Welcome to Gaia! ::

Humming a cheerful tune beneath her breath, Kova ran the cloth once more over the top of the glass case in front of her. The cases in general had never looked better at Twilight Designs; Kova's streak of cleanliness seemed to coincide with being bored and being bored was the same as being alone. If there were no customers, Kova was sure to be prepping the shop to show its prettiest face for when the customers did arrive. Finally satisfied at the sparkle in the glass, she then wadded it up and pitched it in a perfect arc towards the garbage can.

She missed.

Giggling to herself, she went to retrieve it, crouching down behind the bank of cases. "Well, I guess I'll never make the basketball teams, huh, pretty?" she asked the delicately carved white stone that rested on a finely stitched red velvet pillow on the counter next to the cash register. "Height isn't everything. Oh. What is..." Trailing off her cheerful, one sided conversation, Kova changed positioning to all fours as she stretched a hand under the nearest case. "What do we have under here, huh?" she murmured, all of her attention on the discovery and not the door.

Demare pushed open the door with one hand, not really watching where he was going since his monochrome eyes were fixated on the small, black, marble-like object he held between his thumb and index finger. As if it were routine for him, he carefully closed the door with his foot once he was inside of the shop, not even waiting for the green fiend behind him to fully enter the room. Chrys was trailing a little behind, wary multiple eyes watching the dark stone his bonded was holding. The halfling had been examining the rock since yesterday, all because of Demian's little joke.

I feel a stronger force coming out of that orb, he'd said. That thing I caught last December seems to be growing or something. Maybe we should take it to Athan and see what he says...

Clare didn't like it. Whatever was inside of that tiny ball of darkness felt evil, and a bit frightening. Chrys was scared to death of it, as well. Granted, while a part of him felt that was a good thing, he didn't feel right letting the poor creature suffer even more from this thing, especially after hearing what had gone on that night. Finally, the teen shoved the item into his pocket with a sigh. He'd ask about it later; right now, he had a job to do.

"If you don't mess things up today, I might let you come with me to Domonic's to see the new shadow Izzy found," Demare stated, looking toward Chrys for a moment. "That means no TOUCHING anything."

The green fiend cowered slightly and dropped an egg he'd found, watching as it merely rolled along the floor instead of shattering into several pieces. The angel always ruined his fun. At least the demon had more reactions to the things he did, where as Clare simply just cut him off from the start. His eyes lit up a little bit, however, as he felt a familiar presence nearby. Quickly gliding over to the cash register, he began to poke and prod at the white stone sitting on the counter.

"What this??" he questioned, tilting his head a little bit. "So pretty! Can eat?"

"Hm? NO! You can't EAT the merchandise, and what did I tell you about touching things?" Demare scowled, rolling up his sleeves. "Shoo!!"

It had taken a moment but, after the bell tingled and the Fiend's question and his guardian's answer, finally Kova's head popped up over the large glass case furthest to the back of the shop. She blinked large dark eyes as if trying to adjust to the bright light again. Spotting Demare, she smiled, though. "Hello!" Reaching up, she brushed dust out of her touseled green hair and then promptly attempted to settle it into the normally cute flip style. Without a mirror, this was nearly impossible.

The smile suddenly twitched a bit as Chrys' presence near Opal and Kova rose to her feet with another quick dusting of her knees. "That's my little Opal," she called out. "If you want treats, I have fresh cookies." Quickly, she walked behind the cabinets and picked up a silver tray on the way. It was promptly stuck out in offering as her free hand stroked long lavendar fingers over the shimmering stone's carved surface.

Demare almost looked shocked as the woman spoke out and drew near, having not expected anyone to be there. The place never seemed to get a lot of customers when he was around, so this was a first for him. ...Wait... If she was a customer, then why was she behind the counter? And what the hell was she doing on the floor??

"N-no thanks, I don't really like sweets," he partially lied, his wings tucking in close to his back. He'd never seen anyone that looked like her before. Granted, the halfling had seen many different things in his life, but nothing like this.

Chrys, however, was visibly shocked. What a strange looking female! She was PURPLE! ...Well, he didn't look much better, being green and all, but he was a fiend. Wait. She could see him? The little fiend look a closer look at the stone, being more careful now since the lady said it was hers. An... opal? Could it be another?

