Owner	Pose
Mason	Breakstone Lake. It's warm, but it's quiet. Mason spent the last hour or so watching the school, though he wasn't on the part of the property that bordered it. Or maybe it only felt that way. He brought his guitar, his car parked off to the side of the road.     Sitting down, he now faces the water, taking a moment to tune the guitar by ear. He never needed a tuner. He plucks a string as he watches the ripple in the lake, sitting on a large rock which suits him as a seat near the water. It isn't a cultivated spot on the lake, so he anticipates his solitude as he tries to manage his thoughts.
Andrea	A pair of golden eyes shine in the dark form the distance as the evening approaches the mansion. The ears of the black wolf caught the sounds of the guitar in the distance, the scent telling her that it is him. Him. Carrying a backpack in her strong jaws, the majestic beast creeps carefully along the terrain from behind, keeping low to the ground so that he blends into the shadows, melting away into darkness on soft, carefully placed paws.
Mason	As he starts to play, it's evident that he is using a twelve string, not a six string. The music hauntingly starts to dissapate across the lake as Mason finds his way through the evening light. Under 20,000 tons of brick and stone, She carries all the way from her own world, and somewhere deep inside, beneath the cartilage and bone Beats the battered heart of one little girl alone She is sweet like sugar But she is bitter like the broken sugar pot I told her that she could be Anything she wants to be She only sees what she is not     The song starts to move into a melody of complexity. The kind that Mason doesn't play for the masses, but the kind of song he writes for himself.
Andrea	As she brings herself closer, the wolf flattens herself to the ground, nudging the backpack to the side so that she can listen. Her ears continue to prick as she takes in the lyrics, head tilting one way curiously. Her long fluffy tail curls up about her as she drops her chin down across her paws.
Mason	Mason slowly lets the melody gear toward the chorus, the singing is simple, it's almost dry, an undrummed beat of regret Disbeliever, underachiever. Disconcerted in the way things look from here Disinclined, Disinterested, Nothing in your world stays clear.     The twelve strings hum their complexity again, only to return to the contrasting verse... With the blanket of security And the mighty force of her own will Treading water in her pink pajamas She's stopped treading water now Hopelessly, Hopeless she sank Swimming further into the sea Thinking she's substandard While all the while. SHE. WAS. BEAUTIFUL TO ME.     He returns immediately to the chorus, his voice shaking. Disbeliever, underachiever Don't you shed another tear Little sister, broken heart resistor It isn't like that over here.
Andrea	Andrea continues to listen to him as she shifts slightly in the grass behind the large rock of where he is singing. She lets out a soft, slow lupine wheeze from her throat as she rubs her nose along her paws.
Mason	She is strong and silent She is blunt, and shrewd She thinks that nobody is like her If she only knew The last thing I should have done I should have marched around and played once to your drum!     The music plays, and Mason is silent. The tune becomes frustrated, angry, then sad again. it continues to play, but the music is repeating, something Mason doesn't do with his songs a lot. It seems to be filler for the moment, a mantra for his thoughts.
Andrea	Nudging the backpack closer, the black wolf trots forward to give a low chuff towards him, to catch his attention as she drops her ears backwards upon her skull. She doesn't have an aggressive stance as she remains low to the ground, crawling along her belly as she looks up at him with her wolven brown eyes.
Mason	The music stops abruptly, the last note hanging for a moment as Mason lifts his head. His neck cranes around, and he jumps slightly, not having expected that the giant wolf was right there. He immediately stands up, backing away a single step so that his foot touches the edge of the bank.     He just stares down at her for several seconds. the guitar hanging free as he lets his hands drop to his sides. He chews his lip, but doesn't say anything, then breaks her gaze, looking back at the water as if he is ashamed.
Andrea	Andrea lets out a soft chuff to him, then crawls forward on her stomach a few paces as he backs up, then rolls to her back as her tail curls between her hind legs. She tucks her forepaws against her chest as she lets out a low whine to him.
