ONCE BURNED was made by MEL. Copying, altering, or stealing any of the site's content is prohibited. All of ONCE BURNED's characters are the original work of their owners and may not be replicated or stolen. All images and graphics belong to their rightful owners and ONCE BURNED does not claim to own any of them.
It was such a foolish feeling, she realized: she envied him. She'd never felt anything like it in her life. Letting her hand drop as he took her coat, green eyes took in the room once more.
She'd never pegged him to be so deep. Yet another realization she could add to the list of things she'd learned already tonight. She doubted it would be the last.
"I wish I could have seen it." She said with a small smile. "Both your reaction, and through your eyes." She looked at him, smile growing. "Show me more." She wanted to see it all, if only to latch onto the feeling he'd gotten. "Please."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She watched him for a moment: she supposed it was hardly something to be surprised at. Here was a man with enough money to move heaven at earth by sheer will alone. And that was before even knowing what his ability did.
Instead of saying anything, though, she simply shook her head in amusement.
Turning her attention back to the fireplace, she nodded: she hadn't known him to care about such things. "Hm." She mused. "Why does it matter, though?" She asked out of nothing more than curiosity.
She shook her coat from her shoulders and draped it over her lower arm. "I mean." She looked up at him again. "Why do you care whether nature or humans designed it, shaped it?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she didn't ask. She figured that was yet another thing she came to find out eventually. Instead, Lux smiled. "As long as it makes a fitting home for you, that's what matters."
When the open door was opened to her, she didn't hesitate to walk through. Her green eyes took in the room. She chuckled softly. The French sure loved their fireplaces.
She turned to look at him as he spoke, mouth quirking upward into an amused smirk. "Getting your hands dirty like that? I wouldn't believe it even if I saw it with my own eyes." She couldn't quite help her eyeroll at his last statement. "A proper first world problem, that."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
The brunette could do little but shake her head at her brother's dramatics. "Ah yes, poor thing." She replied dryly. While she wanted nothing more than for her brother to remain a child forever, even she knew it couldn't be postponed forever. He, like she had, would need to get a job eventually and embrace the true nature of being an adult.
Her expression relaxed and she followed him as he moved, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry, little brother." She assured him. "Big sister is here to help you out." While she didn't think it would bring much comfort when he'd eventually have to tell their dad, it was all she could really do; show him she was there for him. Whatever he needed.
Opening the door, she pushed him through before following after.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Hm." She mused, looking out the window as she mulled over his words; She wasn't sure she'd agree or go as far as actually believing that, but it was a nice thought, after all. She'd take what she could get, but if there was something she'd learned over the years, it was not to take everyone's words as the cold hard truth.
Finally, the car came to a stop and the brunette couldn't wait to stretch her legs. Or get some fresh air. While she hadn't minded the car ride, she'd never been one who enjoyed confined spaces. She'd always preferred open spaces. They'd always made her feel more comfortable. "Finally." She teased back.
Opening the door and stepping outside, the brunette stretched her arms in the air. She gave herself a moment to look the house over; It wasn't at all what she'd expected. She'd expected something white, possibly made of stone and very, very modern. "Who knew you'd prefer something so Arcadian?" She looked at him, smiling. "You're full of surprises tonight, aren't you?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Oh, that's nice of him!" She said honestly. She could easily understand the comfort of having a sibling around. She was glad she had hers. Her brother meant the world to her and she didn't know where she would have been without him. Still, she didn't like it when he worried. Or got in trouble. Or made her worried.
"I don't know." She replied with simple ease; After all, without her family, she had no idea where she would have ended up. "I mean, I'm not much of a traveler, but they help keep me grounded." She didn't have much of a reason for staying besides them, but then again, she didn't have much of a reason of leaving either.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A sigh fell from the brunette's lips as she drew her hand back. She hadn't honestly though it would work, but she supposed it had been worth a shot. "Alright. Enjoy it. It's the last you'll be getting." She warned him. She could only hope he'd take it easy, though, perhaps she'd just issued him a challenge instead.
