tastes better, and lasts longer," he started cutting the chicken so they would cook easier, and removed some fatty pieces they didn't need. Then he showed Juniper how to finish preparing the ingredients, and finally, walked her through cooking.

"You get everything set so when your pan is hot and things are cooking you aren't running around desperately trying to measure stuff. And rule of thumb, there is almost never a time to have your stove on full blast. Medium high will work 99% of the time."

He even got some oil going and tackled the vegetables she had bought. Fried, then finished with lemon juice and some Parmesan, he mixed up an aoili to dip them in. When the chicken was done, he got everything onto the place and then quickly got the pans to the sink. "We don't have to wash them now but a lot of this washes clean faster if you don't let it set."

He wondered if he was being too bossy, or saying too much, but decided he didn't care. Or, she wouldn't mind even if he had been. He started eating acting uninterested, but was also watching for her reaction out of the corner of his eye.

He wasn't wrong, she knew that. The few times she had splurged and eaten in an actual restaurant had shown her that real food kept her fuller longer. Still, her habit was to nibble on things in small doses and really, really often. It was gonna be a hard habit to break if she felt like breaking it at all. Maybe she could just get used to making really small portions of things when she cooked.

Juniper settled in a comfortable silence as he listened, music forgotten. Blue was teaching her something, which felt special in a strange way. She wasn't about to disrespect him by being flippant with his efforts to show her what he knew.

"Huh... That must be why I kept burning the steaks last time. The temp was too high?" She'd figured that the hotter the better because it would cook faster. So much for that theory.

She watched quietly as he did stuff with the asparagus, confused by the oil and cheese. Parm belonged on Spaghetti. Preferably with a can of chilly mixed in. Who put it on gross ass veggies?

She didn't comment on it though. Just filed away the information for later as he finished up. She waited as he piled the dishes away for a signal that it was okay to actually eat any of the stuff, which came when he dug in himself.

Curious about the sauce, she dug into that first. Horrible greens in mystery sauce. What could go wrong there?

Oddly enough... it was good! Different tasting to what she usually ate. Fancy. "I like it." She said simply. She wasn't about posturing or trying to hype something up more than it deserved. He made good food, she acknowledged good food. She'd eat a bit more of it, probably, after she tried the chicken.

Tarragon was, eh... not her favorite spice. She knew, 1000% that if she had tried to make the dish herself she would have hated it. Absolutely hated it. Blue was going to get all of the credit for the fact that despite a little bit of an after taste, the chicken was really, really good.

Would he want to murder her if she put ranch on it?

"Yum!" She didn't notice him looking since she was preoccupied with being a monster by eating with her fingers so she could dip her chicken in the sauce as well. The sauce on her plate, that was. She wasn't that much of a monster to try and double dip anything, even if they had swapped spit before a lot.

"My parents were both really strict vegans, so I didn't get to eat a lot of meals like this. Just vegetables from the garden and occasionally those really nasty fake meats you can find in stores. I got really good at stealing eggs from one of our distant neighbors chicken coops, just to have something not green every now and then." She popped a bit more chicken in her mouth and chewed away happily.

"This feels like heaven to me."

Juniper was clearly a picky eater, it didn't take a genius to recognize the signs. Even without the stories she had about growing up with veggie purist parents, he could tell she had some preformed judgments that would take time to get over, if she so desired to. While Blue wasn't exactly dining at five star restaurants now, he did put a bit more effort into what he consumed. Well, minus alcohol. But the flames in his body used that as the most pure form of fuel he probably could find.

"Don't get me wrong, I would never turn down a steak, but I have seen some impressive things done with vegetables and even those meat alternatives," Blue admitted. He took bites out of the vegetables, then managed to down the chicken with surprising speed. His plate didn't take long to be emptied before he moved back to deal with the dishes.

"While I feel we took a step with personal stories, there is still the missing information about why the mob is after you, darlin'. Should I be standing watch more often in case their are unpleasant visitors?" He raised an eyebrow and rinsed off his plate.

