Sketching (Open)

[will]

"I think your lessons more then paid off."

"Aye I like to think they do," He grinned at her as she linked her arm with his own before turning to lead her towards the cafe. He would be glad for the hot drink and the company wasn't all that bad, even if he hadn't planned on his day off being spent in such a manner. His grin did turn into a grimace at the mention of his boss but he wasn't going to let it ruin his good mood. Magneto wasn't exactly the best person to work for and William had done several things he wasn't particulary proud of since he had moved into the Brotherhood house but that was the life he had chosen to lead right now so he couldn't really complain about it- besides, he had done all those things willingly so there was simply no way he could say anything against the man.

"Well William, I do believe we will get along famously." Another grin passed over his face as he turned his head to look down at her. He hoped they got on, she seemed nice enough and it would make the time pass nice and fast for the remainder of their time spent together. As they got a little closer to the cafe he noticed that she seemed to have a spring in her step and he wondered briefly if she always walked like that...he himself tended to walk around with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched as if blocking the world from his person. It was a bad habit that had only been taken up when he had left home, before then he had never had a care in the world. He supposed part of it was leaving home and partly because he was ashamed of the things he had done since moving to America. Land of the free his arse.

He pushed all thoughts of Magneto and the Brotherhood to the back of his mind and concentrated on the cafe they were coming up to at last. Pulling his free hand out of his pocket he pushed open the door and held it open for her so she could go inside first before following in after all revelling in the warmth that blasted his face as he did so. Ah, that was so much better! Moving to the counter he considered the menu for a moment before turning to Anna. "After you," He told her before looking back at the menu for a little longer and once she had ordered placed his own. "Tea please...with milk." He didn't trust these American cafes not to add the milk. In fact he wasn't even sure he was keen on the tea over here but he didn't really fancy coffee and he wasn't a fan of hot chocolate at the best of times.

[Deleted]

Kiara had tried to get away before they'd noticed her. Of course, one of them had crazy sharp eyes and had spotted her. Even in jeans and a new jacket. She'd even put on a pair of black sunglasses before she'd left the manor. The scarf must've given her away. It was the same one she had worn the last time she'd been interviewed. Damn press...

"That's what I'm doing out here," she said politely, hiding her irritation. "I'm looking for a place to set up a stage for the concert in a few weeks. It's around Christmas, just before, actually. I'm spending Christmas day with my uncle." Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She looked at it. "I've gotta take this," she said, making an apologetic look toward the reporters.

"Hello?" she said into the phone. It was Scott. "I'm in the park. I'll be back by dinner. I'm not like those others! Come on! Once I get done with these reporters..." She looked around. The reporters had vanished. Never mind. They're gone. Okay... Okay... Jeez, tell him to chill. He knows I'm not stupid enough to do that around civilians. At first it was because my fame would be shot if my fans found out the truth-" She saw the small group, but was unable to tell if it was just two or three people. "Look, Scott. I'll be home by eight. Promise. If not, ask Uncle Charles to look for me. I'll be home by nine thirty at the absolute latest. See ya then." She closed her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. She hadn't tied her hair up. Maybe that had tipped off the press? Whatever. They were gone now. That was all that mattered.

Kiara saw that she had ended up at a cafe. She went in, happy to get out of the cold. "A small cappuccino," she ordered. She sat down at a table, taking her sunglasses off as she went. She saw the pair approach. The man seemed to have something on his mind... The woman didn't seem to notice.

[annaharper]

Anna felt the swell of victory as she got a return smile. She was glad that they were getting along and seemed to be making some sort of progress. The coat had been comforting, but had also had a sad feeling to it. She found herself working a bit harder then she normally would to get William into a good mood. It was a strange feeling to take active interest in someone else's feelings. Anna wasn't necessarily a mean spirited person, but she tended to be a bit selfish in her day to day life.

Anna gave a quick thank you as she entered the small cafe and was mildly amused that apparently some people still hold the door for others. It was a pleasant surprise. She approached the counter and gave the barrista a speculative look for a moment before ordering a large tea with no milk or sugar. Anna was a huge fan of coffee when she was pulling all nighters at work, but preferred tea on a normal day. She waited for William to place his order and led them to a small table close to the window. It was close enough to hear when the orders were ready but not too close to the throng of people inside the small cafe. Anna liked the cozy atmosphere of the place and started to unwind her scarf from her neck and unbutton her own coat.

