Aadi continued to wait expectantly to be shown whatever Carragail's power was, ecstatic. She was finally meeting another like her. She'd of course figured she couldn't be alone, but it was one thing to know so, and another to see someone else capable of the things she could do, and speak with them. Even if it was in heavily-accented English.

>> "Oh, really, it's not that impressive."

When it came, Aadi disagreed with that statement immediately. Blinking at the sudden light from the asian girl's hand, Aadi gasped softly in wonder. That was before she had to shield her eyes from how brilliant the light was. It was only that bright for a moment before dimming down again. Lowering her hands, Aadi stared at Carragail's hand until the light dimmed back down into nothing again.

>> "That's pretty much all I can do. It's more annoying than anything, really."

Blinking repeatedly (she had sunspots in her vision now), Aadi brightened. "What do you mean? I think it is very cool! You are like the sun as a person. You can do that with just your hand?"

"What do you mean? I think it is very cool! You are like the sun as a person. You can do that with just your hand?"

Kara blushed strongly, staring at the ground and replying, "N--No, it works with all of my skin. It...just works best with my hands. And...th--thank you."

Speaking of which...

She began to feel a slight twinge of pain in the hand that she'd lit up. As she watched it, it began to turn from her normal pale brown to an angry red.

Sunburned. By herself. Already.

Fantastic.

Rubbing her hand and doing her best to ignore the pain, she began to feel a few pinpricks of rain. It didn't even qualify as a drizzle, and it didn't look like it was going to be much worse, but still...

"I--Is it just me, or is it starting to rain?" she asked Aadi, staring up as if she were simultaneously asking the clouds.

>> "I--Is it just me, or is it starting to rain?"

Rain? Aadi looked skywards, and winced as she got a drop in the eye. Yes, it was starting to rain. Brilliant. Rain hadn't been in the forecast...where was she supposed to go now? Indoors was asking for trouble with her inability to keep a grip on gravity for longer than ten minutes at a time.

"Yes...maybe we should go inside someplace?" Aadi stood up again. "I do not know any place to go, do you?"

That was when she noticed the angry color to Carragail's hand, frowning. "Oh...are you okay? Maybe we should get something for that." The sooner a burn was treated, the better off it would be. Aadi had gotten plenty of burns in the kitchen over the years.

"Yes...maybe we should go inside someplace? I do not know any place to go, do you?"

Kara shook her head, replying, "N--No. I haven't...um...been here very long, so...no. B--But maybe...we could go looking. For, you know...someplace."

"Oh...are you okay? Maybe we should get something for that." Kara gave her a confused look, then noticed Aadi looking at her hand. She glanced down at it herself, muttering, "Oh...that. Um..."

It was only looking a little worse than it was when she'd last looked. Then again, that's like saying that a heart attack is a minor inconvinience. Not exactly that extreme, though.

"I--It's no big deal. It...just...hurts a little. Side effect of the...you know...super...thing."

She slowly tried to stand up, her body making plenty of protest. Eventually, though, she managed to get onto her feet. "W--We should go find someplace. B--Before the rain...makes you...um...sicker. Or something."

>> "W--We should go find someplace. B--Before the rain...makes you...um...sicker. Or something."

Yeah. That would definitely not be fun. Aadi sniffled again, looking up at the darkening sky. "There might be a café or some place near by. We can get something for your hand too. Let's go."

Securing her backpack, she started back towards the beaten path, hoping Carragail would follow her. She had so many questions she'd wanted to ask if she ever found someone with powers like her, and well...now she had. The question was what to start with first, and her poor mood at being sick was pushed aside with giddiness.

"You say you have not been here long? Me too! Where do you live before? Are you here for school, or with family?"

"There might be a café or some place near by. We can get something for your hand too. Let's go."

Kara stood up a little straighter and began to follow Aadi as she made her way back to the path. Kara kept her distance, though. Comfortable or no, Kara still didn't let people that far into the Danger Zone if she could help it.

