Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alex felt bad as soon as he opened his eyes and saw Yin, just sitting there, staring down at his hands like Alex had just told him the worst news of his life. He wasn't sorry though, because that last touch..that had just been too much, and he could feel his face beginning to warm up even as his chest tightened and he had struggled not to just stand up and walk as far away from Yin as possible. It was unnerving, the way the other boil could make him feel just by getting too close. It also made Alex feel sad, because he felt like no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't just look at the weremantis like he was just a friend, and it was eating him up inside.

But no, he had decided he wouldn't say anything, or do anything, or act on any impulses, and that was that.

Swallowing hard, he answered Yin, "Yes, next stop, should be coming up soon." But try as he might, he couldn't even muster up a smile. This just...sucked. Way too much. He could only hope that whatever he was feeling would fade with time or would be easier to ignore the more time he spent with his friend. He felt like he should say something else as well, to at least attempt to make Yin feel better in some way. "It's just water. I know my appearance most of the time might indicate that I have some type of aversion to it, but I can assure you, I'm not allergic to it nor will it hurt me in anyway to be a little bit....wet..." Ya, that actually sounded better in his head then it did coming out of his mouth. Oh well. Knowing Yin he wouldn't catch any double meaning anyways. "And it wasn't like it was your fault anyways. I don't know why you blame yourself all the time."

There. Crises averted, words said, stop coming up soon. A glance out the window showed familiar scenery moving past, and Alex estimated they would be arriving at the stop within the next ten minutes or so.

Alex sighed inwardly. It never seemed to matter what he did or said, once Yin thought he'd done something wrong then that was it, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had relaxed back into his chair, slouched down in a position that couldn't possibly be comfortable, but now he was pushing himself forward to lean forward, elbows on knee's and hands clasped. Yin apparently had another question for him, and that was good because right now he didn't know what to talk about to relieve the tension.

He frowned in thought, trying to think if there was indeed anything specific to zombies, or undead in general that Yin needed to know about. "Well, you already know not to start a fire. That would just be...chaotic. Try not to make yourself appear weak or afraid, because we are essentially carnivorous eating machines, and you don't want anybody to think that you are prey." This was hitting Alex a little too close to home, though, with how he had nearly torn Yin apart once already. But he still couldn't explain why he had done that. He would ask somebody in his family if they knew, but that would lead to other questions that Alex didn't feel like answering.

"If worse comes to worse though, you can always run. Zombies hate fast food." It was a joke, and Alex gave a small half smile because it was one that zombies used often.

"Other then that, I can't think of anything too serious. A lot of zombies don't like to be hit in the head with things, and we are generally attracted to crowds or loud noises, so if you don't want to draw attention to yourself, try not to be too loud."

If there was anything else Alex could think of, he would mention it to Yin later, but he though that bout covered it.

The train was beginning to slow down, and despite everything that had just happened, excitement began to well in Alex's chest as he looked out the window to see if he could catch a glimpse of anybody he knew out his window. His dad, being as big as he was, should have been quite easy to spot.

As the train came to a halt, Alex's face broke out into a large smile again. He had caught a glimpse of something very tall, broad, and with a mass of messy light brown hair that could only be on person. He pushed himself up unsteadily from his chair, making a small face at the how uncomfortable his wet clothing felt, particularly in the thigh area. He took his bag from Yin with a "thank-you," and a nod. And then, despite telling himself he needed to keep physical distance from Yin, reached out to give his shoulder a light squeeze and said. "Everything is going to be fine. I'll make sure of it." Before letting go and turning to shamble along with the small crowd of people who were also exiting the train at this point.

Once outside, It was easy for Alex to spot his dad, who was hovering around the front of the station, large and somewhat initimidating, hands shoved into his pockets as his gaze wandered the yard. "DAD!" Alex held up a hand to his face as he yelled, still lugging his bag along with his other hand.

His dad turned to face them, a large smile breaking out over his face as he took his hands out of his pockets and gave them a one handed wave before starting towards them. He was, as Alex had told Yin, quite tall. 3 inches taller then Alex to be exact, and he was wide. Broad shoulders, broad chest, large arms and long legs. His hair was like a messier version of Alex's, only light brown and with a little more curl to it. He didn't have any visible skeletal parts like Alex did, but Alex knew that was only because it was hidden beneath his shirt, where the flesh was missing from half of his chest to reveal collar bone and ribs.

Alex made a quick glance behind him to make sure Yin was still with him and hadn't gotten swept away in the crowds or anything, then turned back towards his dad who was nearly upon them

"Alex!" his dad greeted him cheerfully, his voice a booming deep rumbling bass that really, matched his size quite nicely. When he got close enough, he grabbed Alex roughly in a one armed hug that looked like it could have broken a few of the zomboils ribs. When he let Alex go (Alex was still grinning but was looking a bit worriedly towards Yin now) his voice boomed again "Annnnnd..uhhhhh.." Alex's dad frowned his pale blue eyes as though in deep thought, looking down at the ground and then back up towards Yin uncertainly "This is...Yin..San?" He had tried. He really really had. He was already looking so incredibly uncomfortable though, and Alex hoped that Yin wouldn't be too upset that his dad couldn't quite grasp the accent on his name.

