Silent Observations (OPEN)

Noise.

The rumble of a vehicle going by over the torn roads. Releasing the scents of burnt fuel and old rubber as it passed. Leaving it upon the wind. The wind blows, and the debris of human and Other alike, floats upon it. Breezing down the street way. Tumbling. Ever tumbling through out the world. As if they have a place to be and yet do not. Free to float upon the wind. To find a place until they lay. Or until someone picks them up. There is the rustle of people as they walk by. The crinkle of the fabric that they wear. Wrinkling with every step. The worn out shoes slapping the pavement trying to get to their destination even faster than they can manage. There is the cry of a child, fallen upon the sidewalk not too far away. A spot of his red blood marring the concrete. It will be there, until the rains come.

There is a heaviness about the air today. A thick balmy weight upon her shoulders. The kind of day that women curse for their hair goes flat and frizzy. The kind of days when you know that any minute now the skies are going to open up and send a flood down upon Terra. A good thing, of course. For it to grow, to nourish, to allow the cycle of life to continue.

It occured to the girl. The question was not about whether the egg or the chicken came first. Because that was fine and everything. But there was something she realized. Everything surrounded the substance of water. There was no life that did not require water, there was no organism that didn't require water, and that, she thought, made water the most sought after and beautiful resource the world had ever gifted to it's people.

The wind blew her hair. The long blonde locks floating softly away from her body, into the breeze before settling back down again. Blue eyes, crystalline in nature, looked around taking in the world. She was people watching for the lack of a better word. In her silent world it was one of the things that she loved to do the most. Her hands resting softly in her lap. She wore white. For no other reason that it seemed right to do today. However, if it rained, she would be in trouble, and thus she paid attention to the electricity in the air.

She said nothing. Did nothing. As if she was waiting on the world to come to her. To interact with her. There was a small book, between her hands and the knee length white dress she wore. Which her hands rested on. The cool temperature of the leather felt welcoming on her hands, a pen tucked into the binding of it. But she wrote nothing, she just watched. Observing life, taking it all in, she had no friends, no loves, no family, nothing. She was on her own, and there was nothing to do but experience the world in her own way. Silent or not.

Sousuke had been for lack of a better word busy. Organizing a criminal organization was trickier then he first imagined and he was starting to realize that while yes he needed grunts he was also going to need specialists as well. He looked down at the man he had had to kill, just some idiot who had drawn too much attention too quickly from the looks of it. Sousuke tossed the murder weapon which was a simple garrote into a nearby dumpster. No sense in making it easy for the cops, the garbage trucks would be hear today as Sousuke had left the body in a spot that'd be found in a day or so.

He needed a smoke, it always seemed to calm him after the rush of a kill. He pulled out a pack of of cigarettes and snapped one up with a simple movement of his wrist, he pulling it out with his mouth and pulled out the lighter as he put his pack away. He quickly flicked open the lighter and lit his cigarette as he could hear the rumble of thunder above. He knew he'd have to duck in somewhere soon enough.

Sousuke's outfit was simple a leather jacket that had concealed armor plates in it enough to stop some light weapons fire and deflect a knife, a pair of leather gloves which had been sterilized so he wouldn't leave any fingerprints. Jeans that had fit him nice and snug so it wouldn't hinder his movements today, and of course a pair of combat boots. The boots not really an odd choice there were plenty of ex-soldiers so Sousuke blended in nicely. That was the point of a casual outfit, not to stand out.

And yet still he felt eyes on him. His storm gray eyes looked about until they settled upon the lady in white. He could see her eyes watching him, gazing at him, studying him. Was she waiting for someone? Was she looking for something?

Sousuke stepped forward, curiosity getting the better of him. His eye still watching her as he stepped forward until he was nearly in front of her.

"Waiting for someone?" he asked taking a seat near her making sure that as he sat down the breeze would simply blow the smoke away from her, it seemed impolite to mar the simply beauty of someone in white with smoke.

The smell was acrid.

A subtle burn in the nostrils. The kind of scent that moved down into your lungs and caused them to tighten in your chest. As though your heart was being gentle tugged on. The scent that would permeate the fabric, the hair, and the skin of those that were around it. Laying it's color and scent anywhere, on everything. A marker that you were here. A silent casting system. It was the scent of tobacco, other ingrediants mixed in. She remembered. At some point. Seeing a commercial that showed all the filler that was placed within the small white rolled stick. She knew the dangers, the statistics of cancer and thus death. But it was not she that smoked. But the man that sat beside her.

Blue eyes took him in.

