Manzanilla

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : Aria - @KatKook
MENTIONS :}

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"I see," Lilith smiled at Aria as she listened to her tell her about her work. Lilith respected that. Aria continued to work and follow her dreams on the side. It was something that Lilith wish she could muster the courage to do herself. Ever since moving to Sol from San Diego Lilith wished she could finish her degree, or just go back to school. "It's good that you have hope, if you keep working hard, you'll get there, Aria." Lilith gave the other girl an encouraging smile.

Just as they moved up the line a bit, Lilith's phone rang with a notification of a bell ringing. She pulled out her cracked phone out of her purse to check who it was. The name read "Ruby" with a little kissy face on the side. Her friend had texted her about Sunday's brunch, something Lilith was sure she might pass. Depending on how today went, anyway. With a hum, Lilith dismissed the notification and pulled out Instagram. "It's Costa -- here, you write down your handle, and I'll follow you back. Now Lilith was glad she didn't have any pictures from her work. Just selfies, food, and some photos of her shoe collection. And maybe some lingerie photos, but those were scattered her and there.

"I can share your music with all of my friends; they all need your hear your voice!" She had a few clients that were tied to music records; some were musicians themselves. Lilith could sneak in some samples if Aria wanted. Besides, Aria had skill that needed to be shared!

Lilith had completely avoided the question of her work. Lilith was not sure what Aria would say if she found out she was a stripper. She had to make sure that Aria wouldn't be one of those girls who would judge her for it and run away as soon as they got the chance. It was not going to happen again. Then again, Lilith could just get it out of the way and disappoint herself now than to wait later while her hopes are up. No, no, Lilith was sure Aria wasn't that kind of person. At least, she hoped she wasn't.

As Lilith waited quietly for Aria to finish ordering, she had pulled out her phone to give Ruby a quick reply. When their food was ready, Lilith watched Aria as she held her chopsticks firmly in one hand. The food smelled heavenly, and it looked like it would just melt in her mouth. Lilith was so hangry. "Like this?" Lilith did as she was told and took a bite of the meat with the cheese before eating some of the rice. There was something between a moan and a hum from Lilith as she nodded her head and looked at Aria with wide eyes.

"This is so good!" Lilith took a small breath from the spiciness but continued to eat. This was by far the best Korean food she had had in the past. She almost told Aria she wanted seconds before she remembered they were in a food festival, and there were so many other dishes they could try. Besides, they could always walk for a bit before coming back if they didn't find anything more they wanted to try. "It was delicious. Soooo good." Lilith laughed a bit as she wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin, "Thank you,"

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : Aria - @KatKook
MENTIONS :}

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Holy shit, this girl was adorable, and Lilith wasn't sure if she could handle it. She just smiled and wrapped her arms back around Aria's arm again, giving a happy hum when she did. Well, so far so good, Lilith guessed. If Aria was comfortable with her being touchy, then Lilith would have an easier time around the other girl. She always did show her appreciation through gestures and touches. Lilith wasn't afraid to word her feelings, but sometimes she had problems finding the right words, so the second best thing was touches. And right now, she was just comfortable having her arms around Aria.

Lilith was a bit surprised when Aria pulled her towards a food stand with Korean flags over it. As they got, closer, Lilith's stomach began to protest louder when the aroma of the food filled her lungs. It smelled so good. Korean food was something Lilith had never really tried other than Korean BBQ. That was all of her knowledge of the food so far, so she was excited to try new things — especially spicy foods. Lilith could handle a certain amount, but anything spicy always meant good food in her book.

"I can handle myself around spicy food, and it smells delicious here." Lilith gave Aria an assuring smile before peeking over her shoulder to look at some of the cooks work their magic over the portable stoves. "Ah, you don't have to be formal." Lilith laughed a bit and gave Aria a wink. "If you are recommending it, I am sure it'll be good. Just as long as I get to pay for the next thing we get."

She took Aria's hand and pulled her to the back of the line with a smile. After a second, she let go of her hand to hook it back against Aria's and leaned in closer for some warmth. Maybe she should have looked at the weather channel in the morning to see if it was going to be cooler during the evening. The air was growing a lot cooler, and now she wished she would have worn something warmer. With a small sigh, Lilith pressed her cheek against Aria's arm.

