ooc: While I have something specific I'd like to do with this thread, please feel free to jump in. The only goal I have is for Raina to end up with a stray dog.

ic:

Spring. Around the corner? Maybe. Maybe not. The grass was peaking through the melted snow at Central Park. The air still had a chill to it but all around her people weren't wearing jackets... just sweaters and such. Raina couldn't believe it. Back home it was still full on winter. Sure they'd get the odd warm day but these people had been dressing like it was spring here for nearly a month.

It was her lunch break from the aquarium and like the crazy person she was Raina was sitting on a park bench using her blackberry to go through and update students files remotely. She was finding it exceedingly difficult to live her life as an X-man, (or woman) Mermaid for the aquarium, and Greeter/Guidance/music teacher. Oh yes, and let's not forget girlfriend... apparently long distance girlfriend. She frowned at the thought of Luke. He had so much to take care of... Raina wondered if he'd ever come back.

It was clear to her that she would need to make some choices soon or risk going insane. Would she remain a girlfriend? It had been months since Luke was gone. Granted, she'd been gone herself for many of those months... but with so much work abroad to do she was occupied. And really, why was she always defining her happiness by a man? Rupert... Flloyd... Luke... Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be single. Then again she never considered herself the cheating type. Could she really just make a decision to wake up one day and forget her beautiful blind boyfriend?

Of course that was just the tip of the problem. The x-men were growing in ranks and numbers. Her last mission had been months ago and she knew she was getting out of shape after her run in with that woman from the Order. Should she really carry this responsibility if she couldn't live up to the task?

Sometimes Raina felt she was doing more for the mutant cause and well... the animal cause by working at the aquarium. She was showing the public mutants weren't a threat with her performing but also making them more aware of environmental issues. It brought her to interesting people but it also got her into trouble. Gray was always sending her like she was some intern looking to rise up the ranks at the place. Sometimes he forgot she had other jobs.

She felt like she was only now just getting to breathe new life into the music program at the mansion, and really starting to get into the groove of greeting and counseling once again. But again her attention was so divided.

She was tired and overworked. But she knew it would get worse if she continued to procrastinate on these decisions. She worked away on the phone chewing on a sandwich while a little furry blob sniffed a tree closest to her.

The sight of so many blackened, charred, and twisted limbs reaching towards the sky made Kai’s stomach fall. His first ever friend in this city was among the victims of the mass casualty tragedy at Christmas. The authorities had plans to remove the debris and re-landscape the park, but they seemed to be waiting for the ground to thaw. The few remaining living trees standing against the grey sky and dirty snow only served as a sad reminder of the violence.

Kai’s bit the inside of his lower lip, hesitating. There was so much damage here, so much suffering. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to share in the trees’ memories, which was a virtually inevitability if he approached one. It would remind him too much of his dream- of his future. At least this time the death of hundreds of plants was not on his hands. But it was for this very reason that he knew he must connect. Trees hung onto trauma, and the sudden deaths of their neighbors counted as trauma. The burden of such memories would stunt their growth and could lead to the withering and loss of vital roots. They needed to unload their burdens, and he was the only one that could help them. He swore silently to himself that it would be the last time that he tapped into his mutation.
His mind was made up.

Kai walked towards the nearest tree. He placed his hand lightly against the bark, mentally stealing himself. It wasn’t really words, or pictures, just a series of sensations.

The air was filled with smoke, the heat from the fire flared up around the most delicate new branches, where the bark was the thinnest. The roots of the neighboring trees cried out in pain for hours as they died. The last tree, her own roots entwined with her neighbors. They lived together, shared the nutrients of the soil, the refreshing water and delighted in the sunny days. They grew new leaves together, competing to be the first to put one out. And in the autumn their leaves fell and they both mourned their losses and rejoiced that they could provide each other with fertilizer in the coming year. They had bonded. And then her friends were torn from her!

Her branches shook, though there was hardly any wind. Kai walked around her, letting his hand trail across her trunk, soothing her.

He looked up. And through teary eyes noticed that he was not alone.