Was it weird that she didn't believe him about the vegetables? Like, the logical part of her brain understood what he said, but the rest of it straight up refused to believe him until she tasted it herself. At least she was able to recognize it to a degree, which was why she wasn't about to open her mouth and argue over it.

"I should give them a try again someday, then. Try to break off a little more of the stigma, right?" Someday far away. Over a rainbow, probably.

She finished her chicken at a lazy pace, and to his credit, she finished all of her asparagus too. At some point, Clyde wandered her fat self over and pawed at her leg for scraps. The kitten followed after and sat himself down beside his reluctant older brother to learn how to beg himself.

She gave them each a few little pieces of meat that didn't have any sauce or spice and slid a rather guilt-ridden look Blue's way at the mention of gangsters again. She really wasn't enthused about the idea of needing to be on guard again all the time, especially around the few people she felt like she had only just started to loosen up around.

"I suppose I do owe you a bit of an explanation at least." How to phrase it in a way that wouldn't draw more attention to what she was doing, though...

"I took a job a while back that involved getting some blackmail pictures on some jerk involved with a gang or... mafia, or whatever. I don't know the difference between them." Clyde pawed at her for more, meowing in that gravely way of his, but she ignored him.

"I had to get something that would disturb his marriage if it ever got out, and I guess he didn't appreciate it all that much? This was the second attempt, and I kinda hope maybe they just cut their losses and leave me alone at this point."

She rested her chin in her hands, elbows on the counter, and stared moodily off into space.

"Their first attempt to kill me failed and that dude is locked up.... and now the second attempt failed, too. Really, I don't know how they can justify coming after one person in retaliation for a stupid picture."

Blinking, she hopped up and headed over to help with the dishes, instead of standing there in a daze while he did everything. The man had already cooked the whole meal!

Blue listened politely while washing pans and containers, water turning the flames on his hands into a teal glowing film. There was a lot of information to take in, but most of the details weren’t important to remember. In the end it came down to pissing off the wrong person. Sadly, Blue didn’t have an easy solution for that.

After everything was dried and set aside he leaned against the counter and then let Blueberry eat a few more scraps of meat. ”Well a bit of information is needed first I suppose. One: do they know where you are living? I think the answer is yes given they followed us. Two: why did they wait to try and grab you in public this time? Are they tryin’ to scare you since the last attempts lost henchmen? Or is it personal because they lost henchmen...” Killing two more men seemed like a good way to increase their need for vengeance.

Blue felt a flash of guilt, something he wasn’t used to, ”I don’t think I helped matters much. But, maybe having me around right now won’t be bad? Extra eyes? If you want.” He was trying not to be awkward but he was a very tall man with no shirt offering to stay over to protect her from the mafia. And there was a kitten licking his foot. All of this was just a very unusual situation.

"Ehehe... well, about that." She was definitely staring at the spackled over but yet to be painted holes decorating her walls in various places. "The first dude kinda showed up at my doorstep, so, ya know. Definitely know where I live." She laughed awkwardly and stooped to pick up her chonk of an elderly cat. Clyde went completely limp in her arms, purring away contently with a little tail flick here or there.

"The first time, well... I mean if they guy hadn't gabbed away for a while with a gun pointed at me he might've actually gotten me. I think it surprised him when he ended up shooting my walls instead. I guess it helped that my neighbor turned up around then too, and the employer for the job. The three of us were kind of an unfair advantage."

She still felt slightly sorry for that poor guy's chode. "I figure maybe they think knocking me out first might get the job done this time? I don't know. Don't think the guy heading all of this had anyone else to try and take revenge on since the other involved party is the one with the blackmail pictures." She was working through it in her head as she talked. Really, after the first attempt she'd... um... kinda just forgotten about it for a bit there. hehe.

She blinked at his offer, both because he seemed to be around plenty. At least a few times a week, or every other week as it were. Then again, there was still quite a bit of time she spent alone, with just her and her cats. Especially while out grocery shopping and the like.

