Noel was quite the nervous flyer it seemed; ever since they’d passed the 20ft point the girl had secured a vice like grip on his arms and drawn herself as close to him as was possible. Admittedly this was not an entirely unpleasant situation, however the brunette had a surprisingly firm grip and as their aerial journey progressed the limited circulation began to render the elementals hands uncomfortably numb and despite his attempts to calm her the girl seemed convinced of the fact that he would drop her at the first opportunity.

In an effort to ameliorate the situation somewhat the hessian briefly adapted a horizontal position with Noel resting above him and, after a few moments discussion, convinced her to release him long enough to twist around and link her arms about his neck instead thus allowing his hands to regain some sense of feeling. Evidently however this shift in position did little to improve the girls confidence for the moment they regained a vertical stance she instinctively attempted to wrap her legs around his midsection, only to pause halfway through the action and lower them again as modesty overcame her apparent fear.

By the time they had reached the Brooklyn area Zephyr had chuckled more than once at the brunette’s expense and so she had been somewhat short with him when delivering her final directions, a process somewhat hampered by the fact that she refused to let go of him long enough to point out her building. Eventually Zephyr simply set the two of them down in a convenient alley which, rather fortuitously, turned out to be simply across the street from Noel’s home.

It should perhaps be noted though that Noel had not immediately revealed this pertinent piece of information but instead attempted to persuade the elemental to leave her be until two questions had been put to her 1) Was she willing to return the jacket, and 2) Did she have a means of entering her apartment without any keys. The answer to both of these had been a grudging but audible no and thus Zephyr had walked the girl to her door, the sight of which gave him pause.

In the interests of clarity one of the first things which must be said was that Noel did not reside in a bad neighborhood, or rather, not a bad neighborhood for mutants or the occasional human willing to pay exorbitant fees. The so called ‘Order’ essentially controlled this section of the city and saw to it that things never got too far out hand. Granted there would possibly be the occasional robbery or other petty crime but things such as murder and arson was rare unless humans failed to pay for protection or the church of humanity attempted a raid.

With that having been said the brunettes security, while impressive and bordering on the paranoid, seemed oddly ineffective. A cursory glance at the door revealed at least three deadbolts in addition to others placed at both the top and bottom of the door as well as the default lock set into the handle itself. There were even as of yet untarnished reinforced hinges and while together this may have been sufficient to deter a human assailant, it would do nothing against a determined mutant of reasonable strength of skill.

A fact Zephyr demonstrated quite readily by manipulating the air surrounding each security feature and unlocking the door in less than five minutes before then holding it open for Noel and gesturing inside. “After you.”

"Remind me to get an electronic lock installed." It would work until she could write herself a note... ah. Speaking of which...

"Don't go in." In fact. Noel did go first. She went first and slammed the door in Dio's face. And locked the door. And put on the chain. And put her back against the door.

The interior of her apartment looked like the victim of a paper hurricane. Sticky notes were everywhere. Notepads too. She'd gone a bit nuts with the label maker and everything was labeled. Phone, coffee pot, sink, cabinets, floor... This was her life. These were the simple knowledges that people took for granted.

Noel's hair was still damp despite the air travel. Check that. Completely frizzed out according to her reflection in the microwave.

"Just. Hold on." She grabbed up dirty clothes and dishes on her way to her bedroom. She would throw on a big tee shirt and some sweat shorts. Then she could pass out his jacket and this whole night could end with her none the wiser. Ah. She stopped to write herself a note first.

The door had been slammed in his face.

If he were to completely honest with himself the hessian would admit that he should have seen that coming, Noel clearly possessed no small amount of trust issues and he supposed letting a stranger into ones home did require a certain amount of trust. Really though what exactly was the girl hoping to achieve? She’d just seen him render all of her locks ineffective, so what then was the point of trying to lock him out of her home?

