[IC] Shine City Zero: Humble Beginnings

[Dogematix]

9PM, Owen Castor's Place.

"Yeah, Mum, everything's going great so far. Everyone at the surgery's real nice and you should see the stuff they've got there. The facilities are like, top of the line! And some of the patients we've got are just the sweetest- yes, yes they are patients, mum!" Owen said sternly into his phone. "Fine, the animals are really sweet! We've got some dogs in that... yeah... yeah I said the other vets are nice. No we haven't gone out after work or anything we work weird hours... and I've only been there a week I don't know them that well yet. Yes I've at leas unpacked!" Owen said sternly into his phone.

Calls from his parents always ended up like this these days. When he'd first told them that he was moving somewhere as big as Shine City his mum had gotten it into her head that he'd get mugged the first day he spent in city limits. It had taken a lot of talking and brochure throwing to calm her down from the threats of big city living. By the time he'd found a place to stay she'd practically fallen in love with the place and was threatening to move there too! With a bedside manner like that he should have been a human doctor... or a politician. The second option might have been better, since he was lying through his teeth about unpacking.

Right now he was standing alone among the wasteland of scattered boxed and clothes strewn about in piles that were perfectly organised in Owen's head. Getting round to home making and stuff like that was never Owen's strong point. Normally he was out of the house for so much of the day that the apartment was really just a place to sleep and eat. So what if he hadn't gotten round to becoming a little social butterfly but he wasn't turning into some kind of hermit. Was he?

They wrapped things up after a little more talking, hearing what cousins were up to and setting aside dates for weddings that Owen didn't promise to attend.

It left him with something to think about though. Was he being too narrow minded? Owen was new in here, he wanted to establish himself as more than the new guy at work, as some kid that needed looking after. He wanted to hit the ground running! Granted that meant coming home exhausted most days and feeling like doing little else but vegging out on the couch for a while. He'd been in Shine City for a week and he hadn't explored the place beyond the route to and from work! 'Wow that's... that's pretty embarrassing right there.' Owen thought to himself.

"Well I could always change that." Owen muttered to himself. Although it was pretty late. And a Sunday, it wasn't like he could go out partying, not that he had anyone to party with anyway. 'Aw screw it! The rain's calming down, I can just go for a walk, I don't have to commit to anything. If nothing else it'd take his mind off of the nicotine cravings in the back of his mind.

Out and about in Shine City
@PrinceAlexus @Indy Cooper@BubblegumQueen

Wow the brochures were right, this city really didn't sleep. Owen had to admit there was something pretty about the city streets at night. All the lights from the stores and neon signs from downtown twinkling everywhere and reflecting off the puddles left over by the rain. The whole street looked kind of like an oil painting with all these bright streaks of colour laced against the dark. Owen imagined that someone more artistic than him could do something with a sight like this.

'Well no sense in letting it go to waste.' He thought, getting out his phone and snapping a couple shots with the camera. 'There,
now I have proof I'm a brave explorer.' Owen smirked to himself.

He carried on in his little expedition, taking in some bookstores and cafes he might want to check out once they were open. There were signs for a theatre around here too, that could be fun. Maybe there was a gym around here too, he may as well keep the health kick going. Owen had seen way too many guys put on the pounds back in school thanks to snacking in study hall and living off of takeout. He'd been one of them for a while. Then a fresh sign came up as he carried on down the street.

'The Cornerstone' That place looked pretty good.

'Guess I could treat myself tonight.'

The place looked pretty crowded for a Sunday. Owen guessed that there must have been a lot of professional types around this part of town. The building it was attached to looked like an apartment block, maybe these folks were residents. IT looked pretty cool though, pretty trendy.

“Think I'm gonna head out, got work to do. Mind if I take this with me?” Came the call of a lady at the bar as she brandished a bottle of booze.

They just let people take things home with them? Was that even legal? "Excuse me, sorry." Owen smiled awkwardly as he edged by the woman looking to take the party home with her as he tried to find himself a spot at the bar. If he was going to try and take the place in then he might as well get himself a drink while he was at it.

He ended up squeezed in next to a tourist by the looks and sounds of her at the end of the place. "and a Black coffee, no sugar please if you sell it."

"Can that be two? If you've got it." Owen raised his hand a little to get the bartender's attention. "With milk in mine, please." He should have gotten decaf, damn.

"Sorry about that," He said, turning to the Brit who's order he'd jumped on. "just you usually have to fight for an order on busy nights... at most bars that is. I- I don't know about here, I'm sure they're great." Owen hurriedly added with an apologetic smile, suddenly aware that he might have just insulted the bar staff to their face. And probably made an ass of himself in front of a lady with big grey eyes.

[Hammerman]

Lydia Evangeline

---

Lydia's strolls throughout the city abruptly ended when rain poured from above.

The rain, in a sense, woke her up from her stupor. Only now she realized how much time had passed.

I really should've returned by now... she thought to herself.

And now, she was stuck waiting for the rain to stop before she could go home. And who knew how long that could take? She could be forced to stand here in front of a closed shop in the middle of the city all night.

She didn't think she would be able to handle that.

But if she rushed home through the rain, her camera would be the one to suffer. It was not waterproof at all.

In the end, she settled for a compromise. If the heavy rain turned into a light drizzle, she would run for it as she covered the more sensitive parts of the camera with her hands and body.

---

In the end, she had to stand there until the evening, where the rain finally let up somewhat. Not entirely, unfortunately.

She didn't show it in her usual calm expression, but her legs were now terribly tired. She now had to rethink her plan to go straight home. She couldn't imagine running all the way there with her current condition.

Thus, when she came by a restaurant as she ran under the rain, she immediately decided to enter it, just so she could rest her legs.

And she was pretty hungry as well, so eating here could definitely work.

Once she was inside, she realized that she had stepped into an oriental-themed restaurant. She rarely, if ever, ate in places like this so it somewhat made her nervous. But she decided to order anyways. It would be shameful to just sit without ordering anything.

