Faint sounds of jazz from a nearby restaurant a street or so over could be heard in the air as she walked down Royal Street.  The city was making its transition from day to night, dusk gracing it softly.  The street had started to quiet down, as tourists made their way over to the ever-popular Bourbon street.  Roxie had only been here a few days, but this place had a character she had never really encountered before.  Each city she had explored had its own lifeblood, its own soul.  Humans never quite understood it, though she knew they felt it.  It was the magic of a place, the magic of humans themselves when they gathered in populated areas.<br/><br/>The architecture was also inviting.  It reminded her a little of home, small streets, old buildings.  Balconies that neighbors could speak across the street to each other from.  The heat was rather oppressive, but it had begun to lift as the day started to end.  Or perhaps it was the humidity she did not like.  After a few attempts to curl her hair, Roxie had abandoned the prospect and braided her deep, chocolate locks into a wide tail, which now hung over her left shoulder.  It was probably for the best.  She could have used a glamour to keep her hair in place, many fae would have, but she figured this was utilitarian and still feminine, so that was enough of a good reason to stick to more practical means of hair styling.  She had made similar choices for her clothing, picking a crisp, cotton dress to wear around town.<br/><br/>She had seen him a few days prior.  The danger he was in was urgent, but not immediate, so she had taken her time observing to figure out what her best move would be.  He routinely strummed along his guitar outside of Cafe Amelie, just down the street from where she was.  She had watched a few others get shooed away or asked to leave by the cafe's management, but not him.  Some of the other musicians were fairly talented, but none quite had the gift he had.  Humans would have thought it was just raw ability and a rare, soothing voice, but Roxie knew that was just magic masquerading as the mundane.  His beautiful voice and talented fingers were a talent, but they were augmented by his very being.  The humans couldn't help but be enchanted by it, even the management of Cafe Amelie.<br/><br/>He was near a bench by the front of the gray bricked building, probably a newer addition to the red-bricked building alongside it.  It was hard to imagine that this young man was what all the fuss back home was about.  Backstabbing, murder, torture, they had been committed just to find him.  She had promised his mother she would be the first though, that she would not like the Winter King's men to get to her son first.  Roxie had spent very little time in the court herself, but she knew the politics well enough, her father had made sure of that.  That was also what made this mission so personal.  Her parents were gone, their lives lost in that same political turmoil that had outcast this son of Winter.  Keeping him safe and someday bringing him home, might be a way of getting justice for them, but there were really no guarantees.<br/><br/>Her mind was not on loss or politics as she crossed the street towards the cafe.  Right now, she needed to get him out off the street and out of the open air.  She did not think the Winter King's spies were close, but they were clever and cunning, so she did not want any unnecessary risks.<br/><br/>So she played the part of a British tourist exploring the Quarter and meandering toward the sweet sound of music.  Roxie pulled a few dollars from her purse and carefully dropped them into his open guitar case, a soft smile pulling at her lips.  She waited until he finished his current song and arched her eyebrows in pure amazement at him.<br/><br/>"That was stunning, I'm quite shocked you do this outside of a cafe instead of on a stage somewhere...It was just...Beautiful."  It had been lovely, but most of her amazement was manufactured.  She had seen the sort of beauty her people could craft on cue, and though he was likely a cut above, right now she just wanted him to believe that she was a pretty girl and that she was fascinated by him and his music.  She had to hope that would be enough to open the door.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="26" data-username="@Ninjanerd" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/26/">@Ninjanerd</a>