"We were just leaving. We can go somewhere and talk. Know anywhere good?"
Susan shook her head. "No, not really. But we can keep walking, and see if we find a place we like."
And so they started out, the witch and the forget-me-not, through a less popular area of the city.
"So. How do you deal with forgetting things?" she asked, with scientific curiosity "Do you have a job?
There were places for people like this. The most obvious, of course, would be a mental intitute, but since the X gene had been discovered, there were more comfortable options too. Like the school she'd heard about.
She tried to imagine being a mutant with an average job and an average life, and failed. Whatever powers one possessed, even the most trivial ones, would change their life for good. She had only known about mutants for weeks, and she could already tell that.
hat was not included in the question was the thought of her own future.
How do mutants make a living?...

Finding some place new sounded... perfect, actually.

"So. How do you deal with forgetting things?"

"Preparation. Meticulous notes. Indelible ink. A cell phone?" She really did like the girl if she was explaining her methods. It was actually kind of nice to share with someone not only genuinely interested, but with a genuinely similar perspective. "Physical things won't change even if mental things do. I don't know how much will go. I will before hand, an estimate anyway, so I can prepare. Afterward there isn't anything to miss if you don't even know what's gone." It was when it was pegged as missing that became a bit inconvenient. "But I trust myself to know what I'm doing. If I leave a detail out it's usually for my own good." Or at least at one point she might have thought it would have been for her own good.

"Do you have a job?
"I do." She knew that much from her message to herself, but since the job was relatively new to her, it was something that easily slipped away. "I know that I have an ad in the paper for freelance, but I have a stable job too." She had better anyway, with the spending allowance she left for herself today.

"Dancing Zorba's" She pulled out her phone and checked. The phone number wasn't in there so it was possible she hadn't been here before. There were plenty of restaurants in New York. Enough that a normal person could eat something new every time. For Noel, lots of things were new every time.

"I have a few places I frequent. People know me there. It's weird." But this place was new. It looked sufficiently hole-in-the-wall and yet clean enough that the details inside might be ones that she wouldn't mind carrying for a short time.

"Unles you don't like uh..." The sign said Greek. It must be "Greek food."

Susan observed the sign of the restaurant and shrugged.
"I don't really have a preference as to the cultural origins of my meals."
Dark eyes turned yellow and blue for a few moments; the place, just like most others that served food, was surrounded by a multicolored cloud of smells and flavors.
"... but food here tastes decent. We can go in."
Once inside, it took a few minutes for Susan to regain control over her senses; it usually happened when there was too much information in her immediate environment, and food places were the trickiest of all. Especially when she was hungry. There was food that looked spicy and food that tasted azure and green; there was food that smelt burning hot and food that made fresh chirping sounds like salads usually do. Susan's hands traveled up to her ears and eyes, and she bit her lips, forcing herself to regain control.
"Um. Yeah. Sorry." she shook her head, attention turning back to Noel as they moved towards an empty table "So, you have been dealing with the effects of your powers all by yourself? Or you received help from others?..."

She watched the girl start to shut down. For a moment, the logic was gone and there was a little girl holding her ears and eyes. It was nice to see someone else get the raw end of the deal every once in a while. Not that Noel enjoyed the pain of others.

Noel settled into her cheap aluminum chair and waited for the scientist to return. In the meantime she ordered water for the both of them. There was no need to cross contaminate their pallets.

"So, you have been dealing with the effects of your powers all by yourself? Or you received help from others?..."

How to phrase it? "Yes." That was the easy answer. Noel fumbled around for something more explanatory as she perused the menu. Thank God for picture menus.

"There aren't a lot of people patient enough, for starters. My family doesn't know. I think it's probably best since I may loose their memory some day anyway." Already she had photographs of people she didn't know in her apartment. It was just creepy. She should probably just throw them out. "My job knows. They're flexible as far as I know. They depend on my ability." What had the message said? Big job yesterday. Got the day off today to refill. Something along those lines.

And she didn't need help. She was managing on her own.

