Exploring the city {open}

Alexander woke up that morning with the idea to explore the streets today. He got dressed in a pair of dark faded jeans with a long sleeved blue shirt, he slid his feet into a pair of black tennis shoes. He threw on his black winter coat on grabbing his wallet as well as his key and walked out of the room. As soon as his feet hit the pavement outside he took a deep breath and smiled as he made his way out into the crowd of people on the sidewalk. He looked around for a good place to sit down to eat and quickly ducked into a small cafe that served breakfast. He ordered what he wanted as he sat waiting for his food he stared out the window he was sitting next to and watched everyone walk on by.

Alexander sat there watching for he didn't know how long and realized there were differences in the people that walked by. Some were in strange clothing while some of the others were in clothes like what he was wearing. Looking over at the waitress when his food came he thanked her and began eating his food but he was distracted by what he saw. Searching in his jacket from where it sat on the back of the chair he found the notepad and pen that he was looking for. He jotted down some of the unusual things that he saw through the window as he ate his breakfast. He even went as far as to draw one of the unusually dressed people who was standing a ways from him looking around for something.  Alex made sure he didn't seem like he was drawing him, he had gotten used to sneaking things like that without getting caught.

He finished his meal then put away his notepad and pen as he paid for his meal leaving a very generous tip for the waitress. Putting on his coat he walked back outside taking a left starting to walk around the streets taking everything in. Alex wondered around but there were a few things he thought he saw but they were gone the next second. Shaking his head as he walked into a park still taking in everything, to him this was so much more different than Scotland for him. Sitting down on a bench to rest for a minute he thought about everything that he saw. Taking out his notepad and pen he looked at the drawing of the person dressed strangely. He couldn't help but wonder what was happening in this city as he listened to snip its of conversations of other people in the park that were near him.

It was a surprisingly beautiful winter day- the sun was glistening, and the lack of clouds and wind made it easier to warm the surrounding air, though scattered dark clouds were distant on the horizon. Alanna had decided that she would run her much-needed errands that day, and reward herself with a few rounds at the Leaky Cauldron. She slid into a pair of sleek black pumps and a plum form-fitting dress. She admired herself in the mirror; she was a slender woman, with slight curves at her bust and rear. Her hair fell just past her breasts in gentle chocolate waves, and her thin legs were covered in opaque nylons. Lana knew how beautiful she was, and she knew the power that she had over others. All it usually took for Alana to get what she wanted was a bat of her wispy eyelashes and that gentle crooked smile, and the men were drooling. That along with a good attitude, which was something she often lacked.

The only sound Alana could hear in her flat was the rhythmic tapping of her heels on the polished wooden floors, a sound that soothed her. She carefully slipped into her favorite black cloak and locked her front door with a flick of her wand. Outside, the air smelled of spring, the biggest tease for those who hated the winter. There were still snow piles, though they were small and scattered. Today was a rare day, weather-wise; typical winters in the area included rainstorms. An abundance of rainstorms. Not that Lana was complaining, for she enjoyed storms, they were an excuse to stay at home alone, something that she could never get enough of.

Alana decided that she would walk through the park to get to her usual coffee spot. Though it was plagued by many people, that particular park had a beautiful pond that was covered in ice and snow. It had a certain aesthetic to it; it was eerie, for sure, as the many trees surrounding it were bare in the winter, leaving dark tree branches spiraling into the grey sky over a large white mass.

Lana was enjoying herself as she walked through the park. Many people were outside enjoying the weather, and she detested it. Alana hated having to socialize with those she did not know, but luckily for her, she was a fairly good judge of character, making it easier to sift through the options if she ever had to speak with someone. Avoiding eye contact, she directed her attention to the pond, which was still partially frozen over. She watched as the birds flew over it, trying to find a melted spot to settle in.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she found herself stumble over something, and slipped into a bench, bumping shoulders with a stranger. Lana quickly stood up and fixed herself before turning to the person responsible for her trip. Her first, and only real, guess was the man sitting at the very bench that she fell onto. She looked down and saw his legs spread into the walkway and deduced that she had tripped over them.