"Can I... help you?" Demare asked, raising a brow as he crossed one arm across his chest, and rested his thumb on his chin.

Kova tilted her head to one side and a crease appeared between her arched brows. Gently, she lowered the tray of cookies to the counter. "I think you've got it backwards," she grinned suddenly. "That's my line. It's nice of you to offer but I'm really okay." She reached up and fussed with her hair again. "I probably look a mess but I was trying to get something that was wedged under the cabinet back there and I guess I don't dust under there enough. I'm okay, really. Thank you. It's sweet. Now..." She smiled brightly and folded her hands in front of her, glancing between Fiend and halfling. "What can I do for you?"

Was this girl for real? Demare opened his mouth to argue, but he stopped himself, recalling Athan and Reyna mentioning someone else they'd hired around the same time he'd applied. Mulling over it another moment, he began to chuckle a little bit, which in turn rolled right into laughter.

Chrys blinked a few times before giggling himself, not understanding what was so funny. Had the lady made a joke? Or was the angel going crazy?

"God, after all this time, I can't believe I never ran into you," the teen got out, calming down a little bit. He ran a bandaged hand through his reddish hair, resting the palm against the back of his neck. "Ah geez, I'm so sorry. I seriously forgot someone else worked here... My name is Demare, and that's Chrys. I work here, too..."

"Oh!" Kova's smile came back at about a billion watts and she seemed about to join his laughter, dark eyes dancing. "I'd say we're way past 'bout time to meet." She held out a hand as she leaned forward on the counter. Her free hand moved absently over to stroke Opal again; the shimmers of color over its surface had abruptly increased, flickering and rainbow-tinted. At her touch, the stone slowed and went quiet again. "My name's Kova an' I'm pleased to meet you." She glanced sideways at the green shadow and nodded. "You, too, lil guy. I like your color."

Chrys turned an odd shade of pink, his fists curling in close to his cheeks as his sharpied on crooked smile made him look even more bashful. She liked his color!! He liked this girl. She was much better than the pink tree, and not creepy like the gibberish cat.

"I is pretty??" he cheered, twisting his body up a little bit. "Purple lady is pretty, too!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Demare said, bowing his head slightly. "It's kinda weird we never ran into each other in the... what... past year or something that we've been working here?"

He glanced toward the counter for a moment, noticing that Kova was paying quite a bit of attention to the opal that was on the counter. He assumed it must have been hers, and idly he thought it looked a little familiar. Perhaps it was just nothing.

"Well, maybe they could use the extra help today... I was just bored, anyway."

"I wouldn't mind at all." Kova's smile sparked even more and she half-reached out to touch Demare. She caught herself, though, and giggled as she pulled her hand back. "It's not busy but that's just as bad as anything else," she explained. "I think I've wiped the cabinets so much that Mr. Athan's afraid I'll wipe right through them. Which would just be embarrassing." She looked around, ignoring the new shivery mist that slowly grew once more around the Opal; it was already apparant to even the most casual observer that this was one stone that demanded attention. "What do you think, lil guy?" she asked Chrys. "Do you think it's clean enough or should Demare and I keep goin'?"

"Can mess up agai--" the green fiend began to cheer, but was quickly grabbed up by his bond.

"No, you will NOT mess things up again, what did I tell you when we got in the store?" the teen growled, holding a hand over where Chrys' mouth would have been. Granted, its not like that did anything but smear the sharpie all over his bandages.

In what seemed like some sort of POOF, the fiend was gone. The creature could still be heard, however, as his tiny particles floated in the air, his insane laughter lingering for a moment. It sounded... oddly creepy for someone that always acted so silly.

"Chrys, that's not funny..." the halfling sighed, his bi-colored eyes darting around for a moment. Crap... where was he? "If you don't behave, I'll tell Demian."

The fiend began to cackle. "He be proud of Chrys! Tell friend..."

Oh, right. Of course... the demon loved chaos, so this would just be right up his ally. Demare shifted his wings a little bit, keeping watch for any signs of things starting to move when they shouldn't be. Clare hated the little bugger... almost as much as he hated his other half.

