Raina's heart fluttered a little when he seemed interested in her ideas, she couldn't stop the little blush that came across her cheeks. "The mansion pool?' she thought a moment. "it's probably only good enough for practice, getting you used to either holding your breath or using breathing apparatus. Or just getting the general flow of trying to use your powers there to begin with. I think if we want to seriously train then it's important to either find a bigger pool to rent out, or a real body of water."

She was impressed with how well this conversation was flowing with her ideas. She'd finished her meal and was bordering on excitment over the whole thing. "It's almost the weekend, and I don't teach on saturda.y... maybe you could visit? or we could go someplace else... or..."

she continued with ideas until the obvious dawned on her. "Unless of course you're busy or this sort of thing makes you uncomfortable..." she sipped the last of her shake while the winds picked up outside and the rain continued.

"I think we'd deffinately be practicing with some type of breathing aparatus." Luke replied with a chuckle as he listened to Raina continue, "Unless I have a set of gills or something that I don't know about, I'm not going to be able to hold my breath long enough to get in a whole lot of practicing."

"It's almost the weekend, and I don't teach on saturday... maybe you could visit? or we could go someplace else... or... Unless of course you're busy or this sort of thing makes you uncomfortable..."

"No... I'm not busy this weekend and this doesn't make me uncomfortable." The man's voice had softened slightly as he pushed aside the now empty plate just to pull the small desert place into its position front and center. "But I'm sure you must have some friends at the mansion that will want to hang out with you this weekend. We don't have to do it Saturday if you don't want to."

Ok... this still felt really strange. Mixed signals seemed to fly from the young woman and Luke hated to admit it but he was rapidly becoming fascinated by her. Whether this fascination would turn to romantic feelings was anybody's guess but he knew that he would jump at any opportunity to hang out with her more.

"But whenever we did training, I'd lean towards starting someone bigger than the pool. Maybe one of the lakes outside of the city or something. I mean, it can't be all that hard to use diving equipment."

Really he had no clue how difficult or dangerous diving could be but with a mermaid nearby he should be fine. But really... if Raina had boyfriends or possible boyfriends she should probably be spending her Saturday with them instead of hanging out with Luke. If there was one thing he didn't need it was jealous boyfriends out to hurt him because he was hanging out with their girl.

Raina gave a musical laugh. "No, I have no life. And if you kept me busy you'd be doing me a favour by keeping me out of my brother's reach." she laughed. "Naveed, my older brother, he's got a mind controlling ability. He wont use it on me... often... but when he wants something he wants something." she thought back to the many nights her brother kept her in playing video games or watching movies when he was feeling in an overprotective mood.

"You know, for his ability to work he needs to have eye contact. There's a certain glamour about him that makes people want to look at him... but he'd have no control over you what so ever. That would be interesting." she grinned a little sly. "His best friend Flloyd likes to team up with him- he makes people see things theyre afraid of. I guess that wouldn't work on you either"

"We COULD go to a lake. I'd like that, getting out of the mansion... as long as you're comfortable with my... uh... transformation. It's a little weird up close, and I'd need a bit of help when we decide to leave." she admitted.

"But Id really like to!" it was the truth, though she knew what it would look like to others and she knew for her own sake she shouldn't be spending time around any infatuation... she just felt like it was ok to be herself. Rupert didn't want a mutant, and Flloyd wanted a mutant who'd be a voice for everyone. Raina just wanted to be Raina, and so far she was doing that with Luke.

She thought of Flloyd for a moment. She wasn't his property, or his girlfriend, but he still felt like their 'arrangement' was valid despite not being with the tribe while Raina knew it was void. Still... she knew Flloyd loved her, but she also knew if she had the chance to be really happy he'd back off. Should she explain to Luke about Flloyd? Was there anything to explain about Luke to Flloyd? She couldn't be sure but she'd cross that bridge when she came to it.

She'd learned her lesson from Rupert... so if something did form between her and Luke she promised herself she'd tell him about Flloyd right away. Raina wasn't a liar, she'd never lie... but like most mutants she'd sometimes hide the truth.

