[MillietheWarrior]

(Human Form)

The night was growing darker, and in the back of her mind the newly named ‘Akira’ was having a bit of trouble soothing her twilight sister. The Dusk half of her soul was vying for dominance, angry that she’d dallied for so long and that she planned to stick around even longer. The only thing that could quell the beast that raged behind the bars of it’s cage was the promise that if it did not settle down, she would force Holo the Wise to separate them, and force them into two different beings. Akira knew that she would remain, essentially, the same, but her twilight self would be unable to take human form, and would be stick as whatever form Holo the Wise chose. The second half of herself finally settled down with a rumbling growl, and Akira strolled along happily beside Rowen, her hand clasping his tightly.

It was partly so she wouldn’t get distracted and wander off, and partly because she found she enjoyed the sensation of holding hands. It made her feel grounded, and more real than she’d ever felt before. It might be incredibly odd though, if anyone who couldn’t see her were to see Rowen holding a nonexistent hand and talking to a nonexistent person. Akira certainly didn’t mind, though, even as the ‘bar-tavern’ as she was now calling it in her head, came into view. “Is that it?” she asked, pointing curiously to the door of the bar where a sign hung that flashed neon in the darkness. “Will we find your Sage in there?”

Akira was glad she’d learned more about human interactions from Rowen; he’d taught her that girls kissed boys when they liked them, and she knew she already liked Sage, just on the virtue of him being Rowen’s friend. She nodded determinedly to herself; she would greet him properly, and show Rowen that she was a fast learner. Then maybe they could move on to lesson two.

[Jessari]

((Human forms for all three boys))

The blue-haired man was filled with conflicting emotions. The memory of Akira's lips upon his own, along with the firm grasp of their hands, had put an extra lift in his steps. She'd picked up on kissing quite fast, sorely tempting him to go ahead and advance her to Lesson Two. What had him bummed was the fact that, while she'd evidently enjoyed 'Lesson One', as she had continued to call it, it hadn't been enough to distract her from her desire to meet Sage.

Jealousy was a relatively new thing to Rowen, since he'd never liked a girl enough to really care if she was going to stick around for long or not. He tried to shake it off; it wasn't like Sage was a ladies' man, or like he was going to try to steal Akira's affections. It was silly, really, to feel this way. And so he chatted away, oblivious to the looks he was getting from passersby, trying to shake the feeling that he really, really didn't want to take Akira to the bar.

"That's it," he confirmed as the sign for The One-Eyed Dragon came into view. "Sage'll be there; his shift doesn't end for another hour."

* * * * *

Sage idly swiped a rag over the polished counter, one eye on the game being shown on the hanging TV screen.  Business had been fairly quiet, just a few truckers on the bar stools and a man and woman in the corner who were not only sharing the same table, but the same chair as well. Needless to say, they weren't paying any attention to the game.

It wasn't bad for a weekday; business usually didn't pick up until the weekend unless it was a holiday. Still, Sage was relieved to see the doors swing open. More business was always welcomed. He straightened, tugging at the bottom of his white dress shirt and tucking the rag beneath the bar. He smiled-

...then saw exactly who the newcomers were. His welcoming smile turned into something a bit more lop-sided. "Rowen," he said in greeting, then glanced over to study the woman with a calculating eye. Sage wasn't surprised to find Rowen with a girl, but she seemed different than his normal type. And there was something about her...something that smacked of the supernatural. His green eyes narrowed, flicked back and forth from the girl to Rowen.

Finally, he decided everything must be alright. Rowen was sharp, and although there was a tense energy about him tonight, Sage was sure that his friend wouldn't be hanging around this woman if there was anything wrong with her. Like, say, she was a soldier from the Dynasty. Giving her a sincere smile, he asked, "and who might this be?"

