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As much as Ladon and Billy had wanted to stay locked in his apartment, matters were getting a tad bit serious. While Billy had finally teleported out in the middle of the night to grab his box of clothes so that he wouldn't be Frebreezing his one outfit over and over, that didn't fix the matter that there was little to no food in the house. Ladon hadn't really stocked up, being a teenager in a new apartment, and had only the most basic of kitchen cookery. Some pots and pans, and a mismatched set of eating utensils. He owned 4 plates, 3 bowls, 2 cups, and a mug. Pretty good, but not stellar. It was the lack of food that was starting to get pressing, and even the bread was going out.

It was why, when Ladon got a call from a fellow Nega wanting to help out, that he accepted - much to Billy's protest. A free meal was a free meal, and Ladon still wasn't up to cooking what little they had. He wasn't up for being alone either while Billy left to go to the store, and while he had said he'd go with him, walking down all those stairs and back just wasn't in his capabilities right now. The very idea exhausted him.

Plopped on the couch, he thought of who exactly Flourite was. There were plenty of lieutenants coming in all the time, and he wished he could meet and known them all. For her to come here and want to help out was rather touching, though a bit awkward since she was still a bit of a stranger. Still, considering the note from a few nights back, the Negaverse was family, new faces and old.

Pulling out a box, Ladon pulled out a stack of money he had been collecting from energy orb victims. It's how he paid rent, food, and other things he needed. "Here. Just.....be safe." It was just a trip to the store, but he worried. He'd always worry now.

Along with his box of clothes, Billy also grabbed his own wallet. Between the two of them, Billy would both make one hell of a quick trip and fill the cabinets.

"I'll be alright. You be safe. I'll be back as quick as I can." Because he wasn't comfortable leaving Ladon in the care of anything or anyone short of Tanzanite. That might have been the only way he would have felt safe leaving Ladon for any amount of time.

As Billy was headed to the door, that was when Ashley came a-knockin'.

The door quickly opened.

The silver-haired boy that greeted her stone-face, assessing, judging, was probably somewhat unnerving. But he vaguely remembered Fluorite from the rescue mission. And she was Big Brother's Lieutenant. He sighed, and stepped aside so she could come in.

"I'll be back soon," then came a hair raising, "Take care of him," to Ashley.

Yes. Billy was going to be a assy guard dog for many days to come. Until everything was comfortable again. Until that confidence was built back up. So it was nothing to really be taken TOO personally...

Thankfully, Ashley had always been social and empathic to others' feelings and emotions. She understood, and she didn't take it personally. She figured she would act the same if she had been in his shoes, and that look that the silver-haired man had given her was probably the look he gave to anyone that crossed this doorframe. Ashley simply nodded and stepped inside, careful not to collide right into poor Ladon. "I will." She nodded. Billy could leave with a free conscience, even though he likely would not.

She would protect Ladon, Wolframite, with her own life if it came down to it. But it wouldn't. The senshi wouldn't find them here, not with neither of them wearing their uniforms. To the world, they were three teens facing a tough time, and dealing the best they could.

It probably wasn't too far from the truth.

"Yes." She confirmed. "You can call me Ashley. Ashley Desmond. It's easier for now, no ?" Ladon... Ladon Shepard... the name felt familiar, but somehow she couldn't quite place it. Oh well, it didn't matter now.

She nodded and carried her bags to the table, carefully peering into the contents as if to make sure she had forgotten nothing. "You should... probably be resting ? Sitting, at least..." There was kindness and worry in her tone, even though the almost healed cut on her cheek and her bandaged knuckles made her look more like the warrior she had been a few nights before. "Don't worry, I can handle everything. Im sure I can manage with what you have." She gave the pot a look, and then picked the biggest one, as well as pulling out a cutting board and a knife. "I wasn't sure what kind of vegetables you liked, so I just brought what I usually make soup with." Carrots, celery, and garlic could be seen in the bag. Nothing too offensive.

Ashley was determined not to let him do a thing beyond sitting her and talking to her, and she certainly wouldn't be offended if he decided to go sleep... Though she figured it would be awkward to sleep while a stranger was busying herself in your kitchen.

She was emptying the contents of her bags - good lord, there was so many things in there. Way too much for one simple cauldron of soup. Either Ashley had no sense of mesurement, or she very well planned to cook them enough soup to last them a week.

It was the later, actually. She did stop in mid-motion when she was asked the question, looking a little surprised. "I do go to Meadowview..." Did he, too ? Was it where she had heard his name ?

