Marstini, shaken and stirred (Almost totally open rp!)

[Gehenna Tartarus]

When Tia had sent the text message, she had not been expecting to get a reply back. As far as she was concerned, the guys were spending time at a strip club and who wanted to be interrupted from the entertainments. So, when her phone buzzed to say that she had received a message, she had not anticipated that it would have Harry’s name as the sender. She raised her eyebrow, as she opened the message, her eyes wide as she finished reading. If she had not been expecting the reply, she was very surprised by the contents. She had pegged Harry as a guy who liked the finer points of a female body and someone who would appreciate checking out a few now and then.

She was a little shocked that he was giving up that form of entertainment for her. Her fingers flicked over the keys on the phone, typing out a response. ‘C u at hotel in 30. T x’. The minute she sent the text, she kind of felt a little guilty about cutting and running. She had not spent much time with the others during the party and now she was about to dash off the moment she gets a text.

“That was Harry, he’s suggesting having a look around,” she said, to explain the situation. “And I’m about shopped out, or at least, I’ve bought enough to be satisfied.” Normally it took a lot to stop her shopping, but spending time with Harry was very tempting, especially as she was unlikely to see him after they left Mars. But at the same time, she was unlikely to see any of the other either, unless another party came up. “Anyone up for some sightseeing?” The others could come along, did not mean she had to be with them the whole time.

[The Garbage Men]

Being temporarily cut off from his father’s funds even though it was by choice Jonas merely continued watching the game being played out before him. Though he had decided that he was bored watching someone play and playing yourself were two completely different things.

In fact, Jonas was planning on getting up from his view of the poker table and return to his previous view of a number of barely dressed beautiful women shakin’ their thang.

“Let’s find somewhere where we all can enjoy ourselves, Rock climbing does sound fun or maybe ... nah... nevermind. Oh, and hey Micael.” Jonas added as he saw Micael walking in. “Looks like we might find somewhere else to hang out for a bit. Any suggestions?”

[Solont]

Kana had emerged from the boutique with an absolute haul. She'd had no fewer than 7 bags of purchases sent back to her hotel room, and even more items remained with her, hung about her body as new additions to her outfit. The violet blouse, midnight blue jackets, and dark purple hair ribbon synergized well with her long, azure hair. She had to admit, she was rather struck by how pretty Talia's hair was, and just had to try the color on for herself. The find Kana was most proud of, however, wasn't visible on her person. It was her new set of lingerie, a shimmering, lacy, silky number of the same color as her new ribbon, and she was rather pleased at the extra bounce and heft they gave to her most prominent features under the diminished Martian gravity. She gave Karmaine a small but happy wave as the tardy Antemystic finally arrived. Kana hadn't gotten to know Karmaine very well at the party last night – like many others, she'd disappeared for sex fairly early on – but from what she'd sensed and what she'd seen, Kana thought she was a pleasant enough person.

“Oh, lace, silk, cotton...” Kana rambled to Scarlet, a wide smile adorning her face. “I love all things fabric and clothing. There's nothing better than the feel of a nice piece of cloth against your skin, doubly so when it's something you made yourself. Don't you think so too?” she asked, as she ran her hands along the length of her shirt. “I'd love to go silk-shopping with you, Scarlet, but let's save it for later. Looks like Tia wants to meet her man and take us all sight-seeing,” Kana said, pointing Tia's way. The Tartarian had been tap-tap-tapping away at her phone, and, given the way she'd been glowing at breakfast earlier, Kana didn't have to be a psychic to see her announcement coming from a mile away. “I'm looking forward to seeing more of Darsalin Base. James and I were planning on renting a flier and going joyriding during our free time, but it'll be nice to see some of the more urban or secluded places too,” she said, as she took Scarlet by the hand and hurried to catch up to Tia and Talia. “Though, honestly, I don't think the sights are what our dear Tia is after,” she added with a conspiratorial giggle.

“Although, speaking of mean and women...” she drawled, rolling her head to face Talia. “I'm kind of surprised gender integration isn't more widespread, even with stuff like contact sports. I mean, don't get me wrong, you'd never see me out on the sports field, but in high school and even going all the way back to early education, all my school sports teams were integrated.” Kana said. She had only just started to grasp the sheer enormity of the galaxy at large, but even she was surprised that Solont, which was almost on the edge of the known and civilized world, seemed to be more progressive and enlightened than many other places. “Say, Talia,” Kana inquired probingly. “How'd a rough and headstrong girl like yourself ever get together with a cool customer like Leonardo, anyways? Is there a story behind how you two met?”

---

James frowned, frustrated, as another hand failed to go his way, and his pool dwindled to just a few measly chips. “Hey man, don't blame me. I was just following you, and you know I'm not the leader type,” he said, though his self-assessment was clearly at odds with the 'take charge' attitude he'd had for most of the hunt. What he lacked in card playing skills, he made up for in self-depreciation. “I mean, don't get me wrong, Leo. I'm not saying you've got bad taste or anything. It's just that, given that whole mess last night, I'm not really in the mood for, you know... sex stuff. I am totally okay with it if everyone else wants to go see some of the sights or do some low-gravity sports.” He said, apologetically. He nodded to Barlow, Jonas, and the recently arrived Micael, who seemed almost as out-of-sorts as he was. Leo was a good guy, but the circles and worlds that he lived in were so very, very far removed from what James was used to.

“Whadya say guys? Sight-seeing? Hang-gliding? Sailing? Rock climbing? Maybe even some low-gravity sports, if you're into it,” he suggested, putting his card down onto the table. Regardless of what was decided, he wouldn't be picking them up again. He'd lost too much money already.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

No one seemed to be jumping at the idea of sightseeing, or even giving any indication that they were interested. In fact, Kana had decided to involve Talia in some conversation about Leo. If Tia had not given herself thirty minutes to get back to the hotel and drop her stuff off, she might not have cared too much, but she did not like to be late, unless being late worked in her favour.

“I’m heading back to the hotel to drop this stuff off,” she said, lifting the bags to indicate what she meant, even though the others probably knew what she was referring to. “If you are coming, let’s go. If not, I will catch up with you later. I told Harry thirty minutes.” And despite what Kana might have thought, Tia had entirely pure intentions. She liked having fun and Harry had suggested something that sounded like it would be. If she was focused on some alone time, she certainly would not have invited the others along.

Regardless if the others followed or not, five minutes later she was walking out of the mall and making her way back to the hotel. It had been a pleasant walk and she would easily make it back in time to meet him at the allotted time. Though she was sure Harry would not complain too much if they were a few minutes late.

She got back to her room in good time and deposited her bags on the bed, and sent Harry a text to say that she was at the hotel and would meet him in the lobby. She then returned back down to the ground floor, meeting anyone there who had decided to go sight-seeing.

