(( OOC:
Place is “Insomniac’s Anonymous”, a coffee shop near Central Park, introduced in this thread.

Time is near midnight, sometime within a day or so of Living Rough.

Sonya’s current appearance: www.harrycutting.com/view_imgs.asp?id=2742.

Open to all, but especially to Aisling. Ash, feel free to pick up whatever fragments of Sonya’s internal monolog you consider appropriate; she’s touching the counter and stuff.))

IC:

Sonya isn’t entirely thrilled to discover this fact about herself, but the fact remains: she’s a lot more comfortable armed than unarmed.

She didn’t used to be, she’s pretty sure. Her mom had forced her to take that pistol class last year, and she’d pitched a fit about it… she didn’t even want to touch them. So the fact that she’s actually enjoying the fact that she’s carrying not one, but two guns – let alone the fact that she stole them from a frikkin’ police officer! – just doesn’t feel like her.

Of course, that shouldn’t be a surprise: after all, she isn’t her. But she tries hard, and usually successfully, not to think about that.

Unfortunately, right now her head is full of too many things she’s trying not to think about, and they’re leaking. Like, for example, the way she bolted out of Sanctuary like a coward when the raid started, and lost the closest things to friends she’d had since arriving in New York. Or the way the cop he’d met at that booth over there turned out to be a mutant-hating bigot who’d shot his own girlfriend when he’d discovered her powers. Or the fact that the government was rounding up mutants like her and putting them in concentration camps.

No, all things considered, the fact that she’s more comfortable “packing heat” than she ever thought she would be is not high on her list of things to worry about.

The same goth girl was serving, though of course she didn’t recognize Sonya, and Sonya gave no sign of familiarity. (And there’s another thing she hadn’t thought she’d enjoy so much, this feeling of slipping untrackably from one identity to another. Sure, it sucks not getting to make any real lasting friends, but there are compensations.)

She does give in to nostalgia a little, though, by ordering a Rueben sandwich and a cup of coffee. She remembers the guy who offered her his sandwich back when she first discovered this place, and wonders what became of him. Bet he’s not hiding out from the police, that’s for sure.

(( OOC: So, first post. If I did anything wrong, tell me, k? k! ))

Ash scuffed her feat as she walked, casually running her fingertips along the bricks of the building next to her. She walked as close to the structure as possible, trying her best to distance herself from the few people occasionally passing her on the thin sidewalk. She sorted through the 'not her' thoughts slipping into her mind, dismissing the fuzzy old ones and focusing on the new and more clear thoughts. She was less interested in the thoughts and more interested in the pictures that came with them anyway.

Since she'd been alone she learned to get around using other people's mental images left with their thoughts and prints. She found it so much easier than walking blindly from place to place ha, ha.. blindly.. oh i crack myself up[/b] She wondered if it was bad, making fun of herself the way she did. She shrugged it off and paused at a certain section of the wall.

A rush of someone else's nervous emotion vaguely swept over her. coffee.. stupid boyf--.. boss is gonna kill me.. decaf?.. oh God, my hair.. -ed coffee.. where the hell am i going?.. (with the last fragment of thought came a crowd of not so happy businessmen and women rushing to work, Ash could just make out the sign of a coffee shop a few feet away.) She shook her head, attempting to rid herself of the jittery feeling.

Just then the comforting aroma of fresh brewed coffee rushed through her oversensitive nose. Mmm.. Coffee.. She walked a little faster, a little more deliberately, keeping the borrowed image in her mind. She heard a door swing and heard someone walk through. As it closed it swept another wave of the coffee's fresh scent in her direction.

"Insomniac's Anonymous" Ash remembered from the image. Perfect, sounds like me. She ran her fingertips over the handle before opening the door. mmm... espresso, may-... maybe not... does she know?... so tired... gun... not me... The thoughts were strange, but then again, they usually were. Ash didn't think much of it. She focused on the image of the inside of the cafe, assuming the people in her mind were from an earlier crowd. She walked toward the counter and stopped once her fingers brushed up against the counter.

