Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - Prologue: On Being Different

[jameson (ST)]

Penny awoke in the morning to sunlight berating her eyelids. It was Saturday morning at her fathers and for reasons that Penny could not explain no matter how she tried the shade on her window would always fall open in just the right way to allow a laser beam of sunlight to shine directly onto her face. Grumbles and hiding under pillows and blankets could do nothing to allow her further sleep because where the sun ceased to torment her the smell of cinnamon apple pancakes would take up the reigns. Sometimes you can't win, but at least there's pancakes as a consolation prize.

*****

Cole and Ramani ate breakfast in sullen silence. The adults were gone already having expressed once more their supreme displeasure with the two mutants. What have we told you? You could have been seen! What if somebody took a photo? The usual spiel. Still it wasn't as though they didn't have a point. It wasn't even as though it wasn't a good point. So they sat and munched on breakfast and watched TV and Cole tried to figure out how to talk to Ramani about what she had done the night before.

[Cole Mulvaney]

She'd killed that guy. There were dozens of other ways to handle things but she killed him. He knew she was still acting by instinct. But still he thought they'd made progress explaining why killing was only to be a final resort.

He sat there after breakfast, in one of the larger chairs that was comfortable for him. "Why did you kill him Ramani? I know he hurt you, but still..."

His tone is soft. He's not scolding her, he just wants to hear her side, to understand why she did it.

[z-Penny Mann]

Zombie-Penny, or at least a reasonable fascimile thereof, ambled down the steps of the brownstone her father kept. It wasn't as large as the West Side condo she shared with her mom and step-mother, but Penny liked it a lot more. It was... homey.

"Hey," Robert Mann said as his daughter came in and slouched in a seat, the morning light shining against his dark, curly hair. He poured the last of the batter into a pan, the slick, pale spill of dough turning Penny's stomach a little. "How are you feeling?"

"That's an odd question," Penny said. "Do I look sick?"

"A little," Robert said, his voice even. "You look hung-over."

Penny opened her mouth but couldn't really seem to find anything to say. "I... it was a beer. One," she said.

Robert nodded. "Then what else did you have?" His tone hadn't changed, but Penny flinched anyway. She didn't want to tell him, but if she was going to tell someone, it'd be her father. He wouldn't freak out or be unfair. He'd understand.

"I think it was a joint," she sighed, propping her head up on a hand.

Now Robert looked concerned. "You think?" he asked, turning to look at her.

"It was fine," Penny said. "Mike said... well, they wouldn't hurt..." She sighed. "How long am I grounded?"

Robert pursed his lips and turned back to the pancakes. There was a long silence, broken only by the hiss of the cooking pancakes. "I'm not concerned about the joint," Robert finally said. "It's a joint. You weren't driving. While I wish that you'd use your brains to not smoke marijuana, I did worse at your age so I'm not sure I can lecture you. But I am concerned about the influence Mike is having on you. You never did anything like this before dating him."

"Wow," Penny said, feeling both angry and chastised. "I didn't know that this was going to be a 'I hate your boyfriend' talk."

"I don't hate Mike," Robert insisted as he set a plate piled with pancakes in front of her. "It's hard to hate someone you haven't met."

"Aren't you going to eat?" she asked, noting he had no plate.

"I already did, as did your brother when we woke up at a reasonable time," Robert replied as he folded his lanky frame into a seat. "Don't avoid the subject."

Penny sighed, her appetite gone at the thought of bringing Mike to meet her father. She wasn't ashamed of Robert, but he could be embarrassing. He was her dad, after all, and she knew he had baby pictures of her around. "But Mom met him. And she liked him."

"And I know you mother's judgment in men," Robert said. "I want to met him. That's your punishment. You have to let your old man meet the new kid. Oh, and within a week, ok?"

"Just promise me you won't call him the 'new kid,'" Penny said, brushing her red hair back behind her ears and picking up her fork.

"Sure thing," Robert said, his gray eyes twinkling. "So what are your plans for today?"

Penny thought for a moment. "I'm going to the library, to study," she said.

