"AAAAH!"

Well, if people weren't afraid of Karla before, they would be now. The knight had seemed frustrated before, but nothing like this. She'd usually come here to let some steam out, work out her frustrations, maybe hit something she was allowed to hit. It was all good, to let the sweat wash over your problems and relax your muscles all while working on your body. It fit Karla perfectly, especially this one. Except today, when it seemed like the girl had placed a picture of her worst enemy on the punching bag, and she had punched it so bad and so much already, that the sutures were starting to open.

It was too much. Far too much. The problems fell on her like a dash of cold water, one right after the other. It was hard to stay focused, much more so to keep going, but she at least had something to fight for. Something she currently wanted to punch as bad and as much as mister bag in front of her. Well, if she thought about it, Si was pretty much a punching bag, in the figurative way. It wouldn't be too hard to turn him into a literal one either. She punched the bag again, just imagining the jerk's face on it.

He'd ran away. He'd ran away and then risked himself just to prove... something or the other. She wasn't sure what. "Ha!" Another punch and the bag went flying sideways, before going back to it's previous place, hanging loosely now. It wouldn't take long...

But back to her thoughts. It wasn't the fact that he ran away that had her this way, No. There was more a matter of confusion. Confusion regarding her and her partner and the monster inside her partner. That good for nothing, far too strong for his own good, hormonal piece of -"SHIT!" She yelled as she landed yet another blow.

It was all his fault anyway! He kissed her like- like she was some sort of whore, clutching her so hard she couldn't breath. And then he goes and kisses her again so gently and soft, yet still deeply, making her all sorts of confused. Sure, she'd liked it back then. Now that she'd given it a thought though, she felt she should have punched Si. Punch him as bad as she was punching this bag.

The man was grunting from the monumental effort it took to complete his final set, sweat beading on his forehead. His face was red, eyes squinting as he pushed weights for the last time before letting the machine fall back into its original resting position. He sat up on the sweaty bench, wiping his face with a moist towel and wheezing rather loudly as if he were about to roll over and die. His sight crossed that of another man, leaning on a nearby machine with amusement in his eyes.
"The hell are you looking at?" He asked in between gasping for air, visibly upset.
"Some fatass. Might want to clean that bench, nobody wants to sit in your greasy sweat."

Smirking as he eyed the pudgy man one last time, Lexis pushed himself off the work-out machine he had been leaning on and made his way towards the juice bar, ignoring the guy's anger fueled sputtering that followed his crude comment. Pissing fatties off was half the fun of coming to the gym, the other half being aerobics class. Female aerobics, to be more precise. The actual work-out was nothing more than an excuse to ogle the ladies tightening their butt muscles in between sets. Of course, it also served to keep him in good shape for the more important things in life, like seducing women.

"Bottle of water."
The juice bar attendant nodded before sliding the refrigerator's door open and grabbing what had just been requested. Refreshment was traded for money and the young man was on his way for more wrongdoing. He wasn't quite done with his own work-out yet, but he didn't felt like continuing for the moment, not when there were so many idiots to taunt and women to stare at. Speaking of the devil...

Eyes following the two perfectly round shaped bum cheeks strutting by in tight gym wear, the young man proceeded to follow the fallen angel back to heaven. He was slowly catching up to her, already coming up with dozens of ways to greet her without putting her off, picturing the woman without clothing. His mouth was opened to speak, yet closed immediately as he veered out of course and passed her by without so much as looking down her shirt. There, wrapping itself around her, was a monster of a man. Bulging biceps, massive shoulder blades and equally scary looking legs. She wasn't worth risking his life for, the body builder could keep its prized possession.

Taking a generous gulp of water, Lexis was about ready to give in and do some actual work-out when familiar swearing reached his ears. He had heard such voice before, noting the dedication towards getting as much as one possibly could from a single offensive word. Eyes trailing its source despite the surrounding noises, it wasn't hard to locate what he was looking for.
"Well I'll be damned..."

Taking another gulp of water as he headed towards the punching bag and its furious bully, the young man couldn't help but smirk at the sight. The amount of power contained in such small, feminine frame was astounding. He stopped just a few feet behind her, observing the one-sided beat down unfolding before his eyes in silence. He couldn't tell whether she was angry or simply intense, although the irregularity at which the punches were delivered suggested this wasn't a training routine.
"Did the punching bag refuse to cooperate or something?"
He was tempted to poke fun at the fact that it wouldn't open any files, no matter how hard she punched it, in reference to her computer disability, but he would hold it in for now. Those punches looked mean, he'd rather not have his face anywhere near them.

Karla kept punching and yelling and glaring at everyone who dared to cross eyes with her. The knight was really in a foul mood and it was obvious she wasn't up for some chit chat. Too bad some people just pushed their luck like that.

"Why don't you come right here and see for yourself?" She yelled out, raising a fist at his direction. Karla growled, looking all sorts of aggressive, much more than usual. She gave one last glare at his direction and she started with her rant, obviously, since there was finally someone there who would listen.

"Why are all men jerks, eh?" She asked, still punching the bag, imagining Si's face all over it. "They say one thing and then do the other! And when you think you have them all figured out they want something else and I just- I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH IT!" This lead to one final blow, making the bag twist and wiggle from one direction to the other, as Karla stood there, glaring at it and panting. Her arms hurt terribly. Not only that, but she was so covered in sweat it was almost as if someone had dropped a bucket of water on her.

She leaned against the bag to stop it's movement, while resting her weight on it for a moment. Even her thighs felt as if they were going to burst.

"What do you want anyway?" She wondered, her eyes going to the bottle of water. She needed to get one of those. The sight of water suddenly made her mouth dry. "Don't tell me you came here to hit on women? Don't you have a limit?" Slut. She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing, as she came up with that conclusion. She just didn't understand how someone like him could put up with so many relationships and so many... kissing partners. Hell, she couldn't even deal with one.

"Woah! Woah! Calm down there woman. Whatever happened to your sense of humor?"
Hands were raised as if to show he meant no harm, wondering if Karla even knew what humor was to begin with. She seemed to enjoy poking fun of people she were threatening, but light-hearted fun was apparently not in her resume of qualities.

For a moment there it looked as though she was about to punch him, glaring for a little longer than Lexis felt comfortable with, but thankfully it was the punching bag that found itself on the receiving end of the savage beating. As she started speaking, the motivation behind all the rage became fairly obvious. The young man couldn't help but smirk, suppressing laughter rising up in his chest as he valued his life dearly.
"You know, that's precisely how men usually feel about women. We know what we want, and that's our man parts in your lady privates, but you're all emotional and whimsical. Sounds to me like you've picked the wrong dude to fall for, get yourself a manlier partner."

Another gulp of water and he was done with his advice giving on men-women relationships. Exceptionally, he hadn't meant to say that she should be into him instead, fearing for his life if he were to screw with this one. She knew he was the womanizing type anyways, and the knight didn't look like a one night stand kind of girl.

