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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 18:58:47 GMT -5
Michael wasn't home. It wasn't that big a deal, Dare told himself that, but they'd been more or less glued to each other for almost a week, and he was having difficulties with even the briefest separations. He felt... incomplete without Michael.
Michael wasn't missing. He'd let Dare know he was going out, but that hadn't done nearly enough to keep him from tensing up, from getting restless. He didn't trust himself to go out alone, but he could handle a walk with Elouai.
Dare had bundled up, even if it was slightly less cold than it had been. He had his coat on, his gloves and scarf, but he'd felt comfortable enough to leave his hood down, and he felt better for it.
Elouai couldn't have cared less. She was trotting along ahead of him happy as could be, sniffing whatever caught her attention. She'd done her business quite a while ago, but every now and then she'd stop and Dare would look the other way for a few moments. All in all, it was a good walk.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 19:07:16 GMT -5
Mano was wearing his usual creme coat, though without the cloak this time. His scarf was wrapped loosely around his neck and he had his gloves on, but they were more out of habit than because he actually needed them. A canvas messenger bag lay snugly against his hip as he walked. He might not have noticed the man walking the dog, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed the color in the hair. He turned his head slightly to confirm his suspicions and yes, it was Dare, the one that was with Michael. His lips curved and he altered his path enough to come over. "That's a beautiful animal you have there," he said, "What breed?"
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 20:42:12 GMT -5
Dare was used to being stopped, more often than not by girls, sometimes boys, and to a lesser extent women and men. Sometimes it was fun, but for the rest he'd learned not to roll his eyes or sigh heavily at the interruption. All said, he'd never been stopped by a man like this one before, and the oddity struck him a moment before his lips curved as he looked down at Elouai.
"Thank you," he said, then lifting his gaze answered, "She's a German Shepherd. The all-black coat is rare, but..." He stopped mid-sentence when he caught Elouai out of the corner of his eye. "Sh~, NO, Elouai! Bad!" He tugged on the leash, glancing apologetically up at the man whose shoes had just been so thoroughly marked. "I'm sorry, I don't know what got into her..." He wished he wasn't in Muggle London just then. At least he could have attempted a cleaning spell.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 20:56:45 GMT -5
Mano glanced down and clenched his jaw. Of course it happened outside of Diagon Alley. "Nothing to worry about, I'll be able to clean it up in a few minutes, anyway." He didn't like the fact that he would have to wait, didn't like that it had happened period, but could he really be angry with the dog? He stared crossly at her for a moment before looking back up at Dare. "You're Dare Blackwood, are you not?" he asked, tilting his head slightly, though he was certain it was.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 21:24:23 GMT -5
Dare paused in the act of winding the lead around his hand, thereby tethering Elouai at his side. He blinked, then looked up at the man all over again. He had a momentary shock of terror before his mind kicked in, reminding him that if Death Eaters were after him, he'd be dead by now, then that Michael's father was dead anyway, so why would anyone be after him in the first place?
Still, who would know his name but wizards, and what wizards dressed like that other than the Society people? Dare didn't know nearly enough about that Society to think that not all of them would be like Emilian and Michael's family, though if he hadn't been so surprised, it would have. He could recognize his hypocrisy about judging later.
"I am," he said after just a moment, schooling his features as best as he could. He told himself that the man likely read the Daily Prophet, and wanted to see the curiosity that was that gay American Mudblood. "I'm sorry, have we met?"
