Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a particularly hot afternooon. The sun was beating its rays relentlessly down upon the poor people millions of miles away from its glowing surface.

Raven was unaffected. She had discovered the wonders of air conditioning, and had cranked it up the moment Bird vacated the house.

"Hey, Rumkai! Lookit this!"

Raven had discovered one of Bird's old science textbooks-- the one from highschool she had never bothered to return --and was engrossed with the pictures inside.

"The sun is a star?! ... Wicked. Hey, 'Kai, did you know that?"

The butterfly in question ruffled his gossamer wings in answer, settling down on the couch for his daily nap. He had taken an extreme liking to naps ever since Alex had plucked him from that horrible monster's mouth the other day, and used any excuse he could to enjoy one.

"Yeah, I figured. Y'know?" Raven's speech was interrupted by a yawn. "I think it's time for a nap, too. Stayed up too late last night."

Bird, upon seeing Raven shoot up a good two, three feet, had immediately decided to clear out the storage room and make it into her own bedroom. They had been up all night planning it, and that was exactly where Bird was now; getting supplies.

Raven shut the old book and slid it underneath the coffee table, climbing onto the couch as well. Though reasonably old, it was still quite comfortable. She voiced this to Rumkai, who sleepily agreed.

"... Did you ever thank Alex?"

A tiny snore sounded off.

Raven rolled her eyes, but soon followed the butterfly into snoozeville.

[reserved for Alex's return]

Idly scratching at a nagging itch located on her cheek, Raven wiggled her toes and lounged in the big green chair situated in front of the even bigger window slapped on the big HQ. Rumkai was lazily flying laps around her head in wide circles, silent-- for once.

Nobody was there. Raven had left the house under orders from the butterfly around her; he swore that purple-hared child was out to eat him, along with his chocolate. Raven had giggled, but relented; they had slipped out of the small house without notice.

But.. nobody was here. Slouching, Raven sighed and tugged out the band that held her hair up, deciding to make herself useful and.. comb her hair with fingers. Yes.

"Anybody home...?"

The entrance door to the HQ slowly creaked open, and a head full of black hair poked itself in. "Hello?" It moved in farther, a full body and a small set of grey wings also emerging from behind the door. Alex blinked several times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the light. He appeared soaked to the bone, and as the steady tapping on the roof overhead hinted, it was indeed raining outside. The poor boy had traveled to the city to pick up a few groceries for his mother, and on the return trip, had been caught in the storm.

Thankfully, he'd spotted the HQ before the downpour became all too severe. It'd been so long since he was here last... and at such late an hour, would anyone be here?

He stumbled down the hallway toward the main room, a trail of water following him.

Rumkai had grown bored of floating around Raven, watching her gaze out the wet window and fingers neatly smoothing any snags in her ever-growing blue hair. He had sent some snide remarks her way, hoping to spark a glower (which always lead to something interesting-- like a chase), but, it was not to be.

Armed with a frown, Rumkai swirled out of the room and into the hall, intent on heading for the kitchen, when he ploughed straight into a mass of soggy feathers. He screeched, wriggling crazily, only managing to get himself and his glorious [endquote] wings soaked.

Startled, Alex took a few steps back, staring wide-eyed at the frantic creature. Soon amusement overcame his shock, and he moved closer to the butterfly, a smirk spreading across his face.

"Sorry about that, lil' guy! Didn't see you there! How you been doing, Rumkai?"

Rumkai.

Alex's eyes lit up; where there was Rumkai, there was Raven.

Raven blinked several times, startled by the sudden shouts of rage and profanity originating from Rumkai. She rose from her chair, absently storing the scrunchie-hair thing around her wrist. What had that stupid flutterboo gotten himself into now?

"Rumkai," Raven sighed, entering the hallway, "how many times have I--"

... She stared for a moment, jaw hanging loose from the rest of her face.

"ALEX!" Raven whooped, abandoning all thoughts on her butterfly and taking a flying leap at Alex, winding her arms around him in a very large hug.

"RAVEN!" Alex returned the hug, smiling in such a fashion it seemed to bring light to the entire hallway. He retreated back after realizing just how drenched his clothes were, not wanting Raven to share the same soggy fate.

