Since being adopted by Abyss many things had happened in Amber's life, not the least of which was discovering that she could turn into dinosaurs. Almost everything that had occurred had been for the positive. Well, except for the times when humans had tried to throw stuff at her or kill her, but those were momentary events in a long string of good happenings. The only complaint she had was that she had been sadly neglecting her violin, the one instrument that she had been learning since she was a child. She had tried more than once to practice while in Sanctuary but had finally given up, realizing that there were simply too many distractions there, at least while everything was still to new and fascinating.

Even with the distracting nature of Sanctuary, however, Amber wasn't about to give up. In a moment of inspiration she called the library to find out if she could book a practice room and, much to her joy, she could! So, after booking said room, she gathered her treasured instrument and put on her robes, careful to cover every inch of skin save for a small slit where her eyes were. Her route was plotted very carefully to ensure minimal time actually spent outside in the damaging sun and the trip to the library was, thankfully, uneventful. Perhaps, when she was finished, she might even leave with some books to entertain her until she was an actual student again.

Upon arriving at the library, Amber removed her veil and tucked it into her backpack, as it really wasn't needed inside. She smiled at the librarian, who was nice enough not to comment on her strange eyes, and led into the practice room. After a polite thank you she got out her instrument and her sheet music and prepared for a solid hour of practice.

Things were getting to be a bit awkward at home. Her parents were still absorbing the fact that she was a mutant. Yes, they had taken it relatively well. Neither of them had suggested kicking Elise out onto the street or burning her alive at a stake. For that, Elise was grateful. There were however, the odd, almost confused looks they gave her as she entered a room. What they probably thought were subtle, but actually quite obvious covering up of sounds she made. Listening to the radio loudly, or in the case of her mother, reading with earplugs in, something the woman had never done before. They weren’t actually being discriminatory, they were just being careful.

Neither of them wanted to be feeling things quite as strongly as they had been feeling lately, and as such, had taken precautionary measures that were necessary around a person like Elise. She tended to play music without even realizing it. She often walked to a beat and drummed against the side of table when talking to someone. Whistled tunes would leave her lips without her consciously thinking about it. Elise knew all of this, and knew her parents still cared about her, but it didn’t make their actions feel any less like a betrayal. It didn’t help in making her feel any less awkward when she walked into the kitchen and saw her mother putting in earplugs to cook. It definitely didn’t make her feel any better about herself.

Elise was becoming a bit of a ticking time-bomb of emotion. Every time she saw her parents react any such manner another layer or frustration, hurt, and desperation was added to her pool of emotion. It was beginning to build to unbearable layers. As such was her situation, Elise was feeling the need to release the tension in the only way she knew how, music. She could not, however, play at home, for obvious reasons, but Elise did know somewhere she could play without having to worry about anyone overhearing. Her favorite abode of playing the past year had music rooms open for the taking. With her violin in hand, Elise headed to the local library, her loose, flowy shirt flapping against her shorts.

Just entering the cool, quite depths of the library allowed Elise to feel a little more relaxed. Taking a deep breath, the girl headed towards the practice rooms. She didn’t bother checking in with the librarian. Elise had never seen anyone else use the rooms. Her hours of use weren’t practical for most of the other users of the rooms, and as such, she never worried about walking in on anyone. Going to the nearest room, Elise adjusted her hold on the violin’s case before turning and opening the room’s door.

For about as long as Amber could remember, her violin had been her solace in times of despair and loneliness. It was the one thing that made her feel better when she was down and she considered it to be her one true talent and passion. Oh, she was good at school, always had been, and she loved to learn new things, especially as pertained to biology and history, but that wasn't the same as sitting down and losing herself in her music. There was just something about actually playing that took her far away from the real world. She could immerse herself in the beautiful melodies, allowing them to wash over her and through her. For the brief minutes and hours in which she played, nothing else really mattered.

With the first note that Amber played, all of the troubles and stresses of her recent life fell away from her. Sure, life had been good lately, more than good it had been amazing, something out of a fairy tale. But just because it had been good didn't mean that there weren't stresses and a lot of them. She loved her new family and her newly discovered power, but both of those were complicated and confusing realities. Her father Abyss and her sister Aura were nothing short of amazing but Aura had all ready proven to be something of an enigma, killing dangerous humans in order to protect her. Both of them supported Amber's discovery of her power and her embracing her mutant heritage and, in their own way, both had counseled her to be careful of humans because many of them hated mutants and were jealous or afraid of their powers. Then there was Koga, sweet lizard boy that he was, who counseled the opposite, that humans were good and should be treated just like anyone else. It was confusing.

