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 Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 5:53 pm
Grateful that Dain didn't seem to mind stopping for a bit - she was really hungry now that she'd started thinking about it, and he hadn't seemed like he'd want to stop at all - Rhia headed for the nearest cake shop and pushed open the door. "Thanks," she flashed Dain a brilliant smile. "I am really hungry now that I remembered I missed lunch. Shopping does that to me."
Stepping inside, she stopped to look through the selection in the display fridges. There's so many choices! And she was so hungry she couldn't really decide... "Hey, Dain, anything you want to try in particular? If you let me sit down to eat this right away, I'll treat."
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Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 6:27 pm
Dain quirked an eyebrow. Women forgot to eat, they loved shopping that much? They really got so absorbed in spending their money they could ignore normal human needs? He really didn't spend enough time around women, or anyone for that matter, to quite understand how and why that was.
"Er,"
He'd managed to produce his wallet, which he had completely forgotten he'd bought along. "No, I'll pay for my own, but you can sit down if you really want to...?" Social skills over 9000!!
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:10 am
If Rhiannon noticed the other's awkwardness, she never showed it. In any case, she was too hungry to care. Stepping up to the counter, she ordered a delicious-looking confection that was about the size of a small meal in perfect Japanese.
That done, she turned to look at Dain with a quirked eyebrow. "I'll wait for you over there?" Rhia pointed to a seat at the bar-like area by the window before smoothly heading over and sitting down. So hungry...
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:59 am
With his terrible japanese, and even worse etiquette, it took Dain a good ten minutes to order a simple little slice of cheesecake, though eventually he managed to get it and pay for it properly. He took his plate, and moved over to sit down with Rhiannon, holding his plate and avoiding looking at her. This was probably the most social thing he had done in a long time, though the fact he was more interested in writing about it in his diary then actually enjoying it sort of defeated the purpose.
"Er...enjoying your...?" He peered over, to try and figure out what she was eating. "Your cake?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:33 am
It was hard to keep from picking up the fork and starting on her confection before Dain came over with his order, but Rhia managed. Barely.
Hunger drove her to start the second her companion had seated himself, and she found herself in a somewhat awkward position when he spoke while her mouth was full. Swallowing quickly, she looked up to find Dain puzzling over her dish. "Ah.. it's some sort of mouse mixed with cake and topped off with a layer of marshmallow icing. It's one of my favorites. Would you like to try some?"
Now that she had a bit of food - not much, mind you, but some - in her stomach, Rhiannon's mind was free to revisit the conversation they'd been having before she'd spotted the sweet shop.
"So... What's wrong with bright lights? You never answered." It bothered her, that someone would find something to dislike about what she considered to be a symbol of .. activity and life.
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:56 pm
"Er..." It seemed to be all Dain could say around this girl. Around any girl, really. If he'd been less detached from everything, it probably would have frustrated and upset him how awkward he became around the opposite gender. Being offered some of her food really threw him, and he stumbled over his words for a moment or two, until she bought him back with another question.
He would have much preferred a feeble attempt at replying to her offer, instead of trying to figure out a way to explain his hatred for the bright lights and big crowds...the brightest AND darkest areas of Japan.
"I...I don't really know yet. They make me...g-go cold," He managed. It did make him seem crazy, but less crazy then admitting he thought he saw something from the corner of his eye move as he spoke. Something behind a nearby billboard, clinging to the shadows on the back of it. "I don't know how to explain it."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:13 am
Rhiannon found it somewhat .. cute.. that this boy seemed to be so at loss for words. She fleetingly wondered if it was due to her, or if he was just that awkward in general, but decided that it would be a question better left unanswered. Perhaps another time, when her mind wasn't occupied with conversation and cake.
She couldn't really understand the aversion Dain seemed to have towards the bright lights at all, so while she could plainly see that it distressed him, curiosity and the need to comprehend pushed her to ask again. "Could you try to explain it?"
Unsure whether or not the other would reply or not, she took another bite of her cake to give Dain some time to think. She couldn't quite figure out why, but Rhia found that she really wanted to hear what Dain had to about the bright lights.
The taste of the cake in her mouth brought her back to their previous topic. In an attempt to shift the mood a little, she cocked her head and pushed the plate a little closer to Dain. "Try the cake! It won't kill you...Though, if you don't want it, it just means more for me!" The last was said with a somewhat false smile that could and had fooled all but the most observant. All this talk about coldness and bright lights being something to avoid was definitely wearing down on her shopping glow.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:26 am
Dain had busied himself with his own dessert, trying to keep his eyes (and mind) off a teasing flicker in the shadows nearby with little success. It seemed to only move every time he looked away, and was just a regular shadow every time he looked.
Desperate not to let it get the best of him, he forced a rather large helping of his cheescake slice into his mouth, as somewhat of a distraction for himself.
