Welcome to Gaia! ::

The first night of the new year was clear and pretty enough, and Scylla strolled her way through the darkness of the woods, breathing in the crisp scent of winter. She was dressed in her octopus-themed leggings, warm and bracing against the cold; she had stuffed her vulnerable feet into an over-sized pair of boots, that were far too large, to make up for the fact she had an entire heeled shoe shoved inside of them, and a carefully-wrapped ankle. Gloves were a must, because her fingers were probably starting to die, and the Ashen Lilac crystal was carefully bound against her wrist, the elastic inside the glove over the top so it would not fall out. Her bright red Burberry was open, the hood up, and she looked quite ridiculous. Most ridiculous of all, however, was the huge custom-made duffel bag of green, red, and white (looking like a wrapped Christmas gift, of course) that flopped heavily at her side, knocking into her hip and bothering her injury-weakened ankle; a bag that was not quite fully zipped, and loaded down with... stuff.

Lots of stuff.

An amount of stuff commensurate with the level of guilt she felt after her abrupt departure from Destiny City last year, and her abandonment (well, what she considered abandonment) of someone, or something, who might have needed her. After the fiasco, she wasn't sure how many of the senshi might have been helping him. Yet she'd stayed away from Destiny City for her own mental She had, however, elected to pack the duffel with the assumption that he needed some basics. And regardless of what had happened... Scylla's fingers twitched on the strap of the bag, unfeeling gloved fingers tracing over an imagined comfort item.

Scylla was not, to be fair, entirely certain where she was going. The darkness wrapped around her like a freezing cloak, this deep in the trees, but through the branches the remnants of light pollution and starlight filtered enough to let her at least pretend she knew where she was going other than in circles. Her breath was cold fog, her own lungs burning with chill. How, then, might Caedus be faring? Was he handling the winter well, or had he been abandoned to eke out some mincemeat little life in the woods, unluckier than a common vagabond? At least the homeless had someplace they could go for warmth- she had heard that he still refused to seek shelter with anyone.

The bulging bag bumped her hip again and the senshi gave a grumpy sigh, plopping down on a fallen tree, dropping the bag between her legs and making herself comfortable-ish. The bark pricked her bottom, but when in the woods, suffer, and hope you didn't itch too badly in the morning.

If she had been paying closer attention, Scylla might have noticed the aura coming towards her. She was still not used to worrying about such things again, and the way auras always felt to her- fingers trailing up her spine? Maybe? A niggly thing- was a feeling that happened all the time, in the cold. The lack of sound didn't help- apparently, in her long absence, Caedus had become a ninja.

Why are you not home, asked the voice behind her, and Scylla gave a squawk, falling off her tree. octopus-clad legs flailing for about two seconds before her head popped back up, eyes quickly seeking out the source of the question. "It is a bit cold for a walk," she said easily, pushing herself back up to her feet and dusting off her coat. "But I had something to do."

She gave him a wry smile. "Apparently, being graceful was not what I was doing. Mostly, I wanted to come and check on you." she lifted a hand, waggling gloved fingers at him. "It's been a while, Caedus. I'm sorry I haven't been a more constant visitor." in fact... "Scylla. If you've forgotten. It's... been a while." Almost a year. s**t, yeah; he probably didn't remember her at all. "I wanted to come and check on you though, and this was my first real chance I had to go wandering around lugging some Christmas goodies. Yule goodies? Holiday treats?"

Puffing out heated air from her lungs into the air, she didn't step towards him to shake his hand, or hug him, or any of the things she might have done with another old acquaintance. He'd been a private creature, before, and by the fact that he was still living in the woods- and, apparently, dressed in a cloak made of blankets... "I didn't bring any food this time, though, at least nothing warm. I brought you some cookies?"

She might not have needed to bring him anything, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was meddling. Butting in. Smother-henning. "Maybe not," she told him, cheeks still flushed with embarrassment at her absolute lack of grace, "But everyone deserves a Santa, even if she is a bit belated. It's your first Christmas since freedom, you deserve a few gifts. Human tradition, maybe, and definitely late, but yours. You can pick and choose what you want, if you need to stay mobile." Not everything she had brought may be important. And not everything she had brought had been found on Earth, so...

