Since coming to New York City Skydancer's life had both gotten better and had gotten far more chaotic than she ever could have expected. She was no longer on the streets and she was finally starting to come to terms with the fact that she was one of the freaks and maybe, just maybe, that might not be such a bad thing and both of these were good things. She had applied to work in the circus something that, if it worked out, would actually put her bizarre appearance to good use. Of course it was on a trial basis only, for now, and she had a lot of work ahead of her if she was to actually secure herself a permanent place, but it was a real start.

The chaotic part of her new life had to do with certain less positive things. Between getting attacked by anti-mutant thugs, getting turned into a child and almost being sacrificed by a cult of M abusers, she hardly knew which way to turn anymore or what might be coming at her next. Then there was the fact that, despite all visible evidence of kindness and no ulterior motives, she didn't entirely trust the people who ran The Mansion. It still seemed too good to be true, that there must be some catch involved in her being able to stay there. If her new circus career worked out she might not have to concern herself with that much longer, but in the meantime she desperately felt she needed to know more.

Which brought her to Aura. Skydancer couldn't' exactly call the mutant woman a friend; she had only met her twice and one of those times involved rescuing her from the cult of M abusers. However, she was on good terms with her, or so she thought, and she knew Aura had information on the other side of the Mansion vs. Sancuary conflict. It was a conflict she knew far too little about and one she intended to learn more about. The Mansion side of things she was slowly becoming knowledgeable on but, of course, the only way to get knowledge on the other side was to go there herself and investigate herself. She knew how biases worked and asking those on one side of a conflict about those on the other was a recipe for disaster.

A quick phone call to Aura's cell established a meeting place near Sanctuary at a little mutant friendly coffee shop she had heard about. There they would hopefully have a chance to talk and maybe even a chance to see Sanctuary itself. Skydancer dawned her wig before heading out. Soon she hoped to find the right mix of makeup to be able to cover her purple skin in order to blend in better when it was convenient to do so, but she was still working on that and so opted simply for a long jacket and large sun hat.

The trip to to Bean Around the World was thankfully uneventful. Collecting up some change, Skydancer ordered herself a coffee and sat down at a table across from the door, waiting for Aura to arrive. It was nice sitting in a place where her purple skin barely got a second glance.

Aura had honestly not expected Skydancer to call, many never did once they went to the mansion and maybe that was even a good thing. Aura considered the mansion people fools but was also aware that the world would one day need such people. Still skydancer was different, she was pretty for one, Aura mused to herself. Still in the eyes of many at the mansion she was more of a monster then she was sure humans thought of sky. Aura could not help but recall that lovely purplish skin and the tendrils within her body as well.....

Aura shook her head and smiled, she had decided to have Lisa help her pick clothing for the meeting, simply because Aura knew she knew nothing about clothing and because even being deep in order territory, Aura had only actually been inside a restaurant less then a dozen times for legitimate purposes. Those times had also been normally later at night and tended to be violent.

Still Aura knew the place well enough, and even got a long with the Mutant owner of the shop. Mutant run business had a tendency to thrive near sanctuary and Aura was quite proud of that fact. Aura had decided to walk since it was close and this deep in order territory was out of the normal police patrols. Aura enjoyed the cool air and even managed to avoid a tempting ally she was sure had a few people in it, which usually proved fun.

Aura entered the Coffee shop Her long black hair, was actually combed and had been cut from the wild unkempt locks she normally wore to a healthy looking Layered cut that still reached down most of her back. Aura was wearing a casual dark green t-shirt and a a skirt that fell halfway to her knee. She had a black purse with her as well, but rarely did Aura carry anything the average women might with her. Her nails were a deep purple but other then foundation which lori had insisted on she wore no other make up.

When Aura walked in, she got a few glances but few payed her much attention after that. It took almost no time at all to locate sky dancer and Aura walked straight to the table and took a seat. "It is good to see you under better condition's" Aura Said as their last encounter had been a semi-brutal affair. Aura had not really gotten to talk to her much then much to her disappointment.

As Skydancer waited for Aura to arrive, she took an interest in watching the people around her. A woman came up to the desk to order something and she swore the woman had to be half squirrel. She had a big, bushy tail and everything and it took Skydancer a surprising amount of willpower not to run up and start petting her. Something told her that would probably be seen as rude. If she had to be one of the freak mutants, why couldn't she have at least ended up fuzzy?

