An Encounter

It was a nice day to be in Russia, in Bonnie's opinion anyway. The cold was disconcerting - she was used to Tropical air still, living where she did - but she was starting to get used to it. Wrapped in enough jacket to be dwarfed by it all, her gloves were fingerless and tucked just within her sleeves, a wool hat pulled low over her blond hair. Her eyes sparkled from beneath them, however, trying to see through the torrent of snow to the entrance of the shop she could see ahead. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but it seemed warm enough, and perhaps a brief recluse from the weather would let her continue her journey.

Rushing forward, she wasn't really focused on where she was going, and so wasn't prepared for the other being she slammed into. Her hands went forward, trying to catch her balance and she stumbled backward, boots slipping over snow.

For one of the first times in her life, she had lost her balance.

Cai looked the necklace over. It was his sister's, an old family heirloom that had been passed down to the girl. The clasp had been broken, so the had it in the shop to be repaired. Caius had volunteered to pick it up.

Closing the velvet case, he pocketed it and walked out of the shop. Right into the path of someone else. The man reacted quickly, catching the woman about the waist before she could fall onto the slushy street.

"Merlin - I am so sorry," Caius apologized as he set her back on her feet. He peered into her face. "Are you alright? This is... terribly embarrassing. I'm usually quite a bit more graceful."

Bonnie blinked up at the man before her, giving a slight laugh at herself and pulling off her wool hat to try and get some oxygen into her lungs. "Merlin." She mused. "It's been ages since I lost my balance like that. Sorry." Her blue-grey eyes sparkled with mirth before she shook her head, blond hair shaking around her.

"Must have been a fluke then." She grinned, nose red with cold and eyelashes heavy with frost. "Not quite used to the Russian winter yet, you see- oh, but you're probably very busy... don't mind me." A rosy red blush flit over her face, and she shook her head again. "Sorry, sorry, rambling..." She shifted her weight between her boots, before looking up at him again. "Excuse me, then, for my clumsiness I'll just- oh! Right. I'm Bonnie." She held out a fingerless gloved hand, smiling again. "I promise I'm not usually this scatter-brained, I think it's the weather. I like the tropics."

Caius gave a quiet chuckle. "Well, it certainly is cold this time of year."

His gaze took her in. She was pretty, the winter flush of her skin comely - and he certainly noticed - but that wasn't what was happening in his mind. He was analyzing her, the action so second-nature it was impossible to tell he was doing so (even for himself, sometimes). Caius didn't look at her any longer than the average person, but he had taken in far more details about who she was and who she was portraying herself to be.

"It's Cai," he returned, shaking her hand. "How about you let me get you a nice hot cup of tea? Thaw you out a bit." He gestured toward a nearby cafe.

Bonnie hesitated, blue eyes gazing longingly at the tea shop as she shivered. She took a long moment to examine the watch on her wrist, gazing at the old fashioned silver thing as if it would tell her more than time. "...I suppose one won't hurt, will it?" She smiled again and nodded. "Nice to meet you Cai. And a nice thaw out sounds wonderful." Quite frankly, warmth sounded wonderful, and she was willing to go anywhere of the sort.

"Lead the way, Capitaine."

Cai gave a cordial grin. "It wouldn't hurt at all," he said. He offered his arm for her to take. It was a casual gesture, something that he often did with his sister.

Leading the way into the cafe, he navigated towards a small table. He motioned that she should order first.

"So, if you were someplace warm, what brings you to this part of the world?" he asked conversationally.

Looping her arm through his, Bonnie smiled, enjoying the simple gesture. She'd never-

Sitting at the table across from him, she smiled charmingly at the waitress, her blue-grey eyes sparkling. "I'd like an orange spice tea, please." She ordered politely, in perfectly accented Russian. It was unconscious, the switch between languages. The woman looked Russian, and had asked in that language, so she had just... switched. "With sugar on the side." Folding her hands together, she focused back on the place she was in, taking in the comfortable setting and smiling. It reminded her of home.

Slowly, she began shedding her layers, taking off each and every one until she was left in a form fitting long sleeved cotton shirt and jeans. Flexing her fingers, she smiled again. She felt much better now, more graceful, extremely light.

