Late Nights (Naia)

[Darien]

He smiled as he saw the same look in her eyes as him when he had first seen this place. He liked to call it his forest, since he was the only one he ever really saw wandering the place. He looked down at the woods, then turned back to the girl, mulling over the question she had asked him. It was hard to say how he had found such a place. He guessed it could just be that he liked the outdoors, and liked to explore. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess i just love the night air, and i walk and wander often. I mostly just stumble on places like these. I guess its just a little gift from god." He smiled, then got yet another of his infamous ideas. Turning around with a deep breath, he dove, swimming hard to the bottom of the lake. He made it halfway, about thirty feet, then spit in two, the second Darien swimming yet further down with its re-atomized lungs full of air. Darien swam back to the top, then treaded water right next to her. In a few moments, his clones body hit the surface, its lungs filled with water. Darien turned him face up, and he started coughing up water. They re-atomized, and Darien held in his hands a clam, on of many that were flooded into the lake through a series of pumps from the ocean.

He ripped it open with his bare hands, and set the opened clam in front of Naia on the bank.

Inside its mouth was a pearl.

After setting it there for her to look at, Darien gave a grin. He had many other things to show her, if she was interested, but he would wait to see what she had in mind for them (if anything) before he made any choices on where they would go.

OOC((I'm not sure if Naia wants this thread closed or open. If she does, she can put it OOC in her reply post.))

[Naia]

"I guess i just love the night air, and i walk and wander often. I mostly just stumble on places like these. I guess its just a little gift from god." Naia smiled, her eyes still full of stars. She wondered who was up there, looking down on the two of them. Perhaps her ancestors spirits, while awaiting reincarnation, were watching the happenings of their young daughter. Perhaps the gods were smiling down, as the stars indicated, and hatching a plan to allow her to discover her past. Or perhaps they were simply creating beauty.

Naia looked back to Darien once she heard the splash, it seemed he had dove under the surface. She felt something wrap around her ankle, and she knew instantly it was the viper. It spoke to her through emotion, saying that the boy was fine and splitting like a starfish down there. The girl smiled, wondering what he was up to. Naia also wondered what it felt like to split oneself, she would have to ask him.

Darien popped up and had a very mischeivious look on his face as he steaded himself, she thought it was called tredding or floating or something like that, next to her. The beautiful hindu smiled at him broadly and looked once more to the view, this time scanning the trees. Absolutely gorgeous.

Hearing a strange bubbling sound, Naia turned just in time to see another Darien laying (floating?) on the surface of the water. Was he alive? She opened her mouth to ask, when he sputtered and merged back with the original, who now held something rough-looking in his hands. He pried it open and she recognized the flesh, it was a clam. Resting on the clam, though, was a pearl.

The girl was astonished, she had not known that this was how pearls were formed. She felt so ignorant at times, not knowing things that most people did, but those thoughts of self-pity were driven away by the magnificence of the moment. Here, in front of the most beautiful scenery she could ever remember seeing, was a gorgeous pearl that a little clam had spent time creating.

"It's amazing!" She exclaimed with a laugh. "Did you know it would be down there, Darien?"

Naia's black eyes crinkled with glee as she ran a delicate finger over the equally delicate pearl. It was so smooth, so round. The color was perfect, just what she had seen on jewelry in India. Naia wondered how they were strung with such precision, it must take a lot of work to not crack the pearl.

The viper slid higher up her leg and she ignored it. "You are full of many surprises, and so far all of them have been quite pleasant." The girl smiled at him.


((OOC: it doesn't matter to me if it is open or closed, I suppose if a reader thinks that their character would benefit the thread, it could be open. ))

[Darien]

Darien grinned as she stared at the pearl. He was glad she liked it. He assumed that she would probably think he was doing all this because she was a female, and while he got her the pearl because she was, he was showing her everything he loved because he really didn't have many friends around here. He didn't count Matt a friend; no, he was more of just a roommate whose ass he planned to kick in they're next rematch. The guy had hurt him, as it was obvious he wanted a more serious match. He wouldn't go so easy next time. He pulled his thoughts away from Matt, turning them to the matter at hand.

"Yeah, i knew it was there. There are actually a few hundred down there, but I'm not sure if anyone else knows about them." He suddenly went under the water, then popped back up quickly.

"Sorry, air was getting cold." he looked over and smiled.

