{Fragments of the Moon}-Felix?/Open

[g i b b e t ?]

Straightening himself from his genuflection, and nodding a gracious assent at her gratification, Felix fell into an easy stride beside Jisanna, making sure not to outpace her with his long legs. Not that she was much shorter than he was... in fact, she nearly matched him. An interesting surprise... she was quite tall for a lady. The boy sat back to consider how he felt about being only slightly taller than a woman. Normally, it was in his best interest to seek out shorten women for companionship. It was much easier to feel in control when you towered over your partner. And not just for the sake of relationship-based dominance. It was easier to make broad romantic gestures when you could lean down, and brush hair away from her face, and plant a gentle kiss on her cheekbones. Chicks went crazy for romance.

Testing the waters in his mind, the boy glanced over at Jisa, and imagined himself making a romantic moment just for her. Running his fingers through the silky dark nest of her hair, perhaps wet from sitting in the rain with him. Touching his lips to the delicate curve of her collarbone, just to feel her shudder and melt against him, soft as satin. Nuzzling up the line of her throat, to kiss below her ear. Hmm. What?

Felix raised an eyebrow and turned away, hoping that his daydreaming hadn't let his gaze linger too long for comfort, and set his mind to figuring out what she'd asked him. Oh, German. Right.

"German, mine own country of birth, mein freund," affecting a zealous German accent, and grinning crookedly. "And please don't tell me that you could tell from my accent... I've worked so very hard to mask the foul thing."

It was true, in fact. Felix had spent a very long time learning how to speak like other people, in hopes that he could erase the nasty lilt of Germanic speech from his tongue. Perhaps he had hoped that if he didn't sound German, he wouldn't be German. After leaving Germany, he'd spent quite a long time watching British television, trying to stain his words with something more acceptable. It had worked, at least a little. People told him that he sounded 'foreign'. Not quite German, but definitely not British either. It seemed that Germany had considerable staying power. Once again, stuck pondering his homeland, Felix felt the smile slip from his lips, to be replaced with a brooding scowl.

Soon enough, they turned onto a small gravel road, that led them directly to his little home. A small thing, truly, it was one story of faded white planks, with a dark-shingled roof. The windows had curtains that were drawn, but they were sheer enough that light from the inside of the house filtered through them. It was cozy and quaint, but not quite to his tastes. Not wanting to disturb her by suggesting that she stay outside while he rinsed and changed, Felix held open the door and said, "You're more than welcome to come in and make yourself at home, though I won't be but a moment." And with that, he scurried back toward his bedroom, to change his damp sandy clothes.

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 537
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Even as Jisa found herself looking over at Felix, who had settled into stride with her, she found his eyes on her. It was strange for her to have averted her eyes in the wake of that attention. She was seldom the first person to look away when faced with any form of scrutiny - hostile or otherwise. Likewise, the slight quickening of her heartbeat and the bizarre self-consciousness she felt as he looked at her was completely foreign, but not entirely unwelcome. Eventually, he turned his gaze elsewhere, and she felt herself relax imperceptibly. Felix then went on to explain the snippet of language she had heard a moment earlier. German, huh. Now that she thought about it, the harsh pronunciation of the short curse did match up with what she imagined German to sound like, but there had been no hint otherwise that Felix was specifically from that European country.

"Germany," she repeated and then listened to him refute the accent. "No, no," she replied. "I honestly wouldn't have guessed, had you not spoken the language."

Jisa wondered what it would be like to be from a foreign country. She had scarcely left Clearstone in her lifetime, which was a frightening prospect, now that she thought of it. There was an entire world out there she hadn't acknowledged in all her years, just because she'd been confined to living this life, in this little town. When she caught the scowl on Felix's face, she had to wonder what had put it there. Surely she hadn't said anything to do that, her words hadn't been anything but neutral, only confirming what he was already saying. It must have been his own thoughts, then. And again, Jisa couldn't help but wonder about that.

