“Before we continue I have a question to ask, When is your birthday? I want to be able to return the favor.”

The 1 million dollar question that made Cailyn think. Her birthday was long forgotten by her and her father was a big issue in that. She placed her finger on her chin and pondered deeply by watching to the ground with a thinking face. Several times she raised her finger in a attempt to answer but then pulled it back into thinking mode. She eventually shrugged and looked at Abyss with a smile and said: " I dont know." It wasn't weird for her to not know certain stuff but normal people found it weird that she didn't know her own birthday.

“do you want anything to drink or eat?”

Drink or eat. She rubbed her tummy and it didn't respond. No food for her. No dry throuth seeing as she could talk normally so no need for a drink though the waiter had sparkly stuff on his tray. "Yes , please." She said as she oggled what was on the tray of the waiter as well as what was on the table behind him.

~~ “Oh, so you know my power and you think that’s all there is, hmm?"

“Ha, no not at all, I know your power and what I hear, and what I have gathered from the last hour of spending time with you, what I asked for was your deep dark secrets.” His eyes concentrated on hers as they had just caught his elsewhere whilst they were observing a slinky little thing from bottom to top.

~~“Oh, Venus you poor thing… Such a short attention span. No appreciation for the chase”

“I live for the chase dear, to notice a flower in a garden is but a natural thing, a glance of appreciation might occur but it is meaningless, particularly if you already hold the finest of the flowers in your arms.”

~~"You know, you miss out on the essence of a person when you overlook the details.”

“I don’t think I follow you dear, I was just asking for what you might have me know. The details I might have over looked.”

~~“Maybe my deep dark secret is that I kill men who underestimate me…”

“ah a black widow, alas at least life would be its fullest up until the very end. Shall I underestimate you more and find out?” He began to move them into a more difficult step something only advanced or avid dancers would recognize and be able to keep up with. this had taken an unfortunate turn perhaps a bit of replied effort was in order.

“So then Jaxon Kane, what do you know of me? My essence?” a bit of role reversal would do her some good. He spoke calmly as they whirled around the room demanding and taking their path and moving as they pleased.
---

Mars and Lori pulled quietly…well after Mars got Lori into the Limo, they pulled quietly into the new York night.

(continued )


~~" I dont know

Jupiter nodded knowing Hymn’s background or at the very least where they sprang her from, he knew from experience that a lot of things could fall to the side of what you cared about. “Well then I think Today should be your birthday as well, What do you think?”

"Yes , please."

He followed her eyes to the champagne and nodded,”It isn’t my favorite but you may like it, the bubbles tend to tickle.” He waved the waiter over that looked relaxed now that Jupiter had lost the explosive edge to his features. “If you change your mind and want something else we must only let them know.”

He opened his book as the drinks were set on the table in front of them. And he began again as the story of Merlin and Arthur continued. As he got into the story he began to get more animated and relaxed into the role of reader.

---
In the morning when the ladies woke to the red man at their feet and the lack of memory of how or where they were, they were initially surprised and scared until they realized that while they were tucked in, there garments minus there shows still remained and not only was he still fully dressed but he was on top of the covers. They woke himand treated him to break fast in bed and got to know him better while he ate. They thanked him for acting like a gentle man where some would have not, more so they appreciated that he kept themsafe and didn’t abandon them to the wolves, that seemed to prowl.

--
Pluto set and simmered in a soon to be drunken state and drank to his victory several times.
--

Abyss leaned over the railing and was about to let out his rage when he realized that there was no good to be had of it, these were sheep and they would not be turned into wolves. Thus he went to great another that he had hoped would make it, another that had joined the enter sanctum but he had not formally met. He Begin to walk toward a crowd that held at its center a man named garret and more apropriatly a mutant named Seizure. Seizure was addressing the xmen an he hadn’t yet met or knew the man well enough to be confident in or doubt his abilities to hold his cool. He strode up to the pair of men. “Greetings gentlemen.” He then nodded and added. “Seizure”

Saturn dropped his jaw at the audacity of the child’s he was daft and his mouth was tenacious and he held a solid bluff if it was a bluff at all. After he considered all these things he was happy to let the young man walk away, there was a certain lack of boldness in the world. And the young mansought to quench it single handedly.

