Welcome to Gaia! ::

LuLu’s eyes widened as she stared at her competition. Her amethyst orbs were glazed over with unshed tears yet she stood her ground and glowered. Her harsh gaze penetrated deeply into her enemy and penetrated their inner most thoughts. At least, that’s what should have happened. LuLu frowned and gave a gentle squeak as she was finally forced to lid her eyes from necessity. This challenger was quite… challenging. A small tear drop rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes for a few moments in preparation for her next round of the ongoing staring contest.

Josh stifled a yawn as he browsed through the mammal section of the museum. It was the first place LuLu had been drawn to. The boy peered over his shoulder and shook his head disbelievingly at hid raevan’s antics. She must have felt at home in this area of the museum, because the rabbit frei had been holding a staring contest with a taxidermy rabbit for the past ten minutes. Josh strolled over after examining a stuffed monkey. The boy could appreciate artifacts, but he could only stare so for long at a preserved lion. He drawled to his charge in his usual smooth tone, “Sweetie, that is a fake bunny. It is a dolly.” He demonstrated his point by poking the display, despite the ‘Do Not Touch’ labels. “It will not blink.”

LuLu gasped in astonishment and reached out a hand to mimic josh’s actions. Her guardian was right! This bunny was merely a decoy. The female frei chirruped, “Where are the real rabbits?” She looked around briefly before she began to float off in search of her desired find.

Josh picked up his pace and cut off the curious raevan before she had a chance to wander. “There are no real rabbits here. Only dollies.” LuLu paused and seemed to contemplate these words before she spoke. “Fake animals are bad.” She flapped her wings agitatedly to punctuate her statement. The boy smiled at her and nodded, “I agree. I like seeing them alive more. Do you want to see jewelry instead?” Josh would not admit it to his raevan but he was here for more than just a casual visit.

He was still peeved at the fact that the Shadow Bandit ad escaped him a mere week ago. He had come here in the hope of getting another lead on the elusive thief. If he was lucky, he may even find them. If he knew the Shadow Bandit as well as he thought he did he was sure of the fact that they could not let a museum as well stocked as this one go unrobbed. It was the largest museum in Gaia after all. Josh was broken from his thoughts by LuLu’s response. “Yes, jewelry!” The girl fluffed up excitedly at the thought.

Josh held the large door open for LuLu. He noticed that she had nearly floated headfirst into the near invisible plain of glass. It was simply a testament to how the raevan was still adjusting. The frei was more than a year old yet she was still unfamiliar with so many things that surrounded her. Perhaps this museum visit would open a few doors for her.

LuLu tentatively floated through the threshold of the jewelry exhibit. Her expression immediately brightened when she caught sight of the sparkling selection the museum had to offer. The girl floated up to the first case she came laid eyes on. She grasped onto the glass case and pressed her face to the clear barrier that separated her from the glittering baubles. “Pretty. Good. Best.” She searched for words to describe what she was seeing.

Josh chuckled outright at the rabbit raevan’s actions. The girl had a way of making the simplest things an adventure. He was happy to be able to witness her excitement. The boy stood next to her and glanced over the particular necklace she had been drawn too. A string of red rubies adorned the space in the case. Of course she would gawk at this piece first, it was her favorite color. Josh continued his appreciative assessment of the piece but could not shake the feeling of being watched.

Josh heard a faint mumbling behind him and a few wayward beeps. He assumed it was a camera happy tourist or something of that nature. He did not pay them any mind until they demanded his attention. The boy turned around and spared a smile at the man in front of him. They were well dressed, much better than any tourist, so Josh concluded that they must work here. “I am fine actually,” The boy looked down at his rabbit companion, “What about you LuLu is there anything you want?”

LuLu looked up at the man and smiled charmingly at him. Her lips took on the slightest curve as she spoke, “Yes, I want that.” She pointed towards the glass case that still hand her face imprinted on it. She swayed gently from side to side to play up the intentional coyness of her actions. There were many things she did not know yet, but one thing she knew well already was that the proper use of her ‘cute’ demeanor could be a powerful thing. The girl gave the faintest giggle before she floated towards the unfamiliar man, “Can I have it?”

