Finnley was starting to adjust with running around on his own after learning there were monsters of sorts running around in town. He was glad to have Gale and Emily teaching him how to protect himself, but at the same time he just wanted to be able to relax and enjoy hanging out around town. Like today with going to The Grill. Against his mother's wishes, Finnley had gotten himself a fake I.D. that would allow him to drink state side. He was used to the younger drinking age back in his home country, so why can't his irish heart still enjoy a beer at the local bar? Currently he had managed to sit at a table by himself for the most part, the place not as busy as it could be, but busy none the less. He ordered himself a beer, being polite to his waitress as he looked around. He could see people were talking and interacting, but he couldn't hear a single thing, including the music that seemed to be playing. 

Bright blue kept looking around for the most part, always trying to pay a bit of attention to when people were trying to talk to him so he could read their lips. At one point he was starting to feel a bit fidgety, having to move around now. He chose to walk over and investigate the few games of pool going on, beer in hand. He was being a bit clumsy about it though and bumped into some girl. He nearly knocked her over, not really meaning to as he caught her arm to stop her from possibly hitting the floor.
"Sorry about that! You alright?"
He sounded strange with a mix of his accent and lack of hearing, but he was trying not to be too loud as he made sure the girl was alright.

outfit

(outfit like the picture)

So much had happened since her cousin had had her baby. Amber hadn't really been able to help Amanda much when the other had needed it the most, but she'd had her own problems at the time. Her sister had been in and out of the hospital for a while and Amber still had school to worry about on top of that, so she honestly hadn't had time to worry about her cousins. Luckily she'd talked to Amanda though and everything was back to normal between the cousins so she didn't have to worry about running into an angered werewitch any time soon. Especially since Amanda had admitted that she probably wouldn't have been good company anyway before now.

After starting college in town, she'd taken a few interesting classes and learned to be less shy. Sure, she still hadn't gotten to the point where she'd go out with people, but she didn't vanish the moment someone looked at her either. So tonight she was out with some friends, watching them play pool and talking about what classes they were going to take once summer was over. She was majoring in English, but she was also taking some sign language classes so she'd have a better chance at being attractive for work later on. So far she'd enjoyed it.

Amber was caught off guard when someone bumped into her and was relieved when he caught her arm to stop her from falling over and possibly making a fool of herself as she'd most likely phase to stop from hurting. Turning to face the guy, she smiled slightly. "It's fine, I wouldn't be alright if you hadn't caught me though," she said being cheerful about it all. There was no point holding a grudge as it had obviously been an accident. "I'm Amber," she said, extending her hand for a proper introduction. She may have been very shy before, but she'd still been raised to have good manners regardless of her social awkwardness.

Finnley smiled when the girl he now knew as Amber wasn't seeming to hold his being clumsy against him. He helped her stand up properly, letting go once he thought she was up on her feet. He gave his usual firm handshake when she offered out her hand, the smile never seeming to leave his lips for the moment.
"Name's Finnley, though sometimes folks call Finn. Bit new in town still, you go to school out here?"
His words had gotten a bit louder, but not by much. He was doing his best to keep an eye on her lips, hoping she wouldn't turn away while trying to talk to him. He was also hoping no one was trying to talk to him still, at least with trying to get his attention. He knew he had to focus on one person at a time or else he gets too confused and has to explain just why he can't carry on conversations as well as others.

There was no point being upset about other people being clumsy considering she could be rather clumsy herself at times. Besides, she rarely got upset anyway, mainly because she tended to avoid situations where she'd get upset. It was kind of hard to take people seriously if they kept disappearing whenever you were arguing with them anyway. She may finally have gotten her powers under control, but that didn't mean she had control in heightened emotional states.

"I just finished my freshman year in college actually," she said cheerfully. She was done getting in trouble at school and was actually doing a lot better in college than she had at high school. Maybe that was linked with getting less shy, she didn't really know. The important thing was that she was doing better. "If it makes you feel any better about being new in town, I've only been living in town for a few years, had to move out here for school a few years back." There was no point going into detail unless he knew what the school really was. She didn't hold it against her mom for sending her to a school for people like herself though, especially since it had helped her get close to her cousin again as well as learn how to control her powers.

For the moment, Amber was staying with her aunt and uncle until school started up again, that way she got to stay close to her friends and still have a place to stay. It also meant she got to watch her baby cousin from time to time and the girl was just so cute and seemed to love it when Amber did her disappearing act.

Finnley was good with reading her expressions for the most part, enjoying how she seemed so cheerful at the moment. He watched her lips carefully, taking in all that she was saying to the best of his abilities. His smile seemed to get a bit brighter at trying to make him feel better about being new, glad that someone was trying to make a good effort without doing something that startled him.
"I got here a few weeks ago. third town in the last year i think? Hasn't been so bad though. Mind telling me what ya major is?"
It was clear Finnley was getting comfortable, his body language seeming to relax. He hadn't realized that his waitress was trying to talk to him until she moved into his line of vision, unable to help with feeling a bit embarrassed about it. She had been asking if he wanted another beer and at the moment he was fine, letting her know to just tap his shoulder or something if she needed his attention again. He did best not to give away he couldn't hear still, eyes back on Amber to watch what she said.

