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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on May 25, 2012 18:45:33 GMT -5
"Dude, who goes to the park in winter?" Ashton's friend grumbled from beside him as he crossed his arms and seemed to shrink further into his coat, glaring around at the snow as if it had done him some great injustice. Ashton just laughed and rolled his eyes. "It's winter, Trent, not the Ice Age. Come on!" He didn't like the cold either but he did like the snow. It was fun to have snowball fights or build snowmen or go snowboarding. Upon realising that a lot of these things started with 'snow', Ashton felt compelled to share this news with his friend. When Trent gave him a strange look, Ashton shook his head and gesticulated as he talked as if this could help the other boy see his point. "No but seriously! Why isn't summer like that? Why doesn't everything start with, like... sun, or something?" Trenton raised his eyebrows, then started counting off on his fingers, "Sunbathing, sunscreen, sunbathers—" Ashton cut him off with, "Hey, no using plurals! That's cheating!" Trenton only smirked and continued, "Sunshine, sunlight, sunrise..." He seemed highly amused and after a moment Ashton laughed too. "Those things are all year round. They don't count!" But they let it drop there because it had all mostly been joking anyway. It had been fun, though, and that's what counted.
After a while, Ashton and Trent finally made it to the park. They'd moved onto the slush-filled road when they'd reached an area of side-walks the snow-plough hadn't been to yet and now they gratefully moved back onto the path. "Ugh, my shoes are soaked," Trent complained as he reached down and poked at the sides like it would do him any good. Ashton could partially relate seeing as his boots had a crack near the sole and some water had gotten in. He'd need to buy a new pair, he thought. It was strange now that he had a job and could actually afford things. "You need to get boots, then. Or don't walk directly in the wet stuff." Trent sniggered at 'wet stuff' and Ashton rolled his eyes, shoving his friend playfully. "You know what I meant." Trenton just laughed and they kept pace with one another as they walked around the park for a while. They talked about a number of things—school, work, their parents, their lives in general. It was nice to catch up with the other boy. They were the same age but Trenton was not an elemental and so when Ashton spent most of his time at school, they didn't get a lot of time to hang around one another. It was strange lying to people and telling them he went to a 'gifted' school when he wasn't all that brilliant in any one field but he just told people that he was 'smarter than he looked' and hoped they didn't question it.
After a while, Trent's phone rang and he rolled his eyes with a scowl. "Who is it?" Ashton questioned, wondering with concern what could make his friend so irked. "It's my boss. He wants me to come into work." Ashton cringed sympathetically and bade him farewell, suddenly finding himself alone in the park with nothing better to do. His own boss was away on a short vacation with the family and since it was just the two of them working the shop and Ashton was still a rookie, they'd decided to shut the shop for the time being. Not many people demanded floral services in the middle of winter and so the pair of them figured it wouldn't be much of a loss anyway. While walking on the path Ashton spotted a phone lying in the well-trodden snow, screen lit up from a recent text. He didn't read the text (that would be awkward, rude) but he picked up the phone and glanced around, wondering who might have dropped it. It was a nice phone—not top of the line but not bottom either—and it was certainly nicer than his own but Ashton wouldn't be the type to keep it. The only person he spotted close by was a girl, a stranger to him. He approached her first. "Um, excuse me?" He said it politely, sheepishly, and then held up the phone. "This wouldn't happen to be yours, would it? I was walking and I found it—I guess it fell out of someone's pocket or something—and I'm trying to find out whose it is." Always the good citizen. With a smile, he said, "Ashton, by the way." He was just trying to solve the mystery of the phone but he may as well be polite, right?
[It can belong to anyone -- just wanted to give him a reason to approach her xD]
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Post by silver on Jun 1, 2012 15:34:29 GMT -5
The wind blew against her face as Ash stepped outside of her apartment complex. Her sharp blue eyes scanned the streets and the people on the sidewalks before letting a small sight escape her lips. As she did, a small mist seemed to come from her moth because of the cold weather in the atmosphere. December was a cold month to Ash, but the cold temperature itself just didn't seem to take too much of an affect on her clothing. At the moment, she wore a graphing long-sleeved tee, blue jeans, and black combat boots, and a black leather jacket. Other than the grey, thin-looking scarf that hung loosely around her neck, nothing about her appearance showed people that she was too aware of the time of year.
So far, the day was a boring one to the wind elemental so she decided the might as well just take a quick a walk outside. A light layer of snow crunched below her boots as she walked to nowhere in particular. Her head was tilted downwards, letting her wavy brown hair to fall over her face. Despite the fact it hid her eyes, Ash knew her way around the Hollow immensely well being here for a couple of years now.