"Excuse me, Miss, I think I'll have some steak," she said to the nearby waitress after she sat down in a corner table. She was lucky that this restaurant also sold some western dishes.

[PrinceAlexus]

The cornerstone. Lady Marinalia. 9PM. Ish.

................................................

Marinalia sat back just waiting for her order as the taller man approached the seat nearby and sat down, normally she might have flirted or told them where to go but it was a new town and she had been driving for a few hours and abit tired.

"Can that be two? If you've got it.".... "With milk in mine, please."

Looking over and smiling slightly, she might as well try. Maybe he could help and might as well be social, plus she had been a approached by far worse, and hiding fact she was not local was never possible with her accent.

“let me just finish my email, I'm trying to get a better map off my land lord for my apartment. I'm not ignoring you “

"Sorry about that," He said, turning to the Brit who's order he'd jumped on. "just you usually have to fight for an order on busy nights... at most bars that is. I- I don't know about here, I'm sure they're great."

Oh, so he was new too. Drat… maybe, even if he could not help, finding an at least a passing aqaitiance could not hurt even if he was ham handed. Putting her phone done on the bar nearby her as a lock screen flashed up a picture of her and a younger woman looking very much like sisters arm in arm though one seemed paler than normal , she turned her full attention to the man next to her and teased a little with a slight laugh.

“joint coffee order. Little forward and I've not even got you name. Marinalia, though most called me Marlin. “

Looking more relaxed, but still nervously played with the glittering ring a little not on that finger though sometimes it was a useful trick to turn people off.

“maybe you can make a fresh start, I'm new in town myself, Pinnacle Apartments, near the town hall?“

More relaxed than at first and less ranting now, she took a quick cursory glance at the man and bar as a whole and seemed to feel more comfortable round what seemed a nice enough place. Have to remember it. Playing with her long blonde hair slightly, a tiny flirt might help. He looked fairly smart, the apartment was a a little more expensive but investments gave her a little more leeway on choice of car and housing, maybe… just maybe he know.

“got a little lost. Good job the truck came with a full tank of petrol, driven round least 3 times… sorry, i just had a busy day.

Realised she maybe went to much but she was tired somewhat, lost and right now pretty thankful for help regardless of its source.

@Dogematix
@Indy Cooper

[Zaphias]

Sophia Hardacre

---

<sub>To say that Sophia was having an incredibly busy day was certainly no exaggeration. She had been running back and forth all day trying to arrange her stupid brothers surprise birthday party. She didn’t really even understand why the duty to organise it fell to her – she wasn’t very close with either of her siblings, to be honest. But most importantly, she wasn’t much of a planner. Sophia had always prided herself on being an in the moment kind of girl. She wasn’t cut out for organising groups of people, finding events, pricing things. She’d rather attend a party. Not plan it. What’s worse was her apartment wasn’t exactly bringing forth the kind of inspiration required to plan a party.

Sophia scrolled on her laptop at local places which might be good to host such an event in Shine City, but also somewhere she would actually like to host. But then she was left confused about whether or not she should be planning based on her hosting or what her brother would enjoy. Did it matter? It was his party but he wasn’t doing anything for it.

“This is so stupid…”

Sophia muttered under her breath to no one in particular within her empty apartment. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this was almost entirely a waste of time. All her brother ever did was complain. She could throw the best party in the world and her brother would still turn up and say that there wasn’t enough drink, or the music was too loud, or the party food was too cold or not to his taste. Frankly, if Sophia was being honest, he was a little bitch. Sophia mused….and mused a bit more…and mused a bit more before deciding that if he wanted a party – which Sophia was pretty confident he didn’t, then he could plan it himself.

Besides, Sophia hated family functions. They were always used as an opportunity to humiliate her by reminding her every single second that she was still single. Her eldest brother was married and her middle brother, birthday boy, was currently engaged. Sophia was tired of making idle chatter about how she hadn’t met the right person yet. She was back at school and studying to become a nurse, but no one seemed interested in discussing that. So she would skip the whole event entirely. Producing her phone Sophia sent her mother a quick text reading.

‘Hey, can’t find anything good for Richard’s birthday. No good at this party planning thingy. You and dad can organise! Love you xoxo”

Nodding in satisfaction at the display of her own defiance. Sophia decided that she would treat herself for her act of rebellion. What better way than with a delicious cup of hot chocolate and a delectable cake? Almost absolutely nothing. With that, she set out to the local café where she could indulge her bad mood away. With that Sophia grabbed her coat and made her way out of the apartment and to the café.</sub>

---

Mochavine Cafe

_{Arriving at the café Sophia noticed it was a little busier than usual. She hadn’t paid attention to the time before setting out and as she checked the time on her phone she realised it was a little later than predicted and as a result, people were probably in the middle of winding down for the day. She could hear the soulful sound of someone playing some music. It was lovely – very captivating. Sophia made her way to the counter and ordered a slice of sponge cake with frosting and strawberries and a large cup of hot chocolate. She waited patiently for her order before looking around at some of the other patrons. She found herself staring at an Adonis of a man; he was huge. The tallest person that Sophia had ever seen. She found herself slightly taken aback by him. She looked around and saw some other patrons filling out – various attractive people, although none quite as striking as….the large man she did not know the name of. Sophia made her way to the table near the girl playing the music and listened to her beautiful music. It let her escape her troubles. It was incredibly soothing and when she stopped playing in between songs Sophia made certain to clap. This was a good idea after all.}

[Pilatus]

Noon @Cornerstone

Joel smirked a little at Azura’s retort. He had observed her brow momentarily furrow at his comment and was glad to see he had found a button he could push. He liked that he could get a rise out of the girl and liked it even better that she had decided to shoot back as she flicked her hair with a moderate amount of attitude and inflection. Over time he had crafted his own screening process to the point that it was automatic in most of his interactions with the opposite sex. If they couldn’t survive a few verbal jabs right out of the gate then he wasn’t interested. He didn’t have time for the overly sensitive or the egotistical. Life was too short not to be able to take a joke… or at least a few of his jokes.