"Er..." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, his cheeks becoming slightly pink, "sorry about...that...How have you been? I know it's been awhile."

Rumkai squealed as his legs kicked out against the drooping feathers that held him captive. He screeched, he roared, he whined. Raven payed him no mind, beaming at her friend.

"Damn straight it's been awhile!" she declared, absently wiping her damp hands on her pants. "And-- well. I'm alright, I s'pose. There's this new kiddo that Mom took in, though; it's all.. purple. Rumkai--" She blinked, noticing the butterfly in question wasn't in his customary spot on her shoulder. "... doesn't seem to be here..."

Rumkai sagged, whislting out a sigh. Such love.

"Er...he's probably around." He mindlessly stroked his feathers, causing even more water to cascade to the ground. "Purple kid? Is it like us at all? Can it like, fly around and stuff?" He quirked a brow, obviously interested.

"By the way...would perhaps know where Lena and them keep the blankets in here? And uh...maybe some sort of change of clothes?" Alex shivered, "The rain doesn't seem like it's going to let up anytime soon, and I don't stand a chance of going home.."

Raven blinked as a rather rude name spewed from Rumkai. She giggled. "I think I know exactly where he is. But he can stay there."

Rumkai was apalled, and he voiced his opinion, wriggling in the mass of feathers he was trapped in.

"Better then 'Pree!" Raven argued. Rumkai quieted.

"Papree? Naw, she can't fly," Raven said. "Can't do much of anything, really. Except... blink. I think she came from a mirror... But, nevermind. I uh, I dunno if Lena has clothes, but-- I know about blankets!" she smiled, snatching Alex's hand and leading him back into the main room, Rumkai erupting again as the movement irritated the feathers and caused them to leak even more water onto his sopping wet self.

Alex patiently followed, watching Raven with utmost fascination. She'd certainly matured since he'd last seen her. I mean, didn't she just like, SWEAR? CASUALLY?! Amazing.

He quickly detached his hand from Raven's upon reaching their destination and shuffled into a small pantry branching off from the living room of sorts, shutting the door behind him. The room he was in was lined with blankets and towels, each of them looking freshly washed and dried. "ER...JUST A SECOND! I GOTTA ER...CHANGE..." He called, still unaware Rumkai had taken up residence in his feathers.

Ugh, what a nightmare. Rumkai would have pinched himself had he had fingers. But even if he did somehow obtain fingers, all his legs were jammed uselessly between the dripping feathers.

He screeched for Raven again, wiggling so much he managed to dislodge a wing, which fluttered insanely, rustling a bunch of the feathers.

Raven winced as Rumkai continued yowling his head off (that's where all the swearing came from [;D]), wondering where the heck he was. "Alex?" she called, frowning. "Did you see Rumkai? 'Cause I can't find that stupid flutterboo anywhere, and he's making quite a racket."

"Not since he bumped into me in the hallway..." Alex recalled, scrathing his head as he pulled down a towel from a shelf.

Wait...what was that weird tingly feeling? He peered over at his wings, outstretched them, and combed through his feathers with his hand, finally managing to scoop out Rumkai. "ER...FOUND HIM!" He shouted in reply, setting the butterfly into the folds of a nearby blanket while he peeled off his wet clothing and replaced them by wrapping the towel tightly around himself.

Alexander took Rumkai back into his free hand, the other carrying his sopping wet clothes, and opened the door, stepping out into the larger room. "He kinda looks like he's taken a beating, though..."

Raven first saw the brightly colored [wet] butterfly, lying limply in Alex's outstretched palm, so her mind failed to register the fact that Alex was wearing nothing less than a modern-day loin cloth. She scooped Rumkai into her hands and scolded him.

Rumkai blew a raspberry at her before crawling onto Raven's shoulder and snuggling down into the folds for a snooze.

"So," Raven turned back to Alex. "Didja find any cloth-- oh." Her cheeks became tinted in pink. "Uhh-- d'you... want a bag.. for those?" She motioned to the soggy pile of cloth held in his hand.

"That'd be great! Thanks!" He replied graciously, making sure his towel was secure before he ventured further into the room. Alex plopped himself down onto one of the couches, staring absently out of the rain-distorted windows. The weather didn't show any signs of clearing up anytime soon.

