[IC] Fateful Convergence

[Vocalia]

"My my, Nigel. You do realize that I would never surrender you to anyone, not even to my beloved twin sister, right?" Arlia replied with a coy tone, playfully wrapping her arms in a mock possessive manner. "Of course, I can see why you would be interested in her. Many men shared your sentiment, if her stories were anything to go by. She didn't seem to enjoy the attention very much, however." Smiling softly, she gently nuzzled his cheek with the tip of her nose and whispered, "Well... It's been a long night and I'm more than eager to spend my first warm night with you, my love."

[Daxam]

---Two months later---

Six o'clock in the morning, Sean was already up and preparing for the day. Dressed up in a long, red coat, he looks in the mirror to make sure the spiky blond wig he wore was just right. Grinning once he was satisfied, he slips on the pair of sunglasses that completed the costume and says, "Looks like I'm all set." After making sure everything was in order, he quietly slips out of the penthouse, the door clicking quietly behind him, having decided to give his 'students' the weekend off while he spends it at the anime convention that had come to town.

[Vocalia]

Elsewhere in the Capital, an auburn-haired lady hummed softly as she adjusted herself in front of her bedroom mirror. It was the study break and, as luck would have it, an anime convention had just been set up in town at the same time. She could feel the excitement building up inside her and tried to dress up in a costume for the occasion. Said costume consisted of a feminine magical girl attire set with white, pink, and red theme, complete with a good quality pink pigtail wig with pink ribbons. After she adjusted her wig to ensure that it's secured, then gently tugged on her gloves, dress, and kneesocks, the young woman put on her pink eye contacts, making sure that they comfortably rest on her eyes, and smiled. "Looks like I'm good to go," she hushed to herself. Taking a small bag filled with what she needed, she stepped out of her studio apartment room, situated in one of the many on-campus accommodation, and headed for the convention by bus, looking very eager and excited.

[Daxam]

Sean walks into the parking garage across the street from his building and climbs into one of his favorite vehicles, a black jeep, and pulls out of the garage. As he drives down the road toward the convention site, he slips in a CD and begins singing along with the Japanese song, having taught himself the language just to sing along. About an hour later, he climbs out of the jeep and checks into the hotel he would be staying in for the weekend before heading across the street to the convention center. "Now, then," he mutters to himself, looking around as people mill around the various booths and whatnot, "what should I do, first?"

[Vocalia]

Because of her limited budged, the auburn-haired, dressed up lady had to find a shared accommodation for the duration of the convention and just so happened to find a room to share with a few other convention-goers. Still, she seemed content with her arrangements and headed for the convention site after checking in with her roommates, parting ways with them and heading off on her own. Her eyes gazed at the booths and mingling convention attendants, noticing how crowded it was. "I wonder what I should do first... Maybe I could get some snacks..." she mused to herself with a smile, but she was so busy looking around that she didn't notice a man in a red-coat walking in front of her.

[Daxam]

Sean stretches as he walks through the wide aisle between booths. "Nothing beats a convention atmosphere," he says, crossing his arms behind his head, grinning widely. As he walks, his eyes scan the crowds, showing that even when he was relaxed, he never lets his guard down, until they come across a certain person who, for some reason, makes it impossible for him to look away. He was so focused on her, he didn't notice the can, dropped by some careless convention-goer, which he feels roll under his foot, making him fall forward. Soon, somehow, his vision goes black as something happens to him most men would kill for.

[Vocalia]

Barely having enough time to react, the auburn-haired girl, Eryn, found herself tumbling backwards as something heavy landed on her body, pushing her down onto the floor. While she tried to sit up, thinking that she might had hit someone by accident, she realized that another body had tumbled onto her, with his face nicely fitted onto her chest. "Umm... S-Sir.. A-Are you alright? W-W-Would you kindly s-s-stand up please?" she stammered, too embarrassed to ask him to remove himself from her outright.

[Daxam]

Sean, stunned from the sudden darkness, as well as the fall,takes a few moments to get his bearings before placing his hands on the floor and pushing himself up, his face beet-red. Hastily, he stands up and offers his hand to the girl in pink, saying, "I'm so, so sorry! I'm usually not that absent-minded, I didn't mean to trip into, uh...you. Here, let me help you up!"

[Vocalia]

Eryn hastily took the man in red's hand and pulled herself up, her face as red as the ribbon choker she was wearing. Looking back at him, she quickly nodded her head apologetically and stammered, "I-I'm truly sorry! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going! A-Are you alright, sir?" Instead of trying to flee, she seemed to be more concerned about the man who fell on top of her, the incident having not gone unnoticed by the convention goers as people gathered around them in case things went south for both of them.

[Daxam]

Sean quickly raises his hands and assures her, "No, you don't have anything to apologize for! I was the one who tripped, it's my fault!" Noticing all of the stares directed their way, Sean then suggests, "Uh, how about we continue this somewhere else, where there aren't as many people? We don't need everyone to see this, after all..."

