[PRP] Help wanted or not...(Titus / Riyo)

[Inu-Mitsu]

Thirty four. It was the number of places Titus had been so far looking for a job and had found only disappointment. Either he was met with rejection from the start or was told they had gotten all the hired help they needed for the holidays. Quite a few had given him an application and told him he could fill one out anyway and they would keep it on file but even Titus knew that was a joke. He wasn't interested in waiting weeks or months to potentially hear back from someone about a job. At current he had no source of income and without that there was no way his Uncle would let him have his car or his foxfires back so he didn't need a job in the future he kind of needed one now.

Grumbling he looked at the stack of papers in his hands ready to toss them in the trash out of frustration. This was really getting him no where and the addition of the looming Christmastival festivities and over all cheeriness of those around him only put him in a fouler mood.

Taking in a deep breath he let it out in a low groan before continuing down the sidewalk to the next shop in line. He paused just outside the door looking up at the sign that read Creatures and Covens, peering inside to see what the heck that was supposed to entail. It looked like a bookstore and just inside was a short white haired ghoul with ears and a tail.....she seemed familiar.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo had been given a list the previous day at work with the expectation that she would 100% be able to comprehend and acquire every single thing. Which uh... Would probably have been better left to one of the other ghouls. You know. The ones that had celebrated Christmastival with their families and understood the traditions. Not Riyo.

The feline was busily shifting between looking things up on her eyephone and checking the lists as she juggled the bags in her arms. It was all just small stuff but still. The ******** was mistletoes?

It was by chance that a certain dark looming figure happened to catch the corner of her eye, otherwise she might've walked right past him. As it was she had taken a few steps in the other direction before suddenly throwing on the breaks and glancing back over her shoulder. Wow. He looked more pissed than usual, and that was saying something.

The ghoul backtracked a few steps, looking from the boil to the window. "See something you like?" She finally asked, squinting as she tried to get a better look at the clerk. Was that...?  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus had been too focused squinting through the window trying to place the ghoul inside as she bustled about with a large stack of books that he failed to realize he had company until Riyo spoke up. He jolted slightly with surprise before turning a widened gaze at the feline beside him, eyeing the things in her hands before glancing back at the shop.

"Definitely not." The ghoul was a no for sure and books....well Titus' appreciation of books was somewhere between bleh and why bother.

Turning away from the shop Titus focused his attention back on the bags in Riyo's arms. "What is all this stuff anyway?" He began to poke at some of the things he could see. "You're not one of those Christmastival decorating freaks are you?"  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Riyo stifled a small laugh as Titus jumped, her attention shifting back to him. "Well alright then." The ghoul had almost hoped he'd say yes so she'd at least have an idea of what to get him as a gift but... Oh well. She should've known better.

"Quit it." She snapped her teeth at his hand as he started poking at the items she had acquired. "They're not for me. My boss asked me to pick up some things before I came into work today." Her brow furrowed as she contemplated his words. "Why? What's wrong with decorating for Christmastival?" Because she had totally considered it. Nothing extravagant but maybe a little tree and some ugly Christmastival sweaters for the kitties.

"And..." She glanced down to all the papers in his hands. "What's with all the forms?" Because as hard as she thought, Riyo couldn't fathom a reason as to why Titus might have anything of the sort.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus drew his hand back when Riyo snapped at fingers not sure how much of it was play and how likely she was to do it for real. He guessed he could forgive the notion that she was buying this junk for work but the idea that she would go out of her way to decorate brought a look of disgust to his face.

"It's an over blown holiday based around the idea that you need to buy people junk they don't need. Plus all the music...and singing." Really Jack must have been out of his mind when he discovered this holiday.

When her attention went to the papers in his hands Titus promptly began to wad them up though there were too many to do it properly. Instead he ended up folding the mess and chucking it in the nearest trashcan. "Just trash." His tone was a little angry as he stared at the papers debating whether he should admit what he was doing or not. Getting a job was nothing to be ashamed of he knew but somehow it seemed to give way to the idea of his financial struggle which he didn't like.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

The demoness watched as the disgust overtook his face like a disease, a single brow raising half way to her hairline. This sounded familiar. Very familiar. "Well Titus. making your face all emotionally constipated and sitting in a corner isn't going to stop it from happening." She delicately reminded him, as it had been customary for her to do exactly that before Amity.

"I'll bet you never even tried to celebrate it." Her tone wasn't hateful or demeaning, just a soft matter-of-fact. And why would he celebrate it? Who would he celebrate it with? Besides his uncle, who she was sure Titus had bah humbug'd for more than a few holidays.

Riyo grimaced as she watched the boil wad up whatever he had been working on and toss it into the trash. "That's fine. You don't have to tell me." She stuffed her eyephone and list into her little cat shaped messenger bag and marched over to the trash to fish out one of the papers. "This is public property now, after all." If he wouldn't willingly tell her, she'd figure it out on her own until he realized she would find out sooner or later anyways.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

His expression far from lightened at the feline's words, looking around at the holiday madness that had waged war on Amityville and was apparently winning. "It's the thought that counts." He grumbled. Really this time of year he would rather lock himself in his room until it was over and if he had the option he would do just that.

