Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sun was shining. The birds were singing. The clouds were doing that cute little thing where they form all sorts of shapes like bunnies and marshmellows and cotton balls... and other white, fluffy things.

Yes, today was the perfect day to spend... at a power plant.

Regardless of whether or not it was Akina's ideal way to pass her time, here they were, Brimstone and Akina, walking away from the tall smokestacks of the Aekea Power Plant with a bag full of goodies. Apparently, even power plants have gift shops, and after the meltdown Brim had when Akina even made mention of leaving without a bag full of overpriced crap, the elf was powerless to resist his cries, especially when half of their fellow tourists had began whispering.

The overtime they had paid to the gift shop had yet another consequence; they had missed the bus home. Akina's head was throbbing just thinking of how upset Naraka would be after Akina had promised that she would watch Renon and Jubilee for her roommate. Oh well, there was nothing see could do about it now.

The next bus was scheduled to arrive in an hour, and finding no other choice that would get her and Brimstone home faster, the elf had resolved herself to go make a pit stop at a nearby cafe and pass the time. The head waiter eyed the odd pair warily, but seated them regardless... outside... as far away from the other customers as possible.

But it was just as well. Akina preferred the fresh air, and Brimstone had never really cared for people. Plopping down in a chair, she dumped the bag on the table and raised an eyebrow at Brim. "Think we have enough swag, B?"

The Shattered gurgled in response, reaching a hand towards the bag and pulling out his new red tee shirt with a big atom symbol on the front. Stripping himself down in public, much to Akina's objection, he was dressed once more in just a few moments, grinning like a moron in his new shirt and staring about the Aekea atmosphere.

After several minutes without service, Akina had begun to glance over her shoulder so that she might give a passing waiter that you-had-better-come-help-us look, but to her dismay, it seemed as if they were the only patrons seated outside, making them at the bottom of the to-do list. The elf cursed lightly in sylvan, raising her eyes to stare at Brim who had curls of smoke rising from his skin, blending in with the smokey wisps of wings portruding from his tiny back.

"Hot," Brim observed flatly, trying to shake off the smoke from his skin.

Maternal instincts kicking in, Akina got to her feet to open up the umbrella sticking out of the center of their table, adjusting it to cover her little dark-skinned boy. And ever perceptive still, it was her elven ears that first picked up on the mother-daughter pair moving towards the cafe, most notably when the smaller one screamed. A blue eye flickered to watch the flaming orange crest of hair flitting across the street.

Leaning in towards Brimstone, she whispered, "Is this a friend of yours, B?" Of course, the elf couldn't fathom how he could know someone that she did not since Brim was nearly always with her, but in theory, it wasn't entirely impossible. And for a creature so small, Akina was a little impressed with how quickly she seemed to be moving.

Brim response to this strange orange thing was eloquent as ever. "Guh?" Clutching his bag of power plant propaganda, he hopped up into the seat of his chair, pointing at Ilistala and commanding, "NUCLEAR REACTOR WITH TEN FOOT THICK CEMENT WALLS!"

His guardian, who was still standing, concerned for what Brim might try to do here stood dumbstruck by what her son had just uttered. It appeared that the tour of the plant had increased his vocabulary, though Akina still couldn't follow his train of thought. A light chuckle overtook her lean form as she covered her mouth with an open palm, hoping Brim would not realize that she was actually laughing at him.

A raised eyebrow was Akina's initial response to the MA-audiences-only language that was spewing out of the strange fiery-haired child's mouth, and her next was to lunge her palms forward, slapping them down over Brimstone's ears. But unfortunately for the elf, Brimstone's smokey layer made him a little more slippery than usual and out he flew, climbing higher on the back of the chair.

"Fuuuuhhh...cuuuuccckkkk?" Brim sounded out, narrowing his radioactive green eyes into thin slits. Living in the Tokuwa household, he had been spared most English cursing, hearing only sylvan lightly uttered by Akina under her breath, and was very unfamiliar with the meaning of what this other shattered was bellowing.

