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Who: Melisande, Zul, and Lucia
Where: the same park from Balloon Picnic (in Gambino)
When: Early evening
Weather: warm with a soft breeze



Lucia wasn’t really looking forward to this. She didn’t trust herself. She didn’t want to be around anyone but Pasha had called her, and Zul had seemed so excited. He wanted to meet her since they had sent the balloons. That seemed so long ago. And wasn’t it? She didn’t remember. Life had gotten so complicated since she decided to become a murderer. It wasn’t your fault she said to herself, repeating Zul’s mantra. But she certainly didn’t agree with it.

Zul’s hand was holding hers, a position she hoped he was getting used to. It made her more secure. He could always get rid of anymore Brians. And “seeing Pasha would be good for her.” She knew it was true. But she was more driven by Zul’s excitement. A few days ago Zul had told her she should try to see her friends. She had to trust herself around them again. And then Pasha called her cell phone just yesterday.

So somehow she and Zul were floating to the park to meet Pasha. The frei still had her ribbon wrapped around her forearm, and was playing with the buckle prong as she floated very low, her head even with Zul’s shoulder. The wind swirled around her, making the hair in her face stir gently. ”She said we’d meet on the field where she and I made the balloons. “ Her voice was soft, as it had been. Though her eyes were raised, they continually darted around, fidgety and almost on edge.

Her hand gently squeezed Zul’s, pulling her body closer to his. He would help her through it. He'd been so good for her so far.

Melisande peeked around the tree silently, one hand brushing the bark. Her eyes skimmed the park, and when she spotted them, she tensed. That had to be Lucia, but at this distance, she wasn't sure. It was a dark haired Raevan, but had she ever seen the Frei look like this? She was subdued to the point she almost looked...cold. Pasha blinked, forgetting her own troubles slowly. But it wasn't cold out, it was a nice day! Nice enough that she'd decided to wear her white belted men's dress shirt, unbuttoned low enough to show the pink bikini top she wore underneath. Wrapping her arms around her slender chest, Melisande shivered in sympathy. What was wrong?

She took a moment to look the other Raevan over before drifting out from behind the little tree. He made that same voice stir that Cordelia had: dangerous. She'd been wrong about Delia, though, so the muse dismissed the silent warning in her head. This must be Zul. Meeting someone new was always exciting!

Melisande lifted one hand, and waved just a bit before gliding their direction. Her irrational worry that Aki would somehow find out about the phone call, and follow them here, all but vanished. For the moment, all that mattered was that she was among friends again.

"Lucia?" Her tone sounded more worried, and less excited than she intended. Pasha's eyes flicked to the other Raevan, and she tried a small smile. "Zul?" The wind blew a loose curl across her face, and Pasha shook her head back to free it. He looked so...interesting! And the way he was protecting Lucia, with one wing around her back, was curious. What was he protecting her from? Meli's blue eyes were wide as she pondered this, still drifting closer to the pair.

The demon's eyes moved with Lucia's, and like the Kitten's, they remained on the Sigel before them. Unlike Lucia, however, Zul's stare was filled both with surprise and something that screamed a desire to have. The brief, feral look flickered over his face and managed to stay relegated to his eyes, though his slightly slackened jaw did little to ease the notion that he was dumbstruck. He had never seen anyone so...ethereal. So feminine. So befitting of the term 'beautiful.' LuLu was exotic, Cordelia was dangerous, Lucia was alluring - but this one. This one defined the word in the most perfect fashion yet. He could not determine if it was purely aesthetic or something more akin to their make up, but he was just distracted enough to not think on it much further.

And goodness, what was she wearing? Zul heartily approved! If less was more - and it was, by his credence - she received an A for effort!

The Kitten floating backwards seemed to snap his trance, fingers wrapping with Lucia's, his marbled wing fitting around her back again, bone tip lighting carefully against her shoulder. "Ah, Meli--Puh--?" Zul found his tongue rather uncooperative for a moment, blinking his wide azure eyes between the females in a most baffled manner. It was, in retrospect, a good thing he had the Kitten to occupy him, or his overwhelming sense of curiosity and pose for claiming the Muse would have been nearly impossible to ignore. He would have to sort his head out later; he still had the here and now to deal with.

Tilting his head to the side and mentally having to unknot his tongue, he tried to speak again. "Good day," he greeted her in a voice full of smoke and intrigue, his eyes turning away from the blonde Sigel to the dark-haired Frei against him. Squeezing her hand again, he deduced that she had not informed the Muse of what had happened. He would not speak on it himself, not yet; it was not his place to. Zul bowed his tri-horned crown to Melisande, falling silent after his initial greeting in favor of letting the two friends catch up.

It'd give him a moment to gather his wits, at the very least; despite his blunder, he wasn't overly keen on coming across as a complete newborn to the Sigel.

She noticed the stammering of her friend, but wouldn’t embarrass him. Rivener used to do the same with her. . . Not that it had meant anything. But as the beauty before her’s smile slowly faded when she was questioned how she was, the frei had to force herself to remain stoic. Don’t get too close to anyone, she chastised herself. You’ll only hurt them. She was so used to voices in her head, that talking to herself, was normal.

And then Pasha asked for a hug. Her will faltered. She bit her lip and her body visibly trembled. She didn’t want to hurt Melisande. Her eyes watered again. Lucia took a slow deep breath and squeezed Zul’s hand. She…missed…me. She wrapped her arms again around Pasha, hardly realizing that she had forgotten to release Zul’s hand right until she touched the sigel. As she hugged her friend she couldn’t help herself. Her hair was in her eyes and her face was against Pasha’s chest as she hugged firmly. And her emotions overwhelmed her. Her body didn’t move except for a slight trembling of her shoulders as the tears swelled out of her eyes, down her cheeks and onto Pasha’s shirt. She held her body tightly against the older raevan. She hadn’t cried. She hadn’t let it get away from her. And four words from her first friend made her lose it.