"Nice," Robert chuckled. "You're still bringing him over."

Penny rolled her eyes. "I know. I just wanna go to the library, ok?"

Robert held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok... I give. Have fun. I'm going to paint, so clean up when you're done."

"Ok," Penny said, watching him leave. When he was gone, she scarfed the pancakes down and dropped her plate in the sink. Next, she hurried to get ready. She didn't slow down until, forty minutes later, she was at a computer at the library. Setting her jaw firmly, she did a search on wild animal attacks in Central Park.

She was going to figure out exactly what happened last night. It had scared her, and that was not cool. Marie Curie didn't run from something strange, Penny told herself, and neither will I.

In her excitement, she managed to forget that Curie's failure to understand what she pursued had killed her.

[OOC: Investigation roll: Investigation roll: +6 (1d20=14) = 20]

[Ramani]

Originally Posted By: Cole Mulvaney

She'd killed that guy. There were dozens of other ways to handle things but she killed him. He knew she was still acting by instinct. But still he thought they'd made progress explaining why killing was only to be a final resort.

He sat there after breakfast, in one of the larger chairs that was comfortable for him. "Why did you kill him Ramani? I know he hurt you, but still..."

His tone is soft. He's not scolding her, he just wants to hear her side, to understand why she did it.

Ramani had been very quiet since they returned back home. She knew she had done something wrong but she didn’t feel it. She was more concerned about what Cole and her new foster parents would do because of what she did.

At breakfast she tried to remain silent and quiet, avoiding eye-contact until Cole asked her about the past evening. There was no remorse in her for what she did. The situation had gotten out of hand and she felt threatened by the gangers. “They wanted to kill the girl with red hair – and then they wanted to kill me. The human I killed had death in his eyes, better he dead than Ramani? Humans should have run.”

She tried to sound as reasonable as possible attempting to defend her point yet her guttural speech made it sound rather cold and unforgiving. She remembered the lectures her parents had given her about killing humans and she preferred not to have much contact with strangers anyways. Yesterday things got out of control, she knew that but she failed to feel sorry for her actions. The girl was saved that was a good thing wasn’t it?

[Cole Mulvaney]

"Yes, they should have run. Yes I am happy that you are here and he is not, that's how I got hurt stoopping one of them from attacking you. But Killing is to always be our final option. You and I are just different for normal humans. There's a part of me that simply doesn't understand why they didn't run from us. All of that could have been avoided."

He knows she doesn't feel bad about killing him, he'd learned how to guage her voice and body language well enough for that. I'm not going to chew you out any further on it, let's just try to not kill anyone again okay?"

He reaches out rubs her right cheek with one of his paws.

"We had help too. I think that bat, Rodney, he's the same as us. I'dd be interested in finding him again."

[Ramani]

Ramani leaned in to his show of affection and purred quietly. She felt relieved that he didn’t scold her for her actions. It would take some time for her to learn not to kill in the face of danger. All her life it had been the only option except for tailing out of a fight. “Ramani is sorry if dad blames you for Ramani’s actions.”

“Maybe we look out for that redhair-girl, too? I don’t know how to find flying batman.”, the change of subject seemed to lift her spirits and she eagerly rubbed her head against his purring affectionately.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole began purring as well. "It's all right Ramani. I think they're just mad because we both got hurt. It wasn't serious, but it could have been."

He nods. "She was afraid of us to be sure. But if you want to go and try to track her down we can. She did rise to the occassion and try to help us after all."

He smiles and rubs her shoulder. "Now let's sit down and watch the news a bit and then we'll go to bed."

[Ramani]

"You talked to redhair-girl. She remember us. Ramani thinks we need to talk to her. We are secret and Ramani don't want parents to get trouble.", she looked at Cole expectantly. "Maybe she knows more about batman?"

[Cole Mulvaney]

"Well she was terrified of us, but We can try to find her. I'm sure you're tracking talents will prove invaluable in that task."

"Mom and dad are old hands at dodging questions. They've had eighteen years of practice. But your concern for them is appreciated." He smiles, still purring as he stretches out. The smile elongates into a full yawn, showing his massive teeth.