"So, what do you say... saturday? We've got diving gear at the mansion I can bring... It'll take a bit to learn"

So Raina had a brother... and a brother's friend. That would make life interesting if anything romantic did develop. He had always heard brothers, especially older brothers, could be extremely protective of their sisters and he didn't really want any trouble but he still wanted to get to know Raina better.

"I'll have to meet those two sometime... Naveed and Flloyd... they sound like real party animals." Luke said dryly, with a slight smile tugging at the edges of his mouth as he lifted the first forkful of his tart. He had never had a sister of his own, or even someone had to protect very carefully but somehow he knew that if he had been Raina's older brother he would have been very watchful of her.

"Saturday sounds good." The blind man replied after Raina had finished speaking, "And you don't need to worry about your transformation being weird... I'm blind. Things don't seem as wierd to me on the surface as they do to other people."

It was strange feeling so comfortable with someone he had only met a little while before but here he was making a date with Raina. OK, so maybe it wasn't a date in the official sense but last time he had checked a single man and single woman hanging out even just for training was often classified as a 'date'.

"So what's your plan for getting home?" Luke asked, a tinge of concern moving into his voice as he lifted his head to 'look' at Raina, "Just hang out here until it stops?"

Raina's eyebrows furrowed and twisted into a knot. "I'm not sure." she admitted. "Maybe I can use my power and freeze anything that lands on me." she thought. "Get in a cab really fast, have them waiting..." she kept brainstorming. "Or call someone from the mansion... I'm not sure...."

she wasnt exactly in a rush to leave, that was for sure... but she knew another work day awaited her. "I probably should get going soon... this has been a lovely day." she said with a smile.

"I've enjoyed the day too... more than I can remember enjoying any particular day in a while. If you do have to hang around here, you'll have company." Luke offered without the slightest hesitation, "I'm not leaving until I'm sure you can get home safely."

He knew his intentions weren't completely noble. This was one of the most fun afternoon he had been able to enjoy in some time and he wasn't in a hurry for it to end.

"If you think freezing the rain around you would work then we could have one of the restaurant employees wave down a cab for you." He continued, not sure whether her idea would work or not. From the way the rain was coming down she'd have to be freezing a lot at one time in order to shield herself from the moisture.

Luke has halfway tempted to offer his apartment as a place of refuge if she did get wet... he could carry her up and let her dry off to get her normal legs back and then they could wait out the rain there but that would be really forward and she had told him to get in line. "Better keep my apartment out of this for now... "

ooc: Sorry Luke! Only half my post went through last time it must have seemed really short! I must have selected part of it by accident... also I worked both my jobs back to back so I wasn't able to post as much. This weekend will be a bit busy too but I should get a few in today and hopefully more on sunday. We can actually take the apartment route if you like so long as they both behave themselves!

ic:

Raina was appreciative that Luke was so willing to stay with her, she was sure there were reasons beyond just being nice but she wouldn't say anything if he didn't! "Im glad." she admitted. "I'm not in a huge rush... I'll admit I'm pretty tired though."

She looked to the window again "It really is comin down out there. I'm not sure I can freeze it without making everything into large hail which would hurt people and us." she added. "But then again... I dont want everyone to see me turn into a fish."

She obviously couldn't avoid this decision much furthur and the despondent look showed on her face. She felt nervous and didn't want everyone seeing a fish in the highway- maybe she couldn't come back here again if they did! Luke's apartment was sounding like a better option more and more despite the obvious setbacks it might have.

She was obviously now upset and trying to keep it in.

(OOC: Luke is a gentleman... he won't start anything that Raina doesn't invite or start herself. And don't worry about slow posting. Real life takes precedence of RP.)

Luke was beginning to feel like something of a heel... Raina was obviously beginning to get upset at the thought of trying to get out during the rain and his apartment was an obvious choice to get away to.

"Friends... we're just friends. There's nothing wrong with having a friend over to the apartment." He thought to himself as he battled the internal struggle. Finally, kindness won out over any uncomfortableness.

"You could come over to my apartment... if we wave down a cab and I 'help' you out then we can probably hide the fishy side of your transformation."

It wasn't the perfect solution but it was all he could think of... or almost all.

"Or... if you want to avoid a cab their is another option. It'll involve me leaving for a few minutes though."

