[b][u]Baron Moreau[/u][/b]

Baron had given Holly a courtesy nod and smiled, as though he were approving the suggestion she had given. But something about her disposition didn't [i]feel[/i] right. She winded down from a cheery disposition to a more tempered, tame energy. Her sentiments were disingenuous - that's what it meant. For whatever reason, she wasn't telling the truth to him, or at least not the full truth. There also stood the fact that here he was, a total stranger, discussing this topic with a young girl... but at the same time, this was the same young girl that had enthusiastically engaged in conversation with him and introducing everybody. Insecurity was no longer a factor at play. At least, not in the way that'd keep someone from talking with a stranger. No, there was something a little bigger at play when it comes to Holly, the presumably great ball of sunshine, and Baron didn't know what yet. It would be best if that mystery were to wait a little while longer before he decided to pry open that shell.

He didn't overlook the couple walking past his table, of course. A tall couple. One of them, slightly taller than average, and the other not just outrageously so, but large to boot. The kind of guy you'd expect to be carrying most of the heavy loads on a construction site. That was all that he found outstanding of them at a glance though – married, one silent, the other talked for him, a similar loving dynamic to the one he had found on the bus.

Holly was just about to answer his question regarding meta-humans and bloodlines when that couple had injected themselves into the conversation... well, the woman, at least.

“Sorry to interrupt and listen into your conversation,” she said. Not sorry enough it seemed. A curious lack of shame. “But I couldn't help but overhear that last bit, about how you'd conceive 'the meta human condition'.”

“Yes,” Baron responded simply, hiding the implication of being inconvenienced behind a neutral expression, “why?”

The woman stuttered in her answer. “I, uh, I'm a meta human myself, so I might be able to shed a little light.”

Interesting. Was she also a scientific specialist? Baron doubted that the knowledge of meta-human origins was imparted through one another by birth or by conception of the gene.

"Basically it can be inherited,” the stranger continued, “I think there are a few bloodlines around that have a reoccurring pattern like..." she said, trailing off. "... Like the Blackmore family!”

“Yes,” Baron agreed with a nod, “I have heard of them.”

"Usually it's sporadic and you're born with it, like my husband, and more often then not it manifests itself in the early teen years, but for some it can can be conceived through excess interaction and exposure to meta human energy. It's how I developed my ability."

Baron continued to nod in silence. He wasn't daft, and entered a topic of study and the science of observation without doing his own reading. These were all things he had read in a journal shortly after discoveries were made on the meta-human condition. Still, Baron didn't say a word to Claire out of respect for her eagerness and... [i]consideration.[/i] He went as far as scuffing his brows and narrowing his eyes at Claire in feigned interest. He laced his fingers together and leaning forward as she went further into her own experience. On the bright side, he didn't have to wait to find a meta-human – one came straight to him.

“When I was diagnosed by a NEST agent,” she continued, “my husband and I did a lot of research on that kind of thing, on why I suddenly had to be put on NEST monitor duty now instead of much earlier in my life." She snapped her fingers. "Oh, I'm Claire by the way. And you two are?"

Golly, talk about forgetful. Regardless, her sociable disposition was at least a [i]blast[/i] of fresh air compared to many of the street-walkers outside and the folks back at base. This Claire woman, the more he thought about, might not exactly be the kind of specimen he was looking for. She was very much out in the open regarding her status, as though she was not affected by the problems that had plagued the town as Baron saw it. She seemed to have a fair relationship with NEST, or at least one of its agents. She was a typical person with a gene. Curious. There was, of course, all likelihood this applied to all people carrying the gene, but like she said herself, she got it by being around the meta-energy so often. Not by birth. That at least would prompt some questions... in the future, of course. She didn't seem the type to require a therapy or counseling session.

“Baron,” he answered with a gleeful smile, “thank you so much for your story, you've given me a lot to consider.”

Maybe not a lot, but it was something. It was at least something.

“And your husband?” Baron inquired further as he looked around Claire to see the brutishly hulking man sitting in a chair off to the side.

The ringing of the bells as the door opened – which had invited a rush of cold air – signified more guests. Oh boy, the Mean Bean Machine sure was popular today. It might have been the holidays. A peppermint special or something? He'd have to vacate soon or something, he wasn't a superb fan of being in large crowds. Unless he had a spot all to himself, but Baron was on vacation. No podiums for him.

One of the newcomers commented on Holly's hat. Baron turned around with an incredulous expression on his face. Some girl. A friend of hers? Strange.