The strain of working to control his sonar was finally getting to Luke in a major way. He had pushed it to far to soon and the constant throbbing in his head reminded him of that fact. Sighing inwardly the blind man moved easily along the crowded sidewalk as he tried to decide where to eat dinner. Really all that mattered was that the food be quick, easy, and somewhat nutricious. "And hopefully the place is kind of quiet." He thought to himself as he fished a tylenol out of his pocket and then swallowed it dry. Oh yeah... he had deffinately pushed it to far today.

Suddenly pausing in the doorway of one shop Luke sniffed slightly and turned his head towards the entrance. A deffinate fishy smell and from what little chatter he could pick up from inside it sounded like this must be a sushi shop. "I was hoping for quick and easy... this'll work." He murmured to himself as he walked inside.

"Welcome sir! Would you prefer a booth or table this afternoon?" The host spoke up from where he stood near the entrance. Pausing Luke still the movements of his cane and turned his head so he was facing the man's general direciton.

"A booth please... a prefer a little privacy."

"Of course... of course!" The host assured as he rushed forward to touch the blind man's arm and guide him into the restaurant. "We have several booths open towards the back of the restaurant... only one is taken while all the rest are left empty. That will be perfect for you!"

Several minutes later Luke found himself comfortable seated in a booth with a glass of water and a brail menu right in front of him. Slowly running his fingers over the brail letters the blind man focused on what he wanted to eat, although his enhanced hearing was picking up some of the conversation coming from the two young women that were seated in the booth right behind him.

"Have you decided what you want sir?" The waiter asked as he suddenly walked up to Luke's table. "He sounds nervous... why in the world would a blind man make him nervous?" He wondered, automatically lowering the power of his sonar so that hopefully its adverse effects would not touch the other diners in the restaurant.

"I'll have a double order of Tekkamaki Makizushi." Luke said in a quiet voice as he folded his menu back and handed it over to the waiter, "And just water to drink will be fine."

"Of course sir... I'll be back with it in just a few minutes." The waiter said before hurrying off to dissapear into the kitchen.

"Strange... even with my sonar turned down he acts nervous." Luke thought as he lowered the strength down to only approximately four feet out in all direciton, "I wonder what's bothering him... and the rest of the people here for that matter."

ooc: sorry bout that Duke! I think we both thought you mighta forgot when you didn't post after a few days so we went on with our thing! Welcome to join in now- I'd just delete the exiting post

ic:

Raina smiled while listening to Sarah- she really was so wise. "I guess I have chosen my side " she admitted. "it's staying true to myself within that side that's going to be a problem." she finished. "I was a lone wolf myself so to speak." she added. "Before I came to New York I was by myself the whole time, but I'm a social person by nature and it really took it's toll on me. Maybe that was a pre-cursor to my mutation and needing a school or something." she joked.

Finally the waiter appeared with their food and when Raina looked up she noticed a man sitting not that far away. Raina waited till the server left to point the man out silently to Sarah. "we've got a brave one!" she giggled. "Or maybe he just doesn't see us" she joked not knowing how true her words were.

Sara’s head tilted, as she took note of the blind gentleman being lead to a seat. Her mane focus remained on Raina. She had positioned herself with her back against a corner, out of habit. The blind gentleman and the waiter, had only even received the fraction of her attention, because they broke the pattern everyone else was following, and moved closer than the other inhabitance.

It wasn’t till the man sat down that Sara started having a problem. It was like a bad radio connection found it’s way into the back of her head. Or the buzz from the electricity changed. Her ears flicked back, against her head, and the tone seemed to change again. Turning less abrasive. The sound was hardly a whisper of air, but it was still there. She shifted in her seat, as if the change in her legs and tail would solve all the worlds problems.

Sara sighed and shrugged. A smile came to her face when Raina mentioned her mutation, and schools. “Typical fish.” Sara smirked. “I try not to think of myself as that much of a loner. I have Ayesac, and lone wolfs don’t have people, friends, that ask them to go out for sushi, However, two years ago, I might of agreed with you.” She thought on that for a few seconds. “Maybe what I have is just a cat thing.” A smirk came across her feline face again.

