Absit Omen RPG
Role-Play Boards => Diagon Alley => London => Floriblunders Florists & Gamp Flat => Topic started by: Nathaniel Hawke on February 15, 2016, 11:53:42 PM
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He should have known when he came home to a couch covered in cat hair. He should've known when Calliope started eating nearly twice the amount she normally did. He should've known when he heard strange noises coming from her bedroom in the odd hours of the night. But instead, he had rationalized every single one of these instances:
After all, Callie liked to invite the neighbor cats in.
She was a growing girl, and growing things need to be properly fed.
As for the noise from her bedroom... That wasn't too unusual. It happening nightly, however, was.
It wasn't until they had sat down for dinner last night that a partially hairless Claude made an appearance. Calliope hadn't latched the door to her bedroom, and so he escaped-- stuffed inside a pink doll dress so tightly that it reminded Nate of a sausage casing. How Callie had abducted Claude without anybody noticing, Nate didn't know. Usually, she carried a little backpack with her full of activities and snacks to distract herself in his office.
Perhaps she had dumped out her belongings in Cepheus' living room and taken the cat in a trade. That sounded like her.
Nate would have blamed work for this, but to be honest the workload wasn't any bigger than usual. He no longer worked at the ministry, though he often worked with the ministry. After some missing students had turned out to be at the ministry the entire time, things had been hectic. He had heard rumors that they attacked the aurors, and one of them had turned into a duck. Oh, he wished he could've seen that. If that part of the story was even real, anyway.
So, instead of lounging at home with Calliope and his in-laws, Nate took her and Claude to Diagon Alley and marched them to Cepheus' door. He looked down at his daughter, raising his eyebrows.
With a pout, Callie clutched a frivolously-clothed Claude close to her chest.
Nate knocked on the door, and then let himself in anyway. "Yo, Ceph!" He said, closing the door behind them. "Claude's home."
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Ceph was contemplating Claude's untouched food, sat in the kitchen when he heard his front door open. As it was Saturday and he was in, it wasn’t unusual for a friend to call over, or even his sister. After the week they’d had, with missing students and his parents, he was in two minds as to what to do. Running into Arcturus Hollingbury the evening before while looking for Claude had been a pleasant distraction from it all.
“Yo Ceph!” The knock and the call brought the wizard out of his thoughts of what had happened to Claude, recognising Nate’s voice. His best mate was more than welcome to saunter into his flat, rifle through the cupboards and help himself to a beer, so the fact he was wandering into the kitchen now wasn’t surprising. ”Claude’s home.”
“Wh-?” Cepheus blinked and shook his head in surprise, eyes dropping to the floor in expectation of seeing his black and white cat run towards him, but instead he saw Nate’s shadow. Callie had appeared in the kitchen doorway, clutching Claude to her chest like a teddy. His bulging yellow eyes and legs akimbo were indications he wasn’t too pleased at the way he was carried, but he was far too good natured to claw at Calliope.
“Claude!” His human owner leapt up from the kitchen stool and rushed forward to crouch before Callie, on similar head-height to Nate’s daughter. He was so relieved to see his four-legged companion. “You found him! Where was he?” He reached to take Claude and noticed what he was wearing. “Er… what is he wearing?”
”Rwooowwll.” Claude let out a low yowl, wriggling out of Callie’s grasp, landing paws first on the kitchen floor before shooting away into the living room beyond.
Ceph watched his retreat over his shoulder, still crouched on the floor and then looked back to Callie with a quizzical look.
“Is he.. were you uh… catsitting for me, Cal?” Cepheus asked, as diplomatically as he could. He doubted that Nate’s daughter had developed psychopathic tendencies to torture a cat in the past fortnight, but it did tally up with the fact the last time he’d seen Claude had been the evening Nate and Callie had dropped by.
Cepheus stood up again, looking from Nate to his cat and back again.
“Did she..?”
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Nate shook his head as he motioned vaguely towards the cat.
"She put him in her backpack last time she was here." Nate explained, though he had no idea how she did it so stealthily. Hes suspected that it was some early sign of Calliope's magical abilities. Both her parents were magical-- it made sense for her to start to show. Some kids showed younger than others, and it seemed that she was in that population. Nate himself had been a late bloomer, though his magic grew as he got older.