Those two years were both relieving and stressful for the Wind elemental. She was able to get away from the crowded orphanage where kids picked fights often, but now she had to be surrounded by even more people here in the Hollow and have wars instead of just fist fights. Now, she had to be cautious of being burned to a crisp by a Fire, being splashed by water randomly by their elementals, being pricked by roses often by an Earth, or worst of all, being possibly shocked by a Thunder despite the fact her element was a neutral. It irked her to no end, but she was able to get away from it all nonetheless.
Just as she was about to shake her head to pull her mind away from those thoughts, Ash was jerked from her thoughts by accidentally smashing her toe right into a large stone. Ash's head snapped up and her toe ached. Swearing under her breath, Ash stopped in her tracks only to find herself in a place where she was surprised she had unconsciously reached. Finally aware of her surroundings, Ash's blue eyes were met with the sight of the Hollow's park. Snow covered benches and trees, and no one seemed to be around at the moment. Signing sharply, Ash then began to walk towards one of the benches, deciding she had the need to sit down. Propping her own feet up on the edge of the bench, Ash pulled her legs closer, hugging them.
She sighed softly again at the stillness of the park; it was just so simple, so quite. That is until the voice of a boy rang through her ears. Turning her blue eyes over towards the direction of a speaker, Ash found a boy right around her age walking towards her. Her lips pressed firmly together as he mentioned the fact that he had found a phone. When he mentioned his name, however, she couldn't help but have a very faint smirk creep onto her face. Well, it really was amusing that their names were somewhat similar in all truth. "No, it's not mine,"
[/b] she said simply, "And I'm Ash."
She only added her name because of one reason. To see how he would react to their similarities. [[Sorry for the post wait! Stuff happened xP ]] [/size][/justify][/blockquote][/blockquote] |
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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Jun 1, 2012 21:28:22 GMT -5
Ashton really wasn't good at reading most social cues. A less oblivious person might take one look at the girl and realise that she wasn't the approachable type, back off. Ashton? Well, it took a lot more than that to clue him in on the fact that he wasn't welcomed somewhere. He was such a friendly person that it often slipped his mind that others were not always quite so forgiving and loving toward strangers. That's what Ashlyn was, after all, a stranger in a park who just so happened to be the only person nearby when he found a dropped phone. He might have approached her even if that reason was not put in place but it was less likely then. Ashton would make conversation with a wall if he thought it might talk back to him but he wasn't stupid. Some people were busy and didn't want to be interrupted. Ashlyn didn't look too busy, though. Maybe she was worried about her phone. He'd go and check and if it wasn't hers, well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He didn't notice the way that she pressed her lips together, that she did not look like the friendliest or most approachable girl.
The smirk was a little more noticeable but he easily mistook it for a smile and passed it off as nothing. He always assumed people were happy rather than upset because he didn't like it when people suffered. Better that everyone be cheerful than miserable, right? She said that the phone was not hers and he looked disappointed for only a moment before getting over it. It would have been ideal to find the owner of the phone as quickly as possible but it wasn't her fault that she hadn't dropped her phone. Meant she was responsible, actually. Probably more responsible than Ashton? He wasn't a very put-together person when it came to being organized. All over the place. "Oh, you too?" He grinned when she introduced herself as Ash, clearly quite entertained by this. It didn't take much to amuse him or lift his spirits. "There sure are a lot of us in Maple Hollow. I've known an Ashley, Asha, Asher... it can get confusing sometimes, yeah? Especially since Asher's a leader—" He broke off, realising that he was about to reveal dangerous information, and amended quickly, "—of one of the clubs at school and I am, too, so I never know which Ash they want." Phew. Close. He had to remember that he wasn't at school any more, couldn't talk so openly about it.
Sheepishly, he said, "I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry! What's your name stand for? Or is it just Ash?" Sometimes parents would take a shortened name and give it to their kids instead of using the full-length forum. Maybe it was a matter of style or maybe they just hated the longer name. He had a friend called Alex, just Alex, not short for Alexander or anything like that. He'd shrugged when Ashton had questioned it and said, "My parents." Best explanation ever, clearly. Very informative. The phone was pretty cold in his hand, the silver back of it frozen to the touch. He slipped it in his pocket to avoid holding it. "I don't plan on keeping it," he said almost defensively. Ashlyn hadn't accused him of doing so but he didn't want his intentions to seem shifty. "Just seems silly to keep it in my hand when it's not yours. Did you see anyone else around who might have dropped it?" The park was fairly empty today. Maybe if she'd passed someone she could point him in the right direction? And if she hadn't, well, he would be stuck. Shit.
