[SB] A Chance Encounter

[Artemis James]

To say he was througherly enjoying his time as a seafarer was a major understatement. Artemis had never been outside of the US, never been on holiday as a matter of fact, and certainly not travelled anywhere in as fancy an establishment as this. He walked with a bounce in his step, feeling more elevated then he had for a long time, determined to indulge in any activity the ship had to offer. For now however, he was perfectly happy to spend a little relaxing down time in the ship's main pool on the top deck. 
There were things still on his mind, generally centred around his sister and the fears he had when it came to her welbeing, but for now she seemed quite keen for him to stay out of her way; It wasn't going to happen of course, but with her being on a ship and having been checked before her arrival onboard, Artemis was fairly certain for at least for the duration of the cruise she would be okay.


Now, Artemis had never been particularly graceful. By his nature he was slightly clumsy, the kind of guy to misjudge a step or trip over nothing but air. Generally he managed to save himself before any damage could be done, but more often then not he failed. This was one of those times. Clad in a pair of long swimming shorts, his wings clearly showcasing their presence where they laid over the skin of his back, Artemis approached the pool. There were a number of deck chairs surrounding the water, most featuring students or staff reading or catching a few rays of sunshine before the evening crept in. The sight filled him with the same giddy excitement as he had felt the first time he'd stepped onboard, and with a bright smile he stepped forward to the water's edge-
Without any warning however, Artemis slipped on the slightly water soaked decking around the area of water, and with quite a surprised yelp toppled over into the water with quite a splash. He immediately came to the surface, spluttering and coughing and he grabbed the side of the pool; He pushed his wet fringe from his face and looked up, his eyes widening at the realisation that he'd just soaked a nearby deck chair reader.
"OH... OH DAMN... I'm so sorry!" He spoke hurriedly, pulling himself up and out of the water. "I'll grab you a towel!"

[Olivia Chance]

She liked the sun. She was feeling very good for once. It was a nice change considering her feelings recently. She was just reading a book that day. Surprisingly, it was a novel this time rather than the textbooks she usually read. Granted, it was still one about people with superpowers. But still it was fiction. Yes, she was reading it because it pertained to her research but yet it was still fiction so she was having fun.

Until she got splashed and it went onto her book that is. She turned on her deckchair to give the person a piece of her mind for getting the book wet, her face all ready to snarl when she heard the guy apologizing and saying he would get her a towel. That wouldn't have stopped her from ripping into him about possibly ruining a book of hers. But she saw him. And Olivia felt struck speechless. She bit her lip.

"It's okay. I mean...yes a towel would be great." Her mouth curved into a small, shy smile.

[Artemis James]

Silently cursing himself for being so clumsy, Artemis bit his bottom lip as he made his way over to the female. "I'm so sorry, seriously... I..." He then flinched back, realising he was dripping water on the girl; He stepped back, casting her an apologetic smile
before snapping his fingers. "Towel! Okay, just hold on!" He quickly made his way across the deck towards a large wooden cupboard which was set against a wall; it held a number of freshly laundered towels for pool users. Artemis flung it open and grabbed one, rushing back over where he'd left the poor soaked female.

He was such an idiot; He'd likely ruined the girl's book, and had at the very least ruined her afternoon. What a way to start a holiday, by pissing off another student; It was the last thing he needed. But thankfully the girl didn't appear too fussed, even giving him a smile; Artemis smiled in response as he offered her the fluffy, warm towel, standing a foot or so away so to not further drip water over her. "Did I... Did I ruin your book?" He asked quietly, raising an eyebrow with a small pout of his lips. "I'm so sorry... I mean, I should have been more careful anyway, I should have been watching my footing..." He laughed a little sheepishly, pushing back his wet fringe which had flopped a little back over his face, making it stick up a little messily. "Just a head's up, it's pretty slippy around the pool."

[Olivia Chance]

He was stumbling around getting the towel. So apologetic. She bit her lip to try to keep from laughing. It was comical, but it was also cute. He handed her the towel and she looked at her book and sighed hopelessly. She looked up at him dripping wet though and her normally indifferent look blossomed into a hell of a smile. She gave a small laugh.

"Yeah my book's done for. But honestly, it's my fault. Bringing a book to somewhere that has so much water was a bad idea in the first place." She dried her legs off. Fortunately, it had only splashed up to about where her waist was. Her top wouldn't have done so well had it been wet. It may not have stayed entirely decent.

"You're fine. Seriously." What was with her? Yeah he was cute but it was a BOOK. Oh wait. She'd just admitted to herself that he was cute. Okay, that kind of explained things.

"Now that I don't have a book to read though, I either have to go find something to do or I could start up a conversation with you. I'm Olivia by the way."

[Artemis James]

Seeing her smile gave Artemis a sweeping sense of relief; She didn't seem too annoyed with him despite his clumsiness resulting in him getting her book wet. He smiled sheepishly at her laughter, shaking his arms away from her to try and rid himself of the remaining droplets of moisture.