"I'm sorry about him," he apologized. "He's kind of hyper... He also has this WONDERFUL ability to dissipate into the air, which he likes to do to mess with people." A part of him hoped that Athan or Reyna would show up, just to make the fiend stop. "I hope your opal doesn't turn out to be anything like him..."

As if annoyed at the thought, Opal pulsed in a shimmer of light and dark mist. Kova ignored it and simply laughed. "She'll be what she'll be, I guess," she shrugged easily. "As long as she's healthy and happy, I'm not worried. You never know what'll come out of these things, anyway. Or anything. This Gaia place is funny." She smiled. "My little girl came out of a cabbage, y'know? She's about as much a princess as anything you find on a throne. Quiet, though."

Kova looked around vaguely as if seeking Chrys. "Chrys? Hey, sweetie, can you eat?"

Gaia was a funny place...? Was Kova not from around here? He decided not to ask about it for now, thinking it might not have been an appropriate question.

"Funny," Demare stated, unable to help but snicker a little bit. "I know someone that came from a rock. ...Actually, kinda in the same fashion that Chrys did, except she's solid and very... lazy." Now that he thought about it, perhaps this place was rather odd at times. He'd felt he'd seen it all; fairies coming out of flowers, kids coming out of drinks... People showing up on doorsteps dumping toddlers off left and right. "Huh... and people think I'm the weird one..."

Chrys' voice hummed a bit in the air. Eat? Of course he could eat. As far as he knew, he was the only fiend who COULD eat.

"No hungry!" he declared, his particles beginning to form underneath one of the counters in the shadows. Perhaps that was a lie... He was feeling a little weak, and Demare's hands were too far away right now. Maybe just a few nibbles where no one could see would be fine... "Maybe little...."

"Fiends... don't eat, actually," Demare said, thinking for a moment. "They don't have mouths. I'm not sure if any of the others can do it, but... Chrys kind of converts some things into particles, and I guess to him it sort of feels like he's eating. What he touches, however, also kind of... decays. It's as if he poisoned it."

"That's an interesting way, I guess." Kova picked up a cookie from the tray and crouched for a moment. Then she gave it up and went onto her knees, crawling until she located where the voice was staying, mindless of her freshly brushed-off pants. She braced her free hand on the floor and bent further until she could angle her gaze up under the cabinet. She offered the cookie with a faint smile. "Here ya go, Chrys," she giggled. "How about you try one of these instead of Mr. Athan's property?"

Chrys' black eyes almost seemed to shine from underneath the counter, like a cat in a dark place. As his body began to form (a little too close to the bottom of the panel, no less), his hands put more pressure on the wood above him. His hair wavered a little bit as he tilted his head to the left, eying the cookie in the woman's hand.

"Coo...kie?" he questioned. That could be broken down, right? A light creaking noise began to fill his ears before the contents in the counter directly over him fell through his body and onto the floor. "...Oops."

"Oh, dear." Kova sighed even as she frowned, thin eyebrows coming together as if she had a sudden burst of headache. "Opal, hush," she whispered up to the shimmering gem sitting back atop the counter. "That's not very nice." Then she gingerly stretched herself out on the floor behind the disrupted cabinet and reached beneath. Her gentle fingers soon moved over the bulk of the items and she was reassured to find that, so far, they seemed intact. She drew her hands back and folded them on the floor before resting her pointed chin atop them. "Oh, Chrys," she whispered. "That was a big whoopsy. Are you okay?"

Chrys didn't seem to pay much attention to the question as he floated into the showcase, and began to oogle over the items still inside.

"Shiney~! heart " he squealed, picking up a colorful egg with intricate designs printed on it. "So pretty!"

Demare twitched a little bit as something rolled out from under the counter and bumped into his boot, his feathered wings bristling slightly from his irritation. He did his best to stay calm, however, since Kova was still in the room.

"... Pest..." was the only audible word that came out of his mumbling as he bent down to help clean up the mess, idling wondering how he was going to fix the case this time. Maybe he'd wait a few more days and make Damien do it.

"I'm sorry. Chrys doesn't seem to know his own... strength."

