Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was another boring afternoon. Or late morning. Whatever. David's barely working mind figured as he watched his peppy younger sister flutter about the kitchen. It was a weekend, how did she have so much energy so early in the morning?! Weren't Saturdays for sleeping in? Weren't they for curling up until early evening with a jumbo-sized bag of chips and a remote by your side? David let out another exaggerated yawn as his dark blues flickered over to their tireless redhead familiar, as always, glued to the television.

"You really shouldn't watch so much t.v. Prajna. You'll get dumb..er,," David sneered, taking a step to the side as the spitfire chucked a small stuffed animal his way. Prajna's vengeful eyes narrowed before turning back to the poor cartoons dancing across the screen. The screen flashed from the terrible slapstick to a lion chasing a gazelle and David took it as Prajna's response. What? He was just saying the truth; How their little Frei took such simple statements so seriously...

Namini flashed her brother a maternal smile as she placed a colorful mug of coffee in front of him on their humble dining table, "It's supposed to be a nice day today. Are you up for anything? We can also just stay in an unwind."

David's lips twitched at the idea of returning to bed but he knew it would hurt his sister's delicate feelings. Ohh, if only there was some loophole. Picking up the newspaper and flipping through it half heartedly, it was as if the editors had predicted the lazy brother's wish and had granted it for him. Upon opening the crumbled papers, David was visually bombarded with a million different ads, from everything from weight loss to legal services to--

"Spaaaa" David purred absentmindedly and Namini turned from her light breakfast, her eyes questioning.

"'Spaaa?' Ah? What about a spa?" her voice was restraining excitement and David's lips curled wholeheartedly back up before reaching an ear to ear grin.

"Spa. SPA, Namini. It's a SPA," the older Nao stressed, the growing excitement in voices perking Prajna's attention from the couch, though it remained silent. Namini nodded in understanding but David shook his head and left the table. He went back into his room and within moments, came back out with an intimidating form of..plastic. A plastic..card. A credit card.

"Here." David was still smiling and Namini swallowed her toast hard. ..What was going on? But Namini's hopefulness was becoming hard to hide now.

"You want me to go to a spa?"
"No. You ARE going to a spa. With Prajna, of course."

Prajna turned to face the table now, though a look of curiousity did not sit on its androgynous features. It was one of disgust. What the heck was a spa?

"We--"
"YOU and Prajna."
"...Are going to a spa?" There was no more control. Namini was beaming, standing with the card pressed her chest. David was trusting her with a credit card. David was.. She frowned.

"Why aren't you coming?"

David was faster than her, "You deserve a day off, sis. You spoil me too much."

And that simple statement, topped off with a sweet, rare kiss to the forehead, was enough for Namini to accept her brother's surprisingly good mood. A credit card! A SPA DAY! Namini's eyes turned to Prajna and she made a gesture to leave, "Come come, before they're all full of old ladies and divas."

Prajna knew the word "old", knew the word "lady," but "diva"? It had a nice ring to it. Smirking, the flame followed the frantic teen out the door but not before cramming the face of an unforeseen stuffed animal into David's coffee. David had his head in his hands as the door shut close. A few hours of freedom, even if they were only a few hours, they were still freedom..

- - - - - -
"But what is 'spa'?" Prajna was growing impatient now, clenching and unclenching its delicate fists. Namini just giggled an incoherent response once more and pointed to an exquisite building on the corner of an unfamiliar Gambino street. It had taken them FOREVER to get here, an hour perhaps, and Prajna, upon seeing this building, was very certain..this "spa" was not worth the disgusting trolley ride here.

"This...THIS IS SPA?!" the inverted flame screamed but Namini just took its hand and rushed them inside, saying something along the lines of "You'll see, you'll see." As they entered the old fashioned building, yes, Prajna definitely saw. The walls were adorned in Victorian decor, fancy curtains here, well dressed workers there. Everything looked so..fragile and yet...dependable. So..pretty.

