Welcome to Gaia! ::

Josh smiled breathlessly as he stumbled in front the auto repair shop. It’s neon sign was like a beacon of hope to the boy. Unfortunately, his car had decided it best break down about a mile away from here. Josh had been pushing and shoving the burdensome vehicle for nearly an hour now trying to find any place that was still open. It seems as though… ‘Gambino Vehicle Restorative’ would be his shining light in a once bleak situation. Josh gladly left his sputtering car to go inside the wonderfully air conditioned shop. The smell of oil and diesel was comforting. It reminded him of his dad in a bizarre way. Josh approached the front desk and gave the small bell sitting there a few good rings.

He heard a few grumbles behind him as a man surfaced from underneath a car. He looked at Josh with confusion then boredom, “Sorry kid, we aren’t taking any more customers right now.”

Josh froze in place and felt his heart sink. The only reason he had been out this far into town was to deliver his soul bottle! Now it look like he would not only return home empty handed but also car-less. Josh stumbled over his words and tried to appeal to the mechanic, “Umm, please Sir, you see… my car broke down and you are the only place open right now. I’m really desperate. I know it is after hours. Perhaps, I could pay you a bit extra for the time?”

The mechanics scruffy face upturned into a smile. He couldn’t let down the prospect of a few more bills weighing down his pockets. “Fine just wheel her in and I’ll see what I can do. Feel free to take a seat in the waiting room.” He rolled his eyes and ducked back under Yuurei’s car.

Josh did as he was told and trucked his own disheveled car inside the shop. He prayed he would never have to do it again. His arms were screaming with fatigue at their previous hour long journey.

Josh stepped inside the waiting room with gusto; he was enamored at the idea of getting a drink or assaulting a vending machine. However, two figures stopped him in his tracks. The first a rather busty blond haired woman and the other… an equally stunning raevan. Josh gulped and stepped forward, “H-hello.”

Josh could feel Yuurei’s eyes flickering at him with curiosity. He supposed it was odd to be at a repair shop so late in the day. At the same time, he was happy that the shop had been opened at such an unusual hour. It saved him from having to cart his car for another hour or two.

Josh was immediately torn into by the catlike raevan. Her question whizzed at him like one of the many paintballs from the Summer festival's games. He thought she had looked familiar! He remembered her as the poor girl who was writhing on the ground aat the start of the contest. He smiled meekly, “I’m Josh.”

His attention was then seized by Yuurei again as she made her way over to him. “Oh, I know,” he referred to the fact that legless bodies were now relatively common to him, “I was just going to turn in a soul bottle before my car decided to up and die on me. It has a way of making my life harder than it needs to be.” He chuckled nervously and reached for the slim, manicured hand presented to him. He wrapped his fingers around her's and gave a polite shake. “It is a pleasure to meet you Yuurei,” his gaze floated back over to the blond woman’s raevan, “It is especially nice to meet another lovely raevan here. ”

Josh’s smile broadened and blossomed into a grin as if fed by Yuurei’s excitement. “Yes, I will be an owner soon-ish. If my car will ever let me get to the Lab that is.” Josh felt his skin shudder and prickle under Lucia’s gaze. He could sense a slight glimmer of curiosity in the depths of her stare. However, she faded to the background as Yuurei took center stage once again.

He listened to the curvaceous woman and Lucia’s presence easily slipped to the back of his mind. “Well, I suppose I have you to thank that the store is open. Otherwise, I would still be walking around out there.” Josh flinched as Yuurei drew in uncomfortably close; the boy could feel the warmth of her breath ghosting across his cheek. His voice dropped into a hushed mumble along with Yuurei, “I caught the soul of a Br’er rabbit.” Josh didn’t understand. Why were they being so quiet now?

