The X-men run missions and work together with the NYPD, striving to maintain a peaceful balance between humans and mutants. When it comes to a fight, they won't back down from protecting those who need their help.
Haven presents itself as a humanitarian organization for activists, leaders, and high society, yet mutants are the secret leaders working to protect and serve their kind. Behind the scenes they bring their goals into reality.
From the time when mutants became known to the world, SUPER was founded as a black-ops division of the CIA in an attempt to classify, observe, and learn more about this new and rising threat.
The Syndicate works to help bring mutantkind to the forefront of the world. They work from the shadows, a beacon of hope for mutants, but a bane to mankind. With their guiding hand, humanity will finally find extinction.
Since the existence of mutants was first revealed in the nineties, the world has become a changed place. Whether they're genetic misfits or the next stage in humanity's evolution, there's no denying their growing numbers, especially in hubs like New York City. The NYPD has a division devoted to mutant related crimes. Super-powered vigilantes help to maintain the peace. Those who style themselves as Homo Superior work to tear society apart for rebuilding in their own image.
MRO is an intermediate to advanced writing level original character, original plot X-Men RPG. We've been open and active since October of 2005. You can play as a mutant, human, or Adapted— one of the rare humans who nullify mutant powers by their very existence. Goodies, baddies, and neutrals are all welcome.
Short Term Plots:Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
The Fountain of Youth
A chemical serum has been released that's shaving a few years off of the population. In some cases, found to be temporary, and in others...?
MRO MOVES WITH CURRENT TIME: What month and year it is now in real life, it's the same for MRO, too.
Fuegogrande: "Fuegogrande" player of The Ranger, Ion, Rhia, and Null
Neopolitan: "Aly" player of Rebecca Grey, Stephanie Graves, Marisol Cervantes, Vanessa Bookman, Chrysanthemum Van Hart, Sabine Sang, Eupraxia
Ongoing Plots
Magic and Mystics
After the events of the 2020 Harvest Moon and the following Winter Solstice, magic has started manifesting in the MROvere! With the efforts of the Welldrinker Cult, people are being converted into Mystics, a species of people genetically disposed to be great conduits for magical energy.
The Pharoah Dynasty
An ancient sorceress is on a quest to bring her long-lost warrior-king to the modern era in a bid for global domination. Can the heroes of the modern world stop her before all is lost?
Are They Coming for You?
There have been whispers on the streets lately of a boogeyman... mutant and humans, young and old, all have been targets of trafficking.
Adapteds
What if the human race began to adapt to the mutant threat? What if the human race changed ever so subtly... without the x-gene.
Atlanteans
The lost city of Atlantis has been found! Refugees from this undersea mutant dystopia have started to filter in to New York as citizens and businessfolk. You may make one as a player character of run into one on the street.
Got a plot in mind?
MRO plots are player-created the Mods facilitate and organize the big ones, but we get the ideas from you. Do you have a plot in mind, and want to know whether it needs Mod approval? Check out our plot guidelines.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 23, 2009 7:52:24 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
((OOC: Originally I had this outside the Sanctuary, which was silly of me really...I had the sudden urge for Twyla's situation to be radically different so I decided that one of her namesakes was going to find her...Writing all the back story has taken a crazy long time , so I hope that I'm happy with it in the end...I really should have posted the thing here in the first place...))
Today was the day, Twyla was going to do it. She was going to go to this mutant school and ask the questions she needed to ask. Her talk with David was only a few days earlier but she felt that she had gathered enough information to make the trip out to Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters sister school. She was nervous but she thought she was ready. She was almost excited. This was just the thing that could set her life back on track. She tucked the napkin into her pocket and checked herself in the mirror one last time before leaving her room.
Twyla walked out into the early morning sunlight. Using her right hand to shield her eyes from the sudden brightness she began walking towards the nearest bus stop. She didn’t notice the taxi pull up to the curb or the tall, elderly woman who got out of it. The woman noticed her though, and followed Twyla for a moment before making her presence known. “Twyla Blanch Ashby, if you don’t turn around right this minute and give your grandmother a hug--” She paused for dramatic effect and to give the girl a chance to register what was going on.
