Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Xei!!!” Evelyn exclaimed excitedly. She couldn’t remember precisely when the last time it was that she saw and got to talk to Xeiashi, and while she was sure it couldn’t have been too long, it felt like a year, at least. “Don’t worry, you’re not interrupting much. We were just discussing the mirror world—the Guardian specifically. How are you?”

"It's good to see you too, Xei," Lorika said, smiling at the distracted boy. "And Cressa was actually just talking about your studies, which is why your name was mentioned. So no, nothing broke, don't you worry a bit."

"Honestly? Wow. Really, wow, all these people and it's just begging to happen. Wait...what about my studies? Did I forget to get a Dispel tossed over my work area before I left? I really need to learn how to do that sometime soon It....it's not really that serious, right?" 'I'm screwed, I'm screwed....wait, she's distracted! time to shift the topic again!' -roll for this, standard Beginner roll-

With that thought, he turned back to Evelyn, but fell into thought halfway there and ended up staring at the ground somewhere near the wall. Nothing terribly out of the ordinary, it happens more often than anyone would like to admit. "Actually...wow. I actually forgot to celebrate. Too much fun with the experiments! ...except when they break. What else is there to do, though? Something always needs doing around here, and I won't rest until it's done!"

"Actually..." Xeiashi started with a mischievous grin, "Let them stereotype. While they figure out the finer points of hearts and stomachs, we could be off doing something enjoyable, like completely reorganizing their offices. 'Actually, that sounds like a lot of fun...I wonder how much flak I'd catch?' And besides, love is just like friendship, right? Except it has a lot of annoying baggage along for the ride. I already have good friends, why would I want to toss words around that will only confuse all of us?"

"...besides, I'm here to learn stuff to make Gaia a little bit better. If that means foregoing this 'love' thing, that's fine by me, because I have the best friends in the Order anyway. Now if you'll excuse me, Professor, I have some rearranging to plan. That office will be so squeaky-clean, you wouldn't be able to find anything if you tried!"

For the first time in the entire conversation, Xei was quite serious. However, by the end of his quiet-voiced spiel, he was back to jests and lighthearted threats.



(I'm sorry it took so long, I have this habit of becoming sidetracked)

"And besides, love is just like friendship, right? Except it has a lot of annoying baggage along for the ride."

Both Jessie and Cressa began the thought processes that would lead to arguing this point when he eventually finished. Both of them stopped as suddenly as if a spanner had literally been thrown in the works. It was Lorika who managed to get there, with a tinkling laugh.

"Oh Xei, someday you'll learn. Romantic love is friendship, yes, but it's a lot more than that, too. It's feelings... feelings that touch you and bind you more deeply than any friendship. And it's physical too - right Cressa?" she smiled, giving the elf a saucy wink. Cressa, oddly enough, didn't bite at what was usually her tastiest bait - the opportunity for open sexuality.

"Actually," she replied, "I think the boy might be on to something."

She looked at Jessie, who was already looking back at her with the most odd look on his face. His expression was softened by thoughtfulness, but he had a strange smile playing on his lips, so that overall the full effect was one of mild amusement. Cressa looked back at him with a similarly intent, meaningful whimsy, as if they were both sharing a private joke - except this was one that hadn't really occured to them until that moment. Lorika, meanwhile, had turned her attention to Evelyn's sweet story about her own experience with the matter. "Oh, that's so sweet! I didn't know your mother was a dancer. Has she appeared in any productions?"

Cressa continued to smile at her friend. "Why don't you tell us, Jessie?" she said sweetly, as the other women continued their own conversation. Xeiashi, meanwhile, seemed to have lapsed into mumbling. The conversation had, all at once, fractured into parts - Lorika to Evelyn, Xeiashi to himself, and Cressa to Jessie, though the way she said it, it might well have been banter for everyone's benefit. The only thing that distinguished it was that it was just a little too quiet for that. "If not through the stomach or the eyes, how could a lady hope to make her way into your heart?"

He raised his eyebrow at her, but his smile grew wider a moment before he finally broke her gaze and turned away. "With great difficulty, I assure you."

"Oh..." Cressa chuckled, also turning back towards the rest of the group, "I already knew that."

"Of course I've heard of Giselle!" Lorika gasped, "It's one of the most beautiful ballets!! Oh Evelyn, that's such a sweet story!"

"I dont think the story of how my parents met is particularly romantic, but I always felt like how I met my first love was a pretty interesting story. It always made me think we were fated to be. There's this little antiques shop in Aekea. I was browsing in there to try and find a birthday present for one of my friends - she always loved old fashioned things. Anyway, I found this beautiful vintage locket, with really intricate heart-shaped swirls inside of it, and a couple of diving doves."

Lorika's eyes twinkled as she came to the magical part of the story. "I paid for it, and as I went outside and turned to go down the street, I bumped right into this boy - well, more of a man really, he was quite a few years older than me. The locket leapt out of my hand - and he caught it! And... the rest is history," she finished, "And ancient history at that. I never want to see that man's face again if I can help it."

Little did Lorika know, she never would.

Lorika laughed. Before, it might have been one of rue, or bitterness, but she had grown somewhat incapable of feeling such negative, spiteful emotions. "Ohhh, I'm sure I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be anywhere at all if I hadn't managed to escape! Unfortunately it proved to be one of those relationships that are frighteningly difficult to shake off."

Jessie rejoined the conversation at this. "Sadly enough, there are a lot of those around."

"Oh, I'm sure people like him come a dime a dozen. Users and abusers. But we don't have to worry about that anymore," the priestess smiled, clasping her hands together. "We're all here now. This is the Benevolent Order. People like him give this place a wide berth. This is a safe haven for everyone."

Lorika shook her head. "No... actually, I really can't. And if it weren't for the Sentinel's war, we wouldn't have known some of the people here from other worlds, like Fel and Ardelle."

"The intense amount of power used to create a portal of that size resonated through the fabric of space and time," Cressa explained, leaning casually on Jessie with her elbow up on his shoulder as if he were some kind of table, "People who were experiencing a similarly resonant degree of magic at the time were sucked through into Gaia."

"Yes, it was quite a chaotic time," the priestess nodded, "We were very happy to take in anyone who was unlucky enough to tumble down onto the battlefield, hahaha!"