“Hey, at least I have some pants.” He shot back. He was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t take herself too seriously. The younger girls often hadn’t had enough time to mellow at all. “I’m Joel and yeah, I wear the cargo shorts around here.” He said taking another sip. He purposefully did not answer her question just to see if she’d press the issue and gauge her interest.

@SamaraJayne96
@Indy Cooper

[Dogematix]

All in all she took the intrusion pretty well! Owen figured the best he could expect was a tetchy glare from the woman next to him followed by some awkward silence until he managed to sneak away with his tail between his legs. That's how he'd have reacted anyway. This lady was talking almost like he'd blundered in late to a board meeting with her talk of emails and landlords or whatever. The light of her phone screen stood out against the evening gloom of the bar and for a moment he caught the image of two figures, one probably her, in the corner of his eye; though his brain didn't bother registering it.

Okay this was a twist. Owen would've been perfectly happy to get ignored but alright! The whole point of coming out was to try and break out of this rapidly forming slump after all. He could just fight off this self imposed feeling of awkwardness and strike up a conversation with a stranger like he was one of those life coaches that kept telling people to seize the day or something.

"Joint coffee order. Little forward and I've not even got you name. Marinalia, though most called me Marlin."

Then Marlin gave this little laugh and started playing with her hair and even though the logical part of Owen's brain knew she was probably just being polite the rest of his brain suddenly felt cringingly self conscious and wishing he was wearing a smarter shirt.

"Owen, nice to meet you, Marinalia." Owen smiled back, returning his own little laugh and scratching at the back of his neck.

"Maybe you can make a fresh start, I'm new in town myself, Pinnacle Apartments, near the town hall?" She went on in a sort of broken way about missing the place a bunch of times and apologising for generally being tired as hell. She did seem a little wiped, maybe it was the kind of not-giving-a-damn mindset that tiredness gave you that got her to entertain his little intrusion in the first place.

Pinnacle Apartments... Owen wracked his brains for any memory of the place. He'd barged her way into Marlin's evening he might as well try and give her some good directions and avoid being a complete asshole. Near city hall she said. That wasn't too far from his apartment. Come on, he'd just spent the last hour wandering the city streets he could conjure up a pretty fresh mental picture of the route here.

"Yeah." Owen started a little shakily. "Yeah I think I know it. Or I've seen signs for it anyway." He remembered that much. A name like Pinnacle Apartments was a pretty bold one, he remembered thinking that when he saw the sign pointing down some smaller turning along the main street. Right around where all the stores and boutiques started getting aggressively fancy, making Owen feel like it was out of his budget just to walk down there way. He'd scoffed at the name and the cheesy advertising sign when he'd seen it, looked down the turning and crossed it off his list of places to explore, assuming the street was a gated community. Damn, how much did this lady make?

"Yeah I might be abale to help you out there." He said feeling more victorious now.

All in one night he could meet someone new and help out a lost lady. Not such a hermit after all!

[PrinceAlexus]

Lady Marinalia.... Cornerstone bar 9pm.

...........................................

Marinalia smiled tiredly and wished she had a coffee right now, be pretty embarrassing to take a nap on the bar and yawned slightly before blinking and cursing internally for talking about emails as a opening line. Pull it together Marlin, your rambling now. Battling internally with her self she managed to get her brain back on track, she wanted to get home, unload her bags and sleep.

"Owen, nice to meet you, Marinalia."

She played with hair absentmindedly for a second, though getting hairs caught in the ring was annoying it was rarely ever off her finger and she always seemed to find a new facet in the faintly glittering diamond even after years of wearing. Tough was yet to find a person who had convinced her to want to move it to her other hand though before pulling out a annotated tourist map in neat handwriting from her bag and a some random free business pen from Anchorage, Alaska for a helicopter delivery service.

" well then Owen, Mind drawing a lost English woman a map home?

"Yeah." Owen started a little shakily. "Yeah I think I know it. Or I've seen signs for it anyway."

"Yeah I might be bale to help you out there." He said feeling more victorious now.

at last. she was tired, he seemed nervous, interruptions and talk of emails, coffee and ranting. wow this train wreck seemed to be working a lot better than had any sane right to. Smiling slightly though finding it nigh impossible to hide her tiredness. they made a right pair, the awkward, tired and the ranting.

"Thanks, i promise i sound less like some crazy lady when im properly awake. Maybe bump into you over lunch some time. Hopefully less awkwardly! "

laughing at herself, and feeling slightly more comfortable around the place though became slightly conchous when a similar picture to the first flashed up a second though more detailed, the second woman looked remarkably pale skinned and her phone buzzed a few times with "Victoria" on the lock screen showing a new message and quickly threw the phone in her bag.

"sorry about that, family always worry don't they. "

Thinking to self this evening was probably one she'd joke over a few too many glasses of wine later on, she took a a little time to look round the bar, and get the general mood of it. Maybe she'd have to come here more often, it seemed to be least welcoming even if you where not a local. they seemed to get on, and it seemed a good idea to try and get to know a few people round town and settle in abit.

The Lady behind the bar seemed... well she seemed to have things well in hand and a rather soaked stranger sat in a dress like hoody, must of been the storm that she got caught in driving into the city thinking a good job the rented the SUV over some pretty convertible.

This evening had definitely not gone the way she had expected.

@Dogematix
@SamaraJayne96
@Indy Cooper

[Stern Algorithm]

Michel Montmartre (Tiny Snowflake Restaurant, 9:00PM)

Michel found himself outside the Tiny Snowflake Restaurant. It was much later than he would have liked to be having dinner, but the sealing around one of the tanks had started leaking, so the fish had to be moved to a temporary holding container, the tank drained and dried, fresh sealing applied and dried, the tank refilled, and the fish returned, forcing Michel to put in overtime. Fortunately, the Tiny Snowflake was still open. He had come here a few times with his mother, but there was still plenty on the menu he hadn't tried yet. Currently, Mrs. Montmartre was out-of-town, visiting family, a luxury she didn't have the time for while she was busy raising Michel, but now that Michel could take care of himself and earn a living, she had more time and resources to make such visits.

