Wanting to relax for awhile Syn wandered until she found what looked like a library not far from the barracks. There wasn't anyone in the room at the moment so it was quiet as a tomb. This was a perfect place to sit down and calm down. Finding a rather comfortable looking chair Syn sat and took a deep relaxing breath.

One would think that life at the headquarters for the resistance against the mutant registration law would be very exciting. In reality, people settled into a routine the same way they did everywhere else. They got up, ate their meals, did training exercises, and did whatever they could to amuse themselves in between the ever important preparations for the eventual breakout of the camps. Sometimes the monotony was broken by a new mutant who had just arrived to help the resistance, but they eventually found their own pattern, another thread in the tapestry of life at Mondragon Labs.

Katrina had her own comfortable routine of practicing oboe and illusions in the mornings followed by studying in the library, usually with Calley. She also did a lot of exploring. The walking was good exercise and it made her more familiar with the vast expanse of her current abode. Every once in a while she would find an interesting new room. Just the other day she found a computer lab with internet access. There had been two teenagers from the Mansion playing World of Warcraft and talking about quests and enchanted items and such. Katrina had logged onto the internet intending to check her email or see if her friends back home were online chatting. She wasn’t sure what they knew about her absence though, so in the end she had logged out again without actually doing anything.

On a day just like any other Katrina walked into the library to study, carrying an armload of books to return and wondering if Calley would be joining her as per usual. Someone was sitting in one of the comfortable chairs near the fireplace, but it wasn’t Calley. It was the mysterious lady with black and red streak hair, Syn. Katrina recognized her from the resistance meeting and had seen her around the labs, but they had never really spoken to each other before. Actually, Katrina didn’t know much about her other than her name. Maybe getting to know someone new would be a good opportunity to break up the everyday routine. Katrina walked over to the study area and set her pile of books down on one of the low tables.

“Hello,” Katrina greeted her politely.

A small sounding voice reached Syn's ears. She had closed her eyes for a couple minutes so she didn't see the other girl come into the library. Opening her green eyes Syn looked the new arrival over. She was a young blonde girl that she had seen at the meeting Hunter had when everyone initially arrived at the labs. Syn remembered the girl was by the group from the mansion. Immediately Syn began wondering if the girl was a mutant and what she could do.

Smiling back and speaking in a soft tone Syn replied back. "Well, hello hun. What's your name?"

Hun, huh? Hopefully Syn wasn’t going to be one of those people who treated her like a kindergartener. That remained to be seen. Maybe she was just being nice. Katrina reminded herself not to judge people right away. She had made that mistake before, of judging someone based on first impressions, so she wasn’t going to do so now.

“I’m Katrina. ” Katrina gave Syn an appraising look, then added, “Is that your real hair color or did you dye it?” She had been wondering for awhile.

Well, Katrina might not be a little kid but her question sure made it seem like she still had kid like thoughts. Syn smiled at the younger girl then ran her own fingers through her hair like a comb. "Yes, this is my real hair. It's been this way for as long as I can remember. I suppose it's part of my being a mutant and all."

Sitting back Syn thought it would be fun to find out how much info she could get out of the girl as well as sew some evil seeds. "You were with the mansion residents as I recall. How is it there? What are the people like there?"

Katrina nodded appreciatively at Syn's hair. She would have liked to have highlights, but her mother would never let her dye her hair.

Katrina laughed inwardly and smiled outwardly at Syn's comment about the "mansion residents". Even after all this time at the Labs, she was still lumped in with the mansion residents. It seemed that the mutants of New York City, or at least the ones the ended up at the resistance, were very attached to the idea of their previous groups, what ever they had been. The mansion residents were the ones that Katrina knew of because she got lumped in with them. Other resistance members tended to group themselves differently and sometimes there seemed to be tensions, but so far she hadn't seen any explosions so the groups seemed more like rival cliques at a school than rival gangs fighting for turf. Katrina herself had a hard time considering people as part of a group other than the resistance because she didn't know everyone's previous history. That, and she tended to think or people as individuals, without lumping them with others who may or may not be like them.

"I sat with them, but I'm not really a mansion resident. I only arrived at the mansion the evening before it was raided. The only night I spent there, I spent it underneath the bed. Mostly I can't even tell who all the groups around here are."

It wasn't quite the answer Syn was hoping for. She was hoping the girl had spent some time there. Perhaps a few weeks or even months. She was hoping to find out more detail about the mansion and more importantly the people living there. So, it wasn't the kind of response Syn wanted but it was a start. Perhaps she could still find out some things as well as implant some thoughts into Katrina's head.

"I heard it was quite a mess the night of the raid. I'm sorry to hear your stay there was shortened in such a drastic manner." Hopefully appealing to the girl's vulnerability of that night might get her to keep talking. "At least there are a few others who managed to get out. So perhaps you've bonded with some of them since arriving here, or maybe you've found new friends since you've been here."

Looking the girl over Syn didn't see any obvious abnormalities. No pointed ears, or fangs or wings folded behind her back. So, if this girl is a mutant then what can she do? "Mind if I ask why you were at the mansion? Were you planning on living there?"

>>>"I heard it was quite a mess the night of the raid. I'm sorry to hear your stay there was shortened in such a drastic manner.

Katrina shrugged, “I’m just glad I wasn’t one of the ones that got taken away to the camps. I was one of the lucky ones.” It had still been a rather traumatic night. In twenty four hours she had gone from not knowing she was a mutant to living at the resistance with other mutant refugees.

