Private Finished Picking Posies at the Park

"Well, look at that...." Natasha murmured, lifting her dark sunglasses, delighted to actually spot a few flowers on the island that she actually knew. "Hibiscus... and not just the purple and red variety, but the orangey peach and white ones. I haven't seen the orange one since, well, since Katarina's time..." Natasha said to nobody in particular. Catherine's royal garden had been magnificent. Natasha could still see it in her mind, she had loved walking among all the imported and exotic flowers that the empress had insisted on having.

"And plumeria... frangipani! My lord... is Manta Carlos that far south that it grows wild?" Natasha marvelled as she moved closer to the delicate tropical flower and breathed in deeply its wonderful floral scent. The smell instantly took her back to the hot nights in Andalucia after she had left Russia, it had been almost too hot for her back then. She remembered the heat, the sweat, the sound of nightingales, and the heady smell of the plumeria filled the night air. It had all been so intoxicating and frightening at times - especially for an inexperienced vampire witch, who had been practically banished from her homeland, and was lost in a world she didn't know or could even fathom existed.

Sighing at the bittersweet memory, Natasha looked up from the little white flower, smiled, and slowly glanced around her, taking in the park and those around her. "So so much to learn... look at all the plants and flowers on the island, who knew?" Nat stated, very surprised at what she had found so far, as she reached for her soft leather bound sketch pad and proceded to quickly draw a sketch of what she knew to be some type of orchid. She would later take her drawings to the library and research the flowers and their properties. It would help her to know what was on the island, especially now since she had decided, after much debate, to open a place where she could practice her potions and hopefully help others.

@Lich King

Startled out of her revery by a big black dog, who was suddenly howling at her, Natasha couldn't help but stare at the animal in surprise, then after a second, realizing what was happening, Natasha let out a soft laugh, very amused the dog's very vocal antics. "My, my... whatever is the matter, little one?" Natasha asked the animal in a friendly tone, now aware as she stepped a bit closer to it, that it wasn't a dog like she had originally thought, but a wolf of some sort... how very unusual...

Then, almost immediately, Natasha heard a girl's voice gently admonishing the wolf while apologizing to her. Turning a little to look at the person addressing her, Natasha saw it was a pretty, rather tall, young woman. "Please, don't apologize," Natasha said with a warm smile, not wanting the girl to think she was scared of the wolf or thought it shouldn't be in the park or something like that,"I'm guessing your canine friend was just saying hello, or trying to get my attention since he probably doesn't like to be ignored by strange women in public flower gardens," she added jokingly as she glanced warmly at the wolf for a second before looking at the girl again, this time noticing her red eyes, and quickly surmised that she was probably a vampire too.

"I'm Natasha Lockwood, new to the island, and probably acting like a totally weird stereotypical newcomer who really shouldn't be surprised to see wolves or tropical flowers growing on a magical island... " she admitted with a slightly embarrassed and self.comscious laugh. Natasha realized then that girl was probably thinking Natasha was babbling and also a bit strange standing in between patches of flowers with a sketchbook in hand.

@Lich King

"Lich is a beautiful creature, Amara," Natasha stated truthfully after a brief moment, watching the wolf as paced a little and then finally plopped himself protectively by his "owner". She hadn't seen anybody with a wolf as a "pet" since her years as a courtesan in Russia where wolves and wolfhounds were quite common among nobles. The sight made Natasha smile again and then look at the girl with interest and respect, "It's been years, no more like a good century actually," Nat said correcting herself as she stepped out of the flower patch, keeping a respectful distance from Lichy, not wanting to make him think she wanted to harm Amara," since I've seen a wolf such as yours up close..."

"Did he choose you?" Natasha asked Amara with growing curiosity, glad that she hadn't thought Natasha was too weird or anything like that, guessing she was probably used to newcomers doing odd things or making fools of themselves, "Or did you raise him from a pup?"

"And don't worry, I was just sketching some plants and flowers that I've never seen before," Natasha explained gesturing to the patch of flowers she had been standing in the middle of when Amara apologized for Lichy interrupting her, "I am interested in, well, botany, I guess you'd call it," Natasha said trying to think of a way to explain her interest in the island's plant life.

"Although, I really should get myself a camera one day," Natasha admitted sheepishly as she looked down at the worn sketchbook in her hand,"I guess old habits really do die hard." she said with a good-natured chuckle as she put the sketchbook away in the oversized over-the-shoulder dark leather bag she had been carrying. Nat was just so used to having her sketchbook with her all the time and drawing things.

@Lich King

Natasha could sense Lichy's slight annoyance with Amara's words about him, it was like when a pet, especially cats, knew you were talking about them and were not exactly pleased with your assessment of their abilities. Natasha hid her amusement at this, she loved the bonds people could form with animals - and knew that as funny as the animals antics or perceived grievances might be, they needed to be respected.

"That's really great that you two have been together for a while..." Natasha said as she looked at Amara understanding that if Lichy was a wee bit smaller, then he must have been a young, or somewhat younger, wolf when they met... "It's rare to have such a bond, you are very lucky... both of you actually..." Natasha said very truthfully, glancing at Lichy now, sensing Amara was a good soul and the wolf was also lucky to have found her.

"You are interested in botany too?! That's wonderful!" Natasha exclaimed, very happy to have met somebody that had her same interests and could potentially help her discover some of the plant-life on Manta Carlos.

"I, well, you see, I am a healer of sorts, and I like to know the properties of the local plants and flowers wherever I go. And Manta Carlos has some very interesting plant-life," Natasha stated as she looked around the park, "Maybe you can teach me, or tell me about some of the flowers on the island? It'd be so great to be able to have somebody who knows about the properties and stuff." she added, smiling at Amara hopefully, "That is if you aren't busy, of course..." she added quickly, hoping that she didn't appear too pushy or anything.

@Lich King

"No, please, don't worry about it... I completely understand." Natasha rushed to say, wanting to reassure her that it was fine. Nat had sensed Amara's hesitation and didn't want her to feel obligated to help her or anything of the sort. "This island is so full of unexpected things that it's probably near impossible to know what's on Manta Carlos and what's not."

"In fact, I thought I saw a few plants back there that were or are supposedly extinct ... " Natasha said, shaking her head, still a bit in awe that there might be plants here on Manta Carlos that didn't exist anywhere else on the planet.

"I don't know about that," Natasha said with a somewhat shy smile when Amara suggested that Nat could end up teaching her something new instead. "I sense that you have been around a lot longer than I have," Natasha confessed as she regarded Amara openly. It was just a feeling Nat had when she met other vampires. The ones that had been around for centuries just had a different air to them than younger ones like herself. It was the same with vampires that were born and ones who were created...

@Lich King