She left the glass where she'd placed it, but she didn't argue. She wasn't going to serve him anything else alcoholic - that much she could be in control of, but she couldn't exactly force him to drink the water. It wasn't wise of him, but then again, she'd never known him to be particularly wise to begin with.
"So, where's junior hiding at today?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She laughed. More so because it was true, than it being funny. She was clumsy. There was no point in denying something so obviously true. "You've given this more thought than I thought you would." She said truthfully.
She appreciated the power she was offered so rarely. People seemed to think she wasn't capable of making her own choices. Or maybe they just thought they'd be better at making them than her.
"Giving away the control of the situation must have felt odd to you." She noted thoughtfully.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Sass doesn't suit you." It did. Sort of. "I don't think you could bore me to sleep." It was hard to imagine. He often kept her on her toes. Not many shared that ability.
Her gaze turned towards the side window: it was easy to forget how large Stagfort was. Being used to Kalispell, she'd gotten used to the small town life. To think it could take so long to move from one end of the city to the other.
"If I hadn't told you where I wanted to go, where would you have picked?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
While the difference was large, he still felt like the same guy. Though, this time sround they felt more like equals than what they had four years ago. "When you're too polite like that, it feels like you're up to something."
It took the brunette half a moment to realize he was pulling her leg. Her expression changed from thoughtful to narrowed in a split second. "Funny guy." She drawled as she pulled her gaze away.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
He made a fair point, one she couldn't really argue. After all, had their roles been reversed, she'd likely make the some choice he was.
Still, it was such a strange thing to gear. Especially coming from him. "Then I'd be happy to go with you." There was little else to say about the matter, after all; She'd rather not read too much into it.
Not too afraid to sound like an impatient child, she asked; "Are we there yet?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She smiled at that: she loved her dog. She had since the day he'd entered her life. He'd been such a positive thing throughout it all and it was nice to know that someone, if only just barely, shared that feeling with her. "I know what you mean." She replied with a soft smile.
The question surprised her and for a second, all she could do was stare at the blonde. "Of course." She replied easily. Though, she didn't understand why he'd want her there.
"I don't know a lot about cats, though, so I wouldn't be much help." She shrugged. "I think you'd be better off asking someone who do."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
The brunette could only shake her head: While she'd never condemn him for drinking, she didn't understand why so many people drank so much they could barely keep themselves controlled. She was hardly one to judge, though. After all, their drinking did pay her bills. "Don't be so dramatic." She chastised him with a light chuckle.
As he continued, the brunette's chuckle developed into a laugh. "Alright, you're officially cut off." She reached for his beer bottle, waggling her fingers at it. She didn't honestly think he'd give it up, but it was worth a shot. Of course, like any woman, she appreciated the compliment, but she found it difficult to take him very seriously in this kind of state, but even she wasn't immune to his charms. She never had been.
She put a glass with water, ice cubes and a slice of lemon in front of him. "Mmm, doesn't this look delicious?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She thought about it for a moment; "Then it'd have to be a pretty big cat." Like a Maine Coon or something. She didn't really have any preferences herself; She liked all animals equally. Fenrir had happened by chance, really. He could've easily had ended up being a cat. She wouldn't have traded him away for anything, though. He'd become as much part of the family as the rest of her family members.
"Would you get one from a shelter or privately?" She asked. She'd gotten Fenrir from a breeder, but the idea of getting rescue animals had always appealed to her. She hardly had the time nowadays, with two jobs that kept her more than busy.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"That makes sense." She replied honestly. She envied people who could move from place to place so easily. She wasn't sure if she was staying out of sentimentality - or out of fear. She'd never given it much thought, though. Leaving had never really seemed like an option to her. "It must be interesting to have a career that could take you anywhere." Was there a thing as a traveling bartender? "My entire family lives here." She shrugged. "That makes it enough of a home to me."
Finishing her own plate of pancakes, she gathered the two plates and stacked them neatly in front of herself. She put the forks and knives on top of the plates and turned back to the man. "Do you have any family here?" Again she was left wondering if he was a mutant, though, from his accent, he probably didn't have a whole lot of family nearby. Of course, a lot of people transferred from their foreign mutant schools to attend Bellefonte, but it always felt like a shot in the dark. Asking, that was.
