The moon shone on the park, basking it in the cool glow of the white light. Kali had been there since the sun set. He was sitting under a tree, comfortably leaning back against it, his eyes closed and his legs stretched out and crossed. He was the picture of a relaxing male, and if one looked at him, one would never guess that he was a Druid.

He always felt too confined inside, even though his house was quite open, all things considered. So he spent as much time away from buildings and inside in general, preferring the outdoors. Things like parks, beaches, etc. intrigued him, and invited him.

He liked the park best at night, because not too many people, or otherwise, were out. The only things out were things like vampires and werewolves, and they generally tended to not bother with him. He supposed he wasn't interesting enough to spark their appetite.

Which... wasn't a bad thing.

Leah tugged her coat around her more tightly, looking around her cautiously as she made her way down the paths from the University back to her apartment. She hated nights like these -- late evening labs, darkness as she made her way back home, fear attacking her as she leapt and jumped at every rustle of the leaves. It was unnerving, and she could never make it home quickly enough.

She glanced habitually around her, and paused as she saw someone simply sitting under a tree as though it were the middle of the day. She frowned, wondering if he was even all right. He looked perfectly fine. Except that his eyes were closed -- surely people didn't die looking so ... languid. Did they?

She timidly peered closer, moving slowly toward the figure. Was he asleep? It was chilly, he'd catch his death out here!

"A- Are you all right?" she asked, voice weak but loud enough for him to hear.

Kali opened one eye at the sound of the voice. Who would bother to talk to a stranger this late at night, especially one who was sitting under a tree, probably looking dead?

Obviously, this young woman.

Hmm. Interesting.

Opening the other eye, he surveyed her, taking a first impression of her. Small, frightened looking. Didn't make any sense that she'd talk to him.

"Yes," he replied, after finishing his first glance of her.

He wondered if she'd stay if he just remained where he was, and didn't say anything else. He decided to test that wondering, and he closed his eyes again, fully intending to be ignored.

Leah opened her mouth to ask him why in the world he was doing sitting there so late at night, when he simply disregarded her and closed his eyes again. What the..?

She frowned again, her arms crossing over her chest as she heaved a bit of a sigh. "It's cold," she added, voice less weak and more annoyed. "Aren't you worried you'll get sick?"

She watched him, wondering what on earth had posessed him to sit out there alone, in the dark, doing absolutely nothing.

Probably something illegal. He was probably ready to sell some crack or dope or ... or roaches, or whatever it was the hooligans called it these days. Leah was, obviously, a sheltered woman who didn't have the desire to deal with things like that.

"Enjoy your drugs!" she added hastily, flailing a bit as she turned to leave, exasperated.

Wasn't she just amusing? She sounded like a little mother, asking him if he was worried that he'd get sick. Of course he wasn't worried about getting sick; it was hardly even cold enough to talk about. Of course, he couldn't very well just go spouting on about how he didn't generally get cold, because obviously, he had no idea who she was. She couldn't just be trusted.

"Nope, not worried in the least."

He was keeping his answers short as possible, because really, who did she think she was? She was obviously stupid, if she just randomly walked up to people that she didn't know, talking to them. She was likely to get herself killed that way, and Kali wouldn't be any part of that.

However, when she exclaimed something about drugs of all things, he let out a laugh, and opened his eyes, pushing himself fluidly to his feet and striding over to her, crossing his arms as he reached her.

"Drugs? Did you just tell me to enjoy my drugs?" He let out another low laugh, and shook his head. "Lady, if I was pushing drugs, don't you think I'd have tried to push them?"

Leah stopped walking as he strode up to her, and pulled back a few feet. Strange, sleeping-in-the-park men didn't just walk up to her. It was weird, and it was dangerous.

"No," she replied indignatly, jaw set as she glared up at him. "Because I don't look like I'd buy them, now do I? Hmm? No. Besides, I could be a- a cop!" She nodded fiercely, eyes set angrily. How dare he think she would have accepted him pushing his drugs on her.