Can I help you honey?[/b] said a girl behind the counter.
Um, yeah sure. Can I have.. a cup of coffee and a grilled cheese?[/b] She tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice, had to remember she didn't look as old as she was. And a girl who appeared to be 13 or 14 probably shouldn't be out quite so late. Ash jumped up onto the stool and waited for her sandwich, she hadn't realized she was so hungry. So absent mindedly ran her fingers along the counter and looked at her lap to hide her slightly glowing eyes and scrunched up her face. The thought she was picking up were a little odd and fresh, so vivid as well.

two guns... stole them from a frikkin' police officer... doesn't feel like me... it isn't me... Sanctuary... coward... mutant-hating bigot...

Ash paused. Her eyes went wide at the last thought.. Mutant...[/b] she tried to stay calm, picking things up looking for similar thoughts from the same person. She slowly felt along the edges of the counter to her left and right.

discovered her powers... rounding up mutants... like me... camps... She repeated it in her mind over and over again. Hundreds of question buzzed through her mind. There are still mutants? They aren't all gone? I'm not the only one! Ash focused, the thoughts were sad, maybe scared.. disappointed. Lots of things.

Ash wasn't paying attention and bumped the elbow of the person sitting next to her and looked up quick Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention[/b] and looked back down, realizing the stranger might have noticed her eyes.[/color]

> "Oh, I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention."

Sonya hasn't been paying very much attention to the other patrons either, too wrapped up in her black coffee and blacker thoughts to care much about anyone or anything outside of them. But her attention is pulled by the girl who almost makes her spill her coffee.

"No harm done," she replies abruptly as the girl looks up apologetically, then does a double-take when she notices the girl's odd eyes. Her first thought is that she's never seen anyone with eyes that color; when the girl looks away and they flash oddly she decides she's being silly.

"Those are pretty cool," she says, tilting her head to indicate the contact lenses she assumes the girl is wearing. "Where'd you get 'em?"

Ash faced the stranger once again, slightly angling her head. Um, huh, my what?[/i] Ash ran her fingers along the counter once more, hoping to appear shy or nervous but she was really desperately looking for some clue as to what this woman was talking about.

odd eyes... never seen... eyes that color...

Oh, my eyes! No, they've... umm... always been this color.[/b] Ash stumbled over her words and she could feel her face changing from pink to what she was afraid was nearly purple. She was so relieved when the waitress suddenly showed up with her food.

Ash thought maybe she should just leave, but she was SO hungry. She figured the woman next to her must be a little freaked out by her, but she was used to it. People were always staring, why should this time be any different..[/color]

> "Oh, my eyes! No, they've... umm... always been this color."

"Oh!" Sonya's a bit embarassed at her own unintensional rudeness, especially given how uncomfortable she seems to have made the girl, and stammers around an apology. "I'm sorry... I thought they were tinted lenses, you know? They look really cool... I'm jealous."

The waitress appearing with her Rueben and the girl's grilled cheese is a reprieve from her social faux pas, and they eat in silence for a few seconds before Sonya feels compelled to say something more. "So, do they run in your family? The eyes, I mean." She winces a little as she hears herself asking the question... she just keeps digging herself a little rude hole, it seems... but further apology seems pointless.

Ash tilted her head in the direction of the girl, hoping the action wouldn't come off as rude, or as though she was only half paying attention. But 'looking' in the direction of people's faces only seemed to make them uncomfortable, especially strangers. Since Ash could never be sure if she was actually making 'eye contact' or not..

No, actually. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in my family.. but thank you.. Way to be awkward, Ash. Way to go.[/i] The first conversation Ash had had with an actual human in who knows how long, and it wasn't exactly getting off to a great start. If the girl didn't think she was crazy to begin with, she sure as hell does now.

There were still so many questions she wanted to ask and her mind was working so fast, she didn't know how to casually get anywhere. Are you a mutant? What can you do? Do you know anyone like me? She just wanted to scream the questions. Honestly, she just wanted someone to know what she was going through, even a little.

