Spring will come and so will happiness

LOCATION | South of Aston
DATE | 21st of March 2022
WEATHER | nice and sunny, bright sky
ATTIRE | Link
TOPIC FOR | @Henry
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Laila was out doing what any good big sister would do in time of this, buying presents to her younger siblings. Well, in two days Kemuel and Seraphina had their birthday and just within a week Tien would have hers. And hopefully they could all enjoy and celebrate that and not the fact that the day of their mother's death had hit. Now, Laila knew the house had been a bit influenced by sorrow after Kemuel's friend Nick had been killed. And Seraphina's friend too for that matter. It wasn't long ago, and the twins still healed from everything the world threw at them, but Laila did her best to be their for each and every one of them. She really did. She had even said yes to a job, starting as assisting teacher at the academy in dance, which she looked forward to.

She stopped when she heard some music close by, a crowed was circling around this couple where one was playing on the keyboard and the other one danced, keeping the happy vibes just buzzing through the streets, people clapping and cheering. This was the kind of thing she missed, just feeling the happiness spread in the air for a moment, almost inviting one to dance, but of course people were to shy do even attempt. But some started dancing along, finally, Laila let out a delighted laugh, because soon the rest of the crowd just slowly followed and then most just stood there dancing with each other. Some could blame the sun for bringing the joy and warm attitudes back into people's lives. She noticed a stranger while dancing around, trying to wave him over to join the rest, then trying to wave again, before with a warm smile on her lips just reaching out to take his hand and try drag him with her. One could always try to spread the positivity rather than the negativity.

Outfit

The weather was getting better, and it was clear the way that people smiled and walked with friends around the streets while shopping. Spring was always this very funny thing. People believed it was summer, and as soon as it got a little cold, cloudy and rainy, people got pissed. It had taken a couple of years to realize that it was a pattern in humanoids. They simply got angrier at spring, there was less needed to piss someone off.  That was also the main reason why Henry had tried to let his little sister be for now. She seemed to be thriving with her mate and he didn’t want to get in the middle of that. That man had enough anger issues that Henry didn’t want to be mistaken for a former lover.

Music beamed around the corner and as he turned around, he could see that people had gathered to dance together. It pulled a crooked appreciative smile on his lips, thinking it was nice to see how people could simply let go of things and dance around like nothing mattered. While watching, he noticed how one girl waved him over. Like any other idiot, he looked to his sides noticing no other looked in their direction before he pointed at himself, as if he thought it wasn’t to him that she waved. She then waved again and he walked a little closer, mostly because he thought that there was something she wanted to tell him, but as he got closer he could recognize the feeling that was coming from her, except for how joy seemed to seep out of her. She had to be Laila. She took his hand and dragged him in to dance with her. At first he just had to pick up on how the others were dancing, and how much space he had before he started dancing with her. Now it wasn’t because he was trying to make the impression of him being a good dancer, because the moves he made was definitely not talented but picked up from a box where you would also be able to find the robot arm. He knew it looked stupid, and therefore didn’t hold back with laughing. “I’m Henry,” he presented himself to her and reached his hand out for her to take, try and make her make a  pirouette, without being too much in the way for her.

Even as a professional dancer, Laila was able to just let go and follow the upbeat vibrations that seemed to fill the air with such delight and warmth. Making her laugh, and not paying attention to how she or anyone really looked while they danced around. There was something about just seeing people letting go that made the tension in your shoulders fall and your worries ease away just a little bit, and she had needed that. And she liked his laugh, it was the sort of laugh that made her laugh as well without she even thought about it, it just happened. Then he presented himself, and she took her hand, making her a pirouette, well a movement that was so easy to call into that it seemed as simple as breathing letting someone spin you around. Another soft laugh left her while looking at him, "I'm Laila," she presented herself after, "nice moves - typical around for the local dance events just waiting for someone to pull you out of your shell?" She teased a little bit with a warm teethy smile.

Henry had been holding onto so many things the last couple of years and things only slowly started to get into the right folds. Most importantly that Andrew was in safer hands and seemingly he had gotten some troubles of his back that had been nagging him for some time. He had truly been waiting for a moment where he could let go, even if it was just for a moment, hoping that he wouldn’t get a call from someone who suddenly thought they needed him to be somewhere for him.
He managed to make her swirl around. Her laugh was adorable and when she presented her name, he was even more certain, despite from the electric pulsation that he felt every time their hands met. “You got me,” he laughed, “I’ve been waiting for someone like you,” he teased back, truly hoping it wasn’t too pushing, after all, it would be a shame if she rejected him from that one comment. “You typically pull oddballs like me in for a dance?” he teased her back, while joking a little around about himself.