"we've got a brave one! Or maybe he just doesn't see us"

Sara nodded, “Actually no, he doesn’t see us.” Though if he was like Shya, back in the camps, he was aware of his surroundings nonetheless. “He had a long white cane when he walked in, and the host lead him to that table. Kind of low, by them, if you ask me.” Their food had finally been brought, and Sara picked up the cup of tea, holding it under her nose, and breathing in the steam and aroma.

Duke had followed the two females to a sort of cafe like shoppe and his curiosity had risen. He had never seen a cat-like woman before, and the other one was like a human, but there was something off about her. She didn't give off the same vibe as other humans did, perhaps they were like him, perhaps. he didn't know, but he sure wanted to find out.

Waiting outside of their location, he would stay for a few minutes as to not give way that he had been on their tail since the whole harbor incident, maybe because they could have spotted him at that location. When he felt enough time had elapsed he passed through the opening doors and went inside. He passed by several people, but eventually he took a seat a few distances from the others. If they were like him, he was going to find out.

They look so... I dunno, they seen like they're good enough. Heh...

Pulling out his music player, he put on some techno music and continued to watch, his palms locked into one another as his elbows lay on the table. He tried to watch but still act as though he was a normal passer-byer, a normal citizen of the day. He had even ordered some soothing tea, the calming scent seemed to relax his muscles. This was what he needed in order to watch them. Eventually, he would move closer to them in order to listen in on their conversation.

Let's see what these people have to say...

As Luke sat sipping at his water he did his best to keep the sonar down to a minimum but still strong enough where it wouldn't further the extent of his headache. The pain was already beginning to lessen but even then it was strong enough that he wasn't in the best of moods.

"I guess I have chosen my side. It's staying true to myself within that side that's going to be a problem. I was a lone wolf myself so to speak. Before I came to New York I was by myself the whole time, but I'm a social person by nature and it really took it's toll on me. Maybe that was a pre-cursor to my mutation and needing a school or something." One of the woman in the next booth spoke, apparently continuing a conversation she and her friend had already been having.

“Typical fish. I try not to think of myself as that much of a loner. I have Ayesac, and lone wolfs don’t have people, friends, that ask them to go out for sushi, However, two years ago, I might of agreed with you. Maybe what I have is just a cat thing. The second woman replied.

"We've got a brave one! Or maybe he just doesn't see us."

“Actually no, he doesn’t see us. He had a long white cane when he walked in, and the host lead him to that table. Kind of low, by them, if you ask me.”

Luke sighed quietly to himself and continued quietly sipping his water as his brain tried to process the information he had just heard. At least one of the women, if not both, was a mutant and more than likely that was where the waiter's nervousness was coming. Quite possibly the mutation as something visible due to the fact the wait staff so so nervous and one of the women thought it was rather low for them to bring a blind man back to sit in the same area.

"That's just the way things work in the big city." He thought to himself as his left hand moved up and began to massage his temples to dull some of the throbbing that still remain.

"Here is your food sir!" The waiter said as he suddenly appeared into Luke's field of 'vision'. "Will there be anything else?"

"No... no I think I'll be just fine thank you." He replied with as pleasant a smile as he could muster as he dropped his left hand back down into his lap, "I'll just call out if I need anything. You're name is..."