~~“take it easssy big guy. I’ll leave you alone.” the little lizard mutant quipped as he left.

“That would be the best thing for your health young man.”
He tossed the half of a table in the trash can after the cigarettes and got up to go find Abyss, this ball was becoming insufrable.

Kasumi looks at him as she starts to giggle "So not worrie I am sure that it will come out. She soon srugs her sholders as she looks at up at him. Soon Kasumis eyes looks at Shin as he tits his head. She blinks a few times soon his hand is on her forhead she blushes more as she makes a cute sound "Yes I am alright.." She thinks "Oh god I am blushing that bad.. Why oh why does it have to show so bad?"

But form the touch that she got form Shin the blushe that she has runs down her neck. She can hear her own heart raceing in her ears. She soon turns her back to Shin as she looks over her sholder and gives him a shy smile "Trust me I am better then ever." Her voice is happy yet high pitch. The thing about Kasumi is she is very shy Shin is the first guy in her life that she really likes. She does not want it to end up in heart brake. She will hide her feelings the best that she can right now. Yet that is hard form all of the blushing that she is doing.

Rolling her eyes teasingly, fully aware that he had to be pulling most of this out of some mental box of ‘saves,’ she shook her head, not giving him that one. “Nice try, but you don’t get any points for that one, despite admitting it.” Flowers, indeed. Well, Jaxon was no wilting flower, if anything she was a thorny thing that plucked back as well as any tried to pluck her.

His commentary on her being a ‘black widow’ made her smile again, this time a bit more genuinely. “Feel free to underestimate me, but don’t be surprised when you are left in the dust. I like the throttle.”

Catching the step that he threw out, taking a moment to concentrate on it; a tilt of the hip, a bend of the knee, and a turn of the ankle and she was following him again. Distracting her and turning the tables, or so he thought. “Making me prove myself, hmm? Very well but you are next…”

Forming her thoughts as they moved across the floor, Jaxon took a breath before she began. “Since you like it blunt, I hope you don’t take offence.” That was her only warning before she began. “You are a playboy… Or rather, you try to be. You haven’t quite mastered it though; your current technique wouldn’t work on anyone used to that sort of thing or with knowledge of men. I would guess you’ve been practicing on young girls lacking in experience and easily flattered into quick relationships that end just as quickly.”

“Since I am guessing, I would say that you fell for the first one that gave you trouble, who made you work for her. Your rush to deepen things then, when denied or bored, you rush to another… Despite trying to appear available, these things point to someone who is not interested in a relationship, only passing flings.”

“You mentioned your brothers, and without meeting them or seeing that interaction, I could only speak in generalities. I think you must feel like less than the original, Neptune I believe you called him. I can’t imagine the others are like you either, otherwise I’m sure all of you would have conquered the female portions of the state by now.”

Peering up at him, her eyes somehow serious and teasing at the same time, in a softer voice she asked, “So, How did I do? Did I earn my stripes as it were?”

“Okay,” Shin replied with an understanding smile, watching her turn away from him like she was hiding something. She aimed a shy smile over her shoulder and he met her eyes. Something about the way she said she was fine made her seem nervous. Never one to force things, Shin eased back a bit. His eyes shifted like a camera to pan out over the dance floor. People were ballroom dancing again, like tops given a good turn to set them in motion. A waiter slipped by like a nosy phantom, setting a fresh tray of snacks at a nearby table and holding up the empty tray like a fresh-born child. He pursed it by his side and shuffled away like he had a broomstick up his backside.

“We don’t have things like this at home,” Shin lead the conversation. “Fancy parties on the night before Valentine’s day. Back in Kyoto the largest things we had were festivals where everyone put on their dressiest yukata and shuffled around town in geta admiring the food and lights. They hang up these bulbs with red all over them, it’s so pretty it’s like Christmas. There are games, vendors, floats, maybe a parade. How about you? I’m curious.” In all the training sessions they’d had, he’d never asked. “Family, friends? I remember when we first met during that snowball fight, you said it was just like home.” A hand moved with the music as he pulled up a chair and sat in it backwards gallantly, resting his hands on the chair's back. “So tell me, where’s home?”

