>>"Well... when I arrived in NYC I kinda... ran into this guy, 'kay? His name is Rupert, and he's a real jerk. After threatenin' to blow out my brains, he... turned out to be a big softie, and suggested very politely I dragged my ass over to a school where they accept freaks like me. That was a couple o' months ago. So I kinda wandered around, meetin' people, like Twyla..." Maya had a funny smile after she mentioned Twyla. "...an' all I heard was Mansion this 'n' Mansion that. So I decided to check it out, and..." A dramatic pause. “Here I am. That’s the story in a nutshell.”

The brunette listened as the girl told her mini-version of her story. The girl spoke with such affection about Twyla that she couldn’t help but smirk. Did both Gawain and Maya have a crush on her new, blonde friend? Henri smiled at Maya. She had a feeling they did. Both Gawain and Maya seemed to be very nice people. Twyla was lucky. She wondered if the other girl new about these feelings. Either way, Henrietta found it cute.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts, Henri took a drink of her tea. “At least you’ve made lots of new friends,” she said after she set the cup down. “Friends are always good to make and have.”

>>“At least you’ve made lots of new friends... Friends are always good to make and have.”

"Verrrry true" Maya agreed with a grin, rocking on two legs of the chair, back on forth "Although it's new to me. And damned difficult too." she smirked "Not everyone starts out by seein' me shift, ya know? So most of the time I'd be Maya-and-her-twin-bro-Gawain. I got used to that over the years."

She tilted her head, looking an Henri. Every time she made friends, really made friends, the conversation always ended up being a Q&A session about her gender shifting. Right now, she was just as curious about Rapunzel's powers. She'd seen her hair 'work' during the fight with the clay monster, but at that time her mind was kind of occupied with other things. So. better take advantage of the situation.

"So... what can ya do exactly with that hair of yours, princess?"

“What can I do with my hair? Well, there’s being able to lift 60-70lbs, it’s very hard to cut, it moves like extra appendages, and it’s getting to the point where it’ll automatically block attacks for me.” Henrietta stopped and went over the list in her head. She thought that was everything. Lifting the cup to her mouth, she took another small sip of the bland tea. She hadn’t put anything in it. Plain tea didn’t bother her as much as black coffee. That was always way too strong tasting.

Setting the cup back on the table, she looked at Maya. “So what kind of advantages are there to the shifting?” Rapunzel wondered if it was more trouble than anything. It seemed like it would be a bit odd and confusing for the person who was shifting.

>>“What can I do with my hair? Well, there’s being able to lift 60-70lbs, it’s very hard to cut, it moves like extra appendages, and it’s getting to the point where it’ll automatically block attacks for me.”

Maya grinned "I so wouldn't be in your hairdresser's place..." looking curiously at Rapunzel's hair, she added "Sounds three shades of cool, though."

>>“So what kind of advantages are there to the shifting?”

The girl's grin grew even wider, and Gawain added his own... and Maya realized she rarely ever thought about the advantages of her 'gift'. Certainly not many people asked, they were too busy being shocked about the fact...

"There are a few advantages" she mused with a mischievous expression on her face "I know a lot about being both a guy 'n' a gal. S'times it comes in handy..."

Deciding to leave the rest up to Henri's imagination, she added:

"But shiftin's not my main power. I can walk into mirrors, ya see."

Standing up and setting the cup down on the counter, she smiled "Wanna go back to the livin' room? It's more comfy there."

>>"I so wouldn't be in your hairdresser's place…Sounds three shades of cool, though."

Henrietta grinned. “Thanks. I’ve never seen anything quite like it, myself.” Some of her hair rose into the air and she made it wave. After she did so, she laughed. “Sometimes it does that without me wanting it to, but luckily I do get the best of it sometimes.”

>>"There are a few advantages. I know a lot about being both a guy 'n' a gal. S'times it comes in handy...”A pause. "But shiftin's not my main power. I can walk into mirrors, ya see."

Rapunzel smirked about the first part. It made her want to giggle. Partly because she was still a little sleepy, and partly because she wondered what it would be like to understand boys as well. The mirror part caught her interest. “Walk into them? Wow. That seems like it would be cool. Can you end up in different places with mirrors then?”

