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Novelature - Closed RP - Delilah meets Carlisle in the library and shows the Softer Side.

Kitchen Wizards - Open RP - Thanksgiving at the Liberty Center!

Dance Party! - Open RP (not counted) - The Liberty kids try out their dancing shoes.

Post Christmas Date - Closed RP - Antony fulfills his promise of a make-up date and breaks some news.

Look What The Cat Dragged In - Closed RP - Walking through the park, Delilah finds her old friend, Kaimi, looking rather worse for the wear.

"We should stop." Those words were still running through Aurora's mind. It still.. hurt, though it shouldn't have, when Chris explained further. 'Slow down'.... how was she supposed to slow down??

Now she was walking around to think things through. What better place to walk in than an indoor botany? It was quiet and pretty. Perfect place to think.

Others apparently agreed and a few couples and single plant enthusiasts wandered the lush greenhouses, humidity misting skin and the scent of greenery everywhere. As Aurora turned a corner, she found herself in a cleverly secluded grotto. Ferns draped over the pebbled walk, dipping over a small pond. From somewhere, there was the sound of falling water - a hidden waterfall, perhaps? Mosses coated the rocks around the pool with cattails and reeds dotting the back shoreline. At the side, framed neatly by the drooping arms of a weeping willow, a teenage girl sat on a carved stone bench. She nearly glowed in the filtered light, the artificial sun of the building lending a glow to her deep teal hair and her tanned skin. Her hands cupped a small potted plant, something green and tiny and dotted all over with white flowers. She smiled down at it, oblivious to her intruder.

The scenery took her mind off things for the moment. This was really pretty! And she wondered about their being a hidden waterfall. Before she could wonder too much, however, she spotted the teal haired teenager. And remembered who it was, after a moment or more, thinking back on thing.

"Delilah!" she greeted, walking up to the girl and her flowers. She probably, unknowingly, interrupted the time Del was having with the plant. "Wow, didn't think I'd run into you."

The shout of her name brought up Delilah's pointed little chin and she blinked wide eyes at the approaching girl. It also took her a few moments to place a name to the face but, after a pause, she smiled faintly. Her hands closed protectively around the plant in her lap. "Hello, Aurora," she returned. "I guess it's a pretty small world if you're here, too. I'm usually here myself." She tilted her head. "What brings you here, after all?"

Rory took a seat near her, noting the protective hands but not saying anything. "Oh, nothing much. I just wanted to walk about. This place seemed the best to take a walk," she replied, giving a little smile. For her, it was almost half-hearted. "So, you spend a lot of time here? With the plants?"

She was working heard to remember things about Del, from the who superhero thing.

Delilah nodded. "It's beautiful here," she answered quietly, "and there is no winter here. I hate winter. Nothing grows then and everything is so grey." She paused again and, considering, shifted on the bench to accommodate another body. She indicated the space with a faint inclination of her head. There was something a bit too intense and calculating in her deep eyes; it was not scary but it gave one the impression that she was thinking far too hard on you and your motives. "You can sit down and rest if you want to, Aurora," she offered. "You're looking kind of grey, too."

That caused a sheepish smile to appear on her face as she took the offered space. "And here I was about to ask you what was wrong," Rory said, sitting gently down. "Yeah, winter sucks. Snow can be fun... But it's still cold." She was avoiding the question, for the moment. A little frown on her lips, however, told the other girl she was thinking it over.

"Just... just stuff involving guys," she admitted finally.

One of Delilah's perfectly arched eyebrows moved upwards and her head tilted a bit more. She searched Aurora's face as if looking for the meaning behind the words. Then, suddenly, she laughed beneath her breath. "Boys, hm?" she drawled. "Yes, they are kind of more trouble than they're worth sometimes, aren't they? Who is it and what did he do? Because, looking at that face, I know it was definitely him and not you."

Rory blinked a that, then had to laugh at that. Her tension started to melt away as she did. Oh it was good to talk to another girl about this. "Yeah, it's Chris. I think. See, we went out for valentines? And he told me I need to slow down." She hesitated again with a frown now. "Well, first he said we need to stop, then he changed it to 'slow down'. ... I'm too forward??"

