Coffee Break [Darryl]

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori wasn’t that social of a creature. A shy, gentle personality was a good thing, yes. But not when you worked on a team. Especially on a team several of your old classmates worked on as well. Some of them, like Eli, she’d gotten along with. Some of them, like Willow, still scared the hell out of her. Willow was alright, she supposed. On a good day. Now they were adults, Mii had hoped that whatever differences they’d had in the classroom could be put behind them. But no. Some of her old classmates were still as abrasive and immature as they’d been during their own school days.

One of the things she’d had a difficult time adjusting to since she’d come to work at her old school was the access she now had. Bells meant little to her now, and she was able to pop in and out of the staff lounge without getting reprimanded. Not that she’d ever dreamed of breaking the rules when she was a student.

As it was, she was in the staff lounge now. She didn’t have another recruitment trip for another few days. She would be heading to California. She’d seen the file. A fourteen year old male with what looked to be super speed going on. Apparently, he was driving his parents absolutely mental. She wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to that or not. On one hand, the parents would likely be easy to have agree to send him to Hammel. She got the feeling that it would be the prospective student that she’d have a harder time with. It almost made her wish that Willow was going on this trip, but she was already gone. And she supposed she really did need the expierence…

The young woman was currently leaning against the counter, nursing a cup of coffee that had been watered down with copious amounts of milk and sugar. Her paperwork was almost done from her last trip, but she’d felt like a break. Her office was stuffy in the May heat, and she needed an escape. The staff lounge, though a social area, was quiet for now. She could handle quiet.

[Darryl Bond]

A lopsided coin flipped up into the air, the ting caused by the contact between the metal and fingernail resonated through the hallway. On the gray coins decent, it landed square center in the palm of the man that flipped it in the first place. Today, that man was clothed casually, as always, with a black fedora with a single red stripe, a gray button up shirt, black slacks, and his ever comfortable boots. He flipped the coin one more time as he came upon his favorite place at this school; the teachers lounge.

It was his favorite spot for two reasons; there were no students, and it was about the only place he could meet his coworkers without the hassle of silly children. Not that he hated children, mind you, it was just that they tended to demand stupid voices out of him. He was only one man; he couldn't please everyone. He laughed at himself as he opened the door.

He peeked inside, saw that there was only one person inside, and let himself in the rest of the way. He shut the door softly enough that it didn't make extra racket, but also with enough sound to alert the other occupant of his presence if she hadn't already noticed. He was feeling rather subtle today, and decided to leave his ostentatious acts in his classroom. He would need it more there, anyway. He smiled at the woman who was nursing--thank the heavens--coffee. He could smell it now and he made a beeline towards that little magic pot.

"Good afternoon." He said smiling a half smile towards her. He hadn't seen her around, which was so terribly unshocking. He'd barely made a dent in the Hammel staff since his arrival earlier that week, he didn't like being surrounded by people he didn't know, so he would work extra hard to meeting everyone to correct that. He rummaged through the cabinet for a cup and turned it right side up on the counter as he took the coffeepot in hand. "It's a fine day outside, wouldn't you say?" He asked as he looked about the counter for some creamer. He was never a fan of straight black, and would very much enjoy some French Vanilla, but he'd settle for something less sweet. But only because he really wanted the coffee. He smiled to himself as he located his favorite and tilted his head to the side as he poured the white liquid into his cup. He watched them mix in the cup and after another moment he snapped the cap back on the creamer and located a stirrer. He turned his attention from his coffee up to the woman at that point, while he absently stirred his coffee.

"I'm Darryl Bond, the Theater Director." He smiled as he did a little introductory bow--there went his acts of subtly-- and as he righted himself he gestured lightly towards the woman. "And who might you be?"

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori’s style when it came to work was fairly simply. Save for Fridays, she was usually dressed business casual. Today was no exception. She had on a black knee length skirt and a pretty purple short sleeved blouse. Her long hair was down today, though not straightened, and held back with a thin black headband. As usual, her make up was minimal. She wasn’t here to pick up men, she was here to do her job. When her friends in Pilot Ridge got ahold of her and forced her to go clubbing? Then the less than professional clothes and make up could come out. At work, not so much.

