>> "Are you... alright?"

Jude felt different. Ten years plus usually do that. He felt like... a grown-up man, and not a kid. He also felt safe. For a few moment at least.

Then, reality kicked in.

"I'm fine" she muttered, still holding on to him. For her safety as much as his, and for the rest of the city. "Jude... can you control your powers?... Because if you can't and I let go, we will be in trouble."

Yeah. What could possibly go wrong here?

"Zat is why I stayed away for so long." He didn't sound happy about it, but it was the responsible thing to do and he was an adult now.

"I practiced. I practiced touching othsers and keeping the power I have. I didn't want to put you or anyone else in danger." And also he had wanted this. He smiled past her shoulder at the setting sun. He had thought it was a countdown to when they would have to part ways.

"Ehm. I didn't practice being zis close for so long." But he didn't loosen his grip any. It was good practice.

>>"Zat is why I stayed away for so long. I practiced. I practiced touching othsers and keeping the power I have. I didn't want to put you or anyone else in danger. Ehm. I didn't practice being zis close for so long."

That was good to hear. Also, very responsible. Also, it had a limit, do best not overdo the whole hugging practice thing.

"Okay" she muttered against his shoulder "I am going to let you go den."

Untangling herself from his arms, she sat back on her knees, and let him go. Hoping that, this time, at least, he was telling the truth...

Because if he wasn't, the city was in for another caffeine boost.

Reluctantly, he did let her go. Though sitting this close without touching was almost as bad. Jude hugged himself to keep his hands from petting her hair or reaching out to touch her again.

Responsibility sucked, but anything less than perfect control would have hurt Svetty. She already had the strangest relationship with her power than anyone else he had ever copied.

"What happened? At ze clinic? Is everybody okay? Where are you staying now?"

Nothing happened. Nothing bad, anyway. Sveta let out the breath she had been holding, and her shoulders relaxed.

>>"What happened? At ze clinic? Is everybody okay? Where are you staying now?"

Slap.
It did not land on his face; it caught him somewhere between neck and shoulder, as if she had changed her mind about slapping him in the last moment.

"Jude, vat the hell?!" she glared at him "No everyone is not okay! Ghost is gone, Sebastian is gone, you were gone, what am I supposed to think, huh?! I am staying wid a guy who is nice enough to help me, and sen you show up, and don't even tell me who you are! Where the hell have you been, hm?!"

She punched him in the shoulder. With the shirt and jacket, it probably didn't hurt. It should have.

"Dammit."

She ... she hit him! "What?" He put his arms up to defend further attacks, but what she said was damage enough for him to lower his arms in shock.

Ghost and Sebastian were... gone?

She punched him out of that train of thought. "Hey! I was happy you were alive and zen you didn't recognize me... And I had a hard time! If I meet a mutant withs a physical mutation, I get stuck withs it! Before I learned control zat meant I collected every single one I walked past. I spent several weeks living out of dumpsters because people sought I looked like Satan!" So, Svetlana hadn't been his only motivation to learn control.

"Where did Ghost and Sebastian go?" Jude stood as if he would go get them right now.

>>"Hey! I was happy you were alive and zen you didn't recognize me... And I had a hard time! If I meet a mutant withs a physical mutation, I get stuck withs it! Before I learned control zat meant I collected every single one I walked past. I spent several weeks living out of dumpsters because people sought I looked like Satan!"

Sveta stared. What?

"You don't look like Satan."

Or... maybe he did. But then Satan would be quite handsome. Well, nobody has ever denied that...
Shaking her head to clear it, she sighed. So, she was not the only one having a hard time. Oh well. That was still no excuse.

>>"Where did Ghost and Sebastian go?"

"I have no idea" she shook her head again and stood, picking up the flowers in the process. One does not just leave them there lying around.

"I come home one day, and the clinic was a crime scene. And the police did not tell me much. But there was shooting. And I had to go find a place to stay." she sighed "I am not family. They won't tell me what really happened."

> "You don't look like Satan."