It looked as though Karla had been beating on that punching bag for some time, sweating profusely, even more so than the fatass he had been poking fun of earlier. It came to no surprise that she would be eyeballing his water bottle, but the knight would have to be nicer if she wanted him to share. Not quite bothering to answer her question, Lexis flashed her an amused smile instead and she was quick to guess its meaning.
"We've only known each other for a short time and yet you know me so well. I'm impressed."

Tugging gently on the clean towel that had been resting on his shoulder, he threw it in the girl's direction for her to catch and wipe some of that sweat off. He could always pick another one up, they were included in the membership fee anyways.
"I'm also working-out, like everyone else. Those sexy muscles don't train themselves, you know."
Flexing his arm, Lexis couldn't help but smile at the resulting bump. It had nothing on most of the body-builders he'd come across at the gym, but it was just the right amount to please the female gender.

"What are you so upset for anyways? I mean, yeah, apparently your man's being an idiot, but I thought you had bigger fishes to fry, like digging information up on suspicious individuals?"
Of course, everyone was entitled some recreational time, but he was still curious as to how her investigation was going.

Also, striking up random conversations with people gave him a good excuse to procrastinate on his work-out.

Karla glared at Lexis as if saying 'Since when do I have a sense of humor?' Really, he should know by now that the only thing that could make Karla laugh was to shoot her guns at random targets. She targeted her anger to the bag though, before she found herself rearranging that pretty face of his, and getting herself thrown inside the castle, like some common criminal. Though it wouldn't be that hard to convince Cerberus the idiot had been taunting her... Hmm...

That little smirk only made her want to punch him even more. Oh yeah, just one well placed punch right on his nose and that smirk would be wiped off real easily. She actually growled at him again, despite the sudden exhaustion that hit her. It wouldn't be surprising if Karla found the energies to give one last well placed hit.

"Not every man is like that!" She yelled out, shaking her fist again, only this time it seemed she was far too tired to do it properly. "And don't talk about women like that! I'll show you how emotional and whimsical I can be!" It wasn't like her anger didn't prove his words right on. Nope. They didn't. She'll be damned if she admitted she was emotional. Oh no. Karla had one emotion, alright: Anger.

"And I didn't fall for him." The sudden image of Si appeared in her head. That stupid smile of his right after he kissed her. It filled her with rage and she gave the bag another round of punches, as if his face was printed right there on the leather.

"He's an idiot!" She started, still picturing his face. "No one would fall for someone like him. An idiot and stupid and is always thinking with his 'heart', whatever that means. A knight shouldn't be that- that- that much of a loser!"

Karla leaned against the bag again, her energy was running out. This hadn't helped at all. Instead of taking her mind away, like she'd intended to, exercising only increased her anger.

If there'd been any sort of moisture inside her mouth, Karla would have spitted out as Lexis admitted he was there to hit on women. Manwhore. And yet, Karla could only grunt in answer, looking away. "You'll never settle down if you keep acting that way." She muttered, trying to stand up straight. Not that she cared that much about what would happen to this crook. Men should know their place though, and being with many women just proved how worthless he was as a partner. And, really, was there any more purpose for the male gender than living completely for their female counterpart? Maybe that was why Si was so frustrating... No, NO! She wasn't thinking of him as a potential mate. That was horrible to think about. Stupid Dreck and his stupid feelings.

Karla merely caught the towel, frown still in place. "I did my research because I had to." She said, cleaning her face with the towel. "Don't think for one second I did it out of interest." And she meant it too. If Cerberus knew what she did for him, she would be in great trouble. But she didn't actually did it for him, did she? She did it for Si... It only made her more confused. Gah! Stupid Dreck.

Lexis flexed his arm and Karla rolled her eyes. Surely, he had more muscle than she did, but that was because men developed muscle much easier. Plus she was much shorter than he was, and small. It was obvious he would appear stronger. Just let her get her guns and see who is stronger. She had to admit though, his arms were far more appealing than Si's. Weak, scrawny good for nothing Dreck. At least Lexis wasn't' covered in horrible scars all over, though, to be honest, Karla actually liked Si's scars. It talked about how many fights he had before. Lexis seemed like he wasn't used to raise a finger at all.

The accusation got to her though. Karla blushed deeply and tugged at the towel, that was now placed over her shoulders. "I-I-I'M STILL DOING THE INVESTIGATION!" She yelled out, as if he'd accused her of something terrible. Well, it was terrible, for her at least, to worry about things that were less important than her job... like Si. "I just- I just took a break! I can do that from time to time, can't I?" She frowned, grabbing the side of the towel to clean her neck.

"Besides, the information you gave me was useless. There's nothing on the papers about that man. Unless the Conglomerate is hiding his information, I doubt there ever was any articles." She'd said it so casually though, that proved that Karla hadn't actually taken that into consideration. She just continued cleaning her sweat and frowning. She stared at Lexis though. He was a man. Maybe he would understand what Si wanted... he could get what the Dreck was feeling and tell her how to handle it. Besides, he looked like he had a lot of experience in that subject.

"Hey, you." She called, taking a few steps towards him, frown still in place, though she was looking away and blushing furiously. It was obvious this was taking far too much courage from her, even more so than pointing her gun at him and ask for questions. "You- you have a lot of relationships, right? Like with women and so..." Hopefully he wouldn't get the wrong idea from that...

"Would you- I mean..." No, Karla wasn't shy. She didn't ask for things. She demanded them. Gathering up courage, she looked at him in the eye, glaring and growling. "You are going to help me!" Yeah, that was helpful. Of course, they couldn't talk here... People would know who she was talking about. There were already rumors about her and Si... How was it that people around her figured things out before she did it herself? It was all Si's fault. He was far too obvious. It wasn't her fault she wasn't trained to deal with emotional stuff.

"We need to talk."

It was a wonder the punching bag didn't went flying off its hook with the furious beating it was being administered. Every bit of emotion rising up within the short woman translated into more violence on the poor, inanimate object. So long as it wasn't targeted at Lexis' poor, very much animated face, all would be well.

"You need to pay a lil' more attention when people talk to you hon'. I didn't say every man is like that much like I didn't say everyone woman was either. I'm just generalizing, because that's usually how it goes. Although I have to say, for someone who's not emotional, you sure are giving that bag hell."
It was fun to watch, Karla's fists crashing into the stuffed target harder and harder with every surge of anger. As he stood there, wondering which of the two would break first, the girl decided to make some adorable attempt at convincing Lexis she hadn't fell for -what'shisfacecan'tbebotheredtoremembernames-. The young man responded with heartfelt laughter almost instantly.
"Pu-lease. You make a very poor liar, sorry to say."

