Welcome to Gaia! ::

A thicket of trolls crowded in a tight circle amongst the clubgoers. Shouts and claps erupted as the dancer in the center ended her pirouette with a clean split, drawing her hand down her hips and letting out a sizzling hiss as she did. Aerona loved the attention. She popped back up from the ground and settled her hat backwards on her head, winking and drawing out a friendly wave to her audience as she ducked back out of the circle to allow another dancer to solo. She’d been at it for a while now, and it was time for refreshments.

Aerona aired out her cropped sports jersey with a hand and wet her lips. Being in the center of the dance floor, one had to recalibrate to find the bar. Among the thrashing throngs she caught sight of more stationary clubgoers on the far length of the wall, and began weaving towards it with ease. Well-worn sneakers gingerly skipped over who-knew-what on the floor, and finally it felt as though she’d burst out of the rainforest. As hot and heavy as the club was, there was always an airy breath of relief to be had at the bar. Aerona hopped onto a chair and rolled her ankles while waiting for service, ordering a water and a particularly spicy beverage as soon as she was able. Finally she had a bit of time to rest, but she was already raring to go back out. It was kind of like hunting – just depended on what you were after. Social hunting, though. She could NOT imagine any of the country-folk rebels doing well in here. Maybe Rasali could handle the sweaty bodies and glancing horns, though. She’d have to invite her. Aerona gulped down a tall glassful of water and requested another.

Aerona was two-thirds of the way through her first drink and second water when she heard someone calling her name. Her head shot up, swiveled like a bird either direction and settled on the troll shouting. Who was that?

She tipped her head and adjusted her hat. He was tall, hella built… But those bandages? No…! Those horns!

“Holy s**t!” Aerona shrieked. She practically poured the rest of her drink down her throat and shirt and rushed over to him, about to give him a hug when she got a better look at his face and – well, everything else that was happening here. “Sascha! What the – what the hell happened to you? You ******** with clowns again? Oh my god.” She hovered around him and settled on putting her hands warmly on his shoulders. She didn’t look completely pristine herself, sweaty and disheveled from the evening’s activities. Not to mention the shiner that glinted through her fading make-up, looking red and brown under the flashing lights.

Aerona sighed and puffed out her cheeks. “Alright, Pecs, but you’re telling me later when my spongeclots recover.” She dropped back onto a barstool and ordered another drink for herself – and for Sascha. “And yeah, you gotta deal with a new nickname. I can see what you’re packin’ under there.” Aerona commented mildly, sucking at the straw of her newest beverage.

“Mm. Yeah, Busthind’s a little more metal. I get more dance practice out here. Plus there’s way more people. Way more clubs. But not filled with so many damn coldbloods like New Hemisect.”

The redblood took off her hat, smoothed out the twin braids that she wore underneath, and positioned it back on backwards. She looked him up and down. If there was anything completely identifiable about Sascha, it was his dumb-a** swagger. No matter what state he was in you could smell it on him. In fact, in this totally wrecked position it was even more pronounced. “It’s been so long though. What are you up to ‘sides playing in traffic or whatever you’re doin’?”

“The Tech place? Dang. Didn’t take you for the smarty-pants type.” Aerona raised her eyebrows and thumbed her drink, feeling the pads of her fingertips against the cool sweat of the glass. “But I guess if you got ******** up that bad you’re the laboratory squeakbeast, not the science guy, huh?”

She didn’t mean to be so blunt, but something about his new position rubbed her the wrong way. She should have been proud. Chittentown – lowbloods – fighting for progress. Maybe it was the fact that, as always, the carrot was being held in front of all of them, and they were fighting for it like wild hopbeasts. Who really benefitted from Sascha putting his body on the line? Sascha was too big of an idiot not to be a tool in the hands of the empire. But hey, maybe she was wrong.

After Sascha began to speak of the Root, however, Aerona knew she wasn’t. Midway through a long draw of her glass she stopped as she suddenly recalled the events of that night. Their “ole bunker buddy”… What was his name? She didn’t remember. Just that… He had some kind of space research. Research for – ********, what the ********?” Aerona blurted. She stopped dead in her explanation and managed to cover it with a belch. That was close. Goddamnit. “I mean, you know… THAT’S what you’ve been doing? I hope it was worth it, ya know… You ain’t got eyebrows anymore.”

