Don't Sweat the Small Stuff [Aya]

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

"Ahhh~" Alistair had to resist jumping in excitement when he had arrived at his destination. He had heard of the hot springs peppering death mountains, but he assumed it was all talk. None the less, he made the journey to find out for himself, and was very pleased with the outcome.

He hastily stripped himself of his weapons and put them down next to a large rock. He was more careful about actually taking of his clothing, stripping down to a pair of shorts he had purchased specially for this occasion. He untied his ponytail, letting his hair down before he put one foot in the water. After adjusting to the heat, he got in fully and sat down, the water rising just above his waste. A relaxed sigh escaped him as he leaned back against the edge of the spring and closed his eyes.

[Ayameru]

This was a bit awkward. Aya didn't expect the hot springs up in Death Mountain to be unisex springs. Anyone and everyone was welcomed here so long as they didn't disturb the peace. So the little fire fairy carefully placed her stuff in a secure spot, and dressed in a simple two piece bikini with a waterproof cloth wrapped around her waist, and soaked into the steamy springs. Her long scarlet hair was pulled up into a ponytail to keep it from getting dry, and brittle when she retired from the soak later on~ Her eyes were carefully watching the gorons that lounged around the springs not really that relaxed.

Ever felt alone in a crowded room? Take that concept and instead of a room make it a whole place, and that is how Aya felt at the moment. She expanded her fairy wings as she got up on her knees, and fluttered them a little causing a few droplets of spring water to spray across her vicinity. It felt soothing to shake her wings before settling down back within the water's level, hugging her knees.

Awkward Aya was awkward~

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

Amidst the sounds Alistair could hear, there was one that sounded vaguely close, the slightest of splashes. It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to pique his interest. He opened his eyes to see someone a small distance away; a fairy, by the looks of it. After a moment of observation, he nonchalantly raised his hand out of the water and gave a simple wave accompanied by a slight smile. After all, it might be fun to have someone to relax with, right? What could possible go wrong?

Perhaps this new person had an interesting story to tell- most people nowadays do. Well, except for Alistair. Not having an interesting life kind of disappointed him, but he usually didn't even think about it. He would have a good story to tell soon enough, but for now, he just waited to see if he could get a response from the girl in the hot springs.

[Ayameru]

The warmth, the atmosphere, the mixture of smoke and fire melded in the air blended softly within the fragrance of spring water eased the fire fairy down. Slowly but surely, it didn't seem so bad mingling within a spring. The only thing she honestly thought she should worry about was if she might get squished by a goron who didn't see her. A small shudder escaped not wanting to think of ever having to experience that. Besides, it was quite difficult to miss her when she was like... prominently red. If her hair wasn't at all a dead give away~

"Hm?" she turned her attention on over to a motion that caught the corner of her eye. It was a boy. He was waving at her, right? Had to be. There wasn't anybody else around in her space in the springs. She nodded her head in acknowledgment before raising her own lithe little hand up, and copied the same motions. From the looks of it, he seemed pretty affable for her to interact with. Then again, perhaps she was being a stick in the mud, and needed to loosen up a bit~

"Yo~" she greeted. "How's it going?"

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

Alistair let out a hushed sigh of relief. Finally, someone he could have a conversation with. The past few people he met were quite... odd. Of course, he wasn't the most normal person either, but it was just nice to get a simple response from someone for once, you know? As she spoke, he found himself slightly distracted by her hair. It was fascinating, to say the least. So... red.

"It's going a lot better now that I know about these hot springs." After he responded, he remembered how terrible he was at making small talk. He had no idea why, it just never came to him naturally. "How's it going for you~?" He awkwardly returned the question.

[Ayameru]

Simple was nice. Simple was the best thing in the world when you lived in a complicated land. Alistair wasn't the only one who had a problem with awkward conversations. Aya was quite known for being the epitome of awkward when she wasn't in her comfort zone. Right now, she was no where near her comfort zone. It wasn't that she was bad company to be around, but normally in a group of people, she would be the quiet moody one of the group.

"This place is... different," she answered simply, and with the same inflection Alistair returned back to her. Though one thing drew her attention towards the young male. He had the brightest blond hair she's ever seen. "What's your name?" she asked forwardly~

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

"It's definitely different, but in a good way~" Alistair said, slowly easing in to the conversation. Once there was actually a topic to talk about, he would usually relax a lot more... Usually. He still felt awkward for some reason. Maybe he just didn't interact with females enough to be casual around them. Then again, maybe he didn't interact with enough people in general. Despite his slight awkwardness, he tried to put up a cool front. It wasn't working all too well.

He casually moved his arm in a bowing motion without actually, well, bowing. Because they were in a hot spring and that would be just plain weird. "Alistair." He tried to answer plainly to avoid more awkwardness. "And who might you be~?"

[Ayameru]

He had a good point. Different wasn't entirely a bad thing. In fact, it wasn't so bad at all~ Then again she was wary for the most part due to the fact that it wasn't natural for those of the opposite gender to take a soak in the same spring. So long as he wasn't making crude remarks or giving checking her out then she was fine. Not that she was bragging on what little figure she had, but it was out of pure instinct to assume the worst. However there was no need for her to be cautious. A soft smile graced her lips delighted with how easy going it got between them so that made things much better for her to grasp. "You're right. Always good to have a change of pace, right?" she concluded.

