Poor and Helpless Little Thing

[Quinn Wiley]

Was there something more boring than to shop for a new coat? Probably to shop for two new coats, in an outlet mall no less. Quinn didn’t have much of a choice. He needed one, not too warm, for most days and another to put on whenever he’d go out this winter to blow some fire in the air. It was the joys of having a body temperature that was far higher than the norm.

Of course, buying two coats was the least of Quinn’s problems right now. First, there was the fact that, since he barely had any money, he had no choice to shop with care and at a place that made discounts like here. That generally meant the coats had some flaws or had been worn before but what other choice did he have? Only then could you point out he needed two coats, including one that would appear too warm for him right now. And since almost all of them did, it was not helping. The last, and certainly main, problem was the fact this was Quinn, meaning he wouldn’t ask for help. Anyway, what kind of help could they give him? He could hardly ask them to put the coat on and tell him if it was warm enough for a rough winter. How was he even supposed to know if the one that seemed ok for him now would not be a little too light in the end? He should have asked Erin to come over. He did not trust her fashion sense, it was not like his was any better when you think about it, but she could at least tell if they appeared too warm or not enough. And she had to be able to tell if he looked ridiculous, right?

He had the coat on. Some brown thing he was not sure to like at all. Quinn never cared much about his clothes and didn’t really know what looked good on him so who was he to know? He started to look around, a poor and helpless little thing unable to do anything on his own. And with too much pride, or whatever else he’d blame his silent on, to ask anyone for advice. Yes, poor and helpless little thing.

[Callie Montgomery]

It had been a while since Callie had ventured out to the great town that is Kalispell. She preferred being on campus. More so she could spend time with the horses, that, or the countless hours she spent by the lake. Her project was so close to completion, but seeing as that her headaches have been getting worse as of late she decided to take some time off. No matter how much it was killing her.

With her pocket cam safely tucked in her back pocket she had managed to make her way to the outlet mall in town. Over the years she had come here a grand total of twice. Maybe three times? She couldn’t remember. It wasn’t her first choice of fun and adventure, but seeing as though she needed a break she decided to make the best of it.

She wandered about and played with her hair. It was down for once instead of in her messy side braid. She had curled it in an attempt to try something new. The same could not be said for her outfit. It was her usual flannel shirt and cowboy boots and hat. It was what she loved wearing. That would never change. Every so often she’d take out her camcorder and film the various stores and people. Anything really that caught her attention. It was while she was doing this that a store had caught her eyes. She entered what seemed to be a secondhand store. Something that she adored. There was always such mystery and wonder about places like this. Everything here had a story.

The blonde was making her way towards the handmade jewelry when something caught her eye. A boy. Who looked about her age, looking lost, wearing an interesting brown coat. She paused for a moment. Her lips turned to form her trademark smile. She focused her pocket cam on him momentarily before closing in on him. “Uh ’cuse me.” She said, her southern drawl evident as she spoke. “I ain’t too sure ‘bout that coat on ya.” She offered her opinion as she crinkled her nose and shook her head slightly as she lowered her camcorder.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

While Quinn indeed wanted someone to help him out he also dreaded the moment someone would come to ask him if he needed anything. He knew he’d say no. Or more like whisper it so softly they would likely not hear but the fact he’d turn his back at them would make it clear. He just sucked that much at interacting with people. He didn’t want to ask for their opinion. He was afraid to look like an idiot. Because how can you not when you wonder if that will be not too warm?

He didn't expect a girl looking a lot like a cowgirl to come and talk to him. This could not be the uniform for the place, if they had such thing as a uniform. Still, just by the way she addressed to him, she couldn’t be working here. That and she had a camera. He was intrigued, since Quinn was a photographer and any camera would get his interest. Only it was not time to talk camera. Especially if he was the subject of hers. He quickly got rid of that brown coat he tried, partly because she said it didn’t look good on him but also because she caught him with it on his person and he was not sure himself.

“Why must they have that much?” he mumbled as he waved at the vast selection of coats and jackets they offered. “All I wanted was a winter coat and a...” Ok, how to explain that one? He might have found a way. “One that would be good for springtime.” Yeah that should be good. And explain why he tried that one since it really wouldn’t fit for winter. That is, unless you were him. But she didn’t need to know that. He was not even sure who she was and even if the whole town, the whole world, knew for mutants, he’d rather not be the freak. Especially not the freak who could burn the whole place down. That didn't sound too good.

