[LOG] Dinner and Homework (Niamh & Sathe) -Fin-

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

Several days passed, and she was getting used to being escorted to and from her classes. It was a strange feeling, but that lughead Chimera never seemed to bang into her anymore, and no one else bothered her either. She hadn't heard the comments about crazy familiar lady, she hadn't heard any of the stuff she had been used to hearing.

It was strange. And it felt good. Good enough that she decided, for once, to eat in the cafeteria today. For the past while, she'd been going in, getting her food, and finding a private place outside that she could hide in. Now? Now she found herself deciding to try eating with her classmates.

Even if it was just in a corner table off to the side, where people would mostly ignore her.

Baby steps, after all. But it was a start.

Mauserati

After a few days the new routine settled into place. He would leave a few minutes earlier than normal to wait in the hall by her door, and walk with her to her first class, sometimes chatting, sometimes not. There were two other classes he noticed they shared, math and science, although he didn’t see a need to change where he sat in those classes. He did make it a habit to wait outside the door after class for her, although it was mostly to wave before they headed off in different directions.

One of these times he overheard a demon snickering about the crazy familiar girl that was heading in the other direction, at which point Sathe stopped, turned around, and held them up against the locker until they apologized and swore to leave her alone. Which was a bit of a pity, really, they looked like someone that would have put up a good fight, if it came down to it.

At lunch one day he noticed that she was sitting in the far corner, and wondered if they had always shared the same lunch together or if this was something new. He made sure to keep an eye on her, which wasn’t too hard from his usual spot with the other ruffians he shared a table with, though he wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to sit with her or even bring it up later in the day.

The end of the day finally rolled around, and he packed up his stuff a little slower than previously, but still managed to make it out of the class before Niamh did. Taking up his usual spot holding up the wall, he glanced around slowly as the other students filed out, keen eyes watching the halls until she finally appeared. Straightening up, he gave her a smile and fell in step beside her as they walked back to the dorms.

Aria Starstone

"Hey, Sathe." She said softly, smiling at him, glad to see her new... friend, she guessed? She turned her gaze back ahead of her, and asked him "Did you have a good day?" A little shyly. She was still getting used to having him around, honestly, but it was nice having him here, and knowing he'd be there every day to see her.

She turned towards the dorms, and asked him "D'you... have plans for this weekend?" after, even more shyly... Not because she wanted to press into his time, but because she was curious. She didn't have much in the way of plans but she was going to go into town. If nothing else, she figured if she saw him, she'd do the polite thing and not bother him.

Mauserati

“It was alright I guess.”

He didn’t have much to say, still in the hard shell he wore around the Academy. It was a hard habit to break, and he wasn’t even sure if it needed to be changed any time soon. So far it had served him well enough, kept the people he didn’t want to deal with away, and intimidated those that he did. Once they were out of the main building and heading towards the dorm he seemed to soften up a bit, his posture changing subtly. He looked over at her at the second question, curious as to the soft tone she used.

“Probably...do homework, work out, avoid my roommate...the usual. Why, did you want to meet up somewhere?”

He hadn’t even considered doing something with her this weekend. It wasn’t as if he wanted or needed to be around her all the time, they had their own lives of course, but how would weekends or holidays work? And what about seasonal breaks? He didn’t want to be glued to her, that would be a bit overbearing, but he still wanted to make sure she was alright. Something to work out later, for sure, but he would need to figure out the weekend arrangement very soon.

Aria Starstone

She nodded, quietly, and walked alongside him to the dorms. She sort of noticed the posture changes, finding the way he seemed gentler with her an interesting note. She wondered why he felt he had to be so tough to the rest of the world. He was such a nice fellow, surely he'd be happier?

But it wasn't exactly her place to ask, of course.

His response made her blink in surprise. "Ah? Ohhh no I just..." She blushed a little, and glanced down. "Just was trying to be friendly, and wanted to know. I'm just going to town, get some pet supplies, maybe a treat, then head back... You don't, after all, need to be with me all the time... You've a life of your own."

Mauserati

Sathe smirked a bit as she got flustered, glancing over at her for a moment.

“I didn't think you'd want a bodyguard for the weekend. I wouldn't mind a change of scenery though.”

He paused for a moment as he opened a door for her, realizing that sounded like he was offering to be her bodyguard for the weekend. As she had said though, he had other plans, and she probably wouldn't enjoy sitting around a gym anyway.

“If you wanted to meet somewhere, that is.”

He gave her a soft smile as he fell in step beside her again, hoping he hadn't come across as creepy or overwhelming.

Aria Starstone

She blinked, slightly, and then tilted her head. "I... if you wanted to meet me, I'd like it, but no I wasn't... trying to impugn on your time. You give me so much of it as it is." She was still a little red faced, unsure how to handle this. She did enjoy his company so far, but it would be rude of her to take too much of it, surely.

Unless he wanted to spend time with her. But that couldn't be it, could it? Her nose wrinkled a little at the thought, confused by it. There was no reason for him to want to spend time with her. He was just being a gentleman most of the time, and keeping his promise. He surely had more interesting and important friends then her. Finally, having settled that issue in her mind, her expression cleared.

"So I mean... it's sort of up to you. Totally up to you, really. Once I'm done with my shopping, I've homework and that's it, really." The sad sum of her life, really... Homework, classwork, and care for her 'babies'. Which wasn't a bad thing but she really was often lonely for more sentient friends.

Mauserati

He chuckled softly, not catching her blush or perplexed expression as he watched where they were going.

“It has been a while since I’ve been outside the Academy, but even so I wouldn’t want to intrude on your day out.”

But what would they do? He couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t also be construed as a date, and that was neither his intention, nor something he wanted to lose her trust over. What little she might have in him, at least.

“Maybe...we could get some pizza once you’re done shopping, and head back to the dorms to do homework?”

Unless that could also be confused with a date? It wasn’t dining out somewhere, but it would put them back in her place, alone. He wasn’t even sure if she would appreciate him being at her dorm again. The first time seemed like a fluke, and although her familiars seemed to like him, that didn’t necessarily mean she felt the same way. At the very least he didn’t want to simply invite himself over, that would be bad form.

“Or we could bring our books and stuff with us and do homework after getting food?”

Aria Starstone

She listened to him, her head tilted as he suggested that. "I mean, it wouldn't be intruding." She shrugged a little, her eyes sliding to gaze at him sidelong, a little too shy to stare right at him. "But I wouldn't want to take all your time either. You spend enough of it on me as it is, which is... Very kind of you." She reached up, to push her braid out of her eyes, and then looked back at her feet, shyly.

"Ah... Yeah? Pizza would be nice. I don't mind doing homework here, or there, whichever is more comfortable for you."

The idea of a date didn't even occur to her. It wouldn't occur to her that someone might see her that way, so dating wasn't something she even worried about, and given he'd already been in her room... And had held her while she fell asleep on him... It wouldn't occur to her to think of it as awkwards. She literally did not see herself, and anything of a dating or what have you nature, as connected. She wasn't super pretty, and she was weird, so it wasn't at all likely.

"So yeah... I mean. Either way?"

Mauserati

He glanced over at her as she adjusted her hair, smiling lightly. She didn’t seem too concerned about where they got together, so maybe he shouldn’t worry about it either?

“How about we get pizza once you’re done shopping, and then head to your place then?”

It was nice being able to relax in her room and do homework, despite everything else that had happened that day. That and he seemed to get along well with her familiars, which was probably for the best. He had a feeling that if they didn’t like him, this would be a lot more difficult.

“And don’t worry about taking up my time. We live in the same building, and we go to the same school, it’s not that big a deal. But if it’s ever a problem, I’ll let you know, alright?”

Aria Starstone

She smiled and nods. "That sounds like a good plan to me. Do you... want me to call you when I'm almost done, and meet you at the pizza parlor?" She frowned a little, her nose wrinkling some as she thought. "Frank's, I think is the one I've heard all the other kids talking about?" She sounded unsure, as if she'd never actually gone.

She glanced up as they made it to the stairs, just making sure no one was coming down, just in case. Accidents on the stairs were always painful, she'd learned, though she didn't comment on it.

"All right... I just... I'll keep that in mind." She shrugged a little, unsure what to think about it, but not arguing with him either.

Mauserati

He smiled and started up the stairs with her; knowing where her room was made it easier to walk beside her instead of needing her to lead. Frank’s...sounded familiar, though he didn’t specifically remember it for better or worse. Call him though? He had assumed she had an Academy-provided phone like he did, but it never really occurred to him to get her number. Teachers were pretty strict about that sort of thing in class anyway, but outside of class like this it might be useful.

“Frank’s should be fine. I’ve been there before, but not recently. Hopefully they haven’t changed. And yeah, that would be fine, I can give you my number once we get to your dorm.”

He wasn’t quite sure what he would do tomorrow beforehand, but he had a feeling he would be exploring the town a bit to see if there was anything new or interesting. It had probably been a while, after all.

Aria Starstone

She nodded at his words, and gave him a slight smile. She actually felt a little nervous about calling him, but it was her idea and she wouldn't go back on it. It wasn't like he'd know, after all, otherwise. As they got close to her room, she pulled out her room keys, sighing a little as she eyed the door. There was a note taped to it.

It had been a bit since anyone had done that. She frowned at it, and grabbed it, stuffing it in her pocket like she did not want to read it, which she really didn't. Those notes were never anything nice, in her experience. Teachers didn't leave notes there, they delivered them personally, and she didn't really have friends. Even if she did they'd put them in her mailbox. The only reason to tape one to her door was to be mean.

"Yeah... That sounds good. I never went, but I've heard everyone talking about it."

Mauserati

He smiled a bit, glad that things seemed to be falling into place for his...their? first weekend. Walking alongside her, he readjusted his bag as they neared her room, paying too much attention to make sure their surroundings were safe to notice the note on her door. He did notice her take it off, but by then it was too late and she shoved it in her pocket, almost angrily. Frowning, he stopped by her door, looking at her with concern as she spoke.

“We can find out for ourselves I suppose. What was that note on the door?”

From her reaction he wondered if it was something bad, and if so how often this happened to her. She didn’t act like this was the first time it had happened, at the very least.

Aria Starstone

She looked up, startled, the hand with her keys halfway to the lock. "Ah...? Um. Oh." She sighed, and dug it back out, handing it to him without even looking. "Don't know who writes them... If it's one jerk or multiple. They just show up every so often." She unlocked the door, letting him read it.

The note was printed, so there was no handwriting to identify the person who made it. It read:
"Crazy Familiar Brat - No one likes you. You're just nuts. That dude who's been guarding you will get bored soon, when he realizes you're not worth his time. We're all watching, and waiting for you to fail.
Later, Lunatic!"

Mauserati

He looked at her curiously as he took the note, frowning as he read it over. Whoever was behind this had been stalking her for a while, and seemed to have noticed him being around her recently. They didn't seem like an immediate threat, but it did make the hair on his neck bristle. He would have to look into this later, tucking the note into his bag. Looking at her with concern, he softly growled a response.

“Cowards is what they are.”

It didn't seem like words would be that comforting at this point, and he still felt like he needed to do more at this point.

“Is it alright if I hang out with you for a bit? I don't...want to leave you alone after seeing that.”

