The skin-shifter hoped that her foster parents wouldn’t notice the missing $400 from the bottom of the kitchen cabinet until she was far, far away from the California state border. It was pretty stupid of them to leave large sums of money in a location like that. For some strange reason they thought they were being clever by hiding their money in a place “so obvious, no one would ever think to look.” Didn’t they ever watch those news programs about how innovative safes and bank accounts were? No doubt they would call her case worker the next morning, either when they realized they were quite a few bills short or when they saw that her body wasn’t in bed. They wouldn’t call tonight. They were too used to Lydia staying out until dawn.

As she sat in her surprisingly comfortable bus seat, she took one final glance at her friends through the window. They had stopped staring at the bus and were starting to fool around. Lyd cracked a grin when one of the station officers appeared to be telling Phil he couldn’t smoke in the area and gestured to him to get rid of the flame from his…fingers. The surprised look people always got when they realized the flame wasn’t coming from a lighter always made her laugh. God I’m going to miss them… she thought to herself, but the excitement of a cross-country trip took some of her sadness away. She was going to New York City of all places, she should be happy.

Clutching her cross-body tote containing the remaining $170, she turned away from her mutant family and closed her eyes, ready for the three day trip.

———
Two days, twenty hours, and thirteen minutes later…

Ugh, sleeping on the buses was harder than she’d expected, especially after she realized how similar they were to cars. How had she not thought of that before? Wheels, driver, engine…the only difference was the size. In the past sixty-eight hours, she had only gotten maybe sixteen or seventeen hours of actual eyes-closed, knocked-out sleep (that only equaled about five or six hours a night). She was in dire need of getting off that darn bus for good before she started breaking all of the windows. When the New York border sign suddenly appeared in her vision, she almost jumped out of her seat with joy! “Finally!” She exclaimed to herself as the bus driver announced, “We are only a few minutes away from our destination. Please prepare for our last, final stop.”

Dia picked her tote bag up off of the floor, and sat up in a ready-to-leave position. As soon as the bus pulled in to the bus station, she got up, reached for the small duffle bag sitting on the shelf above her, and pulled it down into her arms all in one fell swoop. Then she proceeded to rush off the vehicle, desperate to beat out the long line of bus-riders that was bound to form in the aisle. It turned out to be a cold, late-autumn day in the Big Apple once Lydia escaped the bus. She began to shiver in her light, beat up leather jacket and faded jeans, and instantly regretted not bringing any warmer clothes (not that she had any, anyway). It must have been 50⁰F, a far cry from the usual 70⁰F fall weather the California-resident was used to. She would have to use some of her leftover funds to buy some thicker clothes.

After a few minutes spent quivering from the cold, she decided to go into the bus terminal’s small coffee shop and order a nice peppermint mocha. She needed the caffeine to perk her up, and the hot drink to keep her warm when she became exposed to the chilly, shiver-inducing breeze again. As she sipped her mocha, she took a tourist guide from one of the stands by the café doors and went out into the orange-leaf-covered streets. According to the map flapping in the wind, the skin-shifter was smack dab in the middle of a large area called Brooklyn. But why was there no designation for the Sanctuary on it? She wasn’t normally one to panic, but New York was quite a large city. Perhaps she should’ve asked Phil about the Sanctuary’s exact location before she left. Oh what the hell…I guess I'll just start walking? Lydia thought to herself as she started heading in random direction. She’d eventually find something, right? Like some random pink-haired guy to bump into.

"Oh $^@*!"

Of all the places to be, why did it have to be Brooklyn? He had no idea what there was to do in Brooklyn. He'd been looking for an arcade for hours. Granted he had found two, but they hadn't been to his liking. No, he wanted a real arcade, where you played games standing up, smacking levers with such ferocity it was a wonder they didn't break sooner, and punching buttons until your fingerprint was permanently etched into the plastic. What did he get though? Arcades where you sat down, and with a rule telling him not to be too loud. Well that wouldn't do at all. The mall across the way had looked promising. There was only one problem, across the way was actually 6 blocks away and when he said looks, he meant the word mall looked promising on the sign. Cafas wasn't feeling particularly X-man-y that day, oh no.

I will find an arcade, and I shall spend every cent I own at this moment on games!

