( OOC:The Track )

mood: tracking

The day had been long, so many things had happened, Salene could hardly remember it all as she headed upstairs from the hospital. Her right hand rubbed at the back of her neck, the tension in it so tight it was giving her a headache. She'd had enough of those lately, and she'd just wanted it to go away, completely forgetting to check if the Cafes were clean before heading to bed. Once in her room, she'd smiled at the sight of Ryan snoozing away, at least he was calm, quiet, asleep, and all she'd wanted was to crawl into bed beside him and go to sleep.

Slipping into her pajamas, Salene left her clothes across the small dressing lounge at the end of their bed and crawled in beside him, snuggling close and kissing his warm shoulder. He didn't stir, he didn't even seem to realize she was there at all, and that was ok, there was no need to wake him up. He'd obviously slept through the Tai-San ordeal, and she was now kind of afraid of what he'd do when he heard about it. He was so mad at Jay for the Techno things, would he then be mad at Ebony for who she was? Salene could almost see Ryan throwing them both out into the streets because of this, she'd just have to make it perfectly clear that it was an accident. Besides, he'd promised to calm himself, and to take things easy and get a grip on his anger. Relaxing as she let it go for tonight, Salene snuggled up to Ryan again and let herself slip into sleep, comfortable in the knowledge that she was safe here with him in her arms again.

Stirring in the early morning, Salene found herself cold, her feet and legs numb from it, freezing in her short pajama bottoms. Groggily lifting her head and looking around her, she found Ryan wrapped up in them, on his side, facing away from her and snoring lightly away. Turning from her stomach onto her side, Salene slid close to Ryan, pulling the covers back across her before wrapping her arm around him and hugging him. Her face pressed against his back, inhaling the scent of him, letting herself drift back into her sleep state.

mood: sleepy

Salene left Brady with Mouse and Flower in Mouse's room, she knew she could trust Mouse to stay in her room and out of trouble, and to help the girls keep themselves from getting dirty. She just hoped she could trust the three of them not to start fighting, or Brady to not upset Mouse by talking about going away again. She felt badly that she'd asked Mouse to watch the baby and then taken him away again, but if Brady was going to be in a mood then she wouldn't feel right leaving Mouse with a screaming toddler and a baby. Besides, she could always watch the baby later, there would be plenty of chances. This also gave her more time to get ready, if she didn't have to worry about the baby rolling off into the corridor or - no, she wouldn't think these horrible thoughts. Why was she being so morbid today?

Leaning down to take all of the little stuffed animals out of the cot, tossing them to the floor, Salene carefully placed Bray in the cot, settling him and rubbing his stomach until he dozed back off again. Maybe he could sneak in a little nap before the ceremony and then be bright eyed for it. Leaving him there, she headed from this closet area into their room, bypassing her bed and heading straight towards the area where her clothes were laid out. Salene first removed her earrings, then her choker, setting them on her vanity before removing her bracelet, and then all of her rings. She felt sort of naked in that sense, and lighter, all of that silver jewelry was kind of heavy, but it would soon be replaced, some of it. She was going to be very dressed down as the officiate, she didn't want to stand out, and the only thing that would really stand out was the necklace she'd chosen to wear. It was very Gaian, and Amber had helped her pick it out, along with her dress, so she'd look right. Salene surely felt the part once she put the dress on, and now that's all she had to do.

Stepping out of her platform flip flops, Salene unbuttoned her criss cross blue jeans once she stepped behind the screen just behind the bar counter that separated her bedroom from the sitting room. She pulled her halter top, and then the panties she'd been wearing. Pulling on a less fancy pair with a matching bra, Salene lifted the dress from it's hanger and slipped it on over her head. Pulling the green top part on, she carefully maneuvered, what a dress to wear! She fiddled with the laces at the sides until they felt perfect, always keeping one ear open towards the silent baby.