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 21:36:33 GMT -5
"No, my apologies, I am Mano Berwyn," Mano said, holding out a friendly hand. "I'm friends with Emilian and I know Michael and Markise." In his mind he was seeing the Dare he had seen in the pictures at Emilian's place. But he was also hearing what Markise had said about it all. He wondered absently if Dare knew any of it just yet.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 21:50:05 GMT -5
And Markise. Dare was surprised by the man's easy admission of his connections with Emilian and Michael. But Markise? F~, Dare thought, even as his lips curved into a polite smile and he took that proffered hand in a firm, confident shake, one his father had insisted his sons perfect. "It's nice to finally meet you," he said, his eyes tearing out of his control to give Mano one brief but thoroughly appraising look-over, memorizing in a flash to inspect later. "How is it you know Markise?" he asked, watching Mano as carefully as he could while still appearing only distantly curious. Inside, he was tightening for an explosion. He equated Mano with Emilian, and that was not a flattering picture.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 21:53:50 GMT -5
"I own the cafe in Diagon Alley," Mano answered easily, "He has come in a couple of times for a cup of coffee." And more, but Dare didn't need to know the details. He put his hand back in his pocket. "I've heard a lot about you, I'm glad I finally found you." Not that he had been exactly looking for Dare, but it was good to be able to finally meet the person.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 22:09:05 GMT -5
"Likewise," Dare said. So maybe he'd heard one story, and even that had been an obviously watered-down version, but Dare didn't feel like admitting that he had no clue aside from that brief mention. "I hope you've heard good things," Dare said lightly. "At least a few." Doubtful, especially since Mano himself had said he was friends with Emilian. He'd probably heard nothing but complaints. Dare refused to give Mano any reason to believe them. It didn't matter at the moment that Mano hadn't been at all high on Michael's list of people to impress, assuming he cared about impressing anyone. He was a representation of Michael's decisions, and he was going to represent, dammit. He held tightly to the leash as Elouai tried to lean forward, hoping to get a sniff of her earlier handiwork.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 22:19:16 GMT -5
Mano nodded, "I have. Emilian had nothing but good things to say about you, and Markise said you and Michael were engaged." He squatted down and pulled his hands from his pockets to take the puppy lightly buy the ears. "Congratulations on that," he said, almost as an afterthought, and glanced up before returning his attention to the little black dog. He remembered Markise being anything but happy about the news, but he didn't think it was his place to inform Dare of Markise's feelings on the matter.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 22:28:54 GMT -5
Dare was completely taken aback by that. He couldn't by any stretch of the imagination see Emilian saying nothing but good things. Either he was lying, or Mano had talked to Emilian some time ago, in which case Dare wasn't going to correct him. "Thank you," he said politely. "We'll take whatever congratulations we can get." Even a brief word was better than some of the reactions they'd gotten. Emilian's stood out the most. Still, it struck him as odd that Markise had mentioned the engagement to the owner of a shop he'd been into a couple of times for coffee. He bit his tongue on asking about the discrepancy.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 22:36:01 GMT -5
"I was technically engaged at one point, but the girl seems to have run off," Mano said, though he shrugged it off. He hadn't particularly cared for the girl, anyway, it was better she was gone, now he could start looking at more serious prospects. He ruffled the puppy's ears one last time and stood, smiling. "Have you chosen a date?" he asked, looking up at Dare. He would love to find out more, to find out if Markise should have tried to tell Dare.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 22:54:18 GMT -5
Dare's lips curved, unable to pretend to politeness at that particular subject. His interest was real, and though there was still tension between them, they were close again and he knew it would work out. It had to.
"June 30th," Dare said, answering Mano's question. "It'll be on school grounds." There would be no crashing the event, and he would be surprised as hell if Michael sent out an invitation. "So how long have you been in Diagon Alley?" he asked. He wouldn't invite Mano, but he wouldn't linger over that fact.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on Mar 2, 2009 23:05:04 GMT -5
"Since December," Mano answered. "I heard you're living there, too. I ran into Markise one day and he said he had been to see the two of you." The drama with Markise interested him greatly, even though he wouldn't directly tell Dare that Markise had a problem with the engagement. What did Dare think of Markise? They were friends, but did he realize anything more?
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Mar 2, 2009 23:16:49 GMT -5
"He does, occasionally," Dare responded. If one took occasionally to mean three times. Dare didn't at all feel like throwing around how little of a friendship they had left, but he couldn't claim much of anything, not without alienating Michael. It hurt, but he'd made his choices and he knew his priorities. Michael came first. "So you two are friendly?" Dare asked, cutting talk of himself and Michael short and shifting it directly toward Markise. As much as he accepted that Markise was on his own now, part of him still felt protective.
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