03-10-2015, 03:45 PM
They took the metro to the coffee shop in which Diego's friend was playing. It was cozy like the one they'd met in. Aurora wondered how many coffeeshops he himself had played in. The show hadn't started yet when they arrived, his friend was still setting up.
They took a seat off to the side, it was quiet but they had a good view of the stage area so they could watch his friend play. Unlike the shop they'd met in this one was just a bunch of tables seated everywhere, it also seemed to have electrical outlets and wired ports for the internet, the place was probably built in the early 2000s and hadn't been renovated in a long time. The decor was nice, and the coffee smelled great.
A woman in a sweet little blue uniform, not exactly like you'd see in a regular diner, but it was similar, came over and took their order. "What can I start you all off with?"
Aurora smiled, "I'll have a black coffee."
Diego voice was smooth and gentle. "Cafe' latte', please. But no whipped cream. Nor cinnamon. Nor pumpkin spice. Nor anything else the barrista decides to show off with. Thank you."
After the girl left, he smiled at Aurora by way of explanation. "They always try to ruin the simplist of things. But the original is the best."
"That's why I ask for black."
She grinned at him.
It wasn't long before Andrzej Gitano took the mic and started his own introduction. He explained what he was going to play, Aurora didn't understand half of it, but she wasn't musically inclined, Nox had more of a tendancy towards the arts than she did. Her leanings were always the more studious, the arts were like games, things only the slackers did. It was funny growing up when her brother was off learning how to dance to impress the girls she was playing games that she'd created on her computer. It was just the way it was.
When the drinks arrived the music had already begun. He was spirited as he played and Diego seemed swept up for a while. When things had quieted down, he spoke again. "Andrzej is not, properly, Spanish. He is Roma. You might know them as Gypsy. Generally speaking, not a very industrious people. More often than not, one makes sure to have a firm hand on their wallet when they are in the area."
His generalizations seemed not to bother him in the slightest. "But one cannot deny their abilities, musically. Andrzej is able to tap into something very..."
His voice trailed off for a moment, as he searched for the right word. Finally, "...that speaks of home, a cold fall day, the smells of Caparrones bubbling on the stove permeating the house. A simpler time."
He seemed wistful.
Aurora smiled as he looked lost in thought, "Your home sounds wonderful. Never had a place to call home."
They had the cabin in the Colorado rockies they frequented, but it was literally that a cabin in the woods. It wasn't home anymore than the dirty cheap motels they stayed at or the camping sites along their routes. That was the life of an American hunter. That was her life, and she missed it, but having her own bed to come home to had been good, though she wondered if it was really worth it in the end.
"You must have fond memories of your family in the kitchen if the music brings out specific smells to mind."
The sense of smell was powerful and she knew certain smells brought back all sorts of memories, not all of them good. The faint lingering smell of sulfur always brought back nightmares. And Aurora wasn't sure how Nox could stand the smell of beer, both brought back her worst nightmares - being left alone, her parents gone forever. The music playing seemed to haunt her now, the eiry beauty of the guitar being played, the soft voice singing words she couldn't understand fully. But it still spoke to her heart.
Aurora pulled herself out of her memories and smiled at Diego "Tell me of your mother. I saw the picture of you together on the mantle. You must have been close before her passing, you looked happy."
Strangely, a range of emotion played across his face before it settled on firmness. "She was my mother. My father loved her dearly. So did I. He provided the best for her. And we were happy for the time we were together."
He mouth drew down in distaste. "And then she was gone."
His eyes flicked to Andrzej and he was silent for a little while. The music continued to play softly, as if able to sneak into the secret places and lose what was hidden. Diego's eyes came back to hers. She saw pain in them. And something else. Something distant and fierce. "Some people do not appreciate the life they have."
His soft voice was a stark contrast. And then his eyes seemed to see her again, to wander about her face and the fierceness seemed to disappear. Or at least change. There was intensity still. But the distance was gone. Instead, there was wonder. "It really is quite amazing. You look just like her."
