So does my cozy new seat have a name? I'm Mina by the way.

She was warm. And soft. And all the things women usually are. She even smelled good, under the salt-and-harbor-water smell that clung to them both.
Oh no, do not go there.

My name is Krisztián.

Good luck pronouncing that.

The women returned, with clothes. Krisz shuddered. Mina climbed off him, and walked away; she spoke to them and they seemed to be hearing her, which meant he was in a bubble of STFU, and it had limits. Too far away to crawl.
She tossed him the clothes and wanted to know if he needed help; he shook his head stubbornly, last thing he needed was the psycho chick playing dressup with him. It took him more time and a lot of effort - fingers still clumsy for weeks as a voice - but finally he was all dressed and relatively warm. He reached for the notepad.

Going to carry me home in your strong arms, my savior?

Pen. Dripping. With sarcasm.

Krisztian, huh? An appropriately foreign name for a man with a somewhat foreign accent. Oh yes she'd noticed the accent when he'd been just a talkative voice. Mina couldn't place the accent but she'd heard it none the less.

A lovely name for a lovely man

Mina winked at him and then let him get dressed in peace. Once he was dressed she turned back and noticed the comment on the paper. Oh she could practically hear the sarcasm leaping from every letter. It made her grin as she collected her hat and put it back on. Then she wrote.

If I have to. For now though we wait here while the ladies see if they have a wheelchair available at the club. If not I'll just have to carry you won't I?

Mina smiled sweetly and then scribbled something else.

So mind telling me why you decided to play disembodied voice?

Curiosity, and a suspicion that he might know what she was up to, fueled the question. She couldn't be too careful. This job paid well and if Krisztian screwed it up she'd have to hurt him.

>>A lovely name for a lovely man

Yeah right. Krisz still did not know why she was pretending to be hitting on him. In his exerience, girls did not do that. Girls likes his characters. Barely ever thought about the author.
She read the note.

>>If I have to. For now though we wait here while the ladies see if they have a wheelchair available at the club. If not I'll just have to carry you won't I?

Or you could let me go. I'm fine whithout a body to drag along.

>>So mind telling me why you decided to play disembodied voice?

Krisz rolled his eyes and got to scribbling.

It's my mutation. I turn into sound. It first happened a few weeks ago, and this is the first time I switched back. I can't seem to do it on my own. So, if you un-mute me, I should be fine. Thank you.

Mina smirked. He was feisty and that made him fun. Not only that but he hadn't really responded to any of her flirtation. That made him a challenge to her. Men didn't ignore Cosmina Anca Walker. Cosmina Anca Walker ignored men. At least, that was how it was supposed to go if she was so inclined. He wasn't conforming to her well proven view of men. This frustrated and fascinated her. So when he suggested that she let him go she knew exactly what to write in response.

Why should I let such handsome man go? Hmmm? I'd rather keep you around for a little while longer.

Mina read his description of his power. So he turned into sound. Well that was interesting. No wonder she'd made him materialize from thin air.

So I suppose you have to keep making noise to stay in sound form then? And again, why should I want to let you go?

Not that she'd be able to keep him much longer anyway. They'd already eaten up a good chunk of the time she could hold absolute silence. Mina estimated there was about ten more minutes before the absolute silence fell and he turned back into sound. She wasn't best pleased by that as she assumed he'd take off then and she was just beginning to find him interesting.

>>Why should I let such handsome man go? Hmmm? I'd rather keep you around for a little while longer. So I suppose you have to keep making noise to stay in sound form then? And again, why should I want to let you go?


Krisz looked at her with eyes narrowed, as if he was seeing her for the first time. She was wearing a sundress and a hat, and she was pretty and young, but at the same time, she looked like a different person from the one he met. She did not look dumb anyome. At all.
Was this woman toying with him?

Yes, I do need to keep 'making noise'. I generally refer to it as 'speaking'. As for the other question: why on earth would you want to keep me?

Give me one good reason. I dare you.

Mina allowed herself to chuckle in a good natured manner at his reply. Speaking indeed. She smiled as she wrote up her reply.

Aside from the fact that our mutations interact in a very interesting way? Haven't I already pointed out that you aren't half bad to look at?

She very nearly also pointed out that he was blatantly ignoring her flirting but that would have been far too honest. Krisztian did not need to know that much about her. However, she might could indulge her curiosity in another fashion.

Also, mind if I ask why you're pointedly ignore my flirting?

No mention of how unusual that was or how unexpected. Just curiosity. For pity's sake she'd kissed him on the cheek and not gotten a reaction. Did she need to resort to drastic measures to get a reaction out of the guy? She might if she had to but that was one strike on her police record that she preferred not be there.

Aside from the fact that our mutations interact in a very interesting way? Haven't I already pointed out that you aren't half bad to look at? Also, mind if I ask why you're pointedly ignore my flirting?

All right, that was three things Krisz never heard before.

'Our mutations interact in a very interesting way'?! Was that something like 'this is a beginning of a beautiful friendship'?...
Besides, the way their mutations interacted was not exactly interesting. It just sucked. On his part, anyway.

