Rain Drops on a Summer Morning (Open)

Arinthia stepped off the bus, onto the streets of Jump City for her first time. It was raining heavily but it was warm rain, thunder rumbled like soft drums in the sky, an occasional flash of lightning followed. The young woman looked around along the wet streets a she took out a small dark green umbrella that fit into her plain black backpack that she wore, taking out a piece of paper with an address written on it. It was the address of the apartments where she'd be staying from now on, her parents had arranged to pay her first month of rent until she got her own job.

Walking down the side-walk and looking at the street names, she seemed a little lost in this big city as she wondered around in her dress and a pair of knee-high brown leather boots, giving a sigh as she walked through the rain "maybe I can buy a map of the city somewhere..." she muttered as she continued to walk around looking lost.

It was not the best time for the rain to start pouring. The delivery truck had just dropped off the day's batch of goods and her uncle just happened to be out. Reese was all alone in carrying the beer crates and other boxes inside. The only thing standing between dry bottles and wet ones was a small shaded area on the side of the pub, and the wind and rain possibly getting stronger. She had to work fast. Straightening her cap, she picked up a crate and brought it in.

She had lost count of the number of trips she had made in and out of the shop while carrying the goods inside when she noticed a tall, pretty girl wandering nearby. She honestly looked like she needed a guide, but Reese had her own problems to deal with at the moment. Maybe if the girl approached her first, she'd be obliged to give her attention. From the direction she was walking, she was bound to pass by the pub anyway.

As the part-timer proceeded to carry another crate inside the shop, she slipped on a puddle. Any other person would have ended up face flat on the ground with a broken crate and broken bottles, but Reese was a little more special than that. She turned her body mid-fall so that she would land on her back while keeping the crate secure between her arms and chest. At the same time, she was suddenly emitting a light yellowish aura around herself. The resulting puddle splash was unnaturally bigger than it should have been but the girl who fell was not hurt at all, the raindrops falling on her now unguarded face.

"So much for keeping myself dry..."

Arinthia had been walking around lost for some time, walking past the pub when she saw Reese slip from the corner of her eye, turning and about to catch her with some vines, she saw Reese use her powers and smiled, hurrying over to her and holding her umbrella over Reese's face "are you alright?" she asked, offering a hand to Reese "your powers are pretty cool" she said happily, seeming excited to meet someone else with powers "do you need any help at all?" she asked curiously, just having seen the crate that Reese had saved from colliding with the ground, she saw it as polite to offer help first before asking for it.

When the girl in the dress approached, Reese promptly canceled her aura. She didn't give a response either to the comment about powers. That's just how she was. She was curious though about the tone of excitement in the girl's voice. It didn't sound like she was making fun of the part-timer's little misstep, but that wasn't the tone someone normally uses when offering assistance.

"No help needed. I'm fine really, except for being wet."

She carefully placed the crate she was holding on the side, out of the rain. She curled up a bit and then with one fluid motion, jumped and was back on her feet. She took out a handkerchief from her pocket and lightly dabbed her legs dry, only cause they were feeling slightly cold. Her hair was wet too so she would probably get in the shower after all this anyway. She continued to speak without looking up, the front of her cap preventing any eye contact.

"I saw you walking around earlier, staring at the street sign. Are you looking for something? Maybe I can point you in the right direction."

Reese straightened up and got a good look at the girl for the first time. She was about half a foot taller and definitely appeared older, though she didn't quite have the aura of an adult. Her long hair reached past her waist and reminded Reese of models she would see in magazines.

Arinthia watched Reese, nodding when she said that she didn't need any help, continuing to watch with a curious look as she kept smiling, that's when Reese asked her if she was looking for anything "oh, yeah, I'm looking for a block of apartments uhh..." she said as she took the piece of paper with the address on it "its on Beehill Avenue?" she said as she thought a little bit, trying to remember what her parents had told her about the place "I think its called...urm...Bright Side Apartments? I think?" she said a little unsure of herself "I just arrived in Jump today so I'm pretty lost" she said with a small, embarrassed chuckle, she must have looked like such a newbie.

Reese wouldn't claim to be an expert on where to find places despite living in Jump most of her life. Bright Side Apartments didn't ring any bells. But the street the girl mentioned was easy enough to recall. It wasn't too far away either.

"I'm guessing you got here on the bus? That's the only reason I can think of why you'd be walking from that direction. That would be the closest stop to Beehill Avenue. The street itself is three more blocks down this road."

"Unfortunately I'm not really familiar with that apartment you mentioned. But there's a kind old lady who has been running a flower shop near the corner since forever. She would probably know. You can't miss it. It's the only place with flowers outside in front of the store."

There was a flash of lightning in the sky followed by loud thunder. The already heavy rain suddenly got even heavier. The tiny shade on the side of the pub was barely any help now. Visibility was kind of poor too. She felt bad for the new girl in town to have to walk around in this weather.

"Do you want to step inside for a bit until the rain lets up? The streets can get slippery and there's a rather steep slope on the way to Beehill. Not the best idea to try going in these conditions."