Aria Starstone

His growl surprised her, and made her eyes widen, and she stepped back a little. His words, however, had her visibly relaxing as she realized the growl wasn't at her. She blinked at the cowards comment, not getting it. It was just another part of her life as that weird girl.

She hasn't even read this one, so she had no idea what it said. "I don't usually read them anymore. They're nasty but they never seem to mean much..." She shrugged, and said "But you're more then welcome to come in?”

Mauserati

“Don’t worry, you’re not missing much.”

He smiled warmly at her at the invitation, relieved that she didn’t seem to mind. Following her in, he waited until her familiars had settled down enough to safely put his bag down by her desk, greeting the ones he knew the names of, and trying to pet some of the ones that he didn’t. Even the rock.

“Hey guys, did you miss me?”

It warmed him a little to see how excited they were to see him, or perhaps just excited to see another person in the room. He reached down to pet the black griftoo that had slept on him earlier that week, smiling a bit at how eager they seemed to be for any sort of attention.

Aria Starstone

"I'm sure. The ones I read before I decided to stop were unpleasant. I turned some in but they couldn't figure out who was doing it, and the ones after were... Even more ugly, so I just... throw them out now."

She shrugged, trying to hide how much it bothered her. She knew it meant people were watching her, and if she did the wrong thing, who knew what these people would DO? But she wasn't able to do anything, either. She had no idea who they were.

She walked in and sat her things down, before slipping to sit on her bed, watching Vayne and her familiars. She enjoyed the sight of them, and how much pleasure they seemed to take from his company, and his attention.

Even Roque seemed pleased, even though it was sort of hard to tell with him.

Mauserati

He made sure everyone got a bit of attention from him before he seemed satisfied, skritching chins, petting heads, whatever seemed suitable for each one. When he was done, he carefully made his way over to to her bed, sitting sideways on it to face her. He kept one leg bent underneath him, belts looped over the fur since he was wearing rolled-up pants, the other leg hanging over the side of the bed. He took a deep breath, the note seeming to have rattled him more than it did her. Carefully, he reached out to touch her arm with his palm, fingers lightly curled against her skin as his thumb rubbed in what he hoped was a comforting gesture, looking at her with concern.

“I don’t...want to promise that I can get them to leave you alone, because I’m not sure if I can. But I will try my best.”

He looked to the side for a moment, not wanting to really tell her what the note had said, but still worried that she might think he would give up on her. Looking back at her, he gave her a soft smile as he continued.

“I’m not backing down from my promise to keep you safe though. I’ll be here for you, as long as you’ll have me.”

 

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

After he'd pet some of them, especially the Spectrefox, they came to settle near her, the Spectrefox with her head on Niamh's knee. Niamh was just pleased, very, at how kind and caring he was with her many familiars. She didn't understand why he felt he had to be so tough, when he clearly had a kind heart and cared about others.

His words made her blink, and she nods a little. "Wouldn't ask you to. If the teachers can't figure out who it is... I don't expect you to have to. You take so much time for me already." She would never ask that of him, it wasn't his job.

She smiled back, though, and brushed her braid back, again, since it kept falling in her eyes. His words made her curious, because she didn't know why he felt that he had to reassure her, unless something in the stupid note was about him.

"I... never thought you would? You're too honorable for that, I think."

Mauserati

He let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding at her reassurance, wondering for a moment why this got to him so much. Maybe he was just overreacting, this seemed to have been going on for a while, these were probably punks trying to get a rise out of her. He would look into what his options were of course, but there was no sense pressing the issue with her today.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a big deal out of this.”

He paused for a moment to pet the salamander that had decided to take up residence in his lap, letting go of her arm to do so. Glancing up at her, he remembered what they were talking about before the whole note thing came up.

“Are we still on for tomorrow? Do you want my cell number?”

Hopefully he hadn't messed that up, he was kinda looking forward to having pizza from someplace other than the cafeterias.

Aria Starstone

She reached over and patted his arm gently. "I appreciate that you care. I just don't feel like there's much that can be done." The teachers had made it clear that they couldn't put up cameras or anything... That would be an invasion of privacy. There was nothing they could do, to Niamh's mind.

She watched him pet her salamander with a bright smile, and then blinked in confusion at him. "Yeah, of course, as long as you still want to. Here..." She unlocked her phone and handed it to him, letting him put his info in as he saw fit.

Mauserati

“Are you kidding? I miss having real food, I wouldn’t skip this for Below.”

He laughed softly as he took her phone, easily navigating through the menus since everyone in that year’s class got the same model, but making sure the screen was visible to her in case she was worried. Adding himself as a contact, he sent himself a ‘Sup’ so that he could add her to his phone later as well, his bag buzzing faintly after a few moments. Once everything seemed to be in order, he handed it back to her and leaned back slightly.

Looking back down at the familiar in his lap, he kept petting them gently, apparently doing it right since they didn’t seem to struggle or fuss. It was nice, calming to be here with her, with her familiars. Even so, he had plans for the afternoon and didn’t want to be taking up her time either, since she seemed alright. Besides, they had each other’s number now.

“Did you want to do anything, or should I head out? I don’t want to be a bother.”

Aria Starstone

She chuckled, though she didn't know what he meant by 'real food' to be honest. The food at the academy was basically all she knew, as she hasn't had friends to go out with once she was old enough to go out unsupervised into the town, and eating out alone seemed far too lonely. Sure, she'd bought treats to go but that was always like baked goods or candy.

She took her phone back and turned it to sleep mode, then put it away, smiling at him. "He likes you. Firast, that's his name." She paused, then looked at the rest of her familiars. "Then again, they all do as far as I can tell. Even Roque, though he's harder to guess with." She glanced at her pet rock.

His question, along with the comment about being a bother, confused her. "I mean I'm always happy to have you visit? It's not like I... Have anyone else to hang out with, so generally my plans involve going to get meals, going to class, and coming home..." She looked down at her knees, blushing a little at that, knowing how lame that was.

Mauserati

He nodded a bit, looking down at the salamander in his lap, smiling as he continued to pet him before looking back up at her.

“Firast huh? I've never been around familiars this much, so I'm surprised too. Maybe it's beginner's luck?”

He frowned a bit as she continued, wondering for a moment if she was being serious. She didn't seem like the type to exaggerate, which made his chest ache a little more. He had friends, of varying degrees, even if it was mostly gym buddies. It was hard to imagine having nobody to spend time with. Sure, her familiars were really sociable and all, but that still didn't seem like enough.

“I'm...grateful that you think so highly of me, and I look forward to spending more time with you. Even if so far that's been mostly talking and doing homework together. What do you like to do for fun?”

Aria Starstone

"Yes.. Firast. I thought it fit him, don't you? And maybe.. or maybe they sense something about you."

The last wouldn't surprise her... He was kind, caring and generous in her eyes, even if he kept a mask over it most of the time. She saw a person worthy of being cared about.

His frown made her look down, wondering if she'd bothered him somehow. She missed having friends, but she was just so awkward these days. The changes to her personality after the horrible events had made her hide away for so long...

When he asked her about fun, she looked lost in thought... Fun? What did she do for fun? She played with her familiars, she read... She hid from the world, but that wasn't fun. She dropped her eyes. "Not much, really... Just..." She gestured at the wall of bookshelves, and her familiars.

Mauserati

He looked to where she was gesturing; the large bookcase that was completely filled, and the assorted familiars lounging around or watching the two of them. Reading and her familiars? If that was the case, then he wondered for a moment if that night in the auditorium had changed her somehow, or if she had always been like this.

“I see.”

She seemed to enjoy his company, but that didn’t necessarily mean she wanted to get out and go see the town, maybe she was only going along with it. No harm in asking though, and it might give him an excuse to shake up his own routines too.

“Would you like to do something in town tomorrow, instead of just meeting up and getting pizza to go? We could hit up the arcade in town tomorrow if you’d like, I think there’s a pretty big library too, if that’s more your thing.”

He tried to leave it up to her, not wanting to force her into something she wasn’t comfortable with. Shifting slightly, he let his hands rest in his lap as he looked her, head tilting slightly to the side.

Aria Starstone

She was looking down at her lap, feeling awkward, and maybe a little ashamed at how obviously lame her life was. She wrapped an arm around her Spectrefox, and when he said 'I see', part of her was quite thoroughly sure he'd just written her off as some one at all interesting to spend any time with. And she wouldn't blame him, really... She didn't exactly do much.

When he offered to do something other than just the pizza, though, she looked up, surprised and curious, and a little confused. "Arcade...? I've never been to the arcade." She bit her lip, then said "I... avoided it because there were so many other students... It seemed like a place for... me to run into people I don't like as much." She wasn't sure how else to say that.

"But if you want to go, I'd happily go with you?"

Mauserati

He smiled a bit when she looked up at him, a little relieved that she hadn’t said ‘no’ to the idea, though she seemed a bit hesitant still. The mention of people she didn’t like was a bit concerning, but she didn’t really say why she didn’t like them.

“I’ll be there with you, if that helps any. And we could leave whenever you want. It’s been awhile since I’ve been there as well.”

That was mostly because the only friends that would want to go with him tended to also be the type that got into trouble, and typically dragged him into it as well. Not many people would assume the best of him when a bunch of similarly dressed punks caused a bit of havoc, after all.

“I’m flexible though, all I have planned for tomorrow is a date with a rowing machine, and I can easily do that before or after.”

Aria Starstone

"I... yes that would help. I just avoided the ones who were... unkind. They don't seem to say nasty things when you're there." Her eyes were honestly admiring as she said that, the admiration given to someone one might see as a hero, or a rescuer, not more. "It always looked fun, though."

Other than her shopping, she didn't exactly have any plans herself, so whatever time he wanted to meet was fine with her, and whatever he wanted to do. It wasn't like she was the most exciting companion after all.

When he said that about the rowing machine, though, a tiny hint of the girl she almost had been before the events that traumatized her had occurred reared it's head. She gave him a teasing grin, and said "Date with a rower, eh? Lucky machine, taking it to breakfast?" Before ducking her head back down, suddenly embarrassed she'd said anything.

Mauserati

He smiled through a faint blush at her praise, looking down slightly, hoping it wasn’t noticeable against his darker skin. To him it was just who he was, how he was raised, something like that. Nothing special that needed to be commented on, and nothing that he even knew how to respond to right now.

It was his turn to look up at her in surprise at the snarky comment about the rowing machine and the teasing grin, something that seemed out of character for her, especially with how she reacted after saying it. Still, it was nice to see her loosening up around him, if anything. He couldn’t help but to go along with it, giving her a grin right back.

“Nah, we’re not exclusive or anything. Thinking of giving it a lube job afterwards though, if things go well.”

Aria Starstone

She couldn't help but chuckle at his response, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Oh my, better do that in private, some people might object." She couldn't believe she was joking like this with him but it kind of felt good, like something she'd been missing this whole time since they'd returned from the forest, honestly.

After a moment, though, she managed to calm down, and said "But seriously, that sounds fun, Sathe. Thank you for inviting me to go to the arcade with you."

Mauserati

He laughed softly at the banter, careful not to get too carried away and disturb Firast, petting him gently once he had settled again. A comfortable silence passed before she spoke again, and he looked up at her with a smile.

“Of course. Just because I'm your bodyguard doesn't mean we can't have fun, right?”

It felt good to say, that he was her bodyguard. Nice to be of use to someone, finally, instead of simply trying to guard everyone.

