[SB] Almost like Home

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina danced with joy in the square, being surrounded by her language once more, even if it was accented a bit strangely, was wonderful. The musicians were even playing her favorite Chilean folk tune and she couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her as she danced, her bright orange skirt flaring around her ankles. She’d had more than her fair share of tequila, but that was what made it fun. She rarely got drunk, but she was definitely tipsy tonight. She’d only have two days in this sunny paradise before being locked away in the cold white north of Montana, where the people were as chilly and unpredictable as the weather.

    She was determined to enjoy every second of her time here. A dark brown skinned chicano joined her for a few moments, hands on her hips as they moved together, their feet following the steps in perfect synchronicity. She had missed this so much. Even in Selina’s dark days in Chile, her mom had always made sure to take her out dancing but she’d never realized just how much she’d missed it until this moment. She finished the dance with him and smiled warmly at her temporary partner before making her way to a local stand while a slower song was starting to play. Dancing was incredibly fun, but also tiring after a while and she’d been in the square for two hours straight.

    It was definitely time for a break. Selina smiled as she downed another shot of cheap tequila with lime and sighed. She felt truly happy and at peace right now… a first since she’d made the move from Chile to America. A frown crossed her features as she realized that she would soon be going back, but then she shook her head to rid herself of the thought. Tonight was still a long way from over.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji had never been here before. Well, he had been here a few years back when he was traveling around and studying different kinds of snakes. How their poisons affected the human body along with other species and so on for the sake of being able to come up with better anti-poison. Seiji was not here however to study snakes, but part of him wished he was. There were a lot of people around, well not a lot but enough that Seiji felt like he was around a lot of people. Normally it was fine, but when they were always, singing, dancing, and drinking well he felt like he should be in a club.

He went to clubs, but it tended to be for the drinks or he was dragged out with someone. Why was he even here instead of the boat? Well he figured it would be a good idea to at least do some exploring and perhaps he would come across some reptiles to study just for fun. That and Akiko wanted to see Mexico since she didn't get to travel around the world with Seiji back in the day. So here he was, watching people enjoy themselves as he slink his way over to the bar to get himself something to drink. He figured he would not stay here long, not with it being at night and well that he did need to get some rest at some point.

Akiko was the one that alerted him that there was someone’s special near him at the bar. Seiji looked over to the girl who had just finished drinking a shot of tequila with a small frown on her face. He wondered why she would be upset when people around her were having so much fun. Perhaps this was not her scene. Seiji being the concerned and caring person that he was could not help but to move over a little closer to her and reach out to tap her shoulder to get her attention. "Excuse me miss, are you alright?" Seiji asked, looking at her a little worried.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was jerked out of her thoughts when she felt the contact on her shoulder and whirled to face her opponent… only to find out that it wasn’t an opponent, but a fellow Bellemonte student who was merely concerned. Selina was almost confused at the seeming genuine care she saw in his expression. Sure she’d seen him around a few times, but they’d never spoken, so why would he care about her welfare? He didn’t seem like the type to use the question as some sort of a pick-up line, but then the best con artists always appeared sincere.


    Selina tried to swallow her immediate misgivings and give him the benefit of the doubt, but her guarded nature came to the forefront regardless of how much alcohol she’d imbibed and so Selina covered up her slight melancholy and gave him a bright smile, “Thanks, but I’m fine,” she assured him, before noticing the snake he carried with him. “Where- How- You were allowed to bring a snake with you?” she finally asked, the alcohol impeding her ability to make as much sense as she’d like. She tentatively reached out as if to touch the snake, before she suddenly halted and looking up at him, “Sorry, I just- What’s its name?” she asked, her hand still frozen midway between them and now forgotten by Selina.


    Selina wasn’t entirely sure what to make of a student walking about with a snake, and she didn’t know whether that made this encounter more or less suspicious to her clouded mind, but she did know that snakes were some of her favorite creatures to read about. There were so few of them in and around Santiago, that she’d never seen one in real life. She assumed that since he was carrying it around that it wasn’t poisonous, especially since he didn’t seem to be the type to enjoy needlessly endangering people.

[Seiji Lockard]

"Alright, if you are sure." Seiji said. He would leave the matter alone if she said that she was okay, he didn't want to push her into letting it all out or anything. Plus she didn't look like she was in any pain or anything so he figured he was just worrying for nothing. He tended to do that from time to time, but he could not help it. He generally was concerned about the people that were around him. He blinked a few times when she started asking questions about his snake, but then recalled that Akiko was currently hanging around his neck like she was some kind of necklace.

