Into the Rush

[Valencia Donahue]

The absolute threshold of an average person’s vision is the capability of seeing a candle flame from a distance of about 30 miles away on a dark night. It sounds awfully far, but once you think about it… Isn’t it normal to be able to see the lights of a faraway city while you’re driving on a freeway? How far away is the sun from Earth…? And how dark would this solar system truly be without a single star…?

It was just a random thought that Valencia had as she rested by a lake filled with swans. It was a very foggy morning, but nothing that she wasn’t used to because she came here all the time when she felt like relaxing by a lake. It’s not just any lake, but the lake right next to the Exploratorium in the Marina District at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The place can be seen from San Francisco Bay, especially if you take a ride on one of those boats heading out to Alcatraz Island. That aside, the long haired “blonde” was laying down on her back on top of a fallen pillar with her arms folded behind her head to serve as a pillow. She looked up to the misty heavens, continuing to ponder in her mind as the sound of swans filled the air in the distance as the trees around her provided her shade.

Pretty darned dark.

And she decided to talk a little to herself, believing that the only real company she has as the moment are a bunch of duckies and swans that were heading out to the lake from around her.

“It’s not so much how far away the light is… But more so… It’s about the light itself.”

Valencia sat up on the pillar, then looked out to the lake as the curtain of fog began to fade away. She smiled softly as she felt a wash of warmth fill the air and made her feel cozy in her coat. It was a beautiful sight to see all the waterfowl treat this sunrise of sorts like it’s any other sunrise, but it was a new one each time Valencia came here. She looked off to the distance to the Exploratorium with its huge dome and the rest of the Greek architecture that surrounded the area.

“So tranquil…”

And she laid herself back down to continue resting. Such a pleasant thing to do instead of thinking about how crowded the a good amount of the classes have gotten, now that Varronians transferred to her high school.

Exploratorium… The museum of science, art, and human perception… When I’m bored and most of the tourists are gone, I want to try out the Tactile Dome again… Wandering about in a pitch-black labyrinth, finding your way out with only your sense of touch… Then again, I do kinda cheat by using my other senses as well, but…

::sighs::

((OOC: ::blinks:: Well, at least geographically... The Exploratorium is somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge...))

[pinefresh]

~one-two-three run-two-three move weakling move!!!~ Malikai was mentally yelling to himself as he continued his early morning workout routine being his 10km run. The morning was foggy around the lake he ran past on his way back to his uncles house. His uncle would just be getting up soon and a few minutes later so would his aunt as they prepared for work.

The fog as it rolled off the lake was quite a pain in the ass when it came to running. The fact it was so early and still dark coupled with the fog made seeing objects such a branches and protruding rocks more difficult. So far stumbling was a frequent during this run and Malikai had tripped and sworn so many times that he had run out of curses in Russian and Italian. He was stuck resorting to English words to describe his frustration which made him even more aggravated.

The marina district was generally a rather nice area to run in because of all the waterfowl and the water was just relaxing. Today Malikai could hear the swans but he could not really make them out all too well, partially because of the fog but mostly because his attention was on the ground and avoiding tripping hazards.

Sadly in a moment of weakness he overlooked a crack and stumbled on it. "shit!" he snapped as he tried hard to regain his footing before slipping on a fallen branch and landing shoulder first on the ground. The sweatshirt he wore ripped slightly as his frame hit the ground. Looking up from where he found he could see a pillar with a girl on it not 4 feet away from him.

sighing to himself he stood up and tried to smile to hide the embarrassment. "Sorry...I hope I did not disturb you...too much."

[Valencia Donahue]

I hear obscene things… And I don’t even know which language they’re in. Spanish? No… It’s Latin though… Italian? Wait, what’s up with those other words? Is this person… Lost tourist?

Valencia blinked her silvery eyes as she watched the fog roll in and out as fogs do, as normally as any cloud would travel across the sky. She decided to pay little mind to the random profanity in order to enjoy her relatively peaceful morning... Until she began to comprehend said profanity. She tilted her head slightly into the general direction where she believed the ruckus came from, but didn’t go searching for the source. Valencia figured that the source would come to her eventually, if she figured correctly.

Was he mixing languages? Okay, sure, now it’s in English… But I always have this thing for accents and languages. Lingo, lingo, lingo… Rhymes with dingo. Australians have this awesome accent too…

But her train of thought could not continue on its merry way because… Well… It’s hard to ignore the sound of a body going “whump” against the ground. Especially hard ground that was used for the foundations of the picturesque, fallen Greek architecture. Then Valencia heard the person's voice saying his apology.