[New Naggoroth]

"Sadly I've got no talent for sewing. I'll admit, it's entirely from being spoiled growing up and having servants. Maybe you can teach me?" Scarlet returned Kana's smile, an idea forming, "I can buy some Toros silk, and you can teach me how to stitch. Perfect!"

She sighed happily, following along with the group of girls, Tia taking the lead and heading back for the hotel. It seemed everyone had bags to deposit, so it made sense to regroup there first. None of them were sure where the boys had wandered off to either, but hopefully they too would be able to find the hotel. "Well, sightseeing sounds like fun..." Scarlet said, trying her hardest to sound sincere and eager. She'd been to Mars before, and didn't find it all that thrilling at the time, but maybe, she thought, it would be better with some friends instead of her parents. Casir certainly wasn't the adventerous type. "We can shop later, I guess. I didn't even buy anything!"

[Solont]

Some time later...

That day at Darsalin Base had passed far more quickly than anyone could have anticipated. The girls shopped. They saw the sights. They laughed, they joked, and they had bakers dozen of small adventures that ultimately amounted to little, but would provide fond memories for a long time to come. But, all too soon, the sun had begun to set on that particular corner of Mars, painting the city in a brilliant array of fiery colors as the fading red and orange light filtered through the colony’s environmental dome. On the sandy beaches of the resort district, the sunset almost gave the impression that one was dancing on the tips of flames. Or, they would, save for the fact that the only person on the beach at the moment was Kana Solis.

Dinner had come and gone; it had been another affair full of fun and revelry, unclouded by drama and crises. She was glad to see that James was feeling in a good mood as well. Kana couldn’t have helped but worry about him while he was out with the guys, but when they’d rejoined that evening he was all smiles, cracking wise and making jokes. He was still stung over Mary, and jealous of Jonas about Talia -- after all, James could keep no secrets from Kana, no matter how hard he tried --, but he hid it from the others well. He’d bounced back; James was back to his old, jovial self again, and so Kana’s worry was put to rest. With the dinner behind them, Kana had disappeared for a walk on the beach, and so she found herself alone, on the surf. Barefoot, she skated along the surface of the ocean, freezing it beneath her feet with her psychic influence, inches above the shifting sands and leaving trails of ice that mingled with the foam as she slid this way and that, in lazy circles and figure-eights. And, with her limiter disengaged, she felt the others approach long before she saw them.

"Neat trick," the tall blonde remarked with a smirk, as she paced forward through the sand. Her long dress billowed behind her in the evening breeze, and just like Kana, she had left her sandals behind. The view was spectacular; the sun was just dipping below the horizon, and golden light filled the domed sky, underlighting the few clouds lazily drifting by. Eventually, she called out to Kana, but not until after she'd watched the free spirited kitsuite skate about for a little while, as she didn't want to intrude, despite her overwhelming desire to do just that. "I knew there was something different about you, Kana Solis. But I hadn't thought you a maestra."

“Wow....” breathed Mara seeing what Kana had just done. She had never been so high so long with such regularity. This was one great place. Everything was kind of a blur, but it was so awesome. It was one long rave, being here, and she was just amazed. Something in her drinks, something they were doing to her somehow? She had no idea, but whatever it was, it was wonderful. She wondered, kind of, what had happened to Tia and the others. She didn’t remember putting on a wispy red and blue sarong bottom and a pink tank top and sandals, but she had them on. And the air teased her chestnut hair, and she watched from a short distance away with wide eyes. A smile came across her face. “Everything here is just awesome. Mars is amazing! Mars is amaaaaaazing...”

“Hmm?” Kana said, looking up at Scarlet and Mara as she skated by. “That’s a pretty word. Maestra,” she said with a happy sigh, letting the word roll on the edge of her tongue before leaping to the ears of her friends. “I can’t say I know what it means, but I think I like it. And don’t tell me you thought I was just another pretty face,” she added with a giggle, as she flashed a smile to the both of them. Mara was, predictably, a out of it, but Kana couldn’t tell if she was under the influence or simply huffing culture shock.

"It's and older druhir word," Scarlet smirked, taking a seat in the sand, just above the apex of the surf, where the water tickled her feet each time a wave rolled in. "It loosely translates as witch. Not that my culture has any negative stigma associated with the word..." she trailed off, her gaze still following the girl's every movement.

“Witch, hm?” Kana asked with a mischievous smile. “With a big black hat and a broomstick and a black kitten?” The realization dawned on her that she had missed a great opportunity in playful fashion. ’Oh well. Another time,’ she thought to herself, as she carved a lazy loop in the surf, took flight off of a small, cresting wave, and gently floated to the relatively dry sand before Scarlet. “It’s been quite a day, hasn’t it Scarlet,” She said softly.

"It certainly has been," she agreed with a grin, her knees hugged to her chest as she spoke. "While I'm certainly going to miss it when I head home, I was hoping that today wasn't over just yet. After all, there's still plenty of light left, and lots of beach to explore."

“A beach is a beach,” Kana said simply, plopped down into the sand next to Scarlet. “I mean... I wonder what kind of sea life they have here on Mars, but sand is just sand. I think I’m much more interested in you.” She canted her head to the side, gave Scarlet a sidelong glance, and smiled.

"Well, I can certainly tell you I'm the wrong person to ask about sea life, Scarlet said with a laugh, "This is only the second time I've been near anything you might call an ocean. Now me, I can tell you plenty about me," she turned, her vibrant blue eyes meeting Kana's as she returned that mischievous grin, "And just what do inquiring minds want to know?"

“I just want to get to know, well... you,” Kana said softly. “Everyone on this trip has been pairing up. Forming connections. Making bonds. Friendship, or more. For just a night, or maybe as long as forever.” She mused, sounding very wistful, and almost dreamy. For her, the ‘human’ connection was something as deep and as intimate as could be, whether it be her friendship with James, the love she had with her Mother, or the more fiery feelings she’d felt for her girlfriends and, perhaps, the girl she sat beside. It was something she wanted to embrace with her whole being, as she did everything. “I know this is going to sound like I’m coming on a bit strong, but I just have this desire to know the Real Scarlet. I want to know where you came from, where you’re going. What makes you happy and sad, scared and excited. Do you know what I mean?”

"Scarlet chuckled as she listened, though those bright eyes of hers never left Kana's. "You certainly lay it on thick on a first date," she teased, while her hand slyly (at least she thought it was sly, but nothing got past Kana perceptive mind) took her friend's and gave it a gentle squeeze, which was returned.

“Don’t tease,” Kana said, a hint of embarrassed red coloring the tips of her smile. “It’s not that strange to want to get to know someone a little more deeply, even if they aren’t a girlfriend.” She squeezed Scarlet’s hand a little more firmly, and curled her tail around the Naggorothi's waist. “But let’s be honest. You didn’t really think I wouldn’t notice the way you were looking at me when we were out shopping together, did you?”

