When you're strange...

[Phobia]

Willowy digits, adorned with decorative lace and onyx affixed rings, idly stroked through the silken fur of the docile feline placed at the center of the young woman's lap. Her legs were kept rigidly close to one another and were covered partially by torn fishnet stockings. Obsidian eyes gazed dolefully through the tinted window pane of the Nyx Corporation's immense, jet hued stretch limousine; the impossibly dark orbs seemed to take in nothing and everything at once.

"Miss Donovan, we'll be arriving at the institute shortly." The middle aged driver, Charles, informed her politely. The man spared her a glance by casting his eyes toward the rear view mirror; for once, Esper had allowed the seperating pane to be left down. Lips, the color of cherry blossom petals, sealed into a tight line and she stubbornly refused to answer the non-mutant for several minutes.

"You did remember my parasol, didn't you, Charles?" She finally spoke up, leaning back further into the plush leather seating of the luxury vehicle. The man only nodded and she once again contented herself with petting the small cat perched atop her thighs.

When finally they pulled around to the entranceway of Cullen's Institute, or whatever the prison was called, Charles removed himself from the car and came around to open the door. He opened the black parasol next and handed it off to Esper; the driver tended to the kitten.

"Welcome to your new abode, Miss. All the paper work is in order, you'll just have to wait in the lobby for the instructor I spoke with on the phone. Would you like me to-"

"That will not be neccesary, Charles. I'm perfectly fine on my own." But even as she spoke the words, she was not so sure. These people were so very different from her, they couldn't possible understand the complexity of her existence; much like the light couldn't comprehend the invasion of a stray shadow. Despite her uncertainty, she strode with confidence into the lobby of the establishment.

Once inside, she lowered the fancy umbrella and drew it closed. Pallid flesh accented by elaborately fashioned make-up was the first thing the cluster of students within noticed; followed in close second by the designer dress adorned with red bows and chains. Her expression was faceted by angles of disgust; a mask to her genuine curiosity and distress. She observed each person with somber eyes.

She had this horrible feeling that she was going to hate it here.

Snap.

The metal tip of her parasol landed sharply against the tiled floor, causing a slew of individuals to jump; an influx of fear. Only then did she smile. Her attention fluttered like an insect's wings and then settled firmly upon a unique individual strategically positioned near the lobby's back wall. It took her but a second to determine that they were cut from the same cloth; mutants of peculiar variety.

"Well, perhaps it wont be so bad..."

[Pariah]

The alienated form of the young man in the corner leaned quite peacefully against the wall. His eyes closed, his mind taking in the sound of shoes, and the occasional clicking claws and other odd soles, beating on marble, carpet, and hardwood. No student payed him much mind, those that did cast a curious look in his direction or strayed near quickly averted their eyes or altered path as a feeling of discomfort rose from within. Dread for some, guilt for others, or even a feeling a plain repulsion seemed to exude from him.

In fact there was a very wide berth around him, not just people, a warm breeze flitted away from him, loose dust particles that should not have been moving rolled away, the lone cockroach that escaped pesticides and vaccum cleaners scurried away as fast as its legs could carry…despite its natural fear of the light.

It was as if everything fled from him, leaving nothing but a chilling void. Condensation slowly creeped across the mirror an arm’s length away and the petals of the flowers in a nearby vase twitched away and began to droop. Yet the young man still seemed at peace, oblivious to the discomfort and fear the cloaked him.

Without the dark aura he still would have stood out amongst the rest of the students. Pale skin contrasted harshly with dark attire. Thick mesh ran along his arms, disappearing beneath a have black T-shirt notched all the way up each shoulder. On the front emblazoned the Eye of Horus in a deep red wreathed with trailing flames. Long black and grey camouflaged cargos riddled with pockets held fast to his waist by a studded belt.

He’d heard the clamor of students whispering in excited voices about a limousine or some such nonsense. Whatever it was, it didn’t concern him. He just wanted a faculty member to show up and find a place to sleep. Jetlag from the nine hour flight had finally caught up with the young man and he was about ready to pass out.

However a sudden change in the students from excitement to something of apprehension caught his attention. A smirk crept onto his face as he heard several student jump at the loud CLACK. Gabriel opened his eyes, one a rich emerald and the other an icy blue, and gazed across the foyer. The smirk turned into a smile, he felt an air of darkness around the girl. He had an urge to let his powers flare up a bit to test the idea, but decided against it. At least he wasn’t going to be the only freak among freaks here it seemed.

[Phobia]

Those eyes...