“At least you admitted that you disturbed me. I would’ve been offended if you didn’t.”

Perfect morning, messed up because of cussing. In whatever tongues they may be.

…She said with her gaze staring off into space. With a shift or two of her legs, Valencia then slid down the fallen column so that she would land on her feet, not far from the fella. She tilted her head to examine him briefly, then looked off towards the lake as she continued talking.

“I suppose apology accepted. Not sure why you need to apologize unless you have a reason to… Which would be… Um… Running about saying mean things without a reason to.”

Why would someone want to say such rude things in a time and place like this, anyways?

[pinefresh]

“At least you admitted that you disturbed me. I would’ve been offended if you didn’t...I suppose apology accepted. Not sure why you need to apologize unless you have a reason to… Which would be… Um… Running about saying mean things without a reason to.”

~....~ His mind had hit a blank as he stood there quiet and embarrassed at his current situation. This was something new Malikai was never at a loss for words in any event. Today, right now, all he could do was just stand there awkwardly looking at the girl who was most likely sizing him up. He began to assume that it was the time of day that was completely and totally messing him up in the category of rhetoric. Then again Malikai was never able to think much before breakfast anyways which is why he ran right after getting out of bed. Running and thinking did not go hand in hand, if you thought while you ran you got tired faster.

"I...um...well you see...that is..." Malikai tried talking but it seemed that was not going to work too well. It was not only the fact his mind was still more or less sleeping, but also how she phrased her response. She accepted his apology but at the same time suggested that while it was a good thing, he really had no idea why he was apologizing. That was unless it was his profane use of words he was apologizing for. Malikai would have to kick start his brain to save himself. The easiest way to do what was to simply check out the girl he had just run into.

She was Asiatic of some sort, eyes were a bluish color leaving him to believe she was most likely Filipino. blonde hair which was a very typical of most girls but he always found it strange on Asians. They could pull off vibrant colors such as electric blue better than anyone else but they chose dull old blonde which on many seemed to blend in with their skin. She was well built, shorter than Malikai but her arms and legs looked long. The long legs were common in girls but long arms were just...different.

'Right...What I was apologizing for... was the fact that I may have disturbed your nap should you have been taking one or for startling you with my sudden loud use of the word...shit and hitting the ground I guess about 4 feet from where you were reclined." Stated Malikai mentally giving himself a pat on the back for being able to do so even if it was not that well said. "I was however unaware that you could hear me cursing from much further away in whichever language I happened to have been doing it in at the time. I speak three and to be honest I'm not exactly awake so I could not tell you offhand which you had heard. So I guess I also have to apologize for that as well. It seems that I have also made a bad impression of myself and would also like to apologize for that. But that’s all I can think of to apologize for at the moment so unless you can think of something else...well you get the idea."

[Valencia Donahue]

Three… Languages…?

That was the first thing she thought about after the individual spoke his piece. Then it was…

Did I say something weird again?

While he was speaking, Valencia walked over back to the fallen pillar so that she would seat herself, then directed her face into the individual’s direction. Somehow, she felt something about him that made the gears in her head turn. Kinda like realizing that what you stumbled upon (or vice versa) was a puzzle and if you have this innate want to figure things out, curiosity does the rest. She thought a bit about his unusually dyed hair and somewhat sinewy build, if that was the right word to use. Then she saw his ripped shirt and remembered that there was a person here talking to her. Eheheh… Yeah.

“Well now… Gratitude for the extended apology then. Makes sense. In return, I suppose I owe you one as well. It wasn’t my intent to appear as though I’m judging your character too quickly. But that’s the weird thing about life nowadays. You never know when you’ll meet a person again and sometimes people think of everything they can about someone while it lasts.”

Valencia tucked a wandering strand of her dyed, blond hair behind an ear, while allowing the rest to get in front of her eyes anyways. Her face was the same throughout this entire conversation aside from occasional looks of confusion, but now… It wasn’t as “stern”. Just quieter looking like before she was disturbed. In a sense, she accepted the new stimuli in her surroundings.

“Hmm… Impressions… Considering our circumstances… I think names would be a good start… I’m Valencia Donahue. Pleased to meet you."

[pinefresh]

"Valencia..." He repeated back allowing his mind to savor the sound of it. "Thats quite a pretty name, it suits you well." A little bit of flattery never hurt when it came to talking to girls especially, the ones whose facial expressions generally stayed neutral. It seemed the girls he had run into recently all had more or less that exact same emotionally drained look. Even when being an emotionless prick Malikai showed more emotion on his face than either this girl or the other one he had met. He could not help but try and coax a smile out of her.

