Juka blinked and then proceeded to put unhappily. A 'what are you doing' was not exactly the kind of reaction he had been hoping for. Perhaps a 'my your are such a flatterer' or a 'aren't you the sweetest.' he would even have gone for something with a little more ego, something along the lines of 'why yes of course I am your goddess now you must worship me'. But alas, he got none of that. All he got was an 'um...what are you doing?' and that wasn't at all what he wanted.

With an over dramatic sigh Juka strightened himself from his bowing position. It seemed that his goddess wasn't interested in actually being his goddess. She was, perhaps, somene else's goddess. Or perhaps she wasn't interested in being a goddess at all. Sometimes Juka just didn't understand the people over here. Back in Japan he had no shortage of people that loved him and loved to be with him, but here it was different. Here he got rejected at every turn and he just didn't understand why. Only his Prince Venus had seemed to appreciate him and he hadn't seen his beautiful prince since their one heavenly night together. Alas but perhaps he was destined to be alone tonight and perhaps for every night to come.

"I was hoping to worship you like the goddess you so plainly are," Juka told his deific stranger, his image of perfection. "But alas you seem to find me, a mere mortal in your presence, to be inadequate and unworthy." The dissapointment was strong in his voice. Why must everyone hurt poor Juka, especially on this night of happiness? "I suppose I will depart from your presence now." He turned to leave, shoulders slumped in defeat.

Pluto looked down to Isabel and thought it was odd that she hadn’t either hugged him or slapped him yet, but what would be would be.

~~"Excuse me, and I don't mean to be rude, but do you mind telling me which of the clones you are? I apologize but you do all look sort of similar."

Pluto glanced down at the young woman… Meld. She hadn’t been around long in the Order before he left, but he was going to be pissed if she was already so loyal that she was willing to talk a crack at him, over it. she had a lot of pretty metal upgrades going on he liked it. He was a anime junkie and she could have fit in most of the scifi ones he loved. His eyes roamed over her for a moment, not as appreciatively as Venus might have but he wanted to ensure that she didn’t think he was staring out of anything but respect. So many people stared at him out of awe or wonder or fear that he was quite conscious of what a look could mean to someone different.

“I, Miss Meld, Am Pluto.” He pointed at his bald head. “ The bald and exiled.” If his brothers saw him, they would note the various differences in him. the lack of big spiky hair, no goatee. Tattoos galore. Across his knuckles the words live and free went across them one letter for every digit except his thumbs.

“Can I help you?” He smiled and stood up strait as he waited to see if he was going to have to attempt to quietly dispatch her, or if perhaps she respected his move to getting out of the family.

Meld nodded respectfully at Pluto as he made his introduction. She took in his observations of herself and observed him in kind, paying special attention to those features that made him different from the other clones. She could tell by the way he looked at her, or more importantly by the way he did not look at her, that he was different than most that made not of her appearance. He didn't stare in the way most awe-struck humans and mutants alike tended to stare and almost as important, he didn't appear to be afraid of her. Perhaps it came from the fact that he, like herself, was a visible mutant but whatever the reason she couldn't help but appreciate it. Even most visible mutants, those that should have no right to judge, tended to give her a wide berth.

"A pleasure to meet you Pluto," Meld extended a hand for shaking as she spoke. It never hurt to be polite. "And as far as what you can do for me..." she glanced pointedly in Isabel's direction, still unsure if her presence here would be cause for a confrontation. "I suppose I'm looking for a little support, in a way. Someone else who might know what its like to be formally a resident of Sanctuary and the organization within."

Meld shrugged her shoulders, letting just a little of her discomfort and unsuredness show through the careful mask of confidence she always wore. She wasn't used to showing any sort of weakness, but in this one instance she thought it prudent to do so. She had a reputation as a dealer of death and she was known as a former member of the Order and distrusted by many because of it and because of some of the actions she undertook. But she wanted to gain Pluto's trust, mostly because, from what little she knew of him, his situation wasn't so different from her own. But also, if she were honest with herself, because he hadn't feared her simply because of the way she looked and he hadn't stared at her like she was some sort of freak. Although she had long ago accepted that those were the reactions she was going to get from pretty much everyone, it surprised her to note that the lack of such reactions meant something to her.

