A frigid stroll

Fuck!  A shiver ran through the man’s body as meandered through the fairly empty streets that spiderwebbed throughout the city.  He tugged the sleeves of his gray, insulative undershirt down and slid his thumbs through the small slits along the seams so that they covered his wrists and part of his hand before vigorously rubbing his hands up and down his arms.  “If I’d known it was this damned cold I would have waited a few months,” he muttered.  He had a jacket on, of course, but used to more temperate climates as he was, it only helped so much.

“New in town, are ya?” someone spoke up from behind him.  He turned, grinning, to find a fairly haggard looking fellow approaching him.  “I am indeed,” he replied.  “Just arrived this morning, in fact.”  The man looked down the alley, towards where Finnick had been heading, then back into his liquid brown eyes.  “Then I’ll give ya a bit of advice.  Don’t find yerself wanderin’ about in that alley.  Folk tend to go missing that’a’way.  Them that don’t disappear usually come up with pieces missin’ and dead as dead can be.”  Finnick lifted his eyebrows in an “Oh really” expression.  “Is that a fact?” he asked.  The man nodded solemnly.

Finnick’s expression became a savage grin.  “Then I’m on the right track,” he replied, turning from the man and making his way further down the alley.  Again with the theatrics? the wolf that shared Finnick’s mind sneered.  “Nothing wrong with a bit of theatrics to impress the chattel,” he replied, grinning.  He held his head and shoulders back proudly as he strode into the shadows of the alley, but as soon as he was around a corner and out of sight of the mortal, his shoulders hunched and he went back to rubbing warmth back into his arms.  “Shit shit shit,” he muttered.  Hopefully someone important would be along soon and then he could get inside and out of this damned cold air.

Peacefully, the woman worked her way upon the sidewalk with a gleeful skip to her walk, playfully reminding herself of the sweet memories of some males she's been eying, but only one particular worth the while. She had not intentions of seeing the male again, however since they were in the same pack, she knew that there would come a time to when they would encounter each others presences. Her lips pursed together into a sweet, warm-hearted smile as she met the eyes of other civilians that walked on passed her. She was curious as to what their plans were for the cold season, whether it be celebrating or enjoying a warm hot cup of coco, Vitani found it pleasing to see that at least some people had a way to occupy themselves.

Roaming around the city seemed quite nice of an idea, and soon enough did she realize that it actually almost relieved any worry to her wolf. Her guard and instincts were always up to see if any others would be watching her from a near distance, but for the most part, the doctor just enjoyed the moment to what was brought and kept walking on towards home. The wind blew harshly into her face, sending several tingles down her spinal cord to cause her to shiver behind her white pea coat and fitted dark blue jeans. Pulling her knitted grey beanie down further over her dark brown and black hair, she drew a cold breath from her lungs and turned the corner down into the alley nearest to her pack's home, "Oh my." She stopped in her paths to see a young wereling before her, standing tall and blessed with what she could somewhat see a beautiful build along with a head of goldenish blonde brown curls. Spying him for a short amount of time, she neared to him and took a risky step around him so she was closer to her packlands. Her silvery hues looked into his brown pools and smiled warmly to his attention, "Hello there."

Her words were quiet and soft to the human ears, but she knew that the wereling would catch onto what she was saying. Blushing a tad, she reached out a kind hand for him to shake, "I'm Dr. Vitani Dark.. What brings you here to my sister's lands, wereling?" Once he had shaken her hand, or, that if he did, she retreated her hand back to her coat pockets to be warmed near her body, peeking up to him from behind her bangs with the sweetest of smiles she possessed.

Cupping his hands in front of his face, Finnick blew into them a couple times before stuffing them back into the pockets of his light brown coat. It was zipped all the way up to his chin, of course, but his light pair of sneakers were doing a poor job of keeping him warm. If he was going to be living here, he’d have to invest in a heavier pair of shoes, even though he hated them. Given a choice, Finnick would always prefer to be barefoot. Of course, that wasn’t very practical at all in a New England winter, so he had stooped to wearing at least something on his feet.

He was just about to mutter another string of obscenities when a scent that he had been waiting for hit him on the chilled wind. Lifting his head and peering around, he caught sight of a rather striking woman approaching, decked out in suitably winter garb and looking friendly enough. He smelled her again as she drew near, stepping between him and the direction of the interior of the pack. What, did she think he was going to try and take on a pack all by himself? Giving his best winning smile, he took a hold of her hand and lifted it to his lips, brushing a kiss across the back of her knuckles. “Pleased to meet you, I’m sure. I’m Finnick, Finnick Rebane. At the moment, I would like nothing more than a cup of hot coffee, but assuming that’s out of the question for now, I’d like to join your sister’s pack. I’ve heard a whisper or two and think that it’d be a pretty good fit,” he replied, smiling all the while.

He couldn’t really tell, bundled up as she was in winter wear, but this Vitani Dark seemed to be quite pretty. If the rest of the members of the pack were as physically striking as she seemed to be, he imagined that he would fit in quite well. Of course, he had to convince Vitani to let him in, first.

