chasing nightfall [o]

[SHOKICHI RIHITO]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable]

[atrb=width,450][atrb=style,padding-left: 10px;][atrb=valign,bottom] ♚ one motive: cater to the hollow 604 words — open thread — tagged: n/a

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable][atrb=style,margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px,bTable][atrb=width,40][atrb=style,border-right: 3px solid #CB2533;]

[atrb=width,10px]

[atrb=width,400][atrb=style,border-left: 1px dashed #CB2533; padding: 0px 5px 10px 10px;] In all honesty, Sho wasn't sure when he had first acquired his newfound habit of stalking the streets of Namimori at night. His footsteps were silent on the gray stretch of cement as he wandered aimlessly, hands tucked innocuously into his pockets, a single stick of chocolate-coated Pocky dangling from his lips. As always, the residential area was a familiar sight to the adolescent's apathetic eyes, having been seared into his retinas by sheer force of exposure over the course of his lifetime. As trite as the saying went, he knew this place like the back of his hand. Honestly speaking, Sho wasn't sure if he ought to hate the place or love it dearly for that fact, regardless of the point that it was the only place he really knew. Most people took solace in the constancy of unchanging variables, of monotony, of predictability—but like all things, sometimes, the familiarity simply grew boring. As it always did, the boredom chafed on his normally placid state of mind. In the end, maybe it was mere boredom that drove his restlessness, to the point that he found himself meandering purposelessly at night. After all, there were better things to do than sleep, right? Sho absently scuffed his shoe into the concrete, gnawing on his Pocky. Nighttime lent a strange, unfamiliar quality to Namimori; everything always seemed different when it was immersed in darkness. He had never been particularly fond of darkness—not because he feared it, but rather because the limited visibility disconcerted him; he liked being able to see things with clarity, after all. Nonetheless, seeing the town at a distinct lull like this was a pleasant change from the norm. It was stupid, really, but he supposed the silliest part of the entire situation was the point he had never taken the time to appreciate it until now. Then again, it also wasn't until now that the constant boredom had ever truly bothered him. He wasn't unhappy, per se. Just—dissatisfied, he supposed. Society thrived on the cycle of success, sometimes at the expense of its individuals. So he was supposed to study hard, go to an upstanding college, graduate with flying colors, secure a good job, get married, have a family—and then what? The things that appeased other people and made them happy didn't necessarily make him happy. Sho derived no satisfaction from knowing he could do the same thing millions of other people were doing throughout the world. The dark-haired male finished his Pocky with a huff of breath that sounded suspiciously like a long-suffering sigh, and then he groped in the small bag he was carrying for another stick. His fingers found none. "Bah, I feel gypped—that pack was definitely two sticks short compared to normal packs," he muttered under his breath, crumpling the bag and pocketing it. Overhead, the sky gave an ominous rumble as lightning abruptly streaked the sky. Within several seconds, Sho found himself standing in the midst of a thunderstorm, casually holding out his hand as raindrops fell upon the streets in torrents. The rain was soaking through his clothes, but he paid little attention to such a detail, instead tilting his head up to stare at the occasional streaks of lightning with mild interest. The telltale sound of footsteps approaching him from behind alerted him of another person who had also apparently thought it was a good idea to take a walk at two in the morning, in the middle of a thunderstorm. Sho was fairly certain he looked like a drowned rat at this point, but he nonetheless turned to peer directly at the newcomer, tilting his head with an expression of muted curiosity. THIS TEMPLATE HAS BEEN CODED BY CRUX STRICTLY FOR PERSONAL USE ♚

