A Club.

[Markise Sterling]

"We're in a residesh... resi... housing place here," he settled on, neither his mind nor his mouth working well enough to attempt the words residential area. "If we keep going one way we'll get out sooner or later," he finished with a wide yawn. He didn't think a thing about Ariel having money, though it did strike him as odd that Ariel wanted to do whatever. He couldn't put his finger on it, though. Not if he wanted his feet to keep moving in the same direction.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel sighed again and tried to remember the route the man had taken, though he barely even remembered the ride, considering how preoccupied he had been. "It was too dark when we came here last night," he said, deciding that was a reasonable excuse for not remembering how to get back to the club, or even out of the development.

[Markise Sterling]

Last night. Bits of memory sparked in Markise's mind and he reached up, pulling a lock of lavender hair down into his sight, then brushing it back again. "Last night was the club?" he asked, his brows knitting as he looked again at where they were, then wincing when the sun peeked out from between two buildings. "What happened?" What was the last thing he remembered? He didn't know. His mind was still fuzzy, still painful.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel's eyes darkened and the pain sparked for a second at Markise's question. "You got really drunk and this guy said we could stay at his place," he said, shrugging. It was the best he could come up with on the spot like that, and it was actually quite truthful, even if he had left out quite a bit of the most important parts of the evening. "You passed out."

[Markise Sterling]

That didn't sound right at all, and Markise's confusion showed on his face. Still, he thought about it as they made their way down the street, and he could remember his first drink, could even remember sitting at the bar for the longest time, waiting... But he couldn't remember Ariel coming for him, or anything after. Markise tried to think, tried to remember, but all he accomplished was a quiet walk toward the busier streets of London.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel didn't offer any more information as they walked, and prayed that Markise wouldn't remember anything that had happened, and especially that there wouldn't be any subconscious knowledge of why they had gone to that man's place. He tucked his hands deep into his pockets and kept his head down as they walked, his hair swinging in front of his face.

[Markise Sterling]

Eventually they found their way out of the rows of houses and into a business area. Markise was still puzzling things over as best as he could with a throbbing head, but as of yet, he'd come to no conclusions. Still, he squinted out at the street from beneath his hood. "I wonder if London has cabs," he murmured. He'd thought it was insanity when he'd found out that California didn't, considering the New York streets were filled with them. At the moment, he was thinking how useful it would be to have someone drive them somewhere they had no clue how to find.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel didn't reply immediately, needing to run the words over in his mind, then decided he didn't know what in the world Markise was talking about. "What is a cab?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing over towards Markise. He wondered if it was anything like a car, considering the similarities of the two words, though he knew how dangerous assuming word's meanings could be.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise blinked, but didn't spare the energy it would take to look aside at Ariel. ""It's a car. The driver will take you where you want to go, and you pay for however long it takes to get there." Which sounded a lot like the Knight Bus, actually. There was more description Markise could have given, but he was tired and he'd already gotten to the point. Suddenly, Markise stopped in his tracks as he caught a smell like heaven. He closed his eyes, just inhaling it for some long moments. "Coffee," he breathed. The thought of food made his stomach clench, but coffee...

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel was a couple of steps ahead before he even realized that Markise had stopped, much less figured out what he was talking about. When he stopped and looked back, he paused, sniffing the air, then raising an eyebrow when he didn't find the scent in question. "Coffee?" he asked, glancing around the street. He didn't see any coffee place.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise opened his eyes then, scanning the street. There had to be a cafe or something close. He didn't care if it was a fish market, as long as the coffee tasted as good as it smelled. He knew he shouldn't, not when they were trying to find their way back to Diagon Alley, but he felt like hell, and a hot, steaming cup between his hands. "You don't smell it?" Markise asked. Ariel had said he had money, hadn't he? Markise looked back at him with tired eyes. "Please?"

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

"I said go wherever you want," Ariel said when he caught sight of Markise's obvious exhaustion. It only made him remember how very tired he was himself. He looked away and forced that thought from his mind. "Where's it coming from?" he asked, trying to catch the scent again. Coffee had never been a favorite of his, but maybe he would try a cup, he really needed to wake up at least long enough to get back to the school.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise gestured down the street in the direction they'd been going. "That way," he said, sure of it. He let his nose lead him until they stopped in front of a tiny cafe, hardly visible, and not at all from where they'd been standing. The smell of coffee was stronger here, especially when Markise pulled open the door and a rush of warm air washed over his face, pushing back his hood. The older woman behind the counter--the place had to be family owned--stared. Markise pretended he didn't see.

[Ariel Logan Callahan]

Ariel tucked his hands back into his pockets the moment they were in the little cafe and took a deep breath, the scent taking him over. "Order me something," he said, since when he looked up at the menu he was all but lost. Then he reached into his pocket and handed Markise a couple of bills, "You know how this works?" he asked under his breath, raising an eyebrow.

[Markise Sterling]

Markise's eyes widened when he looked at them. He wasn't sure what the exchange rate was between dollars and... whatever this was, but he was familiar enough with Muggle money that he knew it was a lot. Markise glanced around to make sure no one had seen, then lowered his voice to a near whisper. "Where did you get this?" Had Ariel exchanged every galleon he had?