[MillietheWarrior]

Akira stared at the doors of the bar, reading the sign ‘The One-Eyed Dragon’ with a critical eye. It seemed safe enough, and generally, it was her experience that most people who frequented these places tended to be asleep. So she wasn’t exactly worried about setting foot in a foreign and somewhat shady establishment (at least in her eyes). “What an odd name for a tavern,” she muttered, placing a finger against her chin in thought. She wondered if the name had anything to do with Rowen’s Sage, and perhaps if he had one eye as well. But that was silly; just because the bar’s name had the word ‘one-eye’ in it, didn’t mean the Sage had anything to do with the name. So, mentally shrugging her shoulders, she swung her and Rowen’s clasped hands as he opened the doors and led her inside.

Immediately, her gaze was drawn to the television hanging in the bar, and she found herself staring at it with rapt attention. She’d seen these things before; sometimes humans drift off to sleep with them playing, but mostly they were always off when she arrived. It was fascinating to see the tiny people running about on the screen, and she tugged on Rowen’s hand, pointing to the TV with a sort of child-like wonder. “There are small people inside that box,” she whispered, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the sleeping people. Bars, after all, were notorious for sleeping people, right? Her gaze finally tore itself from the TV, and settled on the couple in the back who were obviously very…enamored with one another. “Rowen,” she asked curiously, tugging on his hand again to get his attention. “What is it they are doing? It looks like lesson one, yet…not quite.”

Then the sound of another voice, one that was loud enough to be addressing the two of them, and her head whipped around to gaze at the man behind the bar. His eyes were green, reminding Akira of the plant he was named after. She tugged on Rowen’s hand, practically dragging him along behind her as she hurried towards the bar. “You are the Sage?” she asked, her tone curious and her eyes sparkling brightly. She pointed to herself. “I am Akira. Rowen named me.” She was proud to be able to tell him her name, even as she released Rowen’s hand and leaned over the bar, pressing her lips to his in a chaste, quick kiss, before pulling away. “It is nice to meet you, Rowen’s Sage!”

[Jessari]

Rowen snorted, wondering if she'd ever payed attention to anything during her many years of visiting the human world. "It's like pictures, but moving pictures." Literally. "Like a bunch of photographs layered over each other and flipped very quickly. We haven't figured out how to miniaturize real people yet."

He followed her gaze to the couple in the corner. "That's more like lesson two. Or lesson two-point-five," he amended as the man's hands slid into the woman's back pockets. "We'll cover that some other time." He hurried her onward, anxious to distract her. Her innocent nature was a large part of what made her special, and he didn't want to change that, even though he greatly wanted to experience certain things with her. It was a conundrum, one that he was completely at a loss to address.

"Hey," he said as Sage greeted them, waving at his old friend. That was all he had a chance to say before Akira began introducing herself. He grinned as Sage's eyes flickered to him in confusion, asking, "He named you? Rowen, what-"

Then Akira's hand slid from his. Before he could register what she was doing, she was leaning across the bar and kissing Sage! Rowen's mouth dropped open, a half-formed "wha-a-a?" all he could vocalize. Inside, his emotions scrambled, flared, and before his thoughts could catch up to his temper, he was already in motion. Moving much faster than a human being should, Rowen was over the counter, his fist flashing toward Sage's face-

Smack!

Rowen found his punch blocked by an upheld palm. Growling in protest, he looked past the hand wrapped around his own to discover a familiar face. "Cye?"

Cye continued to grasp Rowen's raised fist, as if not trusting him not to swing again. "Rowen, Sage," he asked, his soft voice with its British accent managing to sound disapproving and concerned at the same time, "what's going on here?"

"He was kissing my girl!" Rowen accused, pulling his hand away and jerking a chin toward Sage, who had stumbled back against the shelves of bottled alcohol and still stood there, jaw dropped slightly open in shock. Of course, Rowen grudgingly admitted, Akira had been the one to initiate the kiss. What had that been about?

Physical crisis averted, Cye seemed to finally notice they weren't the only ones there. He seemed to grow smaller, and, if possible, quieter, as he faced Akira. "Ma'am," he said, ducking his head slightly. "My name is Cye Mouri. I'm friends with Rowen." He extended his hand in greeting as Rowen rolled his eyes. Ever the polite one, Cye would follow proper convention even in the middle of an argument.

