Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Come on, B, we are almost through the door! Please don't drop that detergent." The increasingly maternal voice of Akina Tokuwa rattled through the bustling street infront of Gambino Meadows Laundromat, a place she had hoped to never return to after a few terrible visits within her first few months of living in Gaia. It's atmosphere was terrifying for the woman who, at that time, barely spoke the language and was complete unaware of how to operate any of these machines. Still, no matter how much she studied to fix a crummy washer and an ineffective dryer, she still seemed to end up here.

Carrying one large laundry bag and one slightly smaller one over each shoulder, Akina watched Brim carefully, wishing that he would let her carry the detergent. But no. The young child wanted to help, and he would only help in the way that he picked, which was, apparently, carrying the detergent. Sweeping into the laundromat, the elf spotted two empty washers and tossed her bags down with extreme haste. One had to be aggressive at a place like this; it was a lesson she had learned the hard way.

Still, in her rush, she had nearly toppled over a... fort? Quirking her head to the side, Akina issued a polite, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I didn't see your, um, gathering of miscellaneous items... there." Growing awkward, she quickly slapped on an honest grin in Smerdle's direction, hoping that she wouldn't think her rude. The elf couldn't help it; she hated for people to ever think that she was being rude.

Brimstone, meanwhile, had dropped the detergent at the sight of something far more interesting. "Foooort..." he nearly drooled, finding the word that Akina seemed unable to choose immediately. "Cooool..." Man, he'd seen these before. Every good villian had a fortress, after all! Perhaps this one could be his? He eyed the occupant warily, approaching her slowly and nodding with as much of an I-mean-business air that was acheivable for a child of his age. "Brimstone," he declared suddenly, jutting a chubby thumb at his chest.

Above him, Akina looked surprised. He usually wasn't this social, though she had noticed certain bipolar tendencies in her son. Oh well, as long as he was playing nice with the small girl, she would be able to play nice with the girl's guardian.

Akina flipped open the lid to the two washers infront of her, untying the drawstring on her mesh laundry bag. While chatting with Smerdle, she quickly separated the white and the colored laundry between each machine. "Doesn't listen to you? I can most definitely relate," the elf laughed, making a vague gesture in Brimstone's direction. "I suppose I should claim him." While Brim shot a quick heated glance at Smerdle with her "day-glo" comment, Akina just laughed and nodded, happy to make it seem like she knew what day-glo was. "Is the lovely, um, metal-winged girl yours?"

Drawing his attention back to the girl, Brimstone nodded satisfactorily at her name. Brownie. If she was anything like the dessert, then this girl was going to become a good friend of his. The young Shattered quickly paced around the length of her fort, measuring its strength and solidity with an inquisitive eye. Well, at least as inquisitive of an eye that a child could manage. "Want to..." His voice trailed off. What was that thing that he was always getting yelled at about? Kids should always... "Share?"

Akina nodded along with Smerdle, grabbing the detergent and pouring in a few lid-fulls before clicking the knobs to the appropriate setting. "Oh, I'm not Brim's biological mother either. I just... I suppose I just found him one day, and we have been together ever since." The elf wondered if Smerdle would think "finding" Brim as something strange, but decided not to linger on the though. Shutting the lid, she listened to the water hiss as it began to fill the washing machine.

The elf turned back toward the row of seats, glancing at the seat that was one over from the one next to Smerdle. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked gently, indicating the chair with soft fingers.

Brimstone, meanwhile, had found a new associate. Knife wings were awesome, but a willingness for mischief? Priceless. Leaning close, the young child kept his words as quietly as possible. "We make it bigger." He nodded gravely and shot knowing glances in the directions of all of the various laundry baskets and detergent bottles across the laundromat. All they had to do was steal them to make the fortress larger. Then they would be invincible!

As if to illustrate his point, Brim slowly snatched the detergent bottle Akina had just finished with and added it to the fortress. "See?" he said, hoping the girl would catch his drift.

Smiling genially, Akina laughed along with Smerdle as she took a seat, watching as Brim added to his new friend's fort. The elf quirked an eyebrow at them for a moment before rustling around in her bag for her notebook. Flipping it open, the blue-eyed woman sighed periodically as she looked over her to-do list, crossing off a few items but adding far more with disdain.

Brim, however, was involved in much more important matters. He admired Brownie's attitude, her willingness to participate, and the young child was impressed at her great find of the purple laundry basket. Looking at Brownie's blue eyes, he nodded sharply and said, "I go 'round back. You front so can distract him with... girl stuff." The Shattered had no idea what he had meant by that, but he had always heard Naraka, his mother's roommate, prattling on about womanly wiles. Brownie would just have to make herself useful as they double-teamed the Snickers eating man.

Quietly, Brim slipped behind the man's chair and placed on hand on the basket. He began to slowly yank the basket, but it was making far more noise than he had expected. Fearing failure, he shot a hot glance at Brownie, telling her that she would have to come to his aid... for the sake of the fort!

Akina followed suit with Smerdle, ignoring Brimstone as best she could though she was sure to keep an ear out for screams of pain. Not Brimstone's, of course. She was more worried about everyone else in the laundromat. So, crossing her legs, the elf continued to pour over her list, adding more than she was crossing off. She would periodically furrow her eyebrow and pout her lips with a sigh, but aside from that, Akina just let the white noise of the washers and dryers fill the quiet.

Brimstone, meanwhile, was about to curse Brownie for being such a stupid girl by ruining the whole mission when the knife-winged girl did something that surprised the nuclear Shattered. She succeeded. Pausing for no more than a second, Brim yanked the small basket free and quickly skittered over to the fort, grinning from ear to ear. He surveyed the fort for a spot to put it before deciding that stacking it on top of the other laundry basket would be the most beneficial to fortifying their defenses.

Now, he just needed his partner in crime. Narrowing his eyes at the man, Brim made a strange noise (likely his attempt at a whistle) to call Brownie back to base. It came out more as a strangled rush of air and spit, though.

Brimstone watched with intense curiosity as Brownie worked the old man and then reported back to base. He was impressed by her cunning and her penchant for mischief. Yes, this was a friendship fast-approaching. "Good job," Brim offered flatly in what was probably the closest he ever came to a compliment.

Rearranging a few pieces of the fort, the nuclear Shattered continued to scout out their surroundings by peeking through a hole in the side of one of the laundry baskets. He turned briskly to Brownie, making short paces (the fort was quite small) back and forth as he spoke. "Next one is yours. I help." The neon-haired boy nodded matter-of-factly, but then fell silent as if to wait for Brownie to take charge.

Brim's electric eyes followed Brownie's point in the direction of what appeared to be some kind of holding... thing for book-like... things. The child had no idea what is was, but he was not about to admit that. Most certainly not in front of a girl. He nodded sharply at her, looking for potential bystanders who might compromise the mission.

An old woman stood several dryers away, meticulously folding identical white nightgowns in a tidy stack. Across from her, a disshelved looking housewife was hastily stuffing handfuls of child-sized clothing into a nearby washing machine, huffing and sighing as if someone was standing behind her with a whip to make her go faster.

Brimstone leaned closer to Brownie, nearly losing his balance as he attempted to whisper secretly in her ear. "OKAY." Alright, so, maybe the boy wasn't the world's best whisperer in the world. Oblivious to the fact that he had nearly shouted his statement, the nuclear Shattered toddled off toward the bystanders, ready to distract them at a moment's notice.