Amber's power was another thing that had caused her no end of stress. She loved the fact that she could turn into dinosaurs, thinking it to be just about the most amazing power ever, but she couldn't' really control it very well yet and had all ready had one incident of an angry mob chasing her. She really didn't feel like having another.

Within a few minutes of playing, Amber was completely lost in her music, toning out the outside world completely. She didn't notice when the door opened and simply kept on playing. She knew she was good, not as good as some maybe but better than most. Even if she had noticed the door open, she would have continued, at least to the end of the song. It was the one thing she was comfortable doing in front of others.

((OOC: Sorry for the delay. I could have sworn I posted this yesterday. ))

Elise stopped dumbfounded at the sight and sound of another person using her practice room. No one used them at this time of day. No one. After a few moments, the odd thought sunk in and Elise was able to realize that they were letting the music out into the otherwise quiet library and the librarian wouldn’t approve. Without really thinking, the girl closed door behind herself, leaving the two girls in the room together.

That was when Elise began to feel awkward. She’d been acting more on instinct that anything else for the last couple minutes and now that her instinct had apparently stopped functioning, she found herself bereft of action, so she did the one thing that appeared natural. She stood there and gawked at the girl playing the violin so nicely.

It wasn’t really something she would normally do, but for once Elise had absolutely no excuse or idea come to her mind, so she stood leaning against the wall and regarding the girl critically. She noticed the eyes. Elise was like that. She was a detail oriented individual, which meant she was able to make the induction that the girl playing the violin was a mutant like her. She could not, however, tell what the girl’s mutation actually was. This meant, it would be a good idea to treat the girl nicely. Not that Elise wouldn’t have done so anyways, but it helped solidify Elise with a plan of action. When the song came to an end, Elise smiled at the girl and clapped lightly, her violin now resting against the wall next to her.

Amber didn't hear the door open and she continued playing through the song currently on her sheet. A glance upwards near the end showed her a girl, who couldn't be much older than she was, standing there. She ignored the stranger, not even bothering to acknowledge her presence until the final beautiful note rang through the still air of the practice room. Oh, how she had missed her violin. How had she managed to get so busy that she ignored it, the beautiful instrument and solace of her life?

"C-can I help you?" Amber asked. With the absence of her music, her usual social awekwardness returned to her. Why couldn't she be like everyone else, comfortable and confident talking to strangers? She'd even be satisfied being comfortable and confident talking with friends, but even that seemed to be beyond her. It was so much easier to speak with music. With her violin as her voice the words came easily and smoothely, even if the words were little more than melodic emotions.

"D-did you have the room booked?" Amber asked apprehensively, finally noticing the other girl's instrument case resting beside the wall. She prepared herself to get up and pack up her supplies. If someone else had the room booked it was probably better that she leave anyway.

((OOC: Sorry for the delay, again. Work has just gone crazy recently.))

Elise continued to stare for a moment before realizing that the girl had asked her the obvious questions. She jerked into action by picking up her violin case and reaching for the doorknob. “Ah no, I don’t have the room booked. Usually people don’t use it, so I don’t bother,” Elise said, her hand missing the doorknob, and causing her to stumble slightly until she stood right in front of the door. Feeling terribly awkward she stood in front of the door, her hands tightly clenching the handle of her violin’s case.

“Um, sorry, for walking in. I was just surprised to see someone here, obviously,” Elise added, motioning around the room and blushing to an embarrassing shade of pink. Facing the girl once more, Elise’s blush rose higher on her cheeks and turned a shade or two darker. “Oh, right, I should be leaving,” she said pointing her thumb over her shoulder. “You played nicely,” she continued her hand successfully reaching the doorknob, an embarrassed smile tweaking the corner of her lips up.

"This is m-my first time h-here," Amber informed the girl. Even at the orphanage she had always found herself a quiet room to practice in, her guardians having arranged it so that she had an hour or two to herself every day. Maybe she could talk to Abyss and make some sort of arrangement like that in her new home at Sanctuary too.

"You don't n-need to l-leave," Amber assured the stranger. "If you w-want we can p-practice together." She wasn't reacting badly to her eyes and Amber assumed she could probably play her instrument, otherwise why would she be here?

"I'm A-Amber." Amber extended her hand for shaking.

Reacting on instinct, and long experience, Elise held out her hand and shook the other girl’s hand. “I’m Elise,” she said, her usual smile, plastering itself across her face. Her shake managed to be strong yet light at the same time. It was also managed to be short and jerky. “Um, play?” A look of panic crossed Elise’s face at the suggestion., “Together?”

