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Violin in hand, safely tucked in its case, Juniper practically bounced down the steps of her apartment and out onto the sidewalk. She had been given a rare afternoon off so she had al intentions of busking as long as she could. Sometimes it was a very lucrative deal, other times....well...not so much. And with summer ending and fall on it's way, the weather soon wouldn't be conducive to standing outside playing her violin for money. At least not for long periods of time. The cold weather wasn't kind to her instrument or her hands.

She glanced at the bus stop, wondering if maybe she should just take the bus to the park, but it was such a gorgeous day out and she was pretty sure it would be quite a wait at this point for the next bus that she needed. So, instead she opted to walk.

And walk she did, right through the veil and into the rainy, dreary atmosphere that was Other Ashdown.

"You have got to be shitting me." She grumbled out as she pulled up the hood on the light hoodie she was wearing. "Great. Perfect. Just what I need today." She cursed as she hurried along the sidewalk she was on. She'd learned that standing in one place wasn't going to get her what she wanted, which was out of Other Ashdown.

"This place better not do anything to my violin or I swear to god..." She grumbled out as she darted underneath an awning to figure out where she was going to head.

Juniper hadn't been expecting to run into anyone. She was expecting to bide her time and wander around the still unfamiliar terrain that was Other Ashdown. The heavy, dark feel of the place was beginning to feel normal to her, but she wasn't necessarily comfortable yet. Of course, if these random visits continued on like they have been she'd be getting over her wariness of the place soon enough.

So, at the sound of the voice, she turned and...well...stood stunned as she looked at a familiar face with very, very unfamiliar features and extra...appendages. Her shock quickly turned into complete fascination though as her brain worked to grab at a name for the man in front of her. The last time they had met he had looked much more human. Well....I guess it was the fetch I last met, actually.

"Thorne? Right?" She worried at her bottom lip, not sure if she had the name right. Hell, maybe it wasn't him at all but someone or...thing that looked similar? But no. He recognized her.

"I am...sorry." She stuttered slightly. "I just wasn't expecting all of this." She gestured to his horns and wings. "It's not a bad look though!" She offered him a smile before gently setting her violin case down beside her.

"How did all of this happen?" She questioned, automatically into curiosity mode as she walked a bit closer to him. His smooth smile and manners certainly didn't go unnoticed. In fact, the warm welcome is what made Juniper feel like she could question the man.

"Yep! Juniper Wilcox." She assumed he had caught her name during the time she had spent with him and the other tithes in the sapphire study.

"No need to apologize. Once you get over the initial shock, well, it's actually really, really neat! I certainly wouldn't mind a modification like that. Um....I assume though you can look normal as well since I doubt many people in Ashdown would probably know what to do with you looking like this. Unless this is just a, Other Ashdown kind of thing?"

She grinned as she continued to take in the whole thing. His wings were terribly impressive, and she found herself staring at them when Thorne unfurled them. She was actually somewhat dismayed that he furled them back up so quickly, masking the pure beauty of them behind himself. Her eyes were pulled to his antlers as he gestured to touch them and marveled at the beauty of them as well. Jesus, he's like a walking model for strange and gorgeous thing.

Juniper was into the quirky and different things though. Maybe it was part of her accepting nature, her own want to stand out, or just some inner lust she didn't fully comprehend yet. Who knew. But Juniper was certainly digging this look.

"Whoa...There was more to that tithing thing?" An eyebrow quirked up. "I don't know they seemed to treat you all like slaves. Are you telling me the whole point of that was to make you into..." She gestured to him. "This? Like I said, it's a neat look, but why? What's the point of it? What are you now?"

Juniper had yet to really dive into the topic of weres or wargs with anyone yet. She knew they existed from tid bits she had gathered here and there. Those were things that she could understand though since, in a way, they've always existed; at least in fiction they could be found. But...whatever Thorne was...she had no idea.

She caught the tone of his voice and tilted her head, offering him a warm smile as she stepped a bit closer to him. "I wouldn't necessarily say unfortunately." She shrugged. "There are definitely some people who can dig this look. You pull it off really well too by not looking terribly intimidating, though I am sure you could if you wanted."

"Yea." She nodded with a soft smile. "I just don't feel like anyone should be left to feel alone. Not that he seemed to appreciate that notion, but..." She shrugged. "I didn't want to see him sit there alone and possibly have to deal with the fallout of everyone leaving by himself. Everyone did what they felt they needed to that night. No need to thank me."

