Description: Objective: None. Obstacle: None. Alias: Amelia. Summary: Drake has a late Christmas gift for the enigmatic bandit, much to Ayame's surprise!
The weather has been wet lately, leaving the sky overcast and the sands of the beach just damp enough to not really blow around much even with the brisk breeze that gusts along the shore this afternoon. It's not really that late, but it doesn't have to be for the sun to be setting in the horizon before too long. Pesky short winter days.
Ayame is not a people person, so she's certainly not at the beach to hang out with anyone. The only couple people she's ever met at Sound Beach she's mugged and that isn't usually the route toward lasting friendships, to say the least.
But the beach is a great place to find loners too and those are the easiest to target for the unrepentant theif. At the moment she is talking with a teen girl near the stairs of a lifeguard tower. The chatter, from a distance, sounds friendly enough, as Ayame easily banters with this new found 'friend' about music, movies, boys, school... almost as if she actually cared about any of that stuff.
Unfortunately, it's just 'Amelia' up to her usual antics. A confidence con, she'll probably make a move to deprive the poor target of anything of value before too long once she's gotten her too comfortable to notice...
Drake is a beach-goer, though, and the heck with not enjoying it before leaving the country again. So out strides Drake to soak up the last of his time here in Southtown before moseying on to take care of business. His overshirt is buttoned up for the time being, and God only knows why he's wearing trunks. No intention to get into the water. But hey, one must dress for location, right? That's how style works. Still, he expects to be all on his lonesome, what with it still being winter...
But lo and behold, he spies Amelia in the failing light. Her outfits are so easy to pick out, Drake's found. But this is good! He was afraid it'd be forever between a visit again.. even if she's not particularly near his house. "HEY!," he shouts, lifting a hand. "Amelia!" And he steps down from the porch to start in her direction, all bright smiles and happy curvy eyes.
Ayame has never forgotten an alias to date. When she hands them out, they become almost a part of herself, another name by which to answer when it's called. Thus it is that when Drake calls out to her, the girl doesn't even hesitate to look over her shoulder, brown eyes quickly seeking out Drake, recognizing his voice immediately. His timing is inconvenient, as it means she's going to have probably let her poor little target off the hook, but the opportunity cost is worth it.
Ayame turns all the way around and the teen she was talking to steps to her side. A young, rather buxom blonde from Justice High. "I thought your name was Ave."
Ayame brushes the question off with a wave of her hand, "Ah, don't worry about it, that's my middle name."
"Oh. OH. Is that who I think it is?!" the student squeals, eyes widening as her attention turns from Ayame toward the approaching model wrestler.
"Yup," the strawberry-blonde Amelia grins. "Friend of mine." The hand she used to brush away the questions about her name is immediately used to wave toward the approaching young man, her mouth curling into a friendly smile. "Drake!"
Drake has no idea what's going on, really. Not until he hears a familiar fangirl squeal. They have a certain cadence to them. Never fails. So he gets a little more pep to his step, in a way. When he arrives, he smiles brightly to both the girls - Ayame first. "I was hoping I'd see you while I was back in town. Besides that, you owe me something as I recall," he notes.
But first!
Drake's deep, dark amethyst eyes shift to the young Justice High student. "But who's your friend?"
Amelia's hand comes up to rest on the other girl's shoulder, "This is Krystal. We just met." But now she isn't sure what to /do/ with the girl. Being nice just for the sake of being nice isn't any good at all!
She doesn't really much of a word in edge-wise as the only slightly younger girl clasps her hands together in front of her and bounces on her feet, "I can't believe it, it really is him!"
Ayame grins and shakes her head, "Stop it, it'll go to his head, okay?" giving Krystal a playful shove on the shoulder before lowering her hand to her side. "Owe you something, hm...?" She narrows one eye, pretending to have no idea what he might be referring to. "I can't imagine what that might be. Must've slipped my mind entirely!"
She rests her hand at her hip then, tossing her hair back over her shoulder with a practiced shake of her head. "Maybe you'll just have to remind me what that was." She glances to the side toward the younger student then back toward Drake. "Maybe we should walk for a bit." Sorry, Krystal, you're being ditched!
Drake smiles brightly at the girl and lifts a hand to gently touch under her chin in an innocently flirty manner. "Krystal. Pretty name," he compliments. And that's how you keep fans! Keep'em happy! But his hand lowers when Ayame makes her comment, and she gets a look from him - a playfully hurt look. "Awh, come on. You forgot? I believe a date was involved," he says. "But if it's -that- forgettable..."
But the girl's wanting to walk. It's well enough, but only if it's back towards his place. ..No, not for anything perverse. He looks over to Krystal again and offers her a bright smile. "I'm gonna go have a chat with Amelia here, but promise me you'll come to my fights? Cheers from pretty girls always help me pull through to the end." He looks back to Amelia, then motions towards his place. "We can really walk around in a bit. But first, come over to my porch?"
