[u]Holly Gabrielle Baless[/u]

Holly went to sip on her hot chocolate-something of a defense mechanism. Holly was quite chipper, normally, outgoing and willing to chat up even absolute strangers. And yet Deborah's hurried absence, some odd feeling she just couldn't place in regards to Baron, and some nagging feeling in the well of her chest, a little whisper that warned something very very bad was about to happen in the town of Black Fall, something she just hadn't figured out quite yet. Holly cupped the mug with both hands, nail-polish-less fingers interlaced around its warmth. Huh. Empty. She hadn't even noticed. She faked a sip so she wouldn't look too silly. Why was Holly so suddenly cold? This wasn't right. Wasn't right at all.

Focusing on Baron helped Holly shrug off the odd, someone's-dancing-over-my-grave sensation that so suddenly gripped Holly. "Well that's certainly some very good advice Dr. Moreau. I'm lucky my family would support me in whatever I decided to do-well, in almost whatever I decided to," she said, a grin tugging at the end of her pale pink lips. "I'll definitely have to look into it sometime, maybe shadow you around one day." This was one of those things Holly said without entirely meaning; the sort of hollow courtesy people are fond of throwing at those they've just recently become acquainted with. Holly did not want to follow Baron around. Holly did not want to be a psychologist. She thought psychology was very fascinating but she didn't want to be a therapist. No siree. And she didn't think she could be shut up in a lab all day either, or really any aspect of psychology, it just seemed...no. Not right. Not her path. The right path for others but not for Miss Holly. Holly's gaze wandered for a moment, the faint, almost imperceptible glow that gave her a natural radiance dimming for a moment. She seemed lost, a blackbird in a snowstorm. After a couple seconds she blinked and the aura of warmth returned, Holly reaching again for her cocoa before remembering it was empty. Shame. It had been good! Not quite as good as the croissants but certainly not bad. She brushed her bangs back behind her ears, taking a moment to tie her wavy blonde hair back into a ponytail. Her eyes closed out of old habits and, in the semi-light of the coffee shop, Holly could've passed for being much older. Not physically, she didn't appear to be middle aged, but rather in the subtle weight of an old soul. It was harder to see when she smiled, but more noticeable when she relaxed, occupied herself with mundane tasks. For the naive idealism, there was something sterner underneath. 

"Bloodlines? Well I'm no expert on metahumans but I think it can-" Holly began, not noticing the new visitors to the table. Oh my! Holly, not being particularly tall, was always a little irritated when she had to deal with unreasonably tall people. Surely the Good Lord could've spared a few more inches of spine, yes? Her neck started hurting half-way through a conversation with folks such as the ones who had just approached her. However, this was trivial, and not anything that consciously occurred to her when she greeted Ben and Claire. The day would come, however, when Holly chanced upon a midget who was far shorter than she, and she would likely relish that day for years to come. "Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Claire. I'm Holly."

It was interesting that she was so upfront about being a metahuman-while Holly made no efforts to hide her particular gifts, she didn't go around publicizing it. Seemed...not entirely arrogant, but certainly not humble. There were certainly people out there who wished they had such talents and Holly felt it a little rude to remind them of it. Besides, it was not anything she had done to earn her abilities-the Lord had given them to her, and in turn expected her to give unto others. The parable of the talents was never far from Holly's mind. An even taller man came up, looking a bit confused, gravitating towards Claire. Holly's eyes flickered down to their hands. Ah, wedding rings. "Mrs. Claire, who might your friend be?" Holly inquired, keeping her observation to herself. After all, if they weren't married it'd be sort of awkward. Mrs. Claire certainly seemed nice, but a little...abrupt? She'd entered the conversation full-throttle, which didn't really bother Holly (she was somewhat glad for a few more people there since Deborah's sudden flight) but Claire didn't seem the type to hold much back. There were some types-cruel, prejudiced folks that Holly did not hold in the highest regard-who'd not take kindly to people throwing their metahuman status around so boldly. Perhaps Claire was new to Black Fall. The community of metas was sizable, but no matter how many sheep were in the flock, there were always a few wolves looking to try their luck. 

That's why it was so important to have a good shepherd, eh?