Welcome to Gaia! ::

A little more than half a year had been spent working odd part-time jobs. Running errands for pennies on the dollar. Many days spent using up their allowed glamour time, going to the pawnshop in order to sell off small trinkets or pieces of jewelry.

When the weather had gotten warmer, Laven took the opportunity to do some deep-sea treasure diving, so to speak. The reservoir, lakes and a few beaches where she knew that people gathered in large numbers had kind of become her 'hunting' grounds. There were lots of things to find if only you knew where to look; watches, iPhones that were sealed in ziplock bags that had fallen out of someone’s swim trunks, even a few waterproof go-pros as well, one of which she kept for herself for… reasons.

It would be nice to someday invest in one of those metal detectors to find jewelry buried beneath the sand but having the ability to breathe underwater made things a bit more simple. All she really needed was a flashlight and if she sensed a Knight or White Moon Senshi nearby, all Laven had to really do was swim further from shore.

Not like they were going to swim after her.

But here they were, nearly nine months later, the house was finally complete. Kind of anyway. Her storage unit didn’t have as much in there as she thought was saved but they were able to use his hobby to make up for some of the missing pieces with help from a few DIY YouTube videos. A lamp with an antler base on top of a glass end table with legs built in a similar fashion. It gave the house a more rustic feel but that was ok since this was their home.

Some of the tanned hides Wolframite had been working on were used as small area rugs or a shelf cover for some display. The ones they slept with were moved from their room in the dorm to the master bedroom that blessedly had a queen-sized bed instead of two full-size mattresses pushed up against each other.

More than that though was the small semblance of freedom they had obtained by moving out of the noisy barracks where you could hear a person sneeze in their room two doors down and even when someone tried walking quietly down the hall, it often sounded like someone was trotting down it in an attempt to deliberately annoy the other residents.

Before, all they had was two rooms that they shared, food was eaten in the cafeteria and the bathroom was shared. Now, they had their own kitchen where they could cook their own meals and a place to bathe without having to listen to someone sing some old sappy love song because their significant other broke up with them while someone else was taking a dump around the corner.

Laven shivered at the memory of that day, overworked and extremely exhausted she almost snapped at the officer in the shower stall next to her to shut the ******** up and damn near told the other one to buy a damn bottle of poopourri or go pop a squat somewhere else. Needless to say, she ended up spending a few hours sitting on the steps in front of their home rather than returning to the room until she had a chance to calm down.

Exhaustion, as of late, definitely made her cranky like the people in those Snickers commercials. Unfortunately, a candy bar wasn’t likely to help improve her mood.

However, all that was now behind them. The house was finally done, paint on the walls, new flooring, and doors that were no longer falling off their hinges. For the first time in a long while, she felt a sense of accomplishment and pride in all the hard work she and Wolframite put into their new home.

“I have something for you,” Laven rose from her seat “Wait here, please.” She added then retreated upstairs where she had stashed away a wrapped box for this special occasion. The wrapping paper was dark green with a yellow ribbon that wrapped around all four sides then tied into a bow at the top where she curled the ends with a pair of scissors.

When she came back to the main living room she approached wolframite from behind. Her chin rested atop his head as she draped her arms over his shoulder and held the present out in front of him. “Kind of a house warming gift.” Laven smiled, hopeful that he would like what she put together she turned to brush her lips against the backside of his soft wolf-like ear playfully.

She nodded her head in reply.

“There were several volunteers at theStar Festival handing out those keychains.” She wished he could have gone with her but they were so close to finishing this project that she understood why he wasn’t able to come.

Work first, play later. Lavendulan couldn’t fault him for that mentality especially since she was well aware of his unwavering loyalty to the Negaverse and their Queen and how both took priority above all else. “I know you don’t need a key to get inside but the novelty of it felt fitting.” She nuzzled her face against the side of his neck then moved to sit beside him on the couch again.

To be truthful, she kind of wished there was a way to have their home function kind of like the Rift, where officers couldn’t teleport i or out on a whim. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her comrade’s, more so that she really wasn’t acquainted with many of them, not that any would have a reason to show up unannounced.

Before he could pull away completely, Laven turned her head and stole from him an actual kiss albeit chaste compared to their more intimate moments. “Deal,” she replied then leaned her back against the couch cushion and rested her head on his shoulder.

