There were a few times when Miles felt like a movie star, except the cameras were never really aimed at him. There he was, sitting on a half wall having an ice cream and taking a break from his walk back to Sanctuary and the moment his dogs sat near him, with their black hides and their red glowing eyes, a somewhat scared passing pedestrian flipped out his cell phone and took a snapshot or two of the animals before moving on.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened and he didn't like it much, knowing that his dogs were likely to show up on someone's Facebook page with commenters claiming Photoshop had been involved, so he ordered his overly compliant dogs to look down to the floor. Their sizes and dark color were curious, but it was their eyes what always caught people's attention, so having them sit like this while he enjoyed his cookies and cream on a cone made them pass for normal, except that now they looked kind of cute, like two dogs repenting on some mischief they had done.

"Awww! Aren't they lovely?" said an old lady as she walked past them, the sort that would cross the street if she saw their red eyes coming her way. Miles sighed. His dogs were not cute, the only reason he brought them along from dorm to school and back was because their badass looks made his mutant hide feel protected and cute dogs failed to do that. That was it, the next person who came up and went 'cuuuute!' would have both dogs raise their heads and shine their inhuman, glowing eyes, staring deep into his or her soul.

Work, again. If it wasn't school, it was work, though Aadi probably shouldn't be complaining. It wasn't like she was getting any money from her parents for school, and scholarships could only go so far. Plus she was even in the field she wanted to be in, at a restaurant! If only she was a chef instead of a plain waitress.

Walking along the street away from her job, Aadi held onto her hat as she looked up at the sky. A clear day, good. As long as it stayed that way. New York was not fun when it rained, though then again, neither was any city she'd been to.

It was because she was looking up that she nearly tripped right over something a lot closer to the ground. Flailing her arms, Aadi stepped back and around the obstacle before she realized just what she had nearly ran over: two dogs. One big and one smaller (they were both pretty big to begin with), heads down as if scolded. Some kid was sitting on a lowered wall beside them. She didn't see a leash, but some city dogs were remarkably trained.

That wasn't at the forefront of her mind though, because she'd missed dogs, especially dogs that looked of similar size to her own back in Montréal. Or closer to their size than the little toy dogs people around here carried around.

"Awww, they are so cute!" She crouched down next to them. "Hi!" She'd just offered one hand to the big one, to smell, when the dog looked up at her. It's eyes glowed a dark, evil red.

Aadi screamed in shock, falling onto her rear.

The mutant teenager wasn't into pranking strangers at all, but he still preemptively gave the mental command to his dogs to 'stare into the next passerby who called them cute' without really knowing who the lucky person would be.

He wasn't sure why he was doing it. Maybe he was frustrated and in a bit of a mood, since he felt his progress over figuring out the ways his mutation worked was coming along too slow for his taste or maybe it was because he pretty much hated his mutation. Other mutants could pull off such cool tricks but he was stuck with necromancing creatures into slaves and it was such a dark power to have. He always felt like he wasn't the right person to wield such an ability, but as long as he had it in his genes, he'd try to use it as little as possible.

A woman was walking somewhat distractedly towards his thralls. The boy gave his ice cream a lick but kept his eyes on her. She was in her late teens or early twenties, very good looking and hopefully she'd just move along but... no... lady what are you doing? Move along, don't call them cute!

EEEEEEEEEKK!!!

He expected maybe a jolt or a bit of a jump from her, not an ear piercing shrill that made HIM jolt instead. His unfinished ball of ice cream rolled right off his cone, staining his black t-shirt, sliding down to the crotch of his jeans and plopping on the floor. He immediately shot up and off the wall, thinking he had gone overboard when he saw her flat on her butt over the floor. Way to go, Miles! You're such a gentleman!

"Aw geez!" he said, throwing away his empty cone, coming over to her and stretching a hand, trying to help her up. "I'm so sorry! Don't be afraid they're... harmless"

Oh, NOW you want them to be cute and cuddly.

