arrival;;, open!

[Zoi Wynne]

October 29th, 9 a.m

The day Zoi Wynne had learned that his old nanny had passed away, he'd spent seven hours on the phone with his mother. He'd demanded that his daughter be brought to him on Earth; his father, of course, was glad to think that one of the annoying little brats would be out of his hair, but his mother wanted to keep her. Zoi, however, knew what his daughter would grow up in if she stayed there; thus, he pressed his point, resorting to even begging his mother. After that seven hours, she got bored and agreed to send Amora on the next shuttle.

So, Zoi was left to pace his apartment (the new one; he'd been planning on getting her soon anyway) and eagerly await the arrival of his daughter to their new planet. He'd gotten a job; nothing spectacular. He was a chef in a small restaurant that specialized in inter-planetary foods. He'd always been good at cooking, but the four women that had asked for him to cook their food had sold his new boss (a middle aged Neptunian woman with money to waste). The job paid well enough; he had plenty of money to spare (not that he'd ever been in need of money... He'd been saving since he was a boy on Venus.) Now all he had to do was not lose his mind before she got there.

He'd thought that his mother would send someone more responsible than the youngest of his older sisters. As soon as his mother had said she was escorting his Amora, he panicked and hung up on her. That had been that morning, and now he was sitting in the waiting area of the scheduled landing dock of the shuttle they were supposed to be on. It had landed; any moment now, the people would pour through the door, finished with their vacations. Very few wealthy people moved from Venus to Earth as a permanent decision; as a matter of fact, he was the only one he currently knew. He let out a groan; it had been way too long since he'd seen his baby.

People started filtering through the glass doors, and the reunions began. His eyes were locked on the door; after a moment, people stopped filtering through. Neither Amora or his lazy-ass slut of a sister had come through. His heart jumped; his mother had told him herself that she'd watched the pair of them get on the shuttle. Where were they?

-----

Amora had been sad with Nanny died, but when Meme had told her that she was going to live with her daddy, the sadness had given way quickly. Nanny had told her that her daddy wouldn't let anyone keep her here alone... She didn't like it at all. Her cousins were all mean. Being six years old wasn't any easy task, like Nanny had always told her... Amora looked back up at the sign that was looking down at her, wondering what it said.

Auntie read Terrestrial... But Auntie and that pilot man had gone into the cockpit after Auntie had told her to get off the shuttle. She did as Auntie told her, but Auntie hadn't followed her. Everyone had emptied the room so fast... And Amora didn't know where to go. So, the pretty little blonde Venusian girl stuck her thumb in her mouth (a habit that Nanny hadn't ever quite been able to break) and started walking. She managed to get out of the room she was in, but, looking around with wide eyes, she realized that now she was even more lost. She didn't hear anyone speaking Venusian, so she didn't talk, instead pulling her suitcase (which was almost as big as her) in a slight struggle. Where was her daddy?

She let out an aggravated sigh, looking around. She was out of the terminal, she thought, but she didn't know where to go now. There were too many directions and hallways. She sniffled.

[Amalia Kallan]

Even if this wasn't how Amalia had planned on spending her Saturday, she really couldn't complain. Better she did this and helped than letting the poor children be on their own, without a guide at least between the shuttle and their new parents. She'd been surprised to hear that this late into the school year a large group of first-year Mercurians were being shipped to Earth. They hadn't passed the minimum testing requirements to get into their first year it seemed, poor things. They were just lucky that the majority of Mercurians who lived on Earth were more than happy to take in a child who needed someone to care for them.

They were five years old, the little ones that had crowded around her, up to her hip in height. Too young to know that it was their "lack" of intelligence that kept them from their parents, too young to know that if it hadn't been for her intelligence, her own "deformities" - lack of height, need of glasses - would have sent her with them if she was their age. She'd calmed their anxiety by having them sing with her in Mercurian, the old counting songs all children learned. Four or five had problems even with the simple tunes, and she'd wondered why their parents hadn't sent them to Earth earlier - poor things were probably just lucky to be born.

She'd had to herd them back towards the shuttle with her when she realized that no other adult was coming out to help her. There were fifty children, it was a lot to keep a watch over. Amalia had nearly used up her patience in the short exchange with the flight crew. She'd resorted to switching back and forth from calming the children in Mercurian and berating the ignorant flightcrew in Lunarian. They were considered high enough in their position to know the language, and the children too young to have learned it. None of them stayed to help her, even after she practically begged them to. Instead she suddenly found herself with swaddled infants in her arms and at her feet, as the even younger exiles were given over, their defects clear directly after birth - one had six fingers, another had a painful looking cleft palate, one was still in the incubator, small as she had been at birth.

Amalia had been sickened, and now stuck with watching fifty-five children including the infants. It was luck that since they were Mercurian, they were more than happy to sit quietly and listen to her read. Not that her actual book was anything she could read to them. Shakespeare's Hamlet was not meant for little ears and attention spans, even among Mercurians. Instead she read them a children's book given to her by a friendly Terrestrial man who worked at the small spaceport shop. He was kind enough to help keep a lookout on the children, and supply them with coloring books when some of their attention spans began to wane. He was even good enough to supply blankets and pillows as they started falling asleep, and helped her feed the youngest five. Her small thankfulness was that the older ones had eaten on the shuttle.

The Mercurian woman had again given a direct, pointed piece of her mind to the head of the adoption agency when he finally brought the parents to her, to pick up their children. She and the children had been waiting since six am, it was nearly nine o'clock. Three hours without the parents, three hours where she had to deal with an age group that she wasn't prepared to deal with. The flustered woman had agreed to cover the shopkeeper's bills for everything that they had used while waiting, apologizing desperately. Amalia made sure all the new parents knew the true reason she had been left on her own, and watched the families leave with some sense of triumph. For all Mercurians were considered on the whole to be calm and peace loving, these were Terrestrial Mercurians. They could raise a fuss quite well, she'd been assured. The adoption agency and shuttle line were in more trouble than they knew what to do with - fifty-five incensed families wanted apologies.

