Sweet Partings

~EI-QUE~
** Hands delicately moved over linens and silks. She placed each perfectly folded piece in it's corresponding luggage. Most of the larger stuff that she insisted on moving to Sydney. Her equipment it took her months to hone, it was more logical to simply move these things than prepare new ones. She glanced around the husk of the room that was left. The cleaning crew would ship her out and someone else would move in. Promoted, and after such a short time. Moving to an entire new base of operations. Mildly excited she had never been to Australia before. No one here would be missed aside from Scratch, Rikky, and perhaps Psi-Warp. The techies she hardly met would be moving as well. A few others on the French base insisted on coming. Beside all of this, they had Rikky here to help them with the American UNnaturals. Her talents would be more useful abroad where there were more recent breakouts, and developments. She felt her heart sink thinking of leaving Yvette, then she let it go. No matter how she tried to compensate, to be kind, patient with that woman, she wasn't the same. Aerik ruined one of her only friends. Her eyes narrowed for a moment. Zipping up her final bag and pausing calling for the transports to retrieve her belongings. The flight would be a long one, but she had things to entertain her mind with. The option to speak with Rikky was always one. Rikky, the word was synonymous with enigma at this point. His naivete was as refreshing as she recalled Zakai's, his conversation was as meaningful as Yvette's. In a way he was perfect for both words, kept her mind hungry, kept her wondering. Moving towards the door and then calling for Rikky through the mental noise in the base. Her message was crisp and clear. ~ Rikky, I am leaving within a few hours. I thought perhaps we could spend more time together before I am to leave. With the new responsibilities in Australia I will not have much time to spend with you in person. ~ Something that seems near ludicrous, since they could talk like this. There were more pressing needs as well. Something that people needed, company. A smile, something she would have scoffed at. The mind was a great tool, but from her experience here she noticed there were more important things than pleasant 'thoughts' and good intentions. People needed one another. She wondered too how she survived being as lonely as she was. . .sure she had Yvette, Gild, Alan, and \Aerik\ but who did she really let in? Only \him\. She sighed a bit as she turned a few corners adding almost reluctantly. ~ We could watch more MST3K, if you desired. ~ How she loathed that show, but for him, to watch him laugh was well worth the two hours of torture, and mind numbing jokes. **

~PSICLONE~
*Rikky has been busy of late, especially with the demands Yvette has been placing on him, using him as guinea pig for her desire to learn of Aerik's weaknesses and untimately kill him. Now, Rikky has no problem with Yvette wanting to dispose of his brother, but her 'training sessions' were little more than thinly veiled tortures. And she certainly seemed to enjoy her playtime... Rikky, tho, is more than a little concerned she might attempt sunlight at some point and then... well, he knows by now that he'd be little more than ashes were she to try /that/ particular stunt. Too, he's been seeing Rika, her only friend, and aside from Jesse, she is HIS only friend, really, his presence in the complex, indeed, his entire existence, still largely unknown and secret. Oh, he liked Attrait and Psi-warp, but there weren't many others he'd been allowed to interact with... which wasn't easy on the young man. More over, he was learning things he didn't really want to learn... accidently on Rika's behalf (those places which were secret among men and women and which, for him, were not yet awakened, but threatening a premature life at times with Pirhana), but mostly, his own nature. What he was. That incident with Rika in the William Ricketts Sanctuary, in Melbourne, had spooked the boy badly, and he had only Rika with whom to share it. He is melancholy now, brooding in his room alone (which is the normal state of his kind, tho he doesn't know it) and hasn't yet bothered to cut his hair again. Things were once more changing, and he finds that, to his dismay, he prefers his longer hair which is free and silk-fine, like a fountain of ink splashing down his back and shoulders, and shining as water. The shadows chitter silently in his room which is of nature, stars above him always, darkness about him always, like a small pocket of eternal night. Yet after that... what, revelation? he still doesn't understand what he saw... this room seems... dull. Empty. Filled with lively murk as it is, something was wrong or missing. That keening, sharp sense of homesickness still sings dimly through his veins, tugs at him... a soft sigh, his eye lids heavy and musing, he receives the sending and brightens just minutely. Jesse. Somehow, he catches the fleeting thought of... /him/. This causes the boy to frown, but when he replies, there is only delight and pleasure in his send*MS*()Are you really /flying/ there? Why do they not allow you use of the teleporter? It would be faster by far. ....And I can always come to visit. That would be nice, especially when it is day here and night there. *a pause, he turns something over in his mind, and hesitantly, almost, continues* ...I would speak to you Jesse... of important matters, if you do not mind()*he smiles tho at the MST allowance... he knows she detests them while he adores them all*