She had walked back to the pillar to sit down probably slightly bored by Malikai's long winded apology. It seemed that everything about him was long winded lately. Being forced to talk so much in the past several days made it hard for even him to listen to his own voice. He would be sure to start learning how to get to the point of what he wanted to say without beating around the bush, especially if he didn't need to.

Malikai was unsure of what to tell her his name was. He was debating giving her his real name as it seemed no one else used it. His name had now become Benedict in all matters be it in school or outside. To strangers and acquaintances he was The Benedict. He decided to give her both just as a show of good faith. "My name..." He said and approached her until she was just out of arms length. "My name is Malikai Britanicus but at school I am known simply as Benedict and believe me the pleasure is all mine." With this he nodded his head slightly toward her and extended his right hand the the customary greeting known by most as a handshake.

[Valencia Donahue]

If you could turn this moment into a fairy tale, Valencia was some sort of mythical creature, like a dragon or a griffon, and Malikai was the passerby that stumbled upon a “good coincidence”. Kinda like… The said dragon was taking a nap, a traveler wakes it up on accident, the dragon inspects the traveler, and the traveler knew some sort of secret code that kept the dragon from thinking ill of the traveler right on the spot. Not just a verbal “open says me” or “open sesame” or “SESAME STREET!!1!” sort of code, but one that was understood on a higher level. Like how in Harry Potter, you tend to get scenes of when the students had to respectfully acknowledge the mythical creature before the creature acknowledged the students. It was a sign of respect and Valencia appreciated it. No, she wasn’t intending to seem snobby or demanding of said respect. Respect was something to be earned and for such an exchange of respect to occur at the same time meant that the meeting was a pleasant one.

“Malikai Britanicus the Benedict.”

Why does his name make me think of eggs and Sailor Moon?

“I like that name… It sounds very… Exotic and distinctive. It even briefly made me think about a Cirque du Soleil production by the name of ‘Varekai’.”

For a split second, she got images of fallen angels, television clouds, spotlights, and awesome magic shows that go awry. Valencia then accepted the hand and shook it firmly. She then offered a seat by her side with a motion of her head. No smile. Just enough expression on her visage to show that she was friendly. She reserved more positive looks on her face for close friends and direct eye contact for those she held in the highest regard. And in random attempts to strike a look of utmost murderous intent into the hearts of those she despised as well, but that’s another story.

“So what brings you out here, speaking in other languages earlier?”

From what I could fathom, it was probably a morning jog… But still no reason to spout blasphemy… Did he lose something? Ripping his shirt I understand, but that was moments ago, not since I began hearing him from afar…

“What languages were you speaking in, anyways?”

[pinefresh]

"Jogging in the fog is never fun especially, when you know your going to fall as I did." Replied Malikai as he followed the motion of her head allowing him to sit down on the pillar beside her. It was a good start and it at least gave Malikai the indication that she was in some way warming up to him. Maybe even a chance that she might even show some expression on her face as it seemed his little attempt to do so through some basic flattery had failed. Luckily for her Malikai was not into giving up so easily and was confident he'd get a rise out of her sooner or later, hopefully sooner.

"Every time you heard a curse was every time I tripped on something...which as you could hear was quite a few times..." He assumed she could probably hear him from about 200meters at best, if he was being as loud as she had let on. Then again with as quiet as it was he would say 300 meters at most which is where he had hit the path. After running down several streets and jumping more than a few fences Malikai was able to make it too the path. His run in fact was more of an obstacle course than anything else. It took him several weeks to find the right fences he could jump without being seen, falling into a pool, or being chased by a dog. his 10km run was the perfect mix of endurance running and static interval training (ie: jumping the damn fence). By the end he was always tired and drenched in sweat as he got into the shower.

"The languages I speak, read, and write fluently are English, Italian, and Russian. I am also able to speak some of the basics in Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, German, The main dialect in Thailand whose name escapes me, Mandarin though I never really liked it, French, Korean which is really fun to swear in, Japanese which I also never really liked, Ancient Greek, and one of the dialects from the Philippines but I forgot the name." As Malikai began to list them off he had to look up at the sky with his natural blue green eyes for guidance to make sure he didn't miss any. He also used his fingers to keep count. He was astonished himself to realize how many languages he spoke to some degree and was sure Valencia probably was as well. "Though I was swearing in my three fluent ones only...well mostly in Russian and English...Italian isn't something I really learned how to swear in." he said looking back at the girl beside him.