Sighing Zephyr placed his hand against the wooden door frame and once again focused on the different mechanisms on the other side of the wood, they were exactly the same as the last time, ah wait, she’d put on a chain, how quaint. Inhaling the hessian focused on each lock, he’d already done this once, it would only take him three minutes to over ride each device again a simply matter of condensing the air each time to a predetermined shape, shifting it along a set course with his mind and then silencing his activities to avoid alerting the brunette…

An incoming breeze blew beneath door.

Alternatively he could simply unravel his physical form, ghost into the room and reform, all in under a minute, likely leaving him with enough time to prepare two cups of coffee before the brunette finished making herself ‘presentable’. A process which always seemed to take far longer than any reasonable person would expect, he likely had at least ten minutes before the girl would make any movement towards the apartment entrance.

Yes plenty of time.

Taking just a brief moment to sweep the apartment with special senses and confirm that Noel was indeed otherwise occupied in the bedroom Zephyr released the breath he’d been holding and shifted his focus to his form trying to recall the sensations he’d experienced during his sessions with Ghost whilst simultaneously preparing for the lack of sensation which would come immediately after and repressed a shiver at the thought; useful though an ethereal form may be the hessian found something instinctually abhorrent about being limited to only two senses. Granted it was somewhat easier to bear when he was the one in control but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

Dismissing such thoughts from his mind Zephyr returned his attention to the task at hand, he’d found that the best way to begin was simply to visualize the body as a tight tangle of interconnected threads which could, with practice or care would be teased apart and air moved into the newly created space. Once this process had begun though it was nothing more than a simple matter of repetition and so the transformation appeared as something of a cascade effect beginning with his right hand and swiftly moving along his arm and throughout the rest of his body until he was little more than vapor.

As always when his skull lost solidarity there was a moment of lightheadedness as any residual pain immediately vanished, however the feeling quickly passed, as did every other feeling bar two and so the hessian wasted little time in thinning his new form and slipping beneath door and into Noel's apartment proper. Then, as soon as his entire essence had made it through, he reformed. A far more rapid process than the initial deconstruction of one’s physical form if truth be told this was mainly due to the fact that, at some intrinsic level, most things recognized the fact they were meant to be solid, thus the moment the power keeping them ethereal was withdrawn they snapped back into a solid state.

This is precisely what happened to Zephyr, and to an outside observer it would seem as though he had simply teleported into the… and landed flat on his face.

Thus one learns the importance of ensuring your insubstantial feet are fully beneath you before attempting to rejoin the rest of the solid world. No matter how uncomfortable ghosting may be it is only a temporary sensation, a broken nose however will likely last weeks.

Slowly picking himself off from the floor whilst gingerly examined face with one inexpert hand the hessian abruptly experienced another vital epiphany. Namely, one should not attempt to ghost outside of a controlled environment before mastering the art of also ghosting one’s clothes.

The sound of flesh hitting tile is a rather unique sound. And so when the sound of flesh splatted into her kitchen, Noel dropped her hair brush and grabbed a taser from the counter top and her gun from her bed side table. She didn't stop to think that maybe it should have been something a bit more clothed hitting her kitchen floor. She just went around the corner taser and gun blazing.

This was sacred ground for her. No one busted into her apartment. Especially not... naked men?

The taser cartridge was already launched. Oops. "Oh gosh. I am so sorry." She put the taser down, stuffed her gun in the back of her sweats and bent to help pluck the diodes out of his skin. The electricity wasn't meant to hurt, only disable the assailant long enough for her to shoot them dead. This wasn't exactly an intruder. Unwelcome. Yeah, but... well, she was going to give him his coat back at least.

"Where are your clothes?" And really? How was he not a teleporter? Noel grabbed a shirt from off the back of the couch and tossed it at Dio. "I don't even want to know how you got in here." She pulled her gun and checked the safety. Wouldn't want to shoot something on accident.

Needless to say Noel did not entertain guests.

A taser is not specifically designed to hurt its targets, it just happens to be a happy, never addressed bonus which makes the weapon more or less satisfying than an actual gun depending on whether or not you need the victim alive, and even then it’s not overly difficult to increase a tasers output to lethal levels. In any case the point is that having every muscle in your body simultaneously contract due to an external electrical impulse is decidedly unpleasant to say the least.