Well, my name's Ash, whats yours?[/i] And she reached out her hand.

((OOC: When Ash shakes your hand, she's just going to get more clear images from your previous thoughts concerning running away from the Sanctuary and your powers and such, maybe a wave of loneliness or regret. Nothing new or invasive, if thats okay with you.))[/color]

(( OOC: Gah! Ash is blind! I somehow missed that until just now. need to work on the reading comprehension skills, clearly… * is ashamed *
Picking up Sonya’s thoughts is cool. Sonya’s background thought-process is heavy on the fact that she’s carrying a gun and how completely ineffectual she’s being at helping her “friends” from Sanctuary, as well as her internal monologue in this post, but whatever Ash would ordinarily pick up is cool.
Note that Sonya will also pick up genetic information about Ash on physical contact.))

(( OOC2: Oo! We could have some fun with this if you wanted.
Ash picks up thoughts through fingerprints, right? And Sonya is currently “copying” the body of another girl, including her fingerprints. It could be fun if Ash picked up some of that girl’s background thoughts that Sonya herself doesn’t really have access to.
Make up whatever you like, Teresa is just some random girl Sonya imprinted on, she’s not especially important.)

> “Well, my name's Ash, whats yours?”

The way the girl looks at her… or, rather, looks off to one side of her… catches Sonya’s attention as she replies, and the metaphorical lightbulb goes off over her head after a second. Oh, for Christ’s sake… I’ve been sitting here talking to a blind girl about her eye color! Rudeness violation, twenty-yard penalty…

Fortunately, the girl didn’t seem offended, though she did seem fairly confused. Hell, there’s a lot of that going around. If I could only get in touch with Syn, somehow! I’m sure she’d know what to do with Rupert and the Camps and everything…

> “No, actually. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one in my family.. but thank you..”

Sonya nods guiltily. “Hi, Ash… I’m --” she stumbles, realizing that yet again she’s neglected to come up with a name to use. I suck suck suck at this!, she berates herself briefly before searching for a name.

Teresa…

The name “sounds” a little odd as it drifts through her mind, but she doesn’t give it much thought. “Teresa. Nice to meet you!” She smiles as she takes Ash’s hand, even though she knows the girl can’t see her face.

The smile freezes in place for a moment as genetic information pours into her mind. Ash’s genome is anomalous, which is no surprise given the blindness and the eye color, but Sonya has had enough experience with mutant genomes at this point to recognize the X-gene signature.

Is she from Sanctuary too? She can’t help the thought as she assimilates the genetic information, but a moment later she realizes she’s being foolish… there are a lot of mutants in New York, after all.

((OOC: Thats okay, Ash doesnt want it to be more obvious than necessary that she's blind, so i guess she's doing a good job! And sorry for how short this post is, I'll make up for it. And we Ash can help you out with background info any time. They can be useful to eachother hopefully in the future ^_^.))

Ash is careful to line up their pinkies when the stranger takes her hand. I can find the answers to my own questions.. Ash felt a ping of guilt with her last thought, she wasn't completely sure she was comfortable with invading the privacy of others.

It was like a movie screen in her mind, no, more like a search engine. She searched for a name, and was surprised to find two. Teresa.. and Sonya. Both with different faces and different backgrounds.. she found hints of other people too. What the hell.. multiple personalities? Then she thought again.. If she's a mutant.. whats her mutation? Ash couldn't remember the last time she actually wanted to talk to a human. Well, I know how to get her attention anyway.

>Hi Ash, I'm Teresa.

Heh, sure you are.

Hi.. Sonya.[/i][/color]

> "Hi... Sonya"

Sonya pulls away from her new acquaintance as though she'd touched a live electrical wire, spilling her coffee on the counter and bumping into a large burly undergroomed man in a flannel shirt as she backs up. "Hey, watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, sir," she mumbles over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off of Ash. The urge to pull out one of her guns and point it at the girl is strong, but doing so in public would be eleven kinds of dumb, so she resists... instead, she keeps backing up until there's an empty table between them.

