“Aw crap,” the frustrated teenager grumbled under her breath. She hadn’t noticed it at first, especially since she was bundled up in the new jacket she had purchased the other day at a thrift store near the Sanctuary. It wasn’t exactly the thickest coat she could find but it would suffice for the next few months, if she even stayed in New York for that long. At least she hoped it would, she wasn't exactly the snow-savvy type. But that was beside the point! The point right then, was that Lydia had suddenly started shifting. It hadn’t happed in a while, her shifting without control or consent, and as a result she hadn’t expected or noticed it until she caught a glance at her reflection through a store window.

Little by little, the skin on her face was changing from a normal fleshy tone to shiny champagne. Her hands and arms, as she lifted her sleeves up to check, were already completely shifted into the champagne topaz. That seemed to be her body’s default shift. Whenever the skin-shifter found herself changing uncontrollably, it was always into the same topaz that hung around her neck. It would have been a simple task to just not wear it, but it was the only thing she had left of her parents other than a few worn pictures. And it was safer to have it on then lose it, anyway.

The bright autumn sun glinted off Dia’s new, gleaming surface and blinded the eyes of those around her. Those who had slowed their paces earlier to gawk at her mutation certainly got a healthy dose of piercing light in their faces. She started walking again, this time briskly back towards the golden doors that suddenly seemed very, very far away. What had she even come out to do again? Explore the city for more nifty thrift shops? Perhaps that could wait until the next day. It’s not that I’m embarrassed or ashamed of my mutation, she reasoned with herself as she quickened her pace, It’s just that I’m a bit rusty with my powers. And she probably wouldn't be able to shift back until her mutation tired itself out and left her drained with a migraine. Joy.

Much to Raven's great unhappiness winter was on its way and with winter came weather that was both cold and miserable. Some people, she knew, actually liked the cold and, even worse, the snow, but such liking was completely incomprehensible. The cold meant she was forced, far more often than she would prefer, to be cooped up inside where it was warm and dry. Blackwing, naturally, didn't have that problem because Blackwing had the advantage of nice warm black feathers. It was a fact Raven had complained about quite in depth to her familiar and her familiar, far from sympathetic to her plight, had simply proceeded to mock her for. It was one of the disadvantages to being human in body, if not entirely in mind.

This particular day, however, was warmer than it had been recently and Raven decided that on this particular day she would gather together what small amount of money she had managed to make telling fortunes and purchase herself some winter clothing. Given that, for the time being at least, she was living for free at the Mansion, she actually had more money than she was used to. Very little of it was forced to leave her possession for life's expenses and neither crows nor ravens were all that interesting in boring pieces of paper with little numbers on them. Even with her unusual wealth however (relatively speaking of course), old habits died hard and Raven's first thought was still to go to any thrift store she could find to purchase something second hand and thus cheap. Unlike ravens, humans didn't tend to accept interesting bits of rock, cloth or tinfoil.

When Raven left the Mansion she left with a purpose. Unfortunately that purpose was foiled almost immediately when she spotted one of the most amazing things she had ever seen. It was a woman, or at least she assumed it was a woman, who also happened to be gleaming and bright topaz coloured. Immediately forgetting her quest for winger clothing, Raven altered her course immediately to follow the glorious and fascinating woman, sending a mental beacon to Blackwing that he simply must see what she beheld. What, exactly, she planned to do with the woman she wasn't certain, except that it was clearly imperative that she follow her.

New York was a bit like LA when it came to mutants. Well, the mutants who were identifiable as mutants, at least. Really there were quite a lot them hustling and bustling freely through the streets, ignoring the occasional dirty looks they got and simply living their lives. At least, that’s how it looked on the surface. Lydia knew what went on between humans and mutants when innocents weren’t looking. It was the same way back in the City of Angels. Perhaps that was also part of why she was walking so quickly, to avoid any confrontations with particularly prejudiced humans who weren’t afraid to cause a scene. Or perhaps she was just nervous because she was far from home and away from her friends who always knew how to handle her uncontrollable shifts. Either way, she was too preoccupied with these thoughts to consciously notice the oddly dressed woman following her.

Sometimes I wish I didn’t have such a conspicuous mutation, Dia thought to herself as she blinded more people on the sidewalk. Why couldn’t it be cloudy or raining or just not bright? Thanks to the intense sun, her skin couldn’t be any more obnoxiously sparkly. Maybe…she could try to shift back? She usually just let her powers peter out, but it couldn’t hurt to try for once. A few minutes of concentrated effort would definitely beat being brain-sore and cranky for the rest of the day. When she slowed down her pace to scope out the area for a nice, empty alcove, the skin-shifter noticed the woman on her trail. Wait a second, she thought to herself, has this woman been shadowing me? A sudden wave of paranoia washed over the teenager, and her pace slowed even more. After a second of debating with herself, she abruptly stopped walking and turned to face the woman.

