It wasn’t only that her current lifestyle was far from a life she had envisioned, but it was also that it didn’t come naturally to her. She relied heavily on Errol in the earlier days until she was able to achieve some degree of independence. It wasn’t that her parents had sheltered her either; there had just been nothing for them to shelter her from. The life she found herself in was one of her own making, even if by circumstances beyond her control. It was her mother’s death which spurred the family’s immigration and it was Noa that caused the fatal illness.

Her friendship with Errol was very much borne out of circumstances. Of course, they would have never met had it not been for their status as mutants, but it had become more meaningful than that. In spite of everything that had transpired over the past few years, he had been a constant in her life due to the kindness and understanding that he offered when they first met. No one would have expected it. Both had been expected to continue their family business, only Errol’s family ‘business’ was a criminal empire and Noa’s had been a small restaurant in rural France.

They weren’t exactly the most likely of friends but she could let her guard down around him without the fear of accidentally hurting him, as evident by her relaxed demeanour around him and lack of reaction to the nudge of his elbow aside from an amused smile. Even then, it had taken a while to reach this level of familiarity so it was no surprise that she considered him her only real friend. 

[color=7bcdc8]“150.” [/color]She replied, flicking through the money in confirmation. [color=7bcdc8]“Some people have more money than sense.”[/color] She mused, though in this instance it worked in their favour. It was certainly an abnormally high amount of money to pay for such a job but apparently some people could just throw their money at their problems to make them go away. It must’ve been nice.

No amount of money could solve their problems with the rise in anti-mutant sentiment across the country and the vitriol they faced daily.

[color=7bcdc8]“Errol…”[/color] She began, knowing what he was likely to do, but once he was in that mindset she knew there was little she could do to deter him. After a moment of hesitation, she resigned to her fate and quickened her pace to catch up after falling behind. [color=7bcdc8]“Don’t do anything, please.”[/color] She tried to reason with him upon seeing the sparks at his hands. 

However, it was a short-lived attempt as they neared the crowd and it soon became apparent who the instigators were and who were the followers. It seemed as though a group of college students had managed to rile up enough of the locals into supporting their cause, densely populating the usually barren area on the edge of the campus. 

Among them, a man was standing on a table to remain visible above the crowd. [color=a2d39c]“They are making our streets dangerous. Statistics show that a disproportionately high number of mutants are committing crimes. They abuse their abilities and all we can do is sit by and watch?”[/color] He addressed the supportive crowd. 

Despite her desire to avoid such gatherings, preferring to stay uninvolved and unnoticed to minimise any hate and attention that mutants already received, this was no ordinary rally, at least not for her. 

The continuation of the speech fell on deaf ears as she carefully traversed a more sparsely populated area of the crowd to reach the speaker but was stopped by another student seemingly acting as security. [color=7bcdc8]“Let me past. I’m his-”[/color] She was interrupted as the student attempted to grab her arm to escort her away but she quickly manoeuvred herself out of the way. [color=7bcdc8]“[i]Martin![/i]”[/color] She called out in an attempt to get his attention.[color=7bcdc8] “[i]Qu'est-ce que tu fais?![/i]” [/color]She shouted above the noise of the crowd, this time their native language drawing his attention.

Handing the megaphone to the student beside him to continue on his behalf, the dark-haired man stepped down from the table and approached her with an expression of almost disbelief which quickly turned into a smile as he pushed between a couple of people which separated them and pulled her into a hug. Noa immediately froze, wary of whether she might accidentally hurt him, but once a moment had passed and she realised she was in the clear, she slowly wrapped her arms around him, feeling an intense mixture of emotions.

[color=a2d39c]"What happened to you? I thought you were dead."[/color] He asked with concern. [color=7bcdc8]"Why would you think that?"[/color] She asked, returning the same concern. [color=a2d39c]"You disappeared seven years ago. What else were we supposed to think?"[/color] He asked. [color=7bcdc8]"Yes, but... I sent a letter telling you that I was safe."[/color] She replied, her concern turning to confusion. Martin shook his head. [color=a2d39c]"I've never seen such a letter."[/color] 

Upon realising what had happened, there was little else she could utter other than a bewildered apology. [color=7bcdc8]"Martin, I- I'm so sorry."[/color] She stuttered, but he was quick to interject, still beyond confused about the entire situation. [color=a2d39c]"What happened? Why did you leave?"[/color] He asked. [color=7bcdc8]"It's... complicated."[/color] She replied hesitantly. [color=a2d39c]"I'm sure I'll understand."[/color] He tried to reassure her but his efforts wouldn't get him very far. [color=7bcdc8]"No, I don't think you will."[/color] She responded, prompting a look of confusion from her sibling before he drew his own conclusion and his expression shifted to one of discomfort. 

[color=a2d39c]"You're a mutant." [/color]