Life had a funny way of bringing into one's day something - or someone, in this case - that perhaps had not be realized as a need until the moment was right there in plain sight. Beylani could not remember the last time that she had felt so at ease and almost blissful in the company of another aside from her family. Well, she did remember such times in her past where she'd laughed so easily and smiled with such ease as she did with the kind man the she had somehow ended up sharing this beautiful autumn afternoon with, but she chose not to examine them now for fear that she would be struck with that ever distant yet unmistakably familiar sense of longing or heartache. No matter how she looked at those past friendships that, in her opinion that tried considerably hard to stay on a positive note, should not have ended as suddenly as they have, she more often than not found herself missing them. Those that she had once called her friends... They were nothing more than bittersweet memories she wished to live again, each one just about as tangible as a ghost or spirit floating just inches out of one's reach. The young woman even went to the extent of accepting that behind the abandonment there was a tinge of resentment for how she had been so easily left behind by those she'd only ever cared for like family and given her whole heart to. Countless hours spent trying to cheer up her girlfriends when they went through the breakups, so many texts planning out their next "big adventure" in their little town of Willowhaven, and what was it that she was given back? Only memories to remember them by and nothing more. She was lucky to have such a supportive and loving family for without them and without the returned devotion and love from those she'd once been close to, gods only know what might have happened to the ever friendly and warm-hearted young woman that now walked happily beside Dorian and his canine companion.

Everything happens for a reason. This was but one of the things that she had not only been told by her father in those times where she'd been so blue after fresh wounds had been laid across her heart but in many of the books and stories she'd read both when she'd been younger and only just weeks ago before she had moved here to Sacrosanct. For every action, there was a result and from every door that closed, there was another that opened somewhere along the way. The trick was to just keep moving on and looking for that open door, that small window where the light shone through and caressed the soft skin of one's face. It was certainly far from being as easy as it sounded, but it was well worth the wait. Whatever resentful thoughts she had towards those who so readily left her behind, she battled again with wishes of good will and hope that those old friends of hers were well in what they were doing with their life. Just as old friendships faded and burned out, a new one was surely just around the corner waiting to be discovered, and it would seem that she had found it (hopefully) with Dorian. With him, it was easy for the blue-eyed blonde to forget that she was all alone in this big city without a single familiar face that could bring to her small Riverdale apartment a little figurative slice of home. Well, she did have her loving - and clingy - tortoiseshell best friend of seven years to go home to each day, but while the feline offered a significant amount of comfort to Beylani there was something in the companionship brought to life by another human that couldn't quite imitate that between woman and cat. As she smiles at the man with dark hair and storm gray eyes, she hopes that this was only just the beginning of something amazing, but only time would tell if it would be different from her experiences in the "dark" of her past although she couldn't help the feeling that this was going to be different somehow.

They walk together and his accented words carry into the crisp air of the afternoon, time slipping away from them with startling ease and yet Beylani cared little for tracking the time that came and went, having nowhere else that she needed to be on this particular day. Dorian reveals to the blonde woman where it was the aquarium could be found and she feels her smile grow ever brighter as she thinks of taking her mother and father there in the coming weeks when they would visit her. There wasn't anything like that in Willowhaven, not by a long shot. The closest things her hometown had for family entertainment was the fair that came every summer. Then there were the rodeos as well, but Beylani didn't enjoy them quite as much as she did the ferris wheel and roller coasters that were somehow so easily hauled to Willowhaven and put together in a matter of days. She wonders in that moment if Sacrosanct ever had fairs, thinking to herself as she dared to glance only just briefly away from Dorian and out to the park that rolled out before them that there was more than enough space here from a fair. Already she could picture the stands filled with fried foods and handmade items to purchase, the game shacks loaded with prizes almost impossible to win. How fun that would be... She looks back to Dorian and gives him a small nod."I certainly intend to. There's nothing like that in Willowhaven", she replies to his eagerly spoken words. It was almost eerie how they appeared so similar in their easy way and desire to see all that they haven't before. What were the odds that in this big city, she would have happened upon someone that was as friendly and bright as herself? Very small she believed, but Dorian gave her hope that she would find other just as kind and warm as he was.