Not that it stopped the female students from trotting around in things less than appropriate. Mii honestly couldn’t remember dressing like that when she was a student. And she wasn’t much older than most of the students now. Self consciously, she fingered her skirt. Was it so terrible to not want to show off her body? According to the new wave of students, apparently, it was.

She glanced up when she heard the door open and close softly. Since she’d come to work at her old school, she’d met a great deal of her coworkers, though she tended to stick to the recruiting wing. Even if Willow was still as moody as she’d been back when they’d been students together. It was best to avoid the other woman, if possible. But she certainly had interest in the other staff members. At least enough to say hello.

“Hello,” she said softly as he approached her, moving away from the coffee maker to make room for him. It was only logical that that was what he was heading for. Taking a drink from her mug, she smiled a little. “Honestly, I haven’t been outside much today, and my office doesn’t have much of a window.” All she knew was that it was warm out, because her office was hot. She stayed quiet as he mixed his coffee, silently contemplating what to say, if anything. She wasn’t good at making the first move in conversation. Something she had to battle with as a recruiter. Then again, most parents were eager to hear what she had to say about Hammel. Socializing within the school was a little bit different.

When he introduced himself, she glanced up, and blushed a little at the bow. Well, theatre called for a theatrical person, did it not? “Uh. Midori. I’m… a recruiter.” She glanced away shyly. “Which… probably explains why I’ve never met you. I’m not around the school a lot, and you didn’t teach when I was a student, I’m guessing.” Not that she’d know. She’d never taken theatre. But Darryl seemed like he’d be good at it.

[Darryl Bond]

He glanced towards the window and back at her. That morning he had decided to eat his breakfast outside, against the wall, because he liked a change of scenery and his class room still didn't fill like 'his' yet. He tilted his head back to look at her when she admitted that she hadn't been outside, and that her office didn't have much of a window. So, she wasn't a teacher (which wasn't all that shocking because she looked rather young to him), which meant she was either a therapist (again, she seemed to young to be one) which left an actual office official or a recruiter. Now, that would be a job he'd excel at. He had terrific people skills, and what mother wouldn't trust their child with a face like his?

But his place was in the Theater, teaching children the right way to project their voice, and to love getting inside the skin of another person, or completely fictional character. Though, if his first semester turned out to be a total disaster, he might take a look into recruiting. It sounded like a pretty simple job, or at least what he knew about it. Midori was a rather interesting name to him, he was pretty sure he hadn't met one before, which caused him to smile. "A pleasure." He tipped his hat towards her and he grinned when she confirmed his suspicion that she was a recruiter. Her took a ginger sip of his coffee and judged it to be a bit to hot still, so he set it back against the counter, and turned so his back was to it. His arms folded around his chest as he gave her a slightly reproachful look.

She was in her early twenties, did she really think he was...that old? Or at least old enough to have taught when she went to school. He knew he was about to reach thirty (-blanch-), but still. "Oh no, I've only started this Monday." He chuckled lightly and rebelliously took another drink of his coffee. Still too hot. He sat it back down and looked back at her with a smile. "I'm still learning the ropes, but the faculty and students are nice enough, at least the ones I've met so far..." Which really was probably in the fifth percentile.

"Being a recruiter sounds fascinating. What got you started in that line of work?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori honestly didn’t think she’d be a good teacher. Though she had the patience to deal with the kids, she was a pushover, and she knew it. Her brothers could con her into almost anything, and was often too trusting for her own good. None of that seemed to add up to ideal teaching material. She was better off doing the job she was now, even if it meant a confrontation now and again. But Dr. Campbell seemed to get a good sense of who would be troublesome, and so far, she’d been lucky. All the kids she’d recruited so far had been willing, as had their parents.

She’d never been into drama class. She was too shy, for one thing. She’d probably faint from stage fright if anyone tried to make her perform. Oral reports in class had been bad enough. She did, however, admire those that could pull off theatre. Darryl seemed like the type to excel in that area. Just his mannerisms alone (that bow might have had something to do with it) suggested he’d be one of those people. She blushed a little again when he tipped his hat at her. “Same to you,” she managed to mumble softly, eyes on the floor. She dealt with people like Eli so much better. Quieter, less... outgoing people. People more like herself. She didn’t like confrontation, and she didn’t like having to be the center of attention. ... Like she was with Darryl. Right now. ... Crap.