Raina growled in frustration and pounded on the phone for a few moments. "Stupid thing." she threw it into the melting snow and then after a moment bent down to pick it up. She brushed it off and put it back in her holster, noticing the charred grown. It was dark after all and Raina hadn't been inside the park during the day since her trip. She knew things were happening all over the world and here while she was gone but had been so busy she never had a moment to stop and find out what. She poked at the ash and sat back in her bench finally taking in her surroundings for the first time since she returned.

The place, had it been burned? Not the whole park no... but splashes of black everywhere. "What happened?" she said out loud without thinking anyone was around to hear.

The red headed girl on the park bench seemed pretty content to play with her phone for the time being. Even so, Kai wasn’t sure if he should try to make a quick and quiet exit or just keep going about his business as though she wasn’t there.

Yep, definitely try to be normal and ignore everyone else. If there’s anything I’ve learned about New Yorkers, it’s that they pretty much want to be left alone.

>>“What happened?” she asked him.

“You didn’t hear about the big fire from the battle with the giant clay monster? It was all over the news.” Kai answered. Maybe she thought I worked with the Park Association or something, and that’s why she is asking? “I don’t work here, I just…” Kai trailed off, not really sure how to explain what he was doing here. He looked down at his shoes feeling extremely awkward and out of place.

Raina screamed and felt all the air rush out of her as she fell backwards into the half melted snow and stared up at a young man. She didn't realize someone was going to answer her or that she wasn't alone. So when a voice did she felt like her skin had jumped off. She stared blinking at the young man. "I am so sorry!" she said still somewhat upside down recovering from shock. "I thought I was by myself." she pulled herself up and sat on the bench.

"Ive actually been away for a while. Just got back." she explained sticking our her hand. "Raina." she introduced. "A clay monster you say?"

ooc: sorry for the delay this is actually my 4th time replying I dont know why the other 3 didnt show up! My post count even went up but I cant see em!

OOC: Hm… I don’t see them either. Weird. But thanks for let me know!

IC:
She screamed and turned so quickly that she fell backwards. >>”I thought I was by myself.”

“Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you!” Idiot! Did you seriously just say “gosh”!?

>>"Ive actually been away for a while. Just got back. Raina. A clay monster you say?"

Kai took the outstretched hand and shook it firmly, but not too firmly. “Kai. May I?” He asked as he took the seat beside her.

“I wasn’t actually here to see it, but on Christmas some kids were playing and accidentally made a huge clay monster which came to life and started stomping around, causing trouble. I don’t really know much of what happened, but a bus exploded and the trees in the park caught fire. It was all over the news for like a week, though they didn’t have very good footage of the clay monster. Anyway, I think the whole place looks so much sadder in the winter without trees. Though I guess it’s still a good place to reflect.”

Breeze walked through the park, still upset. Not only had Jess left abruptly, but it was getting on her nerves more and more that she couldn't remember anything about herself before last night. That dead man was the first thing in her memory, along with the fear that she had... killed him? She shuddered as the memory crossed through her head, but she tried to tell herself that it was a silly idea. He got thrown into the wall she thought, and he's way bigger than I am. I couldn't have done it.

She was now wearing his jacket and had his wallet in her pocket. In hindsight, it was weird for her to have taken them, but they had both come in handy later on. Especially the wallet, Breeze thought, taking a napkin-wrapped doughnut out of her pocket. She had gotten two of them from some bakery earlier in the day and had eaten the other one right there. Breeze was hungry; she literally could not remember the last time that she had a proper meal.

The girl looked like a vagabond; the man's jacket was much too large for her and already dirty and even torn from a nap she had taken earlier that day in an alley. She struggled to remember something as she continued to walk and eat, but her train of thought was interrupted by a scream. Looking up from her doughnut, she saw a woman lying in the snow, apparently startled by the presence of a teenage boy.

Breeze stopped and listened to their conversation for a second. She gathered that they were called Kai and Raina, and when Kai began to talk about a clay monster, Breeze decided that she would sit next to them on the bench and eavesdrop.

She was disappointed, however, that the boy's tale was so short and bereft of details; she had barely sat on the bench before it was over. Still, her legs were tired. She tried not to draw attention to herself as she sat next to the two, but she looked so cautious in doing so that it made her conspicuous.

