Welcome to Gaia! ::

The message that Caoimhe left Amitai two days ago sounded something like this:

Hey. Ami. It's Caoi.

I know we haven't seen each other in a while -- I've been busy -- but I need a favor. Gotta switch out the furniture on my patio for some new stuff Gristla -- that's my guardian, you haven't met her I don't think -- anyway, it's just some new stuff that she bought. I'd totally move it myself, but it's really big and I have short arms and I could do it on my own but I think it would go a lot quicker if you just came and hoisted some stuff around. I'll feed you if you come.

Bring the kittens.

The plan was brilliant! And lucky for Caoi, Amitai was a cool enough guy to be willing to do it. She woke up early that morning and jogged down to the open-air fresh market in the center of Gambino Isle. It was her favorite place to go as it was full of food (even if it wasn't as cool as the frozen prepackaged stuff that amazed her in supermarkets), and she figured that she'd be able to find something Ami would eat there, which more or less resulted in Caoi buying a ton of stuff that she enjoyed and therefore assumed that he must. She stacked the bags overflowing with fruits, veggies, fish, and spices on the counter and threw herself onto the couch with a quiet, "Oof!"

She glanced up to the clock -- the digital one, she still couldn't read analog -- and figured Ami would be there soon enough. All she had to do was wait.

Clicking off the TV, Caoimhe padded barefoot over the chipped floors of her little beachside house. Thank God for the hurricane-resistant, insanely-strong foundation -- Amitai would actually be able to walk inside. The bigger problem? Probably the stairs. Or the general small size of her living quarters. Not much of a worrier, Caoimhe shrugged away her worries because--yay!--someone was going to help her do one of her chores. It was cause for celebration.

"I'm COMING!" Caoimhe bellowed, her Celtic accent obscuring the words a bit. Sliding the last few feet to the door, she whipped it wide open and beamed at Amitai. He had KITTIES. "Hi, hi," she said, feeling remarkably chipper. Without a word, she reached forward and darted a petite hand into Ami's pocket, pulling out the gray kitten. She curled it to her chest and turned to walk back into the house.

Glancing over her shoulder, she said, "Make sure you duck down when you come in. Gristla will kill me if I have you destroying the doorway. Or anything else." The little kitten she held was a warm ball against her chest. She could feel its purring vibrations through the light cotton of her teal t-shirt.

Crossing through the foyer to the living room, she spun on her heel and waited for Amitai to follow her.

"Gristla isn't very rational about that kind of thing. I'm the teenager so most everything is my fault," Caoimhe said, scratching gently under the gray kitten's chin. She loved these little domestic kittens. She had begged Gristla to let her have one, but the giant tigress was more than a little offended. Caoi could still remember her face when she said, They are mentally handicapped bastardization of the grace and power of the Enilef people. You will not parade one around my house. Oh well. Maybe when she moved out. Besides, Gristla was at work, and Amitai would be long gone before she got home.

Her eyes moved to the corner of the room. There were boxes packed with chairs and tables stacked haphazardly. Caoimhe hadn't seen the new patio furniture Gristla had picked out, but after the week of bad rain had soaked the old stuff (and consequently grown mold), she had been explicitly told that the change had to happen -- and soon. It was Caoi's balcony, and therefore, it was Caoi's responsibility to fix it.

Gently, she set down the gray cat on the couch, giving it a final scratch behind the ears. She stood and put her hands on her hips. "You wanna eat now? Or you wanna eat after we move it all?" Pointing at the kitchen, she added, "I bought some stuff at the market. Wasn't sure what you ate." She paused, looked him over. "You don't eat rocks, do you?" Hm -- on the up side, that could mean more food for her...

"Of course I'm hungry," she said cocking one hip to the side. "I'm always hungry." That was an understatement. "I promised you lunch. So -- what do you want?" Caoimhe knitted her brows together and moved quickly around Ami's giant mass to the tiny kitchen connected to the living room. Ducking under the hanging cupboards (not that she really needed to duck at all), the selkie Fa'e began unloading the contents of her bag -- a pound of raw shrimp, two dozen oysters, a smattering of fruits and veggies, an iced chocolate cake, and a random collection of nuts, candies, and other such tiny snacks.