She was beginning to make her way out of the shuttleport, Hamlet tucked firmly into her shoulder bag along with the shopkeeper's Palaver number (what good would that do her, she didn't have a Palaver?), tweed skirt brushing at her ankles, when she stopped. Something wasn't right. Something was wrong, horribly, horribly wrong. Amalia stopped, ignoring the grumbles from behind her as passengers tried to continue walking. She shoved her glasses back up her nose and tried to look around, standing on her tiptoes to see over the taller people around her.

The Mercurian didn't know what it was, but something filled her with dread, a horrible tightening in her gut, like she had gotten when she realized she was the only one there to take care of the students, but worse, much worse. She just couldn't see what was causing the feeling - a movement, low down. A child. An adorable blonde girl, barely older than the children she had just watched over. By herself.

Amalia was instantly outraged, and moved towards the poor thing. She ducked and dodged people and bags, blessing her size for once. Sure, she wouldn't be able to pick the little one up, but she could get to her faster. The bright hair, the beauty - Venusian. Too beautiful to be left on her own by any measure. She wasn't the type to be sent to Earth by herself for a better life, but she was the type that disgusting people would take advantage of.

She ran a hand along her hair as she stopped in front of the girl, bending down on one knee to get more at her level.
"Miss? Have you lost someone? Do you need me to help you find them? I'm a teacher, I can help you." As the Venusian flowed off her tongue, Amalia gave one last thought as to the parents of this child - as much as she wanted them to be looking for the girl, she hoped they hadn't taught her to refuse all help from strangers. That would be extremely problematic, and if they had taught their child to make a loud fuss, Amalia could find herself in quite a lot of trouble, simply because she wasn't shuttleport security. Warily she held out a hand for the girl to take.
"I can take your bag if you want, but when we start moving I need you to hold my hand so you don't get lost again, okay?" It seemed it was her day to deal with children, and looking thoughtfully at the little one in front of her, Amalia found herself not minding one bit, in fact quite relieved.


Outfit!

[Zoi Wynne]

There were too many people, too many words. Amora was beginning to get scared. She'd been wandering around for far too long – where was Daddy? She'd had two men approach her and say something, but she didn't know what they'd said. All she knew was that Nanny had always told her that men (except for Daddy...) were 'greasy, disgusting slops,' so she'd run from them. Not really run, so much as chattered in Venusian and then walked away. She'd seen a large group of children with a pretty teacher earlier, but she'd avoided them, too... Some of the kids didn't look right. Normally, on Venus, she wouldn't have cared, but when she was lost and confused and utterly terrified, she, for some reason, didn't want to deal with that.

Her small hand tightened around the handle of her bag, a frown that had been on her face deepening. She wanted her daddy. Stupid Auntie... She wanted to cry, but she knew that that wouldn't get her anywhere. Nanny had always told her, “Don't cry. All it does is make your eyes red.” So she fought back the tears of frustration, stomping one foot and letting out an extremely aggravated growl that would probably have made a Martian proud. She released her bag, allowing it to stand beside her... With the handle extended, it was easily as tall as she was.

She stood there for a minute, watching people, until she started feeling totally helpless again. She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears that were threatening her. She shifted from foot to foot, and then suddenly, there was Venusian. Her eyes flew open, rimmed with tears, and she stared at the woman. It was the pretty teacher from earlier! The woman leaned down, and without a second thought to the situation, Amora flung her arms around the other's neck, squeezing her in a hug. The relief on her face was evident. When she made herself release her, her nodded, wiping away the excess water from her face. It was probably in her best interests to explain the whole situation.

”Yes, please and thank you! I just got off the shuttle, and my Aunt was supposed to come with me, because she speaks Terrestrial, and she was supposed to take me to my Daddy. But she stayed on the shuttle, and I got lost... My name is Amora, by the way, Ms. Teacher. And okay!”

It was amazing that her attitude could change so suddenly, and even she realized that it was a very drastic change, but for some reason, she trusted this woman with her life. She reached forward and entwined her fingers with the woman's small hand, wiping her eyes one more time. She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers... But for some reason, Ms. Teacher didn't seem like a stranger.

-

Zoi was literally about to have a heart attack. As more and more people poured out the doors and his daughter wasn't one of them, he literally felt his heart racing. He called his mother on his Palaver once again, clarifying for the thousandth time that they'd gotten on the shuttle. He was literally mentally calculating how long it would take him to scour Venus to find his daughter – after all, this was the only exit to the terminal. As if it was the best ideal in the world, Zoi walked over to the security desk, very unhappily waiting in line.

Finally, after what seemed like ten years, he got to the desk, informing the Jovian woman that his daughter was missing. After filling her in on the story, she said that there was nothing that could be done, he'd have to wait until the terminal cleared so they could look. Hearing this, Zoi proceeded to tell her in her own tongue what would happen if his daughter was hurt in any way, shape, or form. The bag that he'd brought was feeling incredibly heavy, all of the sudden... He needed to find her. Now.

[Amalia Kallan]

The armful of girl the Mercurian found herself with was soft and warm and comforting. She recalled the times Tlazopilli had pulled her to him, hugging her tight. Pateroto had never really held her, or well, he had more than Okamere, but even that wasn't saying much. Mercurians were supposed to keep an emotional distance from all, including their own family. She'd been lucky in that she had Tlazopilli, and now holding this unknown Venusian girl in her arms, she thought not just of all the hugs he had given her, but of others that she didn't recall occurring with the child in her arms, and others, many others. Dark hair, light hair, tall, short, male, female... hugging her. Comforting her. Protecting her. Odd.