Afterwards he looks back to her. "How are you feeling? nothing hurts I hope."

[jameson (ST)]

Day turned to evening and evening to night. Outside the sun arced overhead before diving below the horizon chased by darkness the crept across the city. For the tigers the day went by slowly filled with sleep and food and TV. Finally as evening came Cole’s parents returned from their day out. Bags of groceries in hand they quickly filled the kitchen with noise and pleasant smells as they set to preparing a meal. Finally after sitting down to a meal as a family Connor took Cole aside.

“Son, Ramani, your mother and I discussed it and despite feeling that you need to be punished for what happens we also feel that it’s time for you to start making your own choices and dealing with the consequences. You two can go out tonight as you want, but we just want you to be careful to stop and think and realize just what kind of danger you can get yourselves into if you are not careful.”

**

Penny sighed. The better part of eight hours had flow by while sequestered in the library scouring back issues of the New York Times and other newspapers. Eight hours since breakfast. Penny was tired, bored, hungry, thirsty and somewhat frustrated. Her hands were gray with newsprint ink; her face likewise smudged from where she had rubbed at her eyes or scratched her nose. She looked at the cell phone as it beeped forlornly once more. The message was from her father, wondering when she’d be home for dinner. Penny sighed again and picked up the one photocopied story, if it could even be called that. Barely a handful of lines it had been buried in the newspaper like something forgotten by even the author himself.

Originally Posted By: New York Times

Reports of Strange Animals Continue - June 3rd, 2006

New York City Animal Control Offices continues to deny the validity of the multitude of calls to their offices and the police of strange animals in the Central Park area. “People know that the event killed everything in this city that wasn’t human or insect. Still people continue to report alligators in the sewers and strange creatures roaming the park.” Says Andrew Styles, director of Animal Control. “There are no strange mutant creatures out there. In the years since the Event Animal Control has redoubled its efforts to maintain the low levels of pests in the city. Extensive extermination efforts have been implemented and continue to be implemented.” Still this reporter has uncovered records showing an average of forty-five calls per month to Police and Animal Control that report strange animal sightings or reports of odd animal noises coming from sewer and storm drains. Is the city government covering up the true legacy of the Event? Are animal mutations the result of the mysterious explosion from so many years ago? Or has the Event caused psychological damage to the human residents of the city just like it caused catastrophic physical damage to its animal inhabitants?

[Cole Mulvaney]

After the talk Cole goes to get ready. He dons a black shirt and shorts and then waits for Ramani outsid her room. "Come Ramani, her trail's cold, but we might have some luck."

Cole stood there, his arms crossed, tapping the claws of his left foot... It was comical if only because he was acting almost like it was a date or something.

[Ramani]

Ramani remained silent again expecting her foster parents to be more mad about what happened but somehow things turned out differently and now she wasn’t sure anymore if it was right or wrong. Cole made preparations to leave which she welcomed a lot but she was still thinking about the past events with clear confusion on her face.

She put on some shorts and a matching tank-top which she just slipped into as she left her room. “I don’t know if we find her trail. I was not close to her…”, it was clear that her mind was focusing on something else. “Cole? I don’t understand what your dad said.”, she asked innocently.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole snods. "He meant that the more we are seen, the more of a trace we leave, the harder it gets to remain hidden. One of the consequences of killing that man is it could have shown that there are large animals loose on the island. We want to keep a low profile Ramani, as low as we can, which is why we only go out at night."

"My parents want us to be prepared to deal with what may happen because of what we choose to do. We both got hurt the other night, and it could have been worse. They want us both to be sure this is what we want to do."

[Ramani]

„We have to run all our live? Why don’t we go to the woods where we are free? You showed me your life, I can show you my life. We could visit parents when you want to. Ramani wants you to be happy.”, she came closer to him giving him something akin to a kiss by rubbing her nose gently on his. She had seen humans kiss on TV and always wondered what it would be like to kiss Cole. For a short moment she considered kissing him but she was too insecure and suddenly shied away from him.

