Welcome to Gaia! ::

Caramel colored leaves spiral in the airxxxxxxxxxxxx
diving right into the ground
'round the winding stair...xxxxxxxxxxxx

Mochi's family was moving? Lilia only barely stopped herself from frowning. True, Mochi was already nineteen so he was lawfully allowed to live alone, but didn't they even offer to bring him with them? She kept her thought to herself however; she had seen the flash of sadness in his eyes. Instead she answered his question. "My morning was alright, although I slept through most of it." She had passed out in sheer art-induced exhaustion just before the sun had risen. Although she felt fine now, she knew she'd be paying for it later in the day.

They had barely reached the pet shop when Mochi sped up, their linked arms forcing Lilia to quicken her pace just to keep up with the over-exuberant teenager. His joy at seeing the pet shop had escalated in mere seconds and by the time they reached it, it had caught on, Lilia's mouth turning up in a smile that was nowhere near reluctant. They entered the pet shop with a slight jingle of bells and, knowing she could not control him any longer, released Mochi's arm so he could explore like he clearly wanted to. There were already several people in the store, including some high schoolers. Steeling herself, Lilia went in search of the bird section.

The gentle tweets and chirps drew her in the right direction. Large displays of brightly coloured birds flocked in painted cages. Lilia felt herself melt at the charming sight, even as a part of her drew back in horror. Birds were beautiful creatures, born to fly and ride the winds. To keep them in cages - tight, cramped prisons that they were - was to go against nature. Still she forced herself to peruse what they offered, her long hair thankfully tied back although she kept herself conscious as to where it swung in case of any out-reaching claw or beak. Aki would love a cute bird like that one, she thought. Although... wait. Doesn't she already have a dozen of these? A memory flashed in her head of a party last year. Mikoto had bought her daughter a giant cage full of different coloured love birds; such a grand display that Aki had cooed over the birds for the next several hours.

Lilia shook her head and walked right past those cages. Aki was a spoilt brat but at least she remembered every single gift she had ever received. Giving her the same kind of birds again would only cause a disappointed pouting child, and a grumpy father for her boss. Her eyes then locked on another cage and she paused, in mid-worry. It held a large raven, its sleek black feathers catching light and producing multi-coloured hues. Lilia leaned forward, completely enchanted. She had never seen a raven so up close before, although they had been one of the many birds she had read up on. She had always thought they were too smart to be caught. Then she read the tag on the cage, and was instantly reminded of why she was there and why she hated cages. The urge to laugh at the ridiculous name was quickly overcome by sadness for the bird.

"Poor guy. You really shouldn't be in a place like this." Lilia looked him over through the cage and realised one of his wings had been clipped. Damn. Now she could feel her eyes tearing up. Blinking furiously to try and dispel the unwelcome onslaught, she straightened up and looked for Mochi. And the nearest shop attendant.

With: Mochi :: Sébastien
Feeling: Pained but curious
Thinking: Birds are supposed to be free! ...And why "Paul"?
Outfit: -Here-

OOC: Finally in the pet shop!

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪



Stories carved out of wood, jester and the kingxxxxxxxxxxxx
dancing through the moonlight,
we began to sing...xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx





L i l i a ♬ W i l l o w
╚════════════════╝

start

Collecting seeds into his mouth, greedily so, but it would seem this simple act would be interrupted. That woman from before - a name still yet to be caught - had drawn near again, though this time offering more attention toward the raven. Not so much as a sound parted in the mere seconds to pass. Brilliantly stained pools of blue held him momentarily before dropping toward the tag that listed his name - along with price. But in a strange turn the young maiden did not choose to call him by the name written like most would. Tilting his head to one side, then the next - the movements are seemingly abrupt, what you’d come to expect from a bird. Letting his vocals lift at the comment to follow, as if to respond with a witty retort to her comment about getting into trouble. “If only you knew the half of it child.”
But what was this? Eyes catching a glimpse of the fruit in hand. It was as if this demon in the skin of a bird was salivating at the mere thought of enjoying just a piece of fresh fruit. It was almost painfully obvious how his gaze remained upon it. Having been kept here for weeks, or at least the best guess he could muster, he’d been fed bird food: a diet consisting primarily of seeds and the like. Damn that shop owner. Maybe it was payback for feeding upon the flesh of humans - but they were dead anyway... Okay - so he had caused their death, but that was a minor detail really. At least he wasn’t wasteful, right? Trust this wouldn’t earn him any brownie points.

