[PRP] Valks at Breakfast (Auric + Rjoma Ros)[FIN]

[Menelie]

Menelie

Rjóma Rós was on her last week of night shift. She hated what being awake at night did to her natural rhythm, and besides there was never anyone to chat with at night. She hated being asleep while everyone else was active. So she had put in to shift to daytime duties, but this transition was rough.

She was trying to adjust her sleep schedule, so instead of going to bed after finishing her shift, Rjoma had gone to breakfast. She'd stay awake as long as she could today to try and acclimate to daytime living. She sat at one of the communal tables, two coffees deep, eating a hearty veggie omelette. She leaned one elbow on the table as she ate, and had one of her wings folded in front of her almost like a blanket.

Wolfs Heart

It was actually pretty unusual for Auric to stop by at the communal breakfast before his shift. It had always been too public of a setting for him. His thinking had shifted recently though, he was feeling bolder about his appearances, Kyrie liked him and so it mattered less what other faun might think. Although his wings were still tucked close to himself in a horrible attempt to hide them, he wasn't that bold yet.

There was always the slight hope he would run into Kyrie, somewhere outside of the archives, but he was sure he wouldn't get that lucky, especially considering how much earlier he had to get up before work.

He grabbed his plate of food, and looked around nervously. Maybe one of his coworkers was around. Instead he found himself staring at a wing as large as his own. The male froze, watching her curiously. He finally stepped towards her, thinking to sit with her, and then he instantly wondered if two of them sitting next to each other might draw too much attention. He wasn't sure if she cared though. Auric bit on his lower lip and then walked towards her, "Uhm, hi. Do you mind if I sit here?" He asked as he pointed to the seat across from her.

Menelie

Rjoma perked up as Auric addressed her. She glanced him over appreciatively. "Certainly, please do," she said with a smile. She didn't know of many others like her in the Tree. Just her and Amaeli. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head, her wings fluttering softly as they, too, stretched. "I'm Rjoma Ros, everyone calls me Rjoma." She sipped at her (third) cup of coffee. "How come I've never seen you around before? Fauns like us usually make quite a splash, eh?"

Wolfs Heart

Auric slowly sat himself in the seat he had pointed out. "Hi Rjoma, I'm Auric," he responded. He set his food in front of him and then looked at the other valk with raised eyebrows, "I'm not sure splash is the word I would use," he chuckled. "Are you around... a lot?" He asked curiously in response to her question.

Menelie

Rjoma laughed. "I guess not! I'm a watchpae and I've always worked nights, but not for long!" She waggled a finger. "Nope, next week I'm starting day shift, so I'm staying up as long as I can to try and fix my sleep schedule." She yawned again, almost as if on cue. "Hm, so maybe we will see more of each other soon!" Rjoma winked at him and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear cutely, leaning her elbow on the table then resting her chin in her palm.

How come the cutest guys always had no idea how attractive they were?

Wolfs Heart

Auric wondered why he had never thought of that, working watch at night, you would certainly be seen less with that kind of work. It wasn't something he would be able to make work now that he was sort of seeing Kyrie, they would never be awake at the same time. Besides he was already waist-high in gardening.

"You sound excited for the change," he observed. "Are nights that bad?"
It was then he noticed the way she was looking at him. It wasn't the same as the way that other faun looked at him. Why would it be, she looked the same as him. He pushed it off as being his own imagination. Auric picked at the eggy vegetables on his plate in an attempt to move on from the thought.

 

[Menelie]

Menelie

Rjoma nodded as she ate, then swallowed and nodded again. "Yeah, no, the vibes are great at night, but it's real hard to make friends when everyone's sleeping, y'know?" She sipped her coffee. "'Cept other night shift fauns, but like, we're all working, y'know? Night shift's just real lonely." She shook her head. "No, I'm very much looking forward to being at communal meals, seeing faun in the halls and on the grounds, that kind of thing." Chancing a little smile, she added. "Looks like it's already paying off."

Wolfs Heart

"Oh yeah..." Auric nodded his head in understanding. "I can see how that might be rough." No, he actually didnt see, he was having a hard time seeing how that was a bad thing. Auric was intrigued by how different Rjoma was from him despite their similar appearances.

Of course, when he gave it some more thought while sipping on his first cup of coffee, he quickly realized he would not have met Kyrie if he had been in Rjoma's situation. "It sounds like working days will be a good change for you, I'm sure you will meet most of the tree on day guard." Auric had dismissed his earlier imaginings that she had been leaning into him and decided she was just super friendly.

Menelie

"That's the--" Rjoma held up a finger and yawned and stretched again, feathers fluttering. "Sorry. I really hoped this coffee would be doing more to keep me awake." She took another sip. "That's the hope," she agreed finally.

Realizing that all she'd done was talk about herself, she decided to ask about Auric. She'd gathered he was somewhat shy, but hopefully she could get him to open up a little. Turning on some "charm", she leaned forward somewhat, resting one forearm on the table so it nicely framed...certain attributes...and the other arm she used to hold her chin up as she smiled casually. "So, what's a handsome guy like you doing up so early?" she asked. "It's only just past dawn."