When she'd gotten the dress just as she liked it, she stepped out from behind the screen and checked on the baby. He was asleep, making a sucking motion with his mouth and dozing. Good. Somewhere in the Mall could be heard some strained voices, yelling perhaps, but she couldn't tell who, or why, and she was not in the mood to find out who was fighting over what dress right now. "Kids," she muttered under her breath, thankful that it didn't sound like Mouse and the girls. Taking a seat at her vanity, Salene pulled her platform combat boots on, taking her time lacing them so they'd be comfortable before sitting up and facing the mirror. She pulled the beautiful butterfly necklace on and set it carefully around her neck, smiling to herself. The earrings and studs went in quickly and she got to work on her makeup and hair.

mood: worried

Salene carried Brady from the clothes closet back to the room she shared with Ryan. She faltered in the doorway, she didn't want to wake him, but she really needed him right now. Besides, he'd been sleeping long enough, and there was a crisis in the Mall. Salene walked over to the sitting area of their bedroom, placing Brady down on the couch, "You stay here and play with the skunk, Auntie Salene is going to talk to Uncle Ryan, and then we'll go see Mommy and Mouse, ok Brady?" She nodded until Brady responded then headed over to the bed, gently patting Ryan on the back. "Ryan, wake up," she said, giving him a bit of a shake and lowering her voice, "please wake up, there's a crisis in the Mall and I need you to get up," she was trying not to alarm Brady, keeping an eye on her from across the room as she continued to pat and shake Ryan. "Wake up!"

mood: worried

Salene walked away from Moon's Room, shaking her head. It had rubbed her the wrong way that Danni was insistent on being voted back in, sure she'd once been a leader here in the Mall, and of course she was always headstrong and about doing what was "right" by others, but they had a system, it was one both Salene and Amber, the leaders of the Tribe, were happy with, and one that had yet to be challenged by any Mall Rat. Salene realized she was just being irritable and she carried Mouse into her room, setting her on her feet and stopping at the bookshelf for a large book, The Book of Fairy Tales from Many Places.

As she walked to sit down next to Mouse, she spotted Ryan, still snoozing away in bed, Silly boy, I wonder if he had much to drink last night, she thought to herself. She couldn't even remember much about their night, she remembered coming to bed after leaving Zandra in Gel's room, but the rest was a blur, and she knew sleep had come quickly. "What shall I read to you? Or do you want to try reading? We should be kinda quiet cause Ryan is still asleep," she warned, motioning with her head slightly towards the bed, her voice a hushed tone.

mood: calm

Salene headed to her room from The Cafe, she was tired, she'd washed as many dishes as she felt like she could for now, she'd been working all day, and her small moment of relaxation had left her wanting more, to cut loose and be Salene, Mall Rat, not leader, not boss, just, Sal. She entered her room without being stopped, a good sign, and headed straight for her dresser. She pulled out the outfit in her mind, piece by piece, opting for a different shirt than she had originally thought, as it seemed to be the better choice. The skirt was one she hadn't worn yet, something found in the storage closet, it was a nice deep red, one of her favorite colors, and it clung to her body in all of the right places. She wanted to save it, to wear it for Ryan, but she couldn't imagine a time they'd actually get to be alone when she'd need to dress up for him, it wasn't as if he would make her a romantic dinner again, like their wedding night. This thought made her smile, but of course, why would he have a reason to do that?

She shook her head at herself and quickly ( undressed )

When she stood up, she was happy not to find herself dizzy or sick, something that had been subsiding all week and she felt completely healthy. Now that she was dressed, however, she felt as if she could lay down and take a nap, she was just that exhausted. Instead, she sat down at the computer in the room and wrote a quick journal entry.

( Journal Entry )

Salene opened her mail program and waited as the many messages flooded in. She scanned the subjects and paused on a few, before coming across this particular one. She scanned it and sighed, frowning. She'd sent part of the militia out in search of the girl, and she'd been at home curled up in bed the entire time? Was that some kind of joke? Was that some kind of test from Ram? Go to the Mall and see if they'll help him, oh, and rat out Ved while I'm there, just to take the anger and confusion completely off of me. Salene closed her mail program, her stomach lurching with angst, that hadn't helped relax her at all, though she supposed she was grateful that Ram at least let her know what was going on, instead of having her send out more militia to try again tomorrow. She'd have to tell Siva when she saw her at the Hen Party. Salene stood up and walked to her couch, picking up a book she'd been reading when not reading through "The Art Of War" for the four thousandth time, and tried to relax into the story line, trying to escape, if even for a moment, from this world into another.

mood: frustrated

( OOC:May )

EDIT:Please read the comment attached. Thank you.

Salene led Ryan downstairs, glad that Cloe had gone after Mouse, she was worried about her but she also knew she couldn't always run after her. She had to get used to things, and sometimes a Mother's interference did no good at all, hopefully Cloe could talk to her one on one, make her feel better. Salene still felt badly, however, as she knew Mouse was having a rough time with everything, but she could check on her after market, and devote some one on one time with her if she needed it.

