It did not matter to her that the rain was falling in lazy drizzles even as the sun shone bright in the sky, thinly veiled by gentle gray clouds. It was not raining five minutes before when the plant mutant arrived in the park; indeed, it did not even seem like it was going to happen since sometimes slightly gray clouds liked to just merely drift in the vast, blue sky. She was fine with this, though, since rain water made her feel really good. The plant mutant actually needed the lift it brought to her.

It was hard for her, lately, with life in general. She felt kind of listless, like she was not going in the right direction with her life, and everything just felt rather gloomy. She recalled earlier in the week after going to the club to try and drink her sorrows away that she never seems to stay out of some kind of trouble, whether it be of the heart or it be of physical danger.

She jogged through the park, her tank top already damp before the rain with perspiration as she hit her fifth mile. Her plan was to get halfway through Central Park before taking a pause for the cause and maybe do some yoga or just some meditation. She was nearing that point, so she slowed to a trot, and then to a walk while hooking her hands behind her head in order to open up her airways.

Xavia tilted her head back as the water hit her face, some tension ebbing for the moment as she enjoyed the weather. A decision was made at that point, and she pulled off her foot wear, setting the stuff under a nearby tree to prevent her gear getting wet since wet trainers were uncomfortable, and she sat down in a shaft of sunlight, stretching her limbs. "Nothing like dancin' in t'e rain..." She sang under her breath, an idea for a new song coming to thought.

Somehow, she wasn’t surprised this happened.

“Loki! Get back here!”

The pug continued his fast paced stroll, pausing only for a brief second to look behind him to see that his master was following then quickly darted off from the alley to the green space.

“Don’t-”

Too late.

Loki was already dashing through the freshly cut grass and wet dirt, waggling his tail from left to right with joy.

Alexandra sighed. If only he had enjoyed his baths as much as making a mess of himself.

“You’re never, ever getting of your leash again.” she muttered under her breath. She looked up at the sky, where patches of blue, gray and the golden shine of sunlight intertwined, painting the weather as undecided. Light drops of rain touched her face gently as the hood of her sweatshirt shifted when she moved. She shifted her position again, looking at the vast green of the grass and the occasional muddy brown stripes where Loki now laid in waiting, tilting his head to the side curiously.

Then, her eyes fell to the sparkling white of her Converses and their oh-so-not-waterproof texture.

She looked back up. Loki tilted his head to the other side.

Exhaling, she took her first step into the wet grass. Then another.

“Stay.” Alex commanded. Loki straightened his head and waited.

One more step. Then another and another. Almost there.

Loki’s ears perched up. Alex didn’t hear a thing but her soooooo grounded dog surely did. His head moved swiftly to one side, in the direction of the sound.

“Loki…”

And there he went, in a blur of cream colored fur, hopping across the grass until he disappeared behind a tree, near another alley.

Jogging across, Alexandra followed.

Pft. And they said pugs were lazy.

[OOC: Dryad, feel free to have Loki act as you want/need it.]

Close your eyes and... Dance with me in the rain... Yeah... That sounds niiice, she thought. Lord knows why she constantly had music flowing through her head, but she did. She was conjuring up more verse in her head, minding her own business when she felt the snuffle of a pug nose. She nearly fell over.

Holy smokes! That freakin scared her! A friggen tiny dog! She placed her hand over her hammering heart, then placed the same hand on her forehead. "Okay, soo..." She waved her other hand to try and shoo the dog away.

But then she caught sight of the owner, or who she assumed was the owner of the pug and her brow puckered. Xavia rose to her feet and looked Alex up and down. But she was seeing another time in the back of her head.

She bent over to scoop the squirming mass of the wet pug and moved to deposit the pet in the proper arms, "Guessing you look for t'is puppy? Here you go." She tilted her head and then stepped back, providing the dog was retrieved.

Xavia was now kind of grubby, but that was okay... She did not seem angry or bothered by that anyways.