“I should head out though, thank you for having me.”

Gently scooping up the salamander, he moved Firast onto the bed, then sat up and took a satisfying stretch.

Aria Starstone

She chuckled softly, and smiled a little, thinking it felt nice to have a bodyguard, even if she didn't have any actual friends... He at least cared enough to spend time with her, so that made a difference. And he seemed to like the time he spent around her, which also made a difference.

"Of course it doesn't... Alright, it's settled then." She brushed her fingers along her spectrefox, and smiled at him more, just feeling happy.

When he stood, she tried to hide her disappointment... It was nice when he was here... Not so lonely, but she couldn't keep him, after all. He probably had important things to do. "All right... I've said it before, but... You're welcome to come by."

Mauserati

Carefully making his way over to her desk, he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, turning to smile at Niamh. He couldn’t help but notice how lonely she looked, even surrounded by her familiars. Hopefully he could help change that, even if it took some time.

“I might take you up on that offer, but let me know if you change your mind, alright?”

He wanted to stay longer, truly he did, it made his chest tight to leave her when she looked so alone. But at the same time something about staying didn’t feel right, especially with someone apparently not only stalking her, but him as well. She would be safe in her own room, and he could deal with anything that came up on campus, while being more visible to whoever was leaving those notes.

“Call me if anything comes up, but otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Aria Starstone

"I don't have any reason to rescind that offer, but I'll remember that."

She watched him get ready to go, then walked him to the door, giving him a small, sweet smile. "Thank you. I will, Sathe." She held the door for him and gave him a quick, thankful hug before he left.

The next day, Niamh was standing at the portal exit, waiting for Sathe now that her shopping was complete. She was getting really eager about meeting him, actually, and going to the arcade. She wanted to experience it finally, and to have a... Something like a friend, anyways, with her was exciting.

Mauserati

Sathe stepped out of the portal, looking around for a moment before he spotted Niamh. Deciding to tidy up a bit for the day, he had freshly showered and styled his hair after working out so that he didn’t look as ratty, and was wearing a dark gray button-down shirt that he hadn’t bothered tucking in, with the sleeves rolled up as well. Along with that was one of his nicer sets of pants, in his opinion, the metal plating buffed and glinting in the twilight. The legs were rolled up, as usual, and he had a set of belts over his calves. He’d made sure the ring on his horn was polished, and the matching ring on his hand was as well. To finish off the outfit he’d gone with some dark wood plugs in his ears, nothing too special. Smiling as he walked over, he held a hand up in a casual wave, stopping a foot or so away from where she stood.

“Hey Niamh, how did your shopping go?”

Aria Starstone

Niamh's eyes widened a little at how nicely he'd dressed for the afternoon of hanging out. She didn't mind, at all, but she never would have expected anyone to dress up to spend time with her. It was a total surprise. A nice one. She smiled, a little shyly, at him. "It went pretty good, Sathe. Got everything I wanted, and didn't run into anyone unpleasant." She said it like this was something she'd dealt with before, and she had. Sometimes she ended up having to replace things because of jerks.

"You look... really nice. I like how your outfit looks... And..." She peered at his ring and horn ring, curiously. "I hadn't noticed those before... Simple, but elegant... Do they... mean anything?"

Mauserati

Sathe smiled and nodded, he had been wondering if she would call earlier, but was glad to hear that she hadn’t run into trouble. He quirked an eyebrow at the comment about his rings, holding out his hand and staring at the palm, clenching it into a fist after a moment before sighing lightly and continuing in a softer tone.

“I… A few years back, I hung out with some unsavory types. People that liked to dress like I do, but were not really...good people. I went along with what they were doing because I thought they were my friends. One day, they’d cornered this kid for...some stupid reason, and were starting to get violent with him. I tried to stop them, but by the time I did, we’d been caught by a teacher. And then...they turned on me, said it had been my idea all along.”

He chuckled softly, opening his hand to look at the ring again, a distant expression in his eyes, as if he wasn’t there in his head.

“We all got in trouble, of course, and nobody believed my story because the rest of the kids said I was the leader. Once I was finally allowed back in class, I vowed to never let anyone lead me astray like that again, and to protect the kids that I used to harass. I got these to remember the day I turned my life around.”

He glanced up at her with half-closed eyes, blinking in surprise when he realized he’d just spilled his guts all over the place.

“Nine, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bore you with that.”

 

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

Niamh listened, quietly, her head tilted as she pondered his words. It made her sad, a little, to think of him having once been one of the people who was part of that crowd, but at the same time, he'd tried to stop them from actually hurting the other kid. She nodded a little, thoughtfully, and then stepped over and hugged him, trying to convey that she was proud of him for seeing that he needed to get out of that himself, and actually doing it.

Finally she stepped back, and said "You didn't bore me, at all. I asked, after all... And I'm glad to know more about you. You know the bad stuff in my life... I'm glad you shared with me, Sathe, I really am." She patted his hand, then stepped all the way back. "They're a good way to remember, and they do look very very good."

Mauserati

He watched her approach him, confused at what she was doing at first. When she hugged him, he stood there awkwardly for a few moments, before sliding his arms around her as well, resting his chin on her shoulder. Something felt good about this, about having her in his arms, knowing that she was safe with him. She smelled nice too, and he wondered for a moment what that was from. He didn't think it would be right to ask though, not right now.

When she started to pull away, he made sure to not force her to stay close to him, arms sliding freely from her back. He was starting to like when she hugged him, though he wasn't sure what to do about that feeling.

He tried to look at her when she touched his hand, but found that he couldn't, eyes dropping to the space between them as she moved away. A smile tugged at his mouth, a rare shy moment for him.

“Thank you, Niamh. That...means a lot to me.”

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, trying to put his armor back on, surprised at how easily she seemed to have gotten under it. Looking up at her after a moment, he gave her a soft smile, trying to focus back on why they were here.

“Ready to hit the arcade?”

Aria Starstone

She hadn't expected him to rest his chin on her shoulder, and it confused her a little. It felt nice, but she didn't know why he'd done such a thing. Still, he seemed to appreciate the hug, and returned it, and that was what mattered. Being hugged back was nice too. She wondered if he got many hugs, because she certainly didn't, and she thought that was a sad thing.

His uncharacteristic dropped gaze worried her for a moment, but she saw the smile, and heard his words, and wondered if he just didn't get praised very often. She made a note in her mind to do so more often, because he was a nice person, a good guy, and he deserved to know it.

"I'm glad. You're welcome, Sathe."

She watched him do what she thought was calming himself down, and then shuffled her feet a little at the soft smile. It was a nice one, and it confused her, because it made her feel surprise butterflies in the stomach, and she didn't understand why at all. She firmed up her insides, though, and smiled back, a little warmer than she normally did, though she didn't realize it.

"Yes! Let's go."

Mauserati

He nodded, then looked around for a moment to get his bearings before he pointed in a direction, starting to walk with her like he was used to doing on campus.

“Should be about three streets down this way, not too far.”

Looking her over for a moment, he realized she was carrying a messenger bag with her, wondering for a moment if that's where she had stashed all of her purchases.

“Would you like me to carry that for you?”

Not that he thought she was weak by any means, but it was probably tiring to have carried that around all day. It might also be something important or otherwise, but he thought it would be impolite to not ask at least.

Aria Starstone

She followed him, because she'd never been, after all, so assumed he knew where they were going. "All right! That's an easy walk, certainly." She vaguely remembered she needed to get some flying time in soon, but she'd been avoiding dealing with the other chimera as much as she could.

She glanced at him, when he asked, and looked down at her bag. "Eh? Oh it's not heavy, but... Thank you for offering! Maybe if I get tired later, I'll ask you to take a turn? I really appreciate that you offered though, seriously!" Her eyes were soft and full of gratitude for his, once again, generous kindness towards her.

She didn't understand why he was always so kind to her, but it made her feel really good that he was.

Mauserati

“Let me know if you change your mind then.”

He gave her a smirk, glad to see her in such good spirits. Walking at a casual pace, he wasn't really in a rush to get there. They would have plenty of time to hang out today, and he didn't want her to think he was on a schedule or anything. Not anymore, at least, he had already gone to the gym for the day.

“Did you get anything interesting today?”

It was probably just supplies or something, but no harm in asking, right? Besides, walking in silence didn’t really seem to fit the mood right now.

Aria Starstone

She smiled at his words, and nods. "I will, thank you."

She was walking happily with him, glad of his company. He was so nice, and he kept her safe. It was amazing to not walk through such a public space and not have to worry.

She blinked up at him, and laughed a little, shaking her head. "Not really? I mostly just bought familiar food, some treats for them, and then some chocolates for me. Nothing amazing?"

Mauserati

He nodded and smiled, wondering to himself what kind of treats they might like. A few of them he could make guesses about, but his exposure to familiars in general was pretty light. Before he met her, at least. Would the pet rock even eat anything? Maybe the treat was being sprinkled with exotic dirt? That thing still creeped him out somehow.

Making their way to the arcade, he held the door for her again, motioning politely for her to enter before following her to the front desk. Fishing up a chain hanging from his pants, and then the wallet attached to it, he spent a few moments digging out a card that had been wedged in there for far too long. He handed the thin metal card to the desk clerk, who took it and flipped it over like they’d never seen one before, and scanned it into the system.

“Looks like this is a really old card that we don’t use anymore. I have to give you a new card, but you’ll get two hours of free game play as a loyalty bonus.”

Sathe just looked at the demon, a little surprised, but shrugging it off. “Great, thanks.” He looked over at Niamh for a moment, then back to the clerk. “I had been planning on buying a two hour card for myself, so can you hook her up with one instead?” Plucking out his Academy card, he handed that to the clerk and took the offered arcade one.

Aria Starstone

Niamh would have answered the questions, had he asked, but since he didn't, she didn't go into details, unaware he might be interested. Instead, she just followed him to the arcade, and then slipped inside. She watched him, curiously, because she'd never been here, and therefore had no idea how one did all this. "What's the card for...?" She asked, leaning in to whisper into his ear.

She blinked as she stepped forwards, her eyes curiously on the clerk. "What... do I need to do?" She had her hand ready to get her wallet out, but she was a little nervous of everything... She was realizing she had gotten so trapped in her routine, she was nervous about change.

She wanted it, though. She wanted to make her life more interesting, finding new paths.

Mauserati

His ear flicked slightly at the soft voice as he looked over the shiny new arcade card, wondering what it was made from for a moment before tucking into a pocket on his shirt. Looking over at her, he gave her a soft smile, whispering in her ear in return while the clerk set up a new card. “They use these instead of tokens or coins for the machines.” After a few moments, the clerk handed two cards back to Sathe, and he slipped his Academy card back into his wallet, before holding out the second arcade card out for Niamh as the clerk explained the terms of the time limit.

“There’s your ID card back, and the new card. The two hours starts when you first use the card, after which you’ll need to reload it normally. You can do so either here at the front desk, or at the station located by the crane games.”

Sathe thanked the clerk and moved off to the side a bit so that they wouldn’t be in the way, waiting for Niamh to join him. “I figured two hours would be enough, and we can stay longer if you’d like.” Looking around a bit, he spotted an old side-scrolling combat game, motioning towards it as he looked back at her. “C’mon, I can show you how it works easier than explaining.”

