>>"Onondaga....Why you planning on taking a drive down there or something? I'm not going back and expect hell if you try bringing them here."

Now they were getting somewhere. She did not have a name or an age, but now she did have a nation. She could find out who he is by that alone (unless a serious number of teenagers have run away from the rez in the recent past) He had no intention going back there. She wondered why, but that was not the most pressing issue at hand.

>>"That guy...I don't want him near me ever. I don't like that lot, Mutant relations or whatever they are the same. I don't trust him, and I sure don't trust you. You got people who can make fake id's or anything?"

"You don't have to trust him, he doesn't meddle into Mansion business unless I ask him to, but I rarely ever do." she nodded "And I am running a school here, not a crime ring. I can protect you if you stay, but if you go looking for trouble, don't expect me to bail you out."

Clear boundaries.

"I know you don't trust me, you made that abundantly clear. But I'm still going to tell you that I want to help. Believe it or not, that's your choice. But I am telling the truth. Not many people ever will, I trust that you already know that from experience."

Say it enough, it might get through to him...

"So. Do you have a name I can call you?"

There was one word in the teenage vocabulary that pretty much summed up everything that she just said. "Whatever." Cliche or not, he couldn't think of anything else to say. Was he supposed to gravel at her feet and thank her for being super nice to him while he continued to act like an ass? Well that would happen as soon as hell froze over. As long as he kept dishing out the attitude he knew he had control, though as soon as he started playing nice, it would be the end of it all.

"Its not a crime ring thing. You want to protect, well I wont get no license if they do a search under my name....I want to drive and I am going to drive."

His names, did she really have to go back to that again. Fine she wanted his name, he'd give it to her. Crossing his arms across his chest, the dread lock lad gave a look of pure disgust. "Abandoned Blackbird." If she was smart, she could go and figure out what his name was from that.

>>"Whatever."

He was such a teenager. So young and desperately trying to believe he was all grown up and experienced. That being the definition of a teenager.

>>"Its not a crime ring thing. You want to protect, well I wont get no license if they do a search under my name....I want to drive and I am going to drive."

He was, of course, right; Gemma still didn't know what he had done, but getting a license with a record would be tricky at the least. She needed to look into that and try to figure out something that would prevent him from stealing a car... but she needed a name for that.

>>"Abandoned Blackbird."

She nodded, not commenting on the name; whatever she would have said he could have turned it against her. It was a strange name, just as he was a strange boy. It fit him like his dreadlocks.

"All right; is that what you like to be called?" you can never know, with teens. "I'd ask you how you ended up in my car, but I doubt that you would tell me. But you need to know the more I know about you, the easier it gets to figure things like the driver's license out. I can't do paperwork stuff for you if secrets keep coming back to bite you. Once again, your choice."

He looked at him.

"All right, your turn. Anything you would like to ask me about?"

The lack of brain skills possessed by her was astounding. Did she honestly think he wanted to be called by that name? It was like going around and calling everything by its definition, not the actual name behind it. For a guidance counselor she really had no clue on what direction was up or how to take him seriously. Sure he wasn't giving her much chance but did she honestly think he'd spill his whole life story to her? Hell no. She would know what she needed to know and just that.

"No. Figure it out on your own." She had more then enough information to try and find out his name already. Sure he could make it a hell of a lot easier, but why should he. Until he saw the benefits that he could draw from her, he wasn't going to put himself totally on the line. "Put it this way, there is one vehicle for sure tagged with my name and 'borrowing' it without permission and depending how smart this shit pigs are in the area they'll find another one...and if you press charges..."

Distracted with the sights of the horizon he knew his fate was limited to one set of bars or another. "Judges don't like me." Not that she cared and not that it mattered much at all either. The dreadlocks tangled about on the back of his neck as he looked off to the east. "They don't give a damn and the wards don't give a s*** either." Hacking up a lugger, his spat. "Full of crap and nothing but s*** is all they are."

