Since returning to Sacrosanct, Samantha had set herself a near-daily goal to get herself out of the house. It had been a goal she had set for herself in her travels over the past two years. If left to her own devices, she would have holed up in whatever Airbnb she had rented in whatever city she happened to decide to reside in. It had been her way of forcing herself to explore the world. When she'd first left Sacrosanct and went to New York, it had been easy to get herself out onto the streets to explore the city in which she'd been born. And as she'd explored Chicago and Philadelphia and Boston, she'd enacted her 'one outing a day' rule in order to make sure she'd see something. And once she'd gotten used to getting out every day, it was a particularly hard habit to break.

In Sacrosanct, the game was a little bit harder given that she knew the city so well. She could walk the Western streets with her eyes closed. The parks of the south had been explored so she knew most of the trails. She'd gone shopping in the north, had worked in the east, and lived in the west. Sacrosanct was her home much in the same way that New York City was her home. Still, she forced herself out her home at least once a day to explore the city that she knew so well. Today's adventure was settled in the eastern district, ducking in and out of the shops along the street. So far she'd bought herself a variety of new things to add to her wardrobe (including a new pair of shoes and a variety of lighter clothes perfect for the upcoming Spring) and a few new kitchen gadgets that she was dying to try for herself. At the sight of a bookstore, Samantha couldn't resist adding a few new novels to her ever-growing collection. After all, she intended to stay in Sacrosanct for the long haul, so she didn't have to worry about leaving things behind anymore.

As she ducked into the bookstore, Samantha couldn't help but inhale deeply. There was a particular joy in the smell of books that Samantha found utterly relaxing. The smell of pages and ink and leather. When she was growing up in New York, there had been a locally owned bookstore down the street from her apartment, and she had often spent time there after school, just reading the books until they'd close and the owner would usher her out with a promise that she could return tomorrow. It was a good memory. The one blessing to her immortal lifestyle was that she had plenty of time to read all the books that existed upon those shelves. She ducked into the first aisle, a smile on her lips as her fingers trailed along the spines of the classic novels upon the shelves.

They were like seeing old friends, these books. She could think of Elizabeth and Lydia as her fingers trailed along Pride and Prejudice. Daisy and Gatsby. Jane Eyre. Scout's adventures from To Kill a Mockingbird. The adventures of Don Quixote. Floating down the river with Huck and Jim. They were old friends. Old adventures that Samantha herself had joined along in multiple times. She had just picked up a complete collection of Jane Austen's novels (as if she didn't own them all separately) when her body was suddenly jerked to the side by another, larger one. "Oof," Samantha said in surprise, reaching to grab ahold of the arm that had caught her to steady herself. "Oh, oh it's okay. I'm usually the one bumping intoâ€"" Samantha assured the figure, the words halting on her tongue as she looked up to meet the gaze of the man that stood before her.

He looked like a dark knight out of a fairy tale in his dark washed jeans and fitted shirt. He looked like Mr. Darcy from her favorite novel. He looked like... gorgeous. Oh, it had been a long time since she had thought that upon meeting someone, and the feeling of butterflies that seemed to erupt in her chest was entirely foreign to her. That sly smirk on his lips seemed to melt her to the very spot she stood, too distracted to push his hand off her waist (nor did she really want to). She could feel his... oh, was that attraction... lust? That emotion coming from him seeming to shock her as much as his collision with her.

Samantha straightened as he cleared his throat and stepped back, her own hand raking through that red hair simply to give her something to do with her hands. "It's... It's fine. Really. I don't mind," Samantha followed his gaze towards the desk, which was indeed empty. "I'm not sure, but I don't think they sell maps here. I..." She found herself truly not wanting to say goodbye to this handsome stranger. At least, not yet. "Is there somewhere I can help you find? I know the city pretty well." Well, that was a way to spend time with someone, was it not? To be kind and help them find their way? "I'm Samantha... Sam. You can call me Sam."