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Lavendulan wasn’t sure what moved her to trust the Transcended knight of Neptune, perhaps it was the commonality that they both could breathe underwater without hindrance. Or maybe it was that she pitied the young woman, her fear evident with her quiet tones and the way she hid the scars on her face by looking away. Either way, she had said things that she dare not say to anyone else, things that could no longer be taken back and gave that knight power over her in some capacity.

Purification.

Something Laven hadn’t given thought to in over a year and yet openly admitted that she would have accepted in a heartbeat if only she’d known about it a year sooner. It was too late now but didn’t keep her from wondering what things would have been like if she were a knight instead of a creature torn from the Rift. A hybrid of sorts but a half-youma nonetheless.

It was hard to shake the emotions that stirred from their conversation but she had to repress them, for the next couple of hours at least.

Today was the day she intended to make Samir a fresh seafood dish; follow through with the promise she made to him in the Rift. When they made it out she’d make something better than the chili for him to eat. And so, with the two buckets of crustaceans and shrimp, she teleported close enough to his home that she could walk yet far enough away that if there were anyone powered around she could just find somewhere else to go and ask him to pick her up instead.

Fortunately, nobody seemed to be around at this time of day and after pulling the other grocery bag with the pasta and cheese from her subspace pocket, she walked a few blocks to his house and knocked on the door.

"It's fine, I don't mind," Honestly, she missed them too.

Marissa sat down both buckets and gave each dog a scratch on the head, or just above their wagging tails to those that insisted on turning around. To the tallest, she gave a kiss on its head and an affectionate pat.

"So, you have options." Lifted one bucket before one of the dogs tried taking a taste of ocean water. "Shrimp pasta, or," then lifted the other bucket, "soft-shelled crab, and a surprise catch of the day, lobster."

"Might be able to do all three, but I'd need to ask for your help." Less than two hours left for her glamour. Granted they could just take it elsewhere to eat if prep work and cooking ended up taking too long. But, it was entirely up to him.

"Ahh.." Feelt a bit like she got caught with her hand in a cookie jar, Marissa really didn't feel inclined to hide from him her most recent adventure. Would probably be wise for him to know of it just in case...

"Considering I spent nearly four hours swimming, mostly for the fun of it but also looking for there. And I maaay have maybe... encountered a glowingunderwatterbreathingknight while diving." Marissa grimaced after speeding through that descriptive explanation. "I'd say I'm pretty hungry."

Before Samir could go all general on her she quickly added, " Don't- don't worry. Everything is fine. We just talked for a little bit. She showed me her ring and yeah. OF all the things I've been accused of in the past, apparently, crabbing isn't among the list of offenses to fight over." Thankfully, since she would be really put out if the Neptune Mer-lady made her toss dinner back into the ocean.

“Yes,” Marissa nodded her head in confirmation. “She was breathing underwater as I do. I’m pretty sure we startled each other” She laughed at the memory of it.

“She’s a Neptune knight with those odd glowing markings. Her ring gives her these ethereal gills.” A trait that she was glad not to possess, it would only further the pointed comments that described her as a fishy half-youma. “Honestly though, she looked like some mermaid princess with shells in her hair and a long dress. Can only imagine what she thought of me.”

Each flinch was a reminder that someone like Lavendulan had been the one to injure her eye. A monster…

Marissa set both buckets on the table so the dogs didn’t try drinking the water, then set the grocery bag beside it. Inside were a few seasonings including Old Bay, Mediterranean Sea Salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Hoped he had black pepper because she’d forgotten to grab it off the table before leaving. Aside from those few items, there was a stick of butter, two lemons, a bag of flour, and two boxes of pasta; choices between linguine and penne.

“She asked a few questions about being a half-youma,” kind of… More like she word-vomited her life's story on the poor woman with little regard for her time or desire to know such things. “Nothing confidential or secretive, I promise.” Just a few things to make her seem more human and relatable in hopes of more civil conversations in the future. “Admittedly, I feel like in another life she and I could have been friends.”

Marissa shrugged at the blasphemous thought, flashed Samir a half-smile, then turned to pull out her phone and open up the recipe she wanted to try before walking to the sink to wash her hands.

Initially surprised by the random shoulder nudge, Marissa rolled her eyes with a smile. “Honestly, I don’t want glowing markings. I stand out enough as is.” She jested with an added hip bump of her own.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret though.”Her voice lowered as she glanced down at his dogs as if they’d find someone to tattle to. “There was a period of time where I looked into saving for one of those silicone mermaid tails.”

And there it was, she’d said it. Yes, she wished to be a mermaid at one point in her life. “Unfortunately, they are kind of expensive, and the maintenance for my diving equipment and other hobbies took away from that idea.” Still remained a bucket list item though.