Calliope stared up at Cepheus, dark eyes defiant. "He was mine." She explained, as if it were the most logical explanation. "I fed him."
"You fed him, but he doesn't belong to you, hun." Nate said wearily.
"I made him pretty." Her resolve was wavering. "I did."
The poor thing had lived on human table scraps and whatever it could hunt. She did her best to care for him. Nate was thankful that cats weren't particularly fragile creatures.
"You did." Nate conceded, "But I am sure Ceph was worried about Claude." He gave Ceph a quick look-- a cue to nod in agreement.
At the nod, Callie gave him a horrified look and hugged his legs as hard as she could. "I'm sorry." It was difficult to tell if she was actually sorry for worrying her kinda-uncle, or if she was sorry that she was almost in trouble. Then, with childish vanity, she asked, "Do I have new books?"
Nate gave his friend an apologetic look.
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"She put him in her backpack last time she was here." Nate explained, and Ceph's eyebrows made headway to his hairline. He was amazed neither he nor his best friend had noticed it happening. Claude must have been sleepy enough or intrepid to think it was a game. That did explain why Callie had left behind some things under the sofa which Ceph had found by accident.
Calli was quick to jump to her own defence, seeking eye contact with Ceph, who indulged her, given the situation. Nate kept a very level tone in response to her statements.
"You did. But I am sure Ceph was worried about Claude." Out of the corner of his eye Ceph caught the inference from Nate and gave a solemn nod, and a bit of a pout for good measure. It induced a grasp to both his thighs from the six year old and a muffled apology somewhere in the region of his stomach. Cepheus couldn't help but gently put a hand to her shoulder in acknowledgement.
"No harm done... I think." He spoke quietly, head lowered to Nate's daughter.
"Do I have new books?"
"... maybe. Perhaps you'll have to take a look."
At this information, Callie released her grasp and shot away into the living room. Claude gave her a weary look as she passed, and clawed at his outfit with his back foot. Cepheus gave his forehead a thoughtful rub, relieved to have his cat back, but concerned for the state he was in and how he'd vanished.
"When my brother was her age he took to thieving things, not cats, sweets, the odd bit of money. Attention seeking because Andie had just arrived." Cepheus lowered his voice, and clicked his fingers together gently to encourage Claude into the kitchen. "Our father locked his fingers together for a week to teach him a lesson and beat him across both palms. You're so much more reasonable, but she's certainly more audacious in her theft. Oh Claude, what has she done to you mate?"
It took a moment to wrestle the black and white cat out of the dolls clothing which only revealed a few patches of missing fur. Nate received an ever-so-slightly peeved look from Cepheus crouched on his kitchen floor, but it passed by the time he released Claude. The cat leapt up to the back of the sofa and peered down at Callie perusing books on the bottom shelf and began to clean himself vigorously. The trauma would be shortlived it seemed.
"Thank you for bringing him back, either way. I've been having those irrational thoughts that someone took him to spite me over this week's news." Across the kitchen, the kettle lurched into the sink, filing itself up, and a bottle of orange squash and a glass waddled out onto the kitchen top like an impromptu refreshment parade to the sink.
In the living room a small flock of butterflies sprung up from the floor the other side of the sofa to the two wizards and Ceph's expression entirely softened.
"Aha you found the pop up book. It's amazing isn't it?" He forgot about the drinks, and nimbly joined Callie cross-legged on the floor to admire the butterflies doing a circuit of the living room before returning to the page, fluttering gently. "It's all about species er - animals and insects you find in a wizard's garden. These ones love to feed on umbrella flowers. Have you seen one? They're like proper umbrellas - just like the ones I have in the hallway." Cepheus gestured the size with both hands - possibly as enthralled by the book as the young witch was.
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"I'm going to be hearing about her theft from the Radleys forever." Nate lamented. His late wife's aunts were incredibly nosy people, always quick to gossip and criticize. He appreciated their acceptance of him as a member of their family, though they were definitely some of the most judgmental people he had ever met. Archer was the easiest of them all to deal with-- even if he complained about surprise hikes and mountain adventures.
