▬ townhall。

her demeanor softens into an approachable one once she watches the woman crouching down to junyoung. she also crouches down while keeping one hand holding to his, another slightly fixing his clothes. "he is a bit shy, it is probably his first time seeing such a crowd." and that really might be the case. given that he is just a four-year-old, she doesn't try to bring him along unless no one is at home to take care of him, hence the confining behavior naturally cuts down his interaction with huge crowds. she turns to the lady soon after, realizing it is about time to know her name. "how may i address you, miss?"

she raises an eyebrow towards the aloof man in the corner, his presence igniting her curiosity but more so for the tongue he spoke in but her attention is quickly brought to the woman and little boy who walk in. if the baudelaire woman had any weakness, they were often children. her cool visage relaxes into a soft smile as she crouches down to the boy's eye level after a quick nod hello to his mother. "why, hello there. what are you scared of?"

"mama, s-scared." the little boy juts out his bottom lip as he tugs at her sleeve, about three times a second as his eyes dart between the crowd and her. feeling his anxiety, she just reaches down and ruffles his hair, didn't say a word until she holds his tiny palm in hers and smiles. "don't be, mama is here."

ai parts her lips to speak to the ladies, until a man who speaks in quite... a manner unfamiliar to her ears, and her attention quickly shifts. at least, he has his manners in tact. she doesn't speak, however, trusting the other ladies to speak in her stead.

Upon a wooden bench the lad seated
watching the beautiful women who greeted
with utmost interest he then entreated
“Edgar allan poe, may I have the honour of welcoming you?”

she gave the flowers a quick onceover, glad not a lot of damages were done; she did not go through pains at the florist for them, after all. straightening herself and bouquet tucked in her arms, she placed a gracious smile on her lips, traipsing forward to the two women. "absolutely. apologies for the ruckus but these things are surprisingly heavy." she sighed, leaning forward to peck rhiannon's cheeks before turning to the unfamiliar woman. "and hello. how are you doing, today?"

a quirk of a brow, then a curt nod. "zheng ai, a lovely name. and yes, just rhian would be fine-" the groan from not far away brought her introduction to a sudden halt, the girl now peering over to see celeste grumbling over some peonies. "i'll be right back with you, miss zheng."

"my, are you alright there?" she says, turning her head toward the newcomer.

the doors creak open loudly, her heels a soft click against the marble floors as she walks in although it takes her merely two steps in the townhall before she halts, the bouquet of flowers she held tumbling to her feel with a soft thud. "oh, bloody hell." she groaned, squatting down to gently pick up the arrangement of fallen white peonies.

she glances at the extended hand briefly, before taking it in her hold, raising her gaze back to the woman. "anne boleyn. a pleasure to meet you. i'm zheng ai. would you prefer if i called you rhian instead?"

she returns the lady's smile with a simper of her own, hand extending in greeting. "rhian. anne boleyn. you are?"

her eyes turn to the source of the unfamiliar voice, and a small polite smile graces her features. "i believe not."

her gaze flicks to where the voice sounded, and she's met with the hard gaze of a woman. "hello, have we met before?"

"quite the crowd we have here, i see."

the townhall was bustling as it always was, and amidst the crowd on top of a stone ledge sat a lone rhian with her distracted gaze fleeting from one passerby to another. ever since she'd volunteered for the town comittee, there was no moment of her waking hours she did not spend meeting and greeting the citizens. "there seems to be a lot more people today..."