As an attendant and Namini discussed their plans of spa-ness, Prajna's eyes led the way through the intricate building. So many rooms, so many smells! That's when the Frei found her. She was a very attractive woman, older than Namini, with violent hair and dark eyes, but the look on her face was the same as Namini's: pure excitement. The Frei's icy blues trickled down to the woman's clipboard and it watched curiously as she checked something off.

"...can't leave without getting one of those, that's for sure."

"One what? One spa?" Prajna inquired, its tone coming across more as insulting than curious.

Prajna instinctively wrinkled its nose as the woman looked it over; It disliked being examined like this, especially by a woman. Once whatever conclusion she had been looking for was discovered and finalized, Prajna watched with curious as she turned the clipboard towards itself. It bobbed its red ribbon questionably. What? Then the woman answered with a mispronounced 'message' and Prajna smirked. She was pretty but obviously not so intelligent.

"Mean "message", woman. Not "mass ahj". And no, not going to get anything. Came here for something. Spa--" but the woman's attention was now on something else. How rude! The Frei pouted and followed the hopeful gaze. What could be more interesting than itself? Oh. Cerulean eyes nearly rolled back into its head. Namini, of course.

Approaching with a clipboard of her own, Namini stopped a few tiles away from Prajna, not having looked up to see Ebony until her name was called.

"Namini?"

The brunette's loose curls bobbed playfully around her delicate face as she looked up and "hm?"-ed in response. Her sapphire eyes brightened immediately as she took in the other's face and her lips curled into an even wider smile, "Miss Ebony! How are you? Enjoying a day to yourself, are you?"

Prajna rolled its eyes again.
Women.

It crossed its arms as it flapped its wings impatiently, wondering when this 'spa' trip was going to get exciting..

Prajna's icy eyes widened in a mixture of awe and instant jealousy at the violet-haired woman as words, long complicated sounds flowed effortlessly from her delicate mouth. Just like Xiu, she was just..so intelligent, so experienced in the language, but then again, she was human, it must have been so easy for her. Prajna's lips clamped shut as it watched her turn her attention back to Namini, a bubbly tone resurfacing. Oh how it hated to be treated as inferior, but it was suddenly torn: What did it want in the end? Did it hate her more than it envied her? Maybe it could learn something from her. The decision wavered as Namini took the spotlight.

Namini beamed fully at Ebony's enthusiasm and nodded in agreement, "Yes, a treat is good! Ah, how rude of us. Ms. Ebony, this is David and my Raevan! Allow me to introduce our dearest Prajna."

The teen gestured a porcelain hand towards the darkening flame who only nodded in recognition, still too deep in thought to care about introductions. Maybe this spa day would prove more productive that the star had originally thought. Namini continued, "And treatments? Well a simple thing I signed Prajna and I up for were manicures and then I'm getting a deep tissue massage. I thought Prajna would also like some aroma therapeutic soft tissuing, so we'll see how that goes before picking out some more. What will you be getting, Ms. Ebony?"

The receptionist then turned to Namini who burst into another energetic smile as she handed the worker her clipboard as well. The stranger eyed the contemplative Prajna before shooting a quick glance between Namini's cheery face and Ebony's confused one, perhaps trying to figure out what Prajna was as well. She then hustled away. Two pairs of cautious cerulean eyes turned to the available seats beside the violet-haired woman.

"May I?" "Prajna, sit?" the youths' voices rang harmoniously together. Namini let out a small giggle while Prajna pursed its lips. Her cheerfulness could seriously be so frustrating sometimes.. But now was not a time to get distracted. Prajna sat on the left side of Ebony, without allowing the woman a chance to deny or accept it.

Namini continued standing, her manners better, eyeing her Frei with a mother's disapproving look. She still wore a smile though, so her entire expression came across as more playful than anything. Prajna ignored her feeble authority, though tuned into her voice..just in case she really was growing agitated with it.

