Welcome to Gaia! ::

For once, when the knock came, Justin didn't jump out of his skin. This was quite possibly because he had a fair idea of who it was. He and Ian had been texting back and forth near incessantly (Well, at least on his part) since he got Aadhira although Justin deliberately hadn't sent any pictures of the raevan; he wanted Ian to be somewhat surprised. Aadhira was not exactly pleased - he had quite quickly discovered the concept of a selfie and, when he wasn't being lazy, loved to take pictures of himself and other things. Justin's favorite picture was the one of Aadi and the blender.

Right now, the raevan was draped across the couch, eyes glued intently on the Food Network. They were still working out what exactly he ate, and the raevan insisted he wasn't hungry, but Justin worried. "Aadi, we have company. He's like your godfather or something." Aadhira abruptly straightened, going from a messy lounge to a respectable sitting position. New people were important, and he needed to look his best. Justin, however, was different. With Justin, Aadhira had decided there was no point and no need to present a picture perfect angle of himself. Justin was his, after all. And while he had no idea what a god father was, he peered expectantly at the door. Would there be... wings? A halo of fire? Is that what 'god' meant?

The man of Aadhira's thoughts snorted at the change and opened the door. It was, at least, exactly who he'd thought. "Hey, Ian, I'm glad you came by - come in." Justin beamed. He was excited that the other man, too, was going to become a guardian. The single father's club, or something. In the meantime, Aadhira had sunk down a little in the bottle green couch, so that only the top of his head and eyes peered over the back of it. They glowed intently.

"Been...good, busy obviously." He ran a hand through his perpetually messy hair. "We haven't hung out in forever - way too long, flower prince."

Suddenly, Aadhira spoke, his voice calm, as thought stating a fact of nature. "You do not have a halo, fathergod Ian." And while it was true that Ian had no halo nor wings, he was interesting enough in his own right. Aadhira floated a little higher. "A-Aadhira, that's not what... I meant..." Justin looked helplessly at Ian, and if Ian was observant, he would see a flush darken Justin's cheeks. Godfather had been presumptuous, surely. But, in the time that Justin had spoken, and spluttered, Aadhira had moved out from behind the ouch and floated closely to Ian, smiling charmingly.

"For me? Thank you, Ian!" While Aadhira knew that a bright thank you was the most acceptable reply, he did truly feel it. The raevan took the gift gingerly, carefully not to squish it. He had received many, many things since coming here, but this would be among the first from someone besides Justin. Tribute. He wondered if Ian was a prince as well. Justin sometimes called him prince, and he had just called Ian 'flower prince'. Carefully, he carefully pulled out the tissue paper, smoothing it and folding it. Then, finally, he held the toy. And, impulsively, he squished it.

"Ian, what have you been up to? Busy?" He ushered Ian to sit on the couch - Aadhira had co-opted the one armchair for his gift explorations. "Do you want a drink or anything? We-" His sentence was interrupted by a loud gasp from Aadhira. Justin turned and watched as Aadhira squeezed the toy several times in succession, clearly delighted in the glow.

"Congratulations!" The idea that his friend, too, had been accepted and would become a father (for lack of a better word) excited him. Justin's hand had already been inching forward when Ian's warning registered. "Parasictic?" He blinked. "Sounds kind of dangerous. Are you aiming for a particular soul?"

"I want to touch it," Aadhira popped up behind Ian, still clutching the glowing toy. "Let me."

"You have to ask, Aadi. Nicely," Justin sighed. Aadhira stiffened slightly, not out of offense at Justin's reminder, but out of the realization that he had not been trying actively to be polite or get on Ian's good side. Slowly, Aadhira floated around to drift in front of Ian.

He bowed slightly. "My excitement got the better of me; I apologize." It was a little stiff, but he softened his tone with a blinding smile. "I don't think it would hurt me to touch it - I am of its kind, after all." Aadhira looked closely at the cherry blossoms, fingers clearly itching to touch it if for no other reason than he had been forbidden. While the essence would have been interesting regardless, sine he was not to touch it, that was all he wanted to do. If Ian still said no, Aadhira would find a way to sneak in and place his finger on the undoubtedly cool glass, regardless. He hated being denied.

"As for souls, Ian, maybe you can find a rock? Or a plant, you have lots of plants around and it wouldn't be so bad." Justin, unlike Aadi, had no desire to touch it, remembering what had happened to Luka. He kept his hands to himself. "Aadhira was a peacock by happenstance. I wonder if you can really plan these things...."

Aadhira took the glass jar, a pleased smile flitting across his face. It never was too hard to get what he wanted, after all, and this just confirmed it. But now that he had it, did he really want it? Resisting the urge to juggle the glass, he held it up to the light, turning it this way and that. The jar even received a small, surreptitious shake when Ian wasn't looking. The idea that this small sprig of flower could become someone like him was odd, to say the least. Now it was nothing more than a wish and a song and some petals that would never droop.

"I hope you become a queen," he whispered fiercely at it. It had, after all, been held by him and should be no less. A princess seemed somehow... wrong for this smattering of flowers and Aadhira could not say why.

Justin laughed a little. "I was aiming for a rock, at first. Didn't work out, obviously. I feel like most people have unplanned souls." He jiggled his leg out of habit. "I think that, in some ways, this is better - the bird would have died anyway. This is its second life, for lack of a better phrase." He looked sheepishly at Ian, afraid that this was an odd line of thought.

Aadhira wondered if she would, or he (but it felt like a girl and Aadi didn't particularly like princes - competition), would remember the way he held her up to the light. Likely not, which was disappointing. Even Aadi did not remember the times when he was only half of himself and trapped in glass like some precious little ship. Such a shame that she would not know of him until later. A phrase ran through his head, and he dismissed it as some fancy of Justin's.

In place of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me, and despair! Aadhira held the bottle a little tighter, feeling the urge to sit. He draped himself across an armchair.

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Ian. I know it's hard not be anxious over it, but something will happen and then you'll have a wonderful raeven in your life." And that, Justin thought, was that. "I know it's hard not to dwell on it - do you wanna just hang out - take your mind off of it for a bit? If you get too tense, you'll explode." Justin gestured at Aadhira in a clear attempt to take back the bottle.

"I will hold it a little longer," Aadhira said, clasping the bottle in both hands. If he grew tired, well, then a nap would be in order later.

"Hey, I've got faith in you, you know?" Justin placed a hand on his shoulder briefly before standing up and wandering to the game closet. "And sure, which, by the way, if it's boring you can tell me to switch to another - I don't mind." He grabbed a few and knelt in front of the tv to insert a disc.

"Play the one with the aliens," Aadhira said lazily.