Night On the Town

[Sam Nanten]

(OOC) Invite only, whomever you may be. Jeez, that sounds so.....weird.

(BIC) The evening sky was so very clear it seemed as if someone drew each star from a bottomless bag by the handful and wildly tossed them into the cosmos, each as insignificant as the sand grains on the beach. The light pollutution of the big cities these days made it particularly difficult to enjoy such a serene wonder. It was no wonder people knew nothing of astronomy anymore. And emersed in this unending astrological wonder, was a young blonde stranger here in the cobbled streets of Hogsmeade.

The blonde's chocolate gaze was deep, almost empty in the flood of nautical blue. His glasses resting on the collar of his partially open button white shirt, the black undershirt was partially exposed from the first few undone top buttons. His hands rested behind his head, letting his fingers relax in each strand of his fuzzy hair. The evening breeze had him so very relaxed, the young man almost wondered when the last time was that he actually stared at the sky.

And when the last time was that he became so easily distracted from his pastime. Reputed between whispering young wizards as the alleged Campus Thief, Sam Nanten was merely standing and drawling in the sublime but immovable wonder of the night sky. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to just relax, if not for this weekend than at least this eve. He would always have time for 'work' later.

[Juliet]

A loud bang of wood on wood echoed around the street as a door exploded open and ricocheted off it's frame to spring back and hit a small girl in the side as she stumbled outside on her hands and knees. "Aide!" She squeaked in fright, scrambling along the beaten path as a man half-flung himself out the door and yelled at her.

"THIEF! Wretched little thief!" He roared, sending the girl into a quivering wreck of sobs, the 'stolen' umbrella finally unhooking itself from her fitting grey coat and falling to the ground. The man scooped up the umbrella and bumped her on the back with it, muttering irritably and storming back inside his shop to lock the door and disappear somewhere in the back, the umbrella held tightly in his hand.

The silver-haired girl was curled up in a bundle, shivering violently, tiny tears whisping over her cheeks. "Je suis désolé, je n'ai pas su." She murmered quietly to herself, crawling to her little black heeled slippers and patting out her white stockings. She was oblivious to the blood smeared in small rouge patches over the knees, or the dirt catching the elbows of her pale grey coat.

"I sorry.." She whimpered softly, sniffing and wiping the tears from her frightfully pale eyes. Little had the man known, the girl had merely entered his shop to broaden her day's adventures, she hadn't by any means meant to steal anything! The umbrella had hooked itself on her coat, and the darling child knew none the wiser. This was clear to any onlooker who had seen the whole ordeal.

[Sam Nanten]

".......Oh, really?" Sam said with an incredulously raised brow at the scene before him. The door had burst open behind him moments before, jerking the truthfully ameteur thief from his night time daze. Storming out from the boutique, a homely little man started chewing out what looked to be a perfectly innocent girl for 'stealing' a parasol from his shop. His brow scrunched slightly in aggrivation at the bigotry the man displayed in punishing the silver haired little beauty.

Passing swiftly into the doorway to make a quick 'browse,' the blonde pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before setting to his task. It seemed this night wasn't to be so care-free afterall. Within seconds he had lapped the tiny store, holding a couple hundred of dollars worth of merchandise in his arms. The real trick came within the next three seconds, the matter of timing and eluding the old man's periphreal vision. Unlatching the window next to the door, Sam turned his back to the opening and rolled out backwards, just as the old man stormed in. Sam froze, crouched beneath the window and holding his breath in his chest before he heard the other door inside slam closed.

Letting out a gentle sigh, Sam turned to the girl, whom was thankfully, albeit oddly still recovering from her seat on the ground.

Hrm, if that old fart hurt her that bad, then maybe I should teach him a lesson and make a second pass.... he strode up to her, not really caring if she was surprised at Sam's feat. The poor thing was so small, and yet she seemed to be all alone. It was his hopes she would allow him to treat her.

"Are you okay, mon cheri?" Sam inquired, remembering her mutterings in French earlier. His French was sheepishly a little rusty, so Sam hoped she would at least cognitively be able to understand what he was saying.

