Certain as the Sun {open}

[Kitty Israel]

The suns rays danced into the windows of Affordable Books, making a rather sleepy Shapeshifter smile-- it was nice to see the sun rise on another day. With her hair up in a pony tail and her face made-up like it always was, Kat looked ready to start another day, even as she yawned-- she was lovely, but she still only saw pain and not the beauty of herself. Standing at five feet, three inches tall, all she saw was a tiny dancer... she knew others probably saw an anorexic teen, when Kat was close to turning twenty.

Having just arrived at work, Kat was again happy that Affordable Books had hired her; it was much better than working as a waitress. It was much more relaxed-- she had been able to come to work in black skinny jeans that accented her cute little figure, a rainbow striped t-shirt that elongated her a little bit and made her feel good without showing any of her scars, a [url=http://images2.pacsun.com/is/servlet/izoom/PacSunProducts/5089750_01?$08_product_detail$[/url]black hoodie[/url] to keep her warm, and black low-top Converse on her feet. And she looked very cute, though she thought she just looked normal.

The day began as any other as the Shapeshifter opened up a few boxes of new books, listening to her iPod as she put them all in the system and put them in their rightful places. Kat was at the store a couple hours before it opened to get everything done, and the owner always tried to help, but Kat enjoyed shooing her away and getting everything done by herself. She liked the lady, and only wished she could live in the upstairs apartment with her so she could always be close to the books.

Opening time came and Kitty was happy to switch the sign over to Open as she continued to put the last of the new books where they belonged. Nothing was better than working at Affordable Books, even if it meant that sometimes Vampires came in.[/color]

[Javert Rogers]

It was no secret that Javert enjoyed literature. Books littered his room, on the floor when because of the lack of space on his cramped shelves . The boy loved visiting book stores. He liked the atmosphere, quite and peaceful. He hadn't been in one for a while, however; mostly because he had his hands full with Les Miserables, which his mother had, mercilessly, forced upon him.

Somehow, however, today he had found time to visit his favorite store. A rare smile graced his features. Today had been a good day. As he walked into Affordable Books, dressed in a pair of simple blue jeans, a plain white tee-shirt, a blue cardigan, and a random pair of brown tennis-shoes he had dug up in his closet, he was blasted by the cool air conditioning system.

The boy headed over to the fiction section almost instantaneously, having enough of classics. His grey eyes glanced over the titles.

[Kitty Israel]

Akatriel had been in the back room getting the last box of the book shipment when she heard the pleasant jingle of the bell signaling a customer in the book store. Carrying the box out and setting it on the counter, Kitty saw someone she hadn't seen before and smiled, happy to see it wasn't a Vampire. In fact, she was certain he was like her.

"Hello," she said as she opened the box with a box cutter. "Anything I can help you with?" Though his eyes didn't have a ring of garnet like hers did, Kitty could feel from his aura that this young man was a Shapeshifter. He seemed fragile, but perhaps not as fragile as she seemed. The slightly haunted look in her eyes hadn't yet faded, and she had only been working at Affordable Books for a few weeks, so she had not yet seen this customer.

Glancing down at the box cutter for a moment, Kat set it down and was momentarily surprised at how near her she kept the sharp knife, just in case someone she didn't want there came in and tried to attack her. But this boy, there was no way he would be a problem. If anything, he might be a little pleasant, even if he didn't seem social. Kat understood many of her kind were that way, and she had problems of her own, but they weren't affecting her at the time being. She was happy being there and, though she was always paranoid. Graceful dancer-like movements carried Kat past the counter as she began putting books on the shelves, making sure to keep herself open for any questions that the patron may have.

[Javert Rogers]

Javert was startled with the sudden sound of the voice. He jumped a bit at the noise, turning quickly to face the source of it.
It was a girl, probably a little older than himself, holding a box. Javert felt somewhat comforted by her presence, as if they shared a secret*. She greeted him politely. He smiled somewhat hesitantly. This girl seemed nice.
He hadn't seen her here before, so she must be new. He knew all the older people.