Even as the girl began moving back, Amalia found herself somehow unwilling to let go, uncurling hands from the girl's back and hair slowly. Silken strands slipped over her fingers as she released her grip, having unknowingly pressed the girl's head to her neck, relishing the weight. She gave a small smile, the merest quirk of her lips as she let the girl extricate herself from Amalia's grasp. The tumble of words that fell from the girl's lips took her a slight moment to understand - Venusian wasn't a language she often heard on Earth, even if it had been one of her original undergraduate majors.

"Nice to meet you, Amora. You can call me Amalia or Ama if you wish." She let the small smile grow on her face, "but if you were one of my students you'd have to call me Professor Kallan. I actually teach at the university in the city, I teach biology, it's the part of science that explains why plants are green and why there are storms and why there are rainbows. What have you learned in your science classes at school?" Amalia asked as much to divert the girl's attention as to hear her speak - parents sometimes could recognize their children's voices across crowded spaces.

Listening with half an ear to Amora, Amalia found something that would suit her purposes nicely. The hand that wasn't wrapped around Amora's smaller one held the strap to her shoulder bag and Amora's luggage. It was easier to hold all three handles than attempt to keep the bag on her shoulder while pulling the wheeled luggage. It was a large decorative "inside garden" space, with a three-foot white stucco-covered wall around the edge, so it would provide a physical barrier between parts of the terminal. The bushes, ruddy-twigged Earth naturals, gave space to a fountain with its own foot high granite wall. Be hard to get up there with her skirt on, but considering what she had already been through this morning, it was nothing.

"Let's go this way, Amora, I found something that may help us find your daddy." Amalia steered child and luggage over to the three-foot high wall. It took her some maneuvering to get herself up the wall, but by dropping Amora's hand and bracing both hands on the top of the wall and shoving up with her legs, the Mercurian managed to swing herself around so she was sitting on the wall. Once fully on the wall, Amalia crouched down, grabbing Amora under her armpits.
"Jump for me, Amora," she instructed. Once the little Venusian was standing beside her she wrestled the luggage up on top of the wall as well. "You see the side of the fountain? Lets go stand on it, see if we can see your Daddy." The side was certainly wide enough, flat topped and nearly a foot wide. Amalia was more comfortable when they were near the fountain than she had been when they were not. She stayed on the main wall of the garden, keeping an eye on Amora and the crowd. She had to protect the little girl she was now in charge of. Even if she hadn't expected this duty, now that she had it, she had to see it through to the end.

"Do you see him, Amora?" Without a description to go by, Amalia was having a hard time, there were just enough Venusian men milling around to make her task difficult - none of them looked frazzled and worried, which made it even harder. "Can you describe him for me, so I can help you look for him?" His hair would be darker than the average Venusians, she thought to herself absently, and he had the clearest green eyes, like tumbled stone. Or maybe she was just making up her dream man again. A dream man who looked remarkably like that awkward encounter in the cafe some months ago, but a dream man irregardless. Not real, no way was he real, especially not the father of this darling.

"Call out to him, maybe he'll be able to hear you since we're higher up." It probably was a suggestion in vain, but Amalia felt pressured to make it. She had to find this girl's father, she just had to. Unwittingly she reached out for one of Amora's hands to take again in her own, thumb rubbing soothingly over baby-soft knuckles.

[Zoi Wynne]

Ms. Teacher was soft and warm and absolutely wonderful. In Amora's mind, this was exactly what a hug from one's mother would feel like – like you were the safest person in the world. Nanny had given good hugs, too, but Ms. Teacher was different. Nanny smelled like Venusian wine all the time – Ms. Teacher smelled like... it was impossible to put a finger on it, exactly, but Amora knew that she liked it. As she broke away from the hug, she met the Mercurian woman's eyes with a smile. ”You smell good!”

Ama, huh? It was a pretty name – it almost sounded Venusian! She nodded, eyes widening slightly as Ama explained where she worked. Amora had always liked science – to a certain degree, any way. She wasn't incredibly intelligent at it, but she'd never had to study hard. Happily, she began to name off the things that she'd learned. Everyone in her family had always told her that if she didn't quit studying so much, she'd end up like her Daddy – she, for one, didn't understand that at all. She loved her daddy... He was the greatest man alive!

Ama took her hand, and the pair began walking. Ms. Ama could read the signs... Amora let out a sigh, wondering how long it would take her to learn Terrestrial. ”Ms. Ama, how hard is it to learn Terrestrial?” Her small hand tightened it's grip on the woman's larger one. Bright blue eyes were scanning every man that walked past, quickly moving from one to another as she searched the crowd for her father.

She didn't see him. Quickly enough, Ms. Ama came up with the 'walking on the wall' plan, as Amora classified it in her brain. She remembered a few things that she'd forgotten to list with her school subjects... She added those in as Ama climbed onto the wall, then helped her up. For some reason, when she was requested to jump, she giggled – however, when she actually jumped, the pressure (how ever slight it was) was just enough to tickle her. She let out a small explosion of laughter, clinging to Ms. Ama's leg as they started looking.

She didn't see her daddy... Would he have forgotten about her? She hoped not... She looked up at her care taker, nodding and licking her lips. ”He's tall, and his hair is kind of brownish-blonde... And his eyes are green. And, um... He's really handsome, and smart, and funny... And I don't know his name...” She sniffled. She really wasn't aware that the description Ms. Ama was looking for had nothing to do with her father's personality. She stood up on her tippy toes, looking around. Ms. Ama's hand reached down and took a hold on her own, and Amora wrapped her fingers around the woman's, squeezing. She wondered if he might be hiding... Taking Ms. Ama's request to heart, she yelled at the top of her lungs:

”DADDY!!




The only thing that Zoi knew was that he was about to get his ass kicked for cussing out a Jovian security guard. He scoffed at her, rolling his eyes with a slew of Venusian insult and walked over to a wall, eyes still scanning. Why the hell wasn't anyone even looking for her? He ran a hand through his hair, his head hitting the wall rather hard. He let out an aggravated sigh again, and that was the moment that the most beautiful sound in the world accosted his ears.