“Twyla Blanch Ashby, if you don’t turn around right this minute and give your grandmother a hug--” Twyla knew that voice anywhere and it made her stop in her tracks. Grandma Kleinsmith? Here? Outside the Sanctuary? This makes no sense. Twyla was confused but it didn’t stifle the feelings of excitement and pleasant surprise that she felt. She also had the sudden urge to cry. She ignored the latter urge and turned around to face her mother’s mother. Once she found the tell-tale salmon Columbia coat in the thin morning crowd Twyla forgot about the hows and whys and sprinted into the open arms of a tall, elderly woman with silvery-white hair tied back in a perfect bun who was wearing a pink Columbia jacket that was obviously worn and at odds with the crisp pant suit that she wore underneath it.
Blanch Kleinsmith was Twyla’s mother’s mother and she was the more liberal of Twyla’s grandmothers. Her son-in-law’s family tended to classify Blanch as an eccentric. This was something that the widow of Thomas Kleinsmith didn’t argue with. She knew that their conservative community thought her strange and she knew this was a perception that she couldn’t change so, as she would say, ‘why fret over them’? Blanch and her husband had started a dairy in their rural community right after they were married in 1954 and it had been successful for fifty-five years and counting. When Thomas died in 1998 Blanch had given her eldest son, Twyla’s Uncle Bill, the deed to the dairy on the condition that she would receive pension payments based on the success of the business. This pension, combined with a lifetime of thriftiness and a well planned retirement left Blanch enough money to live the rest of her life however she wished to. What Blanch did with the money was what lead to the accusations of her being an eccentric.
At age sixty four Blanch Kleinsmith had gotten it in her mind that she would like to travel before she became too old to do so. She ended up traveling all across the globe and for about three years her family only saw her at Christmas time. In more recent years she had taken to traveling to obscure tourist towns in the United States and then filling her small house with the trinkets she collected on her trips. It didn’t surprise Twyla in the least that Grandma Kleinsmith was in NYC but what surprised her about the situation was that she had found her. In a city of millions her very human grandmother had found her runaway granddaughter.
After a very long and very silent hug Blanch pulled away first and held Twyla in front of her so that she could get a better look at her. “You’re looking a little thin. I guess that’s to be expected. I’m sure you haven’t had much money for food.” Her long fingers swept a piece of Twyla’s brown hair out of her face and she smiled at her youngest granddaughter. Twyla wasn’t only Blanch’s youngest granddaughter, she was also her secret favorite. She loved all of her children and all of their children but she got along well with Twyla’s personality. This was, she assumed, because Twyla had yet to inherit their area’s knack for being hostile towards anything out of the ordinary. She was terrified of everything, but once she got over her fear she was much more accepting than any of her sisters or any of her female cousins, making Twyla the only possible favorite to an ‘eccentric’ like Blanch Kleinsmith.
After the initial euphoria wore off, Twyla was in shock. It made no sense to her that her seventy four year old grandmother had found her when the police could not. Her shock and confusion must have shown on her face, because before she could say anything Grandma Kleinsmith began speaking again in the fast, purposeful way of hers. “You probably have questions. I’ll answer them once we get back to the hotel, alright? Now, go and get your things. Yes, I know you’ve been staying here.” Twyla’s grandmother gestured to the Sanctuary’s golden doors. “I’m sure they’d prefer someone like...me to stay out here. Please be quick. I wanted to stop for coffee before we headed back and I’d hate to get caught in a New York line.”
Dutifully the teen walked back through the golden doors. It took her a moment of walking the halls to realize that she still hadn’t said one word to the only family she had seen in months. Mrs. Thomas Kleinsmith had that effect on most people. Twyla liked that about the matron of her mother’s family. She was all business and was never cowed or overly emotional. Twyla looked up to that, even if she didn’t live up to that example. It wouldn’t take her long to pack, she hadn’t really unpacked in the first place, she didn’t have much besides clothes with her. Pulling her green duffel out from under hear bed she began her task.
