A Celebration of Sorts {open}

[Astrid Cersei]

Strolling down the streets of London was a female Shape Shifter who was feeling much lighter than she normally did. She had been out since about eight o'clock that morning and it was just past lunch time. It was a day of celebration for her, for every year on the day she killed her father and finally freed herself, Astrid Cersei spent the entire day out.

It was a tradition she had begun a couple years after her father's death and, since she always felt so free on that particular day, she saw no reason to ever stop doing it. Astrid knew it was a terribly morbid thing to celebrate, but after about four hundred years of captivity, emotional damage, and physical damage, the Shifter felt she had a right to celebrate the freedom she had given herself. With numerous shopping bags stuffed in the back of her new town car, the little red and white Smart Coupe, Astrid began to search for a place to eat. Leaving the car parked at the last place she had shopped, Lady Cersei began wandering along.

She knew she would most likely end up sitting in some bar munching on fish and chips with a pint, but she figured she would look around for a bit. She looked lovely, with her eyes extra bright from the happiness and the shopping. Her brown hair, freshly cut and style, blew lightly in the breeze. Her trouser jeans hugged her every curve and, further accenting her body, was her simple purple long sleeved shirt. Gracing her feet were black snakeskin pumps.

All around her, people wore coats of some sort, some even had scarves on. The Shape Shifter, though, kept her body warm by using a trick she had learned a while ago. If she kept her body on the edge of Shifting into any of her forms, her body followed the laws of the animal she kept in mind. For her, her snake would be a bad idea for she would be very slow from lack of sun. For her other two forms (since she had yet to perfect her fourth), Astrid just kept a hawk in mind. If another would touch her, it would feel as if the warmth of the sun was shining directly onto her skin; it made for a very pleasant day.

Finally spotting a place to eat, Astrid set her sights on a small restaurant simply called Giraffe and began walking towards it. With food in mind and almost-Shifting being partially concentrated on, Astrid wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around her.

[Aryl]

Aryl walked with her hands clasped behind her back, walking down the sidewalk by the road. Her golden eyes had faded to a shade of amber mixed with brown, but the same mischevious gleam glowed there, because the faerie had nothing better to do than cause mischief. A breeze tossed her locks of ebony hair around her pale, elvin face. Aryl was dressed in a simply, black dress with no sleeves, wearing a lighter colored jacket draped over her slender, fragile frame. The faerie hummed pleasantly under her breath, her eyes traveling across the scenery in an unfocused sort of way.

She saw the Coupe pull up on the curve, and her eyes narrowed. Well, well. Aryl could tell what she was without drawing closer, and switching tunes, she trailed along behind Astrid, keeping about two yards behind. The sun was bright but put out very little warmth, but to Aryl, the cold made her feel more alive. She paused infront of a shop window, checking her reflection in the glass. The faerie frowned, her humming cutting off abruptly, and stepped back off into an alley, into the shadows of the buildlings.

Aryl ran her right hand through her hair and the color changed, looking like dying running in streams through the straight locks. The hair lengthened by nearly an inch, now chesnut brown instead of silky black. Her eyes were different too, a shade of vibrant green flecked with gold. Aryl stepped back out into the street, and checked her appearance once more.

"Much better," she murmured to herself, glancing up to see where her quarry had gotten to. She was standing infront of a restaurant. Reclasping her hands, Aryl stepped up after her, pretending to examine the menu. Multi-shifter perhaps, but Aryl had gotten rather rusty at being able to tell.

[Astrid Cersei]

Striding past the woman who was standing and examining the menu, Astrid sensed immediately that she was not human. It didn't bother her, having other non-humans around, for she was just thinking about having a peaceful day. Causing no harm to others, Astrid saw no reason to be a threat to others. But this might not have been the case for that other woman.

As she thought of that, Astrid requested a table in a corner and sat with her back to it so she was able to examine the entire room with one quick glance. She felt safe sitting in that corner, and didn't care if she was just being paranoid. Oh well, she would act however she wanted to, especially today. Astrid looked beautiful and felt confident and, if anything else was around, she hoped they were only there to give her a good laugh. She had had enough destruction in her life, today was her day of peace.

