Gemma was breathing more easily this time around. Jorge was back to his old self... in both senses of the world. They would be managing the aftereffects of the de-aging for a long time to come, but Gemma had her husband back, and things, for now, were looking a little brighter. Clearly, it was only a matter of time before another surprise ruined the calm, so she was intent on making the most of it.

And that did not just include family. It also included friends. Or would-be friends. As unlikely as the school counselor's friendship was with the cam girl named Esmeralda, spending time together had been entertaining. And Ez was an intelligent and empathetic person. One of Gemma's main rules in life was that one did only reach out to friends when one was in need of support. Spending time with them when things were good was even more important.

And things were good now, for a moment. And Gemma reached out. And Ez responded with an invitation of her own - come over and chat. It was strange to visit the girl in her own home (one Gemma assumed she had caught glimpses of on camera). But there was no reason it had to be awkward. Carrying a small basket of muffins as a guest gift, Gemma walked up to the building indicated, and rang the doorbell.

Hopefully, this would be a nice, friendly afternoon. Nothing major to deal with.

There were obvious benefits or drawbacks to Ezmeralda’s mutation. Access to elemental powers was a benefit and not being able to fit pizza into her diet was a drawback. Obvious. But more subtly, the ability to adjust her mood was its own side-benefit. Maybe that was not healthy, but it was certainly convenient.

It was hard to explain to people why Ez was often so busy and so tired. Her career path had plenty of challenges and risks, but it was not scheduled and labor-intensive. Nope, that would be her after-hours hobby of hunting and beating up mutant traffickers.

Thankfully, Gemma had plenty going on to keep her busy and their friendship was not demanding. They kept in touch and checked on one another, but neither was needy. They had an odd start, but it somehow turned into a healthy, positive friendship.

When they finally had a chance to spend some time hanging out, it was a nice reprieve Ez wanted to make the most of. She even received a new shipment of gems and crystals, and a Sunrise Quartz was the perfect snack to give her friendly energy and an inspired zest.

A doorbell chimed from the main building system and Ez buzzed Gemma up to her floor. Opening the door, Ez was quick to offer Gemma a hug as the quartz boost temporarily waned in her aura. ”Gemma! It’s great to see you again. And—wait, I smell…” Pulling back, Ez realized what Gemma brought with her on this visit. ”Muffins! I hope you’re cool with hanging out a while, because I want to demolish those.”

Ezmeralda waved Gemma into her one-bedroom apartment. ”Amazing things keep showing up at my doorstep today. New crystals, pretty new cards, a kind friend. And muffins. The goddess is so kind. Please, come in!”

Ez looked happy and bubbly as she opened the door, not even missing a beat as she entered her aura. She knew about it by now, but even veteran Mansion residents winced sometimes when their powers suddenly shut down. It must have been the muffin smell.

>>”Gemma! It’s great to see you again. And—wait, I smell… Muffins! I hope you’re cool with hanging out a while, because I want to demolish those.”

"That's the plan" she smiled as she was ushered inside the small apartment. She set the basket on the kitchen table. Ez was welcome to eat as much as she wanted, as long as Gemma stayed around. It might have been a bit awkward to be all like 'I'm gonna stay here until you digest' - but normal was rare between mutants and adapteds.

>>”Amazing things keep showing up at my doorstep today. New crystals, pretty new cards, a kind friend. And muffins. The goddess is so kind. Please, come in!”

"Sounds like a good day" Gemma noted with a chuckle. Ez was in her element when she was excited like this. "Do you want to tell me about those new treasures?"

The moment the muffin basket was placed on the table, Ez grabbed one and took a delicious bite into it. ”This was a good plan, honestly. I get ravenous around you.” She took another bite, swallowed, and chuckled. ”And not in the naughty way. Your aura makes me immediately feel like I’m on an empty stomach. So thanks for the sugary offerings.”

It was nice to keep the digestion bit of the plan subtle, because they both knew the weirdness Gemma and her muffins inflicted on her digestive system, but no one wanted to start off a day thinking about that.

