Simplicity of Silence [debut thread] [open]

[brighid]

A woman sat on the empty pier, lithe legs dangling toward the waters, never touching it. A large sketch pad was held in left hand, a long pencil in her right. The strokes of graphite on paper were merely a part of the other many chaotic noises of the late afternoon—a perfect time to sketch, should one be looking to enjoy the distorted shadows the lowering sun cast upon the objects of life. The hand moved, the pencil drawing large, quick strokes as the sketch began to take form: a snapshot of the turbulent waves against the great heavens adorned with large clouds of both white cotton and dark steel grey, a confusing omen of what was to come, perhaps. The pencil stopped and was placed within the spiral binding of the sketchbook. Placing the book in a large, plain, dark brown leather bag with a long strap, the woman stood, gazing into the horizon to determine the time.

It was a cool evening. There was a serene silence that filled the world with momentary peace, though it was unlikely that it would last for long. The waters of the pier brushed against each other, the simple sounds of the element soothing the wounds of the city in an attempt to wash them away, but it would not be so. Brighid Bàn'maighdean sighed, her eyes closed so that her long lashes gently caressed her cheeks. She quieted her mind, cleared it; all that existed for that moment was the sounds of water and the existence of her being. The moment of her union with it was a quick, intimate second, a brushing of her soul against its own. Slowly, she opened her eyes, inhaling deeply as she did so. Those cool, light green eyes scanned the horizon. Eternity waited beyond…. But it would be some time before she would meet it again.

This evening, she wore a halter top dress which fell to her knees. The deep eggplant hues played with her long, wavy, auburn hair as it shone in the evening sunset, the warm colors adding to the intensity of her being. Soon night would fall, and the warmth would be replaced by the deep, cool tones of darkness. A wide, gold hued belt hugged her waist, accentuating its small size but also the curvature of her body. The long, crysacola amulet hung passed the belt; she never was without it. Absently, Brighid raised a slender hand to touch it. The complementary oranges of the setting sun and the blues of the coming night played with her body, casting extreme shadows on her face and legs. For an instant as the light touched the amulet, it seemed the dark colors of the stone shifted and swirled, but perhaps that was just an illusion brought on by the quickly failing light.

Brighid pulled the bag over her left shoulder. The bag reached her hip. Looking down at her amulet, she returned her gaze to the last rays of the sun, watching as night began to take over. “It’s time to go.” She spoke to no one. Her voice was a soft alto, just above a whisper. Her spirits raised by the cleansing sounds of the water, she smiled slightly, her petal pink lips curving ever so slightly. Nodding to the sea in farewell, the woman turned. She usually did not stay out this late, and she was unsure of what was to come. She noted to herself that her small knife was in her bag, ready for her should she need it. As she walked away from the pier, back toward the city, her plain gold hued flats hardly made a sound, brushing slightly against the ground.

Everything will be fine, she told herself, clearing her mine to regain her composure as she ventured forth.

[Deleted]

Alex sighed, and walked in silence. It was a few days before he was set to leave for his home country on a well deserved vacation. He needed some time to clear his mind and think about everything that had gone on in the last week. The bandage around his chest reminded him of rather horrid events that had happened. He should have died on that street that night. Anastasia should have left him to die instead of let him live. His eyes narrowed in frustration, and he sighed. It was because of the single bullet wound and the events that haunted his mind every waking moment of his life, he needed to come here to clear his head. The wind that was always by the water, cooled his rather hot spirit. Alex was in one hell of a dilema, if he stayed back in his home country hed have time to accept the losses he had felt while he lived there and be able to return to this place, his new home and actually truly enjoy it for all its worth. The losses he never came to terms with seemed to be the bane of his existence.