"I was looking for- or rather, visiting family." One. She thought, tugging the edges of her sleeves down over her palms. "What about you? Do you live here?"

Caius tilted his head minutely at her language switch. It wasn't that he was surprised she knew more than one - most people did, these days. It was the flawless manner in which she had switched, language and accent both. He knew it could be mere coincidence, but most people didn't switch with such ease.

He had ordered his own tea - a simple cup a black - and turned his attention back to her.

"No," he answered, "actually, I'm Norwegian. I was just picking up something for my sister. Have you spent a lot of time in Russia, then? Visiting your family?" He hadn't missed her little slip up. His gaze settled on her in a way that could have easily just been him appreciating her beauty.

Her eyes lit up happily, and she smiled. "Norsk." She murmured, almost to herself. "Lighter than Russkiy and smoother than Nihonjin." She smiled, raising her voice back to a normal conversational tone. "Norway is a nice place, yes? I like the way the fjords sparkle in the sunset." Running her fingers through her blond hair, she smiled again. "I don't really stay in one place for a particularly long time, especially so far from home." She shrugged a shoulder. "Norway is as good a place as any, I suppose. Better than most. Better than here, I reckon."

Her eyes flickered to the waitress, who was still quite a ways off, and shrugged again. "I don't like the cold." She repeated, a small wrinkle appearing between her eyebrows. "Hold on. Aren't you going to get sugar for your tea? You might as well get coffee, if you're going to get it black. Tea is made to be..." She paused, as if suddenly self conscious, a slight flush taking over her features. "Nevermind."

Spoiler:

Caius smiled politely. "I do think it's beautiful," he agreed. "I'm a bit bias, though. Lived there my whole life.

"Sweet?" he guessed, chuckling a bit. "I don't really care for things that are sweet, actually. I mean, I don't dislike them. I just... don't miss them."

He gave the waitress a polite nod as she delivered their tea. "Thank you," he told her.

"Must have been nice." She said softly, her voice almost wistful. Her mind flashed to the sister he'd mentioned, and her focus went down to her hands, playing with her fingers to the point of almost obsession. She glanced up at him once, before she looked back down at her hands. When their tea arrived, she murmured a quick thank you, not noticing the accent and language change to Italian, as was her regular method of thanks, bringing the drink to her lips.

"No sweet tooth?" She asked, her eyes returning to him. "So you've never had a sudden urge to consume as much sugar as physically possible?" Her eyes swept him, and for the first time it was apparent she was taking him in, all her other observations having been at least hidden.

"It was," Cai confirmed, noting the wistfulness in her tone and the way she played with her hands. He wondered if the fidgeting was connected to he wistfulness, or not. The man wasn't wholly certain either way.

A small grin pulled at his lips. "Not really. Occasionally, I might have a craving for some fattigman or lefse. I like salty things better, really." He took a sip of his tea, amused, as she gave him a thorough look-over.

"Everyone needs a little sweetness in their lives, silly, or things get mundane." She looked up at him after a careful sip of her tea, a small smile playing on her lips. "You work with animals?" She asked curiously. "Or... a regular gardener. That's my guess." She smiled, fully this time, running her fingers through her hair once more. Slowly, she reached across the table, giving him plenty of time to pull away before she took his hand. Turning it palm up, her fingers traced the time-worn callouses there. Her fingers paused, before moving to his forearm and feeling the muscle. "You must do a bunch of physical activity daily, yes?"

Glancing up at the boy, a slight flush spread across her face, and she let go of him rather abruptly, going for her tea instead, and draining it in one scorching gulp. Briefly, she debated slamming the cup to the ground and yelling for another, but that was possibly something to be left in the comic books. Instead, she gazed after the waitress in an attempt to pull her closer, though she knew it wouldn't work. Half glancing at the boy again, she smiled sheepishly. "So... what's your favorite animal?"

"Groundsman. The outdoors without the gardening, really. Occasionally work with animals, but not often," he replied, watching as she reached forward to take his hand. "I do. Rather a lot.

