swirl no. 1

[autumnish]

She was running. Just a minute ago. She was chasing a bus, because although the next bus wouldn't delay her by more than ten minutes, fifteen max, chasing buses is an inevitable part of Aarhusian daily life. Everybody does it and so, Aki did as well. Then, she turned a corner and now, she has no idea where she is. It doesn't look like the square she was heading for, it doesn't look like a square at all.

In the blink of an eye, she's landed herself in a small, vintage-style cafe with blue-patterned porcelain and highly decorated cupcakes, beckoning for her to take a rest, enjoy a break, it seems like an invitation, the oddest she's received in her life. Aki comes to think of Alice, her great adventures in Wonderland and at the risk of running into her very own Queen of Hearts, she moves over to the nearest of the large armchairs and sits down, gingerly. Lets her eyes follow the many rows of books displayed on the shelves that are hanging on the wall. Touches her teacup with careful fingertips.

Whom might she not be joined by, in a place as dreamy as this?

Comments

[shardofwinter]

Reynard sits still, watching the different expression pass across her face. Part of him wants to ramble on, but he holds his tongue. It's a lot of impossibility to take in all at once. He'd best give her time to work through her own thoughts.

Questions don't surprise him. What surprises him is which question she comes out with first. His brow lifts and then drops and he shifts in his seat.

"A couple of years... I can still go back and forth between my own world, so I'm not here all the time. Just enough to get into a little trouble," he says with a cheeky grin and a wink. More earnestly he continues, "I've seen a lot of this place, and I'm a good guide. If you want a tour I'd be happy to show you, or to answer your questions."

[autumnish]

He can pass between this world and his own? A sudden burst of relief explodes somewhere in the pit of her stomach and Aki lights up, her adrenaline levels resetting themselves and the world falling into place around her. She'll have to see if the same kind of magic proves the case for her, if she's able to travel back and forth, it would only be one more place to claim as her own and grow familiar with, it can't be any worse for wear than Denmark has proven to be. It can't possibly. At least the surroundings are really nice, so far.

So, Aki smiles at him, beams is more like it, accepting his offer without question. She could have used a guide or a friend in her meeting with Aarhus, so if he wants to help her find her feet here, in the Nexus, who is she to turn him away. She knows when she's in need of help, she knows when she needs to work harder to get better. This is such a time and luckily for her, Reynard seems willing to lend her his hand and his expertise. The experience of others is everything, Satou-san had said on multiple occasions when Aki grew stubborn and solitary in her approach. And Aki had learned from her. From the best.

"I'd be grateful to have your assistance, Reynard," she tells him, voice light and airy, the relief still tingling right beneath her skin.

[shardofwinter]

His smile is wide and endearingly mischievous. "Well then. Finish your tea and I'll show you the wonders of the Nexus."

"In the meantime, why don't you tell me a little about yourself," he suggests. Although the ornate cup looks a little odd being handled my a man like Reynard, he happily sips at it, making a sound of approval and then smiling at her expectantly.