Electra

Stesha shook Taylor's hand in return. "I hope to not have any imp problems, but it's always nice to know someone in the business," she joked. Reaching into a bag, she handed over a business card. "Here's my direct line. Just give me a call if you want to change anything with the flowers, or if you have, you know, a plant emergency or something." She shrugged, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a quick grin. "You never know. It was nice to meet you too, I hope all the rest of your planning goes smoothly."

"No problem," Stesha told her. "There's this great bakery right down the street from here. I go there all the time because we coordinate on flower-dressed cakes. They also do a cream puff that must be eaten to be believed." She looked over all the notes she'd taken down. "And I think I've got everything I need here to get things put into the computer. I can take the deposit and get you an estimate for everything if you can wait around, or I can mail it or email it to you." She grinned. "Seeing as how I know you're on a tight schedule." She flipped the books closed and stowed them back in her bag. "You know, you might at least be better off if you can get on the five year plan," she pointed out. "I had a couple friends who did that, at other schools. One of them told his parents he got an internship, and then spent an entire semester out on the beach in California. I don't know if he ever got found out, but I was way jealous. I bet if you look around or ask around, you could find a doctor or a professor who's meta friendly. Maybe even down at the Freedom League. If one of them says you're interning for them, maybe you could get a couple credits for hero work. Couldn't hurt to ask."

"Well you should," Stesha insisted. "Do things for fun, I mean. I hear that a lot from big-time heroes. I was on this date the other night, and the guy said he never does anything fun and he doesn't know if he'll ever retire because there's always some new bad guy coming down the pike. But that's a terrible way to think!" She waved her hands earnestly. "Imagine if we asked police officers to live that way. 'You can't have a family or a personal life or a weekend off, because something bad could happen and it would be ALL YOUR FAULT!' I mean, the burnout rate would be horrible, and who in the world would ever want to join the force?" Stesha took the broken-off half of the cookie out of the bakery bag and offered it again to Taylor. "Even when you're busy, you're never too busy for one small nice thing to remind you that you're human. Even if it's just some dessert or a long bath or a night with your friends. You look really young, which can be really misleading with people like us, but if you are, and you've got your whole life ahead of you, that's plenty of time to fight your quota of bad guys. You're supposed to be keeping a balance, right?"

"Well, my stomach still gets full if I eat way too much," Stesha said, after thinking about the question for a moment. She'd never really considered it. "Generally I just get, you know, an order of something at a restaurant, or one plate of food when I'm home with my family." She laughed. "At home, the table's so busy, who notices what anyone else is eating, anyhow? And if I have too much or too little, I just say I've quit my diet, or just started a new one." She looked faintly put-out. "You'd think with not eating, I'd be able to lose a few pounds, but I can't quit the dessert habit. Do you not eat, even for fun, when you're alone?"

"Wow, that's a rough gig," Stesha replied with a sympathetic grimace. "Makes me sort of glad that I was never even good at Spanish in high school." She looked over at the necklace. "I mean, who would think that just a little necklace would have that kind of power?" With a shrug and a rueful chuckle, she added "I probably shouldn't talk. I got my powers when a magical plant sneezed pollen all over me. When I woke up the next day my hair was green and I didn't need to eat or sleep anymore. There are weird things going on all over."

That got a laugh from Stesha as she turned back to the mirror, looking at Angel in the reflection. "I fell off her porch," she admitted cheerfully. "It was the middle of the night, and suddenly she walks up behind me, all covered in monster goo, and scared the bejeesus out of me. She hauled me in and helped me get cleaned up, and we made friends. I wanted to know more about what it's like to work in this city, and she told me, and it was cool. Now she's got me set up on this date, and I think she might be crazy, but the dress will be gorgeous once it fits. If it ever fits." She gave the sleeve an annoyed look. "What sorts of hero-type stuff do you do?"

