[color=598527]Gah, I'm lost![/color] Aron said suddenly.

There was only so much he could do while listening to other people talk, and he was getting a little confused. Also, he began noticing that people were looking at him funny. It was probably because he smelled like the sea, but he shouldn't smell that bad. At least the sewer smell was gone. Though it was replaced by a fish smell, and eating an entire semi-live raw fish probably didn't help matters.

But Aron knew what he could do. He stood up and declared his thoughts.

[color=598527]"I don't know about any of this structural integrit' stuff or investigation,[/color] He said, pronouncing it slowly. [color=598527]But if you all need to do some sewer diving, I'm your man!"[/color]

He pointed to himself proudly, taking pride in his skills despite them being... somewhat removed from the social norms.

[color=598527]"I know the sewers like the back of my hand! Lived there most of my life!"[/color] He said, grinning.

Aron didn't really love the sewers, but the sewers had helped him survive. He knew where all the monsters were, the twists and turns, and where the safe spots were when the floods came. He took pride in his 'home'. It wasn't his first choice, but he knew it better than pretty much anyone.

[color=598527]"If there's nothing more to be said, I'll go outside to brush my teeth for a minute!"[/color] He said.

Aron stalked off out into the rain, which was thankfully thinning. It would stop raining soon. It also meant that the sewers would clear up in an hour or two, and there could be fish left in the passages. However, the the passages would be slippery for quite some time. It was fortunate for the expedition, however, that it wasn't the right season for storms. Despite all his knowledge of the sewers, it would be a struggle to survive in them during a storm. It was part of the reason why no one entered them; the sewers were one of the worst killers in Ebb.

Aron didn't care about that, of course. He knew about it, but would be hard pressed to explain it. Instead, he exited the mayor's house. He walked up to the beach front and pulled out his leather case. It was precious to him, as it was worth quite a bit and it was waterproof. From inside the case, he extracted his special toothbrush (it's a metal one) and his special toothpaste (metal cleaner). Aron sidled down to the water's edge while putting some of his toothpaste onto his toothbrush before beginning the brushing.

The metal-on-metal made a relatively harsh grating sound, but it was necessary. He would've loved to eat the brush, but it was the only thing preventing his teeth from smelling like rusty metal and fish guts. He scrubbed his teeth thoroughly before spitting out the metal polish taste. He wiped the tooth brush off and replaced it back into his case. In its stead, he took out a packet of heavy-duty breath mints, taking one and putting it in his mouth. He grinned as he used his finger to check his teeth.

[color=598527]"Good."[/color] Aron said, extracting his finger but still grinning. [color=598527]"Can't forget dental Hygiene."[/color]

Yes, he smelled bad, and yes, he was homeless, but being sick was something he absolutely couldn't afford. There was no one else to take care of him, and he didn't have the money to seek treatment. As he was on his own, he had to take care of himself. He managed well enough, though. He wanted to make money, not lose it.

Aron walked towards the mansion as the mint dissolved in his mouth.

-----------------------------------------

Ash still leaned back on the wall as the others expressed their respective interests in the two groups. A rough looking man left, and Ash ignored him. Ash didn't personally mind either group, really. His... work had taken him to many different locations before, and sewers were by no means the worst place he'd been in. He still gave that particular award to [deleted].

Ash didn't have any preferences, really. His curiosity was piqued about the sewer's underworks, and he didn't want to miss the chance to work with a high-elf and a Parili. But...

Ash shifted his head to an almost inaudible degree, shifting his gaze to a curiosity in the group. A large man in a white coat. No one could deny his presence, and perhaps what drew Ash was simply because like him, the man hid his face. But Ash couldn't get rid of the feeling that the man was more than met the eye. 

Perhaps it was the way he carried himself. The way he shifted his hood ever so carefully. Ash knew that behaviour, it was that of a man with something to hide. The man had expressed his interest in joining the land group, few as they were. The man's behaviour changed slightly, and Ash noted a slight change in the man's voice, which Ash identified as a very light fear. More trepidation than phobia fear, but fear nonetheless. Ash wanted to know more of the man, he wanted to know what he hid. What should Ash do.

[color=00746b]"I will go with the sewer group."[/color] Ash said finally.

There were many reasons to go with the surface group, but the reasons to go with the sewer group outweighed the surface group ones. Furthermore, he didn't feel like trusting the surface group just yet. The aformentioned white-robed man, as well as a spineless seeming goblin. There was also a seemingly unhinged man in the sewer group, but that man had shown interest in their snow-elf participant, so he was unlikely to bother others. There was always a possibility, but there were more people in the sewer group currently, so Ash could at least trust the numbers.

Besides that, the sewers seemed relatively more dangerous and interesting, but he doubted his skills would be much needed on the surface. Even though the sewers were filled with water which naturally clashed with his affinity, he wanted to satisfy his curiosity. While tying up loose ends were his specialty, he was definitely curious about the snow-elf princess, the Parili, and the others. 

Also, Ash was no longer an assassin, he was a mercenary. And he had a nagging feeling that the underground group might need his skills more than the above-ground group.