"So, do you do music as a living?" Lilith asked as they waited in line. There were only a few people in front of them, so they weren't in line for too long.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : Aria - @KatKook
MENTIONS :}

---

When Lilith received a text back from Aria, she was already on her second menthol. Gosh, these things were not good for her; she could just plow through them in one sitting. They were a lot better than the alternative shad had been considering a minute ago. In reply, Lilith sent a happy face with a little "okay" emoji.

By the time Aria arrived, she had an arm around herself and her extra hand on her phone. She had received a call from an old client of her, someone who liked to host parties and often booked her for those private parties. She usually agreed to go. She paid well and the tips she got from her friends, but it was a bit short noticed. And Lilith wasn't sure if she wanted to take this job on after what had happened in the club the day before. No, maybe she should. Get a few days off from the club. She had enough money to last her a moth. Whatever, she'd have to call the lady back later. Right now, it was date time.

Oh, gosh, date-time.

"Hey!" Lilith put away her phone and gave Aria a cheerful smile and leaned in to give the girl a hug. "Girl, you look cute as hell." She really did! Lilith loved Aria's sense of style and color palette. Besides, those stockings made her legs look nice and long.

Was Lilith staring too much?

"I hope you're hungry." Lilith smiled and hooked her arm around Aria's as she led the other girl into the warmth and delicious mixture of aromas coming from the various stands of food. "I know I am. I didn't eat much so that we could try everything we could today." Lilith knew she was going to regret eating so much tomorrow when she was at work, but it was a date, and she was not going to hold back.

As they walked, Lilith kept her arm around Aria's, not really paying much mind to it. She was the kind of person that hugged easily and often disregarded personal space with people she felt comfortable with. It may have taken some of her friends to get used to, but most of them came around to it. Lilith only remembered that Aria was a new friend. And this was a date. Maybe.

"Ohmigosh, sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing." She laughed it off and pulled back just enough to still bump her arm against Aria's. "You're just really warm." And cute and Lilith was cold, but she didn't say that out loud.

"Anyway, do you see anything you like?" Lilith smiled and looked around them. Everything looked and smelled so good. It made her moth water and her stomach protest loudly for food.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : ASSOCIATES
MENTIONS : SIOHBAN - @Almalthia, PAIGE - @Pilatus}

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To say the least, Alejandro's week was uneventful. Although the week had started off strong with the new statistics of their business growth in Huston thanks to the work of his little sister, there hadn't been much after that. Mara and John had been able to pull some files from the Deputy marshal he had seen back in Swan Songs Records, but there was nothing special. Just names that none of them had heard of before. It almost seemed like that pig was covering something from all the files that his associates had been able to gather, but unfortunately, there was nothing noteworthy.

By Wednesday Alejandro was beginning to doubt he would ever meet up with the man who was in charge of Sol's crime ring. Mara had sent out various attempts to contact the person on day one of their arrivals. That had been almost two months ago, and there still wasn't a reply. Alejandro couldn't help but wonder if the person even wanted to do business, or if they even existed.

Soon enough, Alejandro would have to pull everything together and just look for the person himself. Hell, he would even call over his sister to help him. She was good at finding people and getting them to talk. Although, it would be best to avoid violence if he wanted to do a reputable business with the person. Besides, his sister was busy with Huston and would probably keep heading east.

His sister would be the last resort for now.

The rest of the week went as expected. Training in the mornings, meeting over breakfast with Mara and John, visit the flower shop for a few hours then headed to the back to check up their special deliveries. While Alejandro had not yet started to import drugs into Sol, his shop still served as a stop of imports that were heading up north. He still had to make sure everything was being delivered and would get to their destination without a problem. So far, there had been no signs of authorities snooping around. So far, anyway. Either way, Alejandro was always ready to deal with troublesome people.

At some point he had arranged a meeting with Siobhan, the girl with the pretty eyes, to visit his shop and photograph the place. Only the front, of course. No one was allowed behind. Store regulations, Alejandro called it.