She was quite certain she was smitten with the young man already; that aura that seemed to radiate despair, repugnancy, terror, and all manners of those negatively delicious things was utterly attractive to her. Without even realizing it, she was smiling as well and there was honestly nothing arrogant about it. Somehow, the expression always tended to be creepy though; it might have had something to do with the black cherry color accenting the curves of her mouth or the seemingly razor sharp teeth lurking in the black chasm beyond. Either way, he didn't seem bothered by her.

Casting a scathing glance to the other students who had gathered to observe her arrival, she approached the mesh adorned 'student'. Sweeping the closed parasol around behind her, she leaned back slightly against the handle and crossed her ankles modestly.

"You have got to be one of the most exciting things I've ever seen..." Too bad some teacher was coming to take her away soon. No doubt, she'd run into such a unique individual again. She'd savor the time she had with him now though.

Removing one hand from the handle of the umbrella, she pushed it back through her hair and turned her gaze toward the doorway. Standing there was Charles, carrying a highly decorative pillow; perched atop it was her kitten. Upon noticing her, the unruly ball of black fur tumbled headlong off the pillow and came skittering along the tile floor, slipping and sliding all the way. Setting those claws firmly into the leather of her boots and the layers of her attire, the cat climbed atop Esper's shoulder and nuzzled into her cheek.

"So... do you have a name?" Esper asked, turning her violet eyes back upon the young man. "I'm Esper. Esper Donovan."

[Damien E. Dervish]

Damien was actually on the wall above the two, fixing the light-up signs. This wasn't what he wanted to do. He'd rather be going to study hall, or something. But instead, Damien found himself fixing odds and ends at the school, as part of a punishment for yet another prank that had Damien's name written all over it. Literally. He had just finished scrubbing off and repainting over the last of the tagging all over the top spire of the school. It was an all day task. Fortunately, the assignments that he'd missed from the classes were already done and stored away in his room, to be turned in at a later date. Damien, though sporadic, chaotic, whimsical, and hyperactive in nature, was on top of things.

As he finished the last of the sign, Damien slid the screwdriver into the toolbelt. He then looked down, to dismount, only to see the dark and brooding couple standing underneath him. He noted that both seemed to have a brooding aura around them, one obviously tangible by the life that seemed to droop around him. The other, the female mutant, seemed to be some typical sort of Goth chick, though the black parasol indicated a wealthy upbringing. And so did the pure-bred cat that curled around her neck and shoulders, coming from the large man who carried a pillow from which the cat rested upon.




Damien, instantly enamored with the beautiful, black fluff-ball of a cat, slowly lowered himself from the sign by his tail, using his free hands, claws unextended to lightly stroke at the cat. He made sure to use his other hand to hold it near the cat's nose, to let it take in his scent before continuing to let him pet it. If it decided to attack, it'd loose balance and fall to the floor. If she decided to let Damien pet her, then it'd do the stereotypical purring like an engine thing.

Strangely enough, the cat took an instant liking to Damien, purring away as he scratched behind its ear.

"Nice kitty. What's your name?"

[Pariah]

Did he just see sharpened teeth? That got Gabriel to raise an eyebrow and his eyes trialed up and down her form. Stunning was the word that came to his mind’s eye whereas most people would label her as ‘weird’, ‘emo’, or some nonsense garbage of the sort. Certainly some fit that image, but the girl had none of the prentenious or pathic vibe of those who sullied goth culture. She was was positively enamouring….and where those eye violet?
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And then she decide to walk towards him. Instantly an anxious look flooded through the boys eyes as Esper drew closer wearing that infectious smile. He unconsiously took a step back only to walk right into the wall behind him. It wasn’t that he had any fear of her, more so he had fear for her.
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Exciting? Now that was something new. In fact his cringing, anticipating having a person twitching catatonically on the floor, turned to awe. It took Gabriel a few moments to realize that he was standing there staring at her….even as the cat jumped on her shoulder…… before he snapped out of it. Though he still kept his back pinned against the wall just in case.
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“…uhm…..my name ees Gabriel.” His multi-colored eyes moved to the cat on her shoulder with equal confusion. The boy snapped, he had to ask. “….. ‘ow are doing you zat?”
<o></o>
Gabriel gestured behind Esper to clarify his question. The gothic vixen and her companion were the only two beings within twenty feet of him. And then the tiny black demon dropped from the ceiling, Gabriel winced at what he knew was going to happen.

[Damien E. Dervish]

Damien, a few short moments after stroking the cat's fur, began to notice a minute change in his hand. At first, the hair seemed to recede into the skin, ever so slightly. Then it continued to recede, until it was a pale, white skin tone. Skin that hadn't been touched by the sun. Ever.

