Aria Starstone -
Seren had recently noticed another lady who was in the library a lot of the time that she was, and it caught her attention. She had started noticing things about her, and realized the other woman was a fellow Asian, or part Asian (Seren was not sure), and she was curious to meet her. She had been trying to get up the courage to walk up to her for days.

Today, she had swallowed her nerves as she went towards the exit. She moved into the aisle the other woman was in today, and walked up to her.

For a moment, she stood there, nervous as all hell, and then gave a small gulp/ cough to try to gently get her attention. "Uhm. Hi... I've noticed you here a lot lately and um... I'm Seren. I wanted to introduce myself." She held her hand out, looking a little shy but also hopeful. She could use more friends, after all.

Carhop -
Cassie was nose deep in books whenever she came to the library, but her Death training has taught her to always, ALWAYS, be aware of her surroundings. Naturally she had seen the other Asian girl often, along with every other Hunter that came through. It was little surprise when the other girl approached, despite Cassie rereading The Killing Joke - Cassie’s personal space bubble was loaded with tripwires.
“Cassie Gordon. Nice to meet you.” Cassie had gotten over the fear of meeting new people around the same time she’s been shipped off to her third outpost. It was a way to survive. Friends were great for watching your back, and keeping morale up. “It’s nice to finally put a name to your face.” She smiled softly, taking in Seren’s features. The other woman seemed Korean, like her, but there was something else to her features. “And it’s nice to find another Korean on the island. How are you?”

Aria Starstone -
"A pleasure, Cassie." She smiled a little shyly at the other woman, and brushed a lock of her colorful hair off of face, and nodded. "Same, I just had not gotten up the courage to introduce myself yet." A strange thought, but there was the fact that she worried, a little, about her background, and what if... No, she had told Rhys she would not think of herself that way, and she would NOT let herself go into that mental spiral again.

"Half Korean, actually. My..." She paused a moment, a slightly uncomfortable expression on her face, as if she was trying to find a better word than the one she had to use, then sighed a little. "Father was first gen Korean American, my Mother was of Welsh descent." She shrugged a little, then moved quickly to the possibility of a different topic, even if it was a simplex one. "I am well, finally feeling like I've found my place here. You?"

Carhop -
“Same here! My mom came over from Korea as a little girl, dad was a corn shucker in podunk, wherever in the Midwest.” Cassie’s voice was tinted with disdain when she talked about her father’s family. Racist bastards. She tried not to think of them often, seeing as it only made her angry. “I️ understand the shyness. Deus will break you quickly of it.” It was just a matter of fact.
“I’m doing okay.” Cassie’s eyes trailed to the window. Clear skies, just enough sunlight. “Really? How long have you been awake?”

Aria Starstone -
Seren looked confused. "I think that makes you the first gen? Cause your mom was the immigrant, and then you were the first generation born there?" She tilted her head, trying to think. "That's how it was explained to me, at least. In my case, my grandparents were the immigrants. They lived down in LA." She sighed a little and then added "I'm not... always shy? I don't know why, just sometimes it happens and then it takes me time to work around it."

"Glad to hear that. And um... Since Mid July." She glanced out, and saw the skies, and smiled. "Long enough that this beautiful weather is honestly a blessing. I woke up in the middle of the Atlantis disaster, so it was raining for the first two-ish months almost constantly." She sighed softly, trying not to think too hard about the mission.

Carhop -
“Oh, I️ heard about the Atlantis thing. That sounds terrible.” Honestly, why would anyone take something from a site like that? That was just logic 101 - don’t mess with what you don’t know. “I️ was in Seoul at the time...” The familiar blush crept on to Cassie’s face, along with sad eyes and a blank expression. How was Lila doing? She hadn’t written, like she promised she would...
“Ahhh, so you’re pretty fresh.” Cassie snapped out of her two second pity trance, smiling at Seren. Fresh ones were always so cute. “I’m glad you’re settling in, then.”
She didn’t mention how long it took her to settle. “And you’re right, I️ am first generation. I️ just meant that we’re both half Korean.” She giggled, patting Seren’s shoulder. “Tell me, where did you settle into? Anything you enjoy doing around here?”

