Looks were indeed deceiving. Despite looking like someone who was out of breath, the young female that had gained Luke’s attention, seemed quite energetic. Although fatigued to a certain degree, she was still able to move in an erratic manner as Luke made his presence known by resting his avian form atop her shoulder.

“And I thought she was about to pass out.”

As she suddenly started to flail her arms and move about, it was only natural for Luke to distance himself from her, unless he wanted his smaller and fragile body to be swatted away. Remaining within close proximity with the young female, Luke simply stared at her with his blank eyes, hoping that she would calm down. However, as this occurred, Luke’s gaze slowly shifted towards the direction of an unfamiliar voice.

“Are you okay?” meekly asked a robed man as he peeked over the side of the dumpster. “Miss...?”

Although his words were of concern and worry, unlike the clumsy individual Luke was with, this other person was different. He felt like a potential threat. He seemed…dangerous.

“An Unnatural?”

Timothy tilted his head in curiosity, still staring intently at Miriam but finding himself at a loss for words at what a sudden male voice had uttered. No, he must have misheard; it wasn’t the voice of a spirit or a Holy Ghost, unless he summoned one by accident -- and that’s incredibly unlikely; it must have been his mind playing tricks on him, thus further confirming his fears that he had gotten a mild case of paranoia. But he would have to take care of it some other time for this unfortunate person came first in his list of current priorities. Thusly, he crouched down and unslung his bag, opening it to procure a bottle of water. Taking a closer look at the girl, she was in worse shape than he had thought…

“You look terrible. Here,” he offered the bottle. For to be generous, especially to the impoverished, is a saintly act.

Miriam looked up . . . then froze. That . . . was a lot of weapons. More than she'd seen on some government officers even. This was definitely not a priest.

Still, hadn't done anything so fat (those guns were still intimidating though) and he was even offering her a drink. She mulled over it for a few minutes before deciding to accept his offer. It didn't matter either way; she doubted she would be able to get away from him, so whether or not this was a trap was irrelevant now. She took the bottle from his hands gingerly, and gulped it down. Relief flooded her body.

After draining what was probably half the bottle and ensuring that there was no toxin in it that was causing some sort of side effect, Miriam released the bottle from her lips and exhaled deeply. ". . . Thank you," she said, slowly handing the bottle back to the (not) priest.

Timothy gave Miriam a friendly smile as he returned the bottle into the recesses of his backpack, all the way further examining her as he fished out a Hershey’s chocolate bar; and she indeed looked terrible. Resisting the impulse to shake his head in pity, he reached out once more and offered the food, with gentleness saying, “Here, you look like you need the strength.”

He did not mind the pigeon tugging at the corner of his eyes, the situation pressing Miriam’s need for attention than that of the bird’s. He did not even spare it a thought that it was quite peculiar it hadn’t flown away yet. Pigeons are dumb birds; were it a crow, though, Timothy would have understood its decision to stay and observe.

Alas, he did not even think of it, and it was simply a dumb pigeon.

"Why are you out here on the streets at this hour, child? Why not seek an aid station so you can get food and drink from one of the charities, and a bed for the night?"

Luke couldn't help but feel suspicious of the priest in front of him despite the sincerity he was showing, both in his actions and words, towards the young lady he was helping out. However, aside from his intuition, Luke had no real reason to feel doubtful of the robed man, but this was still not enough to change his mind.

Soon enough, Luke eventually ascertained that his insight was apparently right all along.

“A Colt M1911A1? What’s a priest doing with that? This doesn't seem right.” thought Luke as he remained flying, remaining within close proximity of the two individuals in front of him.

Unfortunately, possessing a firearm was not enough for Luke to resort to any drastic measures. However, it did give him an excuse to remain close by; for some reason, there was something different about these people. He couldn't put it into words, but they were interesting in a way.

With his mind made up, Luke made his way towards the shoulder of the brown-haired girl. Hopefully, she was a bit calmer now and would allow Luke to perch atop her shoulder.

Julius shook his head, saying nothing. He and Diego had hardly left on the best of terms; another argument about how to handle the government. Finally, taking off his glasses so that he could look at Mari but with vision so blurry he didn't actually make eye contact, he spoke.