** Echoes of footsteps drowned by the swimming of thoughts and the hums of shields. Electronics. Muted voices. All finally tuned out to concentrate and focus on that one voice she wanted to hear. Laughing very lightly as she thought. ~ Of course I am flying. Perhaps a time to rest. All of my belongings have been teleported there, but I felt like, . . .flying. The prospect scared me before. ~ Tones light and serene. Swaying in and out of every thought they paused. Touches of concern, tendrils of worry reached towards him. ~ Of course we may talk, and as you very well know I do not mind missing that dreadful show of yours. . . though one must admit that the character portrayed as Joel was much more amusing, as drab as it all was, than the character portrayed as Michael. ~ The one aspect of the show that she did like, was that the man was clever enough to create his own AI, or rather . . .THEIR take on AI, wretched puppets. Bowling Bins, Hockey masks, and Gumball machines. If it were THAT mundane she would have created one ages ago. No matter how Rikky tried to assure her it was fake, it was too. . . beneath her. Though effort was laced in trying to watch and enjoy that show. A little effort. ~ What is it that concerns you my friend? I know it is not the fact I am leaving, you knew of this for a while, you have had much time to lament my absence. ~ She added jesting a bit. Doubting there would be much lamenting. . .in a way that saddened her a bit, in a way it made things easier as well. ~ I am almost at your door my friend. ~ Another turn a flight of stairs and she was there. A small smile spread over her pale lips. Remembering the very same circumstances when she first arrived almost half a year ago. Pausing at the door as he did then, wondering perhaps what he would say. So many things were different now. Her frail body wasn't just so. Instead it was lean, more muscular, and had touches of color. Her hands not like twigs ready to snap, no longer seeming anemic and malnutrition. Instead she indeed was healthy, and content. The pause though only lasted for a brief moment as she opened the door sweeping in. She looked towards the ground then up at him nearly gasping at his hair. The long luxurious locks like thinned crude oil, just as dark, just as flowing draped around his shoulders. Still knowing who it was, she still could not contain the gasp. Eyes looking towards the hair framing his face. His perfect features, those she loathed, and adored. \Oh what curse \ She thought, so deeply down it was easily drowned by other thoughts, dusts and fragmented memories. \Would have such a lovely man, doomed to his likeness. \ Perhaps she was not even aware of these thoughts as she moved in and honestly said. ** It suits you much more than the other style. . . ** She drew nearer and stood beside him smiling up towards him, a hand near reluctantly moving towards the spun silk. Within her grasp and gently feeling it. ** What troubles you ? *Rikky, somewhere amid his room of whispering shadows, smiles. He'd taken Rika flying... literally. He himself has never been on a plane, and...*MS*() I do not trust them. Too much can go wrong. I see the crashes spoken of all the time on the television. I would rather 'port there. And no jet lag either. *How incongruous of him, if one knew his body's origins, to be speaking of such things. But in his Send its quite evident that he is truly delighted by her presence and that indeed, he will miss her greatly. This slips over slightly, winds its way through the mindspeech... it was becoming increasingly more difficult for him to hide such emotions from /anyone/, least of all one he actually cared for. She was one of the few who could pull him from these gloomy reveries anymore. His lighthearted nature had taken backseat to his dilemmas, and he was none the happier for it. He feels her concern and it swells his heart a little, softens his eyes and bows his lips. Light laughter trickles over the mental connection* Joel. I would be forced to agree, he has ever been my favoured of the two. Mike was too... serious, I think.*and how often had he had to repeat the lyrics "if you wonder how he eats and sleeps and other science facts (la la la) then repeat to yourself its just a show, I should really just relax"? He believes, and teased her too, that these words were written just for /her/. She hadn't seemed to find it funny then* And their references, the quips and quotes, are really quite clever and diverse... to the point of being eclectic at times. Surely even you can appreciate such things? *he was teasing now again and his silent words soften, become tender and quiet* You know I will miss you. I do not wish for you to go() *but he pushes that aside for now, sponges the leaking emotions back into himself, for it was an injustice to her. He doesn't move when she claims her proximity, and he too shares a grin at the memory of that day when it took ten minutes, if not more, for her to enter the door... but he remains seated where he is, cross-legged upon the floor, his long limbs elegantly folded into neat position, his back leaned and posture supported by his palms. Its a casual pose, his blinks slow as he watches her enter and presently he stands to greet her, smiling.... but something is changed. His countenance is vastly more... ethereal. His beautiful face and body all the more so... bewitching and enchanting, the grace more pronounced in each step and almost like a beguiling dance to tame even the most savage of beasts. The shadows drape over him like a filmy gauze of night, bid her welcome in the warm currents which stroke the air and perfume it to smell of woods and stars and clean evening. Tentatively, the shadows reach for her, caressing softly like fingers of velvet, seem to smile at her but not with the softness of Rikky, for they couldn't match that expression, his large eyes as dark sand with their great fringe of long, long lashes. His skin is the color of moonlight, seemingly awash in it, stars in his eyes. He looks like /him/... but /he/ never quite reached this stage... whatever this stage may be. Like all of Aerik, realized, but even Rikky hasn't fully embraced his unknown heritage, though things were beginning to display themselves. The beauty before Jesse, at this moment, would steal the breath from mortals, mesmerize. He doesn't realize he's allowed it to show. His expression is melting and he doesn't stop her from rubbing those fine spider-strands between her fingers* I agree... *spoken from his throat, marvelous and dreadful* ...I prefer it long anymore, though I know not exactly when I changed my mind about it. *breath of laughter, and he stills* I would... ask you Jesse... what you knew or know of... my brother's body. And mine.