Kasumi truns around and looks at Shin as she nods "Well I am form Juno Alaska . You can say I have a deep love for the snow and cold." Smiles as she nods "I am an only child to my mom and dad. Even so my dad did not want me to be a snob. So I did not get eveything that I wanted and alot of the times I worked for what I got. I helped my dad as a vet. I loved it before I became a mutant. They did love more to say. They put me into a small school with other mutant 's I did make a few fiends but they moved I lost touch with them. I mean the loved to scare me to were I jumped up and was stuck to the ceiling eveyone but me thought it was funny." Shakes her head "Good times.."

Kasumi leans on the wall by Shin "As for partys and things like that it happend in the winters. So you could not really dress up but my mom and dad had a long cote made for me that wnet over a full dress. The cote had fur around it fake white I have it here also. Also it had big sleeves so I can put my hands in them. White boots with the same white fur trim. With a hood so I would not get sick. The cote is a light purple while the skirt under it was dark purple." Smiles at the nights she walked around in that outfit "They used a great deal of candles. We hafe games also but they were with snow and ice. I got really good at ice skating. I hope I can do that again. There was a spot with a ice swan with fires around it I looked like a dream.. I do miss it."

Kasumi soon smiles to Shin she could not help it. Soon she rests her head on his shoulder. She is feeling a bit better not blushing as much now. But she is so cute when she blushes. She looks up at Shin she can not hold it in any more she blushes some "Shin I like you more the a friend.. I mean I have had a crush on you for a while and um.." Her eyes looks down as she shakes her head "I have never liked anyone in my life and I do not know what to do about it.."

Fausto left her to wander back to the party alone. He also had left her to fend for herself for what would likely be a long time, possibly until the end of the school year even. She ad gotten used to having him around and she would really miss hanging out with him and even seeing him at random times like breakfast or in the halls. He always had a friendly smile for her, it seemed. Now she would have one less friend at the mansion, at least for a little while.

She wished she could have gotten a better idea of his reaction to what she had said about her feelings. She just couldn't be sure that he was going to be okay about it. He said he wanted things to stay the same, but if he was leaving he might have a lot of time to think about things before he saw her again. What if he decided he didn't want to be her friend anymore? He might decide that it wasn't worth it to be her friend if she didn't admit to liking him the same way she liked her. Katrina couldn't bear to think that she wouldn't ever get to hang out with him again like they used to. She really wanted to still be able to have fun with him, but what if she had ruined it forever? There was no way to know. All she could do was wait for him to come back from his sabbatical and see how things turned out. She didn't know how she would ever get through all those days of worrying about him!

With a downcast face, perhaps not fitting for a party, Katrina turned back to look for Koga. He had wandered off somewhere towards the stage, she had thought. The young girl threaded her way through the people over to where she thought he had gone. Instead of finding Koga, though, she found one of the planetary red brothers who smelled like tobacco smoke. He was ... throwing part of a table into the waste basket?

She wrinkled her nose at him, “What are you doing? You're making a mess. And you smell funny.”

Koga got to the hallway once more and looked around for either Katrina or the singer and neither was found he looked to the friendlier of the pair of gaurds with a curious look.

The gaurd shook his head at KOga at first and then spoke much to his suprise.

**" It was brutal Kid, that little Katrina of yours just tore out the poor kids heart."

"Where isss ssshe?"

**"How am I supposed to know, I would let her walk away if I were you though kid.she went out that way." The gaurd helpfully motioned to the opening.

"Thanksss anyway." Might as well thank the guy for what little help he gave, it was more than the other one offered. He dashed out of the little hallway and then up a wall for about fifteen feet, spinning and putting his back to the wall and taking the pose of everyone's favorite new york wallcrawler, himself, he scanned hte area for Katrina and he nearly fell off the wall as he saw her speaking with smokey, the big red guy he just told off...he really didn't want to press his luck a second time, but Kat was there and she looked upset, so to Kat he would go.

He slide down the wall and tried to make hsi way back over to half a table, a big angry man, and a tragically sad Katrina Dumonde.

“Well then I think Today should be your birthday as well, What do you think?”

The jolly red man wanted to share his birthday with her. How could that be, by her logic your birthday is something you own. She scratched her head in a thinking manner. "But but." She started to sputter. "But it is your birthday now." "How can it be mine then?" She asked. It was a bit confusing for her but that is what you get for not having a birthday.