Marissa loved swimming, scuba diving, as well as snorkeling. But swimming with a mono-fin, especially one with bright colors and some matching accessories, was one thing she had yet to do. Wondered for a moment what it would take to just make one herself since all she had these days was time with everyone being so busy preparing for the three big holidays at the end of the year; Halloween, Thanksgiving and whatever December holiday they chose to celebrate.

Marissa beamed a smile up at him, drinking in the praise like how a flower soaks in the sun.

Not to toot her own horn, but the haul was kind of impressive especially if one was to take into account the fact it was all caught by hand; no special net or equipment. However, if she were to go hunting for fish, Laven would have to look into a spear or something since she wasn’t too fond of standing on a dock waiting to reel anything in.

“I’d be happy to show you some later.” Mermaid Melissa had some fun videos of her swimming in one that she could show Samir.

For now, she worked at preparing the shrimp, removing the heads and setting them aside then removed the veins from the bodies before putting them in a separate bowl. While she wasn’t a huge fan of the legs, both parts were technically edible. Worst case, if neither of them wanted to eat the heads, then maybe the dogs could have them. But that’d be Samir’s call since she wasn’t sure how they’d react to eating them, never had a dog to know.

“So, what have you been up to lately? Anything fun going on you haven’t told me about?” Surely he’d been up to something between work… work… and home life. “Oh, and what about that sculpture you were working on last time I was over. Were you able to complete that?” She asked, suddenly remembering the metal flowers from a while ago.

“Not an expert,” she shook her head then moved the bowl aside and walked over to the sink to wash her hands. “I’m just tired of cafeteria food so I’ve been trying to learn how to cook proper meals.” It’s been slow going since they’ve only had the renovated home for a little over a year now and she didn’t want to waste energy. But attempts have been made.

“Sounds like you’ve had quite a bit going on though.” Rather than dry her hands off on a towel, she flicked droplets of water in his direction. A playful punishment for holding out on her with actually interesting topics.

Then again, thinking back on it, Samir had kind of always been a better friend to her than she was to him.

Since their initial encounter, he had played many roles; her general, her meteor, a concerned yet caring friend. The number of times he’d lent her his shoulder to cry on was countless by her standards but off the top of her head she could recall at least three important moments when he was there. Although she felt incredibly reluctant to admit it outloud, in some capacity, his presence had filled part of the void left behind after her brother's fatal accident and there were times it felt like he had assumed that role too.

It made her wonder what would happen if, or when, she received her final promotion. Would she be pushed to form her own team and taken from his? Would she lose one of the few remaining excuses she had to reach out to him?

While the prospect of losing the chance to see him while powered was more than a little heartbreaking to consider. These thoughts were better saved for a time and place not here or now. No use wasting what limited time they had dwelling on sad things. There was still plenty of time before she’d have to worry about such things.

“I’m glad to hear you declined the offer on your junk yard.”Indeed it was strange since they didn’t have any for sale signs posted on or around their property to indicate they were entertaining offers. “But more than that I’m happy to hear you may have found someone. Have you at least told him that you’re a badass general with a really big sword?”

Marissa tried not to smile, kind of… yeah no, she grinned wildly and turned to set about boiling water, seasoning it with some salt in preparation for the noodles while she prepped the crab to fry.

Marissa’s expression softened, gaze following his where they settled on the pile of fluff with imploring eyes that begged for love, hugs, and of course a taste of whatever that mouth-watering smell was. “I think it’s more the food than me-.” But of any home she’d been invited to, he was the only one that had a plethora of friendly welcoming faces.

Yeah, being whacked in the side of the knee by an overexcited tail wag was- ouch… But it didn’t stop her from wanting to sit down on the floor beside them so that they may bestow upon her many stinky breath kisses. They were adorable, and it was near impossible to not give in to their precious pleas.

From the counter, she picked up one of the larger pots and filled it three quarters with water, seasoned it with Ole Bay and Salt, then set it on the stovetop to bring to a boil. “I wouldn’t be opposed to doing this more often as time allows.” It would be her preference to meet anywhere but her home as moments like this were the only thing that reminded her that time actually existed.

Days and weeks blend so seamlessly into each other that seasons could come and go leaving Lavendulan none the wiser. These days there is no delineation between work and life. With what free time she had to do whatever she wanted, the minutes were often spent either reading or going on patrol. Going home at the end of the perceived day really didn’t allow her to turn her mind off enough to relax anymore.

It sucked, but this was what her life had become. “You’re more than welcome to invite… Alpersite?” she asked with a questioning tone, hoping she said his name right. Early repetition was a masterful way to commit names to memory.