Welcome to Gaia! ::

That little space of time flitted off like a butterfly through branches of a tree. Cerise had merely been contemplating how she should spend her time visiting today. She tried so hard to switch it up just in case Lily could hear everything that went on. Doctors and nurses told her sometimes those in comas could hear people, so she tried to make sure their activities rotated.

Hearing his voice, she looked up to see him. She was ready though after her previous primping and mental posturing. Her eyes gleamed with shrewd observations of him this time. For one of hte first time since doing anything with any of the other powered persons in town; she thought about how different some of negaverse officers appeared unpowered. They just seemed like regular people to her.

She then felt like as just her ordinary everyday self; she was more formidable and powerful than she was in that uniform. That ridiculous power pyramid they had going on. Cerise cared little for that steps of authority. Sure, at first glance it seemed like strong leadership. The longer she was in there; the appearance of strong leadership was a joke.

As she embraced an everyday moment with this guy, she decided to pretend she didn’t know him from Adam. She went on as if she had never powered up ever and hadn’t been associated with those people. “Well, I guess… that is the case. Have you known Lily a long time? I was dating her brother, so I became good friends with her after that.”

She then smiled genuine and charming at him as she would towards anyone else. “I’m Cerise.”

His attention focused on her as she spoke and he nodded his head once to her words. “I see...Xander didn’t tell me he was dating - I’ll have to congratulate him next time I see him.” He said with something of a mischievous smile. The red haired male had not told him - how mean. He’d teased the other a fair bit in the past about dating, and his need to do so, that he just didn’t realize when people were interested in him. It seems Xander had made progress and thought to not tell Alex and Lily likely hadn’t said anything thinking Alex already knew.

“I’ve known Lily, and her family, since I was in diapers. My family is all but her family and vice versa. We’re all rather close.” Lily was like an elder sister to him and he hated seeing her like this. It was also how he got away with teasing Xander about such things, he was like the little brother.

As she gave him a smile, a rather nice smile, he flashed one of his own in return. “Alexandre, it’s a pleasure.”

Listening as he recounted his own lifelong acquaintance, her eyes grew round like saucers. They were strongly akin to cat eyes when they’ve been exposed n** or something else of extreme liking. Just like that, she was beyond her initial worries and plunging deep into her real nature and true self. Of course being that Cerise was never afraid of showing her real self to anyone. Her deepest conviction in life being that everyone were all secretly and madly in love with her already. Many just needed that prod to realize it and adore her for being absolutely amazing.

The knowledge of his knowledge made her stare at him hard. Well, he was about to be her new best friend. There were so many things you learned of people just by being around them; there was also some things you learned of people who knew as outsiders who associate with those people and their personal experiences. Being a nice age of 28 then, Cerise was more than a little aware of such a thing. Though she was an only child and devoid of the lessons you learn by growing up with siblings or a big family; she often was recounted stories by patrons in the coffee shops she worked at. That one time she worked as a night shift waitress at that bus stop on the road just into town; lots of truckers would order cups after cups of coffee to talk to her pretty face and oogle her very well endowed size chest.

Then, she suddenly had an idea. She popped up out of her seat moving quickly across to his seat. Reaching out she gave him a hand as if to pull him up. “Come on… help me move this across the room, so you can sit next to me. I’d drag it myself, but you know it’d create such a clamor. Come, come.. Help me do it quickly. We have so much to talk about.”

Surprise took over his features as she jumped up onto her feet and hurried her way toward him, his slate eyes tracking her quick movements the whole time. What was she doing? She answered that silent question rather quickly as she was reaching for his hand. “Umm..ok.” Slowly he did get up from his seat and moved his chair closer to hers as he picked up and set it back down once it was closer to her seat. “What do we have to talk about?” He asked curious, wondering what she wanted from him.

With his chair moved closer to hers, with enough room for his legs to hang over the arm of the chair, he gracefully draped himself back into the chair. His head again resting on one armrest and his legs hung off the other armrest. His head closer to her chair.