In no time at all, the beach had melted into grass and then into a small driveway, leading up to what Jisa assumed was Felix's home. It was definitely different from her own, projecting a warm, whimsical kind of feel. Her own sprawling estate had suffered the test of death, abandonment and time. Often times it sat up there on its hill, isolated, cold, much like Jisa had herself for many years. She stepped inside at Felix's behest and watched as he retreated further into the house to changed. Her own clothes had avoided the brunt of dampness and salt, thankfully, and though her hair would take time to fully dry, she suspected it would be okay.

Waiting slightly awkwardly in the entryway, she took a step toward a coffee table, looking down at some of the framed photos there. In them, were smiling faces that Jisa thought must've been members of Felix's family, but when she expanded her senses, she could only detect him, and no one else. She supposed it wasn't exactly strange: people lived their own lives away from family once they'd grown up and moved on. Well, that's what she imagined happened anyway. She'd never had the luxury.

She felt slightly guilty looking at those pictures, if only because other people had done the same when they'd walked into her house. Following that came questions, always, ones she hadn't ever really been ready to answer. On from that came pitying looks and empty platitudes. But that didn't mean that everyone had a tragic story attached to the photos in their hallways. Still, though, Jisa felt sadness steal through her and wondered about the people in the pictures. Were they really as happy, in real life, as they seemed in their immortalized states? Jisa couldn't help but hope so as she hung in the hallway, stuck on their expressions.

But as she looked closer, she couldn't find a face that looked like a father to Felix. She could see a mother, perhaps a sister and a brother - and she'd like to think she could pinpoint Felix himself among them, though she hadn't seen his face in enough light for long enough to be able to recognize him immediately, but no father. Again, she thought it wasn't entirely strange, for a father to be out of the picture. Maybe his mother raised them alone and there had never been a relationship with the man. She pondered this as she waited for Felix to return, ankles crossed slightly as she leaned to one side, head tilted.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

Felix felt pressured to be quick as he scuttled to his bathroom, and threw his feet into the tub, rinsing them with scalding hot water from the faucet. It burned his skin, but he liked the cleansing heat of the water, washing away the sand and grime. After a moment of scrubbing, the boy toweled his feet dry, and then used the hosed shower head to quickly rinse and wash his hair with a dab of shampoo. Once he was reasonably satisfied with the amount of sand squirreled away in his hair and between his toes, Felix ran the towel through his hair to dry it a little. He fought, and just barely resisted, the urge to preen himself in the mirror, and instead darted from the bathroom to his bedroom.

Choosing an outfit took substantially less time than you'd expect, given Felix's need to always be impeccably presented. He carefully stepped into a pair of slacks, shoes, and belt. Followed by a white undershirt, black dress shirt and tie. This time, he did spare himself a glance into a mirror, straightened his tie. Felix couldn't help the grin from spreading across his face like wildfire. "You're a damn fine specimen of a man, Felix. Don't we know it?"  As he was walking back out into the den, he rolled up his sleeves, humming Mozart's Requiem to himself. He was jovial enough, pleased with the reflection that his mirror had shown him, but his mood, and humming, was cut short as he say Jisa harmlessly glancing around at his décor.

Trying to perk his mood back up with a, only slightly forced, grin, Felix cleared his throat. "I'm gone all of five minutes, and already you've grown tired of waiting for me?" his chuckle was warm, but he had to continually remind himself that Jisanna had meant no harm. He'd abandoned her in his den, of course she had glanced around his photographs and furnishings. "Harmless, Felix. It was your own fault, so leave her be."

Gracefully as he dared, Felix swept forward and offered her a hand once more, this time to lift her off of the sofa. "However can I make amends for such rudeness?" Ever so slyly, he pushed the photograph containing his family's smiling faces down onto the coffee table. Their smiles were not meant for her eyes... it was almost too much to hope that she had not seen the photo... or that she wouldn't ask questions about why he'd reacted so strangely to the entire ordeal.

Felix swooped back to the lamps that were lit, turning them down low, and then ushering the both of them out the door, leaving the strange black-and-white photos in the darkness. He locked the door with an ancient looking key, and rolled his shoulders, trying to relax the tensed muscles there. Him and his damn pride. Should've left the sand on his feet. Taking a deep breath of the tepid night air, he offered his arm to the lady, already having decided on exactly where he'd like to go.

