Raina knew it was getting close to lunch time by her stomach grumbling and when she looked up at the wall clock she wasn't at all surprised to see that it read ten to 12. She was currently leaned over a basin wearing rubber gloves that went all the way up her arms and a white rubber jacket cleaning barnacles off a sea turtle. Yup. Barnacles. Sea turtles.

The sea turtle she was attending named "Flora" was being prepped for an attempted mating encounter. She'd be introduced to the center's male sea turtle of the same breed in hopes of eggs in the near future and for some reason Dr. Gray found there to be significant reasoning for Raina to spend her morning shaving off barnacles. That or he was finding the most ridiculous jobs to help her keep her mind occupied. She was betting on the latter since hey, it seemed to be working.

She gave the turtle a pet on the head as another co worker arrived to take it back to it's enclosure. With much difficulty she peeled the rubber clothing off herself thinking why she had bothered since she hadn't transformed in the past few days. It always gave her a rash this rubber crap.

"We can always try latex." came a cool voice.

"Dr Gray, quit reading my mind." Raina stood up and made a face at her boss. While she'd been quite intimidated by her boss when she started he was beginning to grow on her.

"well you broadcast so clearly. Especially those emotions. " he winked. "On the more serious side... there's a giant overgrown cat waiting for you downstairs. Not much of a fan of cats myself... "
He stared at Raina unblinking with a neutral face and Raina wasn't sure if he was joking or what.

and then... it registered.

"oh, Sara! Oh! uh... lunch break!" she announced passing Dr. Gray her rubber clothing. "I'll see you in an hour!" she skidded happily down the hall trying to regain her balance the entire way.

She stampeded down the main steps into the vestibule and sure enough there was a human sized feline. "Sara!!!!" she squealed running toward her friend.

Luke was right. Sara and Raina didn’t spend nearly enough time talking or really, Enough time doing anything. Sara decided this lunch was entirely too over due. When was the last time she’d even been in the same room with Raina? Canada? Sara tried to think of a time her and Raina had talked, since their trip up north with Naveed, Luke, and Sam, but she couldn’t think of any other time, since then. Sure, Sara had been busy with the two more secret trips she had taken. One to Egypt, one to Columbia that had lead up to her being involved in a group that she understood was going to attempt world domination. Then there had been her recent injury involving her being shot in the head and her sight coming and going. So yeah. Sara had been busy, but looking back now, over the last few months. Those excuses felt benign. Oh yeah. And then there was the who deal with someone trying to kill Luke… That excuse didn’t feel so benign for some reason.

Sara heard Raina coming down the hall and she looked up with a smile as Raina started running towards her. “It’s good to see you too Raina.” Sara said as she stepped into a hug. “how have you been. Enjoying your job I hope.”

Sara’s nostrils flared as she stepped away from the hug. Raina always smelled a little like fish, but this was the first time Sara was smelling her in the middle of working with things that lived in sea water. The smell made her eyes dilate slightly be beyond that, Sara contained herself.

Raina grinned from ear "I'm alright, what about you?" she took her friend by the hand- er ah, paw, and lead her out into the afternoon sunshine. Away from the sushi- er uh fish tanks. She chuckled a bit to herself. "it's so great to see you!" she head heading toward a hotdog vendor. "want some lunch it's on me! Best hot dogs in town." she said ordering two jumbo dogs.

She motioned for Sara to come and join her at a nearby picnic table once she'd received the hot dogs and patted the seat beside her. "Come, sit. it's been since like what, Canada?" she laughed.

Sara looked well, at least she thought so. So felt a bit relieved that she got the giant cat friend out of the aquarium.

"I'm alright, what about you?"

“I’m hanging in there.” Sara replied as she began to follow Raina out of the building full of fish. Did she really act that bad around the delightful little delicacies? “It’s been one thing after another for the past few months.”