Aria Starstone -
"It was... Not good. In the process, we temporarily lost Melvin to provide Atlantis with services for reparations, and the Creation Tree temporarily killed Kim." She looked unhappy about both of these things, and then her eyes refocused on Cassie. She recognized all of those signals, very well. "You made a... friend there, and you miss them don't you?" She said, tone understanding. "I'm sorry. It's never easy."

"Yeah. But thanks to some support from some good people right off the bat, it helped me settle in. I think I'm doing pretty well." Her cheeks had pinked slightly at the part about good people. "Especially Joy and Rhys." Her lips turned up in a warm, loving smile involuntarily at the second name.

"OH. I'm silly. Yes, we are! Ahaha sorry, sometimes I miss the obvious." She went red from feeling slightly idiotic. "Um I haven't exactly found a specific specialty, though I seem to have a strange amount of skill in the sparring field."

Carhop -
Cassie nodded along as Seren described the aftermath. “Weird, how Creation can bring about an end as well.” Cassie hadn’t had the best of luck with the legacies, but her fate was far better than most. Excalibur has just annoyed her, really.
Her face dropped at Seren catching on so quickly. Yes, she missed Lilac terribly, and yes it was rough being away. Cassie had been angry when she got the news to come back to HQ, in fact. “Y...yeah, it’s really rough.” A heavy sigh, wondering if she should divulge; she’s just met Seren after all. “I️ haven’t heard from her in weeks.” Cassie absently played with a strand of red hair, wishing she’d taken the time to curl it this morning.

“Oh! You know Joy?” Cassie’s eyes lit up, glad to have something to talk about other than her spiraling love life. “Isn’t she just the sweetest and cutest little thing?” Cassie’s own cheeks went slightly pink again, but she willed them to pale. “And I️ don’t think I️ know a ‘Rhys,’ but he seems important to you.” A giggle, and Cassie nodded to her usual chair. “Shall we sit? My feet are killing me.”

Aria Starstone -
"I hope to avoid Creation at all costs in the future." She still was not ok with the way she thought she had lost Kim, and it stressed her a little, but she was slowly getting to the point where she could cope with it better.

She saw the way Cassie's face dropped, and she sighed softly, nodding. "Having to leave someone you care about behind is hard. And oh, I'm so sorry." She wanted to hug the other girl, but barely knew her, so instead, she gently reached over and gave Cassie a gentle shoulder squeeze, not comfortable with divulging all the details, but finally said "It was hard when my exes broke up with me, but at least Terri and Mical did it in person. I'm sorry she isn't contacting you."

"I do know Joy..." Seren's brows rose at the comment, and a small, slightly interested, grin crossed Seren's face. "She is. I think of her as a sister, really, or I'd def have considered makin' a move at her. She was the one there when I Awoke. I love her to death." The hint of pink did not get missed, and Seren's eyes glittered a little, as thoughts began to process at the back of her mind, and plans began to formulate. Joy was the first person Seren had ever considered this for, but for Joy, she would try.

Then the comment about 'important to her' happened, and she blushed more, but nodded. "He's my boyfriend and love of my life, I'm very sure. He's wonderful." She brushed her hair off her face again, and then glanced at the chair. She took the one opposite to it, and settled down.

Carhop -
Cassie’s smile brightened when Seren talked about how this Rhys was her boyfriend, the love of her life; it was always nice to see happiness in others. “That’s so sweet.”
“Ahhh, that must have been a pretty easy wake up.” Cassie hardly remembered waking up, or who had been there. Dawson? Maybe. “I’m sure seeing such a friendly face made coming out of stasis at least suck a little less - y’know, despite the bodily protests and all that.” She giggled, then sighed. “I️ hope your descent into the cavern wasn’t terrible. I️ remember how disoriented I️ was...” And then, she got paired up, chosen even, by a power hungry demon who thought she was his plaything. It was fine, he was really just a nuisance. “How did you and Rhys meet? I️ mean, other than being part of a top secret world saving paramilitary organization.”

Aria Starstone -
Seren's cheeks slowly faded from the pink on her face, and nodded. "I never thought I could love any one person this much." She shrugged, a slightly shy smile as she thought about how lucky she was on her face.