By the time the weekend arrived, Mara had convinced Alejandro had taken take some time off. John had even offered him to take him to the local food festival. Alejandro, a bit surprised by the man's suggestion, agreed to it. It had been some time since John and Alejandro had been anywhere out without Mara's teases or her constant comments. Still, she had argued she'd still tag along to make sure there was a backup in case anything happened. With some hesitance, John and Alejandro agreed if only she stayed far behind and didn't interrupt them.

Alejandro just wanted to spend some time with John, as they use to before coming to Sol. It almost felt like John wasn't an associate and just plain old John. The John Alejandro use to like.

"Ale...jandro." John cleared his throat and pointed towards one of the stands a few feet away. The pair, plus Mara, had arrived around five or seven o'clock and had wandered around the stands before deciding on what few things to eat. That was until John pointed out a stand with the green, white, and red flags with a familiar eagle on it.

"No way." Alejandro grinned and pulled John along as he walked past people to the stand "They actually have some here, not like the other stupid stand." Alejandro looked over the Spanish menu with a small smile as John pulled out his wallet, ready to pay for whatever Alejandro was about to order.

After getting a bag of Tostilocos and some non-alcoholic Micheladas they made their way to an open space with a few benches for the people to sit on. They ignored Mara, who was had taken a seat a few feet away and was on her phone while taking a look around.

"You know, I kinda miss this. Alejandro offered some of the snacks to John, who just took a piece of a squared mango.

"Miss what?"

"Just walking around. Not having to worry too much about anything. LA was so much more fun, and we could just relax together." Alejandro shrugged a shoulder and looked away to watch some of the people walking past them.

Next to him, John furrowed his brow and continued to stare at Alejandro. "I... I miss it too, but we both have jobs to do. And we both know it would have never lasted. Your mother has expectations. You're the only one who's going to have to run this when she's too old to do so."

Behind them, they hadn't noticed Mara slipping a hand into her leather jacket and slowly making her way towards the while keeping her eyes on a suspicious individual.

"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to tell me. I hear it from her every time she calls. I was just thinking back." Alejandro rolled his eyes and leaned back against the bench. "It sucks because she actually likes you a lot."

John couldn't help but to laugh a bit. Alejandro was right. It did suck, a lot. If they weren't in this kind of lifestyle and just be normal people, they might have actually worked out just fine. Alejandro's mother really did like John a lot, and his father would have gotten around the idea. Still, John couldn't think about it too much. The ache in his chest just grew the more he thought about the "what ifs."

That's when he felt his phone vibrate three times and his phone flashed a blue color. John sat up slightly and tapped Alejandro's shoulder three times.

"Ah, if this the long awaiting meeting we have been looking forward to?" Alejandro picked up his Michelada and took a sip. "It's not the same without a Modelo." he said as he set it down.

Just a few feet away, Mara had taken a seat next to an elderly woman with one hand wrapped around her gun, ready for anything. She had seen the individual trail behind the pair since their first around the stands but hadn't thought of it much until they followed them here too.

Academy 003: Seeds of Change (Aw shit, here we go again edition)

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_{@Ruler Inc}

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Navaeh had picked up a piece of sad-looking bacon before glancing at Nakala. "I'm from France; my family lives in Paris." She set down the piece of bacon and wiped her fingers on a napkin. "You want to see my home? It's, uh, really pretty!" She pulled her phone closer and unlocked it to show Nakala some of the pictures she had taken on her phone. Navaeh was excited to see another person some of the pictures. Most of her interactions with others back home had been online and not in person, so Navaeh was really excited.

"Ah, wait. First you should tell me your Insta." Navaeh handed Nakala her phone with the search bar up for her to write down her handle. "We could follow each other, oui? Have to stick together in a place like this." She glanced around to the other students around them. There were quite a lot of faces in the cafeteria, some that she recognized that had sat around her during the orientation. Some she found annoying too.

"So, where are you from? Here? Also, what kind of powers do you have? Are you excited to be here? I'm just glad to be away from home and my mom." Navaeh rolled her eyes at the mention of her mother.