“Look lady, I don’t know who you are or what you want with me, but you can stop following me. Now.” She came off a bit harsher than she’d intended, but she mentally shrugged it off. This was not a typical stranger situation.

What could one do with a shiny and colourful human, that was the question that Raven was currently contemplating. Blackwing, who just happened to arrive a moment after the thought drifted through her head, had no more answer than she did. Perhaps she could bring the human home as a pet? But how good of a pet would a human really make? They tended to be disobedient and incomprehensible and, well, just too darn opinionated. As fun as they were to watch and sometimes interact with, she wasn't sure that she wanted one as a pet. Still, she couldn't let one as interesting as that go to waste could she?

“Look lady, I don’t know who you are or what you want with me, but you can stop following me. Now.”

Raven stopped abruptly, quite unaware that she had been noticed. Not that she had been taking any pains to actually hid her presence, but the fact was that humans were often not among the most observant, though that could have been more due to the fact of their dim sight and hearing than any true lack of observational skills. She cocked her head to the side, starting at the glorious woman before her, unaware that staring was rude nor, even, that the woman was irritated that she had been followed. While Raven could usually tell if someone was genuinely angry at her, she had difficulties with the more subdued emotions. Yelling was bad she knew, but she didn't occur to her that a harsh tone of voice was also bad.

"Oh, I just want to watch you and all your beautiful shining colours," Raven answered, her tone and expression completely serious. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone that gleamed quite like you do before." From the top of a nearby building, Blackwing cawed his agreement.

>> “Oh, I just want to watch you and all your beautiful shining colours. I don't think I've ever seen anyone that gleamed quite like you do before.”

What…is this person talking about? This time it was the skin-shifter’s turn to cock her head to the side, except in confusion. Was this woman joking? If she was, she was really, really good at keeping a straight face. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to pull but—” But at the same time, it kind of sounded like Dia was being complimented for her…shininess. And compliments were compliments, right? Really if you thought about it, she was being admired for her mutation, which was even more flattering in her opinion. Suddenly, a grin started to sneak its way onto her face. Huh, and she was feeling insecure about the very thing two seconds ago.

“Well, I mean, thank you I think. Is that why you were following me?” She asked, uncrossing her arms and extending a hand to the woman. “Look, maybe we should start over. I’m Lydia. And you are?” Sure, the way the lady was staring at her was kind of weird, but she was used to weird, she was okay with it. When you lived where she had lived, you thrived in the weird. She gave the woman an once-over, noting her unique style of dress, and the lovely golden eyes that continued to look at her so unwaveringly. Lydia’s hand glittered as it waited in the air for the other female’s hand to shake it.

Bystanders walking by stared at the odd pair as they passed them, some in interest, and some in disgust. It kind of made her want to show off her mutation more, some of the people’s negative reactions to it. It was the natural rebel inside her (well, not that she particularly took pains to keep it in) who didn’t want to give in to society’s suggestive authority, telling her to stop trying to hide from her genetics because of a few lousy looks. And once again, the great, internal battle between Lyd’s insecurity and rebelliousness was restarting, round ten trillion.

Sometimes Raven just didn't understand humans. Ravens were different, ravens always enjoyed a little attention. They liked to brag about their nests and their mates and they liked to preen and display their feathers. Crows, stupid as they were, were much like ravens. They were always willing to brag about themselves and show off the things they had collected. Humans were so much more complicated. Sometimes they liked to show off too and be admired, but sometimes they acted in completely baffling fashion and took admiration as an insult. How was one ever to understand such creatures? For that matter, how ever did humans understand each other? Sometimes they were utterly baffling.

At first the shining woman appeared to want to take offense at her admiration but then she appeared to see things from a more logical perspective and was suddenly receptive to Raven's compliments. "That is why I was following you," Raven agreed with a very birdlike bob of her head. She extendended her hand to shake that of the remarkable woman. "I'm Raven and if you ever want your fortune told I am the woman to do so." She offered her most friendly of smiles.

"I was following you so I could bask in your beauty," Raven compliment without any sort of hesitation. "I was wondering if there was any way to bring such gloriousness home with me, and perhaps add you to my nest, but I don't believe there is, is there?" She looked expectenly at Lydia, not truly expecting to be allowed to bring her home. But one could only try, right? Blackwing sent his mental approval of the plan and added a hint of mischief to his emtion. He, at least, seemed determined to find some way to bring the woman home even if keeping her would be highly impractical.

>> "I'm Raven and if you ever want your fortune told I am the woman to do so. I was wondering if there was any way to bring such gloriousness home with me, and perhaps add you to my nest, but I don't believe there is, is there?"

