The Little and the Big

[Poppy Lockwood]

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| Tagged: Gabriel Mendes |

12 year old Poppy Lockwood just had seen her life changed. Forever? That was very likely. Throughout the past week, she had managed to 'fly'. Of course it was only levitating but the little girl did not know then. It was not as cool as she had thought 'flying' would be. With no controls of her movement, she felt scared.

After the night she had manifested, Poppy could only imagined what she could do. She was different. Knowing she was a mutant made her confused. Whilst she liked having superpowers, she found it hard to accept that she was apart of the minority of the population.

It was not long before her parents told her she was not going to live at home anymore. The girl was an only child and was very close to her parents. She did not liked the idea of being away for so long. So the day she was to be collected, she snuck out to the lake nearby her house with her pet cat, Coca-Cola.

"I don't want to go Coca. I don't want to leave you behind." She grumbled angrily.  Sitting on the pier and playing with her cat, she knew she had plenty of time before they looked for her. She had left a few hours before the recruiters came.

When the cat stopped playing, her mind wondered about the school. The people. Teachers. She hated it. She knew she would be alone again and as much as she liked to think she was better off that way, 12 year old Poppy did not fancy it. So she was fueled with rage. Angry at her parents for leaving her. Just very angry.

And that did the trick. Her power kicked in and to her horror, Coca-Cola floated to the edge of the pier. She willed herself to stop but nothing changed. She panicked as her cat now floated above the water. "No...help, sombody please help!"

[Gabriel Mendes]

It wasn't his first ever recruitment mission so Gabriel wasn't too excited about it, something his mentor was quite glad for. Gabriel when excited just wasn't someone anyone wanted to deal with. Even Will had a hard time containing him. But he was rather looking forward to bringing another kid in safely. The only thing he knew about the recruit was that she had something called gravitational manipulation.

When he and his mentor found out that the girl wasn't at home, the first thing Gabriel asked the parents was where she would usually hang out. Thankfully her parents actually knew and within a few minutes, they arrived at the pier and the girl had her cat floating over the water.

"I'll get to the cat, you take care of the girl." His mentor announced decidedly and Gabriel wasted no time before running over to the girl. "Hey, Poppy, right?" He called out in what he hoped was a friendly tone. He made sure he had a smile on his face.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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It seemed the little girl's cries for help were heard because then two big man came onto the pier. Poppy was relieved. One of the man came over to her and somehow knew her name. Instantly she knew they were there to take her away -- it explained why her parents were not there.

But in that moment, all of it did not matter to her. She forgot she was going to be sent away, she forgot her angry. All that was left in her was the safety of her cat. "What are you doing? You have to go and save her!" Poppy shouted at the man as she took hold of the hem of his shirt. "Please, please save her." The little girl pleaded.

In that moment without realizing she had touched him, she felt a shift in her. Clueless, she heard Coca-Cola's last meow before the cat dropped and fell into the lake. "No!!!" She thought her only friend was gone. Cats and water were not a good mix. Poppy was as tall as his waist so she hugged him there and his shirt muffled her sobs.

[Gabriel Mendes]

When the little girl pleaded for him to save her, Gabriel looked up at his mentor and unfortunately when Poppy yelled out, his mentor lost concentration and the cat fell. Immediately, he withdrew his abilities' reach to only encompass the girl so his mentor could use his own to pull the cat just before she hit the water.

Gabriel pulled the girl close and patted her head. "It's okay. It's okay...your cat's fine. She's fine, see?" He tugged at her shoulder as his mentor came closer, the cat practically clinging on to him.

"It's okay, Poppy. Everything's fine."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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It felt comforting in the big man's arms that the little could not stop sobbing. Coca-Cola was a cat who did not know how to swim and now she had fallen into the water. Gone, gone, gone. Her closest friend was no longer with her and she was alone again. Alone, alone, alone. The angry was gone and it was replaced with sadness.

No long then the man's words soothed her. He said it was all okay and everything was fine. The little girl wanted to tell yell at him that the death of her cat was anything but okay. But when Poppy turned around, there Coca-Cola was in the hands of the other man. Her cat was very much alive.

"Oh my god," she shouted before running towards her pet. "Come here Coca." The cat leaped from the man's hands and purred against the girl's legs. The two were very happy and Poppy no longer felt sad or alone. Crouching down, she petted the cat. "You're okay."

Lost in the happiness, little Poppy did not pay attention to the two men who were to take her away from her best friend and parents and into 'isolation'.

[Gabriel Mendes]

With the little girl reunited with her cat, Gabriel looked to his mentor to see how they were going to break it down to the recruit that they were bringing her in. The older man seemed to communicate that he wanted Gabriel to handle it and when Gabriel pointed to himself and then looked down at the girl and then back to his mentor, the older man nodded. Thanks for the help, Michael. Gabriel thought to himself before getting down on one knee when he was close enough to the young girl.

"Poppy, hi. I'm Gabriel. My friend, the one who saved your kitty? His name's Michael. We're from Bellefonte Academy. We met your parents yesterday. You gave them quite a scare, didn't you?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The little girl was laying down on the pier playing with her not dead cat. It was all good. Coca-cola was by her side again and she felt better. Until the man came over and told her he was from the academy.

