Hal and Jitter's RP
 

At 10:17 PM, Gineja El strode into the Mensten Coffee House with heavy feet and a tired expression. Coffee houses generally closed around 9:00 PM, but the Mensten stayed open most of the night with the understanding that some people preferred the nightlife and saw waking up at 10 PM as waking up early. Gin was one of those people and also one of the Mensten regulars. Sade, the owner, already had a cup of black coffee sitting on the counter.

“Thanks,” she said sharply, her green eyes only glancing his way as she lifted the full styrofoam cup and took a sip of the burning, black liquid. Her eyes closed for a moment as it slid down her throat, burning her esophagus and stomach. “Perfect… as always.” Lips curling into a smirk, she turned away to find a seat.

“On the house as always,” Sade said simply before wiping down one of the counter with a warm, damp cloth.

She shrugged. Before she left, she would slip the proper amount, $2:70, into the tip jar. The Mensten needed many minor repairs, and she didn’t dare take something on the house. Good coffee and loyal regulars kept the place open but just barely. The chipped and curled red paint, the creaky black, metal chairs, and the wooden floors that were in need of polishing certainly did not attract any new customers. Sade always said that he would “get around to it”, but he spent his free time in clubs or beds. She doubted he would ever get around to anything in the Mensten other than ordering coffee and flavoring when he was running out.

Settling in a chair facing the counter, she tipped back the cup again and relished the strong coffee. “How’s business, Sade?” Concern laced her voice.

He shrugged. “Same.”

Good. His response had not changed over the past year. “I see,” she said as she always did. This conversation was routine, though what followed always varied. She liked her structured “morning”; it kept her sane. Another sip of coffee. He turned on the radio; soft jazz spilled out. Sometimes she wished she could sit in the Mensten all day and drink cup after cup of steaming coffee.

Gin stared at the ring of coffee at the bottom of the cup for a few moments before holding it up with a grin. “Well, there’s number one,” she said, already feeling more awake. “I’m in the mood for a second tonight.”

Sade shook his head. “Just one more cup or you’ll have some serious bladder issues, which I’m sure you won’t need with your job.” She shrugged as he walked around the counter with a pot of coffee in his left hand. His coffee-stained apron that had once been pure white brushed the edge of the table as he refilled her cup.

“Have a seat, Sade,” she said, kicking at the other chair gently. “It’s not like you have other customers.”

“True enough,” he agreed. He pulled down the dish towel that had been slung over his shoulder and folded against the table before setting the coffee pot on top of it. Then, he slung himself across the chair lazily. “What’s this about, Gin? You rarely ask for a second cup or for me to sit with you.”

She had brought the cup to her lips but his directness had her setting it back down. “You know me better than I thought,” she said with a soft laugh. “I have news, as you may have guessed. The short of the long is that I quit my job.”

He sat forward, a few strands of unruly dark hair falling into his eyes. “What?”

“I quit my job,” she said again, her tone even. “I decided a night shift at the pharmacy just doesn’t suit me.” She shrugged as if the matter was simple.

For five years, she had worked at the DAMD Pharmacy (with a 1 hour photo center and convenient store) and handed out bottles of various pills to the dying and sick. It bored the hell out of her. Sure, she met some interesting people… but rarely the good kind. She often had nurses dragging along patients that pooped their pants to pick up this or that med, schizophrenics who had put off picking up their happy pills, and grouchy old men missing limbs and in need of arthritis pain killers. Of course, she got less of that when she switched to the night shift. Now, she entertained suspicious characters that wanted various over-the-counter drugs that they probably made use of in makeshift drug labs hidden away in shady backrooms. Gin had never looked highly upon her job or the DAMD pharmaceutical company.

“What are you going to do now?” He asked, raising a brow curiously.

Before she could answer, her eyes were drawn in by the tallest man she had ever seen. Her mouth opened slightly in shock. Her surprised expression drew curiosity out of Sade, so he turned to see what the hell was keeping her from answering his prying question.

