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A boyish giggle rolled up from beside a pond, where a small Audio was tossing rocks and watching the ripples as they plopped into the water. Some of the smaller ones seemed to bounce a couple of times before disappearing, and the little tan and blue permateen was trying to recreate the effect. Unfortunately for the fish who were accustomed to swimming in peace, Salvatore hadn't quite figure out how skipping stones worked. *plip plop SPLASH! SPLOOSH! plop SPLASH!*

Grinning obliviously at a frog who was quite vigorously protesting the disturbance of its home, Salvatore picked up another rock, and a pebble. Maybe the size of the rock made it bounce better. Hefting the rock in one paw and holding the pebble in the other to give their paths some distance, he threw them both at once to see what would happen. The oblong pebble glanced off the water's surface once, twice, and then dropped into the water. The paw-sized rock just fell in with a loud "PLOP!" while the water it displaced leaped into the air. Salvatore rubbed at the spots on his face where he'd been splashed, chuckling to himself, but it didn't do a bit to clean his permanently singed face. The frog, meanwhile, gave another distressed bellow before turning to hop sullenly away.

Still chuckling to himself, Salvatore pawed another pebble from the pond's edge. "Guess the small ones are better," he chattered to himself. When he looked up to toss the pebble out over the water, he blinked, and then broke into a wide grin. "Hey, you weren't here a second ago." He waved his free paw, looking over the Audio curiously. When did she come in? He cocked his head to the side. "What's up?"

"Oooo-" Salvatore started as he watched the taller Audio stretch her wings, breaking off a fit of giggles as the water left her feathers and sprinkled over him. The lady, however, was apparently not so amused.

"Oh," the tan permateen mumbled, flattening his ears. "Sorry, I didn't know you were there." Peeking up at her, he offered his pebble. "I was trying to figure out how the rocks bounce."

Salvatore's ears perked up again. "Really...?" He rolled the pebble around in his paw for a moment. It wasn't a particularly flat rock, so it was practically useless for skipping. He threw it carelessly over his shoulder. "I guess that's why they haven't been working so well."

Glancing up at the Audio lady, Salvatore cringed a little. She was obviously still upset. The soot-faced Audio squirmed a little under her gaze, poking about for a flat, round rock. "I dunno... 'cause bouncing... I mean skipping rocks is fun, I guess." He rubbed at an ear self-consciously. "I was just playing with the rocks and the water and I thought it was neat when they skipped. I'm really sorry I got you all wet..."

Geez. How many times did she want him to say he was sorry? Wait. Proper procedures? An ear flicked up, followed by the other, eventually bringing the whole face along with it. "I didn't even know rocks could skip before today!" His eyes brightened a little. "Maybe you could teach me more about skipping? Skipping rocks, I mean...?"

Suddenly reminded of his manners, the blue-marked Audio stuck out his paw, grinning broadly. "By the way, I'm Salad Bar. I mean Elevator. D'oh." He clapped his paws to his blackened cheeks, turning in a circle with an embarrassed groan. When he came back around to face the female Audio, he offered his paw again, laughing sheepishly. "Salvatore. I'm Salvatore."

The permateen now dubbed Salad Bar wasn't sure if he was grinning because he was still embarrassed, or because the lady was amused rather than angry. He decided against correcting her... he found he didn't mind so much if she called him Salad Bar.

"...Lewis?" He cocked his head to the side quizzically, rubbing at his face self-consciously as he followed her to the water's side. He peered up at the rock she chose, watched the flick of her wrist, and let his mouth fall open at the way the stone flew across the pond.

"Wooooooowwww~!" he crowed in delight. "That's so cool! I'm gonna try!" Salvatore searched the shallow water for a smooth, flat stone like the female Audio had indicated, drying it off on his fur once he had found something suitable. He held it up, poking his tongue out at the edge of his lip as he squinted at his paw, giving a few practice flicks before releasing the rock out over the water.

*skip-ip flop plop!* The stone skidded awkwardly over the water, as if unsure about the angle of its launch, before sinking into the pond. "Hey, I got four!" Salvatore bounced lightly on his paws, looking up at the other Audio for approval.

His ears perked up as she described the Lewis she had mentioned earlier. Someone else like him? "Really? His face is black like mine?" He dabbed his paw in the water and gave his face a good, hard rub, grinning. "It doesn't come off. Burned on there real good. There's a really funny story..."

His grin faltered a bit, his string of words trailing off as she commented on his throw, and he gave a soft snort at his own incompetence. He wrinkled his nose a bit and selected another stone, trying to imitate the delicate, measured way she had flicked her own rock. Maybe... like this?

The small stone flitted across the pond, seeming to giggle as it teased the water's surface. One, two, three, four, five, plop!

Salvatore sat back on his haunches and punched his fists in the air triumphantly. "I DID IT! WAA-HOO!"