Vamonos Vamonos

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex moved with a slight skip to her step. Her eyes gleamed brightly as they stepped into the main foyer of the bustling shopping mall. She had nothing she really was looking to buy or the money in which to buy it but the simple act of getting out of the apartment with Heather was more than enough to bring out the almost childlike glee that threatened to overtake the tiny, young woman. "You're not awkward." Alex insisted, casting a bright, smiling glance toward the redhead. "You're selective with your words." And with that Alex nodded because it simply made sense and she was going to go with it.

"Yeah, I know." Alex nodded a bit to herself as she looked about the crowds moving through the mall. Her eyes widened and she even let out a little 'oh!' of surprise as she remembered (again) Heather's power and the potentially harrowing experience being around so many people could be. "Oh, hey." She said, brow furrowing as she stepping in a little closer, looking up to Heather curiously so she could study the other girl's features. "Are you okay?" Alex's head tilted just slightly. In the past it seemed Heather shied away from large crowds and here she was seemingly moving through the sea of humanity with ease. She pointed, her hand waving about in random directions. "This doesn't bother you anymore?"

[Heather Sutherland]

The other girl's response was so diplomatic. Heather smiled and giggled at her words. "You really have the most adorable way with words, Alex." She sighed and shook her head gently. Even as Heather tried to deny the words, she felt a huge grin spreading across her face at Alex's words. "You know, it's sort of unfair." she murmured with a little giggle as her mood improved even further.

"Assuming we ever tried to debate or argue over something, especially anything involving me. I'd lose. Your feelings are just so sincere, bubbley and sweet." She gave off a little pout, which again quickly transformed into a goofy grin. She loved people like Alex, they were the best people in the world to hang around with, or to be friends with. Especially when you were an empath.

She shook her head, again with a continual smile. "I wouldn't say it doesn't bother me." She paused. "If anything, it's actually gotten worse since I've gotten older, and more powerful..." She stopped herself. "More developed, I don't like that word." She admitted outloud in reference to the description of a mutant ability as powerful.

"But I have gotten better at focusing myself, if I was on my own here it would be a different story, but if I'm with a friend, especially one that's important to me, like you or Oney... I can focus on you instead." She chimed at Alex.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex gave a pleased little smile and shrugged her shoulders sweetly, peering up to Heather. "I have my moments." She said cheerily before giving Heather a playful swat on the shoulder as ht natural redhead continued speaking. "Stop!" Even now Alex just didn't seem to like hearing others talk about her. It never sat well even though Heather's words were nothing but sweet and kind. She almost wanted to withdraw sheepishly inward until Heather gave a little pout. That brought out a bright smile as she turned her attention out to the kiosks and retail outlets that stretched out before them. "All you'd have to do bat those blue eyes of yours at me and I'd let you win." She replied coyly while nudging Heather a bit with her elbow. "

Alex slowly nodded, taking in Heather's description of how her power had progressed and advanced through the years. The sometimes manic, diminutive redhead knew all about the perils of mutant powers. She'd gone through her own trials when it came to getting a handle on her mutant ability. She could relate to Heather and, while neither of them seemed to have gotten their power fully under control they managed to get by well enough. "That's good." She said, again nodded, causing her long, crimson ponytail to bob merrily. "Hey, you're getting by." She smiled brightly, her eyes gleaming yet again. The smile never seemed to be far from her face as she spoke. "Wait." She said, glancing toward Heather. "Does that mean I'm your safety net?"

[Heather Sutherland]

The redhead smiled brightly at Alex's response. Sometimes, Heather found it hard to believe that she had managed to make friends with such amazing, genuine, and by in large honest people. Being around people like Alex was one of the main things that kept her strong faith in humanity thriving. It was well and truly, an amazing thing to think about, and only served to widen her smile.

The eyes comment did ilicit a slight blush from Heather. While she wasn't really attracted to people, that didn't mean that compliments from good friends could not flatter or fluster her, even when they were in a mostly teasing manor. She cleared her throat in an attempt to bat away the minor flash of awkwardness that was clawing away at her.

Heather nodded in agreement with Alex's assessment. She'd not really had a huge amount of trouble since she'd gotten to the US in the first place. Or... when she'd gone away with Drew Seattle. That had been extremely overwhelming when she first got there. So when she was with someone as nice and awesome as Alex, yeah. She could deal with it.

Heather blinked slowly. She was terrified she'd said something wrong, for a few seconds it probably clearly registered on her face. "Uhm...." She panicked for a few more seconds. "Yes. You are. Is that okay?" she asked in a slightly lower voice than usual.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex had already lost herself in the sights and sounds of the mall. Her eyes swept over all the displays and brightly lit store fronts. She may not have had a lot of money to burn but she always loved window shopping and simply being around people. She supposed she was probably the opposite of Heater in that regard. Just being out and about was always energizing to her. It may have had something to do with how easily distracted she was and how the mall appealed to that sense in a way that could only be experienced by a manic pixie.