"Your name sounds like Gabriella from High School Musical." She snickered. "I'm only at the lake...and if my parents were so scared, why aren't they the ones here now?" Poppy frowned. Did they want her to leave right there and then without even saying goodbye?

"I don't want to go now." The little girl grumbled before turning her back to Gabriel and faced the lake. She knew she was giving an attitude but at that moment, she did not give a damn. "Not now," whispered Poppy.

[Gabriel Mendes]

Pursing his lips when the girl mentioned a musical, Gabriel tried not to laugh at the connection her head made. He wasn't about to tell her that they were just the male and female counterparts of the same source. He chose to concentrate on her next statement, which sort of threw him off for a moment, seeking his mentor's help. But the older man waved him towards her and he sighed.

He sat on the pier floor and propped his elbow on his knee.

"Poppy...can you tell me what her name is?" He asked, pointing to the cat.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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She was silent as she stared out the lake and played with her cat. Her head snapped up to him when he sat beside her. Confused, the little girl looked behind to see the other man, Michael, back there. It looked like they were in no rush to take her away. Humph!

Well since they were not draggging her away, her bratty attitude wavered. Moreover, Gabriel was good to her. "She's is Coca-Cola." Smiling wide, Poppy ushered the cat to him. The cat purred against his hand. "Kiss up!" A laugh escaped her lips and the attitude slowly slipped away.

[Gabriel Mendes]

When Poppy finally answered the question, Gabriel smiled widely and nodded. "Like the soda. I like it! She looks like a Coca-Cola." Gabriel noted, letting the cat near sniff at his fingers. When the cat didn't back away, Gabriel slid his hand over the cat's head and scratched at it's neck.

Poppy's guard was down and Gabriel breathed an inaudible sigh of relief. "How long have you had Coca-Cola?" Gabriel asked, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be transporting this kid away from her parents.

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The little girl giggled. Her kitten was black and when her parents had presented it to her, she wanted to name it after her favorite drink -- Coca Cola. "Yes, it's my favorite drink too!" She exclaimed proudly. Even though it was not a healthy drink, Poppy Lockwood was addicted to it. She was offended if someone offered her Pepsi.

The answer to his question came easily into her mind. The cat was a huge part of her life so she never forgot when her partner came into her life. "It was Christmas when I was 9." Quickly doing the math in her head, she continued, "So about three years..."

The kitten was loving the attention it received from Gabriella Gabriel. "Do you have an animal companion with an awesome name as well, Gabriel?" Little Poppy asked smilingly.

[Gabriel Mendes]

The girl was slowly but surely warming up to Gabriel and he looked to his mentor who nodded and shook his phone before walking back where they came from. Gabriel frowned slightly before checking his phone.

I'm going back to the house to arrange things with the parents. Take your time.

He sighed softly and pocketed his phone before looking up, listening to Poppy as she asked her question.

"Gosh, I wish. I can't even take care of myself. You must be really responsible if you managed to take care of her for three years." He nodded decisively. "You know, you can bring her to the academy. She seems like a very well-behaved cat, I don't see why we can't put her in her kitty bag and fly her over with us to the academy."

[Poppy Lockwood]

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A door slammed shut and tires screeched against the road as the car drove off. Poppy watched it go, then her eyes landed on Gabriel. She eyed him warily. "You partner left you," stating the obvious.

The little girl giggled at his compliment. Responsible. She absolutely loved to be flattered. Since she was a young kid, adults had often complimented her -- looks, she was an adorable girl, smile, out spoken. So this time was no different.

"You know, if you get a cat, I can help you with it. I'll be your cat-sitter!" Poppy exclaimed excitedly. "But of course I expect some form of payment."

And then the good news came which lifted her spirits. "Really? Are you sure?" She patted Coca-Cola. "Did you hear that? You're coming with me!" Looking at Gabriel, she said proudly, "Coca-Cola is potty trained."

[Gabriel Mendes]

"That he did." Gabriel shrugged and sighed slowly. "He wants to deal with adults. I have a feeling he still thinks I'm a kid." He chuckled lightly.

Gabriel smiled at Poppy when she offered to be his cat sitter. "Yeah? Maybe I should consider that." He feigned surprise when she expected payment out of her good deed. He laughed. "What do you want?" He asked, playing along.

"Absolutely. We have all manners of pets at the academy." He reassured her before giving her an impressed look. "Really? I bet you trained her yourself." He smiled before looking out to the lake. "This is a really nice place. I know why you don't wanna go but...will you follow me and Michael?"

[Poppy Lockwood]

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The little girl looked at the grown man and wondered if he liked to play pranks because that was something a kid would do. Whatever it was, Gabriel was starting to grow on her.

He entertained her and she liked it. Because of her age, most adults rarely joke around with her. But those who did were in her good book. Poppy tilted her head thinking how she would liked to be rewarded. "Hmmm I get a pass out of doing homework whenever I cat sit for you, mister," she said with confidence.

Poppy agreed with him one hundred percent. The lake was beautiful. Since her parents brought her there when she was little, she fell in love with it. Just the sight of it calmed her. So she went there to swim or even for some fresh lake air.

But then Gabriel shattered her daze and brought her back to Earth. "I like the lake. It feels...peaceful here," she admitted. "What if there's no lake there? Why do I have to go, Gabriel?" Frowning, she repeated her words earlier. "I don't want to go. Not now please."