Amber had to say she was proud of how far she'd come since she'd moved to town. A few years ago she would have blushed and vanished when talking to cute guys, but she was holding her own at the moment. She'd had to work on her social skills to not vanish in class, not everyone at the local college knew everything like they did at the high school after all. Her roommate knew, but that was the only person she'd actually told that didn't already know from high school.

At the question of what she was majoring in, Amber couldn't help but but be excited. She'd always loved reading, now she just got to do a whole lot more of it. "I'm majoring in English, though I do take some non-related classes as well, like sign language and I do plan on taking a few music classes as well." Coming from a musical family, she'd figured it would be good to have some fun classes on top of the rest, even if it did mean she had a lot of work to do.

The brunette didn't really think twice about Finnley not realizing that the waitress was talking to him at first as she put it down to there being people around and noise as well. So she decided to let him finish up his conversation with the woman before talking again. "What about you? Do you plan on going to school in town?"

Finnley had picked up on how the question about majors seemed to get the girl extremely happy. He liked to see people happy, and so far he was basking in it for the most part. It was his turn to seem a bit excited at the mention of her learning sign language, but didn't say anything about it as he wasn't too sure how much she did know if he just started to sign at her. His eyes looked a little sad at the mention of music, something he couldn't exactly enjoy in general with his lack of hearing.
"Seems like ya pretty well rounded in school then."
He still seemed pretty content,vault for the most part having calmed down since the initial meeting of amber. When he was asked what his major was, his words couldn't help to get a bit loud out of having a bit more of an excited energy to himself.
"I do. Got a soccer scholarship to go an everything. I had taken online classes last year, so I'm glad I get to go to real school again.bit of a Social person and with my major being in biology means I need a lab so its nice to stay out for once."
He noticed a few looks, trying his best not to seem too embarassed before he signed "sorry" without really thinking about it. He hadnt even noticed that he did so as he made sure to keep an eye on the volume of his words even with his lack of hearing the next time he opened his mouth.

She didn't know what she wanted to do after college, but at least she had found the thing she wanted to do at school. Her grades were good, her classes interesting and she was staying away from all the drama of the kids that liked to party every weekend instead of studying. It had generally been a good first year, hopefully the next few years would be the same. Which might be why she was so excited when talking about her education. So she merely nodded when he said she was pretty well rounded in school.

Amber didn't really care that Finnley got a bit loud, mainly because he was so excited when telling her what he was going to study. After he signed "sorry" at her, she figured she would be a little bold and turned to the friends she'd come with and told them she'd catch them later before she smiled at Finnley and brought him to an empty table. If he knew sign language, maybe he could help her practice and get better at it, after they'd gotten to know one another a little better.

Since they were learning to sign while they were talking for now to associate the signing with the words, and so they could help interpret if the need came in the future, it would be easy to correct her if her signing was wrong, at least in class. "What made you choose biology?" she asked, genuinely interested.

Finnley looked confused for a moment when Amber turned away from him and talked to someone. He calmed though when she just led him to a table, glad for it. Sitting down facing her was making it easier for him to focus on her and pick up whatever she was saying. At the question on why he chose biology, he knew the gig was up on some level. He still wasn't going to out right say he couldn't hear, but he was going to talk some.
"The subject has just fascinated me since I was a kid. I'm hoping I can go into medical research with it eventually so I can actually help figure out how to help those sick due to genetic diseases or something."
He honestly liked helping people for the most part, even if he was the one that needed help sometimes. He was looking to his now empty beer, but chose to just leave the waitress alone. He didn't need another one now that he has a conversation to focus on and keep him occupied.

Amber was glad that Finnley didn't resist when she led him to a table. It was easier to talk and get to know one another that way anyway. She was fascinated by why he wanted to study biology. Not a lot of people went into medicine with a genuine with to help people, she knew some people who were doing all the pre-med stuff because they wanted to be big-shot doctors who made a lot of money. At least that was the impression she'd gotten from the little she'd spoken to them.

"You're lucky you know what you want. I wish I knew what I'd do with a degree in English," she said with a slight chuckle. She knew there were lots of options for her down the line, but she had to pick her classes accordingly and for now she was just doing things she found interesting because she didn't know what else to do. And they added up to a degree somehow. "If I had done better in science related subjects, I might have wanted to do the same, though not diseases as much as genetic mutations."

Science and math had never been her best subjects, but maybe that was just as well. It was probably best that she couldn't study how she'd gotten her powers while her sister was normal. What if she had and someone had gotten hold of her research? It would either have been a complete disaster ending up with her being laughed out or it would be the greatest scientific discovery of human evolution in a long time and would out the existence of superhumans to the world.

"One good thing about going to school here is that I get to see my baby cousin a lot more than I would have otherwise," she said, shaking off the grim thoughts of what might have happened if she had accidentally outed her powers to the world.

