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Aoife Lynch
wandering and lost

San Francisco
Day 0
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By all accounts, it was a perfect and bright sunshiney day. The skies were clear and blue for once, the wind wasn't completely overbearing, there were birds chirping and twittering about, even. If Aoife didn't know any better, today would have seemed like it came straight out of a Disney movie.

It still didn't answer anything about how or why she was standing on the deck of the so-aptly named cruise ship Aurora, about to travel hundreds of miles to Alaska of all places. Or, well, she knew how. Somebody at her recent translation project entered her name for a workplace raffle that had one of the prizes being two free tickets to a cruise to Alaska because of some partnership or something. That somebody quickly turned out to be one of the team leads on the project when they began to not-so-subtly hinting who Aoife could take on the cruise with her once it turned out that she had won, along with some really not-so-subtle hints of what they actually wanted to do with her out at sea.

Aoife had wanted to punch them in the face, but considering how that would quickly ruin her professional career, she did the next best non-violent thing and decided to go on the cruise without them. Unfortunately, that still left the question of what to do with the second ticket, considering she had only just arrived in San Francisco only a few months ago and had no one that she could really go with in the city, and it wasn't like she could have just called any of her friends to suddenly take a trip down to San Fran and go on a cruise with her.

So of course, she put up an ad online about her ticket. By the time the deluge of messages came pouring in, it was already too late for her to realize her mistake and back out, and she would be damned if she let that creeper have any way to weasel closer towards her. Luckily there was a light at the end of the tunnel as Aoife managed to connect with a rather really sweet lady who wanted a ticket for her brother, which initially sounded skeevy, but the lady really did seem earnest about it and anybody related to that pillow of sugar couldn't be all that bad right?

Which, you know, still didn't exactly answer the question of why she was there. Then again, deep down she knew the answer to that too, and it was probably because she just wanted to stick it to the creep. Aoife let out a disgusted sigh and trudged her way back down into the cabin. Maybe her da was right and she really did just run on spite and alcohol. Still, perhaps it wouldn't be all bad. The trip would actually give her time to practice her photography for once, instead of putting it off like she always had. And maybe she could make a new friend out of this whole arrangement! The lady online seemed nice, which must mean her brother must be pretty alright too right?

No way to know until Aoife gets to see them in person, she supposed. Hopefully the lady got the extra ticket information alright, though they had exchanged contact info in case anything did happen, and the Aurora wouldn't leave until nine, and Aoife still had all the ticket information on her laptop just in case. Still, when Aoife arrived at her cabin, she left her phone out on the bedside table just in case. She also took the time to look over herself in the mirror to make sure she looked alright.

Long jeans? Aye. Sensible shirt and cardigan? Good enough. Sandals? Eh... hopefully the brother didn't have a foot fetish.

Left with really nothing else to do and having no urge to continue people watching from the deck, Aoife sat down on one of the chairs and took out the German book she had been practicing translating. Gotta keep your skills sharp and all that. Soon, she got into a rhythm, and one particular phrase got her usual humming to start off strong.
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Juvvie
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Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________


Noah could think of a million things he'd rather be doing than spending time on some cruise, even if his sister had begged he come along. Fresh off his third tour, this one to Afghanistan, the former marine didn't set much stock in fancy cruises that has no real merit other than to escape reality for a while. Not that Noah had any problem escaping reality, he was constantly haunted by the things he'd seen and experienced overseas and saw no problem in forgetting those dark shadows of memory whenever he had the chance. But still, a cruise? It wasn't the way he usually spent his time.

Granted he hadn't seen his sister Haley for quite some time, or his nephew. Tommy was named after their father, who had passed when Noah was fifteen years old. A marine himself, it seemed a natural course of action for Noah to follow in his father's footsteps which is what led him to enlist. But the three tours had been of his own decision-making, and Noah still didn't know if he would be okay with going on another one. Part of him thought of settling down, enjoying a quieter life now that he was nearing his thirties. But he was still young and had nothing better to do, so he might just decide in the end to stay enlisted.

"Noah look! The water is so blue!" Tommy yelled in excitement from his place next to Noah. They, had just boarded the large cruise ship, called Aurora of all things, intent on cruising up the coast to Alaska. Never having been to Alaska himself but not particularly liking the cold, Noah didn't really find himself eager at reaching the icy destination. But he had to admit, the water was a really pretty blue.

