Foiled Again! [Elaine]

[Mia Keystone]

”Moma’s Garden...” Mia muttered to herself, then snorted loudly. ”A flower shop. He works in a flower shop”. There were so many jokes, and she hadn’t even gotten past the usage of Pansy yet. Shaking her head, the technopath looked at the blooms in mild disinterest then pushed the door open. A little bell went off (of course there was a cute bell) and the student walked cautiously towards the shop counter.

No Jonah to be seen, just a lady. Holding back a sigh of disappointment (seriously, where the hell was he?) she propped an elbow on the counter and rested her chin on it. ”Ah,” she started awkwardly, looking at some bright purple flowers ideally, ”Is Ki- Jonah in today?” she asked sullenly, eyes on the counter. ”He told me he works here, sometimes...”

This was stupid. There was nothing here but flowers and a woman who had a bit of flour in her hair. No Jonah, because he’d done a vanishing act and disappeared off the face of the planet. Like a jerk. Like a big eared, lanky, lumbering, deaf telepath jerkfaced jerk.

Who worked in a flower shop.

[Elaine Tonaya]

Elaine smiled when the door opened. The young woman who walked in, though, looked incredibly grumpy. Most people who came into the flower shop were either happy, in a rush, or sad. New romances, upset girlfriends, and funerals were the usual order of business. Who would need flowers when they were grumpy?

But she was looking for Jonah. That made more sense...if only just. Elaine hadn't realized that Jonah had made friends with a tiny (she was even shorter than Elaine herself), unhappy young woman.

"Sorry, it's his day off, I'm afraid..." She trailed off as an incoming draft of air wafted the scent of this new person over toward her. Elaine took a deep breath and had to fight to keep herself from gasping or crying.

How could someone so young be so...so alone? This was worse even than Cobalt, who had at least had Elaine and Morgan when she knew him as a teenager. And Elaine was tempted to offer the young woman a hug and friendship, but she also knew that it just wouldn't be accepted and would be viewed with suspicion more than anything else, which would mean that she would never come back and then Elaine couldn't help at all...

Elaine did not have a good poker face at all, and all her emotions played out across her expression. Finally, in exasperation, all she could think to do was go back to her old methods.

"Would you like a cookie?" she offered the young girl with an apologetic smile. "I baked them fresh this morning. My name is Ms. Tonaya. You can call me M---Miss Elaine. If you want." No, she would come across as too strange if she said she could be called "Mama." She bit her lip. "So. How uh. How long have you known Jonah? He's a really sweet boy, you know, really a great person." Keep her talking. Keep her here. Let her want to come back. Then eventually she might open up and Elaine could help her more.

All this girl really needed was someone to show they cared. Maybe. Hopefully. Oh please let that be enough.

[Mia Keystone]

”Ah...” Mia took a step back. It looked like the flower lady was having some sort of fit, or something. Was it common to go from normal to crying in like, .2 seconds? Well, not really crying but her face had screwed up... ”are you...”

But it appeared the woman was not about to drop dead on the floor. And she had cookies! For a moment, Mia eyed her suspiciously, then looked at the plate. Why was she offering cookies? Were they spiked? Poisoned? Was it a HA that cookie costs one million dollars, cash only sort of thing? ”Is this a trick?” she asked, even as nail bitten hand snuck one off the plate, ”Because I didn’t bring any cash and I’m impervious to poison. All of them.” That was a lie, of course. Mia had, much to her disappointment, never been poisoned, except for that one time in Tokyo with the street vender and the octopus.

”Ok....” she said slowly, still eyeing Elaine off. The sudden wave of friendliness was really really strange... but Jonah would have mentioned if his boss was a fruitcake, surely. ”I’m Mia. Me and King, Jonah,” she corrected herself quickly, ”We started at school the same year. Like, four years ago I think...” and he was getting his ass handed to him by some humans so I threw rocks, then I broke into his room.... It was hard to keep from smiling a bit to herself. ”Yeah, he’s great,” she said casually, because if there was one thing Mia had learnt it was to never pay compliments to people. They got big heads, and knew you liked them.

Anyway, Jonah knew she liked him. Fucking telepath....

”The whole deaf thing isn’t an issue then?” she asked after a moment, cocking her head to one side. The whole btw we’re superhumans thing was hard to work into conversation, and it was even worse when the reply was well yeah, me too.