While likely to be rewarded by his trip, the metal manipulator couldn't resist a proper NYC bagel with cream cheese. He was a sucker for the dairy and baked goods. Bagels truly encompassed everything that was temptation. On his list of favourite foods, bagels ranked fourth, behind Pizza in first, then sushi, then gelato. So he stopped and bought three. Hi first was finished within the block, the second before he was halfway through the next, and the third half finished when all of a sudden, girls, thousands of them! Well, one of them. She happened to be holding a particularly hot cup of coffee. It was now on his jeans. He was grateful that he wore his trench coat open, otherwise that would have been a trip to the dry cleaner's, and he really didn’t need to be taking any more from his game fund. Oh, that was colourful language.

What a charming first impression

"That, burns like hell. Sorry, are you alright?" He had phrased it cleverly if he did say so himself, his apology was not an admission of guilt. Any New Yorker would have jumped on one of those like a cat jumps onto a bird. Midflight and with lethal consequences. People around them scattered given the scene, some stayed to watch, and others hurried on completely uninterested. The onlookers would get nothing out of Cafas that aught interest them. He wasn't like that. Well, he was, but not under the circumstances.

OUUUUUCH!

It should have been so simple. Law enforcement should never have gotten involved.

In the chaos of the electronics store a month before Christmas, Kaitlyn finally managed to get a sales rep's attention. "Can I buy one of those iPods?"

Craning her neck back just to look at his face, she saw that the man was confused. "Uhh... where are your parents?"

The ten-year-old didn't know what this had to do with buying an iPod, but she answered him anyway. "My mom's at work." Her adoptive mother, Lori, was probably in her office at Faust Pharmaceuticals.

"Do you have a dad?"

"No" For all intents and purposes, anyway.

"Are you here by yourself?"

"Yeah."

"How old are you?"

"Ten."

"Uh... stay right there. I'll be right back with someone who can help you."

After a few minutes of waiting, Kaitlyn saw the sales rep coming back with somebody who very closely resembled a policeman, though it might have only been mall security. Either way, it spelled bad news for the young Orderling. Within seconds, she had snuck out of the crowded store, and was already headed home.

Why can't a kid just walk into a store and buy an ipod? she wondered, still shaken at the idea of running into some law enforcement. Mutants and cops were a bad mix, and blowing people up wasn't fun.

On a busy Brooklyn sidewalk on the way home, Kaitlyn noticed something unusual: a man with pink hair. It was a familair shade of pink, and it was on a familiar-looking person. Was this the X-Man that she had blasted a few months ago? She could barely get a good look at his face before --

>>"Oh $^@*!"

Trying to avoid the pink-haired man's notice by staying behind him, she stopped to watch the scene unfold. If this was one of the X-Men, he was probably going to start causing trouble any second now, and Kaitlyn Faust was going to be there to stop him. It was her duty as an Order member.

“Crap, I’m so sorry!” The dazed mutant exclaimed as she saw the contents of her coffee cup spill on the pink-haired boy she had crashed into. She saw the large volume of liquid move in slow motion, unhurriedly soaking into his pants and probably scalding his thigh. She got some on her clothes as well, and she cursed inwardly when she realized she would have to go through another outfit already.

>> “That, burns like hell. Sorry, are you alright?”

Lydia blinked. Had the boy just apologized? She had been preparing herself for some angry shouting (and some angry shouting back) about her incompetence and the high cost of jeans, not a nice, concerned question about her well-being. And he had an accent! “Um, yeah I think so. I’m sorry about the coffee,” she replied, gesturing his stained pant leg. Now that she was getting a better look at his face, she couldn’t help but curve her mouth into a smile. The stranger was pretty good-looking despite his bright pink-purple hair, and he towered over her with an eight- or nine-inch height advantage. She liked tall guys.

The people who had paused to watch the incident started on their ways again when they realized they would not get a satisfying scene. “Hi, I’m Lydia,” the skin-shifter said a bit coyly. By force of habit, she broadened her grin and tilted her head to her more favorable side. Her bright green-blue eyes started twinkling on-command, a skill only acquired after years of practice. The Sanctuary could wait for a little bit.