She refocused and nodded. "Joy was amazing. She really explained how it works to me, she helped me get oriented and then showed me where I needed to go. She really should be put in charge of lost young newbies, she's so good at helping people feel safer. At least if you ask me." She was watching Cassie, an innocent smile on her face. "Joy is just so kind, but she seems to be quietly lonely, if you ask me. I wish I knew how to fix that..." She was sure she did, very sure, but she couldn't rush these things.

"Yeah, my visit to the cavern wasn't too bad. My partner has been extremely kind and helpful to me. She gets... whiny, sometimes, but she cares about me, so I'm grateful." She smiled slightly at the question. "Oh, my first time on Pod Duty, he was there... And then later we ran into each other at the Sun Training Course my first time there, and then my first time at the Lighthouse... It was oddly recurrent."

Carhop -
"Yeah...she reminds me of a single mom, in more ways than one." Cassie giggled, looking over at the spot that she and Joy had originally met, right in the terribly trashy romance novels. Not that she loathed the things - they made for wonderful entertainment, but there was just so much more. Her cheeks went red again. "I mean, have you seen those hips?" She whispered, almost to herself, but part of her still wanted Seren to hear it. Cassie barely knew the girl, but she was sweet, and kind, and seemed very open to listening. Cassie decided she liked Seren; she had so few friends at HQ itself.

Aria Starstone -
"She's a mom with no kids to Mom. I'm surprised she didn't adopt all the de-aged hunters to care for." She sighed a little, and then grinned at Cassie's words. "Oh yeah, and her muscled legs, and have you noticed her... Upper build shall we say?" Seren winked and shrugged. "Like I said, I can totally see how hot she is. Sisterly feelings in the way, and I found my love, but damn yes she's hot." Seren looked at Cassie, sidelong. "You prefer ladies exclusively or?" She said, tone honestly interested, with no hint of judgement. "I like all of the above, I just found my match in a man. Used to be in a poly relationship with one of each." That was said in a time of offering that info in exchange for what she asked. She didn't want Cassie to feel under pressure after all.

Carhop -
Damn Cassie for being so obvious. She wasn’t even officially through with Lilac yet, but here she was spilling feelings to Seren and talking about sexual preferences. Just how much did those two years change her? Her red face toned down, more to a pinkish tinge. “Yeah...talk about a rack.” Cassie giggled, shaking her head. Joy was far more than her legs and breasts. “

Ah, yeah. I’ve tried dating guys before, just not into it.” The young woman shrugged, twirling her hair and playing with one of yesterday’s now limp curls. “Not to say guys aren’t sweet or caring or anything like that, I️ just... Well, there’s no sexual attraction.” The hair fiddling stopped. Cassie was lucky to have lived in such a tolerant state, but Vader had its fair share of narrow minded asses. Even sweet old Arlene would constantly say Cassie’s attractions were just a phase.
“Poly? Wow!” No judgement from Cassie either, just a general sense of acceptance and a little bit of awe. “Good for you, honestly. I️ knew a lot of people in rural Washington who would have loved to be in a poly relationship, but the few that tried got mocked and harassed so much that they fled to Seattle.” Poor Marla, John, and Jade.

A beat, and Cassie leaned a little into Seren’s space. “You can’t tell Joy anything I️ said today, okay? I️ don’t want to scare her off with my feelings.”

Aria Starstone -
Seren nodded at that, smiling a little. Good, the attraction was definitely there, and Cassie seemed so sweet. She'd have to feel out Joy in this, with a great deal of care, because poor Joy was still so confused buy all of this, but... There might be hope.

"To each their own, right? Live and and let live, love and let love. As long as no one is being hurt by it, and I obviously don't count intolerant asses getting their noses out of joint as being hurt, everyone should be free to love who they love." She sounded a little aggrieved, perhaps because between her own Podunk town back home and the Dares night incident, she was just tired of homophobic dickweeds.

She smiled and nodded, then sighed. "Yeah. That was when I was... 15 to 16-ish. First relationship. It was a weird situation, in it's way, for our little Central Valley town, but it suited us. I admit to being happier now, but that's more... Well a lot of things, but the biggest is knowing how much we love each other, versus teenagers in 'love,' you know?" She sighed, looking lost in the past for a moment, and sad.

