The cold air soothed Lucius' skin. The sounds of a moving crowd, footsteps on pavement, the crunching of light, fresh fallen snow and ongoing conversations as people entered and left stores and restaurants assaulted his ears. The smell of freshly prepared food from restaurants and cologne and perfume from all the people passing filled the air. The smell of one particular man's cologne was enough to sting Lucius' nose and the smell of one woman's perfume almost made Lucius choke. The table he was sitting on was cold, sapping all the heat from Lucius' hands. Even with the sun directly overhead, the heat from it was distant.
Lucius looked off into the distant skyline to see the silhouette of the tower on the mainland. Its massive frame betrayed its true distance from the town. It could topple and the shockwave alone would wipe out both the small town of Clearwater, the smaller Grace, and everything in between, effectively clearing civilization off the island of Mercy. His white eyes turned back to the crowds around him as he rested his head in his arms. He put his earbuds in to tune out all the noise and just focused on the people.
People were beginning to dress in winter attire. Clearwater may have been bigger than Grace, but it wasn't used to these crowds this time of year. The port town was more of a summer destination than anything. Lucius could see the breaths from passers by as well as from himself. Frost had begun to appear on the edge of awnings as well as on the edges of windows.
His eyes darted from group to group. The group of teenagers walking by, chatting about school and their classmates. A couple sitting on a bench, laughing as their conversation went well. A group of friends sitting at another table nearby, enjoying their food.
Lucius turned his gaze directly in front of him, to the inside of the restaurant he was in front of. He focused on the lone girl who was standing in line. With her black jacket, purple hoodie, and blue jeans, she looked like any other random person you'll find on the street. She turned and noticed Lucius staring at her. Her face was partially hidden from her shoulder length hair, but her glasses were clearly visible. She smiled at Lucius, a warm smile that drew the eyes of a few people around, much to Lucius' annoyance. She was pleased with herself for being able to drag Lucius out here, despite how much she objected. She tapped her watch, a run of the mill smartwatch, indicating that she wouldn't take much longer. She turned back to the front counter as the line moved forward.
As he focused on her, the cold that he was feeling began to fade. The music in his ears became faint, and what little he could hear of the people became completely inaudible. Lucius was transfixed as he watched the girl just stand there, waiting her turn. Everything about her made Lucius forget his surroundings, from her smile, to the way her hair moved, to the slight sway she had when she was just standing.
Lucius paused his music, letting in the sounds around him. A buzzing sound caught his attention, causing him to look up. He saw a drone fly around for a few moments before it flew away, hovering over another group of teens. They were all looking at it and Lucius noticed that one of them had their phone held out in front of them. The teens smiled and pointed at the drone as it landed in front of them.
Lucius looked back at the girl. She was now at the front of the line, saying something to the cashier, a smile on her face. Even the cashier, who looked like he just wanted to go home, now had an ear to ear smile on his face. He was a lot more animated as he spoke to her, leaning toward her and moving his hands around, as if making a joke. However, there seemed to be a bit of a damper in his newfound energy as the girl looked over at Lucius and smiled and waved. She tapped her watch again and held up two fingers. Two minutes.
Lucius dug his head into his arms further when she did this, causing the girl to giggle and turn back to the cashier. Lucius noticed the cashier paying more attention to him than he liked. Unlike earlier, his smile seemed more forced.
That happened a lot when Lucius was with Natsumi when she met new people. Most of the time, it led to silent stares of jealousy, but there were some more vocal people as well. Occasionally, confrontations grew violent, but much to Lucius' disappointment, those were rare.
Lucius shrugged it off and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath of cold air, the icy air providing a needed shock to his system. The cold weather was a welcome change for Lucius. He longed to be in the nearby woods, spending time in the grove. He began to think about his closet, and how much he wanted to curl inside the dark, small space in it. He opened his eyes again, exhaling as he did, thinking I should've stayed home.
