Julian's brain automatically translated 'mates' = ' friends.' He wasn't a completely culturally insensitive dunce.
"I guess? Hard to say. She's prickly and proud but when she wants to tear shit up she talks to me." He grins. "And someone's gotta knock sense into her every now and then. Way too sheltered for a star." And more importantly, in Julian's opinion, was that Alison was spirited. Shameless. Too many mutants were ashamed. Now if only he could get her nudged away from 'shameless' and into 'proud.' She could summon up ghosts. No matter what she sang, no musician could do what she could.