She practically was prancing and dancing on the tips of her toes as she gleamed. The fact she showed no resistance and came along willingly made her appreciate him immensely. Haha.. What a fun person. Once his chair was positioned close enough for her liking, and he was comfortable. She then slid into her seat. If this had been before she found someone who mattered to her so much as Xander; the actual of her movement would have been like a serpent of temptation poised to seduce and prey on. That part of her life was over now. Her prowess hung up on the walls of her memory like hunters post animal heads. There were few she made much progress if she desired it; most of those were of a singular reason. They preferred men.

Still, while she wasn’t seeking anything from him in an inappropriate manner; her touchy feely instincts were bubbling up just the same. It was hard to not do what it is in your nature to do. She started to smile and gush. Her hands brushing up lightly his arm and help prop his shirt back up on his shoulder and adjusting the collar to make him look more dashing.

“Well, my dear… You probably have more talking than I do. You have known them all your life. I just want to hear lots of stories about Xander. You must know him quite well then. I mean… “

She smiled in that feigned humility flaunted in that manner that still elevated how amazing she was. Her hands then splaying her fingers against her chest. Her eyelids fluttering. “Obviously, I can tell a lot of things for myself. You don’t get to be my age being the type of woman I am without knowing how to read a man. There’s definitely something to be said about learning of a person from someone else’s point of view also. I absolutely want to know everything about him. Good or bad. It doesn’t matter.”

She was about to go off on a tangent before saying only one more thing before reigning herself in. “His family has been pretty accommodating in that. His mother and Rose seem to be happy to produce photo albums out of nowhere to fill empty evenings with photo shows. It’s sooo nice. They are just the loveliest people I ever met.”

She sighed a romantic breath. Her fancy with them to some point an extension of her obvious obsessive love for him. Well, the extent of how obsessive that was not truly being exposed.. yet.

As she ran a hand up his arm his sleeve moved up, displaying the ink he had that ended right around his elbow. The sleeve of course fell back down once her hand was gone, they really were too large sleeves for him. It wasn’t attention he was used to, at least from a female or someone he wasn’t involved with, but he kept calm and relaxed as he let her do as she pleased; for now at least. With the shirt he wore no amount of fixing it would make him look dashing, cute and small...vulnerable even yes but dashing - nope. He hadn’t picked it though for such a reason. It was simply what he’d grabbed from his closet, surprised he even had the shirt to be honest. he remembered it as being a gift from his aunt...who had clearly gotten sizes wrong.

“I do...but stories…” He said trailing off as he tipped his head back to look at her, wondering what she wanted to know. Was this some ploy of hers? A plan...something to deal with business? If so it was a lot of time and energy being invested...then again look at his tea shop and the time and effort he was pouring into that.

“Can you? Read a person that well?” He questioned with a raised brow, ignoring the hand on his chest at the moment as it didn’t bother him one way or the other really. he was used to flirtation and other such things being directed at him by females. “The Jacobs’ family has always been very nice. Their family and mine are all but one.” No blood or marriage ties but that had never seemed to matter. Lily had been his only friend growing up and he’d liked it that way, never wanted or desired another friend. He’d pushed attempts at friendship away in fact, came off as cold and aloof in school even. Until he was sixteen,he’d been content to have just Lily as his friend and to share her bed, in a completely and utterly platonic manner. “The photo albums...lovely.” Which meant the possibility of photos of himself as a child as well - lovely.

“Before I even think to divulge anything about my family...tell me that you mean them no harm - that this is not some plot or ploy. That you won’t bring them into this war.” His voice was low, just above a whisper, and his slate eyes suddenly cold and sharp. He could turn it on and off with ease and right now he was not the cute looking male he’d been moments ago. “They are to be kept out of this, clueless and safe.” His family as well. He would do whatever it took to keep them all safe - kill anyone he had to and sacrifice whatever he needed to.

Utterly in her element she was. Every so often fidgeting her shoulders, so her long voluminous hair would roll this way and that. She felt alive and switched on. Like someone had just poured a coin into a slot and pressed absolutely the right button. She of course reigned in her excitement and stopped touching Alex. Her stopping more of reflecting on that she didn’t want to lead him on and make him think she was open to anything beyond being friendly. Or, not even too friendly. She possessed zero intentions of doing any of those sorts of things to anyone else ever anymore.

