At ten o'clock in the morning on Friday the 13th of November, a small owl delivered a single white rose and a small envelope to the desk of Kia Ferris at the Ministry of Magic.  The owl, rather than taking off in flight after delivering the letter, sat curiously on Kia's desk and watched her with its large eyes, content to sit quietly on her desk.

Kia Ferris
Ministry of Magic, Level Four
Werewolf Capture Unit Headquarters

Dear Kia,

It has been incredible getting to know you.  I had a lovely time last week and frankly I can hardly wait to see you again. 

I tend to be kept preoccupied with my work, but there is a big event[1] at the end of the month and I wonder if you might attend with me.  I've included the invitation for you to consider.  It would mean the world to me to have you as my "plus one."

Unfortunately I am not sure where I will be over the next week with my work, so owling is probably not the best method of getting in touch with me.  However, if you jot me a note now and send it back with this owl, it will find its way back to me.  I've told this owl, who's on loan, to wait with you until you had a response prepared.  There isn't any rush whatsoever and hopefully this doesn't present itself as a problem for you.  He's very well-behaved.  I'd send my owl Cassian but he's an eagle owl and might be a little distracting to your coworkers....

I hope you are well, Kia.

Sincerely,
Eamonn

1.	Dolly's Birthday Bash

It was ten-o-five when Kia returned from filing her reports and she was greeted with giggles from two of the younger girls at the front desks. They were looking at her and whispering, which made Kia immediately defensive. Was there toilet paper on her shoe? Was there something in her teeth? Was her shirt tucked into her panties? She discretely checked herself while pretending not to notice or care about what they thought, and found nothing wrong. What the hell was their problem then?

Choosing to ignore them, she shoved her chin in the air and strolled past them, shooting them a look out of the corner of her eyes that would have left Hell a few degrees colder. Gossipy little twits, probably giggling at nothing but air… she told herself as she made her way to her desk. Then she passed Li Hua’s desk and was greeted by a softer, but still present, giggle. She immediately knew something else was up. Li wasn’t the type to be so rude. “What’s going on?” She asked curtly, planting herself in front of the petite girl with her arms crossed, her expression daring the girl to say ‘nothing’.

“Yo~u have an admirer…” Li giggled again and Kia realized her laughter was not in jest but giddiness. Following Li’s pointing hand to her desk, Kia saw a single white rose, in full bloom, resting on her desk top. Nearby, perched on the edge and blinking patiently at her, was a pretty little owl. Without a word, Kia rushed over to the desk and picked up the flower, pressing it to her nose and breathing in the soft scent deeply. She didn't have to read the letter to know it was from Eamonn.

Leaning against her desk, she carefully opened the letter and scanned it, the corner of her full lips curling a little as she took it in. Closing her eyes, she discretely brought the letter to her nose and sniffed, breathing in the woody scent of his cologne mixed with the richness of the parchment. After a moment, she sighed deeply and took a seat, patting the owls head as she passed. First, since she felt she needed to know what this 'big event' was before she agreed to attend, Kia opened the invitation and glanced it over. It was rather surprising, to be honest, as she didn't see Eamonn as being the sort to attend a lavish party for a celebrity. She certainly wasn't, but then, she definitely didn't want to say no either. Spending time with him was an enticing enough offer as it was, but throw in the fact that it was for three days and that they would likely be sharing a tent, and Kia found herself a little more willing to let go of her fears.

With this, she grabbed some paper and begin to respond, but found it harder than she imagined. Her first attempt was... gushy. It landed in the trashcan moments after she started it. The second felt too formal... off it went. The third made her seem a bit desperate, so she balled that up as well. At this rate it wouldn't be long before her waste basket was full! Finally, Kia just scribbled something before folding it up carefully.

Eamonn,

Definitely.

K

"There you go, love... bring that to Eamonn please" She murmured to the bird as she attached the note. As it flew off, she sighed dreamily. Only a week or so to go and she was going to have the best three nights of her life.

