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[center][color=#FFC0CB][b][sub]Location: Castle Layton, War Room[/sub][/b][/color][hr][/center][center][img]http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/w458/Shadeflare123/aya_zpsbvhrietb.png[/img][hr][/center]

Aya twirled a pencil around her fingers, a pink notepad and a glass of water sitting in front of her on the table. She'd been to hundreds of meetings in her life, with hundreds of different people. This one, at least, was a little interesting. First off, they were here to discuss their [i]competition.[/i] Competition was sort of her thing. It gave her peace of mind to know just who she would be up against, so she would always do her research beforehand. This time, someone else did it for her, which was nice. Second, she was in an actual [i]castle,[/i] which was pretty neat. A faint smile crossed her face as she remembered the first time she'd seen Layton Castle; the place was so much bigger on the inside than she'd expected. Plus, her room had a really big window overlooking a garden. Not even her villa in Sinnoh had something like that. And third, well...

Third was Alex.

Aya had seen plenty of beautiful people in her life. Contest coordinators sort of [i]have[/i] to be beautiful to make it, which she thought to be a sad truth of the industry. But most of the contest coordinators she'd met in her life tried too [i]hard[/i] to be hot and beautiful and attractive. Alex was sort of effortlessly hot, which wasn't something she was used to. Maybe battling meant there was less pressure to look good? Though, everyone in the room was attractive in some way or another; but Alex carried himself a certain way that she'd noticed the instant she met him. He was oddly self-assured, like he'd been born ready to lead this team. She liked that. As he started listing off names, Aya quietly wrote them down, just for good measure. Just because he was cute doesn't mean she wasn't paying attention.

Most of the names Aya didn't recognize. She supposed that was why they were going over them. She paused for a moment to take a sip of water, just as Alex mentioned the name "Daphne". Aya's eyes widened, and she almost choked on her water, but she didn't think anyone noticed. [color=#FFC0CB][i]Why is she here?[/i][/color] she wondered, trying to remain outwardly calm. Maybe it was some other Daphne, she thought, but Alex mentioned that she was "jacked". The only "jacked" coordinator named Daphne Aya knew was her ex, which was pretty bad news for her. [color=#FFC0CB][i]Look on the bright side. You know her usual routines, maybe you can help Ritzy out.[/i][/color] At the very least, it was just a bad coincidence. Couldn't get any worse, right? Finally, Alex looked at Aya, and she took the moment to give him a sweet smile. She'd always heard good things about her smile.

Of course, her smile fell when Alex said "Piers O'Brian". [i]Two exes.[/i] On [i]one team.[/i] Sometimes Aya wondered if there was any sort of higher power out there, but in this moment she thought that any higher power must only exist to torment her. Piers O'Brian was a troubling reminder of her "rebellious" phase, when she was barely eighteen and dating "edgy" guys. A painful memory came to mind of a time when his lip piercing happened to pierce [i]her[/i] lip, and she bled all over his face. Aya reflexively touched her thumb to her mouth, wondering if the scar was still visible. She hoped not. A panicked thought hit her: Piers O'Brian might look like he got kicked out of a B-list metal band, but he was a [i]good[/i] coordinator. Possibly better than her. She had a lot of work to do, she realized as she opened the folder. She recognized a photo of him from several years ago, when he won a big contest in Hoenn.

[color=#FFC0CB][i]Quit thinking about your ex,[/i][/color] she told herself as she looked back up at Alex. [color=#FFC0CB][i]You've got better things to do.[/i][/color] Aya had always been told she had a flirtatious personality, but she was perfectly fine with that. [color=#FFC0CB][b]"Um, I have a...comment,"[/b][/color] she said, resting her chin on her hand. [color=#FFC0CB][b]"I'm pretty...familiar with both of the coordinators you mentioned. I'd be happy to discuss some strategies with you, if you'd like,"[/b][/color] she continued, tucking the end of her pencil in her mouth in a manner that could only be described as [i]suggestive.[/i] As she did so, she reached her foot out to stroke Alex's leg under the table. What was that called again? Playing footsies?