Aetheria Elias (whisperingwind) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2011-01-26 16:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-08-08, aetheria |
Who: Aetheria and Gabe
Where: Downtown area
When: Noontime
Note: Incomplete
Aetheria, I REALLY don’t think this is a good idea! Kiana fluttered about, watching her mistress walking across the top of one of the brick wall structures. Sure, it was only six or seven feet off the ground, but the air elemental was little! A fall like that could hurt her. Though she was completely oblivious as to what harm could be done and was busy feeling the wind in her hair, smiling with not a care in the world. She had loved the rain the past couple of days, but loved the sun being out finally.
It’s so beautiful out, Kiana! Aetheria spun around in place, giggling all the while as she continued to walk narrow steps. The chickadee continued to beg her mistress to come down, but it didn’t seem to work. It wasn’t until her heel wobbled beneath her that she began to lose her balance fall. A tiny squeak escaped her as she fell off, closing her eyes in fear of the hard ground that she’d crash into... though instead she landed into something a bit softer. Something that made an ‘oof’ noise in the process. What happened?
Kiana just landed on her head and tweeted. I think you landed on someone.
Having survived the full moon without incident, Gabe was in much better spirits. Granted, he’d made it through the previous few as well, but since half the time he shifted bad things happened, it made him nervous. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the cause of the misfortune, but that he wanted to see a change in trends. With another full moon safely behind him, he could calm down, at least for the next few weeks. Then the process would repeat again. It made him wonder if he’d ever get used to the full moon, but he liked to think he would.
If there was one thing that would brighten his day, it was a new pair of skates. He’d managed to crack a wheel on his last pair, and then broke the entire wheel alignment beyond repair. He couldn’t believe he’d gone this long without replacing them, but with summer coming to an end he wanted to make use of what time he had. He’d walked into town with the intent to skate back home, his mind in the clouds when the sky decided to come crashing down on him. Or what appeared to be the sky, just much heavier than he expected. Light and airy, blue and white, yes, but girl shaped? That caught him off guard.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” Gabe said, the world still a little sideways. “Are you okay?” Where did she even come from?
The second Aetheria realized she landed on someone, her mouth formed into an O-shape, as if she had gasped and then fluttered those blue eyes of hers. Oh nooooo! She didn’t even mention if she was ok or not, because that didn’t matter. She just landed on this poor guy! Those eyes quickly put on the best puppy dog look ever as she flailed about in a panicked state, then proceeded to embrace him tightly. It was the only thing she could think of to make this all better. Hugs made people happy, right? “I’m sorry!” Her words barely squeaked out while giving him a squeeze. “You’re not hurt, are you?” Pulling away, she looked him over, not seeing any blood, but still pouted nonetheless. That and... well, she was still sitting on top of him and saw no issues in the fact she was technically straddling him.
As the girl scrabbled about in a panicked state, Gabe did his best to see if she was okay, only to end up with her wrapped around him completely. His arms hung limp at his sides until he decided that he should hug her back, still a bit confused as to how he’d gone from point A to point B. “I’m not hurt,” Gabe said, feeling a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing that wouldn’t heal. In fact, he was kind of comfortable where he was, a cute girl in his lap definitely helping that opinion rather than hurting. “Are you okay?” he asked again. It had sounded like she’d had the wind knocked out of her, which wouldn’t surprise him one bit.
An air elemental having the wind knocked out of them was highly unlikely, but then again, it wasn’t like he could know that. Kiana had already found another perch to be on the second her mistress flailed about, not wanting to fall off her head. Hearing that he wasn’t hurt made Aetheria perk up a bit, her lips curling up slightly, then followed up with several nods of her head. Of course she was ok! If he was ok, then so was she. Tucking some blonde hair behind her ear, she batted her eyelashes with a little giggle, then reached out to brush off his clothing and hair that were slightly out of place. There! Better.
Though she nodded her head, Gabe’s fingers feathered lightly down her arms, checking for injuries just in case. Upon seeing that she was indeed unhurt, Gabe began to relax and smiled up at her. Despite the crash, he now had a cute girl in his lap, so there really wasn’t room to complain. “It’s okay,” he laughed as she began to brush him off. And fix his hair. Um. It was a little bit awkward, but not unpleasant, so he just stayed where he was. “I’m Gabe,” he said, thinking to offer a hand, but they were quite comfortable on her hips, thanks.