"I'm glad you like sweets," she said with a grin. "My family makes a lot of them, it's tradition. And if you like them, all the better. I know who can save me from the inevitable sugar rush that would come with trying to eat them." though, she did have to wonder how he felt about vegetables. He ate the Chinese take-out, last time, but was it because he liked the food, or because he was just so hungry? "You'll have to let me know what else you've come to like." in the darkness, she could have imagined the shift in posture, but perhaps not. "I should have checked in sooner. I've been back here almost..." she scrunched up her face, doing the math. "Five weeks? A little extra? I should have prioritized my visit a bit sooner, and I'm sorry I didn't."

As he asked if she had been well, her face broke into a smile. "Well enough," she told him. Most days. "Wrapped up some work projects, organized my move back to Destiny City." Tried not to dehydrate myself crying over things I couldn't change. "Went to lots of new places. Picked up lots of souvenirs from other parts of the world." Some more legal than others. "I brought you some of the souvenirs to look at, actually. I mean, you had few enough hobbies that what you did have sort of stuck out." she gave him a tongue in cheek grin, and moved to drop the heavy duffel bag, bending to unzip it and pull out a blanket, which she unfolded to its full size and moved the duffel on top of.

It was a large rectangle, the technical specifications of 58" x 84" staring up proudly from the discarded wrapper she had tugged it out of, navy blue on top, dark grey on the bottom. Scylla took a seat on one edge of the blanket, positioning herself so he could have the other side, or sit on the tree stump if he didn't want to share the blanket. "How have you been? Have you been managing okay? Anyone helping you out?" anxiety and a bit of worry tinged her voice, and she peered at him carefully, trying to gauge anything she could. Any limp? Any missing limbs? Not dead, so he'd presumably been eating something, and hiding well enough.

Your life does not revolve around me. You owe me no obligation. Maybe not, but Scylla would effect change where she could, and atone for things she'd done as she could, and Caedus would get to benefit from that guilt in the absence of the ability to atone to people she'd wronged. He was doing her a kindness as much as she was trying to do him one. In lieu of answer, she flashed him another smile.

It surprised her that he lowered himself to the blanket, ears tilting as he creaked, not unlike an old man. Which was not, she supposed, an inaccurate assessment. He'd been alive and imprisoned for as long as her soul had been dead, if she remembered his story correctly. But once seated, he sighed, and Jada pulled out the first of her gifts, pulling out a plastic tub full of cookies and fudge, each homemade and decorated with the imprecision of children. She pushed it across the blanket towards him before pulling back, trying to respect his space.

"Do you still collect any energy from those crystals?" she inquired, remembering the way they had helped her sleep, keeping away the nightmares- the memories of Hope, and that Dystopian dream she had survived. "If you are, and you have any left, I'd be happy to provide. They were... incredibly effective sleep aids." and Jada still had a lot of nightmares.

Clasping her hands together, she beamed. "France. Italy. China. London, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney, a few places in South America. Mostly work-related, but I was still able to pick up trinkets in airports. Did anyone ever bring you a map? I can show you- or I can show you on my phone maybe." Did her senshi phone have google maps? Hmmm. She still wasn't used to this new moon-phone. "And I may have snagged a couple of oddities from my planet for you to look at. Nothing bigger than my thumb, really." certainly nothing bigger than Andromache's necklace she'd snitched years ago.

She dug back into the bag, scrambling around, and beginning to pull out a small collection of things. A poncho, an emergency blanket, a basic first aid kit (complete with neosporin), a small solar-powered flashlight (guaranteed to last for 3 years, if properly charged!), a small camping lantern, an itty-bitty hand-crank emergency radio, a keychain shaped like the Eiffel tower, another book of poetry (she thought she had left him one last time, but couldn't remember; either way, he could have one now!), a selection of about 8 small covered boxes, and a box containing baggies of packaged nuts and fruits.

