Silent Decadence ( Open )

[Zen]

It was growing late in the evening, the sun slowly starting to set behind the high rise buildings that filled the city skyline. It was peaceful, seated here in the plaza, the fountain nearby creating a steady and calming rhytm that was enough to lull a person into a sense of peace.

Zen was seated there, on a bench not far from the fountain, doing the one thing she loved more than partying and having fun....reading.....Not some teenage novel of romatic loves that were filled with mindless dribble. No, she was reading William Blake.

She loved the feeling of getting lost in the words that seemed to echo off the page and fill her mind with thoughts of the way he must have seen the world at that time and how those words still held so true to this day. It was a matter of what made his writings truly timeless.....And she loved it.

Countless times in her life she had been made fun of for reading such works, for getting so into those classes which discussed topics such as this. It was all another part of what accounted for the rough exterior she put forth to the world.

She hid her true self away from everyone...Though never her intellect. No, she was not about to hide that part of herself...to become just another face amongst the masses....

Sighing softly, she shifted to lay down upon the bench...Not bothering to look up from her book as she did such....The quiet calm of the evening disturbed only by the sounds of people filtering through the area ever so often. Some chose the park as their place of sanctuary....a place to escape the hussle of the world...and normally she would have to....

But upon exploring the city, she had stumbled upon this spot, at just the right moment, and noted the sense of peace it seemed to fill her with....From then on, she had been coming here as often as she could manage. Reading, or just simply soaking up the silence that otherwise was drowned out by the bustling world outside.

A soft breeze blew over her....the scent of rain hung in the air and caused her to glance upward...The sky was beginning to darken with clouds, though the storm would undoubtedly take awhile to finally strike....given that there was still plenty of daylight left in the sky.....

She had plenty of time to finish her book and then make it home before the storm hit.

With that in mind, she turned her almond eyes back to book in her hands.....ignoring the light chill the air caused upon her arms, given the tank top she wore......Luckily she was in her jeans, or else she might have been completely disturbed by the chilly air....But as it stood, she simply shivered once and then returned to her reading....Once more blocking out the world around her..letting the words carry her mind away......

[jayden]

(OOC: if you don't mind?)

Jayden walked the dark streets of san diego, his mind wandering with the past few days of being in a public school. so many things had happened, he met people who didn't hate him... yet... and had made an actual friend who called him her freind and he had realized just how much things might be changing for him soon. in a good way. Jayden smirked to himself. his hands where stuffed into the pockets of the coat he wore, a nice piece from the local heritage store, over his black button down shirt and black slim straight jeans. he certainly did like the darkness a lot, he loved how he blended in to it, how he could be like a ghost and no one would notice him if he didn't want them to. his black hair fell into his face, his eyes, amber and silver respectively, shimmered from underneath the emo styled hair cut. he liked the thought that maybe people looked at him and thought he was a demon, or a vampire. sometimes he wished he was a demon or a vampire... mostly a vampire as luckily for him history had turned them into quite graceful, and high class creatures of the night. Jayden loved classy things. in his pocket was a book of poetry that he wrote himself, not finished yet, it had many blank pages. by his side was his little cat, dioscuri, the tuxedo cat with the wide blue eyes.

Jayden wandered into the town square, it looked like rain was coming. he smirked, that just meant no one would be around, which suited him fine. He loved the little square when it was abanded, when he could just listen to the sounds of the blowing wind, the creaking of the towering buildings the natural sounds of the unnatural.

then he saw a girl, sitting by the fountain, reading a book in tank top and jeans. Dio walked toward her, Jayden smirked. perhaps he should test his good luck and try to meet someone? instead of letting it always be the other way around? worth a shot.

Jayden walked up to her, not entirely certain what to say, he stood all of 6' 5'' over her, though very twiggy he certainly didn't look menacing. "Hi... uhh, I'm jayden... I noticed you where reading Blake... may I inquire which collection of his work?" he asked, he loved william blake, he had discovered him after taking an english literature class, and instantly fell in love... especially with 'the tyger'. and then suddenly added "and aren't you cold?"

