Welcome to Gaia! ::

It happened without warning one otherwise average, unremarkable day. Everything was proceeding within normal parameters, and then she walked into the Liberty Center with her wriggling plaything in tow. It was wholly unexpected. There were universes available to her, a thousand million of them, and she chose to walk into this one without fanfare or warning.

Em the Black, whose heart was made of steely things with sharp and jagged points stabbing out in all directions, looked at the Liberty Center with an eye of appraisal. It was so mundane, but she could she why they had chosen it. The mundane as a counterbalance to the fantastic. Grounding for the free spirits that roamed the grounds. She jerked her hand sharply. "Come along, Merroth."

Trudging along beside or behind her, Tenebras Merroth was not an eager companion. He would have run off if he thought it could do him any good to try, but dozens of failed attempts had taught him the lesson. When with Black, you went where she wanted, or she made you go there. Merroth did not generally advocate the easy path, but sometimes he simple got tired of slamming his head against the brick wall of Black's will. He followed her and tried to look brazenly unhappy.

Black paid Merroth's pouting little heed. She was more interested in the anamalous eddies of the hidden security guards, already registering and reporting her presence, and in seeing if her blasted Realverse counterpart would try to interfere in her presence. Merroth was just an excuse, a pawn in her little game.

The one certitude was that no one was presently trying to stop them. Black tugged Merroth with a little jab of gravity and proceeded to stroll into the heart of the Liberty Center while she had the freedom to do so. The eager screams of playing children sounded from somewhere on the premises. Merroth grudgingly followed, keeping his eyes open. He had no idea what to expect. He had never before encountered other children. Black had only said that some would be here. Merroth wasn't sure if he wanted to meet them or not. He quickly found he had no choice in the matter.

It was a greeting so very, very far outside Merroth's limited experiences that he just stared at the little girl, dumbfounded. Black prodded him forward -- with her foot for a change -- and he stood there, not knowing what he was supposed to do or say. Black answered his unspoken question: "Say hello, Maggot," her current favored nickname for him.

"Hello," said Merroth automatically, sounding grouchy. He was immediately put into an even fouler mood by the realization he had just let slip a moment of obedience. Black smiled smugly. Next time Merroth would not make that mistake. Next time he would have something already planned to say. Next time--

But first he had to deal with this time.

Merroth frowned at her, mostly because he had no idea what dinosaurs were, but also partly because Wisp was so vividly messy. She had paint everywhere. Merroth felt itchy just looking at it. He was always up for making giant messes, but he had the self decency to clean himself up after them (and erase the evidence if possible). He responded to her query the only way he knew: the way he spoke to Nerys and Black, disagreeing with anything they said on sheer principle. "I hate them," he informed Wisp. "Your shirt is ugly." Black sniggered with amusement, happy to watch her little toy squirm.

"Is so," answered Merroth, hissing his consonents and sounding every bit like a prissy little drama queen. "And you have stupid shoes on." This was blatently unfair, but Merroth was secretly hoping Wisp would notice that his own shoes were made of awesome. Expensive, patent leather awesome, which Black had reliably informed him was the best kind.

"I think you have very nice shoes," purred Black, interrupting. She did it just to see Merroth aghast with indignation, which he completely was. Wisp could have been barefoot for all Black cared. Suddenly Black was quite happy she had decided to make this excursion.

Merroth looked between Black and Wisp, sticking out his lower lip and staring with the sort of mad, darting wide eyes that usually marked a person as unstable. How dare they! How dare they! "I say those shoes are stupid!" he said, voice escalating to a shout. "Girls are stupid!" Black laughed uproariously at this proclamation and slapped her leg. Not the reaction Merroth was aiming for, not at all.

That was a tipping point if ever Merroth had one, and his mouth went wide as a ghost's in shock. He made a noise like a fish out of water. "Guh! --Guh!" Then it came. A veritable scream of impotent fury. "I am NOT STUPID!"

Which was Black's cue to flick her finger and knock Merroth back onto the grass with a gravity bump, knocking his breath away. It did have the benefit of momentarily silencing Merroth's outburst. Black leaned down by the fence conspiratorially. "That's much better, don't you think? It's rude to go around shouting." That was a lark. Black, of all people, berating Merroth for rudeness. She had about as many manners as the wild pigs that Nerys hunted back home on the island. At least the pigs had the excuse of being wild animals. Black had no excuse whatsoever for her actions except pure sadistic malice.

Black just laughed charmingly. "Oh, that's quite fine! My little darling here just slipped on the grass, that's all. Shiny new shoes. You're all right, aren't you, darling? He's so clumsy!"

Merroth picked himself up, feeling a great welling of disappointment in his chest. Black never took his side. Never, ever, and now he had grass stains on his nice clothes to prove it. He swallowed quickly, before he could burst out crying. The last thing he wanted was to make such a display of weakness in front of Black and the annoying girl-child. His upset glower and heavy sniff, though, betrayed him to the trained eye.

"I'm Em the Black," Black continued, ignorant either by choice or simple lack of compassion for others. As if the newcomer had made some kind of monumental insight into the universe, she sappily continued, "We were interested in your daycare program!" She played the part of the eager parent well, if a bit artificially.

Merroth wondered what the hell was going on, and why Black was suddenly playing Miss Super Sunshine when up until this point he had only ever seen her be a rude, arrogant demon to the people around her.

"Oh, no, we couldn't possibly today," drawled Black, leaning against the fence. More like Black was about as willing to let Merroth out of her sight as she was to stab herself repeatly with a sharp object. Sadist she was, masochist she was not. Besides, the whole point of taking him out was to observe him at all times and derive amusement from his upsets and antics. She quickly tried to think of a reason as to why she might need to keep Merroth in her sight. The idea came to her suddenly in a sudden burst of what was clearly dishonest insight. "He has a cold. I'd hate for the other children to catch it."