graves_hall <% /!UseJournal %>
07/31/2007 15:42:00
[info]ohana_oharu
A cafe in New Meridian, Monday afternoon (open)
Oharu was sitting in one of his favorite cafés, a delightful place that was just dark and moody enough for the doleful singer crooning some jazz staple at the piano, but just cheerful enough that it was a pleasant respite from the drizzly afternoon. He'd never seen rain whip up so quickly, at least not in recent years.

It was a quick duck into the café that saved him from a complete soaking. Not that he particularly minded being wet. He was used to having element battles with his sister in their childhood. He'd send a gust of wind to knock her off her feet and she'd counter with a miniature tsunami that would wash him out of their backyard. He grew accustomed to dripping in his formative years and it didn't bother him much now.

Yet today he felt he'd much rather be inside with a warm cup of coffee between his fingers and a throaty voiced blonde belting out some tune he barely recognized behind him. These were the kind of haunts Oharu preferred, when he wasn't hiding away in his house with one of his carpets hanging tight on the loom, or a spell book he'd picked up for casual reading.

He'd become such a creature of habit; the only times things shook up were when his sister, or the journal he shared with her, popped into town. Things hadn't shaken up yet, not in the usual way he expected it to. Perhaps Ohana wasn't quite back in town as he thought she was, maybe she had sent the journal on ahead as ample warning of her arrival.

He smiled into his coffee thinking of how she was never just content to live in one place, or show up at the prescribed time.

 
Comments
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 17:02:49  

Chai was a little out of sorts today. He's started off his morning with a heated discussion with his grandmother, one that trailed off in her accusing him of being on the path to eternal loneliness and bachelorhood, and him biting his tongue against making a compulsion was on his break. He'd bitten so hard he'd tasted blood, and, irritated beyond reason, he wound up leaving home early, heading into New Meridian well before he needed to show up at work.

He was on break now, and it was raining. He didn't mind the rain; it had just taken him by surprise. As had how often his thoughts stayed back to last evening, and how he had happened to meet Evie Wilheard at Hotel Mosaique. Right now he wanted a hot cup of coffee to warm him after that thorough soaking. He wasn't the only one, he noted as he caught sight of some other patrons, a good number of them looking dour or angry at the sudden rainstorm.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 17:11:58  

Oharu's eyes followed the newcomer to the café. It was the way he looked at anyone who had any trace of Daemon lineage, whether or not they knew what that was. His was one of the last families that passed the knowledge of their ties to the clan through each generation. He doubted this tall and interesting specimen would have any idea who he really was and of what he'd be capable.

He ducked back into his coffee as he thought those eyes might meet his. He didn't want to be caught staring; it was ever so impolite and against the very image Oharu had worked very hard to cultivate.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 17:19:58  

It was good timing on Oharu's part. While waiting for his coffee, Chai settled his gaze on one of the few people in the place who didn't seem a mite put out by the weather. In fact, he merely seemed to be enjoying his drink and the music both.

The place was more crowded than usual, a fact owned to the continual press of people coming in to avoid the rain. Hot coffee in a warm mug, Chai carefully sidestepped a dripping wet young woman and started looking about for a place to sit.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 17:24:17  

He kept looking back to the stranger from time to time, wondering if he might sit near. It was his curious nature that kept him so enthralled. He tried to make himself look available and open should all other seating options be exhausted. He wasn't sure this stranger would take a genuine interest in him as well; Oharu couldn't see himself as interesting, especially in comparison with his sister.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 17:29:12  

When Chai looked back, he caught both the other man's eyes and then the empty chair across from him. He stepped around a few more people, approaching the stranger and his table. Chai was rarely one to initiate a conversation, but he might have to in this case. A tentative expression on his face, he queried, "Would you mind if I joined you for a moment?"
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 17:32:43  

He might have smirked at this turn of luck, but he simply smiled politely. "Not at all, please, by my guest." He gestured toward the open chair and took an immediate sip of his coffee to think for just a moment how to introduce himself. "I don't think I've ever seen you in here before," he said lightly. "I'm a bit of a regular," he added by way of explanation.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 17:38:14  

"Ah," Chai responded, "thank you. And I think this might be my first time in here. I usually get coffee a little closer to Parliament." The badge he wore, triangular, with an eye in the center, clearly labeled him a law enforcement official. "I managed to get caught in the rain, so I though I'd stop in for a bit." He took a sip of his coffee, only vaguely light and sweet.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 17:41:48  

Oharu noted the badge and only with a little trepidation. He usually tried to steer clear of the law, mostly because some of his activities were not so legal. "It's a good place for that," he commented. "Though the atmosphere in here is almost blue enough for more rain."
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 18:41:55  

Chai didn't consider himself good at small conversation, so it took him this long to realize he hadn't introduced himself. "Perhaps. Though I think I find both enjoyable. My name is Chai, by the way."
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 18:51:17  