Shawn chuckled at her comment. He didn’t really want to know weather or not she’d checked to see if Juka was a guy or not. That was her business and he wasn’t one to pry, although the fact that she felt the need to explain that she hadn’t checked was funny. It didn’t really matter. The fact was, was that Juka wasn’t right there made him feel more at ease. Feeling Lily bump into him brought him back to what he was originally going to do. “It’s more than weird. It’s a disconcerting.” Streak said to her. He wasn’t concerned with the person that had limbs from metal. Sure she had fought against the X-Men when they were at King Pharmaceuticals, but she was just a pawn as far as he was concerned. The people he was really that were there were Isabel, whom he’d personally fought here on the mansion grounds, and the big red guy that she was talking to.

He’d been able to find Isabel’s name, and pretty much he entire history from a few well placed phone calls to the police and he’d faxed them a picture of her that he’d gotten when she was attacking the mansion with the rest of her clan. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to find anything out about the red guy. However, from the way they were all mingling together, he could only speculate that they were all part of the Order. Once he got over the shock of seeing Order members in the mansion, he started walking again. The food looked really good and he grabbed a little here and a little there. There was enough food to feed the masses there and that was a good thing. People seemed to be appearing out of no where just to eat the food, and in some cases cut the cake rather unceremoniously; although the threat to the cake seemed adequately handled. Once one plate was filled sufficiently with food Shawn waited to see if Lily was going to get some food, or if she was just accompanying him to the buffet table.

"She's the one we fought at the jewelry shop" she murmured, more to herself than to Shawn. He seemed worried about having Order members at the wedding too... but that only led back to her previous thoughts about the issue, and she decided it was best to look for something else to do. For now.
She packed a plate with all kinds of food; she wasn't starving, but it was about time for a decent dinner anyway. She followed Shawn to a table.
"You know, nanny used to make me eat a full meal before parties, so I wouldn't stuff myself with pastries in front of other people" she chuckled "Sounds like something out of Gone with the wind doesn't it."
Of course, those parties were a lot different than this one. More fancy, more formal, more shiny, and a lot less friendly. Not to mention less fun. She kept glancing around like a girl at her first ball. In some people's cases seeing them all dressed up was worth it in itself.

>>”Hey Shin, Kasumi!”

Shin's head turned in the direction of the voice. It was Sam, and a blond-haired woman. What Sam was doing with a blond-haired woman, as opposed to Alexandra was beyond Shin, but this was a wedding. Maybe it was a friend of his? A passing acquaintance. A good buddy. A...

"Police cadet?" Shin blinked. And not just any police cadet. This one had saved Sam's life. Was it becoming a pattern that Sam couldn't take care of himself? Shin inwardly smirked at the thought. Outwardly, he nodded politely. "Wow. Saved a life. You get a 'thank you' from me, then."

>>"Naw, really he saved mine." She corrected. Shin smirked.

"Nice to meet you, Elli." He broke his shoulder hug with Kasumi to step forward and extend a hand Elli's way. "Though for future reference, whenever one saves another person's life, the bright thing to do is to take the credit. Take it, and never let it go. Right, Sam?" He offered a playful jab at the ice mutant's ego. After all, he'd cut him to shreds saving his life too. And Elli didn't know that. She didn't have to! In retrospect, slicing up a friend in order to calm the feral drug-induced beast within was not something one bragged about. Though bragging rights were still there! Just... no.

If he'd been paying more attention while he shook the blond woman's hand, Shin might have caught sight of the man who'd saved his girlfriend's life spewing something red and liquid at his cousin. A nosebleed would of come to mind, and instantly been disregarded in favor of 'fruit punch' and 'bad manners'. He didn't see this, though, so no such thoughts could of percolated in the coffee pot thinking can in his head, which was as much a mixed metaphor as it was a jumble of thoughts.

