She nodded to his requests, mentally taking notes before she took her leave. She slipped back into her shoes more than ready to throw herself back into manual labor. She grabbed his water bottle and hers and refilled them in the kitchen before heading back outside.

She thought about seeds as she made her way to the shed. To cultivate a seed, one often begins by digging a hole. She placed her hand on her sternum as she walked about searching for the requested materials. The hole was certainly there. Now the seed was too.

She found a large, dusty bag with the appropriate label. She tried to lift it, but it was a large bag and this stuff was pretty heavy. She settled for lifting the majority of the weight and dragging it to the shed entrance. She brought the wheelbarrow and utensils to the shed and managed to lift the bag high enough to let it slip with a clatter into the wheelbarrow.

She shifted it to the instructions side and read about the water ratios needed while she waited for Garrett. There was probably a hose somewhere around the shed too.

He came down to see her quite dusty. She had managed to get the bag into the wheelbarrow. He supposed the wind did have its strength. He came into the shed, seeing her hunting around. "Wow!"' he said. " I can't believe you lugged that whole thing into the wheelbarrow. I was just going to pour the mix into it. Oh, well, that works too." He situated the bag into the wheelbarrow, then set about rummaging around for the tools he would need.

"So, have you met many others here? I have pretty much met you and Neena. I have seen alot of kids running around, but I figure they are enjoying their summer vacation. After you don't do school, summer is just the hot time of the year." He chuckled. He didn't get alot of summer vacations. A vacation for him was being awake for a prolonged amount of time. He started scanning the walls for a faucet. "The faucet and hose may be outside somewhere still attached." He shrugged. " I will get the load this time."

"So, have you met many others here? I have pretty much met you and Neena. I have seen alot of kids running around, but I figure they are enjoying their summer vacation. After you don't do school, summer is just the hot time of the year."

"I met quite a few of the middle schoolers. There was one other who came with me here, but he hasn't returned. Of course I've met Neena... The 'adults' are sometimes scarce around here. The kids say it's because they're reforming some good-doer group they have running or something."

She nodded. "Don't push yourself too hard." Though the words were hollow since that was exactly what she was doing to herself as evidenced by the bag in the wheelbarrow. "I didn't know how much you'd need so I just put the whole thing in there..."

She let him take the load and she carried the watter bottles as they combed around the shed until they found the faucet intact with hose. Ghost dusted herself off a bit as they walked. Unfortunately she was a bit sweaty - she may have concrete-hard arm pits as soon as they set.

He looked around and found two empty containers with handles, looked like old fertilizer containers. He put the hose in them each, filling them to about three-fourths of the way full. He was listening to her talk about the people she had met. " Who was this other you speak of? He came with you?", he asked as he turned the water off and recoiled the hose. Perhaps this was why she was so down, a companion and friend missing. Hopefully he hadn't acted out of turn, assuming she was single.

He laid the bag flat in the wheelbarrow with the tools he would need, looking at the water containers. If they weren't enough they could come back. "You take those water buckets and bring them. I'll take the wheelbarrow." He lifted it with the load inside and strained a bit.

"Don't push yourself too hard."

Was it that obvious? He played it off and nodded, lifting the load with his pride, if nothing else. He really needed to get in shape. As he started walking the load out towards the first hole,he said, " So tell me more of your air abilities. You have alluded to them, but nothing in depth. Mine are short and sweet because I haven't done much with them." That item would definitely be at the top of his list once the semester began.

"Who was this other you speak of? He came with you?"

"His name was... uhh... Torukeo Anherasu." She pronounced his name phonetically as a Japanese person might. She had a hard time with that name - it really was impossible to say which was why she typically called him by his first name all the time. "He's a big, fat jerk that really got under my skin - even if at times he could be an angel. He left on his own." She thought her description of him was ironic if not entirely accurate. She bristled and picked up the buckets.

Augh! She had though the bag was heavy, but at least she was able to partially drag it. The water sloshed around making it impossible for her to keep any kind of speed. They walked slowly back to the job site. It gave them time to talk.

" So tell me more of your air abilities. You have alluded to them, but nothing in depth. Mine are short and sweet because I haven't done much with them."

She smiled a bit. She knew that at least Garrett wasn't asking about her abilities as a way to size her up. From what she had seen so far, the kids all loved to see each others' abilities. They constantly tried to discern who was the rock, who was the paper, and who was the kid they could all beat up on.