When Aura finally arrived at the shop Skydancer rose and extended a hand to her. It felt a tad surreal to be meeting her under non-stressful circumstances. The first time she had been living on the street and while there hadn't been any immediate danger around, it was nevertheless not a good time in her life. The second time involved a cult trying to sacrifise her to some crazy god or another and that was an even less good time in her life. Nearly being sacrifised was something she preferred never to have to repeat. It was only because of Aura and Jirou that almost being sacrifised hadn't become actually sacrifised.

"It is good to see you under better condition's"

"The feeling is definately mutual. Care for a coffee?" The money she had brought with her technically wasn't hers. Soon, once she started performing, she expected to have money of her own but for now she was relying upon the generosity of those who ran The Mansion. It was something she hated doing, but was was necessary for the time being.

Aura took the other woman's hand and shook it as she believed she was suppose to do. Aura was not one for social interactions finer details but she kept her Aura off for this contact. "I am ok, but thank you" She said and ordered water from the waitress when she came over. SHe looked around the building, even knowing she was in danger it was a rare experience for her. The last time in fact she had been thrown to the Dinosaur erra. She had wished she could have shown Amber that world, it had been beautiful, dangerous yes but beautiful.

"I must confess most people i meet are not nearly as...exciting as you" Aura said with a smile. Their last encounter had been tragic yes, but it had also been a wonderful opportunity to let loose and remind the humans of their place. SHe deeply regretted the mutant who had been killed and believed it meant she had to become better, to prevent herself from failing once again. Still they had eliminated the threat, she had a feeling those who had survived the incident likely had not wanted to.

She snapped back to attention realizing her momentary distraction. "My sister went to school at the mansion and lived in sanctuary. I have had one or to to visits there myself. . And My own beliefs are not necessarily the beliefs of Sanctuary. Most residents are much less violent then me. Their are many of our kind who can go nowhere else but Sanctuary. " Aura said and thanked the waitress for bringing her water. SHe was being honest at least she thought on the vilolence part.

Skydancer wasn't at all certain that exciting was the right word to describe her. Lately she had gotten into more than her share of exciting and dangerous experienes, but that had more to do with the fact that she was a purple mutant than it did anything to do with her personally. "I think you must be mistaken. I'm hardly exciting, though I see where you might have gotten that impression, given how we've met before." She offered a sheepish and apologetic smile.

Taking a sip of her own coffee, Skydancer reflected upon her life over the course of the last month. How she had come to be in the position she was currently in still seemed more like a dream than a reality. Only a few weeks ago she was living on the streets and a few months before that she had still been safe and warm at home with her parents and her siblings. Now look at her; she had no idea where she'd be in another few months.

Before Skydancer had been placed in violent situations herself, she would have stated that violence was universally bad, but now she wasn't so sure. Aura had saved her, after all, and so in a strange way she actually respected the way in which she was willing to utilize her violent skills. "I'm still not sure what I think of all this. This isn't what I wanted out of life, I was supposed to be an Olympic athlete. But more and more I see the reality is that I'm a part of this whether I want to be or not and, that being the case, I want to ensure that I make the right choices and take the right steps. I won't be taken advantage of by anyone."

Aura had no idea what the Olympics were other then they were athletic. "Being who we are can make things hard. Our people hold a lot of sorrow on their shoulders. However their are no right or wrong steps, you will find the path you are suited for. Nature gave us our gifts to aide us on those paths." She said with a smile. Their had been a time when those words had meant more to her, she still believed them however shaken her faith was.

"Sanctuarys people tend to be transient, in other word's some stay a few days other's like me have lived there for years. Many of us come from awful pasts and do to them would be caged by humanity. Others simply enjoy the idea of a place where they won't have to hide while living a normal life." She said as she ordered something off the menu. The waitress soon came back witha good sized vanillia cake, prolbely enough for four people. The lady only left a fork, and knife for skydancer however and left a plate for both of them.

Forming a three inch knife Aura cut a slice for herself, then a formed a flat spatchula, actually her flyswatter and placed it on her plate, she then formed a fork. "My ideas on humanity are considered extream, even among those who hate humans. It is thanks to Sanctuary i have learned restraint. They have shown me that life, is not simply moving from one dance to the next, the world is more complex then that" She said useing her Aura fork to eat some cake, gnesturing for Sky dancer to have some to.

