Welcome to Gaia! ::

Dai stared around at the Pod Observation Room, studying the place he was going to be spending the next several hours. His memories of this place were a little iffy, given how things had gone, when he woke up. He sighed, and then turned to look at the pods themselves. So many people, tucked away in strange tech shells. He was not sure what to think about that, because it left him wondering how many people had family members locked away in there, how many lost sibs and half sibs.

He wondered if he had any unknown half sibs in there, for that matter. He knew his a*****e of a father had been anything but faithful when he went off on business trips, and while it was from his mother's side... Some of the things she said made him wonder if she had maybe had a kid before she met his father.

He suddenly shook his head, and swore. "******** this! Nope. Not getting lost in these thoughts. NO."

Dai suddenly realized he was no longer alone when a flash of color caught the corner of his eye. He froze as well, for a moment, thinking that he was likely to have made a terrible impression already, with the loud cursing at himself. He slowly turned his head to look at his new companion. It was, much to his chagrin, a complete stranger. He studied the other young man, thinking to himself that they appeared to be of a similar age, then finally he took a slow, steadying breath.

After he exhaled, he said "Ah... hello. Have they assigned you to be my partner for today's duty, then? My name is Dai Yong... My apologies for the less than polite greeting I unintentionally gave you. I was having some thoughts in my head that I was not enjoying, and did not realize I was no longer alone."

He sighed at himself, then held out a well groomed hand, his other brushing a long lock of black to red hair away from his blue-green eyes. "Despite my impolite greeting, I do hope you won't think too poorly of me?"

Dai blinked at the blush, and the nervous response, and considered for a moment, then offered a friendly smile to the other young man. "I'm Dai Yong. And no, honestly, not at all. Even if you were, an interruption would be welcome. Like I said, unpleasant thoughts." He brushed hair back again, clearly a nervous gesture.

"Yes, I did just start my shift. Based on what I saw when I woke, at least, they do double shifts. I don't know if it's every time." He sounded uncomfortable, talking about when he woke up. And maybe there was a hint of guilt to his words while he was at it.

"Anyways! I am guessing you have been here far longer then I... I've only been awake since late November... Have you done this duty before? Any experience on what we actually need to do?"

"A pleasure to meet you, Henry." Dai flashed a smile at the blue haired man, and settled back in his seat, but offered Henry a hand to shake.

The comment about who was on duty made Dai wince a little, and he glanced down at the desk in front of him. "The ones on duty were intermediates, I believe. It was just... a challenging awakening. I saw someone I did not expect to see, and another someone who I discovered is quite attractive but given that I'm not yet 18, is not an appropriate crush, really." He gave an awkward shrug, then added "I doubt anything of that nature will occur on this shift, however."

He glanced at the other man, and smiled a little. "I can't say I'm too surprised. It feels like this is the kind of place where time can pass faster then one realizes. I suspect it happens to most of us."

Dai grinned at the shake, and nodded in a familiar way. "You seem like a nice fellow, Henry. I'm always glad to make new friends, you see."

He found himself giving the other man another look over, his expression calm, though there was a hint of appreciation. Dai always found himself appreciating a good looking man or woman, and Henry was good looking... a touch adorable, too.

The question, though, had Dai sighing softly. "His name is Nash, have you met him? He's... quite good looking, and seems to have a natural snark to him, but... Anyways. He's the fellow who ran the New Year's Dares night. I just hope I can get past this, since I'm sure it will never go anywhere. And then I'll be better able to appreciate the many attractive options around this island." He winked at Henry, though he was concerned by the thin lips.

Dai saw the reaction from Henry, and found himself wondering if the other man was not into men, or just did not expect it. He pondered the best way to hint that the other man was a cute fellow, and Dai wouldn't mind being more friendly with him. Because unrequited crush or not, Dai could always find things to appreciate, and new people to be attracted to. He just wasn't good with this crush thing.

"Yeah, black and green hair, literal sleeve tattoos... You know him?" Dai gave him a weak grin. "Helped stop me making a fool of myself, to be honest, and possibly ruining a chance at reconnecting with someone I had thought was lost to me. Between that and his general appearance, I admit, it made it easy for my interest to be foolishly caught."

He sighed a little, and shrugged, before nodding at that last comment. "Mmm yeah. You got anyone you have an eye on?"

"Yeah. Seems pretty free with his attentions. It's just that age thing. He's gotta be at least 8 years older then me, which..." He sighs and shrugs. "I gotta live with it, and I'll find my way around this but... It's irritating."

He was about to try hinting, when Henry started to react at the question about his crush, and he tilted his head, not saying a word until Henry finished speaking about his crush, and the problems that accompanied that crush. Dai's eyes were sympathetic, and he found himself leaning towards the other man, thoughtfully.

"Well... I am sorry she does not see you that way, and that she's... that much younger then you. I've only met one of the de-aged, a kid named Lex. My older sister has adopted him, so I guess he's part of my family now?" He shrugged, and then added "But hey. There are those of us who are closer in age to you, who can be capable of seeing what a handsome lad you are." He gave a slow, deliberate wink, then leaned back, waiting to see how the other man would respond.

Dai watched Henry's reactions, silently curious about it. It wasn't like he had said it to just rile up the other young man. He had meant the words he'd said to Henry, he just could not help being intrigued by how the other lad would respond. Dai could not deny, however, if he was asked, that he enjoyed riling up those who got all offended if they were hit on by their own gender. If they were not interested, but took it with polite respect, on the other hand, he was perfectly happy to not judge them for it.

However, if Henry was interested, on the other side of this coin, Dai was perfectly happy with THAT, too, because what a cute kid. And so innocent seeming, in his way. "Yes, I think you're handsome. Or cute, if you prefer. Both, really."

His lips curved into a warm smile, with more then a hint of interest in it. "Have you never been told that? It's a pity, really, but at the same time, I'm glad I get the chance to do so." He was not trying to seduce the other man, not yet. First off, of course, they were on duty, so not a good idea. Second off, if the young man really WAS this innocent, Dai had no desire to hurt him, and he'd have to be sure that Henry was not going to be hurt if Dai was not pursuing him for a committed thing.

But if Henry was up for that, well. That was a whole other story.