The jolly red man ordered the drink that Cailyn oggled and he continued reading. Cailyn leaned with her elbows on his shoulders and her hand supporting her head as she watched the pages turn and the story continue. It was exciting with a wizard and a king. It was getting late and Cailyn got sleepy. The story was very exciting but excitement was tiring.

~~“Nice try, but you don’t get any points for that one, despite admitting it.”

“I wasn’t aware were ,on a point system. I might have tried to beat the game back when we had privacy.” He said with a light smirk. This cat had claws and he was pretty sure, he had just managed to go from tomcat to scratching post.

~~“Feel free to underestimate me.. I like the throttle.”

“Ah, but didn’t you just say that those who underestimate you might end up dead?” a coy smile was on his face again.

~~“Making me prove myself, hmm? Very well but you are next…”

“And it isn’t me so much as the seventh demands that we dance instead of simply sway. And proving myself will be my pleasure I am sure.”

~~“Since you like it blunt, I hope you don’t take offence.”

“Go on.” He encouraged her as they raced around the floor in an intricate step.”

~~“You are a playboy…Or rather, you try to be.”

A smirk lifted his cheeks.
~~ “You... quickly.”


He had moved on from the minor leagues of playboy ages ago, he was no boy when it came to this, nor did he simply play the game. He owned it.

“Not quite, but go on.” He replied enjoying this razor sharp analysis.


~~“Since I am guessing, ..., only passing flings.”

“hmmm?” he feigned interest, but she lost him somewhere around “you haven’t mastered it” if he hadn’t no one had. She had read one too many horoscopes.

~~“You mentioned... now.”

“no and yes.” He answered briefly.


~~“So, How did I do? Did I earn my stripes as it were?”

“welll, You had a few things right, a lot of things wrong.” But it was a valid effort. “ shall I divulge your errors?” “ while I will admit that, the young beautiful.” He stressed the next word. “Women, tend to fall to flattery whether experienced or not. I Never mentioned or mention anything about getting into a relationship, if that is brought up I considerer the plausibility and reply honestly.” He smiled and continued. “ And while you may try keep the silly lie that women aren’t as fascinated by physicality as men, I don’t buy it. I never rush to deepen things, and I don’t rush the relationship in the least. I apologize if somewhere along the way you decided I said something I wasn’t, but I don’t feel I mislead you into thinking were exclusive somewhere along the way. I do enjoy flings thoroughly, it is the juicy part, full of passion, and most people can’t sustain the level of passion that is required. Relationships drag when they should be cut free, the turn into something sad and lifeless with most people. They aren’t vibrant and vivid, a tangle of new fresh experiences. You may have cast me as the typical player, hit and quit and all of that but, that isn’t the point at all, I find boredom when the sparks stop flying, whether that is an hour or a year, there is something about relations that is a magnet for the mundane. And no I don’t mean sex when I say sparks.”

“The heat between us, even as we move is what I yearn for, that sassy flash in your eyes, eventually though, at some point, that fire gets traded in for something safe and dependable, some that lacks surprise and danger.” He dipped Jaxon again. “Besides all of that, you promise to be a wild cat.”

As far as my brothers go, no I don’t need to distinguish my self from them for we are a mad collection of different personalities, I often wish we had more in common. And while I don’t feel inferior, I do have great respect for Neptune.”

~8888888~

~~“What are you doing? You're making a mess. And you smell funny.”

“Well Kitten, I am throwing away half of a table, and yes I did, and yes I probably do.” He half smiled at Katrina, that was about happy as Saturn got. “ You see it was the table or your friend you were dragging along and while he has a big mouth on him, he is young and foolish, so I opted for the table.” He nodded toward the young man his way making his way through the crowd.

“Oh, that was cool earlier, I thought I was going crazy for a moment, trying to find you.” He nodded at Koga while he was still struggling to get through the crowd. “does he do any thing telekinetic? Or phasing?”

~888888~

“Well then I think Today should be your birthday as well, What do you think?”

~~"How can it be mine then?"

“Because it can be ours, Be cause it is Ours.” Jupiter decided. And then grinned at Hymn. “Happy Birthday! after this, lets go get you a present.” Jupiter was fond of Hymn; he even had a soft spot for her. before he started reading he waved to a waiter and asked for a couple slices of cake. As they waited for the Cake. He continuedo n with the wild fantastical tail of A king born and a legend made.

