[REG] Not exactly a damsel in distress (Seth & Eve) [FIN]

[Melodine Cantus]

Xaki

Seth was normally one to stay at home after finishing with school, but his inhabited apartment with it's now-empty fridge was calling for new groceries. And so, Seth had gone shopping for the basics - eggs, vegetables, bread, and a carton of milk to tide him over for the next couple of days or so.

The streets were more crowded than usual, with it being Friday night and all, a time for socializing. On the way back to his apartment, he was passing through the shopping district, with it's colorful assortment of people. Girls were bustling in front of store windows, small groups of males lingered near walls and certain alleyways - there was nothing out of the ordinary with how the day was progressing. Seth didn't bother with those passing him by, more disinterested than anything else in his surroundings. Once more, he checked his watch, sighing as he did so. It would take a while longer, until he reached his apartment.

"What a pain..."

Melodine Cantus

Rea was still not talking to her.

It was incredibly aggravating because after school, she had no one to hang out with. Serenade was busying herself with piano practice these days, and although it was much better than her locking herself up in her room, and Eve did like listening to her playing... she realized she had become kind of... boring. The only ones she really hung out with nowadays were those she knew to be senshi. It was perhaps a good thing; who knew where the Negaverse lurked? Still, a normal life and normal friends were missed.

A normal shopping trip was missed.

If a youma showed up again today, Eve told herself while weaving through the shopping district in her Crystal uniform, she would kick its butt for interrupting and made it regret that it would choose this area to attack. You didn’t mess with the Senshi of Spring, especially when it was her season right now.

Some boys thought Eve Summers could be messed with however.

“Look guys, it’s a Crystal girl!” One of them called out and even though she ignored them (It was shopping time, boys, not flirting time) one of them grabbed her wrist. “How would you like to hang out with us? We’ll promise you some fun!” Loud raucous laughter echoed this statement and Eve rolled her eyes.

“No time to play with you, boys.”

Xaki

"Playing hard to get?" The other boy insinuated, taking Eve for the face value she presented - a 'crystal girl'. A rich girl who presented an easy target, and it would boost their value if seen with them. "Don't care about what Daddy says, and have some fun."

A shadow came up behind the group, and the blond that was being harassed. "You're in my way." The voice, filled with irritation and impatience was not willing to wait for the performance in front of him to cease on it's own time. Instead, a male in an unfamiliar uniform appeared, and the hand that held onto Eve's wrist released in a quick motion - Seth's foot had kicked the boy out of the way. Any sounds of protests were ignored, Seth standing there with his grocery bags in one hand. Seth was in his early twenties, his black hair windblown from the slight breezes that had blown throughout the day. A glance downwards at Eve, as if he had just noticed the situation, as he sighed.

"I would've thought that you boys would have grown up already." It was clear that the male was not pleased with this development.

Melodine Cantus

Blue eyes flashed in anger, and it was clear that she was insulted by the stereotypical figure most people seemed to regard as a typical Crystal girl. While it was true that she was well-off, she wasn’t that terribly rich, not like how some of her other classmates like Jada were. The girl contemplated kicking the boy who held her and then running away to henshin up so that she could teach them a lesson... but that would be abusing her powers, right? Ugh. “You don’t know my idea of fun, boys.” She retorted, and would have probably kicked the irritating boy in the shins. Even Elzo wouldn’t be this brazen! And that was saying a lot! Or maybe he was... being his friend didn’t necessarily make her immune to his advances after all.

Luckily, someone else had kicked him for her, and Eve almost expected to see Elzo or Castor; he wouldn’t blink at doing such things even in his superhero identity, really. It wasn’t him however, and she briefly glanced at the tall dark haired boy before moving besides him and placing a hand on his arm. “Well, there you are!” Complete with a bright smile, she made it seem like she knew him, but she didn’t. At all.

She would apologize later.

 

[Xaki]

"What the hell?!" The boy who had been kicked was on the ground, complained while rubbing at the sore spot. "My foot slipped?" Seth suggested, although it was a statement rather than a suggestion, and his annoyed expression didn't alter in the least.

