Little Changes (open/)

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Candy's past has been a mystery for as long as she could remember - which wasn't saying much considering she was unable to remember anything up until about a year ago. There were many question's she wanted answered, and many more she was aware she may never find an answer for.

When her eyes first opened a year ago, she was aware. She knew of basic functions; respiration, walking, response and reaction, sleeping, moving, thinking, blinking, talking, eating, drinking, etcetera. She did not know how or where she had learnt to do these thing's. She simply did them.

The doctors who had taken care of her through her emotional and physical healing process throughout her time spent at the Port Arthur Compound had explained very little about her existance, and how she came to be. They simply denied having much knowledge about it at all. The best way to describe what happened was that her entire being had been re-written.

Another doctor who had worked more closely with her before she gained consciousness explained that she had been a voluntary participant in Human subject research. Faulty parts of her brain had been removed, then replaced by electronic chips, in an astonishing and controversial breakthrough in science. What that means is that the chips replaced damaged or malfunctioning tissue that perform the same function. The chips in her brain were what are keeping her alive. They sustain her body.

They asked her to imagine there's a small area in the brain that is malfunctioning, and imagine that they understood the architecture of this damaged area. They replicated that part of the brain with electronics. In essence, she now has a robo-cerebellum which mimics natural neuronal activity. It now assists Candy in receiving, interpreting, and transmiting sensory information from the brain stem, facilitating communication between the brain and the body.

If you examined her physical appearance you would say she looked like a living cadaver - granted, a pretty one - and in a way, she supposed she might be. The doctors called her a cyborg, which was probably also a pretty good definition seeing what the doctors had done to her body.

A large surgical scar, similar to an autopsy "Y" staple which extended from the front of each shoulder to the bottom end of the breastbone. The tail of the Y extended from the sternum to her pubic bone. Originally, she had thought that it was as if she just rose on the slab in a morgue or something, like she was dead, and still was. Only she woke up.

It was later explained that one of her lungs was replaced by synthetic tissues very similar to the make-up of real organs and function in the same way, and the same goes for her stomach, and her heart. As a result of this, she does not need to eat – it also means that she doesn't even have stomach acid, so digestion is out of the question. Normally, her body rejects food about an hour or two after eating. So running several blocks after just eating is a no go. The only reason she eats is to enjoy the taste and texture of the food.


Candy's right eye had been removed, replaced by a prosthetic eye, and prosthetic right leg made of steel and blue plastic. What set it apart from most other prosthesis is that it has a surprising degree of dexterity, and able to mimick a real biological ankle. With this, Candy is able move with a more natural gait than say if she wore a more passive-elastic prosthesis.


After being released from the compound she found herself in the city of Hobart, where she enrolled in one of the local schools and also scored a casual job working at a local bar collecting glasses. She now lived simply with a small family made up of three people; a man with a gifted mind, his feiry red-headed partner from a distance planet, and their daughter, who Candy had befriended after a run-in with some school bullies.

But Candy was alone for the moment. Sasha had begun seeing another kid from school, Craven, and had been spending increasingly less time with Candy one-on-one. Being the "third wheel" was not a fun title, especially when there was typically only the trio of you, and so Candy had been spending a little more time alone - an undesirable pass time.

Candy sighed an unneeded breath and uncurled her body from an uncomfortable looking possition inside of a large cylinder-shaped tube attached to some playground equipment, before dropping onto the ground, landing on her feet with a grace which would surprise anyone if they knew she wore a prosthesis.

She looked around her as she walked, noting that her gait was heavier as her feet sunk into the white sand in the playground. Candy was used to walking on the pavement, or the grass, dirt, but not sand. She passed a swing-set, watching as the seat swung slowly back and forth on it's own accord as a chilly wind picked up, toying with the chains which held the seat and blew against the fabric of Candy's dark blue long-sleeve top.

It was early morning. The great giant canvas that was the sky had been painted a beautiful mix of pink's and yellow's. Candy stared up at the clouds; in the distance they were fluffy, like cotton balls. The ones that were high up in the sky were dotted here and there, and the ones closest looked like mist.

Candy began to cross the lawn, toward's a spot she had begun to frequent at quite recently. Though the city around her was beginning to wake up, there was still no one at the park save for a few runners, someone riding their bike, and an elderly couple walking a beagle. They each kept to themselves.

It suited her just fine - Candy was feeling rather contemplative, and had discovered that oftentimes if she was feeling this way, she could shy away from others. Wouldn't they think she was a little insane, anyway if they knew that she was having some sort of existential crisis? Was she just something similar to, but not quite life?

She must have been truly alive at once stage, correct? Instead of having all these... 'artificial' thing's keeping her from just keeling over. Was she alive or an AI? Logically, somebody knew exactly what she was. They had to.

It had been explained to her; the programming inside her was what made her act as she did. A simple operation in the brain and she had a whole new personality from the one she could not remember. She could be sarcastic, she could be obedient, she could be obstinate, she could be many things - but she couldn't pretend to be anything but what she was, and she was possitive she was some sort of an AI.

Perhaps Dylan could find out... but he already had so much on his plate from stressing out over work, patients, putting alot of excess free time into Tara and Azure's pregnancy, tending to trouble regarding a malnourished friend of Xara's who was also suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress, ensuring he had enough time to spend time with Xara and his adoptive daughter Sasha, also working on DNA test's to confirm the species of said adoptive daughter's biological father. Candy just did not have the heart to ask him.

So she tried to come to her own conclusion's. Any normal, and healthy person was but a series of veins and cells. Their programming was embedded in flesh, but deep down that was all it was, right? Sure, much of Candy was now artificial, but how different was she to them, really?

She could recall a conversation she'd had with a nurse, once...

"...What would you call me?" Candy asked a tall, strawberry blonde woman wearing grey scrubs. The little tag on the front read: Nurse Rusk. Candy was trying to seem outright and failing slightly.

"Candice?" The nurse ventured, adjusting an IV drip above Candy's bedside.

"No, I mean, in terms of existence, what sort of being would you classify me as?" The blue-haired girl clarified.

"I don't know," She frowned, writing a few notes on a clipboard. "I'm just a nurse."

"That answer is unacceptable," Candy replied. "Please revise it."

"Why are you talking to me like you're a computer?" She frowned, looking puzzled, and a little wary.

"Because that's what I am. Right?" Candy asked. The question was obviously loaded. The nurse didn't answer right away, so Candy asked, "...are you absolutely sure I'm alive?"

"A hundred and some percent," The nurse replied, rubbing the back of her neck as if to get a crick out. "Ask any one of your doctor's, they each assisted in programming your chips." She suddenly looked away, as if afraid she had just said something she shouldn't have.

"That's my problem," Candy explained, getting agitated. "I was programmed. I wasn't born... like this."

"Of course you were born. You just happened to be made up of stuff already there," The nurse explained a little further. "Believe me, with all the work put into you, no woman has anything on our scientific team. Their labour was the most labourious of all."

"Right..." Candy said lowly, too caught up to think of a snappy comeback.

The nurse walked over to Candy's bed, lift a hand, hessitated, and then placed it upon the blue-haired girls shoulder. "You're alive. You're fine. Go to sleep."

Of course, on occasion, Candy would poke fun at her own situation. Because as they say, laughter can be the best medicine, right? She sometimes reffered to herself as a cadaver, or said she had "graveyard breath" in the morning's. She even compared herself to a laptop in regards to intelligence, once. So she wasn't always as moody about it as she was now.

Maybe it was PMS, or something. Regardless though, Candy felt as though she was in a slight funk. The best thing to do when you were feeling down? Get yourself some junk food. True, it was very early in the morn' - around 6am in fact, but she knew of a few good places to get some grub, even if she didn't technically need to eat.
---------------------------
Roughly fifteen minutes later, Candy was perched atop of a table in the park, across the road from Burger Place, under the shade of a tree as the sun rose continued to rise a little higher into the sky, casting shadow's of the various buildings across the asphalt and footpath. If you hadn't guessed it already, Burger Place was a burger place. One that Candy was fond of.

She watched pieces of the poor, ravaged burger she had fall from her greasy lips as she chewed down on the grilled meat, lettuce, tomato, and an excess of mayonaise, sucking it from her fingers noisily. She wasn't sure why she'd been so in the mood for chicken burgers today. She could have grilled some up the night before - but no one made Burger Place burgers quite as good as Burger Place.


Whilst still chewing on the portion of burger she had bitten off, Candy wiped grease from her face off with the sleeve of her long-sleeve, checking to make sure no one saw her do so.

The only reason she ate was to enjoy the taste and texture of the food. It'd been like that for as long as he could remember – which, truth be told, wasn't saying much. Her synthetic heart beat, pumping blood through her veins, yet she did not need food, or water to sustain her body. How was it possible she was still alive? What had happened to her – how had she come to be, in many senses, but not all, dead.