Blanch Kleinsmith was comfortable in unfamiliar places. Her extensive traveling made it second nature to navigate strange locations. New York City had always held a certain magic for the seventy four year old. She loved the old charm mixed with the modern–the ritzy mixed with the worst of mankind. It was the diversity that excited her. Diversity that she couldn’t find in a small town in Wisconsin. She was glad that her granddaughter had come to the Big Apple but she wished it had been under different circumstances. Blanch stood up straight and held her black purse close to her as she waited for her granddaughter to come out of the mutant homeless shelter. Blanch had always an open mind about mutant affairs. These feelings had become more extreme when she had come to the conclusion that her sweet Twyla was probably a mutant but she didn’t want to cause any discomfort for anyone by walking into a mutant-only homeless shelter. She’d let Twyla pack and take care of whatever she needed to in private so as not to cause a scene. Looking across the way at nothing in particular she silently wondered what kind of life Twyla had been living from the fall of 2008 up until now.
Before she finished packing Twyla decided to leave Meld a note. She was the only person in the Sanctuary she had ever interacted with and it was because of her that she wasn’t still walking the streets. Her penmanship had never been very good, but she hoped that it was legible. “Meld, This might be weird to hear (it’s weird for me) my grandmother has found me. I don’t know how or I’d tell you. I’m sure you wouldn’t be concerned either way but I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving this place. I have a few ideas of where I’ll end up from here. I just wanted to thank you for bringing me to Sanctuary. It’s an experience I needed. If you ever need someone with my special talents, let me know. My given name is Twyla, by the way. Best of luck and thank you again, for everything. Wallflower.” Twyla read aloud to herself. Before she left she would stick it under Meld’s door and hope that the woman received her message.
Walking back outside Twyla found the pink coat again, this time it was standing next to a taxi cab and one of it’s ratty arms was holding the door open for her. The woman that the coat belonged to smiled at her briefly before ushering Twyla into the vehicle. “You wouldn’t keep an old woman from her coffee, would you? Come on. Let’s go.” Blanch’s tone was not angry or harsh but a mixture of teasing and exasperation.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 22, 2009 18:55:10 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
"Don't worry about it, the school will always be there." Twyla nodded and they moved on from the uncomfortable topic. Twyla had hoped that David wouldn’t use his powers for what she had asked about and he didn’t disappoint."Well, yeah I could, but I never do, it's an ethical thing." Twyla smiled at this. Good plan. That’d be so embarrassing-to find out that someone had been reading all of your messages. Some people wouldn’t care about the ethics of it though. "Your power could do almost the same thing, you could be the figurative fly on the wall." He went on as he grinned.
“So you don’t think of it like you were given power so you’re allowed to use it however? You’re not one of those high and mighty mutant types who thinks that they can do what they want with humans because they’re just humans?” Twyla had met the type she mentioned many times. She had yet to agree with any of their arguments. In fact, she had started a heated argument when she was in Boston about mutant supremacy that had almost landed her with a severe beating that she only got out of through dumb luck. Memories from that night flooded her but she kept them in check and contemplated David’s second comment.
“I never really thought of it like that. I mean, I’ve used it to hide and I’ve accidentally listened in on other people, but I’ve never gone out of my way to be sneaky just to be sneaky.” Pausing for a moment to think again, Twyla had a thought that would make her older brother Nate proud. “We could go into the spy business if we were less ethical people. You’ve got the technical surveillance covered and I can do field work.” Twyla laughed at the image of herself in a black trench coat. In her imagination she matched the wall behind her and then a group of thugs walked into the room. The wallpaper her was shaking so badly that the paintings on the wall all fell of.
“Maybe not spies. I’m not nearly brave enough. I’m more of a wallflower, than a fly on the wall.” Memories flooded her mind again but these weren’t from Boston. These were from the night that she renamed herself Wallflower. She opened her mouth to tell David the story but thought better of it and closed it again.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 22, 2009 14:53:32 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla was relieved when it didn’t seem like David would try to press the idea of the school on her. He tried to reassure her by saying: "I know how you feel, but I'm sure they have ways to help, they take in all sorts of people.". She smiled politely to this. I don’t know if they take in my sorts without alerting social services. "I can understand if it seems a little intimidating, but it doesn't hurt to check, right?" That’s true, very true. She mulled over his words while he wrote something on one of the napkins at their table. Maybe I could check it out, it couldn’t hurt to ask questions, right? It’s not like I’d have to admit to anything. If I got any vibes that they’d turn me over to authorities I could just ditch, right? No harm no foul and all that. But what if something happened, something went wrong? How do I even know this school is legit? I know nothing about it. I haven’t even heard of such a thing. But what if...what if it IS legit?