"I don't know if you know what I'm saying, dear. But I've no doubt you saw what I just did. Just think nothing of it, and take this on account." he whispered as he took one of the wool coats hanging from his forarm and drapped it on her shoulder. The coat was somewhat heavy, but it would no doubt bring her warmth, and it wasn't too nice that it would just stand out.

[Juliet]

Juliet blinked as she thought she heard another voice, glancing to her right quickly, but hearing nothing, apart from the faint shuffle of fabric, possibly clothing, brushing past her without touching. Her ears didn't mistake her further, she then heard the man storming back through his store, and she turned around, pale eyes wide.

The noise soon went the other way though, and Juliet let a loose sigh escape her pouty pink lips. But then, she froze, hearing someone approaching her from the side. She balled her little hands into fists and jumped back, raising them timidly and darting her near-transparant eyes all over the place.

"Are you okay, mon cheri?"

She lowered them instantly, raising her own minutely curved eyebrows and narrowing her gaze as though if by some chance this might allow her to see. To no avail.

"I don't know if you know what I'm saying, dear. But I've no doubt you saw what I just did. Just think nothing of it, and take this on account."

His voice was nowhere above a whisper, and she dipped her chin to her chest, letting her whispy silver hair fall forward and hide her cheeks. Her cheeks turned rosy as she felt a coat being draped over her, and she quickly latched out her hand and caught his wrist, holding it with toothpick-like fingers, brittle and ever so fragile.

"Merci monsieur." She peeped sweetly, keeping her hand around his wrist and stepping closer to him until she could feel his side by hers. Comforted by this, she let her hand slip down from his wrist, and her fingers wriggled into his snugly. She smiled possibly the smallest smile to grace the world and attempted to look up at him through blind eyes.

"I did not see, monsieur." She confirmed, almost hinting a double meaning that his secret was safe with her.

[Sam Nanten]

Sam blinked as the little one clamped onto his wrist with her fingers. A couple of her nails were cracked, and her palm was freezing to the touch. Her grip was not really imposing, as she seemed to have little strength in those near meatless fingers of hers. They did however, possess a sort of firmness, as if to somehow feel his intents.

Sam's breath escaped in a gasp though, as Juliet relaxed her cold grip and slid her fingers down to intertwine themselves with his. His eyes darted in each direction quickly in a nervous rush, as if to prepare for any excuses any spectators were willing to listen to. The girl could quite obviously hear though, so it was anyone's guess as to whether she would go along with any rouses, such as them being siblings. But then, the boy was a thief. He was used to jumping under such rouses. No one was around, however.

Smiling assuredly, Sam knealt down on his knees to get a closer look at the little girl. The girl's hair was a fine silver color, framing a full and round face, lightly caked with dirt. His grin grew with her assuring words, but his stare caught with her eyes - and he noticed that her expression did not register his no doubt intrusive observation. Squinting through his lenses, he made out the lightest wet film on both her light colored irises.

This poor thing was blind.

Sam's reading expression relaxed into a sad smile, and his free hand let his remaining items rest in his lap while it went up to pat her atop her head. There was no telling how long this girl was wondering the streets; was she homeless?

"Well sweetie, have you eaten anything this evening? I know a resturant just down the street if you're hungry." he offered, hoping that his brief and thoughtful silence had not put the little darling at unease.

[Juliet]

Juliet's fingers were fragile indeed, but it made them all the more sensitive to anything she touched, and that was a gift when one was blind and without the aid of a walking cane, or a guide. The young man's hands - she could tell this much by his voice and the shape of his palm - were warm, and they comforted her dearly and she kept close, her rosy cheek almost pressed against the outside of his hand.

She felt his weight move and a breeze flittering past her face told her he'd just knelt in front of her. She lowered her gaze, although it was still off-center. A hand suddenly bopped her on the head gently, and she flinched at first, but then grinned a shy grin, realising with much embarrassment that it was only him.

