Party Rule Number One... (Hadrian)

[tessa]

"no not strictly an african bird, not like one of those vultures or anything." Tara explained quickly, "I'm a raven." But he was about ready to tell his story, and so the woman nodded and leaned back, ready for a good story. Tara sipped her drink pensively as Hadrian spoke, happy not to have to go too deep into her past.

She'd noticed the a fight had broken out somewhere in the building during her speech, and had resumed its course during Hadrians in bursts of anger. It was pretty loud and the couple seemed pretty pissed off from what she could pick out from the muffled yelling and the sound of smashing objects. Tara had learned to ignore it of course, her appartment building being of similar company. Sometimes she was happy that a fight had broken out, because though she wasn't entirely foreign to the world of sex, she always became uncomfortable when she had to hear other people having it. Sometimes it was amusing. If a 'client' was a complete ham in the sack and made all these odd noises that made absolutely no sense to her, as if they were in some sort of cheesy porn film. Even then, when she could make it all a huge joke, did she squirm uncomfortably. Fights were nothing, if not more amusing because when people started running out of insults, they turn to their inner toddler.

She focused back on Hadrian's story. It seemed even worse than her own. She couldn't imagine being jettisoned on a strange planet. It just seemed so unfair. Of course, in a way, that was what happened to Xara. But she would at least be able to go home if she could find a way to get there; Hadrian wouldn't, and would have to deal with a whole bunch of political bull shit if he did, from what Tara understood. She nodded and said very little, maybe a "yeah" or a, "oh no..." or something like that so he knew she was still paying attention. She smiled as he got to the part about the farmers, and chuckled when he explained how he felt about the fingers. She examined her own hand and realized how right her was. It was odd having fingers, let alone four of them, plus a thumb, when other creatures didn't.

"Yeah I know what you mean on that," she said in a wistful kind of way, still admiring her own hand, "I mean... I can't imagine life without being able to shift. How do people get around it? How different would our world be if we were all half wild animal? I don't think we'd be more 'green', so to speak, and we'd probably find a fucking way to ruin the environment to accomodate our powers." she sighed and rubbed her face with the heels of her hand. She wasn't tired, but she was emotionally exhausted, and stifled a yawn. "but it would be different, wouldn't it?"

Probably much different. Maybe the social structure would be different. Maybe even she herself would be different. "I am Earth born. I was born in the west, near Prince George, so it was way out there. My mom and dad owned a small shop, but my mom was out a lot doing... charity I guess? Some people didn't like what her organization was doing, though." she said and shrugged, "I didn't know her much until after the 'attack'. A group attacked her troop on the road... I don't know what happened to her but she couldn't handle it and so she fucking c-committed suicide." she cleared her throat at her little stutter. "My dad was upset obviously, especially when the court ruled to do nothing about it. So he went on a seach to confront the gang who did it, and they called the RCMP cops on him, and he was shot by 'accident', leaving me in government care. I was sold to a little old lady, who died when I was fifteen I think. She was kind I guess, but I was upset so I partied a lot." she left that part of her life vague, "which was where the asshole in the beater comes in." she sneered, thinking about her ex-boyfriend. "and then I decided to pick the fuck up and finish school. So here I am." she concluded, waving her arms in a sweeping bow kind of gesture. She sipped on her drink once more and then averted her eyes to the ground awkwardly, and let silence engulf her.

"Thank you for letting me hide here," she said quietly, lifting a grin to face Hadrian, "I...well, I appreciate it. A lot. I don't know what would have happened..." she trailed off ominously, looking into her glass, through the liquid, to its bottom, biting her nether lip in reluctant thought.

[Hadrian Brenna]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

"I dont see any shame in being a Raven." Hadrian was a littel bemused by Tara's definition of what she believed a raven was. Hadrian had always found them to be a rather haunting creature. Hadrian could recall a time not long after he was found, he was walking around the farm property and found a few Raven's sitting on a fence, prooning their glossy black feathers, and crying out their harsh caw's to one another. He'd had no idea what they were at the time but even then he thought they were disquieting, in a beautiful way.

Hadrian leaned back against the couch as Tara continued the conversation, agreeing with her both at how different thing's would be if everyone was half wild animal, and that if that were the case then everyone would find some other way to slowly ruin the world they lived in. If they didn't ruin their environment, they'd ruin their society. "Similar to what the world is doing right now I suppose." He vocalised his agreement.