Before Twyla had made any sense of her thoughts David had finished writing and slid the napkin across the table to her. "If you want to head down their with me it's fine, if you want to think about it here is the address." Twyla studied the ink on the thin paper for a moment without really registering what it said. I need more information first. She looked up from the napkin suddenly and finally replied to David. “Thanks. I’ll have to think about it. It seems like it should be simple, but I like to make things way too complicated.” She was serious but she said this with the ghost of a smile on her face and tucked the napkin into Sense and Sensibility. “So you said you can tap into cell phone networks, does that mean you can intercept phone calls and texts and stuff like that?” Twyla was curious and she wanted to push the conversation into another direction, a safer direction.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 22, 2009 8:46:05 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla stifled a yawn. Maybe a huge nap wasn’t enough. She took one last look around the kitchen to make sure that she hadn’t left anything out and when it passed her inspection she walked away from the refrigerator and towards the door. The girl didn’t realize that she hadn’t changed her coloring back until she walked past the reflective microwave. “Oops.” She muttered. I don’t really feel like putting in the effort right now, it’s easier to stay like this. Twyla didn’t go back to ‘normal’, instead she relaxed so that her body changed with the scenery she was standing near. It was easier than keeping one tone but she wasn’t as fast to react to a change in backdrop as she was when she was focused. Twyla wasn’t particularly worried about being stealthy, so this didn’t bother her as she turned off the kitchen light and sprinted into the soft glow of the hallway. Maybe I’ll go back to bed. It’s nice to actually be sleeping IN a bed, it’s best not to waste a good thing. She decided before she walked back into her room, changing camouflage the whole way.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 21, 2009 8:04:41 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla watched in quiet fascination as David, to use her phrase, ‘went off’. He was moving his arms for emphasis. I don’t think anybody totally understands the mutant phenomena. She decided. He told her that his powers went beyond just connecting to the internet and she was impressed. That really is very cool, it seems appropriate that he grew up in Silicon Valley. She paused so that he could continue speaking if he wanted to, he seemed to be on a tangent. Twyla didn’t mind be talked at, she preferred to listen anyway; no one can judge what you say if you don’t say anything. Besides her preferences, what he had to say was interesting and he seemed enthused about it so it was easy to pay attention.
What David went on to say next startled Twyla. "Hey you said you were having a hard time working on reflections, I bet they could help you. I know it kinda sounds odd, a school dedicated to mutants, but it really works." She had never heard of such a thing until he had let it slip that he went to one–a school that taught just mutants. To Twyla it sounded like something wonderful. Her mutation wouldn’t be holding her back if she could get an education and learn to control her powers better. She had just two reservations about the subject. First of all, she didn’t have any money and boarding schools cost a lot as far a she knew and she didn’t want the school’s administration to send her back to her parents. Twyla bit her lip for the millionth time that day and looked out the window, her eyes not focusing on anything as she thought. “I don’t know...I’m not really good right now as far as finances go right now, if you catch my meaning. I don’t think I could afford a boarding school.” She wasn’t going to tell him about being a runaway, it was hard enough to tell him she had money problems. Or lack of money problems. I have no money, therefore I can’t have money problems. I just have problems and no money.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 20, 2009 16:18:58 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
I’ve seen so many mutants in my travels, it’s weird to think that I haven’t told anyone what my powers were until just recently. It was true that Twyla had seen many mutant in her travels, mostly because she usually stayed in mutant crash pads in the cities she went to. These weren’t the best places to stay, especially not for a seventeen year old girl, and Twyla knew that so she usually kept to herself and left as soon as possible. He seems to think they’re cool. I haven’t really thought about them as anything other than a burden. Well, that’s not totally true, I did use them as a tool when I was evading the police with Meld and Dead. Crazy week.