"Quite the contrary," the elf said with a wink. "I'd be quite disappointed if you'd missed those glances. It's not every day you meet someone with similar tastes, after all. Now..." she held Kana's hand go as she rose to her feet, then tugged her new friend up. "So, miss Solis, lesson one in knowing the mysterious Scarlet Drakharn. If you want to know me, you'll have to catch me!" She declared, turning and dashing up the beach, sand kicking up behind her as she ran.

“H-hey, wait!” Kana protested. She had to take a moment to steady herself, after having been yanked to her feet, but the chase was already on. Her figure was a little too curvy for an athlete’s, and the clothes she was wearing did absolutely nothing to mitigate the jostling that a foot race entailed, but with her surprising strength, uninhibited natural grace, and advantage in the low gravity of Mars, she found herself loping along the beach in hot pursuit! Scarlet had scarcely managed to make it 50 meters before Kana was upon her, throwing herself into the Naggarothi’s back and sending them both tumbling in a lazy arc through the air. They landed in the surf, kicking up a spray of sea and sand, and somehow in the tussle had managed to come face to face, nose to nose with one another.

“Gotcha.”

"Mm, why yes," Scarlet said breathlessly, her thin dress clinging to her body as a low wave rushed up to greet the two of them, and Kana held her down, "You most certainly did..."

[Solont]

“How did I get here?” James said aloud, addressing his inquiry to the impressive view before him. The only audience to his musings were the tastefully arranged floral decorations of the terraced garden café atop the roof of his hotel, which was at present deserted. The dining area was cordoned off and close, but the balcony was still open and available to the public.

The questions of 'How did I get here?' and 'Where did I come from?' and 'What's my purpose in life?' were ones that James had grappled with on more than one occasion, and often to frustrating and disappointing results. Today, however, his musings were much less metaphysical and existential and altogether more literal. He took a long look around – at the garden, at the city of Darsalin Base sprawled out below him, at the ocean, and the twinkling lights of the lattice work of maintenance shafts and catwalks lining the underside of the massive habitation dome so many miles above his head – and let out an impressed whistle. Just how did he get here, to such an amazing place? 50 light years from home, to celebrate the birthday of a foreign noble, with an eclectic bunch of wonderful and beautiful teenagers just like him. When he stopped to think about it, he was amazed that it could come to this, that a poor kid from the desert could find himself in such a place, in such a time.

It was no good musing alone, however. He'd come up to the terraced gardens for a reason, and that reason was most certainly not to stand around all by his lonesome and wax philosophical. Time on Mars was starting to draw short, and he didn't want it to end without saying a proper goodbye to his friends. Who knew when – or if – he'd be able to see them again? He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and went through the list of new contacts, checking off every name one by one.

'Tia, Talia, Leo, Mary, Lorelle, Jonas, Harry, Mara, Scarlet...' he recited in his head, until he'd counted off everyone he'd met at the party and the following breakfast, even Jonas and Lorelle and the Freestians. Lorelle had disappeared sometime the previous evening and hadn't been heard from since, the Freestians had to report for duty, and James had watched while TGM Corporate Security forcefully picked up Jonas. The poor Solontian boy was even sporting one hell of a shiner from the incident; that'll teach him to take a swing at a trained professional... or, more likely, perhaps it won't. Still, he thought they would have liked to receive the invitation anyways, to show that while they were gone in body, they were not forgotten in the hearts and minds of the friends they made. And so, with his recipient list complete, James tapped out his message:

Long lines got you down? International customs giving you the third degree? Tired of long boring flights from one planet to the next? Well, I've got the cure for what ails you! Come try James Gesetz new “Getting Slightly Drunk” remedy (patent pending), guaranteed to relieve your travelling woes! It won't make the flight any shorter, but you'll be too buzzed to care!

But seriously, guys. I'm up on the roof of my hotel and I've got a couple bottles of Chateau Boloise with me. Leo told me it's a hard to find cabernet. Why not come and join me? Who knows when we'll all see each other again, so let's cap this trip off the proper way.

And with that, he jabbed his thumb down on the 'SEND' key, sat back in his chair, and waited. He didn't know how many people would show up. Hell, maybe even the majority of them wouldn't. But if he could just get one person to come and spend a little time with him, he'd consider it a stunning success.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

It has been a good party, at least from Tia’s point of view, especially as she had managed to avoid all the drama that seemed to surround Roanians, and had spent a very enjoyable time with a Freestian that she had met and had taken back to her hotel room for one of the best nights she could remember. But like most things, her time on Mars was drawing to a close, and she was leaving the following morning to return to Tartarus. She glanced at some of the pictures she had taken with the camera on her phone, grinning at a couple that she had of Harry in a very family unfriendly state, covered in chocolate.

She was perusing her memories of her trip to Mars when her phone bleeped, indicating that she had received a text. Briefly, she thought it was some last minute innuendo from Harry, but it was from James. She broke into a grin at the message. Despite spending several days on Mars, she had barely spoken more than a couple of words to James during that whole time. He had been caught up with the whole fiasco surrounding Mary, so she had not seen him at the party and the following morning he had disappeared to talk to Talia and Mary, and she had seen little of him then either.

Of all the people at that had gone to the hunt and the party, Tia was possibly the last person James really wanted to spend time with, but she did not have anything better to do and he had invited the others along as well, so even if she did not get to talk to him, there might be others who she could at least say a final goodbye to.

She was dressed in a pair of light cargo pants, a t-shirt and a pair of pumps. Her blonde hair was pulled up into loose bun, which was beginning to lose tendrils, after being up all day. She gave herself a brief look of her reflection in the mirror and after deeming herself presentable, she left her hotel room and made her way over to the hotel that James and Kana were sharing.

In the elevator, she checked her phone to see if she had any new messages and then slipped it back into her purse, after turning it on to vibrate. She liked to keep in touch with people, but she was not the kind of person that lived with her phone attached to her hand and her eyes flicking to it every couple of seconds, just in case she missed anything. She had been brought up that if she was in the company of someone, they should get her undivided attention and if anyone needed her, the phone had a message service for them to talk to.

Stepping out of the elevator, she looked around to see if there were any other familiar faces around. She knew that James was there, but she did not see any of the others. It would appear that she was the first to arrive, other than the host. She walked over to where James was situated and placed her purse on the table, and gave the young man her warmest smile.

“Hey, James,” she said, as she let her gaze wander out over the city, admiring the view. “Am I the first here?” She had no idea who was still around or who would show up. It had been a very manic trip and although most of the drama had been cleaned up, there was always some friction left in the air. There was a reason she steered clear of it when she could. “You picked a nice spot.”

[Solont]

“Hm?” James opened a single eye as Tia spoke up. In the time since he'd sent the message, he'd kicked his feet up and leaned back as he'd waited for the inevitable flood of friends. He hadn't been dozing; merely, he was just letting his mind wander. He was wearing only a black T-shirt with the logo of a mining company, and a pair of jeans. The temperature was starting to drop as the afternoon shifted to evening, but it never got too cold in Darsalin Base, and the hotel's environmental systems kept the breeze off his arms. For a boy who was used to frigid nights in highland deserts, the thought of bundling up never even entered his mind.