[Zen]

( ooc:Seriously? You are asking if I mind? *swats* Bad Michael! Now lets try this again....second time posting...stupid IE *twitch* )

She was lost in the words of her book, the elegant way in which they rolled off the page and into her mind seemed to captivate her in a way that no other thing could. She was lost, the silence of the square, the gentle breeze carrying in the scent of rain, it was enough to send her into a purely tranquil state of being.

But just then, she heard the soft purr of a cat and it managed to break its way through her concentration and into her concious mind. Closing her book, and keeping her finger in place to make sure that she did not lose her spot, she shifted her body, turning slightly to the side to spot the feline which had approached her..

That did manage in bringing a smile to her face, but just then, a shadow overcast her and from the angle she was at, the first thing she noted was the shoes of undoubtedly a male. Though perhaps if it was a female then it was a very large woman. Either way, almond eyes trailed upward, about ready to speak some ill willed words toward who ever had decided to intrude upon her personal space at this moment in time. But then she caught sight of the clothing he wore and the style of his hair....those eyes of hers, made darker and more exotic with the setting sun, now fell onto his face, locking with his own mismatched eyes and causing her to feel a bit more at ease. He was not the typical guy who came strutting up to her in some attempt to get her to sleep with him......That was a plus....

Then, he stopped, and spoke, and not just some stupid "hey baby..how are you?" or something like that...But something substantial and intelligent. That was a BIG bonus in her book. Looking at the book she held in her hands, she now turned back onto her back and looked at the title, sighing whistfuly as she prepared to answer....And then he spoke again, another question, though this time, it more or less caught her off guard.

Cold?

Now that she actually stopped and thought about it. Yes she was, but her reply was nothing that basic, as were most things with Zen.

"Yes, I am cold. But I suppose it is better than feeling nothing at all."

There was a slightly dark tone to her voice, one which showed that somewhere inside was nothing but a dull ache and numbness. She had not felt anything really in a very long time, at least not toward the outside world. Privately it was different......

Choosing not to proceed with that topic any further, she looked back to the book and again she seemed almost saddened by the look of it....

"It is The Complete Illuminated Book Collection...It is not much in the way of his works, but at least it is not some new age poet trying to alter the timeless words that he printed onto the page so many years ago. I would love to own a better copy of his works, but my Mother gives whatever money she can spare to my brother Erik and then...well I have to bum it off of him..Which I hate to do."

She caught herself rambling and stopped as she curled her legs up and sat upright, motioning toward the now empty position next to her.

"Please sit. I am Zenevieva Maddox...but everyone just calls me Zen."

She would continue to watch him, breathing in the fresh scent of the air and studying his features as she waited for him to take a seat or stand, either way......Hoping that he offered up his name though not surprised if he did not.....

[jayden]

(OOC: so sorry, I hate it when IE does that, that sucks. also as a side note he did breifly mention his name)

Jayden listened, she had an elegant way of speaking, and a demenor that quite suited his mood and state of mind, he well liked and respected the answer she gave to his question of her being cold. he became curious if he should let her borrow his jacket, or rather let her feel things. he certainly knew what it was like to simply desire to feel something. he had a good feeling about this. she spoke of the book, her brother, a tiny glimpse into her world, perhaps not one with the most money, but perhaps fulfilling none the less? maybe he would find out. and so with a "Thank you zenevieva" he nodded and took a seat next to her, his legs curling under him to sit cross legged. "That is a very pretty name" he mentioned, and thought that the nickname zen was quite fitting for her, she had a certain calm to her that he found mirrored his own apathetic nature. he considered the surroundings, the whole mood was very fitted to the situation quite nicely. Dio jumped upon his lap, curling up and sitting on his lap, tail swaying softly as his big blue eyes closed.

"I understand your plight... it was a famous author who once said 'I spend all my money on books, and if there is any left over food and water'" Jayden quoted thoughtfully. he thought for a moment. "I believe poets should try to make a name for themselves, not re-work other great poets works..." Jayden said, unaware that people ever even did that.

"My names Jayden by the way" he said, his hand coming up to shake

[Zen]

Yes she had not been aware that other poets did that, until she stumbled upon a book of revisions of great works for modern society. It had angered her to be quite honest .... but that was another matter entirely.

