Three months in the Mansion. Effie was starting to feel at home. In a weird, desperate, whatever way.
This was definitely not how she imagined her future in the USA.
But then again, 'home' never turned out to be a good thing on the long run, not in her life.

Back in Russia, The Matchmaker took great pains to talk, threaten and blackmail Sveta into not smoking. It was not that hard to stop, really; the girl had always been a social smoker, and thus she only needed a little push to stop it alltogether.
Because decent wives don't smoke. Well educated ladies don't smoke. Good girls don't smoke.
Right now, she was none of those.

Effie was fully aware of the fact that she was on school grounds; that's why she sneaked out the back door to a corner that was abandoned most of the time. The lighter she brought from home (it can be useful for a lit of things besides this one), the cigarettes she bought at the airport, and stored them for desperate situations. Three months later, she still had that one box. She used it to keep count of those situations.

Right now, there was no particular reason to feel sorry for herself; she just felt the need to get away from school, students, English, and all that mess. Lighting the cigarette, she leaned back against the wall, and looked up at the bright blue sky.

The idea: the sooned she runs out of cigarettes, the sooner the crisis will end.

Yeah, right.

Garrett stared at the knotty stumps where once a grand thorn bush had once stood. The grass had long since grown back, but the dark tips of the knots suggested that it had all been burnt down. Memories remained, however. Memories of his first kiss with Maya, huddled away inside the thicket. Nika and Neena's bodies hanging in the thorns, thrown by his own hand under the effects of Haywire. He shook his head, as if the bad dreams of his past would just fall out of his ears like dust. No wonder they burned it down.

He made his way through the gardens, where the gazebo stood. Here, he remembered stretching out on hot summer days and soaking up the sun, happy to have found a home. He also remembered Slate's brutal lesson on split personalities. It was a template for his past and present. A world of balance. He constantly treaded the thin line between light and darkness. Could he ever find freedom and peace? Only time would tell, but he felt the will to say yes. Every time yes.

Standing among the budding bushes and flowers, he closed his eyes and cleared his mind. Slow, steady inhalations through his nose and equal exhalations out of his mouth. With his second inhalation, something registered. Was it smoke? Since his eyes were already closed, he let his sight slip away, the neural input increased in his scent receptors instead. Yes. It was smoke. Cigarette smoke. Judging from its strength, someone was smoking very near to him. He allowed the sensory input to fade to normal levels, his sight slowly returning until he could open his eyes without peril.

Following the general trail, he found himself walking around the back of the building. He wasn't aware of anyone smoking that he knew. But he had been gone for some time, so who could say who it was? His discovery was not what he expected. A stunningly striking blond was leaning against the wall, smoking. She seemed to really enjoy the cigarette, her eyes focused on the sky as if she had received a long awaited fix. It was never a vice that had appealed to him. His senses were just too sharp to be dulled by an addictive substance.

"*cough*"

He didn't want to frighten her. Once he approached her, his senses became vivid and clear. She was so lovely. Why was every girl at the Mansion so incredibly hot? Better yet, why weren't any of them interested in him? One day he'd find someone. Hopefully, anyway. " Excuse me, are you a student here? I don't think you should smoke, but I don't intend on telling either. I'm not a fan of snitches. My name's Garrett. And you are?"

Effie jumped at the cough, and instinctively hid the cigarette behind her back, turning to see who found her hiding place. Hopefully it was not a teacher. Effie made a habit of avoiding teachers in general. She was not here to study.
The guy didn't look familiar. He was older than her, but probablynot old enought to be a teacher. Who knows. She'd seen weirder stuff in the past months. Heck, she'd done weider stuff.

>>" Excuse me, are you a student here? I don't think you should smoke, but I don't intend on telling either. I'm not a fan of snitches. My name's Garrett. And you are?"