"I... kept tabs on him, where I could. It wasn't like after we escaped the House of Powers but it wasn't great either. I've spent the last six months trying to mediate but the government were just appeasing me; they showed up this morning to take me back to the House. I might have been taken if it weren't for Alexis warning me ahead of time."

He looked away, ashamed of his failure. For a time he thought they were making actual progress but the stories coming in from the streets soon told him another story; they were trying to pull the wool over his eyes until he was no longer useful. Six months wasted on a cause destined to fail when he could have been using his influence to hide and protect fellow Empowered from the government and the darker gangs... more than he had been, anyway.

"Wait, Mari. Hold on a mo." Her frantic walk had been too fast for him to keep up with, his left leg slowing him down drastically with two bullet wounds; one to the knee and one to the upper thigh. If it weren't for his now lost regenerative powers he probably wouldn't be able to walk at all anymore. "There's an abandoned apartment building two blocks from here. I've had Alexis spreading rumours to sympathisers about the place, try and gather Unnaturals there. An old gang used it but they moved out a month ago so the authorities think it's just left over tales about them."

As he was speaking someone approached them and asked an innocuous question about the time. Julius glanced at his watch and ground his teeth in frustration; the clock face was nothing but a blur to him without his glasses. The roman numerals were too fine and the clock arms too thin for him to make it out when he held the watch further away from him where his vision normalised. Instead he held his wrist out towards the man.

"Here, I haven't got my glasses on."

The sound of sirens nearby nearly made him jump but he controlled the impulse carefully, eyeing the scenery nearby for any movement. He had assumed the two men from earlier had radioed in his location before their confrontation which probably meant that specialist teams were incoming; the price for infamy it would seem.

"I'm sorry, but we need to get going." Julius turned to Mari and leaned in close. "We need to go, now. They've got Empowered teams patrolling the area and they'll know I was nearby now. We should get out of sight."

Sean squinted his eyes at the watch, in reality he had his own watch, although broke, it was just hidden under his jacket, and as soon as the man put his arm down he trade teleported their watches. There was no momentum in it, he did this as a subtle trick, unfortunately the man had bad vision so he might not notice, but he'd done this more than once to weed out fellow empowered so he could only hope he would notice. "Thanks for your time." Sean said bouncing his eyebrows at the man with a quick smile. He decided to try this trick a few times, someome would notice and with luck they would be empowered and with a little more luck they would be headed where he was, or at least know of it.

Sean made his way across the street, peeking looking around occasionally, he wanted to see what the deal with the man at the bus stop was. He noticed another person had joined him a few seats away, Sean without hesitation sat down in the space between the two he didn't make eye contact with either of them just sat forwards and looked left and right slightly before turning to face the girl sitting down. "Hey I don't suppose you have a light?" Sean said as he pulled out a slightly crumpled but mostly dry cigarette.

Nearby Bushwick Brooklyn

A homeless unnatural holed himself in Bushwick, after weeks of straining himself to keep moving forward. Caked with mud, sweat, and more filth that he had encountered in his 'pilgrimage' to a holyland. Although some parts of Brooklyn are sights that bring out the Americas pride and patriotism, not all of the city is something it should show the rest of the world. One of these parts was where Nur-Ayya found himself. He was part of the homeless brigade. One of those who hadn't bathed in months, and brought upon the disgust of those around him. Although he could say he has been through worse, he certainly wasn't at his prime. However, the hope of finding the haven he has been dreaming of keeps him going despite the deplorable conditions he has found himself in. Despite his tattered clothes and rumbling stomach giving out other hints, Nur's morning mood was rather impressive considering his current status. His feet have once again proven to him their worth, and he was in Brooklyn. Months of travelling and pain have paid off, and now all he had to worry about was the authenticity of the rumors and stories that he had heard.

Previously laying in the least filthy alley he could find, now he was standing and forcing his way outside. The rain started to tear at his happiness as it began to soak into his clothes and make him more uncomfortable than he had been before. He spoke quietly to himself, trying to get motivated. He knew that he was closer to his garden of eden then ever before, and that if lady luck was smiling, he could experience the pleasures of his old life once more. Its ok Nur, you've come this far. Keep waiting, keep working, and you will find the sun again. Through his metaphors and determination, Nur was able to smooth-talk himself into action once again.

