Free as a bird

[Sam]

Feeling the wind blow his hair back as he sped down the street Sam grinned. The roar of the motorbike beneath him echoing through the street. Sharply turning down a back alley he swerved past the rubbish bins, splashing through a large puddle before leaving back into the main street. Loving the feeling of speeding along.

It was night, his favorite part of the day. Street lamps casting a yellow glow on the wet tarmac as he drove along the empty road. Pulling over outside a closed newsagent Sam looked at his watch, pulling back the sleeve of his leather jacket. It was half two, late in the witching hour.If you believed of such things of course. Leaning on the handle bars of the bike he sniffed the cool air, the smell of the damp tarmac being the only thing to hit his nose. Letting him know he was the only person wandering the streets this late.

That was the best part of the night, total freedom from the masses of humans that polluted the streets during the day. Looking up at the moon in the sky Sam noted that it was no way near full. Sighing in relief he ignored the animal urge inside of him telling him to run, jump and hunt like the wolf he was. He had given up on that life a long time ago, only taking his other form when he had too. Staying human was safer, plus he liked the form. Human with extra agility and strength , nothing better.

Pulling the keys out of the bike and strolling to a bench next to where he parked, Sam sat down closing his eyes with a sigh. Relaxing his body, he let the quietness of the street surround him. He hadn't been in this city long, and although he liked it, Sometimes he needed a break from the busyness. Deciding to find a flat the next day he curled his legs into his chest, laying down on the bench. Refusing to settle down in a town, he traveled a lot, so he was used to sleeping rough. Usually he curled up under the cover of trees, but this bench would have to do tonight.

[Melissa Delancy]

(Hope you don't mind me joining you ^.^)

It wasn't odd for Melissa Delancy to lose her way. It often happened to her. Despite living in this city for a year now, she easily found herself to be in an area she was unfamiliar with. Now, after wandering for over an hour after having a late night food binge, she was losing hope. And it certainly wasn't the best place to be lost. She knew a few moves to protect herself and the can of mace in her purse. She could just hear her mother if she were to know of this story, telling her she didn't even know how she was alive.

She now wished she'd skipped out on that urge for pancakes after painting well after midnight. But she needed to get the painting done by the time she had promised, and working for so many hours always made her ravenous. She'd stuffed down a stack of five pancakes before she'd felt like she could explode. She'd nearly waddled out of the diner, not thinking clearly as she turned the opposite direction. She'd wandered that way a good while before even realizing her mistake, and as she tried to retrace her steps she'd ended up in more of a mess.

Now here she was, walking slowly down the empty seat, the traffic lights blinking, already off for the night. A chill ran through her, a reaction to the absolute stillness. She studied each of the road signs, looking for one to recognize. It would be amusing to her later...once she was back in her apartment and off the streets. She sighed, kicking a rock ahead of her, staring at the ground as she walked another block or two.

The next time she looked up her eyes settled on the lump laying on the bench ahead of her. Homeless, was her immediate thought, but soon she took in the motorcycle parked by the bench. Not homeless then, certainly someone with the money to buy the bike would have a home. But why would they be sleeping on a bench. She slowed her pace, debating about taking another turn, but the moved onward, at her new, less frantic pace. She didn't want to wake this man, whoever he was, by stomping by loudly. She crept past him, barely breathing as she looked at him briefly. He seemed more well groomed than any homeless person she'd seen before. She was so busy staring at him, she didn't notice the sidewalk jutting up at a fissure in front of her. Being a rather clumsy human being, she fell to the ground with a little oof, and quiet, "Ow," as she hit the ground.

[Sam]

Startled by the sudden noise, Sam's head shot up to look at the cause. The quiet "Ow" had sounded louder, emphasized by his better hearing. Instantly waking him up from the light cat nap he was having, as there was no way he was risking deep sleep on the streets. Analyzing the woman on the ground he frowned, confused. That wasn't the first thing he expected to see when he woke up. Deciding it was better than some armed yob, he Pulled himself back into a seated position on the bench and rubbed his eyes drowsily.
"Bit clumsy huh?" he asked smiling, debating in his mind whether or not to go help her up. As there was a fine line between a gentlemen and a pest.

