i know i ask for a lot Who: Abel & Nishka What: Abel runs into a very seemingly familiar neighbor When: Directly following this thread Where: Fifth floor of Pax Letale
Despite briefly meeting Obed, the rest of the building maintained the facade that the complex was a lifeless thing, bereft of any other human being. Abel rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, watching the numbers within the machine roll by until his arrival was announced by a soft 'ding.' He didn't need to be at work for another few hours, his appointments not beginning until even another hour after that, so he thought he would help himself to breakfast and perhaps some reading.
Pulling his keys from a jacket pocket, he approached his doorway but paused as he heard the sound of another knob turning. It seemed he was going to meet the sole other person on his floor a lot sooner than he'd expected.
Nish had woken up late, lying in bed for a long time contemplating the dream she’d had. Not a nightmare per se, though those were more frequent than she’d like them to be. The details of the dream themselves were lost almost as soon as she opened her eyes, but she was left with the feeling that something deeply unsettling had just happened.
At Bear’s insistence, she got up, went through her morning routine of dressing, feeding the cat, eating breakfast, but her mind was elsewhere, trying desperately to remember even a hint of what had made her so nervous last night. Finally as she pulled on her boots and slid her coat on, she decided it was a lost cause, pushing it to the back of her mind as she opened the door.
And froze. The door across the hall was open, and there was a man standing there. As far as she knew she was the only person on this floor, and the surprise at seeing someone else was just as startling as the dream.
“Ohh!” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “I didn’t know anyone else lived on this floor yet,” she said, forcing a friendly smile as her heart raced in her chest. Behind her, though she didn’t notice it, Bear took one look at the man and bolted to hide in his cat condo on the other side of the apartment.
Abel's head bobbed in seeming apology, a light smile hovering over his lips. "Sorry. I tend to do that to people; too quiet." He pocketed his keys and turned toward the woman. After a beat, clearly thinking on the motion, he extended his hand. "Moved in on a Monday, you might've been at work. Abel Parrish."
She favoured him with a soft smile and shook his hand. “Nishka Bariss,” she replied. “As far as I know, we’re the only ones on the floor,” she commented, turning to lock her apartment door and then back to look at him, crossing her arms lightly, “so there’s no problem with noise, at least not yet.” The floor was usually quiet as a tomb, and if she didn’t enjoy the quiet so much she might have gone a little stir-crazy at the lack of ambient noise.
"So I've heard," he replied, offering no further explanation. His eyes trailed down her front, more a cursory look noting her appearance. "Off to work?"
She nodded to him, “yeah,” she said, without elaborating. There was no sense in telling a neighbour she just met what she did or where. She adjusted the strap of her purse on her shoulder and glanced down the hall. “So...I guess I’ll see you around then. Welcome to the floor, I guess,” she added with a smile.
Abel nodded, still standing in front of his door. He made no move to reach for his keys, clearly waiting for her to vacate before he entered his abode.
"Have a good day at work."
She smiled and then headed off to the elevators, a slight feeling of unease starting to flutter in her stomach. Something about the way he watched her until she left, maybe, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. With a deep breath and a sigh, she left the building, heading out to another long day in court.