you're on {ARI}

[cassidy aurora hawkins]

After a long, arduous workout, most people would typically want to just to get home, take a shower, and collapse into bed. They most certainly would not want to go on a long, winding walk across campus.

This was one reason why Cass was not normal. She had just finished a hard swim practice and was taking the long route back to her dorm, walking across Kimball Green. However, Cass was not the "strolling" sort, so her walk was pretty quick and direct. She tightened her ponytail and checked her watch, cursing the fact that she still had another half an hour before the dining hall opened for dinner.

Consumed by thoughts of how to entertain herself for a half an hour, Cass wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings and nearly smacked into one of the brick half-walls surrounding the green. Laughing, she hopped up onto it and tilted her head back, soaking in the sun. She wasn't looking around, and therefore didn't know if anyone was around her.

[ari j. morphis]

OOC|| Sorry, I had a really hard time writing this post for some reason. .----.

The young blonde was trotting across the field in a limbering, controlled pace. He had always enjoyed jogging around the Kimball Green—it was easy turf and many pretty girls liked to sunbathe here, so, it gave him something to watch while he ran. Today though, it was pretty quiet on the field and Ari was jogging in silence. By now, he had already been running for some time and his tanned skin was shimmering with sweat. His cheeks were flushed with blush and his breathing had heightened a little, and his muscles, already worked from a long practice this afternoon, were crying out in pain with every footfall. Ari was the type who never woke up feeling OK: there was always something hurting, always sore muscles, always an injury. He was still recovering from an ankle injury he sustained just over a week ago, and the joint was quickly reminding Ari that it was still injured. The sharp pains, like electricity, caused him a small limp that farther he ran and finally he had to slow to a walk when the pain got increasingly worse.

Ari worked through a lot of pain, but he couldn’t risk an additional injury with a game in two days. Now walking, Ari threw his arm over his head and began to stretch. It was getting late in the evening, anyways, and dinnertime was drawing close and god forbid the teen miss a meal. At this point, during the wind down, he was just relaxing and trying to stretch the ache out of his muscles. Suddenly, something, or rather, someone caught his attention. He had seen her a few times around Kimball before, although he had never spoken to her. She had always seemed equally as athletic as he did and the way she leapt up on to the half wall was just a demonstration of her physical fitness and, before he knew it, he was strolling alongside of her on the ground.

“That’s quite a jump,” he said, not knowing she was deaf. He flexed his shoulders, making the joints pop before letting his arms drop down to his side. By this time, his heartbeat had near returned to normal and the sweat was beginning to evaporate off of him, but the bodily pains still persisted.

“I’m Ari, by the way, I’ve seen you around the field a lot,” that wasn’t meant to be as creepy as it came out, and he scratched a hand through his hair in frustration, “I mean— I run here a lot.”

[cassidy aurora hawkins]

Because Cass was indeed deaf, she didn't notice that someone was speaking to her. She slowly moved her head from the sun and blinked upon spying the tall, wet blonde now standing next to her. She didn't bother wondering where he came from; when you can't hear someone's approach, people tend to just pop up in front of you pretty often.

Squinting her eyes against the sun, Cass managed to catch his introduction and her usual grin spread across her face. She didn't move from her spot on the wall, but held out her hand for him to shake anyway. She figured he was an athlete and didn't worry about him reaching for her hand. He would be fine.

"Cass," she answered. "I haven't seen you run here before." She paused, chuckling. "Then again, I run on the beach and I do it late at night, so I don't think I've ever crossed your path before."

[ari j. morphis]

Ari wasn’t one for chitchatting, unless, of course, it involved pretty girls. Since most of his day was spent playing football, he didn’t get to see many other people aside from his coach and teammates most days and they certainly weren’t pretty girls, quite the opposite, in fact. But never the mind, this girl seemed like a sweet one and he felt a little put off of his game because of it. He couldn’t flirt with the sweet, kind girls as they became too much to him like a little sister figure. It was really no wonder none of his romantic relationships lasted long, even though he dated frequently, when he could really only see vindictive girls as dating possibilities. Still, her smile eased him a little and he couldn’t help but smile very slightly in return. In a way, the girl reminded Ari of his sister, and that hit a tender chord in the otherwise brute male. She looked oddly familiar to him as well, and he couldn’t quite put a finger on why. He wasn’t sure where he had seen her before, but he was convinced, absolutely convinced he had. Scratching an anxious hand through his damp, flaxen hair, and expelled a hasty sigh.

"Cass?" he echoed, stretching his left arm across his chest and slowly pulling the taut muscles in to relaxation. He could feel his heartbeat begin to slow—the steady pulse becoming more regular as he caught his became less winded. The sharp pains in his joints dulled in to mild aches, allowing him to relax a great deal. "Nice to meet you Cass, I’m Ari," he concluded finally, beginning to stretch out his opposite arm now. He was jittery and had to be doing something all the time—even when he wasn’t stretching, he would be obnoxiously jingling his legs or twiddling his fingers together. The boy was a constant energy case, but then again, when one ate as much as Ari did in a day, it was no surprise that he was a constant pop of energy. Taking her offered hand, he shook it politely. His lofty height gave him no troubles reaching her or her hand. He smiled almost cordially.

"Hm, maybe not then, you just look familiar, is all," shrugging the matter away. He knew a lot of people though, so it was to be expected that he got mixed up from time to time, "So, if you run at the beach at night, what are you doing on the field during the day?" he asked with a slight twinge of humour in his voice. He placed his thumbs against the small of his back and popped his spine. For once, it felt nice to be just standing and talking, a hobby the blonde didn’t get to enjoy very frequently.

[cassidy aurora hawkins]

Cass continued to watch him, grin on her cheerful face. She figured she should probably get down so he didn't have to crane his neck to see her, but she was perfectly content where she was and decided to hang out for a little bit longer. She could tell from the way Ari never stopped moving that he was an active person, and this was exciting for her. She had met plenty of active people in the swimmers she saw at the pool, but to find someone who obviously enjoyed being active as much as she did was a bonus.

At his question, Cass shrugged her shoulders. "Usually after swim practice I just head back to my dorm and change for dinner, but today I have extra energy and I don't want to go home quite yet." She finally hopped off the wall and landed neatly before straightening. "I figured I'd just wander around here for a while," she added with a smile. "Where are you headed?"