[OOC: Continued for Circe from: Relationships In Bloom?]

Men. Once, Alexandra had this wise thought of them. Never, ever, try to understand them! Men and their insecurity! When she decided to give a damned chance to romance, she never thought that at some point she’d be accused of cheating. Yes, trust men to think that you’re fooling around with someone else when you’re risking your ass to save your country.

The molecule manipulator glared at the elevator’s doors as they opened. With a hissed breath, she pushed herself out of the elevator, blue eyes locked on the hotel’s doors. She wanted out and away from the increasing testosterone levels upstairs.

“Good evening, miss. What a lovely weather to go out for a walk!” Was that a man talking with her? Was that a man talking with her? A look that could have made the hell freeze, twice, was directed toward the receptionist. With a blink, the man found out that some papers needed his attention.

The molecule manipulator glared at the man for a few more seconds before turning her attention back to the door and continued to walk toward it. She so wanted to hurt a certain ice mancer right now.

Lily spent the past fifteen minutes or so lingering in the hotel lobby, trying to decide how to spend her evening. She didn't really feel like going out (the mission was exhausting) but somehow she couldn't find her place in her room either. She decided to go downstairs and pretend to be an average tourist; she'd done this a lot before, but tonight even lingering didn't feel quite right.
Just when she finally gave up and decided to try and sleep, a very upset Alex appeared out of nowhere - or from the elevator, probably - and stormed across the hall. She walked right past her without noticing. Not a good sign.
Lily caught up to her on the way towards the front door, and tapped her shoulder.
"Alex?... Are you all right?" she asked with concern in her voice. Of course, nothing was all right on the whole country right now, but... oh no.
"... is somebody hurt?"

Someone tapped her shoulder. Someone dared to tap her shoulder. She seriously hoped Sam didn’t have any bright ideas to come and get her because he was in for a surprise. Her hand turned into a fist as she glared over her shoulder at the person behind her.

"Alex?... Are you all right? ... is somebody hurt?"

Jewel. Blue eyes became softer as she looked at the woman. A frown appeared on the molecule manipulator’s face as her eyes trailed to the people behind Jewel. “No…” she replied, turning her body around so she could talk with Jewel properly. “But someone’s gonna get hurt soon if I don’t get out of the hotel.”

Alexandra sighed, arms folding in front of her as she shifted her weight on her healthy leg. Pain was fading away slowly and forcing it didn’t quite help. “Up for a walk? After all, it’s a lovely weather outside.” Alexandra glanced at the receptionist as she repeated his words. Why was she asking Jewel to come with her? She wasn’t sure, but maybe in her state of mind, it was better to have someone with her. And with Jewel there, she needed to keep herself in check. A finger tapped nervously against her leg as she waited for an answer.

Lily instinctively took a step back when Alex turned around; she could tell that for a moment there was a threat in the cold blue eyes before her teammate recognized her.
“No... But someone’s gonna get hurt soon if I don’t get out of the hotel.”
That sounded... somewhat dangerous. Lily wasn't sure what Alex meant by that - physical harm, emotions, human/mutant threat, powers... but sounded like she really meant it. That made her feel uneasy.
“Up for a walk? After all, it’s a lovely weather outside.”
She couldn't care less about the weather.
She could tell that much. Lily used to be pretty good with people, and she still had her moments of empathy, even though mutants caught her off guard a lot more than people without powers (and the problems that come with those).
She could also tell that Alex was going to storm out into the night alone, and that didn't seem like a good idea, given the circumstances. Even though both of them had their own parts in the mission, Alex was still her teammate, and her... friend?... and she was not one to let her go alone, upset like she was.
Plus Lily didn't have anything better to do anyhow. So.
"Yes, sure. I'll walk with you." she nodded with a shy smile; her coat was draped over her arm, and she put it on as she spoke "Are we going anywhere in particular, or just... going?"

Alexandra noticed Jewel taking a step back. Her shoulders relaxed as she let out the air from her lungs to be exhaled slowly. “Don’t worry… the only one in danger of getting hurt is a certain team leader… One that can manipulate ice.” She said this trough gritted teeth as she eyed the elevator’s door. Focus, focus. Alexandra chanted in her mind as blue eyes trailed back to Jewel.

"Yes, sure. I'll walk with you. Are we going anywhere in particular, or just... going?"

As soon as the coat was on Jewel, Alexandra was already turning around and pushing the door open. “Just going.” she answered as she stepped out and stopped, waiting for Jewel to join her. Jewel. Now that she thought about it, it sounded strange to call the girl by her codename. She spent a second trying to remember her medical file. Lily “Uhmm, you introduced yourself as Jewel… but would you like me to call you Jewel or … Lily?”

