Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Ah. Well...we were just on our way out. I haven't seen Edel...at all really." Alex replied.

"Grandma's working downstairs now." Rosie replied, looking up at him, then looked over at Lucas. "And she has lots of boy shirts if you need one."

Rosie blinked and looked over at them. "I haven't seen anyone else around here. But I have been playing with my Aunt..." she said, pursing her lip out thoughtfully.

Rosie smiled widely. "Aunt Natalie. She's really nice! And she has lots of dolls and toys. Do you want to meet her?" she asked as she turned and began leading them out of the room.

Rosie soon brough Lucas and Alex into a large....very girly looking bedroom. The walls were lined with dolls, lace, doll houses, dresses, everything that a nice little girl would dream about having in their room.


A fully grown woman sat on the end of the bed. Her black Victorian dress drapped over her legs, and the long sleeves curling down around her wrists. Her long black hair a near match to her mothers. If anyone had ever seen Edel's "other half"....they'd know it was an exact match. Down to the hair that draped over half of her face. Hiding it from the rest of the world.

The woman looked over as the group entered. Her expression blank, and two VERY realistic looking super hero dolls in her hands.

Natalie looked at him, then down at Rosie. Her face still unphasesd. She looked back up at him, then nodded. "Hello." she replied, her voice quiet and soft.


Rosie went up to her and sat down beside her. "These are my friends." she said.


Natalie looked at her, then smiled a bit as she looked back at them. "Friends."

Natalie smiled back at Lucas. It was small and hesitant, but unmistakeably an indication that she was pleased with how he was acting so far. Almost reminiscent of a shy child. ”My name is Natalia.” she replied softly. ”Mommy calls me Natalie. Victor calls me Natie. Everyone else calls me Nostalgia.”

Rosie looked up at her with a wide smile, then glanced over at Lucas. ”I think she likes you. She usually doesn't talk this much.”

For a very brief beat, Alex hesitated and tensed up. A flash of jealousy rolled off of her, and the next moment she shifted to the side and calmed down. ”Must be the shirt...” she whispered. Her voice teasing despite the chilly undertone.

Truth be told though...she was getting the same vibe from her that Lucas was getting. There was something....off about the woman. As tall as she seemed to be, and as full as her features were....she had to be in her late twenties at least. But....she seemed so....quiet. Unnaturally so. And she was stroking the doll's hair the same way a child would envy their Barbie's perfect hair.

Alex froze up though when Natalia's gaze shifted to her and just...stayed there. Luke she had just been looking at. But the way she was looking at her was....different. Very different. Her gaze was soft and gentle as ever, but there was an intensity behind it that was unnerving.

Natalia just stared quietly at Alex for a long moment before she turned her attention back to the doll in her hands. ”You're Mommy's girl too...” she said quietly.

”.....w-what?” Alex said hesitantly. She knew Rosie had called Natalia her aunt, and Edel was her grandmother, so yes, that meant they both had the same mother. But...how did she know that? Was she a telepath? Or had someone been talking about it and she just recognized her?

”Bad memories.” Natalia said quietly, almost to herself as she ran her fingers over the doll's hair. ”Not allowed to touch. Mommy's girl. Rosie's friend. My friend. My family. Not allowed to touch.” she continued, gently turning the doll around so that she could look at it's face better. Or what could be seen of it behind the mask it wore.

Alex hesitated again. ”What do you mean...'not allowed to touch?'” Alex asked, her eyes falling over the doll she kept fawning over. Even the doll was starting to make her feel uneasy. Maybe it was just because the woman was giving her the creeps. Really she couldn't smell anything with the smell of perfume or whatever that flower smell was filling the room. The only other thing she could hear was the music box playing in the corner of the room. So those were two of the senses she relied most of the time that weren't doing much for her right now.

Natalie said nothing. She simply ran her fingers over the doll's hair a few more times. Her attention remained on it for a few more moments before she sat it down and picked up another doll. A pretty girl with short red hair and a black body suit. A remarkable little replica of the Black Widow. ”Not allowed to touch.” she said finally, running her fingernails through the dolls hair to brush it out. ”Friend. Family. No touch. No good memories. Like Janet. Like Raven. Like Kano. Like Michael. No touch.”

Natalie looked back over at Lucas and smiled gently. She seemed to like him. ”Mommy doesn't want me to make family better.” she replied gently, then looked down at her doll again. Combing it's hair with her fingers. ”I'm not allowed to make them all better anyway. I can make them happy if they're really sad. But I'm not allowed to make them all better. Not unless she says I'm allowed to. Or if big brother says I'm allowed to.”

”....what do you mean?” Alex asked.

Natalie looked at her, still smiling. ”I'm not allowed to use all of my powers on them. Only a little. Only allowed to make them happy for a little while.” she replied.
Then she paused and looked down at the floor in front of her. A rather...different expression glazed over her dark eye. Reflective, concerned, and just a bit angry.
”People...” she began quietly. ”People hurt. Have bad memories. Bad lives. Sad. People hurt. People hurt other people.” she said, then glanced down at the Black Widow doll in her hands. Her fingers absently running through it's hair again. ”I don't like it. I make them better. Make them happy. Give them good dreams. Better life. Give them what they want. Who they want. I make them happy again. No more hurting. And then....” she said, then grew quiet. And then she smiled warmly at the doll in her hands. She held it against her lovingly and closed her eyes. ”I bring them home. I love them. I take care of them. I make sure they're always happy.”

Alex's posture stiffened. She didn't like the last part of that at all. Her uneasy feeling only added onto her senses. Allowing her to get a better gauge of the room around her. To listen past the music box...smell past the candles.

...hear the dozens of very tiny, very quiet rhythmic thumping sounds that were eerily similar to heartbeats.
…smell the dozens upon dozens of scents that she usually only got when she was in a crowded room of people.

This time Alex froze completely and looked around the doll-filled room. Her eyes fell on a Green Arrow doll sitting neatly on a shelf next to her. Now that she was actually looking at it....it didn't appear to have shiny plastic skin that most dolls had. Or...that detailed of clothing for such a small outfit. Or.......

Very hesitantly, she stepped away from the doll and up against Lucas. Her eyes still fixed on the human-like “toy”.

”Mommy likes people better than dolls.” Natalie continued. ”Big brother does too. I'm only allowed to make more dolls if they tell me I can. I'm not allowed to make family or friends all better. Only make them happy if Mommy says I can. Can't touch. Not allowed to touch.”