Welcome to Gaia! ::

The female Numa struggled against the expression of disappointment that fought for dominance of her face when he didn't respond to her immortality statement. She watched him thoughtfully as he hummed some unfamiliar tune, and shook her head. How strange.

"I'm not like every other lady," she told him softly, with a bit of an icy undertone. Diana prided herself on her originality and wasn't about to let him put her into a category labeled 'women.' She deserved her own shelf, labeled with nothing more than her name.

"I don't mind messes. In fact, I can help you make them."

Why was she pushing it? She wasn't sure. Diana didn't particularly want to live in a cave, whether it was with him, a complete stranger, or as his neighbor. It was more the idea of a home and some place to hang her hat (if she ever chose to wear a hat) that appealed to her.

Ah! A Numa who knew when to admit that he was wrong. She was pleased by what she took to be an apology for assuming things about her, and couldn't help the toothy grin that split her face in two. Hank, she was swiftly beginning to realize, was the type of person she could enjoy spending time with.

The little female blinked in surprise when he offered to show her his home, and, after taking a moment to collect herself, gave one confident nod of her head. She hadn't expected him to agree so readily, but was happy that he'd invited her. His home sounded interesting and well worth the visit- maybe more than one.

"Alright, then, sir," she stuck her tongue out at him good-naturedly, and gestured in the direction of nowhere with both of her front paws, "lead the way?"

Diana had no qualms about the length of their trek. She didn't mind exercise in the least and, since she'd never been quite so close to the mountains before, looked forward to the chance at getting a better look. It was exciting. They'd always slightly intimidated her and the thought of wandering around, never mind actually living, up there was an intriguing one.

She was grateful to him for asking questions. It was so nice to be able to share her favorite topic with somebody else; especially when her favorite topic happened to be nothing other than herself.

"Every thing's more exciting in the dark," she explained casually, "I suppose, the thrill of not really knowing is what appeals to me."

The female Numa would never admit it, but she was quite easily frightened. And she liked it that way. The adrenaline that surged through her veins after every scare was intoxicating- addicting.

"My namesake?" she asked him curiously, one eyebrow cocked upwards.

"I do like to have a little fun, every once in awhile," Diana nodded and winked at him playfully, "there's nothing like a good scare to get somebody's blood racing."

Vaguely, she wondered what he might think of her because of that. Hank was much larger than she was. Was he afraid of anything? Somehow, she suspected, that if she was as big as he was, she wouldn't be very easily scared.

"The Goddess Diana?" she murmured softly, bright eyes big and wide at the thought of being called so.

"She sounds a lot like me," the female Numa chuckled and beamed at what she took to be indirect compliments, "though, we have one main difference. I am foolishly brave, because I like to be scared."

...wait a minute. Hadn't she promised herself she'd never tell anybody that particular tidbit of information? Yet, here she was, spilling her deepest, darkest secrets to a Numa she'd only just met, who also happened to be leading her away to his secret lair where he did (she gasped) experiments.

He was so charming, though. Diana was almost certain that Hank had no ill intentions. Perhaps that was why she suddenly found her tongue very slippery.

Diana wasn't relieved nor bothered when Hank kept his whatever questions he might have had to himself. He was a sweetheart and she would have gladly answered everything he asked to the best of her ability, because she didn't have very much to hide from somebody who was sharing information with her so openly. Plus, there was nothing Diana enjoyed more than showing off and hinting to little bits and pieces of the various layers that made up her fluffy frame. It made her feel mysterious. Intriguing.

"Water?" she exclaimed in surprise, because she had always loved the substance herself, "Why?"

The reasons were fairly obvious, but she felt the need to ask the question anyways.

"I could teach you, some day," she offered, with a sweet smile on her face, "I don't like to brag, but I'm naturally a very good swimmer."

As long as the water was shallow.

She loved the way words seemed to just float out of his mouth. How did he know so many? Until just a few moments ago, Diana had been content with the bit of vocabulary she possessed. Now, however, this wonderfully fascinating male Numa in front of her had caused her to pause and reconsider some things.

"Conquering your fears isn't the same as being cocky," she insisted stubbornly and grabbed at the most profound thing she could think of, in order to impress him, "In some ways, conquering your fears is more like conquering yourself."

Did that sound silly? She hoped not. It had sounded pretty damned good in her head, at least.

"It's like a test," she tried to make it more appealing to him, "an experiment, if you will."

His laughter was contagious. She giggled along with Hank, delighted by the knowledge that she'd brought out such a pleasant sound in him, and beamed, merrily, at the back of his head. It was so nice to think that she, a less than genius Numa, could make him laugh that way.

"Well, as long as you're leaving it for another day, I suppose I can't push you much more. I do promise to be there, though," she snickered, forgot that she was trying to encourage him and continued, "to save you if you need me to."

It was a ludicrous thought. He was a great deal larger than she was. Sure, in the water he'd be pretty buoyant, but she wouldn't have the slightest clue what to do if something went wrong and she actually managed to get him back on land.

"How far is your home from where we are?"

They might not have been traveling for very long, but they had already left the meadow he'd found her in earlier and she couldn't help wondering.