SB's NEW thread (BR2:I)

[Haraki]

James laughed loudly at her joke. The first time it had been made, it had made him incredibly uncomfortable. Now he just appreciated it for what it had been. 'In hindsight, that was pretty funny', as he had once said. Then, at the mention of his children, his face brightened up immensely. "The older one's Alex, he's going to be three next month, and the younger one is Sam. It turns out Sarah was pregnant when I left for Vespia, but she didn't know it yet, so Sam's only about five months old." He chuckled and shook his head slightly. "She's got her hands full with them, she tells me. Every time I'm away, she says they go nuts. Alex is-" suddenly he stopped, seeing the expression on her face. Despite himself, he was still not good at reading people, and couldn't even tell if it was a good or bad expression. It just confused him. "Is something wrong?"

[Rave Shentavo]

“Oh? Wrong?!” she asked with an uncomfortable expression. No one knew but Simon. “No…of course not. I was just, wondering… what you chose to name them. Heh…heh…Well, I’ll see you around right? Simon will be glad to see you,” she said, and nervously turned on her heel as she normally did, her hair waving behind her enticingly as it normally did. No, that wasn’t awkward at all, not in the least bit. Truth be told, she was stuck for a name. If it was a girl, she wanted to name her Bryn, and if it was a boy; Dante…hell she hadn’t even talked it over with Simon yet. They had loads of time. Where is some chemistry I can do… she thought to herself. Ah, yes, chemistry. The thing which took one’s mind off ex-best friends, naming issues, and being dizzy.

[Rave Shentavo]

Sun’s demeanor changed instantly and she put on a pleasant smile. “I’m fine really, just a bit of stress as of late,” she remarked. She knew that Simon knew what it was about. He had seen some of it. “Not much chemistry to do around here,” she said, and shrugged her shoulders. She folded her arms across her chest and waited for the arrival. She was very interested in this praetor. The supposed spy did not really surprise her or stir her that much. After Vespia, little startled her. One of those things was finding out that she was pregnant. She wasn’t opposed to it, she just wasn’t expecting it. Abortion is taboo in the Three United Empires as well as illegal. Women had the right to choose, and given their empress was one of the most brilliant women around albeit otherworldly, a woman had no right to choose the outcome of someone else’s life. Neither did a man.

“Simon and I got engaged, and he moved in with me into a new house a few weeks after I got back. I got a job as one of the leading chemists in the national research labs because of Vespia and the new compounds in my blood,” she was a bit bitter when she mentioned the serum in her blood. That, however, was to be expected.

[sb]

I'll start writing a response then

[Rave Shentavo]

“Which is why you will ultimately fail!” Sun called out after him with a slight smile on her face. She didn’t know why she was following, but she would trail him. She would love to see the empress fight against the praetor. When she had seen the empress, she was astonished. She had heard the rumors but…that’s why she joined the temple. His words of her beauty didn’t make her blush; not like Simon did. They made her angry. She, Erik, and James were escorted out…but she broke away from them. She couldn’t be detected at least, other than sight. She needed to tell Simon, but what? That this man was a pompous asshole who needed a good beating? No, not yet, but she felt it coming. She was happy. She laughed. Why had he made her feel so good? She felt like she could fly. I’ve completely lost myself and I don’t mind… she laughed and leaned up against a wall.

She observed Steven with the woman that had been crying, and smiled at them, mostly looking at the woman. Her expression darkened, and she simply looked at her with eyes that seemed to pierce the soul.