She calmed slightly, then relaxed as she watched him. "So you're not? Out selling the Apple Jacks or Aunt Hazel or whatever it is you call it?" She huffed slightly, completely unaware that her 'street savvy' terms were ridiculous.

She snorted, eyeing him as he had her. "And what is it you'd have me believe you were doing?"

And why did she even care!?

A cop. That was almost as amusing to Kali as the idea of him selling drugs. Besides, it wasn't any of her business what he was doing in the park. It was a free park, for crying out loud, and random women coming up and questioning him? That automatically put him on the defensive, and he raised an eyebrow smoothly as he took his second impression of her.

Fiery and stubborn. Incredibly aggravating, or, would be, if he was feeling a bit moodier that particular day. As it was, she was just highly amusing, and he knew that she'd probably just gotten lucky living this long with the attitude that she adopted.

"A cop, huh? You're trying to tell me that you are a cop." He shook his head and sighed. "Well, in that case, Miss Cop, I'll take my leave of you."

Rolling his eyes, he turned, and began to walk away, back toward his quite comfortable tree. It wasn't any of her business what he was doing, and he wasn't about to tell her, especially if she was a cop; which, he highly doubted.

Settling back down on the ground, he leaned back once more and eyed her. "Go on, shoo. Get back to your... cop duties, or whatever the hell you were doing before you deigned to bother me."

Leah's mouth opened indignantly. Well... No, she wasn't a cop. But just what made him think she wasn't? She looked down, remembering that she was quite the small package. And that she wasn't nearly forceful enough to be a cop. Oh, she had fire, she was demanding, but it was usually more out of her own emotions and not because it needed to be done.

Like now.

"I didn't say I was a cop!" she retorted, fists balled as she strode back to where he lazed back against the tree again. "I just said what if. You know. And -- and..."

She stopped, brow furrowed in frustration. She had nothing else to say, but a loud, sound 'Argh!'

She didn't even know this guy and he's already distressed her more than anything had in a whole week. "Fine! Sit out here and catch your death, see if I care!" She waved her arms dramatically, then rolled her eyes and turned to walk away.

However, something else came to mind and she turned quickly, stomping back to him determinedly.

"And I wasn't bothering you!" She paused, then frowned. "At-- at least not, not intentionally. So there."

Kali's eyes opened and a low chuckling came from him as she stomped and flailed and generally threw a fit. She certainly was getting herself quite worked up over absolutely nothing. He didn't have any idea who she was, and yet there she was, standing and throwing a fit because he was sitting out in the 'cold'.

When she turned to walk away, he let himself settle further down against the tree, almost closing his eyes. Then, he noticed that she was coming back.

Persistant little bugger, wasn't she?

Raising a brow, he took his third impression of her. Slightly childish, a bit immature. Highly amusing, and probably worth getting to know, at least a name. "You walk up to a random man, sitting alone with his eyes closed in a park under a tree. You talk to said man, immediately telling him that he'll catch cold. You then insist that he's selling drugs, and yet you say that you're not trying to bother? You've got quite a knack, then, I must say."

Sighing, he pushed himself to his feet once more, holding out a hand slowly. "Kali," he offered.

A knack?

"Thank you," she replied, then drew back. "Wait-- what? You-- oh.. ugh."

She frowned again, crossing her arms heatedly over her chest as she stared at him. Annoyingly calm jerk! Though really he wasn't being a jerk, but still. It felt good to mentally call him names.

As he stood easily and held out his hand, she looked down at it warily. Simply shake his hand and tell her his name? That didn't seem to be the smartest thing to do right here in the dark with absolutely nobody around. He could have been a really good drug pusher. Lulling her into a false sense of security and then WHAM!

Sighing, she shook his hand and gave a soft smile. "Audrey," she replied, shrugging a bit. "But everyone calls me Leah so I have no idea why I even told you my first name." She frowned at herself, then shook her head.

"But yes, I wasn't trying to annoy, so I'll be on my way now." She nodded, then turned to make her way back to the sidewalk.