"Warm at last." She commented as she folded her coat and placed it on the back of her chair. She was glad she had opted for a dark blue cashmere sweater that day since it helped keep the new found warmth in. It also had matched quite nicely with her grey slacks and sky blue heels. She was glad the season's colors were actually complementary to her for once. If orange ever came back in style she might just die. Anna realized she was thinking to much about clothes again, and instead let her attention be drawn to William.

"Strange question, but that kid over there. Bit familiar to you too? I can never keep those little idols straight."

[will]

As they moved towards one of the empty tables William pulled off his own coat as she removed her own and once at the table he hung it coat over the back of the chair before sitting down himself. She was right, it was lovely and warm in here and despite the fact it was his own silly fault for not wearing a jumper he was glad they had come inside if only because he could spend a little more time with the strange woman. Not that he was against her being a little weird as it made a nice change in his day but he was still intrigued all the same- it was odd that someone would be so interested in an item of clothing and not the person wearing it but he liked that. "Much better," He agreed with her as he crossed his legs and rested an elbow on the table before setting his chin on his hand.

Turning his body slightly to the side he made it easier to keep an eye on the counter and the barrista who was preparing their drinks and wondered just how long it took to make a decent cup of tea- it wasn't like she had to actually boil the water with a kettle! And it didn't take any effort at all to dunk a tea bag into said boiling water.

"Strange question, but that kid over there. Bit familiar to you too? I can never keep those little idols straight."

He turned his head slightly in his eyes to follow her gaze before looking back at her with a shrug. "I donnae know her," He admitted, "But I donnae take much interest in all this modern music." He was much more interested in a good bit of classical music and that was when he actually had the time to listen to it. When he wasn't listening to music he was always reading something classical- he was a great fan of Shakespeare and still carried a copy around with him in his jacket pocket...again it was mostly because of his sister and he loved being able to read it and be reminded of a time when things were so much simpler. He missed that but he couldn't change it now. His thoughts were soon distracted by the girl at the counter calling their order and he got to his feet before going to collect it.

Despite what they had said outside the cafe he still pulled out a crumpled ten from his back pocket and handed it over. "Keep the change lassie." Picking up the cups he moved back to the table and handed over Anna's cup. "I donnae know how anyone can drink it like that." Referring to the fact she had no milk or sugar with it.

[Deleted]

Kiara watched the strange couple as they ordered their teas and sat down. She looked away, then heard the woman say that she looked familiar. Recognized, but not remembered. That was how young idols like Kiara were to the adult population. Especially since Kiara hadn't performed since the fire... She shuddered involuntarily, then looked around for something to get her mind off that horrible day.

Kiara heard the man say that he didn't keep up with modern music. Maybe he prefers classical? Kiara guessed. She shrugged off her jacket, revealing a neat, forest green tee. It was plain, no text or pictures. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a hair band. She quickly put her hair up in a low ponytail, then went back to her cappuccino. She glanced again at the couple. Something just wasn't... right about them. Maybe they were mutants too? Where did these mutants stand, though, in the divide between humans and mutants?

[annaharper]

Anna didn't really notice how long the drinks were taking. She figured that if they took very long it might be the other people's orders in front of theirs or simply that the people behind the counter taking their sweet time. Either way, Anna was sure he could wait the extra few minutes. Although, Anna did peer over to assess the line of people in the place. It wasn't very long, but with the fancy drinks people ordered now it was likely there were drinks that did take a while to prepare.

"Not a fan of the modern music then? Me neither. To be honest, I'm a jazz or big band girl. My mother used to love dancing to it in the house." Anna replied with a smile. She had gotten to the point where talking to people about her mother was doable if not a common occurrence. She remembered how her parents had used to put on some Frank Sinatra and whirl about the parlor together. Back then Anna had seen them as absolutely perfect and in possession of that unattainable grace that came with the confidences of age and experience. Anna had idolized her worldly mother and so had taken after her in many respects including taste in music.

When William went and payed for the drinks before returning, Anna gave him a wry grin.
"I guess you win that point." She referred to before when she had offered to pay. He was a proper gentleman indeed so it would seem. When he commented on her tea she chuckled and shrugged.
"Well we tend to drink it slowly. It being so hot and all." She joked. As she took a sip she felt her scarf slip from the back of her chair and with a subtle hand gesture half hidden by the table, she willed it back to it's original position and was glad very few people in the cafe would be watching them. Anna wasn't self-conscious about her abilities, but she didn't see the need to tell the world.

