Welcome to Gaia! ::

Spring was quickly becoming one of Sa'ida's favorite times of year, despite the torture it inflicted on her guardian's sinuses. Colors, colors everywhere! The blue sky, yellow sun, green grass, and flowers of every shape and size. Song Birds serenaded the patrons crowding outside the latest edition to Gambino's Cultural District: The Gambino Botanical & Butterfly Gardens. Sa'ida counted down the days until the grand opening of the new garden that was so much bigger (but not better) than the one atop the roof of Cafe Jubilee. FINALLY! The day arrived. "Natchi, thank you so, so so much for bringing me here! So many flowers. Maybe we can bring some home for the cafe?"

Beside the bouncy Frei radiating with energy, her fiery, redheaded guardian stood beneath a lace parasol. Allergies aside, Natsuki was also in high spirits. The academic school year was winding down, so traffic at the cafe was uncharacteristically slow as a result of final exams. In preparation for the influx of the summer tourists, Natchi left the cafe to her capable staff and took a day off. There was a great turn out, but she was surprised not to see any familiar faces in the crowd. "We can't take any of these flowers home with us, but if you see ones you like, tell me and I'll see about planting them at home. I am planning on re-doing the garden at the house." The two girls glided up to the VIP Red Carpet, and she handed two gold embossed tickets to the guard manning the illustrious velvet rope.

"Really!?" Really-truly-totally-seriously, Nachi?! You're the best!! Sa'ida gasped, clutching onto her guardian's arm, hugging it tightly, as they breezed through the VIP entrance and obtained their special access passes. Flashbulbs flashed as the two ladies passed the paparazzi and local journalists. Both girls gasped in awe as they cleared the foyer, entering the glass dome.

"Yep, and I am going to need some of those--" Natsuki replied, trying to be dazed by the photographers and reporters. Her voice trailed off when she beheld the sight before them. It was if progress hadn't turned Gambino into a chintzy, tourist trap. Flora dripped from everywhere. Gorgeous flowers, sprawling vines, and a plethora of scents danced in the air. If paradise was on Gambino. This place was it.

Their moments of peace the garden would soon be cut short, as more and more people filed their way into the gardens. Tables stood uncharacteristically throughout the garden, clearly to encourage elbow rubbing and donation giving, and detracting from the unrivaled beauty of the gardens. That wasn't to say that Natsuki didn't object to the free champagne with strawberries when a tall and handsome waiter brought them by. At least there was free alcohol to help drown out all the overdone pomp and circumstance.

"Whatcha drinking?" the young raevan asked, her eyes bright with anticipation. She pouted when Natsuki raised her glass firmly out of her reach.

"Something you can't have until you're old. Much older." Natsuki warned, relieved that the rainbow genie couldn't process alcohol or food. With her luck, though, she was certain the resourceful Frei would find some way to experience it. Her attention was rerouted when they were approached by another woman named Ebony Shade.

"WOW! Lilac-tastic hair, Lady!" Sa'ida replied cheerily, with her eyes immediately drawn to Ebony's hair. She had grey eyes like Natchi, causing curiosity to tug at her bemused smile. "Same eyes like Natchi! Sisters?"

Natsuki dropped the champagne flute from her, almost choking on a strawberry as Sa'ida greeted the woman before her. Coughing daintily, she composed herself before extending a gloved hand, and taking Ebony's in her own. "Natsuki Yanagitani, it's a pleasure to meet a future owner. This is my little pal, Sa'ida. What brings you to the garden today?" Finishing off her drink, she traded with another cute waiter in exchange for a pair of glasses filled with raspberry champagne. Letting go of her new acquaintance's hand, she passed a drink, as she wasn't one to drink alone.

The young Frei hovered close to Ebony, eyes wide with interest. The lady would certainly make the friends list with a passion for a color-- any color, but it was purple. Sa'ida also loved purple, but the rich, jewel toned version. "May I touch your hair, Ms. Ebony?" the raevan asked, knowing it was a bold question and patiently waited for her guardian to admonish her. Rosy glossed lips closed over her bright expectant smile. This was her bracing for rejection. She couldn't help herself though. Natsuki had a passion for all colors, so it was fun to meet another human who did so-- and one who was a guardian at that!

