Lei bit her lip as she gazed around her, this seemed like the right place. She had, after meeting Sam, been slightly intrigued by how she wasn't the only Weirdo on the face of the planet. In fact, there were many like her! How.... interesting too know.

But that wasn't why Leila Mariella Harte, daughter of the famous Canadian Scientist/Author, was standing here, in front of a large Mansion. Well, actually, it was partly why. She had, after a while, decided to investigate a little, learning as much as possible on the Mutants, and realized that most of them lived in New York in this particular home.

She slammed the door of her Baby Blue Convertable and shook her long blonde hair away from her face. She was ready to do this, whatever who greeted her, she wouldn't freak out. Even if that person looked... diffrent. What?! She was scared of two-headed men, or Werewolves... She could turn into a Dolphin, imagine what else people could do.

She cleared her throat and started the long, long walk towards the doors of the Mansion, taking one deep breath, she knocked.

ooc: for continuity sake I'm gonna assume Sam let Raina know Leila might be coming, Sam if that's not ok lemme know!

IC:

Raina was busy walking down the halls with the newbie pack when she heard a knock at the door. The red headed woman skidded to a stop nearly knocking everything down with her and turned to get the door. She pulled it open and saw a pretty young woman with bond hair- probably close to her own age standing in the doorway.

"Come on in, it must be freezing out there!" said Raina opening the door fully and motioning for the young woman to come in. Raina was a very kind person and it was one of the reasons Neena had wanted the young ice chanter as a welcomer. "I think you must be Leila... I heard you may be visiting us today. Welcome to the institute for gifted youngsters. My name is Raina. I'm the music teacher here." she extended a hand to shake Leila's "I've been looking forward to meeting you." she gave her a big pearly smile hoping she didn't feel too nervous.

She hadn't even knocked three times, when somebody greeted her from the warmth of the inside. The woman didn't seem many years older then Lei was. One, two maybe. Either way, the young woman was quite pretty. Leila was half relieved that she wasn't going to pass out. This face was definately not scary. Shivering, she smiled as the woman let her in.

"Thanks, and yes, the Weather's pretty bad." she said expressionless as she undfid her white coat. Then this mysterious woman surprised Leila. "Expecting me?" she said, stunned. "Are you some kind of Future-Telleer?" she asked, bitting her lip in thought. Sam had been the only one she had met with the Mutant gift. How could he have known she had them too? She hadn't shown any signs of being a Mutant!

Then the greetings and introduction begun. "Raina, nice to meet you." she said, smiling as they shook hands. "Ah, Music Teacher huh?" she said, trying to start a conversation. This, afterall, might not be so hard.

"Yup., the one and only and no I'm not a future-teller. Just usually when residence of the school tell others about the shool they let the staff know so we know if someone may be coming to check things out or ask questions." she answered putting one hand on her hip and adjusting the other arm that was holding the newbie pack. She may not have to use it if Leila wasn't arriving to stay here- just check things out.

"I'm an ice chanter." said Raina. "My mutation allows me to control and form ice through singing. Pretty weird eh? I've also been known to turn a bit fishy on occasion." she said with a wink. "There's lots of other mutants here too. Some with visable mutations, some without. But I'd love to show you around a bit if you're interested. We try really hard to help mutants gain and understanding and control of their powers. We also try to build you a network of people you can rely on. "

She paused hoping she wasn't giving the young mutant too much to process. "Would you like to tell me anything about yourself?" she was leaving it open, she knew Lelia was a mutant because afterall... she was here, but wasn't going to press her about her mutation.

Puzzled, Lei simply nodded. Sam had told Raina about her? So he did suspect her being a freak too? Well, truthfully, she hadn't been all that surprised when Sam had shown her his Powers. Maybe that was why Sam knew? Because of her reaction to his being a Mutant? Anyway, she hoped Sam lived here, she had a weird feeling she'd want to see him soon. Very soon.

"Ice Chanter, that's cool." she said after Raina had finished her paragraph. For once she was actually complimenting someone truthfully. When did that ever happen Lei? "A bit Fishy...." she whispered, mostly to herself. "Well then, welcome to my world." she grinned softly, twirling a strand of blue hair tangled in the big mass of blonde. Yes, today she had been feeling a little on the down side, so only one blue mesh was sufficiant.

"Well, I nobody knows about my...Mutation, as you call it. I was certain I was the only one who lived with this complications." she said, trying to be polite and not call them anything horrible. "But then, I met some guy named Sam.... He pretty much showed me wrong... I never imagined he'd figure out I was one of you guys' though." she said. Sighing, she figured she'd better stop talking for a little bit. "Yeah, showing me around seems good. Do you mind if I, if I stay here for a few days?" she asked hopefully.

Afterall, her rent was getting high.

"Sam may not have known you were a mutant... but if he told you about this place he *may* have suspected." she explained. "Mutant or not though, we'd help anyone who came through these doors." she added. "I like the blue." said Raina as she put her things down on a hallway table. "I use to have blue, when I was younger. I like the red now." she said flicking her hair.

