Rose gave a final wave over her shoulder without looking back when Chronos called out goodbye. She walked at a casual, unhurried pace, having no real need to hurry off to the new place. Taking such a casual pace also allowed her to look around at her surroundings while seeming like she was simply taking everything in and enjoying a beautiful, sunny day rather than looking for anything suspicious.<br/><br/>This casual pace also meant that she had not gotten very far before Chronos quickly appeared in the doorway and followed her, waving her down. Rose quirked a brow slightly, surprised by the girl’s sudden reappearance. “Hmm?” she responded to the girl calling out and telling her to wait a second. She really wasn’t sure why the girl had come after her or what to expect. She didn’t have to wait long for the answer to become clear, though.<br/><br/>She wanted to hang out? As usual, Rose’s expression did not carry any dramatic reaction. She did not look shocked, appalled, or ecstatic. Still, she did look a bit surprised, her eyes widening slightly and her head tilting to the side just a bit in confusion as she wondered over why this girl wanted to hang out with her of all people. She was generally pretty good about not leaving any deep or meaningful impressions on anyone. It was easier to slip in and out of people’s lives, to vanish, to avoid unnecessary bonds or attachments if she didn’t do too much to make her stand out in their minds.<br/><br/>Sure, many people enjoyed her company, she was clever, quick-witted, and charming when she wanted to be, which made her great conversation at a party, and she was great after a party, too. Still, she was not deep or inviting. Nothing about her invited warm, fuzzy feelings or suggested to anyone that she was interested in things like hanging out or making friends. So why was this girl interested? Was she simply being nice, assuming Rose had no other friends here? Was she just so naive that she missed all the warning signs? Was it both? Or was it something else?<br/><br/>Chronos went on to tell her that she understood if Rose didn’t want to but asked her to think it over. She then held out a card to Rose, explaining that it contained her contact info and suggesting that they could go shopping, or do stuff, if Rose was ever interested. Rose took the card without any real indication as to whether she intended to ever use the contact information or not. Truth be told, she wasn’t quite sure herself. Usually she had no interest in such things, and the girl was certainly not the type that she generally associated herself with, yet she did not truly discard the idea, although neither did she truly entertain it at the time.<br/><br/>Rose gave a nod when the girl gave a courteous bow, waving as she turned back to the building with a few parting words. “Sure,” Rose replied, staring down at the card for a moment before slipping it into her pocket. Even if she didn’t choose to call the girl for any social reasons, it wouldn’t hurt to hang on to her contact info, just in case. “See ya,” she replied with a somewhat absentminded wave as she turned and resumed her course towards the apartment she had just purchased, still feeling somewhat taken aback.<br/><br/>It didn’t take her long to regain her composure as she walked through the streets. She made a couple of stops on the way, picking up a few groceries, which wasn’t something she often did nowadays, as she usually hired someone else to do that for her. Still, today she felt like it, and she pretty much always did what she felt like doing, even if it might seem uncharacteristic to some, didn’t make sense to others, or made her seem a bit unpredictable.<br/><br/>It wasn’t too long before she arrived at the building. She went by the front desk to finalize things. The documents had been sent over electronically and she had been given a key-card, but she needed to have it activated and handle a couple of other things. Once this was done, she headed for the elevator and, using her new key-card, she took the elevator up to the top floor. The elevator opened into a large hallway, with only two doors in the hallway, one on either side. The building was large, so rather than marketing the entire floor as a single, unnecessarily large penthouse, they had split it into two. This was neither here nor there, though, as she had lived in penthouses of varying types and never really noticed a difference.<br/><br/>Once inside her apartment, she looked around, reinforcing that the penthouse she had purchased did, in fact, suit her. It was rather expansive, with the main living space consisting of a foyer, a full-sized chef’s kitchen, a breakfast nook, and a large open living room, with several adjoining rooms, including the bedrooms and study, among others. It had all the luxury finishes she had come to enjoy, and the exterior walls, as with most penthouses and top-floor apartments in newer buildings, were composed entirely of a crystal clear but sturdy glass-like material. Finally, there was a large balcony that wrapped all the way around the exterior of the penthouse, although it was made with nano-tech, so the construction was not set in stone, so to say.<br/><br/>She put the groceries she had just purchased away before opening her bag and with a snap of her fingers, everything she had packed before was now out and in this apartment. With a few additional apparently effortless gestures, the items all took their new places. Once everything was in place, she switched on the television and strolled into the kitchen. Technically speaking, she didn’t have to eat as often as normal humans did, as it was not strictly necessary for her survival—another gift from her mysterious father, she guessed—but that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy eating.<br/><br/>As she made herself something to eat, she paid minimal attention to the television in the background, but one report did briefly catch her attention. They mentioned something affecting the power sources in the city and causing power outages. She wondered what it was about, but there was little additional information given, with authorities citing their usual lines about how they were working tirelessly to identify the cause, investigating every possibility, and so on. Some of what they said was probably true, however, considering that most of the outages seemed to be affecting the lower-class areas of the city at this time, she had her doubts that there was any tireless investigating happening.<br/><br/>At any rate, there was nothing else of interest said and the newscasters moved on to a story about the hottest fashion trends this season and where to find the best deals on their recommended must-haves. At this point, Rose tuned out and headed to the balcony with her plate of food. She waved her hand and a door appeared, leading to the glass-like balcony. Rose placed her plate on the railing, which extended to her desired length, preventing the plate from falling. She took a bite of the food and stared at the view of the city. It looked beautiful from up here, although she knew first-hand that it didn’t always look so pretty down below.<br/><br/>She briefly thought back to that night, to the boy who had to risk life and limb to steal food so he could eat, to the people who had been so cruel that they had nearly cut off his hand for stealing a bag of food that was worth nothing more than pocket change. She still remembered the events clearly, even though she rarely thought of them these days. She also remembered the boy well, despite how many different faces she had seen over the years, and how easily these faces tended to fade from her memory like the insignificant, easily-replaceable images they were. Why his stuck with her, she didn’t know. Or maybe she did.<br/><br/>She briefly wondered what had happened to him, if he had made the most of the opportunity, she had given him, or if he had squandered it. She guessed it really didn’t matter. Even if she had an inkling of a desire to see him, which she would vehemently deny, even living on the same world, the chances of them meeting again were slim. That was probably for the best, though. No matter what his life was like, she was quite certain it was better off without her in it, and she certainly didn’t need weakness or attachments in her life.<br/><br/>Although, she had implied that she would come back one day to collect on her investment, so perhaps she should consider finding him, if only to stay true to her word and ensure that her assistance was not been viewed as some benevolent act of kindness of which she was neither capable of nor interested in performing. As she considered this, she continued to slowly pick at her food, her eyes largely focused on the city below her, even if her mind was elsewhere.