It Grows (Greg)

[Leila Gold]

Leila was sitting outside, sipping a warm coffee. It was a little cold, but she didn't want to be inside. It was crowded, and her claustrophobia had been perking up a bit. So instead she forced herself to endure the cold and made it easier by directing the wind to go around her instead of hitting her directly.

She warmed her fingers from the cup and sat shaking slightly on the cold metal chair. While she might have gone back to the office, she was trying to get used to the idea of not being there all the time. It was good to have a break.

What she didn't realize was that by directing the wind to go around her she was creating a large gust of wind directly behind that was interfering with anyone just attempting to walk down the sidewalk. She probably would have continued to be ignorant of this fact until she heard someone behind her.

Turning to see who was there, she saw the large wind tunnel that had formed. "Oh, sorry!" she called and tried to turn the wind into a gentler breeze. This was harder, since it wanted to be stronger, but by spacing it out over a broader distance she was able to calm it all down.

"Are you okay?" she asked, standing and walking over. "I didn't mean to do that...I guess I just wasn't thinking properly. My name is Leila. Leila Gold." She stuck out her hand for a shake. "It's nice to meet you, Mister...?"

[Gregory Strickland]

Kali’s Kafe. Not really where he wanted to be, but not like he had somewhere else to be. Still unwilling to find work for himself, as it would just remind him of the not so distant past, Greg decided to wander around Pilot Ridge whenever he had an itch to get out of the house. The retirement plans he once had just didn’t seem fitting anymore, considering he had no one to share them with. Plus, the likelihood of company hiring him over some young buck was slim to none.

He was sitting at the counter of the cafe, a large coffee filled with cream and sugar (just what his arteries needed) in his hands. If he stopped shaking the cup, he could see a milky brown reflection of himself looking back up at him. To say it was busy in here would be putting it lightly, and there seemed to be a few other people who needed to warm up, so he politely offered his seat to the closest, coldest looking young girl, who thanked him happily, which brought a small smile to his face.

Greg would always be a charmer.

Stepping outside, he was surprised to have the wind blow the coffee lid he had on his cup clean off and into the streets, which made his chuckle a little. His piercing blue eyes looked to see who was apologizing, and he shook his head. “No no, it’s alright, not like you can control the wind.” He brought his coffee to his lips, taking a sip before remembering where he was. “Unless, you can.” The way she was talking about what just happened, maybe she could. Maybe she was a meta, like his good friend Sean.

“Strickland, but you can call me Greg,” he said, smiling slightly. He didn’t need another reason to feel old and down trodden. “Aren’t you chilly out here?” He asked, remembering the girl he let have his seat. Leila had a coffee cup similar to his, so he assumed they had gotten coffee from the same place. He didn’t mind the cold, there was plenty of it in New York at this time of year.

[Leila Gold]

"Nice to meet you, Greg. I uh, I'm sorry, but yes, that was me. I'm sorry, I'm not usually so careless." Leila bit her lip. She sometimes tended to forget that not everyone around her was aware of her powers. It just went to show that she spent too much time at the office and around people she knew.

And if the guy didn't like metas, well, that was his problem. Leila wasn't going to lie or try to hide her power--that was the whole point of going into politics, so that people wouldn't feel a need to hide at all. There would be no need for separation or fear.

Involuntarily she shivered. "Nah, I'm fine." Then, grinning, she amended. "Well, all right, maybe I'm a little cold. But it's still better than sitting inside. It's too stuffy in there. Feels like I'm about to be suffocated or something. It's cold outside, but still better than the alternative. Besides, it helps when the wind's not nipping quite so badly."

As she spoke she tried to create another air pocket. This time she directed the wind to go around and up so that it wasn't creating a wind tunnel effect behind her. It wasn't as nice as the bubble she'd had before, but it still worked well enough to keep most of the cold air away.

"What do you do in town, Greg?" she asked to keep herself from focusing too much on the wind. If she didn't think about it, the headache later wouldn't be as bad. "I don't really remember seeing you around. And for a town as small as Pilot Ridge, I feel like that's a bit of an accomplishment."

