Rayne by Missy
Kiriyan by Xandra
Shou by sesshiyuki
She took a long sip of iced fudge ripple, having no clue what the hell it was she ordered, but knowing it was good. With her free hand she swept her hair from her face, choppy and chin-length hair, which tended to do what it wanted.
Then again, so did she. Through the blinding light of the sun she squinted, her eyes piercing the glass and spotting what she swore was an approaching silhouette. Couldn't be--no one ever came here. Ever.
The gloved hand of the silhouette pushed open the door to the shop cautiously as it quietly made it's way inside. She appeared nervous as she made her way to a table near the back, staring at the ground as she ran her white gloved hand over the tables and chairs. Sighing quietly, Amaya sat down slowly into a chair by a window. Her grey eyes fixed outside despite the glaring sun. She hadn't meant to come here, but she hadnt meant to get lost by herself either.
Her body wracked with shudders as she covered her face with her hands and tried to sink further into the chair. She had a problem with speaking to people...She supposed thats why she became lost in the first place. Then she Lost her train of thought' surely there was a shadow moving towards the isolated shop?
Rayne stared, then found herself smirking. Poor lost soul. Really, maps were made for a reason. She continued to watch Amaya boredly.
The owner of the shop, who was gray and grizzled but not at ALL old enough to be suffering hallucinations, blinked. That girl with the iced ripple coffee had just disappeared. The other girl ... person was still there in the back corner however, right? He poked her just to make sure.
Amaya's head whipped up in surprise as she flinched away from the owner's touch. She had a problem with being touched where she didnt wear her gloves, it always ended up badly. Nervously she looked up at the owner with pale grey eyes and begin to fumble over her words, "I-I'm sorry, s-sir...D-did I do something wrong? I'll l-leave." Slowly she rose out of her seat, trying to move without touching the owner.
In backing away from the owner, Amaya comes dangerously close to a man she didn't notice was there. Seated on a divan in the darkest corner of the room is a man in his mid-20s, dark haired in green-tinted glasses. As she backs too close, he says in a toneless voice "Careful now."
Stopping in mid step, she straightens her posture, trying to regain composure after being so easily startled (again). She turns around and tries to smile at the man she had almost ran into, "I'm so sorry, sir..." she uttered softly. She closed her eyes and slightly bowed her head in apology, "I'm really too clumsy for my own good." Amaya was relieved she had gained some control over her voice... It hadn't been used in so long.
"You haven't ordered yet," the owner says interestedly to both of them. He stops rearranging the Aqua Vita display to regard the man who rents a room above his coffee shop.
The dark-haired man inclines his head slightly without really looking at the manager or girl. "Usual, please," he says, voice medium and attractive, but bland. "Coffee, black, sugar. Too early for wine, I suppose." A dry smile.
"If it is not too much trouble, may I have some water to go?" Amaya asked, nervously tugging down her sleeve."Even though this is a shop, I dont want to be a bother."
The owner crosses his store and reaches behind the counter for the drinks. "Like I've said before," he tells his tenant, "Can't fathom why you'd *want* to drink that crap in this heat." To the new kid he gives a rusty smile, and chooses to ignore her previous plea. "Welcome to the Oasis: souvineers for ten cents, water for 50 dollars, and everything else is free. My name is Ogensa Shou. Yours is...?"
The young woman gratefully accepts the drink and returns the owners smile with a small one of her own. Relaxing she answers in her soft, soothing voice, "Amaya... I'd prefer not to say my last name..." Running her fingers over the drink before she sets it down, she then searches through her pockets. "You said $50 correct?" she questioned as she held out her money, "If it's more, I'm sorry but I dont have much more money..."
The man snorts before he can sip his coffee. "That, my friend, is why I drink coffee."
He snorts at his tenant, and looks at her money in weary bemusement. "Mmhm, That's fine. You can work to pay it off. It's how I get alot of my hired help out here actually. You wouldn't believe the weirdos that pass through. Had one guy who said he was a vampire of all things, offered to pay me in reguritated blood. I made him clean out my drainage system for that little comment."
The dark-haired man sips his coffee, smirking. "Weirdo is such a cruel word. I thought Franz was rather creative in his eccentricity. I've seen worse." He sets his cup aside and reaches suddenly toward the girl's feet, startling her, but merely takes up what turns out to be a long pole from the floor. He sets it next to him on the divan. "You might as well sit down," he says.
Silently Amaya sits down onto her chair once more. "Thank you both...so very much," she mutters almost to herself. Lost was the only word to descibe her situation now, both figuratively and literally. "I promise to work hard to repay your kindness..."