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 511
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

It wasn't long before Felix appeared back in the room, to Jisa's surprise. When he did return, she passed off the instinct to pretend she hadn't been looking at anything, because that was ridiculous, she hadn't been doing anything wrong. But pictures were looking into someone's life, and she understood how unwelcome that could be. She was still holding out hope that the people in the picture were happy, and that Felix would tell her something about them. That hope dissipated as his smile melted off his face when he caught her looking, though he did quickly put on another tight grin to compensate for it. She blushed - and since when did she blush? - when he joked that she'd grown bored when he had only been but a moment.

"Well," she offered, but had no follow up to it.

Speechless was not a state Jisa was used to being in, but she decided to embrace it. If Felix's memories of his family caused him pain, or some sort of melancholy, she would hold her tongue. Anything she could have said would have been directly related to those pictures, and she understood what it was like to not want to explain. She wouldn't ask that of him just yet. The silence was taken up by his offer, once again, to help her up, and she took it gratefully. A small smile returned to her as she listened to him speak again, so formal and eloquent.

"You could tell me where we're going," she said teasingly.

As they left, she looked back to catch the photo face down and decided that the people in the photo, Felix's family, were probably not smiling now as brightly as they did in that picture. But she let it be.

They were out in the night once again, crickets singing in the trees and undergrowth. She took the arm that Felix had offered, and this time the reminder of Ace wasn't nearly so potent or painful. Exhaling quietly in relief, she was relaxed, though she felt that Felix might not feel that way as much as she did, it seemed. He was a warm line against her side. It was strange, as many things about this night had been, but Jisa found that she didn't actually mind it.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

"Where we're going? And ask me to give up my secrets?" the smile came easier this time, and the chuckle escaped on its own, "Tsk tsk tsk! Perish the thought!" When Jisa hooked his arm around his, Felix felt the last of his anger vanish. The warmth of her body cleansing him of his irritations, and replacing them with the pleasant apprehension of what surprises the rest of the evening might hold. Crickets were calling in the night, singing a summer lullaby that reminded him of warm evenings and cool nights... though why was a mystery to him. His home had never really been a warm place... and his family hadn't been very much prone to spending summertime evenings out in the air. It seemed more an impression of what a child's life should have been, rather than what he remembered of his own.

Felix walked easily, plucking a question from the myriad that rested in his head at the moment, and asked, "So what is it that you do for the 'Elite Forces'?" The other part of the question, where he pointed out that he had worked there as well, and had yet to meet her, he left out. For once, preferring not to sound off before thinking over his words. It might make her uneasy, spending time with someone that she worked with, many women had rules about not dating co-workers.

Wait. Dating? The boyo raised an eyebrow as that wormed its way into his thoughts. Was he going to date Jisanna? He threw a sidelong glance in her direction again, weighing the decision. She was comely enough, it was true, with her dark hair and mysterious blue eyes. And, without provocation, his mind flitted back to the romantic encounter that he'd imagined for them, underneath his willow tree in the rain. Roaming hands and hungry mouths. Hmm... The idea certainly did have its merits. Felix had to choke back a chuckle as he remembered that, of course, it also depended on Jisanna's thoughts on the matter. Not that she'd refuse him. No woman could resist his charms, many had tried, but he was as inexorable as anything... and beautiful to boot. 'Still wise to give her the semblance of the option perhaps...' Either way, he'd probably know by the end of tonight whether she was suitable for him.

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 391
NOTES - Sorry its so small! I didn't want him to be broody anymore xD
TUNES - Howard Shore
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Somewhere inside her, she might have known that her question would be brushed off under the guise of playful secrets with a laugh and a charming smile. It didn't really matter anyway, so she smiled along with him as the meandered along the path. There weren't that many places to go in Clearstone. No matter where they ended up she was sure she wouldn't be too far out of her depth.

"I thought that might be the case," she mused.

