Derek started to notice that Kendra wasn't paying much attention to him speak. So he just decided to ramble on talk about how nervous he felt about starting over in New York and comparing the New England state to North Carolina. He also talked about his sexuality and how seeing different mutants made him think, well, differently. His definition of what was physically attractive had completely altered.

"Actually, I wanted to be surrounded by the woods if you don't mind." Derek led them further into the woods before stopping. They were almost at the center when Derek started to make clicking noises.

A couple of finches came right away and rested on either side of his shoulder. Clicking again, a fox peeped around and came along with a couple of deer. He turned around to look at Kendra. "I was thinkin' of bein' surrounded by animals? How does that sound?"

Kendra realized that they were actually standing in the woods now. When did that happen? She wondered. Her daydreaming mind had often betrayed her to the point where she wouldn't exactly know how she got somewhere. She would just walk and let her mind drift away, jumping from one thought to the next. She smiled at Derek. "Sounds fine hun. How's bout'chu go over there between those two trees and show me what'chu can do." Kendra said simply.

Kendra turned on her camera with a flick of her thumb and started to adjust the lens. She fidgeted with the settings a bit trying to get it perfect before she raised it to her eye and took a candid shot of Derek for good measure. She not only liked to take pictures of people with their powers active, but she had a nerdy hobby of snapping photos of people she met along the way. 

Back on her computer she had a folder entitled adventures and if she ever met an interesting person or an interesting face she would take a picture and store it there. It was like a chronicling of her life and everyone she had met in it that left some kind of impact on her. She smiled at the thought warmly as she took a few steps back finding a good vantage point for the photoshoot. She wasn't exactly sure what was going to happen but she was a professional. She would be able to capture the magic in the moment.

"Alright honey. Ready whenever you are." She called out from behind the lens of her expensive camera. The daylight was still bright and shiny. The light poured in from the trees giving enough life in the little clearing, though the heavily wooded area still cast a dark shadow. It was almost supernatural the way the dark surrounded his back as he stood there and the sun seemed to shine a spotlight on him all at the same time.

"You got it," With a thumbs up and s cheery smile, Derek marched his way over to the spot where Kendra wanted him to go and stood quietly.

The woodland animals followed his movement. He wondered how he should pose so Derek just went with the simplest one and just folded his arms over his chest and smiled. a couple of more birds came down and rested on Derek's shoulders.

"Wait," Derek instead opened his arms up with is palms facing toward the sky. He never felt so loved by anyone before. Well, except his family, but that was it. "Okay, I'm ready for my photoshoot now." Derek truly looked like a Disney princess come alive.

Kendra had the perfect lighting. The sun was high in the sky. Kendra directed Derek where she wanted him to stand. "Let's start off wit'a few just regular shots of ya." Kendra said taking a few photos of him just standing in the woods with his arms crossed.  It was probably going to be a 2 to three page article. She would have to ask him for something that seemed like an interview later. Myabe find out more about his life and his powers in detail.

Kendra kept snapping a few more photos. It didn't matter if they were good or not. She snapped them quick and got as many as she could and she would choose through them later. It was her process. She never looked at photos until later that night.  She liked to discover the magic and pick out the diamonds in the rough.  When she photographed she liked to be in the moment and not get bogged down or discouraged by bad photos.

"Alright move over in front of that tree and umm... Well call some animals or somethang." She said cheerfuly. She watched as some birds came to rest on hi shoulders.  She blinked a few times.  He acted like that was a totally normal thing.  She took a few more photos.  He reminded her of a Disney princess in a way.  All that was missing was a beautiful lyrical song. 

Kendra smiled over her camera and lowered it.  "Thank we could get a few more? Maybe something a bit bigger to really pop in the photo? Can you like sense animals that are near by? It'd be crazy if we could get a bear in here or something.  Guess'n there's not to many bears running round New York though.  Surprise me!"  Kendra said laughing at little.  She was having fun.  It was nice to be in her element with a camera in her hand.  She loved taking pictures.  Her life was normally so filled with stress and anxiety it was nice to disconnect from the stress and just focus on capturing an honest moment in a single second that would stand still forever to be immortalized.