He was tempting his luck and he knew it, but it couldn't be helped. She made it so easy to torment her, almost feeding the retorts into his mouth. The ranting that followed proved to be even more amusing, expressing everything she liked about him with the negative, as if it would make it more convincing. Lexis was good at reading emotions, especially women's. Years of experience with these emotional little gifts of god tended to do that. It was entirely possible he would be wrong, and there was probably quite a bit he didn't knew about Mr. Nice Guy, but he remained confident in his own instincts regardless.
"Who cares about what makes a good knight, you're just changing the subject. We're not talking about the co-worker, we're talking about the guy you're falling in love with. Or are you still going to deny it?"

What did he care if she loved the guy or not? Then again, meddling with people's personal life was all kinds of fun. What if he managed to play Cupid and matched these two together? The girl would be forever grateful towards him, opening the doors to all kinds of favors from the knights... who was he kidding, he just enjoyed messing with the girl's head.

The flurry of blows came to an end once more and Karla was now graciously accepting his offering of towel while giving him a judgmental scowl regarding the reason behind his presence at the gym.
"C'mon on now, don't tell me you can't see that this is the perfect place to flirt. Look at those guys, all muscled and manly..."
Turning around to point at some random guy, Lexis retracted his finger rather quickly once he realized he was aiming at the same idiot he had been taunting earlier.
"Okay, not this guy, he's fat, but there's plenty of others... what was that?"
What had she just muttered? He hadn't really caught any of that, but it probably wasn't flattering, so better off not knowing.

When confronted about the investigation, though, she became all kinds of defensive, stuttering like a little girl caught stealing cookies from mommy's cookie jar. Lexis' smile grew wider, throughly enjoying the fact that he, for once, had the upper hand on the girl. It wouldn't last and he knew it, but it still felt pretty darn good.
"Of course you can take some time off, it's not like somebody's safety is on the line, right?"
So that was a bit of a low blow, but she had one of her own coming, so it would all balance out in the end.

"Will you stop saying my information was useless?" He asked, frowning in annoyance. "It's not my fault you haven't found anything yet, and it's not like I haven't been helping either. Has it ever occurred to you that the Conglomerate might, in fact, be hiding the facts? You were the first to spit about how full of shit they usually are, medias are easily corruptible, you know."

Going for another generous gulp of water, which would prove to be the last judging from the now empty plastic bottle, Lexis' attention was brought back towards Karla and she called out for him, as if they hadn't been talking already for the past few minutes.
"Yes, I do." He answered, quirking an eyebrow as he wondered where she was going with this. He doubted she had any interest in him, especially not since she was into some other knight that... oh.

Smiling expectantly as she staggered her way through a full sentence, falling short of completing it, Lexis couldn't help but laugh softly as she suddenly turned a request into an order.
"Apparently I am. Have I ever said no to you?"
So, technically he hadn't been wanting to talk with her on their first encounter, but the gun certainly had changed his mind, still counted as a yes.
"Go ahead, speak your mind."
She seemed hesitant, reluctant, as if...
"You mean like... somewhere else?"

This was starting to sound like a date.

She really hated when he called her 'hon'. She wasn't one of his female toys to be called with such a pet name. Hell, even Si didn't have a pet name for Karla. Not that she wanted one, of course! The jerk could just do whatever he wanted and she didn't care. She gave another punch at the bag after that thought. She stopped the second he mentioned she was punching the bag a bit too much.

"Shut up..." She muttered, glaring at the bag. It was true, he never said every man was like that, but in her head they were. Men were weak. They wanted to mate and... that was it, really. At least, that was what they were good for back in Sarmartia. Sure, some were good at random household chores, like cooking and such, but that wasn't enough to make Karla interested in having one in her life. But Si was different. He was... useless. Yeah, that was it. He couldn't do anything right, though he could at least cook for her... somewhat. He wasn't as bold and assertive as, say Lexis here, like most men were, but wasn't that a good thing? If it wasn't for the Dreck, Si wouldn't even try touching her. Though it wasn't all the Dreck was it? He'd said that before too.

Karla hit her forehead against the bag, as if that would make her thoughts fly out her head. It was too complicated. Why couldn't they just be partners? Like each other, sure but... but what? Why was it so wrong? She looked away, still lost in thought. Because she was Karla! She didn't like men! Men were dirt and useless and unappealing. She was better off alone anyway.

"I'm not lying!" She replied, though this time it sounded like she was trying to convince herself, rather than Lexis. "Who would fall for such an idiot?" Another punch against the bag, this time it was Lexis face painted all over it. Why did he care, anyway? Ah, but he wasn't done.

Karla suddenly turned to him, eyes wide, her face flushing suddenly. "L-love?" She repeated the word as if it was foreign. They had that word in Sarmartia. An old folk's tale, about finding the one who would make you happy and what not. It was completely ridiculous, almost like magic back there. At least, it was to Karla. The idea of placing someone before yourself was ludicrous and yet... wasn't that what she was doing? What she'd been doing, in fact, all this time? "I- I'm not..." It was useless to fight it. She crossed her arms, looking away. Stupid shadow man.

"What do you know about love anyway?" She said, her glare fixed on the floor. "You only go from woman after woman, sometimes at the same time. I saw you at that club." He'd been kissing those women like... like Si had kissed her back at the cabin. No, that hadn't been Si. That had been the Dreck. Si's kiss was... She blushed again.

He started talking about how great the gym was to engage in his horrible habits of picking up random females. She turned her gaze to who he was pointing and she raised an eyebrow. He hadn't picked the best out of the bunch, had he? Still, Karla held no interest in physical appearances. It was obvious by the way she looked. Even more obvious considering how thin and weak Si looked.

She growled again as he reminded her there were more important things to think about. He was right. She knew he was right too, which only made her even angrier. She kept quiet though. Better not to tell him he was right. She'll be damned before she admitted something like that out loud.

But Karla didn't have much time to stay angry. Her eyes widened as she realized what he said was probably true. "Maybe they took out all the files about him. Just like they did with the database!" That had to be it. Karla smiled then. That had to mean she was on the right track here, right? All right! Now all she had to do was get an interview with that man... She could, right? Being a knight and all. But now she had other things to worry about. Like talking to Lexis about Si. He had to understand him better than she did.

"Somewhere empty." She explained, looking around the many people working out. "I can't speak easily around all of these people." She pointed at a room, the one used for random classes, and smiled. "There. Come on." Date be damned. She actually wanted to talk about dealing with the Dreck. He had to understand that better, right? Hopefully he would follow and they would be able to talk things out easier this way.

"So..." What to ask now? Karla looked away, thinking for a moment, before letting out a deep breath. "I- ah... How do you...um...." She scratched her cheek, still thinking on what she wanted to know. "You see, there's... this situation that- ah- um..."