She might have caught on to the reproachful look. If she was looking at Darryl. Right now, she seemed fascinated with the tiles on the floor. You never knew with meta-humans. He could be able to control how old he did or didn’t look. She knew her power didn’t outwardly show, unless she felt like prowling the grounds as, say, a fox. “Oh. Well, welcome to the staff. ... And likely, welcome back to Hammel.” She offered a little smile. “I haven’t been back for very long. Just under a month. I did do some work on the outside, just administrative stuff. But... I missed Hammel. I missed being with meta-humans.” She’d worked with meta-phobes. That was always fun. Not. “The staff is really nice here.” Minus Willow, on a bad day. “I like them, anyway.”

What got her into recruiting? Well... she shrugged and sipped her coffee. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to be a teacher, and I’ve had enough of administrative work. Besides, I don’t really mind talking to new recruits. As long as they’re willing to listen.” Figuring it was only polite, she nodded towards him. “Were you always into theatre?”

[Darryl Bond]

He smiled a little when she replied to him rather bashfully, the small and flustered blush was rather adorable as well. He tilted his head a bit to the side as he looked at her with a watchful grin on his face. He wondered how far her shyness went--was it just because she had never met him before, or was she like that giggling schoolgirl that sat at the back of the room so she never had to make eye contact with anyone? He half hoped it was the former and that once he got (or they, really) a conversation going, she'd stop being so...that.

She furthered her display of shyness as she looked at the floor instead of at him. He chuckled rather lightly at this, and to ease up on the girl, he put his back against the counter and looked out around the rest of the empty lounge. "Hmm. I am not really sure what brought me back...I guess being around non-meta. This crowd did always feel like home." He took a measured sip of his coffee and glared at it since it had the audacity to still be too hot. He set it back on the counter with one last glare before he lifted his gaze to her.

Either she didn't want to talk about it, she didn't want to talk about it to him, or she was still inside her little shell and refused to actually talk to him. He couldn't really do anything about the first two, but he sure as hell could bust her out of that shell. He reached up to his throat and rubbed it a little, like there was a small itch there. No big deal; just an itch. He smiled a little wider, a little more conniving. "You know..." The voice that left his throat was playful, but not Darryl's. It was actually softer with a little hint of Boston. In a nutshell, the voice was Christopher Walken. "I won't bite, at least not anywhere that will show." The quote was direct from one of Mr. Walken's more silly movies, Balls of Fury. He laughed the mans breathy laugh and he leaned back to standing straight up. He touched his throat again, like the previous itch was still there and folded his arms across his chest.

"What got me into theater?" He asked, his voice was back, perfectly OK. "It was my first year here at Hammel, actually, that did it. I had never actually thought about doing anything in front of a crowd before, but there was some scheduling error that put me in the senior drama class. And let me tell you, it was fantastic." He smiled again, like a gleeful child that just got away with some big scheme.

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori couldn’t help being shy. She’d always been this way. Between her calm, rational, bold oldest brother, and her loud, no holds barred middle brother, she’d naturally fallen into place as the quietest of her siblings. She was happiest that way, though it did make for rather awkward conversations. Especially with men. She was never quite sure how to operate with them. Her brothers, she was fine with, but she’d grown up with them. It was the same with Eli. He was safe, because he was just like her. And Darryl… was decidedly not.

The soft chuckle made her shift slightly, but she felt better when he backed up against the counter and stopped looking at her. Home. At least they had the same outlook on Hammel. “Yes, Hammel has a way of doing that. It’s become home to a lot of us.” She smiled fondly and trailed her fingers along the countertop. “I know it was home to me, when I was a student. I made some good friends here.” And good friends made her think of Eli, which in turn, made her smile a bit more naturally.

Midori liked the little shell she’d built for herself. It kept her safe from most social interactions, and she could often get out of difficult situations with her coworkers by feigning the need for paperwork, and ducking away. But she couldn’t really do that here. Besides, she had to try. If she went back now, she’d be done her paperwork in record time. And she really did need a break from her stuffy little office. She glanced up when Darryl spoke again, but there was a touch of confusion on her face. That wasn’t his voice. In a school built for meta-humans, really, it shouldn’t have surprised her that much. The words that left his mouth made her blush even harder than she had before, but she was preoccupied with what, exactly, he’d said. It took her a moment to figure it out before she smiled. “Balls of Fury. My brother made me watch it with him.” In fact, Zach had been obsessed with it at one point, and had dragged his little sister to watch it with him over and over again.

