Adventures in Travel

[Enid Geraint]
Enid has lists. A lot of lists, in fact.
There are lists of things that need to get done, lists of things she needs to pack, lists of things to remind her dad about for while she's gone, lists of things in the notebook (which she's bringing with her) that Wharil's assigned - there are all sorts of things.
She's very organized, Enid is - at least about this trip, if not everything else. Her dad is driving her to the airport, dropping her off, and Enid offered the same to Austin as well, of course - it's cheaper than a cab, and it's a bit of a head start on their adventure.

Parting from Papa Geraint is a thing of excitement and teary eyes that Enid does a reasonably good job of hiding - this will be the longest she's spent away from her dad in . . . well, in ever, and she's a bit nervous about it, to be honest. But there's nothing that will persuade her not to go, and so, with time to spare, she (or they) finds herself waiting for the flight to be called.

[Austin Conway]
There had been a moment of slight discomfort on Austin's part, while riding with Enid to the airport, where he sat quietly and contemplated the position he was in, both from his own perspective and that of Enid's father. Xu Laoshi had instilled in him quite early on the necessity of being able to look at a situation from multiple perspectives, and he'd taken that to heart. One could not truly see something unless they saw it from all angles.

So here he was, tagging along on a vacation that was supposed to be Enid's alone; letting her pay for him; potentially distracting her from her true purpose there (though chances seemed likely that it was a distraction she at least welcomed.) And he was a legal adult (for all that the difference was only a year), male, and somewhat physically intimidating, which can't have been all that reassuring from a parent's perspective. Especially considering the short amount of time he and Enid had known each other. Being here with her now, and going on this trip.... it was too much, too soon. And he knew that. But Austin had allowed himself a moment of selfish indulgence, because if he were being entirely honest with himself (and he always tried to be), he needed this: to get away.

So he was unusually quiet in the car, and when they arrived at the airport and Enid said her goodbyes to her father, he forced himself to look away before he was reminded of anything that might make him break into tears again. (That was an incident he hoped very much not to have to repeat.) It wasn't until the two teenagers found themselves alone, waiting for the departure of their international flight, that Austin's mood started to shift away from quiet contemplation and towards a kind of bubbling excitement. He couldn't sit still (which was highly unusual for him). He kept standing up and pacing around, looking out the huge windows at the runway below or watching the milling strangers around them.

Finally he sat down again, and his fingers drummed against the arm rests on his seat. "Okay, I have to admit... I am ridiculously excited about all of this."

[Enid Geraint]
Eric, while not completely comfortable with the situation, trusts his daughter completely; if she trusts this young man enough on this short a time, then there must be a reason for it. There were admonishments to call if there was trouble, of course, or if she needed more money, or if she was homesick - any reason at all, any time at all. Enid, (not so) secretly pleased, rolled her eyes and reminded Eric that she wasn't a little girl any more, that in just a few months, she'll be as legal as Austin is. It's a thing - in theory, all parents do this with their children at some point. At least in the universe in which Enid lives, they do.

In the airport, alone, Enid isn't really any calmer than Austin is - she just covers it better, buries it in the air of someone who's traveled before. This is her first grown up trip, her first trip on her own, but she already has a passport, already has the papers she needs to work when she gets there, if she chooses to follow through on that. (One suitcase, and she has a few, is devoted to books - apparently, a little light reading's been assigned for the time she's away.) Austin sits next to her, drumming fingers, and she grins. "I am too," comes the answer, and one of her hands slips into one of his, briefly, just long enough to give a squeeze. "And I'm glad you're going to be there. It'd suck to do all the sight seeing and tourist stuff alone."

[Austin Conway]
"I don't know. I think maybe it would just be a different sort of trip. More about self exploration and contemplation. Less about enjoying something and sharing it with another person. Both perspectives have their merits. But I'm glad you're with me too. Especially since you speak the language, and about all I can say is hello, goodbye and thank you." That wasn't entirely true. Austin didn't have an aptitude for languages, but he was a very diligent worker, and had picked up a few things since they'd begun their lessons. Still, there was a long way to go before he'd be able to converse with anyone.

When Enid slid her hand into his and gave it a reassuring squeeze, he smiled and stopped fidgeting. When he placed his focus on her, rather than his excitement and nervous energy over the coming flight, it was easier to slip into his usual self. To be something approaching calm. Still, all that energy had to go somewhere...

So on impulse, he suddenly reached out and put both hands on the sides of Enid's face, drawing her into a spontaneous kiss that was all at once an expression of affection, attraction and gratitude.

"Thanks for bringing me."

And he kissed her again, after that, just to make sure the message had gotten through.

[Enid Geraint]
"You're doing lots better than that. Vocabulary-wise, anyway, even if you're not up for conversational use yet. But it'll come!"

Austin was calmed, for a moment, by her hand in his and Enid smiled. It was a given, probably; she likes him, likes holding his hand, likes hanging out with him, and now they're going on an adventure together. It's a heady thing, and in that moment of looking, Enid's leg starts jiggling a little bit. In this, she's Austin's opposite - focusing on him, rather than on keeping herself calm and cool, results in her own excitement showing.

And then, of course, she finds herself kissed. It's not the first time, but this, like so much else about this whole situation, is different. She kisses back; her lips part, just a little, and it's very much a reciprocal thing.

".....you're welcome," she says after a moment of bringing herself back to still and calm, only to find herself kissed again - it lasts longer and, given the excitement and energy levels involved, is a little less chaste than usual. There's a heat, a rush, in it that they normally don't get to before one of them pulls away - at least on her end.