Salene stopped at her office and picked up a few extra things to trade, as well as her newest jacket she'd traded for, a brown suede coat with leather bands and gold toned oval buttons. She slipped it on, buttoned the buttons, and slipped the shopping list in the left pocket before picking up the basket and turning back to Ryan, slipping her free arm through the crook of his elbow and smiling, "Ok, let's get to Market before the children murder each other and we have to stay to clean up the mess," she winked and smiled softly, knowing full well the children wouldn't ever really hurt each other, or at least, she hoped so.

mood: optimistic

( Icon Community Members, Poll Time )

mood: contemplative

Salene stood up and placed Mouse on her hip, she was a bit heavier than when she'd first come to the Mall, but Salene felt much better than she had maybe a week ago, her balance was back and she was steady, no more dizziness, and her eyes were back to normal. "Come on you, let's go talk in my room," she said softly, carrying her up the stairs and towards her room. She paused outside of her room, glancing at the railing, "Is that what you tied to the railing? A jump rope?" She kicked it out of the way so no one would trip over it, "I'll undo it later," she said amusedly. Salene sat down on the couch and pulled Mouse back into her lap, leaning against the arm of the couch, her elbow on the arm and her head in her hand. "Ok, now you tell me everything, start slowly and from wherever you want and get it all out. Tell me how it makes you feel, and ask questions, about anything, ok?" Salene gave her a soft smile, and played with Mouse's shoe, tugging at the shoelace playfully.

mood: sympathetic

Salene left the Extra Cafe area by going through the secondary cafe, their usual meeting area, as the baby smelled pretty stinky and she didn't want to inadvertently ruin anyone's breakfast by parading his stinky pants by those trying to eat. She had just exited, missing Amber but running into Bray carrying a bag, "Hey," she greeted quietly. "You aren't really leaving are you Bray? After everything you're just going to go away? Where will you go?" Salene was visibly upset by this, she may be Co Leader with Amber, but in her mind Bray would always be their fearless leader, she would always want his opinion on things, no matter what. "You can't leave Bray, you just got well again, are you sure you should be traveling when you haven't rested completely?" Salene's mouth twisted into a frown, her eyebrows were pinched together, she, more than anyone, knew what he was going through, how he was feeling inside, though she guessed it was even worse for him with the VR thingamajig that Jay and Ved...and Ram had performed on him. She knew he couldn't travel, not yet, not really, at least, she wouldn't have wanted to travel a few days ago, but, then again, he'd actually spent 3 days in bed, resting completely, where she'd been up and down working on things and taking care of the Tribe. Salene shifted the baby on her hip, "Your son needs a diaper change, come help me with that at least, we should talk," she finally said, moving past him in a rush, upset, hoping he would follow.

mood: upset

( NC17 Filter Update )

Salene woke with a start, whatever dream she'd been having had ended by startling her, and her eyes flew open, her blood pounding in her ears. As soon as she'd scanned the area before her eyes, the cloth of her canopy over her bed, and turned her head to spy Ryan sleeping there, her dream was instantly forgotten, though her heart rate was still racing. She pulled on the blanket and straightened it so she could get close to Ryan, rolling over and cuddling up to him, throwing one of her legs over his, her arm on his chest, her head on the pillow but her cheek against the warm skin of his shoulder.

She was wearing a white tank with flower accents and matching pajama bottoms, which was a very comfortable outfit. Her blood was pounding through her ears, the more disturbing part of it all was that she could no longer remember what the dream was about, and drifting back into sleep would be impossible. She'd had less and less trouble falling asleep, especially with Ryan there, and once Bray had been "fixed", a lot of her symptoms left over from the previous ordeal had subsided and Salene actually felt "normal", or whatever she had felt before. Her head wound was healed, though still tender to the touch in places, it hadn't gotten infected, and for that she was grateful.

Salene opened her eyes again and looked at Ryan, watching the even movement of his breathing, that alone calming her, and she took deep breaths with him, calming herself down, the pounding subsiding, and she blinked and yawned, covering her mouth. He was so handsome, he really was, and she reached out and trailed a light touch from between his eyebrows, down the bridge of his nose, to the tip, down and to his lips, smiling as she reached them, her favorite part of all. She let her finger move down to his chin, then pulled it back, resting it on his chest again, watching him sleep, waiting for him to wake up.

[OOC:Link Change: Tube Top, Jeans, Bracelet.]

mood: relaxing

( Salene's Week )

mood: busy
sounds: Spinning - Eberny (haha)

( No More Votes Please )

[OOC:This Poll is now closed. Thanks everyone!]

mood: anxious

[OOC:Continued from HERE and HERE.]

