Welcome to Gaia! ::

“It’s… beautiful,” Petra sputtered out, staring at the world around her. Everything was just as it had been the night before, but with the added touch of a thick layer of puffy, soft snow. A few of the students had already discovered how good it was for packing into snowballs and were causing a lot of mayhem. Yet, Petra couldn’t stop herself from staring at the white sheets. Her face was flushed, both from the joy and from the cold, and the corners of her lips tugged into a thin smile, which she hid under a scarf.

She was wrapped in a cocoon of knits, from her hat with the little bobble on it, to her scarf, to her oversized sweater, to her mittens, all the way down to her socks. At least the cute skirt and warm tights made up for the marshmallow she’d turned into everywhere else. Somehow Petra still made a fashion statement while trying to keep warm. Her hair she’d tied back into a fishbone braid, though her bangs still surrounded her face and reflected the redness of her cheeks.

From a distance she heard laughter and shouting. A familiar trio was playing together on a large iced over area. There was no lake around school, so this was clearly one created by magic or spells of some kind. Petra watched as they skated around in their own private rink. Danni seemed pleased, having managed to get the hang of skating around the circle. Her blue hair flowed behind her with grace while her hands remained tucked deep into her jacket pockets. On the other hand, Brody was just having a blast, whether he was great at skating or not. He managed to stay on his feet, though the hyperactive nature sometimes caused him to wobble. That and a certain grumpy dragon boy pushed him onto his a** once for invading his personal space.

Most of the time, however, they laughed and teased each other, as friends would. Brody was even winter themed today, with spiked hair that looked snowy white with tips of ice-blue and bright blue eyes to match. Petra watched on with envy, wishing she could join. Would she be imposing on their fun? Not exactly stealthy, it wasn’t long before she was spotted. Danni’s blue eyes caught her own violet ones and Petra straightened up with a start.

“We’ve got a visitor,” Danni announced, though she didn’t seem to really care about the redhead’s presence. One way or another, it was just another student hanging around. Ialo turned immediately towards where Petra stood, distracted from the lazy figure 8 he’d been making. He looked just as startled as Petra.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’ll go…” Petra was already turning on her heel, heart fluttering with embarrassment. She’d been staring at him again, hadn’t she? It was hard for her not to, like her eyes were magnetized. How could one boy be so… well, pretty? Her thoughts couldn’t be straight around him, her voice barely worked, her throat felt so dry and she just wasn’t sure if that was the cold or…

“You should stay,” he spoke up. He looked upset, she noted when she turned around. Ialo’s eyes were averted and he looked frustrated for some reason. The cold must have even gotten to him, coloring his own cheeks just slightly. “Brody, don’t you have an extra pair of skates?”

The shape shifter seemed a bit putout himself, though from what Petra could tell it was for an entirely different reason than Ialo. Still within seconds he was able to force a smile. “I think they might be too big for her,” Brody said. “Petra, what size shoe do you wear?”

“Seven…” Petra mumbled. She was still ready to leave at any moment if she needed to.

“Yup, not gonna fit. Sorry. Maybe some other time, though!” he said. He smiled as he continued to skate around. Ialo looked from his friend back to Petra. Just as he was about to get off the ice, Danni chimed in.

“She can take mine,” Danni said, coming to the edge of the ice. “Too cold out here anyway.”

Petra could barely manage to thank her as she left, waving goodbye without even looking back. That girl always seemed to have something on her mind. Petra held the skates tight in her hands, staring down at them. Ialo was in a similar frozen state, unsure if he should follow Danni or stay with Petra and Brody. The shape shifter seemed determined to answer that question for him, grabbing the dragon’s hand and pulling him along.

“Don’t worry about her, dear. I’m sure she just didn’t want to be the third wheel in our little love fest anymore,” Brody cooed, lips curling up into a smile. The vampire was still as she watched Ialo burst into a short fit about how being grabbed so suddenly like that could have caused him to fall. Brody was only slightly apologetic, laughing through most of Ialo’s shouting.

Petra moved slowly to a nearby bench, placing her shoulder bag on the ground and removing her snow boots. The socks kept her toes warm as she switched into the pair of skates. The wiggle room in them was enough for the thick layer of the socks to fill comfortably. She laced them up quickly and stood, trying to walk on the metal bars underneath her. The two boys finally paused, noticing her as she got her skates onto the ice. Petra attempted to move forward, wiggling her feet a bit, but the toe-pick got caught and she fell forward onto the ice, shrieking during the descent.

Ialo was quick to skate over to her, reaching out a hand. “Are you alright?” he asked, the mild horror in his voice evident. Slowly Petra got onto her hands and knees, staring down at the ice, absolutely mortified.