Mason	"What?" Mason says after she starts whining, turning back to face her. It comes across a little harder than he intended. "What do you want?" he repeats in a softer tone. "Nobody is supposed to hear that song," he mumbles, "Now you're a giant...sneaky wolf." He looks back at the water, actually seeming a little embarrassed.
Andrea	Andrea rolls back to her paws and trots over to him. She lifts her muzzle up to butt it against one of his hands, followed by a lick of his fingers with a swipe of her warm tongue. She flops down upon her haunches and lets out a long sigh.
Mason	Mason always did like dogs. His mother never let him have one.He doesn't exactly move his hand away as she licks it. "Is this some attempt to...make me feel bad? Because...it's workin', okay? I already feel bad. And it's not about you, in case you are wondering." He lets his hand fall over her muzzle. "I just had a lot on my mind. Okay? I don't know what to make of it all."
Andrea	Andrea gives a wolfen shake of her head at him, ears perking upwards. She gives him another nudge, then turns her head to pluck her backpack up. She flops it down in front of him.
Mason	"What?" Mason says, "You want to play fetch or something now? Isn't that a little..." he glances at the backpack. "Oh, sorry." He reaches down, picking up the pack, expecting to find her clothes in it as he unzips it, then pulls it open to check inside.
Andrea	Inside the backpack is definitely clothes. Andrea gives a wag of her tail back and forth as he roots about inside of it. She leans her head in against his hip.
Mason	Mason reaches in, pulling out the clothes. He holds up the thong. "Really?" he asks with an arched brow. He pulls the wad out, and starts to hand them to Andrea, but then realizes that she has no hands. "I guess...I'll just put them here," he says, placing them on top of the bag and then turning around to the water again.
Andrea	Andrea gives a bit of a wolfish chortle as she perks her ears as he pulls the articles of clothing out. She leans in and licks at his hand again a few times, then rubs her along along one of his legs before she starts the process of shifting again. There is the noisy cracking of bones and the whine of pain as her body snaps and contorts.
Mason	Mason winces as he hears Andrea's conversion. "That always sounds so painful," he comments, continuing to look out over the water. "Can they teach you to do it...I dunno, smoother or something?"
Andrea	Once she steps through the last phase of her shift, Andrea grunts out under her breath. "I don't think it's something they can teach me. My body has to shift to fit the size and make up of a wolf or a human. I just focus on other things besides the pain." She settles down next to him, reaching for her clothes to pull them on. "It was a beautiful song by the way."
Mason	"It's not beautiful," Mason says, patiently waiting to turn around. He tries to gauge in his mind how long it should take for her to put on her clothes, "It's an ugly song. I wrote it a few years ago. I couldn't get it out of my head this afternoon, like some ghost that keeps haunting me, I just had to play it." He turns around, thinking that she should be dressed by then.
Andrea	She is mostly dressed. At least she has her undies and a top on. Pulling on her shorts, Andrea gives a few hops to tug them into place with a wiggle, then reaches down for her socks and shoes. "I'm sorry the song is bringing you some stress. Want me to sing something to you? Get your mind off it?"
Mason	The blond teen shrugs. "I dunno. Sure," he says in an uncommitted tone. He pulls the strap over his shoulder. "Do you play twelve string?" he asks. He can't remember if he knew the answer to the question, but it's certainly not something that would likely show up in any of her music. It doesn't lend itself to pop very well.
Andrea	"You dunno, sure?" Andrea says with an amused smile to him. "You wanna talk instead? You okay?" She asks as she gives a wiggle of her bare toes as she places her shoes and socks to the side. "I know ... that things got really crazy the other day and I'm sorry that you got scared. I was scared too."
Mason	"Yeah," Mason says, pulling back the guitar when she doesn't take it. He lets it rest on the rock, and then sits down again himself. "I'm not tryin' to make things harder on you, Andy," he says. "Really, I'm not." He bends over, grabbing a rock from the ground, and sniffs it. "It's just, all this stuff, it's a lot to take in."
