Heroes of Silvatica City

"She didn't tell me," Honey said bluntly, chewing on a tomato. Ire never told her where she was going, in the interest of Honey's safety. "Look, I already have all available resources out looking for her, kid. Don't worry about it."

It did appear outwardly like a date, but Amber was just thinking of it as a friendly hangout too. Though sharing a bucket of popcorn with DJ was... Nice. DJ probably noticed something odd about Amber, as when one the commercials came on, she squeaked excitedly. It was a commercial with cats and kittens in it. Did she like cats?

Cha had met Mia's mother Rollen, and was pretty much the same height as her. Seeing all the other women around here didn't surprise Cha, she knew that males and females had huge size disparity in Mia's species. But all the looks they were getting was pissing Cha off. She kept it in though when they met her parents. "Mia, my baby!" Rollen wailed when she saw her daughter, leaping up high and hugging her daughter around the neck, raining kisses down on her face. She was in full on embarrassing mother mode, and it made Cha laugh. "C'mere, my girl!" her father, Omak, growled, as he picked his daughter and wife up in his arms and spun them around. Omak was even bigger than Mia, absolutely immense.

Jin didn't respond immediately this time, she was trying to draw out a pretty poster that would help her remember all these equations. When she did reply, it was in the same sweet tone as the last time. "No it's fine! I'm just studying what's up?"

Honey was trying to play it cool and mature as she looked at Amadeus while chewing, but she was getting desperate. Ire would have found her by now if the situation was reversed, so Honey was being truly pathetic by not having found her. "Do whatever you want," she said, finishing her meal. "But stop calling me your benefactor. My name is Honey."

Amber noticed it, and made a mental note of it as well. The guy liked superheroes, who didn't? It made sense though, with his parents being such awesome people. As the pair of them watched the movie and really got into it, they weren't focusing on the popcorn bucket as much between them. So when they absently reached for another handful, their hands touched. Amber immediately felt his skin and recoiled in embarrassment, mumbling an apology.

They hugged and spun for a bit longer, before it was Cha's turn. "Cha! It's good to see you again, girl," said Rollen, leaping down and hugging Cha tight. Cha grunted a happy reply. Man, Rollen was strong. She may have looked tiny and squishy, but there was no denying the little females of this species were just as tough as the huge males. They had to be, to survive the... Um, 'parenting'. Though of course, Rollen's strength paled in comparison to Omak's strength, which Cha was reminded of when Omak reached down and scooped them both up into a deadly hug. Cha was being crushed! It seems they'd quite forgotten that humans weren't as tough as they were.

Jin had to reread the message a couple of times. Aww, he was inviting her to hangout? That was really sweet of him, and brave too, what with him being so shy. She responded in kind. "Sure! What's the event?" She had to know how to dress. She was tempted to ask if she should invite anyone else, but that should be Drago's decision.

Honey sighed and unbuttoned the top few buttons on her shirt, reaching inside and pulling out a silver chain. On the chain was a golden wedding band, inside of which were engraved small, sweet words. "You better not break or lose this," she said as she handed Amadeus the ring, still warm, before buttoning up her shirt again.

Whereas Amber had never dated anyone and the only hands she'd felt that weren't hitting her were her mother and father's. DJ's hands were quite as rough as her dad's, who worked long, hard days on work sites, but not as soft as her mother's either. She kept thinking about his hand instead of focusing on the movie, so an explosion on screen took her by surprise, making her jump.

Omak blinked slowly, and gently lessened his hug grip until Cha gasped for breath, having gone red in the face. "Sorry little one," said Omak, gently setting her and his wife down on the ground. Cha staggered, shook her head, and then breathed deeply. "No problem," she wheezed. Rollen was rubbing her back but also giggling at the weak human. "Come on then, girls. We got grub! Oh, and Mia, we have a surprise for you~," she trilled as she frog marched Cha towards their home.