Laughing lightly up at him, his response so interesting, and proving some of the very points she had made, she listened politely. Humming gently, she tilted her head at his view of relationships, doubt in her expression. “Perhaps the reason relationships become stale for you is that you fail to inspire her… After all a spark requires available tinder.”

She winked, ducking under his arm for a slow spin, coming back to pat his chest lightly. “And wild cat can never be tamed, and can bite every time you try to pet her… can never need or want you, and will never crave your touch.” Her hand slid along his side with a wink. “Will never come to you or arch into your hand in pleasure… I think I might like to be a regular cat. Free to enjoy my master’s touch without judgment, free to indulge my true nature, to be as wild or as tame as I like…”

Her voice had dropped in volume and pitch, almost to the point of pillow talk, but she easily returned to normal with a challenging smile. “And I did preface my comments about your brothers with a warning.”

She pressed closer for a moment, her eyes feigning the innocence one would have expected from her, and added, “I believe it is your turn to tell me what you have learned…”

The bright blue eyes went from down to up and from left to right, as her face didn’t do much to hide the sheer disappointment of being in the place she was in. Although her eyes were wandering around the room, Alexandra was half absent. The memories were cascading into her mind, images played in front of her eyes like a movie on fast forward. Tens of ballroom like this one, tens of fancy dresses and uncomfortable shoes, tens of idiotic dates. Memories of her human and mutant undercover life, memories that didn’t look happy then and certainly didn’t look happy now.

Her fist tightened and Alexandra turned around. Every noise was ten times louder in her ears, even the soft clicking of her shoes. The music, although it was her favorite past time it was now highly disturbing. But as she turned around to leave, everything returned to normal. The faces weren’t no longer impersonating haunting memories, the music was comforting, the soft sounds didn’t seem like drums in her ears anymore.

The gracious smile that seemed to be constant ever since arriving at the mansion returned. As a waiter passed, her hand extended and removed one of the Champaign glass on the silver tray. A quiet nod and a charming smile in the waiter’s direction made him smile like a fool at her. Alexandra let out a giggle and she let her feet carry her across the ballroom, occasionally smiling at the familiar X-Men faces.

The blue eyes were still looking for someone to join on a conversation. The crowd seemed never ending and although there were more than a few known faces, none seemed suitable for her. Her eyes finally spotted Shin and Kasumi, two mansion residents that were very nice. And that was exactly what the 19 year old mutant needed now. Two nice and cheerful people to get out of her mood.

Using her hand to raise the dress a bit in order to ease her movements, Alexandra made her way trough the crowd over to the two mutants. “Hello there.” she greeted in a cheerful but yet gracious and charming manner. One that fitted perfectly the place she was in. “Shin, Kasumi, mind if I join?” she asked.

Katrina wasn't an expert at telling the Abysses apart.  Mentally she kicked herself for not bringing the gift she had made for them that would have helped her with that issue.  She knew this wasn't Pluto or Neptune, because either of them would have had not trouble giving her the full version of that smile.  Probably it wasn't Venus either, because from the interaction she had once overheard between Venus and Tris, there was no way that particular septuplet would be at a party and not be chasing after someone in a slinky dress.  Since she wasn't sure, she started calling him Grumpy, at least mentally.  Katrina was pretty grumpy herself, so she may have been a hypocrite for calling him that, but she didn't particularly care at the moment.

It seemed from the big red man's description that he and Ryuichi hadn't hit it off particularly well.  Though, Katrina could easily understand how the lizard boy could have gotten sassy with the way the big guy was acting.  Katrina was feeling a little sassy herself. She wasn't feeling particularly great about herself at the moment, considering she had quite possibly just broken her friend's heart and wouldn't get a chance to apologize or even see him for a long time. Her patience was as short as the red monkey tails were long.

“Well, you shouldn't smoke. If anything is foolish, it's smoking. Especially inside where other people have to breath the same air as you.” [glare]Thirteen-year-old glare of retribution.

>>>“Oh, that was cool earlier, I thought I was going crazy for a moment, trying to find you.”

