Welcome to Gaia! ::

Vincent sat in the Arkham common room, slowly working on a writing project. He was currently inbetween classes and looking for something to fill up his time. It would have been nice to have a friend to hang out with, but he was newly enrolled into the Academy and didn't know anyone just yet. He'd hoped to maybe see some old friends from the orphanage, but no one looked familiar.

He finished a paragraph and sat there for a moment, staring out at the room while absentmindedly tapping the eraser of his pencil against paper. He supposed he could always take the initiative and approach someone himself. That was how he met Giselle, after all. Vincent scanned the room, looking for someone who might catch his eye.

He didn't have to look very long. Flowing red hair, pretty blue wings, and an equally blue, very fluffy tail. Yes, he would go talk to them and see what they were like. Maybe they'd be his friend. Vincent put his papers in his bag, swung it up on his shoulders, and trotted over.

"Hey there," he said brightly as soon as he was close, offering a friendly smile. "Your wings and tail look really interesting."

Vincent cocked his head to the side, expression one of mild curiosity with the slightest of hints of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "But what if I want to call you Av, or Lan? Or CC, which is short for cotton candy, cause your tail is fluffy and bright blue like cotton candy?"

Now the smile was a bit more evident. Vincent didn't particularly mind using the name his new acquaintance had instructed he use, and he wasn't exactly teasing him. It was just his contrary nature, which usually reared its head anytime someone tried to take charge in some way.

"My name's Vincent. People usually call me Vince or Vin. I don't really have any special nicknames," he said, relenting from his teasing just long enough to introduce himself.

Vincent couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. He hadn't been serious about CC (it was just the first thing that came to mind), but it looked like it had struck an indignant nerve. It was kind of hilarious watching and already fluffy tail get even fluffier-looking. Since he'd been a bit impish himself, he wasn't the least bit offended by Avi's retaliation statement.

"Probably not," he agreed easily, still smiling in a friendly manner. "A special nickname wouldn't be so special if it was so easily gotten though, so I don't mind waiting 'til I get one." His head tilted to the side ever so slightly in thoughtful consideration. "I suppose I could also be waiting until I do something special. That's another way to get a special nickname. But I'm still just a kid, nothin' too special about me. What about you? Got any special nicknames," Vincent asked.

Vincent quirked up an eyebrow ever so slightly. He wasn't sure what a bratling was, but it had the word brat in it so it couldn't be very good. He could always ask Giselle to be sure, cause she sometimes spoke all fancy, but he was pretty sure it wasn't a nice nickname. Well, he'd asked about special nicknames, not nice ones. If Avi liked it, who was he to judge? Maybe it was one of those nicknames that sounded mean but was meant nice. Since he didn't know, no reason to say anything about it.

"Well since it's your uncle's special name for you, I can't use it," Vincent said, making sure to steer clear of the nickname just in case. "I could try to think of a special name for you, but I don't know you that well." He tilted his head slightly. "Want to try being friends? That way we get to know each other better and maybe eventually we'll both have special nicknames."

Vincent only felt the tiniest pinch of envy. Sure it would be cool to fly, but there seemed to be some disadvantage. Clothes, for one thing. You also couldn't just flop down on your back, which he greatly enjoyed.

"I like writing," he responded, since that was the first thing that came to mind. "Sometimes I don't have ideas for what I want to write about, so I try to go on adventures to help give me ideas. I think it makes my stories more interesting that way." He pondered what else he liked to do. "My...mom runs a jewelry shop, and we live above it. Sometimes she teaches me about jewelry making and how to cut stones and tell which ones are good and which ones are not. I'm not really good at it, but it's fun to do sometimes." He'd hesitated a little over using the word mom, but he thought guardian wasn't the right word. Giselle certainly earned the title, even if he was still not used to using it.

"Pretty much it, writing and trying to find adventures. I don't really have any hobbies or anything," Vincent said, quite proud of his usage of the word hobbies. He even knew what it meant!

Vincent grinned broadly. "All the time," he answered to the question. "Stories are even better when they're true, or even mostly true." And his were all only mostly true, since one was very unlikely to run across magical portals or bands of roving bandits in the park, though you could find a damsel in distress when one of the other kids needed a push on the swings and there were no parents or other obliging children in sight.

"I can't fly though, so I have to find all my adventures with two hooves," Vincent added, lifting a foot and shaking it to draw attention to the cloven hoof capped by fluffy leg fur. "You'll have to tell me what kinds of adventures you find in the sky, so I can write them down! He gave Avi a board grin. "We should totally go see if we can find an adventure right now!"

For the first time a stab of concern passed over Vincent's face. On one hand, it would probably be pretty cool to fly. On the other, all his outrageous stories aside, he had always been the type with feet planted firmly on the ground (metaphorically and literally), and his outlook was usually quite practical. While they were both roughly about the same size, and Vincent had few doubts about Avi's ability to keep himself aloft, he seriously doubted the hybrid's ability to lift him and fly off. At least, not very high (hopefully!) and probably not for very far!

"You sure this is a good idea," he questioned, not exactly resisting Avi trying to pick him up but wanting to make sure the hybrid had an idea in mind. "I'm probably too heavy to carry for long. I can just run ground patrol or something."