Lonely (Open)

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak had so far been unsuccessful in finding a job since the House shut down. Apparently all she could do well was exotic dancing, because she'd applied for different places, but so far no one had contacted her back. Feeling discouraged, lonely, and unsure of what to do next, she decided it would be alright to treat herself to some tea and a scone at a local cafe.

The Native girl picked out her order and waited off to the side for it to be ready, glancing around the place for a few minutes. It was nice, quaint, somewhere she wouldn't mind working, if only they were hiring, which it didn't appear they were. Since she was graduating in little over a month and was supposed to be finding somewhere to live after then, she really needed some sort of income. What she made at the House would last her for some time, but not forever. The stresses were adding up with Tak, and the usually calm, easy-going girl was starting to feel the pressures of being an adult.

She perked up as her order came through, and grasped onto the pastry and drink, balancing one in each hand as she headed back outside. Unfortunately, she misjudged her ability to hold both, and as she pushed the door open, the tea tipped and spilled liquid down her low-cut blouse, drawing a gasp and an exasperated moan from the teenager. "As if I needed something else to go wrong..." she mumbled painfully, doing her best to be as graceful as possible considering the circumstances. Tak set the tea and scone on a nearby table and glanced around, hoping there was a napkin dispenser nearby. To her surprise, she felt her eyes sting and grow moist from frustration. This was stupid, she shouldn't be getting so upset over nothing...

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryph's own job hunt had been pretty unsuccessful as well. Especially accounting for the fact that he hadn't even started looking. He knew that was bad, it really was. If he wanted a job, he needed to be looking to find it sooner rather than later - only he had no idea what to do! His philosophy was that he would figure it out and then find a job. Whether it would be effective is in the future's hands.

However, his own want for a job was more down to a want for independence, and not a lack of money. His father definitely sent enough of it, but it felt wrong to spend it, like it was tacky money. Where some people would like having a full wallet, it almost pissed him off.

Today, he'd been looking to spend his money, though not on himself. That was the only exception when it came to using it - if he was spending for the sake of others, it didn't feel so bad. But now he was sitting in a coffeehouse drinking 'fancy' tea. It tasted alright, smelt really good. He liked it. Mmm... He was sat near the entrance, watching people come and go and generally just being his quiet self. And it was pretty serene. Until he heard a gasp. His vision flicked up from his drink as he saw a girl groaning to her boobs - there was a good reason. He didn't know her, but he was concerned, and... no one else was helping her. He swiftly stood and found some tissues, and approached her, handing them over, "Here." He said, smiling sympathetically. Was she... crying? Gryph wasn't sure how good he was at helping people when.they were crying. Whether the crying was a result of this situation or something else was a mystery to him.

"Are you alright?" He asked, "Tea burns like a fucker." Way to be classy, Gryph.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak didn't expect anyone to help. That wasn't really the nature of people - selflessly helping strangers. At least, not typically. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment (something else she wasn't used to) as she felt eyes turn her way at the blunder. Damn it, damn it...

Before she could get more upset, however, an unfamiliar young man approached her. Tak's eyes widened slightly at the kind gesture of him holding out the napkins. "Th... Thank you," she murmured, taking the offered items and quickly dabbing tea off of her cleavage and as much as she could manage on her shirt. For some reason, his selflessness was making her even more teary, not less, and she had to blink several times to rid her eyes of the fogginess. Once she'd gotten as much tea off of herself as she could, she glanced up at the unfamiliar boy with a gracious smile.

"I'm fine, thanks," she replied, dipping her head slightly. "I really appreciate your help." Even as she spoke, her ability was at work - his generous nature was obvious, but she also quickly perceived that he was a meta, and a semi-familiar one at that. She swore she'd seen him in a class or two before. Tak chuckled a bit at his tea comment. "Honestly, I was too mortified to really notice how hot it was until now," she admitted, glancing down at her soiled shirt. She looked back up, biting her lip with a squint. "I'm sorry... Do I know you from somewhere? You look very familiar."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

It didn't seem abnormal, in Gryphon's opinion, to help someone out when they were in need. He seriously wondered why more people were in their own worlds, not giving a second thought about the people around them. I mean, he had days himself when he was too busy, too stressed, too inexperienced to help, but even then, it felt like someone else should be readily available to take him place. It was terrible.