Deciding to stay put to play it safe he began to wonder what she was doing wandering the streets so late. A dangerous time for anybody it was worse for females, whisked away by the scum that prowled the night. Making sure his hands were visible as to show that he was harmless, Sam leaned back on the bench, the leather of his jacket squeaking as he moved.

Deciding that there was no way she would be out this late unless she was running from something or lost Sam let his natural nosiness come into play.
"Need any help there Miss? you look pretty lost" Even though he had no idea what part of the city they where in himself, trying to help was better than nothing. Besides he was up now, may as well have a bit of entertainment.

(( Of course not =) Sorry about the rubbish reply, I have zero muse lol ))

[Melissa Delancy]

('tis not rubbish at all ;p I'm having a lack of muse myself recently..)

Melissa had rather hoped not to wake up the sleeping man, but he must not have been sleeping very heavily. She shook hair hair out of her face, seeing his head snap up. She remained where she'd fallen, sitting very still as he looked at her. So much for sneaking by. Eyes focused downward once again as he spoke, her face flushing a soft pink. She nodded some as she pushed herself to her feet, studying her scraped hands. "Ah, yeah...quite a bit actually," she responded with a slight smile and a tiny laugh.

She still wasn't sure about him, her eyes glancing toward him again. He didn't seem too dangerous. At least he wasn't getting up to approach her yet. Being a rather trusting person, she didn't think anymore on it. She accepted that he was a decent person, not out to get her or anything. She rubbed her raw hands on her pants, trying to get off some of the bits of sand and dirt, though some had buried down into the scrapes.

She looked up again, wondering if it was so obvious. That she was lost. She felt even more embarrassed..even more idiotic. She gave a little laugh, "Haha..um..yeah actually," she responded. "Which is really, really stupid, considering I live here," she added. She scratched her head, "Would you perhaps be um..familiar with the area?

[Sam]

Finding the womans obvious embarrassment amusing Sam smiled at the small laugh. Instantly feeling more comfortable in the situation now that he knew she at least had a small sense of humor, and wasn't going to snap at him. He hated people that took themselves too seriously, never knowing what to say to them.As most of his conversation involved light digg jokes about either himself or others.

As she finally got up and looked at her hands he hoped she hadn't scraped them too badly, realizing for all he knew she could have fell pretty hard. But scrapes heal fast enough and there was no bleeding as far as he could see, Im sure she will live with a scratch he thought passing the scrapes from his mind.
Realising from her body language that she didn't seem threatened at all by his presence, Sam put his hands back into the deep pockets of his leather jacket for comfort. Not sure if the easy trust was a good or a bad thing. It was dangerous to be too friendly and naive, as the world wasn't exactly full of people worth the trust.

Laughing lightly at her comment about living here Sam shrugged with a smile. "Big place, can be easy to get lost especially in the back streets." he said whilst standing up from the bench, hands still deep in his pockets. Upon hearing her question he pondered the answer, should he pretend he did and get some entertainment or tell the truth and save her some hassle.
"Sure, im ok with the area. Where are you wanting to go?" lying through his teeth he looked up at the sky, avoiding eye contact.

((Must be a bad time for muse at the moment then ))

[Melissa Delancy]

She truly hoped he knew his way around, but as she thought more on the fact that he'd been sleeping on this bench, it seemed unlikely. Perhaps he was just passing through. She smiled a little as he laughed, beginning to find him easily likable, though she was the type to be open to many people. She nodded a little, her face getting a faint tinge of pink to it once more. "Especially when you're not thinking," she stated, which was exactly what she'd been doing. She mentally kicked herself again for it. She wouldn't be in this situation if she'd actually paid attention to what was going on in front of her for once. She always fell into such difficulties, especially when thinking about her next painting.

She watched him, with a rather hopeful expression, a wide smile coming to her face when he said yes, he was okay with the area. She was pleased with her good luck. She hadn't run into a complete creep, and now he was going to help her find her way. Her trusting nature made her oblivious of that fact that he was lying. She appeared to be rather excited now, "I've been trying to find my apartment..." she responded, telling him the complex she lived in and the address, "I don't think..it should be too far. Unless I've wandered further than I had thought..."