"Hi..." Javert said, in the quiet manner that he takes on when meeting someone new. "Um...no thanks. I'm just browsing."
The boy said each word carefully, not wanting to stutter.

The boy smoothed out his sweater, not wanting to appear sloppy. He wondered if he had appeared rude for not saying more. He was struck by a sense of guilt.
"I'm sorry" He blurted out, quickly, contrasting with the quiet tones he had used before.


ooc.* can shape shifters feel auras? It didn't specify on the board.

[Kitty Israel]

OOC: They can to some extent, though I'm not sure how much. They'd be able to distinguish between such things, though, so you're good.

When the boy said he was just browsing, Kat nodded her head, smile a little, and went back to her duties. Just as she turned, she heard him blurt out an unnecessary apology. Turning back, Kat shook her head, a confused look in her olive and garnet eyes. "Sorry for what?" She asked.

Setting the books down that she was holding, Kitty kept glancing at the young man as she placed a few on the shelves. He was taller than her by at least a head-- Kat stood only at five feet, two inches-- but she knew he was younger. She was short for a dancer, but didn't care; without mean intent, Kat thought, At least I'm graceful-- this kid still seems like he's in that gangly, awkward stage. The thought was much more harsh than Kat was used to but, then again, the past couple days for her had been very odd, and were still contributing to her thoughts and actions.

Again, a feeling of relief washed over Kitty as she reminded herself this boy was-- from what she could tell-- totally harmless. If anything, he was probably worse off than she was. Her paranoia came and went, and her lack of concept in time and reality probably weren't anything compared to this kid... and again, she felt guilty for her thoughts. So she just kept shelving the books and creating a new dance in her head.

[Javert Rogers]

"I felt rude for not-saying anything-particularly...? " He said awkward pauses lacing the sentence.
The response was suppose to be a statement but ended in a question.Now all Javert wanted was to pay for a book and leave as quickly as possible. The boy wondered if the girl thought bad of him as he stood there, looking somewhat awkward, still facing the counter with a distant look on his face, which suggested he was thinking.

He let out a slightly upset sigh, before realizing he must looks strange just standing there. Reluctantly he turned back to the shelf of books he had been glancing at before, noticing that the girl had turned back to her previous duties long before him.
'She defiantly thinks I'm strange now ' he thought, not bothering to ponder why this girl's opinion of him matter so much, he rarely did. He had a strange feeling; like he should add something more to the conversation. His last sentence didn't sound...final enough
'Just stay silent, she already thinks you're weird' He thought to himself, morbidly.

He looked over the titles with the kind of distracted attention you try to give something when worried about other circumstances. The boy bit his lip, chewing it slightly, as his eyes glanced over the titles.

ooc. Thank you!

[Kitty Israel]

Oh yes, he was definitely awkward. Ah well, Kat smiled and went about her business. After a few moments, she said, "Sometimes silence can be peaceful, so don't worry about not saying anything." It was meant to be kind, and she hoped it came off that way.

The last of the books were placed on the shelves and Kitty went back behind the counter, glancing at the only customer a couple times and wondering what his Shift form was, but not wanting to ask, just in case he would be scared or offended by her asking. She knew it wasn't her favorite thing to share with strangers, since then she thought they would sell her back into the slave trade. But she pushed that from her mind and continued on her business.

There were a few orders which needed to be filled and, with the list of books in her hand, Kitty stepped back from behind the counter and began pulling books of the shelf. When one came close to the shopper, Kat smiled at him, searching for a trace of red in his eyes, but saw nothing. He was one of the lucky ones who would not be identified simply by their eyes. Kitty's own eyes were a lovely olive color, slightly muddled by a ring of garnet around her pupils. They were unique, to be sure, but she knew that if she didn't have the garnet, she would still be back home in Israel.

It was a subject she did not often think about, and it made Kat slightly sad as she pulled Sense & Sensibility from the Classics section, followed by a couple other Austen books. She figured it was for a book club or something, though it didn't really matter. With the books in her hands, Kitty couldn't help but smile as she thought about Colonel Brandon who, no matter that he was older than Marianne, loved much deeper than the insipid Willoughby ever could... and she was lost in the books for a moment.