Annie was out of pens. 

Some had been stolen, others lost, and most had just ran out of ink. She wrote a lot of numbers and wasn't often super reliant on her calculator. 

She'd penned in some time to go out and get more work supplies, right after her monthly grocery run, and before her monthly swing by the shooting range to make sure she wasn't getting rusty. She needed to pick up one more clip and a box of 9mm's anyway. 

Clad in a pair of clean jeans, a light jacket, and a loose t-shirt, she threw her hair back in a low bun and grabbed her belly band off the table by her door. She slipped her Ruger into the front right pocket, an extra clip into her left front pocket, and her small pepper spray beside it. Her un-tucked shirt hid everything from view, and hopefully no one would ever need to find out. 

After slinging her purse around her shoulders, she left her apartment and headed for the office supply store that always had what she needed. 

30 minutes later found her wandering the aisles of the store, a small pile of things already in the basket looped over her arm. She had yet to get her pens, so she headed there first. Aisle 15.... 15... She was on 13. 

Annie hustled for the writing utensil aisle. 

Elizabeth was on a quest. It was time to restock some classroom and office supplies and some things just weren’t available on the general websites she ordered from. Oh, they had most of the stuff she wanted and needed, and for adequate prices (which her budget thanked her for) but sometimes she just needed some unique stuff, or at least items of higher quality.

That morning Liz had drawn up her plan of action, mapping out the nearest stores that had the various items she needed and planning out the most efficient ways of going from each, while also taking into account local scenery, comparative prices and similar items, and areas with the lowest crime ratings. For this trip into the city, Liz was bereft of her common canine and avian companions, but even though she’d been training with Sam and Serena for over half a year in their respective martial arts and self defense style, Liz still preferred to avoid fights if needed.

Besides, just because she didn’t have her dog or parrot with her didn’t mean she was alone.

A soft pressure on her neck alerted her to her new friend’s movement as the milk snake settled into a new position. While she’d been walking to the subway, she’d found the little guy shivering out in the cold, absolutely miserable. It had been simple enough to bathe him in calmness and peace and slide him into her hoodie for warmth. Over the course of her day, he’d slowly slithered around her until he ended up coiling his three-foot long self around her neck with just his tail trickling down her back. Covered by her hair and the hood itself (which wasn’t up, but still providing extra cloth around her neck), Liz doubted anybody would notice her friend unless they paid close attention.

And now her quest was drawing to an end. Her giant pocket book had all kind of trinkets and such that she needed, ranging from ingredients to reagents to specialty inks for an electrophoresis lab. Now she just needed one last thing.

Pens.

Good pens.

So she’d come to the office supply store and there they were! Ballpoint, an ergonomic design, coming in midnight black, bloody red, and lapis lazuli. And the last pack left.

“Score!” she said as she reached out and grabbed the pack.

Admittedly, Annie had been in some kind of tunnel vision as she marched down the aisle toward where the pens always were, lugging her basket with her and already daydreaming about what she wanted to do after. As such, when she just went and reached out for them she was actually surprised when her hand bumped into someone else's and she snapped out of her daze.

"Oh!" She blinked and looked up, spying the woman who also had her hand on the pack of pens.

In fact, they were both holding the pack.

... Awkward.

Even more so when Annie actually looked at her and that wiggly feeling in her stomach kicked into high-gear. She looked like she had a nice smile.

"uh." She looked at the pack. It was the last one left, and she sure as heck didn't want to walk out of here without her pens, but... "S-sorry!" With a majorly delayed reaction, she let go of the plastic pack and took a hasty step back out of the woman's bubble. Annie was blushing in embarrassment at her own antics.

"I totally wasn't paying attention. I'm sorry!"

Quick, find a distraction!

Annie reached out and grabbed at the first pack of pens she had within reach. She barely spied what they were as she threw them in her basket. Rainbow ink? Sure. Why not. Her notes were going to be fabulous for a while.

"... Those are... um... the best, aren't they?"

WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING THERE?! LEAVE ANNIE!

Silence fell and everything stilled. She was all alone. Things dimmed and dulled and grew distorted. Or maybe distorted wasn’t the right word. Simplified? What was the non-visual equivalent to pixelation? Liz wasn’t quite sure, but she did know something had just happened to her.

She could still feel the snake coiled around her throat, but she couldn’t feel him. Not his mind or anything. Granted, a resting snake was rarely a source of strong feelings or thoughts, but Liz should’ve felt something.

Then Liz noticed the other hand on the pens.

Caught up in her internal analysis, she hadn’t noticed the woman’s approach, but all of a sudden Liz was blushing. “Oh,” she repeated, accidentally mimicking the woman. “Uh, no, no, it’s fine,” Liz said quickly as the woman started apologizing and seemed to be trying to escape.

Gone was the intrigue over her power failing. Suddenly Liz was just worried about a social interaction with another human. “Yeah, uh, they really are good pens,” she said lamely, standing there still holding the pack. Then it clicked.