"Efimia" she answered cautiously, stepping back as he approached. She was wearing long gloves as she always did when she was out and about. Just in case someone got too close.
He said he wouldn't tell, and she didn't want the cigarette to go to waste, so she shrugged, and kept smoking.
"I am not a student" she said, with her strong Russian accent "But I live here now."
She had to keep reminding herself she was a mutant.
"Do not touch me. It is not good, for you."

The girl jumped back, her hand reflexively hiding the cigarette. Once it became clear that the intruder was no immediate threat, she shrugged and continued to smoke. "Efimia" Exotic and interesting. Another Eastern accent. Like Alexandra's but different as well. Whoever was shipping these beauties over to the Mansion deserved a big hug. She wasn't a student, but she lived at the Mansion. It didn't rule out a mutation, nor did it rule it in. Was she a relative of someone? Internal analyses wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Do not touch me. It is not good, for you."

This statement brought a reflexive action from Garrett as well. A laugh. An honest and hearty one, at that. He stepped over to the grass before her and took a seat, hoping to defuse the idea that he was a threat. He had planned to just sit with his legs crossed, but they moved in a natural way into a lotus position. It was a bit painful in the thighs, but it felt right. "I don't generally go around and touch strangers, even if they are beautiful. I prefer to observe beauty from afar. As far as not touching, I understand that as well. My gift also works best when I come in contact with others, so I literally feel where you are coming from." It was a terribly corny pun. It was funny that the man who could have led the Order with an iron fist could be reduced to such silliness in the company of a beatiful girl.

He didn't want to let her run off, just yet. Maybe he could at least keep a conversation that wasn't full of sour grapes, like many of the others here might be. " So, if you aren't a student but I can't touch you, I must assume that either you just don't like people touching you or you have a gift like I do. One that can help or hurt someone with a touch, depending on my mood." That seemed fairly neutral and harmless, while doing a bit of digging. " Are you someone's relative or friend? I live here as well. Part-time anyway. I also live over at the Iris Clinic, where we attempt to help others using our mutations." Plenty of ice broken. Hopefully she would relax and stay a little longer. There couldn't be a more lovely distraction from Garrett's turmoil.

>>"I don't generally go around and touch strangers, even if they are beautiful. I prefer to observe beauty from afar. As far as not touching, I understand that as well. My gift also works best when I come in contact with others, so I literally feel where you are coming from.
So, if you aren't a student but I can't touch you, I must assume that either you just don't like people touching you or you have a gift like I do. One that can help or hurt someone with a touch, depending on my mood. "

Effie blinked, the cigarette momentarily forgotten as her mind tried to keep up with the flow of English words. It was no easy task, but at least the keywords she managed to catch. The pun was lost on her.

The guy named Garrett was a mutant (she learned that meaning of 'gift' a while ago, although she didn't believe it was appropriate), and he called her beautiful. Those two didn't go well together.
Effie smirked, and didn't comment. Apparently Garrett was not done talking.

>>"Are you someone's relative or friend? I live here as well. Part-time anyway. I also live over at the Iris Clinic, where we attempt to help others using our mutations."

"Friend, no." Effie shrugged, she didn't trust people enough in general to call any of them her friend just yet "Relative... no."
She sat down next to him - he was sitting in a weird way, her legs hurt just by looking at it - and leaned back against the wall. She made sure to keep a distance from him, just in case he got interested about her gift anyway.

"I not want you touch me, because I make your gift go 'boom'." she summarized, she kind of learned the official explanation in the past few weeks, but saying it like this was much easier. And more fun.

I wanna see how you help me learn to use that.

She seemed to look at Garrett in a strange way, as if she were searching for some kind of clue in his face. It didn't seem to make much sense as he spoke at first, but once she did speak, it became painfully clear to him. She was not only speaking English as a second language, but also was not so practiced in it. She had smirked in the way that women who knew their strengths did when someone complimented them. Maybe it was too much.

