|
|
Post by Alyssa Maitland on May 9, 2013 21:33:08 GMT -5
To be truthful, Alyssa hadn't done much to familiarise herself with the place she had made her new home. She knew the area where her apartment was and the odd grid of streets around it, she knew a few of her neighbours names though she hadn't spoken to any of them, and she knew enough to double check the locks on her windows and doors every time she left the apartment; she didn't, however, know much about the broader area. She had been avoiding it in a way, avoiding having to go out to places she didn't know, that fear of change and places she didn't know itching at her every time she thought about going for a walk somewhere or finding a new place to have dinner at. She was in what seemed like a positive mood that day though and she wasn't going to waste it.
The park seemed like a good place to start in with the warm spring weather. Her hair flowed down over her shoulders in light waves, completely natural. She brushed it but as a rare event, left it how it was. If she spent forever curling or straightening her hair, she would never get out the door. She put on a thin blue dress, grabbed a bag to match and made her way out of her apartment. Where central park exactly was, she had no idea. She knew it would be a long walk though, and that thought was seconded as she got maps up on her phone. She didn't mind the walk though and she let her phone guide her to Central Park. She managed not to get too overly lost on her way there. It was a good start.
Inside the park, all the pathways didn't seem to make any kind of pattern. They twisted their way through a forest of trees, picnic spots and a large pond that stood out amongst all the green. Alyssa wasn't trying to go anywhere in particular, she just walked along the different paths for a while, trying to cover the whole park. The sun felt nice on her face and shoulders and the light breeze made walking for as long as she was no trouble at all. She didn't even feel weird as she explored the park, there were a good amount of people around just walking or jogging around the maze of pathways.
She wasn't acting completely normal though, she walked faster whenever there were trees surrounding her and slower when she was out in the open, and it would be obvious to anyone who was watching her. She didn't like forests and even if she told herself the trees were too far apart, the place to open to be anything like a forest she still didn't like the feeling of being surrounded by the trees and the chance that some animal--even if it were someone's dog gotten off their leash--could jump out from behind a tree and attack her.
She was also tense and watching around her, her eyes open for any sign of trouble whether that be some stranger's dog running towards her, a stranger heading in her direction or a demon hanging around (which was what she thought was the least likely). For a nice walk in the park,. she wasn't feeling very relaxed. She was trying though, trying to get used to the place and to let her guard down. There was no danger for a shadowhunter in Central Park when it was middle of the day. She was a shadowhunter for goodness sake, she shouldn't have even been worrying about danger. She was Alyssa though and she was the one who could fearlessly fight off a demon but would run away at the sight of a medium sized dog or someone she didn't know trying to talk to her.
Word Count; 641
Tags; OPEN
Notes; This post is just bad, shows how much I haven't been writing lately. xD
|
|
|
|
Post by katharina on May 13, 2013 5:43:26 GMT -5
The weather being as warm and sunny as it was, was the perfect opportunity for Tessa to go for a walk in central park. She crossed 5th avenue and headed past the street artists offering their paintings to anyone who didn't look detemined to get to their destination. Since Tessa was just walking casually in her flowing skirt and tight top, she looked like she was on holiday and each and every single one of these guys offered to draw "her beautiful eyes" or "her amazing hair". It got a little annoying, because Tessa very obviously did not want to be scetched onto canvas by some random artist.
Finally she found one of the many entrances to Central Park. It was such a lovely park, with its maze like paths and the little ponds all over the place. But even though it didn't look too different from Hyde Park in London, it just didn't feel right. It was too big, too crowded, too New York to be truthful. She tried to get lost in the beauty of nature, walking slowly through the lovely small forests, if you could even call them forests.
When she had walked aimlessly for approximately an hour and a half, Tessa decided to get herself a frozen yoghurt fruit shake and sat down on one of the park benches, taking a sip and tasting the lovely taste of strawberries and mangos. From where she sat, she could over look a hugh part of the park and she loved observing people that felt like they were not being watched. There was this cute little family of four, who were playing some ball game where you tossed each other a ball and said some words, which Tessa couldn't make out. But it seemed like you lost a point, each time you dropped the ball.
The family reminded Tessa of the own family she had had and grief stabbed her heart when she remembered that she had long left her own family behind. She had not kept track of where they were, but she knew there was one Herondale here in New York, that needed her help. An unsigned note had reached her in London, that her help was needed and so she came, but here she was, having no clue who called her and what the situation was.
