Welcome to Gaia! ::

Bored out of her mind, Lavendulan had been in her room listening to a book she had downloaded from Audibles while working on a few sketch designs on the last few stones she had brought back from the last time she was in Destiny City.

Even though the air outside was getting colder and the trees had already changed from the luscious green to vibrant reds, deep purples or bright yellows hues it had been nice to get out and stretch her legs. But that was four days ago and while she would love to bribe Wolframite or politely ask Lopezite to escort her out of these damn barracks, the last thing she wanted was to be a bother to either of them or abuse their teleport ability simply because she was antsy and needed to let out some energy before the bouncing knee beneath her desk ruined another project again.

Feeling exasperated she finally put down the blue pencil, leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Her youma side stirred, bucking and kicking, just simply fighting to be free and yet Laven continued to hold it at bay. She was supposed to be working on finding a balance between her two natures but it felt like now was not the right time to let her other side run wildly without some sort of supervision because she wasn’t entirely sure she could bring herself out of the wild haze.

At least I haven’t done anything too destructive, she mused to herself. Granted there were now a few new scars on the walls in the training room and one building did partially collapse in the neighborhoods surrounding the Dark Kingdom, but in her defense, it was already condemned, she just kinda pushed it, accidentally, to its foundation.

Laven’s stomach growled then and for a moment she seemed surprised by the sound thinking it was the beast within her that was making demands then realized, after glancing at the time, how late it had gotten and that she had in fact skipped lunch by mistake. Leaning forward she rubbed her face with both hands and groaned, “I need to get something to eat.” Yet, despite knowing this, she felt too damn lazy to get up.

Again it made a sound of protest and so she got up, pushed the chair back under the desk, then exited her room and stepped out into the hallway. For a second, after turning around to face Wolframites' room, she wondered if she should invite him to join her for an early dinner but ultimately decided against it. On one hand, she couldn’t feel an aura signature in his room at the moment, but on the other, if he was actually in there it could be that he was preoccupied or otherwise busy and decided perhaps now may not be the best time to bug him if that was the case.

Like most of her meals, she walked across the courtyard towards the cafeteria. Eyes cast downward to avoid making eye contact with the other officers in the room, Laven made her way over to the buffet area and filled a plate with a Ceaser salad then topped it off with a grilled chicken breast. Normally this kind of meal would satisfy her cravings and yet this time it didn’t… probably because it had likely been sitting out on the warming plate for the last hour which kind of gave it a ‘reheated’ taste; rubbery along the edges almost.

“What I’d do for some actual home-cooked barbeque.” Seasoned chicken or salmon cooked on the grill...Laven nearly made a ‘yum’ sound at the thought until she turned around and noticed she wasn’t alone in line. “Sorry-”

Ew?

Lavendulan seemed taken aback, shocked even at how quickly the captain went from complimenting her to making a sound of disgust. Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach with a loud splashing sound that causes her youma side to stir. “I-” her voice cracked as she took a step back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t-” Didn’t mean to what? Offend her by showing up in the cafeteria while not in glamour. At least she didn’t smell of saltwater or sun-dried aquatic animal.

She hesitated, clearly thinking that the comment was in reference to her scales.
At a distance, it was easy for people to mistaken them as soft or fishlike but upon closer inspection, although preferably not Wolframite close with his hot breath against her skin and teeth sunk into her shoulder, it was easier to tell that they were definitely harder and more sturdy like those a dragon would have.

Like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi-truck Lavendulan just stared at the captain with wide, confused, unblinking eyes. Her plate had been tossed aide before she could even register that it had been taken out of her hands

“I umm… okay?” she looked around at the other officers who just continued to eat their food in silence. That is except for one that looked like he was about to piss his pants trying not to laugh which made her wonder if this was some sort of hazing joke or if the woman was serious. Without something to hold on to the half-youma felt oddly exposed and had to fight the urge not to retreat back to her room.

“I don’t really have anything to offer you in return though…” Laven admitted almost sheepishly. Her funds were limited and she had nothing to offer in terms of food since all she had in her room was a mini-fridge of snacks or leftovers from previous meals.

She just gestured to all of me…

Laven honestly wasn’t sure if she should be offended or not until she realized what the captain was trying to ask. “Ah- um glamour. Yes, I can wear it for a time but it only lasts for a few hours.” Two comfortably before fatigue started to gnaw at her. However, three hours was to her as midnight was to Cinderella, the moment in which the disguise faded and she reverted back to her true form.