"Oharu," he replied, extending his hand to shake. "I enjoy a good rain myself, though this was unexpected," he said. "Wayward elemental," he laughed. The weather in Aylasia had a tendency to be unpredictable because of all the people who could work water, wind, and lightning.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 20:22:30  

"Oh I'm sure it is," Chair said agreeably, as he shook Oharu's hand. His grip was firm, but not over powering, and just long enough to be a proper handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Oharu." He sipped his coffee again, now that he could do so without scalding his mouth and calling the earlier injury to his tongue to mind. "Many's a day wind and rain and thunderstorm sweeps in with no warning." Ah, the safe topic of weather. It was funny how that almost always worked into conversation.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 20:29:37  

Oharu was pleased by the handshake. Chai was obviously practiced in politeness, something Oharu always appreciated. "The pleasure is mine," he said easily. "Ah, one of the reasons life in New Meridian is interesting. It's always worse when school is session and the young ones are practicing. All the weather in Salem seems to travel right to our city."
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 21:02:35  

Honor, politeness, diplomacy. They had been bred into Chai as surely as control, precision, and strength had been practically beaten into him, all at his father's hands. Between simple instruction and the daily combat, yes, he was practiced.

"Oh yes. They keep you on your toes. Reminds me of the days in school when kids teased each other by chasing them with miniature clouds and sparks of lightning." He remembered the more fun days at school. The kind of magic he liked performing. Wand magic, elemental based, nearly anything that didn't mean slipping into someone's mind and coaxing or ordering them bent to your will.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 07/31/2007 21:13:29  

"Oh my, yes. School was certainly different." Oharu laughed lightly. It was not always so fun, particularly not for his sister. "It is certainly not like life in the city. The politics may be the same, but the intent is strictly... grown up," he finished, searching for the right word.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 07/31/2007 21:20:51  

"Responsibility," Chai chimed in. "The things that used to be child's play have serious consequences as adults. We find it out as we get older, and some of us wish for the freedom and ease of childhood again." He sipped at his coffee again, the mug nearly empty.
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 08/01/2007 07:53:13  

He thought back to his childhood and how he would not like to go through any of that again. He smiled all the same. "It is funny how the things we long for we end up wishing we'd never gotten once obtained." He too sipped his coffee and gazed through the rain streaked windows while he collected his thoughts. "Yet I do not long to go back either. I can only move forward."
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 08/01/2007 11:37:26  

Chai finished his coffee, and absently started tracing a design on the table with his finger. "There is no going back. No matter how much we may long for something past, or wish to do something over again, the right way, we can only move forward from where we are now."

He abruptly stopped drawing with his finger, leaving the design, the symbol unfinished, and absently swept it away with his hand, as if dismissing and erasing it. He wasn't even sure what he'd been doodling, perhaps some symbol he'd seen before, remembered subconsciously. He looked back up at Oharu. "My how philosophical this conversation's gotten."
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 08/02/2007 08:13:31  

He couldn't help watching as Chai's finger traced the table. He knew the symbol he'd drawn and was puzzled. Perhaps it was something just inherent with their lineage. Maybe somewhere deep inside they knew all of the symbols, as if the old stories his grandfather yawned on about were true. "Truly," he replied absently. In your words and my head. He wanted to ask, just out of curiosity, but now did not feel like the time. Perhaps some other chance meeting would occur between them and he could ask then. He finished off his coffee and smiled at his companion. "It is nice to share deep words with a stranger. It brings us closer to the truth."
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 08/02/2007 10:46:51  

Chai didn't seem to notice Oharu's puzzlement or his curiosity. Instead, what he noticed was a lessening of the rain outside, and the fact that his break was nearing its end. "Well said, Oharu. Hopefully we'll meet again. If you're a regular here then at least I'll know where to find you." Chai stood and extended his hand again. "I have to get back to work now however."
From: [info]ohana_oharu Date: 08/02/2007 11:10:39  

Oharu hoped the same and smiled. "I'd like that," he said, shaking the outstretched hand a second time. He had a strange moment, a blurring of his vision. It didn't happen often when touching people, mostly just objects. He focused in on a location and a very pretty boy sitting on a couch, his arm slung over the back invitingly. He recognized the place immediately because he'd worked there once, out of curiosity. He had a variety of skills that came at a premium on Silk Road and Hotel Mosaique happened to pay the best. He shook it off quickly and turned back to Chai. "I do hope to meet you again," he said, and he wondered if it would be here, or at his old place of employment. "Good tidings," he said, in the place of goodbye.
From: [info]notvanilla_chai Date: 08/02/2007 11:20:10  

"The same to you," Chai responded, looking at him a little curiously. He wouldn't mind meeting the other man again; he seemed nice, and it was good to have someone to talk to. Conversation came relatively easy with him, and that was something Chai wasn't used to.

He was, of course, unaware of Oharu's vision, though he would have been able to recognize with absolutely certainty that the pretty boy on the couch was Evie, and that Chai would be eagerly accepting his invitation. But for now, it was back outside in the spitting drizzle, and back to work.
Comments
profile
Community: [info]graves_hall
<% /!UseJournal %>
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1