And suddenly he was back to normal. Mii managed a little smile at his explanation. “I suppose I admire those people that can get up on stage and perform. I think I’d die of stage fright.” She wasn’t afraid to admit it. “I’m glad that worked out for you.” If she’d been put into theatre by mistake? She’d have gone to administration before the first class even happened. She wasn’t made to perform. She was much happier blending in with the crowd.

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl always blamed his personality on his parents; his starve for attention, his unconscious manipulation, and his thirst for the spotlight. He wouldn't have gotten that way if, say, he wasn't the youngest by six years and while growing from infant to child, he never got a moment to himself. He was always under the eyes of either his parents or his old fraternal brother and sister. If he wasn't being played with by his brother, then he was watching something on TV with his sister, if they were at school, then he was playing with his toys with his mother. Whatever stupid kid thing he came up with, the person with him at the time loved it as if he was the worlds smartest kid. He was spoiled, spoiled, spoiled because of that, and not his fault in the slightest. Well, ok, maybe it was a little his fault for still acting light that (if only more mature), but it was still mostly his family's fault.

"Good friends, yeah." He agreed absently. Where was Lite Brite anyhow? The two of them had been nigh on inseparable during their school years, yet when they graduated they ceased contact between each other. Darryl missed him, and wondered what the guy was up to. He was probably married already, and had a child. The guy deserved no less. Darryl looked around the room then, reminiscing. Could that be why he gravitated back to the school? Did he miss being where he felt like he could truly be himself? And did he miss all the people he grew to love while he was here? "I think I'm here to pay back the place that helped me, yaknow? Something like a debt." He said with his slightly scrunched up deep-in-thought face. The brooding expression cleared and he smiled again. Yeah. That was it. He wanted to pay it back.

Whenever he did an impression, there was always a gamble. If the crowd (or sometimes individual) didn't recognize the quote or character he was acting, then the hilarity of it, and the true genius of his talent was ruined and it left negative emotions, all around. He always felt a sense of relief when the person he was acting a foole towards recognized what he was doing and named it out. He always got the sense of a job well done. Like now, for instance. He hadn't been terribly sure if she would have gotten the reference, but he had gambled it. He was victorious as she named it. "That is correct." He smiled faintly as she informed him that her brother had made her see it. He laughed at that because he knew what that was like. He was carted around like a little trophy or something when he was littler--before he came into his powers. Afterwords was another story entirely. "Are you close with your brother?" He asked out of curiosity. His family responded rather negatively to him being a meta, and they responded even more negatively to the fact he chose the Theater over signing his life away in the military like his brother and sister did. Darryl didn't like to dwell on that, however.

"The hardest part is getting on stage, I've seen shy people like you wouldn't believe get up there and improve the pants off of everyone in the room. Once you get on stage, anyway." Darryl felt the need to reassure her that there weren't really people who could or couldn't 'get on stage' it was just a matter of will or won't. She wouldn't, but she definitely could. He tipped his head towards her as she said she was glad that it worked out for him. He lifted his head back up and nodded a few more times, "yes, it worked out rather perfectly." one would be so inclined to think that, being as because of that one mess up, he had had many good supporting roles in a slue of movies (no big screen yet, sadly, but that would soon change--hopefully).

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori had never really fully understood people with the drive to win attention. She was so much happier being in the background. It was why she was grateful that her middle brother was such an attention whore. If he was gaining attention from their parents, then she didn’t have to worry about it. Of course, her eldest brother had often been the one to talk to her, and play with her, but he understood. Even when she’d gotten older, happier to spend her time alone, with books or music, she was happy. Corbin had gotten it. So had her parents. She’d spent a great deal of time with her siblings, of course. She just wasn’t the one begging for attention. Because Zach had been such an attention whore, she’d been far from spoiled. Now that she was older, she was happy for that fact. She’d seen what spoiled women grew up to become. And she didn’t want to be like them.

