Getting up, the motorcyclist recycled his empty cup, offering to toss out Jia's as well, with a simple gesture. Since he was already up, after all, it wasn't any hardship to recycle her things as well. He contemplated another cup, but decided he'd had enough caffeine for the time being. Too much coffee sometimes gave him a headache or stomachache if he didn't balance it with some food or something substantial.
Xan felt a ribbon of tension radiating from the dancer. For a moment, he wondered what caused it. Maybe she liked being around people? The brunet had a feeling Jia was a total social butterfly; she probably had dozens upon dozens of friends at Alden, flitting from one group to another. Xan himself wasn't exactly one for crowds because sometimes the emotions overwhelmed him. If he was overly tired, drunk or distracted, the pressing force of other people's feelings tended to drown, to suffocate him. That, along with monetary problems, was simply another reason he had put off going to post-secondary school for so long. He'd been trying to hone his shields and powers, but without any knowledge of how his powers worked, it had been a dismal effort.
Some days, being in class was rather difficult. It was no small wonder he ended up being a loner for most of his life. Even now, he tended to sit off to the side, by himself or near the doors, for a quick escape from the lecture halls. Having a roommate was good practice for working on his shielding. Xan was hoping, by the end of the summer, he'd be unconsciously guarding against leaking emotions, at lest against one person or a small group.
“Actually, I was wondering if Alden has any posting boards where they put up fliers for jobs, housing, buying and selling things. Or something similar. I don't suppose you know of anything like that? I was going to hit up the library and I figured I could grab some coffee here, kill some time before it opened. Possibly job search online, but this could work as well,” Xan answered.
He had also thought to do a little more research on Nephilims and Angels. Maybe even see if the school kept records of its alumni. See if that yielded any information on his biological father. For one absurd moment, he wondered if his father had a cellphone and if his mum had the number. Xan bit back a snort. As if anything were that simple. Besides his mum would have told him otherwise. Right?
“I think the best experiences I have with handling animals are the neighbourhood pets. My sister's cat, the dachshund across the street, the turtle and hedgehog that belong to the Atwell family, that sort of thing. I did run across a squirrel with an injured leg once, when I was fourteen. Took the little thing to the vet myself. But that's not a bad idea. Working in the vet's office, or even an animal shelter,” he mused. “I'll keep that in mind, thanks.”
The tennis player didn't actually have a clue how to get to the library from the little coffee shop. He had figured he could spend some time wandering around, pretending he wasn't lost. Maybe he'd even luck out and find an area map. A "you-are-not-here" map, as he liked to call it.