A Meeting of Opposites

[Koukin]

Morning eventually rolled around. Ariel had this day off, meaning he had absolutely nothing to do except his usual routine.

He'd woken roughly around 8, and went for his morning jog. It was a calm, refreshing time where he just took a nice run around his neighborhood, spanning a good 3 miles round trip. It was a nice, gentle jog. Returning around 8:30 (averaging 10 minutes a mile), he sat in the middle of the room, doing a few cool down stretches. The man worked hard to keep in shape, and he wasn't about to let a day off deter him from his exercise after all.

Seeing that his guest was still mostly asleep, he stepped in for a 20 second shower, then changed into his off day clothes - today consisting of a pair of jeans and an Arsenal Football Club Jersey.

Before long he set about making breakfast, the smell of eggs over easy, warm buttered toast, some orange juice and some bacon began to fill the apartment air.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- Lavi gave a small hiccup, tail giving a sweep and falling over the edge as he stretched awake. The apartment smelt confusing as he slowly came to, relaying on smell rather than his weak sight, pushing to his paws. Breakfast, the dominating scent, mixed with fresh air and crisp under tone of water.

Sitting now like an obedient dog, he let himself come to before moving around any further. Hiccuping again, he realized the calling for water was coming from his right - he almost sent both dish and mink tumbling from the ledge with his gusto, sticking front paws into the luke warm, and then replacing them with his face, shocking away anything sleep had left. His first instinct was to use it for recreational use, so he sat awkwardly, most of him over flowing the confines as he watched Ariel move around.

Though it should of been obvious, he noticed from his water based daze the food being prepared, and leaped from his perch to the ground. He brushed himself against his clothes quickly to dry off what he could, bouncing across the floor to skitter to a halt beside the apartment owner's foot. Brimming with gusto, he used the various drawer pulls to maneuver himself to the counter top.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

Ariel turned his head to the mink as it appeared up on the counter top, nodding a good morning to his guest. Absently, while cooking, he reached over to pat the thing on its head. He wasn't quite sure if Minks ate bacon...regardless he set down a piece anyways, one that wasn't piping hot.

He finished up the eggs and somewhat clumsily scooped them onto the plates, next to the bacon, and toast. Placing the plate next to Lavi, he glanced over at the glass of orange juice. He wasn't exactly sure how the little creature would drink from a glass, or whether or not he'd shift to eat.

Of course, he was finished with his food within minutes of it arriving. The spread on his plate rapidly disappeared in a few bites, ending with Ariel almost daintily wiping his mouth with a paper towel. For a moment, he eyed Lavi's share, but changed his mind and sat down on the milk crate.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- Lavi accepted the touch to his head, giving another hiccup as the bacon was offered to him. He munched it with vigor, razor sharp teeth ripping through the meat with little issue. Licking his maw, he watched as Ariel finished, figuring it was probably best to be a rational guest. As he served, he jumped down from the counter, disappearing into the main room, nails skittering on the floor. Animatedly, he dragged his discarded clothes about with him into the bathroom, shutting himself inside as he twisted back into human form.

The strength of the scents dimmed considerably, but his gusto had not, so quickly he pulled back on his flannel pajamas and yesterdays shirt, making a note in the back of his mind he could rather use a shower later. Practically skipping on his way out of the bathroom, Lavi gave a cheery "Good morning~" as he picked up on the plate in one hand, taking the orange juice in his other.

A creature of habit and preference, he finished his drink, setting it on the counter beside the sink where his bag and various items still resided. He groped in the water for a second, pulling out his utensils, dabbing them on his pants before moving onto eating his food. Not that Aeriel's silverware wasn't decent - it was the dinosaur and rubber gripper that made his own so much more preferable. He added cleaning out the sink to his earlier mental checklist, eating as he leaned against the counter, just watching his host.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

Out of his periphery, he watched the little mink disappear into the bathroom and reemerge as a human. Even though he could do it himself, he was still sort of amazed at the ability.

Conversational skills had never been his strong suit. Nor had they been any sort of suit at all for him, but Ariel was really trying this time. Really, he was. What ensued turned out to be a further barrage of questions.

"Did you sleep well?" "How's breakfast?" "What're you plans for today? More sightseeing?", "Is Sacramento nice?"

He'd listen intently to all the responses, of course. It was just the sort of person he was.

((OOC: I have no idea where this is going. Why don't you take the reigns?))

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- He nibbled on the end of his fork, amused grey eyes twinkling with pure enjoyment in Ariel's questions. Lavi finished what remained on his plate in a last few fork fills, holding the toast before him with two delicate fingers as if a squirrel, discarding the plate into his dish water from the night.

"Perfectly~" he chimed, licking away the lingering crumbs from his fingers, flicking what he couldn't manage into the sink. The brunette bumped the contents around again, drawing out a sodden duck from the utensil wreckage. "Thank you for the food, you didn't have to. Better than what I can pull together~" Two down, he began to stuff the items back into his little traveling bag, not really caring for the moisture still clinging to them.