It was better to be direct, right? "Sihasamonsterinsideofhimandhewantsmebut Ithinkthat'swhatmakeshimlikemeand Idon'tknowifIshouldtrusthimwhenhesayshelikesmeornot."A deep breath and more started."Andyou'reaguysoyoumustknow ifhemeansitorifit'sjustthemonsterand hishormones." Hopefully he would get that, especially because it left Karla breathless after talking that fast. "Well?

Karla was acting in such childish manner it was almost cute. Adorable unfortunately didn't rhyme with punches but the mild tantrum was charming to watch regardless. Her eyes widened at the mention of love, as if it were earth shattering news that she displayed feelings for an individual. It really let Lexis wondering what kind of world she originated from, once again. She wasn't the only one oblivious to the concept of relationships, remembering the numerous awkward moments during that date he had with Micaiah. Perhaps they were born in the same universe?

It took a moment for Lexis to summon an answer once confronted with the fact he knew nothing about love. At first, he had wanted to point out how ridiculous such claim was, considering she knew how he liked to spread the sweet lovin' around, but love was not to be confused with lust. He was a womanizer alright, but not a lover.
"I've spent quite a bit of time in female company. I've learned a lot about them and their 'feelings'. At least I've learned to recognize the first signs of love, that's usually when I start running."
Smirking to himself, the young man thought that last bit to be funny, yet he doubted Karla would agree.

Moving on from relationships to flirting, then from flirting to a knight's duty, Lexis patted himself on the back, figuratively of course, on being right once again. If Victor was so careful as to erase his traces from the city's official documents, then surely he would have thought of doing the same with the media. Or perhaps the Conglomerate was collaborating? Lux had been extremely secretive about his plans and the super villain wasn't about to start spying on his boss. Satisfying his curiosity wasn't worth risking his position.

Before they could even think of starting another conversation about Victor, Karla was talking about relationships again. Obsessed with that knight boy, wasn't she? There was a hint of disappointment in Lexis' eyes as she simply suggested they moved to a more quiet location within the gym but he followed regardless. It sounded as though she was about to entrust him with some intimate secrets, which was surprising yet very interesting.

She started speaking and Lexis' eyebrows were raised slightly in expectation, lowering and rising again as she mumbled away incomprehensibly, now starring at her quizzically. There were plenty of ah's and um's but very few words.
"Karla... Karla! Calm down, focus, think about what you want to say and let it all out."
He nodded before going back to starring quietly, arms folded on his chest. Whatever smile had been on his lips faded away as she spoke up again, chaining words in such rapid succession she looked like she was about to pass out from the lack of oxygen. There was a pause, during which Lexis opened his mouth to speak, yet was interrupted before he could formulate anything intelligible with more turbo-talking. His jaw remained loose through the second act, staring blankly as his mind desperately attempted to process what was being said.

The silence that followed was blissful, yet stressful. She expected an answer and he wasn't even sure what the question was.
"Right... that was... really fast." He ran a hand through his hair, trying to make the best out of the few words that had made it past the translator. "So I believe you said something about a monster liking you and something about... hormones? Is this some sort of metaphor about sex where your man's privates are a monster? And you want to know whether he really loves you or just wants to sex you? You really need to be more precise... and slower!"

A grin spread across his lips as he added a little more before she could answer.
"And he will be wanting to get into your panties regardless, he's a man after all. Some of us are just more vocal about it than others."

Karla frowned in confusion. "Why?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, "I thought love was a good thing. Well, being loved not... being in love." She turned her embarrassed glare to the punching bag. Why did things have to be so difficult all the time? Why couldn't she just like someone who wasn't a mess? Why did she have to end up liking Si? He was a coward and weak, he couldn't speak up or raise his voice or be wild- well, he could as the Dreck but it was like going from one extreme to the other. This was all far too confusing...

At least now she was trying to understand. Well, if Lexis proved himself helpful. Which he wasn't. She growled, glaring at him as he tried to calm her down. "I'M TRYING, DAMMIT!" She yelled out, completely disregarding the fact that she'd just said she didn't want to be overheard by others. It was obvious her scream had been heard outside the room by the random people that turned their gazes toward the room. Not like Karla noticed anyway.

When she was done with her rant, she crossed her arms, looking proud of herself. There. She said it. She could only stare back at Lexis as he tried to come up with an answer... and he didn't get it.

"No- that's not-" She covered her face with one hand, trying to resist the urge to punch him. It was a futile battle the moment he mentioned her panties though. Karla's fist went straight to his stomach, hoping he wouldn't dodge.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" She yelled out angrily, growling and blushing deeply. This was far harder than she first thought. Karla crossed her arms, looking away. Maybe this had been a bad idea. But he needed to know something, right? She couldn't really ask Cerberus something like this. Not for the first time, Karla cursed under her breath at the fact that she was only close to Si. If she had someone else she could trust, maybe this wouldn't be as hard.

"Do you know about the Dreck?" She asked seriously, arms still crossed, not caring if Lexis was hurt or not. "Si has two natures. One is just him, Si, the knight, my partner. The other is the Dreck, a reptile that lives inside his body." She looked away, pausing for a moment to let the information sink in.

"There's an investigation going, since Si has been losing control of the Dreck lately. Sometimes, no, most of the time Si can control the Dreck easily, so he doesn't take control over his body. Lately it's been hard for him..." And she was pretty sure her presence had something to do with it, but she refused to mention it. "The papers blame Si for the killings and I'm set to prove them wrong. Even if the Dreck is wild, he still isn't randomly killing people. He likes fighting, but not... I don't think he can actually kill anyone."

He couldn't, because it was still Si inside. The problem was Karla really didn't know. Perhaps, back in his world, Si had killed a lot of people out of duty, just like she had... but none of that mattered back in Folder's Point. Hell, Karla hadn't killed anyone in ages.

"It seems like the Dreck, this monster," And not at all Si's privates, as Lexis thought, "He's looking for a mate and it chose me because I'm the closest female it has." Probably... or because she was a strong female? Karla really didn't know. "It drives Si out of control, considering he's stuck with me and..." She scratched her cheek, looking more and more uncomfortable. She'd lost her confidence the moment she touched such a subject and she wasn't sure how to continue. "I just... I just wanted to know if it's... Si and not the Dreck who... you know..." Yup, that wasn't helpful at all.

"I- I JUST WANT TO KNOW BECAUSE HE NEEDS TO CONTROL IT!" The last bit was far too loud and unexpected, but Karla still felt she needed to save some of her reputation in front of such a crook as Lexis. She didn't know if she had to be intimidating and catch the idiot at some point. "A-And I don't know how to help him..."

"Being loved is fine and all, but it becomes inconvenient when you don't intend to love back. I don't fall in love, I just make love, if you catch my drift."
She probably didn't, but Lexis figured she's either be too confused to ask or plain and simply wouldn't care to elaborate on the matter. They were supposed to be talking about her and her feelings, or something like that, not the young man's womanizing habits.