"s**t," Akina muttered in sylvan, inching closer to the front of the table should Brim try any defensive action against this little girl. But the blue-haired Shattered didn't making a move, simply staring harshly at Ilistala. He seemed hesitant to get near the Fire Shattered, but her presence seemed to intrigue him. The only other creature he had met that was like him was the fox girl Shauna, and that had been when he was much younger.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye, Akina noticed her young adopted son hiding something with a glint of metal behind his back. Beautiful... she mused, quickly hopping around the table to scoop an unwilling Brimstone into her arms, discreetly taking the butter knife from him and setting it back on the table.

Brimstone fought for his life in her arms, eventually being forced into submission hanging upside down with his arms pinned to his chest. "Oh, it's no trouble. I'm no stranger to dealing with a hassle," she volunteered, tightening her grasp on Brimstone while he grunted and tried to bite her. "And we prefer Swamp Thing," she said with a laugh, tapping Brim on the nose with a free finger.

Blue eyes focused on Ilistala for a moment and then back to Ioyla. "Well, if they are going to fall in love, I might as well introduce myself. I'm Akina," the elf greeted, feeling far more open with this complete stranger than she did with the people she knew and loved. That probably signified something on a psychological level, but the elf was too busy controlling Brimstone to dwell on it. "I'd shake your hand, but I'm afraid I'd never see him again if I let go."

A strong kick struck Akina in the shoulder, cutting her sentence short. She gave one wordless death stare to Brimstone, holding his gaze for a moment before looking back to Ioyla with a smile. "And this is Brimstone." Brim quietly slowed his struggles, though he was too proud to stop entirely, throwing glances at Ilistala.

Following Ioyla's lead, Akina also slipped into a seat opposite her new acquaintances, forcing Brim into her lap and forcibly holding his hands still until she was convinced he had calmed down again. "It's nice to meet you," she quipped in formulaic greeting, unable to shake old manners. A stray olive-toned hand raked itself through Brimstone's neon blue locks in an attempt to make him more presentable, though the effect was nonexistant.

Brimstone seemed unphased by his guardian's primping, staring fixedly back at Ilistala. His pupiless eyes searched her paler face, looking for weakness perhaps, though it was undetectable in the swirling green orbs. Akina, meanwhile, pressed in with the conversation, happy to have some company during the wait for the bus. "I also blame the television set for Brim's idiosyncracies. I know he didn't learn about some of the things he spouts off from me."

Before she could say much else, Akina was startled to hear Ioyla start demanding service. Granted, the elf would have loved to have used the same choice words that the demon girl elected to, but it was simply not in her nature to make a scene. Yet, she was exponentially impressed with the effectiveness of Ioyla's actions.

Through the glass panes of the restaurant, two or three waiters and about seven or eight tables of patrons glanced out the window at the strange hodgepodge of creatures dining in the open air. (Or rather, not dining, with the lack of service.) There seemed to be a quiet squabble between an older, perhaps higher-ranking, rotund woman and a much thinner, tall man in about his mid to late 20s over who would have to serve the table. And with a glance of disdain in their direction, the thin man with the terrible blonde dye job began making his way in Akina and Ioyla's direction.

Blue eyes fixed back on Ioyla, and lips parted to respond, "Oh, not at all. I have seen and heard far stranger things in my life." It occurred to Akina that her answer may have sounded a bit odd. So, clearing her throat, she pressed on to move away from her statement. "I understand completely. I just spent three hours wandering around a power plant, only to realize that we missed the bus home and have to wait for a later one. It has definitely been a very long day."

The elf nearly inquired where Ioyla lived for her to make her way around by walking, which was too much for Brimstone though Akina would prefer it to the city bus, but it occurred to her that not only was that a rude question to ask someone she had just met but also a little creepy.

Drawing blue eyes away from the green downcast pair sported by the unfortunate and lagging waiter, Akian refocused on Ioyla, watching her subdue Ilistala's attempt to touch Brimstone. The little radioactive shattered had not flinched as Stala made a move toward him, but instead, narrowed his eyes into slits, watching the fiery shattered all that much closer.

