Luca made his way down the drenched streets, grateful for the thick and expansive cloud cover that protected him from the sun but he never liked rain. Of course, his umbrella provided ample coverage against the downpour, but it was the principle of the thing. His worn, leather boots were getting thin at the soles, though he was loathe to part with them as they'd belonged to his father. With a sigh, he kicked a shallow puddle. When he looked up, he realized he was passing the Ministry of Magic--or where it would be if it were above ground. The lone pay-phone on the corner seemed to be laughing at him. Mocking his shattered dreams. Honestly? Being a vampire wasn't that bad once the urges were under control, but what made the whole thing miserable was the fact that he couldn't pursue his dream job. 

The vampires that turned him didn't take away his life, not really. They took away his death. And now he was working in Muggle night clubs just so he didn't feel like such a dead-beat. He knows what he needs though. Purpose. A reason to feel alive again. One reason not to drive a stake through his heart every night. God, how depressing he must sound if anyone could read his mind. Maybe he should just put an add in the papers. He snorted at his own pathetic nature. "Supernatural being seeking purpose in his afterlife," he mocked himself. 

Colemet walked down the dreary streets of London; given the rain, there were very few people out and about, but she didn't mind. The near isolation was comfortable to her, almost familiar. Perhaps it was better this way too. There was no one to lose her temper on, no one to have to deal with her aggression. Keeping her distance from others was sometimes the only way to protect herself and others. At the thought, she felt her scars burn, maybe subconsciously.

Colemet sighed and put her hands in the pockets of her Muggle sweatshirt used to blend in, the hood up and only providing minor protection from the rain. She didn't have an umbrella, but why bother? She was used to the forces of nature, it hardly fazed her. The gray clouds rolled above her, allowing rain to fall from the heavens. As Colemet looked up, she felt a pang of loneliness, and not the kind that suited her. She felt like a near outcast for evident lupine tendencies, though she tried to always hide them; the aggression, the constant anger, the feeling of being caught between human and not, without the true werewolf status to define it, to give her certainty. Would she ever find someone who understood the feeling? At the same time, she felt wretched and guilty for feeling at all sorry for herself. So many people faced worse situations. Take her father, who truly was a werewolf and had to cope with it. There were former Death Eaters being treated like the scum of the earth. There were some people who didn't even know who they were, what they were living for. At least she had a job she enjoyed, a family she loved, and means to live contently. It just seemed that she had a gray cloud following her, overshadowing everything she did, causing complications. But she didn't want to complain.

Even so, it didn't make her feel anymore understood.

Luca turned at the sound of approaching footsteps to see a woman approaching with her head down. She was wearing only a hoodie to protect herself against the rain, and looked just about as lonely and miserable as Luca felt. He slowed his walk until she was at his side before matching her pace in silence. The least he could do was offer the shelter of his umbrella, and if she really didn't want it then she was free to step from under it. He kept his free hand in the pocket of his jeans and his gaze fixed ahead.

She smelled mostly of rain, but under that there was an earthy smell of one who spends a lot of time outdoors. There was something else, a barely there scent he wasn't familiar with, that intrigued him greatly. Maybe if it wasn't so diluted he'd be able to place it better, but it wasn't something he could change. Rain, and water in general, made picking out scents difficult. It was a rather calming scent, all the same. "Rain, rain, go away," he sang softly, barely above a whisper, "come again another day."

Colemet was taken aback and tensed momentarily when the stranger approached, a defensive edge that she had grown accustomed to within herself, but she relaxed and let the edge fade when she realized he was simply being kind. She smiled gently as he sang softly and held the umbrella for her, which she took some shelter under with him gratefully.

"Thank you," she said quietly. She wrapped her arms around herself slightly, a subconscious motion that made her feel almost protected. From the rain or her sadness or vulnerability, though, she wasn't quite sure. "Quite the dreary day, isn't it?" she said to the stranger. She wasn't sure if he was interested in talking, though, or even listening, as he seemed to stare only straight ahead.

"You're welcome," he replied softly when she thanked him, then hummed in agreement when she commented on the dreary weather. "Indeed," he stated. "It's not so bad now," he added with a soft smile. "I'm Luca, by the way." He wasn't exactly sure why he was introducing himself when he knew he couldn't really befriend her. Getting to know people--getting close to people--meant they'd eventually question why he wasn't aging and that wasn't a conversation he liked having with people he wasn't feeding from.

Still, it was nice to pretend like he could befriend her, if only for as long as their paths mingled.

"Nice to meet you," Colemet replied with a polite nod. "I'm Colemet." She tried to give a small smile but felt a bit uneasy; making friends wasn't her strong suit. She was cynical, mistrustful of people, and always afraid of them figuring her out. She felt as if she was doing them a disservice by getting close to them. Still, she couldn't resist the allure of this mysterious stranger–Luca. Maybe he really could be a friend.

He smiled when she gave her name. It was unique but still very lovely, much like the woman who owned it. She looked a bit unsure of herself and Luca wondered what had happened to make her that way. "It's a lovely name," he commented. "A lovely name for a lovely woman." Compliments always worked well at easing a person, and Luca didn't want to use his vampiric powers unless he was luring his next meal. That's not to say it wasn't an honest compliment, of course.

She smiled a bit more at the compliment. "Thank you," she said softly. "That's...very nice of you." Colemet was almost flustered by the compliment and his kindness; sometimes she was so cynical she forgot that the rest of the world could truly be kind. Luca seemed genuinely nice, especially for a stranger. He didn't have to offer his umbrella or his nice words to her, but he did anyway. Maybe he could sense how uneasy she felt. She usually tried more to hide it, tried to seem a bit more confident than she felt, but the dreary weather gave her a sense of not wanting to put in the effort.

She wanted to return the kindness. Perhaps he needed a friend right now as much as she did. "Are you from around here?" she asked him, trying to make friendly conversation, which wasn't one of her best talents.

He hummed happily, glad to have made her feel at least a little better. "I've always considered honesty to be a good policy," he commented. She seemed a little less like she was curling in on herself, which was a good sign. Whether or not he saw her after today, he could feel a little better that he'd cheered her in this moment.

He hesitated when she asked if he was from around here. Truthfully, he was, and as he'd just commented on honesty, the best thing would be to answer honestly. However, by his nature, he was reluctant to become close to humans unless he intended to feed from them. This woman didn't fit the general profile of those he usually fed from, not even close. "I do," he finally answered. "Not far from here, actually." It was a bad idea, he knew, to let this woman know him, but he was so very lonely these days.

Colemet felt a pang in her heart when he mentioned honesty. A truly good policy, she supposed...

"How lovely," she said when he answered her question. "I come around here often. My family works around here." Subconsciously, she cast a fleeting glance behind them in the direction of the Ministry of Magic. She reminisced on her family for a moment and then turned her gaze to Luca. "Do you like London?" she asked curiously. She got the sense that he was reluctant to talk, to make friends, almost as much as she was simply nervous doing so. She figured asking questions might help him open up.