"Can't believe that Claude still wants to be around her." Nate said, kneeling down at Cal's other side to observe the book. Cepheus was always so thoughtful when it came to Calliope-- something the wizard greatly appreciated. There weren't many childless people out there who took such great care with the children of their friends. To be fair, parenting didn't always leave much room for a social life. Callie loved Cepheus, he was like an uncle to her.
"Claude likes me." Callie asserted, eyes still following the butterflies.
"Claude has a death wish." Nate observed.
Callie gave her father a withering look, before focusing her attention on Cepheus. "If I have umbrella flowers, can I have butterflies?" With a sweet smile, she gave Ceph a squeeze. "Thank yoooou!" When Ceph couldn't see, she stuck her tongue out at Nate. Such a mild mannered child.
"Uh, has anything else gone missing around here?" Nate actively ignored the ugly faces his daughter was throwing his way.
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"Can't believe that Claude still wants to be around her.” Ceph glanced up at the cat peering down at them from above. It would have only taken a moment for him to try and catch the book’s butterflies, but he was biding his time while he washed himself off.
"Claude likes me.” Ceph couldn’t help but let out a ‘heh’ of amusement and smile. It felt good to smile, he hadn’t realised how rigid his face had become with the difficult week, and rubbed his cheeks as he realised.
"Claude has a death wish.”
“He’s too trusting, that’s his downfall.” Cepheus confirmed. “Anything for a warm lap and a pet.” As if voicing an opinion, the black and white cat curled over, straightened a leg and began to clean his backside.
"If I have umbrella flowers, can I have butterflies?”
“Uhuh, yes, that’s right."
"Thank yoooou!” Callie squeezed him as tightly as she could with her little arms. Ceph lifted his arm out of the way and dropped it gently around her, returning a little of the squeeze without being too hands on.
"Uh, has anything else gone missing around here?”
“My sanity.” Ceph replied quietly, looking up and giving Nate a wry smile. “Better now you’re all here.” He lifted his hand from Callie to pat his best friend’s shoulder once. In the kitchen there was a clattering of forgotten kitchen implements and Ceph hopped to his feet as nimbly as he could to finish off the orange squash for Callie and arrange hot drinks for he and Nate. “No, nothing else that I’ve noticed, anyhow, more likely I’ve got stuff of yours to make room for him, right?” It only took a moment to find Callie’s favourite biscuits in the cupboard, and Ceph returned with two mugs clasped in his left and the glass of orange squash in his right, the plate of biscuits balanced on the top of it. Atop of the sofa, Claude stretched out, content to watch.
“What have you been up to this week since I saw you last?” Cepheus asked, posing the query more at Callie so she felt included in the conversation, but also glancing to Nate once he sat down again and stretched one leg out across the carpet. Callie had turned the page and there were woodlice scuttling across the pages - thankfully those didn’t escape the book.
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Nate counted himself lucky that Calliope had such an independent streak. As much as she thrived on attention, she could also happily play by herself and demanded having 'alone time.' Naturally, it made him suspicious-- but he wanted to respect her, even though she was so young. As a result, he and Ceph could often have their own conversations without her hanging onto their every word. With a biscuit in her hand and her orange squash nearby, Callie was content with exploring her new book and snacking.
"Your sanity? That's never been intact." Nate quipped, though he gave his friend a sympathetic look.
She gave Ceph an annoyed look when he directed a question towards her, "I'm reading." Cal replied. She read better than she wrote, though not well. Mostly, she was examining the pictures and turning back to the pages that were the prettiest.
"I've been, uh. Hanging out with Margo." Nate felt just a little weird about it. Jillian had worked with Margo, and now they were... Not dating. Not friends with benefits. Neither seemed right. It was new and different, but Nate didn't get his hopes up for anything serious. He wasn't ready for that, and neither was she.
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Dismissed by the six-year-old, now absorbed in the book, Ceph and Nate settled on Ceph’s sofa instead, complete with cat-themed mugs. Claude dropped down between them and circled before settling down against Ceph’s thigh, eyes fixed on his captor.
