i'm still alone in my mind — open, intro

[roman]

[align=center][div style="max-width: 600px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 9pt;"][color=black]In the city, it is easy to forget all the death and destruction which has occurred recently. Griffingate is modern and new. One can easily forget that the world has already ended. Some people like to remind themselves constantly that the world is not nearly as peaceful as it may appear, but Mare? Suffice to say that she is perfectly happy deceiving herself that perhaps one day she'll see her family again. Ignorant and hopeful is vastly more desirable than being sad and miserable. Ignorance truly is bliss. That's what she claims, at least. Mare often loses herself in her drawings. Back in her apartment, the walls are covered in intricate murals depicting the vastness of the open plains before the destruction, among other things. Hours could be spent within the comfortable confines of her flat, and she would be oblivious to the passage of time.

Even now, in the relative bustle of the park, Mare finds herself absorbed in her silly little doodles. So much so that she is once again startled by the arrival of Elias. This time, however, she nearly falls from the tree. "You're a sneaky one," she remarks in a low voice after releasing a very colorful string of curses. Mare is well aware that Elias did no sneaking and it was simply her lack of awareness that led to the situation, but she'll be damned before she admits responsibility. Her amber eyes is concealed by a rogue strand of curls cascading down the left side of her face, leaving only the blue to peer curiously at the man before her. He asked a question. She knows that she should respond. But she was startled and Elias is hot and it's a well known fact that Mare is useless when it comes to hot people. It's just too easy to get distracted in admiring his jawline, the stubble, the fashion...

Oh, right. The question. "Uh, you're gonna have to specify. 'Cus I draw all the time but I happened to climb this tree on a whim." Actually, he doesn't have to specify because Mare answered it all herself. Remember? Useless. She's absolutely useless. "Why're you here?"