"I... dunno," he drew out the pause in between, lips parted slightly into a curious 'o' as he really hadn't gotten much past thinking 'adventuring!' the previous day. "I guess it depends how long I stay around in the city. I didn't get all that far last night," the grey eyed boy informed, patting wet fingers to his pajama bottoms, "but I kinda feel like just being outdoors~"

Lavi wandered into the great room, standing off to the side as he observed the apartment owner, curling his bare toes into the carpeting, loving the feeling the action brought. "In Sacramento, it's kind of hard to enjoy being outside cause it's all kinda beach and lake front..." he poked around on the topic, moving to his tip toes now to stagger precariously as if balancing on some invisible rope, "What's around here that's not... that?"

_{OOC; Let's see... -ponders-}

[Koukin]

Ariel, upon observation, was almost always still. Not perfectly, but not much would move save a blink or a turn of his head or hand. It gave him all the more a predatory vibe, like he was just waiting for a chance to spring into action. This naturally contradicted his like of dancing, or even his job as a dancer, but it was certainly an interesting thing to note.

To most of Lavi's responses, he simply nodded in reply, keeping his deep brown eyes firmly fixated on his guest.

"There's Central Park, or Washington Square park. Lots of restaurants, bars and jazz clubs around there too. It's New York City, there's stuff to do." He shrugged "I have the day off; I wouldn't mind showing you around."

Once again his response surprised him. He gave himself a quick mental checkup and realized that he was still, quite certainly, himself. Nevertheless he was still surprised at his sudden...outgoingness. Perhaps he was merely craving companionship? After all, Ariel's life had been entirely solitary since he was forced to leave the military.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- He kept bouncing his toes for a moment, smiling as usual at his every response. "Really?" Lavi chimed loudly, despite being in a state still close to sleepy grogginess. Brown locks bumped around his face as he began to move around again, just kind of roaming as he babbled onward about nothing completely related."It's so much more nice around here without the constant sun and then all the leafy trees, 'cuz down in Sacramento it's just a bunch of fron-y plants that really are scratchy to be around when you want to go through them, y'know?"

Lavi left his words hanging, not really looking for an answer of his opinionated question. With orange juice and satisfying food in his stomach, the shifter's energy was already boosting, a morning person no matter how late he slept in. "Ariel," he stated once he made it back down to earth, ending his twirling for a moment, "would you mind taking me right away then once I get ready?"

He had heard it when he offered, but to be considerate, Lavi figured it'd be best to ask if he was as eager as himself to leave the smaller apartment and to venture about, reminded vaguely of his mother's constant reminders to ask before dragging people into things.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

"I wouldn't know; I've never been" Ariel stated, rather matter-of-factly. He watched the bouncy teen intently for a moment, when the request arrived:

"Oh, sure. Whenever you're ready." He couldn't help but feel rather like a chaperon to this head in the clouds Lavi, but nevertheless, he was finding more and more that he simply enjoyed the company. He didn't bother to change his clothes, but did set about repacking his backpack. He threw in a book he wanted to read, then tossed in a plastic bag with a water bottle in it. He wasn't about to go toting his gun about, but he already had his knife on his person, and his natural shifting ability (though it was broad daylight - it would be unwise to utilize it).

"If you're not planning on setting out today, I suggest not taking all your...uh...nick-knacks with you. New York is a lot easier to travel when you travel light." He looked around the apartment for anything he might've missed "And if you're not planning on leaving today, you're welcome to stay here until you do." He nodded. It was odd, he felt quite pleased with himself. He had always been hospitable to his guests, but he couldn't deny that it felt good this time, and not obligatory.

"Whenever you're ready" he repeated softly, leaning against the doorway.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- Lavi continued to bounce around for a moment, just nodding through all of his elder man's responses like an impatient child. His eyes batted in recognition though, lashes flickering here and there. "Yeah~" the boy stated absent mindlessly as Ariel gathered his items.

His inconsistent antics took a halt though when he continued on, and the mink boy couldn't help but give a cheery laugh. "Okay, thank you," the brunette told him sincerely, moving over to where he was poised. "I really appreciate it, again." For a moment he placed his hand to the man's arm, just a touch to say he really meant it amongst his incoherent babble he'd been sprouting before where please and thank-you were common to roll of his tongue.

On the balls of his heels he moved back to his own bag, padding in the random assortment of items that had over flowed. It occurred to him he was still in his pajama bottoms, the soft fabric rubbing on his knees as he shifted about, and he couldn't be bothered to change out of them. Opting for the other option, Lavi fished out a hardy tee-shirt of matching color (a dull amber that also resided in the plaid of his pants), switching his shirt out and tossing the other on top of his bag. He took care as he pulled it down, turning to give the master of the apartment a innocent look.

"Hey," he asked, as if unsure of his words, "what actually is your job, Ariel, if you have off today?" The brunette came back over, wiggling his shoes out from where he left him the previous night, "If you don't mind me asking? Not that I don't appreciate it!" he added in quickly, clawing at the back of his neck for a moment behind his shaggy locks.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

"It's my pleasure." Ariel nodded, but at the gesture of a touch, he quickly flinched away, allowing a microsecond of contact. There was no alarm or surprise as if he'd been burnt or shocked, merely reflex. He didn't look astonished at his own behaviour, or Lavi's, it was simply part of his nature to...well...not be touched.