The boy looked at Seth, as if he was assessing the older male, to see what it would entail if they involved themselves even further into the argument. Had they obliged Seth for a fight, Seth had no qualms about taking it up. But the girl (at the center of it all) had a different plan in mind - Seth looked mildly surprised, as Eve placed a hand on his arm. Of course, there was a "..." moment, but he caught on quickly enough, responding with a dry "..I see." His mouth quirked sardonically, seeing the tactic that the girl had taken to remove them from the situation. At the very least, the crystal girl hadn't taken to throwing herself into his arms or kissing him, because had she taken that route - well, the farce of a relationship wouldn't have lasted long. "I apologize for the wait then,"

And that decided it. ".. Let's go." The other male lifted up the boy who had been sitting on the ground, finding this situation far more troublesome than they had thought originally. A crystal girl was simple, a attached crystal girl with her boyfriend was not. He was dragging his reluctant friend along, having more sense then his foolish friend.

"Tch. Couldn't even hold their own." Seth raked a free hand through his hair, with a sigh of his own. It was only until they were out of sight, that Seth turned his attention towards the crystal girl.

"I don't know, nor do I care, but you should be more careful when wandering. Especially in that uniform of yours."  

[Melodine Cantus]

If only Eve knew what Seth was thinking, she would have made a face at him. She wasn't that brazen of a girl, however desperate she was to get rid of those annoying boys. If it was some boy she knew, then maybe. Just maybe. Elzo would have probably gone along with it happily if he had been here, she thought, amused by the thought. She didn't want to give a stranger a bad impression though! Let alone someone that was nice enough to stop and help her.

And she could have always said that he was her older brother! Anyone who really knew her would probably be suspicious if she said she had a boyfriend.

It was lucky that those boys didn't.

"People should stop stereotyping girls in the Crystal Academy uniform then!" She replied, removing her hand from his arm after the boys disappeared into the crowd, grinning up at him brightly. "Thanks anyway! I'm Eve Summers, and you are...?" Eve wasn't about to let him get away before knowing how she could repay him for the favor. She wasn't the ungrateful type.  

[Xaki]

"Unfortunately, the world is populated with idiots." A faint smile at the girl's nature - while most crystal girls would probably have said something similar, Seth could find himself believing that she was partly different.

At her introduction, Seth hesitated - and finally gave in. He supposed that it wouldn't hurt, giving a slight bow as he responded with his own name, "..Seth. Seth Eintetta," and held out his hand to shake.

"Well, Miss Summers. It's nice to meet you, despite our unusual circumstances." He shifted his grocery bags a bit, and leaned down to be more eye-level with Eve. If Seth knew what Eve was planning, he probably would have reassured the young lady that he needed no repayment for the favor. "What do you plan on doing now? Are you accompanied?" Seth wasn't one to care too much about other people, but it would have been troublesome (and a failure) on his part if someone else were to accost Eve after he had gone through the effort of disposing their predecessors.  

[Melodine Cantus]

If she was just normal Eve Summers, she would have thought nothing of his comment. But now, she saw the world as being made up of people from the Negaverse, and those that were senshi, and a lot of grey areas in between that were mostly civilians. Perhaps she wouldn't go so far as to call them idiots, not when she was tasked with protecting them right now. And telling herself that she was protecting idiots was a rather disturbing notion. No matter how true that could be.

"Nice to meet you too!" She replied, shaking his hand and blinking back at him with a mischievous smile. "I was about to go shopping; but shopping is incredibly boring alone when all your friends are busy with their own stuff." She grimaced briefly, then shrugged, turning her attention back to him. "It's alright though! I have a completely new mission now. What do you need done? Keep in mind that this is a job for a girl like me, so don't get too demanding!"  

[Xaki]

"Shopping, huh?" Seth's gaze veered off, more disinterested then anything else. Like other males, he had never understood the joy behind shopping, Seth regarded it as a tedious chore. It was necessary to go into the store, buy what was necessary, and then leave. It seemed pointless to spend extra time within a store to try on countless outfits, and browse through a number of items. But that was just him.