At her side, she felt Felix relax marginally, which put her at ease, thankful that he choice to ignore the photograph had apparently paid off. Out of the quiet of the night, Felix asked her about her job at the EF. It struck her strangely. If he knew about the Elite Forces, then wouldn't it follow that he should know exactly what they did? Then again, Jisa hadn't known the EF ran specialized testing facilities for supernaturals, so perhaps it wasn't all that straightforward once you got past the initial bounty-hunteresque nature of the organization. She shrugged, sighing before she set off to reply.

"Locate supernaturals, figure out what specifically they are and use an appropriate method to kill them," she replied without much enthusiasm. "It's not a terribly life-enriching profession."

What she had wanted to say, of course, was hardly appropriate. Especially with Felix being human. She had assumed that, because of his quick guess at her being part of the EF, that he had some connection to it as well. Maybe not. Either way, claiming that they were a bunch of sadistic, manipulative bastards with a penchant for creative torture under the illusion of research and murder probably wasn't the best line of explanation Jisa could have ever come up with in the presence of a human. She was sure that Ash would agree, to some degree, even though the young girl found it fun to antagonize them, against Jisa's advice.

"But then, I suppose it serves its purpose," she said and then turned to Felix. "What do you do, anyway? Something more sophisticated and qualified, I bet," she prompted with amusement.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

Her reply was jovial, and in good spirits, and he found himself pleased that he hadn't put her off by requesting a little secrecy. As he spoke, he turned to look at her. "Indeed, my dear. After all, what is a man without his..." his smile was a touch sinister, "secrets?" A great bunch of nothing and bluster... that's what men were. Very few men were anything more than a bag of skin, filled with anger and hot air. Felix would know.

Jisanna answered his question with an interestingly deadpan tone, much different from the warm way they'd been conversing thus far. The boyo listened carefully, nodding as she confirmed his suspicions. A certified killer. The notion was surprisingly exciting... Felix had met very few violent women in his life, most of them seemed delicate and gentle, at least to him. 'Not terribly life-enriching', she called it, and the boy laughed. It seemed as though tracking innocent people down, and murdering them, was possibly the perfect opposite of life-enrichment. Felix wondered to himself why, if it didn't make her happy, she invested so much time doing it. Then again, it seemed a great many people spent their entire lives in disatisfying careers, just to make ends meet.

Was that why Jisanna tracked people down, and killed them? Was she short of money, and skilled in murder? Somehow, Felix found that an interesting notion indeed. He'd been that same way, once, a very long time ago. And it too, had served a purpose.

"Well, naturally, of course!" he chuckled warmly, "Can you imagine me as a clerk, or baker?" Felix looked at his hand, the one that wasn't escorting Jisanna, and felt himself mumbling, "My hands seem to have been made with different things in mind." His voice seemed sad. Why was that, he wondered? The boyo didn't feel particularly unhappy with his life at present. Though he found himself pondering how very different things would be if he had chosen some sort of menial labor.. something quiet, and simple, and fulfilling... Pah. Empty thoughts.

Before he could elaborate further, Felix noted that they had walked further than he'd first thought. The diner that he'd been favoring was across't the street, dingy and small, but lit. Half-lit neon signs declared some name or other, not that the boy cared much, he'd already named it in his head. Careful to make sure that the street was free of traffic, probably an old habit from living in a city with actual people driving actual cars, Felix swept them across the road, and stopped at the door.

With another gracious little bow, the boy opened the door for his companion, anxious to be seated, with a cup of something warm in his hands.

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 465
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

What is a man without his secrets? Though Jisa knew Felix meant it with some sort of light-hearted humor, she knew it was all too true. Not just for men, but for people in general. It was a net of those secrets and deceptions that had trapped her where she was. Thinking over what she had said, and how easily she had given in to Felix and passed off on a night of work, she was unsettled by where she was allowing herself to be cornered. Because that's what she was doing. If she really wanted to be done with this EF business, surely she could be. Selling the house and leaving the country would do the trick. Hell, on the more dramatic end of the spectrum, she could have even faked her own death convincingly enough. Sleepless nights left her nothing better to do than brood inside her head, she could have had an elaborate plan lined up by now. So why hadn't she?