She liked the way he laughed - it just made her smile even more than before. As much as she wanted to laugh with him, it strained her voice far too much. Instead, she’d keep that smile on her lips. Though upon hearing his name, she figured it was best to strain said voice a bit to give him hers. “Aetheria.” Once again, quiet and gentle, but it was the least she could do. The air elemental was quite comfy in his lap, completely oblivious to where his hands were. Shit, this was actually tame in comparison to what she did on a nightly basis. Though while she was oblivious to his touch, his scent was a different story. An air elemental’s nose was always sensitive and he almost smelled like Harley, like there was a different side to him, but not a bird. Something else. She couldn’t pin point it, so instead she leaned in and sniffed slightly. Nope, still couldn’t figure it out. “You smell good!” That she could figured out.
When she spoke this time, Gabe realized that she was straining to speak, that her voice could hardly go louder than a whisper. That wouldn’t be necessary, since he could hear more than normal, her heart beating softly in the background. “I have good ears,” he smiled softly, hoping she would understand that she didn’t need to work nearly as hard for him to understand. From the way she leaned in and sniffed at him, he thought she might be a were, except that she would have guessed what he was and it didn’t sound that way. “Thanks,” Gabe chuckled. “Some people think I smell like a dog.” It was true, but at least he wasn’t a wet dog.
Aetheria wasn’t exactly sure what exactly a dog smelled like, seeing she was used to having her kitten around, but she imagined it would be something similar. Either way, they were both fluffy and adorable, so she approved. Ae, are you really going to sit there all day? Kiana’s voice shot through just Aetheria’s mind, fluttering her eyes as she realized... yeah, she couldn’t sit here all day, even if she wanted to. Maybe he had places to go... she didn’t know. Though she couldn’t help but still feel bad for landing on him. Perhaps she could make it up to him. Slipping off his lap and jumping to her feet, Aetheria smoothed out her dress with a tiny bounce before extending her hand out to Gabe.
When she hopped up, Gabe wondered if it would be appropriate to ask her to sit back down. He’d been comfortable with her in his lap, even if it lent itself to a potentially embarrassing situation. Oh well. He took her extended hand as he stood up himself, then brushed off his pants. “Thanks,” he smiled. “On your way somewhere?” Besides falling off a way, of course. She couldn’t have planned that, unless it was a really unusual pick up move. “I was going to buy myself some new skates. Do you skate?”
Had Gabe asked, Aetheria would have gladly plopped back down. She was an obedient girl and lived to make people happy. Instead, she shook her head in response to his question about going somewhere. Nope, she was enjoying a day away from Ad Gustum and enjoying the sunshine and open air. Nothing wrong with that. Though this mention of... skates? She didn’t have the slightest idea as to what that was. Scrunching her face together, she shook her head again, this time more slowly. What were these skates? Hopefully something good. Taking a second to rummage through her purse, she whipped out a small pad of paper and a fuzzy pen to scribble out a response for Gabe: ‘Nope, not going anywhere! I... haven’t ever heard of skates, so I think it’s safe to say I don’t skate. But could I come along? I’d love to see them!’ There was a giddy smile on her lips, hoping he’d say yes. Besides, nothing wrong with meeting new people.
“You haven’t heard of skates?” Gabe asked his head tilting slightly to the side. How was this possible? Had he used the wrong word? No, it was still called skating, as far as he knew, which meant that either there was some other kind of communication gap or she’d missed out on one of his favorite past times. “Well, if you want to come, I’ll show you. I’m getting new in-line skates, but I also ice skate. They’re pretty similar, but one I can do on the sidewalk or in the street, while the other has to be done on ice.” It felt kind of funny to explain such a thing, but she said she didn’t know, so he might as well. If she looked at him like he was stupid, then he would stop. “What do you like to do in your free time?” he asked as they started walking towards the store. He didn’t mind waiting for he to write, since that seemed to be her mode of communication. He wanted to ask her what happened to her voice, but they didn’t really know each other well enough for such a personal question.
Nope, totally missed out on skating. They didn’t really have those in the mountains back in Greece, not to mention she was too busy playing with the wind to even bother with modern inventions. His explanation didn’t help either, which explained the blank look on her face. She remained clueless and innocent, but kept walking right along with him. Kiana was flying up above somewhere, keeping a close eye on her mistress. He’s not human, she informed just her mistress. A supernatural, just like you. That idea actually perked Aetheria up a bit, but not as much as when he asked her what she did. The blonde bounced as she rummaged through her bag to pull out her flute that had been poking out. She smiled, way too happy about this, then brought the instrument to her lips to play a gentle melody while they continued to walk, the wind softly blowing by as she did just that.