Aurora blushed slightly, she could feel the heat in her cheeks. Aurora wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. Looking like someone's mother could be just as bad as looking like an ex-girlfriend. She smiled and changed the subject, "Are you close to your father?"
From the look on his face, the subject was more relaxing to him. Or at least less emotional. "Very much so. My father is Chief Legal Counsel to the Priveledge of DVII."
He laughed slightly. "Though I will confess there was some tension when I dropped out of law school in order to pursue music. It took some convincing, but in the end, it all worked out."
He looked at her. "And you? Why live in that warehouse? And why you live with your brother?"
Aurora laughed, "I can see how that could cause some tension. My brother and I share a certain..."
Aurora wasn't exactly sure how to say they shared a desire to experiment with their power, and they needed the room to do it. She smiled finding something that would work, "A certain flare for experiments. Space is required. When I couldn't remeber Nox or much of anything other than my own name,"
She smiled knowing that was going to cause another question to come up. But she continued with her first story, "Ironically a friend of Nox's took me out looking at places. Everything else was much nicer, but this kinda just said, Hey I can build whatever I need. When I found Nox again he kinda just moved in. I missed my brother, it was no big deal. I still miss him. Kinda hard to break the only connection we have left to our family."
She laughed, "And it's really hard to break the bond we've shared because we were born minutes apart."
As much as everyone else was drawn to Nox, so was she, she knew it had more to do with family ties than his nature, but even when he was being a prick, he was still her brother and she did love him deeply.
Aurora confided, "Nox has his moments, more off than on lately, but he's my brother. I can't change him, no matter how hard I try. He's a prick and a loveable goofball, but he's my only family left."
They chatted and mostly listened to the music of Andrzej's guitar. By the end of the second set Aurora was ready to stretch her legs. "I think I need to go for a walk, or I might find myself stuck here in this seat."
She yawned, though not from boredom, she hadn't slept well the night before for obvious reasons. "Or worse fall asleep on you."
He quirked an eyebrow and his smile became cat-like, but he said nothing. "A walk sounds fine."
He rose and helped her put her jacket on. She was aware of how close he was to her. Or perhaps he made himself more present. She wasn't sure. Strangely, he didn't give Andrzej a glance as they left.
Aurora found she liked being close to Deigo. She wrapped her hand in his and sort of leaned on him a little as they walked out. It was not something she would have done on any normal circumstance, but she wanted to be close to him. They walked and chatted about nothing in particular. It was a good end to a good day. It was still early but Aurora was getting tired, between the lack of sleep the night before and all the walking and events of the day she was ready for a nap. Diego walked her home. The Red Light District wasn't the greatest of places to be at night, but during the day it wasn't too bad. The same unsavory folks still sat outside leering and leching as they did, but it wasn't nearly so creepy.
About a block from the warehouse, a small blur darted out in front of them followed by a much larger black one. Aurora let out a small squeek as they startled her from her thoughts. It was only a second, but she noticed the frist was a small puppy with ragged fur, with its ribs sticking out, she could smell the crisp sent of freshly spilt blood. Aurora frowned. The larger creature, no, it was just a fat cat was chasing the puppy.
Aurora scrambled to the now poor cornered puppy and shooed away the larger cat, "Go away, you stupid cat. Pick on someone your own size."
Aurora had half a mind to zap the cat with her power and she would have if Deigo was standing watching her 10 feet away.
The puppy shook in her arms, it was so scared, but Aurora petted it softly and calmed and cooed at it. It was a slow walk but she found herself enthralled with the little brown puppy with floppy ears. She'd always wanted a pet as a child, but being on the road didn't cater to pets, much less children.
"Aurora, don't. The thing is dirty. And it probably has fleas. Just let it go. The cat won't hurt it."
She saw distaste on his mouth.
Aurora looked up and saw distaste on his mouth. "It's just a baby, it needs help."
Aurora scratched the puppy behind his ears. "Fleas and dirt are easy to take care of."
She started towards the warehouse.
She heard a sigh but nothing more. Aurora opened the door to the warehouse and found it empty. She smiled and turned to Deigo. "Would you like to come in?"