Juliet had been to the castle before, but it was all too loud and involved. She'd even tried classes before, but they were far too hard. She had her own gift to master, and that was the gift of no sight. Concluding that she was better off alone, and out of everyone's way, the little girl had spent most of her time sleeping by a shrouded rock near the lake, her own home-made den quite comfy, until winter came. It was her favourite season, but it always ruined her makeshift homes.

He asked her if she had eaten, and she looked down a moment, her cheeks shielded once more by those aluminium locks. She was thinking, and as she did so, she felt the very slightest protest from her stomach. Nipping her bottom lip with her teeth she hurriedly cuddled her stomach with her free arm (for she was still clinging to him quite firmly with her other) and she looked up, staring a little to the left of him.

"J'ai faim, monsieur." She murmered coyly, then wondered how fluent in French he really was. Re-presenting her question, she formed it as best she could in English, the concentration in those confident little eyes could have warmed the heart of even the coldest beast. "I..Please, have hunger, monsieur." She then swayed back and forth on her slippers petitely, wondering if she got it right.

Nervously, her hand that had been clasped around her empty tummy reached out and like an angel's touch, came to place tender fingers on the young man's nose, then across to his cheek, his jaw, his chin, and over his forehead, then his glasses; her head tilting as she painted a picture of him on her invisible canvas, every movement as delicate as if she were touching the powder on a moth's wings.

[Sam Nanten]

"You are hungry, dear?" Sam asked, smiling, knowing there really was no need. The little girl looked as if she could eat a horse; the situation definitely could not be easily dismissed with just a bowl of soup. Sam's eyes blinked away any developing tears at the thought of the girl eating for the first time today. How could anyone abandon her like that?

Sam opened his mouth to speak once more, but was abrupty cut short as the hand that coiled itself around her side moments before rose up to press itself against his nose. Her hand trailed a course across his glasses, forhead, cheeks, jawline and chin, apparently allowing her electrical signals to work with his to construct a rough mental visual of his face.

Well, if she didn't know you were blushing before, she probably knows now, you stooge! he grilled himself mentally as the girl surely felt the abnormal heat radiating from his cheeks.

Pushing his crooked glasses back into place at the end of his nose, the young thief paid little mind to the smudges her findertips left on the lenses. His free hand dropped down to close the girl's palm inside his hands. "Well before we leave, I think it would be good for a guy to at least introduce himself before taking a girl to dinner. My name is Sam. Sam Nanten, mon ami." he couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape at the last part. Afterall, he at least felt honored to show this lovely what was perhaps the first bit of true hospitality that she had seen since coming here.

[Juliet]

The warmth on his face made her smile s dolly's smile and she giggled softly, bringing her hand to her mouth to nibble on the tips of her fingers. "Vous rougissez monsieur." She closed her eyes, covering her mouth as she chortled quietly to herself, then translated her words so he could understand her better. "You have blush, monsieur." She tried, smiling at him widely.

He took her hand in his and then proceeded to introduce himself. At this, she automatically let go of his hands - though hesitantly with the one she had been clinging onto - and brought both sides of the skirt of her dress out in a posh curtsy. "Monsieur Nanten, je suis le Juliet Chéri." She said with a very well-educated tone. Clearly this was something she had been taught to do from the time she could speak. This time, she forgot to translate, but nevertheless, the name 'Juliet' was easy enough to pick up.

As if snapping out of this 'role-like state', she bounced back to stand beside him, bumping his leg gently to check where he was, then latched onto his hand again with hers, tugging him eagerly but gently forward. "We have eat now monsieur Nanten??" She piped up excitedly, before her little cheeks flushed rouge and she ducked her chin low to hide behind those silver bangs once more.

"Pardon monsieur Nanten, I will have patiénce, yes." She mumbled coyly into her hand as she found something very interesting about the ground all of a sudden.

