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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:09:11 GMT -5
((OOC: after the Masquerade, but before he's started to meet up with anyone.))
Michael walked down the streets of Hogsmeade, his usual long-sleeved shirt open and flapping in the wind. It had been quite a while since he had seen Emilian, had told Dare that he tried to stay away from him, but something made him want to go visit and so, on impulse, he had left the grounds and headed down to the shop.
At the thought of Dare a small smile spread across his features, ever since the Masquerade he had been running the night over in his mind, examining every detail and trying to remember the exact feel of Dare's hand on his cheek. He could still see the warm look behind the mask Dare had worn as they had exchanged glances while talking to that girl.
When he finally arrived at the door to the shop, he paused, contemplating a reason for wanting to see Emilian. He finally settled on the princess he had danced with. Adara. He wondered what the relationship was. With that decision, Michael pushed open the door and walked into the shop.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:13:46 GMT -5
Emilian's head rose from the catalog he had been searching through to see one of the last people he expected. "Michael," he said, remembering the conversation with dare, though, when away from the conversation, it seemed insanity that Dare felt anything for Michael, the work of an overactive imagination. But he had thought more about Michael that night than he had in a long time, old feelings had been brought back to the surface by the striking similarities between Dare and Michael.
Somehow Emilian knew that Michael wasn't there to buy anything, "I was about to close if you want to come up," he offered. It was a small lie, he usually stayed open another hour or two, depending on his mood, but he was willing to close early to talk with Michael. It seemed his silent wishes had been answered, that Michael would come to see him.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:16:08 GMT -5
Michael nodded, "Yeah, I'll come," he said, ignoring the sudden tense of his muscles that said he needed to run back out the door. He glanced down, his deep red hair falling around his eyes, and put his hands in his pockets as he took a few steps forward. "It's a nice place," he commented, "Reminds me of home a little," he commented, examining the counters and displays as well as he could without bringing his eyes up. He knew that upstairs would be the same, old wooden furniture with beautiful finishes and cloth, Emilian had always had fine tastes.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:18:03 GMT -5
"Thank you," Emilian said, not really hearing what Michael had said. He was too busy fighting down the urge to come close to Michael, look into his eyes, touch his hair. He flicked his wand to the door, tripping a simple lock, and walked out from behind the counter, putting his wand back into his waistband. He led Michael through a door and up the stairs, suddenly anxious to know Michael's reaction, though he would never admit it. "Do you want anything?" he asked, standing in the middle of the room and watching Michael, his pale blue eyes questioning.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:21:45 GMT -5
Michael followed, somewhat taken aback by the scars so evident in their close proximity to each other. The bold mark down Emilian's left cheek was odd, a crack in the perfect statue that he was used to seeing. He wondered how badly it bothered Emilian, not if, Michael knew him well enough to know. Then, even stranger, was the web of marks on Emilian's left hand that left it slightly curled in on itself. Emilian had always used his hands, so to see it like that was a shock. His eyes moved to Emilian's chest, wondering at the mark the interview had mentioned before finally looking into his face.
"No, thank you," he said, amazed at how empty their words were, definitely not the words of two old friends. The place was exactly what he had expected, antiques, dark woods, gold trim. It screamed Emilian.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:41:55 GMT -5
Emilian looked away, nodding slightly and opening his cabinet to pull out a bottle and the single glass he kept there. He poured a glass and sat in a high-backed chair, there was another beside it where he motioned to Michael to sit. "I figured you'd make a point to stay away from here." His eyes stayed glued to Michael, calculating.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:43:06 GMT -5
Michael sat in the chair Emilian indicated, leaning back to feign comfort. He put his left foot up on his right knee and rested his hands on his shin, trying to loosen the tension in his muscles from Emilian's cool blue gaze. "I just came on a whim," he said, "I danced with Adara at the Masquerade," he continued, going right into a conversation topic, knowing that it would help the tension.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:44:51 GMT -5
"So you were the pirate she mentioned?" Emilian asked, relieved. He knew Michael well enough to know that it was unlikely that anything had happened between the two of them. "I sneaked in as the Phantom of the Opera," he said. It was a classic book, everyone knew the story. "She didn't know I was coming," his eyes lit up as the memory came back in full force. Adara in her peach, sleeveless dress, his Princess.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:46:09 GMT -5
It was apparently a good conversation choice, it didn't seem Emilian had any qualms about talking about her. "She was beautiful," he commented, looking up to see the light in Emilian's eyes. "And a wonderful dancer." Michael was suprised to feel the usual tension fade almost instantly, and he let himself examine Emilian, trying to figure everything out.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:47:56 GMT -5
After a second of watching Michael to make sure his words were innocent, Emilian took a sip of his drink and nodded, "Yes, I had never seen her more beautiful. We danced, went out into the gardens...." he trailed off, his eyes gleaming at the memory. It took him a moment before he remembered to speak again, the memory was so strong in his mind. He crossed his legs, "We went back inside, dance, she spent the night with me," he ended with a smile, what a night it had been. He had never felt so connected to someone before.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:49:52 GMT -5
Michael barely noticed when Emilian stopped speaking after mentioning the gardens, his own eyes glazed over slightly at the memory of what he had done in the gardens. He mentally shook away an image of Dare's multi-colored hair and mossy green eyes, that crooked grin, and refocused on Emilian. "You really care for her, don't you?" he asked, feeling more like a friend to Emilian than he had in months.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:51:33 GMT -5
For a moment Emilian contemplated silence, but he felt the subtle change in the air, perhaps it was the friendship coming back in some diluted form, and felt compelled to speak. "Yes," he said, nodding. "She's truly amazing. She....she can keep up with me, she accepts what I've done, even after that damned interview. She..." he trailed off again. It was one thing to love, but to have it returned was something entirely different, something so completely blissful that he couldn't begin to put it into words.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 11:52:49 GMT -5
It felt almost as if Michael was intruding when he whispered, asking if Emilian loved her. Then his eyes widened slightly as it sunk in what he had said. "You don't have to answer that," he said, his eyes darting to a safe spot on the couch. He had been wondering what their relationship was, it was obvious now that they were together, and close.
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Post by Emilian Sota on Jun 30, 2008 11:54:44 GMT -5
Emilian was still in a dream world, thinking of Adara, when Michael spoke, so it took a minute for his words to sink in. His eyes focused then slid out again. When they finally met Michael's eyes they were open, full of the emotion he refused to admit to himself. He didn't answer. "Pandora said Adara sounds like the perfect girl for me," he said, as close to saying it as he was likely to get, especially to Michael before even saying it to Adara. "She's right," he admitted after a moment's silent contemplation, then looked away from Michael, down to the glass in his hands.
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Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jun 30, 2008 12:03:11 GMT -5
Emilian didn't need to answer for Michael to know, and he felt a silent satisfaction at knowing he had been right all along about Emilian's infatuation. Though he was surprised when Emilian spoke, admitting such a telling detail. He gave the confession a moment of silence before opening his lips, "She loves you," he said, remembering the words he had shared with the princess. "We talked in the gardens," he added by way of explanation.
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