---

_{@Ruler Inc}

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Esmeralda had just nodded at the shorter girl as she said her goodbyes and they made their way to get more food. When they sat down, Esmeralda could feel some awkwardness in the air. She didn't mind the silence between them. Esmeralda actually preferred it, but she had promised her mother that she would try to be more social at school. Make friends or a friend at least.

"My power, I guess. I can make illusions." Esmeralda shrugged a shoulder as if it wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't. She had heard about others with mixed powers, people who were able to control others or things. Esmeralda was grateful that he powers something that others could see without her wanting to. She could easily hide hers and live like a normal human being. Of course, she would have to get control of her power before that happened.

"You're not boring," Esmeralda poked at her food. "We're just talking, nothing boring about that." She looked at Kashmira and offered a small nod. "What about you? What kind of power you have?"

✣ Truly Damned ✣

_{Time - Morning
Interactions - @Mystress Nyx}

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Oliva had almost fallen asleep when she heard a voice in front of her. A real voice. It made her jump a bit on her seat as she opened her eyes and looked up at the girl in front of her. A girl with long blonde hair and big blue eyes. Gwen? That was her name, right? Olivia had seen her here and there for the past months but had never really talked unless it was just a greeting. Olivia didn't have many friends here besides those that were in her group therapy. She didn't even know if they were her friends to start with.

Maybe therapy buddies? That didn't sound right.

"Breakfast?" Olivia brought up a hand to cover her mouth as she yawned then rubbed some of the wetness off her eyes. Breakfast sounded good right now. She could ask for some coffee to help her stay up a bit longer while she tried to shake off her sleepiness. "Ah, sure" she gave Gwen a small smile as she stood up from the couch. Some food with another person wouldn't hurt. It was a nice change of pace for her since she tended to stick along most of the time.

Olivia...

"I hope they are giving french toast." Olivia glanced over at Gwen as they made their way to the cafeteria. Eggs alone were getting boring after five months in the place. She had even added keptch to spice things up but gave up on the third day. "Oh, um, Gwen right? I'm Olivia by the way." She pulled on the hem of her shirt a bit and suppressed another yawn. She really needed a nap.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : Aria - @KatKook , Marinalia @PrinceAlexus
MENTIONS : Charles - @Tyler Night}

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_{Early morning.}


The night before had not been a pleasant one for Lilith or anyone at the club. While there were a couple of shady clients that always lingered in the club, they had never really experienced anything beyond a fight outside or someone getting kicked out for being rude to one of the dancers. Lilith wished someone had been kicked out last night. Lilith had started her shift earlier than usual to make up for some lost hours from last week. There were a few men and fewer women down on the floor as they mostly talked or watched the dancers on the stage. Lilith was set to go up after Ruby. It was Friday night, so Lilith expected the club to start flooding with clients after seven or eight pm after everyone got out of work. No one had expected a giant party to storm the club unexpectedly. Kenny. The main bouncer had to check every single one of them for anything before they made their way in and that had taken nearly thirty minutes. On top of that, some of them were already drunk and causing some of the usuals to feel uncomfortable.

Lilith went up just as the large party settled around the stage. She had been wearing her favorite earth green outfit with lace panties and black heels. Nothing too flashy but enough for the regulars to enjoy. She started her routine like always, just dancing for a bit before making her way to the middle pole. Everything was normal until a few people who were part of the party began to offer her stacks of money. Like full on piles. Not just of dollar bills but twenty dollars.

She had never seen so much money being thrown at her, like ever. She earned enough cash to get her by, but holy shit was what she saw yesterday was a lot. Lilith didn't even know what to do. She just continued with her routine while taking the stacks with a wink and a giggle. She thought she had hit the jackpot until a scream broke out in the middle of the party. She almost didn't hear the guy because of the music, but she clearly saw it.

One of the guys who had offered her money had gotten stabbed right between the ribs. Then everything happened so fast. Some people ran out, others ran for the guy with the knife, and others just stood in shock. Kenny was inside in a flash and was telling everyone to calm down. Lilith, on the other hand, just stood there in the middle of the stage as she watched the guy trying to put pressure to the wound. He had light brown curly hair and tanned skin. He must have been in his mid-thirties or early forties.

