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New York - Café.
He was standing in line, waiting to order. His hands were in his coat pockets, and his pale digits were fiddling about with the assorted change he had. The line was packed, but he was focused on the television. An American convoy was hit by an IED in Afghanistan, five dead, more injured. If he was asked, he'd say that he didn't have enough to get out there on his own, and while it wasn't a lie (he was as broke as the dirt he slept on), he wasn't exactly thrilled to get into another war, because despite what he said, he always hoped that the last war would be the last war, but that wasn't how things were in the present. It wasn't ever how things were. He rubbed his eyes, and tried to think back. The haze was thicker than it was usually, he couldn't remember her face anymore. He remembered every death with a morbid clarity, but he couldn't see her face. He remembered her voice and the nursery rhymes, and the stories she told him about his father, and the choked up goodbye she gave him when he left for war. She had brown hair, he thought, trying to find any shred of a memory that would help him clear the fog.
"That'll be $5.50." He was brought back to earth, looking to the person in front of him. He couldn't have been older than 16, he was rifling through his pockets trying to find enough money to pay. It wasn't an exaggeration to say he was panicking. Táph took a fistful of coins and dumped them onto the counter, giving the poor boy an out. He shot an unsure smile to the teenager before quickly retrieving a french franc from the assorted change he'd put down and pocketed it again.
Turning his attention to the large man behind him, Skyler lowered his head somewhat as he gazed upon the male’s frame. This had developed into an embarrassing scene, one which Skyler had been saved from. “Th-thanks…” Skyler spoke, his quiet, raspy voice quite light pitched given his age, albeit silent and much like a whisper. Once his beverage had been served, a cup of lemon tea, Skyler carefully reached his hands out as if afraid that a quick movement would yield disastrous results. He wrapped a set of thin, slender fingers around the heated cup and lifted the porcelain from the counter and brought it along to a seat next to the window. It was quite clear that Skyler was a fatigued young boy. He had neither a spring in his step nor energy in his eyes. In truth, it would appear that he forced every step on his path to the seat which seemed all too comforting once the boy lowered himself to the soft foundation.
How long had it been since he was cast out? The days were starting to meld together, much like his thoughts as a whole. It couldn’t have been more than a week, could it? Bringing his hands up to his forehead, his fingers ran through his thick, black hair as a sigh managed to leave his lips. In the past, tea always managed to calm his nerves and he hoped that this would be no exception.
"Was there anything else you wanted, sir?" Táph was caught staring at the boy, looking back to the barista and shaking his head sheepishly. He quickly left the line to accompany the teenager, gesturing to the chair. "Mind if I take the other seat?"
Startled by the sudden voice, Skyler raised his eyes to see the same man from before. Though he looked gruff, obviously a man who has seen better days, Skyler was no one to judge. He was well aware that he himself sported the appearance of a wight at this point. “N-no…” The boy shook his head in response, raising himself up from the slouched position he had found himself in.
He took the chair graciously and extended a hand, he wasn't entirely well-kept, but he figured that treating this person like an adult was a good way to get into the good books. "I'm Táph." Another one out on the streets, he figured. The kid looked shy, and out of place, and as creepy as it might seem he wanted to look out for him, give a pointer here and there before he headed off to try and make back the money he'd just spent.
”Skyler…” The boy responded, eyeing the surface of his cup. His reflection was a weak thing indeed, staring back at him from the unmoving liquid within the porcelain. It was perhaps an odd addition of courage filling the boy, given his shy yet serene calm around someone like Táph. The man was anything but ordinary with both a visage and an aura hinting at something odd, something out of the ordinary. However, Skyler was somewhat intrigued by the man. He was unsure as to why, but given his lost and frankly desperate situation, Skyler wasn’t too willing to scoff at an act of kindness. “Th-thanks for the drink…” He continued with his quiet, whispering voice. Looking up once more, he could tell that Táph stole the occasional glance towards the television, something which had gone unnoticed for quite some time. Skyler had found himself unable to focus on the majority of his surroundings for the past week. It was quite normal, all things considered.“I…I can’t repay you…” Skyler stated, breaking himself free of thought.
"Pleasure to meet you." He said, with another weak smile, his french accent bleeding into his speech a bit. He shifted his jacket over himself a bit more. He folded his arms in his lap, his finger tapping his elbow in a bit of a tick. He nodded at what Skyler said. "No problem." Came the short reply, as he snuck another glance at the television, only brought back after the unsure teenager spoke again. He nodded, taking it in stride with an expression that didn't change, he obviously didn't expect anything back. He was quiet after that, the news ended and he looked back to Skyler. Is everything alright?"" He asked, unsure if that was too personal a question, or maybe a bit too strange for a stranger to say.
”Y-yeah, I’m alright…” Skyler lied through his teeth and he had never been very good at masking his emotions. Neither was he adept at lying, so the outcome of words he spoke would likely not yield the result he had hoped for. At the very least, this cup of tea wasn’t going to sit and weigh him down with a debt. Breathing out, the boy took a sip of the lemon tasting beverage. It was quite soothing, more so than anything else he had been through this past week. In truth, all he wanted right about now was a warm bath. He hadn’t been graced by such in quite a while and being homeless was soemthing he had yet to grow used to. “Just uhm…” He continued, lowering the cup back to the table. “Getting used to…new things…” Skyler considered his words carefully, not wanting to spill everything to a total stranger.