"That really is neat." He told her after his hand was back to normal and hers was safely under the table with its twin. She shrugged. “It is what it is, I guess.” Twyla still hadn’t come to grips with the fact that her gift could make her special, she still saw her mutation as something that was holding her back and this was evident in her tone although she tried to cover it up. He seemed to be having trouble explaining his mutation but Twyla just waited patiently for David to organize his thoughts. Then he closed his eyes and seemed to be spacing out or something. Twyla really didn’t have a name for the look on his face. She was confused for a moment but then his eyes opened and he seemed to snap out of whatever it was he was doing.
"Ok, you said you were from Trempealeau? Trempealeau has a population of 1,319 as of 2000, it's 738 feet above sea level, and has a total area of 1.3 square miles. Currently the temperature is 80 degrees, and cloudy." Twyla could feel her eyes grow wide as he said this, she was still confused but impressed. He explained himself by putting a finger to his temple and saying: " I can connect to any satellite, it's like having a 3g network in my head, only better." Ooh, that makes A LOT more sense. “Now THAT’S a cool power. That’s gotta be pretty useful, more useful than matching wallpaper by far. So do you need to be in any special place to do this, or does it not matter where you are?” Twyla asked, thinking of the café’s wi-fi. Twyla’s only experience with any kind of modern technology came from school, her family didn’t own a computer. The milking parlor was the most modern area of their entire farm and that had nothing to do with networks. So Twyla didn’t totally understand all of the implications of what he was saying but she was pretty sure she had caught the gist of it.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 20, 2009 12:27:42 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
David was only the third person she had ever shown her powers to. ‘Wow’ was definitely a good reaction. She watched him examine the spot where their hands were masked and her smile grew wider. “I don’t go incorporeal or anything like that.” She explained in a hushed tone. His laughter drew curious glances from some of the other café goers. She looked back at them, still smiling and they looked away–making up some accepted excuse for the two’s behavior. "And to think, I was scared to tell a mutant that I was a mutant." He told her. “In all honesty, I was terrified that you’d find out. Crazy city, huh?” Twyla’s panicky mood was gone and she was pleasantly surprised with the way events were unfolding.
"So you can blend in with anything, that's pretty amazing." He praised her, moving their hands around the table. Twyla blushed at this comment. “Not quite ANYTHING...Most things...I still have trouble with reflective surfaces. I can never get the reflections right, it’s really really hard to get mirrors right.” Twyla realized that she was still holding onto his hand. Her face flushed briefly. Alright, demonstration over. She decided, pulling her hand away and resting it in her lap. “I don’t have all the hows and whys figured out yet.” She shrugged and waited a moment before going on. “I showed you mine, care to share your mutation, Mr. David?” She asked him in a teasing tone that she hoped hid her sudden awkwardness.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 20, 2009 11:23:42 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Neither of them said anything as they sat down at one of the booths that had a good view of the park. Twyla looked out the window and watched a cluster of birds peck and hop around the grass at the edge of the park. "You came here alone also? or did you just meet up with more family." His question pulled Twyla abruptly out of her examination of the birds. She looked down and didn’t answer his question. Her heart began beating faster. I can’t answer that. I can’t tell him the answer to that question. Twyla’s immediate instinct was to run. She almost made the move to get up but then he went on. "I'm sorry you don't need to answer that, I wasn't thinking." Twyla let her shoulders relax and she looked up at David’s chin again, he looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. She was still ready to ditch if this conversation didn’t right itself though.
Still trying to do a bit of damage control he kept speaking. He admitted to being alone in the city and she still didn’t say anything. "I was lucky and found the school, they were mutants like me and had no problem taking me in..." This pulled Twyla from her silent panic. She looked David full in the face this time. Before she could think of a good response she noted that he looked worried and he had dropped his menu. Twyla let a small smile light up her features. He didn’t seem to notice and said: "Please don't think I'm weird, being a mutant and all." This comment almost made her laugh and her smile became more knowing. She reached across the space between them and grabbed one of his hands. “If you’re weird for being a mutant, I’m a total freak.” She said, letting her powers camouflage the part of her arm and his hand that were touching the Formica of the tabletop. She moved her menu and propped it up so that it hid their hands from the other patrons and looked up at David, trying to gauge his reaction. “I think we have a lot more in common than either of us realized a moment ago.”
