Between Monsters and Men [Fleur]

[Lief]

Shor was always on the hunt.

Even now, sat in a diner on some backwater planet - chowing down on the breakfast meal of Kings - he remained vigilant of his surroundings. There was something which had drawn him to this place, though he couldn't entirely place his finger on what that something was.

He often had such instincts, and 90% of the time they proved right. Leaning back in the chair, and staring up at the greasy ceiling, he exhaled a long sigh and gave a pat to his overstuffed tummy. Hopefully the stodgy feeling settled soon, he had to be ready should trouble arise.

Eyes scanned the room as he looked back down from the ceiling and reached for his caf'. Everything seemed normal... Though it was difficult to tell. Disasters came in many shapes and sizes, and monsters bore many different skins.

At that thought his eyes narrowed slightly in the direction of a young child. Seemed innocent enough. I'm watching you, kid. Realising how stupid he was being, and naturally putting it down to the sugar overload he was feeling after scoffing down so many panna-cakes, Shor shook his head.

Maybe there wasn't anything special about this place after all.

[member='Fleur de la Fontaine']

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Fleur had not eaten since she had left her home which to her was synonymous with a prison or a cage of some sort. She had left with only the clothes on her back and did not bring with her any credits - not that she even had a use for them before. Growing up, she was cut off from the world and not allowed a DataPad or anything that showed her anything from the outside world. Her main source of entertainment came from the books that her parents who had considered her a 'child of misfortune' had sent to her. At least she had learnt through these how she might obatin some money.

Her first stop before a restraint was a pawn shop to sell one of the rings she usually wore. Parting with the piece of jewellery would be difficult but she had no choice, she needed the credits. "3000 credits for this old ring," the pawn shop owner offered the girl, obviously hideously lowballing the girl. Desperate for some credits, she accepted his offer even though she had a feeling that the ring was worth much more but then again, what did she know about the outside world?

Finally with some credits in her possession, the girl headed towards what she thought was a small restaurant which was in fact a diner, sitting at a booth near a weathered young man around her age with dark brown hair. Awkwardly she took a look at the menu on the table before her. There were so many items she had never seen before listed on it. Catching her eye was an item with quite a peculiar name 'giju slider' curious to find out what this mysterious item was, she ordered it with a Cola - a beverage she was not allowed when she lived in the prison.

As she waited for her food to arrive, she curiously looked around, observing the diner's customers, accidently meeting the gaze of the weathered man near her. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, Fleur quickly looked away. She had been told many times that it was rude to stare.

[member="Shor Laurent"]

 

[Lief]

"Could I get some more Caf', love?" he asked as a waitress passed by, flashing her a great big smile. She was a rather large woman, and had a motherly feel about her. It almost made him miss his own. Almost.

She returned with a heat proof pitcher of caf' and settled it down on the table before giving his shoulder a slight pat. He had been there all morning, no doubt she thought he'd been stood up. Well, he hadn't.

As she turned to leave Shor let his gaze follow her direction for a moment before something in the air seemed to change. The diner door opened with the tinkle of a bell, and immediately he looked to the entrance. A young woman entered, appearing rather skittish and out of place.

He might have looked away, but during the brief awkward moment that their eyes met he felt all of his spidey senses begin to tingle.

Was this what he had been waiting for? It was rare that his intuition was wrong.

But she looked so... Ordinary.

[member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

When the food arrived to her table, Fleur scoffed it down in a most unladylike manner. The food was not to the standards she was accustomed to but she could not afford the luxury of being picky. ‘Chew quickly and swallow with a sip of cola - kind of like taking medicine.’ She mentally repeated to herself.

By the time Fleur had eaten half of her food, her stomach started to feel strange which prompted a visit to the ladies’ room. The food was not the only thing she was unaccustomed to. Compared to the toilet at ‘home’, the diner’s toilet was small and dirty. The world outside was much different from what she had expected. The lifestyle she was accustomed to was not as commonplace as she had expected.

The water closet did not do much to make her feel better. If anything, it may have made Fleur feel a bit worse. Not wanting to remain in the ladies’ room any longer than she had to, Fleur quickly left the room and walked to what she had thought was her table and sat down. However, much to her embarrassment, she had sat at the wrong table. Across from her sat the young man she had briefly exchanged glances with.

[member="Shor Laurent"]

 

[Lief]

Shor did his best not to stare. Instead he topped up his mug of Caf' and took a hearty mouthful, watching the girl out of the corner of his eyes. She looked as if she hadn't eaten in forever. She also seemed to be hating whatever it was she had ordered. Go figure. There were very few good choices in diners such as these... It's why he stuck to his beloved panna-cakes. They were so simple that no one could get them wrong.

All at once, the girl leapt up and rushed toward the bathroom. Yes, she was definitely ordinary. If a little socially awkward. Poor girl. Leaning back in his seat, Shor sighed and set his mug down. His stomach was beginning to settle, the food baby feeling a lot smaller. He patted his stomach again and glanced toward the clock. Did he have anywhere else to go today? No, he did not. Did that mean he could just waste away indoors? Probably not.

