Welcome to Gaia! ::

When had the sun gotten brighter? Lantis found himself wincing in pain as he raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun. He was blinded only for a moment before his hand moved back to his pocket and drew out his shades he always had stashed there. Not so much for the style mind you but it was a force of habit. He always grabed sunglasses, you could not afford to be blinded for too long. You never knew who was hiding waiting to pick you off. The shades were snapped open and slid into position. As he did, he heard Rae make the comment about locking her doors and what he said next was almost second nature. "That's not a very good habit you know. Gear adrift is gear a gift." He smirked. It was a common saying amoung many soldiers. "A carnival, wow, I can hardly remember the last time I went to one. Maybe when I was a kid...." He trailed off thoughtfully. What better way to spend the day? Blending into the crowds and losing your thoughts to the noise and excitment. Careless...No Carefree. Exactly what the doctor ordered. Finding nothing to lose and much to gain Lantis jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "If you care to be my A-Driver I'll take you there." Now he didn't need to go that far, but he felt a guide was close to being an A-Driver. Not that he expected her to ground guide his vehicle. Hopefully she wouldn't pull him up for all the military jargon that tended to slip.

Gabriel took a grateful drink of the offered water, then laughed. "Sorry about that." Then he said, "That's impressive though. A kindergarten teacher? I can barely manage Marisol, and she's fairly well-behaved as far as 7-year-olds go." He checked to see if Marisol had finished eating. She was currently popping the last curly fry into her mouth. Maybe he'd better think about heading back to the house soon. He had caused Nikki enough trouble by accepting her lunch invitation, and she was probably busy. He knew kids could be a handful, and she must have trouble thinking of activities and lessons for the kindergarteners that kept them amused.

"Not just your home. Maybe the whole apartment building..." Laurence's voice trailed off, as if he were thinking. But his brows furrowed when Serena's voice seemed to change. His brown eyes turned to her, as he looked at her curiously.

Tears? Now he was really confused. Moments ago the girl in front of him had been excited and cheerful. But for that split second, it seemed to fade away. But she caught herself, and Laurence's earlier concern faded away. She was a big girl, and he knew she could take care of herself.

Serena looked at him again, sighing in mock frustration. "Okay, well... You can watch and mybe do a bit of cutting. I'll do the actual cooking, how about that? You won't chop a finger off, will you?" she asked him, laughter laced in her voice. "Oh, and do you like mushrooms? Olives? Basil? Meat?" she asked him. Some people liked the way she made her spaghetti sauce, which included all four of those items she had just asked Laurence about. It actually made for a very fulfilling sauce.

"And, when I'm done with you in the kitchen, you can borrow my bathrom to tidy yourself up, if you like? Take a shower, even... I don't mind. I think I might have some clothes that will fit you if you don't have any yourself..." she began, looking at him, almost longingly. Laurence reminded her so much of Devon... But, strangely enough, around Laurence, she could feel that memory of Devon fading off into the background... Whereas Laurence, with his bright smile and charming nature, was quickly advancing to the foreground.

Rae grinned at the saying about leaving her home unlocked. It was one of the few she knew that meant something to her. Her closest contact with the military had been very briefly dating a recruiter until he showed his true colors. Standing out in the illuminated world she could already taste the cotton candy not able to remember the last time she had actually had this much fun with another person, "I LOVE the carnival. I used to go all the time when I was little and I always managed to leave with a teddy bear that someone won me. My dad used to say that it wasn't right for a girl to win her own bear." Shaking her head lightly at the thought before giving him a confused look, "Your totally going to have to fill me in on the A-Driver slang but unless its a completely different direction then what I am thinking, sure why not." Grinning at him, she cursed herself inwardly for a moment. Rae knew she was being moody and her random swings were usually enough to force anyone away from her though she hoped Lantis wasn't so easily discouraged from people. She enjoyed being with him.

She laughed when he glanced down at his fingers and looked at him with a mock shocked face. "Mmm.. Keep my distance? I'll keep that in mind," she said to him with a smirk on her face, whereas her mind was going through many things. I should keep my distance... I'm getting too close... Growing too fond. I just met him, c'mon... At least give it a day... she thought to herself as she watched his rest his hand on his stomach.