Audrey Leah whatever. Well, at least she was realizing that it wasn't the smartest idea in the world to be trusting random strangers in the park. He noted her wary glance at his hand, and figured that she was once again contemplating the possibility of his drug habits, which were non-existant.

Hmm. He clicked his tongue a couple of times as she turned and headed back for the sidewalk. Now he had a slight dilemma. He could let her go to wherever she was headed, and he could enjoy his relaxation before he headed home to meditate; or, he could follow her and tell her that she hadn't annoyed, only bothered.

He sensed something about her.

So, deciding to take his second option, he stuck his hands into his jean pockets, and shrugged, striding along beside her as she hit the sidewalk. "Really kind of a moot point now, isn't it? Seeing as you've already begun talking to me."

Chuckling (it was a good thing he was in a good mood), he added, "Besides, I didn't say anything about annoying. I said bother. There's quite a big difference in the two."

"And?" she asked, watching him as she walked. She kept her hands tucked beneath her arms, obviously not very comfortable with his following her. "If I told you that you were bothering me now, you might feel the need to leave me alone. That's all I'm saying." She shrugged, keeping a cautious eye on him.

Ah, whatever. Bothering. Annoying. She didn't see much of a difference.

"Oh really? And what's the big difference then?" She was slightly interested to hear it, as she'd never tried to differentiate before. "Other than the fact that someone who is annoying can be called an annoyance and botherance isn't a word."

She nodded, then waited for his answer.

"I might, and I might not." He didn't care if she wasn't comfortable, after all, she'd approached him. "It would all depend on intonation and meaning behind the words." He was all for finding the hidden depths, etc. etc. There was always something behind one's words, and if it could be found? It revealed more than anything anyone would actually say.

She was so incredibly defensive. It was a bit annoying, but overall still amusing to Kali, and he continued to walk beside her, pulling one hand from his pocket to scratch his chin thoughtfully.

She wanted to know the difference between annoyance and bother.

"Well, in my opinion, annoyance is something to be dealt with, taken care of, and swatted away, while a bother can be a handy thing. Bothers tend to get you thinking in ways that you haven't before, while annoyances just aggravate the piss out of you." He'd not actually ever tried to explain his train of thought to anyone before, and it probably came out sounding quite odd.

Ah well. It didn't matter, she was just some random Audrey Leah who'd come up to him one night in a park. After this meeting, he'd not see her again, so really, he didn't need her to understand his thought process.

Leah nodded slowly, lips pursed in thought. So at least she wasn't something to be dealt with and swatted away, right? That was good, at least?

"Well, that's good to know," she replied, shrugging. "Though how my bothering might have made you think outside your normal box, I have no idea. But yay, glad to be of service, I suppose!"

She sounded much more chipper, and was visibly relaxing as she walked. She looked to him for a second, brow furrowing.

"So where are you heading?" she asked, feeling the need to say something. "I'm up on the corner of First and Oak." She nodded down the street to the first intersection, where her apartment building sat. She was slightly curious as to why she'd never really seen him before.

Kali shook his head slowly as he walked beside her. She'd suddenly become chipper and talkative, and he really didn't understand why. It wasn't as though he were trying to ease her fears or anything. His hand slipped back into his pocket and he sighed.

He didn't respond to her statement about his thinking outside of his box. He wasn't sure that she had made him think outside the box yet. He had to spend a bit more time with her and her bothersome qualities.

"I wasn't heading anywhere until you started walking away," Kali replied to her question. She seemed to be one of those people who has to fill the silence, and he wasn't sure that he could handle that for too long. Comfortable silence was needed for thought and reflection, and endless chatter was annoying, rather than bothersome.

"However, if you're asking where I live, that would be across town."

"Across town?" she asked, brows raised. "Why on earth are you hanging out around here?" She snorted lightly, then shook her head. Not that she really cared, he could do whatever he liked. But it was something that was interesting to her. She so rarely strayed off her normal, everyday path -- unless it was work-related.

