Her wet hair slapped against her back like a fish flapping on rocks, futiley trying to return to the ocean.

She was still being followed.

It had started with her regular trip to one of the few public bathrooms that had showers. She supposed there had been a pool nearby, but it had closed down years ago, leaving the toilets to be used by the general puiblic without fee. It was pretty shabby, colourful graffiti adorned the outdoor walls and names inside hearts were scraped into the back doors of each cubicle with thumbtacks or fingernails.

But the showers still worked, and surpisingly enough the last one on the right actually had hot water if you waited long enough and ignored the missing door. She had entered as usual, her threadbare beachtowl shoved in her worn schoolbag along with a set of clothes still warm from the Laudromats. She turned the water on to heat up and delved into one of the pockets in her backpack, withdrawing the small pat of soap she had stolen from a bathroom in one of the smaller shopping complexes nearby. They would never miss it and it had almost run out anyway.

Stripping to the skin she jumped under the lukewarm water and lathered the soap into her body, the bubbles which smelt of cheap disinfectant running down her legs in trails. She scrubbed her hair as best she could with no shampoo or conditioner and turned to hop out of the shower, the familiar clunking warning her that her time was nearly up. The last few seconds of water were always rust-tainted and she tried to avoid them.

Raised eyebrows and a leer met her gaze as she stepped from under the water. This was not good. Grabbing her towel from her bag she risked another glance at the woman as she flung it around her exposed body. The woman was still staring and as Verdigris looked up she licked her lips.

Shoving her limbs into clean clothes, the material gripping her wet skin she hurried to cover herself. She felt more naked under the woman's appraisal than she actually was. Worst of all, she felt vulnerable.

Shoving her feet into her converse, ignoring the trailing laces she hurried past the woman and shuddered as she felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder.

"Not staying then are we pretty? But you hadn't even hardly started..."

The sleezy voice prompted bile in her throat and she longed for what she had spent the main part of the last three years trying to avoid... People.

Shrugging the hand off her shoulder roughly she hurried out of the confined space and across the small stretch of pavement to the main street. The woman followed, her unrestrained breasts wobbling and her nipples visible through her shirt even on such a warm day.

Verdigris could feel herself beginning to sweat. 'So much for a cleansing shower, and what a waste of soap.' Quickening her steps she made a sharp turn to a larger, more busy street, although there seemed to be a distinct lack of people outside walking their dogs, or whatever else people who had homes and families wandered the streets for.

Turning again she began to run, her feet slapping on the hot pavement and her unrestrained hair bouncing wildy against the back of her shirt. Somewhere in the back of her mind warning lights were flashing but her need to escape from the sleezy woman was more pressing. Besides what else could she possibly need to be worried about.

A tug around the area of her ankle threw her off balance, and she hit the concrete at a fair pace. Her hands and knees skidded along the burning surface and she realised suddenly what the other thing she was supposed to be worried about was.

Shoelaces.

Aura's hand quiverd in her room, she was seething at herself again. Why did everything she tried meet with failure. Her freind they laid dead becuse she had failed them all, and the incident at KP only lended firther credit to her lack of any use. She had one a single fight in the months she had been here, the others were amix of draws and unfinnished battels. Then their was the issue with Kausmi, she may have killed a freind she had liked quite a bit, she had raised her weapon to her and it had been the right choice strateigly, but those facts did not make it any easier to deal with. Gritting her teeth she forced her mind to push the thoughts aside, they were unimportent, she ahd to find somthing to do, a fight or a distraction, anything would do, anything so long as she could relax again.

Grabbing a black shirt, Aura threw it on completly unaware how poorly it fit, or the gash in it across the back. Throwing on a very worn skirt, Aura left her room, he ronly hair maintnence a simple sweep to keep it out of her eyes. Leaving the Sanctuary, Lisa barely looke dup at her, use to her appearince as well as her random entrences and exits. Walking out the golden doors, she blinked a bit as the light kissed her skin, normally she was out when it was getting dark, cops got less brave then and it was harder for them to see who she was. The incidents with both Meld and predator had tought her importent lessons. Smiling she told herself she had not failed she had protected her freinds, their were no body bags this time, almost, she corrected her thought.

Aura bagn to prowl the streets looking for gang members she was sure were likely still sleeping or very good at avoiding her. It was getting anoying very quickly to Aura who was use to relaxing with the less then friendly drug dealers and gang bangers. That was when she saw somon turn the courner and begin running. Hope filled with and a smile creeped across her chapped lips. Quickly Aura realized the girl was not a likely target, likely a reguler human, though she had no proof she was of genetic material that matterd either. She kept walking drawing closer as the girl tripped of her shoelaces, looking down Aura realized her own were untied as well.

