nature boy

Kate smiled and nodded. "If I am selected for the Olympic Games, you will certainly see me." She laughed and nodded. "My name is Kate Sharma. It is lovely to meet you, Alfred."

As he commented about people having a passion, the woman nodded. "It is true, I always find people with a passion special. They actually have a light in their eyes." She commented before thinking about his question. "Well.. Horses are to me incredible animals. They can sense your mood, adapt their attitude to your emotions. They are loyal friends also." She smiled and added. "Many times, my horse has been my confident. When I would be heartbroken. He's very protective over me. He bit the ass of a colleague who was flirty." She chuckled.

"Kate Sharma," he repeated, trying to help her name stick. Luckily, he had an excellent memory, so if she made it to the Olympics in even four years' time, he had a good chance of remembering.

Alfred was indeed surprised by her answer, as he often was. He laughed in surprise at her description of her horse's revenge on a flirty colleague. "That's fascinating," he said sincerely. "I didn't realize horses were so empathetic, though I suppose it shouldn't surprise me so much, since I know they're intelligent creatures. Not that intelligence and empathy are inherently linked," he mused, knowing he would need to rein himself in before he went off on a whole tangent. "Do you think he celebrates in your victories as well? Or is he just happy to get some extra treats?"

penned-in-haste

It was not often that Penelope found herself properly engaging with a stranger. Despite having been working diligently on herself and her confidence, she still often discovered that her mouth and mind could not collaborate effectively when she spoke with a new person. This man, however, was just so earnest. It put her at ease.

"Then this reed warbler has seen far more of the world than I. I find myself envying him." She glanced back behind her, where the bird remained, chirping amongst the wind. It made her feel wistful, all of a sudden, this fact: "7,000 miles is quite the feat."

Turning back to him, she admitted, "I've hardly left London, let alone travelled to Zambia. I am starting to understand your fascination." Although her independence had greatly grown as of late, and she did desire to see more of the world, she had not quite worked up the bravery to pursue such a whim.

Alfred tilted his head slightly as the woman expressed envy for the small warbler hopping unawares in the distance. It was unusual for him to encounter someone who took the opportunity to use wildlife as a lens through which to view their own life. Most people would not think of a bird as being well traveled, even one that journeys thousands of miles twice a year.

He couldn't help but smile at the woman. "Despite its long migration, I doubt this particular bird will see much more than this park while it summers here. In any case," he added, "you seem quite young. There is still so much time for you to venture beyond London."

Alfred took notice of the book in her hands and gestured toward it. "Did Austen ever see much of the world outside England? If my memory serves, she didn't, and yet her perspectives on life and love have endured for over a hundred years." He shrugged. Though he had traveled to corners of the world that few would ever see, he didn't believe travel to be the pinnacle of human achievement.

#penned-in-haste

Kate laughed and shook her head. "All good, I do not expect anyone to be into horse competition. I am not a superstar or anything: I am just a woman who loves horses dearly and who made her own career around them." A light chuckle escaped her lips as she took a deep breath. The air was so pure and lovely.

As he congratulated her, the woman nodded: "Thank you. It is a great achievement, indeed. My dream would be to represent the UK team at the Olympic Games. But for this, I need to compete for World Championships a few times." She smiled sweetly before then hearing about his own job.

"Oh but this sounds also fascinating! My love for horses is your love for birds. I find this endearing." She smiled sweetly before nodding. "I can't blame you, when I have free time, I am never far away from horses." She laughed.

Alfred's eyebrows shot up as she mentioned the Olympic Games. "That's incredible – it sounds like you're well on your way to making your dream a reality." He paused. "Maybe I'll see you competing on TV someday. What's your name? I'm Alfred," he added quickly, in case his question sounded nosy.

He smiled as she compared their passions. She was right – it was endearing. "I always love meeting someone with a passion," he said eagerly. "In the biological sciences, you run into all sorts of people with the most niche interests. I once met a woman who dedicated her entire career to a specific species of worm, and she was one of the most enthusiastic scientists I've ever encountered." He laughed to himself, remembering her idiosyncrasies. "I've never met someone whose passion is horses before. What's one of your favorite things about working with horses?"

Alfred loved asking people what they liked most about their particular interests. The answers were so rarely ever what he expected.

penned-in-haste

Most days, Penelope genuinely preferred the enclosure and relative safety of her apartment. Her solitude acted as her safety blanket, enveloping her in calm and the peace of quiet. After a long childhood full of a lack of privacy, she had found that this privacy was in a fact a necessity for her. It was where her voice bolstered, and her thoughts could flow most freely.

There were also days, however, where the loneliness of this caught up to her, and she found herself searching for companionship in one way or another. Sometimes, this included hours of scrolling on Hinge, or a brief trip out to the cafe. Other days, she'd find herself at the park with a book in hand.

Today was such a day. Penelope had seated herself upon a bench near the lake, her well-read copy of Emma open and held up in front of her nose. There was a nice breeze that would occasionally gust a red curl against her cheek. Bird chirping and people laughing echoed in her ears, but in a manner of which was quite comforting and exactly the type of companionship she was needing right now.

