Timestamp: Tria 16, 81382 A loud beep was all that could be heard as the passenger compartment was shut, safely air locked, and depressurized. The space became immediately stuffy, but the view from the wide open windows was very contagious when submerged, but for now Arie turned around in her seat to watch the people scatter around below the boarding dock. She didn't prefer Rloamyta traveling, but lacked the proper pass to board the portal shuttles that she frequented, and since riding the underwater trains was free, she figured she might as well save the money. The only problem was that vessels were always overbooked and packed to the brim, and she had managed to always get a seat beside another passenger who either liked to talk or had some sort of unappealing quality about them. At least this time it wasn't another kid. Arie shuffled her legs and attempted to try to be comfortable for the ride. The ship began to submerge itself, and she watched from the window as the water rose over the ship's body. Finally, we're leaving, she said to herself, happy to be heading toward somewhere familiar. Level 3, housing district 89, apartment 'Zed'. Home. ... Somewhere between ten and fifteen minutes later, she was jolted in the side by a kid running down the isle of the spiral shaped vehicle. Arie awoke suddenly, realizing that the ride was over, and she was almost home. A window seat view can only keep you occupied for so long before putting you to sleep, plus nothing interesting was out there to see. She stood, grabbed her bag and pranced off the Rloamyta, hurrying out of the cramped plastic bubble that housed the seaport, heading out into the busy walkways connecting the domes. [someone can kinda just bump into her? idk, up to you heehee]
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><table><tr><td width=100></td><td width=350><div align="justify">Who. http://shadowlack.com/persona.php?id=1343Ara Treaux</a> Wearing. Black skinny jeans, double-row grommet belt, black/white pin stripe vest closed with safety pins, O-ring collar, no shoes</td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td width=450>Public transportation to and from Aurius was quite possibly one of the worst things Ara had encountered in all of his travels. Glad to be coming back from school, but still dreading the talk of taking on a third degree, this time in medicine his generally calm demeanor was hard won. He'd taken his seat and promptly plugged into his music player, the candy red device began to blink at him that he had only half of the battery life left. Ara groaned and turned off the back light before letting the player stream a steady thrum of electronica through his headphones. He looked up and down the Rloamyta just studying the people while they slowly got closer to Aurius, he hadn't been able to secure a seat near a window, and was instead wedged between a mother and her young child, who thankfully was sleeping and not screaming, and a much older arden who appeared to have died in his seat, save for the fact that, like the child, he was also snoring. When the Rloamyta finally came to a halt Ara stood and slung his bag over his shoulder, the leather rucksack had definitely seen better days, safety pins and duck tape held it together in most of the places that seams should have been. He shuffled out with the rest of the throng and grimaced as he stepped onto the platform, feeling something very sticky having matted itself to the bottom of his foot. He didn't have time at the moment to fix it, but renewed his efforts to get away from the platform and to a bathroom. In these efforts he managed to trip over someone's rolling bag and knock into a thill. He sprang back up and turned around, embarrassed. <span style='color:blue'>"Oh man, I'm so sorry, here, let me help you up?</span> he said, quickly due to the embarrassment. He extended his hand to her, hoping she wouldn't make a scene.</div></td></tr></table></div>
Aria rounded the corner, looking down as she walked, something she did out of habit. She counted her toes as she walked, wiggling them back and forth, and not really paying too much attention to her surroundings. BAM. "Ooompf," slipped out of her mouth as she slid to the floor a few moments later, her bag cushioning her butt from the fall. She was shocked for a few seconds, the realisation of what had happened occuring to her as an unfamiliar voice filled her ears. Arie dreamily looked up, studying the figure before her as she extended her hand to him. He was handsome in a rugged way, as she would've described him. She smiled dazedly, finally putting some effort into her legs to get her off of the platform floor. A fuss was probably the last thing that she would try. She wasn't exactly high maintenance or very melodramatic. "Hi." she said, pretend brushing her shirt off and straightening the wrinkles out of it. "I'm Arie."