Of course the student eats up the attention. Meeting Drake in person, albeit briefly, was probably the highlight of her week and now she's gotta run off and tell all her friends about it! Ayame just laughs lightly as Drake reminds her of what it was she owed him. As if she forgot. "Ooooh, right, right," the girl replies, turning into the direction of his house. "Sure, sounds good."
The blonde takes off running back in the opposite direction toward the city, no doubt on the fast track back to the Justice High dorms to gossip with her girl friends about who she met on the beach just by happenchance!
Amelia clasps her hands behind her back and leans her head to the side. "Back in town, eh? Been on the road a lot? Busy fighting career? Modeling?" she sounds curious.
Drake shakes his head as he walks along. "Metro City, doing what I could to tear a chunk out of their crime rate. But it's pretty tough. It's all... nebulous. Hard to pin down where a gang is really working from, and when you beat a couple down, ten more pop up." That and the police were getting in the way.
"But I'm back for now. Before I head out to try and keep my team from getting killed by a maniac with a vendetta." Once they reach the porch, he turns around to face the girl. "You look great, by the way. Beautiful. As always, though. But.. stay right here for a sec? I didn't get to see you around Christmas, but I got you somethin'."
The girl listens to Drake speak about matters in Metro. Crime, gangs, law breaking... she's seen it all during her trips there as part of her current line of employment. She might actually be a factor in some of the very elements the young man is trying to combat. Of course she's silent about that possibility. "I hear things are rough out there," sounding like it isn't a place she's been to before, or at least in a very long time.
But he mentions the risks of his team against some maniac and Ayame's brow furrows a little. When last they spoke there was concern about his team, some of them not being around much. But it sounds like now their safety is in question... "A vendetta, huh? I guess being heroes will get you some of those... Who'd you upset this time?"
He faces her and compliments the girl and Amelia's eyes widen a little, her cheeks blushing just faintly as she lifts her right hand up to push back her hair just a little coyly. "Flattery might not get you everything, but it'll get me to wait here for a sec," the girl answers with a grin, staying put on the porch as requested. "Especially since it sounds like there's something in it for me."
"Oh, there's -always- something in it for you when I'm involved," flirts Drake, voice lowering to a more sultry level. He drifts to his door and winks before disappearing. He doesn't mention who his team has apparently angered. It isn't important, really. Besides, it might make her afraid of being around him, and that would suck.
So time passes! About... one minute. One minute and a half, at most. Drake is then emerging from his home, little blue velvet box in hand and proceeding towards Ayame, if she did as she said she would.
His flirty response earns him an amused shake of the head but the girl says nothing. She notices he doesn't answer her about who it is his group got upset. He might think she's forgotten it, but she is intensely curious about the subject. Knowing what other crazies are running around causing problems or earning the attention of vigilante groups is certainly information she can put to use.
But for now, the young lady is content to let Drake go and leave her curious, turning to stare off toward the beach off his porch. His place is so unlike either of the locales the girl calls home. A small, barely habitable studio in south Southtown or a room in a casino high rise over in Metro. Neither exactly captures the sensation this home on the beach does.
She's still there when Drake returns, regardless the length of the wait. Turning to face him, her natural attention to detail picks out the box immediately, brown eyes focusing on it before looking up at his face. "What's this?" comes the natural question, her expression lighting up a little.
Drake is happy enough to see that she's stuck around. No scampering off or pilfering through his stuff while he's distracted. Good for her! So he proceeds on up to her and lifts the box, offering it to her. "It's just a little something I thought you might like. I wasn't sure which type you like, though.. so.." Pause. "Whatever. Here you go. I really hope you like'em."
If she takes the box and opens it, she'll find two pairs of earrings, both fundamentally the same. Glinting, refined onyx crosses set on sterling silver bases. One pair consists of studs, the other pair are suspended from sterling silver.
So far, Ayame as stuck to her word with Drake. /His/ belongings are off limits so far. Unfortunately that doesn't extend beyond the contents of the Beach House in the girl's mind, much to Arika's chagrin no doubt considering this weekend's SNF.
Amelia reaches out to accept the box, craddling it in her hands for a moment as she holds it closer to herself, blinking. It almost begins to look like she's reluctant to open it, as if the act of doing so makes it no longer a mysterious gift to captivate her attention.
"You, ah, didn't really have to..." she mumbles awkwardly. Usually she's tricking people out of their positions BEFORE they know how much trouble she is. Getting a gift from someone who knows what the girl is like seems to have caught her off guard to a degree. But she isn't going to ponder the contents forever, finally opening the velvet box to reveal the earings within. "Oooh..." she begins to grin, eyes straying back up to look Drake over. "I like them all. Good guess."
Drake's eyes are -glued- to her face, attempting to ponder out her reaction and thoughts on the gift before she even says anything. Sure, the earrings are a little less elaborate than the gifts he usually give, but come on. She seems loaded with odds and ends anyway. Hard to surprise someone with that much stuff. ..Even if most of it isn't hers, technically. Her actual reaction to the gifts are most pleasing, though!
