Welcome to Gaia! ::

Juniper had been well advised to be careful with the stitches in her upper arm. The cut she had received courtesy of the Otherbeing during her escape had been quite nasty and she had been forced to concoct a story as to how the hell she'd managed to hurt herself the way she did. She saw some dubious looks tossed over her head, but nothing else was asked while she was stitched and bandaged up.

Thankfully, her injury was on her left arm, the hand that worked the neck of the Violin. If it had been her bow arm she may not have been able to play until things healed up some more.

Of course, work had been adamant that she take a few days off to let herself heal up some. Juniper doubted it was because they were worried about her but more because they feared she may bleed on merchandise if she re-opened the wound. So, in an effort to try and make up for the lack of income, she decided to busk.

So far, it had been mediocre at best. Some bills laid at the bottom of her open Violin case, but nothing to put a dent in the money she was missing out on at work.

Still, Juniper found herself drifting with the music she played. Her Violin always did help her to relax and fall into an almost zen like state. The bow moved fluidly over the strings as her fingers slid up and down the neck. The specific song she had chosen was more for her own interest. As much as she enjoyed the more upbeat, modern tunes she played, a classical peace was always extremely enjoyable to play and listen to.

Eventually, the final note was played. Juniper kept her eyes closed, enjoying the reverberating sound, before sighing gently, lowering her bow and opening blue eyes to the world again. It took a moment for her to readjust, to come down from her high, but when she did she noted she wasn't alone. Well, more like she had a singular audience member. Most people tended to pause temporarily, toss money and leave, or even just walk on past. They rarely stood there waiting for her to finish a song. I wonder how long he's been there?

She smiled and waved her bow in greeting. "I hope you enjoyed it. I can play something more modern if that's more your vibe."

Hm. He seems vaguely familiar for some reason.

Juniper smiled at the man when he offered her a flower. Putting her bow in the same hand as her violin she reached out to take it. "No worries! I understand money woes." She lifted the flower to her nose to smell it. Little did Nathaniel know that a flower, to her, was worth as much, if not more, than a handful of change or a dollar bill tossed into her case.

"I gladly accept payment in flowers." With a grin, she carefully set the flower down in her Violin case making sure it was well displayed. She knew of a perfect little vase in her apartment that would do well with a daisy smiling in it.

"I am glad you liked the song though! Not many people enjoy the classical stuff I play. I usually end up covering more modern songs when I am out here." She shrugged.

"By the way, have we met before? You look somewhat familiar but I am not sure..." There were multiple ways they could have come across one another. He could be a customer at her store, or she just happened upon him around Ashdown before. "Oh, I am Juniper by the way." She held out her hand to him.

Nathaniel's eyes roving over her instrument didn't go unnoticed. "Do you play?" She questioned. Willing to offer up the instrument for him to try if he did. She could understand the want to play when face-to-face with an instrument. Especially since he was a fan of classical.

Very quickly though the conversation took an abrupt 180 and Juniper squinted at the man slightly, trying to place him. It took a moment but she vaguely remembered seeing him, or whom she assumed was him since the masks had done a fairly good job. "I was. I think I remember seeing you too."

With a sigh she carefully lowered her Violin down into the case, figuring that this conversation may go on longer.

"I take it you got out of there alright?" She glanced up at him. She didn't notice any possible injuries, and maybe she had been one of the unlucky ones to just find themselves in a tight spot with some of the natives.

She sighed, before standing back up. "What a damn night that was."

"Do you play any kind of instrument? Piano? Drums? Flute?" Juniper was always interested in learning about other people. There was always that fine line between prying into someone's life though and just being honestly curious. Sometimes, Juniper had a tendency to cross that delicate line. "Or are your hobbies in something else? Plants maybe?" After all he had given her a flower from his bag. How many guys walked around with flowers just sitting in their bags?

A brow rose. "Unexpected consequences?" What pray tell could those be?