[Callie Montgomery]

With her camcorder in hand she looked at the boy from toe to head as she did with any and every one she has ever encountered. You could say it was sort of her thing. Though most never did understand why, it was essential for Callie. Luckily, today she had her pocket cam to assist her. Her eyes moved slowly, scanning the boy. She watched closely as he removed the coat per her suggestion, which was good. He could do better. Not that she was much for fashion, but she wasn’t going to let some boy get a coat that reminded her of a sack of potatoes.

Her blue eyes followed his hand as he gestured to the many racks of coats beside them. Her camera followed suit, making sure to capture the store in its entirety. She gave a shrug and answered a question that perhaps was meant to be rhetorical, “Folks are picky, and some like to ‘ave variety. Ya know. Those gals who need like five of the same coat, but are different ‘cause they’re different colors.” She shook her head and let out a small giggle. She had to get a coat when she moved here. It was definitely a first. She spun back to look at the boy who she was more than happy to help.

A winter coat and a light jacket. Sounded reasonable enough. She gave a nod and looked around a bit. “That should be easy ‘nough to get. Like ya said. They have plenty.” Callie turned off her camera and placed it in her back pocket. There was no time for filming now. Perhaps later though. Her attention was fully set on helping this boy get the jackets he needs. She walked past him to a rack of coats and immediately began looking through them. “Most folks prefer black ‘cause the say it goes with everythin’. Well, at least that’s what my mama would say.” Her accent thick as she began talking more and faster. “I personally got a bright blue one when I moved here. I don’t mind stickin’ out. Not to mention that blue is my favorite color.” She stopped and gave a toothy smile to the boy. “Want one with a hood?” She asked, slightly tilting her head to the side.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was never really comfortable when someone studied him the way this girl was. The fact she was a girl, a rather pretty one no less who most certainly had better things to do then look at plain guys like him, just made this situation even more awkward. It was not like he followed her to take pictures so why did she have to look at him like that? If only she’d talk again.

She seemed too busy filming the store but she still answered him. Something to do with girls and their desire to have the coat in every color possible, certainly to match their shoes or something like that. “I just want something to keep me warm during winter,” he said as he looked at the coats. Not that it was exactly true but he did want something to keep him warm. And then something to wear every other day. He certainly didn’t want a coat for every mood of his. Then again, he wouldn’t have that many more coats than what he wanted to buy since his mood was either gloomy or slightly less gloomy.

It should be easy enough. The problem however lied in the solution. “That’s just it, they have too much. And I...” No, he could not say that. What if she was one of those Anti-mutant freaks? “I’m just not good at knowing if it’s warm enough or not.” That sounded lame. But how could he explain his power made him naturally warmer than anyone. Ok, maybe he still had some struggles knowing what would be a good coat. It was not like they allowed them to test it outside under cold weather to choose whether they wanted it or not. But the winter one, that one would be even harder for him, since most of these already were too warm for him.

In order to create a little interlude in his coat searching, he pointed at the camera she tucked safely in her pocket. “You’re taking yourself for Andy Warhol?” Only she was already working on helping out. Black. Since he was wearing mostly that, he could agree with her but he didn’t think he wore black just because it fitted with everything. “I wear it cause I just don’t have to bother with colors and what kind look good or not on me,” he explained. It was not a fashion statement or anything. More a decision taken in laziness. He tried not to pay too much attention as she kept talking but he still got that blue was her favourite color. He was a bit surprised though when he realised she asked him something that had nothing to do with color. A hood? “That could be useful. I don’t have hats,” he told her. He didn’t even want to imagine the mess his hair would be with a woolly hat.

[Callie Montgomery]

Callie kept her trademark smile on her face. Her blue eyes flickered between the boy and the coats. She knew how she could come across sometimes to others, but she hadn’t had a problem so far. She was glad she had run into someone that needed help. It was better than her aimlessly wandering the mall trying to distract herself from what she really wanted to do. She knew she would just need to be patient.