And a duffel. She counted the items, running it against her mental tally, and dug around, pulling out one last box, and then squishing the custom duffel flat, the gifts splayed neatly between them.

Scylla was glad when he reached for the lid, settling her chin on one hand to watch him eat. At least he didn't seem to mind the fact the sweets were imperfectly produced, some lopsided, some poorly painted, some not even holiday-themed at all, as Giulia had decided Santa might like sunflowers or daisies. But the flavor was there, and that was likely what was more important to him.

His confirmation that he needed the energy was all it took. Scylla nodded to him, flashing a smile. "I am willing," she confirmed, "and not for any promise of repayment." as Jada, she had everything she could possibly want. As Scylla, well... she had everything she could expect. "I suppose next time you can read me poetry as a thank you, if you've picked out a favorite." Scylla meant it, too, nodding her head definitively.

"I will bring a map next time," she assured Caedus with a grin. "I'm not quite sure how to try and bring up a map on my phone, and it would be small and a pain to read anyways. Besides, a map would be a good place to learn after literature." Scylla could stuff his brain full of poetry and novellas forever, but he might grow tired of it eventually. A map would give him some context. "They aren't easy places for many people to get too. Being able to go is a fun thing."

The resident visitor held out the crystal for her, and Scylla brightened, lifting one of the boxes. It was a fleeting gift inside this box, and the fact she had one at all for him was testament to the winter conditions and the fact she had kept it in a freezer since obtaining the small chunk. Ikaite, a watery chunk of mineral that would actually melt if it got too terribly warm. She scooted across the blanket with the box (marked with a small "I" on the ribbon) and held out her hands. The empty palm for him to drop the crystal into, so she didn't presume too much with the space he had held precious, and the other with the box for him.

"Well, spoiling is what a Santa is for," she told him cheerfully. He reached for another cookie, then offered her the container. She beamed at him, but shook her head. "We have about 3 dozen more cookies in the kitchen looking for homes," she told him dryly. "If I don't see another cookie before mid March, I will be okay. But thank you, Caedus."

She didn't miss his curious look, but he nodded; their exchange was, therefore, sealed. And a map was noted for the future as well.

Caedus leaned in and she practically held her breath like he was an animal to be startled off, and then beaming as he dropped the crystal in her hand and lifted the Ikaite. "That is the melting mineral, Ikaite. If it gets too warm, the crystal will dissolve into water. It's.. calcium carbonate? It forms in really cold sea water and stuff. It won't last much longer- scientists use the water when it melts off, and then it just pretty much becomes a pretty lump of calcium, like bone."

Where was she marching? She blinked, then her eyes widened. "March is a month!" she told him, and pursed her lips. "We divide up a year into months, somewhat loosely based on moon rotations?" considering, Scylla pulled out her senshi phone, which had pretty much everything an actual phone had. Including a calendar. She pulled up a basic overview, holding it out for him to see. "March is our third month. We're in January right now, and it was January when you first called us to you." Almost a whole year.

She leaned over to tug the other boxes closer to them, all 8 remaining lidded until he indicated he might be ready for the next one. "Do your people have calendars or months? How do you keep track of time?" she pulled one leg closer in, curling one arm around it and focusing her attention on her companion.

Scylla's laugh was soft and warm and she shook her head. "No plans to march; not any more than I do any other time I decide to go gallivanting around the city as Scylla, anyways." Jada had to acknowledge there was a certain risk involved in putting on this magical uniform. It didn't mean she liked it, but... it was what it was. It had, once, expanded her friends circle in unexpected ways.

Her eyes flicked to the moon, considering it. And his words. On my homeword, he said, but then he added in a unique identifier. A true homeworld. When we left, we had none. What could have (potentially) caused the destruction of two moons to the point they were gone? And what kind of technology did they have that would have allowed them to escape? Or to manufacture a moon? Scylla chewed on her lower lip, considering the larger figure of her companion with open interest. He had opened it up to the perfect moment to ask about his world, and there was so little she knew...