Akiko kind of did work as a necklace with her vibrate scales, she was a Scarlet Kingsnake and only about 1.2ft. Akiko personally thought she was the most beautiful snake out there and Seiji would assure her that she was beautiful. Her ego liked to be stroked. "I always carry one of my snakes on me. I kind of get really bad anxiety without one of them." Seiji admitted as he blushed a little. He had always had a snake on him since the day his trainer had given him Ghost back when he first came to Bellefonte Academy.

"This is Akiko and she said hi and to tell her-Akiko, be polite." Seiji said as he started to relay a message from his snake. He should have figured Akiko was going to say that she wanted the girl to admit that she was beautiful but he had given her the benefit of the doubt. Mistake number two of the night. "Oh, and I'm Seiji by the way." Seiji said, introducing himself as well as he extended his hand out to her to shake.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina smiled at his acceptance of her answer, grateful for his going along with her and nodded in answer, “I’m sure. I’m just being a little nostalgic is all,” she offered. Maybe she was feeling more open because of the alcohol, or maybe there was just something about this man that seemed particularly trustworthy. Selina wasn’t sure, but she felt her tension easing and her guard lowering, just a little.


    Selina nodded in understanding when he admitted to the anxiety, “I almost always wear long sleeves to help with anxiety when I know I’m going to be in a strange place,” she confessed. Her jean jackets and long sleeved cover-ups weren’t just for fashion, though she was wearing a sleeveless dark blue top tonight. Mexico might not be home, but it was the closest she was going to get for a long time, and she felt so much more comfortable on these unfamiliar streets than she did in the campus where she’d spent the last few months. Why she’d admitted to ever having anxiety to anyone from Bellemonte bore heavy scrutiny, but she just attributed it to the tequila and shrugged off her misgivings.


    When he introduced Akiko to her she smiled warmly at the brightly colored creature, “Hello there,” she greeted in return before looking up at Seiji with a teasing grin, “She’s beautiful,” she admitted honestly before getting curious as to why Seiji had cut himself off, “What did she say? I can take it,” she promised with a wink. As he introduced himself, she shook his hand with a strong grip and grinned, “I’m Selina, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she answered. This was probably the first time she’d actually meant those words since moving up from Chile.

[Seiji Lockard]

“Oh? Are you from around here at all or is it more so aspects of the current situation remind you of home?” Seiji asked. He ruffled his own hair after stating that, figuring it probably sounded a bit odd by the way he phrased it. He just meant that was it because she was from here or if the scene just reminded her of home. He figured that was easy to figure out by his words but he knew not everyone just got what he was trying to say. He was at least pleased that she seemed to understand why he had a snake on his person.

Granted, he knew that he should have had Akiko hiding away when he was around people but he had forgotten about it. Yet again he was blaming something on lack of sleep, but it was still his fault either way. “Oh, is it something involving how long sleeves make you feel protected because you are covered up?” Seiji asked. He was curious to understand and wanted to know what aspect of long sleeves just made her feel better when they were just long sleeves. “Oh, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t feel comfortable about it.” Seiji added after a moment, not wanting her to again feel pressured into talking to him.

Akiko gave a nod of her head to show that she had heard and accepted the greeting, only to look away as if she was being bashful. Of course, a snake so full of their looks would be practically turned to putty at someone calling them beautiful. “Thank you and uh, that was what she wanted you to say. She wanted you to complement that she was beautiful.” Seiji informed her. Akiko was saying more but Seiji didn’t think he should say anything. It was mostly Akiko wanting him to tell the girl to go on about her beauty; such an attention seeker.

Seiji gave her his best friendly smile when she shook his hand and introduced herself back. “It is very nice to meet you, Selina. How are you enjoying the whole trip so far?” Seiji asked, after getting the pleasantries out of the way.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina smiled at him and answered without a second thought, “Being surrounded by the Spanish language, dancing outside, the music and the people remind me of where I used to live in Chile a bit. Don’t get me wrong, Chile is extremely different in general language, culture, and climate, but for right now, if I close my eyes and drink enough tequila,” she added with a wink, “I can pretend I’m home,” she finished a bit softer than she’d intended. The fact that she considered Chile her home would probably never change, no matter where she went, and the fact that she was feeling somewhat homesick now, wasn’t much of a surprise to her. It had been where she was born and raised, after all. Even with all of the bad that had happened, she still found herself aching for a familiarity she’d never thought she’d be without.



