It isn't technically escape. Just .. sort of.

Rookwood Manor, though plush and completely and utterly luxurious, was beginning to grate on the nerves of one Maia Delphine Papadopoulos. Though completely grateful and thankful to Augustus for keeping her, the loneliness was not something that Maia could easily combat. She was a social flower ultimately and there was no one upon no one to talk to. No one would so much as look at her let alone think about striking up a conversation with her. She was forbidden territory. She was neither mistress nor anything else but she was a guest. Yet, she was not a guest welcomed into the manor by anyone of real standing.

It was universally acknowledged that this was, for now, her home, she was still not welcome and Augustus’ wife would have nothing to do with her. She could not so much as entertain his children. She could only gain glimpses of them from the upstairs windows of the home while they were outside. There was simply no one for her and Augustus, consumed with his own problems, was no one to talk to when he was home. So yes, it was safe to say that she was utterly alone.

November dawned, signalling her fifth month in captivity. Winter had arrived in Britain already and Augustus had been kind enough to give Maia a coat or two upon her confessing to him the chills she had gotten from being outside in the barest of clothes that had been useful in the summer but not for the autumn and steadily incoming winter. That particular November morning was the chilliest yet and Maia woke frozen even as she was wrapped up in the covers of her bed. She had not been called from her room in weeks. She had not seen Augustus in just as long and even though she was used to the irregularity of his visits now, she liked to see him. Anyone, actually. She liked to see anyone that would talk to her. Even Kendall.

Descending into the house for breakfast after dressing saw her encounter Augustus’ wife yet again and it was this meeting that told Maia well enough that she needed to get out of the house – that she needed to get out of everyone’s hair, even her own. She decided that today would be the day she’d venture beyond the perimeter of the manor and did so somewhat hesitantly but once she was beyond the gate she made her way down the beaten track towards the nearest village where she hoped she could at least do a spot of window shopping. And, upon arriving she found that she would not be disappointed, proceeding to drift from shop window to shop window, drawing herself near to the glass and taking in everything the store had to offer.

And there were people. The village was loud; brimming with chatter. Though they weren’t talking to her, Maia was grateful that they were talking at all.

OOC: Outfit!

Sawyer was in a small wizarding village at the request of Earnest D. Roberts. Earnest was an aging fellow and since Sawyer had taken the position as Head of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures he had seen this man five times. Earnest was a sweet man, really, but easily confused, and he nursed a soft spot for creatures. The world wasn't kind to Earnest, because he had become known to be the man you dumped dangerous animals on. Criminals disposed of their illegal, failed litters of mixed creatures, troublesome dragons, and dangerous eggs at Earnest's homes. They told him their sob stories- "I can't afford to feed him!"- and Earnest agreed to be the foster home.

Earnest, luckily, had a neighbor very sweet on him. Angus Hodges was Earnest's age and at the first sign that Earnest had been tricked again, Angus called Sawyer. Apparently Jack had come every Wednesday to collect the animals Earnest had received over the week.

Today, it wasn't too big a surprise. Just a baby griffin. A rapidly growing baby griffin. Sawyer had asked some interns to come along with him, wanting them to do the work this time- it was about time he took off the training wheels with them. That, and he wanted to familiarize himself with the village. If he was going to be here every week, he wanted to know where he could get a bite to eat, who were Ministry supporters, etcetera.

The interns finally restrained the griffin and left with him. A small group had gathered around Earnest's front yard, watching with interest. The number was ever growing.

Poor Earnest was rubbing the back of his head while Angus gripping his arm, running her wrinkled hand up and down his forearm comfortingly. Sawyer had a clipboard out and was writing Earnest's words.

"I dunno, he was a short man. Shockingly short, but not quite as short as a dwarf. He seemed alright, offered me a bottle of brandy in return but I told him it was alright. He nearly cried leaving the griffin, I think." Earnest's chin wobbled. "He tricked me again, didn't he."

Sawyer nodded. "He did. Not to worry, Earnest, I know you mean no harm by it. I just don't want you getting hurt is all."

He glanced at the group of people. He hated crowds... But perhaps... "Anyone here see a men talking to Earnest lately? I need descriptions."

