Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a chilly Valentines Day, and the lantern that hung in the garden was shuttered, and fogged slightly from the warmth inside. Little brightly colored glass pebbles, like half melted marbles, sat around the space emminating magically imbued heat.
Hadrian was putting the finishing touches on a little paper heart. It was a little rough around the edges - the very small pair of scissors he had found hadn't been awfully sharp - but he was sort of pleased with it anyway. He hadn't done alot with paper before, but his sort of step-brother Ali had introduced him to glitter!
He'd invited Galatea to come see his house, since he had gotten a tour of hers. It just so happened that it was St. Valentine's Day.

He's have yelled just come in, but in fact, to keep the door closed one had to latch it and in order to let her in he had to open it himself.
So, he met her at the door, smiling, the warmth of the house streaming out in sharp contrast with the chilly air outside through the open door.
"Hello?"

Hadrian, who had no idea what time it was, said, "Absolutely. Come in, are you alright? Its cold out!"
He opened the door wider and moved to allow her into the upper level of the house, mottled colors of glass making up the walls, and the door opening an entire wall of the house. Inside it was just big enough for both of them to sit comfortably, alongside a bed and a little popsickle and block shelf of things. Postage stamps, with odd foreign writing, were stuck to the walls like posters, and the bed was covered in well used 'blankets' with impressive patterns that looked to be woven into them.

When she looked at him, he was still wearing an oddly shy sort of smile, the smile of someone who was finding himself unexpectedly happy at someone elses attention. He had, in fact, never actually invited anyone to his house before, and the pause she thought was impolite was possibly the best compliment he'd ever gotten.
"Thank you...I mean, you're welcome? I'm glad you like it. There's another level, but its not as warm - just curtains, no walls."

"I'll show you later if you like. We can sit and you can warm up." He said, quite unable to contain his pleasure at her praise of the place.
"Its heated, I can heat up the little glass pebbles with magic, and they keep the room warm."

The fire feien blinked, "Of course, but don't touch it, its really very hot. I think it could burn you...I'm afraid I'm not that good a judge, since it won't burn me."
He latched the door neatly, and settled down near the pebble she was examining.
"I used to use little rocks the same way, to keep warm if I had to sleep outside."

"Yeah, pretty often. Its really alright once you get used to it. Unless it rains." He leaned a little closer to the heat, as if just the idea of rain made him a little bit chilly.
"Sometimes, I wouldn't be in a place with to many people. Or I'd be in between places...there's alot of space in between most places." He paused to consider that for a moment, deciding it sounded a little odd. "I mean, between important places, where lots of people live."

"Mostly you find ways to sneak rides with humans. They have all these ways of getting places faster then just walking." He explained, either downplaying the accomplishment or honestly not seeing it as that impressive, "But sometimes you just have to go yourself, that's why there's so much sleeping outside."