Welcome to Gaia! ::

A mischievous sun peeked out from the gloom of puffy gray clouds only to duck behind another closely floating mass. Cordelia wanting to pleasure in the warmth and cheeriness of the nearly non-existent idol (as the past winter had provided graciously), giggled and performed a floating skip as she zoomed about with her head craned upwards. It was fun to see if she could easily guess where and when the sun's rays would strike, yet the same couldn't be said for the many bipeds she'd accidentally bumped into while playing her little game of peek-a-boo.

When the exhilaration of the chase gave way to boredom and weariness, the basilisk finally took a good look to her surroundings. Immediately Delia seemed to sink into herself realizing nothing looked even vaguely familiar. Somehow she'd stumbled into the woods and there didn't seem to be a soul in sight. Cautiously, she drifted deeper into the quiet thicket in hopes of finding the city again. It was hard though, the trees provided a good muffle for sound and it was hard to discern from which direction the far away sounds were loudest.

As the dark Frei slowly made her progress, she noticed how the trees thinned in there numbers. Did this mean she was getting close to exiting? Squinting her smokey eyes, Cordelia could just make out the vague outline of a building. Yes, this had to be the correct way! Hastily her pace quickened until she was mere yards away from the concrete construction. Yet to her dismay, upon arrival she found the building to be nothing more than a relic. Decrepit and falling apart, the place held a strong sense of foreboding.

Cordelia was quite intent on leaving just as fast as she'd happened upon the area, yet the scent of smoke wafted to her as a wind blew light across her face. It was crisp and strong as only a newly created fire could produce. The smoke Raevan couldn't pass up the opportunity to investigate more, and perhaps sneak in a feeding as well.

Following the dark masses that floated up to the sky to meet their lighter counterparts, Delia found the fire easily. But it was more than just any fire, it was HUGE! Someone had deliberately piled a large amount of old books and now they crackled loudly as the fire turned their pages to ash, no one ever to view their parting words ever again. Who would do this and why? It didn't really make sense to her, Ebby always harped about how precious books were and even though Delia couldn't read them herself yet, she'd always assumed that this is how everyone felt. Obviously someone did not agree with this mentality.

Though this soon left the snake's mind as the delicious smell of food teased her and the fire swathed her in its warmth. It wasn't as cold as it had been, but the serpent still appreciated a good heat source no matter how it came about. And she could spare a minute or two to indulge just a bit before finding her way back right?

Yelling her name wouldn't garner much of an immediate reaction from the Frei as she was quite use to hearing it being belt out at home in a mild British laced soprano whenever she'd done something highly unacceptable by her woman's standards. Like the time she'd actually gotten into the fireplace when the fire was out just to see where most of the heat and smoke went. Ebby's eyes had nearly dropped out of their sockets when she'd seen all her meticulously well kept white floors and walls smudged with dingy, dark soot. Now had Lucia actually sneaked up on Cordelia or flung herself at the girl without any warnings at all, that could have been a serious folly.

Basking in the warmth of the flames and deeply breathing in the smoke, Delia hadn't realized how much the fire had grown in the few minutes she'd been floating there. It should have alarmed her, but for some reason it only made her feel more comforted. Slowly she turned dreamily to gaze in the direction of the voice that was calling out to her, her eyes a calm sea of grey. They soon lit up in excitement with recognition of the other Raevan.

"Lucia!" she purred happily as she spun around to properly face the girl. Her smile soon turned sheepish at the idea of her just standing idly by a raging inferno. It must have looked very odd to her friend who seemed to think her the culprit to the crime. Quickly she looked between her and the flames and gasped loudly, waving her hands about furiously. "It's not what you think! I didn't do this! I-I would never destroy books! I just..." Delia's words lingered off into silence as she dipped her head, a little ashamed. She probably should have been trying to put the fire out rather than feeding.

She should have felt relief at her friend's words, that she knew she wasn't the one who caused the fire in the first place, but Lucia's voice rang oddly in the smokey girl's ears. It wasn't the usual easy flowing speech she'd come to know the kitten by, but something more forced and sounding strangely like she was trying to keep from crying. And the way she approached her; slow, cautious, deliberate, Cordelia got the odd sensation that she was being stalked. But that was ridiculous! She wasn't prey and Lucia was her friend. Friends didn't hunt one another.

Shaking the feeling off as nothing, Delia drew forward to meet the cat half way. Maybe something was wrong and the other needed comforting? But the snake didn't get far before a shiny glinting caught her eye. What was that Lucia had? Curiously, she tilted her head about until the fires reflection could be seen past and Delia finally saw what it was. A knife, a tool used for slicing and cutting things. Why would the girl be carrying something like that around?

Cordelia didn't get the chance to ask nor answer Lucia's question once the blade sliced the other Raevan's hand. On sight of the blood she immediately gasped and rushed forward. "Lucia! You've cut yourself! Why are you playing with such a dangerous thing?" The look in her eyes was incredibly heart wrenching, sorrow filled for her friend's injury even though it was only a minor scrap. Yet to a child, even the smallest of bruises could seem dire.

