forum "You marked my soul..." [REMAKE] (1x1/ closed)

Started June 02, 2023 by @maybe-broken-hearted-bear group

tune

Name: Brie (Kurushii) Dailey

Age: 18 (or 21, depending on the age range)

Gender: female (she/ her)

Height: 5' 8"

Appearance: Character Pic

Personality: She is basically a good person to be around. She is decently talkative and bubbly although her mouth is sometimes ahead of her brain, causing her to stumble on her words, say things in the worst ways, etc. She tends to daydream a lot and can be dramatic occasionally. She can become very emotional as well, but she is semi-okay at surpressing it.

Other: She can control other people's physical pain and internal organs. She was rejected from many heroic powered groups because her power wasn't exactly "helpful" for anything or they already had enough people. However, she has been sharpening her powers by herself, and only uses them for personal purposes like self defense. She has considered joining the villains or becoming one just to spite the heroes but tucked the idea away, already satisfied with her normal life as a barista at a local coffee shop.

She occasionally tries to compose music for fun and loves to listen to classical music of all kinds all of the time. (And other music, although classical and jazz is her favorite.) She is an occasional vocalist/ pianist.

She is not interested in getting a romantic partner or having kids, knowing that would pull her back from her normal life.

Her "soulmark" as she calls it, is on the back of her right hand. She usually doesn't mind it or try to hide it at all, knowing that she has no reason to backhand slap anyone given her power and usual personality.

Name: Lukas Devereaux
Nicknames: Lucky
Age: 22

Appearance: Lucky is roughly 5'8"/1.7m tall and weighs around 135lbs/61kg. He's lean but not skinny, and has disproportionately large hands and feet for his height. He's got honey blonde hair, and suffers from uncombable hair syndrome (It's a real thing, look it up!), which means his hair never cooperates. As he's gotten older, it's started to curl, leaving him with a head of extremely unruly curly blonde hair, which he usually keeps shorter than 6". His eyes are a light brown and are almond shaped. His nose is aquiline, but is bent just a bit as a result of a break years ago. He has no intentional facial hair, but does grow reddish-blonde stubble. He's got full lips but a rather small mouth, making his face an interesting shape. Not handsome, per se, but interesting. His torso and legs follow normal proportions, other than his hands and feet. If he gets very tired, he limps on his left leg from an old knee injury. However, he doesn't tire easily because he's generally fit. Not a gym-rat, but fit.
His soul-mark is on his face. he usually keeps it covered with minimal makeup.

Personality: Lucky is a generally easy-going, laid back individual. He's gained his popularity largely by being foreign and having lots of experiences. He enjoys peace and quiet, he loves being outside, and he loves books. He speaks French, German, Esperanto, English, and a little bit of Spanish. His talent for languages comes as a result of him being generally friendly and willing to talk to strangers. However, he has a clock-stopping French accent (which I won't reflect in his writing style, because that would be horrifically unreadable. You'll just have to imagine.) He isn't extroverted, he prefers his quiet, but he's never rude about it, and will willingly make friends. However, things that irritate him, irritate him quickly. He also works very hard to keep his temper in check, but when he loses it, you better move. He's a protective individual, sometimes to a fault. He can also be fiercely independent when the mood strikes him, particularly if he's upset. He's capable but not overconfident. He also can usually be found in the company of his horse, Sinjoro.

Other: Lucky is from France. His dad is French, his mom German, and they met studying abroad. They got married, had Lukas, had his little sister, then split up. His mom moved back to Germany and Lukas and his sister went with her, but Lukas spends a most of his time at his dad's place in France. His mom has remarried, and his stepdad and he don't get along, so he stays away, mostly only going to visit his sister. His dad has stayed single since the split, and he and Lucky travel a lot. Lucky has been part of the Federation de Scoutisme Francais (the French equivalent of the Boy Scouts) since he was little, and he and his dad often enjoy camping together. Lucky has also been a part of various martial arts classes over the years; scouting and his combat classes have turned him into a soft-core survivalist. His dad came on some camping trips with him, but a couple years ago, they found out he had cancer. His dad passed away and Lucky came to the States, partially to visit an aunt and uncle who have a ranch out by the Rockies, but also to grieve in private. He decided to stay after they made him feel super welcome.

As a non-powered person, Lucky has always tried to be friendly with people, since you never know who is hiding enough power to rip you to shreds on the spot.

(perfect! You wanna drop a starter? Wherever you like, forest or park or wherever else)

(Oh, uh, sure, why not? Unless you want to? Also, should we start in or near Brie's shop in the morning or afternoon?)