Alexander continued to look between his dad, and Yin, back and forth, slightly nervous, and a little excited that Yin was finally getting to meet some of his family. Alex's dad, who had been looking slightly uncomfortable and a little abashed from having trouble pronouncing Yin's name was scuffling his feet on the ground now, mouth clamped securely shut.

That was, until Yin spoke to him.

The large zombie looked up, and repeated, "Yin?" Before his face broke out into a giant grin. "Ok then, Yin!" He had gone from being highly uncomfortable to incredibly happy again within seconds, and looked down at Yin's hand with a slightly puzzled expression, though his grin never left his face.

Alex just stared at Yin's hand in horror, mentally face palming at what he knew was going to happen next. "Dad.." he said quietly, "Please don--"

but it was too late, Alex's father was reaching out to grasp Yin's hand in his own impossibly big one, gripping it in what was probably a bone crushing manner, and then dragging Yin in for a hug. The guy was huge, and was not lacking in strength, so he should have had no problem pulling the weremantis in for a friendly yet crushing embrace.

Alex dropped his bag on the ground and shuffled over as fast as his lopsided gait would carry him, and gave his dad not just a tap, but a good hard slap on the shoulder. "DAD! Be careful with him! He's not like us..he needs to be able to breathe!"

His dad, who was still smiling, did loosen his grip and step back, giving Alex a glance. "Oh...right..sorry!" He then held his hand out to Yin "Bag." Was all he said, simply, clearly indicating that he wished to carry it. Alex felt awful, though he kept telling himself that he had warned Yin that this might happen, his expression worried as he eyed Yin carefully to make sure the other boil was still alive.

Alex's dad frowned, his grin fading. "I was told to carry your bag." He said, which was actually quite a long sentence coming from the large male zombie. Alex, during this exchange, had backed up to grab his own bag, and was immediately thrusting it towards his dad.

"Here dad, you carry this bag, and let Yin carry his own, ok? He doesn't mind, really, and...." And what? What could he possibly say to make his dad let this one go? His mom had obviously given his dad explicit instructions to carry the two boils bags back to the house. "Mom called me while I was on the train and said to tell you that Yin can carry his own bag if he wants to."

Yes, it was a lie, but it was one done to keep them from having to stand there for the remainder of the morning and wait for either Yin or Alex's dad to give in and let one or the other carry the bags. He shot Yin a warning glance to just let this slide, knowing that the weremantis would likely not be impressed with the lie.

"Yin, thank you for offering to take my bag, but I think my dad might really like to carry it. Maybe next time?"

Alex's dad was looking confused again, but this time at least he was smiling and nodding slowly. "Ok, just your bag then." He reached out one big beefy hand to grab Alex's bag from him, and then turned to begin walking to the house. Alex followed, but waited for Yin to come up beside him to whisper to him quietly as they followed his dad.

"Are you ok? He didn't hurt you, did he?" He was shoving his hands in his pockets as they walked. There wasn't much point in getting out his skateboard, since the terrain after the stepped off the train station's boardwalk was rough and uneven, not suitable for skating on, not to mention Alex's dad didn't walk all that much faster then Alex himself.

They appeared to be following a road to start with, but soon veered off onto a trail that led into a forested area. "My house is about 45 minutes walk down here, though you could probably do it in 15." he joked as they walked behind his dad, who was shuffling along and seemingly not paying any attention to the two boils behind him at the moment.

Alex nodded at Yin's answer, though he was fairly sure Yin wasn't telling the complete truth himself. He then settled in for a nice long, silent walk as neither boil seemed to have anything to say anymore.

It was some long time later that Alex could glimpse the black walls of his house, and the occasional reflection from a window, through the tree's. The excitement that welled up inside him was almost too much to stand anymore. For once in his undead life he wished he could run, because he'd be surely running now, towards his home and his family.

He turned towards Yin and smiled, his eyes warm and happy. "Yes, that's it!" And then, as though just thinking of something he yelled out towards his dad.

"Hey, I forgot to ask, is mom having the rest of the family over today?"

"Tomorrow." Alex's dad grunted in response as they rounded a corner in the path and the house came into sight. It was large, just as Alex had said, and very dark. The gardens surrounding the house were full of a thorny black rose bushes, and there was a deck that ran the length of the front of the house in painted black wood. As they approached, the front door suddenly swung open, and out sprang a boil who looked an awful lot like a very young and much shorter version of Alex's dad, with the same mop of light brown slightly curly hair. He was moving towards them, not quite running but still moving faster then Alex ever could as he came towards them.

"Alex!" the boil yelled, "Did you bring me anything?? Got any candy?" and then, as he pushed passed Alex's dad to stand in front of them, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet, his gaze moved curiously over to Yin. "This your friend, Alex? He looks funny." Nathaniel was eyeing Yin's antennae, then moving down to stare at Yin's hands "What's wrong with his fingers? They're all weird lookin!"