However, his comment about him not being headed somewhere until she started to walk away caught her attention. She didn't see why her walking away was anything that would have sparked his interest. She frowned, thinking to herself for a few moments.

Sighing and shaking her head, she continued walking. She didn't speak for a minute, until she began to shake softly with suppressed laughter. Soon, it sputtered into soft giggles, until she had to stop and shake her head, waving her hand apologetically.

"I-- I'm so sorry," she mttered between giggles. "I totally called you a drug pusher, didn't I?"

She tended to not realize the things she said until much later.

Eyeing Leah for a moment, he thought about whether or not he felt like telling her why he was hanging around here. Seeing no harm in it, because really, there wasn't any big important reason as to why, he shrugged and said, "It's a nice park."

She started to giggle, which confused the hell out of Kali. What did she have to giggle about? They were walking down a dark street, practical strangers, and she was giggling.

What a strange girl.

When she apologized for calling him a drug pusher, he snorted and rolled his eyes. "It didn't hurt my feelings or anything, if that's what you're worried about." He didn't say anything more, but continued walking with her. He didn't want her sizing him up too much while he was trying to get a feel for her.

She snorted, shaking her head. "I didn't think it hurt your feelings," she replied. It was obvious that he was pretty tough-skinned. Or at least seemed that way. "I just realized how silly it was. So, yeah, sorry." She shrugged, and took a deep breath before walking again.

He was a strange one. Quiet when she giggled, laughing at the strangest moments, and so seemingly unfazed by everything she did and said. It was unnerving and a bit frustrating. She sighed, crossing her arms again as she walked.

She didn't talk, but simply continued along her path. She figured he'd either find something else to occupy himself with, move along to his own home, or turn around and go back to the park. She didn't care too much, really. She was almost home, and she wasn't terribly interested in embarassing herself further.

She came to a stop, gesturing up at the looming building. "My stop," she chirped, shrugging. "It was nice to meet you Kali, even if I did bother you." She gave a playful smile, and stuck out her hand again in a goodbye gesture.

Finally, a moment of silence in which he could think about who she was. There was something about her, something that he couldn't quite pinpoint. Something that made him want to figure her out, because there was something... different... about her.

As she stopped walking, he looked up at the building. It didn't looked to be a very nice abode, but whatever floated her boat, right? He eyed her hand, and pulled his out of his pocket, shaking hers cordially.

"Indeed," he said quietly, his eyes taking her in for his fourth and probably final impression.

Yes, something about her. Hmm.

"Audrey Leah," he said, holding up his index finger of his right hand in a motion for her to wait. "If you're not a cop, what do you do?"

Eh.

She hated that question. Mostly because everytime she answered it truthfully, people looked at her like she was insane, and then never spoke to her again. She gave a heavy sigh, her posture slumping in a bit of defeat. Readying herself for the strange look, the raised eyebrow, the quick exit.

"I actually do work for the police," she replied, shrugging. "Not a cop, though. I.. Well, I work on cases that have turned up no leads, cases that they've exhausted their resources on."

Ahh, beating around the bush. She was good at that.

"They use me for... well... Sight. Precognition. Clairvoyance."

She rolled her eyes and waved her hand as if she, herself, thought that it was silly. The reactions just seemed easier that way. Like when one buys a pair of shoes that someone raises an eyebrow about and they might reply with, 'Oh, I know, not that great but they were totally on sale.'

Ahhhhh.

So that was what he'd been sensing, but... she didn't act like an Initiate. Intriguing. She must have been one of the Unnish that had powers. Very intriguing indeed. The Sight.

He didn't let his understanding pass onto his face, but he did let a small half-smirk slip onto his features. "If you have the Sight," he began, raising an eyebrow, "then why did you think I was pushing drugs?"

A valid question, but he didn't care about the answer. He just didn't want her heading inside yet, because there was no way in hell that she'd be inviting him in, and he didn't want to let her go just yet.

She could be a valuable resource.

Leah opened her mouth, then immediately shut it. Well. Wasn't that a question.

"Why did I think that you were...?"

