That thing between Nadia and Jade.

[Torment]

It would be rather inaccurate to say that Jade cocked an eyebrow at Nadia's offered aid in his understanding of human behavior. Something closer to a proper description would be Jade's own interpretation of the act as he understood it from observation wherein his entire eyebrow moved upwards on his face though his expression did not change whatsoever. He just kinda left it there as he spoke, "Any assistance you could offer would be greatly appreciated."  

[Anzu Minea]

She was still smiling, it was easy to keep up around him and still feel genuine. Nadia moved to stand in front of him, but she made sure she explained clearly what she wanted him to do, otherwise knowing him and his literal translations, he'd miss the point and not understand.

"When a friend or someone you're emotionally attached to is in distress, but not danger, most of the time you don't have to say anything at all." She was a bit closer to him than she normally would've been when explaining something, but that was part of things. Her eyes were closed and she wasn't looking right up at him. "Put your arms around me, on my back and shoulders. It's about contact and presence. Humans and most other beings like to be held when in distress, it's a source of comfort."  

[Torment]

He listened intently and though he did not return the eyebrow to its normal position he was understanding to at least some degree. His thoughts were racing as he connected what she was saying to the memories he had retained from the failed experiment, those of Cai Lun, and whatever remained of him in his personality. He did as she instructed, though perhaps in a manner one might hug a bag of garbage at first, and finished making connections. When he spoke it came with a hint of uncertainty, "A.... hug. I was unsure of the meaning of this action. I have memories of observations on the process but neither I nor the portion of the failed experiment I retain have experienced this. A hug remedies distress." He did not yet let go, not knowing how long a hug should last.  

[Anzu Minea]

((Jade's so tiny~! XD
>_> I'm just goading you now.))

She'd shake her head at the garbage bag approach he tried first, but at least it was better than him trying to make a halo around her with his arms.

"Close, but... Humans fit together." He'd sort've pulled her in to hug her, but Nadia came in closer still to try and show him what she meant. Because of the height difference coming closer would put his chin on her shoulder with the side of his head and face against her neck, but on the side opposite her mark. When Nadia slipped her arms around him to show what a 'comforting' embrace was supposed to be, she didn't try to reach all the way around him, her hands not even crossing one another as they just rested along his back. She'd kept her eyes closed this whole time, but so long as Jade didn't try and change his shape at all, they did indeed 'fit'.

"Just like that. If someone you are connected with is hurting, you just do it like that..."  

[Torment]

For a few long moments Jade merely held Nadia with slightly varying pressures as he felt around for what seemed to be optimal. If their hug persisted long enough Nadia would certainly feel something odd happening between her and Jade. Similar to the slow progression of water through several layers of cloth the mere contact would be causing parts of Jade to press through her clothing. Even as they remained Jade would begin to increase in temperature from the cold hard flesh he usually exhibited to something... almost human.  

[Anzu Minea]

Jade was melting, and Nadia was a slight bit eek -ed. She had, literally, walked right into him. And one part of her in particular had gone in first.

"J-Jade..." Oh, she'd opened her eyes again, and her entire face felt flushed and hot, but not the same way it had been before she'd been carried up to the bioship. This was a different sort of flush. The last time Jade had spread across her chest he'd gone right through it. But she'd said it herself when she'd mention a hug to be about 'contact and presence'. Knowing how curious he was by nature didn't help with the fact that she could feel her heart quickly beginning to thunder. Oops.

"That's... a little provocative." And she had to use a word he probably would want her to explain the meaning of. Her hands would've begun to slide down his back- hopefully without bringing it with them- but as much as she knew she should just give him a very hard kick to the shins or something to get him off, she just pressed one of her hands against his side, a more gentle approach. Was his head still resting against her?  

[Torment]

Jade slowly pulled back from her with his eyebrow still out of place and if it hadn't been it would have shifted as such. Because it was already out of place it moved up further and disappeared into his hair as he referenced the word. After a brief pause he spoke in a voice slightly more monotone than usual, "Provocative: serving or tending to provoke, excite, or stimulate." Jade blinked at her as his normal voice resumed, "Have I provoked, excited, or stimulated you, Nadia?"  

[Anzu Minea]

"The... erm... last one." And the other two. Nadia's expression would be unreadable for the most part because it was... unreadable. Not without expression by any means, it was just a complete mess of them so there was no point in trying to explain it. Needless to say, she'd raise one hand and give a slight cough into it, shadows quickly and subtly moving to cool her down. Literally. She'd give herself hypothermia before letting his scans hone in on just where she'd been... 'stimulated'.

"Most... of the time, people don't eh... conform to the other person like that. Not without erm... different intentions than simply providing comfort." Ulterior motive, that was the word she was looking for.  

