Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Umm,” scratching the top of her head, she actually had to give his question some thought. The apartment she lived in prior to her awakening was suitable for a single person and met her needs but a house offered an array of different possibilities.

Laven leaned over to roll one of the pumpkins over to check the bottom for rot or weird creases. “The one thing I miss a lot is a bathtub. The women's locker room… bathroom… whatever.” she shrugged not caring what it was technically called. “It only has showers.”

“It would be nice to have one big enough to lay in, nothing fancy like jets. But not so small either so my knees stick out of the water when I try to relax.” Deciding that the pumpkin was too irregular shaped with its deep line down the back that looked more like a plumbers crack than anything, she stood up and moved over to the next pumpkin.

“If you’re interested in cooking then enough counter space for us to both be in the kitchen. Otherwise, we would be bumping elbows,” with a smile she teasingly nudged him with hers to emphasize the point. “Speaking of the kitchen though, we might want to consider a freezer chest or a stand-alone freezer for when you go hunting. A place to keep bulk meat.”

She too was actually impressed that he managed to type with his claws. Then again, seeing those women with the long face press-on nails that are like two inches past the ends of their fingers typing away like it’s nobody's business was also impressive to watch.

“I like your idea of an office space I think it makes sense.” At least for him since work was life, having a room dedicated to it at home would just make life easier. “So does that mean I get to be your secretary?” Marissa looked up at him with a raised brow and suggestive smile as she linked her arm through his to escort Winter to another part of the pumpkin patch since these seemed to have already spoiled, or were on the verge of going bad.

The smoker also wasn’t a bad idea if they were expected to be without power for periods of time. Less chance of food spoiling if it was already pre-cooked.

Marissa guided him through the labyrinth of broken vines and shoe-stealing mud puddles over to where she saw a few remaining white pumpkins in the field.

At his mention of generators, she made a mental note to ask him about the viability of harvesting electricity from the storms in the Rift. It’s a constant source of electricity, all they would need is some way to contain it; like a capacitor of sorts. A conversation for later since it meant discussing things not meant for civilian ears, even if they spoke in low cryptic tones.

“I can definitely make sure you are well-caffeinated.” She was by no means a barista but knew how to work a Keurig or one of the old classic coffee makers with the filters. Add a little creamer and voila.

“Plus, think of it this way.” Marissa held up a finger for each benefit there was for helping him with his desk work. “Paperwork will get done quicker.” While she had claws, hers were by far smaller than his and with dexterous hands, she could not only help cover the handwritten reports but typing as well if need be. “You will be able to teach me the proper protocol for how to fill out reports or submit them.” As of right now, there wasn’t really much she did beyond turning her quota over to her Captian.

“I mean, you might have to kick me out if I become too much of a nuisance,” and yes, she would intentionally try to be a distraction from time to time unless it was something time-sensitive that needed his full focus. “Then again, I could just go entertain the ‘animals’ until you’re done.” Even though they were now dating, it by no means meant that her playful side was gone. It just meant that the intent behind it may have shifted just a little bit, to what degree she was still figuring out.

“Speaking of pets though, have you decided when you are going to go back and pick yours?” She asked, leaning over to select one of the larger more round ghost pumpkins she rotated it for a quick inspection then did the same to the one next to it before picking up the original one she had looked at. By comparison, hers was almost half the size as his but that was ok, with the white rine hers would glow just as brightly once they put a tealight candle in it.

What he said made sense. Having her there could break the bond he was trying to develop with the youma especially if it saw her as a threat. Just like with any service animal, there should only be one voice it should take commands from any outside interference could just cause confusion.

The two of them waiting in line for a few minutes while the recent arrivals unloaded themselves from the back of the tractor taxi.

“Would you rather we do that instead of the corn maze? We can go back to the dorms and carve our pumpkins now then visit the forest afterwards if you’d prefer.” The maze itself was kind of kidish but still fun, but at least this option would allow them a more comfortable cushion of time to do the carving rather than pushing their remaining time and being two lumps on a log in the middle of one of their rooms from exhaustion after using up their energy trying to hold together their glamour.

“I’m honestly happy either way, it’s really whatever you’d prefer to do. But in the meantime, sometime before the end of the year, you might want to speak to one of the technicians and ask them to install a voice recognition software on your tablet and or computer. One of my colleagues use to use something like that when she was analyzing samples; she would wear a headset and dictate into a mic what she was observing so she wouldn’t have to stop then type, or write, she could just keep on working.” Yeah there would be some typos if she was mumbling or if someone came into the room and she forgot to pause the program and it picked up a part of their conversation. But that could all be edited and cleaned up later.

The line began to move and so did they, one step at a time until it was their turn. A kid looked up at Winter with an almost awestruck envious expression as he took in the sheer size of the pumpkin he picked. He turned to his parents and before he could utter more than a ‘pity me I’m cute wine’ his mother gave him an unamused look “No, be happy with the one you got or we’ll put it back.”