They moved to a more quiet location which, in the end, served little purpose considering the knight had raised the tone of her voice and drawn even more attention than before. Not wanting to scare off potential female preys thinking he had a deranged wife, the young man summoned just enough power to close the door shut without having to do it manually. The shadowy mist quickly dissipated without a trace and his eyes were never taken off Karla. His attention was perhaps not focused where it should be, though, as he never saw the blow coming.

The young man's features twisted in a painful grimace as he doubled over from the impact. His lips parted way yet no words came out, merely air being expelled suddenly from his lungs. He gazed at Karla with a pair of confused and disgruntled eyes, holding his stomach like his guts were about to spill out. Here he was, listening to her girl problems like they were friends or something, and he was rewarded with a painful punch. Why was he being nice again? He was supposed to be a Super Villain, and bad guys didn't take that kind of shit from anyone!

He wanted to say something, mentally going over some of his best villainous one-liners, which were mandatory before engaging in battle with a do-gooder, but he was promptly interrupted before a single sound could escape his throat. Karla was asking a question, and answering it sounded a lot easier than going all superevil mode on the unsuspecting knight.

"No..."
His voice was broken and uncertain, the young man still gasping for air. It hardly mattered as she would have probably kept on talking regardless of his answer. She gave him a quick rundown on her boyfriend-to-be's situation, explaining how the man apparently had a reptile living inside his body. Had she meant... crawling under his skin? If so, that was all kinds of disturbing. He was tempted to ask whether this 'reptile' was his junk but, given her reaction to his previous similar assumption, his lips were sealed shut and dirty thoughts repressed accordingly.

She kept going about this 'Si' guy, which Lexis still thought was the most ridiculous name he'd ever heard, the Dreck dude, which was apparently the same as that other guy, or not. Like they were both the same but... different people? And one was a murderer, or rather she was trying to prove he wasn't and... wasn't this supposed to be about girl problems? Well there was the whole 'reptile trying to mate with her' bit, which technically was relationship problems, but not the kind Lexis felt very comfortable with. The more Karla spoke, the more confused he became, slowly forgetting about the pain in his chest and rather thinking about the beating he would be getting if he couldn't come up with a satisfying answer. One that didn't involve her panties, preferably.

"Ok... so that's two very distinct problems and not just one. You really need to approach them separately. I'll cover both of them, but I swear if you hit me again, I'm outta here. I mean, I'm just trying to help..."
That last bit had sounded whiny more than anything, but damn it, he really didn't like getting hit!

"I don't really know anything about these murder allegations, but if the guy has a hard time controlling... whatever the hell it is he's trying to control, and if that thing has the power and desire to kill people, you might not want to stick around if you value your life. I know this is probably not what you wanna here and please don't hit me!"
He leaped back and put a hand between the two of them as a precaution, his other limb covering his still aching stomach, and gave her a wary look before resuming.
"You don't even sound certain yourself, whether or not this Dreck thing is capable of killing. If there are more murders and it turns out he was to be blamed the whole time... their blood will be on your hands, assuming you weren't one of the victims yourself, it's all I'm saying."
For once, he wasn't trying to be a jerk but rather analyzing the situation logically with what little information he had on the matter. He wasn't sure whether she was hiding that guy-thing-monster or not, but it certainly sounded as though she was, the young man knowing it was still on the loose thanks to the Conglomerate keeping everyone informed.

"As for the whole mating stuff... you really lost me there but I'll try my best at answering."
He took another pause, eyes wandering back and forth between both fists of hers. He almost felt like running out right away, but if she managed to catch him...
"It sounds like this monster feeds on his primal urges while he, the knight, Si like you call him, is the more rational thinker, or something? Hell I don't know, I'm just winging this. Point is, it sounds like they both want you, in a sexual way I mean, and one of them is just being more vocal about it than the other, which is exactly what I had been suggesting from the start."
Another wary glance was thrown at the female knight before continuing.
"Now, how deep the guy's feelings for you go, I wouldn't know. This is something only you can figure out by observing the signs. Just... tell me how he acts around you? Not the monster, the other dude."

This was so awkward. Why was he even helping her? Was he considering her to be... a friend? Technically, she was the closest thing to a real friend he had in Folder's Point. Nobody had ever shared personal things with him before, not even back in Aria. Maybe this was why he kept pestering her every time they're run into each other.

Friendship was painful.

He didn't know about the Dreck. Karla pursed her lips, thinking not for the first time what a lazy informer he was. It'd been in the paper! Si, the Dreck, how he was blamed for the murders. Either he didn't read the papers of he was very good at playing dumb. Maybe a bit of both.

She explained the situation, as awkward as that was. Suddenly, this wasn't about Karla's confused feelings anymore. This was about Si, like everything she did lately. He really should appreciate all she did for him, even this awkward moments.

And Lexis was right about one thing: She didn't like the answer. Karla stood there, shaking in anger. That wasn't what she'd been expecting at all. Nor what she wanted to hear. "He'll never hurt me!" She said hurriedly, looking very much like she was going to start punching Lexis again. His request made her lower her fists, though she was still shaking in anger.

He was right, of course. Everyone was right. Si was a risk, a danger inside the body of a wimpy little guy. No one would suspect him, right? Except he was the main suspect of a brutal murder and it all pointed at him. Every clue, every witness. They all were pointing, rather loudly too, at Si. It just wasn't fair. Si was innocent, even if the Dreck wasn't. It wasn't his fault... and still, the Dreck couldn't have either, because they were sort of the same person, right?

Karla crossed her arms, frowning, still staring at Lexis as if she was about to punch him. The mating thing. Right. Both wanting her in a sexual way? She really doubted it. Si wasn't sexual at all. Well, not that she knew of. He couldn't be, right? He was just a wimpy loser. Although back then he'd said it hadn't been all the Dreck. Could Lexis be right? Then...

"Do you think I can use that?" She wondered, smirking slightly. If SI wanted her, as well as the Dreck, then maybe that could be the key to dealing with the Dreck, right? Killer or not, she could manage to calm him down, maybe? It'd happened before. She just never actually thought it could be used as a weapon, or more likely, a way of controlling the Dreck. Then Cerberus couldn't say the Dreck was out of control. She would manage something. Even more important, she could be able to keep Si close.

"Well, in Sarmartia females used sex as a weapon." She explained lightly, "That's why men are no good for fighting. They are easily manipulated." Not that females were much different, but it was harder with most. Men had the same nature though. Look at Lexis here. She was sure that if some random girl started to flirt with him, he would be gulping out more information than any computer could manage.

He continued then, and Karla rolled her eyes. How Si acted around her? "Like always." She said, shrugging. "He's all weird and jumpy. I think he's scared of me." What else? Well... nothing different, except..." He...touches me. A lot. Not in a weird way just... small things." This was very embarrassing. Her cocky attitude went right back to embarrassed, like a little girl talking about her first kiss. "And he kissed me. Once... Twice..." She shook her head and looked up. "I think it was three times, but half of those were the Dreck, I think. Not- well, I'm not sure. Last time it seemed more Si than- than anything but..."