"How you going to get round that for driving papers. I can't do legal ones, I need the fake stuff. Who would honestly know? Think of it like that protective service crap or something. Ain't that what this really is, place for freaks of the world to live and s***?" Spitting again, Hokee looked at her. "Those eggs, bet bat wing monkey tail will clean it, she likes doing that stuff. Little brown nose...punk kicked my nuts the first night. Lie two for you."

>>"No. Figure it out on your own. Put it this way, there is one vehicle for sure tagged with my name and 'borrowing' it without permission and depending how smart this shit pigs are in the area they'll find another one...and if you press charges... Judges don't like me. They don't give a damn and the wards don't give a shit either. Full of shit and nothing but shit is all they are."

He was talking to her, even if he liked to believe he was not. Stole a car, huh. Two cars. Well. Could have been a lot worse, in Gemma's experience. She definitely had seen a lot worse. Not like comparing one kid's problems to another's was professional anyway, which it was not. But the world was not ending for this guy, she was sure of that. Unless he was really intent on it.

>>"How you going to get round that for driving papers. I can't do legal ones, I need the fake stuff. Who would honestly know? Think of it like that protective service crap or something. Ain't that what this really is, place for freaks of the world to live and shit? Those eggs, bet bat wing monkey tail will clean it, she likes doing that stuff. Little brown nose...punk kicked my nuts the first night. Lie two for you."

She blinked. Quick change of topic.

"Gina? Gina kicked you?..." Gina was a nice girl, as far as Gemma knew her. Of course, she was there at Agnes' scene with the parents... but despite her physical mutation, she was not the violent type. "Is it in any way possible that you have done something to deserve that?..." she asked, not entirely serious about the whole thing. He probably did deserve it, judging from his attitude. And the thought of Gina kicking him almost made her smile "All right, I'll talk to Gina. Whatever you did kicking is probably not the right answer..."

She did not return to the topic of cars. Not yet anyway.

Gina. So that is what the monkey girl's name was. Good to know. At least he could call her name to catch her attention now before tormenting her. S***. Now she was questioning him and why he was kicked. That was just great. He certainly wasn't going to tell her how he pushed her until she snapped. He didn't hurt her, not really. Except maybe the tail a bit, but he couldn't be blamed for that, the tail just flickered about calling his name.

"What the hell. Why do you have to assume I did something? I didn't do s***, she's a freak rabid monkey bat thing. Damn." Made sense, she automatically had to put all the blame on him and none on her. There could have been a slight chance that maybe a very small fragment was his fault, but for the most part it really wasn't. Gina should have known better, and how was he to know that she would be so sensitive. Girls.

"She went all kung fu on me. Crazy bitch, crazy little flying rabid monkey." His stream of words turned into a rumbling of words. "She was gah." The monkey girl didn't get under his skin, no not at all. Just the idea of being automatically accused for things just set his blood a boiling. Tell a woman he took a few cars and anything that went wrong was going to be automatically his fault. Insane and uncalled for. Twisted and messed up. Like she was actually interested in helping him, it was a bunch of bull.

>>"What the hell. Why do you have to assume I did something? I didn't do shit, she's a freak rabid monkey bat thing. Damn. She went all kung fu on me. Crazy bitch, crazy little flying rabid monkey. She was gah."

Oh yeah. He definitely did something to Gina. Gemma wondered what on earth could he have done to piss her off. The girl was not the 'rabid' kind...

"All right all right" she chuckled "I'll talk to her. I just asked because usually she is not... crazy."

She was not crazy at all. She was just a gargoyle. Hokee, on the other hand, was obviously pissed. But not crazy either.

"I never asked you what your mutation was. But now I am kind of curious. Would you like to tell me? Maybe we have someone with similar powers to yours..."

"Usually? Maybe the rabidness only strikes after midnight." Joy, now Taylor was going to talk to Gina about kicking his jewells, not exactly a great conversation considering what it was about. He'd have to keep the two apart for a bit, at least till maybe Gina forgot why she kicked him. That would be difficult, and he wasn't keen on it totally, but he could distract the main encounter by harboring her with new streams of entertainment.