"No need t'thank me," He replied quietly, still smiling. It would've been cruel to leave her suffering.

He turned, quickly picked up his own drink and returned as the girl as she cleaned het shirt with partial success. The more he looked at her, the more familiar she felt. He tilted his head and slipped a hand in his pocket, sipping his drink as he did with curiosity clear on his face as he studied her features and avoiding looking at what she was doing with her hands. He was certain he would've definitely remembered if he'd spoken to her, but no name came to mind.

"Good." He said, honestly glad that she was okay, even if there still seemed to be something bugging her - it wasn't his place to go digging into her business. He shook his head, "Thanks for your thanks, but it's no problem." He only got her some tissues, it wasn't like he saved her life or something.

Gryph's smile grew when she laughed, he liked making people happier. But he understood - when you were distracted by something, other things didn't feel so bad. Like when he had a pile of books thrown on him by no one in particular, but he was so distracted by who it was that it didn't seem to hurt so bad. He looked down for a second as well, chuckling a little before averting his eyes. He was laughing with her, not at her boobs or anything.

The avian boy looked at her again... come on, he recognized her from somewhere... "I swear I've seen you before too... You go t'Hammel?" It was the best thing he could guess. He thought again... and shook his head, "I'm sorry if I knew your name before, I'm stuck." Nothing. He wasn't used to being completely in the dark about things. Well, it didn't happen often, and it tended to annoy him when it did happen. He drank his tea again.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

It seemed Tak was finally starting to lose her douche magnet these days. Between Oliver, Gryph, and a few other people, she was beginning to realize how much more pleasant it was to be around nice folks. Why had she been so attracted to trouble before?

Already, she was determined to at least get this guy's number somehow. Her ability had already picked up that he was gay, and likely taken (because seriously, look at him), but that wouldn't stop her from being friendly.

"Yeah, I do," she quickly answered, smiling at the familiar place. "I've been going there for over five years now, so... That's probably where I've seen you." Tak gauged how old he was - eighteen, nineteen? About her age, probably. "Oh, don't worry... I can't seem to recall your name either, if I've heard it," Tak replied a little sheepishly. She threw away the damp napkins and picked up her scone and what was left of her tea. The wetness of her shirt was quickly getting cool and causing a chill to rise against her chest, sending goosebumps down her arms. "I'm Takchawee, but most people just call me Tak," she told him.

She was always uncertain how people would react to her name. Most everyone had known or heard about her pregnancy a year ago, and judged her by that. She really hoped, though, that this guy wouldn't do that - he seemed too nice. "I was just heading back to the school, actually... Would you like to walk with me?" Pleasant company was always welcome.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

A lot of the people around Gryph's age (and younger, not really older) in Pilot Ridge attended Hammel. That wasn't to say they all did, of course not, but a considerable percentile did, so Gryphon nodded when the connection was made. He'd been at the school for about the same amount of time as well, so the fact that he recognized her, even if only slightly, made good sense.

He didn't react externally to her name, except from smiling warmly and saying, "Takchawee is a beautiful name." He definitely knew that name, or at least the name 'Tak'. Whilst he didn't make other people's business his own business (aka, he didn't like to gossip), he was a sociable person, and he heard the general going-ons in the school. Like how he knew about Kodi a little before even speaking a word to him. And he didn't judge people off of what he heard on the tongues of the other students - it was their job to make a good impression on him. He made sure not to pre-emptively judge Kodi, and now look where they were. It was a good principle to have. So, to him, Tak was a blank sheet of paper for her to decorate. "I'm Gryphon, or Gryph, if you'd prefer. It's nice t'meet you, Tak."

He, himself, didn't know of anything that possibly went around about him. He didn't necessarily do anything 'bad', or what he thought was gossip-worthy, but that was in his opinion. And he didn't really care anyway, if there was anything about him. They could entertain themselves with rumours and he would stick to being.happy.

Did he have anything else to do? ...not really. He had just been killing time in the first place, so he smiled, finishing his drink and nodding. "Yeah, of course! One sec." He threw away the carton and grabbed a bag that was by the table he had been sitting at, as well as his jacket. Once he'd done that, he pulled out his wallet and went up to the counter, placing down a few dollars as an additional tip, because he had liked his tea, and he wanted as little money on his person as possible. He smiled at the servers and left, making sure Tak was nearby.