She tugged at Ebony's shirt hem, beckoning her closer to whisper to the lavender lady. A tanned hand covered her mouth, shielding her words from Natsuki's impeccable hearing. "Be careful. You can't take these flowers home. If you do, I won't tell. Promise..." she vainly attempted, forgetting to use a voice softer than her 'inside voice'. Anything she said could and would be used against her in the Court of Natchi, that was for sure. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers at Ebony's mention of owning a green house. "Your house is GREEN! I loooooooove green. I pegged you for a purple house, since you love it so much..."

Stopping her sip midway through, her lips parted into a bemused smile. Despite her futile efforts to teach Sa'i about social boundaries and meeting new people, the giddy Frei operated on a completely different scale of what was sociall acceptable. Natsuki chuckled, clearly hearing her charge's attempt at being secretive. She would certainly need to make an effort to talk about volume to help secret telling be actually effective. "What a coincidence! I'm planning on revamping my garden. That's one of the best things about spring, right? Hanging out with Mother Nature and nurturing life." A wicked smirk traced her lips as she leaned in on Ebony's other side, prepared to show her charge how to properly communicate a secret. "I am also building a Solarium, for Sa'i, so she can enjoy the garden in the winter time. She hates the cold. "

Ebony's hair fell in slow motion. For Sa'i every last lavender strand individually, like a theatre curtain drawing to a close. She wiggled her eager fingers, preparing to do something her own guardian wouldn't let her. Before Sa'ida could reach out and touch it, she gave a brilliant smile to the woman. Cocoa hands delicatle brushed Ebony's hair, strumming it likely playing a harp. Only a single touch, slow and deliberate. The hairs danced melodically to the soft jingling of her golden bracelets.

"What kind of plants do you grow in your green house? Do you focus on flowers, fruits, or vegetables?" Natsuki replied, trying to make whatever her young friend had in mind, less weird by keeping the coversation moving. "Maybe we could trade gardening tips when on a less formal. I run a cafe near by, perhaps we could have tea and cake to unwind after all this social formality and bright..." her voice trailed off, distracted by Sa'ida's uncharacteristically quietness. She took a long sip of her champagne, unable to keep herself distracted from what the raevan was doing.

For a few seconds, the rich green in her eyes faded, and the light shade of purple of Ebony's was hers. Closing her eyes, Sa'ida thought of lilacs, rows and rows of fragrant lilacs. Her fingers lingered a on a small section of Ebony's hair. Opening her eyes again, something unexpected happened. A lavendar streak, the exact shade of the other event guest, started at the tip of her bangs. It was slow at first, traveling across the top of her head, fading back to her natural brown as it continued streaking back. Hitting her ponytail, the purple gained momtenum, spiraling around and around, in a corkscrew, until it faded off at the tip. Ebony's hair color remained unchanged, and Sa'ida's resumed its normal rich, hazenut brown.

"Thank you, Miss Ebony. It is such a delicious color! I didn't hurt you did I? I hope I can find flowers in that color for our garden," the rainbow genie smiled, dropping her hand and drifting back and moving besides Natsuki. Taking her guardian's arm, she smiled. "Can we plant lilacs? I want Ms. Ebony to visit our garden."

"Well, that's certainly something new! You're all right, Ebony?" Natsuki said, watching Sa'ida touch Ebony's hair. She had seen the young Frei change colors or clarity of oganic items like stained glass or faded laundry, but the redhead was quite surprised by her charge's bold move with a complete stranger. Pulling an ornate hair pin from her hair, red orange ringlets cascaded around her shoulders. "Before I say, yes. Do that again."

Vivid green eyes widened to the size of saucers when Natsuki let down her hair just for Sa'ida. Since the day she came home, the genie attempted to get her guardian to sit still for five minutes to attempt such a experiment, and now it seemed her guardian's curiosity finally got the best of her. Cocoa fingertips with almond nail polished tapped together in anticipation. "Oh Natchi? Really? Thank you so much!!" the Frei beamed, her eyes misty with appreciation. Not that she fantasized about it or spent nights watching over her guardian as she slept, that wasn't how she knew. She knew it the moment, Natsuki picked up her in the rubble of the lab: mandarin orange, ivory gardenia, and yellow plumeria.