Thats probably when he noticed them first, her eyes, they were Grey. ~ The hell, is she blind?~ He thought to himself recalling that she had in fact looked past him the first time she spoke. He leaned back and then forward to see if he could find that little walking stick but saw none. There was no way she was blind, she walked too well and without the aid of her hands. Plus she knew where his hand was to shake it and had a pretty firm grip at that. Malikai put his hand on the pillar closer to Valencia and leaned in to get a better look but could not see the customary outline on the iris that could be seen with contacts, this girls eyes were really that color. "Wow...I'n all my years of traveling the world I have seen many things..." He began to say in wonder, moving back to his original sitting position as he did. "...but nothing the likes of your eyes, especially not on a person that could see. You are truly blessed with a gift, I envy you."

[Valencia Donahue]

“Ahh… So you do travel… And… Thank you. When my aunt and uncle learned that I wasn’t blind, they wanted me to have surgery to fix it… Just in case my ‘fake blindness’ was actually a different eye problem.”

Yes, she's assuming that Malikai meant how her eyes were grey and usually suited for those who can't see. Valencia had to admit, this person here was perceptive.

It’s not so much the distance or how far away the light is, but the light itself…

…Valencia thought to herself, suddenly being reminded of what she mentioned earlier to herself as Malikai spoke of what he was doing before their meeting. What she thought about could be applied in several ways, like it makes no difference how far away the person is. It’s all about that person at the other end, doing whatever he or she is doing at the time. A thousand stories can be told from an instant, as long as you acknowledge the presence of the person on the other end first. Valencia was used to her surroundings and simply acknowledged a new one as something irregular. Sensory adaptation is the process by which we become more sensitive to weak stimuli and less sensitive to unchanging stimuli. The weak stimulus was Malikai in the distance cursing and the unchanging stimuli was the sound of water, ducks, swans, and other things. Thank goodness it’s because of sensory adaptation that people are capable of sleeping at night in a noisy city.

Enough rambling. Back to the story now. Her eye twitched mildly when she heard that he knew so many languages. Valencia knew just two or three, while other were simply sounds she stored in her memory banks and recalled it quickly enough to recognize which languages they were. How did this d00d get the time to know so many languages!? No, let me rephrase that: How did this dude get the time to know the basics to so many languages?! There were quite a few explanations to this and Valencia decided to go with…

He either must’ve found the need to know so many tongues… Or have way too much free time on his hands. Does he travel? Is he some sort of interpreter? He’s only fluent in English and… Huh, I got the Italian part right… I seriously need to stop thinking about Russian using the context of the situation… How could I have missed that?

“You must’ve had good teachers or something since it’s a bit hard for me to imagine someone being able to fluently speak in languages that are native to countries that are so far away from one another… Italy and Russia. Relatives? Or you’ve stayed at those places for a while?”

((OOC: Headache…))

[pinefresh]

(OOC: I'm sorry to hear that...especially because even with your headache you still write far better than I do ;D)

“Ahh… So you do travel… And… Thank you. When my aunt and uncle learned that I wasn’t blind, they wanted me to have surgery to fix it… Just in case my ‘fake blindness’ was actually a different eye problem.”

When he heard this Malikai laughed nervously because when he noticed they were not blue he assumed she was in fact blind. "I hate to say it but at first I thought you eyes were blue but when I saw they were grey I did think you were blind. However considering you were able to move from and to the pillar fluidly and shake my hand I kind of realized that you could not be blind." It was awkward to admit that he had just assumed based on her eyes that she was blind but it seemed plausible. Malikai was also sure she got the whole "oh my god your blind" remark all the time which then probably lead to the "I'm sorry...I just assumed" apology, especially from doctors. It was not her fault and I'm sure she did not enjoy such things but it was just the way the world worked.

From the beginning of time people have either worshiped or shunned for such abnormalities. Look at the ancient Greeks or Romans if the child had been naturally deformed in some way during birth or was born with an extra piece of skin, they were exposed by the parents. Incans believed a large sloped forehead was a mark of beauty. Being left handed at one point was the sign of the devil so were birth marks. This was how the people of the world are, and they will probably always be that way. That’s probably part of the reason Malikai did not like people all too much.