It does not help matters when one is also naked and thus left twitching on cold tiles, nor does saying sorry truly help matters when you then go on to question why things are happening. The polite order of events is to engage in inquisitive discourse before initiating any hostile action in the hopes of preventing said action. Most people would view such behavior as a common courtesy if nothing else, especially if one happens to be playing host.

It has been mentioned tasers are not pleasant yes?

Still the cringing affects of such a device are far from permanent and soon after the electrodes were removed from his skin the hessians body began to relax and he was able to raise himself from the floor. It was not however an easy task, as another ‘fortunate’ side effect of a taser is induce rapid fatigue to the victims muscles , but the mercenary managed to get to his knees nonetheless.

Noel however was not quite so indifferent and was rather quick to offer whatever raiment she had on hand, this turned out to be an old Led zeppelin shirt which was soon given the same duty Noel had previously attempted to enforce upon foliage back in the park, though with much better success than the brunettes efforts, thereby allowing him to face the girl whilst sitting cross legged with at least a modicum of modesty.

"I don't even want to know how you got in here." [/color]

Zephyr forced himself to shrug; in circumstances such as these as long as you can retain a measure of poise you appear more dignified than those who do not, even if the calm you display is only an affectation it is still effective. The important thing was not to get embarrassed, speak calmly, maintain eye contact and do not blush if you can help it. Sadly he managed only two out three; some reactions simply require practice to control.

“Then I shall not bore you with details, however I believe my clothes are on the other side of your door, if you give me a few moments I shall happily put them back on.”

Led Zepplin's face sang on that shirt. He belted his heart out to a microphone in a larger than life way. So... when the shirt was wadded... and then strategically placed... his mouth was open... and... it was strategically placed.

Noel rubbed her lips together. She was trying so hard not to laugh, but in the end she crumpled. She laughed and covered her mouth with her gun. It was worth it.

"I'll get your coat." Her tone sounded more like a 'don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you,' but she didn't overtly throw him out. Yet. "Coffee?"

Instead she stopped by the kitchen to start some coffee and made her way back to her disaster of a bed room. She would put away the gun. Maybe. But more importantly she wanted her hair brush. Oh yeah. And Dio's coat.

"Thanks for this." She held the coat out first as she walked. And he hadn't commented once on her unusual decor.

It took only a minute or so for the elemental to retrieve his clothes and slip them back on, however during that time Karma chose to exact it's toll as his hostess took the opportunity to make a none too pleasant display of mirth at the hessians expense. Overall though it was only a brief moment of embarrassment and once the British mercenary was once more suitably attired he found himself easily dissembling an impassive mien by the time Noel returned with his coat.

Despite the less than welcoming tone the hessian accepted the girl's offer for coffee along with jacket, idly wrapping it around one arm as his azure eyes performed a cursory scan of the brunettes apartment, noting with mild curiosity the excessively yellow colour scheme arising from the inordinate amount of post-it notes which appeared to have been placed upon nearly every available surface and he once again revised the internal classification of his host. Clearly the woman's issues extended beyond a noticeable case of paranoia, possibly a severe case of OCD?

Saving such thoughts for another time the mercenary shifted focus back to the present, an odd silence had fallen over the apartment and was doing little to further the elementals goals; he'd brought Noel this far, he was at least going to get an answer as to why she had been left naked in the central park in the middle of the night. However simple social dynamics stated that the girl would likely feel somewhat self-conscious about the incident, best then to start with a more mundane subject which meant the scar across her face was also out of bounds.

"An interesting place you have here, do you often deal with unexpected guests?"

It was an innocuous enough question at first glance, yet given what the hessian already knew her answer would likely teach him more than she intended.

> "An interesting place you have here, do you often deal with unexpected guests?"

Unexpected guests? "I don't normally entertain guests of any kind." Noel puttered around the kitchen while the coffee finished brewing into a slightly yellowed pot with a melted label.