"You're rather astute," Cai remarked, gaze settled thoughtfully on her face, "very attuned to your environment, too. Taking things in. I'd wager that not a lot gets past you. Your mastery of language is rather impressive, as well, meaning you probably travel often. It's the most logical explanation for the way you adopt not only the vernacular, but the manner in which it is spoken, as well."

Cai broke off, giving a nervous chuckle. "Um, that is... what I would speculate," he said a bit apologetically. Noticing that she had gulped, he gestured to the waitress to bring her another.

"I like hippogryffs, myself. Though, our family has several dogs I'm rather fond of, as well. And you? Do you have a favorite animal?"

Bonnie glanced up at him from her newly refilled tea, blue-grey eyes sparkling with something undefinable as she listened to him. "You don't seem to miss a lot yourself." She noted. "You look at a person and see everything about them, don't you?"

A small flush of pleasure at his words flit over her cheeks before she smiled again. "I do travel a lot. Never stay in one place for long." Her smile almost turned sad before she caught herself. It was very nice, here in this cafe with Cai. The way he spoke, the things he noticed made her feel as if she were shining from the inside out. If only it could happen again...

"I like Nifflers. I found one in a forest once when I was younger and kept it as a pet. Mum and dad weren't exactly pleased, but they were more amused than anything else since-" She smiled slightly, surprised that her guard was down enough that she'd almost made a connection out loud. "well, to put it nicely, I wasn't exactly big on sharing." Smiling fondly at the memory, she allowed him a brief glimpse behind her mask, as if, for a moment, there was something else there, a normal human being with a family.

"I like languages." She was suddenly very conscious of the fact she was still talking. She'd been talking for ages hadn't she? He was probably so annoyed with her... "The differences between them are what really interests me. The way some are smoother and others feel weird on your tongue when you speak them and others feel so odd when they're trying to untangle themselves in your mouth." She reminded herself to breathe, and faltered slightly. "...you know? You seem like you'd know a few languages."

"Not a whole lot," Cai agreed. "More than I'd like, sometimes. Most people aren't too hard to figure out. Makes them a bit dull, really. Every now and then, one meets someone more interesting."

The man laughed. "Nifflers are rather lovable pests, aren't they?" he grinned. He watched her a moment, saying on impulse, "That would be your best one.

"Languages are rather fun to learn. Very useful. I know... nine, I think." He paused to count them off. "No, ten. And I'm learning Mermish with the student I tutor, sometimes."

"When was the last time you met someone more interesting?" She asked lightly, resting her elbow on the table and cupping her face in her hand. "You make it sound so rare."

She grinned again, a light flush flitting over her cheeks as he agreed with her. "The best pet I ever had." The girl glanced up at him again before pulling her focus down to her tea, taking a small sip. She looked up once more her grin faltering. "My best what?" Confusion clouded her vision as she gazed at him.

"Mermish?" She made her way half way through a mermish sentence, the words slow and hesitant. She had only picked up a bit of Mermish once, and she was no where near good at it yet. "Sounds fun."

Caius hummed thoughtfully. "It's been a few months since I met the last person I found interesting; before that it was two or three years. Didn't really meet enough people prior to that to find anyone very interesting," he replied. "I tend to find the world rather... dull, a lot of times. My tutors had difficultly keeping my attention during my education.

"Your best smile," he replied, taking a sip of his tea. "It felt the most you."

Chuckling, Cai replied hesitantly in the same language, then shrugged. "It's a rather odd tongue, isn't it?" he mused.

"Maybe you need to find a new past time?" She shrugged a shoulder. "No need for anything to be dull. Just try thinking of it... differently." She offered him a small smile eyes sparkling impishly. "Or, maybe you need more interesting friends?" She shrugged again, bringing the tea to her lips and finishing it off. Gazing down at the empty cup for a moment, she sighed, the pocket of her jacket burning through the back of her seat. She glanced up at him, something in her rebelling against her nature as she set her teacup down and placed her hands on her lap, smoothing down the fabric of her pants. She was fidgeting slightly, belying the internal battle she was having with herself. Whatever she decided to do next, she already didn't approve.

