Sing a Little Melody {Xaidan Roche}

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

Crowds never bugged Amélie. She never felt out of place in them, didn’t feel a need to escape their pressing confinement. She supposed this was an odd thing, for most people relished their personal space and adored at least six feet if they didn’t know you. But Amélie was far from ordinary, she also supposed, what with how she had a shadow follow her wherever she went.

She watched it flit from one overcast spot to the next, always a step ahead of her as if to keep tabs. It was a minor annoyance, but for the most part it kept quiet. Which was always a welcomed thing. The din of the festival was to be expected—all screaming children and hollering parents with the odd squabbling couple here and there. The smells of many different foods wafted in the air, and despite appearances, Amélie was not relishing the mixture of them all.

Amélie had not lived in South Isle for very long, maybe a few months at most. She approached the notion of a yearly festival with more enthusiasm than she thought she would, and was enjoying herself regardless if she went solo. The games were rigged to make one blow ungodly amounts of money for a toy that was poorly made, and the rides were meant for toddler but Amélie would be lying if she said she wasn’t having fun. But even she had her limits for crowds and sounds and pushy people. She took a break from the rush of the crowds and the incessant sounds, sat down on a bench with a bit of a dorky smile on her face as she watched people go by.

Her hands were placed in her lap, to save herself embarrassment should a freak gust of wind throw the hem of her summer dress in the air. Her wild strawberry blonde hair was thrown into a pony tail, stray pieces escaping here and there. She kicked her feet in the air softly, as her mind wandered. The strap of her purse slipped of her shoulder, riding down her arm as she paid it no heed. The day, for the most part, was beautiful with stretches of blue sky as far as the eye could see, and the sun hot and angry as ever.

Those were Amélie’s favourite kind of days.

Nuru wasn’t in the same frame of mind, hated them more than anything. And Amélie inferred as much by the way it glared at her from across the sidewalk.

[Xaiden Roche]

There was nothing more to it: Xaiden simply loved festivals. Something about the smell of meat roasting out on the open fires and lights everywhere and children laughing just warmed his heart. Ever since it had started, Xaiden's made a habit to walk around for at least a few minutes every day. After all, it was relatively close to his home. The Shrine in question was no further than four blocks away from his little apartment complex, and, since the festival didn't require an entry fee (just ridiculously expensive food, games, and rides), Xaiden had a habit of popping in just to tour the place. By now, he could name every stall and what it sold off the top of his head without even looking.

Today was relatively unusual in that he had decided on stopping by in the middle of the day. Usually, it was around sunset that he stopped by, after a good day's work (never in the middle of the night—cops always found him suspicious, simply because of his... interesting choice in clothing, and given the fact that he was so pasty pale, he was easily visible, even in the darkness), but he had just finished a tattoo for someone (it was incredible! Nearly a full-body design, all in color too! The thing gave the shop a pretty hefty profit, which he definitely planned on putting towards better equipment) and had an hour or two before the next appointment. Seeing that his tattoo shop was on the small side and only had two other employees, he figured they could deal with any walk-ins until his next appointment—they'd been pretty much lazing around all day while he dealt with their only customer that morning, anyways. For all his work, he happily rewarded himself with an extended lunch break, and, given the fact that he owned the place, the other two guys couldn't complain in the least!

During his extended lunch break, he treated himself to an absolutely delicious (and incredibly expensive) turkey leg. You couldn't go to a festival without getting a turkey leg, after all! It was well spiced and cooked in a way that made the meat practically fall off the bone, but the skin wasn't all hard and jerkey-like, like many turkey legs got to being. It was heavenly!

However, he was getting pretty tired of walking. After having finished the turkey leg and wiping the grease off his face and hands, he began wandering around for a place to sit, at least until either his employees called him to get off his arse and come back or until it was nearly time for the next appointment. His tattoo parlor was much further away from the festival, and yet Xai didn't really have a car—parking in the city was a BITCH after all—so he'd walked. One would think that living in the city would get a person used to walking such distances, but Xaiden didn't really do that kind of thing.