Derek never felt like famous or overly important, but with Kendra taking photos of him for her article, it made him feel...essential. It also made him feel like he was able to make a difference in the lives of not just mutants in the south, but mutants everywhere.

He posed for the pictures respectively, mixing it up from time to time to make sure she got a variety of shots.

Kendra wanted larger animals? Derek could possibly do that. Currently he had a few birds, a fox and a doe. Maybe he could get a buck too. "I can't really sense where they are, but I can call them," Derek cleared his throat and started to make animal noises. Usually when he did that, a couple of animals would poke their heads out and see what he wanted.

After a couple of minutes, a strong buck came walking towards them with it's head down. Derek grinned at the beautiful creature. "It's best not to mix some animals together, though since I don't have control over them."

When the deer came close enough, Derek reached out and started to stroke the top of it's head. "Do you want to feel?"

Kendra watched as the deer came out. It was majestic. Beautiful. She had never been so close to one. Kendra almost didn't hear him ask if she wanted to pet it. At first she stood there staring, but then she gradually found the sense to nod to his question and she took a slow step forward. She lowered the camera and let it hang from her neck.

Kendra took a step forward being careful not to scare it away. Derek said he didn't have control over the animals. She wondered how that worked. How he was able to communicate with them all. Did he know instinctively all of their languages or was it just like speaking English and it translated? Kendra didn't have the concentration to sit and figure these things out. All of her attention was on Derek's friend.

After closing the distance she reached a hand out and gently stroked it's head. It's fur was soft beneath her hand. She was surprised how calm it was. They were ususally so skittish. She couldn't help but allow a smile to wash over her face. "What did you say to it?" She asked curiously. She knelt beside the deer and gave it a kiss on it's wet nose. She even dared to snuggle it's face a little bit. She couldn't imagine being able to just call creatures to your side it was kinda amazing actually.

Kendra couldn't resist a selfie she snapped a quick photo. The shot came out perfect and Kendra actually did take a peek at this one. She saw herself with a goofy grin and a deer that looked about as chill as a cucumber.  Derek was off to the side of the picture and the trio made a pretty good photo.  Kendra had so many questions but she wanted to get the best pictures possible and that meant taking them while they still had light.  The trees over head let some light in, but it was bound to get darker in the forrest sooner than in the clearing.

Derek watched as Kendra made her way over to the deer. It was an interesting sight to see how timid she was with such a calm and peaceful animal. Well, peaceful in the moment. If Derek was a fellow buck during mating season and Kendra was a doe, then this would be a whole bother experience for them.

"I ask for any buck in the area to come over. I also made sure he knew that there weren't any hunters around or anything like that," Derek explained with a smile, "...and I may or may not have promised him a handful of raspberries," in response, the deer turned his head and gently nudged him with his antlers. "I'll get them when I go back, okay?" Derek chuckled and leaned down to kiss the area above his eye.

Kendra took her photos. She had actually gotten some very amazing pictures. The skill at which she captured people was quite breathe taking. She had never seen herself as much of an artist, but others might disagree with her. She had a knack for truly capturing who a person was in a single moment. Her pictures seemed to say everything you needed to know about a person at a mere glance.

Derek's pictures showed a side that was kind and gentle, sweet, and loving. A person that couldn't lift a finger to hurt someone else. It wasn't in his nature. He was just a good person, and even the animals knew it. They trusted him, they flocked to him.

Kendra lowered her camera and smiled at Derek. "Thank that's enough. Got what I needed. You're a natural in front of a camera by the way. Let's get back I need to interview you for ma' article." Her compliment in her mind sounded cheesy. It sounded like a come on. Kendra wasn't flirting, though what she said did make her cheeks flush red. She darted her eyes to the ground as she began to walk out of the woods.