It was unthinkable that somewhere, perhaps not so deep inside herself, Jisa wanted to be right where she was. After all, she'd hung on for so long to wanting revenge for the death of her family members. Then to the hate she had toward supernaturals. Then to herself, and finally the EF as a whole. Maybe it was fear that kept Jisa tangled up in this twisted, depressing mess. Fear that once she let it all go, cut all the confusing ties she'd anchored herself to the past with, that she'd by nothing. No one. Just the same, lost little girl who had come home one day to find her parents and her little sister lying in pools of their own blood, with nowhere to go and no one to run to.

Felix's reply broke her reverie, bringing her back outside of herself into the present. A far less daunting and dark place for now, it seemed. She briefly pictured Felix with a chef's hat and flour down his apron and joined him in laughter with a scoff.

"There's no shame in being a baker or a clerk," she chuckled. "Though I do admit I couldn't quite see you as either."

But what he said next cut across her as wrong, an affront to the tone of its preceding statement. My hands seem to have been made with different things in mind. He sounded so... sad. Again, Jisa thought back to those smiling faces and wondered if it had anything to do with them.

Not long after they'd left his home, it seemed that they had arrived at Felix's secret predestined spot - a small diner in Clearstone. One side of her lip turned up as he checked for cars, a fruitless exercise most days in this town. She stepped through the door as he bowed and held it open for her, amused no less by his exaggerated chivalrous behavior than she had been the first time. She felt strangely warm with the attention, however. As she passed, she leaned in close to his ear.

"Don't think I didn't notice," she whispered. "That you didn't answer my question, again."

With a small smile and eyes just a touch lighter, she carried on through the doorway.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

No shame she said... and was she right? Felix couldn't quite decide. It seemed like something a poor man would say to himself, to assuage the feeling of inadequacy that came with being of low birth, and of little importance. But, at the heart of it, Jisa was right. There wasn't any shame in a poor man's job, but little enough glory as well. A poor man could take pride in a small job, as much as a rich man could take pride in a grand one. But, when history was recorded, small men were forgotten. And Felix was not one to be forgotten.

Pulled from his musings by the feel of warm breath on his ear, the boy felt his eyes shoot open in surprise. Damn him for a fool! Closing his eyes, and leaning down in a gentle bow... not altogether intelligent. It seemed that he was forgetting quite a few of the rules to this game. Felix wasn't used to being caught unawares, as evidenced by the rueful chuckle he gave her in response. "I thought nothing of the sort, I assure you, " he purred right back at her. She was far too clever to be dazzled by his smiles and graces, he was sure of that. Of course, that didn't mean that the idea of trying to dazzle her had lost any of its merit. The fact that she was all too aware of him almost made the game more alluring.

In short order, a wizened waitress wandered forward to lead them to a booth near the front window, as she knew that it was Felix's favorite haunt. He plopped himself into the cushy red seat... and his eyes zeroed in on the napkin holding his silverware. It was.... off by a few degrees. And the fork was on the wrong side of the knife. Tapping the fingers of his idle hand, Felix managed not to rearrange the cutlery, for all of a minute or two. Huffing a sigh, the boy quickly fixed the glaring oversight, making sure everything was set just-so, then glanced up at Jisa, offering her a sheepish grin.

Felix opened his mouth to offer some kind of explanation for his little outburst, but was instead interrupted by the waitress returning to ask for drink orders. He offered the lady his most charming smile as he asked, "Vielleicht eine Tasse Pfefferminztee mit Zitrone und Honig?" Her German was almost smooth as his, matronly and warm, teasing him for his womanly choice of beverage, and they shared a chuckle over her little joke. After a moment of rapid conversation, she turned and gestured to Jisa, prompting Felix to turn as well, "She'd like to know if you'd care for something to drink?"

