First Meeting

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's crooked smile returned. "Okay, I guess that's settled, then. How about this time we just get things set up. We can do charcoal next time, it's pretty basic. Everyone's got charcoal, right?" He paused for reactions, then went on. "I've got stick and vine both, plus charcoal pencils. If any of you guys want to work with one of those but don't have it, I'll share. What do you think?"

[Cassie Jones]

Cassie nodded, agreeing with what everyone was saying. "Oh I love working with charcoal" she said enthusiastically to Dare's suggestion. She paused for a moment, thinking before she flipped her sketchpad round so the group could see.



((just pretend it's charcoal, B+W))

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael nodded in agreement, he had went through a stage a few months back where that had been all he worked with, there was a dirty old sketchbook full of them. "I like working with it," he said, looking over at Dare, becoming more excited about the little club as the minutes went on. He didn't open his own book, but examined Cassie's silently.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare leaned closer to Michael, ostentatiously to get a better look at Cassie's drawing. Under his breath, he murmured, "I have to talk to you after the meeting." Any thought about how ominous that might sound was buried under the fact that he really did think it was something that needed to be said, and he wanted to be sure he said it as soon as possible so there was no confusion about his intent.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"About what?" Michael asked, just as quietly. He went through his mind, wondering what it could be, when his mind hit on Emilian. When Michael had been up in the shop, Emilian had said that they had spoken in the cafe in Diagon Alley. "Emilian?" It could always be something else, but he couldn't think of anything else that had happened that Dare would want to talk about.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare blinked, his surprise obvious as his gaze met Michael's. He glanced at the girls sitting nearby, and though he knew how rude it was, he felt like he needed to get it out now, since it had already been brought up. He wondered how Michael knew, but only one answer presented itself; Michael had talked to Emilian.

That brought up too many questions to possibly ask with others sitting so close, so Dare just went ahead, letting his questions rest. "I'm supposed to go to Hogsmeade, to draw him and someone else." That was the gist of it, anyway.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael looked at Dare, his own surprise showing in his eyes at the knowledge. He didn't know how to react to the words so he was silent a minute. He wanted to ask how it happened, why Dare wanted to draw Emilian, but he kept his questions to himself. "Probably Adara," he said, mostly to himself, though his voice couldn't get any quieter. He didn't particularly like the idea, especially considering how Emilian had acted when Dare had been mentioned, but there was nothing he could say against it.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare was silent for a long moment, his eyes searching Michael's for clues. He flicked a glance at the girls, gave a silent prayer for their patience, then turned his attention back to Michael. "Are you okay with it?" he asked. It was an unfair question, since Dare hadn't told him everything yet, but if Michael wasn't okay, he wouldn't tell the rest. He'd cancel, and figure something else out.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael licked his lips as he thought, he wasn't exactly okay with it. "I guess so, what can I say against it?" he asked, shrugging slightly, the motion merely a tilt of his head. "I won't stop you," he said, glancing up at the girls for the first time. He wondered absently what they were thinking, but didn't dwell too long on it. His eyes said that he would rather Dare not do it, but he hoped Dare would just accept that he would live with it and move on.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips compressed at the unspoken. Michael had, if not given his blessing, given the go-ahead, but it was only on half the information. Dare wanted to just run with it, but he couldn't do it. "There was figure drawing mentioned," he said, so softly that he wondered for a moment if Michael had heard. It was that last, the promise of finally working beyond the portrait, that had been the irresistible lure.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael's eyes flashed and he looked away. Figure drawing? He took a breath and turned his eyes back to Dare, studying his face. He couldn't even tell Dare that Emilian would try something, because he had seen how close he was to Adara. "If you want to do it, I can't stop you," he said eventually, though his eyes said something different. He didn't want to say no and feel like he was telling Dare what to do.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Can't stop you. That wasn't the half of it, and Dare knew it. He knew but the temptation was too much. Where else would he get such a chance? When? It rubbed Dare's ethics raw to do it, but he made the decision to take Michael at his word. "It'll be fine," he said, willing the words to be true. It's just drawing. Somehow, he couldn't say that last out loud.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael stared into Dare's eyes for a few moments more before nodding and looking away, silently dismissing the subject as he turned his gaze onto the center of the little circle they were in. He couldn't focus his sight on anything, his mind was working too hard, going over impossible scenarios that he was trying hard to push away. He ran his fingers absentmindedly over the cover of the sketchpad in his lap as he tried to make his eyes focus on something.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

There wasn't anything else to be said about that. Dare turned back to the girls, apologetically. He hoped, at least, that they hadn't overheard anything. "Sorry about that, guys," he said. "So, uh...charcoal next time, right?"