Aria Starstone

She listened to him explain, her eyes bright with curiosity and interest. "Ohh so it's like a little debit card that holds how much playtime you've purchased instead of money, I see!" She nodded, understanding how that could be useful, instead of, say, coins or tokens or something.

She took the card he gave her, her head tilted shyly to listen to the explanation the clerk gave about how to reload it as needed, then nodded, and put it in a pocket of her bag she could easily get to for play.

"Two hours will probably be plenty..." She said honestly. By that point, she'd probably be tired from being nervous, despite being with him, and ready for pizza and relaxing at home. She followed him to the machine and nods. "I'm all yours to teach, Sathe." She had no thoughts in her mind about how that might sound to anyone but herself.

Mauserati

He smirked a bit at her comment, not really thinking it was out of place. Moving to the far side of the game, he made sure to leave space so that she could stand next to him at the other controls. Slipping the game card from his pocket, he reached down to swipe it through the card reader as he explained. “It’s pretty much as you described, swipe yours through once the light in there turns off, and it will add a credit to the game.”

He looked over at her as he waited, a warm smile on his face. It occurred to him that fighting games might not be her thing, but they had the whole arcade to roam around; he didn’t expect them to stay at this one machine for too long. “It’s been a while since I’ve played this game, but the controls are pretty simple. Joystick for movement, and...the buttons do something, but I don’t remember exactly. Probably kick, punch, jump, something like that.”

Aria Starstone

She blinked a little, and moved to the controls, having thought he'd show her, since she had no idea, but not at all loath to join in. She waited for the light to go off, then swiped her card too. Once things were set up, she got her hands on the controls, and listened to his instructions.

She did her best, but she wasn't very good at this game at all. It wasn't just 'not having played before'... She cringed some at the fighting sound effects, clearly not comfortable with them, but she still gave it a go, because it was his idea. She definitely died repeatedly, until she ran out of lives, then stepped back to watch him play. Even if it wasn't HER kind of game, she was glad to see him enjoying himself.

Mauserati

It took him a bit to get the hang of the controls, and after that he tried to keep her safe, which wasn’t really possible with this type of game. He became so focused on trying to figure out the combos that he didn’t notice she’d run out of lives until she backed away slightly, and then realized that she hadn’t respawned after the last time something whacked her character in the face.

He was already down to his last life at that point, and try as he might, the game finally got the better of him and teased him into trying again with the typical countdown. Looking over at her, he shrugged a bit and smiled. “Not your type of game?” He backed up as well, stretching for a moment before looking around the arcade trying to find something else, then glancing over to her again. “Want to pick the next one?”

Aria Starstone

She smiled and shook her head at his first question. "I'm... not much for violence, really?" She said, in quiet honesty. "So fighting games I think are not for me." She shrugged and added "But I still had fun, and I am very glad you showed me how to play it, Sathe. Thank you..." She moved to stand next to him, looking around curiously, not really thinking about how she was close enough to bump him by accident... Because she just was trying to look around, and he was closer to a good viewing spot.

Finally, she began to hesitantly walk through the room, not sure what any of the games were. Finally, though, she found a rhythm/dance game, and watched someone playing for a bit on a nearby one. There was a moment where one of the kids, one she recognized, looked at her with a look that suggested they were considering stirring s**t... Then they saw Sathe, and with an annoyed look, went back to what they were doing.

She stepped onto the dance game, and looked at him. "Let's try this, if you don't mind?"

Mauserati

Sathe smiled as he watched her look around, putting his hands up as she moved closer to him, not touching her, but being ready in case she did bump into him. Letting her lead, he glanced around at the various games that they passed; most of these were new to him, though he did recognize a few older ones.

He caught a kid giving him an annoyed look, and glared right back at them, but wasn't quite sure what their deal was. With Niamh here he wasn't about to cause trouble either; he was out here to have fun with his friend, and starting a fight would be a sure way to ruin their afternoon. Or get him kicked out.

Watching as she picked a game, he quirked an eyebrow as he tried to figure out what it was. There were no real controls to speak of, and a kid on the next one over seemed to be stomping around on a platform in time with lights. Huh. Looking up at Niamh, he gave her a warm smile and nodded. “Sure, I'll give it a try.” It looked fun, whatever it was.

Carefully stepping onto the platform next to her, he wondered for a moment if it would withstand him stomping on it, but it seemed sturdy enough. Hopefully. Pulling out his card and swiped it through the reader on his side, he glancing over at her with a grin while he waited for the game to start up. “I'm pretty sure this is not going to end well for me…”

Aria Starstone

She blinked at this statement, and said, just barely loud enough for Sathe to hear, "I hope not too badly..." in concern. She didn't want him hurt or anything, after all. She swiped her own card, and selected a beginner setting.

Shortly after the music started, her eyes were shining, because she was discovering she had a talent for this. She was bouncing and dancing to the music, her feet moving in time. She made mistakes, of course, plenty of them, but she did well enough for a first time that she felt quite proud of herself, and was practically glowing in her energetic excitement over it.

She stepped off the platform to get her breath, smiling at Sathe with pure pleasure. "That... was totally... awesome!" She gasped out, between slightly heaving breaths, before she leaned against the machine's back bar for support, and took some slow, deep breaths.

Mauserati

Sathe smirked as he vaguely recognized the song that started playing, it had a nice beat at least. It took him a bit to get the hang of the game, and even then he made a lot of mistakes. He was used to being light on his feet, but the rhythm aspect was completely new to him. Even so, he was having fun with the game, so much that when the final scores came up, he smiled over at Niamh when he saw she'd rocked him.

He stepped off the platform to join her, grinning as he panted softly, visibly happy that she seemed to have enjoyed the game. “I can tell! You wanna do another one?” Pulling out his card and waving it playfully, he didn't seem to mind sticking around this machine for a bit. She did seem out of breath though, so he wasn't sure if she would have the stamina to keep going for too long. Either way though, it was the first time he'd seen her so…excited about something, and he wanted to make that last as long as he could.

Aria Starstone

His suggestion of another try was met with a bright grin, and she nodded. "Let me catch my breath, then definitely, let's do this one again! I can't believe how much fun that was. I don't think I've ever had so much fun in... if not my life, since I... came up to the Junior dorm rooms, I'd say!" She leaned against the bar for another good minute, then stretched.

"I can tell, though, I'm gonna need to exercise more if I wanna play this game again... Build up my stamina and.. breathing ability, whatever that's called. But it'll be TOTALLY worth it." She hopped back onto the machine as soon as she caught her breath, and browsed the song selection, waiting for him to join her. Once he was on the machine, she swiped her card, and selected another beginner song, though this one was a little faster.

She made a few more mistakes this time, at the higher speed, but she was still clearly getting it, and when it was done, she actually hopped off the machine this time, and spun around happily, before stopping to catch her breath. She loved this game, and definitely would want to come back and play this again. When he was off the machine, she studied him, then hugged him again. "Thank you for suggesting we come here, Sathe!"

Mauserati

He couldn’t help but smile at her excitement, laughing softly as he leaned on the bar behind his side, more than happy to wait for her to recover. Tilting his head for a moment at the exercise comment, he wondered if she would want to hang out with him at the gym sometime, even if they weren’t working out in the same areas. Something to ask later, for sure.

Nodding once she hopped back onto her side of the machine, he got back onto his own platform, swiping his card and letting her choose the second song. The speed of this one took him by surprise, even if the difficulty didn’t seem that much higher, and he slipped between getting perfect streaks to nuking his score with a lot of misses. It was definitely something he wouldn’t mind working at, if only so that they could try more challenging levels together.

He stepped off the machine once the song was over, catching his breath as he leaned against the bar, watching her happy celebration with a warm smile. This was something he wouldn’t mind making a habit of, and certainly so if the rest of the day went well. Watching her gaze at him, he was worried that it was getting to the point of being an awkward stare, when she wrapped her arms around him for a hug. Taken by surprise, but not at all objecting to the notion, he slid his arms around her in return, squeezing just a little tighter than usual. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, Niamh.” He could get used to hugs from her, for sure.

 

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

She made a soft, happy sound when he hugged her back, her eyes glittering happily, before she stepped back, gently breaking the hug. "It was a great idea... And while I love that game..." She gave it a happy, fond look, and patted the bar like someone might pat a friend's shoulder. "I think I don't have the stamina to do another round. Definitely gotta work on that. Have to find out what kind of exercises are best for that kind of thing."

She looked around, trying to think what would be good to play next. Finally, she spotted some racing games, and wandered over, to peer at them curiously. She passed by some claw machines as they went, and gave the vespercat plushies in it a smile that said she thought it was quite cute, but then refocused on the racing games.

She finally looked at Sathe again, and said "You ever tried one of these? You wanna give one a go?" She was glad they designed the seats for people with wings, though... Some places didn't seem to take that into consideration, beyond 'here, use a stool.' and it annoyed her a bit.

Mauserati

He blinked at the happy sound she made, surprised enough that he almost didn’t let go when she pulled away, but quickly slipped his arms from around her once he realized what was going on. Smiling as he watched her pat the machine, nodding slightly. “Cardio probably, I could help you with that later, if you’d like.” He could probably go another few rounds or songs, but something about it wouldn’t be as fun if she was just watching, and not playing with him.

She seemed to be on a mission to find something else, so he smirked and let her lead them through the arcade. He looked at her curiously when she glanced at a crane game, something that had probably been in the arcade since the last time he was there, but this one was newer perhaps. Looking through the contents for a moment himself, he noticed various familiar plushies, a few like the flitterat and vespercat that she didn’t have live versions of at her dorm.

Shrugging and filing that away for later, he turned to see her looking at him, playing it casual and giving her a soft smile. “I don’t think I have, but yeah I’ll try it with you.” He looked over the machines, which looked like they involved some very stylish horseless carriages, nothing he’d ever known to exist for sure. It looked interesting though, and the idea seemed simple enough. He couldn’t help but playfully grin over at her as he sat down in the oddly shaped seat next to her and swiped his card through the reader. “Hope you’re ready to be left in the dust!”

Aria Starstone

"Cardio? I... yeah, I would appreciate it if you could teach me! I really only know the basic stuff they teach us in PE, so..." She gave him a smile full of gratitude. "And might help me with my flying... I... haven't done a lot of that, in a while..." She avoided the skies, really, because some of her fellow chimera were... less than kind, like the one that caused them to actually meet.

When he sat down, she swiftly did too, laughing at his challenge. "I'm sure you'll win, I've never played this myself, and you have more gaming experience. But it looks interesting!" She swiped her card, and got her hands on the wheel of the 'horseless carriage.' When it gave her a selection, she chose one that was a sky blue, with deep green accents. She had no idea what the stats next to it meant, so she went by the one she thought was the prettiest.

Finally, though, the countdown began for the race to begin. Three... Two... One... GO!

Apparently this was a street race game, because the flag was dropped by an animation of a very pretty, and curvy, Imp in a tiny dress. Niamh didn't get the implications, she just put her foot on the gas pedal and began to drive. She wasn't very good, but she was laughing the whole time.

Mauserati

Focusing back on his own side, he picked a bright red car with chrome trim. The stats showed that it had a lot of power, but was terrible at handling. Sathe didn’t really pay attention to that second part though, it probably didn’t matter anyway, speed was key right? That and it looked pretty snazzy.