The pause after his non-responsibility-taking apology gave away her surprise. However when she answered she said she was fine, so he was glad 'bout that. He laughed about the jeans though. "Forget it, I have more. Anyway, it adds character to them." He smiled; despite the feeling he was being watched. He was beginning to wonder if he was on candid camera and this was just an elaborate set up. Even if he was being set up though, he had common decency, and was in a position that could help mutants greatly if he was on telly. Anyway, Calley and him hadn't been talking much since that one night and she was alright looking. He wasn't about to turn down an opportunity to be in attractive company.

Wonder where she's from, that isn't a New York accent.

Cafas judged, by the volume of fluid seeping into the cotton fibres of his pants, that the cup hadn't even been under two thirds full. That was a lot of coffee to spill."Let me grab you another coffee, I could go one too right now, if you've got time." He really could do with a decent coffee, and the smell coming from his steaming pants just made him want one even more. Although finding good coffee was like finding criminals with a strong moral code, it just wasn't greatly likely, and when you did you had to weed out the crazies from that list. Judging from the heat the coffee place couldn't be too far away.

I'm never gonna get to that arcade.

Things like this always happened when he was in the mood for an epic nerdout.

She smiled at the boy’s comment about his jeans. He seemed chill, and he looked only a little older than her. The fact that he had an amazing Australian accent didn’t hurt his attractiveness, either. Her grin broadened as she studied him more, until she realized that she probably looked like a mess from the bus ride. Her makeup was probably all over the place, and she could feel her loose ponytail falling out of the tie. Lydia plastered a smile on her face again, as she ran through ways to fix herself without making it look like she was fixing herself. First things first, untie the hair. She pulled the rubber band out of her wavy locks and shook her hair out, hoping the action looked somewhat alluring and not more like a lion shaking out its mane.

>> "Let me grab you another coffee, I could go one too right now, if you've got time."

Oh yes, honey, I have time for you. She noticed that he didn’t divulge his name when she told him hers, and was a bit disappointed. Maybe she had said it too quietly and he had simply not heard, or maybe he was just not comfortable giving out his name to some girl he’d just met. He wouldn’t be the first, and it was probably the smarter thing to do. What, with stranger danger and all that jazz. Pushing any possible danger aside, Dia flirtatiously replied, “Well, normally I don’t go out for coffee with someone I’ve just met, but you’re too cute to refuse." It was an unoriginal line, but she added her own attitude to it. "As long as you’re not some creep who targets foreigners,” she joked. He really didn’t seem like a creep, in her opinion, but one could never know. She hoped he wasn’t. It would be a terrible first experience in New York, and she really didn’t feel like slapping any faces that day. Wait, wait, slow down Lydia. Let’s actually have a conversation with this nice boy (man?) first before we think about injuring anyone.

“Uh, I grabbed my mocha from the café at the bus station I got off at, back there,” she glanced behind her, “if you just want to go there.” Yay, free coffee with a good-looking, Australian stranger!

Cafas smiled semi awkwardly, she appeared to be flirting with him. At least, that’s what he put it down to; maybe she was just overly honest with her opinions? It was less likely but still possible. None the less any girl who called him cute had already won some points. Although he'd much prefer a more macho description. But he wasn't going to complain either way. Although, being 20, she looked on the too young side to be flirting with him. Oh well, he owed her coffee. Though having experience with bus station coffee he opted for something at least a little better. Potentially. "Well in that case you're safe. Cafas by the way, pleasure to meet ya Lydia." he smiled and scanned the street a bit. Aside from the bus station which was clearly advertising starbucks, Cafas saw one independent looking coffee place. He hadn't heard of it, so he assumed it was independent. "Tell you what, starbucks has enough money, let's go to that place, I could do with a sit down anyway, been walking all day." He indicated to the coffee shop he'd spotted and hoped it didn't charge too much, he only had a couple of hundred of reserve cash left. That had been the hardest part of being an X-trainee; the cops knew his mutation, so he'd had to give up on the theft gig.

Damn, dropped my bagel, stupid hot coffee.

Cafas figured she'd follow as he walked. He entered the coffee shop off the crowded street. It was cosy, smelled like coffee, not quite properly lit, so it was already doing well by Cafas. In fact, given the feeling of the place he had to check that it wasn't called central perk. It wasn't. He was slightly disappointed by this, but overall, the place made him happy to be in. Joy, yellow eyes to order coffee with, because everyone took that well. The change from lavender may be very obvious. Hopefully Lydia didn't have anti mutant feelings. That could turn sour quickly. Hopefully she wasn't too attached to him already, he had no idea how he'd handle a situation where he didn't feel about someone how they felt about him on such a devastating level.