[MillietheWarrior]

Akira wasn’t really sure what was going on. One moment, she had bounced back and away from Sage, and the next moment, Rowen was storming towards him, his face looking more thunderous than she’d ever seen before. She watched him curiously, wondering what exactly was going on and why. Unconcerned, she plopped herself up on a bar stool, swinging around in a circle excitedly. These places were rather entertaining. Did people come here to sit on the chairs? Because they were quite fun. “Rowen,” she called, turning to look over her shoulder when her spinning left her facing the opposite direction. “You should not do such a thing. Violence is very unbecoming. I was merely greeting him properly. You said he was your friend, correct?” Obviously, if Sage was Rowen’s friend, then he deserved to be greeted properly.

Her eyes widened marginally, however, when she saw another man had joined in on the ‘conversation.’ She moved form the bar stool, leaning across the bar to look between Sage, Rowen, and the new man curiously. “What-” she began, but jerked her head towards Rowen at his declaration. She blinked. ‘His’? What did that mean? As far as she knew, she didn’t belong to anyone, right? So how then- Her thoughts trailed off as she was suddenly forced to turn her attention to Cye, who had introduced himself as a friend of Rowen’s and held out a hand. Akira wasn’t quite sure what the hand meant, but she supposed it meant something, so she took it in her own and pulled him towards her, pressing her lips to his in another quick kiss of greeting.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Cye, friend of Rowen. I am Akira.” She still held his hand tightly, and turned to Sage, a bright smile on her face that made her eyes crinkle slightly. “You were confused when I said Rowen named me, were you not? You see, I did not have a name before I met him, but Rowen was kind enough to name me. I like my new name; he said it fits me, and even though I have never had one before, I like to think that he is correct. Holo the Wise will be happy that I gained a name.” She turned back to Cye, her smile still wide. “I did not know we would be meeting another friend of Rowen’s. He told me about his Sage, because the Sage has his key. So we came to visit him! Did you come to visit as well, Cye, friend of Rowen?”

[Jessari]

"Greeting him properly?" Rowen fairly squeaked.

Cye watched quietly as Rowen shoved his hands through his blue hair, wincing when a finger caught in a random tangle. He wasn't certain yet what was going on, but it seemed this woman was at the center of it. Although he, Sage, and Rowen weren't related by blood, they'd always been as close as brothers. And while they fought like true brothers sometimes, he couldn't remember a single argument that had been centered on a girl. His eyes moved uncertainly to Sage, who had begun to blink and stammer half-formed protests. Cye had entered too late to actually see what had happened, but from the stunned look on Sage's face, he couldn't imagine the kiss had been intentional.

He smiled as Akira reached for his hand, determined to be pleasant no matter what kind of trouble she was trying to stir up in his little family. It was going to be harder than he'd ever dreamed, for before he could react, she'd pulled him forward and-

-And his brains froze even as a fire started in his skin. Had he been able to think through the disabling shyness flooding through his body, Cye might have been able to sympathize with Sage's reaction. As she spoke, he simply stood there and let her hold his hand, no more life to his blistering-hot face than that of a ventriloquists' dummy. Then she turned to him, addressed him, and his numbed brain registered this fact. Afraid she was about to kiss him again, he jumped, pulling his hand from hers and edging back behind Sage. He peered over his friend's shoulder, watching Akira as one would a rabid dog.

* * * * *

Sage had been kissed by random girls before; it sorta came with the territory when you worked around alcohol. He'd had experience stopping their advances, or blowing them off after the fact, but this was different. For one, Akira's breath hadn't smelled of alcohol, and she'd looked completely innocent when she'd done it. And she was Rowen's date.

Instead of responding to her immediately, Sage instead looked down at Rowen, who had sunk down to the floor behind the bar. "Rowen? You wanna help us out here?" Suspending his disbelief for the moment, Sage saw it this way: Rowen named her, he'd dragged in here, and therefore he was the most qualified to untangle this mystery.

Forehead touching his knees, hands buried in his hair, Rowen groaned. "I told her it was something a girl and a boy did when they liked each other. She likes you." Then, quieter, "I've created a monster."

