[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

"Hey, it's okay," Hayley replied, gently patting his head and silently thanking him for his sympathy. "It's all in the past. Last I heard about him, he's rotting and holding onto welfare, so I guess that's as good of a payback as any. Plus, that experience made me who I am today and taught me to toughen up or die. At least I'm not some poor sod begging on the streets. As painful as it was, his actions led me to finding you and I won't change a thing about them."

[Daxam]

Isaac smiles, glad that Hayley was able to look on the bright side of her past. "That's good," Isaac says, pulling her closer and lacing his hand with hers. "I honestly don't know where I'd be if I hadn't have met you." Pecking her lips, he turns back toward the TV, the sound quietly echoing off of the walls of carbon.

[Vocalia]

While Hayley and Arlia contentedly spent their time with their respective partners, Eryn finally stirred from her sleep. her neck slightly stiff from sleeping on a not-so-flat surface. Yawning softly, she realized that she had slept the night off with Sean and gently nudged the man. "Sean? Sean, wake up. I think it's morning already," she said, even though the dark storm outside obscured the morning sun.

[Daxam]

Feeling Eryn nudge him, Sean groans and opens his eyes. Seeing Eryn's own eyes looking into his own, he smiles and says, "Morning." Sitting up, he turns to his window just in time to see lightning flash, followed by another clap of thunder. "It's really coming down out there, isn't it?" he points out after stretching and yawning.

[Vocalia]

"It is," Eryn replied with a wince as the lightning pierced the sky and a nod. "We're lucky that we have moved my belongings yesterday. Going out in this weather is a nightmare," she said, then gently scooted aside so she could stretch. "Shall I prepare some breakfast for everyone? I think they would be very keen on staying indoors today. With such a severe storm outside, it's best to remain safe, dry, and warm inside rather than outside."

[Daxam]

"Ah, this isn't too bad," Sean says, seemingly forgotten that he was talking to a normal girl. "I've...probably seen worse." Looking from the window to her, he smiles and says, "Yeah, breakfast sounds good. Even though I can't cook worth a damn, I'll be more than happy to keep you company." Standing up, he helps Eryn to her feet and, hand-in-hand, leads her into the kitchen. "So, what were you planning on making?"

[Vocalia]

Peering into the fridge, Eryn smiled and replied, "Maybe something simple. I'm thinking of something sweet... Perhaps some French toast with pancake and berries would suffice?" she asked, unsure of what sort of food everyone in the penthouse liked. She knew her sister had a sweet tooth and so did she, albeit to a much lesser extent, but she didn't know what others liked and she was unsure if Sean would approve of such a sweet breakfast, so she was understandably unsure.

[Daxam]

"Sounds delicious," Sean says, grinning as he pulls a chair up to the counter and sits down. "And I'm not surprised you came up with the idea," he adds, "since you're even sweeter than your idea." Chuckling, he watches as she gathers the ingredients, and tosses a blueberry into his mouth. "How'd you sleep last night?" he asks, reaching for the blueberries again.

[Vocalia]

"W-Well, all things considered, I can say that I've slept quite well," Eryn replied, pulling out everything she needed and meticulously began working on the breakfast. "I'm quite surprised that I was able to sleep so soundly, especially after all that happened yesterday. Truth to be told, I had something of an odd, but funny dream last night. I'm not sure I could recount it, but if you want to hear me ramble, then I wouldn't mind," she said with a bemused giggle.

[Daxam]

Sean looks up from the blueberries, which he was now regularly snacking on, interest flicking in his eyes. Grinning, he sets the bowl on the counter and says, "I'd be glad to hear it, Eryn. I could do with a laugh."

[Vocalia]

"Well..." Eryn thought long and hard as she tried to recall her own dream. Putting the knife aside in case she might absent-mindedly grab it, she replied, "I saw this big, giant creature starring back at me when I opened my eyes. It's black all over, with piercing yellow eyes, and I was quite frightened at first. It's so big that I can't tell what it was, but then it started sniffing me, then it began purring and nuzzling me, so I thought I was dreaming about meeting a giant black cat. I've always wanted to keep an animal as a pet, but I don't really have the time to care for one."

[Daxam]

Hearing Eryn talk about her dream, Sean immediately knows what she was referring to. Doing his best not to show that he knew exactly what had happened, he shrugs and says, "That's pretty weird. Did you watch any strange movies, lately?"