"Don't yell Tommy, the sharks will hear you," Haley teased her son, ruffling his curly dark hair with a wide smile. Noah looked at them both and the corners of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. He enjoyed being around them truly, and had missed the two of them more than he could say.

---

Ten minutes later they finally had found their cabin and entered, finding a red-headed female ilsinside pouring over something she was working on. Noah noticed her immediately, her hair catching his attention. But it was her eyes that really drew him in, and he thought in that moment that she really was quite beautiful. He wondered if she was here alone, or if she had brought people along with her as well.

"Oh look, this is the wonderful individual who gave me your ticket Noah, meet Aiofe," Haley said gesturing at the young woman with a soft smile on her face as she dropped their bags onto hers and Tommy's beds.

Noah flocked his eyes to his sister and then back to the not so strange anymore woman, thinking her name suited her nicely. He quickly dropped his large rucksack, something he'd obtained in the corps, and turned to look at her.

"Noah Green, thanks for the ticket. Tommy here just wouldn't shut up until I said I would come along too," Noah said in a soft yet polite tone, his voice warm and rugged as natural. Noah stuck out his hand in greeting, well-mannered and a gentleman always, as he was raised to be so.

Tommy jumped up, and down next to him, "You just got back and we haven't seen you in like, two years. Of course you had to come Uncle Noah!" He said excitedly, continuing to jump up and down with, a wide grin on his face. He really was quite the hyper-active kid. Noah wished he had half the little guy's energy.
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Aoife's concentration was broken when a trio of people walked into the room: the sweet lady, an unstoppable ball of energy, and a big buff boy. She jumped in her seat, startled, but managed to quickly compose herself and put her book down, flashing all of them with a practiced smile. She got up and extended a hand in greeting to both the adults, saying "It's nice to finally meet the both of ye in the flesh Noah, Haley," her natural Irish lilt softened and tempered through hours of long practice, "Aoife pronounced with an E, pleasure to be of service. I'm glad you all got on safe."

And then she bent down to look at Tommy at his eye level, her hand raised for a high five. "And it's an extra special pleasure to meet you, Tommy," she said with a bright smile that was specially reserved for children (and for when she was especially pissed or pissed off).

Straightening herself back out, she took a moment to move around her own belongings, giving the rest of them more room to arrange their things however they liked it. "To be honest I should be the one thanking you Noah, otherwise, I would have been on this trip all on me lonesome, haha."
Hidden 5 yrs ago 5 yrs ago Post by Juvvie
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Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________


Noah smiled softly as the woman stood up and introduced herself, shaking her hand politely Noah noticed that she had an Irish accent that he couldn't help but appreciate. It rolled off her tongue in such an elegant way that it sort of left him speechless for a moment. As Noah watched Aiofe interact with Tommy, he couldn't help but smile at them both as Tommy high-five her back with a wide grin, giggling. He really was such a happy kid.

Looking back at Aiofe as he was once again addressed, Noah kept the smile on his face as he chuckled softly, ducking his head a bit nervously and rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. It had been a long time for him since he'd last dated, there weren't a whole lot of options overseas not that he would have looked anyways. Plus, dating someone who lived back home while he was away was difficult to say the least. Torture to say the worst, he'd broken up with someone shortly before deployment for this reason, at her request. It had hurt him, but he had survived.

"Well then consider it my honor to have accepted the ticket," He said with a polite but charming smile. He was nothing if not a gentleman, but he also was naturally kind, if not just soft-spoken. He simply didn't have a whole lot to say, and the things he thought in his head probably would have scared most people after the things he'd experienced. War was hard in everyone, but it was the hardest on the survivors.

"Hey Noah, this will be your first date in how long? Three years?" Haley teased him, as she naturally did whenever she got the chance. He didn't mind it, but silently wished she hadn't out him on the spot and Noah felt his face reddening nervously because yeah, it had been a while.

"Were there no pretty ladies in the marines Uncle Noah?" Tommy asked him in that innocent voice of his, eyes wide as he looked at Noah in genuine curiosity. Noah glanced down at him, dropping down to eye level with the boy as he balanced on the balls of his feet.

He shot Noah a wry smile, chuckling softly. "Not unless I wanted to date a camel," He joked and Tommy laughed, covering his mouth with his hands as he did so. Noah ruffled his hair and then stood up, shooting Haley a look that, said 'It's alright, I got you later, butthead'. Haley simply stuck her tongue out at him as she began sorting through their bags.
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At the mention of a date, Aoife quickly stared hard at Noah with a critical eye. Tall, broad, muscular. Blushing at the mere mention of a date. There was no doubt that he was definitely stronger than her. And he was supposed to be sleeping right next to her. So that's how it was to be then.

