Bored.

Raina was alone. Nothing she minded though she also wouldn't have minded a bit of company. Being alone was something she was used to, Oli was all she really needed.

The two were sitting on the highest cliff of the Dialga Mountain range, staring out at the landscape below them. Two blue birds flew around each other, dancing in the quiet breeze that blew. Silently Raina wondered why she hadn't chosen Cuir as her Eilemaiden. She would have loved to be able to fly away from everything like the pair of birds.

Oli, though he didn't mention it to Raina knew the reason perfectly well. She had been trying to gain acceptance from the mother that had never truly been a mother. It hadn't worked, and now Raina was stuck with the firey-Eilemaiden of Earalas. She didn't mind it much, it did help her stay warm.

As if demonstrating this, Raina struck two pieces of flint together and created a small flame which she manipulated into a stronger ball of fire. She molded it into a perfect sphere of red and orange and then tossed it from hand to hand as if it were a baseball. The warmth spread throughout her body and she shivered.

It was a nice day, if a little chilly.

Ugh...Sometimes Avery wished he was someone else. Anyone else. Today he felt exactly that. And no wonder, he had just gone to visit his mom and she's been her usual self. He'd given her money to pay her rent and all she'd said was, "Who did you have to fuck to get that much money?"

Why do I even bother? Avery wondered to Violet.

Cuz she's your mom, I guess, Vi replied, shrugging. So she's not exactly mother of the year...You still wouldn't be alive without her.

Right now, I'd rather not be alive anyways, Avery sighed, depressed. He was having another attack of the "why me?"s, wondering why his life sucked so much while every other clio seemed to be happy and fortunate. Fuck my life.

Suddenly, while hiking through the mountains, he saw a familar face that lifted his spirits slightly. It was his closest friend, Ria, who he hadn't seen in months. She could always get him in a better mood when he was depressed.

She was tossing a fireball back and forth to herself. So she's chosen Earalas. She must have settled too. He walked over, sat down next to her. He inched a little closer and said, "Hey, I haven't seen you in forever! How've you been?"

Raina didn't even notice the boy come up from behind her. And when she did, it was to late.

He sat down and scooted close to her. Much to close. Her eyes grew wide and the flame in her hand dropped to the ground. He was touching her. What did he want? Who the heck was he?

Like a cat Raina scooted away and then flipped to face the intruder. She scanned his face quickly and was shocked to see that he did ring a small bell in the back of her mind. She did remember him, but they couldn't be more than just passerby's of the same street. She didn't know him.

"W-who are you?" Her face showed her distrust.

Avery blinked, and his face fell as she looked at him wearily. What the hell was she talking about? After all the things they'd done together (they'd done A LOT together) there was no way she would have forgotten his face after a few months. Was she joking?

"What do you mean, who am I?" he asked with uncertainty. "It's me...Avery...you know?"

Raina shook her head cautiously. Avery wasn't even a name she had heard before. What game was he playing? Was he trying to hit on her?

In the middle of her mental freak-out Oli spoke, 'He thinks you're Ria. Haven't you figured that out yet?'

"Oh." Raina said out loud as she exhaled. "I'm Raina, it's nice to meet you Avery. But I think you're looking for my sister?"

Her heart was still beating way too fast.

Avery stared at her for a moment. Then, "Oh geez! I'm sorry," he exclaimed, moving away from this girl he'd never met before. He shook his head. "I can't believe I just did that. Sorry, I probably freaked you out, didn't I?"

Creeper, Vi said, snickering.

Relief had flooded all of Raina's thoughts and so she didn't really mind what had just happened.

"Oh no, really it's fine. It happens all the time, though not quite like that exactly." Raina smiled a little, it was kinda funny.

"Ria is probably out being crazy like normal, which you probably know if you know her which you said you did. Anyways, how are you today? You don't look so well, are you sick?"