Josh listened to Yuurei’s word and a light veil of boredom crossed his face. It was quickly canceled as Lucia approached him. He could see a cunning and predatory glimmer in her amethyst eyes as if she was sizing him up. Unfortunately, the raevan managed to catch the tail end of their conversation. The boy tensed as he heard agitation flare up in her voice. He piped up and tried to save Yuurei from the wrath of her moody frei. “No-no, Darling! Yuurei meant that you are just uninformed not that you are dumb in any sense,” the boy ducked down to the feline raevan’s height as if he was consoling a wounded child. He eyes were filled with warmth and cheerfulness that seemed to radiate in his charming smile. “How about I tell you about what Yuurei was talking about? Where raevan’s come from.” Josh glanced up at the blond hopefully as if seeking permission to continue on with the exciting tail of bottles and vials. The boy couldn’t help but feel a tad awkward about divulging the ‘scandalous secrets’ of raevan creation… at least what he knew. It felt as though he was giving the young frei a chat about the birds and the bees.

Josh merely kept up a warm and cheery front trying to ebb away some of Lucia’s hostility. He was a stranger so he could understand her aversion. The tiny waiting room was filled with the sharp, monotonous jingle of Lucia’s belt and was soon followed by the clicking of Yuurei’s heels as she made her way outside. Josh’s eyes trailed after the woman’s retreating. Apparently he had received the okay to continue on in his explanation. His attention returned to the leather clad raevan and he could see that she was calming down.

He kept low to the ground and made sure he never exceeded the raevan’s height. It was obvious the action made her more comfortable… even if it was killing the boy’s back. He began with the epic tale. He made sure to speak slowly and give Lucia time to absorb every detail, “Well, all raevan’s begin with an essence and a soul. The soul is caught using a soul bottle by the guardian of the future raevan. I assume your soul was a cat,” He motioned to the two furry appendages protruding from the top of her smooth hair. Josh would have shown the young frei firsthand what the bottle and vial looked like. However, he had left his bottle and essence in his car. He would have to make sure that mechanic didn’t touch either of them later… Josh continued on, “Once a soul is captured, both items are brought to Lab 305 where Dr. Kyou takes them,” Josh paused and wondered if Lucia knew just who Dr. Kyou was, “You may have seen him at events. Umm, short black hair… black horns…. glasses.” The description was abysmal but he hoped that it would suffice. “Then Dr. Kyou takes the items. After some time the come together to form a raevan.” Josh was still sketchy on the details after this event, considering he had yet to get that far in himself. The boy rocked back and forth on his heels. He was starting to feel a dull ach running up his back from sitting crouched for so long, “Is there anything else you want to know?”

Josh didn’t really mind when Lucia cut in on his explanation. It would make sense. After all, her mind was probably in shambles trying to sift through what he had already said. The boy eagerly took Lucia’s offhand suggestion and planted his butt in one of the rickety chairs lining the wall. It was by no means cozy, but at least it kept him from kneeling. Josh listened closely to the rest of the questions that leaked from the inquiring frei’s mouth. Hmm, she seemed very curios about her eown ssence…

Josh sighed as he pondered a way to properly describe an essence. It was not everyday you had to reasonably explain a paradox. “An essence is something that should not exist. Like… the essence I have is ink, but it moves on it’s own. It doesn’t need me to make anything it just creates. Dr. Kyou finds them all around Gaia. Yes, your soul is probably a cat. Yuurei should know what kind… she would also know what kind of essence created you. Did that help any Darling.” He once again let a nickname slip from his lips. He truly was acting as though he was talking to an impressionable toddler.

Josh grinned and held his hands out in excitement, “Exactly!!!” This frei was an especially fast learner or Josh was particularly on his ‘explanation’ game today. It was most likely not the latter. Josh’s gaze flickered up to meet with Yuurei’s irate golden eyes. They swirled and jittered like molten gold. What had he done to make her so upset? He was glad t she was still content enough to spare him some words. The boy piped up at this update, “Oh, thank you for letting me know.” Josh chuckled nervously at Lucia’s revelation, “I wouldn’t want to keep you two ladies waiting.” He wasn’t just trying to be polite. The fact stood that his car would probably take hours to fix.

Josh tried to feign indifference when Yuurei described the feline frei’s components. It would be rude to brown nose in something so personal. However, he still found his ears picking up on details here and there. One tidbit particularly caught the boy’s interest. “Oh, your powers are developing! What are they?” The question spilled from his mouth before his brain even had a chance to stop him.