Thoughts. Like 'who spiked the punch'.

Yes, Shin -had- overheard Alexandra's comment about 'something wrong with the punch.' His head did turn. And then, the bride hugged the man who'd spat fruit punch at his family. [

"What, exactly..."

It was at that moment that Alchemist again attempted to make polite conversation, with a

>>"So, you a mansion residents? I haven't seen you before but that doesn't mean much, given the size of this place. The grounds are like a small country to themselves."

which Shin responded to with an 'Uhhhhhhhh'.

"Excuse me a second. Kasumi, keep Alchemist company. I need to go avert a tragedy."

He was sorry. Really, he was. If he'd been the Doctor, he'd of been stating it quite fervently here, but... it was his cousin! And he knew just what his cousin was capable of... both mentally, and, well, mentally. Sooooo...

"Let me get you a towel, Kokoro-chan. And Slate. Thanks for saving my girlfriend, but honestly... that isn't a free pass at spitting on my family." He stepped up Kokoro, paper napkins in-hand.

Koga was already in trouble at the wedding reception and didn’t even know it. He had yet to take a drink of his drink but once he did the danger room would tattle on him and tattle hard. To every x member in the room. But for now the danger room assumed the best and simply thought he was being a good boy and getting an of age person the drink. The truth of the matter was the he set down his ginger ale, and picked up someone’s champagne. It was like clock work, if he had planned it, Were cat would have been proud of his nonchalant way he smoothly set the distraction and then the exchange without anyone being the wiser….unfortunately that anyone included Ryuichi Koga himself. He was already looking a bit loose for the party.

Koga was smiling and nodding his greetings to class mates and teachers, if he got a chance to see ghost he would congratulate her thoroughly where as if he saw the Unicorn he would give the man a stern congratulations treat her like a goddess combo. But what he did see was something that needed possibly some more attention, sure there were. One, two, three, four, five people already involved, but from what he had heard from Shin, his cousin had a temper. Wow. Asains unite, He always thought it was funny how many Japanese descended on the mansion . Shin, Koga, Kasumi, Kokoro…to name a few. And there was Slate, man he owed that guy, an arm in fact is what he owed him and subsequently all the worth he got out of it…being able to play violin for one. After this he was going to have to get up front and play that song he found.

But for now simply being near by the potential explosion of mutant defense and offense was enough. His eyes glanced about the group, wondering at what all the tension was over.

~~"A pleasure to meet you Pluto," "And as far as what you can do for me..." "I suppose I'm looking for a little support, in a way. Someone else who might know what its like to be formally a resident of Sanctuary and the organization within."

Pluto took Meld’s hand and turned it to kiss the top of it gently, treating her properly as a lady…Was he finally getting over Jax…er, what would have been with Jax? He guessed so, particularly since she hadn’t even recognized him at the sanctuary…but enough of that there was an ally at hand. He glanced at the titanium weapon in his hand…at hand. Heh.

“I would be more than pleased to help you however I could, are they giving you much grief? That would surprise me seeing as we used to let anyone walk in and out as they pleased. And from what I remember its not like your views were so far from theirs, more your methods…if I remember correctly, anyhow. He still hadn’t relinquished Meld’s hand. Merely lowered it a bit so that it wasn’t on display between them, he let a small smile come to his face. He wanted to say more but wasn’t sure what to suggest and was shocked still by Is’s silence in the matter. She was zoning big time.

Much to her great embarasment, Meld blushed when Pluto kissed her hand. She couldn't remember th elast time she had been treated not only like a peroper human being, beyond the metal and the blades, but also like a proper lady. Or a lady at all for that matter. It made her feel like a girl again, a feeling she hadn't had since before her powers developted. It was a feeling she both enjoyed and one that made her a little uncomfortable, being completely unsure how to react. Instead of reacting she did nothing, just allowed Pluto to keep her hand within her own.