    Selina grinned at his second question and thought about it for a minute before responding, “Sort of. For me, I think long sleeves are more akin to a piece of armor than anything else. Like a shield against my enemies, if you will,” she answered with a wry grin. Why was she telling him something so personal? The tequila… had to be. But if she were honest, it was more than that. He was one of the few men she’d met that didn’t make her instantly raise her guard a mile high, and she was curious as to why that was. “And don’t worry, if I wasn’t comfortable talking about it, I wouldn’t,” she told him honestly. She appreciated his thoughtfulness though, as it showed a consideration for her that was incredibly rare in her limited experience.
Perhaps that was why she was being so careless about the information she gave him.

    Selina then laughed and grinned at Akiko, “Well, a touch of honest vanity never did anyone any harm, particularly not when justified,” she added a wink towards the snake. “And the trip has been lovely so far. This is the best night I’ve had though,” she admitted with a nod towards him. It was a compliment he could take anyway he preferred. “And for you? Has the trip been all you thought it would be?”

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji listened to her as she explained what it was she meant, giving her his full attention. While he could do other things while talking to someone; and he often did, at this moment he felt like it was important to show her that he was listening. He was never the type to ask a question to just get on someone's good side. He asked because he actually wanted to know and that was no different from the current situation. Seiji could not help but to smile at seeing how happy she was because of where she was and what was going on.

He felt a little sadden that she missed home but if this place was also making her happy then it was good that she was here. Part of him always worried when a lady was by herself and drinking but it seemed like she was safe for the most part. Still, he felt like there was no harm in looking out for her while he was at least talking to her. "Perhaps on your next break you could go visit home. Or come back here again." Seiji suggested. If she had a good level of control over her power then he could easily see her being allowed to leave the school the next break to go wherever she liked if she was handling transportation and everything that went along with travel.

"That make sense. Sometimes it is the simplest things that make us feel safe." Seiji said, giving her a reassuring smile. For him it was his snakes and for her it was wearing long sleeves, and that made sense to him. It didn't matter who or what it was that made you feel safe, if it helped you then he didn't see the harm in it. Unless it was used for bad things, but that went for pretty much everything. "Alright, good. I would not want you to feel like you had to tell me something just because I asked." Seiji pointed out. He wanted people to be comfortable around him, that was actually part of his job back at the school.

Akiko was nodding her head in agreement to Selina's words. Seiji didn't say anything and just figured that perhaps it was a girl thing. He smiled a little more when she informed him that she had been enjoying the trip. That was good to hear, but then the question was turned back on him. "I suppose it has been. I have not been sleeping well but that is not really at fault of the trip." Seiji informed her, not wanting her to worry.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina glanced up at him and shook her head in answer, “Thanks, but I probably won’t,” she admitted. “There were so many wonderful things back home in Santiago, but… there are equally good reasons for me to stay away,” she told him, her voice hardening and her expression becoming closed off. She ordered another tequila and leaned back against the bar. “So, are you a native of Montana, or do you hail from elsewhere?” she asked with a forced smile in an effort to change the subject. She then tipped back her tequila and her smile became a little more natural.


    Selina nodded, “True, and sometimes there’s nothing better for relieving anxiety than alcohol, am I right?” she asked with a slightly tipsy grin. Selina then nodded in acknowledgement of his consideration and took another shot. She should honestly feel more than she did right now, but the room was still mostly stable and her thoughts were still her own, which led her to believe her dad was probably an alcoholic… Nope, she placed the next shot down on the counter and forced herself to take a drink of water. She always took it as a sign that she’d had too much alcohol once she started thinking about her father, or the lack thereof.


    Selina cocked her head to the side after hearing that he hadn’t been sleeping well and her eyes filled with concern, “Do you need some tequila?” she asked in total seriousness. “It’ll help you sleep,” she added with a kindly smile… Damnit, she really was getting tipsy. Selina started laughing too loudly and couldn’t seem to stop. “I think I’m drunk,” she barely got out between her giggles and laughed even harder at the information as if she’d told him some sort of private joke. She paid her tab, leaving too large of a tip but not caring in her inebriation.