But did it matter now, right this second? Trying to think a little more herself, Candy did have a tasty burger which she hadn't vomited up yet, the sun was coming out, the clouds were pretty... the day could shape up quiet nicely, couldn't it? Thing's can get better.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx

++ TAGS xx Anyone! [/glow]

[BassPosaune]

Rasha looked like a man in his late teens or early twenties. He was muscular but not totally buff, which gave him an even more feline look if you coupled that with his fuzzy ears and fluffy tail. His clothes were often baggy and mismatched, for example his pants were always a bit too large and looked like they were pieced together from parts of other pants, and he was even known to wear a skirt or two if the fancy struck him. Sometimes it was nice to feel loose, he argued. His shirts, likewise, were baggy and usually dark blue or black, sporting skulls or motorcycles or other likewise images that he found whimsical and cute with no clue as to the lifestyle he was suggesting he participated in by dressing that way. Rasha also wore black eyeliners and mascara, because in his culture that sort of display meant that he was a crafty and smart male who could offer a lot to a mate should he or she choose to take him. It was a very strong statement, on both worlds it seemed. He did not know why he got strange looks as he passed people on the streets, wearing mascara and crudely applied eyeliner, a black skirt and a tee-shirt with a skeleton riding a motorcycle. He could only assume that people were admiring his fashion prowess and thinking ‘he surely would be a suitable male-mate!’

Indeed, he had it ‘going on’.

Rasha adopted a sort of a strut as he entered the Burger Place and ordered about four burgers and five orders of fries. The cashiers behind the counter gave him a very odd look as they filled his order, thinking he had just come back from a wild party and had a bad case of the munchies. Rasha had never even had alcohol before, let alone other drugs that humans used for recreational purposes. He wouldn’t know the first thing about acquiring any, and even then there was no guarantee that the marijuana plant would give him the desired effect. He could be deathly allergic for all he knew. Little did he know that marijuana actually contained minerals and health-promoting properties that were the equivalent to vitamins and supplements that humans used when they were not getting enough of one thing or another from their diet, and once he figured it out getting over a cold would become much easier.

Rasha took his massive order across the street to a park, where he ate it quickly under a tree, one burger after the other. He ate the fries with equal enthusiasm, and when he was done, lay back in the grass and sipped on his shake. It was a great breakfast: the most important meal of the day, right? His tail twitched happily as a beam of sun fell through the canopy and warmed his belly, prompting a yawn and a luxurious stretch from the ex-warrior in training.

Rasha was, of course, from Xara’s tribe. They were distantly related…something like cousins so-and-so removed. He did not know. All he knew was that he was not allowed to mate her because they were blood-related, and that was perfectly fine by Rasha. Xara was terrifying, and so was her mother, and her mother before that. All the women in his family were mildly frightening, if he was to be honest with himself, but they got things done, which was more than he could say for the men in his family most days.

Their tribe was just under one-thousand strong, and Xara’s immediate family was at the head of it all. No wonder she was always so stressed. Rasha was a simple carpenter and weapon craftsman. He made the best weapons, and Xara tested them out for him. They worked very closely to design the best weapons and, despite her slightly overbearing personality, he enjoyed the one-on-one time they got. They actually became good friends…until she mated, and her mate did not approve of her spending so much time with Rasha. This seriously cut into their bonding time, and Rasha took it a little too personally. Then when he moved to Earth, found she had a daughter and was chasing after Edison, the crazy demon with whom she had an abusive relationship and wouldn’t let go, he found he felt a little out of place. So he moved around a bit, trying to find a place with a warmer and more bearable climate.

He found Hobart.

He had made quite the happy little home for himself in Hobart. Apparently a lot of people had a taste for handmade furniture and specialty swords. That was fine by Rasha…he made a pretty little penny off of some of his work, and the fact that he didn’t charge all too much for his merchandise meant that he sold a lot of it. He kept a knife with him wherever he went, in case someone wanted a sample or a demonstration, but also for safety reasons. He didn’t like to be out at night all too much but when he was, he was prepared for anything. Except for the rain, he was always caught off-guard by the rain.

Rasha’s ears perked as a young looking girl sat on a table a little ways from where he was sitting. A breeze carried her scent towards him and he couldn’t help but to inhale. Her meal smelled delicious! He reminded himself to order a chicken burger from them the next time he was over. He brought himself to a kneeling position and continued examining her scent. Past the food smell was her actual scent…and her actual scent alarmed him, at first. Was she okay? She looked like she was okay, but she smelled…not entirely dead, but not like a living person should smell, anyway. Being the fearless, sometimes tactless yet innocent individual he was, Rasha stood and cautiously approached her.

“Good morning!” he grinned, “My name’s Rasha, what’s yours?”


<3 <3 <3

Tags: Candy ^_^
Word Count: 995
Listening To: Chopin, Etude No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 10/2, CT 15
OOC: The return of Rasha I hope this was alright!

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

It would have been foolish to assume that no one would be in the park at this time. It was not as if Candy was the only early-bird in all of Hobart, but she had not expected someone to approach her.

With burger grease smeared around her lips, Candy looked up, slightly alarmed as a male with an olive tan, dark hair, large ears and a tail approached her. She felt no alarm because of his appearance, oh no, he bared a striking resemblance to Xara, actually. She was more agast at the fact that she had been 'caught' in this state of uncleanliness... and in front of a boy on top of thing's. However he seemed totally fine with it.

"Um, hi!" Candy swallowed a clump of the burger which she'd been chewing on, physically feeling it as it made it's way into her stomach. "Did you know it takes seven seconds for food to reach your stomach after you swallowed it?" Food for thought. Liturally. She winced as she realised that she'd rambled. "Sorry, I'm Candy... that was very inconsequential of me. I didn't expect anyone would, y'know, see me like..." she looked down at the burger wrapping, covered in crumbs and droplets of mayonaise, as well as her fingers, and though she could not see her face, she was sure her mouth was a mess, too. "Have we met? You look very familiar."

Taking a better look at his appearance, it struck Candy just how Xara-like he appeared. True, he did not have the pale skin, red hair and long bushy crimson tail and ears - but he was the same species, surely. He had handsome features, there was no doubt about that. His clothes were strange, and mismatched, though she couldn't care less about that. When was she not judged on her appearance, after all. His long bushy tail stuck out from underneath a long black skirt, with a black shirt over his torso. His face was framed by two large pointed ears, and after a closer inspection, Candy also realised that he seemed to be wearing make-up.

So he was a little androgynous? Candy grinned. For some reason she wasn't entirely sure how to explain, she was kind of attracted to effeminate men. Y'know; straight, but with the long hair, unafraid to add a little feminine aspect to their attire, the eyeliner... it was a type of appearance which was most popular back in the years 1965-1970. Who knew that even now ths far into the future there's still be a few who dressed this way. Or a girl who found herself attracted to such a style.

Shaking the box of chips she had left over, she held it out to him in a way to extend the offer for him to take a few, and sit if he chose to.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx Haven't seen Rasha fora while Bringing him back in?

++ TAGS xx Rasha! [/glow]

[BassPosaune]

The girl was very pretty, up close, despite being a little messy from eating. Rasha did not mind that at all though, since he knew he was not exactly mister charming when it came to his mealtimes. He did not know there was certain etiquette to eating when he first arrived on earth. Like Xara, he would often eat entire chickens…as if they were apples. He did not see why that was an issue, since it was only another way of getting the meat off the bone and into his stomach, but when people started calling him an uncivilized barbarian or Neanderthal, he began getting upset and worked very hard to curb his habits. Unlike his cousin, he had tried very hard to comply with the human culture. He had lost his accent, learned English, put himself through a graduation equivalent program, and schooled himself on everything he needed to know to try to be human. With some exceptions to his choice in apparel and decoration of course, since he found the skirts freeing and, well, he liked coloring on himself with the different kinds of cosmetics that were out there. Sure he got odd looks, but comfort and having a little fun with his appearance was all worth it.

It was Candy’s appearance that had attracted him to her. That, and her strange scent, but when he realized she was a being which was alive and had emotions and, what humans would call a soul, he let the scent thing go. Everyone was different, he had learned, so what if the girl was not entirely alive, or organic? For all he knew he’d made a new friend, and since many people didn’t take too kindly to man with ears and a tail who dressed like a woman, friends were a hard thing to come by. He took a good look at the girls blue hair, which had caught his eye immediately. His first instinct was to reach out and touch it, but luckily he had learned not to do the first thing that came to mind. He had adopted and adapted a saying: “think about the first thing you’re going to say and don’t say it. Don’t say the second thing either…or the third thing. You can probably say the fourth thing, but I’d take a good hard look at that if I were you.”

He had heard someone say that on the street once, and he had found it both amusing and informative. It was a good philosophy to live by for someone who was trying to be as culturally sensitive as possible. Although, from what he’d learned of human customs, Candy’s greeting was a little...unconventional. Informative, yet…surprising.

His brows shot upward. “Whoah, really? Seven seconds?” he placed his hand on his throat, “That’s like, no time at all! Cool.” He grinned, “And it’s okay it was a pretty good way to greet someone I think. I feel pretty good about this whole thing already: I met someone new AND learned something new. It is the best of both worlds, don’t you think?”