It sounded like something a photographer might tell a pretty face they were hoping to bed later.  She was hoping he didn't get that impression.  She mostly tried to avoid eye contact and kept her conversation to a minimum as they made it back to the mansion.  It was going to be even more awkward after what came out of her mouth next.  "Let's go up to my room so I can get to know you a little."  Instantly she regreted it.  Cheese and crackers Kendra!  She scolded herself.  She had a knack for putting her foot in her mouth as well it seemed.  "I mean to say.... Like so we can talk and I can find out about'chur life." Nice save idiot.  She thought grumpily.  She needed to get to know more about him to write a good piece.  Kendra had a feeling though that he would make a great cover story for the next issue.  He just seemed so warm and genuine.

"Why, thank ya. That's really sweet of you to say," Derek blushed, "you're really good at takin' photos." He returned a sincere compliment to Kendra. Assuming that they were done taking pictures, he nodded his head to the deer and to the rest of the animals to tell them that they can go back to doing what they were before Derek called them.

He watched as the birds flocked to the trees; closely followed by the squrriels who scampered up the tree trunks. The fox made his way back into the woods, lazily and the deer ran back to where he came.

Derek chuckled, knowing that Kendra was a bit flustered, "it's okay! I got whafcha meant." He playfully nudged her with his shoulder as they made their way back to the Mansion. He was happy that he came across Kendra, well, rather Kendra came across him.

"...So what was it like when you first discovered you were a mutant?" Derek asked to fill the silence.

As they walked along in silence Kendra allowed her mind to wander a bit.  Her mind had a tendency to drift.  Her codename was Daydream.  It was more fittin than just being an astral projecting, teleporting, spirit walker.  She really did have a problem with daydreams and blackouts. 

 Kendra had noticed recently that she was loosing chunks of time.  Small bits mostly, but still noticeable.  She would drift away into some random thought and realize that 10 minutes had gone by unaccounted for.  Sometimes longer.  She had drifted off for a few hours a couple of times and snapped out of it somewhere else entirely.

Kendra wasn't sure what happened to her mind that made her so flighty.  Her brain never got a chance to shut down.  It never got a chance to reboot.  When she slept her brain automatically started to dream walk.  That always online existence of her physiology makes it hard for her brain to get a rest.  It's constantly churning.  A few things happened to Kendra when her power is active and she's in her astral form.

For one Kendra's cognitive ability is severally affected.  She didn't make the best choices, not because she is careless or stupid, but because her frazzled mind didn't allow it.  She sometimes had trouble focusing or even thinking clearly.  Like she lived in a fog.  Kendra's personality was also wildly different sometimes.  Depending on how tired she was you would get different versions of the same redheaded Georgia bell.  If Kendra was completely mentally exhausted her impulse control center of her brain went a little haywire.  She became more daring.  She took bigger risks in this state.  She was more of a smart ass and she lived for mischief. 

When Kendra dream walked completely exhausted she is was on a mission to make as much trouble as possible.  It wasn't a separate personality or anything as crazy as all that.  She just had severally disabled inhibitions and her brain basically says screw it.  Screw the consequences do whatever you want.  Kendra refered to herself in this state as 'Dream'  Just, simply... Dream.  Dream was all about trouble and fun.  It's still the same sweet Kendra, only she is looking to make some bad ideas very real. 

When Kendra felt rested and she is sleeping peacefully in her bed, or wherever everything is peaches and gravy.  Kendra refered to herself in this state as 'Day'.  It's all very confusing, even to her but she noticed the changes in her behavior.  It's a new thing that she hasn't quite gotten a handle on yet.

That is why Kendra so enjoyed her coffee.  As much coffee as she could get her hands on.  She always wanted to be perky and chipper.  She hated feeling tired.  Kendra hadn't discovered yet that her body had an actual way of sleeping.  She actually had the potential to get a good night's rest and let her mind reboot like a normal person. 