[Elaine Tonaya]

"No no no!" Elaine said, waving her hands in an attempted gesture of innocence and smiling. "Just a free gift. I give them out to all my customers. I just like being friendly. But I can see why you're suspicious. After all, I might have put some sort of drug in there so you'd be addicted to my cookies and keep coming back and buying flowers just to have more of my baking." She laughed briefly, then realized that what was meant to be a joke might be taken the wrong way. "There's nothing in the cookies, I swear. Really. Please, just enjoy. I...my sense of humor is not exactly up to date with the more recent trends." Elaine wanted to kick herself. Could she be any more idiotic?

Elaine carefully noted that Mia spoke of her friend by using his last name. It seemed to suggest either a nickname or an attempt to try to distance herself from people so that she might pretend to not care as much about the individual. Perhaps a strange combination of both. She nodded politely as Mia explained that the two were school mates, though she also felt a bit sad that she hadn't been willing to share what was obviously a fond memory of their meeting, based on the new wave of emotion from her.

"Absolutely not, him being deaf doesn't impede his work here in the slightest. It's still just so nice having an extra pair of hands, and he works very well with all the customers. A hard worker and very dependable. Of course, it's something I knew almost from the moment he came into the shop. I also know the people at Hammel, and some of the teachers gave very good recommendations. All that combined with the good work he did on his trial day here, I knew I'd made a good decision hiring him." By inserting Hammel into the conversation and implying that she knew people at the school Elaine hoped to gain Mia's trust and encourage her to speak more freely around the shop. She didn't understand yet some of the technopath's aversion to certain members of the Hammel staff.

"My son works there, you know. It was nice being able to send him there. I settled in town after I graduated from Hammel years ago, and it was good to see Morgan be able to attend as well while still seeing him often. It must be so hard for those who don't have good families, or who are separated from those who love them." Hint hint. Feel free to share at any point. Elaine wants to know all your feelings. All of them, not just the ones she smells on you.

[Mia Keystone]

”I don’t like flowers,” Mia said honestly, ”I don’t see a point in buying things that die.” With a shrug she took another cookie. ”These are good.”. They were peanut butter, and the short technopath had every intention of eating the entire plate if she could. IT had been ages since she’d eaten fresh baking. But the joke was bad and Mia’s sharp eyes rolled even as she chewed and swallowed peanut buttery goodness.

For some reason, this woman was making Mia even more paranoid then usual. There was something pretty odd about how the flower lady was looking at her; it wasn’t with the I know you’re up to something expression she was used to seeing on adults, that was for sure, but Mia wasn’t great at reading expressions. And for some reason, mentioning her and Jonah had made her look sad again. What was with that? Mia made people angry, or made them laugh or scoff, but mostly angry.

Her ears perked up at the mention of Hammel, and her full attention turned to Elaine, rather then the contents of the electronic cash register, and the emails on the computer at the back she had been poking at with her power. ”The light guy?” she asked, then nodded. ”So Jonah can do the brain thing with you then? Makes sense. Did you go to Hammel?” I.E did this weird lady have an ability? Was she reading her mind even as they talked?

If you’re reading my mind, MEOW MEOW MEOW

Even when he tried, Jonah couldn’t help but laugh when she did that, and she watched Elaine carefully for a smile or a look of confusion, or an answering cat call.

”Are you probing me?” she asked finally, after a third cookie. ”I know what a leading question is. Did Jonah talk to you about his family? Is that it?” Her eyebrows snapped together and she chewed and swallowed with a scowl. ”If he’s talked to you about it that’s good, I guess. He doesn’t talk about it much. She’s a real bitch.”

Even thinking about Mrs King made Mia want to spit, and she scowled ferociously at the counter. Maybe that was why she hadn’t heard from him... Mrs King wasn’t exactly Mia’s biggest fan... maybe he wanted to patch things up?

No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t like that.

[Elaine Tonaya]

Was this child always so morbid? At least she was enjoying the cookies. Though Elaine had yet to meet someone who didn't enjoy at least some of her baked goods.

"I'm glad you like them," Elaine said with a smile. She noticed that they were disappearing somewhat quickly. If Mia ate the whole plate there wouldn't be any left for anyone else...but that didn't really matter. It looked like she was hungry, and Elaine always felt bad for the students up at Hammel. In her opinion they never got good food.