She nodded and smiled. "Ah, but I'm sure you love those fourteen year olds," she said with a laugh... "Even if they leave you smelling funky," she finished with a nod of her head. As he moved to the cutting board, she grabbed olives, mushrooms, basil, and some raw, frozen meat out of the refridgerator and brought them over to him swiftly, not a trip or stumble, but rather, gracefully. "Here you go... This will go in the sauce, so choose what you want in it. Frankly, I like a more fulfilling sauce rather than just sauce. Y'know?" she asked him with a smile before moving back to the stove, searching the cabinets beneathe before finding a large pot that she used to cook noodles in.

Then, moving back over to where Laurence was with the cutting board, she rinsed out the pot and then filled it with water that she would use to boil. She placed the pot on the stove and grabbed noodles out of the cabinet above her head, emptying the package, and another one, into the pot. If they had left overs, that was perfectly fine. She liked spaghetti, after all. Beside her, she swiped up a remote control and pressed the on button, filling the apartment with music, coming from a stereo surround system that she had received as a present from Devon. The cd that was in consisted mainly of OneRepublic songs, but it was a mixed cd. The song playing at that moment was Mercy by OneRepublic, and she sang along softly.

When she was done doing that, she set the stove to a medium heat before going back over beside Laurence. "So, tell me something about yourself," she said with a smile as she took up a few mushrooms and olives, washign them beneathe the water before placing them on the cutting board, and doing it again. She then picked out good basil leaves and washed them off also, looking at Laurence expectantly.

Laurence couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Serena as she moved swiftfully throughout the kitchen. She moved with such knowing, as if this was her profession, and her life long job. The expertise she showed within the boundaries of the kitchen was like the skill he showed on the field.

No longer worried about the injuries he might inflict upon himself, the coach cut each thing precisely, though there were a few close calls. He watched Serena out of the corner of his eyes with a childish curiousity, but eventually his gaze stayed focused on the food in front of him, as if it were something fascinating.

"Tell you something about me? That's a hard one....." Laurence paused for a moment, his mind swirling with doubt. Maybe she was the right one to admit what he was running from. Or was it right to draw her into this? The mob hadn't appeared on the radar, but to draw someone else into this black void that was already enveloping him, would have been completely wrong. With a final sigh, he decided. "Well, to tell you the truth....I've been on the run. I guess being a coach was kind of something to hide behind, the soccer ball a way to vent my feelings, and to remind me of the life I used to live. Wow....that was pretty cheesy. How 'bout you?" Laurence ran a hand through his hair, realizing exactly how stupid that had sounded.

Listening to Lantis talk, Rae felt as if weight was being lifted from her shoulders. Being alone for so long had changed her perspective showing her just how precious it was to have someone to talk to though experience told her it was her heart that she couldn’t trust. A soft smile lit up her face as he explained the term to her instead of laughing or scorning her. Taking a few quick steps to the car, the wind caught her hair sending it waving behind her as she moved as she thought about the time that was ahead of her instead of the past when a thought crossed her mind, Did the past really matter in the long run? Was it more important to live for the day?

Rae climbed into the car shutting the door softly, “Teddy bears may be abused but I have yet to meet someone who can decline something soft and fluffy.” with a giggle before covering her mouth and blushing when a hiccup escaped her. Rae’s eyes widened in surprise as she hiccuped again trying not to start laughing again.

Smiling as she tried to hide her hiccups she pointed down the road, “The carnival is really easy to find. Once we get on the other side of the trees we will be able to see the Ferris Wheel.” Looking across the small space that separated them unable to stop from looking at him. The curve of his face the way his hair fell around him. Instinct told her to run. She knew nothing about this man. She had met him on a dock after loosing the will to live. For all Rae knew he would kill her at the end of the night yet her heart refused to let her believe that. Everyone had skeletons but she wouldn't pry. This was to good a day and that wasn't her way.