Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Sorry," Scylla's apology was automatic. "Of course you wouldn't know what it meant. It's sort of an... alternative approach to life. Spirituality, environmentalism, all-natural everything. It's... kind of hard to explain." her mouth curved downward in frustration as she contemplated how to explain something to him that she couldn't... show him. The internet would help, maybe, but it wouldn't explain anything. "I think the meanings are symbolic, but who knows? Maybe they'll resonate with the flow of the universe or something and it'll help." Caedus enjoyed rocks and crystal- maybe they'd help him in return for his appreciation, or something. "You're welcome."

She lifted the last two boxes, the M and the Pe. Each one closed in a separate fist.

"Ten months of fifty days?" Scylla couldn't stop the interest. Give or take a few between, he had said, but if a year was more than 500 days... And he was over a thousand Earth-years old. Bright eyes widened, mouth pursing as she tried to process just how old the man next to her might be. He had been an ambassador, hadn't he said? Ambassador wasn't a title they handed out to just anyone on Earth. He would have had some experience, or education, potentially, and been trusted to go to a very-distant potentially-hostile planet. In a long-lived species, that wouldn't be someone they might consider young.

"Caedus." his name was a strangled choke from her throat, and concern passed her features. "How far are you from enough energy to try and go home again? Can you spare some to try and heal yourself, or-" Her hand tightened around the boxes in her grasp, and she wondered now if maybe the magical one of the two remaining gifts she had brought could be used to a different purpose. Scylla concerned herself too easily, perhaps, with the affairs of other people and forgot about her own. She'd abandoned this poor guy for too long, and felt pretty terrible about it, now. And with fashion week coming up in a month- she'd be abandoning him to his own devices again. Poor Caedus.

But language. She sucked in a breath with visible effort, turning her focus to his words. And at his choice of what to teach her, her face lit up with pleasure. "Glind. Glend? Glyyyynd." It came out garbled and wrong the first few times she said it, but Caedus was patient, and finally, she got it sounding right. Probably. "Glynd." her nose wrinkled, still not pleased with how the word sounded from her throat in comparison to Caedus' own deeper tones. Still, it was a start.

"Glynd... veal?" It wasn't veil, at least, though she'd never look at veal parmigiana the same way ever again. Still, it wasn't right, and she wrinkled her nose up with effort, drawing the word out slowly. "What kind of a mammal? And why..." her brow furrowed. "We don't have any mammals like that. I want to see your world, someday, if I can." there was a note of something wistful, then she held out the two boxes to him.

"For my... glynd," she told him with a smile. "Two last gifts. One a piece of my homeworld." the box marked M was shaken. "And another, I hope will help you get closer to yours." this time, the box marked Pe was rattled.

Inside the box marked M, a large Messian gem rolled, perfectly round, and glittering with Scyllan magic. The gems grew at the center of the planet, rolling up the World Pillar and along its branches, in the depths of the world, in the watery deep. "Once, this was a prize for many. To be an adult, you had to survive the trip to get your own." watery fire gleaned in the center. "Each Scylla had a necklace of them. Each tribal leader. The more you had, the more powerful you were. They were exports, for their non-societal properties, but more than that they were gifts to friends. Lovers. People of value." Her planet had been trying to make her get her own, but she had been resisting. She had Andromache's necklace, and that was enough for her. "That gem belonged to a past Scylla. I think it said it was Zachariel? But I can't read Scyllan well when I'm not in a memory."

And then the box marked Pe. Inside, wrapped in rich velvet, gleamed a softly shimmering Pearlescent Bead. A simple enough item, but maybe it would be of some use? "It is supposed to help restore energy," she told him after a moment. "Enough energy that supposedly you can revive the dead or something. I was thinking I could try and bring a past Scylla back, but as I have their starseed it wouldn't do any good unless you know of a way to split it and share." she was only half teasing. "I figure you could find a use for that amount of energy. Maybe even get home?" Scylla gave Caedus a wry, shy grin. "And what it doesn't help, maybe I can fill up a few of those sleep-crystals for you."

He smiled again, at her feeble attempts and linguistic flailing, and she consoled herself at the fact he seemed to be happy to hear his words being spoken. She returned his smile with one of her own. "I'll get better, and then you can teach me more. 1 word a week, and then I'll eventually have a whole sentence." her teasing was light.

"If those actually wind up having magical properties, let me know. I'll get one for everyone I know. As for the last two- Caedus, they're gifts. For a glynd. That gem is a part of Scylla. There is so little of it that is like in my scattered memories, and being able to share that little bit of history with you makes it feel like maybe repairing Scylla isn't as far-off as it seems." she leaned over, held out her hand; then paused, still out of reach of him. She'd almost forgotten he'd once flinched from touch, in their conversation.

Her hand hovered there, uncertain and unsure, not making contact with cloth-covered arm.

"And I told you it isn't a debt," she chided him with maternal exasperation, "consider it Xenia. It's my pleasure to help you home, after so long away from it. I mean, Odyssus only went 20 years away from home. I'm sure after a thousand, you're excited to see the shores of your Ithaca again."

He sighed, and she smiled. "I'd like to see what has been made," she agreed wistfully. "Everyone has rules, though I think Scyllae in all lives- powered and personal, ancient or the now- live to tout them." her eyes danced. "And worst case scenario, there has to be a way to be intergalactic pen-pals or something." still... "I'd love to see your world, though," she sighed, "they all just seem so fascinating to me. And you might need moral support or something."

Or a spare pair of tentacles in case something went wrong.

His consistent smile was reassuring, though she didn't catch the tension at his mouth. "I just wish I had come to visit more frequently, Caedus." she raised an eyebrow, deliberately, at his robes, doubting he would understand. "You might be closer to your goal by now."

