It was late morning. Boring. Darian lounged at his table in the heated outdoor cafe. One of his favorite pastimes was people watching, but he was in a flighty, fidgity mood. It was a dangerous mood, and one Diagon regulars knew well. When Darian was in this mood, shopkeepers were wooed, lampposts were serenaded, and he nearly always made the gossip columns again of the wizarding world's trashier papers. The waiter eyed him warily as he brought Darian another expresso, the expression of a man whose job did not allow him to offer advice but whose conscience did not condone a customer's 8th caffeinated drink.

Darian sipped, fingers curling carefully around the tiny cup. His eyes roved the crowds, half-mast and growing impatient, while his leg danced against the cobblestones in an absent, tiny jig. He'd been up the night before working on some sketches, careless things, mere doodles, that he was trying to turn into a new line, but his mind hadn't yet broken from that creative, mad haze. Another reason he peoplewatched in Diagon, especially on mornings like this, was to catch a glimpse of inspiration in the cut of a robe, the color of some cloth, the graceful turn of a head or the quick shattered glimpse of some totally arresting face -

Darian surged to his feet, his eyes cast out towards the street. Then he leapt over the decorative fence like a gazelle, Italian leather shoes perfectly pointed, pants legs flapping around brightly-socked ankles. Impressed by his excellent form, a few customers broke into spontaneous applause. A nearby sprint hurdle racer wiped a tear of fond nostalgia from his eye, and the waiter surreptitiously began to clear his cups from the table.

Dodging here, cutting there, he left a trail of clucking older witches in his wake. He skidded to a stop just in front of Brett, somehow in the surprise of those first seconds acquiring her hand and bowing very low over the captured limb. His free hand swept out to one side; his hair bounced in perfect curls towards the stones. Only a moment later he snapped upright, eyes wild and bright, presence huge. There may as well have been a spotlight on Brett in the street. It may as well have been a hot and inexorable beam.

"My dear, you are ravishing." His smile was white and dazzling. His voice lowered to a purr. "Have you ever considered a career in modeling?"

After spending months on desk duty, Brett had been ecstatic to end up back in the field. It had been very exciting to end up on that chase with Potter the other night. It was exhilarating to be on odd hours again, and she'd spent the night before doing patrol. When she'd finally ducked out of the auror office, she was exhausted, but needed to pick up a couple of things from Diagon on her way home. Her bed was going to be her best friend as soon as he made it home... Hopefully Dax would be there to keep her company.

It was cold, but her jacket was enough to keep most of the chill out. She looked over to the cafe, pondering if a cup of coffee would be a terrible idea before heading home... Probably so. With a forlorn shrug, he continued on her way down the street. She was caught off guard when the brightly clad figure of Darian Morgan skidded to a halt in front of her, and laughed brightly when he grabbed her hand and proclaimed quite loudly that she was ravishing. She blushed at that, even more so when he asked if she had ever considered a career in modeling. Now that was how you flattered a lady!

Brett gently pulled her hand away and swatted at him playfully. She had met him- however briefly- at the New Year's Eve gala. That night had been a bust. Running into Dax had put a sour spin on the evening. Thank Merlin they weren't fighting anymore.

"Well it's nice to see you again, Mr. Morgan!" she greeted. Suddenly she felt quite enthused and energized again. His smile was contagious, and she was already beaming at him. "Modeling?" Brett laughed again. "Goodness no! It's always been the aurors for me, nothing else. Just got off duty, actually. You're looking quite well. To what do I owe your very flattering greeting? Not that I'm complaining, I could definitely get used to being called ravishing on a daily basis, just seems a little odd is all."

"Ms. Abraham!" he cried, in more normal tones of delighted surprise. "Why, I didn't recognize you with your short hair." He'd not paid much attention to the girl when first they'd been introduced; though she was to someone's taste in her ball gown, there had been other women around of a more appropriate age. But Darian had an excellent memory for faces and names and it served him well now, again.

"What luck that we already know one another," he said in a conspiratorial manner. He gestured back to the cafe. "Yours is an arresting visage, madamoiselle, I saw you from all the way over there. This cut, it's very edgy, modern." Androgynous, though her face and body were anything but. "You see, I'm working on a new line of menswear-inspired robes for women. Deep in contemplation, I was torn from the creative process by the inclusion of the last element I need - a face! A face like yours. Could I persuade you into an afternoon of work?" Though he was currently being perfectly genteel, there was a glint in his eyes as he looked at her that suggested he possessed several means of persuasion.