Elise’s eyes darted around the room as she tried to think up an excuse as to not play with the other girl. The only ones that came to mind either involved physically busting out the door, or emotionally crushing the girl, neither of which were things Elise wanted to do. “I, ah…” was all Elise managed out until her eyes landed on the other girl’s eyes. She had to be careful here. Elise doubted the girl would take a casual rejection well. Discrimination had probably made sure of that.

Biting her own tongue, Elise desperately tried to think up something. Absolutely nothing came to mind and the silence was beginning to grow, at least in Elise’s mind it was. Once more, Elise’s blue eyes met Amber’s black once more, and a tiny voice began to nag at the back of Elise’s mind. The other girl was a mutant, like her. She could tell the other girl the reason why she shouldn’t play in front of her. It would solve the problem. The girl would most likely not be offended, and Elise would most likely not be ruined by another mutant. There was, however, one problem. Elise hated telling other people about her mutation. It shamed her.

“Um… look, it’s not a good idea for me to play in front of others,” Elise said, almost shrinking a little inside herself and looking even more embarrassed than she had before. “I’m a… mutant, ya know?” Another long pause occurred while Elise scrutinized the floor. “Look, you booked the room. I can go,” Elise mumbled out a little more, finally looking up and beginning to pull the door open.

Amber could tell as soon as she suggested it that something was wrong with Elise. Was the suggestion the wrong thing to do? Did the other woman simply belatedly realize that Amber was a mutant and no longer want to be around her? Or maybe she was just too shy to play in front of anyone else?

Almost immediately Amber realized that the other girl's discomfort didn't appear to be directed at her directly. There was almost a look of panic in the girl's face that she didn't understand at all. OK, so maybe if that panic was because of her own black eyes she could comprehend where it was coming from, but this didn't seem to be related to that at all.

“Um… look, it’s not a good idea for me to play in front of others. I’m a… mutant, ya know?”

Amber nodded and smiled encouragingly, things finally starting to fall into place. "You shouldn't b-be ashamed of that. Its s-something to be proud of." Abyss and Aura had taught her that and they were exactly right. Sometimes humans wanted you to be ashamed, but that was only because they were afraid and didn't understand. "I d-don't mind that y-you're a mutant if you d-don't mind that I'm one. W-what can you do anyway?" Hadn't she come here to avoid the distraction of mutants and their powers? Well, apparently that plan was an abject failure, though she wasn't really complaining.

"You d-don't have to go. Really."

Elise paused at the door and looked back at Amber. The door was open only a crack, but the light, gentle sound of the library paddling through its day came through the small opening. “No, its not about me being a mutant, and undervaluing myself that much. When I sing, play music, people get…um… emotional. Like, really emotional,” Elise said trying to explain.

“So yeah, don’t worry. If I could play in front of others without them going hysterical, I would. I would love to play with you. I really would. I miss playing in groups,” she said, the truth of her statements shining through her expression. With a sad little smile and shrug she added, “But, we can’t change what we are, can we, and I doubt you want to spend the next hour and a half on an emotional roller-coaster.”

“I can wait until you’re done practicing. Its not a problem at all,” Elise said looking kindly glancing at the door once more. She shifted her violin to the other hand, and glanced over at the other girl.

"You p-play music and c-control people's emotions?" Amber asked, curiously. This was the first mutant she had ever met that could do something even close to like that, actually effecting another person directly. Every mutant she had met to that date had a power that only affected themselves or inanimate objects, from Aura's aura to Abyss's super strength and even Kaitlyn's explosions. It was fascinating to realize that mutations could go in a completely different direction than all that, to actually affecting other people.

"Maybe you c-could just inspire h-happy emotions?" Amber suggested, trying to be helpful. Actually, the thought of her emotions being manipulated like that at all was mildly disturbing but she still wanted to be nice to the girl and she thought she could probably deal with happy emotions, at least. She didn't like when people judged her for her eyes, so she couldn't' imagine the other girl liking to be judged for what she could do either.

"You d-don't have to leave," Amber assured Elise. "If y-you don't want to p-play I don't mind an audience, especially if y-you have an ear for m-music." It had been a while since she had gotten any good constructive feedback from anyone on her playing.

“I would try to make everyone happy, but I can never tell how people will react. Sometimes people get all sad when I sing happy songs or the other way around. I just try to not play in public, at all. I keeps things out of the hands of chance, yeah know?” Elise said with a sad little shrug and half smile. Distractingly she pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “I wouldn’t like to have my emotions amplified or messed with, so I try not to do it to others. It’s the polite thing to do.”