Josh nearly choked on his laughter. He spared himself from having to explain the answer to his raevan and instead gave the duty to the man in front of them. The boy gave him a nod as if bestowing the responsibility onto him.

Josh’s humored smile fell when he heard the man’s response. His expression faltered then finally settled into a confused frown. It would make sense that the museum would put fakes on display to avoid anything precious being stolen. He understood this. However, he did not understand why the man was just willing to give up a copy like it was nothing. Certainly a replica could be worth a sum to the museum too? Josh followed the man and listened to him closely as if trying to find a hidden agenda behind his speech.

In all honesty though, Josh had little choice of whether or not he would follow the man. LuLu already had he arms laced with the man’s. So much for teaching her about strangers. Josh sighed and looked at LuLu again. A smug grin was plastered on her face. It was similar to the look that she got when she had beaten one of her stuffed animals at checkers. It was a look of victory. “Yes, please take me there.” The rabbit frei’s grip tightened over his crisp, white lab coat. She bobbled up and down in place while she waited for him to begin walking. Once they stared down the hall, LuLu remained glued to the museum worker’s side.

Josh nodded slowly to concur with the man’s curt statements as they went along down numerous halls. He was still edgy about following a random worker into a security locked area of the museum. The boy brushed off the feeling. If they left now LuLu would be nagging at him all day. He busied himself with looking at the various exhibits they were walking by.

Josh glanced at Dr. Reese when he bowed in greeting. The boy flicked his head up and down in one quick motion giving his own greeting, “I am Josh.”

LuLu batted her eyelashes and spoke next, “LuLu.” She briefly looked over to Josh for approval. When he gave her a quick smile, the raevan knew that she had given the correct response. She focused her attention back on Dr. Reese and climbing into the elevator. Josh followed after them.

Josh listened and bobbed his head faintly to he rich classical music that poured from the speakers in the elevator. He had some bad experiences in elevator before so he chose to remain close to the walls of the moving box. The marble walls felt cold against his back. Josh languidly replied to the doctor’s question, “We are both from Durem. We came down here to have a play day,” He eyed Reese, “Where do you come from?”

LuLu’s attention was scattered at this point. It was wandering between her guardian, her new acquaintance, and the mysterious room they had just shuffled into. It was a dead end LuLu concluded. She glanced around worriedly. Was she not getting a necklace? When the elevator reopened a gasp erupted from her chest. The building had changed! This pace was magic. LuLu tentatively left the elevator. She brushed her small hands against the metal door of the mechanism she was evacuating. It was cold but nothing unusual besides that. The frei also found her hands pressing against the walls of the hallway next to her. She was trying test if they were truly there. There was nothing abnormal here either. She continued to follow Dr. Reese and her guardian. She remained close to both of them just in case the building decided to change again.

When they arrived in the office Josh took a seat near the man’s desk. LuLu remained floating. It was probably because she still lacked a rump to sit on. It may have also been attributable to the fact that she was nearly pressed against Dr. Reese. Her body was pushed against him as closely as she could manage. The frei was waiting for any sign that she could take the gleaming trinket from him. “That sounds like an interesting job. Do your enjoy your work?” Josh almost cringed at the sheer amount of crates that lined the room. The man must have loved his work judging by the shear amount of it. “That must be saddening to get tricked like that. Still, you got a lovely decorative piece out of the deal.” Josh was about to tell LuLu to give the man space but Dr. Reese spoke first.

Then LuLu heard those magical words she was looking for: “I'll let it be yours, that is- if you would like it”

LuLu nearly lunged for the jewelry. She clutched it to her chest and smiled charmingly at Dr. Reese. “No like it. I love it. It is mine. Thank you.” He had no chance of getting it back. LuLu floated back towards her guardian and shoved the necklace into his hands. When Josh had a firm grip on her new accessory she flashed him her back. The boy complied and hooked the necklace around her neck. LuLu looked back up to Dr. Reese and chirped, “Pretty?”

Josh waited for DR. Reese’s answer before he spoke, “I figured we should get a head start on the day,” Josh smirked, “I am a morning person.”