He snickered lightly at the scantily clad Imp that started the race, and quickly learned why handling was important. Easily pulling away from the starting line up when he hit the gas, he just as easily slammed into the first turn when the tires lost grip. “What was that about me winning?” He laughed softly as he finally regained control of the vehicle, hitting the gas with a little less gusto, and getting back into the race after being passed by almost half of the ghost drivers.

The rest of the race was a learning experience for him as he tried to figure out how to handle something that could quickly overtake anything, but felt like it would slip if it so much as ran over a pebble in the road. He did discover that such power could be used to smash other drivers off the road, and he found it incredibly entertaining to knock the other drivers out of the way and back down in rank, while managing to not completely lose control. Trying to leave Niamh alone for the most part, but by the last lap of the race he did figure out how to lightly tap her car as he passed, without making either of them lose control.

Aria Starstone

She heard the snicker, and wondered why he had, blinking innocently. Her car was ok... It turned out to have decent/average stats, and so, once she figured out how to avoid the other cars banging into hers for the most part, she managed to do ok, at least. Not good, but ok. The car looked pretty, at least, as she drove it, and her eyes were focused on the screen, trying to figure out how to maneuver out of the pack.

"I'm still sure you'll win, I'm not very good at this! But it's ridiculous and fun!" Was all she said to his laughing comment, glad this was only a game, not reality... She'd hate to see what could happen in reality if a carriage slammed into something. She almost lost control once, when one of the machine controlled characters banged her, but it taught her a valuable lesson about how to respond to that.

When his car tapped hers, therefore, she didn't lose control, but she did, unexpectedly, say "What the ********!" and in response hit her gas pedal hard, trying to get ahead of him, at the least, trying to stay at the front, the sudden urge to win filling her, when before she just had been playing for fun.

Mauserati

He looked over at her in surprise at her reaction to him running into her, laughing a bit as she sped off ahead of him, before focusing on keeping his own car under control. Which a guardrail seemed to have an objection to. Getting back on the road, he chased after Niamh’s car, with caution, sort of. Something about forcing the machine controlled cars into obstacles to try and get them stuck was just too much fun, and by the time he could see her car again, the finish line was quickly approaching. Flooring the gas, he managed to finish a second or so behind her, with nearly every other car nowhere to be seen.

Settling back into the curved seat, he grinned over at her as the race results scrolled down the screen, more concerned with whether she was having fun than where he ranked. “I’m fairly sure I did better with the last game” Something about the game had his heart racing, perhaps not as much as it was after that dance game though. It was fun to see her get worked up over a game for once, though he wondered for a moment if that would spill into other things.

Aria Starstone

She settled back, amazed she had actually barely beaten him, and then began to laugh, a bright happy sound full of delight at how much fun that was, too. After a minute, she caught her breath and said "Oh man. I wish I had... been able to come here before, this place is freaking awesome, Sathe." She tilted her head to smile at him, warm, happy and grateful. "You've been the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. Thank you, Sathe. Really."

She looked at the game again, and then said "Do you... wanna go another round, or do you want to find a game you like this time, and give that one a go next?" She didn't want to be the one picking all the games, after all. This was supposed to be fun for BOTH of them, not just her.

Mauserati

All he could do was smile as she laughed, watching this girl who had been so down and lonely yesterday looking so happy right now, warmed him inside just a little. Even if she hadn’t said anything, he knew this had been a good idea, and well worth whatever the cost may be. “You’re very welcome, Niamh.” He wanted to find a way to tie this day to something, to make the memories that much harder to forget as the weeks and months passed.

But first, he had a score to settle with a certain chimera, and he was itching for a rematch. “I can go another round first” He grinned almost mischievously at her, “...if you think you can beat me again, that is.” Swiping his card through, he settled back into the seat as he glanced over at her, waiting for her to join him. Once she had done so, he went with a different car, something with a lot more handling even if it left a lot to be desired in terms of speed.

Aria Starstone

She just settled back on the seat, happily, for a good minute after thanking him, letting her happy feelings course through her. She hadn't felt this happy in so long, and she just wanted to experience it fully. Her eyes closed, a moment, and she took a slow, deep breath, processing how good she felt today. Even if she didn't have a day this good for a long time... Today would be a bright, shining memory for her to help her keep going through the bad days.

When he spoke in challenge, though, her eyes reopened in time to catch that grin. Ooo it was on. "All right, we are going to DO this." She swiped her card, an answering, challenging grin on her own face. She began to browse through the cars on offer, and managed to find one that said it had low-ok handling and good speed. She didn't understand that still, but since this time they were challenging each other, she was going to do her best.

She sat up a bit, in her eagerness, and watched the 3, 2, 1 GO Flag Drop Imp animation, and hit the gas. She found herself moving out at a stronger pace, but the car wasn't as good as the previous one at staying on course. Still, she was laughing as she went.

Mauserati

He gunned the car once the flag dropped, laughing a bit as she bolted away from the starting lineup. The car he had picked wasn’t as speedy, but he found that he could take pretty much any corner with it if he didn’t really screw up something. Which he managed to do on the first big turn, somehow. Once he had recovered from that wreck, he found it pretty easy to take the rest of the turns, glancing over at her for a moment with a taunt. “I’m comin’ for ya!”

This time he did his best to ignore the machine-controlled cars, and focused instead on chasing down his prey. Trying to drive this car was pretty different from the last, and it took him a while to learn just how hard he could take turns that he had previously had trouble with. As they raced through the streets, he finally spotted her car, and slowly caught up to her as he threw his own car into the turns that she had to slow down for. It was one of these turns that he nearly spun out on, but managed to skid sideways around it in a manner that didn’t seem possible, leaving Niamh’s car behind for the moment as he tried to speed off before she could catch him.

Aria Starstone

"Let's see if you can catch me!" She was pushing her car, and once she got the hang of how it skidded, her eyes were lit up with excitement. She hadn't initially noticed his wreck, but she did notice when she nearly lost control, her eyes huge and she just barely recovered in time. Part of her found herself thinking it was kind of like flying in a group... Having to watch everything and do her best not to collide with the less agile flyers, while avoiding the aggressive ones, and not getting too far behind.

She snarled a little when he sped up after a turn, and began to push her car harder, pressing on the gas as she moved through the cars that were between her and him. Her car began to weave through the others, her eyes focused only on his tail end. The handling of this weaving was... not the best, and she accidentally banged a 'ghost' car in a way that sent it forwards, careening towards Sathe's car at an unpredictable angle, while hers spun. She managed to recover, but she missed seeing if the other car hit... And just focused on speeding towards the finish line.

Mauserati

Sathe glanced over in surprise when she snarled after he took that turn, having never imagined someone as sweet as she was would have a competitive side like this. Slamming the gas, he tried to keep his distance, seeing her slowly gaining on him from the game’s mini-map. He was so focused on keeping track of where she was, that he didn’t notice the icon for one of the other cars suddenly shoot towards him, as the same car smashed into his side. The impact didn’t completely knock him out, but it did make him lose his cool a bit, flooring the gas pedal and keeping it there as they both raced towards the finish line.

Which meant he was entirely unprepared for the pileup that the machine cars caused right in front of him, doing his best to avoid hitting anyone while maintaining speed. Navigating through the mess, he was about to see where her car was when another ghost car clipped his back end, sending him into a spin. Trying to regain control, he only saw a blur approaching him until it t-boned his car, only realizing that it was her car after she’d inadvertently pushed him across the finish. “Whaaaaaaat the ********!” Unable to help himself, he gave a surprised laugh as he flopped back into the seat, looking over at her with a grin like a vespercat that had just made off with a cockatriel.

Aria Starstone

She snarled again at the goddamn pileup that was going on, and hit pedal to the metal as hard as she could, with the finish line in sight. She thought she had the game in the bag when suddenly a car was in front of her and she couldn't avoid the T-bone... And when she realized it was his car and she'd PUSHED HIM ACROSS JUST IN FRONT OF HER, she found herself going "No ******** WAY! What the hell!" She shook her fist at the screen, and gave him a pout, but then burst out laughing and shaking her head. "SO not fair, but that was also hella fun."

She sighed and said, curiously, "How much more time do we got?" She was thinking if they planned things right, they could order their pizza, or pizzas if they had different preferences, to be ready to pick up when they got there, and then head back, but that took planning. And honestly, if he'd rather not worry about it, she was fine sitting at the parlor with him, maybe have a soda or something, and wait. "And do you have any suggestions? Last two rounds were my idea."

Mauserati

He laughed a bit more at her reaction, putting a hand to his chest as he tried to calm down, eventually giving a happy sigh and smiling at her ask she asked about the time. Getting his breathing under control, he checked his watch, frowning slightly as he tried to remember when they’d gotten the cards. Couldn’t have been much later than when they had arranged to meet up, so he sorta estimated. “Probably...a bit over an hour left? Why?” He was a bit surprised by that, it didn’t seem like that much time had passed, but either way it was the best hour he had spent in a long while.

Looking around the arcade for a moment from the confines of the racing seat, he tried to think of what other games were good from the last time he was here. All he cared about was something that they could both play together, beyond that it was whatever struck their fancy he supposed. Then again, with this competitive attitude she had shown off, maybe another versus game would be fun instead of a co-op one. “Haven’t been here in a while, but I can pick the next one for sure.”

Eventually resigning to getting out of the comfy seat, he looked around a bit more before leading her off towards another section that seemed to be more fighting games. Except in the center, towering over the other machines, were giant versions of a really old robot fighting game. Probably 8 feet tall easily, in a mock up boxing ring. “N…Nine…”

Aria Starstone

"Cause I was thinking, unless you wanted to hang out at the parlor, we could like... call them when we're about 20 minutes from leaving, order our pizzas for pick up, and they'd be ready when we arrived?" She said, shrugging. "But if you'd rather wait and order at the parlor, that's fine with me too." She was also a little surprised that they'd spent that much time already, but at the same time, it was awesome so she didn't mind. Her new friend and bodyguard was the best, in her opinion.

She stood up as he was looking around, stretching out, even her wings... Though she did that really carefully, given the somewhat cramped space in the arcade. As she did, she watched him curiously, wondering what he was in the mood to play. "Mmm alright... That sounds good." She found herself thinking, again, that he looked nice when he dressed up, and it was kind of strange that he'd done so for their day hanging out, but also that she liked that he had. She blinked at that run on thought for a moment, then sort of shook her head, wondering what randomly triggered it.

She followed him as he began to explore the place, noticing the fighting games. She still wasn't exactly fond of them, but she would play some with him if he wanted t... and then her train of thought was 100% interrupted by both his stammered word, and the reason he said it. She started at the huge robots, and said "What... are they...?"

Mauserati

Staring up at the giant boxer robots, he couldn't help but grin, amused at whoever had thought this up. Glancing over at her, he tried to explain with mirth in his voice. “Before I was a freshling, there was a kids game where you controlled small boxing robots, but it was only about this big total.” He held up his hands to show the general dimensions, roughly the size of a small board game. “So I think this is a supposed to be a bigger-scale version.”

He walked around the ‘ring’, spotting the controls for one of the robots. Trying out the levers, he snickered as one of the robots punched the other in response. “Alright. I know fighting games aren't really your thing Niamh, but will you try this out with me once?” He looked over at her optimistically, giving her a warm smile.

