Nice Day for a Walk in the Green

[Trey Wolfe]

One thing Trey was reluctant to admit was that she wasn't the most cautious person in the world. Maybe she didn't go hang-gliding in a thunderstorm, but she could probably be talked into bungee-jumping during one. Maybe it was situational blindness, maybe she just didn't pick up on situational cues easily. Or maybe she just didn't think.
Which was why it was only after she was in the park that it occurred to her that teleporting in broad daylight was not the smartest of moves. She'd dressed in a blue men's polo-shirt and jeans, compiled a shopping list, gotten the books for her classes that day in her backpack - all of which seemed to be in the afternoon, and gave her the morning free - and decided it was about time she was off, and wondered what bus or train to catch from where to where. The park was one of the first places she'd scouted out, and was familiar enough with the landscape she didn't think she'd appear inside a rock. And there were more buses that went there than to her own apartment... And off she went, without thinking the whole plan through. (Somewhere, someone was muttering 'as usual', she just knew it)

On the plus side, she'd been right - she hadn't appeared inside a rock. She'd appeared up a tree, sitting on a branch overlooking a small pond.
Eh, as far as teleports in unfamiliar locations went, she'd had worse. Plus it had allowed her to scout the area to make sure there weren't any people who'd start at seeing her come down. Well, the coast looked clear to her. ...Said the person who'd once had a motorbike crash into her bike, because it had expected her to move out of the way when it had swerved into the bike-lane, and she hadn't seen it. On the plus side, the motorbike hadn't been going fast, the break had healed cleanly without problems, and there was no way she was going to forget to wear a helmet.
Showing a little more caution, and perhaps wisdom, than someone her age was inclined to, Trey decided that she'd wait a few more minutes before getting down. Besides, it was actually kind of comfy in the tree.

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!


Ster quietly made her way through Central Park. A nice, relaxing walk was a very welcome, and surprisingly unexpected, addition to her rather busy schedule that day. Busy. What a strange word for Ster. She was never, or rarely ever, a busy person; most of her schedules consisted of exploring the city and studying actions and reactions from people, animals, and nature; studying designs and cultural architecture, paintings, writings, and performance; as well as studying every other aspect of the world. Study, study, study. Most students consider it boring. Ster considered it her life purpose.

This walk was study-free, though. For once, she simply wanted to stroll through the natural, yet very man-made, greens and pinks and blues of the trees and flowers and streams. At the time, she was surrounded by quite a bit of monochrome greens, until she happened upon a rather large blue pond. A look around revealed that the area was fairly empty, so after spotting a small light brown bench a few feet away, Ster decided to take a short stop at the water.

Still, a presence made itself clear, but Ster couldn't exactly spot the person (or person was a pretty accurate guess, right?). There was only one thing to do, then.

"Hello?"

Well, that felt a little strange. What if no one was there? What if it was just a squirrel or a bird, and it flew off after she said that? What if someone walked upon the scene just as the animal left after hearing Ster's remark? Maybe she could just play it off as a Disney princess scene and make everything seem so very graceful, or maybe her attempt would fail and she would seem strange for talking to herself.

That's how the average person's thought process would proceed after an event like that, right?



Outfit: Later xP
Word Count: 367
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Trey jerked her head at the sudden voice, instinctively grabbing her branch with her hands as an extra insurance of her balance. The move also caused her backpack to slip from her shoulders to hanging off her upper-arms - promising a deep-set ache for the rest of the day if she left it there too long. A horrible overreaction for a greeting - even an unexpected greeting of unknown source.
The voice had come from her blind-side - then again, didn't everything? She had to swing both her legs to hang over the branch in order to turn enough to get a look at who was there. A young woman stood by the pond's edge (who liked being called a girl at that age, really? She certainly hadn't), either her age or a little younger. Kind of pretty, for all she could judge, looking perhaps the slightest bit self-conscious. The bright sunlight made her hair look the slightest bit orange too; which actually looked rather nice. Who was she talking to? Trey scanned the area a little harder, but didn't spot anyone. Unless she was trying to talk to her. And here she had been so sure that she was completely concealed and was being so quiet no one would know she was there (well, she'd certainly had that proved wrong quickly).