[Vocalia]

"T-That might be a good idea..." Eryn timidly shrunk as she saw the gazes around them. Clutching onto her bag, she hastily scurried away with the man in red, looking for a less crowded place where they could talk. She noticed how well-made the man's costume was and silently watched with a sense of admiration and a tiny hint of curiosity about how he managed to procure it. Once they managed to loose the crowd, Eryn looked at him and timidly said, "Umm... I-I like your costume. Did you make it yourself?"

[Daxam]

Sean looks back at the girl and says, "Uh, yeah, I did. I even have the scars from the needle to prove it." Chuckling, he looks at the woman's costume and says, "Yours is probably even better, though. If I didn't look too closely, I'd think you were actually from the show." Holding his hand out, this time for her to shake it, he says, "My name's Sean. If it's alright, can I ask what yours is?"

[Vocalia]

"Oh! I-I'm Eryn. Eryn Lancaster. A pleasure to meet you, Mister Sean," Eryn replied with a timid, but friendly smile and took his hand for a firm, but gentle handshake. "W-Well... I have to buy the socks, shoes, and the wigs, but I'm admittedly quite proud of being able to make the rest of this costume on my own. Between classes and other works I have been doing, it took me six months to be able to complete it. I can already tell how much love and effort you put into your costume, Mister Sean. I can see how faithful you are to even the smallest details."

[Daxam]

"Please," Sean says, "just Sean. 'Mister' makes me feel old...even though I'm only 25." Chuckling, he then says, "I could say the same about you, though. The only time I've seen your costume so well-done was the last time I saw the show and it's pretty much tied in quality to the original." He then looks around and, spotting a Japanese food booth, he says, "How about you and I get something to eat? It's my treat."

[Vocalia]

To say that she was flustered for mistaking his age, albeit without any malicious intent, was something of an understatement, considering that she was four years younger than him. Although Eryn tried to decline Sean's gracious offer, seeing that they were virtually complete strangers, she could tell from Sean's body language that he had no intention of backing down. She could smell the savory food being prepared even as they speak and her body began to plead to her to get something from the booth, even if it was just a small bowl of takoyaki. Sighing softly, she nodded with a smile and replied, "If you insist, Sean. I do feel a bit hungry myself."

[Daxam]

Sean grins and says, "Awesome!" Turning around, he leads Eryn to the booth and, after a short wait in line, looks at the menu displayed at the front of the booth. After looking for a few minutes, he looks up and says, "Could I get a couple of bags of tiroru, some meat and potato korokke, okonomiyaki, soba, and bubble tea?" Turning to Eryn, he asks, "How about you? Feel free to get as much as you want."

[Vocalia]

"Eh? Ah! Umm..." Eryn looked around uncertainly at the menu. Although Sean had told her to order as much as she liked, the thought of doing so was enough to make her feel bad. "Could I get an onigiri, a small serving of takoyaki, two taiyaki, and bubble tea please?" she asked the booth employee who happily noted down their orders. "Umm... I-I hope I wasn't being a bother, Sean. Thank you very much for treating me to the food."

[Daxam]

Sean looks at Eryn, having heard what she ordered, and asks, "Really? That's it? You could've gotten a lot more, if you wanted, but alright." He then smiles and says, "Don't worry, you're not a bother at all. I'm more than happy to pay for this." Soon, the booth owner sets their food in front of them and Sean pulls out his wallet, which was themed after his favorite computerized singer. After rifling through all of the bills in his wallet, he finally produces enough money to pay for the food, which was still far more than it cost. "Keep the change," he tells the owner before turning away from the surprised man. "Would you like to eat with me?" Sean asks, unable to hide the hint of hopefulness in his voice. Even though they had quite a unique meeting, he can't help but want to spend as much time with Eryn as possible.

[Vocalia]

Eryn was baffled, to say the least, by how easily Sean could simply let go a lot of money to pay for a paltry amount of food, at least in his opinion. Many cynical people would had dismissed him as a well-off bourgeois, but Eryn couldn't help but be interested in him and not only because of his money or the circumstances of their first meeting with one another. As he asked if she would be willing to eat together with him, Eryn was quite surprised to hear his voice, almost as if he truly wanted to spend time with her even though they had just met less than an hour ago. "G-Gladly! I think i-it would be more enjoyable to eat together with a friendly face," she replied, although she was surprised that she could still speak coherently.

[Daxam]

Sean grins and says, "Glad to hear it!" After looking around for a few moments, Sean leads Eryn to a spot away from the main body of the convention, where they would be a comfortable distance away from everyone else. "I noticed you were a bit uncomfortable when everyone was looking at us," he says, sitting down, "so I figured you'd prefer somewhere to sit away from everyone else."