[Gregory Strickland]

“So let me get this right, you can control the wind?” A small grin was playing on his weathered lips, “That’s pretty amazing, and pretty handy too I would assume.” Greg squinted in the wind, which was blowing at and around him, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Leila was still playing with it, or if it was roaming free.

Greg’s blue eyes shone a little in the morning sun. “It helps if you can control said wind,” he sipped at his coffee. “I don’t have powers myself,” he offered, “but I could offer you my jacket, in a completely platonic way.” He chuckled a little. He was wearing only a suit jacket, but it was better than nothing. “So you’d rather be freezing than around other people? I guess you’ll catch a cold and then have to deal with it on your own.”

He sighed at the next question, “I don’t really do anything, no one wants to hire a man old enough to retire,” he said with a shrug. That, and he didn’t want to do what he loved without the one he loved. Greg chuckled, “I just moved into town about a month ago, haven’t been exploring much until today,” he said, not adding that he didn’t like looking at new places by himself and therefore feeling even more lonely. “What about you Leila? You’re up bright and early, what office are you stuck in today?”

[Leila Gold]

Leila shrugged. "Handy some of the time. It also has its downsides, and it's not like it can do everything. But I can't say I'd ever want to give it up, either." He wasn't running away. Not a meta-hater, which was promising. But he also didn't seem to be meta himself. Even better. It proved that there were those out there who didn't fear all those with powers.

"Keep your jacket, but thank you for the offer. I'll be fine--it's my own fault I'm out here, and I wouldn't want you to get cold." She smiled to show that she wasn't scared of him hitting on her or anything of that nature. Rubbing the back of her neck, she gave a sheepish grin. "Well, it's more the tight atmosphere that gets to me. Fear of small spaces, you know the one. And since I don't have a fear of catching sick, at least not a very big one, outdoors it is."

She frowned as she watched Greg sigh. He seemed to be very sad. Which meant only one thing: he clearly needed a friend. Luckily, Leila was more than willing to introduce him to some other people, and to hang out with him herself. Greg was about to be swamped with love, whether he wanted it or not.

"Me? I'm a lawyer. At least for a little while. I work down at Blue and Gold Law Firm with my partner, Cobalt Weaver. Come next year, I'm going to start campaigning for a position as state representative. I hope to enter politics and try to influence the law machine in favor of equal rights for everyone." She was very proud of her position, and she wanted to invite more support.

"Hey, I was just about to head back to the firm. Do you want to come along with me? Since you haven't been around very long, I could give you a quick tour and introduce you to some people. My partner? He's a great guy, real friendly. I bet you and him would get along just great." She gave him a big smile. "Please, it would be great for me to have you come along. I love meeting new people, and it'll mean both of us getting out of this cold. What do you say?"

[Gregory Strickland]

“I actually enjoy the cold,” he said with a smile, his laidback nature coming forward now. There had been many a times when Greg could be seen on top of the buildings he was working on on a cold day, wearing nothing but jeans and a t-shirt and feeling completely comfortable. He wouldn’t be hitting on her though; he was just trying to be friendly and helpful. She definitely wasn’t what he sought after, but he wasn’t a mind reader, and took her declination with a shrug. “Suit yourself though, you have your powers to help you out, right?”

He moved closer to her, feeling less wind revolve around him which was nice. “Well you could catch a cold from someone in there,” he gestured behind him to the cafe, “so I suppose how you catch it is personal preference.”

“A lawyer? You don’t say...” He let the thought fester. “I have a friend here who’s a lawyer, perhaps you know him? It’s a small town after all, Joshua Bernstein?” Greg smiled brightly, so she was a woman with a purpose, one he couldn’t agree more with. “Equal rights for everyone sounds like something worth fighting for to me,” he said, “if you can pitch as well as you speak casually you’ll have no problem earning people’s trust, you have my vote.” Greg knew a bit about politics, as he was an invisible minority himself.

