i pop another pill, i take another hit; LUCE

Lena shuddered when she walked into the cafe. She felt cold, yet it was scorching hot outside. Who knew that it was a terrible idea to walk into Paris in the middle of the night when you've just killed someone? The City of Romance suddenly seemed like the City of Death, all of a sudden. That was more than mildly disturbing.

She stared at the ceiling, barely touching her chocolate. Cafe Soleil indeed. Funny how she was here in the middle of the night.

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(ooc: ack. terrible start. but it'll get better.)

Luce, tight in her double-layered clothing, came inside a grimly-lit cafe located at the streets of the famous France. Of her now famous home. She glanced around for a sign of time and sighed as the hands of the clock striked eleven. It wasn't early. Nor too late. It was just the signal of ending the day after long hours of lying still against the meadows of her favorite place. Just the moments of going in to her own world. Her world of a different kind full of mysteries and sights of the infinite sky above her. And like her usual self, she would always feel the happiest when she does it. But to end the night and wait for another was yet a lonely chapter of her story.

She stared at the dark windows, the starry night watching her drink some coffee and pour in a bit of LSD into her cup. She drank helplessly and calmly, her mere habit of overcoming her painful history.

Lena glanced at the only other girl there, wondering whether to talk to her, or leave her alone to do whatever she was doing. She seemed interesting; the Uchitel had a penchant for judging people by the way they look. Whether this was a good or a bad thing was debatable, though. On one hand, she had predicted that Leon was not a nice guy and he did end up trying to kill her. But on the other hand... well. She trusted Charles with her life and look... he betrayed it. That was why sometimes she hated her guts, but she trusted it too much to not trust it. Oh well. She should go with her head this time.

She began to open her mouth, but she shut it again. She shut her eyes tightly, not sure on what to do. She then opened her eyes very slowly, scanning the room. She took a deep breath and called out, "You a nocturnal person too?"

Luce turned around at the sound of a girl's voice and decided it best to reply even if she was a complete stranger who chose to have a conversation in the midst of the gloomy cafe. She shrugged, sipped her coffee and spoke loud enough to come across the wide room, "Suppose so. I think I was born nocturnal."

She smirked, glad that the boring night wouldn't be so lonely like the ones that she had been through all by herself, and added, "What about you? First time to see you here actually. I'm always here during this time around."

Lena chuckled in reply, albeit rather emptily. "Technically, you can be born nocturnal, though," she began, not exactly sure if it was true or not, but she didn't care just now since it didn't really make much of a difference, "were you born in the morning or at night?" She had to admit, though: spending time with people right after a murder might be healthy for her.

"Really?" Lena replied, her voice trying to convey a forced feeling of shock. "I like this place." She scanned the room for a while, igniting an awkward silence. "I thought this place was named Cafe Soleil," she mused, smirking in the dark, "Cafe de la Nuit sounds more like it to me, actually; it looks beautiful in this light."

"My mom did not even tell me. Well, we weren't that close before. And becuse of that, running away seemed to be the best thing to do." Luce told a bit of her story in a more complex manner and gazed at the lights above. So the girl was right after all. It was indeed a nice place that she hadn't noticed before.

"So why are you here? I bet you're just visiting the country or anything." She said with a curious expression from farther away to reach the stranger who looked like she had a nice day. But thinking about it, maybe she did not.

"Oh," Lena replied, "I'm sorry, I suppose. Should I be sorry?" She pursed her lips, trying to move the conversation away from the topic of mothers, since Lena too had an interesting story to tell. "I suppose you're nocturnal," she muttered, though she knew it was just a bunch of superstition and she shouldn't bother with such things.

"Ummm..." the blonde hesitantly began. Well, she shouldn't tell her she killed someone on their first meeting; for all she knew her new friend might be a police informant. "Yeah. I'm visiting Paris for tonight before heading back to Amsterdam tomorrow morning." That didn't hurt, right?

"No big deal. She should be the one sorry." Luce shrugged as she pictured her own mother apologizing for what she had done. Impossible yet again. She sipped another drink, thinking deeply, then nodded at to what the new tourist had said,

"Just you, then?" she asked with wonder and sheer curiosity. Perhaps this girl could be more like her. Alone in the world and the city of love. City of nothingness to be exact.