She scratched the puppy's head again and spoke softly in a sweet voice to it, "I know you do."
His voice was irritated as he followed her in. "Careful about the strays you let in. You never know what they bring."
Aurora nodded, "Nox would agree with you. I do have a habit of bringing strays home. I've brought his friends home with me without knowing it. It was actually rather funny."
Aurora headed to the sink and set the puppy down. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Aurora turned on the water and started to wash the puppy, it scratched and clawed trying to get away from the puppy, she had only thoughts of keeping herself from getting too wet. By the time she was throughly damp from the water the puppy shook off she remembered Deigo had followed her in. "Sorry about that, Would you like coffee, tea, water? Nox might have a beer or three in the fridge?"
He didn't say anything as he looked at her and then at the puppy. Finally, he shook his head and walked toward the fridge where he got himself a beer. The puppy was dried off and set off to explore the vast space. They were alone for the moment. Diego looked at her clothes, which were still damp, but said nothing. Instead, he looked around himself. "What kind of experiments do you do?"
Aurora laughed, but it was more to cover up that she really didn't want to talk about it, but she could tell him some things, "Nox has a propensity for playing with fire, you'll notice scorch marks everywhere."
Aurora waved her hand past a few recent experiments. "Mine aren't quite so voliltile. Light, sound, electricity."
Aurora continued in her head, healing Nox's stupid wounds. "Nox also has a gym and an obstacle course of sorts out there. For all he's worth, he's doing a pretty good job of making the warehouse liveable and usable."
Diego gave her a look. "You live with a fire bug?"
He shook his head again, but said nothing more. After a moment, his face softened again as he looked at her. His voice became warmer. "As I said, science does not interest me much."
A smile. "But I would be interested in seeing what you work on."
Aurora smiled, "My biggest experiments are software related. Nox and Aria really like some of it."
The pride rose in her voice, "And it is all pretty cool and useful. Excuse me while I grab a few things."
She slipped in to her room and grabbed her laptop and the test wallet, it was easier to show him some of the cooler things on that. "Come out here."
Aurora pulled over one of the folding chairs that now sat against the wall in the dojo and opened it for Deigo to sit down. Aurora sat on the ground a few feet in front of it.
The 3D rendering app was her latest project. There were already apps out there that made things holograms, Aurora needed it to parse data in specific ways. There were many apps that could do the same thing but it required multiple apps to parse data to a map, or to form connections automatically based on some search term or another. Her app was inclusive, one app to do it all. She sat down and explained the bare essense of it before she opened the interface. "This is a rendering of a trip into the underground here in Moscow. One of Nox's experiments. It shows all the locations they went. Everywhere. It shows height, depths. He marked places of interest."
She looked up at Deigo, "Imagine being able to take a trip through an art gallery and never actually set foot in the building, or to visit Paris without leaving the comfort of your own home."
Aurora stood up, then pulled the rendering and stretched it.
"Wow,"
he said and she smiled.
It projected over her surroundings like they were in the tunnel. "The underground is kind boring. But see that rock over there. We can manipulate it virtually."
Aurora walked over to the rock and picked it up and threw it across the room. It landed in a pile and Aurora smiled. "If there was say something underneath it and it was captured by the camera, we'd be able to see it, but since he didn't pick it up the software just renders the best interpretation it can muster up. It's not perfect yet."
Diego looked around, the awe clear in his face. He walked around the "tunnel" and tentatively touched the "walls". He kept looking about as if trying to comprehend what he was seeing, then looked at her. "Very impressive. I can see why you need the room."
Aurora sat back down on the ground to start showing more things to Deigo and he joined her. He looked up at the ceilings. "You could recreate any place in the world,"
he said in wonder. From there, they moved to the couch and conversation alternated between what she did and where they might like to see. Time seemed to fly by. And to slow. Until Diego was looking into her eyes, his interest in her clear in their depths. Tenderly, he reached out a hand to touch her cheek. "So impressive. And so lovely."
Just then, the puppy ran up and jumped into Aurora's lap. "Well hi there."