Friends were just a perk of coming back to Hammel. Midori’s reasoning had been fairly simple, initially, because she hadn’t known one of her better friends was still here, working. She’d just wanted to be around other metas. She didn’t have to flaunt her power to feel like she belonged. Hammel had become a second home to her, her friends like secondary siblings. She managed to give Darryl a little smile. “I suppose that’s true as well. It helped a lot of us come to terms with the whole ‘I’m meta’ idea.” It had certainly helped her.

The fact that Darryl could change his voice like that was amusing to her. She could just image what someone like Zach would do with a power like that. Probably phone her and imitate Corbin, or their parents. Or worse, her ex boyfriend. That would earn him a smack, if he was closer. But she supposed she had to thank the idiot, otherwise she might not have appreciated Darryl’s impression, and been more creeped out by it. When he asked her about her brother, she looked up and smiled, shrugging slightly. “Depends. I’m very close with my oldest brother. I always have been. Um, we still talk a lot, even though he’s married, and a father now. I’m the youngest of all of us. Zach’s between Corbin and I, and he’s... obnoxious. He’s always been a bit of a bully. Jealous, I think, because he wasn’t the baby anymore.” She toyed with her coffee mug, looking a little wistful before continuing. “What about you? Do you have siblings?” It seemed a safe enough subject.

As he explained about the stage, Mii couldn’t help blushing again. No, it really was a can’t thing with her. She got the feeling that she might just shapeshift into something small and run away out of sheer embarrassment. “I guess so... I just don’t think I’d get over that fear of just stepping on stage. I’ll leave that to the professionals.” Really, she’d much rather be in the audience than the one performing. She’d always been that way.

[Darryl Bond]

Most people that loved attention did it just because they liked everyone thinking about them, making themselves feel good. Darryl was never one to turn down a compliment, but he sought out being the spotlight, because he loved distracting people and making them happy. He didn't like a room full of faces but no smiles. It was depressing and he did his best to be funny in a good way, to cheer everyone up. That was his reason for grabbing attention...though he also did love the attention for more..phyiscal reasons. But let's not get into that now.

He took a small sip of his coffee and slid his free hand into his pocket, his fingers rolled the pirate coin between his fingers and he lifted his gaze to her. Darryl wasn't sure if any of the friends he had made at Hammel were back, because he tended to have the less than responsible friends guy wise, and all of the females he met probably wanted nothing to do with him because of what he had done in the past. He was a guy that wanted to spread his love, though, so him flirting with other people was just...unnavoidable. Though he'd never, ever cheated before, on someone he was with or was the 'other man' with any woman. That was just a road best left forgotten. It was against everything he was to be so sneaky and nasty. He was a casual dater and nothing usually got serious.

Looking over at Midori again, he tried to picture what her power was. She seemed like a rather sweet person, though he was basing that completely on assumption, she'd hardly said a thing so far so he really didn't have a clue. He could see her as having some sort of fantastic healing ability, but she was a recruiter and not a nurse, so that wouldn't really make sense. He really couldn't guess, but he was rather curious.

He smiled as she spoke about her family. He supposed it was her older brother, Corbin that had taken her to see that movie, judging by what she said about her other brother. He smiled a little as he realized that they were both the youngest out of three, though instead of having two older brothers, Darryl had an older brother and sister. "Congratulations to him on the family." He said first of, because of hearing about anyone actually doing that was a surprise to Darryl because he was so dysfunctional. He scratched at his chin as she asked about his family.

"I'm the baby of the family, by six years." He admitted with a faint smile. "We were all really close together until I went to Hammel." He continued to admit. He looked down into the contents of his coffee and swiveled it a moment before he took a drink. Very dysfunctional, indeed. Once he swallowed he shrugged a shoulder. "I actually haven't spoken to any of them since I graduated High school. My brother and sister are in the military. Twins and their telepathy, I suppose. My parents were rather disappointed that I didn't want to follow after them." Could you see Darryl in camo?

Ya, me neither.

He chuckled as she admitted to probably not getting up on stage. He wasn't going to encourage her to do so, because either you wanted to or you didn't, and there really was no point. Though, some part of him still believed she would like it if she actually tried it. But he was just passionate about it, and that was sort of how it always went; you couldn't see why other people didn't love what you loved because you loved it. "The audience is just as important." He agreed with a half smile. Indeed; where would he be if no one had encouraged him to be funny and do impressions in hightail and college? No where.