He grinned kindly at her and accepted her offer to sit next to her by taking a fry and popping it into his mouth. He hopped up onto the table as he swallowed the fry and then chuckled, “Now that’s all I’ll be able to think about it. I’ll be counting to seven every time I take a bite out of something.” He immediately began to swing his legs, looking out at the beautiful scenery in front of them. Then he let his gaze land back on Candy, trying to remember if they had met before or not.

“No…I don’t think we’ve met before.” He mused quietly, “I generally have a good memory for these things and, no offence, but I think I would remember your scent anywhere. It is very unique—more unique than most! I like it…it’s different. I’m sorry,” he blushed, “that’s why I came here… to meet whoever it was that owned such an intriguing scent. I forget that that’s not always a compliment on Earth…if it is any consolation, on my planet this would be a good thing. We generally stay away from scents we are not sure of or do not like, and we’re drawn to the good ones. Some people think it is something like… how to judge a character. We’re attracted to the good one and repulsed by the bad ones. Some people’s senses aren’t as good as others… mine is usually very good. My cousin’s…not so much. She’s had a bad run with mate—er, boyfriends—in her life. Not good choices.” A dark look came over him and he gathered his tail into this lap and began fiddling with the fur on it. Then he sighed, “Ah…but anyways I’m rambling aren’t I? I do that a lot. I’m sorry. I’ve made this awkward… let me clarify: I was attracted by your scent, and this is a good thing…it does not mean you smell bad. Quite the contrary… you smell very good.” He grinned again, “Also… I love your hair! Was it always that color, or were you born with it? I would love hair like that. I love colors!”

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening? Hello, hello, are you there? You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere You are, you are, you are part of this I know you think you're much more You better think again Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Candy felt herself relax as this Rasha fellow did not seem put off by her awkwardness. Not only had she not expected someone would actually approach her during her morning meal, but she hadn't expected this person to be a boy, either. Or so cool about her general unorthodox...ness. His response was nothing less than encouraging.

The way he spoke - you could tell he was obviously not of planet Earth - made Candy re-think her initial assumption that he may be of some relation to Xara. They spoke completely differently; Xara's accent was thick while you could barely tell that Rasha had one at all. He spoke as if he was some regular young Earth-born man. "Well, I guess I'm glad that I was able to teach you something," Candy smiled, ducking her head only slightly as she pushed some of her long hair behind her ear. She perked up slightly. "If you like that then did you know that apparently the reason a stomach will growl in the first place is because it has something to do with your intestines rubbing together once all the digested food has emptied from your stomach... though the reliability of the statement is questionable. Before I was told that, I'd thought that they just had perfect timing or a malicious sense of sabotage." The thought alone made her stomach feel queazy. Probably shouldn't contemplate the subject further.

To help her stomach, Candy decided to take a few small sips of her drink. Her lips puckered slightly as she slurped at a small red straw sticking out of a Coca Cola can, and listened with interest as Rasha began to explain in detail about scent and the different odors of thing's. She appreciated the fact that he was a good listener as well. Attentive, as Candy spoke she felt more compelled to do the same for him as he continued to speak. She had been absolutely possitive for a moment that they must have met eachother. She got caught up in his talk of scent and found herself feeling strangely flattered that he would find hers so unique, and intriguing. He had felt drawn to it?

Candy had showered that very morning; using lavenger body wash, and strawberry conditioner. So she knew that she should not smell bad, at least. She quite enjoyed the smell of strawberries, to be honest. On the off-beat, Candy perceived a dull buzzing, beside her ear that grew louder and louder, until she noticed the smallest of insects dancing across her vision. She flinched slightly, as the diminutive gnat hovered down and landed on her hand, taking a bite into her soft skin to sample the crimson blood pumping underneath.


Though he was quite annoyed with it’s blood-sucking, Candy had always made an effort to treat each and every animal with respect at all times, so instead of dashing out it’s wicked little brain’s all over her palm, she gave her hand a quick shake in a silent way to request that it dine on her no further. She watched as the gnat drifted from her hand. It danced between both herself and Rasha for a moment, before it decided to land on Candy’s hand again, ignoring her previous attempt at a civil solution; obviously suggesting that perhaps our leaders are right, and you cannot negotiate with terrorists (or gnats).

Giving his hand yet another shake, Candy stuck her tongue into her cheek, drawing her attention back to what Rasha was talking about. Catching up quickly, she smiled a little shyly. "I've sometimes wondered what I smell like." She admitted a little shyly.

What did she smell like? She could only guess unless she asked - she had a right to know, didn't she? "Well, I'm glad that my scent doesn't repulse you," she took another sip of her coke. Her cheeks reddened slightly while her mouth curled into a barely disguised grin as Rasha then went on to say that he loved her hair. "My hair's been blue for a very long time," she fiddled with a few strand's; having not really thought about it before, she kind of realised how pretty it was. "I'm surprised you don't have some wild color blended in with your hair, the rest of you look's pretty wild... in a good way though!" she added, to make sure she did not offend him.

"So what do you do with yourself Rasha? I mean, do you work or do you go to school? I do both. I'm still in school, but I have a job at a local bar collecting glasses. and empty beer jugs. I'm still underage. It's not something I can see myself doing for the rest of my life, of course. I try and shove most ideas related to growing up and being in anyway responsible right to the back of my mind. They gave me a headache. The more I think about them, the more I've realized how useless I think I would be at most jobs... of course I don't mean to sound self depricating! But I can’t see myself working in an office. I love art, but I don’t think I am good enough at art to really be an artist. I'm not smart enough to be something like a doctor or a lawyer. I think law and science can be a little boring anyway. It's like being stuck in a maze, all the exits blocked with unsolvable problems." She realised she was rambling again, but it was too late to turn back now.

"I live with a small family at the moment, and the man is a doctor. Not that I think he's boring, though. He's quiet. But he's kind. See, I'm just desperate to be good or something. I don’t want any tricky qualifications... I don’t want to be sat at a desk...and most of all, I want to be good at it... y'know? At school we talk all about “aspirations” and “opportunities”, but I want - no, need a job where I feel I’d get some sort of satisfaction out of it, but keep in mind everything I've considered before when it came to tricky qualifications... I'm off track again. What do you do?"

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + NOTES xx I feel exactly the same as Candy when it comes to Jobs
++ TAGS xx Rasha [/glow]

[/quote]

[BassPosaune]

"If you like that then did you know that apparently the reason a stomach will growl in the first place is because it has something to do with your intestines rubbing together once all the digested food has emptied from your stomach... though the reliability of the statement is questionable. Before I was told that, I'd thought that they just had perfect timing or a malicious sense of sabotage."

Rasha looked down at his own stomach and the image of his intestines rubbing together made him recoil slightly. That was not something he wanted to think of whenever his stomach growled, no sir, he liked to think it was just some sort of gas thing or something. He assumed it was just that his stomach had too much air and not enough food in it and the air was being displaced so it bubbled up and made gurgling noises. The walls of his intestines rubbing together gave him a rather concerning image, and now every time it did growl the sight of two rubbery tubes with ridged linings rubbing together would come to mind and he would soon become the guy who counted to seven after every bite and being disgusted and horrified by his own stomach growls.
He smirked, despite being grossed out by the walls of his intestines, at Candy’s previous theory as to why stomachs tended to growl. He hated it when he was in class and his stomach would growl during the din of a very important test. It was impressive how loud a stomach could growl when there was no other sound to be heard, and it only ever seemed to be at quiet moments such as that that stomachs tended to make such a ruckus. “You know I think your theory about the sabotage: I guess stomachs can be pretty good little evil-masterminds, ey?” he grinned and ran his hand through his hair to push it out of his eyes. He really should be getting it cut, considering how much he complained about it being in his eyes, but at the same time he liked how long and silky it had become and he especially liked it when he could twirl it around his fingers or wave it around in the air. He did not like how hot he got under it, but he often had it tied up anyway, and today was no different. But some of his hair managed to escape and he was struggling with keeping it in its place.


"I'm surprised you don't have some wild color blended in with your hair, the rest of you look's pretty wild... in a good way though!"

Rasha grinned. “Oh thank you: maybe one day you could help me choose the right color? I know what you mean about my clothing habits and I am not offended, I am actually kind of flattered that you think it is good because not many people do… but I don’t dress wild on purpose. I do not know why more men do not wear skirts… I find jeans too constricting, if you know what I’m saying. Besides I like the breeze…I feel free. And you gotta do what feels right in here,” he tapped himself in the chest so it made a hollow noise and grinned, “or else you’ll be unhappy and uncomfortable. I like colors and I like skirts and there are no laws against that, are there?” he swung his legs happily and fiddled with the long, flowing fabric of his skirt. “See…feel how soft that is! Jeans are so itchy and I’m always afraid one day I’ll, er, ‘get caught’ in the zipper, if you know what I mean.” He said as politely as he could. “I guess it is just an irrational fear of mine, I saw a film where a poor bastard was unfortunate enough to do that…it looked painful, and I didn’t see what was comedic about that at all.” He chuckled slightly.