“It’s obvious that this occupation must take a great deal of passion. I admire you for that,” The boy’s smirk grew, “ What is your favorite exhibit to work in? Personally, I enjoy Ancient Roman artifacts.” Josh was enjoying the conversation. It was… calming. He had to admit that is was much different from the usual hassle he received when meeting someone new with LuLu. He regarded that it was because Dr. Reese did not have a raevan of his own to stir the girl up. Josh made a sudden realization. This man did not have a raevan. The boy felt silly for overlooking this for so long. Dr. Reese probably thought LuLu was some kind of demon or science project gone awry. Josh cleared his throat nervously and added, “LuLu is a raevan in case your were curious. We also came from Aekea. I was born and raised there. LuLu… She was born on Gambino Isle.”

One of LuLu’s blond ears twitched and swiveled smoothly to face Josh when she picked up her name being mentioned. The other one remained tilted towards Dr. Reese and followed him as she awaited an answer. “Morning is not as pretty as me.” The frei was not a morning person compared to Josh. As a matter of fact, she had been in a grumpy mood on the way here and had only brightened up when she had found her rabbit friend in the mammal section to attend to. When she looked back on it, LuLu was happy she had not pitched enough of a fit to cause them not to come. The museum was a nice place after all… even if they had to go during the morning.

Josh watched Dr. Reese as he closed the door swiftly. He smiled, “I understand you want your privacy. We won’t intrude for too long if it is a problem,” Josh paused for a moment in thought, “I’ll have tea. LuLu does not drink so do not worry about her.” The boy near kicked himself when that slipped from his mouth. The doctor was going to have a lot of questions for them.

Both of LuLu’s furry ears flicked back up to Dr. Reese. “No like it. I love it. Looove it.” She drew out the last sentence and seemed a bit put off by having to repeat herself. This human must have been a bit slow. She could forgive him though. He had given her a new necklace.

Josh took the tea graciously from Dr. Reese and held it in font of himself. He carefully added a couple sugar cubes and stirred the concoction together. “Thank you,” he breathed out as he blew on the steaming container. He brought the rim of the fragile glass to his lips a drained a small amount of the liquid from the delicately detailed cup. He sighed satisfied at the beverage and contemplated the flavor for a second or two. Yes, this was a very calming setting.

Josh watched as Dr. Reese drew a book from one of the many shelves that lined the walls. They were almost as numerous as the crates. The book’s cover was very minimal and simply read ‘Rome’ with a scroll-like design next to the lettering. Josh nodded, “I enjoy the Roman exhibit but I am sorry to say I do not know much about beside what’s written on the plaques next to the artifacts. I would think that you know more.” The boy smiled slyly and continued, “Perhaps you could tell me about the Prehistoric exhibit. I was probably going there next.” In all honesty, what teenage boy did not want to see a life sized model of a T-rex? It was absurd to think that Josh wouldn’t pay that part of the museum a visit.

LuLu jumped along with Dr. Reese. She was just as startled as he was; however, another smiled graced her lips as she was complimented, “Of course.” The girl had still learned nothing of modesty… or personal space for that matter.

Josh was about to spew out some line about ‘How Dr. Reese’s office was fine’. Before he could utter his informal compliment he witnessed the doctor plummet to the floor. Josh set his tea down on the man’s desk and stood up. Josh rushed over and offered the man a hand. He looked over to LuLu to see if she was okay. The raevan had already met his gaze and wore an expression that said ‘it was not my fault’. LuLu frowned. This human was very, very slow.

Josh helped the man up and answered his question. “Yes, she is a raevan. It is…” Josh spoke lower trying to mask the conversation from LuLu, “An experiment of Dr. Kyou. He runs an organization called Lab 305. He makes new beings there called raevans.” The boy paused long enough to allow all the information to soak in before he spoke again. His tone was still hushed, “A raevan is created from a soul and an essence. The soul is captured by means of a soul bottle.” Josh smiled apologetically, “After that, it is all Dr. Kyou business. Somehow he creates a raevan from those components.”