[Sam Nanten]

Sam flinched slightly at the girl's knowing observation of his blushing, confirming his insecurities. He then let a look of pleasant surprise escape his features at her polite gesture. Sam had never met a blind person himself, though he had heard about how they use their hands to shape a person's face in their minds. It reminded Sam of a movie he watched many years back, about when Peter Pan left Neverland and grew up. Returning as an adult to find his kids, one of his old friends toyed with his face in a similar manner, though that was a slightly different situation. Sam still found himself warmed in his heart, nonetheless. He pondered what he 'looked' like to the girl.

What piqued his interest even more so, however, was the fact that she was capable of displaying such formal greetings. It was such an unnerving inconsistancy, to see a young girl as her, blind and abandoned, to have obviously been thoroughly taught in visual ettiquete as this. She and Sam, they were so alike......it was slightly scary, rather than comforting.

Well, at least this means she did not grow up alone.

"Juliet? A very pretty name for such a pretty face." he spoke again, trying to shrug off such a troubling thought from his shoulders. His smile returned immediately upon realizing how excited she was at the thought of eating. Something curiously seemed to have occured to her though, as she took his hand again and composed herself and pardoned her behavior. Smiling once more, his glasses glinted in the light of a nearby lamp post as he brushed a few thick bangs from her eyes.

"Its okay. I'm hungry too, so you're not the only one excited for supper."

Rising up from his squatting position, Sam retrieved the items he had purloined and took Juliet in a gentle stride up the street. He admittedly would look suspicious without even holding a shopping bag, but he quickly remedied that as he found a barrel and dumped the majority of his unneeded items inside. In his hand still was a red baret, and one that looked all to fitting in his mind atop the girl's noggin. He slipped it atop her head in a brotherly manner, and said "Another gift. You look very nice." the blonde assured Juliet as he guided her up the street, towards the lights that steadily grew brighter from the high class resturant. It was Reid's House, perhaps the highest class resturant in town. Was Sam financially braced for this event? You better believe it.

[Juliet]

The night was chilly, but the wool coat Sam had given Juliet helped a great deal, and she snuggled her free hand into one of the pockets eagerly, her little smile widening as he complimented her name. When he brushed the strands of hair from her face she kept surprisingly still, not daring to move; an instinctive reaction.

Then they began walking up the street, and Juliet happily kept her hand curled well inside his, a bright smile lighting up her features and her pale eyes shining with excitement. They paused a moment, and Juliet listened carefully with over-sensitive ears. Was he leaving her? Had he been joking? Perhaps she had been foolish to trust a stranger on the street?

But what else did she have...?

These thoughts rid her face of her smile and she swallowed tentitively, holding her own hands together in front of her. A frail figure on the street, she blinked a few times, still certain she could hear Sam in the near vicinity. Suddenly, something came down atop her head, and she gasped, almost letting out a frightened squeal.

"Another gift. You look very nice."

Juliet's eyes widened and she touched the baret atop her head, her features suddenly spreading into a great grin. "Sam!" She said with glee, reaching out to embrace his leg as though it were him. "Merci!" She said joyfully, patting the baret atop her head again before looping her hand with his as they started walking up the street again.

"Sam," She said quietly, taking a good three steps to keep up with one of his. "What colour is it?" She asked timidly, a small smile just visible on her lips and pink cheeks. She could smell the restaurant easily; delicious fragrances of marinated, juicy meat. She inhaled softly, swallowing back the saliva that was forming in her hungry little mouth.

Why, this was the best Christmas present any little girl could want!
Wasn't it...?

[Sam Nanten]

Sam was pleasantly surprised, even taken aback as the girl lept and clung to his leg. He had only separated from her for a moment or so to shed any of his unneccisary apparel, but it seemed that he had left Juliet lonely in that period of time. Reaching down and gracing her cheek ever so slightly, Sam wished dearly that she could only see his reassuring smile. The one that promised her from the bottom of his heart that he would never abandon this girl when she was in need.

"Its red, darling." he said, but softly clasped his hand to his mouth. Did he....just give Juliet a petname? It was just so random, but at the same time, felt so fitting to call her so. He warily averted his glance, but felt even more awkward doing so for obvious reasons. She could prbably feel him blushing from where she was.

