Avery sipped his cappuccino from where he sat in a comfortable chair in the corner of a quaint little indie coffee house. He enjoyed the big chains from time to time but there was something adorable about the little ones that managed to keep afloat against those massive ships. He supposed people liked the personal touches and how staff were more likely to remember the regulars and have a moment to chat. He simply enjoyed the brew and people-watching.
He'd been quietly sipping his drink as he read one of his cheesy romance novels on his e-reader. The modern era was so handy with such devices! Still, Avery loved a good solid book to thumb through and he had a collection in his condo of his favourites. But having so many books within the palm of his hand, accessible at any time made him feel powerful. Well, more powerful than he already was and in a different way.
As he finished his current read, torn between satisfied with the ending and annoyed that so many questions remained, Avery felt the urge to flex some of that other power. As the story came to an end, Avery flicked through the pages of ads and gratitude until he reached the final one that told him how long it took to read his little romance and gave him a chance to rate it. He gave it a solid three out of five stars, and wrote a quick and simple review. "Cute story, good sex scenes, but so many questions remain!"
The device was set down on his lap for a moment as Avery enjoyed a long drink of his cappuccino, gaze going around the room. It was midday and a rush seemed to be starting. Perfect. The large ring that he always wore on his right hand was casually slipped off and set on the arm of the chair before Avery picked up the e-reader once more and started scrolling through the index of unread books. Maybe something by the same author to see if the world-building improved? He was a bit intrigued by the side character that was obviously the hook for the second book so why not?
It didn't take long for the emotions to start to rise in the coffee house. Avery heard some customers grumbling about slow service before he finished the first chapter. That continued on for a while until finally someone snapped. Avery had noticed the two men come in and the one seemed far more susceptible to negative emotions as the anger slowly seeped into his features and made him tense. It was exactly what Avery was looking for.
The hothead either wasn’t a fan of waiting or perhaps the woman he kept glaring at wore a perfume that was distasteful to him. Whatever the reason, when the woman’s boyfriend turned around to say something, he earned a fist to the face. The woman screamed and the man that hadn’t seemed affected by the negative emotions pulled away his violent friend, restraining him without too much trouble. That in itself was interesting given he didn’t seem physically built but Avery knew from experience that strength came in all sizes—and some of it magical.
He continued to watch the brunette and marked the way he kept glancing around, as if looking for a source of the violence instead of just assuming his friend had finally gone too far. That didn’t bode well if the man was associated with the Guardians in some way. As casually as he could, Avery slid on his ring that masked and contained his dark aura. Slowly, the humans would come back to their more level-headed nature but some damage had already been done and Avery had received some entertainment.
Still, he didn’t like that someone was so aware if the surroundings and after finishing his drink and packing up his belongings, Avery stood to leave. He hesitated a moment before going to the counter, fishing out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet as he did so. He dropped the bill in the tip jar by the register and gave the woman manning the station a smile and a quick glance over to where the couple sat as the girlfriend held a bag of ice to her boyfriend’s face. The man that had thrown the punch was kicked out but his perceptive friend was waiting for their drink order down the counter.
“Some pretty nasty hangovers today,” Avery gave a light chuckle and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what they had witnessed. “I’m sure there’s a saying about a rocky start to the New Year indicates a smooth sailing from that point onward. If not, I’m creating it now.” With a bit more of a jovial smile in place, Avery wished the staff well and headed out. If nothing else, that had been a delightful start to his year.
He'd been quietly sipping his drink as he read one of his cheesy romance novels on his e-reader. The modern era was so handy with such devices! Still, Avery loved a good solid book to thumb through and he had a collection in his condo of his favourites. But having so many books within the palm of his hand, accessible at any time made him feel powerful. Well, more powerful than he already was and in a different way.
As he finished his current read, torn between satisfied with the ending and annoyed that so many questions remained, Avery felt the urge to flex some of that other power. As the story came to an end, Avery flicked through the pages of ads and gratitude until he reached the final one that told him how long it took to read his little romance and gave him a chance to rate it. He gave it a solid three out of five stars, and wrote a quick and simple review. "Cute story, good sex scenes, but so many questions remain!"
The device was set down on his lap for a moment as Avery enjoyed a long drink of his cappuccino, gaze going around the room. It was midday and a rush seemed to be starting. Perfect. The large ring that he always wore on his right hand was casually slipped off and set on the arm of the chair before Avery picked up the e-reader once more and started scrolling through the index of unread books. Maybe something by the same author to see if the world-building improved? He was a bit intrigued by the side character that was obviously the hook for the second book so why not?
It didn't take long for the emotions to start to rise in the coffee house. Avery heard some customers grumbling about slow service before he finished the first chapter. That continued on for a while until finally someone snapped. Avery had noticed the two men come in and the one seemed far more susceptible to negative emotions as the anger slowly seeped into his features and made him tense. It was exactly what Avery was looking for.
The hothead either wasn’t a fan of waiting or perhaps the woman he kept glaring at wore a perfume that was distasteful to him. Whatever the reason, when the woman’s boyfriend turned around to say something, he earned a fist to the face. The woman screamed and the man that hadn’t seemed affected by the negative emotions pulled away his violent friend, restraining him without too much trouble. That in itself was interesting given he didn’t seem physically built but Avery knew from experience that strength came in all sizes—and some of it magical.
He continued to watch the brunette and marked the way he kept glancing around, as if looking for a source of the violence instead of just assuming his friend had finally gone too far. That didn’t bode well if the man was associated with the Guardians in some way. As casually as he could, Avery slid on his ring that masked and contained his dark aura. Slowly, the humans would come back to their more level-headed nature but some damage had already been done and Avery had received some entertainment.
Still, he didn’t like that someone was so aware if the surroundings and after finishing his drink and packing up his belongings, Avery stood to leave. He hesitated a moment before going to the counter, fishing out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet as he did so. He dropped the bill in the tip jar by the register and gave the woman manning the station a smile and a quick glance over to where the couple sat as the girlfriend held a bag of ice to her boyfriend’s face. The man that had thrown the punch was kicked out but his perceptive friend was waiting for their drink order down the counter.
“Some pretty nasty hangovers today,” Avery gave a light chuckle and shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what they had witnessed. “I’m sure there’s a saying about a rocky start to the New Year indicates a smooth sailing from that point onward. If not, I’m creating it now.” With a bit more of a jovial smile in place, Avery wished the staff well and headed out. If nothing else, that had been a delightful start to his year.