A thought came to Aura as she wlaked up to the girl, she may have been running from somthing, she seemed to wet for this to be a casual jog, though she did have a ovely slender body for it. Aura admired the hair as well even as she took up position becide her looking around for any possible issue. "What's up?" she asked causally with a smile. Aura was young which could throw people off, but she was a scrapper at heart and wa shoping the girl was being chased simply so she could hop into the flow of combat and let her thoughts fade away. So intent on this hope she was, she did not notice the rare wisps of pink that danced across her hands, a sign of her power.

Verdigris opened and shut her mouth a few times, the air around her didn't seem to want to flow past her tongue and down her throat. A valiant effort and she sucked in just enough for a gasping wheeze before a pair of shoes entered her vision. She contemplated them silently for a second or two, the laces were undone and she had just proved how hazardous that could be.

Pushing herself up slightly to her knees she inspected the palms of her hands. The skin was broken and raw, but it was merely a graze and didn't even have the decency to bleed. Touching her tongue to the exposed flesh she squinted up at the girl in front of her.

"What's up?"

Verdigris thought about the question. It was a wide question with a few different meanings. This girl didn't seem too terrible though so mentions of the sky, or high-rise apartment blocks didn't seem in order. Also she was too winded to be snarky. Sucking some more polluted, fumy air into her bruised lungs she exhaled an answer, in as few words as possible.

"Got chased, creepy lesbian, think I lost her..."

Pushing herself onto her feet she took a silent mental checklist. Apart from the bruises she could feel slowly colouring her knees under her jeans, the slight residual winding and her grazed palms everything seemed to be pretty much in order. She turned her attention to the girl before her, slowly sizing her up. Although around the same height as herself the girl appeared a few years younger. Her hair looked like it hadn't seen a brush in quite some time and her shirt didn't sit quite right on her frame and her skirt looked like it had seen better days.

Verdigris supposed she had looked something like that when she had first come to the city, although where she had been shy and withdrawn this girl looked slightly defiant, like she might kick you if you offended her, very hard, in the shins.

"Verdigris, self?"

She held out her battered hand in the universal offering of peace, whoever had come up with that idea wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, she remembered something about the fact it came from the time of knights in amour. Offering a handshake took your hand away from your sword hilt, leaving the other person able to draw and stab, sweep or slash before you even had time to blink. Definitely not the sharpest... maybe something like a rake... or a trowel.

Glancing at the younger girl's hand she tilted her head suspiciously at the flicker of pink which lingered there. Maybe she had hit her head when she went down, although she couldn't feel any tell-tale swelling.

"I see, some people lack manners, but it is good that you are safe" Aura could understand why she might be chased, she did look nice. Still that was no reason to chase after somone, Aura glanced around in case the crazy lady had followed, it seemed atleast so far she had not. , or atleast Aura had not seen anyone. A secound glance told her their were no police around either, a fact aura was always happy about, since she failed to get along with the cops and they failed to simply stop living. "You all right?" she asked, the girl looked ok, but one could never be sure, she migh have fought this lesbien before Aura had found her, immdiately Aura wonderd if this girl was a mutant.

"My name is Aura" she said as the woman moved to shake her hand, following the womans gaze, she realized her Aura or a wisp of it had escaped her control. Clamping down on it the pink wisp faded quickly from view. Shaking the womans hand, she shook it, lightly. Aura had never caed for the gesture much, but some people preferre dit and got offended when ou did not return it. Seeing the woman tilt he rhead, Aura followed her gaze, breaking hand contact. Her Aura was playing on it's own, had she really been that distracted? Shaking her head, she politely smiled back assuming the woman had saw it and already knew she was a mutant.

"My control over that is useually better" SHe said as she opened her palm at her Side, quickly a pink Aura began to become visable, though one could still easily see through it. "Is their somwhare i can help you get to?" she asked speaking as if showing her power openly was a normal thing anyone would do. To Aura her power was a part of her, much like a hand or an eye. "If i may ask, are you a mutant as well?" she saod plainly, though her eyes scanned the area around them, a practiced movement, that came from years of fighting.

Moving a hair from her eyes, Aura forced her Aura back into it's less then visable state. This woman did not seem liek a threat and walking around highlighted in pink caused issues, from cops and gangs and others. "I can see why one might chase you, your quite pretty" she said not even thinking such a comment might worry her as she was just chased by another Lesbien. Turning she looked behind hseself as well, making sure their wa sno danger.