[VALDUS ALCANDOR]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb= width, 400px, true][atrb= style, padding: 15px; background: url('http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z435/CyanideCandie/Other/background03.png');][STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 9px; background: #FFFFFF; float: right; border: #FF8585 5px solid; margin-top: 10px;"] [/style] [STYLE= width: 380px; font-family: lucida sans; color: #FFFFFF; font-size:16px; line-height: 85%; text-align: center; letter-spacing: -1px; text-shadow: #FFFF99 2px 0px 2px;"]★ DID YOU SAIL ACROSS THE SUN[/style][STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 05px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; height: 85px; overflow: auto;]DID YOU MAKE IT TO THE MILKY WAY TO SEE THE LIGHTS ALL FADED, AND THAT HEAVEN IS OVERRATED? TELL ME, DID YOU FALL FOR A SHOOTING STAR? ONE WITHOUT A PERMANENT SCAR, AND DID YOU MISS ME WHILE YOU WERE LOOKING FOR YOURSELF OUT THERE? [/style] [STYLE= text-align: justify; padding: 10px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-right: #5CD6D6 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; height: 250px; overflow: auto;]"I'm going to get bread now." "You're mad! You'll catch a cold!" "…" "You can wait until tomorrow morning, can you? There's no rush!" "…" "At this time of night too? That's not what normal people would do. You know, back in my day I used to be like you, walking out in the middle of the night to--" "… I'm going to get bread now." Valdus was gone before the old hag could elaborate on the stories of her youth, hand leaving the rusty doorknob of his apartment door silently. Like many other fools with low tolerance for sappy stories or just stories in general, Valdus was in no mood to listen to another one of his neighbor's tales. In fact, he was miles more interested in getting the right brand and amount of bread for a midnight-- or rather-- early early morning snack, even if it did mean walking around in the pouring rain and thunderstorm. Perhaps it was just a weird habit, but Valdus quite liked the rough weather. It was as if it were a survival game, get struck by lightning and you're out… Permanently. The albino male smirked, now soaked to the bone as he walked silently through the rain. An umbrella, neglected, lay dormant in Valdus' grasp, its black waterproof texture smooth in said teenager's grip. Surely if anyone were to pass by at this time they would brand Valdus as an idiot straight away. After all, who walks around at 2 in the morning in the pouring rain with an unused umbrella in their hands? It's definitely not something the majority of civilians in Namimori enjoy doing on their free time. Certainly not something someone 'perfectly sane' would do either. Valdus pondered silently as he walked, puddles of water beneath his feat rippling as he stepped in and out of them. Occasional flashes of lightning illuminated his hooded facial features briefly, highlighting wet matted white hair and-- as per usual-- the ever-prominent scar on his face. More streets and their dull streetlights, rain bouncing off the sidewalk like rubber balls. After all his pondering and walking Valdus suddenly failed to recognize where he stood. If memory serves he had been on the right track to the 24-hour convenience store-- but apparently not anymore. 'Just goes to show that memory never serves. Properly, at least.' The teenager sighed, broody expressions overtaking his entire face. Now in addition to being soaking wet Valdus was lost. Can this night possibly get any worse? The albino male shook his head, unraveling the wrapped umbrella in his grasp. With a loud twang the umbrella shot out efficiently above Valdus, blocking any more raindrops from from striking his black hoodie-- not that it's not already soaked beyond comprehension already. With a great sigh Valdus continued forward, for what other choice did he have but to wait until some familiar landmark appears before him? That was when the outline of a figure caught him off guard. The shape of a person… at this time of night? Valdus let a smug smile plaster itself on his features. Perhaps he wasn't the only one with strange habits. Moments later he found himself standing a mere seven or eight feet from the other person, any emotions or thoughts he had now masked by a mask of perpetual indifference. At this distance he could see that the other was just as sopping wet as he was from the rain. How fitting. Instead of striking up a conversation however, Valdus stood there wordlessly, a pointed glare automatically fixating itself in the stranger's direction. Call it a natural reflex-- or something like that.[/style] [STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 05px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; border-right: #5CD6D6 3px solid;]WORDS: ### } { TAGS: Shobro. NOTES: Rain rain go away~[/style][STYLE= font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; text-align: center; color: #FFFFFF;]☆ MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ☆[/style]

[SHOKICHI RIHITO]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable]

[atrb=width,450][atrb=style,padding-left: 10px;][atrb=valign,bottom] ♚ one motive: cater to the hollow 677 words — tagged: valdus alcandor

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable][atrb=style,margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px,bTable][atrb=width,40][atrb=style,border-right: 3px solid #CB2533;]

[atrb=width,10px]

