Welcome to Gaia! ::

The ice cream was absolutely delicious. It wasn’t so thick or rich that it was impossible to finish a two scoop waffle cone, rather the consistency left her feeling completely satisfied when it was time to leave. They had been chit chatting for almost an hour on topics ranging from phone numbers to nicknames, so they didn’t get confused if someone shouted Melody in a crowd, and how Mellie was settling in.

It seemed that by the time the cashier began counting her till, all of the other patrons had already left and they were the only ones keeping her from closing up for the night. Melz rose from her seat, gathered the remnants of their deserts and tossed the napkins and receipt in the trash. “Thank you!” She waved to the cashier who smiled politely and followed them to the door so she could lock it behind them and switch the sign over to ‘closed’.

“Thank you for dessert, I’m glad you suggested it.”

"We can keep walking for a while," Melz looped her arm through Mellie's. "I have tomorrow off so there's no rush." It wasn't like she had any pets to feed or someone to go home to. However, the thought of getting a cat had crossed her mind. Wouldn't protector if there was an intruder, but it didn't need to be walked daily either.

"You know, if you ever need to get away from the guys. You're welcome to give me a call and come over if I'm home." Planning a day or so ahead of time would be best but Melz was available most evenins unless she was spending time on her Wonder or away at a convention for a few days.

The mention of being the fourth wheel kind of reminded Melody of being at work with all the new interns or recently graduated students gabbing on about their boyfriends while they were sewing costumes for the performers. It was pretty astounding how many of them were recently engaged with plans to get married after their student debt was paid off. Very rarely did they talk about this with her though. Usually these were side conversations she had heard over the sewing machine because everyone knew that Melody was single and had been for the last five years.

Not that she minded.

Most co-workers had formed their own cliques; Melody’s was with the other theater veterans. Mentor to the new recruits and the person who knew nearly everyone within a week of their first day of work.

“I think it would be fun going on a camping trip to our Wonders.” She had already done that a few times over the last several years. There were a few times that were unintentional, stress from work took its toll and Ein had accidentally fallen asleep either on the beach or in the field of purple flowers. However, there were like two or three times where she actually brought a bag of food and a blanket with her.

“Now that you mention it though, I never really noticed that there weren’t any bugs.” Birds and fish, sure. But she had always assumed that the insects went dormant when she visited, otherwise how were the lilacs always still in bloom?

A cosmic anomaly. Something that only had one explanation; magic...

Melz's mind had begun to wonder when Mellie asked something that gave her reason to pause.

Music? Melody paused for a moment, ears straining as she tried to listen to the faint melody. “I can’t quite tell… It kind of reminds me of a lull” One from a fairytale or perhaps a dream. It sounded almost otherworldly yet at the same time it also felt vaguely familiar…”

“I wonder if someone is doing a late-night performance.”

"Yeah," Melody replied after a moment's pause. "We can go see what's going on." Although she agreed, albeit reluctantly, there was a wary tone to her voice the longer she listed to the song being sung.

It was almost like watching a chick flick and the background music suddenly changed before something heart-wrenchingly dramatic was about to happen. However, at the moment, neither of them had any context for the tune.

The music left her feeling raw, exposed, and almost overwhelmingly sad as memories of her mother, someone she dare not talk about to anyone, came trickling back to the forefront of her mind. The last thing she wanted was for this pleasant evening to end in tears and depression and so Melz swallowed the growing lump in her throat and shunted aside her emotions until she was home alone.

She smiled, as absolutely difficult as it was, Melz managed a smile nonetheless. "I think it might be coming from the water fountain area." It was more like a water park for kids where there were jets in the ground that shot streams or launched bursts of water up into the air in tandem to music playing.

"Probably a wise idea. I don't really like the thought of pursuing this melody much further without powering up first." But that could also make them a target for anyone else curious about the mysterious music and right now Mel wasn't really interested in drawing the attention of someone looking to fight.

"We swapped numbers earlier. So, feel free to send me a text or give me a call some time and we can meet up either after work or on the weekends." Assuming there wasn't a theater performance where she had to be present in case of costume emergencies.

"Maybe set aside time to visit our wonders?" Mel added as a previously proposed suggestion. "I'd really like to see yours if you wouldn't mind taking me."