Then he spoke her full name, and commented on how nice it was....She smiled, not exactly used to people saying her name....let alone liking it. She leaned back into the bench, her hair falling down over her shoulder as she turned her head to look toward him....

"It is nice to meet you Jayden...Nice to see somebody who actually has some intellect in this world instead of some pathetic attempt at faking it."

She hated those type of people...the ones that pretended to know everything and yet knew nothing....The ones who knew of learning but nothing of life.........Shaking her head, her hand reached over toward his lap where the feline had curled up, her fingers brushing over his fur as she cast a glance upward toward the guy next to her...

"So, what brings you out this evening? Though I am guessing the escape from the world around us would be a suitable answer?"

[jayden]

Jayden listened to her words, payed attention to her body language, apperantly he wasn't too bad at this, she seemed fairly open to him. she complimented his intellect and he blushed a little, he didn't know much of the world, he hadn't experianced a lot of things, but he did know of literature, and he suposed that was something to be proud of. he nodded his acknowledgement and listened to her following question. she was quite intelligent herself obviously, though he did not like her assuming things. especially since she was right. but at the same time it intrigued him... made him appreciate what she had to say just by virtue that he and she connected on some level intellectually.

"Aye" Jayden said, a little smirk on his face "The town square is always best when its deserted... truth be told I was actually coming to sit and write some poetry of my own" he said, reaching into the pocket of his black coat and pulling out a worn diary, grey with a celtic knot painted elegantly by hand on the front in black. he shook it in his hand knowingly before placing it back into his pocket. he wasn't there to write poetry anymore, no reason to keep it out. "I've always felt that a little gloom or pouring rain are great atmospheres for writing poetry..." he mentioned, and then realizing he had talked about himself quite a bit he turned his seperately colored eyes to her "Do you write any poetry?" he asked, thinking that he knew the answer to be yes, but unlike her, he was not confident enough to simply say so...

[Zen]

She listened as he spoke, those almond eyes never leaving him as she clearly paid close attention to everything he had to say. A slow smile creeping onto her her lips as her spoke of writing poetry..Taking out his journal showing it to her before it was once more returned to his pocket.

She had eyed the Celtic knot work on the cover, and though of the many she had drawn out at home. It was her heritage after all, and it helped her to note that he at least knew what it was...Or at least she hoped he did....Some just thought they were "pretty" which always got her to inwardly twitch with distaste for them.

Then as he asked about her own ability to write poetry, she shrugged softly, unsure if what she wrote could be deemed such or not. But in the light of the conversation, she supposed that indeed she at the very least dabbled in the subject.

"From time to time...Though I am not very good at it. I am more the creative writer type. Though I am very hard on myself about my work. I also draw, some..."

She shrugged softly as she reached up and pushed a bit of her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. The wind seeming to pick up just a bit, though still she did not mind it. It was refreshing, and the air now held a heavier scent of rain...causing her to close her eyes and inhale deeply...that smile growing just a bit.....

"And yes, the calm before the storm, so to speak, is always my most creative of times. It is like it frees me from having to be what everyone wants me to be..Like maybe the darkness of the storm which is rolling in truly is the only thing which could ever understand me."

She then turned back to him, those almond hues a bit darker now as the light faded just a bit more....A soft sigh passing her lips as she looked into his eyes once more.

"Yeah, I tend to speak my mind. It is a fault according to some, yet to me it is a gift, something people very seldom do these days."

[jayden]

Jayden smirked, though it was a happy smirk. he enjoyed hearing about other people, their thoughts their feelings, trying to understand how they worked. so she was another more artsy person, not completely unlike himself, drawing and writing and things of that nature. "Sounds difficult to write novels and short stories... have you ever finished any?" Jayden asked, he had tried writing a book once, got half way through and gave up, it was just too much work and too time consuming for him. he then thought about the girl's words on the storm, it seemed ever so fitting to Jayden, especially for himself. still, did the clouds truly understand, where they trying to sympathize with the people of the world who where in a dark place of their lives, helping them to hide from the light?

would nature want us to see the light?

does anyone want us to see the light?

is there a light to be seen? or is it just another pipe dream that keeps us living from day to boring average day...

such considerations from one small phrase. still, though Jayden was thinking he was listening intently, his hand coming down to stroke the tiny feline that was curled up in his lap