If Skydancer hadn't actually seen Aura in action, she never would have believed the young woman capable of the violence she had heard of her. Here she was, sitting and calmly conversing just like any other person she might meet. Yet, she knew what the girl was capable of because she had seen her in action. She had saved Skydancer's life and for that she was grateful, but she had to remember just how dangerous she could be. Dangerous, at least, to her enemies of which Skydancer was glad to note that she didn't appear to be one of.

"Being who we are can make things hard. Our people hold a lot of sorrow on their shoulders. However their are no right or wrong steps, you will find the path you are suited for. Nature gave us our gifts to aide us on those paths."

Those were wise words and Skydancer nodded thoughtfully. "I wish mutants didn't have to hide what we are. Do you know, when I was a child I had an aunt who was a mutant and then, later, my sister. I wanted nothing more in this life than to be a mutant myself; it was my greatest dream. Then, when it finally happened, I was one of the freaks, the ones people targeted simply because I looked a little different and that dream turned into a nightmare." She was only just starting to come to terms with her life and her appearance. She wasn't' quite to the point of full acceptance yet, but she was getting there.

"Sanctuarys people tend to be transient, in other word's some stay a few days other's like me have lived there for years. Many of us come from awful pasts and do to them would be caged by humanity. Others simply enjoy the idea of a place where they won't have to hide while living a normal life."

Skydancer took a sip of her coffee before replying. Coffee was one of the few bad habits she had allowed herself as a teenager, when she really couldn't' afford any. Being a pique athlete required her not to put any poisons into her body, and that often even included such things as sugar and alcohol. "I don't have to hide what I am at The Mansion either. Everyone seems really nice there, although I've only met a few people. Its good that mutants have a place to go, to be safe and accepted."

Skydancer accepted the piece of cake, opting to eat with a more traditional fork. Watching Aura's power in action really was quite fascinating. "I'm realizing now that I need to learn to defend myself. My power is capable, but that can only take me so far. I'm going to learn martial arts. And I'm going to perform in the circus." all right, so maybe the circus wasn't quite related to anything else, but she felt absurdly proud of that fact and she couldn't' stop the sheepish grin from appearing on her face.

Aura listened to skydancer speak, it was an all to familiar path of thought Aura had seen in many mutants. In a way almost all Mutants wished they did not have to hide, even Aura's whose need to hide was more self induced then most. Still Skydancer's next train of thought botherd Aura everytime she heard it. They were not freak's they were mutant's and the fact they felt like freaks was in Aura's eyes a human crime that needed to be corrected one day.

"We are Not freak's we are Mutant's it is something to be proud of and to cherish. So the mutant gene ran strong in your bloodline then, that's good" She said with a smile. To Aura it was a little like being nobility. STill Aura did not comment further on that and let the girl talk.

"Well if you want to live in a place and not have to hide either the mansion or Sanctuary will do for that. From there it is preference, and i agree it is good we have places to go to be us, but i wish for a world where that place could be any ware our feet touch the earth" she said with a soft sigh. It was an old dream and Aura questioned why she brought it up.

Then the topic turned to somthing Aura could realy understand, powers. "Well my pretty freind, from what i saw, you could be very formidable in combat with your powers. MArtial art's is fine but if you can take out your attacker your power, then you likely won't need such a thing. Perosnally after seeing you fight that kidnapper boss guy, the idea of testing your power's limits intrigues me, it is rare to see an opponent i could fight without worrying about harming them much" she said with a smile. Aura wa ssure she could beat skydancer in combat but weather that was becuse aura likely had far more experince or not Aura was unsure. "It really is a gorgous power" she said as she cut out another peice of cake.

One thing further got Aura's attention. "What is a circus?" she asked curiously having never been to or seen one before.

"Freak is more the identity that they've given me rather than one I'd choose to give myself," Skydancer answered, gesturing towards the window leading outside. "All I ever wanted growing up was to be a mutant and when that dream finally came true, I realized just how misguided it was. The dream turned to ashes because of a small thing like purple skin." Honestly, she was working on getting over that bitterness, but it wasn't an easy thing to do.

Skydancer nodded at Aura's word and took another bite of cake. "I want to see Sanctuary, so that I can make an informed decision regarding where I'd prefer to stay. As for mutants being accepted in the outside world...I used to think they were because my family was always so accepting. My ant could animate little oragamis and I idolized her. It didn't take long for those delusions to vanish though." There came that bitterness again. Her family wasn't perfect, but if people could only be as accepting of mutants as they were, the world would be a much better place.