First, mischief, then resignation, and then happiness. Seth didn't go through a multitude of emotions, so it was understandable to have a slight pause, "What do I need done?"

The answer, 'nothing' was on the tip of his tongue. But then Seth remembered a troublesome task - a gift for his mother. The trouble didn't lay in the act of gift-giving or his mother - it was what to get for a gift? A female's opinion would probably be the best course of action - Seth normally didn't ask others, but he supposed that it wouldn't hurt this one time.

"I need to get a gift for my mother."

"But before that, mind if I drop these off first?" He held up the grocery bags, which would spoil if he left them out for too long.  

[Melodine Cantus]

Eve clapped her hands together in delight as he told her what he needed her advice on. "Perfect!" It really was the perfect thing to ask of her; whether it was shopping for herself or shopping for others, it didn't matter. There still was the thrill of looking through the shops and comparing items and thinking about what to buy, and she would have a shopping buddy!

Though if you wanted to be specific, she was his shopping buddy. Who cared? It was still the same thing, and Eve was pleased, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a silly satisfied grin on her face.

"That's okay!" She bobbed her head in agreement. "Do you need any help with those?" It was probably weird for a girl to be asking a guy such a thing, but hey, she had been working out lately, after all!  

[Xaki]

"No." Seth shook his head, brushing Eve's head with a light pet. He wasn't yet incapable of carrying shopping bags, and that would probably be the only (if ever a) reason that he wouldn't carry his own bags.

"My house isn't that far from here.. Mind walking?" He probably would have ridden his motorbike, if he wasn't in the middle of doing repairs and maintenance. But since it was - well, it wasn't as if the older male had a problem with exercise. When Eve shook her head, Seth merely nodded and continued on his way back home.

True to his word, it wasn't too far of a walk, his apartment was situated in a nice (if not a little uninhabited) neighborhood, a bit modest as if situated for middle-class wealth. It was clean, fairly new, and the neighborhood seemed to be free of trouble and strife that populated the lower rungs of the town. Seth took out his house keys. "Come in if you want."

( link here)

He unlocked the door revealing a two bedroom, two bathroom, kitchen, and living room apartment. The apartment was clean, although fairly empty aside from the necessities. A bed, a sofa, a small coffee table, a few mugs, a coffee maker, a desk, a laptop - nothing seemed to adorn the apartment that said 'Seth!' He was putting away the milk, vegetables, and eggs into the fridge and left the bread on the counter. "Eve?"  

[Melodine Cantus]

She didn't mind walking of course, and kept up some light chatter on the way. There were thank you's for saving her from those boys, and then she went on to wrinkle up her pretty nose and declare them to be uncouth and way too judging; not every Crystal girl was filthy rich that they could throw money around, you know! And oh, did he live alone... but that was a question that soon answered itself as she stepped into his apartment, which was quite neatly kept, although plain.

"This is nice." Eve said, looking around with a sort of fascinated look on her face. "I always thought about getting an apartment once I graduate but I couldn't stand living alone; it's much too boring for me. I mean, people want to be independent and all and get a house of their own, but family's important too, you know?" Then, realizing that she was babbling as her name was called, she whirled around to give him a guilty smile. "No offense to you of course. People have different opinions about these things."  

[Xaki]

Seth listened in silence as they walked along, it was unclear whether he was listening or not, or just content to listen to Eve's chatter.

He was putting away the last of the groceries, Eve's talking filling up the usually silent air. "It's all right." Other people might have preferred decorating their living place to pretty it up, but the older male wasn't one to care very about that. As long as he could live in it, was anything else really necessary? But Seth didn't miss the fascination on his face, taking the response that Eve didn't live alone then. A dorm, with a roommate at Crystal High? Or she corresponded from home?

The guilty smile had him quirking a vague grin, "No offense taken." Seth didn't look affected by Eve's rambling, so it was clear that her rambling had not been the reason that he had called her name. Instead, he had a bottle of water offered to her as she turned around. The cold beverage was nestled against her cheeks, a refreshing feeling if Eve didn't mind it. "..?" Water? The silent question remained between the two of them, as Seth left the beverage for Eve to decide whether or not she wanted to drink it;

He discarded his school jacket and tie, casually hanging it over the sofa as he took his own swig of water. They would leave as soon as they were both done with their drinks, unless Eve had something else in mind?  