Pulled from this brief reprieve, observing the blonde haired woman as she opened the back of the cage only enough for her hand to slip in and out - not in an attempt to pet Sébastien but rather an act as to graciously leave him some fruit. Wait - really?
A kind gesture indeed, watching her as she walked away and back to her own perch of sorts. Without a moment more of hesitation the raven made way over toward the slices of apple, pecking it a few times to break it apart before beginning to consume it. Should the owner of this place walk by he might relieve the demon of it - no, this raven did not want such an outcome. This was the one real highlight of his day.
With a mouthful of food a faint coo of sorts emitted: blissful contentment as best described.

Though before the slice, in its entirety, could be devoured an odd sensation passed through the demon, causing Sébastien to contort his frame quickly, bits of the soft apple’s flesh slipping from his beak.
Glancing off to the side as if compelled to do so. How strange indeed. Straitening his form, noticing as the chirping grew louder in the others in the cage down from his own given their newest audience, vying for her attention - some startled but it varies honestly. Not all those of the avian variety will react the same to people. May take a bit of time to warm to them. Can you blame them though?
Orbs held upon the young miss: lean in build and fair in complexion, silk-like strands of hair catching in the building’s artificially lit quarters... As far as mortal standards go, she could be considered attractive. Though how out of place she looks here, as if out of her element.

Just as she took to reading the tag, Sébastien permitted his head to tilt to the side. Held in that position for a beat before slightly turning to the side then front again, mannerisms so closely resembling the creature he now embodied.
So, why was this human seemingly so fascinating - the question will surely plague this demon long after she was gone… assuming that she wouldn’t bother to stick around long that is. Ravens weren’t exactly easy pets to care for, let alone a raven demon - albeit the latter of such details unknown. But the strangest thing, despite the sensation felt, was the look in her eyes just after that sweet voice of hers caught. Creases, though hidden, traced upon the bird’s brow. What gave? A low croak emitted as he adjusted his wings. Hopping closer to the front of his cage, a want to keep her attention - but it seemed something more preoccupied the young miss’ thoughts. That was when the goddess’ words seemed to ring true at this moment: about the game. Damn. Had he just failed at obtaining his ticket out of here? Annoyance setting in - he needed the upper hand in this game, already at a slight disadvantage.

end

It seemed the shop was doing quite well. Many people normally just looked around but it was obvious that these customers where actually searching for a pet today. Of course Azalea probably wasn’t the best person to be working at this point in time so she sort of hoped that she was doing everything correct. Being approached by two different people the blonde decided to confront the person who was interested in the cat first. Slyly she observed the dark haired being and soon came to the conclusion that she was a suitable choice of the animal. Aza also thought the girl was very pretty but that wasn’t something too important to dwell on at the moment.

“Sure…” pausing she bent down to grab the forms and payment chart. “Adopting will cost you ¥25,000.” Azalea told the customer while handing over a pen. “Please sign here and write down your information in the provided boxes. Once done I can hand you over a certificate and you’ll be on your way.” Soon enough the blonde turned to the next female customer. “Now what can I do for you?”

"Falling through the void,
With no sense of gravity..."

Remus blinked a few times when the woman took out the payment chart and explained how much the bird cost "25,000 Yen!?" he exclaimed, blushing a bit when he realized he had said that out loud. That was almost 200 euros (really 180 euros, and 250 us dollars). Wasn't that a bit much for a cat? Back home adoption fees where usually less than half that much. "is she some kind of rare breed maybe?" Remus thought. Granted Remus did come from a wealthy family so it's not like he couldn't afford it, but you didn't become rich over spending on things just because you could, that much he learned from his father. Not only that but at that moment he realized Lloyd was still going to pick out a pet as well, and who knows how much his would cost.

Shaking his head a bit to refocus Remus chuckled a bit and nodded. "ofcourse, thank you" he said, taking the pen from the woman. After all it's not like he could back out now, especially when he did have the money for it, that wouldn't be fair to poor Irelia after he got her hopes up. "here, this should be it" Remus said, sliding over the filled in paper, all of his personal information filled in including his actual gender. He then gently set Irelia down on the counter and pulled out his wallet, sliding out a debit card and handing it over to the woman.