"Would you like to watch where you plant your legs next time? It would be greatly appreciated. Alanna's voice was dripping with sarcasm and disgust, for she could not believe that someone would have the audacity to be so careless.

Alex had finished his drawing when a woman fell into him on the bench. Hearing her words and looking at the walk way which was large enough to that his legs wouldn't have made a difference. "Maybe you shouldn't walk so close to the benches that you end up tripping over someone else. Maybe if you looked down once and a while you might see what's right in front of you." He said looking at her, feeling his words were simple facts.

"Why go through life looking down on others? Why not try to help one of them up now and then? Is that something so impossible that it seems like a chore if you have to?" He packed away his notepad and pen then crossed his legs in front of himself. He didn't know what came over him to say those words to him but he knew that they couldn't be unsaid. Alex waited for her to blow up on him and he knew that he would probably end up fighting with this stranger.

Alana took a deep breath to reevaluate the situation. This man, whom she had never spoken to prior to this very moment, had the gall to tell her about herself. This person who knows absolutely nothing about her. She had never experienced anything like it, and it made her uncomfortable, only making the anger inside of her rise. Though she had to give him at least some respect for coming at her like that when most people would be so shocked by her rudeness to begin with.

But, he was right. She should have been paying more attention to where she was going, but Lana wasn't the type of person to admit her wrongdoings.

"Well," she began, "what a sincere apology. Thank you for that."

Her ankle was a little sore, she must have twisted it slightly when she tripped. Though she would rather leave the situation as it was, she sat down next to the man on the bench and left plenty of room between them.

"I'm not going to let you think that you know me, or my ways of thinking." She looked at him with a firm glare and studied his features. He was handsome, she'll give him that, but she wasn't going to let that deter her.

"Next time I suppose I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for the rudeness of the likes of you." She had nothing further to say on the subject.

"What is so important in that old book, anyways?" Typically, Alana would simply walk away from situations like these, but her foot was aching, and he seemed like he would be a somewhat decent recipient of her attention.

"If that's what you call an apology then someone has been apologizing to you wrong." Alex said as he looked at his recently finished drawing making sure that she wasn't able to see it. He knew that most people laughed at him for drawing like he does but he didn't care.

Looking over at her studying her and seeing her beauty. "I'll give you that but the fact that your still sitting here begs a question. Or an observation on my part. Which is in fact that when you fell that you might have slightly or completely sprained your ankle." He said looking at her wondering if she was gonna deny that fact to him. "Being as that I am a doctor, if you will permit me to examine it to determine whether or not it needs to be seen at by your doctor."

"Your rudeness is what made me say what I did. I didn't do anything wrong yet you accused me of being in the wrong when you weren't looking where you were going." Alex said looking at her intrigued by the fact that she wasn't going to admit anything to him.

"It's my drawings of things that I find intriguing or beautiful. I just finished one before you tripped over me and then blamed it on me." He said wanting to see if there was more underneath that shell she had around herself. He liked the fact that she had spine but also liked the fact that she had a fiery spirit as well.

Much to her surprise, Alana gave out a chuckle at the man's ignorance of her sarcasm.

"I tend to get more sincere apologies, but your's will do." She chuckled again for a moment and tried to get a glimpse of what was in his notebook, but saw nothing. She pondered his question for a moment. Her ankle was a little sore, but she could continue to walk on it. And she also wasn't sure if she wanted this stranger to be giving her a leg examination. "I have a high pain tolerance."

She had nothing left to say of her clumsiness, she did not care to get into a tiff with the stranger.

"What's your name, anyways? And what could you possibly have found intriguing about this park? It's filled with people. There's hardly any way to enjoy the nature. What's left of it, anyway."

Alex smirked at her laugh and said, "Well it seems you do have a sense of humor." He looked at her his eyes held a look of mischief in them.

"Well I tend to give more sincere apologies when I'm not confronted about how it was my fault." He chuckled softly as he looked around the park then back at her. "I'm sure you do but you obviously prefer not to be touched by a stranger I understand. Sprains are exactly anywhere my field of work but because of what I do I made sure I know first aid on a basic level."