“Don’t worry… the only one in danger of getting hurt is a certain team leader… One that can manipulate ice.”
Lily blinked, and left it at that. She was not sure if her feminine instincts were right, but this sounded suspiciously like something that had nothing to do with the mission. Personal drama. She could deal with that. Girl talk was easier than...
Looking at Alex again, she smirked. If she's that upset, Sam is in for one hell of a fight...
She followed Alex out the front door and into the night. 'Just going' was fine. She had to admit she was in need of something like this too. So they just walked.
“Uhmm, you introduced yourself as Jewel… but would you like me to call you Jewel or … Lily?”
She smiled and shrugged.
"Whichever you like... most people, including Maman, call me Jewel, so it's not really a... you know, code name or anything." she chuckled "It's just a nickname I picked up. For obvious reasons. Anyway, Lily's fine too."
She fell silent after that. She figured Alex would start talking about other things when she was ready. They had time. At least till morning.

“Lily sounds better right now…” Alexandra replied as she started to move. She sighed and remained silent as they walked. Mouth was shut tightly and every time she wanted to say something, her teeth seemed to be glued together. She wasn’t in the mood for a small talk, and the only thing she could think of right now didn’t seem like the best subject to be discussed. After all, just how many times had she even talked with Lily? Minus the tryouts, it was only ‘hello’ and move on.

Wind blew, cold air brushing against her exposed skin and making her shiver. It wasn’t a lovely weather outside, she noticed, eyes narrowing slightly as for the first time since they’ve started walking she glanced at her surroundings. The area was familiar, hell, there were little places around Bucharest that she didn’t know but she had no idea on how they got there. Sighing slightly, she looked at the buildings around them. Now, if she was correct then it should have been a- Voila. The bright neon sign of a pub was reflected in the blue of the molecule manipulator’s eyes. It didn’t look classy, it didn’t look like the place where two girls like her and Lily would go in but hey… at least it was warm. Besides, they were far from the usual type of girl anyway.

Alexandra stopped abruptly, turning her head toward Lily. “Wanna go in? It’s getting a bit chilly and the last thing I want is to get a cold because of that stubborn-” Again, she stopped, this time from talking as she forced a toothpaste commercial smile on her lips.

Lily walked with Alex in silence. It didn't grow awkward, at least not on her part - she was comfortable with keeping her teammate company without asking questions or making small talk. Sometimes that was all people needed.
It soon turned out that maybe Alex needed something more tonight, though.
Spotting the pub, Lily raised an eyebrow; she wasn't used to places like that, and had some bad experiences with drunk people earlier, but still...
“Wanna go in? It’s getting a bit chilly and the last thing I want is to get a cold because of that stubborn-”
What she said. It was getting cold out on the streets, and wandering around at night didn't seem like a great idea anyway. Besides, that 'wanna go in?' sounded more like 'let's go'. So she nodded.
"Yeah, sure. A drink would be nice."
Whatever Alex was planning - or not planning - she decided to just go with it. Until she was ready to share whatever the matter was with Sam.
Once they were in the pub, she unbuttoned her coat and looked around; it was not crowded, but there were quite a few people inside, mostly parties of young people like themselves. She spotted an empty booth too. And nothing that looked - or felt - like danger. So far.
She smiled at Alex, nodding towards the bar.
"C'mon, Alex. Let's get something to warm us up."

Alexandra gave Lily a small nod before starting to walk toward the bar. A bell rang announcing the two mutants as they stepped in and the molecule manipulator did her best to stare at the floor instead of eyeing any of the people that were already in. Because, you know, the kindest of her looks right now was a ‘what are you looking at?’ glare.

She let Lily lead them to the bar and, once they got there she picked up a menu of some sorts. “Good evening. What can I get you?” the cheerful voice of the bartender greeted them. With a bored sigh, Alexandra glanced at the girl. “Dunno. What are people drinking when they’re mad?” The bartender starred blankly at her. Yeah, forget it. Blue eyes trailed to the menu in her hand. Coffee, sodas, blah, blah. Coffee was bad for an angry molecule manipulator. Sodas didn’t sound calming at all.