** Silken strands fell from her grasp as she looked to his dark eyes. A smile still forced on her lips. There were many things she felt very comfortable discussing with him, yet nothing she wanted to trouble him with. A deep desire to be there for him. Hair past her own shoulders a dull mousy brown. Nothing in comparison to the unnatural beauty his had. Withdrawing her hand, interlacing it with the other at her waist. Letting the strands fall like sands through her fingers. She watched him breathlessly and sighed sadly. ** In many ways I do not wish to go either. . . ** Clearing her mind of the intoxicating sensory that perfumed the air. Moving then behind him and pulling his hair back, lightly rolling her fingers through it. Stroking the mane carefully as she thought of what he was saying. Her eyes traveling upwards, along the carved lines of his body and sighing contentedly. ~ What I know of his body? I do not remember much sadly. I do recall it hated sunlight, it was velvet to the touch. It seemed like starlight had trapped itself within his eyes. Those stars sparkled when he thought. He could only think, his voice was taken away. I also know it was not his original body, his body at one time was. . . I guess one would say human. I do not remember what it looked like, but I remember I preferred it. I think this was because his body was very alluring. I enjoyed his mind far more than his flesh. I remember that his touches were always graceful, an elegance that was not solely the result of years of refinement. No there was something much more. His hair was as soft as yours. How many times I can now recall, fractions of memories that I wanted to curl up within his mind, stretch out in his body. I remember he was very gentle, always . . . always.. . ~ She stopped suddenly still gently combing through his hair. Quietly her voice intruded the actual silence around them. ** Why are you so melancholy? It is not me alone. . . my leaving. It is more, more you are. . . scared to tell me. ** Hands still weaving in silk and caressing strands. Another pause as she pulled the hair behind and away from his ears. A finger moving up them for a moment. Dragging lightly there as she contemplated. Lowering her shields for him so he could hear, embrace, indulge in every one of her thoughts. \His ears always fascinated me, why? They were unreal, surreal, like something out of a dream. . .dream. . . fantasy. . . fantasy elves . . goblins. . . ludicrous. Experiments? Death, Aerik's body had died. Lyeth!\ Her thoughts here lingered for a fraction of a second as they moved on. Making note of this too. \Experiments, . . . necromancing ? No . . . \ a word that escaped her grasp, heard \. . it was. . . it was. . .~ \ Stopping then, looking towards her memories, her thoughts as she slipped further under his shields. **