"Chen sir... just call for Chen and I'll come running." Immediately the waiter turned and headed off... whether it was to help another customer or simply to hide in the kitchen Luke didn't know and he didn't care. All that mattered right now was getting some nourishment and praying that the darn headache would go away. Grabbing the chopsticks that were on the table Luke deftly grabbed a piece of sushi and placed it in his open mouth without preamble. The flavor of the raw tuna melded with the vinegared rice and slightly salty seaweed to make a dish that was different yet still quite tasty. Chewing slowly the blind man savored the flavors of the dish before swallowing and leaning back against the cushions of the booth. He had been planning on a quick meal but the conversation behind him had piked his curiosity and after all... a slow leisurely meal was much better for the digestion.

ooc: nice job with all those post edits and tying it all togeather! Muchly appreciated! I totally got duke and luke confused!!!! I think I thought it was the same person for a little bit... sorry! we still need a link to your profile Duke! I think that would help too. If you don't know how, PM me and I'll send it your way I know I PMed one of you... I can't figure out which one but it probably made no sense!

ic:
Raina took note of the man when Sarah pointed him out. She stared for a moment. "Do you think he's why my head's starting to hurt or am I justcrazy? I feel like someone turned a radio up to loud. " she giggled. "Kinda cute though, probably younger than me." boys were actually the last thing on Raina's mind despite it all. It did remind her. "How IS Ayesac? I met him briefly in the camps... But nothing really beyond that. How long have you two known each other?"

"Do you think he's why my head's starting to hurt or am I justcrazy? I feel like someone turned a radio up to loud. "

“It could be. Since he walked in, I’ve been hearing this buzz, like the electricity through a light, but more intense.” Yet it still wasn’t quite there. Sara didn’t know, quite, how to describe it. She shrugged as she scanned the crowd. Everyone seemed so tense except for a gentleman who had just walked in. She thought it was odd the way he seemed to see them, in the back, but didn’t just shy away or openly stare. Odd, She thought as she continued her conversation with Raina. “You’re talking about a brave on, There’s a man over there,” Sara nodded across the room. “Who just walked in. He looked this way, and we’re the only ones here, but he’s acting like it’s a normal thing, with his head down, and other customers, who have been here, are choosing to still look this way.” Ok so Sara did a lot of people watching. People watching is how she survived. People watching was a good thing.

"How IS Ayesac? I met him briefly in the camps... But nothing really beyond that. How long have you two known each other?"

Sara nodded. Knowledge that Ayesac was working at the camps, helped keep her head together during the break out. “He’s been doing well. He’s taken a couple of jobs.” She smiled. “We’ve known each other for abut 6 years. 5 that we’ve considered ourselves a couple.”

"Do you think he's why my head's starting to hurt or am I justcrazy? I feel like someone turned a radio up to loud."

“It could be. Since he walked in, I’ve been hearing this buzz, like the electricity through a light, but more intense.”

Luke winced slightly as he listened to the conversation. Here were another two people, apparently mutants, that were adversely affected by his gift. "And I thought I had it so easy." The blind man murmured to himself before taking a sip of water and deciding he had to try and alleviate the situation at least a little. Closing his eyes reflexively, his brow knit together in concentration as he reached out and grabbed hold of the on/off switch in his mind. With tiredness already trying to invide his mind Luke's first attempt was unsuccessful but the second time he managed to shut down the sonar so that the power was being bottled up inside.

"Time for another headache." Luke murmured rather wearily as he dug in his pocket and pulled out a couple of tylenol's, which he swallowed with another gulp of water, "I don't think a lazy meal is in the cards today."

Digging back into his plate of food Luke ate two more pieces of sushi very quickly, barely tasting them as he simply focused on finishing and getting away. He didn't want to purposely hurt bystanders and once again here was more evidence that his power had consquences he had never previously considered. "Life was so much much simple only a few days ago." He thought to himself as he reached over and took another sip of water, doing his best to ignore the throbbing that was slowly building in the background of his mind, "So much more simple."

Luke may not have been aware that Raina had heard him- but after nodding to Sarah explaining about Ayesac she spun around in her seat and leaned over the booth behind her to look down at him. She didn't need to make a scene, but she knew for a fact now that the man was a mutant and this was her job afterall- recruiting them to live at the school... well at least giving them the option.