"Friend...no. Relative...no." Garrett nodded. She took a seat next to him, which pleasantly surprised him, his face turning upward in response."I not want you touch me, because I make your gift go 'boom'." He nodded again in understanding. " I don't touch people unless they want me to." Unless it was an enemy. In that case, he touched them deeper than they liked, probably. No reason to bring that up." I'm sorry for speaking fast. I didn't realize you didn't know much English. I'm happy to help with that or anything else." He kept his eyes on hers, so no other meanings but the right one was communicated.

"What do you mean by boom? Do you mean like an explosion?" That would be unfortunate in her case. Anyone's really. It gave Garrett a unique perspective of how worse things could be than what he could do to people. "Why do you say you are no one's friend? I'll be your friend, even if I never touch you. No one should live life without friends." He had more to say, but he tried to focus and keep things simple for her comprehension. It was hard to focus though. He felt as if he had just downed an energy drink, his neurons blazing just below the surface.

>>"I'm sorry for speaking fast. I didn't realize you didn't know much English. I'm happy to help with that or anything else."

Effie smiled a bit. "Vat gave it avay?"

>>"What do you mean by boom? Do you mean like an explosion? Why do you say you are no one's friend? I'll be your friend, even if I never touch you. No one should live life without friends."

She shook her head, blonde locks fling on her shoulders.

"No, boom, like, very strong. Much stronger." she explained "I touch a mutant, and the powers go..." she stopped, searching for the right word, then gave up, and motioned with her hands, something like an explosion. Then she took another draw from the cigarette.
As for friends...

"I come here to visit" she explained, shrugging "I come here and find out, I touch someone this happen. So I stay, because it is safe. For me. Not for, everyone else."

Garrett couldn't help but chuckle as she became more vulnerable, her own smile infectious. The twinkle in his eye, long snuffed now for months, began to glow like a forgotten ember in the ashes and coals of a spent fire."No, boom, like, very strong. Much stronger." One of his thin eyebrows lifted in surprise. Much stronger? Like..Haywire? Surely she meant something else. If she didn't? If she didn't, Garrett would now be faced with the ultimate test of restraint. A drop dead sexy girl, a hypnotic voice, a touch that could bring the sweet, sweet pulses of old.

But what else would it bring? Would it bring the great rage and anger of the demon? Wasn't that all erased? If it were erased, why was the thought so chilling, like spiders over his spinal cord? He lifted himself up and sat on his hands, ensuring that he didn't subconsciously reach out to the vixen. " You are safe here. Sorry to sit on my hands, but the idea of feeling that sensation again is very tempting. In fact," He stood completely and rested against the wall, well out of arm's reach. " I had better make sure I can't touch you. I don't fear you or your gift. In fact, it is very exciting for me. Too exciting. Do you want to go for a walk or something?"

All right, so here was the reaction she'd been expecting, the guy backed out of arm's reach. She didn't blame him for it. In her (rather short) experience powers suddenly boosted by her touch tended to cause problems not only for her, but also for their owner.

>>" You are safe here. Sorry to sit on my hands, but the idea of feeling that sensation again is very tempting. In fact, I had better make sure I can't touch you. I don't fear you or your gift. In fact, it is very exciting for me. Too exciting. Do you want to go for a walk or something?"

Effie arched an eyebrow at him; the cigarette was momentarily forgotten. Exciting?
Oh, great. Here's another nice, sweet guy she can't touch without whatever happening. And apparently, he likes her.

"Yes, we can walk" she agreed with a nod, finishing the cigarette with one last draw. Once it was put out and dropped into a nearby trash can, she walked back to Garrett, and stopped a few steps away from him.

"So. What is it, your gift?"

Arched eyebrows seemed to be the soup d'jour. Perhaps she was accustomed to people recoiling in horror. Garrett didn't even think about those reactions anymore. He had a year of training on her though, more in theory.he was pleased to see she was game for more interaction, though. However spaced as they needed to be. He waited patiently as she put her cigarette out and put the butt in a trash can. Once she moved to his vicinity, he folded his hands behind his back and began to walk, thinking on how to explain his situation in layman's terms. Layman who doesn't comprehend much as well. Tall order.

