Anna smiled at Basil, usually she did run off with Jace but today... Well, Serena seeming to catch on to her secrets made her feel a little less like seeing Jace and a little more like spending time with someone who wouldn't treat her like dinner.... Woah, where had that come from? Jace didn't treat her like dinner... he was always kind to her, right? Sweet even... She shrugged, "Not today. I figure we need practice and by we I mean I... You're good enough at blocking and dodging attacks now that I could probably spar a little with you and... today's training class didn't go so well. I've been slacking off too much I think."

She walked with Basil towards the woods, "That dance is tomorrow night isn't it? Are you going? Please tell me you are...don't abandon me to Rae, Gabby, and Jace. I don't think I could take it for the whole night on my own."

She thought about it, "Also, what are you going as?"

~*~

Sebastian spotted Serena as she headed over, she looked decidedly upset about something. "Hey Little Dhampir," he'd taken to calling her that lately. "You okay?"

Over the last two months he'd noticed that around Serena the darkness didn't bother him as much, not even really at all unless he did something with Spirit that triggered it and even then she hung with him through the moods and often made him laugh in spite of them. It was good to have someone around that could do that, especially since Anna and Gunner... who were usually the ones cheering him up, were being such downers recently. Gunner was stuck on duty and bitter with Anna for pointing it out and for spending time with another guy when that couldn't happen between them and Anna was down because Gunner was so angry and she was still hung up on him despite Jace.

Her change in behavior, however, bothered him. It wasn't just a result of her depression, it was something else too.... Seb was pretty sure that Jace was compelling her but he couldn't prove it and knew that even saying he MIGHT be to Gunner would set the guy off and suggesting it to Anna would only make her defensive. Serena had been his light in the dark in their place and honestly... he'd started seeing her... REALLY seeing her... and she was beautiful. It made him feel guilty, beyond guilty even, because Anya hadn't went Strogoi (if she WAS strigoi) willingly. Still, he knew what not being honest had cost him in the end so he'd been flirting... subtly for the past month or so. Spending more time with her and buying her little things... like an inexpensive charm bracelette that wouldn't make her feel awkward which he'd said had been for training him and putting up with his crazy self for so long.

He put an arm around her shoulders, "You look upset..." and he didn't just mean her face. He could hear a hum of something, this close... with their auras touching. The background noise of her thoughts that if he tried hard enough he'd be able to hear but he kept his walls in place most times. Now, however... he could FEEL there was something she didn't want him knowing... something about Anna. He frowned, he didn't want to push her but... it felt important. "Everything okay with you and Anna?"