“I caught myself, I think I’m fine,” she said, half a whimper. Her eyes flickered up, catching sight of his hand, offered to her. Taking it hesitantly, she came to stand again. Brody skated over to her, stopping short and startling her enough to stumble a bit again, though this time Ialo was there to catch her. The dragon helped Petra to right herself once more.

“Have you never skated before?” he asked, staring at her. Her eyes found his, locked for a moment, then she realized she was staring a bit herself and looked back down.

“I’m from California. Snow isn’t really common there,” she admitted. “And I don’t know of any skating rinks that stay open during vampire hours.”

Ialo smirked. “California would be a bit sunny for you,” he said. “Not as ironic as Florida would have been though.”

“Why’s that?” Petra asked.

“The sunshine state? Really? Does no one pay attention in Geography anymore?!” Ialo ignored the fact that he himself was one of the people who had slept through most of Geography when he took it. But he at least knew that little tidbit. It was enough to make Petra relax and giggle just a bit, though, which was all Ialo needed. “Anyway, if you want to skate, we can teach you.”

Petra’s face brightened, giving an earnest smile. “I’d be delighted if you would,” she said. Ialo looked to Brody and beckoned him over. The shape shifter resisted the urge to roll his eyes, though came willingly regardless. After all, the girl did seem like she would be fun to play with.

One hand in Ialo’s and the other in Brody’s, the two boys became like ballet bars for her, supporting her until she was ready to take the floor. The dragon showed her how to sweep her feet across the ice to move and got her starting in a slow glide. Then Brody showed her how to slow and stop. They continued together, circling around Ialo’s small rink for a while, until Petra started to loosen her grip on them. They hesitantly released her hands, sending her off to skate on her own.

She wobbled a bit once or twice at first, but quickly found her stride. The dragon and shifter returned to skate beside her again, though this time without the need of their support. Ialo showed off a bit, balancing on one foot as he slid across the ice, but Petra just giggled more as he hammed it up for her attention. Brody even joked around with him, playing like clowns to bring a smile to the girl’s face.

Eventually, the sun was starting to fall. The three of them sat together on the bench, feet tucked back into regular shoes. Petra closed her eyes, tilting her head back to feel the cold breeze brush her face. It was starting to snow again.

“You know what sounds good right about now? Some coffee,” Ialo said, hinting strongly to Brody.

“Don’t worry my beloved!” the boy declared, leaping from where he sat. “I will be back soon with a piping hot cup for you! I’ll even put in your favorite creamer.” Brody winked, not letting the innuendo slide past unnoticed. Ialo grimaced slightly after Brody had turned, starting to skip away. Sometimes his innuendos were just kind of weird.

Letting the silence sink in, Ialo closed the gap in the bench Brody had left between the dragon and the vampire. She didn’t seem startled this time. Petra was trying her hardest not to think too hard about who it was that was next to her. Whose arm was being not-so-cleverly draped over her shoulders with a yawn. Whose breath she felt as he turned to speak to her.

“I had fun today,” he said, voice hushed. “And I hope you did too, Petra.”

“I did,” she said, letting her head tilt downwards.

“I’m glad you did. We should spend more time together like this.”

Like earlier today? she asked herself. Or like right now?

“We should,” Petra agreed.

“We should skate together again, too.”

“We should.”

Ialo leaned his face close to hers. This time he was able to catch her nervous eyes and hold them for a while. They didn’t speak. They just let the snow continue to fall on their hair and shoulders as the distance between their noses grew smaller and smaller.

There was no kiss. Petra was still too nervous for that. Yet, it was clear that when Brody returned with a cup of coffee in one hand that there was something being interrupted. It was hard for Petra to think of what she did after the shape shifter reappeared as anything but fleeing. Her heart had been pounding and her face felt like it could burn someone were they to touch it. It was terrifying, but somehow thrilling. Petra wanted to feel this more. To feel her butterflies soaring and fluttering around. She closed her eyes as she shut the door of her room behind her.

Within a couple of days, a white box well wrapped in a teal ribbon appeared outside her door. Curious, she brought it inside. Inside was a pair of pristine white skates with teal covers on the blades. Beneath them lay a note.

If you come outside today at 2 pm, I’ll show you how to do a figure 8.

Ialo.

Petra glanced at the clock. She had a little time to kill yet, but could not have been more excited. She was going to look her best this time, emerging from her knit cocoon into a Petra-sized butterfly. To herself, she wondered if it was a date. More than that, she hoped it was.

"I can't believe I'm stuck here on Earth because of a bunch of damned snow. Is every one of God's "divine" creations just out to push my s**t in for the rest of eternity?"