Upon entering, the waitress at the door led him to a table and handed Michel a menu to peruse. Looking around, Michel could see that most of the dinner crowd had already left, but a few tables still had couples chatting and drinking. Suddenly the table he sat at felt overly large, and the fact that he was the only one at the restaurant dining by himself pressed on his mind. He tried to brush the thought away by looking through the menu, though he quickly decided on the 'Sushi Sampler', which included a variety of sushis for him to try. It was a bit pricey, but he wanted to indulge himself tonight to take his mind off of the oppressive loneliness he told himself he didn't feel. One might also wonder, "Michel, you work at an aquarium. How can you stand to eat raw fish?" Michel didn't have a proper answer to that question, only that nature was nature and biology was biology. Even cute fishes eat other cute fishes, so there wasn't anything necessarily wrong about it as long as humans weren't excessive in their consumption of natural resources. That's one thing he truly loved about Shine City; it was forward thinking and conscious of the human impact on the environment, and promoted businesses that were sustainable or engaged in fair trade practices. Michel mentally scoffed at himself, there he goes again, thinking about socioeconomics. He sighed, was there any wonder he was eating alone?

[Hammerman]

Lydia Evangeline

---

As she waited for her steak to be served, Lydia's eyes couldn't help wandering around the restaurant. The place seemed to be mostly empty tonight, perhaps thanks to the heavy rain from before. Looking at her table, she couldn't help but feel a little lonely as she was sitting alone in an empty table like this.

Perhaps I should join another...

Her eyes soon fell upon what seemed to be a young man sitting alone in his table. Looking at his expression, he seemed to be feeling lonely as well.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for her to join him.

She rose from her table. Slowly, she walked to where he was sitting, not wanting to alarm him with her presence.

"Hello there. May I sit here with you?" she addressed him gently. If he were to look at her face now, he would only find her usual neutral gaze instead of a smile.

It couldn't be helped. Lydia was never that good in social interactions. It was difficult for her to force a smile. She felt her smile would just end up terrifying instead of heartwarming.

@Stern Algorithm

[Saarebas]

Booker, Mochavine Café

Book breathed a internal sigh of relief as it seemed that the raven haired barista was not all that put off by his little lapse in attention. The lumbering lug had long since lost count of the amount of times that his wandering mind had left him standing rather dumbfounded in front of many a poor bewildered soul, most of which did not appreciate a blank faced mountain of a man just towering before them. Regardless Book pulled out his wallet and paid for the drink and muffins, throwing in a tip a too. "Thank you ma'am and I hope you have your self a great day." Book said as he offered a warm smile to the young lady and picked up the muffins and started to head back to the table. "Well ma'am you have one frappachino on the way as promised." He said with a chuckle as he sat across from Sayri, setting one of the muffins down in front of her. "And a little somethin' extra." Book laughed before he took a bite of his own muffin. It didn't take long for the behemoth to swallow his mouthful of muffin and turn his attention back to Sayri. "I can't promise anythin' ma'am, but you said you had some questions and I would be more than happy to answer them for you." He said as he dawned his usual warm smile.

---

Booker, Fire It Up!

The roar of fire pit, the sizzling sounds as grease meets flame, the smell of a plethora of grilled meats, Book loved it all. Book had had quite the pleasant day; he had a great match with Arty, enjoyed a relaxing walk through the city, grabbed some good coffee, and even got to meet one of Shine City's celebrities. But all of it was leading to this, where he gets to shine. Despite his large size Book moved swiftly around the kitchen, switching between dozens of different meals like a breeze. His hands practically danced as he diced, chopped, flipped, and seasoned the food of the hungry awaiting diner crowd. This was what made Book's day, being in his kitchen where he got to lose himself in the flow. With the current crowd Book had no problem being able to get into a nice groove as he prepped the food, a giant grin on his face as he did so.

[Matsuri]

---

• Working at Mochavine •

---

Although Aya wanted to be sleeping in bed more than anything else right now, the tunes she played on her guitar were keeping her awake and in a more relaxed state of mind than usual. The slight sensation she felt against her nails as she strummed the metal strings, the way she slowly and subtley swayed her head to the song she played, playing the guitar or the piano had an unusual way of calming Aya down regardless of how terrible her emotional state was at the time. It was nice, being able to distract herself from her real life troubles for a bit.

About half an hour through her prolonged work shift, Aya was already getting tired. She would totally kill for a slice of some sponge cake right now.

In the middle of one of her longer songs, Aya decided to get a quick bite to eat after she had finished with a couple more songs. She thought she was deserving of some nice food after working an amazing ten hour shift within the confines of this café, so she was going to treat herself during her ten minute break.

As she brought the song to an end, Aya was greeted with a small applause from a customer just a few feet away. She was surprised, to say the least. She assumed that some of the customers in Mochavine held some sort of appreciation for her acoustic background music, but Aya wasn't sure if there was ever a time when a customer decided to outwardly express their fondness for her performances. Repeatedly, as well. As she continued onto the next song, all Aya could do was get all heated and flustered and embarrassed because hey, someone seemed to actually enjoy her music. Aya cursed her pale skin and genetics, because even without a mirror she could tell that she was now redder than a crate of tomatoes. And she hated tomatoes.

Once she finished her final song before she took a ten minute break, the customer clapped again, and Aya's face reddened. Over the years Aya had grown more confident in playing in front of others, but for some reason, being applauded for her performances was always a surprise to her. If she were even more confident in her social interaction skills, Aya would probably say a small thank you to the customer for actually clapping for her.

But then again, it was only one person. Maybe that one person was only clapping out of sympathy, because no one else seemed to be showing the any remote interest in she was doing. Maybe it was what Aya assumed earlier, that they simply decided to appreciate her music in silence. But what if they didn't really appreciate her music at all? Was there any point of her taking extra time out of her evening to play some cute songs on her guitar then? Was it because her performances were bad, or the other performers that came during the week were just much better than her? Did they not like her music? Was she selfish for even thinking about this? Was the one woman sitting to her right really just clapping out of mere sympathy–

As Aya stood up to go get some much needed cake, she hit her foot against her stool, right in the view of her loyal clapper. She flushed an even brighter red than she did a few minutes ago, pacing towards the café counter to order her fucking cake.