Oh. [/glare] “Well, thanks I guess. I was up on the balcony. I failed the first attempt to do that; I guess there were too many people watching. I think I figured out how to send a message like that so only one person can hear it, though. I have to practice some more, since I'm not sure exactly how it worked,” this response was slightly less snippy. Changing subjects was a fairly effective way to temporarily distract her.

The teen illusionist looked where the big red man indicated. It was difficult for her to see through the tall crowd, so she wasn't sure who he was talking about at first when he asked about the telekinesis or phasing. After a moment of craning her neck she saw a familiar flash of red on someone much shorter that the original bearers of that hue.

“Oh. Ryooichi? He climbs walls and changes colors. I'm not sure what else he can do. Maybe he has telekinesis or phasing abilities,” she added a shrug to punctuate the end of her sentence. “Why do you ask?”

He watched her face light up as she told him her story. With every layer of detail, she seemed to relax. Facts piled up like a snow man with winking coal eyes. The first thing was her family. He dad was a vet, and she’d helped him with animals. Maybe that explained why she seemed to care about helping others… maybe he was reading into it too much. His eyes closed in a thoughtful blink. When they opened again, he was imagining the frightful leap from a leaf to the side of a tree. A frog croaked in the distance, like stock footage and sound works from National Geographic. A wry smirk wormed its way onto his face. Mean kids... but it was kinda funny… he quickly squelched the look of amusement, lips tightening serious as a cymbal.

He rose to face her as she leaned her back against the wall. Games of frozen wonder parted her lips. “Sounds amazing,” he commented. A smile played at the corners of his cheeks. As she finished, she was smiling too. It seemed smiling was infectious. What was with all the smiling, suddenly?

Oh.

A confession. His smile slackened slightly as he listened with serious eyes. More than a friend... a crush? Her first... and she wasn't sure what to do...

"I had no idea," Shin replied softly, though somehow he'd had a clue. A careful hand moved up from down by his side, holding her chin and tilting it up to look her in the eye. Clockwork seemed to freeze as the thoughts turned in his head like gears. He hadn't known her very long. This was a little fast for him, but... "I think another dance is in order here." He smiled. Time seemed to move again as the words left his mouth. "I like you too, Kasumi. In these sorts of situations, people usually get to know each other first. That other stuff can wait."

Footsteps approached them rapidly from behind as Shin stood with Kasumi's chin in hand, staring deeply into her eyes...

>>“Hello there.” Alexandra greeted in a cheerful but yet gracious and charming manner that nearly sent an Asian into cardiac arrest. “Shin, Kasumi, mind if I join?”

"Er, um." The hand slipped away like a ninja as he turned to glance at the suddenly-there Alex as if nothing had just happened. "Sure, I guess. Eheh~" A nervous hand scratched the back of his head. Caught in the act of being charming? No. He was just talking to a friend. Yup. Play it cool.

So, um. Yes. Shin turned back to nod at Kasumi. "Dancing?"

Sounded real good right about now, too.

Dancing was rather a bit of a mystery to Ghost. Yes, there had been some events at school, but in those days Ghost had typically remained a part of the wallpaper. Not really a wall flower, but more of a conversationalist. Yeah. That was it! But one thing she knew to be true, a good dance partner could make all the difference. At least, a good dance partner who could lead. Ghost was a pretty good follow. Nothing fancy or flary, but... "I'll try to lay off the toes."

She took the offered hand and tried to be gracious as they started off slow. "I'm glad... to at least dance once at a party like this." It was a simple sort of circle pattern and Ghost was light on her feet. She liked the way that the light chiffon material of her dress flowed around her legs and they twirled like nervous butterflies around the tables and other couples.

Though Ghost's eyes were pointed at Sebastian's chin, it was obvious from the slight crease between her brows and the way she held her lower lip between her teeth that her mind was really with her feet. Only after she flubbed, stepping forward right into Sebastian and trampling his foot under hers, did Ghost seem to be able to focus on Sebastian. She bounced right off his chest and chuckled in mild embarrassment. Ooops. What's the point of dancing with another person if you ignore them the whole time? "Sorry! Sorry, I maybe need more practice." Or maybe she just needed to relax.

Ghost ducked her head and repositioned her arms in Sebastian's ready to try again. "so, Sebastian... I'm curious..." She bit her lower lip again before continuing... perhaps talking amiably was the way to let loose and just let Sebastian lead. "What is your favorite color?"