Welcome to Gaia! ::

(*just realized she typed 'Astraea' earlier* Gah, sorry Mel.)

"Your Mom's not home?" Rune frowned slightly, worry darkening her eyes. She liked Mel just as much as Alora, and finding out something might be wrong with her friend wasn't a great moment. Her gaze flicked to Yourie, questioning.

Jewel, on the other hand, was focusing on Yourie's "help" with choosing clothes. Green eyes analyzed the teenager's outfit intently. "Really? I bet we'll look good, then." She beamed.

"Oh, and Rune would know ALL about that." Zhann - returning with several different dresses draped over one arm - grinned teasingly at the blue-maned Water Slider, nudging her. Rune flushed a bit, pushing her friend away. "Shut up, Zhann. Mel doesn't have half the psychotic relatives I do." Then the young woman paused, head tilted to one side with a wince. "At least, I hope not."

On the other hand, the fact that Yourie didn't look much like Mel wasn't particularly troublesome. Rune and HER cousin Ri may have looked nearly identical - a fact that most of their friends found both odd and amusing - but she had more than her share of relations on the other end of the spectrum, too. And that didn't even take into account the whole "blood-friends-who-aren't-genetically-related-but-might-as-well-be-related" thing. Heck, by that count, her kids had more aunts and uncles than anybody could ever want or need.

Jewel seemed rather content to keep her hold on Alora, and the happy smile stretched across her small face only widened at the sight of the dresses. "Oooooo, Lora, look! She found one in blue, with silver pieces!"

(I dunno - I got one without a sender attached. Twilight something, jewelry-related and made me glee. xD

I'm SO sorry for not posting earlier, hon. My mouse has gone utterly nuts, and kept clicking "submit" twice every time I clicked, so it kept telling me I couldn't post twice. *boots it* Fixed now, I hope, but I had to rewrite the post and got frustrated. ^^')

Rune laughed at Yourie's comment, then winced sympathetically. "Sounds like a real prize." She shook her head. "Poor Mel. At least most of our enemies aren't related."

"Like that makes a difference." Zhann interjected, flashing a quick grin at the two older girls before turning back to the D-corp pair.

Jewel giggled. "Zhann is Mama's friend, she's gonna teach at the school maybe - Mama's school, not ours." The small fish child looked disappointed. "Mama says I can't go to the A-cad-em-y, 'cause there's a school for D-Corp already. Is it nice, Lora?"

(Oh. My. Gawd. IT'S A BUNNY!!!!! *glee* Jewel gets a pet for the hols, oh yes she does. And it's the same shade as her blue streaks. *glomps* Mel, thank you so much! heart heart )

Jewel's eyes went wide as saucers, and she clapped her multi-colored hands gleefully. "Really?!? Can I meet her?" The little girl fairly danced in place. "Is she like a water-swan, or a normal swan?"

"Water swans don't live in Gaia, sweetie." Rune explained calmly. The Water Slider looked through the other dresses Zhann had brought up, alternately shaking and nodding her head. "Oh, this one's nice - no, the cut's not right for her wings, she'd need one with a lower waistline."

"Oh." For a moment, Jewel seemed disappointed - then her grin widened once more. "That's still cool. Does she have pretty feathers like you, Lora?"

"They're a cross 'tween mermaids and swans." Jewel replied promptly, eyes sparkling. It was clear she very much liked the race in question. "They have special feathers that don't absorb water, and they swim AND fly! They have markings like your friend, and they eat algae."

Rune grinned. "This one," she set an affectionate hand on Jewel's head, "spent a lot of time with the mermaid colony off of Morroc City while we were there. Made quite a few friends with them."

Jewel giggled, almost shyly. She reached up to touch Alora's ear feathers. "Yours are softer, though. I like 'em."

"Mama won't let me get my ears pierced yet." Jewel grumped, shooting an evil look at Rune - who, in turn, just laughed and ruffled her daughter's bangs. "Not until you're a little older, sweetie." She reminded the little girl. "Same rule the rest of your sisters."

"And brothers." Zhann piped up. She smirked as Rune rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Ash does have his ear pierced. Twice!"

Jewel nodded, explaining before her friend could ask. "He's my biggest brother. He's a Fae - they've got pointed ears, it's really cool." Then she tilted her head, thinking back to Alora's first question. "Oh, yup. It's like Mama's Earth, or Illuzen where my uncles and aunts are from, or Alterealm or Corista or Legandia." The small fish-child pointed proudly to her mother. "Mama's a Slider, so she can go to all kinds'a different worlds. Some of my aunts and uncles can do it too."

Rune grinned a touch sheepishly, cheeks tinged faintly pink. "It's kind of a family trait." She admitted to Yourie. "Magical powers, world hopping - "

" - kid collecting, major heroic-save-the-world attitudes, insanely complicated lives and a stubborn streak a mile wide." Zhann finished. The "clerk" smirked and ducked as Rune aimed a cuff at her shoulder. "What? Come on - I've met your cousins, AND most of their friends. It's all true. Jeez, just Ri's normal day would blow my mind. How anybody puts up with those stuck-up, pompous jack - "

"Children!" Rune's eyes sharpened, and she motioned toward Jewel and Alora, the former watching it all with a rapt expression. Well, technically, Alora was probably grown-up enough to hear the words, but still.

"- arses." Zhann gamely left off the rest of her choice adjectives for the nobles and other authority figures of Illuzen, shifting her armload of dresses to touch Alora's ear-fluff lightly. "I dunno - I think if you pierced the shaft of the feather, it wouldn't hurt at all. Kinda like piercing your fingernails."

Jewel nodded sympathetically, leaning against her friend. "I hear 'em too." She confided, not noticing as Rune's wince matched Yourie's. "Mama and my bigger brothers an' sisters an' my aunts an' uncles use all kindsa bad words we're not s'posed to say. And I still get in trouble for calling a bully a dummy-butthead."

Zhann snickered. "I told you using different languages doesn't make a bit of difference." She chortled at the Water Slider. "Kids are damned smart, they'll figure it out as soon as they want to."

Rune sighed and rolled her eyes.