It had taken Twyla exactly seventeen minutes to get cleaned up. She congratulated herself on the inside. It usually took her older sisters hours to get ready and she hand managed it in under twenty. When she had tromped back down the stairs her still shower wet hair was pulled back in low pigtails behind her ears, she had brushed her teeth and washed her face, her gym clothes were traded in for a pair of jeans and a green tank top, and she had even managed to slick on some lip gloss and mascara. There were ten dollars in her pocket and she was ready to roll. She and Tulelo had made their way to the bus station soon after her reappearance. About thirty minutes after they had decided to go on their quest for a subway they were in New York City standing in front of a set of stairs that would lead down into the station.

Twyla had led Tulelo down the steps and to the nearest map, oblivious to the strange glances they were getting from passerby. She was too focused on their mission to notice much else, so the whispers and gestures from a few people in the terminal were lost on her. “So,” She began as soon as they were positioned in front of the map. “We are...” She searched for a moment. “...here.” Her pinky indicated their station. “Where do you want to go?” Twyla wasn’t very partial to their destination, although there were a few places she would prefer to avoid. She knew where a few of the landmarks of New York were and she wondered if Tulelo would be as anxious to see them as she had been the first time she had come to NYC. She was a bit hyper from the spontaneity of it all, so she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet as she waited for his answer.

Tulelo and Twyla were in the city now. Tulelo had never been in a city unaccompanied by his fellow "circus freaks" before. He made sure to wear his hood on his head to try to cover his horns. His fur on his face still showed, but it was less of a shock to the people around them. For this he was grateful. Tulelo was beginning to enjoy Twyla's company and attitude very much. When they had gotten to the map of the subway system, he was in awe.

There was only one subway in Hungary and it was in Budapest. He had never been there before. He had been on trains before, but this seemed somehow more exciting. With Twyla standing next to him, he knew that this was going to be a fun time. She asked him where he wanted to go, but he did not know where was a nice place to go.

"Wherrre wouuld youu leeke to go, Twyla? Oanywherrre ees feene weeth me. Youu've been herrre beforrre, Ee hoaven't."

All the excitement was making his '"r's" roll. He looked at Twyla with a smile.

Twyla appreciated Tulelo’s reaction to the subway map. It was much better than hers the first time she had used it for directions. The multicolored lines and random letters and numbers had intimidated her until she had found the pattern. Now it was relatively easy for her to navigate herself around cities, she had had months of practice. To her slight dismay Tulelo didn’t know where he wanted to go either. He was obviously excited though and that made her more excited.

She tapped her finger to her chin, cocked her left knee, and otherwise posed as if in a thinking stance. “Hmmm....” Her brain was digging through filing cabinets of memory trying to find a good destination for their trip. “Well, there’s always Central Park, Times Square, the Empire State Building, a ton of museums, Grand Central, the Bronx Zoo, or my personal favorite: the New York Public Library. I guess it all depends on what you’d like to see. I’ve seen it all, from the outside at least. Oh, there’s always places in the boroughs too.” She shrugged. It really didn’t matter to her, so long as whatever they did didn’t cost money.

Tulelo was wondering what it was they should do or where they should go. Twyla had given him the choice and the day had just started. He was looking at the map and not understanding much, so he was hoping Twyla would be the guide.

"Well, whoat would be fuun, oand teeme consuumeeng? Hmmm... Centroal Poark, Ee hoave hearrd of. Muuseuums... Ee hoave neverr been to oa muuseuum."

Tulelo looked at Twyla with a look that made him feel like he looked confused and wondering all at the same time. He just hoped he didn't look like an idiot with a face like that.

After deciding that Tulelo wasn’t going to be very good at deciding, Twyla decided for them. “Why don’t we go to the Museum of Natural History?” She asked, but it wasn’t really a question. She was already mapping out the route they would need to take with her finger. Only one transfer and they would be there. The trip would take fifteen minutes and the cost to get in would be whatever they could afford to give. It was a good plan, Twyla thought. Hopefully Tulelo agreed with her.

“We have a heading...now for the means of getting there.” Twyla turned around and briskly searched the terminal with her large brown eyes until she located the automated machine that would give them MetroCards. Twyla reached behind her until she found her companion’s wrist and then she began walking towards it. She didn’t realize how weird her actions were until after she let go of his wrist and was digging around in her pocket for cash and her old MetroCard to put more money on. “Sorry about that.” An apology went awkwardly with the sound of a five-dollar bill being accepted into the machine. “I just kinda did, I’m in the zone I guess that means I don't need to communicate my intentions.” She laughed nervously and finished her transaction. “Do you want me to help you with this thing or do you think you’ve got it?” Her tone wasn’t condescending, just helpful, as it was intended.

Tulelo was listening to Twyla now, this was all new to him. She suggested that they go to the Museum of Natural History. He thought that that was an excellent idea. She grabbed his wrist and dragged him over to a terminal that he had never seen before. He kind of liked how efficient she was being when she was a little forceful.

"Thoat sounds leeke a wonderrfuul eedea, Twyla. Ee don't uunderrstoand thees moacheene. Weell youu show me how?"

Tulelo looked at Twyla with a slightly saddened face.

Twyla listened to Tulelo’s reply and was relived when he seemed to like her idea and wasn’t weirded out by the random dragging across the terminal. “Awesome sauce...It’s really not that hard, it gives a lot of prompts.” Twyla moved over so her new companion could see what she was doing on the screen. A few moments later she was finished and Tulelo had a shiny new MetroCard with enough money on it for a few rides on the subway or bus or whatever he chose to ride in the New York City transit system. “There ya go.” She said brightly, placing the card in his hand.

