Welcome to Gaia! ::

Over 3 days later, and Laguna wasn't much closer to snapping Xashowd out of his funk. She paced back and forth in her room, thinking over her few successes. He'd finally gotten out and about, though only for training and flying. He wasn't moping anymore, but he remained largely silent, only responding out of habitual manners. Oh, and he'd gotten a TV for some reason...Laguna wondered where the money came from, though he often vanished for hours. Probably hopping between worlds, a luxury she didn't have at the moment. Not to mention things had been rather quiet recently...aside from the usual guild activities she heard about, but never really saw. Perhaps it was time to go exploring again, find something to do. But what parts of the Guild had she not seen?

Having made up her mind, Laguna left her room, heading out of the fridge and into the main closet area. Xashowd wasn't here today...there was a note on the fridge that read "Gone off-world to do some odd jobs. We'll talk when I get back. Xas." Laguna raised an eyebrow. While she was relieved Xashowd was going to talk again, she was a little puzzled as to what the subject might be. "Well, I guess I'll find out later." She said to herself.

Laguna walked outside, closing the closet door behind her. Time to find something exciting to do.

Laguna walked down the hall, wondering which direction to go. This Guild was pretty big, and seemed to be expanding constantly, though slowly. Not only that, but as soon as she had stepped outside of Xashowd's Closet, she'd barely sensed any other signs of life, as though there were fewer inhabitants than usual. Well, hell. How am I supposed to find something exciting to do if there's hardly anyone around? She thought with a frown. Laguna had hoped to find a kindred spirit in these walls, someone she could spend time with to give Xashowd a chance to make more friends of his own, perhaps make up for the one she'd inadvertently caused him to lose. The only question remaining was if there even was someone her type here. Those that she'd met thus far were either irritable or too...light for her tastes. Part of her was annoyed at having to hold back for Xashowd's sake, and wanted to just let loose. Though there was a significant lack of outlets...

Laguna walked onward, lost in her thoughts, unaware of the one watching her.

Scythes, Watermelon, and Flowing Breezes.
These are the things that bring me Joy.

...It had been a few months since Laguna had arrived, and as Xashowd mused over the events that had transpired, he felt she had adjusted well. He kept in contact with Darxian from time to time, giving updates and getting updates on the situation surrounding Laguna. There were far fewer deaths now than there were before, so Laguna had been lowered from "Second-biggest threat" to "Criminal Watchlist". Hunting her down was no longer a priority for the assorted Intergalactic Law Enforcement agencies, which meant the three of them were safe for now. Darxian had decided to wait a little longer before coming to speak with Laguna, as he knew the Drow would still hold a grudge (Xashowd had mentioned Darxian in passing a few times to Laguna, and it was still a sour subject). In the meantime, the Vampire turned Reaper-in-Training did what he could to make sure Laguna was doing well on Gaia. She'd even made a few friends over in the Chatterbox realm, which put him at ease. She still had to feed on others, much like he did every few months, but most of her feedings were "On the job", as she apparently had a job for Hell of all places. And had it for a while, which she had failed to mention until a few weeks ago when Xashowd asked her about possible employment options.

And speaking of employment, Xashowd himself was on his way to becoming a Reaper, a job suggested by the recent additions to his family, the Reaplings. Thanaphyr, Etheria, and the younger Phantasia had a section of the Closet for their own use (Xashowd had asked Darxian to come over on a day when Laguna was out working, and had made some additional expansions), but usually hung around Xashowd as he went about his daily Gaian routine. GCD Visits at 1:00 PM were the only regular thing on his schedule, as his Reaper-in-Training status meant that a Mission could come at any time. Through them he learned some of the basics of being a Reaper, like talking with Souls, using Reaper Portals, hunting down malignant Phantoms, and manipulating the Spiritual Aether. That last one was the hardest for Xashowd to learn, as there were more differences between Spirit Magic and his Wind Magic than he expected. Controlling the energies of an alternate Plane of Existence was no simple task, and one he struggled with more often than not. He needed to get better with the basic spells though, since all Reapers were proficient with at least three kinds of Spirit Magic. He often practiced on random Heartless on other Worlds, and though the spells were often potent, they were also quite taxing. Having the Reaplings alongside him made it easier, as they were natural fonts of Spirit Energy. All four of them trained together, and as Phantasia was the youngest Reapling it was often a learning experience for both her and Xashowd.

As he reclined in his chair thinking things over, the little Pink Reapling floated over, ever brimming with curiosity. "Whatch'ya doin?" Phantasia asked Xashowd, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Just thinking about stuff...you know, everything that's happened in the past few months." He replied. "Well, Etheria wants to know when Laguna's coming back. She's busy with one of those...veedeeo games? How do you say it?" Xashowd chuckled. "Video Games." He replied with a smile "Yeah, that! She'd ask herself, but there's this "Souper Boss" she's using very colorful words on. I don't know why she calls it that, I didn't see any Soup...but she's busy with it, So I flew over to ask." Xashowd placed his feet back on the floor and stood up out of the chair. "I don't know, actually. Hell doesn't really have a set schedule." "Really? Thanaphyr says Hell's all about mikro...maicro...umm, really tiny guys ages." Xashowd raised an eyebrow. "Micromanagement?" Phantasia nodded. "Yeah that. He says schedules are a big part of Hell. I've never been there, so I don't know for sure." Xashowd shook his head and shrugged. "I'm not sure either, Phantasia...sometimes I hear Hell is one big business, other times I hear it's a feral and wild place. Maybe there's different parts to it, like a country or something." He walked over to the fridge, opening the door and pulling out a few slices of Watermelon from one of the innumerable shelves. "I guess we'll know when Laguna gets back. Wanna go for a flight while we wait?" He said, tossing a piece to the Reapling. "Sure! I'd love to get outside!" She replied, catching the Watermelon and Nomming happily upon it. The duo headed for the door and stepped outside, strolling through the halls of the Guild enjoying their snack.

Most days went like this for Xashowd and the Reaplings, simple and largely uneventful. There was one thing that remained in the back of Xashowd's mind, however...one thing that had yet to surface, one thing he kept hidden, much like the pin beneath his cloak...His allegiance to Nyx, and the conflict he knew would come. There had been little word on that front, beyond a few rumors from the Dark Elves that Don Kuro had changed somehow. September had arrived, which meant that October and Halloween were not too far off. On Gaia the Holiday of Halloween was a magnet for Conflict, ever since the Sentinel/Overseer incident years ago. Xashowd had a feeling that this year's conflict would be the one he and many others had been waiting for. It was only a feeling, but still...the thought was always on his mind. As well as what Laguna might do...he hadn't told her about it yet, and it wasn't a subject brought up often around the Chatterbox realm. He had no idea which side she would choose, if she chose a side at all. Under most circumstances a Succubus following Nyx would be logical, but Laguna was unique. He had no illusions of trying to predict her actions. The only thing he could do was wait for the right time...

I am Xashowd, the Nocturne Zephyr!
The Quest is on!

There was a tapping away at the wall of the thread. Then part of the wall gave way to reveal a hatch door. "Oh... G-Guess th-that one w-was bl-blocked..." came the muffled voice of the Lythcol mechanic.