Jaded [Open]

[Matthew Jameson]

Nothing could have prepared him for this moment. Nothing at all. His face twisted into a scowl as he scanned the area, taking in everything at once, dread spreading over his translucent skin like wildfire. His coarse hands twisted oddly, clenching and unclenching as he stepped away from the counter.

"First day on the job." A rather old woman said behind her hand to an equally old friend. He pretended not to hear, but Matthew's pointy ears caught almost anything. He, instead of slapping her upside the head, gave her a grin and walked over, setting his hands down on their table. "Can I get you ladies anything?" Matthew asked, the horrific grin plastered on his face showing no signs of retreat. Both women looked rather startled, but the big-mouthed one spoke up first. "Yes...I'll just have a water, please." She said. "Same here, my good fellow." Said the other woman, raising a hand as though he were partially blind.

"Coming right up." He said, smiling and turning away. Rolling his eyes, he stepped behind the counter and got them their two extremely unique orders, returning after a few seconds. "There you are." He said, the false smile returning once more. "Is there anything you'd like to eat?" He asked, and, this time without hesitation, they blurted out their answers like it was their dying breath.

"Right away." He said, whizzing behind the counter once more. He gave the cook the request, and had given it to them in a few minutes. After several of these with countless customers, the owner of the pub released Matthew for lunch, and he stepped out into the fresh air.

Not the greatest of jobs for an Air Elemental. Not in any respect. Matthew's original fantasy was to be a nomad, to travel around to the greatest places on Lumen. The expenses of living, however, outweighed that hope, and he was forced to tend to customers. For now.

After what felt like seconds, the owner of the pub called him in, and he returned inside, none to happy about it, either. "Can I get you anything?" He asked the first unattended person he say, plastering that false smile on his face once more.

[meg]

It was a beautiful day today, Megara thought as she wandered through the town of Veifa. It was a large city, and it had taken quite awhile to get here. She had been walking for days, it felt, without getting anywhere, though finally she had made it here. Here was, well, she didn't actually know where she was, but it was definitely different from home. Home there was open plains, crops, and farmland everywhere - here there were buildings wherever you looked. It was a nice change, though Meg couldn't help but feel a little uneasy without the earth surrounding her. Later she'd have to find a nice open field or something to practice with her earth elements so she wouldn't get too rusty.

Unfortunately, at the moment now, her stomach was rumbling away. From the past couple of days she hadn't packed much away, and not realizing she would be traveling for a few days, she had grown pretty hungry. People were starting to stare from the rumble her tummy was making, so finally she decided she could spare some coin for food. Her dark blue eyes glanced around, spotting a little pub down the ways. She stepped inside and made her way to the counter, feeling a bit out of place and probably showing it. She set her bag in her lap and sighed, her stomach letting out a roar it felt like as it smelled some food. Her eyes darted next to her at some couple eating away, feeling herself grow even more hungry as she watched.

A voice caught her attention, and realizing it was speaking to her, she grinned. "Why, yes I-whoa." she stopped herself, covering her mouth and faking a cough to hide her laugh. The smile he had on seemed almost painful for him. Clearing her throat and calming herself, she nodded and tried once more. "Yes sir, could I please get some water?" She smiled politely, her eyes grinning along with her, holding back the laugh. She hoped his smile would become less painful looking and more natural, for both their sakes.

[Matthew Jameson]

Matthew instantly realized that the "scare the shit out of 'em" smile was working, and a sincere smirk appeared. "Sorry, it's the demand of my boss. 'Service with a smile.'" He said, raising his voice as he stepped away to fill her order. He brought the glass down in front of her, taking the moment to study her and make an unfair physical impression.

"There you go." He said, studying what was visible from his standpoint. She was genuinely beautiful, he'd give her that, but she seemed to give off a vibe of intense dignity and pride, which unnerved him. In her lap he could see the bulge of a bag. "Nomad, aye?" He asked, now looking into her hazel eyes. His hands gripped the edge of the counter coolly, as though he had something to prove to this newcomer. "You come with a group, or alone?"

