Welcome to Gaia! ::

Devlin, social artistic butterfly that he was, had made his way down to the park with his easel and colored pencils. He didn't seem the least bit troubled by the cooler air of the season; he was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt and fitted jeans that didn't suit the rest of him at all. He was clearly not from Gaia; his appearance said that. Chestnut colored hair fell into his eyes in a wave; only the very tips of his ears were noticiable through his thick wavy hair. Startling blue silver eyes were focused on something else, rather than on his picture, however.

A very beautiful something else, too. A someone, rather. He stood up from his place on his stool, stretching. The woman in question and her--what had his cousin called them? Shadow seemed to be heading for the icecream cart.

He could do that. "Hey Puff, want some icecream? My treat."

And so the two made their way towards the icecream cart, the dragon-like shadow running along ahead while Devlin followed behind cheerfully. This was going to be a great day. He could feel it.

Devlin smiled in the direction of Alice; though it was clear that he wondered what the fuss was all about. Hadn't she seen an elf before? Or perhaps he wasn't what she was so excited about. (Modest boy was modest). Perhaps it was Puff she was interested in.

Speaking of Puff, the shadow had responded to Alice's shriek by running towards her. "Pu! Pu pu pu pu!" he chirped excitedly as he neared them. "Pu uff! Puff! Pu pu pu!" He paused when he was directly in front of Alice. He stared at her, tilting his head both ways as if to look at her from all angles. His wings flapped in excitement, tail wagging to and fro.

All plans of meeting Adalia through icecream faded from Devlin's mind. Brilliant shadow, Puff had already figured out a way! This would give him an excuse to talk to the beautiful young lady; and his cousin's shadow might be able to make a friend. He strode over to them, stuffing his money back into his pocket. "Hello," he said, giving Adalia a smile.

Puff seemed confused for a moment, before he took a lick of the icecream offered to him. He smiled in surprise. Ice cream was delicious! "Puff! Pu pu pu!" he said excitedly, shaking his head. Ice cream was deliciously cold, wasn't it? He frowned, realizing he had nothing to give Alice in return. He looked around, hoping to see--ah! He bent down, picking up a penny.

He offered it to her with a smile. "Pu?" A shiny penny was worth ice cream. He just knew it.

Devlin seemed awkward as he shook his head. "No," he replied. "He belongs to my cousin's son, or something of that sort." He smiled at her. "I was asked to watch over him today." He paused, realizing he hadn't introduced himself. She must have thought he was rude. "I am Devlin," he said. "May I ask you your name?"

Puff was equally pleased that Alice seemed to be happy with the exchange. His tail wagged back and forth while his wings flapped. "Pu!" he said happily. "Pu pu!" He was so pleased that she'd liked the penny, the next time he found one, he was determined to give it to her too.

"Adalia," Devlin repeated, smiling. "You have a beautiful name." He wasn't completely oblivious to her nervousness; but he wasn't sure way. Certainly it wasn't because he was a good looking male. No, he was far too modest for that to even come to mind. Perhaps she was ill. He gave her a concerned look. "Are you alright?" he asked. "Not feeling well?"

"Pu?" Puff asked, tilting his head. Why was she being so nice? He beamed at her, before taking another lick. This time, he knew just what to give her in return. He had seen his host do it so many times before, it was almost second nature. How had he not thought of it before? His wings flapped, and soon he was next to Alice.

He put his cheek to hers, in failed attempt to kiss her cheek in thanks; though the shadow seemed oblivious to the fact. "Pu!"

Devlin was confused. She was going red, did she have a fever? He moved to put a hand on her forehead to check. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, concerned. "You're going all red." He didn't seem to have realized he was coming on strong; though he did find the girl attractive. Very.

Puff was equally pleased that Alice had seemed to like what his host called a 'kiss'. His host had explained that people did that to those they liked. "Pu!" he agreed, tail twitching in happiness. They were friends! "Pu?" he asked, looking at Devlin and Adalia. The woman seemed so shy. Maybe she was as scared of Devlin as Puff was of the dark, or wardrobes? Didn't she know the man was quite nice?

"Uff," he tried to reassure her with a smile and a flap of the wings, before his attention went back to Alice. "Pu?"

Devlin was concerned. He'd never had anyone react to him quite like that. "Well, you don't have a fever," he said with a frown. "But..." His ears twitched in distress. "If you're sure you're alright then," he said. There was something genuine about his concern; he really was worried Adalia was ill. She was acting so... strangely.

Puff frowned slightly, seemingly able to understand Alice. Or perhaps he was frowning because he understood that Adalia wanted to leave, and that would mean no more Alice. He decided the best solution was to wrap his arms around Alice and cling there. He only loosened his hold to shake a finger at Adalia.

No. He wouldn't let her take his Alice. Because Alice was his. And he loved her. He also really loved shinies. He decided to tell Adalia so, just in case she hadn't figured that out (he had found some hosts; including his own, to be rather unintelligent at times). "Uff! Fff! Pfff! Ufffff Puff!" he complained, tightening his hold on Alice.

"Allow me to walk you home then," Devlin offered with a smile. "You shouldn't walk home by yourself--something might happen." He had no idea what, but Gaia seemed altogether a scary place. A nice, scary place, if that made sense.