[atrb=width,400][atrb=style,border-left: 1px dashed #CB2533; padding: 0px 5px 10px 10px;] Two in the morning—thunder, rain. And then a flash of lightning cleaved cleanly through the sky in a jagged streak, briefly illuminating the other figure for the briefest of seconds. Sho recognized that face—it was the exchange student from school, wasn't it? The unsociable one that most people avoided out of fear of both his infamous temper and glare? Sho knew for fact that his ability to remember names and faces was sorely lacking, but then again, the exchange student had remarkably distinct features—white hair, blue eyes, scar on face. He had never spoken much to him, but the prospect of discovering how the other male acquired such a scar was intriguing. True, it was none of his business, but simply wondering didn't hurt, did it? The sound of thunder brought him out of his idle musings, returning him to reality. He exhaled a soft puff of breath as the rain continued to fall, realizing belatedly that he had been staring. Well, that was probably rude. Then again, he had never been one to care for societal norms, for the simple things that society considered right or wrong. What difference did it make if he had been staring? After all, the exchange student was glaring right back. Sho raised an eyebrow, wondering what he had done to deserve such hostility. Valdus, was it? Valdus Al...something. Out of lack of anything to say, Sho remained quiet for the next few moments, simply meeting the other male's glare with a nonchalant gaze. After several minutes of relative silence, aside for the ambient noises generated by the storm, he spoke, tilting his head slightly with a slight grin. "Heh, looks like I'm not that only one out at this ungodly hour of the morning." He shifted, digging through his pocket for Pocky out of pure habit and inadvertently losing their impromptu staring contest, only to find the empty wrapper and belatedly remember that he had finished off the last of his pack. Right. And that had only been several minutes ago too—how had he forgotten? Then again, he normally carried multiple packs on him at a time. Tonight, he had made the glaring mistake of only bringing one. In hindsight, he should have never skimped on bringing extra packs in the first place; after all, no one understood his Pocky addiction better than he himself did. Then again, that had only been because his stash had been running low. Whatever. The convenience store he got all of his Pocky from was several blocks down anyway. He could swing by and replenish his supply and stock up on another week's worth. Never mind the point that a week's worth for him equated to what a normal person would consider several months' worth. He shook his head to shake water out of his drenched hair, but it was a pointless effort, considering that the downpour had yet to cease. If he were any other person, he would have eyed the other student's umbrella with envy, but he had always liked the rain, as childish as it seemed. There was something inherently soothing about it; ironically, he slept best when it was raining. Not tonight though, he supposed. The boredom of everyday monotony had finally gotten to him, compelling him to find a means of sating his thirst for entertainment. There hadn't been anything especially interesting in this particular outing, aside from this encounter, but it was better than lolling around in bed, struggling futilely to go to sleep, right? Admittedly, he was going to be tired as fuck when it came time for school to start, but honestly, he couldn't care less. What difference did one day make? It wasn't like he had any significant exams today. That, and class was always an opportune time for naps—same with lunch period. "So. Valdus, right? What brings you out here?" he asked casually, more out of curiosity than for the sake of conversation. He rarely encountered people whenever he ventured out at this kind of hour. It was strange to see another person—the exchange student as well, no less—out as well. THIS TEMPLATE HAS BEEN CODED BY CRUX STRICTLY FOR PERSONAL USE ♚

[SHIRAYUKI AYAME]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style,width: 476px; height: 702px; background-image: url(http://i881.photobucket.com/albums/ac12/skelitten/Background/frame-1.jpg)] whoa, mona lisa, you're guaranteed to run this town. whoa, mona lisa, i'd pay to see you frown. say what you mean, tell me i’m right, and let the sun rain down on me. give me a sign, i wanna believe. — panic at the disco, the ballad of mona lisa   Ayame was there not out of choice, but out of obligation, in the pouring rain. Ah, well – it had been rain, until the first golden streaks of lightning flew across the darkening sky. And then, it turned into a storm. Ayame naturally liked such weather – cloudy days, rainy days, the lightning; and when it all came together, it became a storm. While most storms proved tumultuous and even rather dangerous, that was precisely why she liked it- -because in the sheer destruction the storm brought, it swept everything away into a clean plate to be rewritten upon. She’d had to stay up doing the damn paperwork for the student council that the President always somehow weaseled out of; at roughly half past one in the morning, she’d gotten a sudden ice cream craving. Given that neither of her parents were likely to want to get up to drive her to the store, and the fact that she felt an urge to go out in the storm, she’d picked up her umbrella and donned her coat and stepped outside. And now, despite the umbrella, strands of her long, pale coral locks were already damp from the moisture in the atmosphere. She walked on rapidly, avoiding the deeper puddles, a small bag of icecream in one hand and her umbrella in the other- ”So. Valdus, right? What brings you out here?” Ayame paused in her tracks, the plastic bag rustling as it swayed to a stop. She swiveled her head, and cerulean eyes came to land on two other figures – both standing clearly in the rain. Both figures were drenched, though only one of them seemed to be slightly affected by his wet hair and clothes; they stood a mere several feet away from Ayame. Ah – had one of them not spoken, she would have passed them both entirely unnoticed. She leaned slightly forwards, eyes narrowing against the veil of rain- -oh? Weren’t they her classmates? One of them was the foreign exchange student, too. Ah, shit – she hated meeting people from school. Why were they out, anyway, at this hour – in a storm? She had to act nice and sweet and as though she actually gave a flying fuck that they were getting wet in the rain. In all honesty, she didn’t – she didn’t know them, nor did she care about them. But she was supposed to be nice little Aya, so she bit back her scowl and instead, smiled widely and waved. ”Ah, hi!” she greeted, a cheery grin in her voice. She took a step forward, pushing her umbrella slightly in a silent offer for them to join her beneath it. ”What are you guys doing out in the rain, silly?” tags, valdus & rihito. words,

[/color][/font] xxxx.
notes, hai gais. c: /thought i'd hop in the thread, hope you don't mind. it totally didn't have anything to do with the lightning + clouds = storm, nope.

