Heart's Crucifixion [Johann, Violet]

It always did one good to take a bit of time away from the stresses of their work to appreciate the smaller, quieter things in life. Despite how isolated the City of Lights was due to it being a string of island chains, there was beauty to be found, namely in the beaches that Johann found himself approaching to take a quiet walk during the cooler hours of the early morning.

However, it seemed he was not alone in this. As he drew closer to the sandy serenity, he noticed a figure sitting on the benches, a rather peculiar sight, especially for someone who seemed to be rather young. She certainly didn't seem to be in the best of shape, another aspect that planted a seed of worry in his old heart. So, he found himself next to the young woman, a warm, friendly smile present on his aged features.

"A penny for your thoughts, my dear? It's not too terribly often I see someone so young out here so early. Might you entertain an old man's curiosity?"

He gave a light, silent gesture toward the bench, a wordless question to ask if he were allowed to sit down with her. Age, experience, and instinct told him to be rather careful about this, and he had no intention of disobeying.

The beach became Violet’s favorite place to be. She loved the cool air coming in off the ocean, the feeling of sand moving through her toes, and the water. She met Al’in here and Vanyel. She summoned her first scythe here. The beach was her place of relaxation and hard work. She hoped to come here with friends one day, but the idea of showing her face around them again was terrifying, to say the least.

Violet was sitting on one of the benches that were posted near the walkways, her hands gripping the front of the seat as she leaned forward and let her hair fall and shield her face. Hidden under one hand was a small syringe, in the other a small baggy of an off-white powder. Sitting at her side was her purse, empty, except a single bottle of water and her other ‘supplies.’ She wanted to shoot up so badly.

Violet’s head shot up, stringy dirty hair blocking some of her vision as she looked to Johann, eyes wide, puffy, and red. She didn’t reply and stuffed her things back in her purse before zipping it shut. Coiling her arms around it like a constrictor holding its next meal, she scooted over and nodded. “It’s a public bench; I can’t stop you.”

An eyebrow raised at her response, particularly the body language she had. She was awfully protective of her purse -- any sane individual would be, given what it typically held -- but, the way she coiled around it was especially peculiar. It was as if she had experienced something happen to it, and wished to keep it close. Yet, it was looking at her eyes that made the curious expression shift to one of concern.

Her eyes; wide, puffy, and red, could have been any number of potential ailments. Allergies, crying, eye-rubbing, or perhaps worse. But, it was far from his right as a stranger to probe. So, rather than comment, the elder simply smiled warmly again as he eased himself next to her, resting his hands on his cane.

"Perhaps. But, just because it's a public area does not mean that I, or others, should abandon common courtesy for the one who was here beforehand."

After all, what kind of gentleman would he be if he so rudely plopped himself down next to her without so much as asking? His head turned, seeing her still holding the bag like it were a precious jewel, Johann lifted a hand, giving her an idle wave and a shake of his head as he looked at her.

"Now, now, there's no need for that. I have no intentions of taking your purse, my dear. I'm simply curious as to why you're here. Like I said, it's not often I see a young lady out so early in the morning. Couldn't sleep, perchance, miss...?"

The old man’s waving caught her off guard. It was like a scared animal noticing a sudden movement as her gaze shot back in his direction. She scooted to the edge of the bench and kept the grip on her purse. “Fine, yeah, you can sit!” Violet said, though he quickly tried to tell her otherwise by reassuring her he wasn’t going to take her stuff. Violet took a moment to really look at him after that.

“You’re just some old man…” she said rudely, though her care about manners had gone out the window. She sighed and relaxed some. She had no ability to really sense another’s power, so she couldn’t tell that she was very wrong. “I did sleep… too much,” Violet said, her head lowered again. And entire day had gone by before she woke up. Solomon was gone and she sneaked passed Vanyel. “I just like the beach… Is that okay, or should I leave?” she said, obviously being snippy with him. The girl sniffled and took her shirt to wipe her face down, specifically the eyes.

Just some old man? Was she one of the few who didn't have a sense of mediumship? Johann canted his head to the side in mild confusion. He could sense that she was a Quincy, like him, but she didn't seem to be able to tell the same of him. Perhaps her Reikaku simply wasn't as developed as others. Nevertheless, Johann chuckled softly in response to the comment.