As they stepped outside, Gryph noticed how damp Tak's shirt still was and frowned, "You cold?" He wouldn't mind helping her out if she was.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak giggled and looked at the ground. As confident as she could be, sometimes when a certain person complimented her, it was like she was a giggly little girl all over again. "Thank you," she replied sweetly. "That's kind of you to say." 'Pretty' wasn't one of the only words she'd heard to describe her name, but was definitely one of the nicest. "Gryphon?" she repeated, eyes wide. "That's a nice name too. I know someone named Phoenix... I guess mythical names are popular with meta-kids or something," she smiled.

She waited patiently while her new acquaintance grabbed his things, unable to keep from eyeing him up despite herself. Ah, she missed having attractive boys to play around with.... Sigh. In spite of everything that had happened to her lately, she still had those urges and desires.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm... Well, yeah, I'm a little bit cold," she admitted with an embarrassed smile. "I wasn't dressing to prepare to dump tea all over myself." Obviously. She tilted her gaze up towards Gryph and studied him with a scrutinizing eye. "You have a boyfriend?" she asked out of the blue, without any indication as to how she'd come to this assumption. It was always sort of fun to see how people reacted to her knowing things about them that she shouldn't. Some people even accused her of stalking, the silly things.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryph smiled when Tak giggled, happy to have made her happy. He was kind of amazed himself that he was able to say her name, it sounded pretty... abstract. And unique. Gryphon liked uniqueness. "I'm just bein' honest." He replied, because that was what he thought.

He nodded and smiled a little more, "Heh, thanks." She mentioned Phoenix and his eyes widened slightly, "You know Phen?" He asked the obvious question, and then laughed a little to himself, "Small world." Of course it was - they all went to Hammel. The possibility of them both knowing the same person was pretty high. And the other comment... he wasn't really sure why he was called Gryphon. He knew that his middle name, Bastien, was named after Dorothée's father's name, but the reason for the name Gryphon... he had no idea. Maybe it was something his mum requested before she... no, he was not thinking about that now.

"I don't think most people prepare themselves for disaster." He said, an awkward expression on his face. "Here," he held out his jacket for her to take. He didn't need it... even if it was a little cold, he'd be fine. He wasn't the one with a soaked top.

Wait... what? Was it... he wasn't complaining if it was obvious, it was who he was (and he was ridiculously happy to say that he had a boyfriend), but... but... still! In any case, his amused shock was clear on his face, "Uhm, uh... yeah, I, I do." He smiled, at the thought of Kodi, and then rubbed the back of his neck, looking curiously at Tak, "How... how did you know I was gay?" It was a blunt question, but he was seriously intrigued.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak blinked and tilted her head back up at the taller boy, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah... his boyfriend and I are friends, and I met Phoenix through him," she replied, not mentioning that said boyfriend and she were more than friends at one point in time. "You know him too?" she chuckled. "He makes me laugh, silly thing. I swear my maternal instincts go crazy around him, he's like a kid." Although she'd also spent enough time around Oriel and the pixie boy to see the... Other sort of side to him, so there was that, too. But she wasn't going to get into that with a near-stranger.

"Oh..." Tak said softly, eyes widening at the kind offer. "You... You're so sweet. Thank you, hun." She carefully took the offered jacket and draped it over herself, immediately feeling more comfortable in the too-large article of clothing. "Are you sure you're not cold?" she asked uncertainly. She was even further in Gryphon's debt now.

She gave a knowing smile at his obvious bewilderment. Ah, she really did enjoy her ability sometimes, if only to see people get confused about how she knew things. "I just know things," Tak said airily at first, waiting a moment before laughing and winking up at him. "Nah, it's part of my ability. I get to know things about people they haven't even told me yet." She sent a small pout his way and added,"Too bad, though. You're amazing boyfriend material, I would've tried to nab you for myself otherwise." Seriously, what kind of guy these days went so out of his way for a stranger like Gryphon just had?

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon nodded knowingly, "Ah... Oriel." Did much more need to be said? Oriel was... well, he didn't seem so bad any more. After that dance rehearsal where he seemed less like a raging possessive beast and more of a human being who tended to lean on being a little... out there and dorky, but he was alright. Which was strange for Gryph to admit, but he was open to interpretation. He always was. He smiled, "Yeah, I knew him when we were kids. Like, kid kids. Only ran into him again recently, but I wish we'd talked before now." ...mmm. He smiled wider and laughed a little with the girl, "He does tend t'be a little... excitable might not be the right word." Maybe it was. Phoenix was funny, and interesting. His emotions were a little haywire at times... didn't make him like his best friend any less, though.