Apparently Avery was pretty easy to read. He forced a smile that hopefully didn't look fake and replied, "No, I'm not sick. At least I don't think so. I've just had a little bit of a rough day, you know?"

Why don't you tell her what happened? Violet asked reasoningly. It'll make you feel better.

No! Avery exclaimed. I just met this chick.

Just pretend she is Ria, Vi replied.

Avery didn't reply.

Raina had had her share of rough days so she knew how he must feel. "I'm sorry, is there anything I can do to make it better?"

'Rain, you barely know this guy, you don't need to help him.' Oli said warningly.

She answered silently, 'But he knows Ria, so he must be nice. I feel bad, I wish someone would help me when I'm feeling down.'

Oli sighed. His clio always seemed to overlook the fact that most of the time the people Ria brought home were no where close to outstanding citizens.

"Of course, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. We could just do something else that's fun." She smiled at him waiting for his answer. What good luck, such a nice looking guy relieving her from her boredom.

Oli was glad he was here, he wasn't sure that this kid's idea of fun was the same as Raina's.

Avery frowned. He hated it when people tried to help him. Couldn't they see he could take care of himself? He was perfectly fine on his own!

Now, now, she's just being polite, Vi reasoned.

...You're right... Avery conceded. He made himself smile again so it didn't look like he was being an ungrateful asshole.

"No, I'd rather not think about it," he replied. He still felt like he was talking to Ria. A Ria with a totally different personality. It was weird. "So...what do you like to do for fun?"

That always sounds dirty when you say it, Vi joked.

That's probably because every time I've ever said it before this, I meant it to be dirty, Avery admitted, half-seriously.

"Anything really," Raina said, totally oblivious to the strange facial changes that had just taken place on her new acquaintance, "I'm an all around kind of person. We can do whatever you want, I'm up for anything."

'See Oly, he is nice. Told you so.' Raina said smugly.

Oly just rolled his eyes.

"Anything really. I'm an all around kind of person. We can do whatever you want, I'm up for anything."

Avery considered her words carefully. If she was anything like her sister, then she was basically inviting him into her pants. But she really didn't seem anything like Ria...So he wasn't going to assume anything. He had to handle this delicately.

"Well...thing is...the type of 'fun' I'm used to...Might not be your type of 'fun' at all," he tried to explain.

Oh good, that'll make sense to her, Violet rolled her eyes. Just let her decide what to do.

Avery complied. "How bout we do whatever you want. I'm open to anything too. And I seriously mean anything."

Raina didn't quite understand, but it didn't really matter. Shrugging she replied, "Alright, how about we..."

She really had no idea what to do. That was one of the reasons she had come out to the mountains for.

She smiled. Wow, she was boring.

It was snowing lightly, creating a bit of a chill as Ria and Kaelin walked up the mountain. It always got colder up in the Dialgas before it reached Amelia.

Kaelin was a bit behind her, smelling the ground for anything she might want to snack on. Earlier Ria had eaten a few eggs she had stolen from a coop, but Kaelin hadn't eaten since yesterday.

The maned wolf's ears perked as they heard a voice that sounded almost identical to her clios. In fact, if she wasn't part of her she might have thought it was Ria. But, knowing that Ria wasn't speaking, the only logical explanation was that somewhere along this path Raina was having a conversation.

Kaelin sent this information to her clio mentally and then picked up her pace. It had been awhile since the two had seen their twin and it was nice to hear her voice and know she was okay. Ria wondered whether she had settled yet.

A cheetah lay on the ground next to the rock Raina and... was that Avery? were sitting on. Ria smiled, she had been looking for him for quite some time. Avery was one of the closest friends Ria had, and that was saying something as Ria didn't get close to many people.

"Hey guys," Ria said excitedly as she entered the little clearing the two clio were in.

At first Avery thought Raina had said "hey guys," and was confused as to why she would say that. He looked around and saw that Ria (this time he was sure of it) had entered the clearing.