"My control over that is usually better"

Verdigris raised her eyebrows. This was an interesting development, a young girl talking to her out of the blue was strange enough but the fact that she was a mutant, with such strong control, was on the verge of being absurd.

"Is there somewhere I can help you get to?"

Verdigris leant forward curiously and inspected what seemed to be a large bubble around the younger girl. While she considered the question, was there anywhere she wanted to go? Some specific destination she had in mind?

"Can I?"

Without waiting for a real answer Verdigris tapped the bubble with a finger, it didn't pop, or even bend, and the surface felt something like glass, or metal. With a slight quirk of her mouth she withdrew her and and answered the question.

"I'm not really going anywhere in particular, no, just hanging around. Unless you know somewhere they shout you lunch for free that isn't weak soup and stale rolls."

She shuddered at the memory of the last homeless shelter she had been to. The people running it had been nice enough, but the huge line to get a scratchy bed and a crummy meal was hardly worth the effort. Besides that, the woman who was sleeping opposite snored. Loudly.

"If I may ask, are you a mutant as well?"

Verdigris raised her eyebrows and pondered the thought. Mutant seemed like such a harsh word. Not as bad as freak for sure, but even still, there was just something about it that echoed 'deformed' or 'wrong'. She looked at the girl carefully, children weren't to be trusted with valuable information but she looked old enough to deal with it, besides the fact she was also a mutant. It was almost worth the risk if it meant something more nutritious than the half-donut she had stolen from a coffee shop table, it wasn't like real stealing though, just taking what they were going to throw away anyway. She shrugged.

"Mutant is perspectivised and has too many negative connotations for anyone to take it on lightly, but I guess you could say I'm different, yes."

She watched as the pink bubble faded away to invisibility and the girl flicked her hair out of her face. Verdigris considered the likelihood of her knowing a place to eat, when even basic grooming was neglected.

"I can see why one might chase you, you're quite pretty"

The older girl gave a halfhearted snort. The girl was sweet yes, but the idea, even the mere thought of the possibility of a relationship with someone so much younger and of the same gender was far fetched.

"Thanks I guess, that just sounds like the sort of thing an old man in a bar might say to a waitress he was trying to con into cheap drinks. So where you from?"

The question, like 'what's up' had many meanings, it could mean where is your home, or where are you going, or what is happening, but she would settle for the most common, a basic form of small talk.

Aura let the girl touch her Aura, she had made it smooth much like glass and flinched slightly as the girl touched her Aura without warning it was a reflex she had developed. She did not mind people touching her Aura, after all finding out about others powers was something she found most enjoyable and as such assumed other liked to see her power as well, not that Aura ever really kept it Hidden, in fact she often used it to help her with daily tasks like carpentry. Assured no one was following them she relaxed just a bit, still hoping this one was not being followed by a telaporter or something.

Aura did not really understand what the woman was saying about the word mutant but from her experience with the Saint guy, she knew the girl was likely a mutant who simply did not like the term, it made her sad ina way to see a mutant deny what they really were. Then again it was really just a word and she did say she was different. "If that's your way of saying you are a mutant, then i have a place we can go, it's called Sanctuary, a place just for mutants who have nowhere else to go. The food is free and they do offer rooms you can live in. After i came back to the city from the woods in canada, they took me in, fed me and gave me a place to sleep. Most importantly, it is a place just for mutants, no humans to herass us" she said with a smile, she loved her place at sanctuary and the friends she now had.

"Im from here, but when my powers emerged i accidentally killed a girl i was fighting with, and they stuck me in a cage, then i was rescued and brought to the woods, whare my former master trained me until she died, a rifle to the chest. So i came back here but by then i had forgotten who my family was or my real name. I ended up at sanctuary after trying to steal money to keep a roof over my head" she explained hoping she gave the information that had been requested, Aura mentioned it all calmly, almost two calmly for a girl her age. Looking around she thought to herself just a moment. "Sanctuary is about a mile walk from here if your up for it" she offered pointing to the direction she had walked from. She was far more use to taking alleyways but she knew the streets all right.

"If that's your way of saying you are a mutant, then I have a place we can go..."

Perceptive little person, she was more intuitive than Verdigris had imagined. That could be either a good thing, meaning she had some form of intelligence, or it could be bad, in that she had worked out how to find other mutants and destroy them. She supposed it didn’t really matter, the girl, while having a power she was obviously familiar with, and happy to use in public, didn’t really seem to want to harm her and if worse came to worse she could always flee again. It was, after all, her usual tactic.