At least with this she could keep a conversation going long enough to put her mind at ease. “Well I’m sure we can find ya somethin’!” She reassured him with her drawl behind every word she spoke. There was more than enough options. There had to be something that was to his liking.

Her eyes locked on him as he spoke again. She tilted her head slightly to the side her hair freely moving about as her head moved. “Hmmm.” She said, unsure of what he meant by that. Wouldn’t it be easy to tell what coat would be warm enough or not? “Well the bubbly type ones tend to keep me nice and toasty. But if you want something a little more breathable ya gotta pay attention to the material.” She suggested, as her hands pushed through the different coats on the rack. “Also, don’t forget you could always unzip the coat if it gets too hot.” She added with a giggle. That was common sense for her, but she just wanted to share. “Oh! And layers, layers are always a good thing I’ve learned durin’ my time ‘ere.” It was something she had learned during one of her many adventures around the school grounds. He first time she went out with just her coat and she got to hot, but to take it off she was too cold. To keep it unzipped was okay but it just cause the exposed area to get cold while the rest was still warm. Now she has layers, she removes her coat and usually wears a hoodie. That usually satisfied her need pretty well.

Callie perked up when she caught him pointing to where her camcorder was. “Andy Warhol?” She questioned. Unsure of who he was referring to. Perhaps some photographer she could only assume. She continued on her search to help find a jacket. When he confirmed that black was acceptable she nodded. Black was always easiest anyway. Hood, check. She pulled out a coat that she felt might fit his needs. Callie handed it to him. “This might work. It’s black, has a hood, and has a lining that can help keep you warm but isn’t made out of material that would be too constricting or warm.” She said as she made sure to list everything she could recall him mentioning. “My name’s Callie by the way. If ya were wonderin’. If not, well now you know.” She said giving a warm smile as she bobbled her head side to side.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

It was weird to have a complete stranger, that he didn’t even know the name of, helping him find coats. One could argue it was one way to describe the employees around but she was not working here. She had no reason to help him out. Yet she was. She seemed certain they’d find something for him. She was smiling and so optimistic about it. Quite the reverse from what he must appeared to be. And that was the truth, this behaviour was the complete opposite of what Quinn was.

Material, right. It seemed to make sense. Okay, maybe some explaining was required. “It’s just... they will all be too warm for me,” he said. He didn’t want to admit being a mutant though. It was not something you should easily share. Even if the world now knew they existed, that didn’t mean they were accepted by everyone. He showed some discomfort at the words he told her. “I mean, it’s hot here. How can you be sure it won’t be too light outside, where it’s cold?” Ugh, he was making it more difficult than it had to be. He should just look for some good winter coat that didn’t make him look too fat. He pretended he didn’t care about his look but he was still rather conscious of it. He might not think he was hot but he didn’t want to look too bad. Unzip the coat. Yeah, he supposed he could do that. If he wanted it for the same reasons as others. “I... I have this condition, you see? Temperature tends to go really high and sometimes really low.” Was that also too complicated? Probably, but he didn’t need to say he blurted out fire.

Layers, now that was more his thing. If he had a few coats maybe he wouldn’t need some big one. Well, in the end it would depend on the cost. But he should consider wearing sweaters during winter. That meant buying more since that definitely was not something he had in abundance. He had the feeling this shopping spree will cost him more than he initially intended.

And she didn’t know Andy Warhol. Of course she wouldn’t and he felt like an idiot with his outdated reference. “Yeah, he... he was an artist in the sixties mostly. Did a few movies, and pictures and paintings. The Campbell soup can?” He needed more recent reference.

Turned out the pretty cowgirl was rather good at finding coats. She got him one with a hood that seemed to be good. He didn’t know if it would be warm enough for winter but, as she said, he might just have to add layers and that would be okay. It was not like he needed a whole lot of protection against the cold after all. “Oh. Yeah, that could work,” he said as he grabbed the hoodie she handed to him. He was putting it on when she introduced herself as Callie. Now she was no stranger. He was not really wondering but yes, now he knew. “Quinn,” he said in returned. He was curtained Callie was a nickname for something else. And Quinn never said his full name. Who wanted to be called Tarquin? He didn’t have mirrors around so he could only look down. This didn’t give him much of an idea of what he looked like. So he turned towards Callie. “So?”