"I'll start off with a pint and some fish and chips," she told the handsome waiter pleasantly. He grinned in return and Astrid felt good, happy to have picked a place to eat with some attractive help. It was always so nice to flirt with the humans. They were so innocent, so beautiful in their own way...

But Astrid allowed herself to get distracted and had to glance around the room, scanning for that woman again. Her body didn't register any different heat signatures, so she though she was perhaps fine. She wasn't that naive, though, and she lowered her own body temperature to closer to that of a human so she could better register any heat changes within the little pub.

[Aryl]

Aryl, from the corner of her eye, saw Astrid's studying glance, but a moment later the shifter was whisked into the dining room by an extremely attractive waiter. She gave him a long look, eyes still gleaming mischevious, and she settled into a table just two yards away from the shifter. It was dangerously close, perhaps, but Aryl lived for danger. As she stepped inside, she could see the shifter's searching but dazed look around the dining room.

The faerie stretched, ordered a cherry coke and a side of grilled shrimp with a fruit salad. When it came, she dipped an apple slice into yogurt almost absent-mindly, stirred it, and popped in her mouth. She shifted her position, her eyes now a silver-tinted blue, and stared at Astrid. It wasn't a focused look, more like...gazing past her through the wall into the next room.

"Ma'am? Would you like more to drink?" Aryl realized she'd finished her coke, and returned her gaze to her own server, a petite little waitress. The faerie nodded, restraining her glamour and keeping her eyes from changing color again. What was up with me today? she wondered, bemused, and played with a strand of her chesnut hair. Astrid was looking at her, and Aryl allowed herself to look back. She considering inviting her over, then declined it. Nope, that would be the shifter's move to make.

[Astrid Cersei]

Ah, there she was! Astrid made eye contact with the ever-changing woman and knew it was her. Her eyes shimmered in a way fully inhuman, and it made Astrid grin. This game was fun. It was making the day much more interesting.

As her handsome waiter walked back over, Astrid informed him that she was going to move to the table with the woman who seemed to be following her. He complied, following her with the beer and setting it down as Astrid sat down as if visiting with an old friend. Winking at the waiter, Astrid took a sip and watched him walk away before returning her full attention to the being... Faerie, she was sure of it. The glamour made it rather obvious, but Astrid hadn't taken the time to think of it until now.

Increasing her body temperature once more, Astrid wondered if the woman could tell the difference, or if it was only something Astrid really noticed. "Come here often?" the Shifter asked with a grin. She was in such a good mood that she figured a little banter would make the whole situation even more interesting. Of course, what she really wanted to know was why in the world this Fae had chosen to follow her.

[Aryl]

The shifter was looking back at her, and Aryl rippled her fingers in a sort of wave before Astrid joined her. The fae returned the grin, sipping at her coke as she looked back at the shifter. Gah, she was half-flirting with that waiter. Aryl half-chuckled under her breath, her sapphire eyes positively glowing.

"Hmm...every now and then," Aryl replied, looking a little disoriented as her eyes rapidly changed colors. When they settled, they were a shocking shade of violet blue. Aryl propped up her chin with her clasped hands and looked back at Astrid before holding out one of her hands. "I'm Aryl," she greeted. "And who might you be?" After a beat, she continued with more questions. "What do you..." For want of a better word, Aryl thought. "Specialize in?" Hope she doesn't feel weird about me already knowing that, Aryl said to herself.

I could totally pull off that haircut, she thought, taking in the shifter's full appearance. She looks so...happy. Aryl's eyes flicked down to her salad, which didn't look entirely appetizing at the moment.

[Astrid Cersei]

It was pleasing to Astrid to skip formalities about knowing they were each of non-human descent and it brought a twinkle to her eyes. "Astrid," she replied regarding to her name. Taking a sip of her beer, Astrid watched the woman's eyes change colors and found herself a bit surprised; was there something wrong with the Fae?