The chill and wet nature of Ashdown caused a small shiver to run up the violinist's spine which showed itself with a small shudder and the prickling of goose pimples on her arms. After all, she had been dressed to stand in the sun for a long period of time, so she'd donned sandals, a long tan peasant style skirt and a plain purple tank. They weren't exactly suitable for the dreary weather of Other Ashdown.

Crossing her arms helped at staving off the minor chill. "So, you're saying your patron did all that she did out of the goodness of her heart and to protect you? Sorry if I am a tad bit skeptical of that, but...wait, so you're saying that her 'help' made you a noble of the court? Was that something you wanted?" Juniper had the feeling that it wasn't an outcome he had expected. "I thought after the ball, you'd all be returned home. I didn't think it would be with...well...with a new look and job."

Juniper did note the slip up from Thorne. "Unbound from what?" She pushed curiously. "And what sort of guide? To Other Ashdown as a whole? The court? Magic?" And thus began Junipers rapid fire questions again. "Sorry. I can get carried away."

As he stretched out a wing, Juniper found herself gazing at it. The new appendages certainly were mesmerizing. "Yep. Nope. I stand by the fact that at least this new form of yours is nice to look at." The almost animal-like sounds and looks were interesting as well, but like Thorne had mentioned, he had no interest in terrifying people. This, all of this, was just him. It was times like this that Juniper was glad she was so open and accepting of well, a lot of things. "Is it...is it useful? Like, can you fly or is it mainly for show?"

I wonder if he sings at all. She mused silently to herself. His voice had a quality to it that spoke of a singer, or someone who cultivated the instrument, but it was hard to say. The smoothness and clear clarity was a treat to listen to though. While Juniper certainly hadn’t worked on her own signing skills often, she had done extensive studying on her speaking voice, diction, and accent and she prided herself in how clear and correctly she spoke without sounding like some pretentious b***h.

“Other Ashdown is that cruel? Cruel enough to make people forget kindness?” She couldn’t imagine that. What had this place done to make someone forget the basics of life. Care for you and yours, and in her mind, all living beings were ‘hers’ in a way as long as they didn’t cause harm to anyone else.

Thorne was quickly becoming one of those people she considered ‘hers’ as he slipped his jacket over her shoulders. The heat was welcomed, and Juniper pulled the jacked closed in front of her with a hand. “Thank you.” She said quietly to him.

Juniper shook her head slightly. “I can’t believe you had to go through all of that bullshit. She and the others did such horrible things to all of you and now you’re all just left to figure things out yourselves? Oh so very helpful, I am sure.” Juniper was angry. Angry for them. After all, they’d been stolen from their lives, thrust into a court and practical servitude and then treated like complete s**t for months. To top it off they were not just on their own trying to figure it all out. That didn’t seem fair at all. Not for any of them. Sure they may have gotten some new magic from it, which was apparent from Thorne’s rather impressive new form, but… “Was the pay off worth it, do you think?” She questioned, blue eyes meeting his.

A raw, unexpected laugh escaped the blonde at his comment and worry about others. “I am sure that someone like that will pop up. There’s always extremes on either side. People will show up who detest magic of completely fear it, but you won’t be the only one dealing with them. There’s a lot of us who can use magic.” She shrugged. “And, really, after everything you’ve been through, worrying about what others think shouldn’t be something that bothers you.” She tilted her head slightly, blonde hair falls over her shoulder sin the process. “I know that’s not necessarily easy to stop doing though. So, if you ever do meet someone like that don’t be afraid to reach out to friends, to the people who do accept you for who you are.” A soft, warm smile spread across her face. “Myself included.” She winked at him.

“Ok. That’s really neat! I would love to be able to fly. I bet it’s exhilerating!” She glanced at this antlers and grinned, keeping an amused chuckle in. Heh. Night-light.

As he showed off his wings a bit more she found herself wanting to reach out and touch the membranes. In a way it felt like she could fall into the abyss that was displayed upon them. Without thinking she stepped forward, reaching a hand out to one of the appendages.