She had given back the jacket minus one fat envelop of dollar bills. The envelope she had set on the tile next to the two mugs (one with the slogan "every side of the bed is the wrong side" and one with a humpback whale cresting the water) she had set out in anticipation of the caffeine juice.

The memorymancer pulled her hair into a sloppy, loose pony tail and thumbed through the green before setting the paper stack back down. There was a good haul in there. This guy had made someone very happy. She pulled herself up onto the counter and sat with the envelope behind her. Her gun tapped the counter when her butt made contact. She hadn't felt comfortable enough to just leave it behind in the bedroom just yet. Maybe when he was gone.

"So, Dio. What kind of work are you in?" Prostitute, hit man, drug dealer, private detective or all around mercenary? There were a few professions that wouldn't mind accepting payment from the bottom of a bench one late night in Central Park. Dio was bound to be one of them. He could be the courier... but Noel's instincts said doubted that. "And do you like cream and sugar?" No need to get rude. Yet.

"I don't normally entertain guests of any kind."[/color]

Well that wasn't an entirely unexpected answer, assuming the girl was not omitting any incidents, then her words painted a rather interesting picture. This was mutant neighborhood after all, making it one of the few places in the city where humans were the minority, and likely the only area where individuals were taxed for lacking an active X gene or simply evicted. And while Noels apartment did not appear to be in poor shape, what was visible under the carpet of yellow notes did not indicate an opulent lifestyle. Either the brunette had been dodging her payments, which was incredibly unlikely for a number of reasons or... she was a mutant.

The night just kept getting better and better.

Sliding his free hand into his pocket the idle elemental slowly paced the confines of the apartment, taking the chance to once again reconnoiter the room as Noel kept herself occupied with the coffee. The most prominent feature of the place, was of course the multitude of notes and labels, yet each one seemed to be nothing more than name, occasionally with brief instructions such as 'phone; enter numbers listed on blue pad' or 'TV remote; change batteries if not working' even the light switches were titled and while OCD had seemed a plausible explanation at first glance it didn't fit with what he'd seen of the girls behaviour thus far.

It was almost as though she'd documented her home for ease of use for someone completely out of touch with the modern world. Even in the more remote corners of the world the mercenary would have thought one would be hard pressed to find an individual who would require a concept summary of a TV. If the brunette was indeed a mutant though the notes were likely a strong indicator of her ability's, yet thus far he hadn't caught her giving the labels so much as a glance. Curioser and curioser.

"So, Dio. What kind of work are you in?"[/color]

That was an oddly specific question which, even if the elemental hadn't been rather cynical and suspicious by nature, likely would have put him on guard. The mercenary's métier was, for the most part, generally looked down upon by the more moral segments of society and often tended to conflict or completely disregard a good number of laws on a rather frequent basis, the compensation for such tasks though usually well outweighed the risks involved. Case in point; the payment he'd just picked up would easily cover his living expenses for-

Zephyr paused and subtly checked his jacket again only to arrive at the same conclusion; his money was gone, though considering his hosts question it likely hadn't gone very far. Still this was a conundrum; how did one deal with a potentially mutant thief of unknown ability?

Answer: Carefully, at least until the mutation is known and weaknesses can be contrived and then exploited.

"Oh, I'm a student, I recently finished my third year." This was technically true, the elemental did indeed have a place at a university, Yale to be precise, he just did not attend class very often. "What about yourself? I can't think of many occupations which would lead to your circumstances earlier tonight."

Admittedly this was not a very subtle foray into the subject of his curiosity however the woman had just appropriated a good deal of money from him, thus he wasn't too inclined to treat the issue with kid gloves any further. "Just a dash of cream please." Still if she persisted in being polite, then so would he, for now.

Noel mixed some coffee for her guest (toffee creamer) and leaned forward to put it on the island. It was a funky maneuver to keep her perch on her counter top and lean forward without herself falling and/or the cup spilling, but somehow she made it. And looked just a little bit proud of herself for managing it.