Erin The Visit Car Shopping Creative Destruction (37 posts) Postgame Analysis (31 posts) Wandering Edge (26 posts) Morning in America A Three-Hour Tour (1 post) Those Who Fight Monsters (21 posts) Schoolyard Brawl (21 posts) The Other Goods (19 posts) Birthday at the Park Sweet Sixteen Stesha Hammer and Anvil Nighttime Networking (11 posts) Voices in the Air (10 posts) The Guy Who Has Everything A Friendly Luncheon (29 posts) Holding Out for a Hero (18 posts) When All is Said (10 posts) Picking up the Trash A Picnic at Liberty Park (45 posts) House Call (36 posts) Wedding Fever (24 posts) A Starlit Date (23 posts) Nobody's Home (9 posts)

"But if all your meta friends were there," Stesha pointed out, grinning, "the imps wouldn't dare show up. And if they did, well, it would be one of those weddings they talk about for years afterwards! Most weddings are just a little bit too much the same, in my book. It's great when they're beautiful, it's great when they run perfectly, but it's the little quirks that give people the best memories. Not that you'll be getting any quirks from the flowers or anything," she hastened to assure. "We do hundreds of weddings a year, flawlessly. Or no flaws that anyone else ever sees, at least!" She made a couple more notes, drawing in a toss bouquet that was a smaller, stem-wrapped version of the bridal bouquet. "So what are you studying?" she asked as she worked.

"School's never as easy as you remember it being afterwards," Stesha pointed out. "Sure you're only in class a few hours a day, but there's studying, lab work, extracurriculars, having friends... It's pretty full-time. It's nice that your friends will cover for you when you need it." She added the new information to her notes, chewing on the pencil eraser for a minute. "Okay, good, good. We'll just have the book piece in the same style, we've got the swags, arm bouquets mean we've got the main table decorations handled, got the altarpieces... toss bouquet, right." She gave Taylor a conspiritorial smile. "So I happen to know for a fact that a lightweight, aerodynamic bouquet makes the bride throw it higher and further... perfect for the short women standing in back. Want me to make it happen?"

"You too," Erin told her sincerely. She'd never seen Alex act quite like that, and it made her feel bad to have upset her friend, no matter how pissed she'd been herself. But things were going to get better now. She'd just dodge Mike for a little while, Alex could have some fun with Mark, and things would go back to normal. Rather than bothering with the stairs all over again, she opened the window on the landing and jumped out to the grounds. It was a fairly common means of egress at the school. She hit the ground running, and was gone in moments.

Stesha laughed at that. "News coverage is the last thing I want! My parents would totally flip out if they knew I was doing hero work. Even though what I do is hardly dangerous and basically no more illegal than trespassing on public lands. But you know how it is with family. It's kind of too bad, though. I'd love to be able to show them what I can do." She got the book open to a certain page. "Here we go, back to the pew bouquets. I was thinking two red roses and a white rose for each of these, and some greenery, then a red and cream ribbon. Less expensive than the lilies, not too busy, but very dressy and pretty. The roses can also stand up to a certain amount of thigh-bumping without looking the worse for it." She looked up at Taylor. "With all the balls you must have to keep in the air, it's really nice that you can still help out with family stuff like this."

"I have enough things to feel guilty about without feeling guilty about what I killed in the past," Erin muttered. "Let alone spending all my time beating myself up over it. Maybe in ten years, he'll have gotten over it, I guess. For now I think you really are better off going out with someone like Mark. Get yourself out of the swamp for awhile, spend time with someone who really seems to be pretty happy." The corners of her lips tipped up a little. "God knows we don't see too much of that in our little corner of the school here." Erin pulled away from the railing and stretched. "I'll do the history later," she decided suddenly. "I've got too much energy to concentrate, anyways. I think I'm gonna go for a run. I'll catch up with you tonight."

"Me?" Stesha grinned a little sheepishly, looking around at the lushly flower-filled park. "Nothing like any of that, really. I try to stay away from supervillains, because I'm not a good fighter at all. Mostly I do this." She waved a hand around to the park. "I've gotten about half the parks in town by now. I had no idea there were so many! But it's all civic beautification stuff. There's only so much even a good parks department can do, and I figure I do my part to help the citizens by giving them a little more beauty in their everyday lives." She laughed. "It's not exactly world-class hero work, but people seem to like it, so that's pretty good." She took the books out of her bag and started looking through them to find where they'd been before they were interrupted.