Raina listened intently to Kai and all the while a mangy mutt puppy was sniffing around. Raina caught glimpses of it out of the corner of her eye and was trying to see if it had an owner with it. "Sounds like a mutant." she stated then realized how odd that may have sounded. "Sorry, I work for a mutant school." she admitted. "I don't really believe in monsters." she shrugged. "My guess it was a mutant or a mutant was controlling it. Im sorry the park got trashed but it sadly wouldn't be the first time."

In her 3 years in New York she'd seen more destruction than a lifetime. "Well it's nice to meet you Kai, even if it's under sad circumstances. Sorry for screaming." she blushed a little happy to have met yet another kind stranger.

It was then that the little puppy- likely a valley bulldog mutt- started approaching a young girl that Raina hadn't noticed before (Breeze). Raina stood up but before she could even move the poppy was jumping all over the little girl. "Hey! Heal!" she yelled running over to pry the hyper pup off the girl. Neither the pup or the girl had an adult.

The pup squirmed in Raina's arms and frantically licked her face. Raina's frown couldn't help but melt into a smile. "You afraid of dogs Kai? This guy seems to be by himself... maybe I'll take him home." she handed the dog off to Kai (ooc:feel free to control dog) and faced the little girl. "now young lady, what are you doing out here all on your own?"

>>"Sounds like a mutant. Sorry, I work for a mutant school. I don't really believe in monsters. My guess it was a mutant or a mutant was controlling it. I’m sorry the park got trashed but it sadly wouldn't be the first time. Well it's nice to meet you Kai, even if it's under sad circumstances. Sorry for screaming."

He was surprised how cavalier she was about mutant affairs. How refreshing. Kai was just getting to know the nice girl, Raina, when another girl sauntered over. She slid onto the bench next Raina, but her progress was impeded by a small furry animal.

Was it an attack? Raina was the first to react and pried the beast away from his catch.

The next thing he knew, a happy, squirming puppy was thrust into his arms and continued its licking frenzy with a new target: Kai’s face.

>>”Now young lady, what are you doing out here all on your own?”
Kai scrutinized the new girl. She looked really young and lost. Her long, red hair hung around her face in a tangled mess. Swimming in a huge jacket, she seemed even smaller. She wouldn’t be the first to wander off to explore a big city on her own. Cam and I weren’t a whole lot older than her when we went off on our own.

He battled the dog for control of his face, but surrendered ultimately and sat down on the bench to hear what promised to be an interesting story. Kai had no qualms with running away, really, but if she needed help, maybe he could...well… help.

What's a mutant? What's a mutant school? Why are they controlling giant monsters? These thoughts and more ran through her mind as Raina spoke.

She heard something about mutants earlier that day, from another eavesdropped conversation: two men had been discussing the news over their coffee that morning, mostly about how the mutants were causing trouble in some place called "Romania." From what she heard, those mutants didn't sound like nice people, but she didn't think that she had to worry about running into them here in New York.

That is, until she heard that they controlled giant monsters here. Suspicious of this new threat which she hardly understood, she scrutinized Raina for a few moments. Is she a mutant? Should I be afraid?

All in all, this was proving to be an interesting conversation, even if this "Kai" person was a bad storyteller. Breeze was already glad that she had decided to listen in on it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by tiny panting noises and the rustling of grass, both heralding the approach of an overly friendly stray puppy. Happiness painted all over the creature's face, it ran straight for Breeze and decided to start sniffing and licking every inch of the girl. Including her face and mouth. Yuck. She tried to push the furball away, letting out a loud "eeeew!" and dropping her precious glazed pastry in the process.

Raina managed to wrestle the dog away from the girl, at which point Breeze became preoccupied with the fact that her doughnut ownership had just been cut tragically short. "That dog made me drop my doughnut..." she murmured, mourning her own terrible loss. Only moments before she had been savoring its sugary deliciousness; now she only had the painfully visible, contaminated shadow of a doughnut to stare at. Woe! Sorrow! She almost cried, but managed to hold it back. Barely.