One of Aya's barista buddies saw her little screw up, and laughed. She also saw that her face was redder than a garden of tomatoes, and proceeded to tease the young woman about it as she cut some sponge cake for her. Aya was not happy.

After a brief exchange of curse words and colourful language, Aya was back on her stool, gobbling down her sponge cake and filling her empty pit of a stomach. One delicious slice, and Aya wasn't hungry for the rest of the night. She felt a bit better now, less angry and flustered than she was a few minutes ago.

In preparation for the next song, Aya had to do some major retuning on her guitar. As she was doing so, for the briefest moment, her eyes met with the woman that had so very kindly been clapping after each performance she did, and Aya felt her face redden much more than what most would've considered healthy.

_@Zaphias

[Pilatus]

9PM Shine City

The day had been fairly productive by Joel’s standards. After Rowan’s five-star breakfast he’d sauntered back to the shop, let it settle and then road out to hit the gym for a little while. After an afternoon power-nap, he was showered and out again only perturbed that the weather had kept him off his bike. No problem though, he’d knocked out some of his neglected grocery shopping and had everything tucked away nicely in the back of his Jeep. The plastic bags whipped in the crosswind that came through the roll-cage as he rolled down the highway. He downshifted and took the exit ramp glancing up briefly at the last gasps of sunlight stretched under the passing clouds. There was only one more stop to make and once again his stomach dictated the direction.

The Jeep Wrangler was one of only three vehicles that Joel had ever bought in his life and was the youngest of the three he currently owned. He’d purchased it not far out of high school in order to put his first car out of the daily-driver category. After a decade of ownership it had grown from its mostly stock form into larger tires, various lighting accessories, an elevated stance and its most unusual “theme”. The bright red base had two black stripes that ran over the front and the back quarters with a number 85 cut out from the forward stripe on each side. There were two plates on the back: One on the lower corner, the standard Shine City legal registration reading, RAWR, and in the center of the spare tire, a white and yellow, Jurassic Park i.n. C.R. 85 complete with the logo T-Rex skeleton.

The CB antenna bobbed as he turned a corner into Shine Junction and the neon lights of the city core reflected off the recently polished hood as darkness settled fully beneath the skyscrapers. He always got a chuckle out of the glances the vehicle drew and tonight was no different as he rode with the doors and the top off. He returned a few waves and nods, but was thankful it was a Sunday night and the crowds were relatively tame. There was ample parking and he found a spot directly in front of Fire It Up!. He hopped down catching a whiff of the pleasant aroma of the fire pit and proceeded inside to collect the order he’d called in.

The interior of Fire It Up! was more Joel’s style than most of the upscale, posh offerings of Shine Junction. Unpolished hardwood floors, exposed duct-work and plastic chairs combined with a more contemporary layout and lighting made it seem like a more refined version of Cornerstone or at least something other than just a bar. There was a tremendous pride in ownership about the place that was constantly evident which he appreciated.

Dressed in his standard outfit of shorts and a t-shirt, he had now switched to a black MATCO TOOLS shirt that had come out of his “nice shirts” drawer. He walked up to the counter looking for the big guy that usually worked the fire pit. Aside from his cooking prowess, the man was normally full of useful diet and workout advice that Joel liked to pick his brain about.

@Saarebas

[Saarebas]

Booker, Fire It Up!!

Burgers, steaks, ribs, chicken, the storm of meat came and just as quickly left Book's presence as he manned the kitchen. It seemed that the night was picking up and given the current weather a lot of people were finding shelter in the restaurant, this was great for business and usually Book would love the challenge but after a few straight hours of surfing a sea of meat and spices even Book was getting a bit tired. Book had to take a moment to step back and take a breath, he looked out over the crowd for the first time in hours and actually scanned them. There was a whole assortment of different types of people dinning into tonight; families enjoying a nice outing, collage students hitting the town, frat dudes hitting the bar and watching the games on T.V., old married couples arguing, young lovers exchanging whispers. The jolly giant couldn't help but chuckle slightly, besides actually cooking Book loved his job simply because of the people. Never in his life had Book ever found anything that could bring people from all walks of life together like this better than food, it was a great unifier. He couldn't help but take some pride it was his food that was drawing this crowd, he quickly let out another chuckle. "Don't go gettin' yourself a big head Book..." He said to himself with a slight shake of his head. He then looked back to his station and with a crack of his knuckles jumped back into his work.

Book couldn't tell you how long he had been working or how many pounds of meat that he had sliced and seasoned since he last looked up, it all just melded together in his mind, but eventually he was able to refocus himself when an order was called in for pick up. Not many a patron did that so when ever it happened Book took notice, he racked his brain for the list of faces he paired with people and their usual orders. He couldn't help but laugh as he made the match, it was that mechanic guy that came in from time to time, him and Book usually chatted it up about work outs and diets. Now the next question was could Book remember his name, the game was on! Book had spent the last thirty or sop minutes preparing the meal and searching the very depths of his soul for the name of the mechanic and had... found absolutely nothing. The search would of continued if it was not for Book spotting the very man in question standing at the counter. "Darn..." Book said half-heartedly to himself as he finished up the food and put it in the proper to go box. He started his walk of shame to the counter when suddenly like a kick to the teeth it hit him. "JOEL!!!" Book exclaimed rather a bit too loudly, but the giant was far too happy with his little victory to feel ashamed. He walked up to Joel with a rather triumphant pep in his step and gave the young man his food. "Here you go my man, fresh off the grill." Book said as he offered Joel a smile then his hand to shake. "How you been?"

@Pilatus

[SamaraJayne96]

Azura Lunarie

Azura's Apartment/Fire It Up!