"Oh, I might be an old man, but I'm far from ordinary, my dear."

The notion that she slept too much caused him to raise an eyebrow. That had its own share of possibilities, but, for now, he'd just try to engage the young lady in conversation, to see if anything came up naturally that he could discern.

"Certainly. I don't own the place, and even if I did, I wouldn't dare chase someone away. Beaches are beautiful, social areas. A nice place to relax, have fun with friends, or to just make the most of the summer months."

As he turned to look her way, he noticed her wiping her eyes, the elder quietly reached into his pocket to retrieve a hankerchief, extending it to Violet with a warm smile, before setting it in the empty space between them with a light gesture for her to take the item.

"Are you waiting for someone? Or, did something happen?"

Violet couldn’t sense anything significant from anyone. It sucked. She hated it, but it’s not like the skill ever improved when she trained, so she was as useless in that as she was with everything else in life. Violet rolled her eyes and looked away from him. Sure would be nice to have that kind of confidence, just to tell some random girl you met that you are extraordinary. What a joke… As this man continued on, Violet was just praying that he would leave. Why was he here?!

Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, Violet looked to the handkerchief and then to him. She looked away. “Trust me, you don’t want me touching that,” Violet said, sniffling again. “Something happened… something always happens.” She glanced down to her purse again, wanting to open it up and do what she came here to do. It was early as hell… Again, why the hell was he here?!

“I-... J-... Wh-What are you trying to do? J-Just go,” Violet said nervously, as sat up and gestured at him in a rude shooing motion. “Please, just go…”

The idea that he wouldn't want her to touch something he had given her explicitly so that she could have it and use it was confusing, causing the old man's brow to furrow in confusion. If she wasn't wanting to touch it under the assumption that he would take it back, she could assuredly keep it, especially if she needed it, which, it seemed rather apparent that she did, far more than he needed it right now.

"Why would I not? Come now, blow your nose, dry your eyes."

Something always happens? That was...deeply concerning. The old man's expression turned grim for only a moment as he turned to face her. As he did, the grimness faded, and was replaced by a look of genuine concern, and a softness to his voice came to the forefront.

"Are you okay, young lady?"

Violet withdrew from him again. Bringing her feet up onto the bench, she curled up tightly, her purse sandwiched between her torso and legs. It was weird having a grandpa sitting over her, with that caring old man’s voice. She hated it… She never had a grandpa either… How was she supposed to react to something like this?

Violet shoved her face into her knees, muttering the words, "I wanna die..." She sniffled and lifted her head, wiping her eyes. "I thought I was doing better, but clearly I as wrong... Even he said so. Do you have any idea how awful it is to have this... this... shining light of goodness remind you of how worthless you are?"

Despite her attempts to muffle herself, Johann's hearing was not completely gone, and such a statement broke his heart. Someone so young, desiring so much to throw their life away...the old man's expression of concern only intensified as he listened. While he knew little to nothing about this young woman, there was a part of him that cried out to help her -- the nature of a father and grandfather that never could die.

Normally, he would put a hand on her shoulder as a form of comfort, but, with how much she was shrinking away, it was clearly best for him to simply listen and offer as much aid as he was able. As she asked that rather specific question, Johann's expression turned from concerned to crestfallen as his gaze turned to the bench. A shining light of goodness? One that reminded him of his failures? There was no other he could think of.

"Believe it or not, I do. It makes you feel as if...perhaps, it would be better if you stayed out of their life, does it not? That no matter what you do, how much you try to change, that they will always view you as the same person you were before?"

“Tch… He was supposed to be my friend,” Violet said, still wiping the flow of tears away, becoming frustrated because they wouldn’t fucking stop. “Agh!” Violet screamed, an act that would have caught a lot of attention had it not been so early in the morning and most weren’t hitting the beach yet. What few people were around just glanced her way and moved on with their lives. When standing, she dropped her purse and it spilled out over the floor. She didn’t care, but the drugs were in plain sight, along with the syringe and spoon. “Daddy was right…”