She listens as now he speaks of the café and baby blue eyes widen in surprise as he shares with her the relationship between himself and the owner of Inner Sanctum, the first place she'd discovered up in moving here and her other favorite place alongside the park through which they continued to walk. She pays particularly careful attention when Dorian speaks of this Alexander's nature, nodding attentively as she took in all that he offered her in the way of knowledge. It was always the best weapon when walking into a new situation but then again she had dealt with her fair share of ornery elders back in her hometown that she was confident if not brave in her ability to take every grain of salt she may be given with every sharp or, as her walking companion so chose to call it, "dry" word that this man might have waiting for her. Surely he was an exceptional businessman with that "no nonsense" personality, it wasn't like such a thing was bad to have when owning and running a place as busy and full of life as that little café."I definitely appreciate the forewarning, thank you Dorian", she says sweetly as they walk further along the path. There is a change in that smile upon his features that takes an almost mischievous appearance and after a fleeting pause in his luxurious tenors, he speaks of an idea that he had for helping her get her name out there and she cannot help the curiosity that dances within baby blue eyes, nearly tilting her head to the side like a puppy having heard something new. She does not pry though and instead a trickling note of gentle laughter slips past blush-colored lips."I'm eager to see this idea of yours", she states brightly. Just what could it be that he had in mind? Only he knew she supposed and she was willing to wait and find out, trusting him entirely.

Admiring him fondly for a moment as he seems to explore the drinking fountain, somehow so mystified by what he considered to be an oddity yet after a time giving a shake of his head, she walks through the emerald grass beside him. It was certainly unusual seeing another react to such a thing, but perhaps he simply didn't see them where he lived before Sacrosanct and even now within the limits of the city. It is quickly forgotten though when he now speaks of how she will find someone one day and that she was comely, something she hadn't heard before and she offers him a sweet and almost timid smile now."That is very sweet of you to say. Your fiancé is very lucky to have someone like you", she replies kindly, offering a compliment to repay the one he'd given her. He then extends an invitation to his home for a tea party and she feels a warmth surround her, eyes softening as her smile grows once more."I would love that, Dorian. I don't really have anyone here so I imagine I will be alone most every night for a while". It was a truth that she wasn't about to hide from her newfound friend, though she hoped that he would not feel sorry for her. She had been completely aware when she decided she would move to Sacrosanct that she would have to start anew. That had been the purpose of coming here, though. They walk across a small rise and then suddenly she is greeted by a sight that left her breathless. All the trees lined almost perfectly beside one another like guards as they stood silently on either side of the trail, their branches ignited by the radiant colors of the season... She almost misses Dorian's rich voice as he announces their arrival, an arm outstretched to gesture to the place he's spoken of. She turns back to him, eyes glittering excitedly like a child in a toy store."Oh, Dorian! This is just gorgeous, and most certainly what I enjoy photographing", she answers in an almost giddy tone as she lifts the camera to her face and take a snapshot of the trail that greets them. Lowering it and examining the display screen at what it had captured, she suddenly looks back up at him and it was as though he'd sensed earlier her desire to capture that tender moment she'd witnessed between him and Maxwell. So he was someone well known then as his words seemed to reveal? Almost sheepish that she did not recognise him if she should have, she brushes the thought aside. Who he was didn't matter. To her, he was simply Dorian and her newest friend."I would really appreciate that, if you don't mind of course", she answers gently and courteously. He continues on by asking her where she would like him and the pup to stand and she contemplates for a moment before smiling radiantly."Wherever you would like. I prefer the more natural poses my clients feel most comfortable in rather than instructed or forced", she answers warmly. Those types of moments captured were always and by far the most beautiful, or so the young woman believed. She wanted to capture the genuine feelings of each and every moment in time and such was hard to obtain if those in the picture were not allowed the freedom to be as they wished. To feel what was in the image meant far more to Beylani than anything that could ever be suggested or instructed.