Laila chuckled a little when he said that he had just been waiting for someone like her, that teasing grin made her chuckle. "Oh yeah, all the time," Laila shook her head, not that she ever would reject anyone for asking her to dance. She lived and breathed for that. "Or really no, but I do love to dance, and situations like this happens very rare, so one have to seek out the courage and make the bold move time to time, wouldn't you agree? Otherwise life gets to dull and dark, if we don't sake it up once in a while," she at least believed so. Life was cruel and dark enough as it was, if one tried to spark it up with some light and charm to brighten it all up, hopefully it could bring some more glorious colors into ones life. "But I would say today I did make the right choice so it seems," she nodded. Well, some would have just have been embarrassed and walked away from the crowd, others would perhaps just get mad, but no she had been right in her choice. So, she believed right now at least. "But all that dancing really got me thirsty, you thirsty? There is the most magnificent coffee shop around the corner, and they make the best ice coffee in town, at least according to moi, and they only open in spring season and summer, so I've been waiting for the perfect excuse," she nodded a little bit and tilted her head a little bit to the side. Perhaps lone souls just needed to find each other.

He opened his mouth as if he was offended, but it was clear that he found her reply funny. She proceeded to explain her, and this time, it sounded more like the pure truth. “I like your way of thinking. People should have more faith and courage,” he agreed. Life could be so dull and dark, and he believed he had experienced life that way for such a long time, and maybe her words was just what he searched for. Courage to make a bold move. After all, the worst thing that could happen is a rejection. He tried to resist the thought about how a rejection could be lethal for him.
A wide bright smile spread on Henry’s lips as Laila said that she had made the right choice. It filled his heart with a hopeful warmth. “I’m glad you say so,” he announced.
She explained that she had gotten thirsty and explained where she wanted to go, he nodded, “Certainly, we can grab something to drink,” he said with a wide smile, “Come on,” he said and allowed himself to grab her hand and pull her out of the dancing crowd. Now that he wasn’t dancing, he could feel how his throat was indeed dry. “Damn…” he said and let his hand stroke his neck, “Show the way,” he said, gesturing with a hand for her to do so.

He grabbed her hand and smoothly dragged her out of the dancing crowd, still feeling the high of the energy that still vibrated as the music kept on playing. "I know right?" She chuckled a little as he expressed he felt the thirst as well, now Laila could have danced for hours still without drinking anything yet because she was trained in the art of keeping herself active over a far from average time without breaks. Her body however, had thanked her for stopping pushing it so hard, and she had found herself in a state of mind where both her mind, soul and body were all happy. "Yes, follow me," she pulled his arm in a lock with hers, perhaps because of the high on energy she was, not allowing her to think that Henry still was a stranger. Then walking down the street, you could hear how far they got because of the music fading making you have to focus a lot to even pay notice to some of the tunes. "I used to come here with my older brother a lot when we just needed to chat a little without our younger siblings, seems like many years ago by now, but what the hell the coffee is amazing and who doesn't like a little nostalgia?" She made a small shrug before letting go of Henry's arm as they reached the little area. Maybe she should reach out to Zadkiel about a coffee trip or two it had been a while,and she had been hanging around with the twins and Sariel so much that she sometimes neglected to reach out to Zadkiel and Tien, mostly because the two of them isolated themselves in a way she somestimes had a hard time to reach. "Here we are," she opened the door and let him inside. "If it isn't Laila Nelson - Iced expresso with coconut milk, two pumps of vanilla sirup, and cream on top?" The owner asked and Laila nodded to confirm, "you got it," she smiled delighted, then the owner looked towards Henry to take his order as well.

She told him to follow, and he did with no hesitation, not that he had much of a choice with the way she hooked his arm. He glanced towards her as the music faded and he could hear her better as she explained where they were heading, and the story behind it. He smiled by it, “It sounds quite memorable,” he said, only thinking if he was going to be ruining her memories with this place by showing up. Of course, it depended on how much Henry was going to aim for this to be a success. God, it was so tough having to think about the fact that we were bound to someone, and how was he going to explain that to her without scaring her away? He followed her inside and took in the place trying to notice everything at once, even though it was impossible. He looked up as the owner said Laila’s full name and her usual order. Henry chuckled lightly as it became very obvious that Laila did in fact come there as often as possible, “Make it two of those,” he said, excited to taste what Laila liked. He pulled his wallet up and was ready to pay for both of them. As soon as both drinks were paid for, he turned his full attention towards Laila, “How many siblings did you have?” he wondered, looking at her with a curious smile..