[/div][/td][/tr][/table]

[atrb=border,0,true] — by ayu

[/url] of btn[/font][/size][/div][/td] [/tr][/table][/center]

[VALDUS ALCANDOR]

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb= width, 400px, true][atrb= style, padding: 15px; background: url('http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z435/CyanideCandie/Other/background03.png');][STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 9px; background: #FFFFFF; float: right; border: #FF8585 5px solid; margin-top: 10px;"] [/style] [STYLE= width: 380px; font-family: lucida sans; color: #FFFFFF; font-size:16px; line-height: 85%; text-align: center; letter-spacing: -1px; text-shadow: #FFFF99 2px 0px 2px;"]★ DID YOU SAIL ACROSS THE SUN[/style][STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 05px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; height: 85px; overflow: auto;]DID YOU MAKE IT TO THE MILKY WAY TO SEE THE LIGHTS ALL FADED, AND THAT HEAVEN IS OVERRATED? TELL ME, DID YOU FALL FOR A SHOOTING STAR? ONE WITHOUT A PERMANENT SCAR, AND DID YOU MISS ME WHILE YOU WERE LOOKING FOR YOURSELF OUT THERE? [/style] [STYLE= text-align: justify; padding: 10px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-right: #5CD6D6 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; height: 250px; overflow: auto;]"Heh, looks like I'm not that only one out at this ungodly hour of the morning." "Hn," Valdus' glare dissipated into a mask of perpetual indifference, his eyes straying from the other to gaze absent-mindedly at the pouring night sky. The stranger spoke like he knew Valdus from somewhere. School, most likely. The white-haired male frowned, everyone attending Namimori Middle seemed to know his face or his name, and the exchange student felt less than enthusiastic to acquire this kind of attention. All he had to do was take one step into the courtyard and conversations soon went from makeup and sports to Valdus-this and Valdus-that and Valdus broke a window or Valdus splintered a classroom door. The exchange student rolled his eyes, grip shifting uncomfortably on his umbrella. Dully, the white-haired male cast his eyes on his new acquaintance with nothing but boredom written on his face. Fact is he wanted nothing more than to get to the convenience store, get his bread, and get the hell back out. As much as he loved thunderstorms Valdus would very much like to get some hours of sleep in for tomorrow-- not that he didn't already get enough sleep from skipping class and hanging out on the rooftop. Yet despite his want to just walk away from the situation Valdus hesitated. How on earth was he supposed to walk out of this awkward moment? "So. Valdus, right? What brings you out here?" Said teenager arched a single eyebrow in a quizzical manner, alternating glances between the sky and the stranger. Valdus found it odd that someone would be attempting to exchange pleasantries with him in the midst of a thundering rainstorm, but then again, Namimori seemed to be filled with weirdoes of all colors. "Getting bread," Valdus answered glibly, umbrella shifting in his slippery grasp again. Streams of water ran down the umbrella's smooth surface, droplets of water falling rapidly off its edge. Was it just him, or was the rain getting heavier? Before his musing could go on any longer another voice rang through the sound of falling rain. ”Ah, hi!” Valdus' head turned towards the source of the new voice, expression of annoyance etched into his features. More people he was supposed to recognize? The albino squinted to see in the dimly light area. Even in the midst of pouring rain he could make out the pink hair, and Valdus' breath caught in his throat almost immediately after realization. He didn't know her name, but just the fact that she was part of the student council. A little group of people he had his share of run-ins with due to his tendency to damage (or in some cases completely annihilate) school property. Dismissively Valdus' free hand came up to make a gesture of acknowledgement before retreating to his hoodie pocket. Wordlessly he gestured towards his own umbrella, rejecting the offer of standing crowded under one 'roof' of sorts. ”What are you guys doing out in the rain, silly?” Valdus grimaced at her voice. It was dripping positively with honey. The artificial sweet kind that makes your hair stand on end. Everything about this girl seemed too pleasant, too polite-- was it his imagination? Valdus shook his head slightly, purging his mind of the thoughts, "Getting bread," He repeated the same answer from before with the same monotonous voice. Why are these people out so late anyways? Valdus stole a glance at the raven-haired male several feet away from him, 'And without an umbrella, no less,' The exchange student frowned suspiciously, gripping his umbrella with more force.[/style] [STYLE= text-align: center; padding: 05px; background: #FFFFFF; font-family: lucida sans; font-size: 10px; color: #2E2E2E; border-bottom: #FF8585 3px solid; border-top: #FF8585 3px solid; border-left: #5CD6D6 3px solid; border-right: #5CD6D6 3px solid;]WORDS: ### } { TAGS: Rihito/Ayame. NOTES: Ohai.[/style][STYLE= font-size: 10px; font-family: verdana; text-align: center; color: #FFFFFF;]☆ MADE BY CYANIDE CANDY ☆[/style]