He was happy he could at least for a bit change the subject from blindness back onto himself. Though Malikai never really liked talking about himself especially his family considering how his parents died. "Good teachers...not really, I was never really taught in the formal sense of the word to speak any language save English, Italian, and Russian." He took a deep breath before continuing giving Valencia the warning that this could be a long speech. "I was born in Italy somewhere around Rome. My dad was born and raised in Italy and was a historian. My mother was...is an archeologist for one of the museums in Rome and she was born in Russia in St. Petersburg. As a result when I was born my mother wanting to preserve her language and culture in me spoke only in Russian. Being in Italy I learned Italian as it was the language and they both taught me English because of its universal acceptance."

Malikai had to stop for a second to collect his thoughts before continuing on. Mostly so he could cut off any type of emotional outburst during his story. He never showed any emotional weakness to anyone and he was not going to start now, not with a stranger. Also he had to keep from tripping up with the past tense crap because as far as Valencia was concerned his parents were still alive and well. "My parents partnered up and began to travel the world for their work starting in Europe. As you can probably guess they took me with them where ever they went so I was schooled in language in each of those countries. Though you have to trust me in the fact languages are not hard to learn once you manage to find commonalties with them."

"You see after learning Italian my father schooled me in deciphering ancient texts in Latin and Greek. From Latin and my knowledge of Italian to learn French, Spanish and Portuguese. All those languages are Latin based and are very similar in sound and pronunciation of words so they were easy. Next in the list of languages learned is German which was far more difficult. English as you may or may not know was created with a mix of Germanic and Latin dialect, so really I was working backward with that one. To be honest I still do not really have the ability to speak the language."

"My parents then moved onto South America where I got my practice with Spanish and Portuguese as both are spoken there. Then it was onto Asia which was the last continent I was with them on before being sent here. I started in China with Mandarin and learned that there were similarities between it, Korean, and Japanese. They all in truth came from the same dialect that was later adapted differently in each country. So really that was trial and error with those three but I eventually got the hang of it. The secret is in the writing. My last stop was Thailand and I am never going back there for anything. I learned the language from monks while I trained with them. They taught me what to know and even how to spot a transvestite. And no I am not going there at all, it’s not a pleasant story and I would rather not talk about it."

Malikai gave out a great sigh after talking so much. He wished he would not have to hear his voice for at least the next hour for anything longer than a sentence. It was time to get Valencia to talk more about herself, her life and what not. After all it is only fair that she share a bit about herself with Malikai considering he basically gave her his life story in a nut shell.

"So...how about you tell me a bit about yourself?"

[Valencia Donahue]

After listening to Malikai’s explanation in regards to her eyes, Valencia raised a hand and nodded, which was kinda like the universal sign for “no harm was meant or done”. At least, it was universally understood enough in parking lots where drivers may end up just inches away from colliding into one another, then show this gesture as a sign of apology. Maybe in courts too, when you swear under oath, but alas… Who knows for sure when something is truly universal until it’s proven? It’s a weird thing to talk about, but it always interested her to think about stuff like this. The universal sort of things that transcend language, appearance, and everything else that may apply. A bit like instinct, however not quite like things that are believed to be universal but not. Instinct tells you when to fight or take flight… Certain concepts like what is good, evil, beautiful, or ugly are understood, but not always agreed upon.

Does “aura” count as something similar to instinct? Hmm…

Who knows. Let’s have the narrator ramble about that some other time, hmm? But anyways, Valencia didn’t mind being mistaken as a blind person. Sometimes she even takes it as a compliment. There are exceptions as well, where she actually gets smidge offended, but those incidents are reserved for the idiots who get on her nerves… And when those nerves are spark wires while they’re at it. She felt comfortable around Malikai though, and his take on life was lengthy, but not unbearable. It explained a good deal and even revealed surprising facts too. Some even stirred some thought, like why would he not want to return to Thailand and even how to recognize a transvestite, but it would be rude to make him any more uncomfortable than he was, so she decided not to pry.

“A bit of myself, eh? My my… Where to start? I’m a San Francisco resident and I’ve attended Hircine High for around three to four years now. As you can see, I’m not blind, although it appears as though I am. I’m Vietnamese and a natural brunette, another few things that cannot be proven from a glance, but once I grow out the blond dye, it’ll be fairly obvious. Hmm… I like to wander around whenever I get the chance and learn new things.”

Well, it IS just a bit…

“I frequent Pier 39, where you’ll find plenty of street performers, a boardwalk, and lots and lots of tourists. And… Sometimes you’ll see me in movies and TV shows. Just briefly though.”