[will]

He gave her a sly grin as she told him he had won a point for paying for the drinks, "Well, grumpy boss or no I can't help but be a gentleman....what can I say? Manners were drilled into me." He gave a shrug before taking a sip of his own drink, allowing the hot liquid to slide down his throat- it was a little too hot but it tasted pretty good although it would never compare to a good old fashioned cuppa from back home. The tea over here was just not in the same league which was a shame as he would probably buy more if it was. "No bad," He muttered to himself as he took another mouthful.

William had always prided himself as being sharp eyed (although he did miss somethings that were probably obvious to everyone else) and he didn't miss the slight hand movement Anna made- although he wasn't really sure what it was for but he figured it wasn't to just relax the joints. Ah, he wondered if perhaps she was keeping secrets from him like he was of her, although he was hardly going to say anything right this second. One simply couldn't go about accusing people about being a mutant because for all he knew she was as human as most of the other people in this cafe. He was also a little afraid of giving himself away. Not so much because he wasn't proud of what he was but more because he just didn't want to call attention to him right now. Had he been with the Brotherhood he wouldn't have been able to enjoy himself right now...he would have been too busy making sure no innocents got stuck in the crossfire.

He took another mouthful and chose to forget about the fact he would be going back to reality at some point today. Shame really, he hated fighting all the time. Just once he would like to take a day off without worrying that Magneto would call him up as it were. One day he hoped that he would find someone to settle down with and have a family- it was just a dream right now however but he liked to dream.

"I do believe we are being watched lassie," He commented as he turned his head ever so slightly to the side so he could look at the girl who had come in after them. He didn't know why she kept staring at them but it probably wasn't for any good reason.

[Deleted]

Kiara blinked when the man looked over to her. She smiled and looked away. She had seen what the woman had done. The woman was definitely a mutant. Kiara had seen her scarf fall, only to be returned to where it had been when the woman made a gesture with her hand. She stood up, leaving a tip on the table, and walked over to them.

"Sorry to bother you," she said politely. She looked at the woman's scarf. "I was looking at the scarf. It's a beautiful color," she added quickly. She smiled slightly, then turned to the man. "Actually, I'm leaning more toward country music. I'm Kiara, but my stage name is Nova. I'm holding a concert in a few weeks in the park, if you want to come. It's going to just be a local thing." She looked out the window, but only for a moment. She decided to give them a hint to the fact that she was a mutant. If they were also mutants, she reasoned, they'd pick it up.

"Uncle Charles doesn't think I've had enough time to get used to Bayville," she said. "But nothing really surprises me anymore. What with my uncle being the founder of the Xavier School, and all." She turned back to the table she had been at, noticing that she'd forgotten everything she'd come inside with. She went back and grabbed her jacket and sunglasses, then turned back to the couple.

"I'd love it if you decided to come to my concert," she said with a smile. "Sorry for bothering you." She began to make her way to the door, but stopped. She quickly went to a table, unintentionally near the pair, and sat with her back to the door. "Don't they ever take a break?" she muttered. A network van had parked itself outside the cafe. One of the reporters had tailed her. She'd be lucky to get out without being noticed.

[annaharper]

"You are absolutely charming." Anna said without too much inflection to give away if she was kidding or not.

Anna then raised one eye brow at William when he commented on the tea. She had already figured he wasn't from the states based on his accent, so the comment wasn't a surprise. Anna had been to Europe with her parents when she was young, and she had never had been able to not compare the experience to everything else afterwards. Anna had absolutely loved their trip and had told her mother that one day she would buy a house in every country and simply rotate all year in order to live everywhere. Now it seemed a bit silly, but Anna wouldn't mind taking another long trip after she established herself here and had a career to speak of. The money would never be an issue, but her ambition kept her rooted where she was.

"Watched? So it would seem." Anna spoke with a hush. She flipped her hair behind her ear to give herself an excuse to turn her head and glance behind her quickly with her peripheral vision. It was the young girl she had mentioned earlier. She had to be someone because the familiarity was definitely there. Anna turned back to William and gave another smile.
"Perhaps she is a spy. You in possession of any government secrets?" She joked with a small laugh. She also tried not to think about whether that meant the girl had seen her small slip with her scarf. However, when the girl approached and spoke, Anna knew that she must have.