So caught up in the words on the page in front of her, she did not notice the man nearbly until he spoke. Startled, she looked up. "What?" She inquired, before the words processed through her eyes and, following his gaze, she looked behind her. On the shore of the nearby lake, there was a small brown bird with a glow of a white underbelly flittering around. "Oh," she breathed, before turning back towards him, and spotted the binoculars in his hand. With a warm but somewhat shy smile, she continued, "I'm afraid I do not know enough to know any birds by their name. Except for perhaps the common sparrow. I assume this must be an interest of yours?" She asked, gesturing towards the binoculars.

Alfred felt bad when he realized he'd startled the woman on the bench, but relaxed when she showed interest in the bird. Her kind smile put him at ease, so he responded eagerly to her question.

"Yes, I try to get out and deliberately look for birds every single day. Even if it's only a few pigeons and a herring gull -- those are the ones you see everywhere -- on my way to the shops, I think it still matters to take notice of what I can."

He gestured with his binoculars to the bird that had caught his attention along the lake shore. "I know it doesn't look like much to the average person, but the reed warbler is a fascinating bird," he explained. "This one may have spent the winter as far south as Zambia. That's an incredible migratory journey of some 7,000 miles." He paused and cleared his throat, coming back to himself. "Not, uh, that you asked."

#penned-in-haste

Kate looked at Alfred as he spoke and smiled. She knew how it felt, approaching people without meaning to disturb them. It could be quite intimidating but the woman definitely wanted to show him that he was safe on her side. As he spoke of the weather, the woman nodded. "It is, I love when we can have a few rays of sunshine. Although I love rain as well. There is nothing better than enjoying a cosy afternoon with a book and a glass of wine while it's raining."

As she mused, Kate shook her head and laughed. "Pardon me. I tend to babble a bit too much. I was just taking a moment to relax after the past few days of interviews and hectic trainings I've had." She looked at Alfred before explaining. "I am a professional horse rider. I won recently the championship of our country. I thought I would just relax a bit but it seems that my brain has decided otherwise."

Not willing to bore him with her own private life, Kate just shook her head. "What about you? Did you come to observe the beauty of nature?"

Alfred blinked when the woman apologized for babbling. Had she been babbling? He hadn't really thought so, although maybe that was because he had a tendency to babble himself. In any case, he hadn't been bothered in the least, and was in fact imagining a nice rainy afternoon with a cup of tea himself.

"Oh," he said when she described her career and recent achievement. "I didn't even know we had a horse riding championship." Realizing how that sounded, he added quickly, "No offense, I didn't mean it was unimportant, I just don't know a whole lot about sports. Congratulations! I imagine that must be the pinnacle of your career."

At her question, he nodded. "Yes, I'm an ornithologist, though there are no awards to my name. It seems I can't get enough of birds even when I'm away from work. There's always just so much to see out in nature, I'd hate to miss any of it."

honcywatcr

Francesca had found herself with a book at Hyde Park on one of her free days. It was quiet and for the most part, she was always undisturbed while she was there.

She had just turned over the page to begin a new chapter when she heard the voice of male speak. She looked up from her book with a smile, turning her head to follow where he pointed as he did. "A reed warbler," she repeated, squinting her eyes slightly to get a view of the bird. "I'm sorry but I'm not too versed on birds. I only know the very basic names. Is this an uncommon bird?" she asked, turning back to the other.

Pleased that the woman on the bench seemed interested instead of bothered, he responded eagerly, "It's not exactly uncommon, but it's unusual to see at an urban park like this. Habitat is everything," he went on. "If it's here, this means the water and vegetation are well maintained, so it's a good sign."

He smiled at the woman. "I know it's not the most impressive bird" -- it honestly was a plain, brown little thing -- "but it's exciting that it's here. Anyway," he rubbed a hand behind his neck awkwardly. "I apologize for interrupting your reading." He tilted his head as he tried to get a look at the book in her hands to figure out the title.

#honcywatcr

Finally Kate had a day off from all the craziness of interviews and trainings for competitions. It was finally a beautiful day to sit on a bench and enjoy the light breeze caressing her face, while the rays of sunshine warmed her. The past few days have been quite hectic for her and she needed a moment to herself to reflect on her feelings.

Her recent encounter with Anthony Bridgerton didn't leave her indifferent. As much as she wished she could stay strong, fight those growing feelings and stay strong. After all, men were only hurting women. That's how she saw the masculine mentality.

Lost in her own thoughts, her heart melting every time she replayed in her mind her victory at the Championship, Anthony being there, Kate didn't realize that a man with binoculars was approaching her. It is only when she heard a branch cracking that she jumped and turned around to face the man.

Hearing his words, the brunette frowned and looked back to see the gorgeous bird by the lake. "Oh.. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even see such beauty..." She turned her head back to smile at Alfred. "You are forgiven."

Alfred nodded, relieved that the woman did not seem upset that he'd encroached upon her privacy. "Thank you," he said. "It's a bit of an unusual find here, though not entirely uncommon." He was gratified that she seemed to genuinely like that he had pointed out the bird, or at least she was good at pretending. If there was one thing that brought Alfred joy, it was sharing his passions with others and opening their eyes to the incredible world around them.

He was honestly not used to running into strangers much, as his work the last several years had kept him in remote locations with no one to talk to except his fellow researchers. Still, he wanted to try to get back into the hang of meeting new people. "Lovely day," he commented, gesturing around. "You've found a good spot to come and get lost in your thoughts, I think."

He cringed internally. Was he being weird? He was probably being weird.