They were still new friends in the grand scheme of things, but it was not surprising Gemma showed interest in Ez’s interests. Some people were like that; supportive to their core. ”Sure! I can even show you.” She led Gemma to the bedroom, where an open cardboard box rested on the bed.

Ez grabbed a large, multi-colored geode from the box that still held several crystals and an opened deck of cards. She looked around the room. ”There’s a ton of new crystals I got in today. Some are just to keep me fed and in the right moods, but I do get a few to decorate the room and improve the energy of my space. Obviously,” she added, realizing the evidence was all around them. Crystals and gems were found on most surfaces in the bedroom, from the desk to the dresser to the windowsill. After feeling her way around the room, the geode joined the nightstand. ”You don’t see all of them on the stream. I’m a bit addicted.”

Ez immediately grabbed a muffin, and Gemma chuckled as they settled in. The apartment was small enough that as long as she stayed at a comfortable distance, Ez would be within her field, enjoying the taste of actual food.

>>”This was a good plan, honestly. I get ravenous around you. And not in the naughty way. Your aura makes me immediately feel like I’m on an empty stomach. So thanks for the sugary offerings.”

"You're most welcome" Gemma smiled. The girl seemed to be having a good day, muffind and shiny things and all.

>>”Sure! I can even show you. There’s a ton of new crystals I got in today. Some are just to keep me fed and in the right moods, but I do get a few to decorate the room and improve the energy of my space. Obviously,”

"Obviously" Gemma chuckled, glancing around. The whole apartment was decorated with shiny things. It was a part of Ez's powers, but even beyond that, it was an aesthetic that was uniquely hers. A lot of internet life was aesthetic, from what Gemma could tell.

>>”You don’t see all of them on the stream. I’m a bit addicted.”

"They are beautiful" Gemma noted, marveling at the shapes and colors of the crystals. Some the girl would eat, because of her powers. It was strange to think about. "So... do they taste different?"

Ez liked her cozy little apartment. It was not much, and some might lament the lack of space afforded by expensive rent in New York. For the young witch, her living situation was humble and far from how she lived with her family. Knowing she was removed from that life of excess and that her parents would be mortified to see her tiny apartment where she did online sex work for a living, Ezmeralda was convinced she was making good life choices.

Confident in how she was living, Ez valued her space, making it her own. She loved having Gemma as a friend, because despite their age gap, Gemma was rarely judgemental. She admired the crystal-adorned room. The rocks were not the only decorations, of course; silk cloth draped across dressers, tapestries on the walls. The room was very Ez.

"They have different textures, but I don't taste them much-- thankfully. The big thing is how they affect my moods," she admitted, returning to the box on her bed and grabbing the card box inside. "It's one of the side-effects of my power; my body picks up the metaphysical traits associated with a crystal and it alters my mood and emotions. Peaceful, pensive, passionate; lots of options depending on the rock of the day." Ez flipped through her new cards as she spoke, admiring the art on them. She was going to have to put them to use ASAP.

The room was cozy. Some people might have judged it for being too esoteric, or kitschy, but it was true to its owner's self, and that made all the difference. The crystals had meaning, and so did everything else in the room. Gemma felt happy that Ez allowed her to come and visit. One could understand so much about people by their living spaces.

>>"They have different textures, but I don't taste them much-- thankfully. The big thing is how they affect my moods,"

Gemma arched an eyebrow in question.

>>"It's one of the side-effects of my power; my body picks up the metaphysical traits associated with a crystal and it alters my mood and emotions. Peaceful, pensive, passionate; lots of options depending on the rock of the day."

"That's fascinating" Gemma noted. Another mutant power that scientists would have a field day figuring out - trustworthy scientists, that is. How many people took medication for the same reason, for all kinds of side effects?... And how did the crystals gain those powers in the first place?

"And the cards? Are those related to your power too?"

Life was weird in the best possible way. If life was boring and expected, Ez would have never met Gemma. She was thankful for the hormonal teen who accidental brought them together. (She also hoped he was figuring out his way through puberty in a healthy way.)