The night ended early. Some of the people in the party had caught up to the guy and held him down until the police arrived. Lilith had stood there until Ruby helped her collected her earnings and guide her to the back. The dancers were asked a few questions then they were escorted out of the club by the police. At some point, Lilith had made her way home with her bag full of cash.

By the morning, it all felt like a dream.

Like usual, Lilith got up to get ready. Usually, she went on morning runs around the harbor but today was special. She needed a new outfit for her dinner with Aria, the cute girl from last week. They had texted a bit over the week after they both had been unable to go through their dinner plans after the event at Swan Songs. They had agreed to go to the Food Festival tonight, and Lilith had been freaking out since then. Charles, the guy who had offered her a ride, had even offered a private dinner. Lilith felt that was a bit too personal and had agreed to it if Aria and her had the first dinner in a less private setting.

Dinner. It felt more like a date. Lilith supposed it was a date.

Lilith has been looking forward to this all her week, but it seemed like the incident from last night had shaken her up a bit. She was still exited, of course, but she felt a bit discouraged at the fact that her mood had been spoiled. She didn't want to ruin the date because of her. Maybe some shopping would help her cheer up and get rid of the image of the guy in her head.

_{Morning to Evening}

Coffee was first on the list. After sliding into a short yellow dress with white and blue flowers on it and a cute lace cardigan, Lilith made her way to the closest coffee shop she could find. Sleep had not come easily to her after the club last night, and she had lost a few hours. Nothing that a shot of espresso couldn't fix. Maybe a bagel too. Or two.

Lilith was waiting in line behind a girl with what seemed to be some sort of uniform. She had dropped something, and Lilith leaned down to pick it up for her. The girl's arm brushed against her leg, but she just gave the shorter blonde a charming smile as she handed her the hat.

"Don't worry about it, cute stuff." Lilith had said to her, noting the nervous smile she got in return. Lilith smiled to herself, proud that she could make dome people nervous and lose their cool with just her looks. "Nice accent, by the way. She had said just as the blonde finished her order and left the line. Some casual flirting never hurt anyone, in her opinion. The girl was cute, and Lilith couldn't help herself, though, Aria was a lot cuter.

The rest of her morning went by without a hitch. She went to Central Point to shop for some clothes and a new purse to distract her from last night and the date later on. At some point, she had texted Aria and asked her what her favorite food was and what she was looking forward to trying. Even teased her that they should go into the food eating contest. She bought new shoes, some more lace outfits for work, and a nice leather jacket for later. Might help her with some of the incoming cold.

By the time of the date rolled in, Lilith was a nervous wreck. She kept on checking her phone for any updates, kept fixing her lipsticks, and kept tugging at the yellow dress. The new leather jacket did little to protect her from the crisp air, but at least it was cute. She had to look cute for her date.

Why was Lilith acting like a school girl all over again? It was just a date with a friend.

Hey, I'm here already. I'm by the entrance, can't wait to eat some food!

Lilith sent the text to Aria and shoved her phone into her new MK purse. At least the anxiety of the date was overtaking the need to get her fix and the whole ordeal from last night. With a big breath, Lilith leaned back against the light pole she was standing under and closed her eyes. She could just reach into her bag and get her little stash and just do it behind one of the stalls. It would be quick, and it could help her calm her down, at least just for a bit.

No no. She had to stay sober for her date. At least until it was over. Instead, Lilith pulled out a pack of menthols and light one of the cigarettes. This would at least her help calm her down while she waited — just a bit.

The Right of Dragons

I'm gonna have to drop out, sorry everyone and good luck with the RP! c:

Academy 003: Seeds of Change (Aw shit, here we go again edition)

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_{@Ruler Inc}

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Navaeh hadn't touched her food much after the first bite of cardboard box bacon that she had grabbed. The eggs hadn't been much better. The food had looked nice, but it tasted nowhere near to what she had been expecting. The toast had been decent, how could anyone mess up toast anyway? So now, Navaeh sat with her phone in one hand and a piece of toast on the other as she scrolled down Instagram.