He noticed the way she rubbed her eyes and felt a yawn grow in his chest and rise into his throat, though he attempted to control it, he couldn't help but allow the inevitable and deep inhale of air. Why is it that yawn's were so contagious? Regardless of Hadrian's quick memory, he could never remember a time where it as explained to him. He'd heard somewhere that it had to do with oxygen getting to the brain but still, why was it contagious? It just seemed to float somewhere beneath the realm of reason and of purposeful actions.

Tara volunteered her tale then, and Hadrian focused his orb's on her as she spoke, focusing his mind on her word's. He did not know where Prince George was, never heard of it before, but he found it interesting hearing Tara's backstory about her parent's... until they part where she mentioned they had both died. Then when she spoke about her ex-boyfriend.

Hadrian liked to think that he was able to keep his emotions in check most of the time... okay well he could be a little quick to anger from time to time, and quick to judge, and quick to snap, but he like to think that when that did happen, it was for fairly good reason. Like meeting Tara's ex-boyfriend and seeing, and []iexperiencing[/i] the sort of a person he is, Hadrian could not help but feel a little mad at the mention of him. Tara deserved better and Hadrian hoped she knew that. She had moved on and gotten herself another boyfriend, so he assumed she did. Apart from the standard, "I'm sorry to hear about that." which usually followed a story like Tara's, the first question that sprung to Hadrian's mind was, "the little old lady, did she know you were a shapeshifter?". He wasn't sure why it was that question. Maybe because he felt it seemed a little strange asking her anything too personal. She hadn't asked him a lot about his past, so why probe her with too many questions either.

He was surprised when she thanked him, though he wasn't sure why it surprised him. He just assumed that he'd recieved enough thanks just by having her trust him enough to come back to his appartment, and sit, and just make up for a crap start to the night. He himself was grateful for some company, though he may not nessisarily vocalise it. "I know. It's no problem," he shrugged quickly. He had a pretty good idea of what might have happened if thing's hadn't played out like they had. Though, "why bother dwell on what might have been, instead of what was. Right?" That what he told himself anyway.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Hadrian's eyes snapped towards his front door again as another slammed shut with such force he could not resist a small cringe. If he'd been tired before, that feeling had quite liturally just been jolsted out of him completely. He chose to try and ignore the sound's again. It was just another fight. "I'd like to see what you look like as a raven." Hadrian wasn't going to hide his interest. "I cant really show you how fast I heal... I dont have any injuries." For once he thought that he might have liked to, before he remembered something. "Odd question... but do you have any scratches or bumps... maybe bruises? Recent one's prefferably."[/size]

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++ NOTES xx Great post!
++ TAGS xx Hadrian // Tara

[tessa]

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[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/335h8v9.jpg] "Tara, listen to me." Tara's little 10 year old frame turned away from the old lady's touch, pouting as tears rolled down her cheeks. The old woman sat back on the corner of the girls bed and sighed gently. "Tara, I know you are upset." She knew? How could that possibly justify what had happened to her? "You don't understand." Tara sniffled, wiping her eyes in the crook of her arm. "You're not my mom! I miss my dad..." The old lady nodded, her eyes becoming moist and clogged with tears as well. "I know you do, darling. But he wouldn't want you to be so sad and spend all day long in room, would he?" Tara sighed, "no." she said. "Would he want you to go outside and play with your friends?" Tara sat upright and flicked her covers off of her head. She'd been hiding under her blankets, as if that would keep her adoptive mother away from her. "I don't have any." she said sadly, and the old woman clicked her tongue. "Oh, horsefeathers!" Tara giggled, "Georgie," she said, "you're silly! Horses don't have feathers." But the mirth left her eyes almost instantaneously, "they don't want to play with me because I am a shape shifter. They think I'm a freak." Tara grumbled, snuggling back down into her blankets. Georgia smiled, "Well then, I guess thats more time for me to spend with you! Come on," she said, holding out her hand for the young girl to take, "We will make cupcakes, and quiches, and---" "Brownies?" Tara asked hopefully, following the old lady out to the kitchen. The woman laughed, eyes alight with love for the child. "Yes. All sorts! Some with nuts, some with marshmallows... even some with candy inside, would you like that?" Tara clapped her hands excitedly, "yes!" The old woman swept her up into a hug and planted a big kiss on the girls forehead. "Don't you ever let them make you feel bad about what you are, do you hear me? You are a lovely girl, and no one can ever say otherwise." "Yes mama..." "She knew I was a shape shifter." Tara answered him with a bit of a nod, having zoned out to revisit that pleasant memory from her childhood. She smiled crookedly at him, noticing, for once, the strangeness of his apartment. This wasn't where she was meant to be. With a nice friend like Hadrian, yes, but the circumstances were just... not right. She deserved better and she knew it, which was why she was going to school, had a job and a new apartment with friends to share it with. She opened her mouth to say something to Hadrian about her thanks, but was distracted by the climactic end to the argument they had been paying attention to earlier. She winced as the door slammed shut, and other apartment neighbors poked their heads out to add to the commotion by yelling at them to keep the noise down. Tara rolled her eyes and shook her head in one smooth motion. "some people, eh?" she said, scoffing at the parade of ugliness that followed whoever it was that was kicked out down the hall, and eventually down the stairs. His last question caught her off guard and she took a mental inventory of her own health. "I'm a bit banged up I guess. My legs are bruised from riding your motorbike. Also, my hand is suffering from punching the prick in the face." she admitted with a shrug, "It's not too bad though. Why? Are you hurt?" She asked him, genuinely concerned. "That girl, the alien, she doesn't like me but she'll help us if we really need her. We're not---not--- friends, you know? We're just not great friends. And she bothers the hell out of me." Tara grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. She bet Xara would have this all figured out by now. Lucky bitch. Listening to: Gustav Holst's Hammersmith Op. 25 Muse: pretty good :3 Note: hope it's okay