It was getting late as he approached the pier and he looked around, not noticing anyone he sat on the shore and stepped into the cool clear water and smiled. The water here wasnt polluted and if he wanted at that very moment he would have definitely gone for a swim out in the ocean instead of the pool at his home. But instead he stood on the shoreline and let the waves lap at his ankles. To be honest, just being here made him feel all the more relaxed. The sound of the waves soothed the man and his tension seemed to melt away from him. He felt good drawing in a breath of air here, that was when he noticed someone was here after all. A woman was here drawing.. he had some art skills, if you call being able to draw funny pictures of stick figures art skills, but she obviously was a pro at it. In silence he watched a picture take shape on the page, being sure that she wouldn't notice him. Well he wasnt being a creeper at all now was he? He kept silent, his breathing was as quiet as he could muster it to be. After all his punctured lung didn't make it easy.

He watched her as the sun set and the cool air cooled even more, that was when he decided to make his presence known. It was right before she was going to leave, as he walked up from the shore, he stepped on the pier and gave her a friendly smile, "You have some really good art skills" Oh how socially awkward was that? Poor Alex often made bad impressions or, strange ones. He watched her walk, and he sighed, he wasnt one for introductions. "By the way, My name is Alex" He smiled at her and watched her walk past him. His brown eyes resting on her form before he went back to watching the night set in. "Its nice to have a clear night for once ne? People can finally go star gazing without smog in the way." Alex lived on the outskirts of the city for a reason. Out there he could watch the beautiful sunsets and watch the stars at night. In fact when he wasnt working it was one of his favorite things to do. He only hoped she'd stay around to talk, after all it was good to have some company for a while.

[brighid]

Just as she was about to leave the pier, she saw a figure move before, not menacing, but still somewhat blocking her way. She was startled momentarily, frozen as the sudden contact with another being was made. Perhaps what had startled her the most was that she had not known that she was not along on the shore, but then again, had she really made a real effort the make sure? No, she had assumed that the peaceful silent of the evening mean that she was the only on present. She made a note to herself, reminding her that she should not assume such again; after all, she too, was quiet and mostly likely would have gone unnoticed as well. It was just that she had always felt that others were louder than she, that she fell into the background as an accessory to the backdrop, not part of the focal points. She composed herself quickly, all these thoughts filling her head and then clearing out in a matter of seconds. She realized now that her mouth had opened ever so slightly when she had startled and she closed it with a gentle sigh. Nothing to worry about, she told herself. Then she realized that he had spoken already, a couple sentences in fact. Embarrassed, she made an effort to focus her attention on him. He, after all, was speaking to her.

She laughed nervously at his comment concerning her artistic skills, her cheeks tinting with pink. She never knew how to respond to compliments… or to anything for that matter; she just had not had that many opportunities to engage in conversation. Despite this fact, she was still easily and quickly drawn towards people and felt comfortable around them without much trouble. It was only the speaking part about being in the presence of others which intimidated her. “Uhm…. Thank you.” This, too, was said in an awkward manner, although she made no sign that she felt that way. She studied his face quickly, her green eyes making contact with his brown ones for just a brief moment before moving away; she never could hold eye contact. He seemed friendly enough, with the way he delivered himself. Her body relaxed noticeably.

As an unnoticeable breeze came through, she could smell her own scent on the air. It consisted of a mixture of peonies and clean cotton. Pleasant. Simple. “I’m Brighid.” She paused. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She offered him a kind smile, and proffered her slender hand. Her voice was comfortable enough, the dulcet notes fluttering by with ease. Brighid followed Alex’s gaze, looking into the failing sun. The cool colors of night were now settling in. She nodded, shifting her attention to the heavens. “It is,” she agreed. “So often the city swallows up the clear breath of Nature.”. There was the slightest hint of sadness in her voice as she said it with a sigh, although it was hardly audible even to herself.

She turned back to him. He was quiet and so she took the time to study him some more. What struck her first was a slight aberration in his breathing patters. She was not exactly sure how she noticed this or why she noticed this, but she did and now she could not help but focus on it. A wave of concern crossed her face. She was not sure if anything was wrong with him it all. For all she knew, she could have been making it up. But he was here, after all, and she thought that it would help do ask. Her hand reached out as she drew in her breath to speak, resting on his shoulder as she watched his face. “Are you… alright?”