“yes. .. stories… I just want to know about him. I mean.. clearly I know him so well.” She then stopped interrupting to listen more. She watched that cold look in his eye. Seeing that with her shrewd eyes, hers narrowed with a pointed acknowledgement of it. A smile played across her lips as she felt like a secret had just been told to her. She was deeply tempted to lean forward and conspiratorially tell him ‘There you are!’ Of course, she didn’t. In her mood, she might not be able to appropriately get her volume down to not be overheard and share unnecessary information with others.

However, that gesture went up in smoke at his insistence. “Are you seriously asking me that? That was the reason I left the first time. The timing of my joining this then getting more deeply involved with Xander is… It’s pretty much regrettable. I think if I had arrived in that place with him sooner..maybe a few months.. or weeks even… Maybe I wouldn’t have done that. For me it was Buddy; and of course, you can imagine it followed an evening of bonding. Bonding I wouldn’t have done if I had been to a point of falling for Xander to the point I have.”

She pursed her lips and then started to suck on them as she reflected with some sincerity and authenticity that not everyone got to experience of her. “Ever since I realized the kind of feelings I had for him… I started to become worried.. that … any association with me at all would endanger him.” She laughed a dark and sadistic laugh at herself. “I wondered the same for my parents. As an only child, if something happens to me, they will be the ones who suffer the most I fear. I can’t help but feel concerned all the time that my actions will have irreprehensible repercussions. Ones that I am not ok with living with for the rest of my life. However, I can promise you this; I will NEVER do anything to endanger them. I would give my life to protect him or her. There is no cost too high I wouldn’t pay for his sake.”

The emotion rising as she felt like there was so much she wanted to convey about that. So hard to put it into words. She knew it might sound unbelievable if he had known enough about her.

“Obviously I’m seriously asking you that.” he stated just before she launched into explaining things to him and he found himself shaking his head some. “Ah, Buddy...I know how bonding time with him goes.” And really he knew first hand how bonding with Buddy went, he’d spent what...two nights with the other? Though they were not in a row, he wasn’t about to spend a whole day at the others home like some attached teenager, even though he had been a teenager at the time.

“I see. So poor timing...we almost didn’t have an officer.” He spoke even as he relaxed once more as she started in on her tale of her feelings for Xander, he was interested don’t get him wrong but he was going to relax and as he did so that look turned calm again. If she was being honest he’d welcome her, she had best hope no trouble was brought to his family by her. he never let the Negaverse get involved in his family and never would. So this...this was dangerously close for someone else to be. He’d never known an officer who was close to his family until now...and it left him feeling territorial and protective, nothing new but to this degree and in this situation was all new to him.

Finally he opened his eyes, which had at some point drifted closed, and started up at her. “Good. I have felt the same but I will not stop living, separate myself from my family, because of this war. I will not permit it to control and dominate my life.” Just a good portion of his life, but he didn’t say this. “So long as you do not betray us your family will be safe. If you were to die...we would not reach out to punish them...and I would not permit anything to happen to my family.” Meaning Xander was safe, very safe, who would cross swords with him? Small and petite he may be but he was still a General and had still killed and would kill in the future, it was inevitable.

“You will not be bringing anything to their doorstep.” he said while shifting and getting comfortable, as he did so the left side of his shirt slid down his shoulder again but it had no attention paid to it.

She appreciated his telling her of course he was serious. She took his behavior that implied utter sincerity to also mean that everything that was said here was something that could be trusted. She took a deep breath as she stared into Alex’s eyes. Deep and probing as if double and triple checking if he really was as trustworthy as he seemed. So far everything he was saying sounded fairly forthright.

She started to fancy up as if she were being interviewed on tv or something of the sort. Her normal conceited bravado stepping up center stage.

“mmmm…” she mused as she then prepared to launch into more sharing. What was it about this room? It was turning into confessional booth number one. If she had any more soul bearing in this room; it might become sanctified on the grounds of deeds of one’s past. “I’m going to be completely honest with you since you have only recently made my acquaintance. I used to be … well.. some would call me a ‘bad girl’.” She quoted fingers while saying bad girl. “You know… like… I was a serious player. Struttin up the bar scene. Going everywhere and anywhere I wanted courtesy of my exquisite ladies.” Her ladies being the ones in her bra or top.