Brett laughed. "Yes, I usually wear it short. I had it long for the event, I thought it looked better with the dress that way. But you know, it's a bit difficult to maintain and I prefer the shorter hair for auror training. Makes it less of a hindrance. Can't imagine fighting a criminal and them getting a handful of hair. That would hurt." Especially if they pulled too hard. She'd seen stuff like that happen in auror training to other females.

She loved the tone he was using while talking to her, and couldn't help but to smile sweetly and bat her lashes as he continued talking about her arresting visage and she was very edgy and modern. She could certainly get used to hearing that. It was a letter better than the approving grunts she usually got from Dax. (If she even got that much out of him.) "Afternoon of work?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Well... I'm not entirely sure how much work I have in me," she told him. "I just got off duty, and I'm fairly tired. But I can't imagine being able to say no after all of the fabulous flattery you poured upon me. You tell me more about my arresting visage and how beautiful I am, and I'd be willing to spare you my afternoon. What kind of work did you have in mind?" she asked. "I admit I don't know a damn thing about fashion. I go for comfort or whatever is clean. Or, you know, whatever I can manage to steal from Dax when he isn't looking. His clothes are more comfortable. I bet menswear-inspired robes for a lady would be pretty comfortable, too."

Darian hummed sympathetically. Though never as long as hers had been that night, he knew some of the pain of caring for longer hair. "Of all the people you want pulling your hair, criminals are not one," he agreed sagely.

Abraham was awfully sweet and willing, no trouble to win over at all. Darian was happy to sing her praises all day and all night - if that was all she wanted, she'd be much cheaper than his usual models. What a tragedy that a pretty girl like her didn't have anyone else around to do so on a more regular basis.

He laughed. "Oh, no, I won't steal you away tonight," he said. "If you've been working hard, of course you need your rest." And he had events to set in motion first. Hell, he hadn't even finished the first garments in the line! But with her face in the back of his mind, Darian thought he could whip up something. "It would just be a little light modeling - what we in the industry call a lookbook, I'd want to make a preliminary one. As it happens, the clothing I'm working on now is menswear inspired. Perhaps one day later this week or the next?" He passed a hand over his blazer and came up with a card, fingers uncurling in a showy bit of magic before he offered it to her. Gold lettering against the jeweled purple cardstock spelled out Libertine's name, logo, and address. He winked at her. "Owl me, won't you? Waiting on the whims of such a lady is no chore at all."

Brett grinned a little. "No, definitely don't want criminals doing any hair pulling. Wrockstars on the other hand..." she trailed off with a knowing wink. Her and Iggy had been big news for a short period of time before breaking up the previous month. Besides, if he was going to mention hair pulling, she was going to play along. Darian Morgan wasn't an unattractive fellow by any means... And she had a feeling toying with Darian would probably annoy Dax, which was a plus these days. Since Brett had learned he got jealous, she enjoyed making him feel jealous.

She was relieved when he said not tonight, but was shocked for that to be quickly followed up by the fact he wanted her to model? She was in disbelief for a moment. Brett knew that she was pretty enough, but never thought of herself as good looking enough to end up modelling. Especially not for someone as well known in wizard fashion as Darian Morgan. "You want me to model?" she repeated, placing a hand on her hip. "Me?" Definitely not how she expected this day to go.

Brett took the card that he offered, still smiling. Brett Abraham, a model. The other aurors would get a kick out of this, and so would her brothers and roommates. "Sure, of course I'll owl you! I've never, you know, modeled before though. So I might not have any idea what I'm supposed to do when it comes right down to it. But I'd be more than happy to model for you! I mean, who tells Darian Morgan no?" she asked. "My schedule is pretty hectic, though, so my availability will be sporadic. Duty calls, and what not."

"But I will definitely send off an owl soon, after I figure out when I have some free time in the next couple of weeks. This is pretty exciting!" She smiled at him. "I'm not the most ladylike of individuals, though. So I hope you don't need me prancing around with a fancy sashay or anything. You might have to teach me that much."