Alex sat on a bus bench leaning her head against the glass. She let out a sigh as she stared blankly at the people who passed by. The teenager felt completely and utterly alone. It had been a while since she has seen Delga or Ronnie, the people that she had started to take a liking to. Delga had told her that she could start fires with her mind and that it was a ‘talent’, but it didn’t seem like one to her. She had yet to master any kind of control over the blazes. They still occurred at random moments when that splitting headache came back which always ended badly.

Sapphire eyes continued to watch business men and women go about their normal routine. Her baggy overalls were somewhat new, probably because she has stolen them from a store when the sales lady wasn’t looking, yet dirty. Her black shirt however was still a bit holey in some places.

She had yet to find a job of any kind and had begun to resort to stealing since running out of pocket money. The red head had started to grow thinner from not eating that much. Alex needed to find a job and soon. But how would a job work if she had these periodic headaches? She had to master this somehow before she starved to death. Perhaps she could use it to scare all the people out of restaurant so she could eat all the food in sight. She laughed at the thought inside her head, but quickly resumed to a blank and emotionless face.

(Hope ya don't mind if I join ya here...)

Nienna was feeling... odd today. It was a feeling she couldn't quite explain, because really... she didn't know how she was feeling today. And that's what it made it odd, because not knowing how you're feeling is rather a strange feeling in itself... I suppose she was feeling strange, then.

Or rather, like a stranger, as she strolled up the sidewalk, offering a less than confident, tight-lipped smile to the people that glanced her way. They smiled back, waved... their usual thing. Now, Nienna was a friendly person, all things considered, so she waved back happily, and was on her way.

Her blonde hair was left down, touching her shoulders in the back and sides, and mostly in her face in the front. It didn't quite hide her eyes... which looked very blue from a distance, but perhaps almost green up close.

Regardless of the weather, she wore a rather large blue sweatshirt over a long-sleeved dressy sort of shit, with horizontal black stripes. The base color was silver, and a tiny bit of the shirt underneath peaked out from the sweatshirt.

On her left ring finger was a ring. Nothing special, but rather a ninety-nine cent accesory, and she liked the colors. It was a mood ring, and changed according to the temperature of her body. That was the only accesory she had.

For pants, they were rather new jeans. They were sort of tight and form-fitting like a second skin, but at the same time, slightly baggy.

She shuffled quietly, old nike light blue and once white, but now rather grey colored shoes scuffing gently on the sidewalk. She leaned up against the back of the bench, and let the smile ease away from her expression.

"Howdy," she said, in quite a friendly tone. I did mention she's friendly, didn't I?

Alexandra hardly noticed the girl that came up to her as she was lost deep in thought. She jumped, a little startled, as the girl said ‘howdy’. The red head turned to see a small girl with blonde hair looking at her and smiling. She offered a smile in return though she didn’t feel all that cheerful at the moment.

”Hi.” She stated with a sorrowful tone in her voice. Her sapphire eyes looked back at the girl again instead of starring out into nothing. She looked her over again and noticed that she was extremely for some reason. That was an emotion that was lacking in Alex the past few months, actually years if you thought about it.

”Why are you so happy?” One eye brow went up as she asked to show she was interested in knowing why the girl was so happy.

"Donno. Don't see why I shouldn't be." She offered a small, one-shouldered shrug, with the slight hint of a smile on her less than pretty face that was, for the most part, covered by her hair.

"And you," she gave a gentle, light-hearted poke to the other girl's shoulder, "why are you so down?" She frowned, slightly. "You look like a kicked puppy."

And she sort of sounded like one, too.

Alex wished she could join in on the pleasant mood this girl seemed to have, but yet she could not. Her future seemed so bleak at this point that it was hard for her to get excited about anything these days. School drop out, constant headaches and this stupid ‘talent’ that kept her from trying to have a normal job. She was stealing to survive and she hated it. Her live seemed so miserable. She felt like a kicked puppy at that point.

”I think I’m down all the time. I haven’t really had an ‘up’ in probably a few years now.” She sighed, but tried to not to trouble the cheerful girl with her troubles. She seemed to make everyone depressed around her. Alex still couldn’t understand why this girl was talking to her, but she was glad she struck up a conversation with her. It was nice to talk to someone for a change. The last person she had actually spoken with was Ronnie and it had been some time since she had seen her.