“Oh hey, Tia,” He said with a smile, standing up. “Yeah, you're the first one here. Might be the only one, too. I haven't heard back from anyone yet.” He reached over into the bucket sitting on the table and withdrew the bottle of cabernet, used a little sleight of hand to produce a pair of glasses from behind his back, and popped the cork. “It sure is a pretty spot, alright. I've been in space before, but this is the first time I've ever been on another planet. I can guarantee you that you won't see a view like this anywhere in Sahma,” he said with a charming grin, gesturing out to the city and the awesome habitation dome beyond.

He set their glasses down on the table and poured forth a good amount of wine for the both of them, taking care not to spill; he still hadn't gotten used to how liquid flowed in one-third standard gravity. “Glad you came, though. After all the crazy stuff that happened, I was worried no one would want to,” he said. “It's been a crazy time on Mars. Some of it still feels kind of unreal, you know? So!” He slid the now full glass across the table, and pulled out the chair for Tia. “Everyone knows all the excruciating details of how my vacation was. What about you? How's your trip been? Live up to expectations? Change your life?”

He smiled again, a more genuine and friendly smile than his quintessential cocky smirk. “Did it make you think about things?”

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia sat down in the chair and removed her purse from the table. It had been two years since the hunt, where she had met James for the first time, and although she had spoken to him, she did not really have the same closeness that he had shared with Talia or Mary. They shared time together and joked around, but they did not have that sexual chemistry thing going on between them and that had suited her because it gave her someone she could be friends with, without all that extra baggage.

“In all honesty, James, I don’t,” she said, looking at his face, as she spoke and giving him a consoling smile. She knew there had been something going on between him, Leo and Mary, but other than the very basics, she had not learnt all the details. It was not her drama and she did not feel the need to get caught up in it. James had leant on Talia’s shoulder and Mary had been her usual self. “I know that you had problems with Mary and you sorted them the following morning.” But she was not going to dwell on what had obviously been a painful experience for him, unless he needed to talk about it.

“As for me,” she replied, as she lifted her glass and paused it on the way to her lips. “My only expectation was to have a good time and meet up with old friends. I did both, so I consider this trip successful.” She had also not been bogged down with any Roanian drama, so she considered it very successful. She did not admit it to anyone, but she had come to Mary’s part to catch up with her hunt friends more than she had come to celebrate Mary’s birthday. She had found the Roanian mildly pleasant during the hunt, but the whole thing going on between her and the other Roanians was not something she had enjoyed and she had never really dealt with sappy people very well.

She laughed lightly at herself, before taking a sip of the wine. “Mmm, that is very good.” She cradled the lowered glass in her hand. “I would not call the trip life changing, but it has the potential for being life improving.” She was really fond of Harry and hoped to see him again, but she really did not expect much to come out of meeting a guy at a party.

[Solont]

“You don't?” James raised an eyebrow. “Well, I'll give you the cliff notes version: I was an idiot. I screwed up big, burned a few bridges I really didn't want to burn, and pretty much rendered myself incapable of enjoying anything for a good 36 hours. I'm over it now, though. I'll tell you the grisly details if you're interested, but that's not really why I invited everyone up here,” He said, pouring a glass of wine for himself as well. He wasn't a big drinker, and really knew pretty much nothing about how to appreciate a fine cabernet, but he was up on the roof, enjoying a spectacular view with a friend, and the situation called for it. “Right now, all I want is what you want; to hang with the old gang, and be the friends that we were always meant to be.”

He checked his watch again. It didn't look like any of the others were going to show up, but he supposed it really didn't matter. He and Tia hadn't had a chance to simply sit and talk to one another in years, and this was an opportunity he wasn't going to waste.

“So,” James said. He sat back, kicked his feet up onto the table and reached over to clink his wine glass with Tia's. “I'm glad you met a guy you like, Tia. I hope it works out for you, but if it doesn't... hey, his loss, right? And I know what you mean about this whole thing not being a real life changing experience, but it did get me thinking about a few things,” He said, leaning back in his chair. “Important things, you know? Like... do you ever think about how we get here, in this place in our lives?”

[Gehenna Tartarus]

“That is about as much as I had gathered,” Tia said, as James highlighted the low points of the evening and the following morning for him. She was glad that he had gotten over it, as spoiling the whole trip would have just made the journey not worthwhile. “As it is history now, I say that we keep it where it belongs and move on.” In her opinion, dwelling on stuff that had been claimed to have been gotten over was a waste of good companion time. She wondered if he really was over it, or whether he was just putting on a show. The truth would show itself after two or three glasses of wine, when the brain was in no fit state to bother hiding what it felt.

She lifted her glass to her lips and took a long, slow sip, savouring the taste. She was not a wine connoisseur, but she knew what she liked and James had picked a very good wine, worth the time to enjoy it. “As for Harry, he is a very nice guy. But you know, not exactly planning a wedding or even expecting to see him again after this weekend. I came here to have fun and had no expectation. I still do not.” She hoped to see Harry again, she had thoroughly enjoyed their time together, both in and out of the hotel room.

The furrow that crossed her brow at his final statement was enough to make her place the glass back on the table and looked at him, examining his face. “You are not about to get all deep on me, are you, James?” She asked teasingly, her lips breaking into a smile and her eyes twinkling. “You know, I tend not to think about such things and just go with the flow. Go where life takes me and enjoy what I am given. If you start thinking too much, you can end up missing out on the fun parts of life.”

[Solont]

James leaned over, elbow on the table and glass in hand, and gave Tia a playfully lascivious grin. If there was any doubt that he was over his ordeal, he intended to remove it. “You know,” he said, waggling his eyebrows, “a complaint is usually the last thing on a girl's lips when I go all deep on them.” He winked, lifted the glass to his lips, and drank down the last of his glass of wine. Tia was always fun to flirt with. James had always found her confident, self-assured, and nigh-unshakeable, even in the face of the most powerful dumb jokes in his dumb arsenal. On top of that, she had never really seemed to interested in James as anything more than a friend. It didn't bother him; on the contrary, it seemed to make her all the more approachable, and, for the moment, James was glad to have someone he could bounce a pick-up line or lame come-on off of without fear of a slap to the face or, worse, some sort of romantic complication.

“I know what you mean about going with the flow, though,” James said, upending the bottle of Chateau Boloise into his glass for the second round. He wasn't a wine person either, but the red he'd been recommended was very good with a distinct flavor and texture and a lack of horrible undertaste. “It's what I've been doing for most of my post-war life, just kinda drifting without direction. Can't deny it's taken me to some pretty crazy places. Mars. That hunting trip. The office of the Supreme Commander of Goddamn Everything. Not to mention you, Talia, Leo, Mary, and everyone. All you crazy sons of guns,” James said, breaking into a smile. “Ambassador's daughters, royalty, a crime boss in training, a fellow war orphan. I mean, you can't deny we've got a pretty eclectic group of friends here. Not bad for some dirt-poor kid fresh out of the deserts, huh?”