Stesha gave that idea serious thought, tapping her knuckles against her lips for a few moments before looking up at him. "I suppose it would be harder for you," she acknowledged with a nod. "For anyone with really great powers. If I retire, it means the Parks Department is left to care for the parks. The consequences could be a lot worse if you retired. But I guess that's why it's good that there are always new heroes coming up, too. Nobody can expect one hero to work forever, certainly not without taking a break. You'd forget what you were fighting for, or why you ever cared." She smiled, picking up her fork again. "Maybe someday when you're ready to take a break, you'll be a teacher. Someone needs to teach the up-and-comers how to do it, and they'll respect someone who's already saved the world a hundred times. Teaching's a good gig. My dad does it, and one of my sisters. I'm sure it's not the exact same satisfaction as beating a villain in personal combat, but it's got its joys." After taking a thoughtful bite and a sip of wine, she finally answered the other question. "I don't think I have a favorite. There are too many that are amazing in their own ways. Kind of like your planetary wonders, on a more microcosmic scale."

"It sounds complicated," Stesha said, nibbling meditatively on her cookie. "But important. Threats on the ground, threats in space, threats in other dimensions... I think I'm just starting to realize how many different kinds of heroes and villains there are. It's kind of unnerving, actually! But better that there be a kind of hero for every kind of villain than just a lot more kinds of villain than I realized." Setting aside her cookie in the bag for the moment, she opened the book again. "Do you want to finish up with the flowers now? I know you probably have to go track down who sent that guy and all, but if we get this taken care of now, you won't have to worry about it."

Erin was quiet for a moment, actually thoughtful this time. "Maybe you're right about that," she admitted softly, staring down at her own hands on the railing. "When it comes right down to the line, we're all we've got. I probably shouldn't have gone off on him like that, but he made me so mad. Makes me so mad," she admitted. "Partly because he's wrong about me, but also because it's so wasteful. He wastes so much time being afraid of himself and feeling bad. And it's because of this thing that happened when he was almost a baby. It's been what, two thirds of a lifetime? He could be so much happier, and so much better at what he does." She squeezed the railing, then released it. "And maybe I can't help but wonder, if he judges himself so harshly for something he couldn't possibly have stopped or controlled, would he ever forgive anyone else for any mistake?" Shaking her head, she turned and went up the stairs. "It doesn't really matter. At least we can tell Summers we went a few rounds, but it didn't work out very well. We're probably both better off with other opponents."

"Okay, that's good," Stesha said with a nod. She pulled a white paper bag from her knapsack and opened it up. Apparently her lunch today consisted of a hand-sized chocolate chip cookie. Breaking it in half, she offered part of it to Taylor. "So what do you do as an interdimensional guardian?" she asked with great curiosity. "Is it like being a super-police officer? Was that thing trying to mug us?"

Erin turned in the stairwell to let Alex talk, looking down at her from a few steps up. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she said, half sincere, half exasperated. "I really am sorry that bad things happen to you. I'm sorry you got into my head, and other people's heads, and saw what you didn't want to see. It sucks and it's not fair. Nobody should have to live like that. And we could still argue over whose life is worse, and maybe I think I have a pretty damn good argument when you still have your family and your entire reality at the end of each session, but that's not even the point, is it?" she pressed. "Nobody out there really cares at the end of the day what heroes' lives are like," Erin continued, still gripping the railing, but careful not to break it. "They want to know if we're going to save them. That's why we're here, isn't it? Isn't that why you put up with living in the dorm and having to shut us all out all day and night, isn't that why I'm killing myself with more work and school than I've done in my entire life? When it comes down to it, I want to be able to say that I saved the people, not that I stepped back because it was too hard and scary."

