Vi was strolling down the sidewalk, on that side of town where the streets begin to slope gently downwards towards the waterfront. A cold breeze was whistling up the street, forcing the girl to bring her shoulders up around her neck and bury her mitten-clad hands in her pockets.

She gave a sigh that came out in a quick puff of mist. Damn it's cold... what I was thinking coming out at this hour, I don't know...
Violet frowned through her soft-brown hair, which was hanging in wispy strands over her eyes. She'd given herself a haircut recently, just taking a few inches off, but the result was less pleasing and more annoying than she'd expected. Also, the single purple streak in her hair had been fading, turning rather pinkish, and she hadn't bothered to redo it.

I ought to turn aroud and head home,... I have to work on that paper for next week, anyway...

The beast let a sigh escape his human mouth, a cloud of white trailing off into the air and dissipating soon afterwards. His blue eyes followed the streets, the shade of blue as chilling as the wind that played with his black hair and sent someone's empty beer can clinking softly and repetitively down the sidewalk.

He emerged from an alley moments before. He'd not bothered to hide in his usual domain behind the trashcans, but instead had made home by random trash in a darker corner of the alley.

Now, standing in the streets with bare feet and a shirt with no sleeves, he watched people make their way to wherever it was they were going.

He looked briefly down at his torn, grungy pants and then his eyes followed the trash as it blew down the sidewalks.

Looking up, he watched the woman with brown hair walk down the sidewalk, and he took a step back, crossing his arms over his chest in an attempt to warm himself. He barely shivered, just watching. He liked watching people.

Violet didn't like being watched (except if she didn't notice, because then, of course, she couldn't mind it). She'd noticed Morlos out of the corner of her eye, and was prepared to ignore him like anyone else she'd passed on the street, but then she realized he was watching her.

She raised her head and purposely met his gaze, growling, "What?"
Almost as soon as the word was out, she dropped her glare and bit her lip, half-turning as she passed him. "Sorry - didn't mean that," she mumbled guiltily.

Morlos will have to excuse her - the girl really hasn't been herself lately.

Morlos tilted his head just a little at Violet, managing a tiny smile even as she glared at him.

"It's all right." He gently shrugged his shoulders, blue eyes focusing down the street for a moment. "I apologize for staring."

He uncrossed his arms and placed his hands into his pockets.

Morlos already excused her.

He averted his gaze from her, in case she still didn't want him to watch her.

She stopped completely, finishing her turn and facing him. Despite his smile and (she thought) uncalled-for apology - or maybe because of them - she felt worse than before.

"No, it's - never mind." Violet stared at the ground,...and in doing so she caught sight of his bare feet. Her gaze travelled up, over the sleeveless shirt, then finally stopped at his face again. For a moment, anyway.
"Geez, aren't you cold?" she exclaimed.

"Cold?" he shrugged again. "A little, I guess."

He looked back at her, finding it was all right since he was talking to her now. "Aren't you? It's in the middle of November. You must be."

Violet also must excuse Morlos. He tends to shift his concern to other people. A lot.

"Hn?...Well, yeah, a bit..." She looked at him curiously, then pointed out, "But I've got on a coat and mittens and everything... you're not even wearing a sweater. If I'm cold, you must be frozen."

Isn't this cute, it's a game of concern-for-the-other-person ping pong.

Morlos offered a small smile. "You learn to live with it. S'okay. You should be worried about yourself." He can be completely nonchalant when it comes to the subject of himself. Not that he notices, mind you.

(Blahcrap, sorries.)

She blinked,...then outright stared at him. First of all, she couldn't remember ever being told to worry about herself(or at least not in those words). Second? Well,..this was a total stranger saying it.

How odd.
He did seem like a nice guy, though.

Violet smirked at him. "Get used to what? -" she wiggled a mittened hand at him. "Having frostbitten fingers? ....Right."

"You're stubborn, aren't you?" He allowed himself a little laugh, looking into Violet's eyes.

"Okay, fine, you win. I'm freezing, and nobody can get used to that. But you shouldn't be so concerned. It's not your problem." He wasn't saying it in a rude way, just... it was Morlos' nonchalance again.

"Well,...no, 's not my problem," she agreed, suddenly seeming embarrassed. "I'm just..., commenting on it, I guess. Thought it was kind of weird."

Violet attempted to brush her hair out of her eyes, but it just fell right back.
"What are you doing outside dressed like that anyway?" she asked, then reddened. "I mean, not that it's any of my business...and I don't,...er. Never mind."

