Welcome to Gaia! ::

The first day of autumn, his very first autumn, was greeted with a smile. It had been roughly eight weeks of constant social interaction, a list of tasks and supportive love. Julian was still considerably behind the curve in that he couldn't drive, swim, hold a full-time job or run a household by himself, but his speech had smoothed and his stuttered had been reduced considerably. He still had issues walking in times of stress, still suffered from nightmares and had an incredible fear of particular insects...

...but all in all, Julian was blossoming as a person, all thanks to the Council's efforts and support.

Delilah had given him a cellphone some weeks back and it was loaded with all of his pseudo-family's contact information - Delilah herself, Mercy, Ginger and Sita, along with Evan - his newest friend.

After a successful cleaning of Delilah's kitchen and bathroom, she had given him enough money as thanks to buy himself something nice. Julian, however, wasn't keen on material things beyond necessities, and had something else in mind. With steadier hands, Julian decided to try and call Mercy instead of sending a text. Being able to have extended conversations with Delilah every single day did wonders for steadying his speech and in his excitement, he wanted to demonstrate for the redhead. Their relationship started out rocky and had healed with tears and time.

Waiting for the sound of Mercy picking up the phone, Julian's excitement was probably very obvious. "....Mercy! Hi, hello, it's Julian. How are you? Um... Delilah gave me some money for cleaning the house, and I was wondering... would you like to go to the... the... oh, what's the word..."

The place where all the fish are... He still had some stumbling problems with certain words, but Delilah reminded him that these things took time. "...the aquarium! Yes, that's the word. Um... there's a coupon in the newspaper from yesterday... Ten dollars off um... two adult tickets. Are you... busy today, Mercy?"

"...oh! Yes, yes please. Um... I'm sorry I can't drive yet... Delilah says that will come later. I don't mind walking and soon, Delilah and Mom are going to let me take the bus by myself." There was some guilt there, that, despite his progress, Julian was still a burden of sorts on Delilah and her finances. He couldn't bring in any money himself just yet, and all her expenses like food and water might have doubled now that the number of people in the condo had doubled. The White family, she explained, were not pressed for money.

But that didn't stop Julian from feeling like a drain.

An audible sigh escaped him before he could pull the phone away. "...sorry! That wasn't... about you. Um... but I'll get the coupon. I don't think we can bring food into the... oh darn it... the word... aquarium! I have some cookies I made if you want them? Delilah said school... um... I don't remember the name of the school, but she said school had started for you? Oh, I shouldn't keep you on the phone... I'm sorry, Mercy! I'll go get my sweater... I'll see you soon! I love you!"

Ginger had insisted he start putting together a wardrobe made for warmer weather, and despite his distaste for pants, he had to wear them. Once Mercy was let into the house, she was greeted to a rare sight.

Standing there with a disdainful look on his face, clad in a beige cardigan and skinny jeans, holy god Julian was wearing PANTS. A coupon in his hand and money in his cardigan pocket, Delilah could be heard giggling in the other room. He had half a mind to blow her a raspberry but decided against it. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to anger his big sister-slash-landlady.

With a huff, puffy hair floated upward from the motion before settling back down. "...we better go before... Delilah gets the camera and... posts this to the others..."

He hated pants. They all knew that fact, but it was getting colder outside and Julian couldn't justify shorts anymore. Skin was vulnerable and he hated being so cold.

Coupon in hand, Julian skittered out the door before Delilah could come creeping with the camera. Still a little wobbly on his feet, Julian was flustered when he realized he forgot shoes. A quick return to the foyer, he snatched the tennis shoes they'd procured from Goodwill, and stood outside for safety.

Julian made a disgruntled noise while he followed Mercy. "...pants are... restrictive. But Delilah says no no Jules you should wear pants because it's cold outside bleeeeehhhh but they're itchy and... sigh." Really, he was very appreciative about the clothing he wore, despite his discomfort. Still, pants felt more restrictive and pinched him in placed he didn't have as a youma, which made him very, very sad.

Dutifully toddling after Mercy to her car, Julian nodded with enthusiasm to her question. "Oh, yes! Definitely. Um... it's somewhere I haven't been, before. I'm excited to... spend time with you, Big Sis Mercy. And see the fish, too. Definitely the fish." They weren't insects, and while he couldn't swim, Julian thought water was beautiful.

Settling himself in the passenger seat of Mercy's car, Julian happily clicked his seat belt into place. He was getting better at this.

Coupon? Check. Sweater? Check. Money? Check.

Pants? .....siiiiigh.

"...what about you, Mercy?"