[Torment]

From wherever his eyebrow had gone it returned, surfacing from within his skull without much ceremony. Jade nodded slightly in understanding, "So I have stimulated you, Nadia. How exactly have I stimulated you? I was merely giving you a hug as you had instructed. If you have objections to me infiltrating the cloth covering you wear I am sorry. It is merely the composition of my body. I slide right through cloth and thus must alter my own appearance to seem as though I am covering myself to conform to your society." He paused for a moment, "Are you distressed by me stimulating you? Do you need a hug?"  

[Anzu Minea]

Issues with him going through her clothes? Of course she had issues with him doing that! That was the whole point of wearing clothes- to keep people out!

"It's... uuh... Well." Wrong, this was the part where she was supposed to say it was- "Unexpected... and you- I mean... should probably-" Stop. Stuttering. "-understand intimacy a bit more... You might hurt someone or..." This was almost like a throw-back to their first real conversation, only it involved Nadia babbling like a school-girl instead of being aloof and proud.

"But I don't mind it." ...The only thing she could get out straight was the last thing she should have said. If the Bioship had suddenly split open and devoured her right then, she might've thanked it.  

[Torment]

There were very few conversations Jade had actually been a part of during his time on earth and of them the vast majority had been with Nadia. While The Father of Change and the Blade of the Dominion had instructed him on how to be a tyrant and a fool Nadia had taught him how to sit like a human and recognize his emotions. He moved a half step closer to Nadia and his body temperature noticeably rose as if to push back the cold of the darkness. His height increased to match hers and he looked her in the eye, "You have said before that I must understand my own emotions before I can understand the emotions of another. You have helped me understand myself more than anyone else on this world. Will you help me understand the emotions of a woman, Nadia?"  

[Anzu Minea]

Nadia's breaths were coming in very shallow as Jade came up close to her again and pushed away the cold she'd half-heartedly tried to spin around herself. It was impossible to look away from him, or for a moment to even respond. And when she did, it was as good as a yes to his question.

"Right now... I feel delicate." She confided, having to look in as much as she was looking out. "Because you can trigger things accidentally inside of me, and neither of us know if I can do the same to you. It gives you... a lot of power over me, Jade." Nadia's hair had come down from it's up-do too long ago for her to bother trying to remember when exactly. The black tresses had fallen around her shoulders with sleep, but even if Jade didn't care about appearances she was suddenly regretting not having taken any care of herself when he'd brought her here to begin with.

She slid her arms up and around his neck, not bothered by how he'd changed his own height so easily to stand eye-to-eye with her. Even she didn't know if it was love or not, but it was still suddenly so easy to speak.

"Hold me."  

[Torment]

((Sorry, my net crashed.))

Jade gave a half nod that blended into him resting his head upon her shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight. His shift in height had made his torso slightly slimmer as the material therein moved together and upwards to give him that extra four inches of height. As he held her silently he would pass through her clothing faster than he had before but not immediately. Whether this was due to conscious effort on Jade's part after she said she did not mind or whether it was because of his increased temperature was unclear. She still had yet to give him an accurate time frame on hugs.  

[Anzu Minea]

Nadia would probably never be able to fully explain why the feel of him ignoring that barrier between them was so exciting and almost welcome to her. For all she knew it could have been that shard of crystal in her head proding lobes and squirting pheromones everywhere. One of his little eye-spiders just being horribly curious; it was in his nature.

She combed her fingers through the grey lengths of his hair, leaning against him as if they hadn't already been chest-to-chest. A very soft sound fluttered past her lips as he reached a few important parts of her body, and she'd place soft, butterfly-kisses along the side of his neck and into his hair, clearly different from the chaste peck she'd given him in the hotel.

Jade was naive, and she knew that most- if not all- of the things she did actively or in the moment just flew directly over his head. But she doubted the more internal, physical actions she didn't control would escape his scanners. Her heartbeat quickly picked up in pace, brain activity shifting to other lobes, increase in pheromone production, increase in temperature, and probably increases and decreases in about a hundred other areas...

It was a shame he probably wasn't going to recognize this as no simple hug...  

[Torment]

Every last little motion she made was committed to memory as he merely held her against his warmth for several long moments. He was slowly building new pathways within his programming to deal with a situation he had never yet been exposed to. Fragments of crushed memories were loaded from the greater collective memories of Mindblaze for reference but this merely gave clues and suggestions, not answers. And then the coding stopped and ran through several strange lines of code. If one could delve into his mind it may look a little something like this:



And then something happened that Jade had never even considered in his attempt to expand his programming as it seemed highly inefficient. He stopped coding. With body still pressed against hers Jade leaned back, something that would have caused a human neck to undergo some serious stress at the angle he shifted it. Memories flashed in his mind as mere fragments began to expand into true thoughts. He paused for but a moment before his head slipped forward to press his lips against hers, albeit in an almost exact mirror of the kiss she had given him in the hotel.