She still didn’t seem familiar with skating of any kind, even after the explanation, but that didn’t bother Gabe. He’d show her what it was and maybe even talk her into doing a little herself. That was Gabe-- he wanted to share what he enjoyed with everyone else. And it seemed Aetheria was the same way. Gabe smiled as she began to play her flute, enjoying the tune and impressed with her ability. It seemed so perfectly fitting for the moment that he wondered if she made it up or if it was something she knew. When she finished playing, he asked. “You’re really good at that,” he smiled. “Was that something original? I liked it.”
As much as Aetheria wished she was some impressive composer, she wasn’t. She had learned most of her songs over time from either her fellow priestesses back in the mountains or other musicians when she and Rora traveled through the black market trade. A little of this and a little of that. She smiled once she brought her flute down and shook her head, keeping up with the boy as they walked. “Learned over time,” she bounced up to try and whisper into his ear, only to fail and bump into him slightly. Being short sucked. Still, she was content to know that her song made Gabe smile. He had a lovely smile, actually. She only wished she still had her voice, for she would have been more than happy to sing for him.
Gabe snickered as she bumped into him, not offended in the slightest. He could hear her just fine, so there was no need for her to get that close to him, but he wasn’t complaining either. “Don’t strain yourself,” he smiled, then decided it was worth it to say a little more. His voice dropped to a whisper, not really wanting to share with anyone but her, should anyone else be around. “I can hear your heart beat.” And just about everything else. Which sounded a lot creepier when he said it out loud, but oh well. “I can kind of play the guitar. I’ve never had lessons, though, so I’m not very good.” Claire had given the guitar to him for his eighteenth birthday. He tried not to think about that, not wanting to get depressed over something he couldn’t change and had been a happy time in his life back then.
Aetheria blinked at first, not sure what he meant about straining herself, but then flushed lightly when he said he could hear her heart. He couldn’t also be an air elemental if he had that good of hearing. Plus he smelled funny. Not a bad funny, though. Aetheria let out a silent giggle while stretching an arm out to pat against his chest in time with his own heart beat. “Me too,” she mouthed with a twinkle in her eye. And then she was instantly side tracked when Gabe mentioned he knew guitar. That just lit up the blonde. Spinning around so she could face him and walk backwards, her blue eyes just screamed that she wanted to know more. Could he control the elements like she could with her flute? I don’t even think he noticed what you were doing, Kiana informed solely Aetheria while circling above. Probably the truth, but wishful thinking was something any air elemental excelled in.
Her too? Really? Gabe knew she wasn’t a were, otherwise he would have definitely smelled it on her, but then what was she? Normal people couldn’t hear heart beats, unless she thought he was exaggerating and she was playing along. But then she’d gotten it right on the beat with his own heart, so Gabe was guessing not. It was a new mystery, the kind Gabe actually liked, and his smile just got wider. “I really need more practice, but... if you want to play together some time, we could do that.” He’d just met her, but that didn’t bother Gabe. Aetheria couldn’t possibly be any sort of a threat, plus she was cute. It never hurt to hang out with a cute girl.
A threat? Aetheria? The only way she was a threat was when a vacuum cleaner was involved, then she’d arm herself with pillows and slay the beast. Hey now, it ate her favorite pillow. It deserved to die. Aside from that, Aetheria couldn’t hurt a fly if her life depended on it. She was far more likely to make friends than enemies, and that’s exactly what was happening with Gabe. Meeting people outside of Ad Gustum was a nice change. Even more so if they could play an instrument. Clapping her hands together, Aetheria launched herself at Gabe for another hug, obviously approving of this idea. A hug always replaced the word ‘yes!’ when she was unable to speak it. Hopefully she wasn’t too overbearing. Back on her feet again, she pulled away from Gabe, all smiles and sunshine while keeping up with his steps, still intrigued with this concept of skeets. Skates, Ae. Oh right! Skates.
When she jumped to hug him, Gabe spun her around before putting her back down. Hey, if she was going to hug him, he was going to take advantage of it. When she was back on her feet, they kept walking, right until it was time to turn into the skate store. They also had skate boards, as well as a few other sporting goods, but Gabe was there for the skates. “This way,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her into the store. “You know, if you want to try on a pair, I bet they’ll let you,” he smiled over at her as he led the way towards the in-line skates. “What’s your favorite color?” He was thinking blue. Baby blue. Or white. But maybe she was a pink girl.