“My bad,” she said, her eyes widening. “Were you looking for these too? Here, you can have them,” Liz said, holding them out and taking an awkward step forward. There were other pens, right? Yeah, this would throw off her quest a bit and she’d have to reconfigure, but what was a little bit of rerouting and administration on the fly?

….actually, that sounded like fun.

Then Liz realized the lady already had pens now. “....if you want them?”

The woman blushed.

Annie blushed deeper in response.

Well, this was going sideways already!

"I was, but that's okay! I can't hoard all of the good pens, right? Haha." Even though that was exactly what she had been planning.

It didn't occur to her that this woman could be a mutant. She was off the clock and there weren't any visual clues. She didn't automatically think to retreat a full six feet away. Especially when the woman offered the pack to her and Annie found herself subconsciously gripping the basket in her arms tighter.

"I suppo- Oh! What if we split them?"

...That was the dumbest thing she'd ever-

Too late now! It was already out of her mouth.

"I-i mean if you'd like too, that is? They really are the best pens. I've never had one smudge on me, ever. I'd take to take them all for myself."

She thrust her hand back out to pack the pens, inwardly sweating since she couldn't seem to shut herself up.

"I'm Annie! Hi! Is that a snake?"

Wonderful, Annie. Just wonderful.

Oh, she didn’t want them. “I mean, it’s not really hoarding, it’s just one pack, you know?” Liz said and immediately hated herself. Okay Liz, you got the goods, now get out before you make this ten times worse. Clearly you’re not thinking straight and something’s going on with you. Go home!

Which was all well and good advice, but it might as well have been a cricket in her ear telling her that, since at the moment she wasn’t quite able to understand either of them.

“Split the pack? How would that work?” Liz said with a cocking of her head. “I don’t think these pens are priced for individual sale,” She held them up to inspect them and then realized that was clearly not what was going to happen. “Oh, oh, maybe I buy them and you pay me for half of them…?” Oh God, why was she still talking? This is what happened when you had a stroke, right? You lose your psychic powers and your ability to filter what you said. No, that was stupid. Clearly she was just going insane.

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one either. The woman began describing her favorite things about the pens and Liz found herself nodding along. Those were some of her favorite features about them, too! And before she knew it: “I’m Liz! Yeah, it’s a snake. Milk snake, maybe eastern milk snake. I just met him this morning.” She frowned and then her eyes widened. “But like, don’t tell people, okay? Not sure I’m supposed to have him in here and people tend to freak out about snakes.”

And then Liz realized that this Annie might be a person who freaked out about snakes. Liz got ready to move away as needed. No need to cause a scene, right?

She was absolutely starting to sweat for real now. Split the back, oh god, Annie why!?

"You know, on second thought I'm good! It's probably time to try some new ones anyway." She glanced down into her basket, "... I've always wanted to try rainbow."

@#$%@ #@%%@^#.

Thankfully the topic shifted to the snake, which Annie absolutely did not mind. She loved animals even though she didn't currently have space for one in her apartment. She'd even been daydreaming about a fish tank, but apparently, they needed a really large about of space to live a healthy liv-

Focus Annie!

"Your secret is safe with me!" She mimed zipping her lips, but definitely tried to get a good look at the pretty little serpent.

It didn't take long to go from looking at the snake to realizing she was also somewhat staring at the woman- Liz's neck, and she immediately jerked her gaze away. So much for a distraction!

"He sure is pretty. I've never seen one of him before." A little laugh helped her calm her own nerves down a little, and she tore her eyes away from a line of mechanical pencil packs to look back at Liz. "I spend too much time with my nose in books, I guess. Heh. Do you think someone abandoned him? He's not native here, is he?"

... Why was she talking about snakes? She didn't know anything about snakes!!

She lifted her wrist to check the time, wondering if she should excuse herself with a lame excuse about an appointment.

... Oh good lord she was severely overthinking this conversation in a pen aisle.

“Okay then,” Liz said as Annie completely rescinded her claim to the pens. Liz felt kinda bad about it actually, but then again, now she had the pens. The amazing pens. Glee and guilt were bubbling up inside of her but she figured it wasn’t best to show that, so she tapped into the snake mind to siphon off some of his chillness and….

That’s right. No psychicness. This was weird. It reminded her of the effect that occured when she was in close proximity to Gemma, who naturally canceled out active mutations and most passive ones. When she was around her, it was like entering an emotional dead zone, where all she had was what she brought in herself.

And of all times to not be able to use her abilities!

Just me, now, she thought, steeling herself with a smile. “Rainbow is a good choice. Have you tried the metallic pens? They’re amazing on black paper.” No need to make Annie feel bad about giving up the great pens, right? And the rainbow ones were pretty amazing. If Liz hadn’t bought a pack of them last month she’d be laying claim to them today as well.