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify">Ara grinned and gave a small laugh. The fact that their names sounded so similar was sort of funny, he wondered vaguely if it was a nickname or her full name. <span style='color:blue'>"I'm Ara,"</span> he said, hiking his rucksack up a little higher on his shoulder and shifting his weight to the non-sticky foot, he would have made another face, but at the moment it was just too gross. He idly set the sticky foot down and lifted it up slightly several times, trying to at least get some of the stick out of it, even if it matted the gunk in his foot even further. <span style='color:blue'>"Sorry, I think I stepped in some gum on the way onto the platform,"</span> Ara said sticking his tongue out in distaste. One would think that one of the most technologically advanced cities in the world would have a better clean-up crew, but alas, like every other city, some parts of Aurius were pristine and beautiful, and some were, well... not.</div></td></tr></table></div>
She nervously smoothed out her skirt, pulled down the hem of her shirt, and wiggled her toes in the sandals she was wearing. They were a cute pair, lacing up her leg until they finished in a bow at her calf. Arie chuckled as she heard his name and at how alike it was to her own. "Nice to meet you, Ara," she said politely, a smile widening across her face. "Do you live here?" Arie asked, looking at his clothes and rucksack. The fall to the ground had taken her by surprise, and she was still recovering from the shock.
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify"><span style='color:blue'>"Likewise,"</span> he said, accompanying it with a small bow of his head. <span style='color:blue'>"Yeah, well, not here as in this part of the city, but I do live in the city,"</span> Actually, he lived on almost the other side of the city all together, in the mostly residential and mostly wealthy area of the housing developments. If he had kept up with the monthly payments on the passes he would have been able to take one of the crafts that docked right in the area, but he hadn't thought he'd be back for a while yet. <span style='color:blue'>"What about yourself? Coming for the academy or are you also a part of the underwater colony?"</span> he said, smirking at the idea Aurius was a colony of any sort.</div></td></tr></table></div>
"I don't live here, persay, either," she said, gesturing around the platform where they were, "but I live in Aurius, yes." Arie lived in one of the more middle class districts, but in truth, they weren't exactly middle class. They still lived on strict budgets and every paycheck only just supplied enough means to cover them until the next alottment of money. She still lived with her parents and her two twin sisters, Liv and Lyf. The rest of her siblings were not much older than herself, but already moved out, some in their own aparments and some sent off for schooling. "Move it along," some old arden ordered, pushing his way past them as a new surge of people started pouring out of the doors from the port. Arie was shoved towards a wall, where she waited for the crowd to pass before looking for Ara. She walked back towards him, looping her arm through his, "Do you mind?" she said, gesturing for him to walk with her as far as they could before parting ways. "So, what do you like to do?" she asked, focusing her eyes on him and then looking forward to make sure she wouldn't bump into anyone, or fall again.
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify">The truth was, Ara did mind, at least a little bit. It made him feel sort of awkward, having a thill he barely knew hanging onto his arm, but he shook his head. Off in the distance he could have sworn he head someone calling his name, but for the moment, it almost sounded like he could be imagining it. He followed Arie as she went, looking around as he did, almost positive someone was calling for him. <span style='color:blue'>"Oh, I dunno, random stuff really, I like to dance, but it's a job so you know, whatever,"</span> he shrugged, he did love dancing, but it being a part of his occupation made it slightly less enjoyable. <span style='color:blue'>"I like to hang out with my sisters too, we're all far enough in age that we always got along,"</span> he remarked.</div></td></tr></table></div>
Arie could feel the slight uneasiness about Ara as she walked, her arm linked through his, so she casually removed her hold on him. She was more outgoing than most, and it wasn't common for her to be so friendly, but she understood that some people didn't like you having your hands on them. "Thats really cool. I wish I could dance." But she wasn't exactly gifted in that area. It was really more like an accident waiting to happen. "I like to make widgits." she went on, realizing that she probably sounded like a mad scientist. All in all, she wasn't far from one. "I have two sisters and three brothers, but we're all very close and hardly get along." she chuckled, thinking about her family. They were still pretty close knit, but not always chummy with one another. Arie noticed him looking around and began to wonder why. She hoped he wasn't ignoring her. "Did you miss your turn out?"