Aadi was too shocked to notice the kid jump, eyes locked with the dogs' own. The second dog, the smaller one, also had the horrible glowing eyes. What was wrong with them? How did anyone's eyes glow like that, let alone two dogs? "Leurs yeux! Ils sont...Ils sont..." She forgot herself for a moment and shocked french spilled out of her mouth.

>> "I'm so sorry! Don't be afraid they're... harmless."

Coming back to her senses, Aadi looked up at the kid who was offering her a hand up. Looking from him to the dogs quickly, she took the offered hand and stood up, backpedaling away from the demon dogs a few steps. "Why do their eyes glow like that?" She asked, stumbling over her words. "Are they sick?" No sickness she knew resulted in something like this, this was something paranormal. Not natural.

The woman was in shock and started to spout gibberish, no wait... french gibberish. The young mutant was fluent in spanish but the only thing he knew in french was 'Je m'apelle Miles'. He refused to do so though, because if he did, she'd ramble on and on in french and by the time she waited for him to answer back, all he'd be able to say in return would be 'Je m'apelle Miles'.

She accepted his hand and he helped her up while his dogs remained behind him but obedient as they were, both still stared at her. She remained spooked and demanded to know what was wrong with their eyes, to the point she thought they were probably sick.

"No, they're not sick, they're..."

They're... what? If he said 'undead', the woman's shriek was likely to pierce his eardrums at this distance. Saying 'zombies', 'demonic', 'aliens' or any other creepy adjective was likely to yield the same result.

"They're special. They're very smart and obedient too. Look..." he said, trying to prove to her there was nothing to be afraid of.

The dogs obeyed every order he gave them, but they were more apt to some than to others. He couldn't get them to do something complex like dance the Macarena but they were actually very good at simple movements in synchronized fashion.

"Spin to your right" he said as he drew a circle in the air, pointing in the right direction and both dogs started spinning at the same time, as if they were chasing their tails but with zero of the enthusiasm a normal dog would have. "Now spin to your left" and the dogs reversed direction.

"Astor! How much is one plus one?" the boy asked and the large boxer dog barked twice as Miles mentally commanded him to do so, then he asked his smaller dog: "Tinaker! How much is one plus one?"

The smaller dog flopped to his side in an ungainly fashion as if it had fainted.

"Math is not his forte" Miles joked, trying to release her tension. "I'm sorry if they scared you but they can't help the glow in their eyes because... well, because they're mutant dogs."

Hopefully, 'mutant' would not cause a loud screech like saying 'undead' would.

Aadi listened to the teenager try to reassure her, watching the dogs spin around in circles with a sense of unease. Yes, they were acting as dogs should, chasing their tails and the like, but something was... wrong, off with the movements. She couldn't put her finger on it, but as a dog owner, something was just...missing.

They were obedient, yes. Dogs could be trained to be that obedient. But where was the enthusiasm, the eagerness to please, the 'I did what you said so can I have a cookie now' attitude? No tail wags. No doggy grins. Nothing.

Other people around them were avoiding walking too close, some watching what was going on. Aadi was just too disturbed to tell the kid she wasn't interested in watching demon dogs perform parlor tricks and leave. Then the boy's last sentence caught her attention.

>> "I'm sorry if they scared you but they can't help the glow in their eyes because... well, because they're mutant dogs."

"Mutant dogs?" Aadi had to clarify, shocked. "C'est...how is it possible, I thought—" she glanced at the people around them uneasily, lowering her voice. "I thought only people could be mutant," she said quietly, looking from the boy to the dogs. "What happened to them?"

Mutant dogs.

The problem with impromptu white lies is that the details are rarely ever thought out. If someone asks you to elaborate, you can't help but go 'uhm', 'uh' or maybe 'er...' if that's your preference. Miles knowledge about animal genetics and mutations was less than minimal and he himself had noticed a major flaw in his 'mutant dogs' explanation, which was: What were the odds that a boxer dog and a mixed breed one ended up having the exact same mutation? He could go down the 'scientific experiments' route but oh! how incredibly generous and forthcoming of intelligent scientists to entrust their genetic experiments to a fifteen year old...