Oooooh, so these were skates. They looked... funny. How did someone even stand in these?! Granted, this was coming from the girl who could walk in six inch stilettos without a bat of her lash. Maybe it was like the same thing. She would have asked Gabe, but Aetheria was instantly drawn by the selection of pretty colors. Oh, how could she ever choose?! Didn’t he know that giving an air elemental options would just a recipe for disaster? At least she had enough money to buy one of each if she wanted. Hmmm... maybe Rora and I should do a burlesque routine with these. Then she remembered that Gabe had asked her a question, so she plucked out her pad of paper again and scribbled for the boy: ‘I love all sorts of colors! They’re so pretty, I can’t decide! Though if I had to pick a favorite color.... blue! I like blue. Preferably light blue. Oooo, and purple. And white. And sometimes baby pink or mint green....’ She could do this all day.
What was it about this girl that made Gabe want to stand around and smile? She was made so happy by the simplest thing that he couldn’t help but be happy with her. He wondered what exactly was going on inside her head and was pleased when she wrote him out an answer-- a long answer for what he’d thought had been a simple question. That was okay, though! It let him learn more about her, and that was the plan. “Then maybe a white pair with four different color wheels per skate,” he suggested. “You could do blue, purple, pink, then lighter pink, or something like that.” He hadn’t even realized he wasn’t focusing on his own skates, enjoying looking at what she might be interested in instead.
You could get different colors for each wheel?! Aetheria was enthralled about his and just continued to nod her head at Gabe with a smile. Then her eyes looked around and found another skate with sparkly laces. Obviously a kid’s skate, seeing it was too tiny for her feet, but that didn’t stop Aetheria from picking it up and spinning the wheels. She giggled lightly with the sound it made with each spin and continued to do it until she remembered Gabe was still there. Looking back at all the skates, she wondered which one he would pick. Hmmm.... So then she found a white and pink pair with bows on it and extended it out to Gabe. It looked big enough and was so pretty! He’d have to like it.
“For me?” he asked as she held out the skate, a laugh breaking past his lips. That couldn’t possibly be what she meant, but it was funny to think about it. “If they have it in your size, you should try it on. I’ll probably go for something black or blue.” Simple, yes, but he didn’t need his skates to serve a fashion purpose. If he went out with rainbow colored skates, he’d definitely get weird looks, plus it really wasn’t his style. “Like these,” Gabe said, selecting a standard skate made for more experienced skaters. “My old ones were similar before I scratched them all up. Then one broke.” Hence needing a new pair.
Wait... what? No, those skates were for him, not her! Did he not like them? Aetheria pouted a bit while lowering her arms, just wanting to make Gabe happy. Fail. Wait, he said he liked something in black or blue. Black is an ok color... reminds me of the sky when it gets grumpy and rains. And blue was always an excellent color, because that’s what color the sky was! And when he finally showed her the skates he did like, Aetheria gave them a weird look. These weren’t as pretty as the ones she picked out, what the hell. But that thought vanished when Gabe mentioned his skates breaking on him. Oh no! These could break!? That was so heartbreaking! With a pair of doe-y eyes, Aetheria shuffled about the shelves to collect as many black and blue wheels as she could, walking back to Gabe with an armful for him. There, that would solve his breaking problem thing... maybe. She liked to think so.
Uh oh. What had he said that made her sad? Had she really thought the pink and white skates would be good for him? That made Gabe worry about the sort of image he was projecting, if she thought he and pink would go together. While he was trying to figure out what was going through her mind, she started collecting wheels, confusing him further. “Wait, um, these are nice, but I don’t need extra wheels,” he said, smiling and hoping he didn’t upset her. She seemed so fragile and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. “I’m just gonna get skates. If I need new wheels later, I can always come back.”
No extra wheels either? Oh man, Aetheria wasn’t good at this whole skating thing. She pouted some more while dropping the wheels down to the ground and then took a seat on one of the nearby benches, looking all sorts dejected. Why come back and get new wheels when he could buy them now and not have to worry about coming back? It made sense to her, but then again air elementals always had a way of thinking ahead of their time. It was frustrating, but she was used to it. Maybe it was best if she just let Gabe do his own thing and she could watch... and probably learn, seeing she didn’t know a thing about these skates. Except that they were pretty. And she wanted like, thirty of them.
