books and sunshine//open

Zelda sighed as she eased back into the park bench. It was ridiculous that she was finding a random park more relaxing than her own home. Of course, it was something that had crossed her mind when she agreed to live with Alex, Nancy and Olivia. It was mostly Alex and Nancy that were the problem, honestly. She loved them to death, but they were just so loud when they weren’t keeping themselves in check. Olivia might have a habit of talking a lot, but at least she was quiet. And, of course, they were all so sweet that it made it entirely too difficult for Zelda to stay mad at them.

She reached into her bag and pulled out one of the books that she had brought with her. To her surprise, it wasn’t one of her many research books. No, it was one of her favorite novels, Pride and Prejudice. She glanced back at her bag, considering pulling out a different book, but shrugged. Maybe it would be a nice change from the usual non-fiction. Just as she opened her book, she heard a quiet voice greet her. She glanced to the side to see a young girl speaking to her. “Hello,” she said, directing her attention back to her book,”Lovely day, isn’t it?”

"California, hmm?" she asked, casting a side glance at the girl sitting next to her,"What are you doing all the way out here?" They were literally all the way across the country form where the girl said she was from. Zelda had a very low opinion of the state of California. It just showed the difference of the cultures, even across just one country. Things were so different in Maine, after all.

She quirked an eyebrow at the girl before directing her attention back to her book, though still willing to listen and talk. A hint of hesitation crossed Zelda's mind, but she pursued the conversation anyway. "I do. Within walking distance, if I ever really felt like it," she said, turning the page of her book. She sighed and opted to just shut her book, figuring that she wouldn't get any reading done now. "Well, what brings you to the park today?"

Zelda had never been a fan of the state of California. She had only been there once – on a trip with Nancy when she wanted to spend some quality time together. It was not long after Nancy’s father had been killed and Zelda didn’t have the heart to tell her no. She had been forced to take more time off than she had really wanted to, from her research, that is. The value of family had been instilled in her a long time ago, though, and she didn’t want to let Nancy down. It wasn’t exactly Zelda’s sort of thing – all the sunshine and heat. She enjoyed the state of Maine’s weather so much more. It really reminded her of home, back in England.

She raised an eyebrow upon hearing the young woman’s response. It was more information than she had really been expecting. What sort of person opened up that much to a complete stranger? It definitely struck Zelda as odd…but then again, although she wouldn’t admit it, she wasn’t the most trusting person in the world. Of course, with what she had endured, it was only to be expected. The young woman’s story sounded very interesting, indeed, though. Zelda couldn’t help but to be intrigued. “He moved and you didn’t stay in contact with him? Why do people think he might be dead?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Zelda sighed and folded her hands on the flat cover of her book. “To make a long story short, my roommates were being far too loud for me to get any work done, despite my asking several times for them to keep it down,” she said, a small tone of irritance creeping into her voice. “I suppose that’s what I get for living with three incredibly talkative people,” she said, laughing despite her annoyance. Perhaps it was the fresh air or perhaps it was the company she was in, but whatever it was, she could feel her annoyance with her family dripping away.

The young woman’s words just sparked Zelda’s interest even more. This friend, whoever he was, had apparently caused enough trouble for enough people that they had cut him out of their lives. Her mind reeled, trying to figure out what this whole situation might be about. Zelda’s initial thought was that it must have been some sort of mob thing. However, she knew that if it did have to do with a mob or a gang, the other people probably would have made sure that the man in question was dead, not just assuming. The thought of something supernatural going on in this particular situation was lurking at the back of Zelda’s mind, but surely someone who was associated with such things wouldn’t be quite as open about it! Or at least, she would hope so. Being so open would be just asking for trouble.

She had the feeling that this was, of course, a private matter, but the woman had offered the information freely. Zelda knew, or at least thought, that she wouldn’t be intruding if she inquired further. If it made the woman uncomfortable, it would be her own fault, after all.

Zelda turned and slipped her book back into her bag – she wasn’t going to get any reading done today, it would seem. Not even reading for pleasure. It was just one of those days, she supposed. You couldn’t win them all. After making sure her book was safe in her bag and it was secure from falling off the bench, she turned back to her companion. “If this person caused so much trouble, why do you want to find him so badly? Do you want revenge or answers?” she asked, correcting her posture before resting against the back of the bench.

Zelda was a perceptive person and there were certain things this young woman was doing that definitely caught the werewolf’s attention. The first thing was coming down to sit by Zelda and not only engage her in conversation, but be incredibly open with whatever her particular goal was. Perhaps it was her way of feeling Zelda out to see if she might help, but if it wasn’t that, then she couldn’t help but see the young woman as incredibly foolish. The long pauses were also a big red flag for Zelda. If the young woman didn’t want to answer such questions, then she shouldn’t have brought up the topic.

And then there was the mention of what these two went through occurring a very long time ago. It certainly struck Zelda as odd, just like most everything else this girl did. She was definitely strange. Zelda was used to strange people – she was in the Garrett family, after all – but not exactly this sort of strange. She was hesitant to further the conversation. After all, the girl might be mad…or perhaps there was something else going on? Either theory seemed perfectly plausible at this point and, frankly, Zelda wouldn’t prefer either one.

“A long time ago? It couldn’t have been that long ago,” she said, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly as she carefully surveyed the younger woman. She didn’t look a day over eighteen! “What was this work you did with him?” she asked, curiously. Perhaps that might shed some light on the subject.

Zelda narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side when she heard the girl’s response. The way she was hesitating every time Zelda asked her a question made it very clear to her that she wasn’t being completely honest. Of course, Zelda herself wouldn’t be completely honest with a complete stranger that she had met on a park bench, but she would have been much more careful with her private business. First of all, she would never have sat down next to a complete stranger on a park bench and engaged them in conversation. Supernatural things aside, it was overall just a stupid thing to do. For all this girl could know, Zelda could be some sort of murderer or kidnapper.

“Hmm,” she said, in response to the young girl’s reply. She was suspicious of the young girl, but she was also growing very tired of this conversation. “What sort of trouble could an actor cause that would make them an enemy of the public like that?” she asked, glancing away from her companion to pull her book out once again. However, when she pulled out her novel, she accidentally knocked out one of her books on lycanthropy at the same time. Her eyes widened and she immediately picked it up and slipped it back in her bag once again. She had no idea if the girl had read the title or not. It was definitely the kind of book that would cause questions to arise.

If she had thought that she might run into someone that would engage her in conversation, she probably would have left her lycanthropy books at home. People tended to leave her alone when she was out in public reading…unless of course, they were unfamiliar with the public cue of leaving people alone when they were reading.