[Callie Montgomery]

Her head was in constant bobbling motion. It was what she did. No matter how ridiculous it looked to others. Her blues eyes bounced from the boy to the coats and to the boy again. She’d watch him closely every time he spoke. He seemed a bit reserved, shy perhaps. It was cute. Her eyes watched his lips as his spoke, tempted to pull her camera out and film his movements. She refrained, her eyes would have to do…for now.

Callie furrowed her brows as he spoke. He was concerned that they’d all be too hot for him. But that when he’s outside it’d be too cold? He was a bit confusing. She couldn’t help but wonder in that moment if he was a student at the Academy. She’d leave real questions for later. She was about to speak again before she heard his voice. She stopped herself and listened. A condition? “How drastically does it fluctuate? Is it predicable? Like low in the mornin’ higher at night kind of thing?” She asked, purely interested in yet another thing about this boy. She didn’t feel quite right asking him straight up what it was. But he was willing to admit he had one, so she felt safe with the questions she did ask. Although, she had no idea what condition would cause such a thing.

The blonde smacked her lips and was having too much fun with her head and hair. It had been a long time since she had left her hair down and every time she moved her head she felt it follow. She stopped bobbling her head. More so to stop her hair from flying around. She twisted her mouth when he further explained that Andy person. “Naw, I don’t think I’ve heard of him. Sorry.” She said as she scrunched up her nose at the boy before looking back at the rack of coats. “You a big fan of his?” She asked. Wondering if he was into film and such. Although if he was it would probably be a completely different reason from her own.

She watched patiently as he took the coat from her. She gave a toothy smile when he gave his name. “Nice ya meet ya Quinn.” What an interesting name. She liked it. Her eyes followed his movement as he put on the jacket. She place her hand gently on her chin as her smile grew. “Love it. It looks really good on ya. You think it’a be warm and cool enough for ya?” She asked with a giggle, really unsure if it would work.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn was used to being behind the camera, not in front. Yet he could sense she was looking at him as though her eyes were a camera, reading as much about him as possible. He was unsure about it. It was a little uncomfortable. He was unable to make a connection between that and what people must feel when he looked at them the same way though.

He had a feeling that bringing out his power as a ‘condition’ would only complicate things. But he couldn’t just blurt out he was a student at the Academy. They never invented a secret handshake or password for them to exchange and be recognized amongst their kind either. So, to him, she had as much chances of being a regular human than a mutant like him. More even, since he was always the pessimist. Now he had to explain his ‘condition’. His brain worked as fast as he could to come up with something that might be plausible. “More like blood pressure? It’s naturally high and then suddenly, it can drop.” That was plausible, right? If blood pressure could do it, why not body heat too? It was a lot better than say he could make fire and once he blew it off, the heat it caused inside of him was gone. “I suppose it’s normal body temperature, but I’m not used to it so I need something warm when that happens. And the rest of the time, something that’s... more for the weather in fall, I guess,” he added. It was troublesome but he thought he might just get out of this without sounding too much like a fool.

Quinn shrugged, not really thinking there was any significance to the fact she had no idea who Andy Warhol was. His work started to date and Quinn figured people didn’t know a lot of photographer’s names. Plus he figured that if he was known nowadays, it was more for that Campbell soup than his movies or pictures. It was kind of sad but also something he figured was normal. With time, people ended up forgetting about you, no matter how much they might have liked you in the past. After all, most people knew Marilyn Monroe for the white dress and not for her movies. Or they mistook her for Marilyn Manson. “Wouldn’t say that but I know a bit of his work,” he explained as she asked if he liked Andy Warhol.

Quinn never picked a jacket thinking about how ‘lovely’ it looked on him. He never bothered to look hot in anything as he didn’t think hot was an adjective people would use for him, other than for the reasons previously discussed. “I think so. If it’s a little cool, I can still wear a sweater too. Winter feel like cold fall days for me. Unless it’s really cold, but that’s why I’m looking for a normal winter coat too,” he told her. He actually liked being told something looked good on him. It was also a bit uncomfortable for him because he was not used to it, but he still liked it. Maybe he should try to ‘look good’ more often.

