#vanth 01

"Hey."

It'd been scouring the shelves for long enough that it grew tired enough to bother another patron.

"This is the third game store I've been to here."

"You know anywhere with Inscryption cards?"

It'd even take a beast pack at this point.

Yet it was still difficult to truly distinguish between them all. All they could go off of were the strong pulls in their chest, the whispers begging to be heard in the back of their mind. And even through all the uncertainty, they couldn't help but feel that tug of fate towards him.

Above all else, he seemed.. lonely. Like he had endured pain no one in this world would ever understand. It wasn't their place to ask more; not when they knew nothing about him, and had no ability to find out more.. but perhaps, for now, a simple gesture would do.

The cupid had taken it upon themselves to.. volunteer. A very special first for them. Usually, they could only help one or two humans at a time; but here, they were needed by everyone. They flit about as if they belonged in this crowd, like they were human, too; they were seen and heard by everyone around them.. something they always wanted. And in their time of wonderful feelings, surely someone like him deserved the same.

"You look cold.." they spoke gently, giving space as they stood just within his reach. In their hands was a container of soup, one of many they had given out that day; and within moments, it was handed to the stranger. "Please, take this. There's plenty for everyone.. and if it doesn't help, I'll find whatever you need."

Their encounter begins with a simple crash between shoulders.

It wasn't as though Watanuki had been purposefully unmindful, though his senses had still been such a blurry mess since the day he arrived back to Spirale; navigating between the strong pull of his powers he was used to back home, to the dull, silent call of them here. In and out of his mind, the slightest feelings caught his attention; before they slipped through his fingers like smoke, never to be seen again.

It was a wonder that he managed here as long as he had, in the past.. but this was the first time he had come back after so long. Surely, that was why, but he hardly felt it was an excuse at this point. From being attacked in the lower levels of Fibonacci, to now accidentally bumping into a stranger; or at the very least, perhaps Watanuki was just in his way.

Still, he staggered none the less, as if completely caught off guard by the motion. Quickly, he turned his head to apologize, yet to his surprise.. the stranger had not stopped at all. He continued past the shopkeeper, as if he did not exist in the first place.. even though, between the two of them, Watanuki felt as though he could have knocked the other over completely. The memory of their contact echoed in his bones, still; of heavy clothes over a lithe frame.. and briefly, his mind began to wander again.

That is until something caught his eye on the ground-- a plastic ID card, shining above the light dusting of snow on the sidewalk. Carefully, Watanuki bent down to pick it up; only calling out to the other once he had risen back to his feet.

"-- wait a moment."