Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had only been a few weeks since Caleb Desrosiers joined ranks with the group of individuals tasked with destroying the alien terrorist threat known as the senshi. He was well prepared to defend his home in the name of all that was good, guts and glory. Well, probably not so much the guts (as it would ruin the lovely velvet on his coat) but still, the thought was there. When he powered up, he became Carnelian and inflicted pain on all those who opposed him! Sort of. He didn't think of himself so much as a super hero but rather a teacher - the one who administers discipline in the form of a serious bitchslapping. Or something.

One individual he encountered and semi-befriended was the one with boots that made his heels ache - Wolframite. Short but adorable in a little brother, tittering boy-next-door sort of way. Caleb didn't fancy boys and was more than in love with his lovely Makayla, but he could still say a boy was adorable without it harming his masculinity.

After turning in his energy quota for the week, Wolframite seemed a tad self-conscious about his hair - something Caleb had more than enough expertise in. In a bid of good manners and friendliness, the redhead invited his superior officer (could they be called that? Caleb wasn't sure where he fit into the whole scheme since he wasn't called a lieutenant, but whatever) to the family salon after hours. Caleb had his own set of keys in case he needed to stay later to help a client. The door was open, but the lights were out in the salon as Caleb sat at the front desk, finishing up some paperwork his sister left behind. Taxes? Boring!

Ah, there he was! Caleb was beginning to wonder if the young man would show up or not! Skittish wouldn't be the word the redhead would use to describe Wolframite (what was his real name again?) but perhaps something akin to shy. Yes, that sounded much better. With a jovial smile, Caleb strode from the front desk to the door and opened it, ushering young not-called-Wolframite-when-not-in-the-kingdom. What a mouthful.

The senshi-slash-stylist was busy scrutinizing Wolfy's hair at the moment, and not with a criticizing eye. Not everyone really worried too much about their appearance and to each their own in his opinion. The previous job (or whatever had happened to the boy's head) was hacked up at best, and downright sinful in his opinion. Nobody's hair should look like that under any circumstances barring surgery. Or lice. But even then, there were ways to avoid having to shave one's head for lice. Yuck.

"I hope this evening is treating you well," Caleb started up his usual banter between himself and a customer. It helped to loosen them up a bit, make the experience a little less awkward. "Now, did you have something in mind? And would you like me to wash it too? Don't worry about it - you don't have much hair and it's not like it's a lot of work to wash it. It's the least I could do~" Stepping up to the work area, Caleb's designated seat and vanity were impeccably clean and tidy. Pulling the salon's "bid" (his name for it, the tarplike dressing that kept hair from getting all over a patron. It totally looks like a huge bib in his opinion), he shook it loose and inspected it for cleaning. His sister was in charge of that.

Motioning to the chair, the poor boy looked positively mortified. Or incredibly uncomfortable. "Here, have a seat. Whenever you're ready."

The (much) taller redhead stood behind Ladon as he studied the boy and his hair in the mirror. Ladon could call his hair whatever he wanted, but Caleb had more than a handful of horror stories that would make the boy so much happier about having what he did versus wanting to change it. The texture was workable, very sleek and manageable, and it looked like he took good care of it. Whatever happened that shredded one side must've been an accident. Caleb had been there a few times. His own hair was very long and braided to keep it from getting caught in a car door again. How embarrassing.

The taller man tilted his head back and forth, imagining what he could do with a semi-blank palette. Well, a lopsided palette. "Well, since the one side is so short, I can even it out and then you can decide what you'd like from there? Small steps are sometimes a lot easier to plan out. "By the way," he paused for a moment, making an odd face while placing the dressings around the boy's chest and lap. "I'm afraid I don't know your not-in-the-kingdom name. I'm Caleb. It's a pleasure to meet you again."

With a short but friendly laugh, Caleb began his work, gently tilting Ladon's head this way and that what combing out what he could to get both sides straight. Sometimes he would step back or look at the boy from the front to make sure he was doing a good job. He hated the hacked up look amateurs gave their clients. It was appalling. "Sometimes a little change is good. It's refreshing, you know? That's why I let my hair grow out. I used to keep it short like yours but... my girlfriend likes it long for whatever reason." Another laugh and a flick of the scissors. "She likes to play with it, not that I mind. You've met her. Euclase. She's lovely. Such an angel to me."

Committing the name to memory, the redhead smiled and continued his work. "Ladon! Yes, I'll remember that." Continuing to check his work and compare one side to the other, Caleb when silent for a few moments in a bout of intense concentration. Everything had to be up to his intensely high expectations for Caleb to allow poor Ladon to leave the shop. He'd feel immensely guilty if he wasn't completely satisfied with the work he'd done.

Tapping his scissors against his jawbone, Caleb had an idea. "How's about this - instead of your hair framing your face like it did before, we make you look a little more mature with some bangs in the front instead. Sleek, stylish and still very easy to care for. Not emo, of course. Emo is so overdone." he explained with a sigh and an eyeroll. At the mention of Euclase, he visibly brightened. "She's so lovely. We've been together for a year and a half now. I hate to make bold assumptions but you know how you feel when you're with The One? I think she's my One. Is it like that for your special someone?"