Things could only go downhill from there, so in order to make up some time and think of something plausible, he opted for a far more familiar route to him: Derail, evade, EVADE!

"Well, you see, what happened was... aw MAN!" he complained as he looked down at his clothes. The cookies and cream ice cream ball that had rolled down his shirt and at the crotch of his pants had left clearly visible streaks. "Look at this! Just look at this, what a mess!" he said in exaggerated fashion as he pinched and pulled at his stained t-shirt. "This is one of my best ones and my pants! Look! I've only been wearing these since wednesday (coincidentally, today was tuesday) and now it looks like I wet myself... with white... stuff, that... never mind" he cut himself short before he entered awkward territory.

As he said these things, it gave his mind enough time to notice something she had done. She had lowered her voice when she inquired about the dogs, as if trying to keep their conversation private from the rest of the people walking past them. She wouldn't have bothered if she didn't care for his answer or if this was random chit chat, so he figured she had an actual interest in knowing about mutant dogs and keeping it all hush-hush.

Why? Mere curiosity or just something... else?

Miles decided to answer her question with another one.

"About the animals... why do you want to know?" he asked, first in a normal voice, then he lowered it a tad just like she had done while squinting his eyes a bit. "Any reason in particular you want to know about mutant.... dogs?

Aadi's expression was one big question mark when the teen suddenly interrupted the conversation to complain loudly about his clothes. Oh, she winced when she noticed the mess his ice cream had made. At least it would come off easily, but the sooner he changed the better. At the same time, she was miffed, because she really did want an answer and this kid was avoiding giving it to her. Had this been taking place in a language she was comfortable with, she would have told him in no uncertain terms to stop trying to sidetrack her and just answer the damn question.

Sighing and straightening as she prepared to have to ask again (and again, if necessary), Aadi blinked when the teen suddenly switched back to the previous conversation on his own after an awkward trailing off. He'd lowered his voice too.

>> "About the animals... why do you want to know? Any reason in particular you want to know about mutant.... dogs?

Now he was eyeing her suspiciously, and it was making Aadi nervous. Had that been too close of a question? Had it given her away? But then again...if this kid was the dogs' owner, and he was admitting they were mutants somehow, maybe he wouldn't freak out if she admitted she was a mutant as well. Or maybe he would. But lowering his voice was a good sign, right?

"I am interested...because..." Aadi sighed in frustration. I am worried for them, and I am a...une mutante...too."

Miles eyebrows shot up doing a feigned sign of surprise but his mouth gave it away with a half smile he just couldn't hide. He tried to have a face expression that denoted 'Wow! really?' but if you stared deep into his eyes, you could probably see his brain going 'BOOYAH! Bingo! I knew it! Hah! Mutant sense... tingling!'

It was his first time as well. He had grown accustomed to seeing mutants at school and at Sanctuary, but he had never managed to pick one who looked so normal off the crowd, and that was just from the way she asked him about his dogs. The usual 'what can you do?' question immediately popped into his head but he knew talking about mutations when people were streaming about nearby was unwise. He smiled instead, conscious of her sigh and trying to ease her frustration with it, then looked left and right to see how many people were near them and if there was any place that offered a little more privacy, so they wouldn't have to whisper themselves back and forth.

There was a magazine stand with it's back to the half wall Miles had been sitting on. The owner had a radio with some music playing, so the chances of him listening in on a conversation behind his stand's wall was negligible. It also offered a corner they could just sit and talk in, keeping themselves away from the pedestrian flow.

"Follow me" he said, still smiling and gesturing her to follow with his hand. He mentally commanded both of his dogs to follow as well and to stare at the wall instead of the floor, which would make them look less cute and more normal. He then leaned his buttocks on the halfwall next to the stand and then waited for her to be close enough to reveal his own nature just as she had done.

"I am a mutant as well" he admited to her, no longer with a whisper but still keeping it private. "It's difficult being one because the average person doesn't always understand, but it always feels good to know you're not the only one."