There was more he wanted to say. About his 'deep' thoughts on his direction in life, and what was guiding him, and what murky road his future might lead him down, but he refrained. It'd come out naturally over the course of the conversation anyways, and he didn't want to steamroll over Tia in their first real one-on-one chat in... well, ever. 'Patience, buddy,' he told himself. 'It aint all about you. You're here to get to know her too, remember...'

“I know you just said you go with the flow, but did you ever see yourself ending up in a place like this, with friends like these?” James asked, offering the bottle of wine to Tia for a top-up.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia sip on her wine and looked at James over the rim of the glass, her eyes roaming over his reclined form, her lips breaking into a smile. “Yeah, but I expect flowers and dinner first,” she said teasingly, “or at least a couple of bottles of wine.” She gave him a wink and leaned back in the chair, as she crossed her legs. She liked James and when she had first met him, she thought he was kind of cute, unfortunately, he was also one of the nicest guys that she had met.

“So tell me, James, if you had a focus for your life,” she said, her gaze now fixed to his, “what would you be doing? What were five year old James’ dreams for his future? What did he want to be when he grew up?” When she had been younger, she had wanted to be a different thing every other week, depending on what she had seen or read about. At one time she was sure she wanted to be a dinosaur, mostly so that she could eat her sister because she was getting on her nerves.

“As for me, yes, I think I did see myself ending up in a place like this.” She broke into a laugh at the idea. “My father has always been an ambassador and when he is not playing one of those he is an Earl." This was something she usually kept quiet about, rarely calling herself by Lady Tatiana Fitzsimmons, preferring the more informal Miss Tia Fitzsimmons. "So, all my life I have been mingling with one kind of person or another. This is actually a pleasant respite from having to be on my best behaviour and being the person that everyone expects me to be. If I had followed a path, I would not have been fortunate to be sitting on the balcony of some hotel on Mars, with a guy that I met in a hunting trip two years ago. My mother would have me husband hunting.”

[Solont]

James smiled. Any time a joke went over well was a good occasion to smile, and the wine was good. It wasn't often than James got drunk, but alcohol always seemed to make him happy and jovial, in addition to stripping him of what few inhibitions he had left. He wasn't inebriated quite yet, but the wine was good; he was starting to feel a pleasant buzz, which was why he wasn't nearly as hesitant as he normally would have been when Tia asked her next question.

“Gosh, five year old me...” James said, leaning back in his chair and turning his eyes skyward, to the faint stars beyond the habitation dome that were just now starting to become visible in the fading light. He hadn't had a very happy childhood, and 5 years old was the time when his life had just begun to take a very drastic downturn. Still, he'd struck just the right balance of good company, good mindset, and booze that the memories didn't really bother him. “When I was five years old,” he began, the smile still on his face. “I wanted to be just like my dad. My real dad, I mean. He was the coolest son of a gun around. The memories are kind of fuzzy, but I remember he was always joking around and flirting with my mom and embarrassing her. I mean, he'd get serious when he needed to, but every other time he never let anything get him down. He had the coolest job, too. Mechanized Space Infantry. With those rad suits of armor, and those big guns, and that huge shield, going out into space to fight all the bad guys... I thought it was just the most awesome thing. I idolized that when I was five,” he finished. He raised the glass to his lips and polished off his second drink.

“Of course that was a long time ago. A lot's changed since I was five,” he said, after a brief pause. “But not for you, I guess. It's kind of weird to be talking to someone whose life has been so...” James paused, fumbling for the proper word. “Stable, I guess. I mean, I know you've gotten into some crazy things, like that hunting trip and god knows what else, but you've kinda always seemed like you knew, like, exactly who you were, where you were, and where you were going, even if I guess maybe that where you were going wasn't exactly where your parents wanted you to go. I have to say, I can't really imagine you being some kind of dainty little bride, married off to some noble for the sake of political convenience. That aint you," He said, leaning over and pointing a finger at Tia, as though he had her pegged.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia took a sip of her wine, as she focused on James. She could almost see him returning to memories of being five, as he sat back and looked up at the stars and she broke into a soft smile as he spoke about his dad, his mum and the way they interacted together. The Tartarian had never really been one for military equipment, although she would be the first to admit that she had a thing about men in uniform, but she did know that James was talking about. When she had been younger, she always wondered how it would feel to be in one of those huge armoured suits, but the thought only lasted as long as they were on screen and she would quickly forget about them.

As he finished taking about himself, she became even more intrigued when he started to speak about her. Possibly for someone who had gone through the things that James had experienced, her life might have seemed stable, but from her point of view it had not been. But like most teenagers, even those who had led pretty nice lives, she felt that she had endured more than her fair share of hassles and grief. Her biggest issue had been spending so much time away from her family and friends, while she lived with her parents in Roania, and the other places her father had been an Ambassador to, or she had been away in boarding school, and had to put up with the harsh rules that she felt they had.

“Not many people get to fulfil their childhood dreams,” she finally said, as she cradled her drink in her hand, slowly swishing the liquid around the glass, as she watched it thoughtfully for a moment. “But as long as where we end up makes us happy, I do not suppose we can complain too much.” She then raised her eyes to James’ face and gave him a smile that made her eyes sparkle. “You know, you are right. Or at least, I hope you are. Do not get me wrong, I would not do something to embarrass my family, but, yeah, living with a husband that I did not have feelings for…I do not even want to think about it.”

She laughed a little at the thought, even though it would not have been a laughing matter if it actually happened. “What about you? I know marriage is probably not high on your list right now, I know it is not on mine, but what kind of girl do you see yourself marrying, or maybe you already know the girl you want to marry?” She had really never had quite as frank a conversation with James as she was having then, but she had picked up that he seemed very fond of Talia, the whole dragging her away at breakfast seemed to cast it in cement in her mind. “Tell me about romantic James, or at least, future happily settled down with kids James,” she said with a grin.

[Solont]

“Wow,” James said, chuckling awkwardly. It wasn't that he was nervous; Tia was turning out to be an excellent conversational partner, with a winning smile to boot. It was just that he always got a little awkward when it came to matters of the heart. It was difficult, sometimes, to drop that defensive wall of jokes and joviality, to expose his true self and make himself vulnerable. But, he did start this whole thing, and Tia wasn't the type to use anything he said against him. “Romantic James, huh?” He said, rubbing his chin. “Well... I don't really think about it all too often, but I've always kind of, you know... wanted to be a dad. I wanna get married, and have four hundred babies. But... not for a while yet,” he said, pouring another glass for himself and offering the bottle to Tia. “I'm young. My future's a dark road. I know teen pregnancy is kind of encouraged on Solont, but I don't think I'm ready to be a dad just yet. Besides, I'm sure I've got a couple more years of adventuring in me before I'm ready to settle down, especially with my term of service coming up. What about you?” He asked, turning to Tia. “Do you think there are kids in your future?”