As he waited for the cashier to ring up his purchase and finish all the other paperwork and what not Remus found his gaze drifting around the store. It seemed the place had really filled up since he and Lloyd arrived. Lloyd was still by the cages with a woman with oddly bright green hair. Then there was the tattooed, raven haired woman standing beside him. He found himself unconsciously looking her up and down, wondering for a brief moment if she where some kind of dark witch or something, what with the dark appearance, and strange bird she was carrying with her. "huh? a crow? isn't that an odd bird to get for someone?" Remus asked, not catching that the bird was actually a raven, or really knowing the difference between the two birds anyways. Usually crows where seen as a bad omen, atleast where he was from they where. At the very least they where considered pest birds, not the type you'd keep as a pet, so it was strange she wanted one for a pet, even stranger she intended to give it to someone. Remus wasn't sure if he had been spending to much time around Akira or not, but his mind suddenly jumped to an impossibly ludicrous conclusion. "a c-curse?..." he muttered softly, not even realizing he had said it out loud. It sorta made sense in a way, why else would you give a bird that was associated with death to someone unless you where doing so to hex them? Plus the woman did sorta look like she'd be into that sort of occult thing. As Remuses over active imagination began connecting imaginary dots, he found himself starting to grow nervous. Was she planning to kill her bosses daughter? If so should Remus say something? Try to stop her? What if he did and the woman decided to hex her instead? Then should he just do nothing and let her do it? Remus looked at the woman but immediately averted his gaze again, a timid look in his eyes, a nervous blush spread across his face, his hands fidgeting together as fear and indecision gripped him. All he wanted to do was get a gift for his friend and now he was faced with an impossible life or death decision. It was either save this young girl's life, someone he didn't even know, and in turn risk loosing his own, or just sit by and do nothing, and let this witch not only kill her bosses daugther, but potentially go on to hurt even more people to.

"...Spinning on and on,
In our Augmented Reality"

(that honestly seems like a bit much for a cat, I mean our cat's adoption fee was only like 90 bucks, granted it wasn't a shape shifting demon cat, but still)

《I tried to forget you the memories won't fade》《I reached out to touch you through miles and through days》《But sometimes I swear I can hear you call my name》《And still the emptiness won't fade》《I'm trying to keep me together》《But slowly I'm falling apart》《I can't breathe there's no life inside me》《I can't go on living with this broken heart》
x
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||⊱Location:Office>>Pet Store⊰|| ═══ ||⊱Company: Lewis,people, animals⊰|| ═══ ||⊱Outfit: x ⊰|| ═══ ||⊱OOC: I hope you like it⊰||

Aiden walked into the conference room at a brisk walk, tossing a folder on to the conference table, as he plugged a USB device into the monitor at the head of the table. "Okay, we need to make this quick as I need to be at the airport to pick up Lewis soon." he started, turning to the four people gathered around the table, and all who seemed more than a little nervous to be called into this sudden meeting. "So, the monthly figures came in for this months profits." He pressed a button on a remote control and a chart popped open the over head screen at the front of the room. "Sales have increased." Aiden flashed a smile at the woman who had spoken up, nodding his agreement. "Correct, Kawamura-san, but.." he tailed off as he pressed another button switching slides. Three new charts popped up in a triangle formation; the chart from before resting over two new ones. "Osaka," he pointed to the green chart on the bottom left then to a purple chart label Tokyo, both of which had higher numbers than the blue chart that belong to their city, "And Tokyo are playing on a completely different ballpark. I for one think that is a problem" He had been walking around the room as he spoke but now he sighed and leaned back against the desk. "Their populations are higher." Shimamoto pointed out. Nodding, Aiden agreed with that fact. "Indeed, they are, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. I mean Seoul beats out Tokyo hands down." The shops in Seoul, South Korea had only just opened a few months back and were still in their experimental phases, but already they had beat out Tokyo. "But New York is still beating them and New York's population is around two million less than Seoul, and one million less than Tokyo." He looked at his watch, noting the time, then made a motion for the four members to say something. This meeting only had a limited number of minutes to progress before he had to go. Luckily, Sakamoto was a smart lad, if not the youngest in the meeting, and quickly jumped to the point Aiden was trying to lead to. "The shops in New York promote themselves better and they also sponsor a lot of garage and indie bands." "Yes! Exactly!" Aiden exclaimed as he pushed off from the table, going back to the monitor and unplugging before his USB drive. "Shimamoto, Kawamura, and Sakamoto, you three are among the most creative minds in this building. As you know, Osada is good at working the fine details out of any plan. Now, while I'm gone I want you guys to put together an event that will raise sales as well as also promote the business. With that he spun around and briskly walked out the room.