Morlos allowed himself another laugh, shaking his head. "It's okay. It's really okay. It's just that... well, I suppose you could say I live out here. But it's okay."

"What's your name?" He asked softly.

What does he mean, he lives out here? I wonder if -- ... I shouldn't open my mouth. I'll just put my foot in it again.

"Um. It's Violet," she offered hesitantly. "What's yours?"

"Morlos," he said in that same tone he asked her what her name was with. "Do you live around here?" Morlos figured she must've, as nobody would brave the cold out here simply for a walk, would they?

"Morlos. That's...really unusual," she mused.

Violet nodded in the general direction of the university. "Not really,...I live a couple blocks that way. I live on-campus. Came out this way for a walk."
Well. How about that.

Morlos carefully arched an eyebrow. "Really, now? In this cold?" He was in mild disbelief, but shrugged anyway. "Can't say that walking hurts, but I'd rather be inside."

"If I didn't go for walks, I'd be stuck in my box of a room all the time and I'd go crazy," she grinned, rolling her eyes. "I have to get back in shape, anyway. I've been lazy since,..well, a couple weeks."

She tilted her head to one side, and out of the blue, inquired, "...Want to go have a coffee with me?"

"I think that would drive me crazy, too." He offered a small smile in return to her grin. "Back in shape? You don't look like you need to go for walks."

Morlos looked back at her with a thoughtful expression. "I'd love to, but..."

Werewolves don't drink coffee? C'mon... what a lousy excuse.

"I don't have any money, see. But I could sit and talk with you in the coffee shop, if you want."

"Heh. Walking doesn't count as real exercise." Violet said sheepishly. "It's like - practice before I get back into the more strenuous kind."

She considered for a moment. "Well, that'd be nice,... but since I'm inviting you, 's only fair that I pay for your drink, right?" she said cheerfully.

Morlos shrugged. "Sure it counts," he replied quietly, "though I do hope you will take your more strenuous activities inside in the near future." Morlos recalled people going to the gym to get their exercise.

Morlos tried not to look too eager, but going without food or decent water for a while tended to make his expression look vaguely like a starved puppy dog's. He didn't just go around searching in dumpsters for fun.

"Would you? I could pay you back, sometime, if you want," he offered.

It might have seemed sort of funny to see someone be overly enthusiastic about coffee, when most people had one every day.

"No, it's okay," she waved away the offer of repayment, looking faintly surprised. "No worries."

She turned and nodded to him. "C'mon. There's a place around the corner."

Violet is an odd sort, isn't she? Shy one minute, and the next she's inviting some random stranger to go have coffee with her...

"You sure?" He asked, then started to walk. He could very well lead her to the place around the corner she mentioned by himself, as he knew this city by the back of his hand by now. Instead, though, he rather preferred following Violet.

Morlos was more surprised than most of anyone would be at her change of moods, but so he figured they were both strange people, living in an even stranger world.

"Of course I'm sure," she smiled at him.

The change in her mood could be explained by a few simple things. Violet was a little lonely. Morlos seemed like a nice kind of person. With Violet, that follows through to 'potential friend', despite that she'd never met him before and knew nothing about him other than his name.
She was naive that way. Morlos was a total stranger. He could be anything - he could even be intending to attack her the second she turns her back.
Does that occur to her?
Hell no.

A few moments later, she pushed open the glass door to the coffee shop (an entirely generic place) and smiled at the burst of warm coffee-scented air that flooded past.
"Mmm," she sighed quietly, smiling a little, and made her way over to the counter.

That smile was all the reassurance he needed.

He followed her, keeping quiet, his footsteps silent on the sidewalk. That, perhaps, could be due to the fact that his feet were bare, though even that might not allow him to be that silent in his walking. Morlos was a slim creature, however, and one that wasn't out to frighten anyone. He followed in silence, behind her, to ease his own troubled mind. Morlos didn't have any friends out here, and he was perhaps as lonely as Violet was.

He followed into the coffee shop, and for once went in instead of stood outside and looked at the people. The warmness of the inside made his skin nearly melt.

"This is a nice place," he commented idly, meeting her at the counter.

Violet wasn't used to being followed by someone that quiet, when she was usually the one acting like a human shadow. It made her all the more conscious of his presence.

"Anywhere out of the cold is nice when the weather's as it is now," Violet said, leaning on the counter, and blinking up at the menu high on the wall. A counter attendant came over and offered a pleasant smile, and asked what they would have.