The little bell over the coffee shop's door rang once the last person walked out. From behind the counter, Brie sighed a sigh of relief and satisfaction at the familiar sound. Another satisfied person… A soft smile appeared on her face as she gazed out the window ahead of her, noticing the delicate shade of blue sky fading into a mix of gold, pink, and a hint of red-violet. Only half an hour before she and the others had to close up shop for the day.

She casually grabbed a cloth from one of the cabinets before wiping the countertop. No-one was walking into the coffee shop at the moment so she decided to just let her mind wander a bit. The news that morning… just another hero dude saving a school bus from falling over a bridge, or was it a cliff…? Hell, why would I care anyway? I mean, I feel bad for the kids but-

Brie rolled her eyes, aggresively using the cloth, before almost knocking over a glass bottle. The glass bottle in her hand, she carefully put it back in its place. She was fine… in her dream place… in her dream job. Screw the heroes, she would keep her powers close to her heart for now and-

The little bell rang again as someone else entered the shop. She straightened up to face them. "Hi. Welcome to Honey Bear Coffee and Bakery! What would you like to order?"

Joe's Corral was a decent sized business, based in the booming metropolis of Hawk Springs, Wyoming. The Corral specialized in being a one-stop shop for the cattle ranchers in the southeast of the state, providing services of all kinds. Butchery and tanning were the big ones, along with facilitating buying and selling. This meant that in the actual pens and barns of the Corral, there were hundreds of heads of cattle at any time. The Corral kept many of the good folks of Hawk Springs in a job.

One such job was the night watchman. And it was this job that Lukas Devereaux had been hired for. He worked the farm with his uncle during the day, every day, but he'd needed a little more cash for some things, and since he'd decided to stay in Wyoming for a bit, he figured it was smart to get a job of some kind. Something that didn't require talking to a lot of people, if possible, and something he could do without powers. That had been the problem. All of the non-powered jobs in town had been taken, for the most part. But apparently, one of Big Papa Joe Larner's night watchmen had needed to go to part-time. So Lucky had picked up his open shifts. 3 nights a week, he worked 9pm to 6am.
He'd just started the job Monday, had Tuesday off, and now it was Wednesday, and Lucky was aware he wasn't going to make it. He'd been so tired Monday and all day Tuesday, and was just starting to feel better, right before he did it all over again.
So he was hurrying into the coffee shop, just a bit before closing time, to try to do something to stay awake.

"Hi, can I, uh… can I get a large coffee, two double shots of espresso?"
He hoped the barista could understand him. His accent was thick, and the order was a bit extreme anyway, but he hated having to repeat things because his English wasn't clear.

Brie listened to the customer, or at least tried to. There was just so much she noticed about him, mainly his accent. What country is it from? Should she ask? She could have sworn she knew. Screw that, focus Brianna. Focus on the order…

"So a large coffee, two shots espresso, right?" She smiled kindly at him, trying to relax her mind.

Lucky smiled, and nodded quickly, happy to be understood. "Exactly, thanks." The barista seemed to be eyeing him, which Lucky was kinda used to. People always looked for a couple of things.
His hair was frizzy and blonde, and that usually threw people a bit.
They were looking for anything that would indicate what his accent was, though Lucky was pretty sure French was the most obvious choice.
And, as usual, they were looking for his soul-mark. That colorful little indication of whether or not he'd ever had a run-in with his soulmate.
For Lucky, it was that last one that had been the most problematic. If people didn't see your mark, they asked, and questions were just… not something he enjoyed, on that topic.

She nodded. "Yep. No problem. "

Once she said the price and received the money, she got to working on the beverage. She appeared slightly collected but internally, her mind was all over the place. As she prepared the drink, she noticed the dark stain-like mark on her right hand. Brie quickly glanced up at the customer. Its probably on his shoulder or something… She quickly looked back down. It was quiet, too quiet.

"So… uh, working late? Honestly, caffeine late in the day isn't very good for you, unless you're planning to stay up all night. Working, I mean." She smiled up at him. Dammit! What kind of a sentence was that?!

