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she doesn't like sand. [break][break]

doesn't like the water, either, and even less the smell of salt that lingers in the air. she hates the humidity, hates the ocean breeze, hates the sunlight that batters down on her skin with the burden it carries. she hates it - she hates all of it. it that's the case, why does she still stick to lilycove, and why does she bother to settle down shop? [break][break]

nostalgia. [break][break]

familiarity is mercilessly shoved down her throat, but she still drinks the heartache the same. loathe as she is to admit it, it reminds her of home. she'll scoff. home never felt like home. [break][break]

so to drown out the putrid ocean breeze, she fills the store with perfumes, candles and other scents. they're all made with the help of a salazzle, of course, who walks around to stock the shelves. ariadne's never had a sense of aesthetics, so the work falls on the (heavy) shoulders of her lizard pokemon. [break][break]

she's idlying behind the counter when she hears the bell chiming at the front. her closed eyes don't bother to open, and her lips do all the smiling for her. [break][break]

"hey there!" leaning her cheek into the palm of her hand, she smiles and chimes. [break][break]

"you looking for something specific today?~"

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As he wandered the shop, his attention turned to a salazzle who did the same. Her head turned in Lam’s direction curiously, just as a voice offering assistance lifted through the quiet to reach him. “Woah, this place has a talking salazzle? I’ve seen it all!” He treated the remark as funnier as it actually was, snickering to himself as he looked about for where the counter was positioned.[break][break]

“Just kidding,” he continued to laugh at his own dumb little joke. “Actually, I’m looking for more incense sti…” His response trailed off, fading to nothing as he turned and actually got a good look at who it was standing behind the counter. No wonder the name on the sign had seemed familiar.[break][break]

Green eyes brightened first with surprise, then enthusiasm– mouth hanging open to effectively catch flies.[break][break]

“Aria? No way,” the words tumbled out of his mouth faster than he could attempt to reel them back. It was a knee-jerk reaction, instantaneous in his surprise. Because…yeah, that was Aria, right? He hadn’t seen her since they were kids, sure, but her likeness was the same despite them both having obviously grown up.[break][break]

All she was missing were those coke bottle glasses that had always been perched on a dainty, nine year-old’s nose.[break][break]

If he was wrong…well then, he’d likely perish from the embarrassment, but not really. He’d just casually skirt around the awkward mistake until it rolled off of his shoulders. For right then, though, he hung in the suspense of waiting if he was right or just dumb.

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no attempt is made to hide her surprise. [break][break]

aria, he says, in such a familiar tone. her brows raise, slightly, and her smile seems to soften the tiniest bit from its polite air. loathe she is to admit, aria hasn't met many people - or gotten to know many people - here in hoenn. it'd always be the occasional fling, or a passing voice, or a pleasant chat that she'd never bother to follow up on. [break][break]

but though she's horrible with faces, she's never forgotten a voice. [break][break]

forgive her for being suspicious, and forgive one of her brows for lowering, slightly, as the smile turns into the tiniest scoff of suspicion. it's been so long since someone has called her that in such an affectionate, familiar way.[break][break]

"yeah?~" she asks, still, with a playful chime that betrays the curious air "that's my name~. do i know you from somewhere?" she hums, though opens an eye to reveal the artificially coloured lens that covers a clouded eye. [break][break]

"you don't sound familiar."

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Well, at first he thinks he was right after all when she confirms that that is her name. Only to second guess himself when she asks if she knows him. “Uhhh, yeah? Alola? Po Town, right?” His dad had carted him and his little brother around to a lot of the more rural towns and villages. But…he was pretty sure that was right.[break][break]

Hopefully.[break][break]

His brows knit together in confusion, head tilting to one side as he studies her. Sound familiar? “I mean,” he starts with a huff of good-humored laughter, “I hope I don’t sound the same as I did when I was, what– eight? nine?”[break][break]

Lam shakes his head, “Maybe this is just a hella weird coincidence. I just could’ve sworn you were someone I knew when I was little. Just missing the coke bottle glasses.” He doesn’t even mean it as a dig. They had been a part of her then, and he’d never second guessed that.[break][break]

He pauses, not quite grasping the obvious fact that is right there in front of him. He’s too busy realizing that he’s taken this whole nostalgia trip without– “Lam,” he blurts. “My name. Just though the green hair was a give away.” It usually is.