"Um,...a medium coffee? Cream, no sugar," Violet replied, then glanced at Morlos and nodded for him to take his turn.

"That's true," he agreed, looking over at her as she ordered, pondering what she said earlier. He really didn't think she looked like the type that needed exercise. Of course, all people needed exercise to maintain their weight, but she didn't look like she needed to lose any of hers. Leave it to Morlos to be so in depth about everything.

Morlos looked the faintest hint nervous, but spoke without flaw to his words. "Just a small, please. Black." No cream, no sugar. That was how he actually enjoyed his coffee.

He looked back at Violet, almost as if asking her approval in the cost of something like that. Funny how he was so conscious of every little penny.

Violet liked to stay fit, as much as anyone else. She also hardly needed to worry about her weight, but she was always a little nervous that if she ever quit her routine, she'd bloat up. Never mind that she's never been within twenty pounds of overweight at any point in her life - it was a groundless little fear.

"Mm?" She cast him a meaningless, small smile in return to the look he gave her. The counter attendant returned with the two coffees. Violet paid for them, and took the two paper cups off the counter, holding Morlos' out to him. "Here you go. Where d'you want to sit?"

Morlos took the paper cup that held the black liquid, and looked to Violet, shrugging slightly. "Anywhere's good. Least populated place, though?"

"Sure," she shrugged, agreeing easily, and made her way to a quiet, empty corner, where the fluorescent lights had trouble reaching. The lighting in the corner was flickering a little, as if it was shorting out. Violet slid into a chair, holding her coffee cup in both hands and bringing it to her lips.
"Ack. Too hot," she announced, and set it down to cool for a moment.

Morlos followed her to the table and slid into a chair opposite of her. He set his coffee down. He looked up at her. "I guess it's too late to mention you should let it cool first?" he asked, sounding sort of sympathetic.

"By a few seconds, at least," Violet smirked, teasing, "How could you let that happen?"

She prised the plastic top off the cup and blew on the drink, then tried again, sipping carefully. This time there wasn't a near-scalding. "Ah. That's better."

Morlos grinned, wrapping his long, cold fingers around the small, warm plastic cup. "I dunno. I guess I just wanted to see what you would do if I neglected to inform you that it was hot." He was smirking now, though he was teasing.

"Well, burn myself, obviously," she ginned, rolling her eyes, taking a longer sip as she grew accustomed to the temperature of the drink. Placing the cup back on the table, she drummed lightly on its rim with her fingetips. Gazing down into the coffee, she mused, "...So, what kind of a name is 'Morlos'? I mean, nationality-wise. 'S it Greek,..or Russian, or what?"

"I was hoping something else might happen?" He suggested with a grin and a shrug.

He looked up at her, cocking his head a little. "Mm... I dunno, actually. I have a feeling my parents were conspiring against me, wanting me and everyone else to ponder for the rest of forever what the name means. I think my dad was Swedish, though."

"What about Violet? I've never met anyone with that name before."

She gave a ittle giggle at the explanation. "Swedish, hm?... Neat."
Now if she forgets his name, she'll think of him as 'the Swedish boy'.

"I'm not sure," she shrugged. "I think I'm named after the flower,... It's a English name. I've run across it dozens of times in old books. I guess it used to be a popular name... about a century ago." Violet made a face. "I think it sounds like a name that belongs to someone's grandmother."

"What's wrong with being named after a flower?" Morlos inquired softly and reached a hand up to peel off the plastic top on the cup.

"Violet... doesn't sound like a name that belongs to anyone's grandmother to me." He shrugged. "But maybe that's just me. I like the name."

"Oh, nothing's wrong with that. I kind of like that about it, actually," she smirked, "I always liked the flowers because I shared their name, actually - especially the spring violets, the ones that crop up right after the snow melts."
She resisted a sudden urge to stir her coffee with a finger, and instead took another sip.
"No one's ever told me it sound's like a grandmother's name - it might just be my opnion. I don't know," she shrugged.

"I think the public's opinion rules out yours, meaning no offense." He drew the paper cup to his lips, blowing softly into the cup before taking a sip.

"And if there's nothing wrong with being named after the flowers... why bother to think further into it? Simple and elegant. It might be old, as you mentioned, but is that really a bad thing? All these new names I hear seem a bit... over the top."

His blue eyes looked into her brown ones, if only for a moment, before they dropped to the table.

"Oh, well..."
She shrugged, looking awkward.
"...It's just a name, after all."

"I'm overanlyzing, aren't I?"

"Sorry."

He didn't mean to make her feel awkward, you know.