Almost as a rule, strangers tend not to approach Severus. It wasn't as stringent in the Nexus, where people flung themselves at every stationary person in vivid curiosity, but Baedal is a genuine society reminiscent of the real world. As such the blistering aura of standoffishness, not to mention the fact that he makes no bones of being a practitioner of dark magic, means people keep their distance.

Usually.

"What are you looking for?"

The question is blunt, but not hostile; his expression is mostly neutral, skewed towards unconcerned skepticism. (If there were musical cues in the city, they'd be warning Arya not to make eye contact, right now.)