Skydancer blushed at being called pretty, the redu in her face darkening the natural purple of her tubes showing through her clear skin. "My powers can be dangerous but I need to learn to use them and the rest of my body more effectively, now that my life is so much more dangerous." She didn't have any illusions about the damage her tubes could do if she wanted them too. After all, they were razor sharp and strong enough to move cars so a human body would be nothing to her, if it came down to it. No wonder people were so afraid of mutants; if she had been the violent of vengeful sort, there was no telling what kind of damage she could do.

Skydancer was puzzled that anyone wouldn't know what a circus was and she gave Aura a funny look. "Its basically a performance show. There are acrobats, freaks, fire eaters, animal trainers and all sorts of others. I'm going to be an acrobat, doing death defying stunts high in the air for the adoration of the crowd." Her excitement at the prospect was obvious in her voice. True, her past live had been turned upside down and ruined by becoming a visible mutant, but that opened the doors for an exciting new life that she was incredibly optimistic about.

"Sanctuary is open to all mutants, i know a few Guys who are five times our size and bright red" She said speaking of the Abyss brothers. She had no idea that her math likely did not check out. She had no idea of her family was mutants or not though she had always assumed no after all they had abandoned her. She had to remind herself that that very memory could well be a lie as she had discovered most of her memories were false.

"I find once you know where the vital organs are, humans become easy to fight. Leaving them alive can be the hard part, Mutants can take skill though as every one of us can do somthing wonderful and one must find out the others weakness before one can beat them" she said not sure what her friend intended to train against. Aura considered training to fight humans a waste for her purple friend.

"I see, it sound's like an interesting place" Aura said though she still did not really understand the idea of a circus. Most of things Her purple friend had described were thing's aura knew nothing about. However over all it sounded like a place for a mutants and Aura was happy about that anyway. Fire breather seemed an obvious mutant power though she was unsure what animal trainers powers might be, perhaps they were animal mutations.

"I had no idea i was a mutant untill i was fighting another girl and accidentally cut her spine in two. She was dead before she hit the ground. Humans locked me up for awhile, and then......well...They made me thing we got broken out and proceeded to train me as a weapon. AFter awhile killing people became easy and i lost that guilt one feels when they take a life somware down the road. For people like me, it's sanctuary, an abandoned warehouse or jail" she said knowing she would never be aloud to live at the mansion. With ehr reputation it was almost a ridiculous thought, besides they were bieve and beleived humans and mutants could coexist. Still when the time came aura would be dead and she could only hope those at the mansion could rebuild upon the ashes of those who fought. "Whenever you would like to go, we can" she said easily, as she stopped eating.

The bright red guys sounded rather interesting. Skydancer had discovered her own interest in meeting other visible mutants. There was something to be shared among them, a certain kind of life that no other mutant could fully understand or appreciate. Which wasn't to say that she didn't genuinely like some of the other hidden mutants she had met, but there was a little something extra there when she met a fellow mutant who couldn't help but stick out.

"I'm not sure that I wanted to kill anyone," Skydancer replied with a hint of uncertainty. Maybe it would be a good idea to know how to, just in case, but she was actually rather certain that she did not want to kill anyone. Wouldn't that mean that she was just as bad as them, if she were to actually take life in that fashion? The way the other young woman talked of such things would have been more disturbing if she didn't remember the fact that Aura had used her violent skills to save her life.

"The circus is very interesting," Skydancer agreed. Now there was a topic she felt much more comfortable talking about. "Everyone is so bright and colourful and mostly not in the mutant sense. They don't judge me, which is the most amazing thing. Well, most of them don't anyway. Its partly because I'm going to help make them money, I guess, but even many of the humans there wouldn't have a place if not for the circus, so they understand a little better what its like to be a freak."

"That sounds like a really horrible experience." With Aura's words, Skydancer came to understand a little better how she had become the person she now was and it saddened her to think of it. "My parents always supported me, even when I became a mutant. Unfortunately not everyone felt the same way. A bunch of angry humans broke into my house one day and killed my brother because I wasnt' able to protect him. He was innocent of everything and simply because he was the brother of the mutant he died." It still hurt to talk about the experience.

"Well wherever you can be safe and enjoy yourself" She said a little disappointed that it sounded like most of these people would not be mutants. Still she hoped she would do well there and that she could make money. Aura's concept of money was still a bit vague but she had worked out certain types of money should only be used in certain situations. Still it was mostly with the green paper form people wanted. She was unsure how to respond to human freaks, as Aura considered humans diseased in a way and as such the idea of an even uglier form was hard to recall..

