Click.

What a sweet sound. He had his own key, something that might be unnoticed to some, but to him it was a treasure. The idea of privacy and no one harassing him was great. He looked around at the room. It was decorated in the manner that a mansion this size would be. There was a good bit of dust and debris, but other than that, he didn't see anything too bad. He figured it must be due to being in the central hall, more around him.

He took the extra twin bed and its pillows and blankets and moved it out into the hall. Surely someone in one of the less fortunate rooms could use it. This would also give him plenty of space for meditation and exercise. Or somewhere to flop around if necessary. He opened the small closet and put his lone satchel in it. Closing the door, he surveyed the room once more. He might come up and sweep it out after he had gotten some work done.

(OOC: This continues from my rebuilding post with Ghost --) Someone's gotta do it.

Garrett entered the room and flipped the light off. Without his shirt, the cool air on his body gave him goosebumps, which looked odd considering he was mostly hairless. He stepped into the bathroom, leaving the door open for residual light. He turned the hot water on and let it run until there was a bit of steam rising. He bent over and let the steam rise and cover his face. The heat made it back down a little. He soaked a washcloth in the scalding water, wrung it out and then placed it in a folded square over his eye. Immediate relief and the room started to focus a bit.

Still, this was a slight victory. He needed to get in the bed. He pulled the drapes, leaving one side askew so that some light would enter indirectly. He slid under the covers and propped his head up under the pillow. One eye closed under the hot compress, he looked into the hall, waiting to see if she would come.

Maya hurried with the wheelbarrow, rocks jumping out at every bump. They would probably have to come back and pick those up again, but the majority of the load got to it's destination. She ran back for the tools and water bottles and any trash they might have left. She ditched the tools and wheelbarrow near the dumpster and tossed the trash into the receptacle.

She hurried into the kitchen, tripping on the steps. The water bottles slid across the floor, but she managed to catch herself with her hands. Her palms stung with small scrapes, but she had learned her lesson: slow down. No one was dying that she knew of and there wasn't anything that she could do about it anyway. She re-gathered up the water bottles and headed for the stairs that lead to the various halls. She walked calmly to the girl's hall, realized that there was no way he was on the girl's hall and then went to check the boy's hall.

She wasn't sure what she was looking for exactly, but she stopped an extremely tall and lanky boy to ask if he knew of anyone with Garrett's description. He directed her to the adult hall. That surprised her a little. She had thought them to be about the same age. Maybe he had needed a larger room? Or he came with someone. She began to feel a bit guilty - she knew very little about Garrett at this point. She had met him, true, but she hadn't really given him a chance.

She spotted the shirt in the hall and was at once wary. She was about to enter a possibly older guy's room and it looked like he was shirtless. Trap or not, she rapped her knuckles on the slightly ajar wooden door. "Garrett?" She called out a little unsure if this was even the right place, but once she saw him inside she grabbed the shirt, popped off her shoes and pushed open the door. "Ojamashimasu." She mumbled, pulling the door back to partially closed behind her.

"I... uh brought your water bottle." She confessed lamely as she held it out in case he wanted it.

He had faded a bit, the rest and heat from the compress soothing him. He heard the knock, its reverberations floating through the room.His uncovered eye opened to see her glide into the room, like a ...well yeah, ghost. "Ojamashimawhat?", he said, a smile creeping on his face. He smiled and took the water bottle from her. " I bet you thought this was a trick. Sorry, I figured you wouldn't know where I was otherwise. Since you are here, have a seat?" He patted the side of the bed.

"Before I came here, I was prone to seizures. In fact, my power is like that, I can manipulate people's nervous systems. The problem is, the less I use it on people, the more sick I seem to be. On the streets, I used it for self defense and.." He looked down, a small sigh of guilt escaping. " I also used it to get money from people sometimes. I know it's wrong, but I had to survive." He hoped his admission of larceny didn't make her wary of him. He couldn't figure out why he was spilling his guts to her, but it was more than likely due to the fact that she seemed to care. Not alot of those around, even less frequent than mutations.

She laid the sweaty shirt at the end of the bed. "Ojamashimasu. It means 'I'm coming in' or 'sorry to bother you.'" she clarified as if it mattered - she was already there. She prickled at the invitation to sit on the bed, but quickly caved to his offer. Here he was feeling ill and he was still being a gracious host. He just... didn't seem the type to try to take advantage of a girl. Not to mention that she always had her ace in the hole. She sat gingerly at the edge of the bed, ready to spirit away.

"Before I came here, I was prone to seizures. In fact, my power is like that, I can manipulate people's nervous systems. The problem is, the less I use it on people, the more sick I seem to be. On the streets, I used it for self defense and... I also used it to get money from people sometimes. I know it's wrong, but I had to survive."

She had noticed that they hadn't had the whole tell me your special ability time yet. Actually, she had thought that it was nice to just be... but it was too much a part of their lives, it seemed. There really was no escaping it. He looked guilty and it felt silly. "You don't have to make excuses to me." She shrugged. She'd seen the results of much worse... this guy didn't seem to be carrying around any tongues.