“Now, shall we wait for our ride?” She asked before walking off in the direction of the actual subway car or whatever it was called. She didn’t really know the technical terms, just what they were used for. They had a few minutes to kill before their transport would be there.

Twyla showed Tulelo how to use the terminal where they were to get their transportation cards. He was a little fascinated by Twyla's command of the machine and it made him a little jealous but more fascinated with her. Twyla was beginning to make Tulelo feel like there was some happiness for people like him and her in the world. Many felt mutants were a threat which made for turmoil in their lives.

There with Twyla, his new friend, he felt that there was more to life than just hatred between humans and mutants. There could be peace one day, he knew. He wondered if that day would come. Presently, he became aware of the people giving them looks. He pulled his hood over his head some more.

"Thank you. Oalreeght, lead the woay, Twyla. Youu know thees place better thoan Ee do."

He ended his statement with a look of interest in what she could say next on this facinating adventure.

“Not by much. I’m a stranger here too, just less of one than you are.” Her reply was the truth. Twyla hadn’t lived in New York for very long either, she had barely been at the Mansion long enough to call herself comfortable there, but she WAS decently good at getting herself places. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the next train to stop. When she could see the lights coming through the tunnel she turned to Tulelo. “It’s almost here.”

There wasn’t much of a queue so she didn’t think their trip would be too crowded. Twyla was beginning to be thankful for that. The more time they spent in the terminal, the more weird looks they got from the people around them. Part of her just wanted to fade out so no one could see her but another part of her felt defiant. Who were they to judge her and her new friend? The anger from earlier that morning flared up but she managed to suppress it as their ride came to a creaky halt and opened it’s metal doors. “Well, that’s us.” She said to Tulelo with a smile, this one a bit more forced than the others.

(OOC: I am so very sorry for the delay. I have been very unexpectantly busy these past 4 days. Please forgive me.)

Tulelo was enjoying the wait with Twyla. This excursion was becoming quite fun for him. The new sights and the new sounds were getting to his excitement. When the train came his glee was overwhelming. He chuckled with anticipation of what it would be like to be in a subway car travelling under a busy city like New York.

"Ee'm so verry exceeted, Twyla. Hoave youu everr been to the Muuseuum of Noatuurroal Heestorry before?"

Tulelo waited with a huge smile on his face as he stepped into the subway car. There were a great many people here, and he pulled his hood closer around his head.

((OOC: No worries, we all get busy sometimes. ))

Twyla smiled when Tulelo told her he was excited. "I've been there once, but all I got a chance to look at was the dinosaur exhibit. It's pretty cool." Twyla enjoyed museums almost as much as libraries and she hoped that Tulelo would enjoy the Museum of Natural History as much as she had her first time there. It would probably be more fun with a companion, Twyla decided. Her first visit had been solo and she had gotten a bit homesick after watching all the families and their children.

A moment after he stepped into the car she followed and made her way as best she could towards some open space. Although not many people had gotten on at this stop the car was well filled and she had to jostle around a bit to find some breathing room. "Are you ready?" She asked, looking up at the boy with an excited smile on her face.

Tulelo followed Twyla through the throng of people to what he saw to be a clear spot. He made sure that he kept an eye on her hair as to not get lost in the crowd. It was brightly lit in the car, so Tulelo could see her well enough.

When she asked if he was ready, Tulelo nodded with excitement and said, "Ee wouuld leeke to see whoat wonderrs we coan encounterr."

“I wouldn’t call the New York subway wondrous.” Twyla replied in a half-jaded tone that she played down with a laugh. The silvery door creaked closed and there was a jerk before the subway began to move. Twyla jolted with the sudden movement but managed not to fall over. A baby cried somewhere on the other side of the car and a group of scene-looking teens argued loudly about some band that Twyla hadn’t heard of. She knew it was band because they kept passing around someone’s ipod and one of them was saying over and over “This is the sickest sound, how can you not be in awe of that guitar?”

Regardless of whether or not the sound was sick the train kept trucking along it’s underground course, taking its passengers closer and closer to their destinations. It only took a few moments before their empty space was eaten up by people redistributing in the car and Twyla looked up at Tulelo from her spot next to his arm. “Is this everything you thought it would be?”

Tulelo was trying to bring all of the sights and sounds of this new adventure. His life was getting better every second. He felt a great comradery with Twyla as they stood there in the crowded subway car. There were so many different types of people. He hadn't seen a group of people this large since his days in the circus.

"Eet ees quite amazing. Therre oarre oall deefferrent types of people herre. Even the busseeness men."

He nodded toward a man reading a newspaper. He was wearing a suit and was in the middle of a sip of coffee.

A mumbled sound from the speaker above her head told Twyla that their transfer was coming up and she mentally braced herself for the slowing of the train. The scensters had stopped their loud arguing, so Twyla just caught what Tulelo was saying to her. “Everyone takes the subway.” She replied with a smile. The businessman glanced at Twyla and Tulelo, a slightly nervous look on his face. Twyla tried to give him what she thought was a reassuring smile, to which he turned away from her and went back to his newspaper. Mentally she shrugged, oh well, she’d tried.

“The train’s going to be stopping soon.” She added after a moment. Already she could feel the car slowing down. Reaching above her head she grasped a bar so as to steady herself. The first time she had been standing on a subway she had fallen over in front of a group of teenage girls who had giggled at her for the rest of her trip. She would never make that mistake again.