Trying to Settle In

[Grufurion]

Alice flailed on the bed before slapping a hand over the screen of her terminal, her palm managing to exit out the internet window that had been playing a video almost way too loudly. She was lucky she even reacted as quickly as she did. Her heart pounded in her chest after she found on the net all alone. "Maybe too much of father's security programs were uninstalled..." she said to herself.

After only a couple of weeks of staying with Jake's family, Alice had felt more comfortable about the situation she had found herself in. She had asked Niela if she could remove some of the programs that kept her from exploring the internet more. Since she was no longer being watched like a falcon now, she felt much more secure to do she wanted with her terminal, and knew Niela wouldn't let a small virus get past her scans. "What did you expect? Most of these were meant to keep you in the kiddie section of the net. You just ran at mach one right through the gates to the weird/freaky/awesome side of the net." "I'm a secluded royal brat with no real social connections other than the people I've met since running away from an arranged marriage. I wasn't expecting...that. My poor innocent mind is going to be scarred for the rest of my life from looking at that video." "You just called yourself a brat. And innocent mind? With how much you've been swearing in private lately, I really rather doubt that." "I know I called myself a brat. I'd rather embrace that fact than give it up! And yes, innocent mind. The most I ever heard about that stuff was 'the talk' my mother gave me when I was fourteen. Fat lot of good it did me to protect my mind. I'll never get those images out of my head." Alice then laid back on the bed, sighing in defeat as the images wouldn't go away.

The reason she had retreated to the room she was lent in the first place was to learn more about the world around her so she wouldn't seem so weird next time she walked around in public. Liz had lately decided to start taking her grocery shopping with her. "I'm sure once a distraction comes up, you'll forget you ever saw that video. No need to blow a digital code over it." "Kiss my ass, Niela."

[Saber]

Daniel had been reading the news on his handheld military terminal when he heard a loud noise coming from Alice's borrowed room. The sound resembled a woman crying out, and it had him a little curious, and concerned. He started walking up the stairs to the bedrooms, giving Alice's door a couple firm knocks to announce himself "Alice? Everything okay in there? I heard some strange noises coming from up here."

[Grufurion]

Alice nearly stiffened in the bed she laid on, blushing brightly when she heard Daniel through the door. "Yeah, I'm good. Just stumbled on to a bad website. I'm not going to return to it again. Sorry for the disturbance," she called back. The last thing she needed was Daniel asking what she found on the net.

[Saber]

"Yeah, those websites aren't exactly public friendly. I'm sure your parents gave you the talk, but if you're going to go to those sites, please try and keep the noise down, so it stays private." Daniel was leaning on the doorway, facing the opposite wall while he chatted with Alice through the door "By the way, how's the leg healing up? It should be close to fully healed by now."

[Grufurion]

Alice continued to blush when Daniel said for her to keep the noise down when she visited 'those' websites. "It wasn't like I went to it on purpose. But, yeah, I'll keep the volume down..." she replied. She then squished her face with her hands, trying to squeeze the images out of her head now. After he asked her about her leg, she sat up, and let her legs hang off the bed. "It's doing pretty well. It hasn't felt sore for past few days, so that's got to be a good sign," she said as she stood up, then walked towards the door.

[Saber]

Daniel crossed his arms and nodded, approving of Alice's answer "That's good to hear. A couple more weeks and We can start doing some physical therapy exercises to loosen the damaged muscles up and strengthen them again. Just let me know if it starts feeling sore again."

[Grufurion]

When Alice approached the door, Daniel's voice sounded like he was right up against the door. Being polite instead of just yanking the door open, she knocked on the door a couple times to alert him that she was coming out. As she opened the door, she looked up at him as she said, "It'll be good when I don't have to bother anyone about it. I really appreciate all the help." She then stretched her arms above her, getting the kinks out of them before letting them fall to her side again. "I think I'll take a shower now. I think Liz wanted to take me somewhere today, and I'd rather not look and smell dirty."

[Saber]

Daniel nodded and started making his way down the stairs "Fair enough, She probably wanted to take you grocery shopping or do some window shopping at the mall. Holler if you need anything."

[Grufurion]

"Sure thing, Daniel," she said. After picking out a set of clean clothes, Alice then made her way to the bathroom, and turned on the hot water for the shower. She then shook her head, as she waited for the water warm up, the images of the website she stumbled upon still fresh in her head. "Yep, never leaving my head... Hey Niela, it's going to be pretty boring while I shower. Can you play some music while you wait for me to get out?" "Sure, it does get rather boring waiting sometimes. Talk to you when you get out." Music began playing a loud enough volume that it didn't travel too far past the door, and just loud enough that Alice couldn't hear the water spraying on the shower floor.

*Thirty minutes later*

Alice stepped out of the bathroom in a pink t-shirt, and denim blue jeans. "That feels a lot better." "What took you so long?" "None of your business." On the terminal screen, Niela looked very unamused.