This was very true to him. The Mansion and Sanctuary both had this aura of 'belonging' once you crossed it's doors. He hadn't seen her in either place before, but she was also older than him, so she had probably graduated already and moved out to her own place.

"Now about my dogs, you shouldn't worry about them, but..." he said pausing for effect and knowing full well he was overdoing it with the 'suspense' "...I won't say a single word until you tell me what can you do."

When the response to her admission seemed to be positive rather than negative, Aadi released the breath she was holding. Even so, she couldn't help but glance around through the corners of her eyes to make sure no one was staring at them oddly. She didn't want to find out how ordinary people would react to mutants, especially in large numbers.

The teen's train of thought seemed to be similar, because he motioned for her to follow him. His mutant dogs also got up and trailed after him, so she hurried to not be left behind. She was still curious about the dogs after all. When they stopped, they appeared far enough back from the main traffic area to avoid being overheard, the stiffness in her shoulders easing.

What the boy said after that still surprised her, even if she should have been expecting it by now.

>> "I am a mutant as well. It's difficult being one because the average person doesn't always understand, but it always feels good to know you're not the only one."

Oh, Aadi could agree with that statement whole-heartedly, and she nodded along with what he was saying. Besides Carragail, she hadn't met another mutant here, nor back home in Montreal. No...it definitely felt good to know there were others out there. Including one right in front of her.

>> "Now about my dogs, you shouldn't worry about them, but..." he said, giving a long pause that made one of Aadi's eyebrows twitch. "...I won't say a single word until you tell me what can you do."

Go figure. Aadi would be a little put off, if she wasn't so excited to meet someone else like her. And answering wouldn't take too much explanation, even if she didn't exactly want to demonstrate with them still pretty-much in the public eye.

"I can do a change in gravity," She said after taking a moment to piece that sentence together. "Like this." Quickly glancing around, she lifted her hands to waist-level and concentrated. Lifting her arms wasn't exactly needed, but she found channeling what she wanted to do that way helped her from losing control and drifting off. Which happened far too often anyways.

She lifted just a few inches off the ground, enough to show she was doing something, before quickly putting herself back down. Taking a moment's breather, she turned to the teen with expectant eyes. "And you?"

Miles was not an expert regarding mutants, but by this time he had already met several at school and at Sanctuary and he had determined there were four groups of them. The weird looking with weird mutations, who were the unluckiest of the lot, not just looking odd but having strange talents like... mucus flinging or something; the weird looking with cool mutations, who despite having strange looks, they could actually kick butt, like Gina or Amber; the normal looking with weird mutations, who looked average yet had mutations that weren't worth it (the category where he placed himself) and then there were the good looking with cool powers.

This woman was clearly in that last group. She could handle gravity and maybe spit on it's face. She could probably fly and not even need wings for it. How cool was that?

"That's awesome!" he said with a grin on his face, not really expecting her mutation to be thrilling in the least. Then she asked him what he could do.

DRAT! They were back to square one! Miles thought of evading again but his mind drew a blank and no ideas came to bail him out. Anything he said would seem like he was trying to avoid the issue and she had been forthcoming to him so it would be rude if he didn't respond in kind, except... he thought she wouldn't like his answer at all. His mutation was dark and responsible for turning perfectly dead creatures into unliving slaves at his beck and call.

So he tried to sweeten it as much as he could.

"Well, I can't really demonstrate..." he said, realizing that starting out with those words made it seem like he was trying to dodge the bullet one more time "... but only because in order to use my mutation you'd have to get me to... erm... cry."

Beautiful. Make it sound as wimpy as possible and it'll seem harmless.

"BUT!..." he interjected while lifting a finger and tilting his head towards his dogs "...you're actually looking at the fruit of said mutation."

His dark beasts sat still, staring into the wall. There were faint projections of their red eyes reflecting off the wall's surface. Miles sighed as he started to wave his arms about, trying to find the words to explain himself.

