Pretence

[Arielle Lemaire]

It had been four long, agonizing months. After graduation Arielle set off on a journey to find herself. She never knew where she was going to end up, with who or where but she was determined to find somewhere. This was her time to figure out what she wanted from her life and she wanted to make the most of it. Anywhere that was away from home was good enough, as long as it was luxurious, and most certainly warm. Currently Arielle was trudging through a thick layer of snow on the outskirts of Moscow. Her journey of following mere acquaintances around had led her here, even if she was now alone. They had ditched her for some kind of club and Arielle being too good for clubbing refused to go. She was apathetic about this whole ordeal. At first travelling alone was exactly how she envisioned it, and at first she thought it would stay that way. But as soon as the eighteen year old ran out of cash things quickly changed. She began selling her stuff, piece by piece and slowly her belongings thinned down to the clothes currently on her back. Arielle shivered. Never in her life did she think she would end up in Russia. If she had any idea she would end up here she wouldn't have sold all her coats in Florida. She huffed, kicking at the snow. At this point she was over ruining her boots, she just wanted to find somewhere warm to stay the night so she didn't freeze to death. This was the last leg of her journey and she knew it. If she didn't find anything else to sell or anything to keep her journey going, her last resort would be to return home. Even now after four months on her own, going back was like a death sentence to her. Already she could tell she'd end up the same person she was before she left. If Arielle had a choice, she'd never let herself go back to such a dark place.

Arielle looked up from her boots to see a small building. Finally. Now she didn't have to face the cold any longer. It was a pub and definitely not her usual choice of accommodation, but anything that kept her from the cold would do. She opened the door and walked inside, immediately faced with a wall of warmth. This was far better than she imagined. It wasn't dank and smelly, or full of overweight middle aged men playing pool. It was rather the opposite. The place wasn't a five star joint but it was cozy enough to spend the night. Arielle strode to the bar and sat down to order a glass of water. A cup of hot coco sounded divine right now, but lack of funds forced her to stick with water. Tomorrow she would figure out her next move, in the meantime she was happy sitting here at the bar, glass of water in hand.​

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[Tobias Markovic]

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<FONT font="Verdana"><COLOR color="black"><SIZE size="50">It wasn't the people there or the beautiful scenery that surrounded all who lived in the area; it was the familiarity of it all. Here in Moscow, it felt right. Well, righter than normal certainly. The man sat back in his seat, the limousine cruising smoothly along the snow packed road to his parents' house. In all reality, his mind rarely felt any better. Everything was still horrible, everyone was out to get him and no one could be trusted. No amount of time spent away from home was going to fix that. But he was working on it anyway. While it wasn't likely going to end anywhere significant, at all. The driver hit a pot hole, jarring him from his train of thought, and the gentleman felt the smile fade from his face. "Robert, turn the car around. I've decided I'm not going to visit mother today." Tobias said as he eyebrows furrowed. It was a beautiful day, there's no way he'll let his mother ruin today. Even though it's been a month since the last time he saw her, he even wondered if she was seeing her therapist, the new one of course. "Where to?" Robert asked. "The usual." he muttered under his breath, hoping to get drunk. It didn't take long before the limousine stopped in front of the famous pub he adored, not only was it a pub but his client owns the place. Every month he would deliver them cases of their new wines that the Russian seems to adore, even the foreigner visited the pub because of his own products. Wearing his newly ordered black coat, Tobias scrambled his feet and went out of the car; outside to the freezing weather. "This will take an hour.. make it three. I'll call you when I need you." he signaled his driver as he before he entered the pub. There was no arrangements between them, his driver could do whatever he wants in three hours, as long as he should pick him up on time.