The more she thought about his offer to be around more often, or... maybe all the time, the more sincere it felt. He came across as the type that was fiercely protective of his independence. Especially after she learned where he had come from as a previous job...

Hiding a smile that was rightly too big for the situation in Clyde's fluffy neck fat, she nodded mutely for a second.

"I think I'd like that, really. Thank you for offering, Blue." Heck, him being around more would also help with various other issues, too. She always slept better with someone else there with her.

... Not that she was gonna tell him that. Nooope!

"I'll have to spruce up my bedroom if you're gonna be over more often. Too many nights on that couch will murder your back... or we can think up something else. plenty of time after all."

Blue didn't comment about the idea of sprucing up the bedroom. He had been in there, of course. That happened less lately with all the near-death-experiences and all, but it was less awkward to share a bed when you had both already seen what there was to see. Rather than arguing he just found his spot on the couch and made himself comfortable. For now, he would stay there, with the door in his view. In the future they could discuss what else needed to happen.

There was one small detail he needed to deal with, which he made plans to take care of the next day. Juniper had finally crashed sometime during the night, or was it morning? Deciding she needed the rest given her habits of insomnia, Blue fed the cats, and left a note on the counter. It felt weird, but he decided it was necessary to say something in case she wondered where he had vanished to.

Finding clothes. Back soon. Shop we almost burnt down. Blue.

He figured she would know which one, given that was the day they met. Seemed like a good haunt to find some shirts at, and he knew his way around there, after all.

He was within sight of the store when something stung his shoulder, and his body responded with a rush of heat to the spot. Flames sent a somewhat melted dart clattering to the ground. He turned, eyes focusing on an unmarked vehicle behind him. A refrigerated truck. It was insanely cliche, and yet, he was still cornered in this ridiculous situation. He could run, but then they could head back for Juniper. Instead he rushed forward, drawing whatever heat he could into his arms.

WHAM!!!

He didn't see the oncoming blow, and was knocked sideways by a man built like a tank. Apparently, this man was fireproof, unlike his previous companions. There was a struggle as Blue was yanked toward the open cargo hold, leaving scorch marks behind on the sidewalk and nearby building. Mist rose when he hit a wall, steam under his feet as the only sign how cold it really was. The man stood in the doorway, and Blue faced him, trying to look for an escape.

A feeling of numbness was traveling slowly through his arm. He hadn't been fast enough removing the dart. The flames on that side flickered slightly. It was enough of a sigh that the man slammed the door shut, and it clicked with a lock. Blue ran forward, struggling to find something he could melt to get free. Red hot metal showed in the darkness where his hands started to heat the door, but it was thick, it would take time. A lurch of movement slammed him into the door. He saw stars and fell sideways with the next sudden turn.

How far would they drive before they felt safe opening the trailer to finish the job? Blue sat, braced against the rear hatch and continued trying to melt his way free. It was a race between the tranquilizer and the obnoxiously thick metal cage he was in.

For the first time in a while, or at least since that last experiment with sleep aids, she had no trouble falling asleep. It was weird but in a strangely comforting way. Knowing Blue was out there and not going to just up and vanish in the middle of the night was... relaxing? Comforting?

It was something.

She slept for a few hours before the need to use the toilet woke her and she thought to check and see if the cats had been fed. She'd forgotten before falling asleep. The couch was empty when she set foot in the living room, and at first, it was a bit of a punch to the gut seeing him gone.

Then she noticed the cats sat in front of her door, faithfully waiting for the one who had fed them.

... Traitors.

After getting herself a glass of water she spied the note on the table and that comforting feeling was back. He hadn't left, after all, just popped out for clothes like they had talked about. Like a puppy waiting for their person to get home, she sat on the couch in his spot, sipping her glass of water and staring off into the darkness of her living room.

