Sketching (Open)

[annaharper]

Anna had never been one for committed relationships. She had dated casually a few times in college, but couldn't ever really find the will to connect with anyone long enough to make it last. She had been told more then once she was cold and she took it lightly and with enough grace to simply accept that she wasn't meant to settle down anytime soon. She also had trouble being disappointed or sad about any of her failed relationships and perhaps that was the most telling sign. She figured if she had really wanted that, she would have cared more when it didn't work out.

As they walked more towards the populated areas of the park, Anna thought about some of the relationships she had had. While not emotionally attached in any of them, Anna had always liked the early parts of the relationship best. She had enjoyed the thrill of the idea that it could develop into something more. It was only after it didn't that Anna closed up. She liked the idea of romance, but she had never found the right person to really put the effort into it.

"My boss is a designer. For clothes. She owns a pretty large label." Anna said. In all the excitement of meeting another mutant, she had forgotten that there was more to life then one's abilities. It was a strange thing to have forgotten her job which she sometimes considered her whole life. It had not been an altogether unpleasant feeling. She pulled her mind back to listen to his suggestion before grinning from ear to ear.

"That's a marvelous idea. She would love it, and no one else will think of it. You are fabulous!" Anna said with a bright tone in her voice that was fairly new for her. She could already see the miffed faces of the other assistants all toting identical contrived gifts with them when Anna strolled in with something original and completely fitting with the seasons trends. It would be absolutely priceless. The image had Anna stopping and taking William's hands in her own.
"You have brightened my entire day!"

[will]

Well he couldn't have stumbled upon something so useful if he had tried. How was he meant to guess so correctly on clothing? It had been a wild stab in the dark entirely based on the assumption that Anna herself worked with clothing (mostly off the fact she had been sketching and her ability itself) and he was glad that he hadn't made a complete fool of himself by suggesting the Cashmere- he supposed it wasn't really something many people thought about and from what he knew about the brand itself it wasn't very cheap. He supposed if you were able to order it from Scotland and get it delivered here then paying for it wasn't really going to be much of an issue...Had he not been so afraid of returning home he might have possibly offered to get it himself but he wasn't sure he would be able to travel somewhere so close to his own hometown.

"You have brightened my entire day!"

He had been quite happy to help her and had even shown her the power he possessed but something about the way she smiled so brightly and gripped at his hands nearly had his cheeks tinge red in embarrassment. He was so unused to being thanked by anyone and having someone who was still so much of a stranger thank him for such a simple gift idea had him fumbling for words. "Uh," He stuttered, staring down at their clasped hands for a little longer than was really needed before looking back at her. "Your welcome? It was only a guess." He played it down, not really believing that such a little thing would get such a big reaction from her. Of course his reaction was more than likely the effect of being on his own for quite some time and not because he was all that shy...well he was was shy but he was unused to being about those who actually appreciated what he might say or do.

[annaharper]

Anna couldn't help but smile more at William's reaction. He looked so unsure of how to react to a thank you, and it was endearing. Anna couldn't help but wonder how often people really showed appreciation for him. Anna knew that nowadays people were unlikely to thank anyone wholeheartedly. She herself realized she must overlook people on a daily basis. To think that a thank you could have such an effect was a bit humbling. Anna couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed as well for her very forward actions.

"It was a very good guess." Anna replied to his answer. This time she didn't remove her hands quickly. She was aware that a few people around them were looking in curiosity, but she hardly ever payed close attention to people watching her. Growing up in her family meant knowing that people were going to notice you and one was never above a bit of attention. Anna instead just let her gratefulness show naturally on her face.

"I shall be the envy of the Christmas party this year thanks to you." Anna said with a quick squeeze to his hands. She then let go, but remained facing him. She could already feel the excitement of once again coming out ahead of her coworkers and it felt like a small victory. Unfortunately Anna had never been a team player, so she was hardly one to let an opportunity go wasted. In fact, she was highly looking forward to the smug grin she could wear to the party. Anna guessed that she could justify her pettiness by remembering the people she worked with would do exactly the same given the chance.

[will]

"I shall be the envy of the Christmas party this year thanks to you."

Well at least he had made someone happy today so he supposed he should be happy with the outcome even if he barely knew the woman- it wasn't often he could please someone and if coming out with such a simple idea was satisfactory for her then he would take it as a little victory for himself. Besides, it wasn't likely he would get such results from anyone else any time soon and since he was planning on returning home in the near future it was even less likely as he tended to avoid his team mates like the plague as he wasn't so very keen on them and they even less so of him.