[It's fine  ]
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Post by silver on Jun 2, 2012 22:05:01 GMT -5
His reaction was something more than just amusing to Ash. It made the edges of her lips tug up in almost smile. His rambling was something that no one she had come across had ever done. She though he would simply make a really big deal about it, but instead he went off rambling all of the names with the beginning of "Ash" that he had heard all around the Hollow. Though, she couldn't really tell whether or not he was suspicious of it being her actual name which made her lips press firmly together. She hated her first name; it wasn't her. Ash on the other hand could be her in some aspects. Short and to the point. That was who she was. Ash was short an had a really cool ring to it. It was even one of the reasons that she used it; the coolness was a major factor from when she was younger.
Suddenly, though, he had mentioned a word that immediately made Ash stiffen. Leader? Her icy blues eyes bore into him, seemingly catching the fact it looked as though he was covering up a mistake. The possibility that he was from the Academy as well seeped into the Wind elemantal's mind for a moment before completely registering. Ash didn't really care about the Leaders so much because she didn't even care about people in general. Pressing her lips together before parting them for a sigh, Ash reverted her attention back to the snowy ground around them. It seemed a bit more interesting than usual, more or less because of the white the blanketed it elegantly. She let his slip up slide as she sat there gazing at the snow, but she still had her suspicions. There was a large chance that he really was from the Academy, but the Wind elemental didn't want to risk her own cover by further questioning him. Besides, that wouldn't be like her. Ashton just seemed to ramble on too much for his own good. He was lucky enough Ash hadn't gotten pissed off yet, but she just hoped he wouldn't push it.
Her suspicions on her name were suddenly confirmed as he questioned about what it could possibly be shortened from. The frown on her face was not too evident, but she was hinting that she really didn't want to answer that by the look in her sharp blue eyes. Nonetheless, to avoid for him to pester her more about it, she sighed, thinking of a good response. "My actual name is something I despise speaking about, and not really good for anyone to know," she said simply. "I wasn't accusing you of anything," she stated as he glanced at the phone he was slipping into his pocket. "Besides, it doesn't seem to me like you'd be the one to take it and go." In fact, in her point of view, he seemed to be like one of the Earth or Water students in the Academy. She wouldn't have been surprised if he had. She already knew there was a chance he attended the place, but she didn't want to say it aloud.
She thought for a moment, wondering if she had passed anyone on the way there. She did zone out in her thoughts if she remembered correctly though. Ash shrugged before speaking and hugged her legs even closer to her body as a cold breeze passed through them. She wasn't cold, of course, only wanted to see how long she could hold that position. "No, sorry," she replied, not sympathetically at all. Her hair fell more over her face, so much so covering one of her eyes. "Maybe they would look for it in the police station or something?" she added with a shrug. Ash didn't care, honestly, but she was curious as to whom the phone belonged to. That poor, irresponsible soul.
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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Jun 3, 2012 10:02:51 GMT -5
Ashton blinked in apologetic surprise when she told him that she didn't like her real name. He knew that not everyone liked theirs and so it probably shouldn't have come as a shock but it still caught him off guard for a second or two before he recovered with a quick smile. It was hard to deter his happy-go-lucky mood for very long. Really, even if you upset him it wasn't that hard to bring his mood back up again. Too trusting, gullible, but incredibly friendly if you gave him the chance. "Oh well that's okay. Just Ash then I guess! It's a cool name on its own if I do say so myself." The smile segued into a grin before it slipped back into a less toothy gesture once more. He liked the name Ash but of course he was heavily biased when it came to the fact that it was what people often called him. Then again, Ashton liked most names just as he liked most people. He was probably one of the least judgemental people on the planet. "Why don't you like it? Does it just sound bad or something?" Sometimes when he opened his mouth he simply didn't realise when his questions and comments strayed into a territory that might be too personal. Ashton often had to have things spelled out for him before he realised that he should back off. He didn't think to apologise for being forward because he didn't realise what he was doing.
His expression brightened considerably, as if it were not bright enough, when she assured him that she didn't think he was planning to steal the phone. "Oh, well thanks!" He wasn't sure whether it was meant to be a compliment but to him it was one and so Ashton took it as such. It was nice to know that people assumed he was the dependable sort that would not steal from strangers or for his own gain. He figured the person who had lost this phone was missing it a whole lot and maybe they didn't have enough money to pay for a new one. That wouldn't be very good. He knew what it was like to struggle with technology and its prices so Ashton would never want to be the reason another person went without their beloved phone. "I tried to get into it to see if there was a name or something like that but it's locked and there's nowhere that says who it belongs too. Sucks!" He would even have called a few of the contacts on the phone and asked them whose number it was, if there was some other way to contact the person. "Maybe they'll have the sense to call it themselves and I can give it back." Because he would. He would tell his parents he had it, too, just in case they heard it ring while he was out.