Ramani tried to hide her sudden fear and took a few steps outside waiting for Cole to catch up. Then she tried to focus back on the subject, “Is this what you want to do?”, she asked with the same innocence as before.

[Cole Mulvaney]

He follows her and looks into her eyes and takes her in his arms. He too thinks about kissing her, something he'd thought of this entire last year. Instead he held her close and nuzzled her neck. "We could leave, and living with you in the wild sounds like alot of fun, but I can't. I want to know why we exist. New York is my home, and I just want to stay here awhile longer. I know the answers as to why we're like we are are somewhere in the city. I want to find them."

"You say you want me to be happy, but what would make you happy? I know this isn't the world you know and love, but this is how most of the world is. I also really want you to be happy."

[Ramani]

She enjoyed his embrace and smiled at him even squealing for a short moment which sounded strange coming from someone her size and appearance. She felt her heart beat faster and craned her neck in response to his nuzzling. “I feel happy when I am with you, Cole. I cannot imagine much more than that. Living with you in the wild feels natural to me but I understand you want to know who we are. Ramani also wants parents to be safe, I will be more careful – promise.”, she hoped her words would settle the subject because she felt uncomfortable talking about the mistake she did.

[Cole Mulvaney]

He nods and releases her. "Then let's go. We'll head to the park, to try and pick up her scent. Hopefully that works, if not, I'll think of something else."

They make their way to the park, taking their time to avoid being seen. Once there Cole hangs back, allowing Ramani to put her predatory skills to work.

[z-Penny Mann]

It was like a flash in her mind, a firecracker of theories birthing themselves into a possibility. Frantically, Penny shut down her elation, knowing that she had to be logical about this. "Ok," she mumbled. "Think it out."

1. There were strange animals being sighted in Central Park.

2. While in Central Park, she had run into strange animals.

3. To find them, she should return to Central Park.

Penny nodded to herself and picked up her photocopy of the paper. As she cleaned up after herself, she considered her plan. Central Park was a large place. However, the party last night had likely been in someone's territory, which is why it had drawn their attention. Tigers were territorial, Penny rememembered, so the odds were good that by returning to the site of the party, she could find or be found by them.

And if that failed, there was always the sewer. The article reported odd sounds coming from down there, and Central Park had several sewer outlets. "Time for some urban spelunking," Penny chuckled to herself. She started to compile some lists - no need to do this unprepared.

[Ramani]

Originally Posted By: Cole Mulvaney

He nods and releases her. "Then let's go. We'll head to the park, to try and pick up her scent. Hopefully that works, if not, I'll think of something else."

They make their way to the park, taking their time to avoid being seen. Once there Cole hangs back, allowing Ramani to put her predatory skills to work.

Ramani instantly tried to pick up any scent or trail that might indicate at the girls whereabouts once they entered the park. Unfortunately the place was crowded with all kinds of different scents and Ramani soon found herself more confused than focused. She couldn’t find a trail which slowly was getting on her nerves. She wasn’t very patient and Cole could tell that something was slowly pissing her off. “Maybe we should go to place of fight?”, she suggested trying to buy herself some time and retry picking up a trail.

Tracking roll (1d20+6=9)

[z-Penny Mann]

Penny left the library in a good mood, though that was dampened slightly by the darkness that greeted her. For a second, she considered going home, but reminded herself that these... creatures wouldn't be able to move around in daylight, so waiting until tomorrow was unlikely to help her.

Nervously, she glanced at her watch. She had some time until ten, which was probably the last 'safe' time. Fingering the mace that she'd finally started to carry, she headed into the Park. Let's hope I can find this place in the dark.

[Cole Mulvaney]

"Alright but not too close. There may be police nearby and we really don't want to be seen."

He quietly makes his way through the park to the outskirts of the area where they'd found the night before. "Now let's try it here."

[Ramani]

Ramani tried to focus on any familiar scent she could recall from the fight but failed to pick up anything that she could actually track. She let out a frustrated growl before she had to admit that there is nothing she could find.

"This place is like water, I can't pick up her scent.", stated Ramani adding another low growl to finish her sentence.

