Welcome to Gaia! ::

“To the bookstore,” Sonia smiled, gladdened by the joy on Jane’s face while she ate away at the pastry.

It only took a few minutes to finish her own breakfast, move the car closer to their next destination, and find a new parking spot. Thankfully this location had its own lot and so long as they bought something then they’d get a voucher for two hours of free parking while they looked around. “Alright, shall we?”

Inside there were two floors worth of books, a table upon entry with new releases and off to the right there was a display for travel. Beyond that, against the wall, was an array of magazines from hobbies and crafts, to business and finance, and more. Each general section had a sign hanging above it including fantasy, fiction, and mystery. “It might be a bit overwhelming, but feel free to take your time.” They were in no rush so there was little reason to speed through the store.

Not wanting to make Jane feel rushed, Sonia took her time perusing the business and finance sections before wandering over to the crafts and hobby area which included gardening. While she didn’t have much in the way of hobbies herself, aside from fencing that is, she did find some level of wonder in seeing how creative people were.

From the shelf, she picked up a jewelry book, one with glass beads and another with wire-wrapped precious stones. They were all beautiful, stunning intricate details that almost made her feel a bit envious.

Almost.

Unless there was a special occasion, Sonia never really wore fancy things. Earrings were the only thing she wore that might be considered fancy, but they were just solid gold; no gemstone. Aside from those, there were two necklaces, both incredibly simple in design; one had a butterfly-shaped pendant and the other had one of her grandmother's ring. It was too big to fit on any one of her fingers and so they bought a chain for her to hang it from until she got older.

A wonderful memory and one she held close to her heart.

Sonia traced her finger over the high-gloss image of a sunstone wrapped in copper wire; it was stunning and called to her in a way that none other could likely relate. Still, she knew better than to pine after something she’d never have time to make for herself, especially since it was highly unlikely she’d have a reason to wear something so ornate.

The book was put back as she moved further down the aisle towards the gardening section where she spotted the one that had been suggested to her about a year ago; the language of flowers. Thank God for Google the saving grace that allowed her and Reed to communicate better; at least let them see things on similar grounds.

For nostalgia’s sake she tucked that one under her arm and meandered towards the novels; from young adult to mystery over to the romance section.

“For avid readers, that is definitely true.” Sonia had to hold back her surprise at the stack of books Jane had. She was definitely going to have to ask Reed to help pay for some of this.

Then again-

This outing was her own suggestion and she did leave Jane unsupervised in a store with many temptations. Seems that in her former life she might have been a lover of books. Might need to look at getting her a library card. Or perhaps a Kindle Unlimited subscription. Definitely going to need to talk to Reed about that.

“Ok, well. Let’s go get checked out, shall we?” Before heading over to the cashier she put the novel back on the shelf; with how busy things were right now, Sonia knew it would be two weeks at best before she got around to reading anything.

Next time, maybe.

Check-out went relatively quickly and soon they were on their way to their last destination, Costco. “There are a few things I need to make sure we pick up; milk, eggs, bread, some fruit, and muffins.” Goodness, their muffins were amazing; blueberry, poppy seed, and chocolate with chocolate chunks. “I also want to get one of their rotisserie chickens.” For only five dollars, it was a price that was difficult to beat.

“If you want to get any drinks, we can grab some. Or if something sounds good we can try it. They’re usually big packages so maybe if we stick to one or two new things to try. There will be employees at the end of aisles offering samples; I definitely suggest trying them.” It’s how she found a love for their spinach and cheese ravioli.

“You’d be surprised at how quickly these things add up.” If it wasn’t that they had a house of five, then she would have gone to the general convenience store for a half-gallon of milk instead of the two gallon-sized ones she’d get here.

It’d be better once everyone was able to contribute some but for now, this was fine since Reed hadn’t charged her for rent for a while now. Perhaps this should just be her paying it forward for his generosity.

Yeah… generosity… benevolence… All those good and nice fluffy things.

Nah more like repayment for his sufferance. At the end of the day, he had chosen them for his team. Whereas she had been assigned due to her negligence and disobedience. For several months Sonia had been Reed’s problem and this was her showing that she could play nice. After all, she had given him enough s**t to last a lifetime and with four women in his house… good god he was in for a treat.

