Cheers!

In the evening where nobody knows your name. It was refreshing, not to be hunted, either by the wizards or by his own kind.

Damon lounged in his chair and ordered another bottle of wine. It took a long time to drink when he was by himself, but that was all the better, for it gave him an unremarkable reason to remain where he was. The cafe was perfectly situated to observe all manner of interactions between his fellow beings.

If Damon was to remain unnoticed in wizarding society, he knew he must acclimatise as quickly as possible. Watching other wizards, for yes, he ought to think of himself as a wizard if he intended to pass himself off as one, was an essential part of that.

Marla liked to haunt the shops in both Diagon Alley and Knockturn, looking for new victims to manipulate and crush. Mostly men. They fell for her tricks more often because their eyes were usually glued to her chest rather than watching that revealing flicker in her eyes that always appeared whenever she realized she had caught another one.

Cafe Twin Montez was usually a good place to mind influential Ministry workers, tired after a long week and reviewing folders and files of important information. Marla noticed a blip on her radar, though, a man that was not usually here on this certain weekday. The cafe had a typically strict routine of people and times. She cocked her head, watching him from her own solitary table not far from his and said, "New to town or just to the cafe?"

Damon was somewhat surprised at the boldness of the young woman who spoke to him. In the past, there was only one sort of woman who spoke to a man dining alone. Times had changed, unless of course, this was merely the beginning of what she hoped would become a business transaction. If so, she would be sorely disappointed.

"Returning after a long absence," he corrected her assumption.

And then, because her evident interest in him had sparked interest in return he asked:

"I take it you come here often?"

Marla raised her head slightly, almost pointing her chin at him and pursing her lips, though her dark, analytical eyes remained trained on him. Her mouth curled slightly in an amused, impressed way, her eyes gleaming ever so slightly, though she quickly blinked away all traces of greed. "Ah," she replied simply to his correction.

At his question, she rotated in her seat, pointing towards him now, and ran a hand through her short hair as she smirked slightly. "Probably more than I should. You fall into a routine, it's a little haphazard when it's interrupted." She chuckled, blinking a few times. "Mind if I join you?"

Something about this woman's demeanour was much too contrived, Damon suddenly realised. The way she tried to make it sound as though noticing him was just the same as noticing a book out of place on the shelf of a library... It was as though she was going out of her way to make it clear that he was just another man, so far as she was concerned.

Immediately, that realisation put him on edge. It was a long time since any human had been able to do that. It was a long time since Damon had been on the run, though, and now he found himself jumping at shadows. Nevertheless, he smiled through the nerves and poured a second glass of wine.

"Not at all."

His head fell into the cradle of his palm and Damon regarded the woman across the table. She still hadn't told him her name, either. It was better to know the names of your enemies, the easier to curse them later.

"They call me Damon," he offered by way of introduction.

Marla smiled lightly when he said she could join him and she slipped out of her seat and walked over to his table, sitting down and setting her coffee on the table. She smiled and rested her elbows on the table. lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on the bridge they formed. She knew this projected a sign of interest, sparked curiosity. She knew what she was doing.

He introduced himself and she unlaced one of her hands and extended it to him, saying, "Marla." She smiled a mysterious smile and then tilted her head slightly. "So, a long absence, eh? Were you traveling?"

He'd captured her attention. It was good and not good. Damon didn't know how he felt about people throwing themselves at him and although she wasn't being overt, she may as well have been undressing for the way it made him feel.

He looked around distractedly, felt her reach across the table for something and turned back. Her hand was out. To shake? To kiss? Damon scratched a hand through his hair and ignored it. If nothing else, it would send all the right signals about exactly how interested he was in her.

"Yes."

He hoped the brief answer would make her realise this topic was not up for conversation. He was not about to tell her about how the smog over Athens contrasted to the deep blue of the Mediterranean. These were things she could find out from any Ministry attaché and Damon wouldn't want just anyone finding out where he'd been the last few years.

Marla let her hand float down to the table, her palm against it, as though that had been her intention the entire time.
A waitress walked by and Marla raised a finger. "A coffee." Typically she would go for something much more akin to what Damon was drinking, but she could sense his distrust. She needed to fall under his radar for a little while.

She watched the waitress go, keeping her eyes off Damon for an extended amount of time before finally returning them and locking eyes with him. She smiled lightly and said, "So.. Damon. Does it seem any different around here, since you were last here?" She was just trying to get him talking and she was also rather curious to see if it was apparent that the winds of changes had been blowing.