"POWER PLANT!" Brim exploded with sound all at once, eyes going wide. He was still in the hear-and-repeat phase of talking, and only strung together his own sentences when he really wanted something. "INDUSTRIAL!" Akina glanced down at Brimstone, raising an eyebrow at the pleasant gurgles he babbled out of the corners of his mouth at the memories of the Aekea plant they had just left.

"A power plant? Brimstone?" Pondering this, the elf spun Brim around in her lap to face her so that she might better survey him. Sure, the smokey wings, radioactive neon blue hair, uranium eyes, and acidic oozing thing suggested a kind of industrial inspiration, but Akina could not say that her organic child was anything to do with the nuclear physics of a power plant. "He's just unique," she decided at last, excusing his idiosyncracies with an understated generalization.

Eager to change the subject, Akina furthered, "What about the little one in your lap? Ilistala, was it? She sure seems to have a fiery personality."

A small smile crackled at the corner of Akina's mouth as she listened to Ilistala mimicking the erratic speech of her own toddler. Brimstone, on the other hand, kept his eyes drawn, not wanting to put up anything short of a big, strong front, but the sight of a fork flying through the air sent his eyes widening, staring at the silver glint attentively.

The elf in Akina wanted to snatch the fork from the air, but she noted that its trajectory would land it at a safe distance. And that it did, clattering six inches before Brim and sliding close to the edge. Blue eyes flickered back to Ioyla as she spoke, but the radioactive green ones remained on the fork, glancing between it and Ilistala.

"Mine too," Akina quipped to the other mother, ruffling Brim's hair much to his chagrin. But the toddler was still transfixed on the spoon. "A glass shard? Really? That is strange becau---" In her moment of interest in Ilistala and Brimstone's similiar origin of birth, the elf had failed to get her armhold on the little power plant Shattered tight, and Brim was not one to leave this unnoticed.

He was tearing through her arms the second he could, tiny feet landing on the tabletop. Weilding the fork in question over his head, he bellowed, "CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!" at the top of his prepubescent lungs and jumped in an action pose for attack.

The waiter that was sluggishly making his way to the table now frozen in terror, letting out a girlish scream and flattening his back against the glass window pane as he dug his finger tips into its surface as best he could. But little Brimstone never got the chance to charge at whatever he had planned too. That's the downside of having an elf as a guardian. Quick reaction time.

Brimstone was upended instaneously, fork still clutched in his hand. He tried once to stab at the table for leverage, but eventually gave up, as he broke out into gurgled and babbling laughter at hearing the waiter's scream. Akina gave him a scornful look, but could not help from giggling herself as she sat back down with Brimstone. She did, however, manage to whisper, "No more Westerns if you try that again."

Smoothing her hair back down, the elf looked at Ioyla apologetically and mused, "Television!" with a laugh. "And after that, I think I should treat you to lunch. I imagine Brimstone needs a friend more than Ilistala." Feeling uncharacteristically friendly, Akina laughed again, ignoring the still stunned waiter.

Now significantly disappointed in Brimstone's lackluster behavior, Akina turned her attention over to the waiter, raising an eyebrow and stifling her giggles. Honestly, he had taken long enough to get over there as it was, and now, he was killing more time trying to regain his posture and shake off the embarrassment, though Akina reasoned that would be a lifelong battle for this particular man.

Shard? Check. Baby emerged? Check. Yes, these two toddlers seemed to have eeriely similiar origins. And if Akina's memory served her correctly, which it always did, Brim had also met another child like that. It was a little fox girl named Shauna.

Before she could inquire further on this, Akina was met with a turn of phrase she was unfamiliar with. The elf wasn't sure what it entailed to have someone go "mideval on your a**", but coming from a society where torture was as regular as urinating, it only brought the most horrific and colorful of images parading across her cerebral cortex. So, choosing to play it safe, she decided to concede, smiling humbly and uttering a genuine, "Thank you very much, Ioyla."