Delilah though about this outpouring of words, weighed them, and then shook her head. "What did you do?" he finally asked. "I mean..." She hesitated, thinking about how much more innocent and young Aurora seemed. Chances were Aurora didn't have a clue about the various things Delilah herself stumbled over just by virtue of living with her mother and Uncle Kiet. Gently, she went on, "It wasn't anything too forceful, right? You didn't undress or anything, right?"

"Oh no, I just flashed him this red, heart bikini I had wanted to wear, if it was warm enough. It wasn't, but I still flashed him," she said. It was probably not a very innocent thing to do, but it also seemed the other girl didn't have a problem with it. "Then I cuddled to him, cuz he said it was cold out and how I should probably wear a jacket, and that he hated the cold," Rory continued. Then her face fell again. "Then the talk of slowing down happened..."

A noise something like a laugh but filtered through an exasperated sigh left Delilah and she shook her head. Somehow, she managed to resist rolling her eyes. "I see. It sounds like he went ahead and decided to be shy," she pointed out. "Unless... Were his parents around?" She vaguely remembered talk of Christian's parents being religious and, while she had no clue what exactly that meant, she reasoned that it meant their acceptance levels would be considerably different from that of her own parents. Being that they were Kova and Kiet, even Cassanova probably fell somewhere in the slightly straight-laced category.

"No, it was just us," Rory replied, shaking her head slightly. Yeah, it was really good to talk to another girl! It was better than worrying about things on her own. "He probably did get shy though, ya know? But... Maybe I am to forward? Or going to fast or something...." she was still worried about that. "But he can be sooo dense! And he has look issues. Which is silly."

"What sort of look issues? He's not hideous." Delilah frowned and shifted to better face the other girl. There was a brief moment of hesitation and then she stroked the leaves of the plant in her lap before carefully setting the entire thing, pot and all, down on the ground between her dainty feet. "Did anyone ever tell him that he was some kind of horror show?"

"No, I don't think so, at least. But he seems to think so. And I think my new, baby sister didn't help. She got scared and went poof," Rory said, looking at the plant that Del had just set down. She thought it over a moment. "You know, you can do what you were doing with the plant. I know you have a plant connection, and all that."

"No, that's alright. She can wait. She's just been feeling poorly and..." Delilah cut herself off and there was a tinge of pink high on her cheeks, visible beneath her tan. She drew her mouth into a thin line before coughing a bit. "Okay. We were talking about Christian and you," she began again. "Does he like you, do you think?"

"I'm pretty sure, so," Rory answered, grinning at Del now that she had caught her a off guard like that. The plant girl was so well guarded at times, she needed it now and then. Besides, Rory thought it was a cool power, to talk to plants. "With him, he shows it sometimes, then he doesn't. Like when I give hugs to people, he'll pull me off them."

Then she looked at the plant again, suddenly changing the subject. "Maybe it's the winter, that has her feeling under?"

Delilah dismissed the subject change with a wave of her hand, brilliant eyes never leaving Aurora. "Are there certain people he pulls you away from or is it anyone? Me, for instance. If you hugged me, what would he do?"

"Probably nothing, since you're a girl. But I hugged Antony, - he needed it - and he pulled me off. Then didn't want a hug himself!" She explained, slightly disappointed that Del wasn't going to talk more about the plants. Ah well, missed chance. Maybe that'd work another time.

"So, he probably does get jealous."

"Boys," Delilah sighed. She shook her head. "I don't know what he's thinking, Aurora. You'd have to ask him to be sure but I'm betting that he would never tell you in a million years. He probably doesn't even know." She smiled. "Boys are like that. All of them."

"Ugh, they are so frustrating! Maybe a new tactic will work? Playing hard to get. I just wont talk to him for a few days!" Rory said with convection. "He said to 'slow down' we have time and stuff. So, I'll do just that and see how he likes it."

Then she turned her attention full on the other girl, now that it seemed her problem was fixed. Or, at least, she felt better now. "And with you? Things are well? You know... I always figured plants and things 'slept' during the winter..."