"I don't know if it has ever happened to you, but I... well, I just can't control my gift" he said, actually emphasizing the last word with a hint of mockery, since he thought of his mutation as more of a curse than a gift. "And when it goes off, well... this happens."

The boy petted his larger dog on the head, who remained unresponsive to it. "This is Astor. He was sick and dying in my hands when it happened and his little buddy over there is Tinaker, who got hit by a car and I..." Miles paused as he swallowed, since talking about his dogs or what had happened to them was a touchy subject for him, to the point he usually lied about it.

"... I healed them" he finished, darting his eyes to the ground. "My kind of healing however has... consequences" he added, letting that last word trail off.

Realizing he had introduced his dogs but not himself, he was quick to correct that mistake, looking up into her eyes.

"I'm Miles, by the way."

Aadi listened to the kid struggle to explain his ability, not really understanding what he was trying to say right away. After all, she'd actually only met Carragail so far: she'd never really met any mutant with a 'bad' mutation, an immoral one. As such, she was about to get the shock of her life.

>> "Well, I can't really demonstrate... but only because in order to use my mutation you'd have to get me to... erm... cry."

An ability triggered by sadness? She frowned in concern as the boy said that. She'd had her power triggered by several things in the few years since it appeared, but not sadness. Sadness grounded her. So an ability that did the exact opposite...already it didn't sound that pleasant.

>> "BUT!...you're actually looking at the fruit of said mutation."

And then he motioned to the demon dogs, and Aadi was lost again, not understanding. Her lips moved slightly as she translated in her head. Okay, she was sure she had translated that right, so the language barrier wasn't what was confusing her. It was the sentence itself. But luckily the boy was continuing, hopefully to explain further.

As the explanation continued, and he introduced each dog, Aadi began to get a very, very bad feeling. Dying dogs...dying or dead dogs...and a mutant ability. An ability that healed? No, that wasn't quite right, she knew it wasn't as soon as he'd said it. Those dogs weren't healed. They were like black statues with ruby eyes, no spirit in them, no energy. They weren't even like dogs on a job, the ones trained not to wag their tails or submit to a good scratch while on duty. They were...statues. Moving statues.

His healing had consequences. And those consequences were what happened to these dogs.

Aadi's hand was over her mouth in horror as that fully sunk in. She almost missed the boy saying his name, Miles, just looking down at the poor dogs who had been saved from death in the worst way possible.

There was little she could say to that. Only... "How could you do that to them?" she whispered.

...And there it was.

That horrified look took him back. Back to the same look his mother gave the very first time she saw Astor as a thrall. The same looks his neighbors gave when Tinaker came back to life. This is precisely WHY he avoided talking about his dogs, why he gave excuses and runarounds. He thought that with her being a mutant, maybe she'd be more understanding, like Syn, Amber or the staff at Xavier's had been, but no, the way she covered her mouth, the way her eyebrows went up...

The way she asked that question...

She didn't understand at all. Miles felt his head grow hot and any shred of a smile or friendliness in his face instantly vanished. He broke contact with her eyes as he looked down, not only feeling shame, the kind he hadn't felt since his last days at home, but also feeling angry.

She was implying he had done this to his dogs... willingly.

The fact that he had told her he healed them instead of involuntarily ressurrecting them went completely forgotten, as his words came out harsh and unmeasured.

"How could you do that to them?" he quoted, almost in disbelief. "Do you think everybody has cool mutations like you do? Do you think everyone can control them? Do you think I had a choice!? It just happened! I didn't expect it or want it to happen! Astor was dying in my hands and I was freaking out, bawling all over and BAM! It happened! He was no longer dead but he was no longer alive either!" he said, maybe a bit too loud for their far away corner to keep it private. He then lowered his voice again, noticing he had implied the dogs were dead.

"I couldn't stop it" he now mumbled, remembering that day with regret. "If I could turn them back, I would in an instant, but I can't. They're a part of me now. My responsibility. My fault. My burden. If you don't like them, lady, then just... don't look at them".