*Rikky indulges her, smiling as she moves behind him and begins to play with his hair... he can feel the warmth of her fingers and sense how it the strands slide like something inhuman over her skin. He enjoys this stroking touch and even sighs gently, content* ...Sunlight. Yes. And stars, yes, night... *little breathes of longing those last, though /sunlight/ was almost spit out, hated. He pauses on part of her words, wants to cock his head but does not when he remembers her fingers twine there and it could be painful* Taken. How was his voice taken? I have voice, why does he not? *and here he switches, wants the intimacy of this moment and the knowledge if these words, reaches almost hungrily for them, snatches them up*MS*() Human. Yes, we know he was unnatural at one time... /now/ we know. We had lost much on him, his entire file... there is no existing record of what he might have looked like as a human, save yes, he was cousin to a known RUNner, Whitefyre. From that we make guesses. But in truth, it matters little. Do you know, dear Jesse, from whence the body came? Where he found it or from whom he stole it? *Rikky knows a little... very little... from what magic-blind Jayde could tell him and then what Underearth itself told him in the Sanctuary... he knows much and yet knows nothing. He frowns just slightly, wondering if he makes himself clear in his wishes* He was not gentle. He hurt many, he left you... he is... *a small face, a wrinkled nose* repugnant.() *as she strokes his hair more, he speaks again in his voice and its quiet, soft, pleasured in her ministerings* I am not scared, Jesse, I simply... do not know what to say. So much has happened in so short a time and I do not know /what/... I am at a loss... *Sorrow in that too-pretty voice, heaviness and he covers her with his shields, something she and Aerik had done, that. She would lower and he would expand to cover them both. She trusted him so absolutely. Did she trust him now or were her thoughts on Aerik? The latter idea does not please Rikky in the least as he listens to her mind work, as she allows him*MS*()...fantasy elves....() *why this sticks with him, he doesn't know... something Jayde said, and abruptly, he seeks...*() Have you ever seen an elf?()

I assume that they found the flaw in his genetics and fixed it within you. ** Her fingers tracing around to the front of his neck over his vocal chords, and pulled his hair back again. Fingers slipping through his hair as she pressed a small lock to her face. The scent was lovely, his skin was divine. Stopping again as she felt perhaps she indulged a bit too far. A moment she snapped back to her own thoughts. Thinking again where he could hear . ~ I miss /him/. Perhaps I am trying to compensate . . ~ almost laughing aloud at the thought as she again happily toyed with his locks. ~He did care, he did love, did he not? He protected. . . and then. . . then. . . No, /he/ left me. He /abandoned/ me. He left me. . . to. . . to ~** Repugnant. . . ** Shuddering those thoughts away as she concentrated on Rikky. His need for her right now was far more pressing than her thoughts. She had a whole flight to think, she had an eternity to think. He needed her now. She would not abandon him as she was. She would repay him for his kindness, his compassion, even if it took her whole life. He saved her, from \him\ from \herself\. From everything that he had done, she owed him so much. As for her thoughts, it went from Aerik to him. As for her trust, that was held by no one. Never again to trust so foolishly, so fully. But why? He abandoned you, he did not protect you. Was that what he promised to do? Was trusting so bad? She pushed those thoughts aside again. His hair still alluring, his presence, that she tried to separate herself from. Do not fall into the same trap again. could she?She stopped suddenly as she shook her head. ** Ever. . . seen an elf? ** Her laughter was like a crystal bell hung in the air, shattered into a hundred pieces. It was an understandable question. ** Elves are imaginary creatures in children books. They never existed, except into the imagination of writers and painters. ** She shook her head as she moved. Beside him. ~ Aside elves were creatures of light, very happy magical creatures. From what I recall, they were short. Drows were more as the dark elves, though their skin was black and charred. They were pitted against one another. . . you think //you are// an elf dear friend? No offense meant, of course, I can understand the confusion. I think honestly Aerik's body was a fluke of genetics. ~ The memories of the tavern were dust collected around the new structure of her brain. ~ I wish I could remember more. I believe that I have purposely forgotten everything else about him. I have no reasons to salvage through dead memories, dead love. ~ ** You taught me that.

*MS*()Perhaps you try to justify and validate when you cannot. Not truly. Your words and reasonings are like the wind... flimsy and see-through. He left you, Jesse... he threw you to the side when he was done with you and left you. Without word and without good-bye. As he left the others... used them and tossed them away. Is it any wonder I do not like him? Hate being called him? *Rikky pulls away from her stroking and rounds on Jesse, his eyes are dark and bright and flash like little pale suns. They narrow, too, half-concealed by his bangs and their shadows when he leans down slightly, for her sake*()He /hurt/ you, Jesse and he continues to hurt you now, all this time later, twisting your thoughts and making you doubt and wonder. he was no monster, but a demon, for only a demon could affect a person thus. *he pauses, something there catching on him personally, but he continues after only drawing a breath. But now his hardness has smoothed, he is no longer angry, and that anger obviously born of righteous indignation for the suffering he caused her. He is tender... a terrible, unsparing tenderness, gentle, gentle... it shines in his eyes where he can't hide it, and a fair, white hand reaches up for her face, seeks to make contact to her cheek* He abandoned you. But I need you. I would not treat you as he did, take you for granted or any coarse thing. You... you were wronged, Jesse, but one who did not know to care of the injustice() *Now its his soft, tearing voice which speaks, like a touch, like silk drawn over flesh, like an edge* But recently, when Yvette and I trained, she had made an image, of a tavern, and in it all manner of creatures as trolls and elves and goblins and things I could not name. And I mocked her, saying she took me to a faerie tale. She said it was his home... she wished to be on his turf for that time. ....It is true, Jesse, at least there, at this tavern place where I have never stepped inside. And I have heard mention of it. Indeed, there is a file on an elf, is there not, for more than one has met him. *he takes her hands now, both in his hands should she let him, and holds them close to his chest* Jesse... I know what I am, but I do not understand it. I had hoped, somehow, for some reason, he had told you... more. *MS*().... yes. And you learned well, but... I have need of it.... lest I go mad with confusion and wrong thoughts...()