"I work at Santa Maria's as a bartender and...uh...well...I'm a stripper" he didn't care to mince words at this point. The kid was old enough to know what a stripper was. However, the word was clearly flavoured with a little disdain.He turned and opened the door, stepping out into the hallway before usher Lavi to follow. Once the boy did, he'd close and double lock the doors, then move down the several flights of stairs at his usual, swift pace. For a moment it appeared as if Lavi had hit upon a sensitive subject, but he did nothing of the sort to discourage his questions. Opening up was difficult to do, and he most certainly was trying.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- Lavi smiled softly, knitting his hands together behind his back to refrain from dragging his tour guide along with him out of the apartment, antsy now to be outside. Or, more truthfully, to give him a moment to ponder an appropriate response to the man's occupation. If anything pleasant, he would have chimed something to the affect of 'that's so cool!' then proceed onto asking the first few questions on his mind... but he figured he knew better than to do that. Standing near the edge of the step, the brunette gave his obligatory heel movement, swaying slightly.

"You must be really reliable then, if they entrust you with two seemingly different things," it rolled away in a mixture of compliment and tease from his mouth, floating about the hallway as he moved to lean against the railing. Lavi's words held a sense of finality, echoing that he respected the answer and that it needed to further analyzing by his part.

Carefully he bounded down the stairs in twos, stopping at the landing. Emitting a soft hum, the shifter leaned over, plucking a roughly folded newspaper off the step, tussled and abused. He flicked it open far enough to check the date, recognizing it faintly as the previous day. Without another regard of the text he threw it back closed, using the prop as an extension of his hand as he continued downwards for the ground floor.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

"Reliable? I think it's just because I'm good at both." Ariel shrugged, obviously not meaning to compliment himself. To him it was just truth; the tiger shifter was a hard worker, and a ridiculously honest person. He led Lavi back the five block walk to the subway station, keeping the boy close as it was much busier. The whole way through the subway station, he had his hand gently gripped on a sleeve of Lavi's shirt; not touching the person, but the clothing. Perhaps it was his distaste for touching, or perhaps it was part of his chinese heritage*, nonetheless he led the boy around by tugging his sleeve. The train ride back into Manhattan was fitfully uneventful, and during the change-over, Ariel proceeded to lead Lavi around by the sleeve through the crowds again, essentially forcing the boy to gently keep up with his quick, New Yorker pace.

They finally reached their destination, 72nd street metro station, and emerged into the open air. Essentially across the street was Central Park.

"We're entering Central Park from here..." Ariel announced "This way we're close to the Belvedere Fountain and the John Lennon Memorial." He figured that sort of thing would be exciting for Lavi. Atop that, the place was 2.5 miles (and .5 miles wide) of an open air park.

[W h e l p z i e]

.MISTER LAVISH![/color]

---- Newspaper moving from hand to hand, and then under each arm to back to each hand, the distraction kept his mouth shut, a squiggle of a line for a smile. Allowing himself to be toted around once more (Lavi figured the man's patience could only hold so much as any person, and by guiding him along it was a way to keep it, for he was quite possibly the best dawdler to emerge from Wisconsin in quite some time), the brunette had settled into conversation with a elderly woman on train, giddy that she, too, was a traveler. The mink boy was deep into the story of her son when Ariel dragged him off, resuming the toting through the crowd and out onto daylight. Forgotten for the ride, his newspaper was still tucked into his hand by the crinkling edges, like a child with a stuffed animal that couldn't be left anywhere.

Walking beside Ariel, Lavi nodded briskly, giving a quick thank you as they maneuvered through the crowds. The mink boy had almost forgotten why he'd scooped up the paper before, intending to trash it properly before the made it too incredibly far. Experience told him all parks had some sort of outlet, so curiously he gave it a flip in his hands, parting it in his palms to scan the inked pages with little interest.

He stumbled on his own feet, righting himself before any damage could be done. The flow of people had only dimmed a bit in the outlet into the park, but none the less Lavi made a sharp sound in his throat, coming to a halt on the side the path. The teenager's mouth moved into a small frown and his eyes narrowed slightly in a display of lopsided fright and anger. "..." The shift sighed deep in his throat, letting out a angered whine of sigh, monotone eyes drawn onto the text before him.

Later on it'd occur to him he prolly looked homeless, standing at the mouth of the park in worn pajamas, staring angrily at a torn, used newspaper from the following day, that would create a chuckle that could for certain disrupt the rest of the passengers on his ride home. He wasn't quite aware of that yet, though.

_OOC;

[Koukin]

Ariel raised his eyes slightly at the odd noise Lavi had made. He turned and raised an eyebrow in a half-hearted attempt to read over Lavi's shoulder.

Regardless of what he read (since he'd have time to mull it over as he walked), he started walking into the park, looking over his shoulder for a moment to see if the kid would follow. He stood there for a minute, hands in his pockets, mainly eying the people who walked around Lavi, obviously distrustful of their potential motives, and perhaps slightly disdainful at their very presences around the two of them.

"Weather's nice." He muttered softly to no one, as if trying to make conversation with the air.