"There aren't a lot of people patient enough, for starters. My family doesn't know. I think it's probably best since I may loose their memory some day anyway. My job knows. They're flexible as far as I know. They depend on my ability."
She had a job, one that was aware of her abilities, and made good use of them. Interesting. As far as Susan knew, most mutants were outcasts of some kind or another, living on the outskirts of society, hiding their abilities if they could, or at least using them in an environment where they were accepted - among other mutants. But for someone to deal with such a difficult mutation alone, not to mention work with it...
Interesting.
"I can see how your abilities can be useful" Susan nodded, picking up her glass of water "Good for you."
She stared at the water for a moment, tasting it with her eyes before bringing it to her lips.
"Mine are still fairly out of control" she admitted "But it will also have its own use, once I get down to doing some experiments." she confided in the strange lady "Sometimes you just have to work on your own, huh. I am not sure if there is anyone in this city that can help a mutant with one specific kind of ability..."
She was in musing mode now. It happened a lot when she was around other mutants. There were just so damn many questions buzzing around.

"I can see how your abilities can be useful. Good for you."

A little giggle almost made her water go down the wrong tube. "You seem a little uhh like a nice kind of girl so I'm gonna give you doubt and let you know that "good for you" is a condescending statement." Complete with air quotes.

"Mine are still fairly out of control" Noel had noticed.

"Control is a little overrated." Considering Noel had barely enough to know what she was doing that had to be her opinion.

"I am not sure if there is anyone in this city that can help a mutant with one specific kind of ability..."

"Why? You looking for a mentor?" When the waiter came around, Noel pointed to something with cucumber sauce.

"You seem a little uhh like a nice kind of girl so I'm gonna give you doubt and let you know that "good for you" is a condescending statement."
Oh. Good to know.
"Uh-huh." Susan nodded in understanding, a wicked smile tugging at her lips "You mean, like "nice girl"?"
She didn't forget to return the air quotes either.
"Control is a little overrated."
Now that was something the Witch seriously doubted, but arguing everything Noel said would have lead the conversation nowhere, so she remained silent over this one.
"Why? You looking for a mentor?"
"More like a research subject." Susan smirked, turning the pages of the menu "Hmm, it is hard to tell from the pictures how any of this tastes like...." After a few moments of being glared at by the waiter, she pointed at something at random. Could be as good as any.

"You mean, like "nice girl"?" Noel didn't miss the air quotes. No, in fact they helped bring the point home.

Oh. She just did the same thing didn't she? "But I am older. So... it's at least a little warranted." Maybe? Yeah? Probably not. But she had actually meant it. Maybe there was just too much sass in there for a genuine vibe. Hmm. Noel reached down to her ankle pouch and pulled out some paper to take notes.

Note 1. Try to be more polite. You are rude and condescending.

Right. A good start to being a better person. She closed the booklet.

"Hmm, it is hard to tell from the pictures how any of this tastes like...."

"Does that work?" Noel motioned with her pen to the menu that the waiter was taking away. "Tasting the pictures? Would the picture taste like the food or like the ink that makes the picture?"

She'd glossed past the 'test subject' bit. Really. Who would volunteer for that? It didn't matter if Noel was a perfect subject (she could just forget it ever happened if it went sour), Noel had standards. Standards that kept her safe and out of potentially troublesome situations. Usually.

"But I am older. So... it's at least a little warranted."
Susan nodded, the smirk still playing on her lips, but didn't comment. She watched with curiosity as Noel took some notes; she wondered what they were. Probably something about the witch's people skills. Who cares?
"Does that work? Tasting the pictures? Would the picture taste like the food or like the ink that makes the picture?"
"It would taste like ink and paper" Susan nodded "Same as if I actually licked the menu. I'M just doing it with my eyes." now that probably sounds weird to a normal person "I don't sense anything that's not already there for at least one of my natural senses. Except for the X gene." she added "That's a different matter."
Noel didn't press the topic of being either a mentor or a research topic. Considering her memory problems, that was probably for the better too. Susan would have felt weird if she had actually offered to help...
"What about you? You taste words, and modify memories? What is the connection between the two?"

"What about you? You taste words, and modify memories? What is the connection between the two?"

Now that was an odd question. "Why would they be related?" Did they need to be? Was she broken? Since she had out her note pad, Noel opened it up again and wrote down Susan's question.

Note 2. Are mutations linked somehow? Is there a correlation between memory and word tasting?

It wasn't exactly something she'd read in her notes before so it was possible it had never occurred to her. Or she hadn't thought it was important enough to document.

