Passing You By on a Street

It was the perfect morning to run errands. While it wasn't raining, the late morning sun didn't beat down on the island too hard, and the soft and weak breeze was just cool enough to accompany anyone on a stroll.

Cyril was looking around the busy city, a small paper in hand. He's only been in this island for a few weeks and unfortunately hasn't yet gotten used to his ways around the streets. He was generally good at directions and at remembering them, but it just so happened that today was his first time looking for a certain shop in this certain part of the city that sold many of the materials he usually needed not only during the process of making potions in itself, but also during his search for ingredients.

After quite some time, the half elf decided that going around cluelessly wouldn't get him anywhere. Sighing, he stopped and steadied at the side of the pavement. "Hafoc, come."

Light suddenly appeared in the air just beside him, and then a portal opened, revealing a hawk almost one foot tall. Cyril raised his right forearm horizontally for Hafoc to land on.

"You called, Cyril?" the hawk's voice would ring in the heads of those near him. For now, there was only Cyril.

"Yes," the elf replied. "Search the city for me, will you. I'm looking for a certain shop, I suppose you can identify it by their display of silver materials."

With that, the hawk quickly flew away to fulfill Cyril's request, leaving the male alone for the moment. Cyril waited where he stood, leaning against the outer wall of whichever building this was behind him, and crossing his arms casually.
@Kaya

Cyril noticed the presence even before she could come close enough for interaction. He could hear her closing in, and the fact that her movements were quieter than everything else was what grabbed his attention first.

Her ears, second.

It was his automatic response to be hostile around strangers, especially females, and even more especially female elves. Fortunately though, he held any sort of reaction inside, successfully hiding them beneath a poker face before the lady spoke. This was strange, but the female elf gave him no valid reason to be mean, so he put on his usual smile he's had since his butler days, and responded with a smooth and gentle tone. "Why, thank you, kind miss. I'm having trouble finding a certain shop indeed, but a friend is already looking for it for me."

He did see how she looked him up and down, though. And he didn't like it. Cyril raised a brow, very subtly, before quickly reminding himself to bury it under the smiling mask. If this was bad news, he had to leave as soon as possible.

"How about you, miss? Anything I can help with?" Damn that he had to say that for formality's sake.

"My, you're quite thoughtful if that really is so," Cyril said, his smile momentarily twisting, ever so slightly, into something halfway a sneer. He crossed his arms and shifted his entire weight to a foot. In any case, this woman seemed just as calculated as he was, and he didn't mind if she was going to try to read what was under his mask. As for Cyril himself though, he didn't find any need to read her. She already seemed suspicious enough.

"I do agree that walks are better with company, if I like the company." Cyril paused only to look at the elf woman's face. And then he continued. "I happen to like bullying my company, but it's hard not to feel guilty about it when you make it sound as if standing around is lazy."

He laughed. He didn't immediately realize what his words meant, but once he did, he understood that it meant he found the elf woman quite... intriguing. It didn't mean he liked her, but it meant he was willing to find out just who she was.

"Apologies, I hope I don't come off as offensive," he then said. "Please let me walk with you. If you're headed for an alchemy shop I think it would also be in my interest to see it for myself." Who knows, it could even be the shop he was looking for. If not, well, he'd still be finding out about another shop that may come in handy in the future.

"My name is Cyril." The half elf bowed, his legs straight and together and his back flat as he bent forward. He put his palm against his chest, fingers closed. He's always stuck to this style of bowing since learning about it as a butler before. It's a bit too formal a bow, perhaps, but it never came off as unpleasant, and Cyril liked it that way. As he straightened his back, his smile returned to that of something gentle, any evidence of malice or hostility now gone-- or completely hidden. "I'm pleased to be your acquaintance, miss."

((OOC: No worries~~))

"Evening parties..?" Oh, yes. This is very, very, interesting. For another to find his bluntness "refreshing", especially if it was a female and an elf who was willing to turn off all kinds of filters and mind games in their conversation-- it wasn't often that Cyril encountered such people. He did raise a brow at her, but it was accompanied this time by a nod and a grin, and that meant she had his attention and agreement.

"Miss Alice," he tried her name in his lips and stretched an arm sideways to gesture for her to lead the way. "I admit I am indeed a half elf, and I grew up with my human father. Well... I say 'grew up', but I was still a child when he was, uh, killed." He might have shared more info than necessary there, and he might have realized that too late, but he gathered Alice wouldn't mind. After all, she had a half elf sister. And he'd wager they were close.

Or else why would she still approach him? Some high elves considered hybrids like him to be low lives and treated them with disgust. The thought itself was enough to send an unbearable lump up his throat.

Cyril coughed in attempt to clear it. "Oh, the shop, yes, well, I make healing potions. I decided I should check out what equipments are available here in the island, not only for the potion making process itself but also for my foraging."

A pause.

"Can you tell me more about your sister?"