BUT, if it allowed him to spend time with Raven in the HQ WITHOUT random toddlers crawling around drooling on things and adults yammering about what they were doing on the weekend, he was pefectly content with it.

"Uh...if you're heading in the kitchen to get bags, could you maybe see if there's any tea in there? It's awfully cold out there, and I could do with something warm to drink, if it's not too much trouble."

"Sure!"

Raven bustled out of the room and went straight into the kitchen, lip curling up slightly at the sound of Rumkai's whistling snores. Truthfully, she was kinda grateful for the slight reprive. What was it with Alex and his lack of pants?

Shrugging, Raven fished out the teakettle and sloshed water into it, grabbing a squished plastic bag whilst the water began to boil and scuttling back into the main room.

"Here," she said handing Alex the bag. "And... would you mind holding 'Kai?" she looked sheepish. "The last time we made tea he kinda fell into... Nevermind. It's just best he doesn't wake up around water ever again."

"Uh...sure thing!" Alex took the butterfly into his hands, and gently placed him in his lap. "Little guy's prone to injury, isn't he?" He stuffed the soggy heap of clothing into the bag and tied it up securely, sitting it on the floor next to him.

"Does Bird know you're here? I'm sure mom's worried sick about me..." He sank back into the couch, closing his eyes.

Raven returned to the kitchen, satisfied that the water was indeed bioling; frothing once she peeked inside and spewing out steam from the snout. "Oh," Raven said casually, lifting the kettle and dragging it over to the cupboard where she had a vague idea as to where the location of the teapot was, "no, she probably doesn't. Mom's been too busy with that stupid purplemonster that has been gifted with the name 'Papree.' " Aha! There it was. Raven snagged the teapot, dropped the teabag into it, and proceeded to pour the steamng water.

Handing Alex a mug after entering the room again, Raven asked, "So, why would your mom be worried? You didn't sneak out or anything, didja?"

"No! Nothing like that!" He cried defensively, opening his eyes and staring into the dark amber liquid. "I was supposed to get a few things from the store and then come right back...Neither of us really expected there'd be such a downpour. I probably should have been home at least an hour ago." He sighed deeply, raising the mug and taking a swig of the warm tea.

"Wait a second..." He looked up, blinking several times at the girl. "Did YOU sneak out?"

"No!"

A pause.

"... Well, I didn't really sneak," Raven confessed, tapping her fingernails lightly against the warm ceramics, "because nobody notices me leaving. Well. Except Rumkai, but that goes without saying." She took a swig of tea, enjoying the way it warmed her throat and relaxed the muscles hidden there.

Rumkai snoozed on.

Alex cocked a brow at Raven, his expression clearly looking concerned. "I'm sure Bird's worried sick about you! She IS your mother, afterall. Even if she does have that 'Pree' kid or whatever to worry about, she still cares about you!"

After a few moments, however, his frown melted into a smirk. "You still get points for managing to sneak out, even if it WAS easy."

He polished off the remainder of his tea, and listened to the rain beating against the windowpane. Slowly it began to stop; the storm finally seemed to be clearing up.

"You're a bad influence, you know that?" Raven grinned, gulping down the last of her own tea and thinking about what Alex had said during the comfortable silence. It was true, she supposed, but... spending all her time over that purple people snatcher was hardly what she would call good.

A thought suddenly struck her. ".. Hey. Y'know how we come from leaves? How's that.. possible?" Raven blinked a few times, puzzled by her own question.

"Got me." He sighed, setting his empty mug onto a coffee table. "I've never really taken the time to think about it, actually. Did Bird tell you that stupid fable about how we were supposedly citizens of the actual Eden? Seems pretty hard to believe. But...that's just me, of course."

***

"WHERE DID HE GO?!"

Feather paced back and forth anxiously in Alex's bedroom, Spike trailing after her whining for food. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago!" She sprinted into the living room, opened the closet and wrapped a jacket around herself, and quickly left the apartment.

"Must've gotten caught in the storm..." She muttered, running down the sidewalk. She was headed toward the HQ, the only place she knew that Alex knew he could go to for shelter.

Raven opened her mouth to reply, but that was about the time his words actually sunk in. Whoa. Wait-- what?

