Welcome to Gaia! ::

___Rasui slowly ran his fingertips over the delicately twisted blades before him. The craftsmanship was remarkable, and unlike anything he'd ever seen either in his studies or digs. He rationalized that it was probably due to the fact that they were in another world, as it were. The shopkeeper looked uneasy, and the larger man had acknowledged the lingering stench of fear and death which hung heavily in the air. This world they had come into, was not one for the living any longer. He wondered, quietly, how much longer it would last before it was consumed whole by whatever haunted it.

___Money had no value at this point, it was all survival, and yet the townspeople clung to their material riches as though it was all they truly needed. He watched how some of the travelers who came through towns looked at the so-felt pathetic with disdain, and a misunderstanding through their desperate psychological fixations. He handed the man the money needed and instead selected an old book rotting in a corner. The gold was snatched up and disappeared quickly into robes, as Rasui sadly walked away from the stand. He hoped they would win.

___Rasui opened the book as he walked, browsing the pages as he quietly navigated through the crowd using peripheral vision. He couldn't really understand it, but he figured that since he would be in this world for awhile, he'd manage to get a basic grasp of the language. Maybe he could create a brief dictionary ... what a fantastic idea.

___He noticed a girl drop her peel on the ground next to a wastebin, not without the effort of trying to get it in. Leaning down he picked it up, tossed it in, and smiled at her as he turned the page. Gently he patted her on the head as he walked by, sinking deeper into the book. He wondered of there had been any other misses, and did a double-take at the trashcan and the girl a last time.

___He spread the book on his page with his thumbs and rested it on his chest, crossing his other arm under it for support as he smiled and looked down at her puffed up form. Oh, she was an employee. He hadn't been aware, while he didn't expect people to wear their performance clothes all the time, it did make them easier to identify when spotting them on the street.

___"I apologize." He said warmly. "I had not realized, my name is Rasui. What would yours be, is it as fierce as you appear to be?" He smiled, she was a lioness, a small one, but a lioness ... none the less.

___He nodded, she looked different without her costume. More human, less angel, at least the kind that flew around in the skies. He slid his spectacles to his forehead, to give her his full attention, and also to make it easier on his eyes. He gently took her tiny hand in his massive one and gave it a squeeze, greeting her with pleasure.
___"It's good to meet you Lucrezia Falco." Pretty name, he'd never heard anything similar to it before. "I've seen the show but I'll also be going tonight, I hope you'll be performing."

___"Oh, no more than usual." He chuckled quietly, "They do have a way of tricking you out of every coin you have, but it's infectious, the good times and jokes. Before you know it every cent is gone." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "Just like that."

___Rasui watched her carefully, she seemed guarded against him, of course that was his own fault for being so careless in the way they had both met. It was such an older brother instinct to dote over someone who'd made a mistake. However, she wasn't his sister, and most certainly didn't look or act it. He wasn't complaining.
___"That's a lovely accent, where would you happen to be from?"

___He moved with her, his arm loosely surrounding her small frame protectively as she led him to the side, old habits die hard. Rasui pulled his hands back to himself quickly afterwards, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable again, that would surely put a damper on their first meeting like this.
___"The year Twenty-Twenty, Earth." He smiled. Well, she was from Earth too, but you never knew with the people you met here. This place, where ever they were, most certainly wasn't Earth. "I spent some time in Italy at one point, beautiful buildings, learned how to make a parmigiana that is simply out of this world." Rasui grinned at her. Food, he loved.

___He easily delighted himself with food, but the ability to delight others was so much more wonderful and priceless. Rasui felt himself become excited, and he grinned. It was one of his most favourite dishes in the world to concoct, along with several others, but it was so wonderfully decadent.
___"If you like, sometime I could make you some. You'd have to pick eggplant or chicken though. I don't mind either." He smiled. "I make a lovely linguine as well, we could finish it off with some tiramisu." Rasui began daydreaming about the luxurious banquet he could make. He hoped she would take him up on that offer soon. "Mmm." He smiled and met her gaze.
___"Is there anything you like in particular?"