[Ariyah – The Elysium – Cargo Section – BoL – A]
Ariyah just smiles and saves Darien’s contact details into her phone without comment. She had noticed Darien’s sudden withdrawal but chose to not react.
His response had reminded her that she shouldn’t be so trusting of Kindred so quickly. She’d just met the guy and was already letting down her walls. It was one thing to act friendly, it’s another to actually throw caution to the winds.
Instead, she laughs at Darien’s words, choosing to take them as a joke, “Well, we all have our own hobbies.”
“If you’re not comfortable staying still for extended periods of time,” Ariyah continues, “Then I wouldn’t stress about the portrait, it was but a passing thought.”
She smiles politely, and it was no less genuine than before, however, it was definitely more reserved. She looks around the Elysium, “It looks like more people have arrived while we were busy chatting. Do you know many people here?”
It was another reminder at how she’d lost her sense of self-preservation; she knew next to nothing about this person sitting across from her: not how long he’s been in Seattle, not who his Sire is, nor whether he might have any history with Marvin. Although it’s true that, for the most part, her Mawla kept his nose out of Seattle politics, it was unwise to assume there’s been no bad blood ever in his long and varied history.
Someone shows you the tiniest bit of kindness and you completely lose your head. Ariyah berates herself.
“I think I might need a drink after all,” Ariyah comments as she catches the bartender’s eye and makes a gesture for one glass. Even though she can’t actually drink it, at least it’ll give her something to do with her hands.
When the “glass” arrives in the form of a plastic cup, Ariyah raises an eyebrow and holds the disposable item as if she’s never seen plastic before.
One glance over at Darien and she realises he’s been drinking from a similar container. She just didn’t notice it earlier.
This Elysium certainly redefines charm.