Welcome to Gaia! ::

A screech of glee shattered the silence of the day. Admits giggles and shouts a small figure shot through the house of Damont, footsteps thumping loudly on the wooden floors. Sera Damont, age four, loved bath time. She didn't just love it because of the bubbles or the toys. She loved it specifically when her father was giving her one.

When the maid gave her a bath it meant sitting in the tub and getting her skin scrubbed off. When her father gave her a bath... it meant naked romps through the house!

Willis, on the other hand, didn't find the whole thing nearly as exciting. When he finally DID catch her he'd more than likely end up giving her the same tired scold of 'you'll catch a pneumonia if you run around wet like that!' and then it'd be back in the bath for plenty of laughs and bubble blowing. If he was too soft on her the man didn't seem to realize. This time, however, Willis had someone to help!

"Aria, help!"

The pale blue Proto tilted it's head to the side, looking up at it's master with wide, innocent eyes. "Help? Master Willis wishes for Aria to aid? What may I do?"

Willis paused, resting his hands at the center of his back with a small huff. His face was a bit flush from having already chased his daughter half way around the house. He wore a simple button down shirt, untucked from his black slacks. He was barefoot - shoes were usually a bad idea for bath time. He glanced down at the whispy Proto with a small smile. It'd only been present in the household for a day or so and already it was beginning to show a bit more personality than it had when he'd first met it. "Yes. Help me catch Sera, please. She shouldn't run around wet like this... she could catch pneumonia. Or a cold."

"Understood. Locate Sera, return her to bath. Prevent pneumonia or a cold."

Willis' soft chuckle was cut short as he heard the click of the back door. Eye widening he raised his voice, finding energy enough to start a dash towards the rear exit, Aria gliding close behind him. "Sera!" His voice was as full of fatherly command as he could muster. "Young lady, if you've gone outside...!"

Aria, assessing the situation more quickly than Willis, quickly dodged past the man. The strange scarf about her neck flapping wildly behind her. Too quickly she had maneuvered around the clumsy Willis and through the open door. Now his heard really froze within his chest. The backyard was circled only by a low, slatted fence, easy for someone to see through. "Aria!"

The Proto had made it outside into the backyard. Quickly she found Sera, the small girl was running circles near the side fence, shrieking and laughing in glee. Moving with a swiftness that seemed a bit unnatural, Aria zipped forward, the ends of it's scarf curving forward to reveal tiny hands. It wrapped it's 'arms' gently around Sera, creating a sufficient cover out of the decorated cloth. "Sera. You are not to run wet. It causes pneumonia or a cold."

"Aria!"

The backdoor opened, a very ruffled man filling it's space. His ashy black hair was tousled haphazardly, glasses slid down the bridge of his nose. When he saw the delicate woman standing at the edge of his yard, looking down at his daughter and the Essentic...

His mouth felt dry.

"'Ria! Don't use your arms like that! We can't put them in the dryer." Sera was far less purturbed by the situation. She reached up to push a few of her own dark, wet locks out of her face, small heart-shaped face turning upward to look at the stranger. She turned back to the Essentic, something seeming to be rolling through her mind. Daddy had said Aria was supposed to be a special secret... "Good kitty!" She wrapped her arms around the pale blue creature and hugged it.

"I am not kitty."

By the time the small exchange had happened between the two, Willis was in the yard. Swiftly he leaned down, wrapping a fresh white towel around Sera and plucking her up out of the Essentic's arms. He lifted her up, turning to stand between the woman and the Proto. His face was pale as he looked her over quickly. "Excuse me... M'am." He looked over her shoulder, towards the street before glancing anxiously into her face again. He spoke haltingly. "I can explain... I know I am a stranger, m'am, but could I please ask you inside?"

Willis gave a small breath of relief, opening the gate and waving the woman inside. "This way, please." He walked ahead of her, glancing back to make sure the Essentic was also following. Once inside he waited for the woman to step through the door before closing it behind him. "Excuse me a moment... Sera? Go upstairs and get dressed, please." He set his daughter down near the edge of the staircase, making sure she held onto the towel.

The girl gave a loud sound of protest. "But I want to talk to the lady!"

"You can come back down once you have some clothes on. And then later we'll have a talk about running outside like that." He put his hands on his hips, looking down at the little girl with a stern eye. She scowled, stomping up the stairs and disappearing down the hall.

With a weary sigh Willis turned back around, preparing himself for the conversation he was sure to come. Aria trailed after him, ever his shadow, back into the kitchen. He gave as pleasent a smile as he could, motioning to the modest table. "Would you like some tea or coffee?"

Be pleasant, first and foremost... though truthfully he was trying to avoid the confrontation for all his worth. It didn't help much that Aria kept herself firmly by his side, staring with those strange, vacant, beautiful eyes at the woman.