[Deleted]

“Uhm…. Thank you.”

He chuckled lightly, "No problem, I cant draw for my life. I guess that's why im a singer instead" wow, that was a different way to talk to someone, he was actually being open for once, and he was happy about it. The pier must contain some kind of magic for if it didnt, well he didnt know what was making him so friendly. He grinned at her, his smile was friendly and warm. Yes Alex was a well known singer in this city, and well he had an estate to show for it, however what showed more was the charities he constantly donated his money to. His brown eyes gleamed happily. Maybe getting out of that hell hole of a city was good, even for a city rat like him. However despite the fact that he was a city rat, he was a lover of nature in its finest form. His eyes gazed at the sky. He remembered the scene he saw in the woods. It was a habit of his to walk aimlessly through the forest where his house bordered. He had run face to face into a deer.. that made him remember just how beautiful nature was, and how good it was to get away from the jungle of man made wonders.

“I’m Brighid. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The black angel smiled, the name was simple and beautiful. "The pleasure is all mine Brighid" he replied to her with a smile. What a gentleman. He always was like this, a polite man. His smile was a akin to that of the sun, warm and friendly, something that seemed to brighten peoples days when it was flashed. However he felt another breeze wash in from the water and he looked at her, she was clad in light clothing and so he shook off his jacket and looked at her with a smile, "It's gonna get cold soon. You can wear this if you want" What was a complete stranger doing just offering someone his coat? Well he learned that to get kindness from people you have to give it to them, and by god he had the heart to give the kindness. Underneath the jacket he was wearing a white long sleeved dress like shirt and a white tank top underneath that. He would be fine during the cool nights. However he was more or less concerned for the woman next to him. His single black wing was folded inward, so it would be a little unnoticeable to people. After all he often scared people off when he did allow them to see his wing.

“It is, So often the city swallows up the clear breath of Nature.”

He smiled at her again, "How true a statement like that is. Getting away from that jungle of man made wonders is good for the body, mind and soul. After all that jungle is often the cause of injury." He murmured quietly. An avid lover of nature he was and the fact that he in his home had gardens everywhere showed that. His eyes were fixed upon the sky, as the colors shifted to the darker cooler colors of night. He had noted the sadness in her voice and he gave her a concerned glance, and faced her. "Is something wrong?" having empath powers made him hypersensitive to peoples emotions, and she was no exception. However turning the way he did sent a wave of pain shooting up his body. The Muscles on his torso and twitched and he tensed for a moment. He forgot that he had to be careful, after all he didn't want to start bleeding all over the place because he ripped his stitches on accident. The pain subsided and he looked back at the sky, and smiled.

“Are you… alright?”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and part of him tensed up, his muscles tensed and then relaxed and he looked back. "Its nothing, I just... got into a little trouble I guess. However I should ask that to you, you sounded a little sad earlier. Is something wrong?" he repeated his question and brushed off his problem, obviously more concerned with the girl beside him. "By the way you can wear my jacket and keep it." Call it his little gesture of kindness as he smiled at her. Alex however couldnt help but look at her eyes, they were pretty. Hed never really noticed that kind of thing about a woman in many many years. They were a deep leaf green and he seemed to like that about her already. Alex despite his age looked only a day above twenty four. He looked about as young and in his prime as he could get, and it showed. Many of the young generation seemed to oogle at his looks and all he could do is laugh inwardly at their stupidity. Without really thinking he murmured quietly, "Do forgive me if I seem a little blunt here, but did anyone ever tell you how beautiful you look?"

Oh lord, that wasnt a pickup line. He was never one to do that kind of stuff, instead he was geared towards being more blunt about that kind of stuff. Alex just wanted to state his opinion on her, and therefore, he would. And he could only hope that he didnt get himself into trouble.

