Emerald says, "A little night music works for bgm." yes, she said bgm. "And iced please. Thanks again." Once music is on and snacks served, Emerald asks, "Right... so I have things I'll wanna ask you when you're done asking me stuff."

Mittens chuckled at the use of "bgm" and thusly served music, tea, and crumpets to her guest.

"Good!  Good!" she answers Emerald eagerly, "That's actually the reason for the meet.  I wanted to get your personal short term and long term goals.  Or to frame it in the form of a question: 'How would you like me to help you achieve your goals?'  So let's get started with my answering your questions.  Ask away!"

She breaks out a notepad and pencil, crosses her legs, and prepares to write.

Emerald huhs and says, "Well OK... if you say so." she sips her tea. "Nice." she comments. "So goals: Well as you may know by now, I have assigned Sarah and I to filter duty. That is, the two of us figure out who *doesn't* get in to our club. See... way I figure it, she and I know bad guys when we see 'em. I have experience with con-artists and she has experience with, to be blunt, thugs. I can spot a deceiver, she can spot a bully."

Actually, Emerald is all too familiar with the bully types also, but that doesn't make what she says a lie. Just that Emmy is very good at editing truthful bits of info out of her statements without lying. "My long term goal personally is to be a pop star. But my long term goal for the Patrol? To see us, at LEAST us, recognized by the media or people at large as people that can be trusted and maybe even loved. My short term goals, well, mostly involve getting to know the team like you're doing."

"Glad you like!" Mittens chimes to the tea flavor approval, "Grandma's recipe!"

She scribbles notes on her notepad as Emerald talks then answers during the pause.

"Thanks again for offering to screen applicants!" Mittens answers, "It'd be interesting to get your assessment of each existing member, including yourself and myself.

"Experience spotting a con artist.  Been stung?  Or takes one to know one?  Or both?

"Pop star!  Awesome!  Who are your favorites?

"And so glad we're on the same page for the Citizen Patrol.  More than happy to help you realize those goals!  So feel free to ask me anything you like!"

Emerald says, "Umm...." she lip-sinks something to herself. Emerald then nods and says, "If you're talking fave artists of all time, then obvious ones like Michael Jackson and The Beatles come to mind. Though a few not-so-obvious ones like MFO, Ultravox, Abba and Petra come to mind. But if you're talking current, I'd say probably... nah. Too many." she head-shakes. "I listen to all kinds, though mostly pop. I mean I like metal, dance, rap, classical... just as long as it has musical genius to it."

Emerald pulls out her notepad. "Heh... got my questions right here." she grins, clears her throat and puts on a mock-serious expression. With an equally mock-serious tone of voice, almost Neil Bauman like, Emerald asks, "Young lady, how do you intend to deal with the fact you are still a mere child and technically the 'leader' of the Citizen Patrol? Do you plan to put a more mature person in charge?"

She puts the notepad down and says, "Now before you answer, I actually DO have some assessments of the current members already. One such assessment is that Michael is not a leader, despite his age and jadedness. He's too quiet, if you know what I mean. Putting a cop in charge could be bad too since they would start getting tight-gripped and all kinds of politics would try to bite our little club in the butt. Also, didn't make the point in my question, but being a girl is immediately counted against you and any other potential female leader, so aiming for finding a male leader would be a good idea."

Emerald is not interested in being the leader. We mentioned this already? Good. 'Cause it bears mentioning again.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:03, Sun 12 Sept 2010.

"I noticed you didn't include yourself in either of those lists," Mittens answers with a sly smile and a wink, "How come?  Too modest?  As for leadership, I've already started passing out the hats I've had to wear.  Michael is in charge of self defense tactics.  You and Sarah are in charge of admissions screening.  Rod's been put in charge of finances.  Joe in charge of press releases.  And so on.

"I've got a broader role planned for you specifically if you're up to the challenge.  You're already sliding naturally into the role I was hoping you would, so you're clearly qualified.  It's just a question of if you're willing.  Namely, personnel manager.  I agree with your assessments so far, and I've a few strategies in mind to overcome what limitations our existing members have.  My own limitations included.  But I'd love for you to be the one who ultimately makes sure everyone's as happy as can be with their role in the team.  Whaddyasay?

"Oh.  And on the topic of music.  Very glad to hear you've mixed tastes.  I'm thinking of building a weekend band out of the talent we've got so far.  But it kinda hinges on you being the singer.  Interested?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Wed 15 Sept 2010.

Emerald smiles, rolling her eye with a little happy sigh as Mittens calls her humble. "Come now... who honestly lists themselves among their favorite bands? Even the greats rarely did that. And of course I'm interested in putting a group of musicians together. Just bear in mind talent and skill are only two factors. The biggest factor is how well the personalities synch. That's just as important as keeping rhythm. But that said, I'd love to help keep people happy."