He carried himself out of Bushwick and began to explore the nearby streets. The goal clear in his mind, to find information, was resounding through him and his conscious. However, he knew that simply asking people he crossed was not going to get him anywhere. He had no clue who was safe to ask, what to do if he asked the wrong people, and also began to doubt that Brooklyn would even work out for him. 'Yeah, who would let some home-less looking fuck like me ask 'em about that kind of shit anyway.' His mood quickly began to darken even more now that he was fully awake and more aware. Despite the fact he felt close to victory, a hopelessness he hadn't felt in a long time began to work it's way back into him.

Yolanda jumped slightly at the voice. She had barely noticed that another had sat down at the bus stop. Tentatively turning her head towards the source of the voice, she locked eyes with the man. She figured that hewwould be about her age, maybe a bit younger. It was hard to tell; he had the face of someone battle hardened and weary. Yolanda's eyes flicked down to his body, assessing whether she could fight or outrun him if need be.

"Hey, I don't suppose you have a light?"

Yolanda's mind repeated the question as a reminder and she cleared her throat and stood, stepping over towards the man and taking the seat beside him. She reached into her pocket and brought out a lighter. She wasn't a smoker but she was someone who thought it best to have something for every occasion.

"Yeah. It should still have some lighter fluid in it." Yolanda murmured, her accent prominent. She held the small object out to the stranger.

Arrochar, Brooklyn 10:10 pm

By now, Diego was soaking wet. The rain had drenched all of his clothes, which in turn was slowing him down. He needed to get to Brooklyn before the end of the night, or else risk being spotted. Diego shot down and landed in an abandoned alley way. He peeled back the hood of his sweater and ran a hand over his shaved head. His eyes darted to and fro, making sure that no one had spotted him. When the coast was clear, Diego stepped out into the main street and headed to the nearest clothing store.

Thankfully, the young man didn’t have to walk far; there was an open t-shirt shop just a couple feet away from where he landed. Diego pulled his hoodie back over his head and made his way inside.

He could tell, from the moment he walked in, that the person behind the register was extremely uneasy with him being there. However, this was normal. After the Civil War, the crime rate sky-rocketed so much, that any person walking into a store could have been a mugger.

Diego sighed and made his way to the back of the store, he skimmed through the small aisles and picked out a solid black t-shirt, a solid black hoodie, a solid black pair of jeans, a pack of dark colored underwear, and a pack of new black socks. He turned and made his way to the dressing rooms, not even sparing a glance at the cashier, who no doubtedly was expecting to be killed. Once inside the dressing room, Diego changed as fast as he could, then walked out, leaving his wet clothes behind. He walked right past the cashier and out into the pouring rain, but not before stopping at a hat rack and picking up a black beanie.

---

Skies above New York , 10:30pm

The young man sighed as the rain drops repeatedly struck his face. Sure, it was nice to fly like this whenever he wanted, but what killed the mood was the fact that, at any time, he could be captured and sent back to a House just like the one he had been in before the War had broken out. Diego absentmindedly touched the spot on his left arm where one of his long scars were, then scowled. It wouldn’t have to be like this for much longer. All he needed to do was go to the safe house, get some people to agree to fight with him, and then take over everything.

The normals wouldn’t stand a chance, he thought to himself. Just find a couple of people with useful powers, train for a little, then storm through their front doors. It seemed like a solid enough plan.

He hadn’t noticed that he was flying awfully low now, and by the time he realized it, it was practically too late; there was a tree directly in front of him. Diego had only a split second to veer off to the right, and when he did, it was too late. His foot clipped a nearby branch, and he was sent plummeting to the ground. Thankfully, he landed in a thick bush, which resulted in only minor cuts and scrapes, rather than broken bones. The young man cussed under his breath and floated out of the bush slowly, making sure not to make too much noise. He brushed himself off, and then took a look around to find his bearings.

He was in the backyard of what looked to be an abandoned house; no doubt one of the various houses that were used as cover and sniper positions during the war. Diego managed to make his way to the front of the house, then peered down the street. Empty. He turned his head the other way, and came face-to-face with the barrel of an M-16 rifle.

“On the ground, ass hole,” said the soldier in a gruff voice. Diego sighed and shook his head.

“Look, I know how you think you know how this is going to go down, but let me assure you, you’re dead wrong.”

