Skydancer hadn't been living at The Mansion long; only a couple of weeks, but during that brief period of time she had started to gain a new perspective on her life. For example, while her skin might be purple (or at least the tubes under her skin) and she might not have any hair, her physical mutations weren't as bad as some. She didn't have scales, fur or feathers nor did she have any weird extra limbs, tails or other protrusions unless she was actually using her powers. So, while she might look like some bizarre and freakish alien, her proportions were still human and that gave her options. Options that might allow her to hide her oddities and actually bland in with the world around her.

Once Skydancer had figured out that she might be able to do something about her purple skin and lack of hair, she began asking around at The Mansion about where she might go for help. The hair part, well, that was easy and just involved finding a wig she liked. In fact, she was looking forward to that part of it, in a way she was lucky to be able to choose whatever hair her heart desired. The skin was both the more serious concern and the more significant one. It wasn't too unusual for women in the world to be bald, so while that would stick out as strange, it wouldn't necessarily mark her as a mutant. Purple skin, however, didn't tend to occur naturally in non-mutants.

Eventually Skydancer managed to get herself the name of Nate Holloway, the art teacher. With any luck he might have something in the way of body paint or some other sort of paint-like art supply that she could use to blend in with the world around her. With a confident walk and a very unusual feeling of optimism, Skydancer made her way to the art room and knocked on the door, hoping the art teacher was actually in at the moment.

Nate was done with classes for the day. Being a teacher was something new to Nate, but as with everything in his life, he acclimated to the new climate and figured out how to make it his own.

The student-base was... interesting, but they were good kids. Well, most of them were good kids, but was that not what you expected when becoming a teacher? He was sitting at his desk, looking at work from the day; making small comments on separate papers about proportions and shading.

The door to the room was open a crack, but he could not see anything from his position at the desk. When there was a knock, Nate did not bother looking up right away. "Come in."

Skydancer took a deep breath and walked in. It shouldn't be anything to be worried about, not really. He was an art teacher, after all, and art teachers were almost always some of the nicest teachers around. But this was her skin she was thinking about and her ability to blend in with the human race might just depend upon this very conversation and that was some heavy stuff to think about.

"Hello Mr. Holloway." Teachers liked respect and Skydancer had always been a good student, even if her dedication had been so firmly on her gymnastics dreams that she hadn't really dedicated herself enough to her studies to really stand out academically. "My name is Skydancer or, um, Devyn if you prefer." She stumbled over her human name just slightly, having not had reason to use it in the last year. But this was a teacher, a professional and somehow her mutant name didn't quite seem appropriate. It was more casual than she thought a teacher would really appreciate.

"You don't really know me because I haven't been here long and, um, I'm not really a student at all but I was hoping I could get your help on something." Another deep breath and she went for it. "You see, I kind of have a problem. That is, I'm kind of purple. And I don't want to be. Or at least sometimes I don't want to be. So I thought, maybe, there might be some kind of body paint or something I could use. You know, to not be purple sometimes." Well now, didn't that just sound like pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever.

Nate looked up from his work to see a young girl in the doorway. She was right about one thing: she was indeed purple. Thankfully, that did not phase him; after a month of working at a school for mutants, physical mutations were something he was just getting used to over time. He waved the girl in with a smile. "I'll see what I can do. Come in and take a seat."

He finished one last note on a student's work and stood from his seat, adjusting his glasses. He took a look at Devyn; besides the color, her skin seemed like it should be the normal texture of skin. He thought about the option she suggested; a logical conclusion, but he was not a fan. Body paint presented complications, so he would try something else first. "I'm not sure about paint; the texture would be innacurate and besides that, covering up pores of the body with paint isn't the safest thing." This was also assuming that her skin worked anything like the normal human's.

Nate started searching through the drawers to see just how stocked the art room truly was. "I have an idea if you're willing to be patient. In the meantime, how did you come across good ol' Xavier's?" Technically they were Xavier's Sister School, but it was easier to shorten it.

It always gave Skydancer a sense of relief when people she met for the first time didn't' react negatively to her appearance. Of course, Mr.Holloway did work at The Mansion so he was probably used to odd looking mutants by now. Not only that, but she was becoming more aware of the fact that, as odd as a hairless purple skinned girl was, she was far from the strangest looking mutant around. Reptile mutants seemed especially common, for some strange reason.

"Thank you for being willing to help me." Skydancer took his directions and sat down, playing with her hands nervously. Until proven otherwise, there was the distinct possibility that she was just getting her hopes up for nothing and no matter what she did she wouldn't' be able to hide her mutation and she wasn't at all certain she could deal with that.