[Hadrian Brenna]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

"She knew I was a shape shifter." Hadrian had expected Tara to say more, but she left such a long pause in between sentances he found himself feeling slighty dissapointed. Until she commented on "some people", obviously reffering to the disfunctional couple down the hallway. The commotion that followed was nothing out of the ordinary. When Hadrian first moved in, the constant arguing and smashing fragile objects (Hadrian often wondered how they could afford to buy new dinner plates every week) would often leave him very sleepless, and not wanting to stay in his appartment. This was one of the reason's that Hadrian bought his Harley. He craved the freedom.

Eventually it all got to a point where he rarely noticed the fighting. Perhaps it was because Tara was here that he payed closer attention. It felt strange to have a guest... not in an unpleasant way, but he'd never had anyone over before. How do you host a guest anyway? Even on his own planet he rarely had people over, a few friends but they were comfortable enough to help themselves and do whatever they wanted. What about a guest who you had only known for a few hours?

He supposed he was doing an alright job of it. He had told Tara that she only had to hlep herself and he trusted her to do so. It isnt like he'd offer and then get insulted if she took up an offer. He could not help but smile as Tara asked if he was hurt. He wasn't, but he felt a little touched that she'd expressed concern anyway. "I'm fine," he assured, looking closely at the hand that Tara had used to punch her ex-boyfriend. Her knuckles were a litlte pink, but other than that there was very little external damage. Maybe he didn't need to give a physical example of his ability... but if she could feel it.

Hadrian sat forward and scooted a little closer. "Don't worry, I'm not cracking onto you. I want to show you something... special." He clarified, and felt himself hessitate momuntarily as he lifted his hand's and made a move to close Tara's hand into a fist. He then wrapped his hand's around Tara's, making sure that one of his hands sat on top of hers and the other sat underneath, resting them between their knees.

Hadrian's heart, which beat a little quicker than a human's was thrumming against his ribcage as he took a deep breath in and closed his eyes, and focused. It helped to close his eyes, so that there were no visual distraction's. If he was asked to describe what he was doing, he might say he was concentrating all of his sences onto the area that he was touching, and sharing energy. It was a complicated thing to explain, even to the most switched on of people. In a nutshell, Hadrian was healing Tara, using chemical's in his own brain. He was using an ability unique to his species, passed on through evolution. One that could speed up the healing process. Of course the only drawback was that if he did choose to heal a being, whatever damage had been inflicted would be transferred onto Hadrian.