[Melodine Cantus]

Eve let out a little surprised squeak as she turned and was faced, quite literally, with the bottle of water Seth held. It took her a while to register what he meant by it; he could be just being too close when holding his drink. He was a pretty tall guy after all, but then again guys were supposed to be taller than girls! When she was sure he had his own beverage, she took the bottle and took a few sips, then seated herself on the sofa's armrest while looking up at him quizzically.

"So, what does your mother like? Hobbies and all?" It was hard to know what to get for someone, whether they were the same gender or not, if you didn't know what they preferred. If the answer had something to do with clothing, then she needed sizes. Buying clothing, or even shoes, as a gift was difficult though. Especially if you wanted to surprise them. You'd never know if it would fit them properly or not; sometimes, some brands had different cuts.  

[Xaki]

Seth was leaning against the back of the couch, when Eve's question caught his attention. "Not clothing.." Clothing was a difficult choice, especially when Seth knew that his mother didn't need any clothing. At the very least, his father brought her enough. Seth preferred something long-lasting, rather then something that would fade and deteriorate after a couple of times in the washing machine.

He paused in drinking his water, mused for a few minutes, thinking of his mother -A gentle woman who loved piano playing, who appreciated the simplicities of life. "She plays the piano.. She loves animals, and those," He grasped for the word, "fairy tales..?" It had been a long time since the male had read anything similar to a fairy tale with it's happy endings, "Cinderella with the glass slipper, or Sleeping Beauty with that rose." While other men might have been a slight bit embarrassed to say such female things, Seth didn't seem to mind.

"Anything up your alleyway?"  

[Melodine Cantus]

Not clothing might be a short answer, but it was a very good answer to her. That would make this mission much more easier!

Seth's mother apparently liked piano playing, which brought a fond smile to Eve's face, remembering Serenade's dedication to her piano. If they were to buy anything piano related, she could call her and ask for advice, maybe? Then again, Eve didn't really think piano books were a good gift. Or maybe a metronome?

"A crystal ornament, maybe?" She suggested. "Jada and I were looking at some the other day while shopping. We could get something fairy tale related, maybe?" Which female did not adore charming crystal ornaments? At least she and Jada did.  

[Xaki]

"She'd like that." Seth's face softened at remembering his mother, leaving a momentary lull in the conversation. A crystal ornament suited her - his mother loved the shiny and rainbow hues that glass created in the light, having sometimes stopped Seth to admire the view.

As Eve spoke about her other day, Seth was just listening quietly, until he heard a certain name. "Jada?" The name struck a bell, of a young girl with black hair that he had met when he was younger. He hought about it for a few seconds - it might be the same, or it might be a different girl. He couldn't recall too much about her though, and brushed coincidences aside.

"We'll leave after you've finished your drink then." Seth had already finished his, having left the empty bottle on the coffee table while he wandered over to sort his mail. A bit of miscellaneous things, some junk mail, some bills, and a purple evelope with yellow trim that Eve might have recognized. Rather then opening it though, Seth left it on the coffee table, and leaned back against his chair.  

[Melodine Cantus]

Eve clapped her hands together exultantly. "Wonderful!" That narrowed down the shops to visit, although she would probably first drag him to the one that she and Jada went to at that time. She had seen some very intricate and lovely ones, and there had been pretty porcelain figures too!

"Jada Chamberlyn." She said, raising an eyebrow. "Do you know her--oh!" She had spotted the familiar looking envelope and immediately recognized it for what it was. "You do know her!" Her seat on the couch's armrest was abandoned, and she knelt next to the coffee table instead to study the envelope to make sure she was right. It was indeed, like the one that she had received from her classmate! "It's an invitation to her Debuatante Ball." Which she was going alone to; although she had asked her parents about attending it with her, her father had refused, saying that they weren't as filthy rich as the Chamberlyns for Szelem to not regard them with a condescending eye.

But at least she knew Elke and Serenade were going... and her new friend was too!