" My gift is that of neural manipulation. When I touch people, I connect my nervous system to their own. I can see their subtle body within their physical one. The body of nerves, with its billions of messages per second. It's beautiful. I wish someone else could see what they looked like, shining with inner energy. Once the connection is made, I can affect their nerves. Usually it is in the form of pain, as I have rarely found any other reason to use it. " The two were in the garden now, walking among the budding reminders of Spring's approach.

A beautiful white rose had found the courage to bloom among its more timid friends in the garden. Garrett bent down and gently broke it free from its life source, whispering an apology to it. Turning to Efimia, he twirled it in his fingers. " I can also increase my own senses by focusing my nervous system on one particular sense. For instance, by numbing out my hearing I can smell subtle aromas in this flower that no human could ever begin to understand." He smiled and handed the long stem and its symbol of friendship to her.

They found the gazebo among the greenery and he took a seat there, hoping she might join him. " I've been working on turning off others' messages and movements to paralyze people. I spent a long time using my gift for evil purposes, but I want to find new uses, uses for peace." The process of speaking about himself in a positive light was refreshing and healing. His face was free of worry and exuded confidence and contentment. " Are you seeing anyone?"

Effie listened to Garrett's explanation as she walked with him, making sure to keep a safe distance. He used words she didn't understand, but she managed to catch the gist of it anyway. So he could effect people's body to make them feel things. Like pain.
Yes, that probably should not be enhanced.

She accepted the rose with a blush. Man was he moving fast. What part of 'no touch' he didn't understand?

>>"I've been working on turning off others' messages and movements to paralyze people. I spent a long time using my gift for evil purposes, but I want to find new uses, uses for peace. Are you seeing anyone?"

She got the keywords from that, 'evil' and 'peace' above the others. It looked like she was not the only one who needed a clean slate to start over. Hers, however, was the gift. Probably.

And then, there was the last sentence.

"What...?" she blinked, letting the rose drop onto her lap as she sat beside him "Oh you mean, like date." she translated for herself.
Well, that was an interesting question. She was not married to Fausto; her visa got changed into an exchange student visa when her powers were discovered, so she didn't even need to marry anyone anymore. At least, not yet. She took her time, getting to know people. She was still kind of close to Fausto, although she had no idea why; the engagement was not officially canceled either.
Garrett didn't need to need all that. He just needed a good reason to keep not touching her.

"Well, I am..." she paused, looking for the word, she hadn't used it in a while "... engaged, to someone here. That happen before I find out about my, um, gift."

She had accepted the rose. It was a simple gesture from a man who became simpler with each day. The horizon glimmered with possibility, its thin line of beginning and ending sparkling with the stuff. As they sat though, the rose fell into her lap and her expression of surprise snapped Garrett back into the moment. Perhaps it was actually the sunset that he was seeing. The two were very familiar.

He had said it. there was no doubt about it. It had slipped from his lips with a fluid ease. Now that water seeped down the drain with a drip. Though she seemed to think on her answer for a moment, Efimia soon explained the situation with a clarity that transcended any language barrier. Garrett resisted the urge to scoot away or stand. He merely took a breath and nodded, smiling.

" Ah. I see. Well, whoever he is, he is a very lucky man. I hope I didn't offend you. I guess I felt brave for a moment." Now what? Let the day and this fortunate meeting slip off into misunderstandings and awkward silences? Maybe the old Garrett. " So, who is he? Maybe I know him. I could certainly use the dating advice." His attempt to catch himself after throwing himself under the bus seemed tenuous at best. He shrugged and then he did it again. He did something in an innocent and completely foolish fashion.

He patted her on the back. Twice. It was simply meant to be a friendly gesture, but the moment he touched the fabric and the warmth beneath it met his palm, his breaths became deep. His eyes closed in a moment of bliss. perhaps it was the intent of the good gesture. Perhaps it was the taming of his formerly violent, choppy waters of the soul. But for the two brief contacts, his senses, his world, everything brightened. He could smell the rose. He could smell her. He could hear the wind rustling through blades of grass. His entire body trembled and tingled as every living nerve sang out in a chorus of sensation.