“You know, with the weather getting warmer out now, I’d like to try and find an outdoor movie theater or a drive-in theater. Just take a night off from patrolling and enjoy whatever feature film they’re showing.” They could splurge and buy concessions there or bring their own, not like they would have to pay to stay since he could easily teleport them onto the property.

“We could probably get away with gathering some energy from people who fall asleep in their cars,” She smirked knowing that Wolframite’s loyalty to the Negaverse would in some capacity demand he bring something back when they were done.

Laven nodded her head, “only an automatic, I can’t drive a stick shift.”

One of her high school friends tried to teach her in one of the transit center parking lots. As long as she got it out of first gear, she was fine! But it was that first step that had her stalling his car so much that someone called to cops to investigate.

Pletcher got a kick out of it when he noticed the police vehicle pull into the lot and with a chuckle advised her to pull into an empty spot. Unfortunately, her mind was stuck in remembering how to shift from second to third gear that she forgot to put it in neutral, and well… it went without saying his poor blueberry of a vehicle took quite the beating.

After the officer got done asking his routine questions, you know… confirming that she wasn’t trying to learn how to race or drift in the tiny Spark, he left the lot to carry on with his day. Pletcher laughed at her expense and commented that he was probably making bets with his partner on how many times the car would stall, and to be honest… he was probably right.

“However, I tended to prefer driving my moped.” It was only 50cc but it was easy to find a parking spot for and nice to take out on warm days. Unfortunately, she had to sell it when it became apparent that the Dark Kingdom was going to be her permanent residence. Keeping it locked in a storage locker for extended periods of time would damage the vehicle in the long run.

“If you’re interested in learning I can see if Samir’s family junkyard has any fixer-uppers we could have or use. That way it won’t matter if it gets damaged.” Lopezite had offered to take her to see his forge sometime this summer, wouldn’t hurt to make an inquiry.

Lavendulan leaned her head against his shoulder, drew comfort from his scent, and spent a long moment considering his question.

"I haven't really given it much thought," not recently anyway. "Between the energy, it takes to teleport us out of here and the limited glamour time, I haven't really allowed myself to consider doing anything beyond our camping trip last December." Far enough removed from Destiny City that they didn't have to worry about donning their glamour.

"There are many things I've wanted to see, natural phenomenons such as the Catatumbo Lightning in Venezuela, the Northern Lights in Alaska, to stand in the zone of totality during a solar eclipse. There are also places that seem like they don't belong here on earth, otherworldly in a way." Might help if she got her tablet out to show him, but that would require moving and she was comfortable where she was at.

"There's the glow worm cave in New Zealand or the Crystal Caves in Mexico." Naturally, there were underwater caves all over the world but she was fairly certain he wouldn't be interested in accompanying her to those.

Laven fell silent for a long minute debating whether or not it was wise to admit that she envied the White Moon or their Knights because they had wonderous places only they could visit, while they had the Rift which was full of youma that well, would likely kill her if she visited alone. Instead, she absently ran her thumb over his wrist and asked something else of him instead. "Could you-"

"I mean, would you tell me about your wonder. From when you were a Knight, please?" Perhaps it was a bit taboo to bring it up since she hadn't mentioned it since the mess that ensued after he admitted to knowing about purification. But the experiences he went through during that time were a part of what made Wolframite who he was today; couldn't keep ignoring that facet and would have to address eventually.

"I-had no idea..." Lavendulan craned her neck and brushed her cheek against the soft edge of his pointed ear. "I didn't mean to bring back bad memories." She sat back, her expression apologetic.

The word 'Wonder' made it seem like they all had these magnificent magical places that one would want to visit. But his story told a different tale; one of ruin and death, deprivation and despair. She knew so little of these worlds, these places; and yet she still desired to see at least one for herself. The Rift thrived with life, filled with youma, and a part of her just wanted something to compare it to.

Until then, she'd hold onto hope of making a wonder herself as he suggested, a place worth visiting.

"We managed to turn a ruined crumbling building into our home, I suppose that might make this our wonder?" Head canted to the side, long hair fell forward over her shoulder, a waterfall of blue strands that brushed against Wolframite's arm.

A small silver lining perhaps.

"Perhaps someday we can create a wonder of our own..." Might not be here in the ruins or within Destiny City, but it was a thought to consider especially since all she had were dreams to hold onto.