New Beginnings (any)

[Anonymous]

It was cold.

The boy shivered, folding his arms about himself in an attempt to maintain some body heat. His black coat flapped about his ankles in a way that stated 'I'm not nearly as windproof as I look' as the boy shuffled down the cobbled street, casting a weary eye to the grey sky. It looked angry.

His current agenda was shelter and warmth, never mind the growling in his stomach, and as such he weaved through the alleyways towards the centre of the town, dark hair smoothed back against his head by the swift wind. At the very least, his frantic search for somewhere warm kept his mind of the primary issue; Tristam had no idea where he was. Heck, he had very little idea who he was. He'd woken up today curled miserably in a doorway, with no money, no friends, and no recent memories of where he might be and what he might be doing there. It was scary, -no, strike that- it was terrifying, disheartening and distressing.

He'd calmed down now though, remembered that this happened quite often. For all he knew he might live here; maybe he'd bump into someone he knew and remember them? No, no, he had a vague inkling that he'd never been to this place before; usually wandering the streets jogged his memories. But this place? It was unfamiliar. And it was very, very cold.

Tristam picked up his pace, heading for the warm light of what looked like an inn. The prospect of a warm room was too much for him to resist and he trotted towards it hopefully. A flood of glorious golden heat rushed over him as he stepped through the doors and the boy sighed, body visibly heaving with relief. Beautiful.

After a moment of basking he looked up, suddenly aware that more than a few people were looking at him. Right. Time for some loitering. The boy moved towards the bar and slumped into a stall. He ordered a glass of tap water, because he couldn't afford anything else and slouched like only a teenager can slouch. His muddy brown eyes searched the room. Nothing familiar. Great. He took a breath and shook the pessimism from his mind. Start again. Maybe things would be different this time...

[Anonymous]

Riera entered the inn, this time as a girl of about 19 years. She had flawless, tanned skin (why not look good when you're a shapeshifter?) and her raven-black hair was tied into a ponytail with bangs in the front. Her eyes were yellow, and had the sharpness of a hawk's. They almost seemed to glow. She sat in the stool next to a boy she didn't know, and ordered a drink. She looked at him, strong eyes expressing some concern. "Hey, are you okay? You don't look too good..."

[Anonymous]

The water was bland and uninteresting, as water tends to be, but Tristam sipped it anyway; it was better that moping about in the cold right?  He took the quiet moment to himself to think- ok. The last thing he could remember doing was hitchhiking away from.. Somewhere. Towards.. Someplace. Eh, it was all pretty futile. He sighed, resting an elbow on the bar and staring off distractedly at nothing in particular. It was fine. Everything would be fine. This wasn't the first time he'd found himself in a strange environment. He'd survive.

He was so lost in thought, in fact, that when the female addressed him he jumped visibly, skilfully and ungracefully spilling some of his glass of water over himself. Great start. The teenager made a quick attempt at wiping the leather dry with his sleeve. Could be worse, at least he couldn't afford something that might have stained. He finally built himself up to look at the woman, cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Great.

She looked a little older than  him, and was very pretty... Not, of course, that that was the sort of guy he was, but it just sort of added to the embarrassment he'd caused himself.
"oh, um," he stuttered, still flushed with embarrassment, and to be honest a little startled that a stranger was showing him some concern.
"er. Yeah. I'm fine..." he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "actualy.. I don't suppose you could.. Tell me where I am?" he gave the girl a nervous smile. "oh, I'm Tristam, by the way"

[Anonymous]

Riera almost snickered a little at him spilling the drink on himself. She offered a friendly smile of her own to him. "We're in Acra. And nice to meet you, I'm Riera. Judging by your question, you seem lost. Have this." She tossed him a small bag with money in it. "I guess it'll help a bit." She smiled again.

[Anonymous]

He repeated her name over and over in his mind, with hope to commit it to his faulty memory. He struggled a lot with names, but it didn't stop him from trying. Riera. It suited her. He laughed when she said he looked lost. Well, she was right, really, he didn't know where he was, which did indeed imply that he was lost. He tended to spare people the long, boring details about exactly WHY he was so lost, and Riera was no exception- no need to bog people down with your past, right?

He was extremely surprised when a coin purse clinked onto his lap. He blinked at it stupidly for a moment before looking across to her. Was she really giving him this?

"oh.. I ... really?  Are you sure?" he was shocked that such a kind person would exist, so freely giving away to help some stranger.

[Anonymous]

Riera nodded, and smiled. "Yes, I am. You can keep it, you probabaly need it anyway." She looked near the door, and saw someone waving for her. "Oh, it seems I have to leave. Nice meeting you." She kissed him on the cheek, and said quietly, "And just for luck." A kiss was a goodbye where she had come from and hoped it wouldn't be too much a shocker. She left and joined the person waiting for her at the door. She'd have breakfast at the inn; she hoped to see him again tommorrow.