Like My Mother Does[Natasha, Leisa ]

Even though Natasha wasn't fully recovered, she'd participated in enough physical therapy that displayed she could walk upright and move around unimpeded. She wasn't in prime condition enough to be tussling around and fighting in spars, of course, but she could travel around well enough, and that was plenty fine by her. Naturally, since it was a subject of curiosity for her, the first person that came to mind was meeting Edelo's mother.

Edelo was a good man with a good heart. Surely, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree, right? Maybe it was the optimistic thought speaking, but she had a good feeling she would be right on the mark with this one. Driving to her destination in a personalized automobile, Natasha whistled softly during her pleasant ride through the central area of the City of Lights. Once she found a suitable parking spot, she arrived at her location with ease.

Exiting her car with a gift basket in hand, Natasha took a moment to observe the house. A relatively simple affair, but that didn't much shock her at all. Her house wasn't some showstopping spectacle either. Since Edelo had been such a sweetheart with all that mac and cheese he'd given her, Natasha felt she oughta return the kind sentiment by baking an assortment of homemade sweets. There was enough here to feed the family and still have enough left over. Did she have to go that far? Probably not. But she missed cooking in her own house, and that kind of sentiment deserved its own generosity.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Now, she waits.

"I reckon you'd be drownin' in cash if you were, but yep! That's me. Natasha Miller."

Whoa now, she was a pretty tall lady. There were many perceptions she had of the lady in mind, but not one of them matched with what she saw now. She seemed pleasant enough from the looks of it, but Natasha was no betting woman, and she wasn't going to gamble on acting too carefree around her until she gleamed more of her personality. For now, she respectfully presented the gift basket before the woman as an offering, tilting her head playfully as she smiled.

"Now, if I were a bettin' woman, I'd reckon that you're Edelo's mom, right? He did a pretty sweet favor cookin' me a fine meal for the week, and I wanted to return the favor by bringing him and his family a buncha' sweets. May I come in?"

"Don't you worry one bit about appearances, sugar. I ain't the judgmental type one way or the other."

Permitted to enter, Natasha promptly walked through the door as Leisa pulled the bag from her hand. Honestly, the first thing that brought a smile to her face was the pleasant tone, something which definitely reminded her of Edelo, speech pattern aside. She felt like a relative lax lady by the looks of it. Now, she could operate a little bit more freely. Maybe. She wasn't going to push her luck just yet. Making herself at home on a couch, Natasha would extend her hand forward to meet Leisa's own with a leisurely smile.

"Again, don't worry yourself one bit, sweetheart. I'm a patient lass. Leisa, eh? Pretty name. Sorry if it seems like I popped outta' nowhere. They told me I'm allowed to walk around a bit, so I decided to take the opportunity and meet ya' in person."

Natasha crossed one leg over the other as she continued, maintaining a pleasant air and welcoming aura. Leisa seemed like a pretty swell gal so far. She certainly didn't wanna get ahead of herself here, but she was making a fine impression on her. Here's to hoping Leisa felt the same, though. Mothers were fickle women. Earning their trust was important, especially so when it came to their boys.

"Bingo. I'm one of Eddy's friends in the Vandenreich. We spar together a lot whenever time permits. Goes without saying, Lei, but you've raised a good man with that one. Very caring. Always wear his heart on his sleeves, too. He's half of the reason I decided to visit, though I apologize for visitin' on such short notice."

Natasha maintained a pleasantly calm expression as she held the woman's gaze. It was certainly interesting comparing the two in her mind. The apparent difference between one whose gaze wondered quite often, and one who held eye contact for more than a few seconds. What caught her attention most, though, was learning some of Edelo's background as Leisa spoke at length about his social life.

Considering what little she understood of his whole... "issue" with those eyes, she could certainly understood the struggle with women. Even then, he never struck her as the type to make the first move with a woman to begin with, anyway. It just didn't really fit his type of personality.

She supposed that was what made him an endearing individual. He never pretended to be something that he wasn't. In her eyes, Edelo was just a young man who strived to do his best. A notion she could never find fault with. Now that the subject was on her, Natasha shifted her body around the couch, tapping a finger against her chin. What to start with first?

"I think of him as a really good friend. We usually spar whenever time permits it, and among a few of the other younger peers I know, he's definitely one whose progress I genuinely support. His martial prowess at his age? Pretty darn impressive. As far as I go, I guess that depends on how much ya wanna know, Lei. I'm a coordinator in a different division than his who joined a few years back, and I've fought in a buncha' missions and battles ever since. Whatever ya' wanna know bout me, I'm certainly willin' to answer. Oh, and if it wasn't obvious from the accent, I'm from the good ole' state of Texas."

From every word that exited Leisa's lips, Natasha undoubtedly knew she valued her son's wellbeing and the people he kept company with, a facet that earned no small measure of respect from her. Beyond Natsumi and Eiji, Natasha couldn't exactly say she would understood the full scope of a mother's protection. Well, that wasn't entirely true. Her mom was pretty adamant about keeping her out of trouble, but she still somehow ended up leading herself off the bridge on that one. Part of her wondered if it was time to visit that her mother one day. Food for thought. Maintaining a listening ear, Natasha smiled warmly as she nodded her head.

"Nah, there's no need to worry about all that. I really enjoy Edelo's company, so the last thing I'd do is let a pretty face throw his game off. We sorta promised each other we'd help one another get stronger, anyway, ya know? Can't let him go slippin' up cause a cute girl has compromised his focus."

Compromising his focus? Honestly, back when she was a little reckless before, she didn't hold back in teasing him for his little eye issue, but she'd matured enough now to know there were lines better left uncrossed. He was a genuinely good guy with a goal in mind and determination. Who was she to compromised all that?

As a woman who knew about the whole city girl lifestyle herself, she couldn't exactly blame Leisa for wanting to keep her boy out of trouble. Turning her head curiously after the woman finished speaking, Natasha gazed curiously at the the business card being pulled from her breast pocket, accepting it as she gave it a good once-over or two. Self-defense classes, huh? Honestly, it made sense considering that whole incident with Ichigo Kurosaki. Hm... She wondered if that entailed martial arts, too. She needed to brush up on that in case her quincy abilities were compromised. She knew her fair share, sure, but what did it hurt to get reacquainted with a different style of combat?

"I'd be honored, Lei. I'm somethin' of a busy woman, but I could definitely swing by a few times. I've been meaning on touching up on my skills outside of the good ole' quincy arts. It'd be nice to see where some of Edelo's techniques came from. Kid's a pretty good martial artist, I tell ya. I'll probably pay ya a visit sooner than you think."