coffee bliss [Andrew]

A soft breath blew away the steam from the top of foam cup. Inside the cup was a simple coffee hazelnut coffee with extra sugar. The jade eyes of the girl holding the cup peered out from behind her matted bangs to look at the tan mixture. It warmed the cup in her hands, contrasting to the weather outside that poured down in rain. A rare sight for a desert but it was appreciated, at least by the girl who sat in the booth with her knees pulled up to her chest. The warm coffee sitting untouched in her hands. While she was going to drink it in time, she didn't feel like burning her throat today. Even it did burn her throat she would simply say it didn't and keep drinking.

She lifted her eyes to peer at the rest of the coffee house, which was empty except for the many cleaning behind the counter. Memory sighed softly and looked outside. It was pouring down cats and dogs style, and as she thought about that she laughed softly. She never understood that saying, it never made much sense really. Memory watched the raindrops slide down the glass pane in a jumpy way. It was a calming thing that reminded her of her childhood. Back when everything was so much better.

Memory went back to blowing at the steam, wondering if they were even looking for her. It had been three years since she left and she hadn't heard one missing person report. Her grandparents didn't care so why would they report her gone? They were happy about it, she was sure. Memory calmed herself down by breathing in deeply the smells of the coffee shop. The fresh ground coffee was a sharp smell, mixed with the sweetness of the baked goods sold here too. The small tiny cakes and the ice cream in the fridge she could see from here. It was a quiet place and she enjoyed the time to think, in a way.

The Fishing Rod had picked the worst day to not be under the influence. The rain came down, and Andrew was sure that it must be an omen...Considering the fact that Death City was right in the middle of a desert. The Weapon knew about the all to well, considering the fact that due to his lethargy it had taken him such a long time to reach this place. He had traveled most of the Pacific, and a great deal of the Western side of the U.S., along with having been born, and raised in Hawaii...The heat wasn't a big deal to him either way, but heavy rain? In a dessert? During the DAY TIME? Even Andrew with his usual spell of ignorance was sure that this was abnormal, and a demon was the only answer to this awful occurrence.

As he walked the street, it became evident to the student that he would have to enter a shop sooner or later...Though this wouldn't be desirable, considering his lack of funds. "Loitering will not be tolerate," was a sign that generally hung in the front of most stores...Andrew had been part of a great deal of protests against such an injustice before, but usually to no avail. Sometimes they went as far as spraying them down with water, or some type of worse smelling, unknown substance...Andrew was already quite wet. The reason that he didn't like the rain, but loved the water was because of one tiny fact...You couldn't sleep outside when it was raining. Andrew respected it as a force of nature, however he dreaded the rain when it drew close to his nap times...Even the animals understood to take cover in the rain, and he had learned much from watching them.

The strangest thing occurred within the next moment, and this truly concerned Andrew. Perhaps he has truly damaged his brain...Because in front of him he saw a small, dancing coffee shop. "What has this world come to...?" The student decided that it was better than nothing, and walked on into the coffee shop.

As soon as he entered the Weapon got a huge whiff of coffee...Coffee wasn't really Andrew's style. He had learned different ways to keep himself awake, and the taste was a little too bitter for him...Even with sweeteners it tended to have a bitter aftertaste, and he couldn't stand it. Nothing like the delicious, salty taste of fish. He assumed that it was also frowned upon if he were to loiter here...So the Weapon did the only thing he could think of doing. Lazily, he looked around the room in search of someone that he could use...Then the perfect opportunity arose. A girl with long dark hair, and a hat was sitting down, and drinking...That stuff. Andrew walked over, and sat right across from her, and then whispered to the girl. Hopefully she would understand his predicament. "I don' have da patience for coffee...and I need a place tuh get out of the rain...Mind coverin' for me...You can drink it, an I'll pay you back...Apparently loiterin' is illegal on the mainland..."

The door opened with a small ring and a rush of that strange scent that rain carries with it. Blowing in and mixing with the scent of warm coffee. Before she knew it she could feel the eyes on the back of her head and a boy who was soaked to the bone sat on the other side of her little booth. I don' have da patience for coffee...and I need a place tuh get out of the rain...Mind coverin' for me...You can drink it, an I'll pay you back...Apparently loiterin' is illegal on the mainland..." Memory visibly stiffened when he spoke to her. She stared at him like a goat from under her bangs, but it's not like he could see her jade colored eyes under the thick mess of bangs covering her face. Her throat felt like it was closing in on itself and it felt like her neck would pop off when she tried to say something. Instead she just sat there looking like an idiot. Her mouth hung open for a few moments before she closed it knowing that trying to speak wouldn't really result in much.

Memory looked down at the tan fluid in her foam cup. Memory couldn't find a voice to reply, and she doubted he knew sign language than again neither did she. She wondered if he knew he could just get a water or a hot chocolate. She had come here multiple, enough for her to memorize the menu and for the workers to know to hand her a take-out one so he could tell them what she wanted. In this tiny place they never expected her to talk, but right now this boy was. The pressure of his voice felt like it was going to crush her, causing her to pull in her legs. Her heart beat heavily, hurting in her chest. Like a beast trying to claw it's way out. It tore and mauled at her ribcage that kept it hostage.