[SHOKICHI RIHITO]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable]

[atrb=width,450][atrb=style,padding-left: 10px;][atrb=valign,bottom] ♚ one motive: cater to the hollow tagged: valdus alcandor and ayame shirayuki

[atrb=cellpadding,0,bTable][atrb=cellspacing,0,bTable][atrb=border,0,bTable][atrb=align,center,bTable][atrb=width,450,bTable][atrb=style,margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px,bTable][atrb=width,40][atrb=style,border-right: 3px solid #CB2533;]

[atrb=width,10px]

[atrb=width,400][atrb=style,border-left: 1px dashed #CB2533; padding: 0px 5px 10px 10px;] He should have known that getting soaked would eventually come back to bite him in the ass. As the seconds ticked by, the frequency at which the raindrops increased, an indication that the storm was steadily growing more fierce. The rain was nice—up until he got so soaked that the previously negligible chill in the air was beginning to get to him. Which was currently happening. Then again, it hadn't really started raining until some time ago, after he had departed—or sneaked out, if one wanted to use the more accurate term, but hey, details, what did they matter?—from home. At any rate, no amount of umbrellas would change the fact that he was already thoroughly drenched. It wasn't like he really cared. If anything, he had brought it upon himself; when the rain had first started, he hadn't deigned to return home. Rather, he had simply continued wandering the area aimlessly. Ordinarily, there would have been no one around to judge, but as it stood, he was face-to-face with the exchange student. "Getting bread." Oh, so that was what this was about. Well, he supposed that made sense. If he had his own weird habits, it was perfectly reasonable for others to have their own quirks. If the exchange student wanted to get bread at two in the morning, it wasn't any of Sho's business, was it? "Ah, hi! What are you guys doing out in the rain, silly?" At the same time Valdus' did, Sho's head turned to look in the general direction from which the new voice had come, his gaze focusing on the pink-haired girl standing a short distance away. Pink hair—where had he seen that before? Ah, right, the student council vice president. Aya...something. At this point, Sho's memory was scrambling for names and coming up short; the point that he had even managed to remember the entirety of the exchange student's first name had already been pushing it. Rather than fixate on the point that he simply couldn't remember, Sho toyed with the wrapper in his pocket, disregarding the point that his pockets had been completely soaked through. He remained silent even as the other male replied to the girl's inquiry, stifling an amused laugh. Same answer, huh? The guy really was as unsociable as they said he was. Ah well. If he wanted to be unsociable, so be it. "Taking a walk," he said bluntly, shrugging with a devil-may-care expression. They both probably thought he was insane already for being out in the middle of a raging thunderstorm without an umbrella, but it was too late to do anything about such a negative first impression anyway, right? If such was the case, why worry or care in the first place? It wasn't as if he could really do much to change it in his current drenched state. As he continued toying with the wrapper in his pocket, the brunet was abruptly reminded of the point that he still needed to replenish his Pocky stash. "I'll probably swing by the store to grab more Pocky, though," he muttered. Few things satisfied his sugar cravings the way the aforementioned snack did. Noticing the motion she made with her umbrella, Sho shook his head. "Thanks, but no thanks—I'm already soaked, so 's not like an umbrella would make a difference. What're you out for, anyway?" The student council vice president didn't seem like the type of person who would venture out at night, either. Then again, looks were deceiving. Here they were, all strangers who barely even knew each other's names, and then this girl was already cheerfully offering to share her umbrella. It was nice of her, but such unconditional generosity grated on his nerves—it was as if she were doing it out of obligation rather than free will. And really, she had no obligation to help him. It was his own damn fault that he was soaked, anyway. If he personally didn't care about being soaked, no one else needed to. He despised involving other people in his own issues. It wasn't like it was a major issue anyway. Nonetheless, it was strange; this was the first time he had encountered not one, but two people during a single nighttime escapade. By this point, he was beginning to wonder if that was a bad thing. THIS TEMPLATE HAS BEEN CODED BY CRUX STRICTLY FOR PERSONAL USE ♚