Aoife's eyes began inadvertently narrowing as she continued staring at the tall stranger before her until she broke the tension inside of her with a trained laugh. "I'd be careful about who go about calling a camel Lover Boy. I know a couple o' girls still serving that I'm sure can give you a good run for your money," she teased, crossing her arms as she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Besides, she continued, "Your uncle is doing a pretty poor job of taking me on a date considering I'm the one who gave him his ticket an' all," giving a wink to Tommy. She then turned her attention back to Noah and Haley, saying, "I hope none of you have eaten yet though, have you? Maybe Lover Boy here can make things a bit more even by taking me out to the sushi place on the ship. Been dyin' to try it out, and I always feel like it'd be a bit weird to be on a ship and not have a nibble o' fish every now and then."
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Noah Green

San Francisco
Day 0

_________________________________________


Noah couldn't help the small laugh that escaped his lips at Aiofe's mention of him being a poor date. The young woman had a witty sense of humor, a nice surprise. Noah had been a little worried she'd have taken them seriously, Haley and himself were natural jokesters and as they were so comfortable with each other it came out freely without much thought. Tommy, being Haley's child, was the exact same way. Though, he was still too a bit naive about the world to get most of their jokes they aimed at each other, Noah had no problem explaining them to him usually at the expense of Haley. Tommy found Noah absolutely hilarious, they were best buds.

Noah looked back at the redhead, his eyes bright as he smiled and tilted his head to the side a bit. "I could go for some sushi," He said simply, "Haley? Sushi?" He asked her in a low but curious tone. His voice had still never dipped away from his low, rugged tone.

Haley turned to look at the two of them, Tommy just standing there flicking his head back and forth as the conversation flowed on. He was naturally curious, and always wanted to know what was going on. With a smile, Haley nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Sushi sounds great, Tommy's never had it though,"

Noah looked down at Tommy, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder with a soft smile, "What do you think Tommy? Want to try some sushi?" He asked the boy, not sure if Tommy even knew what sushi was. But he was an adventurous kid and liked most seafood he'd tried, so Noah was sure he would be fine. Haley loved sushi. Noah liked it, but it wasn't his favorite. He hadn't had in in a while however, and found it as good of a decision as any.

"What's sushi?" Tommy asked curiously, his eyes wide and heald tilted to the side as his curls flopped on his head.

"It's fish," Haley said simply, finally done re-folding their clothes as she was a bit of a neat freak. In the nicest way possible, Haley was as warm-hearted as liquid sunshine. She was Noah's favorite person in the entire world, well, her and Tommy.

"Raw fish," Noah said and Tommy scrunched up his face, clearly sushi didn't sound appetizing to the kid. But Noah figured any kid would kid eating something raw sounded disgusting. "Trust me, it's good. Plus, it's my treat," He said and shot Aiofe a smile, flicking his eyes back to hers.
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Aoife saw the smile Noah gave her and she responded in kind, though hers didn't quite reach her eyes. Nevertheless, she could be a good little actor when she wanted to be and clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Well then," she said, "let's get you all settled and we'll hop right on down," moving closer towards the trio and helping them arrange and store their luggage.

Once everything was put into place, Aoife gathered her essentials like her phone, wallet, and keys and stood by the doorway, patiently waiting so that all four of them could leave together. She ensured that she was the last one to leave and lock their cabin, giving directions to whoever happened to take the lead to where the restaurant was since she had already taken the time to memorize the layout of the Aurora, making polite conversation the entire way. She also made sure that all three of them remained within her eyesight and didn't allow Noah especially to ever walk behind her.

Soon enough, the four of them reached the restaurant, the workers enthusiastically greeting them in Japanese before they were taken to a table. The restaurant itself was still fairly quiet and sparse with only a scattered few other tables being occupied. The decor was a bit too New Age-y for Aoife's taste with everything being so white and clean, but it had fit with the overall design of the ship since apparently it had only been remodeled just a few years ago. She also would have preferred the bar seating, but with little Tommy in their party, that was a no go. Oh well, it wasn't like she was going to drink anyways since she had just ordered herself water.

"So," Aoife opened after they had all given their orders, "What brings you all along on a cruise to Alaska anyway."
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