"Oh, I specialize in... animals, you could say," she replied, shaking her head after being thrown off by Aryl's eyes. She was unsure of how to work what Aryl was, so she just said is softer. "Fae, am I correct?" She inquired, hoping she didn't seem rude. It was just so obvious to her than she wanted to make sure her senses were still on top of things. Realizing that the alcohol was making her feel odd combined with her quick-beating heart, Astrid slowed it down a bit and her body cooled once more; she liked being in a different state of reaction, but being a bit more "human" was suitable for the time being.

Munching the last few of her chips, Astrid pushed the plate aside and bit her lip as she waited for Aryl to answer. What Astrid wanted to know was if this woman had been following her, or if it just happened that they both wanted to eat at the same place... Still a bit paranoid, I suppose, Astrid thought, not really caring if she was or not.

[Aryl]

"Pleasure, I'm sure," Aryl murmured, taking a long sip of her cherry coke and fishing a shrimp from the side of her plate. Astrid was trying to figure out what she was, and why the fae couldn't keep her eye color straight. The violet was now more blue than anything.

"Yes, faerie is correct," the fae replied, brushing a strand of chesnut hair out of her eyes. At a touch, the strand turned ebony black, but the rest of her hair stayed the same. She grinned. "Unfortunately, I do have a bit of a problem with the glamour, as I'm sure you've noticed." Her eyes flashed brilliant saphhire. "Can't keep my eyes one color for very long, it makes me so irritable." Aryl popped the piece of sea food into her mouth and chew thoughtfully, eyes glazing over and looking past the shifter.

"Animals. What sort of animals, in specific, if you don't mind my asking," Aryl added, looking not at all abashed. "And then I'll answer some of the questions I see lurking back behind your eyes, if you really want to ask that. Unless you have to be somewhere." Aryl glanced out the window. The day was growing longer, with the sun glittering through the front window. Tonight, she'd walk the streets, maybe visit a club or two and find a group to talk to.

[Astrid Cersei]

"I noticed the eyes," Astrid admitted with a small smile. "What animals? Hawk, falcon, cobra," she replied nonchalantly. "I've got a bit of Fae blood in me," she explained. "Gifting me with multiple forms. I'm actually working on a fourth right now, but it's quite a challenge." With a smile, Astrid shrugged. Glancing up, she saw the waiter coming back over and decided she was a little more hungry than she had first thought.

"Can I have the house salad and a water?" She requested, the waiter smiling and going to place her order. "So tell my Aryl, what are you doing here in London?" It was just a courteous question, no ties behind it; Astrid just liked to know why others were here. Of course, for her, it was just a beautiful place and part of her heart and home. For others, though, there were many different reasons and she loved to hear the stories.

Most of the time, though, Astrid shied away. Today was different, though, for she was in a good mood. Thinking of it again, today was her day. Birthdays were not important to her, but the day her father died was very important to her. Morbid yes, but as her salad came, the mobidity of the day disappeared.

[Aryl]

"I love falcons," Aryl gushed, her eyes flickering, but the color held. At least, for the moment. She fished another shrimp off the side of the plate and suddenly felt not at all that hungry. The fae replaced it on the tray and paused, allowing the waiter to refill her coke. She sipped it, and winced. The cherry was almost overpowering. Her eyes turned bright red, making her look like a hungry vampire.

"My mother lived her, a very long time ago," Aryl replied. "I grew up here, but we moved to Paris for a few years, and then she died. But I hadn't decided to visit until a few days ago. This is my first day back. I figured if it was home for my mother, it could be for me too." She took another sip, swallowing quickly so not to let the taste stain her taste buds. "Fae blood...From what side of the family?"

Curiousity was probably the Fae's most overpowering personality, save mischief. Fortunately for the shifter, Aryl wasn't in the mood for a good prank. That's come tonight, in a club. She was very good at impersonating other races, and playing vampire was on her list of things to do. Hopefully, she'd be able to escape without getting bitten....