"Yes, the light guy. He's a little ball of sunshine." Elaine could go on for hours talking about Morgan and how much she loved him, but she sensed that now would not be an appropriate time for that sort of discussion. "I did go to Hammel, though not for anything special. They couldn't even tell my ability--I was only discovered when they ran a test. It took years for me to find out what was even special about me." Suspecting that Mia would be curious (and wouldn't rest until she found out what the ability was), Elaine was about to just say her power before Mia spoke up again.

"No, I don't probe! I'm not even sure I--" But Mia was still talking. Elaine listened quietly until she finished. The small girl really seemed to hate someone, presumably someone from Jonah's family. A sister, mother? Jonah hadn't really mentioned anything specific, but Elaine wasn't about to tell Mia that she had just betrayed a friend's trust.

Besides, the girl looked mad enough already. No need to add to any of the pain.

"Talking is always good. I like to try to help people. My power is smelling auras. I can smell what people are feeling, some of what they are truly like. It doesn't tell me anything about their minds, and it has severe limitations. But I've spent years trying to find out what different smells mean, and I like to help wherever I can. Some people need to speak to someone but are afraid to say anything. I just...I just try to let people have an opportunity to talk."

Now that she'd actually said her power, though, she had a sneaky suspicion that she was going to be grilled about what it actually meant and what her limitations were. Mia's loneliness was coupled with a severe curiosity mixed with a healthy dose of mischief. Hopefully this whole attempt to help Mia wouldn't come back to bite Elaine.

[Mia Keystone]

A little ball of sunshine? For real? Mia had stopped answering to her mother's pet names when she was nine, because sweetie, and sugar, and tadpole (don't ask) were not appropriate names for a spy. So her mother had taken to adopting her 'call' name, and Mia had been Mia or Jinx to her mother ever since.

But seriously, little ball of sunshine?

Upon hearing Elaine's power, Mia bit back a very loud snort. A flower shop with a smelling meta. Dear god. "What do I smell like then?" she asked, eyebrows raised. "Jonah said my mind was all different, so I bet I smell like hot metal or pennies or something like that. Can you smell anything? Does perfume confuse you? What's the range? What if there are like," she waved her arms around for emphasis, "a hundred people in a room? Can you locate all of them or is it just like when you go into a changer oom and it all just smells the same?"

Nodding, a newfound respect was blooming in Mia's eyes. Blooming, gedit? "You must find out tons of stuff," the technopath said, practically sighing with envy. "What does Jonah smell like?"

[Elaine Tonaya]

The torrent of questions confused Elaine so that she only caught a few of the things being asked. What she mostly understood was that Mia wanted to know more about the power, as expected, and seemed to think that there was something wrong with herself, which was unexpected. Most people didn't like to think that they were somehow messed up, different, or strange. But she decided to try to address all the issues as best she could.

"My power is limited to my smell, which is just about the same as your nose. I'm not a dog or something, able to identify which smell belongs to which person. And if someone smells particularly bad physically, it's hard for me to get a read on their mental state. Perfume and other smells will cover up an aura, but if I get close enough I can read them anyway, the same way you can smell a person's real scent even under heavy perfume, if you dare to get close enough. Most of the time, though, I feel that's an invasion of privacy, so I don't try to push it. But the smell can be caught on the air, and I will smell it if it blows past me. Also, if someone is feeling something very intense or has an incredibly outgoing personality or is just very set in their ways, their aura is often stronger and I can more easily identify it."

Looking Mia up and down, she tried to take an inconspicuous whiff. "As for you, well, it's not so much that you smell like any thing. Trying to explain these smells to you is like trying to describe salt to someone who's never tasted it. I can only describe what the smells mean, as far as the emotions and expressions that are generally associated with them. But surprising as it may seem, you remind me of someone else I know, who felt cut off from the world. And it turned out that all he needed to feel better was someone who cared enough to look behind the barrier he tried to put up and find out that he was a real person." Elaine shrugged. "It's not an exact science or anything. But it does help me find out things about people, even if they try to hide it. Many metas will try to learn how to create mental blocks. Not many have found a way to change their aura, since it actually involves changing your very self."

And with that Elaine half expected Mia to leave, not willing to spend more time next to someone who admitted to herself that she sounded like a dumb hippie. It was all true, of course, at least as far as Elaine could tell, but it still sounded a bit dumb. Yet somehow Mia was...impressed? With her ability to discover information?

