Enjoying the Sun [Jr., or Invite][NR]

The flip of a book page was about the only sound that came from the female. She had positioned herself rather comfortable in one of the many lounge chairs available on the beach, the umbrella pushed back somewhat so that the sun could actually shine on her - the heat from it felt lovely after all. She had a half finished fruity pink colored drink sitting next to her on the side table with a bendy straw in it, and a book in front of her propped up on her legs, the title reading something about mythical creatures.

Long red hair was back in a braid to keep any loose strands from blowing in her face in the almost constant gentle breeze the beach offered. Her outfits colors had changed slightly, black shorts with a red cami, and as usual, no shoes.

She bit her bottom lip as her fire filled eyes scanned the page she had flipped too, brow furrowed in concentration: as if she were searching for something in particular, which she was. She was searching for any sort of information on what she was, whether it be information on Dragons or Phoenix's, or both.

One of the sucky things about having wings was that if they weren't exercised regularly they got stiff and sore. Jr didn't know if it was the same for everybody but it was definitely the case with him. He'd woken up with what felt like bad cramps in both of his extra appendages, forcing him outside to work them out through activity.

After flying around the island for about an hour, his wings felt like they were back to normal. He wondered if Amaranth were still training that lady Himitsu as he landed somewhere along his usual hanging out spot: the Beaches. The fashion in which he landed caused sand to splash upon several of the sun bathers, several of which gave off loud reactions. Jr only responded by giving the whiners his bored look while folding up his massive white wings before beginning to walk.

After stopping at one of the mini bars for a 1 liter bottle of that same fruity stuff from last time, he walked down the wooden planks that lead back to the sand and the water, watching some kids build a large, detailed sand castle. Some other kids, obviously bullies, approached the work of art with the intentions of destroying it, according to the looks on their faces. Manipulating the elements around him took but a thought, as did causing the sand used in constructing the castle to condense and become as hard a steel. When the bully kids shoved aside the kids building the castle and proceeded to jump in the air and land on it, they found their efforts useless.

Elemental Manipulation:

Jr walked down the beach further as parents came over and began reprimanding the bullies. Coming to a stop next to a comfortable looking beach chair with an umbrella for shade, he was about to flop himself a seat until noticing that it was already occupied. Furthermore, it was occupied by that girl that he'd encountered twice before, Haikyo. He'd wondered where she was since her latest episode with that muscly man who came out of nowhere and asked to be her "protector." Jr reminded himself to ask Amaranth where she found that one...

Jr reached into one of his many "pockets" for a bag of chips. Reality visibly bent and folded around his arm as he reached into another dimension to pull out the silver bag, glinting brightly from the sun.

Dimensional Storage:

"No strange guys around you trying to drag you off or make you their master for a change, that's pretty awesome," Jr said, bored looking, pinching open the bag to reach inside and grab several with the tips of his fingers, placing them into his mouth to create the usual crunch....

She was about to flip the page again when she noticed Jr.'s arrival. A smile formed across her face and she dog-eared the page she was on before placing the closed book down on the small table next to the lounge chair she was seated in. She picked up her drink as she watched him pull out another bag of chips and begin eating them. She took a sip of her fruity drink through the bendy straw before shaking her head no and laughing as she put the glass back down.

"No, not today, thankfully. I've been doing some reading, and trying to figure out why all these strange people keep being drawn to me. First that Demon, then that... Dragon-thing that was up on that cliff I had been climbing. Now that weird guy wanting to protect me." She shook her head again with a sigh. "I figured maybe it was something I was accidentally doing that I didn't mean to be.. like some sort of feeling or presence that I gave off or something..."

She shrugged lightly. "These books I've been reading seem to be of no help.. just a bunch of human ramblings that make no sense at all."

Jr crunched down more chips before taking a swig of his own fruity drink. The dragon-thing on the cliff... must be the guy who came here with that lady Himitsu. The guy who was on the beach that day when the Demon attacked. That guy was huge when he was in his real form; Jr wondered why he didn't get involved in that fight. He could have easily chomped the Demon in half with those big jaws... Maybe he was told to mind his own business. Maybe he was a coward, a big puny weakling that scared people by looking big and fearsome. Or maybe Jr was jumping to conclusions and didn't know. Either way it went, that smelly Demon thing was dead.