"I've been, uh. Hanging out with Margo.” Nate explained. Cepheus made a quiet hmm of ‘really?’ as he was sipping his tea. He dropped a hand to absent-mindedly scratch Claude around the neck and ears.
“‘Hanging’ or ’hanging’?” He asked, changing the inflection of the two instances of the word. Nate’s daughter might only be six but there were certain words that didn’t do learning at that age which adults might do when ‘hanging out’ - figuratively or in the very literal sense.
“Good for you, either way, mate.” Ceph said softly, “Margo is tenacious, clever, good looking and a friend to the death, all round golden human being. And I don’t say that just because we frequent Death & Co.” The living room was suddenly filled with the buzzing of bees which flocked up from the pages. Claude’s head snapped up followed by a defensive rrwowl.
“Going to keep hanging out?”
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"Hanging." Nate clarified, echoing back Cepheus' inflection. The whole thing was weird. Margo and Jillian had gotten along well as coworkers, always making bets. Margo claimed that Nate still owed her money for these bets, though he wasn't so sure about that. He'd pay her back in beer. All he had to do was mark up the value of his home brew and the bet will be settled. If he remembered to do that. Nates memory for bets was shit. He filled up his brainspace with more important things-- like the noble language of Sasqueech and wizarding law.
"I think so. I don't know. I don't know what she wants. She doesn't seem serious, I don't know if i want serious. But I dont know if I will want serious later." Nate let the words tumble out of his mouth. Callie wouldn't know what he meant-- and frankly she didn't seem to be listening. Her dark eyes focused again on Claude, before giving a resigned shrug and focusing back on her book.
Nate made a mental note to make sure that Claude was visibly in Cephs arms before they left.
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“Then hang on for the ride, I suppose.” Ceph offered with a weak shrug. He wasn’t the world’s most experienced at relationships, and especially not with women. Margo was amazing, popular and very well known. She could have anyone, as far as Cepheus figured, she moved with every level of society as a bar owner and had the wide respect of a dragon veteran.
“As long as the pair of you are having fun, there’s no harm. Different I suppose with…” He glanced briefly to Callie, “if it becomes more serious and they get close. But nothing wrong with her having female role models amongst your ‘friends’.” Cepheus looked down thoughtfully to Calliope. It was tricky, because he wanted Nate to be happy, but Nate also had to consider how he was two people, and a messy relationship might further confuse his daughter, especially if a recurring person in their lives were to no longer be around because of a fall-out. Perhaps that was over-protective.
“I’m glad you’re having fun. Someone’s got to keep you company on those sleepless nights.” Cepheus couldn’t keep up with Nate’s ability to function on next to no sleep. On their nights out, Cepheus was more likely to be the one fast asleep in a noisy pub while Nate was still fresh as a daisy rocking the dance floor. He valued sleep more than his best friend, though did oblige him when Nate wanted to go on an adventure for a day and turned up at what Ceph called sparrow’s-fart.
“I’m off riding in a few hours with my ‘wife-to-be’ according to Witch Weekly.” He confessed to Nate. “Prim invited me to Northchurch. She’s alright to hang out with - I know you two don’t entirely see eye to eye, but we share a lot of common ground outside of professional capacity.”
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Relationships were always more complicated when, not only was a dead wife involved-- but a very much alive kid. Calliope always had to be his number one priority. Nate couldn't necessarily do anything serious, because he didn't want to expose her someone who could be temporary. No. He had to make sure it would work before involving that person deeply in his daughter's life.
But. She could use some female role models in her life. It wouldn't necessarily be a disaster.
Nate grimaced at the mention of Primrose Woolfolk. That woman had issues. He respected her, he really did-- but those politics of hers were difficult to push aside. His late wife had been a werewolf, and the amount of trouble she faced because of it was horrific. The laws in place certainly perpetuated it. She'd been discouraged from having children-- not because the child could inherit wolfy traits (they couldn't), but because her ability as a parent was called into question. Jillian had been treated like a danger, despite the fact that she was religious about her wolfsbane potions and always reported to the ministry. She'd never bitten anybody.
"Witch Weekly hasn't caught on to the fact that you're into.... Men?" Nate gave Ceph a bewildered look, "It's so obvious." Perhaps it was only obvious because they knew each other so well. He let out a small sigh. "If you two.... Have fun, then I'm happy for you. I'll give you the best speech at your wedding."