Cassie's request, however, brought her out of that headspace, though, very quickly. "You have my promise, I won't tell. I know that feeling." An odd, amused and thoughtful look crossed Seren's face as she recalled a conversation with Joy at the gym, and it's drunken follow up that evening, that had some similarities to this. Primarily the attraction, fear of scaring the other off, and possibly also the idea the other didn't see them that way. It was an interesting mirror in it's way. "Especially as she's... Still very confused by the whole 'being a lesbian or bi isn't just a phase' thing, as yet." She sighed at that. "I think she had a way traditional background."

Carhop -
"To each their own, indeed. People need to learn to just mind their damn business." Cassie tried not to hang on to the microaggressions she'd dealt with all her life, the weird looks from some of the regular truckers who came through the diner, and the whispered comments from the town's residents. "Bunch of dill holes."

Cassie rolled her eyes at the mention of teenage love. "Right? I understand that whole puppy love thing, it's so silly looking back." She smiled though, remembering her first kiss with a senior girl when she was just a sophomore. Miranda, of course, went on to marry some big property mogul in Seattle. Cassie was happy for her.

"Thanks..." That was a relief, though Cassie knew she didn't even have to ask. Seren seemed so respectful and quiet nice, definitely a friend she wanted to make. Joy was just so precious, and innocent, and.. "Wait, I'm sorry." Cassie's lashes fluttered wildly. "She thinks...what?" Indignation flared through her body, muscles tightening and hair standing up on the back of her neck, brows contorting. "I...wow. Okay. She's going to be surprised by the books I recommended her."

Aria Starstone -
"Oh I absolutely agree." She said, and sighed, looking out the window for a moment, thinking about the sorts of judgements she'd known as a kid, pressing her back into her a chair just a little more.

She looked back at Cassie, smiling a little. "Yeah wasn't exactly puppy love but... It was definitely being too young to understand. I'll give them this... They taught me that others can like me, and see me as worth being around. It's made it possible for me to find Rhys." She sighed a little, and added "And also taught me what it was like to have a broken heart later, but what's being in High School without that?" She didn't talk about how it almost broke her completely, or anything of that nature.

"You're welcome, Cassie. I know the desire to keep one's feelings a secret, I really do." She sighed a little, looking back on the confusion she had felt with Rhys for awhile there. "Ahh yeah, I... I think from what she said she went to a pretty old fashioned Catholic Girl's school in the Philippines? So she's got so many confused ideas about things. I had to explain that being in a poly wasn't cheating, too... Wait. Books you recommended to her? Did you give her lesbian love stories?"

Carhop -
"Jesus, Seren, you are perceptive." Cassie chuckled, lightly smacking the girl's thigh. "You sure you don't want to transfer to my division? Spies make the world go 'round, or something like that." But, Cassie couldn't even think of the girl under Caelius' thumb. She'd never wish that on anyone. "Yeah, I gave her some lesbian literature. She came in with that trashy smut with the Adonis men, perfectly voluptuous women, rock hard, 12 inch members, all the stupid s**t." Cassie rolled her eyes. Did that stuff really turn straight women on?

"That explains a lot, her schooling. I could tell she was sheltered, but...wow, yeah." Cassie tapped her chin with her finger a few times. "Poor thing. Nothing against Catholicism or any religion - except Scientology - but I know they're not to keen on sexual education or anything like that." The girl sighed, shaking her head. It was only the sheltered Christian girls in her school that had gotten knocked up, because their parents had taken them out of school during the sex ed days. Then they'd been sold the lie of 'you can't get knocked up your first time.' "I just...well, I hope she doesn't end up too shell shocked by Deus. I wouldn't want her spirit broken."

Aria Starstone -
"I'm good in Sun... I never thought it would fit me, I wanted to be an astrophysicist for god's sake... But it does. I'm... A little too prone to charging in." And apparently she hit like a ******** brick on the sparring field, which surprised her. She found herself thinking back to her first ever spar, with Terry, and looked bemused for a moment, then laughed a little. "I just couldn't imagine why you'd react like that to what I said if it didn't relate to it, and the most logical answer was lesbian lovers sooooooo..." She laughed and shrugged at the other part. "Not something I'm particularly familiar with. I never got into romances or anything. I was more a Fantasy girl. Mercedes Lackey and Tamora Pierce were my jam when I got my hands on them."