[Midori Hawkins]

If Midori had a choice, she’d rather be forgotten than have everyone thinking about her. She didn’t like compliments (they were usually met with an aversion of her gaze, and an escape attempt), and she didn’t like the spotlight. She’d be happier with the power of invisibility, but life hadn’t been so willing to give in. It was shape shifting for her, and nothing else. At the very least, she could change into a fox and hide out on the grounds. She’d done it more than once as she’d gained better understanding of her powers. It was an easy escape, and one of the better uses of her power, in her opinion.

Fortunately, in one case, and… not so fortunately in another, Mii now worked with several of her classmates. In the case of Eli, she was happy to see him again. He really was her best friend. In the case of Willow however, well… the older woman still intimidated her. There were a few others she’d gone to school with that worked among them now, but Eli and Willow stood out the most to her. She’d trained often enough with Willow, because they were both shape shifters. Though she could probably thank Willow for her near perfect control over her power now, it didn’t make Midori want to get particularly close with the other woman. If she had a choice, she’d choose Eli to do something with. They were more alike. Quieter, more shy around others.

Some metas were simply difficult to place. For most of the ones she knew, Mii wouldn’t have been able to match their powers. Hers was obvious, if she chose to use it. But if she wasn’t using it, she didn’t look any different from humans. At least she knew Darryl’s, simply because he’d used it. She wouldn’t be as kind, offering a demonstration. But there were good reasons for that. Namely, she shifted out of her clothes, and she had absolutely no desire to change back in the middle of the staff room, in front of the drama teacher. No thank you.

His congratulations on Corbin’s family surprised Midori, but she smiled regardless. Talking about her brothers (well, Corbin at least) was always a good way to loosen her up. “Thank you, I guess. He’s always been the domestic kind. Always wanted his own family.” She shrugged. She was similar to him. Their middle sibling was the outcast. “I’m sort of like him. And our middle brother… well…” She had to smile. “We’re convinced he’s adopted. No family values whatsoever.” That much was true. Zach seemed to want to spend his life at one big party, with as little responsibility as possible. Not much had changed since he was a kid.

So they were both the babies of their families. To her surprise, they had something in common. Mii smiled patiently and leaned against the counter as she listened to him. “That’s too bad, that you don’t talk to them anymore.” It was one thing she was grateful for, that her brothers had been accepting of the fact that their sister was a meta-human. Except perhaps when she was home, and Zach begged her to shift into strange things. He’d once requested a velociraptor. Needless to say, she hadn’t complied. (Couldn’t, really, but that was beside the point.) “I’m sorry. That’s unfortunate, about your parents. But… at least you enjoy your job now?” That was something. Maybe.

Hey. Darryl in camo would be hot. … Just saying.

The teacher’s chuckle made her blush a little, but not as bad as she’d first been doing. “I suppose so. If no one is there to watch you make a fool of yourself, what’s the point?” She had to giggle there, because it was true. “I can think of better things to do than make a fool of myself on the stage.” Like finish up getting her house together. “Which reminds me, I have to pick up some things for my flower boxes.” It was more of a mumbled, spoken thought than anything else, but it also proved a point. Actually working in the yard was better than being on stage, in her opinion. Sorry, Darryl.

[Darryl Bond]

In most cases, i.e. ex girlfriends and one-night-standers, Darryl would rather be forgotten, and he would be happy wit that. Though he tended to do those odd things or say that one memorable thing so that the person he had said it to, or around, would think back on it, and smile. He was like a memory ninja, like that. Memories of him just came back at unexpected times and brought a smile to perhaps a stressed face. A job well done in his book. Oh the big softy.

Speaking of a big softy, he wondered, again, how Lite Brite was faring in the world of adults. Darryl missed Morgan's easy going innocence and nearly unpervertable mind. The two of them had gotten into a lot of trouble in highschool and he loved the guy, platonically, and in a familial way. Darryl, in high school, was essentially isolated from everyone he ever knew (having grown up in the South, living in a Yankee state was a culture shock) and the family he had loved and had been loved by. But they just couldn't deal with a meta. And just when they started to come around to the idea, he had announced his love for theater and the dramatic arts and they just couldn't handle it. So they not only couldn't love him because of what was by birth and they also couldn't tolerate him because of his choice of career.

