Welcome to Gaia! ::

The sound of a small brass bell jingling broke the pleasant silence of the bookstore, alerting Amelia that a customer had entered. The small bell had been tied with red yarn to the inside door handle of the store many years ago—possibly when the store had initially opened, making the small bell practically an antique…if you considered bells antiques. The bookstore owners resorted to a more “classic” approach to their security systems and alerts, opting for bells and dome-mirrors instead of wireless pagers and cameras. While it was definitely outdated and perhaps unwise for a store in this age to be so resistant to progressive updates, it added to the warm charm that the bookstore represented for so many local visitors…

Though, this customer didn’t appear to be there for the warm charm. The tall man that entered the store appeared as though he’d been awake for weeks. His eyes were red and slightly swollen with the clear indication of sleep deprivation showing itself in the dark colored bags underneath his eyes. He was wearing all black clothing, though if you had an eye for detail you could see that his pants were 5.11 cargo pants and his black jacket was a lined carhartt. He was wearing a black beanie to cover his hair though it made the rings under his eyes look darker than normal. If it weren’t for his rather straight and confident posture, he could’ve looked like someone who could mean trouble.

The man, Caucasian, glanced around the store quickly, his eyes surveying every corner as well as the rows of bookshelves. It may have looked as though he was looking for someone but his glance was just too quick… Then he looked directly at Amelia, making eye contact as he nodded once. He didn’t linger at the front of the store for long and he quickly broke eye contact to make his way towards the rows of books. For most people his quick nod and walking away was a generic sign of not wanting to be bothered.

Shoving his hands in his jacket pockets, the man slowly meandered down the rows of books, glancing up occasionally at the handwritten signs on the bookshelf walls that announced what each row held in terms of subject matter and genre. Though his wandering appeared random at first, the man made his way to a section of “self-help” books and stopped there. He glanced through the titles, looking carefully for something very specific.

Eventually he removed his left hand from his jacket pocket to pull a single title out from the neatly organized row of books. The title was ‘Sleep Well Every Night’ and for a moment he opened the book and perused its contents. He seemed satisfied with what he saw because he quickly closed the book and tucked it under his left arm, continuing his search amongst the books dedicated to sleeping well, sleeping longer, nightmare cures and the causes of nightmares…

While most people would’ve perhaps been lost in their thoughts, it appeared that this gentleman knew precisely where Amelia was and where she was moving to. He didn’t jump or flinch when she spoke, interrupting his otherwise focused thoughts. He glanced at her briefly before shaking his head and forcing a weak but polite smile.

“No, but…” He began to refuse Amelia’s assistance, his right pointer finger tapping the spine of a book that he hadn’t quite decided if he wanted just yet. He pursed his lips together tightly and made a grunt of a sigh before looking directly at Amelia.

“Actually, do you have any other books about nightmares? Like… you know, ‘the meaning behind what keeps you up at night’?” He said, holding up his right hand and making finger quotations as he made face at saying the mock title. He was obviously making light of something that he actually thought was very serious. He just didn’t realize that his façade was easily seen through by everyone else.

Immediately the man’s expression dropped when Amelia mentioned a psychologist. His lips pursed together in a tight line and his brows immediately furrowed, he glanced around the aisles as if he were looking for something…or thought he saw something before looked directly back at Amelia.

“A what? Did Ray put you up to saying that? Did he speak--…” The man shook his head immediately and huffed quickly, looking away from Amelia to put a book back in its proper place from the stack in his arms. He realized immediately that he was starting to lash out at someone who didn’t know any better… Of course she hadn’t talked with his partner—she probably has no idea what he’s even talking about!

“Sorry. That was rude.” He said quietly as a Band-Aid to his behavior. Swallowing he looked down at the books in his arms and then looked back at Amelia, forcing a very tired and almost droopy smile.

“You know, I think I’m actually alright for now… I’ll let you know if I need anything else. Thank you.”

Though he was tired, his senses were still on high alert so when Amelia stepped back and nearly stumbled into a bookshelf, the man winced and reached out to try and help her, though he stopped when he realized that the employee was able to catch herself on her own. He wouldn't force help especially if he was the one that caused the alarm in the first place.

He watched as the poor cat yowled in displeasure and ran away after being stepped on accidentally. Blinking slowly, he watched as the bright orange tail vanished around the shelves before looking back at Amelia. He shook his head and looked back down at the books he had thought he wanted but no longer wanted any. He felt like he just made a ridiculous scene for nothing.

Why did he snap like that? Sure, he had quite the argument with Ray not too long ago and everything Ray said to him he definitely deserved to hear. But how in the world did he assume that this poor girl knew anything about it in this vast city? He was always a calm and collected guy, even credited as being a "scene diffuser" and the one everyone wanted because he wasn't a hot-head. But now he was anything but!

Feeling embarrassed and frustrated, the man cleared his throat before slowly putting the books back on the shelf where he found them.

