Tattered Threads (Niklaus)

Alice pulled her jacket more tightly around herself, even though the sun was shining. She was in the muggle world- the place where she felt most at ease. And the reason for her jacket was because her shirt hadn't made it through the wash as well as she had hope, and was now so sheer that it was see through. Unfortunately the charm she had placed on it hadn't lasted very long, and she hadn't even noticed until she was already out.

She should have just bought new clothes, but she spent all of her spare money on robes for the following year, which were not going to do her any good around muggles. Alice knew that she shouldn't have used everything, but she did not want her students to notice the fact that their teacher was struggling out in the real world.

So instead, the woman did the best she could with what she had, and it meant wearing a jacket despite the heat of summer. She caught sight of a café that was offering cold drinks and she slipped inside, looking forward to a glass of lemonade. She reached the counter, and ordered, watching the woman behind it pour her drink while taking out her wallet. "Damn," she muttered, a small smile and a furious blush on her face, "I don't have enough. Don't worry about it."

Niklaus did enjoy Paris, the calming scent of all the different kind of foods drifting into the streets that it was relaxing. But he didn't have time to sightsee, a contract wanting him to kill his ex wife who was trying to exploit him. He sprinted through the streets, watching the world go by on the roof of the buildings and slipped in through the window of the ex wife, running past and a blade seemed to slide through his sleeve and he sliced her throat and didn't look back, spinning on the spot with a white cloth coming out of his other sleeve. Whipping the cloth out, it hit her in the throat before she even fell down and he tucked it away as the now bloodied cloth was now proof.

He went back to the meeting place and simply dropped the cloth into his hand, narrowing his eyes at him. "You know where to put it." He said, in reference to the money and he checked himself for blood, finding that he was once again free of any blood splatter and decided to get a drink from a nearby cafe and used his parkour skills to get onto the same level as the cafe. He waited impatiently behind  a woman who didn't seem to have the correct change and he fought the urge to groan and he slid the rest of the money onto the counter, along with his own money. "Make that two lemonades." He grunted and tucked his hands into his jeans with a raised eyebrow towards the brunette. "Don't thank me."

His Parkour!

Alice was just about to step back and leave when someone place money on the counter and added her drink to their order. Her eyes narrowed slightly, considering declining, before deciding that it wasn't worth making a scene. Besides, she really was getting quite warm, and the drink looked amazing and icy. She took the glass and moved away from the till silently. She slipped into a seat close to the door and near the window, and took a long mouthful of the lemonade, her eyes leaving the man whom she would that whether he liked it or not.

She didn't like feeling like a charity case, but even less she didn't like to be impolite. So she waited, making sure to keep watching him so that he didn't leave without her noticing.

Niklaus could feel her gaze, it bothering him completely and he grasped his drink but not too tightly, for in his grip it would've smashed and caused a scene. Something he could not afford. He went over to the window seats, weaving through the crowd and slid into the stool with his gaze fixed on the pretty brunette. She kept her gaze on him as though if he went to disappear, she'd find him but disappearing was his skill and if he fell back now into the crowd, she would not be able to find him. But she knew his face now from how much she was staring and she would probably find some way to find him so he lifted up his hand and bent his index finger in a come closer motion before staring out of the window with narrowed eyes. "Go on then." Niklaus said bluntly, knowing she wouldn't let up until she did.

Alice's eyes never left him as he made his way through the shop to one of the window tables. She wasn't going to get up from her own table, but had every intention of waiting him out. Eventually, he looked at her and gestured her toward him. She quickly took the chance and stood from her seat, picking up the glass and weaving between other patrons until she dropped into the seat across from him. Realising that in her haste she'd forgotten about the jacket, she quickly pulled it back together and firmly reminded herself to at least try and charm the zipper to work again when she returned home. Her eyes narrowed slightly at his words, and she said, "thank you for the drink. I would have been fine without it, but I do appreciate your help."

Niklaus's eyes landed on her body, noticing the thin shirt and he narrowed his eyes, his finger twitching once again and the jacket mended itself but without her noticing. It was a skill he learned because of how much his clothes get ruined on his missions. "I could see you needed a drink. Your cheeks were red." He said with a shrug and sipped at his drink, the cold liquid running down his throat but he was more focused on her, trying to figure her out. "I hear a french accent, correct?" He questioned, his curious nature causing him to want to know more.

Not wanting another slip, Alice figured that she could at least try to zip her jacket. She wished she could attempt a charm, but she was surrounded by muggles and couldn't risk it. By some kind of miracle, the jacket zipped just fine and she let out a sigh of relief. "Well then," she did quietly, "thanks again.." She sipped some more, honestly enjoying every drop of it. "You are in France," she said with a smirk, "what exactly did you expect? I live not too far from here, actually. You, however, are not from France. Scandinavian, I'm certain. Norway, if I am to hazard a guess. What brings you so far from home?"

Niklaus smirked behind the glass, noticing that she zipped up her jacket with ease and he placed down the drink, wiping his hands on his dark jeans to get rid of the condensation. He narrowed his eyes sharply at the tease and shifted in the seat, hiding the fact that the teasing brushed him the wrong way. "You speak English, forgive me for pointing out the accent but you did give me more information about yourself, which is what I wanted in the first place." He admitted before nodded his affirmative. "I am from Oslo, Norway. I am here for work purposes but I have finished what I needed to do so next task is simply travel."

Alice conceded that his point was valid. She actually preferred English to her native French, but she did speak French with her family. "That's true," she said, "not many people use English over French, but I do." She smiled to herself when he confirmed her suspicions as to her origins, and found herself finishing off the last of the drink, which she had intended to savour. "Oh?" she asked, "what do you do?" Plenty of business men came to France for their work, but he didn't seem like a businessman at all. "Travel?" she asked, "back to Norway, or on to somewhere else?"

Niklaus was glad that she spoke English, even if he knew French quite well but he much preferred English. It helped that his mother was Irish as it allowed him to learn as his mother said his father was pure Norwegian. The question of what he does caused him to freeze but only ever so slightly. He had no reason to hide what he did as some ministry members knew what he did, the corrupt ones anyway. "Mercenary." He admitted with a nod of his head and then changed it to a shake. "Just around the world really. I have no reason to go back to Norway. Not yet anyway."