Blinking, Alex turned her attention back toward Heather once she had spoken. The softness that touched Heather's words had cone unnoticed, even if Alex has to shake her head a bit in order to regain her focus. "What?" Her brow furrowed a moment before her face once again spread into a bright smile. "Of course!" She said, waving a hand dismissively. "Why wouldn't I be okay with that? If it gets you out and feeling good why would I ever have a problem?"

In an instant the semi-serious tone of the brief exchange was gone and in its wake was five feet of pure excitable energy. "Come on!" Alex said, grabbing Heather's hand and tugging her along through the mall. She was on a mission and there was nothing that could stand in her way. "I want to get one of those cinnamon buns so big I need a cart to carry it around."

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather's short wave of panic immediately washed over when she felt Alex's emotions. She let out a small sigh of relief. She glanced around the mall, seeing younger teenagers, older people. People her age, couples, friends, probably even some enemies judging by what she was picking up from the odd group or pairing. And she smiled. Diversity in people was one of the things she loved most.

Heather giggled as Alex tugged her hand, and followed enthusiastically in the wake of the hyperactive force of nature that was Alex. "Alright alright!" she replied with a girlish giggle following the words swiftly. Sometimes it was good to not think about serious stuff, or emotions and just enjoy herself with her friend. Alex was pretty much the perfect person for that... Partially because she couldn't seem to focus on the same thing for more than 30 seconds.

Heather mused out loud, a bit of a tune in her tone. "Wow, sugar plus Alex. That sounds like it might be a recipe for chaos..." She winked at her friend with a goofy grin.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex continued pulling Heather along more for her own benefit than Heather's. By dragging her friend behind her it kept Alex from bolting on ahead and possibly losing her in the crowd. Alex had a habit of going too fast for her own good and finding her way into trouble. If she anchored herself to Heather it would force her to pay closer attention to her surroundings. "Oh, come on." She protested, glancing over her shoulder to Heather. "What's that supposed to mean?" She pouted a little. She knew exactly what Heather had meant and, in truth, there was far more truth to the words than Alex cared to admit.

Thankfully for Alex there wasn't much time for he to remain pouty about the spot on accusation. She turned her eyes back to the front to see where she was going just in time to let out a squeak of surprise as she nearly walked face first into one of the huge stone pillars supporting the structure of the mall. She let go of Heather's hand and reached out, her arms wrapping around the pillar to steady herself. She stared straight ahead, eyes wide with the sudden burst of fear. Slowly she turned to look at Heather. "I'm okay." She said quickly before patting the pillar lightly and taking a step away from it.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather smiled as Alex responded amusingly to the teasing. Heather studied the people they blasted past as Alex plowed her way through the mall, It wasn't actually as easy to feel them as usual, when she was experiencing skin to skin contact with another person it was hard to not feel what they felt, it was a reason that Heather didn't often maintain prolonged contact for that long, but she didn't mind with close friends.

She giggled. "I'm just teasinggg Alex. You know you're awesome, that's all that matters." She replied, sincerely, a tone of mischief in her voice.

Heather squeaked as the two of them came to relatively abrupt halt, nearly falling straight onto her rear, but just about catching herself. Those ice skating lessons, as it turned out were useful for something outside of the frozen ring. She took a second to compose herself and then turned a concerned gaze on Alex, the fear the other girl had felt, if only brief and entirely natural, had shaken Heather a bit.

"Oh my goodness, are you sure you're alright Alex?" She asked with a tone of concern.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex immediately fell silent, blinking a few times as her brain tried to catch up with nearly running her face first into a pillar. Once again she affectionately patted the pillar before nodding and slowly inching her way around it so she could continue on in the direction she'd been heading, albeit at a much more manageable pace. There was nothing like nearly barreling into a very solid, inanimate object to bring Alex back to a calmer reality. "Probably should pay attention to where I'm going." Alex said, mostly to herself as she pointed two fingers at her own eyes, nodding contemplatively while moving along.

Within moments of walking alongside Heather, Alex's attention had shifted once again. The pleasant excitement that always seemed to be bubbling just beneath the cheery, redheaded surface remained even if she did move with a much more subdued demeanor since nearly running into a pillar. "How's school?" She asked, glancing up to Heather for just a moment before turning her gaze out to eye the mall around them. That cursed Cinnabon stand was around there somewhere.

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather was glad to see that Alex was fine. If there were emotions she hated feeling from people, it was anger or fear. She could never place which one was worse. Fear had the effect of triggering her protective instincts quite hard. She herself was actually rarely scared by anything. Possibly a leftover from her niave world view that had resulted from her upbringing.

Alex sometimes reminded Heather of a hyperactive kitten. Super energetic and happy, very easily getting distracted and getting into silly little accidents, shaking them off as quickly as they began. She smiled gently at the thought of Alex as a kitten, it was one of those silly little things that would sound crazy outloud, but were just fine in her head.