"So far I have not been given any grief," Meld answered, pleased that her voice remained steady and professionl. "But I do worry about the possibility of that changing. Especially with the new leadership, individuals over there can be...unpredictable." It was good to hear that members had, in the past, been allowed to come and go as they pleased, however. Meld gave another glance in Isabel's direction. She was certainly one of the more unpredictable individuals.

"My views are similar," Meld agreed easily, "but, as you say, my methods sometimes differ. There is something to be said for cooperation with others of differing methods and even more to be said about actually doing something rather than sitting around and fighting with your own kind while no real headway is made in the larger fight." As always when speaking of her chosen cause, there was passion in her voice but that passion was, perhaps, muted by the smile on her lips as she looked up at Pluto. A smile she wasn't entirely aware that she wore.

Sebastian smiled. “You never want to startle those rampant genes. You never know what might happen,” he agreed light heartedly. He hadn't necessarily known that she was a mutant before, but it never hurt to be on the safe side. Even without so-called rampant genes he wouldn't have wanted an easily startled human to attack him either.

“I'm glad you decided to come, and sorry about any 'freaking out' I may have caused.” He hoped that wasn't some kind of teen slang for setting someone's powers off. He knew mutants were sometimes called freaks, but he hadn't yet heard the phrase 'freaked out' before now.

He listened as she revealed that she did, in fact, need a place to stay. Preferably not the Sanctuary, though.

“I lived at the Sanctuary for awhile,” he admitted. “The residents are a little rough around the edges sometimes, but they are very welcoming towards mutants who need a place to stay. They aren't quite as friendly towards humans, though.”

“Then, there is Xavier's Sister School, which is where we are right now. They offer free rooms as well as classes up through high school levels or can help you sign up for college classes. I guess there is some way to take classes on a computer now.” He wasn't the one to ask about how to do that, though. He wasn't even sure he could figure out how to turn a computer on.

“Or, if you are more the type that likes to earn your bed and bread, I know of a company called Mondragon Labs Medical that is known for hiring both mutants and humans for every kind of job from custodial staff to medical research. They also have on site housing for those that need it. The owner of the company is here this evening, if you'd like I could introduce you to him.”

Hopefully all that information would be useful to the black and green haired girl. There were three very different paths open to her now. She only had to choose one to follow.

Tarin smiled at the way Lee reacted to his compliments. No, it probably wasn’t the most proper thing a person could say at someone else’s wedding, and Ghost was a rather pretty bride…but like he’d thought before, nobody would EVER compare to the way Lee had looked on their wedding day. Tarin had a feeling Lee was reading his mind, too, with the way she was looking at him. Yeah….Tarin was definitely going to need to cool his heels before he embarrassed them both.

A thought occurred to Tarin that almost blew his resolve then and there. This dress was far more form fitting than the one his wife had worn on their wedding day but still. “Uh…Lee…” he said, swallowing and wishing for more liquid in his glass to wet a mouth that had suddenly gone dry. “You’re not uh….wearing the same kind of thing under that as you were…” his comment stopped, trailing off into bewildered silence as someone…Tarin couldn’t have made an educated guess whether they were male or female prostrated themselves in front of his wife.

Now, Tarin had definitely had his jealous moments since meeting Lee, and there had been times they’d ran away with him. This, however, was not one of those times. For some reason, the figure spouting his compliments was nothing more than amusing to the medium as he took a step back and watched the situation unfold.

To Lee’s credit, she replied with wonderful grace and serenity….or she looked completely dumbfounded by what was occurring. The figure’s disappointment after that was obvious and Tarin’s eyebrows raised as he rose and started walking away. When he was sure the poor….creature….wouldn’t be able to hear, he let his laughter burst forth, “I won’t disagree that you’re a goddess Lee…but you really seem to have broken that poor acolyte’s heart. I think you should go after them and apologize.”

