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 Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 10:00 pm
Summer was starting to draw to a close. The leaves were beginning to change. The birds were moving on. Even the civilians of Destiny City seemed to be welcoming the change. Warm clothes were being dusted off from a summer hidden in the closet and hot drinks were appearing on menus all over town.
Yes Fall was coming and all signs were pointing to a beautiful one at that.
At least they had been until one of the first northern storms of the year had rolled in out of no where and decided the middle of an afternoon was the perfect time to unleash a torrent of cold rain and north wind.
Delilah White had not planned for rain today. Nor had she planned on running for shelter either. Had she known this was coming, she would not have worn jeans or heels this day. Let alone she would not have been out in the Destiny City Sculpture Park doing some sketching.
“Stupid Freshman class project.” Delilah called out to herself as she threw both hands up over her head. Lightening blazed across the sky followed by a shake of thunder but Delilah saw her saving grace. A covered pavilion in the park!
Making a run for it, she dove in as the wind started to pick up. As her arms came up around her, Delilah sighed. “So much for the rainy season being over.”
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Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:14 pm
It seemed that Delilah was not the only one whose luck had run out that day; Arias had been caught in the storm and seemed to share the same thought as her. He arrived at the pavilion only a few seconds after the girl, though he hardly seemed upset about his now drenched clothes. His hair clung to his face and he reached a hand up to brush it back. Unlike the girl, who had items to protect, it was just him out in the rain. He hadn't even remembered to bring his phone, so the discomfort of cold, wet clothes was the only concern he had to burden himself with.
He flashed Delilah a smile, figuring of they were going to be trapped in the rain together, they might as well make the best if it. His eyes darted to her sketchbook and he seemed a bit concerned. "Not a good day for paper, ah? It was so clear this morning. Is your book all right?" he asked, nodding towards it as he tied his hair in a low ponytail.
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Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:18 pm
Facing the other way, Delilah had missed the fact someone else had come in to share her shelter. When she finally heard the sloshing of wet shoes, her head turned to look back and eyes enlarged in surprised. He was as soaked as she was but seemed to be making the best of it.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." Delilah responded as he quickly scanned him over before thinking to herself Cute boy and I look like someone put me through the washing machine. Go figure.
As he reached up to put his hair back, Delilah felt herself cling tightly to her sketch book. It had not dawned on her until he spoke that something could have gone wrong. "No, it really isn't." Taking a deep breath, she dared to finally look down at the book. The cover was soaked and her heart sank. Quickly flipping through the pages, Delilah's hands began to shake and the book dropped to the ground with a thud.
The girl appeared to be in shock as her eyes looked at the man but past him. "Ruined...." her voice shook as she dared look down. The drawings she had of the shapes in scupltures were running and bleeding through the paper. All that work...hours....gone.
Hands finally coming up to her face, she no longer carde that she her clothes were sticking to her or that her hair was plastered to her face and back. She was cold and in shock. "Stupid...if only I had remembered my umbrella..."
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Posted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:15 pm
Arias froze, surprised by her reaction. Instinctively he dropped to his knees and picked the book up. "No, no," he said hastily. "They aren't ruined, they're just..."
Waterlogged.
"...The unfortunate victims of a little too much affection from the rain."
He stood, brows knit and expression worried. "I don't think anyone could have known that it was going to rain. Do you--" he looked around, trying to find a better place to sit out the rain because he was getting cold--fast.
"--There's a cafe just a little ways, do you want to borrow my jacket and we can head over there and try to warm up. Come on, my treat?" He offered, feeling awful about her art.
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:55 pm
Movement, the change in shadow and light brought one of Delilah's eyes from under her fingers. He was on his knees holding her book. She could see by the way it moved like plastic and mush that there truly was nothing they could do...
Her hands slowly became fists, one on her brow and one on her cheek. She would have to redo them all and most likely from memory. If this weather didn't clear up in the next day or so, she would not have time to study them again. However, Delilah knew herself. She knew even if she went home now, frustration and anger would stop her. Besides, she would be too cold to do anything....
Cold...
The air was starting to wrap around her body and not in the way she admired so much in her 'second' life. This was bone chilling.
Relaxing her hands, they dropped to her side in an almost defeat. "Yes." Delilah finally said as she glanced one more time at the sketchbook then at his face. "If you are sure then I won't turn you down. But I cannot accept your jacket."
The rain seemed to pick up for a moment and then die down. The storm was fluctuating and not in a predictable way. "I would hate to be the cause of you catching a cold." Delilah finally, with no effort, smiled at him. It had to be a silly one the way her hair was plastered all around.
As a last move, she knelt down as well and extended her hand for the book. "Serves me right..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:58 am
Arias looked sympathetic for a moment, but seemed adamant. "I've got two layers of clothes on. I'll be fine. I haven't had a cold since elementary school—and I think you've had enough of a bad day already."
He handed the book over, but simultaneously began to shrug off his jacket. "I'm asking that you take it—please. I'll feel better knowing that I did everything I could to make sure you didn't catch a cold. And if you don't want to wear it, at least keep your book safe? Maybe there are a few pages that are still dry, somewhere in the middle?"