One touch and her entire neural map snapped into focus. One more and the sensation of complete satisfaction and contentment flowed out of him into her, connecting the two for that brief second. Once his hand returned to his side, he immediately stood and shook his head, the sounds coming to his ears like mice to the Pied Piper of Hamlin with the rotations." I-I'm sorry. I completely forgot what I was doing. " He laughed and it was no jaded staccato. It was real and soulful. Accidents happened all the time. What a joyous one!

>>"Ah. I see. Well, whoever he is, he is a very lucky man. I hope I didn't offend you. I guess I felt brave for a moment. So, who is he? Maybe I know him. I could certainly use the dating advice."

Effie almost laughed at that. Lucky man, really. To tell the truth, she was not sure about how Fausto felt towards her since they both discovoered things about each other that they didn't expect. He seemed to like her though.
"His name is Fausto. He live here too."
Dating advice. Riiight. I could probably give you the name of the webpage...

And then he touched her.
Effie moved away with a yelp, almost falling off the bench. What the hell he was thinking, she told him not to...
But the pain she was already prepared for, it wasn't there.
Effie's eyes widened as she caught her breath. The whole thing, it was unexpected, she was just getting used to people's abilities hurting or at least scaring her when they were out of control.

>>"I-I'm sorry. I completely forgot what I was doing. "

She stared at him, confused and a little bit dazed.
"Dat" she said, not really understanding what just happened "didn't hurt."

Garrett's senses were still a whirlwind of stimulus. Now that he had moved back a bit and was no longer touching Efimia, things were returning to normal. It blew his mind that a thoughtless touch could exhibit such a reaction. While being reminiscient of Haywire, it wasn't anything like it. This was the living reaction that must have occurred when the original mutant affected people. It wasn't the condensed, pharmaceutically altered version.

Hopping up on the railing of the gazebo opposite her, Garrett looked at Efimia with new eyes. There was no way that they could get her. Garrett knew all too well what could happen if she was taken to Faust Pharmaceuticals. He hoped she wouldn't meet the same demise as the first person unlucky enough to end up with such a potent gift. " Yeah, it only hurts people if I want it to. That's why I was trying to say about peace. Again, I apologize. I heard you say not to do it and I did it anyway." The implications were immense. Garrett's entire approach to this girl turned on its heel and changed gears with a quickness.

" Listen, Efimia, while you are here, I want you to let me know if anything strange or bad happens to you. I had something like this occur in the past and I need to make sure you are alright. Forget my advances. I didn't realize you were engaged. It may seem strange or something, but please let me know how you are doing. I want to watch out for you. In fact, I have some cards from the Clinic with my number. Want to come with me or wait here?"

>>"Yeah, it only hurts people if I want it to. That's why I was trying to say about peace. Again, I apologize. I heard you say not to do it and I did it anyway."

"Is okay" Effie muttered, hugging herself. Her skin was still covered in goosebumps. So, pain was not the only thing that could result from her touching another mutant. Weird.
And this one seemed to like her too. Even weirder.

>>" Listen, Efimia..."

"Can call me Effie" she interjected, not sure what he was going to say next.

>>"...while you are here, I want you to let me know if anything strange or bad happens to you..."

She listened to him, once again trying to unerstand everything he said, and understand it correctly. The promblem was, he kept saying things that threw Effie off balance. Her eyes narrowed with concentration.

"You mean, someting like this happen before?" she asked "There is another mutant with my, gift?..."

That would be... she wasn't even sure what that would be.
Garrett offered to watch out for her. It sounded very noble, and kind of flattering, even though it was meant for her abilities, not for her self.
She stood, ready to go with him in order tocontinue the conversation.

"Why?" she asked, trying to understand his sudden willingness to help her "They say this place is safe. Something could happen?"