*backdated to sometime after the bennet Ball*

[lt_blade]

She'd left an message in Jane's mailbox. It was true that she and Sonya had little in common, but she still enjoyed talking with her. Most of Sonya's friends were guys and though she had no problems with that fact, she also saw nothing wrong with having at least one 'non career oriented' female friend. The main problem was trying to find ways to relate to them: for all the contrasts between them, at least Jane gave the impression that she wasn't judging her, and she was also honest-both of which were things Sonya greatly appreciated. Especially right now, when she felt she needed to talk to someone female, if nothing else, an afternoon chat would've been just as welcome.

It had been little over a week since the Bennet ball, and Sonya found herself still mentally torn about Scorpion. She had long since come around that after Lance was killed, she'd remain single for the rest of her life: back home in the army, that was perfectly fine for her as there wouldn't have been any time to devote to family, but here, even with both of her jobs in the club and the ITF, it was entirely possible to 'start over'. From her time with Scorpion, he was more than open to the idea himself.

She arrived at Jane's home that afternoon, as she said she would on the paper. It didn't feel right to just to arrive there, even if she did ask first, so she stopped over at her own hut for a container of dried raspberry leaves. As a tea, Sonya found she enjoyed it more than regular because it didn't have the caffeine content of the regular black kind, but it also didn't taste as bitter as green tea either. 

Sonya knocked on the door and waited.

One could argue that was she was doing in general was crazy, but then Sonya never denied that she was every wholly sane.

Comments

[bennet_beauty]

Jane had very little to do in a given day. She would tend to Lydia and often visit Carwood at the Boarding House. Today, the two of them were off enjoying themselves. She was easily able to attend to the door when she heard the knock, smoothing her skirt to assure she appeared presentable as she did.

She opened the door and allowed a brief smile, barely an upturn of her lips. "Ms. Blade, hello."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She smiled back, grateful that she had sense enough to change into some a nicer pair of trousers and sleeveless blouse than appear in the clothes she trained in.

"Afternoon, are you busy? Or do you have some free time, I hate the thought of interupting."

Sonya held up the container, made of a thick 'tube' of bamboo, covered by a piece of fabric. "Brought over some raspberry tea leaves, thought you'd like to try it if you haven't already."

[bennet_beauty]

"I have some hot water on," Jane said, feeling optimistic and wishing to take advantage of a lovely surprise. "Come in. I'm all alone with Carwood and Liddy away at the Boarding House."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya stepped inside the house, noting that even without the decorations from the ball, there was still a simple elegance to the place: her own home was more spartan than decorative.

"Looks like we'll have to keep eachother company till then." She said, as if it was out of duty and not simply because it was a way to spend the afternoon.

Sonya handed her the container. "You do the honors or shall I?"

[bennet_beauty]

"I would not know how to prepare this new type of tea," she admitted, a tiny furrow appearing on her forehead -- the only sign that she was less than sure about something. "Please. You do it and I shall set the table."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

"Fair deal." Sonya could've told her that it was prepared the same as black tea, but she didn't mind making it herself.

She followed her into the kitchen area.

"I think I met Carwood a few times." She said. "Back when some of the NCOs still lived in the Homestead."

She wanted to wait until the tea was actually set before she even touched on why she thought to come here. Though the manner was far from serious, it was just easier to think things over when drinking tea and not watching it seep.

[bennet_beauty]

"He's a wonderful man," Jane said, not wishing to overly praise him as she did not know the nature of the relationship between Sonya and Carwood and did not wish to make things awkward with conversation. She settled quite easily at the table, hands splayed as she regarded Sonya and awaited if she required help.

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Well, this was somewhat of a reversal: her having tea with Jane Bennet in her home. Not something Sonya ever pictured herself doing-but then she could've said that about her entire life after the tournament.

It was easy enough to find the tea pot.

"You wouldn't by any chance have a tea strainer, or maybe some cheese cloth?"

Being in Jane's kitchen was one thing, snooping around was another.

[bennet_beauty]

"I've the tea strainer in a drawer," Jane confirmed, pointing to one of the cabinets that had been built for her a good time ago, back when Mr. Darcy was still about. "I believe it should work for the purpose you wish."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya poured some hot water into a tea kettle and waited for it to seep as she searched for the strainer.

"It's almost ready. If you'll set the table, it should be done by then."