"Ebony, I want to show you something. As a future raevan owner, you might need to be prepared for their, innate curiosity with the world they are born into. Though each raevan's powers are different, as you may very well know, the cafe owner confessed, from one guardian to another. "Not that I am suggesting you let your future charge experiment on you at will, just let them enjoy the little things."

Unwillng to miss the opportunity to prove to herself that she wasn't delusional, Natsuki kept a watchful, curious eye upon her charge. "I think the garden club sounds like a fantastic idea, Ebony. I am sure that the Delaran Boys may be interested in that," Natsuki continued as if she wasn't about to have some weird color experiment done to her hair. This time, Sa'ida simply spread the fingers of one hand, and started at her guardian's temple. Unlike Ebony's straight hair, Sa'i had Natsuki's curls to contend with. Granted the curls weren't natural, but she wanted to sample it without ruining a prized possession of her guardian's. She combed her fingers slowly downward, following the shape of the curls meticulously. The curls stretched slightly, and sprang back into place.

Again, green faded this time to an intense orange, mirroring that of Natsuki's fiery hair. Unlike before, the color started at the crest of her ponytail. A single band of orange red radiated behind her coral hair piece before splitting in half and spiraling to the tips of her bangs and the ends of her ponytail. As it passed, the color receded, returning back to her original color. The rune at her base radiated a bit brighter, painting a euphoric smile. "Can we plant an orange tree, a magnolia tree, and a plumeria tree, too. They can keep Ms. Ebony's lilac tree company. I want to help to in making pretty gardens. Can I?"

Whether Ebony knew it or not, she just made a friend for life. Sa'ida was happier than a middle aged lady in the throws of a bargain bonanza. After the moment of subdued bliss subsided, she gave Ebony a beautiful, charismatic smile "S'ok! Natchi has a huge plot next to the house. It's perfect for our dream garden. Many parties can be had there! You must come, Ms. Ebony!" The rainbow Frei swung her arms quite wide, clearly over exaggerating her point. Admittedly, business for Natsuki was booming, and she was investing in real estate surrounding her own home. Partially a wise investment, the other was to keep prying eyes away from Sa'ida. "Can I go over there, Natchi? There's pretty, pretty flowers over there!" She pointed to a cascading arrangements that looked like a rainbow carpet full of colorful flowers.

Natsuki smiled like a proud parent on report card day. Sa'ida was starting to figure out that she was manifesting powers, or she was at least experimenting with color. While she twist her curls up into a French twist and reinserted the hair combs, she made a note to enter that into her progress journal at home. Aside from work, it seemed that all she did lately was research, notes, cataloging about things she'd never had time to learn about until she met Sa'ida: genies, rainbows, superstitions, myths. It was a welcomed distraction from her hectic business lifestyle. "Sure thing, Kiddo. Just don't wander off too far, okay?" she said, still partially in a daze from the touch of her raevan. Sure the rainbow-y frei had hugged her countless times, but it hadn't felt like the touch she just experienced-- like a brief walk in another world, perhaps in a castle in the sky. Lots of clouds and soft colors.

Sa'ida twirled away, dancing her way through the crowd of party goers toward the floral rainbow. "I didn't want to discuss about the 'creation process' and elemental stage of raevans in front of Sa'ida. We haven't had that 'that talk' just yet," Natsuki smiled softly, turning her stormy gray eyes to what felt like a mirror image (at least for the eyes). Taking another sip of champagne, raspberries danced on her tongue happily."Might I ask what combination you have considered for your raevan? Or have you already collected a soul and sent it off to the labs?" Natsuki said with genuine interest. Although she wasn't volunteering anymore, she still liked keeping her pulse on the beat of the lab (without overstepping her boundaries). She couldn't think of a raevan guardian who wasn't carefully selected by the staff, so it was almost a given that Ebony, like many of the others she'd met, was "good people".