Laying her hands on her hips, she looked back over to Ami. "Do you eat... anything?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Every living thing has to eat as far as the selkie knew. If Ami does not eat, then what is he? And if he doesn't eat -- why did he want lunch! More food was a plus for the teen Fa'e, but she was weirded out by the idea that Ami might not eat anything. Most of the joy in Caoimhe's life was gained through trying new and delicious things. How could anyone's life have any meaning without food?

Fingering the oysters through the woven cotton bag, Caoimhe let her eyes linger on her strange companion, waiting for some justification.

An expression somewhat akin to a typical preteen girl demanding "MAKEOVER TIME!" crept up Caoimhe's pouting features like a glorious sunset. Clapping her hands together, she hopped up onto the kitchen counter. She could no longer handle being so short compared to Ami -- plus she had a great idea. No! -- a GRAND idea. "I know what we should do." The teen rested both hands on her hips and rocked back and forth excitedly. "We should make a bunch of food and eat it." Perhaps she should be more descriptive.

"I can cook you a bunch of stuff. And you can try it. And we will figure out what you like to eat. I mean, Ami -- you can't NOT eat. It's one of the best things to do in Gaia." Not wanting to dwarf herself by Ami's side, Caoimhe walked along the edge of the counter like a balance beam, tugging at the loose ponytail falling over her shoulder. Every so often, she tucked a strand of hair in her mouth and chewed. "Back when I was in Aranorn, you know before Gaia and all that, you could only get wild game that you hunted and mostly raw berries or stewed leaves -- stuff like that. Not like these kind of ingredients." She gestured behind her to the spread of food.

She paused and turned back to front. "You have to try Hot Pockets. Ami -- I'm telling you. I don't know how I lived before them. It's like a cheesy pocket of meat that takes less than two minutes to cook and eat." In her fervor over food, Caoimhe didn't realize that she had openly discussed Aranorn with Amitai. She wasn't prone to sharing her feelings, not to mention the fact that her experience on Aranorn was a life of slavery and disrespect. Something about Ami's oafishness, his cluelessness, even his naturally quiet demeanor -- it all put the selkie Fa'e at ease.

Her eyes wandered to the new furniture in the corner of the room. Chores could wait. Food was important now.

"Also -- what is kosher? Is it a kind of hot dog?"

(( Hey, do you want to wrap this up quickly so we can start a new one? Caoi is a teen here, but she is a youth now. I want her to come see Ami in her new form! ))

Kosher didn't sound like any fun at all. Pig was delicious -- and cheese! Dear God, Amitai lived a life of complete HELL! As he rattled off the list of foods (many of them Caoi's favorites) that he could not consume, Caoi's face dropped from one of total euphoria to one of utter disgust. It was like someone had shown her an increasingly graphic slideshow of murder, rape, and torture. The teen would have exploded with horror and shock -- if Amitai hadn't of followed up his comments so quickly with a question.

"What?" she said, a light red popping up over her cheeks. Oh... right. She had mentioned Aranorn, hadn't she? Hm. Well, Caoimhe wasn't a very good liar, or very quick with her words. So she plopped down on the edge of the counter and answered truthfully. "Oh. Right. No, Aranorn is where I come from, Ami, the place where I was born. Reborn, I guess. Like... the place I was at before I ended up here in Gaia." She knew that Ami was like her, a Fa'e who had shown up somewhere else, but she'd never really asked him about his old world, mostly because she hoped to avoid talking about hers.

Hopping down to the floor, she opened the fridge, pulling out all the food items that weren't on Ami's list of not-to-eat. She held up a small white container. "Is cottage cheese a cheese?" she asked, and then set it down. In no time at all, the counter was covered in food, and Caoimhe began to pick through it, selecting the things Ami would need to try first. "Where do you come from, Ami?" she asked at last, popping a finger covered in ketchup remnants into her mouth.