“As for the kind of girl I wanna be with,” James mused leaning back in his chair once again. “Well, I can safely say that Maryesselle aint it. Don't get me wrong, she's cute and sweet and all, but she's not really my type. Too dependent, too demure. And, after last night, I think she's a little too... well, you know...” he mumbled, trailing off. The word he was looking for was 'Crazy,' but it didn't seem polite to say that about a lady. She was still his friend, even after all that had happened. “I think,” James said, “that I'd be more into someone that I could be friends with first. Someone who'll laugh at my jokes and make a few of her own. Go on adventures together and be able to hold her own. That kind of thing. But she'd also have a feminine side, so that when the time came, and we stopped being buddies and started being, you know, something more, I could wine her and dine her and sweep her off her feet.”

“I guess,” James said, leaning back a bit further in his chair. “I guess I kind of thought Talia might be that girl. We get along really well, and I kind of, you know, maybe... have a little bit of a thing for her,” he admitted. A little streak of red embarrassment colored his cheeks as he spoke. “I kinda messed that up though. Got distracted, got too wrapped up in trying to be chivalrous to Mary that I disrespected Talia. First time seeing her in over a year, and it's just 'Hey, no time for catching up. Wanna help me sort out Mary?' And then bing bang boom: Clusterfuck. What a disaster. Slept with someone I really didn't want to sleep with, and next morning... Talia's with Jonas. I think I missed my only opportunity. I didn't just fail to cross that bridge, I think I cut the supports and then burned it down, and then the bridge went and hooked up with a better guy,” James drew in a deep breath and sighed. The whole situation depressed him, but after he'd said his piece he was determined not to dwell on it too much. Misery may love company, but company sure as heck didn't like misery. “I don't think it really matters though. After last night and this morning, she probably thinks I'm oh SHIT!!”

James' little bit of indulgent self loathing came to a rather abrupt end. His loud exclamation served as punctuation to it as he finally leaned a bit too far back in his chair and tumbled over backwards, his wine glass flying into the air as he futilely windmilled his arms. “Ow!” he yelled when his back met the floor, face up. He stopped wincing just in time to see his glass at the apex of its parabolic trajectory... just before it dropped straight towards his face. His reflexes kicked in, his hand shot out, and he snagged the glass in midair, grasping it by the neck between his thumb and forefinger. Aside from a bid of red wine splattered on his shirt sleeve, he hadn't spilled a drop either.

“Uhhh... Ta-daaa!!” He exclaimed with genuine pride, holding the goblet aloft like a trophy.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia sipped slowly on her wine and relaxed a little in her chair, as James started talking about his plans for the future. It was kind of sweet that he had already decided that he wanted a ton of kids in his life and that marriage was on the horizon, even if it was a distant one, but nothing that he said really came as a surprise to Tia. There were some guys that could instantly be pictured as a father and although she would not admit it to him, James was one of those guys. A good guy, with a good heart, she just hoped that the woman he finally gave it to did not take advantage of him and chew it up, before spitting it out.

“I would like to think there are kids in my future,” she said, having not really thought about it, she had merely taken it for granted that was how these things went. In all honesty, she felt that she was too young to worry herself about marriage and children, despite what her mother and grandmothers might think about the subject. There was still a lot of partying to be done before she would be ready to settle down. “But I have to deal with the important part first, finding someone I think is good enough to father them.” She laughed a little at this, even though it was not that funny.

And then the conversation went down the path that she thought it might have, but had hoped it would not. She was not surprised that Talia had been mentioned in his ideal girl portion, she was pretty popular and was a good friend. Then had some all the information about the previous night, which she really had no interest in, but she made the odd nod, sigh, tut and all the usually sympathetic sounds that a friend made when someone was pouring their heart out. Not for the first time did she wonder why people thought that Mary was as nice as she was, the girl never had a thought for anyone other than herself. If she had a problem, you could bet the world would hear about it and then she would expect everyone to fix it for her while she simpered in the corner.

She was about ready to reply, when James decided to pull some acrobatic stunt out of his seat and landed heavily on the ground. She was on her feet by the time he caught the glass and appeared over the lip of the table. She looked visibly relieved that he had not seriously hurt himself. “Are you okay?” She asked, as she waited to see if he could get up on his own. Once she could see that he was, she could not help breaking into a laugh, a mix of relief and the fact that the whole incident had actual appeared to be quite funny from where she was sitting.

“You know, if you ever decide on a change of career, you might want to consider stunt work or maybe even becoming a clown,” she said with a slight chuckle in her voice, that conveyed she was teasing. She settled back down into her chair and looked at James as he retook his seat. He was certainly not going to have fond memories of the trip to Mars.

“Some things are just not meant to be,” she finally said, going back to their previous conversation, now that things had settled down again. “Can I let you into a little secret? I was kind of hoping to hook up with Leo during this party and the only time I saw him, he was hanging on to a bottle, after all the mess with Mary. Granted, my misfortune did not pan out like yours did and I ended up meeting Harry. Life throws stuff at us and we have to go with the flow. But you, Mr James,” she added, pointing her finger at him, “need to stop playing the white knight and don a little black every now and then. The good guy does not always get the girl, and if he does, it is not always the right one.”

[Solont]

Tia

“Haha. Clowns,” James said, smiling up at Tia from his new spot on the floor. Thankfully, he didn't hit too hard. The reduced gravity of Mars saw to that. “I don't think that's going to happen. I let Kana put make-up and face paint on me once. Didn't flatter me,” He said with a chuckle. He reached up and placed his glass on the table, before rolling backwards onto his feet, kicking his chair upright, and slumping down into it, kicking his feet back up a little more carefully this time.

“And aint that the depressin' truth,” He said, snagging up his wine again. The good guy didn't always get the girl. People, even good people, did things they ended up regretting. Life wasn't fair at all. But damn it, he really wanted it to be. “Man, Mary just... I hope you don't take this the wrong way. I try not to say anything bad about anybody if I can avoid it. But she's like a tornado or a cyclone or something. Everything swirls around her and she leaves a lot of wreckage in her wake. Sorry to here about Leo. I know he's like a gangster or something, but he did a good turn by me after Hurricane Mary blew through and left me a wreck. Sucks to hear that he got sucked into it to, but hey. New boyfriend! That's pretty cool. I don't know Harry, but he seems cool enough. And that's just so like you, you know?” James said, putting his feet down and turning to face Tia directly. “Always in control. Always ready to turn things to your advantage. Always ready to take a bad situation and put yourself in the best part of it.” He hoped he didn't come across as condescending. Such words could easily be misconstrued as an accusation of cunning or insidiousness, but James meant only to praise Tia's mature and forward-thinking approach. As someone who often felt himself twisting in the wind, moving at the behest of forces as irresistable as they were subtle and inscrutable, James envied that about Tia.