Not half bad to look at? That was new. Girls usually did not think of him as 'handsome'. and if they did say so, it was a dead giveaway that they were playing with him. Or they has the 'sick puppy' addiction he hated so much.
Mina did not look like that kind of a girl, though.

Ignore her flirting?...
There were so many answers to that.

A) In my experience, women only flirt with me if they have an agenda.
B) I was too busy being shifted, half-drowned and embarrassed.
C) My idea of flirting does not include attaching others with one's mutation.

Take your pick.

Not like she was not hot, soaked sundress and snuggling and all. She definitely was. But Krisz was aware of his chances. There were none.

Mina looked at the paper and her smile dimmed somewhat. This guy had serious self esteem issues. Not attractive in the least. She had no time to be babying a fragile ego. Her pen hit paper.

Really? Geez. Ok listen up. You are attractive. No wheelchair will change that. Women will hit on you for reasons other than playing you or pulling that ridiculous nursing/mothering crap. What you choose to do is up to you but I suggest you cut the little pity party and actually try and live a little.

Mina left a space on the paper before she started writing again.

Besides, I wasn't attacking you. There was no way I could have known that you'd shift when I used my mutation on you. You sort of earned it by trying that 'You're nuts' bit. And if you shifted against your will you could just as easily shift back at any given moment. Therefore floating over the water is not smart.

Why was she the one left to say these things? Mina was beginning to have deja vu. At least Krisztian wasn't complaining about a guy. Well, at least their time writing was almost up. The silencing would be running out in a few more minutes.

Oh boy. she was writing for a very long time, with an expression that meant he had really done it this time. He had a talent for pissing women off. Duh.
He tried to peek at the paper as she scribbled. that was an awful lot of scribbling. And a very long time.
Just because he was named after the Enlgish patient...
Urgh. Very, very bad pun.

>>Really? Geez. Ok listen up. You are attractive. No wheelchair will change that. Women will hit on you for reasons other than playing you or pulling that ridiculous nursing/mothering crap. What you choose to do is up to you but I suggest you cut the little pity party and actually try and live a little.

Oh my God I am in love.

>>Besides, I wasn't attacking you. There was no way I could have known that you'd shift when I used my mutation on you. You sort of earned it by trying that 'You're nuts' bit. And if you shifted against your will you could just as easily shift back at any given moment. Therefore floating over the water is not smart.

I hate her.

She was right on both accounts. That was a friggin' annoying trait, if there ever was one.
Been in the country for less than a day, got hit on by a hot girl.
Gotta love the American dream.

Krisz shook his head in disbelief, water still dripping from his hair. He handed back the notepad. And a smirk.

All right. So now what?

Well, at least she wouldn't have to repeat herself. He didn't argue against her so either the points had stuck or he'd ignored the. Regardless the paper and pen lay there asking a question and she answered.

Now I let you go and tell the girls that you called your chauffeur to come and get you and bring a change of clothes. They'll believe that, these idiots will believe anything as long as a rich man is involved.

Mina lifted the silencing field. There was absolutely nothing to be gained in allowing him to know her limitations. She knew them but having others know them was detrimental to her business.

"Now you can go back to playing ghost if you want. I need to get back into character. I'd be thrown right out of here if I didn't behave appropriately."

This sort of character was annoying but it suited her needs here so she tolerated it. Mina schooled her features back into a vapid smile as she spied the girls come down the dock empty handed.

>>Now I let you go and tell the girls that you called your chauffeur to come and get you and bring a change of clothes. They'll believe that, these idiots will believe anything as long as a rich man is involved.

She was letting him go. Just like that. Just when things were getting interesting.
Whatever she said, it was all the same thing. Flirting, then walking away.
Women.

>>"Now you can go back to playing ghost if you want. I need to get back into character. I'd be thrown right out of here if I didn't behave appropriately."

He did. As silence was lifted, he felt his powers tugging on him; not with quite the same force as the first time, but he knew he only needed to focus for a few seconds. So he did. Clothes fell away and he melted into a single voice.

"Thaaaat's much better thank you" he almost felt like he was stretching cramped muscles, and he felt like he could stretch endlessly "Wait, what do you mean, get back into character? Do you come here often playing dumb to pick up rich guys, or is this a special occasion? Great acting skills, by the way. I was thoroughly convinced of the lack of your intellect."

He made sure he did not float above the water. Just in case.

Mina smirked in the direction of the voice.

"It's part of my job. I have to be able to blend in with these types to conduct my business."

She made no acknowledgement of his compliment aside from a small nod and a smile. Then she put her blank, idiotic smile back on as the girls approached and told her they didn't have a wheelchair but where was the guy? He was really cute!

"Oh he called his chauffeur to come pick him up. Wouldn't you know he was filthy rich? He had a falling out with his girlfriend and she dumped him in the harbor without his clothes! So scandalous."

The girls giggled in response and wondered aloud if they'd ever see him again.

"I don't know but I hope so. I've gotta go though. Daddy wants me to meet another of his partners."

Mina let out a put upon sigh and the girls wished her luck and then began rhapsodizing about taking care of the mysterious paralyzed rich man that Mina had fished out of the water. Mina just rolled her eyes.