Bras were something that had become newer habits also. She knew Xander’s modest tastes were rather stringent. She had started wearing bras and slightly more modest clothing as an attempt at a compromise. She couldn't’ not be herself, but she would stop revealing herself to the world. Eventually, she might marry Xander, so she had to consider these sorts of things.

“I think I hadn’t thought of a single other person as long as I lived till I met Xander. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it was about him that made me stop. Now, I’m sure it must have been his kind nature. I’ve never met anyone so selfless as that. The more time I spend with him; the more I feel myself changing. That I need to be a better person. That… something inside me is transforming. I wouldn’t stop it for anything.”

Then, she toyed over what would have been a reckless next stop on her confession train. “If I tell you something else… do you promise that it’d stay between you and me?” While waiting for an answer; her eyes taking another probing look as she traced her lower lip with the tip of her right thumb. While waiting, she inched just a wee bit closer to the edge of her seat. Her arm practically brushing with his shoulder.

Ahh..a bad girl sort. Somehow that did surprise him, it didn’t seem like the sort of person Xander would find himself with but he hadn’t even known Xander was involved with someone, so what did he know? He figured he knew a lot really and this was very interesting to him, but he didn’t let it show. Xander was happy, he assumed, and that mattered the most to him really. That and his safety, which it seemed he had, and Alex was there to assure these things and keep them in place.
“Yes, understood. Xander is the sort to change people, which doesn’t surprise me, he is different...naive in many ways...or he was anyway.” He said shrugging as he spoke about the red haired Jacobs who wasn’t present at the time. “Never noticed, or realized, he had the attention of a good number of females...have fun with those women...you’ll get used to it.” Just learn to back them up and open Xander’s eyes if he still failed to notice him, this was all silently communicated to the other with his eyes as he hoped she’d understand this.

So she really did care for Xander and was changing for him, thinking of him as a person and the things he didn’t say but clearly who he was, what he thought and prefered. How...interesting and cute, though he didn’t say either of these things. “You make my brother happy...and you are here for Lily. You’ve seen photo albums with Rose and their mother...they’ve accepted you. The next bit is being accepted by myself and my part of the family, as you could call it. So speak your mind. I won’t let family and business become tangled.” She was safe to say what she thought or needed to say, he’d hold her secrets unless she betray his family in some way. if she ever betray his family, hurt Xander or someone else, she had better hope she could find a deep dark hole to hide in, permanently, and grow extra eyes in order to watch everything she ate.

Her eyes widened then narrowed as she heard every syllable of the statement about attention from ladies. How cute he felt a need to warn her. She had seen a little of this at their Valentine’s dinner Xander took her on. Never in her life until recently, had she ever felt jealous over or towards anyone. Cerise had always been in love with herself. She loved herself through and through. She had little doubts as to her ability to gain what she wanted if she wanted it enough. She had little doubts as to others wanting her as well.

But this… this stirred up a feeling. One that made her forget whatever it was she was about to tell him. Her heart burned with a fire catching inside. She wondered if it could be seen by him. Was such a feeling transparent and manifested so easily? Since she had no mirror to see how she looked; she could only imagine. Still, it gripped her so earnest and tight; she could only react to it with a pure heart without airs. Her stare growing dangerous and daring. Hmph. Let anyone try what they might. Her mantra since joining the Negaverse had been that she was a lover not a fighter. Just right then; she felt like if she were witnesses anyone truly being untoward towards him in front of her. She might have to develop that part of herself. Someone might have to get punched in the face or worse.

Deeper down still, the chaos that was itching inside always feasting on the weak parts of her heart. It seared at this flame of jealousy and possessiveness. The overpowering and consuming feeling it gave her nearly made her lose all sense. She had almost felt on a verge of making some kind of vain aggressive gesture towards the one who sat next to her.

She restrained herself as she mentally told herself; if her and Alex got to be better friends… Well, they could be true allies. Clearly, they both valued Xander’s safety. Moreover, he shared her need to keep them all safe and sound. His promise about her parents suddenly surfaced. That thought was like a breath of air. Like a hand reaching down to pull her out of an ocean undercurrent she had suddenly been sucked in by.

‘I’ll get used to it? Heh… More like they’ll get used to me.’

