It don't mean a thing...
Who: Anybody who wants a good time
What: Party Time
Where: The newly bent bandstand
When: Tonight!
Warnings: Alcohol?
( If it ain't got that swing! )
What: Party Time
Where: The newly bent bandstand
When: Tonight!
Warnings: Alcohol?
( If it ain't got that swing! )
There were colorful streamers and a beautifully lit stage but… where were the people that were supposed to be dancing to all the flashing lights and REALLY loud music? Running her hands along the fabric of her pants as she stepped inside and inhaled she tried looking for a good solution; with any luck she was just early.
Now she had to decide what to do with herself... unsure of what she was expected to do. She stared into the strange canopied room for a few confused seconds before blinking tiredly. Would her mom come soon? Should she try finding someone and introducing herself? Maybe getting something edible to make her stomach stop complaining was a good idea? Or a bathroom break? But before she even knew that she'd made up her mind, Eve was blindly walking forward, already eyeing a table with a decent view of the upcoming festivities.
With a bored sigh however, she soon found her self separating her hair it into two sections, twisting the front portion around her index finger resignedly.
At least it was a stark contrast to being angry and confused hours before. She was even glad she’d managed to resist the urge to kick the particularly difficult computer. Instead she’d reconnected some wires and jostled it about with her eyes shut. Evidently it had paid off. But now, despite however long her sleep had been, sitting in her oh-so-comforatable seat made her want to take a cat nap. Any kind of nap. She just hoped she wouldn’t wake up in yet ANOTHER new place.
ooc: She hasn't seen Rocky yet -- but she can be a social little critter... @-}-
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Nevertheless, it did not inspire any intentions for Aya to stall. Immediately after clicking out the connection between herself and the network, Aya was out the door and traversing districts. Granted, she could have made it much faster if she focused her willpower on becoming the ‘67 Cadillac again. But instinct just told her that Eve, having just arrived, might not take kindly to meeting her mother pulling up as a car. (As if kids her age weren’t timid enough already with finding their parents attending these sort of events.)
So, bottom line was that Aya walked it. And the walk hadn’t even been all that bad, while keeping tabs on the network on her phone to make sure nothing happened on the way. Save for the grim warnings of yet another storm on the way, everything else was all business as usual around here.
All the more reason to retrieve Eve soon as possible. Explain to her what’s going on, try to calm her down from whatever confusion she might be experiencing... Aya hoped to god that the girl would be all right. She found that she had adjusted fine to the strange changes in Nautilus, herself.
The bandstand, the lights, a sound of a violin and the overall feel of the place summoned Aya to the general direction of where she suspected to be the party setting. Thankfully there hadn’t yet been enough people to get lost in the crowd, which would make it easier to spot someone like Eve (a little difficult to mistake anyone who practically had the same face as you in a crowd).
Thankfully, her feelings had been correct in that the little girl was easy to pinpoint by one of the tables overlooking the scene, twisting her hair in a bored manner. The gesture alone Aya recognized, having dealt with Eve’s mannerisms long enough.
Now. Calm and composed was the best route to go. Especially since inside Aya was fighting a mixture of relief and trepidation. Relief because, well, in her sole effort to return home she’d been unable to and got herself stuck in a time loop for an entire month. Trepidation because of the upcoming storm that had been herald by some of the resident Angeliis.
Approaching the girl from behind, Aya leaned over to the side, and smiled. “Fancy meeting you here.”
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Finally contently comfortable in said chair, if still a little bored, she tried grasping the temporarily ungraspable. But no matter how many times she mulled it all over; whether she looked at the strange scenario from straight on, sideways or from several steps ahead, the answer was always the same. In seven foot high neon letters; this was CRAZY! But at least the party was cool?
And unbeknownst to Eve, Aya would arrive soon, even if she had already entered that strange kind of trance that seemed to overtake people when they’re thinking so hard, the world seems to leisurely pass by.
“Hey who are y-“ Physically jumping at the sudden rush of sound beside her head, she turned to look at it’s owner very, very quickly. The world suddenly came to a grinding halt.
She was sure it was her but… There was something different. But did it matter? Eve’d been gone, alone, confused and now she was back with whom she belonged.
“MOM!?”
Just like that her smile, her broad toothy grin proved all confusing thoughts had been redirected into the deeper recesses of her mind. She was here, and that’s all that mattered. Eve wanted to talk with to her, cling to her so tenaciously that she’d never be able to let go. Her arms followed the motions, but her brain, still reeling, didn’t quite get all the messages straight
“You smell nice tonight!”
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Well that was an unusual compliment, although not like it wasn’t unwanted or anything. Aya herself couldn’t think of anything coherent to say other than a few dumb words until Eve banished any sense of worry with that smile of hers.
Welcomed by the girl’s loving embrace, Aya nearly bowled over by the sudden weight only to carry it for the both of them. Wrapping her arms around Eve in turn, her smile broadened as she squeezed the young teenager in her own embrace.
Eve was alive. Eve was okay. In spite of the loop that she’d been caught within for what felt like so long, preventing her from seeing to the state of her own world, her efforts had paid off in a way. All she’d wanted was to see the only family she had left. Now it was here, somewhat. What did she have to feel sad about?
(Oh, maybe because this might not be the safest place to be, either? Because even though death is a recoverable phenomenon in many cases, she has heard of those who were not so fortunate by returning from those gates. And she most definitely couldn’t bear the notion of Eve sharing a similar fate, could she?
Never mind that, however.)
“Thank you, Eve.” She ruffled the girl’s blonde hair a bit before reluctantly letting go. She wanted to get a good look at the girl’s face to make sure she was, without a doubt, in one piece. The back of her hand brushed against Eve’s cheek as she did so. “Are you feeling all right? Do you want me to get you anything?”