Her face paled at the sight of Lucia licking the blood off her fingers as if it were as normal as lapping up milk. Blood didn't usually make the snake Raevan squeamish and even though she had her own unusual feeding source, just the thought of anyone finding the crimson liquid tasty was just wrong somehow. A cold traveled down her half-formed spine that wasn't the normal cold she was use to, but a shiver of disgust at the disturbing sight.

"Huh?" In her disturbance, Delia had totally missed the first strand of angry murmurings. Though the second, harsher yell was, of course, absolutely hard to miss. The basilisk cringed back as Lucia's fingers gripped her collar and pulled her close. Delia had been right, something was absolutely, utterly wrong. But it was with the cat Frei herself. This wasn't her friend Lucia. Lucia was kind and playful, never harsh and demanding like this fake in front of her now.

Baring her fangs, Cordelia issued a loud hiss, her dangerous dagger-like wings spreading wide open like the hood of a cobra ready to strike. Fear wasn't an emotion the snake was prone to feeling. No, when a predator was face to face with another predator, the instinct to fight and defend was most present.

Trying to remember her strength and not to hurt the feline (after all perhaps this was the virus rearing its ugly head once more), Delia grabbed and yanked at Lucia's vise grip hold from her scaled jacket. "No she does not." She spat and hissed back. "And I do not appreciate how you are treating me Lucia. I am your friend, but I will not be bullied. Please unhand me."

Delia frowned suspiciously as the other seemed to calm down some and move away. With a quick flick and tug, she resettled her collar and smoothed it back into its proper place. Though Lucia looked to be less crazed, she still didn't trust the way the other was sounding. The way she spoke was so patronizing, like the other was sneering down upon her. Like Cordelia was lower than her. This thought made the basilisk's scaled brows furrow deeper. Oh how she wanted to scoff at the idea.

"I was..." She couldn't help blushing, suddenly a bit embarrassed to admit such a thing. "...was playing a game with the sun and got lost. The smoke drew me here." Quickly she regrouped and left her embarrassment behind, more content on knowing why Lucia was acting so odd now. "What about you? What are you doing out here?"

Her eyes shifted slight as a piece of formerly standing wall crumbled at her right side, but the girl didn't flinch. It was as if the destructive power of fire was lost on her or perhaps it bored her, like she'd seen it a thousand times before. Delia should be quite frightened being in the midst of such chaos (with a potentially unstable Frei to boot), but the flames dancing around her only made her feel at ease and at the same time, made her feel bolder, stronger.

Again her frown deepened as she felt herself being corralled between Lucia and the fiery, collapsing structures. They wouldn't hold much longer and when they gave out, Cordelia would be crushed beneath them. Yet what her furry eared friend said made no sense. Ebby had said that knives were dangerous and most definitely not toys to be played with. And then when she thought it had been the kitchen utensil the other spoke of, the term 'toy' seemed to take on a whole other meaning. Though Delia understood and spoke English well enough now, somethings were still beyond her and felt to be lost in translation.

Still very weary of Lucia, Cordelia floated back a ways, the flames warm on her backside. The heat licked at her smokey ribbon, sending it into a swirling random dance. "I don't understand. What do you mean Lucia? Why are you acting so strange?" The youth did not understand fully the meaning of death, of killing, of stealing the life of another. All she knew of it was win or lose when it came to battle. She didn't know that right now she could lose for good, forever.

Her heart tore in two then when a shrill crying came from the other girl. Though she was more positive than ever that she needed to keep her guard up and prepare for an attack from the kitten...Cordelia also knew that Lucia was her friend and was obviously suffering. From what, she didn't know or could ever hope to understand, but Delia didn't like her friends hurting. If she could help, she would, but Lucia seemed far from negotiating with right at the moment.

With pain in her voice, the basilisk let her guard down for just a moment, sadness overwhelming her. "Lucia..." She said somberly, the flames blazing wildly all around them. Cordelia wasn't sure what to do, yet before she could even begin to brainstorm, Lucia was on her, taking advantage of the momentary lapse in the youth's stance.

A series of hisses left her dark lips as her black wings splayed full across her back once more. Cordelia scrambled to rip her strangling hands from her neck, leaving angry ruby lines in Lucia's pale skin. She stopped almost immediately when the cool metal of the knife kissed upon the warmth of her own. Yes, she completely understood now what the other Raevan had meant.

Cringing in pain and gasping for breathe, "L-Lu-cia...please..." How? How could she do this?! Weren't they friends? What was making her do this? Was it the virus again? Cordelia was at a lose of what to do. She knew she had to get away now before the knife cut her or the surrounding structures finally crushed them. But...the snake couldn't find it in herself to bring an ill hand upon her friend. "Lucia..." Her own sobs aligning with the cat's half garbled ones.