[z-Penny Mann]

Finding the site of the party was easy. Penny noted that someone had come out to clean up, probably someone hired by the host of the party. She wasn't even sure who that was; Mike had found out about the party and convinced her to go. She kinda hated high school parties, but Mike liked them, and so she went sometimes.

But now that she was standing here in the middle of the dark park with the lights gone and all references changed or removed, she was no longer certain which way Katie had run. So Penny had no idea which direction to go now.

"Ok. Stop. Think," she muttered, closing her eyes. The car was parked over there...

Randy leaned against the hood of Mike's car, gazing glumly into the cup in his hand. Out in the circle of lights, Mike danced, his lean form gyrating in perfect time with the music. Penny, winded but laughing at her own dorky dancing, flopped onto the hood beside the dark senior. "Hey, why aren't you dancing?" she gasped.

"No one I wanna dance with," he said, looking at her. His eyes were hooded by his hair, but his smile was warm.

"You're drunk," Penny observed, scenting the alcohol. "Drunk men dance."

"Nope," Randy said as Mike finally joined them, his hips still moving a little.

"C'mon you two," Penny's boyfriend cajoled his gray eyes glassy but excited. "This party is for dancing."

"No one to dance with," Randy repeated, still smiling.

"What happened to Ka... Kathy?"

"Katie? Yesterday's news," Randy said, tipping his head back to take another drink.

Penny looked past Randy at the girl who had been approaching them. She saw the hurt and anger flash over her face and then Katie was stomping away. "Smooth," Penny snapped, her good mood fading. She pushed off the car and followed-

Penny opened her eyes and retraced her steps from last night, appearing to stagger aimlessly as she followed the convoluted path she'd taken last night-

"Katie. Katie, wait!" Penny called, slowing when she saw Katie had found a source of comfort. It was one of the other football players, and Penny paused, unsure if she should interrupt - they looked rather, um, intimate.

His hands went to inappropriate places and Katie thrust herself away with a sob. Rolling her eyes at the stupidity of man, Penny took off again, following the girl into the dark park-

Still half-lost in the memory, Penny burst into the clearing where the fight had occurred last night. Arms pinwheeling, she staggered to a stop. "Uh... hi," she said, feeling full of lame. And now she became aware of the danger she may have put herself in. Her fingers tightened around her phone as she prepared herself for any possibility.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole had been so intent on Ramani he hadn't heard the girl approach. When she spoke he whirled around, his hands already rising, but thankfully he was calm enough to not extend his claws. He lowers his right hand and extends his other hand to stay Ramani from doing anything.

"Hi yourself."

Cole virtually loomed over her, even at a distance. "You know we were actually looking for you. I, We, were wondering what caused that little altercation last night."

He looks at her, and despite him being a better than six feet tall bipedal tiger, he seems to be trying to project a calming vibe. It's clear he doesn't mean her any harm."

[Ramani]

Ramani flexed her muscles in anticipation and was about to extend her claws when she felt Cole’s hand on her. She relaxed immediately but started to circle around Penny flanking her to gain a tactical advantage. It was her nature when she was on the hunt and she didn’t realize that she was not doing much to gain the girl’s trust.

[z-Penny Mann]

"Yikes!" Penny barked as Ramani began to circle her. With a haste that would have been comical in another situation, Penny backpedaled so that they formed a triangle, rather than a line. "No, um... bad... girl." That was the one who had killed the guy last night! There was no way she was letting that cat behind her!

Her hand fumbled at blindly at her phone, and Penny pressed what she hoped was the one button. That way, she could hit the speed-dial and get Mike on the line. She was suddenly aware of the danger she'd put herself in and Penny wondered if she'd survive this.

"I just came to talk," she said, still moving so that she could keep an eye on both tigers. "So let's just relax ok?" That last bit was primarily aimed at Ramani.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole looks to Ramani. "You're scaring her Ramani. just relax."

Cole smiles, though not wide enough to show his teeth and looks to the young woman. "Alright then. What would you like to talk about?"