Sonya took a deep breath, wondering how she should bring this up. She wasn't one to discuss even her potential relationships with people, but this wasn't exactly an 'average sort of guy', and while she didn't want to admit it-part of her wanted to experience a sort of 'girl talk' moment.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane nodded, setting the napkins upon the table and assuring that everything they would need was ready, settling herself down as well and keeping her posture straight as she awaited Sonya. "Ready here."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya poured the tea in two mugs, balancing them and the sugar as she walked back to the table.

"Not sure if you take sugar or not, I personally prefer taking it straight." She set one of the cups infront of Jane before sitting down with her own, her posture matching the woman infront of her.

Sonya spoke once more after a short interval of enjoying the peace and quiet. "Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." The tea was just an excuse, and a way for Sonya to mull things over. "Do you remember the time you asked me to model that dress for you" Offhandedly, she wondered what became of it. "Part of the conversation led to you inquiring about me possibility of me 'finding someone'? Well, I think I found someone."

Actually, she sort of knew already that she'd found someone. And if Jane had happened to see her with Scorpion that night of the ball (but then she was busy with guests so she may've not really paid attention to such a detail), it would've been pretty obvious who Sonya was referring to.

This was why she did want to talk to Jane Bennet: anyone else (save maybe Harry, and even then he was a softie at heart) and Sonya wouldn't have even thought of mentioning it. It wasn't that she was ashamed of Scorpion, it just wasn't in her nature to really talk of such things. Here, there was the benefit of privacy, and the knowing that Jane wasn't a gossip.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane regarded Sonya as she spoke, adding the sugar to her tea and crossing her legs smoothly as she listened. "Have you?" she asked, pleasantly, glad to hear that Sonya's turn with love had been positive as of late. "What is he like?"

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya tried to hold back a small grin, mostly because she never really thought of herself going in this direction, much less discussing it over tea.

"You met him at the ball, I think." Scorpion did ask her to point Jane out, and obviously he would've had to meet her to get permission to help clean up afterwards. "tall, dark complexioned, serious manner.." she paused a moment. "Answers to the name Scorpion."

Good lord, this was starting to sound like a cliche-that just because someone from her world finally appears and several months later she could almost say she's fallin in love with him.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane listened and tried to recall the many conversations she had during the evening before she had retired with Lydia and Carwood, waiting for the last stragglers to leave. "I believe we had a very brief conversation, though I cannot recall him vividly," she admitted apologetically, though a vague picture was present in her mind.

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya found herself unable to hold back a grin.

"Not surprising, he rarely ever draws attention to himself, and." she tried to word it without possibly upsetting Jane, but then she did once tell her that Scorpion could be dangerous. She decided to test the waters. "Considering his old profession, he rarely lends himself to say anything of note unless he sees fit."

"But I did notice that he was grinning a little while you spoke. Take it from me, that's no small feat." It wasn't much of an accomplishment considering he'd spent a few good months on the island and was trying to become more 'human', but it was impressive nontheless.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane did not truly know what to make of the man, but had found him pleasant enough and polite most certainly. "And he is the one that you believe to be for you?" she asked curiously. "Have you been on many dates yet?"

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She thought a moment.

"I do think so, actually. We've both gone through similiar experiences before arriving on the island, and I just feel like I can really be myself when around him, I can talk to him about things and not feel ashamed infront of him." Which was a big relief in her book. True, when he was a specture it didn't bother him in the same way it did now, but then he wasn't human before hand.

Sonya found herself smiling. "We've been on a few, but usually we spend time talking or sparring." It was a good thing Sonya healed quickly, or she would've showed up at the bennet ball with a not too attractive black eye-not that it would've bothered her, but she would've had to put up with a lot of questioning. "Actually, it was when I first beat him in a sparring match, that I started to think he might be for me-instead of sulking because he lost to a woman, he took the loss in stride and was able to let it go. That's something I greatly respect about him."

Loosing was a rather sore topic with Scorpion, and the fact that he behaved honorably when loosing a fight to Sonya (especially coming from a culture that didn't see women fighters as equal) meant that he obviously respected her as a fellow warrior.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane didn't much understand the ways of Sonya's world or her culture and she was afraid that some of her discomfort with the situation might show upon her face. She merely listened carefully and nodded, hands cupping the tea to warm her palms. "And you do not worry that it is an inherently violent relationship, born of fighting?"

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She had a point.

Sonya took a sip of her tea before answering.

"Not really. We spar on occasion, but it's just to keep up practice." She looked away a bit. "I admit we get carried away a bit, but it's nice to get the chance at a friendly spare with a..very good friend." well, more than friend at this point. "and not have to fight for survival."