What the fuck?! Gabe ran his fingers through his hair, breathing out a sigh of frustration before he began picking up the wheels to put them back where they belonged. Aetheria seemed sweet, she really did, but he was beginning to wonder if she was all there mentally. It was one thing not to know what skates were-- very odd, but possible-- and another to drop everything on the floor when she didn’t get her way. It reminded Gabe of a child, except that she was obviously not. Once he had all the wheels put back in place, he sat down beside her, then bent down so he could look up into her eyes. “Hey... What’s wrong?” Maybe there was something he was missing. He really hoped so.
Anyone who knew an air elemental knew that they weren’t always there in the head. Instead, it was somewhere in the clouds skipping about. That and it didn’t help that she wasn’t used to the modern world. The girl did grow up in a Greek temple tucked away in the mountains, after all. She didn’t know how to react to all of this. In response to Gabe’s question, she plucked out her notebook and drew a big heart with a question mark next to it. She wasn’t sure what to say, so she just settled for that. Everyone loved hearts, right? She just wanted to make him happy and she didn’t feel like she was doing a good enough job at that. So she held up the notebook and pouted a bit at Gabe. He didn’t do anything wrong - she was just out of her element.
Gabe looked at the heart, the question mark, and wondered what it would be like if he couldn’t speak. If he couldn’t say what was on his mind, or what his intentions were, and people were left frustrated with whatever gesture he did in response. He was suddenly sure that no one would understand him, and that he probably wouldn’t be half as happy as Aetheria was when she’d fallen on him. Reaching out, he took the pen from her and drew a happy face beside the question mark, then gave her a smile of his own before writing ‘thank you for helping’ below it. It was only fair that, if she couldn’t talk, maybe he shouldn’t either.
Oh no! Her pen! While she pouted for a second, she looked down to see what he was doing and just beamed at the happy face. Yay! I helped! Aetheria let out a tiny giggle before bouncing in her seat and suddenly jumped to her feet. She could never be sad for long, anyways. With that out of the way, Aetheria had a new bounce to her step, like she forgotten why she was sad to begin with. Looking over the the pretty skates Gabe had suggested to her earlier, Aetheria scribbled some more on the notebook and held it up to Gabe: ‘Can you help me with my skates?’ She even drew a big arrow to point at the ones she liked.
Was that all it took? Gabe was relieved at how quickly Aetheria cheered back up, pleased that his response had earned back her smile. He wasn’t all that sure it would work, but he wasn’t going to go back and question it now. As he read her question, he grinned, happy that she was interested enough to try them out herself. He didn’t really expect her to buy them, but it would be fun to at least try them on. “Sure. What size shoe do you wear?” Her feet looked little, but then most girl’s feet looked that way to him and he still had no idea what size they might be. As soon as she said her size, Gabe began looking for the right boxes, knowing that she would need to try them on next.
Shoe size - something she actually knew the answer to. Holding up her hands to indicate the number six, Aetheria kept smiling while staying by Gabe’s side. Yes, she felt a little dumb and useless for not being able to help him and make him happy, but he seemed to enjoy making her smile and happy, so maybe it worked out in the end. She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she was about to get a pair of these skates to try on and... yeah, that would be interesting. She didn’t know what to expect from these things. They looked pretty, but... how did someone move in these?! Aetheria kept the questions to herself and just shadowed Gabe around.
Aetheria didn’t have to do anything special to make Gabe happy; that usually came about by being good company and complying with his insane ideas. Since she was willing to try on skates, she’d met both of those requirements! “Okay, so you could try on these,” he said, pulling the right size of one pair, “Or these. Or these.” There were three different color choices, all customizable, if she wished to go that route. “They’ll all fit about the same, so just pick your favorite and you can try them on.” She didn’t need anything special in the way of skates if she was a beginner, and Gabe knew that was definitely the case.
Oooo, so many choices. An air elemental never did well with choices and seeing that Gabe seemed to like them all, Aetheria just closed her eyes and randomly pointed at one. When she fluttered her eyes opened, she squealed quietly over picking the baby pink pair. Aw, they were so cute! Taking them into her arms, she plopped back down to inspect them. Oh, were they like shoes? That made sense, but... how did someone walk in these? Wheels made that kind of difficult. She made a confused face, but managed to try them on anyways. Oh, they’re so pretty! I love them! With the skates on, Aetheria was completely enthralled and wanted to give Gabe a hug, so she jumped up to her feet... and proceeded to flail like crazy before falling over.
