Allison tilted her head, looking at the bands on Andrew’s arm. They looked just like any other tattoo to her; she couldn’t think of any reasons she shouldn’t be able to. “Sure. I can use any ink.” Messing with a tattoo someone had already probably wasn’t the best idea... but he’d asked, and it wasn’t anything complicated; she should be able to put the ink back easily.

Allison’s hand hovered over his arm, slight movements mimicking what she did with the ink, no matter how unnecessary they were. She pulled the ink into long lines first, dragged out of the bands and up his arm like dragging a knife through frosting, then curled and bent the lines, pulling some ink into little collections and drawing the lines up his arm, curling them around each other, until several minutes later the bands had been replaced with seven evenly spaced rings of vine, each of which sprouted five vines that grew up his arm, twisting around his arm and each other. “There.” She nodded to herself, thoroughly pleased with the result.

Drew sat quite still and watched in fascination as the drab black bands that had sat on his wrist were transformed into something much less drab and much less mocking. It was hard for vines to mock. Well, maybe they could mock but it would be only the futile mocking of vines.

Then again, kudzu was a vine and it could probably take over the whole darn planet except for the really cold bits. Hmm...

"Cool. I wasn't all that sure they were ink at all. Cool to know. At least now I don't have to stare at boring old black bands."

Drew grinned at Allison.

"I'm sort of a mutant too, though my mutation sort of runs similar to your friend's. Doesn't really do much to help me out I'll say that. But I guess that's neither here nor there. Thanks for the vines. Much cooler than the old stuff."

“Huh.” Allison examined the new vines, poked Andrew’s arm and shrugged. “Don’t know what they’ll do if your mutation does something, then. Might drag them back where they were, or mess them up some other way.”

She considered the design for another moment, then spun to dig through her bag, emerging with small bottles of green, white, and blue ink. “Come. Color is needed.” She gestured, pointing at the wall with all the imperiousness her father’s bosses used when telling her to go bake more cookies, the adults had important things to discuss. As if she couldn’t hear from the kitchen. “Sit.”

She examined the designs and poked him while telling Drew that she wasn't sure what effect his mutation would have on her designs. He gave a shrug.

"If they get screwed up I can always have you redo them."

Allison was still staring at her work and one flurry of movement later was informing him in no uncertain terms that the design needed color and that he was to sit still while she added it. He chuckled and obliged, moving to where she pointed.

"Color away, Rainbird."

Well at least he'd have a tattoo to show for his troubles. One that wasn't boring.

“You’d need to find me for that.” Allison was really paying more attention to considering the design than to her answer. “There might not be a convenient storm.”

Fortunately, Andrew agreed to the finishing touches without arguing. Not that Allison was particularly likely to listen if he had argued, but this way was easier. Even if his agreement seemed to have a bit of patronizing in with the amusement.

Adding the colors wasn’t difficult. A bit tedious, but not difficult: thing green edging around the upper edges of the vines, so that the vines on the back of his arm were almost completely outlined and the ones on the under side had barely any edging at all, and a few green highlights on the leaf that she had to push black ink out of the way for. Then mixing white with a tiny bit of blue and green ink for a color the same shade as his skin but with a cooler tint, made into tiny, simple five-petaled flowers occasionally appearing along the stem where a leaf branched, and one or two free-floating petals.

Admittedly, probably something that would be appreciated more by a girl than the average guy, once the flowers were added. But he could deal with it. Allison backed off, tucked the bottles back into their places in her backpack, and nodded. “There. Done. And no messing it up.”

Hmmm, she had a point.

"Guess we could always exchange cell numbers?"

That way they could find each other if need be. Drew watched as she added the colors. The flowers were a bit much but Drew wasn't about to argue with her. A girl who could make his tattoos into whatever she wanted wasn't to be argued with. Rainbird was an odd girl, who knew what she would do if she was annoyed with him? The ink was put away and she pronounced it done.

"Looks good. Doubt I could mess it up but you'll be the first to know if something happens."

He wasn't about to make any more promises any time soon if he could help it. Considering that would be just about the only way he could think of to mess it up Drew was fairly confident it would stay where it was until Allison felt like changing it.

Allison gave Andrew a skeptical look. “The sole mutation that every X gene has in common is a beyond magnetic attraction to trouble. I know that much.” She dug her phone out of her pocket, and held it out to Andrew. “So, you’re going to mess it up, and I am going to fix it or replace it if I am capable of doing so. Phone number?”

Allison tilted her head as a thought occurred to her, then nodded. “Definitely phone number. I have to work in an hour.”

Sadly, she had a point. Drew had the scars to prove it. So Drew fished out his own phone and swapped it for hers.

"Ok."

Drew added his name and cell number to the phonebook of the cell and handed it back.

"There ya go."

He then stood up and stretched.

"I should probably get going too. Sam's probably got more paperwork for me by now."

Allison typed her phone number into Andrew’s phone, naming herself Rainbird Allison in the process, and handed it back as her own phone was returned. She turned to grab her backpack, slipped it on, took a step and paused to comment. “Paperwork? No wonder you’re boring.”