Who says picnics are girly? [open]

[Adam Collier]

Adam grabbed his lunch box off his desk and the blanket he kept tucked away in a draw. Today was a perfect day for a picnic out by the lake, and come hell or high water he was going to enjoy it! Before leaving his office Adam grabbed his ipod and a book off his shelf, he might as well get his reading done outside. Adam was attempting to learn more about the nature of his power his search had been going on for years and the end was no wear in sight.

Adam walked done to the pond, hopefully all the good spots wouldn't be taken, it was very warm out so he hoped to find a shady part near the water. As he neared the pond he saw that there was indeed a perfect spot still unoccupied., he walked over and set his blanket down.

After sitting down himself he began to pull out his lunch. It may have looked juvenile but it had been his favorite lunch since he was a kid. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with supper chunky peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam (his mother still sent him jars of it every spring). Add to that some fresh fruit and a soda and Adam was a very happy man. Today's fruit was a perfectly ripe red pear, one of Adam's favorites.

Adam bit into his sandwich and looked out across the pond. He could see other students and a few fellow teachers out and about, it seems a number of people had the same thought as he had. Adam popped open his can of soda and took a long drink. He then set his sandwich down and picked up his book.

He tried to read, he really did but after reading the same sentence over and over he gave up. Instead he laid down on the ground and stared up at the blue sky.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

“Is this area private, or may I join you?” came a charming, gentle intrusion into Adam’s daydreaming, the words lilted with a warm French accent. Clarisse would have simply leaned over into his line of sight, but she decided that might be a little too rude. Instead, she stood on the edge of the tree’s shadow, the sun catching a dainty silver chain draped around her pale neck.

She smiled sweetly at him, her hands folded neatly behind her back. When she tilted her head in an inquisitive gesture, the light shone across the waves of her loose hair. Normally Clarisse would be caught in a bun, but the day was beautiful and there was no reason not be outside.

Vermont was certainly no France, but Clarisse truly preferred the rolling hills and rugged mountains to the vast meadows and pictures of France. She certainly preferred it to the terrors of Paris. As she waited an ‘okay’ to sit with her colleague, she looked out over the pond, her green eyes falling on the students relaxing, playing, or doing whatever else it was that kids did anymore. She sighed, her shoulders relaxing in the thin straps of her powdery-peach swing dress.

She smoothed out her skirt nervously, the voluminous folds flaring out like the petals of a flower, fluting out subtly to draw attention to her bright yellow shoes. It was a miracle that the sunny heels didn’t sink into the soft grass. Clarisse had plenty of practice not dirtying her heels, so she balanced easily on the balls of her feet to prevent kicking up any dirt. She made a sidelong glance at her French manicured nails and made a note to paint them pink tomorrow. She felt pink in general today; bubbly and bright, gentle and happy. It must have been the weather.

[Adam Collier]

Adam was a little surprised when he heard someone speaking above him. Even more surprised when the voice had a beautiful French accent. There was only one person who could possibly belong to that voice. Clarisse.

"Of course you can join me Clarisse." Adam resisted the urge to say 'hello Clarisse' for some reason Adam didn't think she would like that very much.

Adam motioned for Clarisse to take a seat next to him. "I'm happy for the company." Adam went to gather up his lunch trash and book making room for the lady. You really couldn't call her anything other then a lady. She looked just like those 50's style pin up girls. Adam blushed at the thought. He really didn't want to entertain those kind of thoughts about his colleague, he had been down that road before it would lead to nothing good. Adam stopped hat line of thought as well. Thinking about James would only make him mad right now.

Instead Adam looked at Clarisse, "So how have you been? I haven't spoken with you in quite a while. Last I heard you were working with Eli the Librarian, how is that going?"

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse beamed and practically flounced into the shade, sighing happily as she plopped down next to him, her skirt fanning out around her. She crossed her knees at the ankle, shook her head softly to adjust her hair. Clarisse was careful not to throw her head back and forth, and settled easily into a very gentle inclination of her chin, as if she were being careful to keep something off (or in this case on) the back of her neck.

“I barely recognized you Adam,” she replied, patting his hand in a friendly greeting. “It has been far too long.” Folding her hands back in her lap, she looked at the grass thoughtfully. “Hm. I think its safe to say I’ve been rather well, I’m working full-time at the institute now…finally.” Clarisse laughed a bit. Eight years in and out of the school was enough! She was glad to be a steady employee now.