"I work at a school." she announced without introducing herself. She figured if she talked to him like she already knew him people would be less inclined to listen in had she taken the time to introduce herself. "It's a school for people like us. If you're tired of having to have headaches so people don't get hurt I think you should come see us. We can help." with that she pulled out her mansion card. "Sorry we don't typically print things in braille.." she aplogised. "But I'm leaving this card on the table in front of you. Give it to a cabby if you'd like to visit." she was very direct and didn't give him much of a chance to speak. She didn't want anyone to think he was a mutant by association- just because she and Sarah were relatively OK with the people in this place knowing they were mutants didn't mean he was.

So- she promptly sat back down and spun around facing Sarah knowing she'd understand, and acted like nothing happened. "6years?! That's amazing!"

OOC: I linked my profile to my siggy!! Thanks Raina for telling me!

IC: Duke had watched one of the women approach another man a distance away. He didn't quite know what was happening, but the fact that the two communicated was not by chance. There was obviously something different about the guy, but what? Perhaps he was like them, like him... maybe this world was filled with more mutants, more similarities to him that he had previously though.

Because he had watched them long enough, Duke decided that it was time to communicate with one of them maybe. He got up from his seat and approached the area where the two women were sitting, perhaps disturbing their conversation. He took a couple sips of water to calm his nerves and lowered the volume on his music player in order to have the capability to listen better.

Stepping towards one of the women, he placed his hand on a woman. It wasn't the human looking one, but the feline character. He had noticed that she had sensed his presence from across the room and knew that hiding his presence would gain absolutely nothing now.

"Hi, the name's Duke. I'm... uh... new here."

After her and Raina’s brief exchange about the blind man, in the next booth, Sara’s ears flicked forward, and she listened to his low words. Another headache? Ok so he definitely was another mutant. Sara sipped her tea, and refilled her little cup, while Raina made her sales pitch about the school. Sara knew shed be welcomed there, just like she knew she’d be welcomed at the Sanctuary. Though she was sort of glad no one gave her a sales pitch like that.

Mean while Sara noted that the other individual, that she had pointed out, was approaching. She tilted her head, and looked up at him. His hand was placed on her shoulder, and she forced her stance to relax. She heard his music get turned down in volume, but she could still hear it, and the way that noise came out of head sets sort of, bothered her. Sort of like what the poor blind man, who was now getting a head ach, did to her.

"Hi, the name's Duke. I'm... uh... new here."

Bells were ringing like wild in Sara’s head. Mutant. Mutant. Mutant. Why else would he be introducing himself. She nodded. “Most call me Sara. Here, would you like a seat?” she pulled her coat to the side so that he could sit if he wanted to. Also taking a moment to change where her tail was laying. Apparently it had been draped over the length of the bench, with the tip twitching. Sara was lucky the waitress didn’t kick it when she took their order… smart waitress. “by the way,” Sara nodded in Raina’s direction, now that she was seated and facing her again. “this is Raina.”

"I work at a school." One of the woman suddenly spoke up, apparently having heard Luke's last comment, "It's a school for people like us. If you're tired of having to have headaches so people don't get hurt I think you should come see us. We can help. Sorry we don't typically print things in braille. But I'm leaving this card on the table in front of you. Give it to a cabby if you'd like to visit."

Luke froze in the booth where he sat, startled and amazed that he had been pegged so quickly. Ok, so he knew there were other mutants in New York... especially here in New York but he always thought he was good at blending in. One idle comment and suddenly he was nailed down?

Combining with the headache that was building the blind man could feel a sense of panic beginning to build down deep. He wasn't afraid to admit that he was a mutant but to be identified so quickly and easily was a new and somewhat frightening experience.

"Hi, the name's Duke. I'm... uh... new here." A new voice suddenly spoke up from the booth. Almost jumping in surprise, Luke was able to hold still as he tried to become accustomed to people appearing nearby without his 'seeing' them approach. "I gotta work on my hearing." Luke thought to himself, "I know its better than most so I should be able to know when people are coming up if I just don't get lost in other sounds."

"Most call me Sara. Here, would you like a seat? By the way this is Raina.” The other woman spoke again.