An hour passed and she'd dragged out her guitar to pass the time, flopped over strumming away at whatever melody popped into her head. The cats had given up and both had crammed themselves into one cat bed, which was adorable and hilarious.

By the time the second hour had rolled past she had run out of songs and was actively considering the possibility that he had come to his senses and abandoned her. Mope was setting in pretty heavy, but Berry had moved onto her chest for a nap so it was at least tolerable.

She also considered hopping over and pestering Xavier for a bit until, or if, Blue came back... but eventually decided against it.

Why would he leave a note if he was gonna run off? Especially one with a very specific location? What if...

What if something had gone wrong?

Worry started chewing at her gut, and without a thought spared for what she was currently wearing she shrugged on a jacket over her "I'm with stupid⬆" t-shirt, slipped into her sneakers by the door, and headed out. The only way to figure out what was taking him so long would be to go check it out herself.

It wasn't much of a walk to that particular store. A brisk, 20 minutes or so in the dead of night. No biggie. It wasn't like her anxiety and paranoia had ganged together to double team her... nooope.

When she eventually made it to the block that poor little clothing store was on, she kicked something metallic with one foot and paused to look at it. Honestly, considering the neighborhood, she was expecting a discharged bullet casing. She was not expecting to see a half-melted tube with a needle on one end and remains of a feather on the other.

... That looked oddly similar to-

She caught sight of the blackened marks on the ground and followed them up the side of the nearest wall. There was no sign of the tall fire mutant anywhere.

Her heart started a speedy little tapdance in her chest as she looked out to the road the scorch marks had been pointed in, and spotted a spattering of water leading off in one direction. It hadn't rained that day as far as she knew and the water looked fresh. She wasn't sure if it was the right trail to follow... could have easily been water leaking from a tailpipe or from an engine, but... it was the only thing she had to go on currently.

Don'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedead

She booked it straight down the middle of the road, following that trail as best she could. She noticed as she ran that it was seemingly growing in the volume of small puddles and hoped that was a good sign. It wasn't lost on her that this was the second time in her life she was running as fast as she could to try and save a friend's life, assuming something had actually happened to him and this wasn't all some horrible coincidence.

The truck had gone five blocks down from where they had picked Blue up, and by the time Juniper finally found it she was very red in the face, sweat-soaked, and gasping for air. Sprinting five blocks was definitely not something she wanted to repeat ever again.

It was a large-ish truck, and from what she could see there were two people standing outside it. She paused only for a moment to collect her breath, before sucking it up and running again. She needed to keep her vitals phased for as long as possible, switching solid bits to whatever might make the hardest target to hit.

They noticed her once she was close enough, but she didn't have any snappy lines to throw their way, or any fancy hero poses and proclamations. She had a faint idea of what she was going to do... and while one man turned and tried to get her with another dart, she raced in close and used her power to push him into the back of the truck. She left him there, half fused with the vehicle, while she turned to the other who had been shouting and slamming loudly on the side of the truck.

"Where is he?" The guy's shouting had drawn another figure to the fight, and boy was he a big one. Big and meaty, and she hoped not one of those anti-power people. She phased herself out of her own shoes as a test, and to prepare herself.

"Probably a popsicle by now, girlie. What took you so long?"

The shorter one looked smug, and his threat did work as intended. Juniper's eyes widened and she glanced at the doors on the truck in a panic.

Big guy decided her lapse in attention was as good an opening as any and lunged forward to attack....

... only for the both of them to suddenly sink into the ground up as Juniper phased a patch under them. The big one was stuck up to his hips, uselessly trying to claw his way out, while the smaller one had sunk in up to his chest. She ignored their surprised noise in favor of hauling herself into the back of the truck as quickly as she could. At a certain point, heat greeted her and she had to yank part of her hand back into being fully phased.

"Blue?!" Her head popped in from a different direction while trying to avoid the heat.