"Many things sleep during the winter." Delilah turned slightly to look off into the distance, face thoughtful. "How is Antony, by the way?"

Rory didn't answer for a moment, wondering how to answer that. She couldn't tell what he told them. He might had done that, because of what they were. "In.. in a funk. He's trouble about something. You might could visit him? Maybe seeing you would cheer him up more?" she suggested.

And maybe it would cheer her up as well.

"Maybe" came the non-committal answer. Delilah reached up and absently twirled a bit of her hair around one long finger. "As if he would tell," she murmured. Then she suddenly turned to smile wryly at Aurora. "He's a boy," she reminded the other girl. "Their brains work strangely. It would be nice if he could explain himself to me. It's not like I'd laugh."

"Ah, true," Rory gave a sheepish grin as that was their whole conversation. "But still! Guys are weird, but, ya know? I think they they need us girls. We're good at things. And make them stop thinking. He's probably been thinking too much. Just hug him, that'll make him stop," she advised with a wink.

Delilah lifted her eyebrow again, smile lingering in her eyes. "Just hug him?" she repeated. "Do you think that's such a good idea? I might rumple him." It was hard to tell if she was being serious or teasing.

"A guy like him -needs- to be rumpled once in a while!" Rory said, taking the teasing end of what it could be and running with it. It caused her to laugh, though softly, at the joke.

Delilah widened her eyes and brought a hand up to her chest. "And if that makes him hate me forever?" she asked playfully.

"Then he's a jerk, and he really must be gay, like other's think," Rory replied with a playful wink. "But I -highly- doubt he ever could hate you!"

Reaching out suddenly, Delilah neatly tucked a piece of Aurora's hair behind her ear and smiled ever so sweetly. "Thank you. I'll try to remember that so I don't go crying into my pillow over him. You're very smart."

"Thank you," Rory said a bit sheepishly at the actions the other girl did. That.. that was just a whole new conversation in and of its self. But she decided not to ask. Del probably wouldn't confide in her. "Well, if he ever does, tell me and I'll go and beat him up," she added.

Or tell Chris. Chris would probably like to do that.

Auditions! - Open RP - Delilah wants to be Juliet. It's probably the thing about roses.

Rhye looked down at her note book once again and chewed on her bottom lip. Normally these sort of things were easy for her. It shouldn't be this difficult, however, this report she had to do was... awkward! It was on plants, and she just didn't know where to start!

So, here was the little luck dragon, wondering around a botanical garden, trying to figure out where she wanted to start. The good thing about the place was that it was warm and green. No longer in winter, even if spring out side was coming.

Before long, the young girl paused. It felt as if she were being watched. She turned around quickly to look behind her. Nothing. Except... There was a strange arrangement of trees and bushes back there and she could hear the sound of a small, decorative waterfall. A few flashes of color interrupted the greenery - flowers. Maybe something that could help her!

As she reached the pathway into the grotto, she suddenly understood why she had felt watched; Delilah ba Lindo stood beside a tree, its long drooping branches half-hiding her. Her hand was set firmly against the trunk, fingers almost obscured by the riot of flowered vines covering the bark. She studied the intruder with a tilt of her head, brilliant blue eyes intent and measuring. Slowly, she drew her hand away from the tree. The flowers shivered, leaves rustling. "Hello," she offered quietly. "Are you looking for something?"

Rhye was frozen in place for a moment, just looking at her and gripping the poor notebook in her hands. She was.. beautiful! Slowly she got her wits about her by blinking her red eyes. "Oh, um, hi? I'm Rhye and I have this report to do on plants and I thought this would be a good place to come too andgeeyou'repretty--" she started to blurt out as her mind kicked into gear.

"Er, are you here often?" she finally asked.

Rhye's spill of words caused a slow, indulgent smile to grow on the older girl's face and she stepped away from the tree, gingerly picking her way around a flower bed. "Mm-hm. With winter outside, this is the nicest place to be." Delilah extended her hand, the wrist a bit limp. "I'm Delilah and thank you for the compliment. I think the flowers help me."

