Welcome to Gaia! ::

Somehow, Tom found himself in the hearth, mostly wondering if time would move a bit faster so that he could get some food already. Though porting out of the Prytaneum and getting some fast food might be… faster. Or at least he wouldn’t have to feel his stomach complaining for as long.

Most of the time when he came here he would be eating by himself, studying some medical journals to keep up on the latest of medicinal science. Either that or he would be reading one of his novels. He was okay with eating with other people, but sometimes he just wanted to get in and out of there without feeling he was cutting out of a conversation too early.

But why he was here now, he didn’t quite know. However he smelled something wonderful coming from the kitchens and couldn’t help but go and investigate. He couldn’t help it. His stomach was telling him to go and follow the smell, hoping that perhaps he could eat whatever it was that had such a delicious aroma.

Tom managed to follow the smell into the kitchen and saw a woman in there. But before he could even say anything, it seemed that she had burned herself, with the way she jumped away from the stove and complained about it with her “ow”. Tom was at her side as soon as he could be, and quickly grabbed her hand before she could protest. He gave her a quick “Sorry, just want to make sure you’re all right” and looked at her hand. Luckily it seemed that she hadn’t hurt it too much, at least he could tell it was red, so it was probably just a first-degree burn.

He realized he was holding her hand too long and slowly let go so he didn’t jerk her arm before mumbling a “Probably needs to go under some water for a bit” and feeling quite embarrassed at how he acted and took a step away. She seemed to know what she was doing, so she probably knew what to do with burns when she got them. He couldn’t help it though, he was quick to react when someone got hurt.

Well, she seemed to not be offended at his suddenly grabbing her hand. That was good at least. Tom gave a small smile. “Yeah, I’m a Chosen. Tom Wolf. Sorry about grabbing your hand so suddenly it’s just sort of… instinct at this point.” He replied looking at her.

He didn’t really remember this woman, but considering how little he had interacted with any other chosen at this point… It wasn’t a surprise.

“Do you want to be called by anything specifically?” If she went by a nickname, it would be a bit easier for him to remember her name. After repeating it a few dozen times in his head of course. “I smelled what you were making all the way from the cafeteria and couldn’t help but investigate what was making such a great smell.” Hopefully with that explanation she wouldn’t think of him as some sort of weirdo or something, though it might be too late for that.

Tom thought she should have kept her hand under the water for a bit longer, but as the burn was just a first-degree one, it would most likely just be red and sore for a bit before it healed. “I guess I’ll call you Math then.” He replied, chuckling a bit. It was interesting what nicknames some people got.

Tom smiled as he took the cupcake that had been handed to him. “Thanks!” It looked delicious. And when he took a bite of it he confirmed that the smell matched the taste, or at least it tasted as good as it smelled. “This is great! I might just have to buy the rest from you.” He replied as he took another bite.

He noticed her necklace and saw that it had the Ares symbol on it. “Ares huh? Interesting. I’m Apollo myself but I think that’s just from being a doctor more than anything else. If I may ask, you know why Ares chose you? You absolutely don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” He said while looking at her. He was interested in knowing how other people were chosen, though perhaps that was from his feeling that he really didn’t belong here considering Apollo even said that he wouldn’t have chosen a person like Tom usually.

Tom finally finished the pastry, though was now silently wondering where the cups were located so that he could get some water. As nice as treats were, sometimes they just got stuck in your mouth and you needed to drink something.

“Oh? Where’s your shop located?” He wondered if it was anywhere near his city. But he was caught off guard when she mentioned being an assassin. At least he was done eating his cupcake so he couldn’t choke on it. “An assassin? Really? Uhm…" He was sure what to say. It was surprising, but then he didn't really know what an assassin did this day and age unless they were in the Military or something. "What type are you? Professional Military? Craigslist posting?” He said the last one as a joke.

Or at least he was pretty sure it was a joke. He couldn’t imagine someone being able to hire an assassin online in such a way that wouldn’t lead the police to them.

Tom nodded, though he wasn’t sure what to think. He was a bit concerned, only in that he hoped she didn’t kill innocents like some abusive husband wanting his wife killed to collect on the insurance. He wouldn’t ask though and didn’t mind if she offered no other information about it. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to know.

He nodded to her in thanks for the drink and wondered if she had psychic powers for a bit. Anything seemed to be possible here at least.

“Actually I’m from San Francisco. I’d like to visit your shop sometime next time I go back.”

Tom smiled a little. “Water is fine, I don’t really need anything else.” Of course milk usually went well with baked goods, but water could wash it down just as well.

“My family is more on the richer-suburbs outskirts of SF but I’ve lived there my entire life. So all schooling has been there so far.” It was nice to meet someone from the same city, even if they did live in different parts.

He nodded and his smile got a bit wider. “I’ll have to now that I’ve sampled some of your baked goods. Would be good to have a Chosen discount, even if most other people don’t know what it’s about.” He replied, chuckling a bit.

Well at least he was getting to know more of his fellow chosen!

It was nice getting to know someone else while not on the battlefield. At least it gave him a chance to remember who was who. He shrugged at her question. “UCSF School of Medicine, at least for my graduate program. Just did a local college for my undergraduate degree. Been there my whole life though I have traveled quite a bit so it’s not like it’s the only place I know. Would have been interesting to have met each other before coming here though.”

He grinned at her. “Well maybe the card if you can afford it. Or maybe you make it a secret code or something that only we know. Either way though, I’d be willing to buy stuff without the discount.” It was really too good. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself if he didn’t have a self-limit.