The problem with this entire thing was this: Every single bench was taken. Moms watching their children, children watching their moms, couples sitting together, old people sitting together... there was just no room to sit at all! It didn't really help that even some of the trees had stalls nearby, preventing Xai from sitting down on the ground. After going three rounds around the place, Xaiden simply decided that he didn't care or not, and politeness be damned, he was going to sit at the next bench with enough space for him to sit his cute little booty down in. Thankfully, the first open one he did see had no children around at all. As much fun as it was getting his head rubbed by sticky fingers, Xaiden really didn't want his head rubbed on by sticky fingers.

So, with a polite smile, he approached the lovely young woman at the bench and asked, “Pardon me, miss. Can I sit down, or are you saving a spot for your boyfriend?”

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

Nuru never liked it much when she ignored it blatantly, hated how she would just give it the cold shoulder. Amélie could tell by the way its tail flicked irritably side to side, or how it stared at her with a mock of a scowl twisting its poor pass at a face. But did she care? No, not one tiny bit. For all she cared, the damned thing could sit there under the bench all day irate and fuming.

The sun, for the most part, kept it at bay so Nuru couldn’t ‘exact revenge’ by giving her pitiful scratches or burns when she wasn’t looking. It did that sometimes in an effort to gain her attention. Like some little kid, just more malicious and a lot less gleeful.

Amélie. You know I do not like being ignored. The girl admired the way the sun broke through the canopy of leaves above her head, found the way it dappled her sun-kissed skin awfully pretty.

Must you act this way, my love? The festival was certainly a little slice of heaven for the younger patrons. Why, most every kid she saw had the biggest smile on their face, hands full of candy or prizes won.

I see. So it shall be, then. At least the bloody thing finally took the hint. The voice of someone thankfully not Nuru broke her away from her minor annoyance. It was a much welcome distraction, and a man grabbed in dark clothing despite the heat stood before her. She smiled, then, moving a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Unless my boyfriend is tall, pale, and quite crazy for wearing such clothing in this weather, then no.” Amélie joked with a chuckle. “Please, do feel free to take it. It is saved for no one in particular, after all.” Scooting over on the bench, Amélie placed her purse in her lap and made more room for Xaidan.

[Xaiden Roche]

Xaiden broke into a smile, before asking, “Are you calling me your boyfriend? Or is some tall vampire dude wandering around in a snow jacket, just waiting to beat me up?” He paused a minute, slapping a hand over his mouth. Given the shade of his skin, he turned REALLY red REALLY quickly. Yeah, great first impression, Xai, you blithering idiot. With a sheepish smile, he quickly apologized. “Sometimes I forget there's such a thing as a social filter, haha.” He gingerly sat down and held out his hand, his smile melting into something completely, 100% genuine. “My name's Xaiden, and you're a little too young for my tastes, so please disregard my boyfriend comment and please don't think I'm a creep.”

She was suuuuper cute, though, and once again, Xai couldn't help but thank whatever gods might be floating around for the fact that he was not sitting on a bench with a mother and her five rambunctious children. Even if he was pretty okay with kids after that minor stint as a daycare worker (he still had hair back then, but NEVER. AGAIN.), he really didn't want to deal with a swarm again. It was worse, now that he had a bajillion shiny objects on his body, including his chrome dome. He was like... a child magnet, once you got past the stranger danger part. With the way he dressed, he did look pretty stranger danger, after all. He was kind of surprised this girl still put up with him without making a remotely suspicious face.

As an afterthought, Xai quickly continued on. “Also, if I bug you at all, please feel free to kick me off the chair. I won't be offended in the slightest! I know I can be a bit much, haha,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck half self consciously. He had half a mind to head off before things got that bad, but his legs were protesting and he really did want some nice, long sitting time.

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

Nuru, intrigued by the person who sat beside her, had slinked across the sidewalk via shadows passerby's cast. It's murky eyes were trained on Xaidan, and it slipped beside him as it continued to check him out.

Someone you know? It asked of Amélie suspiciously. Once more, she dared to disregard Nuru's questions and pleas for attention. Instead, she focused on Xaidan and his endearing social awkwardness. It was just so out of place, but then one really shouldn't have judged books by their covers. Amélie never would have taken the bald man for someone so... easily flustered.