"Oh. Forgive me, my name is Willis Damont." He reached a large hand out to the woman as a means of greeting. He didn't bother trying to tuck in his shirt, instead letting the tails flutter about his waist.

Willis gave a small startle as she mentioned Misha's name. That was indeed very familiar. He tentatively looked into Ellandra's face, one hand reaching back to rub lightly at his neck. "Ah, yes, I do know Misha. From... Life Essentials?" He looked at her hopefully - was she someone else who had received a Spark to mold into whatever she wished of it?

Aria continued to stare back at the woman in front of it, as though studying her. With a small tilt of it's head, the Proto opened it's little pink mouth. "Ellandra."

Willis shifted a little uncomfortably. Time to take the plunge headfirst. If worse came to worse, he'd try and contact Banning and inform him of what would happen... then beg for all he was worth to be allowed to keep the Essentic. "This is Aria. She's also from Life Essentials. She's like Misha. Hm." That was strange, he hadn't really thought of the little feline Proto as having a gender before but there it was now. It seemed right, anyway.

Willis turned to the woman, his expression very careful, as though he expected Ellendra to explode in some way or another. "I hope I can trust you to be... discreet about this matter." He nodded towards the Proto, still staring eerily at her.

Willis watched the exchange between the two with fascination. Was Aria impressing? He'd read up on the pamphlet that he'd been given... really it all seemed rather confusing. When the small woman stood back up he gave a soft chuckle. "Not at all. Two reasons, to be honest. When she...well I received her when she was a Spark. She's a Proto right now... When she emerged from her dormant Spark stage there was the most beautiful music. I think it was her." His expression went distant as he remembered the moment. It had been so beautiful, those clear, pure notes. "Partially that... but," It was his turn to flush a little bit. "Truthfully it's the name of one of my more... favorite authors. I do believe I have all but one or so of her books."

He gave a small wave of his hand. Most people knew he was a college Prof for English Literature before they found that out. In this case he shouldn't be so embarrassed about it. Beside him Aria tilted her head to the side, watching the faces of the two humans intently.

A clatter from the top of the stairs announced Sera's approach. Willis glanced upward with a hawkish eye - if she tried coming down without anything on...

But all was well. The four year old flounced down the stairs wearing a sun-dress of orange and yellow. She eagerly ran into the kitchen and to her father, wrapping her arms around his leg in a hug. She peeked out around his knee towards the woman and smiled. "You're beautiful! What's your name?"

Willis gave a small sigh and nod, feeling more secure that information that he had an Essentic would not get out to ears he didn't want to hear about it. "Thank you." He paused, glancing around the small kitchen. His daughter, the ethereal Proto and a complete stranger. The moment felt a little awkward - he wasn't about to turn Ms. Ellandra out of his house just because he was sure she was going to keep silent. That would have been far too rude.

Besides... he was a little curious... Shooing Sera gently away from his leg with a gentle hand at her back he pulled out a chair and sat down. This woman was quite a timid little bird, lessening his height might make her a little more comfortable. "If you don't mind me asking, Ms. Ellandra. How did you meet Misha?"

Sera, seeing that her father was about to fall into an 'adult' conversation, broke away from them, walking over to Aria. She took one of the Proto's 'arms' and lifted it up, giggling as the Essentic gave a small sound of surprise. "It looks like a flag. Do you have a hand in there?"

"Yes." The single word was said with such indignation that, had Willis been less busy talking with the adult woman, would have surprised him. It was a break through... one of the rare moments of personality that were beginning to become more frequent. Aria shook back the silky cloth, revealing a tiny rounded off stub. There were no fingers to speak of.

"That's not a hand! This is a hand." Sera lifted up her own, wiggling all five of her little digits.

Brows lifted in concern, Ms. Ellandra was obviously upset that she could no longer see Misha. Who wouldn't be? From what he'd met of the Essentic he was rather pleasant to be around. He got the feeling, though, that perhaps he should not press the matter. It seemed sensitive.

In an attempt to cheer the woman he gently placed his hand over one of her's in a comforting gesture. "You are welcome to visit from time to time." What was he offering?! It struck him a little that this woman was a complete stranger.

So had Elst and Fao, though... Only a day they had known each other and he regarded them quite highly. Something about those two... a vibrancy that was alive within them. The same thing was in this woman, he realized. Something that made him like her. Made him trust her.

"I know you've known me only minutes... forgive me if the offer seems strange."

"How do you pick things up? You don't even have a thumb?" Sera had Aria's appendage by the 'wrist', looking it over.

The Proto's tiny pink mouth was turned downward. Aria seemed thoroughly displeased that her handicap was being brought out so glaringly into the open. Without a word she tugged herself away from Sera, letting the long flowing sleeves flutter down to cover herself up again.

In moments the cloth was wrapped securely around Sera twofold. What she lacked in hands she made up for in incredibly flexibility. "Like this." Was that a bit of a laugh in her voice?