As far as meetings went that was a very causal and less boring one, mostly because of Aiden surprisingly good mood. A good mood fueled by the fact that his little brother would be spending the next few months with him, on the grounds that he keep up with school through online classes. Of course, lack of sleep also seemed to be helping to fuel his good mood. "Okay, Alex, to the airport. We don't want to be late!" he said to his drive slash personal assitant as he hoped into the passenge seat of a luxury car. "Yes, Sir" Alex started the car into motion. Aiden looked out the window at the city swiftly passing by and all the people busily living life. He shifted his attention from the city to his reflection in the tinted windows. Dark green eyes with darker circles underneath from two days worth of lack of sleep. He had been doing so much work and yet still there was so much more to do. "Wake me when we get there." He mumbled as he closed his eyes, allowing the motion of the car moving to lull him to sleep.

About thirty minutes later, though it felt like mere seconds, Alex groaned as he felt something tickling his face. Hearing snickering he opened his peeled open his eye to see who would dare wake him up. "Lewis!" His younger brother was leaning into the car window smiling at him. "Aiden! Dude, you were sleeping like a baby. Alex had to come get me." The blonde headed youth laughed as he stood up straight. "By the way, we're at the shop closest to the mall. Apparently they had some sort of incident." Aiden rubbed his face as he stood up out the car. Had he really been asleep for that long. Stretching, he walked down the sidewalk towards the coffee shop in question. There was a slight frown on his face that he didn't bother to hide. He had made it a point to clear his schedule today so that he could spend time with this brother and, while he knew unexpected things happened all the time, he didn't have to be happy by the sudden call of duty. Walking into the shop he looked around for the manager. At various tables customers sat with earphone plugged into the jacks on the side of the table, listening to music as they enjoyed their coffee and surf the web. He walked past the counter and into a small back office area to find one of the employees talking frantically on the phone. As he saw Aiden he slammed the phone down and started speaking in such fast Japanese that he was having a hard time keeping up. "Okay, calm down and start to the beginning. We'll figure this all out." he instructed, making a calming down gesture with one hand while he pulled up a hair with another. It didn't take long to figure out the basic of what had happen. Two of the employees, siblings, had quit due to family reason. At the same time the manager of the store had decided to up and quite as well to elope with a man her family didn't approve of. The solution was simple really. Promote someone to manager and put up a help wanted sign since this shop was now understaffed.

"Where's Lewis?" he asked Alex when he left the shop. While Lewis had entered the shop with him the boy had soon left in boredom. Aiden felt bad about that really. Reaching into a bad he pulled out a pastry and took a bite, offering one to Alex who declined. "He went to the pet shop across the street. The driver pointed across the street and Aiden took off on foot after his brother. The boy had been nagging him to get a pet for a while, saying he could use the company. Aiden rolled his eyes, like he'd have time for a pet. "Dude, they sell foxes here! That is so cool." Lewis told him when he spotted the dark hair man, grabbing his arm and directing him to a cage where, indeed, a fox was idling about. "Cute right?" Lewis asked. Aiden leaned down a little to look into the cage at the small furry creature. "Sad or bored more like. It has got to suck to be stuck in a cage day in and day out. A melancholic life style to be sure. Poor thing." In a way Aiden felt he could relate. At times everyday seemed as same as the next, filled with the same all people, the same old drama. While he didn't want an unexpected surprise, something new would be a nice change of pace. A bit of color to splash on a life that seemed gray most of the time. "Think I should get it?" He asked jokingly, for the most part. It was easy to see Lewis like the idea but before he voice his thoughts Aiden's phone rang his brothers attention was turned else were. That was Aiden. Sometime he stopped to live life but he'd drop everything for work.