Laila was just about to get her purse out to pay, when Henry was one step ahead of her and paid. And barely really got to give him anything but a thankful smile before he asked about her siblings. Well it didn't use to be a complicated answer to reply to, not that in Laila's eyes that much had changed regarding her siblings. Not more than she had gotten a few more than she counted on. But she loved them, so there wasn't any issues when it came to the angel. "I grew up with my older brother and three younger siblings. Then I have two half siblings on my father's side and one on my mother's." Well, Sebastian wasn't by blood, but he was enrolled as Aleks. And Laila was not to just accept one of Ash's children into her life as family without the other. Besides, Bash had been through enough. So, even if it made Tien uncomfortable time to time, it was just pretty much how Laila saw things. "So, yeah - what about you? Any siblings?" Laila wondered, now of course he had asked, she assumed because of the stories she had told him on the way here. But it didn't stop her from returning the question to him again.

Henry raised his brows a little as she explained how many siblings she had. Just in the core family, she had four siblings. And then three more. That was very, very interesting. His family was somewhat easier to explain, after all, most of it was dead. “That was quite a bunch,” he laughed a little with a wider smile. Even though he shouldn’t he thought about how confusing it would be to meet all of them if he ever managed to get that far. “Uh, yeah. One,” he laughed. It was nothing compared to her. “A little sister,” he elaborated with a few nods. “We uh… We were separated when she was born, so I’ve only known her for less than a year,” he explained. It was the ground blocks of why he didn’t have any stories to share about her. He didn’t really feel like sharing how he had found her sobering up or how their parents were killed on her birthday.

"It is," she chuckled a little bit. Now she loved each of her siblings with her whole heart so she wasn't about to make a joke out of any of it, because she wouldn't want anything to change when it came down to it. Then he mentioned he had a little sister, making her nod a little, before he explained how they had gotten separated, which was sad, "I'm sorry to hear that, but I'm glad to hear it sounds like you found each other," it was the most important thing, right? Laila took a somewhat sharper breath in, and ran a hand through her hair as she exhaled. There was something tragic and lonely about him, something she found in herself too time to time, a longing to belong in a world where you didn't always know how to fit or where for that matter. Then taking their drinks once they were ready and handed Henry his, "want to sit and drink or walk around?" Laila then asked.

He nodded a little. He and Danica had found each other, but life sometimes made it difficult to keep the right contact. He wished he could keep better contact with her, but there had just been so many things going on. He gave Laila a few nods to agree that it was a sad thing that they had been separated, and a good thing that they had found each other again. Oh, how he just wished he had found Danica sooner so he could have protected her more. He had so many wishes for what he could have done, but none had been done, and it was too late to change the past.
Henry was handed his drink and he pulled a smile, “We can go for a walk. Enjoy the weather while the sun is shining,” he said with a soft expression. She had after all expressed how she had loved the weather and how one had to enjoy it while they could. Take the opportunities when they were handed one. He opened the door for her so she could head out first and with him following right after. He took a sip of his drink, which was similar to hers. He hummed and let his eyes widen as he looked at her, “That is delicious! A little sweet, but delicious,” he complimented her choice of drink. If he ever had to get a drink himself from there, he might just need one pump of vanilla sirup instead of two.

Laila nodded with a warmer smile, "good choice," not that she had minded the any option. She just liked his vibe, which was the main reason why she was interested in hanging out, otherwise she would easily have found an excuse to get going, god knew there were plenty. Laila waved to the shop owner before heading out of the door that Henry opened for her, then looking up at the sun, because it was really a beautiful day. Then turning around walking backwards while taking a sip, so she could see his expression as he tasted the drink. Well, Laila did have a sweet tooth, and it wasn't for everyone, she knew Zadkiel sometimes felt like he went into sugar rush when she had decided their dessert order or the like. "Yeah the second pump of sirup aint for the faint of heart," she let out a small laugh but nodded, then taking a sip more of her own drink before spinning around again so she walked normal down the street again. I once made them give my oldest brother a third pump, just to see how much he would drink before telling me it was awful, surprised it took him to drink over half of it before he broke," Laila shook her head a little bit, well sometimes she had had fun pranking her siblings. It was back when things had been normal and now an ocean of raging traumas.

Henry smiled gladly at her as she told him it was a good choice to go outside. Well, one could only enjoy the sun while it was there, correct? Miss the sun when it’s gone, as some said. When they got outside, he took a deeper breath In, shortly closing his eyes, taking the moment of bliss in. It was only made better because she stood close.
He laughed with her as she said it wasn’t for everyone. He skipped a couple of steps up to her as she spun around to walk normally again. The dark brows raised as she told a story about her brother and a drink with three pumps. “I gotta give it to him, he’s persistent,” he laughed shaking his head a little at the thought of someone who really felt like a drink was too sweet. Henry himself couldn’t believe him drinking something with a third pump. “Have you tried the third pump yourself?” he wondered curiously laughing a little.
He licked his lips a little thoughtfully. “And you have lived here for how long to know that coffee shop?” He wondered with a slightly teasing smile. Of course, she might have lived somewhere else and heard about it online, but the way the owner greeted her, he doubted her.