"You say you have not been here long? Me too! Where do you live before? Are you here for school, or with family?"

"Oh...um..." The question took Kara quite off-guard. She was expecting something a little less...well...personal. Something to do with her ability, maybe. Favorite band or something. Not a few-word summary of her life story. So in the name of answering on the spot, she stumbled out a few sentences.

"Um...we're from Massachusetts...originally. My dad was...the...governor for a while. You might know him. And...I'm just...here...for school. What about you?"

She was hoping that Aadi would go into some detail. For one thing, she wanted to stave off answering more questions. But for another, she...kind of...liked listening to Aadi talk. It reminded her of her therapy sessions, namely how her therapist would spend lots of time chattering about some parable. The only differences were that Aadi was about twenty years younger, a lot taller, and had that french-but-not-french accent that Kara still had trouble placing. All that said, she was leaning in just slightly, as if waiting on the edge of her seat for Aadi's response.

>> "Um...we're from Massachusetts...originally. My dad was...the...governor for a while. You might know him. And...I'm just...here...for school. What about you?"

Massachusetts, Aadi nodded along at that information. She was one of the many Canadians who, while knowing the names of the many (many) states, couldn't for the life of her place them on a map beyond New York, Florida, and maybe California. As for knowing the name of the governor? Not a hope in hell.

"Ehm...I do not know of any governors, but that sounds cool," Aadi smiled over her shoulder at the other girl, dropping back to walk alongside her rather than hurt her neck trying to look back. "I am from Montréal, in Canada. Here for school too, I go to a école culinaire..." She had to pause. "Cooking school. Are you in high school, or graduated?"

Aadi was (falsely) assuming ordinary questions would be easier to answer than jumping right into the whole 'powerful mutant' thing right away.

"Ehm...I do not know of any governors, but that sounds cool,"

Kara breathed a soft sigh of relief. Thank God this girl didn't know her dad. This way, she didn't have to dead with the oh-my-god,-your-dad's-Paul-Mitchell!-Is-he-actually-running-for-the-Senate reaction that she usually got.

Then again, she still had to deal with Aadi walking alongside her, just a little too close for comfort. Kara scooted sideways as she walked, just enough to make herself a little more at ease. It was a little annoying not having the girl in her peripheral vision, but it was still a comfort knowing that she wasn't within arms reach.

"I am from Montréal, in Canada. Here for school too, I go to a école culinaire...Cooking school. Are you in high school, or graduated?"

Kara furrowed her brows. All these inter-personal questions...it was really starting to get on Kara's nerves. And judging by the fact that she didn't seem like the kind of person to beat around the bush, Kara (falsely) assumed that Aadi wasn't planning on asking any more about Kara's powers or sharing her own. Which annoyed her a lot.

Deciding that answering the question is polite, Carragail begrudgingly muttered, "J--Just High School."

Aadi wasn't oblivious to the scoot away from her, frowning in confusion. What was that for? Was she thinking Aadi's cold was contagious? Well, it probably was. Maybe she should be more careful how close she got to people.

When the reply to her question came, Aadi nodded in understanding. High school in the states could go up to 19 years old, right? Or 20? This girl didn't look that close to her age though, she was probably a bit younger.

Okay, Aadi couldn't really contain her curiosity much longer. So she turned to Carragail with bright eyes. "So, ehm...when did your power start..."

That was when the sky opened up above them, the beginnings of a drizzle turning into a downpour. Aadi shrieked: of all days not to wear even a hat. "Vite!" She reached out and caught Carragail's hand before bolting towards the park exit.

"So, ehm...when did your power start..."

'Finally. It's about freaking time.'

She was about to start her response when the drizzle suddenly turned into an outrageous downpour. It was as if God himself had decided to interrupt Carragail while playing a practical joke at the same time.

Then Aadi forced her attention by both swearing and grasping onto her hand. Immediately, out of reflex, Kara attempted to pull her hand away, but not before Aadi began to forcibly drag her out of Central Park.