I'd probably just make an excuse and run...

Kaitlyn followed the couple closely, staring at them and listening intently. What could Cafas be up to, offering to buy Lydia coffee like that? The youngest Orderling couldn't even begin to guess, but she had already decided that he was up to no good. The exact kind of no-good behavior remained to be seen, but, rest assured, it promised to be truly villainous when Kaitlyn finally discovered what it was. And Kaitlyn was going to try to protect Lydia from it, just because that was the right thing to do.

So, when the pink-haired fiend led poor, unsuspecting Lydia into the coffee shop, the ever-vigilant Kaitlyn Faust kept a watchful eye on those cookies that the shop was selling. They looked absolutely delicious and she needed to have one right now. The redhead took her place in line behind the people she was supposed to be spying on. Maybe she could get something to drink, too, like apple cider. Or... wait, no. Maybe hot cocoa? That sounded good...

>> "Well in that case you're safe. Cafas by the way, pleasure to meet ya Lydia."

The skin-shifter’s grin grew even wider when her handsome companion introduced himself. “Cafas, eh? That’s an interesting name…” She mused mainly to herself as she distractedly examined her coffee-splattered gray v-neck and realized with horror exactly how much abuse her shirt had endured. She hastily zipped up her jacket to cover up the embarrassing stains. Her jeans, by some stroke of luck, had managed to evade most of the damage.

>> "Tell you what, starbucks has enough money, let's go to that place, I could do with a sit down anyway, been walking all day."

She merely nodded as she grabbed her duffle bag, readjusted the strap of her tote, and started following behind the pink-haired man to the coffee shop he had pointed out. She kind of did a little happy dance after he turned around, doing an awkward hop because of her bags but doing it gleefully nonetheless. Lydia hadn’t really interacted like this with guys since the time she spent with Phillip, who hadn’t been and wasn’t her boyfriend, but he hadn’t been and wasn’t exactly just her “friend” either. Oh yeah, Phil… Would letting a new male acquaintance buy her coffee (the roles really should have been reversed, seeing as how she had been the one to spill a piping hot liquid on him) count as some sort of emotional cheating in the kind-of-more-than-friends rule book? Dia didn’t really feel that much guilt…at least, she hadn’t until she thought of the boy she had kind of left behind in LA. Argh, too many kind-ofs and maybes. I’m in New York, Phil’s back home. He’s a friend. Cafas is just being friendly, probably since I’m a newcomer in this city. Calm down, she commanded herself as she entered the pleasant café. Heh, nice pick. The inside of the small coffee shop was warm and had a strangely comfy feeling, like putting on a super-soft, super-comfortable sweater. She inhaled the scent of freshly grinded coffee beans and admired the furniture until something on Cafas caught her eye and—

“Whoa!” The skin-shifter exclaimed as she looked more carefully at his eyes, “Did your eyes just change colors? Twice?” She knew something was a little different about them before. The shade of the iris had kept fluctuating, albeit subtlety, so she hadn’t fully picked up on it. Now she knew she saw them turn yellow and then change into and stay a lavender tone. Huh, she had been in New York for less than an hour and she had already met a fellow mutant! Maybe Phil wasn’t exaggerating when he was describing the multitude of x-gene carriers in the Big Apple.

“That’s so cool!” She squeaked a little too loudly, as heads turned in her direction and several eyebrows rose in irritation and surprise. This was turning out to be a very interesting meeting! “I-I mean, you’re mutation is cool,” Lydia said quieter so that the people around them couldn’t hear. She knew that some mutants were very secretive of their powers, that they didn’t like humans knowing because of the persecution they had faced or were afraid of facing. She had been bullied and hurt by others because of her mutation before too, so she definitely knew how they felt, how Cafas might feel. “Um, if you don’t feel comfortable talking to me about it, it’s okay…it’s just really sweet that I’ve already met another mutant in this new place.”

((I wasn't sure about this but...tell me if I should change the eye-color-fluctuating part))