Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Hhahaha, oh, you took the sexy one down XDDD That's cool.

I was like: ooooh... how sexy... but then again my friends have decided my "Sexy time" is midnight so it mighta just been my brain and the hour making me be ridiculous.

PS: The Spirit? HILARIOUS. GO WATCH IT. SRSLY. I loved it.))

Alice turned and laughed a little. "I never thought I'd find myself in one of these." She said lightly and touched it delicately with brief fingers. "It is beautiful though... There was always something..." She paused as she caught Abel watching her. She smiled awkwardly and tucked a bit of dark hair behind an ear.

"What's that look for?" Alice asked more quietly than she meant, like she didn't even want herself to hear. She felt her face burn, and she looked elsewhere when he spoke again.

"Yes. Well. You're right. I'm really tired. Are you tired? You just said that... I'm exhausted... you know... all that worrying can really wear you down and yeah... staying up late." She said almost too quickly, stumbling a little over her words. She laughed lightly and resisted the urge to fan at her hot face. That would just make it more obvious.

Alice then grabbed the journal and pen lightly from the counter. "I'll just... you know, be off then." She tossed her head in that general direction and smiled at him fleetingly, nervously. "Goodnight." She said and made her way for the door, but paused and touched him lightly on his shoulder. She had meant to touch his face, but her hand trailed down to his shoulder instead.

"Thank you for bringing him back home." Alice said softly, and she smiled before leaving him to sleep.

Once there she remembered the handerchief still in her fingers and wondered over the stitched letters before drifting off.

((I figured I should mention the handkerchief D:<<< YEAH.))

((LOLOLOL... Bow... chica... wow wow yeah. Bebop shoobop.

And Batman is AWESOOOMEEEEE D:<<<<< ))

"Woah... hey." A voice said, poking Abel. "Are you like... dead... wait. You can't be..." There was a pause and the sound of a butt sitting on the edge of the couch. "But I'm up before you so you gotta be like... sick or something, eh Abel?" There was the sound of someone leaning over. Talen peered down into Abel's sleeping face.

"I made you an awesome breakfast... a bowl of cereal. Seriously. I slaved over a hot stove. You could at least wake up and eat it..." Talen paused. "It's COA COA PUFFS." He added.

"Talen! Stop poking him!" Alice said from the kitchen.

((... lol, that's all I have XDDD))

((Hahaha, the numerous times I've watched it I've only watched it for the Joker... Because I had one friend who insisted on seeing it OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. yeeeeeeeppppp))

Talen just laughed as he pushed himself up from the couch. "No worries." He said, and slid his hands behind his head. "We're used to eating cereal for breakfast... cold pizza... left over chinese?"

"Milk from the carton." Alice added on distastefully.

"Only on Saturdays." Talen put in with a smile.

Alice shook her head at him and then turned her attention to Abel. She waved a hand at him. "Forget about it. Count Chocula and Frankenberry would be out of house and home if it weren't for me and Talen. Seriously. Cereal is one of our major food staples. And I bet you were tired." She added on softly.

"It's a way of LIFE!" Talen said shaking a box on the kitchen counter for emphasis. "We could make our whole RELIGION around cereal. Seriously."

"It's that intense." Alice finished for him. She then ruffled her brother's hair into a mess. "Don't you need to get going?"

"Soon, soon. Cool it, cool it. You have work today?"

Alice nodded. "We'll eat out tonight, huh? Where you wanna meet?"

Talen looked thoughtful and glanced sideways at Abel. "Someplace with burgers." He decided. "I'm going to get my stuff." And he tromped away and up the stairs.

Alice put Talen's empty cereal bowl in the sink. "You going with him again?" She wanted to know.

((LOLS. And something will happen, YAYAAAYAYAYA... Cos I thought of it at work. *laughs*))

((Hahaha, too bad so sad, Abel. It'd be boring if it wasn't hectic D:< ))

Alice smiled after him. "Don't wear yourself out." She said.