Finnley almost seemed to frown for a moment at mention of her not knowing what to do with her English major. He was so set in stone with school because of what he was, a deaf kid that wanted to help others not have to deal with the genetic flaw. Finnley couldn't help to speak up some on what she could do.
"You could teach English at a school, maybe even at one of the deaf academies if you become fluent enough with sign language."
He would have loved to have a teacher that talked too when he was in a school for the deaf only as a kid. He was still losing his hearing and could actually hear then, but none of them really talked and it annoyed him to no end. As he kept watching her lips, he read something about mutations. They weren't a field he was too interested in, but he knew he might need to look into them if he wanted to figure out how to help kids one day. He smiled at her having a baby cousin, something in Finnley having a soft spot for kids.
"I have a few cousins, but they all back in Ireland. I remember trying to teach them to sign, but getting those kids to sit still long enough to learn is like keeping me out of a soccer match, don't go too well."
There was a bit of a laugh in his words, but it got a bit loud again, making him sigh as if a bit frustrated that he was struggling to control his volume level today. It was the one downside to being unable to hear I. His mind at the moms the couldn't exactly hear himself when he talk.

Amber had to admit that she hadn't thought about teaching deaf kids if she got fluent enough in sign language. It was a good idea though, that way she could get to do something useful and not be surrounded by loud noises as an added bonus. She smiled slightly at the thought though and tried signing her reply while saying it. "That sounds like a good idea," chuckling slightly, she couldn't help getting a little shy about the signing thing as she knew she wasn't very good at it yet. Sure, she knew the basics, but hardly enough to get everything right. Placing her hands firmly on the table to avoid blushing too badly and ending up having to fight herself, she said the next part with no signing at all. "Please correct me if I do something wrong, I still have a few courses left." She understood more than she managed to sign on her own though.

"Must be hard to be so far away from your family," she said with a sigh of her own. Amber missed her mom and sister dearly, but her home was here now, with her gifted family. She couldn't imagine having close family on another continent like that. "I know I miss my family, and they only live a few states over. Luckily I have an aunt and uncle close enough to town to put up with me for the summer so I can stay close to my friends. My cousin is at the age where 'peek a boo' is highly amusing, especially since I'm born with a natural ability for that," she said, immediately knowing she'd said too much. Biting her lip slightly, she realized she had gotten too comfortable too soon.

"Just forget I said anything, please?"

Finnley watched her and was expecting the usual talking, but she actually started to sign. He couldn't help to grin when people signed, it was so much easier for him to follow compared to constantly lip reading. Her motions were a little off, but nothing he couldn't figure out if it was the first time someone was signing. He noticed she was blushing now, looking a little confused about it before she spoke up. He read her lips, unable to help with chuckling some.
"that was pretty good, just don't sell yaself short with signing. My signs might be a different from yours anyhow, I learned back in Ireland after all, but I'll help ya still."
When she started to talk again, he struggled a little with being able to keep up with what she was saying then, not used to lip reading bigger chunks of conversations. He noticed how she bit her lip, looking like she regretted something she said. Finnley frowned for a moment before he spoke up with a soft smile as if to comfort her.
"I deal with the family away alright, still have mum and dad here state side. As for all ya just said, I was only able to understand half of it so its alright. I was trying to keep words from running together but its hard sometimes."
He chuckled at himself, eyes looking mildly somber for a moment then, before choosing to sign a little. He'd rather sign this part anyways compared to everyone hearing it.
"Im deaf, so I try my best to lip read."

It was a great relief that he wasn't laughing at her signing. If she was practicing her movements around friends who didn't take the classes, they all laughed at her anyway, until she stormed out to keep herself from using her gifts. It was also good to know that he'd help her and that she wasn't all bad. She had gotten a good grade in her class the last semester, so all she had to do really was to keep practicing as she'd realized things weren't going to get any easier from here.

A sigh of relief actually left her when she learned that he hadn't caught more than half of what she'd been saying when she went on her little rant. She was prone to speaking fast and when she learned he was lip reading, she couldn't help but grin slightly at him. So she figured she'd give another shot at signing. "I wouldn't have guessed," and it was true. He was doing a great job with the lip reading. Now that he'd told her something he obviously didn't want everyone to know, she felt almost obligated to tell him what she'd said earlier, but she decided to ask a few questions first.

Doing her best to keep to signing instead of just speaking, Amber asked one of the questions he needed to know the right answer to if she were to tell him. "What do you really know about this town?"

Finnley was glad he was good with keeping up appearances for the most part. No one in town would really know about his handicap until he started playing soccer at school along with classes since it was mandatory for him to have an interpreter, but for now he could hang onto being relatively normal. He watched her sign again, noticing she still needed to work on tenses in a sense. He signed back, keeping his motion at a decent pace so as to not go too fast for her.
"Well depends on if you're talking the schools or the scary things that run around here."
Finnley tried not to talk to talk too casually about it as he wasn't aware Ambervwas one of the gifted just yet. For all he knew she could be a witch or something like that. He wasn't going to judge too much though unless she tired to attack him, at least that was his plan until he could tell them all apart somehow, that way he could just steer his mother clear of them when she dragged him out into town with her.