"I have an idea if you're willing to be patient. In the meantime, how did you come across good ol' Xavier's?"

"Saph found me. I was, uh, living on the streets at the time. He said I could come here." It was not her proudest moment and her sense of shame showed in her voice. It was hard to admit to being homeless, even if it seemed something of a common story for mutants.

Nate scavenged through the closets, realizing how he never truly looked through the supply closet. The mansion clearly had a budget to go all out with oil paints, acrylic paint, charcoal, and even the body paint Devyn was originally looking for. He noted which shelf it was on, in case he did not find what he was hoping for.

>> "Saph found me. I was, uh, living on the streets at the time. He said I could come here."

The teacher stopped his search for a moment, turning around to get a look at the girl. He smiled warmly. "Good for you. I spent most of my teenage years on the streets, too." Hopefully she managed it without resorting to the means he did, but whatever she went through was her business; he was the last person to judge. "I'm glad you found this place-- or rather, this place found you."

Nate returned to his search, lifting some canvases to reveal a large case. Optimistic, he opened it to find what he was looking for: a large collection of various make-ups and cover-ups. He closed up the case and pulled it out of the closet carefully.

The case was placed on a desk and opened up, revealing the collection. "Care to give this a try, Devyn?"

Skydancer sat there, watching as Mr. Holloway rifled through the supply closet. Would there be anything at all she could use to blend in? The hope and anticipation were difficult to deal with, though at least she wouldn't have to wait for too much longer. She was learning to be more accepting of how she was, but that didn't mean she didn't want to sometimes blend in.

"Good for you. I spent most of my teenage years on the streets, too. I'm glad you found this place-- or rather, this place found you."

"The streets seem to be surprisingly common for mutants," Skydancer answered. It was an unfortunate reality and another thing she was only just now coming to realize. She thought that because she looked freakish that was the reason she had ended up there, but Mr. Holloway was the second mutant who looked pretty much normal who had spent time there, so her initial theory was proven false. "Its really quite sad."

When the tray of different makups was brought out, it was with some trepadition the Skydancer looked inside. She had spent so much time in training that she had never become truly skilled at applying makeup. "Um...I guess I'll try this?" She pulled out a a bottle of flesh coloured powdered foundation and hoped for the best.

>> "The streets seem to be surprisingly common for mutants. Its really quite sad."

The young mutant spoke the truth; whether they were scared or hated or just confused, mutants found themselves on the streets. A hefty sum of the students he dealt with each day spent time without a home at some point or another. It made sense; life on the street was a great equalizer-- everyone is out for themselves, and because of that, every mutant and man is equal. "It is. But it's not the worst thing that can happen to someone. The streets made me who I am," an understatement, "and for better or worse, I like who I've become."

>> "Um...I guess I'll try this?"

He looked at the powdery substance in the bottle Devyn was holding. He looked it over and shook his head. "The powder would not be opaque enough; some purple might come through."

He passed his hand over the bottles in their lines before coming across one that suited his purposes. "Here, try this." He pulled out the bottle and gestured for her to surrender her arm. "It's a cream foundation, so it would be closer to painting your skin, like you were thinking in the first place." He glopped a small amount of the substance into his fingers and brushed them on her forearm, rubbing it in.

He handed the bottle to her. "Cover your arm. You'll probably have to apply more than one layer to conceal the purple." He smirked to himself and added, "It's your assignment." He watched on to see if his idea would work.

If the streets weren't the worse thing that could happen to a mutant then Skydancer didn't want to consider what that worse thing might be. Her mind involuntarily turned to images of imprisonment and death. She recalled her aunt telling her about the camps, though she had been fortunate enough to avoid them herself. That would have definately been worse and she had to supress a shudder in thinking about the possibilties.

"I guess in a way the streets help me grow," Skydancer stated contemplatively. She had always been mature for her age and dedicated in the way the most serious athletes had to be, but there were many things she had learend in the past year, not all of them pleasant. "Though I wouldn't wish them on anyone." Understatement of the century.

Skydancer accepted the cream and started rubbing it into the skin of her arm. It was kind of cold and uncomfortable feeling, but what was a little discomfort when it came to the possibility of having a human mask? As the layer of makeup dried, it became clear that the purple was going to show through, though it was less prominent than it had been before the foundation was added. She smiled in tentative optimism.

>> "I guess in a way the streets help me grow. Though I wouldn't wish them on anyone."

Obviously, the girl's experiences were tough, and Nate decided it best to let the subject go. Everyone had their own baggage, and some was more volatile than others. He never dealt with life as a purple person prowling parkways.