"Well, You're more than welcome to stay here a few days but there are a few conditions..." Raina started. "We don't expect you to pay for anything. Not a bit. So no worries there... but for the safety of you and the safety of other mutants we do need to talk about your mutation." she got out her piece of paper. "I just need some general information about you and your power, your age, and if you think yourself that your power could be dangerous. We're not going to do anything to you or make you stay in some special place in the mansion, but because we house so many mutants it's important we know who's here and what they can do for everyone's safety..." she paused to let everything sink in. "do you feel comfortable with that? Everything is confidential."

"Yeah, well I think it was my reaction, to when Sam saved my butt." she said, shivering as the terrifying scene came back to her. "I guess, I guess it seemed obvious that I was just - I was just, glad? Glad, that I wasn't the only one?" she stammered, unsure. "Anywho, he didn't tell me about this place, I sort of researched, a lot." she said.

"Thanks, I don't know why I like blue so much... Just something I got used too, after my mother died." she said, the event slightly blurred now. She didn't even want to mention that it had been the same time she had gotten her...Mutation. "Red looks good on you." she said, deciding to go along with the Compliments.

"Oh... I see." she muttered, looking at the papers in her hand. "I guess, I'm comfortable... Since it's comfidential." she drifted off, not knowing where to start. Maybe her age was the best? "Well, I'm 22, well...Nearly 22. I....uh." she paused, thinking. "I, I don't use my Powers... I didn't use them since I was Sixteen... I got control of them, so I could decide when and when not to Transform." she paused again.

"I'm....I'm not dangerous, I'm not exactly sure what I can do, other then turn into a Dolphin..." she drifted off, realizing she wasn't making much scence. "Um, well, truthfully, I always pretended my Powers didn't exist. But now, after I know that there are others... I think i'm ready to join you guys." she said, confidently.

Raina smiles across to Leila. "You're very brave to go so long without using your powers. You're almost 22 well I'll be 23. If you stick around for a bit I'm having a birthday party and it would be a great place for you to meet people" she offered.

"Well, you turn into a dolphin do you? I think you and I should get along swimmingly Lelia as I am of the mermaid variety. Literly." she winked. "That part of my mutation didn't manifest until recently. You say your power is not dangerous, obviously you mean to anyone else. But I wonder is it dangerous to you? I transform whenever I get wet, and if I'm not in the water I could die because I can't breathe. Can you transform at will or does something trigger it?"

She made notes as she asked the questions, filling in the spaces on the newb pack. If Leila did decide to stay they'd have a lot of the paper work out of the way.

"Also, if you're interested in exploring your powers a bit we have the means to assist you safely. If you haven't used your power in a few years things may have changed and evolved. a doctor told me I may have never experieinced my mermaid transformation in my whole life if I hadn't endured the stress of the camps!" she shuttered at the thought. "it's also good to know your limits, weaknesses... that sort of thing. But I'm thinking with a teacher brain here." she laughed.

"Do you have a job Leila?" she was thinking of her own part time job at the aquarium and was considering mentioning it to the young girl

Leila smiled back, "Well, I guess I was more ashamed, then brave." she muttered, her face expressionless. "I mean, come on. I was pretty certain that what had happened to me wasn't --" she paused, searching for the right word. "--noirmal, and that I was the only person living with it." she said softly. "Well, obviously it still isn't normal... I suppose it never will. No matter how much time I spend with Mutants..." she sighed, talking to much again.

Well, at least her talking wasn't babbling. She made a little scence now that her thoughts were gathered. "A Party huh? Well, now you're talking my language. I'll be there, certainly!" she smiled, that was an idea... She could always stay until the Party. Thoughtful and expressionless, she looked at the fellow Mutant, was she? By she, I mean Leila, a Mutant? How... Disgusting the word sounded.

"Mermaiud?" she gasped, "That's so cool. Honestly, I used to turn into a fish...Well, Mammal actually, everytime I touched Salt water. Showers, Bathes, Pools, those were fine. But as soon as I went in the Ocean, I changed." she said, sharing that for the first time ever.

"After a while, I begun focussing more, trying to stop myself from changing... And, with the right practice, I could stay in the Ocean for a while as a Human, but it got seriously stressful, and I had such a headache afterwards!" she said.

"But seriously, I don't remember much of when I was a Dolphin, I mean, I do remember a few things... But my Teen Years are quite a blurr now. I never wanted to keep the memories... Not with all the pain I felt." she said, bitting her lip so emotions wouldn't come back.

"I'm sure Emotions are part of the triggering too. When I started writing Poetry, I released my strong emotions, and staying Human wasn't so hard." she said. Again, she realized she was speaking so much. She took a deep breath, waiting as Raina scribbled notes.

"I see, well I'll definately like to Explore my Powers, sounds like fun..." she said, the last part about fun was said a little more uncertainly. "And yeah...I do have a job. Well, part time. I'm a Waitress at this small Cafe, a few miles from here. I'm studying to become a Marine Biologist though, because... Well, you know." she grimaced.