He immediately started scanning the crowd again, and then he found her. Not Amora, but the stunning Mercurian woman that he'd met for that brief instance in the coffee shop. He dragged his eyes away from her, scanning for his daughter again, but his eyes went back to her... To her hand... To his daughter. Without another thought, he took off jogging, calling out his child's name.

What were the odds that this beautiful woman would also be the savior of his child? He shook his head – there was no way in hell that he could let himself be smitten with this woman. He was solely the property of Mercury, and no other woman (save Amora) mattered. He got to the pair after just moments, swooping his now laughing daughter into his arms and hugging her. Once he got that out of the way, he looked up at the woman – Amalia Kallan, she'd said. He had her book in his bag, but that could wait until later.

”Well, Ms. Kallan, I do believe I owe you a major debt – thank you for watching out for my daughter.” Amora wiggled out of his grip and back to where Amalia was, hugging the woman's waist once again. Zoi looked from Amora's face to Amalia's, staring at her with a smile on his face. Amora was going on and on in Venusian about how 'Ms. Ama' had saved her and complaining about her aunt... Needless to say, Zoi would have a word with his sister. And his mother. And shuttle security... But that could wait. Right now he was dealing with an exceptionally beautiful woman who his daughter couldn't seem to quit hugging.

”I apologize for our first meeting... I didn't mean to offend you. I'm Zoi... Zoi Wynne.” He said sheepishly, holding his hand out for her to shake.

[Amalia Kallan]

Amalia wasn't aware when her little smile had grown into a silly grin, but somehow as she picked the little Venusian up, it had. Certainly this wasn't a time to be smiling, and certainly she didn't know the girl well enough to give more than a small smile of comfort, but still she felt her cheeks tighten into an all-out grin. There was just something about this girl that called for it. She didn't get why, but it did, so very much. It was like she had to assure her, to comfort her, to - to mother her. The Mercurian blinked at her verb choice, but pushed it aside. This was a child, a lost child. Anyone with half a heart would want to mother her, to care for her.

A scent tickled at her nose as she set Amora down beside her - sweet roses and earth and mint and chocolate and woodsmoke, all vague, as if the girl had been around them all at one point and the scents clung to her. It was familiar and haunting, and she didn't know why. Wasn't like she had a mind for scents; a pity at the moment, maybe she would recognize why this Venusian - who had probably been around few of the items, smelt such a way. She put the thought out of her head, as she had been doing a bit lately, but it was easier than worrying over things that weren't of great concern when something so much more important was in front of her.

Gently she swung their clasped hands back and forth, answering the question as they walked and she found the wall. "Terrestrial isn't that hard, and I'm sure once you're in school here your teacher will make sure to help you learn it." In terms of all the galactic languages, Terrestrial was one of the simpler ones. Mercurian blew all of them out of the water for difficulty, and considering that Amalia had grown up proficient in both and Neptunian, Terrestrial wasn't really all too hard. Saturnian and Plutonian were harder than it, as was Venusian.
"It's actually rather similar to Venusian, let me show you." Amalia lifted Amora up to the wall beside her. "Professeur, professor," she said, once in Venusian and once in Terrestrial. "Listen to how they're similar, professeur, professor. A lot of words in Venusian sound like words in Terrestrial, so you won't have too much trouble." She smiled again, hiding her shock as Amora babbled out her description of her father - it matched what Amalia had thought he looked like, but how? How?

She must have just guessed right, yeah, that was it. She guessed right. Lucky guess, but there weren't too many combinations a full blooded Venusian man could be, so she supposed she never really could have been far off. She returned the squeeze Amora gave to her hand, and hid her wince at the girl's scream. If that didn't get her father's attention, he wasn't here, or he was deaf.

It was him. Out of all the Venusian males on Earth, it was him. What were the odds? At least a million to one, she calculated. Her small grin grew into another large and silly one as she watched the reunion, hand Amora had been holding suddenly cool, feeling like something was missing. It was novel, to look down at him when she'd had to look up at him before. He still was one of the most handsome men she'd seen, her cafe-stalker.

"You're very welcome, it's the least I could do. No child should ever be lost and alone if someone can help them," she thought back to her fifty-five Mercurian charges and resolved to pay that adoption agency a visit. No, she didn't have time to adopt herself, but she could at least visit with the families, perhaps? Get a better idea of how other Mercurians lived on Earth, maybe, who knew, make a friend or something.

She returned his sheepish grin with a rueful one of her own, feeling her cheeks start to heat, Amora's warm form pressed against her side, her hands running through the girl's hair without conscious thought. "There is nothing to forgive, you didn't offend me in the slightest. I unfortunately chose that moment to start listening to the little voice in my head that sounded like my mother, and she always been much too over protective of me. It is nice to know your name now, Mr. Wynne. Please, call me Amalia, or Ama," she felt tickled by a sudden burst of whimsy, a giggle of joyous laughter floating through her mind, reminding her of times with Tlazopilli. "Or you could call me Ami, if you wish." Her grandfather had called her that, saying that was the name of a very brave and wonderful Mercurian girl from a long time ago, but he would never tell her anything further. He would just call her Ami when they were alone.

A question rested on the tip of her tongue and another burst of joy prompted her to ask it, as if assuring nothing would go wrong.
"Is Zoi short for anything?" It felt like it was, she couldn't say why, just that it was, in her mind. A Jovian guard was coming, looking upset at her being up on the planter, so Amalia gently disentagled herself from Amora and pushed the girl to her father so she could get down. With her only thought (or main) thought 'get-off-before-yelled-at-or-fined', Amalia tried to find a quick way down. Prompted by that rather unfortunate urge that overcomes most species in which they wish to show off to their prospective mates (and how the thought made her blush even as she was thinking it!), Amalia attempted to jump down off the planter, rather than doing the less graceful but safer sit-and-scoot until she dropped down. That would have been a drop of a foot and a half, rather than the full three feet.

