It had been so long since they'd been with other people who were just… peaceful.

No ulterior motives, no simmering hostility, no detatched 'business as usual' demeanour.

Jordan and his sisters were still jumpy around them, but they were accepting and peaceful.

If there had been more people like them to begin with, Andy thought, all this might never have happened.

The youngest sister, Catherine, had a physical mutation and was covered in soft tawny fur, with two large, fluffy ears, a tail, narrow, slatted eyes, a snub nose, and retractable claws that could scratch stone. She hissed, growled and flicked her overlarge ears at the slightest sound, but other than that seemed delighted to have finally met other mutants.

"Mama and papa always kept me home," she explained. "I never met any others."

The decision was never going to be hard.

They explored the surrounding land, farmhouses and cabins, checking out where might be livable.

"You could stay with us," Jordan had suggested, but he still looked nervous and twitchy and they had decided it might not be a good idea in the long run.

This had been Jordan and his sisters' home all their life, and the two of them would be guests.

They wanted somewhere to call their own.

Finally they found the little farmhouse. It was small, five rooms and an attic, but it seemed to have held up well.

Andy watched Lauren as she worked out the kitchen and judged the damage in the sitting room.

They could make a new kind of normal.