Welcome to Gaia! ::

James looked down at his blackberry, pausing as he answered yet another panicked email from the restaurant. He was taking a week off to do a full tour of New York and the available schools in the vicinity, but it wasn't all supposed to be about work. He had seen the televised appearance of Mara's son, and while he felt that New York was possibly the most dangerous city for his daughter to be in, it also seemed to have the best private schools that he could afford. Still, Caspien was infamous here now, which meant (in his calculations) that perhaps Aya with her sweet personality would be able to step off the radar.

"Papa?"

Aya walked towards him across the hotel lobby, pausing as she adjusted the white kid gloves she wore over her hands. It was not something that he approved of personally, but something that Julia had assured would have her blend in with the crowds. Blending in, hiding her true nature... well, James disapproved of the fundamental theory that his daughter had anything that had to be kept a secret. But if it meant less notice and less publicity, it would work as a temporary measure.

"Here darling." he said, waving from his seat at the lobby. He had contacted Hui with the hopes that he would be able to meet her while he was on his journey. He hadn't explained his purpose of coming to New York, and hoped that he might be able to bounce the idea off with another guardian. It was something that his own sister seemed to think was a ridiculous notion, but the more he thought about it.... well. Logically, there was sense to what he wanted to do.

"Look okay?" she asked. She raised a self conscious hand to her hair which had grown longer over the past few months. It was half done up in a slight braided pattern on the sides, the texture a method of disguising her ears. It might work, for a little while.

"You always look lovely." James smiled then, putting away his phone. He was in New York, with his daughter. They were going to visit a couple of schools, and then even take some time off to see the sights. It was a bonus that Hui had agreed to meet him at the hotel lobby for a cup of coffee.

Nothing was going to go wrong.

Aya's eyes lit up and gleamed as she saw his face. It was familiar, and it had been too long. Aya had wondered often why the group they had met before had not decided to all live together. She had asked, and James had given her a complicated and grown up answer that still didn't make sense. Something about mortgages and career paths. She stared at the hand for a while and grabbed it, using it not as a measure to shake but as a hand hold in order to bring the boy in for a hug. It had been a long time, he was her size, and he was like her. They were similar in ways that she and her Papa could never be.

Hello there. It had been a while.

James smiled as he got up, taking her head and inclining his head in a slight bow as well. "Hui." he answered. "It is really nice to see you again, and thank you for taking the time to meet with us." he looked over at where Aya had more or less accosted the poor boy, and wondered if she was picking up unwelcome tricks from his sister. "There have a great cafe on the third floor that overlooks the street, would you like to go there and talk?" he smiled. He did want to ask her for some advice. She seemed level headed, and closer to his mindset than the other guardians he had met the last time he had been in New York.

Aya looked at James for a cue as to where to go next, and withdrew from the hug with a pleased smile on her face. Flower, right? She knew there was a reason she remembered him so well. Keeping hold of his hand, pointed to the elevators. It would be nice to sit and chat and...

Maybe she was being shy, a little bit. Or maybe it had been too long. But she didn't know what to say exactly, only that it would be a good idea to follow the grown ups and do some catching up of their own.

James smiled and nodded his head, pressing for the elevator. "The restaurant is doing very well now." he answered dryly. "Although I think most of the customers are there simply to see if they can catch a glimpse of Aya. We used to take her down all the time and let her watch, but now we only let her into the restaurant just before closing, or even after it has closed." the girl still enjoyed the sweets, and Antoine always seemed to lament about how much he missed his little 'leibling'. But if it meant giving Aya some sense of privacy, he would keep her away from Zuma forever.

As the elevator arrived, James stood the side, motioning for the Hui and Aya to enter the elevator first. At her statement, he winced. "It was." he conceded, thinking back to the press that had followed Aya every where. "I still don't understand how it happened, and why to such a large extent. I don't think I dealt with the issue in the best way possible, but it was the only way I could think of dealing with it." entering the lift and pressing for the third floor, he turned a somewhat rueful smile in Hui's direction. "I happen to know that now at least, I can be considered pretty knowledge on state laws regarding harassment and stalking."

Aya had tugged Sohne's hand, pulling him into the lift with her. She smiled simply at the sound of two adult voices speaking calmly. It was a nice sound, soft background noise that put her at ease. She turned to Sohne instead, her eyes dancing.

"See me?" she asked. "On TV?" Julia had replayed one of the scenes and it had been the oddest thing, seeing herself on TV. Seeing her face and hearing her voice. Although she hoped dearly that she didn't sound quite like that.

