Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ever since Wolframite had suggested that her Captain was likely gathering extra energy to compensate for her inability to meet her own quota due to the fact that unlike normal Lieutenants, she did not live in Destiny City and had to instead rely on the generosity of other Captains or Generals to teleport her out of the Dark Kingdom just so she could do her job, Lavendulan had made a promise to herself.

Whether or not what Wolframite said was true, she no longer wanted to be perceived as being a burden to Lopezite, or to take advantage of his generosity. If she was to be a member of the Negaverse and not simply some half-youma trapped by circumstance without a desire work hard and rise in rank so she could reclaim some of her independence, then Laven had to first prove to herself and her Captain that she was capable of at least meeting the requirements just as everyone else could.

“I did it!” Laven proclaimed rather proudly as she rocked back on her heels. Her fingers were laced behind her back as she looked up at Lopezite with a wide smile on her face.

Laven unlaced her fingers and held her hand out and in it, she summoned an orb of energy. “I present to you, a full quota!”

Wolframite hadn’t allowed her to fall back on the excuse of not wanting to bother other officers in the cafeteria or barracks to taxi her to Destiny City and back again. Instead, he took it upon himself to make sure she went out on patrol. Sometimes he was there with her, sometimes not. But by guilting her with the idea that Lopezite had been likely compensating for her lack of initiative was enough to get her off her a** and start pulling her own weight, or close to it at least.

The orb itself was of the standard size they should be when turning in, not the marble or pea-sized ones she had gathered in the early months after her conscription into this war where magic ran rampant in a place where normal civilians remain oblivious.

She smiled at her Captain, quite pleased with herself and hoped he was pleased too.

“Well,” she hesitated, then handed over the orb. “Not quite,” Laven admitted with a bit of a wince.

“I did gather it all,” that much was true. “But Wolframite was with me for most of it.” There were two, maybe three, outings where she had gone alone but majority of patrols had been done with him. “He picked the locations and made sure things didn’t get out of hand.” Such as someone pulling a gun on them or a random senshi showing up to force them to stop.

“I hope to continue to be able to give you full quota’s going forward now that I’m kind of learning better ways to gather the energy.” Such as sticking to shadows and being in water form when she approached someone in case they turned around and took a swing. All it took was one good hit in the face to learn to duck or to just make to so their fist passed through her instead.

“December might be a little late though.” Laven ran her fingers through her long hair, snagging on the black headband which she then removed. “We’ve kind of been planning a small trip together between Christmas and New Years since most officers will be busy with families during that time or on vacations themselves. You don’t need to worry though, it isn’t anywhere public."

She laced her fingers behind her back then looked up at Lopezite with a smile. “I feel like it’s been too long since you and I met up like this, or went out on patrol together. What have you been up to lately?”

Laven beamed a smile up at him, one full of pride as she returned the friendly hug.

“We’re looking at someplace far enough away from the city that we won’t have to worry about being glamoured. A cabin in the woods somewhere, where we can just be ourselves and not have to worry about being caught but still close enough to be able to teleport back if something were to happen.” As a lieutenant she wasn’t able to use such magic, but Wolframite was getting very proficient with teleporting as of late. So much so that he was able to bring them to the hallway outside their room just a month ago or so.

“What about you?” She asked curiously. “What are your holiday plans?” Visiting family, she assumed. Although, he never really spoke much about his family. Then again she hadn’t really asked either.

On one hand, Lavendulan didn’t want to come off as nosy or like she easy trying to pry into his personal life. However, on the other hand, there was a quiet voice that had a tendency to whisper discouraging words in her ear.

Why ask about someone you’ll never get a chance to meet?

He’s human, you’re not; don’t try to force things that weren’t meant to be.

It’s ok to be friends but you live in a different world now, and right now you’re just a visitor in his.

The Dark Kingdom, a place with no sun, was her home… her prison and she knew these words of doubt to be foolish thoughts but it was hard to banish them when she sat in the dorm room alone waiting for Wolframite to return to her.

“The forge?” She asked curiously.

Her head tilted to the side just slightly realizing that despite him being her captain Laven really didn’t know much about his personal life. “Do you do metalworking or smithing?” She really couldn’t think of what other hobbies would require a forge.

“Seems we both have our own crafting hobbies.” Laven smiled in return. “Maybe we can plan something for this summer once it is nicer out?” She suggested. While the forge seemed like it would be a nice place to warm up after a tour, with it being Fall it was likely to rain or be overcast for the next several foreseeable months. Not exactly good touring weather.

“Speaking of Summer, what are your thoughts on doing like a barbeque or perhaps something at the beach? Just a small group of us, unless you have other people you’d like to invite.” If memory served her right, Laven vaguely recalled seeing some of those charcoal grills installed at the beach fairly recently near their recreation area. A place where all you needed was to bring the coal and could cook the burgers and hotdogs on site. “We can maybe do some games or something.” Water balloons or beach volleyball might be fun.

“I was thinking of inviting Wolframite and Tinaksite. They each might have one or two people they want to invite, I’m not sure. I’m kind of like you, my list is dismally short,” she laughed but there was a distinct lack of humor in it.

Before she was turned into a half-youma, Marissa had many friends she still spoke to from high school and her early years of college. Most of her co-workers were nice people and they would hang out from time to time. There were moments where she wondered what any of them were up to and considered going out one day to check in on them from a far.

“I might be able to find my badminton set or the ladder golf game my parents got me a few years back. They should still be in the storage unit.” At least she was pretty sure she didn’t get rid of them when she had to downsize the unit to conserve money just so she could buy non-cafeteria food for herself.

Laven could feel her heart swell as a smile spread across her face. For the first time in a long while it felt like she had finally done something right and it felt good to be recognized for her efforts even if her efforts relied on others letting her out of her ‘cage’ so to speak.

“I’ll let you know what they say when things start getting warmer.” They still had the rest of winter and spring to get through so there was at least time to plan things out.

“Would you mind maybe taking me back to the barracks, please? I don’t think I’ll be able to get much more done this evening before people start waking up for work.” Someday she’d be promoted to captain like him and then she would be able to come and go freely. Today, however, was not that day and tomorrow likely wasn’t going to be either. But at least she trusted him not to get irritated at playing taxi for a while longer.