"A place just for mutants who have nowhere else to go. The food is free and they do offer rooms you can live in."

The offer of a free meal, even if it was by a group of mutants for mutants was too go to pass up. The brief thought that this could be a massive stunt to get her to join a 'mutant only' club flittered through her head, but hope for a few hours of acceptance and more importantly a decent amount of food to sit in her belly warmed her. It was worth the risk.

“…I ended up at sanctuary after trying to steal money to keep a roof over my head"

Verdigris raised her eyebrows. So young and already having to steal to survive. The girl reminded her of her younger self, soon after her initial discovery of her power, when she had first arrived in the city and was still learning all the subtle rules that come with living on the street. Although, the girl seemed a lot more open about her power, revealing it to someone she didn’t even know was a mutant, without even studying her for long enough beforehand to determine whether she was trustworthy. Ah yes, trust, that thing which Verdigris had felt slowly seeping away from her, like sand through an hourglass, ever since she had discovered the power in her hands…

"Sanctuary is about a mile walk from here if you’re up for it"

The girl pointed and Verdigris followed the line of the finger with her eyes. She couldn’t see anything which looked like a safe place for mutants, but then again, she couldn’t see a mile either. It was a long walk for a feed, but it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be. The heat of the summer morning was beginning to seep through her and she could feel the touch of dampness across her skin which meant it was going to be a very hot day.

“Sure, I do a lot of walking, a mile should be no problem.”

Tightening the bag straps across her shoulders she touched the side where there was a large gash. It was almost time for her to get a new bag, when she found the money. This was her second since she had arrived in the city, and it guarantee had expired months ago, meaning it had steadily been deteriorating since.

With a quick double check of the pavement where she had fallen, making sure she hadn’t lost any of the precious items in her threadbare backpack she turned her attention once again to the younger girl.

“Lead on, kiddo”

"All right, let's stick to the alleyways, me and the cops have a few issues. My power kicked in during a fight with another girl at school, i meant to punch her, instead, i cut her spine in two, they fussed so much that i was a mutant the girl bled to death, they then tossed me in a box, but i escaped" she said casually recalling her past to what was basicly a stranger. Aura never minded she liked telling hers as much as hearing other historys. In fact she found every mutant had their own story and rarely were they warm.

Aura raely travled by sidewalk, for the very reason she had given the woman, she had escaped from jail for the act of murder. Also her face was decently well known these days. Cutting down an alley Aura kept careful watch, the alleys were useually dry of scum at this hour, but you never could be sure. Aura could kill most gang members with ease, cops however tended to have better guns and to be acurate. As Aura moved from alley to alley it was clear she was very used to traveling this way, emrgeing only to cross streets.

"So what can you do? I love to see and hear about other Mutant powers, that beauity each of us has, it would be fun to see all the powers their are" she said, she had violated one of her own general rules about not asking mutants what they could do. Still cursiosity did get the best of her from time to time. Becides they had plenty of time to discuss things. Sanctuary itself had many areas they could talk about. "Oh and if you decide to stay longer then a few days at sanctuary they will ask you to fill out paper work, name, age power, the basics. Some residents can not control their powers so well yet and knowing what your dealing with helps you to train them to control their wonderous gifts." she explained wnating to make sure the woman understood what the sanctuary was.

"All right, let's stick to the alleyways…"

Verdigris nodded. There was no harm in staying off the main streets, and with the disappearance of the woman she felt the familiar trickle of fear she felt whenever she was around large groups of people. The fear of being recognised. It was more than two years since her face had been on a milk box, but she still shuddered to think that someone might associate that grinning black-haired girl with the woman she had become. It was better to walk down quiet streets and not draw attention to herself.

The girl however, had different reasons. Verdigris frowned at her story, so young and already a killer. As far as she could remember she had never killed anyone, maimed a few here and there, gave one man a wound with a biro he wouldn’t forget in a hurry, but never stolen life away from anyone. Not counting the occasional bird or squirrel, after all she had to eat…

Following the younger girl through twisting alleys she felt an obligation to share some of her own history, it was only fair really.

“I was originally from Hawaii… I moved here after my brother and his friends were attacked by a mutant and after I figured out I was… different. No one knows I came, except my best friend. I haven’t spoken to him in nearly three years. Tough life being an oddity huh.”