Alex halted her jogging as she reached the vicinity of the tree Loki had disappeared behind, her eyes scanning for the familiar cream colored fur of the little trickster. She found him soon – wiggling his tail at his discovery – a red-headed female jogger, judging by the athleisure clothes she was clad in. Dogs had a tendency to resemble their masters but Loki was certainly more social than Alexandra even tried to be. She resumed her walk, heading towards the pair, intent on picking up the little runaway, apologize for him interrupting the woman’s activities and be on her merry way but, as she took a few steps forward, the redhead was already up on her feet, picking Loki up and depositing him in his owner’s arms.

"Guessing you look for t'is puppy? Here you go."

Alexandra pursed her lips as Loki squirmed into her arms, unhappy with his freedom being taken away from him. She wiggled her nose at the smell of wet dog (and a hint of roses?) reached her nostrils.

“Plokhoy, Loki.” She admonished in Russian. Bad Loki indeed. The squirming ceased as Loki looked at his master with big innocent eyes. About time he realized this wasn’t as much fun for Alexandra as it was for him. With Loki safely in her arms, Alexandra looked up to the redhead, a smile appearing on her lips.

“Yes, thank you so –“ she began to say. But oh dear. Having been so focused on the squirming trickster in her arms, she was only now seeing the mess Loki’s grimy little paws had left behind. Paw marks everywhere on the redhead’s tank top. Muddy paw marks. “Oh. Oh. I’m so sorry.” Alexandra apologized, scanning the woman’s features to identify any telltale signs of irritation. Fortunately, she found none.

But still.

She bit her lip. “I don’t have anything on me that could help with … that.” She smiled apologetically. The rain did come out of nowhere, after all. “But I swear I saw a Starbucks on my way to the park.” She looked briefly behind her, unsure. She had yet to find her way into the city without the help of Google Maps.

“Coffee’s on me.”

She knew this woman. Flashes of images fro. The flight to Romania filtered into her thoughts. That was a long time ago, she thought, and without actually meaning to, Xavia replied to Alex's horrified words... In Romanian. "I like dirt. No worries."

It was not that they were more than just acquainted; they were not even friends at the time of the flight because they hardly knew each other. If the woman remembered her at all, it would be a bloody miracle. She remembered Martin the most herself, out of the trip to Romania.

"It is fine," she repeated in English just in case she was wrong. With the little dog transfered back to his owner she gave a smile. The dog was cute, and the gear she was wearing was nowhere near brand new, and it was already kind of gross from the long run she was about half through.

"No damage done. He is cute, t'ough." Her bare toes curled against the damp carpet of grass, the smell of rain sweet in her nostrils. But the sound of coffee was nice, she thought, and decided to take up the invitation to Starbucks, though she said, "I will take you up on coffee, but you do not have to pay."

"I like dirt. No worries.”… "It is fine,"

Alexandra’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the redhead’s language of choice – strangely enough, she recognized the words with no effort. And yet, she had absolutely no idea what language they were spoken in. Nor she could form any sentences in it. Not yet, anyway. The furrow deepened for a brief moment as she remembered the first time she had experienced this feeling – when preparing for her first trip to France a few years back. It was the strangest of feelings, reading the Russian to French pocket dictionary, only to find that she already knew most of those words. While it had made her trip to Paris so much easier to manage, she also remembered the false hope she had gotten, believing it would lead to a discovery about her missing memories. Barcelona and Spanish soon followed, and yet, neither hints led to the unveiling of her past.

Now, she preferred to not stress over it. Her features quickly relaxed, as she stroked Loki’s short (and damp!) fur to keep him calm. “What language was that?” she asked casually, with only a hint of actual interest surfacing through her otherwise unconcerned tone.

"No damage done. He is cute, t'ough." … “I will take you up on coffee, but you do not have to pay."

Alexandra chuckled in response. “You can’t imagine how many times that had gotten him out of trouble.” The fur-ball almost always got his way. As if on cue, he shifted into her arms, resting his short muzzle on her forearm, sighing loudly. “His name is Loki. Deserves the name.” she added, with a broad smile. “Anyway. Coffee, on me, please. It’s the least I can do.”

Speaking of. She only had a vague sense about the direction they should go in – certainly not enough to start walking. “Uhm, I think it’s that way.” With her hands occupied by one little pug and his leash, she moved her head slightly, pointing in the direction she had come from. Well, either the woman (she should probably find out her name) knew the lay of the land better than her or she would check Google, just to be sure. 

