Welcome to Gaia! ::

The girls had confined themselves solely to their home recently even though the storm had finally broken and they were free to do as they pleased. Of course that was hard to do when neither was able to easily move from one part of a room to another without falling or crashing into something. Yet after hours and hours of practice, with more tears and cursing than one would have liked, both females seemed to finally be getting the hang of their "new" bodies.

Bobbing and weaving shakily, Ebony crossed the living room to stand next to Cordelia and the fireplace. Afterward she slumped to the ground thoroughly exhausted. She couldn't understand how Raevans made it seem so easy. It took all her concentration to keep herself afloat while willing her half of a torso to move forward or any other direction. What was worse was that she still felt like she had legs she could move, the dreaded phantom limbs affect many amputees spoke of. Frustrated for not being able to catch on fast, Ebony addressed her ward. "What exactly am I doing wrong Cordelia? You Raevans never seem to have any problems moving about."

Delia had gave a small clap to her woman for being able to at least make it across the room in one go now. That was progress yes? Her guardian didn't seem to agree with that though, asking what she was doing wrong. Tilting her purple head from side to side, the girl thought. Shrugging, "I dunno. We just know how to do it I guess. I've never had to think about it. Maybe you should do that? Not think about it." Of course that was easier said than done.

At the sound of the doorbell ringing both females quickly clammed up, giving one another a curiously apprehensive glance. They hadn't been expecting anyone, yet the skies had cleared for long enough now that things in the city were probably getting back to normal. Say things like the mail. But today wasn't a mail day, yet what with the weather messing things up and such, it wasn't a complete impossibility. The two remained still and quiet a moment longer with bated breathe. Perhaps if they did so then whomever on the other side would surely realize no one was home and simply leave. Alas no such luck as a familiar voice called out to them.

"Lazarus!" Cordelia crowed in joyous surprise as she half dashed, half stumbled her way towards the front door.

"Cordelia! No!" Ebony hissed as she desperately tried to propel herself forward fast enough to catch her charge. Why the hell was this so damn hard?!

A couple more moments of excitable fumbling with the latches and finally the door came swinging wide open. "Hi Laz!" Practically bouncing on her newly acquired appendages, Delia was all for throwing herself upon the fire Sigel in one of her patented hugs, but at the last moment the purple haired girl came to a screeching halt.

Though she was never in any real danger, the girl's natural aversion to water was still very much embedded in her brain. So much so that Delia's brow knitted into a careful expression balanced between slight disgust and cautious skepticism. "What..." she began, her voice dripping with mild contempt. "...is that?" Cordelia ended, a well manicured nail pointing sharply towards the bowl Lazarus held, making sure not to actually touch it while she did so.

Won? Keep? Cordelia blinked slow towards the fishy fox and stared intently on its little beady black eyes as it seemed to sense her discontent and tried to back closer to the demonic Sigel, creating great splashes of water to slosh out of its bowl. Not really one for keeping her emotions under raps, Delia cringed and physically took a step or two back herself. Just the sight of water coming anywhere near her seemed to cause the girl to become a mute once again.

After a bit of zig-zagging and furniture bumping, Ebony finally managed to float a straight line to the door. Not that it did her any good now seeing as it was wide open with a positively puzzled looking Lazarus standing in it. Giving a tired sigh, the dark Frei floated up to join them.

Ebony frowned at her charge's sudden change in demeanor and looked the fire Raevan over again with a more skeptical look in her eyes. Did he say or do something inappropriate again? Her hard-edged expression disappeared when she spotted the thing in his arms. Floating in for a closer look at the freaky, yet oddly cute creature, "Didn't you want it for yourself? You won it too Lazarus, so you could have just kept it without telling us. Not like anyone would have known."

Smokey eyes looked up to the Sigel with a bit of fascinated admiration. It seemed Ebony had been utterly wrong about the true nature of Lazarus. Such polite and chivalrous regard for others, it was refreshing. She felt bad now for thinking so poorly of him for the last several months. Obviously he was the complete, upstanding embodiment of what the first of his kind should be, a perfect role model for the rest. Kyou must be very proud.

"Well..." Ebony eyed the chimera for a moment or so, debating. It wasn't in her nature to just turn something away that needed a home, and the longer she looked at those pathetic puppy dog like eyes, it grew harder to deny the little critter. He looked so scared. Was it because of how she looked?

Tilting down again to be eye level with the bowl, Ebony wagged a finger at the foxfish playfully. "He is kinda cute. Oh, it is a boy right? Oh! I'm sorry, how rude of me! Do please come in Lazarus." She floated aside to allow the elder Raevan in.