Trey carded her fingers through her fringe in consideration, only to give herself an irritated look as she tried to flatten it over her eye and scars again. She really had to stop doing that. She didn't want to startle the girl too badly, but a slightly-older man suddenly jumping out of a tree might well do that. Calling out in reply while unseen somehow didn't sound like a less-startling option.
The mild twinge of ache in her arms gave her the idea. Slipping the bag off, she dropped it to the ground first, and then began the process of getting down herself. She swung her body over the branch, holding on with her arms until she caught balance of the branch below, and then slipped down to side on that branch. Slide off that branch, again holding it by the hands with the scent of men's deodorant in her nose, and she was only a foot or so off the ground. Well, that was safe enough to just drop-down from.
Trey landed on her feet and then brushed her hair smooth and patted down her barely-baggy jeans a little self-consciously. She quirked a slightly embarrassed grin towards the girl, holding up a hand in greeting even as she - more reflex than anything now - pitched her voice low, "Er, hi. Sorry, were you talking to me?"

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!

Ster waited for a response, but after a few moments decided that she, in fact, was talking to herself. That wasn't a terrible thing in her eyes, but in the eyes of others it showed a lack of mental stability. Suddenly, though, a noise of a bag hitting the ground sounded behind her, and she quickly turned to see a woman...no, a man...well, one or the other hopping down from a tree. A mixed feeling of relief and surprise swept over her, and a sigh escaped from her mouth as she settled down.

"Oh, well, I suppose I was, then," she said, fairly awkwardly due to her lack of proper subject identification. A moment passed as she stood, waiting for some sort of response; nevertheless, it was fairly obvious that if this continued, the conversation would remain at a standstill and the two would quickly part. Some sort of interesting exchange of dialogue had to happen if Ster didn't want this situation to end up as an awkward chapter in the story of her day.

"Well, what is your name?"

Interesting enough, though an obvious awkward remark.



Outfit: Here
Word Count: 257
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Trey's attempts at not startling the other girl failed rather horribly - then again, she'd already worked out today that thinking things through completely wasn't her best talent. On the plus side, she hadn't fallen into the pond - and for that reason alone Trey would chalk that up to being a successful idea. She thought she heard the other girl sigh, and she looked calm enough by the time she got to the ground.

You suppose? What, do she make a habit of standing in quiet places and seeing who will reply when she spoke? Trey was relieved that she kept herself from saying that aloud. Something of a disadvantage of not caring what other people thought was that she often forgot that other people would care about what she said. It was a trait that had gotten her into fights with many an offend boy, or boyfriend of an offended girl. Hopefully the fact she'd contained herself this time was a sign of growing maturity.
Then again, it was more likely caused by bemusement of the entire situation. The silence stretched long into awkward territory, beyond when any reply she could have formulated would have been useful; and that wasn't much help, aside from a somewhat cruel remark, all she could think of would have been a potential 'Oh.'

The other girl was quicker on the ball than her, switching the conversation to something that could evolve. Introductions; that was a more familiar topic that she could handle, "My name's Trey." Not that it ever helped anyone with gender questions identify her sex - it was most common as a boy's name, "You know, usually its polite to introduce yourself first before asking someone for their name." She offered a quirked grin to show her good nature, "But its a heck of a lot more rude to point out someone else's rudeness, so I lose. Could I have a name anyway?"
She took a brief moment to profile the girl in front of her as she waited for a reply; ordinary in dress, a little on the pretty side for looks, a form that Trey would have once been jealous of. Her hair wasn't orange, so it must have been some trick of the light before.

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!

Ster listened as the man...woman...man...pointed out her lack of taste in conversation. Even after all these years on this planet, learning about human nature and what was considered polite and impolite, good and evil, she still managed to forget her manners. Trey's comment about his or her own manners was rather amusing, and a grin crept across Ster's face.

"No, no, I'm very sorry about my forgetfulness. Sometimes my mind goes blank when I become surprised. My name is Ster Noval, and it's very nice to meet you, Trey," Ster said as she held out a hand. Hopefully that greeting would be taken better than her last. After learning about so many different cultures, the proper greetings mixed themselves up and acceptable conversation became confusing. Fortunately, the American culture was one of the most explicit of them all; therefore, also one of the easiest to imitate.