She didn't comment on how one learned to be perceptive when it was what prevented one from getting more beatings. Not even Joy knew about that.

Seren nodded quietly and said "Religion is fine, but I do believe in honesty to one's children, and those under your care. Hiding that stuff is not, to me, honesty." She sighed softly and shook her head softly. "And... I mean, she's been around awhile. I worry about her too, though. " She sighed, thinking about how lonely Joy had seemed that night of drinks.

Carhop -
“Mmm...I’d just hate to see her lose that naive charm, if that makes sense? The innocence is pretty adorable.” Joy wasn’t at all like Lilac; Lilac was such a ******** edgelord; when Cassie really thought about it. A hot one, though.

“I️ love fantasy!!!” Cassie’s grin went to a full on smile. “Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman, Lewis and Tolkien!” The nerd that was usually cooped up for conventions was bleeding out more and more without an outlet, and Cassie wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Deus wasn’t Vader, she knew, but it was just hard to judge the crowd. Seren seemed safe, however. “I️ own the entire Narnia series. I️ wasn’t able to bring my Lord of the Rings collection, though.”

Aria Starstone -
"I know what you mean, yeah. She's so sweet and innocent, in her way. She's a few years older then me and I'm way more experienced than she is." She sighed softly and nodded, then shrugged a little. "But unfortunately, the world will destroy anyone's innocence eventually." The 18 year old woman sounded tired, for a moment, and older then some one of her age should sound.

"Awesome!" Seren lit up to find another Fantasy fan. "I never got to read some of those... I didn't have the best childhood..." She tried to gloss over her actually terrible as ******** childhood with those words. "But I did read some Tolkien, and the first book of Lewis' big series was read in one of my classes. I've heard of the other two, though. Never got to read them. OH And I introduced my boyfriend to the Dresden Files." She grinned conspiratorially at Cassie. "He isn't a huge reader, but I'm totally getting him started into it... And I just bought myself the Harry Potter collection when on Leave in London."

Carhop -
How old was Seren, anyway? Damn Asian genes, always making it so hard to tell if someone was 18 or 35. She sounded more mature than she looked, and Cassie knew that only came through hardship. “Sorry to hear that, about your childhood.” Cassie’s frown held sympathy, but no empathy. Cassie knew that she was one of the lucky ones, the dying breed of people with good childhoods. So many people out there should never have become parents.

“I️ can loan you the Narnia books if you’d like. I️ mean, he was hella Christian and all, but the books are so enjoyable. I️ really loved The Magician’s Nephew...” Cassie beamed when Dresden was brought up. “Oh em gee! I’m so proud of you!!! Dresden will get anyone hooked on reading.”

Aria Starstone -
Seren smiled a little, though it was a touch distant, in a 'trying not to think too hard about it' kind of way. "Sadly not everyone gets the best past. But I'm here now, and frankly my life is so much better that it's not even funny." She smiled more genuinely, now, and shrugged. "My needs are cared for, I have friends, and someone who loves me... And hell, a hot someone, on top of that..." There was no denying that, at least to those who liked men, Rhys was definitely what many people would call very attractive.

"Oh my god! I will have to take you up on that when I am done with Harry Potter, I always wanted to read the rest of that!" She sounded excited. "I wonder if the Library has Gaiman or Pratchett, though. They have the complete, at least currently, set of Dresden Files books, so they might. This is a pretty damn good library, honestly, except we seem to be missing a librarian or library pages." She shrugged and sighed. "And yeah... It's definitely getting him interested."

Carhop -
"Oh, you have the Harry Potter books, right!!! Could I maybe borrow those in exchange?" Cassie's eyes lit up; it had been years since she read the whole series. Maybe she would get the movies, when she got the portable DVD player for movie nights too. "We could watch the movies too, if you'd like. I'm buying a DVD player and projector for movie nights at Joy's apartment." Cassie flushed again. "I'm sure she'd be fine with you being there."

Cassie's phone buzzed - a mission, something about Halloween students at a Haunted Maze attraction. "Ah, gotta go. Duty calls!" She hopped up out of her seat, headed for the door, then doubled back. "It was really nice to meet you, Seren. I hope I see you around more often." She pulled the other Korean girl into a tight but short hug, then sprinted off to her dorm to change.