"Delilah says it's good to take breaks." Julian nodded sagely as they turned a corner. He seemed to enjoy the force of gravity causing his body to lean with the turn. For whatever reason, he found it entertaining.

Mercy's next question was pondered very briefly before Julian began answering. "How... are things? Umm.... well, Delilah gave me some workbooks, and some coloring books, and some... um... what are they called." Julian twiddled his thumbs together, picturing in his mind's eye the white and cylindrical drawing utensils Delilah had given him. They each had brightly colored tops that needed to be removed to draw, and replaced so they wouldn't dry out. "....markers! Markers. She says it's good for... dexterity. And I have workbooks and pencils for.... handwriting."

There, that wasn't so bad.

"I have a list of... chores I need to do, during the day. And... And I have an alarm, and a bedtime... time is weird, Mercy. When you don't have any..." Julian gazed outside the window, at the trees passing by and changing colors with the coming autumn. "...and, having to use the toilet... that part I could do without."

Soon, they would pull into the Destiny City Aquarium parking lot and Julian vibrated with excited, almost forgetting to unhook his seat belt before trying to exit the car. Once they pulled into the parking space and Julian got himself out of the car, he started patting his cardigan. "...coupon... coupon... money... hmm."

With a nod, Julian smiled. "Yes, yes. I have... yes, everything."

Happily he walked beside Mercy, much more stable than she saw him last. Having shoes that tied to his feet made walking properly just a little easier, and he reached out to hold her hand with a smile. Together they walked to the ticket booth and Julian, all by himself, stumbled through the transaction with the coupon in tow. Proud of himself, he held the tickets gratefully and handed one to Mercy.

"...ta daaa~"

With a giggle, the pair had to get out of the way of other patrons trying to pay for their tickets. Along with the transaction, Julian had procured two guides to the aquarium itself - glossy pamphlets that explained all the exhibits in the aquarium and their activities. "...oh, Mercy, look! Sea-cats!" Julian pointed to the part of the map labeled otters. "I'd like to go see... the polar bears... and the otters... and... all the fish..."

He wanted to make Mercy proud, so Julian scurried ahead to give the tickets to the gatekeepers, who would tear a portion off and keep it for their records.

Julian shifted his weight as he intensely studied the glossy map in the brochure. The aquarium itself was rather circular in design, allowing visitors to start at one end and work their way through the exhibits as they meandered. On the way out, they could visit the gift shop. While Julian knew a unicorn wasn't a sea creature (that would be a kelpie!), he still harbored the desire to buy something nice for Mercy, as a way of thanking her for taking this time to see him.

"How about..." Bright blue eyes lifted from the brightly-colored pages and he smiled, pointing to their left. "...tropical fish! Come explore the warm waters of tropical seas! Join our beautiful array of colorful fish for an exciting, educational adventure! Right next to that is... hmm." The brochure was back in Julian's face as he toddled slowly towards the tropical fish exhibit, parroting the lines he found on the pages, describing each attraction. "Sandy shores and cold coastal waters..."

There were a myriad of children about and Julian had to pay extra attention not to run into any of them.

With a somber smile, he waited for Mercy to appear beside him. "....it's... nice. You know... not to have them run away and scream because... I was a bad thing."

He couldn't help but duck his head slightly, even though Mercy was gentle in her chastising. "It was... something you said earlier, Mercy... um... restitution? Do you..." Nervously, Julian folded, unfolded, and re-folded the brochure as they slowly walked into the tunnel that lead to the warm tropical waters and the fish therein. The tunnel darkened to give the exhibit more of a cavelike atmosphere, the lights present in the tanks of beautiful, colorful fish a gorgeous contrast. "...do you think... I could do something like that?"

Julian knew he had to repent in some form, one way or another. As forgiving as his loving family was, Julian couldn't forgive himself. It was nearly two months now that he'd spent in warm and loving seclusion. He was acutely aware he couldn't live that way forever.

He was a burden on them.

"...I love you guys, too." came the warm reply. "I don't know... all the words, to say it properly. Or, um... say it better, but... I'm reading every day. Maybe I'll find the word, soon."

The squeeze of his hand was returned by Julian bending over to give Mercy a hug. "I'll lift you up, if you can't see the exhibit. Look, there's coral here!" Under the bright lights of the aquarium exhibit sat huge structures of colorful corals, all teeming with colorful aquatic life. Children seemed to be delighted by the fish darting in and out of their view. Julian was enchanted, leaning lightly on Mercy. "....it's strange... I didn't appreciate things like this, before... Couldn't really appreciate them, but..."

He sniffled, hiding his face in the sleeve of his shirt. He couldn't embarrass his big sister like this. "...it's... really pretty, isn't it...?"