"Oh quit complaining, it could be a lot worse. You could be stuck outside IN the snow with no where to go. Or you could have to listen to you complaining for the entire evening. In all honesty, I think I have it quite a bit worse off than you," Genocide retorted casually, staring off into the distance watching the other humans. Both him and his lord were stuck inside of a casino during a snowstorm because Asmodeous had decided he craved a bout of gambling.

Asmodeous snorted in response, expecting nothing more from Geno than a genuine sarcastic response. He was rather good at those, but he only ever appreciated them fully when they weren't being used on him. Which most of the time they were.

"Can't you just drive us out of this area or something? It's too cold here without the power on, and I'm getting bored just sitting around here watching these people cuddle up for warmth," Asmodeous whined as he rested his head on his knees. "I might even get someone who wanted to snuggle up with me if you looked a tad bit friendlier."

"Oh? Is that really effective? Ask for my help and then telling me I'm doing nothing but deterring the sluts from clinging to you? Also, just because I can become a car doesn't mean I don't follow the basic laws of physics. The type of car I turn into is definitely NOT made for trekking through snow, and you'd be stuck out in the snow with even less heat."

"You're just mad because I get more tail than you do. And that a certain little loyal demon is completely infatuated with me and won't even begin to give you the time of day," he replied with an air of arrogance as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Genocide was entirely unabashed, his stoic expression not faltering for even a millisecond. "I'm not angry, and if I were it certainly wouldn't be because of that. I fear for his weak mind when he realizes you're never going to give him what he wants. What does have me annoyed at the moment is your being obnoxious." An awkward silence settled over them as they both leaned against the counter they were sitting at, nursing both of their drinks without sparing a word between them.

Suddenly Asmodeous turned around in his seat, and leaned his back against the counter to face the other end of the room. The sight was still the same as the other side of the room, albeit with different pathetic mortal faces to gaze upon.

"You act like you despise me so much, why don't you go work for one of my other brothers? I know Satan hates you, that's why he kicked you out of Ira House, but someone else might find you useful that you didn't quite hate being around at every moment." Asmodeous hated awkward silences, and having some sort of meaningful conversation might take his mind off the fact that he was stuck on Earth in a ******** blizzard.

Genocide did not turn to face him, but merely stayed where he was. Taking another sip of his drink, he placed the glass down on the table and then traced his finger around the lip. "I do not despise you Prince Luxuria, but I can't say I always like you." At first Asmodeous thought this was all he was going to say, and felt a bit disappointed there would be no long spiel. However, Genocide surprised him just a few seconds later. "None of the other Princes would probably put up with me like you do. You aren't afraid to have someone challenge you from time to time, and I respect that about you. I can't respect a Prince who is afraid of his servant."

"Aw, Geno, those are probably the nicest words you've ever spoken to me." He heard the other demon groan in regret, and Asmodeous only laughed in response to his agony.

After a while of sitting there in silence, something interesting finally happened to him. A young male passed by his person, an attractive one might he add, and all he did as he went was trail a finger across his leg and give him a suggestive look and wink. Without any words exchanged, the man headed for the bathroom.

Asmodeous knew code for "come screw me in the bathroom you sexy man" and felt his body jolt forward with excitement. As he was about to get up and follow after him, he stopped himself for a moment and turned to Genocide who had seen the entire interaction.

"What do you say to a little tag team fun, eh?" Genocide cracked a slight smile, but that alone wasn't ever a good indicator of what the other demon felt on a matter.

"I don't know about that, I think you'd both have more fun without me," he spoke with a slight inflection, as if trying to tease Asmodeous.

"Nonsense, he was eyeing you too. Besides, I need to repay you for you endearing comment Genocide," he spoke with impatience now. "So are you with me or not?"

Genocide never replied to him, but the fact that he got up before him and made his way to the bathroom ahead of him, he would have to assume that he was with him after all.

White blankets of snow had the ability to solely make somebody feel alone and the deafening silence was enough to bring awareness to the empty surroundings. The light crunch of snow groaned in protest as the woman passed through the forest floor, her eyes cautious of the surroundings before her. Normally people would be passing by to admire the scenery and it was one of those days where she needed to feed. Her throat yearned for the warm, coppery substance while her head pounded with a less subtle reminder that it was more than needed. At the moment, her eye sight wasn't as good as it normally had been and as she walked in the dark, the woman hadn't had a clue where she was wandering but it wasn't long before a small shrill was heard. The woman hoped it wasn't a child, just please....not a child, that wouldn't end well.