She swung her feet up and around so she had them resting on the bench as well, her back resting uncomfortably against the arm rest on the bench. Her sneakers were worn; definitely had seen better days.

”I’m Alexandra by the way, but you can call me Alex. Everyone does.” She offered a smile though she didn’t feel like smiling inside. It was merely for show.

Nienna wasn't troubled by the other girl's troubles. No, in fact, she liked to listen. Sometimes listening made things better. She continued to lean up against the back of the bench, looking down at Alexandra, who was simply sitting there.

Though it was true there was really nothing to be excited about, because her father drilled her family into a financial hole once again, they had to get rid of their car, they were going to sell their house because they couldn't afford it, and her family wasn't the... greatest. People were yelling and screaming, and her older brother hit her so hard she would have bruises for days. But she never cried. Why she was smiling... well, she didn't even know, herself. Just this morning she'd v\been cutting herself again. A mental shrug, though. Why wonder why you're happy, if that'll ruin the happy effect?

"That's the trouble with earth, y'know? Seems so melancholy all the time. It's a bitch, though, really. Sometimes I wonder what Mother Earth is doing to us." A brief smile, a shake of the head, and a small laugh.

"Freut mich." She said, out of habit. "Oh, uh, pleased to meet you, I mean." Sometimes she forgot people didn't speak German.

"Very pleased, Alexandra. M'names Nienna."

”Ain’t that the truth.” Alex responded to her comment of earth being a bitch. It really was. Nothing seemed to be going right for her. She caught herself wondering all of a sudden if this girl knew about the world of magic. However she wasn’t about to ask considering if she didn’t know she would start to question. So she remained quiet and listened instead to the girl. Alex could not muster up enough energy to laugh along with the girl. She just really couldn’t see the bright side of this harsh world.

She blinked in a confused manner as the girl said something she didn’t understand.

”Huh?” She said in reply to the strange language. Obviously she had never heard German before. The girl corrected herself and said that she was pleased to meet her.

”Oh. Okay. Nice to meet you to.” She replied in a friendly voice though that hint of despair was still lingering as she spoke. Alex could not help thinking that she did not have a future before her unless she learned to master her ‘talent’ and got rid of these damn headaches. She had not had one in a while and she became more worried every day rather than think they were gone. She knew it was just building up. The longer she went without a headache the worse it was when she finally got one. She didn’t particularly feel like burning down another building. That was what happened last time. She had just managed to get a job and then her damn headaches came back, setting the entire warehouse on fire. Wasn’t that a great way to start any kind of job? She left the next day of course for she feared someone would get hurt next time.

She came back out of thoughts as the girl said her name was Nienna. That was an interesting name. Definitely more original than her own.

”You live nearby?” Nienna had not driven or anything of the sort and so wondered if she lived nearby rather than out of the city’s limits. She hoped it wasn’t to sudden to ask Nienna since she had just met her, but her curiosity had made intrigued on wanting to know more. If she had overstepped any boundaries she would shy away from asking anymore questions.

It would be terrible if Nienna knew about magic. Sure, she knew about Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, The Last Herald Mage... movies and books like that, and found it fun to play pretend, but... her imagination couldn't handle such things as magic in the real world. It'd be overwhelming, really.

Nienna felt sorry for the poor girl, even knowing nothing about her besides her name, and she looked like she could use a hug. Nienna sighed, thoughtfully. She didn't attempt any more smiles. She resisted the urge to go right out and say 'hmmm', but her expression did it for her, anyway.

"No-ope, can't say that I do. Came out here for a walk. I live miles from here."

Nienna wasn't at all bothered by the question. Believe it or not, though she didn't like people that much, and was rather skittish and nervous, she thrived off of a one-on-one conversation, even with a stranger. It was fun.

”Oh.” That was all Alex could think to say in response to her not living near by. Lived miles away? Must have taken a while to get to the city, she thought. But at least Nienna had some place that she could live. Something more than Alex could say for herself. Where ever she crashed that night was where she slept. It usually was in the park or somewhere out in the country side. She liked the trees, but yet she always felt that if she had a headache she would set one on fire. That wouldn’t be too pleasant now would it?

