Ardelia stood tiredly in front of the mirror in her pajamas, yawning. "It's way too early to be awake," she muttered under her breath, blearily rubbing her eyes. Sighing, Ardelia picked up the brush on the bathroom counter and began the process of untangling her hair, which was chocolate-brown with streaks of honey-gold running through it. After brushing her hair, she parted it on the side before putting it into an artfully messy braid, letting the braid hang down the side of her face. Ardelia looped a tan-colored elastic band around the end of her braid and gave it a small pat before moving padding back into her small but comfortable bedroom. 

Opening her closet door, Ardelia eyed the organized chaos for a moment, pondering on what look she should go for. [i]Am I feeling soft and lacy or bright and bold?[/i] she asked herself, staring at her clothing choices. [i]Hmmm.... [/i] 

Ardelia reached for a vintage floral-print skirt. It was navy blue with light orange flowers splayed across the fabric and cool green leaves scattered amongst the flowers. The skirt featured a high waist and only came down mid-thigh. It was obviously meant to be worn with tights of some sort. [i]Which tights, though?[/i] Ardelia thought. Her gaze landed on a nondescript pair of black tights. She impulsively grabbed them and found a black blouse to match. She quickly changed and examined her reflection. [i]That should do it. Now-shoes.[/i] 

Ardelia's extensive collection of footwear was on a rack in her closet. Her hands went to a pair of black leather boots, paused, then flitted over to a pair of black high heels with bows that were supposed to be fastened around the ankles. [i]Perfect.[/i] Ardelia pulled on the high heels and stepped away from the closet.

[hider=Ardelia's outfit] [img]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8a/2e/b9/8a2eb93974814cbf58d0acc208c5aad5.jpg[/img] [/hider]

Back inside the bathroom, Ardelia undid her braid, deciding that it didn't go very well with her outfit of the day. She straightened her hair and pulled it back into a high ponytail before curling the ends of it slightly to give the ponytail some volume and just a tiny bit of curl. Ardelia looped a big black bow around the base of the ponytail to complete the vintage vibe. 

For her lipstick, Ardelia went with her signature shade of bright burgundy. She traced the color over the edges of her lips with a matte lipstick pencil before filling it in, making sure that the edges looked clean and crisp. After applying the necessary foundations and blushes, Ardelia carefully applied eyeliner and mascara, topping it all off with a slight touch of navy blue eye shadow. To complete the look, Ardelia added a thin gold necklace with an orange pendant and amber stud earrings.

When Ardelia checked the time, she almost had a heart attack. "Shit, shit, shit, I'm gonna be late for work," she muttered under her breath as she shoved her belongings into a simple black purse with a thin golden strap and slung it over her shoulder. She sprinted out the door, hardly pausing to lock it. Too impatient to take the elevator, Ardelia bounded down the stairs, her ponytail swinging every which way as she took the stairs two at a time. Outside, on the streets, Ardelia threaded her way through the crowds, not bothering to apologize every time her hair smacked someone in the face. "Miranda is going to [i]kill me[/i]," she hissed under her breath, referring to her boss. Ardelia frantically wove through the throngs of people, surprisingly surefooted in her four-inch heels.

Ardelia sprinted into the monorail station, her heels clacking furiously against the floor. She skidded to a halt inside one of the monorail trains and grabbed one of the metal poles as the monorail began to move. Ardelia caught her breath as she watched the city flash by her through the windows of the monorail car. She patted her hair, making sure that it had not become disheveled during her run to the monorail station, and impatiently waited for the monorail to arrive at her stop.

As soon as the vehicle had pulled into the station, Ardelia was out the doors and running like her life depended on it-which it actually kind of did. She checked the time. [i]Can I get into the office in three minutes?[/i] she asked herself wildly, rudely pushing past a group of people. "Sorry!" she called out over her shoulder, not bothering to process their reactions, which were most undoubtedly startled and or indignant. 

Ardelia sped into the sleek, modern building where she worked, giving the receptionist-a dark-skinned woman with hair dyed a bright blue-a quick wave as she clattered up three flights of stairs, in too much of a rush to wait for the elevator. Ardelia clocked in two minutes and twenty-six seconds after eight o'clock. [i]Not bad. Not bad at all. Man, after all this exercise, I could sure go for a doughnut or something equally unhealthy.[/i] Unfortunately, Ardelia was not to have a doughnut. But she could certainly get coffee.

After downing a cup of the caffeinated beverage with at least three packets of sugar dumped into it, Ardelia slowly sank down into the seat in her cubicle, praying that Miranda was busy with some meeting or the other and had not noticed Ardelia arriving two minutes and twenty-six seconds late. Her boss was a stickler for being on time, something that Ardelia still hated, even after three or four years. She gently mopped up the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow, careful not to ruin her make-up, and got to work.