Turns out America really isn't all that bad after all, I suppose.



Outfit: Here
Word Count: 232
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Ah, there they were. A nice wide grin that showed off her teeth. It merely caused Trey to grin harder in reply. She waved off Ster apology, "Its alright; we all forget things like this all the time; you just have to watch the morning traffic to see that. Besides, if we put my etiquette offenses for the day against yours, mine's probably miles longer already."

"Ster, huh?" Trey reached out, taking Ster's hand in shaking firmly. The blonde's hand was cool against her own, and quite a bit smaller - though her fingers were long and slender in comparison to her own, "You must get people telling you how that sounds like 'star' a lot." And for that she had Trey's sympathes; it would get old very quickly. She knew that, when she was a child, people telling her 'Trey is an unusual name' had gotten tiring.
Heh, her father had been too amused that she'd started telling people, 'and its very rude to comment on things like that' to correct her.
Trey took her hand back, slipping it into a pocket as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, "So, I was here climbing trees because... Because I can, really. What are you doing out here this morning? If you don't mind telling me, of course."

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!

Ster chuckled at the comment that Trey made about her name. Actually, due to her lack of social activities, she didn't get that many comments on her name, so she decided to shrug it off and wait for Trey to continue speaking.

"Well," she said, smiling at Trey's attempt at reasoning his or her previous situation, "actually I was just taking a break for once and having a nice stroll through the park. I'm usually pretty busy, so this was a welcome addition to my day."

What an awkward spot to end an answer. She could see it now, another awkward moment, a shrug and a simple "That's great, have a nice day," and the end of what could have been an interesting conversation. She really had to work on this talking business.

"And this chance meeting seems to be a welcome addition so far. It was interesting, to say the least; me, talking to myself, and you, falling out of a tree. A strange pair we'd be, wouldn't you think?" That last comment seemed pretty witty to Ster, and she gave herself a moment to show her pride through a small look towards the ground.

I'm getting better at this, eh?



Outfit: Here
Word Count: 275
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Usually busy, and this walk through the park an unusual break - all of which hinted at her presence being unwelcome. She even opened her mouth to excuse herself in the pause in conversation, but Ster continued speaking - maybe just a little hurriedly - before she could.
So, welcome after all. The smile that had faded returned to Trey's face as she prepared for playful banter, "Heh, I guess we are. Still, there's nothing wrong with being a strange pair; we'll be more memorable to each other that way. Ten years from now we'll bump into each other and can be like 'Oh, your the person with the talking to self and the tree'. Or we might be friends for life, and when people ask us how we met we can say that I fell out of a tree after hearing you talk to yourself. But my manly pride needs to point out - falling had nothing to do with my tree-activities; I jumped.... Which probably makes me even stranger than if I had just fell, admittedly. But at least I'm coordinated."
There was a pause as Trey considered how to change the topic, "So, you say you're pretty busy; what do you do? I'm a uni-student, but I only do odd jobs on the side." Actually, that was something she had to look into soon; a more steady source of income was kind of a necessity.

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!

Ah, manly pride. He must be a man, then. Good thing he gave it away without Ster having to ask; even though most cultural rights and wrongs got mixed up in her head, asking someone his or her gender was usually considered rude by everyone. His name fit the male stereotype anyways, so she should have guessed. Still, something told her that she was wrong.

Probably just my first hunch sticking around.

"What do I do?"

Well, what an unexpected question. Ster had done many, many deeds, some praiseworthy and some discouraged among many the god-fearing person, but after six centuries, one would think that money would not be an issue, and that one would be thinking correctly. Obviously, with rare treasures collected through the years that are now unique in that there are very few left in the world, Ster was a walking museum; therefore, she was a walking bank, as well. Antique Roadshow would probably pay millions to see just one of her artifacts.

Unfortunately, though, Ster couldn't put herself out into the spotlight, which meant not appearing on any sort of stage or television anywhere around the world. Either way, money and material things weren't really huge concerns to her. She believed that the road of life ought to be traveled with very light luggage as to not tire oneself out too soon.