”Is your house nice?” She was always curious as to what kind of houses people lived it. Of course at times it made her feel jealous, but she was starting to get used to not having one particular place to sleep. She didn’t have to worry about any possessions though it would nice to at least to be able to buy some clothes and especially food. Money for at least the essentials would be really great at that point. Damn she needed to find a job soon. But how could she after the last incident. It really was a predicament. And not many people wanted to hire a high school drop out. She couldn’t help that part though. Setting your father on fire by accident was not something that was easily dismissed.

Her legs were starting to go to sleep so she stretched them out across the bench.

"Uhm, I guess." She said, thoughtfully biting her lip as a sort of pause. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, placing a hand on the back of the bench. "Can't afford it though, so we have to sell it," she added with a shrug, but refused to say it sadly, "but it doesn't matter to me. I cold be living in a hut and be happy that I just had somewhere to sleep." Though, secretly, she'd be wishing that particular hut had internet access.

"What about yours? It seems lots of people out here have really nice apartment complexes. And, if they're lucky, even houses." She made a face. "Real lucky, though."

Alex felt embarrassed that she had asked the question now as Nienna said that they had to sell it because they couldn’t afford it.

”I’m sorry.” She felt stupid. Curse her curiosity. She listened further as Nienna said she would be happy with living in a hut so long as there was internet access. So she had a computer. That must be a nice luxury. She had hardly thought about owning anything past a decent pair of clothes and three meals a day. She was lucky enough to get one meal a day at this point.

When Nienna asked her about her home she could feel her face go red with embarrassment. What was she going to say? What would Nienna think about her if she knew she didn’t actually have a home? Well…Alex wasn’t one to lie, but she wasn’t one to tell everything about her right off either.

”It varies.” That was simple enough right? It wasn’t like she was lying. Her house varied every night. Well….where she slept every night varied anyways.

"Huh. No, it's not a problem, really. Nothing to apologize for." Nienna didn't see why she should have to apologize. So what her family was in debt? So what she had to get rid of her home? She could always live in a hut, like she said.

"It varies..? You mean, you live out... here?" She said, and frowned, gesturing with her left hand vaguely just around the city in general, in one swooping hand motion.

Nienna felt sorry for her, if that was the case.

She couldn’t believe that Nienna was not worried at all about losing their house. She wouldn’t want to lose one if she had one in the first place. At least she could have something over her head at night and not try and dodge the rain when it did. Cold and rainy weather was not the best nights in her mind.

Alex could feel the embarrassment stirring in her gut once again. She couldn’t lie to her. She was never big on lying. It was one of her least favorite things.

”Well, not exactly around here. I usually sleep in the park. It’s nice and quiet there.” Her voice was a little bit more upbeat at this point, though it was all for show. She was trying to make it sound like living in the park wasn’t as bad as it sounded. The crickets on summer nights were always a good way to fall asleep. It was probably one of her favorite sounds since she didn’t have any music to listen to.

”It’s just hard for me to get a job so I can afford a place to stay.” She didn’t go any further than that. She wasn’t sure how she would explain why she couldn’t get a job. That was not the best subject in the world to talk about, especially if Nienna had no idea about the magical world.

She frowned deeper. "Oh dear. Alex, that must be horrible." Try as Alexandra might to sound upbeat about sleeping in the park, Nienna knew that was no place to sleep. Even if there were crickets to fall asleep to, there were also bugs, and wild animals. And Nienna didn't really like either of those things.

"It must be really hard on you, though..." she said, sadly.

"I feel bad." She stated, looking around.

"It's gonna get cold sooner or later... do you wanna go get somethin' t' eat?" Nienna hadn't eaten all day. She hardly ever ate, because of certain stomach issues of hers. But she figured that with no job, and no house, surely Alex hadn't had anything to eat all day either.

"I could use the company."

Oh great. Now she had someone feeling sorry for her. That was something she didn’t want to have happen. Most of this had been brought down because of her, but also because of what she couldn’t control; her damn headaches. She brought her legs up close to her and wrapped her arms around them.