>>"Wanna go back to the livin' room? It's more comfy there."

Henri smiled. “Sure. I’d love to.” Before making her way back to the living room, she picked up both of their cups and rinsed them out. She didn’t dry them, but set them upside down on a towel. Embarrassed by her tidiness, she glanced at Maya. She could feel that her cheeks were flushed. “Sorry.”

Maya stared at Rapunzel, blink-blinked, then started to laugh.
"Sorry? Seriously?..." she shook her head in disbelief "Girl if ya live in the kinda mess I live in, ya show deep respect for anyone who cleans up. Geez, Mom would flip if she saw my room..." she grinned.

Walking back to the living room, she glanced around for a mirror; locating one on the opposite wall, she walked over to it. Rapunzel had already demonstrated her abilities - in a way that gave 'wavy hair' a whole new meaning - now she felt it was her turn to show her something cooler than the gender shift.

"Just watch" she winked at her over her shoulder before pressing her palm against the mirror and melting into it. It was only big enough to show her face and shoulders, and she rested her elbows on the frame, grinning and waving at Henri just like she did with her hair.

"And this is not all. Come closer."

>>"Sorry? Seriously?....Girl if ya live in the kinda mess I live in, ya show deep respect for anyone who cleans up. Geez, Mom would flip if she saw my room..."

Laughing, Henrietta still blushed slightly. “I didn’t want you to think that I was trying to clean up after you. I didn’t want to offend you.” Henri never wanted to argue or offend someone. She was always careful about that, unless it was her mother. Her offspring’s kindness had not extended to her since she became ashamed of her only child. Of course the brunette still loved her maternal parent, but she was hurt and hated that her mother seemed like she was trying to hide her.

After the embarrassment had faded, she followed Maya into the living room. The girl looked around the room. Henrietta assumed she was looking for a mirror for demonstration.

>>"Just watch."

Her new friend faded into the mirror. Henrietta felt her jaw slacken a little. The girl Inside the reflective surface waved. “That’s so amazing…” The brunette had never seen anything like it before.

>>"And this is not all. Come closer."

Henrietta moved toward the mirror. She felt a bit nervous. What was she going to do? “What is it?”

When Rapunzel was close enough for her face to be seen in the mirror, Maya grinned, and slipped into her reflection, mirroring her movements for a minute before she started to laugh.

"Too bad I can't move y'r hair like ya do, would be fun to try" she said, spinning around just so Henri could see her own reflection doing something else. It had different effects on every people - some of them freaked out, but those were usually the ones who hadn't been warned.

Maya walked out of the mirror, and Henri's reflection was her own again. After wandering around in the nearby reflecting surfaces, she returned, and slipped out of the mirror, landing on her feet in front of Rapunzel.

"That's how I travel. Kinda teleportin', I guess." she grinned "So. End of demonstration."

Maya had begun to make Henrietta’s own reflection start to move and do something different than what its original was doing. Henri watched in amazement. It almost made her freak out, but it was way too cool. She wasn’t sure what her reaction should’ve been.

Rapunzel watched as the girl traveled between different mirrors and whatnot. She jumped out and landed in front of the brunette when she was done. Henrietta wiped the blank look off her face and smiled. She clapped to show the other girl how cool and impressed she was.

>> "That's how I travel. Kinda teleportin', I guess. So. End of demonstration."

“That’s very, very awesome.” Henrietta thought for a minute. “Hmm…” She began to glance around as if looking for something. Once she found it, she walked over and picked it up. In her hand was a basket with a handle. There were some magazines and newspapers in it. It weighed about 30 some pounds or so.

Grinning at Maya, she held the basket up a little closer to her head. A few strands of hair wrapped around the handle and lifted it into the air. Her hand was no longer on the basket at all. Her hair lifted the load as if it were lifting weights. Henri laughed.

>>“That’s very, very awesome.”

Maya grinned "That's what we're here for, right? To do all kinds of awesome stuff. Like killin' monsters. An' stealin' reflections. An' liftin' baskets."

Walking closer, she watched cautiously as Rapunzel's hair moved around. It seemed to have a life of its own, and even though the girl claimed she controled its movements, it still looked weird. Like having something live, with its own will, growing on your head.
The Medusa thing was more appropriate that she'd thought.