"Mon ami," She said with a giggle. "I was about to say something similar." Amélie gave him a warm smile. Sure, he may have looked to be in his late twenties, but she wouldn't have pegged him for a, as he said, 'creep'. Age was never something that put the girl on edge, it was the actions of others that did. Unless Xaidan started to act untoward, which she highly doubt he would, then he was in no danger of her thinking of him in that way.

I don't like him, this Xaidan fellow. Nuru echoed in her mind, fixings those milky eyes on her now. Amélie couldn't help but shudder. She had to keep her cool, lest the man beside her started to wonder if she was insane.

Must you consort with him? I don't want you to.

Well, too bad you overgrown shadow. Now shoo. Go find someone else to harass.

But I don't want to. You are so much fun to watch squirm, my little Amélie. Nuru said wickedly after a beat of silence. With a sigh, Amélie fixed Xaidan with a strange expression that was a cross between mildly vexed, and panicked. It went as fast as it came, and Amélie soon replaced it with something a touch more friendly.

"I am Amélie Desmarais." She shook his hand in kind. "And it is a pleasure to meet you, though the way you speak about yourself is so unkind. Promise me you'll give yourself the benefit of the doubt, won't you?"

[Xaiden Roche]

Xaiden frowned a little, slightly confused at Amelie's expression. For a second there, he could've sworn she shuddered, and he could've sworn she looked just a little panicked. However, when he glanced over his shoulder, nothing particularly threatening was there, and when he turned his head back to face her, she had gone back to being friendly and chatting amiably. She didn't even hesitate when she shook his hand—that alone was a little rare outside of his usual habitat in the tattoo parlor, especially when he was all decked out, piercings and everything. He quickly decided he rather liked this girl—she wasn't nearly as offensive as many other people had been. Like the moms that cast him dirty looks. ESPECIALLY the moms that cast him dirty looks.

Xai lit up like a lightbulb immediately as he placed the last name. “You're French, aren't you? I've never been good at placing accents, haha,” he grinned, ecstatic. He completely ignored the last bit about being unkind or something, jumping straight to asking, “Hey, are you fluent? Do you think you could tell me what--” He licked his lips and furrowed his brow in concentration-- “J-je souhaite... à lécher... vos—uh... v-vos orteils means? Some girl I went on a date with a while back told me that, and I had no idea what it meant, haha,” he laughed, smiling easily.

God, he was glad he was wearing his lightest long sleeved shirt today, instead of something heavier. It was boiling out here in the sun. He was tempted to start trudging back to the fully air-conditioned tattoo parlour, but his legs were still protesting, and it was nearly a mile and a half back to the shop. Plus, well, he couldn't very well end the conversation with this lovely young lady so quickly! She had yet to tell him what that girl had said! God, that girl was a little weird though. Because of her, Xaiden was off blind dates forever. It just wasn't worth the awkwardness that ensued.

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

So he had noticed her fleeting expression and the way she had shuddered. Shit. Amélie grew inwardly sheepish, then and threw Nuru a subtle glare. It’s overlong tail slipped around Xaidan’s neck, curled around his clavicle. The shadow being wore the most wicked of grins, all Cheshire cat and meaning no good.

Nuru, go away. Leave us be. Amélie pleaded. It was bad enough Xaidan caught wind of her momentary panic, but to have Nuru skulking around and pretending to choke him? Amélie drew the line at that. I’ll have none of this. Nuru stayed where it was, grinning wildly.

Why? I am not doing anything, my love. It replied lazily, blinking. With a slight shake of her head, Amélie did her best to ignore Nuru and focus on the man in front of her. She could not sit here and fixate on the shadow that took to lingering around her. Amélie threw a smile on her face all the while, to at least give the impression she was, well, normal.

Xaidan’s assumption was correct. Amélie was, in fact, of French stock: born and raised in some tiny backwater town that rode the Parisian border. She smiled and nodded in confirmation.

“Yes, I am fluent in both French and English—“ But Xaidan had already jumped into his question, and whether or not she could translate it. His broken French came out of him uneasily, and he stumbled over the words. Je souhaite à lecher voz orteils? Someone asked him to… lick her toes?

