The look Andrew was sporting, combined with the cute girl's plea made Ashley sigh and nod reluctantly. Sure, she couldn't take out her anger on a cop (really, what WAS she thinking) and she didn't want to snap at two people that had helped her. Still, the whole thing left a bad taste in Ashley's mouth and she really didn't want to talk to any cops that might look at her as if she was someone who needed to be...quieted. Again, Ashley wasn't so smart in these matters but cops weren't suppose to shoot the people that were trying to help, no matter how the situation looked or was going.

With a huff Ashley crossed arms across her near naked body and nodded, giving Andrew the confirmation he wanted. No, no starting a fight from Ashley Aran, no sir. “Fine.” she grumbled. “But they started it. Remember?” Ashley poked her own stomach where the bullet had pierced it. “Shot me. Might so again. How you think it'll go now?”

Ashley knew she was probably sounder dumber and dumber, and with her speech it was really quite hard to convey what she was trying to say. She was actually getting quite frustrated with it, knowing she could talk like a normal human being if she wanted to but the difficulty for her was...problematic. Still, she showed her irritation at the matter with a frown and slitted eyes as she looked to Andrew yet again, her rough voice soft as she spoke again.

“They shot me. They do it again.” She let out a 'tsh' before talking again. “I can run, but not faster then bullet. Who protect me then? You?”

Andrew sighed. He needed to apologize again.

"Sorry but I just don't want any trouble with the cops. I see them often enough as is. I understand being annoyed but so long as we don't give them a reason to cause trouble for us they won't."

Heck it was possible they wouldn't even if they did give them a reason. Having a cop in the MRC as a friend was good for that sort of thing after all. Now it was Rhythm's turn. She didn't seem all that capable of intelligible speech but he got the gist of it. They'd shot her once and she was worried they'd shoot her again. That was a fear he could understand.

"I know they started it. I know they shot you. But that was an accident. They didn't mean to shoot you and they won't do it again without cause."

Rhythm was adamant that they would shoot her again though. Andrew frowned as she asked him who would protect her if they shot her again, singling him out in particular.

"Yes. If they try to shoot you again without reason then I will protect you." Andrew glanced over to Lydia and then back to Rhythm, "Both of you."

He took a breath just to calm himself down.

"Besides, I know at least one guy in the MRC division. With luck he'll be the one they sent since he's dealt with us here at the Mansion before. If that's the case I can vouch for him not shooting or hurting either of you."

Andrew apologized, and Lydia was mollified a bit. They were all tired and in bad moods. She had to remember that she wasn’t the only one who had had a rough day. She sighed and nodded to what the man said to show she understood. Rhythm seemed to do the same, although more reluctantly. She gruffly explained her fear that she would get hurt again by the cops, get shot again. Her language was a bit lacking and rough, but Dia could understand most of what she was saying. It seemed Andrew could as well, as he tried to reassure the redhead that no such thing would happen, and that he would protect her. Protect both of them. The skin-shifter knew that such security would probably be unnecessary, but she went along with it for Rhythm’s sake.

Andrew was actually kind of cute when he got all noble and protective, like a knight in shining armor. She smirked as he tried to calm down, and he explained his police connections. It figured. Exactly how many times had this guy gotten into these types of situations? “Well, I certainly feel safer now. Don’t you, Rhythm?” Her voice was void of sarcasm, save for a tiny, subtle smidge. She was being serious for the most part. She glanced at Rhythm to gauge the girl’s reaction.

Ashley would say this; the guy had a disarming way about him, and she almost wanted to nod and agree to whatever the guys was saying simply because he had one of those annoying personalities that could be trusted. And while Ashley knew she was dumb about a lot of things in the real world she knew that to be naive about something like law enforcement and how some of those cops operated was just asking to be locked up. And without her music, Ashley was close to nothing, almost human. She wanted to believe Andrew and lower her guard if nothing more then to get the hell out of that place (after her shower and shirt) and be free once again to continue her mission.

She took a moment to weight the pros and cons and decided that someone like Andrew could be manipulated through one thing; his pride. Ashley didn't know much about someone's character just from talking, but from his actions Andrew seemed the type to do whatever it took to protect someone. Ashley could respect that (but still thought it terribly stupid) and finally nodded once the cute girl had said her bit about feeling safer. Sure, she felt safer, and she shook her head slightly as she poked Andrew in the chest.

“You promise?”

His companion, Lydia his now less distracted mind finally supplied, nodded her agreement with what he'd said. Rhythm on the other hand seemed to take her time deciding. While she appeared to be weighing her options Lydia smirked and said she felt safe in such a way that it almost didn't sound sarcastic.

Almost.

Rhythm on the other hand didn't seem entirely convinced. She shook her head, poked him in the chest, and asked for a promise.

Andrew wondered if she'd ask such a thing if she knew exactly what his mutation entailed. If she knew that he could be hurt or possibly killed for not doing exactly that then would she ask for it? He couldn't be sure where she'd be or what she'd be doing half the time. It wasn't as though she lived at the Mansion where he could keep an eye on her. Sure it was possible that he could make a normal promise but one look at Rhythm made it clear that she was looking for some sort of guarantee. A frown was written plain across his face when he spoke.

"I promise I'll protect you."

The indefinable feeling that came with making a promise hit him. It was subtle for now. The black band formed around his wrist just above the one for the nameless blonde as Andrew's personality underwent changes to make him more protective of this stranger. Somehow he thought he'd be spending more time around Gemma now.

"There. Happy? Now let's get downstairs before that cop comes looking for us again."

Lydia grew open-mouthed. Seriously, like a fish gasping for air. She couldn’t believe what Andrew had just said, had just done. Had she heard him right? Had he really just made a promise? Weren’t there terrible consequences if he broke those? She was pretty darn sure saying “I promise” was making a promise, despite the fact that she didn’t know all of the specifics of his ability. The teenager glanced at Andrew, trying to read his expression. He seemed grumpy more than anything, but that could be due to everything that was happening, not just the activation of his mutation. She made a mental note to ask him about it later, now did not seem like a good time.

Rhythm seemed satisfied with the promise, although unaware of the price it could cost, and she took a step towards the door to signify she was ready to go. Lyd let Andrew lead the way out, since he was the mansion expert, and trailed behind him. She glanced back at the other girl to make sure she was following him as well. She moved a little closer to the promise-keeper, suddenly feeling unsure of herself and a little intimidated at the thought of the impending police interview. Maybe Lydia would need his protection after all, although not in the way he had meant it.

She turned back to Rhythm again, and felt bad when she saw her shirtless state. The redhead looked uncomfortable wearing only a sports bra, but there was no one around who could offer her a shirt. The skin-shifter would’ve if she had something on besides a gray singlet, or if she still had her jacket, which she had left at the crime scene. Her eyes travelled to Andrew and his shirt. The garment was bloody and ripped-up, but offered more coverage than what the redhead was sporting, which was, well...nothing. “Hey Andrew…” Lydia started, putting on a little pout and slightly pleading eyes, “Do you mind giving your shirt to Rhythm? She needs it. Please?”

((Keep following this fantastic story as it continues here!))