Though Raina didn't know it, Luke was giving her an invitation to see a part of his life he rarely showed to anyone. His dual identity as Wraith was something he from most everyone but he was willing to give up the secret if she needed help. It would involve slipping out into the rain, getting his costume and coming back to grab Raina at the door and then use the shadows to travel through the city. His guess was that Raina wasn't heavy enough to bother him greatly over the relatively short distance and while hailing a cab would be much easier what mattered most was keeping her from being upset.

Raina looked up at Luke with hopeful eyes. "I'm really sorry and embaressed." she said apologizing. "I don't mean to be a burdon, I should have been paying attention better to the weather, or maybe suggested meeting you another day." She hung her head a little- so easy to see how sincere she was with her emotions that they often ruled her.

She weighed the options as he said about the cab and another way he might be able to help. "I had a bad experieince with an anti-mutant cab driver." she explained. "If you have another option I'd appreciate it, maybe going to your apartment... at least until the rain stopped would be good." she added for good measure; "I mean, if it doesn't put you out at all to have me there. The mansion can survive without me for a day.... "

She looked up hopefully again feeling guilty to have to put him out of his way for her mutation.

Luke nodded slightly, a small smile on his features as he extended his sonar just long enough for him to spot the waiter and wave him over. Drawing the sonar back in swiftly so as not to make Raina uneasy, Luke drew a credit card from his wallet and handed it to the waiter.

"Thank you very much for a wonderful meal. Tack on a thirty percent tip and then bring it back to me for the signature." Luke instructed with obvious appreciation in his voice. As the waiter walked away the blind man turned his face back toward Raina, his expression turning a little bit more serious.

"As I said, I'll need to leave for a few minutes to line up our other option for leaving. Wait here for about fifteen minutes and then step outside the door. The entrance is covered so you should be able to stay out of the rain until I drop in to pick you up."

Already his mind was racing over how he could get out into the shadows and back in the time allotted. Instead of using his costumed identity another idea had poked its way into his mind... in the parking garage of his building Luke kept a vehicle for emergencies. It was registered as being owned by "Jacobs & Jacobs" and he could drive it, even though the law considered him technically blind and thus refused to grant him a drivers license. If he came by the door, stepped out, helped Raina in, and then drove her to the parking garage it would be a short trip up the elevator to his apartment.

"Will you be OK while I'm gone?" Dealing with Raina's brother could be interesting, especially since Luke was already feeling protective toward her. It wasn't fair that a mutation could keep you from enjoying the beauty of a rain shower but he was going to do his best to at least make today easy on her.

ooc: thought I made a post and got all excited to see if you responded but apparently I didnt! Aww

ic:

Raina nodded to Luke as he got up and paid the bill and left through the main doors. She watched the clock like it was about to suddenly do something amazing or suspicious and darted her eyes around. She wasn't sure what she was expecting but feeling so vulnerable was adding to her nervousness. 15 minutes. He said about 15.

To keep her hands busy she stood up and started clearing her own table much to the surprise of the onlooking staff who had been curious with her from the start since seeing her arrive with Luke. She felt embaressed and a little humiliated at needing so much help to get home but relieved at least that she did have help.

When it had been 13-14 minutes Raina with a sigh of worry left the main dining room in the direction Luke went for the exit. She stood underneath the doors, unsure of what she was looking for.

Luke's walk as he moved out through the restaurant and then out the door was that of a blind man slowly moving through unknown territory. If anyone had paid attention to what was going on outside of the windows they would have been shocked at the change that suddenly overtook him as soon as he was outside. Grabbing his handicap cane in the middle like an extra-long baton he took off at a dead run, seemingly oblivious to the rain that was falling down around him. Sonar was an interesting thing to watch during rain but thankfully his time patrolling during thunder storm had made him used to the weather. All through his field of 'vision' were small flashes depicting each rain drop as the sound waves bounced, deflected, and curved. Without training most people wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of the information that was now streaming into Luke's brain but thanks to his mutation it all made complete sense.