Amélie burst out laughing, apologized to Xaidan for she didn’t mean to be so impolite. But really. Who went around, on first dates no less, asking men if they could lick her toes?
“I—I’m sorry, Xaidan. I’m sorry, but who asked you to lick her toes?” She gave him a wry grin and tapped him lightly on the arm. “And don’t tell me you’re still seeing her, ami.”

[Xaiden Roche]

Xaiden was none the wiser, fooled completely by Amelie's well-practiced facade. He was too interested in what the girl had to say than to actually see the tenseness in her shoulders or the fact that her smile never met her eyes. He really had no idea at all that he was potentially in danger. It was almost too easy.

He put a hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide at her translatedwords. “Oh. OH. Okay. That... that makes a lot of sense, now that you mention it. Oh, jeez,” Xai laughed. With a sheepish grin, he shrugged at the question. “But um... I didn't really date her by choice. My friend set me up on a blind date with a coworker of hers. She was a nice girl, really, but kind of on weird side. I eventually broke up with her after things got a little weirder than I was comfortable with, but uh... yeah. What does it say about me that I went on three dates with her?”

He paused, and with an unabashed grin, he added, “What does it say about me that I blabber on about my nonexistant love life with a random girl I just met? Jesus christ, I need to reevaluate my life's decisions.” He took a moment to laugh at himself, relaxing into the wooden bench.

“Enough about me, though. What about you? What's a pretty girl like you doing here at the festival all by yourself? I mean, we've been talking for a little while, but I haven't seen neither hide nor hair of anyone you're with,” he said. “I'm half worried about these hypothetical people. When will they come claim their missing French girl? They need to protect her from all weird bald guys walking around.”

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

Nuru couldn’t choke him; it was just a shadow for all intents and purposes. But if it really wanted to, it could scratch, bruise or burn him mildly. Amélie just hoped Nuru never thought to do so. Subtly, her eyes kept darting to Xaidan’s neck, where Nuru’s too-long tail draped itself across his collar bone. For the most part, Nuru kept quiet. Just sat behind Xaidan and… watched her with those dull eyes of its. Amélie didn’t meet them, didn’t dare to.

“Now see, this is why I don’t do blind dates.” She laughed. “I always get paired with the strange boys or girls myself.” Though she had to admit Xaidan’s experience far outshined any weird ones she may have had. She couldn’t say she had anyone ask her to lick her toes. Amélie placed her purse onto her lap, picking at the straps and the cheap fake leather bindings. “Three dates? Well, if you want my opinion, I just think it means you’re too kind. And she was probably hot, or had generous endowments.” Amélie gave him crooked grin. She was joking, and she hoped Xaidan could tell as much.

Xaidan was a particularly self-deprecating man. Did he think nothing good about himself? With a sigh, she kept her eyes on Nuru making it look like she was making eye contact with the pierced and tattooed man. If anything, Amélie just thought him extremely free and open. That wasn’t necessarily something to apologize for. It could veer into the territory of too much information, but she was no prude.

Amélie, It cooed. Do you think he would… scream if I hurt him?

Don’t you dare!

Why not? It was a challenge. And it lifted one of its massive paws and stroked the side of Xaidan’s face—though he couldn’t feel it. Not unless Nuru wanted him to. How would you stop me?

Amélie knew it was doing this just to watch her squirm like some worm caught on the end of a fishing hook. It was getting hard to sit there and pretend nothing was up, that there wasn’t a talking shadow threatening to hurt a stranger just because ‘it wanted to’.

“I’m sorry, protect me from what?” She asked, clearing her throat uneasily.

[Xaiden Roche]

((Ugh, please don't be annoyed at me if Amelie's actually hiding her uneasiness well xD
if she's a better actress than I give her credit for, I wholeheartedly apologize UvU ))

“Haha, never mind. It's just me being silly, is all,” he smiled watching people walk past them. His feet were feeling much better now, and although he would prefer to stay here, he knew he'd probably have to start heading back to the shop after Amelie got tired of him—either that, or when Mal called him to warn him that he needed to get back soon, whichever one came first. “But are you really here alone? I mean, it's kind of sad... Well, I mean not that coming here alone alone is sad—I'd be calling myself pretty pathetic if that were the case, but uh--” His gaze soon drifted back to Amelie, who wasn't exactly looking like she was having as good a time as he was.