Raina nodded her head to each of Leila's responces. "Well that's interesting, only triggered by salt water? You're lucky you can bathe! I either have to have a sponge bath with rubbing alcohol- which believe me is not fun- or a scale up the place." she laughed.

"It's good you did try to push your powers a bit by trying to stay human..." she commented. "That must have been scary."

Lelia showed enthusiam in her birthday and that excited Raina. "well, I'll be setting up actually aorund 3 this afternoon, then the party starts around 7. Please feel free to come as my personal guest!" she made a note of adding Lelia to the guest list.

"I found emotions played a part in my powers as well.' she said thoughtfull when Leila began to speak again on her own abilities. "But then again, I suppose they do with everything."

When Leila explained she wanted to be a marine biologest and that she worked as a waitress Raina shook her head. "Oh that wont do! We should get you into the field. I work for a marine biolgest, actually, I work for the marine biologest in New York. Dr. Gray. He's a mutant too. Some of his staff have always been mutants. I work using my ice chanting to help maintain the freezing tempertures and ice for some of the exhibits while helping them keep costs down. I do other jobs too, my main goal in working there is helping with wildlife relief projects. I'm sure I could put a word in with Dr. Grey, he'd love to have you aboard if you're interested and he's the best connection to have for anyone looking to be a marine biologest!"

Leila smiled sympathetically. "Well, that must suck." she said seriously. I mean, how bad would that be? Not able to enjoy a hot shower after a long day at work? Anyway, Leila loved her hot Baths with a glass of Ice Tea and a dozen candles, so what loss would that of been if she would turn into a Dolphin everytime she touched the water? She sighed, maybe tonight would be a good Bath night, a little early in the week, but who cares? It was a stressful day.

"Yeah, well I didn't have much of a choice did I?" she grinned, "I mean, after my Mother died, I was left with my Father for 4 years, until I turned 19. I didn't want him to know, and we stayed in Hawaii for 1½ of those years, and then on the Beachside of Japan for a few months." she explained. "The rest was simply big Zities." she added. "No offence or anything, but I didn't want my Father to think I was a freak, and put me in those Psycho Homes." she said, a little harsher then intended.

"Cool, I'll be there at 7, then." she smiled, already thinking of the clothes she'd wear and how to do her hair. Ogh! She also needed a Present, what should she give this new friend? She didn't have much time to go shopping, maybe a card and some cash would do. Deciding on that, she turned her attention back to the conversation.

"I see, well I figured that the stronger my emotions - good or bad - I had a harder time controlling myself. Plus, when I was a Dolphin, my Scences weren't enhanced, as they usually were, I guess if I practice that, It'll come, but I can't tell much, unless I give a shot at it." she said. "What is that place you talked about anyway?" she suddenly asked, "I mean, where we canractice our Powers?" she added more specifically.

Lei nodded, "This is crazy." she said with a smile. "We have so much in comon, I had no idea anyone could be like me!" she said, truthfully, she knew some blonde party girls, but no one seemed to ever like Marine Biology, or Writing, Singing and Drawing for that matter! Maybe, maybe Mutant World was better afterall, maybe she belonged here in some way she had never belonged before.

She smiled at that thought, she finally had a home! A real home, where she could stay and be happy. She listened as Raina talked about her job. Maybe she could go work there, it would probably get herself more money then that small Café. "You know, I might also take you up on that Offer... The Café isn't exactly my style anyway. I just work there for the money." she grinned.

"Well, here's a key to a dorm you can stay in for a few days. It's just a guest dorm so it isn't big. " she handed Leila a key as well as a map of the mansion. "Feel free to explore. and get some things to keep while you're here. Only you can get into the room."

she filed the rest of the papers away in her bag.

"We have a great pool here, a lake too, and a danger room as well call it. It's not really dangerous, just a simulation room, kinda like VR. To help us try things out." she responded to Leila's question.

"I've got to head out for some things Leila, but this should be enough to get you started. on't be shy about wandering either. Go enjoy some of things in the mansion and head to the living room-" she pointed to it on the map "around seven."

She gave the girl a friendly squeeze on the shoulder. "We'll talk more about the job later"

"Thanks," Leila muttered, taking the golden key and stuffing it in her jeans' pocket. She'll go see the room later, maybe drop off her things before going shopping for a new outfit for this supposed, awesome party. Yeah, well, every party Leila was at, was an awesome party. There was no doubt about it.

"I see, do you think there's any Salt Water nearby though? I'm not sure I can Transform, even if I try, in some normal soft water." she asked. She could always dump a bucket of salt in the bath tub though, that COULD work. She hadf never really tried it before. Truthfully though, her Dolphin size was probably going to be a little too big for the tub for her to swim around in.

Then the chat was over, seeming as if it had only just started. "Oh, okay, see you at seven then." she said, smiling.