Greg looked down at his cup, considering the offer. He looked back at Leila, thinking of how rude it would be to say no, and part of him really did want to come along. “I’d love to come, although I don’t see how bringing total strangers to work is a good idea,” he said with a quaint smile. She had taken to him quite nicely, and Greg was feeling luck to have run into her. “I promise not to bite though,” he said, wondering just what said partner would be like. He, she said?

[Leila Gold]

"I'm not overly fond of the cold, but I can take it," Leila said. "And you're right, the powers do help. I can't warm up the wind or anything, but at least it doesn't have to blow right at me." She grinned.

"Exactly! Everyone's bound to catch something. At least this way I'm getting some fresh air along with my germs, so everything is okay." She bounced happily in place, hugging her arms around her chest. All right, so she was getting more than a bit cold, but it wasn't enough to bring down her spirits.

"You know Josh?" she exclaimed happily. "Oh, that's amazing! I wonder why he didn't introduce you to me. Josh and I are good friends, very close. Okay, well, he's better friends with my partner, but still. I'm the one who brought us all together, so it still counts. I can't believe he didn't let me know he had a friend in town. I'm going to have to talk to him." Leila made a small fist and waved it in the air as she talked about Josh. That doofus, he'd probably forgotten completely. Well, there was still time to rectify the situation.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she said with a grin. "I'll still need to do a lot more pitching, and I've got to work on my sell, but I manage to pull it off in the court. How different could this really be?" True, she worked better one-on-one at persuasion, but all she needed now was to extend that to a larger audience. At least she didn't have a fear of public speaking.

"Oh, please. Bringing strangers to work is what I do best. Besides, you're not a stranger. You know Josh, that already makes you practically family. Blue will understand. And how else are we supposed to expand business? I mean, really."

She reached over and hooked an arm through his. "Do you mind if we huddle? It's easier to keep a nice air pocket if we're closer together." Also, she could use the extra body heat.

"Now, when you first see Blue, just smile really big and I'll do most of the talking. If it seems like he's grumpy, he's probably just faking it because we like to banter. Unless I give you a nudge, in which case he really is grumpy and we'll try again another day. But I think he's in a pretty good mood today, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Also, we have some office pets. You're not allergic to dogs or cats, are you?" Leila tended to not mention until the last minute that most of her invitations came with clauses and subclauses. It was part of why she did so well as a lawyer.

[Gregory Strickland]

“Whatever you catch, please don’t pass it on to me, when I get sick, I stay sick for a very long time,” Greg watched her freezing and did nothing. If she wanted to be stubborn, he wasn’t about to intervene. Maybe that was a character flaw of his, but he firmly believed in people controlling their own actions and he would allow Leila to freeze if she so wished. “The offer for my jacket still stands,” he said with politeness.

Greg smiled, “I wasn’t trying to get good old Josh in trouble,” the older man let out a chuckle at Leila’s antics, “I haven’t really been wanting to get out much lately, and he respects that, so don’t be too hard on him. Maybe just a bit though.” The blonde sipped at his coffee, tilting the last few drops out of the cup. He was drinking it like it was water, his taste buds had been off lately.

“Well if you ever need any posters to be put up, I’m your guy,” he said with some exuberance. It’s not like I have anything better to do... He thought to himself, taking the few steps to the garbage can and venturing back to her side. He was enjoying her company immensely, perhaps Leila was the spark of life he needed just now.

It was really too bad Leila hadn’t found him in New York, where he would have loved to be her client. “So long as I don’t make you look bad or anything of that nature, then we’ll be good as gold,” he said, holding an arm out for her to take as she reached for it. “Not at all, a body is better than a jacket, no?” He asked, letting her lead while he kept her warm and listened to her speech, something he was very interested in.

“No not allergic to anything that I know of,” he glanced down at her, “but if this Blue is as grumpy as you say he is, I might just end up making him even more sour.” Greg just couldn’t help himself. He could already imagine what complete polar opposites Leila and her partner would be. Someone had to be the good cop anyways.