Coming up to the resturant, the building itself took upon a look more dignified and painstaking than the majority of other places in Hogsmeade. But then again, it was not uncommon to see high-class wizards stopping through this infamous town during their worldy travels, so it was fitting to have a place where they could convene. Among the finely maintained shrubbery lied a few hidden inclincts of the previous Halloween, decorations and baubles that the oddly themed 'Helping Hands' still had not stored away yet. He let out a faint chuckle as he passed by and heard the scurrying of fingers in the bushes. Apparently some holidays had a tendancy to linger throughout the year, like the Christmas lights on some people's houses that can be seen in summer.

After meeting with the hostess at the entrance of the mansion-like resturant, Sam gently tugged Juliet to a dimlit corner, where he would hopefully get to know more about her. They took a corner table, but Sam went ahead and sat next to her, as company at the dinner table was always better enjoyed when he could sit next to the person he was eating with. And since the girl had no way of looking back at him from across the table, sitting next to her would be more considerate.

"So tell me, Juliet." Sam started taking his coat off and hanging it on a nearby coathanger and helping Juliet out of hers. "What brings you here all the way from France? Do you not have any family?"

[Juliet]

Juliet almost skipped with joy as the scent of the restaurant drew closer and closer. Excitement glittered in her blue-grey irises, as a grin spread wide over her pale face. Goodness it was all so special! She let out a little giggle, before suddenly biting her bottom lip and bumping into Sam's leg; her eyes widening as she glanced toward the bushes outside the restaurant. She was certain she had heard something in them.

Sam led her on with a chuckle of his own, and this reassured her, so she gave his leg some space again and enthusiastically swung his arm as she did indeed break into a skip. A melodic echo of laughter ran through the street as she laughed, which could have been a wonder to any onlooker. In truth, it was all because she had never been to a restaurant before. But of course, she knew how to act.

Another mystery.

When they met the hostess at the entrance, Juliet followed the woman's perfume to where the girl presumed she stood, and curtsied widely. "Merci madame." Then she hastily took off her baret and held it to her chest with a smile toward the woman (though it was a little too far left).

Before she knew it, Sam was guiding her to a table in a corner, though instead of grasping his hand, Juliet slipped her baret on her silvery tresses again and instead caught the skirt of her little dress in those brittle fingers. Walking delicately (and close to Sam's side), she made sure the skirt did not cover her black slippers, and when she sat down, she neatly placed the skirt of her dress back around her white stockings. As if it were all custom.

Juliet then acknowledged Sam sitting beside her, and she pleasantly rest her hands petitely in her lap. Her manners were impeccable. She only caught her name in the first part of Sam's speech, but she certainly understood from France, and more importantly family. "Oui, je suis venu de Paris." She piped up, explaining that she was from Paris. But when her thoughts collected up the combination of the understood words, her face fell as though someone had just told her she was about to be executed.

Her little eyelashes flickered, holding back a very sudden wash of tears over her already filmy eyes. She sniffled slightly and brushed hastily at her nose and eyes before looking around self-consciously. She had always been taught to never upset herself and cry in a place of form. She snuck her arm into Sam's and rest her head low on his arm, staring at her slippers under the table.

"Ma momie et le papa devaient partir.." She whispered, before translating in short, "They had to...go away...". Then the smallest of tears rolled down her cheek to position itself on her chin; her eyes taking on a look so slippery one could have drowned in them.

[Sam Nanten]

Sam's heart constricted slightly as he watched the little girl's reaction. He wanted so badly to know about her, but he hated that it would probably rupture a lot of scars in the girl's heart yet to be healed. He could tell from the moment that they entered the resturant that this girl was certainly of some noble decent. Not even his sisters ever bothered to observe or practice such high class behaviors as that, and the inconsistancies of this were enough to drive him batty.