"What was that about?" Li’s voice came out of nowhere and Kia jumped, having not noticed her sitting there, watching her with a broad smile. Kia normally would have told her to sod off, but for some reason, Eamonns letter and flower had left her in such a good mood that she just smiled, which was another rarity, and said “Oh… Just this guy I met… He invited me to a party…”
She showed Li the invitation, which caused the girls eyes to go wide in envy “Oh Em Gee, Kia! That’s an invitation to the St. James’s Party! That’s like… the biggest event in the world right now!” She gushed, calling the attention of the other girls and enticing them to flock to Kia’s desk.

Normally, all this attention would make Kia terribly uncomfortable, but she found herself kinda enjoying being the cool kid for once. So she smiled and answered politely as they grilled her on what she was going to wear. By the time the boss came out and broke up the little pow-wow, Kia had at least four shopping buddies biting at the bit to dress her.

The little owl, once free of the confines of the Ministry, flew a great ways North to the Southern tip of Strathaird on the Isle of Skye.  Out of habit and years of training it went to deliver itself to a man in the tall watch tower where the note it carried would be screened for its master, Sir Kronos Malvivicus. 

Eamonn Mullen, however, was sitting under the lone willow tree at the edge of the grassy stretch of land that rested along the narrow dirt path to the palace.  Seeing the bird finally as he sat waiting and watching the skies, he gave a sharp whistle and successfully attracted its attention.  Addressee trumping training, the owl swooped down to Eamonn and landed on his sturdy, outstretched arm.  Broad claws gripped his many layered sleeves as he settled his wings from the long flight.

"There's me aul mate," said Eamonn with affection in his voice for the feathered friend, his heart finally on beat again and breath returning; he'd been quite nervous he'd let the note slip by him into the old man's hands.  He stroked the bird's head gently with his thumb, pressing down a few fluffy feathers, then undid the note on its leg and watched it lift off to return to the tower.  He followed it with his gaze....

Up in the watch tower he could faintly discern a tall, dark figure, probably watching him up there.  He steeled his nerves and turned his attention to the letter, vaguely hoping that he was as trusted as he thought he was as Kronos's divinatory consultant, arithmancer, and personal cursebreaker.  He wasn't egotistical but Eamonn did fancy himself to be one of Kronos's more grandfathered employees, and hence... somewhat safer than the rest.  One could never be sure, but at least he could hope his particular talents made him less disposable than most of his peers.

Attention turning to the note in his hands, he started toward the palace.  Eamonn then felt a rush of excitement as he eagerly unraveled the parchment and read.  He erupted into a grin and his breath caught on itself in a fluttery jump of enthusiasm. 

The dawning realization that followed was enough to make him literally leap for joy and call out into the open Scottish hillsides his love!  He could hardly contain it though he knew he absolutely must.  Still, laughter bubbled forward from somewhere deep inside him.  He felt the urge to run the rest of the way, bursts of excited energy racing through him one after the next, building and building and desperately wanting some spastic sort of release.  He bit his lip and walked briskly the rest of the way to the palace and went inside and up to his personal chambers, ignoring most of the other employees as per his usual and then full on running up the last steps and down the hall to his room. 

Once inside he slammed the door shut behind him and screamed!  "Aahaa!" he cried.  "I can't believe it!"  Grinning, he held the short note out in front of himself with both hands, as if in awe.  Mouth agape in a fantastic stupor and his eyes shining in delight, Eamonn talked to himself out of the madness that accompanies fresh love returned. 

"I am going to a party with Kiana Ferris, as my date!  My beor!  For three days!"  Again he laughed, mad with happiness before collapsing on his bed, every bit the thirteen year old Witch with a date to the Yule ball.  Only a moment passed before he dashed back up and went to his desk to pen a response.

Kia,
Pick you up at your flat that Friday night, 6 o'clock then. 
Be ready and packed and we'll go straight there. 
I can't wait!
xx,
Eamonn

He sent it off with the same owl in the afternoon, thanking his stars the same owl was available.  He told the owl to not wait for an answer and to take its time getting back.  They'd made all the plans they'd needed to as their first shared Moon came to a full close, and they would be reunited in a week when the next Moon was just starting to build.  It was beautiful....