He was glad at any rate when she released his hands as he to had noticed the people that had started to stare in their direction- he assumed that they thought it was some sort of lovers moment or some other such nonsense and as a result was happy to no longer be giving such an illusion...she might be attractive but he had no desire to be putting ideas into peoples heads. So once his hands were free they were quickly put back into his pockets so it would be impossible for it to happen again unless she either forced them out or he changed his mind about the whole thing. Of course one probably shouldn't assume he was so against physical contact..it was just that he was rather unused to it and as such tended to be very shy about it, and there was also the fact that years of living and working on a farm had made his hands far from soft and gentle to hold and his years of living without a real home had done nothing to improve the softness of his skin. Maybe he just didn't want a woman of such obvious finery and breeding touching someone so much lower as himself. Or maybe it was just his loner instincts throwing up their normal defences.

"It would certainly make for an interesting party," He commented, a smile still on his lips despite the fact he had pulled away from the physical attentions, "I've always thought that good gift ideas can get ye anywhere in life." For the most part anyway...he wasn't so sure a gift would land you a promotion but he was perfectly aware that a good gift to the one you were sweet on would do wonders (and again he referred back to the girl he had dated in school...a bouquet of roses and a date and they had fallen into bed together) and a gift to family members could help make them forgive anything that had happened. Of course, this was not all his experience and he would never live his life based on just this one thing as like any sane person with an ounce of common sense knew that it also took hard work to get anywhere in life and that if all it took was a gift to please someone then they were of a very weak character. If only a gift was all it took to solve his life problems.

[annaharper]

Anna knew she came from a very privileged background. She was also aware that that had given her a very sheltered background for the most part. Even going off to college hadn't changed her much. Many of the people she went to school with had come from similar backgrounds. Anna liked to think that she would be almost completely useless if she hadn't inherited a slightly ruthless side from her father. He was perfectly nice in person, but his business had prospered largely due to his shark like CEO persona. Anna's brother Charlie had the same level headed sense, but lacked the sharpness that Anna shared with her father. Charlie was smart and ran the other division of the company with a keen eye towards the market and without the intimidation her father exuded.

Anna used to have hands that were soft from lack of use, but that had faded when she had come into her ability. Working with fabric all day left a slight roughness to her fingers where they ran over threads and cloth. Anna liked the fact that her work left minute traces on her. It grounded her in a way that made it easier to adjust to the outside world in some ways. It reminded her she was more then her blood lines and family bank account even if most people didn't look that far. By no means did this mean Anna wouldn't use everything she had to her advantage, she just liked having the internal reminder.

"I agree. Although, the party itself will most likely be dull and full of people who I will pretend to enjoy the company of while wishing I was elsewhere." Anna said with a smile. She didn't dislike the people she worked with, but she would rather not spend a few hours trying to be polite to everyone and pretending to find their stories interesting. Surely going alone would mean that there were the few men or women who would hit on her, which was always a bit of a hassle. Anna pondered what type of excuse could get her out of the party early. Perhaps a family emergency.

[will]

"I agree. Although, the party itself will most likely be dull and full of people who I will pretend to enjoy the company of while wishing I was elsewhere."

William could sympathise with her on that front. In his experience most parties had at least one person you didn't want to see, let alone actually have to talk to and the thought of being stuck in a room full of them was enough to want to send him running in the opposite direction. Of course that was probably because he didn't really do people or being stuck in a room with them. He was much happier here in the outdoors where he could get away with little trouble- not that he wanted to run away right now mind you as he found Anna pleasing and rather good company and compared to what he usually had to talk to it was no surprise that he had stayed with her as long as he had although he was getting close to his breaking point where he would want to get back to his lonely existence...through no fault of hers but simply because he didn't like being around people longer than he needed- unfortunately the mentally left on him from being a nomad for so long wasn't likely to just disappear.

"Aye, can't say I'm much of a party person meself," He commented with a small smile at the thought of people trying to socialise with him. He was glad that Magneto had yet to feel the need to send him to any such gatherings although there would probably be a time and place where he wouldn't be able to escape such a fate. He would try and outrun it for as long as possible of course but when it did come he wouldn't go down without a bloody great fuss.

"I don't wish meself in your place that's for sure." He joked lightly as they continued their slow walk to wherever it was they were now heading for and it was as they continued along the path that he happened to glance up to the large clock that was located quite near them (near enough to see anyway) and it was with a mental groan that he realised he would soon have to leave no matter what anyway...it was getting on in the day and he had only planned on being out here for an hour or so and somewhere along the line it had turned into nearly a full afternoon. It was starting to get colder and despite the fact that his fingers were positively freezing he didn't make any move to leave her company- not yet anyway. He did however clench his fingers inside his pockets, trying to get the blood flowing enough to stop the cold from biting too much. Perhaps he should invest in a pair of gloves but as he didn't plan on spending all his winter here he considered it a loss than an investment. Maybe he could persuade the boss man to send him somewhere warm?