Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Sorry for the long post, I really got into this character...)

In typical fashion, Connor was sitting in one of the leather armchairs reading a book. It was a more bulky read, consisting of upwards of 5,000 pages. The paper binding betrayed no signs of age or wear and inscribed into it were the words, "An Advanced Guide To Astro-Physics". He had been chipping away at it for a month or two on account of not knowing half of the terminology of physics, or astro for that matter.

The room was practically empty, which suited Connor just fine. The less people who were around to make noise, the easier it was to decypher the words on the page, and the harder it was to get distracted. But, also in typical fashion, it was a little too quiet for Connor. He could hear every little bang and creak of the airship, making it quite hard to concentrate on anything else.

Even the Armchair he was sitting in was distracting him, what with the little creaks of the cracking leather, the obvious rejuvination of the wood, and the machined tacks used in the making. This chair was obviously made in the early 2000's, late 1900 at the earliest. This and the fact that he was sticking to the leather from the heat of the fireplace combined to make a huge distraction.

There was a fly buzzing around the room somewhere, no doubt it would fly near him at some point. The embelishments in the fireplace could catch your eye just right, then hold your attention with the intricacies of the design. The firelight made interesting shadows within itself and cast even greater ones behind the chairs. The barkeep was obviously not paying attention, because he had been cleaning that particular glass for over ten minutes now and it was making a fabulous squeeking noise.

And all of this combined and drove itself into Connor's mind, eliciting a twitch in Connor's usually calm face. He placed his bookmark inside his tome and snapped it shut with the satisfying sound you only get from a good book, placing it on the table beside him. He sighed and just let the wave of distraction wash over him.

Connor was snapped out of his semi-consiousness by a man who overdramatically burst through the door. A small reaction flashed across his face, but besides that Connor didn't move.

Several minutes later, he heard the clearing of a throat. There was not much to do but look. He turned and said, "Hello Mr. Palazzo. How are you doing this fine day?"

Connor seemed a little too comfortable with Kher so close. There was something about his strange ways that kept Connor so interested. His absentmindedness piqued Connor's curiosity. He smirked a bit at the drink comments.

He listened to the man's question and was instantly set into an emotional and intellectual turmoil. He couldnt seem to be more intellegent than the man, but he shouldn't lie. If he got caught in a lie then Kher might not like him... But why did he care if the man liked him or not? It was silly to think that this person could have so much sway over him.

"Oh, that? It's not mine." Connor had studied body language and lying before, and was confident that his lie could not be detected.

The man was clearly baiting him, but to go back on one's lie was to commit social suicide. He tried a different strategy... The innocent boy.

"You would let a little kid like me steer a ship this important? Now I wish I had been reading it rather than just staring at the fire. Then maybe I could have been steering this awesome ship..." Connor even overdramatized it a bit with a little pout and a disheartened voice. He was not going to be denied what he ultimately wanted.

The surprising man was losing it. There was no way that he would throw a perfectly good book into the fire. And even if there was, Connor could just get another one. "No sir. I don't think the owner would appreciate that very much though. I think you should at least put it in the lost and found. Then if someone would like to claim it, you can give it to them personally." Even Connor had to admit to himself that it was an ingenious lie.

"That's right. But unfortunately father couldn't make it. He had work." Connor speculated. He knew that if he could take attention off the book, then he could maybe get something more from Kher.

"I'm getting a little bit too warm," Connor complained, "Maybe we could go someplace cooler?"

Sensing an opportunity, Connor said mock defiantly, "So, I lied... What're you going to do? Spank me?" He was mocking this man thoroughly, but at the same time there was a small part of him that wanted nothing more than to be alone with him.