Sara took her hotdog happily. She wasn’t going to argue about who was paying. She’d find a way of paying Raina back, or she’d sneak the money back in Raina’s pocket when Raina wasn’t looking. Now a days, Sara had money to spare. “Thanks. Yeah I think it’s been since Canada. Even with myself moving into the mansion, we’ve managed to miss each other. I figured it was time to fix that.”

“I guess Luke’s right.” Sara said. “He’s told me on more than one occasion that you and I don’t talk or do what ever girls are supposed to do, enough.” She took a the seat next to Raina, and started smoothing back the wrapper of her hot dog. “Speaking of Luke and you, how are you two handling all the media?”

Raina twinged at the mention of Luke's name, and then twinged again because she had twinged in the first place. "Well, we're both getting a bit of media for coming out of the mutant closet in our own ways." she pointed to a banner a few feet away from Sara advertising for the New York Mermaid. "but he was right, you and I don't see each other often. To be honest I haven't seen or heard from Luke in a few days.... I think I upset him and he's trying to do the whole 'oh this doesn't bother me thing'"- she said in her best Luke voice "when really it does." she shrugged. "Kinda reminds me of Naveed." she gave a grin and took a bite of her hotdog.

"How's Ayesac?" she asked knowing she shouldn't spill her guts to Sara the first second she sees her but knowing that she was starting to bubble over.

Raina was twinging, that wasn’t good. Sara’s eyes followed Raina’s motion to the large banner advertising a mermaid. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. A spike of worry formed in her stomach. So far the aquarium seemed mutant friendly, however mutant friendly locations also could become dangerous. “I was sort of wondering if that banner was supposed to be you or not.”

"but he was right, you and I don't see each other often. To be honest I haven't seen or heard from Luke in a few days.... I think I upset him and he's trying to do the whole 'oh this doesn't bother me thing'"-"when really it does."

“Sorry about prying then.” Sara sighed. “Luke does seem to do that a lot. He fails miserably at acting.” She wondered if Luke’s Sonar effected Raina differently when he was upset. With Sara it tended to make her want to shove Luke through a wall or two. Then again, it also hurt her head. “I hope things eventually work out between you two though.”

"How's Ayesac?"

“Busy.” Busy explained all of it right now. “His most recent job took him to Canada. He’s been out of the state a lot. So we haven’t seen each other much over the last few months.”

"Yep. It's me." nodded Raina finishing off her hot dog. "It's a big long story." she laughed "but the short of it is that I did a few shows and they were really well received by the public. Granted, my boss is a telepath so he's able to weed people out with bad intentions which is a bonus." she took a sip of her pop "but all the money is going toward conservation and to prevent things like what you and I saw last year with the sharks." she recalled the day she discovered the fining boat. "I'm not sure if you should come or not." she teased "my boss will be able to tell if you want to eat me" she laughed.

"You're not prying." she said "you're my friend." another head bob. "I on the other hand, am totally prying" she grinned "because I haven't seen Ayesac since he felt out of the sky into a water fountain. He's up in Canada? I mean yeah, it's warm up there for the most part so long as he's not in the arctic. I hope you get to spend some time with him soon,"

She hesitated and asked "I know this is really random, but have you had any strange dreams latley?"

"I'm not sure if you should come or not."

Sara smile melted slightly. She liked this idea, as long as Raina was remaining safe.

"my boss will be able to tell if you want to eat me"

The questioning look melted and Sara let out a small snort with her laugh. “Right. Aren’t most comic cat relationships with either mice or dogs? We could have a whole new comedy act going here.”

“Yeah Canada. And his regeneration should save him from most of the effects of cold weather.” That’s what made Sara’s abilities and Ayesac’s abilities a bit different. Ayesac cold regenerate, given enough time. If Sara lost a limb, it was gone.

"I know this is really random, but have you had any strange dreams lately?"