"Bye" He jumped off the edge of the cliff. The air passed through his hair, the fall giving him a quick dry like no other. The ground came up incredibly fast, and before a few seconds had gone by, his body hit with a sickening crunch. Dead, instantly.

As the girl would probably begin to freak, His body floated into the air, then shot up the cliff-side faster than it had fallen. It zoomed over the bank and back into the water, then Darien, fully healthy, broke the water, taking deep breath. "Good god that was a rush." He looked at naia, smiling, wondering if she was surprised. It was his last real feat before he finally stopped with the circus he had begun to form.

[Naia]

"Yeah, i knew it was there. There are actually a few hundred down there, but I'm not sure if anyone else knows about them." Naia smiled at him. Now she knew of the pearls as well and would not hesitate to collect a few if she felt it. In fact, the viper wrapped around her leg shot to the bottom of the water, finding many more clams. Taking one in its mouth, it headed back for the surface.

Darien went under the water due to the cold and the girl shrugged. She wasn't too chilly, but perhaps that was because she was under the water from the neck down. She was still a little uncomfortable showing too much skin to a boy she hardly knew.

Her mind wandered back to the viper, who was nudging her hand with the clam. She took it and was about to lift it above the water when Darien suddenly leapt off the side of the cliff. Shocked speechless, the viper felt her terror and shot above the surface, fangs extended to thwart any enemy that had threatened its mistress.

Seeing none, the poisonous snake wrapped itself around her upper arm and rested its head on her shoulder.

Bending to peek over the side of the cliff, Naia wondered what caused this boy to jump like he had. Her eyes were still wide and she felt a pang of sadness when she heard the sickening crunch, for the first person Naia had started to consider a friend at this forsaken school had just killed himself in front of her.

Something behind her broke water loudly, startling Naia out of her sadness. Whirling around, she took a defenseive position and the viper was looming above her, hissing with bared fangs. It shot forward, eager to bite, when she realized who was behind her.

"Good god that was a rush."

Faster than the blink of an eye, Naia's hand shot out and caught the viper by middle, just before it got close enough to Darien to do some damage. It went limp in her grasp and made its way back around her arm. Resiting the urge to slap this boy, she stared at him. "I can't believe you did that!! What if I had not been quick enough to stop the viper, eh? Then you really would be dead!"

The girl's fury ebbed quickly, though, for she suddenly saw the humor in the situation. Her lovely face split into a smile and she laughed. "I will hand it to you, though, you have a pretty amazing gift."

With that, she left the bank and paddled to the middle of the lake, where she did her best to float. Sometimes it just felt good to let go and allow the water to hold you. "Do you often scare the life out of those you have just met, Darien? Or was that just for me?" Naia was still chuckling.

[Darien]

Darien floated out after her, treading the water next to her curvy frame. He came up near her, a small, charming smile touching his lips.

"Nah, just for you." He said. It wasn't, really, he was just being himself, but she didn't need to know that. He rolled over onto his back, looking up at the stars that shone so brightly. He wished he could be somewhere else. The entire world was there for the taking, and he was here in some sort of stupid student prison, rotting away for the next four years of his life. He turned his head a little toward Naia, and wondered what she had done to get in here. He'd have to ask.

"Naia, why are you here? In Paragon, i mean? You must have done something to get thrown in here..." He quickly added: "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, i was just curious." He didn't want her to think he was a snoop or that she had to tell him. He continued floating along on his back, thinking of his own reason for being locked away. He considered this girl a friend, his first real one since arriving.

He didn't want that to change because of something so trivial.

[Naia]

"Nah, just for you." He said, coming to float beside her. The stars shone brightly, gorgeous in the eyes of the beholder. The night was peaceful, even after Darien pretending to kill himself. Naia was calm.

"Naia, why are you here? In Paragon, i mean? You must have done something to get thrown in here..." This was quickly followed by "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, i was just curious." The girl smiled. It was a question that any here would ask, due to the nature of the school. It was a prison school for minors, and all who came here must have done something wrong.

The only problem was, Naia hadn't done anything wrong. The boy she had allowed to die had been disrespectful in a way she could not explain. Due to the fact that she was not in the wrong, the Indian girl had no problem telling her new friend Darien what she had done.