”Pasha” she whispered as she took a breath. She would wait until she let go to let go too. For the moment, she lost herself in the hug. She closed her eyes, felt the tears well and just hugged.

Melisande caught Lucia up gracefully, curling a bit as she was taller and longer in the hug. She didn't squeeze tight. Pasha just relaxed, delighted that they were still friends, and that maybe Lucia missed her too. She only started a bit once Zul brushed her, and at his words.

"You are~" Pasha agreed, finally drifting back and smiling at Lucia. She might have mistaken Zul's comment, but Meli was distracted by the tears on her shirt before she could think about it. Her eyes were wide as she sank down a bit, to peer into Lucia's face.

"Are you...sad?" The muses voice was curious, and a tiny bit troubled. She offered one hand to the Frei to hold, and after a moment of hesitation, offered her other hand to Zul. He seemed like a good friend as well, and anyone that Lucia trusted so much had to be a friend worth having!

The demon's hand remained as the Kitten released Melisande, resting it on her slender back out of habit more than anything - he was very nearly used to touching her as a source of consolation now. He'd seen his woman cry before; he knew that humans didn't like to show that emotion in front of others, and simply assumed that Raevans may not have been much different in that respect. The least Zul could do was offer his understanding in her sadness, as he had been a personal part of it, after all.

He looked to the Muse as she offered him his hand, somewhat quizzical. He himself didn't need the comfort, but something in the Sigel's face said that maybe she did-- "Ah?" Zul started as he was tugged down, staring unblinkingly at Lucia for a moment and obligingly, he 'sat,' his free hand moving to take Melisande's slender one with his own. "No need to apologize," he murmured quietly into the black hair that brushed over his shoulder, keeping his arm in place for the Kitten to lean on. Though he hadn't claimed her, he felt the necessity to support her as a friend in the very least.

When Lucia said she didn't want to talk about it, Zul's blue eyes flit towards the Muse's own cerulean ones, giving a very slight shake of his head, trying to impart that whatever was ailing the Kitten was still too fresh to talk through. He squeezed Melisande's hand gently, and since his arm was otherwise occupied by the Frei's hold, he tilted his head to touch his cheek to Lucia's ashen ear. The demon never fancied himself a knight of any type of proportion, but he was staking his territory; if any other demon, phantom or otherwise wanted to mess with Lucia, they'd have to tango with him first. It was, in his own way, a temporary claim over the usually independent Kitten until she was back in her comfort zone again.

He exhaled quietly as Lucia voiced his previous thoughts - that something was bothering the Sigel. If anything, he could provide another pair of ears to the Muse's plight, if she wished - or he could give them space. If the two females could help each other heal, it would be best for both of them - and perhaps himself, should he be able to find Melisande again after this was all over with...

The frei didn’t notice Zul’s visual to Pasha, but she felt relieved when the Muse left the topic alone. She didn’t want to talk about – all that. Her head cocked downward, but her eyes remained on her friend, making her resemble a begging puppy. Though Melisande said nothing was wrong, the Kitten could tell something WAS off. She was hesitant. She was cautious. It wasn’t like her.

A secret . . . she had a few of her own. Though she wasn’t accustomed to the direness and absolute secrecy of a pinky swear, Lucia slipped her hand out of Zul’s and held up her pinky in the same manner as the Muse. As the Sigel’s pinky wrapped around her own and their hand lowered, the Kitten’s head cocked slightly to the side. What would this secret be? She wanted to know, and trying to imagine it before told was almost enough to distract her from her current predicament. Did Meli get a new puppy? Did she get a new power? Did she have a secret boyfriend?

With the real news of the secret, the frei’s eyes went wide. She ran away?! Lucia opened her mouth to speak while Pasha paused. Running away wouldn’t help, she knew. She had done it before. She had been away from home for so long now, she realized. Before she could chastise the older raevan, Melisande spoke again.

”Move?!” Now Lucia didn’t know what to do. She did not want Pasha to go away. She loved the Muse. But she couldn’t just run away and have no one know where she was. She was silent and reflective. She stared openly at her friend.

Meli did not seem dirty. She did not seem distressed. Other than her sadness, she did not seem to be hurting or sick or needing to eat. Maybe it was okay. Lucia wasn’t sure. Her eyes turned to Zul. What did he think about this bit of news?

Melisande let her hand slip from Lucia's, and shrugged, feeling a bit awkward. She suddenly wished she had legs, so she could wrap her arms around her knees like Vi did when she was thinking. "I liked my home, but...I didn't know what else to do! And I've met so many nice people..."

She trailed off, brilliant blue eyes following Zul as he distanced himself. The muse blushed instantly, pink brushing high on her cheeks. Was she prattling? Had she bored him? What a fine way to treat someone new, going on about her own problems! She'd just resolved to change the subject, when the demon spoke.

For a moment, the words didn't really register. He really did have a lovely voice! She blinked twice...once to focus her attention back on the conversation, and another as she realized what he was saying. "Kyou...would be mad? I think..." She swallowed, and reached out blindly for Lucia's hand again, just to hold it. "I think Aki is mad at Kyou! She called, a while ago, and the message at the lab..."

The breeze picked up for a moment, pulling Meli's loose curls across her face. She met the kitten's eyes, looking sad, and a little scared. "...I think...something bad happened. Aki thinks we should leave, go somewhere...safer."