Relaxation is Taboo Apparently [Social - Closed]

A light breeze rolled through the town today, and Nikolai found himself strolling along with it. It was rare for the young man to venture outside the safety of the library, but with recent events he felt a change of pace was more than necessary. With a book and drink in hand, today he found himself venturing to explore more of Clover Town. Observing the small shops as he strode by, he couldn't help but admire the peace and quiet the town had. It was definitely his favorite aspect of it by far. Here he felt at ease, and didn't feel the usual worry or panic being in public brought him.

Settling his eyes on a small park, he decided it would be the perfect place for his adventure today. The sun was bright and the sky was clear, making it the perfect occasion for a relaxing read outside. As well, he seemed to be the only person there currently, so nothing could be more perfect. Today he wore a purple dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, forgoing his coat and scarf to try and enjoy the weather more. Spotting a nice tree off the path, he took one more scan of the park before settling himself beneath it. Placing his book and water beside him, he pressed his back up against the tree as he starred up at the sky, running his hands through his hair. He wondered how things were going on at home, and tried to figure out how things were going at home.

With a sigh, he grabbed his book and lightly spread it open. He was still waiting on the next letter from his family, and it bothered him slightly. Still, this was no time to think about that. Being in Clover did make him feel homesick, but he was out for a good reason. Letting himself slide into the world of his book, he let his surroundings disappear, completely immersed in the story before him.

Rose walked through clover rather happily that day. Of course she was wearing nothing but her white bra and panties so people were giving her weird looks but she didn't mind all that much. Her flowing white hair laid straight down in the back and swayed as she walked.

It hadn't been all that long actually since Rose had left Nox and traveled to Clover on foot so she could join Blue Pegasus where she got a warm welcome from a wolf girl. She had yet to meet anyone else from the guild yet and it sort of upset her that she didn't have to many friends to talk to.

Eventually she got to a small park that seemed like no one was in it so she kept walked until she came to a tree with a man sitting under it. The man was sort of cute so she decided to talk to him. She sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder playfully "What are you reading?" She asked him with a giggle as she kept laying on his shoulder.

Not a part of the world currently, Nikolai was forcefully returned and not prepared for the journey. Startled by the sudden voice, he looked around desperately, trying to figure out where it came from. When his eyes settled on Rose, it took a moment for what happened next. With a blank stare, he analyzed Rose, appearing as if he was staring at blank air for a second. 'There's a woman here. A woman wearing nothing but her underwear. Her head is on my shoulder. I do not know her.'

As reality hit him like a strong punch, Nikolai threw himself to the side, dropping his book as he tried to get away from her. Looking in every direction, he tried to make sense of what exactly was going on. Who was this person? why was she so close to him? Why was she talking to him? Each second his mind seemed to have another question, forming an unstoppable wave that all wanted to exit his mouth at once. "I-I-I Wh-Who Wh-Wh-When did-"

He could just feel his anxiety growing worse and worse each second. It was bad enough someone had startled him. Coupled with the fact that he didn't know them, they were barely clothed, and a woman, all together made it impossible for him to take it in. He managed to notice her guild tattoo through the confusion; the mark of Blue Pegasus. Alright, so she was part of his guild. That made him relax a little, but did not really stop the panic he was feeling. For some reason, he found his mind tracing back to what she said; she had asked what he was reading. Taking a deep breath, he tried to fix the situation, starring up at her as he laid on his back on the ground, forcing himself up slightly with his arm. "H-Howl of th-the Lost W-W-Wolf. It's a c-collection of sh-short st-stories. Wh-Who are y-you?"

The man got scared quickly and it made Rose slightly raise and eyebrow. The man stammered and tried to speak to her with some trouble but finally answered her question. She replied with a giggle "A little shy around girls are we?" she said as she stood up and walked over to him. Rose looked down at him for a second before grabbing his hands and helping him up. "The names Rose Blackthorn.... and you might be?" she asked with a warm smile as she tried to calm the man down. She didn't like it when people were shy around her but she found it oddly cute the way he acted and it made her laugh "Is it my clothes?" she said with a smirk as she looked down at her half naked body.

She had seen this man when she walked through the library sometimes but never really talked to him before.

Rose was not the only one trying to calm Nikolai down. He was trying just as hard to regain some composure. However, he couldn't even bring himself to look at the woman. The second he did, he could feel his face turn as red as an apple. Avoiding eye contact, he forced out an awkward chuckle. "N-Not just w-women r-r-really. I-I'm not wh-what you'd c-call a 'p-people person.'" that was the understatement of the day. The mere concept of having to interact with people was enough to make him stutter. It wasn't really that people scared him; he just didn't know how to interact or deal with them properly, and he felt nothing but nervous around strangers.

Without a warning, he was suddenly forced to his feet as Rose pulled him up. "Th-Thank you..." He mumbled out quickly, avoiding eye contact. She was right; the major issue was the clothes. He was especially troubled at dealing with women, and having to stare one down so... intimately was definitely troublesome for him. Still, he had to be polite, no matter what. With a deep swallow, he turned and met her eyes, making sure NOT to take in the rest of her. It was rude to do that to a woman, after all. "I-I'm N-Nikolai Granit. I-I'm al-also a Bl-Blue Pegasus member. It-It's a pl-pleasure to meet y-you Rose." Turning away, he exhaled loudly. OK, this wasn't so hard. He could do this. He could do this. He could totally do this.

Turning back to face her, he wondered why she even spoke to him in the first place? Maybe she just wanted to mess with him? She clearly didn't mistake him for someone else, since she asked who he was. Maybe she was just a friendly person? Still, he couldn't really deal with the lack of clothing right now. His face permanently plastered red, he turned to face her again, maintaining strict eye contact. "I-I d-don't believe in o-ogling women. Wh-Whatever you w-wish to wear is y-your choice." He turned away one more, this was hard. It now occured to him; he had dropped his book. Good, this was an excuse to turn away, he felt confident he could speak normally if he wasn't looking at her. Scanning the ground for his book, he bent down to pick it up as he noticed it. "May I ask w-why you came t-to me today Rose? Do you n-need something perhaps?"

Rose noticed that Nikolai was trying hard not to look at her body and she gave him a warm smile "I appreciate you trying not to look at my body..." she said to him as she got ready to answer her question with a shrug "You looked a bit lonely sitting there by yourself so I was just trying to be friendly... I hope I didn't disturb you to much..." she muttered as she pouted to him.

She was about to say something else when she heard a voice behind her "We have finally found you Princess!" the voice said and Rose glanced behind her to find some cat people behind her with knives and guns attached to their belts. She winced when they called her a princess she took out their knifes and Rose looked at Nikolai for a second "I- I gotta run!" she said as she took off running down the streets and soon to be followed by the hunters.

She didn't think about were she was running to but she was just thinking about running. She ran into and ally way and soon got cornered into a wall.The hunters dropped her to the floor and started to cut her with the knifes while laughing.