"So you only knew because you used your powers?" Stesha asked. She wasn't entirely reassured, but she really wanted to be. If people on the street could tell that she had meta powers and wasn't just making a fashion statement, she was in big trouble. "You wouldn't have been suspicious otherwise?" It was enough to get her walking again at least, turning the corner that took them into a small park. It was a very beautiful park, nearly overgrown with flowering plants and bushes, with grass that was springy to walk on. Stesha sat down on a wooden bench and began rummaging in her knapsack.

Erin stalked out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, heading for the stairs to the dorm. "Look, she said, not breaking her long stride, "I don't want to make a big deal about where I come or how hard it was because I don't think it's anything to be proud of. But no matter what kind of troubles you had or what kind of fights you got into on the playground, you really have no idea of what things are like for me or how I feel, even if you are psychic. And you don't need to give me the psychologist crap either. I already get that fifteen hours a week and that's way more than enough." She reached the bottom of the stairs and started up them three at a time.

The question was enough to have Stesha stopping in her tracks. She looked around nervously, hoping she hadn't started spontaneously popping flowers in the sidewalk or anything like that. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "How did you know?" she asked, her voice half a wail. "Nobody is supposed to know that, at least, not just from looking!"

"So I'm supposed to be able to see the point when he says that the reason I'm spending a hundred hours a week retraining my body and mind is because I'm too damn stubborn to just say "Actually, I'd rather not hit people too hard anymore?" Erin retorted sourly. "That's not a side, that's just stupid." She drummed her fingers against the railing of the elevator as it rose, making a noise like a drumroll. "He thinks he knows what it's like to have control because he's got no instincts, no reflexes. He's been entirely safe every minute of his entire life, except for maybe twenty minutes in that baseball stadium. He didn't have to develop the instincts to let you survive when you can't see the daylight for all the bodies piling on you, or when you can't breathe because your mouth is full of blood." She kept her voice clipped and fast, the emotions writhing just underneath the words. "It's easy for him to say it's a choice, and he says it because it excuses him making the choice to run away. Maybe I shouldn't have called him a coward, but he's no more ready than I am to be a hero. And if you're not taking a side on that, you're just siding with the person who's wrong."

Stesha stowed away the air freshener and locked up the cash register. Leaning into the back, she called "Hey Paul, I'm taking an early lunch, going to let the front air out for awhile. I'm locking up out here." She closed the door and turned to Taylor. "He's got a fifty table garden party tomorrow. He probably won't notice if a bomb explodes before six pm, but it's better to be safe than sorry. There's a park down the street." Picking up her knapsack and the wedding books, she flipped the pretty painted sign on the door to Closed and ushered Taylor out. "So are your family super?" she asked curiously as they walked. "That'd make a really spectacular wedding. You could color-coordinate with uniforms, have shaped insignia pieces..." Despite what had just happened, she seemed more enthusiastic than upset, now that they were away from her workplace.

"I'm not going to yell at you," Erin replied, still not really looking in Alex's direction. "What would be the point?" She sounded tired all of a sudden, with the irritation leaking away. "I know you're his friend first, I know you think he's not emotionally mature enough to be treated as an adult. If you want to take his side and believe that I decided to break that guy's ribs because I'm that kind of person deep down, you can believe that. But you're both still wrong."

"For myself," she told him, warming quickly to the topic of gardening. "It's much more efficient to grow commercial flowers on a large scale in a nursery. Even with my extra talent, that's not really something that interests me. I like arranging flowers for display more than I like actually growing and selling them. For my shop, I'd make arrangements with a few growers, the more local the better, and then just make what they couldn't. For my own garden, I wouldn't want too many regimented flowers. I like letting them do their own thing. Vegetables are a little different, obviously, but using organic techniques like Three Sisters gardening means that you can let them run wild for most of the season without having to do much weeding. A little orchard, some nut trees... I can fudge a little on the climate restrictions with my talents," she told him with a smile. "It wouldn't exactly be a self-sustaining lifestyle, but there'd be a good harvest every year. "That's all years down the line though," she added, waving her hand. "I love Freedom City, and I love my job, and doing hero work. But I can't see doing it forever. What about you? If you're going to live forever, do you ever plan on quitting?"