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Who: Fia, Melisande, Wasa, and Zeke
When: May 18th, 2014; 11am
Where: Lab 305
Weather: Sunny and warm; the epitome of a beautiful spring day!

With a click of his ballpoint pen and a few flourishing scrapes Zeke had the newest set of papers dated and ready to go. The stapled set made a rustling sound as the veterinarian put them into the folder that had been waiting for him when he arrived not two hours past. The sight of the familiar handwriting on the sticky note pressed to the folder's cover had been most welcome as had a small covered plate bearing three of Alex's famous strawberry shortcakes. Naturally that was what caused the delay of the paper dating. Zeke had to have them right then and there and then go track down his beloved big sister to thank her and once more rave about her baking skills. A lost hour and a half later he finally made it back to await the arrival of the woman whose Raevan was ready and waiting for her a few rooms away.

Wasa had been a nice one to meet but Zeke hadn't seen nor heard from the woman since their initial interaction over the winter. Giving a stretch and eying the clock on his computer screen, the now blue and pink haired man couldn't help but reflect on what he had taken from the artist and subsequently wonder on what each part in turn had lent to make this newborn. The Essence - listed in the paperwork, although how could he forget? - was more than just a shell. It was an endless fractal and from that alone offered infinite possibilities. The Soul, on the other hand, was an enigma. Zeke hadn't learned much past the fact the creature Wasa had caught had come from the sea and that had come from the artist herself. Since his pick up of the two items there had been no telling, even when looking into the murky waters of the female's tank. Fin-shaped wings offered possibility, but while there was possibility there, Zeke knew better than to call it like he saw it. After all, Cruz had fin-shaped wings and he had the soul of a croc!

I guess we'll find out soon enough! He had to smile. The day was young and there was a newborn to reveal to her - and she was most definitely a her - eagerly awaiting Guardian. What more could he ask for?

Pasha settled a hand over Wasa's with a soft touch and smiled. "Today is the day. You don't have to wait any more!" She tilted her head towards the Lab, trying to give the Artist a little more confidence without making her feel rushed. "In a few minutes, you're going to be nothing but happy."

Melisande was excited, and more than a little nervous as well, but she showed nothing but calm. She'd chosen to wear something she'd been working on for herself for the occasion…a delicate asymmetrical lace dress dotted with hand sewn pearls. When she moved, they winked here or there like glints in the sea foam netting over waves. With any luck, it was something a Frei born of shell and sea would appreciate.

She'd packed more than enough clothes for the Frei as well. Wasa had combed through the choices and narrowed it down to a cool dozen choices. The leather satchel rested in the back seat until it was needed. "Wasa? I'm very happy for you. You're going to make a wonderful Guardian. And…" She opened the door, letting in the warm summer air, and smiled at her old friend as they slipped out of the car.

"Thank you very much for bringing me!"

The Muse shut the door to the car and twisted her hair up into a loose bun at the nape of her neck, securing it with a few bronze pins. She followed Wasa into the Lab, silent but close at hand should the woman need her.

"Oh!" Wasa started looking to the Sigel and then back to Zeke. In all their outing together, Wasa had never considered that someone might mistake her for Pasha's guardian. "No, no. Melisande's gua-er..." The artist paused, the part of her face opposite the Raevan wincing a bit at her slip. "She's her own guardian." She smiled back at the blonde. It was getting easier.

"I think it's fair to say that if not for Melisande, I wouldn't know about the Lab. I certainly wouldn't have been at Dr. Kyou's garden party which means I wouldn't be here today. I suppose that makes her a, ah... god mother of sorts? Big sister?" She shrugged a bit awkwardly as she looked to the muse to see how she wore the titles.

"So, no error. At least I hope not." She spun a ring around one of her fingers as she peered past the man's shoulders as if her Raevan was hiding in his shadow.

"Ah, you're friends with my nephew?" As soon as Melisande spoke the Baphomet's name Zeke's caramel brown eyes lit up. In truth his relationship to Zul was more akin to best friends, but the title still stuck all the same. Alex was his big sister after all, so it was only natural that the cream-haired Sigel she was Guardian to was playfully given the moniker. "I hope he's doing well, it's been awhile since I got a chance to hang out with him."

He shook Melisande's hand and shook it kindly, turning to Wasa again when the shake ended. From there his gaze flicked between the two women, softening as the artist explained about the Muse's role in the whole shebang. It seemed as though the waiting Frei was going to have quite the family unit from the get go. It was nice to see.

"I was teasing about her being yours, Wasa." Zeke chuckled, tossing the woman a wink for good measure. "I know your Raevan is waiting for you just down there." He turned to point to the glass door at the back of the room and the hallway revealed beyond. Even from the middle of the lobby it was easy to make out the doors that lined both sides, all of which were closed as though the contents behind would be revealed game show style at some point.

When the Frei's well being came into question Zeke looked back and nodded, taking a few cursory steps back toward his desk so the show could, as they say, get on the road. "Oh yes. I actually just got finished signing my half of the paperwork and everything reads as 'healthy and normal'. She -" and here he looked at Wasa again, smile spreading as he let that particular cat out of the bag, "is ready and waiting to go home with you."