** His eyes scared her. His touches and his tone frightened her, soothed her. His words, though they were there seemed to make perfect sense, and then they did not. For who else did Aerik abandon, he had no ties with anyone. . . Sai, Me, ~ He also loved me, perhaps the only way he knew how. It was night right. It was . . . Rikky, I am confused, betrayed, hurt. I hate, I loathe. . . ~ Still pulling away just a bit, his skin rolling over hers until what he says clicks. As it must have for him. /Monster/. . . /Demon/. . . in her research of Christian mythology she had learned angels often were beautiful, demons were alluring. She backed away for a moment. If one were to believe in angels and demons, were they not also required to believe in God? God, the opium of the people, a crutch for the weak who want to prolong their own existence. She had her own plans. . .a way perhaps to reside forever on an astral plane. Haunting memories, thoughts, that was her immortality. She snapped away from thoughts. Eyes narrowed in thought. ** He may have indeed spoken more, or perhaps he was as troubled as you. I often think about him, if he was a passing dream perhaps. It seems distant, and it still seems so painful. ** She sighed leaning into his touches. Tender, gentle, how long had it been since anyone was gentle? \He\ would not take her for granted. \He\ adored her. . . \He\ needed her. When did Aerik ever need her? She couldn't remember. Her hands fell into his, and there they stayed for a long while. ** Tavern? ** Asking in question. Yes, there once was a place that he first met her. But there were no elves. There were no dragons, goblins. . .* I do not recall such a place. ** She looked towards Rikky again intently into his eyes. ** I am afraid Yvette remembers, and recalls many things. I am afraid that I can not regard them as false, but I can not regard them as true. ** She flashed a small look towards Rikky as if to explain, again without words or thoughts her feelings about Yvette. That she was not sane. **

*...Of course Rikky understand the... difficulty... in believing in demons and angels and other things both wicked and empty and painful and pleasurable. This young man, a /clone/, conceived and raised by science and humans... how could he reconcile himself with what he knows, /knows/, to be now true? That such things exist and he is one of them. /No/. Fancy. Yes. Fantasy. Even better. An accident of genetics. But how did Aerik get such a thing? Jayde had smelled magic and not just any magic... magic of the Jewel. What Jewel? Rikky doesn't know, only that Jayde knew one, a gold-haired elf, who had worn a Jewel and aided her once somehow. She knew his name, too. /Goldie/. From Sai had come that one. He'd know the elf as well and for a long time called him /Goldie/. Other trips... trips to the tavern! Rikky's eyes brighten impossibly* They are recorded. *He blinks at her once, mutely* The trips were recorded. Even Warpole has been there... Scratch. Dayre, Scattershot, Phobia, more... they have all been there. Surely, somewhere, there must be a file on these things. Details. Cybervideo from the Hunters. *he had to know... he needed to know. Elves and faeries and drow and demons?? Could it be? He's been swimming in a dream, emmersed in denial so long that these images, which he might know and these reports which he might dread would kick him into action... make him believe as too much proof stacked upwards and he was made, /made/, to accept it... accept what he was which science discredited. Rikky smiles, achingly sweet, filled with tenderness, and trades actions, stroking her soft brown hair with slender fingers. He nods about Yvette... he placed the memory bank in her head, he knows she's vastly unstable from feel alone. Rikky now cradles both of Jesse's hand in one of his and pushes his other hand through her locks, watching the shimmer of that cascade in the nightlight of the room... transfixed. Adoring. Rapt. He sighs shortly, eyes gentle* Perhaps, yes... it is said demons can love... and what a demon loves and loses he slays in the end... *a soft little exhalation... and where the hell did he hear /that/? He blinks, but hides the confusion* I just want.... you safe. And appreciated. And unhurt, dear Jesse. That is all. */Adore me/.... his eyes say, but without sound, just a ripple outward through the darkness between them. And Rikky is unaware*

