She bit her lip for a moment, her eyes flickering cautiously around her. Fortunately it wasn't normal "lunchtime" for most of the refuge's residents - those that came to the cafeteria to eat usually did so around mid-afternoon, in order to get out of the heat of the sun. People trickled in for breaks now and then, but at the moment it wasn't too terribly full, so Jasmine spoke.. though her voice was a quiet murmur, pitched for Dan alone to hear.

"I don't need to eat any more. I do, sometimes.. to look normal, and because it's enjoyable. But.. I don't have to. I don't have to eat, I don't have to drink. I don't need sleep, although it still helps with stress.. I don't even need to breathe, I just seem to do it out of habit sometimes. It's.. weirdly creepy. I try not to tell people.. I'm pretty sure it would weird them out. But I don't like eating a lot, because I don't need to. Why waste the food when other people need it?"

Dan nods. "That's pretty cool. You're lucky in that regard. I have to do all the normal things, though sleeping, drinking, and breathing I don't do as much. I eat four or five times what I used to though."

"So what are your plans Jasmine, both immediate and future?"

"Well, immediate plans are pretty tight. Priest and I, along with Violet, are leaving tomorrow on a trip to Gabrielle's refuge. We're going to take the little girl we found - Pumpkin - and see if Gabrielle's would be a good place for her to stay, for now. I'm thinking it might be the best option for her, but we need to go there to see, and to see if Gabrielle would even be willing. We plan on staying there a couple days if possible, and then coming back in time for the trip to New Mexico. After that.. I don't know."

She shook her head slightly, looking a bit lost.

"I mean.. some of the things I really like here.. and some things I really don't. So.. I don't know, we'll just have to see what happens in New Mexico, and.. if I find my family or not. After that, I think I'm winging it."

She smiled a little, and shrugged at him before popping another olive in her mouth.

"Dan nodded. "Would you like me to accompany you as well? Priest and Violet aren't fighters, and I doubt he'd be rushing his crew right back out into the hell beyond the compound. That means they'd largely be depending solely on you for defending all three of them."

"I can easily help with that, along with any other difficulties that may be encountered."

He looked at her "What don't you like here?" As an afterthough he nods and adds, "What you say stays between us."

She hesitated for a long moment, and then sighed slightly. She sat her fork down, most of her desire for food gone.

"I dunno, exactly. I mean.. I guess it just doesn't feel like a good way to run a place. I mean, yeah.. back in the day, one person running a place was okay, cause people didn't know better. But people now.. you know, everyone was used to a certain lifestyle, and while I'm not saying everyone's gonna get that - I mean really, we're lucky to have this place, period - I get that. But I just.. the way it's run makes me a little uncomfortable. I feel like some kind of royalty or something - like I can just stay here, without having to contribute unless I really want to. But the regular people - they're out there working their butts off. I should be out there every day, no matter what. So should James, so maybe even Violet, as long as she has.. I dunno, a chaperon, I guess."

Her lips twisted in a wry smile at that, but after a moment it flickered and died. She shrugged, and continued, idly popping a bite of the food into her mouth without really tasting it before looking back up at him.

"But we aren't, and they are.. and I don't like that. It bothers me, I suppose. A military dictatorship because of a bad situation is one thing.. but establishing us as some kind of nobility or something, just cause we got the luck of the draw, doesn't seem right to me. And I don't know if I want to be a part of it or not."

She picked at her food for another second before giving up and pushing the plate away.

"We're leave tomorrow - please, feel free to join us. The extra protection couldn't hurt, especially with Pumpkin along. You never know when something's going to happen."

He looked at Jasmine and nodded. "Fox does indeed run the show, but then again he had the forsight and presence of mind to set all this up, So I don't begrudge him being in control. As to how the supers are treated,There are some who don't do as much as others, but everyone contributes. We all go out on scavenger runs, Fox oversees the administration with Ger and Jules, and I spend most of my waking hours in either the machine shop, the armory or building something for someone."

"No one is forced to stay here. But let me say this, If you really want to make a difference you can either fight the system, which probably won't work in this case, or work from within to change it."

I know for a fact Priest Treats every single person here as just that, a person. I don't dare begrdge the fact that he looks after his daughter and crew first and above all others. Considering what they all do for the community I say they're entitled to what they ask for."

"I myself don't ask for much, beyond a place to come back to,and the supplies I need to fulfill my mission."

His lecture/speech done he smiles, a real smile. "Tell me about Pumpkin, her abilities and such. I'd heard from Fox but he didn't have alot of time. She can create creatures that help and protect her?"

Jasmine skipped over the topic of the refuge, glad he had mentioned Pumpkin so that she'd have something to move on to. His response made sense intellectually, but it didn't negate the wrongness that Jasmine felt about the way things were being handled. So she grabbed onto the change of topic gladly, breaking into a small smile at the mention of the little girl.

"She's an absolute doll. She's very cute, blond curly hair. She creates these creatures.. I don't know exactly how it works, but they seem real, and they're like protectors for her. They must be what's kept her alive all this time, which means they're not just some sort of illusion. Her first ones, the ones that were out when we found her were these dog-type creatures, and the one I saw her with the other day was just this little dragon-snake type thing that could fly. So.. I guess it's whatever she can dream up."

"That's intriguing, and very unique. None of us can do anything like that."

He looks away a moment. "It just goes to show that these powers, or abilities we all got were halfway random. I mean we all got things that let us survive, but each of us is different."

"She's in total control of these creatures, or do they gove about instinctualy on their own?"

Jasmine thought about that one for a moment before answering, and nodded slightly at his comment.

"I think it's a little bit of both. I think they can act on their own, to a certain extent. I mean, that one that was looking around the library darted off as soon as it spotted me, and went straight back to her - but she wasn't there to tell it to do that. Unless she can communicate with them somehow when they're out of sight. But they certainly seem to obey her orders, and do what she tells them to do. There's probably no way to know for sure without asking her about it, and I'm not sure if she'd be able to explain it just yet. She's still a bit young. She might be able to though.. perhaps telepathically, or something."

"Never underestimate children."

"Thus far it's only been the dog-like things and the serpent? Has anyone else asked her if there are other things she can make?"