Gawain was mid-sentence when she touched him and he only skipped a beat when her touch landed on his shoulder. He said her name before he even turned around, maybe he had seen her after all? Or maybe it was just a good guess. Either way, when her looked up at her there was a blush that tinted his cheeks red, spreading across half his face and all he had to say to her was ‘hi’. Uh-oh, Twyla was in trouble now–she hadn’t really thought about what she was going to say to him, just about that fact that he had a familiar face. Thinking back to the way he had left their previous meeting like he couldn’t get away from her fast enough, Twyla stood there with her hand on his shoulder for almost a whole two minutes after he spoke.

Hastily pulling her hand back to her side, she started with a blush that matched his and a : “Sorry.” Swallowing to clear her throat Twyla began to breech the imaginary wall between them. “So I was thinking about the...uh, you know,” (Prefect phrase for her Wisconsin accent to shine through.) “thing and...it, it doesn’t bother me or whatever...It’s not like it’s that weird to me or anything like that but it’s you know...you and all that and if it’s you then there’s no reason for me not to be friends with you. I met you before I knew about the, the thing and the thing isn’t a factor in anything. Okay? I don’t care about the thing if you don’t. I liked hanging out with Maya, so...” She didn’t want to talk about Maya/Gawain’s gender switching in a crowd because she assumed that Maya/Gawain wouldn’t want her to, considering the lengths Gawain went to conceal it from her that night in the library. The Maya comment wouldn’t make sense to the wolf girl, Emerald, unless she knew about thechanges. Her speech sounded rambling and confusing, even to her, but she hoped that he would get her meaning.

She was lightheaded from the ranting. “I’m going to sit now.” Twyla added after a moment of awkwardly standing and looking gown at her sandals. Her blush had been fueled by her stammering but she looked up at the girl who’s table she had joined and threw her a smile anyway. “I think I caught your name, Emerald, right? I’m Twyla, I go to school here.” She held her hand out across the table for a shake and tried not to look at the boy she was sitting next to.

Suddenly the teen jumped at the sound of her name. “Oh my gosh, Ted, you scared me.” Glancing up at him and back at the table she shrugged awkwardly. “Uh, I just kinda sat down, this really isn’t my table....Everyone this is Ted, a student here too. Ted, this is Gawain and Emerald. Is it okay with everyone if he takes this chair and if I sit here? He’s a good kid, I promise and I’m...something..” Thankfully the blush on her cheeks had receded to a faint pink and her voice was steady once again and she let out a little laugh after she promised Ted’s goodness.

Isabel had finally managed to stop fidgeting as she settled a little further toward the back of the room as she shift from ceremony to party took place. People seemed to be gravitating toward the buffet and she was sure to make a mental note to keep away from that area for the time being. There were far too many people there, most of them she didn't recognize, and a few she had tried to kill at one point or another. She didn't exactly expect that a whole lot of the X's would be treating her with any kind of hospitality. She couldn't exactly be sure she would treat them with any, either.

She was so absorbed in taking note of her surroundings and sorting the people into mental groups of unrecognized, recognized, and potential trouble that she hadn't even noticed the hulk of a body that had settled against the wall nearby. Nor, for that matter, the young woman that approached and struck up a conversation with him. By the time her mind finally registered the pair of familiar voices and turned to confirm that familiarity, it appeared as if the two had already been speaking for at least a short while.

It took a moment for her mind to register the cosmetic changes that her companion had performed. It was so strange seeing one of the Seven without the spiked hair and goatee that they all shared. She, of course, still knew which of the Red giants it was, having known of Pluto's disappearance for a while. Meld, who turned out to be the second participant in the conversation, had much more recently made her exit from the Sanctuary.

However, contrary to the usual anger that tended to direct itself toward those that could be considered deserters, she could only seem to muster up a feeling of sadness, more so over Pluto than Meld. While she did like the young woman and had seen a lot of promise in her, Pluto was one of her oldest and dearest friends and it hurt to see that he was so willing to drop the Order after he'd been a part of it for so long.