"I'm really glad you're coming, like I said. And Dad's actually a little calmer about it, now that you're with me. You have no idea how much arguing there's been during the last few weeks' phone calls - Dad saying I'm to young to be in a foreign country alone, what if something bad happens, and Mom saying nonsense, he's wrong, I'm ready to get a taste of what the world has to offer me. I know they both love me and are worried and want the best, but man! It sure didn't make running through my check lists any easier."

[Austin Conway]
Sometimes, when Austin was with Enid, there were interesting moments where his mind and his body tried to forge two completely separate paths. The impulse behind the kiss had been fairly innocent, but he found that once he was there, and their lips were intertwined, and he could feel the warmth of her breath and the nearness of her physical presence, he wanted things that he wasn't even entirely ready to put names to.

So no, the second kiss wasn't entirely chaste on his end, either, though Austin was ultimately the one to pull back so that he could try and let his heart beat approach a normal pace again. A few seats away, a mother coughed gently and redirected her child's attention elsewhere, and this caused him to blush and laugh in that soft, conspiratorial way that teenagers tended to do when they realized they'd been doing something inappropriate in public.

"They're your parents. They'll always find something to worry about, or fight about, in regards to their daughter."

[Enid Geraint]
"I guess so," she says through a blush made impressive by fair skin and freckles; she ducks her head, hides it in Austin's shoulder for the barest of moments, and then is upright again. "Anyway, it's going to be a great trip, even without the internship. Maybe especially without it, given the company and all. And, since I'm not doing that, we can decide to come back home whenever we want."

A couple weeks together, alone, in a strange place where only one of them speaks the language may be enough. And, given proper initiation and all the research and memorization Enid's been assigned, it's highly doubtful she's going to stay away anywhere near as long as her parents think she is - a semester is an awfully long time, after all, to be away from one's mentor. Especially in these early stages. Regardless, they'll be playing it by ear.

"I have all those lists of places and interesting bits from Emily And we have five days in Taiwan first, to do whatever we want with."

[Austin Conway]
Come back home, Enid said, and Austin nodded noncommittally, as if it really made no difference to him where he was or for how long. Despite setting down some temporary roots in Chicago, he was still mostly in a state of flux. No home. No family. No mentor. Not even another of his tradition to talk to. It was a lonely state, and one he was likely happy to leave behind for awhile in the name of exploration (and escapism.)

"I bet we could be there for months and still only scratch the surface. Whatever we end up doing... it doesn't really matter to me. Just so long as we get to go out and see things. I kindof hoped you might decide not to take the internship, but... that's selfish of me, I suppose. I guess I just can't really get my head around... the situation with your Mom."

He seemed like he was about to say something else, but ultimately there wasn't much else he could say in such a public place, so he left it at that. Besides, getting into an in-depth discussion about technocrats was hardly going to start their trip off on the right foot.

"Or maybe we'll just spend the whole time in hotel rooms and never see anything cause we're so lost in hormonal bliss."

(Tricky, sneaky, distracting Austin.)

[Enid Geraint]
".....that last idea does have its merits," she admits, and never mind that her blush only deepens at the thought (and she's certainly not copping to how many times she's had similar, if any), "if you mean with each other." Tricky, sneaky, distracting Austin, indeed, and now it's Enid's turn to bounce up, to check the flight board to see if there's any change on the ETD of their plane.

"Miracle of miracles, it looks like we might be leaving on time," she says when she comes back (not that she'd gone far), her blush blessedly faded, leaving her looking like her normal self rather than some silly seventeen year old girl.

Oh, what? You say she's both? Well, she tries anyway - to seem more together, more grown up.

"I get really bad jet lag. The first day might be kind of boring, just so you know."

[Austin Conway]
"That's alright. I've...never had the opportunity to find out if I get jet lag. But hey, I guess pretty soon I'll know."

And despite the fact that he'd been the one to bring up the idea of getting lost in hormonal bliss, he seemed rather quick to drop the subject as well. Enid moved on, and he never looked back. (Because joking was one thing, but the more you talked about something, the more you made it real.)

"Anyway, I can be patient, so don't worry about it. We don't need to see all of Asia in one day."

[Enid Geraint]
"You will. And I'm glad you can be patient - I need it sometimes." Other people's patience, she means, and maybe in more ways than one - but she doesn't elaborate, just smiles and resumes her seat next to him, leans in to rest a head on his shoulder, allowing red hair to spill down over his chest. She likes the closeness, even if they haven't defined it, even if they're still in the odd limbo between friends and something else.

Something that allows for kissing like earlier.

"And even without jet lag, it'd take a lot of effort to see all of Asia in a day, I'd think." Which isn't denying the possibility, which is a lot better than she'd have been able to manage only a couple months ago.

[Austin Conway]
"True. And although I usually like challenges, I think I agree with you that new experiences shouldn't be rushed. They should be savored."

Luckily for Austin, he didn't realize just how obvious of a metaphor that statement really was. He could be blissfully naive at times. Which may have been part of why Enid liked him, to begin with. (Very much the opposite of a certain half Chinese Verbena.)

So Enid lay her head on his shoulder, and Austin put his arm around her, and the two of them passed the time in comfortable conversation until the departure time of their flight finally arrived. When their seats were called for boarding, Austin practically jumped to his feet, and once they were on the plane it took him a little time to settle his nerves. Likely, Enid would have to put up with a bit of excessive chatter until the newness of it all wore off and he was able to pull his focus inward and relax.

But once he did, he was quiet and meditative for the remainder of the trip. (That is, until they landed.)