Heroes of Silvatica City

Whoa, was he teleporting her? Jin was still tense but not blinded enough to not see what he was doing, so he let her pick her up. It felt like he'd done this before - in fact, thinking logically about it, he'd probably carried her to safety at the party, so she felt subconsciously safe in his grasp. And then he teleported, or whatever, and the world filled with wonder. It was a little unnerving so she clung to Drago closely, staring around in awe as the world swirled and glimmered around them. No, around Drago. Everything was refracting off him as he strode towards his room. It was cosmic and, honestly, beautiful. She couldn't help staring up at him as the world curved around him. Once inside his room, Jin was promptly set down in a big squishy beanbag. She blinked away the sparkles and looked around. "Y-yeah," she answered his question. "Thank you... It's nice in here."

Drago only needed to reheat the soup so that was good. Jin had made a lot, not knowing how much such a big guy would need. She watched him as he moved around his apartment. He seemed stiff in his movements, maybe because she was in here, but also probably because he was still recovering from Mia's smackdown. "Mia's really sorry, by the way," she said idly. "And my sister. They want to make it up to you."

"Oh, no, that's all for you," Jin said, waving her hands in the air. "I don't feel like eating, but thank you." He was so soft spoken in fact that she hard to listen hard to hear him. The talking outside the door was louder than his voice. "But... Why does this kind of thing always happen to you?" she asked.

Jin looked down into her lap. "That's horrible," she said. "I'm sorry you've had to deal with that." To think they had acceptance for all different kinds of people - different races, religions, sexualities, and now acceptance for those with abilities too. Heck, they even had aliens living on this planet who were socially accepted, even their principle was one. But there were still buttheads out there that treated different people poorly. "For what it's worth though... You're one of the nicest people I know," she mumbled, still looking down at her lap where her fingers were fidgeting.

Jin had noticed it too, the fact he was talking more and without stuttering. She was... Oddly proud of him, and hearing him be more confident made her feel more confident too. "Well, it shouldn't have to happen to you anymore," she said, sitting up straighter. "If you want, you can hang out with me and my friends, and we'll keep horrible people away from you. Only if you want though." She was aware now that his not wanting to hang out with them wasn't because he didn't like them, but because he was a very anxious guy. She didn't want to force him to do something he didn't want. "And if you don't, then I'll hang out with you," she added as a side note.

Jin giggled. "Have you met my friends?" she asked. "We're rough and tough, rumours won't do anything to us. There's enough rumours going around about me so I don't care if there are more," she added defiantly, though that wasn't entirely true. They were really wearing her down, more would be even worse. "And they'll love you, don't worry... But if you're not okay with it then I won't force you."

Jin beamed, looking much more like herself despite the barely concealed black eye and small cut on her cheek. "Great," she said. "Now finish your soup... And then put your jacket on," she added, getting her phone out and sending a message to the group chat. "I suddenly feel like going bowling." The others would probably be up for it, they had no exams soon so they had some free time, and everyone was always up to going out when Jin asked.

And so, they went bowling and Drago became one of the group. Some of them were a bit unsure of him still, but Jin had noticeably perked up with him being there so they wouldn't protest. Mia and Cha insisted that they buy his bowling ticket for him, and they brought everyone a bowl of nachos to share but then gave it to Drago first. They were apologising as best they could. It was a great night. After that Drago was part of the group. Annoyingly, the wizard kid kept coming back to school and he was sort of scooting into the group too. Olivia was always trying to avoid him, but it was getting too much. Honey was even coming to collect him at the end of the days now, so basically he was there to stay. Olivia hated it. Honey hated it too, actually. The kid was alright but she was never meant to be a mother. Not to mention Ire had been gone for much, much longer than she'd said. She messaged occasionally but her last text was two weeks ago. Honey was barely keeping it together without her. To think something may have happened to her, when their last interaction had been so cold...

Speaking of cold, Aaliyah was getting cold now. Her kids were at a sleepover at Lola's, which was basically the school, so she had decided to dress sexy while waiting for her husband to come home. Maybe even have sex in places other than the bedroom. A barely there lace thong and bralette didn't do much to keep her warm as the night wore on, even with the stockings on. By the time the clock struck midnight, Aaliyah had finished the wine she bought for the special occasion and she was annoyed, sat in her undies and a dressing gown, glaring at the front door.

Honey had been lost in thought but Amadeus speaking brought her back to the present. "What's weighing on my mind is how you speak," she said. "You may be here for a while so you should drop the 'thine's and 'thou's. People in this time find it pretentious and annoying."

Aaliyah's ears perked up and her eyes narrowed when she heard him sneaking through the door. She folded her arms and crossed her legs, waiting for him to notice her in the kitchen, seeing as the candles hadn't gone out yet.

Honey clenched her jaw. What was his deal, talking like he was a middle aged woman about to hand her a glass of wine so they could catch up? "It's nothing for you to worry about, son," she said. Using the word 'kid' usually annoyed him, and she wasn't trying to do that now. "So, how was school?" she asked drolly, going through the motions of a mother figure.

Aaliyah narrowed her eyes even more and took a deep inhale through her nose. At least he didn't smell like another woman. But he smelled of traffic fumes, and mortar, and a tiny splash of blood that was almost totally concealed by soap and cologne. "Where've you been?" she asked on her exhale.

"How do you figure that?" Honey asked, smirking with amusement. When she'd been waiting for Amadeus after school, she saw him walk up to Olivia to try to talk to her - and she shoulder barged him into a wall as she stomped past him. The girl was not interested. Honey sort of breezed over the fact that the kid liked her.

Aaliyah didn't believe him, and it made her heart hurt. "Remember Albaforra?" she asked quietly. It was an alien planet they'd visited during their bounty years. It had been so romantic that all the couples - or the two couples and one triplet - had had pseudo weddings there. One of the vows that Aaliyah had emphasised was that the two of them would never lie to one another. Aaliyah had never trusted anyone until Daniel, so she had believed it would never be an issue. Now she wasn't so sure.

"Wearing her down?" Honey asked incredulously. "What an offensive attitude to have." It was that kind of offence that had caused Olivia to dislike him so much to begin with. "How about instead of forcing her to like you, you get to know her first? If you were being more genuine, she may have forgiven you by now for whatever it was you said to her mother."

Aaliyah sighed too, and rubbed her forehead. "Whatever," she said tiredly. She knew he was hiding something from her, he'd been 'off' for a while now but this was the first solid evidence that something wasn't right. She stood up and walked towards the stairs. "There're leftovers in the fridge," she grumbled. "I drank all the wine. G'night."