** Ripples that pass through the air, seeming to distort space, time, logic. They pulse through her body, growing in peaks and shallowing in valleys. Touches were so inviting. Again words that seemed there, though they were not. Something that she could not explain, something that lulled her into not wanting it explained to her. ** Fairee tales, nothing more. ** She mused for a moment. The words "Fairee and Tales, Fairees did not have tails, as tails about Fariees were equally untrue. Musings stopped a simple play on words. A sole hand lain on her, she shivered. Could a demon love, the thought was one she never bothered thinking before that moment. Demons were by nature fallen angels, and angels did love their maker. Demons did not love, did they? And if he were a demon. . .** The truth is written on the tablet of every person's heart Rikky. . . ** Rikky a demon? A monster?...Blinking then as she thought a thought, a whisper. A truth of danger, the purest drive that would prepare a man to flee. She remained, what was there to fear? The whisper grew. \Demons lie. Demons manipulate. Demons deceive. Demons lure.\ She startled away from his touches and laughed then again at her own actions. Instead of drawing away as near everything told her, she drew closer. Her head upon his chest. His skin still cool beneath her. Indeed she was there, adoring. A hand of hers against his face. ** I see why you would want to discuss this. Why you would want to know. Rikky, there are no such things as Elves, Faeries, Gnomes, Santa Claus, Demons or Angels. They are all merely creations of the mind. They are all merely creations to explain what was unexplainable. The same with the myth of a God, a Devil. They are all created to explain what can not be. It would also seem, that perhaps my dearest friend, that you would fall into the same thinking pattern. That the unexplained could be rationalized through the fantasy. ** The hand to comfort. The hand to hold and protect. Her shields lowered further as she dipped further towards him. Then taking his mind, if he allowed, and though phenomenally stronger, and placing it under her shields. Placing those under the Guard shields. Protecting him. ~ My dearest friend, my true friend, I am sorry that you would be confused about such things. But there are no easy explanations to what science has created, what man has cloned. If you wish, I will discover these answers for you. I will commit my time, my mind, everything for \you\ . I do so much wish you to be happy. There is much I owe you for. There is much. . . so much that lies between us. I do so love you Rikky. You are very dear to me as well. For protecting, harboring, opening me, . . .~ The thoughts slipped away as she held him, if he still allowed. Quietly her voice reached for his ears. ** I owe everything I am to you. . . I would give everything I am for you.

*Rikky nods slowly, thoughtfully, taking in her words and knowing them all wrong, innocent lies, false truths. But he's startled himself, in knowing this, and frowns just sightly, looking down on her with a cocked head and bright eyes deep under the shadows of his bangs.*MS*() But then how... how did /he/ get his body? It was in the tavern, was it not? By a creature with a Jewel. This I know. If the Tavern was all fantastical, then how...?() *but he breaks off, pausing in his thoughts as he feels her tug at his mind so gently... and his shields are not lowered (she had taught him /that/ much during that one, singular training session where she punched him in the eye), but he senses what she means to do and, knowing it is too much to hope Aerik might be permanently out of the picture, but like a bad penny always turning up at the worst time (and no doubt he'd eventually figure out his own signatures where being used on GUARDians), he allows this clever manipulation, as always impressed with her amazing mind. She slips him under her shields, under the myriad of GUARD shielding, which included Razorshred's, and he nestles there, covered, protected, and sighs gently into her hair when he lays her head to his chest, smiling and embracing her, even rocking just a bit, pleased by this... pleased by /her/* *MS*()You are dear to me unlike any other, Jesse... and I ask only that, if you have spare time, you might help me look into this mystery. I have little other recourse... you are one of my only confidants, if not my only one... *though there was Rika, as well, and no more* ...and so few even know of my existence. () *her confession to him, while he does hide it from her for it sings deep inside him in some strange place, fills him with contentment and an odd sort of pleasure... she loves him. She adores him. She owes him all. She would give him /all/. She is his. His smile is one he can't hide, and it glows tenderly, his eyes too. He strokes her hair* ...I love you, too, my dearest heart. Do not stay long from me. *and he bent his head, pressing his lips to her crown, moved with emotions and truly adoring her*