Talen didn't take too long to gather his things and brush his teeth. He might have thought about brushing his hair, tilting his head this way and that as he looked in the mirror, but declared the whole ordeal a waste of time and ambled down the stairs again. When he found Abel he grinned at him.

"Well then, my little compadre. You raring to go? Maybe you're too tired to go?" He teased and brushed passed him. "I'll walk slower for you today." And he headed for the door and out it.

"SEE YA, ALICE!" He called.

"BE GOOD!" She called after him.

((OKAY NEXT POST D:<<<<... hahaha, cos i'm lame.))

((OKAY GO.))

Talen looked at Abel sideways and laughed, shaking his head. "Yeah. Always beautiful... and sunsets are just as good. But Lucie from the Peanuts always did say that was wishy washy. Just stick me in an ugly polo shirt and call me Charlie Brown, huh?" He laughed then paused. "... You have no idea what I'm talking about... uh. Well. Sunsets are great." He finished. "For dreamers, or whatever." And he laughed.

He walked down a few blocks more, hands also in his pockets to echo Abel's relaxed posture. It was one of those days, and he was right, it was beautiful outside. Talen hadn't thought about that in the passed few days, not since Abel had literally fallen into his life.

However, something disturbed this peaceful fall day. Talen heard it easily with his sharp ears. He narrowed his eyes and felt his fists clench. There was a pounding sound, wet, cracking, painful. Just underneath the sound of the light breeze that stirred through the suburbs he could hear it, low, malicious.

Talen paused in his walk and glanced once at Abel. "This way today." He said tonelessly and turned down a different street. With every step he could hear it more clearly, the sound of body hitting a wall, dragging through the asphalt. The streets on this side of town were empty at this hour, lonely. A perfect place to teach someone a lesson they wouldn't forget soon.

Talen came upon the alley where Cain had Saul up by the collar of his shirt, pounding his face, again and again, and yet another time. There was a semi circle of other boys, watching, like a pack of animals. They all watched with unfeeling and cold eyes. There was blood on Cain's knuckles, on the fabric of his shirt, but he was focused on leaving scars Saul would see in the mirror and flinch away. Don't let me down again, every bruise would say, every cut, every fractured bone.

Cain wasn't a small boy. He was lean, hard and merciless like any boy who had that dangerous look in his eye. And he pounded him again and again against his hardened fist. Saul was like wet paper, every punch went right through him, tore savage holes through him. He was bleeding from his nose and maybe his mouth. His left eye was already swollen shut, his shirt was torn in several places. Cain threw him to the asphalt yet again.

"You gonna mess up again?! Ya little s**t?" He wanted to know. He kicked at him in the ribs.

Saul curled up and groaned.

"YOU GONNA ANSWER ME?! a*****e?!" And he raised his leg back to kick him again, but found himself grabbed roughly by the back of his shirt and the belt of his pants and thrown bodily away. He stared around wildly and found Talen in front of Saul, eyes blazing.

"What the HELL? Lay OFF." He growled lowly. His dark eyes were blazing. "He's learned his lesson!"

Saul lay very still and breathed a breath through his nose that sounded wet.

Cain's eyes flickered. "Stay out of it, Talen." He tried to smile his charming smile. The blood smattered across his cheek ruined the affect. "Come on, now. Like this little ******** really matters. He's trash. But hey look at you! You made it out okay." His smile went crooked. "That's always good, huh?"

"Lay. Off. Or I'll MAKE you lay off." Talen snarled so viciously anyone would have believed him.

The boys around tensed as if ready for something.

((... LAAALALA. I'd type more, but yanno, THAT SEEMED LIKE ENOUGH. Talen gets to be a baddass, hellz ya.))

((SAAAAUL NOOOOO!!! *flails her arms* I'm fond of him for whatever reason D:.... maybe because he's such a loser.))

