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Darkseeker
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He listened well, intrigued by her willingness to talk about the tattoos that wound over her skin. Most of the people who he talked with on the regular who had ink had damn good reasons to get something so permanent, and he liked her free spirit, and the fact that as long as she liked it in the moment, that was all that mattered. He sipped the drink, and chewed on his lip, a nervous habit of his that he hadn't been able to shake since his first year of high school, the year his mother had passed away. He nodded as she mentioned the niceness of not having any names on him, but his smile quickly faltered to one of sympathy at her story.
"Ah, I'm sorry. That must have been hard. I didn't have many friends during my college or high school years. Mostly just a small group of people who tolerated my presence. And honestly, I probably was a problem anyways. Too much drama in my life for most sophomores," he said, no trace of any sort of pain in his voice, just matter-of-factness. He had come to terms with the roughness of his earlier life over time, and had no desire to get into it again. As she asked about his ex, he hesitated, not sure if he wanted to divulge a lot of information to a girl he had only met a few days ago, but he decided that since she'd ask, he would give her the basic rundown. He didn't love talking about Darcy if he didn't have to. There were many hurt feelings and cold words that had been exchanged between the two of them, and all the memories seemed to be crowding forwards into the front of his mind, each wanting some attention, each wanting to be as remembered as Darcy was to him. He absentmindedly ran his fingers over the little sun, dark on his knuckle. "Well," he said, dragging out the syllables of the word, and then blew out a slow breath. "Darcy and I met when I was probably...mid sixteen," he began. "She was the same age as me, our birthdays were almost perfectly six months apart, and she always said it was fate or some bullshit. She was nice, pretty, y'know. She had severe Hailey Bieber vibes, that cold, rich, old-money beauty. And I loved her for it. I worked here then, I had no idea what I wanted to do. She was the first one who really seemed to give me any sort of positive attention, and as long as I said I loved her, she would be happy. And I wanted her to be happy, I was willing to do anything for her. Darcy got me wrapped right around her finger, and she could play me like a violin. I thought I had caught lightning in a bottle or something, I thought she really did care, that I had found my future. Everything I had done was for us. I got a good, steady job, went to college, bought a house. She got bored, that's what she said. She also really wanted to go back to Sweden, where she was raised, and I said I would go with her, and she said she didn't want me to. It was about a year and a half that shit started to fall apart and she's gone now. I'm glad she's gone, we weren't good for each other," he said, and then stopped. Throughout the entire time of talking about Darcy, his voice had gotten increasingly dark and bitter. He was still upset that she'd left, because of how much she'd affected his life. It wasn't fair, he thought to himself, but he quickly pulled himself together, stuffing his emotions back into the little box in the back of his mind, and smoothed the frustration from his face.
"It's fine," he said after a moment. "I'm sorry, you didn't need all my life's drama." |
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Neutral
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As he finished speaking, Astra realized she had been subconsciously inching her way into his space. Her fingers twitched towards his, aching to provide a sympathetic hold, but she had just met this stranger - trying to hold his hand while he devolved into bitterness caused by his ex girlfriend was a desperate move, one she wasn't willing to make. She saw the moment he decided he had shared enough. The bitterness and despair that had made their way back to his eyes were replaced by cold indifference, and she retracted her hand to her own side of the table quickly. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "That's a terrible thing to go through. I know what it's like to love someone and have to let them go." Her lips tilted down slightly as the words escaped her, and her eyes dropped to the cup in front of her. She hadn't shared any inkling of her past with anybody in this town, and hadn't been inclined to do so today. It had just come out, which was as frightening as it was relieving. Her hand came up to rub her collarbone as she shook her head, a crooked smile replacing the frown that had begun to darken her face. Meeting his eyes once more, she stood abruptly from the table. Her finger twitched slightly, the only indication of her nerves as she outstretched a hand to Bodhi, taking a step towards the door and waving for him to follow her. "Would you care to go for a walk? This coffee shop is lovely, but I'm feeling a bit stuffy. Too much time indoors, I think." Without looking back, she turned and made her way to the door, tripping slightly over a chair leg as she hurried to escape the now cloistering heat of the room. Outside, she took a deep breath, willing the flush in her cheeks to cool as she surveyed the sidewalks. Across the street, a mother and her son skipped, the boy's laughter bouncing off of the buildings. As she observed the two, she let herself prepare for whichever outcome followed her offer. If he decided not to follow her, she would walk to her car and forget about him. Not that she would be able to forget his allure, the way his eyes darkened with his emotions even as his face remained stoic. She certainly wouldn't be able to forget the melodic lilt his voice possessed, drawing her in to his every word. Ideally, he would follow her. She hoped she hadn't misread their brazen stares, that he had in fact expressed even a crumb of interest in her. If he followed her, she was prepared to offer him a snippet of her past, a common thread that linked them in their sorrow. |
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Darkseeker
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Bodhi was surprised when she stood up, it seemed abrupt, and he was about to be upset that, right after he had bared his soul, she was leaving. But, then her soft, dulcet tones continued on, saying she would prefer to go outside, out of the stifling warmth of the coffee shop. He saw her point, there was no air conditioning inside the little building, but it took more glamour to keep his wings hidden when there were more people to hide them from in the first place. He slowly stood up, picking up his half-finished drink. The rough cardboard felt soothing under his fingers, the coarse material more what he was used to, and it brought back the memories of being young and in love while working there. His fingers tightened on the cup, and it crumpled under his fingers, the remaining liquid in the bottom beginning to drip away. He frowned, and with quick, methodical movements, wiped it away, and tossed the drink into the trash, walking out into the bright sunlight. He winced as it blazed into eyes, and the lines of tension increased in his shoulder blades as he worked to hide his true nature. He didn't like lying to this new girl in his life, but it was what it was. Bodhi picked up his pace, making his way past a young family, listening to the sound of children's laughter, and a pang of sadness flashed through him, and the desire to go see his daughter grew. The heat was already getting to him as well, he had a very low tolerance for being in too extreme of temperatures, which was part of the reason his willingness to move to Sweden had come as such a shock to many who knew him. He caught up with the girl, and flicked a dark piece of hair out of his eyes. "You're a very strange young lady," he said, not unkindly. He was completely taken aback that she would have even considered taking a walk in that moment in time, especially given the weather. Bodhi couldn't imagine why anyone would choose to go out and get all sweaty and disgusting, especially when there were people who would stare at him and judge him, especially if they knew about his less than normal heritage. He'd only ever told a few people, and each time he'd regretted it. Now, as he smoothed his crewneck, his brow furrowed, focusing on the glamour, though trying to pay attention to her. "How about you?" He asked, fighting off the urge to beg her to take them back inside somewhere cold. "Did you grow up around here?" |
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Fall 
Day Weather: 