Wolfs Heart

Auric smiled as the other Valk yawned, he was amused by her trying to keep herself awake. The smile disappeared as she leaned forward and he quickly hid himself behind his coffee mug to cover up his embarrassment. He couldn't help but notice her feminine features and he wasn't sure if he could write it off as her being friendly now. Auric took a big gulp of his coffee. He should talk about Kyrie, that's what he should do, to make his intentions clear. Only he wasn't sure how to do it without making things awkward. Not that they weren't already awkward, he was awkward, Rjoma was very much not awkward.

For the moment he tried to pretend he didn't notice, and move on with the conversation, but given his lack of being smooth he had probably already given himself away with his initial staring. Handsome guy. Another gulp of coffee. "I... Uhm... I... I work at the y'know... The gardens... Uhm up...on the uh top. Of the tree." Mention Kyrie, you idiot. "Gotta start early, you know?"

Menelie

Rjoma wrinkled her nose cutely and sipped her coffee. It was nice to be appreciated. This was exactly the reaction she'd wanted; to make guys blush. She tucked her wings behind her, looking incredibly pleased.

Shy guys were the cutest, the way they stammered like that. "Oh, in the branches, that's a smart move, your wings probably help you keep your balance." She nodded knowingly. "Way to play to your advantage," she complimented him. "So what're you growing now?" she inquired sweetly.

Wolfs Heart

Auric hadn't thought of his wings being much of an advantage, but he supposed so. He pointed at the egg scramble on his plate. "Peppers, mushrooms... A lot of things right now, really."

They hadn't really talked about the giant wings they had in common yet, and Auric was dying to know how someone like him went about their life. "Your mom raise you in the tree too?" He asked her. He still needed to figure out a way to bring up Kyrie before he made a complete fool of himself gawking at the other valk. "I feel like most of the faun in the tree don't really appreciate that my dad's an angel... My mom especially... But my..." Auric paused, he didn't know what to call Kyrie, was she his girlfriend? "Kyrie doesn't seem to mind."

 

[Menelie]

Menelie

A little flash of recognition crossed Rjoma's face. The good ones were always taken, weren't they? Yet another reason she was glad to be swapping to day shift. Good for him, though.

She contemplated her family and looked somewhat uncomfortable for the first time in this conversation. It passed quickly. She shrugged and yawned. "I'm not super close with either of them," she said, finishing her coffee. "Mostly it's just me and my sister Amaeli. She works in the kitchens!" She added brightly. "But no one's ever said anything about my wings," she said. "The Tree only lets in faun who are supposed to be here, so I've never worried about it. I'm proud of who I am." After a pause, she frowned. "Have others been rude to you?" She asked, concerned.

Wolfs Heart

Auric noticed the look on her face, and wondered if it was because he brought up family or Kyrie. Maybe it had been too forward to bring up either. After she started talking he realized that bringing up family when they hardly knew each other might not have been acceptable, he just felt that because they were both valks... that somehow made it okay.

"Oh you have a sister? I guess I wouldn't see her either since she works in the kitchens..." Auric stopped to eat again. "I wouldn't say they have been overtly rude... But the staring... maybe some of it is just my thoughts... But enough of them make it pretty clear how they feel about angels and the others like them... And since that's part of who I am too?" Auric shrugged.

Menelie

Rjoma smiled a smug little smile and leaned her chin on her hand again. "Maybe they're jealous," she suggested, fluttering her own wings softly, though they stayed tucked behind her back. "I mean, think about it: not many Faun can fly. And there's nothing in the world like flying. Even those winged faunies can only do it because they have magic. Us? We can do it all on our own. No magic--just muscle." It's possible Auric was right about the other Faun and how they felt about anything related to angels...but Rjoma preferred not to care. She knew where her own loyalties were, and that was all that should matter. She paused to finish her breakfast. "What does your girlfriend think about it?" she asked.

Wolfs Heart

Auric smirked, he liked the way Rjoma thought. He had never thought of his wings like that before. To be honest, he rarely flew because he was so self conscious about standing out even more. They were an advantage though, and he should be using them more.

"My uh..." He was still uncertain about the word 'girlfriend'. "We haven't been seeing each other long. She says she likes them, and that's good enough for me. We haven't really talked about the angel part of it." Auric hadn't even pushed it deeper that because he was afraid of running her off. He had to assume she knew and didn't mind.

Menelie

Rjoma nodded approvingly. She felt her body getting heavy. Oh dear. "Really hoped that coffee would do more to keep me awake," she said offhandedly. Her eyes started to look droopy. She started to stand. "I was hoping to make it to lunch, but I think I should--" she banged her shin getting out of the bench seat and swore under her breath. "--get some sleep," she finished weakly. She gathered her mug and utensils onto her plate and picked them up to put them into the bins to be washed. "It was very lovely to meet you," she said with a warm smile. "I hope we see more of each other!"

Wolfs Heart

"I hope the staying awake thing gets easier for you," Auric said, wincing as she hurt herself on her way up. "See you next time." Auric could tell he had spent too much time chit-chatting too, he hadn't really expected breakfast to go the way it had. He quickly finished up his meal and chugged the coffee before running out of the hall, hopefully not too late for work.