"What's done is done." She said simply. "You're not using your..." She didn't think he would deem him power a 'gift' so she edited herself. "...ability to get money from anyone around here or else I wouldn't think you'd be in a single piece. It looks to me like you did what was necessary to survive a dark time..." She sighed, not feeling like she was especially helping. She just wasn't her normal self these days.

She smiled, but it was more for show than an expression of actual feeling. "Welcome to the light?"

"Welcome to the light?"

She was truly an angel to him. When she had sat down on the edge of the bed, he hadn't felt anything. No weight. She seemed to have that pensive anxiety that many mutants had now, this was normal. But she was really trying to see past all that and just have a conversation. It was very soothing and calming. These factors and her little, ruffled white croptop just put the word Angel before him. Not that he believed in them, but it made for a nice literary segue in his mind.

"Why thank you, Miss Ghost.", he replied, his smile more evident. "I think it was for the best, since before I came, I felt like I could easily slide either way. No one would like me in the darkness." This was quite true. He didn't dare close his eyes, as he would undoubtedly see things from beneath that horrible hood. His capacity for terror was as broad as his capacity for kindness. Best to stick with the latter, for now.

"I'd rather see you than some others I've met. Uhh --not that you aren't frightening." She nodded to his man-ego. It was Goth she imagined in the shadows. He seemed ever ready to do something that would leave her with nightmares. She thought about saying something pithy about darkness, but bit her tongue instead. She didn't want to know what darkness Garrett was capable of. "I know that we just met, but I'd like to think that I can believe in you. That my sense of character isn't entirely naive or something." She looked down at her hands.

The palms of her hands stung where she had scraped them in her haste to find this place. They weren't bleeding really they were just scraped up enough to allow small red dots to appear between the lines. She fumbled with her own hands in her lap. "You may have been the first person not to ask what my ability was. I'm not hiding it, but it's nice to be treated like a person first. Instead of an air elemental or a mutation or worse... is that strange?"

She was trying not to worry, but the Japanese took their health matters very seriously. She wasn't Japanese, but if you spend any time at all with one you start to fret about these things. "Are you feeling better at all? Is there something I can do? I can go if you need quiet."

"I know that we just met, but I'd like to think that I can believe in you. That my sense of character isn't entirely naive or something."

" I know better. I never make any assumptions about anyone, friend or foe. That is a sure way to defeat. My old friend Sun Tzu taught me that." He smiled at the thought. Indeed, every circumstance in life could be equated to a battlefield, a test of wills, the pull between the elements.

"You may have been the first person not to ask what my ability was. I'm not hiding it, but it's nice to be treated like a person first. Instead of an air elemental or a mutation or worse... is that strange?"

"An air elemental? Fascinating. I would be happy to have any kind of ability like that. Something so free. It is a burden and responsibility to have such a potent gift as mine. I could permanently damage someone or kill them.", he replied, nodding a bit. He scooted up in the bed so he could sit up, carefully removing the compress, which had now gone cold, from his eye. The world got a bit sparkly as the blood began to rush through his head again.

"Are you feeling better at all? Is there something I can do? I can go if you need quiet."

He nodded and answered, " Indeed. The rest and quiet did help. I am starting to feel better, thank you. Could I have my shirt back?" He slid it back over his shoulders and pulled it down snugly." I wish you would stay, though. I am enjoying your company. Tell me more of your abilities, if you like. Or just about yourself." He moved over closer to the wall, giving her more space on the edge. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the other bed out, but he had no social plans. Until now.

"I know better. I never make any assumptions about anyone, friend or foe. That is a sure way to defeat. My old friend Sun Tzu taught me that."

She smiled and it was rueful. She really wanted to be able to believe in someone. To believe that people were good inside. Maybe he was right like everyone had warned her... she was just being naive. The doubt in her chest seemed to widen a little bit.

She handed him his shirt when he asked for it. She appreciated the space. They all had responsibility, though she didn't want to belittle the importance of his restraint. In a way they were all like loaded pistols... sometimes she felt like hers was loaded with rubber bullets. She'd never killed anyone, and she hoped to never have to bear that responsibility. She swallowed.

"Indeed. The rest and quiet did help. I am starting to feel better, thank you. ...I wish you would stay, though. I am enjoying your company. Tell me more of your abilities, if you like. Or just about yourself."

She swallowed again and shrugged. "I used to live in Japan," she offered semi-helpfully. She hadn't entirely decided everything that she was taking with her from her past. That was one point that she couldn't part with.

"I used to live in Japan"

"Ah, Japan. Well it makes sense for your being so polite. You said you were an air elemental. Perhaps you are little Shinto spirit, come to spirit me away to a land of dreams?", he chuckled, but didn't carry on too much, so she didn't think he was teasing. "Just playing. That's very interesting. Like most Americans, I have never left the country." It was too bad, a whole world out there, but with his medical problems, it just made it all seem impossible, not to mention the money.