Arinthia listened as Reese spoke, nodding and smiling when she was given the directions, she really enjoyed the rain to be honest, it made her feel brighter for some reason, perhaps that had something to do with her powers. But while she enjoyed the rain...she didn't enjoy soggy clothes as much, smiling even more when she heard about the old lady and the flower shop, perhaps she could ask the old lady for a job there and help out!

When Reese offered to let her inside Arinthia nodded "yes please, I have some money so I can buy something too" she said with a chuckle, she was starting to feel a little hungry, and a glass of root beer would be nice too.

Taking her umbrella down as she stepped inside the pub she put the umbrella upside-down and just inside the entrance so it could dry a little, looking around then smiling at Reese, she could hear the rain against the windows and smiled at the warmth inside the pub.

Going back inside only made Reese feel the wetness of her clothes even more. She really needed to get out of them soon and find something dry to wear. But first she had to take care of that crate she was carrying and the girl she had invited in. The girl made a comment about buying something but they weren't really open yet. Reese merely intended to offer a place to wait out the rain but she guessed it made sense to expect food and refreshments since they were in a pub. Still it was better to be honest.

"The pub is actually still closed. My uncle, the master, is out and we usually don't open for business until later in the afternoon. It's more of a nighttime establishment you see." She spoke as she showed the girl to an empty seat by the window.

"If you don't mind waiting a bit, I can make sandwiches from the menu. Drinks are available too"

She gestured to the menu standing on the table as her hands were still full.

"I'll take your order when I get back from putting this away... and freshening up a little."

Bowing slightly, she made her way to the back room to put the crate away along with the rest of the goods that arrive that day. She was finally done with bringing them in. Not wanting to keep the guest waiting too long, she headed upstairs right away to take a quick shower.

Arinthia sat down in the chair, blinking as Reese explained it was more a night time pub but was glad that Reese would still make her a sandwich and a drink, nodding happily as she watched Reese go "take your time its not like I'll be leaving with this rain" she said with a chuckle as she looked out of the window and watched the rain. She really didn't mind waiting, she didn't want to be rude or anything, she was happy enough just watching and listening to the rain.

It felt good to get out of her wet clothes and take a warm shower but Reese had a customer waiting so she couldn't stay in long. Upon opening her closet however, she suddenly remembered it was laundry day. But, no thanks to the rain, they weren't able to have it done that morning and all she had left were stay-at-home clothes. Not exactly what she wanted to wear while serving a guest. Sighing, she reluctantly reached for a hanger at the very end. It had a black cover concealing the clothes hung on it.

Reese returned to the pub looking a lot less enthusiastic than she was earlier. She wondered if the girl would find her getup weird or funny. Technically, it was the "correct" attire for the role, however she couldn't help but think that it didn't suit her very well. A short while ago her uncle got a friend of his to make her a custom-made bartender outfit. It was supposedly a little gift to commemorate completing one of his training courses. She declined several times but to no avail. In the end, it was left in one corner of her closet hoping to never be used... So much for that.

"Sorry for the wait. Have you decided on what you would like?"

She figured the clothes would be uncomfortable since she wasn't used to wearing something like it, but it was surprisingly fitted very well. It didn't feel as restricting as she imagined either. She was not about to start liking it, but it wasn't that bad save for making her a little self-conscious.

Arinthia had been trying to decide on which sandwich to have, surprised when Reese walked in with her outfit, she then asked what she would like and Arinthia looked to the menu "hmm can I have a ham, tomato and lettuce sandwich please?" she asked happily, she'd have to take a note to visit the place more often, the things on the menu sounded so delicious "oh I really like your outfit too" she said happily.

"Ham, tomato and lettuce sandwich. Got it. Will you be having anything to drink?"

The girl's comment on her outfit made Reese slightly self-conscious. Was it that obvious she was worrying about how she looked? It was like the girl was reading her mind. Considering the kind of city they lived in, that wasn't out of the question. Well, it was no use worrying about it. She seemed like a nice person anyway.

"By the way, we don't serve alcohol until after 6 pm. Company policy. Then again, we are technically still closed."

Arinthia just smiled at Reese and listened to her, she did seem a little shy while in the dress, she didn't seem bothered when Reese discussed the alcohol "that's fine I don't drink anyway, it dehydrates people" she said "I'm fine with tap water" she said calmly and cheerily.

"Alright, water it is. I'll just be a few minutes. Thanks for your patience."

Reese made her way to the kitchen to work on the order. Fortunately, her uncle had already prepped the ingredients that would be used for the day so there wasn't much to do except take them out of their containers and cook them. While the ham was on the fryer, she put the bread in the toaster oven on low heat. They served their sandwiches warm.

When the time came to put it all together, she realized she had forgotten to ask if the girl wanted any dressing or mayo on her sandwich. In the end, Reese decided to just leave it to her. She poured a glass of cold water and then made her way back to the dining area with the complete order.

"Ham, tomato and lettuce sandwich, and a glass of water. I'll leave the mayo and ketchup here too if you would like to use it. Anything else I can get you?"

Arinthia smiled and licked her lips at the smell of the sandwich, she handed Reese the money and thanked her for the food and drink, lifting up the top half and dotting ketchup onto the ham before taking a big bite "mmmm! This is delicious!" she said happily as she covered her full mouth with the back of her hand, seeming very happy with the delicious food, when Reese asked if she wanted anything else she shook her head.