"No, no! I should have been more careful, honestly," He replied brightly. He really should have gotten another towel for himself, but he figured the heat of the sun would dry him off quickly enough, and he didn't really want to go rushing back to the cupboard for another towel and likely make himself look more like an idiot in the process. He blinked at her as he mentioned beginning a conversation, and he grinned, sitting down on the deck chair beside hers that conveniently was vagant. "I'm Artemis. It's nice to meet you, Olivia." He glanced down to her novel, which was looking considerably more damp then he'd first thought; He may have actually ruined her book, when she was clearly quite away into it. He bit his bottom lip, feeling a flicker of guilt. "I'll... I'll buy you a new book, okay?" He offered with a warm smile. "There's a shop on board, I could get you one there if you want. Or I could get you one in Mexico. Sorry, it's just your current one looks... A little worse for wear now. I suppose if you just laid it out in the sun it would dry but then again wouldn't the pages curl but then I guess I could flatten it out-" He then paused, realising he was talking a touch fast; taking a breath before casting Olivia an embarrassed grin, he spoke again. "Sorry, I'm going on a bit."

[Olivia Chance]

"This isn't the only book I brought on vacation by far. I couldn't live with myself if I did that. It's just one of many. I brought them along because I'm trying to learn all I can about people with powers. And even though it's fiction, some of it is always based somewhat in truth. That's the kernel I was looking for. It was really just research. I can switch to another one that I packed. Not a big deal. Just...relax." She smiled.

"Besides, I always have a hard time smiling and you've brightened my mood right up so consider that payment for the book. Because honestly it's been nearly impossible to do that myself lately. And...it's fine if you go on a bit. I do that myself." Although it was so much cuter when he went on and talked. He was embarrassed, and that just made him look cuter.

"Just relax. Even if I love my books, I'm not going to jump down your throat about it. I only do that to mess with jerks' heads. You're not a jerk. I can tell that right away."

[Artemis James]

Artemis blinked at the girl with widened eyes as she explained the material she'd been reading; People with powers. It was a fascinating subject he was sure, but not something he'd been fascinated with. At least not until he went through his manifestation... That sure puts a little more importance on such a subject. Did this girl want to further her understanding of their kind? It was an interesting vocation. Perhaps she wanted to become a doctor? Or a mutant researcher?

Artemis gave her a sheepish smile when she told him to relax, realising that likely he was making himself look awkward; That however vanished with her next few comments, and the boy felt himself brightening up almost instantly; He'd actually perked up her mood? At least he'd done something worthwhile, even if by doing so he'd made himself look like an idiot.
"I still feel pretty bad about it," Artemis responded as he looked away a moment, pouting slightly as he ran a hand through his wet hair; He flinched, realising that it was stuck up in odd angles. He quickly tried to flatten it back down; the last thing he needed was to look more ridiculous.
"So... Um, research? You're researching into mutants?" He asked questioningly, honestly curious about what exactly she was looking into. "Do you want to be a doctor or something?" He smiled brightly, frankly quite happy for the pleasant conversation; Those had been few and far between on this holiday so far.

[Olivia Chance]

"I...haven't exactly thought that far ahead." She tapped her chin, shrugging.

"I don't know whether a researcher or a doctor or...I don't know. Something that involves better understanding powers. I find them intriguing. Like the fact that they can be genetic, but they can also be linked to emotions. Or traumatic events can trigger their manifestation, kind of like some mental illnesses. Like, I'm not comparing the two really. But it's interesting to see the correlation."

[Artemis James]

Artemis listened with intrigue as the female showcased her clear interest in delving more into the biology of mutants; It was an interesting vocation, and something that was surely only going to become more and more relevant to the future of the world as a whole as time went on. Artemis himself had considered going into a medical career, and hearing another express interest in a similar field was uplifting.

"That actually sounds really interesting," The boy replied brightly, leaning on on his hands with a smile. "I mean, the world is going to need more people like you, researching into exactly what makes a mutant... Well, a mutant. I say you should keep at it." He then tilted his head to one side, before looking out across the deck. "Um... Do you fancy doing something? I could get you a drink or we could join in with one of the classes the ship's doing. I think there's cocktail making and things like that..." He trailed off a moment, not actually certain if he'd be allowed to take part in such an activity considering the ship's alcohol age limit; But then again, it didn't seem to have stopped anyone else. They could always do another class anyway, there was plenty of different classes and demonstrations going on. Artemis just wanted someone to spend time with who wouldn't bite his head off or almost beat him up.

[Olivia Chance]

"That's what I figured. Plus, I also hoped that by researching them I'd learn how to better control my powers. If it helps other kids though, that would be even better. I haven't thought that much ahead though." Had something to do with the fact she'd only gotten out of her coma a few months ago. Kind of made having future life plans a tad difficult. She chuckled. Then he mentioned going to do something and she smiled.

"That would actually be nice. I don't know if they'd allow us to learn to mix cocktails though. We can try to get in there. Nothing stopping us from trying." She grinned mischievously.