“Careful!” Gabe said, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her to keep her on her feet. At least he stopped her from falling completely over, since falling on him twice in one day would have to be a record. “You have to take it slow,” he laughed, slowly steadying her as he helped her stand back up. “Once you get your balance, then you can learn how to move.” He wanted to say it was like ice skating, but she’d never done that either. “Okay, steady... Are you okay?” he asked, eyes meeting hers. Wow, she had pretty eyes. For a moment Gabe was entranced, losing focus on where they were and what they were doing. He kept hold of her, though he loosened his grip, and gave her a smile. This was nice, even if he’d just met her.
The air elemental’s eyes bugged out to new extremes as she realized how wobbly these skates were. Ok, seriously, how did people walk on these?! Wow, and they said high heels were ridiculous. Still, she was intrigued by these things on her feet and how easily she slipped about. At least she still managed to get a hug from Gabe in the process, even if it wasn’t exactly how she intended it to be. Looking up to him, she flashed a cute smile and nodded her head. Aetheria was always ok when she was in good company. As he helped her regain composure, she kept clinging onto his arm and stared down at her feet with a puzzled look. Ok... now how do these work? She would have written something for him, but that was probably a bad idea to do while trying to stand on these. Seriously, high heels were nothing in comparison to these. Looking back to Gabe, she shot him that same puzzled look before whispering, “How do you do this?”
He just grinned, holding her at the elbows so that she could brace herself the same way against him. It would make her more stable on her feet, or at least he hoped so. While she seemed to be nervous and completely unfamiliar with what to do, he was glad to see she could still manage a smile. “It’s like... gliding, kind of. You step slower, and turn your feet out just a bit to push off.” He’d never had to describe how to skate before and found it harder than he expected. It would be so much easier to show her, which was just what he decided to do. “Here, sit back down,” he said, helping her back on the bench. “Let me put on a pair and I’ll show you.” He gave a quick look at the selection and immediately picked out the pair he knew he wanted. He’d been buying skates for years. It didn’t take him long to pick them out.
Gliding? But didn’t gliding involve the wind and flying around? This puzzled Aetheria until Gabe began explaining further. Ok, maybe that made more sense, but she’d need to see for herself. Visuals were always a must. So she sat back down and fiddled with her hair as she watched Gabe get his own pair of skates on. It looked like this was second nature for him and he was just putting the skates on! Hopefully he was better at this than she was, because then they’d both be on the floor again. Aetheria barely giggled at the thought, keeping a smile on her face as she patiently waited.
“Just one sec,” Gabe said as he pulled the skates on, tying and fastening with the speed of someone long familiar with their workings. As soon as he was done, Gabe hopped to his feet and circled the bench before coming to stand before Aetheria. “So by gliding, I mean something like this.” Purposefully taking it slow, Gabe pushed off with one foot and gave Aetheria a demonstration of what simple skating looked like. No tricks, nothing fancy, no matter how much he’d like to show off for her. Besides now not being the time, he really couldn’t do that in the store, especially when he’d not bought the skates yet. Skating back the other direction, Gabe came to stand before her and offered his hands. “Want to try it?”
Ooooh, that was gliding. Aetheria wondered who in their right mind called it that when there was obviously no wind or wings involved. She would have called it walking with style. And it was so cool. Gabe made it look so easy and she just prayed that she didn’t fall on her face in the process. Her blue eyes were wide, clearly impressed with Gabe’s skill before he came back to her. Taking his hands into her own, she carefully pulled herself up and tried to stabilize her feet. Easier said than done, but when they were done shaking, she did her best to slowly do that “gliding” thing that Gabe had done. All while holding his hands, of course. She started off shaky, trying to get the hang of it, but after a few tries, she seemed to be doing it with more ease. Not as well as Gabe, but she was doing it. And it was so much fun. Aetheria couldn’t help but smile.
It was nice to meet a girl who was willing to try new things, who didn’t shy away just because she might fall, or because she was in a dress, or because she might make a fool out of herself. Gabe had never realized how much self depreciation bothered him until a girl was put before him that did the opposite. Aetheria was shaky on her feet at first, but that was to be expected. “That’s good,” he smiled, skating backwards as she moved forwards. He was so relieved to see her smile, that she seemed to be having fun even if it was slow. Moving fast would result in them falling, but speed wasn’t the point right now. It was about balance and understanding the technique. “So now we’re going to slowly turn... and go back to the bench,” he said, helping guide her around. He could really get into this ‘teaching a girl to skate’ thing, so long as he got to keep holding her hands.