[Ramani]

Ramani snarled a little and lowered herself to a crouching position. The girl was scared but they had come to talk to her, make her understand that she should keep a secret. Ramani was ready to do her a favour in return just to make her and Cole’s live less exposed. “I don’t hurt you.”, she said trying to sound friendly with her guttural voice.

[z-Penny Mann]

Penny drew a deep breath. "This may seem rude, and for that I'm sorry, but... where do you come from? How long have you been here? How did you come to be? You're kinda impossible naturally, or were you natural? Do you live in the sewers? Are you the ones who have been generating the complaints to the city? What are your names? Why'd you save me and Katie? What kind of diet do you have?"

Suddenly the girl stopped and blushed. "Um, that's enough to start, right?"

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole smiles, this time letting his large fangs show. "New York is my home, Ramani here is from a little further north. The second question I don't have the slightest clue about, it's something I want to know myself. Suffice it to say we don't live in the sewers, our sense of smell would make that very, very hard to endure. I don't know about any complaints, mostly we just explore the city at night. None of the news reports seem to be describing us which has me thinking there might be others like us and Rodney."

"We saved you because it was the right thing to do. That's how I was raised at least."

He chuckles softly. "As for our diet, as you can imagine we're mostly carnivorous, deer being the game of choice. I actually like pepperoni pizza despite the mess it can quickly becomes."

He smiles again, this time without his teeth. "Now some questions for you. I can tell you're not unaffraid of us, yet still here you are, Why? I'd be willing to bet you were looking for us the same as we were looking for you. Why did you get attacked last night?"

[jameson (ST)]

As the two tigers spoke with Penny the whisper quiet beat of wings drifted faintly toward them in the night. It didn't take long before Rodney was visible flying low over the treetops toward them. Below him on the ground a kangaroo took long leisurely leaps beside another creature that in the darkness looked like some sort of duck.

[Cole Mulvaney]

As if things weren't complicated enough, now Rodney shows up, with two MORE animals that seem to be just as much human, a Kangaroo, and some sort of weird ducklike thing with fur. It took Cole a moment to recall the name of the animal that was proof that God got stoned once. "A Platypus. How in the hell..." He muter under his breath.

He reached out and grabbed Ramani's arm, both in reassurance, and to hold her from launching an attack. His eyes met hers for a moment and implored her "Wait." He spared a glance to Penny and tried to be reassuring. "Looks like you get to talk to your own minature zoo tonight eh? All we're missing are some reptiles and birds."

[Rodney]

Rodney lands quietly ahead of the two Australians.

"Hey again, you three. These here," he indicates with a nod of his head, "are Wally the Kangaroo, and Ozzie the Platypus, but there's more," he adds excitedly.

"There was a van last night with men in black and they grabbed a Porcubear-like, type creature and made off with him ... or her."

He hops back excitedly on his foot/hands.

"They sped off to fast for me to follow by air too and that's pretty fast for incity driving. Man, I think there is somebody out there looking for us. Anyone got a clue why?"

[z-Penny Mann]

"Wait, what, us?" Penny babbled as she took a step back and raised her hands. "No, I'm not part of your us, I'm-" Don't say normal. Don't say normal... "I'm not like you guys. I don't think..."

She stopped, looked down and gathered herself, then lifted her head. "Alright. Look. I'm a bit freaked out. But you guys are attracting notice, and I can help you find out more about who is tagging you. I figure I owe you after last night.

"So, starting again... I'm Penny, and it's nice to meet you all." She gave a little wave which she immediately realized was so dorky a dork would scorn her for it. Awkwardly, she dropped her hand and tried not to look uncomfortable.

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole nods once. "my name's Cole, it's a pleasure." Her offer of assistance intrigues him greatly.

[SalmonMax]

Wally eyes Cole and Ramani speculatively, then offers a handlike forepaw to each of Cole and Penny to shake them vigorously.

"Ay, good to meetcha!" he blurted in a warm tone and a thick Australian accent. "None of this 'the kangaroo' business now. Wally's my name, just Wally." It comes out sounding like 'wall-eye.'