Lena paused for a moment, pondering on whether she should ask her friend about why her mother was supposed to be sorry. She decided against it, however, because it could only ignite a terrible argument. "I'm a daylight person, or I'm supposed to be," she began, "but to hell with that."

Lena nodded, but she wasn't sure if her friend, acquaintance, whatever, could see her in the dark, so she said, "Yeah. Just me. I live a lonely life, or at least, I think I do." She sighed loudly, finding a seat.

"Oh. I guess I'm both of a daytime person and a night then. You know, just under the sun then gaze at the stars at night. That's why I'm late all the time." Luce said then paused, a picture intriguing her mind as it went on and on with all the happy moments in Verona. With her mother. But that was a long time ago. How can she still remember?

"Supposed to be?" She decided to question to get rid of that stupid thought and laughed softly, now recalling her own sort of manners, "I'm Luce by the way."

"Well, people nowadays tend to live alone. Just like us." Luce muttered loud enough for her new friend to hear and realize what she even meant.

"I suppose I am too. Being both of them, I mean," replied Lena, agreeing with the young woman. She went to get herself a small glass of water and as she walked back with it, she called out, "Late? Late for what?" She wasn't really sure what Luce meant in her context, so it wasn't going to do much harm asking, right? Merlin hope not; she hated being prosecuted just for asking simple questions.

"Well, the birth records say I was born in the morning, but I get the impression that's not true," she mused, running a finger through her hair. "Je m'appelle Lena," she then added plainly, smirking, "Luce and Lena. Hey. That doesn't sound half bad, doesn't it?"

"Not all," she whispered, mostly to herself than to Luce. She stared up at the ceiling dreamily again, trying to shut the bad memories she knew would come to her mind.

"Always late for sleep. Part of my disorders I think. And in the mornings, I just can't get enough of the sunshine and pretty weather. So as a conclusion, I really don't get a lot of sleep. Most especially this summer." Luce replied with a soft laugh at herself, putting in mind that stupid hobby but loving the fact that she was happy every time she does that.

"I think it's great. You from Durmstrang I guess?" She asked Lena and sipped her almost empty drink. It wasn't so effective at all compared to those of before. Probably has something to do that she had some company.

Lena smirked, sitting down in front of Luce. "You should see Rovaniemi in the summer," she mused, thinking of the cosy little town with Santa's workshop and the exuberant summers, "do you know that the sun never sets there for two whole months during May and July? I doubt you won't get much sleep then." She chuckled nervously at her statement, adding, "You should really get some sleep though. Not like I should be saying anything." The blonde ran a finger through her hair and tucked a strand of it behind her so it wouldn't dip itself into the water.

Arching an eyebrow questioningly, Lena asked in a curious tone, "How can you tell? Was it my accent?" It was true her accent was rather distinctive. Her heart beat quickly, hoping Luce didn't recognize her from anywhere.

"I think I can. Sooner, though. These changing days bothers me so much I guess. But of course I can't miss it." Luce replied with a shrug and emptied her mug. She tapped her fingers softly on top of the wooden table and cited sarcastically, "I'm going to get my sleep once caffeine escapes from my system."

"Not really your accent. I sort of think Durmstrang students always visit France. And I've met two of them already. The third is you. And Hogwarts students don't actually stick to me like you all do. So I guess they're not here more often."

"Somehow, I don't believe that," Lena remarked, taking a sip of her water and looking directly at her friend's cup of coffee, almost as if she would dare to kill it. "I don't drink caffeine. I've always preferred a good glass of vodka than a cuppa of joe." She stared to purse her lips, trying to not think of that dreadful substance.

"Do they?" Lena asked curiously, tilting her head to one side. "Who are the other two? I might know them," she added hesitantly, though she wished one of them wasn't her enemies. "I know a couple of Hogwarts students - my brother." She chuckled.

"I think I'm going to have to quit vodka. And those other bad habits of mine. I should start living healthier as my goal. It doesn't change. Really. So I'll just change myself instead." Luce said rather to herself and sighed, depression on giving up her life seemed to be the end of her. The end of living. But will she see real life once she started something new?