Blue wasn’t worried about the cold. His mind never registered what that word really meant, only that it was associated with a feeling of lowered energy, and a general fatigue. Cold to him was similar to being sleepy, and that was not something he wanted to be while he was in danger. And despite the fact he was currently uninjured he knew he WAS in danger.

The situation was unique because nothing Blue was burning stayed lit. There was no wood, no kindling, nothing that would spark and feed his body starving for fuel. As the car stopped he struggled to keep heat against the door, then periodically felt his body trying to reclaim the warmth. He could handle this. He would get free. His willpower to fight was still going even as his body started to give out.

Blue knew time passed. It must have been an hour, more. The door had no moisture, the metal distorted, so close to freedom but he could not will his body further. He wasn't sure when he sat down, but he looked at the pants Juniper had bought him, somewhat amused they were intact. They hadn't burnt. Her gift had worked. A fan overhead kicked on, blasting more air into the van. Maybe he could destroy the fan so it would get warmer in here. Maybe....maybe after a nap. His hands were shaking, and he leaned his head back against the door trying to find the brightest bit of metal he could.

"Blue?!"

He forced his eyes back open, and stumbled to his feet. He had enough sense to know Juniper shouldn't be here. Protective mode kicked back on and he quickly held out an arm, expecting her to pull him out of there. "Ain't you a sight for sore eyes."

Outside the van, the thugs were still trapped where Juniper had left them. Blue had enough energy for this, as anger resurfaced. "I wouldn't watch this part, luv," he warned. He turned to the first man whose body was fused with the truck. Blue focused the remaining energy on his body into a thin torch of fire, and put a finger to his head. There may have been a short lived scream, but Blue didn't register it. The second and third man met similar fates. Turns out, muscle man was only fire resistant. A little more heat was all it took to finish things.

There was a car nearby, and a little fishing found the keys. He handed these to Juniper and crawled into the passenger seat. "C'n I trouble you to drive? Feelin'...cold." Now that he wasn't burning things, the shivering returned. Shivering. He stared at a hand, trying to register that sensation.

He was in there, and his sudden surge of movement was anything to go by still very much alive. He reached out and she snagged his hand, phasing him completely and effortlessly pulling him back out of the back of the truck with her. "You're alive!" The rush of emotions was really too much for her system to handle and she shut it all down with an awkward intake of breath that sounded a lot like a snort and hovered around him for a second as he got his bearings.

The three men were making all sorts of racket, probably hoping to draw attention to what was going on. Juniper turned her back on the lot of them and allowed Blue the revenge he sought. Even if her gut was telling her that it was definitely time to run, she couldn't argue with the anger she harbored herself or with how justified it felt.

The sounds were still ringing in her ears by the time Blue handed her a keyring, and she hustled both of them over to the car he pointed out as fast as her power would allow. Cops always showed up alloying quick where they weren't wanted, so they needed to hightail it out of there as fast as possible.

"Cold?" That was unusual, wasn't it? He didn't feel temperature, right? "Here." As she settled herself in the driver seat and adjusted the seat up to where her feet could touch the petals, she slid her coat off and draped it over to him.

Just as she was switching the engine on, she remembered her shoes were still sitting out by the newly made crime scene and had to haul her butt back out there to scoop them up. She really didn't need to have anything belonging to her found at the scene of multiple murders, after all.

Stressed beyond imagine at her near slip up, she tossed the shoes in between them and got back to actually driving.

By the time a few cars had reached the scene, Juniper had gotten some decent space between their stolen car and the crime scene. She wasn't too sure about straight-up driving it home though, seeing as it belonged to a dead mafia goon. Finding it anywhere near her apartment might draw questions she didn't wanna deal with. It would also make all of the efforts she was putting into not leaving any fingerprints around the car absolutely worthless, and it took a lot of effort keeping her fingers off of the steering wheel!

"We gotta find somewhere to dump this thing..." She glanced at him as she stopped the car at a red light. "Are you still cold?" She'd fiddled with the heater while driving and it was currently blasting the both of them in the face with blistering waves of hell. She dared not turn it down though after his comment about being cold.