Andrea	"You're not making anything harder on me, Mason. I'm more concerned about you." Andrea takes a seat next to him and curls an arm around him from behind, then rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry you got caught up in all of it. I wasn't planning for any of this to happen. I just wanted to do the right thing, and by enrolling at Xavier's, I thought I could learn more about my abilities, meet some great people. I'm sorry if I was pushing you as well. I was just so excited to find out you were just like me and I felt that maybe .. this school could have helped you as well but .. " She pauses. "But, I know it's probably not the best choice for you. I should have respected your need for privacy and to be normal. I'd rather you be safe out there, singing songs and .. flirting with girls ... rather than being a target because you're involved with .. me.."
Mason	Mason frowns. "I wish I was more like you," he admits. "Maybe that song wouldn't have been written." He rubs his thumb against the rock, smoothing it from a jagged stone to a skipping stone where Andrea can see it. The extra just brushes away as sand. "How do you do that? How do you just put yourself out like that, knowing that someone could kill you? Why take the chance? You have nothing to gain and everything to lose."
Andrea	"My mom was a marine, you know? She fought for our freedoms and rights and got hurt on the job. She fights for all of us. She was so inspirational to me, then what happened to Allison Blaire.. " Andrea trails off. "And I know she's old school pop and no longer as famous, but I felt that .. as a mutant.. with my fanbase, that I should ... /someone/.. should step up and let the world know that we're people like anyone else. I'm the girl next door. I grew up on everyone's TV sets along side the cute boy named Mason Steele. America watched us grow up. They know we're not dangerous, we're not weirdos or freaks. No one else should think that of any mutant. There are bad people from all walks of life, you know? People shouldn't be scared of us. They shouldn't hunt us or send cyborgs after us. So I felt if they could see that I was a mutant and that I was trying my best to create good relations and to help others, that maybe I can change the hearts of some people ... and maybe it can be paid forward." She gives him another squeeze. "I feel that right now.. with the work I'm doing, I have everything to gain .. and the only way I lose .. is if I give up and turn my back on those in need."
Mason	"We are freaks," Mason says. "I mean, what you did," he winces, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to keep sayin' it, but damn, Andrea, that's not normal behavior. That's not the you that I used to know. That wolf, it changed you. I don't like her. I miss the old Andrea, the Andrea who just wanted to have fun and wasn't the 'protect my pack, grr' Andrea." He turns red, and he chunks the stone, which skips several times before it sinks into the lake's waters.
Andrea	"Yeah? You liked dumb, weak Andrea who bats her eyes at Mason Steele's abs and giggle and blush when he comes into a room instead?" Andrea asks as she gives him a glance. "You threw your wallet at a cyborg that was about to curb stomp you. What did you expect me to do? Mason." She shifts around a bit to face him better. "Those /things/ were sent to kill us. They tried to kill us in the cafe and they came after us again in the alleys. You have to understand, I had no choice. I know it was scary, and it scares me also when I let her take the wheel, but I had to, to keep us safe." She says as she slides her hands down into his to squeeze them. "And it scared me too. I haven't slept good in the last few days. I've spent most of my nights sobbing. You know how I am with the Jesus stuff. I gave up my soul to keep you and James alive." She says softly to him. "And I wouldn't change a thing if I could go back in time. But going forward, I am working with the staff to learn more control, to learn to fight smarter."
Mason	Mason shakes his head, and sighs. "I talked to Ms. Frost," he says, just changing the subject directly. "Talked to her about joining Xavier's." He picks up another rock, and begins to fashion it similarly to the first. "Thought that might make you happy."
Andrea	Sighing as he changes the subject, Andrea sighs and shakes her head. "No, Mason .. just .. keep doing what you are doing. Just keep flying under the radar. Be normal. You have everything going for you right now. The longer you stick to me, the more of a target you will become. No one knows you're a mutant. Just a guy I used to date. Look, I can do some kinda public thing where I am seen with .. I dunno... a Richie Maxwell. He's cute and in a boy band. It will get you off the hook, people will forget about you and me ... you can go back to being Mason Steele, without any of my dumb drama."
