...
On the side of the street, an unassuming man with a peculiar appearance sits atop a couple of wooden crates, his legs crossed and set upon the ground. He is engrossed within a book with a worn and dirtied cover, as if it has seen many hands over the years. His eyes are covered by a dark, fair-brimmed hat that keeps a circular shape and is raised in the center, much like a porkpie hat. Overall, his black-grey coat and clothes, pale complexion, and posture seem to ward off any potential conversation partners, though he does not seem to mind that at all. In fact, he seems to be rather content to not be bothered.
"Um, does anyone here know where I can find a mage? Someone that knows magic? I need help. Any kind of magic-user will do. Please? Anyone?"
The man raises his head slightly, not enough to make anyone notice, but enough to see just a little bit under his hat. His eyes fall upon a girl who is looking around and, apparently, is the source of the voice. To him, she seems to be like the orphans that he used to hang around with - dirty clothes, wandering look, a sense of constant fear. He recognized those traits well.
Yet, there was something...
off. Of course, he was puzzled by the six tails, which he had never seen before in his time around the town. But there was something more than that. There was a sense of familiarity that was creeping up on him, and the air around him felt cold.
The sensation hit him like an explosion. He shut his eyes as he received infinitesimally small mental snapshots, one by one. An image of a gray-haired girl laughing, her innocent eyes and her circular glasses entrancing him. A muddy corridor and a shower of rain filling the dense night. A whimper and some soothing sounds coming from the man himself, trying to comfort someone. The feeling of another warm body next to him, an embrace that he had never known before.
And then the images shut off. He blinked several times and gasped silently, trying to process the visions that had attacked him. He looked back to the girl, this time paying more attention. She had piqued his attention, as there was something that was jolted inside of his mind when he judged her appearance. He carefully closed the book he was previously reading and slid it into a pocket within his coat. Waiting a few moments to recover his mood, he sat upright, uncrossed his legs, and lowered his head while addressing the girl softly.
"Hey, white-haired girl. You said that you need a magician?" He raised his eyes once again and calmly beckoned the girl over. He kept watching the streets, looking at the shadows and the corridors. He wanted to get out of the streets, as magic went into a gray area in these lower parts of the town. If he could not help the girl, at the very least he would be able to direct her to a better place to search for
trustworthy magic users.