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po town. [break][break]

that's a name she remembers - not fondly, mind. aria has half the mind to ignore the name, and half the mind to pretend that she thought about it and play familiarity. hopefully, he'll forgive her for her lack of interest in a town of the past, and a town that abandoned her when she was most vulnerable. hopefully, he'll forgive her for her desire to stay away from what ghosts of the past decide to haunt her now. [break][break]

his laughter and smile are haphazardly returned with each word, though he's certainly narrowing down the pool of people. she's glad, at least, that it sounds like someone who's young - the older folk who recognize her likely wouldn't be meeting this same patience. now, what catches more of her attention is the "coke bottle glasses" comment. [break][break]

her ears perk, and her smile seems to shrink a tiny bit. [break][break]

she's about to say something - finally - until the man suddenly blurts out his name. lam, he says so suddenly, with a tinge of desperation. the same lam who came to visit her with his father in the past, and the same lam who she'd spend so many summer sunsets with, violin in hand and bare foot in sand. [break][break]

ah, that lam. [break][break]

".. oh! you're lam~" she chimes now, reinvigorated with a brighter smile to cushion for what she's about to admit next. surely, it'll come to a surprise to him? but at least, it'd answer some questions. "sorry, sorry~" she hums, raising her hands and holding her palms together in an apologetic gesture. [break][break]

"i couldn't really see the green hair." her smile never falters. [break][break]

"i can't really see at all~."

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The longer he stands there, the more his own memory jogs. Pieces of his childhood he’s not really thought about much recently due to time passed and distance created drift to the forefront of his mind. Summers spent doodling silly pictures in a kid’s drawing pad while she played the violin pieces she’d been working on. Hours spent on the beach, sandy-footed and enthusiastic about whatever they could find that had been buried by the pull of water from the tide.[break][break]

A smile breaks across his face when she seems to remember him, once he’s supplied his name. His shoulders sag in relief. “Yes! Yeah, that’s me. I thought for a second I thought I’d been mixed up..” They were adults now, after all. A far cry from the little kids they’d once been.[break][break]

His head tilts at her admission, brows furrowing together in confusion. “No it’s fine, I—“ Wait, couldn’t see the green hair. Absently, his hand lifts to pat at his own head, as if thinking that his hair had suddenly changed color or vanished altogether.[break][break]

I can’t really see at all~.[break][break]

HUH? The realization sinks in and Lam balks (not that she can see his mortified expression.) He’d like nothing better than to melt into the floor right then. Somehow it’s almost sort of worse than if he’d gotten the wrong person confused for her. “O-oh.” Then the fumbled apologies start.[break][break]

“Ohhhhmygod, I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t realize.”

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it's a rare surprise. [break][break]

rare, but still pleasant. clearly, he's confused as to how she couldn't recognize him - and who could blame him? not everyone had green hair, and not everyone could say that they recognized her. if she could see him now, clouded eyes opened, maybe she could recognize him on the spot? maybe she could pick him out from the crowd, or maybe she'd be able to remember him by name. she's met with the harsh reality that she wouldn't. [break][break]

the pause is followed by profuse apologizing, and one that puts a broader smile on the woman's lips. "oi, oi~" she clicks her tongue, raising her hand instinctively to begin patting down at the air. "don't worry about it~. i'm not upset." she couldn't be, not when she's accepted it as her every day. [break][break]

instead, to try and alleviate the guilt, she leans forwards on the counter with a relaxed, casual smile on her lips "moving on, have ya done anything recently? it's been way too long~" because if she's been good at anything, it's been at making small talk. [break][break]

"what brings ya over to hoenn?~"

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It’s been way too long feels like the understatement of the century. When they were kids, she had been there one summer and then just gone the next. No reasoning really given. He hadn’t forgotten her, though. That childhood nostalgia remained imprinted in his mind whenever he thought back to how he’d grown up and the places he’d gone just following along behind his father.[break][break]

There was a certain homesickness that liked to creep up on him whenever his thoughts strayed toward those old memories. An achy sort of fondness for something long gone. It drapes itself over his shoulders now as he stands here in Aria’s shop, underneath the embarrassment he feels for missing something that now feels obvious.[break][break]

It’s the simple fact that sometimes, it’s just nice to see someone you knew when you were little. And not the sort of awkward encounter where you bump into someone from high school at the supermarket and then you have to try and avoid bumping carts repeatedly after you initially tried to avoid one another.[break][break]

This isn’t it. This is a rose-colored glasses sorta nostalgic. “If you say so,” he relents–a touch reluctant and definitely sheepish as he leans a hip against the counter’s edge. Lam’s arms fold together, content to settle in for a chat, even if it’s short lived.[break][break]

“I mean, yeah. Like fifteen years wortha stuff, or however long it’s been,” he answers with a huff of laughter. “I’ve been living in Hoenn, little over a year now.” His head tilts, “I’ve been in Slateport, though. Just moved to Lilycove with my partner, actually. What about you, though? You been here all this time?”[break][break]

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hah. [break][break]

there's something sweet about the way he carefully treads the topic. ariadne, met sunk into her abyss of black, maintains her smile with a hollow warmth to her words, and when they linger. slender fingers lightly tap the countertop surface and empty, faux eyes reflect his gaze.[break][break]

nostalgia is a gem-glided cage, its warm embrace no different than stockholm syndrome. it wraps its thorny tendrils around her neck, strangling her and twisting her stomach with the anxiety and disappointment. it eats her when she hears his voice, eats at her when she catches any hitch in his tone. [break][break]

lam's voice comes from above; is he taller than her, now? it should be a given, but her last visual memory was of red and orange seas with burning sand between their toes, and a wooden violin resting between shoulder and chin. it's the kind of bittersweet nostalgia that strangles her in a caress. [break][break]

a devilish smile makes to her lips "ohh.. a partner?~" she hums, a chuckle to her words at the comment. thankfully for him, she won't linger on it for too much - not for now. "i've been here for.." her lips quirk, and her memory tries to serve her better. it's easier to count the seasons than to count the days. [break][break]