Jin's face lit up when she read the text, and she was hasty to respond. "Omg I love Japanese culture that sounds great! When and where are we meeting?" She said 'we' instead of 'you and I' because this kind of left it open for him to invite others, if he wanted to. She didn't mind if he did.

Honey knew Amadeus' magic was real, but this kind of thing seemed like mumbo jumbo that was done by 'gypsies' at funfairs. Even so, she didn't have any other choice. She took a deep breath and thought about Ire coming home, flying in on a helicopter and swooping Honey off her feet. Her thoughts got slightly deprived, so she dropped the ring on the map before she got distracted.

"Thanks, but I'll be alright," said Amber, holding her hand up. Crime had gone down a bit after the last invasion, which it normally did after such things. Most people were shell shocked and too tired to commit crimes after such events. "So, um, that movie was pretty good huh?" Honestly she hadn't been focusing as much as she should, but she liked it anyway. Though she was more into horror movies.

Wow, 'big' sister was right. Rose was huge! Still not as big as Omak but half a foot taller than Mia, and even more jacked somehow. Cha went slack jawed at the sight of the girl. "Isn't it great?!" Rollen was saying, going over to her other daughter and hugging her arm. "Rose is finally back! You've been neglectin' your mama too long," she scolded Rose with a smile, rubbing her cheek on her big muscly forearm. Omak grinned and smacked Mia's back. "We're a whole family again!"

"Alright, I'll meet you then! btw who else is coming?" Jin couldn't help but text. She knew that DJ and Amber were seeing a film together (ooh la la~), Milo and Sakura were out of town at a concert, and Alistar and Tarana were actually volunteering fixing up the last of the destruction in the city. Good for those two. But it left a few more people that could be invited if they wanted to. Besides, they had a group chat so all of them could be messaged at once even if he didn't have their numbers.

Honey was perplexed. How in the hell had she gotten out there? Was this her mission? Well, she could ask those things of her when she found her. "If she won't last longer, then I won't be proud and take a plane," she said, standing up and looking intensely at Amadeus. "Amadeus. Would you please take me to her?" Would she be alright to go to some desert island in her heels and pencil skirt? Should she bring food and water, and a first aid kit? Would she even be able to go or was it just Amadeus?

Amber thought about it for a moment, then turned to DJ with an evil smirk. "The Damned," she said in a fake eerie voice. The Damned was a new horror movie getting rave reviews. It seemed like another zombie film, but people like it so it must have been good. Amber did an over the top evil laugh and started shuffling like a zombie. It was a pipe dream to see this film though. She couldn't afford another film ticket. It was probably time she got another job, after the last place fired her for... Well, they were just assholes.

Cha blushed. Was it because Rose was a complete babe, at least in Cha's tastes, or was it because she'd called her Mia's babe? Could be either. "Nice to meet you," she responded in an unintentionally sharp tone, jabbing her hand out for her to shake.

Jin was confused by that response, so she just responded with: "Oh that's fine, see you then! " But what did he mean? Jin figured it was just Drago being his awkward self, and that he wasn't used to having friends so he was trying out new things to see what he liked. He only liked her as a friend, Jin could tell. Whereas Jin, well... She sighed deeply and went back to studying but her mind was well and truly on other things the whole time.

Even though Honey was the cool, calm, and collected leader of SHADE, the sudden teleport and then them swooping up into the air surprised her. She squeaked and clung to Amadeus' arm, trying not to look down.

Amber's eyes lit up with excitement and she nodded enthusiastically, dropping the zombie roleplay. "That would be so awesome," she said, sounding more animated and girly than usual. No one got to see her like this except DJ. Amber didn't get the sense that they were being followed, because she didn't have those kind of superpowers. She was normally hyper aware of others around her, having had a rough life and needing to survive, but she was solely focused on DJ right now so that wasn't happening.