The royalists had their hands on breakthrough space technology. In the hands of Chittentown or not, there was no telling what this could lead to. She had to let the Phoenix Initiative know, and quickly. Aerona swept a braid in front of her and pawed at it coyly. “Maybe if you stay outta trouble you’ll pop outta those bandages like a butterfly or somethin’. You’re not bad to look at right now, anyway.” She shot a wink at him. Whether she realized it or not, Aerona had shifted gears immediately into covert ops mode. Friends close, enemies closer, dumbass royalist friends closest. What would Odette do? She promptly slinked closer to Sascha and clinked his glass with some effort.

“Cheers to you for surviving. You’re gonna be the first helmsman back in space, babe.” She purred. Too much? Aerona had no idea. The club was getting to her a little bit. She laughed.

“Sure.” Aerona muttered. She shot him a smile before he went on. Yikes.

The redblood didn’t need to reminded how much baggage the two of them had. The expectations and the lack thereof, not to mention Sascha’s situation. Mining equipment… She hadn’t considered. Her expression soured and Aerona gestured for another drink, because now she actually needed it. Feeling out of sorts could only help this situation. Then, of course, Sascha dropped the psionic bomb.

She sputtered and gave Sascha a not-so-joking smack on the shoulder. “Hey a*****e, your powerless rustblood friend is standing right next to you. You weren’t gonna get ignored in the first place, you’re a goddamn lightbulb. You best get outta that chewtoy s**t alive or you’re gonna be the untold losses of Alternia’s next great success.” Aerona was muttering darkly. She had to respect Sascha. And in a way, she kind of… Envied him? Just like Odette, just like anyone who mattered, he was a prominent psionic. She began laughing. “Pretty inspirational though, Pecs. I should take your word for it. I’m gonna kick the system’s a** too, in a way that really matters. No one’s gonna ignore me – us— any more. No one’s gonna stand in our way, eh?”

Now there was solidarity. She didn’t expect Sascha to toast to the both of them, but Aerona felt better at least riding on Sascha’s coattails in some way. He didn’t need to know her idea of spurning the system was dismantling it, or her infamy would be a blaze of destruction. As time passed and things felt more and more hopeless it seemed like causing the most hurt was all she could do. The mood had gotten frustratingly darker, so Aerona decided to bottle up her hatred and flashed Sascha a smile.

“Wanna know how I got this black eye?”

“So get this,” Aerona yapped. Her enthusiasm was returning as she reclined on her stool, pressing an elbow back on the bar and gesturing with her drink. She would have to wing the not-so-legal parts of her story, but these kinds of tales were usually fabricated anyway so what did it matter?

“I’m hangin’ out with my crew, kickin’ a** and whatever, and this harpy I know pops into our hangout with this purpleblood shrimp like he owns the place. I mean for gog’s sake she’s already midway through the spectrum, might as well ruin any cred she had left with me. Pisses me right off, the little wannabe, but my homegirl calms me down. Later I spot her and wanna have a chat, you know? She turns on me RIGHT when I go to talk to her and she PUNCHES me in the face. Straight up CLOCKS me with her goddamn metal hand! Just goes to show you can’t take highbloods anywhere. Especially not tealbloods tryin’ ta prove they’re not in green-tier, am I right? You feel me, Pecs.”

Aerona started laughing. It wasn’t a particularly good story, but she was riding the vibes of the club at this point. She draped her arm over Sascha’s and snorted.

Once Aerona had calmed down, she readied herself for Sascha’s response. Needless to say, she was not prepared for it. Her own expression dropped, first into utter confusion and then disbelief.

“Y-yeah…? YEAH. Oh. Ohh, my god!” Aerona screamed. She slapped her hand down on the counter over and over, unrestrained and bleating “oh my god!” over and over again. She lurched towards Sascha, barely remembering to put down her drink, and clutched his shoulders as she struggled to retain her balance. “Do you know Forera Serpen?” She hissed. Her eyes were wild with a wicked concoction of emotions.