"Ms. Ebony, perhaps..we could get the treatments together? Or maybe at least the manicure. I speak on both Prajna and my behalves, but we would love to get to know you more..Are you getting a Raevan yourself? ...Soon? Namini sang, trying to remember any little thing David might have mentioned about the older woman before. ...Her mind was coming up short.

Namini beamed brilliantly at the older woman's acceptance, graciously taking the remaining available seat to her right. It was at that time that a few of the spa workers approached the trio, one holding a tray of beautifully colored nail polishes, another to the side, holding a tray of what looked like manicuring equipment and then the hostess in the middle. All three were smiling, a mirror image of Namini's ear-to-ear grin and Prajna cringed, feeling a little claustrophobic.

"Shall we begin..ladies?" the hostess asked, her voice shaking a bit at the end, her eyes trying to get a good read on Prajna's indifferent face and genderless features. The Frei continued to show no interest in her words and she seemed to relax. Namini nodded as the women guided the three towards more appropriate work surfaces. Prajna followed, slowly, a small part of it wondering what was going to happen but a majority of its mind wondering why Ebony had sounded so..torn in her reference to the Lab and a Raevan. Prajna knew it was a Raevan and Namini had seemed..way too excited to see it, but ..Ebony seemed almost sad. Or burdened.

The flame locked its jaw.

"I've been applying to colleges at home in Durem and a one in Barton. I wanted to come here, to the Gambino University but money's tight. Maybe if I get an acceptance from one of my scholarships and pick up work again I can make it work but..hm. A small part of me is wondering what to do with David when I go off.." Namini trailed off, taking a seat beside Ebony and fidgeting with her fingers. "Oh. My apologies! I sound so down, haha. Hmmm, Prajna, please be courteous. Ebony is talking to you, you know."

Prajna sat beside Namini this time and nodded, mimicking her gesture of finger-analysis, though made no other response. It had recognized the woman's question but it was still busy in its thoughts. Icy blue eyes turned to read the violet haired woman's face, openly curious. The staff returned with their equipment and began to condition and pamper the trio's fingers. For a moment Prajna was distracted as was Namini but then it broke the silence, frightening the worker assigned to itself at the moment.

"Prajna meet other ones. Xiu, Rivener, another ugly bread face thing Lulu ugly. But no more enough that. Woman..does not want one like Prajna?" the Flame asked coldly, half of it in awe as the technician began to polish its nails with some kind of weird machine. Namini gulped, wondering how the older woman would..reply to the Frei's rudeness. If she seemed offended, the teen would immediately apologize a thousand times over.

Namini stared at Ebony in awe as she spoke. First, because she had said basically the same thing David himself had told her and secondly, because of the woman's sudden bashfulness. From what little Namini had seen of Ebony, she was nothing short of a strong, independent woman who knew how to get what she wanted and yet...here she was, in what looked like a vulnerable state of mind. Immediately, the teen was overwhelmed with compassion for the older girl and, carefully removing a hand from the staff member, placed her left hand tenderly on Ebony's shoulder. Prajna inhaled sharply, as if suffering from recoil.

"It's completely understandable. I was worried even before Prajna actually arrived. I got all nervous when we got the briefcase with the soul bottle and essence, though that was probably because of ..how hard it was to obtain," Namini paused, shifting through her thoughts carefully, putting the darker memories back into their mental cabinets, locking them up tight. She broke out into a loving smile, one of wholehearted goodness. "You're going to make a great mom. If I was able to gain the trust of Prajna despite how clumsy and young I am, then you'll have no problem, y'know?"

She broke off with a giggle, giving her hand back to the nail professional, and again, Prajna inhaled dramatically. She had touched her. Namini had.. why was she sympathizing with this woman who was uncertain about receiving someone like Prajna? The flame flapped its wings and intervened abruptly, icily, "If worry then things will not be good. Why worry? No. Just.. Just want a Prajna and make all, you and other Prajna happy. Make your Raevan happy, woman."

Prajna shot its attendee a dangerous look, flapped its wings once more, hard, and then closed its eyes, as if trying to calm itself.