Damien watched in silence, a look of bewilderment crossing his face. To all he would seem puzzled; but to Damien himself, he was terrified. His claws began to shrink, broadening and flattening until they became pink, untrimmed nails. He continued to watch as the transformation from Damien's normal mutated self, a horror in short form, to a longer, taller, and human version of himself. And to Damien, this transformation, from strange and exotic, to typical and mundane, was the greatest horror of them all.

But something caught his attention. The source of the power. It came from the kid leaning against the wall. And it was as if the ability was somehow shunted from his perceptions, as his mind's inner working took over, focusing on several other things at once, the characteristics of attention deficit disorder. Damien noted the number of projectiles being launched in the room, just how many there were, and how many of them were spitballs and paper air planes; he noted exchanges, glances, staredowns, students checking each other out and finding things to their liking.

And as everything that happened around the three came into Damien's focused yet irratic mind, he looked back at his arm. It was now normal to him, shorter, furry, and retractably clawed. He shook his head, as if becoming dizzy. Which, indeed he was. Luoking up to the two, he found that he was no longer on the exit sign, hanging from it as a possum would a tree branch; instead he was on the floor. And his head was ringing. He must've fell on it. He rubbed the pain from his cranium, and shook off the dizzyness.

"Sorry 'bout that, guys. The name's Damien. Y'all new here?"

[Phobia]

"His name is-"

Clunk!

"...Phrenic..." She finished, turning her head slightly to observe the impish character, who had chosen a most inopportune time to take a head dive right into the tile floor. Esper Donovan had seen plenty of strange mutations on account of her genius father, but this guy was something unique and utterly intriguing. She couldn't help but smile down at him; the expression itself still all together creepy.

"Nice to meet you, Gabriel, Damien." She turned her violet eyes back upon the young man sporting that drool-worthy accent. The intense gaze seemed to pierce into him and assess the very obscurity that lingered around his soul like morning fog. "As for 'zat' which you refered to earlier, I've got some pretty exciting things up my sleeve. I can't wait to try it out on the locals. You'll just have to wait and see, lover boy.."

Her umbrella let out another harsh snap and then it was dragged around to the front of her.

[Pariah]

A sheen of sweat covered Gabriel’s forehead when Esper turned back to him. The boy’s eyes were furrowed in concentration and he was beginning to shake from the effort; he honestly looked on the verge of collapse. This was Gabriel’s curse to bear, he could not control the strange aura he emanated, not completely anyway. He could limit it without straining himself, the effort spent keeping Damien from being a gibbering mass of twitching limbs and tail was positively exhausting.

“Reculer, Recluer!”

Gabriel waved his arm towards the imp to try and emphasize his point. If he strained his mind to much it would be more than just Damien having their worst thoughts and memories taking over their minds.

“Please stand away!”

As Damien removed himself to a safe distance, Gabriel let his concentration drop and all of a sudden the condensation that had receded flashed back across the mirror and the air that had had a chance warm turned frigid once again.

“Sorry about zat.” Gabriel wore an awkward smile, this was about the point most people in Damien’s shoes ran screaming in the other direction. “Ee’t iz nice to meet you, Damien. Eesper” The name just had a way or rolling off his tonque.

"As for 'zat' which you refered to earlier, I've got some pretty exciting things up my sleeve. I can't wait to try it out on the locals. You'll just have to wait and see, lover boy.."

Lover Boy? This Esper was an interesting character and Gabriel was brimming with questions. For the first time since his powers had developed there was someone that actually could stand to be around him with hallucinating some inner demon.

“I vould like to see zos oz’er treeks of yours some time.”

[Damien E. Dervish]

Upon taking a step back, the small-statured mutant began to understand the nature of this guy, Gabriel's, power. It was some sort of fear aura, that radiated in a certain space around him. Damien found it quite interesting, as he did most other's powers, especially ones that didn't involve physical mutations. After all, physical mutations worked because there were corresponding body parts to make them work, and being a physically-altered mutant himself since his very birth and conception (Lord knows how my mother survived my birth. The wings, claws, horns should've evicerated her from the inside, but I found out that the placenta and other membranes around me were incredibly powerful, much stronger than their standard counterparts) made physical mutations seem almost mundane to him, unless they were somehow striking or incredibly unusual in themselves.

The small mutant smiled, taking no offense to Gabriel's unintended mental assault. In all honesty, it didn't seem to affect him nearly as much as it probably would most, but not having the perspective of another "normal" mutant to go off of, Damien simply was ignorant of this fact. That, combined with what seemed like Gabriel mentally attempting to hold back his ability, left Damien with virtually no ill feelings or problems.

"So, that aura of your's active all the time, huh? Must come in handy sometimes, though I'm sure it's about as much of a pain as my stature and size is to me. That there X-gene is somethin', aint it?"