It would be a fun little adventure anyways, and if things really did go bad, then he could just try and make it up to the both of them later. Bring them flowers and what not. Everyone liked flowers, right?

[Leila Gold]

"Oh, don't worry," Leila said with a laugh. "I couldn't really hurt Josh. He's such a pushover anyway. I'll just scold him a few times and make him buy me coffee or something and we'll call it even. It's good that he was trying to be nice to you, so I can respect that. And we know each other now, so everything turned out well." She grinned at Greg, the fact that he hadn't necessarily wanted to go out going unmentioned. Unmentioned, but not forgotten.

"That's sweet of you, thanks. Technically I should be putting them up myself, but it's always nice to have help. I could even hire you and make it all official. That's less for your sake and more for mine--I've always wanted underlings." She rubbed her hands together happily. This was a preemptive strike on her part; she suspected he might be the type of person who would offer to do it for free, and that had to be nipped in the bud. Some people were too selfless for their own good.

"Oh, you couldn't possibly make me look bad. And anyway, I'm already as good as Gold. Comes with the name." She happily tapped her chest, as though her name was printed on her shirt. "Two handsome people like us couldn't look anything other than amazing." That being said, she hugged him a little tighter than she might normally have done, seeing as it was a bit chillier than she had originally thought.

"I don't think he could get more sour," Leila mused absentmindedly, then grinned up at Greg. "At least not around you. You're friendly, and you won't look down on him. Except for literally looking down on him, because he's short, but you know what I mean. Please, don't worry about Blue. He'll be fine."

And then they had skipped all the way over to the office, and Leila swung open the door. "Here we are!" she said. "Blue, are you around?"

[Cobalt Weaver]

The one thing that Cobalt liked about work—well…one of the many things he liked about work—was the fact that it was so easy to bury yourself into your task and forget that you were feeling miserable and uneasy in the first place. He had decided that it would be best to not talk or think about Ben for a while. Ben seemed to have decided the same thing, so they left each other alone. The only problem with this was that it left Cobalt with the unsettling feeling that something terrible was looming over the horizon, awful in its inevitability.

Cobalt grimaced, wondering when he had gotten so melodramatic.

He was in the back getting coffee when he heard the door open. He heard Leila’s voice chiming through loudly, talking to someone and then asking for him. Cobalt sighed quietly, a feeling of unjustified irritation rising up. Really, the last thing he wanted to was to try to make nice to someone right now. And he was also aware that he looked like he hadn’t slept in days (because he hadn’t) and Leila was probably bound to notice because she noticed everything.

Grimacing again, he called, “In the back! I’ll be right out.” Taking a drink of his coffee and stepping out of the back room, trying to look pleasant and probably failing.

“Morning Leila,” He greeted, eyeing the person she brought in with her, waiting for some kind of introduction.

[Gregory Strickland]

Everything was turning out well. Greg smiled, glad to know that was how she viewed their encounter. "You wouldn't have to pay me," he said as she tucked herself closer to him. He laughed a little at this - was she always this friendly with those she just met? Or was it a characteristic of the town in general? Did he have Josh to thank for this budding friendship? He stepped carefully so as to not throw Leila off balance, loving her wit and charm. He could see why she would be a good political leader.

"Leila Gold then? Is that what you're hinting at?" He asked. Greg was more of a facts kind of guy, and he liked to make doubly sure of everything instead of assuming things. Assuming usually lead to failure which lead to having to redo and fix the things you thought you knew. It was better just to ask, and the blonde wasn't shy by any means.

Entering the office, Greg waited patiently by Leila's side to meet her partner. He wasn't trying to expect anything, but judging by the woman's positive nature and happy go lucky attitude, when Cobalt finally entered the main office, the blonde had to keep his jaw from dropping. He looked to Leila, an amused smirk on his face, "Well you were right about him." He didn't have to say what they were talking about before, this would suffice.