Lucky paid for his drink, and then watched as the barista made it. He wasn't worried she was going to get it wrong or anything, but the whole process was interesting to him.
He couldn't help but notice the mark on the back of her hand. It was uncolored, and fairly obvious. Lucky was mildly jealous that it was in a place on her body that didn't call a ton of attention. Having his mark on his face had been a real problem for quite a while. That's what had led him to wearing makeup to cover it.
She struck up a conversation, and smiled at him, and Lucky paused momentarily as she did. Her smile was pretty enough to make his brain stutter.
He gave his head a slight shake, to clear it, before responding. "Yeah, working the night shift over at the Corral. I just started and staying awake was very difficult the first night. Figured this should help." He smiled back at her, glancing at her name tag. "Brie? That's a French name." He looked back up at her eyes. "French anywhere in your family?"

"Dang, I can see why. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do, right?" Brie replied with a hint of a wink, still focused on the drink.

Once he mentioned her name, she chuckled a bit before a pang of brief realization struck her. Its French… that's where his accent's most likely from, dumbass. "Uh, no actually… although I do get several comments comparing my name to the cheese." Brie laughed at the memories of that happening. Although it wasn't always brought up in an affectionate manner, she didn't mind it that much anymore.

"To be honest, you're the first French person I've met. I mean, assuming you're French… you are, right? I don't mean to offend you if not." She added that part a bit anxiously while handing the coffee to the customer, then pointed a bit further left on the counter.  "By the way, the sugar and the other stuff are over there, kk?" 

Lucky chuckled. He was trying to do what he had to do, but energy drinks made him jittery. Something about the sugar. So he'd gone with coffee.
Her laugh made Lucky smile wider. "Oh, I love Brie cheese. Really really good for making stale bread taste better." He and Dad had done that a bunch when things were tight and they could only afford the bread being thrown away. Dad had been the one to introduce him to the creamy cheese, and Dad-….
He decided to stop thinking about that, and focus. No point in getting sad just now.
"I am indeed French, and it's only offensive if you say it mean." He chuckled. He'd only been teased a little, so it wasn't awful, but still. "But good guess! My name is Lukas Devereaux, but my friends call me Lucky. Lot easier to say."
He glanced in the direction of the sugar and stuff, and nodded. "Thanks. I'm good though. Sure it tastes fine." He needed to get going, his shift started in a bit, and the shop was closing soon, but something wouldn't let him leave. "So… you here often?" He frowned at himself for a second. If this was her job, of course she was here often.

She nodded then smiled again, "Thanks, and yeah… except some Saturdays and Sundays." Brie smoothed her hair with her un-marked left hand. "So, I hope to see you around, Lucky. Good luck on your shift!" She giggled a bit at her pun-worthy sentences.

Lucky nodded. "If this works, I'll see you Friday night then." He sipped the coffee, flinching slightly. "Should have known it was hot. But otherwise, perfect. My shift will start right, at least." He smiled at her, gave her a nod, and headed out, making it to work just on time.

"Yep, hopefully see you then!" Brie giggled a bit at his second remark and nodded. Yet another satisfied customer… Once the little bell rang at him leaving, she glanced at the clock and sighed again.

Forty-five or so minutes later, she was waving goodbye to her colleagues and also heading out the door. The sky was already a rich violet-red as she walked back home. Her place wasn't too far from the shop so she wasn't too bothered. Brie quickly shook her head to clear her mind although she did want to see that dude again. She took a deep breath as she strolled, now lost in her own thoughts.

The shift went much better that night. Uneventful, but Lucky was wide awake for most of it. Towards the end, he started to feel tired, and the caffeine crash hit right about when he got home. He crawled into bed and slept for a few hours before helping his uncle with some of the afternoon projects.
The next day came and went, and then it was Friday again. Lucky decided to go back to the coffee shop, since it had worked so well.
He walked in about the same time as before, a half hour before closing time. He was really hoping Brie was working again.

That Friday, Brie was working at the shop as usual. Behind the counter, she glanced at the clock for the who-knows-how-many-eth time. The sky was taking on the usual mellow afternoon shades of color.
She headed back to the kitchen to help out and check on stuff, letting her colleague, Baxter, take over for a bit. He casually let his curly-ish caramel hair fall in front of his face before brushing it back with his hand. Sighing, he straightened up, letting his colorful soul-mark on the side of his neck glisten proudly. The little bell rang, "Hey, welcome to Honey Bear's, what would you like to order?"

Lucky glanced up at who was behind the counter, careful not to show any kind of disappointment when it wasn't Brie. He gave the guy, nametag 'Baxter', a smile as he ordered, once again hoping his accent could be understood. "Hey there, can I get a large coffee, 2 double shots of espresso, please?" He glanced around, checking for Brie maybe cleaning something, or doing some job away from the counter…
He didn't see her. Oh well. He'd have to try again Monday.