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Gabriel had gotten far too use to spending his nights here in the park. He was just getting off work for the day, and that often meant that he had a few hours to himself before he needed to be home for dinner, as well as to greet his little sister as she returned from school.

He pulled the fur collar of his leather coat up around his ears, the cool air chilling him a bit, but not enough that it was annoying. It was one of his favorite times of the year, and not only because his birthday was the next day, but because he loved the scent of spiced cider and crisp, dry leaves.

He did not really pay too much attention to those that were around, it was a normal day, same people, same disgusting romances on the banks of the lake. He would be the first to admit that he was a bit jealous of the couples as they sat there, wrapped in each others arms. He did not have anyone as of yet that he dared allow that close. His last close relationship had ended rather badly and he was not ready for that amount of heartbreak again.

It was as he rounded a sharp corner that he managed to snag his foot on a tree root and in consequence go toppling over the young woman that happened to be sitting at the foot of the tree. The next things she would hear was a string of drawn out curses, as well as a few more colorful expletives as he rose from the cold, wet, ground.

He dusted off the front of his clothes, the black on black ensemble hardly showing the dirt. He then noticed that he had, in fact landed on a woman. His face flushed the deepest of red, a strange color on the goth boy. "My gosh...I am sorry. I did not mean to trample you." He cringed, even to him he sounded like a damn fool.

The young goth man was less amused by her words than he was by the expression on her face. He knew that look all too well. The look of someone trying to size up a new encounter. He did it more often than not. Even more so now that he knew that some of those the frequented this part were not of the most savory of sorts. But such was the lot that was laid before him. The life of a knight was one of loneliness and paranoia.

He brushed off the thoughts that haunted him. He still did not understand a lot about what he was, but he did know that there was something, someone calling him at night and that he was growing closer and closer to heeding that call. Camelot had told him he would know when he was ready, he did not think he had meant this.

He heard her words as if they were just and echo in his ears, he blinking once before pushing down the blush that had made it to his cheeks. "I am more than alright. It takes a lot more than a simple fall to take me out. I am far more worried about yourself. I might be a stick but I am certain that I weigh more than you do." He gave her a soft smile, his black painted lips parting just a bit to reveal that he had sharp canines to go along with the goth look. It was a blessing of birth, but it added to the effect.

Gabriel was not certain how best to take the woman's agreeing with him. Normally he would just shrug it off as a comment, but the way she looked at him, the way she seemed to size him up, made it fell like more of an insult. He lifted one brow in thought of this. "Perhaps you are right. I have been told I worry far too much. Forgive me."

He extended his hand, not really taking hers, but making the offer for her to take his all the same. "I have not seen you about before. Certainly not here or on campus. I'm Gabriel. Sort of the resident odd ball and spook." He shrugged lightly. He knew alot of the more academic students around the area looked at him as a rebel. They often sold him short, but that was also to his advantage. He smoked them on tests.

"Are you attending university? Or maybe you are still at the high school. That would account for the reasons I have not seen you." He knew he was rambling, but it gave him time to look her over. The bruises and cuts, the clothing she wore. She was a rough one. The last traces of a black eye, a fight or abuse? He was certainly not one to ask.

Though he was abit taken aback by her words, he did not make light of it. The way one lived their life was their affair and he was certainly not one to judge. Though the more he thought about it, the more he seemed to recall the nightly resident of the park. The young pile of rags that would sleep on benches and not draw attention.

He seemed to brighten a bit as she followed through on his ramblings. If nothing else it made him feel abit less like the social clutz he knew himself to be. "I am a university student. Majoring in History and Sociology." He said the words with a pride that some in his eyes. He was a nerd, and a proud one. "I would be lying to myself and you if I didn't say that your social position was of interest to me." He had said he wouldn't speak of it, but yet it escaped. Damn his infernal rambling

He smiled as she seemed to peek at the idea of his interest. This pleased him more than anything in that moment. For, to bring joy to others was certainly something he enjoyed. It was all the more pleasing if they took an intrest in the same such thing.

"Well, if nothing else, it is not every day that one can speak with someone that lives a life alternative to those he is use to. I cannot imagine living in the park, myself. But to learn how it is that you get on in such a life, that is interesting."

He knew that he probably sounded strange to her. Not many people enjoyed learning how others lived. It certainly was not a conversation to have around the family dinner table. Not that Gabriel himself had not tried to initiate such a conversation with his father many a time. It was different when inquiring about the lifestyles of business executives.