Freefall

Located

Evan was struggling to pay attention to her book, and had been for some time, now. As sleep deprived and hopped up on caffeine as she was, the words on the page seemed to not fully register in her mind, no matter how desperately her emerald hues tried to focus on it. It was incredibly frustrating, but it wasn't like she could let herself lose the battle her body was putting forth. Whenever she inevitably did let it win, let herself settle down enough to sleep... Well, it was almost never pretty, and definitely something she wanted to avoid whenever possible. Luckily for her, the same thing that caused those nightmares to happen also allowed her to hold off on sleeping longer than most could. If nothing else, she could try to be grateful for that.

Sighing and resting her forehead lightly against the open book for a few moments, she let herself close her eyes and listen to the sounds of the coffee shop around her. It was new, and it was pretty late in the afternoon, so there weren't too many people in. It had been busier before, but maybe she had been trying to focus on her book so long that she hadn't noticed the business settle. There were a few quiet conversations around her that she couldn't quite make out, the soft tapping of fingers on a keyboard, and the sound of coffee being made. As she went to take a deep inhale of both the scent of her new book, and her favorite aroma in the whole world, she found herself choking on the breath in surprise as someone lightly tapped on her table in front of her.

Her cheeks heated as she pulled her head out of her book, quickly looking up to find solid black eyes looking down into hers, the emotions beneath them a mystery to her, but definitely intense. Further inspection of the features surrounding them made her bite her lip; he had a strong, angular jawline covered in tiny stubbly hairs. It looked kind of scratchy, and she almost wanted to reach her hand out and pet it. But she was somehow able to restrain herself, not to worry. No crazy people here. His lips were stuck in a deep frown, somewhere right between full and thin; a sweet spot that fit the rest of his face well. His solid cheekbones matched his jawline, giving his unpleasant expression a sharpness that made her almost think she might need to be on her guard, here. She really hoped not, though. He was cute; especially the tuft of curly dark hair on the top of his head, thick and full yet neat and tidy. It looked pretty practical, but her own wavy hair clued her into how unruly it might be behind the scenes, especially if he let himself grow it out any longer than it was now.

A small smile graced her features after a few seconds too long of a pause. He seemed patient, though, as he let her get her bearings and take in his sudden appearance in front of her. Something was telling her to keep alert; he was like her. She could tell, could feel it coming off of him in waves. He had some kind of powers that set him apart from most of the other people in the room, and there was something... Dark, about them. Something that set her on edge, instinctually. Though, she kept herself polite. If others had the ability to sense her, she knew how heartbreaking it would be to find out that she was being judged before even opening her mouth. She would give him a chance.

Sure, him being cute might be part of that, but she wouldn't even admit that to herself, really. It wouldn't be fair. She didn't have a chance. "Hey there, sorry, you scared me a little. Do you want to sit?" She motioned for the chair across from her, putting as much warmth as she could into her exhausted voice.

"No, sorry to say, this is business. Evangeline Sire?" He kept his voice low, tone unreadable. He watched her carefully as she watched him right back,  her blood running cold in her veins. She never said her full name, to the point where even most of her coworkers forgot what it was, despite how often it showed up on the schedules. She always felt like it didn't fit, like it was a title she could never live up to. Too formal, set up too high of expectations for her to reach. Seeing that she was quiet for a few moments longer than he must have liked, he sighed, "would you mind taking a walk with me? I'm not here to hurt you."