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 20, 2009 8:09:41 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
"Yeah I guess I am kinda lucky." He replied. You have no idea. Twyla thought to herself. Twyla noted that David seemed to like her presentation on the geography of her home state. “Yep. As long as you head in the right direction you could get where you needed to be.” After a moment she added “Eventually.” with a laugh. “I’ve never really had to go to any of the places I showed you, so I’ve never put the hand map into use. We didn’t travel much.”
"I'm from California, specifically Silicon Valley." He told her. “Oh, California just wishes it could be shaped like a mitten.” She replied in a teasing tone. “So you’re a city boy then. You’ve come farther than I have.” He’s gone from one end of the country to the other but I doubt he had to do it alone. Maybe he did, if he’s living at some kind of boarding school. Twyla wondered silently about the boy’s circumstances until he went on to say: "I kinda left in a hurry, haven't talked to my parents in awhile." Twyla could relate perfectly to that and before she could stop herself she blurted: “You’re not the only one.” They had left the park by this point and were about to cross the street, so she didn’t have time to process the implications of what she had just admitted to.
Twyla followed David when he made the move to cross. Crosswalks in general were still a hazard for her. She didn’t understand why sometimes when the hand was red it was okay to cross and other times it wasn’t so she usually just went with the crowd and tried to get through them as fast as possible. They ended up right in front of a small café, which she assumed was their destination. Her assumptions were proved right when David reached forward and held the door open for her and said "It was a nice place to grow up, but definitely not on the scale of this city." As she passed him she said “Thank you, kind sir.” in a half joking voice. When she was far enough in for him to follow her she turned around and replied : “I’d about imagine it’s impossible to grow up in this kind of bustle outside of New York.”
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 19, 2009 19:22:05 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla was on the gymnastics team at her school AND she's scared of the dark, our charies could have things to talk about . Very cool power, welcome to the site.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 19, 2009 18:36:36 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
"You don't need to be bothered with our little conversation if you don't want, hun." The officer’s words echoed in Twyla’s mind. For a moment she didn’t understand what they meant. She couldn’t remember how to put the words together in a logical sequence."Unless you know something I need to know." The officer’s next words pulled Twyla from her shock. Quickly she shook her head, still not making eye contact with the cop. I don’t know anything that would be relevant in THIS conversation. Not really. All I know that a cop might want to know is that I recently ran from a group of your fellow NYPD officers, but that wasn’t my fault. I was having quite a good day until that guy, Dead, showed up and threw some human through a storefront. I just happened to be there and I happened to help him evade capture but that’s not really relevant. Oh, that and I ran away from home about seven months ago. That’s about all I know.
Twyla was torn between wanting to pay Meld back for her kindness in whatever was she could and her self preservation instinct but only for a moment. Meld nodded to her and it seemed like she was saying ‘It’s alright, go.’ Twyla bit her lip and started to back away from the officer and Meld. Looking up at the woman she had attempted to help she mouthed “Sorry.” before turning her back and weaving through the crowd. She didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until she almost passed out next to a coffee cart. It’s alright, breath...Twyla took a few gasping breaths. I don’t know if I’m a coward or smart.
Walking back towards the park Twyla saw a cop car parked with an officer in the driver’s seat talking on his radio. Maybe that’s her partner. Twyla let her stride slow as she passed the vehicle. The radio was blaring random things that made no sense to Twyla but she listened anyway. She stopped walking when she heard something about backup being sent to the area. The officer in the car looked up and Twyla quickly turned around and started walking back towards the coffee vendors. She knew she probably wasn't going to act and if she did she probably wouldn’t be much help to Meld but she decided to watch and make sure that the woman made it out of this encounter. Trying to make sure she wasn’t noticed by the pair she had just walked away from Twyla looked for a good spot to go camouflaged. She found it near an entrance to the park. It hardly took any concentration at all for Twyla to match the stone of the low wall and the greenery behind it. We’ll see how this pans out for sure now.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 19, 2009 14:39:59 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla felt a slight pang of jealousy as David expressed his happiness and contentment with his school. If things had worked out differently you’d be saying the same things about school back home. It doesn’t do you any good to dwell over things that you can’t change. You’ll be 18 before next year and then you can get your GED or something and then scholarships for college. Be happy that other people can have good situations. “That’s good.” She replied to his answer. “You’re lucky.” She kept her tone conversational, the petty mood had passed.