Xaiden's grin quickly melted away when he realized that Amelie was actually looking a little uncomfortable, rather than bored with him. “Er. I'm sorry, did I say something wrong? You don't look all too great,” he mumbled, taking to fidgeting with the little silver beads on one of his bracelets. Now that he looked closely, he was able to see the slight tension in her shoulders, the way she seemed to look past his eyes into something else. It really did seem like something had been bothering her, and whatever it was had probably been doing so since roughtly after he had met her, possibly even before the time she had looked behind him, all worried-like. Was she actually waiting for someone to meet up with her? Was he getting in the way of whatever she was doing? Was someone chasing her or something? Maybe it was just him. Was he actually bothering her? “I mean, if I'm making you uncomfortable in any way, please kick me off the bench. I wouldn't be offended. I'm good with backing off,” he promised in earnest.

He didn't want this potential friendship—well, more like acquaintanceship right now—with Amelie to break simply because of something he'd said or done without realizing it. She was sweet, genuinely so, and she wasn't afraid of him in the least. That lack of fear was a trait that took much patience for him to build in most people left untattood and unpierced. Even the greenhorn at his shop, a friendly kid named Patrick, was shy at first.

[Amélie Desmarais & Nuru]

Amélie hadn’t truly been attention to poor Xaidan. No, Nuru hanging onto his back was more attention-grabbing than Xaidan’s self-deprecating banter about how he could leave if she wanted him to. Who she truly wanted to leave was that god forsaken shadow that was still pretend to strangle the tattooed man. She knew the moment his smile slipped off his face that something was up, or that he had seen through her flimsy veneer of calm. Neither one boded well and she found herself shifting uncomfortably in her seat. Nuru’s wicked, wicked laughter echoed in her mind, and she twisted her face into a scowl.

The flats adoring her feet were easier to look at than the bald man himself. And especially Nuru. She had to turn this around, somehow.

“What? You? No! Not by any means, mon ami!” Her tired mind grasped for a feeble excuse. Any excuse would do, but Nuru continued to sit behind Xaidan with its wide, smug grin as it watched her flounder. “It—it’s just the heat, is all…” she swallowed and moved a piece of stray hair behind her ear. Amélie hoped the excuse was enough to get Xaidan off her back for the time being, at least until she could work up a good way to politely excuse herself from the conversation.

Nuru was making socialization all but impossible and she’d rather not make herself seem more crazy than she already did.

I wonder how much longer you can keep this up, my pet? It said with mild amusement. It was as if the grin never left its poor pass at a face. Whenever it happened to be around her, at any rate. Amélie narrowed her eyes and tried not to focus too much attention on Nuru, for she knew that would only fuel it more than out right ignoring would.

[Xaiden Roche]

Amelie scowled, before looking at her shoes. Although Xaiden would have loved to believe her heat excuse (god only knew how hot it was out here, sheesh!), it couldn't possibly have made her so uncomfortable as to not be able to look him in the eye. After all, he was the one wearing the black and the long sleeves—Amelie had on a cute little summer dress, and she barely looked like she was breaking a sweat out here. “I don't know what it is that's really bugging you, Amelie, but I find it difficult to believe it has anything to do with the heat,” he admitted, calling her out on her bluff.

With a gracious smile, Xaiden decided to call it quits. There was something about him that was really bugging her, and he wasn't exactly sure what, but he figured if it was bad enough that she couldn't even look him straight in the eye, he should probably leave. Who knows? Perhaps it was something benign. Regardless, however, he figured it probably better to relieve her of whatever it was that was stressing her out and head back to the shop. Patrick and Mal were bound to be angry with him by now for how long he'd been gone, so maybe it really was time to make like a tree and leave the hell alone. “Although I've had a fun and rather enlightening conversation with you, I do believe I should be heading out. My boys can't keep the shop running without me forever, after all,” he pointed out, slowly getting to his feet.

“If any of your friends want to make the horrible, horrible mistake of getting a tattoo or poking an extra hole in an especially weird place, feel free to hit me up. My shop's not too far from here, and it really would be nice to make another friend in town,” he grinned, holding out his hand for a final handshake. “It was good meeting you.”

He doubted he'd see her again anytime soon. A shame, really. She was nice.