"Well, I pretty much just do odd jobs, as well. Usually I...well, I...I guess one could say that I study things. If a scientist was ever conducting an experiment that needed test subjects, I suppose I could serve as a mercenary," she said as she let out a chuckle.

Oh, dear. Just another failed attempt at humor.



Outfit: Later xP
Word Count: 346
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Ster was quiet for several moment as she considered Trey's question. Trey waited patiently. Odd jobs, huh? Either she was using the phrase in the same way Trey did, or New York had a lot more random little one-off jobs to give to random people off the street than she'd thought. It was the former that seemed more likely to explain why Ster claimed to have such a busy schedule. But it also told her not to look too far into it, or question it.

The mercenary dig made Trey wilt momentarily; not the implication of murder, so much as the implication of kidnapping. It was, and chances are always would be, a subject too close to home for her to take jokingly. The fear, the lack of control, and the sheer fact that in the end it hadn't been for anything that she'd done - that it had been her was just chance or a coincidence at best that her father was her father - was something that even now made her wake up sweaty and panting occasionally.
But none of that was Ster's fault. She wasn't responsible, hadn't been involved, hadn't known. Her personal issue wasn't something she should know or be expected to cater too. And even besides that, something in Ster's manner, the way she'd desperately tried to keep conversation rolling, seemed to hint that she wanted company a while longer. Maybe she didn't do well in social situations. Maybe she was lonely. Trey didn't know, but if Ster was going to put in the effort then so could she.

So Trey offered a slight smile, taking the joke for what it was, "Better the mercenary than the victim, I suppose. Its not a subject I like the thought of either way, myself. But if you're a study-bug, what sort of things do you like learning about? Do you go to school or uni, or is it more reading science journals in your free time?"

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!

Ster was very right, her attempt at humor failed. A small grin, she had learned over the years, was a pretty common way to cover up other dissimilar feelings about a remark, and Ster guessed that Trey's feelings weren't the most joyful. Well, that was one mistake down, with many more to go, but failure can't lead to anything much worse, can it?

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was only trying to make a joke," she said, as apologetically as possible, but she realized that would probably make her sound like she was playing a victim, so she attempted a quick recovery. "Not that I'm angry or anything, I was simply explaining myself."

Really, not like he even commented on what I just said. There was really no need to explain myself. Now I know the feeling of getting tongue-twisted I suppose.

Ster rolled her eyes and shrugged, sighing once more and listening to Trey's question. And what a wonderful question it was, too, prying deeper and deeper into detail of her life. She concluded that conversation was bound to lead to self-disclosure at some point, though, and she had decided to take the risk, so if any secrets were revealed she couldn't blame it on anyone but herself.

"Well, actually, I simply study for my own good. I record most of my findings down in journals, which I have an ample amount of now, as I'm sure you could guess. Even though I suppose they'd be a bore to read back over."

Ster thought for a moment and asked herself what the point of keeping up with all those journals really was? Her comment really made her think about the purpose of those books. Would anyone ever actually read them or would they all just get thrown into an inferno of neglected knowledge like many a long non-fiction before her?



Outfit: Later xP
Word Count: 378
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

Trey physically waved off Ster’s apologies, “Its okay, really. Lots of people would have found that funny, I’m just not one of them. And that’s my problem, not yours. I understand; sometimes jokes go flat.” She didn’t really care for apologies at the best of times – they’d always struck her as pointless. But they meant a lot to other people, and Ster would probably continue to fumble her way in circles trying to explain herself in she didn’t speak up.