“Can I ask you just one thing, though?” He said, sounding genuinely confused and curious. “What do you mean by 'Don a little black?'” James had always tried to hold himself to a higher standard, one that he frequently failed to meet, but always strove for. It didn't make his life easy, and it certainly wasn't great for his self-esteem at times, but he thought it made him a good person, and hoped it would help him live up to his idealized notions of the expectations his late father and mother had for him. He had never really legitimately considered 'getting his hands dirty' as an approach to life, as it was, and James wondered what Tia had to say about it.

---

Scarlet

Meanwhile, some ten or so floors below where James and Tia were having their friendly chat, Kana had just finished a little bonding experience of her own, one that involved a few more panting moans and tightly gripped bedsheets than her travelling companion's. The experience with Scarlet – and it could only be called an experience, really – was nothing short of transcendent. They had shared their bodies with one another, and Kana had shared her mind. Every touch, every feel, every spike of pleasure or pang of beautiful emotion had been felt by the both of them. And now, after it was all over, Kana had time to collect her thoughts.

It had been nothing short of wonderful; thanks to her talents, sex always was for Kana, even if her partner was unskilled and awkward. Scarlet had been amazing and as lovely as the Solontian girl expected, but that only made the thoughts that weighed on Kana's mind all the heavier. She had just made a connection, one very real and tangible, and very important to her, despite how briefly she and Scarlet had known eachother. And yet, in just a short time, Kana would be leaving. She and James would fly away, across the stars and back to their home, and who knew when – or if – she and Scarlet would ever see her again. Was it right to have become so involved on such a spontaneous whim? Was it fair to Scarlet, or to herself? The questions bounced around in Kana's mind. She didn't regret hooking up, at least not yet, but all her self-assured confidence that she'd had before and during had disappeared as the afterglow faded. And so, Kana laid there in bed next to Scarlet, the silk bedsheets clutched tightly up around neck, and second-guessed herself.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

“New boyfriend?” Tia said, sounding a little incredulous and then laughing. Regardless what she thought or felt about Harry, she certainly had not tagged him with the boyfriend label. She would be lucky if she got a text or phone call from him once they left Mars. The chances of them actually meeting up again were slim to non-existent. If Tia ended up having sex with a guy after a party, she never expected it to be more than a one or two night fling. “I don’t think so. And as for Leo, ah, it is no big deal. He is cute and has that kind of bad boy feel about him, which kind of turns me on, but hey, I am not going to dwell on what did not happen.”

She had waved her hand dismissively when he had mentioned not liking to talk bad of people when he spoke of Mary. “This is a no holds barred conversation, you can say what you like and I will not be offended. Your opinion and my opinion, and we agree to disagree if it comes to that, right?” She was certainly not going to condone James for liking or disliking different things to her. They had different lives and different upbringings, and she did not like to spoil fun by falling out with someone over a trivial matter of them not having the same feelings about things. “But I agree totally with what you said, there was a reason that I try to avoid Roanians and Mary in particular. I really am not the kind of person that likes to get caught up in everyone else’s problems. Call me callous, but I came to Mars for fun not to deal with Mary’s issues.”

Her glass was looking a little empty, so she reached over and grabbed the bottle that James had offered and topped up the liquid, then picked up her glass and took a long sip as she thought about how to explain her point. “When you arrived at the party, if you had not been playing the white knight, you would have had a much better time. Sometimes, you have to take off your white suit and think about yourself first,” she said finally. If there was one thing that Tia was good at, it was thinking about herself first, not that she was not there for her friends when they needed her, but she certainly did not go hunting for people to help. “You should have said ‘fuck Mary’ – oh, no pun intended – and left her to deal with her issues and you should have gone after Talia, and then not spent the rest of the evening languishing in a feeling of guilt that was not necessary. Leave the white knighting to real damsels in distress not those that are too weak to help themselves.” She probably should have eaten a little more before started on a third glass of wine, not that she was not saying anything she would not have said, but she might have been a little less blunt about it.

[New Naggoroth]

Had she blacked out? Scarlet couldn't quite remember, as her thoughts slowly came filtering back to her in something of a haze. Maybe she had she passed out from exhaustion? The kind of raw emotional bliss she had shared with Kana was certainly overpowering, to say the least. 'That must have been it. She wore me right out,' she thought to herself as she lay in bed, sprawled out on her belly beneath the silken sheets.

Dimly, she could feel warmth on her face, coming in slanting rays from the window she was facing. 'Ugh, it's probably already noon,' she thought, grumbling to herself. She didn't want to so much as move, as that might spoil the wonderful hangover she felt, one that made her whole body feel tender and gelatinous and over-sensative. But with a slight heave and a groan, she did finally stir.

Not that she actually got up. The gods themselves couldn't drag her out of that bed. Instead, she rolled over, and pressed her body up to an even greater source of heat; the side of her new friend and lover, Kana. Laying on her side, Scarlet buried her face against Kana's shoulder, while her arms seemed to act of their own accord as they embraced Kana's waist and pulled her close.

Something that sounded vaugely like 'thank you' spilled from her lips in a muted murmur first, though for the most part all she could do was kiss Kana's shoulder and neck. Several minutes later, consciousness started to gain on her. "Mmm, you awake?" she said, fairly clearly too, which she thought was quite the accomplishment. "I hope you don't have to be anywhere soon... I don't think I can move."

[Solont]

Tia

“Hm,” was all James could initially think to say in response to Tia. She was right, of course. Hell, she was the kind of person who was always right. But, the plain nature of where he went wrong, James' inability to change the recent past, and a heady dose of alcohol were starting to bubble and boil inside the Solontian boy's mind, putting the straing on his psyche. The dams were about to burst, and he didn't feel like holding back any longer. So, he just said it. “You know what? You're right. I should have just not worried about it. Fuck Mary. She should have sorted out her own fucking problems. I deserve a good time too. And hey, while we're at it, fuck Jonas too, that jerk. I shoulda been fucking Talia last night, not him,” he said, as he leant over and placed his glass down on the table. It was safe to say he was a little bit past 'buzzed' by this point. “And maaaan, fuck Talia too. Getting' me all riled up and aiming me at Leo like that. She shoulda told me to just cool my jets and relax, because clearly I'm utterly incapable of recognizing when I should do that myself. God, I don't know why I do this,” he said, ending his outburst by leaning back and covering his face with his palms. “I'm always going out and doing the quote-unquote 'right thing,' or looking for wrongs to right, or trying to live up to some incredibly high standard. I can't let a damn thing slide, and I haven't got the faintest idea why I do it. It's so fucking stressful...”