[Vocalia]

"No, none that I could recall... Maybe it's just something I've read in the past. Perhaps one of my mangas," Eryn replied, not thinking too far into it and completely oblivious to the fact that Sean knew exactly what had happened to her. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I wouldn't mind being nuzzled by a cat anytime soon, Sean." Humming softly, she returned to her breakfast duty, blissfully unaware of what she had seen.

[Daxam]

Sean watches Eryn cook for a few moments, debating whether or not to tell her. However, part of him feels as if she would think he was crazy and leave him if he told her and that thought was too much to bear. Instead, he chuckles and says, "You know, I could be your cat. I wouldn't mind nuzzling against you, if you wanted."

[Vocalia]

"I don't think you could be anymore cat-like than you already are, Sean," Eryn replied with a giggle. "I like you just the way you are. You don't have to change just because of a silly dream. I certainly hope that we both could like and stay with each other, along with our good and bad sides." Leaving behind what she considered to be an innocuous comment, she had accidentally gave Sean a glimpse of how she saw him, which might explain why she wasn't put off by his display of self-confidence which, at times, was borderline arrogant.

[Daxam]

Sean looks at Eryn for a few moments, sensing nothing but the truth from her. Sighing, suddenly feeling guilty for keeping something from her, he decides to give her the answer to her dream. Closing his eyes, he feels his body begin to morph as darkness turns his body black. Large horns grow out of his head, a pair of wings sprout from his back, and a tail slowly grows from his tailbone. His fingers lengthen into sharp talons and his eyes begin to glow gold as white markings appear all over his body. Purring, the creature that was Sean drops to all fours and nuzzles against Eryn's legs, just like in her dream.

[Vocalia]

Hearing a loud purr, Eryn initially turned around, wondering if Sean was teasing him only to find that he had disappeared. "Sean?" she called out meekly, then squeaked in surprise when she felt something against her leg. She cast her gaze downwards and nearly screamed when she saw a black creature nuzzling against her slim legs, a gasp escaping her lips as she tumbled onto the floor in shock. Whoever or whatever he was, he bore a strong resemblance to Sean, yet at the same time, she recognized the characteristics of her dream "giant cat": Black skin, yellow eyes, and his feline demeanor. "Are you... Are you the one from my dreams?" she asked, slowly regaining her composure and extending her hand to him.

At the same time, the black creature's emergence alerted Alexis due to the strong presence of darkness he carried with him. She tried to remain silent and calm, noticing that her operator's fragile state meant that trying to venture out of the room would be dangerous, so she slipped out of her body, through the shadows and out of the room to investigate, locking on his position in the kitchen.

[Daxam]

The creature looks up at Eryn as she extends her hand to it, then nuzzles his head against her hand, lifting himself from his four-legged position. Standing up, he looks into Eryn's eyes before touching his forehead to hers, purring quietly. Meanwhile, inside, Sean finds himself surprised. He had let his other self out, fully prepared to take over again, only for it to behave like the overgrown cat from Eryn's dream instead of attempting to tear her apart. Suddenly, the creature drops back down to all fours and begins sniffing the air, aware of a presence that had slipped out of one of the bedrooms. As it sniffs the air, it draws closer to Alexis' position before sitting down and staring right at her, his head tilted curiously.

[Vocalia]

Seeing that she had been spotted, Alexis emerged from the shadow of the island table where she had been hiding, a large, black blob being all that she was in the material world. This was enough to freak Eryn out as she had no idea what it was and was unable to identify the gelatinous black mass. "Human identified: Eryn Lancaster. Relation to Sean Anderson," she monotonously spoke up. "Umm... I-I'm Eryn... Who are you, if I may ask?" Eryn stammered, feeling an uncanny feeling creeping down her spine. "I am Codename: Alexis. Relation to Hayley Summerland. I am not a hostile unit." Alexis? I think I've heard that name before... she thought, slowly calming down when she was told that the black mass was related to one of her own housemates. Alexis then turned her attention to the creature that was Sean, identifying him as the same creature she saw during the first training session Hayley and Isaac had with Sean. Slowly, her form became less solid and more organic, taking the shape of a large snake. "Unknown organism detected. Information match up existing data. Non-hostile behavior observed. Identify yourself."