“As for Eli? Well…” Clarisse shrugged her shoulders. “No one knows! Still! He is a medical mystery.” After a pause and a slightly mischievous grin she leaned towards him slightly. “But I did get very good marks on my doctoral thesis.”

Clarisse was glad to have found someone to sit with. She liked the idea of getting to know her other co-workers more now that she would be around much more often. It was easier to calm a student who was panicking if she could make conversation about life at Hammel. Adam’s name often came up as a friend or helper, as well as a well-liked teacher.

“The kids talk about you like you’re made of gold.” She pointed out, nodding slightly. “How have you been?”

[Adam Collier]

Adam chuckled a little it must have been rough to not be full time around here, he had been lucky and was hired as a full time employee right away. Clarisse's job often intrigued Adam, as his gift's side effect was extremely obvious, the idea that some people's were not was interesting. Eli the school's librarian especially intrigued him, he would love to at some point read the work that Clarisse had done with him.

"I would love to read your thesis at some point, if you don't mind?" He posed it as a question not quite sure how she would feel about sharing her work with the general public.

Adam blushed a little when she mentioned his reputation with the students, he had worked hard on gaining the reputation of being someone they could talk to, it was after all part of his job.

"Thank you, I hope they haven't been spreading too many lies about me. I have been pretty good, very busy though. I've been doing more and more counseling, and finding more ways to help students train. It is rather surprising just how a persons pheromones can effect the use of their power. It has been great to see how pheromones affect the different powers themselves. In fact I am thinking of writing a paper on the subject. I haven't worked out all the kinks in my mind yet though so it could be a while." Adam had been toying with the idea of going for his Masters degree if only he could find a program that would let him write a thesis about meta humans and how his power affected them, but sadly he highly doubted that would be possible.

"How have you been? Beyond getting a great job?" Adam wanted to ask about family, but he had the rumors, and stories of her past marriage, and what had happened in Paris.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

“I’m working on having it published.” Clarisse responded. “There is a surprising amount of research into meta-human biology going on inside and outside of the meta-human community.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, it is making us out to be science experiments, especially those like Eli, who have side effects that are very small or nonexistent.” Shaking her head gently and leaning back on her elbows. “I guess it’s a start though…” She murmured before her face broke into a gentle smile again. “The short answer: Yes. Feel free to read it whenever you like.” Clarisse laughed slightly at her round-about response, but felt that the day was lazy enough to warrant some ranting.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly at Adam’s enthusiasm towards a subject so similar to her own. “Well you’d be surprised how many universities are starting to have Meta-human studies as a part of their curriculum. Sometimes you just have to ask.” Clarisse explained with an encouraging nod. “If you ever need help in that field, please don’t hesitate to come by my office. I’m sure I have some material that would help you in your studies.” Clarisse was all about continuing education of all students, non-traditional or otherwise. If Adam needed help in school, she’d help! …If he wanted it, that is.

Though her face fell slightly at the mention of how things ‘had been,’ Clarisse didn’t miss a beat in the conversation. She cleared her throat lightly and held up her hands in an indifferent gesture. “I’ve been…ah…surviving. I suppose that is a good word. I’m settled into my new apartment and office, found a place for ChiChi’s box.” She said, nodding towards him slightly as she listed the mundane things she had been going about, trying to avoid words like “push,” “husband,” or “home.”Words like that made her sick to her stomach these days, even after so long.

She looked into Adam’s face and simply grinned, giggling a bit. “I really can’t say much. I’ve just been so happy here!” Clarisse finally concluded.

[Adam Collier]

At 38 years old Adam had thought his time as a student was long over, but as Clarisse talked about how more and more people were studying about and publishing things on meta humans, his hopes were raised. Maybe he could actually go for a higher degree in a field. Then she hit on one of his biggest fears, people using meta humans as weapons or some science experiment to study.

"I worry about that. If I research and write about how my power and other powers affect each other I worry that it will be used against us. I do not trust the government or private individuals to not do something like that. An army of meta humans is something I never want to see. On the other hand research does need to be done, we need to know how to handle things within our own world, and if we live in the shadows too scared to move there is no telling what could happen!"