Laila chuckled a little bit, "that he is," she shook her head a little bit. "I did, and I kindly accepted it was too sweet even for me - yet it didn't stop me there, I pranked all of my siblings with it, see how long till they would break and tell me it was too sweet for their taste," Laila laughed a little bit. "I know I know, a little mischievous perhaps, but the one who lasted the longest was my youngest brother, but its just his stubborn little ass -" Laila shook her head a little bit, feeling a sense of nostalgia from the past where she had teased and pranked her siblings. She remembered how annoyed Zadkiel and Tien for that matter had been, but in the best sense possible.

"Well, I grew up in Moonlight Falls, but since I used to study at the academy, I walked these streets so long that I perfectly have memorized every single twist and turn," which wasn't really a lie, Laila's mind did work in mysterious ways and sometimes it was the most insane things that just stuck - mostly caused by her abilities still, some things just held on tighter than others.

Henry smiled at the thought of how close she was to her family, even more, when she replied that she had tried the third pump herself. “Oh Lord, you’re a true trickster!” he laughed with her. A slightly crooked smile spread on his lips as he spoke about who had lasted the longest. “Maybe it’s a stubborn gene,” he laughed a little, since both her brothers had been stubborn, and she had also been quite insisting about him joining to dance.

He looked directly at her as she spoke about where she grew up. A short hum left him, “That makes sense,” he replied nodding a little. Now, he had of course been there almost for a year, but he could still get very lost in these streets, and secretly hoped that she wouldn’t just leave him somewhere to find his home by himself.

She chuckled a little bit, the stubborn gene - she now understood she had to have extra off that. Sharing genes with Ash Mitchell would give you a load of stubbornness to handle.
It was odd talking about this place as if she actually had spent most her hours here, she hadn't. Unlike most people who went out with their friends or spent time with their families after school, Laila had spent almost all her waking hours working herself to a point where she had more times torn herself apart. "I have photographic memory, so I guess its a bit of a help or a cheat depending on how you look at it," she chuckled a little bit while shaking her head. "There is a nice smaller park, which is really nice - so if you want we could go there?" Laila wondered as she ran a lock of her hair behind her ear with her free hand, feeling the heat rush to her cheeks for just a second, before she then took a sip of the drink with hopes of it cooling them down again. "Unless you have somewhere you need to be, and all -" she added afterwards, because it wasn't like she was going to pressure him into being in her company, even if he was tagging along with his own free will.

Henry hummed thoughtfully as she mentioned how she had a photographic memory. He shrugged a little as she spoke about if it was a help or a cheat. It did really depend on how you looked at it, but to him, it was a help. “No, I don’t really have any plans,” he replied, the plans he had could wait, it was simply chores, cleaning, grocery shopping and such. “We can go to the park,” he happily replied as she suggested that they could go to a park nearby and hangout.  “If it’s the park I think it is, I usually run there in the morning,” he added with a soft smile. “Do you-” He hesitated a little, because it could be a stupid question to ask, “Do you do any kinds of sport?” he wondered, willing to accept that she might not be someone who was as active as him.

She nodded when he agreed to go to the park, then mentioning how he was running their in the morning. Laila chuckled a little delighted, mostly because she always admired people who got up in the morning to start their day with doing something good for themselves. Like going for a run, just something. "I'm a dancer," she nodded a bit. Laila then clicked her tongue a little bit, "Or I don't dance anymore like as a profession. But I still dance time to time, once you start its hard to stop really," Laila confessed. One good thing about not working herself so hard anymore was how thankful her feet had been. Still she was an angel so they could take a bit more, but most days they had still looking like something taken out of a horror story. "A friend of mine started a youth center, so we try to use things as dance and other sports to help activate them," she then told with a warmer smile. A place like that could always use a helping hand, Howie and Maya had already done a pretty good job - Laila had even contacted Charles who had put in a few helping hands.

“Aaaah,” he said with a wide smile as she mentioned that she was a dancer. Then it really made sense as to why she liked to dance. She continued to explain how it had been a profession, “Honestly, it sounds like a dream profession, except for all the hard training and all that,” he laughed. He believed that the shows might be waking thrills in someone, but everything in between shows would be demanding and draining. The had a small, crooked smile as she mentioned how she believed it was difficult to stop dancing when she had started. He understood, but probably not at the same level as she experienced it.
Henry’s brows raised in interest as she mentioned the youth center her friend had started, “Well, I know we’ve only know each other for… An hour or something, but if you’re searching for people to help out, I might be able to give it a shot,” he said looking towards her with a smile. He truly wouldn’t mind helping.

She listened to his offer, and she replied with that she would get back to him once she had talked to Howie about it. Not that Laila believed that Howie would actually say no to an offer like that. They walked around for some time after, just talking about everything and nothing, till by the end she made sure to have his number - you knew in case she needed to call him to take him up on the offer about helping with the youth center and all.