“A fortune teller? Interesting,” she replied sincerely. Although Lyd would never admit it, a small part of her deep down inside secretly believed in things like fortune and fate. Whenever she read a fortune cookie or a horoscope, or called the psychic hotline for fun with her friends (the phone bill hilariously infuriated her foster parents), that small part of her couldn’t help but think, What if? There were psychic mutants with precognition powers, right? Mutants who could really see the future? What if— “You don’t happen to be a mutant, do you?” She certainly didn’t seem weirded out by Lydia’s obvious mutation, so she at least had no prejudices against mutants.

The next things Raven said took her aback a bit. Take her to her home? Well, that was one giant leap. “Um, you’re house? Wait, you have a nest at your house? Or is your house your nest or…what?” A little red flag raised in the skin-shifter’s head as she contemplated the bold and bizarre invitation and imagined a huge, gigantic nest home complete with twig finish and small leaf detailing. Then she imagined this woman in front of her flapping her arms and bustling about this gigantic nest, cacawing and engaging in all sorts of bird mannerisms. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the perspective), she was so caught up in her giant-twig-home and bird-lady thoughts that she completely ignored the rest of the request. Specifically, the portion about getting "added to the nest." “I mean, I—I guess I could come over? Where exactly do you, uh, live?” Oh, it’s no big deal. How much harm could this Raven do, anyway? She seemed like a harmless fortune telling maybe-mutant with kind intentions and a flattering vocabulary, anyway. And Lydia could simply sprint back to the Sanctuary if she turned out to be some psycho bird-woman.

Hopefully she wouldn’t come to regret her decision to follow this stranger to her home.

When people called her interesting in reference to the fact that she was a fortune teller, then Raven knew they were interested in getting their fortunes told. Maybe not that day but, almost inevitibly, they would be clients in the future. Taking her cue, she dug around in her bag until she produced a card that resembled, quite remarkably, a business card. Sure it was a little bit crinkled but that didn't detract from its usefulness. She passed it over to the target of her admiration. Beautiful and shiny or not, there was still the potential for business to be done in the future. "If you ever want your fortunes told that has my number and address on it." It even had her current address at the Mansion. Oh, it was good to have free food and shelter because it meant she could do things like keep her business cards up to date.

"Oh, yes I'm a mutant," Raven agreed. She didn't exactly see it as a big deal and rarely neglected to admit it to anyone who happened to ask about it. She understood that sometimes others decided to hide the fact because sometimes people weren't exactly accepting of the fact, but as a brilling and cunning raven, she had never gotten into any situation she coudln't get out of again. Usually those situations had nothing to do with being a mutant and everything to do with taking things that others claimed didn't belong to her anyway.

"Nest, house, its pretty much the same." Raven shrugged, not really grasping the differences between the two. Sure they looked different, but they more or less served the same purpose. It was a place to call home and a place to raise chicks or children if one felt like doing so, a place to defend and feel safe in. "I live at the Mansion. Did you know they let you live there for free?" Even now, months later, that fact still seemed amazing. "Plus, there are lots of other mutants too." Something people tended to appreciate.

>> "If you ever want your fortunes told that has my number and address on it."

So this lady’s pretty legit, huh? Lydia thought as she looked over the small, slightly-wrinkled card in her hands. “Wait, hold on a second,” she said as she read the address on the card, “Xavier’s Sister School? No offense, but you look a little old to be attending school, unless this place is like a college or something…” Now that she had said it out loud, the school’s name sounded vaguely familiar. Xavier’s…Xavier’s… She ran the name through her mind, but drew up a blank, Hmmm…. She thought as her brow furrowed.

>> "Oh, yes I'm a mutant.”

The skin-shifter's expression changed into a smile when Raven confirmed that she was a mutant. This city really is full of people like us. “That's cool. The more of us, the merrier right? So if you’re a mutant…is your mutation to see into the future? I mean, since you’re a fortune teller and all.” What? Lydia couldn’t help wondering. Being buddies with someone who could tell you if your new shirt’s going to malfunction on your date or if a bird’s going to drop a “surprise” on you next week in front of the cutest boy ever would be useful.

>> “I live at the Mansion. Did you know they let you live there for free? Plus, there are lots of other mutants too.”

Wait, mansion…? “AHA! Xavier’s is that mutant school Faye goes to!” She exclaimed, her brain finally coughing up where she had heard the name. “Are you…a teacher there?” Raven did not seem like the teacher-type, in Lyd’s opinion, but how or why else would she be living at the school for free? Or living at the school at all for that matter. “That place kind of sounds like the Sanctuary, where I’m staying at. Have you heard of it before?"