"I Don't Know, Could Be Both," She Pointed Out, Eyes Nailed To The Balloon As She Thought Through Her

Zahra noticed the way the man studied their surroundings and nodded as if agreeing. “It’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?” She had spent a good chunk of her life in libraries and the Main Branch of the New York Public Library was easily one of her favorites, even if her last few trips there had been less than fruitful. When she hadn’t been able to concentrate on her writing, Zahra had spent hours people-watching and wandering around the building, desperate for any sort of distraction.

An unintended yet quickly contained laughter escaped her as he described his sister. "I have to keep that in mind. Hopefully I won’t be needing any legal counsel anytime soon, but it's good to know there are options." She turned to glimpse at the books, a look of faint disgust spreading across her face. "I guess they are. Didn't read most of them, though. They're for work."

He grabbed the bag in his arms when he noticed it was about to hive out any moment now and followed her into the library. He hadn't been in here since he moved to the city and started working so he looked around the beautiful building for a moment as he walked. He almost bumped into her even. "I'm sorry." He left out a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, my sister is a nerd but hey, if you ever have some legal troubles she's amazing." He looked at the mountain of books in his arms and back at her. "Are all these yours? Someone's been busy."

Being taken care of made her feel like a kid, small and not in control. Her lips curved down in a slight frown before she managed to catch herself. He was just being kind, far kinder than he had to be with a complete stranger. So, instead of turning into a petulant child, Zahra nodded curtly and offered her library card without any further arguments. She really didn't have it in her. "Good to meet you."

"Yeah, yeah. It was just a long hike," she answered, her voice low, "but I'm fine. Need to start exercising more, I guess. Or stop lugging around so many hardbacks. Maybe both."

"Maybe I could get your library card and return these for you. And I'll find you some cold water." Matt offered quickly, Putting the books down on the floor by his own foot. "I'm Matt, and don't worry about it, really. I'm glad I was close by to help."

Matt looked around the building. At least the AC was on. He imagined carrying that weight in New York City's summer would exhaust anyone, he couldn't blame the brunette. "It is really hot out, you should just take a breath here." He smiled and squeezed her arm gently before he pulled back and crossed his arms across his chest, just waiting on what to do next. "Have you eaten anything today?"

my body is NOT. a “”temple””….it is a CLOWN CAR, and NONE OF THESE BITCHES KNOW HOW 2 DRIVE

“i am afraid that if i open myself i will not stop pouring. (why do i fear becoming a river. what mountain gave me such shame.)”

— Erosion // Jamie Oliveira

AIYSHA HART as Dr. Miriam Shephard | A Discovery of Witches • Season 2

Despite her stubborn streak and tendency to insist on doing things by herself no matter how difficult, Zahra could not hide her relief. Besides, a slipped disc didn't necessarily appeal to her. "Oh, hardly. It's definitely no more than a quarter of my size. And it's lighter than it looks." That was a bold-faced lie and Zahra was definitely grateful Ryan had offered to help her with the books. "That'd be nice, thank you. Can't say I've been doing much of heavy lifting lately." She shook her head slowly. "You're working? Nothing serious, I hope."

—dressed in a casual uniform, black pants and standard FD t-shirt, he walked up the stairs leading to the library meaning to check on a call; they did claim it was a false alarm, but two of them had been sent anyway to ensure there were no issues. a standard procedure for such a call, they needed to do an inspection of the building; this was a library after all, a fire break out in this place would be a pain, for many reasons. “what are you doing?” he laughed as he noticed Zahra —first he had noticed the bag, to be fair. looking at the massive blue bag she was carrying, he arched an eyebrow. “this is twice your size, Zahra,” he teased, laughing. “may I?” he inquired, gesturing towards the bag.

Zahra reached for another book with an interesting cover, flicking through some of the pages. She was still very much engaged in the conversation, eyes darting back and forth between the text and her new companion. "There's such a thing as too my sadness and angst. I don't want to read about a never-ending series of tragedy. That's rarely all that realistic or relatable. I suppose it's just nice to feel seen when you're feeling like garbage." Zahra shook her head as the other mentioned how her opinions could be too strong. "It's a good thing. Means you can't be swayed too easily. Also, what can you have strong opinions on if not books? Surely literature is a pretty safe thing to feel strongly about."

Feeling brave, Zahra tilted her head to the side. "Do you happen to have any more recommendations? I think I might be able to squeeze a few more books somewhere on my shelves."

"i completely agree! although i personally don't understand why sad stories are so popular. i just want to kick back and read something so unserious. i don't always want to be stuck in a whirlwind of tragedy, but i guess this is an unpopular opinion because i can't seem to find much literary fiction without tragedy," she shrugged. "at least you have plenty of options!" she added cheerfully. she truly did wish she understood the appeal of those types of books. everyone else seemed to be getting a lot out of these stories. she wondered if there was something she was missing. she laughed along with the other. "yeah, well, sometimes my opinions can be too strong," she admitted, a flush to her cheeks as she looked away.

"that's great to hear. a relief, really. i like to recommend books more than the average person i'd wager, so it feels good to know i'm actually doing something useful. besides, recommendations are always better. especially from someone you can trust."

"I get that. I'm kind of doing the same thing," she admitted with an equally uneasy smile that disappeared within seconds. Well, she certainly stressed over work and spent an ungodly amount of time staring at her computer screen. "It'll take a while to figure out what you like doing, especially here. There's so much to do and sometimes that can be a bit overwhelming." She remembered just how spoilt for choice she had felt when she first moved to the city. Zahra had been eager to try absolutely everything to the point where she hadn't known where to start.

"Well, I mean I do like visiting the museums, or art galleries if that's your thing." She shrugged, kicking a pebble along the street as she walked. "There's tons of good live music as well. I tend to take advantage of that. Just depends on what you like."

Matt let out a chuckle at her question, shaking his head and then looking back a her with a mortified look and a shy smile. "Honestly? Work." He chuckled. "That's as far as my plans go right now. I go to work, I come home, eat, sleep. Then work again." He slipped his hands into his pockets and bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn't proud of his routine but he hasn't felt like doing much else for a few months now. Matt carried all alone a baggage way too big for his poor back.

"What do you like to do around the city for fun?" He asked, curiously, not wanting to dampen the mood, so he offered her a kind smile. "Maybe I can learn a thing or two from you."

Singles mixers - or mixers of any kind - weren't exactly Zahra's scene but she had made a promise to a friend. Said friend had been terrified to go by herself but had managed to hit it off with the first person she had struck a conversation with. Zahra had been left to fend for herself and had taken to people watching from a blessedly quiet corner. Eventually she had ran out of her drink and was making her way towards the bar when someone stopped her. Oh, she had been in her situation before and hurried to nod eagerly. "Yeah, I was just coming to look for you. That Jenga isn't going to play itself," she confirmed, mustering an apologetic smile as she nodded towards the very opposite side of the space. "Shall we?"

STATUS: open @bhqextras

LOCATION: Singles Mixer @ Puzzles, Manhattan

When a friend suggested a night out, Devi pictured something along the lines of going out dancing at Club 51, not a game night at a singles mixer. She supposed it was better than getting dragged along to something that felt a little more desperate like speed dating, but she still couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment with how she was spending her night off. To make make matters worse, she had just been stuck in what felt like the world's longest game of darts with someone who made watching paint dry seem more exciting than holding a conversation with them. At the suggestion of a rematch, she immediately panicked and locked eyes with someone else who was nearby. "Oh, I would, but I already agreed to a game of Jenga with them." She tried her best to communicate with the other using her eyes, "Isn't that right?"