Jr was correct in the hunch he had the last time he'd seen her, at that bonfire with the big muscly guy. Since she was a creation of humans in a lab, she didn't know much about either of the species that she was a fusion of. Dragons, he knew little about, besides what the media portrayed them as, but Phoenixes... perhaps he could help out a little with that, being part Phoenix himself.

"Well uh..." Jr didn't know how to go about this. She'd been weirded out 3 times by 3 different guys, he didn't want to end up as the next one on that list. He thought about the words to use. "...Been a few times now that weirdos have approached you for one reason or another, and since my Niece is the Boss around here, she'll bitch me out if I were to let something happen to you, seeing as I interrupted 2 of those 3. Then my sister will show up bitching, then my brother-in-law, then probably my dad... and that's all just too much bitching."

Jr reached behind him and brought his arm back holding a large feather. Holding it in his right hand, a strange energy could be seen energizing the feather. It began to glow a soft white color. "So, here..." he said, holding it out toward her to take. "I don't mean to come off as the next weirdo or anything, but, my Niece is looking at me as one of her top members of staff here, so I have to keep an eye on you, for security reasons mostly. This'll let me know where you are... If you're in a bad mood, it'll let me find you faster. It doesn't mean we're engaged or anything like that, don't get the wrong idea..."

Phoenix Feather:

Jr looked at the water while crunching down more chips. If she reacted the wrong way, this would be the last time sticking his nose in someone else's business. He was lazy, yes, but sometimes even he tried doing what he thought was right, even though most small minded individuals always took it the wrong way...

Haikyo began to radiate curiosity as she watched him remove a feather and hand it out towards her as he spoke. She reached forward and took the feather, looking it over curiously as she did so. She had never heard of such a thing being possible, but supposed it was nonetheless; after all, she had no reason not to trust him.

Another smile formed on her face and she nodded when he finished speaking. "Thanks, I appreciate it." With her words she began to radiate that same happy feeling as usual, at least until she suppressed it, not wanting to risk affecting someone else by the emotions she was giving off. It would be nice not to have to constantly look over her shoulder, wondering if some other stranger was going to show up or not. At least now, from the way he had explained it, he'd be able to know if something was wrong, and get there to help her.

She looked out towards the ocean after a moment, still smiling. "At least now I won't have to hurry home or anything... I was thinking I was about to have to leave with all those weirdo's showing up... not that I wanted to go back to that city... it lacks so much color."

Spoiler:

For some reason Jr could feel the emotions being let off by her. It was a happy feeling, even though his tired expression didn't change much. This at least let him know that she was comfortable around him, and didn't think of him as another one of the weirdos.

A colorless city... She had to be talking about Shinki Shigai. He hadn't asked her where she was from, but that was the only city that came to mind when he said "colorless." With that spirit thing hanging around out there somewhere, staying here for the time being seemed like the best thing to do.

"...Dragons... I donno much about. Heard they hang around mountains and barbecue people, and they're boss characters in most video games... but Phoenixes... My mom might be able to help you out with that," said Jr after crunching down another handful of chips. "She's a Phoenix from space... only problem is, I donno where she is at the moment. But with how stuff has been going on i'm sure she'll show up sooner or later..."

Edge City... bleh. Jr never wanted to go back there, if he had a choice. Too many bad memories...

She laughed softly again as she picked up her glass, and then took another sip of the drink inside through the straw. She nodded her head in the direction of the book she had been reading. "That's about all this book has to offer too. Giant beasts that go around destroying entire towns and lighting things on fire... I've never destroyed an entire town." She laughed again at the thought: she was far too peaceful of a person to go on a rampage like the ones the book had described, though she had lit several buildings on fire: labs that created creatures like herself.

Her eyes gained a twinkle in them as she thought about the idea of Jr.'s mother being able to teach her a thing or two about being a Phoenix. "Do you think your mom would really help me out? That would be awesome... kinda hate being in the dark about myself."

As her voice trailed off she found herself looking in the general direction of the city she had come from. It was so much nicer here: warmer, more people to interact with, and so colorful. So different then the city she could see just a ways across the ocean. It made her contemplate never returning again to her home: besides, one random attack had already happened, who was to say another wouldn't follow soon? She didn't want to get caught up in that, the city had fared so poorly the last time, and with the city's leader nowhere in sight, too.

"I wonder how long your niece will be okay with me being here...", she pondered out loud before taking another sip of her drink.

