Welcome to Gaia! ::

Burgundia heaved a sigh. "So long as you're back safe," she said. "I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you. Try not to have any more adventures like that soon. I can surely only handle one every so often. It's not nice. Cousin Aleric should know better, really he should. But then, you'd just pine away slap to death if you got left behind, wouldn't you?"

Burgundia sighed again, and leant forward all she could to kiss Soho's head again. "You're surely something else, Ruby. Give me your hands, darlin', I'll paint over your black. Then we can have matching manicures. Won't that be fun?"

A small noise began to drum into her brain, low and monotonous, and altogether too much like the sound of one feien desperately drumming her little fingers on the door in agony as she sat on the doorknob. Dee's brow furrowed.

"Marne," she called out, "run away, now; Ruby and I are talking. And it's highly rude of you to let yourself into a house where you didn't even introduce yourself to the hostess. It's surely impertinent."

"I'm sorry," said a thoroughly depressed, contrite voice from the doorway. "I just wanted a teeny weeny peek. The window was open downstairs."

Dee expelled a breath and rolled her eyes at her little sister. "She's just exactly like the little lamb who followed Mary to school one day, Ruby; I'm sorry."

"Rose?" asked Burgundia, carefully applying the pink over the black. "Rose-mama, oh, I wish - "

There was a noise rather like a tiny sonic boom as a little blur zipped from the doorway where she had been sitting on the doorknob and threw her arms wholesale about Ruby Soho's neck. Marne chose to introduce herself normally: pressing her lips to Ruby's mouth and showing off the fact that Rose had let her into the strawberry lip gloss.

"I'm in love with you! I knew it!" Smooch. "I love you so much, I love your hair!" Smooch. "I'm wearing lip stuff, can you taste it?" Smooch. "It's berry." Smooch. "I - oh, gaaawd!"

The paint had tipped mildly. Marne giggled and went bright red, to match her hair, immediately trying to wipe the pink off Soho and getting her hands messy. "I'm so sorry! What a hellacious mess. I bet you think I'm a total idiot. I'm so sorry, let me get that for you - "

Dee looked mortified. "Marne."

"Sorry, sorry, sorry - hey, I love this pink!"

Considering that Marne had her hands planted on either side of Soho's hips and their faces were still about an inch apart, it was probably a mix of both column A and column B. Then she giggled again and held up her fingers.

"I would, but they're already pink now," she said. "It's like body art. I look ridonkulous."

"Ridiculous."

"That too. Oh, look at your nails, Dee, they're pretty!"

"Why don't you go and find somewhere to wash off?" It was not so much a suggestion as a Do It Now.

"Right now? Ruby and I just met and we're in love."

"Marne. Now, please."

"I'm sorry about the paint," Marne said contritely again, and flipped back her hair and beamed good-naturedly. "I'm pretty messy. I'll go find a tap."

She gave Ruby one last kiss - thankfully, on the cheek. "You can be my girlfriend today," she said happily, "and maybe Tuesday, too," and she zipped out the door.

Burgundia massaged her temples and then went back to painting Soho's fingernails, unaware of the pink streaks at her forehead. "Do you see what I mean?"

"Please just take no notice of her," Dee said gloomily, rubbing delicately at her forehead before giving up and going back to Ruby's nails. "She watches the television commercials and she has about five other girlfriends and ten boyfriends, one of who she calls 'Pepsi Man'. I declare, she's just nervewracking. But I suppose it's up to me to teach her a little something. It's not at all proper to just announce that you're walking out with somebody."

Happily unaware of this little maxim, Marne - who was going at her usual ten million miles an hour - hit splat into Silva's chest; she looked up, beamed, and flipped her hair. She apparently did this a lot.

"I'm so sorry!" she apologized amiably. "I didn't see you there; I'm just being the worst dummy today. Rose says they should give me speeding tickets." Nothing loath, the little redhead immediately flung her arms around Silva's neck, leaning up to kiss him. "I'm Marne! Wow, you're kind of tall. I think I'm in love with you, too." Kiss. "Ruby Soho's my girlfriend right now, but I bet I can slot you in Wednesday as my new boyfriend!" Kiss. "Hey, do you know where I can find some water?"

"That's okay! I like sharing. I'm already sharing you with the Pepsi Man." She gave him two thumbs up. "He works in a construction zone with no shirt. I wouldn't want to make your girlfriend sad, though; I guess we'll just be friends. Unless she's cute; is she cute? Oh, hey, thanks! Sorry for the bump again; guess it didn't hurt you, though, I'm relieved."

Marne took off into the room designated bathroom. There were a couple of noises that sounded a great deal like a juvenile attempting to use the tap and failing miserably.

"'Hot' is a good substitute for 'cute'," was called out by the tap. "You're lucky to have a hot girlfriend! I guess you're hot but not cute, though, too; I mean that in a nice way, no offense! Um. I'm real sorry to bug you again, but how do you get the water out? Rose's tap is kind of like a press thing. Gawd! I should probably bring Soho some water, too; I got paint on us because we were making out, but Dee was pretty upset that I interrupted. I feel awful, I'll do something nice for her to make up. C'mon, tap, give it up. "

Burgundia carefully painted Soho's littlest nail, careful to get it perfect and giving a faint smile when it was done. "Well," she said, "if there's anyone for giving attention, it's got to be Marne, I bet; but you shouldn't have an, ahem, special friend yet anyway. Cousin Silva and I do surely agree."

"Hey, thanks! I owe you ten million."

The dark blue juvenile dropped under the flow and gave out a minor eek at the cold water. She then washed her hands, managing to also get every other inch of herself soaked in the process.

"My name's Marne. You probably missed it the first time; I get excited around new people." She flung her head back like she'd seen in Herbal Essences ads. "Marne Lukas-Hein! My bond's Rose - I live with Burgundia, you know? Soho's big sis? She's great! I never knew Gaia was so fun. It's... Um, what's a good word... Bitchin'. Is that a good word? Rock'n'roll!" She managed to make a good approximation of the devil horns at Silva, then stuck her head under the spray again.

"You're still my baby sister," Dee said censoriously. "Besides, I can't think of anyone nice enough for you. You surely can't, can you, Ruby?"