Rose
New Member
Ex-Student
Gray Dawn Breaking
Posts: 41
|
Post by Rose on Aug 3, 2005 23:43:32 GMT
The pavement was still warm when she sauntered down the edge of the street, heading toward the smoke rising from the chimney of the Leaky Cauldron. She passed shop windows lit up to fight the evening darkness. She peered into the picture frame sized world with reminiscent eyes. The lighthearted day crowd was trickling away slowly, making way for the slightly more seedy evening bunch.
Clenching her hands in her jean pockets, she traipsed along the tail end of a group of students. They were heading back to school with bags of Zonko's pranks pinched under their elbows, grinning and whispering. She was painfully aware of how well she could fit in with them. A sixteen year old girl of no particular beauty or atrocity, frozen in time, not looking a moment older then the day she was sired. The same blond locks of hair were now held up loosely by ancient silver clips. Her eyes were the same shade of bright blue. The same, after years and years.
She certainly did not feel the same. She couldn't run around, shining her Prefect badge in everyone's face. She couldn't spout Quidditch pep talks at whim. She couldn't jump into chandeliers or profess undying love for her House or wiggle her toes...
The musty, enveloping smell of the Leaky Cauldron was a relief as she dipped in through the door, loosening her black jacket off her shoulders. She brushed by the line at the bar and secured a sheltered table for two in the corner. Promptly ordering a butterbeer (because there was no chance the bartender would give her a fire whiskey) she threw off her jacket and drew in a long, stuttering breath of anticipation. She felt like she should have prepared better. Unsure of what the meeting would fully entail, she packed lightly. Her luggage was still up in the inn down the street, not at all unpacked. Her chair creaked when she leaned back into it with an aggrieved sigh.
Who are you, when the very essence of your being has become something painful to recall? When the floor turned into the ceiling and the walls began to crumble, she ran. Perhaps to discover her new self, a graceful speaker would say. Frankly, Rose had been trying to forget it.
Look how that turned out.
|
|
|
Post by Kiki on Aug 13, 2005 6:53:25 GMT
The letter had been intriguing, to say the least. A letter requesting the Ministeress meet with an unidentified Vampire for a discussion of some kind. There had been no signature at the bottom, save a beautifully scripted 'R' gently carved into the bottom of the parchment. She'd read it several times once it had landed on her desk and there was still no inkling of whom it could be or what it may mean.
She'd been feeling restless and was about to inform Carmen to keep the night of August the Third free - she was only planning on going to the castle for her birthday. There wasn't anyone that she wanted to celebrate with, and there was no-one to remember it - when she realised she could be walking straight into a trap of some kind. She read the parchment over again and realised it was suggesting a meeting take place after dusk at the Leaky Cauldron. In all honesty, a busier place you could not find. Feeling slightly more secure, she agreed and instructed Carmen to book no appointments for August the third.
The evening rolled around with slight birthday salutations from a few representatives of the Ministry, Kiki gathered her cloak and headed toward the Floo fireplaces to travel that way. Apparating into what she anticipated to be a busy pub was not the cleverest of ideas. She stepped into the emerald flames that leapt to life in the grate at a commanding flick of her wand, throwing the powder into the fireplace and carefully pronouncing 'The Leaky Cauldron'.
As soon as she stepped from the fire she knew her anticipation was correct. The rowdy, drunken atmosphere of the pub hit her senses hard as she tapped her wand to her shoulders and made the ash disappear. She hadn't had to deal with drunken sods like this in a long time. She cast her eye around the room, trying to find the Vampire she had come to meet. Raising an eyebrow at a warlock who was grunting in a language Kiki could unfortunately understand, she pushed him away with the tip of her wand and looked again for the mystery letter writer.
|
|
Rose
New Member
Ex-Student
Gray Dawn Breaking
Posts: 41
|
Post by Rose on Aug 13, 2005 16:30:56 GMT
A jolt ripped through her stomach when her eyes fell upon the young Ministeress, craning her neck over the crowd. Rose saw on her face that she was unsure of who she was looking for. This insecurity teased a slight thrill in her gut, which she silenced with fervor. Pushing her butterbeer aside with the tips of her fingers, she pulled in a last preparatory breath and shook her hair back, behind her shoulders.