He focused his attention back to Midori, because at least she was smiling (how ever small) and didn't seem haunted by their conversation. Which meant he was doing a good job so far, right? "I'm starting to like this brother of yours." The guy forced his sister to go see good quality comedy movies, had a family, and still liked the idea of his sister being a meta (at least he assumed as much because she still spoke to him fondly, and the movie wasn't that old.) which all added up to a good man in Darryl's book. He nodded his head a little. "I wish him the best with his family." Darryl nodded his head a little and took another drink of his coffee. If one didn't know better they'd think they were seeing a Darryl that wasn't one hundred percent happy with his life. How absurd! Right?

"It's their lose, I'd like to think." Darryl said with a sad smile, meaning his family. It spoke oceans about their personalities if they couldn't love their son (brother) because of things he couldn't do anything about. They were too high on their horses to even pull the 'we failed as parents' routine, instead they went right ahead and blamed Darryl for what he turned out to be. Oh~ he'd show them. "Oh yes, I do love my job." Which was about the only thing he really had going for him.

That and his garden, but who was keeping count? He grinned around the edge of his coffee mug. "Oh yes, mirrors tend not to laugh when you preform in front of them." He let out a soft chuckle and then looked rather interested at what she mumbled to herself. "Flowers, eh?" He asked, trying not to look too interested. The man had a raging green thumb that he reaaaally didn't want to show, because....flowers? He could handle most insults towards himself because he knew they weren't true, and that was all that mattered. But if the fact got around he spent a lot of afternoons in the front or back of his house knee deep in dirt, pulling weeds for his daffodils and other assorted flowers, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to restrain himself.

"What sorts of flowers? I was thinking of adding some (more) around the house, to give things a little color." He tacked on that little fact without realizing but he didn't think she was the type to judge and do high school name calling. "I've never tried flower boxes before...how's that working out for you?"

[Midori Hawkins]

Sometimes being memorable wasn’t the best thing. There were people Midori would rather forget in her past. Some of them were simply meta-phobes, who hadn’t been the nicest to her when she’d been home on breaks from school, or even after she’d graduated. Though her ex wasn’t one of them, he was another person she’d rather leave behind in the dust. He’d had some less than flattering views on meta humans, and Mii could deal with it to an extent, but he’d crossed the line one too many times for her liking. Surprisingly, she would find herself remembering Darryl, simply because he was so... bold. Though he’d made her squirm, and made her blush, he seemed like a decent man.

She also remembered far too well the isolated feeling Hammel provided to its’ students. She remembered the feeling of missing her family, her friends. But it had also provided a safe haven. A place where it was all right if you shifted into a puppy in the middle of a training class, or froze the pond over, or heard thoughts. It was a safe place, and she’d made friends here. In some ways, she’d been even closer to her classmates at Hammel. She’d been free to be herself, meta. If her family had done to her what Darryl’s family had done to him, she didn’t think she’d have been able to brush it off. She was too close to them.

When Darryl looked back, Mii managed to lift her chin and meet his eyes properly. The fact that he liked her brother sight unseen was a good thing, in her books. “Most people do. He’s a good person. He’s always been loving, and I always knew he’d be a good father.” She toyed with her nearly empty mug. “I miss him, now I’m living here. I miss my middle brother too, but not as much.” She pulled a slight face. “We’re not as close.” Zach was rowdy and loud, and held very little regard for family values. But she still loved him. “I’ll let Corbin know he’s got well wishes from my coworkers. He’ll probably laugh.” A part of her wanted to ask Darryl about his views on family. The way he seemed to admire Corbin for becoming a family man seemed a little odd, but she wouldn’t pry.

“I think so. I mean, I can’t imagine my parents or brothers doing that. The only time I ever feel guilty for what I am is when I refuse to shift into something ridiculous for my brother’s amusement.” She rolled her eyes a little. Speaking about powers just came naturally to her when Hammel was involved. So few of their staff was non-powered. “He makes me feel like the world’s worst sister when that happens.” Of course, she meant Zach, the party brother, not her oldest one. “He doesn’t get that I can’t do dinosaurs, no matter how much he begs.” Mammels, small mammals, were her limit.

