Welcome to Gaia! ::

Ahh, she could see it already. This woman's fumbling was amusing at the present, but too much longer and would truly become a trial of endurance. At Nadja's parting sentiment, their fates were sealed.

Aila raised her eyebrows with an automatic scoff at Nyx's words. "I do hope you jest," she replied sincerely. She had only recently had her first experience in a car. It was unpleasant, at best. And that was her point of view from the passenger's seat - she dared not imagine handling one of those nauseating metal beasts on her own.

"I am certain I could manage, granted you do not mind reaching our destination in various states of nonliving." She could not help but wonder if she was even old enough to drive in the first place, not that she had even the most remote interest in doing so. Aila realized too late that her sharp tongue would only make the errand more unpleasant and made a mental note to behave more temperately.

She followed Nyx into the elevator, taking a quiet place in an opposite corner.

Aila followed at her own brisk pace, remaining silent until she had the opportunity to contribute something less inflammatory. If you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing, as the saying went. Or something similar. Her mother had not placed much emphasis on that particular lesson.

She remained slightly behind Nyx as she made her rounds, resembling, in a way, a shadow. She inclined her head to obtain a better view of the assortment of signs, searching for some indication of the designation the woman was repeating. It was at a time like this that those maps would be handy, she realized with a frown.

Ahh, the passenger's seat. Aila's dreaded foe. After her trip with Faleen, she had invested an embarrassing amount of time in researching preventative measures for car sickness. However, the assignment was issued on short notice, and she had neither the forethought nor the opportunity to retrieve the natural cures she had assembled. She was armed with knowledge, however, of how to quell the illness should it debilitate her. She could only hope it was effective.

At Nyx's behest, Aila pressed the button marked for radio and adjusted the station until she located one broadcasting classics. The signal was weak, as was evidenced by the shoddy quality of the sound, but she could nonetheless recognize the melody as one of her favorites.

She focused her eyes on the horizon as it came into view, her concentration evenly applied between that and the music. She was distracted, however, by her company's quiet groan. An eyebrow arched, Aila dared to spare a glance at Nyx. Her posture was stiff, her grip on the wheel was rigid, and she had a slight air of nervousness about her.

Somewhere, deep down, Aila was incredibly distressed.

"Is all well?" she asked, her voice conveying only a halfhearted interest in the answer in a bid to conceal or her own nerves.

The word was scarcely as reassuring as its context would imply, and even though the vehicle was proceeding with as much normality and stability as any other, Nyx's disposition simply seemed to scream we're going to die a horrible blazing death.

The radio's signal strengthened a small but noticeable amount as orchestra gave way to opera. The song was familiar, but Aila could not quite place the composer. It was not one of her favorite varieties within the classical genre - she very much preferred instrumental work - but it would do as a distraction.

Aila had been very close to grabbing the steering wheel herself when they suddenly went careening to a side. Seeing the vehicle come back under Nyx's control offered no solace, especially since the tone of her following words seemed so nonchalant. This was some kind of sick and twisted joke, was it not?

"Driving. Yes. Please do take care of that." Her face still pale from the unexpected maneuver, she twisted in her seat to search the car for the clothing. In the back seat she spied a few black articles of cloth, presumably the jackets she sought. The girl reached an arm to seize them but fell short by several inches. She stretched further yet. Damned if she was going to take off that seat belt.