4/7 Instance: Normality is Relative

[Starfish]

Timeline current

Mayhem: Mayhem was stood on a wall outside, hands in pockets as he regarded the wall of the mansion in front of him, pipe in his mouth. His hat was on the wall beside his feet and his dreads were tied back from his face for once. Old house, this. Means brickwork's not gonna be uniform....wonder if I can climb up to the roof?

Anna: Anna shuffled outside, bundled up in her coat. Stupid weather. She stuck a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. Putting her lighter back in her pocket, she set off on a walk around the building. Ahhh sweet sweet nicotine.

Mayhem: A sudden whiff of cigarette smoke made him wrinkle his nose, and Mayhem looked round as the scent of the person smoking it reached him. He didn't recognise it. Shrugging, he hopped off the wall, waiting for the person to come around the corner.

Anna: Anna tripped over a loose flagstone and swore as she stumbled around the corner, "Fecking place is falling apart...." she muttered to herself, then looked up to see if anyone had witnessed her clumsy. "Balls." She gave a small wave.

Mayhem: Mayhem blinked, then waved back, taking the pipe out of his mouth and smiling. "Hey there. You alright?"

Anna: Anna blinked back. Was that a pipe? This place was full of crazy. Her eyes drifted to the tail then took in his height. "Holy fuck, you're tall...." She grinned and blushed slightly since she hadn't meant to say that outloud. "Uh... I mean.... yes I'm fine thanks."

Mayhem: Mayhem's smile turned into an outright grin. "Seems the first thing everyone says about me's my height." He put the pipe back into his mouth and held out a hand. "Mayhem. I'm new here."

Anna: Anna took his hand and shook it, even more confused, "Interesting name.... I'm Anna." she released his hand and extracted her cigarette from her mouth, tapping the ash off the end, "What're you doing out here by yourself? And where're you from, that's an interesting accent you have there..."

Mayhem: "Well, smokin'." So saying, he knocked out his pipe and then started thumbing fresh tobacco into the bowl from a well-worn leather pouch. "And Devon. Plymouth, to be exact. Goin' from your accent I'd hazard a guess you're Irish?"

Anna: Anna nodded, "Yep, well... half. Mam's Argentinian. But I live in Kenmare - that's in Kerry." She sat on the wall, "Sooo.... you have a tail." She tilted her head on one side, eyeing said appendage.

Mayhem: "Yup. And claws." He slid them out. "Oh. And fangs. And the eye thing. Um." He tugged at a loose dread. "Be simpler if I just said I'm a cat." He put the pipe in his mouth and rooted for a box of matches, lighting it.

Anna: Anna grinned, "That's cool. Bet you have awesome balance then, huh?" She looked up at him, "Could you sit down? I'm going to get a sore neck."

Mayhem: Mayhem shrugged, sitting on the wall. "Would sit on a chair only...really uncomfortable with the tail." He grinned. "It's pretty good, aye. What about you? What you here for?"

Anna: Anna shrugged, "Balance is shite. I know you saw me trip." She frowned, "I'm here because I hit a mutant with a car.... kind of.... then I healed her." She took a final drag on the cigarette and dropped the butt on the floor, grinding it out with her foot.

Mayhem: "Oh?" Mayhem pulled his legs up to sit crosslegged on the wall, picking up his tophat and fiddling with the straps of the goggles.

Anna: "Yep. Oh indeed." She nodded, "Only done the healing thing twice. Can't seem to heal non-serious things. Just the really bad stuff... Kind of useless really...." she gave a small shrug then pulled out her box of cigarettes again.

Mayhem: "Oh, I dunno. I mean, if someone breaks their back ooor...something, you know?" Mayhem nodded. "Wish I had a healing ability. Make my folks worry a lot less about me when I go playing on the rooftops."

Anna: Anna raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I'll just sit around and pray for someone to get really hurt just so I can feel useful." She lit the cigarette, "Doesn't seem like a good plan to me... plus I'm clumsy so it'd be way more useful if I could heal myself." She looked up at the sky, then back at Mayhem, "You climb on rooftops?"

Mayhem: "Not what I meant." Mayhem grumbled. "What? Oh. Yeah. I do pique. Basically get from A to B without touching the ground in the straightest line possible."

Anna: Anna looked up at the roof of the mansion, "It's a hell of a way to fall...." She blew out a collumm of smoke, "But then I suppose you have the balance thing...." She frowned, "If you did fall, I'd have something to do...." she gave him a sly grin.

Mayhem: "Wha'- oh no. I am not throwing myself off a building for a girl I've just met." Mayhem shook his head violently. "Besides." He sniffed. "I haven't fallen once. Not once. And I've been doing it for years."