She took a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to describe it. Her ability was really more honed in for having a certain procedure... Sitting down with photos, closing her eyes to concentrate, things like that. Not just instantly knowing something without trying.

She frowned, the slightest touch of indignance riding in her features. "Well it isn't something that's just.. I can't just control it all willy nilly, it's.. Oh, nevermind."

Obviously, he was mocking her. Which did not bode well.

"Look, if you don't believe in it just say so, I don't have to listen to you question it just like everyone else." She sighed in aggravation, then began digging furiously for her keys.

Holding up a hand and laughing, Kali shook his head. "Did I say anything about not believing you?" She jumped to too many conclusions, honestly. How did the cops handle her?

Sticking his hands in his pockets once more, he shrugged. "I'm not saying I don't believe you; most people with any kind of Sight claim to control it." He didn't add that most people with Sight actually did control it, because obviously, that would be admitting to knowing Magicks, and standing in front of an Unnish?

That wasn't the smartest thing in the world to admit to.

"Try the other pocket," he added, in reference to where her keys were. There was a light smile on his face now, and his brow was quirked in amusement.

Leah dug into her other pocket without hesitation, producing the keys with a small mumble of thanks. The fact that he seemed to guess where they were completely escaped her and she shrugged.

"I didn't say you said you didn't believe me, you just... you just acted like you didn't. Questioning it. I'm not.. I'm not the best at it but I'm willing and--"

She stopped, shaking her head. He didn't care about how she'd tried for years to train the skills, it wasn't something he would have been interested in.

"It's just what I do. It pays my bills, it's something I'm decent at, and while I get zero respect or acknowledgement at least I'm helping others. So there, whatever, it's good for me, for now."

She hesitated, but knew he'd just ask why she said 'for now' if she didn't answer right away. "I'm in school, majoring in criminal justice," she added. "It goes along with what I'm doing now, so why not?"

She shrugged, knowing that wasn't a passion of any sort for her. But whatever paid the bills and earned her a respectable job, she supposed.

She really did like to talk a lot, didn't she. Well, it just helped Kali get to understand her a bit better. It was always easier to get people if they talked to him. Silent people were the worst; he never understood them fully.

So why not.

He knew that she wasn't asking him why not, but he couldn't help but respond to the rhetorical question anyway.

"There are a lot of reasons why not to do something."

Looking up at the sky, the stars and moon shining brightly down on him, he grinned. "Lack of interest, lack of amusement, lack of passion, lack of care... lack of anything, really, and there's your reasons, sitting right in front of you."

Hmm, seemed that he was warming up to her a bit. It was easier once they weren't such strangers to him, though he tended to not wait around long enough to get to know people.

She was about to point out that she hadn't even asked him 'why not' and that it was really a rhetorical question, but the way he answered made it seem as if he already knew that. That he was only speaking because what he had to say had its own merit and reasoning.

And irony, as he'd mentioned lack of passion.

She frowned, then shrugged lightly. "Not much else for me to do with what I have, now is there?" she asked. "Most would rather believe it doesn't exist. And those that do believe me hide it from those who don't, to not run the risk of sounding like a nutjob. So for now.. I don't know."

She was beginning to feel a bit frustrated with herself. Just as she'd made up her mind that doing this was the right thing, even if she didn't particularly enjoy it, he came along all philosophical and mysterious and made her second-guess everything.

Desperate to get the focus off of her, she crossed her arms and let her hip jut out, watching him. "And what do you do?"

That was a question, wasn't it. He did a lot of things, but for money? Not so much of anything. He'd been set up quite nicely by his father when he'd been sent here, and he didn't actually need a real job.

But, now, that sounded really lazy, didn't it.

Tilting his head to the side and shifting into a more comfortable standing position, Kali shrugged. "I'm a historian," he replied after a moment of thought. That was probably the easiest way to go about saying what he did. He could mention the Magick, or the Sleep, or anything else, so really, what it boiled down to for the Unnish was that he was a historian.

"I collect histories, study them, write them. Basically."