The soldier kept the rifle pointed at Diego’s face, but shifted slightly in his place. “What do you mean, dead wrong? I have the rifle pointed at your face. It’s over for you. Either you do what I say, or I put a bullet through your sku- Argh!”

Diego stood still as the rifle was ripped out of the soldier’s hands, and thrown at least thirty feet. He shook his head slowly and smiled.

“Can’t do much without your gun, can you? Look, obviously you are either a new recruit or you have never heard of me. I think all of the police precincts and wherever you army guys meet have at least a picture of me.” Diego smiled again and the soldier’s arms were forcefully spread apart. “Since neither one of those seem to be the case with you, I’m going to let you live, but, you were very rude, and because of that, I think I am going to have to take your arm. Okay?”

Before the soldier could protest, his arm was ripped from his body and dropped next to him. Diego released his hold on the soldier, who in turn fell on the grown, howling in agony. The Empowered male rolled his eyes, then turned and shot off into the night sky, toward Brooklyn.

He would have to thank Mari once again for letting him copy her telekinesis.

Maribeth turned at the sound of Julius' voice and walked back to him, remembering that he couldn't walk as fast anymore. As she walked back to him, she noticed a few people walking across the street and made a small observation of them, her eyes back on Julius. "I'm sorry, I forgot."

She was interrupted by a man, though. By looking at his face, she quickly recalled him being in the group of people that had crossed the street. 'The time?' she asked herself mentally as she waited patiently. It was only natural for her to be curious, seeing as how she was already arrested and who knew who was out here looking for them. As the man thanked Julius and began to walk back, Maribeth's eyes zeroed in on something strange on the man's back. Her eyes slightly widened and she grabbed Julius' arm. She quickly made an observation of the man as he sat down across the street and began talking with a stranger. She quickly made a mental note of both of their faces and shot them each a quick glare before looking at Julius. "Let's go." She looked down at his leg and quickly gestured for him to lean down a little so that she could whisper something to him.

"I'm going to keep my hand on your arm but I'm going to slightly lift you. Continue to walk." She took a step back and looked him in the eyes before turning and standing by his side, her hand wrapped on his arm. It looked like a nonchalant thing that any one would do to their friend or sibling. Inoffensive and subtle. Within seconds, her telekinesis wrapped around Julius's body and lifted him less than half of a centimeter. A movement so small, even someone standing directly in front of him would not notice. That small movement would help Julius though. It would still allow him to walk on the ground but have no limp, taking off all unnecessary pressure from his injured leg and make him seem to walk like a normal person. "Come on." She tugged on him and began walking, tightening her grip on his arm to reassure him that it was okay.

"Tell me where to go. Which way to turn. You just focus on moving your legs." Her eyes were kept straight forward with the occasional glance to her sides as the walked down the alley way, away from the men on the bench. "I'm afraid that man wasn't there just for the time. He walked across the street to us, out of all people, and then back across the street. He had a gun as well." She shot a glance at Julius and let a small huff of air out as she pushed her mind out to feel the small area around them, making sure they weren't being followed. "You would think the world would appreciate us a little more." She felt slightly relief as she saw the exit of the alley, the sight of people and cars passing gave her some comfort as the chances of being attacked in public would be a little less.

Miriam was grateful. False priest or not, having food and water to consume was a boon. She gingerly unwrapped it before nibbling on the sweet.

Mmm, chocolate, she thought. Lord Almighty, when was the last time she had sweets? Oh, right, five years ago. That was a sobering thought.

The False Priest waited until she was done eating, before asking, "Why are you out here on the streets at this hour, child? Why not seek an aid station so you can get food and drink from one of the charities, and a bed for the night?"

Miriam cleared her throat. It would take awhile before she got used to eating chocolate again. She was about to answer when a sudden thought popped in her head. That question contained a trap in it. Depending on her answer, she could end up back in a facility. So far it simply looked like she was a homeless teenager, which wasn't anything new after the Civil War, but also something people were wary of, considering most homeless kids happened to be Unnatural's on the run - like her. For all she knew, and despite all his kindness, the man could easily be an agent for the government (those guns strapped to him made a very convincing argument for it) and he could be trying to trick her into saying something incriminating. On the other hand, if the man suspected her of being an Unnatural, he could probably just frogmarch her at gunpoint to the nearest Police Station and have her identity verified, so again, either way she was in trouble.

But there was also perhaps the smallest chance that . . .

