Welcome to Gaia! ::

Laven watched him for a moment with an amused smirk on her face, “Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?” She asked. Not wanting to answer she simply answered his question with one of her own.

“The way I see it, and I think you can agree to an extent, being perceived as ‘cute’ is actually a tactical advantage. It’s a disarming quality, people will see something cute and want to approach it in kind rather than to do harm to it; like a baby koala or a kitten.” Although, she had ton wonder if mentioning the latter was something that would trigger more feral instincts in him.

“It’s easy enough to assume that if something is cute, then it is also innocent or underpowered. Where is if someone looks ‘badass’ people would want to antagonize them or pick a fight. For you that’s not a bad thing but for someone like me who doesn’t care much for fighting if it could be avoided, I’m happy I don’t look more intimidating.” If she had more dragon features, Laven wasn’t sure she would be able to stomach looking at her own reflection anymore. At least with her current features she looked fairly human still.

“In my opinion it is better to be thought weak and either prove them right or completely surprise them than for someone to believe that this badass half youma should be super strong only to be disappointed.” She wasn’t really sure where she stood but assumed it was more of the ‘proven right’ since she knew that both him and Lopezite considered her to be too soft hence why they pushed her the way they did.

“For instance… I, for one, adore your ears and tail. Yes it means you kind of wear your emotions more freely, but it was also a physical attribute that was disarming when we first met that made me feel comfortable talking with you. I’m happy for it. You definitely don’t disappoint when we spare, you are lethal and your vhenom is what pushes you more into the more terrifying category. I made the mistake of underestimating you and assuming you would go easy but when the bell rang all bets were off.”

“I learned many lessons that day, but I’m more wiser for it.” He did a fine job knocking her on her a** that day. But on the other side of that same coin she had also knocked him on his a** several times since then too. More than once he’d let his guard down or underestimated her and in those brief moments she had the upper hand, although short lived, but at least she could say she had it.

As a joke she brought her hands up to the side of her head to imitate bunny ears then clacked her teeth together jokingly. “Just like Bunnicula,” she had to wonder if he’d get the reference or not since it was a children's story and he seemed more interested in TV then old kids books.

“Anyway, you have nothing to be pissed about. It’s not like I held out my hand for you to sniff or reached out to play with your ears.” To date she still had yet to actually touch them with the exception being when she removed her cuff when he fell asleep with his head in her lap. As for his tail, it had been a comfortable weight across her legs many times while they slept, or under them by mistake if sleeping positions shifted, but never had she presume it was ok to reach over to move it.

“Others might treat you like a pet, but I sure as hell haven’t!” Laven added with a little huff at the end.

“If anything I feel like I should be the one pissed. Accusing me of making out with someone in study hall. What am I, a highschool student? Honestly, what sitcom did you get that one from?” She rolled her eyes. A little bit more perterbed than normal she reached for the bag of candy and grabbed a Snickers bar because clearly she wasn’t being herself right now.

“And if you want to know what my boyfriend would think, then please… tell me...” Laven jabbed him in the shoulder as-a-matter-of-factly with a pointed finger. “What does go through your mind knowing I kissed my neighbor and would do it again if given a chance?”

In the wake of her question she paused. Outwardly she appeared to honestly be waiting for a reply while inside she was facepalming so hard while fighting the urge to excuse herself to the ladies room and just run away. ******** my life… Oh my God, why me? Why the hell did I say that…?

What does my mind think?

My mind thinks I’m an idiot for asking and a fool for allowing my heart to take the lead. That I should take my foot out of my mouth and put a filter on it. That I should be happy with what I have and not mess things up. All the things she wanted to say but couldn’t because she was a coward and honestly didn’t want to take jabs at him or hurt him because she was feeling emotionally confused.

Relationships had never been something she had considered, they were a thought set aside and placed towards the bottom of a list of priorities. If it happens it happens, is what she use to say. They were friends and that was how it should be. He put up with her antics and made her feel safe while she slept next to him. She enjoyed the time they spent together and should just be glad for what he gave her. Like he said, he could find a boyfriend whenever.

“You’re probably right.” She smiled and shrugged as if his comment hadn’t phased her. “But then again," She pointed a finger at Wolframite and poked his forehead as to not let on to how she really felt. "It’s to be expected when your first kiss is with someone more experienced.” Laven tried to laugh but it came out sounding kind of fake.

For the number of romance novels she had read over the last several years nothing could really compare to the actual thing. Rather than fireworks and fuzzy feelings, her mind went completely blank and she froze. It wasn’t tender or sweet or even gentle; it was a challenge to him and like she said before… he won. No emotion or feeling other than the need to one-up her and well... it worked.

Her chest ached in a way that made her hands feel numb despite not being cold. Don’t ruin a good thing. Her mind scolded her own heart for being too open and flippant. She just needed to rein things in a bit, keep herself in check. Yet the thought of it just made her feel worse. What she needed was to get out of here for a few minutes, get her mind back in order and come back with a more clear head.

“I need to go get something from my room-” Laven removed the blankets from her lap and carefully slid her legs out from under the covers as she scooted to the edge of the bed. “You should keep watching the movie, the next scene is pretty funny.”She tried to redirect his attention back to the TV so she could step out for a bit.

“Maybe I’m just old fashioned like that. Or a closet romantic, I don’t know.” Laven seemed defeated in the way she said it. “I guess I just wanted my first one to be with someone I liked or at least cared about.”