"Uh, yeah," Rhye replied as her cheeks went pink and purple under the scales. She took the hand offered in a light shake. "But at least spring is coming, right? But it doesn't help when you have a report to do on plants. You know a lot about them?" she asked curiously.

Delilah smiled, eyes laughing now at some obscure inside joke, but she nodded willingly. "I do. I know a lot about plants. I guess you could say they're my passion." She took a step backwards and made a vague hand motion. Rhye noticed there was a carved stone bench further into the glade. "Why don't you come in and tell me what you need to know? Maybe I can help you."

Rhye looked at the bench and took the offer to sit down. Seeing how Delilah carefully moved through the plants compelled her to do the same. The luck dragon, and in all her good fortune, carefully moved through the placed, navigating her way to the beach. With one hand, she folded up her skirt under her and took a seat.

"Well, I don't really know where to start. We're supposed to pick a plant or two to do a report on. Like, compare them? Or see what kinda benefits they have to us," she explained. "It was... rather open ended."

"Oh. That is really open-ended." Delilah giggled and joined the younger girl on the bench. In a duplicate motion, she neatly gathered her own deep green skirt around her before sitting. "Well, what kind of things do you like most? Colors or scents? Medicine, food, decoration? Plants can do anything... Well, anything except walk around. On their own, that is." Again with the appearance of some secret joke.

"They can't talk either," Rhye put in, tilting her head at the humor in Del's voice. But she didn't even think to ask. Instead, she thought on the questions given to her. "Well, I don't want to do it on food, that's to common. But I dunno about medicine, or scents. One of those two could be interesting! Can you tell me anything more?" She started to make notes, her fluffy tail swishing happily as she was -finally- getting some where in this stupid report.

"I don't know where to begin." Delilah smiled again and shook her head. "There's so much out there. I mean, medicines alone go on forever. Scents... Well, those are easier, I suppose. Here." Neatly, she reached up and plucked the large, blooming hibiscus from her hair and held it out to Rhye. "What do you think of this smell?"

Rhye leaned forward, taking a few deep breathes of the scent. Then she pulled back with a thoughtful look on her face. Usually she'd think about things before speaking. "It.. well, it reminds me of summer," she commented. Little ideas of things that she could do with this started to enter into her mind.

"Summer. Good." Officiously, Delilah leaned in to tuck the flower behind Rhye's ear. She sat back to observe it and then moved in again to adjust the positioning of the bright bloom. "That's what flowers do with their scents. They make you think of things and remember things. That's how they can talk. Do you understand?"

"Now I see what you mean!" Rhye said, red eyes brightening. "And it's also given me an idea. To do a report on that sort of thing. Maybe I would go to a flower shop, and get different ones and have people smell them, and tell me what they remind them of? A report of the language of flower!"

It was obvious she was getting more excited about this boring project now. One hand went up, lightly touching the flower now in her hair. She didn't expect that!

"That's very creative." Delilah smiled encouragingly. She reached up to absently push her bangs from her face and the turn of her head displayed a new flower already appeared in her hair, bright and vibrant. "I bet you could find information on memories and scents in the library. Here..." She moved her hand to indicate all of the gardens. "We have the flowers."

"Well, I didn't want to pick them. But if they're here, then I don't have too, and there are plenty of people here!" Rhye replied. Then beamed up at Del. "Thank you so much!" Then she stopped, looking at the flower already growing to replace to one that was taken from Del's hair.

"Um, why is there another one? I didn't notice that you had two flowers in your hair," she asked curiously.

Delilah smiled and the look was very cat-in-the-cream. "Magic," she whispered solemnly.

"Oooh," Rhye replied. That made all the sense in the world to her. "So, you're like a plant lady? Or a flower one. That's why you're so pretty and why you know so much about plants?" To her, that all made sense.

"I guess you could say that." Delilah leaned in and whispered, "I did come from a cabbage, you know. Maybe that's the secret." Clearly, she didn't realize that Rhye was also from the Center; an oversight made easy by their lack of shared classes and activities.