Alexandra turned the page, eyebrow rising slightly at the cocktails section. Usually, she avoided alcohol as much as possible. Now… she eyed the names with interest cause alcohol was supposed to numb her senses, right? Ice Angel. “Ice Angel, my ass.” she commented, a bit louder than necessary. Lost Paradise. “Lost Paradise. Now this sounds promising. Right Lily?” Not that she was seeking a confirmation when she looked at the girl. Blue eyes trailed from Lily to the bartender. “I’ll have a Lost Paradise.” Nodding slightly, she pushed the menu over to Lily.

“Ice Angel, my ass.”
Lily blinked, and glanced at the bartender with a half-smile and a silent apology. Whoa. Whatever Sam did, it sounded like he really screwed up this time. Guys tended to do that. From time to time.
It was weird. Lily had never been this mad because of a guy in her life. Then again, she'd never been any kind of mad about any guy... so far.
Picking up the menu, she looked the cocktail list over. She liked cocktails, even though she was always very careful not to drink too much. Turning a page, she discovered with surprise one that sounded familiar.
"I'll have a Hurricane." she smiled at the bartender, returning the menu. She loved sweet drinks, and this one was as sweet as you could get. She suspected she'd need it too, if they were about to have some serious girl talk.
Once they had their cocktails, she walked over to the empty booth, glancing back over her shoulder to make sure Alex was okay with the choice. Once they settled down, she rested her chin in her palm, stirring her drink with a straw, looking at Alex expectantly.
"So...?"

So… So Alexandra took off her coat after placing the cocktail on the table and threw it next to her as she took a seat. So… Alexandra dismissed the straw from her drink and threw it on the table with a careless motion. Also, she got the drink to her lips and emptied half of the glass. Because, you know, if you drank faster the effects started to appear sooner. Making a face, she put the drink back on the table and placed her elbows on the table.

So… So, me and Kaz went to save some mutants, I got injured and Kaz carried me back to the hotel and that stubborn ass thought that I was cheating on him… right in the room next to his. And he also called me immature and decided to talk about my problems on the hotel corridor. And that’s how Alexandra imagined the conversation between her and Lily. But instead of saying anything like that, she made a dramatic pause. “That… ” Sigh. “Sam.” She hissed the name out, forcing a smile on her face again. “He thinks I’m cheating him…with Kaz.”

Lily waited patiently for Alex to start talking. She didn't want to rush anything. She watched her toss coats and straws around, and empty half of the glass that seemed to be only the first one in a long row of others to come. It was just that kind of mood, that kind of night. Lily decided to drink carefully. Somebody will need to make sure Alex gets home.
“That... Sam. He thinks I’m cheating him…with Kaz.”
All right, the ice was broken. (Metaphorically speaking, no pun intended). She could work with that.
Right after she bit back a surprised little laugh that half escaped her somehow.
"With Kaz?!" she smirked "Is he for real?..."
Not that there was anything wrong with their second teammate. Except for his ego, of course. But still. Kaz?!...
"Whatever makes him think that?..."

Lily laughed. Alexandra wasn’t in the mood to laugh. Or to smirk. She looked at Lily absent minded as fingers grabbed the glass again. “Yes, Kaz.” Kaz… of all people. She took the glass to her lips again, this time drinking less than before.

Why did Sam thought that?... Hmmm. Tough one. Glass still in hand, she eyed the swirling colors inside the transparent recipient. “Because… ” Blue eyes traveled from the peachy colored liquid up to Lily. “Because Kaz carried me to my room.”

The laugh was clearly a mistake. Lily bit her lip and turned more serious. Whatever happened, Alex really seemed to be upset about it. She sipped her cocktail through the straw, wrinkling her nose. It bought her some time.
"Um...okay." she said cautiously "That... sounds like it could be misinterpreted."
She had to admit that. It was true.
And she was not used to girl talk. Not this particular Romanian-pub version anyway.
"Of course, that's not an excuse." she added hurriedly "Did you try to talk to him? About, you know..."
She just had to ask. The whole thing sounded messed up so far. Way more messed up than she ever had to deal with. Of course, being new to dating stuff, her level of 'messed up' wasn't all that high.
"... why was he doing that, exactly?..."

Talk to him? Talk to him? “Talk to him?” Alexandra asked with an incredulous look. (So yeah, maybe the alcohol showed its effects a bit sooner than expected…) “He… he called me immature! He ordered me and Kaz into his room!” Air was exhaled out of her lungs rapidly only to be replaced just as fast.

Alexandra leaned back on the chair as she let the glass on the table with a pretty loud thud announcing the success of this ‘mission’. Liquid danced around the glass as she looked at Jewel. Why was Kaz carrying her to her room? Well… “Because… I… uhm, I hurt my ankle.” Lips were pursed together as she started tapping her finger on the table.