"If I knew how it worked, I might be able to tell you more. But it just sort of happens. Some words just don't go well with dinner." Hence her propensity for eating alone. "And the memory thing. It's like I close my eyes and make a wish. Only I don't close my eyes. And the wish is always that someone will forget something."

Her power made her a solitary creature. She had to focus on herself or she might misstep.

"If I knew how it worked, I might be able to tell you more. But it just sort of happens. Some words just don't go well with dinner."
Susan nodded.
"I know what you mean. We probably sense the minor shifts in voice and rhythm that reflect one's emotions. Verbal microexpressions, sort of. But because it comes as a taste instead of sound, it is probably more prominent. Smell and taste are our strongest senses. They are also the ones that..." her eyes lit up as she looked at Noel, with the exciement of a scientist who just discovered something "... that people remember after the other sensory impressions faded."
She sat back in her chair, folding her arms with a smile.
"There is your link." she nodded again, job well done. Now, what was the other part...? Oh. Memory. Right.
"Memory manipulation sounds like a limited form of telepathy to me." she mused. She was just getting familiar with different kinds of mutations - some were easy to understand, and some were already present in the imagination of science fiction fans.

Noel was frowning at the way Susan described her theory on tasting words. That wasn't what it was like at all for Noel. Micro-inflections? "Hey. I'm not a telepath. Those guys can see things and do things. I just expunge them." She shrugged. It was true.

"And when I taste words... I don't think it's me assigning the taste if that makes sense. I can't taste everything I hear either. Nothing from a telephone. Or a television. Nothing from an animal or a dumpster." Well not a normal animal anyway. There were mutants that sometimes looked like furry creatures and they sometimes made funny tasting sounds.

"It needs... a mind. Ah heck." She was sounding more and more like a telepath. A gimpy telepath.

Noel's something-with-cucumber-sauce arrived and she gave it a thorough once over with her eyes and nose before looking at Susan's food. Hers rather looked like pieces of particle meat log. But it was all very interesting. The way the flat bread lay across the stripe on the plate. The way that Susan's hand hesitated over her fork.

It was all in the details.

"Hey. I'm not a telepath. Those guys can see things and do things. I just expunge them.... It needs... a mind. Ah heck."
Susan frowned back at Noel. She didn' appreciate the way she discarded her working theory. Working theories, well, were supposed to be something to work with.
"Now you see that just tastes bitter. And it still sounds like telepathy to me." she tilted her head, shen shrugged with one shoulder "Whatever. I am still trying to make sense of the whole mutant issue. I thought it would be easier to start on the technical details."
The food arrived. Susan looked at her plate, raising an eyebrow, and her eyes momenterily turned yellow and blue. One can't be careful enough. The food swam in curious Mediterranean colors, but it didn't taste bad. The witch glanced az Noel's plate too, but didn't comment on it.
She started eating. If it turns out to be worse than it looks... she can still turn the taste off, right?

"Now you see that just tastes bitter."

"Yeah, yeah. You don' have to rub it in." Noel poked at her something. Tasted the sauce and the something individually. Tasted them together. The texture was grainy. The sauce had a bit of tang. Together it was just about right.

"Whatever. I am still trying to make sense of the whole mutant issue. I thought it would be easier to start on the technical details."

"I think most people are of the opposite opinion. I didn't know abilities had to be linked." not today anyway. Noel wondered if their scientists knew that. Or if it actually mattered. in the grand scheme of things.

Wait? She worked with scientists? Noel flipped back in her notes. "Oh. I work for the government." Fancy that. She stabbed another fork full and perused her notes. Also, according to this she didn't like olives. She scribbled that one out. Today they were just dandy. Maybe she just liked the Greek ones?

"I think most people are of the opposite opinion. I didn't know abilities had to be linked."
Susan arched an eyebrow.
"It comes down to biology" she pointed out "Everything is linked in some way."
She watched Noel flip through pages, and found herself wondering how it would feel like to keep one's memories outside her body. She concluded it can't be all that different from libraries.
"Oh. I work for the government."
The witch arched that eyebrow again. Great excercise.
"You work for the government, and you kep forgetting important information? How convenient." she smirked. She didn't elaborate. Instad she settled for chasing olives and other pieces of food made slippery by oil around her plate with the fork. Umm.