"She what?" Blonde hair fell over one of his eyes as he swung his head back toward Akira. In his mind, pieces fell into place. A chuckle rose in his throat, grew into a full-fledged laugh that only became more robust as he glanced over his shoulder at the frightened look on Cye's face. "You told her- You-" As Sage struggled to calm himself, one of the truck drivers glanced over and slurred, "I'd like to have what he's having."

When he could talk again, Sage stepped around the bar. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Akira. While we have certainly enjoyed your greeting, I'm afraid something has been miscommunicated. The proper way to greet someone is a handshake. You do it like this." At that, he extended his hand, prepared to fend off any more attempts at kissing.

[MillietheWarrior]

Akira stared on confusion at Cye. “Cye, are you aware that you are becoming a rather lovely shade of red? I was not aware that humans could change color. It is most fascinating.” Humans didn’t normally change color, but Cye was blushing so hard that Akira was instantly fascinated, and would’ve reached out to poke his cheek had he not suddenly leapt behind Sage. “What-?” she began, but was cut off when she realized she could no longer see Rowen. Propping herself up on the bar, she peered over the side, hair hanging down over her shoulder and dangling in front of the blue haired man. “What are you doing down there, Rowen? Aren’t floors in establishments such as this unsanitary?” Taverns weren’t exactly the cleanest places, Holo the Wise had once told her.

People went there to forget things, to sleep, to drink strange brew and sometimes throw said brew back up. She patted Rowen’s head, much like one might an adorable puppy. “Come now, get off the floor.” She slid off the bar, straightening and tugging her dress back down from where it had unceremoniously slid up. “I do not think I am a monster. And Rowen did not create me. Holo the Wise did!” she chirped happily, once more perching herself on one of the entertaining bar stools and spinning a few times experimentally. “And of course I like you. You are a friend of Rowen. I will like all friends of Rowen, because I like Rowen.” It was a simple answer, and she shrugged one curved, bare shoulder in response, stopping her spinning as she watched Sage walk around the bar. She stared at his outstretched hand, and took it in hers, shaking it vigorously.

“That is quite acceptable! It seems easier than a kiss. However, I do not understand. Rowen said that kissing is an acceptable way to show someone you like them. And I like both Sage and Cye, friends of Rowen. Did I…do something wrong? Is that why your friend Cye turned such a strange color? I am new to the…human way of behaving. I have never needed to greet someone in such a way before.” She patted Sage’s head, much like she’d done to Rowen, and smiled. “I apologize, Sage.” She turned and leaned off of her stool, craning her body over the bar and managing to pat Cye on the arm, missing his head. “And I apologize Cye.” Then she craned her neck to gaze down at the floor. “Rowen, remove yourself from the floor. You will get dirty. That is unacceptable.”

[Jessari]

"The floors aren't sanitary," Rowen repeated quietly, his voice filled with stunned disbelief. "She's the one kissing every man she meets, and she thinks sitting on the floor isn't sanitary." He seemed to be in a state of shock as his mind tried to adjust to the fact that 'like' apparently meant 'like' to Akira, and not 'like-like' like it meant to him. He was surprised to find that he did 'like-like' her, a lot, and the fact that she might only like him, as opposed to 'like-liking' him was frightening, like taking a step of faith in the dark and finding someone has removed the floor.

"I stand corrected," Sage murmured, amused as she described her origins. He had known she had some connection to the supernatural, so hearing her speak of being created was something he could handle. He'd never heard of Holo the Wise, however. It didn't sound like the title a Netherworld demon would take; in fact, it reminded him a little of the Ancient, the man who'd forged their armors and had offered them assistance when they had no one else to turn to.

Sage flinched only a little as she patted his head, unsure at first of what she intended to do. Cye, however, stifled a yelp, pressing his back against the polished wooden shelves on the wall and unsettling a few bottles. As they rocked precariously back and forth, Sage rolled his eyes. Cye was scared to death, and Rowen was shell-shocked. Was he the only one capable of keeping a clear head? "Excuse me," he said, leaning over the counter himself and grabbing a handful of blue hair.