Mittens does her signature single handclap and smiles.

"Awesome!  Glad we're on the same wavelength!  And you make a very important point about personality rhythm.  The way I see it, personalities are like musical instruments.  Where Michael might be a cello and me a violin or piccolo, with practice we could sync.  It takes a good conductor to make that happen.  Such as yourself.

"A good conductor can catch a problem area before it becomes a problem.  So that slides into the next topic: potential personality conflicts and how to address them.  Let's start with yourself since you know yourself the best.  From what you've seen so far of the personalities of the team, where do you suppose you'll sync best, least well, and why?"

Mittens takes out a photo roster sheet and slides it toward Emerald.

Emerald blows upward on her bangs and grabs the roster before looking it over. "It's hard to say. But I would vote on Sarah and I would synch best from what I've seen so far because we both... well, I'll put it this way: We have both seen the streets in a way nobody else has. Nobody in our group is going to understand Diren much since we all have had at least some kind of parenting rather than being raised in a lab. Michael, I'm unsure if I'll get along with. He's intimidating and... well... hangs out with cops all the time. Though I'm sure because of that, he and Liberty will get along great. Tim seems easy to get along with for the most part, but he's still a child. I like kids and all, but no offense, you asked what I synch best with and most people, myself included, synch better with their peers than with people who aren't in their age group. But as you were suggesting... we can all get along once we find what our differences and similarities are." she smiles and winks.

Mittens nods repeatedly as she listens but when the topic of Timothius comes up...  Well...  she can be a bit overzealous about her little bro.  Even the hint of someone not worshiping the ground he walks on makes her eye twitch.  Can't help it.  But she keeps her smile and keeps nodding.

"If generational gap is the worst of our concerns, we're doing pretty well I'd say," Mittens answers, "Though that bit about cops and knowing the streets... Plus you mentioned being good at spotting a con...  I remember asking for clarification on that.  'Been stung?  Or takes one to know one?  Or both?' I believe I said.

"Now I'm wondering if you've done time.  Not that a record kept me from letting Sarah into the group... but apparently Emerald is so naughty, she won't even talk about her rap sheet.  You gunna keep me guessing?  Or is Mittens on your list of personalities you can't get along with?  If my violin's out of tune, lemme know, conductor."

Mits gives a pleasant smile and a wink.

Emerald looks annoyed and looks aside. "I've been stung. It's personal. I did time when I was little, but that has little to no standing with anything now. Think what you want, but I don't want to talk about it. No matter how much you want to guess at random why."

She calms down a little and says, "I was orphaned and lived on the street when I was a child. Those events influence the fact I can spot a con. Or a bully. Or any of the darker types. As for how much you and I synch? We oddly have a few things in common, but I still can't tell you how well we synch just yet. You hide it well, but you have some of that same yougthful pride I have seen so many times in kids your age. I'd say "no offense", but that is always followed by something offensive, so I just jumped right to it. You asked, after all..."

Mittens is surprised by Emerald's reaction then gets a sad look of sympathy on her face when she hears what the poor little vixen went through.  Her heart is melting too much for the girl to be offended by the point about pride.  Not that she'd be much offended under other circumstances.  She might be proud of her pride.  But not this time.

"'Pride goeth before destruction,'" Mittens quotes in agreement with Emerald as she moves to be closer to the fox, "'and an haughty spirit before a fall,  Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.  She that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is she.  Her friend, the wise in heart, shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of her lips increaseth learning.'"

Mittens reaches to put her left arm around Emerald and bring her right finger close to the lady's lips to make sure it's clear who she's calling wise.

"That's such a sad story, Emerald," she says softly, "Sorry to hear all the pain you had to suffer through.  You don't have to talk about anything you don't want to, sweetie.  My lips are sealed if you some day choose to unload, though.  For now, I very much appreciate your advice.  Thank you."

Emerald crosses her eyes to look at Mittens' finger, blushing. The cat sure is getting familiar here... pardon the horrid Halloween pun. Emerald blushes deeper as she realizes just how well Mitts took the earlier jab. "Sorry... I just... maybe I'm reading you wrong. I don't know. It's just a feeling I got. But you're so talented, it's hard for me to imagine you haven't gotten proud. I mean... you can do everything. Well you can't teleport, but you know what I mean. The reason I think you're proud is because I know I was at your age. Life humbled me... I hope for your sake you don't have to have that happen. But it's a proven fact that youth will not listen, will repeat the mistakes of their elders, and will learn the hard way. Some day, you'll be riding a bike or playing a guitar or something and you'll either do it better than someone who does only that, or you'll think you can. Either leads to disaster. Sorry, I don't want to sound like a downer. That's just not me."