He was actually about to ask the blue-haired-beauty what she did for a living, but she beat him to it, and answered his question in the process. He found her philosophy on growing up and getting a job and being productive to be alarming and a bit stressful. He could understand why she did not want to have to think about it until she actually had to, because it seemed to be a terrifying decision to make. Humans seemed to put so much worth on what profession someone should have. It was in some cases the most important thing, and it made Rasha sad to think that it was distressing his new friend so much. He smiled kindly at her and nodded,

“Yes yes I understand that. I did not know what I was going to do with myself when I arrived her to be honest with you, and I was afraid about if I chose the wrong thing I would be something of an, er, outcast? I did not want to be looked down upon any more than I was—I was living in Miami at the time and paranormals like me were not taken to with any fondness—so I wanted something respectable I suppose. But I hated it. On my home planet I was something of a smith, and I also did some carpentry. When I learned that both things were popular here I began to make jewelry and statues and things like those for people. Like this,” he pulled out a rope necklace with a sun pendant on it, studded with polished stones of different colors, “do you want it? I did it for fun in my spare time last night, and I think it suites you: you remind me of the sun.” he grinned and slipped it over her head without waiting for her permission, then took a step back to give it a criticizing look. His grin broadened. “Lovely.” He said gently. “It goes well with your style I think, yes?”

Rasha chuckled and sat on his hands, then stared off into the distance again. “I would not worry about your jobs: you will find something you are good at and I think you are probably good at more things than you know. Maybe you just need to go on more adventures than other people to find out what that is? I think that makes your life all the more interesting, don’t you? Instead of tying yourself down to a job you hate just because it is expected of you. If all else fails, perhaps you could work with me? I could use some help around the shop. I’ve been getting a lot more orders lately. If you ever need the extra cash let me know… I could at least test out some of my jewelry on you: you are a good model.” he praised shameless. Rasha chuckled, “In fact I think you make that necklace look even better. I was not happy with it when I was making it, but I guess I just couldn’t imagine it on the right person.” He sighed and leaned back to look up at the sky, exposing his neck to the warm sunshine. He sat like that for a few moments and then gave Candy a sidelong glance, “Can I offer to take you home?”

((OOC: hope this was okay :3 ))

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

This guy was almost too good to be true - he had to be, surely. Who else would sit and actually feel comfortable with starting a conversation in such an idiosyncratic way. Why did she seem to care so much about what he thought, anyway? Chances were she would probably never see him again. They were simply two strangers who were having a conversation which was lasting a lot longer than she would have ever thought possible, considering how it all started out.

Finding herself unwilling to look at anyone or anything else, Candy watched with a small smile as Rasha pushed back some of his long hair, and admired it silently. He seemed mildly bothered by the fact that it seemed to just fall wherever it liked, and it made Candy wonder why he hadn't thought to use a hair-tie. She would suggest it... later. He was still talking, and wanted an opinion?

"Well, with your skin tone, oh, but it also depends on eye color...hm. Darker colors always look best on someone with olive skin. But if you were to put a few blonde streaks in it, maybe you could pull off some red, or dark blue. See, if you're as pale as a..." dont say corpse, she reminded herself, "vampire, then any type of color will look vibrant. You're so lucky you're not pale. It doesn't matter how much sunlight I get, my skin just doesn't seem to tan."

Rocking slightly as she sat on the bench, nibbling on a few chips, Candy realised that talking to Rasha felt comfortable. There hadn't been an awkward pause yet, and barely a break in the conversation. Perhaps she felt more at ease because the topic was on something more feminine, rather than something that neither of them could relate to. So far Candy hadn't met a woman who did not like talking about clothes. But she had never met a male who enjoyed talking about it.

"I like your way of thinking, Rasha," she smiled. "You're absolutely right you do need to make sure that you do what feel's right in here," she placed a hand to her own breast for a second, then wrapped her arms around her knees. "You don't see many people nowadays who appreciate the little thing's."

Her laugh returned, teeth gleaming as Rasha then went on to attempt to explain that he was afraid that he may get caught in the zipper. "I don't think that I've seen that film, actually. Though I can't really imagine what that'd feel like anyway, since I don't really have the parts for that..." Oh God, she did not just say that. She outwardly winced, and dropped her gaze. However, he did not seem all that phased in the slightest. He just continued on to tell her more about how he felt about his own employment situation.

"We're all outcasts... those who are a bit different from everyone else," she began to explain, but as he delved deeper into some of his own experiences, she baulked slightly as she connected dots. She would have called him on it too, if he hadn't pulled out a necklace. Her eyes locked onto the beautiful little pendant, and her smile lit up her face. Was he seriously considering to give it to her, a complete stranger, though? "Are you this sweet to all of the girls you meet sitting at a park bench, wolfing down a burger?" she blushed, pushing aside some of her hair so that he could slip it over her head. She lift it slightly so that she could hold it in her palm, and smiled as the little gems sparkled in the sunlight.

"Thank you so much," she beamed at him, placing it back gently against her jumper. She almost felt it was a crime to have touched the fine, delicate pendant with her greasy fingers. She could hardly believe someone could possess such kindness, or generosity. Well, perhaps with the exception of Xara, and her family. Perhaps it was a genetic thing, if Candy's hunch was right and this Rasha fellow could be her cousin. He was actually offering her work! "Rasha, you've been so kind, I almost feel rude thinking there is a catch? I've never met amany people as kind, or generous as you. I'm almost not used to it. I hope you don't think I'm being incredibly rude. I want to repay you for this, but I couldn't ask you to pay me for anything." He even offered to take her home. "I don't live all that far from here." Looking up at him, she pursed her lips together for a few seconds. "Besides, I actually have a hunch that I might be living with your cousin and her family. She isn't called Xara is she?"

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx

++ TAGS xx Anyone! [/glow]

[BassPosaune]

“Catch?”
Rasha almost looked horrified at the thought. Did she think he was trying to catch her? Was it inappropriate to offer her a gift so shortly after meeting? Oh, he was so stupid sometimes! He cursed his inability to understand human protocol, even though he had spent so many hours studying it. His ears drooped. “No! No catch…my apologies. Oh, gods, I am such an idiot. I am so sorry Miss Candy.” He placed his hand over his mouth in self-dismay and shook his head, his ears drooping.

The last thing he had wanted to do was ‘weird’ his new friend out. He forgot how skeptical Earth-born females were of strange males who approached them in parks and offered gifts. But how could he not offer her the necklace? It seemed perfect for her. His intuition told him that the necklace belonged to her and that, somehow, he had made it for her without even knowing it. He did notice how pale she looked, but he hadn’t thought it a detrimental trait. In fact he thought it added to her beauty. It was her own style of beauty, and he liked it. Rasha thought every person and everything had its own style of beauty, and people who claimed that others were less beautiful due to some standard or other made no sense to him. Besides, sometimes physical aesthetics did not matter. A beautiful person could still be ugly, he always remembered. A suitor he met when he was living in Miami had proved this to him: he was gorgeous but selfish, unpleasant and cruel. The sight of him made Rasha’s skin crawl, and not in a pleasant sort of way. He did not know why the man was so insistent, either, because Rasha thought he was being very clear in his rejection. He could feel his jaw clenching, even as he sat with Candy in the warming sunrise, at the thought of the man. Ugh, he just hated that faery.

Rasha mentally shook himself and fixed his attention back on the young blue-haired lady who sat next to him. She was a pretty cool friend he thought, if she would forgive him for being so accidentally forward. He would not be surprised if she would reject his offer to escort her home. Truth be told he was enjoying their conversation and wanted to drag it out as long as possible: Candy was the first person he had met in a long while that he had really enjoyed talking to. Rasha was feeling slightly isolated, seeing as how much time he spent dedicated to his shop work, and he found he actually missed his family. He regretted leaving Sasha and Xara, and wondered every day what they were up to. He figured they were probably doing just fine, but not knowing was driving him mad. Fortunately, Candy seemed to have solutions to all his problems:

"Besides, I actually have a hunch that I might be living with your cousin and her family. She isn't called Xara is she?"

Rasha blinked. “Xara…?” he nodded, “Yes…she is my cousin. You live with her? She lives here?” he grinned happily and hopped off the bench, “Please Candy will you take me to see her? I would love to see her again! How is Sasha? I bet she’s gotten so big. Is her favorite color still purple? Is Xara still with that rat Edison? Oh I cannot stand Edison.” Rasha fumed, “Oh! He is a piece of work…” he muttered darkly, arms crossed and tail lashing out. He snorted, “Eh. Well…it would be nice to see her again anyway. How did you meet? You’re not her daughter…are you?”



xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Tags: you're it! XD

Notes: I hope this was okay! :3 Feel free to rp Rasha a bit too if it will help move things along, or time-skip... or whatever you want. I trust your judgement I wish I had Rasha's hair... >.>

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening? Hello, hello, are you there? You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere You are, you are, you are part of this I know you think you're much more You better think again Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

The abashed expression on Rasha's face was proof enough that he had not intended to make Candy feel uncomfortable with the unexpected praise, and gift-giving. In many human societies, the act of mutually exchanging goods was usually left for birthdays, festive holidays and the like. A gift, or present, involved an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is meant to be free. Candy had no doubt that Rasha had probably learnt this already, but perhaps exchanges were different on his planet. Customs would have been, of course. Maybe she'd over reacted. It was easy to forget that Rasha wasn't of this world. Perhaps that had something to do with being surrounded with aliens and paranormals lately. There was no discomfort around any of her housemates or their close friends. They were all a diverse bunch, but all had something in common - they were outcasts, each and every one of them.

