Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me.

[bookish_lioness]

Characters: bookish_lioness and open to anyone.
When: Early evening of November 5th
Where: Wandering about Adstring, with a quick detour at the Burrow 2.0. Feel free to encounter her almost anywhere.
Rating: PG, possibly worse if certain foul-mouthed characters tag in?
Summary: Ever noticed how, when you try to avoid people, you tend to bump into everyone you know (

Comments

[knew_anyway]

Part of research meant that he had to go outside every now and then and view the city for what it was, through his own two eyes- and lenses. Even so, he didn't like leaving much. So, when Nathaniel reluctantly left his home to go and survey the town a bit, scout out things, look for food and other necessities, it only made sense that he'd run into someone.

Almost directly right into someone.

"Oh- excuse me-"

Nat blinked from where he'd been staring curiously at an older building while he walked, stumbling back from his almost-collision with Hermione. Only then did he realize who it was.

"-oh. Hello."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione had been lost in her own thoughts, worrying over her future relationship with Ron... and her future friendships with Suki and Sokka. She'd messed up royally this time, and the feeling was so completely and utterly foreign to her that she just didn't know what to do.

All of that pretty much amounted to why she didn't notice she was in anyone's path until she'd narrowly avoided colliding with her. She blinked in surprise, and as she'd never met him in person and more often than not spoke to him via texts, she didn't immediately know who he was.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-... I should have watched where I was going."

[knew_anyway]

"No- it's alright, I..."

He pauses, glances at her for a moment, before offering his hand to shake.

"You're Hermione Granger, aren't you? It's a pleasure."

[bookish_lioness]

She looked at him for a moment before coming to place the face, slipping her hand in his and giving it shake.

"John, isn't it? John Mandrake? I so rarely hear the sound of your voice that I'm afraid it took me a bit to recognize you. How nice to meet you."

[knew_anyway]

"It is- yes."

He gives her a small smile, nodding his head once, politely.

"My apologies- I tend to use text far more often than I should. It's a pleasure to finally meet you as well."

[bookish_lioness]

"Oh, there's no need to apologize!" Hermione told him quickly, laughing it off. "You're perfectly within your rights to choose one mode of communication over another. Besides, it proves that you're literate, which is always something I can respect."

[knew_anyway]

"It's always good to know that people respect literacy, this day and age."

He laughs, glancing over to her. "Where are you heading? I'll walk you there."

[bookish_lioness]

Smiling, Hermione nodded as she replied, "From what I hear, too many people are relying upon computers to do the brunt of their work for them these days. Knowing that someone still takes the time to simply type out full sentences is always nice."

Shrugging a bit awkwardly, Hermione replied, "I can't say that I was going anywhere in particular. I just needed to walk for a bit."

[knew_anyway]

"Computers?" He looked at her with a muted curiosity. "I don't see why anyone would want to rely on those. They're extremely inefficient."

Of course, while John was from around the same time period as Hermione, technology had been quite differently affected in his world than it had been in hers. Computers were only beginning to be invented, and they were much, much more trouble than they were worth.

"At any rate, you shouldn't be walking alone. There can be dangerous things along the city grounds."

[bookish_lioness]

Hermione could only assume that he was from a different time period than her, or that he simply shared similar sentiments about technology. Either thought endeared him to her, so she smiled a bit more widely. "They make us too dependent on them," she agreed. "Thankfully, I don't use them at all unless I'm at a library that insists on using them instead of a simple card catalogue, so I'm safe enough from their influence for now."

She was about to tell him that it wasn't as though she had anyone to walk with, but oh, that just made her sound pathetic. Instead, she asked, "Where were you headed, then? I can accompany you along the way, and then I won't be walking alone. Presuming you don't mind, of course."

[knew_anyway]

"Of course I don't mind."

He managed a small smile back. "You've been very kind to me. I'm actually headed over toward some of the old buildings that way." Nathaniel points toward the looming buildings ahead with a little shrug. "I've been book hunting, as of late. I've already combed through the library, but sometimes there's shelves of them in abandoned houses."

[bookish_lioness]

Following the direction of his point, Hermione murmured, "I hadn't thought of checking abandoned houses. It must feel a bit like looting, doesn't it?" Not wanting him to think that she meant to imply that he was doing something wrong, she looked at him with a small smile as she admitted, "But I suppose it's nothing alike, considering that the houses are abandoned. I can help you carry things, if you'd like, though I'm afraid I won't be able to carry as much as I could have with my wand."