With some concentration her form shifted, horns and scales were hidden as her uniform was replaced with a pair of black skinny jeans, a long yet thin grey shirt, and a purple scarf. As a half-youma who was born in frozen waters, the fall chill didn’t really bother her as much as it did other people but she had to at least give off the appearance that it did.

“My name is Lieutenant Lavendulan or Laven for short. But I go by Marissa when I’m like this.”

Marissa felt a sudden rush of guilt wash over.

This wasn’t the first time she bore witness to this kind of fatigue. Wolframite too had been left feeling dizzy and drained after he teleported the two of them to the fair the day of his promotion. It was easily brushed off as an afterthought as he explained that it had been a while since he last used that skill. Thinking back on it, Winter was likely more exhausted than he let on because of the glamour they both wore was a constant drain on their own energy reserves.

Nonetheless, seeing as Tinaksite’s reaction mirrored Wolframite’s so closely, Laven could only re-enforce her own resolve to not be demanding or needy by taking advantage of their ability. Instead she needed to continue actively trying to pursue a promotion so she no longer had to rely on anyone to move about freely outside of the Dark Kingdom.

Even with as exhausted as she seemed, the Captain continued to offer her kind words although the blunt statements that followed after still left Laven feeling a bit confused. “If you can tell me where the cups are at I can bring you some water.” Food and lemonade seemed to help Winter as they wandered their way around the food stalls

Kat, Marissa mentally repeated to keep herself from forgetting. As an added bonus she visualized her with little twin pointed triangle ears and a tail to really cement it in her mind.

“Thank you for bringing me,” Not wanting to offend her host, she took a seat as instructed. “It’s good to get out every once in a while.” Hopefully in time it would become a daily routine once she found a way to earn her promotion as Wolframite had but for not it actually felt nice to be invited to get away from the Dark Kingdom.

“I would be happy with anything really. As long as it's not too spicy.” Her pallet wasn’t made for anything above a two-star at any teriyaki or Indian style restaurant.

“Are you sure I can’t help you?” She asked once more, not wanting to be a freeloader by mooching off someone’s kindness. At the bare minimum, the least she could do was help clean up after they ate. Surely Kat wouldn’t mind the help, or at least she hoped not.

I guess that means that I’m probably the first half youma she has ever seen. It seemed to reason that in the same sense that she couldn’t leave the Dark Kingdom freely as a lieutenant that Tinaksite couldn’t enter it until recently either.

Marissa leaned forwards and rested her elbows on her knees. “I’m not human, not anymore anyway. But I’m not a full youma either.” She quickly added before Kat could think that she had just invited a beast into her home. But you are one… The youma side stirred in irritation for denying what she was but settled back down lazily. “I’m half of each,” she explained, glancing down at the floor Marissa stared at an arbitrary carpet loop not wanting to see Kat’s reaction.

“What that means is that I have to live in the Dark Kingdom now, in the barracks. I’m not really allowed out here unless someone is able to bring me; usually it is at night to patrol because I don’t have to use my glamour. Otherwise…” She made a gesture at herself. “I can only hold this form for at most three hours and even that is pushing it. I don’t like pestering officers to taxi me out of the Dark Kingdom just so I can simply play or run some frivolous errands.” Usually she relied on Samir or Winter to suggest something if either had time available.

“I do often miss the sun” Marissa admitted longingly. She glanced outside the open window that was partially blocked by a deciduous tree with bright red leaves that spiraled downward when they broke free from the limb. “I think Fall is one of the most beautiful seasons.” Perhaps, once they finished eating, Kat would go on a short walk with her before her glamour wore off and had to be sent back to the barracks and her prison cell of a room.

Kat’s enthusiasm was infectious and soon even she was smiling.

“I appreciate the offer. But-” There was hesitation in her voice as she continued. “As I am I can’t really hold a job, so there’s not much I could do in terms of contributing to food.” Her savings were getting to the point that they were about to be depleted because of the storage fees where she kept the rest of her belongings. She had maybe four to five months left before the money she had would be gone.

Kind of like living off food stamps she would have no choice but to eat what food was offered at the cafeteria. “The only thing I could offer was to clean up afterward but that’s not enough. Maybe once or twice a week,” she offered as a compromise. “I don’t want you to exhaust yourself coming to see me.” Although, she did appreciate the sentiment considering until about five minutes ago Marissa had no female friends.

“How does that sound? At least until I can earn my Captain rank and can come visit you.”