Aria Starstone

She listened as she stared at the giant 'bots in amazement. "That is... Wow." She was just stunned by these immense things. They made her feel short, and she knew that was one thing she wasn't at all. "Whoever thought this up was either inspired, insane, or both because wow." She was a bit speechless at what she was hearing and seeing.

She watched him study the ring, and when the robot moved at his control, she was interested. His question had her tilt her head thoughtfully, then she went over to the other controls and gave them a try, an interested expression on her face. Finally, she looked up at Sathe. "All right, let's give this a try!" She swiped her card to activate her side, and waited for him.

Mauserati

Sathe gave an excited ‘whoop!’ when she agreed to play, swiping his card and waiting for the game to start. “Yeah!” While he waited, he fiddled around with the controls just a bit, trying to get a sense for what did what. It seemed like a pretty simple setup, even if the robots themselves looked fairly complicated. He almost wondered if they could break free of the ring, though he hoped that wasn’t a possibility.

Shaking his head clear once the countdown started, he tried to focus on the usual fighting techniques, then paused for a moment when he realized that maybe he shouldn’t be taking this that seriously, since it was a game with a girl that was kinda cute. The bell ringing took him by surprise, and he hit the controls to send his ‘bot out swinging, using a quick one-two that he was certain would work. Until he realized his ‘bot wasn’t close enough for those to hit. At all.

Not one to let failure stop him, he pushed the controls to move the robot forward, and tried to get in some good hits. This seemed to be going well even though he had no idea how the game kept score yet, when she landed a lucky hit on his ‘bot’s chin, causing the head to pop up on it’s ratchet mechanism. He stared a bit as the bell went off for the round, then started cracking up, looking over at Niamh with a grin. “Nine, that was amazing!”

Aria Starstone

Niamh laughed at his whoop, and wiggled a little as she waited for the machine to boot up. Her hands were on the controls, and she was REALLY glad to see that Sathe was excited and looking like he was going to have a really good time with these ridiculous Robots Of Doom. When the countdown started, however, she refocused on what they were there to do, her eyes peering at her giant Robot for a long moment.

When the bell rang, she began to somewhat randomly operate the controls, because she really wasn't quite sure on how they all worked. Sure, she'd played with them some in advance, but this was more than what she was familiar with, so it was going to be guesswork the whole way. She was laughing, though, and managed to figure out which ones moved the bot closer after a moment, then which was punches, but she still wasn't at all SKILLED at it.

When her punch managed to cause his 'bot's head to pop up, she jumped a little, startled. She had not expected that, and she was staring in surprise. His response, though, had her turn to beam at him, blushing a little at his words. "That was fun, and ridiculous. I can't believe I managed that, I still don't have the controls totally figured out. Still, a LOT of fun!"

Mauserati

He laughed softly, glad that she seemed to be enjoying this at least. “Yeah? Well let’s see if your luck holds out!” Focusing back on the robots, wearing a determined expression as the machine counted down for the next round. This time he moved his ‘bot into position from the start, and then it was only a matter of time before he landed a hit at the right angle to knock her ‘bot’s head up. “Haha! My boxing training hasn’t been entirely a waste!” He snickered playfully, grinning over at her.

The machine started counting down for the final round, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of her until the last second. Once the bell rang, he went all out, throwing punches as fast as the ‘bot would respond. By then Niamh seemed to have figured out how to move her ‘bot, and Sathe just couldn’t seem to get the right angle. Before he had time to adjust to her moving around so much, she landed a punch on his ‘bot, the bell sounding as it knocked the head up again.

He was a little surprised at the 2-1 loss, but still amused at the game he never thought he’d see turned into a bigger-than-life arcade. Not bothering to wait for the machine to announce the winner, he walked over to Niamh’s side of the game and gave her a big hug, shaking slightly as he did his best to contain his laughter. Pulling away after a few moments, he gave her a warm smile, letting go of her arms once he realized he was still touching her. “Thank you, Niamh. I really appreciate you trying this out with me..."

 

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

She bust out laughing at his challenge for the second round. It probably helped him win, given that for the first few seconds, she was laughing too hard to focus. However, once she came back into focus, she managed to start figuring out the controls, and had begun to move them around properly. She still lost, though, and she gave him a friendly grin. "One more round. Let's see if you can keep using that training right, then!" She gently teased him.

She didn't notice that he was watching her, her eyes on the counter, her hands on the levers. When the bell rang, she found, to her delight, she was having a lot more luck, or possibly skill, this round. Sathe's robot wasn't getting far, and her bot was getting out of it's range. She suddenly saw a good moment for a punch as she shifted the bot out of range for a left punch attack from him... And swung her bot's right arm in, hitting the chest in a nice, solid punch. When the head popped up, she gave a gleeful bounce, her eyes bright with amazement that she had won!

She glanced up, expecting to see him across from her still, and was surprised when she saw him approaching... The hug was even more of a surprise. Her eyes went wide, but then she hugged him back, her eyes bright with happiness at having won, and at the hug too. She liked hugs, she liked them quite a lot. She didn't seem to notice his hands on her, clearly comfortable with him touching her in such innocent ways. "Thank you, too, Sathe!" She gave him a beaming smile. "That was a lot funner then I expected, honestly!"

Mauserati

He smiled back at her, glad to see that she was at least enjoying the odd trip down memory lane with him. “I was kind of surprised myself.” Glancing up at the game, he smirked and looked back to her, shrugging slightly. “But one match is enough for now, I think…” It would be here when they came back, if they came back. So far this trip had seemed like a great idea, so perhaps they would sometime?

He looked around a bit, trying to find something else in the sea of fighting games. After a moment he turned back to her with a soft smirk. “Alright, you got to pick the dance and racing games, I have one more pick. But I also have a feeling you’re not up for anything in this area…” Tilting his head in a gesture for her to follow, he headed towards the classic arcades, stopping at an old asteroid shooter. Turning to lean up on it like the punk he usually dressed as, he grinned a bit. “Ever played this old thing?”

Aria Starstone

Niamh shrugged and said "It was odd but fun, so that's good to me. And all right. We can always try it again in the future, if you ever wanna come back here with me." She had no idea she was echoing his thoughts, just innocently saying she was willing to come again, because she had been having a lot of fun in his company. She would definitely enjoy more visits here with him.

She laughed and nodded. "I'm totally ok with you picking another." She said, and followed him through the machines curiously. When he leaned up on the machine, she looked at it curiously, showing no sign of recognition, and blinked at him in confusion. "I mean, I've never played arcade games before today, or been to one, so... No?" She'd told him that, so she was baffled that he needed to ask.

Mauserati

“Not even these old things?” He shrugged a bit, still smiling at her. “Hmmm, well they're deceptively simple. Two player doesn't work the same for this one, so I'll go first.” Sliding to the front of the machine, he swiped his card, then waited for her to do the same. The game started, and he explained the basic principles as he went through the first round, turning the controls over to her once a crude rock shape smashed his starship into pixels.

They spent the next hour switching off between games, time not even registering to him until an alarm went off on his phone, one he'd set before he forgot her reminder about ordering ahead of time. He waited until they had finished with the game they were on, then called up the pizza shop to order a large with split toppings, ‘loaded’ on his side, along with some breadsticks and drinks for the two of them.

Putting his phone away, he gave her a smile. “Alright, we have about 20 minutes left. I think it's my turn again?” Leading her back towards the driving games, he stopped by one of the crane machines, looking through the selection for a moment.

Aria Starstone

"No, not even those old things. I've never played any of them before, Sathe." She glanced at her feet, feeling oddly ashamed for a moment. When he spoke again, she moved to join him and swiped her card, then watched him play, standing half behind his shoulder so she could get a better view of what he was doing.

She was having a good time during that period, laughing and playing whatever games they found together. The alarm startled her a little, almost made her jump, but she turned to look at him curiously. When he made the call, an 'AH!' expression crossed her face. For her side, she went with beef, pepperoni, and mushrooms, and gave his shoulder a hug to thank him for making the call, a happy smile on her face.

Her head tilted at his question, and she nodded. "Yeah, I picked that last, nonsensical game with the candy car races, so it's definitely your turn." She followed him back, adjusting her messenger back for a moment, and blinked at the crane machines they'd passed earlier. He seemed interested, so she peered at it curiously herself.

Mauserati

He tried to find something that wasn’t wedged in there, glancing over her after a moment. “Alright, I’m going to give this a shot…” Swiping his card, he moved the claw over a plush griftoo that seemed ripe for the taking, hitting the button and watching the claw descend on the hapless victim. But it was off-center, and only grabbed it by the tail, which easily slipped through the light grasp the claws had. “Huh.”

He gave her a smirk as he sort of shrugged it off. “Been a while, I guess.” Looking over the assorted plushies again, he tried to find something else that wouldn’t require repeated proddings with the claws to pull free. “Anything in there that looks like it’ll come out?”

Aria Starstone

She leaned in, watching in curiosity, fascinated by how this was working. She'd never even known a machine like this could exist, so it was intriguing to watch, and look at all the variety of silly plushies and fun toys inside. She watched him try to get a griftoo. She laughed at how silly that plush looked. She blinked as he moved the crane, her eyes fascinated and intrigued. When the claw missed and snagged only the tail, she sat back and said "Awww you were so close, too!"

She had no clue what he was thinking about as regards to playing this. Plushies seemed outside of his norm, but hey if he wanted one, she wasn't going to judge of course. She considered his question, and looked through the selection. She noticed a flitterat plush in one corner, on top, that seemed loose, and a vespercat plush off to the side that was sitting on it's side, on the top of the pile. She pointed to them both. "Don't know which is better..."

Mauserati

He looked at the two plushies she pointed out, trying to see where they might be stuck if at all. They both seemed almost free from the rest of the pile, but the vespercat plush looked like it had a few more things the claw could get stuck on. He was a bit amusing that the vespercat and flitterat were almost the same size in the pile, but a life-sized vespercat might be a bit hard to grab at all…

“Well, let’s see if I can grab this guy then…” He swiped his card again, moving the claw in more slow and deliberate movements as he tried to line it up. Tapping the button, he watched with a grin as the claw landed right on top of the plush cat, and then frowned as it slid right back off as it moved up. At the last moment one of the wings got caught by the claw, and it was lifted free of the other prizes. “No way…” He didn’t move a muscle, frozen at the controls in case the slightest movement would shake the plush free from the grip of the claw, until it was finally dropped into the prize bin.

He glanced over at Niamh, not quite convinced that had actually happened, and almost expecting the bin to be empty. Reality seemed to win out though, and he pulled the plush from the bottom of the machine before turning to her. “I still can’t believe that happened…”

Aria Starstone

She leaned on the machine next to the one he was using, watching him. "Good luck!" She said, her smile bright, because she hoped her friend would be successful. As he worked the machine, she tilted her head curiously, and then when it... started to succeed, but looked like it was escaping, her expression was disappointed for him. However, when it was caught by the wing, her jaw just dropped. What were the odds of that? "Wow... oh wooooooow." She said, watching it slowly make its way to the drop chute. "That is insane. You did it, though!"

She beamed at him when he collected his toy out of the prize bin, and she leaned over to hug him. "That was hella cool. Congratulations, I can't believe that either. You had awesome luck, Sathe." She stepped back, shifting her bag a little, and then shook her head. "Luck and skill, cause you had the right position to actually snag it in the first place." She nodded, and then added "Time to head over and grab the pizzas right? With the amount of time for the walk?"