She shrugged and laughed a little. "I admit it's not exactly conventional, but then nothing in our seperate careers is conventional either."

"I can't explain it really, but he's told me himself he respects me as a person, he's honorable and as I've said, I could talk to him about anything and not feel belittled or judged. I know him well enough that he doesn't give such information lightly."

Damn..she was..oh hell, she was blushing.

[bennet_beauty]

"He does sound like a good friend, if perhaps unorthodox," Jane said, though she still did not fully understand how such a thing could be commuted into romance. She simply did not know anything like it in her time or upon the Island. "I believe that all you can do is follow your heart."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She held back a small, almost sad, sort of a smile.

"He's not, but then it's one of the reasons why I enjoy being around him. It's been hard finding people-who aren't in the military to relate to-and then when I started helping Scorpion to readjust to the island, it turns out we've both suffered painful loss." Sonya realized that to get her to understand, she'd have to let out more details. "We've both lost family at the hands of enemies, and there's some comfort in having someone who knows what it's like."

"Suppose I just put my heart on hold for so long, I no longer know how to follow it. I do know that he's not that social, and prefers to be by himself, but at the same time we've been spending a lot of time together, and he even said he enjoys my company. Then when I mentioned that you were holding a ball, he was hesitant about going, but said he wouldn't mind attending if I was going as well."

She looked down a bit at her cup, honestly feeling a little foolish. "Not sure if I could call it love, but something inside tells me it's pretty close."

[bennet_beauty]

"Perhaps you should see where it leads?" Jane offered, though she was not sure. "Or perhaps you should merely count your friendship dear to your heart if you are not yet sure of it being love. Either way, it's good that you have him to talk to, given that he seems to understand you so well."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She nodded.

"That's what we agreed on awhile back actually, both of us are too practical and cautious to jump into something like that." Sonya may've not had much of a love life, and what she did have was a case of rotten luck, but she did take the idea of marriage rather seriously. "I've no problem either way personally, but at the sametime, I'm not going to lie and say that there's no physical attraction either."

She looked around a bit out of habit, making sure they were really alone-military paranoia making itself known-before facing Jane again.

"Most of our hesitence stems from home, if even one of us were to go back." The tea in her mug was lukewarm, but still drinkable. "It'll make more sense if I give you a briefing of Scorpion's past and his present state if we were back home, but it's up to you if you want to listen."

Sonya only hoped she had the time and patience. It wasn't so much that Scorpion didn't tell some people already-it was just a long story.

[bennet_beauty]

Jane had nowhere else to be and merely crossed her legs at the ankles to sit with precise posture, keeping straight and proper. "I am not sure I understand," she admitted. "Are all your choices here governed by what might occur upon a disappearance?"

ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

"That's the way he sees it, even though I've told him that we could remain here for as long as several years."

Sonya took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. "Back home, Scorpion's undead-not a zombie, because he was still able to think independently-but not alive either. Here, he's human and able to feel compassion, love, and take enjoyment in things, but if he were to ever go back, or I would and face him again, he would be a hell-spawn, unable to feel anything except a sense of honor and indifference. No one deserves that, and.." she paused. "I'm not so sure I could see him in that state, knowing what I know now of him, let alone being in that sort of relationship."

"To start at the beginning, he once belonged to what was a long lived ninja clan in Japan-that is, an assasin and thief who's skilled in steath and combat. On what would be his final mission, he was sent to retrieve a sort of map. Failure in the mission would've meant death, and up until then Scorpion never failed on a task he was assigned on." She paused, as though asking if Jane could imagine what happened next. "He was killed in battle, and his soul sent in Limbo."

Sonya really tried to keep her expression and voice calm, but what she was going to say next struck a personal nerve with her. It was only her training that kept her in 'nuetral'

"From there, he saw his entire clan, as well as his family killed by the warriors were killed by the rival clan, and in vengence he made a deal with the demons of the realm: they would give him a physical form and the powers of hellfire. They just didn't tell him that he would sacrifice his human memories-save what was needed to goad him into revenge, but by then it was too late."

"Most of what I knew I was told, and he himself was told of his 'past life', but then hellspawns don't feel sympathy or remorse, so it didn't make any difference at the time. Since coming here, he's been slowly regaining his memories and asking my help to piece them together."

Sonya managed to remain calm, but her grip on the tea cup strained a bit.

"It's childish because I don't have any say in the matter, but I don't want him to vanish, not when it means reverting back to what he was. It also gets on my nerves whenever he mentions that this is only temporary."

