Late Regrets [and stuff]

Autumn was always his favorite season. The days were still long, the holidays were always fun - and food based, and it always brought fun opportunities. Or it used to...

Normally, the weather this time of year would've sent a shiver straight down his spine, but luckily he was prepared to beat the chilly mountain breezes. It was so strange; the soft gray sweater and the long blue jeans. It was just an old outfit, something he'd plug out of his closet, but it didn't feel right. Amongst the sea of students in town, he stood out now as an outsider. Jason had always hated how Beata had such an obscure, formal uniform. It was such a bitch to take care of. Funny how he found himself missing it then.

As people continued to walk by, Jason stood at the edge of the street, leaning against the wall of a little town shop and tapping through his phone, having just sent a few messages out, he slid all the conversations off the screen. For a moment, his gaze lingered on wallpaper of his phone: two happy people, their cheeks pushed against each other as they tried to fit in the camera screen. He smiled a little despite his solemn mood, shoving the phone back into his pocket. 'I guess I should do something a little more productive than stand around here,' He thought to himself. After all, it would be his last weekend in town before he was shipped off to Europe.

It was hard being a mentor. Lotte had met Madison a little over two weeks ago, had agreed to train her. Madison had a trouble, a little trouble, no, that was wrong, a lot of trouble, a boatload of trouble. But it was trickling away ever so slowly, thanks to Lotte, and there was a little gratification in her mentorship. Of course, she could have also killed Madison. It was best not to think of that.

The two were in the cafe, talking amongst themselves about what was in store. Madison kept her eyes down as she always did, into the coffee before her. She didn't like to talk about the dangerous training she did, but knew it was necessary. Lottie, well, Lottie was always optimistic. She slammed her artificial hand on the table with elation. "We're making great progress, Maddie, cheer up."

"I suppose." The anxious girl put the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she stood. "I need to go, homework and, um, more homework, I'll--I'll...see you, Lottie."

"I prefer sensei."

Madison pretended she hadn't heard, and walked out. Lotte gave a huff in false indignation, and retired to finishing her cup of coffee before walking out herself. She took solace in watching; she loved people, and her eyes kept fixed out the window. She watched an old couple cross the street, hands in each others to keep them warm. She watched students eat snacks on their way back to campus. She saw Jace leaning against a wall.

Jace.

Her heart leapt, and she focused longer to make sure it was him. Yes, it was. She was sure he'd be gone by now. She was sure she'd never see him again.

She studied his face for a few moments, then looked at her own in the reflection of her coffee. It was shaking. Her hands were shaking. She took another sip, giving her face a light slap, and after parting her lips from the rim of the ceramic mug, gulped the rest down in one swig. She slammed it victoriously, left the money there, and rushed out the door.

And she stood there. She stood before the cafe door, and just...looked at him for a little. What would she say?

He let his eyes travel up and down the street, from the cheap corner store, to the arcade, to the bakery, taking in everything, yet at the same time he was so deep in thought that the young man saw hardly anything at all. He vaguely noticed a few people walk right by him, but he didn't look their way, or noticed if they really looked at him. Where could he go? He suppose he could find some place for dinner, or waste time looking for dumb little souvenir knick-knacks... There wasn't exactly a whole lot of other options in this little town.

The blonde pulled himself off of the wall, glancing again at the establishments further down the street, and oblivious to the stare of the girl watching him from the cafe doors. 'A bite to eat won't hurt,' he thought. He did have a sweet tooth then. Maybe he could pick it up as a treat for his brother. He'd always done that when they shared a dorm, although he supposed it wouldn't be that easy anymore. Or maybe hold onto it as a little gift for Eve? Although it had been harder to talk to her those past few days, and for all he knew then, she could've been sharing her time with that shady dealer friend of hers.

The thought was enough to show a twinge of irritation on his face, but he hid it quickly, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket and beginning to walk off. One good thing about Rosebury was that everything was so close together already in one place, he supposed.

And she followed. She did not mean to follow him, or pursue any stalkerish way in method, but there was something about him spotting her that scared her. But she couldn't let him get away. She'd just think. Lotte jumped from doorway to doorway, autumn-colored hat pulled over her head. She pressed against walls, and with each cold press against her back, she felt more and more pathetic. Her robotic arm whirred for a brief moment at a brief overheat.

