Brian
Fin had been a bit wary of the garden. The last time they'd heard much about it, after all, an eldritch horror was spewing plates into the air. 

But, this evening, the air crackled and glittered with frost or snow flurries, and Fins shoulders were wrapped up in a big, patchwork red and blue blanket, nearly-numb fingers uncertainly flipping through a paperback. His breath formed little cloud and came for the pair of reading glasses they were rarely seen wearing, golden wired circular frames resting mid-way down his nose. 

An idle hum slipped over their lips, some half-baked French tune they might not be able to name if asked. The chill set in against his muscles and skin, raising goosebumps along his spine.

Valios loss from the Cradle had shoved them outdoors, though, somehow — they hadn't heard much from Ares, or anyone Val had been particularly close to (save Owen, and maybe a few others) — Fin would be lying if they said that he didn't miss her just as much. She had been a pillar of life here, and reading out in the cold was a welcome distraction from her loss.
Emma
*Pythia stepped out into the cold. Blissfully unaware of current events around the cradle, he is painfully out of the loop. The bitter cold keeps people inside, so Pythia sought the gardens. He has a thick blanket wrapped around his shoulders. He planned to retreat into it fully in time. Besides that he wears a thick sweater and jeans. His hair and skin are as white as the snow, and his eyes shine a bright silver. As he turns a corner he sees a single cloud of shadows in the garden.*

*"Fuck... Why is someone here in this weather?"* *He curses under his breath, taking a step forward and crunching the snow under his foot. His normal place to sit, a small outcropping of the wall with a slanted section which acts as a back, was untaken.. So without a word he moves over to sit down. He brushes the snow off of his seat before sitting down and pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping the blanket around himself. He looks in the direction of the cloud, curious as to who the stranger is... But they must have some reason to be out here so he would honor that and not intrude upon their privacy unless they decided to speak. He came to the gardens for privacy afterall. He always liked the snows, and found the only right way to experience them was to be among them. Each flake trailed behind its future, making an almost rain like effect of streaks in the air.*
Brian
"I can hear you, you know."

A grumble cut through Pythia's warm silence, a pair of fair brows furrowed in irritation as a figure stared at Pythia from the sanctity of their spot. Finley closed his book over his thumb, pulled their glasses up to their hairline, and squinted to make out Pythia's snow-clad figure. 

"Sitting in the snow is bound to give you some sort of illness. You can sit over here if you want. I don't bite. Much."

Fin's smile, though, matched their tone, too sharp and uneven, a prone tooth poking just out of a cold, stretched out bottom lip. They furrowed their brows further, tilting a head to the side - "We haven't met, have we? I don't recognize you. I'm Fin."
Emma
*Pythia jumped visibly at the unseen voice. He looked in its direction, but all he could see was the shadows of that person's possible futures. Each was translucent, but since there were thousands... Nay, hundreads of thousands of them, they overlapped so much it was impossible to see in them. He tried to look at the newcomer.. Fin. But with those omnipresent shadows he was a few feet off. He looked a foot to the left of fin, pretending he was looking the other boy in the eyes as he focused his powers.*

*But they refused to cooperate, and instead expanded out slightly further. It was enough to swallow him completely, and he blinked a bit. To Fin's eyes, Pythia's gaze seemed to unfocus, as if he could no longer see... Which he couldnt. Now, his mind was conflicted. Fin had invited him to sit down... That was obviously impractical since he was now blind but to refuse would be rude! Trapped between the downsides of his powers and social pressure, a place he often found himself, Pythia finally decided to stand. He unclipped his walking stick, which unfolded and poked out of his heavy blanket. He began moving to where he remembered Fin to be, sweeping his stick across the ground to check for obstacles as he slowly walked forward.*

*It took him.. Longer than it should have to reach the bench. His walking stick clicked as it hit the bench and he made his way forward, brushing off the seat before sitting down. He collapsed his walking stick and laid it in his lap as he brought his legs under the blanket once more and tried to look over at fin's face... And instead ended up looking at his ear.* 

"M... My name is Pythia..." *He says, awkwardly trailing off as he had no clue what to say after that.*

Reopening the thread
Brian
"Lovely," Fin replied. They leaned back against the wall, studying Pythias face with a small note of (polite) inquiry. He supposed they most have something wrong with their sight, with the walking stick and the way it swooped across the pavement, but, thought it to be too impolite to ask. 

"You're not incredibly new here, are you? I feel like I've seen you before." 

That, and they slightly hoped they weren't mixing up Pythia with anyone else. Fin hadn't been the most social ever since Val left – somewhat confined to brooding over lost social connections, irretrievably ineffable pining, and hanging out with Sergio, who had proven to be delightful company. 