Adam smiled when Clarisse offered to help him, though he had to admit it felt odd to ask someone younger then him for help. Odd, but not uncomfortable and nothing that would stop him from taking the help. "I would greatly appreciate any help that you could give me. I have no real idea where to even start. I only have a bachelors degree at the moment, but many, many years of experience.

She had been 'surviving' that wasn't the kind of thing he wanted to hear. The counselor in him really wanted to delve deeper and help, but he reigned that side in, he didn't think that was what she needed right now. She needed a friend right now and that was what Adam would be.

"Chichi huh? Is she your cat?" Cat was the only pet that Adam could think of that required a box.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse’s smile fell and she looked to the side. Life was long, but it all seemed so recent. “There are people who would fool us. Use us, yes.” Clarisse said cryptically, recalling her own brush with the government in France. “But those people do not represent all people. It is necessary to remember that.”

It seemed really that Clarisse was assuring herself, rather than Adam. She knew it must be killing him not to ask about her past, but she appreciated it. Somehow someone had figured out the truth behind Clarisse; someone who let it slip to others. Rumors circulated, but in general Clarisse made a point of ignoring them. Her past wasn’t exactly going to help her in the future.

Eager for a change of subject, Clarisse immediately jumped on the chance to discuss ChiChi. “No, no. ChiChi is a tarantula.” Clarisse explained, reaching to the nape of her neck and cupping the fist-sized arachnid gently in her delicate palm. Attatched around the abdomen of the tarantula was the thin silver chain that had earlier glinted so sweetly on the French woman’s neck.

“See?” Clarisse cooed, running two of her fingers over the furry body of her darling pet as it inched forward one leg at a time. The bristling dark hairs covering ChiChi’s body faded to an acidic orange at the tips of her feet, and when Clarisse ran her hands over the spider’s back side, its front end angled down, backend in the air much like a cat.

“Isn’t she cute?” Clarisse said softly, giggling as the spider slowly advanced toward her fingertips.

[Adam Collier]

Adam tried to hide his smile as song lyrics from Sweet Dreams, by the Eurythmics ran through his mind

'Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused'

Adam could see the love in her eyes when Clarisse mentioned chichi, it must be a special cat. Adam blanched a little when she corrected him, a tarantula?!? Who kept those as pets? They were spiders! Then she did the unthinkable and reached behind her neck,her neck! and pulled the thing out!

Adam squeaked in fear, yes squeaked, and quickly scrambled away. "What in the world! You keep that thing on your neck! It could KILL you!" Adam moved a little farther away, no way was he going to be bitten by that over grown spider.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Clarisse resisted her first reaction, which was to laugh at the near-forty year-old man that was still afraid of spiders and instead went with her second. Shock. Well, fake shock. In an attempt to calm Adam, Clarisse remained as still and serene as possible. Her wide, concerned eyes watched over Adam, and her mouth turned down in a girlish frown.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize she would scare you. She’s harmless you know. Completely tame.” Clarisse pointed out. She then looked at him levelly. “You know, lots of things here could kill you. Children. Teachers. Councelors.” Clarisse explained slowly, hoping Adam would wisen up a bit (afraid of ChiChi? Preposterous!). Gently the brunette laid her darling pet on her lap, letting the creature crawl lazily towards her hemline before it came to rest just above her knee.

“They’re not so scary once you understand them. You of all people should know that feeling.” Clarisse finished, smiling gently at him. “but I can put her back where you can’t see her if you would prefer.” Her eyes darted sidelong at Adam and she pursed her mouth in an impish, plotting smile.

“Or…you could hold her.” She said with a casual shrug, wondering what sort of effect her tarantulas-to-metahumans metaphor would have.

[Adam Collier]

Adam could tell that Clarisse was trying to calm him down but it wasn't really working. He was a 38 year old man and was terrified of spiders, but can you blame him, he was bitten by a black widow as a kid. Something like that scars a kid. It was still embarrassing, and something few people knew about him.

"Yes lots, of things could kill me here, but they don't have eight eyes and waaay too many eyes."