It wasn’t as though Valencia was trying to brag, but it was something she did and plenty of her acquaintances knew this after getting to know her for a while. It was more like in the fashion of saying “my neighbor knows how to juggle” or like describing a talent that made a person stand out. As the wind began to blow, the fog rolled in and blocked out the sun again, causing her to zip up her jacket and cross her arms while gazing downward.

[pinefresh]

Valencia was not offended by his initial assumption of blindness...that was good. Perhaps she was starting to feel comfortable around him. Comfort was important when you were around people for any reason. Malikai may not be the most social person in the world never was never would be. In fact there were very few instances he did voluntarily talk to people, mostly they involved conflict. When he did end up in situations as the ones he was in now his mind moved to a zone in which he felt comfortable, to him he was really feeling as if he were reading a story. He was just there contently watching the story from another place and another time...probably at 3am lying in bed wondering why the hell the story had to get so good now.

Valencia being better at small talk than Malikai was able to structure her points more easily and in a more straight forward manner. Perhaps if he stayed around her longer he would learn how to do the same. Being able to do so was crucial in certain circumstances like trying to get out of jail. Not that Malikai had ever been to jail in the United States or anywhere else...except that one incident in Thailand where he got stuck in one for three days. Not only was he sure that the jails here were like the Holiday Inn compared to the ones in other countries he did not plan on ending up in one.

Valencia talked about how she was naturally Brunette and that she was in fact not blind, which was noticeable by Malikai. He did not think she was blond, it would be irregular for an Asiatic to be naturally blond. That was not to say brunette was common at all. Most Asians had jet black hair to match their really dark eyes; however, in Valencia's case she had seemed to gain some of the most uncommon genes in the entire world for her race. She was indeed special.

Though on his first assumption he assumed based on her eyes that she was most likely Filipino as they were the only group of Asian's, if you could classify them as fully Asian, to have light eyes. She was in fact Vietnamese which was something he would not have guessed, even with the blond hair that was more frequented among that group. It seemed wherever he went and encountered Vietnamese they all distinguished themselves with blond streaks in their hair most of them were gang members at that. He did not expect Valencia were part of one here though.

If she had been going to Hircine for so long how had he never seen her around? It made no sense to Malikai how all these people who had been there years before he arrived only made themselves known to him now. It was a troubling thought for Malikai after being at Hircine for an entire year prior to this meeting. He let her finish talking before he would take over yet again but this time in a more straight forward fashion. The one thing he did not expect was that Valencia was in movies. Sure she was pretty but her manner made her seem much more reserved than that, almost as if she allowed shyness to dictate her manner. He laughed slightly shaking his head as he did.

"Sorry, it's just that I have been in Hircine for an entire year and I have never seen you around. I know it isn't impossible to miss people especially when you have no inclination to meet them. However you I don't think I would have easily missed. So you were in movies? To what extent? Were you like an extra or something?"

[Valencia Donahue]

“It’s quite alright. Sometimes, certain things aren’t noticed until the ‘need’ arises.”

Like satiating curiosity and simply exploring the world around you. “No” reason is reason enough at times when curiosity occurs.

“I assure you, I have been mistaken for your typical blond at times and that’s the thing about this world. The things you see every day… Sometimes go unnoticed.”

Quidam, Quidam~ La nuit recule~ D'un rêve à l'autre tu valses~♪ Yay for Cirque du Soleil to feature representations of the anonymous passerby in a world where everyone couldn’t be any more unaware of one another. At least, yay for those who can interpret its storyline enough to understand that every stranger is a “nobody” until you find the “somebody”. Sprinkle in a ton of existentialism and introspection, then voila. You’ll see what I mean after figuring out the symbolism. For a quick example, Valencia and Malikai were strangers until their names gave them an identity of sorts, then as the meeting went on, the two established one another as “somebodies”. Now where was I… Valencia spent a second to sigh and mentally butcher her ex-boyfriend’s gizzards, fasten them to a mental wall with an imaginary stake, then light it on fire before tossing them into the proverbial ocean. She just wished that she could do that without getting caught, but she supposed that random furniture chucking in the halls ought to do whenever they met in school.

I hate that bastard… Why did I choose the permanent dye… I just want my hair to grow out as soon as possible…

Snappy snap! Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey! Here we go, Valencia was back to the immediate present where Malikai was now mentioning her part-time profession. Hours in the mind are merely milliseconds in the real world, huh?

“Yeah… I was in quite a few movies, but not in as many as the professionals. Mostly shows nowadays since the sort of things you see on television and all. SVU and CSI, things like that. As for being an extra… Yes. You can say that I’ve been an extra for a good while now.”