A three foot drop is a big deal when you're four-ten, as she was hastily coming to find out, the ground rushing towards her. Yes, her knees were bent to properly take the impact, but her long skirt fouled in her legs. This is not good, she had the chance to think absently when there was still about a foot of air between her feet and the ground. Her ankle rolled under as her right foot decided that it wasn't about to take her improperly centered weight all on itself, and she stumbled, falling towards the pair of Venusians. Pain flared in her leg even as the ground (and Venusians) rushed towards her and she put her arms out to stop herself. Rapidly and quietly she swore at herself in what was not a galactic language, but something... else. "Felgercarb!" It was safer to swear like this than in anything else, Amalia thought to herself, because while Rosaline knew French and Japanese and English and the swears from Firefly, they had yet to introduce her to the show Battlestar Galactica. The ground was going to hurt, probably as much as her ankle now did. What she got for showing off.

[Zoi Wynne]

Amora had never really been too aware of strangers – Daddy had always protected her when she was little, and after he came here, Nanny had always been with her. She'd always been watched over, comforted... But still, the amount of people that were swarming the two of them (not the most imposing of pairs, after all) was enough to make her cling tighter to the woman holding her hand, happily distracted by the small yet stress-relieving lesson in Terrestrial. She'd forgotten what those words were called. Something weird... She shook her head, repeating the one Terrestrial word that she knew to herself several times as she walked along side Ms. Ama.

Once they got outside and she yelled, her father appeared rather quickly, grabbing her into a hug that she more than happily gave back. She'd missed him sooo much... Once he set her back down, she shivered, returning to her 'safe place' of clinging to Ms. Ama's leg. Oh... Did Daddy and Ms. Ama know each other? She watched them for a few minutes, listening to the exchange between them – yes, they knew each other. She couldn't help the big smile that crept onto her face, huging Ms. Ama's leg once more – Nanny had always said that Daddy needed a good wife, so why shouldn't it be Ms. Ama?

The idea was like candy to her – she'd been to enough weddings in her short life to know how much fun they were. She could play 'matchmaker,' as Nanny had called it – she was sure of it. Ms. Ama moved away, removing the source of Amora's warmth and security, handing her to her father. He set her down beside him, where she took up the same spot that she had on Ms. Ama, though she was much farther from his waist than she had been hers.

Ms. Ama moved to get down, and with the motion, that wonderful smell came back to her nose. She didn't get to enjoy it, though, because no sooner had she inhaled did Ms. Ama start on a fall that would probably land right on top of her, if she didn't move. She just stared, wondering what exactly was going on.

This didn't look good.


=


Yep, he was right. She was as much of an angel as he remembered her being. He smiled like a lunatic as she spoke to him – in his language. He let out a chuckle, nodding his head. There was really no way he could repay her for what she'd done – he'd been about to get arrested by the Feet for breaking the policies about entering the exit gate of an air port.

Her voice was perfect, just as he remembered. She saved his daughter, she captured his mind, every little piece of him wanted to reach up and sweep her off her feet – but he couldn't, at least not without being a total creeper. He didn't want her to run again. Amora was clinging to her like she was her lifeline... He smiled as Amalia's voice continued to massage his senses, the goofy smile not leaving his face.

And then she said his wife's name. The pang of pain that he felt at that moment almost had to have shown on his face, but somehow he managed to conceal it. How could he possibly be thinking about this woman in such a way when his Ami was out there, somewhere, waiting for him?”Alright, that works for me.” He managed to keep grinning. It made him uncomfortable to think about – then again... The way she'd said the name... Could it be? Could it ever possibly be? If his random, errant thought process was correct, he'd be the happiest man on Earth (or any other planet).

He stared at her for a moment, debating on if she could really be her or not. The feeling that was rising in his chest told hims that she most certainly could be, but in his mind, ignoring both Zoisite and Zacharie's pleas to go to her, to hold her, Zoi himself was terrified. Having a woman on your arm at a bar was one thing... Ami was another. He knew he'd love her forever, and that no other woman would ever take her place in his heart, but for Shiva's sakes, he didn't even know this woman. Nonetheless, when she spoke again, he shook his head with a chuckle, entranced by her voice. He absent-mindedly rubbed Amora's head – the girl was watching the conversation with a bit too much interest for his own liking. She didn't even need to consider romance for a good, what, forty, sixty years?

His daughter was handed to him, and he turned to notice the same guard that he'd been harassing earlier coming towards them. He gulped, chuckling. Amora clung to his leg, and he looked up to 'Ami,' prepared to offer her his hand so that she could get down easier. She was, however, already coming down – far too quickly for his liking – approaching the ground - and the pair of them – way too fast.

He moved before he could even think about it, moving Amora off of his leg within an instant so that she wouldn't get caught in the fall. Then, one word wracked his senses in a way that he'd never experienced before – a simple swear that he suddenly remembered – and that was when it all came rushing back to him.

The field was growing bloodier by the instant – the only things that he really knew at the moment was that his daughter was safe in the hands of his Lord and that he'd lost sight of his wife. He trusted her to take care of herself, but in this situation, he'd feel much better if he at least knew where she was. He grit his teeth together, taking out another set of his enemies with a swing of his blade. He shadow-teleported from the spot he was, going for higher ground. He scanned, watching for blue, but saw nothing. His eyes kept scanning as his hands moved on their own, sending a carefully constructed rain of crystal towards the wave of soldiers that was rushing for the palace, taking advantage of the others' business. He put a quick end to them, but more appeared immediately after. He prepared another rain of crystal, measuring how much he could do without losing strength, and just as he prepared to send it showering towards them, his heart and his mind were literally ripped in two. It was the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt in his life... Save once, when he'd... Oh, Gaea...