@Saarebas@Pilatus[@IndyCooper]

Azura's Apartment Building: 8:30pm

It was evening in Shine City.
Earlier in the day Azura had left Cornerstone Bar after enjoying a tasty meal Rowen had prepared for her. It was eerie how the bartender seemed to know what dish the brunette had been craving at the time. Paired with a glass of orange juice, she prepared a veggie omelette complete with whole wheat toast. Zu-Zu hadn't even needed to pay for the meal due to the fact that Rowen had given it to her as a way of apology. After all, Zura had been there waiting on some information from the owner of the bar pertaining to the matter of her possible employment. After turning in her application, Rowen had asked her to take a seat as she waited on customers. Unfortunately, the establishment had gotten pretty busy in a matter of minutes which took all of the bartenders attention. And rightfully so.

Azura had accepted the meal with a promise of Rowen getting in touch with her about the position later. However, before Zu-Zu could ask if the bartender had her contact information, the busy employee turned her heal and resumed her responsibilities. After a moment Zura shrugged, assuming that Rowen would just look at the application she had submitted earlier for her phone number.

So she sat there, eating probably the greatest omelette on the face of the planet, and made small talk with the man next to her. His name was Joel, and he had a pretty sarcastic sense of humor. However, once Azura had finished her meal, she said her goodbyes and headed back to her apartment down the street. Reason being, that during her conversation with Joel, inspiration had struck. Her muse had begun whispering fantastic ideas on possible projects in the brunettes ear making it so that she left immediately, almost in a hypnotic-like state.

After almost half the day, her efforts resulted in what was four sketches having been completed and pinned onto her cork-board of artwork ideas. A board which had been pinned onto her wall above the desk in the living room right next to the window. She also created two acrylic paintings. One of which was finished. An abstract displaying warring emotions between light and dark. the background shifted from hues of bright lavender all the way down to a more mutable plumb. while violent black streaks had spread randomly across the surface. In contrast, were white, enchanting swirls ending in flecks of gold.

Her second painting however, was a work in progress. It was not abstract but instead a portrait. She did not know who the subject of the portrait was however, The person remained faceless. Only the background and basic anatomy being present. Before she could continue, the poor girl had hit a brick wall. Her muse having abandoned her, leaving to provide inspiration to yet another aspiring artist.

It was as if Azura was in a trance since the moment she had left the bar. When she came to it was then that she noticed that she was still in the faded hoodie that Rowen had lent her. A rumble sounded from Azura's stomach causing her to realize she had not eaten for approximately eight hours.
After washing her brushes and putting her supplies away, Zura had hopped in and out of the shower in an attempt to clean off the paint that made its way onto her skin. She began to get ready for yet another outing in Shine City.
Earlier that day, she noticed a flier for a place that was also within the city. It was called Fire It Up! and had displayed images of mouth watering cuisine.

Before leaving, she checked her appearance in her bathroom mirror once more, smiling with satisfaction. Paired with her torn blue jeans was a faded grey Metallica T-Shirt and her usual converse high tops. Her hair was down and this time styled to the standard messy-rocker look of imperfection. Her long black waves held slight volume with her bangs parted to the left side. Having always preferred the natural look, the only makeup she wore was heavy black eyeliner and mascara. Unless you counted her usual chapstique which shone slightly on her plump lips.

As she got ready she made sure to call and schedule a cab to come pick her up. Unfortunately, her budget that had allowed her to move to Shine City did not include buying a car. She just barely had enough in her savings to get her through a few weeks, at least until she could find employment elsewhere. The cab driver pulled up to the curb where Azura had been standing. She got into the car and gave the driver the destination address.

In a matter of minutes, they had arrived at the restaurant. The drive had been a hell of a lot faster than if she would have walked the ten miles over. After paying the driver she exited the car and began walking up to the building. Azura was thankful she had brought along her black leather jacket due to the chilly late night air. She put in on without a moments hesitation and entered the eatery.
The place was packed. Not to maximum capacity but enough to take notice. The chatter among the sea of people was a little overwhelming for Azura and it took her a moment to get used to all the noise. She noticed the modern, yet comforting decor and was immediately impressed. It was then that she noticed the seating. There were booths and tables alike, most filled with customers already.

The only other option was the bar counter which sat in the center of the dining hall. After all, the artist had not wanted to seem pathetic in dining at a table all by herself. She approached the counter and immediately noticed the man whom she had spoken to earlier at Cornerstone. A slow grin spread across her face as she took a seat next to him.

"Shorts again?" She chuckled as she made herself comfortable by leaning on the countertop and perusing the menu.
"Someone needs to call the fashion police." It was then that she looked up and noticed an extremely tall, well built individual speaking to Joel across the counter.
Azura's supernatural instinct kicked in, noting that the man radiated a purple aura. Meaning, that he had an extremely positive attitude, and was friendly person. Instantly, Azura liked him. Anyone who had wanted to spread good nature was okay with her.
"My apologies, I did not mean to interrupt your conversation."

She gave the two men their privacy by resuming her attention onto the menu, noting that most of the dishes contained meat. It was usual for Azura to constantly be at war with herself. Always stuck between at least two choices, in this instance, whether to get the steak or a cheeseburger with home fries. Her eyebrows narrowed with frustration as she decided to take a look at the virgin beverages as she continued to think it over.

[Pilatus]

“What’s up dude?” Joel said with a grin and captured Booker’s handshake firmly. There was always a connection between two men who made their living with their hands. He was a little flattered by the big man’s excited greeting. He didn’t know how the guy pulled it off, but Joel could scantly remember a time where he’d been there and the grill-master’s attitude was any different, always beaming. Aside from that, he could somehow remember everyone’s name that had ever set foot in the building. “Oh you know,” He said with a shrug. “Livin’ the dream.” He caught a scent of his prepared meal: spicy grilled chicken with vegetables and it was divine. “Tryin’ to keep it lean,” He said rubbing one hand over his abs, “Doin’ some cuttin’” He said with a smirk and pulled out his wallet.

Shorts again?