"No..." Raven said slowly, placing her own mug next to Alex's and deciding to sit next to him, "she never told me anything like that. 'Course.. I doubt she knew... Tell me?" she beseeched.

"You.. d-don't know?" Alex squirmed uncomfortably, slightly startled by Raven's sudden movement. "M-Maybe it'd be better if your mom told you herself. If she doesn't know, then I guess Lena could clue her in or something..." He trailed off, staring at the ground.

Maybe he shouldn't have told her. What if Bird had been keeping a secret from her for a reason? He swallowed reluctantly, considering the possible consequences. Thankfully, he was interrupted by a sudden screech coming from the entrance, and moving quickly through the hallways:

"ALLLEXXX!!! ARE YOU HERE?!!"

Feather suddenly emerged into the living room, quickly surveying her surroundings. Her eyes fell at once on the pair, and widened considerably. ALEX IN A LOINCLOTH WITH RAVEN SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO HIM WHAT THE HELL WAS GOING ON?!!!

Her jaw had practically fallen to the floor, and there it remained; she was speechless.

Raven, although young and inexperienced with these kinds of sticky situations, knew exactly why Feather had quieted (with her jaw just about falling off to boot) the moment she saw them and what was going through the elder's mind.

And, like any sensible kid and would-be-teenager would do, Raven panicked, realizing exactly how close the two-faced couch had slid her down next to Alex.

"IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!" she yelled, leaping from the couch as if her pants had caught fire.

Feather made no awknowledgement of Raven's defensive cries, and just continued staring as if she was looking right through them. SIN!!! SIN SIN SIN SIN SINNN!!! OMIGOD ALEX WAS JUST A LITTLE KID~~

Countless thoughts ran through her mind, causing her to twitch violently every few moments or so.

Silence pursued.

"Uh...mom...?" Alex broke the still air, slowly getting to his feet and walking over to his mother. "ALL SHE DID WAS MAKE TEA WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING I SWEAR PLEASE DON'T HURT ME OR HER PLEEEASSEE!"

Feather groaned, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as she collapsed onto the floor in a dead faint.

The falcon-Eden gaped at her, prodding her with his foot.

"Well...THAT worked out."

Rumkai stirred from his perch, smacking his lips and blinking lazily. Something had awoken him, which was quite annoying-- he'd been enjoying that dream about the lovely female butterflies... coming in great clouds and tickling his backside with their anteni.

A loud wail, "ALEX! I KILLED YOUR MOM!" shot a jolt through him, and he quickly scrambled to a standing position.

What he saw would have, in any other situation that didn't include an Alex in a loincloth and a hyperventillating Raven, been highly amusing. Fearher-- he recognized the woman from the day he had arrived on Raven's shoulder --was flat on the floor in a dead faint. Rumkai couldn't help but gape at the scene, wondering how the heck it could've possibly happened. Raven didn't usually kill people-- especially moms, Rumkai puzzled.

"You didn't kill her!!" Alex scrambled over to Raven, struggling to comfort her while his mother still lay in a heap on the floor. "I think she's just passed out! Which UH...MIGHT BE A GOOD THING BECAUSE MAYBE IF WE'RE LUCKY SHE WON'T REMEMBER THIS!"

Frantically, he glanced around, rushing over to the bag containing his soggy clothes and quickly grabbing it.

"I'm sorry, Raven, but I GOTTA get her home before she comes to. With any luck, I'll be able to convince her this whole thing was a dream!" He bent over Feather and scooped her up, slinging her over his free shoulder.

Christ, what an odd sight.

He scrambled out of the living room, through the hallway, and out the door. "BYE!!" He shouted, already half way down the street.

Rumkai watched Raven hurry over to the doorway, shouting out something along the lines of, "BUT YOU'RE NOT WEARING ANY CLOTHES!" accompanied with a giggle.

The butterfly couldn't help but roll his eyes. Jeez. It was like one of those cheesy soap operas (he still couldn't figure out why they had the word soap in it-- there was rarely any sort of hygiene-related concoction anywhere to be seen) that the televeision often showed.

Shrugging to himself, Rumkai scuttled around on the couch top, settled down, and went back to sleep. He'd annoy Raven with this scene tomorrow.

