2024.10.21:First Time/Text

Tyler sat at a small, rickety wooden table, tucked into the back corner of Molly's Munchies, a quiet alcove amidst the hustle and bustle of the Midnight Market. The air was thick with the mingled scents of exotic herbs and fragrant spices, with the occasional tang of incense floating from nearby stalls. A dim glow from enchanted lanterns bathed the shop in a soft, amber hue, casting flickering shadows on the mismatched furniture. He wrapped his hands around the delicate porcelain cup, the steam rising from his tea—something earthy and grounding, with hints of cardamom and honey.

He glanced around, noting the eclectic patrons—shady figures exchanging whispered deals, merchants in strange, otherworldly garb, and the occasional glimpse of someone who clearly wasn't quite human. But for now, Tyler was content, finding a rare moment of calm amidst the supernatural chaos that often swirled around him. At least in Molly's tiny stall, for this moment, things felt... peaceful.

Cindy strolled the place, trying not to look wide-eyed but struggling not to be. In her head, she repeated, act cool! act cool! The place was fascinating but clearly not her usual sort of haunt. But the smell of food fixed a lot of things, and she ended up at Molly's. She placed an order, but it took some digging in her purse to find cash. In the process, a round lipstick case hit the ground and rolled away.

Tyler noticed the newcomer almost immediately—the way her eyes darted around, trying to take everything in without giving away her awe. He'd seen that look before, the "first-timer" vibe at the Midnight Market. It wasn't hard to spot in a place like this, where the strange became mundane, and the mundane became rare.

As she fumbled with her purse, he watched the lipstick tube slip out, rolling along the uneven floor in a lazy arc. Instinctively, he reached out—not physically, but with his mind. He focused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he felt for the small object through the haze of the market's magical interference. With a subtle flick of his fingers, the lipstick stopped rolling and lifted gently off the ground, gliding through the air before settling neatly into his open palm.

He caught her eye as she turned, likely realizing it was gone. Holding up the lipstick with a small, casual smile, he said, "Looking for this?" His tone was light, but there was a spark of amusement behind his words, as if he was enjoying this little display of ability more than he let on.

Cindy muttered under her breath. She slapped the cash down on the counter, then chased her makeup. Just as she bent to pick it up, the lipstick floated up. She remained stuck in that posture, bent at the waist with her hand reaching to the ground. Only her head moved to track the case and then see Tyler. "Um... yes."

Tyler chuckled softly at her frozen posture, clearly amused but not unkindly. He leaned back in his chair, still holding the floating lipstick. "You're gonna get a crick in your back if you stay like that," he teased lightly, offering her a quick grin before letting the lipstick settle back into her hand.

He gestured toward the empty chair across from him. "First time at the Midnight Market, right? It can be... a lot to take in." He took a sip of his tea, letting the warmth soak through him as he gave her a chance to gather herself, still smiling in that easy-going, non-judgmental way that made it clear he wasn't poking fun—just trying to make her feel at ease in this strange, magical place.

Dressed in a white button-down shirt and blue tie, Tyler looked like he'd be more at home on a college campus than at the Market, but here—it takes all sorts.

Cindy straightened quickly when he pointed that out. "Yeah." She laughed a little and fussed with some out-of-place hair and smoothed out her shirt. "Shows, huh?" Heels clicked as she moved closer and tentatively reached for her lipstick as if it might jump away. Or bite. "You come here a lot?"

Tyler handed her the lipstick with a gentle smile, noticing the way she tentatively reached for it. "No worries, it won't bite," he joked, leaning back in his chair. "And yeah, I guess you could say I'm still pretty new here too. Only figured out how to get in last week, actually. There was this weird riddle I found in one of the shops uptown. Took me way longer than I want to admit to crack it."

He chuckled, shaking his head at the memory before offering a hand. "Name's Tyler, by the way. Nice to meet someone else who's still figuring this place out." He glanced around the Midnight Market, its strange, otherworldly energy always buzzing just beneath the surface. "It's... a lot, right?"

Cindy touched up her lipstick—might as well, since it was in her hand. "It certainly is something, yeah. I'm Cindy." She moved close enough to offer her hand, and her smile became a bit warmer as she introduced herself. "Student?" she guessed.

Tyler nodded, "Grad school, but yeah. How about you?" he asked, taking a sip of what could be coffee, shaking his head slightly at the potency. "Dear God, that's strong..." He called back to the woman running the café behind him, "Thanks, Molls!" The woman, Molly Brown, who looked like she could be the cousin of Ronald Weasley's mom, waved from behind her stand with a smile.

Cindy shook her head. "No. Recent graduate. Though not," she motioned to her chest, or to the logo on it. "But I moved here right after graduation. Pretty soon after. What do you study?" she asked as she took a step closer to the kitchen.

Tyler gestured to a seat at his makeshift table and explained that he's studying psychology—specifically the effects of severe trauma and recovery. "Not getting too deep, but I kinda died... and it messed me up a little," he smiled with an almost Golden Retriever-like quality, "...started seeing ghosts and all that after I got back. So why not get a degree in it, ya know?"

Cindy smiled at the offer and did sit. She looked at him with a blank expression at first, thinking maybe it was a joke. But when it wasn't, she looked concerned for a moment, checking for any obvious scars. "Oh wow. I mean... um, you recovered nicely." Clearly, she wasn’t prepared for that scenario.

Tyler smiled, "On the grand scheme of weirdness... I barely register around here. Back in the bazaar, there's a guy that talks to fire, and a woman that can, like, become any animal. Creeped me the F out when she pulled that giant snake thing." He shivered visibly at the memory, "Why does it always have to be snakes?" He tossed out the line to see if Cindy would catch the movie reference and continued, "But... I died, so I see the dead... pshaw... that's nothing."

Cindy winced and shivered a little. She was not a snake person. "Oh." Her head turned as if to spot the people, but she focused back on him. "I feel downright boring now. I don't have anything nearly so interesting. Are... there dead people here now?"

"And the fact that you can't see them tells me you probably sleep better than I do," Tyler smiled. "I wouldn't say dead *people*, but yeah, ghosts. They kinda follow me around—not sure if it's like feeding a stray dog kinda thing or what, but when I can, I try to help them. So they get kinda protective." He smiled and took another sip of the 'coffee,' wincing again. "I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad, but at least I can taste some of it now. Must be growing on me."

Cindy looked around more, maybe hoping to spot ghosts. "Protective? How does that work?" She looked back at him and tried a soft laugh. "Warning me I should be nice to you?" she asked with a tentative smile. What sort of humor was acceptable when talking about ghosts? She was about to find out.

Tyler hrmed. "Well, like... they know things and can help me sometimes. Like this one guy was a cop, so he knows how to shoot and is wicked when it comes to fighting with a baton and shield, ya know? He helped me out once when a guy tried to grab my watch and wallet. All I had around was an old broom handle and a trashcan lid, but it did the trick." He smiled, raising his fist up and over his shoulder as though putting it up for a ghostly fist-bump. "And in return, I made sure his wife knew where the insurance policy and his retirement stuff was after he crossed."

Cindy leaned on the table, watching and listening. Maybe still not 100 percent sure he wasn’t teasing her. "Oh. Wow. So he, like... I mean..." Her nose wrinkled as she thought about it. "What did he do? Like taught you on the spot?"

Tyler tried to make it sound as painless as possible, but he might not have done the best job. "Nah... he kinda... moved in—well, more like rented me for a few minutes while that guy was messing with me." Yes, he was talking possession. Momentary, temporary, but no-kidding possession... well, sorta. "Doesn't last long, and I'm still mostly driving, but it's like he