“Yeah, I would love to stay and listen. I haven’t had much of chance lately to just listen to people,” Elise said with a nod. She moved over to the corner of the room and pulled out one of the folded chairs they had stacked there. She set it out gently and took a seat. Elise smiled encouragingly over at Amber as she rested her violin over her knees.

Amber's heart went out to the girl. What must it be like to have a power like that, that effected everyone around you in ways you weren't entirely able to control? Even with the problems her power sometimes caused her (mobs chasing her wasn't exactly fun times) at least her power didn't hurt or in any way affect others directly. The worst she had to deal with was people being afraid of her, but even that didn't seem to happen too often. Mostly they seemed fascinated by the fact that she was pretty much a living dinosaur.

"Is th-there anything I can do to h-help?" Amber asked. She couldn't imagine that there was, but it seemed the polite question anyway. "Th-there's a school that helps m-mutants with their powers. H-have you thought about going there?"

Having gotten her permission to play, Amber flipped through her book of music to the song she most wanted and began to play. It was one of her favorite from years past, uplifting and epic in feel and tone. If she didn't play like a master, she wasn't far behind one and, someone watching her or not, she allowed herself to become lost in the music. It was, after all, the one expression she possessed which she didn't feel constantly self conscious about.

“Naw, there’s nothing anyone can do to help. Its just something you have to live with, like a bad nose job or a bad haircut,” Elise said with a shrug and a sweep of her hand to push her bangs out of her eyes. She adjusted her position until her elbows were resting on her knees and her violin was propped against her shins. This way she could focus more on the music, the movement, the sound. Visuals always helped Elise when it came to interpreting music. Perhaps, it was the dancing side of her.

“Yeah, I’ve looked at Xavier’s. My brother really wants me to go there, but I don’t know. It looks nice and all, and just the chance would be nice. It’s just, what if it isn’t what everyone makes it out to be? I don’t know. I guess sometimes, dreams are lovelier from a distance,” Elise finally said in reply to the other girl’s query. Te question obviously made her uncomfortable. During Elise’s entire explanation, her hands were wringing the air, and her feet shuffled from side to side. At the end to relieve some of the tension, Elise did what she always did when feeling slightly pressured into something. She messed with her hair. Elise quickly put it up into a loose bun, with strands escaping and framing her face.

Seeing the other girl prepare to play helped Elise loosen back down into her earlier position of calm attention. As the music spread throughout the room, Elise became entirely still. Her earlier hints of twitching in the hands and feet disappeared as her attention became caught up completely in the music. It was lovely. Although Elise had a natural leaning towards sad music, to her it was often the most entrancing form. Amber played her piece beautifully, and it showed. Elise could appreciate another musician’s work.

As the last notes dispersed themselves into the room, Elise’s face split itself into a large grin. “Beautiful my dear. Absolutely beautiful,” she said, her hands clapping lightly. “Some people don’t understand the need to give a part of yourself in every single piece they play, but you did. You did it. Well done. I am officially impressed.” Elise passed on the praise in her usual good-natured manner, her back straightening up into good posture and her hands moving to compliment her speaking. “Do you play in an orchestra at school or something?” she asked her ears perking in interest.

Amber understood very well what it was like to simply have to live with none to pleasant reality. She had to live with her skin condition every single day of her life, whether she wanted to or not and, if it were up to her, she really didn't want to. But she had come to accept it, however reluctantly. It was simply part of life and it had to be dealt with. Still, her heart went out to Elise. Maybe simply not being able to play or sing in front of others wasn't as disabling as not being able to go outside most days, but it still sucked.

"Th-the Mansion can help you control your p-powers. The p-people there are really nice too. M-maybe with practice you'll b-be able to play in front of people a-again." Amber hadn't been going to the Mansion for very long, but she all ready loved it there. It was just such a unique combination of learning plus mutants. Even Sanctuary, as much as she loved her new Sanctuary family, wasn't the same. There was no atmosphere of academics there nor many people her own age.

As she almost always did, Amber gave herself to the music as she played, completely losing track of her silent observer. When finished she smiled at the other girl, returning once again to her usual awkward self. "Thank you. It's b-been my escape for m-most of my life." She wasn't sure why she admitted that, except that she felt that maybe, just maybe, Elise might understand. "I j-just play for m-myself. I s-still wish I could hear you play. M-maybe one day?"