"Humans can be very cruel, they are afraid of us in general and leads to violent outbursts among their kind. Did they find those who committed the act?" She asked considering trying to find them herself if not. "Their are times when i wonder what it would have been like to have parents who cared, it's such a sweet but rare thread among our kind" she said shaking her head a bit sadly.

It was clear to Aura that given this girls convictions she would likely not be order material. It was a sad thought on her mind. The lovely purple mutant had been given something incredibly rare, a warm loving home. It was something most mutants she knew never had. Of course she also reasoned that if they had thought, they prolbely would not be at Sanctuary, essentially a mutant homeless shelter.

Skydancer nodded her head thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how safe it is because I'm not sure how safe anywhere is anymore. But I think its something that will make me happy and mean that I won't have to rely upon the kindness of others forever." The fact that she might never be entirely safe again made her sad and that sadness was apparent in her voice. Why couldn't people just learn to accept mutants? They weren't really that different from humans, were they?

"I don't know if they were ever caught," Skydancer replied. That was the thing that hurt most of all; the fact that her brother's death would probably always go unavenged. It was such a profoundly unfair reality only made worse by the fact that he hadn't been guilty of anything more serious than being related to a mutant.

Skydancer felt sad for Aura as well. It seemed as if sadness followed mutants around like a cloud that they couldn't escape from. "I had a good life growing up, at least until I turned purple." She smirked, the expression a little bitter. "I guess I was more fortunate than many. But I can't rely on my family anymore because I'm dangerous to them. Not because of my power, because I can control that, but because of the people that would harm me and mine because of my power. I wish there was something I could do about it!"

Skydancer was stunned to find that anger had cropped into her mind and mingled with the sorrow she had felt for so long. It wasn't fair that mutants should have all of the many problems they did for no other reason than they were a little bit different than the humans around them and that was something that made her both sad and angry. Angry enough, perhaps, to actually do something about it. She frowned, her mind a million miles away as she considered whether or not she was even in a position to do something and, if so, what that something might be.

"And that is a song of sorrow to. Cut off from some of the few humans who sound decent, simply because other humans don't like how you look? These are the people the mansion would have you protect and forge peace with. We each have a path we must follow in life, and some are not meant to fight. My hands are already stained in red, so i fight so others do not need to. I do not beleive Humanity and Mutant kind can live in peace for long" she said firmly and easily.

"Think of it this way, if a mutant with a speed power races a human, even if he never uses his power, many will still accuse of him of such. Not only that but their are mutants who can level a building in minutes without the need for heavy equipment. How thrilled with mutants will humans who no longer have jobs be? Their will be a war some day" Aura continued feeling she was being honest.

"Perhaps i am unable to understand anything but the dance of battle. I am a solider for our kind and one day i will meet my head for it. Your path may well be different as are most at either Sanctuary or the mansion. Both of these places are the safest places i know of for our kind" she said realizing her words were probably a bit one sided. She had never been to the mansion for long periods of time and in truth barely knew the layout.

Skydancer wasn't sure that she entirely agreed that humans who were decent were in the minority, but she certainly understood the sentiment. She had seen both the good and the bad that humanity had to offer and had met both good and bad humans, but she had to believe that most of them were more good than not. At the very least she knew there were many gradients of good and bad and most people, human and mutant alike, fell somewhere in the middle.

"I think there is still room for humans. Humans are uncomplicated, where as many mutants have trials that go along with being mutants. Take me for example; I have to manage my diet in ways most humans would find ridiculous and that all because of my mutation. Surely I can't be the only one?" Although Skydancer spoke the words, she only half believed them. After all, was that not the reason why she and other mutants weren't allowed to compete in the Olympics? Mutants were physically superior to humans in many ways, though that didn't mean they were morally superior. Maybe what she had heard was true and humans were a slowly dying race.

"I want to learn to fight," Skydancer answered. Battle wasn't something she was intimately familiar with, but it was something she felt strongly about learning. "I don't know that I'll ever be like you," which was a good thing, though she admired what Aura was willing to do in a dark sort of way, "but I do want to be able to protect myself and others, if it comes down to it. I've been given this amazing gift and that means I should use it, right?"

In many ways Skydancer didn't understand Aura but what she did understand was, in a strange way, admirable and sad both at the same time. She didn't bear her the hatred that others seemed to, although she didn't ever want to become like her either. Maybe those extremes were necessary for the few, although she preferred a more even handed approach herself.