Anna: "I wasn't suggesting you throw yourself off, geeze..." Anna rolled her eyes, "I just meant that you wouldn't have to worry about falling.... Though I think I'd just stay on the ground 'cause I would fall. Clumsy as hell.... Dad says the fairies stole my balance when I was a kid. Mam says he dropped me on my head... Not sure who to believe...."

Mayhem: "Hah. I think it's actually impossible for me to be clumsy." Mayhem looked up to the top of the building, blowing out a stream of smoke. "Never tripped or anything, really. Born like this, so yeah. Had my entire life to get used to it."

Anna: "Lucky bastard...." Anna muttered, "I'm always injuring myself. Got all kinds of scars. Broken loads of bones too..." She shrugged, "So far I've not damaged myself too bad since I got here but there's another healer about so if I do I'll be fine. You can't miss him - he's gold."

Mayhem: "Haven't met him yet. Met the silver girl - Cessily, is it? - but no gold yet." Mayhem put the hat down. "So...what exactly is this place then? I get that it's a safety house for mutants but..."

Anna: Anna nodded, "Yep it's Cessily." She shifted her weight, "It's kind of like a school." She gave a small shrug, "There's regular lessons like physics and PE and whatever but there are also lessons on how to use your powers. Don't really need to learn how to use mine since they do it without my asking but the other stuff is good."

Mayhem: "A school..." Mayhem trailed off. "So...if, say, someone flunked their GCSEs they could retake 'em here?"

Anna: "Uh.... dunno about GCSEs.... think it's more like Uni...." she frowned, "But I don't think you have to have much of an education to come here. You'll pick it up and there's loads of help about." She shrugged, "Could always ask though..."

Mayhem: "Think I might." A free second chance at education too? This place was starting to sound better every day. "How long've you been here for then?"

Anna: "A couple of months..." She stubbed out the cigarette on the brickwork, "I hit the girl back in the summer and she took me here, I stayed for a little while then had to go home 'cause my uncle was sick." She sighed, "I healed him by accident.... Then I came back here. Got back just before Christmas."

Mayhem: "Heh, well, that's good then." Mayhem took the pipe out of his mouth. "Wish I had something that was actually, y' know, useful. Instead of just being a giant cat."

Anna: Anna raised her eyebrows, "It's not useful in this place and at least your mutation takes care of you. Most people here seem to be able to heal themselves well enough. They don't need me. I wish I could heal myself...." She sighed, "Stupid clumsiness...."

Mayhem: Mayhem couldn't come up with an answer to that, so just shrugged, settling for blowing a plume of smoke instead. "Well hey, at least I could get all the high stuff for my boss back home."

Anna: Anna nodded, "Yep, tallness is good for that. Bet no one ever stepped on you, hey?" She grinned, "Being short has it's advantages though. I have a low center of gravity so I surf really well on a good day."

Mayhem: Stepped on plenty of times. "Hah, nope." Mayhem grinned easily. "Funnily enough though, can't go up ladders. Hate 'em."

Anna: Anna blinked, "But you have good balance and natural height! How the hell can you be scared of ladders?" She really was thrown by that one, "I'm fine with them and I fall off them all the time, that's how I got this one." She pulled up her trouserleg revealing a small round scar, "Broke it." She said helpfully.

Mayhem: "Dunno. I could climb to the top of this building and dance on the edge and be fine. Hell, I'm taller then most ladders. But I freak if I go up one." Mayhem shrugged. "One of those things."

Anna: Anna giggled, "That's weird. You're odd. I like that." She patted him.

Mayhem: "...You're calling me odd, and you live here?"

Anna: She laughed, "Yeah I can see the problem there...." She grinned, "But oddness is I good thing I assurre you. Non-odd-ness is boring." She nodded sagely, "And I'm not saying everyone else is normal."

Mayhem: "So....I'm odd even when compared to that lot." Mayhem laughed. "Somehow, I find that comfortin'."

Anna: Anna grinned again and gave him a playful nudge, "Glad I could help."

Anna: She looked up at the roof again and shuddered, imaging all kinds of catastophies, "So... you gonna stick around?"

Mayhem: "Well...for now. I mean, I've never even met another mutant and it's....nice to be somewhere where I can feel normal, you know?" Mayhem smirked. "Well, as normal as someone with a name like Mayhem can be."

Mayhem: "My parents know where I am and how to contact me an' my boss told me to have fun so....yeah."

Anna: Anna smiled, "That's nice. Seems like you have a good boss too if they're letting you stay here in stead of working. Lucky again." She played with the top of her cigarette box wondering if she should have another then shivered. The wind was getting to her, "It's a bit cold you know..."

Mayhem: "Aye." Mayhem nodded, knocking his pipe out again. "Alright. We'll head in and I'll let you make me a cuppa." He grinned impishly before sliding off the wall, putting his tophat on and tapping it before sauntering inside.

Anna: Anna blinked, "Let me?.... Arse." she jumped off the wall, "For that I might have to Irish it up a bit." She walked in after him.