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"Witch Weekly hasn't caught on to the fact that you're into.... Men?” Ceph shrugged and raised both hands to emphasise it. He wasn’t exactly going all out to hide it or promote the fact, he was just being himself. "It's so obvious.”
Cepheus laughed at his best mate’s remark. Nate had more than once caught him wistfully staring after good looking men while ignoring the cracking pair of tits in a dress walking up to them, reeled in by Hawke’s bright blue eyes. That and the somewhat feminine mannerisms that others wondered on. He’d not kissed a bloke properly in Nate’s presence, mostly because he’d not pulled one in the years they’d known each other. There had been the odd awkward moment between them when drunk and Cepheus tried to express how grateful he was for Nate as a best friend, but luckily Hawke knew enough grapple holds to loft Ceph over his shoulder and dump him on a bed, or sofa to sober up. The thought of it turned Ceph’s cheeks pink as they sat together on the sofa.
"If you two.... Have fun, then I'm happy for you. I'll give you the best speech at your wedding.”
“There’ll be no wedding.” Cepheus assured him, reaching out a hand to rest lightly on Nate’s forearm, “not with Primrose anyhow. Save your speech for when I do find the man of my life.” He smiled gently at the other wizard and then scooped his mug up to drink. “Sounds like I might have to draft mine first though,” he added, lowering the mug and glancing sidelong at Nate.
“What else has been happening for you this week, other than good looking pub owners and terrorising my cat? No mountains to climb, or just the work ones?”
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"But Witch Weekly said a wedding was in the works!" Nate teased, "You can't tell me that the writers of such a reputable magazine would put their quills to parchment and tell lies."
At the sound of Calliope gently meowing to her book, Nate suppressed a laugh. Good God, she needed a cat. Sooner rather than later. Surely, somebody's cat was having kittens. He saw ads for 'free kittens' in the Daily Prophet frequently. They were low maintanence creatures too, as long as they had toys, food, water, a litterbox, and a little girl to terrorize them.
“Sounds like I might have to draft mine first though”
At that, he gave Cepheus a long, quiet look. He didn't even pay attention to the rest of whatever-it-was-Ceph-asked. "What?! No. Wha-- No. We're not like that, and I don't think she's the type to commit." Nate shrugged, "No, you'll get married before I do. Want to take a bet on that? If you lose," He needed to think of something good, "You have to do an exclusive interview with Witch Weekly. With photos."
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“Take a bet on he will get married first?" Cepheus laughed, “We will be waiting decade to cash that in!” He shook his head and shifted on his sofa to get more comfortable. The events of the week were not far from his thoughts. Much as it was good to spend time with friends, Nate and then later Prim, he found it tainted with worry.
“No, as much as that is a tempting offer I will have to decline on this occasion. Mostly based on the fact Witch Weekly would never want to interview me for getting married. It’s not scandalous enough. Marry a sasquatch, mate, and have the whole magazine. They’d probably pay you a bomb to come and take the photos.” He gave Nate a sweet smile, not at all serious about Nate marrying such a creature, not that it would be acceptable for Witch Weekly to make a spectacle of it. Ceph drew his feet up onto the sofa, tucking them up beside him on the opposite side to Nate.
“What’s the need to get married, anyway?” Cepheus asked, gaze dropping to Callie and her book, "Can’t two people be happy without? Or a person be happy on their own?”
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"I don't mind waiting to cash it in." Nate said, absolutely certain that Cepheus would marry first. In fact, he was determined. After Jillian died, Nate was hesitant to jump into another marriage-- especially with a child to consider. When he was younger and more impulsive, perhaps he would've. But now, he couldn't see it. Not until Callie was grown.
Hopefully by then, Ceph would've found some sort of love. Or two. Marriage or not.
"Yeah, I guess. You don't need a partner to be happy." Nathaniel agreed. There were plenty of people who weren't committed and seemed to enjoy life just fine. Margo was one of those who came to mind. "Though, if it's unlikely for either of us--" His grin turned mischievous, "What's the harm in a bet then?"
End