It wasn’t a question. More a statement of fact. She watched as the younger girl slipped carefully from alley to alley following at a distance not near enough to be affectionate or cosy, but not too far as to be rude.

"So what can you do?"

It was a question asked at job interviews, or in the office of the principal of a new school, but here it was loaded. How powerful are you? Are you a threat? Could I win in a fight against you? All were questions Verdigris could hear echoing behind the simple words from the rumpled and scruffy girl.

“I… find things… basically. Then shoot them.”

She shrugged, hers was a difficult power to explain and one she was loath to discuss in great detail. Surprise had worked far too many times for her to give it up too willingly. This girl still could be a threat, safe haven or no safe haven.

“I’m sure not all powers are ones that you’d like to be on the receiving end of. But it would be good to know what else is out there, and how many…”

Her mind skipped back to an article she had seen while in a cheap diner. A mutant, angry at the world for their ‘curse’ had completely destroyed his entire apartment building, killing several and injuring others. He had been detained in a heavily guarded ward of a mental hospital while they tried to figure out what his power was exactly. It would be good to know what kinds of powers were out there, along with the people in control of them. She supposed that some, however, would not be friendly.

"Oh and if you decide to stay longer then a few days at sanctuary they will ask you to fill out paper work, name, age power, the basics…"

Verdigris nodded slowly, it was like a job interview, or a complicated transaction from one school to another. This time, however, there was no parents to sign the ‘parent/guardian’ line and three years worth of history she wasn’t sure she wanted in a ‘describe why you have decided to come here’ box. A tingle of nervous energy tickled the base of her spine.

“Some residents can not control their powers so well yet and knowing what your dealing with helps you to train them to control their wondrous gifts.”

Verdigris paused for a moment, mutants who could not control themselves could be dangerous, really dangerous, and she remembered the young man who had attacked her brother and his friends. There had been nothing anyone could do about it. No way to stop the destruction and eventual death caused by his rampage. She shuddered. That was definitely not how she would describe a 'wondrous gift'.

“So who runs this ‘sanctuary’? Not the government surely?”

She sniffed wearily, there was no help really available for those like herself. No real support. They were expected to live on the fringes of society, quietly and peacefully living out their lives without bothering anyone else.

As they waited to cross a bustling street she knelt and tied her shoelaces, knot after tight knot wove its way from her fingers until on each shoe there was only two tiny pieces of untied lace with a solid string of knots holding them off the ground. It was habit. She stood and crossed the street quietly with the girl. There was a lot to learn from one so much younger than herself about this place for mutants and she couldn’t help being a little bit curious. Besides the regular articles on the news about attacks or disruption caused by mutants there was very little else she knew about those like her.

“So, who else lives there?”

"I see, that does sound quite intresting and it a kinder story then many i have heard" she admitted more then a hint of sadness in her voice. Her own story contained much sorrow as well, her old freinds, each one having fallen in the service of the matriarch. "Hawaii....i think i have heard of that, an island out west right?" she said not really knowing quite whare the island was only that it was rather far away. "As for family sometimes it is best to be seperate from them at times, more so when they despise our species" she said simply.

"Well some powers would be less then good to be hit with, but we must hope it does not come to that, fighting another Mutant can be enjoyable i always hope their is not the need to kill." she said truthfully she had fought numerous mutants and it was true she had tried to kill a number of them, but normally this was when she felt they would be a long term threat.

"Some company called Kings Farms or somthing, i never really questioned it myself, i just know i signed and they gave me a room and food. If they asked i would gladly lend my aid, but no one ever asks" she said shaking her head a bit. It was true no one asked a sanctuary resident to do much of anything other then to defend their home if they needed to, but to Aura that went without saying anyway. You akways defended home and your allies, it was somthing one should do normally in her eyes.

"I have many friends thare each with their own beautiful power, my best friend can erge with machnes or statues and use them to replace her limbs and another can turn into a large lion or dog, my adopted parent also lives thare, he is extreamly strong. I also met a man who could control the earth beneath us and another who could talk to fish" she said with a smile, as they were getting close to sanctuary. "Not far now" she said as she darted through another alleyway checking it carefully even as she did, making sure no gnag members were sticking around.

"After i hurt that girl, my parents let them lock me in a cage, we escaped with the help of my soon to be freinds and out leader, but the humans gunned down my freinds and the woman who rescues me, it was a sad day" she said her voice cracked at the mention of the time. It was sometimes hard to speak of but people had to know the things that happoned out thare.

(sorry for the wait)

"Hawaii....I think I have heard of that, an island out west right?"