Heather's smile shifted a little "To be honest with you, it's exhausting." She admitted. "Being a college student while also working there..." She didn't like complaining but... "It sometimes feels like the number of students just increases every single day, I'm so thankful for time off when it comes because I can just hide somewhere and nurse my headache." She blushed. "Not that it's all bad though! I love the kids, and helping them." She tried to sound more upbeat, because she did like her job.

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex moved along, stealing glances toward Heather as the redhead talked, nodding all the way. It was nice to hear how well Heather was doing. Alex gave a light smile and glanced down to the floor, listening to Heather's words even as she watched the multi-colored tiles pass beneath her feet. There was almost a childlike whimsy that surfaced while Alex walked beside Heather and silently took in Heather's account of her day to day life with her power. Alex even went so far as to add a light skip to her gait as they traversed the Kalispell Mall.

"I can't imagine what that would be like." Alex admitted with a faint trace of admiration touching her voice. She lifted her eyes, peering up to Heather. "You think you're going to stay in that? You know, helping students and all that?"

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather felt as if she was rambling a little bit, it was something she was quite conscious of as of late, but Alex didn't seem to mind too much so she quieted the nerves that were behind those thoughts quickly, it was always nice to feel as if someone else was interested in what she was doing. She felt really at home with people like Alex. If you'd spoken to Heather 4 years ago, and asked her to name a few of her friends, you'd have been met by an awkward silence.

She really had made a great deal of progress, but now that she thought about Alex's questions she felt a little nervous and uncertain. She really enjoyed helping people, especially friends. And she loved that her power helped her in doing that as well, but could she really make a career out of that? What would her grand parents think? Especially given that they had basically planned out her entire life ahead for her, without input from her.

She gave a somewhat exasperated shrug. "I'm not sure." She paused. "Honestly, I love what I do, and I also love education, and yes I'm well aware I sound like a total nerd." She smiled as Alex seemed to take to a light skip. "It's complicated though."

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex snorted at the idea of someone else sounding like a nerd. She, herself, skirted perilously close to the 'nerd' and 'geek' sub cultures. Sure, in recent years she hadn't found as much time for video games and other hobbies she'd delved into when she was in college but she figured that was normal. It was much more difficult to concentrate on the latest game when you either couldn't afford to get it right away when the hype was at its peak or simply didn't have the time to properly devote to it because you had to go to work in an hour or so. "Nerd? Come on. Do you know who you're talking to here?" She glanced up to Heather and pointed at herself before nodding as if that, alone, was enough to make her point. "Besides. Everything is complicated when you get older, isn't it?"

Alex found herself pausing after that revelation and issuing a short sigh in the process. It had seemed like life, in general, had grown into some convoluted and wholly uninteresting story these days. She never realized how much nicer it had been back when she was in college. She'd only graduated a year ago and if she could go back to the beginning she would in a heart beat. "Anyway. Do what you love, right?" She offered with another shrug. Alex was hardly the best person in the world to be giving life advice. She didn't have a clue about much of anything herself. "I mean, if it's something you love to do why not? After all..." Alex's features softened as she looked up to her friend and smiled. "You're good at it. Can you imagine how many kids you can help?"

[Heather Sutherland]

Alex really managed to turn most of Heather's misgivings or self depreciating thoughts on their head almost immediately. Heather giggled to herself quietly at the thought, she wasn't really a depressing person by any means, but Alex's presence usually had the effect of just drawing her down into constant smiles, to the point that she wasn't going without one on her face for more than a minute at any given time.

Heather shrugged gently. "Well I suppose that's true." For Heather it was less not understanding how to adult she supposed, it was more a combination of pressures from family, and her own likes and dislikes. How did you deal with a family with such high expectations that didn't know how to take no for an answer? Her brother's method was volatile language and by distancing himself most of the year, but she wasn't him.

Heather nodded gently, looking contemplative. "Again, You have a point. I do need to deal with this stuff, but not right now. Right now we're here for some retail therapy and to have fun." She added sweetly. The redhead blushed at Alex's comment about helping kids. She didn't often think of it like that, she just did it. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Right, well uhm... Moving right along."

[Alexandra Lawson]

Alex peered at Heather for a bit longer than she'd planned. Her mind started racing at what, exactly, it was that the natural redhead had meant. The vague, almost cryptic response to the questions about her future brought out a certain childlike curiosity in Alex that made her want to push the issue, even though she never would. Still, Alex couldn't help but wonder what it was that made Heather seemingly hesitant about following a path that was satisfying and helpful to the people around her.

Within moments the curiosity melted away leaving behind the usually chipper and energetic Alex Heather was used to being around. The skip remained in her step as the moved along. While Alex loved going out with her boyfriend, Ezra, though she had to admit there was something satisfying about walking alongside someone who wasn't over six feet in height and made her practically have to jog to keep up. "Alright." She said, stopping abruptly and placing her hands on her hips once they'd reached the center of the mall. She looked up to the second floor then to the shops all around them. "Where to first?" She asked before glancing upward to Heather.