Quarters

[JacksonMiracle]

((Disregard the PM I just sent, I think I got something to post afterall))

Kylie raised her head shocked to hear Devin's voice at the door. She wiped the last of her tears from her cheeks and openned the door just a crack to see a somewhat distraught Devin standing there. She made a quick decision and openned the door the rest of the way. "Devin...come in." Her voice cracked as she spoke his name. She gestured to the inside of her room. She had tried to hide the tear stains on her cheeks, but failed.

[Vampyr]

((Well, I've gotta take to sleep now.))

Walking in, silently Devin sat down on the bed and held the pendant around his neck up for Kylie to see, engraved on its simple silver surface was half of a glyph, Gemini. "This," he said, "is one of the few physical memories I have left of my brother." He then removed it from around his neck and placed it around Kylie's, "And I'd like you to have it."

[JacksonMiracle]

"Are you sure?" Kylie breathed in disbelief. One look at Devin's eyes gave her all the answer she needed. "Thank you." Kylie couldn't hold back her tears for Devin's sake any longer, and the renewed wetness started rolling down her cheeks. She freely cried as she leaned over to hug Devin, most of her tears now bieng absorbed by his shirt. She held him tightly for several minutes before pulling away. "Thank you." She whispered again meeting his eyes. She knew it wasn't enough words to accuratly express how she felt, but it was all she could say.

((Good night, and look out for those bed bugs, I hear they're pretty big this time of year. LOL.))

[JacksonMiracle]

((OOC-I'm a visual person. Is this close to the type of pendant you're talking about?

Spoiler:

It was the closest thing I could find quickly on the internet...And now it's back to that essay, argh!))

[Vampyr]

((Try in half, like a friend-ship/brother type of thing. And when I said 'glyph' I meant stellar co-ordinate/'Gate symbol. Something like this: . It's the glyph Gemini from the StarGate and Devin had it carved and sent to his brother as their yearly gift exchange.))

"Yes, it was something I gave to him some time ago as a birthday gift. It was shortly after I joined the StarGate program. I talked briefly with Doctor Jackson about the StarGate, he explained to me the seven glyph system and went so far as to name the glyphs themselves. It was the thirty-third that caught my attention. Gemini, the twins, I had it carved, half for me, half for my brother. " Devin said, giving her a smile, "I never did know if he kept it or not, but I'd like to think he did."

[JacksonMiracle]

((Ah, neat idea.))

"Thank you." Kylie said again in earnest. She had been at a loss for words when Devin first placed the pendant around her neck, and she still hadn't regained the ability to communicate with words. It was ironic that her specialty, language, was always the first thing to go when she got excited, or impressed. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and attempted to regain her composure. She looked at Devin's eyes and decided that now was as good a time as any to try talking to him. She decided to broach the subject cautiously as she wasn't sure how much of his anger toward Pierce remained.

"I only had one really bad foster home experience. It was the second home I stayed in. She was nice, I liked her, but she was quiet and submissive when it came to her husband. He was a large man, and worked out regularly. He was very strong. And he had a bad temper. Most of the time when he got angry, he walked away, but one night he didn't. I think he had mastered the art of bottling his emotions. That was the night that it all became too much, he exploded. I don't remember what it was that set him off. I just remember him coming after me. I tried to hide in the corner. But he found me. I was knocked unconcious. When I woke up in the hospitial it was to an unfamiliar face, my new foster mother. I never knew what happened to him, but I imagine it wasn't pleasent." She paused in the story to gage Devin's reaction, then continued. "Things I learned from this: Bottling your anger is never a good thing, but neither is losing your cool everytime somethings sets you off, anger has a way of multiplying when you get too use to expressing it. Anger is best dealt with by talking about it, not screaming, simply talking. You may have to take a step back first. It's not easy. It requires discipline and training and determination, but it can be done. I have harbored a lot resentment toward the foster system. Whenever I feel angry I write it down in a journal." Kylie moved to the opposite side of the bed and pulled open the nightstand drawer. She handed him a brown, leather covered journal. "You're the first person I've ever shown this to."

[Vampyr]

Devin held the journal in his hands gingerly, he looked at it, eyeing it as though it were some type of radioactive material. "What is it exactly?" He asked, not exactly the brightest of questions, but he forged on, "I mean to say, that I can tell it's a journal. But what of?"