Her eyes drifted away as her cheeks burned with a light shade of scarlet, giggling quietly under her breath even though it was no use in hiding it. He would hear it anyway. When the slow fade of her cheeks returned to normal, but burned with the cold windy air against her little exposed flesh. Peering back up to him, she gave an affirmative nod and washed away all the flirtatious and kindly behavior to get down to business. It was cold, and she understood that quite well coming from another, "Pleasure to meet you as well, Finnick. Handsome name if I might add. Suits you quite nicely." She herself was growing irritated, and she knew full well that when she would walk through her hotel doors that the sudden change in heat in the room will make her feel almost as if she had a fever at first. Hopefully by the time she would get into her room that it would die down enough, but the option of taking off everything she wore before bed still stuck curiously to the side of her mind.

"If you wish to join, then have at it. I'd be more than happy as to what you have in order for us to benefit from you. Respect and truth go a long way here, and if you do as expected, then you will be praised for what you've done, eventually, that is." A small laugh made its way through her mouth, shutting it quickly to straighten back her posture into a dominant stance, overpowering easily over the male that stood before her to treat her with utmost respect. She held little fear over the man, as he did not seem much in her eyes other than his looks. His clothing could just be an underestimation of his abilities, but she took it to mind and kept quiet. It was always best to judge once you've gotten to know a bit more on the person first. That's how she saw it. Perhaps this one could just be another bystander looking for a home to get by on, or maybe hold enough potential to be a Warrior. Whatever it was, Vitani focused her attention on the male and smiled with patience as to what he had to say.

Finnick grinned just a bit wider at the female’s reaction to his greeting.  Honestly, he was a little disappointed that she was so easy to charm, but then again, he was pretty good at it.  He dipped his head slightly in acceptance of the compliment to his name.  “I’m sure my mother would be happy to hear that you approve of her choice,” he said.  Her sudden shift into a more business-like demeanor was somewhat surprising.  So she wasn’t the giggling, happy-go-lucky female that she had seemed at first.

Her stance shifted and Finnick’s own subconsciously shifted to match, with his head held proudly and broad shoulders back.  “I’m afraid I don’t have much in the way of formal training,” he explained, deciding that it would be wise to tell her, rather than let her find out on her own.  She looked almost as cold as he felt.  “I can survive on my own, though.  Been traveling around for more than a century, so I’ve picked up one or two things.  So what does the lovely doctor do in her sister's pack? I didn't think most of us got sick.” he asked, giving a charming grin.

Her thoughts flew from one point to another while paying attention to the male. Raising her brows to the slightest, she cocked a simple smile and nodded once, "As a doctor I perform little tasks around the place. For the most part, my schedule is short, but like you said, we do most of the healing on our owns. However, we range in age here, and the younger, newly turns are not able to heal as fast and scar easily when not treated with the proper necessities. I take my duties seriously and do what I'm done on a daily basis. If perhaps I do not hold any tasks for that day, for example, I would do everyday errons, if not just relax like I am today. I like to spend most of my free time taking long, quiet walks and enjoy the scenery when I can. Asides from the lovely sight of someone giving me the bird, New York isn't half bad when you live here for over hundreds of years." Sighing deeply, Vitani returned her gaze as she tried to think about what he said about himself.

There was little to work around as to what he said, and given that fact, she was a tad annoyed at the attempt of his actions in trying to overpower her. Stepping forwards, her eyes sternly pierced into his, phasing to an off-white to match her wolf's as her counterpart was disrupted within, "Given to what you've told me. There leaves me with nothing else for a rank other than a common, hard-working Omega. You will be faced with various tasks of the day, but it isn't all the terrible. You get payed a fair amount for your work every week." A low, careful snarl rose in her throat, but she swallowed to make it stop and go back down. As much as she didn't mind her other side's point of view on the man, she didn't care. A doctor was a doctor, and an omega is an omega, now, "Once you have learned the ways of the pack and with proper training to fight, you will be moved up to Warrior, or, if not a Doctor like myself. But that will only be judged on until the future. It's the best I can gift you with, Finnick. The bright side is that you get a roof over your head, a pack to live under, and a meal on your plate." Vitani tried to make him feel a bit better with a warm smile, lifting her chin slowly to level their gazes to meet. His looks were probably his only shining feature, and by her knowledge, she knew that he knew it, and praised it, "Take it or leave it, kid."

Finnick cocked his head slightly, listening as the woman said that she mostly did as she pleased. Well, that didn't sound like too bad of a position. He wondered how much actual medical knowledge was required for the spot. Unfortunately, his medical knowledge was pretty much limited to "wash it, bandage it, keep it clean." Smirking slightly, he glanced up and down at her. "Get the bird a lot around these parts, do you?" he asked.

He leaned back slightly as she took a step forward, and blinked at her eyes, which were suddenly quite a different color than they had been moments ago. He kept his face steady at her words, though he had been hoping for something a little more promising, or perhaps prominent would be a better word. He was not entirely certain that the growling was necessary, though. Finally, he forced the smile back onto his face. "That is a wonderful trick, with the eyes," he said, gesturing to them. "Well, not quite what I was hoping for, but if Omega is the best I can do, then Omega I will be." He stepped back with one foot and swept a grandiose bow. "Thank you for your acceptance, dear Doctor."