Jr looked up at the blue sky, trying to see if he could feel where his mother was at the moment, which proved to be a pointless task. Where ever she was, she had to be pretty far away. He hadn't see her since the time his father and her had that minor falling out. Jr didn't know what that was about, but he was told that it had something to do with her merging with a goddess from the sun? Sounded strange. He often reminded himself to ask her about that the next time he saw her.

"Yeah... if you think I can fight, you haven't seen anything yet," Jr said with an irritated look. "I bet I still couldn't beat her... She's one of the best, and one of the last Phoenixes around, showed me a lot, though most of it I forgot."

Jr noticed her looking at that city over there with the white buildings. From what she asked, it didn't sound like she wanted to go back over there. Who would, with that vengeance spirit thing floating about? What exactly went on over there that day? Jr would sometimes wonder about it, but would quickly leave the subject alone as it was none of his business, and he had the habit of minding his own.

"Amaranth would let you live here if you asked me," Jr responded, shoving more chips into his mouth. "She's not the type that would tell you to leave, if you're not causing trouble or problems..."

Haikyo grinned. "I don't have a mother technically, but I think if I had one I wouldn't be able to beat her either... I'd probably end up holding back or something, not wanting to seriously hurt her." She shrugged, and then downed the rest of her drink through the straw. Afterwards, she set the empty glass down and looked back towards the white city.

"I don't cause trouble, even though it seems to be finding me recently. But, it'd be nice not to have to go back there... So many rules. I can't even be me, you know? Because if I accidentally burn something or destroy something... I'll end up in jail or dead, even if it's a little minor thing. It's just so strict, and plain... " She paused, and chuckled softly. "Sorry, I'm rambling...", she said as she turned her gaze back towards Jr.

Holding back? Well... sort of. Jr always fought with all of his might whenever he faced off against his mother, but he could never bring himself to manipulate time around her. That was something special passed down to him because of the fusion of Angel and Phoenix, and it wouldn't be right to use something like that when his mother was only training him. So Haikyo did have a point.

As far as that city went over there, it did have a bunch of crazy rules. Seemed to him like that lady Himitsu was a tad on the scared/paranoid side. Then again, she'd been sick all of those years before Amaranth cured her of whatever illness she had, so maybe there was nothing she could do to defend herself. But now, that wasn't the case anymore; she was back to peak human condition, and even being trained to fight. She could probably run a lap around the world and not even stop to catch her breath now, not to mention that big Dragon-thing she had with her (yet he'd done nothing when that Demon appeared.) Her and that spirit thing that killed that Squall guy floating around had some sort of bonding moment too, so like, what else was there to be afraid of? Who would want to live in some super strict city where if you so much as farted the wrong way, you could be risking your freedom, or even your life?

"Nah," he said in response to her statement that she was rambling. "You gotta point. Everybody's gonna leave that place with the rules I heard that lady has over there. I thought of visiting there once before I heard, but nevermind..." Jr took a long drink from his bottle, downing half the bottle. "I wonder how many people over there are in jail or dead for some of the simplest, every day things. Does that Himitsu lady even think about that?... That Squall guy had her running scared, hiding somewhere in my dad's city while her people got mangled and killed. I'll be damned if I run and hide from anybody while they wreck my space, even if they are stronger than me. My parents didn't raise a bitch..."

Haikyo nodded in agreement. "Exactly, and god knows what happens to those people after they're in jail. And the amount of people who go around over there afraid that another attack will happen again and no one will come to their aid... well, it's sickening to me. I can feel it, all of it... It's easy to block out a few emotions as an empath, but when everyone's scared? Eventually it starts leaking through even the strongest of mental barriers."

She shifted slightly in her chair, becoming more comfortable as she looked around the beach and what she could see of the island from where she was. "But here...", a smile formed across her face again. "Everyone is happy, and free... and the emotions are good, or well.. above what I'd expect people to feel. It's.. perfect." She suddenly laughed. "So long as those weirdo's don't show back up, of course."

Yup, she was definitely beginning to consider only returning once more: long enough to grab the worldly possessions she actually wanted to bother with keeping. Then she would be all for finding some sort of permanent residence here. It felt a lot better to her emotional wise, and besides... it was already obvious that the people here weren't afraid to defend themselves and the people living or visiting on the island: and that was a lot better than what she had seen from the city she had come from, that was for sure.

