"Well, genetic mutation makes more sense than sorcery. And not having to deal with the supernatural is a plus. It's just a pity that... this could not wait a couple of months more."

"Yeah?" Elli said. It was an affirmative phrased as a question. Maybe Susan would elaborate, maybe not.

"You mentioned you have met other mutants. Was it... inside your line of work, or just accidents like me?"

Elli grinned. "Both. Like Cafas, the eye-color guy, was just complete accident. But there was this other guy who could manipulate ice. He I met through the Academy. And a guy who could control coins..." Elli's smile dissipated. Just mentioning that incident indirectly brought sorrow and guilt crashing down to rain on her happy little parade.

"Both. Like Cafas, the eye-color guy, was just complete accident. But there was this other guy who could manipulate ice. He I met through the Academy. And a guy who could control coins..."
Susan listened with curiosity. Considering the rarity of the X gene, there seemed to be quite a few mutants around. They just... showed up at the most curious times and places. She wondered if it had anything to do with the mutation itself. Maybe in some cases is did.
Manipulating ice? It sounded fascinating. The scientific part of Susan's brain jumped into calculating the possibilities of controlled body heat, and...
Stop. Rewind.
"Academy?..."
She could taste the bitterness about Elli's last comment about coins or whatever, but it tasted strange enough for her to do what she always did in awkward conversations: she pretended the topic never came up. Whatever made Elli sad about that particular mutant, Susan did not insist she shared the information.

Elli looked over at Susan, and could see all of the gears whirring and cogs clicking on the inside of Susan's head. Elli wondered what she was thinking of, and was about to ask when Susan beat her to the question game.

"Academy?..."

Elli nodded. "Yeah, the Police Academy of NYC. It's where I go to school. God, I can't wait until I graduate." Elli wondered what Susan thought of when she heard 'academy'. Still, at least she has agreed to room with me... Elli felt really good about being able to help someone out. Even the little things could have far-reaching consequences, she felt, and so it was a really good feeling when the little things were going good. Besides, it was a little lonely in her apartment all by herself.

"You mentioned you were doing research. What kind of research? Maybe I could help you with that, once finals are done with."

"Yeah, the Police Academy of NYC. It's where I go to school. God, I can't wait until I graduate."
Susan nodded.
"I see. What I meant was... how does one meet mutants through the NYC police academy?..."
She wondered if mutants were really this commonplace in the outside world (meaning everything beyond the St. Joan's walls), and if they were, why on Earth didn't she find out about them sooner. She could never understand what most of her teachers had against genetics. Question of the year, huh.
"You mentioned you were doing research. What kind of research? Maybe I could help you with that, once finals are done with."
Susan smirked. Research she was good at. It was another term for 'leave me alone'.
"They never mentioned the existence of mutants at my school. If I want to find out more about my... abilities, I basically have to start from scratch... my foster parents often accuse me of withdrawing into the world of books instead of dealing with reality. I guess they are right too." she admitted. Even though that was before reality got sooo much more interesting.

"I see. What I meant was... how does one meet mutants through the NYC police academy?..."

"Oh! No, I was shadowing an officer, and there was a disturbance that involved a mutant..." And the grief was back again. Elli knew, in her head, that she had done what she had to do, but her heart revolted against it violently.

"They never mentioned the existence of mutants at my school. If I want to find out more about my... abilities, I basically have to start from scratch... my foster parents often accuse me of withdrawing into the world of books instead of dealing with reality. I guess they are right too."

Elli nodded. She could understand that. "Yeah, I see what you mean. Sometimes I'm that way also. Well, if you need help, let me know." Elli would be willing to devote some of her rescourses to helping Susan with getting back on her feet and finding out who she wanted to be for the rest of her life. That is, once finals were over. Until then, though, she needed to use all of her time for studying and practicing.

"Oh! No, I was shadowing an officer, and there was a disturbance that involved a mutant..."
The bitterness was still there, it could be heard, it could be tasted. Susan wrinkled her nose and licked her lips, trying to get rid of it. Having an ability like hers resulted in some experiences getting too close for comfort.
She tried to not wonder what happened to the mutant. Or the officer.
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Sometimes I'm that way also. Well, if you need help, let me know."
There she goes again. Curious. Susan was used to putting people into neat little boxes - mostly into 'Idiot - try to ignore' and 'Overly friendly - try to ignore'. Officer Pretty-and-Cheerful here defied both categories, and would not be ignored.
"You are already helping me more than you should." she pointed that out awkwardly "And you are a human, so there is only so much you can do about my condition. Um. I would appreciate it if you could maybe help me contact others like me. And of course I am grateful that you let me stay with you." she added that last part with some hesitation, hoping it was the proper formula for situations like this. One could never be sure.