"Alex!" Melisande breathed, in answer to Zeke's revelation of relation. If Zul was his nephew, that meant Alex was his sister! The woman had helped her during a very dark time…the Sigel wouldn't forget that.

As Wasa murmured her train of thought about patience, Pasha gave her hand another comforting squeeze, and then slipped free. The time was close, and the door was closer…soon the Artist would only have room in her arms for the Frei, and Melisande was ready to help with that transition. It left a funny fluttery feeling inside. She'd been to the lab many times, but for a select amount of reasons…to meet Zave, to confront Roux, to help Kyou, to greet the new arrival. This was definitely high on the list, and the Sigel couldn't imagine how Wasa herself felt.

"She.." The Muse said the word carefully, with a smile that warmed her voice even unseen. "…is there. She's waiting!"

With a final nudge, she sent her old friend down the hall, towards the shaded glass doors that obscured the hallway beyond. For some reason, Pasha's heart was in her throat. The Artist had played host to others before, but never had she seen the woman so committed from inception. Melisande twined her fingers tightly in the pearl beaded fringe of her dress and waited, breathless.

Wasa nodded to Zeke and Melisande both, smiling softly to the latter for a bit of courage as she slipped her fingers over the edge of the door to sidestep inside. She couldn't tell if the it was because the room was brighter or darker but she felt her eyes struggle to shift focus as she entered the new environment. Her gaze wandered finding points to calibrate until they settled on the form in the center of the room.

The artist held her breath. The Raevan faced away from her, "sitting" as Melisande did by hovering a foot or so above the bench. As the door clicked behind her, the Frei's wings unfurled with a soft crackle that the human could not place though she was certain she had heard before. Wasa sucked in a bit of her lip between teeth as she turned her head, a sinuous tendril of flesh pushing back a loose bit of her hair from her grey eyes.

The breath escaped her in a woosh that animated her entire body when their gaze met for the same time. Wasa's face was bright, her lips parted as her mind searched for the first words she would say to the soul that would be sharing her home and family. "We have the same color eyes..."

The Frei cocked her head, the tendrils above her ears curling and unfurling with increased energy. The wings drifted back with that same sound and this time the artist recognized it as the gentle crumple of dry parchment. At the same time, the Raevan leaned closer, those grey eyes squinting through the light (or dark.) Instinctively the guardian stepped forward.

"My name is Wasa. They might have told you about me..." She trailed off as the Raevan reached forward, her fingers grasping at the air between them. Without hesitation, Wasa offered her hand. The Frei slid off the bench as she took the hand in hers, the leather strap guarding her golden rune shifting into a perfect coil. Her fingers worked over each digit with eyes unfocused, her mouth set in concentration. It was only when she had them palm to palm, each finger lined up perfectly, did she smile. It was in that peaceful pause that Wasa noticed the little pale discs lining the underside of each of the four tendrils framing her face. Not tendrils, she corrected herself, tentacles.

"It's wonderful to finaly meet you." She wasn't entirely sure the Frei understood her just yet, but the smile gave her enough courage to keep speaking. The Raevan seemed more interesting in spreading and closing her fingers and marveling how Wasa's moved just the same.

Same They moved the same, felt the same, taste.... She paused to brush her other hand over her own arm. Different tastes, though similar. And sounds... the vibrations as vibrant as color. She clicked her teeth, a simple noise but nothing so complex as the undulating stream that spilled from the mouth of the other.

"There's someone else who has been looking forward to meeting you..." The Sigel had crept back into her mind as she watched the Raevan figure out the newest addition to her world. "If you don't mind..." She tried to turn her mouth towards the door without breaking her gaze. "Melisande?"

The Frei's tentacles lifted high away from her ears as her attention shifted from her guardian to the fellow Raevan. The first woman's words were like the gentle burble of flowing water, pleasant but extraordinary. The second one's were beyond description are were like to be the thing that all future favored sounds would be measured against.

Wasa smiled back at Melisande, not catching the faint tears in her eyes through the fog of her own. "Even if I knew what to expect, I think I would have been surprised." She lowered her hand slowly, letting their fingertips roll off one another until the Frei's hand drifted back to her side.

The contact broken, the Raevan floated back a few inches. She felt a pull towards the artist, that was as certain as the feeling that she would find her again even if she drifted away. It was enough assurance for her to indulge her curiosity. Her stiff wings beat once, propelling her the short distance to the muse. Once again her grey eyes narrowed as she tried to focus on the soft colors that made up the Sigel's face.

The Frei raised her hand, her finger tips making contact first. Same she thought again, even more so than the first, but still quite different. She was sweet as clean water, orderly... She flexed her wrist, bringing their palms flush. She was happy the muse had spoken again. The sounds were so clear far from the hum and burble of the deeper chambers of the lab. She wondered if they ever lingered as her touch did now, allowing them to be examined and explored. Instead, she could do nothing but fan her tentacles about her ears, trying to catch more.

Wasa smiled as she watched the pair hover palm to palm. She was once so worried about old wounds and uncomfortable memories, but this was the fruit of that risk. It was possible. They could be family.

The silence continued until that one beat that reminded the artist that they didn't come to this room alone and with an awkward turn she took a long step to the open door. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shut you out." She pushed it open for the man, though her attentions sights were already back on the spine-winged Raevan.