Alex just rolled his eyes at his little brother. "I just got here and this is the reception I get? Where's mom?" He craned his head to try and look past his dad, who had now reached the deck and was making his way into the house. "And no, I didn't bring you anything, you big gnome. Yin, this is Nathaniel. I told you he's a pain."

Nathaniel just glared up at Alex, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "I'm not a gnome! You are! And mom's makin lunch or somethin..I dunno. Why dontcha go in and look for yourself?"

Alex grinned down at his brother, not at all intimidated by how he was acting, and reached down to mess up his hair, much to the younger zomboils disgruntlement. "Heeeey, stop that! I can't believe you didn't bring me anything, Alex!" he grumbled, before giving Yin another glance.

Alexanders grin just broadened, if anything, but Nathaniel looked towards Yin with confusion written all over his face. "What does that mean am I edible? You trying to say yer gonna try and eat me??" Alex's brothers features contorted into a scowl. "Try it, bug brain! I'll tear you apart from the inside." He smirked, thinking that was a clever comeback, possibly.

Alex just grimaced, then reached out to swat his brother on the back of the head. "Manners, or I'll tell mom."

"I'll tell mom your friend wants to eat me." Nathaniel retorted.

"It was a joke you little idiot. Anyways, go and annoy somebody else, I need to show Yin his room..my room..the room...so he can put his stuff down" Whatever, it was just a room, and Alex pushed his little brother out of the way as he began to walk past.

"Don't worry too much about him, Yin. He's all talk right now, trying to get a reaction from you to see how easy it is to push your buttons. If you ignore him, he'll probably stop." Until the pranks began, at least. Alex hoped his mom had given him a talk about it before they came, though.

Nathaniel was deciding not to follow them, taking off into the tree's surrounding the house instead, probably to find something to eat. That was probably for the best, since Alex was pretty sure it would be easiest if Yin just met his family one by one for now. Tomorrow..well, tomorrow would be another challenge entirely, but there was always the bedroom and the locked door to fall back on if things turned disastrous.

Upon walking into the house, one would find that beyond the door was a very, very spacious living room/lounge area, with black wooden flooring. It was immaculately clean, which was somewhat ironic considering how messy Alex was. He obviously didn't get that from his mom. The room boasted very little for actual furnishings, all of which were located at the left end of the room where the skellyvision was mounted on one wall. A couple of grey couches, an arm chair, a table..that was about all there was of significance. The air in the room was cold, colder then outside, due to the scaire conditioning filling the house with it's chill.

"I'll show you upstairs to my room, er, your room, first, then we can come down and find my mom, ok?" He said, noticing that his dad had left his bag sitting at the foot of the stairs which were located further into the room and to the right as he made his way towards it.

Alex cast a glance over towards Yin, "Our...room?" well, ya..sure. Why not? All of his clothes were going to be in there, as well as his books, his games, his skellyvision. As long as Yin didn't mind the company, he could certainly share the area with him. "I think it's just supposed to be your room for the weekend, but ya, if you don't mind sharing it, I wouldn't mind having access. Uh..strictly for my things."

Why had he felt the need to specify, exactly? It's not like Yin knew anything. Unless Alex was being incredibly obvious, which he didn't believe he was. Picking up his bag, he began to make his slow and steady way up the stairs, which spiraled around so that once they had reached the top they were facing a new direction. He stopped there, and pointed, down the very long stretch of hallway "That door at the very end of the hallway goes to my parents room. They have their own bath/shower room attached to it. My room is the last one on the right, the one next to it is just a spare room, empty, so if you want I can just grab a bunch of my stuff and move in their to give you some privacy. Across the hall from my room is the other shower, which you can use whenever, just make sure nobody else is in their, first. The twins room is next to the bathroom, Isabella's is next to that, and Nathaniel's is here." He tapped on the door to his immediate right that had a sign on it that said "Keep Out", in the typical young scareling boil fashion. "All of the other rooms are empty." There were still several doors that Alex hadn't pointed at, but he shuffled past them all on his way to his room.

Once outside his door, he turned the handle and pushed his way in, getting hit with a blast of heat that he didn't find all that appealing. The room next door was looking better all the time.

He blinked around the room as if he barely recognized it. His mom had obviously been doing some cleaning to prepare for Yin's arrival. Not a single piece of trash in sight, all of his video games were lined up on the appropriate shelf. His bookshelf was filled with books, to the point where they couldn't all really fit anymore and some had to be shoved on their side on top of the others. The bed was pushed up against the wall underneath a window and the source of all that heat was plugged in next to it, the vent for the air conditioning closed. The bed was at least, conveniently enough, facing the skellyvision on the wall across from it, and a small stand next to the bed held the lamp and the remote control for said skellyvision. A closet ran along the left hand side of the room, half of which was filled with the roughly 450 ties Alex had left at home. The other half would be almost bare, however, so Alex made his way over to that first, and slid the door open.

"You can put your things in here." He announced, in case Yin wasn't paying attention.