Aurora smiled to hide the disappointment at the interruption and pet the puppy quickly but put it back down on the floor. "No. Not on the couch."
It yipped playfully and Aurora sighed, "Not now. Go play."
Aurora could see that it was clearly hungry and was still kinda sickly looking, but it was clean and looked happier. Aurora looked up and frowned at Deigo. "Sorry. I'll be right back."
The look of annoyance on his face was clear but Aurora picked up the puppy and grabbed some thawed meat from the fridge, whatever Nox intended to cook was going to the dog. She smiled at the vengence in the action as she grabbed a plate and put the meat on it and on the ground.
The puppy sniffed at the meat and tentatively licked it. But it was too big a hunk for its little jaws. "Sorry,"
she said, and got up to take the plate and cut the meat up into tiny pieces. When she put it down, the little dog started eating with gusto at first. Aurora returned to the couch and sat down. "Where were we?"
Whining caught her attention and the puppy was at her feet again. It looked so cute and helpless and her heart went out to it. She picked it up and began to cuddle with it, its tiny little heart beat racing, while she sneaked looks at Diego. His face was placid but the intensity was gone. "I'm sorry. I think he needs attention."
Diego smiled weakly. "I understand. Perhaps another night."
He stood as if to go.
Aurora stood with a frown, disappointment radiated through her being, but the puppy was helpless, everything else could wait. Aurora tucked the dog under her arm, "I'm sorry."
She put her hand on his chest. "I'll make it up to you."
She felt guilty and disappointed but mostly guilty.
Diego looked at her and shrugged, again with that weak smile, before looking down at the dog. "Ok."
He looked around. "Perhaps next time your brother will not drive you into the bathroom either. Not that I minded the excuse. You deserve better."
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. The stir of the puppy kept it from being more than a brush. "Good night Aurora."
Something stirred inside Aurora but it was gone as he walked out the door.
Aurora lifted the puppy to her face, "Well you ruined that for me."
But he was too cute as he squirmed and looked down at her. Aurora snuggled the puppy to her chest. "Come one, let's get you all situated."
Edited by Aurora, Mar 10 2015, 03:47 PM.
They took a seat off to the side, it was quiet but they had a good view of the stage area so they could watch his friend play. Unlike the shop they'd met in this one was just a bunch of tables seated everywhere, it also seemed to have electrical outlets and wired ports for the internet, the place was probably built in the early 2000s and hadn't been renovated in a long time. The decor was nice, and the coffee smelled great.
A woman in a sweet little blue uniform, not exactly like you'd see in a regular diner, but it was similar, came over and took their order. "What can I start you all off with?"
Aurora smiled, "I'll have a black coffee."
Diego voice was smooth and gentle. "Cafe' latte', please. But no whipped cream. Nor cinnamon. Nor pumpkin spice. Nor anything else the barrista decides to show off with. Thank you."
After the girl left, he smiled at Aurora by way of explanation. "They always try to ruin the simplist of things. But the original is the best."
"That's why I ask for black."
She grinned at him.
It wasn't long before Andrzej Gitano took the mic and started his own introduction. He explained what he was going to play, Aurora didn't understand half of it, but she wasn't musically inclined, Nox had more of a tendancy towards the arts than she did. Her leanings were always the more studious, the arts were like games, things only the slackers did. It was funny growing up when her brother was off learning how to dance to impress the girls she was playing games that she'd created on her computer. It was just the way it was.
When the drinks arrived the music had already begun. He was spirited as he played and Diego seemed swept up for a while. When things had quieted down, he spoke again. "Andrzej is not, properly, Spanish. He is Roma. You might know them as Gypsy. Generally speaking, not a very industrious people. More often than not, one makes sure to have a firm hand on their wallet when they are in the area."
His generalizations seemed not to bother him in the slightest. "But one cannot deny their abilities, musically. Andrzej is able to tap into something very..."
His voice trailed off for a moment, as he searched for the right word. Finally, "...that speaks of home, a cold fall day, the smells of Caparrones bubbling on the stove permeating the house. A simpler time."