Joel glanced to the side towards the source of the voice. He began to turn back to Booker before his glance shot back quicker towards the woman next to him. For a moment, a split second, he locked eyes with her and her gaze pierced him. She looked considerably different than the wet ragamuffin that he’d encountered earlier in the day. Ripped jeans and sneakers with a leather jacket and flowing dark hair looked back at him. Damn, there’s a contrast. He thought. His sarcastic inner voice was scrambling at light-speed to get back on kilter and direct the ship as usual. He smirked a little back at her. “What are you a stalker or somethin’?” He said, “Or have you come to spy on the competition?”

@Saarebas
@SamaraJayne96

[Saarebas]

Booker, Fire It Up!!

Book couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh as Joel took his tad bit explosive greeting in stride, the giant always could appreciate a person that was able to handle his rather boisterous nature. "Gotta say I'm about the same my man." Book said as Joel asked how he was doing. "Besides where else would I want to be?" He added as he gestured to the rest of the restaurant and let out another laugh. Book grew a sly grin as he noticed Joel taking in the smell of his meal, the big lug couldn't help but feel a bit proud of himself whenever he noticed a costumer getting mouth watery over the food he made, but he was quickly pulled away from his self head inflating when Joel spoke up again. "I feel you man, personally I've been on a bulk for a bit. Tryin' to break eight hundred on the bench you know?" He said with a slight chuckle. Book couldn't help but flex, causing his already muscle clad form to bulge even further. "We should hit the gym together sometime."

Before Book could get an answer regarding his workout request he noticed a raven haired young woman take a seat next to Joel. The walking mound of muscle quickly stopped flexing and recomposed himself. He was about to try and take the woman's order, but she quickly started chatting up Joel and by the looks of it they already knew each other. Book regained his usual warm smile, if this girl was a friend of Joel then she must of been a good person. He waited a few moments to give the two some time to chat before butting back in. "Evenin' ma'am and welcome to..." Book said before he cleared his throat. "FIRE IT UP!!!" He exclaimed as he threw his hands up into the air, prompting quite the collections of hoots and howlers from the dinning crowd. He chuckled slightly before looking back to the raven haired young lady. "My name's Book and I would be more than delighted to take your order." He said as he fished a notepad and pencil out of his apron. Book didn't usually take orders, but he always wanted to be ready just in case they ended up short staffed.

@Pilatus@Pilatus

[SamaraJayne96]

Azura Lunarie

Fire It Up!

@Saarebas@Pilatus

Azura had just decided on what beverage she wanted when the muscular man from before began speaking to her.
"Evening ma'am, and welcome to..."
The raven haired beauty looked up from her menu with a small smile. What she saw was the body builder lift his arms as if to address the sea of customers inhabiting the area.
"...FIRE IT UP!!!" He voice suddenly boomed, in turn sending vibrations throughout Zura's body. It was so unexpected that the poor girl almost fell out of her chair.

The man's sudden outburst received a rather large reaction from the dining crowd. Cheers and applause followed before the bar and grill resumed it's hum of chatter.
"My name is Book." He stated with a grin as big as his biceps. Meanwhile he pulled a notepad from his apron, pen poised at the ready.
"and I would be more than delighted to take your order."

Azura grinned revealing her porcelain smile. A rare treat since she did not smile often. This man had made quite the first impression, she could not help but find his demeanor humorous yet comforting.
"Well that was quite a greeting." She half laughed, half chuckled before putting down her menu and leaning forward.
"I guess I'll just have an Arnold Palmer, cheeseburger, and steak fries. Think you could help me out?"
She gave him a quick wink and then handed the menu over to him just in time to hear Joel's reply.

"What are you, a stalker or something? Or have you just come to spy on the competition?" He smirked leaning close to her so that she may hear him in the loud environment.

Azura ignored the stalker comment all-together with a shrug of her shoulders. Her eyebrows wrinkled in confusion however, not quite understanding his next sentence.
"What? A girl can't get a good meal? I have heard great things about this place." She rolled her eyes with a playful half-smile making its way onto her lips.
Also, what competition are you referring to?" I'm not sure what you mean..."

[Dogematix]

"Sorry about that, family always worry don't they."

"Oh I hear that." Owen replied with a hearty sigh. "My parents were going nuts when I told them I was moving out here. Well my mom did... then I showed her some videos and stuff all about Shine city and I'm pretty sure she's looking up property out here."

Cobbling together a pen he had in his pocket and some napkins lifted from the bar Owen managed to scratch out a crude map of their location. Since he'd never been in the scouts and rarely ever made do without a digital mad that meant turning his improvised canvass up and around in a bunch of angles as he visualised his walk from his apartment and noted down each turn he'd taken and the brighter landmarks he'd passed. It also meant screwing his face up in a constipated expression of thought, though Owen wasn't aware of that at the time. In the end he had a handy little grid of the nearby streets, with the bar they were in and the Pinnacle building marked with "X's" and their initials.

"It's not far from here, if I've got this right then you want to take the left around city hall..." He added a little squiggle onto the biggest square on his map. "And then the second right after it. I didn't get it's name but there was a restaurant by the looks of it on the corner with some blue lights on the corner." Owen was still too new to the area to remember any of the street names with some dependability but he figured brightly coloured landmarks would be of more use at this time of night anyway.

Once business was out of the way and their order arrived (it kinda was their order now wasn't it? Owen still couldn't believe he'd managed to muscle in on it like that!) he managed to find his way back to polite small talk.

"So why'd you move out to Shine City, if you don't mind me asking?" Going by her accent Owen had to guess she'd had a pretty big journey to get here.

@PrinceAlexus

[PrinceAlexus]

Lady Marinalia. Cornerstone.. 9pm

….
"Oh I hear that." Owen replied with a hearty sigh. "My parents were going nuts when I told them I was moving out here. Well my mom did... then I showed her some videos and stuff all about Shine city and I'm pretty sure she's looking up property out here."

Watching as he started up a improvised map she breathed a sigh of relief, work wanted her in tomorrow to see her licenses, she had to register with the doctor and all the other stuff you had to do moving into a new city. Thinking carefully she did not want to scare him off tiredly rambling.