Already his heart rate was up and he could begin to hear the sound of blood coursing through his ears. Dodging into an alleyway Luke jumped and grabbed onto the fire escape, pulling himself up expertly and beginning a swift run up to the roof. Six minutes and several frightening leaps later Luke was unlocking his door and walking into the apartment. Without a though Luke tossed his cane onto the couch and walked into the bathroom, stripping off his wet clothes and drying as quickly and efficiently as possible. Jogging into the bedroom Luke gathered a new pair of jeans and a random t-shirt from his drawer. Slipping his now soggy sneakers back onto his feet he moved toward the door before suddenly stopping and spinning back around. "Towels... she'll need towels." Luke muttered as he headed over to the bathroom and grabbed up several large bath towers before finally leaving the apartment. Choosing to leave the door unlocked for the few minutes he'd be gone, Luke jogged over to the elevator and then made his way down to the parking garage.

Most play boy types had flashy cars that they used to attract women and honestly, Luke could have had as flashy a car as anyone but there was one problem with that. Being blind meant that he had to keep up appearances so having some sports car in his possession would seem extremely strange. However, 'Jacobs & Jacobs' had one particular vehicle that was kept parked at Luke's building. A burgundy PT Cruiser... just the type of car that would allow him to blend in with traffic and not attract the attention of any police.

As Luke started the ignition his internal stop watch told him he was running late. Ten minutes had passed and he would be extremely lucky if he were able to arrive back at the restaurant in only five minutes. "Gonna have to push it just a little... can't leave the fair lady waiting." Luke murmured as he drove down the street. Even in rain New York traffic was a nightmare but these are streets Luke had memorized months before so he used every little side street and shortcut he could think of. Unfortunately it was useless and he was unable to make it back in the prescribes fifteen minutes.

***

Sixteen minutes after leaving the restaurant a burgundy PT Cruiser pulled up to the front sidewalk and parked with the motor idling. Jumping out Luke jogged around the vehicle and over to where Raina stood under the covered entrance. Through the rain, and without his sunglasses on, Luke looked basically normal. It was only when he got up really close that she could see the cloudiness of his eyes that indicated his blindness.

"OK, Raina... here's the game-plan. We start walking toward the car with my arm around your waist... when you start to change I'll basically carry you over and put you in the car. There are some towels in there so you can start drying off but if your clothes are to wet we can find something for you to wear back at the apartment." Luke said with a smile as he stood, only slightly dampened in his fresh jeans and gray 'I'm a keeper!' t-shirt. "Ready?"

Raina stood nervoussly chewing on her nails waiting for Luke. It was a habbit she'd kicked ages ago but apparently decided to make itself known again as she found herself wondering how people would react here on the street knowing she was a mutant. Most mutants who had been in the camps had a bit of an over anxiety about being found out as mutants without their consent and Raina was no different. You could call it shell shock.

It was strange how the simplest of situations could become so complex... making it to a car without turning into a giant fish for example. Add to that the slice of fear that made her adrenaline pump for worry of someone seeing.

Again she chastized herself mentally and somewhat verbally in incompehendable muttering the idiocy of her situation and how it could have been prevented.

While she waited she smoothed her hair back into a tight red bun to keep it from getting as wet as possible. Her sweater had a hood so she pulled it up and yanked on the draw strings. She was still thankfully wearing a skirt but she knew the second she transformed the hose and shoes would be history. It was a pity... she liked these shoes.

She had stopped watching the road and was preoccupied when Luke showed up so at first she was caught off guard and didn't recognize him. Raina was always drawn to people's eyes as a indication of their personality and when she actually saw Luke's eyes a little gasp escaped her lips. They were so clouded and hazy while hers were deep gray pools of water. She barely had time to register everything he said with a curt nod when they were on the move.

"I'm going to get... heavier..." she grunted as they went out into the rain. She put both her arms around his waist and decided the best way to keep people from looking was to be embaressing. She purposfully fumbled with her footing to look like a drunk that Luke had to escort off the property- he was in a security van afterall.

A few people passing did look at first but at the akwardness of the situation it was easy to see the group undertaking of simply looking away out of embaressment. Raina did the same thing when she saw somthing like this- look for that moment of curiosity till your cheeks burn and you look away thankful it's not you.

She was doing a pretty good job fitting in and looking tipsy and got considerably closer to the vehicle than she thought she would when the mutation kicked in. She'b been hit with little drops of water here and there but she'd been concentrating on the spasiming going on inside her body trying to will it to stay inside and not outside. It was the little puddle splash on her foot that did her in.