He was about to rise up and leave, frustrated at his bad intuition, when the girl reemerged and sat across from him. Blinking, Shor pushed aside the caf' and gave her a smile. "Should'a gone with the panna-cakes" he said, offering a sympathetic shrug. "Are you okay? You're looking a little worse for wear."

Now she was here the same nagging sensation had begun again. Something really wasn't right.

[member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"I'm fine. The food here is just rather odd and not what I am accustomed to," Fleur tried to smile in attempt to hide the awkwardness she felt. Unfortunately social skills could not be taught, only learnt from experience. In attempt to reduce the awkwardness, she faked the confidence she had once felt before everything started to go horribly wrong. ‘If you have enough belief in your lies, they will eventually become reality.’

“Panna-cakes? I’ve never tried them before. Everything here is just so…different,” Fleur thought aloud still wearing her mask of confidence while debating her next action. Should she leave? Should she stay? What is the social etiquette in these situations? She had embarrassed herself enough already and did not wish to continue and make a bigger fool out of herself. Slightly stressed, Fleur started to unconsciously fiddle with her fingers under the table slowly forming cracks on her mask.

[member="Shor Laurent"]

 

[Lief]

While looks could be deceiving all Shor saw before him was a young girl who was in over her head, awkwardly fumbling from one place to another. You couldn't fake that, not without being a kriffin' Mastermind. And a Mastermind would not subject themselves to whatever it was she'd just eaten. Perhaps something was off about her, but she wasn't the one he'd been waiting for that much was certain.

As the Waitress walked past again Shor caught her eye. "I'm sorry to bother you again, love" he said, offering a little bit of a frown, "But is there anyway I could get another order of Panna-Cakes?"

The woman looked between Shor and the girl then back again, before smiling at him in a mother's knowing manner. Ugh, why did people always get the wrong end of the stick? Still, he wasn't in the habit of correcting people. Not when it was just a slight misunderstanding.

He could sense her hesitancy, the desire to simply flee the situation rather than face it head on, despite how well she might have hid it. "It's alright" he said, "everyone experiences something new, sometimes." He hoped that he could get her to stay at least long enough to try some ... questionably good food.

[member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"But... not all new experiences are good experiences," Fleur thought aloud. Although she knew it was bad to be negative, sometimes she couldn't help herself. Fleur continued fiddling with her fingers. It was a nervous habit she couldn't help.

Trying not to be so awfully awkward, she sat up in her seat in an attempt to become more confident. Unsure of what expression she should display on her face, Fleur attempted the smile again, slightly less awkward this time. The man who sat across from her seemed quite strange to her but then again, she had never met many men before. 'What do people usually do when they meet new people?' she asked herself.

"I'm Fleur de La Fontaine, who are you?" Fleur attempted to introduce herself abruptly in hope that it would decrease the awkwardness she felt. Instead, her abrupt introduction had the opposite effect on her increasing her anxiety. Her hands began to sweat from the stress that came with social interactions for Fleur.

[member="Shor Laurent"]

OOC

Spoiler

I'm sorry for the very late reply, I got a bit busy in real life and didn't have time to write a reply until now .

 

[Lief]

He frowned a little, nodding to her sentiments. "Yes, that is true; many experiences you have ... anyone will have ... will be bad. But that just brightens the better ones, no? If everything was all sunshine and rainbows, would we really realise just how good we had it?"

There could be no good if there was no bad. Things would simply be. And that was no way to live.

The waitress returned, and Shor gestured to the girl. The panna-cakes were placed before her, and then they were alone again.

Shor used the time during to study the girl who sat across from him. Though mousy and timid she was older than he, if he was to guess, though Shor himself looked much older than he was.

The girl's words broke through to his introspection, and he smiled. "Fleur, what an interesting name. I'm Shor."

There was no need to give his last name. In truth he had rejected it a long time ago. He could not be a Laurent without his brother. Without his family. And he had a long way to go before he achieved either of these things.

"Please, try that dish. I promise you, it will be better than the shrill you just ate."

[member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

 

[cheshire_kitty]

“True.” Fleur agreed thinking hard about what the man had just said. If there was no bad, how would we know something was good? If there was no good or bad wouldn’t life be a bit monotonous? Fleur tried to remember a good moment. She remembered the happiness she had felt whenever she received a new book from her parents, excited for the adventures that the book would take her on.

While Fleur was in thought, the waitress had arrived with something delicious smelling. Panna-cakes, she remembered was what the man had called them. With a gesture from the man, the waitress placed the plate before her.

The young man with dark hair and eyes then introduced himself as ‘Shor’. Despite being curious about his lack of a surname, she did not ask about it as she did not want to appear rude to him. Once Shor had finished his brief introduction, he asked Fleur to try the panna-cakes.

Carefully, Fleur cut into the dish. To her surprise, it was much better than whatever she had ordered before. The panna-cakes may have been ordinary in appearance but they were quite delicious.

“Pretty good.” Fleur announced once she had finished the plate before her.

[member="Shor Laurent"]