As they walked along, this is what Kendra was thinking about.  Sleep. Coffee.  She was thinking about the purely exhausted state she was in right now.  She was chipper and bright, but she was good at pretending these days.  She was actually very tired.  That's why she fell asleep in the greenhouse.  She couldn't keep her eyes open a second longer.  Now all she could think about was getting some coffee, but she had this interview to do. 

Kendra was off in her own head thinking about the sweet rich aroma of a fresh brew when Derek surprised her with a startling question.  It wasn't a happy time for her.  When she first discovered her powers it was actually quite frightening.  "Oh...." Kendra said.  The tiny surprised sound escaped her lips and hung on the air.  Kendra wasn't exactly sure what to say at first.

When Kendra first discovered her powers she was just a girl.  She was about 11 years old.  She often would hide and her room and try to stay out of her father's way when he was drunk and on a warpath.  Honestly that was most nights.  Kendra would often cry herself to sleep clutching at her stuffed bunny rabbit Mr. Jingles.  Mr. Jingles was just a stupid childish comfort for a girl who had no other comforts.  She was to old for stuff animals, but she felt oddly safe with him in her arms.  It was the only way she could fall asleep honestly. 

One night, on a particularly bad night she was in her room.  She could hear her father screaming and slamming things in the other room.  Kendra curled up at the foot of her bed with her bunny and closed her eyes.  She thought about this night as they walked through the woods towards the mansion.  More silence fell on deaf ears as they walked.  Kendra thought back to that first night; that first time she dream walked.  She remembered kissing her bunny as her eyes felt heavier, and then she was asleep. 

For a moment or two Kendra didn't know what was happening.  She stood outside of her body staring down at her sleeping form.  Kendra notice that her hand was glowing softly.  Her whole body seemed enveloped in a soft pink glow.  She was see through, she was translucent.  Kendra screamed.  It was a shrill shriek that she didn't mean to let erupt from her.  Even though she was terrified; what terrified her more was that her father had heard it. 

The house grew silence.  Kendra held her breathe as her frantic mind tried to figure out what was going on.  Then she heard the footsteps.  Kendra wanted to hide.  She rushed over to her body and began to shake herself in a panic.  "wake up!"  She cried.  Her body simply rolled over and a soft moan escaped her sleeping lips.  Then the door flung open.  Her father was looming in the doorway.  She could smell the booze on him from across the room.  Kendra's astral form stared at her father in terror. Light freckles blanketed her frightened face. 

Standing in the doorway her father had a bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand.  He threw it back and took several long gulps before staring hatefully at his seemingly sleeping daughter.  Kendra wasn't sure if she was about to be woken up violently.  He liked to use her as a punching bag when he tied one on. 

 To her surprise he smirked and closed the door and stumbled away.  Kendra wasn't sure what to do.  She slumped against the wall and slid down it.  Kendra was crying as she huddled her knees against her tiny chest.  She spent the rest of the night staring at herself sleep and trying to figure out why it was happening.  Kendra never slept with Mr. Jingles again.

Snapping out of her vivid daydream.  Kendra came back from her horrible rememberance with sorrow slow dancing around the edges of her eyes.  Her brown eyes were dripping with inevitable tears.  Her voice was frail and haunted.  Kendra stared at the ground in front of her as she walked quietly beside Derek. 

 It was not a happy memory.  Kendra's voice sounded like a stranger's voice, even to her when she said "It was awful.  I never been so scared in my life."  She wasn't sure if he could relate to the shock of suddenly discovering you were a freak.  She wasn't sure how long he had his gifts, but for her it was a curse.  Her powers were a curse for her for a long time.  Kendra was just now starting to come to terms with her mutation.

Derek had noticed that Kendra hadn't responded to his question. Usually it was because it brought up raw memories that people didn't want to touch with a ten foot pole. He could remember his own incident like it was yesterday. If it hadn't been that overly aggressive dog, then he would've never discovered his active power like he did.

He guessed that everything happened for a reason and that reason was sometimes pivotable or extremely petty. Thankfully for Derek, it was the formal. When Kendra finally responded, Derek looked over at her with a soft smile.

