[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/6aMAKTq.png[/img]
[h1][color=ff2400]Aeira Ketsueiki[/color] and [color=#00b2b2]Asuka Ehime[/color][/h1]
[sub]Festival Grounds
Interaction: soph and Moyai[/sub]
[/center]

The silver-haired woman almost choked on her fries when she noticed someone not only looking at her but approaching her, for a moment she thought this was it some sort of fan who had recognized her and was about to bother her, and she was already brainstorming how she would deal with such a situation. However, to her surprise, that was not the case. Despite the eager look, she asked a simple question.

[color=#ff2400]"Hi! Are you waiting for anyone?"[/color]

This made Asuka even more confused, but relieved, she finished to chew and swallow her fries before addressing the stranger.

[color=#00b2b2]"Huh…? Uhm… Not really! Was it rude that I took this table all for myself?”[/color]

[color=#ff2400]"Oh my gosh,"[/color] the head stomper gasped, [color=#ff2400]"You really were going to eat it by yourself!"[/color] Bursting with innocence and excitement and completely unaware of if she sounded rude or not, she continued. [color=#ff2400]"No, it's not rude! It's so cool!"[/color] She exclaimed, looking like she'd just hit the jackpot. Not taking the precaution of asking if she could sit down, she took the seat across from the woman.

[color=#ff2400]"What's your name?"[/color]

Asuka was one to be easily embarrassed by many things, but she was not shy about her mutant powers, so she nodded with a soft smile at the statement, glad the girl had found it to be cool. She blinked rapidly when the stranger took a chair but did not say anything, after all, she seemed interested and Asuka was hogging a lot of space.

[color=#00b2b2]"My name is Asuka,” [/color]she said, picking up her hotdog. [color=#00b2b2]"What is yours?”[/color]

[color=#ff0000]“A-su-ka,”[/color] she sounded out, turning around and looking at the other girl upside-down, [color=#ff0000]“That’s... Japanese, isn’t it? I’m Aeira!”[/color] She placed her hand on her chest for emphasis.

[color=#ff0000]“Are you Japanese?”[/color] Pointing at Asuka, her mouth was wide open in shock. It definitely wasn’t everyday for her that she potentially found someone from the same country as her (adoptive) mother. Then again, it also wasn’t everyday that she went outside during the day[color=#00b2b2].[/color]

[color=#00b2b2]“Yes, I am from Japan, in fact, I have only been in America for a few months,” [/color]Asuka answered, her head tilting as much as she could to follow the upside-down Aeira, her expression even showing a side-smile despite its tendency to default to a blank stare.

[color=#ff0000]“Really? My mom is from there! She’s so cool, just like you! Anyways,”[/color] Aeira said, her expression turning the slightest bit more solemn, [color=#ff0000]“She always told me if you wanted to know a city, you have to ask the rats. But,”[/color] her face turned back to the friendly one that it was before, [color=#ff0000]“if you don’t want to ask some scary looking people, you could always ask me. I’m a rat!”[/color] She exclaimed. She looked incredibly enthusiastic to call herself such a thing, but it was a title she wore with pride. 

[color=#ff0000]“You smiled!”[/color] If she didn’t look incredibly proud of herself already, she definitely did now.

Asuka nodded and then smiled a bit more widely. [color=#00b2b2]“I guess I did. It is a beautiful city but many seem to always be a bit down… I guess that is common to all metropolises, actually. So it impresses me to find someone so energetic.” [/color]by the time she finished the phrase, it had to be noticed that the whole table had been emptied. [color=#00b2b2]“So, miss… rat? Would you like something? There are still some stalls with food that is of my interest, I could get something for you as well. Perhaps, in exchange, you could tell me Azure’s secrets.” [/color]she told in a straightfaced tease.

[color=#ff0000]“I know. Everyone’s so boring.”[/color] Aeira sighed, but both her mood and her wings perked up when she heard mentions of food. She hoped that nobody noticed them. 

[color=#ff0000]“Yeah! I’ll eat anything.”[/color] She approved, jumping out of her seat and behind Asuka. [color=#ff0000]“But first, what part of the city do you want to know about?”[/color]

Asuka led the way, getting food from the stalls she missed on the first run. Fried chicken, tacos, a variety of fruits, milkshake… unfortunately some stalls were too crowded so she had to skip on them. [color=#00b2b2]“Hmm. What part of the city… Any area you would consider to be unwise to visit should you not be looking for trouble? The local media says it's all safe, but I don't quite buy that.” [/color]it was clear she was not talking about avoiding at all. 

She got an extra serving of cake for Aeira when all of the sudden there was a commotion, some celebrity had started to make ruckus, but Asuka was too busy juggling plates to pay attention, instead just going to her table.