"I'm Alex, by the way."

"I spoke Romanian, and I... Think I know you but you might not remember me if you are who I think you are." She replied in Romanian, watching the woman's face with careful study. Indeed, Alexandra had forgotten who she was. To be fair, there was one point where Xavia had forgotten who Alexandra was. She recalled the fateful flight to Romania agaun, shuddering as flashes of the torture chamber after that, old man Beladodia, the hours spent chained like an animal... "Okay, you buy coffee..." She really didn't need the woman to, she was pretty well off... But it would provide some small comfort, yes?

She took a heavy breath. "I am Xavia. I t'ink we met long time ago and took journey together. I forget you too at one point if you are who I t'ink you are, but it was long ago. We can start over either way and be friends, yes?" The plant mutant moved to her shoes, pulling socks on and trainers, tying them, and then jogged back over.

What Alex might find odd, as the rain did cease falling for the moment with promise of more to come, is that the air was soon filled with the scent of wild roses. There were none in sight, the smell seemed to surround Xavia, but it was not thick or unnatural, but rather just right. She should be smelling like sweat after the long run she had already taken.

"Lead t'e way," she said. The whole time,, she hadn't cracked a smile, either. It seemed that she was kind of tired in a way that it permeated her soul, reflecting in the odd, caramel colored eyes that peered at the woman and her little pug. She was, however, very curious as to the reaction she was going to get from her statement about already knowing her.

And there they were. The ifs and maybes that always seemed to surround her past. She listened the woman’s – Xavia’s, she soon found out – words carefully, as she continued to speak in the strangely familiar language. Romanian, the redhead had said. She knew of the country, yet she had never visited it – as far as she could remember. It was somewhere in East-Central Europe, if memory served her well. Alexandra bit the inside of her cheek, focused on trying to summon up a few words but failed. It didn’t really work that way. Mentally, she sighed.

“It might be.” She mused, narrowing her eyes, scanning Xavia’s face, trying to remember her features and failing. “I used to travel a lot for work.” She added, as an afterthought. Managing the gallery in Moscow had her travel quite a few times over the past years. And there were also the number of flights between New York and Moscow that she had made lately. But she didn’t usually forget faces – or languages she understood. “We can start over.” She nodded, half-smiling, half in thought. “Or just start.” She let herself mutter as Xavia went back to get her shoes.

Meanwhile the rain had stopped. Alex looked up where the sky was loosing the little sunshine it had. In the distance, gloomy clouds made the drizzle that had been falling down to seem like a joke. Hopefully, she, Xavia and Loki would be safe inside by the time the harbingers of bad weather reached Central Park. She looked down to Loki who seemed content to be kept warm in her arms, then back at Xavia who was jogging back. The scent of roses she had felt earlier returned as well, more powerful than before. Was it perfume? Because she certainly didn’t see any roses around. “Huh. Do you feel that scent?” she questioned, sniffing the air curiously. “I think it’s roses.” She commented.

When Xavia asked her to lead the way, Alexandra nodded, noting the fact that the redhead seemed kind of tired. She assumed it could be from the run she had obviously been doing before. “Yeah. I just need to check the location on my phone once we reach the pavement so I can put Loki down.” Loki certainly wasn’t small enough to allow her the use of one hand. Not without squeezing him under one arm or some rather silly maneuvering of one of her legs, anyway. “I’m, uhmm, kind of new here.” She explained, beginning to move across the green space, toward the alley she had come from.

“So, are you Romanian?” she asked Xavia, turning to look at her as she spoke – her mind refused to let go that fast of what the redhead had said previously. While Alexandra didn’t want to let herself be excited about any hint about her past, she couldn’t ignore it completely. “You don’t sound American.” Alexandra added – she had noticed the slight accent and the occasionally broken English the woman had used. “And what is this journey that you spoke of?”

"It is me... T'e roses..." She said softly after her return. She did not elaborate too much, but did add, "My favorite smell." And that was no lie. She would always love the scent of roses. She was not sure how to reply to the prior statements and she did not hear the mutter, though had muttered the same thing as she stuffed her feet into her socks.