"Kiki?" She called tentatively, raising out of her seat and tapping gently on the woman's elbow.
Gazing almost shyly at the old friend, Rose decided that she looked well. Though she hadn't much time to read the Daily Prophet most days, she could assume that the once Head Girl was doing a magnificent job. Though hopefully she could do with an extra hand. A slight smile curled her mouth, which she made sure not to show her teeth. Past experiences proved that no matter how well you know a person, letting them see two lethal weapons protruding from your mouth was startling.
"You look well. Should we sit down?"
|
|
|
Post by Kiki on Aug 29, 2005 6:12:58 GMT
Kiki turned at the sound of her name and her features broke into a broad smile at the sight of an old friend.
"Rose!" She exclaimed as all the pieces of the puzzle slotted easily into place. She weaved her way through the crowd and slid into the booth opposite the Vampiress. She smiled wryly and then explained it:
"I'd say you look well, and that you don't look a day older than when I saw you last...but," She allowed her sentence to trail off and smiled at Rose. It was always refreshing to see an old face back again.
"How've things been?"
|
|
Rose
New Member
Ex-Student
Gray Dawn Breaking
Posts: 41
|
Post by Rose on Aug 29, 2005 18:05:14 GMT
Rose grinned, relieved to see that it was a pleasant expression Kiki had drawn upon realized who the mysterious vampire she was meeting was.
"Very well," She admitted, pushing the spoon around her cup distractedly. "I've actually just finished up school at an academy - beautiful, remote area - last spring and have been traveling since then." She made circular motions lazily with the tips of her fingers. "And, here I am." Maybe it was a slight stretch of the truth, but going into agonizing detail about the many, many discussions she had with her brother about arranging this meeting didn't seem like the most embracing way to start off a conversation.
A part of her was anxious to just dive into the subject at hand and save catching up for later, but she pressed herself to be patient. And she could do with being caught on the current going ons of her former home. Twirling a loose strand of hair tightly around one finger, she paused to take a sip of butterbeer.
"I trust that you've been well?" She asked after she set her mug down, scooting to the edge of her seat to squint better at her friend.
|
|
|
Post by Kiki on Sept 4, 2005 12:31:29 GMT
Kiki paused, considering how best she could answer that question. Things had certainly been eventful since she had seen Rose last, one of the last times would have to have been -
Kiki's slight smile fell from her face and was grateful that Tom had hobbled over to see if she wanted anything. She ordered a butterbeer and tried to compose herself a little whilst he asked her questions about the Ministry and the ban on selling liquor to hags. Apparentely they were his best customers.
Basically the last time she had seen Rose was at Rose's wedding - ignoring the time when she turned up for a quick visit in the entrance hall - when she was married to Ace. Exhaling a little, she allowed a smile to stretch over her features - being a politician it paid to be able to act a little - and nodded.
"Things have been a bit hectic, but I suppose I can't really complain. I think I'd rather it be busy than completely uneventful and exciting." She accepted her Butterbeer as it was placed in front of her and took a swig that was a little deeper than usual, setting it down onto the table in front of her, deciding to ignore Rose's previous - what was he? Boyfriend/husband? Ignoring Ace entirely would be a much better descision, and that's wat she aimed to do.
|
|
Rose
New Member
Ex-Student
Gray Dawn Breaking
Posts: 41
|
Post by Rose on Sept 14, 2005 23:51:03 GMT
Rose smiled at Kiki's on the money description of the general Magic Horizons lifestyle. She tapped her fingernails quietly on one side of her mug, slowly edging it across the counter until it was out of her reach.