He seemed wistful.
Aurora smiled as he looked lost in thought, "Your home sounds wonderful. Never had a place to call home."
They had the cabin in the Colorado rockies they frequented, but it was literally that a cabin in the woods. It wasn't home anymore than the dirty cheap motels they stayed at or the camping sites along their routes. That was the life of an American hunter. That was her life, and she missed it, but having her own bed to come home to had been good, though she wondered if it was really worth it in the end.
"You must have fond memories of your family in the kitchen if the music brings out specific smells to mind."
The sense of smell was powerful and she knew certain smells brought back all sorts of memories, not all of them good. The faint lingering smell of sulfur always brought back nightmares. And Aurora wasn't sure how Nox could stand the smell of beer, both brought back her worst nightmares - being left alone, her parents gone forever. The music playing seemed to haunt her now, the eiry beauty of the guitar being played, the soft voice singing words she couldn't understand fully. But it still spoke to her heart.
Aurora pulled herself out of her memories and smiled at Diego "Tell me of your mother. I saw the picture of you together on the mantle. You must have been close before her passing, you looked happy."
Strangely, a range of emotion played across his face before it settled on firmness. "She was my mother. My father loved her dearly. So did I. He provided the best for her. And we were happy for the time we were together."
He mouth drew down in distaste. "And then she was gone."
His eyes flicked to Andrzej and he was silent for a little while. The music continued to play softly, as if able to sneak into the secret places and lose what was hidden. Diego's eyes came back to hers. She saw pain in them. And something else. Something distant and fierce. "Some people do not appreciate the life they have."
His soft voice was a stark contrast. And then his eyes seemed to see her again, to wander about her face and the fierceness seemed to disappear. Or at least change. There was intensity still. But the distance was gone. Instead, there was wonder. "It really is quite amazing. You look just like her."
Aurora blushed slightly, she could feel the heat in her cheeks. Aurora wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that. Looking like someone's mother could be just as bad as looking like an ex-girlfriend. She smiled and changed the subject, "Are you close to your father?"
From the look on his face, the subject was more relaxing to him. Or at least less emotional. "Very much so. My father is Chief Legal Counsel to the Priveledge of DVII."
He laughed slightly. "Though I will confess there was some tension when I dropped out of law school in order to pursue music. It took some convincing, but in the end, it all worked out."
He looked at her. "And you? Why live in that warehouse? And why you live with your brother?"
Aurora laughed, "I can see how that could cause some tension. My brother and I share a certain..."
Aurora wasn't exactly sure how to say they shared a desire to experiment with their power, and they needed the room to do it. She smiled finding something that would work, "A certain flare for experiments. Space is required. When I couldn't remeber Nox or much of anything other than my own name,"
She smiled knowing that was going to cause another question to come up. But she continued with her first story, "Ironically a friend of Nox's took me out looking at places. Everything else was much nicer, but this kinda just said, Hey I can build whatever I need. When I found Nox again he kinda just moved in. I missed my brother, it was no big deal. I still miss him. Kinda hard to break the only connection we have left to our family."
She laughed, "And it's really hard to break the bond we've shared because we were born minutes apart."
As much as everyone else was drawn to Nox, so was she, she knew it had more to do with family ties than his nature, but even when he was being a prick, he was still her brother and she did love him deeply.
Aurora confided, "Nox has his moments, more off than on lately, but he's my brother. I can't change him, no matter how hard I try. He's a prick and a loveable goofball, but he's my only family left."
They chatted and mostly listened to the music of Andrzej's guitar. By the end of the second set Aurora was ready to stretch her legs. "I think I need to go for a walk, or I might find myself stuck here in this seat."
She yawned, though not from boredom, she hadn't slept well the night before for obvious reasons. "Or worse fall asleep on you."
He quirked an eyebrow and his smile became cat-like, but he said nothing. "A walk sounds fine."
He rose and helped her put her jacket on. She was aware of how close he was to her. Or perhaps he made himself more present. She wasn't sure. Strangely, he didn't give Andrzej a glance as they left.