Having Gabe show her how to do this had Aetheria beaming. She was always for trying new things - in way more than just one sense of it, too - and this was simply delightful! She was going to need to buy herself a pair. Oh, and one for Aurora, too. Maybe she could persuade the rest of her family to try them out via puppy eyes and pouty lips. Though right now she was smiling, eyes flicking down to see how her feet were moving before looking back up to eye Gabe. He was really good at this! Then again, he was the one holding her. She did her best to go nice and slow. Did these things just have one speed on them? Maybe they were like the wind and changed pace constantly. After her little turn, she tried to test that theory out, skating a bit faster than she was before. It works! She just grinned at his discovery.
Though he couldn’t read her mind, Gabe could tell from her expression that she was trying something out and was pleased with the results. She was confident enough to try moving faster, and so Gabe adjusted his speed, not wanting her to fall. As they got closer to the bench, though, there was a need to slow down, something that was easier when facing forwards than backwards. “Okay, so there’s a brake on the heel of your skate, and you want to gently push it down to slow yourself,” he explained. Once she had stopped, then he could do so as well, but he wanted to get her settled first. It was exciting to share something he loved with someone else and see them find joy in it. He’d have to show her how to ice skate when it got colder out, but they still had a long while before winter. Maybe he was thinking too far ahead, seeing as how they’d just met, but he hoped not.
A break on the heel? Now why would someone put a brake there?! Going back on her heel meant she would fall over and- Eeee! She did just that and came to a sudden stop. Obviously she didn’t press slowly on it, but she was a beginner! At least she didn’t fall over. Aetheria gave herself a pat on the back for that. With that out of the way, she plopped back down onto the bench and removed her skates, rather pleased with how well she did. Taking them off, she looked up on and off to give Gabe a smile just to let him know how much she appreciated it. Such a fun day! And here Kiana thought it was a bad idea to just frolic about.
“Whoa!” Gabe laughed, catching hold of her as she screeched to a stop. Once she was settled back down on the bench, he took a seat beside her, taking off his skates as well. These were definitely the ones he was going to get, but he knew he needed to pay for them before wearing them out. “If you decide to get a pair, you might want to invest in knee pads or wrist pads. Just in case you fall.” Beginners tended to fall a lot, but that was all a part of learning! He hoped she wasn’t deterred by it, since he’d love to teach her to skate some more. A helmet might be good too... Gabe wondered if he should mention that, since he wasn’t sure if she would think of it herself. “And if you are prone to falling, maybe a helmet? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Of course she was going to buy a pair! These were fun! But the mention of all this stuff that she needed to buy on top of it made her confused. But... she skated just fine without all of them! The look on Gabe’s face made her opt to get them, just so she wouldn’t have to see him pout. Aetheria was game for doing anything to make people happy, so if she had to buy a bunch of extra stuff to do it, then she would! With the skates off, she slipped her shoes back on and scanned about the area to find the objects Gabe mentioned. Thank god for signs that said things like “helmet” or else she would have looked around for ages. She chose colors that would match her skates and even went out of her way to grab two of each. Aurora was going to need a pair, too! It was a lot for one girl to carry, but she was overjoyed by this discovery. With everything barely in her arms, she looked over to Gabe with a smile. “Ready!”
“Two pair?” Gabe asked, wide eyed when she returned to him with two of everything. “Here, let me help you carry those,” he said, taking a few things out of her arms to help her lighten the load. “You know these are kind of expensive, right? You don’t have to get it all right now.” He knew that he couldn’t afford to drop that much money without pulling some strings first, and he suspected that was true of most kids his age. She looked about his age, right? Girls always looked a little older than they were, but that was due to the hair and make up. “Who else are you buying for?” He had to ask. She’d picked out girly colors for both sets, so he assumed it wasn’t for another guy-- hopefully not her boyfriend. Then again, she had tried to pick out the same colors for him, so there was no telling who she was bringing a new pair of skates back to.
Money was something Aetheria never had to worry about with her job at Ad Gustum. Who knew that people would pay so much for her blood and company? She could easily afford all of this! She smiled in Gabe’s direction when he offered to help her out. Those tiny arms of hers were not meant for carrying this much. To answer his question, she moved in closer to let out another small, crackly whisper. “My twin sister!” She had to specify, because she did have three sisters in total. But Aurora would appreciate something new and pretty. She did dress her up in all her outfits, after all. And she would help out the blind air elemental with the skates. Ooo, they could get around the mansion that way! Aetheria was way too excited by all of this and anxious to buy them, already shuffling her way over to check out.