Her eyes kept wandering amilessly over the parks vast grounds until they focused on a young woman who seemed, just like Tessa, to be wandering aimlessly through the park. On further observation Tessa noticed, that the girl seemed a little paranoid, looking around, as if she feared to be followed. The woman reminded her oddly of Jessamine, with her long blond hair and the tenseness around the shoulders when walking though a park. Jessamine had always feared to be attacked by something in the park and had even once killed a fairy knight or something the like.
Tessa shrugged with her shoulders and turned to her bag, in which she had packed a book. It was just some random throw away book that she had picked up in a book store. Its title read The last Song. Tessa wasn't actually too bothered what she read. In her experience sometimes the most nondescript books could be an absolute treasure. She opened the book where she had last left off, but she couldn't get lost in the words. Her eyes kept creeping to the woman who seemed to be headed in her direction by coincidence. Tessa closed the book with one finger in it to mark the page she was at and went back to watching the woman. She was a curious sight to behold.
Coming closer, she realised that the girl had runes and faded scars on her arms and throat. How odd of a Shadowhunter to look so paranoid, she thought and gazed with hightened interes. Tessa knew, that if the woman noticed her watching it would look very creepy, how she fixed her eyes at her.
When she was withing hearing distance Tessa decided to ask wether the girl needed help. "Hello there. Are you looking for something in particular? You look a little lost...", she trailed off. She didn't like to be talked to by strangers and she guessed so did the girl, but now she had already started the conversation.
______
Word count: 739
Note: Do you care for a word count?
|
|
|
|
Post by Alyssa Maitland on May 16, 2013 1:56:38 GMT -5
There was just something about the feeling of the sun on your shoulders, your arms, your back and burning on your head that could be the most relaxing thing. Alyssa could feel the slight burning on her skin from the sun, it always reminded her of summer in Idris, times when she was still young and her parents would take her out for picnics, dragging her older brother along as well no matter what he said to try to get out of it. She smiled slightly at the memory but the sunshine wasn't doing its job at relaxing her. It didn't even seem to be trying. She wasn't sure she would be able to relax, the longer she spent in central park, the more she just wanted to leave, go back home and spend the rest of the day with familiarity. A good book or some time to dance would have her calm and happy, and maybe she could just come back to the park some other time, maybe bring a book with her and enjoy the beautiful sunshine.
With the thought of leaving in her mind, she started looking for a way to get out and walk back to her apartment. She couldn't even remember which street she had walked into the park from though. If she walked the perimeter of the park, she'd find her way home, it wouldn't be too difficult. She continued with her nervous behaviour as she followed a pathway that looked as if it would lead to a street, she still felt on edge even if she knew she'd be home soon enough. Along the pathway at random points, like along a lot of the pathways she had walked on in the park, there were benches. Most of the ones she had passed had been filled with couples, families, single people all looking like they were enjoying their day so much more than Alyssa was.
On one bench in particular, she could see a woman sitting and reading a book. She had seen a few different people reading books at the park and they'd all made her feel like she should have brought her own.The sight of a book was enough to have her wishing she could enjoy the sunshine with something familiar there to calm her odd nerves. The woman though, unlike the book in her hands, didn't really grab the attention of Alyssa. She looked as normal as all the other mundanes in the park. Curled brown hair, dark eyes and clothes that seemed to be perfect for the weather; nothing out of the ordinary. The woman--awkwardly for Alyssa--looked up and at her. Alyssa wasn't sure if she had ever managed to turn her head so quickly in the opposite direction before. The idea of getting caught staring at the book, the one that was now closed seemed stupidly embarrassing to her.
She kept walking, not slowing down or speeding up and hoping that she would just keep walking on and get all the way to an edge of the park. It seemed like the woman must have caught her looking at the book, or at least noticed Alyssa's odd behaviour. Alyssa stopped walking as the woman spoke, she was almost in front of the bench and folded her hands in front of her stomach nervously. She hated it when people talked to her who she didn't know, an obvious thing knowing that she was as shy as a little kid but she wasn't rude enough to just walk straight past the woman without saying anything. She could at least see the title of the book from where she was standing, it wasn't one she had read or even one she could remember hearing about. She couldn't help wondering if it was a good book.
Moving her eyes to look at the woman, she forced her attention away from the book. The woman had asked her a question so she needed to give an answer. Then she could find her way home. "No, I'm fine but thanks for asking." she said in a quiet voice and with a small voice. If there was one thing she hated more than strangers talking to her, it was her having to be polite and say something back to them. She was just hoping the woman wouldn't try and make anymore conversation.
Word Count; 727
Tags; Tessa!