"My family always has a thing at the house for their financial backers, partners, and other associates if you call that celebrating." Titus was always told to remain on his best behavior which ultimately got him sent away for being an a** one way or another. Not that the parties were ever very exciting nor very family oriented. He would be lucky to see his parents once beyond getting yelled at and told to leave. His Uncle had tried to make up for the fact one year but by then Titus had wanted nothing to do with the holiday. It had seemed like an exciting time when he was little but reality had set in about what it was truly for early on.

"Besides I don't really see the point in spending time with people who I want nothing to do with." It had taken him a couple of seconds after the fact for him to realize Riyo was reaching into the trash for the papers he had just thrown away but by then they were well within her grasp. "Hey, wait!" He tried to snatch them away before she could read them. "Why do you have to be so nosy?"  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"I don't call that celebrating. I call that forcing yourself to be around shitty people for someone else's benefit." A mouthful, but honest. Riyo had always hated business parties, but forced herself to attend much of the same pointless drivel that he spoke of. Probably with a lot of the same people. That was a terrifying thought.

Her eyes glazed over the paper before Titus managed to snatch it away, brow furrowing. "Because I'm a curious soul." And she cared, but the latter and it's amounts were much harder to admit. "Why would you want to hide the fact that you're looking for a job? There's nothing wrong with that." She puzzled over the reason he would hide something so trivial. "Unless you're trying to become a male stripper... I guess? But money is money and you gotta do what you gotta do." She didn't see exactly what the job application was for, just that it was a job application. "But seriously, why didn't you tell me? I could've helped you put together a resume."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

With the papers back in hand Titus wadded them up into a tight ball before stuffing them into the pocket of his jacket. His frown only deepened when he realized he hadn't been in time to avoid Riyo seeing what he had thrown away and huffed a sigh as he looked back down the sidewalk from where he had come.

"Wait what?" It had taken him a moment to realize what she said. Stripper? Him? "No." He wrinkled his nose at the idea but at this point maybe he should consider it.

"I dunno, I just..." He struggled to think of the right words to explain how he felt. Really expressing his feelings was new so dredging them up from the depths of his brain was an effort. "I don't like this situation and I've never really....had a job before." So to sum it up he had no idea what he was doing. His greatest responsibility in life had been taking care of two small foxfires and he was doing a splendid job since they had been taken away from his care. Over all it was pretty embarrassing especially since he had been looking for a job for a while and had gotten no where. A small voice in the back of his head was starting to tell him his father was right and he would never amount to anything.  

[Sexy Cocaine]

The feline paid close attention to the boil's expression as he ham handedly explained his feelings, though she understood the gist of it. Her head tilted slightly as she released a small sigh, shifting her bags to one hand to lightly pat him on the back. "I imagine it's not easy to suddenly be flung into a situation like this." Riyo had practically been raised at work. It was second nature, but she still struggled from time to time.

The fact that it had been a huge wad probably said something about his luck thus far. "If it makes you feel any better, I put in a shitload of applications too. The cafe was the only place that gave me a chance." She... Had kinda alienated all of her contacts though. Something outside of the pencil pushing industry was basically her only choice now.

"Y'know... I might know a place that's hiring." She glanced away, eying the sky as she waited for her little fish to take the bait.  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Not easy was one way to put it. Completely ******** frustrating was probably a little more accurate. As it stood Titus had no marketable skills. Almost everything he had ever shown an interest in his father had shot down and told him it was stupid. About the only thing he had managed to cling to was video games solely because it was an easy escape. It was the only thing he was really good at that he knew of and the game store wasn't hiring. From there it was a crap shoot of places he could probably care less about.

"I don't know if that makes me feel better or more like this is a lost cause since at least you had a job before the one you have now."

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing it from his eyes as his focused centered on Riyo with full attention. "Oh yeah?" He wasn't sure if he should be worried or not. "What kind of job?"  

[Sexy Cocaine]

Well s**t. She had tried. Riyo still wasn't top notch at encouragement, she supposed. "It makes you feel better. I was self-employed." She insisted, shooting him a short glare for emphasis.

"Yeah. I didn't stutter." She casually started walking in the direction of her motorcycle, scoffing at his question. "The kind that hands you a check every week. That's what you're looking for, right?" The ghoul kept it purposefully vague because she didn't want him to immediately shoot it down before he even tried. It may not have been the most dignifying job, but Riyo figured it was better than at least 10 of the other job options he had been looking into.

Turning a corner, she started loading the bags into a little add-on compartment she'd purchased for her bike and glanced back at him. "If you're interested I'll give you a ride."  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Well, he certainly couldn't argue with the overwhelmingly vague highlights that Riyo was spotlighting for the job. It was really luring him in. "How could I pass up a job with such amazing potential. There's the paycheck thing and the weekly thing." But truthfully what more could he ask for at this point.

"I guess I might as well check it out. They can only tell me no for the thirty fifth time." He stared at the bike as Riyo put her things away. "Do I have to ride in the back?"  

[Sexy Cocaine]

"Yeah it's a perfect fit, right?" The ghoul shut the compartment tightly and grabbed her helmet off the seat, his question causing her ears to twitch.

She looked back at him, mid-helmet donning, as her expression flat-lined. "Do you know how to get where we're going?"  

[Inu-Mitsu]

Titus saw that flat look and he returned it with one of his own. "I will if you tell me."

What was so secret about it anyway? It only made him question more on whether or not this was a good idea. "You're not going to pimp me out or something are you?"