Jason paused in the middle of his walk, thinking he heard one of the strangest sounds behind him. It sounded like a computer fan, or like wind hissing? He stood quietly for a moment, trying to place the noise thoughtfully and was about to turn around to investigate before his attention was snapped away again. Several feet away, a young couple was leaving the warm bakery, the door swinging behind them, the cute little bell on top of the frame announcing their departure. He chose to forget the noise then, staring straight forward and walking up to the building. He could smell the pumpkin spice before he'd even opened the door and stepped inside.

There were a few other people in the store then, but he'd paid no mind to them, waving a hand in greeting to the owner behind the counter and quickly distracting himself, going over the menu hanging delicately from the ceiling.

Roseburyans didn't have too many cars. It may have been due to the town's small size, how everything on its main street was compact, and how most residents rarely left their docile home. But, a car was parked on top of the slant, a ramplike stretched hill that was slight, but apparently not slight enough. Lotte pressed her back to a wall, away from the bakery door, and breathed, wondering what she was doing. It was at this angle that she got a perfect view of a young man exiting a car, a car that was not put into park. It began to roll, only slightly at first, but faster and faster, too fast for the man to catch up by the time he discovered the vehicle's movement. People began to scream in alert, but no one seemed to try to stop it. Where was a netting power or something when you needed it!?

Lotte jumped up. She had to stop it; it was heading towards the bakery, located a little too-perfectly at the bottom of the slight-hill. She ran into the middle of the street and breathed, before snapping.

...nothing happened.

She snapped again, looking at her fingers as if they were malfunctioning. It wasn't her robotic hand; why weren't they coming!? "Come on, come on!" She verbalized her frustrations, when suddenly two ghosts materialized, spirits seen only by her.

What's wrong, milady?
How can we serve you? The second laughed. Sorry, we was kinda busy.

"Morons, let's go!" Lotte was uncharacteristically vitriolic, even for the situation, the scathe of her tone past that of frustration. "Help me, you fools, help me!"

She snapped again and again and again, and more unseen specters flooded in front of her, mumbling and murmuring specters, ghosts spewing profanity as they created a wall of transparent bodies before her. All the while, people saw nothing. They shouted for her to get out of the way, but she did not, and rested her hands on the backs of the spirits in front of her, gross spirits who offered humble sighs as she did so.

And the car collided with the wall of spirits. What would normally be a feeble effort was helped by the touch of Lotte, the tangibility of Lotte, and they all gained enough strength and tangibility of their own to stop the car. Or, at least touch the car. People witnessed as a slew of figures flickered to halflife like images from a faulty projector. They witnessed the front row of these figures get knocked over like bowling pins, their bodies lodging the wheels as they disappeared in puffs of smoke. But, there were enough people there to stop the vehicle in front of the bakery door, and even though it knocked Lotte over, she was happy to not use offensive force. She didn't have to permanently destroy any spirits, or permanently destroy any cars. Good day.

She rubbed her head and groaned, and the driver rushed to meet her in a pant.

"T-thaaa...nks soo....much..." he breathed.

It'd taken some time for anyone in the bakery to begin to notice what was going on outside. The only thing that Jason had been concerned with was the fact that he'd already picked out his select choice of dessert off the menu. It was only the look of shock of the owner behind the counter that tipped him off to the madness that was going on outside. It didn't take long for the screams of the bystanders outside to pierce his ear.

Jason finally whipped around, a ton of heavy metal heading straight for the store he was standing in himself. 'Oh, shit....!' His instincts told him to dart out of the way, but it wasn't as if there was anywhere he could run, and there was nothing he could do to try and stop it. In the back of his mind, he realized he was seconds away from being rolled right into.

He hadn't the time for final thoughts or to say his prayers. Before he could react any further, some idiot was jumping out in front of the moving vehicle. He expected the worst, but instead, tens of bodies made of light and soot jumped in front of the vehicle. They can and went in flashes until finally, the car slowed to an unsteady stop. Everyone in the area had seemed to have taken a sigh of relief all at once.