Twyla looked around the park at the tall buildings that surrounded it like a fortress and blocked out the sky. “Definitely not from around here.” Twyla had grown up on her family’s small farm and she had gone to school in a small town. She was getting more used to cities through her travels but she still missed the quietness and green of the river valley back home. "If you don't mind me asking, where are you from?" I suppose it couldn’t hurt to tell him, it’s not like he’ll have any idea where home for me is. Hopefully I can change the direction of this conversation soon. Twyla noted that they were getting closer and closer to her taboo topics.
“I’m from a small town in Wisconsin.” She held up her right palm in the shape of a mitten and moved her arm in front of her so he could see her demonstration. “So this is where the Mississippi River would be, right?” Tucking her book and water bottle under her left arm she ran her left pointer finger along the left edge of her palm “And Green Bay is up here,” she pointed to the crook where her thumb met the rest of her hand “and Milwaukee is down here,” she pointed to the bottom right section of her palm and then ran her finger left towards the bottom middle of her palm “with Madison being here-ish. My hometown is northwest from Madison.” She planted her finger in the middle of the left edge of her palm. “I’m from Trempealeau, Wisconsin.” She finally told him, keeping her finger on the spot. “Now you can never get lost, at least not in Wisconsin.” Twyla laughed a bit. “I guess you didn’t need to know the rest of that explanation, but we used to do that in elementary school all the time and I felt I needed to share the information with you.” Twyla shrugged and smiled. “I think it’s nifty.”
To be fair Twyla decided that she should ask David the same question. She assumed he was from the area but she was pretty sure he had assumed the same thing about her. “So is it alight if I ask you where you’re from?” She enquired, dropping her hands back to her sides.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 19, 2009 13:37:00 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
“Sounds like some kind of alternative school to me.” Twyla noticed that David had stopped himself from saying something. I wonder what he was going to say?...Oh well, everyone has their secrets. Twyla wasn’t one to pry normally anyway and she was less apt to lately, considering she had some big secrets of her own to keep. “Do you like it there?” She asked. Twyla herself hadn’t been to school since late the last fall. She had missed most of her junior year of highschool because she had been terrified of her hometown finding out that she was a mutant.
“Lead the way.” Twyla replied with a nod of her head. David started walking and she picked up the empty water bottle that she had almost forgotten. "Not going to anymore banks anytime soon." He said to her, a sly smile spreading across his face. That’s a strange comment. She was a little weirded out but she shrugged the feeling off and smiled nervously. Despite his last comment, Twyla was feeling more relaxed the more they talked. He didn’t seem to be judging her and she didn’t think the conversation was uncomfortable. She was glad to be talking to someone closer to her age than some of the Sanctuary residents.
"Do you go to school around here?" It was a simple question. A polite question. A question that shouldn’t cause someone to panic. But it did. Twyla didn’t want to lie to him but she couldn’t exactly tell someone she hardly knew that she had runaway from home in the first months of the school year and now she was more worried about where she was going to stay at night and getting food than her education. Not that she wasn’t worried about finishing high school and then moving on to college but those worries could only be dealt with after her basic needs were met. She quickly racked her brains for something to say that was vague enough to be an acceptable answer. “Not exactly. I’m in between schools right now. I’ve been moving a lot.” Twyla’s voice was small and she didn’t look at her companion while she spoke.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 18, 2009 20:22:17 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
Twyla nodded her head when he basically agreed with her assessment of his book choosing habits. He didn’t seem to her as a very intense reader like what she usually was back home but it didn’t bother her in the least, most of her friends couldn’t be bothered to open an assigned book, let alone a novel just for the sake of reading. Twyla wondered to herself what kinds of thinks David was into. She was doing the same thing that she did with books–trying to find something interesting or unique about this stranger. Maybe we’ll find out, maybe we won’t. Besides my awkwardness this has been a nice conversation, I haven’t gone camouflaged or completely scared a total stranger.