[brighid]

So he was a singer. “I like music… I don’t’ have much of a singing voice, though,”she said in response laughing to herself. It was true, and what she liked about music was the colors that moved through her as the various chords, rhythms, and tones were processed in her brain. She had grapheme synethesia, and so she associated many things with colors and those colors were associated with different moods, emotions. “It’s a form of expression I can understand,” she murmured, almost to herself. She never minded sharing things with others, it was keeping things from them that she had trouble with. What made her socially uncomfortable was that she did not know to express herself. Words never seemed adequate, and yet that was what she used most often when engaged in conversation… rather, it was the only form she knew how to use to engage in conversation. Art was another story, but she found it difficult to have a conversation with anyone normal. Art was a way of communication, and not a language and that was where she became awkward. Communication, that was easy; using language properly to try to convey a message was the difficult part.

She smiled at him: the pleasure was all his, he had said. What a gentleman, indeed. Then he offered her his coat, saying that it would be getting cold. She blushed again. Blushing for Brighid did not mean very much. It merely meant that, emotionally, she was somewhat overwhelmed. Being angry, too warm, embarrassed, or happy could also cause her to blush. Here, she was somewhat embarrassed by his display of chivalry, but took the jacket with an embarrassed but sincere “thank you”, realizing that it was, as he had said, getting a bit chilly. The goose flesh had begun to rise on her arms, a sure sign. He himself was wearing a white dress shirt, and she wondered for a moment if he would be cold, too. She remembered from what little experience she had with males that they did not often get cold easily. Her evidence was looking out of her apartment window during winter to watch men wander about the streets in t-shirts, or shorts, or both. Perhaps it was the case here as well. Either way, she was too embarrassed to say anything else about the matter.

She listened to him speak silently. She did not have much to say, and she wondered if he would think that she was being rude. However, she felt that the mere presence of a person spoke for itself, and that was enough for her. She enjoyed his presence, she found, a refreshing change from her usual solitude. It was a very subtle sensation, but the mingling of their auras was a pleasant experience, as she had found it was with most people. That was how she found most of her joy, through the presence and not through the words. She could spend an entire day with someone without saying anything and say that she had had the best time of her life at the end.

Perhaps that was why she found it difficult to go to parties (something she did not often do… or even do at all). Perhaps there were too many auras mingling together that it was just too much for Brighid. Perhaps.

He asked her, then, if something was wrong. She paused to think, why had he asked that? Then she realized that he must have detected the sadness in her voice. She felt guilty for letting such a thing out. To be honest with herself, she did not know why she had sounded sad. She watched him, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Nothing…” she said slowly. “Honestly, I don’t know, myself.” She laughed again, embarrassed with herself for not even knowing such a thing about herself. He then answered her question concerning his health, saying that he had gotten into trouble. He said it in such a way that Brighid thought that he must not want to talk about it; it wasn’t so much that he dismissed the topic, but more that he made it seem like it was nothing. Clearly it was something, but he did not want it to see that way. She did not pursue the topic further, falling silent again.

“Oh! No, I couldn’t possibly do that,” she said quickly in response to him telling her that she could keep his jacket. Her body shifted uncomfortably beneath the jacket draped over her shoulders. And then he suddenly told her that she looked beautiful. Her eyes widened slightly, and she had to look away, her face completely red. What do I say to that? she wondered, confused by the great compliment . “Thank you,” she mumbled clumsily. Now the silence which followed was awkward, the atmosphere thick with her confused emotions. She could hardly stand it. She could tell the level of her bashfulness by how hot it had suddenly become, and she knew that a bit of sweat no lined her brow.

She thought that perhaps she could change the subject. She made a great effort to look back at this man. “So… What kind of music do you sing?” She realized that she may have said that too quickly, and also that she probably should have recognized him since he was a singer. This fact merely completed her discomfort. She was not in control with herself, and that idea was a bit frightening to the young woman. A slight frown bent her lips.