"Uh, I've met Lora. She's really nice. Then Taryn who's also nice and sort of an artist like me. So you know them?" She asked with interest and wonder on what can Lena say more about them. Just to know how really great people they are for one.

"If I live healthier, I end up killing myself," mused the Uchitel, flipping her hair nonchalantly and telling her friend the truth. That was true. Because she couldn't stay away from the constant vodka, and all of the sweets she wanted to eat. Not to mention crying all day long. That was one of her weaknesses, being unhealthy. "I don't really care though. It's just life. I'll get over it." She laughed in a hollow, empty way.

"Lora seems to be everywhere these days," she muttered to herself. she then looked up at Luce and nodded. "Ah. Taryn. She seems alright from what I've seen. Funny how she's in my house and somehow, I've never met her," she added, looking at her water, which was nearly running out.

"So it would be the opposite? I'd try. Living seems to be just an option. I can be dead perhaps. I'd love to buy both sides if possible." Luce muttered with a shrug and decided on whether or not she's still going to keep her promise. It was hard after what she have heard coming from Lena. But to say that they'll end up killing themselves? She'd rather be happy for that. Only her. Besides, what's the point of living when all you are is a ghost of the earth without a care?

"Like everywhere? I guess so. She's sort of the traveling type. Especially this summer. I guess Taryn's just shy. She's like hiding many things but only expresses rarely of them."

"I thought there was no way - magical, Muggle or even scientific - to be both alive and dead," speculated Lena, "I've done my research. Unless of course, you want to be a ghost, but I doubt that would be a very nice state of existence. And it's not your choice if you want to become one either. For one, you'd have to be scared of death..." And that was where the blonde Uchitel chose to stop ranting about her views on life and death. It made the conversation seem ever the more grim, and that was precisely what she wanted to avoid with a new friend. She then got some more water because her glass of water was nearly out of that life-giving substance.

"Yeah. First Russia, now Azorat, then France. I wonder why she's travelling so much," thought Lena aloud, "maybe she was bored. I came to France because... well, going from Amsterdam to Paris in one night sounds like a wonderful plan."

"Anyway, both sounds worst. I'll just deal with what lies ahead perhaps. I'll never know what to expect. And if any of that comes along, I'd be really happy to accept it." Luce cited her point of view and did hope on whether or not that moment would come. But she can wait. Still, how long? She was for four years. Or maybe five? Or maybe even at the start of her birth?

"Oh. So you're already leaving tomorrow?" She asked with sheer curiosity and somewhat disappointed that her new friend will go anytime soon. Why does it have to be that way with friends from other countries? Why does she have to stay with the population of flirty Beauxbatons students and French people? Good thing she was still Italian though.

"You're lucky you can still accept what goes into your life," Lena spat, drinking as much water as she could in one sip. Eventually, she felt like her throat was saturated with water - was that even possible? - so she had to stop drinking or she would drown in that liquid. "I can't. I really can't." She sighed, looking dreamily at the ceiling again. Was this what she was going to be like five years in the future? Merlin hope not.

"Yeah. My brother and my sister-in-law will be needing me," she laughed, "they don't like it when I disappear, so I can't disappoint them." She stared at the lights outside of the window. Merlin did Paris look so pretty at night, but dawn was quickly coming and she could waste no time at all. "If only I had the time..."

"We can all try perhaps." Luce commented as more than a suggestion and sighed at the thought of her future. Five years from now, maybe just two and a half. What will her life be? Will that thing that she's currently waiting for ever come? And to ask beforehand, what really is she waiting for? Clearly, she had no idea. No idea what will even happen to her. But still, can destiny be patient enough with her?

"Too bad. Guess I'm alone again, huh?" She shrugged and looked down with her arms crossed on top of the table.

"You're never alone," whispered Lena in a motherly tone, or in her best attempts at one, "when you think about it, there will always be people there to support you, no matter how acute you - or they - seem." She then looked outside, and already she could see some fade rays of sunlight beaming through the night. She didn't want to leave Luce here alone though, because she was a nice person. Perhaps, though, she can stay just a little longer...

"Anyways, how has your summer been, so far?" Lena asked, as if she was speaking to an old friend, and she felt like she was, in a way.