She should do something and she looked down at the takeout menu on the seat beside her. The little white paper beside her of course would show that they had water and hot chocolate. Memory set down her coffee and grabbed the paper with her long thin fingers. They were so bony they disgusted her, but she shook it off quickly and opened the paper to the drink menu. She set it in front of him and pointed at the the last to drinks. It was, of course, water and hot chocolate. Times like this reminded her she really needed to find a way to communicate. Later though she would shake of the idea and deny that she needs anything but words. All she needs to do is get over how shy she is, right?

Andrew stared at the girl for a couple of minutes, before he actually noticed what she was trying to point out. There was also water, and hot chocolate on the menu...but he didn't really care about the loitering thing anymore. Why wasn't the girl talking? It was really strange to him, and he wasn't sure if he had scared her...The Weapon would sometimes have that affect on people, and he didn't really enjoy it. He reached his long arm over the table, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She seemed to be a little shocked, and whether this was from before, or him touching her now he wasn't sure...

"Don't be afraid...Let me help you..." The boy close his eyes, and felt the calm take over him. He had never been sure how far this strange ability of his extended, so he assumed that he had to scoot closer over the table. Hopefully she would become more calm, and then easier to talk to.

Before he gave her the chance to respond to this strange new shift in positioning, the boy began to whisper. "I've always been able to calm the people down who are around me...Anxiety is hard to deal with...but if ya get hold of your emotions then it becomes easier, brah..." He pulled away from her, and then sat back down. In reality he didn't know how it worked...The only bit he understood was keeping control of his emotions...Which was taught to him by someone else who didn't give his name. If he had a Meister...perhaps the whole Soul Wavelength thing would make more sense.

He touched her, and god did it freak her out. She froze stiffly as his touch felt like cold acid burning down her face. The feeling melted into her and at first she felt her throat loosen, but a word never passed her lips. Something in her fought back the burning cold with fierce heat. It seemed to wage a battle in her head before his fingers left her forehead and messy bangs went to hide her eyes again. Her head was pounding on the inside and the world felt light. Her heart was gripped in a pain. She stared at him like a deer in the headlights from behind the curtain of thick black velvet.

What had that strange feeling been, she was so focused on this that she didn't even pay attention to how close the man had been to her. She tried finding her words but the most that came out was only a tiny squeak. The next attempt lead to nothing but a small wheeze and then silence. She stopped trying, she knew she had the words. She didn't know how to make them work though. She forced her gaze back out the window, ashamed of herself.

She swore nothing was wrong with her over and over again. Something was wrong with her though wasn't it? It must be something but she no longer could tell. Did it matter, her words had never made a difference before. She let out a little sigh.

After Andrew had let go, he figured that she would be calm enough to talk to him. This was certainly not the case. The Weapon wasn't sure what he had done wrong, but his attempt had failed, and the girl only let out a few tiny squeaks...It definitely wasn't his fault. While he didn't want to say that something was wrong with her, because he didn't like to think that any had faults...Just quirks. However, it was strange that she didn't seem the least bit calm after that. It was usually enough to make people nod off when they were around him...She didn't even seem affected.

The boy wasn't the smartest person around, but he didn't have to be a genius to tell that she was unique. Another thing that was obvious was that they seemed to be similar...While Andrew wasn't afraid to talk, they both seemed to have a quiet, and calm disposition. Having completely forgotten about the drink, and a new interest in the girl in front of him, the Weapon began to think about what he would do. She wasn't going to talk to him, and he wasn't good at keeping up conversation...So he was going to try to figure out stuff about her some way, or another. Suddenly it dawned on him.

"Put up one finger for yes...and two for no" The simple answer to his problem made him feel stupid for not thinking of it before, but he didn't mull over it. The boy looked at her for a moment while he tried to figure out what to ask her. Perhaps she was a student? That was a start. "Do you attend Shibusen?"

Memory looked back over at the boy, he was thinking about something. Brows furrowed slightly as he watched her. Memory turned back to the rain as it slide down the glass window. When could she last speak whenever she wanted? It was the day before she was sent away if she recalled. When she went into the graveyard over the wall.

Memory slide silently around the tall stone wall, still wet with morning dew. Her eyes desperately searching for a way over. Than she found it, a few cracks in the wall. She slid her thin fingers in and pulled herself up her feet kicking at the wall for a stronghold as she slowly heaved herself up. Her left foot hit one of the bricks the jutted out slightly and she managed to stand on it as she moved one hand farther up to hold onto another broken brick to hold. She pulled herself up one hold at a time before she was able to swing her leg over the top and sit down. She looked over the graveyard that stretched on the other side as she caught her breath and rested her body.

Memory smiled as she jumped down landing in a squat before falling over on her butt. The shock that ran up her legs hurt like hell but she didn't care at that point. She had gotten in and this made her grin like an idiot as she pulled herself back up on her aching feet. Her jade eyes traveled over the stones until she found one, the name of the person still partly engraved. Memory went over and ran her fingers over the three letters. “Mem.” She whispered staring at what was left of the name.

Memory was brought back to the present as the boy spoke again. Torn away from her past she awoke again to the rainy afternoon and the awkward feeling of being spoken too. "Put up one finger for yes...and two for no" He began and she gave him a tiny nod to show she understood before he continued. "Do you attend Shibusen?" He questioned her and that had a simple answer. She took her hand from her coffee and held up one finger. She was a new student, just getting here after traveling on foot, with the help of the odd bus, from New Orleans.