Meanwhile, the two adults seemed to be enjoying themselves with the puppy. Or at least Raina was; Breeze could read little from Kai's expression as the dog thoroughly sampled the taste of the young man's face.

Suddenly, the woman turned to face the girl: "Now, young lady, what are you doing out here all on your own?"

Breeze gave the woman a deer-in-the-headlights look. "I dunno," she responded dumbly. It was technically a true statement, though. She had no idea why she had decided to go to Manhattan last night, nor why she felt the need to stay now. She still remembered very little of anything.

Raina eyed the young girl "You can't be more than 8 or 9..." she mumbled looking her up and down. Maternal instincts clicking in. She had red hair like Raina's. She exchanged glances with Kai who was holding the puppy. She tried not to smile and look as serious as she could as the little thing licked his face.

"You shouldn't be out by yourself this late or alone..." she chastised. "Do you have a place to stay? Are your parents around?"

The very fact the little girl didn't know why she was out here set off alarms for her. Was the kid a runaway or something?

>>“I dunno.” What an answer! It was both non-descript and very telling. Obviously, the girl didn’t say a lot and didn’t want to. But “I dunno” was the standard run-away reply to everything. But that was ok. He wasn’t exactly one to judge.

Raina took a more direct approach. >>"You shouldn't be out by yourself this late or alone…Do you have a place to stay? Are your parents around?"

Kai sighed. Parents were a touchy subject for him and he would bet good money that they probably were for this girl, too. Maybe if they tried to be her friends instead of asking a lot of uncomfortable questions... He tried to get out a comforting phrase, but got licked in the mouth for his trouble. He sputtered. It was going to take several bars of soap and extensive scrubbing for his face to feel clean again.

He held the puppy away from him with both arms, trying to keep him as far away from his face as possible. However, then the little guy started wiggling. As long as he had a moment free, he attempted to steer the conversation towards more neutral territory.

“Uh… Hey, I like your coat.”

A glance was exchanged between the other two. What were they thinking about? What did her answer mean to them?

"You shouldn't be out by yourself this late or alone... Do you have a place to stay? Are your parents around? "

Breeze turned to look straight ahead, gazing off into the distance. Do I have a home? Do I even have parents? She struggled to remember, but the furthest into her memory that she could go invoved that guy in the apartment building. The guy who I killed... she shuddered, then tried to avoid thinking about this topic by concentrating on answering Raina's questions.

But she couldn't remember the answers to these questions. As much as she hated to say this again, it was the only true answer for her to give: "I... just don't know."

"Uh… Hey, I like your coat.”

Caught off guard by the question, Breeze looked down at her coat: it was still torn, dirty, and frayed in parts, and it was still way too big for her. "Ah... Thanks?"

Raina didnt like the avoidance of the question but it seemed she'd be banging her head against a wall to try and get anything out of this one. Raina was such a chatty person too that it was often hard to imagine that other people weren't. She frowned and turned to pet the puppy so she could think a moment.

"It is a nice coat, but it doesn't look very warm for tonight. Why don't you both come to my work with me?" she offered. "I work at the school for the gifted. I think I need a bit of help getting this puppy there seeing he has no owner or a leash. I could give you both something warm to drink and maybe another sweater for you..." she looked at the girl and held out her ID badge for them both to see so they wouldn't be suspicious of her. She hoped Kai would come, he seemed level headed enough and maybe if he came this girl would and Raina could at least give her a place to sleep for the night.

>>”I work at the school for the gifted…” Raina told the both of them, handing over a very official looking ID badge for their inspection.

Kai nodded as she drummed it up, sensing her new tactic. He made eye contact with the younger girl and shrugged, “Yeah, why not? I could be up for some hot chocolate or something. What do you think?”

He stood. The puppy squirmed a bit as Kai shifted his arms into a new position to support him. “I’ll just carry this guy,” he stated with a confidence that he by-no-means felt. As he waited for a response and for Raina to take the lead, showing them where they were going, it occurred that he never would have done this last year. He would have been more like this girl. Shy and trying to be disinterested even if he actually really wanted to know things.

No longer the lost country kid in the big city. For better or for worse, I’ve seen a lot.