Welcome to Gaia! ::

Abby yawned and stretched, it was late-ish with the sun just about gone, hidden by the buildings and the horizon. A lightening of the sky to the west, but no solar illumination. The only real light in the city at that time was the artificial light of the inhabitants.

It had been a while since she had real time to just relax, school kept her busy. But that was finally behind her for now. College wouldn’t start for another few months and she already had her classes planned out. Hell, she had a few credits already, AP classes were not easy but they really gave her a leg up on her college career. It made having a life hard but for future returns nothing was better, besides her free time was filled with learning and practicing a new form of martial arts. However, none of that mattered right now because today, right now, she was just a young lady waiting for her friend. Not a recent grad, not an excited college freshman, and most definitely not a senshi.

Totally and unequivocally NOT a senshi right now. Just an 18 year old hanging out while waiting for her friend. No magic. No shenanigans…. And most definitely not a chill that crawled down her spine. Nope. No sir. Not a concerning cold spot that was there one moment and not the next. She would not have it. Not tonight. It was her first free night in FOREVER! She would NOT deal with the insanity that was Destiny City. The young woman absently fiddled with the little star charm that was in her pocket, rubbing her thumb over the amber center like it was a worry stone.

The young lady turned towards the boisterous voice, a grin blooming on her face as she spotted her rapidly approaching friend. “You're not late,” Abby said with a wave of her hand. “I got here a few minutes ago myself so it’s not a big deal.” She gave the other girl a quick hug in greeting before instantly following up with, “you will have to tell me everything! What were classes like? The campus? Did you figure out the best parking? Did you meet any boys?” She chuckled and waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

She started to turn towards the other way, they had things to do after all, but paused when a trick of the light made it seem like there was a tear in the air. A rift in the empty space. It was a distortion of time and space… until it wasn’t any more. Abby blinked a few times, frowning briefly before shaking her head once and continuing along the way. It was just a simple illusion because if it wasn’t then she would have to deal with it. She didn’t have time to deal with it right now so therefore it wasn’t real.

That thought process was likely to come back and bite her on the a** but right now she didn’t care. “So food first or shopping?”

Abby shook her head and shrugged. “You know how this city is. It was a flash of light or something.” She sighed and started to walk towards the direction of the small restaurant that they had talked about earlier before meeting up. “There is always something going on in this city. Besides it was only a split second so it’s not like we can do anything right now… unless-“ she trailed off and glanced at her friend.

“You have any idea what it might have been? Kind of looked like, for a split second mind you, that something slashed the air. Like how someone can tear a painting but the air. I think at least. It was there and then gone so,” she once again shook her head, “pretty sure I didn’t see it right. Besides if it had been something then it would have come right for us.” Abby had a serious look on her face, well aware of how the dark side of the city operated. They didn’t care who got hurt, be it civilian or order. Both were fair game. Even their pets.

The young woman could feel herself get angry when she thought about her sweet pup who had gotten seriously hurt some years back protecting her. He was much older now and couldn’t move around as easily but that didn’t mean she had forgotten… or forgiven. With a deep breath the new graduate mentally adjusted her thought process and the topic, “so how are the family? Is every one doing ok?”

Abby just grimaced when Leah mentioned that something was coming. There were too many strange things going on right then not to have something happen. Sadly, it was typical of the city. She was about to say something when her friend grabbed her arm and sped up, something spooking the other girl enough to want to get out of the area before s**t really went down. A thought that Abby agreed with whole heartily. The eighteen year old had spent the last few years learning a new fighting style, along with keeping up with her regular practice, but that didn't mean that she wanted to face some Big Bad thing. Her powered form was useless, so she would have to rely on her normal skills... and that brought along its own concerns.

Abby grasped at the topic change as they hurried down the sidewalk, happy to focus on more mundane things. "Where has the time gone!? Its hard to believe that they are that far along already in school, even though the same can be said about us." She smiled and just shook her head in mild surprise. "Oh yes! I remember you mentioning her, and the marriage... but two sons? Wow! I hope she is holding up ok since boys always seem to be handfuls. At least the ones at school were always a pain. Like seriously would it hurt for them to figure out what deodorant was for? Ugh. Just gross." Her nose wrinkled as she remembered the smell from high school. The press of unwashed male bodies definitely added a certain odor to the atmosphere.

“Just remind her to give them deodorant when they get older,” Abby snickered and linked her arm around her friend. “I’m happy for her though. I’m happy for them all. It's great to know that they are doing good.” Their world was batshit crazy enough as it was so it was always nice to hear about the little things. Things that are the epitome of life well lived. Family.

The restaurant was only a block away but the younger woman happily slowed down with her friend. Their head long rush moving into a more sedate speed. “Oh, just everything! I’ve already got my acceptance letter of course, and I’ve even have most of my classes picked out. Or at least the ones that I want to take. Any suggestions?” She had her major in mind already, and a few basic classes done thanks to the AP credits done in high school. But college itself was always going to be different. “How do you tell which teacher is the best to go with? I mean I know dad works there and all but that doesn’t mean he knows everyone, maybe in the theater department but not the whole campus. Let alone how they act in the classroom.” She had some insight into college life with her father working on campus, hell she even got cost saving benefits from it too, but what Abby wanted to know was what Leah thought as a freshman. What was the best way to go about setting herself up for success that first year?

Abby snickered at the thought of her friend tormenting her cousins as they got older. It would be so cute! “Oh dad is fine, he was really looking forward to the end of the semester too. Sherlock is doing good as well. His hips are bothering him but well, that comes with age and his breed.” The injuries he sustained in the line of duty didn’t help either. He was a good dog and deserved all the treats. “Dad is looking into doing our annual trip to England but I know he has several scripts due so that might be put off a little bit. You know, ‘same old-same old’.” She shrugged even as she pulled out her phone to make a note of the two teachers that Leah mentioned.

“Thanks, I’ll make sure to keep them in mind. I’ll also see what google says about the other teachers because I don’t want to get stuck with a nightmare teacher, it would tank my GPA.” The young woman was a bit of a perfectionist so while she wasn’t looking for a free ride she also didn’t want to be saddled with classwork that was more or less just torment. Abby looked up as they approached the restaurant door, swinging it open for her friend to proceed inside. “What? Seriously! That's great, we definitely need to celebrate then!” She was grinning as she turned toward the hostess and let her know that it was just the two of them.

“So when is-” Her question faded as the door shut behind them and the hostess gestured them deeper into the building. They had a lot to catch up on and for a while at least, the city’s shenanigans could wait. They weren’t the only fighters for good out there. Friendship and food came first.

Fighting could come later.