Welcome to Gaia! ::

Laven’s mouth dropped in disbelief. “Hey now…” She huffed and stuck out her lower lip in a pout.

“Mean.” I bought it. Least he could do was let her have a taste. But to actually take all of them, well… that’s is just unforgivable.

A thought struck her as she watched him take another bite. It was a childish thing to consider but desperate times called for desperate measures and she was not above using an array of tactics to get what she wanted. Like their walk along the trail, the kid gloves were coming off and she had to wonder if he was prepared for what she had planned.

“You have pie on your face,” Laven started with a bit of a smile and pointed to a spot on her own cheek to where she ‘saw’ the filling smudge.

“Mmm.” Her face scrunched when he haphazardly wiped away something that in all honesty wasn’t actually there. “Now you just smeared it.” Laven reached out with one hand to turn his face towards her. “Here, I’ll get it.”

Like a doting parent, she licked her thumb and reached towards him as if she was about to wipe the filling away in a fashion similar to what he had done with his claw and the cut on her heel. However, in that same motion, she leaned forward and rather swipe her thumb across his cheek to 'take care of the mess' she licked him there, albeit slowly, instead.

Laven pulled back just an in or so then smiled and made a pleased sound. “So sweet.” Within her, there was a soft purring sound that had not been heard for quite some time as she watched his expression change.

While her gaze remained fixated on him, her hands did not remain idle as she took advantage of the moment and reached for the bag beside him which contained the remaining three pies. If he thought he could honestly keep them from her then he definitely had another thing coming.

An amused smile spread across Laven’s face and in her eyes was a light of humor as she watched Wolframite’s expression go from cocky to completely blank face.

A small rush of light airy laughter escaped her while he processed the act with wide doe-like eyes. Even without the aid of the earrings, she could see the wheels turning in his head, trying to piece together what the ******** she just did. She brought her free hand up and waved it in front of his face to see if she could at least make him blink.

Laven hummed as if she was pleased by Wolframite’s reaction and rather than immediately running away with her prize in hand she leaned forward once more to brush her smooth scaled cheek against the other side of his face and whispered “Mine.” However, because she had intentionally left out 'It's' or 'You're', Laven left it for him to decide if it was the pies or him she was claiming.

Before he could stop her, she leaned away from him and hopped off the side of the bed. With the bag in hand, she quickly limped over to the other side of the room over by her circle reading chair with pillows to put a little bit of distance between them for she knew that once he came to there would likely be swift retribution for her maybe not so innocent act.

Laven let out a loud-pitched ‘eep’ and tried to roll over and scramble to get away but had unfortunately quite literally backed herself into a corner with this one.

Her plan had been to procure the bag of pies, but that’s where the objective ended. The tactical retreat wasn’t even a thought to consider as he hadn’t even allowed her the time needed to pick one of the three remaining pies before pouncing.

Considering they were both of similar size and both half youma, he was a Captian and with that meant that he had a considerable amount of strength that would be difficult for her to overcome. Nonetheless, believing he was about to punctuate that last statement by nipping at her ear again Laven wiggled and squirmed beneath him “No, no, no!”

“Please no... Please no!” In a fit of laughter and desperation, she tried to bring her leg up to push him off but could find no purchase on the suede chair with her injured heel. Instead, she turned her head to look up at him, their breaths mingled in the space between them, his smelling of sweet pie and almonds, and for a brief moment, she ceased her struggles.

Her eyes locked with his and for the first time noticed that up close you could actually see the outline of his slitted irises and felt oddly captivated by them.

Laven’s heartbeat quickened and with each shallow breath she drew, she became more acutely aware of him, his closeness, his weight on top of her. The small swivel of his ears and pleasing motion of his tail. Yes, he had caught a treat and as a reward for his efforts, her eyes flitted shut as she closed the small distance between them and lightly brushed her lips against his, a small tentatively shy kiss but a kiss nonetheless.

When he leaned down again, sealing their lips in a kiss of his own, Laven felt as if she had been rubberbanded back into the moment under the tree. An innocent question and gentle touch that sent her heart wildly beating. Just like then, it felt as if something warm bloom beside her heart, a feeling it seemed only he could invoke and yet she had no name for it but it made her happy.

Warmth spread from her chest and swept across her face tinting her cheeks a light pink and her ears an even brighter almost red hue.

It was probably a good thing that he had her arms pinned beneath the blanket otherwise she wasn’t sure she would have had the control to stop herself from reaching up, brushing the back of her own small claws against his cheek to see if he felt as warm as she did, or running her fingers through his hair to cup the back of his ear to pull him back down to selfishly steal just one more kiss from him.

Instead, when their lips parted and he withdrew, Laven remained motionless beneath him. Panting as he was, she looked at him, eyes searching for answers to a question she dare not ask aloud out of fear of that this moment, however confusing it may be, would shatter and he would pull away completely.

This wasn’t how he was supposed to respond. Hindsight being 20-20 she should have instead just shifted into her other form to getaway rather than taking a dangerous risk of things getting awkward between them. In her mind, she had imagined Wolframite backing off in surprise allowing her to escape or slipping back into that stupor again so she could unseat him.

But he didn’t…


Whether he realized it or not that had been her first kiss. For him, it likely meant nothing but to her it felt like something shifted. There was no doubt in her mind that she had feelings for him. As a friend, she cared about him and the time they spent together both the good and the bad, and as an officer, he had her respect. Lavendulan felt comfortable around, so much so that they had napped beside each other after a long day spent in glamoured form.

