[attr="class","sinbody2"]The days were getting hotter, and Jaron took the invite to wear less clothing without hesitation. It reminded him of the days back home in Israel when he'd do concerts in the south, or when he'd travel to Australia or the southern U.S. It was a little stifling, but it wasn't anything a dip in the river couldn't fix. He was a little downstream from where he usually went, so he couldn't touch the bottom. He opted to only swim in his boxer briefs because, really, the only person who had any likelihood of passing by this way was Zee, and it wasn't anything she hadn't seen before. Plus swimming in jeans made him too heavy to make it enjoyable.

He'd recently risked opening his eyes underwater; he didn't originally because he didn't know if there was some alien fungus or something down there that would blind him. Hey, it was a possibility, okay? Over the past few days he hadn't noticed any change in his vision, so he was leaning toward it being safe. The stream bed looked conspicuously like one back on Earth, but he was determined to find something different.. even though doing so might ruin his swims for him.

Coming up for air, Jaron ran a hand down his face and through his hair before leaning back and floating. He hadn't realized it, but he must've swam farther north than he thought because he saw the glint of his car out of the corner of his eye. Yahveh, it had been an interesting journey getting it out of the desert. He was indebted to Zee for charming a few of the watchers into helping them haul the damn thing over the sand like a bunch of pack horses. Jaron felt like a total ass, and had avoided the drop point and Exurbia since, for fear of running into someone that would laugh at him.

A brief break in the shine from the Quant had his head turning to the side - the only thing that should cause that was something passing between him and the car. He was sure more than one person inspected the thing without his knowledge, but seeing a girl sneaking around it now still had him erecting his defenses. Grabbing his jeans from the shore, Jaron put them on over wet boxers and trudged barefoot up the bank. He would've made some ambiguous comment like, "Like what you see?", but it was clear to him that the girl was a good bit younger than him, so he refrained. "You trying to steal my car?" he asked instead, raising a brow skeptically. He smirked, though, so she'd know he wasn't actually mad.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]She-.... Kind of stared. It took a significant portion of Jaron's control not to stand a little straighter at the appraisal; he was used to people taking pause when they saw him, but he hadn't experienced it in.... Well, since he got here. Now it felt foreign, but no less pleasant. His smirk broadened.

"Only a little?" he immediately shot back, relaxing. She was probably just admiring a thing of beauty, which the car definitely was. He'd clearly bought it solely based on looks and not on substance, or actual practicality when coming to a world without roads. Getting the thing out of the damn desert had been a treat and a half; had Zee not been there, the Quant would still be there. She'd charmed a couple of the Watchers into helping them haul the thing on its slat like a bunch of work horses until they were on solid enough ground for Jaron to drive it off. Even then, the car's low stature made it... interesting.. to navigate through the tall grasses that surrounded Exurbia.

He'd known before he reached the river that he'd have to leave his precious possession there, but even though it was fingerprint (and apparently layman) protected, he still worried. The damn nomads were sneaky bastards, and rumor had it they took something from the last drop again.

The girl's comment pulled him from his reverie, and Jaron shrugged. "Neither had I, before I bought it," he divulged. "Figured it would be helpful to have a s-... Car out here," he corrected quickly, not sure if he should give away that it was solar-powered. He was fine with her thinking he was a dumbass for bringing a vehicle to a planet without gasoline, if that meant she didn't tell anyone it was here (or, if she did, that they wouldn't care). "Uh, finders leavers, please," he interjected, chuckling softly, starting forward. He was just about to reach out and open the door - admittedly just to look a little bit fancy - when she caused him to stop dead.

His eyes had been on the seamless door of the Quant, but now they flicked up to Thea. He studied her a moment, expression giving away nothing other than a slight flare of the nostrils. They certainly hadn't met, but... Was it possible that she actually recognized him? A tightness formed in his chest, unsure if he should be delighted that his fame followed him or filled with dread; she was just young enough to be the annoying high-pitched squealy type... But this planet kind of knocked that out of them pretty quick, right? It certainly kicked his ass swiftly into shape... But that could've been the lack of drugs out here. "Uh... no..," he eased out, straightening from his slight bend to open the door. The car was momentarily forgotten.

Staring at her probably wasn't going to help anything. Shaking his head slightly to force himself into motion, Jaron smiled and walked around to the other side of the car, where she was. Extending a hand to shake, he admitted, "I'm Leo," plastering on his signature boyish grin. Just because he didn't want to bed her (hello cradle robbing) didn't mean he couldn't appreciate a fan, if that's what she was.

[attr="class","sinbody2"]Jaron wondered if the girl was bipolar, judging by how quickly her expression fell and lifted again. It sent his brain in a tailspin, but he didn't have to ponder it too long. His smile grew, previous confusion forgotten. "In the flesh," he confirmed, eyes crinkling at the sides as he dipped his left shoulder and turned slightly to reveal the leopard covering half his form.

Straightening, he put his hands in his pockets (for once not intentionally pulling them lower on his hips; see above: cradle robbing) and rocked back on his heels. "You're the first person to recognize me out here," he admitted. His smile settled into a smirk when she claimed she wasn't a psycho fan, and Jaron raised a brow. He'd believe it when he saw-...

"Same as everyone else," he snorted gracefully, shaking his head. Hey, she could've been a lot worse. Plus his blood was already humming through his veins at the prospect of having someone to fangirl over him - openly, not he caught Zee doing once in a blue moon. Turning from Thea so she wouldn't see how his expression changed at the thought, he reached for the door of the Quant - hooking his fingers under the letters and placing his thumb just after the "T" - waited for the system to recognize him, and lifted slightly. "Stand back," he instructed, taking a step back himself before opening the door the rest of the way. It fanned upward like the wing of some majestic eagle, and Jaron experienced the same thrill he'd had the first time he saw the vehicle. It was sexy, okay?

"You can get in if you'd like. We could go for a drive, but we're kind of limited to the riverbank. It doesn't.. go very well in the taller grasses." He eyed some of the greenery still stuck in the tires despite his washing, and made a mental note to pick it all out by hand later.