"Have you faced anything like that yet?" James asked Hui. He cast a glance in the boy's direction. It would be easier for him to blend in, but he was also striking in a way that the TV and media would probably enjoy, wasn't he? Although, they were in New York and... "Or are you willing to let that cat boy take most of the attention?" it was a shield, a buffer. Using such a young boy as a distraction? If it was James, he was all for it.

Aya beamed at the compliment. It had been strange seeing herself, and knowing that others would see her too! But it hadn't been altogether that traumatic of an experience. Not that she was planning on doing anything similar again for a long time. As the doors opened, Aya tugged at Sohne's hand, leading him through. They had already made a reservation and had picked out seats in the back, near the windows. James seemed to like to take care of small details like that.

"They are?" James asked, curious now. Since they were on the subject anyways... he had wondered how he would have brought it up. Walking to the host stand and nodding his head, he repeated his name for the reservation. "I've reserved a table at the back, for some privacy." he said, half speaking to the hostess, half speaking to Hui. "The view isn't altogether that bad."

Aya followed the hostess to the table, turning to look around them. So far the place was empty, and it held the nice tranquil atmosphere of a place for silence and deep thinking. "Papa bought me here to check out schools." she said, speaking to the other Song.

James nodded. "Actually, thats why we came into town. I'm looking for schools for Aya, somewhere private and professional enough that they won't try to sell her name or her status to the press." he frowned. "I've been keeping her in, and for a while she's been going to day care and the like back home, but the amount of attention she's getting, especially after the press..." he hesitated.

Aya had done the whole spectacle for him, hadn't she? Maybe it wasn't in his place to speak badly of it. "I've been researching on different schools, maybe even considered putting her in boarding. Where does Sohne go? What do they do about his ... special situation?"

How else were you suppose to phrase what their two kids were?

James took the seat in front of Hui, smiling as he shook his head. "No, this is exactly what I needed." he answered in response. She wasn't talking too much, and it was giving him better insight into the life of another kid like his own Aya. "You're right, the ideal situation would be if there was some private school that kids like our own could all attend." although maybe in the end, it would seem more like some type of laboratory? "What is your opinion on sending Sohne away for boarding?" he handed Hui the menu and leaned back, watching her. Watching her expressions.

"I've received invitations from different 'groups'" he emphasized the quotation with his fingers. "inviting Aya to their facilities as some type of science experiment. Plus the school I'm sending her to... well, lets say that some of the professors seem to be happy abusing their position and selling information to the press." he grimaced in distaste at the thought. Teachers, really? When had they moved into such a raw and capitalistic world?

Right, that had been the kind of thing he had actually loved about the States.

"Our family is against it, but I think for personal reasons. They don't want to be separated from Aya too soon. But unless we all up and leave, which is kind of impossible at the moment, there's nothing else I can think of." he wondered how she would fit into a Catholic school, wondered how he would feel knowing that she was studying so far from home. Then shut it down. It wouldn't do him any good to get cold feet so early on in his search. "I've marked some schools I'm going to visit over the next couple of days, but I don't know if Aya will have such a good time with me." the mention of price had hurt a little bit. His wallet, that was. "It is going to be expensive, and I don't know if I'm just being optimistic, hoping that I'll be able to find a solution."

The conversation was drifting to topics and ideas that were boring. But Sohne's emmitance of it being cool was nice to hear. Aya took a seat right across from Sohne, leaning forwards and petting the braids on the side of her head. Julia had exclaimed that it almost looked like something out of an old movie. Star Wars? And had promised to watch it with Aya when they returned from New York. They were heavy, a little bit. They brushed against her ears in constant reminder and distracted her a little bit.

"Do you like New York?" she asked shyly.

James nodded his head, understanding. He'd been up for a couple of nights trying to figure out just how much he could afford to pay for Aya's tuition. Not to mention living expenses, and even exchange rates. It worried him, and to know someone else also had that problem was... well. It said something about him, and not a positive thing, that this conversation made him feel a little bit better. At least he knew now that he wasn't going to go through all of this alone.

Her expressions had him smile slightly. "I barely survived it with a level head." he answered. "In fact, I think the only reason I was able to was because there were people around me who was taking the attention so badly." honestly, the first time he'd told Antoine the news about the professor, he had been so sure that his second in command would run out of the restaurant in order to commit bloody murder.

Her optimism at the end though, had him laugh. You could almost see the emotions and thoughts flit across her face, and it was somewhat similar to what his own mind had given him the first time he'd thought about all of this. "Hope for the better? That's what I'd like to do." he confessed. "But you are right, it feels too passive. As if I should try to do whatever I can, and then if it all fails" he shrugged. "Only then, hope for the better."

The waitress came for their order, and he looked up, nodding his head. "I'll have a double espresso." he answered. "And strawberry juice for Aya." he turned to his daughter with a glance and she nodded her head in confirmation. Strawberry juice sounded lovely. "And for my friend..." he paused, glancing up at Hui with a question in his eyes.