A true friend. Scylla softened, shoulders dropping forward, relaxing into a deeper quiet. "Gratitude from a friend is something I can promise you that I will accept, Caedus. So long as you know it has been my pleasure. And will continue to be." her bright eyes gleamed with mischief. "I am back now, you see. Every Thursday unless I am out of town for work, I'm going to mother-hen you."

He fished around for a small bag, and Scylla moved closer to him without thinking, clambering eagerly across the blanket and peering at him with most excitement. He pulled a few things out and her breath caught in eager interest. A few of the rejected stones got noises of appreciative and curious interest, but he pulled out another, and another.

At last one pleased him, and he held it out to her. Jada took it from him with reverent fingers, her digits lightly brushing over his own as she lifted it away. A manicured nail tapped gently over the stone, and it was held carefully as she examined it, trying to see it through his eyes.

In a whole world, it was the only beautiful thing I came across. Scylla paused, looking up at the alien through dark lashes, lips pursing. Carrying it with him for many years was a flexible thing, she supposed, but the thought of how old it could be... Well. She was on a planet that was old. In the grand scheme of things... Was she to say age was but a number?

"I'm honored," she said instead, and pulled it closer. "Thank you, Caedus." she tugged up her sleeve, pulling at the ribbon that tied her Rainbow Crystal to her wrist. Ashen Lilac glittered from between the careful wrapping, and she knotted his stone reverently in with the other end of the ribbon. "Until I find a better way to hold it, this will have to do. But when I go home tonight..." she promised. There was a leather thong she could tie it to that would hold it. She doubted she could set it in stone.

Not tying it back to her wrist, instead keeping the stone out and admiring it, she asked, "Where did you find it? What world?" she caressed the cut edges with a gentle finger, tilting her head to consider it. "Are there any unusual things I should remember? It won't catch on fire in the sunlight or dissolve in unusual temperatures?" the first was, perhaps, silly; the second was a reference to the first gift she had given him.

If she got any brighter from joy, she might glow. Every laugh was a small, personal victory. But he got a brief side-eye with his talk of resilience and durability- were they talking about a humanoid, or Tupperware? But he wouldn't understand Tupperware if she brought it up- though, perhaps, he would find it a fascinating diversion. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe give it some sunlight. Crystals aren't quite like flowers, but they could use some TLC." He probably didn't know what that meant, either, so she added, "Tender Loving Care."

He pulled out another crystal, hs bandaged hands playing with the pearl, and she leaned in still further, trying to get a good look. "I'll give it one, then." her lips quirked with humor. "It will be something ridiculous, but it is better than going down in galactic annals as nothing but a serial code."

The shift startled her, and she pulled back with a startled noise as the pearl seemed to pop. but then the crystal was glowing, and the pearl was just that- a simple pearl. As she leaned back in, her eyes caught on his face- it was alien, like she had known, scarred and different. Still humanoid. With- what was that small- but he pulled the crystal away, hunching back into himself. Like he had when they had first met. "It was something from my homeworld," she said, and shifted closer. Flopped down in front of him.

"You can come to Scylla with me one day, if you want. We can look for more. I found that one in the catacombs." she bent her head, trying to meet his eyes. "You don't have to hide from me, Caedus. I don't want to hurt you. And I know you're not human. Please, glynd." she looked down at the crystal, considering, and shifted back to the other topic, having pressed as far as she would for now. "How many more of those might be able to help get you home?"

"That's fine, I can keep an eye out when I go, and you can let me know if anything changes." Scylla wouldn't push- she would just check in with Caedus once a month or so on this topic. Check his off-worlding temperature like he was a turkey and one day his little timer-thing would pop and he'd be ready to go on an adventure.Today was clearly not the day he wanted.

Her dark head tilted and she leaned back, pulling off some of the pressure. "There's nothing to forgive, glynd." Scylla beamed. "I'm going to practice that word a lot with you. But no, I understand your wish to stay... discreet. Just know I won't judge you a slip here and there. If you want to blend in, though, I'll need to get you some different clothes." she tilted her head back, considering his pile of blankets. "If you're concerned about looking your best, let me get you some things that won't be mashed-up blankets. Some modern clothing that wouldn't stand out to someone on the street."

Bandaged fingers stroked the crystal, and Scylla nodded firmly. "I am glad it helped." she leaned back, looking around at the bag. "As for the rest of it, you can keep the bag if you need it. There was a lot of stuff in there for you- I'm sure carrying it around without a bag would be a bit difficult. Hopefully everything else will help in other ways."

Her yawn startled her, and she wrinkled up her nose, lifting an arm to check her cell phone. It was, indeed, very late. "Is there anything specific you need, Caedus? I was thinking I would set aside one night a week to come and harass you a bit." her lips quirked. "I can do two if you're lonely. Any foods, special needs that might help you be more comfortable? New books?"

He thought she couldn't find something to fit him? Scylla's laugh was soft, genuine, and delighted. "Taller than some, but you're not a complete oddity for your height. And I'll bet you I can find a few things..." she leaned in to him, conspiratorially, and said, "You have given a challenge to me, glynd, and I will not lose."

The pat to her hand lit her face up, and even she knew it, the smile stretching ear to ear.

"I can do literature," she promised him. "I can start with a book a week, and increase the number I bring if you are reading too quickly." it was easy enough to attempt that. If there was an extra flush to her cheeks at the fact that her company was enough, and it was her company that pleased him, not the gifts she had brought- well. Would anyone be able to tell?

She pushed up, quickly showing him how to repack the bag. It was a good chance he could figure out how to fold the blanket, but some of the other things could be persnickety. "I'll... be back on Thursday, then," she told him after a moment, and shifted nervously, foot to foot.

And then she slipped away, into the business of the city.