"Oh, it's alright. I don't think anything got broken or melted or whatever." Delicately, Kova lifted the egg out of the little green fiend's hands before wiggling under the cabinet a bit further, placing her head and shoulders completely underneath and close to Chrys. Her lower half still stretched across the floor, Demare watched her tail sway gently back and forth as she worked. What was unseen, though, was Kova motioning Chrys to come closer and, as soon as he obliged, blew him a kiss paired with a wink. Then she began wriggling back out from under the cabinet. "Okay, sweetpea," she said cheerfully. "I think you've done enough down there so you should come on up here and have a cookie."

Chrys' eyes squinted a little bit as the pretty was plucked from his hands, as if he were frowning. She took it away... He was just looking! His mischievous look returned, however, as the fiend got an idea. It was time for a bit of real fun.

Reaching his hands up onto the counter top, the shadow quickly pulled himself out of the counter and hovered there for a moment, turning his inverted eyes toward his bonded.

Demare peered up just in time to see Chrys carefully pick up the opal sitting on the counter, and then dive behind the couch in the corner.

"Chrys, PUT THAT BACK!" he growled, climbing up from the floor and stumbling toward the hiding spot. It was one thing to mess with the shop. It was another to mess with another being. "You've done enough for one day!"

Kova stared, shocked into motionless, as the Fiend made off with her little Opal. Then she pushed herself upright and scrambled over to kneel in front of the couch, a soft sob-like noise pulled from deep in the back of her throat. She screwed her big brown eyes shut tightly and pressed her forehead against the couch cushion. There was a distinct ache in her head and it had started the moment Chrys had grabbed Opal.

For her part, Opal was vibrating angrily, sparking and glowing in Chrys' arms. If a gemstone could look indignant, she was managing nicely.

"Chrys?" Kova's voice was low and more than a little weak. "Please give her back. She's scared."

For a very long moment, there was hesitation. Chrys' dark eyes watched the the stone in his hands carefully, and for a brief second, could even feel the fright the woman was talking about. Had he a heart, with would have just been completely broken. After all, he'd felt the same way when he was first found, plucked out of the dirt and stone he'd been sleeping in for so long.

Wiping at his face harshly with one hand, he smeared off his drawn on smile as he hovered up from the back of the couch, holding out the opal with the saddest eyes one had ever seen. (Demare almost thought he looked like a puppy, but the image was ruined by the fact that his pupils were slitted instead of round.) Chrys felt even more terrible as he saw Kova, not really able to comprehend how such a beautiful woman could take on such a terrible look of sadness.

"What do you say, Chrys?" Demare glared, folding his arms across his chest. The fiend was in a world of trouble this time.

"Sss.... I.... mmm.... CHRYS SORRY!!" the fiend wailed, tugging at his hair tightly after setting the wisp down on the cushion. Sadly, with the nature the fiend tended to have, it was hard to determine if he was being truly apologetic or not. "Was playing! Not mean... just thought... please no cry!"

As soon as Opal rested safely on a cushion once more, the tension flowed from Kova's thin shoulders and she reopened her eyes. She smiled faintly, vaguely, as she reached out a hand to stroke long fingers over the carved surface. "It's okay," she whispered and it was uncertain if she were speaking to the Fiend or to the little shivering wisp. "She was just afraid. She's just a little baby yet." This was more clearly directed at Chrys since she looked up and smiled faintly.

Kova ignored the tiny flicker of idignation under her fingertips. The worry lines were gone from her forehead now and the smile grew a bit more as she lifted her hand from Opal. Reaching out again, this time with her other hand, she motioned for Chrys to drift nearer. The moment he was close enough, she drew him to her in an awkward hug, uncertain and careful in her attempt to hug him better. "It's okay, naughty thing," she murmured. "Just remember, Chrys. You've gotta be careful with little things."

Chrys blinked a few times as he was pulled into the hug, his eyes a little wide from shock. It was okay? The pretties were okay now? She was even touching him... If one looked hard enough, they might have noticed a little pink color rising to the surface of the fiend's smudged black and green face. No one had ever touched him, except for his bond, before.

Demare sighed lightly, shaking his head a little bit. If the shadow was starting to get curious about other lives, he felt it might be time to talk to Demian about teaching him how to treat others. Then again, perhaps he himself was a little at fault over the fact that the poor fiend rarely dealt with anyone other than himself, his other half, and the beasts in the dark realm.