She was relived when it seemed that she hadn’t been ruining the boy’s plans. “So you live in some kind of boarding school or something? Sometimes a change of scenery keeps life interesting; it’s nice to be able to get away.” She replied after he told her that he lived at a school. Twyla was hesitant to tell him where she was currently staying. Telling someone she barely knew that she was currently living in a homeless shelter, a homeless shelter for mutants for that matter, was something she wasn’t totally comfortable doing. It could lead to awkward questions that she didn’t want to answer.
"I was thinking about heading down to a café by here, a little place overlooking the park, care to join me?" His invitation startled Twyla but only for a moment. He seems like a decent person and this conversation has been going pretty good, all things considered. It’d be good for me to actually talk to someone for a change. She had been studiously avoiding the other mutants living at the Sanctuary, primarily because they all seemed older than her and that made her nervous. Strangers generally made Twyla nervous at first and it had been easier for her to meekly explore the recreational places in the Sanctuary after hours. Twyla’s only hesitation to accept his offer was due to her lack of funds. She still had the five dollars she had earned at a carwash a few days prior and around seven dollars in loose change that she had found in her backpack when she was unpacking but that was all the money she had. Her hand reached subconsciously to touch her right front jeans pocket where she was keeping the only money she had.
I could get coffee. I’ll get a job soon and then money won’t be an issue and then this coffee won’t matter. I’ll just get something really cheap. My meals are taken care of right now anyway. I’m getting a job soon, what’s one coffee? Twyla resisted the urge to bit her lip as she argued with herself. Twyla wanted to keep this conversation going but she also knew that the odds of her being able to get a job without handing in an application with her information on it were slim. Twyla was terrified that she would get caught as the runaway she was and that her parents would find out that she was a mutant. After a few moments of contemplation she realized that she was taking a little too long to answer his question so she went with the first reply that popped in her head. “Sure. I’d like that.” Twyla tried to give him a reassuring smile that covered up her anxiety.
Posted by Twyla Ashby on Jul 18, 2009 16:34:07 GMT -6
Beta Mutant
736
0
May 1, 2012 13:42:06 GMT -6
When the boy, David, laughed at her nudist park comment Twyla decided that laughing was a better reaction that making a weird face at her or simply walking away. That could have gone over a lot worse. I think I’ll just pretend I never said that and let us move on...I’ll have to filter my offhanded comments more closely I think...No one would have cared if I said that back home. Twyla's group of friends, mostly girls on the gymnastics team, expected Twyla’s random outbursts. They were used to her being quiet and then randomly saying something that was either awkward or somewhat funny and took al of them in stride. Twyla hadn’t realized how much she had taken that acceptance for granted until just now. Can’t do much about that now. Twyla reminded herself, pushing back the sudden wave of homesickness.
For a moment he looked uncomfortable, but the mood seemed to pass as he searched for an answer to her question. Twyla wondered what she had said that had bothered him but chose not to pursue it. "I like to read whatever I see that's interesting." David replied. He went on to explain himself more. Twyla nodded to his response. “I think understand what you’re saying.” She replied. “You just come upon them, right?” Twyla had grown up in a household that had one channel on the television, so her openness about authors and titles had come out of a necessity to entertain herself when she didn’t want to run wild outside with her siblings. Even if a book didn’t totally peak her interest she found a reason to like it and therefore to keep reading it.
"So were you out here to just read, or enjoy the sites?" David asked her. I’m probably keeping him. He probably has somewhere to go and I’m bothering him. Twyla felt bad for her perceived bothersomeness. “I needed to get outside. I’ve been cooped up for a few days and I really liked Central Park the first time I came to the city. I figured it would be nice to get to see it in spring and to see a bit of green.” She looked across the way at a group of kids playing with a ball. Bringing her focus back to the tall, he was quite a few inches taller than Twyla herself, boy Twyla asked quickly “What were you doing in the park? Were you just cloud watching or was there somewhere you were headed?” Might as well check to see if I’m keeping him from something; I don’t want to be some annoying stranger that threw off his whole day. I've got nowhere to be, but that doesn't mean I can make random people talk to me