"I'm . . . an Unnatural you see," said Miriam, deciding the the truth would be a 50/50 chance at freedom or confinement, "and a registered one as well. Going to any government facilities with access to birth certificates and blood samples would be bad for me."

Just as she finished talking, the bird from earlier landed on her shoulder. She would've jumped, but she'd seen it coming. She was starting to get suspicious of this bird. It kept returning, and it's head was trained straight towards the False Priest. That wasn't birdlike at all; birds (asides from owls, but they're weird) move constantly, in jittery fashion but this one wasn't not moving, at all, as if it was observing the False Priest.

Such honesty, such naivety! Truly was she but a child, and yet the government would endure both hell and high water just to capture her and perform the most devious or experiments or even lobotomize her into eternal servitude, and just because God had granted her the gift of the supernatural. Whereas people like Miriam and Timothy were to be celebrated, they were instead oppressed. Yet encountering a fellow gifted was quite the coincidence, and the seminary could not suppress the little flash of mild surprise on his face.

“Thank you for your honesty,” he said gently, smiling with genuine gratitude. “I know it is hard to take a gamble and tell such a secret to, well, such a weird stranger like me,” he joked, “but we are kindred in spirit: I too have been blessed by God with powers beyond my imagination; I am, like you, an... Empowered. Please, ‘Unnatural’ is such a strong word.”

She seemed so small, so frail before him, with only tattered clothes and a ruined blanket to her name. Her very existence seemed to further solidify his convictions that, yes, the world was unenlightened and needed to change -- perhaps, radically so.

He took notice of the pigeon that had perched atop her shoulder, though without any alarm and instead with mild amusement. "Looks like it's taken a liking to you. Say, have you no place to stay the night? Or even anywhere safe to go tomorrow?”

Faust did what any normal person in the paranoid streets of new york would do. He completely ignored the fact that there was now two people next to him. Technically that is what he would of done regardless, but now he had even more reason to ignore them. The man and woman next to him talked about something that he really couldn't of been bothered paying attention too. So he listened to his target and the woman across the street. he noticed his targets foot steps were uneven, out of rhythm and then he was asking the one known as Mari to hold on as apparently she forgot something. If he had to guess he would say that Julius had a wounded leg. The girl leaned in and whispered something about lifting him up, and sure enough soon his foot steps were gone, as if he was no longer touching the ground. But he could still hear hers as she said she was going to told him to instruct her and focus on his legs.

Soon his phone rang as he pulled it out his pocket "Hello," he answered it waiting a few moments as the person on the other side talked "Really? Ok I'll head over" he said standing up and walking away "you owe me a beer for this one man" he laughed and pushed that phone back into his pocket. He walked down the street and over shot the ally that Julius and Mari walked down. Since he had their voices as well as her foot steps he would be able to follow as long as they didn't get too far. So he was in the next ally over and he started to sing again, this time choosing from styx's collection

"Oh, Mama, I'm in fear for my life from the long arm of the law
Law man has put an end to my running and I'm so far from my home
Oh, Mama I can hear you a-cryin', you're so scared and all alone
Hangman is comin' down from the gallows and I don't have very long"

Miriam waited with bated breath, half-anticipating, half-dreading his reaction. She saw surprise flit through his face, before he smiled warmly. Miriam felt her insides melt with relief.

“Thank you for your honesty,” he said gently, smiling.. “I know it is hard to take a gamble and tell such a secret to, well, such a weird stranger like me,” he joked, “but we are kindred in spirit: I too have been blessed by God with powers beyond my imagination; I am, like you, an . . . Empowered. Please, ‘Unnatural’ is such a strong word.”

The girl picked herself up while at the same time shaking of the (still suspicious) pigeon on her shoulder. "It was either I ended up back in a facility or you would help me, so it wasn't much of a gamble, more of a choice," she patted herself down. The ground under the dump was incredibly dirty, she looked up at Timothy with a smile, "plus, whatever would happen next is part of the Lord's plan, come what may, I'd have accepted it. Praise be to him, in any case, that I encountered another who serves him."

Because of Timothy's clothes, Miriam instinctively went back to the way she talked to the nuns back at the orphanage - which, as you can see, was rather archaic. She'd opted to speak like that after she'd read the bible, and the nuns enjoyed listening to her talk that way. Because the found it cute, Miriam decided to talk like in that manner to them most of the time.