Mauserati

He smiled a bit as she hugged him, though he made sure to let her pull away. “Yeah, no kidding. That was probably all of my luck for the year right there…” Smirking lightly, he nodded in return at her questions, looking around a moment for the exit before returning his gaze to her. “Yeah, we should get there just in time to pick them up.” Casually gesturing towards the way out, he gave her a warm smile. “Shall we?”

Walking with her through the arcade, he got the door for her, realizing he was still holding the plush vespercat. Following her through the doors, he looked over the plush for a few moments, before looking up at her. “I’d...like you to have this actually, Niamh… Thank you for trying that giant boxing game with me, I know the fighting games weren’t really your thing.” He gave her a grateful smile as he held the plush out for her, surprised at the feeling of this being so natural yet so foreign to him.

Aria Starstone

She smiled, amused, and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you've got more luck stored away, for a rainy day." She paused, then her brows knitted together thoughtfully. "If that makes any kinda sense, which in retrospect, I'm not sure it did..." She stayed thoughtfully silent for a moment, then shrugged. "Eh. What's said is said, and I'm sure you got what I meant, anyways." She then refocused and nodded. "Yeah, let's."

She followed him to the door, keeping her stride to his, and then out. She glanced over, when he started talking, her eyes going wide in surprise. She accepted the plush, looking for a moment like an extra stunned fish out of water as her mouth opened and closed a few times, then she hugged it close, and said "Thank you, Sathe! I really appreciate it! And... it was kinda fun, for all it's not my thing. If you wanted to play again, I would..." She paused, then flushed awkwardly. "I mean, assuming you wanted to come to the arcade with me again. You probably have better things to do most weekends."

Mauserati

He smiled warmly as she hugged the plush against her, feeling very fortunate to have met such a sweet girl. Tilting his head a bit to try and meet her gaze, he spoke softly, but optimistically. “Well...I was hoping we could do this again. Not every weekend, but maybe once a month or so?” Doing this every weekend would be a bit much, he figured, better to have it as a treat to look forward to. It would beat going to the arcade by himself, for sure.

But still, they had time to sort out future plans, there was still the rest of this weekend to go through. “We don’t have to decide on anything right now though, maybe once we’ve had food and gotten some homework done?” He tilted his head in the direction they needed to go in a gentle ‘this way’ gesture, before leading them onwards. Part of it was that he didn't want to dawdle in front of the arcade, but also that he didn't want to keep her in what seemed like an awkward situation. Not to mention that there was food waiting for them.

Aria Starstone

She blinked, listening, her cheeks pinking a little in a happy sort of way when he said he'd want to come here again with her. "Oh, that sounds fun..." She said, her eyes sparkling with her happiness. She carefully put the plush in her messenger bag, not wanting to risk losing it on the path to the parlor or home, and gave a soft, happy sigh. She made sure the clasp on her bag were done tight, in fact, because she was not willing to risk losing anything in there.

His suggestion of talking about it later was met with a nod. "Alright. That sounds good, too." She followed his directions, and soon they made it to the pizza parlor. Their order was waiting for them, so she pulled out her wallet, and paid, then took the pizzas. "Shall we go eat and get our homework greasy?" She said, in a joking voice.

Mauserati

He led the way to the pizza place, sort of enjoying being out and about like this, though he wasn’t sure exactly why. Getting the door for her, he followed her in and gave his name to the cashier, watching as they retrieved the pizzas. He was about to pull out his wallet to pay for it, when she beat him to the punch. About to object to this, he decided against it for now, since he paid for her arcade card after all.

Her carrying the pizza was another matter. “Excuse me…” he started, swooping in to lift the boxes up and out of her grasp, “I can’t let you pay for this and carry it. Besides, you’ve already got a messenger bag full of stuff.” Not giving her much chance to steal them back, he slipped over to the door faster than a boy with hooves should be allowed to, holding it open for her while he kept the boxes out of her reach, a playful smirk on his face. “After you, miss.”

Aria Starstone

She blinked at the way he snagged the pizzas, and watched him, her brows raised, but she just laughed a little. "Fine, I'll carry the breadsticks and beverages." She said, not arguing with him. It was a strange feeling, having him do this stuff for her, but she did not argue. She just followed him to the door, and slipped through it.

She commented, with an amused look on her face, however, "If I really wanted, I could probably have snagged those... But I appreciate you doing that." Her tone was friendly, and her words were entirely honest. She did have the height to be able to do that.

Mauserati

He gave her a smirk as she passed, giving her a moment if only to make sure she wasn’t faking him out for the pizzas before following. “Oh yeah? Who said I was trying to keep them above you?” Looking around a bit once he joined her outside, he pointed the way back to the portals home, adding a half-hearted battle cry. “Onward to cheese and equations!”

The aroma of the fresh food was reminding him of how long it had been since he’d eaten, though he was doing his best to tough it out. Soon, he told himself. Probably before homework at this rate, though. Leading them to the portals, he gestured to the one that would drop them off back at the Academy, giving her a warm smile as he bowed ever so slightly. “After you, miss~”

Aria Starstone

"My reach is commensurate with my height." Is all she said, with an amused smile at her newer friend. "Nonetheless, I appreciate you doing that." She gave him a smile, soft and sweet and full of her appreciation for his kindness. His 'battle cry' earned him a laugh of bemusement, and a slight shake of the tall girl's head.

She followed him to the portals, having no problems keeping up, and then, once again, gave him a sweet smile. His general gentlebeingness with her was something she really was getting to appreciate. She stepped through the portal with care, then awaited her friend on the other side, ignoring any students who were wandering in the area.

Mauserati

He gave her a moment to get through the portal before following, adjusting the pizza boxes a bit on his hand as he walked over to where she stood, giving the surroundings a quick look-over as he did. They were in a public space, but he still wouldn’t put it past certain punks from trying something. He tried not to think about it too much, preferring to enjoy the company of his friend over what-ifs for the time being, not to mention there being pizza to be had. “Shall we?”

Walking with her back to her dorm, he did his best to get the doors, since he was carrying less. For the most part. It was a bit more crowded in the dorms than usual for a weekend, but once they got up to her floor it thinned out. It was around that time that it occurred to him that she had a lot of familiars in her dorm, and they were bringing tasty food. “Should I wait out here while you calm everyone down, or will that make things worse?”

Aria Starstone

"Yes, all right." She said in response, and followed him to her room. She was not worried about it, and his question had her blinking at him in surprise for a moment, then she laughed, a delighted sound. "Oh, because of the pizzas? No worries, I promise! They know better. I bring meals up here regularly, just to avoid... issues... and they've all learned not to steal or beg." She considered for a moment, then added "They MIGHT try begging from you, it is possible, since they're not used to you yet and might think you will be a pushover... Please don't. But maybe just wait in the door for a few minutes?"

She was unlocking her door as she talked. "What I'll do is feed them, and while you COULD come in and set stuff down... It'll make for more room. Once all the food is prepped and served, they'll all be settled, out of the way, and I won't risk knocking into you as I do things. But if you want to, you could just come in, set the boxes on the desk, and sit on my bed while I work?" She ignored passing students, and did not hear the titter that went up as she said that, because she tried hard to ignore that stuff these days.

Mauserati

He pondered the options for a moment, an ear twitching slightly at the giggle from passing students at Niamh’s choice of words. Looking to the side as he processed the interruption, he decided that it wasn’t worth getting worked up over, not when he was this close to scoring. Been a while since he had pizza from this place, and he wasn’t aiming to miss out eating it fresh on account of some kids. “I’ll stick by the door and stay out of your way, let me know if you need me to move though.”

That settled, he waited for her to open the door, slipping in behind her to stand by her door. He kept both hands on the pizza, making sure the box lid was securely closed. It had been quite a long time since he had fed any critters around the Academy, but he didn’t think he would have any trouble with this bunch. They knew him already, but he was ready to gently shoo any pushy familiars away from the pizza. He was fairly sure pizza wasn’t good for them anyway.

 

[Mauserati]

Aria Starstone

Niamh nodded at his words, not arguing at all. "Sounds good." She finished unlocking the door, and put her keys away, then opened it, with a happy smile. "Hello, I'm home and Sathe is with me!" She called out gently to her many familiars. "Come on, everyone, dinner time!" She had a soft smile on her face as her familiars came out, bouncing or flying or whatever was appropriate to the individual familiar. She gave pets and rubs as she worked her way through the crowd, and put the breadsticks and drinks in a spot that was out of the way.

She then got out the food containers. It was on a small rolling cart, which meant she didn't have to try to lug around the various feeds she needed for her friends. It took about five minutes to feed everyone, except Roqué. She saved him for last, which, given he couldn't beg or trip her or anything, probably made sense. She poured a small solution over him, then closed his terrarium back up, before turning back to face Sathe with the friendly smile she had been giving him a fair amount today.

"Come on in, they're all busy and we can chow down, now, too." She put the cart away, and went over to the little sink she had in the corner. She washed her hands, then got out some plates, and a stack of napkins.

Mauserati

Sathe watched as familiars became excited about Niamh returning, then himself, then the food, then their food in quick succession, smirking slightly in amusement. Luckily he didn’t have to keep anyone away from the boxes; he was rather impressed with how quickly she was able to corral them for dinner. Once she was done and gathering the ‘table’ settings, he carefully made some space on her desk and set the two boxes side-by-side, propping open both boxes and motioning to the one that was hers with a smirk. “After you, miss,” before taking the opportunity to wash his hands as well. Who knew how many kids had touched those arcade controls.

Waiting patiently for her to serve herself, he grabbed a plate once she had sat down and loaded it up with pizza and breadsticks, snagging his drink before moving to join her on the bed. He tried a bit of everything to make sure it was made properly, before looking over at her with a smile. “What do you think? Better than the cafeteria’s pizza?”

It had been a while since he had pizza from this place, and it was as good as it had been, so he was pretty hopeful that she would like it too, especially if she hadn’t been off-campus that much.

Aria Starstone

She laughed at his calling her 'miss', because it seemed so oddly incongruous. Still, it made her smile, and she gathered up pizza and breadsticks, then moved to settle on the bed, using the wall as a backrest, and her bedside table as a place to set her drink. She began to nibble on the food, and her expression told the story before he even had to ask. She looked like she was in heaven, and the pizza was the food of the gods. She was well into her first slice, eating like she hadn't in weeks, when he asked.

She paused, flushing as she realized she was kind of eating in a way that many would say was less then appropriate, but she swallowed the bite she had just taken, before answering. And took a sip of soda, too, for good measure. "Um... Yeah. This is... TOTALLY on a different level. What we get in the caf is like... cardboard with ketchup and cheap cheese. We're lucky if there's other toppings. This? This is the real deal, obviously. I'd wondered why people gushed about pizza, honestly, and now I know."

She looked down at the slice she was working on, then up at him, and gave him a smile filled with her gratitude to him. If he hadn't been there... If he hadn't had the kindness to escort her today, none of what she got to do would have happened.

Mauserati

He couldn’t help but laugh softly as she tried to regain her composure, grinning as she told him pretty much what her expression had already said. “Hey now, cafeteria pizza isn’t that bad, they have to make it at least edible.” And affordable to boot, plenty of students to feed on a budget. He didn’t mind the Academy food that much, but certainly wasn’t against joining her in enjoying something better.