He dug in his pocket and pulled his Chi coins out. As he opened his hand to show them to her, he said, " I have always enjoyed China more, no offense. I am a Taoist and have used these coins to cast I Ching hexagrams for years." The dull coins, each with a square cut out of the center, still gave a slight sheen in the altered twilight. "Perhaps I can cast one for you? I don't know of your beliefs and don't wish any harm. You never know though." He smiled, the coins lying flat in his palm.

The idea of spiriting someone away was rather amusing, though she didn't think she could bring anyone with her to an incorporeal state. It would probably freak them out as much as she freaked out the first time. It was freeing and disembody-ing all at the same time.

He rooted around for something in his pocket. She didn't look at first, she was too entranced at the idea of kamikakushi. But when he spoke of his religion he immediately had her full and undivided attention. "...I am a Taoist and have used these coins to cast I Ching hexagrams for years."

She actually looked at the coins now. They were dull from use. She was no expert on Tao and couldn't tell what kind of coins they were specifically other than a traditional Chinese looking coin with a square hole. Japan's 5 yen looked similar except for the square hole. Her mom would have known.

"Perhaps I can cast one for you? I don't know of your beliefs and don't wish any harm. You never know though."

She pulled her legs underneath her on the bed, leaving her feet to hang off of the edge. She was intensely interested now. "Would you?" She shifted to face him more completely her mind was racing to remember what she had been taught. Yin and Yang. Change. The I Ching had something to do with trigrams. She could vividly remember the lines some solid and some with a gap. "I don't know much about it... but it would mean a lot to me if you would." She dipped her head slightly making it a semi-formal request.

"Would you?"

"Gladly.", he replied. He looked down at the three coins in his hand. He then looked at his friend and said to her, "Well, it's fairly simple, just think of the situation in your mind which you wish to reveal to yourself. There's no need to tell me." He stacked the three coins in his palm as he stretched out a flat spot on the bed. He nodded and bowed his head, his thumb and forefinger idly rubbing each other as he seemed to concentrate and clear his mind.

He began casting the hexagram. He tossed the coins in the air, letting them fall. He would cock his head to one side or the other, nodding and smiling as they would fall. He repeated this six times and then closed his eyes, thinking on it. He smiled wide at the apparent decision of the Oracle. "Fiu. The Thunder below the Earth. Very interesting. This is the hexagram of the winter solstice, the thunder of spring waiting below the earth. The Chinese saw this time as a time of rest and preparedness for the days to come. As the dormant seeds below the frozen tundra prepare to live once more, so must we wait for times to change. Your time of winter, whether it be stagnation, depression, or dormancy, will now improve. Don't force it. Allow it to occur naturally from within, as the seeds.."

He smiled at her as he gathered the coins and put them back in his pocket. "Very auspicious. Of course, it is only an Oracle, it is for you to decipher."

"Very auspicious. Of course, it is only an Oracle, it is for you to decipher."

Maya's eyes were watering, she couldn't help it. It started small and slow... eventually a mournful yet real smile blossomed across her face. It wasn't her normal rougeish, toothy smile, but it was a start. It would be better.

"I guess it just takes time to heal wounds then..." She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, trying to stem the flow. She was a little embarrassed to cry in front of a new acquaintance. She hadn't thought it would touch her in such a way. It was just as he said... a seed was there- she was sure of it.

"I'm sorry..." She couldn't stop the tears from leaking out. She didn't mean to -- it wasn't his fault. She didn't want to offend him.

"I guess it just takes time to heal wounds then.."

Yes, it does. He had wounds that were deep himself. So gangrenous and feverish with anger towards humans for what had happened in the camps. He started to slip into that mode of his, yet he couldn't. Here this girl was experiencing a moment of happiness and it wasn't for him to interfere. He smiled and said, " Looks like you are watering your seeds now."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be. Everyone needs to cry occasionally. And I won't tell anyone." He smiled and took her tear moistened hand. He looked at her with kind eyes. "You never told me your name. Surely you weren't born Ghost." He smiled and took his hand back to his lap, not wanting to disrupt her formal behavior.

Watering her seeds...? He was being awfully kind for a guy who thought himself a bum thug.

He brought her hand away from her face, but did not hold onto it. "You never told me your name. Surely you weren't born Ghost."

"I wasn't born a Ghost... but a Ghost I have become." She rubbed her eyes again and ran her fingers through her hair. "May I wash my face?" She slid off of the bed and made for the bathroom. She washed cold water over her face to reduce the splotchiness and calm herself. She saw her reflection and thought her eyes looked a bit too wide and red-rimmed. It's great to make friends when you look a wreck.

She ran her fingers through her hair and returned to the room. She stopped in the bathroom doorway and leaned against the frame. She breathed in a slow and steady breath. "My name is Maya, but i prefer Ghost. I am a mutant. Not a daughter or a sister." She frowned. "There's no reason to be Maya anymore."

Her legs were stiff. It felt good to stand.