[JacksonMiracle]

Kylie was afraid that showing him the journal this soon had been a bad idea, but it was too late now to take it back. "Mostly just thoughts, feelings. I guess you could call it a neutral object used for expressing frustrations. I haven't needed to write anything in it for some time. Not even when Earth was destroyed, and not even today. It was reserved for my strongest emotions, especially anger, and...flashbacks. A friend suggested that I start keeping one as a way to better understand my emotions. It worked, well mostly. I still have trouble sometimes. I was hoping that by showing you this, you would be willing to start one of your own." Kylie took in a large breath of air and held it, waiting for Devin's response. She didn't want to overstep her bounds especially not with Devin
.

[Vampyr]

Reading through page-by-page Devin gained a bit more of an insight into Kylie's soul each letter he read, and his own. With each page he read he felt a bit of the burden that he had thought was his alone lighten. At around half-way through he stopped and stared. Not at the book, not at Kylie, but instead into some hidden fount of knowledge he seemed to have found. "It just goes to show." He said, with a serene voice, "That even when you think you're at rock bottom, someone else manages to come along to show you that you are indeed not in the very dregs of society." Moving his head he gave her a smile, "As you have shown me."

[JacksonMiracle]

Kylie returned his smile with a subtle, closed lip smile of her own. It had taken a lot out of her just to get the courage to show him the journal. She wasn't sure if Devin had gotten anything out of it until he spoke, and then she knew. "I survived, and you've survived. And we will keep on surviving for years to come. Yes, life stinks sometimes, but the key is to know how to react to that pressure, and keep surviving." Kylie spoke slowly, trying to keep her voice from cracking. She didn't want Devin's pity, she only wanted to show him that she understood, to a certain extent, what he had been through, and that there was a way out without having anger create violence.

[Vampyr]

"You're absolutely right.", came the response, "It's just that I've never been all that great at relating to other people. Hell, under some circumstances I can have the interpersonal skills of a wolverine. But with you?" He reached over to give her a kiss. After a minute he pulled back and finished his sentence, "Never."

[JacksonMiracle]

Kylie smiled, showing her teeth, as their lips seperated. If she wasn't careful, Devin would spoil her with his kisses alone. "Wolverine, huh? Sounds a bit harsh. At least your not like a puppy, they trust too much. Maybe you could settle on something in between." The first thought that came to her mind was a skunk, beautiful until you got sprayed. "Like a dolphin, friendly, but able and willing to defend themselves when necessary." And not afraid to eat smaller fish or fight with sharks, Kylie added silently. She smiled at Devin trying to change the mood in the room from one of heavy and sorrowful, to warm and inviting.
"Oh, just look at me. Here we are in my room and I haven't even introduced. Room, I'd like you to meet Devin. Devin, meet my room, bed, nightstand, writing/computer desk, bookshelves." She pointed everything out like Devin had done in his room a few short hours before.

[Vampyr]

((Braaaiinnssss... I mean, uh. Sleeeeep.... ))

"A dolphin? That's the first time I've heard that one," He said laughing, "although it's better than some of the things people have called me." Then making a quick circuit(sp?) of the room with his eyes Devin said, "Ah, nice to meet you Room."

[JacksonMiracle]

((I broke my essay writer's block at least, and voila, it's done, which means sleep for me too, yeah! It's not a full moon is it?? *howls* ))

Kylie hesitated before speaking again, seemingly changing her mind mid-thought before saying a word. "I think this calls for chocolate." She stood and walked over to her desk, pulling open the top drawer. She removed a large chocolate bar and brought it back over to the bed. She carefully unwrapped the treasure and broke off a small peice, popping it into her mouth, she offered some to Devin.

[Vampyr]

((*Thinks* No, that was a week or two ago.))

"Chocolate eh?" Devin said, as he accepted the piece offered to him. Staring at it, trying to decide how best to eat it, he was struck by inspiration. Instead of putting it in the mouth and chewing it like most would, Devin instead put the thing in his mouth and swallowed it whole. "Ah, nothin' like a good bit of chocolate." He remarked after the thing had made the arduous journy from his mouth to stomach.