That look she gave him had his cheeks warming up a bit, and he quickly looked down at the plate of food for a moment, before looking up at her again with a smile. “I’m glad I could share this with you then, Niamh. Better eat up though, it’s not as good when it’s cold.” He teased her a bit before digging into his own pizza, trying to be neat while eating on someone else’s bed, though only managing to appear slightly less starved than she had.

All in all it didn’t take him long to finish the first plate he had made, emphasis on first of course. He stopped for a moment to enjoy the various aromas of the food, looking over at his friend.

Aria Starstone

"I mean ok, fine it's not terrible but..." She gestured at the delicious, cheesy goodness in front of her. "It's nothing like that! When all I had to go by was Caf pizza, I had no idea why people raved about it!" She shrugged and sighed softly, wondering how many other foods she had missed trying. She pretty much only ate at school, other then her occasional treats, and she was beginning to think she had to find the courage to do something about that.

She saw a hint of color darkening his cheeks for a moment, before he looked away, and she had to control the urge to stare in astonishment. No one had ever blushed over something related to her that she knew of. But she focused on his words. "Alright! I will do so... Not hard to do, it's so very good..." She refocused on eating, scarfing it down with eager happiness. She finished her first plate, and sighed, a happy and semi-content sound, then drank some more of her soda.

When she looked up, she saw him looking at her, and found herself blushing for a moment. "Um. Did you want to pause and do some work, or... finish everything first? I'm ok with either." Her eyes were focused on him, and she gave him another happy smile. Her friend was just the kindest person she knew, she thought.

Mauserati

He smiled back, probably just as astonished to find her blushing. “I was about to grab a second plate, but I didn’t want to simply rush through dinner. It's really nice to share a meal with someone like this, been a long time.” He shook his head a bit before he got too sentimental, standing and flipping open his box of pizza to make a second plate, looking over his shoulder at her with a smirk. “Like I said though, it’s not as good when it’s cold.”

Finished making a seemingly unstable plate of food, he grabbed another napkin and settled back onto her bed, devouring a breadstick quicker than should be physically possible. “Besides, we have all night to do it, right?” He grabbed a slice from his plate, not even aware of how that could be taken out of context.

All in all he took his time with the second plate, simply enjoying the company of his friend, and only needing to use his flexibility and reach to keep food away from her familiars one time. For the most part they were well behaved, and he was diligent about ignoring any begging they may have done, washing down the food with some soda before he set the empty plate to the side and looked over to see how Niamh was fairing.

Aria Starstone

"Sounds good to me!" Niamh nodded, and waited for him to finish getting his plate prepped, then made her own second one up. It was nowhere near as precarious as Sathe's was, but she had a fair few slices on it, and a couple of breadsticks. She soon was settled back on the bed, and eating her food, her expression continuing to show just how happy she was in this situation, with him present.

She had no idea about the fact that he had made an unintended double entendre, either. It would never occur to her, honestly, that someone would consider such a suggestion involving her, and so she would assume the most innocent meaning. "Yeah. I mean, we don't have to get up for classes tomorrow, so we have plenty of time." She gave him another small smile, and shrugged.

Unlike him, she had no issues with her 'kids'. Probably because they knew she wouldn't even BEGIN to give in to their blandishments, and would not put up with them trying to steal her food. She watched him handling them, however, with a pleased smile on her face. He had the knack for the situation, that much was clear. "Good job. They'll figure out, pretty quick, that you're like me, and won't let 'em have anything." She said, softly, as she watched. It took her a little longer then him to finish her plate, so she looked up to find him looking at her again just as she finished.

Mauserati

He looked away for a moment when she caught him staring, running a hand through his hair. “You know a lot more about these guys than I do, I wouldn’t want them to get sick on my account, nor would I want you upset at me.” He gave her a soft smile before stretching and getting up, picking up the plate and setting it on his pizza box in case he needed a food break. “So then, ready for the much anticipated main event?”

Carefully making his way to his bag, he pulled it closer to her bed, rummaging around in it for a moment before pulling out a notebook and associated book. Getting comfy on her bed, he flipped the book over to see what he had grabbed, before looking up at her. “Any objections to starting with Math?” Frowning slightly, he watched a certain gryftoo try to peek into his bag, zipping it closed before lightly skritching him on the head.

Aria Starstone

"Yeah, no, I get ya. I try not to let them have people food. I don't know enough about what's good for them to eat and what's not." She sighed a little. "I hope to study that, given time. It's important. And I know not everyone takes enough care to make sure their kiddos are only eating food that's good for them, too." She looked annoyed at that, her cheeks puffing out a little in her irritation at careless familiar owners. She reached over and gave the nearest griftoo a gentle pet, then shoo'd the silly thing off to go cuddle with some of her other pets.

She watched him pull his stuff out, and when he asked, she chuckled. "No objections. Not my best subject, though I'm not ABYSMAL, thank goodness." She moved to put her plate on her box, smiling to see him dealing with the griftoo that seemed to have taken a liking to him. "Good choice. She might try to climb in." She got her book bag and pulled out the appropriate book and notebook, and her favorite pen, then settled in next to him. "So!"

Mauserati

He smiled as she got her stuff and scooted next to him, flipping through his notebook to find where he had written down the assignment, and then flipping through the book to find it. “This one starts on paaaage...87, questions 1 through 15.” Scanning through the questions, he didn’t see anything particularly hard, mostly annoying and a few lengthy ones. “About average for a weekend assignment I’d say…”

He spent the next hour or so going through the problems with her, the two mostly doing them on their own, though he checked his answers with her from time to time, and they worked together on one of the harder problems. After a while he ended up settling next to her, shoulders brushing together every now and then. It was easier this way to see what the other was doing, though he made it a point to try each problem on his own before peeking at what she had gotten.

Once he had finished writing out the answer to the last problem, he leaned back against the wall for a moment, looking over at her with a smile. It was nice to have a quiet place with her to do homework. Certainly beat hanging in the library all weekend.

Aria Starstone

She pulled her book open to the right page, when he read it out to her, and began to work. She was concentrated on the problems, and occasionally, when he looked over, he might catch her with an expression on her face that had her brows pulled together, biting her lip, almost glowering at the problem. If he kept watching, as she worked her way through it he would see the moment when whatever was annoying her connected and she figured it out. Her entire expression would lighten, and take on an expression somewhere between vindicated and proud of herself.

She would, occasionally, check her answers against his as well, but mostly she focused on her own homework. It was clear she had not studied with anyone else in a long time, other than that first session they'd done together on the afternoon they'd met. It clearly didn't occur to her to lean over and ask him for help. But she seemed to lean towards him, a little more throughout the time it took them to finish, as if she was pulled towards him, or just found it comfortable to be close to him.

She sighed as she finished off the last problem, with a little flourish, and capped her pen, leaning back and grinning at him. "Woo! Math done. Wanna do History next?" History she was good at. History was like... stories, but real. Some of the stories were sad or scary, but they were the past, so she couldn't change it, and she just had to remember the narrative, basically. History, Language, and Science were her best classes.

Mauserati

He smirked a bit at her enthusiasm, nodding at her suggestion. “History sounds fine.” With that decided he leaned over the edge of her bed to switch out books, settling back against her wall as he flipped through his notebook again to where he had written down everything, past another sketch of Rutta that he sort of hoped she hadn’t seen. This one being of him beating the much larger chimera against a non-descript locker.

As with last time, he had already read the chapter and probably the next few, but it was nice to have an easier subject to do. “This one’s on page 109, sections 1-5. And the subsections.” Finding the right page in his book, he skimmed over the assignment, settling in as he looked over at her to make sure she had gotten it as well.

This assignment wasn’t that long, or at least it didn’t feel like it did. He didn’t mind taking his time on the longer answers, and found having Niamh next to him was rather comfortable, not sure when exactly they had leaned against each other but not really objecting to it either. Writing in the last line for his work, he slipped his pen back into the notebook and waited patiently for her to finish the last question as well, stretching slightly and in no rush to move quite yet. “I’m gonna grab another slice or two, then we can hit science into left field?”

Aria Starstone

"Yeah. Got my notes right here." She said, as Niamh tucked the Math book and notebook away, and pulled out the ones for History. "I'm glad we're not on the war, just yet. I don't look forwards to that." She sighed softly, missing his drawing of Rutta entirely, by mere chance, because she happened to be opening her own notebook to the right pages. Once she got her homework started, however, she glanced over at him, every so often, just happy to see her friend there, and close to her.

She finished right about when he did, and happened to drain her soda as well... She had been sipping it the whole time to keep herself hydrated while they worked. His question had her head tilting thoughtfully for a moment, then she nodded, tucking her stuff back in her bag. "Yeah, that works. I'm gonna brew some tea, too."

She carefully got up, stretching out her entire body, including wings, with care... so as not to hit anyone or anything in the room. "Oooo stiff for sitting still too long!" She mumbled, as her back and a few joints went 'pop pop!' She shifted a little, then threw her empty cup in the trash, before glancing at Sathe. "Do you want some tea, too? I can use mugs, this time. They're much sturdier, and cheaper, so you won't have to worry about accidentally breaking it if you knock it over, while working." She planned to start the water, get her slices, eat, then brew. It made sense in her head.

Mauserati

He watched as she stretched, wanting to help but thinking perhaps it wasn’t the best time, not to mention that he probably needed a good stretch too. “Tea sounds good, thank you.” Getting up, he took his time stretching as well, making sure he wasn’t stepping on anyone as he did so.

Occupying himself for a bit while she prepared everything, he knelt down on the floor and pet or played with any of her familiars that came close, softly murmuring the names of those he knew. He slowly acquired a collection as they realized there was attention being offered, giving pets and skritches where appropriate, or cautiously doing so for familiars he wasn’t...familiar with yet. Eventually he had to gently shoo them away once Niamh was ready again, but offered a soft apology. “Sorry guys, gotta get back to work.”

Getting up, he moved to settle on her bed once more, gathering his science stuff and shifting a bit until he was comfortable, then looking over at her with interest as she finished up the tea. “I never thought I would be a tea sort of person, but it smells good already.” He carefully took the tea mug once she offered it, still wary of dropping it even with her assurance that it would be alright. “Thank you.”

Aria Starstone

Niamh could not help a bright smile when she turned and saw him giving attention to her 'kids'. This was something super sweet, in her opinion, and she wondered if he would accept a gift of a familiar from her at some point... She kind of hoped he would, but also wondered if he would be weirded out by it.

She moved back over and settled in with him again, handing him his cup. "Tea grows on you, I think. And it's soothing and easy, and green tea does not make me stay awake the way black tea or coffee would if I drank it too late in the day."

After they had their tea, they settled back in to study, and soon got through the rest of their classes they needed to focus on for the day. It had been a long study session, and a long day, but it had been a REALLY good day, too. She had had a lot of fun with Sathe, and he had, once again, helped her feel more self assured, more certain of who she was and what she wanted to do with herself when she was looking to relax, beyond spending time with her familiar herd. Once they'd packed up, and he was getting ready to leave, she led him to the door, and pulled him into another hug. "Thank you, Sathe... I really, really had fun today..." She gave him a soft smile, and stepped back, letting him head off to his own dorm room.