"What's up, I like your hair," Nakala said, "Mind if I have a seat?"

Nevaeh looked up to see a pretty tall girl standing next to her. She returned a smile and patted the seat next to her. "Thanks, I love yours! Go ahead, girl." Navaeh's accent was a bit thick to start with, so she had to say her words a bit slower than usual to be able to pronounce things correctly. She did not want to repeat herself multiple times. Maybe she should have listened to her her mother and practiced her English a bit more. Then again, she never thought her mother would actually let her go to America for more than a few days. Whatever, as long as people understood what she was saying.

She moved her drink closer to her plate to give the other girl more table space. She turned off her phone and pushed it to the side to give the new stranger her attention. "I'm Navaeh," She offered the girl her hand after she had sat down. "You can call me Nav, what is your name?"

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_{@Ruler Inc}

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"No, it's okay, really," Esmeralda said as she began to pick out the green beans out of her hair. Well, it wasn't what she was expecting during day one. She glanced down at the phone to see another girl talking in another language. Probably a friend or sister. The girl on the phone didn't sound too alarmed by what had happened, so she was glad about that. Unlike the girl on the phone, the one in front of Esmeralda was not okay. She was freaking out.

"No need to apologize, it was that dude who made me drop the water." She glared over at his direction just as he glanced over his shoulder before hurrying off to his friends. "Asshole doesn't even stop to apologize." But the girl wasn't there anymore; she had gone off to get Esmeralda some napkins. When the girl returned, she took them with a small nod and a thanks.

"I'm okay, really." She continued with in her monotone voice as she wiped some of the green beans off her cheek. "I'm sorry too; I should have made that guy clean it up as soon as he bumped into me." She handed the girl her plate before bending down to cover the floor with the extra napkins she had received.

By the time Esmeralda had covered the puddle of water, a staff member had approached them with a map and shooed them out of the way for them to clean the mess. Esmeralda had taken her plate back from the girl. "We should get new plates..." She glanced down at the green beans on her plate; something she couldn't even image eating. "Oh, Esmeralda, by the way. Please don't worry about the food either." She picked out the last bean out of her hair.

Sol City Modern Slice of life - Chapter 3 - (all welcome new and old)

_{LOCATION & TIME : SWAN SONGS, MONDAY EVENING
INTERACTIONS : Charles - @Tyler Night , Aria - @KatKook
MENTIONS : N/A}

---

"Aria, that's a pretty name." Lilith said to herself as she smiled and watched Aria walked to the stage. She took her seat and continued to smile as she watched her walk up to the mic. She couldn't help but smile even more when she reintroduced herself and emphasized her name. Now that was a girl Lilith could get behind.

Impressed was the word Lilit would have used as Aria began to play and sing. She had never expected that song, but she was really really impressed as Aria continued to sing. As the girl had requested, Lilith began to sing along to herself as she swayed her upper body from side to side. Aria was not okay with singing; she was pretty damn good at it! When Aria's performance was done, she stood up and clapped along with everyone else.

As Aria approached her, Lilith finally realized her adrenaline high had finally disappeared, and now she was left being a complete mess inside. What had she done? Had she been too forward with Aria? So far it looked like it had been okay and she had said okay to food later on. Oh gosh, was Lilith blushing? No no. She had to act cool. Keep her cool and be nice to the pretty girl.

Totally cool.

"That was great! Your singing is awesome; I don't know why you said it was just 'okay'!" Lilith grinned and glanced at the guitar to take a peek at the signature Aria had mentioned. She "Ohhh" when she finally spotted the signature. "Oh, and I kinda went on a ride with..." Lilith looked around to see if Charles had gone anywhere and spotted him walking over. "With him. He has a pretty sick ride." She said as she waved at him and realized she hadn't fixed her hair. She quickly brushed it down with her fingers. That had not been cool, Lilith.

"Free drinks?" Lilith tapped her chin and gave Aria a quick smile. "I'm in if you are. Then maybe we can talk about food for later." She had not forgotten that Aria had said yes to dinner. "Come, let's get some drinks with him. He's a pretty cool dude."