The cascading rainbow carpet of flowers was roped up with a chintzy, velveteen rope-- a pointless hurdle for the young Frei. Floating up and over the rope, she stabilized her 'jump' by letting her fingertips graze one of the silvered posts marking the edge of the rainbow showcase. Flowers of all shapes and sizes were gathered and planted in a rainbow chorus of colors. Two security guards rushed over to stop her, but permitted her to stay, seeing the blissful smile on her face. One of the docents reassured that it was okay for her to be there. They didn't know why, but the rainbow Frei looked like part of the exhibit!

"Such pretty flowers you are! Every last one of you! Sing with me, please?" Sa'ida asked the spectrum of flowers, like a chorus director preparing their congregation. She clutched her hands together, holding them at her chest. She hummed softly, a tune that was strangely familiar, but it wasn't the lullaby Natchi sung to her. Near by, she heard the live band play softly, accompanying her on strings and percussion. The instruments sounded like those of a desert land, some place flowers like these would never bloom, but the accentuated her humming perfectly.

The flowers accompanied her, too, their colors growing brighter and softer in tune to the music. As they changed in shade, they began doing so in rounds, by proximity to Sa'ida, moving toward division by color, bands of the rainbow. Soon it changed again, taking a shine to the strumming of the stringed instruments. In her eyes, the colors transitioned from one color to the next. Sa'ida felt stronger, happier, and healthier. Her performance not only touched the flowers which seemed richer in color than before, but the surrounding crowd that gathered to applaud her, snapped her out of her trance.

"Yes, she's met Dayo once. Mouse is a good friend, but it feels like ages since I last saw her. A lingering smoke and a Basilik? What a fantastic combination, though I would be careful, aren't those poisonous?" Natsuki asked, draining her champagne, feeling the rush of excitement. More and more guardians had cropped up. Soon enough, what little remaining free time would without a doubt be gobbled up by more play dates, outings, and events. At least this way, she'd have the chance to screen potential matches without Sa'ida getting to attached to other raevans. Draining her glass, she waved down the waiter again. "Want a refill?"

Spinning around, the young Frei was startled by the reception her impromptu performance. Searching the faces, she grew a little concerned that she saw neither her guardian nor her new friend, Ms. Ebony. "Th-thank you very much, please enjoy the rest of the event. Excuse me," she fibbed, feeling uncomfortable at how people's gazes lingered and their whispers carried. Many of them found her appealing, to say the least. They didn't look at her with sincere awe or gentle eyes. It made her skin crawl. Sa'ida hopped the velveteen rope, bobbing and weaving through the crowd, almost making a direct beeline toward Natsuki and Ebony. Not wanting to interrupt the women, she slinked up beside her guardian, and linked her arm with Natsuki.

Natsuki was reveling her in conversation with Ebony. The purple haired woman had the bug-- that expectant guardian twinkle in her eye. The redhead smiled, recalling those feelings fondly. Admittedly, she was quite impressed with the brave choices the other woman made.

"Yeah, its really hard to know what precisely will be yielded by each combination of fel essence and captured soul," Natsuki replied, drawing upon her time volunteering with Dr. Kyou. It seemed like an eternity ago. So many things had happened. Too many things had happened. "You might want to do some extra research. Just in case. With such a potentially dangerous soul and side effects, it's better to be safe than sorry, ya know? As for Sa'i, she's never been one for boundaries, but she's always got good intentions."

When the audience applauded Sa'ida's song, Natsuki felt like quite the proud, mini-van driving mama, complete with honor roll bumper stickers. The song was lovely, but one she hadn't heard the young frei singing around the house. As the waiter made his third pass, she helped herself to another flute of champagne. His eyes lingered rather long at both women, especially Ebony. "If I didn't know better, Ms. Shade, I think that boy's got his eye on you."

Along with the hair changing earlier, she made a metal note about the flowers shimmering and shifting in color. These sorts of things would be of interest to Dr. Kyou, so she made metal notes for later. She smiled warmly watching her charge return. "What's wrong kiddo?" Natsuki asked, turning her attention to the young frei clinging to her arm. Sa'ida wasn't a 'clinger'. She hovered. She hugged. She tackled, but she didn't cling. Whatever happened by the flower art truly upset the young one.

"Can we go somewhere else and look at the flowers? Just the three of us," Sa'ida asked, giving both women a soft, pleading glance.