Hadrian felt a dull ache inside grow inside one of his hands, and knotted his brow's further, opening his eyes to look down at the hand he had laid on top of Tara's. The trace of pink that had colored her skin was beginning to appear on Hadrian's own knuckles. A very small grunt of discomfort vibrated in Hadrian's throat and he felt his hand tense up before he reminded himself that it was wrapped around Tara's. He didn't want to hurt her on accident, but at that moment anyway, any pain she felt, he'd feel too. He loosened his grip over her hand completely now, pulling his hand's away slowly as he closed and opened his fist, already seeing the coloring fade from his skin. Perhaps it was because Hadrian was so pale the pink showed up a little more obvious on his hands, but the dull ache remained. Why hadn't Tara said anything about it before? He was sure he had some ice in the freezer that could have helped. Who knew her ex's face was so hard anyway. "It's a chemical thing. All in the genetic's." he explained before he could judge her reaction. "I bet your Xara can't do anything like that" He'd be willing to wager that too.

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++ NOTES xx I loved your flashback! So sweet! And it's nice to read something nice about her relationship with the woman who'd adopted her. Your post's are always great, I always get excited when I see you've replied and look forward to knocking off work just to read them.
++ TAGS xx Hadrian // Tara

[tessa]

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[atrb=background,http://i53.tinypic.com/335h8v9.jpg] "I'm fine" Tara blinked up at Hadrian as he moved closer to her. She sat upright and instinctively pushed herself into the corner of the sofa, trying to get away from him. She didn't realize she had done it. She had simply reacted to his action, and when she realized she had done it she smiled apologetically at him. What was he doing, though? She wondered skeptically. She hadn't pegged him as a needy sort of man, and certainly not the kind who would --only-- think with his dick. "Don't worry, I'm not cracking onto you. I want to show you something... special." Tara nodded. "Okay...?" and watched him very carefully, one brow raised in question as she held out her hand for him to grasp. It was the one that she had used to strike her ex boyfriend with. It throbbed painfully, now that he had mentioned injuries, and the heat of his hands on hers soothed the pain momentarily. It felt odd though, even before he started using his healing powers. His six digits made her ten look completely impractical and awkward, and she got a very good look at Hadrian's fingers. She twitched instinctively (curse those instincts!) as her hand began to tingle. She had not, ever, asked Xara to heal her. If she needed help she went to the hospital, and evidently she had never been to the one Xara had been a slave to earlier on in her life. It felt very strange, as if her hand were suddenly going numb, and she did not like it one bit. until, of course, she realized it was easing her pain. She watched Hadrian's hand take on her own pinkish hue, and winced as he squeezed it, hard, then let go. She pulled her hand back into her hesitantly, and moved her fingers one by one, then clenched and un-clenched her fist. "It's a chemical thing. All in the genetic's." "Cool!" she breathed, rubbing her hand with the other one. "I wish I could do that..." Tara grinned up at Hadrian and poked him in the ribs playfully, "You jerk! You're makin' me look lame. Quit being so bloody awesome..." she said, trailing off to examine her no longer aching fingers. "I bet your Xara can't do anything like that" Her eyes snapped back up to Hadrian and she chuckled dryly, "My Xara?" she said, her lip curling into a microscopic sneer as she spoke the other woman's name, "She can heal people. She did it as a slave for two years before her bosses wife divorced him and took Xara as part of the property they shared. Now she's a nanny." she twitched her jacket over her shoulders and sniffed in contempt at the thought of the woman. She didn't even have a solid reason to dislike her. "You two should get together sometime." she suggested, her voice actually lacking disgust as she suggested it. Maybe they would have some in common? "She's probably out at the convenience store. What time is it?" she checked her phones clock, and grinned, "Yeah she's probably down there grossing out the cashiers again. She gets these cravings for mayonnaise and mustard between two pieces of fudge brownies." she shuddered at the thought, and then shook her head, " At least she eats a tube of toothpaste afterward. Pregnant women are...disgusting." Listening to: El Raton (the Mouse) by Benjamin Escoriza Muse: Is good. Note: Thank you ^_^ I am glad! I love RPing with you as well. =D Perhaps Hadrian and Xara could meet? :3 Tara hates Xara and she doesn't know why. Though she cuts her some slack for being pregnant, and is actually protective of her because of it XP she's a complicated little thing. Also, do you want to have a thread with Mooka?

[Hadrian Brenna]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Hadrian had found it very nessisary that he tell Tara that he wasn't cracking onto her. There had been no doubt that the thought may cross her mind. Wouldn't it cross yours? Some guy you barely know moves in close to you on an already very small couch and out's his hand's over yours, what are you meant to assume? You automatically assume that he's hitting on you.