When she asked about his mutation, he was a bit taken back. Where the hell did that one come from? His eyes darted towards her. Could this be a trick of some sort, find out what he could do and then make sure she found ways to neutralize him? "Why do you care, as long as you're near me I can't do shit." It was true, and still not knowing how big of an area she could cover, he wasn't about to limit himself even more.

"If I tell you what I can do, then you'll know why I was in your car." Shifting his weight, Hokee's hand dug down into his pockets. "If I want to go out and stuff...can I get back in on my own or do I need some special day pass crap?" He was allowed to know things, and if he was going to survive in the school he needed something to do to pass the time. A little decorating was needed. The walls were just to...bland.

>>"Usually? Maybe the rabidness only strikes after midnight."

Gemma smirked and did not comment. That was probably not the answer, but there was no need arguing about Gina any further, for the moment at least.

>>"Why do you care, as long as you're near me I can't do shit. If I tell you what I can do, then you'll know why I was in your car."

Oh, now that was interesting. So he did not just jump into a car for a free ride. By not telling her the truth, he just made Gemma all the more interested. Not to mention explained something about how he was stealing cars to run whatever he was running from...

>>"If I want to go out and stuff...can I get back in on my own or do I need some special day pass crap?"

"At this point, you are not an official student at the school" she explained calmly "You can leave, but someone has to let you in when you come back. For you to become an official student, I need to check you in. And that comes with questions. How many of them is up to me to decide, but the harder you make it, the more I will ask."

"Can't be to hard to get back in without someone letting me in. Not like you have any cameras or anything her." She wouldn't tell him before about cameras, so maybe she would now, if not there was the possibility to find out what other ways of defense the place had. If a set of mutant hating parents could roll up to the school and start a little old fashion barbecue, then there had to be a way for him to get on the grounds just as easily.

Walking around his previous perched location, his fingers ran across the cement. "Student...as in homework and all that useless stuff. Gym class and and normal activities. To old for that, homework is a waste of time and I don't plan on starting doing that ever again." Okay, he wasn't that old, but he wasn't looking forward to structured classes again. Sleeping in and not having to do work was rather enlightening.

"You said I could come and go as I please, nothing about having to be a student. What other tricks do you have hiding up your sleeves to tie me down to the system?" Sure he was withholding information on his end, but he had reasons. He had no qualms about causing trouble, and it was rather exhilarating when he wasn't stuck living with his grandparents. Leaning against the exterior stairwell wall his eyes studied her. "I'm not doing finger prints or DNA test stuff."

>>"Can't be to hard to get back in without someone letting me in. Not like you have any cameras or anything her."

She gracefully ignored that little speach. She had no intention telling him about the cameras, or the security system; at this pont she was sure he'd figure it out for himself, sooner or later. She did have trust in Mansion security. The kid would just have to learn for himself, or he would never believe her.

>>"Student...as in homework and all that useless stuff. Gym class and and normal activities. To old for that, homework is a waste of time and I don't plan on starting doing that ever again."

Cry me a river.

>>"You said I could come and go as I please, nothing about having to be a student. What other tricks do you have hiding up your sleeves to tie me down to the system? I'm not doing finger prints or DNA test stuff."

"Nobody is tying you down." she smirked at him "Feel free to leave, it's not like this is the only free Mansion and school for runaway mutant kids staffed with people who actually give a damn about your future. Oh, wait... it is. Well, up to you. I wouldn't want to cut your freedom or anything."

He was not getting under her skin, that was very clear from her calm face, but he did need to know the boundaries to whining. Because at this point, he was just whining.

"Not all of our students take classes, and some just take one or two each semester. Paperwork is not for the system, it is for us to know you. I can only keep you here so long without you giving some sign of trust. You have to be here for a reason."

And be lucky Sam was out of town.