Having now passed over that issue, Akina was ready to start in at the origin of these children, something that she had been curious about for some time now. She leaned in toward the table, smushing Brim up against it much to his disdain, and drew her lips in to speak. "Yes, about these shard children," she began with a purpose. "Brimstone also came from a shard that I found in my house one day. I've been searching through my tomes for more information on this phenomenon, but elvish texts have no means of explaining many of the idiosyncracies of Gaia, glass shard children included. You wouldn't happen to know anything more on the subject?"

Clearing her throat, Akina leaned back a little, smoothing Brim's hair and furthering, "I'm only so invested because I have, in my experience, encountered another shard-originating child. She was a tiny fox girl named Shauna. Brim and I were in the park and--"

"Good afternoon, welcome to Le Bistro Cafe located in scenic Aekea. Have you had a chance to look at our menu?" Not only had the waiter finally arrived at the table in a less than timely manner to recite his rehearsed greeting, but he had chosen to interrupt Akina mid-sentence. On top of that, he was not making eye contact with anyone at the table and spoke in such a fashion that sent waves of condescension floating through the air.

And besides... what's so "scenic" about Aekea? It's an industrial town.

Nonetheless, Akina smiled politely, fighting to make eye contact with the waiter who was looking around as if he had a million other things to do. "Actually, we have yet to receive menus." It was then that the waiter dropped his gaze to Akina, though only for a moment.

Wordlessly, he walked back to the menu slots near the doorway, grabbing two and returning to the table. He passed one to Akina and one to Ioyla before issuing a dull, "Well, I will just give you a moment to look at the menu then." Turning on his heel, he began to walk away.

Akina simply shook her head and opened the menu. Her eyes bulged at the price list. Real food would cost an arm and leg... but the tea was reasonably priced. And there was always water...

The waiter eyed Akina through sidelong glances, perhaps thinking that she could not see him. After ignoring it for what she thought to be more than enough time, the elf finally took an aggressive stance, shooting a fiery look-at-me-like-that-one-more-time-and-I-snap-your-pathetic-little-neck glare squarely at him. He stopped staring.

As if an ELF is the strangest thing he had ever seen in Gaia. Honestly.

Blue eyes reverted back to the menu, pouring over its pages for whatever was the cheapest. Water, again, appeared to be the answer, though she debated getting a sandwich. But in the midst of her internal debate, Akina listened to Ioyla order and her invitation for the elf to order whatever she wanted. It didn't take an empath, which Akina was, to spot a faker, which Ioyla was.

Problem solved.

"I'll just take a glass of water please. And Brimstone will have--"

"Capers." Capers?

Akina stared down at the black blob in her lap and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "B, you don't want capers. You don't even know what they are!"

"Caaaaay... peeeersss!" he whined matter-of-factly. Again, the elf had no clue how Brim even knew what capers were... maybe he didn't?

Akina didn't have much time to think on this before the waiter interrupted again, saying, "We do not serve capers as an entree."

This was not what Brim wanted to hear. Akina could see the storm welling up in his radioactive green eyes as they began to swirl just a bit faster. Attempting to stop the meltdown, the elf tried to offer another suggestion, "B, look, have something else. You know you love..." What did Brimstone like to eat? In all of Akina's time with him, the elf had never actually seen the Shattered eat. She only ever found remnants of his late night feasts.

So, when Brim launched into his erractic, high-pitched chants of, "CAPERS! CAPERS! CAPERS!" Akina couldn't say much to quiet him. She had no idea what the child ate.

The waiter, on the other hand, seemed to have a solution. "I will bring out a small bowl of capers gratis if you swear to keep the black thing quiet!" In a huff, the waiter grabbed the menus and made his way back toward the restaurant.

Glaring at his back as the waiter moved away, Akina resented how he had referred to Brimstone, but hey, he was giving the little Shattered some free capers, making Akina and Brimstone's meal a total of $0.00. Way to go.