"You are already helping me more than you should. And you are a human, so there is only so much you can do about my condition. Um. I would appreciate it if you could maybe help me contact others like me. And of course I am grateful that you let me stay with you."

Elli shook her head, and smiled "Nonsense, just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't use the internet as well as you do. And I know a few people, I can call in some favors if you need it. I am glad to be able to help someone find their feet, especially someone in a situation like yours."

"Nonsense, just because I'm human doesn't mean I can't use the internet as well as you do. And I know a few people, I can call in some favors if you need it. I am glad to be able to help someone find their feet, especially someone in a situation like yours."
Susan blinked.
"I know where my feet are." she pointed that out. There wasn't anything wrong with her feet. Her senses, on the other hand...
Her eyes went black as their surrounding suddenly started to swim with colors. There were the metallic-silver streaks and swirls of cars, the rainbow raindrops of shoes tapping against the sidewalk, the numberless shades of the human voice and the faint blueish tint of the autumn wind. It was a wholly different world, and Susan allowed herself to marvel for a moment or two before turning back to Elli, blinking the sounds away. The blonde girl had a faint, opalescent humming about her. Shaking her head, Susan sighed.
"You are a very curious person, Elli Fletcher."
It was not respect. It was not critique. It was not friendliness. It was just the way it was.

"I know where my feet are."

Elli laughed. Apparently Susan hadn't heard the saying before. Elli guessed that, given her sheltered lifestyle, there were many things about the day's society that she hadn't heard of. Elli and Susan were almost polar opposites, at least in their backgrounds. Elli had a family with two younger brothers that loved her despite being poor, and was human, while Susan had a family with older sisters that didn't really, it seemed, care about her. And she was a mutant.

"It's an expression. It means until you are ready to be on your own in this savage world. Like you find your feet so you can stand up, I think, is the reasoning behind it."

Elli noticed Susan's eyes constantly changing color as she looked around, and wondered at how she managed to not run into anyone or trip over something. I guess she's gotten used to it... she thought. She also noticed how Susan kept throwing glances at her with her eyes different colors, but didn't ask about it. Let sleeping dogs lie and all that.

"You are a very curious person, Elli Fletcher."

"Indeed. Seriously, though, let me know if you need help with anything." Elli wanted to help this girl, it would make her feel like she was actually doing something, instead of the lack of action she was experiencing in the weeks up to her graduation.

"It's an expression. It means until you are ready to be on your own in this savage world. Like you find your feet so you can stand up, I think, is the reasoning behind it."
Susan watched her feet as she walked beside Elli, hands deep in her pockets and scarf pulled up to her nose. To avoid attention. She blinked the colors away too. She'll need sunglasses. In winter.
She was wondering how to ask the question. It had to be subtle, politically correct and the least awkward possible. She was not good at any of these.
"Um..."
It was not easy. Dealing with synestesia messed up her perception of the world so bad she couldn't even think of an explanation for whatever she was... sensing. Or even pinpoint the way or the sense she was using to sense it. Troublesome.
"Are you sure you are human?"
Not bad. It could be interpreted in a lot of different ways, eg.:
You are too nice to a stranger to be true.
You are weird.
I think you are a mutant.
You are too helpful to a mutant not to be one yourself.
You look like an alien.
You smell funny.
Susan frowned. She hoped Elli wouldn't be offended by the question. But she had to ask. That opalescent... whatever it was was poking at her senses. It had to be something.

"Um..."

Uh oh, Elli thought, the deliberating 'um'. Now that she's thought about it, she probably has doubts. I wonder what she's going to say... Maybe she'll prefer to live on the streets... Some people manage it, I suppose. With those and similar thoughts running through her head, Elli was completely taken by surprise at what Susan a little sheepishly asked.

"Are you sure you are human?"

Elli blinked, several times, and had to make a conscious effort to not stop in the middle of the foot traffic. Was she sure she was human? Of course she was! Especially since she was feeling a distinct lack of mutantness. Still, Elli had to wonder why Susan would ask the question. Maybe she was biased against humans now, and wondered how a random stranger could be so nice. Maybe she was wary and suspicious, and didn't completely trust Elli. Whatever the case, Elli needed to respond some time before the sun died out.

"Of course! Just your vanilla human here." mmmm... vanilla.

"Of course! Just your vanilla human here."
Susan raised an eyebrow. Either that was another figure of speech she was not familiar with, or...
She wondered if other people messed up their senses sometimes too.
"You just seem..." taste smell sound feel "... different."
She shook her head. Now that she said it out loud it didn't make any sense to her either. Everyone was different, in her way of perception. There were just too many options to vary.
"But no, not vanilla." she mused, glancing at her "Not really. It's more like... some kind of... um..."
Exotic fruit? Tropical flower? How the heck was she supposed to know? She never smelled (tasted heard saw touched) any of those.
"Nevermind."