"Hey, my job's knowing what looks good. Both in clothes'n accessories..." And his hand lifts to very gently touch to her chin. "..And people." Flirty wink. "I'm glad you like it, though. I've not seen anything missing from my place, and I've noticed you've been fighting in the SNF more often. You're doing well!"
The girl is quiet for a moment as she stares at the earings thoughtfully, only glancing up when he reaches forward to touch her chin, catching his wink which provokes an almost shy grin from Ayame. "Well, you DO have a career in looking good," she responds.
He comments on her keeping her word lately and Amelia laughs lightly, "Hm, nothing missing, huh? Maybe you haven't been looking hard enough." She's kidding of course, but it doesn't hurt to make him wonder! "So you noticed that fighting stuff, huh? The pay isn't terrible and it's, well, I think of it more like practice really. Never know what you might learn out there."
She's quiet for a moment, mouth quirking as if struggling to get something else out. It takes a bit but it finally comes, a mumbled, awkward sounding, "Um, ah, so, you know, thanks." She hefts the box up a little as if to indicate thanks for the gift, but adds shortly after, "For everything."
Propping the bag up in her left hand, she reaches up to brush her hair back behind her right ear before deftly removing a simple, silver braid earing from her lobe. Stolen from some rich girl at Seijyun. Trading it from one of the crosses hanging from a length of silver, she replaces the old earing with the new one.
Drake lets his hand lower at his side again and laughs softly. "Hey, it's my pleasure. It seems like you're really turning things around for yourself, and.. hey. It was Christmas. I like you. I wanted to get you something." He takes a step closer and cocks his head aside, examining her with the earring. "Yeah. It looks good on you." He tilts his head back the proper way then, giving her a curious look with a grin. "Only one, huh? You -do- have your own style, that's for sure..."
As he comments on her style, Ayame replies back with a grin, "Always." She pauses a second, holding up the box in her palm, "Besides, think about what I can get for hawking the rest of the set, ne?" she asks cheerfully. She waits a beat before laughing lightly, lowering the box and shaking her head. "Just kidding. They're all very nice. I wouldn't sell them."
She flips the velvet container closed and wraps her fingers over it. "Still, it was very thoughtful of you. I, well, didn't think to get you anything." Big shock there. "But now I'll have to keep my word about that date, I suppose. It's only fair. When you get back from your trip playing hero." she states, her mouth half-quirked into a smile.
Drake looks disappointed when she teases, but when she gives her reassurance, that melts away. He knew she was kind've hard up for money, and figured her pawning them was a possibility she might try out, but was hoping she wouldn't. So her affirmation is a big of a relief to him. And the revelation that she didn't get him anything? Yeah, there's a no-brainer. He didn't expect her to at all. For one, she doesn't seem all that attached to him. For another.. hard up for cash, remember? That and he'd be worried the trinket or whatever would be stolen.
"I look forward to it," Drake notes. But he then turns to glance about himself. "Well.. you wanted to walk? Or maybe come inside? Whatever you prefer, Amelia."
Certain he is convinced she was really kidding about selling the jewelry, Ayame holds the container at her side. He mentions taking a walk or coming in side, but the girl glances out toward the darkening horizon, a thoughtful expression on her face. "I should get going..."
She looks back toward him, brown eyes studying him sincerely, "I really appreciate this. You... take care wherever you're going. Sounds dangerous. If you don't come back soon I'll have to help myself to your house's stuff, mkay?" There's a quick, teasing wink before the girl turns, pauses a moment, then steps down off the porch.
Drake starts to look hopeful, but.. well.. she seems concerned with the time. He gives a small nod and smile. "Okay. But.. no. Nix on helping yourself to my house. Besides that, I'm gonna have a house-sitter, anyway. She'd probably freak out at you." But he steps up to the edge of the porch, hand lifting to set gently on her shoulder. "Keep yourself safe, too. You're still alive, all intact still I see... and I like you that way. So don't let yourself get torn apart. And yanno what? I'm proud of you, seeing you taking those steps towards professional fighting and making a name for yourself. Keep it up, Beautiful."
But with that, if his hand had set to her shoulder, he steps back and allows her to leave. "Have a good night, Amelia."
When his hand rests on her shoulder, Amelia pauses, not looking back, her face out toward the beach ahead. There's a faint tremble of a chuckle as he tells her she can't have his stuff. Okay, okay! Point made. He expresses concern and optimism about where she's gotten so far. Is she any better than when she first met him? Maybe. Maybe a little. "I'm careful," she states. Not careful /enough/ if her recent beatings are any indication. But the sentiment is appreciated all the same.
"Good night, Drake," she states, finally glancing over her shoulder at him, offering him one final, quiet smile, before at last walking away. "I'll drop by in a while and see if you're back. Or maybe just scare your house-sitter." She winks, looks forward again, and walks off along the beach.
Log created on 21:23:18 01/06/2008 by Ayame, and last modified on 04:21:40 03/12/2008.