From the bits and pieces Candy knew of Xara's culture she could already come to a conclusion that Rasha's was the same. If she was considered something of a princess on her planet, would that make Rasha a prince? Heh, Prince Charming certainly fit the bill.

As her suspitions were confirmed, that he was in fact Xara's cousin, Candy felt a strange surge of hope well inside of her. Would ths mean she could see him again? That is of course he'd decide to visit again. That is if Xara wanted to see him again, Candy had no idea of what their past relationship might have been like. Perhaps there was a good reason she had never heard of this Rasha fellow.

Now he was asking so many questions she had no idea which to respond to first. "Okay, okay in order ummm," She she stuck her tongue on the side of her mouth as she thought of her answer's for a moment, putting them in order. "I live her with. She doesn't live too far from here. I can take you to see her if you'd like," she felt her stomach flutter in eagerness. "Sasha's great, has herself a boyfriend now, and he's sweet. Xara's with a guy called Dylan, he's a doctor at the hospital here. She met him in Miami, actually. This was a while ago. They've been together since. Edison... well everyone's always mad at him. He's done some pretty rotton thing's recently, actually. Definately a piece of work, as you say."

Poor Sasha. To think, Edison was her biological father. He probably knew the whole time, actually. To think that after so many years of not knowing, she found out during a date with her boyfriend. Candy hadn't seen Sasha's transformation yet. She dared not ask Sasha to show her, nor did she really want to see if it she had a choice. Not until Sasha was ready, of course. She wanted to be there for her friend so badly, especially after she, and her mother and Dylan were so kind to take her into their home, and accept her. That sort of act deserved repayment.

From Rasha's change in stance, and the way his tail was flicking about, Candy could see that it was obvious he disliked the demon-man. After all, he was Xara's cousin and at the end of the day, blood was thicker than water, wasn't it? Was Rasha just resentful towards Edison for what he did to his cousin, or was there some other reason, Candy wondered. "Oh, but Xara isn't my mother, no. She's been letting me stay with her family for a while. She's a wonderful woman... intimidating at times," she admitted with a sheepish grin. "But she's very kind."

"So... shall we?" Candy bunched up the wrappers, and box of now-gone chips, and jumped off of the bench. "We can walk? Unless you have a car, or bike or something. It really isn't too far." She tucked some of her hair from her eyes as she made a quick jog to a near-by bin, and back again.

-----------------------------
The trip back to the house itself was not long enough. Candy and Rasha spoke of whatever came to mind. She felt comfortable in his presence, which for her, rarely happened on a first meeting. She walked in step with him, almost matching his stride. Looking at him every so often, she could not shake the feeling of something fluttering around in her stomach. Was this a crush? She had heard of them, and on some distant and vague level she had the feeling that she'd probably experienced a few during her 'first life'. But this was the first one she could remember and... it felt good.

Someone once explained to her that having a crush was a different sort of love. It was imagining a person being with you, you'd feel uneasy about being around them, yet compelled to find excuses to be around them at the same time. You'll wonder what you'll say to them next and scrutinize your every move.

Should she ask Sasha more about this weird, alien feeling? She had a boyfriend now, after all. But oh, she was thinking too deeply into it. All he did was give her a necklace. That didn't mean anything, right? Did it?

Once at the door, Candy was sure to knock once before letting herself in, immediately stepping aside to allow Rasha entry, and began taking off her jacket. Once it was hanging on the hook, she straightened out her light blue long sleeve, and adjusted the collar so that it sat high around her neck, keeping the staples around her collarbone well hidden. "So... this is it," she waved her hand around the large room around them, standing a little awkwardly as she attempted to decide what to do next. She wasn't even sure she should have brought company over without some sort of heads-up. Even if Rasha was Xara's cousin. "Anyone home? Xara? Dylan?" she called out, then looked towards the kitchen, and lounge. "Umm, do you want something to drink? We could sit in the lounge or the kitchen... I'm not sure if anyone else is home."
.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ++ NOTES xx
++ TAGS xx [/glow]

[/quote]

[BassPosaune]

Sasha was with Craven. Again.

Xara sighed dolefully as she rolled out of bed and rubbed her eyes. She had gotten used to sleeping in later than usual, considering she had taken over Tara’s position as bouncer at the club while she was pregnant and on bed rest. Xara could honestly not imagine being confined to a bed all day long until the baby came. That would be torturous. Her birth with Sasha was short and relatively painless and for that she was very grateful. Quam had a lot to do with making her feel comfortable and secure, as did Sage, who Xara had planned on visiting that day after she saw to Tara. Xara was afraid the vampire was beginning to feel the effects of the ‘baby blues’ as some people on earth called it, which would sometimes happen to women who were pregnant or shortly after giving birth. Tara had seemed a lot more stressed out and tense than usual and Xara had learned that she had been arguing with Azure more than usual as well. They had recently had an argument about Tara’s long-lost-father’s girlfriend, a scientist named Citole Snare. Despite being ‘mated’ to a scientist Xara still was quite suspicious of them, and she knew Azure had every reason to be suspicious of the woman. If Tara had her way their baby, whatever his or her name was going to be, would spend a lot of time with the couple. Xara completely supported Azure’s cautious stance on the whole thing and, personally, she believed that Tara was being completely unreasonable to think that they should trust Citole.

Regardless of what happened with that Xara would always be available to help and, as of late, it seemed as if Tara needed the help. Even Quam, the happy, plucky unicorn-nurse seemed to be having a hard time lifting Tara’s spirits. Surely the baby’s birth would prompt a turnaround for her. Xara hoped so, for the sake of Tara and Azure’s relationship. Xara suspected perhaps the loss of the previous babies and also the physical stress of child-bearing for the vampiress was causing a great deal of her bluishness. What would have been easier, she thought ruefully as if she should have thought of this first, was if Azure and Tara’s fertilized egg should have been implanted into Xara’s own uterus, to save them all the heartbreak and the trouble. Xara would have done it willingly…if she had known it existed. It was a fairly heavy thing for a person to do, but Azure and Tara were certainly worth the trouble in Xara’s mind. Perhaps the reason it was never suggested was the couple did not want to impose? It was also possible that Tara wanted to experience pregnancy at least once. That was understandable but, in hindsight, it would have been much easier for Xara to have carried the infant herself. Xara was terribly excited, in any case. She could not imagine how excited she would be when Sasha began bearing children of her own.

This thought prompted another pained sigh from the fearless warrior as she rolled out of bed and moodily threw on her house coat. Sasha was dating now. Every marriage started with a date, and then she might move, and have children, and Xara would never see them again because Sasha would move away… she looked around the house she and Dylan had purchased together and it suddenly seemed massive. Even Candy was old enough to move out if she really wanted to! Oh, why did all of her children and pseudo-children want to leave her so soon? At least Azure and Tara’s child, and Sirius, would have a long while of growing up to do. These thoughts plagued her as she hopped into the bath (she did not particularly enjoy showering) and scrubbed herself down.

She washed her tail vigorously, and grimaced at how ratty it looked when wet. Her tail always got so messy at the club, especially when angry patrons decided to pull on it with their grimy hands. That was when Xara usually 'flipped her shit' as one of the dancers called it, because her tail was pretty much out of bounds to anyone who weren't family. It was just wrong for anyone else to touch it. But, last night, like every night, someone did and got grease and alcohol in it. She had washed it out when she got home of course but she still wanted to make double-sure it really was purified from it. When she was satisfactorily clean, she climbed out and began blow-drying her hair and tail. It must have been then when Candy and Rasha came in, because Xara had not heard Candy’s announcement. She walked into her room through the ajoining bathroom door and searched for some of her 'comfortable' clothes, which were yoga pants and a sweater, but she remembered she had asked Dylan to put them on to wash. The laundry was past the living room, but she hadn't expected anyone to be home so she left her towel hanging on the bedpost. She walked into the living room, frizzy haired and tailed, completely naked, and froze.

“er.” She said, not recognizing her cousin for a moment. Then it dawned on her, “Rasha!” she grinned. The man had stood to face Xara and the woman, and Xara threw herself at him in quite the very affectionate greeting. “Where have you been?!”


----------------------------------------------------------------------


The two sat in silence for a moment after Candy’s calls went unanswered.

“So…Candy, how did you meet Xara?” he asked finally, breaking the silence.

He did not know what to expect. His cousin was quite the...character, so it could have been anything! At least Candy seemed happy, so the story, he hoped, would be a happy one. But why Xara would take in Candy he had no idea. She had never done it before. Perhaps her maternal instincts were on the fritz, he wondered. But, whatever it was, he knew it had to be interesting: it was Candy’s story after all.