He shook his head, "I'm fine, and it's no problem." He said, already feeling a slight chill attack his arms... he was honestly fine. Just wished he could get his wings out and hide behind them. Anything cold was not fun.

Gryph blinked and looked at her in confusion, and amazement and minor paranoia, until she began laughing, when he covered his face with one of his hands - oh, he was such a gullible idiot. "I should've known..." He said, chuckling lightly, "But that's pretty cool." And then he felt himself blush, looking at the floor timidly. He had been good at flirting and being confident around other people... but that was with guys. Girls were... okay, they weren't separate creatures or anything, and he didn't find them unattractive... he just wasn't attracted to them. Did that make any sense? Probably not. Then again, Gryphon himself hardly made any sense. He could feel his dimple practically stabbing into his face, "Thanks. If I wasn't... and didn't..." He calmed himself for a moment, "If I wasn't gay, and didn't have a boyfriend... or a girlfriend... you're beautiful." Well... if that wasn't forward, he didn't know what was. He rubbed the back of his neck. Just because he was homosexual, didn't mean he wasn't allowed to think girls were pretty. Right?

Right?

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Heh, apparently this guy knew Oriel too. Well, Tak supposed, one really couldn't know one without the other - they were practically joined at the hip. "Oh, wow, that's pretty amazing," she replied, eyes widening a bit. "It must be nice having someone here that you knew from before." Tak wished she had someone. At least she'd be moving out soon. She snorted a bit at Gryphon's choice of words and laughed. "Yeah... He's like a puppy. I... Sort of worry about him with Oriel to be honest." Phen just seemed so fragile, and Oriel was so... Oriel. But so far nothing she had seen had seemed too bad.

"If you say so..." Tak's mouth quirked to the side a little, but she didn't say anything else. She was just grateful for his kindness, and would certainly pay him back later.

She chuckled again, amused by his reaction to her little tease. "Sorry, I'm just so used to knowing things about people, sometimes I forgot it's not normal for most." It was like breathing or eating for her - it was just something that happened. Still, Tak smirked a bit as he seemed flustered by her compliment - she had really meant it, not just mentioning it to get a reaction. "Nah, it's fine," she started to say, but when he finished, Tak found she was blushing a little herself. "Kind-hearted and flattering... I think you're what I've been looking for lately," she chuckled, pulling his jacket closer around herself. "Thank you." She fell silent for a few moments as they walked, feeling a tiiiiny bit irked that he was gay. Of course fate would throw what seemed like the perfect guy at her and have that barrier in the way. Sigh. "So... Any plans for after Hammel?" she asked after a while, looking back up.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Well, maybe it would be nice, if things hadn't fucked up so bad beforehand. "It's an amazing stroke've luck." That much was true. And he definitely didn't regret seeing Phen and being around him again, but... he could've avoided everything that happened in between, if he wasn't such an idiot. He gave a sideways smile, "You and me both." Oriel seemed... okay, just... probably not the best person for Phen. Then again, who that 'best person' was was a mystery to him as well, "...it should be okay. And I'll sock Oriel if he tries anythin'." That much he knew for a fact.

Gryphon shook his head, "It's fine." He could relate, sort of. Like how his wings now seemed so natural to him,it seemed unnatural not to have them. He tried to imagine what Tak's wings would be like... hmm, probably an owl? He didn't know her well enough. But anyway, it wasn't like Gryphon wasn't used to compliments and flirting and such, but people usually focused on the physical aspects of a person and based their comments on that. When it was more about personality... it felt like it meant more. Also, he had heard probably every compliment physically from Kodi - he didn't mind. It was confidence boosting.

He smiled, "No need t'thank me for tellin' the truth." He said, sliding his free hand in his pocket. He looked up at the sky, the world around them and took a breath of the outside air. Mmm, outdoorsness. He perked slightly when Tak spoke again, looking down at the girl and then contemplating her question for a second, "Gonna go t'the University," He didn't really want to go back to Seattle; at least, not permanently. Not yet. "Thinkin've gettin' an apartment, but I've been lookin' at shared apartment ads too." He didn't like the idea of being entirely by himself, even if the idea of being by himself at least some of the time was enticing. He looked at the girl wrapped in his jacket again, "You?"

