|
|
Post by Emilian Sota on Jul 13, 2008 23:27:41 GMT -5
Emilian walked into the room, turning expectantly to the two behind him. He was eager for the letter from Adara and wanted to know what had happened, what the people watching his shop wanted. He wanted to go ahead and ask what had happened, but he wanted to read the letter first, just the thought of it helped to raise his increasingly low spirits.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 13, 2008 23:32:29 GMT -5
Dare could feel the expectation as well as he could see it in Emilian's eyes, in his posture, and so he made short work of summoning his art box. "It's in here," he explained. It had seemed a safer hiding place than his pocket. He dug out the art club flier, then handed it to Emilian. "A revealing spell will do it; she put it on the back." Thank God he'd taken the precaution. He'd thought for a minute after they found the quill that they were going to search him.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 13, 2008 23:35:40 GMT -5
Michael saw what Dare had meant when he had told him that Emilian wasn't much better. He could feel the tension and the mood coming from Emilian, he found himself feeling sorry for him, no one should be kept from the one they love. His eyes darted over to Dare, while he didn't feel that strongly for Dare, Michael couldn't imagine being banned from seeing him. His eyes then turned back to Emilian, remaining silent for the moment.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emilian Sota on Jul 13, 2008 23:44:59 GMT -5
Emilian took the flier, immediately tapping it with his wand to reveal the words on the back as he turned to sit on the couch, smoothing the paper out on his knee and then holding it in front of him, resting his elbows on his knees.
Emilian read it over slower a second time, taking in everything he could, down to how she signed her name, to how she wrote his, how she called him her Warrior. He silently cursed himself for not taking her with him that day in Diagon Alley, even though he knew it was probably the right thing to do. His chest constricted painfully, she was waiting, but what for? He couldn't get her.
He was astounded at the fact that the Headmistress was helping him, the same woman that had banned him from the castle without so much as being able to say goodbye. Adara's words seemed nearly hopeless, but at the same time full of that quiet assurance that everything would work out. Finally, he was able to speak, though he kept his eyes on the words, "How is she?" He didn't care at the moment that he was letting Dare and Michael in, he just needed to know if she was alright.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 13, 2008 23:51:36 GMT -5
Dare did look at Michael this time, seeking some comfort, some sign than he should speak. "I don't know her very well," he said, preceding his reply with a disclaimer. "She was happy to get the note from you, and that I'd bring you one." He looked helplessly at Michael. He didn't want to say anything about how she'd been that first day, and much of what he remembered from the second day was from after she'd left.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 13, 2008 23:57:32 GMT -5
Michael knew that Emilian would rather have the straight answer when it came to Adara, even if it wasn't the most pleasant to hear. "She came looking for me, the day it happened, apparently. She was....hung up on the fact that you had left her, but I think she knows that you were angry and thought it was best," he raised an eyebrow, as though asking for confirmation, before moving on.
"But yes, she was happy for the note, and seemed much better the next day when we saw her again. You should have seen the look on her face when she talked about you being at the Masquerade," he said, hoping that the image would help take the edge off of his first words. With the look on Emilian's face when he had read the letter, he thought it would, that just the thought of her happy would help.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emilian Sota on Jul 14, 2008 0:01:30 GMT -5
Emilian nodded his thanks of both of their replies, though it pained him to know that she had hurt because of his actions. The thought of her talking about the Masquerade only helped slightly, barely enough to take the edge off, though it did help the smallest amount. He sighed and folded up the note, tucking it into a pocket and looking up at Dare. "So do you want to get this started, then tell me what happened?" he asked, figuring that talking would help the time move faster and distract him from thinking like he had during the last session.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 0:17:48 GMT -5
Dare nodded. He was unbelievably tense, and though his artistic longings were at the moment hiding, he knew once he'd begun it would be easy to get into. "Just...sit wherever. I'm not really picky today." He wanted distraction, too. Dare gathered up his box and sketchbook and seated himself in one of the chairs near the couch, only flicking a brief glance in Michael's direction. He'd gotten to prefer having Michael sit next to him while he drew, but knew it wasn't possible. He hated the idea of Michael having come as moral support just to end up bored, but he was wary enough of Emilian that he didn't want to push anything.
"It started when I left here last week," Dare began, opening his sketchbook to a fresh page. "A man stopped me outside to ask if I'd bought anything, or if I knew you." He hoped the words sounded more casual than they felt; he didn't feel like being terrified for the next hour until the act of drawing pulled him in. "I told him no, that I'd only come to draw you, but he kept pushing. He used Legilimency, but I broke away and disapparated." And that was the short version. It covered all the important parts, though.
