<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d8/Darren.jpg)</div><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d9/AchillesDisney.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Sheriff Darren Phaeton<br/><strong>Who:</strong>open. Mim<br/><strong>When:</strong>Day 1, morning<br/><strong>Where:</strong>the quad<br/><strong>Warning:</strong>The thousand yard stare…<br/><hr/><br/>Darren had always suspected that barbed tongue was a defense mechanism and he was all the more convinced of that when Mim's body language contrasted her acerbity. That was okay, he understood armor better than many.<br/><br/>Leaping ahead with a burst of speed, Darren half turned and laughed. "You say that like it's a bad thing."<br/><br/>He led the way away from the fountain and wove through the green campus and regal buildings. The lead was a give and take which was fine with him. She was not the sort to knuckle under and small victories kept her interested. And like a bored genius child or a hyperactive dog, she needed to be entertained, he got that.<br/><br/>"What's the matter, Trouble? You fadin' on me? Should I carry you? Or maybe Achilles here could do it. Though he'd make a lousy horse."<br/><br/>Admittedly, the banter was getting tougher as he finally started feeling the strain of the long workout, but he relished it and Achilles was still rarin' to go. So he angled for the quad, forgoing the nearby stone stairs to vault over the low wall and the drop behind it. Without a moment's hesitation, Achilles streaked after him, both of them 'whuffing' to a half stumbling landing. Barking and prancing with excitement, the huge shepherd was all puppy again, not a dignified seven year old police dog.<br/><br/>"Well, then get your tail over here, dumbass," Darren laughed and managed to get close enough to pull out the soft Frisbee from the shadrack and fling it as hard as he could. When Mim joined him, he grinned faintly at her from the corner of his eye. "We'll have to get you out in this healthy, wholesome sunshine more often."<br/><br/>Achilles came rushing back, happy as a pig in shit and made Darren work to get the Frisbee to fling it again. That was fine with the Sheriff as it gave him precious moments to eyeball the milling students and judge the mood of the day so far. The hard, icy alertness in blue eyes flashed in and out like a glacier hiding beneath the water's surface and echoed through his sweaty body.<br/><br/>