"Ria!" he exclaimed, getting to his feet and walking over to her. "It's good to see you. I ran into your sister up here and I thought she was you. I think I freaked her out a little." He turned around and grinned at Raina to show he was just joking. "But yeah, we were just now trying to figure out something to do. Any suggestions?"

So, the two had just met. That was good, Ria didn't think she'd be able to do anyone that her sister had done, too.

'Do you honestly think Raina would hire a whore anyway, Ria?' Kaelin said jokingly.

'Good point,' she replied quickly.

"We used to freak people out all the time when we were little, so I guess it's good that you got her back." Ria laughed, and smiled at her sister who looked like she was happy. It was nice seeing Raina happy, Ria thought, it had been a rare occurrence when the two were growing up.

"I'm full of suggestions, you know that!" Ria said lightly, "We could go paint on the ruins? Heard any rumors we could write up there?" She smiled devilishly, her plans always had something risky mixed in. Graffiti was prohibited and she knew it.

Raina wasn't so sure about her sister's idea. Raina remembered Ria always being the one getting them into trouble and Raina had to be the one to get them out and this wasn't the best time for more. Having just settled, it was now possible to go to jail, and that wasn't exactly what Raina wanted to do.

But she just nodded, though she knew her sister would be able to tell her worry, and then looked towards Avery. It was up to him, she had told him she would do anything.

"It sounds kinda fun," Avery replied thoughtfully. The idea was tempting. But...He had just settled and was trying to improve his quality of life. Was graffitiing the Ruins really going to help him? No. "But, you know, maybe we should do something a little more...legal. We're settled now, and I'm kinda trying to, you know, start over."

And yet you're still sleeping with strangers every other day! Violet said sternly.

Well, as soon as I get a real job I won't have to do that anymore! Avery argued.

Ria wondered if settling had changed her like it had Avery. Would he still have sex with her? She hoped so.

"Alright... How about something simple and fun? Swimming?" There would probably be other clio at the beach. It would be good for Avery's business, other clio seeing him in his sexy bathing suit. Of course, that was only if he still had his business open...

"Swimming sounds good!" Raina was quick to jump at the chance of something normal, even though she didn't much like the beach.

"Less of a bother, don't you think?" She turned her head to look at Avery and his ferret.

Swimming didn't sound too bad. "Sure, why not?" he replied, shrugging. He looked at Ria. "You know, if we went to Taigar Island instead of the beach, we could go skinny dipping." He winked at her. "It's been a while since I've seen you naked."

Geez, you're probably making her poor sister uber-uncomfortable right now, Vi told him.

Oh come on, I'm sure she's cool with it.

Now this was Ria's Avery.

Grinning, Ria spoke, "Perfect! Do you want to go now or later on tonight?"

Blood was pumping through Ria. She loved skinny dipping!

Why did things so simple have to turn into such messes whenever Ria was around? Oli shook his head, their twin was really nothing like them. Not at all.

Raina gave a pained-looking smile when the two clio she was with decided on the more dangerous version of swimming.

Well, Raina thought, it couldn't be that bad could it?

The cheetah answered the girls thoughts, 'Do you want to be naked? In front of clio?'

Raina's stomach dropped. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

S'cuse me, Mr. Sensitivity, but you're making that poor girl extremely uncomfortable, Vi piped up dryly.

What? She's fine! Avery dismissed, giving Raina half a glance. She was smiling, after all. She didn't look uncomfortable to him. But...well, maybe just in case... "Uh, Raina, are you sure you're cool with this?"

Ria frowned quickly, but then changed it back to a smile. Oh well, if her sister didn't want to go she didn't have to. Ria was going though, and she was positive that if Avery knew she was getting naked, he would come too.

Maybe it was better if Raina didn't come. It had been awhile since Ria had had sex and now that she thought about it, skinny dipping was the perfect opportunity to get with Avery.

Turning to her sister Ria said nonchalantly, "Yeah, Raina. You don't have to come if you don't want to."