When Candy had finished speaking, a door opened somewhere within the house, and Rasha’s ears perked in alarm. He thought the house was empty. He placed a hand on Candy’s knee to keep her from rising, and half-rose himself in defensive preparation to protect his blue-haired companion. But he was pleased to see that it was no intruder—it was Xara. His expression was that of pure joy when Xara appeared, and then amusement when she did not recognize him at first. Rasha gasped when Xara threw herself at him. Despite nudity being the main form of garb on their planet, seeing Xara in such a nude state after so long made him blush, especially in the presence of Miss Candy. He was certainly glad for the warm reception though and reciprocated in a similarly affectionate manner. He happily encased his shorter cousin in his arms and sighed, “Voethe.” He grinned and pulled away to look her in the eyes, “I was just with Miss Candy. We met in the park and she mentioned she thought I could be related to you and Sasha. She was correct!” he cast his new friend a disarming grin and caught himself admiring her pale skin and bright blue hair.

His walk to Xara’s house was very pleasant, in his opinion. Miss Candy seemed like a very intelligent young Earthling, and despite her worries Rasha could foresee her doing very well for herself in her future. He would have been more than happy to work with her if she decided she wanted the job. What was the word? Internship. It would have been very cool to have a friend to work with, especially when he felt so lonely on regular days. He counted himself lucky to have found someone like her.

He turned to his cousin again and smiled awkwardly, “Perhaps you would like to put on some clothes?” Xara seemed to think this was a good idea, and after a few moments later she came back wearing her yoga pants and tee-shirt. She gave Candy and Rasha a questioning look that Rasha did not grasp, and then smiled.

“I am glad you two get along so well. Rasha was my favorite cousin” She and Rasha both took a seat on the couch next to Candy. Rasha smiled,

“Yes well all our other ones were insufferable weren't they?”

"Or dead." Xara giggled.

"Yes," Rasha snorted, "that generally puts a damper on family relations doesn't it? Speaking of," he pulled his tail out from under his rump and placed it in his lap, "Where is Sasha? I bet she's gotten so big! How old is she now? Five...six?"

“Rasha…she is only a year or two younger than Candy. She has a boyfriend now!”

The look on Rasha’s face was priceless. “When?”

“When you were gone! The scientists took her away from me before we came here and they experimented on her to make her grow faster. We invaded the facility grounds to get her back, and they bribed us with our freedom and security here in Hobart. We took it of course! Sage has a baby, Tara and Azure are pregnant...” she sighed, "I would have very much liked to have taken down the facility for good you know but I did not want to pass up a chance of Sasha being safe. Dylan, my mate now who is a doctor, thinks she has stopped growing so quickly. You cannot really tell she is only a few years old."

Rasha, stunned, looked to Candy. Sasha and Candy must be around the same age then. She looked so mature and independant and not childlike in the least...because she was not childlike. Candy was a woman, and if Candy looked like that then... what did Sasha look like? Rasha donned a look of consternation as he looked to his cousin,

"Gods..." he whispered, "Xara...I am so sorry I left. After the fights with Edison and you I just... I felt like I needed to go out into the world. I should have stayed. I am a horrible cousin to you and a worse uncle." he lowered his eyes. He would beat himself up over this for years.

[Hadrian]

May 28, 2012 10:34:01 GMT -5 Hadrian said:

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening? Hello, hello, are you there? You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere You are, you are, you are part of this I know you think you're much more You better think again Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Candy felt apologetic as she came to the assumption that she and Rasha were the only ones at home, especially after she had said she would take her exotic friend to meet with his cousin again. The woman who had given Candy a room in her home did not have to start work for a few more hours, so if Xara was out, she had no way of knowing where and for how long.

So Candy sat with her back against the couch seat, tapping her feet against the carpeting while trying to think of things to talk about. Of course she did not need to think for very long, however, as Rasha decided to ask her a question; “So…Candy, how did you meet Xara?”

"Through Sasha," she began. "We're in a few classes together at school." No need to tell him that Sasha had been bullied. That was something that did not need to be shared if not necessary. "I wasn't happy with where I was living at the time so Xara offered to give me a room here. Her whole family, and the friends who Sasha calls her aunties and uncles I've met have been very welcoming."

Candy really couldn't say enough how grateful she was to Xara and her family for being so accepting. Xara had been very honest, and slightly intimidating in the beginning. She had told Candy of their trials with the Facility, and the hurt and pain they'd all experienced. Candy would have been equally as truthful of her backstory had she known it herself. But they seemed understanding of her predicament, and had little doubt they would be if any of them were sure of what Candy'a life was like up until a couple of years ago.

Almost speaking of the devil, something - a noise that Candy must have missed - seemed to allert Rasha, and Candy realised then that she had assumed wrong. They were not alone. Slightly alarmed, Candy remained where she was as her new friend stared intently towards the source of the noise. She turner her own head to look, but immediately felt her face grow hot, and she uttered a small squeak, and covered her eyes as she realised that it was Xara, standing in the living room, stark naked.

She then cried out his name and flung herself towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso in a tight embrace. She demanded to know where he'd been, and Candy could see the man appeared a little flushed over seeing his red-haired cousin wearing nothing at all. He called her "voethe", which was a word in their native language, and which Candy had come to learn was a bit of a pet name someone of their species would give to someone they cared very deeply for.

Rasha went on to explain that he'd been with Candy at the park, and of their discussions, and her suspitions that he may have been related to Sasha and her mother. He had paused to turn to glance back at her for a moment as he explained, and Candy felt her face heat up further in a blush.

She was grateful when Rasha suggested that Xara put some clothes on, knowing that she would have been too embaressed to suggest such a thing herself. It was Xara's home after all, and she had every right to dress... or not-dress if she chose to. No doubt Sasha would have been absolutely mortified if she'd seen such a thing, but for Xara's species, it seemed perfectly natural. She seemed completely at ease.

It did not take long before she returned, this time dressed in a pair of old yoga pants and a plain tee-shirt. Candy's face had returned to a more natural temperature by then, and she was stitting with her shoes off, with her knees pulled up to her chest. Despite the fact it must have appeared to be an uncomfortable possition, she felt quite content.

Naturally as Xara returned, Candy looked up, towards her direction and smiled meekly as she noticed the glance the red-head exchanged between herself and Rasha. Xara always had displayed an uncanny intuition. Could she tell what Candy was beginning to think and feel about her cousin?

Xara then decided to sit beside her so that Candy was essentially sitting right in the middle of the two cousins. She remained quiet as they exchanged words, talking of how their other cousins had either died some way or another or were difficult to get along with. Candy was not surprised that Rasha was Xara's favorite surviving cousin. So far Candy had been unable to find any real noticable flaws, if he had any at all.

As Candy finally adjusted her possition so that she could stretch her legs out, folding one over the other, the topic soon switched to Sasha. Technically she was about five or six years of age, but physically and mentally, as Xara said, she was more the equilivant of a year or two shy of Candy's age. She was approximately seventeen years of age.

Poor Rasha appeared stunned. Candy had only heard the story of their run-in with the facility once or twice and each time it she thought of it she felt a shiver or two slide down her spine. She hated the thought of something like that happening to someone as wonderful, and kind as Sasha. As Candy understood, Xara had spent some time in the same place, as did Sasha's "Aunty" Azure. She dared not ask about their experiences, knowing it was not her place, but she knew that whatever happened, it had to have been evil. So much had happened to them all. How long had Rasha been gone? She decided to re-enter the conversation

"There wasn't any way you could have forseen any of this happening, Rasha," she spoke as kindly as she could, feeling her face grow warmer as she looked at him. "Think of it as self-preservation. You need to look ouit for yourself. How else will you expect to be there for others?" That question was intended to be rhetorical, so she asked another. "How long were you away?"
.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + ++ NOTES xx

++ TAGS xx [/glow]

[/quote]

[BassPosaune]

Xara grinned at Candy’s kind words.

Personally she agreed with Rasha. He should have been there for them. Xara had needed him in that moment of her and Sasha’s lives and he had just given up and run off. But he was always like that: he would always run away from conflict or trouble, especially if he knew there were other people there to deal with it for him. Xara had Hadrian, Sage, Azure, and Quam before Dylan came in to her life and in Rasha’s eyes that was enough to give him a ticket out of there. To his credit, he did try. He had had many an argument with Edison. Despite his flakiness Rasha was very protective over Xara and in some ways Xara could see how she had driven her cousin away. Rasha had done as much as he could to protect Xara from Edison. If Xara had not managed to get over her attraction to him (one she still did not understand) Rasha knew that she would probably drink herself into oblivion.

Xara crossed her arms and leaned back into the cushions of the couch. She had never mentioned her addiction to alcohol to Sasha or Candy…or Dylan. It was a secret she hoped to keep forever or at least for a very long time. It would be difficult with Edison and Sage knowing all about it, but they had never said anything before and if it was never brought up Xara figured it likely never would be. The only other person who knew about it was Rasha, and she could tell by the look he wore he was dying to know whether or not she had managed to break herself of her old habit.


"There wasn't any way you could have forseen any of this happening, Rasha,"
Xara nodded thoughtfully. That was true. No one could have foreseen what was going to happen with Sasha and the Facility.
"Think of it as self-preservation. You need to look ouit for yourself. How else will you expect to be there for others? How long were you away?"