"

In the car Blue curled up like a cat under the jacket and closed his eyes. He vaguely got a sensation of breeze against his face that brought a little feeling back to his skin. Heat? It must be heat. His flames flickered and hungrily consumed what it could from the air. Fire would be better, but he wouldn’t burn Juniper’s clothing, or burn things in an enclosed space like this. When they were home he would sleep it off. Home? That was a weird thing to think about, Juniper’s house being ‘home’.

Where to park? He thought of the city and finally decided.

”Big shopping center, lots of cars. Ditch it there. I can walk the rest of the way.” He wasn’t sure how much he could do if anyone cornered them, but hopefully that last round of deaths deterred attention from the group.

He was aware the car stopped and gingerly got out. He felt dizzy but managed to stay upright, pulling the jacket across his shoulders like a cap and hugging his arms across his chest.

"Shopping center got it."

Now she just needed to find one. Yes. In the city, she was still getting familiar with.

A perfect plan with absolutely no way to backfire!

She dug out her phone to use the GPS to try and find a big parking lot to ditch the vehicle in, and while scrolling and driving (so safe) she found something that might work a it better, as well as land them a bit closer to home. The nearest large shopping center she could find was about a 50-minute walk from home, and she honestly wasn't sure if Blue was gonna make it that far with how he was acting.

"Gonna ditch it in a junkyard!" She announced, literally as she turned a corner and headed down the road that would take them there. Most of the junkyards she was familiar with tended to work half-assed with just about everything. Heck, she'd been able to haggle the price down on her car years ago from one of them.

Moments later she was pulling up and looking around to see if there were any cameras stationed around. From what she could tell no one was currently there. All lights were off. A pretty solid rolling metal gate blocked the way from getting inside... but that wasn't something she necessarily had to worry about.

Turning the car off and ditching the keys, she clambered on out and got her shoes back on. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna push this inside with the other cars and stuff."

After waiting for him to exit and step away, she placed her hands on the bumper of the car and took a deep breath to try and center herself. She'd never tried phasing a whole ass car before... It was bigger than hers and contained a bunch of unknowns.

Concentrating everything on the task, a bunch of random crap dropped to the ground below the suddenly intangible vehicle. She started pushing and it probably looked pretty ridiculous to see a girl her size easily shove a full-sized town car through a fence.

She spent just a bit of time placing it somewhere inconspicuous and then another moment hurling the license plates as far as humanly possible in a different direction. When she hurried back out she had to step around the mess of things on the ground, which just looked like someone had abandoned a bunch of car care items off to the side of the road. Hopefully not something anyone would bat an eye at.

"Kay... we've got a bit of a walk. Are you sure you can make it? I can help you." She was sweating just from the exertion of keeping that car phased, but she would be able to help take some of his weight from him if it meant getting home faster.

Blue shook his head about needing help, and then let her lead the way. He hadn't paid as much attention where they ended up as he wanted to. He was trying just to function again. After a little walking he knew something was off. He was tired, but there was a feeling of cold. He wanted fire, and a shirt, and a blanket, something. He handed Juniper her jacket after a moment, or tried to,

"I...I don't want to burn it." How could he explain how he was feeling? He wanted to throw up all of a sudden. In fact he finally shoved the jacket into her arms so he could find a corner and do just that.

Stomach empty, he struggled the rest of the way back. At some point he felt like she may have helped, and he was distracted by the way his hand was shaking a little. Was he shivering or was he ill? Everything felt off. He couldn't feel the change in his flames still, but if Juniper was close she would have noticed the fluctuation in the heat. There was no steady warmth, just nothing then heat, literal waves of temperature changes as his body tried to reboot itself.

Blueberry mewed when he was inside the apartment and made a beeline for the couch. He crashed onto it, shutting his eyes and realizing how heavy he was breathing. His mutation was unhappy. His body was unhappy. He wanted to sleep it off and hoped it was just a temporary situation.