Spree Living Room, Sunday Afternoon

[wwiii]

What was a rich guy to do when he was stupidly bored, making faces at the fact that his normally four-person cabin was down to two and a hedgehog, and wanted to get his hands on something to help take the edge off?

Well, the cabins were named after candy, after all. And, while Warren had never really had the chance to indulge in, say, certain brand-names of candy while growing up, there was nothing keeping him from doing so now, right?

In spades?

Look, he had no frame of reference for things like, 'that is way too much money to spend on way too much candy.'

And that was why he was carrying a case of Spree into his cabin today. He'd been inspired.

This could only end in stomach ache.

[For the cabinmate! Unless you have some reason to be in Spree!]

Comments

[wwiii]

"Oh." He tilted his head a little at that. Wow, word got around, around here, didn't it? "I did, yeah. On Friday."

A pause.

"We had curry."

Because that was important to note, here.

[trigons_child]

"Curry?" Raven repeated. She wasn't sure what that was. "Is that a term for some sort of physical act?"

If Kennedy-the-hedgehog was still in the room, she was probably thinking GOD, Raven.

[wwiii]

"No?"

GOD, Raven!

"It's a spicy dish, served with rice." And now Warren was attempting to picture the sort of physical act that could possibly be called 'curry.' He fully suspected that whatever it was, it was most likely to be found within the pages of the Kama Sutra. "There weren't any 'physical acts.' And if there were any, I wouldn't just announce them."

[trigons_child]

"Oh!" Raven said. The more you know. "We do not have spicy foods in Azarath, so I was not certain what that term meant. Food, I see."

She fiddled with the Spree tube for a moment. "Karla is very dear to me," she said. "I merely wished to know that she was treated well."

[wwiii]

"I like her entirely too much to want to treat her any way but well," Warren replied, and honestly, in spite of the sugar buzz that had him bouncing one knee anxiously as he spoke. "You don't have to worry about me... pushing, or anything like that."

[trigons_child]

"Good," Raven said, taking that in as she sifted through the emotions she was picking up. "I am pleased to hear that." Well, kind of.

"So you intend to spent more time with her?" she asked.

Raven still had a lot to learn about social graces.

[wwiii]

Yeah, Warren was starting to figure out that part. But at least she wasn't trying to look more intimidating than she really was, while she was at it.

Warren smiled faintly, reminding himself that here and now was probably a bad time to be amused at Morton's expense.

"I would like to," he admitted, instead. "If she'd like to spend more time with me, too."

[trigons_child]

"She does like you," Raven said. Or else she wouldn't be here, would she?

And Karla was probably going to kill her for that comment.

[wwiii]

"Yeah?"

Warren, do you really have to ask about this, in light of all the flirting that you do?

"I'm not... messing anything up, or anything, that she's mentioned at all?"

He was kind of new to this dating thing, was all.

[trigons_child]

"We have not spoken since Friday morning in class," Raven said, "but I am certain we will be discussing it soon." Pause. "As girls do." And not because she was going to be pouncing on Karla for details or anything. Really!

[wwiii]

"As girls do," Warren echoed, nodding as though he actually understood these things.

It was a sad fact of life that everything that he knew about what girls did, he'd learned from watching television. So he was going to take Raven's word for it, just this once.

Because, truth be told, if Bobby had been around? He totally would have run to him to tell him about most of the date, too. "For all I know, you'll be back again later to give me a stern lecture about how to treat a lady, after all."

[trigons_child]

"Perhaps, though I suspect if she were truly displeased she would tell you herself," Raven said. "She is not one to remain silent. But if she were ever insulted, yes, I would have to do something."

She wasn't trying to make any sort of threat. It was just the truth. Only "do something" for Raven would probably be a stern scolding.

[wwiii]

Warren didn't tend to fare well in the face of a stern scolding, so that would work out nicely in Raven's favor, at least!

"Well," he mused, "it's a very good thing that I have no intention of insulting her."

[trigons_child]

"I can tell," Raven said simply. "I am an empath, after all."

And this really wasn't helping her sort out how she felt, dammit.

[wwiii]

"Right," Warren replied, blinking. "Empathy. So... you would have known my answers no matter what I told you, right?"

This didn't mean that he was going to start making a game out of lying, but it was kind of an intriguing power, he had to admit.

"That must be useful."

[trigons_child]

"There are some people who are able to shield themselves from me, so I cannot read their feelings," Raven said with a tiny shrug. Stupid Jedi. "Though I do not make it a habit of eavesdropping on the emotions of others. That would be rude."

Unless someone was in pain. Then their emotions and injuries were totally her business, thank you very much.

[wwiii]

"Rude unless you're asking somebody how they'll treat a friend of yours," Warren noted wryly. At least there was a smile to that. For as hypocritical as that statement seemed to him so quickly after she admitted that she could tell that he had good intentions, he kind of... appreciated it, too. That there were people who were looking out for Karla's well-being, and all.

"You're not going to make a habit of grilling me over how I feel about Karla, I hope? It's not likely to change any time soon."

[trigons_child]

"Not unless Karla tells me she is unhappy," Raven said. "We are very close, so I know she would."

She wasn't sure that she should be disappointed or not that as far as she could tell from now and the other times she'd spoken to Warren, he was pleasant enough and wasn't an evil demon or anything like that. (Oh wait, that was her.)

[wwiii]

Warren would have been sincerely surprised to hear about the evil part of that description. Really, now.

The demon part... Hey, who was he to judge? People kept confusing him for an angel, after all.

"It probably isn't any of my business," he admitted, "but now I'm kind of curious what she has been saying."

[trigons_child]

"She did not have to say anything," Raven said. "I asked, and she allowed me to feel it."

If Raven had been anyone else, she might've been smug as she said that.

[wwiii]

And if Warren had been anyone else, he might have even wondered why that statement wasn't smug.

"Oh." He pursed his lips, fidgeting with the top of another tube of Spree for a moment. "I'm glad that she's got friends that she can trust so thoroughly around here, then. She and I were both talking about how this place can completely redefine family."

He offered Raven a smile. "You must be one of those people who helped her to do that."

[trigons_child]

Raven couldn't help but smile back. "Yes," she said, inclining her head. "As she helped me. I did not truly have a family before I came to Fandom, and Karla did much to change that. We have become very close, and I am very protective of her now."

As if that wasn't obvious.

[wwiii]

Oh, Warren totally hadn't noticed. Really.

"She did a lot for me, too," he noted, carefully. "She... She understands things, on a level that most people don't even bother to consider. And then from there, she makes whatever it is you're afraid of... seem maybe not so bad."

[trigons_child]

"It is part of what she is as Queen of her land," Raven said. She knew exactly what Warren meant because she'd experienced that from Karla as well. "She is a healer, as am I, of the body and heart and mind, though our gifts work in different ways."

[wwiii]

"A good person is a good person, no matter what power they have or where they come from," Warren decided with a shrug. "I respect what she is, and that there are things that she can do because of that, but I think I'm more inclined to just let myself believe that Karla is as understanding as she is because she's Karla, first and foremost."