Schools in California? He had considered this. He waited for Hui to order first, mulling over the question. Well, he had wondered about a couple, but it had seemed to be so risky. He had a couple of appointments set for the next month, tentative things across the state. But if where he lived and worked could be so bad... maybe he was being a little bit of a coward. Maybe he was taking measures that were too extreme.

It could be better if she stayed? Well, this news was definitely a lot better than the thought of having some strawberry juice as a snack! She beamed right back at him, liking the way the emotion seemed to be so present on Sohne's face. He was good at that, wasn't he? Making girls smile. It was a nifty little trick, and one Aya sincerely appreciated as a girl.

At his question, she nodded her head. It was definitely dirtier than back at home, and she hadn't seen much of it. But honestly if there was someone who said it could be better, didn't that make up for all the pollution and grime in the city? "Going to be here for a while." a couple of days, or was it a week? She couldn't really remember any more, and so no reason to keep track of time like that when Papa was doing it all for her. "Will you show me around?" she asked. That would be nice. Better than following Papa around to all the different schools, and seeing what it was like for herself. Better to spend some time with a friend and to enjoy New York the way it was supposed to be enjoyed.

James shrugged. "We'll have a lot of time, even if these meetings take most of the mornings. I've cleared the afternoon and evenings so that I can show Aya around the city proper, although..." he grinned. "It's been a while since I've been back, and even then I usually only come for business." he would behave like a tourist, not only for Aya's sake but for his own as well. There was nothing wrong with enjoying the sights with his baby girl, was there?

"Is there any place you would recommend, for Aya?" he asked, looking over at where their two Songs seemed to be enjoying their time together. "I'm still learning what to do and what not to do with a child her age." although frankly, the one who spoiled her the most was Julia.

Get lost? Well then, didn't that sound like a lot of fun? She watched as he slid out of his seat and looked up at Papa for permission. Doe eyed girls really did have the advantage sometimes over men like James. Because he nodded his head, warning her not to stray too far and to return quickly before she tired herself out.

With permission granted, she slid out of her seat as well, her expression one of excitement. New York! Sight seeing! This was going to be such a little adventure, and she was looking forward to see how far they could go and how much they could see. Taking his hand, she nodded at Sohne. Now this was one boy who seemed to know what he was doing!

"Ready!" she echoed.

"FAO Schwartz?" he asked, nodding his head. It wouldn't hurt to get Aya a present, something soft and cute and definitely different from all the eccentric and frilly things she was receiving from her aunt. "I might do that tomorrow, then." he conceded, nodding his head. Toys, presents. Spoiling ones child seemed to be the best way to go about it.

"The other parents?" he echoed, and paused hesitating. He shook his head. "I haven't managed to reach any of them, or at least not the ones we met the last time we were all together." he wondered what had happened to them all, and why it had been so easy to lose touch. "I was glad when you responded to my message, because I was a bit nervous that you had vanished like the rest as well." the facebook group had been oddly silent, and he wasn't sure what to think about it. "It would be nice, for all of us to meet again." he mused. It would be nice, but maybe he was asking for too much.

"I've written to the guardian of the cat, though. I know she lives in the city, and thought it would be the polite thing to do." he grinned then. A quick smile of amusement. "Although frankly I don't know what I'd do if I ever met her and her child with my Aya." honestly, he wasn't sure what Aya would do faced with such an... exuberant child. "Have you met many others?"


--

The boy was fascinating to watch. The way he stilled and became almost one with the room. But his eyes were bright and captivating, and as he lead her through to the elevator, Aya found the entire moment thrilling. He wasn't going too fast, and when he looked over at her she nodded. This was fun, this was almost exciting. Where he was planning on taking her she had no idea, but the surprise was part of the fun, wasn't it? It all went to making this an entirely exciting trip.

Aya laughed when he managed to reach the top button. The top floor, was it? She'd been to a couple of rooftops, or the restaurant Julia had taken her to with the amazing views. Wondering what this city would look like from such a height, she couldn't help but feel a little bit breathless. It was dirty and busy, and would this all be reflected? They had taken a plane to the city, and had arrived late in the evening. That view itself had been spectacular. What would she see when the sun was still up?

It was nice, to get away from the adults. It was nice to spend time with someone who was closer to her own size and her own enthusiasm. The people at school were interesting enough, but some seemed to find her a little bit weird. Aya curled one hand into a fist, feeling the kid glove that covered her fingers and palm. Hidden. That was the way she normally went about it, but with this one she didn't have to worry.

He was just like her after all, wasn't he?

"This is going to be fun."