Salene moved from her room quickly towards the office, wondering which informant had shown up first, pausing, shocked, to see Moz sitting there. Her eyes shifted to Dax who looked apologetic, and she gave him a small glare, but she took a deep breath and remembered everything she knew about Moz, and everything Amber had told her and walked into the room, glad that she'd fixed herself up before coming into the room. Salene moved around her desk and stood there, "Hello, Moz, right? I'm Salene," she stretched out her right hand to shake Moz's, it just seemed the friendly appropriate thing to do. "What can I do for you today?"

mood: calm

[OOC:Continued from HERE.]

Salene woke slightly and rolled towards Ryan, how had she ended up so far away from him? When moving over didn't find him she opened her eyes and looked across the bed with blurry vision, where was he? Salene turned and looked behind her then slumpped into the bed, so he had left her after all. Or maybe he had never been here and it had been another dream? No...last night was too real, everything came rushing back to her and she remembered her time in the cage with Bray, her conversation with Ryan, and she rolled into the pillows and hid her face, trying really hard not to cry and once again failing. Would there ever be a day that Salene didn't end up crying? She shoved her hands under the pillows and held them to her face, silent tears rolling from her eyes, being alone was the worst, she was starting to formulate a plot to get up and rest while working, how could she convince everyone that this resting thing wasn't going to work out?

mood: moody

( OOC:NC17 Filters:You In or Out? )

mood: awake

[OOC:Continued from HERE.]

Salene felt his head drop onto her shoulder and she knew the tears would spill out at any moment. She turned her head and laid her ear against his shoulder, face out, and sighed, she was pressed against him now, clinging to him, her heart, it felt like it would break for happiness, relief. Salene got ahold of herself and sighed, heavily, pulling back finally. She didn't want to let him go, she didn't want to move away from him, but this was starting to reach into personal space, and she'd become very suddenly aware of the eyes on them, of the people in the room. "Come on Ryan," she said, looking into his eyes, "I have a surprise for you," her lips pressed together in a small smile and she took his hand gingerly, leading him towards the stairs and up.

Salene paused outside of the Cloud room, turning suddenly to Ryan, "Wait here, close your eyes," she instructed, feeling kind of giddy and nervous, and that had sounded kind of strange, but she shook it off, her judgment was clouded, and she really didn't care. Salene waited for him to close his eyes before slipping through the curtain to the Cloud Room, looking around once before grabbing the matches and striking one. She lit the three pillar candles by the bed, then the two hanging on sconces on the wall, not wanting him to walk into a dark room. She put the used matches on a metal plate by the candles and moved to the curtain, pulling it back and standing aside, "Ok," she said in a small voice, motioning into the room with her free hand, looking kind of nervous and excited at the same time.

mood: nervous

Salene watched with detached interest as Amber walked off, the world was spinning beneath Salene, she felt the dizziness she'd been fighting all day coming back to her and she turned, walking slowly, the letter clutched in her hand. Salene walked towards her room, she couldn't focus, she wanted to open it but she couldn't, not out here, and she wanted to see what Bray was up to, but she felt so sick. Salene wandered down the hallway, and as soon as she passed by Pride's room, glancing inside, she felt as if she was going to faint. Why wouldn't he come home to her? What would keep him away? How could he abandon her too? Salene put her arm out and grasped at the wall, turning to press her back to it, trying to regain her strength. She slid down it in a heap, knees pulled to her chest, arms resting on her knees, eyes pressed into the sleeves of Ryan's jacket, she would not weep, for no tears would come.

Salene finally raised her head and looked at the letter in her hand, clutching it, she was unaware of her surroundings, she was lost in her world, dark and unforgiving in her mind, Salene could feel depression and nerves settling in, and she didn't like it, not one bit. She tore into the envelope slowly, and pulled the letter out, adjusting her eyes, the cold floor against her bottom would have chilled her to the bone but she didn't feel a thing, she was so numb. She began reading, slowly...

( Pride's Letter )

Numb, dead inside, that's what she felt. She wanted to cry, for the first time in days she wished it would come, but nothing came, no emotion, a little anger, disbelief, confusion, shock, but no tears. Would she ever cry? Salene let the letter fall from her fingers, it slid across the smooth floor of the Mall and stopped midway between her and the railing. She buried her face in her arms once more and sat there, uncaring, unknowing, not hearing a thing.

mood: depressed