Cha's blush increased, and this time it was totally because of Rose. Wow, she was so gently. Mia was always like this with Cha too, but it was nice to have someone just as big and... B-beautiful be soft on her. She couldn't help an involuntary smile that flickered over her face. Then Mia spoke and she squeezed that smile away, slipping her hand out of Rose's and looking behind her at the rest of the family. "Good idea buddy," Omak said to Mia, slinging his arm around his daughter and leading her inside. Buddy was Mia's nickname from her parents, who had a thing for plant life but for some reason hadn't given their second daughter a floral name...

As it turned out, Chloe, Lloyd, and her sister Lily were also going to this event. Lily had persuaded her sister to go, who was always intrigued to try new things even if it involved large crowds and loud noises. Jin and Drago might see them hanging out there too, Lloyd wearing a nice shirt, Chloe dressed as usual too, and Lily in a pretty floral yukata. Jin got there earlier than she and Drago had planned so that she could be in her yukata before he arrived. She kind of hoped he liked it, she hadn't gone for anything too out there and floral, but something more subtle and pretty.|

Oh god, it was like that scene from James Bond where Daniel Craig rose from the waves like a slippery, tanned Adonis. Except Ire was much more attractive that Daniel Craig to Honey. Honey wanted this wet, beach babe Ire to rip her clothes off and tussle with her in the sand... Ugh, she'd been alone too long and was thinking more about herself than the health of her loved one. "Nicole!" she called out to her wife, kicking off her heels and jogging across the sand towards Ire.

Amber's smile vanished when DJ said that. Oh, great. Now they were going to get into a fight. Amber could hold her own, she was experienced with fighting, and DJ was a big enough dude. But they didn't know if there were more of them, or if they were armed. Amber wasn't necessarily frightened but she was definitely on edge. "Ah crap," she mumbled suddenly. "To get to my place from here... We need to go through an alley. We should loop round and go to your place instead." If they managed to get there, his parents would be more than ready.

"I made your favourite!" Rollen trilled, skipping into the kitchen. "And Rose's favourite as well," she added. The table was set for them all to eat, and Rollen was finishing it up with the last of the food. This really was a mountain of food. They were all big, with appetites to match. Cha was drowning just at the sight of it.

Jin looked up when she heard Drago's voice, and her face flushed when she saw him. Wow. He looked like such a bad boy, like a yakuza if her Japanese knowledge was anything to go by. Why did he have a kimono? He wasn't of Japanese descent, and it was an expensive piece of clothing to just have for no reason. Oh but it looked so good on him. Jin gulped slightly and reached into the little pouch that came with her yukata. "Say cheese!" she said, whipping out her phone and taking a picture of him. He wasn't posing so she caught his natural brooding face, oh lord he looked so cool. She almost didn't hear him say her yukata was pretty. "Oh, thanks, i-it was the first one I grabbed," she said dismissively, putting her phone back into her pouch. She also had a pink flower in her hair, clipping it back from that side of her face, which Drago saw more clearly when she looked down. "So, what shall we do first?" Lloyd was telling Chloe more about hanami and explaining why Lily had brought a big basket of food with them. While viewing the blossoms in the park, they would be having a late night picnic.

Honey didn't hear Amadeus, she was too caught up in her wife. "Nicole!" she wailed, not able to keep up her cool demeanour anymore. She missed her wife and was sad, not to mention Ire must have suffered terrible hardships. So even though she kissed and cuddled her back, she also sobbed with longing and relief. "Nicole! Nicole... Oh sweetie, you need a bath," she realised, realising Ire had washed in nothing but salt water for weeks. She was fragrant to say the least. It was kind of funny.

Amber glared up at DJ. "That is the dumbest idea I've ever heard," she hissed. Seriously, they may have outnumbered him but again he might be armed or have others following him. But they were already approaching the alleyway now. They were going to have to think of something fast.