Hadrian felt pretty satisfied with Tara's reaction. He rarely healed other being's. There had been a time once where the woman who'd found him had a nasty flu. Hadrian hadn't fully understood what was happening to her, so he'd tried to heal her. Of course the obvious drawback to that was that Hadrian in turn, took on her sickness, and having no natural immunities to Earth diseases, earned a nasty bout of pneumonia which caused havock with his immune system. Even now he got ill a little more often than most people.

The farmer and his wife had suggested that Hadrian have a doctor do routine studies of his blood when he was healthy, so that there would be a record of what 'normal' was for him. And that he should consider auto-donating his blood from time to time. That way, he would always have four or five usable units available for transfusion, should he ever need it. As far as they knew he was the only one of his species on the planet. Because of this knowledge, Hadrian had reluctantly agreed, but had drawn the line at CT scan's. He wanted them to have nothing to do with his brain.

"It definately come's in handy." Hadrian agreed, grinning as he wrapped his arm's around his torso as he scooted back to his original place on the couch, away from Tara's jab in the rib's. He smiled, feeling slightly embarassed about her compliment. "Now that's something I've never been called before." He admitted. The closest thing to a real compliment he'd ever recieved was when he was leaving the farm home. "You'd be at home anywhere in the galaxy." The farmer had said before he left. The sentance hadn't seemed like a lot at the time, but had begun to mean more as the year's went by.

The farmers had been good to him. More than good, they'd been great. He felt fortunate that he had been lucky enough to meet a pair of paranormal's who were willing to help him. He hadnt been very cooperative in the beginning either. Everything had been very alien to Hadrian, so could you blame him?

When Hadrian had come around after crashing into the farmer's barn he opened his eyes to find the room he was laying in bathed in sunlight. A female, sat in a chair not far from the bed, looking over at him when she had realised that he was awake. "You're awake!" she yelled in a language he hadn't recognised at the time. It was after that he realised she had five finger's. He remembered his eyes suddenly bulged and he'd begun to hiccup. The woman must have realised what was about to happen because the next thing Hadrian saw was a wash bowl being thrust towards him and held under his chin. With a great heave a giant stream of murky liquid spilled out of his mouth and after spitting out the last of it, he fell back onto his pillow, exhausted.

At first, Hadrian hadn't made it easy for them to take care of him. Even after the first day or two Hadrian had begun to pick up on certain word's. Eventually he must've gotten tired, or frustrated with being forced to stay in the strange bed for so long because one afternoon while the farmer's wife was checking on him, Hadrain pulled the blankets down, his face a mixture of anger and determination. The woman had stood from her spot on the chair near the bed, unsure of what to do as Hadrian slowly pulled himself to a sitting position, grunting in pain. Then he swung his legs off the bed and stood up even slower. But before he took one step, he fell onto his hands and knees, screaming in pain. Who knew how far he thought he was going to get anyway.

"Oh my!" The woman had said, walking over to aid him.

"NO!" Hadrian waved his arm to stop her. "I can do! Good bye!" He crawled along the floor and towards the door, his face twisted in pain. But he stopped at the doorway, for something was blocking his path. He looked up and saw that the farmer's wife had crossed the room before him, giggling behind her hand. Hadrian had scowled at her a moment, before his face smoothed, realising how foolish he must have looked, and... couldn't help himself. He'd begun to laugh at himself as well.

"Your Xara wasn't the best choice in word's hm?" He smiled apologetically, and was surprised by her following sentance. "Get together?" He laughed, thinking back on something that Tara had said when they were still on the bike. "you seem to be trying to hook me up with all of your friends... or whatever Xara mean's to you." He did think about her offer though. It was what time? He leaned over to take a look at Tara's phone as she slipped it from one of her pocket's and checked the time. 10:26pm. That early? Well by his standard's yes. The only 24/hour convenience store he could think of was a few blocks away, not far, especially on the Harley. The thought of his bike made Hadrian's smile widen. "Any excuse to take another ride!" He nudged her back in the side gently with his elbow. "Well come on," He got to his feet and straightened his jumper, "if you aren't exadurating about her eating habbits, I definately have to see it. I'm usually struggling to find food I actually like here too, so who know's, I might like what recipe she's come up with tonight!"

He was reminded against of how stubborn he'd been when the farmer's were first testing out what sort of food's Hadrian should eat too. The first time he was asked to try soup there'd been a big hissy fit. On his fourth day on Earth the farmer came to Hadrian with a spoon and a bowl. "Eat it." it had been more of a demand than a request.