>>> At least there are a few others who managed to get out. So perhaps you've bonded with some of them since arriving here, or maybe you've found new friends since you've been here."

Katrina nodded earnestly, “I’ve made lots of friends. Most of them aren’t my age though. I didn’t know at first that there were other kids here. I think their rooms are in a different spot than mine because they came at a different time than I did. None of them want to go to school though. I was supposed to go to school at the mansion, and I don’t want to get behind… Calley and I started a study group, but no one wants to join us,” Katrina tilted her head at Syn. “Have you already graduated? You could study with us too. Even if you have, no one is ever too old to learn.”

"Yeah, I'm also glad I'm not in the camps. I can't imagine what the mutants there are going through. I do know, however, that we will get all of our friends out of there." Syn continued with the reassuring/concerned composure. So far it seemed to be working as far as keeping the girl talking.

Katrina mentioned making lots of friends but she sounded a little upset that she might be the youngest one at the labs. "Well, don't let the age factor keep you from making more friends. In fact, I'd like to be your friend too." Syn smiled at Katrina genuinely. She really did want to be the girl's friend. Afterall, if she could convince the girl that Syn isn't such a bad person then perhaps that could open up some doors of opportunity later on.

Again Calley's name is brought to her attention. It seems as if Calley has gotten to know quite a few people and was now working with Katrina doing studies. "Katrina, can you tell me about Calley? I might consider doing some studies of my own, but I'd like to know m,ore about your study mate." There was something that just never sat well with Syn in regards to Calley. First off he clams to be Isabel's boyfriend. Then her brother appears to have taken some sort of liking to the boy. She was determined to figure out whatever secrets Calley has.

“You haven’t met him before? He’s really nice. He likes math though, which is a little weird. He has a serious side and a silly side, so it makes him a good teacher. When I was in school back home I could never understand math, but now I’m starting to a little.”

Katrina looked around, then switched to a whisper, leaning close to Syn’s ear. (Syn smelled good, like honey bees and cinnamon.) “Don’t tell him I said this, but it is actually kind of fun to learn math when he teaches me. He makes it like solving a puzzle.” She straightened and switched back to her normal voice, “Anyways, he is a good tutor, so if you need help with math he’s really good. He’s good at lots of other subjects too. And he can read two books at a time!”

Katrina figured it was her turn to ask a question now. “So, if some mutants are mansion residents, where do all the other mutants live? Are there other mutant schools besides the mansion or something?”

"Oh I've met him before but I was hoping you could tell me more about him as my meeting with him wasn't very informative. He seemed like a boy on a sugar high. Yet, you describe him as being more in control. Is the Calley you know a young boy roughly in his early to mid teens?" Perhaps it was a different person or maybe Calley was putting on a show when he was at Sanctuary.

When Katrina moved closer to Syn the older girl thought of how easy it would be to use her power, but she refrained and allowed Katrina to be as close as she was. Katrina's whispered voice felt like a butterfly fanning Syn's ear as the girl spoke. "Don't worry I won't say anything to him. I know how to keep secrets." With that Syn winked and smiled at Katrina as the girl sat back.

Looking as if she was searching her brain for a response Syn tilted her head back and slightly to the right before bringing it back down to look at the girl. "I'm not sure if there are other schools for mutants and I'm not sure where they all live. Some live in the streets while others live in their own houses or apartments." Syn held back mentioning where herself and her companions had come from.

Katrina smiled at Syn’s description of Calley. “Yup, that’s him. He looks about the same age as you and he always eats sugar, but he never gets fatter. He is usually silly, like you say, but he can be serious too. Remember at the resistance meeting? He was really serious then. And he’s serious about studying too. That’s about it though for seriousness.”

She listened to Syn’s remarks about mutants living in apartments and such. “So the main groups are the school people at the mansion and the people who work for Hunter, then there’s a bunch of mutants who live on their own? What about…” Katrina lowered her voice again, “the Xmen?” She had heard about the infamous group from Calley and wanted to see if Syn had any more information on them.

The description Katrina gave regarding Calley matched up with Syn's memory of the boy. "So is he a mutant and if he is what can he do?" It was time to dig a little deeper.

Mentioning the X-men made Syn giggle softly. She played it off as Katrina was being cute, but really she was laughing on the inside at the X-Men. Syn leaned closer to Katrina this time and whispered in the girl's ear. "Well, from what I hear they live with the mutants at the mansion. They're pretty famous ya know."

Calley was the one who originally told her not to tell people everything about her own powers, so people couldn’t use the information against her. It wouldn’t be nice to give away his secrets. Syn was nice, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t tell Calley’s secrets to other people who weren’t so nice. She shrugged, then answered, “He is a mutant, just like all of us here, but I’ve never seen him use his powers before.” It was the truth. She’d seen him as a tiger, but not changing into a tiger.

Katrina’s eyes widened as Syn said where the Xmen lived. “They live at the mansion?” Maybe they used the school to find the most promising new recruits and start training them early. “They’re famous? What… exactly do they do?”

Syn nodded as Katrina spoke about what she knew of Calley. Though she was hoping for more helpful details it wasn't much of a surprise. Perhaps Calley was careful about revealing his powers. Things will come to light in due time she thought.

"Yes, they live in the mansion. They're famous for trying to be the protectors of both mutants and humans even though they fight their own kind. They are constantly fighting for a lost cause. Humans and mutants will never fully get along." Syn shakes her head slightly and expresses a look of shame for the X-Men.

"So, Katrina would you mind if I asked what you are capable of?"