|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 15, 2015 17:00:40 GMT -5
Absinthe flew out of the Knight Bus ahead of Castiel and soared ahead to stretch his wings before returning. Again the raven landed on his arm before making its way to his shoulder, and again Castiel gave it a treat for good behavior. "The ice cream shop's right here. Their waffle cones are amazing, they even make them the Muggle way." Which was no end of amazing. They poured gross-looking batter into a metal thing, it steamed a bunch, and then there was a waffle.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 16, 2015 11:18:58 GMT -5
Diantha was breathless after the ride, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement at being away from the school grounds so soon after enrolling. "This is wonderful!" she said. There wasn't such a thing as the Knight Bus back home, even if they had been allowed off the school grounds at a whim. She couldn't believe she had been just outside the Hogwarts gates a few minutes before. "I thought magical places like this couldn't have muggle tools, though."
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 16, 2015 11:47:21 GMT -5
Castiel shrugged. "They do. One of the guys that runs the shop is a Muggle." He was pretty sure he'd mentioned Muggles a few times already and she hadn't said anything, so he led the way toward the shop. "They also have wi-fi, which is like, a computer thing." He didn't understand how that worked at all, but it had made Mari happy. And Indigo, back when Indigo had been around.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 16, 2015 11:57:10 GMT -5
The door opening made a little bell jingle merrily, and in response a handsome man with a buzz cut greeted them from behind the counter with a smile. How was this place not more filled than it was? There were a few people, but it was hot enough outside that ice cream was surely a priority...but then these people were likely more used to warmer temperatures. "Do you come here a lot? Any recommendations?" she asked, dragging her eyes away from their surroundings to focus on Castiel again.
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 1:59:26 GMT -5
"Everything's good," Castiel assured her. "You should definitely try a waffle cone, though." He approached the counter and looked at the selection, tubs of different flavors and colors. "I used to come here with my friends," he told Diantha, "but it's been a while." And he'd done more than enough complaining about that. He couldn't be a hermit if he continuously thought about social activity. "I'll have that one," he said, pointing out a dark, muddy chocolate filled with treats. "In a waffle cone." That was this place's signature thing.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 17, 2015 12:52:20 GMT -5
Diantha opted for a lighter chocolate one with crumbling bits of dark cookie and gummy worms, then was swayed to the cinnamon side for her waffle cone. Although...if the cones were warm and newly made, wouldn't that just melt the ice cream? Little did she know that the mixture hot cone, cold ice cream, and melted border was perfection. "I've never been able to just go out and do something like this. My father would have insisted we go to some artisanal gelato place or something," she said, peering through the glass at the options.
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 13:04:14 GMT -5
"There's nothing wrong with artisanal gelato," Castiel claimed, "but it would get boring after a while." He put money on the counter for both of them, then took his waffle gingerly and eyed its contents. He normally had his ice cream in a neat little cup, but if he was going to encourage Diantha to branch out, he might as well too.
"Let's sit by the window, we can watch people go by." He took a small cup of water for his raven and led the way.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 17, 2015 13:10:54 GMT -5
Diantha pulled the strap of her bag over her head, then dropped the bag by her chair as she folded herself into it. She propped her elbows in what was likely an unladylike pose to take her first bite. It was cold, and warm, and the bit of ice cream that met the cone was glistening and lightly melted, and she hummed, pleased with the mixture.
"Oh, there definitely has to be a next time," she said, letting her eyes drift outside. There was such a larger variety of types of people here than at home! "I can't believe all the different people."
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 13:16:09 GMT -5
"Apparently the Blackwood-Hardt professors used to live here and started shaking things up. Now there's this place. The owners are guys, they're married, and one of them is a Muggle. So it's not as popular for like, the the Society Pureblood types anymore. I mean, they've got to shop, but there's not as much around that's elite-only." Castiel watched a woman walk past with a gaggle of children, each holding an armful of bags.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 17, 2015 13:26:03 GMT -5
"Society Purelboods," Diantha scoffed, as though she wasn't technically part of that group. "They don't like anything that doesn't go their way. Being exposed to other groups will do them good." Busting up expectations one family at a time. She caught a bit of melty goodness on her thumb and licked it away. "You know, same sex marriage has been legal for like six years back home, England's really behind the times. It's about time this place caught up."
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 13:47:52 GMT -5
Castiel blinked at Diantha, but dragged his gaze away instead of staring like an idiot. Speaking of idiots... "People are stupid. The United States is even worse. It's legal in some states, but not all of them and it's always being appealed, and that's just the Muggle government. The U.S. Ministry doesn't want anything to do with it." And yet in some places, like a certain school he used to attend, it was edgy and the girls thought it was hot. He flicked a glance at Diantha, then turned his attention to his ice cream.
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 17, 2015 13:56:18 GMT -5
"Well, I'm glad that the first American I've ever met is completely okay with it all," Diantha said, smiling at Castiel. She could have run into any number of people, especially considering her placement in Slytherin house, but Castiel was proving to be a good first contact. "You're not at all like the stereotypes of Americans we see back home."
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 14:02:49 GMT -5
"Most of the really uptight people don't let their kids go to Hogwarts because of the Blackwood-Hardts," Castiel said. "I heard of this one girl whose parents complained to the Deputy Headmaster because she was supposed to transfigure a Muggle wallet into a coin pouch. Professor Firebrand was like too bad, so sad and she left." He took a bite of waffle cone with just enough ice cream clinging to it to make it amazing.
"So what's the stereotype of Americans? Cowboys or something?"
|
|
|
Post by Diantha Delagardie on Jun 17, 2015 14:13:02 GMT -5
Diantha shook her head. "Fat and lazy and full of themselves," she said. "It depends, though. That's kind of the general one, but there are a few other ideas that go around. I don't think I've ever heard one that was similar to Poe, though." Even if she wasn't too fond of her expected place at home, she had managed to be well-read over the years.
|
|
|
Post by Castiel Catalyst on Jun 17, 2015 14:35:55 GMT -5
Castiel preened a bit at the recognition. "I'm neither general nor typical," he said. Absinthe, whose wings shone in the streaks of sunlight shining through the window, agreed with a cawk! that made Castiel jump. He gave the bird a brief glare that it ignored. Darn bird.
|
|