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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 17:56:41 GMT -5
"Well I, for one, do not intend to allow him to hide from me," Eros stated. His nose wrinkled at a sudden thought. "As loathe as I am to enter a pet store simply to see for myself, desperate times call for desperate measures. I'll see the truth of it all, or I'll be unable to rest." A lie of course, assuming that his flat had been furnished to his specifications, but his comfort would be lessened with unsatisfied curiosity. "And you said you'd met his Mudblood?"
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 18:01:21 GMT -5
Mano nodded and shifted on his feet. "Yes, he was out in London walking their dog, who promptly peed on me." He wrinkled his nose. It wasn't the best part of the meeting, but he was sure Eros would enjoy the image. "Just confirmed some things, talked for a few minutes, then went our separate ways." After the dog peed on me again, he added silently.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 18:08:59 GMT -5
Eros's lips quirked, despite the knowledge that Mano had likely seen nothing at all humorous in the situation. He kept his opinions on the subject to himself. "I'm quite curious about this Mudblood who is apparently so much better than the Pureblood girls who practically threw themselves at his feet. You said he has colored hair and a lip ring? Has Michael sustained any head injuries?"
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 18:11:19 GMT -5
Mano chuckled softly and shook his head. "Not that I'm aware of. I suppose he thought he couldn't do any worse, supposedly he's already disowned-" he stopped and tilted his head at Eros. "Is it true that Soren Hardt is dead?" It was a change of subject, yes, but one that he was very interested in. He had heard rumors, but nothing concrete.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 18:23:26 GMT -5
Eros had plenty more questions about Michael's Mudblood lover, but was derailed thoroughly enough by that more personally relevant question. He gave a brief nod. "Just after the New Year, apparently. The healers have written it off as a heart attack, but with the surrounding circumstances, it's all quite questionable.
"He had updated his will not long before and left everything to his wife. Which means, of course, that Michael will get it all anyway. The woman is far too soft."
Eros himself couldn't stomach the idea that Michael was choosing to spend the rest of his life with a Mudblood male, thereby ending the Hardt family line. It was tragic that his father's last wishes would be flouted, but even so, Eros had a soft spot for Michael, or at least he had once, and he couldn't completely begrudge him his fortune.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 18:45:08 GMT -5
"It's a tragedy that it happened," Mano said. "I liked Soren. And his wife isn't that bad, I have no idea how the two ended up together, though." The two were so very different, but it had been obvious, at least when he was younger, that they loved each other. "From what I know there isn't anyone else it could go to. I think she has a nephew or a niece somewhere, but other than that..." he trailed off and shrugged. The line was going to die out anyway, thanks to Michael, it might as well go out with a bang.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 19:19:21 GMT -5
Eros echoed Mano's shrug with one of his own, then let silence settle in a moment's respect for Soren Hardt. Then he recalled the line of questioning he'd been involved in before death had entered the conversation, and his curiosity renewed. "What kind of man has colored hair?" he wondered aloud. "Does he wear pink and mince about like a fa~ot?" There was a great difference between liking the company of men, or even preferring it, and being a fa~ot. "Dear God, does Michael?" It was a disturbing, yet somehow amusing thought.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 19:21:18 GMT -5
Mano shook his head, "The guy wears tight clothes, chunky belt. Apparently they go clubbing a lot. And his hair is black, but there's colors all in it. And as far as I know Michael hasn't changed in looks much." He knew some people that would go to clubs every now and then, so it seemed a good way to easily describe what style Dare had, even if it could be completely different at times.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 19:33:00 GMT -5
Eros could only just picture the type of person Mano described, not at all having frequented the types of clubs where wizards wore such things. At least Michael wasn't wearing the same, though it was small consolation against everything else. "Do you read the gossip in the Daily Prophet?" Eros asked at last. "It says that they've been going to gay clubs or something. Alternative-style nightclubs. Are there any in the area worth going to?" It didn't for a moment occur to Eros that those nightclubs were Muggle clubs.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 19:40:00 GMT -5
"Not in Diagon Alley," Mano said, "There's one in Hogsmeade, but I've not been. It's run by a student, if I'm right." He hadn't considered going to one himself; he had no reason to go to a club. Working behind the counter gave him plenty of opportunities to flirt and tease with people. "I don't know where they go."
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 19:56:46 GMT -5
"Run by a student," Eros repeated, his nose wrinkling slightly at the thought. He couldn't imagine it was at all up to his standards if the proprietor was underage. He shrugged the thought off. He'd find something. He couldn't imagine anything but sticky-fingered children and pimple-faced pubescents would frequent a candy shop, so there wasn't much choice.
"So what do you do with your time, Mano?" Eros asked. "You can't possibly work all day, it's unthinkable." At least, for him it was.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 20:05:04 GMT -5
"Spend a day with me behind the counter and see if it's as bad as you think," Mano offered, grinning. "There's this one woman that comes in just about every day, gorgeous. Think you'd like her." He could see Eros with the woman, at least a couple of times. "But there isn't that much to do, really," Mano said, wrinkling his nose. He hadn't really thought about it, usually he was busy, but he really didn't do much.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 20:14:19 GMT -5
Eros would divert his attention to broadening his book collection, but it would only serve as a reminder that a muggleborn who couldn't compose a proper letter had turned down his offer to purchase her shop. He'd just have to try again another time. For now, he was eying Mano.
"Is she really worth that kind of effort?" he asked. Mano seemed to think so and Eros trusted his taste almost implicitly, but Mano had always worked harder for such things than he'd felt necessary. And the wait in the meantime would have driven another man to distraction.
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Post by Mano Berwyn on May 3, 2009 20:22:21 GMT -5
"I've got others I talk to," he said, "It's not like I focus all my time on her. But yes, like I said, I think you'd like her." Mano shrugged slightly and glanced around the platform. "I'll introduce you some time. So, what shop is it that you've bought, again?" he asked, with a spark in his eyes. Yes, he was a shop keeper himself, but it was a cafe.
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Post by Eros d'Avonderre on May 3, 2009 20:28:32 GMT -5
Eros's eyes narrowed slightly. "A candy shop," he said, annoyance ringing in his voice. "Nothing I had any actual interest in was for sale and I didn't mean to spend the summer bargaining when I could simply begin. I may spend quite a bit of time at your shop, since mine will likely be filled with children." Eros had no fondness for children. They were crass, unclean, and impossible to have intelligent conversation with.
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