".. Something must be done."

Rumkai blinked sleepily as he stretched his limp wings and tried to rouse himself from his light slumber. He continued to blink as his eye sight cleared and the vision of Raven, ram-rod straight and finger held in the air, sat glowering at a picture of a certain purple-haired child.

It had been a quiet afternoon-- a bit too quiet, Rumkai reflected, even for a butterfly such as himself. Bird had, that morning, careened out the front door and tripped on her lengthy scarf that was looped around her shoulder instead of her neck in her haste to get to the car for work (the clock was a good fourty minutes behind). Raven proceeded to flop onto the couch and sulk.

All--day.

It was just a bit too much for a butterfly.

Rumkai huffed at her, voicing his displeasure at her audacity to wake him from his nap. Raven glared at him, looking ready to spit fire.

"C'mon, Kai!" she crowed. "Whose side are you on?"

... Rumkai blinked some more, asking what the heck she was talking about.

Raven leapt to her feet. "Papree!" she yowled, shaking a fist at the innocent wall-- who, Rumkai noted, seemed to shrink back. "What else? We've got to do something about that stupid... stupid... purple-people-eater-kid!"

Yawning, Rumkai lazily flickered one of his antenni at her before scuttling around on top of the couch and settling down for another nap-- until Raven scooped him up.

"Rumkai~," she whined, "you believe me-- right? Mom won't even give me a second chance to explain-- unless I apologize." She made a face. Rumkai reasoned that.. maybe Papree did deserve an apology. Maybe she was just a.. normal kid. Maybe Raven was jealous.

"What?!"

Just then, Papree stumbled into the room, wobbling uncertainly on her pins; attempting this.. walk thing.

Rumkai was ready to kiss her.

They both just stared as Papree threw her arms out for better balance as she continued to take tentative steps forward. Her bare toes didn't take a sure enough grip on the smooth floor, and Papree was sent tumbling down in a heap.

Blinking at the two, Papree's lips wobbled in a strange grin, and she waved as she sat back up, ready to take another attempt-- the evidence of many littering her body in the form of blue splotches of skin; bruises.

Rumkai gave Raven a look. The kind of look a parent gives a child. Raven screwed up her face in a grimace before taking another look at Pree-- who was on the floor again.

"... Nawww, hell."

And so it was that Raven started the bridge between the two siblings by plucking her off the floor (and rewarded with a small smile-- a real one, too, not one of Papree's versions), situating the three of them infront of the telly and playing one of her favorite movies; Gladiator. And though Bird was extremely upset at her for showing gore to the younger child, Papree enjoyed herself thoroughly.

And y'know? So did Raven.
Her mood increased when the part invitation came [Rumkai was also pleased with the, obviously female, butterflies scattered along the parchment].

It was not a pleasant day. At all. There weren't any birds chirping under the morning sunlight, there wasn't even a sun, and she, Raven, was not skipping merrily down the long and windy road with a wicker basket in hand to fetch a pail of water for granny.

No. No she wasn't.

Rumkai worried for the safety of Raven's face. It had been set in a permanent scowl all afternoon-- just after lunch, actually -- as soon as her mother had said, "Rave? Y'need new clothes. Badly."

So, here they were, outside the local MEGASUPEROBESEmall, situated on the meager little patch where the scrawniest tree imaginable was dutifully trying its darndest to survive just past the last of the parked cars. Just... standing. And scowling. And shivering. And the clouds didn't look like they were going to quit with the emo colors and burst into song and dance anytime soon, so, Rumkai figured he was in for a rough day.

Sighing, the butterfly hoped for a miracle to come along and boot Raven's arse into the door. It would've been a nice start.


At long last, Alexander's penance was finally over. No more menial chores, no more tedious strolls across Gaia, and no more screaming from a very angry teenager for something that happened practically a month ago.

Yes... life was good.

So, as soon as the black-haired youth had the chance, he left the house as soon as he possibly could to go enjoy himself and do the things he actually wanted to do. The weather outside wasn't exactly desirable, so that ruled out walking adventures in the park or in the forest...

...the mall was the only reasonable option. And thankfully, he'd be shopping with his OWN money this time, money earned from Feather's sympathy after the Ebay incident.