Leather hung about his upper body. Not clinging. And yet not loose. A leather that was soft, which meant worn in or expensive. You did not see very much leather any more. At least, not in good condition. Her blue eyes studied him. With his dark hair. Pale skin. Strong features. He was slender, that much was true. A thin line but she had no doubt that he likely had some strength within his body. No one was truly weak. Not any longer. When the world was this way. After Enlightenment, this had of course, changed everything. Life was hard. But it was not so hard that people hated to live. In fact, she preferred it. Though she had not spent much time before Enlightenment with much in the way of memories.

His voice was smoothe. Cocky. Rough around the edges. Too much confidence for sure. her blue eyes shifted up, to his for a moment. And then back away. His question was simple, deserved a simple answer. She shook her head. Blonde hair falling across her shoulder. Over her chest, the curls, they were gentle. Soft and looping. She brushed her hands over the journal in her lap, her eyes shifting back over the city. She motioned to it, and then let her hand fall back down. Gently wrapping around the book that lay there. Not answering his question verbally, but without anything at all, just a simple gesture.

And still there was silence save for the world around them but still that world just seemed a little quieter, a little less in focus as he watched her with his gray eyes now, watching her, studying her curiously. Because what came to him was not words, not the voice of someone telling him to bugger off, or mind his own business, or whatever. No what came was something that made him more curious about this girl an honest curiosity that was not driven by his desire to survive or to succeed at his task.

It was the curiosity of why she didn't speak with words instead she gestured towards the city and his eyes turned to look around for a moment in the area that she gestured before rather then 'I don't get it' he just simply nodded now.

"Watching the world pass-by...can't say I've really done it myself, always been too busy," he admitted now as his eyes turned to look habitually zooming in on a couple things to bring them into focus, a thing that he had long grown used to being a hitman for hire, a simple habit that showed he just didn't trust the world around him like this girl probably did.

"Must be nice to have the time to do that," he said after a few moments of silence as he heard the rumble of the clouds above, Sousuke calmly glancing up at the skies and seeing those thundering clouds that threatened to drop rain to the ground now. His eyes watched the clouds and then he turned to glance at her now. It'd be a pity if she got wet...he felt it would mar her in someway...he just couldn't quite explain it as he tossed his cigarette to the ground and put it out with a quick stomp of his boot.

'You should probably get somewhere dry soon be a shame for a nice cute girl like yourself to get drenched in the rain," Sousuke said calmly now.

Too busy.

A shame. A common common shame. There were so few. That took the time to enjoy the world around them. Terra had been enraged. Angered. And yet. Loved them still. They were rebuilding what had been torn down. Rebuilding what had been demolished when the anger in the world around them rose up. The crash of the world. The buildings falling. The land heaving up. The air around them. Crackling with energy. Storms ravaged. Seas rose and flooded. Cities demolished. Towns turned upside down. And yet, there were those that were fine. Some places that stood nearly unharmed. But it didn't matter.

No one seemed to take Terra as she was. Someone to be respected, loved, reveared. They were already using her again. Using Terra, constantly. But creating as well. The Enlightenment had taken so much. But between the humans, the elves, the others, the Avians. Between so many races. They were trying, trying desperatly to put Terra back together again.

Humpty Dumpty.

A rumble. A crackle across the clouds. Her head shot up. Face to the sky. Eyes widened. She knew what it meant. Rain. The wetness would fall from the sky. A release of pressure. And yet, it was not the rain she feared. But the sounds that accompanied it. The rumble. The strike of the lightning. These were things she feared. The sound. It hurt her. Inside and out. There was no reasonable fear for this. But it was there. Seated deep within.

He rose. This strange companion of hers. She did not know his name. And he did not know her own. Though she could not have told him in words anyway. It mattered not. She did not think he would care. He was much too involved in his own life. Own ways. The ways that his world constantly shifted, probably, mostly, around him and the things that he did. She was more than sure. By the way he acted. That he himself, was the center of his universe. And she was certain. That others believed this to be so as well. She did not. The world went on. And many did not notice the young blonde or her existance within it.

Her connection to Terra was a beautiful and dangerous thing. Not to mention. The fact that, while beautiful. It was heartbreaking. The musical prodigy was not capable of talking. She had learned to cope. Learning ways to have language without having to fear her silence. But there were times. That her own power scared her.