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify"><span style='color:blue'>"No, sorry, thought I heard someone calling me, it stopped though,"</span> Ara said with a shrug, looking around him one more time before looking back to where he was going, narrowly missing a noitie as they wandered about. He shook his head and gave a laugh. <span style='color:blue'>"If little kids weren't so cute at least half the time, they would never survive to adulthood,"</span> Ara liked kids, really, but he liked them when they weren't screaming and his responsibility. By now the gum that had matted itself in his foot was starting to stop sticking to the floor whenever he picked up his foot, which in itself was cause for disgust. <span style='color:blue'>"If you don't mind I'm just going to pop in the restroom to get the gum off my foot,"</span> he said to Arie, sticking his tongue out and going off to the left and into the restroom where he tried to pull out as much gum as he could, but eventually decided at least some of the fur would have to be cut when he had the time. He exited and looked around, easily spotting her, that her height made her taller than the average thill, he waved and started to walk back over.</div></td></tr></table></div>
Arie nodded as he explained to her how he thought he had heard someone call his name, looking towards the direction in which he did. The moment they both turned their eyes back to where they were walking, she chuckled as he came close to bumping into a youngling. "Whoops." she said, nodding as he spoke again, this time about children and shortly after to request a short bathroom visit. She nodded a third time, smiling when he stuck out his tongue. While he was in the bathroom, Arie had next to nothing to do. She nervously twisted her body right and left, swinging her shoulders and arms along so that she seemed to be half-turning her body, but not coming along a full three hundred and sixty degree turn. After a few minutes of busying herself with this and watching people walk by, Arie noticed his wave and began to gravitate towards him. "Get it off?" she asked, just trying to make more conversation.
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify">Ara shrugged. <span style='color:blue'>"Most of it, but you know how gum is,"</span> he said, grinning. They walked up the stairs that would bring them into the rest of the city, it's blue glow was hinting at white, meaning it must have been around noon, or shortly thereafter. <span style='color:blue'>"Would you care to stop somewhere for a bite to eat? Unless you have some place else you're supposed to be getting to?"</span> he asked, pointing over at a strand of cafes and small restaurants, many of which were packed or starting to fill up as the lunch hour drew to its peak.</div></td></tr></table></div>
"No, that would be wonderful," she said, smiling widely, "I don't have anything I was supposed to do, I was just walking home." She had been in a studio earlier in the day, working on her latest gadget design, and was now just taking the tedious trip home. "What did you have in mind?"
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify"><span style='color:blue'>"Hrm..."</span> Ara mused to himself, eyes flicking over the restaurants in sight. None of them really were to his taste at the moment. His mind began to wander to other restaurants in Aurius, and he finally smiled. <span style='color:blue'>"How do you feel about sushi?"</span> he asked, thinking of a hole in the wall place five blocks east of the station. It was on the expensive side just due to the nature of the food that they served, but he'd cover it if need be.</div></td></tr></table></div> <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class='ooc'><tr><td>eew... it's short >_></td></tr></table>
"Sushi?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together in the center of her forehead. She had never once tried it, which was interesting considering she lived amidst so much water in the shell of a bubble she called home. "Is it... good?" She toyed absentmindedly with her belt loop, twisting her finger around in it. The thought of eating anything not roasted to a finish made her a bit squeamish. She always felt that she was open to new things, but eating raw fish had never crossed her mind when she felt that. She supposed it would be rude to deny him. After all, he was the one who suggested, and it seemed as if it was something he enjoyed. She finally thought, why not? and made up her mind that if it wasn't to her liking, she would just swallow it fast and whole. She put a big smile on her face and tried to answer honestly, "I've never had it before, but something new once and a while couldn't hurt."
<div align="center"><table><tr><td width=450><div align="right"><span style='font-family:Courier'><span style='color:blue'>s y n t h e s i s</span></span></div></td></tr><tr><td width=450><div align="justify">Ara grinned widely. <span style='color:blue'>"Oh yes, I assure you, it is the best thing your tongue will ever get to experience,"</span> he said, almost seriously. His light demeanor carried the two of them all the way to a door that appeared to be the entrance of a far-set residential building. He opened the door and escorted Arie ahead of him, before taking the lead down a narrow, but immaculate hallway, to another unmarked, and unassuming doorway. He held the door open once more for Arie with a little flourish, but turned his attention to a slightly frazzled waiter, who upon seeing Ara, burst into a grin and shook his hand. <span style='color:blue'>"Table for two please?"</span> he asked mildly. The waiter nodded rapidly, still smiling and began wandering off towards an empty table in the quiet, yet full, restaurant.</div></td></tr></table></div>