Karla shrugged, trying to rest importance to it. "But we don't really kiss in Sarmartia so it's not a big deal." And everyone knew, Karla went with her world rules, no matter what dimension she was living in.

The word 'Dreck' in itself was familiar. He had probably read it somewhere in the newspaper, most likely in that article about the runaway knight she was poised on protecting. They had most likely detailed the whole 'monster within' aspect, and it was probably at that point Lexis had stopped paying attention, skimming over it while chanting 'yadda yadda' in his mind, as if the knowledge gained would push something more important out, like how to flirt with women. Who read entire articles anyways? Most businessman had the duration of their lunch to go through an entire newspaper, skimming was your friend if you wanted to be up-to-date on all the latest news.

The young man's eyes widened as Karla shouted her objection, sounding a whole lot like the defensive wife of an abusing man. Had he physically harmed her before? Probably, and whether it was the monster or the man that had was irrelevant, his presence around her remained a threat. The girl obviously didn't care to hear it though and there was hardly anything he could do at that point. Besides, there were other questions to be answered.

"Use it?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow. "As in, to manipulate him? Yeah, I don't see why not. A lot of woman do it." He shrugged, not really questioning her motives and finding it amusing that Miss Law Enforcer had such a wicked side. Sometimes Lexis wondered if every woman was born with manipulation running in their blood. Men were physically stronger but women knew their weakness, which happened to be that lengthy piece of meat dangling between their legs.
"Threatening a man to take away access to your secret garden is usually the most efficient way to obtain what you want, but everyone knows that already."

She mentioned what he could only assume to be the name of her home world and figured she was merely illustrating what he had just explained. How it kept men from being good fighters, though, he didn't understand.
"What do you mean? Do you... chop off their privates or something?"
The mere thought was cringe worthy, Lexis reaching out for his junk instinctively as if to make sure it was still in place. What a terrible, terrible place she came from. No wonder Karla didn't knew anything about politics, women never understood these things to begin with. What a chaotic world she must have lived in before arriving in Folder's Point. He wasn't saying any of that out loud, obviously, as he'd rather keep his privates, and everything else, intact.

Then they were back to talking about Si-guy, or rather how he behaved around his lady. The first bit made sense, given the girl's violent and intimidating nature. In fact, it made Lexis pause and wonder who was beating who in their relationship. She moved on to the touching part and it only served to prove his theory in the end.
"That's a sign he wants you, hon'. From what you've been telling me so far, he's the shy type. He won't just straight up say that he wants you, but he'll show it through seemingly meaningless gestures."

Once she moved on the the kissing, Lexis couldn't help but roll his eyes. Was this not obvious enough? How could she even doubt of the guy's feelings for her? Arms were folded on his chest, forgetting all about the punching threats even though his stomach was still in pain.
"You're not in Samartia anymore, and unless your man is from there, whatever customs prevailed there cannot be applied here. Kissing might not be a big deal to you, but I'm fairly certain it is to him. It's a demonstration of love."

He then frowned, the part about kissing the Dreck sinking in after all had been said and done.
"Hold on, you kissed the Dreck? The reptile dude? You made out with some scaly monster? That's kinda... weird."
As much as he didn't want to upset her further by being a jerk about it, he couldn't hide his disdain at such bizarre display of affection.

Karla smiled as Lexis confirmed what she'd thought. She could use that attraction against the Dreck, maybe even control him with it. She'd done it before, not that she noticed, to keep him from fighting. She blinked a couple of times in confusion at Lexis though. Garden? What did he mean by that?

"You mean refuse to have sex?" She asked, in a voice that could have very well belong to a girl half her age. Karla crossed her arms, looking at the roof as she thought about it. "We don't do that." She answered plainly. "There isn't closing anything. It's not like he knows what's it like. With me, I mean." She knew Si had done that before, back in his world. He'd mentioned 'mating seasons' before, whatever that meant. It seemed like the Drecks behaved more like animals than people. Not that she was interested herself. Sex was just something too foreign to really want it.

"But if I can work that side, maybe I can keep the Dreck from attacking when Si loses control, or make him attack when I want." Karla shrugged, mostly talking to herself rather than Lexis, still wondering if she could manage that. "I still risk getting molested though." Not that it hadn't happened before. She still remembered how the Dreck had jumped at her last time, grabbing her and kissing her to the point she couldn't breath anymore. If Si hadn't controlled himself, she would have passed out from lack of air.

Karla let out a breath, walking until she was right next the wall and then leaning against it tiredly. The rush of adrenaline was done, and all that exercise combined with her latest life style was starting to get to her. The traces of exhaustion were starting to show, from weight loss to dark circles under her eyes.

"Sometimes." She replied casually, as if she wasn't talking about chopping out men's privates. "It depends on the man's sin, of course. But some countries do that." Not hers though, not that she thought it was all that horrible. Men were horrible most of the time, and she was sure infidelity wouldn't be as easily forgiven, so it would deserve that penalty. Anyway, that wasn't what they were supposed to be talking about. Though she did find it amusing that Lexis looked scared for a moment there. Did he really think she would be capable of taking off his privates? Meh, she probably was, but that didn't mean she was going to do it. "But I meant, females sometimes seduce men to get information out of them." Again with the light, innocent tone. "I think it's stupid though. A good punch or a gun pointed at their head could be much useful without having to reduce your level that way." Yes, because Karla had proved before how good her convincing methods were. Hey, at least she didn't have to go around, seducing random men.

The talk went right back to Si's behavior and, even as she said it, it was more obvious how he felt. But it only made things more difficult. If it was just the Dreck then she could easily manipulate him, but Si was something different. She cared for him, deeply too. He was her only someone in Folder's Point. Well, apart from Cerberus or Lexis, though she really couldn't count them, could she? She gave the shadow man an evaluating look. Well, she didn't have anyone else to talk to apart from Si, and she wasn't going to start talking about these things with Cerberus. That would be far too embarrassing.

"Love?" She repeated, again feeling nervous by the mentioning of the word. Only this time, it was placed on Si's side, not hers. "You think he loves me?" Whether Karla sounded hopeful or not, she didn't notice. She still stared at Lexis with wide eyes though, waiting for an answer. What would happen if Si loved her though? Would things between them change?

"Well... he's said he likes me before..." She said awkwardly, "But I- well, that's what's bugs me. It's not like- like I don't like him. I just don't- I've never been interested in anyone. At all." Karla leaned back, letting out another breath, closing her eyes as she talked. "I don't believe in all that romantic crap. Like- I know it's normal to like someone and all that, but that's usually when you're at your prime. I'm too old for mates and romance." Again with Sarmartian's rules. Females who ended up with mates usually were in her teen years. That was the prime age for reproducing, after all, especially since humans from Sarmartia were much smaller and had a much shorter life span than regular humans.