Annie’s gaze directed Liz back to her friend, whom she could no longer read. “Thanks,” Liz winked conspiratorially, the red and black coils just visible at the base of her throat. Fortunately the other woman wasn’t shrieking about snakes. In fact, she seemed rather into them! Cool. Great. Animal lovers automatically earned points in Liz’s book and it offered a very welcome topic change.

Even if the woman seemed somewhat flighty and flustered. Not that Liz reckoned she was doing any better, stilling standing there like an idiot with an outstretched arm with a pack of pens. She only pulled the arm back when she realized it was still hanging.

She scrunched up her nose in thought. “Uh, yes and no?” she said. “He’s native, for sure, definitely a New Yorker. A kid picked him up back in the summer and had been taking care of him, but the boy’s parents found out about the secret snake yesterday and made him get rid of it this morning.” The subway ride had given Liz quite a bit of time to possess the snake and rifle through his memories.

Then, because Liz clearly wasn’t finished being awkward in the pen isle, she asked, “...do you want to touch him?” She pulled the neck of her hoodie down a couple of inches and lifted her chin. She wasn’t planning on removing the snake from her neck (since he seemed so comfy there) and at least that was one line of social norms she wasn’t crossing.

Metallic pens? "Oh, no... I haven't. I don't think I've ever used black paper before." She lifted a pack of folders from her basket with a nervous smile, "Just the boring stuff for paperwork and such."

Liz explained a bit more about the snake, which helped to get Annie's mind off of the fact that she'd winked at her, and found herself quite surprised by everything he apparently knew about the animal. "... How do you know so much about it- er, him? Did he come with a note or something?" The image of that was adorable, and also sad. How heartless of the parents to just force their kid to get rid of the poor little thing like that! If they couldn't keep it, they should have sought out a home for him, or a sanctuary. Something! Geez.

"Oh, can I?" Was she excited? Yes! She loved animals, even if she didn't have the time or space to have any herself. Loved them enough for her confusing anxiety over talking to a pretty girl to switch off temporarily and allow her to do just that. She reached out slowly to touched the little thing gently with two fingers. She didn't know a lot about animals, but she knew you generally couldn't go wrong approaching them slowly... right? Less threatening that way or something.

"Oooh, he's so pretty!" Annie kept her voice down at least, still bound by the unbreakable lips-locked promise.

"I've thought about getting a snake before... but I just don't have the time for them." She pulled her hand back after getting a few good little pets in and sighed. "Maybe someday~"

Her phone chimed, and she reached for it on reflex. She could tell it was an alarm without looking, and that reminded her that she was supposed to be shopping and on a time crunch. Well, sorta. She supposed missing her slot at the range wouldn't kill her, she just hated missing things she had planned.

"Ah, poo. I'm late." slipping her coat back into her pocket, she reminded herself that at the very least she still needed to swing by and pick up more ammo, a few new cleaning rags, and she had her eyes on one of the new hidden holsters they had just brought in.

She snapped back to the conversation at hand, "Are you going to keep him, then?"

“You are absolutely missing out,” Liz said with a shake of her hand. Then again, Liz possibly owned far more paper than anyone who wasn’t into scrapbooking should, so it was entirely possible she was in a minority in her advocacy for various colors of paper. But she was definitely talking too much.

Of all times not to think like a snake! “Something like that,” Liz said smoothly and non-comitally. No sense in bringing up her mutant status in casual conversation just like that. Although she had never truly tested it, she had a longstanding hypothesis that people wouldn’t react well if she threw the terms “possession” or “mind-reading” around. Even if she could only do that to animals, people probably would get weird about it.

The snake flinched as Annie touched him but quickly settled back down. Liz figured that meant he was just momentarily surprised, but otherwise content in the warmth and comfort of her neck. And it was quite annoying not knowing that for certain! How did other people deal with pets they couldn’t feel out? No wonder people commonly had ingrained fears of animals.

“That’s pretty responsible of you,” Liz said, fighting back the instinctive urge to nod. No sense dislodging her coiled collar any more than needed. “Although I will say that keeping snakes really isn’t much of a time obligation. A guy like this needs about one mouse a week, tank cleaned out once or twice during that time, and then just occasional handling so he won’t forget how to behave around humans.” Liz hadn’t actually owned a snake herself, but she’d known several folks who had. And she’d been inside the heads of a few domesticated snakes so she knew their schedules.

Liz cut off her rambling as Annie’s phone dominated her attention. Liz politely averted her gaze and pretended to read an advertisement as the other woman attended to matters. Elizabeth cringed a bit. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she stated, “You would’ve been out of here already. Don’t mind me, you go ahead and get to doing what you need to do. Important meeting or something?” she politely queried. Not that it truly mattered, but that was the nature of small talk.

“No, I do not think I’ll be keeping him,” she said belatedly. “He’s a creature of the wild, he’ll be fine on his own. Plus, I have a bird - not a good combo.” If she brought this snake back to the mansion she had no doubt there’d be a death by morning. Nico was a devious little guy.