"Hello?" He answered, stepping away from the fox cage and looking around the store. The pet store sure seemed to be busy. He walked past some dog kennels, not even bothering to look in. He wasn't a dog person. Before long he found himself close to the chase register and a few people waiting there, one of which seemed interested in a raven. Could you actually have those as pets? Creepy but whatever, to each their own. " No,no, I'm still here." Aiden laughed as Osada asked if he was there, "So, you all agreed on a battle of the bands? Hmm, sounds interesting enough." He said, looking back over towards Lewis and the fox. Maybe he really should get it, if only for Lewis's sake. Though the boy was here to spend time with him Aiden still had to work. One or two days he could take off but not months. He turned his attention back to Osada who was going over some of the finer points of the Battle of the Bands idea. "Wow, you guys work fast. Good job." he complimented. "Actually, Shikamoto had been working on the idea for months. He had all the details already worked out and was planning to pitch it to you soon. If you approve we can go ahead and start advertisement and have word of it on the streets by the end of the day." Aiden bit back a smile as he listen to Osada speak. There had been a reason he chose those four but even this surprised him. Shikamoto was a hard worker and this helped to prove how hard. "Of course I approve. Its a brilliant idea. We need to make sure that Shikamoto never leaves Stereo Bean." They talked a second longer before Aiden hung up and rejoined Lewis who was now looking at some cats.


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Standing up, Adelaide stretched her arms above her head and waited until she heard her back pop. There was something about the ferret that called to her. Especially when he rubbed his body against the cage. 'I guess I could bring him home with me.' Looking back down at the creature, she crossed her arms under her chest. "I suppose you want to get out of that cage, correct?" She couldn't believe she was talking to the animal. 'It's not like he can understand me anyway.' She paused as she looked at the lid of the cage. 'I wonder if they'd care if I took out the ferret out of his cage. Probably, but I'll risk it.'

Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Addie opened the cage, took the ferret out, and cradled it in her arms. The first thing she noticed was how soft it's fur was. "You're so soft and fluffy," she said with a smile. It dropped quickly afterwards for a short period. "But you better not bite me, poop on me, or urinate on me. . .and it's back in the cage. Capisce? I don't have the time or money to get this dress dry cleaned." She still had no idea why she was speaking to the animal like he could understand what she was saying. 'I must be going crazy. I'm talking to a ferret for Hell's sakes!'

Looking down at the ferret, Addie couldn't help but think that she needed to bring him home with her. Placing the ferret back in it's cage and closing the lid tightly. She bent back down and met the ferret's eyes. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to talk to the employee here and see what I have to do to take you home with me." Straightening up, Adelaide made her way over to the line that had formed at the cash register and waited.

Eventually, another cashier came in and helped Addie and after a few papers were signed, she was the proud owner of a ferret. She also bought the cat food she originally came for and all the supplies she'd need to take care of a ferret. Walking back over to the cage, she opened it and took the small animal out and held him up to her face. "Looks like you're coming home with me," she said with a smile as she and the employee brought her items out to her car.

"Falling through the void,
With no sense of gravity..."

Remus cocked his head to the side in confusion when the dark haired woman corrected him on the species of bird. "huh?...yeah a crow right?(the japanese words for raven and crow are the same)" Remus repeated, a bit confused, mostly since being a foreigner Remus obviously wasn't fluent enough in Japanese to know highly specific things like all the different species of birds, so he didn't understand the distinction Lilia was trying to make. Maybe she meant to imply it was a special type of crow....like a hexing crow! Remuses eyes widened as he managed to scare himself into believing his own wild fantasies about this woman.

When the woman finished purchasing the bird and started to walk away, calling out to someone named Mochi, Remus knew it was now or never. He had to do something, anything. Perhaps he could just appeal to this woman's better nature. Either way he couldn't just sit by and do nothing, even if it meant putting himself in danger. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to summon his courage Remus walked up to the woman and clasped her his own two hands, bowing his head like a beggar. "wait!....please ma'am do reconsider. I'm not sure what this man's daughter has done to you but surely she hasn't deserved being cursed or hexed or whatever you plan to do with that strange bird, Veuillez ne pas faire cela, je suis sûre qu'il y a une autre façon de revenir à elle sans aller aussi loin. Si votre inquiets de l'argent J'avais même rembourser tout ce que vous avez payé pour l'oiseau, veuillez simplement de rechange que pauvre enfant" he stammered on, so nervous that he accidentally slipped back into french halfway through speaking. He stopped abruptly when he noticed his error and blushed, clasping his hand over his mouth, now simply looking up at the woman, his eyes like a puppy's, looking like he was about to start teering up from a mixture of nerves and pitty for the girl Remus was convinced this woman planned to kill.

"...Spinning on and on,
In our Augmented Reality"

(Remus the witch slayer!


Translation: please don't do this, I'm sure there's another way to get back at her without going this far. If your worried about the money I'd even reimburse whatever you paid for the bird, please just spare that poor man's child.)