[Takchawee Ominotago]

"Mmmm..." Tak chuckled as Gryphon echoed her concern. "I mean, I've known Oriel longer than I've known Pheonix, but... They're both just such damned troublemakers." She laughed again, a bit louder. "I've already threatened him to treat that skinny thing well." Tak looked up, almost pensively. "They... Really love each other, though." She didn't need her ability to know that.

It was funny, because as much as Tak sometimes wished she had a more exciting ability... She knew she would miss her extrasensory perception immensely if it was ever gone. It would be like losing her eyesight, or her hearing. But it really was nice to hear Gryph say nice things towards her, even if she had to squelch down the usual expectations that came with flirting with her.

"Mmmm..." Tak hummed, hiding her slight disappointment. "I'm going to be going to the community college next year. I... Can't afford University yet, until I get a scholarship or a job, at least." So far she'd received neither. "I was looking for places to apply today, actually. You know of any places that are hiring, by any chance?" They turned a corner and Hammel came into view, which Tak kept walking towards. "Ahh," she nodded. "Yeah.... I definitely wouldn't be able to afford a place on my own either. I'm going to have to look for a roommate." An idea hit her all of a sudden; it was obvious, wasn't it? Why fate had made them meet? Of course! ".... You... Maybe want to look for apartments together?" she asked nonchalantly. "I mean, I know we've just met and all, but it's better than a complete stranger, right?" And he was someone that Tak wouldn't have to worry about ending up sleeping with. It was win-win (well kinda, because she totally would sleep with him if she had the chance).

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

It was obvious how much those two cared about each other. Which made it even more difficult to accept, because it was so clearly bad, but because they were both happy, and they cared about each other like they did... you couldn't just tear Oriel and Phoenix apart. It felt like it would be wrong, even if it might've been doing the right thing. Gryph nodded, agreeing with everything Tak said, because it was all true. "I don't think either've them would ever intentionally hurt the other." He was pretty certain of that.

Gryph's wings were very important to him. The idea of them being damaged or removed was something he didn't want to ponder on for much longer than half a second. He knew he cared more about his wings than his ability to speak to birds, but if that went away as well, he knew that it would feel wrong, at least. He was a meta and he would stay a meta, simple.

Gryph nodded in understanding, listening as Tak explained her plans as well. Kinda reminded him how lucky he was, in a sense, to be born into the family he was. Then again, it wasn't exactly a blessing. He shook his head with a grimace at the question, "Can't say I do. I wish I could help, though." Because he did. It was a shame.

He kept his face neutral as Tak assumed the want for a roommate was for money. That... wasn't the case. But he didn't want to be saying that. And then she came out with this... idea... Gryph looked down at her and thought for a moment. Well, yes, they had just met, but they had common friends - and she definitely didn't seem like a bad person. Gryphon smirked, "...I wouldn't mind that at all." He confirmed this mentally and nodded again, "Yeah, sounds good t'me." He agreed. It was kinda going out on a limb, but what was life for if bit for being a bit rash sometimes?

[Takchawee Ominotago]

Tak sighed, looking forward again. "I used to work at the House when it was still open," she mentioned, unsure if he knew what it was. "I danced and sang, and such. It was a good job... I wish there was somewhere else around that would be the same." She doubted there were any other Burlesque clubs in Pilot Ridge, though.

She had no idea that Gryph was as well off as he was; Tak had no reason to believe he did. He didn't carry himself with a pompous air, or anything. If nothing else, he seemed the opposite, actually - he'd already gone so far out of his way to help the girl out. "Great," she replied with a bright smile, pulling his jacket tighter around herself against a chill breeze. "I promise I'll wash all my dishes and not come in at two in the morning with some drunk person." She wondered if Gryphon's boyfriend would visit often... Oh well. She wasn't really bothered by that sort of stuff.

They walked past the gates of Hammel and started heading towards the dorms as Tak mused. "I'll... I'll find a job as soon as I can so I can pay for my half of the rent," she told him. "Maybe we can... Go looking sometime later this week?" Hopefully there were some affordable places between the University and community college that weren't absolutely awful. Tak tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and paused as they went inside, shrugging the jacket off of her shoulders and handing it back to Gryphon with a smile. "Thank you... Again. For everything."