Finishing the piece of sushi he was chewing Luke reached into his pocket and fished out three of his business cards. "Sorry for the noise." Luke spoke appologetically as he allowed the sonar to pulse out just long enough for him to see the other table and then reach out to place his business cards on it before once again silencing the sound, "I'm Luke Jacobs. And I just have problems with the headaches when I try to turn it off so that it doesn't hurt anyone around me that's sensetive to sound. It's getting better with practice but it's still a slow process. Until someone mentioned a mansion to me the other day I didn't even know there were places for groups of mutants to go... is your school connected to a mansion someplace or something?"

Raina grinned. "Sure is, I'm a teacher there." she said spinning back around to shake his hand. "You're not very obvious you know- I think just after spending so much time with people like us I can start to see signs." she admitted. "So your ability works like sonar! That;s facinating, why don't you join our table here if your comfortable? we can talk more about the school."

she too shoved over then looked up when another approached, he introduced himself and Sarah introduced herself and Raina. "Luke and Duke." she smiled. "you aren't long lost brothers or something? Sure, sit down." she passed a card to Duke as well. "Might as well get in on this." she winked

Raina had a way of making herself a member of everyone's family or friend circle by her attempts to be friendly and bring people to the mansion- she was fairly likeable and sincerely friendly and it usually won people over. She turned back to Luke to see if he'd join, thinking to herself he really was kind of cute!

"Most call me Sara. Here, would you like a seat? By the way this is Raina.”

Duke thought that it would be safer to sit with these people, taking in that the offering of a seat was a sort of treaty. Great, now he was with others like himself, big whoop. He was still trying to process thoughts in his head on what he would say next. It wasn't until another individual, a man, approached and introduced himself.

"...I'm Luke Jacobs..."

Duke inspected the fellow with intrigue, but then relaxed and took in a deep breath. An odd feeling was beginning to succumb him, a silent rush that was beginning to speed his heart. He continued to calm himself down, taking a sip of water as he did so. He pointed out the characters in his mind, labeling them as to not forget, but now he just wanted to know what they could do for him.

Luke and Duke, you aren't long lost brothers or something?

Duke took a look at this fellow named Luke as the girl, Raina proceeded to hand him a card. It had been a while since he had needed to read something, but he got the just of it after a while. So now he knew that there was something, even as Luke pulled out three business cards as well. Duke felt odd that he didn't have anything to pass out.

"So, uh... yeah, pretty homely feel to this placed, don't you think? Never been here before, nice place..." Duke felt dumb describing this place. Although he did enjoy it here, the fact that he was straying from what they were obviously doing was worse. "So, you guys are, you know, like me?"

Sara’s ears flicked back when the sonar pulsed again. Her face didn’t flinch though. “Thanks you for working to hold it in.” Her eyes held some sympathy for Luke. One thing she had been jealous of, when it came to mutants like Raina was that they had a choice to be mutants or not, in the public eyes. This guy had a choice, it seemed, but it also seemed his ability liked to kick him in the butt, when he made it. “If things build up for you too much, don’t feel you have to hold, what ever it is, in on my behalf.”

“It seems like I’m collecting a lot of cards lately.” Sara scooped up the business card that were offered to her, on the table, reading over it briefly. Her eye brow raised and she looked over the card at Luke. “Security business? Sounds cool.” Sounds like Sara would have to learn about his security system.

"So, uh... yeah, pretty homely feel to this placed, don't you think? Never been here before, nice place..."

Sara tucked Luke’s business card into her shirt pocket. Looking around. “it could be worst.” She admitted. “And the food’s good.” She picked up bit of her sushi and plopped it right into her mouth. “I could get used to this stuff.”

"So, you guys are, you know, like me?"

“No Duke. I’m not like you. I’m furry, I have big ears, a big nose, and a tail.” She said around the sushi before swallowing. “My teeth are bigger too, but you get the idea.” Hmmm. There was a questions. Was Duke just trying to be friendly with mutants? Could he be human? Not that Sara minded, but she was curious. “So what is it that makes you like us?”