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 461
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa stifled a laugh at the way Felix's eyes widened in surprise. It was pleasing to know that she had managed to get him. For as much as she was aware of him, she had no doubt that he was just as perceptive of her every move, if the way he seemed to ponder things and stare gave any indication whatsoever. The smooth cadence of his voice matched the warmth that it caused to brush over her skin as she passed him. He hadn't yet lost his smile. Jisa was glad that he could take as much as he could give, in the little back and forth they had going.

An older waitress appeared at precisely the right moment to great them, and as if by telepathy, seemed to know where to seat them. Jisa cast a look at Felix, wondering quite how she knew it, and deciding that it was probably something mundane as being a regular. Though equating Felix to mundane wasn't exactly natural from what she knew of him, to be sure. It must've been how he'd chosen the place so quickly, on a whim, after meeting a strange girl claiming to be a serial killer sitting on a beach. She took the seat across from Felix, and noted with incredulous amusement as he tapped his fingers on the table, eyeing the cutlery to the side of him as if it had done him a great injustice by being there.

When he caved and manipulated it to what he apparently deemed acceptable, Jisa couldn't find it in herself to be altogether too surprised. He'd proved, even in this short night, that he definitely had his quirks. If a dash of OCD was among the joy he took in secrets and his overt chivalry, what could Jisa say about it? To be sure, she had her issues too. Just as Felix looked like he was going to say something, the waitress broke in, and this time Jisa could recognize the foreign tongue being spoken here. She listened in fascination as the spoke, fluidly, and despite her perception of German as a harsh language, it actually managed to sound quite beautiful between the two of them.

They both turned to her at once, and she felt slightly intimidated by her lack of understanding until Felix translated.

"A coffee, please," she said, unsure of who to look at.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

"A coffee, please." A common enough drink, he supposed. Although it seemed strange for a girl to choose something so bland, and without ornament. Most women he knew liked sweet things, or even worse, they would take nothing at all, preferring instead to keep their figures adequately slim by starving themselves. Felix had no specific problem with dieting... but it always made him feel incredibly uncomfortable to be the only one eating. And eating was so much fun!

The boy turned, and relayed Jisa's order to the waitress, taking another good-natured joke at his expense in stride, and watched her waddle off with a small smile. Felix thought he wouldn't be at all surprised if he was the sole buoy keeping this little restaurant afloat. It seemed like everything in this town was sinking, or already gone... So small and lifeless this place was! It made Felix's nose twitch. He pondered what it would take, and if it would be worth it, to convert this little town into something more exciting. An aggressive advertising campaign, surely.. as well as something to actually advertise. People were always dying to caravan across the countryside to look at things. In fact, he became so engrossed in his musings, frowning thoughtfully down at the tablecloth, that he was actually taken by surprise as the waitress came back with their drinks.

Ahem. Yes.

Felix raised his eyebrows at his own ridiculous train of thought, chastising himself for almost completely forgetting that he was supposed to be entertaining a lovely young lady at this very moment. As he opened his mouth to apologize, the boyo was interrupted by the waitress gently plink-ing his tea down in front of him. In a pink china tea cup. Expression incredulous, his eyes whipped up to Jisa's neutral white mug, then over to the old woman. "Miera-!" he complained, but was quickly cut off by her chuckle and demand that he relay her jokes to Jisanna.

His voice was curt, but hiding a smile, as he did as he was told, emptying a sugar packet into his tea. " She is referring to you as the man, now, asking if you'd like cream for your coffee... And if your 'lady-friend' likes her tea with a slice lemon or orange. " He took the tea spoon, and swirled the hot drink around, dissolving the sugar, trying to be casual and unperturbed by the ridiculous tea cup.

After a few moments' pause, Felix lifted the cup toward his lips, "I don't," he said, taking a dainty swallow of tea, as if to punctuate his refusal, "want lemon or orange, thank you." After another sip, he set the cup own, and glanced up at Mieran, to tell her the same, noticing that she was still pointedly staring at Jisa, waiting for her to answer. The boy smiled and shook his head in mock exasperation. " 'Nein, danke'. Just say it, so she'll crawl back into her cave, and let us some privacy. "

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 496
NOTES -
TUNES - Alan Menken
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Once Felix translated her order to the stately waitress and she retreated into the kitchen, after throwing a couple words more in German at Felix, he dissolved into a contemplative silence. Jisa didn't mind the quiet. She sat back, relaxing into the calm, warm atmosphere of the café, taking in the interior design of the quaint little establishment. In all her years in Clearstone, she'd never noticed its presence, which was quite a feat considering the size of the town. She briefly wondered if the waitress spoke any English at all and just fell back on her assumedly native language because Felix was there to exchange with her.