"I guess so, but it's not always useful information. I just try to do the best I can." The next question, though, felt to her like an invasion of privacy. Even if Mia and Jonah were good friends, it wasn't for Elaine to share his thoughts. "Jonah smells like he could use a friend. Other than that, it's not for me to say. You can ask him how he feels himself."

[Mia Keystone]

"But like, if someone drenched themselves in perfume you wouldn't be able to get a read on them?" Mia asked shrewdly, making a mental file for 'aura smelling'. It was always important to know the weaknesses of new powers, after all. And besides, the antisocial technopath was not liking the way Elaine was looking at her, like she might pounce at any time and hug her or something.

It was really really creepy.

Her eyes widened as Elaine said she reminded her of someone. Ah, no, her mouth twisted, no one's like me. Everyone says so. Mind's different, act different, I'm a freaking snowflake. Wouldn't do to start on that particular tangent in polite company, besides, she was curious. "Who?" she asked with intense curiosity. "Full name and date of birth."
She could run a search easy that way, find out who this guy was, find out how he was like her. Another tech? Maybe it was her old portal trainer....

But then, she heard the flower seller's opinion of Jonah, and she stopped trying to figure out anything. "He has a friend!" she snapped, eyes blazing as her hands clenched into fists. "I'M his friend!" her voice was rising as she pounded on the counter, tipping the plate off where it smashed against the floor. Her eyes were burning, her heart was hammering like a jackhammer and her lips twisted as she tried to articulate the stupid organic emotions she was feeling.

"He just left me! He left me and I need him so don't tell me he needs a friend, you stupid woman!" By now, her voice had risen to reverberate off the walls, and if the flowers could have, they would have tried to hide in their buckets. Dimly, a part of Mia's mind noticed that a) her cheeks were suspiciously damp and b) she actually felt kind of guilty but that just made her angrier. She hadn't felt guilt before King, didn't have to deal with all this crap that was making her so angry she'd have exploded if it was possible. "I need a fucking friend. I need my friend and he left me!"

Dragging her sleeve roughly over her eyes, just in case the yelling had somehow made them water, Mia stamped a foot in frustration at seeing the plate with the stupid cookies on the floor. she didn't look at Elaine. Instead, she spun around and bolted out of the store, slamming the door behind her and running down the sidewalk until her side felt it would split open.

Then, she stopped and went home.

[Elaine Tonaya]

"No, I guess I wouldn't, thought I wouldn't really want to get that close to someone. If they think it's important to drench themselves in perfume, they're probably not the sort of people I want to be near, anyway. Either they are rich and look down on me, they stink underneath that and don't want people to get too close, or they are hiding something and are probably dangerous." Elaine hoped that Mia wouldn't ever come in here wearing heavy amounts of perfume. It would just be another way for her to hide, and the last thing she seemed to need was something else to hide behind. Elaine just wanted to hug her.

She was taken aback by Mia's straightforward questioning and desire to know personal details about Cobalt. "His name is Cobalt, and he's a friend of mine. I don't even know his date of birth, and I'm actually a little concerned that that's what you want to know more about. Wouldn't you rather know what made him change in the end?"

What she was definitely not expecting was the violent reaction to her comment about Jonah, which had been meant to encourage the two people closer together but only seemed to bring up further issues. "I'm glad to hear you're his friend, Mia," she said quietly, stepping out from behind the counter. She was ready to hug the girl, even if it maybe wasn't the right time.

But she paused when Mia started yelling again. It had been a while since someone had gotten that upset at Elaine for her prying. It made her take a step back, since she probably wasn't the best person to help right now. But if not her, then who? Apparently Jonah hadn't been spending time with his friend, and all it had done was destroy the friendship that had been there, probably the only friendship Mia had developed in a long time. Watching Mia struggle was breaking Elaine's heart. She only wanted to help, but she had no idea how.

"Mia, wait!" she called as the girl ran to the door. "Mia, please! I didn't--" But the door slammed and Elaine was left on her own, wishing she could have done more to help. She ran to the door and looked out to see Mia running down the street at full speed.

"I only wanted to help," Elaine whispered, closing the door again and wiping her cheeks. "Why can't this all be simple? Why are people always getting hurt?" Angry and upset, she busied herself cleaning up the broken plate and spilled cookies. But there was little she could really do, other than talking to Jonah when she next saw him and hoping that everything worked itself out. Still, that didn't keep her from being in a sad mood the rest of the day.