For now, though, Sonia led Jane through the store. The kitchen and electronics were passed over pretty quickly, as was the garden area since that was Reed’s thing. With her cart, she made her way to the very back of the warehouse, where the cases of drinks and frozen food isles were at.

“Mmmm, something smells good.” Glancing at the other end of the aisle, she spotted someone who was offering samples of teriyaki. “Do you want to try that?” Sonia asked as she grabbed a case of water bottles to add to the cart since the one in her trunk was running low.

“You don’t need to worry about paying me back.” Sonia knew well enough what financial situation they would be in when Reed essentially adopted the three girls that had been forced corrupted into the Negaverse.

To someone who has never experienced memory loss, it is easy for that individual to pass it off as no big deal; and sometimes a blessing if their life was really that bad. But to the people who lost half if not all their memories, it was a big deal. Their identity was gone. Every facet of what made them who they were previously had been wiped clean and they were left a blank slate.

Some Generals saw this as an opportunity for molding, to create a perfect agent from the empty shell of what was left in the wake of a forced corruption. Others, like Reed, seemed content to allow them to come into their own and rediscover themselves. On the one hand, the first were given purpose and direction, whereas the latter was left feeling lost and sometimes fell through the cracks.

Reed told her to watch over the former White Moon Senshi on the battlefield. That command, however, seemed to have extended beyond that singular moment. It’s not that Sonia minded. Jane was sweet and considerate. A bit withdrawn but that seemed to be a response to her current circumstance rather than a personality trait; in time she hoped the young woman came into her own and bloom like the flower her sphere represented.

Prehnite would no doubt be happy for that.

What concerned her, however, was that one day Jane would learn of what truly happened, and when that day came Jane may decide for herself that the Negaverse is now where she wants to be because they had taken from her everything, she had no choice or say in the matter, and the small team that Prehnite had carefully picked for himself was not suitable for her or her needs.

To some degree it felt more like a matter of when not if this time would come, and when it did- Sonia would be faced with the tough decision of helping Jane or turning a blind eye if she chose to defect. Either way, the fallout would be catastrophic for every party involved. For now, all she could do was nudge Jane forward and hope she did not resent her for it in the end.

“Why don’t you grab at least two bottles of the sauce and I will go get some chicken breasts. You and I can cook enough for everyone tonight for dinner.” Hopefully, the other girls would enjoy it as well. Reed- well… as long as it wasn’t pork or lamb he’d eat it.

“Yes,” Sonia laughed. “It means you get to taste test.” An honor she had bestowed upon Reed when she was trying to make something new; such as that eggplant parmesan he mentioned liking. She didn’t know what it was supposed to taste like, so it fell on him to figure out if there was something missing.

“The eggs and milk are by the meat area, so I can go ahead and grab those. The bakery is down that aisle,” she pointed to the opposite corner of the warehouse-like building. “If you'd like to pick something out. Muffins are usually buy one get one free but they have some apple pastries and cinnamon rolls here too.” Also, bagels if Jane preferred something savory instead of sweet.

“I’ll meet you by the fruits once I’ve grabbed these few things.” Maybe grab a couple of bananas and Cutie oranges to fill the wire basket by the fridge.

“Hey! Sorry for the wait.” Sonia wheeled her cart up to where Jane was waiting and eyed her selection. “Nice picks. Their bagels are good for sandwiches too, but you’ll probably need to eat them quickly otherwise we’ll have to freeze a couple of them.” One thing she learned rather swiftly was that the Costco bakery didn’t use preservatives in their fresh baked foods which meant that bagels and blueberry muffins grew mold on them within a few days unless they were put in the freezer right away.

“Alright, while you put those in here, I’ll grab a couple of fruits and we can head to check out.” she turned, leaving the cart with Jane as she picked up a bunch of eight bananas; most were still somewhat green but there were a couple that were fully yellow. Her favorite were ones with a few brown spots so within a day or two they would be to her liking.

Next to them were the netted bags of small oranges which she grabbed one of before returning to the cart. “I think you’ll like these.” Unlike full-sized oranges that could taste tart, these seemed to always be a good balance of sweet and citrus. Refreshing in the morning or after a good workout.