"Ah-" He managed, shaking his head 'no' at her offer of her own food. Mouth stuffed with the creamy cake, he couldn't have managed a proper word if he tried, so he gestured desperately that he had a mouthful, and used the time that it took to chew and swallow it to think of a decent response.
"I...I havn't figured it out properly. But...I...I guess it just makes me uncomfortable. I k-kind of..." There isn't a sane way to say this, I guess, "I feel like I'm being watched."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:48 am
Swallowing her current bite of cake, Rhia picked up her plate and placed it so that it was once more squarely in front of her. If he didn't want it, well.. as she said, more for her.
Watched, huh?
Because she'd been looking at him, waiting for his response, Rhiannon finally noticed that Dain hadn't been so nervous he was twitching - he was, in fact, seemingly glancing at the shadows. His actions seemed to place more emphasis on his words and Rhia felt a slight tremor of disquiet down her spine.
Intuition (or perhaps too many fluff novels) clicked, and her small frown of confusion smoothed itself out as she spoke. "So... You don't like the bright lights because they cast shadows, which you think are watching you? Did I misunderstand?"
She couldn't help it - the words came out somewhat skeptical, but ... Was it her imagination, or did the shadows seem to suddenly creep closer?
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Posted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:30 am
Dain tensed all over, turning his back on the shadows behind the billboard entirely, to face Rhiannon. "Shh!" He hissed, trying not to draw the attention of anyone nearby. He hoped that none of them spoke english, which was usually the case; but Dain wouldn't doubt his horrible luck lately for a moment. "I...yeah, kinda," He said, after making sure no one else was listening in.
No one but the shadows, of course. They were always listening in...and he could feel it more then ever when he spoke about them to someone else. It seemed like they were gnashing their invisible teeth and pawing at the ground with invisible claws; wanting to jump on him and tear him apart, but unable to for reasons he didn't understand just yet.
This always happens...god damn it...every time I'm talking about them, they all seem to get their hackles up.
"How did you know, anyway? D-do you feel it too?" He asked, suddenly hoping that she had something to tell him about them. Some new scrap of information he could stick beside the rest.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 4:40 am
Rhiannon caught herself staring at Dain in mute shock. The shadows had seemed to.. shift as he'd spoken, taking a suddenly more sinister appearance than it had moments before. Recovering quickly - it was rude to stare - she blinked, trying to give herself some time to consider the other's words and what she'd seen before opening her mouth and making a fool of herself. When she opened her eyes, everything went back to normal.
She had felt some sense of.. being targeted, but it had to be her imagination, right?
She knew her imagination, fueled by her creativity, was extremely vivid. It was due to this that she couldn't stand to watch horror movies, or even thrillers. The images would haunt her for weeks. Even trailers were sometimes enough to trigger nightmares, or simply the fear of being alone.
Yes. That must be it. Her mind, not wanting to deal with the possibility that there was truly something in the shadows, categorized the entire incident as her imagination playing tricks, and Rhiannon shrugged before speaking.
"I.. don't know. I thought I saw something just then, but I think it was just my imagination." Realizing that it sounded very much like she was dismissing the other's problem, she winced a little before continuing a little lamely, "I don't think you're strange for thinking there's something there, but I'm not sure I know what you're talking about now."
With that, Rhiannon bent her head down and tried to concentrate on finishing off the rest of her cake. This conversation was definitely a little out there...
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:11 am
Dain hunched his shoulders, pushing his empty plate aside and turning away from Rhiannon. "I thought it was my imagination, too. But lately it's more real...even though it feels more like it's a dream." He muttered, still turned away from her. He didn't expect her to understand at all, and mostly said it for the novelty of being able to voice something like that aloud. Thoughts like that had been fighting one another in his head since he was very young; odd thoughts that seemed to be nonsense, but often made more sense then it seemed.
"I'm sorry, I..." He eased himself up onto his feet, face still turned away from the girl.
You're still lost. Use this one up all you can, until you can make it home. His mind hissed back cruelly at him, before he had a chance to leave quietly like he so wanted to.
"I...think we should start walking again. You're done...right?" He said dully, glancing at what was left of her dessert. All of his former intensity and interest seemingly washing away when he'd gotten to his feet. No attatchment. Only selfish and distant once again.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:30 am
Subdued without really understanding why she felt that way - as if she'd missed a chance to discuss something important, Rhiannon rose when Dain did and nodded.
"Yeah, I finished. Sorry about that slight detour," Rhia attempted to inject a little lighthearted laughter in her voice, "the station is only a few blocks away. Let's go!"
As they walked out of the cafe, she briefly wondered about the flash of intensity that she thought she'd heard from Dain while they were discussing the lights, but glancing at the distant figure at her side, she wondered if she'd imagined it, along with the strange shadows.
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