He called her cute. Kimber's eyes rose. Blue, watching his dark haired form for a moment. There was no reason to call her cute. He didn't know her. But her wide blue eyes, squinted slightly. A blush on her cheeks. The silent girl nodded. Only once. And turned. There was nothing to say. No way to say it. He was going and she would go. But she would retreat to the cafe. There was no way she would make it home. Not before the rain, if she was inside. Inside with people. The storm perhaps. Would not bother her too much. The thunder rumbled again, causing her shoulders to hunch. A bit forward. Scared of the sound. The large booming sound. Echoed inside her, as she stepped within the cafe.

Moving to a table, she sat. Away from the window. In the back.

Sousuke enjoyed the sound of thunder, it reminded him of the big things of the world, it challenged him to push himself to succeed, to dare to reach for the top that few reached for, to dare to challenge things and bring about change. It also reminded him to acknowledge and respect those that were above him for now. He was about to let his eyes close and just enjoy the crashing sound of thunder, to savor the sounds that were above him. Right now though he heard a different kind of noise, a different kind of movement, she was suddenly moving and his eyes quickly moved to settle on her again. It was a raised brow that was shown when he saw the way her shoulders slumped.

It was a sign of fear. Was she scared of the storm? Was she scared of the thunder? Sousuke blinked in surprise for a moment, he had seen it a few times before people who just didn't like storms but this was his first time that his interest was piqued to the point that he was going to do something. The silent girl intrigued her, the silent girl was someone who was so innocent and pure in comparison to him.

He didn't want her to be afraid.

He saw her dart into a cafe and followed, Sousuke followed the girl to the cafe and his eyes spotted her movement as he saw her take a seat at the back of the cafe where there were no windows once again confirming his suspicions. He moved forward with calm steps to where she sat, he shrugging off his jacket easily enough and tossed it into the seat opposite of her before sitting next to her on that bench seat. Sousuke settling down now beside her giving just a light nudge into her now.

His words were none, but his eyes showed kindness and an invitation to lean against him, so she wasn't alone in the storm. His eyes showed a peculiar understanding as menus were dropped off and his gaze turned to the menus. He carefully pushed one in front of her.

"My treat," Sousuke said finally to her as he opened the menu to glance at what the offerings were here, to see which would catch his eye...preferably higher calorie, high-grade cybernetics like his tended to eat calories when used.

The cafe was quieter. A more gentle calm. People talked in hushed whispers. The rain was coming, and many were ordering more. The scent of coffee hung heavily in the air. There were different scents that made up the gross overall scent of the place. The gentle smoothe caramels. The sharper more finely honed scent of peppermint. There was the thick and heady aroma of the actual coffee beans, and yet each bean from different area of the world held it's own flavor and aroma that was released into the air. There was the thick underscent of heated milk as it was added to this and that, and the thick foam of cream that seemed to permeat many things. All in all it was a sickly sweet scent that made her stomach roll and her nostrils flare.

The leather of the bench seat where she had taken residence creaked as the man from the bench outside sat down next to her. Uninvited. It was rude, and very arrogant to assume that she would be interested in his company. But she was not. It wasn't as though he had offended her or anything. It wasn't as if he wasn't pleasant to look at, or pleasing to the eye. But merely, that she was not used to having people take interest in her. Probably more on a morbid level than anything spanning curiosity. She did not speak, and once he realized her malformality she was certain that he would disappear.

No one stayed for long. She was used to the rejection, the neglect, even her own family sometimes seemed much ahppier when she was not around. Reminding them of the things that the world had created in her upheaval. Or reminding them that their sparkling and shining prodigy of a daughter had turned into a mute that had a talent they could not imagine amounting to much of anything without her ability to speak.

Menus were lain on the table. And the man beside her nudged her. As if, she were deaf. Though she was not. She looked at the menu and then with her petite graceful fingers she picked it up. Her nails were well manicured as she silently picked up the menu and held it in front of her gently. Because of the way that her body funneled mana, and the way that it flowed into everything that she touched. Thus, the menu, with every page turn, made not a single rustle, or sound. Though most didn't notice, and she doubted that the man now would.

She looked over the menu, thinking, what she might wish to eat. He mentioned that it was his treat. She was not sure what she wanted. There was a variety of foods. The human girl was able to eat just about anything. She had always been slender. But even still, she finally decided what she would eat.

The waiter returned, and she slid forward the menu. Pointed to what she wanted. A very good looking picture of hamburger bites, with thick steak fries, and a small side of cole slaw. The waiter wrote it down, asking questions about condiments and then took the strange man's order and left the two to theirselves. She gave a sigh, but again made no noise and looked over at him curiously. Wondering what, in the world, he was doing here. Sure, out of the rain, but sharing a table with her, was a different thing.