“It’s not that I don’t think it’s not cruel, it’s just I try to believe that it’s not. Plus, I’ve never gone through anything, really, that would make me say that the world is a terrible, cruel place.” she couldn’t help but laugh at herself, realizing what she was saying. “I guess you could say that I am a very entitled person. I am not going to say my life is easy, far from, but I wouldn’t call it cruel or soul breaking.” With a tilt of her head and eyes never leaving Thorne it was like she was trying to understand him and the troubles he must have gone through, though she knew nothing about. The trials of becoming a Noble were probably just the tip of the iceberg for him to feel and say such things. “I will certainly do my damn best to make sure I don’t succumb to the cruel intentions though.” She gave him a wink.


Nodding, Juniper pulled the coat around her a bit tighter. “I guess that’s really all you can do. Whatever was done in the past can’t be changed and you just have to keep on plucking forward. Just take what life throws at you and make the best sort of lemonade you can.” A rich laugh escaped her. After all, the past two years she’d been dealing with teetering on the edge of a financial crisis but had somehow managed to continue on and continue finding ways to keep her head above the water. Of course, compared to the problems of others, hers were nothing.

It seemed the two of them had connected on some level though as Thorne offered his own assistance to her whenever she need it. A smile tugged at her lips and she glanced downwards, a pleased expression on her face. She wanted to connect with others terribly. She needed friends, something which she had neglected to make in her years in Ashdown as she struggled to survive. Money had been such a dominating figure that trying to make and maintain friends had fallen to the wayside.

She had made a promise to herself to fix that problem.

As she reached out to touch Thorne she has not, in any manner, expected such a reaction from him. In fact, it surprised her so much that she snapped her hand back, her outstretched finger curling inward as she stepped a few steps away and...in a lovely showcase of grace and beauty, she stumbled over her own violin case and landed hard on the ground in a heap. In a way, it saved poor Thorne. Juniper completely missed his mortified expression in her tumble, but the red of his ears and the explanation of his sudden reaction was not.

A hiss escaped the young woman as she rubbed at the elbow which had caught her fall backwards.“I am so sorry!” She apologized as she worked to untangle her legs which were still draped over the upturned violin case. “I shouldn’t have done that. I didn’t realize they were so sensitive, I just got caught up in the moment and...I really am sorry.” She looked about as mortified at Thorne had as she situated herself, kneeling in front of him and working at the clasps of her violin case.

The clasps snapped open and Juniper opened the case to make sure that her tumble hadn’t caused any damage to the instrument inside. A quick inspection of the instrument showed that the body and neck were still in perfect order. In fact, not even a string had broken. She heaved a soft sigh. “I really need to learn to think about stuff before I do it.” She paused a moment. “Or say it.” She laughed, trying to break the uneasiness of her actions.

“I have to admit though, it’s not just everybody I try to reach out and touch. You’re...one of the first in a long time.” She gave him a wink over the opened violin case.

Juniper waved off his concerns for her. “I am fine. Nothing hurt besides my pride.” She laughed as she snapped closed the Violin case with care. Finger moved deftly over the clasps to ensure that the case was closed correctly. “And my violin survived in once piece, so no worries.” With a smile, she got back to her feet and paused the dust off her pants which had managed to grab hold of some moist dirt and dust from the road.

The blush that had crept across Thorne’s face made Juniper grin. Despite his appearance, she found him rather attractive. Hell, she bet a lot of women and men found his look rather appealing. Not to mention he had a very easy attitude and personality to get along with. Then you tack onto the fact that he seemed to be caring, and Juniper was quite intrigued by the half dragon man.

Reaching down she picked up the case by its handle, lifting it up with ease and practice to keep it from banging against her long legs. “I am going to take my clutsy moment as the hint that I should probably try and get myself out of here and back home.” She ran her free hand through her hair to fix what she assumed was a mess from her tumble. “Before I go, let me get you my number? Incase you need anything.” She proceeded to give him her digits, expecting him to just toss them into his phone or to memorize for later.

“When you get a chance, just text me or something so I have ours. If you want to share that is.” She gave him another smile, almost wanting to tack on that she was hoping for a call, but figured it best not to what with how easily he seemed to blush. Besides, that could be a bit too forward. Juniper liked to leave people guessing.

“Thank you for chatting with me though. I am getting more comfortable here, but...it’s nice to run into people who seem more at ease than I am.”

She turned to walk away and paused only a moment to glance over her shoulder. “Take care of yourself!” She gave a wave before heading off in hopes of finding an exit back to Ashdown.