WHAT? [NEMESIS]

[style=float: left; margin-right: 8px; border: 3px solid #F0EEE9; margin-bottom: 4px][/style]The bottle of water flew towards Piper.

She didn’t see it coming – she could only react when the bottle hit her square on the head. For a moment, all she could see were stars. There was a splash of something attacking her skin, making her feel extremely cold, saturated, and uncomfortable. She instinctively cringed, ignoring the fact that she was wet for a moment and bringing her hands up to her head and grasping them wildly as if that were a method of dulling the pain. However, the pain slowly receded, and she was left with only a dull throbbing. She was finally aware of what was going on, and she looked up, blinked, and turned to the woman who was showering her with apologies and assuring that her health was up to speed. She didn’t say anything at first, only acknowledging the fact that she was soaked, and the frigid cold that came with it slowly overtaking her senses. However, she forced herself to smile at the woman, merely nodding her head. She was fine. All was well.

“I’m all right,” she stated, almost uncannily calm. The scene that had presented itself had yet to be seriously acknowledged by Piper, who was in the midst of attempting to console the woman. “I’m fine! Everything’s under control. Not bleeding, nada.” She smiled reassuringly, and then went back to inspect her saturated apparel. As expected, her outfit was ruined. However, this didn’t cause any bitter resentment towards the woman. Actually, she felt pretty happy. Her yellow, woolen sweater was most certainly uncomfortable, yes, and her hair stuck to her face. She swiped at them, more annoyed at the elements of nature rather than the girl.

Suddenly, Piper began to laugh. The fact that the woman was so up-tight and worried, mixed in with the fact that she now looked like a complete moron was what triggered the unconventional response, and she found that the remains of the crowd chimed in.

Her giggles trailed off as the scene became dull to the spectators, who gradually diminished until it was just Piper and the woman. She wiped away tears from her eyes, the occasional snort escaping from her lips.

“Your… your face. It’s priceless,” she stated, grinning. “I don’t mind in the slightest.” She paused, wondering how to fix the dilemma. Obviously the woman was sorry for what she did, even though she didn’t really have anything to be sorry for. Piper decided that she could spend some of the day with her.

“Hey, why don’t we get a drink and chat? My companionship will be your punishment for the accident.” She grinned at the woman once more, which by now should’ve signified that she really didn’t care.

[style=float: left; margin-right: 8px; border: 3px solid #F0EEE9; margin-bottom: 4px][/style]As Piper waited for a coherent reply, she picked at the wet strands of hair that could now be described as a mop, twirling it around her finger and leaning on one leg. Her face probably looked moronic – lucky for her; she refused to put on makeup when going out as an average Joe.

“’Course! Well, not that that’s a legitimate reason; none of my reasons are legitimate. I’m kind of weird like that,” she chirped jovially, flashing an optimistic grin at the woman who was responsible for getting her wet. “But rather, I’ve been meaning for company, and, well, the perfect opportunity struck. Again, probably not the best opportunity, but what can you do? I don't know what to do next, and going to the zoo by yourself is not the greatest thing in the world.” Piper shrugged nonchalantly, lifting her shoulders and bringing them down. A wry grin danced across her visage as she added, “You probably think I’m the biggest weirdo in the world, don’t you?”

Before she could reply, she dismissed the thought with a very impish wave of her hand. “I don’t mind – I get that a lot from my manager.” She paused, placing a placid finger on her pink lips, realizing that she was stealing any chances for the black woman to speak. A sheepish grin directed towards her, she allowed her to state her name.

Nemesis, she thought. It’s a beautiful name.

“Isn’t that the name of a Greek goddess?” she asked peaceably, trying to strike up a conversation that would apply to Nemi. Nemesis, the Greek goddess of revenge. Funny, she doesn’t seem like a spiteful person. As she was about to speak once more, her eyes widened slightly as she remembered something. “Ah, I forgot! The name’s Piper. Funny name, huh?” She chuckled to herself, bringing her right hand to her lips, her hair bouncing as she laughed at her own name. Frankly, she loved it, even though she tended to make fun of it in front of other people.

The brunette paused, twirling her drenched hair once more. She pursed her lips, her brows furrowing together in concentration as she attempted to remember the location of a fast food restaurant she’d seen before coming here, but to no avail. “Darn,” she said softly, more to herself than to Nemi. “I can’t seem to remember where we might eat. Sorry, we might have to look for it… unless you’ve got a better sense of direction than I do?”

[style=float: left; margin-right: 8px; border: 3px solid #F0EEE9; margin-bottom: 4px][/style]The raven-haired woman remained complacent throughout the bouts of her palaver, offering Piper some quality companionship and a balance in personalities. A quiet thrill of pleasure ran through her veins as she realized that Nemi wasn’t the type of person to judge, nor be vexed by her seemingly overbearing persona. Piper hummed quiet amusement to herself; she didn’t think she was overly talkative. Of course, a few people begged to differ. She didn’t know why—she was feeling awfully chipper, and rather than taking the overly saturated apparel with anger, she thought it was… kind of funny.

Piper cordially nodded in a likewise gesture to Nemi’s friendly advances, thinking that it would be appropriate to clamp her jaw shut for a few moments to allow her to keep up her end of the conversation. The flamboyant woman couldn’t help the peachy grin that decorated her visage when the black-haired woman displayed a positive interest in her alias, her countenance soaring and her ego inflating. I guess at least some people appreciate my over-the-top name, she thought, tickled pink.

The brunette chuckled good-naturedly at her father’s antics, saying: “Cool parents. Wish I had a bunch of interesting folks behind my back. Mine’s are your average, rugged Filipinos. Working on farms and whatnot.” Piper was exaggerating—her parents were doing fine… somewhere that was not in Los Angeles. When she came to entertain the thought, she actually didn’t know much about how her parents were doing. She’d have to check on them later today. Perhaps a surprise call would delight them. “And I can’t blame your father either—Greek mythology can be pretty intense, and nothing if not entertaining. If there was one Greek goddess I couldn’t take, it’d probably be… Aphrodite? I don’t know—she seems like the ‘femme fatale’ type.” She offered a smile in Nemi’s direction. “Athena’s wonderful, though.” Piper chose to not dwell on the origin of Nemi’s name, not sure if it would offend her or not.

When the female began to laugh, Piper had no choice but to giggle along with her—laughter was contagious, according to the brown-haired woman. “So that makes two of us. I can do with that,” she stated, scouring the map in search of clues that would signal a restaurant nearby. The grey, cobblestone walkways were littered with people. “So…” she started, concluding her little scouting session, “we can start off by going in… this direction?” She shrugged to herself, and began to walk.

“Hmm. Any other family members with cool names, or is it just you and your mother?” she asked, not trying to pry, but to come up with fuel for a conversation that Nemesis might be comfortable with.