Her scorn raged across her features still. She fought hard to squash it and regain control of herself. It was soooo unlike her to become emotionally undone in front of anyone. Let alone someone she hardly knew.

But damn… one singular feeling and thought she had right then. The whole world was her and Xander. And anyone who messed with that would be in big trouble. She wasn’t afraid of anyone in the face of that feeling.

Finally, it started to give, but it was replaced with a toxic perception of another way he could have meant what he was saying. Was he trying to say that Xander was the only one who had the attention of others? She was a damn fine woman. There was a reason she had so many successful exploits for her book in her time. If he was even implying that, she fumed over what an unperceptive person he must truly be. If he couldn’t see how magnificent she was; his ability to see how Xander was only through rose color glasses and biased contrived opinions.

She then started to wonder that he had ever even been in the presence of such a bodacious woman as herself. ANY man would have been lucky and more than fortunate to be so blessed as a romp in the sack with her on any given day. Men who had such a window of opportunity would surely all vouch for her.

“Well in any case… lemme tell you some things I’ve quickly come to a conviction on. The first, I really hate how children keep being dragged into this. War is no place for kids. Childhood fleets by as it is already. To go and ******** that up with witnessing heinous events that happen in this town is disgusting. I hate it. Also… I have zero interest in actually killing people. I mean.. if you’re doing it out of self defense; that’s one thing. Just blatantly killing people for no good reason? No way. The way we treat others is a direct reflection of how we feel about ourselves. People who treat others badly because they lack any kind of value or love for their true selves. You won’t find that with me. Everyone has roles to play and values. I extremely dislike people’s quickness to resort to fatality as their first recourse.”

Yup.. She still wasn’t remembering what it was she was just about to say. Her entire train of thought derailed at this sudden volcanic like eruption of emotion. Damn. She was on the verge of being totally embarrassed. Luckily, she didn’t fully embarrass easily. She was just too grown a woman for that kind of bullshit; but still… geez… She rubbed her face as she tried to drum up exactly what it was she was about to say.

“Ah, simply a warning. I’ve seen it in the past and he be clueless about it, even when it’s pointed out to him. He can be clueless...or at least he was. I’m unsure now but the last time we spent time out he was still rather clueless.” It was tiresome how clueless Xander used to be, not to mention how he’d just wanted to smack him behind the head each time and open his eyes to it all. He was the younger brother and he’d had more experience and more of a clue than Xander - it was just sad in his opinion. “I don’t feel sorry for any admirers he has. I think it justified - whatever you do to them.” He added in after a moment as he watched her face contort and display many emotions. Oh...she really did love his elder brother and she cared for him...she was a possessive thing wasn’t she. He wasn't seeking to play with her emotions and manipulate her, he was being honest and just warning her. Had it not happened yet? A trip out shopping and a person or two staring? Someone flirting. How lucky, for the other people.

Not for a single moment did he even realize where her thoughts were going, thinking he was mocking or insulting her in some way. Actually he didn’t notice females at all, and if one walked in front of him nude he would be making for anywhere else to be...and seeking to cover his eyes as quickly as possible whilst relocating himself. Had he a clue where her thoughts had gone to he’d have rolled right out of his chair laughing before informing her of his lack of interest in women - all women.

As business came up he shifted and listened to her. “I agree about children. I don’t fight the chibi ones for just that reason.” He also wasn’t about to bring a child into this war, no one younger than he’d been. To bring anyone in that was younger than sixteen was far too much, even though dealing with high school and the negaverse was no easy task either. “Alright, I understand. I may not agree, personally, but I don’t kill for fun or pleasure. I do enjoy killing however when I do, for self defense.” He said slowly, hoping it made sense. He didn’t kill for no reason but when he did he enjoyed it. This was a war and it had changed him over time, he’d been at this around four years now so it only made sense that it change him. “I don’t see an issue to these things, so long as you don’t let yourself be killed in a fight. If they are out to kill you - kill them.” He didn’t try and kill whoever he was fighting every time he got into a fight. A fight was just that but they could escalate, he knew that, and they could be out to kill him and thus he would try and kill them in return. No, he didn’t go out looking to kill...he didn’t fantasize about it or anything else like that.