[Callie Montgomery]

Callie was patient. Happy to be helping a fellow human as best as she could. It was one of the things she loved doing. It fell right behind her love for her camcorder. She had an intense need to expand her mind and power as much as she could. Her camcorder was the key to that. Her hand grazed over her back pocket, feeling the bulge that the camera made.

She tilted her head slightly, feeling her loose hair follow. She wouldn’t press anymore. Not right now at least. As much as she wanted to know, medical things could be very personal. She nodded her head, “Oh okay.” She said, holding herself back from being the overly intrusive girl she was. She continued looking at more of the jackets letting his condition rest in the back of her mind for now. “Ah I see. I guess I gotta look him up later.” She said looking back at him. “Andy Warhol. Got it.” Callie would most certainly be looking into him. She always loved learning new things.

The blonde looked at Quinn. Her blue eyes steady on him. The jacket looked good, regardless if her cared or thought so. The real question was would it work for his needs? “Excellent!” She said as she clasped her hands together. “We can keep lookin’ for another one.” At least one worked. Her eyes went back to the racks. Her fingers quick at work pushing each of the hangers over. Her head began to bounce side to side again. She was unaware of it this time around. “So Quinn. You from around here? I ain’t, if it’s not obvious already.” She said with a giggle as her accent followed the words she spoke.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn tried to look on the bright side, but this definitely was not his type. At least his temperature was not playing yoyo as much as his explanation may imply. Apparently, some pyrokinetics had the same problem with body temperature, sometimes being worse as it could fluctuate at any moment. Quinn only had a naturally higher temperature, that would drop to normal if he released fire. It would not go higher just because he didn’t breathe out fire for a while. That was a relief, for the heartburns were more than enough trouble. And that was about as optimistic as he could get.

Quinn shrugged as she said she’d look Andy Warhol some other time. He truthfully didn’t think that would happen. But he also was fine with that. He made an outdated reference, she didn’t get it, she didn’t have to check it out. Everything can be Googled but that didn't mean that you should.

In a way, he preferred to have this girl helping him out as opposed to someone working here. An employee would rather go for expensive clothes rather than what fit his needs the best. Something less expensive may do the trick just as well, he may not see it. Plus they may end up trying to convince him to buy more. Callie was not paid or anything, she could leave whenever she wanted. Her goal here was to help, not sell as much as she could. He looked too for the other coat although he did feel like they all looked alike. They fit the fashion at the time and there were just so many details to watch to know which one he might like more. He wished it could be simpler, just saying a size and a color and get it.

Her question was a nice interlude in all that searching “You mean do I live here or was I born here?” Probably the latter as he doubted anyone would consider it vital to go coat shopping in Kalispell, Montana. His question, in the end, may be dumb. He looked at the coats to avoid seeing whether or not she thought it was silly. “I’m from Boston, originally. But I travelled a few times before getting here.” He preferred not to expand on the subject because he never liked talking much of Boston. Anticipating the reasons why this town got his liking for now, he figured he may as well answer it. “I’m here for college.”

[Callie Montgomery]

The blonde’s eyes flickered between the rack and Quinn who seemed to be on the quiet side of things. She didn’t mind. There was something about him, his demeanor, which she found quite…intriguing…innocent perhaps.

When he finally spoke she gave a smile at his question. Before she could answer he continued. “I ain’t never been to Boston. What’s it like there?” She ask out of pure curiosity. She had never been anywhere outside of her hometown and Kalispell. She had never really thought about traveling much.

College? She couldn’t help but wonder if he went to the Academy as well. Her smile grew. “I’m in college ‘ere too. The Academy right?” She asked, excited to have run into a student outside of campus. That was always the fun of being in this town. Every person you saw, every face you passed. They each had their own story, their own background, and it was always a mystery to find out who were mutants or not. It was dangerous now, Callie knew that, but there was something about not knowing, the anonymity of it, was captivating.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn didn’t find he was at his place here. Shopping had always been a torture for him. Shopping for clothes was even worse. If only clothes wouldn’t end up with holes in them, so you could keep them forever. But Quinn had to shop for coats right now and despite how strange it was to ask someone out of the blue to help you with it, he was relieved that Callie agreed and was doing so.

