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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 18:52:12 GMT -5
Ludwig woke up at 6 a.m., as per his usual routine. He can count on one hand the number of times he's slept in when he wasn't sick. Outside his door, he could hear the scratching of Aster, who always woke up around the same time Ludwig did. Berlitz would most likely still be asleep. Opening his bedroom door and walking downstairs, he woke the other dog up to eat before he headed out to get coffee from the nearby store.
As Ludwig walked down the busy street, he carefully regarded all the activity going on around him. The newsboys shouting the headlines, the smell of food coming from various stores, and the normal buzz from the conversations going on around him. As he walked by an alley, he could hear the scuffling or rats as they looked for food. He was so wrapped up in his surroundings that he didn't notice the girl about to walk into him until she actually did. Immediately holding his arms out to catch her if she fell, he quietly murmured, "Sorry." His accent gave a lot away and most didn't like him for it.
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 19:40:50 GMT -5
Leonia day didn't start exactly as planned. She was having a pleasant dream, where she was home in Australia sleeping in her own bed; she could barely remember her house up north so she never bothered to even think about it. The girl swore she was home, so she woke up and subconsciously walked into the wall; her room in Australia was much bigger than this closet-sized room. In fact, it probably was a closet, but that was beside the point.
After running into the wall, Leonia got dressed and grabbed the money she had stolen so she could buy more paint. Yet, it took her awhile to actually find the money, for, she forgot where she put it.
Despite the rough start, she did manage to actually get out before running into someone on the streets. Honestly, she couldn't have been more embarrassed. "Watch where you're walking!", she angrily said. Perhaps if her day started out a little bit better, she wouldn't have had such an attitude, but then again, Leonia always had an attitude. |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 20:42:21 GMT -5
Ludwig started when he heard the girl's rude reply. Without thinking, he responded in German, "Es tut mir leid!" Then his brain caught up and Ludwig realized what language he just spoke in. "I-I'm sorry.." He had been trying so hard not to speak German outside of his own home, but sometimes it slipped. Like right now, for instance, when the young lady in front of him shocked him by yelling.
Quickly moving back, he finally got a good look at the girl in front of him. Defiant amber eyes looked up at him, and she had slightly curly brown hair. Looking away, he stepped to the side to let her through. He expected the girl to walk past him right about now.
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 20:54:01 GMT -5
Leonia narrowed her eyebrows as the man apologized. It was a little odd that he spoke in German first, but it made it very obvious that he had a thick accent when he spoke in English. Hearing the accent, lightened her mood and made her tilt her head in the slightest way. His accent was a bit different from any other she heard. But of course, when accents were concerned, most people were intrigued by Leonia's Australian accent and often questioned her about Australia. She wondered if other did the same to the man she ran into.
She folded her arms as she watched the man move to the side. Leonia needed to think of a way to turn this around to benefit her. Smiling, she thought of a grand idea. "Is that it? Bumping into me and then you're gonna' leave? Well that's rude! You should at least do me a favor since it was entirely your fault." |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 21:00:01 GMT -5
Only now did Ludwig pick up on the girl's Australian accent. He was surprised he didn't notice it beforehand, but then again, he'd also been caught up in the fact that not only did she yell at him, but he spoke in German in public. What surprised him the most is that she didn't walk away.
When what she said finally registered in his brain, Ludwig was confused. Why was this girl asking him for a favor? Anyone else would have been well on their way right now. Well, it's not like he really had to be anywhere important... "What kind of favor?"
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 21:09:51 GMT -5
Leonia snickered and sarcastically repeated the man along with the accent, "What kind of favor?" Is was too easy; there were so many things she needed, food, a new place to stay, paints, easels, the list went on. To be fair, she would ask for something simple.
"I want you to buy me the paints I need for my new painting!" That was fair wasn't it? Leonia could save the money she was going to use for the paints and buy food or save up for the new place. Also, she could probably make this guy buy more than she could have afforded. She slyly smiled, it was a bit childish, but this city seemed like one needed to do what they could to survive.