But there was something else…

Alongside her youma’s playful nature there was a warm light and while she wanted to follow it and see where it would take her fear kept her in check. This was simply a game they played; pushing each other until one caved. No reason to look anything beyond that.

And yet… she did.

Her heart was hopeful but her mind was not so kind as to let herself believe that his feelings, whatever they may be, matched her own.

Laven chewed on her lower lip, her gaze drifting down to his almost smug grin. She nodded in confirmation to his proclamation. “You win,” she replied, her voice was quiet but she knew without a doubt that he had heard her.

That warm feeling she had been holding onto quickly turned into a sharp pang when Wolframite got off her and with him took the blanket back over to her bed. A part of her wanted to grab it back and just hide under it if only to hide her guilt and disappointment, but she stayed her hand and let him go.

Laven watched as he fixed the comforter, his tail hanging lazily behind him, ears pointed away while he focused on his current task. For a moment she wished more than anything to be able to just rewind time to when she was simply curled up next to him, his heavy tail draped over her leg while she slept comfortably with her forehead pressed against his warm back between his shoulder blades. Unfortunately they were neither here nor there because she had gone and ******** things up.

With a heavy sigh she looked down at the bag and griminced at the mess they had made. The pies were not just simply smushed. No, they looked like someone started eating them then regurgitated them back into the bag because the flavors didn’t mix. There really was no winning for her tonight was there? Here she thought they could have possibly been salvaged if she just put them in a blender with vanilla and turned them into a shake.

“Unless you feel like being my crutch or carrying me, I might need to send you on that errand alone.” Laven walked, more like one legged hopped over to the bed then nudged him with her elbow in his side. Her expression seemed playfully annoyed as she held open the bag for him to see what remained of their earlier adventure. “All I have here are a few klondike bars, some vanilla bean ice cream and a bag of banana chips.” The last of which did not sound appetizing at all.

“The cafeteria might have something though.” It was late and the meal choices were more than likely already put away, but there was a slim chance there might be some snacks left out.

“Take it easy…” She repeated once he had left the room. “Will do…”

With a big sigh, she sat down heavily on the bed and glanced around the room. Things were fine and dandy before that little candy corn gremlin piece of s**t showed up and threw everything out of whack.

Just thinking about the kiss made her cheeks start to blush.

I was just teasing him, she tried reasoning with herself but the youma inside scoffed at her as if saying ‘bull s**t’ to her face.

But then it dawned on her. Like the clamoring sound of pots and pans falling out of a cabinet, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Oh god…” Until now she had always attributed her playful antics to her youma’s nature but at no point since waking up did that side of her stir. There was no nudge against her consciousness like before, no attempt to take control. Nothing...

That kiss, as shy as it was… had been completely her own doing.

Her youma side had already accepted his when they each wore one of her earrings. But Marissa had assumed that it was more of a pack thing, respect or whatnot. But then there was a rumbling sound of laughter and in that moment, she acknowledged that her youma side, despite being more beast, was less feral and more wise than she had given it credit for.
Still an adolescent nonetheless.

The next fifteen minutes were spent going to the common bathroom to fill a bowl of warm water and slowly making her way back to her dorm room to mop up the bloody mess on the floor. Her clothes were put back in the hamper and rocks were set back on the desk so neither of them kicked or stepped on one later.

When she heard the dinging sound of an incoming text Laven sat back down on the bed and responded:

If you’re awake enough to watch a movie then something gummy like peach-o’s or sour patch kids. Otherwise, if you just want a small snack then head back to bed something simple like M&M’s or Junior Mints please.

Once her room was back in order she grabbed an arbitrary book off the shelf and sat down in her suede chair for some time but after reading the first page six times and still could not absorb anything she just put it back and gave up.

“I’m broken…” Laven stated very simply. It’s the only thing that made sense. Physically she was only half of who she had once been, emotionally ... hell if she knew anymore.

They were friends, she was just trying to get a reaction out of him just like he was trying to get one out of her but then…Again her mind went back to the kiss and she was left stranded, doomed to deal with another bout of butterflies and pink tipped ears.

Exasperated by her own reaction she limped over to the fridge and decided hell with waiting. With a spoon in hand, she grabbed the pint of ice cream, plopped down on the bed, and dug in.

“Why did it have to be scales?” If it sounded like she was talking to someone well… it would kind of be true as Laven shoved another spoonful of ice cream in her mouth then all but glared at her reflection in the little piece of metal. “Scales just creep people out. I creep people out.” Hell, she even scared the s**t out of herself when she first caught sight of her own reflection in the window.

Laven set the pint of ice cream on the nightstand then leaned back on the bed with her arm draped over her eyes. “Why couldn’t it have at least been something cute like a cat or bunny…” Ok so maybe not a bunny or people would think I’m some sort of playboy girl or slut.

Until now, she hadn’t even been remotely interested in anyone in a romantic sense because she had a career to consider and goals to meet. But now that those ‘obstacles’ were out of the way it seemed that those feelings she had ignored for most her life decided to remind her ‘hey, we’re still here.’

Now things were awkward and it was her fault.

You already knew he was in some sort of a relationship… don’t go ruining his happiness. Laven mentally scolded herself. He had been the one to suggest that she date someone in the Negaverse or do what he does and find someone noncommittal in glamour.

Why me?