Shard

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Our numbers grow. Soon, we will be ready to attack.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

University Library

There is a certain emotional spectrum better left without a second visit. Though it's a commodity for school hallways to maintain an unforgiving chill, returning to their cold and sterile view was never an act Winter had expected for himself. Again, this was more than likely part of Yuna's expectations. An older sibling, indeed. She constantly attempted to aid Winter in dealing with his demons. Exposure therapy, as it was called. Roaming through those university corridors, it was safe to say that the young author felt small in both stature and soul, his presence quickly overshadowed by those of an intellectual pursuit. 

With fingers anxiously holding onto the strap of his shoulder bag, Winter took one unsure step after the other, his eyes maintaining a gaze on the floor as he proceeded through campus. A single shift of view would prove that those passing him by paid him little mind, and no heed. They did however tend to tower over him, just like in the olden days. Yet another reason creeping through his mind would proceed to reach the surface. Another reason as to why Winter retired to the safety of his fictional universe, where he was the master of what came to occur. Those converse clad feet promptly halted their stride upon reaching a closed door, Winter's raven eyes rising to meet the library sign staring back at him. How many hours had be spent at the library, back at his high school? It was difficult, to tell. Every break, every hour given when he was allowed to study on his own, was spent within the safe embrace of books and silence. 

Of course, one is to note that Winter was never an exceptional student. Indeed, he is what one would consider average, with no delusions of grandeur. His presence at a school like this would never surpass the role of visitor, one whom treads past the threshold of their holy ground only to gaze upon the wonders beyond. As he wasn't a student, Winter would not be allowed to bring any of the books with him home, though remaining in place was not a horrible thought. It was, after all, a library. One could take into consideration a question Miles, his brother, once asked. Why not just buy all the books he wanted? Gods knew he could afford it and then some, and while it was difficult to express, Winter enjoyed contributing to a library's presence, in his life. Buying the book he wanted removed the feelings surrounding it, the atmosphere coming with spending long hours in a library's warm lap of hearth and home. 

Placing a slender hand on the door, Winter gently pushed it open to be met by an impressive sight, indeed. Unable to hide the ever growing smile on his lips, the young man's stride appeared somewhat more secure as he delved deeper into this nexus of knowledge. Themes stretching from Fantasy to Realism, with History, Poetry and Politics rowing massive shelves were all evident throughout the library's stretch. It was, in a word, quite beautiful. Winter slid his hand into the shoulder bag loosely hanging at his side and acquired the headphones he had grown closely attached to throughout the months they had spent atop his head. Now, he felt complete. Surrounded by not only the written stories of geniuses from an age of glorious literature, but also the atmospheric music pouring into his ears calmed a soul previously feeling a crashing wave of turmoil against the shores of his consciousness. 

"Call of Cthulu..?" Winter's silent voice managed to leave his pale lips in a mere whisper, as his widened eyes fixed their gaze upon Lovecraft's masterpiece blatantly staring back at him from the shelf. Tracing the pads of those thin fingers across the spine of the book, Winter carefully pulled the text from place before opening it to view the sentence within, offering an all too familiar sound of paper giving way as he did. "They have an entire section of sci-fi horror..!" The author continued, his silent voice excited as he trailed those beady eyes across the shelves with a child's admiration washing over him. 

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

I threw together this Discord because I have no life when coming home from work.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@Furiosa

They're at a random Starbucks.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@PrinceAlexus

I fixed it.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@PrinceAlexus

Okay.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@Furiosa

They have been at a café in every single post. The same café.

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

Starbucks

'With darkness engulfing sight and touch, the frightened farmer boy's frame would all but stumble towards a withered chair's heroic stop. Desperate hands reached for rotting wood, an attempt to escape the growing screech of a banshee's unforgiving screech. Recalling the silver knife at his side, the wayward soul lost and confused found a glimmer hope emanating from its reflecting edge. He fumbled for the bladed savior in this his hour of need. Who was to believe that an ornament so old and forgotten, a relic of dust and memories would find its use within the haunted confines of a home so haunted and devoid of light? Certainly, all things find their pl..-'

"I just got a call from work," Yuna pulled her younger brother from an ever recurring state of drifting into a far more fantastical, and by all means haunting world, than our own. "Will you be alright?" She continued, returning from a visit to the lady's room.

"Yeah," a soft voice returned, raspy and mellow a tune it clung to for days on end.

"I've been meaning to tell you," Yuna spoke up, buttoning her overcoat, a black flow of fabric reaching down slender legs that weren't strangers to physical activity. "I visited the university I mentioned," she added, heeled feet clicking against the floor as she reached for purse labeled expensive by both the leather, and the name bolted in with golden letters.

"Did you find your guy?" Winter offered, raising his eyes from the ever expanding notes on his lap. Yuna had previously mentioned a prestigious student looking to seek a future within the Everdale company, paving a path to wealth and careers. Selling his soul was what Winter would call that particular string of choices and decisions, and with little irony in his voice. Never the less, this scenario was enough to warrant Yuna's presence at the university. One has to maintain the front, as they say. Meeting with a aspiring new employee in who would be seen every single day in those office halls showed determination from the company's end.

"I did!" Yuna nodded, "though that's not what I wanted to talk about," the older sibling continued. "I snuck into their library while there, more like, that's where we talked. I think you'd like it."

"There are untold secrets unreachable within the pesky confines of a public library?" The young author smirked, leaning back in his seat as dramatic words came to leave his lips.

"Someone once told me," Yuna retorted, "that no two places are the same." 

Having his own words used against him? Truly, a masterstroke. "I say a lotta' stuff..," Winter mumbled quietly, lowering his gaze in defeat. "I mean, it would be awkward to walk around a bunch of students, when I don't even belong, there." One could not consider his schooling one of popularity. Needless to say, Winter did not find himself in a position he'd enjoy revisiting. 

"Or," Yuna leaned in, teasingly, "is it that you're afraid of seeing that one prince charming roaming the university with eyes glimmering so bright?" 

At her words, the ever lasting curse of pale skin reached a now red surface, Winter's dark orbs of obsidian meeting his sister's raven gaze. With but a moment's silence between them, Winter proceeded to shake his head vigorously before hiding his attention in the safety of his notebook. Prince charming? The mere thought brought the young author's, no, the romantic's heart to a beat of accelerated pace. Clenching his teeth, Winter tensed somewhat, his grip of that pen tightening as a gulp traveled down his throat. Prince charming, two words known to both keyboard and pen which had both breathed life into the aspect now dancing across his thoughts. "R-right..," Winter tried, seeing as how his most beloved sister chuckled in response, a slender hand coming to playfully ruffle her baby brother's hair. 

"You're adorable, Winter." She stated before planting a loving kiss to his forehead, "don't ever change." She finished, offering the young man a gentle hug, one of a sister's love before all that remained was a farewell. Perhaps she was right. Perhaps the stories coming to life upon the lined pages of a hopeless romantic's notebook were a fearsome sight, would they ever ascend and flow into the fabrics of reality so desperately avoided.

"Fine..," a quiet voice came to linger in the now empty air, "I'll check it out..." 

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

I am currently doodling on a reply. I will have one up when I get home

Sol City [Modern Slice of Life] . (CHAPTER ONE COMPLETED!) . ARCHIVED

@Furiosa@Rabidporcupine, let the romance ensue.