She was dead.

He managed to get an arm around her slender waist as she came towards him, the curse still fresh off her lips. In this manner, he managed to get her to topple on top of him, sending the pair of them crashing down to the concrete ground. He was underneath her, at least... Amora was laughing, and Zoi blinked, trying to shake off that memory. She was here, she was safe, she would wake up and be his again. Hopefully. ”Are you alright, Ami?”

[Amalia Kallan]

To say that her jumping down was a stupid move would be the truth. To say that her ankle hurt would also be the truth. To say that she particularly minded where she had landed would be false. She rather appreciated where she had landed, it was all together comfortable. Quite comfortable, in fact, hard yet somehow soft, and altogether quite warm. Oh. Oh!

Amalia blushed crimson, unconsciously burrowing her head into the chest below her. Her hair had fallen out of her updo and she blew it idly out of her face, to stop it tickling her nose. His voice rumbled through her like the purring of a giant cat, warm and contented.
"I'm fine, Zoi, um, Mr. Wynne, um, Zoi. Ah, thank you." The Mercurian used her hands to push upwards, his pectorals firm under her hands. She got halfway up and then raked him with a hasty glance, checking for injuries with a more practiced eye than she realized.
"You're alright as well, yes?" She could already see he was, but for some mussed hair that she absently neatened for him, staring at him with some fondness. Yes, he had just saved her from a fall, and he was adorable and rather sweet, but she'd only known him for a few moments, even counting the time in the cafe... his daughter was precious, but it was more than that, she shouldn't feel this fond of him this fast, should she?

She sat back on her haunches to ponder the matter further, unaware of precisely where she was, just staring down at his face. His surprisingly beloved face. They'd met twice, this being the second time, and the first time she'd run out on him thinking he would attack and murder her. Now he saved her from hitting the ground, though he didn't save her from falling entirely. Why did she just want to lay back down atop him and just cuddle? It wasn't just the warmth of his body - she could get that from any person, or even a water-warmed pillow or something. Sure, his muscles felt nice under her - she blushed a deeper crimson when she realized she was still straddling him and her hands had been moving over his chest and shoulders, scrambling off him as fast as her skirt would allow.

"I don't know what's, I'm so, I'm sorry, I, ah, I'm sorry, that, ah," Amalia stared down at the cold concrete she was now sitting on before attempting to rise to her feet, completely mortified. Her ankle chose this moment to remind her she hurt it, flaring with pain as she gave it any weight and plopping her behind back down on the ground. She growled in frustration and pain and blinked back tears as she attempted to stand again.

When finally on her feet, or foot, Amalia stared at a center point on the ground between herself, Zoi and Amora.
"I um, I'm glad I could help you two find each other, and I'm sorry for the display we just ah, accidentally had." Amalia wavered, hands held out from her body as she swayed lightly from her solid left foot to the heel-down foot of her right. She wanted to leave, she wanted to leave or sink down into the ground, either or would work, but she wasn't certain of her ability to walk without assistance right now, so she didn't risk taking a step, no matter how much she wanted to run away again. Part of her wanted to run, part of her wanted to stay, and the fair majority of her didn't care, whichever resulted in her not feeling so completely mortified.

She sniffled, tears on the upswing because of the sheer emotions and stress of the day, from getting there and dealing with more children than she could legally handle for a much longer time than she was supposed to to helping Amora to seeing him again, to falling and making herself look foolish to hurting herself - the pain also added to her wateringpot-like aspect.

"I'm, I'm sorry that I'm c-crying," she hastily wiped at the tears threatening to fall down her cheeks, knowing she now looked even worse than before, she was never pretty when she cried, all red nose and red cheeks and mucus and crumpled, twisted features, "And I'm s-sorry that I keep apologizing, I - I know you told me not to ap-apologize to you e-ever again, but - but I can't - I can't help it." Amalia hiccuped wetly and wiped again at her eyes with the sleeve of her blouse, wrapping her arms around herself, head bowed and biting at her lips every time her trembling made her leg twitch.

[Zoi Wynne]

Why on Earth had she jumped? The ledge itself was nearly as tall as her, Zoi noticed as he hit the ground, appreciative of the fact that she wasn't incredibly heavy or anything. She weighed just enough to make an impact, yet not enough to quite knock the air out of him. And before either of them really fully understood what was going on, she was sitting up and straddling him. Shiva, she looked like an angel, sitting there with the blue of the sky to her back and her hair all a mess...

“Tout au long de l'aprθs-midi, je les regardais lΰ, Neige-fιes en baisse, tombant du ciel.” The french flowed effortlessly from his lips, reminding him that he was three in one instead of just himself. That was a complicated thought... Three in one and yet one alone. Those other voices in his head, the louder of the two being Zoisite, were both himself as well. It was enough to make him sigh slightly, those words still rumbling through his chest. He looked up, watching her, not fully realizing the situation that they were in until she turned bright red and scrambled off of him. Immediately his chest and shoulders missed the light caress of her hands, the weight of her body on his, her eyes right where he could see them.

It was some long-forgotten poem called The Snow Fairy. For some reason, it had come back to him, and despite it being written in English, his mind muttered it in French. She was sitting on the ground as he sat up, propping himself up on his elbow as his eyes raked over her, trying to find the source of her obvious discomfort. It wasn't until she stood up that he noticed her ankle – with the angle that fall had been at, there was a chance she'd seriously injured herself. He hopped up off the ground with no injury to himself whatsoever, and Amora risked stepping closer, obviously upset at the sight of the tears that were threatening her new friend's eyes. Both of the Venusians looked worried over her injury – Zoi, however, looked totally tormented

That was the moment in which she started actually crying, and the moment in which Zoi knew that there was no hope for him (not that he'd ever even considered it) and that he was as permanently and honestly in love with this woman as he had been with her in their previous lives. She was painstakingly beautiful, even crying. He was prepared to catch her, should she fall, and Amora, as though she'd read her father's mind, took a step back, reaching down to pick up Ms. Ama's purse with her tiny hands.