Cha squeaked slightly when she was lifted up, losing her balance from surprise and having to lean against Rose's head. Wow, the elder sister was much more brazen than Mia. She didn't know if she liked it so much, but she couldn't refuse now that she was up here. It felt a little like she was being used for something, but she wasn't sure what it was yet. She looked over at Mia for support but Mia wasn't looking at them. Great... Even when they were sat opposite each other, Mia wasn't looking at her. Cha was starting to feel a tiny bit uncomfortable around Rose after being manhandled. "It's, uh, normal," she said in response to Rose's 'bud bud' comment.

"Sure!" Jin said, falling into step beside him. Man, traditional Japanese sandals were so hard to walk in, and the yukata skirt wasn't the most mobile, so she was having to trot to keep up with Drago's long, cool strides. "So, you have a sister?" she couldn't help but ask, barely concealing her excitement. Drago hadn't told her anything about his family yet. "No need to apologise," Lloyd told Chloe, raising her hand. "You were not informed of the need for food. Furthermore, Lily loves-" "I love to cook!" Lily interrupted, opening the basket slightly to show Chloe a whole collection of bento boxes inside. She'd really gone all out, and it smelled amazing.

"Oh, Amadeus found you," Honey said, sitting up and clinging onto Ire. "He's, uh... Oh, there he is." She looked around and, spotting the wiz kid, pointed up to the sky. "Nicole, I'm... So sorry. I should've asked him sooner, instead of relying on my pride and using useless sources. If I'd done that... You would've been home long ago." Oh no, she was crying again from guilt.

"God damn it," Amber snarled, as the rounded the corner and began to walk through the alleyway. It was much darker than she remembered, but Amber's other senses were heightened. She felt like she could feel the guy behind her now. If they got out of this unscathed, Amber was going to kick DJ's ass.

Cha looked down at her plate, which Rollen had piled far too high. Speaking of Rollen- "I heard your planet was invaded recently," she said to Cha. "Must've been awful, is everyone okay?" "Y-yeah, everyone's fine," replied Cha. "In fact, we had to go out and battle a horde of hypnotised people. Mia was a total bad ass." Normally she wouldn't say such things, but she felt the urge to talk Mia up, even if it made Cha blush ear to ear.

"Really?" Jin tilted her head inquisitively. "That's... Weird? But I guess she has your back?" Jin didn't get it, so she let it go. "So, what's her name? What does she do?" Lily smiled smugly, spun around, and skipped towards the main field where everyone was setting up picnics. There weren't so many stalls here, this wasn't Japan after all so hanami wasn't as big. Lloyd took a look around though as they strolled more slowly after Lily. "I wonder why we do not have such a festival here," she mused. "Perhaps it is because our natural arboreal flora are not as definitely tied to seasons as those in Asia."

Honey's smile got even wider somehow, and those tears didn't stop flowing. "Oh Nicole," she swooned. "If you weren't going to retire willingly after this, I was going to force you to anyway!" She couldn't help laughing and hugging her tight. "I love you so much. Come on, let's get you home."

"Get lost, ding dong," Amber bristled, stuffing her hands into her pockets. Damn, she didn't have much in here. Her keys, her phone, she could use both as weapons but she didn't want to break either of them.

Cha looked back at Mia, and then at her parents. Omak was chowing down and reading a newspaper or something, and Rollen was just staring into space while she chewed. Weren't they seeing what was going on here?! Cha was seeing it now, clear as day, even if they had different cultures this was bullying. "Actually, we had a pretty long flight and we're kind of tired," she said bluntly, digging into her food finally. "Plus Mia wants to take me to some mountains or something tomorrow so we gotta get an early start. Maybe you can do this thing later." She shot a playful, fake smile at Rose.

Oh a younger sister? With a Japanese name? Hmm. That made what she said about his image even weirder... "I bet she's a super cutie," Jin said absently, not really knowing how to respond to that revelation. "You are right," Lloyd said. "People in the west do not have a deep rooted appreciation for nature like some cultures in Asia and Africa do. It is sad, I think." She didn't know if it was sad or not, but other people said it was.