He was an optimist, but she seemed like a sweet girl. Maybe it would have been easier to accept her rejection of his jacket if she didn't look so silly or seem so sad. He wanted her art to be okay—wanted her to be okay.
A jacket wouldn’t fix everything, but maybe some hot chocolate would help; it was the best he could think to do right now, at least.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2014 10:22 am
Wrapping her fingers around the soaked book, she worked to secure the opened end, praying none of the water logged pages would fall out. If she could get paper towels between the pages, some might have a chance....maybe?
"Now I will really feel bad if you do." Delilah admitted as she lifted her face from the cover of her book. She still seemed down but the cold was starting to get to her. Truly starting to get to her as her body began to shiver. "Okay, I'm done fighting and being polite." She admitted when her teeth felt as if they would start to chatter. Casting her eyes up at his face, her head nodded. "Jacket please? And maybe a fire?"
Delilah could feel her feet starting to get waterlogged through her heels. The shoes would not be ruined, and she could run in them, but wet, cold feet was never a good thing.
The first bolt of lightning for the storm cracked, surprising the girl as she winced forward over her book, a startled sound coming from her lips. "I think we should go..." she whispered out looking at is well framed shoulders slipping out of the jacket. She was following him after all.
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Posted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:06 pm
Arias seemed pleased that she accepted his jacket, but his pleasure ended there. When she made a noise at the lightning, he nodded and hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "It's all right, we'll get out of here. Just walk with me, keep your book safe. We'll get over to that café I was talking about and thaw out a bit until this weather calms down. Ready?"
He waited to give her a moment and then began to lead her. His steps were careful, but he wasted no time and guided her away from the pavilion. Lightning flashed once more, and the thunder followed, but that was all that the weather managed to throw at them before they were at the café.
Arias was soaked to the bone, but it seemed like several other patrons were in the same state as they were. "Come on," he said, nodding towards the counter. "The heater's right there, you can look at the menu while toasting up a bit. I can grab some paper towels for your book while you look?" he offered, moving his arm away from her to wipe the water off his brow.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:13 pm
The entire time spent walking under the careful guide of the male, Delilah focused on two things. The first was keeping the jacket around her and her sketch book. Better nothing else got much wetter in all of this.
The second was not falling into one of the puddles they came across. She would not be able to forgive herself if she could had completely klutz to idiot today.
Thankfully, she managed both and by the time the led her into the cafe, Delilah felt that keeping pace with him was not that hard. Looking around, she quickly realized several other people had the same idea. This storm had come out of no where and soaked them all!
His voice drew her back into the present and she shook her head. "I think you need the heater more and I. Point me towards the bathrooms and I'll get the paper towels for both of us. I worry otherwise you might just need a mop to come behind you."
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:30 pm
Arias blinked and then looked at the puddles they had brought in with them. "You're right," he admitted with a sheepish laugh. "All right. Though, I might have to ask management for a mop just in case."
…He didn't even seem to be teasing.
A quick glance around and he gestured towards the bathrooms. "Go, dry off, try to warm up. I'll see you in a few minutes."
She might have been a stranger, but they were in this together. Or, at least, Arias was going to leave without knowing that he'd done everything he could to help her out. It was bad enough that her book was soaked; he didn't want to see her day get any worse. And anyway...company was always better than being alone, right?
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Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 12:54 pm
Nodding once, Delilah left him to find that mop he was hinting at. She knew they had to be bringing it out soon with this sudden storm. They would love the business, hate the flooding.
Slipping into the back where the female restroom was, she noticed two things. First of all, paper towels were out. Second, she had one ability to dry off...the air dryer.
With a slight groan, Delilah did what most women would do in this case: Slip off the wet jacket, flip ones hair over, and hold down the air button.
Several minutes later, the raven haired woman walked out of the bathroom, hair in one heck of a friz. "I'm sorry. They appear to be out of paper towels in the womens." She offered to the male, still attempting with one hand to try and tame the rats nest she had on her head. "Avoid the air dryer through. It's a monster."
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2016 1:51 pm
Arias blinked at her; true to his word, he'd borrowed a mop. Probably sweet talked it right out of the employee's hands as he cleaned up after himself. He cracked a faint grin at her hair and nodded. "It looks like it gave you a hard time. They've got a table for us over there," he nodded. "I ordered some coffee and soup. Nothing fancy, but, it's warm. I'll be back in a minute. If I’m any more fortunate with paper towels in the men’s, I’ll bring some back.”
He left their belongings on the table in her care and disappeared around the corner. He was only gone for a fraction of the time that Delilah was and when he returned it was with a handful of paper towels. His hair was tied up at the base of his neck and while he was certainly still soaked, he wasn’t dripping anymore.
He took a seat across from her and slid over the paper towels, for her and her sketchbook.
“...I see what you mean about the air dryer. Curiosity got the best of me. I thought the wall was going to come down, so I left in a bit of a hurry.”
He laughed politely, as if it were a joke, but he made no effort to hide that there was certainly some truth to the statement.
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