“You have a twin?” he grinned. “Awesome.” Good God, there were two of them! Gabe’s mind ran off down a path that was hardly appropriate for discussion, glad that there was the distraction of helping her up to the check out counter to pay for the skates. He was itching to get some good skating time in once they got outside, but until then Aetheria was fun company to keep. “I’ve got a brother, but he’s older and lives out of state. Is your twin your only sister?” he asked, setting her purchases on the register so that the cashier could ring her up. Aetheria’s sister was incredibly lucky; he’d never had his brother buy him a gift this awesome for no reason.
Now all she needed to do was mention they were both prostitutes and he’d probably pass out. For some reason, people just couldn’t stop grinning when they realized she had a twin. What was the fascination with it? Not like it was rare or something. Weirdos... With everything on the counter, Aetheria took out her wallet and from that plucked out her credit card to give to the cashier. She knew that it could cover just about anything. No worries with expenses! And while she waited, she took out her pad of paper and scribbled some more information for Gabe: ‘I have two older sisters and a little brother, too! It’s a big family and we’re all really close. I know I couldn’t live without my sister.’ Aurora was like her other half and without her, she truly would go crazy. She knew she couldn’t have survived those five years as a sex slave without her.
If Aetheria told Gabe she was a prostitute, she would likely have been met with disbelief. Not only did she not seem like that kind of girl, she didn’t seem like the kind who even joked about such things. There would have been a lot of staring and confusion and nervous laughing; Gabe was plenty familiar withs sex, but not with the type of women who sold it. Aetheria, for all he could tell, was just a college student a few years ahead of him. “Wow, there is a lot of you,” he smiled. “Are you all here in Scarlet Oak?” Hopefully she didn’t mind all the questions. They’d just met, so there was a lot he didn’t know. He just knew it had to be a pain to write it all down. As soon as she was done paying, Gabe moved up to the register, pulling out his wallet to pay with cash. He didn’t have a credit card yet, since his mom had pointed out that he’d have no way to pay the bills.
Aetheria nodded with much enthusiasm upon being asked about her family. Finally, they were all together. It had been a lonely five years apart from them, but worth the wait. She had no reason to be sad again. The questions never bothered her, either. It was in her nature to be submissive and answer eagerly. With her bags in hand - heavy ones, at that - she watched as Gabe took out his wallet and eyed what little money he had. Oh no, that wasn’t good. Aetheria pouted at the sight. How was he going to pay for his skates and whatever else he wanted? How could someone live like that?! Overwhelmed by her thoughts, she suddenly dropped her bags and flailed about as a way to tell Gabe to stop. Then she immediately pulled her credit card back out and gave it to the cashier instead. Now he doesn’t have to worry and he can be happy! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Aetheria just smiled, all sorts proud. Hopefully Gabe would smile, too.
Gabe paused when Aetheria started waving around, but immediately began to object when she handed her credit card to the cashier. As nice as gesture as that was, he could not let her pay for his skates. No way! That just wasn’t the way Gabe rolled. “N-n-n-n-no,” Gabe said, shaking his head as he gently pushed her credit card away. “I can’t let you do that. Really, that’s sweet, but no.” He was smiling by the time he finished, but still adamant that she not pay for his skates. “Thank you, but I got it. Maybe you can just say you’ll see me again instead.” That seemed like an equal trade, if she was looking to do something for him. He could pay for his skates, but he couldn’t buy a date with her, which was likely much harder to get and not found in a store.
But... but... Aetheria wanted to help! She pouted when Gabe started refusing her offer, not sure what she was doing wrong. Hell, even the cashier looked confused. And while Gabe took care of his own bill, Aetheria kept standing there with massive puppy dog eyes and a trembling lip. She just wanted to make him happy, what was wrong with that? But then he threw the offer on the table that they could meet again. ...he wants to see me again! Aetheria had to be making a good impression if he wanted to see her again. Now that turned her sad face around. Completely beaming, she nodded her head and latched onto Gabe for another hug. Yay, she made a friend! Though the only problem was communication, seeing phones just did not like Aetheria and that seemed to be the only way people communicated in this country. What ever happened to handwritten letters? Maybe Gabe would have a better idea, so she looked up at him with bright blue eyes and waited.