"Actually," Rhye said, going to inform the older girl. "I came from one too. So did my sister and we're twins. But we don't have plant powers." She grinned, apparently finding this amusing.

"Ah. I see." Delilah straightened and tilted her head, regarding Rhye thoughtfully. She grinned suddenly. "And what powers do you have then?"

"Well, um," Rhye fidgeted slightly, uncertain she should even tell. Now it was Delilah's turn to feel as though someone, or something, was looking at her. There was an odd looking snake arm band on the luck dragon. One with a pair of little ruby eyes. "I sorta kinda have good luck with things?"

Though Delilah gave no indication that she was aware of the snake-eyes, she mentally was filing the reaction away. Her faint smile never left her face. "Luck is useful," she offered. "I think you have hard work, too, though." She motioned to the notebook in the younger girl's arms and nodded. "Unless you believe it's lucky you found me."

"Well, it is. And that you helped me. And that I didn't trip and crush all the flowers," she answered, "Or I didn't get mud on my dress, or fall in the water..." she frowned, remembering her experience with her sister's bad-luck armling. That.. had been horrible. She shook her head, making her silvery hair and the flower swish around a bit.

"Anyway, yes, it was lucky that I found you! But I do work at things, like school," she replied, looking at her note book now.

"And working at things is the best way to win sometimes." Delilah smiled encouragingly and shifted slightly in her seat. Then she stood and held out her hands to indicate the plants around them. "The gardeners are always working here in the gardens," she explained. "They take care of all of the plants and flowers here until everything is blooming and perfect. Even in the dead of winter." She turned a slow pirouette and it was clear to Rhye how much the older girl loved her surroundings. "Everything is alive here."

Well, her good luck was different than that, really. Good things seemed to last longer for her - like quarter rides and games turned out better for her as well, even games of chance. But, she wasn't going to say anything about that. Instead, she smiled, watching Del. "You really do love it here, huh? Do your parents work here?" she asked curiously.

Delilah laughed and shook her head. "My mama? No. She works at Twilight Designs. They make the prettiest jewelry there and Mystic is so chivalrous." She left unsaid, perhaps pushing it firmly from her mind, how the shop also gave her a very unwanted "little sister." She looked back at Rhye. "I don't know what Uncle Kiet does. I think he just tries to stay out of trouble. They used to be pirates, though. Maybe he still does that in secret. What about your parents? What are they like?"

"My mom makes jewerly at home to sell," Rhye said happily. "She's got a web page that Kashmira, my twin, and I helped make. Kash helps mom make the jewerly, too. Dad's a really good lawyer. And he took me to work with him too!" Apparently, she liked what her parents did. Then she tilted her head to one side, as a thought came to her. "You know, there are some pirate kids at school."

"Oh?" There was no effort to hide her disinterest in the prospect of pirate children. The mention of jewelry and law, though, had Delilah study the younger girl more carefully. "Uncle Kiet was a lawyer once. Before he became the Argo's gunner. He always says that he would rather shoot at things that can fight back. I think he's silly. Lawyers look interesting on television."

"My dad's good at it!" Rhye said again, perking up more at the interest in her dad. "And he does look neat going about it, though I've never been in the court room or anything while he was. It was their office, he has a partner. I doubt he shoots things, though," she added as an after thought.

"Probably not or he'd be the one needing the lawyer." Delilah smiled a bit. "Are your parents going to help you on this project or..?" She trailed off, not quite offering her services, clearly waiting to see if Rhye would ask.

"Well, sort-of-but-not-really?" Rhye replied, tilting her head again. But all the same, she'd rather do it without the aid of parents. That didn't mean she'd want to do it alone, however. "But you do know this place well, would mind helping me find good spots, with different scents, for people to check out?"

Delilah smiled, reassured in the knowledge that her presence was necessary. "Not at all," she answered. Then she turned on her heel and motioned for the younger girl to follow her. "Come on. We'll get started right now." With that somewhat imperious order, the shapely teenager started out of the grove and towards a decorative bridge. The rose garden would be just the place to start...

Sex Education 101 - Open RP - Delilah finds that her mother has educated her overly much for the newest class at the Liberty Center.