"I had my viper bite a boy and then allowed him to die." Her dark eyes turned to Darien seriously, "He deserved it. I did nothing wrong." At the mention of it, the snake released its hold on Naia and seemed to dance along the surface of the water. It was hungry, it told her, and was off to find something to eat. That was the good thing of having a viper, Naia thought to herself, she didn't have to worry about feeding it. Vipers ate once a week and could find its own food.

"What did you do, Darien?" She asked softly. The girl understood that some of the other students here would have a problem with telling others their 'sin', but she could not imagine Darien doing anything much worse than she herself had done. After all, killing was not so bad. Everyone came back in the next life, it was not as if death was permanent.

[Darien]

So, she was convicted of the same thing he was.

Only his was slightly different.

"Its not a pretty story." Damien said, his voice going dark. "Before coming here, i was in a small gang of misfits, and day by day we would do harmless but aggravating things to a select number of people. One day, my best friend was shot by one of the people whose house we had egged. I was torn in two." Darien's eyes stared up at the sky. "The man who shot him came to our house, when my mother and me were the only ones home. Father was at work..." His face flushed with anger.

"The man raped my mother, threatening to kill me if she screamed. He made me watch." A fist was made by his hand, and suddenly, there were four fists, replicating outside the body. Not four bodies, but just fists around Dariens main one, then they went back into one. He didn't even notice, and she would only notice it if she looked. His eyes held the hatred he felt for the man.

"Late one night, i snuck out, and murdered the man in a fashion i wont repeat." His fist went slack. "My father was devastated, and my mother too ashamed to tell him the truth. It was either come to paragon, or be tried as an adult and convicted of insanity and brutal manslaughter, for which most cases are given the death penalty. I chose here." He treaded water, coming up off his back.

His eyes turned to Naia.

"Given the choice, id do it again." He said, letting her know that he didn't regret a second of it. He wondered how she would think about it, but shrugged it off. If she was going to treat him differently for something she herself had done, then he guessed there was nothing he could do about it.

OOC(( i realize this isnt in my profile, but its purposly not there. i didnt add it, because i wanted to RP the supressed feelings he has regarding it))

[Naia]

Naia listened carefully as Darien recounted his story. So, he had been protecting his mother. That was honorable, very honorable indeed. She didn't know what egging was, but if it had to do with eggs it couldn't be a very harmful thing.

She had looked at him during his telling of the tragedy and saw how many fists her was displaying. Though she knew it was his Qi, the superstitous part of her wanted to believe that perhaps this boy was a reincarnation of Shiva. That would explain the violent act of vengence. Though she doubted it, Naia confirmed a thought she had had earlier. It would be far better to be on Darien's good side than on his bad, though this was the first she had seen of it.

Though she wondered what exactly he had done to the perpetrator, she did not ask. It was obviously a sore spot for her new friend and she did not wish any stress on their newly founded relationship. Naia was always curious about how others killed, though. It was a sort of fetish she had, the old woman who had found her had once said she must have been a violent ruler in a past life, for the way that she acted in this one.

"Given the choice, I'd do it again." Naia's dark eyes met the boy's piercing gaze. She did not doubt his words. "As would I, in your place." Her words were soft, soothing. Darien was no longer floating, but holding himself in place by kicking and moving his arms simultaneously.

"It seems we have both done deeds that others would look down upon, Darien. I do not understand why this world seems to shy away from people exacting their own revenge, whether for a loved one or for their honor." She kept floating, having gotten into the groove of it. Naia did not understand mainly because, she felt, she did not know enough about it. Having awoken to this strange place only months prior, Naia's views of how things should be and how things were seemed to be polar opposites.

[Darien]

Darien was a little surprised that she wasn't really effected by his story, but he also kind of liked it. He hadn't yet found anyone close enough to talk to about it, mostly because he knew what everyone would think. "Better not piss off Darien, he'll murder you if you do" He could already see the kids saying that. Thats why he had been keeping it to himself. It was Good that the first person he told was fine with it. He smiled widely, opening his mouth to speak, when a sudden influx of water pushed his body forward and into her. He would have swam back, if the strong current from the pipes underneath them wasn't forcing them both back toward the bank.

The current stopped just after they reached the bank, and Darien pushed back, blushing a little.

"uh, sorry" he said, placing a hand behind his head. The feel of her body against his was the reason for his blushing. For her age she was well formed. He wasn't interested in women right now, but anyone who was anyone would be a little breathless after touching bodies. His own muscular frame was nothing to laugh at, but he had seen men far larger than him. One looked to be a direct descendant of Goliath, hulking around with at least 250 pounds of muscle on his frame.