Notes; The word count thing is a habit, gained it from a site that had a minimum word count so I was always keeping track of how long my posts were. xD
|
|
|
|
Post by katharina on May 16, 2013 7:55:17 GMT -5
It was obvious to Tessa that she had made the girl uncomfortable with her staring and talking. Close up she could see that the girl really wasn't that much younger than Tessa herself looked. It was easy to observe that she kept eyeing the book Tessa was holding, as if it was the only anchor in a vast sea of uncertainty. A nervous energy came from the girl's body, so Tessa wasn't sure wether she should just nod to give a sign that their two-sentence conversation was over or if she should say something more, to make the girl feel more comfortable, if that was even possible.
Tessa decided to say something more, because just saying nothing would feel wrong to her. She just didn't know what exactely she should say to someone who was clearly so uncomfortable. "I usually don't... sorry, uhmm...", what was she supposed to say? Tessa decided to just refer to the Shdowworld. No point in talking around it, if that is where she was headed. "If you are lost on your way back to the Institute, I can tell you what direction you have to go. I only just came from a visit to the Lightwoods. I know that you shadowhunters don't like to admit when you are lost on your way, but it's easier to ask than to just try and find your own way most of the time." Tessa had lowered her voice just enough so that the surrounding mundanes wouldn't be able to hear her talking about shadowhunters. Nothing better than a white lie to make 'Institue' sound less like a hospital, she figured. There was no way she was going to visit the Institute without even knowing who asked her here. She would ask Magnus first.
Maybe that was a little bit too straight forward. Tessa shot the girl an apologetic smile. "Too direct? Sorry, I can never hold back my thoughts" She had defenitely done it this time. The girl must either think she was crazy to be talking so openly to a complete stranger, insane to mention the shadowworld like she did or, which Tessa thought very unlikely at this point, think that she was kind to offer her help like that. Well never mind that then...
Since she had already started now, she thought she should at least tell the girl something about her. "As usual, I completely forget my manners. How times have changed. I'm Tessa". She had decided to introduce herself with her nickname this time, because it seemed less formal and hopefully made this a little less akward for the girl. "I'm a warlock of sorts which is how I can see you for what you really are. Not just any ordinary person, but a true fighter." Tessa had given her voice the most pleasant sound she could muster. All hope of not intimidating the girl had gone. She should just stop talking, that would probably be the easiest option.
So she reached for her frozen yoghurt shake, which she had set down on the bench before, taking a big sip from it. Then she gestured with the book, holding it up for the girl to know what she was refering to. "I noticed you looking at this book. It's a really good one, filled with so much feeling. To be perfectly honest I am reading it for the third time, the characters are portrayed so well." Face-palm, Tessa thought and gave a small laugh at the unvoluntary thought. She gave another apologetic shrug paired with a smile. The girl should do with the situation whatever felt right to her. After all the mess was already too big on Tessa's behalf.
Word Count: 656
Note: Sorry, I just couldn't manage anymore without repeating myself a million times...
|
|
|
|
Post by Alyssa Maitland on May 24, 2013 7:47:12 GMT -5
Alyssa usually wasn't the type of person to care what others thought about her odd behaviour. She was shy, extremely shy, she couldn't help it and she wasn't going to feel ashamed of how it made her act. Saying that though, she couldn't help feeling a bit self-conscience about her actions when she was forced into conversation. Walking around, looking like someone who was suffering from bad paranoia might make a thought cross her mind about how others around were seeing her but it wouldn't really make her worry about that; actually talking to someone though was a whole different story in her book. As she waited to see how the woman would react to her reply, her thoughts wandered onto her small voice and the way that she must have obviously looked nervous, almost scared to the woman. It could turn out to be either a positive or a negative thing for her, depending of what the woman was like: either she would be scared away by Alyssa's behaviour or she'd be all "let's help this poor scared girl" and the second was the one that Alyssa feared would happen.
It always seemed that the worst thing--or what Alyssa thought of as the worst thing--that could happen happened for her. The woman spoke again, starting with a stutter that made Alyssa feel hopeful but then after a pause the woman said the last thing that Alyssa had expected to hear. She almost wanted to laugh at the words,they meant this woman wasn't human and...well, no, that didn't make Alyssa feel any better but she guessed it was better than a silly mundane talking to her. There was a considerable pause between when the woman spoke and when Alyssa opened her mouth to reply, just missing her chance to. She was just going to say that she wasn't looking for the Institute and she didn't need help. Nope, the woman continued talking on, sounding actually a bit nervous.