The next question made her uncomfortable again. Karla blushed, suddenly straightening up to glare at him. "He wasn't transformed!" She yelped out defensively, "Well, not entirely... Just- just the scales and his eyes... and the claws." Ah yes, those claws that seemed to like puncturing her skin far too much. But his appearance had been mostly human that time. Besides, Si had said it hadn't been all the Dreck.

Still, the uncomfortable question was enough to make Karla pout, "And we didn't 'make out'." She continued, "He kissed me. That's entirely different. He almost crushes me too, the idiot." She turned away, remembering that bit. "He gets too... excited, I think. And he can't control his strength so most of the times it ends up with me pushing him away. You know, when the Dreck tries something."

Karla let out another sigh. She wasn't helping Si's case. It was more apparent, even for her, that being around the Dreck was a risk for her security, and yet she couldn't think of herself just pushing Si away. She couldn't. "He scratched me once." She admitted in a low voice, though she was smiling sadly. "I still have the scar." Another sigh, and she continued. "He can't help himself though... the Dreck I mean, or Si for that matter. He- They are, well... He's used to it. He's primal, but I don't think he wants to hurt me." Karla hugged herself, looking away. She wouldn't stand any look of contempt from Lexis. "He tries to protect me, sometimes, as if he thinks I'm his. I- I like that. It feels like, like he's mine too, you know?" She doubted he did. Lexis didn't seem the type to know about these things, but...

"Is it like that with you?" She wondered, her eyes returning to him. "With any of your women?" Because she was sure he had many. "Like that scientist girl? Or the ones at the nightclub?"

Lexis could barely contain his deception at the fact that she hadn't done anything 'naughty' with her partner yet. Fortunately, there was more than one way to go about with this.
"Promises of a special time together work just as well. Although bear in mind that it can only work so many times if you fail to hold your end of the bargain. There are plenty of alternatives to keep him all nice and satisfied too, should you care to hear them."
His lips were shaped into a grin, promising all kinds of juicy information on command, but it was quickly wiped away once she minded him of her true purpose, which was to keep her out of control boyfriend in check.

"That... really doesn't sound like a good idea. Might wanna be careful when dealing with the Dreck. If there's the slightest chance for you to get physically hurt or... 'molested' as you put it, it's not worth the risk in my opinion. I know you want to help the guy and all but I'm sure there are better alternatives, like having him spend some time in a controlled environment or something."
Lexis remained wary for the next few seconds following his suggestion, knowing she wouldn't react well to it. He was right though, he just knew he was.

His gaze following the girl as she stepped aside and leaned against the wall, he allowed some time to pass before joining her. She was openly admitting that chopping off a man's privates was acceptable punishment back in her homeland and he couldn't help but picture Karla grabbing a hold of his junk and shooting at it until it came off. It was disturbing and even painful to think of, especially since she seemed to be just that type of crazy gal. Thankfully the conversation moved along into more familiar and comfortable territory: seduction.
"I'm not going to deny the effectiveness of holding someone at gunpoint, I've witnessed firsthand, but you can't deny that it lacks subtlety. You don't always want people to know what you're up to, hence manipulation to get what you want."
That last one he also knew of, firsthand.

It wouldn't be long until she started talking about that Josiah guy again, wondering how he felt about her and other random things females usually worried over. Again, she was uttering the word 'love' as if it were the first time she heard of it.
"Only you can answer that question, but from what you're been telling me, either he has very strange customs back in his home world or he's trying to show he loves you. If I had to bet on this, I'd go for the second one."

And then it was revealed the guy had already admitted to liking her. A hand went to Lexis' forehead, rubbing at it slightly before letting his fingers slide down all the way to his chin. He let out a sigh, giving the girl a disgruntled look before risking a few steps forward, stopping close enough to make the conversation personal, yet far enough to keep her from punching his guts freely. His side leaned on the wall as well, arms folding on his chest as he listened quietly.

"Too old?" He repeated, quirking an eyebrow. "First of all, there is no 'age' to love, it can happen at any moment in your life. And second of all... seriously, how old can you be? You look young to me. Hell, I'd be surprised if you were older than I am."
Scratching at his scalp softly with the tip of his fingers, Lexis gave it some thought before continuing.
"It's obvious to me that you care for this guy more than you should for a co-worker. You can keep on lying to yourself all you want about not believing in romance and whatnot but the fact remains that there is something special going on between the two of you, you're just refusing to let it happen. At least that's how I see it."

The short distance that was now between them made the young man hesitate to bring up the whole danger aspect of the relationship again, although the comment about kissing the Dreck couldn't be helped. He didn't seem the least impressed with her talk of scales and claws. Same thing, still creepy.
"If the guy can't control his 'Dreck' or whatever, he needs to stay away from you."
Eyes widening as he realized what he had just said, Lexis suddenly felt the need to add more.
"When he's feeling too horny, I mean! Like, when he... you get what I'm saying, right?"
He hoped for his sake that she did.

As expected, the young man was confused more than anything by Karla's appreciation of the beast's primal instincts and possessive demeanor.
"You're old enough to take your own decisions, just make sure they're the right one. It's your happiness that matters in the end."
That was corny and far too caring, very unfitting of a Super Villain. He would have to compensate later by kicking a puppy or something. Well maybe not a puppy, more like a full grown dog. A small one! Big ones could bite his leg off. Why was he thinking about dogs?

Thoughts of kicking animals almost caused him to miss her next question which, once analyzed by his brain, left him staring blankly at the girl. Why was she asking about his personal life? Better yet, why did she care? He felt like sharing the information regardless, appreciating the spotlight.
"Night club girls have nothing to do with love. I do appreciate women, I like sharing a special moment with them in bed, I like bringing them pleasure, but once the moment's over, it's over. Every new girl is like a new adventure, if you will. There's no attachment, just an abandonment to the pleasures of the flesh."

She had asked about Micaiah as well, though, and Lexis was unsure what to respond with this one. For one, he couldn't have Karla know that he was seducing her for the sake of prying knowledge out of her. Furthermore, he wasn't even sure himself how he felt about the scientist.
"Mica is different." He took a pause as the girl's classy figure appeared in his mind, smiling without even realizing it. "She doesn't know the slightest thing about... you know, sex. She's completely oblivious to my flirting, worse than you, even. Can you believe it?"
His tone suggested he was mocking the knight, but it was all in good fun. At least he could only hope she would see it that way.

"I've known people that were in love, though. They came from completely different worlds..." Taking a pause there and realizing this could be interpreted literally, he added: "Not as in... different dimensions, I mean different social environments. One was a serious businessman, the other a Super Hero. She saved his life, he took her out for dinner as a means to thank her. It was love at first sight, or so they told me. Dad said he could see mom had the most beautiful and caring eyes he had ever gazed upon through her eye mask."
He wanted to keep going, yet he couldn't. His throat was tied in a sudden surge of emotions, memories of his parents always succeeding in making him homesick. There would be no point in elaborating on the matter anyways, Karla hadn't asked him to talk about this. If anything he had probably just bored the girl to death.