She waited till Henri let the basket down, and decided to try something. Maybe it would have been polite to ask first, but...
Lifting her hand, she reached out and poked at a wriggling strand of hair.

"Looks like ya've got strong hair, sista" she grinned

>> "That's what we're here for, right? To do all kinds of awesome stuff. Like killin' monsters. An' stealin' reflections. An' liftin' baskets."

Henrietta laughed. “Especially stealing reflections and lifting baskets. Those are always important things. I don’t know where I’d be if I couldn’t lift things with my hair.” She stopped. Smirking, she finished her thought. “Well, maybe I’d be in my hometown if my hair wasn’t weird. I’d much rather be here though with my freakish hair. I actually have real friends here.”

Maya poked Henri’s hair. The brunette didn’t blame her. Her hair was quite a bit different from normal hair.

>> "Looks like ya've got strong hair, sista"

Rapunzel smiled. “Yeah. It is on the tough side. Sometimes it’s hard to brush it out if it gets really tangled. You can try cutting it with scissors if you want. A lot of people get surprised when their scissors break in half or the blades bend.”

>>“Well, maybe I’d be in my hometown if my hair wasn’t weird. I’d much rather be here though with my freakish hair. I actually have real friends here.”

Maya could agree with that. She had no idea where she would be if not for her abilities. Probably on the streets. Which was not always horrible, but nowhere near as pleasant as a mansion.

>>“Yeah. It is on the tough side. Sometimes it’s hard to brush it out if it gets really tangled. You can try cutting it with scissors if you want. A lot of people get surprised when their scissors break in half or the blades bend.”

Maya raised an eyebrow. That was a whole new dimension of 'tough'.
"Well, on the plus side, ya can shape it however ya want, right? The dream of every hair stylist. It might make ya America's Next Mutant Model. Hair care companies would kill for havin' ya as their face."

Poking at the hair some more as if it had been a snake of some kind, a devilish grin crept onto her face "How tough is tough?"

Because arm wrestling with someone's hair was just the idea for 1:30 am.

>> "Well, on the plus side, ya can shape it however ya want, right? The dream of every hair stylist. It might make ya America's Next Mutant Model. Hair care companies would kill for havin' ya as their face."

Henrietta laughed and blushed at the same time. “Well, I’m sure some people would love to be able to do what I do with my hair. It’s nice and not so nice all at the same time.” It really was. It was nice in the sense that it was helpful in some situations, but not so nice because it never wanted to do what Henri wanted it to do. She had learned in the short time since she discovered her power that it was not the kind of hair that was easy to care for. It was high maintenance, some might say.

>> "How tough is tough?"

She tilted her head sideways. “It would take diamonds and/or a lot of pressure. Why?”

>>“Well, I’m sure some people would love to be able to do what I do with my hair. It’s nice and not so nice all at the same time.”

Maya nodded "I bet some people'd love to do anythin' we do inside this school." she could imagine what creative use they would find for hair like Henri's, or walking inside mirrors. Some people would no doubt use these abilities to commit crimes like theft or robbery.
Lucky I am innocent as a child.
Maya smirked.

>>“It would take diamonds and/or a lot of pressure. Why?”

An eyebrow arched. "No kiddin'." Diamonds? Really? Man was that hair of hers more badass than it looked. "Ya could really lift a prince to the top floor, wouldn't ya."

Walking over to the living room table, Maya sat down and rested her elbow on the table, holding up her hand for arm wrestling. "Wanna give it a try?"

>> "I bet some people'd love to do anythin' we do inside this school."

Henrietta never thought about that very much. She assumed most people would hate to be mutant. People sure made a big fuss out of it. Anti-mutant rallies had become a big deal, so it seemed. Rapunzel had never seen or knew about all the hate there was for mutants. It wasn’t a huge topic back home. No one ever came out as one, as far as she knew. When she had seen the reaction of the salon back home, she realized that most ‘normal’ people probably had such a reaction.


>> "Wanna give it a try?"

Smirking, Henri kneeled so her hair was level with the table. The only part of her face seen over the table was her bright blue eyes. She made her hair crawl onto the table. It moved into a position opposite of Maya. The brunette couldn’t help but giggle a little. “Bring it on.”