The young man inclines his head toward the owner. "Well, I suppose you're relieved to have someone so sincere in your company," he asks, dryly, "Hmm, Shou?"
"Never said weird wasn't a *good* thing, Kiri-kun. Sincerity is the root of boredom. It's the root of evil, that which we spend our days fighting, at least if are a disinherited coffee stop owner in the middle of nowhere." He gestured impressively, then filled cup of chilled green tea for himself. Kiriyan ignores the irritating pet-name and inclines his head to the girl. "So, what brings you to this miniature hell?"
"Lack of a cartograph," Amaya replied looking up at Kiriyan, "And I dont have a very reliable sense of direction in the first place..."
Kiriyan adjusted his tinted shades, his expression darkening somewhat. "I can sympathize." "What about yourself?" She asked without thinking. Blushing, she turned her face away,"Forget what I spoke before...You needn't be inclined to answer..."
Slou plonked a folding chair down beside them and lounged too easily for his age. Once again, he couldn't help but wonder at his weak knees, despite the strength of his legs.
"It's quite fine," he said, nonchalantly. "Just another wanderer, like yourself, much too lazy to bother trying to escape."The shop did that to you. It changed people, had changed him, or stopped him from changing. He wasn't sure which. "So you can sympathize with her, but not me eh."
Kiriyan snorted. "You, like me, refuse to leave this foolish place. Neither of us deserves any sympathy." Kiriyan's tone became suddenly morbid. Through the green panes of his glasses, his eyes remained focused somewhere else in the room. "I'll probably die here," he murmured. "I'm submitted to my fate."
"Blame the abundance of water here. It's like an never ending desert out there, the world. Who wants to leave the safety of their watering hole? Unless maybe, you can't. Some of us elder people have obligations."
Kiriyan gave a cold laugh. "Indeed." He glanced at Shou. "To be so mature and have the ability to claim sloth as an obligation. How I wish I could." Standing, he took up the white pole resting on the divan beside him. "If you'll excuse me." He inclined his head once to Amaya, then turned and headed across the room, the pole coasting audibly across the buffed floor.
His raised eyebrow marks the man's usual dramatic exit. Turning to Amaya, he says, "And that. Is why you should never tell Kiri about your family."
"Ahem, but before we were so rudely interrupted by philosphic discussion... You are of course free to stay here. I don't expect you to sleep outside, do pick where you'd like to stay!"
Grey eyes widened in surprise as Amaya stood up quickly, "OH no sir! No! You needn't open your home to me! I'll be fine outside, its no trouble." The woman's calm composure was breaking under all thus kindness.
A muffled thumping filtered down from the hidden stairway, next to the sunscreen aisle (Fifty percent off! Different brands), as he looked at the girl with a tight expression. "Girl-- Amaya was it? Don't tell me you've tried sleeping in the desert at night. Not that I'm going to stop you, but you think its hot now? Just wait, its freezing when the sun goes down -- OI, WE HEAR YOU. SHUT UP, ALREADY." A distinct stomping can be heard on the stairs, much louder than before, followed by the prim closing of an unnamed door.
Sighing, Amaya finished her water before gently hugging the shop owner,"Thank you...You've been most kind." Pulling away she pulls on her gloves so they are on her hands tighter. "Does your offer still stand?"
He blinked, turned his head, and patted her awkwardly on the back. "My offer not only stands. It is still standing! It is catatonic in standing. Ah... still standing." he said once again.
"Ah would you mind-- Need to check to make sure the idiot hasn't broken any wooden flooring... Actually, come with me. We can get you settled. Unless you Do want to sleep with the coyotes?"
"Getting settled sounds great," she said eyeing the direction from which the stomps came from warily,"I dont mean to pry...but is he alright?"
"Mm its just the coffee taking effect, that and he's high strung fellow naturally... Come then, its almost time for lunch so I will leave our cups here." He lead the way upstairs.
There were no picture frames on the walls, no employee of the month gimmicks, nor family portraits. They were curiously blank aside from a few old-time advertisements. Following silently behind the shop owner, Amaya kept her eyes on the bare walls.
The stairs went on forever. He'd never get used to the stairs. If it possible, he would live forever in the happy land of Downstairs, as it had food and water, and old costume clothes and everything one needed for survival. Unfortunately, upstairs he had guests, tenants. Most of whom were pleasant granted, but... There. Finally passing the Elvis poster, he stepped onto wide expansed hallway.
