Welcome to Gaia! ::

The softness of Anolani's voice and mien once again dulled the edge of Rose's discomfort. She still didn't exactly feel calm, but this was... a nice chaser to the shock of her awakening.

And then the woman displayed in no uncertain terms exactly how protective she could be... either that, or the degree of auditory seclusion to which she was accustomed. Rose, too, had hardened her gaze to one of steel the moment it was intimated that she might betray the Cabal and whipped her head towards the perpetrator, but nothing she had planned to say came close to Anolani's soft-spoken promise. It put Rose in an awkward position, because her senses actually could pick up on what was being said fairly clearly, despite eves-dropping being the subject of disfavor. Despite that, a small, predatory smile appeared on Rose's face. It always got a pleased growl out of her throat to watch one person assert dominance over another, especially if the former was someone she recognized as a personal superior.

Taking comfort in Anolani's manner, Rose kindly nodded at the other girl as she came over. "To answer you, I don't... want to betray the Cabal. Never. I was... upset, was all."

"It's not as strange as you think," Victor said lazily from across the room. "Obeying someone you hate. Ever heard of Abaddon?" He yawned and went back to chewing a fingernail.

Rose found herself quelling a snarl at Jennifer's reaction. Somewhere in the back of her head, it occurred to her that it was likely not a good idea to develop rivalries between the few women onboard this early, but that took second place to defending Anolani against an upstart, however unlikely it may have been that Anolani needed such defense.

"I'm loyal because they provide a home, and safety, and members of my own species. They anger me for reasons that are my own." She regretted the words the instant they left her mouth, but it couldn't exactly be uncommon for a member of the Cabal to disagree with some of their policies, right? It was... still an unpleasant position.

Anolani nodded as she watched Jennifer walk out to get food. "She's a charmer," she said sarcastically. She said it lightly to show that she was only kidding around, and that she meant no harm to the other girl. Well, other than the threat.

Her smile soften as she looked over at Rose. "Everybody has something that they dislike about Cabal. It's the same everywhere, I suspect." She returned to playing with the werefox's hair. She's got such pretty hair.

As they waited for Jenny to return, Anolani wondered about her first impression. Very temperamental. But she has control. Hates being threatened, something that I can understand. I'd have reacted the same. She could respect Jenny; it was just a matter of whether they could look past the threats they just gave each other. That was a rather bad introduction on all our parts. Perhaps the two could be friends. It'd take a while probably, but Anolani wouldn't mind having Jenny as a friend. I guess we'll see how she reacts.

Morgan downed the remainder of his bottle to hide a grin. Nothing in this world so beautiful as women fighting for dominance. Nothing.

Jennifer snorted inelegantly. "I'm not comfortable around you. I want to punch you in the face. That should be incredibly obvious. However, we're stuck together on a ship. A big ship, but a ship. Finite space and all." She shrugged. "That, and you're the first other elementalist I've met. This whole thing is pretty new. If I can learn from you, I will. My personal feelings about things are completely secondary." She took a few thoughtful nibbles off of the bacon. "I'm best with both fire and wind. Pathetic with earth, and even more pathetic with water." She grimaced at the very thought and poked irritably at her glass before grabbing it and taking a sip. In addition, she was working on lightning, and wanted that to be her main focus, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to tell Anolani that.

Alden? Do you think she's lying? ... Silence. Was he honestly not speaking to her? How ridiculous was that? Anyway, she didn't think the other woman was lying. What purpose could it serve? Besides which, she vaguely remembered Victor saying something about her focus being water.

Anolani nodded. "Interesting. Our focuses are the complete opposite." I'm not a fan of fire. Wind would be a good element to work on together. "I know a bit of hand-to-hand combat, but I'm not very good with it. How about you?" She turned to give a smile to Rose. "Speaking of hand-to-hand combat, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me out later with some training? I'd greatly appreciate it." She knew the werefox was a physical fighter. I really don't want to have rely on my second talent if I am ever without my elementalism.

She wondered whether it'd be best to tell the girls about her second specialty. She was a master at poisons and it amplified the deadliness of her water manipulation. In fact, because of the training hell she'd gone through, her blood was toxic. S'what I get for gaining total immunization. Meh. I doubt either of them are ever going to draw blood from me. If they do, I can just tell them then.

Feeling very interested, if slightly out of place, Rose listened to the other two women chat about their elements. Neither was interested in letting out the whole truth, it seemed, although it was good to know that they complemented one another, despite compliments being out of the question for the moment. It was odd that Jenny would say she was only "alright" with martial tactics; it was clear from her physique that she was athletic for one reason or another, and it was rare to take up a sporting hobby and not apply that strength to something combat-worthy.

"I fight with steel claws on my hands and feet," she answered calmly, ignoring Johnstone, who appeared not to have chosen a target for his leech-like question, "which means that capoeira is more effective for me than it would be for other people. Other than that, I mostly use what works." Her focus fell through the floor in front of her for a moment, and then she smiled lightly. "Werebeasts aren't much for defined forms."