It wasn't long before the waitress was back and placed their orders on the table. Jisa took hold of her own hot mug, relishing the blistering warmth radiating from the china. A moment later, she did a double take. Felix's tea cup was... pink. Before even wondering at the reasoning behind the strange presentation, Jisa was grinning, only narrowly managing to stifle a snort and a chuckle against the rim of her cup as she took a sip. Felix's indignant complaint toward the older woman only made the exchange more amusing. In quick form the woman replied, gesturing at Jisa. She put her mug down and waited for Felix to explain.

When he finally did, amid pouring sugar into his tea, she couldn't help the charmed sparkle in her eye. Felix's actions didn't help the situation much, the terse, offended manner he stirred his tea was endearing, to say the least. Amusing. At least he could laugh at himself, as he had displayed multiple times that evening.  At Mieran's persistent attention and Felix's prompt, Jisa mock-scowled at him.

"That's hardly the way to talk about our host," she admonished, but turned to the waitress anyway and smiled. "Nein, danke."

The words were foreign on her tongue, tentative and soft as she spoke. She took another mouthful of coffee, savoring the bitter taste on the back of her tongue. The heat that spread through her veins spoke of comfort, and the responding sharpen to her senses was something she was intimately familiar with. It reminded her of many light nights as a teenager, between school and hunting, and later simply because she couldn't sleep.

"I take it you're a regular around here, then?" she asked.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

Felix took another sip of his tea, strangely pleased with listening to Jisanna speak German. Despite the hatred he bore his heritage, it really was quite enchanting... the shy way that Jisa murmured her polite refusals. Hmm, perhaps more language lessons would be in order, if only for the pleasure of listening to her speak his native tongue. Felix had to stomp on thoughts of sensuous words, growled in his ears. Mieran nodded, and with a fond smile spared for them, wandered back to the kitchen, possibly already knowing exactly what to bring the boyo to eat. He really did order the same thing every time, so there was little chance of her conjuring up any surprises.

The boy raised an eyebrow and let his eyes slip back to Jisa's. A 'regular'... yes, he supposed he was at that. He and Mieran had spent enough time together in this small diner, she'd told him nearly everything about herself. Of course, she was much less aware of his dodging than Jisanna seemed to be. Mieran hadn't seemed to notice that he hadn't returned any of her polite questions with real answers. Of course, now that he'd already established himself as aloof, and unwilling to provide his new friend with information... he couldn't very well cave now, regardless of how harmless a question it might be.

"Tsk! So many questions!" His smile was the perfect mix of an apology and teasing, "I daresay, you seem bent on robbing me of all my poor secrets before night's end."

Naturally, he was choosing to ignore how nosy he'd been tonight. Hypocrisy only made the game more fun. Felix made a display of mulling over her question, sipping at his tea, and then let his face brighten as he struck upon an idea. "I've just had a thought: Why don't we play a game?" Games made everything so much more fun, when he was in charge of them, anyway. Once or twice, he'd been on the submissive end of this dance, and the games had been slightly less fun. But Jisanna had been content to let him lead thus far, though he held no illusions that she wasn't capable of matching him step-for-step... and he was excited to see how far her patience would allow.

"I'll ask you a question, and then when you've answered, you can ask me one," that seemed perfectly fair... now, for the rules. "Of course, all questions must be answered truthfully, and you have every right to ask that a question be deferred... But each of us have one 'overrule', to use at our leisure."

He lifted his cup again, and smiled mischievously over the rim, "Fair?"

