Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lorcan left the last bite of the applesauce for Rei, and smiled down at Aira. She was always there, looking after him. Niccele would give him a bit of freedom, asking simple things of him, like to tell her where he'd be, and to be in bed at a simple time, but she was there the second he needed her, with that soft, sad smile.

But Aira, Aira was always there. Seh could have had a cubby, but instead she always had chosen to sleep with him. He glanced back at Rei. "Feeling better?" He tilted his head.
((gonna get off the computer- bye!))

Telia followed Niccele up the stairs as she showed the various rooms, and their attached bathrooms. Not sure what kind of options there were, Telia inspected a few of them, and picked on that looked like it had a larger bath, with a shower in it, that was made of metal.

After having picked the bathroom she would be using, she examined the rooms closest to it and found one that had a beam sticking out of the ceiling. The bed didn't mean much to her, since she hadn't slept on anything other than the floor, or a gurney, in most of her life.

The recliner she had been using wasn't all that comfortable, and even before the grenade had demolished it, had been nearing the end of it's severely shortened life.

Now that she had decided where to stay, for however long she was here, she thanked Niccele and entered the bathroom, closing, and locking, the door behind her.

First thing was first, as she pulled her fighting clothes off and tossed them into a corner, out of the way. They stank of more than blood, and she was hoping to replace them with the money she had earned from the fight.

Rummaging through her small bag, she quickly came up with another pair of modified shorts, and a strange looking shirt. Neither one was new by any stretch, but they were what she had that still fit her odd physiology.

Setting those aside, she climbed in the tub, and ran the shower, wincing slightly as the hot water made the multitude of cuts and abrasions sting quite a bit. Grabbing a brush, and some soap. she quickly cleaned herself off, using her tail to get the backs of her wings, and then switched to a hot bath to soak in.

She hadn't had this kind of luxury in... Well she had only ever gotten a bath like this once ever, so she definitely enjoyed it. It was nearly another two hours later before she emerged from the bathroom, dressed, and carrying a hand full of copper pieces to the kitchen to toss in the garbage.

There was still quite a bit in her back, but the majority had fallen out once the heat had relaxed her muscles enough. The remainder would just have to wait until she could get someone to pull it, or it worked it's own way out.

While she was in the kitchen though, she grabbed a drink from the fridge and made her way into her room. Gently tossing her bag on the bed, and her ruined fight clothes into a corner again, she rummaged through her bag and was surprised to find several wads of money in a pocket. One was her savings, which she knew would be there, and the others had little notes attached, from the gang.

It seemed all of them were telling her to stay put for now, and that she was welcome to visit, assuming she could get there. The last, and largest roll was from the boss, Jimmy.

It confirmed some things that the crew had been worried about, and it also told her to keep in touch. She had a chance they would give an arm for, and he would kick her a** if she blew it. Telia wiped a tear away and stuffed the mess back in it's pocket. Another rummage revealed the real reason she had been digging, her media player.

It had taken just under eight months of hard fighting, and winning, to earn the cash for the player, and it was her pride and joy. After selecting a playlist, and strapping it to her arm with the band, she jumped to the beam, stuck to it, and then positioned herself as comfortably as possible. Within ten minutes, she was sound asleep, hanging from the beam.

Rei yawned and stretched a bit as he looked at Lorcan. He watch the other boy scoop up Aira. He nodded and scooped up Rex, holding the sleepy rat close. He grinned at the other and nodded. "It's okay." he said sleepily. He held Rex close and looked at Lorcan following after him as they started walking. He stretched his legs out a bit and started to make his way towards the stairs but he paused when he saw Niccele coming down to see them. He blinked up at her and tilted his head, blinking his eyes sleepily. "Nnn..." He said sleepily and looked back at Lorcan.

Rei glanced from Niccele to Lorcan but was unsure of what to do. He nodded a bit and seemed to want to listen to the stories. He tilted his head and followed after them. His ears were dropped slightly from his exhaustion. He made his way up the stairs, following after Lorcan. He was excited, his mother used to read to him. He was happy and he was warming up to them. He wasn't used to Niccele but he was slowly getting used to her. It was nice, having friends. He wanted to tell her that he did like her, and that she didn't really scare him. He walked up into the other's room with him and sat down by the bed instead of on it. He wasn't sure if Lorcan would want him on the bed.

Ange minimized the computer file for the report she'd been working on and thought back to a few days ago when the press had come in to do a story on a project she was involved in. Apparently it was a big deal, but they were nowhere near where they hoped they'd get to.
When the reporter commented on her youthful appearance, she had been scared that he knew who she was. After all, the only difference between her appearance now and her appearance eight years ago was the length of her hair- but that wasn't very significant because of the way she pulled it back. She would still be easily recognizable.
The reporter didn't really recognize her, but she still felt uneasy about the photo they'd taken of the group. She was on the end, and her face was fully visible (unlike in the tapes she was sure still existed somewhere, when she'd pulled at the hood of her sweatshirt and looked at the ground.) She'd managed to smile proudly in spite of being startled by the reporter's comment. She was proud of the progress they'd made. The attention they'd gotten almost ascertained that they'd get the funding they needed to continue for at least a year or two.
The photo had been in today's newspaper. In fact, the paper was still lying on her desk. She picked it up and looked at the photo for the umpteenth time and then dropped it on the floor of her apartment next to her chair. Though she wouldn't admit it, she was also proud of herself for facing the press without letting her fear show through or having a nervous breakdown.
No more distractions. Get back to work, Ange reminded herself, bringing up the computer file again and typing more.

Lrocan fell asleep shortly after Rei, but Niccele finished the story in a whispering voice- in case one of them was still awake, or if one of them woke up. Once she'd finished, she bent down to smooth Lorcan's hair back and kiss his forehead. Almost automatically, she did the same to Rei. With a soft smile,s he straightened and left the room. Tomorrow was a soon enough day for Rei to see his room. Tonight it would be alright for him to sleep with Lorcan. Stepping out of the room, she walked over to Telia's door and knocked lightly, checking up on her.

Niccele gave a weak smile. "It's nighttime. I simply wanted to check up on you before I went to sleep myself. " Niccele tilted her head, hearing the music. She returned her attention to Telia. Past the facade of serene and in control- one she wore for Lorcan, so he wouldn't ever fear- was a tired, sad woman. One who was just trying to do what she felt was right, but being told on so many ends that it would be to no end.