To be honest, Caleb thought it was so nice that Ladon found someone he was willing to look nice for. It meant a great deal to the other person to be thought of so highly. "So, now you have to tell me all about them~"

Caleb laughed and shook his head jovially. "Oh no no, don't you worry. You'll be able to see just fine. But if you're not sure, I can leave them be, especially with that eye of yours. Your comfort is more important than style. But believe you me - that eyepatch? No doubt alluring and mysterious! You don't look like the gruff pirate type so I doubt you get made fun of. I hope I'm right about that..." His voice trailed off slightly, realizing he was probably rambling as he tended to do with clients or friends. That was disconcerting and he frowned for a moment, beating himself up about possibly hurting Ladon's feelings. It probably showed on his face and he continued to work on everything but the possible bangs so as to distract himself from a possible mistake of words.

"Ah, so... what makes you think you're not The One for them? What could possibly make you unfit for them, hmm?" Of course now Caleb had to go and prove the boy to be more than adequate for anyone to make up for his previous mistake, even though he hardly knew Ladon. "See here - humble, willing to try new things, honest, patient... And seeing as they stayed with you through the worst of times, well." Caleb laughed again, a smile on his face. "Staying with someone through the worst of times, you see, now that's the mark of someone true! They could have easily left and never looked back but there they were!"

Suddenly, he spun the chair around and holstered his scissors in the belt he always wore while doing hair. "Now if this person, boy, girl, whatever, stays with you? You don't let them go, sir. I'd be positively devastated if Makayla left me and I know you would be too if your special person left you so don't you go doubting yourself! Obviously you're perfect for them if they've stayed with you this long! And if something happens to the contrary, well..." Caleb made a slapping sound with both of his hands. "Well then you send them to me and I'll set them straight. Nobody fears anyone like someone fears and angry hairdresser, believe you me!"

Oh now that was unexpected. Caleb felt himself becoming heavy with guilt for accidentally touching off such a sore subject. He really meant no harm in it but obviously something's been brewing underneath all that for a while now. He truly felt terrible and no doubt that showed on his face. He kept the chair where it was. But he'd be damned if he let a client, friend, relative or whoever put themselves down in his presence. It simply would not fly. He shook his head profusely, his braid dangling wildly on his back. "Now you see here - I glamorize everyone because they all have something in themselves that deserves to have a little bit of the spotlight. That's what I do. It's part of my job, it's part of my personality, it's part of me. Everyone's got something they don't like about themselves!"

Now he started to pace, something he never did because it reminded him of his estranged father and some kind of demented parental figure to someone who probably did not want nor need it, but Caleb couldn't help himself. "You want an example? I'm jealous, insecure, hell Makayla's had to tell me to quit overreacting over a hangnail for crying out loud." Stopping himself, he made a face. "It did bleed a lot and was really painful but that's beside the point."

He sighed then and leaned over slightly. There was a reason the word tirade had "tire" in it somewhere. That was a lot of work. "What I mean to say is that clearly, clearly you do not give yourself enough credit. I don't need to know you inside and out to see that. It's pretty obvious and besides, emo is sooooo middle school." The redhead leaned in and got very close to Ladon's face to help prove his point. "So stoppit. All that self-hatred will tear you away from your loved one faster than anything else. It's frustrating to see someone hate themselves when you love them so much despite all that."

The young man leaned back then and released the tension in his chest with a long breath. "Now, can we talk about something more positive? Like how nice your hair is~?"

"Does it look good? Of course it looks good. I couldn't very well live with myself if I did a bad job." he joked, a smile returning to his face. If there was anything Caleb adored, it was doing hair. He even gave a brotherly gesture by rubbing Ladon's head with the palm of his hand. "See? Lighter, easier to manage, and not in your face. What did I tell you~?"

Caleb stepped back to allow the darker haired boy to observe himself in the mirror. Not a bad job at all, if he did say so himself. The redhead would have suggested something more drastic, but not everyone was as easy to fall into a new style as others, and he respected that. Caleb shifted his weight. "Now, what do you think? And be honest now. I can't very well send you out of here if you don't like the work, and any changes are on me, of course." It was the least he could do since the officers of the Negaverse were so nice to him and Makayla. Oh, what would he do without her? His heart ached for her all of a sudden.

He tried to shove away those inconvenient feelings with a shake of his head. Good thing he holstered those scissors, because Ladon would have been treated to his hairdresser swinging the sharp objects from his fingers like they were made of plastic. And not at all potentially deadly.

Caleb just about beamed.

Clapping his hands together, the nineteen year old young man reverted to a giddy child whose parent was proud of him. Sort of. Caleb tried to reign it in so as not to look like a fool in front of his superior officer. "Oh I am so glad you like it! Is there anything you'd like me to change? Something small? Don't you worry about it too, I don't mind. It's what I do, after all. You look marvelous! Sophisticated, I'd say." With a decisive nod, Caleb inspected his work for a few moments as well, testing each section of hair for length by playing with it between two fingers. Indeed, everything looked even. An excellent job if he did say so himself!

"Now, if your Ess Oh says anything to the contrary, you send them my way. I'll set them straight." Caleb then displayed a stern look to prove his point before dropping it for his polite smile. Taking up the dust cover from Ladon's shoulders, the hairdresser went about cleaning up his mess. Time to get the broom! "Is there anything else you needed?" he asked over his shoulder.