"Sorry if I'm confusing you for somebody else," He apologised, just in advance.
Emma
"O... Oh i-ive been around a... Awhile. I just... S... Spend most of m-my time in my room. O... Or when that gets too dark I come here" *He says quietly, it takes him a moment to realize that alluding to the darkness that dwelt within his mind miiiight be a little bit awkward, so he promptly shuts himself up and "Looks" Down at his hands. With the cane he was obviously blind.. But the stange thing was that he did not appear that way when first walking into the garden and moving around Fin. Then his cane had been attached to his waist, collapsed so it was only about a foot long. But looking at Pythia now, the way his eyes lack focus, like he is looking at nothing, is an obvious sign of his blindness.*

*Since Pythia cant see, he cant see Fin looking at him... But he can sort of feel the other boy's stare, and blushes slightly under the scrutiny.*
Brian
"Good to meet you," Replied Fin, words curling with a slight, assuredly French accent. Pythia's stutter was noticeable (and hard to understand), but, their company was still better than nothing but the chilly wind and the unease - so, reasonably, they'd take it.

He whistled some half-hearted tune and let it fall apart - perhaps a fragment of a song a few friends were putting together - and glanced at Pythia's blind eyes.

"You got any hobbies then? I like to play music."
Emma
*Pythia leans back against the bench, trying to relax bur finding it difficult as he can feel Fin's eyes on him. The other boy tries to whistle, but to Pythia's ears the lull in conversation just feels awkward. Pythia stares out into space, unseeing, focusing on nothing. His eyes still move slightly, in response to sounds, but it is obvious that the boy cannot see.* "I... I like to spin p... Pens and juggle" *He suggests meekly. He didnt really have a ton of hobbies, unless you counted sleeping as a hobby. He liked to sing but would never ever admit that, and he liked reading but the process was always a chore with his future sight. He had to keep the book perfectly still or else its future movement would obscure the text, and he had to pause for a few seconds after finishing a page before turning it so that the flipping of the page doesnt obscure the text. Though... He had recently started getting into audio books...* "I... I also like to listen to audiobooks. Reading... Is a bit hard sometimes."
Brian
While Fin didn't understand his powers, they nodded. Reading while blind (even with powers) had to be difficult. 

"I like audiobooks," They shrugged. "Sometimes. I got out of the habit of reading a while back, and it's been hard to get back into it."

They glanced back at the stranger, slumping against the wall before fixing his eyes on the sky. It was a slow, and tired interaction - people often understated the amount of bored, mundane things that Newton's Cradle allowed it's inhabitants. For a parahuman ~~prison~~ school, there were often long stretches of time where Fin meaninglessly tapped away on a snare, flipped through chemistry notes, stared up at the white plaster tiles and only blinked. In a way, really, it wasn't much different than being back in Canada (at times).

Though, they considered their life here at Newton's Cradle (somehow) much calmer than their life at home. At least here, he could count on the silence.

"What's your favourite, so far? If you had to pick."
Emma
*Pythia sat still, the small flurries of snow slowly creating a pile of white atop his already silvery hair. Thankfully his hair manages to mostly insulate his ears and prevents small piles from forming on them too as Pythia sits still. Under the blanket the warmth if wonderful, and he loves feeling the difference between the biting cold and the soft warmth. Not much happened at the Cradle, but Pythia liked that. He tends to move slowly in most things, so the lack of eventful activities was nice for them... Though for most it could be mind numbingly boring... Pythia was used to spending long stretches of time with little more than his own thoughts.*

"M... My favorite book? U... Uhm, a series im reading r... Right now i... Is a fantasy s... Story about a... An empire held in stasis b... By an absolute monarch, a... And the journey of a young thief turned... W... Well mage would be the best term but in the book they are called allomancers, b... Because the magic system revolves around metal, and her journey to free the lands from t... The iron fist of the lord ruler" *He says with a small smile.*
Brian
"Cool," Fin replied. They stood up as another cold rush blew over. "You should post it in the chat sometime - but, I'm really cold, so I'm going to head in."

They held out a hand. "Need any help up? Or do you want to stay out here a bit longer?"
Emma
*Pythia shakes his head, sending the small flurries scattering as he looks in Fin's direction.* "N... No thanks. I... I want to stay a little while longer. Um... I dont use the net alot b... But ill bring it up the next time I do. What... Is your um.. Name on there?" *He asks softly with a small smile.*
Brian
"Lightning rod," They said. "Just all one word."

Fin picked up their bag and slung it over their shoulder, taking care to carefully tuck a pair of wire-rimmed glasses in their pocket. 

"I'll see you later, alright?"
Emma
*Pythia was left alone in the garden, and he watched the snows fall for a little bit longer before standing up and heading inside*