The design firm Ardelia worked at was one of the more prestigious ones; they'd have to be, in order to be in the Lorne Corporation's good graces. That meant that the competition was cutthroat, at least amongst the new recruits. It was generally accepted that if you managed to survive a year without being fired, you had enough skill as a designer to remain. Ardelia grinned to herself, remembering her first year working on Mars. [i]It was tough, but rewarding,[/i] she reflected. [i]I don't miss it though. Man, it was some tough shit.[/i]

Ardelia went about her usual routine of checking emails and the more mundane tasks before cracking her neck and beginning to work in earnest. The Lorne Corporation had requested more variations of her original floral print, and Ardelia was more than happy to oblige. She absolutely adored anything and everything having to do with flowers. [i]It's a shame that there aren't very many of them in New London,[/i] she mused as she worked, sketching design ideas out with a stylus and a holotablet. Ardelia tilted her head to the side and frowned, critically studying her current design. [i]The skirt flares out too much. It's got too much of a poodle skirt feel to it,[/i] she thought, deleting the "sketch" with a deft flick of her fingers. 

Ardelia spent another hour fiddling around with the skirt using the holotablet before she gave up. [i]Time to do this the old-fashioned way.[/i] Ardelia opened up one of her desk drawers and procured a pencil with a chewed-up eraser and a standard 8.5"x11" piece of paper. She let her mind wander, aimlessly sketching out whatever she could think of. By the time noon rolled around, Ardelia was feeling pretty confident. She had a concrete idea down on paper. All that was left to do was to refine it.

Ardelia set down her pencil and closed her eyes, concentrating. She imagined herself groping around a dark room, feeling for a light switch. At first, there was nothing to indicate that a light switch even existed-she was sliding her hands across a flat wall, so to speak. Suddenly, her fingers hit metaphorical plastic, and after that it was not very difficult at all to find the actual switch and turn it on. Ardelia opened her eyes, and like magic, there was a translucent haze of color around the edges of her hands. Neon green and hot pink swirled lazily around her, which Ardelia recognized as the colors produced by creative energies. She grinned and stood up, walking out of her cubicle and to the elevator.

By the time that Ardelia arrived at the cafe on the first floor for lunch, most of her co-workers were already settled in and eating. Ardelia chose the rice with curry and spicy tofu, smiling cheerfully and thanking the worker who handed her the food. His aura was a bored grey color. Ardelia then let her gaze flit across the room, colors undulating and surging and swirling all around her. She made her way to Anya and the others, greeting any familiar faces with a wide grin.

"Miranda noticed that you were late, by the way," a bespectacled man with sleek black hair drawled as Ardelia took a seat. His aura was a cheeky light orange. 

Ardelia groaned out loud. "Great. I was only two minutes late, though!" she protested.

Anya gave her a wry smile. Her aura was ocean-blue and relaxed. "You know how Miranda is," she said teasingly, flickers of yellow orange amusement forming in her aura as she spoke.

Ardelia huffed and rolled her eyes playfully. "Yeah, yeah. I'm dead, I know," she responded, taking a bite of her lunch and using the slight lull to check out what the others were wearing.

Silas-the black-haired man with glasses-wore a trim suit and waistcoat, as always. His appearance was always suave and slick, though Ardelia knew that he was a huge dork on the inside. Anya, on the other hand, was a bright and bold type of person. There were bracelets in all different shapes and sizes up to her elbows, and she wore huge gold hoop earrings. Her hair was dyed scarlet and sunset-orange, and her lipstick was electric pink. Ardelia always loved Anya's outfits. She found the other woman's vibrant, vivid colors a breath of fresh air. 

Besides Silas and Anya, drab-looking Teresa seemed to pale in comparison with her pencil skirts and mousy hair, but Ardelia knew better than to judge her by her appearance. Teresa was widely considered to be one of the best designers employed. When Ardelia had asked her why she dressed the way she did, Teresa had simply shrugged. "I know what looks good and what doesn't," she had replied. "I just don't choose to dress like I do." Ardelia remembered thinking that Teresa's philosophy seemed slightly hypocritical, but she supposed it didn't matter. Anyway, she enjoyed Teresa's company. Her aura was always a dry dusty blue, and she was always ready with a sarcastic quip to lighten the mood.

Ardelia chatted amiably with her friends while she ate and returned to her cubicle when she was finished, working steadily until four-thirty in the afternoon. Then, she put away her sketches and gathered her belongings, meeting up with Silas as they took the elevator back down to the first floor. It had been a productive day at work.