"A bunch of garbage if you ask me..." Jr shoved in more potato chips, crunching loudly while looking back at the sand castle to see it still standing. The kids had began to add on more to their creation, laughing while the bullies were punished. "I don't think Amaranth is even training that lady anymore. To me it seems like she's here hiding, just like she did in Edge. All comfy behind the protection of real power, only this time, some kids. What kind of Boss does that? One who runs away and hides at the first sign of danger shouldn't be in the position of power, anyway. How lame..."

Yeah, Sugure No Shima was safe, and would stay safe so long as he breathed. Anyone who came here and planned on getting out of line would be dealt with swiftly and severely. He couldn't ever remember any instance where someone with the last name of Kane had run and hid from someone. It was obvious that Jr had a very lazy side but fighting was just something that was in his blood.

Jr started to think. He almost forgot about the whole idea for a second, but thought why the hell not. If anything were to happen and he wasn't here, there was always Ghost. He was more than capable to handle any sort of threat. "So uh... I was thinking of taking a trip out to Edge, maybe to see my dad and grab a few things from my old room..." he said, before downing the rest of the fruity drink, tossing the container to watch it land inside of one of the many garbage bins set up at various points on the beach, to keep down litter. "...Maybe you could come with, if you wanted?... My dad is pretty wise to the ways of Phoenixes from being around my mom for so long, if he can't tell us anything about her, maybe he could teach us a thing or two... and you could get to see where i'm from, and maybe even meet my sister... But that's only if you wanted too... not trying to force you or anything."

"Wait... so the reason she didn't show up when that second attack happened was because she was hiding? While all of those people were slaughtered?" Yeah, that was the last straw. She wasn't going back, period. The only way that woman was going to get her to come home was if she forced her, and Haikyo was going to put up one hell of a fight to ensure that that didn't happen. A coward, hiding behind some young people? Who hid in another city until the danger was dead? Right, that wasn't the sort of person she wanted to stand behind. It reminded her of the Humans who had created her: who hid from what they had made when she finally broke free.

Her body temperature flared for a moment before she got a hold of her anger and forced it back down. She didn't want to risk setting the wooden chair she was still in on fire: or the umbrella, or anything else nearby for that matter: though she was pretty sure now that her intensive body heat when she was angry probably wouldn't bother Jr. any, since he had said his mother was a Phoenix after all.

Haikyo's smile returned and she nodded at the idea of getting to see a new city and perhaps meet some new people, and even more at the idea of possibly getting to learn something about herself that she didn't already know. "Sure. That sounds like fun. When were you planning on leaving?"

"Pretty much, yeah. That's the way it was told to me. After my dad and that Himitsu lady had a meeting about that Squall dude who was killed, she never left the city. Where ever she went, she didn't leave there until that spirit thing killed the Squall guy. I guess things got heated in my dad's office, and like, the guy Squall was dead set on killing her. He had a bullet with her name on it. I mean, for real, that's not a figure of speech, he actually had a bullet with the word 'Himitsu' carved into it. Dad thinks she was hiding in an alley or in one of the many crap hotels somewhere, her and that Dragon-thing up there that was lying on the beach when that Demon dude showed up."

It looked like she got pissed for a second. Who wouldn't be, after hearing that the leader of their city ran away and hid, while some asshole rampaged through their city and killed innocents. That spirit thing forgave her, but it didn't look like Haikyo would be doing the same.

She agreed to go with him to Edge, so that was cool. He wasn't really looking forward to going back there, but, the sooner begun, the sooner done. "I... got kinda some bad memories of that place, and I hadn't planned on going back there until I was a little older, but if it helps you get more in touch with what you really are, then I guess i'm ready when you are. It's almost on the other side of the planet but I can have us there in a few seconds..."

As she listened carefully to the way Jr. explained the way he had heard things from his father Haikyo found herself wanting to find Himitsu and give her a piece of her mind: in a very violent firey fashion. Or even that big dragon she had seen on the beach and then later on on the cliff for that matter. He should have been able to do something, right? I mean, a dragon that sized, who was in that sort of position of power to seem to be Himitsu's right hand man since he was always with her... he should have been able to stop it too. But neither of them had. At all. They had hid, like cowards.

Haikyo raised a hand, rubbing at her face as she felt her temper trying to flare again. She didn't want to force Jr. to have to go somewhere he didn't want to be since had bad memories of the place, but if she didn't leave soon she was likely to go find Himitsu herself and cause problems, and that was the last thing she honestly wanted to do.

"For the sake of not allowing my anger to get control of me and cause me to go do something I might later regret... I'm ready now if you want to go and get this over with sooner rather than later."