As expected, Gemma was curious about the surprise facet of Ezmeralda's powers. Oh, if she only knew. Still, this was the safest quirk of her abilities to share. There might be science to how the gems affected her, or even a placebo effect, but she chose to see the validity of the metaphysical nature of the world around her.

The cards did not have the same easy validation. "No, the cards are just a witch thing. Has anyone ever given you a tarot reading before?" Ez took one last bite of her muffin before setting it down to focus on her cards. "The cards are for divination. Some would say fortune telling. I think of it as a call for guidance or insight from the universe."

Ez chuckled, because this was usually a hard sell to skeptic acquaintances. "It probably sounds silly, but the results can be interesting. Or at least amusing. So... any interest in what the universe has to offer you?"

"Maybe I should bring rocks instead of muffins next time" Gemma chuckled. Diverse snacks were kind of her thing anyway.

>>"No, the cards are just a witch thing. Has anyone ever given you a tarot reading before?"

"No, not really" Gemma admitted with a smile. She knew what tarot was, or she had a general idea anyway; she'd seen it in movies and TV shows sometimes, where people pulled colorful cards from a deck to tell things about the future. She knew some shops around the city where people advertised such services, but being the practical woman she was, she'd never really been drawn to esoteric things.
Then again, she'd never really met someone who ate crystals before, either.

>>"The cards are for divination. Some would say fortune telling. I think of it as a call for guidance or insight from the universe... It probably sounds silly, but the results can be interesting. Or at least amusing. So... any interest in what the universe has to offer you?"

Gemma considered the question for a moment. It was not really Ez's mutant power, which would not have worked in her aura anyway. She would have been desperate for anything like this a few weeks before, when Jorge was gone, for sure. Now, it just sounded like fun.

"Sure, why not?"

Ez did not want not make people uncomfortable. Some people felt safest in their comfort zones and Ez respected that. She had to be conscious of how far she lived outside of most people's comfort zones. For those friends who might be interested in broadening their experiences, she was also the first one to offer a friendly hand to lead them. Tarot was approachable witchcraft that most normal people felt fine experimenting with. Who was scared of a deck of harmless cards?

Not Gemma, thankfully!

Ezmeralda lit up at the confirmation, grabbing a square violet cloth and spreading it out on her bed. Her desk was not positioned in the best place for two people, but the bed should work fine. "Grand! So I'll shuffle up the deck and have you cut it or shuffle it however you like. We'll do a basic draw, and maybe we can get some glimpses into what the universe has in store for you," she suggested playfully as she finished up her shuffling. "Nothing to take too seriously; it isn't an exact science. But it might give you some things to keep in mind."

Setting down the deck on the cloth, Ez tapped the top of the deck, which was her own habit. When her fingers tapped the awaiting deck, an odd sensation rippled through her, running a shiver up and down her spine. That was unexpected. Maybe it was just her excitement getting the better of her? Regardless, she would let Gemma insert her own randomness into the deck, ensuring she was the one who dictated her own future.

Ez looked excited about the prospect of reading cards. Gemma chuckled as they settled on the bed, and Ez spread out a piece of cloth, shuffling a deck. She only had the most basic understanding of how tarot was supposed to work, but she was happy to watch and roll with it. One of the nice things about Ez was how honestly excited she got when she could share things that interested her. Be it muffins, or cards.

>>"Grand! So I'll shuffle up the deck and have you cut it or shuffle it however you like. We'll do a basic draw, and maybe we can get some glimpses into what the universe has in store for you,"

"Sounds like a plan." Gemma smiled. Who wouldn't be excited about getting a message from the universe? It would have come in handy more times than not. And living among mutants and adapteds, who was she to question something like that?

>>"Nothing to take too seriously; it isn't an exact science. But it might give you some things to keep in mind."

"Sure." Gemma nodded. She was not about to take any card reading very seriously, but she generally enjoyed people sharing their interests with her. After some consideration, she reached out to cut the deck carefully. As she touched the cards, she felt a strange, tingling sensation, that almost made her catch her breath. As an adapted, she'd never felt the effect of mutant powers before... and there was no reason, she reminded herself, that she should feel them now. It must have been her mind already playing tricks on her. Well, this was going to be interesting...