He changed the subject.

"I have more things i can show you, if your interested." He didn't really know what else to do, and though he had an idea, he wasn't sure she would go along with it, least of all because he had never done it before, but also because it would require they're lips to touch. Though it wouldn't be romantically, he doubted she had ever been in such a situation. Still, he wasn't embarrassed to suggest it, since he knew it wouldn't be for anything else but what he planned to show her.

[Naia]

Naia floated peacefully. The night was nice and Darien's company was definitaly not unpleasant. She was still looking at him when he began to speak. Having formed something to say herself, she shut her mouth and waited to listen to him.

Instead, what seemed a huge force of water caught them both off guard. Darien's larger body was pressed against her smaller one and they were shoved mercilessly to the bank. Naia smiled as she felt his large, muscular body against her own firm one. She had to admit he was a handsome boy, not much older than herself, though she really didn't know how old she was. The girl looked between 16 and 17, but with such a short memory there was no telling. The old people who had found her could not afford to have her DNA tested, though some of the doctors had offered to pay shortly before she had been sent here.

The bank pressed in on her back, Darien pressed against her front, once the water stopped pushing them so violently. He pulled away immediatly, with a blush. "Uh, sorry" Naia smiled at him, trying her best to look shy, though there were very few things that made the girl blush. "It's alright, it was the water." Looking at him, she wondered what it would feel like to press against him without the water's aid. Giving herself a mental shake, Naia banished that thought. She needed to discover her past before she could start thinking about things like that.

"I have more things i can show you, if your interested." The girl smiled at him prettily, brushing some of her thick dark hair out of her face. She rolled to her side in the sand, the water pushing and pulling the cloth that hugged her as it tried to calm itself after the rush.

"I am very interested, Darien." Naia said softly, "So far everything you have shown me has been wonderful. From this gorgeous lake to your. . . duplication." This was followed with a soft chuckle. She really didn't know what to call his ability, but duplication seemed to work.

[Darien]

Darien grinned.

"Theres just one problem...." he sounded a little uneasy. "I would have to give you breath, since it will be under water." He planned on showing her the lake under the lake, but it would be a long swim down and he didn't have a clue how long she could hold her breath. He had an idea on how he could supply air for them both, and was almost positive it would work. He made guesses on a lot of things, and every time he was right in his assumption. He pushed the thought of her body against his to the back of his mind, the red finally gone from his face. He didn't want her to think he was shy or embarrassed about this, since, well he wasn't.

He came up next to her, waiting for her to reply and not exactly sure how she would take the suggestion. She seemed like she was a little different and knowledgeable, and then there were times when she seemed like she got a sudden dose of amnesia. He would have to talk to her about it and see if she knew what he was talking about, but not now.

Now was a time for fun and relaxation, and hopefully a trip to Pearl Lake.

[Naia]

"Theres just one problem.... I would have to give you breath, since it will be under water." Darien sounded a bit uneasy, and she supposed she could understand why. That would mean his mouth pressed against her own. She wondered if he would be so uneasy about it if they hadn't just been pressed together like two lovers, or if he would be uneasy about it no matter what. Ah well, those were questions that would never have answers, so there was no use dwelling on them.

"Like I said," Naia said with a playful smile, "I'm game for anything." She stood, sand stuck to the part of her that didn't go back into the water. "I can hold my breath for a good amount of time. . . I think." Something told her that she could, but the girl really wasn't sure. So far she had just been relying on instinct when it came to things about herself, and so far she had always been right.

Naia looked once more at Darien, offering him a confident and lovely smile. She assumed he would be getting fresh air through his multiple selves by way of Qi, but that left out how he would know when she needed air. "How will I let you know when I need to breathe?"

Her smile increased, and Naia hoped that Darien didn't take it in a way it wasn't intended for. She had just realized that she was wearing little, in a pool of water, talking of sharing breath with a white boy she had recently met. How the old woman would cringe at her seeming loss of tradition.

[Darien]

Darien smiled when she said she was game.

He put his hands together, and split in two, the clone staying on the surface. He held out his hands, and grinned.