"How... who are you?!?" Sonya doesn't know if Ash is some kind of psychic, or if she'd found out about Sonya's past through more traditional means, but either way it's clear that a cover she'd been careful to maintain since arriving in Manhattan has just been blown sky-high.

She wants to run away, but forces herself to stand her ground. There's no point, anyway... if she knows who I am, what's to stop her from tracking down my family?!?

Ash stifled a smirk, and calmly handed Sonya a wad of napkins. She spoke in a low but casual voice, Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you or expose you. I just need some answers and honestly, you're the closest I've come to good answers yet.[/b]

Ash looked around, wondering why the coffee shop was so busy at such a late hour, and passed it off as bad luck. She left more than enough money on the counter and turned back toward Sonya. She could sense her confusion, anger, and fear. I need somewhere we can talk.. if she's even willing to talk, now that I've obviously freaked her out more and more with each passing minute.

Hey.. would you.. um.. can we go for a walk? Through the park? Give me a chance to explain? I promise not to pull anything, really. Just look at me.[/b] She smirks and gestures at her small size before jumping off the stool and taking a step closer to the door. Come on, give me an hour? Please?[/b] And she reached out her hand.

The words felt sickly sweet coming from her mouth and she felt like a tool, but come on, what other choice did she have? Being a 'loner' only goes well for so long.[/color]

After reluctantly accepting the tracking device from Hunter's men and being reassured there were no surveilance equipment Syn headed out of the labs. She wanted to see if any of her people had managed to escape the raid on Sanctuary. Syn knew better than to go near Santuary itself though. There would probably be someone or some thing keeping an eye on it for possible mutants trying to return there.

So instead she went on her own path. Walking around the lower areas of town. Then she thought about walking through Central Park. Still she couldn't find anyone she recognized.

Finally she decided to go sit and rest for a bit. The only place close was a coffe shop that was still open even in the late hour that it was.

Entering the establishment Syn immediately scanned for cops or robots. Neither of which seemed to be there. Just lots of people talking and drinking various flavors of coffee. Off to one side there were a couple girls who appeared to be having issues. Syn looked them over for a moment before finding a place to sit at one of the empty tables.

> "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you or expose you.
> I just need some answers and honestly, you're the closest
> I've come to good answers yet"

Sonya makes no move to accept the napkins, unwilling to let Aisling touch her again. Granted, she doesn't know for sure that avoiding physical contact is any guarantee of privacy -- her abilities work that way, but not everybody's does -- but it can't hurt, right?

Ash's reaction is interesting, though. She seems sincere... and if she is, then she's no more informed about what's really going on than Sonya herself is. On the other hand, she could be lying. On the third hand, if Ash were trying to manipulate her, giving away the fact that she knows Sonya's real name wasn't the cleverest way to go about it. Then again, it isn't really any stupider than my giving away my existence to that detective, now is it?

> "Hey.. would you.. um.. can we go for a walk? Through the park?
> Give me a chance to explain? I promise not to pull anything, really.
> Just look at me. Come on, give me an hour? Please?"

Sonya shakes her head slowly, avoiding Ash's outstretched hand. "Size doesn't mean much when it comes to people like you, does it? No... you want to explain yourself, you can do it here."

Not that being in public is too much protection, granted, but she'd have to be an idiot to go off into the park in the middle of the night with a stranger about whom she knows nothing more than (a) she knows more about Sonya than Sonya wants anyone to know, and (b) she's a mutant whose powers haven't yet been established. She gestures to a booth by the window, far enough away from other customers that they can talk in some semblance of privacy.

The tinkling bells briefly draw her attention to a new customer stepping through the door, and her jaw practically drops as she recognizes Syn. The coincidence is almost unbelievable, though on some consideration it's not as implausible as it might seem... this place does have a habit of drawing the late-night non-partying crowd, after all.