"Your food no good." Hadrian had refused, shaking his head as he sneered at the brothy liquid. And, without any warning, the farmer stuck out a palm and smacked Hadrian over the back of the head. Hadrian winced, flinching back as he scooted closer to the middle of the matress.

"Eat up, or I'll do it again." The human male had threatened, waving his hand towards Hadrian.

"You wont." Hadrian growled. He probably meant something along the lines of you wouldn't dare but of course it had come out differently. The farmer seemed to get the ist though.

"Eat!"
"No!"
Smack.
"Eat!"
"No!"
Smack.
"Eat!"
"No!"
Smack.

"Eat or I'll shove this spoon down your scrawny throat!"

Hadrian, though grateful for the kindess they'd shown had not appreciated being spoken to like that. He did not like feeling as if he was depending of these strange being's with too many digit's, and he especially did not like their food! But he grabbed the spoon and the bowl out of his hands and spooned the soup into his mouth, giving the farmer a piercing look.

"Good boy." The farmer smiled then, and gave Hadrain a pat on the shoulder before exiting the room. As much as the food made him feel ill, there was then a sence of respect growing inside Hadrian for this man, and his wife in particular.

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++ NOTES xx Not much of a post but its late here and I couldn't resist posting! I wasn't sure what to put so I thought I'd write a few little paragraph's on Hadrian's first few day's on Earth. Which I guessis relavant because of the mention of food and friends! I recon it'll be cool for Hadrian to meet Xara you can post some of the way there if you like? Or we can do similar where we skip to their arival there? I wanna see Hadrian and Tara try eating some sorta gross food combination that Tessa conjures up hahaha
++ TAGS xx Hadrian // Tara

[tessa]

She liked the motorbike, not to get her entirely wrong. She didn't, however, like the thought of finding Xara at that exact moment. On the other hand, she thought, it would be a good reason to continue moving around, and Xara would be a good person to have in a fight; on her side, anyway. Overall, though she looked and sounded unamused, Tara agreed to it, and left the house with Hadrian on his Harley.

"She will probably be at the one on the corner 28th and Oak street. I owe her some money anyway so I guess, since I got paid today, I could do that. Assuming she's there, of course. She's a sneaky little fucker, that Xara..."

Tara muttered that last bit to herself as she swung her leg over the bike and settled in for a hopefully less exciting ride than before. She was one for excitement and thrills, as long as they were safe excitement and safe thrills that didn't involve crashing, dying, or pain in any way. Tara guided Hadrian to the store she was talking about whenever she felt she needed to, giving him advice on the best routs to take and the best place to park.

Just as she was walking towards the store, she spotted Xara leaving, toothpaste in hand, bundled up in more clothes than the weather warranted. It was cold but it wasn't that cold. Tara smirked. Xara came from a climate much warmer than this. Then again, there were more than a beehives nest worth of places that were warmer than Canada.

Tara flashed a cheeky grin back at Hadrian's direction and walked up to Xara.

"Hey look!"

Xara whipped around, tube of toothpaste held between her teeth, and her eyes narrowed as Tara stalked up to her.

"It's my friend, the manatee. How much longer you got for that thing, anyway?" she asked, patting the womans stomach gently.

///

Normally Xara would have gone into fits over Tara calling her a manatee, and would probably have disemboweled her for going near her babies, but she sensed something in the way her hand patted her stomach with a gentleness and tenderness she couldn't help but smile at. She swallowed the last of her toothpaste and swatted the girls hand away from her stomach.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, her ears flicking back against her skull. "and why do you smell like a jail?" she asked, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the womans overwhelming stench.

Then came another scent.

This scent sent Xara's ears flinging forward, and she took no time at all to lock onto the image of a rather handsome looking man. She smiled politely at him, then growled at Tara.

"Who the hell is that?" she hissed, " and what are you doing here? Why did you fine me?" Xara demand, tail bristling with annoyance as Tara merely grinned and shrugged her dainty shoulders.