After all, Cobalt was giving him the eye, not even smiling. Greg was smiling politely, before he walked up to the substantially shorter man, patting him on the shoulder as if they had known each other for years. "Greg," he said, giving Cobalt's shoulder a squeeze before stepping back to Leila's side, "Leila said she wanted to introduce me to you, or something like that," he said, chuckling to himself before looking at the redhead. "So is it Blue and Gold, or Gold and Blue? I personally prefer the former, it's more alphabetical." He said, taking a closer look around the office. This seemed like an awful place to spend one's day, and as Greg thought this his light blue eyes caught the bloodshot ones of the little man, reaffirming his thoughts tenfold.

[Leila Gold]

"No no, I want to pay you. It makes me feel like I'm in charge of someone. Besides, how else am I supposed to thank people for all the good they do me? I'm surrounded by all these selfless people, and they keep offering to do things for free. One of these days I'm going to have to get everyone together and have a serious talk about when it is acceptable to take payment for services done." She slammed a fist into her palm and made a serious expression as she rambled on about her various acquaintances.

"That's the one," she said with a grin. "Leila B. Gold, because I be gold. Good as gold, bright as gold, if not quite as rich. But I bet I'm more tasty than gold. Unless we're talking about chocolate coins, because those are pretty tasty. But I'm not suggesting you eat me, that would be cannibalism. I don't think cannibalism is a good idea, not when we've only just met." She wasn't worried about hogging the conversation. She never worried about that sort of thing. It was one of her many faults, that she was completely unaware of her ramblings.

When Blue stepped out of the back room, Leila's eyes widened, though she didn't say anything. She hadn't remembered him looking so awful. It had hit the point where she barely even registered his appearance except when someone else was around. Which only went to show that they needed more visitors to come by. She didn't quite have time to give Greg a nudge before the taller man stepped forward to greet her partner

And then he touched Cobalt. That was brave. Leila swayed forward onto her toes for a moment before falling back. "Yes, I wanted you two to meet. Cobalt Weaver, and Greg...did you tell me your last name?" she asked, looking up at her new friend

"Blue and Gold," Leila said, following Greg's gaze around the room and wincing slightly. It was looking pretty bad in here. They hadn't had a chance to clean in a bit. "Because Blue is actually the senior partner. And because it sounds better."

She glanced back at Cobalt. He looked even worse than usual, which probably meant something was wrong, and that he was hiding it from her. Again. She suppressed a sigh. That seemed to be happening more and more these days, even though she'd tried to train him out of it. She silently wondered if it had anything to do with her leaving, maybe a misguided attempt to keep from holding her back. That would have to be discussed at some point.

In the meantime, Greg seemed like a very friendly guy. Maybe some of that friendliness could rub off. It had seemed to work--albeit temporarily--with Riley. "Greg knows Josh," Leila said in an attempt to continue the conversation. "He's just come to Pilot Ridge pretty recently, and he was saying he didn't know many people. I thought maybe I could introduce him to our crowd." She stuck her hands behind her back and twiddled her thumbs nervously, keeping the smile on her face.

[Cobalt Weaver]

Cobalt existed between the ranges of “don’t touch me” to “don’t touch me”—certain people excepted—and he was usually able to keep to the more mild end of the spectrum. As it was, Cobalt wasn’t really too keen on social interaction at the moment. To his credit, he did not move away from the touch or bat his hand away, although both these options were sort of tempting. Instead, he waited for Greg to step away.

Really, a handshake would have been fine.

“Yes, she usually does things like that,” Cobalt nodded, giving Leila a raised eyebrow. He wasn’t all that displeased, he was just very unimpressed that he had to meet people right now. “Cobalt Weaver,” He said by way of introduction.

“Yeah,” He nodded when Leila explained the name, “Blue and Gold.” And, because he couldn’t really resist, he pointed out, “It says it there on the window.” He nodded towards the window pointedly.

He caught the slightly worried look Leila shot him and sighed inwardly. He tried to give her a reassuring look back, with the understanding that she wouldn’t buy it at all. Ah, well. At least he tried.