His gaze lit up. "The station! Yeah! They've probably got a lost and found or something." He knew that the transit department did so maybe the cops would to, or they'd at least know where he could go to if they didn't. He hoped that he could find the owner before they gave up and unnecessarily bought a new phone or anything like that. "I'll probably check there next, thanks." He didn't know the number of the police station. 911 was for emergencies and he wouldn't really consider a dropped phone that much of an emergency. Ashton was a little silly and oblivious sometimes but he wasn't stupid.
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Post by silver on Jun 11, 2012 20:22:49 GMT -5
Ash hugged her legs tighter as she thought about the things that Ashton said. His reaction definitely was amusing, him smiling and all. People like him always interested Ash. They seem as though nothing bad happened in the world with their smiles and such. The things that he said about her name made her think for a split moment before she finally answered. The sigh preceeding the sound of her voice made her close her eyes for a moment. "No, my name just doesn't fit me, I suppose," she said simply. It really didn't Ashlyn was just too... elegant for her. Despite the fact her name was Regal, it just wasn't her.
When he mentioned he couldn't decipher the phone, Ash thought about it for a moment. She was pretty good at figuring things out despite her small patience doesn't help. Holding out her hand, she kept her eyes on the snow-blanketed ground. "Give it to me; I can figure it out," she said with a bored voice. People often either did simple or complex things for their passwords. Well, unless it was one of those connect-the-dots correctly passwords, then that was a sinch. Ash has been able to figure out quite a few things in the past already so there's a good chance she can figure out this "puzzle challenge".
When he said thanks for the station thing, she simply nodded. It was only common sense that they would. Lost and Founds were everywhere. Ash found her own phone in the lost and found once or twice. "The Lost and Found is helpful most of the time," muttered softly. That was random thought that had slipped from her lips. It didn't happen often.
[[Sorry for such the short post... Loss of muse -_-]]
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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Jun 11, 2012 20:51:49 GMT -5
Ashton seemed surprised when she expressed a desire to try and unlock the phone, hesitating for a moment. Was it right to do that to someone else's property? He teetered on the edge of uncertainty for a moment, frowning. "Well, if it helps us find the owner..." He handed the phone to Ashlyn after that, a very trusting person. He would believe the best in everyone until they proved that they were negative people. There was a possibility that Ashlyn would take the phone from him and dash off in the other direction, take advantage of his trust, but he was taking that chance. He never believed that he should think of someone as a bad person right off the bat. If he went around thinking that everyone was a criminal of some kind he would never feel like he could make friends in the world. A world without friends would be a very lonely world indeed. Especially to Ashton, who was probably one of the more social creatures of the Earth.
The fact that Ashlyn could crack a phone's pass-code was probably a cause for concern to some people but he didn't think much of it. Instead he resisted the urge to look over her shoulder, knowing that was annoying, and merely asked, "So what are you going to do to it? Have you ever done this before?" With experience came expertise or whatever, right? Then again, maybe she would have beginners luck if she'd never done something like this before and she'd manage to do it anyway. Or perhaps the phone would be a tough cookie and turn out to be impossible to crack. He didn't know what he was hoping for. He kinda wanted it to be easy so that he could find the owner quicker but he also didn't want to get yelled at for bypassing the security on the phone. It's not like we're doing it for the wrong reasons. He kept reassuring himself of things like this so that he would feel better about the whole deal. Oh, he would make a terrible criminal.
"It really is," he agreed, also nodding. "I remember I left my jacket on the bus one time and I found it real quick." He'd called up the transit department in Maple Hollow and asked if anyone had turned a jacket in to their lost and found. Turns out it had turned up that very same day. This was why he had faith in humanity and all that. "It's always nice to know there are people out there that won't steal things, y'know?" Phones were a bit hard to 'steal' considering you had to pay phone bills and that would be a problem if you took it off someone else but other things also got lost. His friend's iPod had gone missing and the poor guy still hadn't found it. They'd seen a girl with something that closely resembled it, same colour and same chip on the bottom and everything, but they hadn't been able to prove it enough to get it back. His friend didn't have the money to replace it, either. It was a sad day. Oh well, life went on.
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