She leaned back and poured herself some coffee in the "every side of the bed is the wrong side" mug. Three scoops of sugar at least a tablespoon of creamer. She largely ignored his comments and took her time sifting through things in her head. Plus... that first sip of coffee always demanded silence and sheer appreciation.

Clothes. Coffee. She was feeling a million times better. "Being a student pays pretty well these days, does it?" The envelope made a nice slapping sound as it hit the counter next to Dio's cup. Student? Tasted like a blatant manipulation and half truth.

She had no intention of keeping that money anyway. Noel paved her own way. She also enjoyed really girly drinks.

Considering that it had been made from instant the coffee was actually rather good, perhaps not the ideal choice of beverage considering the warm weather but it was refreshing and Zephyr savored another taste of the obsidian liquid as he waited for an answer to his questions. He was actually quite intrigued to know what series of events could have led to his encounter with the brunette earlier that night. As for her occupation well, she'd asked first and social etiquette dictated that he then had the right to reverse the question.

Somewhat predictably though his hostess declined to provide any form of answer, preferring instead to return the elementals money with a certain amount of flair by slamming the none too thin envelope down on the kitchen table and accompanying her actions with a somewhat more subtle but no less accusatory statement expressing her disbelief that he was student. It was not an unreasonable conclusion to make given the circumstances, after all how many undergraduates carried over $5000 on their person? Still the hessians fabrication was not beyond salvation.

"I'm afraid it's quite the opposite these days; tuition has been rising at a rather uncomfortable rate ever since government funding was slashed and I've been doing odd jobs and the occasional bit of gambling to offset my expenses."

Again, every single word was true; this was because manipulating truths was far easier than crafting a complex web of lies, mainly because the former was easier to remember and people were more easily mislead if things had a general ring of truth to them. Still judging by the expression on Noels face she seemed somewhat less than convinced. Taking into account how distrustful she appeared to be of others though this wasn't a great surprise, however it might be wise to try and shift the focus of the conversation away from himself.

"Surely you must have had to do something similar when you attended university?"

It was something of a shot in the a dark admittedly, he had no idea if the girl even possessed a high education, but either way as long as the question got a response it would, ideally move the discussion to less private matters.

Tuition and gambling. That was his excuse for a payoff at the park? Her eyes remained level over the rim of her cup as she sipped her cup of joe. Coffee was a palette cleansing flavor. She began and ended every day with it for this very reason. It made lies go away easier. It made partial truths indiscernible.

She should not have been drinking coffee with a stranger in her home.

Not if she was trying to muscle an answer out of him. You win this time, Dio. Today, I can't be bothered to care. The coffee was just too good to put down.

She didn't particularly care why he carried around an envelope full of money, gambling pay off or not. It wasn't a crime to carry that much cash in New York. Maybe it should be, but it wasn't. She didn't have any proof one way or another on how or why he got it so the point was moot legally.

"I don't remember a whole lot from college truth be told. It just doesn't stick with you unless you use it day to day with the job." Not that she had gambled or anything but raises in tuition were as surprising as grass growing.

Truth? Yes. Deflection? Yes. She could play the game too. And sip just as demurely as faint British accent Dio. If that even was his real name.

She glanced him up and down as he enjoyed his coffee. Dio didn't fit too bad for his look. He was obviously just a tad on the scrawny side for his clothes. Maybe Dio was some kind of European name she hadn't come across before. Crazy skinny europeans. That jacket had hardly closed around her torso and on his it had room to spare. Granted... he didn't have the same assets that she did.

"Your mum a bad cook?" She emphasized the mum for his sake. Since he was maybe pretend British.

Adroitly tucking the envelope into his lap Zephyr adopted a faintly intrigued expression with a small smile as he nodded slightly to what his hostess way saying. People were always more willing to talk when they believed their audience was actually interested in what they had to say, besides even though Noels words were as vague as his own what she said was true; knowledge did tend to dissipate if it was not constantly reinforced, forgetting things was part of what made people human.