"Right over t'at way," she pointed in the direction of said coffee chain. She knew the city like the back of her hand for the most part. Sure, there were some areas that she did not, but she lived to explore the city. When the subject of her origins came up, she shook her head. "Hungary, but it is very close. I come from close to t'e border where we speak bot' Hungarian and Romanian. Came in handy when I go to Bucharest for my work long time ago." Which answered the question abot a journey, yes?

Xavia actually kind of trailed off toward the end of that statement. It still hurt to get hit with all of those damn images. She had to force her thoughts to the present, troubled that she was dwelling again.

Alexandra might eventually notice that there were faded bruises along the one side of Xavia's face, faded enough that it took a shaft of sunlight to reveal. The redhead was kind of soft spoken, though she wasn't meek.

“Ah, well, it’s a very nice perfume.” Alexandra replied when Xavia admitted the roses scent came from her. It did seem kind of fitting for the redhead. And since apparently she knew New York well enough to get them to Starbucks without the help of Google Maps, she followed her lead. Loki was probably quite happy since Alexandra no longer needed to put him down. Cuddled in her arms, he just lazily watched people go by.

Listening carefully to the redhead’s words about the journey, she found herself sifting through her memories, trying to remember any trip where she might have had a connecting flight in Bucharest. Her search was in vain – all she did knew about Bucharest was from Wikipedia or a book. “Hmmm.” She whispered under her breath as she basked in the patch of sunlight they were walking through, allowing herself to pull out of her own thoughts. “I really don’t think I ever went to Bucharest.” She mentioned to the other woman, looking over. The fading bruises on Xavia’s face became visible. Alexandra frowned a little for a moment, narrowing her eyes to be certain that her eyes weren’t playing tricks. While she convinced herself that those were indeed bruises, she preferred to remain silent It wasn’t her business to question.

It is not perfume, she thought but did not say out loud. She did say, "T'ank you." She led the way into the shop, waited patiently for the other to get situated with the dog. She regarded Alexandra with a tilted head and curious look, searching her gaze before sighing, "I must be mistaken," she said quietly, even though she was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the same woman from the plane.

She knew how jarring it was to start remembering things out of the blue. Oh, what a rough time that was. She looked down, then and moved toward the line after Alexandra was in the shop. She seemed to keep a healthy distance from the few men, even if they seemingly ignored her. Her behavior was certainly odd.

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence; for Alexandra, it was a strange feeling, being reminded of her missing past after such a long time. When she woke up in a hospital in Moscow without the slightest idea about who she was, it was difficult to accept it. The doctors had warned her that it was quite possible that her memories could be gone for good. She refused to believe it. But when no one came forward, claiming to know her, she realized that the only things she had about her past were an ID card, an old apartment and a diary that shed little light. She grew used with it. And now… now, her past was just that – her past. Sure, she was curious, but it didn’t feel like all her identity depended on that.

Reaching Starbucks pulled her out of her reverie. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones who decided to take shelter at the coffee shop. The patio was filled with people, pets and sounds, and, looking through the glass windows, she could see quite a few people waiting in line to get their preferred beverages. Alexandra went straight for one of the few empty patio tables – kneeling down, she let Loki out of her arms and tied his leash to a leg table. While initially disturbed by the sudden disappearance of the comfort and warmth of his master’s arms, Loki’s attention was soon diverted to the Yorkshire Terrier sitting nearby. Sniffing curiously, he paddled over. Alexandra smiled. Yeah, Loki was certainly more social than she was. “Be good.” She cautioned, pushing herself up to her feet. Loki hardly seemed to acknowledge her. Shaking her head, Alexandra shifted her attention back to Xavia. “Thanks for waiting.” She nodded slightly toward the door. “Let’s go, then.”