"Crimson is coming in this season. You've got good eyes." Anna said with a sharp glance at the girl. She looked her over thoroughly and tried to judge if she was any threat. When she got the name Anna realized she had heard the girl on the radio the secretary at work had been listening to. She also had most likely seen her on TV or in a paper. That would explain why she looked so familiar.
Anna nodded politely at the mention of a concert but she tilted her head at the mention of the school. She knew the name vaguely but had always thought it another one of those exclusive private schools. She thought it over as the girl started to leave but seemed to stop and sit down at the last minute. Anna leveled a coll gaze at her and with a sigh gestured her over again. Anna remembered the news fallout when her mother died and wasn't about to let some poor girl have some reporters hassle her. Anna couldn't believe she was getting so soft.

"Come here doll. They won't come in with no room to park their silly cameras."

[will]

"Perhaps she is a spy. You in possession of any government secrets?" He gave a small chuckle at her comment. "Well, you donnae know that...but if I told you I'd haveta kill ye." Despite the fact it was obvious in his voice that he was joking, in his head he was cringing slightly- He supposed he could technically be called a spy if anyone were to get down to it...he was afterall very good at sneaking about when he didn't want to be seen. But this was not the time or place to be thinking about his work with the Brotherhood.

Pity fate seemed to think it would be funny to throw a teenaged sized problem right into his thought stream. As the girl introduced herself as being the neice of the Charles Xavier he very nearly gave an hysterical laugh. She was the great man's neice? The man who Magneto faught against at every turn? Dear god why couldn't he just have a day off where he didn't have to think about the side he had chosen and the fact that at one point or other he would probably end up fighting this wee lassie? He must have done something pretty bad to be given a life like this. However, despite his mind reeling at the thought of being so close to someone Magneto would be interested in meeting (and Will was perfectly aware he probably would get a day off if he 'introduced' them) he didn't show anything more than a small smile and a nod in her direction, having completely missed the rest of what she had been saying. He had vaguely heard something about a concert although he didn't know what he was nodding at- had he agreed to go?

"Don't they ever take a break?"

He followed her gaze and took note of the van that was currently just outside the cafe. Well, that was interesting. She must have been more popular and well known that he had realised- although seeing how he hadn't a clue who was until five minutes ago it wasn't really all that surprising. He did however give a mental grown as Anna invited the kid to sit with them. Well, great. So much for trying to get to know the woman a little better...how was he supposed to work his charm when stuck with a kid? Don't get him wrong, he adored kids but there was a time and place to meet them and being stuck with one in the middle of his day off was not either of those things. Damn it all to hell.

[Deleted]

Kiara smiled with relief when the woman offered her a seat. She gratefully took it, noticing the change in the man's position. She remembered that people shifted and changed their posture unconsciously when their feelings changed. She got the feeling that this man didn't want her to be here... He was going to try something on this woman.

"Thank you," she said gratefully. "It's been crazy since the fire a few months ago... But you've probably heard all about it by now..." She looked away, her features darkening with the mention of the fire. She sighed and closed her eyes, the day flashing before her in still shots. The window shattering... Running to her father's room... The wall catching fire... The beam collapsing on her... Then waking up in the hospital room the next day...

She shook herself mentally. "Anyway, I really do appreciate this," she said quietly. "Now that they've learned about my come-back concert, there's going to be no rest until New Year's." She scowled at the news van. "It's actually somewhat pathetic. The idea that I'm their best story... Jeez... They must not be doing as good a job as they were a few years ago..."

[annaharper]

"So secretive. I guess you hook all the girls with the air of mystery then?" Anna asked with an eyebrow raise. She did have a bit of a fondness for spy movies, so she enjoyed the banter. She had always loved the classy femme-fatales who somehow could kick ass in killer heels. The overall feel of those movies reminded her vaguely of her mother who could stop a man with a single look and who always seemed to be hiding some delightful secret just under her smile. Anna had tried the look thing, but had stopped when her brother had explained she looked like she was having a small seizure. Perhaps it came with age.

The minute she invited Kiara over, Anna could tell William was a bit uncomfortable. To be honest, she wasn't to excited to be watching some kid, but she knew what it was like to be hounded by the press. She also recognized why the girl had sounded so familiar even though Anna had only heard her music once or twice. She had read about the fire when the story had first broken. It had been all over the news. The media loved nothing more then harping on tragedy. Anna frowned slightly at the van of reporters from through the window and shifted her seat to put herself a bit more between the window and the girl who had sat down.

"They are hounds on the scent, and behave as such." Anna said with a darker look at the window. However, she quickly replaced it with a smile and tried not to think on past memories. She had been only a child, and the constant questions and flash of lights as everyone clamored for a statement was a memory better left for when Anna was alone.

