Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sound of Maebe tiptoeing towards the door was audible, despite her best efforts. She came closer, and then .. nothing. She did not open the door, but it was clear she was standing there, waiting. For what, exactly? It was unclear.

After several seconds passed, the door creaked open just a sliver, and she looked through it. When she saw Chel, she breathed out a laughing sigh of relief, and swung open the door.

"Come on in." She welcomed, barely giving the girl time to get in on her own before tugging her past the door so she could close it behind her. "Sorry," Maebe smiled apologetically, gesturing towards the door. "That Mik kid is cute, a real sweetheart, but kind of clingy. I hugged him once, and he static clung. I'm not really that kind of person, you know? I needed my space."

This was contradictory to the fact that she'd just invited Chel in, but beautiful women would never be turned away from Maebe's room. She hopped up onto her bed, flopped on her back, and rested her head on her hands. "To what do I owe this very beautiful honor?"

Maebe did not mind the talking, but when she realized that Chel had brought that many nail polishes, her eyes lit up like stars. "Oh. Oh. You can talk to me about anything you want, if it means pedicures. My body is ready."

She slipped her socks off, and rubbed her feet to make sure there were none of those little fuzzies attached to her toes. "He's a sweet kid. Definitely doesn't deserve a beating. I just know better than to go out of my comfort zone and start hugging strangers. It's a good lesson learned."

Her room did look pretty in pink, but it helped that her furniture matched it all perfectly, both in vivids and in pastel. She touched one of the walls, and patted it gently. "Are we only doing our toes? My nails are a wreck from all that time spent out in this grungey temple looking for artifacts. I could really use a touch up everywhere."

Innuendo intended.

"I saw the notice. Congratulations are in order." Maebe grinned, just a little too predatorally, because being in a relationship just made her want someone more. "It's difficult. That whole, monogamy game. I give you due credit for trying." She'd tried, once.

Once.

"Don't worry. I know that you're on point." Maebe waved the thought away, as she started to poke through the polishes. "Scars don't mean you don't know what you're doing. Some of my favorite people are riddled in scars. They're sexy." Her mouth made a silent O as she found a color she'd never seen before, and pulled it out to press the bottle against her hand. "What do you think?"

She was the expert at cleanly, effortlessly ignoring parts of the conversation she was trying to avoid talking about.

She pondered the advice critically, before deciding to take it and placing the bottle down. When she reached for a different color, her eyes were actually on Chel, narrowed with curiosity. "Unless they involve you." She murmured, quietly. It wasn't a question, or even a request. Just a statement that deserved contemplation, since Maebe was no stranger to a situation like that. In truth, considering the fact that she was not romantically involved with either party made it much easier to imagine herself enjoying that method of companionship for an evening. Or a morning. Or 3 o'clock on a wednesday.

"Hmm." Her eyes slowly returned to the colors, masked in an expression of obviously-false innocence. "Yes. I wish you two the best of luck in all your endeavors together. So.. girlier.. what's your favorite color?" She knew the answer already. It was not a trick question. Maebe's hand was already reaching for it.

Her hand was on the most pastel, girly shade of pink that the set held, and she pulled it out just as Chel proclaimed it. Maebe had no idea that the woman really didn't know her favorite color, but luckily, pink was her own favorite, so she would not be dissatisfied either way.

She paused when the blending sponge was pulled out, staring curiously at Chel's work as she striped her nails. "I wasn't aware you knew how to do special effects. That's not a skill I've gotten the hang of, other than french tips of course." She shook the bottle and then placed it down beside Chel. "Would you do mine? You can add in whatever colors you want. Be bold. Be exciting. I need something different in my life."

And that last request was more of an answer to Chel's question than a continuation of what she wanted for her nails. The way her eyes sharpened as they lifted to meet Chel's explained as much.

Maebe reached for the bottle, and handed it carefully over. She checked her own nails for imperfections, but she found them perfectly buffed, and ready for attention. It was the first thing she'd taken care of when she'd returned from the temple and swamp; all of the chipped paint had been removed, and the nails had been cleaned and shaped and buffed to a perfect shine. Chel's timing couldn't have been better.

"I'd love to learn it. It'll be fun to experiment. So I definitely want to. But," And there was always a but, "In my opinion, it feels really good when someone else does your nails." She held her hands up out of innocence. "Just food for thought."

Maebe thrived in the silence, but that was not always the case. It was simply because Chel was doing something to her nails, and it required concentration, and stillness. She felt like the moment was still for good reason, and she remained porcelain and statuesque.

Until the question.

"I usually play my music on my laptop, but fair warning, the sound quality is a little dull. It's cheap. We could hook your ipod up to it, if you wanted to listen to your music, though."