Coincidence or not, it's an opportunity unlikely to repeat itself, and she resolves to take advantage of it. To Ash, she holds up a finger and mutters "You're going to have to wait a second, though... I've got business to take care of" before walking over to Syn's table, unconcerned with whether Ash follows her or not.

"Hi. I know you don't know me, but I... well, I have a kind of a message for you, I guess. From a fellow you know as Sonny. There's some stuff you need to know, some important stuff. Is this a good time to talk?"

((OOC: Sad to say, all the italics and bold seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm confusing even myself. So I suppose I'll stop that now.))

>"Size doesn't mean much when it comes to people like you, does it? No... you want to explain yourself, you can do it here."

Ash began to mull it over in her mind, People like me, huh.. does she take me to be a 'bad guy'? Or girl rather.. Anyway, they didn't have to walk, her comfort zone was as good as any. She just needed information, and a new direction ultimately. But before she had time to respond to Sonya, or Teresa as she obviously would rather be called, suddenly walked right past her.

>"You're going to have to wait a second, though... I've got business to take care of"

Confused, Ash spun around after her. Oh no you don't. And before giving herself any time to think it over, followed without a word.

Still waiting for a waitress Syn's attention was grabbed by a lady who approached her. She didn't recognize the female from any places she had been. Another thing seemed odd as the lady mentioned being a friend of Sonny. Syn didn't think Sonny had the time to tell others of Sancutary let alone to desribe Syn to anyone.

The whole thing intrigued Syn and so she gestured for the female to sit down. Another girl approached almost immediately after Sonny's "friend". Looking to girl over Syn noticed the purple eyes as they just sort of jumped out with their unigue color. Was she another friend of Sonny's or a friend of Sonny's friend?

"Have a seat ladies." She addressed both girls and then directed herself more to Sonny's friend. "I'm not busy at the moment so I suppose now is a good time to talk. So, what's this imporntant information you have for me?"

> "Have a seat, ladies. I'm not busy at the moment so I suppose now is a good time to talk. So, what's this important information you have for me?"

The plural startles Sonya for a moment, then she turns to realize that Ash has followed her. Not the way I wanted it, she thinks to herself, but OK, fine. She already knows too much, anyway... and if I play this right, maybe she doesn't have to learn any more than she already knows.

"First off, you need to understand the situation. He didn't tell you everything... he can do more than read. He can copy. Become what he reads. You understand me? I can't tell you everything right now, but me and him... we're a lot alike." She looks Syn straight in the eye and glances significantly though quickly in Ash's direction, hoping Syn will understand that she can't speak freely and will put what she's hearing now together with what she was told in Sanctuary and pick up the hidden message, that the man she knows as 'Sonny' can copy genomes, adopt multiple forms, including hers.

"We're closer than twins, you understand me? I'm Sonya. That's my real name... I use others, though." She wishes she could be clearer, but the unexpected listener makes that difficult. Still, nobody gets to be in charge of a group like the Order without being at least a little bit quick on the uptake, so she hopes that's clear enough for Syn.

"Anyway, that isn't the important thing, just want to make sure you understand. Two things are more important.
First, I want to join up with you and Big Red and the others I met back at your house, before those gate-crashers made such a mess, you understand? I know I was kinda on the fence about it before, but let's just say recent events have made it clearer where I stand, and I think I can be useful.
Second, one of those gate-crashers might be willing to help us out, if we spin it the right way and get the right resources in place, you understand? I made contact. He thought I was his partner. Might not come to anything, but it might get our friends back into friendly hands... except I can't make it happen by myself."

She shrugs at that point and slides over closer to the window, careful not to leave her bare skin exposed where Aisling can touch it (though, ignorant of Aisling's real power, not careful enough to avoid leaving fingerprints on the counter). "Oh... and this here is Ash. We just met a few minutes ago, though it seems she knows more about me than most folks do. I think maybe you two got things to talk about, but they aren't any of my business, you understand?"