The child humphed and crossed his arms over his chest and took a seat on the hay bale in front of them. Marissa chuckled then took a seat behind them and put her more sensibly sized pumpkin in her lap.

Marissa hummed.

She leaned her head back and looked up at the gradient colored trees and smiled. “At least one day hike while the trails are brightly colored. Perfect time of year for that because, aside from a few dew covered spider webs, you don’t need to worry much about bugs.” No she wasn’t scared of them but to be bit several times by mosquitos or have a horse fly land harass the s**t out of you was something she liked to avoid if possible.

“Aside from dressing up for Halloween and either handing out candy or maybe going out and doing something with friends, this is about the time of year I start looking for indoor activities such as craft fairs, or bowling. Maybe even ice skating come December.” Although, for that she kind of liked the outdoor rink instead.

“One place I would like to take you maybe January is the ski slopes but not to go skiing or snowboarding. I mean, unless you are somehow a natural and have some letient muscle memory and are a God at it then sure.” Marissa nudged him with her elbow playfully and winked. “But there is an area where we can rent inner tubes or sleds. It’s pretty fun.”

Nearly thirteen years had gone by since she last visited the place. It was about time she stopped avoiding things she use to enjoy simply because it reminded her of darker days. The reason she had been alone at the cabin was because usually the time of year when she became withdrawn and reflective on how things have changed since her brothers passing.

Regardless of the outcome on New Years, perhaps with Winter there, she could find solace in quickly approaching cold season that had a tendency of stealing from her the few things she held dear.

“I’d love to take you there some time. It’s not as huge as the state university but it’s a pretty decent size. The best time to take you is during the day so I can show you around the different buildings and peek inside some of the classes. Depending on what you’re thinking of taking, I could probably introduce you to one of the professors and they can help you with any questions you might have.” Granted she would have to be careful with running into one she was too familiar with if only to avoid the ‘catch up’ conversation that usually blooms between a teacher and student post-graduation just to see if they actually did anything with their degree.

“As for movies, I’m not sure if you’re interested in seeing the new Maleficent one with Angelina Jolie that came out. If so, I would have to look, but I think I might still have the first one somewhere in storage.” It would also be a good opportunity for him to see what kind of furniture she had in case he wanted to use them in the renovated house. Otherwise, they could sell what they didn’t want to use and put the money towards something else instead. “I know of a theater that has cheap tickets on Tuesdays if we go early enough in the morning.” It would also mean that there would be fewer people there as well.

“If anything we could always go to where the wild things are if we really need to stretch our legs.” The petrified forest he mentioned sounded like an interesting place to visit, perhaps this time she should bring with her a sketchbook or something to record what they see.

The line moved and they moved forward with it when the family of five stepped aside with a wheelbarrow full of pumpkins; at least one, if not two, for each kid.

Caught up in the moment of trying to come up with alternate things for them to do, Marissa fell silent beside him, her excitement ebbing to a neutral kind of calmness until finally, she looked over at him. Her eyes were searching his in a way that made it seem like she was debating speaking what was on her mind or simply leaving it be.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get carried away. It’s easy to want to rush and do everything as soon as possible but I think we should space things out a bit. I don’t want to fill up so much of your time that you become so busy or exhausted that you lose sight of your goal. You should spend some time this winter networking and reaching out to some of our co-workers, maybe consider putting together something like a boot camp to help the new recruits.” Something to make sure that he stayed on his original path and work towards his next promotion, even if doing so meant that she wouldn’t be able to see him as often.

“No house… yet.” That was one thing that was soon to change. “As for a degree, there are ones geared specifically towards leadership. But if you’re concerned about what you may or may not remember, we can look up some free online practice tests” It would give them a good gauge on where to start him with classes, a refresher course might not be a bad idea though. “Come to think of it, I wonder if there is there a library or something in the castle that has old textbooks or something we could use?”

Marissa nudged him with her shoulder then, when the couple in front of her moved, she placed her pumpkin on the scale. “Go ahead and put yours down too. I’ll pay for these and you can get the snacks later.” Hers would offset the cost a little bit, but more than that if the price was over a certain amount they could get their maze tickets for half off.

Before paying, she picked up two of the cheap carving sets and set them on the counter for the cashier to scan and then added one of the booklets with image templates for them to use if they really wanted to get fancy.

With his question, the mood shifted.

Around them, the cold air felt heavy as he continued to walk ahead of her, his gaze set ahead to some arbitrary destination where they could drop their glamour without being spotted by the civilians. Marissa stopped between a blue Toyota Tacoma and a smaller red Honda Civic.

“Yes,” she replied. However, her tone sounded wary before asking the same in return. “Are you having fun?”