"Just grab me, and push your mouth to mine. Ill take care of the rest." He tried not to sound to provocative, lest she think something other than the truth. He really wasn't thinking of her lips against his as anything but what it was, yet he sure as hell wasn't going to lie and say he wouldn't enjoy it, should he be asked. After she took his hand, he would take a deep breath and dive, pushing and kicking with his legs as he swam ever deeper. At about twenty five feet, he stopped, turning back to Naia, wondering if she would need breath.

It was quite a long ways down, about eighty feet, and he could only go a certain amount without going up for air, and he was trained to hold his breath, so he didn't know how long it would be before she would need air. He Got ready his Qi should she need it, and looked back down, trying to judge how far they had left by eye sight alone.

He was taking her to the bottom of the lake, and from there, a small entrance under all the clams that were there. It hadn't been seen for hundreds of years, at least, not until he had found it no more than a few days ago. He hoped she liked it, since it was one of the many things he had given her a glimpse of tonight. He grinned in his mind.

'And this is just the lake' He thought to himself.

[Naia]

Naia took his hand. Together they dove into the dark water, and the girl wondered what he was going to show her this time. If he wanted to top his amazing Qi and the gorgeous lake, it would gave to be good.

Her feet kicked through the water and her right hand pushed at the liquid, her left moving in tandem with Darien's, as it was clutched in his own. Ten feet passed and her air was fine.

They kept swimming, pushing and pulling at the water, cutting through it with no difficulty. At about twenty feet she felt the need for air. Naia waited, though, intent on getting as much use out of her current air as possible. Five feet later, Darien paused. It was the perfect time, she needed air.

Naia's slender hand gripped Darien's shoulder and, using her other hand which was entangled in his, pulled him close. She expelled the used air from her lungs and pressed her soft lips against his. Opening her mouth, she waited. He had said that was all she had to do, and Naia wondered if she was supposed to breathe in now.

Unable to not do so any longer, the girl inhaled from Darien's mouth, clinging to him so that no water would get inbetween their lips. Naia couldn't help but offer a mental smile.

[Darien]

Darien felt her mouth against his, and smiled in his mind. Her lips were soft. Then he remembered he needed to breath out, but she beat him to the punch. She pulled the air from his lungs, and a second after she did, The clone was suddenly pulled into Dariens body, replenishing his air. The clone split back out, swimming for the surface after she had pulled away. He turned, and since he was not able to say anything, swam yet deeper. The new air felt great, and as they reached sixty feet, which was as far as he could swim on his replenished air, he turned quickly and put his mouth to hers once more, giving her new air after she expelled the old.

The clone came back and split, this time letting its new air just float it to the surface, since trying to swim would only slow it down and it wouldn't be able to make it. As they reached the bottom, Darien scanned the bottom, searching for the giant clam. He found it, and punched its surface hard. It opened, and with it, the hundreds of other clams suddenly broke away, shooting off in every direction. It left a large hole, which Darien, after re-grabbing Naia's hand, swam for.

After entering the hole, it would be a matter of seconds before the current behind them pushed them quickly through, breaking the surface of a large underwater cave. He would grab the edge, and after pulling himself up, reach down and grab her hand, helping her out of the water. His clone would shoot into his body not long afterward. The cave was dark at the moment, except for a small, thin pike of stone, which had an opening that shone like glass. He pulled Naia gently across the smooth stone, then place a hand gently on her stomach to stop her at the perfect time.

"Wait here" He whispered.

Stepping back the way they came, he walked over to the spike of light, bent over, and blew into it.

Suddenly, from directly in front of Naia, light shot up from a giant, underwater lake. The cavern was at least a mile long, running well into the cliff. It only about twenty feet high where they stood, but after about a hundred feet or so, the ceiling skyrocketed to a height that couldn't be seen.Looking down, there were millions of clams. The water was only a few feet deep, but the light shone beautifully.

He spoke, just in case she wondered where the light came from.

"Up on the hill theres a giant rock, which has a giant slab of shiny rock attached to it. I assume that rock reflects light straight down a tunnel, because in the spike i blew into there are large pieces of a different material that holds sunlight and moonlight like storage containers.. When i blow into it, it pushes the rocks down and under the clams, which open up to enjoy the warmth they think will accompany the small stones. The light reflects on all the millions of pearls, and thus you have-" He held out his arms. "-Pearl lake."

He was making a lot of assumptions, thinking his judgment was right, but he also knew that there were other factors which he probably had no clue about. Regardless, the light reflecting off the millions of pearls offered quite the view.

He hoped she thought so as well.