Alexandre was starting to regret not choosing to settle down somewhere colder. 

The sun beat down on him and his heavy leather jacket as he walked down the street. He hated his jacket, but it was the only one that hid his wings. The smell of leather, the texture, and the thought of wearing skin disgusted him. Coupled with the heat of day, it was doing him no favors. No matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't take it off, not in front of people. He had been walking for some time since he had left the art gallery. It wasn't aimless wandering; he had been looking for a safe place to lay low and return to stone for the night. He was only a few hours away from not having a choice in the matter.

As Alexandre drifted to the right slightly, his right foot made a dull impact against a bright red newspaper dispenser. He blinked, remembering that he hadn't bought one today. The newspaper was old-fashioned, but Alex always made sure to buy one everyday. It was simply what he was used to.

Paying for the paper and retrieving it from the stand, Alexandre decided that he simply couldn't read through it in this heat. He craned his neck around, looking for somewhere, [b]anywhere[/b], that had air conditioning. The closest store's sign stood out. It read: [i][u]Maverick's Toys[/u][/i]. Good enough. Hopefully there weren't any kids to accidentally terrify inside. 

As he stepped through the doors, cool air washed over Alex like a tidal wave of comfort, punctuated by the ringing of a bell above the door. He took a deep breath and surveyed the place. Not too crowded; some employees and customers hanging around, but not as much as he would like. More people made it easier to blend in, and he was loitering after all. Alex, grinding his teeth, picked an aisle and started to flip through the paper, making sure to pretend to look through the products if someone came by. He skipped everything else to find the classifieds, he could read the news later. What mattered now was finding somewhere to stay, maybe even for a few weeks if he was lucky. 

He had no luck at first. Everything seemed far out of his price range, and nothing seedy enough to let him stay the first night free. He was about to give up when he saw a strange little ad tucked in the bottom corner of the page. Reading through it, it seemed like a joke. A joke that was too good to be true. It was very close to his new place of employment, and the price was right but the wording was strange...'Supernatural'? There was no way that it was actually catering to the unnatural. Alexandre had never met another non-human before. Clearly it was just some people with a strange sense of humor. 

It was a long shot, but he had to take the chance. He quickly grabbed a small box of markers from the arts and crafts section and took them to the checkout. After he payed for them with what little money he had left, he both circled the advertisement and wrote the address quickly in his notepad. Unbeknownst to Alex, the classifieds section of the paper had fallen out of his hands and onto the floor. After thanking the cashier, he shoved both the markers and the rest of the paper into his backpack, walking quickly out of the store and heading back to the address he wrote down. If this worked out, it could make his life considerably easier. 

The sun bared down on him again. God, he missed his old caped greatcoat. 
_______

It wasn't long before Alexandre reached the place, though for him every minute counted. He still had some time before he had to rest, but he could feel it approaching. Relief rushed through him as he double checked his notebook, making sure that it was the right place. Out in front he saw a group of three people enjoying the very weather that was still wearing him down. Two women and a man were deep in conversation and apparently enjoying a drink together. 

Alexandre cleared his throat and stepped towards them slowly. “Excuse me? I'm here about the rooms? I saw it in the paper...” He held up the newspaper he had bought earlier, but noticed with some embarrassment that he had lost the classifieds section. “...but I misplaced the ad, apparently.”