He looked down at his duckbilled friend and nudged him, adding, "Good to finally meet some folks who won't steal trash or suddenly explode, eh?"

Enhancing the surrealness of a talking kangaroo is the ballistic vest he wears...similar to the vests worn by NYPD, Penny sees, though lacking any insignia...and the barrel of what looks like a rifle poking out at an angle over his shoulder. The goggles pushed up over his forehead don't help any.

"So! Nice night for it, eh?"

[Rodney]

"Has anyone else here thought about what we are going to do next? Obviously, we - not including you, Penny - are different. I don't know about the rest of you, but I was born a bat and became, over time, something more ... humanish. I still don't think that makes me a citizen though. I don't think any of us qualify as citizens and that leaves us in some danger."

"Who is to care if something happens to us? Are there others like us out there? Should we be looking for others like us, or into our origins, or whatever?"

"I don't know. Before tomorrow night, I thought I was totally unique in the world. I had a human with me who until recently took care of me and dealt with the world on my behalf. Now that human is missing and I'm kind of uncertain about what to do next. I was looking for him when I ran across you, Ramni, Cole, and Penny. I know he's in trouble and I am not sure how to proceed ... but that's what I'm up to. What about the rest of you?"

"And Penny, what made you return here tonight? It's an awful brave thing for a human to do."

[Cole Mulvaney]

Cole shakes Wally's offered hand, taking care to keep his claws retracted. "Nice to meet you. Are you planning on going on safari or something?" he jokes indicating the gun and attire. The entire time, his other hand is holding Ramani's primarily to keep her calm and from attacking anyone easily. He knows well how much she hated guns of all kinds, and hoped she'd tolerate this one for the moment.

Cole nods. "No, none of us have citzenship, despite being born here I'd wager. It is my belief that there are others like us out there, and just this little gather would seem to bear that out." He chuckles softly. A year ago he'd have said something similar, thinking he was truly alone in the world, but then he'd me/found Ramani in the Blauvelt national park. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and continued.

"Mostly we've explored the city at night, stopping a crime here and there when we could without being seen," he looks down and shrugs, "Being seen a couple of times when there wasn't a choice. I want to know why we are like this, not because it makes me mad, but simple curiosity. Are we genetic freaks of nature, a theory I don't buy into, or did someone do something too us years ago to make us this way?"

He looks down to Penny. "Most people tend to freak out when they see me or Ramani, I'm still laughing that it wasn't until you heard me talk that you really seemed to. I'm also curious as to why you came back."

[z-Penny Mann]

Despite her fear of being grossly outnumbered - instead of just outnumbered - Penny stepped forward and grasped Wally's offered hand. It was strange - like shaking a furry glove, but warmer and undeniably alive. His nails, hards and vaguely claw-like, rubbed at her skin as he pulled back. That was weird.

Brave? Penny shook her head. "That wasn't bravery, it was... something else entirely. And it was dark. I thought you guys were odd tigers until you spoke. Until you spoke, I thought you might be the distraction I needed to escape." She shifted slightly and moved so that she wasn't surrounded by walking, talking anthropomorphic animals. With claws. And a gun.

She took a deep breath and hoped that she wasn't going to insult anyone. "First, I came back because you guys saved me, and due to being horribly freaked out, I didn't really express my gratitude for that. And second, you guys are different, unusual. I wanted to know what you are. And last, I wanted to see if you were responsible for the reports of animals in the park."

[Ramani]

Ramani's muscles twitched in anticipation and she looked like she could explode in an all-out-attack any time. Whereas Cole appeared polite and civilised there was something extremely savage in Ramani's eyes, as if she was more animal than human besides her obvious appearance. He seemed to be in control though because she just watched the other animals and Penny with piercing eyes of a predator. It wasn't clear if she welcomed the company and her instincts had put her on alert especially after she saw the barrel of the rifle rising up from Wally's back.

Ramani had to suppress sudden growls of disapproval to not provoke any hostile actions from the others but it was clearly against her nature to remain calm and passive. No one could tell what she would do if Cole wasn't around.