[Pregame Monday 9th EM] Airport arrival [open]

[Bee Haw]

"Poor little puppy or kitty."

Her expression turned solemn and she was really thinking how sad she was for him.

"But at least it had good taste, yeah? It picked you out of all the people it could have and hung around you. It wanted to spend time with you. And it got to. With all the time it had."

"It must ... that was before you emerged? What was that like? The day that everything changed for you?"

[Lil Disaster]

“Ah shit, it was awesome, was getting jumped by some dudes outside of the school, by a couple up to no good. We be scrappin right, and then boom just started explodin' fools. No one got unalived but they got burned up pretty good, from then on no one messed with Lil Disaster,” he responded.

[Bee Haw]

She was glad to find a topic that made him smile again.

"Oh my! It sounds like you were fierce. You ... you make people explode? Goodness!" She was glad no one died. And that he'd found a peace from it. "I'll remember to stay on your good side! Or try to, anyway. Though I'll tell ya a secret - I was going to anyway!" A little grin.

But then her expression turned a little more reflective.

"It happened to me after a scary thing. I was thirteen."

[Lil Disaster]

"Really?" he responded, and he almost skipped over it but he paused and said, "Shit, what happened to Little Baddie Bea?"

[Bee Haw]

She glanced past him to the Bekeles. "Did my folks tell you this part already?"

They gave her an encouraging look. If they'd heard it already, they were glad to hear it again.

"I ... uh ... I was running around down towards the south edge of our property. I tripped on some tree root or something and face planted into a bit of ground that wasn't as solid as it should be, and I went crashing down into what must have been an old cave network under the hill. But there was no way out but back up through the hole and I'd fallen way too far to climb back up. It was deep. Dark. Scary and lonely. No exit left. Just rough rocky wall."

"I screamed for help, but it's a big property and just the family and a couple of hands. No one had any particular reason to check that corner til they got really worried and started searching like crazy and even then, there were a lot of more logical places to look first. It took three days to find me."

"'I'd have been starving by then, but I found this one super comforting thing down there in the dark. This honeycomb of white honey. It could have been thousands of years old. Honey never goes bad. It had a light. A radiance. My only light in the dark. And it was so tasty! It sustained me. And maybe changed me. Or unlocked something that was always going to happen? I figured out the powers a bit at a time after that. Parts were subtle. Just influencing the people around me. The transformation was ... not."

[Lil Disaster]

"Wait, honey never goes bad?" he asked with confusion. "No shit?"

[Bee Haw]

"Yeah, it's interesting, right? Not much else in the world that never spoils in its raw state. There's a scientific explanation for it. Something in the bee's stomach that mixes with the nectar when they regurgitate it into the comb. I can't remember the science word right off the top of my head. Bee magic, you know? But it breaks the sugar into this acid part and, of all things, hydrogen peroxide. Like in hair dye to get blonder? That's in honey. And it is just the right amount to prevent anything from growing in it. So it can't spoil. That's why they used to use it like a bandage in ancient times. They'd put it on wounds and burns and didn't get infected."

"And archeologists could pull a jar of honey out of an Egyptian tomb thousands of years old and just have a bite. Still good."

Even a natural blonde could appreciate that.

[Lil Disaster]

His eyes glazed over and he just replied, "Cool... cool... so we there yet?"

[Bee Haw]

She smiled enthusiasm undimmed by his obvious boredom with this line of conversation.

"Not much longer," Mr. Bekele answered from the driver's seat.

They were driving along in a well-kept suburban neighborhood. The sort of area of the sprawl that still had single family houses and backyards big enough for gardens.

A large white building dominated the horizon.

"Is that the Temple?" She asked excitedly.

Mrs. B nodded. "Sure is. Just wait til you see inside."

Bea could not wait.

But she also could not help but turn back from the awesome glimpse of the temple to the fascinating young man sitting beside her in the back of the large SUV.

"You said you could blow up people? Does it work on stuff like a rock or a wall or a robot? I always worry about robots."

[Lil Disaster]

“Not just people I can like make explosive stuff like anywhere, just look point and boom… it’s sick yo,” he responded.

“Little stuff, big stuff… it’s all good. Probably bad news bears to do it around a temple right? I ain’t tryin’ to piss off the Big Man, ya heard me.”

[Bee Haw]

"Oh goodness. Yeah. Not near the Bekele's house or garden or the temple!" Her eyes widened at the thought. But also ... that had been nice of him to make sure she and her host family didn't get worried about that. He was thoughtful.

"But maybe it will come up in the contest. An important skill at some point."

"Have you met any other contestants yet? Or know them by reputation? I'm so curious. I hope everyone is as nice as you, LD."

[Lil Disaster]

"Nah, you the first, the rest, who cares. Lil Disaster is all the Elite anyone needs, Baddie Bea. You cool though, we can be down," he said with a smirk.

[Bee Haw]

She smiled brightly.

So did Mrs. Bekele. Her hand on the ladle would prove most generous in the meal to come! All the chicken stew he could want.

"It's nice to start the rodeo with at least one pardner in the crowd."

[Lil Disaster]

The Elite smiled and dug in, despite his rough manner the good food and company had done a lot to make him feel… at home?

/scene?

[Bee Haw]

/scene!

Thank you so much!