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

Jane was frowning by the time Sonya finished, not feeling terribly at ease with what she was being told. "I am afraid," she admitted, voice low and wavering only mildly, "that I do not think I am the best person for you to discuss these matters with. I don't know the first thing about...about..." About any matters of a person in limbo, not a 'zombie' as she might say. "I'm sorry, Sonya," she apologized profusely. "I don't understand."

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She shook her head.

"I should apologize. I'm normally better controlling myself and not rambling, and for some reason I just wanted to talk to a woman instead of a man."

Sonya took a deep breath. "Let's just say that, if Scorpion and I do decide to go all the way, I'm worried about going home and suddenly none of it will matter anymore."

She looked at her empty mug. "More tea?"

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

Jane still had a half a cup left and shook her head to decline at the moment. "Perhaps you should meet with someone better versed in...strange worlds and mythology? I do not know much, but I am sure there are others here who have more experience with it than I."

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

"It's not the mythology or the different worlds, I just told you that to try and give you an understanding on why we're both hesistant." Sonya barely managed a weak smile. "It's fine if you didn't understand half of it, I was barely able to grasp what happened the first time I heard it myself."

Seeing it on the other hand, that drove the message home.

"Talking things over just helps me think things over,and.." She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This is going to sound very cliche, but talking with you is like talking to the sister I never had-outside of the few women I've worked with in the army. The fact that you've been here for a long while," And must have had to cope with losing loved ones, she added mentally. "It makes it a little easier for me to talk with you."

It didn't matter that Jane was from a different time and even lifestyle from Sonya, she listened and didn't condemn her choices.

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

"I'm glad that you feel better to discuss it," Jane said, most sincerely, even if she did not know how to respond to Sonya's other words, her face passive and expression flat. "Perhaps you only need more time to consider the ramifications of any decision?"

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

She nodded, considering a moment.

"Actually, I do have an idea of what I'm going to do, waiting does entail it, but I'll talk about it with Scorpion next time I see him."

She smiled, almost relieved. "Well, having someone listen and not really judge or give critism helps too-otherwise I would've just been talking to myself."

Sonya changed the subject, the matter more or less resolved.

"How've you been lately? I know I had something to get off my chest, but it seems unfair for me to do all of the talking."

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

"I've been well," Jane assured, as she did not wish to take up Sonya's attentions with her own life. "Lydia is healthy and I am as well. We have merely been sprucing up the houses now that school has begun and Lydia is out of the house for a good portion of the day."

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

Sonya thought back a moment.

"You're taking classes then, right? I remember seeing you at the school last term, but all of my classes ended during the day."

Because of training and bounching, Sonya was only able to teach one of her courses, but then no one signed up so she exchanged teaching for being a student.

"What classes are you taking?" She couldn't help but feel some interest in learning what Jane was interested in learning.

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

"I'm evaluating some to see whether they will be fit for Lydia in several years and I'll be taking one class to learn more about modern times," she concurred, not wishing to overload herself with education when she was far happier when she focused on more domestic tasks.

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

"I think by the time you finish those sorts of classes, Lydia will definitely be old enough to attend the school." She laughed.

"Have you tried any of the art classes? Some of the art classes take in younger children as students." She thought a moment. "I heard that very young kids have an easier time learning different languages." Hell, they usually repeated whatever you said anyway. "Could have her take one of those eventually." She suggested.

Re: ooc: gah..I really tried to condence this

[bennet_beauty]

"I do not think of art, much," Jane dismissed with a shake of her head. "It seems something quite messy and I would much rather Lydia was much improved of the mind rather than endowed artistically. It does make her a far better prospect when she is old enough for such a thing to matter."

[lt-blade.livejournal.com]

"So find her some water based paints, put her in a large t-shirt you don't mind getting dirty and let her have at it. So long as you tell her what she can and can't paint over." Sonya didn't bother holding back a smile, remembering the times when she was around Lydia's age and playing around with finger paints-what kid didn't enjoy that. "She's nearly three years old, right? She'll have plenty of time to be clean and neat."

Thanks to-or rather just because of- Lydia getting chicken pox, Sonya's always going to remember the month of her birthday.

She did become serious as she thought a bit. "I think your best bet is number games to get her used to math, then learning letters and colors. That sort of think." She tried to think back. "I don't remember learning anything science related till I was six or seven years old, but she might enjoy something like a nature walk."

Sonya was just going over personal experience and the few times she babysat, but it all seemed practical enough.