Momma Bear (Phith/open)

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista finished up the last little paperwork she needed to do for now. Thankfully it had been a slow day so far, with not many people being brought in that needed to be patched up. She would be able to arrive to the meeting that she had set up with the new candidate she was going to mentor on time. She had sent a message to the boy the day before, stating the time, and that they would meet in the cafeteria.

She'd chosen that place for a couple reasons. The meeting was during her lunch break, also it would have a more laid back feel to it. No point in stressing the hell out of the kid right off the bat. The other reason wsa simpley because there would be many people there and would see what was going on. Momma bear was finally taking a new cub under her wing.

With the last page signed, she closed the file and set it in the finished pile. She stood and stretched, then left her office. After informing the receptionist that she would be taking her break, she slipped a couple a couple of lollipops into her lab coat pocket. These weren't the cheap ones either, but those nice large round ones that came in flavours other then orange, red and yellow. She knew that there were more then a few pilots and cadidates that had a sweet tooth around.

As she walked down the hallways towards the cafeteria, the stern sound of her stilletto boots clicked crisply against the floor. These boots weren't made for fashion though. It would be such a pain should the heel break off while she was doing something important. Instead they had been especially made so that the sole and heel of the boot were a single formed piece of re-inforced steel.

Once in the cafeteria she paused to glancec around for the candidate she was meeting. Not seeing him here yet she moved to collect her lunch. A couple pieces of fruit, a salad topped with grilled chicken, a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. Once everything was in order she moved to sit down. It wasn't often that she actually ate her lunch here, so she could just imagine what kind of rumors her appearence would cause. She pulled out a bottle form her pocket and selected one of the multi-vitamins. It was swallowed with the water, then she set about eating her meal while she waited for cadidate Fimbulvetr to arrive.

[Anonymous]

Nereus wandered the halls, a slightly bewildered look on his face. Reaching a hand up to scratch the back of his head, he glanced about, looking for the right door. Man, I need to hurry. I'm looking for a... Ms Callista Sterling. He tilted his head upwards, thinking on where he is supposed to go. Thud.

"Owww. Man, where'd this wall come from?" Nereus was now sitting on the ground, rubbing where he had hit the wall. Peering upwards, he saw a large sign with bold print reading 'CAFETERIA'. "Oh, neat, I found it!" His face lit up, and he scrambled to his feet, making his way into the cafeteria.

Okay, so she's around here somewhere, I think and- Rumble rumble. Mhm, I'm hungry. I'm sure Ms Sterling won't mind if I get some food. He quietly chuckled to himself as he wiggled around in his roomy coat, trying to keep the sleeves from making his outer arms too uncomfortable.

After he got out of the line, he was carrying a tray with fish, chicken, a banana, and a pint of milk. So, she's around here somewhere. Hmm... let's use some of the tricks I've learned to find her! Maybe it's a test! She'll be proud if I figure it out, I'm sure! He walked out of the main walkway, relaxing up against a wall. Okay, just focus. He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes, focusing on the thoughts around him, as his eyes started to glow a faint violet. A good minute of slowly scanning revealed a shred of thought, the word 'Fimbulvetr.'

Hey, that's me! I think I found her! Nereus bounced up and down a bit, practically vaulting off of the wall towards the remote table with a woman wearing stilettos and a lab coat.

"Uhm, excuse me." A nervous quiver shook his voice. Aw, I hope I'm right! I'll be so embarrassed if I'm not... "My name is Nereus Fimbulvetr, I'm a candidate. Are you Pilot Callista Sterling, by any chance?"

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista knew the instant her candidate arrived in the cafeteria, however she remained seated. There really wasn't any need for her to announce to the candidate that she was here. He'd find her soon enough. She watched the little candidate make his way to the food line. Excellent, now she wouldn't have time wasted with having the boy search for her, come introduce himself, then go get his food and return. She really didn't have much to spare.

Speaking of not wasting time, Callista pulled a note pad from her pocket, along with a pen. As she ate and waited for Nereus, she started writing down a list of things she needed to do this afternoon. Sure there had been a list made earlier on in the day,  but that was before the morning had been quiet and she was able to finish more work then she had counted on. Re-evaluating the list, she could add a few more minor things in, things that could be put off should something major happen... like one of the candidates coming in with their finger sliced off. It was always fun making sure that all the blood vessels, nerve endings, and other such delicate tissue was fused back together properly.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the arrival of her candidate. Setting her pen down for the moment, she turned her full attention on him. "It is nice to finally meet you Candidate Fimbulvetr. Please join me." She motioned to the seat across from her.