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Eve was relieved; definitely, happily, relieved. Not to mentioned tired. The journey to and from the computer device - thing --had been brief enough to allow her to thrive on the residual adrenaline that tended to come when you were shoved into a situation alone and scared - but now that Aya was back here, all she could think of was passing out in her own bed.
“Just a little sleepy and confused I guess.”
Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, partly to hold down a yawn, she stretched herself for a moment, before echoing the older woman’s concerned sentiment with a quick glance. Yes all there. No snakes for hair, no red eyes. Just mom. The one person she was genuinely relieved to see.
Then came the grin, the cheeky grin she was to some known for.
“And a few slices of pizza wouldn’t hurt.” Eve blinked her eyes innocently. She was joking of course, though the thought of a big cheesy slice of pizza was more than enough to make her wonder if she could try and convince Aya that it was actually a good idea. And she had to admit that to a very small degree, in addition to being reunited finally, junk food would have been awesome.
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“It’s okay. Everyone’s usually like that on the first day.” She placed a hand over Eve’s shoulder, remembering the day that she’d first arrived involved a lot of walking and nearly getting jumped by a tiger. Who... also turned out to be a giant robot that’d been stuck as a tiger at the time. She’d arrived on a very strange and unusual week...
On top of being tired, Eve’s craving for pizza was an understandable one. In spite of their situation, they had no shortage of that. And being able to create things by sheer force of will, that only made matters even easier.
So Eve wanted pizza. Aya closed her eyes and in a very fleeting instant, the scent of cheese and baked bread followed. Carried by a stream that danced in the air from the table Eve sat next to. When she looked back at the girl again, she smiled.
“Eat up.”
Bending. She’d have to explain that one to Eve sometime, too.
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"Oh Miss Brea. Well this is lookin' like a sweet little story, isn't it? Mother and daughter, reunited at last. It's such a heart-touchin' tale I'm not sure if I should ruin it or not! It would be a shame to take away such happiness from you, for true happiness like this only comes once in a blue moon!
"But it just so happens that in order for my own happiness to take its course, I would like to ask you if you would please dance with me, Miss Brea?"
He doesn't wait but two seconds for a response, before continuing on along, any answer that took longer than that allotted time was going to be a no, anyway.
"But you'll just say no, right? So this means I'll need to take drastic action, of course!" Graham spoke, as if this was the simplest answer in the world.
And it is at this point that his vision shifts down to Eve, same smirk placed ever so Cheshire-like over his face. "'Cause you wouldn't be wantin' me to be botherin' your little girl at any point in the future, now would you?"
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Jumping back almost a full foot Eve barely managed not to laugh as she choked on the last of her words, quickly covering her mouth with the outside of her wrist as she tried subconsciously, not to splutter all over the table. It was a pizza, Pizzas weren’t meant to just…. Appear.
The very notion was enough to confuse the daylights out of her. She couldn't move -- couldn't stop looking into the centre of the big cheesy circle. There was no way she could just eat up without explanation. No way could this ‘thing’ be a pizza.
Her fixation lasted for a minute, then another, and before she’d realised the adults were already several sentences into their conversation. She would have still been fixated if not for the fleeting mention of her name.
“What do you mean bother me?”
She asked, a little more angrily than it was meant, raising an eyebrow at the guy's strange attitude. She couldn't help it-- the notion of bothering her because of a dance - it was just silly.
But as far as adults went, this guy didn’t seem really bad. He wasn't as cool as Jodie or Pierce, but he was... kinda nice to her? Just weird… Strange… So it was only with a tiny modicum of guilt that after she realised that she might’ve hurt his feelings.
“No offence… ” She tried to back peddle, offering a small smile.
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Bending came as a bit of a shock to Aya herself when she first learned about it. But it also took awhile for her to wrap her head around the concept. So, for the time being, she combed her fingers through Eve’s hair and stood up. “I’ll explain everything to you when we get home. You’ll feel better after you’ve had something to eat and drink.”
And then a challenger appeared. Someone who presented an opportunity to dance or else. Aya sighed when she turned to Graham Specter, who didn’t even grant her the two seconds to respond before assuming the worse with his habit for theatrics.
Glancing down at Eve at her question, Aya briefly placed a reassuring hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It means nothing, honey. Because he’s not going to be a bother to you.” She shot a look at Graham next, feigning a sweet smile. “Are you?
“Besides, if you’d have offered me a chance to say anything, that wouldn’t be necessary at all, since you asked so nicely.”
Why not, after all? He wasn’t being too threatening, and it’d be better a dance than a fight considering where they were.
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So Aya would have said yes anyway. An interesting change--change? Was change still something to be feared? Boss Ladd had told him that he shouldn't concern himself with it, it wouldn't be affecting him, but everyone else around them. And here he was, witnessing exactly that! He hadn't changed, but Aya had. Of course! He shouldn't have doubted his Boss' words.
Not that this meant he still didn't want to break her. No, now actually provided the perfect opportunity! And he should strike now, before Ladd kills her first, it would only make sense. He could break her right here, before Ladd got the chance to. He should break the girl too, if that was going to be the case! It was a selfish thought, he realized, to take some of the fun away from his Boss, but Ladd could have the rest of the city's civilians, as far as he was concerned.
And even then! It could wait until after his dance. As much as he enjoyed the thought of fighting and taking her apart, it was an even rarer opportunity to dance with a lovely older woman! And that made this even more exciting.
However, this inner thought process was a quick one, and not a few seconds after Aya finished her sentence did Graham grab ahold of her wrist, and bolted off to the dance floor, dragging poor Aya behind him.
[ooc: Annnddd moving back up to the 'dance floor' thread for the sake of organization. Eve can join in that thread too of course. Like... to watch. Or something. If you want.]
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