“Oh, you know Josh?” Cobalt nodded, “Somehow, Josh ends up knowing everybody.” He tried to remember if Josh had ever mentioned someone named Greg in the conversations they had. He might have, but Cobalt didn’t quite remember. He noted Leila’s nervous twitching and decided to give her a break, “Sure, eventually you should introduce him to Riley and them. You’d like him,” He said to Greg, “Really nice guy.”

[Gregory Strickland]

“Didn’t I? I don’t remember,” he chuckled softly then, looking between the working pair. It was obvious to see who reeled in the potential business prospects. “I’ll introduce myself properly then, I’m Gregory Strickland, or Greg for short,” his light blue eyes landed on Cobalt then, “at your service.” It dawned on him where the ‘Blue’ from Blue and Gold came from. Cobalt was a kind of blue. Well, he sure did look blue today, in the metaphorical sense of the word.

My my my, Cobalt was a bit grumpy today wasn’t he? The blonde made a mental note to ask Leila about that personality hitch later. Greg spun around a bit, and approached the window then, looking at it in mock shock and awe. “I hadn’t noticed,” he said in exasperation, “the window!” But he was by no means trying to make fun of Cobalt, no, he was only making light of the situation and therefore himself. “If Leila hadn’t been distracting me so much, I might have noticed,” he turned back around to his company then, “but I too, am guilty of talking too much.” He sent a wink her way. He was only playing now.

Greg nodded proudly a couple times in reference to Josh, “He does seem the type.” Apparently the Frosh had taken the worldPilot Ridge by storm. Nice group of people here, in Vermont. Perhaps he could get used to being here; it was much quieter than New York anyways. His eyebrows furrowed temporarily as Leila had to seemingly ask the older man’s permission to add new people to their group. Greg smiled to himself then, relaxing his face – he was too old for high school drama.

“I’d be happy to take everyone out on the town in exchange for some company,” he offered with a sheepish smile. Greg had money, and no one to spend it on and no one who depended on him. God knew he could use a few more friends in his life, and these two seemed ready and willing. “So there’s Riley, anyone else I should know about?” He asked then, taking a seat on one of the small chairs in the space provided. He made himself at home and hoped the other two would do the same. It didn’t look as though they had a lot of work to do anyways.

[Leila Gold]

Leila smiled, trying to keep it light-hearted. Cobalt could be a jerk sometimes, but she suspected that he was currently in the midst of a hissy fit. So she went along with Greg's sarcasm. "Well, when one is in the middle of a fascinating conversation, it's hard to notice anything else," she argued. But with a twinkle in her eye, she said, "Of course, you not noticing the window can only mean one thing. It's time for me to repaint it, in brighter and bolder colors! We will never go unnoticed again!" There. Just the threat of her trying to paint something bright on the window would probably make Cobalt regret his comment.

"I don't think it's Josh," she mused. "Or, at least, it's not that he tries to know everyone. It's like he's got a sort of person magnet built into his chest or something. And everyone just ends up getting to know him, potentially against his will." She looked up at Cobalt. "What? It makes perfect sense and you know it, that's why you don't like the theory."

She gave a small jump when Greg and Cobalt both agreed to further meetings. Excellent. Even when Blue was in a bad mood, he knew better than to tell her no. "Well," Leila said, counting off on her hands, "we'll have Riley and Josh and you and Blue and..." She trailed off, glancing over at Cobalt. She wasn't sure where things were with Ben, so she decided not to mention anything. "And maybe others. I'm not sure yet. But we'll let you know."

She grinned and sat down. "Now we're all introduced, and you can feel free to pop over any time you like and have a chat. Honestly, it gets so boring over here, and we can usually take ten minutes or so to have a conversation. I'll let you in on a secret--we don't actually get very much business." She said this last part with her hand cupped around her mouth and in a loud stage whisper.

"If you'd like to stay for a bit now, I can pour some coffee. I know we just came from a coffee store, but you can never have enough coffee, right? Just uh, don't tell my doctor." She gave Greg a nervous glance before rising and ducking into the back room.