"As it should be," she said quite belatedly. The Ministeress was obviously not the only one plagued with dangerous thoughts. Rose chewed on her bottom lip nervously, an unbreakable habit that in current days has left two pinprick sized circles of slightly darker red on her lips. It was slightly more delicate tissue from when she had been careless enough to sink her teeth in. And oh, she had been careless. So careless, in so many ways. But it's different now, Rose thought with a blaze in her eyes. It had to be different.
Wincing slightly, she leaned forward across the table. "Ki, I'm sure you're a very busy woman - what with banning liquor for the hags and everything - " she smiled very slightly, "So I guess I'll just have to get to the point." She drew in a deep breath as inconspicuously as possible.
"Do you have a job opportunity available?" She asked, staring into Kiki's eyes with a smoldering intensity very new to the once bubbly Miss Murphy's spirit.
|
|
|
Post by Kiki on Jan 12, 2006 6:49:36 GMT
Kiki blinked in surprise at Rose's request or rather question. A position for a Vampiress at the Ministry? There was a part of her that was shrieking at her to just tell Rose no, deny her any right to be here any longer than she had to be. But then, along with her purely selfish reasons for refusing Rose a job at the Ministry, it was also highly discriminatory and Kiki didn't like to think of herself as a racist or whatever catergory Vampiric discrimination fell beneath. She tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear and she took another sip of her Butterbeer before answering.
"What sort of position were you after?" There certainly were positions at the Ministry, it simply depended upon the Department that the person - creature? - was applying for. Kiki couldn't recall if the Ministry had ever had a Vampire working amongst them and she knew that a lot of wizardfolk would be opposed to it. But she was getting way too ahead of herself. Now Kiki drummed her fingers gently against the glass of the mug she was drinking from before drawing her hands away from the glass and looking at Rose awaiting an answer.
|
|
Rose
New Member
Ex-Student
Gray Dawn Breaking
Posts: 41
|
Post by Rose on Jan 12, 2006 20:39:35 GMT
Rose breathed deeply again, seemingly relieved to have gotten the question out before it punched a hole through her lips. But the hesitation in the woman sitting before her did not go unnoticed.
"Er - well," She began, lacing her fingers together and dropping them to her lap. She tried not to look too imploring. Somewhere in the last few moments, a realization had roared from a deadpan zero to one-hundred. And she felt the last string of confidence drain off of her, hiding in a sheepish puddle beneath the table. She had thought - blearily, unwillingly, of the politics involved with employing a Vampire. But she had been so adamant on a friendship - clearly not a friendship built to last the eternity she was doomed to - to secure her a spot. A purpose was what she wanted. What did she need a job for? There were plenty of different Vampire packs scattered across Europe - mostly nomadic, and she could slip among them. Why - why in hell would she come back here?
The back of her throat tickled. She coughed into her fist, and she looked back up at Kiki with timid, almost remorseful.
"I haven't got a whole lot of real varied talent, er. I could - I write a little bit. And - " She coughed again. "Excuse me. I'm - I'm not looking for anything that could - upset anybody." She looked at Kiki with a rational expression in her eyes. She wanted to convey her new realization to Kiki - though, too late, Rose knew. "Just - I don't really know."
|
|
|
Post by Kiki on Jan 20, 2006 5:06:55 GMT
It was, surprisingly enough, Rose's nervousness that hardened Kiki's resolve. She was a little surprised that Rose had returned to ask for a position but was a little unsure of what she truly wanted. Frowning a little, Kiki thought for a moment.
'I'm not one hundred percent sure on all the positions we've got open at the moment, because there are a fair few. But, I'd be more than willing to hire you for the Ministry,' Kiki gave Rose a smile and then it widened to a mischievious length. 'And who cares if we upset anybody? If you're capable of the job, then that's all that should matter.'
Kiki dug into her pocket and pulled out a scroll of parchment and a biro that she'd stolen from Carmen's desk as she'd left the Ministry that morning. Carmen would probably be looking frantically for it - she wasn't a big fan of quills - but Kiki couldn't be bothered digging out an ink bottle as well. She made a note on the parchment to look up the jobs avaliable and folded the parchment in half, slipping the pen and the note back into her pocket.
|
|