Aurora found she liked being close to Deigo. She wrapped her hand in his and sort of leaned on him a little as they walked out. It was not something she would have done on any normal circumstance, but she wanted to be close to him. They walked and chatted about nothing in particular. It was a good end to a good day. It was still early but Aurora was getting tired, between the lack of sleep the night before and all the walking and events of the day she was ready for a nap. Diego walked her home. The Red Light District wasn't the greatest of places to be at night, but during the day it wasn't too bad. The same unsavory folks still sat outside leering and leching as they did, but it wasn't nearly so creepy.
About a block from the warehouse, a small blur darted out in front of them followed by a much larger black one. Aurora let out a small squeek as they startled her from her thoughts. It was only a second, but she noticed the frist was a small puppy with ragged fur, with its ribs sticking out, she could smell the crisp sent of freshly spilt blood. Aurora frowned. The larger creature, no, it was just a fat cat was chasing the puppy.
Aurora scrambled to the now poor cornered puppy and shooed away the larger cat, "Go away, you stupid cat. Pick on someone your own size."
Aurora had half a mind to zap the cat with her power and she would have if Deigo was standing watching her 10 feet away.
The puppy shook in her arms, it was so scared, but Aurora petted it softly and calmed and cooed at it. It was a slow walk but she found herself enthralled with the little brown puppy with floppy ears. She'd always wanted a pet as a child, but being on the road didn't cater to pets, much less children.
"Aurora, don't. The thing is dirty. And it probably has fleas. Just let it go. The cat won't hurt it."
She saw distaste on his mouth.
Aurora looked up and saw distaste on his mouth. "It's just a baby, it needs help."
Aurora scratched the puppy behind his ears. "Fleas and dirt are easy to take care of."
She started towards the warehouse.
She heard a sigh but nothing more. Aurora opened the door to the warehouse and found it empty. She smiled and turned to Deigo. "Would you like to come in?"
She scratched the puppy's head again and spoke softly in a sweet voice to it, "I know you do."
His voice was irritated as he followed her in. "Careful about the strays you let in. You never know what they bring."
Aurora nodded, "Nox would agree with you. I do have a habit of bringing strays home. I've brought his friends home with me without knowing it. It was actually rather funny."
Aurora headed to the sink and set the puppy down. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Aurora turned on the water and started to wash the puppy, it scratched and clawed trying to get away from the puppy, she had only thoughts of keeping herself from getting too wet. By the time she was throughly damp from the water the puppy shook off she remembered Deigo had followed her in. "Sorry about that, Would you like coffee, tea, water? Nox might have a beer or three in the fridge?"
He didn't say anything as he looked at her and then at the puppy. Finally, he shook his head and walked toward the fridge where he got himself a beer. The puppy was dried off and set off to explore the vast space. They were alone for the moment. Diego looked at her clothes, which were still damp, but said nothing. Instead, he looked around himself. "What kind of experiments do you do?"
Aurora laughed, but it was more to cover up that she really didn't want to talk about it, but she could tell him some things, "Nox has a propensity for playing with fire, you'll notice scorch marks everywhere."
Aurora waved her hand past a few recent experiments. "Mine aren't quite so voliltile. Light, sound, electricity."
Aurora continued in her head, healing Nox's stupid wounds. "Nox also has a gym and an obstacle course of sorts out there. For all he's worth, he's doing a pretty good job of making the warehouse liveable and usable."
Diego gave her a look. "You live with a fire bug?"
He shook his head again, but said nothing more. After a moment, his face softened again as he looked at her. His voice became warmer. "As I said, science does not interest me much."
A smile. "But I would be interested in seeing what you work on."
Aurora smiled, "My biggest experiments are software related. Nox and Aria really like some of it."
The pride rose in her voice, "And it is all pretty cool and useful. Excuse me while I grab a few things."
She slipped in to her room and grabbed her laptop and the test wallet, it was easier to show him some of the cooler things on that. "Come out here."
Aurora pulled over one of the folding chairs that now sat against the wall in the dojo and opened it for Deigo to sit down. Aurora sat on the ground a few feet in front of it.