    “Wanna dance with me, Seiji?” she asked as her laughter died down. She was still on a relative high, and she wanted to ride out this feeling for as long as it lasted. It was rare that she was ever this happy and she wanted to revel in it. “I promise not to step on your feet,” she added with a smile.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji's smile slowly started to fade away when she revealed that she probably would not go home and that there were reasons behind keeping her away. He wondered what they were, but also had learned at least a little bit that he could not just ask her about it right away. It was something clearly personal and he already felt like he had overstepped a few bounds by some of the things that he said. He really was just trying to be friendly and make conversation, but he still did want to ask her about it.

Thankfully he was at least aware of paying attention to facial expressions and could see that it probably was not something he wanted to ask her about on their first meeting. "I was born in Kitakyushu, Japan, but adopted as a baby and raised in...well let’s just say that I went to a private prep school as a young boy." Seiji informed her. He didn't really want to go into details on it unless she really wanted to know. He has a good life growing up with a few issues here and there but when he came into his powers, things just got hard.

He didn't really like to talk about it unless someone really wanted to know. He nodded in agreement to her words, and gave her a friendly smile. He did drink, not often but it was something that he did and did feel that it was relaxing. He wondered why she had order another drink but then decided to go with water instead, but didn't say anything about it. Perhaps she felt like she had reached her limit and if that was the case he applauded her for having self-control to know to stop when she reached her limit. "Uh, I will drink it if you do not want to waste it." Seiji responded, referring to the drink she had ordered but didn't touch.

Seiji was only worried about her being able to make it back to the boat alright when she brought up being drunk. He just would make sure to ask her if it was alright to help her get back, but other than that he had no worries. He knew that he would not do anything to hurt or take advantage of her in her current state. If anything he was just likely to take care of her like she was a younger sister or best friend. A small hint of red started to spread across his face at her question on if he wanted to dance. "If...I mean if you would like someone to dance with. I don't find myself an excellent dancer but I figure I can dance well enough to also not step on your toes. But don't feel like you have to dance with me or anything. I'm just enjoying being in your company." Seiji said, talking fast and stammering a little. If Akiko could have rolled her eyes, she would have.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was grateful he didn’t push or pry and immediately became interested when he mentioned being born in Japan. Relocating to a completely new and foreign country was something they had in common, and she couldn’t seem to stop herself from asking, “Can I ask what brought you to Bellefonte?” Selina was also fascinated by foreign cultures, so part of her wanted to obtain all the knowledge she could from him about his homeland. If he would willingly give it, she would listen with rapt attention, but she wouldn’t pry for it. It belatedly occurred to her that his adoption could have led him here before he remembered anything about Japan, but she couldn’t take her question back now.


    Selina nodded mutely as he asked for her tequila and handed it to him, “Of course,” she responded absently. “I’m serious about it helping you to sleep,” she added with a smirk. Alcohol induced sleep could sometimes be less restful than a night awake, but she chose not to think about such things tonight. She wasn’t worried about lowered inhibitions or being taken advantage of either, as she never drank so much that she couldn’t punch a guy in the stomach to get away from him. She was far too controlling to allow herself to get blindingly drunk around people she didn’t trust.


    Selina laughed and nodded, “Of course I want to dance with you,” she responded as she reached for his hand, “Come on, it’ll be fun. And don’t worry, I’ll teach you if you’re nervous,” she offered as she tugged him gently towards the square where a new song was starting. It was slower paced than the others, so he’d have a chance to go at his own pace.

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji ruffled his hair a little bit as she asked him what had brought him to Bellefonte, and he supposed it was his fault for not making things clear. That was the problem with trying to avoid certain subjects when you were trying to explain something. You ended up leaving something out and then the person didn't fully get what you had meant. "I was adopted as a baby and grew up in the United States, so when I came into my powers, BA was the ideal location for me to go." Seiji admitted. He wished he could have made it a bit more exciting, but that was all there was to it at the end of the day.

He was pretty much all American other than where he was born and how he looked because of both of his parents being Japanese. He didn't even know how to speak Japanese, but that was in part that he had actually never tried to learn the language. He had never even gone back there to try and find his birth parents. "Well, thank you." Seiji said as he smiled at her. He reached out to take the drink, giving it a quick taste before tossing the whole drink back. It was not that bad, but certainty felt like someone had given them the cheap stuff.