"Owowowow!" Rowen whined as he was forced to abandon his hiding place behind the counter. Sage released him as soon as he was standing up again. "Do you want to explain to her exactly where your teaching went wrong," he threatened, "or should I?" He glared at the young man, green eyes as sharp as knives.

Rowen ducked his head, closed his eyes, and sighed. Did he really have to do this in front of the others? Having the girl he liked kiss two of his best friends was bad enough without having to spill his heart in front of them too. "Can we...can we go outside for a minute?" he asked Akira, his expression fully serious for once.

"Good idea," Sage encouraged, his expression still stern. Akira seemed like a lovely girl, but this was Rowen's mess, and he was the one responsible for cleaning it up. "It'll give me time to unfreeze Cye, at least."

[MillietheWarrior]

Akira canted her head to the side at Rowen’s odd statement; ‘kissing every man she meets’? What exactly did he mean by that? Hadn’t she explained to him earlier that he was the first one she’d ever met? And he was the one who’d informed her that kissing was an acceptable way of introducing oneself. She didn’t quite understand his sudden melancholy, but she couldn’t deny that it…upset her to see him upset, and that was a strange concept in and of itself. His behavior was disturbing, and she couldn’t help but cringe a little at the thought that she was responsible for it.

Her eyes darted to Cye, and she frowned, before she nearly jumped out of her seat when Sage hauled Rowen up by his hair. She reached out, hands palm forward in a placating gesture and eyes curved in an awkward smile. “Uh, now, now, do not pull his hair,” she muttered. “It is not necess-” But it had seemed to do the trick, and Rowen had levered himself up off the dirty floor, which was really what she was concerned about; she didn’t want his nice clothes getting all gross and dirty. “Oh. never mind.”

She plopped back down in her chair, still looking a little concerned; did friends usually pull one another’s hair? She certainly hoped they didn’t. If that was the case, then being friends was painful work. And then there was the matter of the kissing problem; if that wasn’t how people said they liked one another, and a handshake was, then what on earth had Rowen told her that for? Was he trying to make a fool out of her? The thought was unsettling, and she immediately brushed it aside; he seemed nice enough, so there wasn’t any reason for him to do that.

“Of course,” Akira agreed amiably, her gaze darting from Sage to Rowen suspiciously, uncertainly glimmering in her eyes. She reached up and wound her fingers in the sleeve of his shirt, following as he led outside and back into the night air, which once more stirred the dark desire to shift into her midnight form and run through the stars. She inhaled deeply, easing her dark sister’s anxiety by promising that she would have two full nights and a day to herself if she was just patient. She released Rowen’s shirt just as the door swung closed behind her.

“I am sorry,” she began immediately. “I just thought- well, when you said ‘like’ I thought it was in the normal sense of the word. As in you like someone. Is there more than one meaning? I did not mean to embarrass you. And I will apologize again to your friends.” She didn’t want to leave, not just yet; she hoped her social faux pas wasn’t enough that he’d want to send her away for what she’d done. Akira dropped her head, gaze studiously watching the tips of her slipper clad toes, like a chastised child waiting for their punishment. “I promise I will never do it again, ever, ever. I do not want to leave yet. I am enjoying the human world too much to leave.”

[Jessari]

Rowen's eyes widened as her apology spilled out. He'd been so mortified by what he'd caused that he honestly hadn't stopped to consider how she felt about the situation. He'd kinda figured that the innocent, cheerful Akira hadn't realized there was a situation. Oh man, he thought, hating the unexpected turn the evening had taken and the look of penitence on Akira's face. She'd been so...so perky earlier, full of sunshine and smiles, and he had managed to dim that mood with his lack of foresight.