Her lips tried to tweak up into her smile once more - just for him - but her mind won over, and she was just another girl once more.

"I- that is to say- I-" She blushed, her fidgetting reaching its zenith before she took a deep breath and went still. "I would hope to see more of you, you know? I don't have many friends and-" She fidgeted slightly again, glancing down for a brief second before her eyes caught on the watch once more. Her eyes stayed on it for a long moment, and then she was in motion, up and out of her seat before most could do more than blink. "I have to go." She started pulling on her outer layers quickly, fumbling with fastenings and zippers until she didn't know which side was front and ended up more flustered and tangled than earlier thought possible.

Caius ducked his head a bit sheepishly. "I don't have friends," he said. "I can count all the people I knew growing up. Some of them were family and the rest were staff at the manor." He watched her for a moment, noting the manner in which her fidgeting increased.

"I would like that," Cai smiled. Frowning as she rose abruptly to her feet, the man also stood.

"Hey," he said softly. He reached out hesitantly, pausing to say, "Just... don't slap me or anything, alright?" Grabbing the edges of her jackets, he helped to straighten first one, then the next, deftly zipping and fastening until all her layers were back in place.

Caius then looked up to meet her gaze. "You alright?" he asked.

Bonnie paused, confusion clouding her expression before her gaze dropped decidedly downward. "Why would I slap you? You haven't done anything..." She relaxed slightly, almost against her will, though she was more than tense. She glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, cadet grey eyes shimmering with something unreadible as he helped her.

"I'm-" It was impossible to meet his gaze, and she didn't know why. She reached into her jacket pocket, her eyes flashing toward his then away. "You're a great- I'm a terrible person, alright? Here!" She tossed the case of the necklace he'd had in his pocket at him, running past him and into the snow. She felt terrible boots sliding across a patch of ice as she spun on her foot, disappearing with a crack of apparation.

It wasn't until she was gone until she realized his hand was on her arm.

Cai gave a small smirk. "Never mind," he said. "Just something that happened before."

Momentary confusion crossed his expression at her words. Deftly catching the case, he immediately recognized it, not having to look down to do so. The weight, the shape, the feel of the case - it was Flora's necklace. A second or two later, the case was pocketed again, and the man pursued the thief, his form winding easily through the crowd.

She had escaped the shop, skidding into the street. Caius was right on her heels. Reaching out a hand, the man took her by the arm - just as she turned.

Cai always had detested side-along apparation.

Sunshine.

If there was one thing Bonnie had missed during her stay in France and Russia during the winter, it was that. The rocking of the wooden deck beneath her feet was sabotaged by the hand she could feel wrapped around her wrist, and thus they were only on that small sailboat for a half moment, and then they were gone again.

The shade of the trees was almost refreshing. It was hotter here as well, though Bonnie was almost completely sure it was the extra layers she had. Tuggin on her arm, she finally allowed herself to look up at the boy, her eyes going from the ground to his expression.

"You weren't supposed to catch me." She muttered. "You could've been killed."

Caius shook off the lingering unpleasantness of two side-along apparating sessions. He let her pull her arm free. His expression remained blank.

"I've always been one to take my chances," Cai responded placidly. "Had you stolen from anyone else in my family, you'd be looking forward to losing a hand." He reached into his pocket and withdrew the necklace case, holding it up between them. "Now, tell me honestly why you gave it back rather than make me hunt you down and I'd be inclined to remember I am not my family."

Emotions warred inside her, though her expression stayed just as blank as his did. She watched the movement of the necklace case much like a cat watches a mouse, and her fingers flexed, though she kept them at her sides. "Had I been anyone else in my family," She countered. "I would have taken it, sold it off somewhere, and never would have been found again. It's been done before." She rubbed where he'd grabbed her subconciously, wondering if the feeling eminating from there was pain.

"I don't know." She admitted, her voice dropping. Her eyes swept the treeline, and then she was looking at the ground again. "I- just don't know." A slight flush spread across her face, and she shifted her weight slightly, a frown taking over her pout. "I don't take family heirlooms. That could be it, I suppose."