He attempted in vain to shield his jealousy at her lifestyle that he had wanted for so long, and occupied his attention to cleaning the counter tops nearby as he waited for a reply to the questions he began asking this girl he had never met before in his life.

[How short. I'm disgusted with myself. Well, I was rushed. Sorry. ]

[meg]

Meg grinned when his smile became more sincere, feeling less uncomfortable after he spoke some more. She snickered at his remark about "service with a smile" as she was reminded of her own job back home. Oh, how annoyed your cheeks get after a long day of smiles. Her eyes lit up as he returned with the glass and she gave him a quick, "thank you" before picking it up and taking a large few gulps. She was so intent on quenching her thirst that as he inspected her she didn't take any notice, she only gave him a satisfied, and very thankful "ahhh" after setting her nearly empty glass down.

Quirking an eyebrow at his question, she soon found the source by glancing at her lap. She bit her lip a moment, deciding whether or not to go along with it. Of course, telling a complete stranger that you were a runaway probably wasn't such a good idea. That could lead to many questions. And what if her guardians sent someone to find her? Just to be safe, she figured to go along with it. "Oh, hum, yes," she muttered, pretending to clear her throat as she did. Not only was she a terrible liar, the intensity in his eyes made her a bit nervous.

As he continued with another question she lowered her gaze to her water, twirling the glass around to occupy herself. She found it easier to lie when not looking at the person. "Oh, you know, groups sometimes don't always want to go to the same place. I like to wander on my own, it's easier that way." Fiddling some more with her glass, her eyes crept up to watch him curiously. He seemed almost... jealous, in a way, thinking she was a nomad. Of course she had always wanted to venture out and see the world so it wasn't strange or anything. She couldn't help but find him interesting.

As if she had forgotten, her stomach suddenly rumbled to remind her of how hungry she was. Her eyes widened a bit at the sound, feeling her cheeks fluster slightly. She laughed nervously as she gave him an apologetic look. "So uh, have any recommendations on what to eat?"

[Never worry about length with me. Anything is fine, as long as it's something I can work with. And your post was just fine! =D]

[Matthew Jameson]

Smiling, he watched her down the glass of water until there was barely anything left in the cup. He accepted her thank you, but grinned even further. "It's only water, you know. Not the finest wine." He chuckled, the image of her chugging the glass not about to leave him any time soon.

He smirked as she blatantly lied before him, obviously not at all comfortable with his questions. His eyes raised ever so slightly now. "Mhm..." He muttered, dropping his gaze as well. He decided not to pester her further, nor let her know that he had seen past her lie, but this girl was intriguing him, he had to admit. "I understand entirely." He accepted falsely as she mentioned that she had split from her group for a time.

For a moment he sat blankly, his mind wondering as he silently wished that he could be living the similar lifestyle that he had expected of the young woman before him. It was only until he heard her stomach rumble that he paused, laughing right into her face. "I'm sorry." He said, passing a hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide away the outburst of laughter. After asking for a recommendation, he nodded, and waved a lazy hand to the end of the counter, where a single menu lay. It flipped into the air, twirling its way over until it landed gracefully before him.

Flipping through it lazily, Matthew turned to a page and skimmed down it, until he found a description for a sandwich. He paraphrased the ingredients to her, twisting the menu so that it faced her. "It's basically a non-vegetarian salad between two slices of bread." He said, smirking. "My personal favorite. Not the best for you, but it's energizing, and you sound like you need a bigger meal right about now." He said, glancing at her stomach as though it may explode for emphasis.

"Shall I whip you one up?" He said, taking his arms off of the table and folding them over his chest. His ebony-toned wings beat softly behind his back, drawing a breeze for a few moments before they stopped and tucked back into their normal positions behind him.