A weary moan escaped her lips, not one of pain but one of obvious discomfort. Raina always hated transforming with the pains of gravity... at least underwater she was fully supported. Here she'd go from balancing on two feet to watching the ground come up very fast.

Her skirt was long and hid the green and blue scales that snaked their way down her legs leaving a rippling of motion under her skin as they went. Her skin crawled while her bones popped and snapped fusing togeather in a fluid movement that made her eyes roll back for a moment.

As quickly as it began it was finished and only about a foot from the passenger door Raina couldn't walk anymore. She was completley leaning on Luke trying to make her skirt stretch as far as it would. She caught a glimpse of his shirt and had to appreciate the irony in it- maybe it was the fish lady who should be wearing that.

She knew he'd get her in the car quickly and she mentally went over the rest of the instructions in her head. She could dry off and he'd have something for her to wear. That was good because this rain was very cold.

Luke could feel the weight suddenly begin to change as he made his way to the car and even though he had been expecting it, it was a little surprising. "Sorry if I squeeze to hard." He murmured quietly to Raina as his left arm clamped tightly around her waist, holder her firmly against his side while his right hand grabbed the door handle and opened it quickly. Getting her in was going to be impossible with one arm so it was time to change grips. Suddenly dipping slightly at the knees, Luke's reached down with his right arm and slipped it under where Raina's knees were when she had legs. Lifting her quickly and easily the blind man deposited her on the seat, right next to the stack of several towels that were sitting between the seats.

"Watch your fins." Luke said with a quick teasing grin before closing the door and jogging around to the other side. In moments he was in the vehicle and seated with his seat belt buckled. Shifting into drive Luke pulled away from the curb and out into the traffic on the street again.

"I think you fooled anyone that might have been watching." He teased, trying to give her conversation and something to think about other than her transformation. "You make a rather convincing drunk."

Several minutes later Luke pulled into the parking garage of his building. Parking smoothly he turned off the engine and then turned his attention to the mermaid that was seated beside him. "Any chance you can walk or will you not really be dry enough until you get out of those damp clothes?" It would be nice if Raina were ready to walk up to his apartment but he was prepared to carry her if she hadn't been able to dry off enough.

Raina felt Luke lift her into the car and she would have sighed with relief if she had any breath at all. It dawned on her that in all the sneaking she hadn't held her gills shut and they were now flapping for air. She pulled both her hands in a cup like gesture over both of them closing them as best as she could. She could fee the air being forced to go through her throat and mouth instead of her gills but she wasn't sure if it was enough. She couldn't quite get them closed and she continued to fumble with them trying to remain calm and get ahold of the situation herself without making things worse.

Luke told her to mind her fins and a laugh did come out. She grinned feeling a bit light headed... her clothes were pretty wet and their was a lot of moisture in the air causing the windows to fog up a bit. She closed her eyes and concentrated on breathing as the car started moving. She heard Luke joke about her performance as a drunk.

"I've been drunk twice both by accident in my meager existance." she replied. "I'd like to never repeat those experieinces again" she grinned. "but you do learn a few things." if he could see, she would have winked, but she was starting to remember now that he wouldn't see those things.

It was odd watching the man drive with such ease, she was reminded of a Kid she'd seen on TV who had his eyes removed and used a version of sonar by clicking. He wasn't even a mutant but the kid road a bike and skate boarded and had no eyes.

It was getting harder and harder to breathe and she clamped her hands on her throat tighter. Her head and chest were starting to hurt. "I think the air is too moist as well as my clothes." she explained. "I hate to trouble you more Luke... but I'm having a bit of trouble breathing here. You can't see, but I have gills and they depend on water. I'm doing my best to hold them shut and force my air through my mouth instead but if I want enough energy to change back I'm going to need a few good gasps..." she paused for a momen destracted by seeing where they were and wondering how close they were. "I need like a bath tub or something... just enough to submurge my neck and get a good enough gulp of air to hold my breath while I dry off. " she was getting seriouslty dizzy. "I've never been in this kind of situation and usually I can dry off right away or change right away so I never have to hold my breath through my gills very long..."

ooc: we can start a new thread for the apartment if you like