The Autumn didn't waste much more time, stepping outside the entrance, glancing at a shell-shocked man and down at the hero who had fallen in front of the door. "Hey, are you alright?" He asked, stepping aside to start to offer her a hand and glancing at the vehicle again. "That would've been a damn fine mess..."

"Yeah, I'm--" She looked up, and froze, not finishing her sentence, her eyes meeting his in a sanguine sweet-aired freeze. It seemed to go on for eternity, her mouth hanging agape for a little while, her lips pale. Lotte rose her left hand, however, her good hand, to meet his, and hauled herself off from the ground soundlessly. She continued looking into his eyes when she stood, like a frightened doe.

Jason could've let out a sigh of relief then. She seemed to be stumbling over herself, but the lady had just stopping a runaway car. He couldn't blame her in the least. "That's- That's great." His smile was beaming with exhilaration as he glanced to the owner of the car and back to her again, looking back as she quickly spun up and onto her feet. And she just... watched him. Admittedly, he felt a little awkward as she did so and scrambled to find something else to say, staring back down at her.

She was a pretty girl, though. Older looking than most at the school, and in her own clothes, she couldn't have been another student...

And then it clicked. "Pardon, but... Your name wouldn't be Charlotte, ... would it?"

So it took him a while. Lotte laughed a little at his delayed response. She was older, huh? He certainly seemed the same age. She crossed her arms in front of her, her pale, soft hand meeting the cold hard steel of her other, and she nodded. "It's been a while, Jace," she whispered. There was some melancholy in her joy, even in her previous laugh. It had been a while. Too long. And now he was leaving.

He liked to think he'd changed over the many months that she'd been gone, certainly for the better, having made it a habit to go to the gym to bulk up regularly. Maybe the difference was hard to see under the warmth of his autumn attire, but he knew it was there, and was quite proud of it. Jace certainly wasn't the stringy twig from a few years ago. He might've even been a little taller too.
Jason thought in the back of his mind that it had to have been a similar case with her, besides the lack of school uniform, something about her just seemed... Different. And he hadn't even noticed her hand yet.

Once she'd answered him, he wasn't sure if he could smile anymore then, "Figures that you would be the one to save my ass." He held his arms out, about to go in for the hug, when he finally noticed the gleaming metal resting across her chest. "Where have you been? What happened?" They had a lot of catching up to do.

"Well, maybe we shouldn't talk in the middle of the street." They were moving the car behind them already, the town going back to its normal ways after the hectic event. She also was postponing the discussion. She was tired of explaining it, but had to give the whole story to Jace. So, she found a bench nearby, and told him a recap of her life in the past two years, the losing of Ethel, the mental institute, the ear, the hand. All the while, she was straight faced, her hands smoothing out her skirt throughout the story.

Jason's smile turned a bit uneasy. "Ah, right..." He eyed the man who had been panting at her feet not a few moments ago as he worked his way back to his car, finding a place to park it, surely with the break applied this time. Wordlessly, he followed Lotte over to the nearest bench, sitting next to her and trying to relax. Her story, however, wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing. "That's... awful." He muttered. It was certainly a lot to tank in. "Shit, I'm sorry, if I had any idea what had happened to you... Are you alright now?"

"Of course." The wist of her circumstances caught in her voice, like muck in a vent. She hated this. She'd always hate this. She'd find Ethel and fill that void in her head, and kill the man who took her away.
Lotte smiled, however, as warm of a smile as she'd given him in their short reunion. A silent moment touched her, and she found herself looking him in the eyes. "I've missed you, Jace," she said. Then, not letting any semblance of awkwardness linger, or at least attempting to, she turned to the towny scene before them, and said, "I heard you're going to Europe. Evelyn told me."

The young man blinked sadly, for once, not entirely sure what to say. What could you say to someone in a situation like hers? That didn't mean he wasn't willing to try. She missed him? Yeah, he missed her a lot too, but he knew it couldn't have been quite the same. Before he could say anything back though, she changed the subject almost immediately. He sighed. "Yeah, I'm heading off to Sofia. I'm officially Beata's first diplomat." It sucked to be reminded. He caught her eye again. "Can't say that I'm exactly excited about it. And now that you're here again? ... God damn ..."