"I managed alright. Just a nice gash and some stitches later." She chuckled and tilted her head towards her upper left arm. "I am not worried about it. It'll probably leave a scar which will have a very interesting story to go along with it." She gave Nathaniel a wink. "I always do enjoy a good story, though, I suppose telling people I got the scar at a faerie ball where someone was destined to be used as a human sacrifice isn't something most people would believe."

"Speaking of the ball and Other Ashdown, how long have you been able to go over there?" Might as well see if this guy could possibly teach her anything new, right? He definitely seemed nice enough, and to tell the truth, Juniper was enjoying the conversation after spending a good hour standing and playing her instrument with only head nods as a form of communication.

"See, I am jealous there. I don't have any room for a garden where I live. I can't even have a potted plant because my cat will eat it." She sighed. "It's why I tend to visit the park a lot. I have a strong love for nature, I just can't cultivate it myself with my living arrangements. Yay for small studio apartments." She chuckled.

At the mention of his new strange power Juniper raised a brow. "That has to be awfully inconvenient. Can you....turn it off or is it always active in the dark? I mean, I guess there could be worse side effects considering what the point of that ball had been."

Nathaniel's blush was cute causing Jun to smile. She decided to spare the guy any sort of teasing though for fear he wouldn't get her humor quite yet. "It was only my second time." She admitted. "So no need to feel like the odd man out. I barely knew what was going on when compared to the knowledge that some of the others have. I am very much a rookie and seem to always get myself into some sort of trouble."

Reaching down she picked up the Violin case. How about we find orselves a nice tree to sit under. It'll be nice to relax for a bit and I bet that bag on your shoulder is getting heavy." She paused for a moment. "I mean, unless you have somewhere else to go? Don't let me hold you up."

"OH! I bet your place looks awesome though with plants all over!" It was true, if she could, Juniper would have herself a few potted plants herself. Maybe I should try again now that Star is older.

Brows furrowed. "That has to suck at night. I mean...I am sure it's causing a problem with your night life. Assuming having a night life is something you cultivate." Juniper may not have much of a night life herself but the rare occasion that she did go out, she enjoyed it. "I can't see that being super useful, but who knows, maybe I'll be proven wrong. You get lost or something and we can track ya down by the glow."

"Perfect. I know a good tree too." She winked. "Always gotta find that perfect tree for sitting and having conversations under, or just enjoying a good book or something." She led the way to the tree she mentioned. It wasn't terribly far actually, and when they arrived she deposited her violin case under it. The maple, obviously an older tree by it's height and stature, was beginning to show the hints of autumn color here and there. Certainly no where near it's prime for the season, but a few of the maple's leaves, those that had not survived the intense summer, lay scattered around the based, crunching underfoot. "Isn't is pretty?" The woman smiled as she enjoyed the view looking into the boughs of the tree.

"Anyway." She started as she plopped herself down next to her case, leaning her back against the tree's trunk. "You haven't been in Other Ashdown since the ball then? I have to admit, the place is...strange. But I am intrigued by it. I mean, being able to do magic is like...a dream come true. Not that I've gotten the hang of it, like...at all." She shrugged.

"Hey, if it pays, it's a good enough job." She smiled and shrugged. "We all gotta do what we gotta do to get by."

She crossed her legs while picking up one of the dead leaves. She twirled it between her fingers, eyes watching it. "Well, that glowy thing you do is magic. I mean, how else could you explain it?" She glanced up, the leaf stopping it's pirouette between her fingers. "And really, I can't say that I've seen myself have any magic on this side of Ashdown."

She sat and thought about it, the leaf beginning it's turning again. "I mean, all I've noticed is the fact that cats seem to love me. Like, more than usual anyway." She shrugged. "I definitely wouldn't consider that magic though. I have attempted actual magic in Other Ashdown to some success."

Letting the leaf drop to the ground beside her she turned her attention back to Nathaniel. "I don't really know what to expect out of all of this. Maybe some of us will never have magic that we can really see. Who knows? I mean, we are both new to this."