He watched as the purple faded under a creamy complexion, but purple still peeked out. It was not terrible; rather, she looked almost unmutated, with a possible accident that dyed her skin purple. It was a start, but he was sure she was hoping for more.

Nate looked through the case and thought about options. The color of her cream was rather light, so naturally the purple was going to come through partially. He noticed the darker tones of caramel and mocha skin, which could be more effective. "It's lookin' good, but do you wanna see if a darker complexion conceals the purple a little more effectively?"

While the cover-up didn't do quite what Skydancer had wanted it to do, it seemed to her like it was a good start. She didn't' expect perfection the first time around anyway, so it wasn't as if she could feel too disappointed. One step at a time and eventually she would find success. Envisioning the ideal outcome was the first step to gaining that outcome, or so her coaches had always told her.

"It's lookin' good, but do you wanna see if a darker complexion conceals the purple a little more effectively?"

"Fantastic idea," Skydancer agreed, allowing her optimism to creep into her voice. After so long being depressed and pessimistic, it felt good to finally feel positive again. Pessimism wasn't really her natural state although it had come depressingly close to becoming it.

Skydancer wiped off the layer of makeup she had put on her arm before rifling through for a darker shade. Once applied, she waited for it to dry. The results were somewhat better than her first attempt, although a little purple still shone through. "Do you think a second layer might help?"

Devyn responded well to the suggestion and began the application of a new skin tone. It was an interesting concept; the young woman was no real definable category people would assign as race, so with a strong enough collection of make-up, she could cross the lines on a whim and change her identity to suit her needs. If he were a sociology teacher rather than an art teacher, it would be an interesting concept to think about. (If he were still a thief, it would be an interesting opportunity to think about.)

>> "Do you think a second layer might help?"

She was turning into a young woman of dark complexion, but there was still a purple tone to her, like she was covered in a body-wide bruise. She had a suggestion and there were still options; this was the perfect time to experiment after all. "A second layer could help. When the cream dries, you could also try using a powder based cover-up over the cream? There are plenty of things to try."

He pushed the make-up case across the table to his student. "Try things out; go nuts." The worse thing that could happen would be if it looked awful and she had to clean off and try again.

Encouragement helped Skydancer a lot to remain optimistic. Without it she may have simply given up, but with it she had some hope that maybe they might actually achieve some success. It was one of those interesting things in that she knew it didn't actually mean anything to the success or failure of her attempt and she knew it was just in her head, but it helped nevertheless.

"All right, second layer and then powder it is," Skydancer agreed. It took a few minutes for the current layer to dry but once it did she went to work on one more layer. Much to her gratification, the second layer actually did the trick and virtually all traces of purple underneath faded away.

Skydancer grinned at the teacher and before applying the powder, giving the whole thing a much more natural appearance. "I'm not sure this is something I'd want to do every day, but its perfect for those days that I really just want to fit in!" This made everything so much more bearable, that she could just be one of the crowd if only once in a great while.

>> "All right, second layer and then powder it is."

Much to Nate's enjoyment, the teacher got to watch as another coating of makeup succeeded in concealing remaining traces of purple. He would not suggest she go out with too much painted-up skin showing, but in controlled amounts, he was confident she could fly under the radar if she made sure to avoid bringing attention to herself.

>> "I'm not sure this is something I'd want to do every day, but its perfect for those days that I really just want to fit in!"

There was something about Devyn's happiness that truly warmed Nate's heart, like he did something good. In truth, he just provided her with the make up kit and offered a little guidance, but it felt good nonetheless.

"Yeah, it'll come in handy for flying under the radar, but don't forget that you should be just as proud to be your awesome purple self." Convenience was important, but he did not want her hiding who she was behind a disguise all the time.

(He shuddered at his hypocrisy.)

Just to know that she now had the option to hide her purple skin was an incredible relief for Skydancer. Maybe one day she'd be comfortable with standing out in a crowd or, for that matter, even now she might be comfortable if she only had to do it sometimes, but the option to choose to become invisible was something that she had so desperately wanted for such a long time that it almost didn't seem real now.

"Yeah, it'll come in handy for flying under the radar, but don't forget that you should be just as proud to be your awesome purple self."

"Thanks," Skydancer beamed. She wasn't really sure about the awesome purple self thing but a compliment was a compliment and lately she hadn't gotten too many of those. "I'll try to remember not to hide myself all the time and I'll try to be proud of who I am." She had never been in the position of low self confidence before but she remembered giving similar pep talks to some of her friends back in high school. It was a bit of a weird position to be in now.

"Is there anything I can do to repay your kindness?"