He waved his hands in a gesture of denial as she stopped for breath. "First off, I'm not in charge of whether you stay or go; it's your decision, and, I guess, Holo's as well. And even if I could, I wouldn't order you away." He grimaced, shoving his hands into his pockets and leaning back against the wall of the bar with a huff of breath. His own head dropped, blue hair brushing across his forehead. "You don't have to apologize, Akira. It's my fault, really, for not explaining what I meant better." He'd heard what he wanted to hear when she had said she liked him, projecting his own desires upon her words instead of taking them at face value. It had been selfish, whether he'd realized it at the time or not, and he hated that it had brought them to this point. "Besides," he said with a try at a smile, "I don't think Cye has ever been kissed before. Despite his reaction, I can guarantee he enjoyed it."

Jiggling at some loose change in his pocket, he weighed what he was going to say next very carefully. If nothing else, he'd learned to be very, very specific with Akira, but being specific in explaining an abstract thought like emotion was going to be difficult. "In delivering dreams, have you ever seen any that deal with love?" After a brief pause to wait for her answer, he realized the assumption she might jump to. "Not that I-I mean I don't, um." He took a breath, composed himself, then continued. "Anyway, 'like' in the way I was using it is like, an, um, a predecessor to love. Kinda like a trial, a lesser emotion that might or might not turn into love."

Rowen shrugged, dropping his head even further. This wasn't something he'd ever had to explain to any of the women he'd chased before. They were all intuitively aware of what his goals and motives were; they all played the game without an instruction manual. Akira? She didn't even know there was a game. She probably thought he was an idiot or worse for misleading her and embarrassing her in front of his friends. And if she didn't return his affections, or wasn't able to? Oh man, how bad would that be?

[MillietheWarrior]

Akira let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, her shoulders sagging in relief. She was glad Rowen didn’t want to send her away; she had honestly become rather fond of him in the short time they’d been together, and it was an odd and novel experience for Akira. She’d never been fond of anything before. Ever. It was such a foreign and unknown feeling that she didn’t quite know how to handle it; all she knew was that if Rowen sent her away, or was angry with her, she would be unhappy. And she didn’t want to be unhappy. She reached out, gently brushing his arm with the tips of her fingers and smiling gently.

“Thank you, Rowen,” she murmured. “I do not…I do not want to leave. Not even when I have to. I really would like to stay. I am enjoying the human world, and I am immensely enjoying your company. If I had a choice, I would like to stay here for as long as I can. I am glad you were the first human I met.” Her smile turned slightly shy, and a foreign warmth crept up into her cheeks. She pressed a hand against her face, realizing that it felt hot and wondering why she felt so flustered and warm all of a sudden. She’d never blushed before, and it was slightly embarrassing. She wondered, briefly, if all humans blushed, and it if was a common occurrence.

What made people blush? She glanced up at Rowen and her cheeks burned hotter than before; was it other humans that caused it? Was it Rowen that caused it? Or maybe the fluttering in her stomach and the desire to be beside him was what had caused it? Akira quickly pushed the thought aside in favor of listening to Rowen, who, she realized, was speaking again. “Love?” she murmured, canting her head to the side. Love was something complicated, Holo the Wise had once told her. Humans felt it for one another, and it was a very powerful emotion, but the concept was something that Akira had yet to grasp. What did love involve? How did one know if they felt it? “I…I am unsure. Human emotions are…difficult for me. But perhaps? I-I think…”

That she understood now what Rowen had meant when he said he ‘liked her.’ It had something to do with love, he said, like a  ‘predecessor,’ but it was still somewhat confusing. She pressed a finger against her chin in thought, running over the events of the night in her head. The kiss, the looks, his use of the word like, and then the way he was upset when she’d kissed other men. Her eyes widened when she finally managed to piece a few things together (although overall, she was still a bit confused). Rowen cared for her, not in the way of friends, but in the way of…something more? What was ‘something more’ called? What did that make her to him? She was just a ‘something more.’

And strangely, she was all right with that. Her cheeks grew warm again, and she deduced that it was because she liked the idea of being a ‘something more’ for Rowen. “I think I understand,” She murmured at last, smiling up at him with pink cheeks. “I may be misunderstanding again, but I also like you. Like a…like a ‘something more.’” She leaned up on her tiptoes, face inches from his. “Maybe we can go over lesson one again?”