The 3D rendering app was her latest project. There were already apps out there that made things holograms, Aurora needed it to parse data in specific ways. There were many apps that could do the same thing but it required multiple apps to parse data to a map, or to form connections automatically based on some search term or another. Her app was inclusive, one app to do it all. She sat down and explained the bare essense of it before she opened the interface. "This is a rendering of a trip into the underground here in Moscow. One of Nox's experiments. It shows all the locations they went. Everywhere. It shows height, depths. He marked places of interest."
She looked up at Deigo, "Imagine being able to take a trip through an art gallery and never actually set foot in the building, or to visit Paris without leaving the comfort of your own home."
Aurora stood up, then pulled the rendering and stretched it.
"Wow,"
he said and she smiled.
It projected over her surroundings like they were in the tunnel. "The underground is kind boring. But see that rock over there. We can manipulate it virtually."
Aurora walked over to the rock and picked it up and threw it across the room. It landed in a pile and Aurora smiled. "If there was say something underneath it and it was captured by the camera, we'd be able to see it, but since he didn't pick it up the software just renders the best interpretation it can muster up. It's not perfect yet."
Diego looked around, the awe clear in his face. He walked around the "tunnel" and tentatively touched the "walls". He kept looking about as if trying to comprehend what he was seeing, then looked at her. "Very impressive. I can see why you need the room."
Aurora sat back down on the ground to start showing more things to Deigo and he joined her. He looked up at the ceilings. "You could recreate any place in the world,"
he said in wonder. From there, they moved to the couch and conversation alternated between what she did and where they might like to see. Time seemed to fly by. And to slow. Until Diego was looking into her eyes, his interest in her clear in their depths. Tenderly, he reached out a hand to touch her cheek. "So impressive. And so lovely."
Just then, the puppy ran up and jumped into Aurora's lap. "Well hi there."
Aurora smiled to hide the disappointment at the interruption and pet the puppy quickly but put it back down on the floor. "No. Not on the couch."
It yipped playfully and Aurora sighed, "Not now. Go play."
Aurora could see that it was clearly hungry and was still kinda sickly looking, but it was clean and looked happier. Aurora looked up and frowned at Deigo. "Sorry. I'll be right back."
The look of annoyance on his face was clear but Aurora picked up the puppy and grabbed some thawed meat from the fridge, whatever Nox intended to cook was going to the dog. She smiled at the vengence in the action as she grabbed a plate and put the meat on it and on the ground.
The puppy sniffed at the meat and tentatively licked it. But it was too big a hunk for its little jaws. "Sorry,"
she said, and got up to take the plate and cut the meat up into tiny pieces. When she put it down, the little dog started eating with gusto at first. Aurora returned to the couch and sat down. "Where were we?"
Whining caught her attention and the puppy was at her feet again. It looked so cute and helpless and her heart went out to it. She picked it up and began to cuddle with it, its tiny little heart beat racing, while she sneaked looks at Diego. His face was placid but the intensity was gone. "I'm sorry. I think he needs attention."
Diego smiled weakly. "I understand. Perhaps another night."
He stood as if to go.
Aurora stood with a frown, disappointment radiated through her being, but the puppy was helpless, everything else could wait. Aurora tucked the dog under her arm, "I'm sorry."
She put her hand on his chest. "I'll make it up to you."
She felt guilty and disappointed but mostly guilty.
Diego looked at her and shrugged, again with that weak smile, before looking down at the dog. "Ok."
He looked around. "Perhaps next time your brother will not drive you into the bathroom either. Not that I minded the excuse. You deserve better."
He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. The stir of the puppy kept it from being more than a brush. "Good night Aurora."
Something stirred inside Aurora but it was gone as he walked out the door.
Aurora lifted the puppy to her face, "Well you ruined that for me."
But he was too cute as he squirmed and looked down at her. Aurora snuggled the puppy to her chest. "Come one, let's get you all situated."
Edited by Aurora, Mar 10 2015, 03:47 PM.