The fact that Darryl latched onto the topic of flowers surprised Midori. He didn’t strike her as a person to want to dig around in the dirt or even want to try to grow things. It just didn’t seem to be a male thing. She smiled and shrugged. “I’m not sure yet. The flower boxes were there when I moved in, but everything’s dead in them. I wanted to get something to add a little color to the yard.” Was she opening up a bit? Why yes, yes she was. “I had flower boxes at my parents’ house, though. I helped my mother plant things every year. Silly, but I wanted to keep that up here.” She studied Darryl quietly for a moment, before smiling. “I didn’t have you figured for a man who liked flowers, if I’m honest.”

[Darryl Bond]

Darryl was dysfunctional when it came to families, especially when the prospect of having a family came up--always hypothetically-- because how his parents had treated him the past ten-fifteen years of his life. They more or less just decided to hate him because he turned out to be a meta, and they also decided to disown him when he announced his major for college. If it was so easy for them to have nothing to do with him....how could he ever have a child with that in mind? Either he'd work so hard to not be like that, that he'd drive the kid away, or he'd try to not be here nor there about it, and end up with a resentful child. He was so stressed about that---not to mention finding a woman that love him unconditionally and accept him for who he was--not just a meta, but everything else about him. He might just be scared of the commitment, but he never thought about it seriously, for too long.

He wished for it, though. And he longed for that loving atmosphere that he had when he was a child. It was bittersweet to think about it. How would they have acted towards him if they had known how he was going to turn out? He chuckled a little along with her story, as she revealed her powers in a subtle way. So she was a shape shifter (no dinosaurs! ah, man...) and didn't it for entertainment. Darryl could understand that. He could use his for entertainment, because all his involved was manipulation of the vocal cords, her's involved changing entire anatomy. "It's understandable." He agreed with her, though her other brother just seemed like a brat...but Darryl wasn't one to judge people he'd never met, or would never meet.

She seemed just as surprised as he was when he started talking about flowers and such. He wondered if that had been a mistake, but she opened up to it and he appreciated his mistake. The more she relaxed, the better he could have a conversation with her. Even if it was about flowers. "That's adorable." He commented about her continuing the tradition of the flower boxes. "I've been wanting to add some to the front of the house, to turn it into something more homey, but I've not really been able to decide on it. I could also use a bit of help." He tilted his head to the side and looked at her with an innocent smile. He could see the two of them enjoying some gardening.

Just gardening, of course.

He felt like she was the only person he could actually garden with, because so far the only people he knew were males (and Clarisse, but he'd be too embarrassed to admit his gardening hobby to her). "It would be fun."

[Midori Hawkins]

Midori was much like her eldest brother when it came to families. She was instinctively maternal. When Corbin’s daughter had been born, she’d been all too willing to cuddle the tiny girl, instead of run in fear like Zachary had. She’d found that she was able to comfort her when she cried, and now that her niece was older, she’d taken to doing things with her. Taking her to the park, playing games, and transforming into small cuddly animals for her. Before she’d moved out to Pilot Ridge, she’d gone with Corbin and his wife, Katie, to take their daughter to a little fair, and had been the one to lead her around on a small pony. She wanted her own family, at some point. Granted, she was still young, but she had that family drive. One day, she’d remind herself. One day she’d find someone she wanted to share her life with, and have a family with. For now, she was content enough to play Aunt to Robyn.

She had often figured that it was the environment that had contributed to her family drive. She’d always been close to her parents, and close to Corbin. Zachary was a different story, but he’d always been the odd man out. But Darryl’s little chuckle brought her out of thoughts of her brother. At least he found it understandable as well. She smiled at him. “Thanks, I think.” For the record, her entire family thought Zachary was a brat. But they loved him regardless.

Certain topics would make the shy shape shifter relax more than others. Things she was familiar with, comfortable with. Because she’d gardened a bit with her mother, it was one of those things that made her smile. Silly memories of digging careful holes, of Zach shoving Corbin’s face in the dirt, only to get picked up and tossed into a bush. Of course, the adorable comment made her blush again. “It’s not... really. It’s just tradition. Nothing cute about it.” But she was able to forget that soon enough as he went on, cocking her head to the side. ... Was he asking for her help?

“Um...” Well, he seemed harmless enough. And she liked playing with color, and finding homes for all the flowers to go into. Why not? She didn’t have any real plans in the near future, unless an emergency recruit popped up. She managed a braver smile at him. “Sure, I’ll help you.” What harm could it do?