With creepy swiftness and ease, Emerald puts on a bright smile. "Thanks for being so friendly and understanding! You're a nice kid."

(( With the same swiftness, Mittens transforms into a kittyloaf and sings Cuppycake Gumdrop.  ( http://cuppycake.ytmnd.com/ )  Kidding!  Anyway... ))

Mittens blushes deeply at all the compliments but bristles slightly at Emerald's sudden change in mood.

"The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple," Mittens assures Emerald, "You guessed right, Emerald.  I'm a very proud person.  It takes a great deal of pride to think that I can change the course of history for the better.  And that's exactly what I'm trying to do.  But I'm also juust crazy enough to realize the lessons you learned in the school of hard knocks ring true.  The pride of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them, just as you say.

"My brother wrote a really neat poem about that.  Wish I had it handy to read it to you.  About a village that ignored warnings about an ancient dragon.

"You're welcome for the friendliness, and thanks for the compliments and cautions.  No need to apologize for wanting to spare me some bruises in that school you graduated from.  Please keep an eye on me and rescue me from myself if you see me walking into any pride traps.  But now that you've graduated, I'm enrolling you into the schools of hugs and smiles."

Since Emerald didn't pull away from the earlier arm-around, Mittens gives her a gentle squeeze and a cheerful smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:19, Mon 11 Oct 2010.

Emerald gets a squiggly-mouthed expression. "Uh... thanks? I'm glad you're so willing to listen and open up." she changes her tone back to normal and asks, "So... back to plans. You mentioned about me conducting relationships as well as the possible upcoming band?"

Mits lets go of the little fox lady to take out her netbook and pull up the Citizen Patrol's email inbox and turns it to face Emerald.  The inbox is chock full of "Request to join" emails along with various "You guys rock!" messages.  Once could easily deduce that the website must have a "contact us!" form with a selectable subject list.  Mittens gives a sheepish grin to Emerald.

"As you can see, I'm up to my ears in applications," she says, "And since you and Sarah are the gatekeepers, it kind of goes to follow that first contact means first familiarity with new members.  So it goes to follow if any members have personal issues with any other member, the persons most likely to understand the root of the problem would be you and Sarah.  It also kinda goes to follow that the ones most likely to catch potential personality clashes before they happen would be you two.  So yeah.  There you go.  The keys to the hearts of the whole future group is in your hands already.  I just wanted you to be fully aware of what you've volunteered for."

She slides Emerald a card with a handwritten note on it.

"Here's the login and password by the way."

Emerald nods. "I'll pull a few in for face-to-face time. Would you prefer I direct them to you personally? Or shall I deal with new applicants from now on and just pass along the info to you?" She looks over a few applications even as she says this.

A pattern seems to be arising from the applications that Emerald skims.  Most are teenagers.  Most are fed up with their treatment in school or in their family.  Most have lots of positive things to say about what they've seen in the news about the Citizen Patrol.

"I'm getting swamped with work," Mittens confesses with a helpless smile, "I'm putting in 19 hour days at times.  I simply don't have the time to meet with applicants.  The more you're willing to do, the better.  But don't let that give you the impression I won't have time for you.  Please don't hesitate to ask to see me if ever you need to."

As Emerald looks over the applicants, she smiles. "This is nice. These kids... they want to make a difference. And they aren't coming from the perspective of fighting elementals. They are coming from the perspective of mundane troubles. They want to actually make a change rather than just complain."

Emerald pets the paper she's reading with adoration. "I'm more than happy to talk to these kids."

"Good to hear," Mittens answers with a big smile, "You willing to put in full time?   Or do you already have a job?  We could really use the help as I'm sure you know.  What you may not know is that we're hiring full time help.  Of course since we're non-profit, we won't pay much."

Emerald fidgets with her tail. "I have a job. But that doesn't mean I can't devote time. And I wouldn't complain about whatever pay I get since having it as an official "job" would effectively get me "experience" on my resume as someone with similar skill sets to a social worker. If I ever needed that, of course. Still, I'm surprised pay is even an option."

"Yes pay is an option," Mittens says, "If I were willing to sell out to all the advertising offers, I'd be rolling in the dough.  But the Citizen Patrol was never meant to be a money making scheme.  So while we do have a budget, it's a small one, because the only money I was willing to accept with strings attached is the money I was practically forced to accept from the City Council."

Emerald smiles, then gives an apologetic look and says, "Keep in mind, my job will pull me away at random, sometimes to exotic places over seas. So I won't be fully reliable. It will basically be catch as catch can."

Mittens nod-nods then perks up excitedly when Emerald mentions going to exotic places.

"Wow, neat!  Exotic places!  What you do for a living, then?"

Emerald smiles. "I play in the dirt. Heh. I'm an archaeologist." Just like Indiana Jones.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:43, Wed 18 May 2011.