Karla was about to ask which alternatives were those, considering she had no intention of sleeping with Si. It was the grin on Lexis face that stopped her from asking. Instead she glared at him, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes. "I have no intention in neither lying to him or doing anything perverted." Which was the real problem here. If Karla had been willing to give the Dreck what it wanted a long time ago, she would have had more power over him. But that wasn't what she wanted. This was a case of Karla wanting everything without sacrificing anything.

Karla huffed, looking away. She knew it was risky, alright. She'd been the one to suffer when he got a bit overly excited. Si only held so much control over the Dreck. "Si lets him out in the woods now and then. I'm not really sure on the specifics, but I think he lets him hunt. It's not just- ah, his desire of killing that needs control." She looked down, a small pout still in place. Hadn't the Dreck said he was going to look for some more 'willing' females? What if Si went around, molesting girls all over the place.

"Besides, I'm thinking more of those times when he loses control of himself. I'm... I've seen the change a couple of times. The first time he was drunk and the second... well..." She looked away, blushing. "I rejected him, so the Dreck took over." Exactly why, she wasn't sure, but that was what had happened. Oh yes. Of all the men in Folder's Point, she had to like the one with the reptilian monster inside of him, wanting nothing more but either kill her or rape her. There certainly had to be an award for the worst choice ever. Karla was certain she would win something like that. "It's not something pretty to witness and, well, it's really a pain."

The talk went right into the Sarmartian ways of manipulation and Karla merely rolled her eyes. "All you got to do is kill the guy after you're done." She said lightly, even though she'd proven that wasn't always effective. She hadn't killed Lexis yet, so that was a small clue.

But enough of that. The conversation went ahead with discussing Si's feelings and Karla was left frowning, deep in thought. So there was a chance Si loved her... But that didn't make much sense. It couldn't be that both the Dreck and Si wanted her? That made even less sense. Well, they were sort of the same person, if you thought about it. It could be that they shared something more than a body. Love came from chemical reactions inside someone's brain, or something like that. It could be that, since they shared a brain, they could be feeling the same way, they just had a different way of showing said 'love'. Si would be shy and gentle while the Dreck would want, well, her. It still didn't make her feel any better.

"It's not as easy as you think..." She muttered, her eyes fixed on the floor. "Si is two persons sharing a body. Sometimes one is in charge, sometimes it's the other. If there are any feelings there, then they could be sharing those too. I just don't know which person is the one who... you know." It was probably the Dreck though. Karla let out a breath, crossing her arms. Well, at least this made things interesting. She certainly wouldn't be so worried about Si and care for him as much as she did if he was a boring person. Well, he sort of was boring, with all that nervous behavior and his lame obsession with movies. But then there was the Dreck, and that actually made him interesting to be around. It was with that train of thought that made Karla realize she might have issues. Having a reptilian monster inside him actually made Si more appealing to her. She let out a snort at the revelation. Who would have thought?

Karla blinked as Lexis continued, almost wondering how their conversation turned to her age. "I'm twenty years old." She said plainly, over his words, as if that made her previous statement obvious. "Too old. Besides, Si's ninety eight or something. It's a big difference." Because, really, women who ended up with mates had to get hitched at fifteen, tops. That was why population was so scarce in Sarmartia. You had about three years to find a mate, then it was over. She rolled her eyes as Lexis continued talking. Who would have thought the manwhore ended up being a romantic man?

"Of course I care for him." She said plainly, staring at Lexis as if he was saying something stupid. And he really was, saying she needed to stay away. "He's mine." The last bit was said far too simply, despite it's connotation. It seemed like Karla realized this after she'd said it, so she felt the need to explain. "I mean, he's my person. Here. In Folder's Point." She let out an exasperated breath, realizing she had to explain further, knowing he wouldn't understand her ways. "We're all alone in Folder's Point when we first arrive. We know no one, and all of our culture and everything we know is gone." She explained, her voice suddenly turning bitter. "When you first arrive here, you feel lost... alone. All the people you knew just vanish and... it's hard." She turned away, thinking of her princess, the girl she'd loved as if she was her own daughter. "It's really hard."

Shaking her head, to get rid of those thoughts, she tried to focus on the present. "I was assigned as Si's partner because he calms me down, or something." More like slows her down, but she wasn't about to start explaining. "We got close and now all we have is each other. He's the one person I know will always be there, you know?" She smiled confidently as she realized she'd manage to explain herself. "So he's mine." There was nothing romantic about it though. They could easily just be friends and still care as deeply as they did for each other. It was the romantic part that bothered Karla. "That's why we can't stay away from each other. At least, I can't stay away from him. I don't really have anyone else."

But it seemed that Lexis knew nothing about that. He started talking about how meaningless his relationships with any female were. He talked about pleasure and things Karla certainly couldn't understand. It just seemed pointless. She knew there was some sort of emotion or pleasure behind such acts, but nothing was too great to bother yourself that much for it. Though there were nights, Karla felt she could actually kill for, say, a burger from Rosie's. Perhaps it was a similar feeling? Her disappointment didn't last long though. As soon as Lexis started talking about the scientist, his demeanor changed entirely. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him, not uttering a word. He lighted up in a flash, as soon as he mentioned her name! Did she look the same way when she spoke of Si? No. Not really. Her relationship with the Dreck was different. She wasn't sure how though. Maybe the amount of problems made things far too difficult for them to be that happy.

Karla smiled too, despite his little joke. It was a rare thing, for her to smile like that. Perhaps it was just that Lexis content smile was contagious? "You tease me about being in love, and it's you who is being in denial." It was fun to tease him like that too. Maybe it was a small revenge from all his lecturing about love and being blind about it.

He continued though, talking about a couple. Whoever he was talking about, seemed like he knew them very well. 'Love at first sight'. It hadn't been that way with her and Si. In fact, the first time she met him, she already had wanted to kill him. The idiot stuttered too much and was far too quiet the rest of the time. The only thing he seemed to talk about were movies, and he didn't like fighting nor firing his shot gun. She even doubted he carried one anymore. But then, little by little, she got used to him. She grew to like his presence. It was sort of soothing, and it really made her feel slightly less angry whenever he was around. She'd gotten so used to have Si around that now she couldn't bear her life without him.

"Hold on." She said, after having smiled and stared in a peaceful way, her face going from that gentle smile to gaping. "Your mother was a super hero?" That was the coolest thing she'd heard so far. So Lexis was used to strong women! That was... amazing! She smiled proudly, hands on her hips. "How did you end up such a mess?" She teased, "Your parents sound great and you're still a rat? How lame."