"William here was just explaining how he is a man of many secrets, none of which he can tell us of course. It's all very intriguing." Anna said with a stage whisper to accompany her smirk.

[will]

Even though Will had gotten the gist of who the girl was -neice of his enemy- he still hadn't a clue what he was supposed to say to her. Had he been from America he might have recognised her from the newspapers but as it was he hadn't really been here for very long and the time he had spent here had been working for Magneto or hiding away from the rest of the world. He really wasn't a people person and the thought of trying to get to the TV back at the Brotherhood was something better left alone as he quite valued what life he had. Of course he supposed there was the internet but again, apart from looking at his sisters social network he simply didn't give a damn about the rest of the world. He wondered if perhaps he should have at least rid a little on the surrounding area before deciding against it- if he wanted to pass as more of a tourist it wouldn't seem so strange for him to not have a clue about the local gossip.

As the girl sat down William took another sip of his tea, preferring to drink that than get involved in any talk the other two might start getting involved in, and he especially didn't want to get stuck talking about past lives as he had a horrible feeling that most of this conversation had taken a very drastic turn in that direction. Why was it so damn difficult to just have a day without having to worry about all this kind of stuff? Honestly he had his own bloody problems to deal with he certainly didn't want to listen to anyone else's! Especially when he didn't even know them.

So when Anna turned the talk to his keeping secrets he was quite thankful for it. At least now he could have a little fun without having to be bored silly. And he could lie. These women would never know the truth from his lips and god help him if he was going to mention being with the Brotherhood in front of this particular lassie! She might go running to her uncle and that was an outcome he really didn't need right now. He daren't think what Magneto would say about it!

He dropped Anna a sly wink over the top of his cup before setting it back down onto the table top. "Well, if I told you all me secrets I wouldn't be nearly as interesting." Although he would be no James Bond...he wasn't good enough for that but he did like to think he had a little mystery about him- it was one of the very few things he liked about his ability- he could appear behind you without even letting on or perhaps follow you about all day and you be none the wiser. He was very good at his job.

[Deleted]

"Everyone has their secrets," Kiara said quietly. She looked away and saw the news van pull away. She stood up. "Sorry for bothering you..." she said with a slight bow. She grabbed her things and smiled slightly. "My offer still stands... If you want to come to my concert, feel free... I probably won't do any more for a while... Family comes first, and my sister needs me." She turned away. "I... I need to head home..." She dropped two cards on the table. "If you want to contact me, you can do it through my agent." She walked out.

The card was simple. It had her name, Kiara Smith, followed by Nova, her stage name. Then there was a small arrow on the bottom right corner. On the back was something activated by the mutant gene. It showed Nova, followed by her power. However, the address of the Manor wasn't on the card. The number for her agent was the only contact information on the card.

[annaharper]

"If people didn't have secrets, things would get ever so dull. So keep yours and I'll keep mine." Anna said with a smile and a return wink. She could tell the girl had her own past and Anna knew better then to push or be nosy. In fact, Anna felt that sometimes people needed a day where they could leave all that behind. Keeping in touch with this sentiment, Anna kept the mood as light as she could with her joking tones.

When Kiara got up Anna glanced to the window and saw that the reporters had left. Most likely to pursue some other poor soul with their cameras. Anna gave the girl a kinder smile then she usually gave out and glanced at the offered cards on the table.
"You were no bother. I do hope you evade those pests and have a nice day." Anna said. She was surprised her tone was genuine, but put it down as lingering sympathy for the girl. She didn't think she would go to the concert, if only because her job kept her quite busy, but she might check in on the girl if she had the inclination. She found that she could understand the feeling of a loss a a young age. Anna also found she was a bit glad that she would be able to go back to being less of a softy when the girl was gone. Anna felt uncomfortable with her new found empathy skills which she had previously had thought were severely underdeveloped.

When the girl had turned and started to leave, Anna looked back to William. She shrugged as if to say that she was unsure of what to think of their new acquaintance and then moved her hand to pick up the card.
"That was an interesting conversation. Poor thing looks like she could use a drink. Not that I'm advocating underage drinking of course." The joke was given with an airy laugh before she found the card with her left hand and raised it to give it a look over. Curious about the small arrow on the corner she flipped it over and was surprised to see more writing start to appear.
"Oh!" She couldn't help but let a small sound of surprise out when she read what it said. She had known there were others with special abilities, but she had never met one face to face. At least not to her knowledge. She dropped the card in her shock and was puzzled to see the words vanish by the time the card hit the table.

"Please tell me you saw that too."