There was a short lull in the conversation after that point and it was one which Zephyr used to deftly skim the collection of notes in his envelope; the package was still comfortably thick and so the hessian wasn't overly worried but it never hurt to check. As he was doing this though the mercenary completely missed the considering glance Noel gave him as she glanced him up and down which was probably for the best really as he likely would have commented on the action.

As it was the first he knew about his host's thoughts was when she made her rather pointed comment about his mother and even then it took a few moments for the question to register as his thoughts were otherwise engaged in calculating the total for his payment and wasn't until he had arrived at the expected answer that he deigned to respond to the brunettes question with a somewhat absent minded manner.

"Hmm? Oh I never had the opportunity to find out I'm afraid. Why do you ask?"

For most people a dead mother would be a source of contention or regret, however Zephyr had never actually known his mother and it was hard to hold any strong emotion for someone you'd never met or had ceased to have any role or affect in your life almost as soon as it began.

Never had an opportunity to meet his own mother? She opened her mouth to ask and then stopped to think about it. Oh. Dead. She opened her mouth to ask if he was a mutant, but she knew the answer there too. Hmmm. Yet another mutant orphan? She didn't dare ask about papabear. She'd already dug in too far with the mom comment. not that he seemed to mind.

What a strange person.

Well there was only one way to go from here and that was forward. "Because you're skin and bones. Have you had a good meal... ever?" So what if it was late? There were more than a few places that stayed up with the lightlife. Nothing special like raw vegan food or crazy soup only places, but the real bread and butter of take out stayed open as long as its clients were paying.

The fridge was in reach. Noel grabbed a stack of menus and puuuuulled them out from under a strong magnet. The sticky notes there only noted what she had eaten and liked. What she had not liked was marked through with a pen.

"This one is 24 hour." It was a Thai food/DVD rental place. Crazy ethnic people were always multitasking their companies. "This one is open for only another..." The brunette checked the time on the microwave behind her. "Hourish." Bar food mostly, but a lot of the ones open late were funded by their alcohol sales.

Noel tossed a short stack of menus over in much the same way that she had tossed that fat wad of money. It really was a shame that taking out a single bill hadn't even occurred to her.

She stuck the other menus back in their place, back in their appropriate order. "Don't tell me you don't have the cash." Because that would be a lie.

Skin and bones? Zephyr blinked and glanced down despite himself; admittedly he was somewhat on the slim slide of things but he was a ways from be classified as anorexic, his ribs were hardly on display after all and he was largely comfortable with his appearance. This was something of a blessing as from he'd been able to tell over the years his body had not gained a single ounce of mass, either fat or muscle, since he had finished puberty and the mercenary had long since reached the conclusion that his mutation ensured he remained streamlined for flight.

Looking back up at his host Zephyr gave the woman a noncommittal shrug as she went on to question his eating habits; a small, self amused smile, settled across his lips as he listened. Although he considered himself a fair hand in the kitchen, cooking was not his passion and so more often than not he generally ended up eating out and, in his first year especially, he'd made a habit of never eating at the same place more than once a week. Given that he'd now lived in the city for over three years the hessian was rather confidant he'd enjoyed some of the best dining available.

Still the mercenary saw little point in sharing such information with his host, it would rather take the wind out of her sails which, if the conversation was heading where he thought was, would be a somewhat unprofitable move and so instead the hessian simply responded, "Oh, I eat out every now and again when I have time."

Noel's reaction was almost precisely as predicted and Zephyr placed his head in one hand to cover his growing smile as his host snatched a collection of menu's from their place on the fridge door, hastily sorted through them and then threw down her selection on the kitchen table as one would an ultimatum. It was rather comical behaviour really once you realized she was offering a veritable stranger dinner.

It was with this amusing thought in mind that Zephyr began to idly scan through the choice of menu's he'd been given and so was caught somewhat flat footed when the brunette implied he would be paying for the meal and he froze momentarily before lifting his head and gazing at the girl with a mixture of skepticism and bemusement. "Is this how you normally proposition your dates?"

Even as he said this though a trio of $20 bills found themselves on the kitchen table.