"Aaack!" she spontaneously shouted as Aadi's soft hand began to cramp up Kara's wrist. She felt herself starting to panic just slightly as she ran, breathing even harder and heavier.

"Where are we going!?" she hollered, panic raising her voice even though Aadi was literally right in front of her face.

Aadi winced at the loud shout right behind her. "Somewhere there is no rain!" she called back. No way was she walking wherever they were going in this downpour.

Thankfully, right outside the park entrance, she saw a coffee shop across the street. Heading inside, Aadi stopped and panted to catch her breath. "Hah...that started fast." She let go of Carragail's hand, shivering from the cold. They were both soaked. At least the inside of the shop was warm. "Are you okay?"

Kara didn't quite make out what Aadi yelled back at her, though she could mostly fill in the blanks for herself. It was pretty obvious that she was trying as hard as she could to get somewhere at least reasonably dry.

'Doesn't she know that running only makes you wetter?'

Noticing a small spot where they could take cover under a tree by the entrance, Kara made a few attempts to tug Aadi towards it. It was a thoroughly futile attempt, which only ended with Kara's arm hurting even more as the twenty-something woman pulled Kara across a startlingly empty street and into a nearby coffee shop.

"Hah...that started fast." Carragail nodded in agreement, ripping her hand away from the positively vicious Aadi and holding it close to her chest. She almost went to rub her wrist, but the only thing she had to rub it with was a palm covered in a raging sunburn. So she just grit her teeth and wiped some waterlogged hair out of her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

Kara nodded, stuttering, "F--F--Fine. J--Just...wet." She shivered with cold, making a silent prayer of thanks to the faint heating system in the building. She took a glance out the windows and watched as the rain picked up even more.

"L--Looks like we--we're stu--stuck here. F--For a while."

>> "F--F--Fine. J--Just...wet. L--Looks like we--we're stu--stuck here. F--For a while."

Aadi nodded in agreement, eyeing the downpour outside the window. Turning her attention back to the teenage girl she'd dragged around with her, seeing the way she held her hand tightly against her chest. "Oh...I...I'm sorry. Here, sit," She motioned to the various booths open in the coffee shop. "I will ask for something for your hand."

And before Carragail could persuade her otherwise, Aadi was heading towards the front of the shop, feeling decidedly guilty. If the girl had looked scared of her before, she was definitely now.

"Oh...I...I'm sorry. Here, sit. I will ask for something for your hand."

"O--Oh, no, d--don't worry about it, it's...okay..." Kara's voice petered out as Aadi began walking away, already halfway to the rather attractive-looking barista-girl. After which, she deflated. Granted, Kara had always hated being touched for any longer than a few seconds. But Aadi certainly didn't know that, and her bad reaction to it might have been just enough to blow up their fledgling friendship.

And just stammering out a quick "My bad" wasn't going to patch it up.

She stood there a few moments more, watching Aadi for any sign that she hadn't screwed up everything. When she didn't see it, she simply plonked down into one of the booths and watched the rain attempt to smash open the plate-glass window, Waiting for Aadi to return with some kind of lotion.

Aadi stayed up at the front of the coffee shop for a while, shivering a little against the chill as she waited for the barista to return with some cream she'd said they carried in a first aid kit. Apparently burns weren't all that uncommon in a coffee shop. She'd guessed so, since she'd seen more than enough burns in the restaurant she worked in. Watching chefs hop around the kitchen cussing at a burned finger was only entertaining for the first ten seconds, then everyone just wanted them to shut up.

When the barista returned, Aadi thought for a moment before paying for something else. Maybe this would help make it up to Carragail. Or make her hate Aadi even more, knowing her luck.

At least the barista serving her was cute. And around her age. Aadi would have probably taken the chance to flirt a bit (or at least find out if she liked girls), but yeah, company. She took the café's business card as a reminder, tucking it into her purse.

Four minutes later, she returned to the booth Carragail had settled in with the burn cream and two hot chocolates. "Ehm...Carragail?" She placed the hot chocolates down on the table, along with the cream.