She was sassing right back at him, oh the nerve of her. Fine, she wanted sass he could give more of it right back at her. Trusting him, she shouldn't and he most certainly didn't trust her and wasn't planning on it. Trusting people only leads to them screwing you over and if anyone was going to get the bad end of the stick he was going to let her get it. Free load as long as he could and if they wanted to kick him out, whatever he'd figure something to do. It wasn't like there weren't options out there. There had to be other places he could go with his mutant abilities. She'd be sorry if she kicked him out, very sorry.

"One class. I want to work with cars." That shouldn't take much effort, and would give him a chance to find a decent set of wheels. He could find something and pocket a few other things while working. If he could get a car, then things would be so much easier. To be able to cruise about at night and just be alive. With a car people wouldn't question him, he'd be able to act like there was nothing different in the world between him and everyone else. Sure his mutation wasn't that horrid, not to noticeable, but oh it was fun to use.

"What do you have to have, the bare minimum?" He wasn't going to give more then needed. There were things his grandparents didn't know about, and he liked it better that way. The less people knew, the better. "I'm not giving my whole life story."

>>"One class. I want to work with cars."

"We can arrange that." she nodded. She had no clue how, but if all the kid wanted to learn was shop, who was she to stop him? That sounded like a useful thing to learn. As long as he did not steal one of the cars. Maybe she should have Sam or Saphirus supervise him...

>>"What do you have to have, the bare minimum? I'm not giving my whole life story."

"Bare minimum is fine" she nodded "We usually ask for name, age, and we have to know if you have family we can expect to show up for better or worse. And anything else that can come back to bite us in the ass if we don't know about it in time." she noted "I'm not going to judge you, and we keep records confidential. And if you tell me what it is you are running from, or looking for, maybe I can point you in the right direction."

No saying no on the car thing. That was good. Finally he was getting things he wanted without her questioning him so much. About damn time too. If she didn't start giving him something to actually be excited over, why would he listen to her at all. There was no use just holding the police over his head all the time, he could leave if he wanted and he was most certain that he could fend for himself. He made it this far already. Just having the mansion was a nice perk, for the time being.

"Fine." At least the information they needed wasn't that bad. It was good to know they didn't need his social security number or any of that. That's where he drew the line, a name and his age wasn't bad. The family thing, eh he could go without that but if what she said earlier was true he could see the reasoning behind it all. "Hokee Chogan, fifteen and no worries about family. My dad's to drunk to know the difference between the gas peddle and his left foot and the grandparents wont drive further then the grocery store. I doubt you have to worry about the bitch that birthed me, if she showed up it be the first time I'd see her." With a grunt his eyes veered into the distance. "Happy?"

It didn't matter if she was really happy or not, just he needed her to get off his case. He lasted this long without telling her much of anything and he had intended to do that, but knowing he couldn't stay forever without giving the info did put a bit of a damper into things. She should back off his case a bit now, or hopefully she would. "Got enough to keep me here without pigs trying to take me out for a spin?"

>>"Fine. Hokee Chogan, fifteen and no worries about family. My dad's to drunk to know the difference between the gas peddle and his left foot and the grandparents wont drive further then the grocery store. I doubt you have to worry about the bitch that birthed me, if she showed up it be the first time I'd see her."

That was... sudden. She finally managed to break down his first line of defense; now she had a name, an age (not nearly old enough to drive, by the way) and a family background. She could figure out the rest. And just the fact that he told her meant that he wanted to stay. Somewhere, deep down, he really wanted to stay. Once again, she ran into a kid with a crappy life and a crappy family. She could deal with that.

>> "Happy? Got enough to keep me here without pigs trying to take me out for a spin?"

"It's good" she nodded "I can work with that. But I do have a few more questions if you don't mind. So, your father and mother are not going to look for you, but are you sure about your grandparents? If someone files a missing person report on you, that would make my job hell of a lot harder, and involve the police. If you don't want that... I can just make a few phone calls and make sure they know you are in a good place. I can do it without actually telling them where you are, if that's what you'd prefer."

Of course, she would need Jorge's help on that, but the less the kid knew about that, for now, the better.