"And as for myself, I prefer to refer to myself as Unnatural. I know some of us have taken to calling ourselves 'Empowered', but that implies a drive backed by a strong sense of cause - such a thing isn't always the case for people like us, and being empowered is not exclusive to us only," explained Miriam, smiling slightly. "Anyway, I like 'Unnatural' better. It seems more fitting - individualistic, powerful, and denotes that we are not wholly disconnected from the world."

Julius nodded with a smile, he had a photographic memory so it was hard, if not nearly impossible, for him to miss such small details.

"I noticed, he's also like us. He somehow swapped my watch for another, his is heavier and there's no ticking sound." Julius' hearing had become incredibly accurate and sensitive due to his eyes having been removed and that strengthening of the sense had not left him, largely because he went to great pains to ensure it did not. "Hold on a mo, I'll get my radar up."

He closed his eyes, focussing intensely on reading the air currents in a five block radius. Normally he would spend time before retreating to an area setting up his 'radar' but he could not afford to alert authorities to this place if they noticed irregular air movement; they jumped at the slightest thing these days and would surely notice his power especially. Making a few, very small adjustments, to the flow of air in a few alleyways, Julius was able to construct a map in his mind of everything in the area. If anyone came looking for them or followed them he would know now. He noticed the man at the bus stop had left, walking away. It was odd for someone to move on from a bus stop when the bus hadn't yet arrived and he had only been there when Julius and Mari retreated into the alleyway.

"The guy from the bus stop is probably tailing one of us, probably me as well. They can't have got someone on your tail already." Julius warned Mari, opening his eyes. The radar was still there in his head; he had perfected keeping it active passively when he wasn't fighting or focussing on something which required his complete attention.

It wasn't long before they made it to the building. Julius led the way, leaning on a handrail to take the weight off of his injured leg. They passed a few of the homeless, most of them looking like they had been there for some time. Once they got to the third storey of the building suddenly it was quieter; devoid of the population below and with bits of odd furniture here and there in one large room that had previously been used for conferences.

"This used to be a charity building. It seems only right we use it now." Julius said to Mari, chuckling as he limped forwards and found a wheeled chair in half-decent condition. "People are too scared of the old gang that worked here to come and nick it all which is ideal. Oh... see the cupboard in that wall? I had Alexis stocking it with bed rolls, sleeping bags, blankets; that sort of thing." He reached into a pocket and tossed it to Mari.

"That opens it. I'm not sure where to go from here but there are plenty of places to access the sewers and forgotten subway lines around here as well as disused basements and the like. I should have planned better than this, Mari. They were keeping a tight eye on me, even sent a few fake muggers and a sniper to get rid of me. If I'd realised earlier then maybe we wouldn't be back where we were six months ago. I guess Diego was right about them." He smiled sadly at Mari.

"So... how was Europe? I want to go back to Britain some time; when this is all over and if I'm still able at the end."

Sean gently took the lighter from her hand and thanked her while putting the cigarette in his mouth. He leaned back a bit and used his free hand to shield the lighter from rain drops and tiny gusts of wind. He was looking for something to trade with her out of the corner of his eye, he was going to use the lighter but he must've lost his a long with that paper. Failing that Sean decided maybe he'd just wait and see if he could do anything or better yet if she would. He was about to hand the lighter back in the man next to them got up and answered his phone, he walked off talking into it, Maybe Sean was wrong and the guy was just kind of weird, it wouldn't be the first or last time there was a weird person in New York. He decided to just ignore him, probably just over-thinking it. " Thanks again." Sean said twirling the lighter in between his fingers so the bottom of the lighter ended up facing the girl. Sean hadn't even realized that the two people he walked over too had walked away quickly after he had left, he thought he saw the girl with the blind guy eying him, but shrugged it off.

"That's a cool accent, by the way." Sean said just trying to strike up a conversation, he'd have to play the long game on this one to see if there were powers involved with this girl, he wouldn't wait too long, he really just needed to provoke her powers if she had any or find a chance to subtly use his. "Where'd you get an accent like that from anyway?" Sean said; his own awkward way of asking where she was from. He glanced over to her, thick smoke made thicker by the cold air billowing from his nostrils. Sean tried to get a quick read on her, she seemed meek ostensibly, but there was something else deep down he just couldn't put his finger on it.