"Nothing like that," Honey said as she stood up, pulling Ire up with her. "Hey, kid?" she called up to him. "Amadeus? We're ready to go now, buddy."

Amber glared at DJ. "You really are a dumbass," she growled, stepping closer to him so their arms were pressed together. As if she was going to leave him here by himself with whoever this nutjob was. She could use her keys as a shiv to defend them if need be.

Cha raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Mia but let it slide for now. She would question him later. Except when the time came for them to go to bed, all the food made Cha pass out as soon as she lay down in one of the family's huuuge spare beds. She woke up in the middle of the night needing to pee, so snuck to the bathroom and prayed that someone wouldn't hear her tiptoeing about.

Wow, what a pair of stunners. His sister would easily be a model when she was older and his mother already could be. "They're beautiful," Jin said. "Oh, sorry, probably don't wanna hear that about your family. S-so where are they now?" Lloyd was satisfied with that answer and nodded. "Acceptable," she said. Lily had found a spot and had spread the blanket down on the ground. "Let's eat!" she said, tucking her feet beneath herself in a very Japanese fashion.

Honey cuddled onto Ire as they flew back to base, nuzzling her head into her shoulder like a fawning child. Except when they got back, she straightened up again and was back to business mode. "Are you going to be alright being debriefed now?" she asked her wife as they started to approach SHADE. Ire must be so tired but she would have to get procedure out of the way first before she could rest.

Amber flew shoulder-first into a brick wall and - crack - cried out in pain. Something definitely broke there. She fell down behind a metal bin with a groan. Thinking as quickly as she could after shaking her head through the pain, she grabbed the lid off the bin and kicked it hard, making it clatter loudly and scatter rubbish towards the attacker.

Cha nearly jumped out of her skin too! "Oh my god, I'm gonna pee myself!" she hissed at Mia, barging passed her into the bathroom and shutting the door. "Turn around, don't look! I gotta go." She didn't know what Mia was doing in here but she was sure the girl had still been in bed before she left the room...

Jin was about to say she'd like to meet them, but the fact that he'd told them about her made her pause. What could he possibly have to say about her to his mother and sister? Oh... They'd probably seen her court case on the news. Drago's face had been on camera a couple of times after all. "Aww thanks. But I... Wouldn't want to bother them," she said with a nervous laugh. Because of Jin, their son and brother had been through a lot of crap, so they probably didn't like her much. Lloyd did not have the intuition to figure out what was beneath Chloe's gloves, and had mused to Lily about it. Lily, being the intuitive one especially when it came to human emotions, told her not to ask about it in case it was upsetting to Chloe. Lloyd sat down in a normal, comfortable position, and they began to serve food.

"We were looking for ways to get him home to his time," Honey said. "But we can't find anything and also... He seems to want to stay." She didn't know what to give the kid, really. Money didn't mean anything to him here and she already treated him well. Perhaps she would ask...

Amber dodged to the side to avoid DJ sailing into her, and ran towards the guy as fast as she could. Before his eyes healed (he had healing powers?!) she smashed the metal bin lid onto his head with her good arm.

Cha sat down and relieved herself, sighing as she did. She listened to Mia and then sighed again, this time with frustration. "Your sister bullies you?" she asked, getting up and pulling up her little pyjama shorts, and then flushing. "Why don't your parents stop her?"

Jin watched Drago walk off and then sighed. She was still having so many negative, self-hating thoughts, which her therapist said would take time to let go of. It really was taking time. At least she wasn't being reminded of the worst things at every turn... Shaking her head to clear the impending thoughts, Jin tottered over to a nearby stall and bought two sticks of pastel coloured dango. Lloyd instinctively got up and followed slowly behind her. Lily was so surprised that Lloyd was showing signs of caring for someone other than her that it brought tears to her eyes. Aww! Lloyd had made a really good friend in Chloe, and with that tiny act of following her, Lily knew that the two of them would be great friends for life.