There. That was a good response, he felt. Simple, explained the gist of his job, while leaving it open so that he wasn't lying about anything.

She perked instantly.

"Do you do any art history?" she asked excitedly. If it wasn't obvious before, it certainly was now -- art and culture was definitely a passion. "What's your favorite time period?"

She was almost enthralled now, watching him with interest. She had a bit of curiosity in her when it came to past centuries, but she'd not really spoken about that with anyone before. As far as interest in art -- well, she didn't usually run across many people who seemed keen on discussing that, either.

Which was to be expected. A bunch of wannabe-laywers and Criminal Justice majors? No. Not so much.

She could have gushed on and on, but she downed her bubbliness and settled instead for smiling and waiting for his answer. She let her gaze wander over him for a minute, trying to get a feel for what he might like -- though he was tricky. Very much so.

Huh, it seemed that he'd struck a nerve with that. Very intriguing indeed. He hadn't quite pegged her properly. He'd decided that she was a bubbly, bothersome young lady who didn't quite have it all going on upstairs, but if history and culture sparked in interest in her?

He'd certainly not pegged her properly.

"Art history, a bit. I'm a general historian, so I tend to know a little about a lot, if that makes sense." Pulling his hands from his pockets, he crossed his arms loosely. It was steadily getting chillier, and while he wasn't cold himself, he wanted to put on airs of being cold.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "As for favourite period? The 17th and 18th centuries, for more modern times, and somewhere around the 6th century for a bit of an older touch."

"Little about a lot, yeah, no that makes sense!" she replied, nodding. She was grinning wide now, absolutely engaged with this topic. As he mentioned the 18th century being one of his favorites, she nodded heartily in agreement.

"Though really for art, it's so hit and miss. Some eras have fantastic art, while others are so lacking. Nowadays good art is hard to come by. Everyone's so obsessed with the past greats that they fail to live up to their own potential and surpass it and it's--"

She stopped, shaking her head with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I can babble sometimes, I'm sure you've realized that by now, eh?" She shrugged, still smiling wide.

Well. That was certainly a surprise. She hadn't thought him to be a historian. She hadn't thought him to be much at all, but oh well. People had a way of surprising, she supposed.

She lit up when she talked about art and art history. That interested Kali, because he'd honestly not ever found anyone who lit up when talking about history of any sort. Of course, he didn't tend to talk history with anyone, but that was beside the point.

A small snort came from him as she said that she could babble sometimes, and he nodded once, though his words were slightly sarcastic. "No, you know, I'd not noticed that at all." His half-smile took away from the sarcasm of his tone, however.

"And that tends to be true about most history nowadays," he added quietly. It was sad, but true. People tended to dwell on the past, and sit in the present lazily, doing nothing to further themselves. The past greats were great, yes, but they had passed, and that was something that most didn't tend to understand.

Clearing his throat, he eyed her building once more, and nodded toward it. "I'm sorry, I'm keeping you from going in, aren't I."

"Oh!" she replied, eyes widening. She'd almost forgotten that she stood outside her building, keys in hand. "Right, right.."

She shook her head, laughing lightly at her ability to get a bit lost in the moment. "Well, it has been... nice," she finally decided, nodding as she smiled at him. "Really. Perhaps we'll run into each other again sometime, and I'll not accuse you of anything lewd."

She grinned, then gave him a tiny wave before heading up to the building, finally feeling the cold start to seep into her coat.

Well, wasn't that an interesting walk home?

Hmm. Perhaps they'd run into each other again, or perhaps not.

Either way, this supposed Sight-holder was an intriguing person, and Kali nodded once more as she waved at him. "Night," he replied, watching her head inside.

He'd had half a mind to follow her in, but that would just have been too odd, truly. After all, he wasn't one of the vampires or werewolves. He didn't stalk innocent young women.

Most of the time he didn't even talk to said women.

Sticking his hands back into his pockets, he shook his head and muttered a "Huh" to himself, before heading home. It was a bit too late for him to go back to the park; he needed to meditate to regain his strength.

Perhaps they'd run into each other again.