Lips parted as he whistled mindlessly, Alex plodded down the parking lot aisle leading up to the hulking mass known as the local mall.


Rumkai roused himself sleepily, glad he was safe in one of the many folds that was Raven's scarf.

Mmyep. No progress. She was still looking like she had just sucked on the world's largest lemon. People were going to start thinking they were part of the statuaries for sale if she didn't hurry up and move. He voiced this to Raven.

".. Shut up, 'Kai."

Rumkai resisted the temptation to gnaw on Raven's neck in retaliation when he felt a sudden lurch and found himself with a mouthful of scarf. She was moving forward. Moving toward the cement monstrocity.

Gleefully, Rumkai supposed that waiting really did pay off.

"Can you believe it, 'Kai?" Rumkai was shaken out of his dreamy state by the sudden onslought of rant, courtesy of Raven. "Mom and her stupid.. clothes... philosophy!" She made a face as her feet automatically moved to sidestep some busybody who mowed down anybody who was unfortunate enough to be standing in their way. "There's nothing wrong with my clothes! And anyway, she wants me t'pay for them. what kind of kid has that much money? Where's she expect me to get--"

Raven's tirade of words was cut off with a definite thwump, a sure sound that she had run into someone. Rumkai quickly tucked in his wings and made himself scarce in Raven's scarf, fearing for the worst.

"Hey! Wa--... Alex?"

Mmm...clothes... the whole "gold and black" motif WAS getting a little unoriginal, anyways...

Alex fell into a slight daze as he continued to walk along, imagining how he'd look in various colors and styles of clothing. It's not like it was REALLY his money anyways, and as long as he was allowed to, why not spend it? With that mentioned, he also began plotting out the most effecient course through the mall so he could hit as many expensive stores as possible in the shortest amount of time.

People staring at his wings DID get a little old after a while.

At the rate he was sinking further and further into his consciousness, it was lucky Alexander ran into a familiar face rather than some random stranger.

"Hm... I'll go to- OOF~"

Forcefully jerked out of his daze Alex stumbled several steps backwards, blinking several times as he focused on the familiar form of his good... "friend", Raven.

"Wha... what're you doing here?" He stared blankly at her, far too suprised to give her a proper greeting.


"Well that's a fine hello," Raven grinned. "I've been assigned a new mission from my mother: clothes." She made a sour face. "What're you doing here?"

Rumkai wondered, as he crept out of his safe haven, if the two noticed the jaws that were rolling around on the tar as a result of gaping at their wings.


Alex scratched the back of his head, slightly regaining his composure, "Sorry... I just never expected to see anyone I know come here! I'm not saying that like it's a bad thing, of course, it's just a suprise, you know?"

Noting Raven's obviously bitter attitude about the whole ordeal of buying new clothes, he smiled broadly, saying "Well, actually, I've got to get some new clothes too, so how about we go in together?"


"N'kay," Raven agreed, firmly planting a palm on one of the massive glass doors and pushing it open. She nudged Rumkai out of his hiding place as she shook out her scarf, making a small sound of happiness as a burst of war air assaulted her numb ears.

Highly insulted, Rumkai sneezed at Raven before latching onto Alex's shoulder and making idle threats of never coming back; he was ignored.

"So, uh... where to first?"

"Hey there, Rum." Alex awknowledged the butterfly with a quick nod, then moved behind Raven and shuffled through the heavy door before it closed.

The mall was fairly deserted with only a few people dotting the hallways, so it appeared that shopping would be, for once, painless.

"Hm... I dunno... you go ahead and pick! Looks like we won't have to worry about lines, that's for sure."

Raven halted her stride abruptly, swirling around to pin a wide-eyed look on Alex. "P-pick? But-- but I dunno-- I mean, uh, I... just.. uh-- haven't been here in awhile."

Ooh. How does one tell another that they've never stepped foot into a clothing store in their short span of life? Raven barely even knew how this whole shopping thing worked-- she was practically banned from money.

Rumkai, who had taken a definite liking to Alex's shoulder, noticed Raven's predicament and made a suggestion.

