Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a full night at the old Skate Queen. The atmosphere was dim and foggy, speckled with rays of black lights and multi-colored LEDs shooting every which way. Skaters spun, twirled and relatively hobbled counter-clockwise around the rink, enjoying themselves in couples and groups. There were even some individuals, spiraling and twirling with ease, who were well known as frequents of the establishment. It was a typical evening to be sure, one that Aandes counted on for his regular fix of contained adrenaline.

Aandes had strapped on his own personal set of skates (no stinky rentals would get anywhere close to his feet, thanks) and wobbled his way to the rink. He wore a pair of slate grey cargos with white clasps for the occasion, and a matching black and mint jacket with white chocolate buttons up to his long collar. The effect was stylish and functional – he wouldn’t have to suffer any scraped knees should he fall, and the black lights caught the white accents of his clothes. He made his way into the rink and eased into a rhythm.

Around and around. Aandes’ frequent practice was paying off. With relative grace, he slowly laced around the rink, trying tighter turns and quicker speeds. Aandes managed to wave back to his lusus on the other side of the rink’s wall. Koalapops was content slurping on his icy dessert, regarding his nachos with the sort of glazed love a parent tends to a child with. After another attempt to get his lusus’ attention, Aandes’ feet were suddenly tangled, and he tripped and fell onto a knee. “Aah… Ow, ow…” He squealed. Tears beaded in his eyes before he blinked them away rapidly and got back to his feet, hugging the wall. Koalapops was munching on a cheese-drenched chip. Aandes flushed hotly and pushed off. So much for that.

Aandes took a lap around the rink. He carefully dodged a blueblooded troll his age reaching out for one of her friends - likely in order to create some disastrous troll-chain. He wrinkled his nose. It was a shame the rink was always so busy; there were always so many children to avoid!

And speaking of children...

Was that...?

Aandes would know those horns anywhere. The long haired girl at the edge of the rink was just about to take the plunge. He nearly tripped over his own skates again at the sight of her. Rasali. The two hadn't connected since their meeting on the train. Of course, they didn't exchange information, so Aandes could simply reply that he had fixed the toys himself and sent them back when he couldn't locate her (he'd hocked them). She was so... Persistent. Aandes wondered viciously if she still had that plush hoofbeast he'd given her. He squeaked as he nearly stumbled, distracted by the sweet thought.

Another couple of laps to calm down and steel himself were necessary. Aandes pretended that he didn't see her and made every effort to slide gracefully through the patrons of the rink, only teetering once when he was cut in front of by an older troll. Aandes' lip curled up into a grimace as he snuck another glance in her direction. Was this her first time at the rink? She was spending a lot of time on the side lines. He zipped through a straightaway only to come to a lethargic pace around the rounded corners of the track. Aandes relaxed his face and took a deep breath, releasing his scowl into a peaceful expression. When he opened his eyes (which were not closed, of course, for more than a mere millisecond) he grounded himself. Aandes used the rest of his momentum to glide to the wall, closing in on Rasali.

"Hello again, Rasali," he announced cheerily. "Funny meeting you here!" He put a hand on the wall and practically leaned on it.

Rude. Did he not seem like the sporty type? He supposed that coming home from an earthquake wouldn't allow much for the average troll... Though, they were both rather tired. Either way, Aandes laughed a light titter, miffed at the remark. Rasali didn't know anything about him. Nor he about her. That had to change. "I'm into a lot of sports with wheeled devices," he boasted. "I ride a two-wheeled device around the lake for my ice cream business, too. I'm surprised you haven't seen me, though I suppose your hive must be pretty far in the woods."

Aandes scooted a little closer to her, looking down at Rasali. She was much shorter than him. He rocked forward on one of his skates, planting the rubber pad on the wood floor jauntily.

"I haven't seen you here since I've been coming... Is this your first time?"

Aandes grinned enough to allow his snaggletooth to make an appearance, and pushed off of the wall to skate in a half-circle around her, stopping again on her other side.

"That I am," he stated clearly. "Though, only recently. So don't expect any fancy spins or anything just yet," Aandes winked. He shifted his weight and felt the pressure on his skates eagerly yearning for him to show off. He refocused.

Rasali was not a troll that Aandes found particularly intimidating. She was small and round and easily squishable, but something about her put him on edge. For all of that obvious childlike naivete was something cutting. It's like she saw through him on the train on his best behavior. It made him want to show her up for that. Show her how gentlemanly he could be.

"Would you like a lesson? If not I'd be happy to skate with you," Aandes purred. He gave Rasali some space, though it certainly looked as though he was getting a better view of her or giving himself some room if she stumbled. "I can catch you if you fall."

“Alright,” cooed Aandes. He dared to skate backwards to let her pass, crossing his hands behind his back. He shot a quick glance over to the barrier, to check on his lusus. He was watching him now. Good. Aandes was going to make a catch. As he turned back towards her, Koalapops got up from his spot to go purchase a bag of popcorn. His charge went to work. He perked up the corners of his mouth and immediately offered Rasali some friendly advice.

“The key is to squat and comfortably walk in the skates first. You might want to walk like a quackbeast first before you glide. Should be familiar, I would suppose. Oops! Don’t lean back!”

He held his arms out to her. Regardless of her skill or how well she was doing, he wanted to catch her. Even if she made both of them fall – it was the thought that counted, really. Fall, dammit.

"Ah!" Aandes chirped with shock, which could have been perceived as a titter of joy. He slid forward and carefully squatted, one arm on the wall and the other reaching out for Rasali. "I'll help you up!" He offered.

Aandes positioned himself carefully to accommodate her short and stout demeanor. He couldn't fall to her level just yet of course - that would be a travesty. He would accept falling with her at his arm though, but they had to be around the rink where such an accident was commonplace. Of course.

"Here..." He began. Aandes wobbled but maintained his composure. He looked back at his lusus for confirmation. Nothing but slushie. A flash of genuine disappointment, and then he was back to confidence. "You can hold on to me. Let's go around the ring together. Just make sure you bend your knees!"

"Aha!" Aandes was charmed momentarily by her quick save. He blinked a moment and tried to recover the smile on his face before realizing that it as already there. He pulled her up and wobbled a bit, then prepared himself to push off.

"Alright, just hold on tight." He reiterated. The two took to the rink, slow and steady. Aandes exclaimed a few more words of encouragement before getting into the flow, himself. At first, Rasali was a burden. But now she was a challenge! She was helping him improve as he helped her, and it felt good. He was still winning, though, so there was that. Aandes finally felt a breeze on his face as the two gained speed. Velocity! He loved it. Aandes found that he was enjoying himself.

Aandes kicked out one foot in front of the other to go quicker, and... "Ack!"

The two fell in a green heap. Aandes, brought back to the surface of Alternia, stuttered with a scraped knee. "S-sorry..." He pouted. He took a deep breath and shook the pain out as skaters brisked past above them. Pain well deserved. Aandes bit his lip and propped himself off of his smarting knee to help Rasali back to her feet.

"You feeling okay to go on?"