[Deleted]

“I like music… I don’t’ have much of a singing voice, though. It’s a form of expression I can understand,”

He smiled at her, and laughed lightly. Good god he may actually want to write a song when he got home. This girl made him smile more than he had in years. "I guess we're even then eh? I cant draw and you cant sing, It's also nice to know that there are some people who arent ignorant to the meanings behind songs" his smile was softer, the joking side of him fading slightly as he noted the stars beginning to shine. Music is how the man explained who he was, what he had gone through and everything that had done in his life. It was how he explained his life of war and crime into the life seeking redemption. The dark skinned man looked at her and his aura was absolutely peaceful. If his aura had a color it would have been silver. A color he seemed to identify himself with quite a bit. Without his control a single ash grey wing extended itself from his back, flecks of blue and silver were inside the dark wings feathers. He looked at his wing and tensed..

How would he explain this? "Uh.. I'm.. Sorry if I scare you now.. but Im a black angel, if you cant tell" His voice was soft and it seemed to hold a resentment for what he was. In truth Alex hated that he had fallen from who he was, and the golden cross which had stains of his own blood hung loosely on his neck. He smiled somewhat nervous of what the human woman would say about him, "Its okay if you don't want to be around me any longer, I understand that.." His voice was oddly apologetic as if he was apologizing for the fact he was what he was. His eyes closed and he sighed, he hoped that the woman wouldn't scream and run away like most people did when these kinds of things happened. His wing stretched itself it was obviously a pain for him to keep it folded tightly against his body all the time. He walked towards the end of the pier and gestured for the woman to sit with him at the end of the long pier.

He could tell she was slightly embarrassed by his show of being a gentleman as he noted the slight color change in her face. He chuckled lightly and smiled at her, "No need to be embarrassed Brighid, it's nothing really." His voice was a calm but friendly tenor, something that was smooth in the way the words so fluidly fell from his lips. It was all a part of being a singer he guessed. His eyes danced around the scene. It was a beautiful night and he absolutely loved it. He drew in a breath of fresh air and grinned, "It feels so good out here" he laughed. He laughed as if being here seemed to have gotten rid of some kind of weight on his shoulders. It was a rather happy thing for him to be so happy now. Maybe all he needed was a little therapy of being out in nature with people who weren't going to shoot him for saving their asses. His brown eyes shined with happiness once more. "Also, Brighid, there's no need to be shy around me." He gave her a friendly smile and finally sat at the end of the pier.

“Nothing… Honestly, I don’t know, myself.”

He chuckled, "Its fine, I get like that sometimes as well, everyone's human right? We cant know everything." he sat at the edge of the pier and looked into the darkened sky, and let the water surround his ankles. It was relaxing just being away from the city, the clubs and everything else for once. His dark eyes shined in the light of the stars and he sighed contentedly. Despite the burning pain in his chest he was happy and therefore he was much more relaxed for once instead of the constantly worrying man he was normally. His usually tense muscles for once were relaxed without having to go to a chiropractor for help. His entire being seemed to give off an aura that drew people to him. That was something that he liked and disliked. He loved it because it was how he met some of the greatest people on earth, and also how he met his now.. dead wife. He ignored those thoughts though and continued on with his contentedness. He was at peace in his mind and body and for once he smiled and meant it.

“Oh! No, I couldn’t possibly do that.... Thank you,”

He heard her say she couldnt keep his jacket and he looked back and smiled, "Its fine really, besides I have other jackets at my house, so its perfectly fine with me." His voice was calming, he was a magical magical man. He chuckled at her face turning beet red with embarrassment from his compliment. "No need to be embarrassed, but you're welcome. Its a compliment well deserved if I dont say so myself" He chuckled at her before turning back to the ocean. It had been so long since he had been this happy and lighthearted, it had been so long since he had finally been at peace with himself and the bloodstained cross on his neck. He hoped that one day he could come back to this place with white wings instead of the single black one that he had. The white wings would make him content with himself once more. He fell from grace from actions of frustration. He had watched his wife and two year old son get slaughtered and he couldn't handle seeing that. He took out his frustration and fell from gods grace. His eyes lowered, and he murmured something to himself in his native language before turning back to Brighid.