"Shirt!" Raven howled. "Shirt! Yes! Shirts're good! Let's go-- there!" She pointed in a random direction and proceeded to follow her finger.

"Ohhhh! Good idea!" Alex's previously blank face broke into that of a wide smile as he quickened his pace, eagerly following the direction Raven's finger pointed toward, eyeing the colorful storefronts as he came upon them.

"It's nice to have an experienced shopper with me! Know any good stores, Raven? Maybe some place we could get some kick-a** clothes at a good price?"

Ignorance is bliss.

Rumkai crowed in laughter, rolling around atop Alex's [comfy] shoulder and thoroughly grating on a flushed Raven's nerves.

"Yeah!" she agreed, giggling nervously. "Sure do! Let's.. uhm..." Raven had the annoying habit of letting her legs go into an autopilot state and looking everywhere but where she was going. And so it was that her eyes landed on a pretty yellow and orange display, and, thus, her attention diverted, she strolled straight ahead into Victoria's Secret.

Rumkai wheezed.

"OKAY!" Alex cheered as he, without a single moment of thought, followed after Raven into the rather... dangerous store. After a few moments of staring at the manequins in their racy outifts and the various pieces of underwear gracing the shelves, the falcon-Eden sensed something was amiss. "Um.... Raven.... " He anxiously poked her shoulder, even though his eyes were trained on one specific manequin sporting a lacy bra and underwear, "...I don't think I'm supposed to be here..."

"Mmm?" Raven blinked out of the mental picture of herself in something other than blue, turning to face Alex and his panicked look. "What? What is it?" And that's when several horrific things assaulted her vision.

PINK.

LACE.

UNDERWEAR.

"Eeeaigh!" Raven slapped a hand over her eyes, attempting to tie her scarf around her face with the other to hide the grin from Alex's expression, all the while backing up into a manequin that was displaying the latest in lingerie and knocking it straight to the ground, the part designed to hold up the wobbly bits snapping open and flying into the air. Rumkai yowled as the laughs came harder, fearing he was going to die from the lack of air. The entire staff of that particular Victoria's Secret store's eyes all swiveled around to stare at the two.

Okay, Expert Shopper, Raven asked herself, now what?


"GAHHHH!!" Alex spin around, eyes becoming wide as he heard the crash of the ill-fated manequin as it collided with the floor. Only one immediate thought crossed his mind:

Take Raven and Rumkai and run like HELL.

"LET'S GO!" He shouted, having no desire whatsoever to stick around and deal with the embarassing stares from the other shoppers and the inevitable punishment from the shop's employees. Working off of pure instinct, he hastily grabbed Raven's shoulder with one hand, and took Rumkai into the other, holding neither very gently, and half pulled both of them out of the now-chaotic store.

Ignoring Rumkai's obvious squawk of discomfort, Raven lurched forward with little protest as the image of a pair of bewildered cops, a doughnut perched in each hand and a styrofoam cup in the other, came into view. She forced her legs to pump faster, following Alex around a bend and out of sight of the dreaded pink store.

Raven soon came to realize that it was a very big mall.

"Okay!" the blue-haired Eden wheezed as her legs came to a halt. "I think-- we.. lost 'em."

Rumkai tried in vain to pry Alex's fingers loose, managing to tickle him fiercely in his efforts instead of inflicting dire injury.


Alex heaved an enourmous sigh of relief as soon as he was able to safely conclude they were no longer in any danger of being captured and dragged back into the hellhole that was Victoria's Secret. With any luck, that tragedy was going to be the WORST of their problems during the trip. The adolescent leaned against one of the nearby walls, crossing his arms as he tried to regain his calm. What exactly posessed Raven to go into that store, anyways?

...actually, he didn't want to know.

"Have any OTHER stores in mind, Rave?" He pushed himself off the wall and looked at the blue-haired girl, a faint smirk crossing his face.


Raven, after catching her breath mounted on her knees, glowered faintly at Alex and his stupid smug look. "Be quiet, you. For your information, I had no idea where I was going." Que intelligent, superior look.

...

"I-I mean, I was.. uh... looking at something else. Yeah." She giggled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head to scratch at an itch. "You pick the next store, since you're so good at it."

Rumkai continued to claw at Alex's fingers relentlessly, ignored.