But she didn't press. Not yet. "How long are your months? I mean... Time would feel to pass differently for you anyways, I suppose. Speaking from the earth perspective, a day is how long it takes for our planet to spin in a circle, and a year how long it takes us to get around our sun. A day for Pluto, for example, is almost a whole 'week' on Earth, and a year on Pluto is 248 years on Earth. It would make sense that it feels strange." She scooted a little closer to him as he scanned through the calendar. "Do you have names for your months?"

Oh! And then not even his hood could hide his smile, and Scylla visibly brightened, giving him one in return. "I'll try and give you more regular company to look forward to," she promised him lightly, "though I may not come bearing as many gifts in the future."

The boxes that lay in front of them were marked in her handwriting, each box a different color. M, Pe, TA, P, DA, K, A, AG. Setting aside the ones marked M and P, Scylla tapped her finger over each of the remaining 6 in a circle. He might not recognize the game of Eenie Meenie, but when she got to the last box, she lifted it.

The box marked with a P contained a small worry-stone size lump of Pietersite, a gem she had selected for him because it was supposed to be a powerful protection stone. Not that she believed in the New Age stoney-things, but why not stack chances? More importantly, it was visually appealing- red, gold, and blue. They said it also boosted self-confidence, so she may have gotten a small piece for herself as well. Why not stack chances for her while she was at it for him?

She also passed him a second box, the one marked K, for him to open after. It contained a small arrowhead-shaped lump of bright blue Kyanite. Another one she had picked for silly reasons. Actually.... all byut two of the boxes were here because they were pretty, and unusual.

"If you needed them they wouldn't be very good gifts," Scylla told Caedus with a laugh, relieved he was letting her invade his personal space as she was, admittedly, prone to have tried even without his lack of complaint. The last year had settled him into his new ‘home', perhaps. Made him more accustomed to the way humans valued such casual contact.

TA, DA, A, and AG were pushed over to him after he admired the other two. "Both of those are from Earth," she confirmed cheerfully, “and these as well. There are only two boxes from Scylla." her eyes danced with excitement, and she pointed to the boxes she had held out of his reach. "The ones I brought you from Earth are just pretties, nothing overly important. They all have certain new age meanings that have good meanings- protection, energy, courage. And even more importantly, they are very attractive trinkets from places I have been in the world over the last year."

Turritella Agate was in the TA box. The meanings of the stone were not only protection, but links to the earth and home, to personal roots and ancestry, even the events of one's past. It was supposed to be a survival stone, one of strength and protection. And, as a ‘record keeper’ crystal, it was possibly even able to be used to gain access to the wisdom of past worlds and past life recall. (So far, it hadn't helped her any.)

Dendritic agate lay in the DA box, the trapped pieces within the clear casing a lovely scene. Its protective properties were supposed to encourage security and self-confidence, perseverance and patience, and promote a peaceful inner and outer environment. A stood for Almandine, It was ‘intimately’ tied to the Earth, and the book said it was a talisman of protection and unyielding strength, both physically and intellectually. Its energy helped alleviate negative emotion, and maintain a calm connection to the present.

And last but not least was AG, or Aegirine. It provided the courage and confidence to follow one’s truest convictions. It encouraged acceptance of self and others, and to follow the heart. Aegirine was supposed to hold a strong, protective energy, guarding the aura and physical body, as well as fortifying the Spirit in times of difficulty.

Her gifts were stupid, but no one could accuse her of being thoughtless.

“Fifty days in a month?!” she repeated, incredulous; “So many! Did you have 12 months, like us?” that would make his year so much longer- “May I ask how long your people live for?” Violet eyes were bright with interest, and she leaned in thoughtlessly, her curious mind at work. She clearly had a thousand questions, and her teeth worried her lower lip, considering.

But he was focused on the stones, and her face was suffused with excitement that he was enjoying her small (for Jada) gifts. “What did your language sound like?” she asked at last, curious. “Would you be willing to perhaps teach me a word? I mean, I know it won't be much, and I am sure my accent will be horrible, but it could be fun to have someone to try and talk to, right?”