It was a lie, though he was a little too drunk to realize. A little sobriety and a little self-reflective thought would have made it evident, even to someone as dense as James, why he did the things he did; he'd simply been trained to, by a lifetime of bad circumstances. As a young child and an adolescent, he found purpose in helping Kana survive a childhood in a mental institute. As an adolescent and conscript in the local militia, there was no shortage of crises to deal with, people to help, or relief to give. And even as a young adult, after the war was over and the world had seemed to return to sanity at last, James had always had leadership and responsibility thrust on him: class chairman, captain of his school sports team, that disastrous hunting trip, and other times as well. He'd always lived up to it, not because he thought he was the best or the brightest, the most charismatic or inspiring, but because it just felt like the right thing to do. In the back of his mind, every time, James had thought to himself, “This is what my parents would have wanted me to do.” That was James' raison d'être, and why he was so troubled and preoccupied by what had happened prior to this meeting with Tia. He wanted to do right, but he'd been doing it for so long that it had started to become all he knew how to do, and that unbalance was starting to make him miserable. Tia, in her seemingly infinite wisdom and common sense, had made him see that. For once, James entertained the possibility that maybe, just maybe, his late parents wouldn't mind so much if he relaxed, unwound, and lived for his own self just a little bit.

“But fuck it! You're right! Unwind! De-stress! Live for myself a little!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “And I intend to start doing that right now. How drunk are you?”

---

Scarlet

“Yeah,” Kana whispered, and shifted her tail around as Scarlet's arms slipped round her waist. “I'm awake.” She didn't have to be anywhere, as Scarlet hoped; as the daughter of the Supreme Commander, her shuttle left when Kana said so and not a moment sooner.

Unlike Scarlet, Kana hadn't gotten a very restful night. Sure, her body felt tingly all over. Sure, the sex had been absolutely breathtaking. But Kana was troubled. What would happen now? It was all such a wild, impulsive, spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, and the young foxgirl still wasn't sure what it was. A one night stand? The beginnings of something more? Kana herself wasn't sure how she felt about it, and she hadn't really had opportunity to hear Scarlet's thoughts on the same. Even if they wanted to keep seeing each other, could a relationship even be maintained across thousands of light years, between countries with no standardized method of communicating? And so, aside from an hour or two or sexually exhausted slumber, Kana had stayed awake, and fretted.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia sat watching James as he processed what she had said. Her glass was poised between the table and her lips, as if she wanted to know what he was going to do before she decided on her course of action. When he finally spoke, she could not hide the smile that spread over her lips and made her eyes sparkle. She got the feeling that a lot of people did not give her a lot of credit for being intelligent, blonde hair tended to have that drawback, but most of the time when she said things she said them for a reason and not just for the sake of hearing her own voice. By the time that he had finished his tirade, she raised her glass to him and then took a healthy swig in a kind of toast to James finally seeing clearly. It was a shame they had not had this discussion before, she might have been able to save him from one of the worst nights of his life.

“To living and de-stressing and having some fun,” she said, as she finished drinking and lowered her glass to the table. She leant forward in her chair and looked at him questioning. “I am not drunk enough for some things but maybe a little too drunk for others. What do you have in mind?” She was curious and she would be up for most things, as long as he did not want her to abseil down the building, or jump from a plane or a bunch of equally energetic things that she really was not dressed for, nor really in the frame of mind for. But if there was one thing that Tia was good at, it was having fun, so James had really come to the right person if he was going to let his hair down and think about himself for a change.

[New Naggoroth]

"You seem tense," Scarlet mumbled as she lay abed with Kana, her body still unwilling to obey her commands for it to move, save for the impulse to cling just a little bit more to the person beside her. "We aren't all psychic, you know," she said a little more clearly. It might have sounded petulant to the casual observer, but Kana would have no difficulty feeling the concern behind the words bubble up to the fore of of the tangled mass that was Scarlet's thoughts and feelings. "What's on your mind?"

The conversation might have been a little lopsided for Kana, given that Scarlet wasn't doing anything to conceal her feelings on the matter of the two of them. The inner dimensions of her mind seemed to be entirely focused on her desires and dreams of how she was going to see her new love again. Subconsciously, she was busily running through all sorts of scenarios about going to Solont, or making off with Kana to some quiet part of Earth, or dozens of other ideas as they came and went. Her alien mind was amazingly complex to Kana's inner eye, filled as it was with hidden and unfathomable depths.

But one recurring emotion simmered just below the surface. Scarlet was far too enthralled for this to be the last she'd see of Kana, consequences be damned.

[Solont]

James's alcohol-addled brain burned through the possibilities. There was a part of him that wanted to drunkenly call Talia, though whether it was to profess undying live or give back some of the verbal lashing she'd meted out to him earlier, he couldn't quite decide. There was another part of him that wanted to vault the railing and jump into the rooftop pool below the terrace, some 30 feet down. A third and much lower part of him wanted to invite Tia to bed; he was uninhibited enough for it, and there was no reason why two good friends couldn't have some no-strings-attached fun before going there separate ways. He imagined it'd be pretty much the opposite of what went down with Mary the night previous. In the end, however, the part of him that dominated his personality won out: the part that wasn't afraid to let him play the fool.

“You know, Tia,” James said. He upended his glass of wine, downing it in one massive gulp. “There was one thing that I didn't get to do at Mary's party. Something I really, really wanted to do.” He swept up the bucket of wine off the table and slapped down his phone. With a few quick taps at the menus, a song began to play with surprising volume and clarity for having come from such a small machine. It was a fast song, spicy and passionate, upbeat and full of strings and castanets. The singer was foreign, but the lyrics didn't matter; the mood was universal. With the grace only someone who was riding the edge of inebriation could muster, James leaned over, plucked a rose from the nearby garden and, with the flower stem held between his teeth, jumped onto the table and offered his hand to Tia.

“Let's bust a move, baby.”

---

“I'm just thinking,” Kana murmured, and squeezed her pillow against her chest. “About... you know... this. Us.” She had no regrets, nor were there any hints of the sort in her voice, but she was far from at ease. Both her mother and her best friend oft remarked that, underneath her facade of cool, popular, social butterfly-ness, she worried a lot. At that moment of vulnerability, that truth of Kana was readily apparent to Scarlet, as evident as the waves of affection and desire pouring out from the center of the Naggarothi's mind. “I'm just wondering how it's going to work,” Kana whispered. “I'm going back to Solont, soon. And you'll be going... wherever it is you came from, and who knows when we'll ever see each other again. I just... I just wonder if it was fair of me to do this to you.”

“And, not only that... but...” She sought out Scarlet's hand, wrapped about her waist, and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I don't really know all that much about you, Scarlet, and I don't have much time to change that,” Kana whispered. There were no regrets, but she couldn't deny that circumstances were going to make this difficult for the both of them. Life was so unfair, sometimes...

“But I know I want to,” she purrs. Her tail, still silky and smooth despite the night's exertions, entwined itself around one of Scarlet's thighs. “I want to know you, Scarlet.”