“So… What kind of music do you sing?”

How to approach that question, "There are many ways for me to answer that Brighid." He spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I sing of the life i wish to lead once more one day, I sing of the past and my Mistakes, I sing the story of my life. I sing who I am, Who I'm not, and Who I want to be" He replied to her. Everything in that statement was true and legitimate. He didn't mind that she didn't know of him as an artist. In fact he rather liked it, appreciated it. After all that was one less woman ogling at him all the time. His eyes fell upon her and he gestured her over to where she once sat. "Its fine to sit here, I may be a black angel but I don't bite" He laughed at his comment. Alex could rarely hurt anyone, unless they endangered the lives of those he loved. Any family friend or god forbid one day he fell in love again and failed to protect her. His brown eyes held an amusement, "I sing of.. things that I wish the world would change.. like that for example" * pointed towards the city and sighed.

[brighid]

She smiled and nodded at his comment; they abilities concerning visual art and music were opposites. Now that it was dark, she could not see very well. All the colors of day were taken with the failing sun. Yet, she thought she saw something stir near Alex… perhaps behind him or beside him, she wasn’t sure. Maybe it wasn’t even there, just a trick of the night. But he moved his gaze toward what she thought was a shadow and realized that something was there, indeed. What was that…? She strained her eyes to try and get a better look, subconsciously leaning forward slightly. Whatever it was, it moved, seemed to grow in size and length. For a while she was confused, and then Alex spoke, explaining to her that he was a Black Angel. Brighid froze. What? Maybe she had been cooped up in her apartment for far too long… she hadn’t remembered the last time she had heard of them. She was silent, then, unsure of how to feel. More confusion.

Grey. Orchid. Yellow.

She saw these colors in her mind as a manifestation of her emotions. Should she be afraid? She couldn’t remember… but she wasn’t sure if the stories she had heard long ago were ones that had any legitimate source. Should she run, hide…? What? What should she do? What could she do? Her eyes darted from the wing to the bloodied cross around his neck and back to the wing. She wondered then, why she had not seen it before. Perhaps she had not seen it because she had not been looking for it. That seemed to make sense to her then, at a time when suddenly nothing did. She then realized that her body had relaxed again, for the first time in the long train of unexpected events. She realized that this was so because she had been standing here talking and mingling with him, and she was still there, unharmed, untouched. She realized that this was because she could sense that there was no malicious intent, that there was no danger. She was able to meet his eyes for another quick moment.

Dazed, she realized that he had been speaking. She hadn’t heard, wasn’t hearing him. She tried to force herself to listen, but her ears refused. It was as if she had stood next to a large piece of World War Two artillery as it shot a tank from afar. There was the slight buzzing of his voice, but she didn’t understand. She must have been blanking off, deep in her own thoughts, for she saw that he was moving back toward the pier. She snapped out if it in time to hear a full sentence. There was no need to be shy, he was telling her. She wondered what her expression had been during those moments of dazed confusion. She absently moved toward the pier, and despite her confusion she still moved with smooth and even strides, as if she were in control. And perhaps she was… in a sense. She gingerly sat down on the pier once more, like she had been not long ago, drawing.

She found that she still had trouble focusing on his conversation. She was deep in thought, pondering the existence of such a thing as a dark angel. She had been aware of great changes in the city for quite some time, but being the anti social being that she was, she never found out what. Perhaps this had something to do with it. If dark angels were real, then what other things were? She looked up at Alex, meeting his gaze again, her green eyes searching his face quickly before she spoke suddenly. “It’s alright,” she said, not even sure if she was interrupting him. “I’m not afraid…” She paused then, and there was a silence even within her mind now, as if time had stopped suddenly. “Need I be?