"Ayameru. Aya for short," she returned the favor. "Nice to meet ya~" She couldn't help but notice if making friends was this easy then she should ease up more, and just take things for what it was. There was no reason for her to get awkward when she hasn't taken the chance to get to know the guy~ There in lies the beauty of connection making, and in these times, did it make the difference. It was nice not to be alone~

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

"Likewise, miss Ayameru~" Alistair responded. Oh no. It was his turn to offer the next topic of conversation. He thought for a moment, trying not to panic as topics cycled through his head. Weather? No. The world ending? It would be best to avoid that one. How are you? That one was already done. He got slightly flustered.

Soon enough, he decided to just say the first thing that came to mind. "So, what brings you to the hot springs?" Immediately after he said it, he knew it sounded like a cheesy pick-up line of some sort. Hopefully Ayameru wouldn't think of it that way, and the two could just continue on with their conversation. But things weren't always that easy, unfortunately.

[Ayameru]

He looked like he was having a difficult time getting his thoughts together. Like she had much room to talk really~ Still, even if it was just admitting it in her head, she found it amusing that at the moment he looked so concentrated. Not like she wouldn’t be doing the same thing if the table was turned on her, and she had to come up with a topic of conversation, but yeah~ Point still stands. Though it didn’t take him long to find a topic to continue the leisure time together.

“Curiosity for the most part,” she answered, “I tried the hotel one in Kakariko. While it was enjoyable, it wasn’t as natural – very artificial compared to this spring. I honestly didn’t expect it to be a unisex spring either so that threw me in a loop.” She flashed a cheesy smile. It was the truth, it just wasn’t the way things worked, and when she found out it was like that it took a moment or two to adjust to that. Social stuff like this was also something she had to work on.

“Plus, I like the view of the volcano from here as well,” she admitted as well, “What about you?”

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

Alistair instantly felt better; it was his turn to talk and there was already a topic. That just makes things so much easier, don't you think? He lifted his hand and gently scratched the back of his head before answering. "I've been hearing good things about this place for a while now." He to the volcano before continuing. Huh. It is a pretty nice view.

Returning his attention to Ayameru, he continued. "That, and it does wonders for pain relief." He thought about his recent battle in the Faron Woods for the Monster Hunters. Just the thought made his shoulder and side ache again.

[Ayameru]

People actually talk about this spring? Not that it was a bad thing, but the crimson fairy thought this place might be a bit dangerous for tourist to come out to visit. Maybe that's why the Gorons didn't make income on tourism. She could only imagine people trying to travel up the mountain only to be greeted with nasty fireballs coming at them thanks to the Volcano. Aya found the place on a whim, and decided to just go with her first instinct. There was, after all, a reward for going through with this~

"Good point," she agreed, "Sounds like you've been through a lot as of recently. Do you travel a lot~?" It was also nice to find things in common with another. The ties that bound one to another were quite interesting, and company was always appreciated in the long run for the fireball fairy.

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

Alistair thought about his response for a moment before answering. "Recently I've made my way to quite a few places. Traveling seems to be the easiest way to learn as much as I can while making myself stronger." He laughed for a moment. "And meeting new people along the way while sightseeing is a definite plus~"

He wondered if the people he had encountered were okay. For some reason, he never really ran into anyone more than once. Clearing his thoughts, he returned his gaze back to Ayameru. "What about you? I'm sure someone like yourself has been on all kinds of adventures~"

[Ayameru]

She liked his answer. It was the perfect way to expand your horizons along with meeting all kinds of different people. Plus learning new ways to make yourself stronger, and more adaptable to the world was also a bonus. While becoming stronger wasn't really a priority in her life, she thought it would be handy to be able to handle her own, along with supporting those she accompanied. If not then on her own, she would prove to apprehension that she wasn't a pushover.

"It gives you a chance to really be yourself," she noted, "If people don't like you for who you are then you can just tell them to screw themselves, and walk away. If they're worth the time then perhaps they'll be potential friends in the long run."

When the question had been put on her plate she grinned proudly. With a beaming nod of her head, it was quite clear from the blazing fire in her eyes, she definitely had a story to be told. Where did she begin? Oh~ The things to share. "You bet. I've been all over the place as well, if I do say myself," she got a little bragging, "I've been to places like the City in the Sky to the Peak Province. Have you ever seen a yeti before? I haven't, but I do hear that there is one somewhere."

Just pure speculation, of course, but it would have been cool to really meet one~

[ALISTAIR LUOR]

Alistair watched as she nodded, and prepared to be told a grand story. He listened intently, trying to match his own story with hers in his head. I've been to the Peaks before, but I've never had the opportunity to go to the City in the Sky. "A yeti, you say? I don't believe I've seen one. With all the strange stuff wandering about out there, I'm sure there has to be at least one, though."

He got sidetracked for a moment, thinking about going on an expedition to find a yeti. Would he really be able to do it? He couldn't be sure. He snapped back into the conversation and finally asked his question. "I've never been to the City in the Sky. Is it nice?"