[Saber]

Daniel was still sitting on his recliner, reading through news articles and checking for any signs of incidents that might involve Jake, before moving on to items of interest. "Hey Liz, how big is this grocery list of yours anyway? I know we're coming up on the new year, but we're not expecting a lot of people."

Liz walked in with a towel around her hands, drying them off as she had just finished with the dishes "Oh, it's nothing too big~ I was going to get some supplies to make some of our usual New years staple snacks. Pigs in a blanket, chips and salsa, some rotisserie chickens. And we can't forget the wine." "yeah, well make sure Alice has her ID if you bring her with you." "Yes yes, I'll go and remind her when she comes downstairs."

[Grufurion]

Alice stretched her limbs in the hallway for a second, then made her way to the living room. "No, seriously, what took you so long? You don't take thirty minute showers. You're usually out in ten to fifteen minutes." "Like I said, Niela, it isn't your business. Besides it isn't important. If you really need an answer, then I just randomly felt like taking a longer shower" "That isn't a good excuse." "Too bad, it's the only one you're getting. Hi, Liz," Alice greeted as she stepped into the room.

[Saber]

Liz smiled and draped the towel over her shoulder as she saw Alice walk down the stairs "Hi deary, you're looking refreshed today, that shower must have done you some good." Daniel cleared his throat as Liz was complimenting Alice "You remember to replace the wet bandage on your leg? You need to keep it properly bandaged while it heals so the scarring doesn't get too bad."

[Grufurion]

Alice nodded at Liz before she answered Daniel, "Yeah, I made sure to replace the bandages. It really does look a lot better now though." She'd rather not say anything about what happened in the shower though. She was trying hard to put it out of her memory. "Has there been any house appliances acting odd today?" Niela asked. Debugging whatever appliances Daniel and Liz owned had become her routine help around the house lately.

[Saber]

Daniel nodded in acceptance when Alice confirmed she replaced the bandage, then looked over at Liz when the topic of glitchy appliances came up "Well...Now that you mention it, the remote sensors in the stove have been a bit spotty lately, my terminal isn't getting alarms on if the stove needs to be adjusted when I'm cooking food, and remote commands don't work on it anymore. But that can wait for now. I was hoping you could help me with some grocery shopping today. We're getting ready for the new year's celebration that Daniel, Jake and I normally have together. And since you're accompanying us, I thought it might be nice if we made some extra special meals for tonight. It will be just the four of us tonight as we watch the ball drop."

[Grufurion]

"Sounds like a plan. I'm sure the debugging can wait til later, Niela." "If you insist, then I'll come along. I'd like to tackle the bugs soon though." "Do I need to bring anything?"

[Saber]

Liz beamed when Alice agreed to go shopping with her, glad she would have some company other than her often bored husband when getting groceries for a change "You'll only need to bring your ID with you when we go to the liquor store to buy some wine and champagne for dinner and when the clock strikes 12. Um...You ARE 21 or older, aren't you dear?"

[Grufurion]

Alice had wondered why she would need her ID, that is until Liz mentioned they were going a liquor store as well. Her real ID showed her real age, however, that wasn't the one she was going to be using. "Yeah, of course. I'll just go grab it real quick, and then we can go." she said, making her way back up stairs. 'I am so glad my fake ID says I'm over twenty-one. It's been a while since I've had any wine.' she thought to herself.

As she entered her room, she grabbed her wallet from the night stand at the foot of the bed, and pushed into her back pocket. She was glad she didn't have a purse, a wallet was much easier to keep track of, and carry around on her. Opening the drawer of the night stand, Alice looked through the few other belongings she had, as well as her real ID. Pushing the drawer closed, she left the room as quickly as she entered knowing her things were safe.

"Alright, I'm ready." she said as she came back downstairs.

[Saber]

Liz nodded and started walking to the door, Daniel standing up and following close behind "I'm opening the garage now ladies, wait for me by the car while I lock the door."

Liz walked with Alice to the garage, where this modernized rolls royce was sitting in almost pristine condition. The car was a deep, navy blue with shiny rims. The one noticeably tacky item on the car was a bumper magnet of an american eagle and flag with a gold star sitting on the trunk's lip, beside the car company's emblem. Daniel's voice could be heard from around the corner "It's already unlocked, go ahead and take a seat."

Liz took a seat in the passenger side, leaving the entire back seat for Alice. The interior was a dark tan, and made of a well taken care of leather material. The car almost had a new smell about it, but there were clear signs of age, such as minor scratch marks on the radio station screen, and a few scuffs here and there on the leather interior. There were even soft rubber mats on the floor, to keep the carpeting clean on rainy or snowy days, or if there was a passenger with filthy footwear.

[Grufurion]

Alice took a seat in the back, deciding to sit in the driver's side of the vehicle. It had been a long time for her to be in a vehicle again. She couldn't quite remember the last time she rode in a car. "I wonder if I should learn to drive?" she wondered to herself.

[Saber]

Liz turned her head to look behind her at Alice when she mentioned not knowing how to drive "You've never learned how to drive?" She gave Alice a kind smile "If you want, I could help you learn the basics. It would be no different than helping Jake learn when he was old enough to drive."