“Damn,” he uttered almost inaudibly. Shaking his head, he quickly scrambled to his feet. “Welcome to the Mensten,” he said in a practiced friendly tone. “What can I get for you?”

Gin ran a hand through her red hair as she looked the man up and down. The too-short trousers bothered her little but… was the new guy wearing a woman’s shirt?

Gin nodded slowly. “Oh,” she said hollowly. So maybe he was wearing a woman’s shirt. He did say he had to make do. She hesitated for a moment, trying to decide whether or not she should help him. The way he moved suggested that he was harmless enough. Then again, anyone that tall would look awkward in the Mensten or anywhere else inside, for that matter. Still… what did she have to lose?

Finally, she drew in a breath and announced that she might know of someone who could help with his clothing situation. “Her name is Malia, and she lives next to me. I’m sure she’d be happy to help and would definitely be able to. She’s talented enough, that’s for sure.” As she finished speaking, she took a gulp of coffee to calm her nerves. What was she doing offering help to a stranger that was big enough to eat her?

You’re overreacting, she thought to herself.

Sade wasted no time in pouring the very tall stranger a cup of coffee. He brought it to him cautiously, trying not to allow his expression to melt into wonder as he heard Gin offer him help. She didn’t offer anyone much of anything, usually. As he turned away from the newcomer, he shot her a questioning gaze.

Gin had finally moved past the clothes and the sheer height of the new guy, but now, her eyes were focusing on his skin color. At first, she had thought that it was the way the dim light in the coffee shop was hitting him, but she quickly realized that it truly was silvery. And his teeth… dear God he might actually eat her. She shrank back in her chair a little.

Sade placed the coffee pot back on the burner behind the counter before turning to find that the big guy was on the move. “Oh dear,” he muttered, seeing that the man’s head brushed the ceiling. He prayed he wouldn’t have to add “patch gaping hole” to his to-do list.

“Um… nice to meet you, Seige.” She gulped. His first name did not sound at all friendly, and she had already forgotten his last name. She was so thankful that he had paused to speak and not taken any more steps her direction. “No, I don’t think you’ll need to pay. She’s very sweet. Kind… giving.” She glanced at her friend as if to plead for help.

He shrugged. “You offered,” he said clearly, not caring if the newcomer heard. “You should introduce yourself as well…”

Her eyes narrowed. Sade was absolutely no help. She nearly shouted something about taking her business somewhere with friendlier owners and decent friends, but swallowed the words as soon as they rose in her throat. With a half smile, she looked back at the new guy and meekly offered her name. “I’m Gin… Gineja El. By the way.”

Sade cleared his throat. “Don’t worry about the coffee Mr…” What was his last name again? “Mr. Seige.” That would do. “It’s on the house.” He slapped the towel on the counter and pretended to scrub away at some grime.

Gin rolled her eyes and decided that she would slip some extra money into the tip jar when he wasn’t looking. He had no business sense. Then, she returned her attention to Seige. Okay, so he really didn’t sound half bad. Time to make an effort to move past appearances and… ugh, who am I kidding? He freaks me out. But he does sound… sweet? Whatever.

“I must admit that I was a bit intimidated by your height,” she said with a small laugh. “But you sound nice enough. No need to leave.” She saw Sade wince out of the corner of her eyes. He was probably worried about having to add to his list of repairs or something. She stood at length and picked up the button that he had popped off his shirt. Setting it on her thumb, she flicked it up in the air like a coin and smiled warmly. “Look, Malia’s probably asleep right now, so we won’t be able to drop by until morning. In the mean time… do you need a place to rest yourself?”

“Unusually generous,” Sade muttered to himself, moving onto another spot on the counter before attacking it with his dish towel.

Gin nearly laughed. “I wasn’t offering my place. I was just going to suggest a hotel or something,” she said with a wink. “Don’t get ahead of yourself.” She wondered what he meant when he said he wouldn’t be the best guest. Maybe he snored. Or maybe he was more trouble than she wanted…

“A mirror?” Sade’s hand remained firmly planted on the rag as he nodded his head towards a door in the back corner. “In the restroom, of course.” Shoulders rising in falling in a shrug, he looked back down at the counter and finally pushed the towel aside with a sigh. “It might be a little dusty,” he warned him after a moment of thought.