"two? three years, now?" it's been about that many summers, give or take. the lack of salazzle bumping into her is enough confirmation. "moved from that lil po town to the seaside. funny how it comes full circle, huh?~" [break][break]

amidst her conversation, a salazzle hisses softly and lightly taps her tail towards the swinging door that leads behind the counter, as though to motion their visitor behind.

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Any distress caused by the unexpected trip down memory lane is lost on him. He has no way of knowing the deeper haunting that childhood provokes. How could he, when he hasn’t seen her since they were small and tossing rogue pyukumuku from the sandy shores back into the ocean. Hefting them up in small hands and letting them fly before they were swatted away by the more disgruntled urchins.[break][break]
Everything in his mind his hazy and rose-tinted. Idyllic and oblivious to the darker corners that he was never a part of. It reminds him of who he used to be, how Hoenn has changed him in the now. It’s enough to cause a pang of longing for the simplicity of it, before he is redirected back to the conversation.[break][break]
He doesn’t miss the tilt of her lips and the twist in her tone at the mention of his boyfriend. It’s enough to make him feel a hint of sheepishness, and he lets out a short laugh as a hand lifts to ruffle through the already messy strands of his hair. “Ah, yeah. Rook, he’s pretty great. I’ll have to introduce you sometime.” They’d both be around the city more frequently now, after all. But Lam would spare her the waxing poetic he was probably able to go on with about Ikarus Rook.[break][break]
Even if she can’t see it, his expression brightens. It’s an enthusiasm that curls through his words and tone—liquified sunshine. “Oh, so you’re like a Lilycove local by now.” His smile widens, “You’ll have to show me the best haunts, then. I’m still getting used to the place.”[break][break]
The suggestion of things returning to something similar to their childhoods brings another flicker of that nostalgia. Seeping into the gaps that existed between himself and Alola now, just from the simple act of being away. The invitation to scoot behind the counter is one that coaxes another smile—how can he say no to the salazzle’s insistence. In the pause, he obliges and pushes past the swinging door.[break][break]
“It is weird, isn’t it? I thought when I moved I wouldn’t end up on the coast, either. Thought there were too many places to go. But of course I end up here in no time at all.” Not that he really minded. Not at all.

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a local? perhaps, if you could consider her familiar enough with the area. it'd likely be more accurate to say that her salazzle has taken the mantle, though she'll only respond with a smile and soft hum while slender fingers lightly tap against the countertop. idle amusement is her default, and she'll always fall back into it - ariadne is a creature of habit. [break][break]

"i can bring you to some pretty good places around here~" thinking about it, wasn't there a pleasant pancake cafe nearby? though she could seldom catch them open during her hours, the sweet scent that wafted as contrast to the salty ocean waves will always land an impression. she remembers a time she was curious enough to walk over, and fondly thinks of how it melted on her tongue. [break][break]

his footsteps are a good indicator of his location, blessed be her sharpened ears. "thought you'd never get tired of the big city?" she coos, lifting herself from the counter by the elbows when her back straightens. she's never thought so - until she ironically found comfort in the sand and the water. "honestly.. it surprises me" [break][break]

just a little [break][break]

"i always thought you'd end up holed in with books, studying, or exploring more in-land~."

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[attr="class","text"] Compared to his own familiarity with the city, he'd definitely consider her a local. Even if the salazzle navigated the streets more keenly. That didn't mean Aria was any less of a more established resident in his book. But he also wasn't about to jump into a debate if she protested.[break][break]
Instead, Lam grinned broadly at her response. "I'd like that! It'd be nice to, y'know, catch up more too." Like, beyond catching her by total surprise at work or whatever. The guilty thought needled him then that maybe he was keeping her from some important task or another. But the store seemed quiet at the moment, and she appeared unbothered... so Lam let it lie for the time being. Let the comfort of nostalgia linger like the cadence of the old melodies she used to play for him on the violin.[break][break]
He leaned against the counter, now on the other side of it, arms folding comfortably. "Hm, I don't know about that," he replied with a laugh, "just that I figured I'd always have somewhere new to go." Big city life, as it turned out, wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. "Why's that?" As far as he was aware, she didn't have any sort of disdain for the ocean, sandy shores, and peaceful setting.[break][break]
The insinuation made him laugh more, though, and he scoffed in mock offense. "What! Because I'm that much of a geek, huh?" Granted, he had been one. Still was, really. Albeit it bit more socially outgoing now.

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