Xaras brow furrowed and she donned a dark look. “No,” she interrupted before Rasha had a chance to answer, “Candy that is a selfish way to think about it. Rasha should have been there no matter how frustrated he got with me or Edison. He should never have left. I have laid my life down for him so many times and for no other reason except that he is my family and I loved him. But when he got to Earth he had money, freedom and he was released from the expectations of our world. He did not want to have to deal with having family members to care for. He wanted to protect me from Edison, sure, because I believe he loves me enough to put himself through the stress. But when he realized I would need more time and it would take more work he got bored, or frustrated, and he left. He left me and he left Sasha. It was the dishonorable way to do anything. Looking out for yourself and yourself only is a disgusting way to live, and if I always looked out for myself and no one else I would have turned you away in a heartbeat.” She said, angry at the girl not because she had offended Xara, or Xara thought Candy was being ungrateful, but because she believed that loyalty and generosity was a very important of one’s life and was terrified that Candy did not share the sentiments. Edison, in her mind, was the greatest example of what ‘looking out for number one’ would turn you into and Xara did not want to see Candy go down the same road. Xara, suddenly, was scared for her.

But it wasn’t all true. Candy was loyal, and generous. She had generously defended Sasha, and did so loyally every day after. Xara normally thought very highly of the blue-haired girl because, since allowing her to occupy the room next to Sasha’s (for which Xara was grateful because she hated seeing the space wasted, considering they already had storage and an office), Candy had been nothing but the perfect house guest. She couldn’t possibly turn out like Edison… Candy was too kind, and adorably naïve sometimes. Though Xara was no better in the naivety department, and sometimes Xara wondered if her daughter’s brain was still developing at a frightening pace because of the girls understanding of things Xara did not think she should be able to understand.

Rasha, in turn, looked a bit shocked at Xara’s explanation, though he did not have it in him to contest any of it. Xara was right, on most accounts, although Rasha had not done any of those things purposefully or consciously. He had not thought ‘they are not worth the trouble’ once while he was considering moving away. He had been too concerned with his own needs and happiness to even consider that Xara was one of the reasons he felt compelled to move away. But if he had known what was happening, or was going to happen, with them he would never have left them. He looked a little scared himself when Xara began ‘correcting’ Candy, because his cousins lectures were always disarming. He could never win an argument with her, not even on his home world…not even when he was right which, in this case, he was not.

As Xara spoke Rasha lifted a hand to place it on Candy’s shoulder in case she was feeling as upset or angry as he was guilty and a little bit frightened. Or maybe she was feeling guilty and frightened too? Who knew! She must have been feeling something, because the tone in Xara’s voice was cold and hard enough to stir up anyone’s emotions.

“Xara don’t speak to her like that, that was very unfair of you.” He said finally, “She never said that she would have done the same thing. I know I was wrong, and I know you’re upset, but why don’t you just leave her out of it okay?”

Xara snapped at him, “She did not have to say anything directly. The fact that you,” she turned to Candy, “Sympathized with him on this is warning enough for me to worry you would do the exact same thing one day. I do not care if you would do it to me or my family, but if you practice this philosophy then you will be lonely for the rest of your life and I do not want that for you, and you do not want that for you either.”


Rasha sat quietly, sheepishly watching as his cousin lectured his knew friend. Had he not been so terrified, he would have giggled at how motherly she seemed just then. But he was afraid a giggle just then would be the end of him, considering Xara’s current mood so, prudently, he minded his own business. Xara sighed,

“Well, Candy? Say something.”



---------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes: SOMEONE woke up on the wrong side of the bed today -coughxaracoughcough-

On an unrelated note, I also apologize for being so snarly last night I don't know what was up with me. I hope you can forgive me? x.x

[Hadrian]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

It was amazing how in a matter of a few seconds a person can go from feeling at ease, and welcome to unwanted, cast away.

Remorse filled Candy's entire being, and overflowed through the form of tears as Xara become rather frightening, and antagonistic towards her. Whenever Candy experienced a strong emotion, such as anger, fear, or anxiety she had come to realise that her emotions seemed directly linked to her tear ducts. She'd just become a crying mess.

Candy stiffened, as if expecting some form of physical attack as Xara began to get riled up, and lecture over her choice of words. Of course she hadn't meant it in the way Xara had percieved it! It was the way Candy had worded the sentances which made it appear she was thinking the way Xara feared she was.

The woman who had given her a room in her home honestly believed that she had anything in common with the man who had hurt her daughter so badly. Candy was also hurt that she was now hearing of a different side to Rasha. Xara was essentially accusing Rasha of being a coward for leaving the way he had, while his family was in a time of need.

So Rasha was a bohemian, basically. Xara was saying that he was the type of person who preffered not to keep many permanent ties. He was nomadic. Was that what she was saying? The fact that Rasha may not stick around hurt more than Candy had expected. Or perhaps it had just been a self preservation thing, as Candy had said herself.

"Looking out for yourself and yourself only is a disgusting way to live, and if I always looked out for myself and no one else I would have turned you away in a heartbeat.” Candy was stunned into silence. Though trough the rising lump in her throat she wasn't even sure she was able to speak even if she wasn't frozen on the spot. She simply allowed the tears to roll down one side of her face. On the side where her eye had been removed, she was also lacking a tear duct, so crying out of both eyes was an imposible task.

Candy's mind barely registered the large hand resting upon her shoulder as Xara continued on with her verbal rampage. He spoke up to defend her, which was almost unexpected. Though it appeared a futile act, as Xara imediately retorted by telling her; "The fact that you sympathized with him on this is warning enough for me to worry you would do the exact same thing one day. I do not care if you would do it to me or my family, but if you practice this philosophy then you will be lonely for the rest of your life and I do not want that for you, and you do not want that for you either. Well, Candy? Say something.”

Candy's eye looked puffy, and had a pinkish tone to it as she stared up at the intimidating woman in front of her. Her mouth fell slack for a moment, trying to think of a reply - anything as quickly as she could. Afraid that if she left it too long, the woman may start yelling again. Her artificial heart felt as if it was trying to break through her ribcage and burst from her chest it was beating so wildly, and her throat felt hoarse, and dry. She could hardly collect enough saliva to wet it, let alone swallow the lump inside of it.

"I n-never meant it like that!" she managed to croak, but as a result felt her breath hitch up several times as sobs racked her small form. "I on-only m-meant that in or-order to look aft-after other people you nee-eed to make sh-sure you're in the righ-ight frame of mind! Y-you took it the wrong way." She finished boldly. All the while she spoke, however, she kept her eyes lowered, afraid of what she'd see if she dared to look Xara in the face.

Candy shrugged off Rasha's hand then, and got up off of the couch - tottering only slightly as she regained her footing. "I have nothing else to say." She informed them, and rushed out of the room, towards the small staircase before racing off to the room which Xara had let her stay in. Once inside, she flung it shut so hard it practically vibrated against the frame.

Fear and an aching and painful intensity gave in to anger and bitterness then at being treated so unfairly. Of course she didn't think those things Xara said she did! Not really. Balling up her fists, Candy made a beeline for the closet, throwing a suitcase onto the floor, opening it roughly, and then tossing her few pairs of jeans, long-sleeve shirts, and a jumper into it.

Taking a few deep breaths, Candy suddenly felt dizzy. Realisation hit, and an instant later she groaned miserably as she felt a familiar pang in her stomach clenching tight. Running quickly to a bin near the window, she then felt the burger and chips she had eaten violently shoot back up her throat and splattered out, into the bin under her head. She retched, spewing out the contents of her stomach until she was left dry heaving, her empty innards convulsing a few times more before falling still. She looked down at the greasy slime hurled up in front of her, and shut her eyes quickly as she practically crawled over to the bed and dropped herself onto the single matress with her head burried into the pillow.

Candy was used to the vomiting. Being the form of cyborg she was meant she didn't need to eat – it also meant that she didn't even have stomach acid, so digestion was out of the question. Normally, her body rejected food about an hour or two after eating. She'd have to remember crying, and stress didn't help either.


Resentment built up then, and she sat up, looking down at the little pendant which Rasha had given to her not very long ago at all. She scowled, though she was unsure if it was directed at either Xara or Rasha directly, and then lift it over her head and tossed it towards the end of the bed. She then scooted towards the head of the bed frame, grabbed her pillow, and hugged it tightly as heavy sobs shook her body.

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ NOTES xx Yeah, I'd noticed you seemed narky at me.

++ TAGS xx Candy, Rasha, and Xara[/glow]

[BassPosaune]

A stunned silence fell over the cousins as Candy exited the room.

Rasha felt a familiar, frightened feeling grip his stomach as Candy slammed the door behind her. A few moments later the sounds of retching made him half-rise from the sofa, but Xara’s strong hand gently pushed him back into the couch. He could tell Xara wanted to comfort Candy as much as he did. She wasn’t all bad, his cousin. She was a little high strung, up tight, quick to act and heavy handed when she did, but normally she was not this bad. Poor Candy, he thought. He felt so guilty he hadn’t defended her as much as he should have. Candy was his friend after all! But, then, Xara was Candy’s landlord essentially, unless Xara intended on adopting the girl. Both sets of ears, red and brown, twitched at the sound of her heavy sobbing, and Rasha felt a sudden intense resentment for his cousins thoughtless actions. He stood and faced Xara boldly,

“Why did you have to be so cruel?”