"...I bet you felt like you had died," Derek said quietly as they neared the Mansion, "for me, it was my savin' grace. Without my powers activatin', I would've been bitin' several times by a large dog."

As they walked up the steps of the Mansion, Derek looked ahead and opened the door for Kendra.

Kendra didn't respond when he said it felt like she died. She didn't feel that way. She felt like she was inside her own personal hell though. For so many nights since she started dream walking she was just terribly lonely. She was shy and awkward when awake, not the best at making friends. When she slept she was invisible, who wants to chat up a ghost. She would spend her nights wandering the city just another lonely shadow quietly creeping down the street.

Kendra would sometimes break into peoples houses and root through their stuff. She never stole anything, she mostly was finding something to slay her curiosity and boredom. Kendra smiled lightly when he told her about how he discovered his power. Just in the nick of time it sounded like.

Kendra walked through the mansion door that he opened for her and tucked a few loose strands of red hair behind a freckled ear. Moving silently through the halls Kendra did her best to make small talk. She asked about the weather or if he had a special someone. She wasn't expecting answers, she was just trying to void the silence.

Heading up the stairs they made it to her room finally. Kendra unlocked the door and showed him in. The room was plain and didn't have many personal affects save for the computer on the desk next to her camera. Kendra directed him to sit on the bed and she sat at the desk and opened the laptop. With a warm smile she leaned over and pressed start on the coffee maker. It was the only other thing in her room besides a phone by the bed and an alarm clock. Kendra swiveled the chair around to Derek as the brew started. Her painful memories behind her where they belonged. "So start at the beginning do you have any other mutants in your family?" The interview portion of the evening had begun.

Once they entered Kendra's bedroom, Derek gave a once over to the room before sitting on the bed. He made sure not to disturb anything while he was in there. The room looked rather plain aside from a coffee maker and her belongings. He didn't think much of it since his room was the same.

Derek focused back on Kendra when she started her coffee machine. He needed one of those, but for now he'll have to settle for the brewer that was downstairs in the kitchen.

When the question came about his family, Derek chewed on his bottom lip. "Not that I'm aware of. In my immediate family I'm the only one, though my grandad on my mom side of true family has been a little suspicious," animals always behaved around him whenever he was around. Perhaps he was mutant too, "actually, I've done some research and found that the surname dates back to the first Egyptian pharaoh, Menes. My family's mutation caused them to be considered animal charmers," Derek was proud of that, "then my ancestors moved to West Africa where they were captured as slaves and sent to the colonies by Dutch slavers."

Kendra thought about this for a moment. She didn't know much of her own family. She had never met anyone in her family besides her dad. She wasn't sure if anyone in her family had a mutation besides her.  Perhaps there was. Perhaps there was some more personal reason her father hated mutants as much as he did. She didn't know.

Kendra reached a hand out and grabbed the desk. Pulling the rolly chair closer to the desk she picked up a pen and began to jot down some notes about Derek. Her bright brown eyes flicked over to him and she smiled a bit. "So how old were you when your power activated and have you ever used it to help anyone? If so could you give an example?"  Kendra asked.  Her questions were getting broader, requiring more explaination now.  She was going to write an article about who Derek was as a person and why how his gift has helped the world, no matter how small his contributions were she knew he was the type of person to have made some impact. 

"Hmm," Derek had to think on this one, "Well I started to communicate with animals around eleven/twelve years old, but I actually started to influence at age sixteen."That was a confusing time Derek especially since it concerned his identity. With being gay and all, it was a lot for a teenager to handle at once,"...yeah. I was sixteen because that was the same summer that my first boyfriend moved away."[/font]

Derek felt like he should be sipping coffee or wearing a suit or something . The African American mutant chuckled at the thought. "As for using my powers to help someone? I have. Uh, one time when my neighbor's dog went missin', I had a couple of blue jays go look for her. Of course it took them some convincin', but luckily they were able to find her."[/font] He remembered that day because it was a very hot August afternoon and Derek was home alone
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