Mason	"Wait, wait," Mason says, raising his hand holding the rock in the air, a little more forceful. "You think I'm a pussy," he says. "Shit, Andrea, you have been on me for weeks about talking to the teachers at your school, and I do it, and now you say 'nah, you just go do something else'. What the hell is that?" He holds the hand with the guitar out. "Where's the punk'd sign? I know it's around here somewhere."
Andrea	"Oh, Mason .." Andrea says with a sigh as she brushes her fingers along his arm. "Look, yes, I've been on you for weeks about this because ... " She shifts her jaw. "For selfish reasons, okay? I wanted to be around you more. I thought maybe if you saw me being successful, you would want to do the same, to be curious, to push yourself, to see that .. that I'm not a freak.. and maybe.." She glances away from him. "But this isn't you. You got a chance that I don't have. To be successful and popular and make a ton of amazing music. My career pretty much died in that cafe. You got accepted into your dream school." She reaches up to brush at her cheek with the back of her knuckles. "And I'm going to get killed, Mason. At some point, someone is going to do something bad to me and I don't want you around when it happens. I don't want you to be even more scared, or worried .. I'd rather you be in some other country, drunk with some expensive prostitute or something, rather than deal with my bullshit."
Mason	"So," Mason says, "That's a yes. You think I'm a wimp. I can't handle myself, I should just go be worthless and make a lot of money and get laid all the time, because that's all I know how to do." He looks like he wants to spit, and paces away and back toward Andrea. "That's what I hear from you. I hear it again and again. Mason's a coward. Mason just wants to get his D wet with every girl he can." He paces back away. "If I'm such a waste of flesh, then why do you want to get in my pants so bad? Well screw you!" His left hand flings the flattened stone at her, which pierces the air like a coin, fast enough that there is a whistle through the air as what should be a harmless pebble speeds toward her with the force of a .357 magnum.
Andrea	"What? No! Mason. I don't think you're a wimp. I am a walking target for mutant haters who come at me with cyborgs that pull weapons out of their arms. I'm scared that I'm going to get you killed." Pushing up to her feet, Andrea reaches out for him. "Please, you know I don't want to get in your pants, I lov--" His hand whips around and throws the rock, striking her in the head as she whips to one side and hits the ground with a heavy thump, blood pooling.
Mason	"Andrea?" Mason gasps, having been unaware that he had the ability to even do such a thing until that moment. As she hits the ground, a wash of fear pours over him. "Andrea!" He drops the guitar to the ground, and dives to her side, pulling his hand away to see the blood. "Oh, no no," he says in a panic. "Oh no no no no. Andrea, talk to me, I'm sorry!"
Andrea	The popstarlet remains on the ground, not moving and shallowly breathing as she lays in the puddle of blood that is oozing from the gaping wound along her head. Her eyes are closed and her body is a crumpled tangle of limbs.
Mason	Mason's eyes are blurred with fear as he pulls his hand back, coated with her blood. "Andrea, wake up, wake up, I'm sorry!" he cries out. "Help!" He looks around, knowing no one is near. "Somebody help!"     He picks Andrea up, cradling her in his arms. "Andy, hold on," he says. "Hold on, I'm gonna get you help." He struggles with the passenger door, then once he manages to open it without dropping the girl, he places her in the seat, leaning the back slightly before grabbing the seatbelt and placing it across her lap. He pulls his shirt off, and presses it against her wound. "You are strong," Mason says. "Andy, you are strong, you listen to me, you don't give up, you hear?" He crawls over her and into the driver's seat, pushing the button to start the car with his free hand.     He throws it into gear, backing up, then slamming on the break so that the passenger door shuts. He puts it into drive.     And he finds out just how fast this Ferrari can go.