"My name is Alexander MacAlaster, what is yours? Everything is intriguing when your in a country different than your own. Yes it is filled with people, some of them are oddly dressed but those are the ones are prove to be the most interesting. If you ever visit Scotland you'll see green almost everywhere you go. It is a beautiful country," He said as he flipped to a new piece of paper but seemed to be doing not much with it. His hand flew over across the paper with skill and grace. When he finished he showed her the paper, it was her but she wasn't on a bench instead she was standing against a tree. She was smiling the smile he saw on her face. "There's beauty in everything, you just have slow down long enough to see it." He said smiling at her softly.

Alana was slightly put-off by Alexander's tenderness, especially after a situation such as before. She straightened her back and turned her eyes toward the pond in the distance. The birds had since flew away, and a few puffy clouds had rolled in, and the dark clouds were still far on the horizon. A slight breeze tousled her hair, she carefully ran her fingers through it to get it out of her face. Even if her ankle was sprained, it was an easy fix, and she wasn't particularly worried about it.

"Alana York," she said bluntly, "it's a pleasure to meet you." Sarcasm had nearly become a second language to her, but the words still rang true. He seemed like the type of person that she would like, but then again she couldn't be so sure. She still didn't understand why he was being so gentle all of a sudden, but it made her more curious as to what kind of person he was. There were ways around getting to know him without him having to get to know her.

Alana listened intently as he scribbled on his pad, stealing a few hidden glances at him. She had hoped he didn't notice, for she was studying him again. It was a tendency, her way of evaluating her surroundings or a person of interest. She scoffed quietly to herself at his comment about beauty in everything. There was certainly not beauty in everything, not to Lana, at least. But she looked at his notepad and saw a drawing of what looked to be herself sitting under a beautiful tree, it was a wonderful drawing, not that she cared to admit it.

"So, an artist? You don't strike me as the type."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss York." Alex said smiling at her softly. He stretched out his legs then brought them in as he leaned forward. His arms rested on his legs, "So what are you doing dressed as you are walking through a park? Is it the short cut to where your going?" He asked as he looked at her, his expression was thoughtful. "I mean your walking in a park where most people are dressed in jogging clothes or something different. Your in a plum colored dress with heels and nylons. I know that you have to know that you look gorgeous in that dress but I'm just curious as to why cut through here."

"I don't strike anyone as the artist type, but I like to draw. I usually draw pictures of the kids that help in charities and give them the pictures. I don't do it for money just as a hobby." Alex said smiling as he then sat back against the benches back. "What would people not strike you as the type to do something?"

"Well, perhaps I have somewhere to go, other than this park. I have things to do." Alana was not comfortable telling strangers where she was going, and she was not about to start now. "Of course I know, I wouldn't be wearing this if I thought otherwise." It was true, she was very aware of her own beauty and it's effects on others, they made it easy to manipulate, when needed. She may be quiet around new people, but she was not shy in the least.

"So, you like to draw for fun, and you chose possibly the most boring place to do so," Lana pointed out, "I would imagine an artist such as yourself would choose a more eccentric environment to paint a picture." The only thing surrounding the two were joggers and young mothers with strollers, nothing particularly exciting. The nature was pretty, though. Piles of grey snow covered the grass and clung to tree branches, making the sky appear far more blue. "People tend to have a certain aura, you can usually tell certain things about people by simply looking at them."

Alana sat quietly for a moment to think. She was amazed at Alexander's patience to simply sit and watch people. Granted, Lana could do so splendidly at a bar, but not at a dirty park. The bar reminded her of a certain thirst she had, firewhiskey would be lovely now, but she did not want company, at least not with this man whom she hardly knows anything about.

"So, Alexander," She crossed her legs beneath her, and she hardly noticed her ankle anymore, "do you just sit here all day people-watching? Because I could think of other things to occupy my time than this. I would go mad if I sat here watching the same runners go by all day."