And there it was, the truth of it all. Somehow, at some point over the last few months she had developed feelings for him. She wasn’t sure exactly when it happened, but it did and she was helpless to stop it.

“I wasn’t about to kiss someone because of a stupid dare.” That happened once, some guy dared to give her a kiss. Fortune was on her side, however, and when he leaned in she leaned over to pick up something she had accidentally dropped and headbutted his nose with her forehead. Thankfully it didn’t break but it did bleed a little bit and while she felt bad for it, it didn’t stop her from snapping at him for being too close.

“Anyway, I’ll be fine. Remember, bite me once your fault, bite me twice mine. You’re the only one to have gotten away with that, I’m not about to let some candy gremlin get me again.”

At his comment about making it better had he’d known, Laven had to quickly avert her eyes to keep him from seeing how those simple words had excited her youma side. It desperately wanted to n** and play, to push him a little so he would not just tell her but show what he would have done differently to have made it better. However, her more human emotions shouldered its way to the forefront effectively pushing aside any desire to ask him to ‘prove it’.

She listened to him crawl back into bed before stepping out into the hallway. Once in her room, she shut the door then leaned her back heavily against it.

Regret and remorse weighed heavily on her shoulders for having lied to him the way she did. There wasn’t anything in here she wanted to grab, what she needed was space to breathe and think clearly before things between them got even more complicated than they needed to be.

Why the hell did that little freaking candy gremlin have to wake them up?

Things between them had fallen into a comfortable and mostly predictable routine. “I’m such an idiot…” Laven slid her back against the door until she sat on the floor where she then hugged her knees to her chest and in that same motion she shifted into her water form considering it is impossible to cry if your body is already made of tears.

I shouldn’t have said anything. Now he knows how much of a novice I am; not just in fighting but in life… It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t remember his life as a civilian, Wolframite was more experienced in almost every facet.

A part of her wanted to just curl back up in her bed and try to fall back asleep, then when morning came she could pretend not to remember any of this. But Laven knew that given enough time he would come knocking on her door to remind her that there was still a movie to be watched, probably try bribing her out of the room with candy. If not, then he would think he had done something wrong and she was upset with him, which wasn’t true. It was herself that she was angry with.

Several moments passed before she finally calmed down enough to walk over to her bed and grab the purple wolf plushy he won her at the fair. She hugged Hati to her chest then limped back into Wolframites’ room. “Thought I could find something else to add to the snack pile. All I had was a mandarin orange and a banana from lunch yesterday.” Had she saved some icecream they could have had a banana split but as it stood they were all out of the frozen deserts.

Carefully she crawled back onto the bed beside him but not under the covers just yet.

For a moment Laven watched the scene play out as Danny antagonized her older brother in front of his crush and he, in turn, got upset for teasing him. After a few seconds she realized that was how she was feeling right now; her human and youma natures pushing the others buttons both pining for control of the moment.

Although she felt ashamed to admit it Laven finally shook her head. “Just like you, I used to have high reaching goals and because of them I never really allowed much time in my schedule for anything beyond friendships. It’s not that I was never interested in having a relationship with someone, it’s just that I had always been goal oriented and couldn’t afford the distraction at the time.”

Just like him now. Wolframite had been a General once, one step below the rank he was trying so hard to achieve and now he was having to start from the ground up again. He was rather vague on the reasonings but the fact of the matter still stood, as of right now she was more of a distraction to him than helping him become a Sovereign.

“I use to have a crush on someone once. However, before I could confess, he confided in me that he had feelings for my best friend at the time. I didn’t have the heart to put my feelings out there and instead put his happiness before my own.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal but clearly, at the time, it was a hard thing to do.

“They were high school sweethearts and once they graduated the two of them got married. She got her associates and is currently a stay at home mom while he is still working towards a masters degree.” They truly were a happy family and she was glad to have been able to bring them together. “They’re a cute family.” But since then she had been unable to find the courage to put herself out there again until now and like then she still felt like a fool for it.

“I guess I just thought that I would worry about it later, focus on my career then once I got settled then maybe see where things go. I just-” Laven’s gaze fell to the wolf plush in her lap. The rest of what she was about to say was left unsaid as she absently pet its head. I just didn’t anticipate such an abrupt career change or so much free time.

Laven leaned forward and took the offered worm with her teeth rather than putting her hand out.

“I know, and you’ve mentioned that before. But there is a line between selfishness and cruelty that I’m not willing to cross. I really don’t like dwelling on the life I could have had because in reality it isn’t something that can ever really happen. I’d rather learn to live and accept the life I have and move forward as I am.” She reached for another gummy worm and chewed thoughtfully before continuing.

“It’s not physically possible for me to exist outside of the Dark Kingdom for long periods of time. This place is my home now. The rooster doesn’t stir with the rising of the sun because there is no sun here. Think about it, this place is not suitable for humans long term which is why I would never ask one to live here with me.” Why pursue a relationship which in the long term will only hurt the one you care for?

“Plus, I kind of already have someone I like. They’re an officer, but they are kind of an enigma and hard to read so I’m not sure what their thoughts are about me and I’m not really willing to ask either.”

“Call me a chicken if you want, but unless you feel up to asking for me I think I’d rather we talk about you and these supposid ******** that you mentioned instead.” Her friends were a rare case of things working out like the last piece in a puzzle being put into place. Everyone else was a usual ******** of drama and nonsense that she usually tuned them out after the third or fourth date.