Yolanda narrowed her eyes slightly at the man before reaching out and taking the lighter back. She pocketed it and then ran a hand over her slicked hair, scratching her neck briefly. The man didn't seem too threatening, perhaps just another homeless teenager that she had seen walking the streets before. But something about him seemed slightly off; ulterior motives flashed briefly into her mind, quick yet urgent, though she pushed it away.

Yolanda became aware that another question had been asked. She mentally berated herself - she was supposed to be acting casual. She would almost definitely come off as unusual if she sat, blank faced, for a few moments after every question. I am normal.

"Oh, South Africa. Cape Town," She responded. It was the 'getting to know you' game and she could definitely play along. "What's your name?"

Maribeth - Brooklyn - Julius

As they arrived to the house, Maribeth only helped Julius until they got up to the third floor. Her mental grasp on him died and she let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't given herself enough time to rest and had pushed her limits. The low yet annoying headache in her mind affirming her assumption. "I hope they don't have anyone out for me yet. I don't really want to resort to violence. What I had today was enough for a few months." She grinned at Julius and caught the key as he tossed it in the air, turning on her toes and walking over to the cupboard. "I'll take out two for now. If some decide to drop by, I'll take out more." She took two bed rolls out and held them under each arm. "There's rooms here, right?"

Maribeth began walking through the hallways while talking to Julius at the same time. "Europe was nice. Very relaxing since I was staying in very rural areas in Italy. Far out towns that barely used TV's and such. No one knew about Unnaturals..... And if they did, they didn't care. I was treated like a normal human." She frowned as she said normal. Something she wished she could be once again. Her mind recalled what Julius had said about Diego being right. If what he meant was about living in peace with the humans, they were both wrong. It could be done again. "I picked up their language fairly easily. I'm not fluent, but I could live there if I wanted to. I can fake an accent though. If i try hard enough, I can make myself sound like I'm really from there. It's helped in certain situations." She smiled at the memories and turned into a room, grinning as she found a bed. "Here's one." She began making the bed as she spoke out to Julius, "How are you and Allister though. When was the last time you saw her?" Once she was done with the bed she began wandering through the halls again, finding two more rooms at the end with two twin beds in each room. "Oh no, I'm not sleeping in that tiny thing." She muttered to herself. The girl lifted her hand, and with a flick of the wrist, the two beds slid together to form a bigger bed. Satisfied with her work, she began to make the bed while listening to Julius speak, feeling like she was at home finally for some reason.

She walked back out to where Julius was and grabbed her black handbag, standing there for a bit, listening to him until he was done. "Will you give me a minute? I've been walking around since I landed this morning. I'm drenched and I'm tired of wearing heels. Let me change and I'll come right back out to join you." Maribeth smiled at her old friend and turned quickly to where she decided she'd be sleeping that night, shutting the door behind her, throwing her back bag on the bed and pulling out a white, long sleeved shirt and some dark blue skinny jeans along with a black leather jacket. Even with her extremely small folding and smart packing, she couldn't fit a pair of normal boots in, so she'd have to keep wearing her high heeled boots until she found out where to buy another pair.

It had been one hell of a day and all she wanted was to get something in her stomach and wrap herself around a blanket. Finding her old friend was a huge plus.

"South Africa hunh?, Man and I thought I came a long way to New York." Sean said before taking a long drag of his cigarette, she then asked for his name. Sean froze internally at this. He almost didn't expect it, but he should have, he started this conversation after all. He contemplated saying a false name for a second, but that was too out of character for him even, he couldn't if he tried. "Sean, uh... Sean Davis." He said without really looking at her. It was weird, after all this time on the run he hadn't had a lot of chances to get to know people, most encounters were fleeting and usually ended up in them dying, not unlike the building he'd run from earlier today. It was nice to say the least, he still wasn't sure what to think of he. But she wasn't trying to kill him, empowered or otherwise, so that's always good.

"What about you? Got a cool South African name?" He said as he finished his cigarette. He snuffed it on the wet ground quickly and flicked it into the nearby trashcan. Maybe he wouldn't need to trick her, maybe she would just be cool with it and with any luck she'd be empowered as well. He'd wait a little longer to try anything though, for once mindless conversation seemed more important.