Cordelia on the other hand was not happy about any of this. Eyes wide and never really leaving that horrific bowl of water, she grabbed her guardian by the elbow as Laz entered and Ebony shut the door. Voice low so as not to upset her friend, Delia hissed, "Ebby! You can't seriously keep that...that THING!"

"Cordelia, please." she hissed back as she gently removed the girl's death grip on her arm. "The poor thing doesn't have a home. Besides, you could do with some responsibility in taking care of another living being."

"But..." she started to protest, but was cut short as Ebony somehow found the ability to float in a straight line and after the Sigel. Confidence was a strange and powerful force it seemed, but Delia only found it annoying then. She didn't want that water thing in her house let alone her zipcode! But of course, it wasn't up to her. Thus the girl sulked off to another part of the home, getting as far away from it as was physically possible. Yes it was rude to leave her friend, but if Ebby played her part well he wouldn't even be concerned. Cordelia was with him physically as far as he knew.

Floating up to Lazarus's side, Ebony gave the other a confused expression before logic kicked in again. Right...she was the Raevan now and thus her guardian was upset. "Huh? Oh! Well you know Ebony, she's um, just cranky is all. Martial arts injury." she quickly replied. Hopefully that would carry well as to the awkward walking and bad mood.

Eager to move the conversation away from guardians and such, Ebony practically jumped at the chance to help the incubus. "Oh! Sorry, here let me get that then." Just when she went to take the bowl from Lazarus, a large batch of water sloshed over the side and splashed across her arms. Completely innocent and wouldn't have been a problem if it were anyone else or if she were in her own body, but it was Cordelia's.

Ebony gave a scream a moment after the water had hit, sending puffs of smoke hissing towards the air and shots of searing pain through her arms. Though it did little to actually harm her arms (the limbs reforming back to their natural state the moment the infected parts had evaporated), the pain was near unbearable. Like having big chunks of her skin and muscle torn from her body, or rather she imagined that's how it'd feel. Slowly she drifted to what could only be thought of as a "kneeling" position on the wood paneled floor and cradled her arms to her chest.

Tears of true pain glittered upon those silver orbs as Ebony rocked back and forth, cradling her arms tight to her chest. Slowly, as the pain began to lessen, her mind began to finally comprehend her charge's unnatural and often debilitating avoidance to all forms of water now. The smoke that made up half of what she was could not mix with the liquid properly and merely caused her body to reject it. It seemed so obvious now that Ebony felt utterly stupid for not realizing it before.

Ebony jumped some when Lazarus questioned her once more (momentarily having forgotten his presence), this time his voice seeming closer than before. It was then that she noticed he'd drifted down to her level in an effort to physically make sure the basilisk was all right. She relaxed some, but closed her eyes to try and will more calm to claim her. Slowly she replied, "I'm...not sure..." Was it her imagination or did the place seem slightly colder all of a sudden?

She hadn't really wanted to move just then, wanting to wait and see whether everything truly was okay. Yet Ebony found she was too tired (and cold) to argue and allowed the older (warmer) Raevan to escort her to the couch. She watched quietly as he attended to the fire, giving a bit of a small chuckle at how easy it had been for him to create it. What she wouldn't give for fire powers right about now.

Not as soon as the fire was lit did Ebony begin to notice a change within. Gradually, though quickly, she could feel the heat seeping in or rather it felt as if her body was drawing it in and soon enough she couldn't feel that uncomfortable level of cold anymore, though it still seemed to linger just off her skin. Sighing with some amount of content and relief, "Yes, much. Thank you." A single smokey gaze looked to the water puddles on the wood floor. She'd just hate it if the water ruined her floor. "I should clean that up."

Meanwhile, Cordelia, having heard the scream, had crept down the stairs to investigate. Though she was still a bit mad at Ebony for dismissing her like she had, the girl would have never forgiven herself if something horrible had befallen her beloved guardian if she could have stopped it.

Peering through the bars of the wooden banister, Delia's eyes narrowed. It was like re-watching a scene from her past with Lazarus, herself and the fire. There was something of a pang in her heart then, something that caused her blood to boil with an ire she wasn't sure how to describe for she'd never really experienced it before. Jealously perhaps? Whatever it was, Delia didn't like it and it only served to make her once again upset at her woman. Thus with a severely pulled down lip, the purple haired girl marched back up to her room to sulk at the injustice placed against her.