To stifle her laughter, Gin swallowed some more coffee. A little dusty in his language meant downright grimy. She had stepped into his public restroom once and stepped right back out. Even the uncovered light bulb smack in the center of the ceiling had accumulated dust. He had only laughed and offered his personal (and spotless) bathroom in the upstairs apartment since she happened to be a regular.

Gin had just finished gulping down the rest of her coffee when Siege sat down beside her. She could see him closely now, right down to his moving marks and completely black eyes. Dear God. Should she be surprised? He was probably somewhere around three feet taller than she, bruised from head to toe, and had a mouth full of sharp, discolored teeth. Moving marks and black eyes seemed to fit in with the rest of his appearance.

“I need another cup of coffee,” she announced, her voice strained.

“Sure thing, Gin,” Sade said. “And meat? Well… we have some lunch meat for sandwiches.” He glanced down at the fridge. He rarely had orders for anything other than coffee; he hoped that none of the food had gone bad. He walked around the counter to refill her cup as he spoke. “Any kind of meat you prefer?” The guy’s options would probably be limited to what didn’t have mold growing on it, but he figured he should at least ask.

Gin looked down at the two cups of coffee she now had. “Thank you.” Well, he was certainly sweet.

Raw meat? Sade’s expression was that of pure confusion as he walked back behind the counter and rummaged through the fridge. Maybe the new guy was foreign. Confusion shifted into disgust as he found various moldy meats and cheeses. “Disgusting,” he sneered, grabbing a trash bin to toss out the spoiled food. After a few minutes of picking around, he came across a fairly new package of honey roasted chicken lunch slices. How it ended up in the back of the fridge, he had no idea.

She tilted her head at his question. “Asleep?” Short laughter spilled from her lips. “No. Night is my day. I worked the night shift for too long. What about you? Why are you here so late at night?”

Sade shrugged and tossed the chicken in the trash bin, as well. No one really asked for food there, so why keep it? He wasn’t running a café. “Suit yourself.” He set the bin aside and decided to join them, sitting in the chair he had been in when the new guy arrived. “Sorry I don’t have raw meat. You might try a butcher’s shop or something. Coffee shops aren’t really known for carrying anything more than cold slices of lunch meat for sandwiches.” This Siege guy knew about as much as an alien. He must be foreign, he thought again.

“Hm. Well… alright,” Gin said slowly. Chicken doesn't what? She wondered. He was becoming more and more interesting.

Siege was the kind of interesting person she wouldn’t mind having in the DAMD pharmacy. He didn’t shit himself, he had one personality (so far), and he was nice. Oh, yes, and she sincerely doubted that he made drugs of any sort. The worst that could be said about him to her knowledge was that he looked a bit scary. Although, his personality was slowly making her forget that he looked monstrous. Or maybe she had a little too much coffee.

“Where are you from, anyways?” Sade asked curiously.

“I’m from a village in the Inachin Forest. You might know it by another name, if we find a map I can show you where it is although the village itself won’t be on the map, very few people know it exists.”

Seige rummaged through the bag, and took out the knife his grandfather had given him when he was very little, it was a family heirloom from generations ago. “Excuse me, I have to go check on something, I'll be right back.”

Seige went outside to find the source of the noise, and found Nori, his fiancé, standing unmoving outside staring at the door, with a shocked look on her face.

“Nori!!"He yelled. "Why are you here? You know the consequences of leaving without the king’s permission, and you need to change.”He said walking to her putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him and screamed"Who are you?! I don't know you!!" and punched him in the face, then bodyslamming him, knocking him off his feet.

"Damn it!! Nori, it’s me!! Seige!!” He yelled from the ground.

“Oh sorry. I didn’t recognize you.” She laughed loudly as he got up. “You've got to admit that was a good one. I finally beat you for once!!”

“Yes it was, but that’s not the issue. Why are you here?”