Aeira was constantly spinning and skipping behind Asuka, only stopping to occasionally admire the food.[color=#ff2400] "Rule number 1 of Azure City; I never lie. Rule number 2; everybody’s a liar,"[/color] she said, her voice turning more serious than before,[color=#ff2400] "which means you probably are looking for trouble. But it doesn't necessarily mean that the local media wasn't telling the truth. Azure City is a big place, though. Crimes are committed everywhere, even in places you don't expect. The reason why the city is, unfortunately, not a place where everyone just does what they want is because the police is pretty good at stopping it. If the police can't handle the criminal because of a mutation, the MSU does. Which means it's pretty hard to find trouble. But..."[/color] she stopped to think for a second. [color=#ff2400]"Certain individuals take it upon themselves to seek out evildoers and take them down in the name of justice. They're a pretty big help to the police, as you can imagine. Most of them are mutants themselves, and many of them target other mutants. They also help keep the people's spirits up. Heroes are idolized here. They help distract the citizens from all the evil. Without the Batmen and the Robins of America, I think this place would be a whole lot more depressing." [/color]She stopped spinning, and instead put her hands behind her head.

[color=#ff2400]"The reason why I told you that last part is to make sure you knew that the city is as safe as you make it. If you want to live a life of safety and security, you can. If you want to find trouble, you can. It might be in the slums. Could be in your neighborhood. Or it could be in plain sight, making and executing plans right beneath our noses. It's everywhere, but it can feel like it's nowhere."[/color] Like before, Aeira's serious expression turned right back into a silly one. [color=#ff2400]"But if you're me, you could just piss everyone off and make angry men come running at you."[/color] She finished talking when Asuka got her some cake. She was curious about that voice. It sounded so familiar, yet she wasn't able to put her finger on it since it was so far away.

Sitting down on the table and spreading the second round of meals across, this time taking into consideration the space Aeira would need for herself, Asuka digested all the information that had been given for her. [color=#00b2b2]“Idolization of heroes really has its role, albeit it helps to give people hope, it can be quite stressful to live under the shadow of people who appear to lack the failings of mortal life. I guess this is where the idolization of villainy enters, the big bad, the one who makes you think ‘well, I might be bad, but at least I am not this bad’. This is very common in other cities, with every minor mutant criminal being somewhat, uhm… hyped? But in Azure, it is not so common. I wonder why.” [/color]she spoke, the bit about villainy being somewhat personal to her, despite it just being her role on a TV show, albeit she recognized her explanation of that fascination was truly too optimistic, she guessed there was also a side of frustration against society or just a desire to see things burn.

[color=#00b2b2]“But ah, let’s leave this topic behind. I guess it is just me itching to let my power flow a bit, it has been a year or so since I last used it for anything, it starts to become somewhat uncomfortable. To you… it would be like having to stay still all day, for a year.” [/color]she had deduced she was speaking to a mutant, and even more, that the talk she heard while buying the second serving, about some ‘mutant delinquent’ jumping over people’s head, was likely related to this person.

[color=#ff0000]“I don’t even stay still when I sleep,”[/color] Aeira laughed, [color=#ff0000]“but I’d always be moving, even if I was just a human. What is your power?”[/color] She asked, looking even more interested in Asuka than she was before.

[color=#00b2b2]“I guessed the, uh, theme of yours from the way you act, the mutation, in my experience, can be a bit addictive, leading to some personality quirks and compulsions.”[/color] she tilted her head slightly. [color=#00b2b2]“With that said, can you guess mine?" [/color]

Aeira looked to be in deep thought. Looking at the food on the table, she found her answer.[color=#ff0000] “Oh! You eat a lot of stuff, so maybe you draw power from taking in stuff? But if you eat like that you should look like thiiiis,”[/color] she spread her arms apart as far as they could go, [color=#ff0000]“But you don’t! So you can release it somehow?”[/color]
She smiles at her simulating what shape she should have and nods approvingly. [color=#00b2b2]“Very clever. Yeah, I can, uh, consume things and then use them to enhance my body… like, uh, I can eat metal and make my skin feel like armor for a while... It isn’t eating like I am doing right now, though it does affect how much I need to eat and how efficient I am in burning calories. It… is a bit hard on my bills, but it cannot be helped.”[/color]

Aeira froze, the gears turning in her head. [color=#ff0000]“Wait… you can do that? Huh? How?”[/color] 

It was just too good of an opportunity not to play the old joke. [color=#00b2b2]“Why? Maybe I should showcase it right here? I could use… you!” [/color]she made a silly face and rose her hands and then couldn’t help but to laugh. [color=#00b2b2]“Just joking! Can’t do it to people, just materials… Ugh… I wish I could show you, but its a quite noisy and area affecting power, I would end the festival here and now and I would be the one with an angry crowd after me. So here, this is my number, call me later and we can set up something, find a better place for me to use it… Oh! And speaking of angry crowds…” [/color]discretely, she pointed to the nearby stalls, on the walkway behind them an angry crowd was approaching, delayed by the mess the singer was causing, but clearly about to enter the area.


[color=#ff0000]“Are you fucking [i]serious[/i]?[/color]” She sighed.[color=#ff0000] “Well, whatever.”[/color] She stood up from her seat and stretched before slowly walking in the opposite direction of the crowd. [color=#ff0000]“I’ll text you later, metal-eater!”[/color] She said. Her walking-and-waving quickly turned into a full blow run when the crowd got closer. Aeira wondered where she would go. Maybe Nico was here already?