Verdigris nodded slowly, it was difficult for her to think of anyone not knowing about the little group of islands, one of the most popuar tourist destinations in the world. But after all, she supposed, this was a mutant she was talking to, a creature far different to the normal humans and she had discovered her power at a young enough age to not pay attention to the world around her. Pity really, it must be hard to fit in when you only had a child's experience. But maybe she would fit in easier with other mutants, while Verdigris would be pushed to one side.

"A group of islands actually, you normally see big photos of the beaches there on travel agencies windows. But yes, to the west, kind of along the same lines as Mexico."

The mention of family made her sigh, it was hard to live without them. Even though she had thought they were annoying or painful. That her parents didn't pay enough attention to her sometimes. That curfews and grounding sucked. It was hard to not have a home and a family to go back to.

”Fighting another Mutant can be enjoyable, I always hope their is not the need to kill."

Verdigris blinked. Fighting was fighting, and taking pleasure from hurting another, even if they weren’t dead at the end of it… It seemed odd. Deciding that for lack of a better word ‘training’ applied more to the situation she deemed a reply necessary. There was no chance of her walking into a full-blown brawl with this girl unprepared.

“I suppose training against someone who can’t get hurt, who can take it without damaging themselves or you would be a good way to practice and get control.”

"Some company called Kings Farms or something…

The young woman shuddered as the combination of a drip travelling down her spine and the mental image of hundreds of chickens in battery cages flitted though her minds. What would the farmers harvest from mutants? On the other hand, this girl was allowed to wander in and out apparently, and it was probably easy to leave and not return, but they would still have a file, complete with name and power, to track down missing members.

“ I never really questioned it myself, I just know I signed and they gave me a room and food. If they asked I would gladly lend my aid, but no one ever asks"

Oh sweet naivety. You would think after her school, the place you were supposed to put your faith in for years, had attacked her, or after the police, those trustworthy figures of society had thrown her in a cage, that she would be a little less willing to sign away her details to anyone. Then again, she didn’t actually know who she was, so it would be easy to lose her identity and pick up a new one.

Verdigris inspected the child as they walked. The girl navigated with cool confidence though the alleys and across the occasional street. She didn’t look like someone who was working for an evil corporation, and if they had been going for the ‘sweet and innocent’ look, they might have done well to brush her hair or at least instruct her not to admit to being a killer straight out. Completely stuffed up the innocent vibe.

The powers sounded interesting, although varied greatly. There seemed to be no clue as to why they had sprouted these unusual powers, like extra limbs. As far as she had learned in science, before she had fled her home and therefore school, evolution happened when there was a need. Deer grew taller to see over long grass while watching for predators, birds learnt to fly as they chased their winged dinner and creatures that were camouflaged lived longer and had more offspring. All these evolutions to do with humans, who had no predators, bought food from shops or takeaway joints, and as far as she knew didn’t camouflage, didn’t seem to make sense. There was no logical answer and once again she wished she could have a word with Darwin, demand answers for her advanced race.

”Not far now.”

Verdigris nodded silently, the final alley was deserted and they travelled though it quickly. In the distance something large glittered and Verdigris’ attention was draw briefly from the girl ahead. There seemed no point to have something that large shining in the street, unless it was a restaurant or some other establishment, demanding attention amongst the drab greys and blacks. As they approached Verdigris began to pick out details. It was doors. Golden doors. She glanced at the younger girl who didn’t seemed phased by these large gleaming objects and she realised that her voice was sad and seemed unstable. She pinched herself softly, gone were the days she could instantly console someone for their loss. Living alone, while surrounded by people, had taken its toll on her social skills and she fumbled awkwardly for a moment.

“I’m sorry, it sounds horrible… Are things better now?”

She knew there was nothing to be said, really, that could ease the pain of losing a friend or loved one. Even after so long she still found herself longing to be with James, or to take her brother out for a meal. This girl seemed to have lost her friends more recently, the pain still evident in her verbal remembrance, it was impossible to make things better, so Verdigris opted to change the subject.

“So, is that it there?”

She joked, gesturing towards the large golden doors a few meters in front of them. It seemed impossible that a place taking in mutants, the most feared and hated species in America, would profess itself so openly and she hoped that the silliness of the comment would cheer the girl up a little. It also might prompt her to suggest how much further, her feet were starting to protest that this was, in fact, more than a mile and her palms itched, begging to be washed at the nearest possible tap.

((No problem, was a little worried about you, glad to see you again )