As Dare fished out a set of pencils, he threw another glance at Michael, silently asking him to pick up the story from there. Michael knew how much of the meeting with Adara to mention, and Dare didn't want to risk saying anything better left unsaid.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 13:34:05 GMT -5
Michael found a seat near the window, situating himself where he could look out at the scene and still be able to see Dare and Emilian. He would much rather have been close to Dare, but he was too tense to deal with it at the moment, so he pulled out a pencil and his drawing pad to distract himself while he spoke. "I was with Adara by the lake when Dare showed up, she seemed like she didn't know that her father would do that, keep a watch."
"We told her we'd meet up with her the next day, Dare wanted to draw and she wanted me to come, and she gave us the letter. Then today when we left the gates these three men came after us, asking where she was, had their wands out and everything." He still wondered why the men had chosen them to stop, but there was no reason other than that Dare had Adara's quill. "Asked us where we were going and then told us to not get involved, then let us go."
He kept his eyes down at the paper while he spoke, wondering if he should go ahead and explain why he had come with Dare or if he should wait. He chose the latter and let his mind wander to how they could apparate to the front gates without being attacked by the two men.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emilian Sota on Jul 14, 2008 13:39:08 GMT -5
Emilian settled back into the couch as he listened to them tell their stories, propping one ankle up on his knee and wrapping his hand around his shin. His eyebrows came together as he thought about it all, the two of them were in danger coming to meet him. "Why are you two helping? Why did you come? It would have been much safer for you to stay out of it."
Not that he particularly minded that they had decided to come, but he knew Michael well enough to know that he would use his mind and think up a better way to come, the old Michael wouldn't have even bothered if he knew he wouldn't get anything out of it. And Dare, Emilian had just met Dare, he couldn't have any reasoning to want to come.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 13:47:43 GMT -5
Dare shrugged, though not because he didn't know; rather, it was complicated, or perhaps it only seemed so. The words, when he said them, sounded painfully simple. "It seemed like I should," he said, taking the briefest glances possible of Emilian, and trying to make due with them. He didn't care if lack of eye contact made Emilian suspicious, he didn't feel much like eye contact right now. "I'd already taken one note, so it didn't seem like much trouble to take another..." He shrugged again. There was the sense of adventure that had come with the decision, the sense of rebellion against wrong, but it didn't feel right going into those with Emilian. "Stereotypical Gryffindor Hero Syndrome?" he offered, his lips quirking with the suggestion.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 13:56:55 GMT -5
"Basically," Michael agreed at Dare's suggestion. "It's either that or being Cupid has always been Dare's dream," he couldn't help teasing as he glanced up at Dare. He could consider carrying the notes being a bit of a Cupid, considering what they obviously held. "I figured I'd come so he could side-along back to the gates to avoid getting stopped. But now there are those men...." Michael trailed off, a thought hitting him. "Think they could see through a disillusionment charm?" he asked, glancing up at the two of them.
|
|
|
|
Post by Emilian Sota on Jul 14, 2008 14:01:58 GMT -5
Emilian's eyes narrowed slightly at Michael, not because of the tease, but because of the ease with which he spoke of the contents of the notes. "I think I'll go with Stereotypical Gryffindor Hero Syndrome," he said, then thought for a second about Michael's suggestion. "That could work, because once you're in the gates they can't do anything, so you would only be outside the gates for a few seconds, not long enough for them to find you if you're disillusioned." He still didn't exactly understand why they insisted, but he wasn't going to argue.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 15:36:45 GMT -5
Dare grinned at Michael’s tease, the words going a long way toward helping him loosen up about the situation. But it was his suggestion that really caught Dare’s attention. “I’m all for it,” he said, adding his approbation to Emilian’s. “The only thing I can think of is getting back to the castle today. If they don’t see us leave the shop...” He shrugged, unsure what the men would actually do.
“It’d make them suspicious, at least. They’ll be watching for us.” And he, for one, tended to be highly recognizeable. “And if they do see us leave the shop...” They already had a fair idea what would happen then. Dare worked on his drawing, focusing his tension into the pencil strokes as he listened for ideas.
|
|
|
|
Post by Michael Blackwood-Hardt on Jul 14, 2008 17:51:42 GMT -5
"Well they've already seen us go in, and they know we lied by now if the two groups have talked, even if they haven't, it won't be long." Michael knew that it wouldn't be the best thing in the world for them to not be seen leaving the shop, but it was better than being stopped again by an angry man. "We'll just have to apparate out and hope for the best, they can't come in here, can they?" he asked, flicking his eyes up towards Emilian.
|
|