"Air abilities..." She mused. "That's about as accurate a description as exists in this world. Can't you use your imagination or do I have to show you?"

The wind whipped again at her hair tugging at the locks. Her focus was elsewhere and so she did not redirect the playful breeze.

"Air abilities..." She mused. "That's about as accurate a description as exists in this world. Can't you use your imagination or do I have to show you?"

Feisty." No that's alright. I guess you can fly then? That would be interesting.", he said as he put the wheelbarrow down at the first hole. He obviously strained at the weight of the bag of quikrete, placing it to the side. He removed the tools and set them down also. He then opened the bag and put the proper amounts of water and mix in, mixing it with a branch he found nearby. He imagined the serenity of floating around like a breeze. If it had been his ability, he would have stayed that way.

" So it sounds like this guy you came with was just a traveling companion. I am not trying to pry, just making conversation." Hopefully that wasn't too thinly veiled. It was an obvious ploy to him, to see what her status was, but it sounded fairly smooth. She didn't seem to have much in the way of self-esteem, but who knows now? After the Act and the camps, no mutant was really who they were before. It took alot of courage and inner strength not to go take it out on humans.

He looked down at the wheelbarrow full of mix. He had forgotten to bring the good bricks over. Obviously preoccupied. "Well, go me. Looks like I forgot the good bricks. I'll take my satchel here and get some to get started. Just keep stirring, if you will.", he said with a smile. With that, he went over to the brick pile.

"No that's alright. I guess you can fly then? That would be interesting."

"Eh... it's hard to call it flying. When you're solid and meaty you really can't go too far. If you're not, well, it's not the same as flying then is it?" She shrugged. It wasn't flying when your body was a jumble of loosely associated particles. It just wasn't.

"I can't say that I dislike my ability. It's hard to imagine life without it -- it is my every breath." She watched as he organized things, measured out powder and started the mixture-- she didn't really know enough about what was going on to help at this point.

"So it sounds like this guy you came with was just a traveling companion. I am not trying to pry, just making conversation."

She probably wouldn't have read into his question at all except that when he tried to claim that he wasn't trying to pry with his prying question... well, it was hard to not notice when you point it out like that.

"If you're asking what I think you're asking-- Yeah, he's not my boyfriend. Though I will be honest enough to tell you that I duped him into coming here with the promise of a date." She cracked her knuckles. "Even if it was dishonest: he needs help... I just thought this place could be that help." I thought I could be that help.

Since he had left and not yet returned, it was almost like she had been dumped. He had made sure that she owed him nothing before he left. Her hopes for him returning were very low at this point. She supposed that they weren't that close, but she still worried about him.

"Well, go me. Looks like I forgot the good bricks. I'll take my satchel here and get some to get started. Just keep stirring, if you will."

She assumed command of the stick and dutifully stirred. She was kind of glad for the break in conversation - it was getting a little uncomfortable for her. If someone asked, very rarely would she deny that person an answer. She was also too bad of a liar to fake an answer so she tried to remain honest in every respect. The truth generally had a way of revealing itself anyway.

He walked over to the tree and knelt, filling the satchel with as many bricks as he could without risking damage to it. He thought about his awkwardness just then. It was to be expected, his interaction with girls didn't go far beyond the hookers he had seen out on the street. And they were no ladies, to be sure. So many years in group homes or laid up unconscious had left him socially crippled. And there was no reason for him to become attached to the first female that was kind to him. Would he have treated someone any different if it were a male? Things to think on.

He returned shortly, again sweating and straining under the weight. He placed the bag next to the wheelbarrow. He made some measurements and then started applying the mortar to the bricks, carefully placing bricks in, settling them. A process, something solid and manageable. He realized he was zoning out, forgetting about his quiet companion, so he stopped and turned to her. "This reminds me of an old Zen proverb. Before Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water."He laughed out loud, the idea of this ages old concept, so simple and pure.

"This reminds me of an old Zen proverb. Before Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water. After Enlightenment, Chop Wood, Carry Water."

She smiled. She had been watching his process, observing each strain and each bead of sweat. She conjured a subtle breeze for them so that maybe they could continue to work. He seemed to be focused on building... or perhaps he was finally tapped out on questions. That meant that it was her turn to carry the conversation. She continued to stir the mixture, he hadn't said to stop and she reasoned that it may harden without proper supervision.

"If you don't mind me asking - Where did you learn to do all of this stuff?" She motioned to the pattern of brick he was laying and the concrete mixture. Some of it seemed like it could be reasoned out, but this seemed like a job that no amateur would willingly take on. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"If you don't mind me asking - Where did you learn to do all of this stuff?"