"Not anymore. Add on red skin, horns, wings, claws and bird feet..." He motioned out how long his horns had been and "oh and a tail." He sighed. That wasn't the point.

"I'm family, but ze police wouldn't recognize me eithser..." Why didn't they tell him? Wasn't someone at Future Sight supposed to keep an eye on Sebastian?

"Who are you staying withs?" Not that he would likely know the person. Jude tried to imagine asking for a place for Svetlana, but the temptation would be too great. They would have the best intentions, but they would still use her to further their cause.

The thought that he couldn't provide for her made his hands clench into fists. He would have some words with Alister once he got back. How could he have not foreseen this?

>>"Not anymore. Add on red skin, horns, wings, claws and bird feet... oh and a tail."

She tried. She blinked. She tried to delete the image.
Huh.
It was probably for the better that he did not come to her before. A handsome French guy tries to dip you, sure. Satan himself tries to dip you... urgh. That could have gone wrong.

>>"I'm family, but ze police wouldn't recognize me eithser..."

Oh yeah. There was that too. Well, damn.

"Probably not" she agreed with a frown.

>>"Who are you staying withs?"

"It's a guy called Aurum. He works for Ghost in the shop. He took me in because I did not want to go to the Mansion wid all the mutants. And he's human."

Blink. He caught up Svetlana's arms in his hands. "You're staying withs Aurum?" He had no right to protest, his claim on Svetlana was practically nil, but the thought of her... with him... He searched her face as finished what she was saying and he listened.

"No. It's maybe better because he is human..." He let go of her. "I don't like zat guy, but he could keep you safer zan I could." That was a very, VERY hard realization to come to. And his family was still gone... He was starting to feel a little bit miserable.

"Do you have a cell phone?" If he had her number, it would be a lot easier to keep in touch.

>>"You're staying withs Aurum? No. It's maybe better because he is human... I don't like zat guy, but he could keep you safer zan I could. Do you have a cell phone?"

"I do. Do you?"

She was surprised when he grabbed her again. He really did not realize it was dangerous? Or he just had more confidence in his control than she thought.

"What's wrong with Aurum?" he obviously knew the guy. Sveta had been living with him, and he was nice and okay. Or at least so she believed.

"Look, Jude, I am really sick of people not telling me stuff that I should know. So if you start saying something, please finish it, okay?"

Jude fished his cell out of his pocket. It was just a temporary one where a couple bucks bought minutes and texts. He'd had it on silent and now he was seeing a few texts from Future Sight.

COME HOME NOW.

NEED YOU AT FS.

EMERGENCY, CALL BACK IMMEDIATELY.

Crap. It looked like they had tried to warn him, he had just been too preoccupied to see it. He cleared the messages and passed to phone to Svetlana so that she could program her number in.

"Zere is nothsing wrong withs Aurum. He just attracts women like flies to honey."

She handed her phone to Jude, and typed her number into his. That was good to know. That she could find him now. Or at least flood him with texts unti he showed up.

>>"Zere is nothsing wrong withs Aurum. He just attracts women like flies to honey."

She looked up, arching an eyebrow. Then blinked.

"Oh, no. We are not together. I just live with him. His sister kind of made him do it." she chuckled "He is a gentleman, really. Never tried anything."

Wait. Was Jude....?

"Never tried anysing yet." Jude amended Svetty's statement as he typed his number in to her phone. He labeled himself Jude "Handsome" Csendes. Even if it was a joke he didn't want to sound pompous. He edited it to Jude Collin Csendes instead. So she would remember that he at least tried not to lie to her even if he was still trying to deceive her.

"I have to go, but I would like to walk you home if zats alright." He passed her own phone back to her and accepted his own back.

>>"Never tried anysing yet."

Sveta chuckled. She trusted Aurum. Apparently Jude did not, but it was not like he knew shomething horrible about the guy. He was just... what, jealous? That was not a very grown-up thing to do.

>>"I have to go, but I would like to walk you home if zats alright."

She nodded with a smile.

"Sure."

And they walked. She kept glancing at him. Not sure if she should ask.

"So..."