The places you feel at home--{Closed

[Charlotte DeLongpré]

Tags - Nathaniel

Today was perfect. There was a fine layer of snow on the ground, it was unmelting and sparkled like glitter. There was no wind, so the cold was just still. The air had the smell of pine needles, the kind of air that just felt good whenever one inhaled. The trees were still clinging to their blanket of snow. It had been this way all day long and Charlotte just couldn't keep herself indoors. She had the whole weekend off, but nothing to do. Which, was perfectly fine by her, she didn't need anything more than the company of those two furry faces who loved her so much and a great novel to cozy up to in order to be happy. Best thing about books were, they could be read anywhere. She hadn't taken enough time to really let her dogs burn off much energy. They got so terribly cooped up inside of the flat while she was at work, and a lot of the time she was so exhausted by the time that she got home at night she could hardly make it through their walk without falling asleep on her feet. She had been neglecting her pets, and it was unforgivable. Luckily for her, there was a park so close to her apartment building that it would be no issue at all taking the time to go there with them. Once she had dressed, and pulled on her coat, she had clipped their leather leashes onto their collars, packed enough things to make a day of it, and had been on her way. The second that they were outside, she could just see their little moods lift sky high. They were loving, but simple animals, they didn't need much to keep them happy. She had to practically run after them just to keep up, which was not easy to do in heels. It had taken some time in the snow to cover the distance, but by the time that they had reached the park, their canine energy hadn't diminished even a little.

She trusted them, enough that she didn't need to watch them every second of every day. They were well trained, and they loved her, they wouldn't run off. So, she had let go of their leashed and they had taken off while she had looked for a place to settle down. Eventually, she had settled on a bench and one she had charmed the snow off of it, was perfectly suited for what she was looking for. She had shifted the way that her cloak had covered her body to where she was sitting on it, and turned her gaze back to her dogs. Ripley and Bex were running about in circles, nipping at the heels of the other. Tiny frozen water particles clung to their golden fur as they rolled around and made playful yelping sounds. She couldn't stop from smiling, if only she could make herself as happy so easily as they were. Her hand wrapped around to the bag next to her, resting on top of her legs. In her purse was a sandwich wrapped in a napkin in case she were to get hungry, as well as two containers holding dog food and some bottled water. She wasn't certain how long she was going to be here, the bench was comfortable enough and she had a book that was good enough to sink into for hours if she so chose. She had been watching the two animals play, their leashed dragging around in the snow behind them, or taking turns walking each other. Her legs were curled up next to her, her dress sprawled out over her black tight clad flesh. She felt perfectly at home in the cold, and could almost feel the pallor of her skin lightening, turning more rosy with her growing state of happiness. Luckily, there weren't any other people around the section of playground that she had claimed as her own. Or else, they might just think that a pink skinned woman was very strange.

She extracted the book that she had chosen today, it was an old favorite, one that she had read so many times over that the binding was starting to fray and the pages had long since yellowed. She didn't open it, rather just held it in her hands, so that it was ready if she choose that she wanted something else to do, but for now she was more than happy to watch them play. So carefree, she wanted to feel like that just once in her life, she found that she was always over thinking things, having to do them for a purpose or wondering what was going to happen because of her actions. Heaving a sigh, she was just going to let herself pretend that she could share their joy, like there was a light shining from inside of her body.

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[Deleted]

I'LL MOVE OUT OF THIS STATE

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you can keep to yourself, i'll keep out of your way
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Everything was still. The remnants of the previous night's snowstorm was startlingly beautiful. The wind wasn't blowing, and the snow was no longer falling; everywhere one looked seemed like a scene frozen in time. Were it not for the occasional call of a tiny robin, it would have been difficult to determine if time itself had collapsed or not. The cheerful red-breasted birds fluttered and swooped, dived then soared; calling excitedly to one another, relishing in the winter months that lay ahead of them. The birds broke the silence in a surprisingly relieving fashion, because for some reason, the silence during winter is almost deafening compared to a silence during the warmer seasons.

One man was grateful for this. Crunching his way through the snow-laiden path ahead of him, Nathaniel Creed took a deep breath, drawing in the sharply chill air, before exhaling in a puff of warm breath. It was refreshing. He hated nothing more than being cooked up in one place for too long, and even more so found great pleasure in being alone. Needless to say, this was the perfect scenario; secluded in a wide open space. Such a scene was not one that he came across very often. Of course the Potions Professor enjoyed company, in fact he loved being in the presence of others, but for the most part he preferred to be alone with his thoughts. Away from others seemed to be the easiest way to get by in life. Besides, people didn't like him much,

Soon the peaceful tranquility was interrupted; the sounds of dogs barking and baying could be heard reverberating throughout the park. Nathaniel shouldn't have expected any less, it was a public place after all. Though not many people around here owned dogs, and almost always avoided this place during the winter months; people didn't seem to favour their dogs becoming increasingly wet and muddy in a snowy park. Nonetheless Nathaniel felt slightly disheartened. He tended to avoid dogs, they always seemed to know. Whenever he'd encountered a dog in the past, the situation always went one of two ways; either the dog would retaliate defensively and consequently aggressively, or they'd turn and flee in fear. They always knew.

Rounding a corner, Nathaniel spotted the two canines - a pair of golden retrievers. Their shimmering coats sparkled with tiny crystals of ice, the snow beneath their paws kicking up into the sky like white powder as they bounded across the open space with immense enthusiasm. Nathaniel's gaze turned toward their owner, she was sat on a nearby bench. He frowned slightly, confused. She looked... Well, different, for lack of a better word. He wasn't entirely sure why, unable to lay a finger on it. Nathaniel was curious about her, yet he was adamant about coming face to face with a pair of particularly large dogs. He was sick of trying to explain himself, sick of alienating people, and more than anything, sick of being a werewolf. He decided to take the route he he'd taken for years; avoidance. Though it appeared futile, he attempted to skirt his way round from behind the woman on the bench in a stealthy manner - the crunchy texture of the snow, however, didn't quite agree.
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