Instantly sobered “Your father… He drug me out of the house and told me to run because he was setting the Hunters on me. If I could make it to the edge of the forest alive then they would leave me alone.” She told him suddenly still.

“Let me see your arm.” Seige told her and regretted it when she did. There on her arms were the same marks as on his, taking her hand he asked “How did you find me?”

Nori looked up at him.”I followed your trail.”

As soon as Seige stepped outside, Sade turned to Gin with glittering eyes. “I knew he was foreign,” he said, clapping his hands together once.

She raised a brow. “What was your first clue that he wasn’t from around here?” Bitter sarcasm and rolling eyes. He wasn’t surprised by her response in the slightest. “Anyways, aren’t you more curious why he pulled out a knife?” Her brow rose wittingly as if she held the wisdom of hundreds of generations.

A moment passed in which his eyes narrowed, and he gazed at the door fixedly. “You don’t think he’d…” Voice trailing off, he rose to his feet and moved towards the door.

“He’d what?” Gin asked, leaning back in the chair. It creaked, causing her to grind her teeth. Oh how she despised that sound. She watched her friend steadily as he took a few uncertain steps towards the door and in the end, only stood staring with widened eyes. A burst of laughter broke through her clenched teeth. “Gawd Sade, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“He had a knife. A knife, Gin,” he insisted, waving a hand at the door as he turned to face her. “You know, one of those shiny, pointed pieces of metal that you drive into flesh and…”

She cut him off. “I wouldn’t say that’s the only use of a knife.”

“Do you think he was going to cut some raw meat out there?”

A shrug was her only answer.

Seige, now shirtless after teaching Nori to change, and giving her his shirt, listened to why she got banished.

As he listened he looked at how different she was when she was human. Normally she was just silver, but now her hair was white, her skin was slightly pink, and her eyes were a pink so light it was almost white too. She looked albino and reflected the light so it looked like she glowed, and the marks almost didn’t showing up on her skin they were so light. She didn’t lose any height when she changed either so she was two feet shorter than him still.

“So you fought with my dad? And hit him?” He asked astounded at her stupidity.
“Yes.” Nori was confused, but didn’t want to waste breath asking questions; she didn’t like to talk much but would if she really liked your personality.
“Ok. I’m going to ignore that you told me how you got yourself banished. Let’s go inside.”Seige said after a moment.

As they were walking inside Seige one-arm hugged Nori and said “Nori, I’m gald you followed me. This place is confusing, and I don’t want to be the only one confused around here.”

“Gin, that’s ridiculous. Where would he find meat out there? It’s just a smelly, dank street,” Sade growled.

She laughed. “Relax, would you?” No sooner had she spoken than Siege and another woman entered. This one looked albino, which came as only a small surprise. Of course the new guy would have friend that looked as strange as him. From the looks of it, she looked like a little more than just a friend. Gin could hardly help raising an eyebrow.

Sade was a little relieved to see that there had been no bloodshed. “Welcome back,” he said tiredly and then looked at the woman. “Can I get you something?” Business, business, business. What he really wanted to do was close the shop and crawl into bed. This woman looked just as bizarre as Siege.

“Oh dear,” Gin muttered to herself, realizing that the woman was indeed wearing nothing but a shirt. “I’ll take care of your clothing problem.” She stood and walked swiftly to the door. “Be back in a bit.” The door shut behind her and cool air washed over her. It felt good to be away from the chaos as she walked alone along the sidewalk, passing a few strangers.

Her apartment building was only a few blocks away, and the walk gave her time to clear her head. Her routine “morning” had been shattered, which left her more than a little unnerved. One for structure, she didn’t deal with sudden change very well. Her coping mechanism: a broken, tone-deaf humming. Anyone might think she was the killer in a slasher film, humming so late at night and walking alone as she was.

Sade looked to the two and smiled nervously. Without Gineja, he felt a little helpless with two new customers. “Right, ice,” he said, turning at once to the fridge. He gathered a handful of ice into a clean dish towel before bringing it to Siege. “Here,” he said, holding it out to him from what seemed like a safe and sensible distance.