Sara raised an eye brow again. “Yeah but it’s not the first time I’ve ever had a strange dream. This one took place in the future. Actually a lot of my friends and acquaintances were in it. I was a teacher, among other things, for a place called. PAX. You and.. .. ..” Sara stopped herself from Saying His name. Rupert wasn’t exactly the best name to mention around her and Raina and the dream had momentarily made her forget about what he had done to both of them. He had been in the back ground and Sara knew, that in the dream, She had been on good terms with him. “Well you were one of the people there.” Sara quickly corrected herself.

Raina's eyes widened and before Sara could finish saying that Raina was one of the people there she interrupted her "I DREAMED IT TOO!" she shouted standing up and knocking her pop over everywhere. 'Ah! crap!" she reached for as many napkins as she could to stop the sticky liquid from spilling on either woman. She hopped around for a second.

"Sorry." she turned a bit red embarrassed "It's just... I've been trying to convince Luke, and my Boss... that it wasn't just some dream. My boss thinks it might have been a mutant who could distort reality or something." she spit out very quickly "I just... I just knew someone else had to have had the dream and if I just asked enough people..." she paused all excited knowing she was looking and sounding crazy since half the people outside where staring at her. Then again... she was standing next to giant cat.

She promptly sat down. "Pax. That's what it was called. I remember. I worked there too. I was pregnant..." she trailed off with that glazed look in her eye.

"...ever since the dream I can't transform." she admitted. "Not that it's an awful thing or anything, but I only just regained my ability to chant again. it's just frustrating." she sighed heaving her shoulders

"if you had the same dream, you know about Rupert and I then..." her expression was so far away as she imagined the mutant hating cop

Raina’s sudden excitement through Sara for a moment. The people around them turned to watch, and the sudden attention, err, ah, sudden more attention, caused Sara’s nose to darken into a blush, as she settled for biting into her hot dog again, before continuing their conversation and her own explanation.

Another mutant’s ability interfering with Sara’s head was a bit of an unnerving possibility. Sara’s tail twitched nervously at the thought, but what Raina said next, she wasn’t exactly sure how to take.

"...ever since the dream I can't transform."

Sara thought Raina’s body chemistry smelled a little different. Not that the points were polite to bring up in conversation. Hello how are you. You smell much less fishy today. Yeah. Very polite.

“Isn’t the lack of transformation a little less stressful?” Sara asked. Hiding the ping of jealousy she felt in the pit of her stomach by using the tip of her fur covered digit to brush a loose strand of long hair, out of her face and pull it behind a twitchy right ear.

"Not that it's an awful thing or anything, but I only just regained my ability to chant again. it's just frustrating."

Sara sighed and nodded. “Even in the future, in the dream, it seemed very little was known about mutations and how they work.” Sara chewed on a piece of pickle for a moment in thought. “Perhaps you are gaining a sort of control for the changes. Personally I’d find it a relief, if I didn’t have to worry about your breathing through gills, and a need for lots of water, when you only get wet from a little.”

"if you had the same dream, you know about Rupert and I then..."

Sara’s nose had just been gaining it’s normal color, and with that question it started to darken again. She bowed her head trying to hide the color change in the shadows made from her longer hair. “I know that in the dream, you were having a baby, if that’s what you mean.. .. ..”

Rupert wasn’t exactly the subject that Sara wanted to go on and on about at the moment. The man had freaken shot her in the head and if it wasn’t for Luke, Sara would probably be dead. Healing factor or no healing factor. Before that, he was a couard in the camps.

"Yeah." Raina's shoulders slumped a little bit. "yeah. it messed me up. Maybe that's why I can't transform."

her eyes were vacant for a moment then they searched Sara's and she instantly felt regret for being so self absorbed. "I'm sorry. I'm being very self-centered and insensitive." her shoulder dropped and she looked down. "I think I was just so desperate to talk to a friend- someone I could trust" after all they'd been trough Sara was more than that. To Raina she was like a sister.

"I'm so glad you came to see me." she said with a sniff a few tears welling up as she rubbed at her eyes.

ooc: leave it to me to reply 21 days later