He frowned at the lie. He wasn't amazing at reading features, but he didn't need to be for this one. He let it slide, if he didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to pry. He looked out the window to the darkening scene. It was going to rain. He looked back to Skyler as he spoke, minding his Ps and Qs. "Are you new here? I figured you for a local, with your accent." He rested back a bit into the chair, but never enough to slouch.
A soft nod came in response to the man’s question, Skyler’s eyes raising once more to meet Táph’s unnaturally colored visage. “Yeah…” The boy managed, lowering his gaze once more as his attention shifted to the darkening skies above, their reflections peering back at the two from the window’s surface. “I…” Skyler attempted, his lips shutting once more as he tried to consider what he was saying. “I was kinda’…disowned…” He finally spoke. The question of why lingered within his mind, but it was quite clear as to why Skyler had decided upon honesty, even if it was to a complete stranger. It was a weight off his chest, and that’s all it was. Letting someone know, letting anyone know, it was more tolerable than roaming the endless streets on his very own, knowing that no one knew or cared for him story, or his fate.
He met the teenager's gaze, though he understood his own condition better than anyone, and would look away after a moment so that his oddly coloured pupils didn't draw too much attention. He listened intently however, making sure to show due attention to Skyler. His face took a grim expression. "Sorry that happened." He seemed hesitant to say more, taking a moment of tapping before he found some courage, or figured out the right way to say it. "Stop me if I'm getting too personal, but do you have a plan?"
A plan? In truth, Skyler had been laboring towards a plan since the day he was disowned by his parents, with little luck. Lowering his head somewhat in what could only be defeat, Skyler shook his heads softly in response. No plan…”“ He spoke, a certain feeling of defeat in his voice. On the topic of a plan, nighttime was rapidly approaching. Skyler hated the dark, and it was no stretch to say that he was somewhat afraid of it. For little over a week, the boy had found somewhat safe places to call home during the nights, but nothing reliable in the grand scheme of things. “I take every day as it comes…” Skyler finished, taking another sip of his lemon tea. It was true that he attempted to keep his mind, and his focus on one day at a time to prevent insanity from creeping into his mind, but it did little in making him feel less lost and confused.
He folded his arms. The pale figure was calm, though that didn't make him look any friendlier. He took a moment to word what he said, he wasn't speaking in his mother tongue, after all. "I know we have just met, but if you don't have a place to sleep tonight, I would be remiss if I didn't at least offer you company, I would understand if you think I am dangerous, I'd not be insulted if you said no." He said, offering another weak smile, those discoloured pupils meeting his. It was hard to speak plainly and seem genuine, but he would never feel right just letting a kid walk out onto the streets at night, to sleep out there on their own.
Dangerous? Skyler couldn’t help but lower his gaze at the sound of the word. He was not very inclined to deny his personal chaos, the very string of events which brought him to where he was today. This man did not scare Skyler as much as the boy scared himself. To Skyler, he himself was the most dangerous person in his vicinity. A stray sneeze, a single thought of stress or an accelerated heartbeat could very well conjure an inferno which would level the café as well as everyone within. It was how his sister had met her untimely end, finding her fate in a pile of ashes. Skyler himself could not be touched by fire, his very being immune to the embrace of flames and heat. He could not extend this immunity to others however, drawing him a danger to everyone in his surroundings.
“I…” Skyler began, raising his eyes to meet the man for a moment before they dropped once more. He was unsure of how to state the truth, how to tell a large man that the boy himself was a greater danger to him than the other way around. “I don’t know…” Skyler breathed out, his grip around the cup tightening for a moment. Did this man even have a home? One look at him stated otherwise.
“If you know a good place, sure…” Fatigue and a sense of helplessness would ultimately gain the upper hand as Skyler had grown weary of being lost, of having no goal in mind. He didn’t even know what he was, because it was plainly obvious that he was not human. Perhaps he should allow this man some company, for a time. A week had passed without a single step in the right direction. Skyler had gotten nowhere, and this was the only varied event which had taken place so far.
He cracked a small attempt at a reassuring smile. "It's a few gearshifts down from good, but it's safe. It's about a mile walk from here, a condemned building, it's, uh..." He took a few moments with the word, as if trying to think of the english equivalent. He then realized that the kid was a lot younger than he was and swearing in front of him wouldn't be the greatest offence, but wouldn't really be setting a good example. "Anyway, tell me when you want to get going." Táph took out a notebook and started to scribble some things down, though it looked oddly like a way to not participate in conversation, waiting for Skyler to finish his drink, completely oblivious to the powers the person adjacent to him had, and the similarities they might share in that way.
”Okay…” Skyler returned, swirling the contents of his cup somewhat as he spoke, shifting his attention back and forth from the man across the table. Whatever he had to offer was better than the cobblestones Skyler had called home for the past week, anything was better than having to look over his shoulder at a constant basis. Finishing his drink, Skyler returned the empty porcelain cup to the table with a soft breath and ascended to his tired feet. “I’m done…” He spoke with a silent tune, sliding his hands into his pockets as his gaze dropped to Táph.
He stood up from the chair, walking out of the café, it wasn't too far to walk, he just hoped they didn't run into any trouble along the way, and that Skyler wouldn't noticed his odd sleeping habit, odd in the way that he didn't. He walked at a disciplined pace, hoping that this good intention didn't end up turning sour.