Not being able to help it, Alyssa kept her lips glued together as a giggle tried to escape thinking on the woman's comment and as she did, she let her eyes wander around the park. Yes, it was odd, almost funny and kind of awkward for the woman to have just outright spoken of the Shadowhunters but it was also not the smartest idea in a park full of mundanes. She couldn't really think of why a Downworlder would be so careless, for a lack of better word, with talking about the shadowworld and the Shadowhunters. Maybe she was a young werewolf, stupid and hyped up on a full moon. Maybe she was just dumb. At the very least, she was lucky, there weren't really any mundanes in hearing range, not any that would have heard the woman's small voice. "Brave idiot," Alyssa breathed, quiet enough that it would be hard for the woman in front of her to hear the two words clearly.
The woman introduced herself as Tessa. "Alyssa," she managed to add in before Tessa continued. So, the woman was a warlock, while Alyssa did think of them as the most interesting of the Downworlders, it didn't make her feel any calmer about talking to her. She was still feeling odd about talking, she was annoyed about how direct the woman had been and basically wanted to get home. "Not just any ordinary person, but a true fighter." The comment was ignored. In Alyssa's mind the only "true fighters" were Shadowhunters. A dog ran past her, it's fur brushing against her leg. Yep, as she squealed she felt so much like a "true fighter" and as brave as a Shadowhunter should be.
Bringing up the book in that moment was probably the smartest thing the warlock could have done. It did bring out some familiarity in the whole unfamiliar situation of the park and Tessa. She listened to the woman's comments on it, saying how it was a good book, that she was reading it for the third time and Alyssa stood there when Tessa was silent again. What could she say? "That's great to hear, I'll make sure to read it sometime. Bye now." She felt rude just leaving now though, Tessa had put effort into trying to get a conversation going and even if Alyssa was shy and didn't like to talk to people she didn't know, she didn't really like to be intentionally rude when she could avoid it. She could "man up" and talk to someone. "Third time? You must be a big reader then." She smiled awkwardly, sighing in her mind at the stupid comment. "And no, I'm not on my way to the Institute."
Word Count; 783
Tags; Tessa
Notes; Alyssa is so awkward to write with her shyness and weirdness xD
|
|
|
|
Post by katharina on May 27, 2013 10:23:32 GMT -5
Alyssa's comment 'brave idiot' did not go unheard by Tessa, even thought the girl had barley used any strength in saying it. The whisper was carried by the wind and rang like a distant echo in Tessa's ears. Due to her being half a shadowhunter she had inherited a better hearing than ordinary humans. Her senses were all heightened just that tiny fraction which makes orientation and the like easier. It was however a hurtful and very unnecessary thing to say, as Tessa had checked, whether there was anyone around who could be able to hear it. She really wasn't that uncareful when talking about he shadowworld and had never accidentally revealed it to a mundane without the sight. As of now Alyssa's comment didn't get a reply though as it had seemed more important to introduce herself than anything else.
A too loud snort escaped Tessa's throat when a dog came running and Alyssa squealed loudly. It turned into a very loud laugh as she thought about her own words, labeling Alyssa as a true fighter. "So much for the true fighter.", she said sarcastically, still giggling. "See while your squealing right there drew quite a lot of attention to us" Tessa motioned towards a small group of Japanese tourists with a quick movement of her head "I was merely trying to blend in here, and talk a little. With all this attention only talking books and boring stuff will be possible. Nothing interesting like what is occurring in our world." Tessa stressed the word intentionally that there was no mistaking what she was hinting at, her tone was however still friendly and had turned back to a none-laughing voice during talking her mind. A lot had been going on and Tessa felt like the drama around the Fairchild/Herondale/Lightwood families seemed to never end and hoped that she would not be pulled into the colossal mess.
While Alyssa seemed to be thinking of what she should reply to Tessa's comment on the book, Tessa took the time to look at the girl properly. She was dressed in a beautiful flowing blue dress that was moved ever so slightly by the breeze, which seemed to be getting stronger and might turn into a full blown storm soon. The forecast had predicted stormy weather for later that week, but Tessa felt the weather change around her. Wind getting colder and the sun seemed to lose some of her strength too. A smile played on Tessa's lips as Alyssa replied. "Oh, yes. I love reading. Back in London I have my own library in my house. I collect books. Only the good ones, obviously. Mostly novels, but I also happen to have a section of very useful fighting books, as my children insisted on it, back in the day." She inwardly sighed at that. Why would she open herself that much to a stranger, that didn't even seem to want to speak to her? Only questions would come from her talking about her children, as usually Warlocks cannot have children. Maybe the comment would go unnoticed. Her mind wandered back to her little house in Chelsea, where she had turned the biggest room into a library and not a living room, as was usual. Each wall was filled with rows and rows of books and there were shelves in the center of the room too, to allow more books. "It's a pain to dust that room though", she added in a cheery tone.
Word count: 606
Notes; I bet my ass that she is a pain! It's hard to reply too
|
|