“aye, well mine Don,t mind. I left and did my own thing. My family had a… shadow of sorts and I wanted my own life. My sister, well we look after each other. “

Family, least that made him sound more normal, abit awkward, probably worked in the University or something. Probably more normal family than hers, nice guy maybe with a cat… he seemed a cat kinda guy.

“finding a place ain't easy round here. Il not rant about city centre parking! “

Sipping her coffee slowly but very gladly she thanked the bartender and began to feel safer to carry on driving back. Their order… he'd wandered up, butted in, and yet they were drinking coffee together in some unknown bar. Certainly not the evening she had planned.

“I seriously needed this. I was worried I'd crash soon. “
"It's not far from here, if I've got this right then you want to take the left around city hall..." He added a little squiggle onto the biggest square on his map. "And then the second right after it. I didn't get it's name but there was a restaurant by the looks of it on the corner with some blue lights on the corner."

Smiling and putting the improvised map safe in her bag before turning back to the stranger who somehow managed to get past her better judgement. Jeez she was tired, but today, was not normal.

“ thanks. You a good egg for that.”

"So why'd you move out to Shine City, if you don't mind me asking?" Going by her accent Owen had to guess she'd had a pretty big journey to get here.
That was a tricky one to explain, she'd been somewhat of a nomad for the past few years and ended up using her ability to fly to secure employment. There was never enough people who could fly a medium lift helicopter, and though her certification on a light aircraft had somewhat lapsed she could still work co crew. Short term work, it paid well but longest time in one city was 6 months. Beginning slightly nervously and with a rather long sip of coffee.

Saying she left because her father got fingered by some investigative journalist about legal arms shipments to Africa and she wanted a fresh start away from the local papers coverage was not the best idea. Though she had formed a relationship with him when she was older. His forcing her to move grated and her worries turned to hoping his past did not catch up with her, or the shadow of her families inter squabbles, betrayals and arguments.

Marinalia, Romus, Olympus. She always managed to avoid using the first surname, all bar official documents. Unlike her sister who did not have the advantage of the second barrel had her tricks.

“well. That's a story for more than one night in its entirety. Maybe over some wine. I'm English, drink tea…

I was working for a helicopter delivery firm out in anchorage flying cargo to the remote towns and settlements. Took a job with the local air freight company.

I fly helicopters when I can, and work in the local office rest of time. “
Adding with a smile she loved her job, though it would be much nicer to spend more time in the air than behind a desk having to sort out paperwork.

Making small talk for a while and playing slightly with her hair, never could seem to break that little habit before her phone abruptly vibrated again against the bar in her bag reminding her she probably should get home if she wanted to get any sleep.

“I better go. Gotta least try to drop stuff off at work tomorrow. Nice to meet you Owen.”

Downing the last of the now slightly cooler coffee, a thought occurred only the half asleep version of her would have entertained. His lucky day.

Scribbling on back of a napkin,
“A for effort, maybe a smarter shirt next time, Marlin” followed by a phone number and a little doodle of a egg with a moustache and a thumbs up before leaving that with a her half of the coffee order payment and leaving a tip for the bartender she probably tired ranted at.

Grabbing her bag and heading out waving politely to the bar in general and headed to the car park with a tired look back giggled slightly internally how crazy her night had gone. Was that Irish coffee or something!

Looking back seeing the woman in a hood dress, bartender and others, she had a quick thought of to what kind d of story that was.

With a bright light shining into one of the bars windows a second and white paintwork as a sound of the bulky SUV slowly pulling away slowly began to disappear into the quiet of the night outside and hum and chatter of the busy bar.

….
Lady Marinalia. Pinnacle apartments. Later that evening.
….

Arriving back at her apartment block, the map was pretty accurate and only made one or two mistakes that were easily corrected and the building once you got onto the side road it was fairly well signed.

Driving at night was always easier, it was quiet and roads were clear, also slightly coldly, the darkness kept some of the rookies off the roads and left her less having to worry if the car behind was gonna brake in time..

Pulling into her numbered space on the ground floor Car park, it was quiet and there was plenty of room. Guess most people I'm the city stuck to the public transport or where out on the town making most of the evening.

Heading up, she could unpack rest of stuff later and just grabbed her important suit cases and documents she headed up to the furnished but rather plain and sterile 2 bed apartment on the middle floors with an ensuite, bathroom and a small open plan area with a compact kitchen, breakfast bar and a living looking out over the city. Her sister Might be joining her and Victoria’s condition required a proper bedroom for space and support, but she was getting the ensuite.

The place was lacking somewhat trinkets and personal items but for past few years she had never traveled with anything that would not fit in a suit case, a Silver necklace and her ring had been the two main memento's that had followed her since she was 18, and ones she was determined to keep.

Looking out over the City, Shine City did live up to its name, downtown gleamed like a jewel at night, the city Hall old and stately reminding her somewhat more of home visible nearer by and further down past the bright lights the towers and blinking navigation lights of aircraft coming into land at the city small airport.

Home is wherever you have a kettle, a bed and a shower… her first night in the city seemed to have gone fairly well as she flopped onto sofa and happily explained her nights adventures to her laughing sister.

@Dogematix

[Stern Algorithm]

"Hello there. May I sit here with you?" she addressed him gently. If he were to look at her face now, he would only find her usual neutral gaze instead of a smile.

@Hammerman

Michel Montmartre (Tiny Snowflake Restaurant, 9:00PM)

"Oh! Hello. Y-yes, by all means, feel free," Michel was brought out of him musings by this gentle woman who had approached his table. "Michel Montmartre," he introduced himself, "It's awfully late to be having dinner, but I guess I'm not one to criticize, haha." Just then, his order arrived, its size surprising him. He hadn't realized that the sushi sampler was meant to be shared, so it was a lucky coincidence that someone had joined him, after all, sushi wasn't as good (some might say dangerous) if kept overnight or longer. "Oh wow, I ordered way too much, please help yourself," Michel invited, grabbing a small saucer, putting in a dab of wasabi and pouring a bit of soy sauce on top of it, mixing it with his chopsticks before digging in.