It wasn't a surprise when the pub was packed with different nationalities, Englishmen on the left corner near the windows, Germans on the right and the usual clients remained on the bar. "Hey Ricki, I'll have the usual. Keep it coming." he spoke to the bartender as he took his seat on the bar. Minutes after he finished two drinks and laughed at himself for still not being drunk, it's like after all these years of being in the industry he was immune to alcohol. He was lucky, unlike his mother. Withdrawing his mouth as he was about to took a sip of his drink, his attention was shifted to the girl who just entered the pub. It was obvious that she didn't belonged here or that in any way she'll fit in. Even a few eyes darted their way to her, Tobias' eyes stayed glued on her as she asked for some water. He watched every movement she made, trying to keep it cool as he gulped another ice cube, playing it with his tongue. The typical him would have made a move by now but he decided to wait for the right time, just a few more minutes will suffice. Just when an old hog was about to approach the stranger, Tobias swiftly made his way towards the girl. "This spot is already taken." he snickered to the man and turned his back. There was nothing he could do, but accept his fate. "One hot chocolate for the girl." he ordered Ricki, without leaving his eyes to the stranger in front of him. There was no doubt that she's definitely attractive, a reason why he decided to swarm her with his attention. "You know, the water won't help to warm you up, princess." he told her as another glass of whiskey came his way along with a steaming hot chocolate, he pushed the mug towards her as he took another sip of his drink; it sure would a interesting night for the both of them.

Out of Character:

The lighter shade of gray is Tobias speaking in Russian and the darker shade is him speaking in English.

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[Arielle Lemaire]

To be inside in the warmth was comforting. Although Arielle had to downgrade from her usual five star accommodation to keep from freezing to death, it was worth it. This place was cozy, warm, inviting. It was perfect, if only for the night. In retrospect Arielle would rather stay here than drinking with strangers in a foreign night club. The mere idea made her shiver more than the cold ever could, she was too classy to be seen in such a demeaning place. She sipped her water, it was cool and refreshing, almost everything she needed. The only thing her water wouldn't do was warm her up. Russia was a climate she never prepared for, her boots were ruined and her hair a mess. On a normal day she'd be angry about this but tonight she felt oddly comfortable with the whole ordeal. Travelling had definitely changed her, be it good or bad she wasn't sure. One thing was obvious, Arielle was no longer so closed off. To a degree she managed to get along with others now. The brunette still felt a chill, she would have loved to sit by the fire all night, warming up and enjoying solitude until morning. Unfortunately the small area around the fire place was already occupied by a group of men. Her only option was to stay at the bar, taking small sips of water until they left. Asking them to move would prove difficult, even with the aid of magic. There were six of them and one of her. There's no way would they move if she asked them to. For the most part she was focusing on herself, blatantly ignoring the other bar patrons. She didn't notice the figure at her side until they threw a derogatory comment her way.

"You don't think I know that?" Her gaze shot directly to the man. Arielle always stood up for herself, never had she been afraid to show her backbone. On the road she'd learned to deal with *******s. Much like her father they'd try to take advantage of her, use her, make her feel inadequate for purely selfish reasons. Insistently she never took any of their crap, tonight was no exception. No matter how devilishly handsome this guy was she wouldn't let herself be patronized so easily. Her brow furrowed, another off handed comment and this guy would get it. Without hesitation she'd dig her claws in and show what her inner Slytherin was made of. She opened her mouth to speak, silenced by the hot chocolate pushed her way. He ordered this for her? Immediately she regretted her harsh tone. "Um. Thank you." She took the cup in both hands, sipping it gingerly. The sweet liquid warmed her from the inside out. She smiled. This definitely hit the spot. It was a kind gesture on his part, still Arielle didn't trust his intentions. The brunette had a hard time believing this was merely an act of kindness. He must have wanted something in return, they usually always did. "I'm Arielle." She thought it appropriate to introduce herself. Until this man voiced his true intentions she was happy to play nice and flirt a little. Licking her lips, she took another sip from her cup. "And you are?" Her gaze remained glued to his features. This man was gorgeous, she had no shame chatting to him, keeping him around for a little while. Time would pass by quicker that way.

ooc: i'm sorry. love you.​