Ezmeralda could be accused of being... apprehensive of authority figures. She pinned that partially on her issues with her parents, but she genuinely believed people in positions of power more often than not exploited that power. Police were corruptable and protected the interests of the upper-class and protected "bad apples," politicians worked most often in bad faith, and plenty of teachers found ways to be bullies and abusers toward people they were entrusted with.

Gemma was an exception to her cynicism. From her first encounter with Ez, she was genuine. She did not look down on people or claim superiority over anyone, including the kids in her care. She befriended a sex working witch like it was the most normal option, and that made her special. Ez hoped she could pull a special fortune for her.

After Gemma cut the deck, a shiver ran up Ez's spine. Excitement, clearly. "Alright, a five card spread. We'll draw them out one by one. We start at the center with the present, calling for the theme of the reading."

Pulling the top card from the deck, making sure to retain its orientation, Ez placed it in the center of the bed. ”Okay. And here we… go…” She flipped the card to reveal a red hooded figure, but in place of a face, a star burst over a dark treeline. The number thirteen was written on the card. ”Well. We start with Death.”

>>"Alright, a five card spread. We'll draw them out one by one. We start at the center with the present, calling for the theme of the reading."

Gemma nodded. She was curious to see what would come up. She had no idea what was in the deck, so there were no expectations, but Ez had clearly done this a lot, so she trusted her judgment. And she had no doubt it would be fun anyway. Now that she did not have de-aged Jorge on her mind anymore, it was much easier to play around with pretend messages from the universe about the future.

>>”Okay. And here we… go… Well. We start with Death.”

Gemma's eyebrows ran up as she looked at the card. So much about fun.

"Um... that can't be good..." she muttered. It felt like a scene from some cheap movie, flipping an ominous card at first try. Dun-dun-dun...

As a Tarot card, Death was the card everyone got fidgety around. The reaction was expected and made Ezmeralda giggle. With a few notable exceptions, most cards were open to interpretation, but in her eyes, death got a bad rap. ”I promise it isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

Ez held the card up for Gemma to see. ”Death is also the card of Rebirth. Facing upward, it signals a time of transformation. Maybe entering a new cycle of life or introducing a new belief or awareness to your life. So our theme is great changes in your life.”

Placing the card down in its place, the witch shook her head. ”See? Death isn’t so scary. It’s not some ominous sign of your clock ticking… down…”

Ez had to be seeing things, right? She looked behind Gemma, then over her own shoulder. ”Um, Gemma. With your, er, adaptedness, if there was a mutant who could spawn weirdly intimidating hourglasses, those would disappear around you, right? Like… definitely could not be floating there behind us. Right?” Ezmeralda certainly hoped she was seeing things, because the hourglasses seemingly carved from bones, dripping jet black sand from the top chamber to the still empty bottom chamber.

>>”I promise it isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

No one ever wanted to draw a death-related anything, even if they did not believe in fortune-telling. Ez seemed intent on softening the blow.

>>”Death is also the card of Rebirth. Facing upward, it signals a time of transformation. Maybe entering a new cycle of life or introducing a new belief or awareness to your life. So our theme is great changes in your life.”

Gemma smiled a little. Big changes, she had had a few of those recently. Jorge de-aging, and then regaining his original age and memories, definitely counted as such. Once again, they were finding their way back to normal together. Life was rarely without change around the Mansion. It was a safe bet. "Well, I can relate to that."

>>”See? Death isn’t so scary. It’s not some ominous sign of your clock ticking… down… Um, Gemma. With your, er, adaptedness, if there was a mutant who could spawn weirdly intimidating hourglasses, those would disappear around you, right? Like… definitely could not be floating there behind us. Right?”

Gemma blinked. The question sounded theoretical for a moment, but then she noticed that Ez was looking past her. Glancing over her shoulder, she noted the floating hourglass too. It was not the weirdest thing she had ever seen... except for the fact that it was floating within the range of her adapted aura.

"Um... that... should not be possible. Are you doing that?" she glanced back at Ez "Is my aura still working?... Do you feel a difference?"