Zoi shook his head as she continually apologized. ”Now, Ama, you're being silly. You fell. No apology needed, I did what any gentleman would have done for a pretty lady. And secondly, you're hurt, the crying is entirely acceptable. So, no apologies needed.” He took the two steps over to where she was standing, using his height and weight to his advantage as he scooped her off of her feet and sat her gently on the same ledge she'd just jumped from, removing her shoe (and whatever else was separating her ankle from his line of sight) without any ceremony, mentally chuckling that her feet were still tiny. And prpbably ticklish, but he didn't dare.

Indeed, her ankle was already turning an interesting shade of green-purple and swelling. He exhaled softly, looking up at her. ”I hope you won't object me carrying you to the hospital, Ama, but someone needs to look at this, and unfortunately, I don't believe I'm qualified.” He didn't want to upset her or his daughter any more by suggesting that she might have pulled a tendon in her ankle. She needed to have it wrapped and probably x-rayed, by the amount of pain it was causing her...

It was in that particular moment, thinking of hospitals and x-rays and his wife all at the same time that he remembered that Ruro worked at the hospital. He could get Ruro's read on her – he already knew for a fact that this woman was his Mizuno Ami. What he didn't know was anything else about her.

Amora took his quiet, waiting-for-a-response moment to stick her own little voice in. ”And I can carry your bags now, Ms. Ama, so you don't get hurt any worse.” She smiled at the older woman, trying her best to not seem worried. She hadn't ever seen anything but a really weird hickey that was that particular color, though...

[Amalia Kallan]

His words were Venusian, yet not. She didn't quite understand it, but she didn't quite need to. She understood them all the same. The words themselves made a home in her heart and begged to stay, as if she'd heard them spoken time and time again, like they belonged within her.

It was actually the worry they looked at her with that was the real tipping point for her crying. No one had looked at her like that... not since Tlazopilli - since Nonere, she corrected herself hastily, giving into the want to call him as she had when a child - grandfather. She'd been instructed to call him by his name after he died, and she had, but she now realized... it didn't matter. Not inside her head, in her head he wasn't Tlazopilli - he was Nonere. He was her Nonere and he was gone and he had been the only one, despite how Okamere and Pateroto tried, that really truly cared about her, and worried about her. Worried about her fully, like the two Venusians that she'd really only met five minutes ago, worried. They cared. They cared about her, not because she was valuable to them, or because it was their duty to, but because they...they wanted to. Amalia whimpered at this realization, tears pouring down her face.

She was not a pretty crier, and she knew it, she'd always known it, after Okamere pointed it out when she cried on her fifth birthday, upset that no one had come to her party. Her nose and cheeks turned all red and blotchy, mucus would start to drip down from her nose, her face would scrunch up and she would look terrible.
"But - but I was so," she hiccuped as Zoi picked her up, whispering the rest into his shirt so that Amora wouldn't hear her swear, "I was so damn stupid. I - I know better than to - to do something like this."

Amalia continued her side of the argument as she was placed down, not wanting to leave the warmth-comfort-safety his arms seemed to bring her.
"There - there's no reason for me to be crying." She hissed in pain as her shoe and sock were removed, blushing through her tears as her skirt was pulled up to her knees. Just lucky she'd worn trouser socks rather than stockings.
"It - it's so m-minor, I don't know why I'm c-crying so m-much." An unexpected and pained giggle exploded from her mouth as he ran a hand down her foot to check where the pain was - it tickled. Really, part of her counseled, it was minor and she would be fine with a foot wrap and a bag of ice. There really was no reason for her to be crying like she was.
"No - no need for a doctor, j-just a medical wrap and ice and rest and it'll be fine - oh!" She gave a watery, hysterical chuckle.
"I'm - I'm going to have to sleep in my c-chair! I can't do the steps to my bed!" Amalia laughed again, tears still running down her face, finally resorting to burying her head against Zoi's nearest shoulder with one final sob and breathing deeply for a few minutes, trying to calm herself. She was making their small problem into a spectacle.

The Mercurian straightened and wiped at her eyes as she turned to face Amora.
"Thank you very much for carrying my bag, Amora, that's kind of you." It was just luck that Amalia didn't wear any makeup, or she would have mascara stains down her cheeks and on her blouse by now.
"I s-suppose I, um, have no choice but to l-let you take me to the, er, the h-hospital, then, Mr. Wynne and I, ah, I thank you for h-helping me. I guess I just... I guess... I don't know, really." She sighed and tried to drag her wayward hair into a rough knot at the nape of her neck.
"I h-hate to be a, um, a bother to a-anyone," Amalia tried to offer as an excuse. "And I'm being a b-big bother to you, when a-all you want to do, I'm sure, is get, ah, get back to your home with Amora. I - I - on Mercury there are, um, medicines that er, prevent us from - um, from having to d-deal with any p-pain. I've - I've never - it's such a minor thing - I've never had anything h-hurt this b-bad before. It's so, ah, small, though." The Mercurian looked down at her swollen ankle and back up at Zoi with a puzzled expression on her face, fingers twisting in her hair like a child.

[Zoi Wynne]

His heart skipped a beat when she whispered into his shirt. He could almost see her with blue hair, and that was a fond memory of his. She was crying, she was hurt – that, he was not pleased about. But she was here, and she was his (dammit, she better be)... that he was very, very pleased about.

He listened to her for a while, looking at her ankle. She'd certainly done a number on it – that was for sure. Wonderful surprise when she gave that giggle – so she was ticklish. She'd probably need more than an icepack, he knew. And then she gave that startled sound that had him looking up at her, since he was crouching beside her foot, and she started talking about sleeping in her chair.