There were all manner of different trinkets in the windows of the shops that lined the cobbled street that was covered with the debris left by the trees stripped of their leaves by the bitter wind. As Maia walked she wrapped her coat tighter around herself, wishing she had some winter wool to curl around her neck and tug onto her hands and head like the other people around her did. All she had was a small pouch of money in her pocket. Pound Stirling. She didn’t know how much, she wasn’t exactly sure how you were meant to count it, but she did know that there were also some coins from Augustus’ world. In all honesty, she didn’t know how to use either but she didn’t see anything she wanted to buy; she was just content to browse but didn’t dare enter any of the shop for fear that she truly would be tempted.

As Maia moved further down the street she noticed there was some sort of commotion going on by a cottage where a rather important looking man was stood beside a rather more sheepish, older looking man, the former of whom was trying to garner information from the crowd that had gathered there. Maia knew that she had nothing to do with the scene before her so she did not move to pry; however she took a seat on one of the benches and decided to watch what was going on, wondering idly whether she would be able to catch the gist of it. Until then though, she decided to amuse herself with the bag of coins. Removing it from her pocket she rolled it between her chilled hands, unsure what to do with it just yet.

It was all rather bizarre. Yet, she hadn’t felt more alive, more part of something, since she’d arrived in the strange, chilly country that was Great Britain. Part of her wished that Augustus could be with her, to guide her, but she felt as though she also needed to grow without him. He couldn’t be her unwilling crutch forever, after all.

The crowd was unhelpful. A large portion of the crowd was Earnest's elderly neighbors, and they all had something to say, but little had to do with the present situation, nor the criminal Sawyer was attempting to keep tabs on. After the sixth woman showed him pictures of her grandchildren, Sawyer told the group that he was done with his investigation for the day. He thanked them all and quickly pushed his way through the crowd.

His eyes fell on the end of a bench and, without looking anywhere else, he moved towards it rapidly, turning and sitting at it. He plopped his clipboard into his lap and began scribbling down the rest of the information into his records. Though Sawyer was a man of action, he believed that keeping organized records was a key method to an efficient department.

He smelled someone's presence before he saw who it was. A light waft of perfume had caught onto the wind and drifted into his nostrils, causing him to slowly raise his head and turn it to the left. Oh. The bench he had chosen had already been occupied by a beautiful young woman.

He would have much rather interviewed her.

"Sorry, I probably seem either rude or stupid," Sawyer said, though there was no trace of real insecurity in his voice. As Sawyer did not think himself rude or stupid, it did not matter much if he appeared as either. "I wanted to get my paperwork done and when duty calls, no one can stop it," he said offering a smile. "My name's Sawyer Weasley, Head of of the Department for Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures." He loved spitting out that mouthful. He held out a hand in greeting.

The manor that she had quietly come to love was one that presented Maia with great boredom so she spent much more time doing girly pursuits than anything else. She took long luxurious baths, her hair twisted up in a knot on top of her head as she slipped amongst the bubbles treated with jasmine so that her skin smelt exquisite. It was there that she began to read; anything and everything. It didn’t matter what it was but as long a House Elf was around to take pity on the girl, she would read. Slowly she was beginning to learn English. The House Elves were kind enough to make a copy in Arabic and let her go from the library with the English version as well so after some slow cross referencing; Maia was beginning to get to grips with the language that alluded her so.

She had also taken to learning about Augustus’ world. She tried also to understand why his wife would often leave the room rather than speak to her. She understood that mistresses, though common, were not given a shred of sympathy and were otherwise treated with contempt. She knew that well enough but she did not realise that their breed of people also resented those that served while the wife could not. Not that Maia did much to soothe Augustus of course. There was no need for her. The man was obsessed with his son’s wedding and so left Maia to her own devices much of the time. That was how she ended up in the village, sitting on a bench, only to be joined by a red haired stranger.

Certainly, if it had not been for her curiosity then she would have been completely lost in his words but Maia managed to smile at the man and she perked up a little in her seat. He was unusually kind to her. Initially it scared her a little bit but then she recalled that there was a world beyond the quiet house and glares from any Rookwood she crossed. Maia managed a better smile for the man and scooted across the bench, angling herself so that she was closer and facing him, making sure that he knew she was paying attention to what he had to say; and she was, she’d honestly never heard something being said like that before. Not to her, anyway.

“I’m Maia.” The girl introduced herself, reaching forward to grasp the man – Sawyer’s – hand. “You work with animals?” She inquired gently. “I am particularly fond of birds. You were interviewing the elderly man over there, though. What happened?”