I was the extra that got blown up… Thrown out of tall buildings… Shot at… Smacked into by high-speed vehicles… Tossed into shark infested waters… The works. If it’s possible in Hollywood, they need stunt people if they decide not to use CG. A double is an extra, after all. At least I’m not one of those imbecilic thrill-seekers who do stunts without thinking, then head off into the ER the next day. Or hour.

[pinefresh]

“It’s quite alright. Sometimes, certain things aren’t noticed until the ‘need’ arises.”

That was an interesting choice of words to use for their meeting here. Even if it was just a saying it was interesting, what did she mean by need? Was this girl Valencia going to help him out in some way? Was she going to be another partner in the struggle against the Pillars and their so called Captain? Emotionally perhaps? Malikai seriously doubted that last one, she didn't seem like the type of girl that went after younger guys. If she had been going to Hircine for three or four years that would make her anything from 17-19. Which meant that Valencia was older than Malikai by at least one year. Not that he would mind or anything, she was cute and seemed pretty smart which scored high in his books...

It was time to return to reality and stop daydreaming about the girl beside him. He was sure that was rude in some way he could not remember at the present moment. Even if he had run into plenty of guys who do it anyways. Though he wondered if girls did the same thing. Could Valencia be thinking about him right now? Was he just totally lost at the moment because this is probably the most, for lack of a better word, meaningful conversation he had had in a long time?

He felt his stomach grumble slightly as Valencia continued talking. Fully snapping back to the subject at hand, or whatever Valencia was talking about now. It was something to do with her mistaken as a typical blond. Somehow he really doubted that unless she was putting on a show for Malikai or wore contacts at school. Eyes like that on a body like that, do not go easily missed. He also doubted she would enjoy such a thing if she were on T.V. She seemed like someone that would rather stand out just a little bit.

'Well if you don't like being mistaken like a typical blonde just re-dye your hair." He looked her over and thought about what color would suit her eyes and her skin. Now that was a hard combination to please at any rate and visualizing it would be twice as hard. "I could see black with like a vibrant color such as ice blue or electric pink working. The dark color would naturally compliment your skin where the vibrant color should compliment your eyes as well as your skin. I think it would look pretty cool." The suggestion was up in the air she could take it if she pleased. Malikai after all had a lot of experience when it came to hair dying, his head was a testament to that.

~CSI...I've seen that show I enjoy how forensics work in a perfect world situation.~ He thought to himself as she continued on just verifying that she was an extra of some sort. "So, what type of roles do you play as an extra?" He asked out of pure curiosity.

[Valencia Donahue]

The funny thing about need is that you’re not always sure if it’s really what you want. In some cases, certain things are useless until you find a way to apply it and if you think back, maybe that was the need all along. If not, at least it was there when you needed it and its handiness counted. If you’ve seen the movie “Big Fish”, you might be able to recall a scene with a girl commenting on how in the end, your age doesn’t make a big difference as long as you love someone. Valencia currently lives with a roommate who is a lesbian (and has a girlfriend) and what she told Valencia all the time was that you should love the person for who that person is, not what. Thanks to that and the break up with her ex, Valencia didn’t want to fall in love again based on pluses and minuses. In short, she was single and not looking. If it’s going to happen, it’s going to be natural, maybe even spontaneous, but most of all, something that made sense, or as much sense love can make, anyways.

At least he’s thoughtful in giving suggestions.

“I don’t mind being mistaken for your garden-variety blonde, but I’ll be honest that it’s the reason why I dyed my hair that bothers me more than the way it looks. Besides, I like my natural hair color to grow in and show that I bided my time in fixing my mistakes… Instead of covering it up.”

I hope that answer suffices. I’d rather not talk about my ex and how he needs to burn in sixty pits of hell.

“I appreciate your thoughts though. Not enough people give alternative solutions to a matter. I just get told to dye it brown again and that’s it, but my shade of brown isn’t what you can find easy in stores or hair salons.”

Then, Malikai asked about her profession again. Valencia didn’t mind since she got asked this all the time and truth be told, it wasn’t as though people actually looked for her name in the credits. She looked up across to the lake as the fog cleared again, revealing the sun and causing the swans to take flight and go wherever they choose to go at this time of day. Time of day… The sun was bright and she figured that it must be almost noon by now. Time sure flies, doesn’t it?

