First meeting?

The air was just slightly cold, not enough to bite at your skin but just enough to have her wrap her arms around herself as she hurried up exiting the building the sliding doors only just responding fast enough to have her walk out without being hit. A fast pase fuelled by anger, she muttered to herself under her breath." no more, forget it!”

She had taken a bus out here, downtown little grimy, little dirty. Looked much worse at night. Every noise caught her attention. That homeless guy down the street yelling, the car driving by her and the soft faint smell of drinks and pee. It wasn't enough to gross you out but that was certainly what you smelt. She stopped up the street at the lights she might have been angry but she still didn't want to be hit by a bus, they went by here...a lot....happens when you stop at the bus terminal. Maybe she could find a place to stay, con someone in to paying for a hotel room, or just hang out in the timmies up the street all night. She'd done that before.

Finally seeing the shining white walking man she carried on though in her streak of putting it to the man ran diagonal across the street to reach the other side cut some time off this walk. Caring on pushing in the same direction, heading across a large parking lot moving around a few cars. She soon found herself in a dark alley way, this finally caught her attention as she stopped dead in her tracks. Covered by the large (what seems to be darker than normal) shadow of one of the tallest building in the area downtown. Often commented for looking like a bra at the top. It caught her, that feeling that lump in her throat that she could no longer ignore. “DAMN IT!" she yelled in frustration, why not why tonight things had been going good right? She didn't miss class? Teachers didn't complain right? Then why not why did it have to be that way again. She held herself a little tighter as the sudden burning of her eyes filling with tears made her hiss." I hate him! why does mom stay with him?" continuing to talk out loud she didn't care, no one carried." Stupid fuck face jackass, who does he think he is! I'm not stupid! I'm not!" the hot tears trailed down her face, gritting her teeth together more her right hand came up and smeared the tears on her cheeks trying to clean them off, her other hand soon to join as she couldn't seem to fight it. Sniffling and trying to fight full on crying she near snarled and turned punching the wall, but that didn’t satisfy her, she did it again that time though seemed to be the mistake as she yelled out in pain. “FUCKEN HELL!” she looked to her hand, un able to see much in the dark she held it winching in more pain, blood she thought she smelt blood. “Great!” she mocked herself. “Way to go, aren’t you just brilliant” she sniffled lightly. “You really are stupid”.

Edgar was accustomed to being invisible. Despite his imposing size and rough appearance he was more than used to no one meeting his eyes; passing by him like the trash that littered the street. People were scared of him and found it easier to avert their eyes and think of him as a passing shadow rather than engage him in conversation. There were some who took pity, who would buy him a meal or toss him some coins without much thought, but they were few and far between. Aggressiveness, despite what is appearance might suggest, was not his strong suit; he found it difficult to actually beg or plead or harass people for what he needed (and for someone of his sheer size, that turned out to be quite a lot.)

This is why the best part of his day had been when, at around noon, someone had bought him not only food but a blanket. A real, new, warm blanket, one that fended off the cold of the current evening. One that he hoped would last him through the winter. This blanket was one of his few possessions now (including a backpack with one extra shirt and a few old water bottles, the clothes he was wearing, and a crudely made knife. He was not inclined towards aggressiveness, however he had learned relatively quickly that he should be at least familiar with it.) He and what little he had was curled up in the alley way beside the Walper Hotel, curled up against the cold when he heard it. The distinct sound of conflict and anger... with the distinct lack of a secondary party.

That was unusual. Downtown had always been a place of conflict, there was no denying that, but this sounded very different from anyone that he knew to shout at no one. Sitting up very slowly, he looked over, his black hair kept in dreadlocks fell over his face, obstructing his dark eyes. He brushed them away with a large, umber coloured hand. Everything about him faded in the shadows of the hotel, as much as she stood out. There was a long, long moment where he wasn't quite certain what to do... The events that had pushed him into homelessness sounded similar to hers. She kept saying something about hating "him" and wondering why her mother stayed with "him." It had been a conflict with his own mother that had sent him out onto the streets, and as such a certain sort of sympathy welled up in his heart.

It was another long, painfully long moment before he took a deep breath and slowly started to approach her.

"E...Excuse me." Despite the deep baritone of his voice, there was something timid about the way he spoke. It was as if an elephant had confused itself for a hamster. "It's... Cold out tonight. take this."

Though he still stood a decent distance away, he held out to this strange young woman the blanket which he'd been given earlier that day. He had no one to offer him such a kindness on his first night out on the streets, though he prayed that this would be her last.

The deep voice ringed in her ears. Looking up to where an average man would stand her eyes had to trail up further. The look she would have been giving him would have been that of a kicked puppy, in a cage, wet and cold, the saddest thing ever something out of a spca commercial. Suddenly the cold didn't seem to matter too much anymore, she inched herself away from him. The scared looked faded as the need to defend her from the none aggressive man started to build."I-i doesn’t need it! I don't need help!".

Inching further away from him she backed in to the wall, she didn't like men very much; the thought brought a weakness in her knees and gut. She held her hand tighter; maybe the pain in her hand would remind her that her feet worked. That she could just walk away right now why didn't she." J-just leave m-me...alone" That was it her voice cracked and crumbled. Looking up at this daunting man, this daunting man who didn't hold himself high, that was handing her a blanket. A blanket how scary was that?

The sounds around her started to come back the cars, the yelling, and the buses. The old hotel creaking and clearly odd sounds of beds.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry." There was a great deal of meekness in his tone as he stood there, drawing the blanket back closer to himself. She had rebuffed him, and really in the dog eat dog world that this was, he should have left her... But his own nights full of fear and terror kept him from doing such. He folded the blanket carefully, setting it down between the two of them before backing up. "I... If you want it, it'll be there. Just... it's cold. Downtown is...isn't the type of place you wanna be without protection from... uh... anything."

Having never gotten an education beyond the eighth grade, Edgar wasn't exactly familiar with persuasive essays, he was however very familiar with how patience worked. And he was terribly familiar with the type of people who lurk in downtown areas, and just what they'd be willing to do to a pretty young girl. He went back, sitting farther down the alley way, closer to Queen Street. His large, dark hands wrapped around himself in a futile attempt to keep warm. Whether she took the blanket and ran or did nothing at all, he'd at least know that he had tried. There was still a very strong part of him that wanted to ask her, beg her to stay near him. To promise her no harm. A promise that was not extended to him when he was first on the streets.

"...Safe Haven might be open..." He said, belatedly, with as little confidence as before. "It's over at Lutherwood... if... if you need a place to go."

It took her a moment or two before she relaxed a little agaist the wall. Not letting her eyes leave him until he fully backed away from her, She slid down the wall having her knees close to her chest. She now staired at the blanket." I-i". She muttered in a meak voice, wrapping her arms around her knees tightly she rested her head down." T-thank you". she muttered out again. What was she thinking, she was cold, tired, scared, hungry. She wanted to be home but she knew this place was better.

Hiding her face in her arms she winced and lifted her head up, the wind causing her knuckels to ache a little, she sighed everything that happened this evening still ringing in her mind. Slowly though she piped up again." H-hey...you want something warm? There's a timmies near by right?".