“Sounds more like research than study – but maybe you’re only allowed to call it research if someone pays you to do it.” Trey joked. She didn’t really think she understood it – she liked maths as well as the next… Well, okay, she certainly liked maths more than the next person, and somehow a lifetime of algorithmic study or attempting to solve unprovable theorems did have some appeal as a fantasy. But even she’d get sick of it if her life consisted of studying numbers and not playing with them, “I can’t really see how you can study without some sort of help – learning from books or class and extrapolating, I mean. Though the resources for testing would count too, I guess. And now I’ve no idea what I’m saying anymore, so I should probably stop talking. I guess you’d have to be a lot smarter than a muscle-head like me.”
She rubbed the back of her head with a small laugh; a joke of multiple layers, for she’d often been on the exact opposite side of this situation. Back while she’d been in school – and even now sometimes, for first year mathematics seemed to be a required course for some subjects, she had to deal with the same sort of disbelief and inability to understand her pursument of the subject. Her peers had regarded mathematics as the bane of the world.
“Don’t say they’re a bore – it’d just be a matter of finding the right audience. There’s never been something that no one else has been interested. Heck, there’s even two people studying whether heavy-metal eating bacteria would be a viable future energy source. So I’d bet there’d be plenty of people who’d read your stuff; if you can find them.”

[Ster Noval]

Here she is, boys!



Here she is, world!


Ster listened gratefully as Trey waved off her apologies. Phew, good thing she didn't ramble; she probably would have caught herself rambling anyways because she learned over the years that rambling never did any good for anyone. Unless it was about romance, of course, then it could possibly be a different story.

Anyways, this wasn't about romance, just a chance encounter, and rambling would probably have not been appreciated. End of story.

Before I start to ramble about rambling. How ironic.

"Heh, well I guess you could call it that. Maybe research for myself. I don't really test many things, I wouldn't call myself a chemist. Something more like an observer would be appropriate for me, I suppose. I simply note things that I see and sometimes I'll look into the deeper aspects of it all. Not really research that many modern scientists would be interested in, at least." Well, that wasn't entirely true. Historians may find some of her information rather appealing, as long as they didn't fully believe the textbooks, and psychiatrists may enjoy a few of her pages. Although most of her notes about human nature have already been observed in more professional experiments.

"Eh, I'm sure there's someone out there who may enjoy reading them, but I wouldn't call them 'Best-sellers,' even in the world of science. More like an interest in the underground world of modern knowledge. Maybe one day I'll go looking for a publisher of some sort, or simply a potential reader, but right now I think I'll stick with my usual." She smiled at the thought of having someone read her journals.

What a strange feeling of happiness at the idea of someone reading a journal. Most people would be scared out of their minds at the idea of a person looking into their private thoughts. I suppose I've simply matured over the ages.

"Oh, thank you, though. I suppose you meant that as a compliment," Ster said, smiling and nodding at Trey. That didn't sound like a thoroughly sincere thanks, but it was the best she could think of at the time.

"So, what sort of odd jobs do you do around this place, then?"



Outfit: Later xP
Word Count: 441
Lyrics: "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy


Here's Rose!

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[Trey Wolfe]

"Fair enough. Your books, your call. Just don't think that no one will read them. Heck, look at Tolkien's work; no one read his books until after he was dead, and now they're absolute classics." Not that Trey had ever read them; they were too long-winded for her. But that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the stories - or movies, or whatever.
Ster's thanks didn't sound sincere - but then again, considering how convoluted Trey's attempt at complimenting Ster's intelligence (had that been what she was doing? She thought she'd just been making an observation. Huh), it was hardly surprising. Trey didn't both to reply audibly, just giving a nod back.

Well, it was bound to happen. She'd been asking questions to keep the conversation flowing, the opposite was going to happen at one point or another too. Trey considered the question, tapping her chin a few times as she thought, "My odd jobs? Hm, mostly they're for an old friend of the family's, though sometimes I do it for people they knew too, if I've the time and its not too much work. I guess a lot of them would probably be favors if I didn't get given money for it. Did you know its cheaper to have stuff delivered to New York than most other capital cities? He's a real collector of, well, stuff in general I guess - some of the things he's got I can't even begin to understand what they're meant to be. Anyway, he always seems to find people with new pieces - or whatever they are - that he'd like. Sometimes he gets them to send it to me in New York, and I hold onto it until I've a chance to go down and see him. A lot of the time I go and pick it up too, since its faster for me than him. Heh, when I first got my driver's license I'd go for any excuse to drive around town, so that's probably when it started." Trey explained all this easily and with a casualness that never faded. And why should it be anything else? None of it was a lie, not even close. Maybe some things were twisted until they were no longer what they should mean, but it wasn't even really a lie by omission.