“Hmm… I must say, I play all sorts of roles, but mostly walk-ins and the miscellaneous characters. Mostly random victims, lackeys, villains, and sometimes I’m on the ‘good’ side too.”

Yeah… Mostly the people who get hurt the most. Either I “die” in first few minutes of the episode or I take part in the cool scenes in the middles. Movies are fun though.

“And this may be rude of me to ask, but did you have breakfast this morning…? Since… I think your belly is telling you something. Around here, I think they have food stands for the tourists somewhere.”

((OOC: Eek... The explanation for food stands would be that this area is near the Exploratorium and all that.))

[pinefresh]

~To pry or not to pry that is the question.~ And that was the question going through Malikai's head at the very end of what she said. Her use of exaggerating the words reason and look (OOC: I can only assume you did based on the fact they were in bold. If I'm wrong just PM and I'll change it.) gave a good indication relating also to what she said that the reason was a person. Hopefully a guy at that, but he would never treat a person with a different sexual orientation differently for it. Unless of course they were guys and they were hitting on him. In which case he would get really uncomfortable and try as nicely as possible to tell them he did not like them in that way and just avoid them for a bit. That didn't make him a bad guy right? Right? Though if she was Lesbian he would enjoy that so much more because he could talk to her about how hot girls were and not feel uncomfortable about it.

Another win/win situation for Malikai in any case. He decided it would be best if he didn't pry and wait for her, should she want to, to tell him. Hell maybe he'd get the added bonus of kicking the crap out of someone which would be awesome. And as we all know awesomeness equals godliness, and godliness ruled the world of men. Gods and their Heroes since the beginning of the age of Myths have set the standard for life of the human race. Malikai knew this and would try to live the life worthy of a soldier in the days of old. Humbly taking care of himself and what was his and his families until it was time to fight and protect it.

He did not pray outright to any God from any religion. He was what could be classified as an old world Christian. He believed in the Christian God and his messenger Jesus the Christs, following their values. He however in times of conflict turned a blind eye to those values and turned to the values of the old Gods. As a result of the old teachings that he had read in Latin he did not believe in eternal damnation as it was a creation of the institution of the Church. He did however believe that there was judgment but believed that man could redeem himself no matter the sin as God originally intended it to be.

His mind snapped back to the person who was still talking to him, the girl he had been sitting talking to for time unknown. It was getting light and he was getting really hungry. Valencia mentioned she had heard his stomach and that there were food stalls nearby for food. Malikai flinched slightly at the idea of eating that stuff. "I'm not a health nut by any sense of the word, but American mystery meat and deep fried Bananas never appealed to me or my stomach." Malikai then pulled out his wallet and began to look through it to see if he had any money, he seemed to have about $50.00 on him. Now if only he could remember where he got it all.

"If anything I'll go find a diner or something to eat at because making it home now at a run would be impossible. Too many people up that could catch me running through their backyards." Malikai stopped for a second and looked back at Valencia unsure of what to do now, he was not good at the whole goodbye thing or the hello thing for that matter. He stood up, stretched, took off his ripped hoodie revealing a plain white t-shirt that matched well with his black sweatpants. "Well I guess I should be off then I have quite a trip ahead of me...so I guess I'll see you at school then."

He nodded his head respectfully toward her and turned to leave, the little voice in his head angry and yelling at him. It wanted him to ask her to come with him to get something to eat. The rest of his brain told him there would be plenty of time for that later, at school. He wanted to see her smile before he did anything like that. Besides he needed to digest what he had learned from this new person anyways, who she was and what she did. He had time for the rest later but now was time for eating and thinking.

[Valencia Donahue]

((OOC: It’s quite alright. I used bold for emphasis because that line of dialogue would’ve been awkward to say allowed without it.))

Valencia couldn’t help but laugh lightly for a split-second then controlled her composure when Malikai expressed his thoughts in regards to the food stands. She wouldn’t have suggested it if it was so horrible because there was also a pretzel vendor even further away from the first chain of carts, but she decided not to speak about it because when you’re hungry… You’re hungry. She turned her face from the lake to Malikai as he spoke of heading off to some diner, just in time to catch him looking at her. They were face to face and eye to eye for a moment until Valencia blinked and moved her pupils off to the side instead of quickly looking away like how most people did when you catch them looking at you.

Those eyes were a likable shade.

“Alright, Malikai. It has been a pleasure meeting you.”

She nodded as he headed off, then closed her gray eyes as she began to get into a more comfortable position. Valencia wasn’t hungry just yet and this weather and time of day was just warm enough for a short nap, then lunch elsewhere.