///

"Relax scruffy," Tara said, ruffling the womans hair playfully. "he's a friend. We wanted to say hi and," she pulled out her wallet and handed Xara a wad of money, "I'm repaying my debt."


ooc: hope this was okay XP

[Hadrian Brenna]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

Before they left, Hadran had made sure to grab a little extra cash and a pair of leather gloves for his hand's. The gloves were altered so that the pinky finger had been removed, and the gap sewed closed. He liked them a lot, especially while riding his Harley, it helped give him a stronger grip on the handlebar's. The ride was short enough, and for the most part silent as well, apart from the moment's where Tara shouted him direction's to the local store over the frigid wind which stung his ear's. He'd be surprised if, after they got off the Harley he'd be able to feel them at all.

As they slowed to a stop, and Hadrian killed the motor, he looked around, unsure of who they were looking for until his eye's landed on one particular being exiting the store. What great timing! She was very human-like in appearance. She was young, small in stature, her eyes were large and green, and she was beautiful. Her skin was pale, but definately not as pale as he. Hadrian almost glowed white under the night sky. Her hair wasn't red, but it wasn't brown either it seemed somewhere in between. There would have been a name for it he was sure but he couldn't think of it there and then.

The physical triat's that made it obvious that she was not human was her ear's... they weren't human, or Andromed, but large, pointed and furry, very similar to a fox's. When she smiled, he was able to see two row's of sharp pointed teeth and she was obviously over dressed, even in these weather condition's. Every planet had cold season's didnt they?

He stood back as he regarded the interaction between Xara and Tara, only then noticing the similarities of their names. He wondered briefly if that small fact was on the list of reason's why Tara wasn't too keen on the other female. He found the number of name's Tara was calling Xara interesting, though judging from the reaction's given and recieved between the two, Hadrian came to the conclusion that they were meant in good-nature.

Hadrian deemed it a good moment to approach then, catching Xara's comment about Tara smelling like a jail. He hoped she wasn't reffering to his appartment. Yes it was a little Spartan feel to it, and the building barely scraped health inspector approval but it's smell wasn't all that bad. Maybe Hadrian had just lived there so long now he didn't notice.


Xara smiled politely as he approached, stopping as he reached Tara's side. It was only then he noticed the swelling of Xara's stomach, and the change in Xara's expression immediately switch from rather surly, to what he recognised as a more smooth expression, smiling at him before her expression turned a little more testy as she regarded Tara again.

Tara explained who he was, and handed Xara a roll of money. He wondered what it had been for but didn't think it was a right time to ask. Instead he decided to speak, "I'm Hadrian Brenna. Tara's new friend." He spoke in his strange accented voice as he spared Tara a quick smile and held out one of his hand's for Xara to shake if she chose to. She was definately peculiar looking, but weren't they all the same when it came down to it anyway? No matter what they looked like they were all considered paranormal at the end of the day. "Tara's told me your name is Xara." Hadrian had the feeling he ought to start the introduction's slowly, unsure of how to approach her. From what he'd seen so far she seemed a little bit - and please dont think he's being sexist in anyway - hormonal?

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++ NOTES xx I didnt post a lot sorry! I'll find some better must next post I'm possitive x
++ TAGS xx Hadrian // Tara

[tessa]

Xara took the money Tara handed to her, letting the tenseness seep out from her previously defensive posture. Her ears returned to a comfortable upright position, half wilted looking but still twitching once in a while to catch a sound or two, since a city was never truly silent. Especially not Wonder, she thought with a slight droop of the tail. she missed the tranquility of her home world; the nature, the forested palces without contribution of coporate skyscrapers. For someone whose world was mostly untouched by what humans would call 'civilization', the sights and sounds of Wonder City would have been overwhelming by day, petrifying by night. Luckily for some people though, she thought as she took the money from the smiling woman who seemed completely oblivious to the nightcrawlers of the city, anything different would be shellshocking.

She was pleasantly surprised that the woman had actually come to bring her back the money. Xara hadn't really planned on getting paid back. Not that she truly thought Tara was a bad person or anything of the sort, but Xara had given her the money because she had it to spare, and if she were in a touch situation, as in losing her home to the government, she would have appreciated the same kind of assistance. For that matter, Xara never truly hated Tara. She was just generally unamused by her 'pet' names and her "sense of humor".

She looked past Tara and up at the man she had acquired. Hadrian, was it? Such odd names, she thought, and such an odd language. There were other languages on her world than the one her tribe used, but they were very similar and everyone knew their naighbors tongue. This world seemed to have on puzzle of a language which dominated the world, and smaller, less used languages that people spoke because they were either from the region, for work, or for novelty. It baffled her! Almost in the same way that Hadrian's aura baffled her. She moved forward and 'sniffed' it using her mental link, cautious, but interested. She kept her eyes locked on the man as she pocketed the money Tara gave her and her green orbs narrowed.