”It’s not so bad. It’s been working for me for a while now. Can’t see why it won’t continue working.” That didn’t sound as good as she thought it was going to. Now Nienna might ask how long she had been living like this. She didn’t really want to relinquish the fact that she had been wandering on her own now like this for two years. Like that would make Nienna feel any better. It’s okay. I haven’t been eaten by a wild animal yet. Oh yeah. That would really sooth things over.

Alex felt like drooling at the sound of food, but she refrained from doing so. Her stomach had definitely heard the delightful word and now began to growl, telling her that she should eat. But she didn’t have any money. So how could she pay for food?

”I’d love to, but I’m broke. I don’t have any money for food.” Now that really soothed things over with the fact that she thought she was doing well. No money for food. She was doing great. Alex turned away from Nienna now really feeling lower than low. She really needed to find a job whether she had headaches or not.

"Just because it works, honey, doesn't mean it's good." She shook her head lightly, staring down at her fingernails. They were all chewed past the point where fingernails should be cut, and they sort of hurt. Especially when her hands sweated. She mentally shrugged that off, and idly flexed her fingers.

"Nah, it'd be on me. I have money, silly. 'Sides, it's not good to not eat."

She frowned and little, then pouted. "C'mon, pretty please?"

Alex thought about it for a moment. Perhaps she should take her up on the offer. She was paying and that meant free food. But did she dare risk this person should another head ache arise? After pondering over it for time she finally let out a sigh and stood up. She laughed as Nienna expressed a pouty face and was frowning.

”Alright then.” She spoke excitedly for she was starving and the sound of a decent meal could hardly be spoken any other way. She slid her hands into her overall pockets and walked over next to where Nienna stood.

”Where’s a good place to eat? You lead the way.” She took one hand out of her overalls and laid it on the back of the bench, leaning her weight against it.

((OOC: Sorry it took me so long to reply))

Hey, it does work! Hell-o company! she giggled in her mind, smiling faintly as Alex accepted her offer of free food. She felt as if she were doing some good deed for God, even though she quit believing in God years and years ago. At least she was being a good samaritan.

"Monroe's. It's not very far from here, and I assume you must be starving."

Nienna leaned her weight into her right leg, her faint smile becoming a faint smirk. "Okie doke."

She started walking, her pace not fast or slow, but rather in between, weighing a bit more to the faster side of things.

Alex need not say anything in response to the question if she was starving or not. Her stomach did all the talking as it began to growl rather loudly. Her face turned red from the embarrassment.

”I guess my stomach answered for me.” She spoke and then laughed.

As Nienna started to walk away, Alex quickly walked after her and walked beside her to Monroe’s. She had never been before. Hopefully they had good food.

"And that's all the answer I'll need, chica." By the way she talked, you'd think that they were good friends. But if a stranger approached her, this was how she'd want to be treated every time.

As they walked, Nienna stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"Mind if I ask what you were doing just sitting there, if it's okay? If it's none of my business I understand." Trust me, Nienna had plenty of things she'd not like people to ask about.

When Nienna asked her why she was sitting there, Alex got a little tense but did not show it. Of course she was thinking about what the hell she was going to do about this ‘gift’, if that is what you could call it, and if it kept reoccurring and she couldn’t do anything about it. Why did it always happen after headaches or when she became blinded by anger?

”I was thinking about stuff.” She stated rather vaguely. Like when my next meal was. But of course that fell right into her lap. At least something had gone right today, or for the last few days for the matter.

"Fair enough." She said with a nod, twisting her fingers around in her pockets, thinking. She wasn't going to ask what she was thinking about, because she feared it'd be rude to ask. She'd probably tell someone to zark off if they asked her what she was thinking about, because it was quite obviously none of their business. Either that or she would say, 'not much. Just stuff'.

So she continued on in silence for another minute or so, until she could see the diner come into view.

Then she tried to think of something to strike up conversation with, but all of her topics just... flopped. So she still said nothing.

((Do you want to go ahead and post in the diner?))

((Yeah. I figure either one of us should.))

((I guess I will then. lol))