“I was not being cruel I was being honest.” She said in minor defense.

“So you really think that of me? You think I just left you because I was bored with you? You think I stuck around and tried to help because of some blind loyalty, or that I forgot about all you had done for me? Xara I love you and Sasha second to none. I left because I was afraid I would make things worse. You wanted nothing to do with me. As soon as you found out I was fighting with Edison you cut me off from our link, from conversation, from basically everything between us except Sasha: you at least had the sense not to burn THAT bridge, and when Edison fell through you realize I was right and regretted it and instead of admitting you made a mistake you’re going to let other people—my friends—think that I am some deadbeat, unreliable, selfish asshole who cares about nothing except for myself. Is that what you’re trying to do? You’re trying to make me look like some monster?” he gasped for breath. “Ey?!”

Xara hesitated and stared at Rasha for a tense moment, then sighed, “No.” she muttered quietly. Rasha was more than slightly surprised that Xara had not lunged and attacked at him. He would have expected a flurry of comebacks, perhaps even fists, if he had said something so bold to her on their world. Perhaps Earth had not done all badly by her, he mused quietly, still waiting for her reaction and expecting the worst. Xara sighed again and buried her head in her hands, then shook it slowly. “I’m sorry.” She said, then looked him in the eye, “Rasha I am so sorry. I do not want you to think that I resent you for what you did and if I were you I would have done the exact same…” when she looked up at him he was surprised to see her eyes were actually red. Red! Was this emotion he was seeing? Emotion other than anger? Who was this woman and what had she done to his Xara? Rasha looked around awkwardly, not used to the pleading look he was receiving.

“Um. Okay… yeah, okay, it’s okay I guess. Er, though you should probably talk to Candy because she’s really upset.” He offered meekly, “I mean…really upset. Do you hear her? You don’t want her to leave do you?”

Xara shook her head miserably. “Of course not! I love Candy, I think she is great. I do not want her to leave…I want her to finish school and maybe go to college or university or something.”

Rasaa nodded with a grin, “Yes Candy’s awesome isn’t she? I love her hair.”

“I know!” Xara said, “when we first met I could barely keep my eyes off it. I have never seen such a perfect shade of blue in anyone’s hair before. I’ve always wanted to play with it. It would look nice in vatu dress, don’t you think?”

Rasha grinned more broadly, “Oh yes! I think we should do this…if you can convince her to come out of her room.” He said, cocking an eyebrow at Xara. The warrior sheepishly nodded, then stood and rolled her shoulders as she walked toward Candy’s room. Rasha made himself comfortable in the living room, and waved his cousin on when she cast him an uncertain look. Xara turned back to the door and sighed heavily, her hand resting on the doorknob. Okay, she thought, gods help me. She knocked twice and pushed the door open gently. “Candy?” she said, taking a tentative step forward. The open luggage bag on the floor made her feel ill to look at. She sucked in her bottom lip and bit it, her razor sharp teeth making little pricks of blood dribble down her chin. She sighed, “You are planning on moving?” Xara asked quietly, “Where…where would you go? I would insist you take everything with you. It is yours…and you would need it in your new home. It could get cold, and where would keep your books for school?” she placed her hand on the bookshelf and rubbed it gently, her tail had wrapped itself around her leg and her ears drooped apologetically. “Candy…” she sat down beside the sobbing girl and placed her hands in her own lap, looking down at her feet. “I am sorry. I should not have yelled at you.” She reached out and placed a hand tentatively on Candy’s shoulder, “Please don’t cry…”

TEXT HERE :: The Status completed
TEXT HERE :: The Tags Rosey & Co.
TEXT HERE :: The Word Count Not sure.
TEXT HERE :: The Comments I hope this was alright.

[/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Hadrian]

May 13, 2012 22:02:49 GMT -5 Hadrian said:

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening? Hello, hello, are you there? You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere You are, you are, you are part of this I know you think you're much more You better think again Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Candy McNeil often felt misplaced. She was constently trying to figure out her own personality. Trying to work out what sort of a person she was before she woke up a year ago. She was contantly trying to acclimate to the future. But maybe she was everything Xara said she was. Maybe Xara was right about her.

Candy had always felt that Xara was intimidating, but nothing could have prepared her for experiencing the womans wrath in person. It shocked Candy to realise that although her landlady had an immensely kind side, there was also a harsh and judgmental, lashing out side too.

She was surprised though, by how certain Xara had been on her impression of Candy's statement. She had accused Candy of only wanting to look out for herself, and that she would have turned Candy away if she had felt the same way. She feared that Candy would do the exact same thing as she had accused Rasha of. That - and this hit closest to home - if she practiced such a philosphy then she would be lonely for the rest of her life. Of course Candy didn't want that. But Xara's words were enough to convince Candy that it may very well possibly happen.

And yet, it had been Candy who had stood up for Sasha when she had been threatened by those bullies, and had stayed by her side since that day they met. She'd given her friend "boy advice" from books she had read, and poetry. Candy always did love old fashion romance, even if she did not understand how or why.

It certainly may not seem like much to some people, but Candy had hoped it meant alot to the family who had taken her in. Candy believed she was capeable of doing almost anything to repay these people. And apparently, they did not believe it was true.

One thing was for certain; something had to be said. She could not hide up in the bedroom forever. It wouldn't be right away though. Candy needed time to get her head on straight. She needed to learn to live in the future regardless of the fact that she craved whatever she had left in the past.

She had heard nothing of the conversation betweeen the two cousins after she left the lounge area. Even if she had the hearing capabilities they had evolved with she was sure she'd tried to tune them out somehow. Her sobs were more than adequate for that. Normal teenagers would have probably stomped around, turned up their favorite playlist as loudly as possible, or screamed into their pillows. Candy wasn't sure what to do. So she simply stared at the open suitcase for a long while, her entire body trembling as she cried, and feared for the future. Until...

Two knocks upon the bedroom door startled Candy enough that she felt her body tense, eyes darting towards her feiry-haired landlady as she stepped into the room. “Candy?” Candy immediately dropped her gaze, afraid to look the woman in the eyes the same way you would not look into the eyes of an angry canine.

“You are planning on moving?” The words made Candy want to vomit again. Enough to make her stomach convulse a few extra times, trying to expel nothing. She held the pillow tighter against her stomach, as if that may settle it.

Where would she go? Back to living with her old roommates the compound left her with? Maybe back to the compound itself. No not them, surely. Not after she'd found out what that facility did to Xara, and Sasha two years ago. She'd never be able to bring herself to do such a thing as that. These things that Xara said that were hers... where would she put them if she took them? Most of everything except from the clothes, books and suitcase were leant to her. That had been the impression she'd been given. And in her opinion, the only thing's she had been given right now. The same with her imvitation to stay.

The matress shifted as Xara sat down beside her, and Candy suddenly felt trapped. If she attempted to get up and leave again, would Xara stop her or allow her to go? Somehow Candy knew she did not have the bravery in herself right now to attempt it. “I am sorry. I should not have yelled at you.” The words shocked Candy enough that her eyes snapped up to met Xara's. The words sounded strange hearing them roll off her tongue. Candy wondered if apologies were really something that Xara did often. Xara had touched a few nerves with some of her statements, but the woman looked so sincere, it was impossible for Candy to think of anything to say. Xara then proceeded to place a hand on her shoulder, and Candy stiffened, feeling completely disarmed. “Please don’t cry…”

Candy made an unsuccessful attempt to swallow the lump in her throat once more as she dropped her gaze, feining interest in a loose thread on one of the cuffs of her dark blue long sleeve. "I could go back to the old appartment," her voice quavered as she spoke. "All I need are my clothes and books." It was a polite enough attempt at brushing off Xara's offer that she take whatever she'd like to from the bedroom if she decided to leave. As soon as Xara spoke of insistint she'd take everything with her, Candy automatically took this as a sign the woman must want her to leave as well.

"I... I want to thank you though," She took a deep, shuddering breath as she attempted to gain more control over the pitch and quavering of her voice. "Thank you for inviting me into your home. I should go though. I don't want to cause anymore conflict for you, or your family. I st-still have my job. I can look after myself." But wasn't that the trouble in the first place? Wasn't saying something along those lines what got her into this situatoin right now? Candy suddenly looked mortified with herself, and openly panicked. "I mean I don't mean it like... I didn't word it correctly!" She made an attempt to correct herself as quickly as she could. "I meant to say without help... you've helped so much and... and I've - " tears began to stream down her face once more, so she pressed her face into the pillow out of embarrassment - "I've done nothing!"

[/b] she finished, her voice muffled as she began to cry again. "You were right! You're so right." ;[/b][/size]

[glow=red,2,300] + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + NOTES xx
SONGY

++ TAGS xx Rasha [/glow]

[/quote][/quote]