"Ah... I thought your name was familiar." She admitted. "Like I've heard it somewhere, but I couldn't quite pinpoint it. You went to Meadowview too, then ?" At least it sounded like a went, with the way he was talking about it.

She waited until he was sitting, glass of water nearby and blanket in his lap, before doing the same as well, hand reaching into the bag for a rather large onion. She cut the top and then started to remove the papery skin, before neatly chopping it in half and laying it cut-face down on the cutting board to cut it into neat, even pieces. It was evident that Ashley knew what she was doing, working fast, but not fast enough where she risked to harm herself.

She looked thoughtful at his question, almost as if counting down days in her mind, though she didn't stop with the cutting. "After you were taken." She admitted. "Maybe... A week ? Or so ? Not very long." Indeed. Not very long, and yet she had still gone to save them.

"Scheelite recruited me. We know each other from a long time ago, but we had lost touch with each other for a long time." She carefully put the cut onion aside in a bowl before getting started with the other half. "He saw me alone in the street and freaked out, teleported us on a rooftop, and it just... kind of went down from there. He was... He was so scared about you all." She looked pained as she said that. "And it seemed that no matter how I searched, how I helped, it was never enough..."

It was a little painful, listening to him speak like that. The pain in each of his motions, in his eyes, in his voice. She couldn't even begin to fathom the pain he had endured, everything he had gone though. His wounds gave hints, but she could not know. Even if told, Ashley would probably never understand.

Ashley stopped, slid the rest of the onion in the bowl, then looked over, a thoughtful look on her face. "They call us monsters." She said. "But perhaps they should stop to look at those mirrors before sliding through them. Then they would see what true monsters look like."

To hear that she had been a good choice, a good officer... It made her happy, it made her feel useful. Welcome. "Thank you. I've been doing my best..." Even if her best hadn't been enough. "Im always with Demy, most of the time. I don't know much about fighting yet, but im learning. He keeps me safe." And she kept him sane, at least while the search had been going on.

After consideration, she reached for another onion. The smell didn't seem to be bothering her, and she hoped it wasn't bothering Ladon.

"I know he is." Ashley said with a smile. She knew him enough, or at least had known him enough. The both of them had changed, in their time apart, and slowly they were getting to know each other again. "I... have met General Zinkenite, yes." Her cheeks colored at that, and she really hoped that Ladon wouldn't ask HOW. This was probably the worst first impression one could give to an higher officer, EVER. And did Ladon even knew about the General's power to change his image ? She had been asked to keep it on the down low...

"I'll keep that in mind." She nodded. But she wouldn't call for him until he was completely recovered, that was for sure.

With her second onion out of the way, she reached in for a carrot, which was swiftly diced into smaller chunks that would cook easily, and were just the right size for a spoonful. "I've been cooking for a long time, ever since I was little." ...Bad choice of words here, but Ladon would know what she meant. She folded one leg over the other, fidgeting a bit. Usually she did prep-work standing, it kept her legs from cramping up. But she figured Ladon was more likely to stay sitting and resting if she was doing the same. "Im pretty good at it... My mother is half-asian, so I know how to cook a whole lot of asian food. I love it." She said with a smile. "I don't... bake too well, through. It's kind of a disaster." She gave a cute little pout.

Then, she looked at her empty glass. "Do you want me to get you some more water ?"

Ashley looked vaguely alarmed when she saw the look of pain on her face. "Are you alright ?!" She'd nearly bolted up from her chair, but only calmed when it looked like he was, in fact, alright, that he'd just moved his hand in a way he shouldn't have.

"I don't mind fast food every now and then." She shrugged. "But i'd rather cook myself. You're right that there's no real care in preparation in fast food, and I like to know what goes in my food." But every now and then, she'd make an exception, because of her friends. "My favorite restaurant is this little italian one in east heights... Giovaninna. Have you ever been there ? Their pizza is amazing, as is their lasagna. The lady who owns this place makes one of the best spaghetti sauce I've ever had." She all but beamed.

"Mom says that for baking, you really need to follow the recipe. By the letter." The carrot bits were put with the onion, and she pondered it some before reaching for the celery. The bag was getting emptier by the minute now, save for the stray carrot or two, the garlic, and the egg noodles. "Im not really good at doing that. I always have to do my own things... I rarely ever have a recipe when I cook, unless im doing something complicated." Which explained the eyeballing, really. "The last time I made a cake, it didn't even rise. Came out of the oven hard as an hockey puck. Then I had to race to go buy my brother a birthday cake before the bakeries closed..."