"Don't apologize, ma'am, you did nothing wrong. It was rude and I do apologize." He said quietly as he placed the last book away on the shelf. With that last book gone, a strong chill washed over him and he shuddered though the literal temperature of the shop didn't change at all. He felt like it was suddenly sub-zero temperatures inside... Then his hearing became monotone, followed by an incessant ringing that he'd been experiencing more often than he cared to admit... and always in the wrong time. Hearing his own heartbeat and his deep breathing, he felt a little faint.

The man kept his hand on the bookshelf to steady himself for just a few moments longer. It never lasted more than a few seconds. Then, an eerie laughter suddenly echoed in his mind as if he was hearing a man laugh in back of an abandoned amphitheater. The interruption in his mental silence alarmed him and he flinched, yanking his hand back from the shelf to cover his right ear. However, he immediately realized how unusual his movement was and pretended to just scratch the back of his ear before running his hand through his hair.

The laughter faded away to silence once again and the ringing faded. But the dark cold chill didn't. Suppressing a shiver, the man folded his arms across his chest and looked immediately towards the exit--something he had never really lost sight of in the first place.

"Ah... Chamomile...?" He managed through the mental fog that he remained stranded in, refocusing his attention back to the employee who was going to lead him back to the counter before he put all the books back.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." He agreed to her suggestion that he had already tried it though for some reason he couldn't remember if he had or not.

"I... realized I actually forgot my wallet, I apologize. I'll have to come back another time. Sorry for wasting your time but thank you for the help..." He said rather quickly as though he just wanted to get the words out so he could bail fro the situation. Which is precisely what he wanted to do.

He nodded, again, to Amelia before carefully slipping around her so that he could walk for the exit. Today was not going to be a good day...

The moment Amelia stepped in front of him—though not blocking him—he stopped moving altogether and stood immediately upright. He blinked and tilted his head, his hands moving to his the sides of his waist at first out of habit before his arms relaxed and he folded them across his chest instead.

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he Amelia continued to tell him that she had run into people that reminded her of him…and that she recommended he see a woman who runs a shop with dream catchers. His heart jumped into his throat at first and he felt another cold wave wash over him though that was more of his own anxiety kicking in.

How did she know of this woman…?

“I… I already have… Granny Spiderlegs…right?” He asked with a quizzical tone, no longer feeling like he needed to crawl out of his skin to get out of the store but now very curious as to why this girl knew of the old dream woman…

Immediately the man’s brows shot up when Amelia told to him that she had been to see the odd old woman herself. Granted, deep down he had assumed that was the reason she knew of this woman in the first place but it still surprised him nonetheless as well as put her in a place of trust. Well, better trust at least.

Swallowing and nodding once, the man bit the inside of his cheek before unfolding his arms from across his chest, relaxing his generally closed off stance. While he wasn’t sure how the old woman could help him a third time… he felt like he had run out of ideas and options. He wasn’t quite at the end of his rope but he was sure getting there!

“Thank you for the suggestion, ma’am…” He said with another nod and forcing a smile. He wasn’t dismissing her at all and frankly he was appreciative to have been reminded of the woman who had attempted to help him by granting him the catcher to begin with. However, he was definitely not going to just parade out of the bookstore and go straight to her shop. He would never admit it aloud but he was too stubborn and self-destructive for that. In his mind, he was stronger than this and didn’t need help.

“…though I am sorry that you also had to seek out Ms. Spiderlegs’ aid as well.” The man was assuming that Amelia was seeking out Granny Spiderlegs for the same reasons he was—that he was being plagued by a horrible nightmare that just wouldn’t go away… He didn’t understand that there were those trying to harness the positive dreams as well.

“Thanks, again, for the help and I apologize for…” He trailed off, realizing that he wasn’t entirely sure how to apologize for acting like a freak… How did you say that? Sorry for acting like a tweaker? Cause that’s sure how he felt...!

“…um… What’s your name?” He immediately changed subjects instead, finding that this was more appropriate anyway since he didn’t know her name and that bothered him.

The man nodded, a half smile appearing on his face for just a second until Amelia held out her hand in greeting. His posture stiffened for just a moment, easily missed if you weren’t paying attention to body language, and his eyes locked directly onto Amelia’s hand before he shook his head in return.

“Sorry, I don’t… shake hands. Nothing personal.” It was habit to add in the last part but he knew that she would take it personally. Everyone always did.

“Nice to meet you, Amelia.” His smile returned, though it still appeared to be forced, “My name is Tristan.”

Now that the introductions were out of the way, they were left standing in that awkward silence that happens after introductions in which people still don’t know what to talk about next. Clearing his throat, Tristan decided he would make the first move and end the conversation at the same time.

“It was nice to meet you… Thank you again for your help.” He had almost added in ‘see you around?’ but stopped himself since he knew he would actively try to avoid seeing Amelia entirely. He was too embarrassed to run into her again… his pride would need a lifetime to heal!

With a final nod, Tristan took a single step back before turning to leave. He had come into the bookstore with the intention of getting help in the form of books but now he was leaving empty handed. Though the advice he was given by Amelia was good, he didn’t know how soon he would act upon it. He was strong enough to survive this sleepless nightmare… right?