Now that Nereus was close up, she took the oppertunity to look him over better. Sure she had read his file and medical records, but seeing it with her own eyes was a different thing. She didn't think much of the nervousness he was displaying. At least not for the moment.

"I hope you've had a good day so far."

[Anonymous]

"Oh, thanks, Ms Pilot Callista Sterling, Er, should I call you Ms Sterling? Or Pilot Sterling? Or Ms Callista?" He let out a small whimper as he took his seat, placing his tray on the table, and grabbing the fish in his hand.

"Well, my day's been good enough." He turned the fish so that he could eat as much of it as he could in one bite. "I mean, it's just the same old same old. But, I've got a mentor, now. You." He took a large bite of the fish, which was followed by chewing, and a particularly large crunch.

"Ow, that kinda hurt. If I could be excused for one quick second...." He said, reaching up into his mouth, and tugging slightly on a tooth, which came right out. The missing space was then quickly filled with another tooth, about as quickly as he had pulled it out.

"Sorry about that, it happens sometimes when I eat." He casually said, placing the tooth on his tray. "Now that we're buddies, what do you wanna talk about, Ms Callista?" A curious look came into his eyes, as if he'd seen something completely and totally alien, but it quickly faded as he returned to paying attention to his mentor.

[[ OOC: Wow, that was... short. Not in a long-post-making mindset today, I guess... ]]

[shinigamikitsune]

"Ms Callista is fine." There was another Pilot Sterling around, so this would help to ease confusion should Nereus ever meet him.

She gave a soft smile as she listened to him. The open friendliness, along with the innocent naivity was usually something that would have been driven out of a cadidate by this stage. It would be sad to see when it did break, but it was something that needed to be done if this boy was going to survive past candidacey. Perhaps he'd be able to claim some of it back once he became a pilot.

"As your new mentor, it is my responcibility to ensure that you are prepared, both physically and mentally, to become a Pilot. With this said, I will be pushing you to your breaking limits at times, along with teaching you various things. I am more then certain that there will be times that you will find my methods to be intense, and times when you may even hate me. Everything I do with mentoring you will be done with your best interests in mind." She paused to take a sip of her water.

Nereus having plucked the tooth out earlier hadn't even phazed her. She'd read about it in his file. This boy certainly was an interesting subject, and it would be a shame to loose him back to TRIM.

"Also, should you ever need me for anything, you can find me in the Infirmary most of the time."

[Anonymous]

Nereus scratched the side of his neck, nervous at his mentor's slightly ominous description of the training regiment. This might seem bad, but I'm not gonna just give up! They wanted me to be a pilot, so I'm going to be a Pilot!

"Well, Ms Callista, I'll be prepared for anything that you can dish out. I won't stop until I'm a Pilot, you can be sure of that!" A cheery, confident look swept Nereus's face, showing that he won't go down without one heck of a fight. "And besides, I'd be surprised if you could even hit my breaking point. My parents were pretty rough on me sometimes, so I'll be able to take quiiiite a bit."

He took the chicken, and practically sucked the meat off of the whole breast. Between the slightly disgusting chewing noises, he tried to talk. "Mmmmf! Mmph mmmmph mphph-" The 'talking,' along with all of the food, kickstarted the gag reflex. After one or two gagging motions, he managed to swallow the food, and could actually make coherent sentences.

"So, Infirmary. That's, what, on the right, three doors down from the first right turn to the left of the cafeteria?" Nereus guzzled down some of his milk, and kept talking. "That's good, then! I'll know where to find you, so we can get some training done!" He giggled just a bit, and then realized he was talking a little too much. "Whoops, sorry! So, like, uhm, when do you want to have a training session or whatever mentors and candidates do?"

[shinigamikitsune]

Callista arched a brow at Nereus' eating habits, and decided to add a few ettiquette lessons into the mix as well. Her lunch would be put on hold for now.

"That just means that I'll be able to push you further in order to discover those breaking points. After all, I am certain that I'll be able to throw things at you that your parents never thought of." A sly grin formed across her lips for a second, before it faded.

"As for a schedual, I'll message you daily to fit one in. As you can imagine, my work load varies day to day, depending on how many little candidates manage to break something and need my healing." It was always interesting to see what new and creative ways the candidates could come up with to hurt each other... and a strangley morbid fascination of course.