"Hadrian Brenna?" she said with a hint of an accent, dampened now by her time on Earth but still very noticeable. "Taras friend?" she confirmed, looking between the two. She let her eyes settle on Tara, then re-settle on Hadrian with a sly grin. "You poor, brave man. You are correct; my name is Xara. I am pleased to meet you, although," she said with a frown, "I am getting the feeling you are afraid I may bite you; I would be more worried about Tara, in that respect mister Brenna."

Tara crossed her arms over her chest and snorted, rolling her eyes skyward. "Whatever, ears." she said, prompting an annoyed glance from her fox tailed friend. she wrapped her arm around the woman in good nature. "little chilly are you? How warm do you need to be anyway?" she turned to Hadrian and tapped the center of Xara's forehead.

"Preggo here," she said, grinning rainbows at the man, "is a mentalist. you know...tricks of the mind? Hadrian can do something similar to what you can do Xarakins," Tara twitched her leather jacket off her shoulders and folded it onto her arm, as if bragging to the woman that she didn't need so many layers. "he can heal and shit. He's--literally-- from out of this world."

[Hadrian Brenna]

[glow=red,2,300]

Hello, hello, are you listening?
Hello, hello, are you there?
You've tuned the voices out but now the symptoms are everywhere
You are, you are, you are part of this
I know you think you're much more
You better think again
Because you're one defenceless animal

[/glow]

At the mention of pregnancy Hadrian thought's trailed to his own species babies then. When born, an Andromed baby developed much like a feotus outside of a womb. The infant's structure was still reminded to some development process, such as the open skull fissure and lack of features such as hair, third eyelid's, eyelashes, eyebrow's and fingernails and toenails. Within a week the infant would become more mammalian in appearence, with slight human traits, especially in the head, though at first it is much larger. The arms are small and thin, with the standard eight digits beginning to develop out of the skin. Their eyes are large, with black pupil's and iris', eye color doesn't change until the baby is about five month's old. And unless tested, the gender stay's a mystery until they are about a month old, when the genital's begin to form, and within two months their development from a feotus stage is complete.

There was a way that Xara looked at him that made Hadrian look at her a little closer, trying to work out why it was so, though his face lightened as she made a quip about how Tara may bite. He glanced down at his new friend, and cocked at eyebrow, smirking. "I'm sure I can handle her," he nudged her in the shoulder with his elbow, playfully. "We just manged to outride this one's ex-boyfriend." He spoke, assuming that Xara knew anything about Tara's relationship status'

Hadrian felt as if he was misunderstanding something. Not Tara revealing that he was 'from out of this world' as she'd put it. He liked the way she'd worded that. It was one particular word that Xara used. With a touch of disconcert he admitted, "I never learnt that word, m-mentalist, is it?" Hadrain liked to think he had a firm grasp on the English accent. He'd never tried to learn any other's, he didn't see much point. Most of the humans here knew perfect English and he wasn't going to be moving oversea's anytime soon. Still there were quite a few word's he was still getting used to, or hadn't even heard yet. Mentalist for example, was a good illustration.

"My species are called Andromed's," It felt weird volunteering the information. He rarely ever told anyone. Tara would probably make four. Actually two, sorry, the farmer's he;d stayed with had come to that conclusion on their own. They had been the first paranormal's he'd actually discussed his planet with. "Because my planet is in the Andromeda Galaxy, very close to this Milky Way Galaxy." He smiled, face softening slighty as he thought about his home. "You may have heard of the Northern Lights? We have light's like that which cover most of my entire planet's ionsphere at nighttime." He'd never questioned why.

Apparently on Earth it was very rare and only happened in their more frigid regions. He was told it happen's because of magnetic field's on the planet. So he supposed that the reasoning was the same on his planet. He missed the beautiful swirling colors. There were a lot of thing's he missed but they were the first thing he could think of. Friend's... he'd had a friend on the space craft that night, where was he then? Family? Imagine their reaction's if he just showed back up one day.

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++ NOTES xx I decided to have it so Hadrian still doesnt know certain word's, make;s it more realistic that he's only been on Earth for a short time, few years.
++ TAGS xx Hadrian // Tara