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 21:29:41 GMT -5
Ludwig blanched and looked away again when he heard the girl, he still didn't know her name, imitate him. He was already uncomfortable because he spoke in German around her, and now she was imitating him. Fantastic.
"Alright. Where do you usually buy your paints?" Ludwig was not an artist, he'd never know where to look. He trusted that the girl had done this before and could lead him there, because asking someone would be very awkward.
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 21:39:22 GMT -5
Leonia's amusement seemed to only increase when the other became more uncomfortable. Still mimicking a German accent, she asked, "What's wrong?" It was a bit peculiar to try and imitate the other's accent, considering the fact she had trouble imitating American and British accents as well.
The girl looked around and spotted the store she usually went to. Their competition was a bit further down the street and they had more expensive prices than the one that was closer, but their paint was better. "Well, it's down the street from here." |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 21:51:39 GMT -5
Ludwig knew the girl was enjoying the fact that he was ridiculously uncomfortable, and quite frankly it was annoying him. Who would want to make someone angry? His tone was flat as he spoke again. "Fine. Let's go."
Remembering which store the girl had referred to, Ludwig turned and started making his way down the street without checking to see if the girl was following. You'd think she'd be a little nicer to someone who was going to help her. Either way, she had the German (unwillingly) doing her a favor he really couldn't get out of. So by now he just had to bear it.
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 21:57:59 GMT -5
Leonia giggled, "Alright, alright. Let's go". She couldn't believe how easy this was. Perhaps she would bump into more people more often and demand things.
She followed the man as he started to walk. Leonia tugged on his sleeve to get his attention, "By the way, what's your name?" She believed it was a fair enough question to ask. After all, what was he going to do? Not tell her his name but buy her expensive paint instead? Yeah, right. |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 22:01:20 GMT -5
Ludwig sighed as he started down the street. This was going to feel like forever and he knew it. He heard the girl giggle and resisted the urge to smack his hand to his face. She was getting a kick out of this.
He felt the tug on his sleeve, followed by the innocent question. Looking down at her, he answered, "Ludwig. What about you?"
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 22:12:06 GMT -5
"Leonia Susanna Walters. You can call me Leo for short though", she said. Leonia always took pride in saying her full name and it was a habit as well. To her, it was more of a mature thing to do, which made her love doing it. Leonia always had the habit of wanting to do things that made her seem like she was more of an adult, but her childishness often got in the way of that. She did try though, sometimes it was more obvious on other occasions.
"How long have you been in New York?", she asked. "It sounds like you haven't been here for long." |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 22:29:35 GMT -5
Somehow, Ludwig wasn't surprised when the girl gave him her full name. However, now he would recognize it if any of his colleagues brought her up. Ludwig had no idea where this girl was from or what her idea of a job was.
"I've been here for four years now. I don't ever plan on going anywhere else." Ludwig really hoped she didn't ask anything else about his past.
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Post by Leonia Walters on Sept 29, 2011 22:37:10 GMT -5
Leonia knitted her eyebrows. She felt as if Ludwig was being a bit rude. The girl shot him a glare to get her feelings across, "Why would you do that? This place sucks. Well, except the museum, the art there is pretty cool. I don't remember anything like that in Australia".
The girl began to think of Australia, her home. For some reason, her mind focused in on the time her brother let her hold a koala. Perhaps she would paint a koala at some point. |
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Post by Ludwig Beilschmidt on Sept 29, 2011 22:40:54 GMT -5
Ludwig tensed and internally groaned. This was exactly what he wanted to avoid. No one here in New York knew of his past, and he planned on keeping it that way. The last thing he was going to do was dump his entire life's story on a girl he just met. Now that would be uncalled for.
"I'd rather not talk about myself. We're almost there." Ludwig has felt the glare Leonia had shot him and was begging her in his mind to not question the fact that he wanted that topic dropped.
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