"Well, I spent alot of time in group homes and state foster care. Alot of those places are okay, but some are basically labor camps with free labor, courtesy of the state. Some might have curled up and given up, but I decided to actually pay attention and learn some skills. Out on the streets, it helped me many times, as I could get some construction jobs here and there. Nothing major. My weak body couldn't take it then." It's getting better now, he thought.

He stood and handed her a brick. "No time like the present, right?", he said, trading her a brick for the stirring stick."That one on the bottom, there. It's all leveled out and ready to go." A wide smile crossed his lips. As she looked at the brick and the wall, he nodded at her to continue. "You can manage. Maybe you can get some work sometime as a laborer.", he offered, his snickers becoming contagious.

She would offer him pity if she didn't think it would belittle his efforts to move on with his life. "I'm glad you came out with something positive after all of that." It must've taken a great strength of will, she thought. She would not have guessed that he came from a home, though some habits and mannerisms he expressed now made sense.

And then he handed her a brick. She held it gingerly as he took over the stirring position. It felt rather like a ticking time bomb. He chuckled and she couldn't help but follow suit. The mental image of her as a crass construction worker was entirely humorous. She followed what she thought she had seen him do and placed the brick into the appropriate place.

"That wasn't so bad since you did all the hard stuff first." She ran her fingers through her hair, smearing a small amount of concrete onto her forehead and probably into her hair too. She went for another brick. It just felt awkwardly solid in her hand. She looked at Garrett. "What now, boss?" She teased.

"I'm glad you came out with something positive after all of that."

He did indeed, many things. Anything beat succumbing to the dark impulses that lay throbbing somewhere deep in his psyche. He had let the stirring go, no worries right away. He knelt down and as he emptied the other bricks out of the satchel, one of them tore into something. At first, he was irritated as this was the only item he had. But fortune had smiled upon him again, as the brick's ragged corner had revealed a hidden pocket. Perhaps it was the courier's change money. There were several denominations in there, but he decided to wait until he was alone to see exactly how much. Now he could buy a few items to make his room feel more like home.

Rising from the loot, he saw that she had finished and was waiting for more instruction. " Boss, huh? That'd be a first." , he added with a giggle. Homeless people always got the absolute worst jobs, carrying the heaviest loads, the worst conditions, you name it. Not like OSHA could follow up on someone getting paid cash. "Well, kid, since you're new, how about I level the area and spread the mortar and you can put the bricks in." He continued to crack a wry smile, waiting for the comment to be returned about calling her kid.

"Well, kid, since you're new, how about I level the area and spread the mortar and you can put the bricks in."

She handed over the spade with a shrug and without much thought against it. He was in the middle hall. He just seemed more mature in her eyes. He had certainly been through more. What she knew of his life made hers seem easy.

"Uh... how old are you?" She scooted over to allow him to sit next to her so that he could easily reach the wall and the concrete and she could still reach the bricks. "I mean... you're in the middle hall. They only put the 'adults' in the middle hall."

"I mean... you're in the middle hall. They only put the 'adults' in the middle hall."

He had been found out. She seemed nice enough, so he wouldn't lie to her. The only way he was going to trust anyone was to give someone a chance. He sat down next to her and revealed the truth. "Well, actually," he said with a sheepish grin," I am only 19. I lied and said I was 21 so I could be in the adult hall. I didn't want to end up with some bouncing teenage boy, ready to battle." He shrugged. " I hope you will keep my secret."

The work was coming along quickly now, this hole would be done in no time. Unfortunately, there weren't enough bricks left from what they had gathered to finish the other one. He thought he might wait on it, since it was in the back part of the property.

"I am only 19. I lied and said I was 21 so I could be in the adult hall. I didn't want to end up with some bouncing teenage boy, ready to battle." He shrugged. " I hope you will keep my secret."

She blinked in surprise before she whapped him playfully on the arm. "You sly thing! And here you are calling me a kid. I thought you were older... It's probably the hair." She teased. When they worked together, the building went fast and soon they were going to be out of bricks.

"So when's your birthday?" If he was 19, that meant there was a chance she was older than he was. This fact surprised her.

She placed the last brick from the pile onto the wet cement. Their little patch job on the wall looked better than she imagined it would. It would probably look even better once it was all dry. She stood and stretched out her legs. It was technically her turn to get bricks.