"Man, I just don't know what I'm going to do with him..." he muttered under his breath. "I'm sorry about the mess he's causing... Perhaps we should go before he breaks, or worse, hurts something else."

The house has been officially split up. Most everyone has left to stay with Domonic, and only a few chose to stay here with me so that they could be close to their friends. The girls are gone, Manny is gone, just about all of the kids in general... The worst part of it is that I'm not really allowed to go to the main house unless either invited or I need something for an emergency. Ever since mom's been gone, it's been like this... Domonic is all mopey and lame and I'm so sick of it. It's like he doesn't understand how I feel, like I don't care or something. But... damn it, we're ALL suffering. I'm sorry if I bring up bad memories, but for ******** sake, I'm only... Well, I guess I'm not even human, but I AM still living. Still... living...

Mayu has come to live with us for now, while her mother is out of the country. I'm not sure what's going on... but I guess she didn't know about what happened, as the note had been left for Neko. (Though, I thought she would have heard from Mayu...) Ever since she started staying here, things have been weird between her and Clare. They're always arguing about something, then she gets upset because he's treating her like a child (which my response to that, is because she still IS one). It's a headache. I still feel it even when I'm in the body, and it's so annoying. Chrys can't stand it either, he hides out with me when things start getting messy.

Speaking of Chrys... He's been acting up more than usual lately. Being more mischievous... I actually had to force him to stay home the other day when I went out to the shop to help take in a last minute shipment for Christmas. He's been breaking things left and right, always complaining that he's hungry, and he almost broke the piano... Thankfully, Clare was able to fix it, but Chrys starting growling and hissing when I scolded him afterwards. He even tried to take a swing at me... It's like he's angry all of the time, and I can't figure out why. He's put even more holes in his ears, one of which actually got ripped off at the shop last month. I swear if he were able, he'd probably try to pierce his face...

Sometimes I feel like Chrys is doing these things because he's trying to hide something. I remember hearing him mention something about an old memory, but he was grumbling and I could barely make out what he was talking about. If I ask if he's okay, he snaps at me. If I ignore him, he gets mad. If I scold him, he starts brooding. He's like some sort of emo pre-teen and it's pissing me off.

My life is falling apart. And no one is helping it get any better. If I try to fix things, it just gets worse, and I get blamed. Happy holidays my a**... If we can get through another year, I swear it'll be some sort of miracle.

As the door closes, Chrys meekly looks up from the floor, his eyes no longer red. Little clawed fingers brushed against the floorboards as he weakly reached out toward the mirror, as if begging to be let in. A figure barely recognizable could be seen in the corner of the reflection, a black eye staring out into the room. The fiend's hand dropped toward the ground, but hit the toe of a black boot inside of the wood.

"That's some mess you left in your wake..." came a soft voice, echoing slightly as if the sound was coming from another world.

The figure bent down and picked up the fiend carefully, and Chrys immediately began to feel some relief. Blinking his four eyes sadly, he stared at what was holding him so gently, even his sharpied grin looking like a frown.

"You... heeeeeelp him....?" he projected, moving his eyes toward the body on the bed, his head titling little bit. "What... Iiiiii.... dooo?"

The ghostly figure carefully turned around, and placed the shadowy being right in the crook of the body's arm. It then placed a white, fingerless gloved hand on the halfling's bare chest, the clothes having been torn up from the fight months ago. The fingers began to glow a pale golden color, the glow moving up the arm, eventually surrounding the entire figure.

"He'll be okay, I promise," the voice sang as the body began to heal. "You just need to promise not to hurt him anymore, okay? I won't be able to fix him after this."

Chrys looked like he could cry, making a little sniffling noise as he nodded his green head slowly. How shameful... What had even gotten into him? To think that he willingly caused so much damage to his best friend in the world. Granted, the other stuff was kind of fun... The fiend closed his eyes tightly. No, forget about that stuff. Never again. NEVER.

The body began to shimmer slightly as the healing process grew quicker, and the full body mirror on the closet door grew bright for only a brief moment. The halfling flinched, the figure's hand beginning to fade away, a small smile forming on its lips.