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 453
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}

[{J I S A}]

I’M STUCK HERE IN THE MIDDLE
AT WAR WITH GOOD AND EVIL

Jisa noted her slip up the moment Felix smiled and passed off her casual question with yet another redirect. She should have seen that one coming. But her inquiry had been so mundane, near rhetorical in nature, that she hadn't expected the rebuff for a split second. His charming smile only drew attention to that fact, so she shook her head and took another sip at her coffee around the smirk creeping at the corners of her mouth. Felix's personality certainly let him get away with a lot more than Jisa would normally allow, prying without returning the favour of answers. She supposed that, at this point, it was more a game than anything. She hadn't been asking anything invasive, after all.

"Robbing you?" she mused. "I must not be trying hard enough, then. I haven't quite stolen any answers from you yet."

He seemed to think over her prior question until mischief lit up on his face and Jisa's stomach turned. She thought that, whatever he had come up with, was probably harmless. That didn't stop her from wondering quite what it was. When he proposed the game, a back and forth, question and answer session, she couldn't help but immediately liken it to an interrogation. And that wasn't a terribly encouraging thought so she squashed it before it could lay down roots in her mind. From what she had seen of Felix so far, she knew that he was astute and perceptive. While it gave him a certain charm (no doubt an allure), it also made him an unpredictable entity. Even so, Jisa couldn't find a fault (or, enough of them to discourage her) in acquiescing.

"That seems awfully fair," she teased. "Should I be worried?"

Jisa leaned forward, keeping her hands wrapped around her coffee mug but letting her arms rest on the table as she waited for Felix's reply to start the game. Mieran chose then to return to the table, and at Jisa's questioning look placed a large bowl of what looked like chowder on the table, along with a couple of hunks of bread. She departed with some indecipherable words in their general direction. The food smelled wonderful, piping hot and fresh. She glanced at Felix and took a piece of bread, tearing a small bit off and popping it into her mouth as she waited.

DON’T WANNA SPEND MY TIME AFRAID OF DYING
I WANT LOVE IF LOVE WANTS ME

[g i b b e t ?]

The boy couldn't quite put his finger on just how much he appreciated Jisanna's willingness to play along with him. And without any apparent irritation, as well, he felt nearly giddy with pleasure.

"I must not be trying hard enough, then. I haven't quite stolen any answers from you yet." At that, Felix laughed aloud, placing a hand on his chest, the paleness of his skin almost shimmering against the black fabric of his shirt. "Oh, you wound me, my lady! he tsk'd, massaging his poor broken heart, "Do I get no credit for perhaps being altogether too crafty for you?" His wink wasn't shy, though his smile tried to pretend that it was.

Jisanna mulled over his simple game, and Felix found himself actively anticipating her answer, which was a bit of a surprise, really. Usually, he was sure of himself... well, really more sure of the woman he was courting. Felix was always sure of himself. Of course. Another light laugh escaped his lips at Jisa's next question. "Again with your doubts? You must think me quite the villain, to find everything I say so suspect."

The boy smiled fondly as Mieran carried his usual bowl of soup to the table, thankfully, without jokes this time. As she set the platter down, Felix was pleased to see that Jisanna wasn't shy about eating. That at least was a silent indicator that she wasn't incredibly nervous, or on-edge. The wizened old waitress said something about calling her, or something, but Felix wasn't quite listening to her, much preferring to mull over what his first question would be. It was important, as it would decidedly set the tone for the first few bits of conversation. He wanted to make sure it wasn't too deep of an inquiry, but enough to steer away from too much frivolity.

He reached down and tugged a handful of bread from one of the larger pieces, and examined it closely. "Do you like the opera?" Unbidden, his eyes snapped over to Jisa's, unintentionally conveying the seriousness of his question. Of course, it was too late to take the gesture back now, even if it was showing a bit more of his thoughts than he'd generally like... Ah, well, he could work with that, hopefully. And she deserved a bit on insight every now and again, if he gave her too little, she might lose interest, and give him up as a lost cause.

'And we wouldn't want that... now would we?'

^{TAG - Jisa
WORDS - 453
NOTES -
TUNES -
CREDIT - MUNZTAR * of caution 2.0}