He looked at her again, watching. After a second, he let got of her swollen and bruised foot gently, standing up and looking at her. ”I won't take you if you don't want me to, but I can't tell if you pulled anything or tore a tendon or something, so it might start hurting worse. I know a doctor that would take great care of you.” He seated himself beside her, more than a little amused that she was so small even when they were seated. Amora was still looking at her friend's ankle, clearly upset that she was crying and in pain. ”Maybe you should go to the doctor, Ms Ama, just in case. I don't want you to be hurt.”

She'd buried her head into his shoulder when he'd touched her foot once again – he felt his breath hitch. Yes, it was most certainly and absolutely her. Amora had leaned up against the leg that wasn't hurt after dragging their combined luggage over closer. Zoi, unsure of what else to do, kissed her lightly on the top of the head for his own needs. She might not even have noticed, so small was the motion, combined with the fact that she'd been moving away anyway. She started speaking again, and he just looked at her until she was done. He opened his mouth to respond, but Amora beat him to it.

”Daddy, I'm not going anywhere until Ms. Ama is taken care of and all better! We have to take her home, too.” The little girl was glaring at him. He held up his hands. ”Trust me, my sweet, I insist on the same treatment. You're really no bother, Ama, I promise, and Amora and I are more than pleased to offer our assistance.” He have her his most charming smile and winked, and Amora clapped her hands and giggled. Then he stood up and gentle scooped the little Mercurian woman that already owned his heart into his arms, looking down at her. ”The hospital isn't too far. Amora, you have both of those?”

The little girl had just successfully looped the handles of Ama's bag around the handle to her suitcase, settin the smaller on top of the larger so that it was one load. ”Yes, Daddy. Lead the way!” He chuckled and they started walking. Zoi couldn't keep the huge smile off of his face – both of the women that meant everything in the world to him had arrived in one day. Miraculous.

[Amalia Kallan]

She didn't really have anything to say, sniffling and wiping at her eyes and nose with the back of her sleeve. Didn't really need a doctor, so long as he got her a wrap and some ice she could handle it herself, but on his mention that he knew a doctor, she relented. No real reason to relent, just that a part of her mind suddenly wanted to go to the doctor, nearly jumping for joy that he knew a doctor. She didn't understand it at all, she just knew that suddenly she was willing to go to the Emergency Room.

"O-okay, then I-I'll go," she murmured, the image of kindly blue eyes flashing across her mind, and a soft golden light. It wouldn't hurt to be seen, she supposed, especially if it was by someone Zoi knew. The Mercurian did want to wonder just why and how the Venusian managed to know someone that worked at the Domiiqua General Hospital, but she would just ask him later, when she could think straighter. It would probably come out a garbled mess right now, she was so odd feeling.

It wasn't just the pain, or perhaps it was all the pain in addition to the adrenaline running through her veins making everything seem so odd. There was no way she could have felt Zoi's lips against her hair, could she have? No, she couldn't have, there was no way. No way at all, not really. No matter how the thought gave her a tingling sensation, spreading from the point that he maybe kissed her at and spreading down her body to her toes.

Amalia didn't complain when she was pulled into Zoi's arms, giving a little sigh and looping her arms around his neck to assist with balancing, unconsciously nuzzling her head into the hollow where his neck met his arm. This was nice. Even with the pain shooting from her ankle, this was nice. She felt warm, relaxed, safe, being held like this, by him. Only, part of her wanted to establish, by him. No one else would make her feel like this, she somehow knew. Only Zoi.

"Thank you," she said against his shoulder as they walked. "Do you - do you want to, um, go to the Festival? T-there's a F-Fall F-Festival on c-campus on the th-thirty-first. D-do you and Amora want to come with me? I-it'll be my treat." She rested her head against his collarbone and just looked up at him, eyes sketching across his already dear face.

[Zoi Wynne]

She was smaller now than she had been – but that was fine by him. At this moment, she almost seemed like a china doll, something fragile that needed constant care and protection. But he knew better – one day soon she'd wake up, right? And then she'd remember everything and she'd be that pillar of strength that he'd always had there in the back of him heart and mind. Until then, though, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay away from her. He'd probably have to think of excuses to go to the Biology department or something.

Okay, so he'd done just a bit of inquiring before he'd been reawakened. Just enough to know where she worked. He never would have suspected – he quit that thought immediately, because he knew that he was lying to himself. He'd known in the back of his head that she had been the one. It was the only way to justify the absolute insanity that had stricken him at that cafe that day.

She sighed and looped her arms around his neck – like a school boy, he felt the blush sink onto his cheeks. She was absolutely perfect – his heart skipped a beat when she nuzzled her head into his chest, and he knew at that moment that if she wanted to utterly destroy him, she could. He was caught, once again, by her – hook, like, and sinker.

Amora was humming happily, the bags obviously not too much of a burden for the girl. Ama spoke, her words catching him off guard. Fall festival? He could have danced right then – he didn't have to stalk her after all! Being creepy would not have been conducive to a good foundation for this relationship, he knew, so this was a major relief. ”It would be an absolute pleasure, Miss Ama, but I insist that it be my treat. You've done myself and my daughter a great favor – I was about to get in a fight with a Jovian woman and she was probably on the verge of tears.” The blonde girl nodded. ”It was scary in there.” He chuckled, holding the woman in his arms just the slightest bit tighter. Amora reached up and patted Ama's good leg, nodding. ”Daddy will pay for everything, Miss Ama. And we can have candy and festival food, right, Daddy?” He sighed and chuckled again at the same time. ”I couldn't ever say no to you. Anything either of you want, it's all on me.” She'd probably try to pay for something, of course, but he'd do his best. The hospital was in the distance now – thankfully whoever had designed the city had put all the buildings together-ish. ”We'll have you all fixed up soon.” He grinned.