Talen had been staring Cain down until Abel spoke up. His face softened immediately. The snarl was gone from his face. He turned and looked to the boy in Abel's hands. Cain was was full of hateful electricity at the sight of the a angel.

Saul breathed softly as Abel tilted his head up. He looked at him through his one good eye. His mouth moved to speak, but hardly a sound came out. His mouth might have tilted into a smile because he was certain for the first time in his life there was something good where he was. Something real good.

"s**t..." Talen said under his breath. "We need to-"

"What? You gonna run him to the hospital? Tell the cops?"

Talen regarded him coldly. He seemed suddenly more animal than human in a different way than Cain seemed.

"What will you tell them? The little s**t fell...? Lost a fight with a flight of stairs?" He was laughing, but his eyes were not. His body was full of a threat, the way he could coil like a snake. Talen could feel it.

He felt his fists clench and unclench. "You going to try and stop me?"

It was Cain's turn to watch him cooly. His eyes flickered at Abel. He coiled tighter, eyes glittering. "No. I don't want a piece of you, Talen. I want a piece of your little f*****t FRIEND." He said suddenly.

The boys around shifted uneasily. They'd never seen their boss lose his cool, but he was half cocked now. His jaw was set and he was moving forward. Talen met him half way.

"Back. Off."

Cain narrowed his eyes. He glared over Talen's shoulder. "I want a piece of that little s**t..." He smirked. "He'd be like breaking something beautiful. It'd make him MORE beautiful." He laughed coldly.

Talen snapped, drew back his fist and punched him. His eyes went wide with rage and in mere moments they were a tangle of blows. There was the solid pounds of heavy fists, the tender sound of bruises being made, the crack of skin bursting open to bleed. Cain's gang sat back on the sides watching carefully for a time when they could throw in their own fists, but there was no place to. There was no space between them to exchange calculated moves, they were in a tussle of powerful blow after powerful blow. The sound of each one resounded muffled, painful blunt and raw in the still air.

((Now that's a REAL man's fist fight. You just punch eachother until one of 'em passes out.

They're actually kinda scary to watch D:...))

((I DUNNO. I JUST WANTED TO BEAT UP CAIN. *Laughs*))

Talen and Cain struggled against each other without so much as a breath of separation. Neither was letting down or giving up. Each blow was met with another blow was met with another blow was met with another. Their breathing was short and angry, their movements violent and powerful.

When Abel first started to shout it went unnoticed. There was droplets of blood at their feet, falling more steadily all the time. They continued to take no notice until the angel shouted louder, grabbing Cain by his shoulder with a burning hand. He would have cried out if his whole mind wasn't full of fight and hatred. They drew apart, their breathing haggard and their bodies trembling from adrenaline. Their eyes were hard on each others faces, like two wolves sizing the other up.

Cain felt his shoulder burn and burn, but he didn't take his eyes from Talen. His mouth was full of blood from biting his own tongue, his cheek split open.

"What? He have to PROTECT you!?" He roared. He spat a mouthful of blood and spat to the ground.

Talen panted, wiping blood from his eyes. His lip was split open and a bruises were already begin to swell the sides of his face.

"Can't FIGHT YOUR OWN FIGHTS?" He twisted under the angels grip, his skin blistering.

Talen again said nothing. His eyes were hard.

Cain smirked and looked to Abel. "I wouldn't TOUCH me if I were you." He said and flinched his shoulder away. "I could be the end of you. Take Saul wherever the hell you want. He'll come back to me in time. He NEEDS me just like YOU need me, Talen... " He glanced hatefully at Abel and coiled.

"I know what you are." He said lowly. " And I hate you for it. Talen won't be around one day..." He trailed off, and began to back away. "And when that happens... you're mine." And like that he nodded to the surrounding boys and together they moved away down the alley and were gone.

((hahaha, ooooh. Angry Cain is ANGRY. *laughs* I'm still figuring him out D:< BUT WE'LL SEE WHAT COMES TO ME, HUH?))