She remained silent for a few more moments while she and Xavia waited in line, scanning the redhead’s features as she wasn’t paying attention. Alexandra’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as she noticed the fact that she didn’t feel comfortable around any males whatsoever. Combined with the bruises she had observed earlier, Alexandra became worried that she might have forced the woman in a situation she clearly didn’t enjoy. She pondered on what she should do for a moment. It wasn’t really her business to pry into Xavia’s personal matters. But still. Taking a deep breath, she leaned a bit closer, touching the woman’s arm in what she hoped to be a reassuring manner. “Hey, are you ok?” she spoke, the volume of her voice almost down to a whisper. “You don’t look too comfortable to be” Alexandra paused while shifting her eyes to look around for a moment before returning her gaze to Xavia. “here.” She didn’t mention the fact that she noticed that Xavia didn’t look comfortable around the men that were near her. It wasn’t something that you could casually bring up while waiting in line at Starbucks. “Do you want to wait outside? I can get the coffee.” She offered, trying to sound as soothing as possible.

She stood there quietly, always observing, stepping to the side when even an obviously gay man was near, jumping when she realized she had bumped into one or two. She had not been in any establishment since the night she had been slipped a drug and... Yeah... Even as her throat tightened with the unexpected panic that welled up within her.

And then the sound of her new-old friend speaking to her snapped her to attention. Was she okay? She did not have an immediate answer. Her lips trembled, but she managed to pull of a quite unconvincing nod before ducking out of the building. Truth was, she was not okay. She was going down a slippery slope of darkness and there was not a damn thing she could do to stop it.

Images of what happened, hazy as they were, haunted her as she tried to calm herself down. She moved to sit down at the table that Alexandra had chosen, sat down heavily and tried to just... Breathe.

Calm... Yes... That helped. She calmed down... The chaotic train of thought she had running through her brain were pushed away effectively.

Okay.... This was good... She avoided a public meltdown.

By the time the other woman was outside with the drinks, assuming she did not choose to follow, she would have a calm look on her face. She was good. In fact, Xavia managed a smile whenever Alex did come out to sit down.

Things didn’t exactly go as expected for Alexandra; there she was one moment, watching Xavia nodding unconvincingly at her question, only to vanish from the brunette’s side the next moment, leaving her confused, staring, and entirely unsure of what her next move should be. She barely knew the woman, even with Xavia’s assumptions that they’ve met before. She had absolutely no idea what happened, only some guesses, and, even worse, she found herself unsure on how she could handle these situations – she knew it all too well that she wasn’t the most empathic person around.

She watched Xavia push the door of the establishment open, unsure if she would flee as far as possible or wait outside. The redhead decided on the latter, sitting at the free table Alex had picked earlier. Still confused, Alexandra looked around. Other people have been staring too but now were resuming their previous activities. Taking a deep breath, she decided to forget about the coffee and follow Xavia outside.

By the time, she had reached the redhead, it seemed she had calmed down, with even a slight smile curling up her lips. Alexandra sat down, too, briefly checking Loki who seemed quite busy with his Terrier friend. Her attention snapped back to Xavia and asked the only question that seemed fit for this moment. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She was quiet even after Alexandra asked her question. Xavia looked down, her hands were starting to tremble... She began wringing them, hoping to quell her nerves... After all, who liked talking about things like being drugged. But speaking about it probably should happen. After the considerable silence, she spoke quite softly..

"I was lonely... I meet a man, he was easy to speak to and... I was attracted right away. I misread him a bit, he kiss me t'en toss me away, and I felt shame and stupid for it. Hadn't kissed a man since before my daughter was born, and her fat'er was only man I was ever wit'... I... Go to ckub to drown my sorrows and dance later t'at week. A man ask me to dance... I say yes, we dance... He brings me beer, I was already well into drinks, I was not careful. I drink... I... Feel dizzy... I... Feel hot... Last I remwember of t'e night.... I wake up next day, face battered, and he had...." She trailed off, her eyes lifting to Alexandra's face... There was no denying the truth of her words... She looked stricken, and it was hard to speak of for her. Every now and then, she would pause to swallow.

"My friend was wit' me and his friend got her, but I do not t'ink he got as far wit' her. She somehow rescue me... I do not know. But... I feel like I knew better... I... I could have stopped it... And now... Now I feel like it will happen again, and I can't sleep. What do I say to my little one when she needs me to be mom? And she will never understand why momma keeps crying because she will always have mind of little girl. I feel like... Everyt'ing is all wrong now and no fixing."