"I'm sorry I left you when I did... There was still so much that I wanted to show you, teach you." The figure turned toward the mirror. "Both of you. Despite what either of you think, Domonic does care about you, otherwise he never would have done this."

Looking back to the body, the fading ghost leaned down and pressed its lips first against Chrys' forehead, and then Demare's. Just as the last of the figure faded away, he opened his teary bi-colored eyes as the voice piped up for the final time.

"Goodbye... my precious little boy..."

Chyrs was bored. Very bored. Excruciatingly bored. He idly rolled a slightly melted marble (as much as it COULD roll) between his right index finger and the broken desk, his four eyes tired slits as he watched the object move and deteriorate even further. His tail was bent upward where his knees would be, his lack of butt resting on the wooden chair near by, the bottom of his dirty black, torn up jacket resting against the floorboards. It was late afternoon, and Demare was out on an errand for a neighbor about three houses away. The little fiend had been ordered to stay at home, and he was NOT happy about it.

The shadow huffed, flicking the marble across the desk, watching it shatter from its damage against the wall. This was so BORING! There was nothing to do without Demare here, since most of the house either wanted nothing to do with him, or couldn't even see him. It was more fun when there were more people at the house, but since the fiasco last year, only a few remained. Chrys floated up into the air, and made his way to the full-sized mirror against the closet door, peering into it while resting a hand against the glass. Soft, glowing red eyes looked back at him, first appearing wide, and then narrowing into thin slits, a low hiss emitting from the reflection. Even the shadow beasts were still mad at him.

Moving his hand to his face, Chrys wiped at the sharpied smile he had drawn on that morning, using his free hand to grab his pen from his jacket pocket. He then proceeded to draw a new toothy pattern on the clean slate, this time in a frown. Stupid beasts. Why couldn't they be forgiving like Demian was? And the other fleshies... What was their problem? He'd left them alone for the past year. Not even a single prank! Still they ignore his attempts to be noticed, and even scold his bonded about things he didn't even do. That stack of papers in the office last week? Chrys had sorted them. NICELY even. There were a few... markings that showed up on the papers, and a few looked a little burned, BUT THEY WERE STACKED NICE AND NEAT. The fruit on the counter from this morning? He'd picked them himself from outside! So they were a little rotten by the time they made it indoors... They were still edible. HE could eat them, why couldn't they?

The kitchen sink? He fixed it. It no longer leaks! ...Well, it no longer even runs water because he melted the pipe shut, but that's besides the point. Chrys had fixed the LEAK.

The little fiend folded his arms across his chest, slouched downward, and began to float around in a circle, sulking. It wasn't fair. He does something nice, he gets scolded. He does something funny, he gets scolded. He doesn't something someone else doesn't like but he thinks is a great idea and is fun, he gets scolded even more. He couldn't use his powers for good OR evil, and that just wasn't FAIR. So what was he supposed to do? Change his powers?

Chrys stopped, his eyes opening into a halfway lull. Was that even possible? Chrys liked being Chrys. But no one else liked Chrys being Chrys. Was it possible that maybe if Chrys stopped being Chrys, and started being something NOT Chrys... No no no, that was no good. The last time Chrys wasn't Chrys, very bad things happened. His green formed straightened, pointy green ears twitching slightly. So he just needed to not be THAT Chrys. Or this Chrys.

If he could smile, the little fiend would have been. Yes, yes... That's it! Chrys had to stop being that Chrys and this Chrys, and be... a NEW Chrys! The shadow clasped his hands together, eyes turning into slits of happiness. It was BRILLIANT. It was PERFECT! The only question now was HOW to become the new Chrys.

First, he unfastened the arm belts he had around his biceps, allowing them to fall while he slipped off the wristbands. He glanced down, grasping at the edges his torn up jacket. Reluctantly, Chrys took it off, letting it fall to the floor onto the growing pile as he reached up to feel his ears. Yes... Yes... He had to become new Chrys. Everything had to change. He began to pull at his earrings, wincing as he got a crazed look in his black eyes. The posts of the jewelry began to tear at his 'flesh', downward toward the floor.

Everything.