But it wasn't long before her vision play with her and a man with black hair had been leaning against one of the tree trunks, his pale skin hadn't been his best camouflage. At the moment she had thought her vision was playing with her till the man moved his head in her direction, now showing his awareness of the vampiric woman. His lips moved into a smooth smile and his fingers moved to his lips, now licking off a dark substance, blood perhaps? Yanna's footsteps soon came to a halt as she realized whom this man may be.

"Long time no see, Yanna~"

His words seemed to have been easy for him to push out, and that was hard to say considering he wasn't the kind of man for being...pleasant. "Kind of wish it was longer." After admitting this she crossed her arms and examined the area before them and noticed where that shrill must have come from--- a female who was unlucky tonight, unfortunately. "I caught her before you had, it seems you'll have to catch dinner else where. Perhaps that little school you work at? I hear they were stupid enough to enroll humans along with the supernatural, what a pitty." Yanna moved her eyes up in his direction and narrowed her eyes with annoyance; it was amazing how word got around, even when one wasn't aware of it.

"Whoever told you that needs their tongue ripped out and fed to them because my whereabouts isn't meant for nosy ears." The male tilted his head and chuckled "It's funny how the ones I've created become so bitter and distant, I would have thought you'd want me to know."

"And what would give you that impression?"

"Because I'm the only one you knew when you were alive and perhaps remind you, slightly, what it felt like to be alive."

Yanna stared at him for what seemed like minutes, but she couldn't help but feel that way after all of the memories from this man flooded her mind--- how he ruined her life even when she was alive. Just leave, I didn't need you now and I never had.. Though, it was as if he heard her own thoughts, for he had soon departed after he realized there was no prevail in the silence. After a while, her hunger got to her and she found herself on her knees, mumbling incoherently. The snow beneath her reminded her she needed to get up sometime soon and perhaps quick. She was too hunger stricken to even take notice to her surroundings and even longer to notice somebody tapping her shoulder and asking if she was alright.

Just as the person was about to move her, that's when her vampire instinct took over an went for their neck--- satisfying her body's need for human blood. Once she was done, she had come back to reality and dropped the body back into the snow, now leaving the body a few feet away from the first body. She kicked her lips clean of the liquid and tilted her head, now grinning with a sick satisfaction, one she only had after feeding. The snow beneath the body had remained clean compared to the one her creator left. Yanna moved back in the direction she came from and in time as the harsh wind picked up and the snow began to fall. In the morning she wouldn't forget the encounter she had and the snow angels left behind.

Was it even possible for him of all people to get sick? Well apparently it was, and he wasn't liking it one bit. Beelzebub sat in his room staring out the window and hating the fact that he found himself cooped up in his room. But was anybody making him? The answer was no, and obviously it was a pity party at best. Bee rubbed the side of his warm and sticky face, now wishing he hadn't been a fool for walking out in the snow the night before with out a better jacket--- leather jackets, obviously, weren't the best when it came to climates that were colder than the Devil's heart. He watched as the snow slowly fell and peacefully made their home on the window pane. It was a shame that something so beautiful and peaceful had made somebody feel this awful. His body felt like a heavy mess and it wasn't going to get any better if he kept on making frequent trips outside to smoke--- that too didn't help his condition any, either. Finally, figuring that moping by the window wasn't smart, he made his way to his bed to snuggle beneath the blankets just to feel a little warmer than he was already feeling. He remembered taking care of Asmodeous prior when he wasn't feeling too well, and he smiled as he remembered that said moment. However, if the tables were turned in this situation he could imagine him scolding him for his stupidity and perhaps making matters worse. Then again, it may not turn out that way, but he didn't want anybody to dote on him and make him feel less than he already felt at this said moment. Although it had been his stupidity that landed him in this bed, Bee hadn't regretted going out the night before and wandering around, in fact he enjoyed the snow, it had been something that he hadn't yet experienced before. It was amazing that even on a dreadful place, such as earth, there had been beautiful aspects of the place such as this new climate change. It was silly to think this, or so he thought, that he might actually consider coming here more often during the winter. He was like a kid when it came to winter, automatically wanting to mess up the perfection that the snow left behind and to enjoy every moment of the bitter affect the snow left behind after holding it in between his hands. Beelzebub chuckled at the mere image of himself running around like a crazy man and making a mess, then again, that was normal in his office, so what was the difference? He tossed his head over towards the window and admired the scenery, completely infatuated by the whole scenery. A wheeze left his lips as he breathed out peacefully and already planning another day out and perhaps inviting the other demon whom he worked with and often spent most of his time with. But, it soon came to him that the male would be complaining of the cold and the idea vanished. Perhaps, just sitting around the fire while watching the snow would do?