He was well aware of the different effects drinks could have on one’s body, but he mostly had to deal with the fact that his snakes suggestion worked better on him when he was intoxicated. He started to blush again when she said that she wanted to dance with him and that it would be fun. He didn't say anything about not needing to be taught because when it came to dancing there was always something new to learn when it came to the way a person moved on the dance floor. "Do you like to dance?" Seiji asked, trying to keep up a conversation as he followed her out to the dance.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina nodded her understanding, “Ah, I see. Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume,” she apologized. It had not been her intent to make him recall anything that caused him discomfort. She was just curious about others who might have come from outside the U.S. She was eager to find someone who knew what it was to experience the culture shock and perhaps even the homesickness… Selina deliberately forced her thoughts elsewhere. Tonight was a night for fun.


    Selina then smiled at him, “Anytime.” She absently wondered if she should tell him that he was welcome to have access to the stash she had back at Bellemonte that her mother had helped her to smuggle in. Then again, she wasn’t sure how likely he was to take something like that to the staff at the school. So to be safe, she kept quiet and observed him take the shot like he wasn’t a stranger to alcohol either.


    Selina nodded emphatically as her feet started moving to the rhythm and her eyes lit up, “I used to go dancing all the time back in Santiago,” she replied. The pace of the song was slow enough to allow for easy conversation, “The clubs in the U.S. are so crowded and smoky that I can’t really relax or have fun, but dancing under the open sky to live music is what I grew up with.” Selina swayed her hips and did a spin just for fun, allowing her body to move to the beat without caring what anyone else would think. “So, do you dance often?” she asked in turn, wondering about her American partner.

[Seiji Lockard]

"No, it's alright. I should have been a bit clearer." Seiji quickly said, trying to assure her it was alright. He was not really upset or hurt by having to talk about it; it was just something that made it hard to smile for a moment. Still, he didn't want her to worry or feel bad when she was here just trying to have a good time. He didn't want to be the reason why she was no longer having a good time, that would just make him feel awful.

He quickly focused on the drink that she had offered him, even if he had already consumed it as soon as she gave him the okay. It was going to take a bit more than one shot to have him be affected in any kind of way, but he was not really looking to get drunk. Enough physically activity would push his body to the level of exhaustion that no matter if his mind liked it or not, he was going to pass out. That was what he needed to do and it seemed like Selina was going to help him out with that, even if she had seemed to just being nice about having a dace with him.

If she offered him her stash, he would not have reported her for it unless it was something pretty toxic to her health. She was in college clearly, even if he didn't know her age. Plus it would have likely been her secrete and he didn't share anyone secretes if they told him that it was a secrete or he assumed that it was. "Oh? Well I'm happy that you are getting the chance to dance out in the open like you used to. I know that there is one club that you can go to that is not super crowded, but you dance inside." Seiji spoke up as he too stated to move to the beat of the music.

Akiko meanwhile had already slithered somewhere else on her master's person, ending up in a pocket for the perfect transaction if one presented itself. He could not help but to watch her dance a little, but still made sure to keep dancing as well. "When I go to clubs, yes. At least once a week or every two weeks. Mostly to club music and then for events ball room dancing." Seiji admitted as he chuckled a little. That was pretty much the only two styles of dancing her knew and really the only time he went out dancing like this. It was great physical activity after all and it tended to happen when he would go out for drinks.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina grinned at him. He was cute when he was a bit flustered. She couldn’t help but wonder if she could make him blush, but he wasn’t the type she usually teased in that way. He was too genuine for her to play with him… probably. Sometimes men like this could surprise her, but she wouldn’t push her luck or be the one to initiate anything. She was perfectly content with dancing the night away and parting as potential friends. Besides, sometimes it was really nice to just be with someone and not worry about the extra shit.


    Selina smiled at him, “Well then, you’ll have to show it to me sometime,” she said as she watched him dance with interest. He certainly wasn’t bad for an American. “If you want to that is,” she added. She didn’t want to be controlling or be assuming too much. Usually she didn’t care, but with someone as sincere as Seiji appeared to be, she cared quite a bit. There were far too few kind people on this earth and she wasn’t about to take advantage of the only one she’d met from that god-forsaken school she attended.


    Selina was slightly surprised that he went to clubs even more often than she did. Not that it was too difficult a task, as she’d only been three or four times since she’d been in Kalispell, but she had assumed he was more of a studious type or something… Selina made a mental note to make less assumptions about him in the future. “But you’ve been ballroom dancing?” she asked in interest. Ballroom wasn’t anything she’d ever done before, though she’d seen it on tv a couple of times. Part of her wanted to learn since it looked elegant, but another part of her preferred the liveliness of the Latin dances to anything else.