"Hi Pluto, Meld," she interjected, offering a small smile and forgetting to practice any sort of manners or concern over interrupting the conversation that had gotten underway. "It's nice to see you guys. I wish you hadn't left, though."

And then her attention was redirected to an unfamiliar face that approached and addressed her. "Hello," she replied, giving a smile to the young woman as she stammered out a greeting. Had she honestly looked so out of place? She supposed she fit the part pretty well, in either case. Even her friends weren't her teammates any longer. Was she the only Order member that had attended? "I'm Isabel, it's nice to meet you. Friend of the bride?" she ventured, making an assumption that it was Maya that had invited the young woman, rather than Sebastian, since she didn't recognize the girl's face.

~~"So far I have not been given any grief," "But I do worry about the possibility of that changing. Especially with the new leadership, individuals over there can be...unpredictable."

“I can relate, I whole heartedly doubt that they are going to come with violence, I would be more willing to bet that they would try to draw membership a second time. Though I can relate, I am actually staying with a few people that might actually have a reason to fear the order, though I can’t say Lori wouldn’t be pleased to see me stay gone.”

Somewhere in his mind he decided that he wasn’t going to let go of her hand until she tried to resist or pull away, in fact he took a small step forward to close some of the gap in between them.

~~"My views are similar," "but, as you say, my methods sometimes differ. There is something to be said for cooperation with others of differing methods and even more to be said about actually doing something rather than sitting around and fighting with your own kind while no real headway is made in the larger fight."

“Definitely.” He was going to say more, when it seemed like Isabel woke up.

~~“Hi Pluto, Meld," "It's nice to see you guys. I wish you hadn't left, though."

“It was time Isabel, I miss you too. Honestly I think I might have to stop in from time to time. I’ll be sue to visit when I do.” The way he side have to seemed like things were out of his control….and very well felt that way. The longer they spent out side the void it seemed, there may be a limit to the strain they could put on them selves.. so he might have to visit every month or two.

As Isabel became distracted by the female he didn’t recognize, he gave Callie a small wave as she seemed to be avoiding him. That was ok though, he was glad no one else needed his attention, because they would have to share with Meld.

Meld liked the fact that Pluto had not let go of her hand. It was a weird feeling and not one she had been expecting, not one she even knew that she could experience but that made it no less true. Although she also felt a keen sense of her lack of the ability to feel anything. Whatever she desired, and she wasn't sure that she really desired anything, nothing could possibly come of it. Because she was broken. Because she couldn't feel. Because if she wasn't constantly vigilant she could hurt whoever she lay her hands on. Just a little too much pressure and her claws could tear flesh and make it bleed. Just a moment of not paying attention at an inoportune time could result in accidental bloodshed. She knew Abyss and the other clones were strong, but she didn't know if that strength also equated to resistance to injury. She didn't want to think about things like that though, didn't want to dwell on the future that she could never have. Instead she vowed just to enjoy this night and to enjoy Pluto's company. And the fact that he was still holding her hand.

"Its certainly good to hear that they probably won't attack me in the street or anything," Meld replied with a nervous laugh. She wasn't quite sure why she was nervous but she was, at least a little. Yet another sensation she wasn't used to feeling.

At that moment Isabel finally noticed the two of them and, much to Meld's amazement, did not seem to hold the sort of grudge against her for leaving as she expected the bonemancer to. If anything she seemed more saddened than angry at the fact that they had left the loving embrace of the Order. Not that Meld knew the woman well anyway, more by reputation than actual interaction though they had met more than once in person. "I am sorry that I had to leave Isabel," Meld said and the words were genuine. She did have some regrets about the decision she had made, though she knew it had been the right one. "If its any consolation to you though, I continue to do my part for the betterment of our people."

Meld nodded cordially in the direction of the stranger who had captured Isabel's attention. It never hurt to be polite and besides, chances were she was also a mutant and it was always good to meet her fellow mutant. She then turned back to Pluto, a smile on her face, though she was entirely at a loss of what to say.