There the thief Sam sat, frozen in his seat as Juliet nestled up against him, squeezing his arm and whispering those pained words. Even without her translating them, it would not have taken an interpreter to guess what had happened. He wished so badly that he had not opened the conversation on her end. He would have much rather told her about himself. Mind you, there would have been a few inconsistancies here and there, but any story teller would have prided himself at merely holding the story of the past few months or so of Sam's life. After stealing something as large scale as say, a small ocean, one would definitely have an eye-brow rasing tale or two to tell a child.

Sliding his free hand down over the French girl's forhead, Sam's fingers caressed her bangs and glided down over her tightly-closed eyes. "Shhh, mon précieux." he leant down and crooned into her ear, hidden beneath those silk-like tresses of hair. He traced a few reassuring patterns through her hair as she sobbed into his arm, and she continued for a short while with little restraint. But then again, perhaps she needed a good cry. Afterall, this girl probably hadn't talked to anyone about her past since she had come here, so it was no surprise that she had just pushed it to the back of her mind until then. A waiter passed by once, and Sam hastily sent him to get the two some juice and a few appetizers before they would look at the menu.

Sam probably couldn't even steal a king's fortune to ease this girl's troubles, though he'd have no compunctions about robbing the world blind, if that would so please her. However, he also had no complaints about giving her the time she needed, and that was probably what she needed most of all at that moment.

[Juliet]

Her sniffles and sobs were quiet, but every now and then a short intake of air as she sobbed again would sound quite loudly. It was that moment of trying to restrain one's emotions and tears in a large gulp of air, and failing miserably to only let out an uncontrollable whimper at the volume of a small dog's bark. Juliet buried her head further in Sam's arm as he comforted her. He reminded her of papa.

As if a sudden rush of maturity swelled in the chest of the little girl, she straightened herself up, inhaled a big lump of air and raised her eyebrows to wipe her sleeves over her eyes and dry away her tears. Wiggling her nose, she wiped that too, before sitting very still, certainly determined not to cry again, or make any sound at all.

Hiccup!

Juliet hurriedly engulfed her face with her sleeves as she hiccuped, her baret falling down over her eyes as she slid down in the seat to hide herself. A deep blush entered her cheeks, and she gasped up at Sam with a very apologetic and shocked look in her eyes. "Me pardonner monsieur!" She whispered through the hands that were covering her mouth. She was clearly embarrassed and ashamed at her own behaviour in the restaurant.

Hiccup!

Again, she buried herself, almost ending up completely under the table. If one had looked over, they would most likely have assumed it was Sam hiccuping! - Though that was hardly Juliet's intention. Her cheeks grew pinker, and she let out a shy chuckle, desperately muffling another hiccup with her sleeves as best she could.

[Sam Nanten]

And just when Sam thought it couldn't take any longer for the waiter to make his rounds to their table...

Sam quickly adjusted to the calming situation. His fingers grew accustomed to the patterns that they traced in the girl's silvery hair. Looking neither at the subtly concerned customers nor at the girl, he seemed to trail off in a long daze at no particular spot on the floor. A sigh escaped his chest, and it occured to him tat the most basic principles of thievery applied to this and most other situations in life - If one keeps a cool head in any trial, then everything turns out okay.

Sam froze though, as he felt the girl's body softly convulse next to him. His hand bracing itself beneath his chin on the table, he slowly tilted his head over and peered upon the girl, tightly curled into her seat and blushing like mad. He was certainly glad at the point that she couldn't see, since Sam had one of the most rediculous grins on his face that anyone had ever seen. He could not believe that she suddenly caught the hiccups, and it simply tickled him to no end that the precious little thing was getting so embarassed about it.

Recovering from his tongue-in-cheek moment, Sam leaned down and whispered in the girl's ear. "You're hiccuping because you're stressed, or you're worried. Relax mon cher, and I promise they'll be gone." At that note, sam dexteriously reached over to the next table while the sitters were not looking, and plundered an untouched glass of drinking water. He then brought it over and handed it to the girl, certain that she knew how to quell hiccups.