The Fountain of Doves {Private: Oblivion and Lani}

Jasmine followed along behind them, forcing a smile the whole time. Savannah was a recent ex, or perhaps more of a fling, and so the wound was still a bit sore, but she had been working on moving passed it.

Claire stood waiting for the elevator for a few good minutes before sighing, looking to Sarah. "Your apartment?" Sarah shook her head. "It's still something of a mess after my flu. Can we use yours?" Claire nodded, starting to head up the stairs, making for the eighth and top floor.

Jasmine followed along behind them, skipping occasionally, though saying nothing, merely whistling.

They finally made it to the eighth floor, and Claire led them to a door label 47. She unlocked both locks before pushing it open and heading in, flipping the lights on. They were dimmed, due to the slider being midway, but still gave enough illumination to the apartment. Sarah walked in next, giving Jazz a grand gesture for her to enter.

The girl laughed, bowing dramatically before entering, looking around and smiling. "Your place looks nice. Calming. I like it." She flopped onto the couch unceremoniously, swinging her legs as she watched the two.

Claire walked over to an armchair, slowly slipping back into it and closing her eyes. Sarah looked at the now lack of sitting space, and left the room, returning moments later wheeling a comfy office chair into the room. Claire opened her eyes just a crack to glare at her, but Sarah just stuck her tongue out at her older sister. She plopped into the rolling chair, leaning back. "So, Jazz, how do you like the academy?"

She shrugged, "I'd like it better if I hadn't been there for so long, but what can I say; I've been held back a number of times." Jasmine nodded to each of them, "What about you both?"

Sarah smiled. "I like it. Especially our teacher. He's kind of lazy, and he can be scary, but I feel like he really care about us learning, y'know?" Claire nodded in agreement, gently rocking back and forth. Sarah's phone beeped twice, and she pulled it out, paling a bit. "I'll be back in a few minutes!" Without explaining she bolted from her chair, running down a hallway, and then down a flight of stairs into her own apartment.

Jasmine stared, confused, shock evident on her face. "Does... She do that often?"

Claire shook her head, checking her own phone. "It's complicated. And it involves a hamster." She smiled a bit at that, continuing her gentle rocking. "Knowing how she reacts to that damned rodent, I don't expect her back for a good ten, maybe fifteen minutes..." Claire seemed so much more at ease now that she was resting at her house, not nearly as on edge.

Jasmine laughed, "So you can have pets here? I've thought about getting a rabbit. Or ferret. Or hedgehog." She shrugged, "Maybe even an armadillo. I haven't decided yet."

Claire smirked a bit. "Not technically. Sarah had to do a lot of worming for the hamster. 'It's just a furry goldfish'. I think that was my favorite part of that discussion..." She opened her eyes, looking at Jazz and studying her for a few moments.

Jasmine laughed. "Well, there goes that idea then." She leaned forward, elbows on her knees,face in her hands. "She has you and her hamster. What do you do?"

Claire seemed to grow a bit more somber at her question, stilling her rocking. "Whatever occupies the time... I pick up hobbies... I... I have a lot of spare time, you could say..."

Jasmine grinned. "Hobbies? Like what? I'm trying to learn guitar. I suck at it, though. I get too frustrated." She was still smiling, not really noticing the change in the girl's demeanor.

"I learned the piano, but I'm still not very good... I tried video games for a while. Fitness, yoga, pilates... My current hobby is painting..." She started twiddling her thumbs, clearly somewhat put off by the conversation.

Jasmine smiled, sitting up, "Can I see, or is that private? I like art, though I don't understand abstract worth a shit."

Claire stood slowly, gesturing for her to follow. She made her way down the hallway to a side room, one wall of which was entirely windows. An easel stood in the center of the room, and the painting on it was an impressionist recreation of the skyline at what looked to be dawn. Claire shuffled her feet a bit, unsure how to feel about showing another her artwork.

Jamine smiled, approaching the painting with her eyes wide, hands at her side, "You did this?" She asked, stunned, staring at it before looking towards the skyline in question. "It's brilliant. I can barely draw a chibi."

Claire blushed a bit. "I-I just read some books on Monet and studied some impressionist art... I-It's no biggy..."

Jasmine laughed. "No biggie? Girl, you should stick with this hobby! You could sell this if you wanted to. Hell, I'd buy it."

Claire shook her head. "R-Really, it's not... I don't..." She slowly backed herself against a wall, taking deep breaths to calm herself, clearly unused to this manner and level of praise.

Jasmine paused, stepping back, "Nervous type. Right. Got it. Need anything? I can go back to the living room." She shrugged, unsure, tugging at one of the straps of her shirt.

Claire held up a hand, blowing a final deep breath out her nose. "N-No, I'm fine... I've just never h-had such high praise offered to me before... It was a little shocking..." She laughed softly, a quiet giggle.

The girl smirked, "Cute." She said, shrugging, "Ya gotta warn me when I cross lines though. You've been lucky so far; once I get going, I usually don't stop."