He shrugged as she asked about Boston. “It’s bigger than here. I was six when we moved, I didn’t exactly had the time to explore the city,” he explained. It was probably clear that he didn't want to talk about it. At the same time, Quinn always had that kind of tone whatever he was talking about. “I mostly lived in Pennsylvania,” he added, not going into more detail than that. It was not like she shared much about where she was from either after all. And he preferred not to talk too much about that.

“The Academy, yes,” he agreed. Everyone in town knew about Bellefonte Academy, even before they knew exactly what kind of students they had. That didn’t help him know if she was studying there. “Does that mean that you’re... different?” he asked, wiggling his finger while looking for a proper word to replace mutant with. It seemed to be the only thing his brain could come up with.

[Callie Montgomery]

Callie was getting nowhere with the rack she was looking at. She was sure that he’d probably be okay with any of the ones on there. But for her, she wasn’t satisfied. She moved over to a different rack to continue her search.

Quinn didn’t seem like he wanted to talk much about where he was from. Most people never liked going into great detail about their personal lives. Callie was used to it. It didn’t mean she stop trying to pry of course. She always reverted to giving something up about her before continuing her questions. It seemed to work…most of the time.

“I bet! I mean, I’m sure most well-known cities are bigger than little ole Kalispell.” She said with a giggle. “Maybe one day you could go back and visit. Finally get a proper tour of the place.” She wouldn’t mind going, and perhaps New York City as well. That was close right? “Pennsylvania is where Phili is right? You live around there?” She asked, not really giving him a chance to answer. Every time she finished a sentence she was right back talking again. “I’m from Texas. A super small town that no one has ever heard of unless you’re from there. I had never been anywhere else, until I was dragged here when I was sixteen.” She gave a shrug before pulling out a jacket from the rack. She titled her head momentarily before making a face and sticking it back.

The blonde let out another giggle at the mention of being different. It was cute. “Ya I’m different I guess.” She didn’t really like separating herself for ‘normal’ people, but she got where he was going with it. “I guess you are to huh?” A huge grin was plastered on her face.

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Tag: Quinn Wiley

[Quinn Wiley]

Callie was right, Quinn would have been satisfied with about any coat at the point. He never enjoyed shopping much and this was taking forever. He realised it would have taken a whole lot longer without Callie’s help but that didn't mean he was any less tired already. Not to add that she was asking quite a bit of questions about him. It was not against her, Quinn was simply rather secretive with his personal life. Especially if it was about his past. He knew it was old news and people wouldn’t care as much about it anymore but it affected him deeply and he didn’t want to relive it just because some bubbly blonde country girl wanted to have a little chat.

“Maybe,” he only said as answer. He couldn’t say he was wholly attached to Boston, or any other place for that matter. Maybe he was a little attached to Kalispell, because of the time he spent here and what the place did for him. He still wouldn’t argue being a freak but at least he could control what made people think he was one.

It was another reason why he didn’t want to go too in detail about his power or even just admit he had one. So many people were against mutants lately. When it was first discovered, many people came to town to... support, he supposed. There were groups against them but nothing as bad as it was now. Some even attacked mutants! It went beyond just insulting them, they attacked them when they did nothing against the people to begin with. Quinn already disliked being judged but being physically abused on top of it, he’d pass on that.

She was still going on with her questions. “Not really...” he replied. Why did she seemed so interested6 It was not like it was all that interesting to begin with. “Closer to Pittsburgh, actually,” he still shared. A little more distance than what there was between Boston and Philadelphia but his mother had wanted to put as much distance after all. And it was where her family came from.

Personally, he didn’t really care where she came from. She could have been from Austin in Texas or whatever tiny town no one knows about as she said, or come from Mars for all he cared. But he started to understand that this girl loved to talk. It just so happened that Quinn was not as talkative. Maybe it was best, she was not interrupted whenever her mouth decided to go for it.

He had a little shrug as she pointed out he should be different too. “I guess I’ve never really been normal to begin with,” he admitted. He was not bitter, sad or happy of it, he just stated it. She seemed far too happy to meet a fellow mutant. Somehow, Quinn was too. “I deal with fire so... that explains the body heat.”