Adam sucked in his breath as chichi crawled onto Clarisse's knee. Adam felt chastised after Clarisse said he just had to understand them. Adam eyes bugged out as when she suggested that she put him back where he couldn't see him. That would mean it going back on her neck, and that was not something he wanted. He really didn't want to hold it either. Maybe it could just... stay on the blanket between them, let him get used to it? Maybe then he would hold it... maybe.

"Ummmm no, I uh don't think so. Maybe, uh... um maybe she can just sit on the blanket, not on you, anywhere. And not too close to me."

Adam would relax once chichi was off of Clarisse, and not too close to him. He would have to figure out where to sit.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

“Some of them might.” Clarisse said, sticking her nose in the air with mock offense. “And ChiChi has just the right number of legs and eyes for her kind. Don’t be prejudiced now Adam.” Clarisse scolded playfully. She hated to tease him, but she just found it so funny! Satisfied that the poor man had had enough after her cruel attempts to guilt him into loving her pet as much as she did, Clarisse seriously listened to his request.

“Alright, if you insist.” She said softly. Reaching down, Clarisse put her hand in ChiChi’s path, letting the fuzzy creature clamber into her palm once again. After a few strokes of Clarisse’s finger, the biologist placed the tarantula on the blanket between them. Though ChiChi was closer to Clarisse than Adam, Clarisse made sure that ChiChi was well within the distance of the small silver chain. That way Clarisse could drag her away if Adam got too antsy.

“Is this alright?” She asked, her voice as soothing as she could manage. “I want you to enjoy yourself. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Clarisse apologized.

[Adam Collier]

Adam smirked when Clarisse scolded him, she reminded him of his sister Evelyn. She would scold him all the time, never mind that she too was years younger then him. Evelyn had learned it from their mother, she too liked to scold. In fact Adam barely even noticed scolding as a form of punishment anymore, it was only amusing and sweet now.

Adam sighed in relief as the tarantula was set safely on the ground. Adam smiled when he saw a small silver chain attached to the over grown spider. As long as Clarisse kept a hold of her there shouldn't be much of a problem. And Adam trusted Clarisse to keep an eye on her pet.

"That is just perfect Clarisse." Adam could feel himself relaxing just a little. "Well I think that wont be hard at all now... So a tarantula for a pet? How in the world did you choose her? Or better yet why, why not a cut furry kitten?" Adam liked cats, he could handle cats, even dogs, lizards, snakes, but tarantulas as pets baffled him.

[Clarisse Prideaux]

Truly baffled by why it was somehow better to have ChiChi closer if he was so scared, Clarisse shook her head. Some people where more odd than they let alone, or at least rather particular. Even so, Clarisse could hear Adam sigh softly and start to relax, even with just the rearrangement of her pet on the blanket. Whatever worked, worked, she supposed.

“That’s right. A tarantula.” She replied, shaking her hair off her neck to cool herself slightly. “You’d be surprised how much they are like kittens. They purr, they’re furry, they’re very affectionate.” She explained, nodding down to the creature. “I actually got her because they are very…ehm…” Clarisse paused, furrowing her brow to dig up the proper phrase. “They are very low maintenance. I don’t have to feed her everyday or change her litter box.”

Laughing slightly, Clarisse reached out and tickled one of the tarantula’s feet, causing the large spider to scuttle forward a few steps. Otherwise, ChicChi remained sedentary, content to rest near a gentle wrinkle in the blanket. “Besides. I think she’s cute! Just as cute as any kitten.”

[Adam Collier]

Tarantulas are like kittens? Adam laughed at the thought., only if kittens suddenly grew six more legs and dew more eyes. Adam shuddered at the image that had formed in his mind, that was just wrong.

"They still look like and are over grown spiders. Has she ever bitten you? I don't know if you would be singing the same song if you had been bitten before."

Adam could only nod his head in agreement about wanting a low maintenance pet, it was in fact why he himself did not have a pet at the moment. The last pet he had was a fancy gold fish. His thought at the time was that it was a fish, it would not take a lot of care. Sadly he was wrong after just 3 weeks poor goldfish (he never even gave it a name) went belly up.

As Clarisse reached to pet chichi Adam flinched a bit an image of Clarisse being attacked right then and there. Adam sucked in his breath, slowly releasing it as it became clear that the spider wasn't going to attack her.

Adam needed a new topic to talk about. "So.. um.. what are your plans while you're here? I assume you have something going on now that you are full time."